#i almost bought the grim reaper

[moonlightpirate]

GUESS WHAT I FINALLY GOT?!?!?!?!

IM SOOOOOO EXCITED AND HAPPY

[better-call-mau1]

Lucasfilm: Literally every single romance or almost-romance we’ve ever written in the Star Wars universe has ended in tragedy.

Lucasfilm: Han/Leia? Split up after their son went off the deep end. They eventually died broken and alone.

Lucasfilm: Anidala? No match for Palpatine’s plotting, Anakin’s attachment issues, and Padmé’s Sadness.

Lucasfilm: Obitine? Jyn/Cassian? Reylo? Tragedy! Tragedy! Tragedy!

Lucasfilm: At least we gave you Kanera. Aren’t they just so sweet and devoted and —— oh, whoops! More tragedy!

Ezra: I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

Sabine, drawing her blasters: They can pry you from my cold, dead hands.

Ezra: Please don’t tempt them.

[saranilssonbooks]

100 Moby-Dick covers ranked by your's truly. Thank you so much to all those of you who sent in contributions and helped make this completely out of proportion project a thing. Jars of angelic spermaceti for everyone! 🤍

As for the ranking, it is purely the result of my own personal taste in aesthetics and heavily influenced by my perception of the story. Add to that a generous amount of sentimentality, as shall be apparent.

What I have been mainly looking at in judging the designs is as follows...

- General appearance; is it attractive? 💕

- Does it help sufficiantly communicate the nature of the story (theme, genre, mood, plot)? ⚰️

- Is it canon? (Meaningful creative licence perfectly allowed!) ✅️

As for the tiers themselves, we have...

Topmost Greatness: this is something out of the ordinary, possibly genius and also I neeeeed it for my collection!

A: Good, good stuff, but might lack that very extra special something

B: Gets the job done, agreeable, totally okay.

C: It's not exactly bad and I'll let that oopsie over there slide, but I probably wouldn't pay much for this one.

You Had One Job: Yeah, you did.

Should Never Have Surfaced: Makes the Pequod tragedy look like a merry holiday.

Art thou ready?

TOPMOST GREATNESS

1. The most beautiful Moby-Dick cover I've ever seen. I was almost tempted to create a tier higher than Topmost Greatness only so that I could place it there.

2. Brilliant composition and color choice, despite its simplicity it hits me straight in the soul.

3. I remember drooling over this in the book store back in the day and considered reading it only because it was so gorgeous. Manages to be both crowded and clean at the same time. Story instantly recognizable.

4. The classiest of all time? Forever a winner!

5. I show the image of this one to people to make them understand the creative brilliancy that thrives within the Moby-Dick community.

6. Captures the mood in a fittingly crooked, awkward way that makes my heart beat faster. (Also reminds me of my copy of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for some reason.)

7. Another sort of awkward one, but I love the style, I love the surreal combination of drama and stiffness, pretty fitting the story itself. Makes 'Hab look a bit like the Grim Reaper.

8. The erratic painting technique gives me the perfect kind of crazy vibes.

9. Moby-Dick, a bibliophile's dream, topmost mood nailing, superior dark academia accessory... what more could anyone wish for in a book?

10. So well thought out and the claustrophobic feel helps to create an unsettling mood despite the otherwise quite cheery colors. Sorry, Madagascar.

11. Look, my two main areas of Moby-Dick interest is Ahab and rhe psychology, so... y'know.

12. Mood certainly set.

13. Guess I have a thing for harpoon/eye symbolism. Again that claustrophobic feel by leaving only a sliver of crowded surface.

14. First physical Moby-Dick copy I ever bought. All the books in this Penguin series are gorgeous, but to me this is one of the design winners regardless of the contents.

15. Unsettled in all this tropical serenity yet?

16. The boldness in color choice and to focus on the fire theme is as unusual as it is exciting, and the very modern touch makes it even more interesting!

A.

17. Not normally a style I'm drawn to, but somehow this manages to capture my interest. A successful nod to the painting at the Spouter Inn, lovely line work. My sibling got me this one as a locket for my last b-day.

18. My beloved companion, by now containing almost as much tape as paper. The 19th century poster design is irresistable to me. A white tail would've been even cooler though.

19. It's not that unique looking, yet the worn feel and harpooned Moby Dick simply gets to me somehow.

20. All the crucial elements skillfully and effectivly forged (no pun intended) together.

21. The way the psychology has been captured and the missing leg detail is yum!

22. Kind of busy but so unique and interesting! Yes plz.

23. Another classic! How could Kent's iconic whale ever fail?

24. Aiming for the adventure theme, it appears, and successfully so. Unusual color choice which I happen to be all about. Total vintage feel!

25. Again, not that much is happening, but the ropes, the character design, the inking... I love you, cover, and I need you in my life!

26. An often used scene, but the style gets to me so, so bad.

27. I'm not that much about the washed out color, but the rest is love.

28. Very basic, but also very nice and display friendly and I enjoy the vibe so much.

29. Almost made it to Topmost, but the positioning of the illustration gives off a cheap feel to me. Why couldn't you have used that gorgeous theme depiction to better advantage? Can one order a remake? Or a cropped poster?

30. Love the composition so much but the technique simply doesn't do it quite enough for me to move up one full notch. Still want it so bad for the collection though.

31. Runny ink on pure white is something I associate with Moby-Dick, don't know why. The blotchiness is a really great touch.

32. The design doesn't say much concerning the content, but nevertheless it is so pretty and am I correct when I say there's harpoon vibes?

33. Had that been a white whale, it would've ended up under Topmost!

34. My first reaction to this was that it's a really interesting piece of art, but I wasn't so sure I liked it as much in book cover form. The more I look at it, the more intrigued and enamoured I get. I want more of this.

35. Ahab and Moby Dick from Ahab's POV? Love the distorted psychedelic atmosphere, but another one with missed full illustration use potential.

B.

36. Brings back the menory of cigarettes and fear. Granny the Gregory Peck fan owned one of these and it freaked me out where she kept it on display ever after I'd been forced to watch the movie at age 6. Now I want one just for the hell of it.

37. Okay, so hear me out. I know it's a children's book, but the illustrator obviously knew the story. Love the tangling rope and that Ahab's prosthetic leg seems made out of whale bone rather than wood for once.

38. Nice modern touch, but that's straight up the New Bedford whaler statue, which kinda ruins it for me.

39. Lovely, lovely design, but I simply don't associate it with a story about suicidal tendencies, gore, and mass death.

40. A somewhat unusual character choice to pose on a cover, but hey, I'll take it! :D

41. Doesn't pop, but I do like me some traditional Japanese art vibes!

42. Elegant, but the huge M obscures the title text and the harpoon looks as if crossed with a sewing needle.

43. Basic, but the feel is there and I like the color combination for this story.

44. Love the art and it's impossible not to identify which story this is, but I have several Ahab design choice questions which won't leave me.

45. This whole thing is odd and busy, but I also really like it!

46. Speaking of Japanese traditional art. The lines and the moodiness is much to my liking.

47. Simple, spot on, nothing that extra.

48. If only he hadn't looked so damn happy about it as if Ahab was about to throw that harpoon like a stick for him to fetch. Untold plot line??

49. There is this whole sub genre of Moby Dick balancing the Pequod, a concept that certainly works, but by now it has to have that little extra something to seem truly special.

50. We have a less erroneous whale, folks! It may be a stock image, but Ishmael gave this one thumbs up, and so how could I possibly do differently? Nicely done!

51. First, I get strong The Old Man and the Sea impressions. Second, what kind of whale do you intend to kill with that thing, my dude? Points for canonical end game beard though.

52. I assume this is meant as a traditional Polynesian art style nod in honor of our dear Queequeg. The sports wear lining texture in the title letters confuses me though.

53. There certainly are plenty of canon here, but also, this is some odd mayhem and where are you aiming, Captain? Yay, ivory leg again!

54. Basic, works perfectly fine.

55. This is a really odd scene choice to pick for a cover, but I love this edition and its illustrations to bits. In fact, I'm planning on posting a review of it soon.

C.

56. I haven't peeked into Melville's mind, but I'm pretty sure the Pequod looked quite different. The story is unmistakable though.

57. Nothing wrong with it, I guess, but way too messy for me to be comfortable with.

58. Not much to say here, but a perfectly nice-looking cover for any book.

59. Gets the job done, but not that inspiring.

60. Despite seemingly little effort behind it, this design based on a 19th century (erroneous) whale drawing could have gone straight up to A. You see, in the original image the (erroneous) whale has his penis (erroneous?) in full view, but on this cover it has been erased. How could I not have given a Moby-Dick book cover depicting dozens of (erroneous) whale dicks A? Alas.

61. Good, professional-looking cover, but judging by the illustration only, I would have guessed this was a children's book about the adventures of a jolly porpoise named Toni.

62. No spoilers to see here or anything. Is that a gold prosthetics??

63. This looks so much like a academic book on psychology. Not too far off, I suppose, but I wouldn't be able to figure out which famous story it is.

64. The Temple toggle harpoon was invented in 1848. Do with this information what you will.

65. Hey! That other cover from before! Have to say that the color alterations and helm sihouette wasn't an improvement.

66. A bit extreme for me.

67. I call this excessive simplicity. If you need a copy of Moby-Dick, you will recognize it at once, but it might not attract new readers merely in itself.

68. Just because it's a children's book doesn't mean the vibe has to be off, but I think it is in this case. Recently posted an example of this illustrator's adorable Ishmael here.

69. Where's the title? Confusing for a cover, but I would love this for a poster of mug! Also, the biggest words are Ahab, Queequeg, and Pequod, which I find mildly insulting towards a certain someone. What was he called again?

70. Cool whale picture which I really like, but the accuracy for Moby-Dick isn't really there.

71. It's blue.

72. I understand the idea and the illustration is awesome, but for me, the vibe is strangely all off and I get almost a comedic feel. Again, that's just me.

73. I often feel like an Ahab apologist and can often be somewhat harsh on the whale, but holy shit! A sort of red herring situation meant to make the reader think Ahab will be the winner?

74. It looks full of action and Scrooge's Ahab cosplay look is really neat, but I have... concerns.

75. I don't remember the scene playing out like this and Ahab is clearly not having it.

YOU HAD ONE JOB

76. The exact face I made the first time I saw this kind of cover.

77. After all the people I've heard at the museum mistaking the sperm whale skeleton for an orca, I'm honestly surprised these fails aren't more common. The snowy setting is a nice touch.

78. Hast seen the white beluga?!

79. First shark Moby-Dick I ever saw and during my first week on Tumblr even. The nostalgia is real, shipmates.

80. Cool scene. Where is it from?

81. Come on! This is a fucking Wordsworth's edition!

82. My sentiments exactly.

83. No, it isn't.

84. At first I seriously thought this was some interesting modern sci-fi/fantasy take on Moby-Dick. Nope.

85. At least the person who did this one bothered to give it a traditional nautical flair.

86. The ocean is canon.

87. *screaming shark mode*

SHOULD NEVER HAVE SURFACED

88. Someone's dad is balancing on top of a fire breathing eel whilst ravens are flying around and a poor guy has dark thoughts in the bottom right corner and... I dunno, man. "Whaling voyage turns fatal obsession" apparently. Moby-Dick the Prequel?

89. Whoa, dude!! I know you're angry, but holy shit!

90. "Captain Ahab? He went that way. Me? Just your average cliché 18th century pirate. If you don't mind me asking, sir, what sort of creature are you?"

91. By "annotated" they mean the truth about Wild Bill Hickok's one time side gig as a whaler. There's a fan fiction idea for ya.

92. What in the everloving AI fuck is happening here?

93. Friends, your guesses are as good as mine.

94. In the early 2020s, the ghost of Melville Herman set out to find the ghost of Moby Dick.

95. I guess we never learned what Ahab's dad died from back in the 18th century. Runs in the family and all that.

96. ?????????

97. If you download a public domain work to sell on Amazon for a possible extra buck, taking one minute to check the basic plot before slapping a stock image on it for a cover will be an actual long term investment.

98. "Lol! U overbite!"

