#//childe can and will fight tooth and nail to pay the bill

[udekai]

Murderdock Analysis

Okay, I'm sorry this even exists. It's a long one, boys. It's a very. Very. Long one. absolute dumptruck under the cut

“Dying for applause.” Is that a part of it? Stick likely taught him to kill, but The Hand raised him to be merciless. They drove home the point that the strong survive, noted at the end of this scene. They made him fight for everything, likely tooth and nail, in an attempt to make him stronger, and he excelled at it, but he never got applause for that, did he? He says later that “as any parent would do, they sent me away.” He did everything they asked and more and all it did was make them afraid of him. He hasn’t known an ounce of kindness, pride, or understanding since his parents died. How much of this is a performance to impress someone, literally anyone who might look at his work and for once say “well done”? It seems like the kind of role that Wilson Fisk might have filled.

“I need somebody to know.” Know what, how the world wronged you? Look at you, taking the first steps that would normally be done in therapy. It’s a shame the guy listening can’t/won’t help you because you’ve impaled him. Given how few panels are between this and Jack’s murder, I have to assume not much time had passed. Wiki says Jack felt mounting pressure to pay medical bills, and I know those can last for literally lifetimes, but I feel like the stress would be freshest closer to the accident, hence the stupid decisions. 

Get a load of this shit. You see that fuckin nine year old? That is Jack Murdock’s doing and this is now a Jack Murdock hate post, at least E-65 Jack Murdock. Matt is literally in the gym with him when he’s murdered. Did he not think for one single second that maybe having your son with you while you’re waiting for people to kill you might endanger him? Jack Murdock failed this boy so bad. This is almost on par with a murder-suicide. Was that it? Was Jack so broken about the death of his wife that he thought they should all die together? Was he simply so negligent that he didn’t consider they might also kill his son? Or was he so prideful that he thought he would be able to stop them when they came? If Matt hadn’t been put in a position where his father let him die, he might have come out closer to a Netflix!Matt, but no. He had to meet Stick in the most vulnerable seconds of his entire life. Over the course of a few minutes, this boy went from orphan straight to child soldier and that is 100%, unquestionably Jack Murdock’s fault. 

Right into the manipulation with this kid. Just take him while he’s in the most emotionally fragile state and tell him that the way to solve it is by killing people. Tell him that he’s special and use this as ammunition. Tell him he’s the best weapon, and that he would be selfish to turn down the opportunity to act like it. Make sure he never aspires to be anything else. Tell him how fortunate he is to have met you. I hate him and I’m glad he got stabbed. 

Fucking Christ, what is he here, like 13? I hate Stick, but I will give him credit for being the last person in Matt’s life who would ever in a million years give him credit for doing a good job. At least in this universe, I’m seeing a manipulative sack of shit that at least pretends to care about Matt’s wellbeing sometimes, and that’s more than can be said for the rest of his life. 

Mourning trauma 2, the squeakquel. That’s fine, just kill father figure #2. Matt really needed another excuse not to get attached to people, you can tell by how happy he’s been up until this point. The world really took everything he had from him, and then found more. 

Yeah, see, he’s repeating my point back to me. “Stick could see… He has nothing left. Nothing to fear. Nothing to hide. Without a life to cage him, he can be anything.” This is where the little bastard finally broke, I think. Had he continued under Stick, would he be functional? Fuck no! But he might have stood a chance of one day stepping down. Now, he’s committed, because from the second they laid eyes on him, the first thing these people thought was “this thing’s going to be great at killing people.” This is where Matthew Murdock gave up hope of being anything but a murderer, because nobody saw anything else in him. No soul, no heart, not even potential intelligence. Just a weapon. I’m glad he killed as many of you as he could. This is where he realized he was, and always would be, alone. 

Did he see them as a family? Did they fuckin make him kill his first lover? How bitter he must have been, knowing he gave everything he had to this cult, this fucked up, bloody found family, only for them to fear him for doing exactly as they asked. “I am something more than they could ever understand.” Even here, he’s an outsider. He doesn’t have allies, just sponsors. Even with all the power in the world, he had nothing at all.

This is a man who had everything he could possibly want, and found it lacking. He wasn’t alone because he was too powerful, he was alone because everyone in his life since Maggie’s death ensured it. He believes himself to be all-powerful. He sought every opportunity to grab more, because he forgot that there were other things. The idea that there may be something else to want besides more control doesn’t exist in his mind, because it has not been allowed to. The most powerful man alive, and he’s still operating on an arbitrary ruleset ingrained by a system that rewarded emotional disconnect and apathy.

He looks kinda young in that reflection of the first panel, dont he?

In a moment of hope, he sees a possibility for human connection of any sort, believing that someone who shares his experiences is the only one who could ever know that he had merit once. Who the fuck else would ever believe that he had potential to be a good person? He would literally rather destroy someone to make them understand what he’s been through before he explained it to another human being, because the only method of communication he was ever taught was cruelty. 

See, this is subtle, here. “Your desires are of no importance.” “Powerful” my pasty white ass. This comic started with him deciding, “No, you know what, you don’t own me, I want a real human connection.” He went about it the wrong fucking way, but please refer back to “Violence is the only thing he’s ever been taught, and therefore the only thing he understands.” This guy was probably 9 years old the last time anyone ever gave a fuck what he wanted. No wonder there’s this obsession with power; it’s obtainable for him and he’s been made to obey. The world has taken everything from him, and The Hand ensured it stayed that way. Power was the only thing Matt ever stood a chance of taking back, and this is him realizing that even that wasn’t doable so long as he was still cooperating. It was probably shortly before he met Gwen that he realized that he had been manipulated his entire life, and there was never anything he could have done about it. 

He's addicted to control, because it's something he hasn't had for most of his life. He wants somebody to stop him because then the failure won’t be his fault. He can forgive himself for losing against a worthy opponent, but backing down has never been an option. He’s always wanted out, but even if The Hand allowed its people to retire (doubt), he can’t do that. I consider most of his goading Gwen later in the comics to be suicide attempt #2. 

This and the panel with little tiny Murderdock all curled up in a ball are enough to make me go completely insane. It’s telling that he considers this a connection. My meow meow in christ, you deserve better. Not because I think he has many redeeming qualities, but because he’s a human being. 

Because what did Jack’s code of honor get Matt? A lifetime alone, full of servitude and trauma, that’s right. 

Is he tho? Yes, he's pulling the strings here, but he's also not allowed to drop them.

This has major “Oh, shocker, Daddy’s disappointed in me. Again.” energy. Look at that face. He knows they’re going to try to kill him, and he’s counting on Gwen to do it first. 

I think Matt was interested in George Stacy’s decision for more than just his obsession with Gwen. I think he had an academic interest to see if Jack’s mistake was one that any idiot would make. If Jack were alive, and he renounced Matt for what he's become, I don't think Matt would give two shits, because what's his opinion worth? But if Jack still loved him anyway, which I think is more likely, then we get something spicy. Then Matt has to make peace with the fact that Jack loved him, but his pride was still worth more. I bet Matt’s thought about that before, and maybe he’s interested in knowing if every man’s pride is worth more than their child’s life. 

I know this is actually a pretty pragmatic thing for Matt to tell him, but I am once again pointing to how nobody has given a shit what Matt wants for years, too busy trying to keep him occupied in a way that’s conducive to The Hand’s purposes. (Or Stick’s. And honestly, probably Fisk’s. And even more honestly? Jack’s. See: no dont go outside ever, you need to go to law school). I’d also point to the fact that Matt expects nobody to ever understand him. If he told someone his side, would they care? Would anyone care?

Okay, I’m still stuck on this. Did Matt see The Hand as a family? A fucked up, brutal, broken family? Because it’s easy to read this as a pride thing, right: “Not them.” Not them, as in “I don’t want them to win” or not them, as in “I want to pretend I was important”? Because it’s not like The Hand is going to purposely draw out his death. If they had it their way, they would make it quick. Why is it so important that Gwen does it? This doesn’t look like the face of a man who wants his apprentice to kill him so she understands bloodlust. He would look a little more hopeful if that were the case; no, this guy’s begging, or as close as he gets to it. 

Or is it justice? Is this the sense of justice that lives in every Matt Murdock in every universe? Because dying by The Hand is just another death, rather than vengeance as Gwen is owed? Maybe Matt’s so cynical in this universe that justice has never been served. He’s certainly never witnessed it. Maybe he wanted Gwen to stop him so bad, because even if he had to be the bad guy, at least he would know that in isolated incidents, justice still existed.

tearing my hair out tbh

[bikmui]

❝ Save your money. ❞ for childe

Childe laughs him off. Even if it was a matter of pride for Diluc, he could not bring himself to not pay for his drink. He was, after all, the one who had invited him out, and to allow him to pay was a matter of both pride and courtesy.

"It isn't my money, but the Fatui's, if that makes you feel better about it."

@firevisioned

[tagedeszorns]

About fanart and fanfiction

There's this great, super tasty restaurant. They make the most amazing, shall we say, omelettes. Everyone raves about it. And I love the taste of omelette. But I'm vegan. I can eat some things in this restaurant, but I have to give up the omelette. So I study the menu down to the smallest detail, learn all about the spices and how to prepare it.

And then I go home and make the omelette with silken tofu instead of eggs. And it tastes great! I and the other vegans are happy. The people who like to eat eggs don't have to have silken tofu. They don't even have to see it. The silken tofu omelette only exists for those who actively want it.

And it's the same with fanart. I draw things the way I want to see them. I know the recipe of the omelette down to the last detail. I am an absolute fluff bunny (years of lore-discussion, on convetions, online and in person with my friends, and dozens of books have me prepared for most topics). I know the rules so I can break them for my own pleasure. Because what I want doesn't exist in the canon. Or doesn't exist in a way that I find aesthetically pleasing.

I am not attacking the canon with this. And if someone pays me for a commission that has to look official, I draw everything so canonically it squeaks. Someone wants gigantic man-meat? No problem! I'll draw the love-child of The Rock and a monster truck! There will be no neck whatsoever! Just meat.

But for me there'll still be graceful twinks and twunks. My aesthetic, my fanart. I respect the canon - but I'm Fabulous Bill and I build what I feel like.

I don't eat everything in the fanart/fanfic restaurant either. Some slash-pairings are just not what I like. Or some themes just don't interest me, even though they're in the fanart/fic restaurant all the time (uuurrrggghh ... Eldar ...). But I will fight tooth and nail for the right of every fanart/fic artist to make the most absurd pairings or draw bootypixies!

Of course, the silken tofu omelette exists in the same virtual space as the official restaurant and its omelette. Which is why you'll notice each other every now and then. You share tags and no doubt you'll see things you don't find appealing. Just like in real life!

The best thing to do then is to look at everything (if you feel like it, there's no obligation) and maybe you'll understand what the artist meant. Eldar artists - you are great. Thousand Sons fans ... I have no idea what you've been smoking, but me and the Wolf Bois are cheering you on!

Second best thing is to just keep scrolling. The menu is big, there's something for everyone.

Absolutely not a good idea to open a discussion about realism and whether something is canonical. Most universes are so consistent that small trucks drive through the plotholes practically all the time. We open this barrel when, in the Star Wars universe, travel times have been equalised and the pronunciation of Twi'lek has been agreed upon, in Star Trek the timeline has been unravelled and in Warhammer the origin stories from thirty years ago have been disposed of. Ah ... and realism. Hmmmm. Well. I hate to say it, but basically it's not a good idea to hurl gothic cathedrals through a hard vacuum. Not even if there are people inside who can spit acid, get the memories of a corpse by eating it and metabolise old shoes.

TLDR: I love you all, you great fanart/fanfic-producing disasters, you make all the beautiful fictional worlds even more colourful. You are the salt of the earth.

[juseki-taisen]

I need some wholesome moments. 

What they do when you’re sick

Sorry I didn’t proof read it, I’m tired

Inounoshishi

- Not the greatest caregiver in the world. She grew up fighting tooth and nail, so she isn’t used to babying anyone

- Will pay any and all of your doctor bills. She can’t help you, or really bring herself to go the extra mile, but she still cares

- You have a high fever and wanna curl up and sleep? Guess who just bought you the most AMAZING high cost PJ’s and coziest blankets.

- May wear gloves and a mask to see you, and may sit across the room, but will keep you company 

- Five star soup from her personal chef 

- You worried about sick time or work? Don’t worry, if you’re sick for a long period of time she’s going to pay all your bills.

Dotsuku

- He’s a dad, a new dad, but a dad. He also works at a school. He has this covered

- Make you soup, whatever you want. If you have special dietary needs and he doesn’t have a recipe off hand, he will message his mom group and see if anyone does. 

- All medicine on hand

- His daughter, though she doesn’t see you to prevent her from getting sick, sends her dad with a card she made my hand saying to get well soon. She really like glitter. 

- He’s going to tease you for being sick, but it’s all in good fun. 

- Doesn’t let you do anything. Your job is to get better, not to do laundry. 

Niwatori

- She’s so used to looking out for only herself, and not showing weakness, that taking care of someone else is NOT her strong suit. 

- She tries. She doesn’t go and see you face to face, since she doesn’t wanna get sick, but she has her birds delivery medicine for you

- Nothing will ever top having soup flown in by doves into your kitchen with a cute hand written note to get better

- Calls you on the phone. You fell asleep, and woke up two hours later and realized you never hung up. She didn’t either. She just asks how you slept.

- Medicine also delivered. You think she’s trying to top herself because you hear a knock on the door and there’s a friggin’ swan with a cute bag full of medication

Sharyu

- Gives Dostuku a run for his money in terms of being the most supportive

- Doesn’t let you get up and bundles you tight in blankies. How sh managed to swaddle you like a child, no one knows. You’re cozy tho 100%

- All the soup she makes is from scratch. There’s so much love in it

- Knows what you need and when before you can ask. Very supportive. 

- If you’re not 100% better and try to work she’ll call in for you. You’ll get better even if it kills her. 

- Sings you to sleep. 

