#Farmers are earning income

[kakusboyfriend]

Do not be fooled by how I talk about Frieza btw bc man I love knowing that what I'm doing is detrimental to the character's relationship with the plot and other characters.

[headspace-hotel]

Going through the bills proposed in the kentucky 2024 legislative session and some of the things being proposed are

make a PFAS Working Group

require homeless shelters to provide free menstrual products (it's actually disturbing that they didn't already)

require schools to provide free menstrual products

create harm reduction centers and lower penalties for possessing controlled substances

require insurance to pay for cancer screenings (okay. low bar but okay)

abolish the death penalty (actually has a couple republican sponsors)

decriminalize cannabis

make fluoridation of water in districts optional (?????)

make coal the "state rock" of Kentucky

Prohibit children from being interrogated in a "deceptive manner" (?)

Make weight discrimination illegal

pay schools to food grown at kentucky farms to provide for school meals at low income schools (hey that's rad)

Lower the age of carrying a concealed deadly weapon from 21 to 18 (?????????????)

Require companies to give their employees earned paid sick leave

Impose restrictions on the collection of biometric data by private entities

Allow poultry to be sold at farmers' markets and at farms

pay for cancer screenings for firefighters

let pregnant incarcerated people have midwives or doula services

require that public high school curriculum include instruction on the history of racism

Remove Robert E. Lee Day, Confederate Memorial Day, and Jefferson Davis Day from the list of public holidays (WE HAVE THOSE?!!?!?!)

Retroactively expunge some cannabis convictions

"Prohibit public school districts from expanding any resources or funds on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging or political or social activism; prohibit public school districts from engaging in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging" (HUH?????)

require schools to give kids a lunch period of at least 30 minutes (the bar is in hell)

provide scholarships for teachers to help the teacher shortage and give teachers compensation for planning time

require schools to have defibrillators

make it so a homeless person doesn't have to pay to get a copy of their birth certificate

require a working smoke detector to be present in any house sold (...did we not already have this?)

create the Kentucky Urban Farming Youth Initiative

Require local governments to lower minimum square footage requirements for housing, and facilitate multifamily housing, manufactured housing, and "tiny homes," and require that zoning laws have a "substantial connection to protection of public safety, health, and usage of property" (This could be a good thing??)

require hiring and licensing authorities to allow people convicted of a crime an opportunity to get a job

Propose a new section of the Kentucky Constitution that guarantees the right of an individual to buy, sell, or use a certain amount of cannabis and to grow a small amount of cannabis plants, and put this on the ballot (LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOO LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE please this would be so funny)

Now let's watch how many of the good and basic common sense laws get left to die by Republicans because Republicans are ghouls

this is why it's important to vote in local elections, this is the kind of stuff that's being decided upon

[galedekarios]

reading more about waterdeep and waterdhavians explains so much about gale:

class & station

Instead of the fragmenting and distinct splits based on income or birth, Waterdeep has nullified such differences almost entirely. "Social level" and "class" are far less important in Waterdeep than in other cities of the Realms (and elsewhere) any prejudices against folk due to race, creed, or coin are brought in by visitors from outside the walls, and are not tolerated to a large extent. The crossroads nature of the city and the up-and-down fortunes of those who make their living in trade keeps the inhabitants of the city tolerant of a wide variety of peoples, with widely varying customs, religions, and incomes. [...] In Waterdeep, low birth or station is not a recipe for rudeness from one's betters, beyond what one's actions would earn from one's equals in any case—if you are ridiculed in Waterdeep, you brought such treatment upon yourself!

character & temperament

"Live and let live" best describes most Waterdhavians' attitudes; everyone is far too busy in the pursuit of wealth and happiness. [...] The cosmopolitan nature of the City of Splendors makes its natives very tolerant. They tend to be talkative, friendly, easygoing, and outspoken, but do not expect others to be. [...] Natives of the City of Splendors are notoriously slow to take offense. A Waterdhavian will plainly state his or her feelings as a warning before showing anger. One is more apt to hear "I don't find that amusing, friend," said pleasantly to a stranger before an angry voice is raised. Some visitors misinterpret such behavior as cowardice or ignorance ("he was too stupid to know I insulted him!"); if they act on such misjudgments, however, surprise and regret are the usual results. 

other races

Most Waterdhavians are slow to take fright unless facing magic or monsters. Beings of almost all races may be seen in the city, too. A typical Waterdhavian would react with hostility and fear only to a drow, an illithid, nonhuman natives of the Lower Planes, and, of course, "monsters" such as beholders and dragons; with all others, it's generally "business as usual." [...]

smalltalk

Waterdhavians do not discuss the weather, unless in a profession governed by it like farmers or sailors. Small talk and idle chatter normally centers on matters of commerce, and secondarily on warfare elsewhere in the Realms. Waterdhavians take a sporting interest in such happenings as the constant minor strife in the South, the recurring unrest and bloodshed in Tethyr, and traditional and long standing shipping discord between Ruathym and Luskan. [...]

[feinv]

omg idea hear me out

lowhonor arthur morgan is having dinner with farmer's daughter reader and her father

what her father didn't know isthat arthur and reader were having a sort of teasing banter under the table... do u get me

write this however u want ofc nsfw or not -🎀

what if not under the table but on the table? ;)

low!honor arthur x fem!reader. flashbacks of smut.

the clinking of the silverware was accompanying the three of you as you were having dinner, your dad and arthur engaged in a conversation you weren’t even part of.

he was a bad man. that’s what everyone was saying, especially when it came collecting the money that was owned to his gang, and your father was unfortunately on that list of people. arthur made a deal with him that he would get every one third of what your dad earned by selling the goods from the garden.

of course, he could demand more than one third. he could demand half. hell, he could demand the whole income to match his reputation, but having your father pay small amounts just gave him an excuse for coming to your house more often. an excuse he needed to see you.

he was infatuated with you, from the very beginning; how nervous you were around him; how your hands were shaking a little when handing him the money; how your cheeks would burn when he stood a little too close to you. he knew he was a goner when he saw a sweet thing like you and didn’t want to ruin it. he just wanted to have it. to have you. and he did. ;)

so while him and your father were carrying a discussion, your own thoughts were occupied with the flashbacks of what you and arthur did yesterday, blood rushing to your cheeks every time he glanced your way and gave a knowing smirk.

————————————-————————————

your back was flat on the wood, sprawled over the same exact table as he pounded into you, standing tall on the edge of the furniture. the back of your thighs was pressed to his torso, your feet on each side of his head as his hips jerked back and forth, his rough hands gripping the fat of your thighs and soothing them every now and then.

“ye feel so good, sweetheart.” his baritone voice praising you when you replied back with moans and whimpers, his swollen tip kissing your cervix and sending jolts of pleasure all over your body.

he leaned closer, the back of your ankles resting on his shoulders as he bent you in half, thrusting deeper. “prettiest girl i’ve seen,” kissing your soft lips hungrily, swallowing your whines, “even more prettier for me like this,” before his own chapped ones left open mouthed love bites wherever he could reach.

he made you see stars so many times you lost the count, your body so limp the only thing you could register were his love confessions in between his own groans, promising to get you out of the creaky old house and giving you anything you would ever ask for. <3

[an-impulsive-pen]

Hair

Elliot X GN reader

Elliot decides his spouse needs to take better care when washing their hair, so he takes things into his own hands!

Fluff, a tiny bit suggestive at the end

“We really should trim the ends, too, you know,” Elliot sighed as he guided his partner to sit and lean their head back over the running sink. They huffed. “I can wash my own hair, y’know.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Elliot mumbled. “Tell me if the water’s too hot.” “It’s fine,” they shifted in their seat. “... You really don’t have to do this.” “I beg to differ,” he said, arranging the shampoo and conditioner he planned to use on the counter. “You work out on the farm all day, sweating and building up dirt and grime. You really should take better care of your hair if you intend to keep it like this. And, frankly,” he took his spouse’s hand and lifted it to his lips, “I’ve grown quite fond of it like this,” he grinned and kissed their knuckles softly.

The farmer’s face flushed, but there was no more argument. “Alright, here we go,” Elliot smiled as he began rinsing their hair. “Just relax and let me pamper you for a while.”

With a soft exhale, they did just as they were told. They melted instantly as they felt Elliot’s fingers running through their hair, massaging his scalp.

“... Feels nice?” He asked. The farmer hummed softly in confirmation, earning a small chuckle from Elliot. “Good. I’m glad. I’m going to start with the shampoo, alright?” “Okay,” they nodded the little bit that they could with their head tilted back.

They shivered slightly as they felt the cool of the shampoo contrasting the warm water. Elliot smiled down at them as he worked the shampoo through their hair, making sure not a strand was missed. “... This is nice,” he said. His partner looked up at him.

“... Yeah…?”

“Yes. Your hair is nice, and…” his voice softened a little. “... I enjoy feeling like *I’m* taking care of *you* for once.”

“What do you mean?” they asked. Elliot sighed as he began rinsing their hair. “... You spend so much time working. My writing helps, sure, but the farm is our only *consistent* income. You’re the reason we have this roof over our heads and food on our table. I just… I like feeling like I’m contributing in some way.”

