#prevent repossession

[finance-south-africa]

How to Keep Your Home: Real Steps to Stop Repossession

Steps to Stop Repossession

Nobody ever wants to imagine losing their home, but for some, it can become a scary possibility. The idea of repossession can feel like the ground shifting under your feet. But don’t lose hope—there are ways to fight back and protect your house. This guide lays out practical steps you can take to potentially stop the repossession process and find some much-needed breathing room.

What Does Repossession Mean?

In simple terms, repossession happens when a homeowner falls behind on their mortgage, and the lender takes back the property. It’s a step-by-step process that starts with missed payments, followed by warning letters, and eventually ends in a legal move to sell your house to recover the debt. If you’re facing this situation, knowing these steps can help you act before things spiral out of control.

For a deeper dive into what repossession looks like in South Africa, take a look at our article on how foreclosure works.

What You Can Do Right Now

Reach Out to Your Lender This isn’t the time to hide from your lender—reach out as soon as you sense trouble. Let them know what’s going on, be honest about your circumstances, and ask if there’s any way to reduce your payments or stretch out the loan period. Most lenders would rather negotiate than deal with the costly and lengthy process of repossession.

Look at Repayment Options Once you’ve opened up communication, discuss repayment options. Some lenders might agree to reduce your payments for a few months or modify your loan to make it more manageable. Want more insights? Read our piece on managing debt effectively for some solid advice.

Bottom Line

Dealing with repossession is no fun, but there’s a way through it. The key is to act quickly, communicate clearly, and be open to different solutions. And remember, Real Estate Assist is here to guide you through the maze and help you hold onto what’s yours.

Real Estate Assist specializes in stopping repossession in South Africa

[endawna]

emm being good with spirits is honestly probably the only reason mercy doesn’t twist into a demon with all the shit going on

[ahentengmilyonaryo]

Car Impounding Loan | Prevent Repossession C Map | May Additional Cash K...

[theonion]

Lamenting that she will spend the foreseeable future paying off her college expenses, local 23-year-old digital marketing assistant Ashley Orlinsky expressed concern Wednesday that her student loans will prevent her from ever owning an entirely different type of utterly crippling debt. “Realistically, it’ll take years or even decades to fully repay $50,000 of loans, which makes me worried that I’ll never qualify for a backbreaking mortgage on a house that I can in no way afford,” said Orlinsky, adding that with $350 in monthly student loan payments, she will likely struggle to even borrow money to purchase a new car that will destroy her credit rating and may one day be repossessed by the bank.

Full Story

[hellsitegenetics]

Marxism, Ideology and socioeconomic theory developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The fundamental ideology of communism, it holds that all people are entitled to enjoy the fruits of their labour but are prevented from doing so in a capitalist economic system, which divides society into two classes: nonowning workers and nonworking owners. Marx called the resulting situation “alienation,” and he said that when the workers repossessed the fruits of their labour, alienation would be overcome and class divisions would cease. The Marxist theory of history posits class struggle as history’s driving force, and it sees capitalism as the most recent and most critical historical stage—most critical because at this stage the proletariat will at last arise united.

String identified: a, g a ccc t a a a c g. T ata g c, t tat a a tt t t t t a t a t g a catat cc t, c ct t t ca: g a g . a ca t tg tat “aat,” a a tat t t t t a, aat c a ca ca. T at t t t ca tgg a t’ g c, a t cata a t t ct a t ctca tca tag—t ctca ca at t tag t taat at at a t.

Closest match: Thelaira solivaga genome assembly, chromosome: 2 Common name: Fly

[codenamesazanka]

Story ends of the idea that Spinner is wrong for "getting caught up in the flow" (stanning Stain, joining League, following Shigaraki's destruction) and "never considering a point of no return" (escalating villainous actions), so perhaps it would've been better if he just stayed home, never becoming a criminal?

But if he stayed home, Shigaraki would've never gained this friend. Shigaraki would still have the League, of course, but he wouldn't have Spinner, who became his anchor of humanity whenever the narrative needed an example of that (video games buddies, 'create the horizon Spinner is looking forward to', etc). Their friendship is objectively written so tenderly and framed as a good thing! True to Shounen Jump themes, Friendship Is Important.