Hitsujii

- Has weird old school remedies to make you feel better. 

- Makes soup so filling you’re pretty sure that you gained 10 pounds from one bowl

- Has a quilt he wraps you in, and scolds you if you get out of it

- One of those wet wash cloths on your forehead

- Hums while taking care of you

Uuma

- Tries his best to make you feel better, and goes overbaord.

- If he has a sweatshirt, you’re wearing it

- Has been to the hospital multiple times, and he’s made nurse friends. His favorite is an older lady and he calls her in a panic. You don’t know just how much in a panic he is 

- Thank to his nurse friend he takes STELLAR care of you

- Will feed you soup himself. Also makes you tea...maybe to much. He wasn’t sure what kind you liked so he bough...ALL

Takeyasu

- He doesn’t know how to take care of human people

- Googles how to make you feel better

- He wear a mask and gloves and doesn’t interact with you a lot directly. He cares, from a distance. 

- Weirdly is good at taking care of you? He’s a reptile dad, and at first he’s AWFUL at it, then when he gets it in his head to treat you like he’d treat his babies reptiles, he’s weirdly decent at it

- Gets you tea

- Orders take out for your soup. Gets you blankets. 

Nagayuki

- He’s very stoic and strict

- No video games or computer, go back to bed and sleep

- Doesn’t hang out with you, but will order you delivery for anything you need

- “No you’re not dying, you have the flu. Throw up and go to bed” 

- He’s not great at taking care of people. He can take care of Takeyasu, but being sweet and tender with someone? He’d sooner hack a mainframe of a top notch bank 

- Does get you a get well card, and slips it under your door. It has a surprisingly nice message. 

Usagi

- He doesn’t get sick often, and he’s not used to people taking care of him, but you...oh you does he try his HARDEST

- Goes over the top. You come out form the bathroom after being sick and there is at least twenty new blankets, four new teapots, fifty varieties of teas, and it looks like he robbed a drug store

- You don’t even have to walk, he carries you everywhere.

- Snuggles. He doesn’t care how snotty or gross you are. He wants his snuggle bunny. He’s not leaving your side until your better

- Read sponge baths are good for sick people, take that as you will

- 100% gets sick afterwards. Extra needy

Tora

- Is really practical about it

- Has a few seasons of your favorite show to binge while you get better

- Takes care of you, but doesn’t baby you that much

- Makes you instant ramen as soup. 

- gets you tea and blankets. No kisses but will sit on the couch with you 

- Gets you medicine, wasn’t sure what kind to get. 10/10 calls Sharyu

- Does her best to keep you comfortable and try and make you laugh a little

- Pets your hair when you fall asleep on her lap

Ushii

- Not great at taking care of people

- Just make him a list of what you need. He is one panicked step away from dropping you at the hospital with the basic “Fix this” 

- Orders you fancy soup from an expensive restaurant 

- he knows you’re supposed to keep warm, and will wrap you in blankets

- Will let you snuggle with him on the couch

- He will do whatever you ask

- Tucks you into bed

Nezumi

- Already knows your sick before you open the door, and thanks to 100 paths, he knows exactly what you need

- You of course have no idea and because you’re sick, now you think he’s a magic man

- He takes pretty decent care of you, and even plays games with you on the couch

- Totally lets you win at mario cart

-makes you ramen, adds stuff to it. It’s not amazing but oh boy is it full of love

- You get better really quickly

[ranboo5]

the writer!cc!wilbur defense squad never rests 😔😔😔😔 no wilbur did not manage to actualize other people's (niki and eret's most notably) arcs into the writing of season 1 and that's a shame because they were all really good and I wouldve loved to see more of it but consider, 1) wilbur is One guy and his character is Much more ingrained into the geopolitical climax than he is with the emotional impact on the chacracters around him, 2) they very clearly write their own characters. Wilbur writes Tommy's, Tubbo's maybe, Techno is involved in his own writing even if Wilbur hadn't expected him to do much, Phil had come in with a set goal but ultimately it was improv my dude. The Theseus speech is a whole script Techno had for himself he didn't fight tooth and nail for it, he wrote it himself, that's how roleplay works. 3) his cursed lore? Is very clearly not Forced onto people? We dont view them as gospel if the actual content creator simply said they didnt want to do that and then didnt? If Phil said "i dont want a fucking Samsung fridge in my lore" he just would have said so? The fridge is now in the dump? Fundy fully embraces having a salmon for a mother and has said interpreting his charcter as trans is completely okay ? Techno said he didn't want the sbi family canon and guess what? It's gone! Wilbur is Phil's only child! It's that easy! They don't Have to fight Wilbur because they're friends and Wilbur's not a head writer for a tv show they have to keep checking in with! He's not paying their bills!

Wilbur was the main writer because he was a massive part of the current main conflict and it needed Structure. Once it was done, he handed off the script and vibed! There are so many characters on the smp now and he is friends with the content creators behind them. They are not strangers. He is not a studio network telling them to pull in views by rehashing the entire plot. He Is Not Going To Take Away Your Meow Meow's Character Arc

- vaguepost anon

Wilbur being One Guy is kind of the problem? Like yeah he's One Guy which means he can't write the whole RP and world, and he doesn't, but the framing of him as a Main Writer implies that there is a dichotomy between Real Lore and What Wilbur Didn't Write, which we have seen in action even recently, and that's concerning

Also yeah Techno has talked about how he had to hash the whole thing Out with Wilbur abt having a main role in the finale. Like yeah he wrote that himself but he had to put his foot down abt it. I think yr also underestimating th impact of how Mr Soot wrote SBI into it; it really ended up kneecapping Philza's character introduction and he's redoing it but it's not like. I'll elaborate on thsi in the last para here hang on

I have no doubt Mr Soot wants to help the RP but he is not doing it any favors by assuming that he can write 12 streams of Main Writer Things ahead of time; that perpetuates the concept that there is A Narrative

Like I think there's a gray area between "Mr Soot's engagement w/ the DSMP has 0 problems" and "Mr Soot is a studio network telling them to pull in views by rehashing the entire plot" and I think that's where. He is? Like I don't think he's Trying to be controlling and like he's Good At Improv which is a whole thing that makes it More Confusing when many ppl have expressed esp under him (not only, but esp) that their plotlines have been No'd instead of Yes And-ed

And like okay last para where I talk abt this. Honestly I think it's less an issue of Mr Soot and more of ppl perceiving his word as authority, which they Do. Like if you think people actually stopped holding SBI as canon? If you think Philza's character introduction and the conflict w/ how he wanted to take his character didn't kneecap his perception? As a Philza enjoyer I have some news for you :pensive: Mr Soot isn't like a fucked up evil guy or whatever in or out of character he's just lost in the concept of being able to manage the wider progression of A World (which I think is an issue of finding balance in the leadership role he finds himself in as a more experienced RPer, which is a hard balance to find) and the issue is magnified a thousandfold by the fact that people take his word as authority and it has demonstratably negatively impacted the DSMP's writing and fandom engagement

[vitanitf]

BASIC QUESTIONS

First name? “Vitani.”

Surname? “Leu.”

Middle names? “Alala.”

Nicknames? “V.”

Date of birth? “August 20th, 1998.”

Age? “Twenty two.”

PHYSICAL / APPEARANCE

Height? “5′4.”

Weight? “121 pounds.”

Build? “Athletic.”

Hair color? “Pink right now.”

Hair style? “Buzzcut.”

Eye color? “Brown.”

Eye shape? “Shit, I don’t know. Deep set?”

Glasses or contact lenses? “I wasn’t born with no weak ass eyes.”

Distinguishing facial features? “Freckles.”

Which facial feature is most prominent? “My jawline.”

Which bodily feature is most prominent? “While I’d love to say my ass, I think it would be my arms.”

Other distinguishing features? “A shit ton of little scars.”

Skin? “Light.”

Hands? “Strong.”

Make up? “I do eyes and lips, that’s all. Eyeliner, lipstick. Eyeshadow and mascara if I’m feeling frisky.”

Scars? “Trust me, honey, someone like me has a lot of those.”

Birthmarks? “Wouldn’t you like to see?”

Tattoos? “None. Yet.”

Physical handicaps? “Non-existent.”

Type of clothes? “Depends on what kind of mood I’m in.”

How do you wear your clothes? “I’m guilty of a little tailoring if needed.”

What are your feet like? “What the fuck? Weirdo. Good enough, why? You want pictures?”

Race / Ethnicity? “Half black, half white.”

Mannerisms? “I’m a shifter. Always moving my weight from one leg to the other.”

Are you in good health? “Better be. I ain’t worked my ass off for nothing.”

Do you have any disabilities? “No.”

PERSONALITY

What words or phrases do you overuse? “Fuck, shit, Hell, ass, damn. Bitch too, if you catch me in a bad mood.”

Do you have a catchphrase? “What kind of cheesy ass bullshit would that be?”

Are you more optimistic or pessimistic? “Pessimistic.”

Are you introverted or extroverted? “Introverted.”

Do you ever put on airs? “Sometimes it’s necessary.”

What bad habits do you have? “Saying inappropriate things at inappropriate times. Wanting to punch something when I get pissed.”

What makes you laugh out loud? “People falling. Gets me every time.”

How do you display affection? “I don’t.”

Mental handicaps? “Listen, if I didn’t have any of those after my childhood, I’d be fucking unstoppable, huh?”

How do you want to be seen by others? “Important.”

How do you see yourself? “Lost.”

How are you seen by others? “Intimidating.”

Strongest character trait? “My independence.”

Weakest character trait? “My stubbornness.”

How competitive are you? “Hella.”

Do you make snap judgements or take time to consider? “I make snap judgements. I’m working on it, alright?”

How do you react to praise? “If I ever get any, I’ll let you know.”

How do you react to criticism? “I either get pissed or I try to do better. Or both. Usually both.”

What is your greatest fear? “That I can’t stop myself from turning into my mom.”

What are your biggest secrets? “I’ve done a lot of shit I’ll never repeat. I can’t.”

What is your philosophy of life? “I don’t know anymore. I’m just trying to go day by day.”

When was the last time you cried? “When I ended up at Kiara’s after beating the shit out of some poor girl in a club. First and last time I ever remember crying.”

What haunts you? “My past. A lot of it.”

What are your political views? “Anyone but Scar.”

What will you stand up for? “My beliefs, no matter how twisted or wrong or confused they may be. I think I’ve proved that point.”

Who do you quote? “No one.”

Are you indoorsy or outdoorsy? “Outdoorsy. I hate being inside too long. It feels like being a wild animal trapped in some tiny enclosure. I can’t stand it.”

What is your sinful little habit? “Oh, baby, I’ve got plenty of those.”

What sense do you most rely on? “You have to rely on all of them to get by. You can’t pick and choose. You have to keep them all sharp.”

How do you treat people better than them? “Excuse me? Who are you saying is better than me? At what?”

How do you treat people worse than them? “Depends what they’re worse at.”

What quality do you most value in a friend? “If I had friends, I assume it would be loyalty.”

What do you consider an overrated virtue? “Kindness.”

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? “I’d like to be content in my skin, not have to strive for approval anymore. It’s a hard habit o shake.”

What is your obsession? “Knives. God, I love knives.”

What are your pet peeves? “Hypocrites. Cutting in line. Loud ringers. Pop music. Too much traffic. Goody two shoes.”

What are your idiosyncrasies? “I lick my lips too damn much.”

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Is your family big or small? Who does it consist of? “As far as I’m concerned, there’s Nuka. That’s it.”

What is your perception of family? “It’s fucked up, it’s a trap, and you’re better off if you never have any.”

Do you have siblings? Older or younger? “Two brothers. I’m the middle child.”

Describe your best friend. “I don’t have one.”

Ideal best friend? “Someone that wouldn’t annoy the Hell out of me.”

Describe your other friends. “I don’t have friends.”

Describe your acquaintances. “Okay, those. They’re cool. I’d put Penelope, Sadie and my boss on that list.” 

Do you have any pets? “No.”

Who are your natural allies? “My brother.”

Who are your surprising allies? “I guess you could say Kiara.”

PAST AND FUTURE

What were you like as a baby? As a child? “Fucked up. I didn’t play with other kids. I wasn’t allowed to have friends. I went to school, I trained, I went to bed. A lot of times without dinner. I spent I don’t know how many nights listening to gunshots hoping we weren’t next. So, yeah. Fucked up.”

Did you grow up rich or poor? “Poor.”

Did you grow up nurtured or neglected? “What do you think?”

What is the most offensive thing you ever said? “How long do you got?”

What is your greatest achievement? “Making it out of that shithole alive.”

What was your first kiss like? “It wasn’t even a first kiss, it was a make out session during sex. I’ve never been kissed just to be kissed.”

What is the worst thing you did to someone you loved? “I let my family treat Nuka like shit, then I let him leave and I didn’t follow. I didn’t check up on him. I guess I thought… I guess I didn’t realize I had a choice, or how clear the right one was. There’s no excuse. I should’ve stood up for him.”

What are your ambitions? “I just want to do better.”

What advice would you give your younger self? “Run. As soon as you can, run as far as you can get. It has to be better than this.”

What smells remind you of your childhood? “Copper, mildew, sulfur and smoke.”

What was your childhood ambition? “To make mama and Scar proud.”

What is your best childhood memory? “You’re going to think I’m shitting you if I say I don’t have one, but I don’t have one.”

What is your worst childhood memory? “Oh, those, I’ve got a whole notebook of those.”

Did you have an imaginary childhood friend? “No.”

When was the last time you were crushed with disappointment? “When I was told to leave. Do you know what it feels like realizing your entire life was a goddamn lie? It’s maddening.”

What past act are you most ashamed of? “Thinking it was okay to live the way I was living.”

What past act are you most proud of? “Deciding I was going to move and move on. It took a push, but I decided to be a bigger person. I did that.”

Has anyone ever saved your life? “More than a few times. Where I grew up, if you’re not saving one another, you’re all fucked.”