99. Well, he is clearly a zombie whale, so maybe this is the sequel then?

100. And thus endeth MOBY D CK.

[joels-shitty-puns]

Could I make a request please?

Either a Joel or Pedro x Reader, where he is head over heels for the reader who is really bubbly and sweet and happy and a mom friend for everyone but who is oblivious to any romantic overtures whatsoever? And where Joel or Pedro catch them crying for the first time ever and they try and hide it and go back to cooking for the friend group or whatever and Joel/Pedro get the reader to open up about what made them cry and essentially it's that someone turned them down on a dating app and it's just further confirmation that the reader will never find love or actually be a mom? Plus-sized reader preferred but definitely not required? And your choice on if it's smutty or not.

I've been reading your plus sized reader x Pedro series and loving it!!! So much emotion and genuine positivity that I couldn't help but ask for more when I felt a bit down about this today.

All my best!

Dear @jenniferpendragon,

Hi!!! I've never had a request before, I didn't know what to do with myself. Thank you. And thank you so much for your kind words about my musician fic! I'm so glad people like it.

I'm sorry you were feeling down today. If by "this" you mean you experienced the dating app situation, I'm so sorry. Love is out there for you. I know how hard it is to wait, feeling like nobody wants you, but I know it'll happen. Hang in there. ❤️

I hope you like this fic! I liked your prompt and my mind ran wild. It's way longer than I thought it would be and also I'm unsure about it, but hopefully it makes you feel a little better.

___________

Cookies 'n Scream

Pairing: No-Outbreak!Joel Miller x Plus-sized!Reader

Word count: 4.3k

Warnings: 18+ ONLY!! MDNI. Poor body image, fat shaming, food guilt, food mentions, unprotected P in V, oral, kissing, fingering, pregnancy mention, baby making sex (?), I think that's all of it but if I missed something let me know.

Other stuff: Reader is AFAB. In case it isn't clear, italics almost always are the reader's inner thoughts!

This is the first smut I've ever written and published, yikes. Hope it's decent.

__________

"Look what I bought today," you chimed in a sing-song voice while waving the DVD in front of Joel. 

"No way. Zombie Slayer 6?!" Joel and Tommy yelled in unison.

"Yep! You know it!" you beamed. "I say tonight we pop this bad boy in. Tomorrow's Halloween, it's perfect."

"YES!" chimed in Sarah and Ellie, Joel's daughter and adopted daughter, roughly the same ages in their early teens.

"Absolutely not! You two are too young for this gore, you'll be up for weeks." Maria pointedly gave an eyebrow to her husband Tommy. "You guys watch the movie, I'll take the kids and we have a girl's night. We can watch Practical Magic and make cookies. Then tomorrow we'll all go trick-or-treating." The girls were pleased with this compromise and began running up to their bedrooms, chatting frantically about their costumes and which houses were allegedly going to have full-size candy bars this year.

"Really? Zombie movies? They're just kids. They aren't old enough to deal with that kind of thing," Maria said to you, judging your lack of parenting skills.

"Sorry…" you said sheepishly.

Truthfully, Halloween was your favorite holiday and always has been. You loved the spooky aspect of it, but you also loved that you could be anyone you wanted, if only for a night. For once you weren't just "the fat girl" or whatever other mean things people thought about you. You could be Wonder-Woman, or Ariel, the Grim Reaper, or a ghost. You could even eat all the sugary snacks you wanted and nobody questioned it, because Halloween was a time to indulge in candy.

If there's one thing you're sad you didn't get to enjoy on Halloween, it was the thought of being with someone you love. You'd always wanted someone to dress up in a couples costume together. Or go to a pumpkin patch for a cute little date and pick pumpkins together. You'd even dreamed about someday having a little pumpkin of your own. Picking out a little baby costume, taking them out door to door while they tried to say "trick or treat" but didn't quite know how to say such big words yet. The thought of them getting spooked by a scary decoration and running back to their daddy's arms. Your handsome brave husband, holding them close and shushing them, rubbing their little back to make it all okay. Finally the three of you would go home, tuck the little one in, sort through the candy and maybe take some for the parent tax. Then you'd flop down on the bed together before sharing a different kind of treat.

Knocking you out of your daydream, the girls ran down the stairs, backpacks on their backs, still loudly chatting about Halloween. You sighed, Maria taking the kids out towards her house.

Tommy clapped his hands together excitedly and grabbed his phone and keys. "I'm picking us up a pizza. You two better not start this damn movie without me," he warned, gesturing with his fingers from his eyes to yours and then across to his brother's before ducking out the door. You laughed and headed towards the kitchen, starting to make a quick batch of cookies before Tommy returned. Joel stood awkwardly trying to help, but mainly was just sneaking bites of dough. "Knock it off Joel! There won't be any cookies left with you around." You elbowed him while he popped another glob into his mouth with a laugh.

You rolled your eyes while he argued with you. "Whatever. My brother doesn't need these cookies anyway. He doesn't deserve your bakin', darlin'." He ate more dough.

You couldn't help but feel your chest flutter with butterflies at his nickname, but you tried to ignore them. "Oh yeah, and what about me?" You pouted up at him. "Don't I deserve any cookies?" 

He put his finger on his lip as if deep in thought. "Hmmm… I dunno darlin'. Not sure if I could handle you if you get much sweeter." He winked.

"But I guess you deserve some too.." he plopped a wad of dough into your mouth, running his finger on your lip as he pulled his hand away. 

You smiled, cheeks feeling warm, and chewing the soft, sugary dough.

"Oh, Joel. You're too much.." you avoided his eyes, looking down at the mixer and pretending to be busy with the cookies. 

Why can't I get a man like Joel? You thought to yourself.

Two years ago, you had moved into your new house and met your neighbors, Tommy and Maria, Maria still very pregnant at the time. The three of you became fast friends and it wasn't long before you met Tommy's brother Joel. You were instantly enamored with him. His curly brown hair, mixed with silvery gray streaks, and those deep, gorgeous chocolate brown eyes. Although he could be a grump at times, it was mainly with his brother or his job, and he never showed it towards you. To you he was as sweet as the cookies you were eating.

You instantly developed a little crush on him and it seemed like he was over at his brother's house, or yours, more often than not. The two of you spent time together alone as well, watching movies, talking, doing whatever. Things felt so simple with him, and you knew he would always be there if you needed help with anything. With him, you never felt fat. You never felt ugly. You didn't feel self-conscious. You were just you. He was just him. 

As your friendship progressed, your crush developed quickly into love. But you knew deep down there was no way he could ever feel the same. He was too handsome and charming to ever go for a woman like you, so you pushed down your feelings as best as you could, and even tried some dating apps to try and find someone else to fill the empty space in your heart.

What you didn't know was that Joel was absolutely head-over-heels, smitten with you, from the moment he laid eyes on you at his brother's backyard barbecue. Sure he loved his brother, but nobody wants to spend that much time at their sibling's house. He came over constantly, hoping to see you, until eventually you became close enough that he didn't have to make a scene at his brother's house to get your attention. He could just go to yours. 

Tommy constantly teased him about it, and Maria couldn't help but notice the way you looked at Joel either. Even the kids could tell. The girls loved you like a mother, though you'd never see it. It seemed that it was obvious to everyone but you and him. Joel would flirt, try to gently touch you, be sweet, but you never picked up on it. Although you never pushed away his attempts, you never seemed to reciprocate either, so Joel just figured you didn't like him that way. But he couldn't help flirting, touching, staring at you. And if you didn't protest, he didn't plan to stop. He couldn't if he tried.

While the two of you talked, the cookies, what was left of them, baked in the oven. Finally Tommy came in, two large pizzas in hand. "Now I better not see that movie playing! I warned you two."

He noticed the black television screen and wandered to the kitchen. "Good. You waited for me- oh man! You made cookies? My favorite," he said with grabby hands towards the first pan, still cooling on the stove. 

"Now, don't spoil your dinner. You just brought pizza home, let's eat." You shot a knowing look with Joel after the two of you were practically full already with cookie dough.

"Fine. Whatever, mom." Tommy took a plate from you, sliding a piece of pizza onto his plate and heading towards the couch.

_____ 

An hour into the movie, you were all full with pizza and dessert, Tommy in the sofa chair on the side, you and Joel settled into the love seat. You leaned towards his right side, his right arm over the back of your seat. A blanket covered the two of you, and his left hand was crossed over his lap on top of the blanket, hoping you would hold it if you got scared. Whenever a jump scare did happen, you didn't grab for him, but at the slightest flinch, he would palm your knee, rubbing his thumb over you to calm you down. Such a nice guy. I'm so lucky to have him as my friend.

Once when Joel did this, Tommy caught the sight out of the corner of his vision. He rolled his eyes and gave a gagging face. Joel gave him a quick angry brother stare that made Tommy turn back toward the film.

At some point, you felt your pocket buzz. Peering under the blanket at your screen, you saw the little heart notification, letting you know it was one of the dating apps you downloaded. Heart beating faster, you excused yourself saying you wanted to get a drink. Upon entering the kitchen, you quickly opened the notification with shaky hands. You had sent out at least a half dozen matches to people, all turned down the second they saw your profile. The most recent had sent a message as well. "Seriously? Ur gross. Good luck finding anyone to date you lmao." Tears welled up in your eyes as you looked down at your body and pinched the fat of your stomach. You had four apps and had sent countless requests, matches, and swipes. Even guys who were big themselves had turned you down. You looked in the kitchen at the pile of cookies, the mostly empty pizza boxes, the bowl of Halloween candy. If the boys weren't here, you'd toss it all in the trash. You suddenly felt self-conscious. Your clothes were tight, your body was heavy and flabby, and you almost felt nauseous. The first sting of tears welled at your eyes, and you dashed off to your bedroom, hoping to quell these emotions before anyone would notice. You weren't ready to go back to the living room.

After a couple minutes, Joel had paused the TV to wait for your return. "She probably had to pee or something. Said she was gettin' a drink." Tommy nodded and the two of them talked. After about ten minutes had passed, Joel began to worry. Even Tommy began to wonder and finally said "where'd your girlfriend end up? It's been a while."

Joel shook his head at Tommy's name for you, but got up off the couch. "I'll go see what's up." He walked into the kitchen and didn't see you, so he kept walking through the house before finally starting upstairs. "Darlin'? You okay?" He still didn't see you, but upon approaching your bedroom door, he heard a soft sniffle.

He gently tapped on the door with his index finger's knuckle. "Sweetheart?" Your sniffling stopped and you quickly wiped your eyes, trying to hide your tears as he slowly opened the door.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to make you guys wait, I was just changing into some comfier clothes." He noticed you had switched from your favorite dress to some sweats and a baggy hoodie. You still looked beautiful to him, though he was a bit confused at the change. "I'll be right down, why don't you go start the movie again." He crossed the room to sit next to you on the bed. "I'm not going to start the movie. What's wrong, darlin'?" 

You pouted, trying to choke back more tears, but his gentle brown eyes made it hard to keep your emotions inside. Joel cupped your cheek, running his thumb gently under your eyes and catching a tear that made it past your walls. You'd never cried in front of Joel before. You made it a goal of yours to try and hide any sad emotions from people, especially him.

"I don't want to ruin the night, Joel. It's nothing. Let's just go back downstairs. I'll be right behind you."

Joel stood up and nodded his head, walking out the door and closing it gently behind him. 

You didn't think he'd actually leave. But it shouldn't surprise you. Who wouldn't leave you?

An aggressive sob ripped through your chest.

_____

Joel walked downstairs, joining his brother.

"You find her?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah I did. Look, she's not feeling too good right now. I think it's best we call it a night."

"Ah, man. She sick or somethin'?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah somethin' like that. I'll stay and take care of her. Can you maybe keep the kids tonight?" Joel answered, ushering Tommy out the door. Tommy gave him a look, but nodded and walked out the door towards his own house.

Joel closed the door behind him and walked back upstairs, stopping to grab a glass of water for you on the way. He knocked gently again before entering your bedroom, and you turned around, surprised to see him. "Joel? I thought you were watching the movie?"

