#vernon tchotchke

[easy-there-leftovers]

A little bit of my Tav’s (Vernon’s) lore!!

Alternatively, people talk about drawing/painting Astarion, I imagine Tav would do it on one of the many, relatively empty, journals that they’ve collected over their adventure!!

(Yes, the art is mine. And yes, I did paint that to de stress from writing my essay that I may or may not have bombed.)

Also!! If any of you are interested in a blank journal template, just ask away!! You can ask about the font as well, although people tend to have their own preferences already anyway

But…yeah—

[ericsfanfictions]

New Demigod Cabin: Geras

Geras (Roman Senectus) is the small, thin, and shriveled god of old age. A son of the goddess Nyx, he once came into a conflict with Heracles that was depicted on ancient Greek pottery. As the god of aging, Geras has a strong dislike for mortals who were granted immortality by the gods. The inside walls of Geras' cabin at Camp Half-Blood look like what would happen if Applebees and Cracker Barrel had a baby. There are shelves filled with vintage tchotchkes, games, collectibles, and antiques. There's a sofa covered with plastic, and each bed has a handmade quilt blessed by Geras' brother Hypnos (sleep) to help provide extra comfort and rest. On the windowsill, a radio plays hits from the "oldies" station. In one corner of the cabin is a pedestal with a golden platter. Upon this platter is a retro Jell-O mold meal, which regenerates at noon each day. It's a different recipe each time it regenerates but nobody ever has the courage to try the horrific concoctions, which have included ingredients such as tomatoes, tuna, vinegar, hot sauce, mayo, coffee, and cheese. The cabin also includes a rocking chair, a working rotary phone, a typewriter, a sewing machine, and supplies for sewing and other crafts. A scrapbook of former cabin members is maintained by each generation. Geras' demigod children tend to be less tech-savvy than their peers, and prefer face-to-face interactions over social media accounts. They are proud, thrifty, obedient, and have a strong work ethic, and will make their opinions known if they think a friend or loved one isn't behaving "properly" or trying hard enough. They can be quick to judge people negatively and are sometimes guilty of gossip. These traits often leave their friends and family annoyed and frustrated, though they themselves may not notice. However, Geras' demigod children also tend to be smarter and wiser than their peers and act more maturely. This earns them a lot of admiration from adults, and they sometimes find it easier to connect with and befriend people who are older than them. While they can't access the exact memories of their ancestors, these demigods do have a subconscious connection to their deceased relatives' wisdom and experiences that allows them to instinctually make smart decisions in difficult circumstances. This is sometimes misinterpreted as a limited ability to see the future. These qualities make them well-respected by their friend groups and their input is always asked before the group makes a major decision, even if they aren't the leader. Geras' children are also fiercely protective of their friends and family and are willing to make sacrifices on their behalf. Historical Demigods/Legacies: Jean Calment, Clark Tibbits, Alois Alzheimer, June Foray Cabin Members: Myrtle Smith, Gertrude "Trudy" Chen, Vernon Hofmeister, Edith Tran Head Counselor: Jerry Furukawa

[duaneodavila]

Trusts And Estates, Presidents’ Day Edition

Dated July 9, 1799, President George Washington’s last will and testament reads: “In the name of God amen I George Washington of Mount Vernon—a citizen of the United States, and lately President of the same, do make, ordain and declare this Instrument; which is written with my own hand and every page thereof subscribed with my name, to be my Last Will & Testament, revoking all others.”

Presidents die with the same concerns as regular citizens. In the trusts and estates world, this means they pass with or without a will, testate or intestate. Besides real property, monetary assets, and general tchotchkes, presidents, in establishing an estate plan, must decide how their legacy will be managed and to whom their presidential papers and diaries will be distributed . Often, they are bequeathed to presidential libraries and foundations. Their beneficiaries are spouses, children, and even fellow presidential buddies.

It is told that immediately prior to his December 14, 1799, death at Mt. Vernon, Virginia, the first president summoned his wife, Martha Washington, for two versions of his last will and testament. Seriously ill, he reviewed both and threw one in the fire. Having appropriately destroyed one will, the remaining document became his last will and testament which was later probated in the local Virginia court.