The two sat without speaking for a moment, only the sound of running water filling the silence. The farmer finally broke the quiet as Elliot reached for the conditioner. “You’re *always* taking care of me,” they murmured.

Elliot paused and looked down at them questioningly.

“... You’re the one I get to see every morning when I get up, and every night in bed. You help around the farm, and you’re always here for me. You go out of your way to do all these big, romantic gestures, and you… You make me feel *cared about*,” they said softly. Elliot hesitated before giving a small smile. “... I’m glad you think so, dearest,” he said, beginning to apply the conditioner. “I want nothing more than to make you feel loved and cared for.” “Well, you’re really good at that,” their face flushed, and they let their eyes fall shut again. Elliot chuckled.

“Good. You deserve it, love,” he hummed. “So just relax, and let me spoil you.” His partner smiled softly. After a moment they opened their eyes. “... Is that… Pomegranate scented?” “Only the best for my beloved,” he grinned down at them playfully. They laughed softly. “Well, thank you,” they looked up at him. “... Even though I could’ve just taken a shower and washed my hair.” “I don’t know if I trust how thorough you’ll be on your own,” Elliot smirked. “If you like, though, we can certainly do this in the shower next time…”

[reinen5astro]

Your Income Indicators According to Your Natal Birth Chart

One of the indicators of income is your 2nd house, particularly your 2nd house ruler.

For Part 2: [Career/Legacy Indicators according to your 10th House Ruler] - go here

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Tutorial:

~ First find the sign your 2nd house is in by pulling up your birth chart

As you can see their 2nd House is in Pisces [I circled it + pointed to the line that indicates what sign it's in]. If you don't feel like pulling up your birth chart right now, you can just think of the sign after your rising sign. For example, a Sagittarius rising has their 2nd house in Capricorn [the sign after Sagittarius], while an Aries rising has their 2nd house in Taurus.

~ Next, look at the ruler of that sign. This is the ruler of your second house. I've written them down below

Aries: Mars

Taurus: Venus

Gemini: Mercury

Cancer: Moon

Leo: Sun

Virgo: Mercury

Libra: Venus

Scorpio: Mars and Pluto

Sagittarius: Jupiter

Capricorn: Saturn

Aquarius: Uranus and Saturn

Pisces: Neptune and Jupiter

~ Lastly, find what sign your ruler/rulers are in. My interpretations are down below.

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2nd House Ruler In The...

1st House:

You are the prime creator of your own wealth. If you don't work for it, you're not going to get it. So have confidence and work hard ;). Also, your profession/the way you earn income may be related to the expression of your talents or the utilization of your own body.

2nd House:

Rapid acquisition of wealth awaits you. It will be incredibly easy for you to gain wealth. You can earn money through your own industry/business and your practical and realistic sense will aid you in your professional activity. This is also an indicator of a wealthy marriage as well.

3rd House:

Your income may be derived from a job/career that involves verbal as well as written communication, studies, travel, and also by working with a brother or sister if you have any, or another close relative. You also may work in teaching, particularly early education. Your peers, community, and siblings will aid you/earn you income. This is also an indicator of an inheritance from a sibling.

4th House:

FAMILY!! Your family could be a prime source of income for you [including your ancestors [especially your father or paternal side]]. Your income is related to your home, the city where you reside, and also to real estate in general. You may work at home or in professions such as interior decorator, gardener, farmer, or real estate ventures. You may also earn income from serving your country, such as working in government affairs or in the military. This is also an indicator of an inheritance from family members.

5th House:

Your income is related to creative endeavors, publications, entertainment, sports or arts, investments that imply certain risk or speculation, education, or children. You are likely to earn money through some pursuit that will offer satisfaction and pleasure. Your children may even aid you in your business ventures. You may work in fertility, Obgyn matters or in surrogacy. Consider turning your hobbies into a business because you will earn considerable income from them. However, I don't recommend gambling or doing investments that imply risk or speculation if the 2nd house ruler is Mars or is conjunct/opposite/square to Mars, it will have an adverse effect.

6th House:

Your income is related to the fields of sanitation, diet, health, hygiene, and nursing. Or occupying a subordinate position and organization in important companies. You may earn income from work in animal care or as a life coach or fitness coach as well. Your coworkers, associates, and employees will aid you in your quest for financial security :). This is also an indicator of an inheritance from an uncle or aunt.

7th House:

MARRIAGE period. This is a great indicator of financial security through marriage. If not, then your income may be related to an activity related to the public, such as commercials. You could also earn money involving legal affairs, such as contracts and agreements. Also, a great indicator of earning income from one-on-one partnerships/friendships. This is also an indicator of an inheritance from a spouse.

8th House:

Your income is related to the administration of other people’s resources, joint investments, banking, brokerage, insurance, or politics. There is a possibility of receiving an inheritance after a death. This position also favors profit by marriage. Or it could be fortune after an emotionally inharmonious marriage [take this with a grain of salt]. You also may work in the occult, such as an astrologer ;). You may work in investigative fields as well; you'd do amazing as a detective! You also may work in the sex or death industry.

9th House:

You can earn money in foreign trade, import and export, travel, tourism, or a liberal profession, science, philosophy or religion, or teaching in a university. Indicator of earning money from a degree too. You will have very profitable voyages [long term travel], so travel the world dearie! You may earn income from blogging too! [I have this placement as well and I truly want to go to college no matter how much it costs because I feel like I won't regret it [Pisces moon tings; my intuition is on point]. I'm even adamant on studying abroad as well. AND I want to work a professor too.]

10th House:

It's your choice :). Your income is related to any career or profession that you choose. Thanks to your daily effort, you will be able to establish a sense of achievement. This position enables you to earn money in some government capacity or politics or to acquire a profession of great social status. You will have a comfortable worldly position and will rapidly acquire wealth.

11th House:

You will have MANY influential acquaintances and their support will help you improve your income. Your income is closely linked with those of friends, your relationships, or activities that you perform in certain social groups. There is a possibility of earning money through administrative or political positions in social organizations. It would be a good idea to join/participate in social groups/activities/organizations as it will bring you income. You may also work in humanitarian activities, such as in the environment or the United Nations.

12th House:

Your income is related to some kind of service in connection with healing and welfare or helping the less fortunate. You may have difficulties evaluating your self-worth, which will impinge on your level of income. Evaluating your natural talents would bring even better financial opportunities [so get on that ;)]. This influence could bring confidential financial support but also may lead to clandestine or illegal business. Avoid any easy business that may imply some risk or commitment. There may be numerous difficulties in establishing the position [doesn't mean that it won't happen; with astrology nothing is impossible, it's just an obstacle]. However, if the ruler is Venus/Jupiter you will gain through farming and leases and will avoid these difficulties.

**********************************************************************

Alrighty, I hope you enjoyed!!

For Part 2: [Career/Legacy Indicators according to your 10th House Ruler] - go here

Anyways bye bye ;)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

WaPo: How car bans and heat pump rules drive voters to the far right

Shannon Osaka at WaPo:

More than a decade ago, the Netherlands embarked on a straightforward plan to cut carbon emissions. Its legislature raised taxes on natural gas, using the money earned to help Dutch households install solar panels. By most measures, the program worked: By 2022, 20 percent of homes in the Netherlands had solar panels, up from about 2 percent in 2013. Natural gas prices, meanwhile, rose by almost 50 percent. But something else happened, according to a new study. The Dutch families who were most vulnerable to the increase in gas prices — renters who paid their own utility bills — drifted to the right. Families facing increased home energy costs became 5 to 6 percent more likely to vote for one of the Netherlands’ far-right parties. A similar backlash is happening all over Europe, as far-right parties position themselves in opposition to green policies. In Germany, a law that would have required homeowners to install heat pumps galvanized the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, giving it a boost. Farmers have rolled tractors into Paris to protest E.U. agricultural rules, and drivers in Italy and Britain have protested attempts to ban gas-guzzling cars from city centers.

That resurgence of the right could slow down the green transition in Europe, which has been less polarized on global warming, and serves as a warning to the United States, where policies around electric vehicles and gas stoves have already sparked a backlash. The shift also shows how, as climate policies increasingly touch citizens’ lives, even countries whose voters are staunchly supportive of clean energy may hit roadblocks. “This has really expanded the coalition of the far right,” said Erik Voeten, a professor of geopolitics at Georgetown University and the author of the new study on the Netherlands.

Other studies have found similar results. In one study in Milan, researchers at Bocconi University studied the voting patterns of drivers whose cars were banned from the city center for being too polluting. These drivers, who on average lost the equivalent of $4,000 because of the ban, were significantly more likely to vote for the right-wing Lega party in subsequent elections. In Sweden, researchers found that low-income families facing high electricity prices were also more likely to turn toward the far right. Far-right parties in Europe have started to position themselves against climate action, expanding their platforms from anti-immigration and anti-globalization. A decade ago, the Dutch right-wing Party for Freedom emphasized that it wasn’t against renewable energy — just increasing energy prices. But by 2021, the party’s manifesto had moved to more extreme language. “Energy is a basic need, but climate madness has turned it into a very expensive luxury item,” the manifesto said. “The far right has increasingly started to campaign on opposition to environmental policies and climate change,” Voeten said.