Strongest childhood memory? “It was storming. We didn’t have any candles or lamps or nightlights. I remember wanting to run to Kovu’s room. I was so scared I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was just a kid… but I wasn’t allowed to be scared. So I laid there watching the lightning until I fell asleep.”

LOVE

Do you believe in love at first sight? “No.”

Are you in a relationship? “No.”

How do you behave in a relationship? “I wouldn’t know.”

When did you last have sex? “It’s been… what, a week?”

What sort of sex do you have? “I’m a little kinky. I’ll leave it at that.”

Have you ever been in love? “Hell no.”

Have you ever had your heart broken? “If you want to call it that.”

CONFLICT

How do you respond to a threat? “Threaten back.”

Are you most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? “Fists, but I can multitask if you want to keep it interesting.”

What is your kryptonite? “A hot girl. I’m putty in her hands.”

If you could only save one thing from your burning house, what would it be? “I don’t have anything worth saving.”

How do you perceive strangers? “Threats until proven otherwise.”

What do you love to hate? “Cockiness. It can be pretty damn sexy.”

What are your phobias? “I don’t have any.”

What is your choice of weapon? “Guns are more effective, but I’m a knife kid through and through.”

What living person do you most despise? “Zira.”

Have you ever been bullied or teased? “Kids were too afraid of me to tease me.”

Where do you go when you’re angry? “I’m trying to remember to just go away. Take a deep breath, count to ten, chill the fuck out. It’s really fucking hard.”

Who are your enemies and why? “The outsiders. I wasted two decades fighting tooth and nail for them. I put my life on the line. I gave them everything I had and more, and they turned their back on me. They can all rot in Hell.”

WORK, EDUCATION AND HOBBIES

What is your current job? “I’m a bartender at the Pit Stop.”

What do you think about their current job? “It’s not a bad job. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not glamorous, but it pays the bills. The guy hired me on the spot. No experience. No nothing. I’ve got a lot of respect for Mr. McQueen.”

What are some of your past jobs? “You don’t wanna know.”

What are your hobbies? “It all revolves around combat training.”

Educational background? “High school GED.”

Intelligence level? “Higher than yours.”

Do you have any specialist training? “Twenty fucking years of it.”

Do you have a natural talent for something? “Yeah, martial arts and spear throwing.”

Do you play a sport? Are you any good? “I don’t play any sports, but trust me, I’d be good.”

What is your socioeconomic status? “I got too much other shit to worry about. Check back in a year or two.”

FAVORITES

What is your favorite animal? “Lions.”

Which animal do you dislike the most? “Giraffes. What do they even do with those long ass necks? Eat leaves? What a waste.”

What place would you most like to visit? “Africa.”

What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? “Don’t you dare laugh at me. I’ll fuck you up. There’s something about sunsets that always stops me in my tracks. I’m serious, not a giggle.”

What is your favorite song? “I don’t listen to music.”

Music, art, reading preferred? “Art.”

What is your favorite color? “Red.”

What is your password? “And why would I tell you that?” (576342rtsyssy572xlc2l)

Favorite food: “I’m partial to steak.”

What is your favorite work of art? “Dunno.”

Who is your favorite artist? “Dunno times two.”

What is your favorite day of the week? “There’s something about Thursdays that just feel right.”

POSSESSIONS

What is in your fridge? “I’m not gonna lie, it’s running low right now. I know there’s some strawberries and half a carton of milk left, probably not much else of mine.”

What is on your bedside table? “Glass of water, earbuds, phone charger, pocket knife, wallet. There’s a pistol in the drawer, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

What is in your car? “Don’t have one, but I left a spare charger in Nuka’s.”

What is in your bin? “It’s empty.”

What is in your purse or wallet? “ID. Fake ID, just in case. Cash. Debit card, credit card. Some grocery rewards card I got talked into signing up for. Oh, and a coupon for Fudge Stripes, I need to remember to get those before it expires.”

What is in your pockets? “A knife.”

What is your most treasured possession? “My most expensive sword. It’s not that expensive, I found it at a thrift store, but I fixed that baby up.”

SPIRITUALITY

Who or what is your guardian angel? “I’m not buying that I have one.”

Do you believe in the afterlife? “There’s gotta be something. There’s too many people I know that deserve to burn in Hell.”

What are your religious views? “Don’t really have any.”

What do you think heaven is? “Dunno.”

What do you think hell is? “A well deserved torture chamber.”

Are you superstitious? “Eh.”

What would you like to be reincarnated as? “Some big cat. That’d be really fucking cool. If not a lion, a tiger or a cougar or something. But not in a zoo. Hell no.”

How would you like to die? “I hope I go out in a blaze of glory.”

What is your spirit animal? “Lioness.”

What is your zodiac sign? “Leo.”

VALUES

What do you think is the worst thing that can be done to a person? “Taking everything from them.”

What is your view of ‘freedom’? “Not being forced to do anyone’s biding.”

When did you last lie? “It’s been awhile now.”

What’s your view of lying? “Don’t lie to me. Sometimes it’s gotta be done. But don’t you dare lie to me.”

When did you last make a promise? “I don’t make promises.”

Did you keep or break their last promise? “I’d probably break them. That’s why I don’t make promises.”

DAILY LIFE

What are your eating habits? “I have trouble remembering to eat, so sit’s a little sketchy, I’m working on it.”

Do you have any allergies? “Nope.”

Describe your home. “It’s not much, but it’s more than I’ve ever had.”

Are you a minimalist or a clutter hoarder? “I’m a minimalist.”

What do you do first thing on a weekday morning? “Look outside.”

What do you do on a Sunday afternoon? “Work, usually.”

What do you do on a Friday night? “Stay up too late.”

What is your soft drink of choice? “I don’t like soda.”

What is your alcoholic drink of choice? “I lack too much experience to choose.”

MISCELLANEOUS

What or who would you dress up as for Halloween? “Dressed up as a kickboxer once, I think that’s it.”

Are you comfortable with technology? “Yeah. I guess. What does that mean?”

If you could save one person, who would it be? “Nuka.”

If you could call one person for help, who would it be? “Nuka.”

What is your greatest extravagance? “Don’t have much of one.”

What is your greatest regret? “Wasting so much of my life to come out empty handed.”

What is your perception of redemption? “All I know is I’m trying.”

What would you do if you won the lottery? “Buy Nuka and I a real place instead of an apartment.”

What is your favorite fairytale? “Hansel and Gretel.”

What fairytale do you hate? “Jack and the Beanstalk. It’s fucking stupid.”

Do you believe in happy endings? “No.”

What is your idea of perfect happiness? “I don’t know if it exists.”

What would you ask a fortune teller? “Where do I end up?”

If you could travel through time, where would you go? “Back to the start. Redo it all. Right this time.”

What sport do you excel at? “Never played much sports.”

What sport do you suck at? “I don’t.”

If you could have a superpower, what would you choose? “Shapeshifting. That’d be fucking cool. Turn into a mouse, squeeze in a crack, turn into a bear and rip someone’s fucking face off if you need to.”

[martinxjones-blog]

『 steve buscemi. sixty-one. demi man. he/they. 』 oh heavens, is that MARTIN JONES from MAIN STREET i see roaming around mapleview? minnie may’s always calling them DISORGANIZED & CHILDISH. i happen to think they’re not that bad! they’re a pretty cool ART TEACHER AT MAPLEVIEW HIGH SCHOOL and every time i’ve seen them, they’ve always been IMAGINATIVE & SPONTANEOUS. i hope i see them around again! 『 kyle. twenty-two. est. he/him. 』

born to two parents that were on the verge of adopting a more free lifestyle, martin can only barely remember the times of a traditional family. he was only four when it all changed, his parents bouncing between fighting and cuddling up on the sofa with the same fierce speed as a tennis ball before eventually settling on an open door policy  — neither were willing to call things off entirely, but the love was no longer there.

martin remembers many of the partners that his parents had over the years, some that were shared between them and others that only ever seemed to show up when one parent wasn’t around. it was a confusing thing but not necessarily a bad thing, though admittedly it’s partially what caused martin to hide away in his room with sets of pastels and then later oil paints. 

martin’s own relationships always looked like the opposite of those of his parents  — drawn out romantic affairs that fizzle out into friendships when they realize that’s for the better mixed with a more than healthy dose of unrequited loves. 

the decision to become a teacher only came about when the occassional show in local galleries wasn’t enough to pay the bills, but it was in the crowded classrooms that martin came into himself for the first time. passionate rants about colour theory blended into dismissals of commonly taught art history and encouragement to explore the lesser known artists that fueled the growth of different movements. it was in the same classrooms that he realized at just thirty years old, that he loved kids.

he was thirty-five when he took in his first foster child, a sullen teenager who had been in the system for far too long  — he was thirty-six when he fought tooth and nail for the child to not be moved yet again, and he won. he helped them as much as they could even after they had aged out of the system, even once he took in another foster child and to this day, they still keep in touch. he’s fostered more children that he can count in the years since and has adopted three of them, and has no real plans to stop fostering anytime soon unless he has to.

[creaturebehavior]

what do you do when your best isn’t enough? everyone is disappointed cos my efforts to not kill myself have been misinterpreted as me not giving a fuck. my options were, go to the hospital and cause my family tons of extra stress after their houses burnt down and make them pay bills out the ass just to get a med change (which I don’t need) and a 72 hour hold which probably wouldn’t help, or use a drug or two to calm my brain down long enough to keep me alive. like what other options does a suicidal person even have? and now I wish I would have gone to the stupid fucking hospital cos no one will take me seriously and everyone thinks i’m being a fucked up piece of shit addict, cos that’s how they see me. just a good-for-nothing drug-using piece of shit. when really I was fighting tooth and nail to stay alive FOR THEIR SAKE. like I don’t even WANT to be alive at all. i welcome death. but they told me before, we can’t afford the hospital again, and so I got high instead when i wanted to kill myself cos i knew that would keep me going. and now everyone is flipping out. cos apparently i can’t do anything right. no matter what, if i’m struggling it is my family’s burden to deal with. they act like my problems are directed at them. I am sorry I have never been happy. I am sorry everyone seems to think I am like this on purpose.

I was doing my best and trying my. sorry to be fucking dramatic but honestly, I give up. I will never amount to anything anyway, because I can’t get anywhere. im still not in school even though i’ve been dying to go for like a year. just doing my best trying to get the fucking gold sobriety star. doing what everyone else tells me to do. and I am dead inside. I feel more dead inside than when I was hooked on pills. my life matters so little to me. please god take me away from all of this. what’s even the point? im going nowhere and every day I hate myself more and more. and living with my dad right now is just a constant reminder that I am nothing but a burden and a dead beat piece of shit child. my dad hates all addicts. and I grew up to be exactly what he despises. and there’s nothing i can fucking do about it. he has no idea how hard i’ve been trying and how much work goes into not only getting sober but also staying sober especially when you don’t fucking want to be sober and the only reason you’re trying is so everyone gets off your fucking back.

so why wouldn’t I want to escape? my mind is screaming constantly. I don’t think it’s possible to hate myself more than i already do but I know I deserve more punishment for being born with this stupid disease so I try.

where do I go from here? where is up? where is the ground? my best isn’t even half as good as everyone else wants me to be doing. so why keep trying? im a constant disappointment. being a disappointment is the only thing i’m really good at. so until I die I guess this is my life.

[porchwood]

I wish I could even begin to articulate how difficult things are in my life right now. I’ve admitted to depression in previous posts but that’s barely a fraction of the picture. In mid-December I lost my just-barely-sustaining-me job because my boss closed her bodywork practice, and if you live anywhere with seasonal traffic, you know that the off-season is the worst possible time to find work, especially if you’re in a tourism-fueled industry. I was able to cobble together two days a week each at two different places (a spa and a yoga studio) but traffic is still painfully slow and no matter what the law says, no one wants to pay their therapists if there aren’t clients coming in. I’ve been creeping by on about $250 a week at a time of year when it costs $300-400 a month to heat an apartment to 60 degrees. (That’s the lowest possible temp at which I don’t have to keep Lucky in a sweater. :/ I can’t begin to comprehend why propane is so inefficient.) Thankfully I have a roommate (and a good one) to help offset utilities, but unfortunately, I’m dealing with a lot more than that.

There was a glitch with the direct deposit at my second job and I only just received all my wages for the month of January, which will significantly help out for the moment, but that money would have been awfully nice to have for groceries (and heat bills) in January. I’m not starving by any means, but I’m truly living week-to-week and I can physically tell that I’m not getting enough protein (because meat is expensive, even for a bargain shopper).

Right after Christmas I had a terrifying episode of chest pain and wound up in the emergency room at 1am. (I don’t go to the hospital for anything, so that should tell you what a desperate situation this was.) The hospital experience was terrible to say the least, and about three weeks later I got a bill for $1,343 (and a subsequent smaller one for my chest x-ray), because my Obamacare policy covered nothing. (Let that sink in, okay? They “adjusted” the fee but covered no part. Of an ER visit - in-network, no less! - which is the end-all reason everyone tells you that you need health insurance.) I applied for financial assistance right away, which required exhaustive paperwork, only to be informed that they need my 2017 tax return (this was before I’d even received my W-2s) or they would automatically reject my application. Which means I now have to come up with a couple hundred dollars to have my taxes done in order to - wait for it - qualify for a payment plan. It’s pretty clear that I’m not going to receive any assistance or bill forgiveness (if your income isn’t below a particular number - and ironically, my 2016 income was - it’s an automatic rejection), but they won’t even let you have a payment plan (for a $1,343 bill) unless you send them gobs of paperwork demonstrating sufficient financial need.

Lucky’s separation anxiety is relentless and responding to nothing, and I spent the month of January making weekly 90-minute round trips to a veterinary acupuncturist, to the tune of $400+ (maxing out my credit cards in the hope that finally, this would help). Lucky hated the treatments (and I hated myself for putting her through them), her anxiety only got worse and the day before my birthday, the downstairs neighbors left a note implying that if I don’t put her in daycare (which is a whole other mess of a subject), they’ll report us to the landlord.