"Nah, darlin' I could never leave you when you're upset. I sent Tommy home and he's gonna watch the girls tonight. Here, I brought you some water." He sat the water on the nightstand. "Now, you wanna tell me why you're cryin'?" He sat next to you, rubbing your back gently.

You took a sip of the water, set it back down on the nightstand, and sighed, looking down at your hands in your lap which held your cell phone.

"Well, I uh…" you cleared your throat gently. "I recently joined some dating apps..."

Joel's heart took a slight stab, but he pushed it down. You're the one needing comfort, not him.

"I guess, I dunno… I know it's kinda silly, but I've been feeling kinda lonely and y'know... I'm getting older. I'm running out of time to have babies. But, I really just want someone to call mine. Someone to laugh with and go on dates with and…" you tapered off, not wanting to admit your desire for cuddles, kisses, and love-making. 

"Oh, sweet girl," he held you in his arms. "That's nothing to feel shy or silly about. It's natural to want those things. But why are you cryin'? Did somethin' happen?"

"I just… I haven't gotten any matches. Everyone I've sent anything to has denied me, and-" you sniffled and Joel pulled you tighter. "Shh, shh, sweet girl, it's okay. Those people on those apps, they don't know what they're missin' out on. They don't see how beautiful and sweet y'are. They wouldn't know how to treat you right anyway. If they can't see how wonderful you are, they don't deserve to be with ya anyway."

"Thank you Joel…" you muttered. "But… it's not just that. I got a message when we were watching the movie and I went into the kitchen to read it, and-" you handed him your phone with a sniffle. Joel pulled away from you, holding the phone back a bit to read it with his bad vision. As he read it, his jaw and fists clenched. It may have been the first time Joel saw you cry, but it was also the first time Joel got angry when it was just the two of you.

"If I knew where this asshole little boy lived, I'd go over there right now and kick his ass for saying something like that to you" he seethed. "I can't believe anyone would say something like that to you."

You picked at a hangnail on your finger, still staring at your lap. Finally Joel took a breath and looked at you again. "Darlin'. You don't - you don't believe that guy do you?" He asked while rubbing your back again.

"Maybe…" you felt tears run down your cheeks. "I mean, he's right, isn't he? I'm not attractive or skinny. Nobody wants me, not even any of these guys on this app. Even the guys who aren't skinny don't want me either."

"Sweetheart. That's just not true. Look at me-" he lifted your chin with his left hand, right arm still holding you close. You hesitantly met his gaze, your wet eyes looking into his gentle browns. "Those men, if you even wanna call them that, they wouldn't know what beautiful was if it slapped them across the face. You're the most beautiful, sweet, funny woman I've ever met. Any man would be lucky to have you." He took a deep breath before admitting, "I'd be lucky to have you."

"What-?" You interrupted him.

"Darlin'... I never want to push your boundaries, but you don't see how often I flirt with you, tease you, and touch you? You don't see how smitten I am with you?" You frowned, brows furrowing as you picked through your memory. "I thought you were just a nice guy. Just a friend. I didn't… I didn't think you could ever like me as more than a friend, so I just ignored the butterflies I got around you." 

You searched his eyes, waiting for a joke, or your alarm to go off and wake you up from this dream.

"Sweetheart, I've been in love with you since just about the time I saw you walk across my brother's lawn towards me. I just figured y'wasn't interested in me that way."

"Joel," you laughed. "I've felt the same way."

He smiled, once again tilting your chin, yet this time pressing his lips to yours. The kiss was gentle, but held so much love and meaning, that the two of you couldn't help but smile in the middle of it. He pulled away, "and by the way, y'aren't old either. If anyone's old here, it's me. But if you want babies, I'll give you all the babies you want. But you already got two girls who love you. Sometimes I think they even love y'more than me," he laughed.

You smiled at him and nodded "I do love those girls like they're my own. But I would still like a little baby someday too."

He kissed you again, more passionately this time, licking your lip until you opened up and let your tongues dance together. He pulled away, running his nose across your jaw before stopping at your ear. "Only one way to give you that, darlin'." He gently bit your earlobe before kissing down your neck. 

You sighed. "Joel… please."

"Please, what darlin'?" He purred, kissing your clavicle through your baggy shirt. 

"Please, make love to me" you answered breathlessly, tipping your head back so he could better access your neck. 

"Take these baggy clothes off then, baby. Lemme see you," he gave you one last kiss on the lips before the two of you began undressing, stopping every few seconds to share grabby kisses. Once undressed, he pulled you into him and kissed you deeply, your hands on his chest. With a swift move, he tumbled the two of you sideways so that you were now on the bed, him on his back and you straddling his hips. You leaned down, kissing his lips, while the slight movement against his waist caused you both to moan at the feeling. "Baby I've wanted this for so long. Let me take care of you," Joel whispered, thumb stroking your cheek. He flipped the two of you over, slithering down towards your waist, where you spread your legs for him. He groaned, looking at how evident it was you wanted him, pumping his already hard cock a few times. Flattening himself on his stomach, he gently touched your thighs and began to kiss your legs. "Y'sure you still want this, baby?" 

"Yes Joel, please" you answered, tense with anticipation. Without a beat, he tipped his head down, licking a stripe up your slit. You let out a sigh, hips bucking toward his face. "I know baby, I know." His low timbre vibrated through your core. He gave a quick peck to your clit before swirling his tongue around it and heading downwards, licking between your folds while his nose continued to put pressure on your clit.

His fingers slid through, touching your entrance in a questioning way. "Yes, Joel, please" you cried, wiggling closer, your hands tugging at his hair. 

With your pleas, he inserted his finger, curling upwards before adding a second and finally hitting that spot inside you that made your breathing catch in your chest. He stroked, while still licking gently, occasionally sucking on your clit. Before long you were gripping the sheets with one hand, his hair in your other, as you finally tumbled into your orgasm. "So beautiful, baby" he coaxed, licking you through the waves of pleasure. 

"Think you're ready for me?" He looked up at you over your plush tummy. "Yes, Joel, please I'm so ready."

He stalked over your body, kissing his way up. He kissed your vulva, "I love this," he purred. He kissed your stomach, running his hands across your sides. "I love this," he licked. "I love these," he massaged your breasts, kissing each nipple. "I love you" he finally looked you in the eyes, kissing you on the lips deeply. 

"I love you too." You kissed him back, running your hands through his messy hair, down his broad shoulders and back. His hand snaked around, grabbing his cock and giving a few strokes through your folds until he was wet enough. Finally he pushed against your entrance, slowly entering you, giving you enough time to adjust to his size. Your fingers clawed at his back as he finally pushed all the way in, the two of you sighing in relief. 

Your body adjusted, and with a kiss to his nose, you prompted him to move. "Okay Joel, I'm ready."

Slowly, he began to thrust, pulling slowly out and gently pushing back in, eventually picking up to a pleasurable pace. He kissed you like his lips couldn't be away for longer than a few seconds, and it didn't take much before you were barreling towards your second release of the evening. "I'm almost there, Joel" you kissed, grabbing him around his back. "Me too, baby. Come for me." His thrusts were getting sloppy, but you could tell he was holding himself back for you. His fingers drifted over your clit, giving a few circular strokes and causing you to shudder around him, your eyes slamming shut with a moan. He followed right behind you, a couple messy strokes before pumping into you, filling you up and working you both through it. As the two of you came down from your high, he kissed you passionately, holding you like you were the only thing in the world. 

The two of you lay on your sides, you snuggled into his chest, his chin resting on your head before eventually he became soft and slipped out of you. You both sighed at the loss, but held each other until you rolled out to use the restroom and clean up. When you returned from the bathroom, you asked if he wanted to stay and he said yes. 

You lent him an extra toothbrush and the two of you stood side by side, brushing your teeth and stealing glances at each other in the mirror with matching lovesick smiles. Things felt domestic and comfortable as the two of you walked back to bed, sharing soft kisses snuggled to each other. Having completely forgotten why you were upset earlier, you fell asleep curled into his arms, full of love and hope for the future with a man you loved. 

_____

The next morning, you woke up to the smell of coffee brewing and breakfast cooking. You strolled down the stairs and saw Joel, wearing just his boxers and tee shirt, grabbing a slice of toast from the toaster. 

At the sound of your steps, he turned and smiled softly. "Morning, baby."

"Good morning, handsome," you replied, pressing a kiss to his lips. 

"I could get used to that," Joel replied, squeezing your ass and pulling his face away to look in your eyes.

"Joel! You devil," you giggled, gently smacking his arm. "You ain't seen nothing yet, baby" he nibbled your jaw.

After the two of you ate breakfast, you shared a shower, and he threw on a pair of extra clothes he keeps in his car. It would be hard to keep his visit a secret from his brother with his car still in your driveway, but as far as Tommy was concerned, you were sick and Joel was taking care of you.

The two of you made the walk over to Tommy's house to get the girls and participate in Halloween activities for the day. Walking in the door, Tommy pulled you into a hug. "Hey, we were worried about you! Are you feeling better? Were you sick?"

You looked up at Joel, sharing a knowing look. "I was just a little upset about something, but I'm feeling much better now," you smiled. 

Tommy gasped. "FINALLY!!!!" He threw his hands in the air while Maria grinned. 

"Cough it up Tommy!" Sarah held out her hand to her uncle. "You know I had October." He handed her a five dollar bill.

"You bet money on us?" Joel asked in disbelief, rubbing your back. 

"Obviously. You guys have both been pining since you first met," Ellie answered, rolling her eyes. "It was too entertaining for us to interfere though," Sarah added with a smirk.

You stared down at your shoes, feeling embarrassed, but Joel grabbed your hand. You smiled up at him and it felt like everything was aligned. "Yep, we finally took the step. And now I get to do this whenever I want," Joel pulled you into his arms for a deep kiss. 

"UGH. GROSS, DAD." Ellie and Sarah groaned, walking out of the room.

You both laughed, sharing a smile and heading towards the group to get ready for Halloween with your family.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 57 (Reaping Rewards?)

The morning after Heather and Conrad's trip to the lighthouse, he returned from an early morning run with Gord and checked the mail. (That mailbox came with the house in the gallery and I feel great leaving it.) Along with the usual collection of bills and flyers for the fish market down at the docks, a strange newsletter, advertising a so-called "Recipe for Life," had been delivered.

Heather put down the trifold from the Ambrosia Society. She'd never heard of it. "It's a little strange we were just talking about ghosts and unfinished business, and the next day a newsletter arrives talking about ambrosia," she mused.

They weren't sure whether to be intrigued or disturbed - perhaps a little of both - but they couldn't deny their curiosity. Conrad looked them up on his phone. "They look legit, and I can check them out on the police computers on Monday - but you're almost a master gardener and you're already a master cook. Sorta seems like a challenge you could meet without even trying."

"I could learn to make ambrosia treats along with the Recipe for Life, as the newsletter calls it. I've stuck to wellness treats so far, but lots of pet owners ask about ambrosia. Maybe ambrosia treats could help you track down that dog you heard at the lighthouse. And knowing how to make ambrosia could definitely come in handy if the Landgraab curse strikes again."

"What does it say we have to do?"

"We need to get this thing called a Grimophone, then plant a lily and a snapdragon. I should ask my mother for help but I think whoever sent the newsletter eventually wants us to graft and grow a death flower in exchange for the recipe. She harvests them sometimes and taught me how when I was younger; she can sell them for a lot of money, but we don't have a lot of indoor space and the plants are seasonal. We'd probably have to use the hall outside Ash's room."

"Not that I think it's a great idea to give a toddler a bunch of thorny plants, and you know what I think about the curse, but if you load up Ash with a bundle of death flowers, no curse would ever be able to touch him. He'd need at least nine lives," said Conrad.

"Maybe when he's older." She frowned. "I'd rather not scare him or lie to him about what they're for. But doing this could help keep him safe. That's all I want."

Despite their busy lifestyles, they were more attracted to the challenge set forth in the newsletter with each passing thought.

"I don't mind cooking more, learning the recipe myself. I meant it when I said I'd do anything to keep you and Ash safe, but we're a team, and you're not going to do this alone," he said. "It's dangerous messing around with death."

Visiting her family in Henford, Heather picked up some flower seeds from her expert botanist mother and asked her sister-in-law, a walking Simpedia on all kinds of topics, about the Grimophone.