The pushback also reflects, in part, how much Europe has decarbonized. More than 60 percent of the continent’s electricity already comes from renewable sources or nuclear power; so meeting the European Union’s climate goals means tacklingother sectors — transportation, buildings, agriculture.

[...] Some of these voting patterns have also played out in the United States. According to a study by the Princeton political scientist Alexander Gazmararian, historically-Democratic coal communities that lost jobs in the shift to natural gas increased their support for Republican candidates by 5 percent. The shift was larger in areas located farther from new gas power plants — that is, areas where voters couldn’t see that it was natural gas, not environmental regulations, that undercut coal.

Gazmararian says that while climate denial and fossil fuel misinformation have definitely played a role, many voters are motivated simply by their own financial pressures. “They’re in an economic circumstance where they don’t have many options,” he said. The solution, experts say, is todesign policies that avoid putting too much financial burden on individual consumers. In Germany, where the law to install heat pumps would have cost homeowners $7,500 to $8,500 more than installing gas boilers, policymakers quickly retreated. But by that point, far-right party membership had already surged.

The Washington Post explains what may be at least partially causing the rise of far-right extremist parties in Europe, Conservatives in Canada, and the Republicans in some parts of the US: rising energy costs that low-income people are bearing the brunt of.

In the US, right-wing hysteria about gas stove bans and electric vehicles are also playing a role.

[zvaigzdelasas]

The world’s chocolate industry could be in for a turbulent ride as the two biggest cocoa producers set down demands for manufacturers to pay higher prices for their growers. The quarrel focuses on the Living Income Differential (LID) – a policy that Ivory Coast and Ghana introduced in 2019 to fight poverty among cocoa farmers in the global US$130-billion chocolate market. Under it, Ivory Coast and Ghana vowed to charge a premium of US$400 per tonne on all cocoa sales, starting with the 2020/21 harvest.

But trade boards in the countries – the Ivorian Coffee-Cocoa Council (CCC) and the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) – say the scheme is being undermined as cocoa traders depress the price of another premium that operates in parallel.[...]

The two countries together account for 60 per cent of the world’s cocoa but their farmers earn less than six per cent of the industry’s global revenue.

They are threatening to punish corporations by barring them from visiting plantations to estimate harvests – a key factor in cocoa price forecasting. They are also threatening to suspend sustainability programmes that chocolate giants use to enhance their image with fast-growing ethnic consumers.

“This boycott and also ultimatum is to draw attention to the fact that inasmuch as it is important for us to talk about deforestation, it is important to talk about child labour, it is equally important to talk about the farmer income,” said Boafo.[...]

Some experts say the chocolate giants have factored the LID into their costs but claw back some of this by exerting pressure on another premium based on the quality of cocoa beans.

This premium, known as the origin differential, has plunged below zero in recent years, effectively cancelling out part of the LID.

19 Nov 22

[drabblesandimagines]

Sweet & Salty

I'm feeling a bit sad today so wanted some comfort... Sebastian x (afab) reader, Stardew Valley, Fluffity fluff Warnings: Mention of recreational drug use

-

It’s been a day. You’d sat down heavily on your porch steps, trying to keep the tears at bay. You should probably go mope in your bed, instead of staring at the land that is causing you so much distress. Despite your carefully placed scarecrow, you must’ve miscalculated the distance because the crows have still had a go at your most recent plantings and that’s hard-earned money down the drain - again. You’ve been here two months now and, surely, by now you should know better. The farm has been somewhat transformed since you arrived - a mass of weeds, stone and dead branches - but it’s nowhere near how you remember it in your grandpa’s heyday. He would’ve never made such a rudimentary error in his scarecrow placement.

Some of the fences around your crop patches have started to erode too – it won’t be long until they need replaced, but you’re trying to save up your wood supplies to put in a coop from Robyn. You desperately want to add chickens to the farm as eggs would be steady income – or at least you reckon – but you also don’t want them pecking at your crops alongside the crows, so having a fence seems important too. Your endless to-do list swirls around your head again. Why’s everything so hard?

It's not just your failings on the farm on your mind, but also your lack at making any real friends around here. Shane glared at you this morning as he headed off to work. That’s not unusual, despite your best efforts of a smile and a friendly greeting. Then Haley looked you up and down, judging your dirty dungarees. You’d only popped into town to get some seeds from Pierre’s. It didn’t make sense to get changed… Elliott is sweet but locked away in his cabin most of the time, Emily in her own little world… Sebastian, Sam and Abigail have invited you to play pool with them, but they’re such a tight-knit group and you always feel like you’re missing out on the joke, especially when you were partnered up with Sebastian. He’d been teaching you how to hold the cue correctly, leaning over you, his breath tickling your ear. Sam and Abigail kept nudging each other and whispering, but you couldn’t catch what about and it was clear Sebastian was becoming irritated. You’d begun to think they were making fun of your abysmal pool skills.

Ugh. Your emotions are a rollercoaster and the twisting pain in your stomach reminds you why – stupid period. It emerged with a vengeance this morning. It had stopped in your last months of JoJo Corp. There was no chance you were pregnant, your last intimate relationship fizzling out a year previously, though you’d taken tests just to be sure. The doctor in Zuzu City said you were stressed, burnt out… that it would return once you were feeling better in yourself. So why had it returned now, of all times? You feel more stressed and burnt out than ever before, regretting ever moving here. Why did you think you could become a farmer…?!

The barrier finally breaks and you let out a sob, hugging your knees.

To your shame, there’s a scuffing footstep and your heart stops as you look up, worried who’s seen your breakdown.

“Sebastian?” You sniff. You’re tempted to rub the tears from your cheeks but maybe he hasn’t noticed in the evening light. The black-haired man is standing there looking sheepish, a brown paper bag from Pierre’s clutched in his hands.

“Er, hey…” He’s not meeting your eyes. Poor boy probably wants to run. “Sorry, I… I was just leaving Sam’s and I didn’t want to go through town and see everyone, so I thought I’d take the scenic route back home through your farm…”

“Oh.” You mumble, waving him on. “That’s okay. Go ahead.”

He takes a step as if to go on his way, but then hesitates. “Are… Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” you plaster a smile on, which you’re sure makes you look ridiculous as the stupid tears are still flowing. “I’m just being silly. Don’t let me keep you.”

He stares at you for a moment, before a sympathetic smile graces his lips. “You’re a terrible liar, you know?”

“I’m not ly- Ow!” You flinch as your stomach cramps terribly and you squeeze your arms around it, hoping in some way it might alleviate the pain.

Sebastian is suddenly at your side – the paper bag from Pierre’s dropped to the ground. He’s kneeling down on the first porch step with a frown on his face. “Whoa, are you hurt? I can get Harvey…” His hand hovers over your arm,

“No, honestly, I’m fine…” You try and wave him off again with one hand, the other arm still wrapped around your stomach.

He stares at you, a raised eyebrow. He seems to be putting the clues together – the wincing, clutching your stomach, the tears… He nods, making up his mind and gets to his feet, picking up the discarded bag from Pierre’s as he does so.

“Come on, let’s get you inside.” He offers you his free hand.

“Thank you, but I’ll be okay. You get on home…”

“Farmer, I know I’m probably not the person you want to see right now, but let me help you out, okay? I can’t go home and just leave crying on your porch.” He waves his offered hand again. You look at Sebastian, hesitantly. He looks genuine, at least, but there’s something a little off about him tonight… Heck, you’ve already made a fool of yourself enough, so what’s one more thing?

This time you accept his hand and he easily pulls you to your feet and leads you up to your door. He opens it – you’d easily adapted to the habit of leaving the front door unlocked since moving to Pelican Valley.

You go to open your mouth, to tell Sebastian thank you, but he can go now. You’re inside, you’ll go to bed and pretend this never happened.

“Sit down.” He orders, pointing at your bed. “You like hot chocolate, right?” You wonder how he knows that, how he knows you have a stash. Had you mentioned it at the saloon before? “I’ll make you a cup.”

“But you don’t know where…”

“I’ll find it. Sit!” He pushes you gently towards the bed and you do sit, keeping a wary eye. To be honest, it is quite easy to find your cups and kettle. Robyn had advertised an extension to you but you don’t even want to think about the price and the materials needed. For now – perhaps even for the rest of your life - you’ve got a cupboard filled with crockery and silverware. The fire’s roaring away, you’re thankful you’d lit it earlier to try and make it cosy ahead of going to bed later on. The cabin always had a slight chill at night. Sebastian retrieves a mug and spoon, scooping the hot chocolate powder into the mug, fills the kettle with water from the jug you keep besides the cupboard, before taking it over to the fire to heat.

“Do you have a hot water bottle?” He asks over his shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Hot water bottle.” He enunciates.

“Y-yeah, I think it’s under my bed. Let me…” Before you can bend down, he drops to his knees and Sebastian is now crawling under the bedframe to retrieve it. You pull your legs up off the floor to the bed, not sure what to say.

He reverses back out, holding the fluffy hot water bottle in the air triumphantly, and gets back to his feet. “Finally, where do you keep the snacks?”

“I don’t have any. Sorry, I wasn’t really expecting to entertain.”

“Not for me,” a chuckle – it sounds a little odd coming from him - “..for you!”