That night was the lowest I think I’ve ever come in my life. Thankfully, my sister must have picked up on this somehow because she called to chat for a little, but it was the first time I actually looked up the contact info for Lifeline (didn’t call but looked it up), and when my poor roommate finally got home I broke down in ugly tears and told her about something bad that happened to me a long time ago that I’ve never told anyone.

Right now I’m...coping. I guess that’s the only word for it. I’m eating, bathing, dressing, going to work, going outside, etc - and most importantly, taking care of Lucky, who is my literal lifeline. I’ve found one last vet to try and we’re going in tomorrow for a consult, but my roommate is dubious about the chances of success and concerned that the neighbors will flip that I’m not putting Lucky straight into a kennel this week. But right now the future boils down to two equally awful prospects:

1) I get Lucky vaccinated for bordetella and board her at the safest place I can find, to the tune of $20-30 a day (plus round-trip drives of about 30-40 mins twice a day), and try to function at work. There’s no way I can afford those rates, of course, and most of these places only take cash, so I’ll have to get another credit card to pay for living expenses while my wages go to daycare. Or I could look into getting a third job, but that would mean another day or two of daycare to pay for, so I wouldn’t be getting ahead, I’d be exhausted out of my mind, and I’d never see my little girl, who is not a young dog anymore.

2) I move permanently back to Nebraska (in stages, because there’s no way I can afford a U-Haul anytime soon) and continue to pay my half of rent and utilities as long as my roommate wants to stay here. (That was our arrangement last winter and remains the only fair thing to do, really, especially as subletting is forbidden.) My sister would take me in at her tiny house and probably let me stay rent-free, but now my aging father is back in Nebraska, and while my sister and I would buffer each other as much as possible, we’d be expected (read: pressured) to serve as caregivers to some extent, especially me, because I’m a massage therapist. And there aren’t a lot of resources to help you deal with an elderly narcissist. (Fun example: Dad ranted to my sister that he didn’t know why I moved to Maine right before he returned to Nebraska because, and I quote, “She only went to massage school so she could take care of me!” He also lamented to a friend - in front of my sister - that he’s not going to get any more grandchildren because my still-unmarried sister is about to turn 40. Which is a horrible thing to say in and of itself, but I don’t think it even occurred to him in the moment that his youngest child doesn’t have a reproductive system anymore and that the loss of it made her want to die.) Someday I might tell you about the rift with my parents, if I haven’t already - it’s not the aforementioned bad thing from my childhood, but it effectively means that I don’t have parents anymore, not in any kind of supportive sense.

Anyway, I’m scared and weary and hopeless and I hate the assumption that when someone isn’t engaging through social media or responding to messages that they’re self-centered, snooty, having too much fun to bother, etc. My life began to crumble four years ago and has continued at a relentless snowball-roll ever since without getting minutely better or even letting up a little, and I can’t swim a lick so I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep treading water indefinitely. And I don’t want to talk about it because even the nicest of those conversations start with “Are things getting any better?” and the answer is always, ALWAYS, “No.”

I don’t expect sympathy or support, because four years of relentless crap have taught me that the worse your life gets, the less people care. It becomes part of your identity to them (”Well, sounds like Elisabeth’s having some trouble again...”) and, I suspect, starts to paint you as a person who just can’t figure it out/get on in the real world, not someone who’s being subjected to an inordinate amount of bad fortune. I’ve had to fight tooth and nail just to survive these past four years, and if God and the world could agree that, just maybe, I finally deserve a little break, maybe I could stop subsisting and start rebuilding from the wreckage.

[i-write-shakespeare-not-disney]

Barrio Slums and More

I’m already starting part two so let me know what you guys think please :)

Stupid big corporation economy. Stupid private schools with stupid unreasonable tuitions. Stupid Lance for thinking he could handle it.

All he’d wanted was to make his family proud. To be a good example for his siblings and younger cousins in comparison to the dead beats his older cousins had become. He wanted to show them it was possible to go out and explore the world and get more than their shitty neighborhood in Houston slums. That it was good to dream big and go for what you wanted. That they were more than the stereotype.

They weren’t just meant for a hand-me-down mechanics shop, housecleaning, gardening, and street-vending. They were meant for more. They could be astronauts, doctors, lawyers, writers, anything.

“Lance!”

The angry booming voice of his grandfather pierced through his regret as he cleaned the dishes at his tia’s restaurant. It was almost bankrupt, and hardly anyone came in, especially with the location. It was hidden, and it looked shabby on the outside. A ditch by the parking lot, and potholes littered across the parking lot like polka dots. A phone booth that was half knocked over and covered in graffiti stood nearby. It was a miracle his tia had managed this long.

“Don’t worry, mijito,” she would say. “As soon as this goes down, I’m opening my salon.” Lance never tried to mention the lack of money that would diminish that dream.

“Yes, Papo?” he answered, scrubbing the plates more fiercely.

“Don’t forget to stop by the shop later so we can fix your mother’s car.” He nodded and delved into the dishes again.

“Lancito,” he heard his tia Carla croon. “Go wait that table please, honey, I have some bills to look over. I’ll finish those or Dianita will.”

“Okay,” he mumbled. He didn’t mind working. It was more the fact that everyone thought he was working the restaurant and the mechanic shop for summer money. They had no idea he was here for good. That he was stuck. That he’d failed.

He walked out to the tables, wiping his hands on his apron and grabbed the tray of drinks he assumed were theirs since they were the only table occupied. “Sweet tea?” he asked. A guy with a weird white streak in his hair waved. “Soda?” A heavyset guy with tribal tattoos along his arm and a child with wide glasses raised their hands dismissively. “And this is yours then,” he said, setting down the lemonade in front of a boy with long hair pulled into a low ponytail. Several strands fell forward regardless. “Ready to order?”

The guy with a white streak looked around and nodded. “Yeah, I think so. You gonna jot it down?”

“I have a good memory,” he said, hugging the tray.

“Okay,” the guy smiled. “I’ll take the burger with everything.”

“I want the Pirata plate. No onions,” tribal tattoo said.

“I’ll take the breaded steak thing,” the kid said. “I’m not sure how you say it.”

“Milanesa?” Lance offered. The kid nodded and handed over the menu. “What about you?”

“Um. I guess I’ll have the enchiladas.” He glanced up and gave the menu to Lance, causing Lance to hesitate. He knew this guy. He knew the voice, and the eyes which were such a dark blue, they were almost purple. He’d never seen eyes like those before or since. “What?” he snipped.

“Keith?” he questioned.

“Do I know you?” he answered, furrowing his eyebrows.

“No probably not. I went to high school with you. So it’s been a little over a year.”

“Oh. Well, sorry I don’t remember.” Lance shrugged and turned away to put their order in.

He returned later with their food, watching enviously from the cash register as the group laughed and joked as they ate. The kid was apparently one of their nieces and they’d gotten lost when they found the restaurant. They seemed to like the food though. Everyone liked Tia Carla’s food.

Lance stopped by the table enough times to show he was aware, but not enough to make small talk with an old classmate and embarrass himself for his failures. Still, as he watched them, he found his eyes returning to Keith again and again.

He noted how he laughed, how he chewed, how his eyes would roll when the guy with tattoos said a joke. Keith. Keith from high school. Lance had always had a sort-of-mini-crush on him. Usually from afar. He knew of the guy, but he’d never actually known him. He was in the crowd of people that were cool without knowing it. That kept to themselves but the entire school seemed to revere them. Lance was part of the nerds, placing at the top percent of his class. If anyone knew him, it would be, Lance, rank 3, the guy who pantsed Coach Reyes on Senior Prank day and almost didn’t walk.

No one knew how much he’d begged and even cried with the principal to let him graduate after that. No one knew how he spent nights getting three hours of sleep because kids at home needed help with homework and all the adults were working, and Lance was the unfortunate one who was old enough but not too old with his own life to babysit. No one knew that his lame jokes in his AP classes were just to cover for the fact that he was fighting tooth and nail for that spot as valedictorian or even salutatorian.

Still, he’d come short, and remained number 3. It helped that he’d still gotten into the college he wanted. It didn’t help that he’d gotten put on academic probation then kicked out.

Before he knew it, the group of guys and the kid were leaving, the bell jingling as the white-haired one fell back to pay his tia. Meanwhile, Lance went to clean up the table. There was no tip. Go figure. He rolled his eyes and pulled the dishes into a tub, whipping out a wet rag to wipe the table down.

Suddenly, his elbow hit something and he heard a soft, “ow.” He turned, surprised to see Keith there. “Um, we forgot the tip. Uh. Here.” He held out a five dollar bill and a few ones. “Pidge did the math, so… I don’t really know what…. Yeah.”

“Right. Thanks. Sorry for the elbow nudge.”

“No worries.” He looked at him, with his strange indigo eyes and Lance tried to think of something witty to say. But ever since he’d gotten out of school, he hadn’t had the energy to be a jokey flirt. “See you around, Lance from High School.” Lance managed a smile and Keith walked out.

Lance pocketed his money and finished cleaning the table. He knew his tia was looking at him from where she was at another table, calculating unpayable bills. He ignored her.

He went to the back and got rid of his apron and ran a hand through his hair. “Gotta go Tia,” he called, grabbing his keys. “Papo’s waiting.” She nodded and he kissed her cheek on his way out. He went to his bike, unlocking the security rope and started for his home. It was only a few blocks away, but with the summer sun beating down on him and the humidity, his shirt was sticking to his back by the time he reached the corner where Papo’s mechanic shop was.

“I’m here,” he called. “Papo?”

“Over here,” he called. “Your mother’s not here yet. We have that other car though. It needs a tire change. And the motorcycle there needs an oil change.”

“Where’s Beto?” Lance asked, as he threw a torn shirt over his shoulder for oil smears. His older cousin was supposed to help in the mechanic shop too. His grandfather huffed and went off on a Spanish cursing tirade, so Lance regretted asking. “Don’t worry, Papo, I got it. Your grandson has mad skills, yo.” His grandfather raised a bushy eyebrow at him and shook his head.

“How was college? You don’t talk about it. What are you studying?” Lance felt his heart fall to his stomach and turned to the car that needed a tire change.

“You know. Usual. Lots of tests, lots of papers, cute girls that don’t know I exist.”

“Lance,” he began.

“I know, Papo. College is not for dating. I’m there to make a better life. I can date when I graduate. I know.” If I graduate, he thought. He had the sudden realization that maybe he was damned to this. A life of fixing cars and waiting after people who had better lives, all the while being invisible and tired and the only one trying to keep everyone’s spirits up.

With that in mind, he set to work on the tires and moved on to the motorcycle, humming along to the music that came from his grandfather’s radio. “Hello?” he heard. “Anyone here?” Lance expected his Papo to answer. “Hello?” the person shouted louder. Lance frowned and turned away from the motorcycle to answer. “Oh. It’s you again.”

Lance almost hid. “Yeah,” he chuckled instead. “What’s up?”

Keith shoved his hands in his pocket and gestured to a small Nissan Altima. “My car keeps stalling. I’m freaked it’ll leave me stranded, and I was hoping to get it fixed.” Lance nodded and walked over to the car, wiping sweat off his forehead and fanning his shirt. “So… you work here too?”

“Family business,” he answered, opening the hood. “Well the coils are loose, so that could be the problem.” He pulled the coil off and frowned. “This thing’s old, so you’ll need new ones. Ours are cheap in comparison to anywhere else, but it’s still kind of pricey,” he said. He shut the hood and looked over at Keith. “We can pull it in though, be sure that’s your only problem.”

Keith looked like he was suppressing a smile and failing. Lance felt his guard go up, but then Keith said, “You uh… you have a grease stain on your face.” Lance grimaced and wiped his face, but Keith groaned. “That made it worse. Here.” He took the rag in Lance’s other hand and hesitated before wiping his cheekbone and the bridge of his nose and his forehead. “There you go.” He gave the rag back and stuffed his hands in his pocket.

Lance was too flustered to speak, just stared at the rag. “So, how much?” Keith asked.

“I’ll get you the coils free. For… not letting me walk around like the idiot with oil stains,” he answered with a smile. Keith looked like he’d protest and Lance held up a hand. “Seriously. If anything else is wrong with it, my grandpa can charge you for that. I’m saving you like twenty-five bucks, man.”

“Alright,” he finally gave in. He bit his lip and looked at the garage shop. “I don’t have anywhere to go, so can I stay here? Even if you don’t work on my car right away, that’s cool.” Lance shrugged and nodded.

“I’ll get the tow to pull your car in to the lift.” Lance walked away, feeling strange jitters in his stomach. Keith was at his shop and needed Lance to fix his car. In a way, he felt the universe was just telling him his place. He was less than the people he knew. He was the worker.

But there was also a part of him that wondered if this was an opportunity. Keith wanted to stay. Keith wanted his help.

He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and tried not to pay too much attention to Keith as he brought the car in and returned to the motorcycle. As he finished, his papo came back and Lance heard him gruffly ask Keith if he needed help.

“I got it, Papo,” he said, wiping his hand on his jeans. “Just making sure it runs okay. Where’d you go?”

“Phone call,” he said. “Your mother will be in soon.” Lance nodded.

“Go inside, Papo. It’s hot.” His grandfather mumbled, but he went back into the shop with his weathered hands and hunched back and scraggly facial hair that all told the story of his age. He looked at Keith and winked. “See? No mention of coils.” Keith rolled his eyes and looked away.

Meanwhile Lance popped the hood on Keith’s car again, making sure there was nothing on top that needed to be fixed before peeling off his sweaty shirt and rolling under the car to check the rest. Suddenly, he heard a sharp squeal.

“Ay, mijito, you will never believe el chisme I got today! Donde estas?” Lance hit his head on the bottom of the car as his automatic reaction to his mother’s squeals was to sit upright in fear.

“Down here, Ma,” he said, rolling out. He saw Keith’s eyes look at him and Lance looked down to remove any other smears he may have gotten. “How was work?” he asked.