President Washington, a wealthy landowner, bequeathed his entire estate to his wife, Martha Washington.  Charitably inclined, Washington left money to establish a school to educate the disadvantaged in addition to bequeathing stock to create a university.  He also requested that all of their slaves (numbered in the hundreds) be freed. Similarly, President Thomas Jefferson freed his slaves under his last will and testament. Jefferson, in a codicil, also left his friend, President James Madison, his gold-mounted walking staff.

The last will and testament of President James K. Polk greatly focused on his bequests to his wife, Sarah, in addition to his Tennessee home, Polk Place. The Polks and their estates have been the subject of much litigation in the State of Tennessee and the president’s will was even submitted as an exhibit in the civil case John Doe ex. Demise Sarah Polk v. William Best upon the First Lady’s passing.  President Polk and his wife have been interred in three different places since their deaths as a result of various lawsuits.

President John F. Kennedy, despite his demise at a young age, was well prepared with a revocable living trust and “pour over” last will and testament. Given the Kennedy family’s wealth and fame, it is unsurprising that he would choose a trust as his primary vehicle for transferring his assets upon his passing. This kind of trust is not filed in the probate courts, thus preserving a quietness for the family as to the inventory of his assets.  As is the case with any  revocable trust, all assets not held in the trust were transferred via the pour over will into the trust following JFK’s passing.

Only four presidents have died intestate, without a will. Abraham Lincoln was only 56 years old when he was assassinated and he did not have a will. At his family’s behest, Supreme Court Justice David Davis was appointed administrator of President Lincoln’s estate by the judge of the Sangamon County Court, in Illinois. The estate was reportedly worth about $85,000 at the time and his next-of-kin, the beneficiaries by law, included his wife, Mary, and his two living sons, Robert and Thomas. Lincoln was an attorney, making his lack of estate planning less excusable, but unfortunately not uncommon. Other presidents who died intestate include Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and James A. Garfield.

The shortest presidential will is attributed to President Calvin Coolidge who in one line manages to distribute his entire estate and disinherit his son. It reads:  “Not unmindful of my son John, I give all my estate both real and personal to my wife Grace Coolidge, in fee.” With all due respect to the presidential testator, it is likely advisable to flesh out one’s final requests a bit more, maybe by writing at least a paragraph to ensure that all concerns are addressed and at a minimum that an executor of your choosing is appointed.

Cori A. Robinson is a solo practitioner having founded Cori A. Robinson PLLC, a New York and New Jersey law firm, in 2017. For more than a decade Cori has focused her law practice on trusts and estates and elder law including estate and Medicaid planning, probate and administration, estate litigation, and guardianships. She can be reached at cori@robinsonestatelaw.com. 

Trusts And Estates, Presidents’ Day Edition republished via Above the Law

[turnonthe8-track]

Meta: where Hedwig gets her wigs, accessories, clothes because we know she ain't got $$$$ most of the time.

send me a topic you want meto write a meta on for Hedwig (either character or story) || @sandsofchaos

Thefirst wig was a gift from Luther on the day that he proposed marriage to her.It was ugly; with a horrible uneven grey tone and styled in a haircut that might have been fashionable four years ago,if even. But at the time, she didn’t care. She was the happiest boy—and thenthe happiest girl—in the world. She left Berlin and entered Junction City withall manner of dresses, trinkets, and clothes that to her might have been fromTiffany’s they were so different from what she was used to.

WhenLuther left, Hedwig began to view that horrible beige carpet remnant of a wig asthe albatross hanging around her neck. A reminder of the short-sighteddecision-making that had led her to Junction City; divorced, penniless, awoman…. Working a dead-end job in a town she’d never really fit into.

Asshe became more comfortable in her newly reclaimed identity, she cut the beigeshag into a more fashionable feather cut, emulating some of her favourite womenfrom the 70s with careful styling and use of second-hand curlers to give alittle life to a wig that otherwise resembled a drowned rat.

Atthe time she had a second, less often worn wig—the towering blonde beehive. Ithad been a gift from Luther for their first wedding anniversary. The last gifthe ever gave her.

Atfirst, Hedwig began expanding her wig collection through the many wig shopsscattered amongst Junction City’s historic downtown using some of the fundsfrom her small, but still (barely) liveable wages from the base PX. But aftershe lost her job, and her gag reflex, she had to rethink her spending.