Yet in the end, Spinner was basically punished for that exact thing, because his friendship with Shigaraki also hinged on giving each other what they wanted (destruction horizon). However, this is because they never got a chance for them to ever sit down and talk and realize that maybe more than that, they just want to be together for each other without destruction, because AFO took over and prevented that connection.

Now, see, AFO took over because Shigaraki took on that quirk, but Shigaraki accepted it because he wanted to destroy for himself and his League - which he wanted because he saw the League as depending on him for twisted justice. Because they became friends he wanted to help, he wanted to be Hero to them.

Convoluted, but bottom line is: Shigaraki and Spinner and the League really are just punished for their solidarity to each other.

(even worse is that they are also essentially punished for eventually submitting to the heroes. Well—not punished, but their fate all ends in death once they stop fighting the Heroes. So like. what even.)

(I guess you can make the argument that it's better to die for/with the Heroes, having gained '''''''salvation''''''', than fighting on with hate in the heart. Which is. An idea. Seppuku versus living in shame. BUT besides Toga, they don't even get the choice to actually kill themselves, dying on their terms. Shigaraki is repossessed and shatters when Deku punches his hijacked body; Dabi is put into his slow death tube; Spinner and Compress' efforts to keep their comrades alive and free are for naught, and they're imprisoned likely for the rest of their lives.)

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

"The sacrosanctity of slave property in this war has operated most injuriously to the Confederacy," the assistant secretary of war said bluntly in July 1863. And so it had. "The planter is more ready to contribute his sons than his slaves to the war," the Mobile Register declared in outrage during one impressment campaign. It was a damning accusation, and one that at this distance seems palpably true. Slaveholders offered more opposition to slave impressment than to conscription. F. S. Blount, chief impressment agent in the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, talked of his failures to get enough slaves "to complete a road so vitally important to the protection of the very individuals, whose highest patriotic impulses never ascend above their own Petty ... schemes for the accumulation of wealth." "You cheerfully yield your children to your country, how you refuse your servants?" one broadside blasted. Slavery, as it turned out, was a form of property that dangerously attenuated citizens' allegiance to the state and submission to its authority. Planters colluded with their slaves in thwarting impressment agents, giving them passes or running them into the woods at the first approach of government agents. They took oaths of allegiance in occupied territory to hold onto their slaves and guided Yankee detachments back to their plantations to repossess their worldly wealth in cotton and slaves. They attacked military commanders who did not make it a priority to protect their property or prevent its escape, and they demanded that politicians represent their interests against the demands of the War Department and the Davis administration. For some, any state would do--Union, Confederate, Brazilian--if it adequately protected their property in slaves.

Slaveholders, it seems, were more concerned with property than nation. Do historians' robust assertions of the strength and endurance of Confederate nationalism take that into account? How else are we to explain the actions of a group insane enough to take a region and all its people into a perilous war, but not patriotic enough to do what it took to fight it? Everywhere in the C.S.A. the policy on slave impressment was resisted. In some places that resistance reached a scale that could only be called massive civil disobedience. In Georgia and North Carolina, legislatures battled the tyranny of the federal government on behalf of slaveholders' inalienable rights of property in slaves. In South Carolina, that struggle went to extremes as planters who had long been "ready with excuses for not furnishing labor to defend Charleston" stacked the legislature with their own and then wrote legislation designed, as Brigadier General John S. Preston charged, "as an explicit declaration that this State does not intend to contribute another slave or soldier to the public defense." As chief of the Bureau of Conscription, Preston, himself a Carolinian, had been out trying to procure "men and labor for the public defense." But there was no military situation so dire as to prevent quibbling. In 1863 Preston had managed to get only 450 of the 2,500 slaves requisitioned by the Engineer's Department, while the governor and legislature ignored the War Department's urging to pass relevant legislation. And again in 1864, even as General Sherman advanced toward Charleston, he could not get the 2,500 men called for. Then in late 1864, with Sherman's legions virtually at the gates, the legislature of South Carolina passed two acts--one asserting ultimate state authority over conscription and another over impressment--so in conflict with the instructions of the War Department that Preston denounced them as "treason to the Confederate States." "May you be endowed with strength and wisdom to overcome enemies stronger than yankee armies--the folly and wickedness of our own people," Preston wrote his president. Planters would not sacrifice the very property they had created the government to protect.