She was dressed in everyday clothes since her boss didn’t mind what she wore to clean her three-story house and pool. She had tired lines along her face that made her look older. “Same as always,” she said. She kissed his cheek and scrunched her nose. “Dios mio, you stink.” She final seemed to notice Keith and she smiled at him. “Hi, I’m Daniela,” she greeted.

“Keith.”

“Well, hello Keith,” she said with a sly smile that made Lance nervous. “Listen, Lance just got back from college last week, and we’re having a big dinner-”

“Ma,” he interrupted. But she was relentless.

“We have so much food, it’d be wonderful if you could join.”

“Ma,” he said again. “I’m just fixing his car.”

Keith hesitated, and that seemed to be enough for his mother to keep pressing. “But look at him! Esta muy flaco, he needs to come! I’m not taking no for an answer.” She patted Lance’s cheek and exaggeratedly fanned her face as she cursed the heat and walked in to see her father.

“I hope she said I was cute,” Keith mumbled.

“Close. She said you’re too skinny.” Keith raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to come.” In fact, he preferred Keith didn’t. Lance had planned to explain to his family how he’d massively failed them at dinner, and the last thing he needed was Keith there.

“I don’t mind. If it’s as good as the food at the restaurant, I’m game.” Lance chuckled, but inside, he was screaming. “So is my car okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” He turned back and gestured to it. “I cleaned some gunk off and refilled the water. Added a little antifreeze. And the coils are secured and tight. Go ahead and turn her on.” Keith got into the car and the it purred beautifully. Lance shut the hood and patted the car. “Atta girl.”

Keith shut it off and got out smiling. “Shit. Thank you so much. What do I owe you?”

“You’re going to deal with a family dinner. You owe me nothing. I owe you. My soul.” Keith laughed and grimaced as he reached forward and touched Lance’s forehead. “Ow!”

��That looks like it hurts.” Lance had nearly forgotten he’d hit himself on the car. “Sit. Do you have a first-aid kit?”

“Ah, my mom just puts Vicks on it,” he said. But Keith just looked at him and Lance pointed. “Under the register.”

Keith returned with the kit and began fussing over him. “You have car fingers. I have healing fingers.” Lance snorted and shut his eyes as Keith cleaned his bump and put an ointment on it. He kept his eyes closed, not noticing when Keith’s eyes drifted to his lashes, to the slope of his nose, and parted his lips as his eyes fell to Lance’s. He didn’t notice the staggering breaths and the nervous way Keith licked his lips as he looked at Lance’s bare torso, unfazed by sweat and grease that clung to his dark olive skin. “There.”

Lance’s eyes opened and he smiled. “Thanks, Mullet.” Keith raised an eyebrow. “Come on dude. It’s not the 80’s.” Keith scoffed and nudged him.

“So college, huh? I take it you left Houston?”

Lance’s smile faltered and he walked away from Keith, airing out his shirt before tugging it back on. “Yeah. But I’m back.”

“I bet your family’s proud,” Keith offered.

But Lance wouldn’t look back at him. “Yeah. They all say so. I’m the first to go,” he said. “Dinner’s at eight if you actually plan on going. I won’t charge you for the car.” He turned away and started working on his mother’s car without acknowledging Keith anymore.

Click Here for Ch. 2

[labourpress]

Carwyn Jones speech to Labour Party Conference

Carwyn Jones AM, Leader of Welsh Labour, First Minister of Wales, speaking at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton today, said:

 ***CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY***

 I want to begin by extending my thanks to Christina Rees, our Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. Sadly she can’t be with us this week as she’s nursing a broken foot.

 I don’t think there’s any truth in the rumour that she broke it kicking Alun Cairns around Parliament in the first week back, but we’ll ask her when we see her.

 We all wish you a speedy recovery, Chris.

 Secondly, let me say thank you to Jeremy for his continuing friendship and leadership.

Thank you, Jeremy for the dignity you showed in a tough general election campaign.

The Tories came after you in a personal and offensive manner, and you stood up to that onslaught and led the party with great determination and defied the odds.

 This time last year, the Tories thought they were marching to a 100-seat majority. Right now, they’re scared of their own shadows, let alone another general election. What a turn around that is.

 Conference, when I heard Theresa May was giving a speech in Florence, I thought how apt. Not so much in relation to the Renaissance, but more with a thought to the works of that great medieval poet, Dante. It has been clear to me for some time that the Department for Exiting the European Union regard the “Divine Comedy” as some sort of instruction manual. That masterpiece imagines in glorious detail the dark and terrifying journey through the nine circles of hell.

 Well, we’ve been going on our own journey for 15 months and still remain in the first circle of hell – limbo – a remarkable achievement. But, then Dante did have Virgil as his spiritual guide.

 David Davis has got Nigel Farage. The book really is worth a read as Brexit re-interpreted.  At one point, at the close of chapter XXI, Dante witnesses a demon mobilising his troops by using “an ass as a trumpet.”  Which goes to show that every century has its own Boris.

 Conference, this week in Wales we marked the 20th anniversary of the vote to establish devolution in our country.  It was a turning point for Wales, and a turning point for our Party. The list of achievements is one of which we can be proud – and it belongs not just to Welsh Labour, but to the whole Party and movement who made devolution possible.

 ·         Unemployment in Wales - routinely lower than the UK average. More jobs, better jobs – Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

·         Wales, the first country to move to a deemed consent model for organ donation in the UK. People owe their lives to that change in the law. Better laws, saving lives, Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

·         Free school breakfasts in primary schools. Giving children the best start to the day, giving parents a helping hand, giving teachers the attention they deserve in the classroom. Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

·         The attainment gap between better off and poorer pupils in England and Scotland continues to grow – in Wales it continues to shrink. A fair start to everyone in Wales, no matter where you’re born – that is Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

·         Our university students in Wales getting the best deal anywhere in the UK.

·         And who gets the best deal of all? Those students who can least afford university – that is Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

 But, it isn’t just about policy. It’s also about having a voice and someone to fight your corner. This week I gave a cautious welcome to the news that Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp entered the first stage of a merger deal.  A deal that should safeguard sites and thousands of jobs in Wales.

 Does anyone honestly think that without devolution, without a Welsh Labour Government determined to take measures to save that industry, putting money on the table when others looked away, that those steel jobs would still be in Wales today?

Would the Tories have knocked down walls for the people of Port Talbot, Shotton, Newport or Llanelli? We all know the answer to that.

 With our colleagues in the trades unions, our MPs, our AMs and local councillors, Welsh Labour stood up for the steel industry – and we did what those banners and badges asked us to do – we saved our steel.

 Conference, we are proud to work with our trades union colleagues in Government.

Together we have built a genuine social partnership and together we are making Wales a Fair Work Nation.

 And Conference, earlier this month our Trades Union Act received Royal Assent.

That means that the pernicious attempts of the Tory Government to attack workers’ rights in Wales have been dis-applied, and, once again, workers in Wales have the protections we fought so hard to achieve. Protections everyone deserves.

That’s Welsh Labour delivering in Government.

 Devolution has given Wales a voice. And with Welsh Labour that voice speaks the language of social justice, fairness, good work, decent pay and thriving communities.

 Devolution has given us something else. A new-found confidence. It is something I see every day in young people in work, and in our schools and colleges. So where has that confidence come from? If you could personalise it, you’d have to give credit to my predecessor, Rhodri Morgan. As you know, Rhodri passed away earlier this year, leaving behind a fantastic roller coaster of a political career, a wonderful family and an ocean of anecdotes.  In May the Welsh Parliament held the closest thing Wales will ever have to a state funeral, and we gave Rhodri the perfect send off.

 It started late. It finished even later. In between there was a fantastic mix of poetry, politics, sport, laughter and tears. And at the end, no-one really thought about Rhodri the politician, but Rhodri as a big-hearted, intelligent and inquisitive man who loved his family above all else. A fine role model, who we all miss.

 Rhodri always said that Labour did best when it managed to mix together the mushy peas of old Labour with the guacamole of New Labour. Now, I’ve been in Rhodri’s kitchen and I can tell you that when it came to culinary combinations, Rhodri was not always the person you would go to – but on the politics, he, as so often, was absolutely right.  He was absolutely right about the need for our Party to reflect all sections of our membership, and all parts of this country.

 That was the key to our success in Wales in the last three elections.

 When the Party at UK level was under serious pressure, our unique and united Welsh Labour identity meant we remained relevant and competitive in the Assembly and local elections, when sadly others struggled. It was the unity that gave us success against the odds. And when in the last days of the general election the whole party surged, it meant we, in Wales, were starting from a higher base-line and, as a result, achieved 50% of the vote for the first time in 16 years.

 Our identity as a Party is robust, authentic and complementary to the UK Party as a whole. And, just as a country we will not countenance a roll-back of our devolution settlement; there can be no question of Welsh Labour’s long fought for, and hard won voice being diluted as we look to the future of our Party. I know that both Jeremy and Tom understand this, and I welcome their unwavering support for Wales. Thank you, both.

 Because Conference, we know Labour works best when we work together. Together, we fought a hugely successful general election campaign – not just holding on to what we had, but winning back seats for Labour.

 Vale of Clwyd – according to the bookmakers, Tories were 1/5 on to win. Result? Labour Gain. Gower – according to the bookies, Tories were 1/9 on to win. Result? Labour Gain. Cardiff North – Tories were 1/9 on. Result? Labour Gain.

 Working together we have exposed the Tories on broken promise after broken promise. On rail electrification in the north and the south – and we know what’s coming next – they’ll axe Swansea’s Tidal Lagoon.

 But, because Welsh Labour is in Government – there are things we can do. We are already delivering on our manifesto promises.

 ·         100,000 new good quality, all-age apprenticeships.

 ·         The most generous childcare offer for working parents anywhere in the UK.

 ·         And 20,000 more affordable homes.

 We can also deliver on priorities for the future of our NHS.

 There is no privatisation of the NHS in Wales – and whilst we have a Welsh Labour Government there will be no privatisation of the NHS in Wales. Only in Wales are ambulance crews hitting their targets – because we’ve worked with the service and designed a better way of working. And next week, the Welsh Government will publish new guidance for our pioneering legislation on safe nurse staffing levels in Wales.  

 Conference, Wales is the first country in Europe to legislate on nurse staffing levels. I am proud that Wales has taken the lead in this area, empowering nurses and ensuring the resources are there to care sensitively for patients. Legislation that the Party promised in the UK manifesto in May, already being delivered by a Labour Government in Wales.

 And working together we are making our communities better, fairer places to live.

When Carolyn Harris MP began her brave and dignified campaign to end child burial charges in the UK, we in Wales did not wait for the Tory Government to act. We said, yes, that is the right thing to do, and, as a result, the Welsh Labour Government has announced the abolition of all child burial charges in our country. That is what we can do when we work together.

 And the country needs us to work together more than ever before, as we fight the fundamentalists pursuing a hard Brexit. We are fighting tooth and nail against the Tory power grab, dressed up as the EU Withdrawal Bill. It shows up their Government as simply incapable of listening to other people’s views, or respecting their legitimate interests – in other words, as lacking the basic skills needed to negotiate successfully.

And looking at the way in which they are failing the country in their negotiations with the EU, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.

 I’m delighted at the support we are receiving from Labour colleagues in Parliament at fighting this real threat to devolution as we have known it for the past 20 years.

I’m also incredibly proud of the work we have done together already – our team in Cardiff Bay has worked hand in glove with Keir Starmer and the front bench in developing our Brexit policies. As a result of that work, in Labour we now have a sensible, evidence-based, economically sound set of principles and ideas that can see this country through Brexit in an orderly manner.  

 Contrast that with the spectacle of the Tory approach. Sorry, correction – the various Tory approaches. Does anyone really know who speaks for them on Brexit anymore?

Where has the Prime Minister of this country gone? If,  before the general election, the country felt as though it had a robot for Prime Minister, we’d now be forgiven for thinking we have a hologram.

 She went to the country and asked for the support of our communities for a hard Brexit, the country said no. The country said no to some other things as well – our older people said no to being taken for granted. Wales said no to being short-changed. Scotland said no to independence. And crucially, our young people said no to being ignored. They said, through their votes, what we all feel - Britain deserves better than this. This country deserves a Labour Government in Westminster.

A Government that actually cares about the future.

 I know that the people of Wales need that more than ever. Under the Tories, we have had to take £1billion out of our public services in Wales. That’s the annual budget of the entire North Wales health board. Our communities are resilient, but they’re being unfairly punished. And with Theresa May and the Tories they will be asked to give yet more. To give up. To give up their livelihoods, their libraries, their leisure centres, and their right to a fair deal. To give up hope. Enough is enough. It is time for hope.  

 It is time for Labour, in Wales and in Westminster.  Standing up for Wales. Working for fairness. Working, together. Winning, together. That’s a future the country hopes for and that’s the country we can deliver. Together for Wales.  Together for Britain.

[gins-potter]

fighting the good fight

Based on this fanart by Allarica

Also here on AO3

Annabeth hated her job.  She really did.

Ok, she knew she shouldn’t complain so much.  Being a lawyer after all, was nowhere near the worst thing she could be doing for money.  Especially in California.  But there was something draining about dragging herself into work everyday, doing a job she wasn’t passionate about.

She’d gone to law school because her father and her step-mother had insisted and had regretted it from the first day.  It wasn’t that she wasn’t good at it, she actually surprisingly good and was slowly making a name for herself, but there were days when she just couldn’t deal with the stupid kids who thought breaking into SeaWorld to swim with the dolphins was a good idea.

Annabeth strode down the hallway of the precinct, her heels clicking loudly against the linoleum floor, nodding to hello to the familiar faces around the place.  Despite being a defence attorney, Annabeth was respected amongst local officers, having built a reputation of a high moral standard.  Everyone around here knew she only took clients that she truly believed were innocent or that no one wanted to see put into jail; kids stealing from service stations to pay for their sick mum’s medical bills, teenagers dragged into the wrong side of the law, people who had never been taught a better way.