"My mother has one," said Cass. "Anything paranormal, you name it. She bought it."

"What does it do?"

"It plays any music you want, but the real trick is it'll help you summon the Grim Reaper. If you go see my mother, she'd be happy to show it to you."

After work one rainy evening, Heather and Conrad stopped by to visit Bella Goth at her mansion in Cavalier Cove. Through her years spent obsessing over the supernatural, she'd collected various items that now took up space in her attic.

Heather was nervous. "And summoning the Grim Reaper will help us learn to make ambrosia? It won't do anything else...like unleash death and destruction?"

"From Grimmie? Hardly! He's just a courier. Jokes he wears bicycle shorts under all those black robes."

"You know the Grim Reaper?"

"He was the last person to see my brother alive, so I had to find a way to talk to him. But he was so kind. We struck up a nice friendship."

"According to the newsletter, we'll probably have to make friends with him, too."

"I bet Grimmie asked the society to set the challenge just so he could make a bunch of new friends! He knows plenty of people know how to make ambrosia, but he wishes people were less afraid of him. Culling sims all day can be a lonely existence, you know."

Bella led them upstairs and pulled out her old Grimophone, blowing off the dust to reveal a music player made of matte black steel. "If you want, I could pull out the seance table and you could ask the spirits about ambrosia. That should help you learn the recipe in no time."

Conrad stepped forward. "Is it safe?"

"I haven't used it in years so it might be a little shaky, but the spirits who stick around to answer simple questions are harmless. Mostly departed mentors who miss teaching."

She sat with Heather and Conrad at the small round table draped in purple and gold cloth. She blew away more dust, and Heather's allergies made her sneeze.

"Watcher bless you," said Bella. "It's especially important to say such a thing if you sneeze around a seance table. We don't need any spirits stealing your soul!"

"This is a bad idea. Heather, maybe we should think more about this."

"Conrad, it's okay. I still have my soul," Heather assured him. "We're here for Ash, so we might as well ask about the ambrosia."

Bella showed them how to convene with the spirits with their palms open on the table. She chanted a rhyme that sounded faintly Omiscan, and suddenly a blue flame flickered to life before their eyes.

Floating above the table, the flame bent it's shape into a hoop, like a tunnel for spirits and sims to commune on one plane. Heather seemed possessed, swaying with the pulsing circle above their heads as jumbled Simlish spewed from her lips.

"What's happening to her?" Conrad was frightened, but Bella smiled warmly.

"She's fine. They're just having a conversation."

"Make it stop!"

"They'll only be a few minutes. If I pull her out before they're finished, she might not be able to get in touch with them again. They think it's rude if you just leave."

"Is she even conscious?"

"In a way."

"Could she get...stuck?"

"Oh, that's rare!" She laughed while Conrad's heartrate quickened.

"Mrs. Goth, if anything happens to her in there-"

"What's going on?"

Bella's son, Alexander, walked nonchalantly into the room. The flaming blue portal to another dimension didn't phase him.

"Heather's travelling with some of my old gear, sweetheart."

"Is this that newsletter thing?"

"This was my idea," she admitted. "But Heather's fine."

"Do you think you'll be done before Lydia gets back from spin class? This might freak her out a bit."

Finally, disappearing as rapidly as it first appeared, the blue light released Heather from her trance. "Wow!" she breathed, lowering her hands and reacquainting herself with her surroundings. "That was nuts! How long was I out?"

"A few minutes, just like I expected." Bella shot Conrad a satisfied grin while his shoulders dropped in relief.

"I just went to school and learned about ambrosia for three days. I feel like I could make ambrosia treats in my sleep! They said we can only learn the Recipe for Life by following the instructions as they're given, and the next thing we need to do is summon the Grim Reaper on the Grimophone."

"Did you want mine?"

"You don't need it?"

"Grim and I are such good friends, I can just call him on my phone. Go ahead, have fun, but it drops a fair bit of soot in the air from the horn. Just a warning!"

When they returned home, Conrad held her close, still unnerved by what he witnessed. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Conrad, I'm fine," she insisted. "It wasn't a big deal. It was school. Nothing dangerous."

"If we use Mrs. Goth's table again, you're not travelling or whatever she called it. I will. I can't let anything happen to you."

She didn't mind his protective stance despite her independence. He always made her feel safe, and she wanted him to see where she'd been so he'd know the place was nothing to fear. But they were both exhausted by the events in Bella's attic, and they decided to wait to use the borrowed Grimophone.

For now, they'd plant their seeds and wait to see if the Ambrosia Society sent another newsletter. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

NOTE: As a master vet Heather knew how to make ambrosia treats. She's had a couple in reserve for a long time, but I'm pretending they're not there yet. She hasn't sold or used one because I've been plotting this paranormal storyline and wasn't sure when to bring it in, but Reapers Rewards presented a great opportunity, especially with death on their minds so recently with Ash's accident, and Heather constantly trying to improve her clinic's rating. Yesterday's post was always meant as a soft launch, but it wasn't going to get this supernatural for a while!

The storyline is actually for Conrad more than Heather, but these two are an excellent team so I don't mind that I accidentally sent Heather through the flame portal and not Conrad. He was legit upset, raising his voice to Bella while it was happening, so that stuff wrote itself and proved he's as incredible as we all think he is. Plus Heather's the one with the skills that will hopefully make this challenge a breeze, let me collect quasi-free stuff and write while Conrad gets some skills up, so they're definitely going to do this one together.

[rei-inari]

pspsp hii fellow grim fan! got any hcs?

hiiii fellow Grimmy lover ! ⸜( ´ ꒳ ` )⸝ Ohh that's a good question, I usually keep these things in my head because I'm too shy to post anything but let's see. A lot of my hcs involve my MC personally so I hope that's okay. ☼ MC is female; artist; pet cat named Garrus; lives in Tokyo.

Spoilers below.

Casper's favorite color is black; she teases him that black isn't a color so he just huffs and says red.

Casper listens pretty much exclusively to heavy metal. She introduces him to melodic death metal and it's all he ever plays... except during Christmas time where he plays that one song on repeat, constantly, driving her insane.

He can't hold his alcohol, like, at all. He gets very handsy when drunk.

He's always bringing her new skin care products to try, he refuses to give up until she has a skin care routine that consists of more than "a bar of soap and sometimes sunscreen.. when she remembers."

He brings her a new bouquet of flowers every time the previous one wilts. They are always sunflowers with a mix in of seasonal flowers.

Casper loves cute things, he will never admit to it (he can't lie so), but that cute little axolotl plush sitting on their bed is proof enough.

Speaking of cute things, she introduces him to gachapon. At first he scoffs at it, "How could mortals be so easily assumed by such silly trinkets?" She rolls her eyes at him and puts a few coins into the machine. Out comes a silly little plastic egg, opening it reveals a tiny little clear plastic axolotl wearing a hat. She teases him as she puts it in his hand as they leave. There are 5 other types of axolotl figures in that machine. Later he comes back and blows a shit ton of money trying to win the rest. She has to take his wallet before he spends all his money.

She bought him a cute pair of light pink and red socks with chibi axolotl printed on them one day on her way home from work. He refuses to wear them but more often than not she'll look over as he's taking off his boots and there they are.

They have matching phone charms.

She felt really bad about teasing him about his use of kaomoji so whenever they're apart for long she'll text him ヾ( > ◡ < )ツ.｡*☆ and it usually just escalates from there.

He's very good at house work; cleaning, laundry, etc. Except cooking. He sucks at cooking. His diet of cup noodles is concerning.

He has a sweet tooth.

In any of the endings where he defects from the reaper organization he gets a new job as a programmer. He's completely self taught which he boasts about often.

Casper has hardly ever interacted with animals before, let alone lived with one. So when he moves in he gets to work researching everything to know about cats. He starts to play with Garrus daily, buy him little toys here and there, sneaks him treats. He pouts when she won't let him feed him breakfast/dinner that day.

He can't draw, but that doesn't stop him from leaving little sticky notes with his doodles scribbled on them in her sketchbook when he knows she's taking it to work. She hangs the post it notes on the wall in her cubicle.

Casper reads A LOT. He reads almost every night before bed. Mostly he reads tomes and texts that relate to the underworld or his job, but occasionally a smutty romance novel from the mortal world finds it's way into his hands.

He works out in his room daily.

Haaa that ended up being a lot longer than I thought, but the Casper brainrot is real so 🤭💕

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

By Thom Hartmann

Back in 1967, a friend of mine and I hitchhiked from East Lansing, Michigan to San Francisco to spend the summer in Haight-Ashbury. One ride dropped us off in Sparks, Nevada, and within minutes of putting our thumbs out a city police car stopped and arrested us for vagrancy.

The cop, a young guy with an oversized mustache who was apologetic for the city’s policy, drove us to the desert a mile or so beyond the edge of town, where we hitchhiked standing by a distressing light-post covered with graffiti reading “39 hours without a ride,” “going on our third day,” and “anybody got any water?”

Vagrancy laws were so 20th century.

Today, the US Supreme Court heard a case involving efforts by the City of Grants Pass, Oregon to keep homeless people off its streets and out of its parks and other public property. The city had tried a number of things when the problem began to explode in the last year of the Trump administration, as The Oregonian newspaper notes:

“They discussed putting them in their old jail, creating an unwanted list, posting signs at the city border or driving people out of town... Currently, officers patrol the city nearly every day, Johnson said, handing out [$295] citations to people who are camping or sleeping on public property or for having too many belongings with them.”

The explosion in housing costs has triggered two crises: homelessness and inflation. The former is harming the livability of our cities and towns, and the Fed’s reaction to the latter threatens an incumbency-destroying recession just as we head into what will almost certainly be the most important election in American history.

The problem with housing inflation is so severe today that without it the nation’s overall core CPI inflation rate would be in the neighborhood of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s 2% goal.

Graphic based on BLM data and interpretation by The Financial Times

Both homelessness and today’s inflation are the result of America — unlike many other countries — allowing housing to become a commodity that can be traded and speculated in by financial markets and overseas investors.

Forty-three years into America’s Reaganomics experiment, homelessness has gone from a problem to a crisis. Rarely, though, do you hear that Wall Street — a prime beneficiary of Reagan’s deregulation campaign — is helping cause it.

32% seems to be the magic threshold, according to research funded by the real estate listing company Zillow. When neighborhoods hit rent rates in excess of 32% of neighborhood income, homelessness explodes.

And we’re seeing it play out right in front of us in cities across America because a handful of Wall Street billionaires want to make a killing.

It wasn’t always this way in America.

Housing prices have spun out of control since my dad bought his house in 1957 when I was six years old. He got a Veteran’s Administration-subsidized loan and picked up the brand-new 3-bedroom-1-bath ranch house my 3 brothers and I grew up in, in suburban south Lansing, Michigan. It cost him $13,000, which was about twice what he made every year working a good union job in a tool-and-die shop.

When my dad bought his home in the 1950s the median price of a single-family house was 2.2 times the median American family income. Today, the Fed says, the median house sells for $479,500 while the median American personal income is $41,000 — a ratio of more than ten-to-one between housing costs and annual income.

As the Zillow study notes:

“Across the country, the rent burden already exceeds the 32% [of median income] threshold in 100 of the 386 markets included in this analysis….”

And wherever housing prices become more than three times annual income, homelessness stalks like the grim reaper.

We’re told that America’s cities have seen this increase in housing costs since the 1950s in some part because of the growing wealth and population of this country. There were, after all, 168 million people in the US the year my dad bought his house; today there are 330 million.

And it’s true that we haven’t been building enough new housing, particularly low-income housing, as 43 years of neoliberal Reaganomics have driven down wages and income for working-class people relative to all of their expenses while stopping the construction of virtually any new subsidized low-income housing.

But that’s not the only, or even the main dynamic, driving housing prices into the stratosphere — and, as a consequence, the crisis in homelessness — over the past decade. You can thank speculation for much of that.

As the Zillow-funded study noted:

“This research demonstrates that the homeless population climbs faster when rent affordability — the share of income people spend on rent — crosses certain thresholds. In many areas beyond those thresholds, even modest rent increases can push thousands more Americans into homelessness.”