“For me?” He’s acting so weird.

But he’s not listening, already rummaging around the brown bag from Pierre’s. He walks over to the sofa and empties the contents besides you – there’s a couple of packs of chips, cookies and candy. “Ta-da!”

You look at the assembled junk food and back up at the black-haired man, noticing his blood-shot eyes.

“You’re high.”

Sebastian laughs again, rubbing the back of his head. “Guilty. Is that a problem?”

“No, it just… explains a lot.” You wince again as the kettle on the fire whistles. Sebastian grabs the mitt you keep nearby for that exact purpose and places it on his hand, removing the kettle from the fire and placing it down on the hearth. Methodically, he pours some hot water in the hot water bottle, tightening the cap, before pouring some in in the cup he retrieved, stirring the hot chocolate powder until it dissolves. Once he seems happy with his work, he brings the two over to you on the bed.

“Okay, since you worked out my thing, it’s my turn. Time of the month, right?” He flops down next to you on the bed, ripping open a bag of chips. “My sympathies.” It feels surreal as he holds the bag towards you and you take a handful – maybe junk food would make you feel better, and the warmth of the hot water bottle is soothing too now against your sore tummy.

The only sound for a few moments is the rustle of the chip package and the crunching of said chips. You take a sip of hot chocolate, probably a weird combination at that moment in time, but it’s working.

“Sebastian…”

“Mm?” You’ve caught him with his mouth full.

“How are you so good at this?”

“Erm…” He swallows. “Well, I guess cos I have a sister and a mom… and a friend named Abigail.” He replies in a teasing tone. “Maru and Abi usually just get super pissy though. Mom’s the crier.” Sebastian leans forward and grabs the blanket off the end of your bed, throwing it over the both of your laps in a smooth motion. Who knew he could turn into a right chatterbox? “Wanna watch some TV?” He picks up the remote control and turns it on without waiting for a response, flipping through the channels. “Do you have a preference? Nothing deters Abi from horror, Mom and Maru go chick-flick mad…”

You burst into tears again.

“Whoa, okay, no TV! That’s fair too.”

“N-no, it’s n-not that.” You let out a shuddering breath. “Why are you being so nice?”

“Because we’re friends…?”

“No, everyone hates me here.” You know you’re being irrational now, but the floodgates have well and truly opened.

“Come on, you know that’s not exactly true.” His face looks serious now.

“It is. I don’t know what I was thinking – I worked in customer support, why did I think I could farm the land? I’m going to be broke by the end of winter if I lose another batch of crops and this town is so tight-knit that they’re never going to like me being here.”

“I like you being here.”

“No, you’re just saying that because you feel sorry for me.” You go to take another handful of chips, but he snatches the bag out of your reach indignantly.

“I am not.”

“You are.” You clip back.

Sebastian lets out a huff in frustration and he acts before he can even consider the consequences. He puts a hand on the side of your face, turning it slightly and presses a gentle kiss on your lips for a moment or two, immediately causing your tears to cease.

“Would I kiss you if I didn’t like you?”

“I…” You don’t have any words.

He swipes his tongue over his lips. “Mm, salty. That’s not how I expected our first kiss to go, I’ll be honest.”

“Our first kiss?” Your face is on fire. It has to be on fire, why else would it feel so hot?

“Yeah, well, I told you I like you, didn’t I?” He grins, before it drops. “Though I’ve just realized that you probably don’t like me like that, I’m high, and now I’ve made this a hundred times wor-…”

You cut him off, caressing his lips with your own for a moment.

“No. I like you too.”

“Well, that’s that settled, then, isn’t it?” He leans back, a smug look on his face before he grabs the packet of candy. “Shall we see what a sweet kiss tastes like next?”

-

Masterlist . Requests welcome . Ko-fi I'm also running an event for x reader fics to celebrate 200 followers, so please check it out and send in your requests.

[centrally-unplanned]

Gonna make this a quick one since I just don’t have the spoons for a really big effort post: Pre-CCP 20th Century China Did Not Have Feudal or Slave-like Land Tenancy Systems

Obviously what counts as “slave-like” is going to be subjective, but I think it's common, for *ahem* reasons, for people to believe that in the 1930’s Chinese agriculture was dominated by massive-scale, absentee landlords who held the large majority of peasant workers in a virtual chokehold and dictated all terms of labor.

That is not how Chinese land ownership & agricultural systems worked. I am going to pull from Chinese Agriculture in the 1930s: Investigations into John Lossing Buck’s Rediscovered ‘Land Utilization in China’ Microdata, which is some of the best ground-level data you can get on how land use functioned, in practice, in China during the "Nanjing Decade" before WW2 ruins all data collection. It looks at a series of north-central provinces, which gives you the money table of this:

On average, 4/5ths of Chinese peasants owned land, and primarily farmed land that they owned. Tenancy was, by huge margins, the minority practice. I really don’t need to say more than this, but I'm going to because there is a deeper point I want to make. And it's fair to say that while this is representative of Northern China, Southern China did have higher tenancy rates - not crazy higher, but higher.

So let's look at those part-owner farmers; sounds bad right? Like they own part of their land, but it's not enough? Well, sometimes, but sometimes not:

A huge class (about ~1/3rd) of those part-owners were farming too much land, not too little; they were enterprising households renting land to expand their businesses. They would often engage in diversified production, like cash crops on the rented land and staple crops on their owned land. Many of them would actually leave some of their owned land fallow, because it wasn’t worth the time to farm!

Meanwhile the small part-owners and the landless tenant farmers would rent out land to earn a living…sometimes. Because that wasn’t the only way to make a living - trades existed. From our data, if you are a small part-owner, you got a substantial chunk of your income from non-farm labor; if you owned no land you got the majority of your income from non-farm labor:

(Notice how that includes child labor by default, welcome to pre-modernism!)

So the amount of people actually doing full-tenancy agriculture for a living is…pretty small, less than 10% for sure. But what did it look like for those who do? The tenancy rates can be pretty steep - 50/50 splits were very common. But that is deceiving actually; this would be called “share rent”, but other systems, such as cash rents, bulk crop rents, long-term leases with combined payment structures, etc, also existed and were plentiful - and most of those had lower rent rates. However, share rent did two things; one, it hedged against risk; in the case of a crop failure you weren't out anything as the tenant, a form of insurance. And two, it implied reciprocal obligations - the land owner was providing the seed, normally the tools as well, and other inputs like fertilizer.

Whether someone chose one type of tenancy agreement or the other was based on balancing their own labor availability, other wage opportunities, the type of crop being grown, and so on. From the data we have, negotiations were common around these types of agreements; a lot of land that was share rent one year would be cash rent another, because the tenants and market conditions shifted to encourage one or the other form.

I’m doing a little trick here, by throwing all these things at you. Remember the point at the top? “Was this system like slavery?” What defines slavery? To me, its a lack of options - that is the bedrock of a slave system. Labor that you are compelled by law to do, with no claim on the output of that work. And as I hit you with eight tiers of land ownership and tenancy agreements and multi-source household incomes, as you see that the median person renting out land to a tenant farmer was himself a farmer as a profession and by no means some noble in the city, what I hope becomes apparent is that the Chinese agricultural system was a fully liquid market based on choice and expected returns. By no means am I saying that it was a nice way to live; it was an awful way to live. But nowhere in this system was state coercion the bedrock of the labor system. China’s agricultural system was in fact one of the most free, commercial, and contract-based systems on the planet in the pre-modern era, that was a big source of why China as a society was so wealthy. It was a massive, moving market of opportunities for wages, loans, land ownership, tenancy agreements, haggled contracts, everyone trying in their own way to make the living that they could.

It's a system that left many poor, and to be clear injustices, robberies, corruption, oh for sure were legion. Particularly during the Warlord Era mass armies might just sweep in and confiscate all your hard currency and fresh crops. But, even ignoring that the whole ‘poverty’ thing is 90% tech level and there was no amount of redistribution that was going to improve that very much, what is more important is that the pre-modern world was *not* equally bad in all places. The American South was also pretty poor, but richer than China in the 19th century. And being a slave in the American South was WAY worse than being a peasant in China during times of peace - because Confederate society built systems to remove choice, to short-circuit the ebb and flow of the open system to enshrine their elite ‘permanently’ at the top. If you lived in feudal Russia it was a good deal worse, with huge amounts of your yearly labor compelled by the state onto estates held by those who owned them unimpeachably by virtue of their birthright (though you were a good deal richer just due to basic agriculture productivity & population density, bit of a tradeoff there).

If you simply throw around the word “slavery” to describe every pre-modern agricultural system because it was poor and shitty, that back-doors a massive amount of apologia for past social systems that were actively worse than the benchmarks of the time. Which is something the CCP did; their diagnosis of China’s problem for the rural poor of needing massive land redistribution was wrong! It was just wrong, it was not the issue they were having. It was not why rural China was often poor and miserable. It could help, sure, I myself would support some compensated land redistribution in the post-war era as a welfare idea for a fiscally-strapped state. But that was gonna do 1% of the heavy lifting here in making the rural poor's lives better. And I don’t think we should continue to the job of spreading the CCP's propaganda for them.

There ya go @chiefaccelerator, who alas I was not permitted to compel via state force into writing this for me, you Qing Dynasty lazy peasant.