Shemade a list of her priorities starting at the top with “trailer,” “electricity,”“food,” and whatever little bit was left over from her babysitting gigs and oddjobs, she used to purchase discount wigs that had been rejected by the otherresidents of the town, 75%-off makeup from the back aisles of the localWal-Mart, and somehow managing to stretch her budget enough to buy a few piecesof equipment for the first formation of The Angry Inch. (Including the cheapelectric piano, a microphone and stand, and two small, previously pawned amplifiers.)

Hercollection of clothes, accessories, and tchotchkes wasn’t so much built upusing the Lillian Vernon Catalogue as she had once imagined, but bought for between25 cents and 2 dollars at the DAV just off the more appreciated downtownsquare*. Other items were gifted by suitors who would buy her time and thenlater her silence as far as it concerned their wives (as if she had nothing betterto do than to tattle on the men passing temporarily through her wicked littletown.)

Asher band rose in popularity and standing, Hedwig was able to upgrade some of her stash from Wet ‘N’ Wild toCoverGirl and Revlon; makeups that would actuallywithstand her on stage performances without cracking or flaking off and aprimer that would stretch even the cheapest of her makeup’s capacities. 

When they were outgrossing monstertrucks in Wichita, Hedwig discovered she could get all themakeup and accessories she could possibly want unopened for even less than shewas even able to find in Junction City at The Village Flea Market, now closed**. After Tommyleft, Hedwig had only what remained from when the money was still pouring inlike it never had before. Like she thought it never would again.

Theminor upgrade to being able to buy her clothes and accessories from the localWal-Mart and antique stores instead of the DAV was short-lived, but hercommitment to investing in decent makeup (sometimes off the clearance aisle,but not only) remained a priority. Soon enough, she would be on the magazinecovers she had dreamed about being on with Tommy by herself. And even if thattook a few years, as a public figure, she would need to look good while doingit.

Inthe intervening years since she had left East Berlin, Hedwig learned how tohandsew her own clothes and put together her own jewellery from the partiallypre-made and ready-to-combine trinkets she was able to scoop up relativelycheaply. Sometimes, she was able to luck into a couple of yards of good fabricfor $1.25 or a basket of partially used threadspools for $4***.

Withthe second iteration of The Angry Inch, Hedwig was even poorer than she hadbeen. Possibly poorer than she had been in her life up until that point andwith greater expenses because of having a full band, plus manager to take careof. 

A lot of the already meagre amount of stuff she had acquired in her trailerwas sold off in bits and pieces and added to people’s yard sales so that shecould scrape together a few more dollars to go on the road than she had neededto just barely scrape by in Junction City; the practical part of her mindtelling her that she should, at least for the time, keep the trailer as a placeto come back to once her tour eventually ended.

Alot of Hedwig’s outfits have been recycled from other clothes, sewn completelyfrom her own original patterns, handwashed in sinks, and left to dry on thecurtain rod of the shower in the single room she and her band could afford tolet in each town. (And laundry preservation techniques such as never puttingbras in dryers were as quickly memorized for her as the histories of each newtown they stopped off in. Unfortunately, they were not as well remembered bythe members of her band not called Yitzhak.)

* This is also where Hedwig filled out her 8-track and record collections. Today,an 8-track from the DAV is either 25 or 50 cents and records no more than $2. (DAV standsfor Disabled American Veterans, so it makes sense that they would have one in atown so close to the nearby Fort Riley.)

** http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article150817312.html. This was actually one of my favourite places to go to in Wichita!! Opened in1975, it definitely would have been established by the time that Hedwig wouldhave been shopping there either with Tommy or by herself. There’s a new onethat was slated to open by July 1st, but as it’s so new, I have nothad the chance to go (nor, would have had Hedwig since she has been on tourthese past few months.) http://www.kansas.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/carrie-rengers/article155871804.html

*** All of the prices in this meta are basedaround the prices I have actually paid for things in both Junction City andWichita during my trips down there. The threadbasket is the only thing thatwasn’t bought in either JC or Wichita and that was from an estate sale up inKansas City.

[easy-there-leftovers]

Hello!!

I’m going to cast some resin dice soon, and I’m still stuck on a color scheme—

And of course, I settled on a Baldur’s Gate theme!! The only question is, who?

So please let me know who you think I should do!!