stephanie mccurry, confederate reckoning: power and politics in the civil war south; bolding mine bc ijbol 😂😂😂😂😂

[luckyjunehenry]

where do you buy your clothes? Your outfits are always sooooo cute.

thank uuuu I get clothes from a variety of places!! honestly clothing is one of the areas where I sometimes spend... so much of my money

here's a list from my notes app of some of the fancier sites I like to shop from

plutoalias

sixth dimension

tegdirb 

snake divine

fey fey worldwide

chiclara

I LOVE buying things from independent designers, I dream of a full suit of tegdirb soft armor... someday.

There are a lot of pieces I wear that I've had for years and years. very rarely do I buy pants. I always end up with pants that don't fit my sisters or roommates. I decided to relinquish control over my pants situation after crying in too many fitting rooms so I just let the universe bring pants to me when it sees fit.

All of my basics like tank tops and plain T-shirts are from Walmart or target and I wear them until they are threadbare

I have probably like 40+ shirts from bands I've seen/toured with. I cannot resist a black t shirt with a white print on it... it gets me every time

most of all, though, as a little sister it is my role in my family to steal clothes from my older sister. I have successfully prevented her from repossessing a sweater she let me borrow in 2018. I still wear it frequently.

[kangals]

I understand if you don't feel comfortable answering this because IIRC Stellina's breeder had some strict requirements in her contract with you... do you know how enforceable breeder contracts are? Asking as someone who works in a vet clinic and has seen contracts stipulating how many vaccines/when to give them or they are "void"

one of the reasons i went with stellina's breeder is actually because their contract didn't have strict requirements - it had a lot of suggestions, but they were all worded like "we strongly suggest following XYZ vaccine protocol" or "we recommend using ABC for tick preventatives," but nothing that was worded like "you MUST do (this thing)" (except i think that i must contact them if i ever rehome stellina, which i think is reasonable). i genuinely don't care if a breeder makes suggestions in their contract, but i would never sign one that ever states that feeding a certain food, or not vaccinating, is mandatory, or that not doing so voids your health guarantee. hell no, fuck that. my dog, not yours.

to answer your question: i don't honestly know how enforceable they are, but i'd guess it kind of depends on the specific breeder. i feel like i've heard stories about breeders going after puppy buyers on grounds of broken contracts, but i rarely hear about them actually enacting legal consequences (like suing, or repossessing dogs). i think the consequences are more often that you'll be blacklisted from a community/breed, as opposed to legal stuff or literally losing your dog. my impression has been that breeder contracts are more a show of good faith than anything else - but maybe i'm wrong, genuinely idk.

so: i think they're technically legally enforceable, but doing so requires a lot of legwork that most people arent willing or able to put in.

[scotianostra]

On November 8th 1752, Seumas a’ Ghlinne / James of the Glen was hung at Cnap Chaolis Mhic Pharaig, near Ballachulish.

Seamus a’ Ghlinne mounted the gallows above the narrows at Ballaculish with the reproach of Psalm 35 for his persecutors:

"False witnesses rose; to my charge things I not knew they laid. They, to the spoiling of my soul, me ill for good repaid."

James of the Glen, or just James Stewart — had come there that day to die for the ambush murder of Colin Roy Campbell.

The victim was stock of Clan Campbell, one of the largest Highland clans and one whose loyalties to the Hanoverian kings were being richly rewarded. The Stewarts, who had backed the recent ill-fated Jacobite rebellion in favour of the exiled pretender Bonnie Prince Charlie, were in the opposite predicament.

Colin Campbell was said on that fatal May 14th to be en route to expel the Stewarts from the village of Duror so that Campbells could move in. But even Campbell’s everyday job of extracting resentful rents from estates repossessed from Jacobite sympathizers would have turned many a murderous eye his way.