[solarpunkbusiness]

“When farmers’ crops fail, whether due to drought or flooding, the first thing that often happens is that they go en masse to cut down trees to make charcoal to earn an alternative income,” says Frazer Handondo.

For Frazer and his wife, this challenge presented an opportunity to kill three birds with one stone: protect Zambia’s natural biodiversity, provide alternative livelihoods to rural communities, and build a business in the process.

In 2017, the couple co-founded Forest Africa Zambia, an agro-processing company with a factory in Chilanga, Zambia. It produces juices and other products from wild fruits harvested by rural community members.

[stormyjane7]

I need help!!

I am a disabled mom who is the sole income to my 3 people family. I normally work full time at my job but I am currently losing half of my hours at work. While waiting to pick up new projects to fill 20 hours of work i need to spread my stuff so that I can earn more money. If you can reblog that would be amazing! Losing 20 hours means I lose about 1k worth of work a month. So here's what i got for you to look at:

Ebay: https://ebay.com/usr/aydoo-n-sakura

I currently have video game guides, sewing patterns, bjds, and other toys available in this shop.

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/sakuraproductions

I have blythe doll clothes, human clothes, other different sewn items.

My spouse is taking art commissions here: https://x.com/WellGramarye/status/1811667975990038546

Ko-fi (i also have things in the shop here as well): https://ko-fi.com/salira PayPal: http://paypal.me/stormyjane7 CashApp: $stormyjane7

I am currently hitting up the farmer's markets every weekend to try and pull in more money as well. I'm doing my best but I need help! Please share this around.

Also if you need custom sewn items or vinyl work done, please hit me up i'm willing to do whatever at this point!!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 4, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Sep 05, 2024

Long tonight, folks, but it’s been quite a day. And even still, I did not mention the day’s horrific shooting at a Georgia school.

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a series of proposals to help entrepreneurs create small businesses. Like President Joe Biden, she and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, argue that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the “engines of our economy.” In a statement today, they noted that “small businesses employ half of all private-sector workers in America—creating 70 percent of net new jobs since 2019—and do trillions of dollars of business every year.”

The Biden administration has boasted of the record number of new businesses created since Biden and Harris took office. There have been 19 million new business applications in that time. Harris said she and Walz are setting a goal of 25 million new business applications in their first term. Their plan, they say, is to “kickstart…more young, small, and innovative firms.”

To make this happen, they propose raising the deduction for startup expenses from its current level of $5,000 to $50,000, noting that the average amount a new business spends to get set up in its first year of operation is $40,000. They also propose funding a network of new and existing “federal, state, local, and private incubators and small business innovation hubs” that will make it easier for small business and local suppliers to get technical assistance, funding, customers, and so on. 

They also promised to make low-interest and no-interest loans available for small businesses, to protect and expand the support of the Affordable Care Act for small business owners, and to guarantee that one third of federal contract money will go to small businesses. They promise to make it easier for small businesses to file taxes, reduce excessive occupational licensing requirements, and urge state and local governments to cut the red tape of burdensome regulations by streamlining them across jurisdictions. 

Harris and Walz said they are committed to making the investments that will build the economy while also paying for them and reducing the deficit. “They also know,” their statement said, that “we need to support America as a locus of innovators, entrepreneurs, and workers coming together to create a better future.  

Harris calls this a New Way Forward, but it is curiously close to the old Republican reforms of the Progressive Era, when entrepreneurs joined forces with workers and farmers to demand access to capital and a fair economic playing field after decades in which a few wealthy industrialists stacked the system in their own favor. When we look at that era, as well as the New Deal reforms of the 1930s, we tend to emphasize reforms designed to benefit workers and farmers, but members of those groups always allied with entrepreneurs shut out of the system by wealthy industrialists. The demand for securities and exchange law in the 1930s, for example, did not come from western farmers, but from entrepreneurs who knew they could not break into the system if established businesses made up the rules amongst themselves.

Harris recalled that Republican reform impulse when she said we must make the tax system fairer. She called for rolling back Trump’s tax cuts and implementing common-sense tax reforms for corporations and the richest Americans. She calls for setting a minimum income tax for billionaires, the corporate tax rate to 28% (it was 35% before the Trump tax cuts), and quadrupling the tax on the stock buybacks that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest Americans.

She emphasized that no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay more in taxes under her plans, and called for a tax rate of 28% on long-term capital gains for those who earn more than a million dollars a year. This is up from the current 20% rate, but less than the 39.6% rate Biden proposed in his 2025 budget. 

A Fox News Channel host applauded some of Harris’s ideas, saying, “When a political candidate comes up with what I think is a good idea, I have to call it a good idea. And a fifty thousand dollar…tax credit for startups or small businesses, coupled with less red tape, I’ve got to say, that is a good idea, regardless of her other tax ideas.” 

This was a nice endorsement of Harris’s policies, coming as it did after yesterday’s assessment by economists for the Goldman Sachs Group saying that the nation’s economic growth would take a hit if Trump wins, but will grow under a Harris presidency if she also has the support of a Democratic House and Senate.  

In her statement about economic policy, Harris called out Trump for supporting “himself and the biggest corporations” and noted that sixteen Nobel laureates have said that Trump’s policies would ignite inflation and trigger a recession by mid-2025. That recession, economists project, would cost more than 3 million jobs, explode the deficit, and raise costs. Harris pointed out that Project 2025 would cut funding for the Small Business Administration and make it harder for small businesses to get access to money. 

For his part, Trump has doubled down on the idea that the United States is a failing nation. For the past week he has been telling a story about a residential building in Colorado taken over by a gang from Venezuela. But it appears the story is entirely made up. Similarly, Trump on Friday said at a right-wing Moms for Liberty event that public schools in America kidnap children and operate on them to change their sex. This is bonkers, but it is bonkers in a way that deliberately demonizes Trump’s opponents.

Trump’s vision of the United States is one of darkness and carnage. As Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz said today, “It is a deliberate effort by some people to make them believe that our political system is broken. To make them believe that things are pessimistic. My God, every time I hear Donald Trump give a speech, it’s like the next screenplay for Mad Max or something. They are rooting against America.”

That bleak version of the United States, it turns out, echoes the talking points Russian handlers gave to their operatives working in the U.S. in an effort “to steer the U.S. public opinion in the right direction.” The Russians directed their U.S. employees to emphasize the following “campaign topics”: “Encroaching universal poverty. Record inflation. Halting of economic growth. Unaffordable prices for food and essential goods”; “Risk of job loss for white Americans”; “Privileges for people of color, perverts, and disabled”; “Constant lies of the [Democratic] administration about the real situation in the country”; “Threat of crime coming from people of color and immigrants”; “Overspending on foreign policy and at the interests of white US citizens”; “Constant lies to the voters by [Democrats] in power.” 

The target audience of the campaign was “[Republican] voters,” [Trump] supporters, “Supporters of traditional family values,” and “White Americans, representing the lower-middle and middle class.” The focus was in particular on “[r]esidents of "swing states whose voting results impact the outcomes of the elections more than other states. 

This information came out today when the Departments of Justice, State, and the Treasury announced sanctions against 10 individuals and 2 entities, and criminal charges against two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, who allegedly funded a company in the U.S. to hire right-wing social media influencers to push Russian propaganda before the 2024 election. 

While the indictment does not name the Tennessee-based company the Russians funded, it appears to be Tenet Media, a company registered by Liam Donovan and Lauren Tam, who is associated with The Blaze and Turning Point USA, as well as RT. The two appear to be married. The indictment alleges that the company’s two founders knew they were working for the Russians, but suggests the six commentators—Lauren Southern, Tim Pool, Tayler Hansen, Matt Christiansen, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson, all staunch Trump supporters—did not know where their massive paychecks originated. After the story broke, five of the commentators denied any knowledge of the source of the company’s funding; some insisted their words were entirely their own. 

One of the videos the company pushed at the request of the Russians was what appears to have been right-wing host Tucker Carlson’s visit to a grocery store in Russia where he praised the low prices (which even the company’s founders thought “just feels like overt shilling”).

Separately, the Department of Justice seized 32 internet domains that “the Russian government and Russian sponsored actors” have used to influence the 2024 election. In a malign influence campaign called “Doppelganger,” these domains produced fake articles that appeared to be from major U.S. news sites, to which influencers and fake social media profiles on Facebook, X, Truth Social, and YouTube then drove traffic. 

Russian operatives called in bold type for Russia “to put a maximum effort to ensure that the [Republican] point of view (first and foremost, the opinion of [Trump] supporters) wins over the US public opinion. This includes provisions on peace in Ukraine in exchange for territories, the need to focus on the problems of the US economy, returning troops home from all over the world, etc.”

One of the documents produced in the affidavit justifying the seizure of the internet domains called for trying to stir up a conflict between the U.S. and Mexico in order to distract from the fact that the U.S. economy is “very healthy” under Biden.

Tonight, in an interview with Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, Trump appeared to think he is running against Joe Biden. An internal email leaked to the press from the Trump campaign showed managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles warning staff not to communicate with the press and suggested anyone doing so would be fired.