[easy-there-leftovers]

An intro to: “Vernon Tchotchke”

————━─━────༺༻────━─━————

A very eccentric, human bard that's interested in studying all manners of art and arcane energy.

Current problem: Failure to understand Vampiric and Illithid response when subjected to certain stimuli..

No notable backstory whatsoever, however they are incredibly charming… Stay vigilant.

Can persuade others with the insistence of their hobbies, but cannot be swayed once they set their mind to something —Could be useful.

All prior expeditions to fund such outstanding repertoire seem to have been handsomely sponsored by an unknown benefactor. Stolen or affluent inheritance?

Always scritching away in that damned book of hers. Quite a few just like it are kept in her chest. All rather thick and warped, as if damaged by water… Or whatever it is.

————━─━────༺༻────━─━————

[easy-there-leftovers]

An Index of Some of my Tavs and Their Respective “Gaurdians “

(arranged from oldest to most recent)

Vernon Tchotchke:

- An eccentric human bard, with an obsession for all manners art and arcane energy, and an extensive repertoire to prove it.

- All prior expeditions to fund such repertoire have been handsomely sponsored by an unknown benefactor. (It was from their inheritance.)

- Was in the middle of being invited to a grand party into the Szarr palace before the beckoner briefly remembered something. They were then abducted by the Nautiloid.

- Their Gaurdian is an adventurer whom they had been corresponding with after gaining interest in their “unusual symptoms” (Valhalla Arachai)

Valhalla Arachai:

- An orphaned child left to the fates of surface dwellers, Valhalla wished for a world where all could peacefully coexist. The attempt was to become their hero, the outcome was to be feared like a villain.

- A Half-Drow rogue that has been struggling with a “sudden decline in health,” despite living no differently than he had in the past, and with no records of troubling ailments.

- He has not been able to fulfill his usual duties due this peculiar phenomenon.

- His Guardian is a mysterious noble that calls themselves, “a researcher” and had agreed to personally meet him after learning of his symptoms. They promised to help him, free of cost for their labour. (Vernon Tchotchke)

"Virgil"

- With a cowardly nature that juxtaposes his intimidating features, the half-elf draconic sorcerer has failed the expectations of many throughout the years.

- With a past that he likes to keep under lock and key out of shame, Virgil’s apprehension and inexperience is apparent as he hurriedly tries to make himself useful, but often falls short in doing anything.

- Was abducted before he could get jumped by a group of halflings. He would’ve received quite the beating too, had anything happened otherwise, for his magic seemed to have disappeared in that moment.

- His Gaurdian is an older version of his childhood acquaintance, or so he assumes. For the thief that he used to harbor in his parents’ storage room had never returned when they said they would. (Undine Milagro)

Undine Milagro

- A thieving child that knew they could be great, this human wizard clawed and swindled their way through the pockets of many to learn and call upon the weave through books and scripts.

- She eventually become a student at the academy after making a name for themselves in the city.

- While a scrooge and a tightwad in her own right, she has a soft spot for children. Especially ones that have shown to be cunning and resourceful.

- Her Gaurdian is an aspiring wizard whom she has no recollection of ever meeting. She does, however, note that he is the kind of wizard she would have become if things had turned out differently. (Rolan)

Sampaguita Surihano

- A troubled Seladrine Drow with a more troubling dilemma, this bard has confusing and conflicting thoughts that surprise even herself.

- With no recollection of who she was before the nautilloid, she can only hope to piece together who she was.

- As of late, she contemplates whether the person she was is worth remembering at all.

- Her Gaurdian is a stranger to her, but she has the smallest feeling that he might have been family.

Those are the one's that I have at least a semi-fleshed out story! These were just for fun, and the characters honesty wrote themselves!!

Some quirks, like Virgil’s “embarrassing past and juxtaposing nature,” were born out of failed ability checks, and Vernon’s “unknown benefactor” is a nod to both their noble background, and a bug/glitch that once gave me a lot more gold than I remembered having in my inventory!!

Also, if you’ve noticed that the “Dream Guardian’s” design is inconsistent with the characters designed like them, that’s because that’s how the Tav for that game would have pictured them!! That’s totally not because I didn’t bother looking back at my Tav’s before designing a new Dream Guardian—-

I hope you found them as interesting as I do, because I think I’ll be drawing them often for a while!!