So when the officer stationed outside interrogation room 2 gave her a dubious once over, she wasn’t surprised.  “Don’t know why you’re here, Miss Chase.  This one’s guilty as,” he said as he stepped away to unlock the door and let her in.

“We all have to do what we have to do, Officer,” she said carelessly, not betraying how she had fought tooth and nail with her boss against taking this case.

“Ain’t that the truth,” he rumbled back as she stepped inside.

Perseus Jackson was not what she was expecting.  Although she hadn’t known what to expect from a guy named Perseus, from the crime she had been expecting a rich boy in designer clothes who thought he could do whatever he wanted because of Daddy’s money.  But Perseus was the exact opposite of anything she could have ever expected.

His black hair with an aqua undercurrent running through it was styled into a undercut and made his green eyes that much more startling.  His loose singlet - adorned with the proclamation “Save the Dolphins” with an illustration of a dolphin skeleton - exposed muscular biceps and ribs that were marked with ink.  Metal glinted at both his lip, eyebrow and ear lobe and deft fingers played with a silver band on his finger and a leather cord with beads that hung around his neck.  Annabeth was not surprised to find a skateboard sitting by the guy’s feet.

Those bright green eyes, alight with surprising intelligence, burned into her the second she stepped into the room.

“Let me guess,” he said lowly.  “My lawyer?”  His chuckle was a low as his voice and twice as husky.  His smile was that of a child who had been caught doing something wrong and knew it; a troublemaker’s smile that Annabeth had seen a million times in the halls of her high school.

“Yes.  You’re Perseus Jackson, I assume,” Annabeth replied briskly, her tone clearly leaving no room for jokes or games.

“Percy, if you would,” he replied.  “Still haven’t quite forgiven my mother for naming me that.”

“Greek mythology fan, is she?”

Percy quirked an amused eyebrow.  “Wise girl,” he said.  “My last lawyer wouldn’t know Greek from Roman.”

Annabeth jolted at the reminder.  She had allowed herself to relax around her client, let him lull her into a comfortable conversation about Greek and Roman mythology as though he knew somehow that was the perfect way into her heart.  And she had forgotten, if only for a moment, why she was here.

Annabeth smiled tightly.  “Get locked up a lot do you.”

“Yes,” said Percy honestly.  He spread his hands and glanced pointedly at the file in her hands.  “But you already knew that didn’t you?”

Annabeth gave up the pretense, took a seat at the interrogation table and flipped open the worryingly thick file she held.  “For being only 25 years old, your record is quite…” she trailed off when failing to find a word to aptly describe Percy’s record.

“Impressive,” he suggested with a grin.

“Not the word I would use,” she returned easily.

“Quite judgemental aren’t you,” Percy said.  He rocked back on his chair and gave her an appraising look up and down.

“Look,” Annabeth said abandoning the file and leaning forward.  “I didn’t want to take this case but it was either that or get fired.  So here we are and because it’s who I am, I’ll fight my best for you but that doesn’t mean I’m going to like you.  Are we clear?”

Percy swung forward again and the chair slammed back on all fours.  His sudden move put their faces mere inches away from each other.  “Crystal,” he grinned, all teeth.

Annabeth jerked back, ignoring the way his smile sent shivers down her spine and focussed on the job she was here to do.

“Ok so, usually breaking and entering is bumped up to a felony but because they can’t prove intent to do anything more than wander around rather than-”

“Steal a dolphin like I was planning?”

Annabeth stopped short.  “I- what?”

Percy looked up from the ring he had gone back to playing with.  “You’ve read my record.  You should know I was doing more than looking at all the pretty animals.”  By the end of his sentence, Percy’s tone had dissolved into something cynical and mocking.

Annabeth actually hadn’t read Percy’s file, or at least not in the depth she normally would have.  She had given it a cursory look over, enough to see that her client had done a surprisingly limited amount of jail time for the number of crimes he’d committed and make some assumptions, assumptions that apparently couldn’t be further from the truth.  

She glanced unwittingly down at the file, eyes tracing over the list of arrests.  The more she read, the more she understood; nights spent in holding cells for protests against marine animal captivity, weeks here and there for intervening with hunting permits, cases of vandalism, a year in jail when he was 21 for being involved with a group that stole a dolphin from a marine park and setting it free in the ocean, countless occurrences of suspicion for setting other animals free.

“Quite the activist aren’t you?”

Percy spread his hands again but this time didn’t say anything, just let his small smile speak for itself.

Despite herself, Annabeth felt a smile of her own spreading across her face and she pulled the arrest report closer.  “Then let’s see what we can do about getting you out of here.  Can’t have you locked up for fighting the good fight.”

Because she was as good as she was, fifteen minutes after they were called up by the judge they were walking out again, Percy grinning and squinting in the sun while Annabeth shook her head in fond exasperation.  She’d gotten him off on a fine and Percy was practically skipping.

“Man,” he crowed, bouncing down the steps.  “I’ve never gotten off that quick before.  I might just have to call you next time I get arrested.”

Annabeth scoffed.  Percy had pulled out the works inside, including baby seal eyes and an innocent ‘who me?’ voice as he promised the judge it would never happen again that even had Annabeth fooled for a second.  But only a second.

“Hey Annabeth,” Percy said as they neared the bottom of the steps and Annabeth didn’t bother correcting him ‘it’s Miss Chase’ again.  Distantly she noticed the tap, tap, tap of his fingers on his skateboard, the same compulsive beat he’d been tapping against his knee the whole time they’d been in court.  “Can I ask you something?  Why do you hate being a lawyer so much?”

Annabeth jerked, startled.  “How did you-”

Percy shrugged and gave her a lazy grin.  “A big win like that and not so much as a smile?  Besides there’s gotta be something you want to be doing more than helping punks like me stay out of jail.”

Annabeth shook her head, laughing a little.  “I’ve always wanted to be an architect.”  She didn’t know why she was telling him that but she was.

Percy cocked his head.  “So why aren’t you off being an architect then?”

“ That , is a very long story,” she said even though it really wasn’t and abruptly she turned on her heel and headed for her car.  Percy kept pace with her easily and Annabeth cursed his long legs.

“We could discuss it over dinner sometime?” he said hopefully, a stupidly adorable gleam in his eyes.

“I don’t date my clients,” she replied briskly.  And damn, because now that gleam was growing brighter and he was smiling at her again.

“Does that mean what I think it means?”

Annabeth sighed and came to a halt, digging around in her blazer pocket for a business card which she held out of his reach for a second.  “Call me next time you’re going to do something stupid so I have some time to prepare.”

Percy snagged the card from her and tucked it away carefully in his jeans pocket.

“I think we should have dinner.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes and chuckled, already turning to her car again.  “I don’t date clients, Mr Jackson,” she called over her shoulder.  “And you won’t be an exception.”

She could hear the grin in his voice as he called after her, “Oh, don’t you worry Miss Annabeth Chase, I live to be the exception,” and damn her, but she was smiling all over again.

[foxybluesky]

GNLD NEOLIFE PRODUCT PRICE LIST

Searching for gnld offices in Nigeria? We are authorized gnld distributors in, Nigeria. Order with the form below. You are welcome to our Website. in Nigeria at where you can select And purchase our products and we will deliver to you. GNLD Neolife PRODUCT PRICE LIST Searching for a list of gnld products and their uses is not enough, you need to know the correct methods, dosage and time to use them to get the result you want. GNLD Neolife PRODUCT PRICE LIST You need to know if you are to use them separately or along with your medication to get the result you want. So when you place and like to use a few products to get the result you want, we suggest you get the eBook: Effective combination of Neolife supplements It has over 200 disease combinations and their dosage that has work over the past 17 years with a guarantee you will get all the necessary support and effective supplements to use to get the result you want. Why waste money using different supplements and not getting the result you want? Yes, improve your health with the right combination met for your health problems and recover faster. Call or text on +2349067335009 email: Admin@neolifeupdates.com.  GNLD Neolife PRODUCT PRICE LIST Health is wealth, with this arrangement many, have saved money and reduce their medical bills. Don't allow symptoms to become a chronic disease. If you are experiencing any health problem consult your healthcare provider and use the correct combination of vitamins or supplement met for the case as quickly as you can. Since GNLD Neolife company does not sell to customers directly you can place your order by sending messages on any kind of product you want and  Pay cash on delivery. Free delivery for supplements of 4 products or up to 100 points. Here are List Of Our Gnld Neolife Products And Their Prices In Nigeria 2018-2019

Gnld NeoLife Price List 2018-2019

NeoLife Weight Loss Supplements

CodeProductUsesPrice(N)290813points Appetite Reducer(out of stock for now)To reduce appetite, slow down the release of carbohydrate into the blood and stop the onset of diabetes291272poinsWeight loss products (Vanilla)2 Neolifeshake-Vanila, 1 Amitone, 1 garlic and 1 Fibre tablet66,000291372poins Weight loss Products -(Strawberry)2 Neolifeshake-Strawberry 1 Amitone, 1 garlic and 1 Fibre tablet66,000291472points Weight loss products-Chocolate 2 Neolifeshake-Vanila, 1 Amitone, 1 garlic and 1 Fibre tablet 66,000290916pointsThermogenicr(out of stock for now)It increases metabolism rate. It is a fat burner without side effects. Stops the feeling of un-wellness associated with dieting. It increases energy and stops the urge for sweets.11,500

Herbal Alternatives

CodeProductsUsesPrice(N)289621points Feminine Herbal Complex(60 tablets)Relieves congestion of liver and gallbladder. Correct menstrual circle and stops excessive sweating, improves female sex power10,500289721points Masculine Herbal Complex (60 tablets)Promotes peak performance. It calms the nerves & reduces anxiety, stress, boost sexual power and sperm, lowers blood pressure11,500

Home Care Cleaning Products & Farming chemicals

202110points LDC (1 litre)Washes clothes and preserve colour and make clothes look new. Dissolves oil/grease quickly and leave no residue8,500201610points Super 10 Fragranced (1 litre)A degreaser, car engine soap that cleans & prevent rust. It repels  mosquito and cockroaches. It is non-toxic, non-caustic and biodegrable.7,50020616points Wash ‘n’ Wax (500ml)For car wash that protect the color from fading and prevent rust on stainless steel. One bottle can do 100 washing.4,9002741Super Gro – 5litresLiquid fertilizer to boost fertilizer and harvest more from your garden or farm. It can be use on poulty farm or fish farm. Full usage flyer will follow your order18,500047Super GroSample bottle250 ml“3,500 The Company does not sell to customers directly, they sell through their distributors. We are authorized distributor of Neolife company. Order from us. Call Mr Chigozie to place your order on 09067335009.

Gnld Neolife Health Care Products

}); 278210points Aloe Vera Plus 1 litreAnti-stress, stomach aches, gives good calm sleep, help improves healing.5,800277925points Ami-Tone (90 tablets)Tummy trimmer, gives great energy and encourage weight loss14,700278816points Beta Guard(100 tablets)Help you look younger. An antidote for chemotherapy. Detoxify toxins & waste e.g. lead, mercury, heavy metals, chlorine, gases inhaled etc. Heals deep rooted or chronic chest pain. Cleanses the liver, kidney& good for liver disease12,65027216points  2722Cal-mag 100 tablets WHITE TABLETS Chelated Cal-Mag Pink TABLETSReduces high cholesterol, good for memory, cramps/joint pains, hypertension, nervousness, heart palpitations, tooth decay & boost bones Same as above7,500 5,500256411points Carotenoids complex 30 capsulesFight infection, help to destroy diseases, boost killer cells and prevent cancer. Helps in vision problem. Boost immunity and stops hair loss or premature gray hair. Protects the heart6,000256532points Carotenoids complex 90 capsules“15,500278711points Chelated Zinc 100tablesBoost fast healing of wounds, restores menstrual circle to normal, good for fainting or epilepsy, reverse weak erection or quick ejaculation. Good for ulcer and internal heat,6,500251210points Chewable All-C 90 tabletsFight cold and viral challenges, boost airway passage and digestive tract. Helps in absorption of iron. Detoxify harmful substances from the body. Helps in production of red blood cells6,800289216points Cruciferous plus 60 tablesHelp in digestive problems, prevent prostate, lung, liver and bowel cancer. Prevent fibroid formation in the womb, neutralize toxins and solve menopause hot flushes. Stop breast tenderness and sinusitis6,7002789 10pointsFibre Tablets 120 tabletsCleans the kidney, prevent constipation/gallstone. Correct digestive disorders, lowers sugar level. Good for diabetes, spleen inflammation, piles, eye problems. It relieves excess mucus.5,900279019points Flavonoid Complex 60 tabletsPrevent cancer, stop bleeding reduce heart attack, swelling and relief joint pains. prevent eye problems at old age, lowers cholesterol, fight “flu”, colds, fever and sore throats8;500255613points Formula iv plus 30 sachetsGood for body pains, fever of all types, hormonal imbalance. It can wipe away waist pains, restores stopped menses to normal. Brightens eye sight. Helps in recovery from child birth8,7002557 24pointsFormula iv plus 60 sachets"13,6402505 16pointsFull Motion 90 tabletsGives healthy joints by removing aches and pain in joints. e.g .  arthritis, back-pain, shoulder pain. Remove stiffness & inflammation in joints and make them flexible again. Repairs cartilage &restores lost mobility.11,900285712points Garlic Alliums complex 60 tabletsFight bacteria, candida, fungus, colds, cough, yeast growth. Good for liver disease. Reduce cholesterol, lowers high blood pressure & prevent stroke/ heart attack, stop tumor growth. Stabilize blood sugar7,00025099points Lipotropic AdjunctDetoxify the body of waste and  prevent kidney stones. Normalize stomach acids, slow down tumor growth. Prevent fatty deposit on the arterial walls.6,500250413points Multi Fibre  Blend 284gramsNo animal products in this fibre.good for cancer prevention, diverticulitis, constipation, gallstones, pile, prevent heart disease and obesity10,500258422points Nutrishake Chocolate 500gramsBuild and repairs cell. Prevent high blood pressure swollen ankles, overweight, heart disease. Makes you look younger and reduces cholesterol.18,000258322points Nutrishake Strawberry 500grams“18,000258222points Nutrishake Vanilla 500grams“18,000291230points Neolifeshake-VanillaComplete protein to help in weightloss and build muscles19,990291330points NeolifeShake-StrawBerry                     "19,990291430points NeolifeShake-Chocolate                    "19,990291518points 259536points NeolifeTea r(out of stock for now) Provitality Plus Energy Tea, that can replace energy drinks and prevent diabetes that is due to too much intake of sugar in energy drinks. It gives energy and calm the bodyTo boost immunity, heart health, flexible joints, for energy, good vision, skin, hair and nails. It makes you look younger and feel vitality all day. 11,500 16,50026705pointsOmega-3 30 capsulesGood for vision problem, to prevent stroke, asthma. Slow down aging. Good for migraine headache, hair loss, rheumatism. Boost memory and breast milk.help to reduce insulin intake 3,500267114points Omega-3 100 capsulesGood for heart, brain and lubricate the joints for easy movement“6,700267225points Omega-3 Salmon Oil Plus 90 capsulesReduces inflammation of all type, keep the heart healthy. Decreases the onset of Alzheimer disease and repair of bones s in rheumatoid arthritis, boost brain fats.10,500250362points Phyto Defence 30 sachetsBoost immunity and protect the heart. Stops frequent illness and colds. Restore weak eyes. Stops tumor and fibroid growth. Prevent cancer28,500213517points Tre-en-en 60 capsulesFeed and repair cells. Gives energy and is good for vision problems, eczema, dry skin and wrinkles, boost fertility and breast milk and help children recover from paralysis.5,200213034points Tre-en-en 120 capsules"9;800254116points Vitamin B complex (sr) 60 tabletsGood for muscle cramps, insomnia, nervousness,   memory loss, dandruff, candida problems, poor appetite, oily facial skin, convulsion, enlarged liver, burning feet or abdominal pains11,500255113points Vitamin C (sr) 100 tabletsAn anti-aging vitamin. Stops frequent cold/cough. Good for body pains, bleeding gums and toothache, vision problems, cancer, poor digestion, joint pain and for healing of wounds7,500277411points Vitamin E (200 i.u) 60 capsulesPrevent heart disease. Good for hot flushes, anemia, blood clot, high cholesterol, ulcer, short  breath, chest pain and leg cramps6,500289419 points Vita Guard 120 tabletsRepairs and restores damage cells. Good for children memory, improves eating habits and reverse kwashiorkor effect in children. Boost children immunity.11,500289313points Vita Squares 180 tabletsHelps children grow. Stops frequent coughs/colds, ear infection. Improves appetite and increase energy. Stops anemic condition.7,950256110points Wheat germ Oil 60 capsulesFor itching and watery eyes, hot flushes, hair loss and can glaucoma eye problem. Help flappy breast become firm.7,500 The above Price List is the latest NeoLife Price List 2018-2019 Both NeoLife Distributor and Retail Price List and its still presence Read the full article