Today, Steph Curry of California’s Golden State Warriors basketball team and former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. “Endorsing Kamala Harris is important for me and my family,” Curry said. “Knowing Kamala and having been around her, I understand she's qualified for this job."

“There was never a doubt that the courageous Liz Cheney would endorse Vice President Harris,” conservative judge J. Michael Luttig wrote, “because  Liz Cheney stands for America.  She is the very embodiment of country over party and country over self.  And she fears no one—least of all the former president.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[roseofdarknessblog]

Monsters and Heroes (Reiner Braun x Marleyan!Reader)

Word count: 5 400

Disclaimer: english is not my first language, I apologize in advance for any mistakes

A/N: Huge thanks to @wyvernslovecake for inspiring this story! Soft dad Reiner with his little princess has my whole heart! ❤️

TW: mentions of birth trauma, postpartum depression

Summary: You and Reiner were very well aware, that raising a child is going to be challenging. Although most days were filled with nothing but love and fun, there came days when you had to re-open old wounds, just to let your daughter know what the world she was born into used to look like back in the day.

This story can be read on its own or as a part of my little post-war series: House by the ocean

Monsters and Heroes

„Honey, watch your steps. You’re going to trip and fall down again,“ you said to your four-year-old daughter, who kept looking over her shoulder in your direction. It has always been her little thing – walking a few steps ahead and looking back, to see if you were still following. „And if you rip your dress, daddy is not going to be happy. You know this one is his favorite and he loves it, when you wear it.“

„He can buy me a new one,“ Maya replied without even thinking about the answer and gave you the cutest little smile. The bright yellow dress with tiny little white flowers was Reiner’s favorite from the moment he got it for his little princess. And you completely understood why. „Right, mommy?“

„I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him when he later comes home from work.“

„I wish he didn’t have to work so often, so he could be home with me.“

You smiled, tucking a few strands of loose hair behind your ear. It was a beautiful summer day – not too hot thanks to the light breeze, which was coming from the ocean. „You know he loves his job. And besides, he would be bored if he stayed home all the time, don’t you think?“

„No,“ Maya said and looked over at you again. You were on the way back home from the farmer’s market, which was one of her favorite places ever. She simply loved looking around, asking tons of questions, and saying hello to everyone who she passed by. Animals including. „I would keep him busy. We could play all day.“

Over time, Reiner got really friendly with the owner of the nearby farm, from where you first got your ducklings – way back when you moved here from Marley after the Rumbling and started a new life. And as their friendship got stronger, the owner offered him a job. As he was getting older and needed help more often, he wanted someone, who he could trust. And Reiner was just the right man for that position. With a pretty decent income came many more benefits as well. But the most important thing was, that Reiner was happy.

While you stayed home with your daughter, occasionally earning some extra money by selling your paintings and tending to the house, he worked five days a week and had the weekends off. That’s when the farmer’s sons usually came to visit him, so he had somebody else to help with the things that couldn’t wait until Monday morning.

And even though you never had tons of money to spend, you lived happily. You could always afford all the things you needed while living a slow and peaceful life, both of you doing something you truly enjoyed.

But the most important thing above all was your daughter – Maya Braun, whose birth almost cost you your own life. After nearly bleeding out shortly after delivering her, and then spending almost three weeks in the hospital due to many other complications, you had to face something even more horrific. You’ve barely heard about a condition called postpartum depression until you had to face it yourself. Not to mention the overwhelming anxiety and quilt, which keep you company for many months to come. Maya was nearly one year old when you finally started to feel like yourself again.

You had to face many hardships, to have the happy life you lived today. But with the help of your partner, his mother, and Pieck, who moved close by with her dad a couple of months after Maya was born, you did it. You slowly recovered and got to enjoy your new life, not taking anything for granted.

„Will Pieck come over today? She promised to braid my hair and put some flowers in it.“

„Not today, I think,“ you said, walking up the little hill to your house, which was situated on top of a cliff. The view from your garden was the best part, it overlooked the ocean in all its beauty. „But if you want your hair braided, I can do it. We can even pick some flowers in the garden.“

„No, Pieck does it better,“ Maya stated, looking back at you once more. She stumbled a little almost immediately but didn’t fall. She just twirled around a bit with a heartwarming laugh and continued walking as if nothing happened. „I’ll wait for her. Or for daddy, he can do it just as nicely.“

„Well, okay then,“ you smiled and shook your head.

She made every day of your life so worth it. As she was getting older and started exploring the world around her more and more, you simply loved to watch her every step. And Reiner was the same. He spent every possible second with his baby girl, always carrying her around on his shoulders and making her laugh until both of them could hardly catch their breaths.

She really was the happiest, when she was with her dad. And not only now, but ever since she was a baby. At first, you were pretty bummed about it and blamed yourself, for not being able to bond with your daughter right after birth. But as you saw how effortlessly Reiner cared for her and loved her, how much happiness his daughter brought into his life, you slowly let go of your dark thought. Seeing both of them happy was, after all, the most important thing.

Recovering from his past took Reiner a lot of time, but after many battles, he succeeded. Sometimes, there were moments he remembered something or got sad, but you couldn’t even compare it to the state he was in during the Marley Mid-East War or after the Rumbling. Maya truly healed his heart and mind in ways even you couldn’t. And just simply by being born and being his daughter, who took after him in many ways. Her blonde hair, nose, and lips looked so much like Reiner’s. Not to say her eyes, which started to turn the color of honey gold when she was about six months old. There was no denying, that she was Reiner’s daughter.

„Grandma said she’ll bake that cherry pie I love so much and bring some over in the evening.“

„Yeah, she’ll stay over for dinner as well,“ you answered, finally seeing your house on the top of the hill. Walking up here when you were in town during pregnancy was a true nightmare. „Will you help me cook something good for her?“

Maya excitedly nodded and when she too finally saw your house, she started running towards it, screaming for your ducks. She loved them to death, always playing with them and carrying them around the garden or the house when they were still little.

„Mommy, you’re taking forever!“ she shouted for you, shoving open the wooden gate. It was painted white and decorated with colorful flowers and butterflies, she helped you paint. On one of the wooden boards were three colorful handprints – Reiner’s, Maya’s, and yours in the colors orange, yellow, and red.

„You don’t have to wait for me, go check the ducks and ask them what they did while we were away.“

„They surely missed me so much.“

„Of course, they did, honey.“

While she raced to the back of the garden, which was reserved for the ducks, you stopped to check the mailbox. For almost seven years now, you were expecting at least a single letter from your father. A former Marleyan soldier, who was taken hostage by the Eldians from the Liberio Internment zone, when the Rumbling started. Only thanks to that did you and he got the chance to travel with them to Fort Salta and survive.

But after everything, he turned his back on you because of Reiner. It was humiliating for him, that his only daughter fell in love with an Eldian. Not to say with Reiner Braun. You tried to make amends with him throughout the years by writing him every week and even going back to his new home in Marley. But he avoided you at all costs. At that time, you were already pregnant without anyone knowing. Even Reiner got to hear the exciting news just after you came back.

After giving birth and almost losing your life, it was Reiner, who wrote to your father and begged him, to come and see you. But not even such horrific news convinced him to contact you. After some time, you somehow accepted it. He was simply not interested in you anymore. He rather lived alone, than accepted Reiner into the family. Not even the fact, that you named Maya after your late mother, who died when you were still a child, interested him.

And so almost seven years went by, without you and your father speaking a single word. You kept sending him letters, where you wrote about your life, about Maya, and sometimes about nothing important at all. But you kept sending the letters in the hope that one day he’ll respond.

With a sigh, you closed the empty mailbox, made your way into the house, and started putting away everything you bought at the farmer’s market. Maya was running in and out of the house, laughing and squealing just like always. Some of the ducks were following her, running around your legs, just like they used to, when they were following Reiner around.

You could barely settle her down to eat some lunch, without the urge to run away and do millions of other things in between every bite she took. However, the good thing was, that after lunch she usually only lasted another half an hour. After that, she always came to you for a hug and then voluntarily retreated to her room to take a nap, which sometimes lasted up to two hours. You went to check on her ten minutes after she’s gone to bed, finding her fast asleep under a blanket with little cherry blossoms, Reiner’s mom crocheted for her even before she was born.

Your relationship with Karina Braun was at a point, you never thought it would get to. After she realized just how wrong and selfish she acted towards her own son, and started trying to mend their relationship, everything changed. Even more, after she accepted the fact, that Reiner fell in love with a Marleyan girl. The two of you sat down to talk many times and slowly started to build a nice and solid relationship.

It was difficult in the beginning, but all of you tried your best. Mainly Reiner, who after all those years wanted to finally have a healthy relationship with his mother. And you were forever thankful to Karina, for being here after Maya was born and you were still in the hospital or recovering at home. She truly helped Reiner a lot by taking care of the house, her newborn granddaughter, and you as well, after you came home.

After you went to check on Maya and confirmed, she was soundly asleep like usual, you did some work around the house that needed to be done, and then crashed onto the sofa with your new book. It was a really hot summer day, so doing anything required too much energy.

The heat soon make you drowsy and your eyelids so heavy, you had to close them. One second you were reading your novel or wandering somewhere between reality and a dream, the next somebody was gently kissing your forehead and stroking your cheek.