So how did we get here?

It started with a wave of foreign buyers over the past 30 years (particularly from China, Canada, Mexico, India and Colombia) who, in just the one single year of 2020, picked up over 154,000 homes as their way of parking money in America. Which is part of why there are over 20 times more empty houses in America than there are homeless people.

As Marketwatch noted in a 2015 article titled “The Danger of Foreign Buyers Gobbling Up American Homes”:

“Unusual high appreciation of the aforementioned urban centers is due to the ever growing influx of foreign buyers — mostly wealthy Chinese — who view American residential real estate as the safest investment commodity. … According to a National Realtors Association survey, the Chinese spent $22 billion on U.S. housing in 12 months through March 2014…. [Other foreign buyers primarily include] Canadians, British, Indians and Mexicans.”

But foreign investment has been down for the past few years; what’s taken over and is really driving home prices today are massive, multi-billion-dollar US-based funds that sweep into neighborhoods and buy everything available, bidding against families and driving up housing prices.

As noted in a Wall Street Journal article titled “Meet Your New Landlord: Wall Street,” in just one suburb (Spring Hill) of Nashville, “In all of Spring Hill, four firms … own nearly 700 houses … [which] amounts to about 5% of all the houses in town.”

This is the tiniest tip of the iceberg.

“On the first Tuesday of each month,” notes the Journal article about a similar phenomenon in Atlanta, investors “toted duffels stuffed with millions of dollars in cashier’s checks made out in various denominations so they wouldn’t have to interrupt their buying spree with trips to the bank…”

The same thing is happening in cities and suburbs all across America; the investment goliaths use finely-tuned computer algorithms to sniff out houses they can turn into rental properties, making over-market and unbeatable cash bids often within minutes of a house hitting the market.

After stripping neighborhoods of homes families can buy, they then begin raising rents as high as the market will bear.

In the Nashville suburb of Spring Hill, for example, the vice-mayor, Bruce Hull, told the Journal you used to be able to rent “a three bedroom, two bath house for $1,000 a month.” Today, the Journal notes:

“The average rent for 148 single-family homes in Spring Hill owned by the big four [Wall Street investor] landlords was about $1,773 a month…”

Ryan Dezember, in his book Underwater: How Our American Dream of Homeownership Became a Nightmare, describes the story of a family trying to buy a home in Phoenix. Every time they entered a bid, they were outbid instantly, the price rising over and over, until finally the family’s father threw in the towel.

“Jacobs was bewildered,” writes Dezember. “Who was this aggressive bidder?”

Turns out it was Blackstone Group, now the world’s largest real estate investor. At the time they were buying $150 million worth of American houses every week, trying to spend over $10 billion. And that’s just a drop in the overall bucket.

In 2018, corporations bought 1 out of every 10 homes sold in America, according to Dezember, noting that, “Between 2006 and 2016, when the homeownership rate fell to its lowest level in fifty years, the number of renters grew by about a quarter.”

This all really took off around a decade ago, when Morgan Stanley published a 2011 report titled “The Rentership Society,” arguing that — in the wake of the 2008 Bush Housing Crash — snapping up houses and renting them back to people who otherwise would have wanted to buy them could be the newest and hottest investment opportunity for Wall Street’s billionaires and their funds.

Turns out, Morgan Stanley was right. Warren Buffett, KKR, and The Carlyle Group have all jumped into residential real estate, along with hundreds of smaller investment groups, and the National Home Rental Council has emerged as the industry’s premier lobbying group, working to block rent control legislation and other efforts to regulate the industry.

As John Husing, the owner of Economics and Politics Inc., told The Tennessean newspaper:

“What you have are neighborhoods that are essentially unregulated apartment houses. It could be disastrous for the city.”

Meanwhile, as unionization levels here remain among the lowest in the developed world, Reagan’s ongoing war on working people continues to wipe out America’s families.

At the same time that housing prices, both to purchase and to rent, are being driven through the roof by foreign and Wall Street investors, a survey published by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health found that American families are in crisis.

Their study found:

— “Thirty-eight percent (38%) of [all] households across the nation report facing serious financial problems in the previous few months.

— “There is a sharp income divide in serious financial problems, as 59% of those with annual incomes below $50,000 report facing serious financial problems in the past few months, compared with 18% of households with annual incomes of $50,000 or more.

— “These serious financial problems are cited despite 67% of households reporting that in the past few months, they have received financial assistance from the government.

— “Another significant problem for many U.S. households is losing their savings during the COVID-19 outbreak. Nineteen percent (19%) of U.S. households report losing all of their savings during the COVID-19 outbreak and not currently having any savings to fall back on.

— “At the time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction ban expired, 27% of renters nationally reported serious problems paying their rent in the past few months.”

These are not separate issues, and they are driving an explosion in homelessness.

The Zillow study found similarly damning data:

— “Communities where people spend more than 32% of their income on rent can expect a more rapid increase in homelessness.

— “Income growth has not kept pace with rents, leading to an affordability crunch with cascading effects that, for people on the bottom economic rung, increases the risk of homelessness.

— “The areas that are most vulnerable to rising rents, unaffordability, and poverty hold 15% of the U.S. population — and 47% of people experiencing homelessness.”

The Zillow study makes grim reading and is worth checking out. In community after community, when rent prices exceeded 32% of median household income, homelessness exploded. It’s measurable, predictable, and is destroying what’s left of the American working class, particularly minorities.

The loss of affordable homes also locks otherwise middle-class families out of the traditional way wealth is accumulated — through homeownership: Over 61% of all American middle-income family wealth is their home’s equity. And as families are priced out of ownership and forced to rent, they become more vulnerable to long-term economic struggles and homelessness.

Housing is one of the primary essentials of life. Nobody in America should be without it, and for society to work, housing costs must track incomes in a way that makes housing both available and affordable. This requires government intervention in the so-called “free market.”

— Last year, Canada banned most foreign buyers from buying residential property as a way of controlling their housing inflation.

— New Zealand similarly passed its no-foreigners law (except for Singaporeans and Australians) in 2018.

— Thailand requires a minimum investment of $1.2 million and the equivalent of a green card.

— Greece bans most non-EU citizens from buying real estate in most of the country.

— To buy residential housing in Denmark, it must be your primary residence and you must have lived in the country for at least 5 years.

— Vietnam, Austria, Hungary, and Cyprus also heavily restrict who can buy residential property, where, and under what terms.

This isn’t rocket science; the problem could be easily fixed by Congress if there was a genuine willingness to protect our real estate market from the vultures who’ve been circling it for years.

Unfortunately, when Clarence Thomas was the deciding vote to allow billionaires and hedge funds to legally bribe members of Congress in Citizens United, he and his four fellow Republicans opened the floodgates to “contributions” and “gifts” from foreign and Wall Street interests to pay off legislators to ignore the problem.

Because there’s no lobbying group for the interests of average homeowners or the homeless, it’s up to us to raise hell with our elected officials. The number for the Congressional switchboard is 202-224-3121.

If ever there was a time to solve this problem — and regulate corporate and foreign investment in American single-family housing — it’s now.

[thejesterconcept]

Random Shit Said By People in my High School Friend Group

Random quotes from when I was in high school, absolutely no context:

*bursts into musical number about a gourd*

“AMERICA IS NOT A RELIGION!!!”.

“NO beds! We sleep on the floor like real men!”.

“What do you mean that’s a mentally ill amount of fries? Any amount of french fries is mentally ill! Yes, french fries are mentally ill! Have you met a french fry? THAT’S TOXIC MENTAL ILLNESS”.

“Stealing random children is not the way to adopt people.”. “It might be.”.

“She has the capacity to be a MILF.”.

“I think Texas still has the death penalty.”. “Oh, good.”.

*reading history quote* “Each woman must be an attractive object of desire.”. “I’m assuming he didn’t get very many women because of his personality.”.

“You sound like an American.”.

“I want to put her in a blender, but unlovingly.”.

“I’m gonna have such big kidney stones when I’m older. Big, girthy, kidney stones.”.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ALMOST KILLED THEIR CHILD, CONTEXT?”. “Herorine.”.

“Brick! It’s what’s for breakfast!”.

“Those bones are so freaking edible. They look so crunchy, I could bite them, and they’d snap like a twig.”.

“What do you need the corpse for?”. “Food.”.

“Being purple isn’t a disability.”.

“Geez, I've always wanted to be castrated.”.

“CATS HAVE NO CONCEPT OF EGYPT.”.

*cries because Tom Holland is British*

“I’m gonna show them how bad we are at caring for babies *grapples child*”.

“OF COURSE THE GRIM REAPER IS A LESBIAN!”.

“BUCKLE YOUR JORTS HOE!!!!!”.

“That’s not 1NC3ST, that’s CANNA_BAL1SM!”.

“Don’t airfry her, SHE’S ALREADY WHITE!”.

“If I take ibuprofen, we ALL take ibuprofen.”.

“If you bought Taylor Swift’s used toothbrush, it’s our used toothbrush.”.

[major-alenko]

N7 Month Day 5: Turians

Shepard closed her eyes and leaned back against the shuttle’s hull, trying to clear her head. Focus on the mission, she told herself. Land, rescue Primarch Fedorian, and get out. Easier said than done.  Her mind kept straying— back to Earth, Anderson, and the billions the Normandy abandoned as they fled. Back to Kaidan, crumpling on the landing pad at the Archives, unconscious for hours in the medbay, lying in the ICU at Huerta— no. She opened her eyes and sat up straight. A small gasp from Liara brought her to attention.

“Oh,” Liara whispered. “Oh, no. Look at Palaven!” Her eyes were glued to the screen on the wall, looking at the live feeds of the planet burning below them. Tara looked up, her throat tight. The emotional exhaustion of the past few days was catching up to her. A numb sort of horror spread through her body, and she thought of the case of dextro beer she’d optimistically bought on the Citadel. On the off chance we run into Garrus, she thought at the time. It felt foolish, now. He would almost certainly be on Palaven, fighting. And if he wasn’t—well, she couldn’t think about that. He had to be. 

James Vega turned towards them, looking at Tara for a moment. He shifted uncomfortably, aware that there was an undercurrent of anxiety in the shuttle he wasn’t privy to. Tara noted his perceptiveness. “We have an old friend down there,” she explained, unclenching her jaw. James nodded and looked towards the screen.  

“Holy hell,” he exclaimed. “They’re getting decimated!” Perceptive, but not always considerate. He was right, though. The scale of the Reapers’ attack was unprecedented; not even the turians had been prepared. 

“Strongest military in the galaxy, and the Reapers are obliterating it,” Tara answered bitterly. The shuttle jolted again. Liara tore her eyes from the screen, peeking at Tara as if she feared she might upset her further.

“Was it like this on Earth?” she asked, her voice soft. 

Tara swallowed, blinking hard. She took a moment to shove her vulnerability behind lock and key with the rest of her emotions, to be processed later. Right now, she needed to focus. 

“Yeah,” she replied. 

Liara’s expression tightened like she regretted asking. “Shepard, I’m so sorry.” The shuttle fell silent, then, as they hurtled towards Menae. Tara stared at the floor, steeling herself for the mission ahead.

“Commander, the LZ is getting swarmed,” Cortez called from the cockpit. Tara stood, taking a deep breath. 

“Understood,” she said, pulling her rifle out and flicking the safety off. “James, open that hatch.”  They cleared the LZ with surgical precision; Tara shut down everything in her mind except for the mission. Taking a deep breath, she exited the shuttle. “All right, our mission is clear. Get in, get out. Let’s move!” 

They made their way towards the command post, the sounds of gunfire and the sickening blares of the Reapers’ horns pounded deep in Tara’s chest. A guard posted on the border of the camp waved as he spotted their approach. The gate lowered, and Tara stepped inside with Liara and James. Inside, the military efficiency of the Turian Hierarchy was on full display. Soldiers hurried to and fro, carrying supplies, tending to the wounded, and coordinating battlefield communications. To the side, rows of bodies under tarps told the grim price the Reapers were exacting from the turians. 

And any one of them could be Garrus.