[tessasusan31]

Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Divorce Case

Here are the top 10 mistakes you absolutely must avoid when you are in a divorce case.

Becoming a Financial Victim

The biggest mistake divorcing spouses can make is being in the dark about finances. If your spouse has always handled all of the financial decisions in your household and you don’t have any information about you and your spouse’s income and assets, your spouse will have an unfair advantage over you when it comes time to settle the financial issues in your divorce.

If you suspect your spouse is planning a divorce, get as much information as you can now. Make copies of important financial records such as account statements (eg., savings, brokerage, and retirement) and all other data that relates to your marital lifestyle (eg., checking accounts, charge card statements, tax returns).

If you believe your spouse may liquidate (sell or transfer to cash) assets or retitle marital assets without your consent, notify the holder of the asset or property in writing and get a restraining order from the court. Watch out for any cash held in joint checking and brokerage accounts, and the cash value of life insurance policies. If your spouse uses or moves assets without your knowledge, you may have to hire legal and forensic accounting experts to help you locate and value the assets.

Not Considering Mediation

If you and your spouse can work together to reach a fair settlement on most or all of the issues in your divorce (eg., child custody, child support, alimony, and property division), choosing mediation to resolve your divorce case may save thousands of dollars in legal fees and emotional aggravation. The mediation process involves a neutral third-party mediator (an experienced family law attorney trained in mediation) that meets with the divorcing couple and helps them reach an agreement on the issues in their divorce. Mediation is completely voluntary; the mediator will not act as a judge, or insist on any particular outcome or agreement.

Mediation also provides divorcing couples a lot of flexibility, in terms of making their own decisions about what works best for their family, compared with the traditional adversarial legal process, which involves a court trial where a judge makes all the decisions.

Mediation, however, is not appropriate for all couples. For example, if one spouse is hiding assets or income, and refuses to come clean, you may have to head to court where a judge can order your spouse to comply. Or, if one spouse is unwilling to compromise, mediation probably won’t work.

Hiring a Combative Lawyer to Punish Your Spouse

This is a very bad idea for two reasons. First, except in extremely egregious cases, most courts won’t punish your spouse financially for being a bad person.

Second, hiring an attorney to punish your spouse will cost you because your attorney will need to increase the number of hours spent on your case. Increased attorney hours means higher divorce costs, and higher divorce costs means there will be fewer assets and cash left for you and your family. Try to take the emotion out of your divorce, and treat your case as a business arrangement. The best revenge is to live well after the divorce is over.

Failing to Recognize Your Common Enemy – the I.R.S.

Work together with a divorce financial planner or tax accountant to minimize the total taxes you and your spouse will pay during separation and after divorce; you can share the money you save. Don’t forget that both spouses are liable for taxes due as a result of audits on joint returns, so it’s usually in your best interest to work together and minimize possible liabilities. If you’re facing complicated tax issues in your divorce, it’s best to consult with an experienced family law attorney and an accountant.

Not Producing an Accurate Budget

Divorcing spouses usually underestimate living expenses when they produce their initial budget for temporary alimony (also referred to as “maintenance”), and later find that they aren’t able to cover all of their bills. Use a financial professional to help you produce an accurate and complete budget.

Disregarding the Impact of Taxes in a Divorce Settlement

It’s important to remember that after the divorce is final, you may get taxed on the marital assets you received through your settlement. Say your spouse handles all the investments and offers to split them 50/50. Sounds good, right? The only way to know if you’re getting a fair deal is to determine the value of the investments on an after-tax basis, then decide if you like the deal. Again, you should speak with a tax professional about the impact of any proposed property division before you agree to it.

Failure to Evaluate Settlement Proposals

If you’re trying to decide whether your spouse’s proposed divorce settlement is fair and workable, you should try to figure out how the settlement will impact your finances in the years ahead. There are many factors to consider, including assets, incomes, living expenses, inflation, alimony, child support, taxes, retirement plans, investments, medical expenses and health insurance costs, and child-related expenses such as education.

There are specialized divorce computer models that produce comprehensive and realistic analyses of your post-divorce lifestyle. You should speak with a local divorce attorney or financial planner that specializes in divorce for help analyzing any proposed financial settlement.

Being Emotionally Attached to Assets in Divorce Negotiations

The marital residence, the pension you earned, a painting purchased during your marriage – these assets often bring an emotionally charged debate to divorce negotiations, which can impair good decision-making. Often, divorcing spouses that are attached to the family home don’t realize that they can’t really afford. Yet, they fight tooth and nail to keep it, sometimes at the expense of retirement planning.

However, the real estate market crash has made it abundantly clear that homes have a very low return on investment and, in some cases, have a negative return; many houses today are still underwater, and couples have had to walk away from their homes and the hard-earned money they invested.

In addition, a home is a major cash expense (eg., mortgage payments, property taxes, repairs, and utilities). Let go of any emotional attachments you may have. During your divorce and settlement negotiations, your main focus should always be on how to maximize your finances by making sure you’ll have enough cash for living expenses after your divorce and in retirement.

Over-using Your Divorce Lawyer

Divorce attorneys generally charge $200- $300 per hour, and partners in well-known New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco family law firms typically charge $450 per hour. These attorneys can provide advice on divorce-related issues, but they are not therapists or certified financial planners. If you need to talk through the emotional aspects of your divorce, or need career counseling or financial analysis, save money on additional attorney’s fees and be sure to talk to the right professionals, such as a licensed therapist, vocational expert, or a financial planner.

Beware of Settlement Offers That Look Too Good

Both spouses and children must make compromises in their life styles post-divorce. A settlement that does not give one spouse enough money to live on is likely to go into default in the future. Be fair, but verify the numbers. Get payments up front whenever possible, even if you get less in total. Try to secure all payments with assets and insurance. It may be worth speaking to a family law attorney who can review a settlement offer and make sure your rights are fully protected.

Disregarding the Long Term Impact of Inflation

The effects of inflation on the cost of a child’s college education, or on retirement, 15 years in the future can be dramatic. The “Rule of 72” is a simple way to judge the impact of inflation. For example, if the inflation rate is 3%, the “Rule of 72” means that prices will double in 24 years (72/3=24). College costs at 5% inflation will double in 14.4 years (72/5=14.4). Be sure to work inflation into your settlement negotiations so you can cover the true costs of future financial expenses.

Failing to Consider Your Spouse’s Eligibility for Social Security Benefits

If a couple is married for 10 years or longer, a non-working or lower-earning spouse is entitled to derivative social security benefits on the higher earning spouse’s (“worker spouse”) record. These derivative benefits do not impact or lower the worker spouse’s social security payments, which is why it’s so ironic that the average length of marriage for people who get divorced is about nine and a half years. Waiting just another six months may guarantee increased retirement options with no reduction in payments.

Forgetting to Update Estate Documents

After divorce, many people forget to change the beneficiaries on their life insurance policies, IRAs, and will(s), so the estates they wanted to leave to their children, new partner, or favorite charity may go instead to their ex-spouse. If you’re going through a divorce, talk to a family law attorney to find out what changes you can make to your estate plan during and/or post-divorce.

Failure to Adequately Insure the Divorce Settlement

Your ex-spouse’s premature death or disability can be devastating and may result in a loss of alimony, child support, college tuition, or property settlement payments. Life and disability insurance policies can guarantee that these payments will continue despite an unexpected loss or injury.

Failure to Develop a Post-Divorce Financial Plan

One indisputable fact of divorce is that two households cost more to operate than one. Many divorcing spouses fail to realize that their divorce settlement must last a significant amount of time: perhaps even the rest of their lives. Financial planning can help people transition from a married to single lifestyle by prioritizing financial goals, developing realistic expectations, and producing sound plans for the assignment and division of financial resources.

Free Consultation with a Divorce Lawyer in Utah

If you have a question about divorce law or if you need to start or defend against a divorce case in Utah call Ascent Law at (801) 676-5506. We will help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

Ascent Law LLC

4.9 stars – based on 67 reviews

Recent Posts

Getting Guardianship of Your Aging Parent

Divorce with Debts

Law Firm Salt Lake

DUI License Suspension Hearing

If I File Bankruptcy Will I Lose My Property?

Revocable Living Trusts

From http://www.ascentlawfirm.com/top-10-mistakes-to-avoid-in-your-divorce-case/

source https://familylawattorneyut.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/top-10-mistakes-to-avoid-in-your-divorce-case/

from Divorce Lawyer Tooele Utah http://divorcelawyertooeleutah.blogspot.com/2018/06/top-10-mistakes-to-avoid-in-your.html

[donnakatrine]

Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Divorce Case

Here are the top 10 mistakes you absolutely must avoid when you are in a divorce case.

Becoming a Financial Victim

The biggest mistake divorcing spouses can make is being in the dark about finances. If your spouse has always handled all of the financial decisions in your household and you don’t have any information about you and your spouse’s income and assets, your spouse will have an unfair advantage over you when it comes time to settle the financial issues in your divorce.

If you suspect your spouse is planning a divorce, get as much information as you can now. Make copies of important financial records such as account statements (eg., savings, brokerage, and retirement) and all other data that relates to your marital lifestyle (eg., checking accounts, charge card statements, tax returns).

If you believe your spouse may liquidate (sell or transfer to cash) assets or retitle marital assets without your consent, notify the holder of the asset or property in writing and get a restraining order from the court. Watch out for any cash held in joint checking and brokerage accounts, and the cash value of life insurance policies. If your spouse uses or moves assets without your knowledge, you may have to hire legal and forensic accounting experts to help you locate and value the assets.

Not Considering Mediation

If you and your spouse can work together to reach a fair settlement on most or all of the issues in your divorce (eg., child custody, child support, alimony, and property division), choosing mediation to resolve your divorce case may save thousands of dollars in legal fees and emotional aggravation. The mediation process involves a neutral third-party mediator (an experienced family law attorney trained in mediation) that meets with the divorcing couple and helps them reach an agreement on the issues in their divorce. Mediation is completely voluntary; the mediator will not act as a judge, or insist on any particular outcome or agreement.

Mediation also provides divorcing couples a lot of flexibility, in terms of making their own decisions about what works best for their family, compared with the traditional adversarial legal process, which involves a court trial where a judge makes all the decisions.

Mediation, however, is not appropriate for all couples. For example, if one spouse is hiding assets or income, and refuses to come clean, you may have to head to court where a judge can order your spouse to comply. Or, if one spouse is unwilling to compromise, mediation probably won’t work.

Hiring a Combative Lawyer to Punish Your Spouse

This is a very bad idea for two reasons. First, except in extremely egregious cases, most courts won’t punish your spouse financially for being a bad person.

Second, hiring an attorney to punish your spouse will cost you because your attorney will need to increase the number of hours spent on your case. Increased attorney hours means higher divorce costs, and higher divorce costs means there will be fewer assets and cash left for you and your family. Try to take the emotion out of your divorce, and treat your case as a business arrangement. The best revenge is to live well after the divorce is over.

Failing to Recognize Your Common Enemy – the I.R.S.