„What time is it?“ you asked, sleepily opening your eyes and seeing your husband. Yes, husband. You became Mrs. Braun just a couple of days after Maya celebrated her second birthday. The wedding was small and simple, just like both of you wished it to be. „How are you already home? Where is Maya?“

Reiner chuckled at all of your questions, laying down on the couch between your legs and resting his head on your chest. „She’s still asleep, I just checked. And I finished early today, so don’t worry. You didn’t miss anything.“

„Great,“ you breathed out, still half asleep, and ran your fingers through his hair, smoothing it down a bit. „How was your day? It was really hot.“

„Pretty good. I had a lot to do, so there was literally no time to think about the heat.“

„And you still managed to finish early?“ you asked, lovingly caressing his nape and sliding your fingers under his shirt. You could feel his body relax against yours, his eyes closing almost immediately.

„I wanted to be with my favorite girls.“ You smiled at the tone of his voice. It was so gentle and full of love, just like always when talking to you or his daughter. „Mom is coming over for dinner.“

„I know, Maya reminded me as well. She can’t wait for your mom’s cherry pie.“

Reiner immediately lifted his head from your chest. „She’s bringing some?“ With a laugh, you nodded your head and tried to prop yourself up on your elbows, to give him a kiss.

Both he and Maya loved everything Karina baked or cooked. Sometimes even more, than what you made for them. But that was more than okay. Even if you tried your best, the kitchen was never your natural habitat. Not that Reiner would be any better. He tried and successfully learned some basics, but that was it. He really wasn’t pushing his luck around the stove or the cutting board.

„And how was your day? Did my princess behave?“

„She did, yeah. You know how much she loves going to the farmer’s market. So she had the time of her life there, we picked up a lot of things I needed and then she just chased the ducks around the garden and the house until she got tired.“

„I would love to have her stamina sometimes, she really has more energy than you and me combined.“

„Definitely,“ you nodded, kissing the tip of Reiner’s nose. His smile warmed your heart more than words could describe. „Oh, and she turned down my offer to braid her hair. You and Pieck do it better.“

„What a nice compliment,“ Reiner smirked, while one of his hands slipped under your summer dress and squeezed your thigh. „You always loved when I braided your hair. Mainly when you were pregnant, remember?“ You nodded, biting down on your lower lip when Reiner slid his hand a bit higher, his eyes hungrily looking at you. „Since Maya is still asleep...“

„She’s going to wake up any minute now,“ you reminded him, stopping his hand before it went any higher.

„Or not,“ Reiner objected and before you knew it, he put away your book and rolled up your dress. His lips pressed to your left inner thigh, making you gasp for air in surprise. „I think we have enough time to...“

„Mommy!“ Both of you were startled when your daughter screamed for you. Her voice sounded a little urgent and scared. Almost as if she was on the verge of tears.

„I’ll go,“ Reiner said and swiftly stood up, giving you a gentle kiss. You watched him walk into your daughter’s room, while you sat up and adjusted your dress. „Y/N,“ your husband called for you.

Without hesitation you stood up and joined them, sitting down on the edge of her bed. Your little girl was clinging to Reiner, tears streaming down her chubby cheeks. Karina said, that Reiner used to have them as well when he was this age.

„What is it, baby? What happened?“ you asked her, caressing her back, while she was hugging Reiner around the neck. „Did you have a bad dream?“ She nodded, while Reiner kissed the top of her head and hid her in his embrace the best he could. That helped every single time and in every situation. Just like you, Maya knew, that being in Reiner’s arms meant being safe from the whole world and loved beyond words.

„Do you want to tell us what that dream was about?“ he asked her in a gentle voice, kissing the top of her head once again.

„Take your time, it’s okay,“ you assured her and leaned closer, so she would feel your presence even without looking at you. „You know we won’t let anything happen to you, baby. Never.“

It took some time and many kisses from both you and Reiner, but she eventually told you. Still crying a little the whole time, she told you about what she heard from two women at the farmer’s market today. It all happened, while you were talking to one of your friends there and didn’t pay that much attention to your surroundings. Maya was right there beside you holding onto your skirt as she typically used to, so it didn’t even occur to you, that she could have heard something disturbing.

„Were they telling the truth?“ she asked with a quivering lip, looking from Reiner to you and waiting for an answer.

From what Maya told you, it was obvious that those women were talking about Titans and about the Rumbling. About the past, you and Reiner lived through and still vividly remembered. And it was also the past Maya knew nothing about. There was no need to tell her such things – not yet. However, you and Reiner both knew, that there will come a time to sit her down and tell her the most important details of your past.

„Did you see those monsters?“

Reiner looked at you, before nodding slightly. „Yes, we did,“ you said, closing your eyes just for a second.

Remembering those times was never easy. Not for you, an ordinary Marleyan girl, who survived only thanks to the Eldians from the Liberio Internmnent zone. And surely not for Reiner, who actually fought in the Battle of Heaven and Earth, as the people used to refer to the final effort of the Marleyan military, the Warriors, and members of the Survey Corps from Paradis to stop the Rumbling. Sometimes, when you closed your eyes, you were back at Fort Salta in Marley and you could see the Founding Titan and his army of giant steaming Titans getting closer and closer.

Some nights you still had nightmares about Eren Jeager and what he did to the world. And even after all those years, you tried not to hate him for that. Only because you didn’t know enough about him and his life to have the right to do it.

„They were very scary, just like those women said,“ you continued, stroking Maya’s head and leaning against Reiner. He seemed a little uncomfortable, but you couldn’t blame him. The past he was so eagerly trying to forget for almost seven years, was now back and trying to haunt his beloved daughter. „But they are gone for good, honey. Those monsters are never coming back, I can assure you.“

„Really?“

„Yes, really,“ Reiner assured her in a calm voice. „You will never have to face them.“

„And you know why?“ you asked a little more cheerfully, kissing her cheek and wiping away a couple more tears. „Because daddy took care of it. He fought those monsters and made sure they don’t hurt anybody ever again.“ Her little eyes lit up as she looked at Reiner in astonishment. „Daddy, Pieck, Gabi, Falco, and some of their friends fought those monsters and made them disappear forever. A couple of years before you were born and before me and daddy came to live here.“

„What about you?“

„Me?“

Maya nodded. „What were you doing?“ She looked from Reiner to you, waiting for your answer eagerly.

„Well... me, grandma, Pieck’s dad, and many other people were cheering on them from a huge, huge nearby cliff. From there we saw everything.“ You tried to make it all sound like a fairytale with a happy ending. But that was far from the truth. Even though you and Reiner got your happy ending, the Rumbling was something this world will never forget.

„Those women said, that the biggest monster was called Eren.“

Shivers ran down your back when you heard his name from your daughter’s mouth. At first, you didn’t even dare to look at Reiner. „I knew that Eren before all of that, and I can assure you, princess, that he was no monster. Just other people made him do bad things.“

„That’s right, daddy and Eren knew each other when they were young. They were friends.“ You looked at Reiner with love in your eyes, giving him a gentle smile.

„But then we didn’t talk for a couple of years and the last time we saw each other, we had to fight against one another. Sometimes...“

When he took a deep breath but didn’t continue after a while, you took over once again. „Sometimes people change. Or they are forced to do things, they don’t want to do. They just don’t have any other choice if they want to protect their family or friends.“

Both of you knew, that Reiner had his fair share of guilt in everything that happened. But looking back at his story, you could never blame him. Not, when he was brainwashed by his own mother and then the military as well. All that little boy wanted, was to bring his father home. Because of that dream, which was falsely made up by Karina, he got the Armored Titan when he was only ten years old. His whole childhood was lost to military training and a suicide mission to Paradis, which started all of the events, that ultimately led to the Rumbling itself.

„And are you angry at him for doing so many bad things?“ Maya asked Reiner, her cheeks still stained with drying tears. At least she wasn’t crying anymore. „Those women said he was very cruel.“

„He had his reasons,“ Reiner said, his voice trembling a little. None of you ever thought, that you would be having this conversation with her this soon. That’s why you weren’t prepared. Or else... how could anybody explain such an event to a four-year-old? „People who didn’t know him should never judge him. Times were hard back then, the world was a much uglier place than it is now.“

„Why?“

„Because...“

When Reiner didn’t continue, you tried to say something. But no words came out of your mouth. What were you supposed to say? That people like you wanted people like Reiner dead? That your military was punishing them, by turning them into said monsters? That even you for so many years hated people like Reiner and wished nothing but the worst for them?

„Because the past is almost always uglier, baby. Then people learn to do better, so the world can be prettier and safer,“ you said finally, while Maya climbed over to you and hugged you just as tight as Reiner before. „If you ever hear something similar, tell me or daddy about it, okay? So we can sit down and explain it to you. That way you won’t have nightmares.“

Maya nodded, but for the rest of the day, she barely moved from you or Reiner. Even Karina noticed that something wasn’t right with her granddaughter when she came over for dinner. So when Reiner and Maya went to wish the ducks good night, you told her what happened and asked her, not to mention anything in front of Maya.

She was still too young and innocent for all of that. And you wanted to keep it that way for a couple more years.