Tara slammed the door on that line of thought before it could gather steam. I know him. If he had a choice, he’d be down there on Palaven, taking the fight to the Reapers. It’s what I would be doing. Garrus’ location didn’t matter anyway. Even if, by some miracle, he was here on Menae, she couldn’t stop and search for him. The mission had to come first.

[alittleillumination]

2023 Drama Round-Up!

I know no one asked for this, but I figured I’d post what I’ve watched this year and how I rank them in case anyone is looking for recommendations! I saw @dangermousie did this and stole this idea (hope that’s ok!)

14. Heartbeat: It was…fine? Didn’t really leave me with any lasting impression. Was hoping for more from a drama about a vampire. I need a good vampire drama. This wasn’t it.

13. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo - So much potential, didn’t live up to the hype. Give me those BATB vibes any day normally, but in this case the FML was too Mary Sue for me.

12. Back from the Brink- Fun! Good side characters! ML bored me to tears. FML carried the drama. Will keep an eye out for her.

11. Moon in the Day: A solid story. Nice and neat. Definitely would watch the ML in other things. I’m always here for a reincarnation storyline.

10. My Journey to You - Esther Yu! Zhang Linghe! Other awesome characters! Vibes! Otherwise just OK, I wasn’t super invested in the story. Would watch a second season if they deign to make one.

9. The King: Eternal Monarch - Another one that had great potential and I ended up somewhat disappointed. The concept was fantastic. I really love a modern day story with a modern monarch who’s beloved. I’m a big fan of the two main actors so that bumped it up the list. Unfortunately their chemistry was only so-so.

8. Tale of the Nine Tailed S1 - LEE YEON AND LEE RANG brother dynamic sobbbb

7. Doom at Your Service - Great leads with awesome chemistry! Sad! Story was simple and sweet.

6. Love is Sweet - OG Bai Lu/Luo Yunxi couple!! I loved them so much, I’m def watching this show again and again. Couldn’t stand the second couple, though, I skipped all of their scenes.

5. Alchemy of Souls S1 - This show has such a phenomenal concept, and a really well flushed out universe. The side characters are all great and three dimensional. I love the magic too. It’s lower on the list just because I’m not as emotionally connected to the leads as I am to those in other shows, but I really love this show.

4. Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 - This show has it all: magic, romance, historical setting, fashion, time travel, politics, humor. As much as I love LDW/Lee Yeon, the show was really an ensemble triumph. The story, the action, the humor, everything was top notch. Excelled in surpassing the first season in quality which seems so unlikely but they really did it.

TIED FOR SECOND

Til The End of the Moon - What can I say about this show? It’s wump central. It’s serving misunderstanding trope but make it completely overdone and unbearable. The fake blood budget alone could have paid all of the actors’ salaries. The female lead got shafted in favor of the male lead.

And yet…

You’ll think about this show every day for the rest of your life. I know I do.

(Also credited for the beginning of my obsession with Luo Yunxi. He’s babygirl. Tantai Jin is the best character ever written.)

Goblin - Oh man, this show. THIS SHOW. Despite some controversy over the age difference between the main couple, i love them. I grew up on vampire romance, nothing can sway me there. I really bought into their romance and I was devastated when they went through it. I cried more in this show than I have in any other. I also completely loved and was invested in the second couple, which almost NEVER happens.

Despite the romance of the two couples being stellar, it was the friendship and the found family that really sold it for me. The Goblin and the Grim Reaper have the best friendship and wildly fun chemistry onscreen. I couldn’t get enough of them. I watched the bts of them so many times over.

And my favorite for 2023…

1. Love Between Fairy and Devil - My first Asian drama. My first love. Noting will surpass this. No couple will touch Dongfang Qingcang and Xiao Lan Hua. I’ve rewatched it twice already. It’s the clear winner.

I’m currently watching My Demon and so far it’s rly good. Might break top ten.

On the short list to watch in 2024:

- Alchemy of Souls S2 (I’m not ready for it to end but I NEED to see it)

- Ashes of Love (I’m forcing myself to finish this I HAVE TO FOR LY)

- Story of Kunning Palace

- Only for Love

[mandylove1000]

Random as fuck but I FINALLY GOT HEIHEI I literally almost cried from excitement when my mom said she found it. I was pretty much like if he doesn’t come home with you I’m going to fucking die. He makes number 62 💀

I’m not even gonna lie I definitely bought some as resells and paid way more than I should’ve but I was like I will DIE if I don’t own it. My mom only recently realized I have a grim reaper and she’s like I need one to hang in the car 😂 trying to find Otto as a clip isn’t easy cause all the Halloween ones sell so fast (any holiday ones do tbh)

[yeet-mc-yeeterson]

1. Life-size Walmart skeleton named Jeffrey

2. I like how tall I am, I'm 5'9

3. Red

4. Video game glitches kind of freak me out

5. Yes

6. Yes

7. Playground

8. Human interaction

9. Sharing my interests, good morning good night texts

10. Not terribly often, from time to time

11. To not live in the south, and change how I look

12. Either German, or Afrikaan

13. Somewhere up north, colder just anywhere that isn't Texas

14. Hyper fixations on firearms and medieval combat

15. Last night

16. Like 2 years ago but I didn't use the account, joint back like a month or two ago

17. I don't know, I don't think so

18. One that stuck to me recently was a nightmare, not describing that

19. I have no idea, maybe something to do with coding

20. Just spending the day together, go somewhere go home

21. Two things, take care of myself better, communicate better

22. Canada

23. Online friends, and one very specific person >:3

24. Uhh no not really

25. Halloween

26. Forgetting basic information, getting complimented a lot

27. I was always the grim reaper

28. I'd like to think I'm good at writing

29. Yes

30. Yep got a brother

31. How I'm doing

32. Arrogant, or has cheated

33. CODING

34. 2

35. When I take showers

36. Yes, about boys, and other stuff

37. My room ig

38. Dad

39. Don't be like my ex

40. Hiiiiis (he knows who he is >;3)

41. "We've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty"

42. Show people my writing, just not confident in it yet

43. Got with him

44. Not particularly no

45. Movie, just because I watch movies more than I read books

46. Fall

47. Early morning

48. I used to when I was a kid

49. Certain arguments

50. I can't really think of something (I haven't bought a lot of stuff)

51. Yes

52. Galaxy edge (more of a book series)

53. As of right now, my mom

54. People should be able to play games the way they want to

55. Titanfall 2 / rdr2

56. During a tornado around 3 years ago

57. Not really

58. Hell no, need to drink more

59. Well one, I know I'm gay now, and child me was a lot more ecstatic about stuff

60. Yes, I love it here

61. Not really

62. TF2, just can't get into it

63. Yes

64. By becoming a blushing pile of goop

65. Being themselves around me, compliments, and sharing their interests

66. Yes

67. YES

68. Yes

69. No

70. Uhhh, I don't really have one

71. "the night we met" by Lord Huron

72. Noooooo

73. No, not on purpose

74. Badly, lol

75. Yes, it's a nervous fidget for me

76. Nope

77. 4 dogs, 1 cat

78. Blue

79. how I look rn

80. Small one, to remove a rock from my ear when I was young lol

81. Angler fish

82. Explaining myself

83. Nope

84. Yes

85. Yep

86. 12th

87. Occasionally a steel ring from my brother

88. Discord Tumblr and Twitter

89. Uhh a 91.7

90. like 2 days straight

91. uh no

92. The ones that cause harm

93. HOODIE

94. Who doesn't?

95. It exists and it's natural, it's a normal thing

96. The corner of my bed that's as sharp as a spear

97. ? Uh no

98. I have it on 12-hour, but I need to relearn 24-hour from my coding class

99. Yep, hate it almost every time

100. Yes, I am very gay :3

(technically bi, but it's not an important distinction for me)

ask game

1. whats your favorite thing in your room?

2. how tall do you wish you were?

3. what color is your hair?

4. whats a rare fear that you have?

5. are you single?

6. has your heart ever been broken?

7. what was your favorite thing as a kid?

8. favorite coping mechanism?

9. whats your favorite love language?

10. how often do you get nervous?

11. if you had three wishes, would you use them?

12. if you could be fluent in any language which one would it be?

13. where do you wish to live?

14. what’s something surprising about you?

15. when did you last shower?

16. when did you first join tumblr?

17. do you want any tattoos? if so, where, what, and why?

18. whats the most prominent dream youve had?

19. whats your dream job?

20. whats your ideal date?

21. what do you wish you could do better?

22. what country would you live in if you could?

23. whos the best person you know?

24. have you ever walked into something you shouldnt have?

25. whats your favorite holiday?

26. when have you been most embarrassed?

27. whats your favorite halloween costume?

28. what are you best at?

29. do you know how to tie your shoes?

30. do you have siblings?

31. if you could know one thing about the future what do you wanna know?

32. whats a dealbreaker for you?

33. whats your favorite current class?

34. how many people have you dated?

35. how often do you wash your hair?

36. do you daydream? what about?

37. where do you go to be alone?

38. which parent do you like more?

39. whats the one standard you hold yourself to?

40. whos voice do you enjoy?

41. if you could announce one thing to the world what would it be?

42. whats one thing you wanna do but havent yet?

43. what do you wish you never did?

44. do you believe in life after death?

45. do you prefer book over movie?

46. whats your favorite season?

47. whats your favorite time of day

48. do you have a beloved stuffed animal?

49. whens a time you wish you acted differently?

50. what’s something you wish that you never bought?

51. do you have your own room?

52. whats your favorite book?

53. who’s someone you hate?

54. whats your best hottake?

55. whats your favorite game?

56. whens a time you felt real genuine fear?

57. are you a morning person?

58. do you drink enough water?

59. how different are you from the little kid you used to be?

60. do you enjoy tumblr?

61. have you ever had a tumblr experience that made you wanna delete the app?

62. whats your least favorite game?

63. were you a markiplier fan?

64. how do you respond to compliments?

65. whats something that would make you fall in love?

66. do you believe in marriage?

67. do you have a crush on someone?

68. do you like tumblr?

69. were you a voltron stan?

70. whats your favorite ship?

71. whats your favorite song?

72. do you like loud crowds?

73. have you ever created conflict on purpose?

74. how do you sleep?

75. do you bite your lips?

76. do you use chapstick?

77. do you have any pets?

78. what color are your eyes?

79. what’s something you wish you could change about yourself?

80. have you ever had surgery?

81. whats your least favorite animal?

82. whats something that youre really bad at?

83. do you have an sqishmellows?

84. do you enjoy fast food?

85. do you like soda?

86. what grade are you in?

87. do you wear any jewelry?

88. what socials do you use?

89. whats your lowest grade in school right now?

90. whats the latest youve stayed up till?

91. did you ever have bangs?

92. what trends did you hate?

93. whats your favorite item of clothing?

94. do you like dinosaurs?

95. whats your opinion on body hair?

96. whats your least favorite time?

97. do you make a wish at 11:11?

98. do you have your phone on military or regular?

99. have you ever been to church?

100. are you lgbtq?

[sanssouci-sims]

Sanguinaria "Gwen" Addams is continuing through the Reaper's Rewards event! She seemed to be getting along pretty well with the Grim Reaper... until I found out something.

I went into Gwen's relationship panel and saw she and Grimmy had BAD compatibility. WOMP WOMP THANKS GROWING TOGETHER.

I knew this was probably not going to end well, considering Gwen essentially NEEDED to be friends with Grimmy in order to progress through the Reaper's Rewards event. So we soldiered on...

I found it funny at one point when Grimmy went down to Gwen's basement to watch sports on her TV. Didn't realize he'd be into that kind of thing, but you know, I guess he would be the kind of person to enjoy watching people almost kill themselves just to get a few extra points.

I mean, have you even seen things like wrestling???

Gwen figured she could sit next to Grim and talk about other things he was interested in, but when the topic of his relationship status came up...

...It didn't go too well.

Mind you, Grimmy was the one who was in a FLIRTY mood earlier, and Gwen's already in a committed relationship with Cassandra Goth. Okay, maybe it might not have been an appropriate time to bring that kind of thing up, but it wasn't like Gwen was asking to date you, Grim. Chill out.