Work together with a divorce financial planner or tax accountant to minimize the total taxes you and your spouse will pay during separation and after divorce; you can share the money you save. Don’t forget that both spouses are liable for taxes due as a result of audits on joint returns, so it’s usually in your best interest to work together and minimize possible liabilities. If you’re facing complicated tax issues in your divorce, it’s best to consult with an experienced family law attorney and an accountant.

Not Producing an Accurate Budget

Divorcing spouses usually underestimate living expenses when they produce their initial budget for temporary alimony (also referred to as “maintenance”), and later find that they aren’t able to cover all of their bills. Use a financial professional to help you produce an accurate and complete budget.

Disregarding the Impact of Taxes in a Divorce Settlement

It’s important to remember that after the divorce is final, you may get taxed on the marital assets you received through your settlement. Say your spouse handles all the investments and offers to split them 50/50. Sounds good, right? The only way to know if you’re getting a fair deal is to determine the value of the investments on an after-tax basis, then decide if you like the deal. Again, you should speak with a tax professional about the impact of any proposed property division before you agree to it.

Failure to Evaluate Settlement Proposals

If you’re trying to decide whether your spouse’s proposed divorce settlement is fair and workable, you should try to figure out how the settlement will impact your finances in the years ahead. There are many factors to consider, including assets, incomes, living expenses, inflation, alimony, child support, taxes, retirement plans, investments, medical expenses and health insurance costs, and child-related expenses such as education.

There are specialized divorce computer models that produce comprehensive and realistic analyses of your post-divorce lifestyle. You should speak with a local divorce attorney or financial planner that specializes in divorce for help analyzing any proposed financial settlement.

Being Emotionally Attached to Assets in Divorce Negotiations

The marital residence, the pension you earned, a painting purchased during your marriage – these assets often bring an emotionally charged debate to divorce negotiations, which can impair good decision-making. Often, divorcing spouses that are attached to the family home don’t realize that they can’t really afford. Yet, they fight tooth and nail to keep it, sometimes at the expense of retirement planning.

However, the real estate market crash has made it abundantly clear that homes have a very low return on investment and, in some cases, have a negative return; many houses today are still underwater, and couples have had to walk away from their homes and the hard-earned money they invested.

In addition, a home is a major cash expense (eg., mortgage payments, property taxes, repairs, and utilities). Let go of any emotional attachments you may have. During your divorce and settlement negotiations, your main focus should always be on how to maximize your finances by making sure you’ll have enough cash for living expenses after your divorce and in retirement.

Over-using Your Divorce Lawyer

Divorce attorneys generally charge $200- $300 per hour, and partners in well-known New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco family law firms typically charge $450 per hour. These attorneys can provide advice on divorce-related issues, but they are not therapists or certified financial planners. If you need to talk through the emotional aspects of your divorce, or need career counseling or financial analysis, save money on additional attorney’s fees and be sure to talk to the right professionals, such as a licensed therapist, vocational expert, or a financial planner.

Beware of Settlement Offers That Look Too Good

Both spouses and children must make compromises in their life styles post-divorce. A settlement that does not give one spouse enough money to live on is likely to go into default in the future. Be fair, but verify the numbers. Get payments up front whenever possible, even if you get less in total. Try to secure all payments with assets and insurance. It may be worth speaking to a family law attorney who can review a settlement offer and make sure your rights are fully protected.

Disregarding the Long Term Impact of Inflation

The effects of inflation on the cost of a child’s college education, or on retirement, 15 years in the future can be dramatic. The “Rule of 72” is a simple way to judge the impact of inflation. For example, if the inflation rate is 3%, the “Rule of 72” means that prices will double in 24 years (72/3=24). College costs at 5% inflation will double in 14.4 years (72/5=14.4). Be sure to work inflation into your settlement negotiations so you can cover the true costs of future financial expenses.

Failing to Consider Your Spouse’s Eligibility for Social Security Benefits

If a couple is married for 10 years or longer, a non-working or lower-earning spouse is entitled to derivative social security benefits on the higher earning spouse’s (“worker spouse”) record. These derivative benefits do not impact or lower the worker spouse’s social security payments, which is why it’s so ironic that the average length of marriage for people who get divorced is about nine and a half years. Waiting just another six months may guarantee increased retirement options with no reduction in payments.

Forgetting to Update Estate Documents

After divorce, many people forget to change the beneficiaries on their life insurance policies, IRAs, and will(s), so the estates they wanted to leave to their children, new partner, or favorite charity may go instead to their ex-spouse. If you’re going through a divorce, talk to a family law attorney to find out what changes you can make to your estate plan during and/or post-divorce.

Failure to Adequately Insure the Divorce Settlement

Your ex-spouse’s premature death or disability can be devastating and may result in a loss of alimony, child support, college tuition, or property settlement payments. Life and disability insurance policies can guarantee that these payments will continue despite an unexpected loss or injury.

Failure to Develop a Post-Divorce Financial Plan

One indisputable fact of divorce is that two households cost more to operate than one. Many divorcing spouses fail to realize that their divorce settlement must last a significant amount of time: perhaps even the rest of their lives. Financial planning can help people transition from a married to single lifestyle by prioritizing financial goals, developing realistic expectations, and producing sound plans for the assignment and division of financial resources.

Free Consultation with a Divorce Lawyer in Utah

If you have a question about divorce law or if you need to start or defend against a divorce case in Utah call Ascent Law at (801) 676-5506. We will help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

Ascent Law LLC

4.9 stars – based on 67 reviews

Recent Posts

Getting Guardianship of Your Aging Parent

Divorce with Debts

Law Firm Salt Lake

DUI License Suspension Hearing

If I File Bankruptcy Will I Lose My Property?

Revocable Living Trusts

From http://www.ascentlawfirm.com/top-10-mistakes-to-avoid-in-your-divorce-case/

[mariasusan123]

Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Divorce Case

Here are the top 10 mistakes you absolutely must avoid when you are in a divorce case.

Becoming a Financial Victim

The biggest mistake divorcing spouses can make is being in the dark about finances. If your spouse has always handled all of the financial decisions in your household and you don’t have any information about you and your spouse’s income and assets, your spouse will have an unfair advantage over you when it comes time to settle the financial issues in your divorce.

If you suspect your spouse is planning a divorce, get as much information as you can now. Make copies of important financial records such as account statements (eg., savings, brokerage, and retirement) and all other data that relates to your marital lifestyle (eg., checking accounts, charge card statements, tax returns).

If you believe your spouse may liquidate (sell or transfer to cash) assets or retitle marital assets without your consent, notify the holder of the asset or property in writing and get a restraining order from the court. Watch out for any cash held in joint checking and brokerage accounts, and the cash value of life insurance policies. If your spouse uses or moves assets without your knowledge, you may have to hire legal and forensic accounting experts to help you locate and value the assets.

Not Considering Mediation

If you and your spouse can work together to reach a fair settlement on most or all of the issues in your divorce (eg., child custody, child support, alimony, and property division), choosing mediation to resolve your divorce case may save thousands of dollars in legal fees and emotional aggravation. The mediation process involves a neutral third-party mediator (an experienced family law attorney trained in mediation) that meets with the divorcing couple and helps them reach an agreement on the issues in their divorce. Mediation is completely voluntary; the mediator will not act as a judge, or insist on any particular outcome or agreement.

Mediation also provides divorcing couples a lot of flexibility, in terms of making their own decisions about what works best for their family, compared with the traditional adversarial legal process, which involves a court trial where a judge makes all the decisions.

Mediation, however, is not appropriate for all couples. For example, if one spouse is hiding assets or income, and refuses to come clean, you may have to head to court where a judge can order your spouse to comply. Or, if one spouse is unwilling to compromise, mediation probably won’t work.

Hiring a Combative Lawyer to Punish Your Spouse

This is a very bad idea for two reasons. First, except in extremely egregious cases, most courts won’t punish your spouse financially for being a bad person.

Second, hiring an attorney to punish your spouse will cost you because your attorney will need to increase the number of hours spent on your case. Increased attorney hours means higher divorce costs, and higher divorce costs means there will be fewer assets and cash left for you and your family. Try to take the emotion out of your divorce, and treat your case as a business arrangement. The best revenge is to live well after the divorce is over.

Failing to Recognize Your Common Enemy – the I.R.S.

Work together with a divorce financial planner or tax accountant to minimize the total taxes you and your spouse will pay during separation and after divorce; you can share the money you save. Don’t forget that both spouses are liable for taxes due as a result of audits on joint returns, so it’s usually in your best interest to work together and minimize possible liabilities. If you’re facing complicated tax issues in your divorce, it’s best to consult with an experienced family law attorney and an accountant.

Not Producing an Accurate Budget

Divorcing spouses usually underestimate living expenses when they produce their initial budget for temporary alimony (also referred to as “maintenance”), and later find that they aren’t able to cover all of their bills. Use a financial professional to help you produce an accurate and complete budget.

Disregarding the Impact of Taxes in a Divorce Settlement

It’s important to remember that after the divorce is final, you may get taxed on the marital assets you received through your settlement. Say your spouse handles all the investments and offers to split them 50/50. Sounds good, right? The only way to know if you’re getting a fair deal is to determine the value of the investments on an after-tax basis, then decide if you like the deal. Again, you should speak with a tax professional about the impact of any proposed property divisionbefore you agree to it.

Failure to Evaluate Settlement Proposals

If you’re trying to decide whether your spouse’s proposed divorce settlement is fair and workable, you should try to figure out how the settlement will impact your finances in the years ahead. There are many factors to consider, including assets, incomes, living expenses, inflation, alimony, child support, taxes, retirement plans, investments, medical expenses and health insurance costs, and child-related expenses such as education.

There are specialized divorce computer models that produce comprehensive and realistic analyses of your post-divorce lifestyle. You should speak with a local divorce attorney or financial planner that specializes in divorce for help analyzing any proposed financial settlement.

Being Emotionally Attached to Assets in Divorce Negotiations

The marital residence, the pension you earned, a painting purchased during your marriage – these assets often bring an emotionally charged debate to divorce negotiations, which can impair good decision-making. Often, divorcing spouses that are attached to the family home don’t realize that they can’t really afford. Yet, they fight tooth and nail to keep it, sometimes at the expense of retirement planning.

However, the real estate market crash has made it abundantly clear that homes have a very low return on investment and, in some cases, have a negative return; many houses today are still underwater, and couples have had to walk away from their homes and the hard-earned money they invested.

In addition, a home is a major cash expense (eg., mortgage payments, property taxes, repairs, and utilities). Let go of any emotional attachments you may have. During your divorce and settlement negotiations, your main focus should always be on how to maximize your finances by making sure you’ll have enough cash for living expenses after your divorce and in retirement.

Over-using Your Divorce Lawyer

Divorce attorneys generally charge $200- $300 per hour, and partners in well-known New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco family law firms typically charge $450 per hour. These attorneys can provide advice on divorce-related issues, but they are not therapists or certified financial planners. If you need to talk through the emotional aspects of your divorce, or need career counseling or financial analysis, save money on additional attorney’s fees and be sure to talk to the right professionals, such as a licensed therapist, vocational expert, or a financial planner.

Beware of Settlement Offers That Look Too Good

Both spouses and children must make compromises in their life styles post-divorce. A settlement that does not give one spouse enough money to live on is likely to go into default in the future. Be fair, but verify the numbers. Get payments up front whenever possible, even if you get less in total. Try to secure all payments with assets and insurance. It may be worth speaking to a family law attorney who can review a settlement offer and make sure your rights are fully protected.

Disregarding the Long Term Impact of Inflation

The effects of inflation on the cost of a child’s college education, or on retirement, 15 years in the future can be dramatic. The “Rule of 72” is a simple way to judge the impact of inflation. For example, if the inflation rate is 3%, the “Rule of 72” means that prices will double in 24 years (72/3=24). College costs at 5% inflation will double in 14.4 years (72/5=14.4). Be sure to work inflation into your settlement negotiations so you can cover the true costs of future financial expenses.

Failing to Consider Your Spouse’s Eligibility for Social Security Benefits

If a couple is married for 10 years or longer, a non-working or lower-earning spouse is entitled to derivative social security benefits on the higher earning spouse’s (“worker spouse”) record. These derivative benefits do not impact or lower the worker spouse’s social security payments, which is why it’s so ironic that the average length of marriage for people who get divorced is about nine and a half years. Waiting just another six months may guarantee increased retirement options with no reduction in payments.

Forgetting to Update Estate Documents

After divorce, many people forget to change the beneficiaries on their life insurance policies, IRAs, and will(s), so the estates they wanted to leave to their children, new partner, or favorite charity may go instead to their ex-spouse. If you’re going through a divorce, talk to a family law attorney to find out what changes you can make to your estate plan during and/or post-divorce.

Failure to Adequately Insure the Divorce Settlement

Your ex-spouse’s premature death or disability can be devastating and may result in a loss of alimony, child support, college tuition, or property settlement payments. Life and disability insurance policies can guarantee that these payments will continue despite an unexpected loss or injury.

Failure to Develop a Post-Divorce Financial Plan

One indisputable fact of divorce is that two households cost more to operate than one. Many divorcing spouses fail to realize that their divorce settlement must last a significant amount of time: perhaps even the rest of their lives. Financial planning can help people transition from a married to single lifestyle by prioritizing financial goals, developing realistic expectations, and producing sound plans for the assignment and division of financial resources.

Free Consultation with a Divorce Lawyer in Utah

If you have a question about divorce law or if you need to start or defend against a divorce case in Utah call Ascent Law at (801) 676-5506. We will help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

Ascent Law LLC

4.9 stars – based on 67 reviews

Recent Posts

Getting Guardianship of Your Aging Parent

Divorce with Debts

Law Firm Salt Lake

DUI License Suspension Hearing

If I File Bankruptcy Will I Lose My Property?

Revocable Living Trusts

from Michael Anderson http://www.ascentlawfirm.com/top-10-mistakes-to-avoid-in-your-divorce-case/

from Utah Bankruptcy Law https://utahbankruptcylaw.tumblr.com/post/175004962252