You were just about to get into bed when Reiner appeared at the door leading to your bedroom. „Is she finally asleep?“

„I had to read her almost half of that big fairytale book. My eyes started to close halfway through the second story, but I had to keep going, she was still watching me with eyes wide open.“

You smiled, sitting down on the bed. „Guess I’ll have to pay more attention next time and just pull her away when I hear something similar. I really didn’t notice what they were talking about.“

„Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it. I think we handled it pretty well.“

„But I don’t want her to know, Reiner. Not yet. She is still so little.“

It was only natural, that you wanted to protect your daughter. She and Reiner were the most precious people in your life, and you wanted nothing but happiness for both of them. They deserved it – life in a world, that was always full of sunshine instead of dark stormy clouds.

Reiner shrugged and came to sit down next to you. „Who knows, maybe it will be better this way. Randomly telling her bits and pieces over the years, so she can put them all together later on her own. And then, if she has questions, we’ll sit down and talk about everything.“ One of his arms wrapped around your shoulders, bringing you closer to him. „You can’t lock her into a golden cage so nothing ever happens to her, Y/N. We have to let her grow up and explore the world. Even its ugly parts.“

„I know,“ you breathed out, nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck. „It just hurts seeing her sad, scared, or in pain.“

Since Reiner only nodded but didn’t say anything, you stayed quiet too. It was more than obvious, that he felt the same unease about this whole situation as you. He just tried not to show it and be strong for you. But talking about that day and about Eren surely hit pretty close to home.

„I’ll go shower and get ready for bed. Will you wait for me or are you too tired?“

You smiled and kissed the warm skin on his neck. „Of course, I’ll wait for you, take all the time you need.“ When you pulled away from his embrace, Reiner bowed his head a little and found your lips in a sweet kiss. „I love you so much.“

„I love you too,“ he whispered into your lips, giving you one more kiss before he stood up and went into the bathroom.

When he finally put the lights out and made himself comfortable, you were half asleep. But still conscious enough, to cuddle up to him, wrap one of your arms around his body and rest your head on his chest. Falling asleep like this is what you missed most during pregnancy when your belly got too big.

„There’s something I wanted to talk about,“ Reiner said after a short while, his fingers playing with your hair. „It looks like Armin and the others are going to Paradis again. In the next couple of months. You know... to talk to Historia, maintain the still fragile bond Paradis has with the outside world.“ You nodded, feeling him tense up. „Pieck asked if I’ll come along as well.“

The last time he went there, Maya was just a few months old and he still worried about you and your health. He was thinking about not going, but you and Karina promised, that everything will be okay during the time he’s gone. And so he went, together with his old friends and comrades. They met with the queen and began the peace talks between Paradis and the outside world.

„Do you want to go?“ you asked, drawing all kinds of lines and shapes onto his chest with your fingers.

„I’m not sure. I don’t want to leave you and Maya here.“

„We’ll be fine, just like last time. Don’t worry about us so much, we can handle many things, Reiner. After all... we are the Braun girls.“

„Yeah, you are,“ he chuckled and kissed the top of your head. „I told Pieck I’ll think about it and let them know. Not that they can’t handle it without me.“

You still remembered how hard it was for him to go back the first time. Because of you and Maya, but because of his own past as well. He feared the worst, and you knew it. Even if he never told you. But when he came back after almost three weeks, you saw how content he was. Maybe even a bit happy, that he overcame his fear and went there. Back to the place, which held so many painful memories.

„You know, maybe it would be good if you...“

Before you could finish what you were saying, the door to your bedroom opened slightly and closed back when a four-year-old girl slipped inside. She quietly made her way to your bed and climbed up, walking over to you and Reiner.

„Princess, if I have to read you another fairytale, I’m going to fall asleep before we get to the end,“ Reiner said and outstretched his free hand toward her. Maya grabbed it with her much smaller hand and flopped down right onto Reiner’s chest.

„What’s the matter?“ you asked her, stroking the hair out of her face and switching on the lamp on your nightstand.

She slightly pushed out her bottom lip, hugging her favorite doll with her other hand. It was her favorite from the moment she got it – almost a year back when Jean and Connie came to visit and brought it for her. She immediately fell in love with both of them and was very sad, after they left.

„Can I sleep with you tonight?“ she finally asked, looking at you and then at her father. And that was it. All she had to do to convince you. Neither one of you could say no to her big puppy dog eyes. „I don’t want to be alone.“

Without a word, you pulled away from Reined and made space for her in between the two of you. Reiner rolled onto his side with a quiet laugh, so he was facing you and looking at Maya at the same time.

„Now, is this better?“ he asked, kissing his daughter’s forehead. She giggled quietly and turned on her side, so she could cuddle up to Reiner.

„Honey, if you’re going to be hugging daddy for the night what am I supposed to do?“ You teased her, leaning closer and kissing the top of her head while smiling at Reiner, whose eyes were full of love and joy.

„Here mommy,“ she said, turned around, and gave you her doll.

You took the toy from her with a chuckle. „Thank you, baby. Now I feel way better.“ She gave you one last cheeky grin, before turning her back to you once more and trying to hug Reiner as if he too was one of her dolls.

The bond she and Reiner had was something incredible and magical. You could watch them talk or play all day every day, and you still wouldn’t have enough. Seeing them both so happy together really made you feel like the luckiest person in the whole world. Even if things weren’t perfect and you still missed your father a whole lot, you had your own wonderful little family. You had the sweetest daughter and the most loving husband you could ever ask for.

And they were all that truly mattered. The people, who made you feel loved and appreciated. The ones, who were always excited to see you and spend time with you.

When you sometime looked at them, you felt sorry for your father. Sorry for the fact, that he didn’t want to have such amazing people in his life. And sorry for the fact, that he once loved you just like Reiner loves Maya, but he stopped in the moment you decided to live your own life and be happy.

If he gave Reiner at least one chance. Only one...

„Hey,“ Reiner said in a hushed voice, and before you knew it, he caught the first tear that was ready to roll down your cheek.

„I’m fine,“ you assured him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. When you turned off the lights once more, the darkness suddenly became even more comforting, now that Maya was right there next to you.

In the end, all that pain and suffering was worth it. A hundred percent. Your husband and daughter... your current life was worth everything bad, you had to face since the day you were born in the old world.

[thethirdromana]

Jane Austen heroes, ranked in descending order of how capable they would be of surviving in the modern world

7. Edmund Bertram Edmund has a genuine vocation in his desire to become a clergyman. This is a job that still exists and has probably changed less than most other jobs that people had in the early 19th century. He's supposed to live off £700 a year, which is £47,000 adjusted for inflation. The average Church of England vicar today earns £30,000, but then the average modern vicar has a washing machine and dishwasher and not a maid-of-all-work. I think Edmund would cope just fine in 2024.

6. Henry Tilney Mr Tilney is another clergyman, so all the same arguments apply. He's a step below Edmund on this list, though, as Henry is definitely a livelier, more fun-loving soul than Edmund (read: more expensive tastes) and doesn't seem to have quite such a vocation. But still, Henry is capable of holding down a real job, and I'm sure he would find one in 2024 as well.

5. Colonel Brandon Brandon (no first name ever supplied!) came from a successful military career, inherited a heavily indebted estate, and managed to turn it around. Minus the inheritance part, this feels like a plausible career history for a modern-day management consultant.

4. Edward Ferrars Another clergyman, Mr Ferrars ends up with the job when he had been expecting an inheritance and a life of luxury. Even then, the role is handed to him, and I fear he might find it harder to exist in a world where jobs are something you have to apply for, and not just be given.

3. George Knightley Mr Knightley is a landowner and gentleman farmer, which is also a job that still exists. He has little spare money, which is the usual experience of farmers in 2024 as well. I suspect he's going to need to wake up a lot earlier and work a lot harder in 2024 than in 1815. Maybe he could diversify and open some holiday cottages?

2. Frederick Wentworth We do still have naval captains today, but I think that's changed a bit more than the role of vicar has since the Napoleonic Wars. Maybe Captain Wentworth could be ruggedly handsome at one of those tall ships holiday companies? But unfortunately that's less of a route to wealth and glory than capturing French prizes in the Caribbean.

1. Fitzwilliam Darcy Mr Darcy, get a job? I'm trying to imagine him doing a 9 to 5, having performance reviews and chatting about the Traitors by the watercooler but it's just not happening. But even if he still owns Pemberley in the modern era, Darcy's income of £10,000 - circa £700,000 adjusted for inflation - is not going to be sufficient to maintain the estate, let alone give him the kind of lifestyle that he's used to. Perhaps he could swallow his pride one step further, flog the estate to the National Trust, live in one wing and help give guided tours to visitors.

[millenniumfae-artblog]

an AMAZING turnout for the local pride festival!! even though my little artist table was pitiful compared to everyone else, i managed to earn a profit of over $100!!

most valuable was some advice i got from a fellow artist. they were a full-time vendor, and selling their creations at events was their main source of income. their advice? you'd be surprised how many people are looking for art/clothes/knickknacks to buy, even in crowds you don't expect - like farmer's markets. what matters most (at least in this city) is a large crowd, not necessarily a specific crowd.

i don't have nearly enough capital to continue my soaps, bath bombs, enamel pins, or other merch i used to produce. but here's hoping that i can get that ball rolling eventually!