Grim would leave after that (not surprisingly), but not before he and Gwen added each other on Social Bunny.

It seems to be going fine... so far.

After that, Gwen headed to Magnolia Blossom Park in Willow Creek, since that was what she figured she had to do after reading the Ambrosia Society Newsletter. While she didn't really find any wild lily or snapdragon plants to take cuttings from (I guess a majority of them were out of season??), she managed to catch a goldfish, koi, and trout from the pond there!

Gwen did manage to get a cutting from the snapdragon plant she has been growing in her own home's yard, though.

She also bought and read the intro to the Green Lady's Tome, cooked a few things, researched grafting, and summoned the Grim Reaper once more just to try her luck at getting their friendliness up.

It ended up working! I guess Gwen learned it was better to not pry into Grimmy's possible romantic side (if it even exists) because...

...well, it just seems like he's kind of ass at being romantic.

Again (and ironically), that just sort of defeats the point of the flirty mood he was in when he showed up to Gwen's house for the first time.

Apparently we also had some kind of a pillow fight, according to Social Bunny??? (also, who liked his comment? You can clearly see it wasn't me...)

Grimmy also ditched Gwen half the time to use her upstairs computer to... play The Sims. Like, he's literally playing with life itself, THAT'S WHO HE IS, IT JUST FITS.

Did I mention Mrs. Prescott (Gwen's old principal) kept calling her??? I'm just imagining being a student and getting reprimanded by the principal only to grow up and have that same principal suddenly find her number (A FORMER STUDENT'S NUMBER, MIND YOU) and hound ask her if she can stay over.

Like is this NOT a 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩??????

Previous Part | Next Part

[starlightmoon96]

Yandere Optimus Prime/Yandere Megatron x OC character chapter 6

To make things safe Tōshirō offered to sleep on the couch rather than the guest bed room since Yuko was sleeping and staying there Sabina was now extra careful both at her college and at work she made sure to tell her boss about Tom. She didn't give him the full details she just told him that he had been stalking her and won't stop, he and the other employees kept a close eye out on him Sabina drew what he looked like so they would know what he look like.

When Tuesday came Sabina was packing her things in a large luggage bag, there wasn't a lot of things in it since she was bringing a lot of stuff back with her she said her goodbyes to Yuko before leaving. Thanks to Tōshirō they were able to get a privet jet for the two of them, it also a lot safer than going to the normal airport considering what was going on. As soon as they made it to New York the first thing Sabina did was go to her father's grave, she brought two different bouquets of flowers, one was bouquet of red lilies that where her father's favorite. The other was a bouquet of wildflowers for her mother that was next to her father's grave, Sabina put the bouquets of flower on the two graves before leaving with Tōshirō.

Seeing and being in queens again really brought back memories to her as the where passing the building in Tōshirō luxury car, she hadn't been back since she faked her death. Though to her it feels like an eternity and yet she knew where everything was still, everything was still the same as the day she left which made her happy and sad at the same time. Once they arrived at her old house, she got a little nervous when Tōshirō opened the car door for her. He could tell she was a little worried stepping out of the car, he held his hand out to her and smiled.

"Don't worry I'll be right by you." Sabina smiled to him as she took his hand and he helped her out of the car, when Tōshirō opened the front door with the house key Sabina was very surprised that everything stayed the same for eight years. But the one place in the house she wanted to see was her room, once she found her old black door she saw that her old sign was still on there that said "Caroline's Room." It kind of had a gothic theme to it

"It's still here?" When she opened the door she started tearing up as she was smiling, but Tōshirō was surprised to see the type of room she used to live in. They both went into the room as Tōshirō was talking to Sabina she opened her old coffin bed with red velvet bedding in it and laid down in it and smiled

"Almost forgot you where really into the Goth furniture and art stuff explains those type of roses your stalker got you?" He still spoke to her as he looked over to her still laying in the

"Did you seriously slept in that coffin?"

"I did I missed it so much and it's SO comfy, this I had this custom made on the inside and turned it into what you see." Was her answer to him as she stood up off the coffin bed, she noticed that everything was clean and that there wasn't dust n any of the furniture.

"And it looks like my dad kept things clean here, he always thought I had creepy taste and wanted me to get out of it. My friends loved my room and always asked me where I got certain things." Sabina walked over to her dresser and picked up her old Gothic Grim Reapers and roses sculptural archway framed mirror and looked at her own reflection

"But he was always a good observer, as much as I wanted too I couldn't take anything because he would notice. He told me I had to work to get what I wanted so I did everything here I bought with my own money." She placed the mirror back down and looked over to her music box

"My lilium music box." As she picked it up she started winding it up as Tōshirō

"I knew how much you loved that music box I knew the one I got you couldn't replace the one you had." When Sabina opened it the box started playing which made her smile, then Tōshirō walked out of the room

"I can tell you want to be alone, I'll look at your father's study room. And maybe call a moving truck for ya."

"Yeah that sounds good Tōshirō." Was the answer he heard from her as he left the room, he opened one door that was actually the master bed room. Curious he went in and looked in the night stands and didn't find anything good in there.

"If I was in her father's shoes, I would hide something in a flash drive. But what I really need is what got him killed?" After he said that he walked over to the closet door opening it which the light came on revealing the inside, he couldn't help but noticed the box marked Caroline on it. He pick it up leaving the closet to open it on the bed, what was inside really shocked him. While that was happening Sabina was looking through her fallout boy cd collection

"Boy am I glad these are still here, even my autograph ones."

"Caroline you need to see what I found." Hearing Tōshirō say her old name really surprised her, so she walked out of her room and walked through the hallway and into the open door that Tōshirō was in. She saw his aura's color was green meaning that he was very surprised seeing that he was looking at the inside of the box that was in front of him on her father's bed and she asked him as she came up to him

"You only call me that when it's very serious and your aura is very serious? What did you find?" When she saw what was in the box she saw every California article of her winning art companions, everything leading up this year.

"He knew and didn't try to contact me? He knew why I faked my death?" Sabina said that as she was holding the news article of her winning her first art award with her cherry blossom statue when she was seventeen and with Tōshirō at his art gallery, while she was still looking through the box something really caught her attention she held out an old hand voice tape recorder.

"A tape recorder? I haven't seen one of those in a very long while?" Tōshirō said that to Sabina as she inspected it and she said

"I bet there's something on her my dad recorded? Only one way to find out?" The second after she said that she hit the play button and it started playing the recording which was her father talking to it

"Caroline if you're listening to this then I'm already dead, this recording is the only safe device I could use without it being traced. I should have told you the truth believe me I wanted too, but I couldn't I was afraid of what would happen to us. I don't blame you for what you for faking your own death and running away. I'm sure you heard that phone call I had that day I think it's about time I explained everything?" Her and Tōshirō where very surprised hearing what they heard it made Sabina press the pause button and question Tōshirō

"After eight years, this is how he wants to tell me?" Tōshirō took the tape recorder out of her hand as he answered her

"You heard yourself the people he worked with must be pretty dangerous?" After he said that he hit the play button that continued playing

"It started after the year when your mother died, I can in contact with…..well I was part of the decepticon allies." Hearing the name Decepticons really surprised Sabina she knew what that word meant, she listened very carefully to her father's voice

"It wasn't just me there were other humans apart of it. It was a list of reasonably useful human's that would need to be in the safe zone when the alien takeover began, I had no choice I couldn't say no to that."

"Alien takeover? So those alien robots are real?" Tōshirō said that after he heard what the recording said he looked over to see Sabina was very surprised hearing those words from her father as the recording continued

"When you started 8th grade Megatron. Which is the leader of the decepicons started showing some interests in you, I know you hid your gift from me. Your mother told me about her family a very long time ago, I just didn't want you mistreated by your classmates. I don't know how he knew but he was interested in that gift he thought it would be useful for him which was another reason why I got offered for that alliance, but during the middle of your school year was something any father world fear." That made both Sabina and Tōshirō looked at the tape recorder more closely and listen more clearly

"Megatron wanted you by his side, he didn't care how old you were. Things got worse but you knew, he would go out of his way to keep a very close eye on you, he got pretty angry when you started dating Hiro. Which was why I had to make you two break up despite that you to where still together despite what was going on. Hiro was a great guy I approved of him he was the perfect guy, I would have loved to see you two at your first prom together." Before he continued they heard sniffling like he was crying

"After you faked your death, I felt like I lost everything. But two years later I discovered an article that had you in it as Sabina Rose I knew why and who helped you, after that I kept every article that you were in without telling anyone. The reason why I died I'm pretty sure that I found something VERY interesting, if you find it give it to the autobot alliance I'm sure they'll find use for it?" After he said that the recording stopped on its own

"Tom Negran? It's an anagram for megatron?" Sabina said that after she realized that name

When Wednesday came which was Valentine's Day Tōshirō took Sabina to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, since it was still freezing everyone had to wear their winter jackets. Sabina was very happy wearing her old jacket that she liked, it was a black Punk Rave Gothic Goth Battle Coat Asymmetrical Hemline Winter Jacket. Her choice of pants where her old punk rave Steampunk Black Trousers Rivet Leather Rock Jeans she was really happy that they still fit her after six years, for the shoes they were warm lady punk lace up buckle strap rivet ankle boots gothic shoes. Of course she had her hair up in a high pony tail along with black gloves on her hands and ear muffs that kept her ears warm, even though it was cold here was still love around every couple Sabina saw with their aura's just like at her college. The next place Tōshirō took her was at barns and noble book store, Sabina wanted to get some new novels for her library and wanted to spend her own money there as well since she had a membership card. Sabina went off by herself while Tōshirō looked around the GEO graphics, Sabina had been looking through different aisles caring seven different types of books that where over a thousand pages long. The next book she got was the shape of water by Daniel Kraus. She already saw the movie but she wanted to read the book version of it, just as she went into the next aisle she accidently bumped into someone that made her drop her books on the ground and apologizing to the person

"Oh my god I'm so sorry I didn't see you there." She said that as she started picking up her book, when she saw the man crouch down helping her pick up her books she quickly recognized him, it was the same man she bumped into at the starbucks from the BTS concert.

"Wait you're the guy from the coffee shop?" Sabina still didn't know it was optimus using his holoform, he looked at her while he spoke

"This is quite a surprise indeed." He handed her the rest of her book as that both stood up off the ground, then Sabina asked him

"You know what you seem so familiar? Have we met before the coffee shop?" Before optimus answered her they both heard Tōshirō voice

"Sabina are you about wrapped up?" Sabina looked back at optimus and said to him

"Sorry looks like I gotta get going." After she said that she quickly walked off to the checkout desk with Tōshirō standing near her with his hand around her shoulder, without them realizing optimus was watching them pretending to read a book.

"I'm not so sure where my anger should be targeted? Him or this Hiro that she still loves? Either way Tōshirō's place of protecting her will be changed, no matter the cost." Once Sabina and Tōshirō left the book store optimus followed them making sure that they didn't notice him, he was a little surprised seeing Sabina dressed the way she was. It really didn't matter even in black she still looked beautiful, thanks to his watch he knew where they were staying which was her old place in queens. He didn't want to cause attention to himself and Sabina knew his vehicle mood and would recognize it, Optimus had to wait till night came luckily that didn't take long since it was cold and sleeting it would get dark pretty quick. As for Sabina she had finished up with her shower that was attached to her room, when she came out of the bathroom she wore her dark blue bathrobe that had the words "Fall Out Boy" on the back of it her hair was up in a towel due to the hot water and the steam that was still on her body. The second she came out her phone started ringing from her dresser top, so she picked it up and answered the call when she sat own on her bed.

"Hey Richard, I was almost a little worried you wouldn't call me?"

"Sorry for the wait, I was a little hold up. How are things in New York?" Hearing him say that made Sabina smile a little as she laid down on her back on her bed answering his question

"Very cold but nice, Tōshirō took me around for Valentine's Day. I woke up to see that he gave me red roses, he took me out to lunch at the gardens inside that sort of stuff. But it's going to be hard to beat with the surprise you gave me when you took me to Disneyland, I still cant believe you get me belle's dress?" She didn't know that her conversation was being listened outside of her bedroom window that was being covered by her black out curtains, the one that was listening was optimus. But he wasn't using a holoform he used his real body only to have it shrink to a human size, he also dimmed the glow from his optics not to cause attention to himself as he was still listening to Sabina.

"Are you serious it cost you THAT much. That's a lot more than what I thought? You know how I fell about receiving super expensive gifts I feel bad about it. Yeah I really am not like other sugar babies, I'm not the type that milks people for cash no matter how rich they are. And I'm happy and proud of myself that I'm different, yeah you know I'm happier that you're alright with it you're the best sugar daddy I've ever had Richard." Optimus knew what a sugar daddy was, he now knew who he was to Sabina but it didn't make him happy in the slightest. He needed to get him out of picture, but something told him that Megatron knew about this before him.

"Really what's so important, you can't tell me over the phone? Wait is it something you want to surprise me with isn't it? Come on give me a hint pretty please." Optimus started to listen more closer as Sabina was still talking on her phone, Sabina pouted as she pulled down her hair from the towel that was on her head letting down her hair while still holding her phone.

"Ok fine I'll be patient till I get back. I gotta get to sleep anyway got a lot of packing to do tomorrow and early in the morning to top that. I'll call ya later bye." After she said that Richard said his goodbyes as well and they both ended the calls, before she put up her phone it started ringing again so she answered it.

"Optimus hi. How's it going? This is a surprise." Optimus was still outside of her window as he was talking to her from his comlink

"I thought I would hear how you were doing since you told me what had happened? Is everything alright?" After he said that he heard Sabina say to him

"Actually I'm not really ken about it, but in a couple of months I'll be leaving the country. For my own safety that this Tōshirō doesn't want to take any chances and either do I, I'm also hoping I can ask my friend Yuko to be my roommate in the moves. Apparently Tōshirō found a building with much tighter security then the apartment I've been living in."

"Um Optimus do you know a Decepticon named Megatron?" She asked him that when she sat back down on her bed as he answered her question

"Yes I do why? And how do you know that name?"

"I just found out my dad worked under him, I found a tape recorder and he told me everything. He betrayed megatron by founding out something he didn't like, it's still somewhere in this house he wanted me to give it you thought it would be very useful to the autobots and since I already know you I wanted you to have it." Right after she said that a thought came to optimus's head as he almost immediately spoke to her from her end of the line

"Sabina if you like I could help you find what your father wants you to find?" After he said that she answered him as she was brushing her hair with her hair blush

"That would really help out? But how would you even get to New York in time I'm only staying here for two more days? I don't to take up your time?"

"I'm actually in New York right now, there where decepticon activates. I'm making sure that nothing happens." Hearing that made Sabina little happy as she was finishing brushing her hair and started braiding it when she spoke to him

"Oh wow that's great to hear Prime, what a coincident too I'll tell Tōshirō that you're coming here and I might as well tell him about you while I'm at it."

[je-suis-problematique]

We finally started reading this dark romance book we bought ages ago and I have some things that I want to say that are ironically not about the book at all but rather one of my partners because the book made me think of him. The book is about this girl who ends up fucking the grim reaper and while it isn't the best book ever it's written well enough for me to want to continue reading it and the grim reaper character – Letum – reminds me of Grael. Not in any direct way like his looks or his personality or anything but more simply because it's the grim fucking reaper and Grael is one canon plot point away from becoming his wraith self, Thresh. Honestly I SHOULD have been thinking of Thresh while reading this book but got Grael on the mind instead because when I imagined myself in the main protagonist's shoes, and pictured the events of the book happening to ME IRL, Letum translated into Grael for me. Don't know why or how else to explain it.

Anyway, Grael. My relationship with Grael started out a bit rocky because while I knew who Grael was and already admired him before he even formed, Grael had no idea who I was so there was a lot of wariness and mistrust on his part when we first met. He warmed up to me over time because I was so head over heels for him that I used every opportunity I got to spend time with him and he used to front/be co-conscious often so we interacted a lot. He got used to me and my antics and eventually even welcomed my very obvious feelings for him, albeit cautiously. We were still involved with our partner system at the time so receiving the go-ahead for me to properly date Grael was, uh, Difficult™, but when it finally happened we were both very excited to see where things will lead us. Grael is arguably the person I have the strongest bond with even if we don't live together.

We went through a lot together and I do mean fucking A LOT. He helped me handle a lot of Mainworld bullshit and I helped him sort his life out in the Otherworld, we were both there for each other at our lowest points, we were practically joined at the hip most of the time and aside from being romantic partners we also became each other's closest friend which I think is beautiful but the reason I am writing this post to begin with is to just. Say thank you to Grael for taking care of me this past year almost entirely on his own, while I was neck-deep in addiction.

I was the one fronting when we started using hard drugs therefore the decision to do so was 100% mine and I WILL hold myself accountable for it. I became frontlocked and, before the big detox that I went through, I experimented with a bunch of different drugs before settling on Fentanyl. I was already an addict before all that, I was abusing prescription drugs long before I touched MDMA or Cocaine and I used to have a drinking problem too, but eventually the high from the medication I was abusing wasn't enough anymore and I started using harder shit. The decision to start buying street drugs was made completely on a whim while already high on medicine and it was preceded by a rapid decline in my emotional and mental wellbeing. I attempted suicide three consecutive times in the span of two months before the drugs came. I was not okay and I only kept spiraling further down.

I don't remember much of that time anymore but from what I do remember, or more like.... From what I remember being told after the dust finally settled, my link to the Otherworld and the rest of the system was severed while I was busy using (which I did daily) and that translated into my Otherworld body slipping into a coma. Nobody could reach me on Main or wake me up in the Otherworld and a rift formed between me and the others that seemed unbridgeable at the time. Grael INSISTED on having my unconscious body be at his house (connected to life support and such just not in the hospital) and he tended to me himself around the clock. I have no memory of anything that he might have said to me back then since I couldn't really hear him or feel him but he said he'd keep me company, read to me, and play my favorite music. When I tell you this man is SO FINE.

So after months of being an intubated vegetable under Grael's care I decide to quit using drugs and detox IRL. I went through about a week of pure Hell on Earth, with the first 72 hours being the worst, but for some reason that grounded me back to reality well enough for me to finally be able to hear other alters again. IIRC the ones who kept me company after I returned home from the hospital were Jerome, Astarion, and Silco (I couldn't sleep from the immense discomfort after 72 hours of shaking, puking, and pain), maybe somebody else I am forgetting, and I could vaguely focus inwards again to see that I have awoken in the Otherworld too. Grael was the first person I saw and through tears he explained to me that I have been comatose and unreachable for weeks if not months. And I shit you not, after I regained my bearings enough to be able to hold a conversation, this motherfucker pulls out a brand new violin and says that he got it for me as a gift while I was out cold. I tell him I already own several violins and he goes, "this one's actually for me because I wanted you to teach me how to play so we can play together".

THIS MAN.

I retreated from the front soon after and didn't front again for a long time, Guts was the first one to take over. We managed to stay clean for two whole months following the detox but Zed dragged us back down again at some point and the others went back to using. Not me though. It took me a while to fully recover but I was serious about my decision to stay clean – I even got rid of my booze stash in the Otherworld and vowed never to touch any substances again. I'm not saying this makes me better than the others and that the others are somehow lesser for having a relapse, no. All I'm saying is that I changed my personal life around for the better after a year-long downward spiral, that's all. I straightened out all of my intimate relationships, worked on myself, worked on my subsystem, mended my relationship with my daughter and her father, figured out what I want to do with my life long-term, atoned for a lot of shit I did when I was at my worst. I've hurt people, you know. Many people. Some with malicious intent, others without meaning to, but I DID hurt them. I broke some cycles/patterns that I was perpetuating because of my trauma and apologized to those who deserved an apology from me. Not because I was expecting forgiveness but because it felt like it was the right thing to do.

And Grael? I started teaching him how to play violin like he wanted me to. I also started teaching him proper knife fighting and self-defense, and we had so much fun during our little training sessions. I fully integrated him into my life by encouraging him to mingle with my other partners and inviting him over to spend time with my daughter, too. He warmed up to her really fast. He even likes my dogs, kind of. When they don't jump on him or cover him with their drool. The biggest obstacle that we had to face as a couple during my recovery was Kovacs. When I finally got back up on my feet and decided I want to go back to work with Nightshade, Grael felt a bit.... sour that I'm keeping Kovacs on the team. Kovacs hurt him once, badly, and there was bad blood between them – but I didn't have it in me to kick Kovacs out despite all that. Even Kovacs himself said he'd leave if I told him to but I insisted that I wanted him to stay. Grael and I worked through the uncomfortable situation though and now he can even kind of tolerate Kovacs' presence without stabbing him on sight.

I wrote this whole post just to explain how much Grael means to me as a person. I couldn't ask for a better partner, the ONLY ONE who truly stayed by my side through thick and thin, even when he saw me at my worst, even when he saw how petty and malicious I can be, even when he saw me hurt people. Hurt myself. He stayed by my side through my depression, my PTSD, my personality disorders going out of control, my addiction taking over my life. He never left. He was always, ALWAYS there, even when I didn't know he was there or was too caught up in my own bullshit to acknowledge it. So. Thank you. From the bottom of my wretched soul,

Thank you.

– Chris

[pazodetrasalba]

Room Ornaments

Dear Caroline:

This snippet of an overheard conversation is not the most enlightening of your posts -just enough of the gothic weirdness in the Mao Zedong figurines to give it a dash of charm and strange-, but it got me thinking about my own student apartment's decoration, back from my university days, and how an external observer might have reacted to them. At that time I was a dogmatic marxist, but not a very wealthy one, meaning that instead of porcelain figures, I had postcards with Marx and Lenin hanging around. No Mao: never actually liked the bastard. I was more of the Trotskyist persuasion.

But besides Communist mementos, if you had actually made it to my sancta sanctorum, the first thing you would have seen were books, a big, white shelf chock-full with them. They were almost all History - that was the first degree I was studying-, with some other stuff ending up there as well. Just to the right, in a big, blank piece of wall there was a present, a big Elric of Melnibone poster by Chris Achilleos with the sack of Imrryr in the background and a dragon that was definitely not up to scale. Further to the right, next to the entrance door and to an extra bed, was Kandinsky's Red, Yellow, Blue. I tend to be a bit conservative in my art tastes, but I had spent most of my list year at high school really trying to engage, understand and appreciate modern art (by which I meant from the impressionists onwards), and had actually latched to some abstract painters, with Kandinsky at the center of it. I really liked his mysticism, as expressed in his essay Concerning the Spiritual in Art, and a Taschen monograph by Ulrike Becks-Malorny which was one of the first book I bought at university.

The next two posters had been bought in the Prado Museum, and showed scenes from my two favorite paintings of all time, both of which share the same room in the said museum. The one over my bedroom was a fragment of Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, a fragment from the right panel depicting Musical Hell. The other was just over my desk, to the left, near the window, and it was the full Triumph of Death, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. I had first encountered this image in a history book, the article it was illustrating about the 1348 Black Death, when I was 6, and been terrified and fascinated in equal parts about it.  In fact, until my teenage years, I was terrified by the traditional personification of death as the Grim Reaper, and he made another frightening appearance for me in the 1988 in some of the Baron Munchausen movie.

[Side note: I had already written this post and was literally in the Hells right now, with Juniper. Lisi has just arrived to help! I really hope she manages to get away too, as I am absurdly attached to her character since my brain has decided to make her the Aerb proxy for you]

The rest of the flat was rather less glamorous and decorated, but in the rather large living room, there were some big sofas and a huge asparagus plant that grew over one of them, and below which I used to lie down quite a lot. The big, glass windows behind it gave a wonderful view of the city, and once of twice acted as the screens for a mesmerizing fall of snow, which is the best background ornament I can imagine for shrouding the memories of a space that was deeply lived in by me but which is now no no more than a bittersweet reminiscence.

There was one, and only one, math book in my bookshelf, btw. A textbook of all pre-university math, of which I only managed to finish the section on arithmetic. Even then I had this vague attraction to the discipline, but was woefully lacking in the tools I needed to get some sort of a footing in those almost pre-internet days.