Someone that day shot Colin Campbell in the back from wooded cover, then vanished, murderous eye and trigger finger and all, never to be never apprehended. So they got James Stewart to answer for it instead. This wasn’t a tragic case of well-intentioned police developing tunnel vision on the wrong suspect so much as repaying tit for tat in a family feud. The trial was held at the Campbells’ Inverary Castle. Its presiding judge was the Campbell alpha male, the Duke of Argyll. Eleven more Campbells sat on Stewart’s jury. But then, from the Campbells’ side, or London’s for that matter, what was to say that this one murder might not be the germ of a new rebellion if not ruthlessly answered?

Still, there was “not a shred of evidence,” says present-day Glasgow barrister John Macauley, “The whole thing from start to finish was a farce.”

James Stewart was, however, the foster father of a man who actually was suspected of firing the shot, Allan Breck Stewart, a former Jacobite soldier who had returned from exile in France to collect rents for the Stewarts. Known to have threatened the Campbells previously, Allan was also tried and condemned to death — but only in absentia, since he suspiciously fled to France immediately after the so-called Appin Murder.

Many years later, Robert Louis Stevenson would use this dramatic crime, and Al(l)an Breck’s flight to safety, in Kidnapped. “I swear upon the Holy Iron I had neither art nor part, act nor thought in it,” Stevenson’s Alan says to the fictional protagonist in the novel, just after both have witnessed the murder.

And in reality, Alan too is thought by those who know the case to be clear of guilt in the matter. The Stewart family reputedly knew all along which of their number was Campbell’s real killer, but refused to give him up and kept the family secret for generations. It’s even said that that man had to be forcibly held down on execution day to prevent him giving himself up.

To judge by the most recent research, that man was likely Donald Stewart, the son of Stewart of Ballachulish and the best shot among a group of several young hotheads who resolved together to slay the Campbells’ hated Factor. The conspiracy also goes as the reason — or at least excuse — for keeping Donald silent, since in giving himself up he might see all four of them to the gallows. The late Lee Holcombe makes a comprehensive case for Donald Stewart as the gunman in the 2004 book Ancient Animosity: The Appin Murder and the End of Scottish Rebellion; Donald Stewart was also fingered publicly in 2001 by a matriarch of the Stewarts of Appin, though others of her family have not publicly confirmed that that’s the secret name.

James Stewart’s decaying corpse remained gibbeted on the spot of his execution for 18 months as illustrated in the pic by the late Andrew Hillhouse, after, a rotting warning to the Stewarts or any late Jacobites. In 1754, a local man called “Daft Macphee” finally tore down the gallows and threw it into Loch Linnhe … but its former position overlooking the modern Ballachulish Bridge is still marked by a mossy stone monument to James of the Glen, “executed on this spot Nov. 8th 1752 for a crime of which he was not guilty.”

The image was commissioned as a book cover for “Grass Will Not Grow on My Grave” by Mary McGrigor. The image was also used on a descriptive panel at the site of James’ execution at Ballachulish. If you stop before the bridge (travelling north) and climb up the footpath where the bridge begins, you will see it.

For the full story on this infamous story check out the link here http://archaeol.wwwnlls6.a2hosted.com/.../James%20of...

[mitochondriaandbunnies]

Miami Vice S2E3: Whatever Works

A spate of ritual murders leads back to a gang of dirty cops.

Okay: we have to address the elephant in the room first, which is "this is an episode about a historically maligned minority religion." In the grand scheme of Crime Show Episodes About Santería (yeah), I actually think they did genuinely try to be thoughtful and sensitive. This is not Starsky and Hutch Go to Voodoo Island. On the positive side, no one implies Santería is about devil-worship or blood drinking or human sacrifice, we have a respected college professor who is also a practitioner, Castillo knows enough about the religion to respectfully involve himself in some of its practices, and we are explicitly told that the murderers are going against the wishes of their gods to do murder. Also, it is strongly implied that Santería is just, y'know. Completely and totally real. On the other hand, the murderers are adherents, and we learn that the rituals they are doing alongside the murders are to, essentially, prevent the souls of the dead from ever resting, so they're not exactly painting their religious practices very kindly there. I will admit to significant ignorance on the topic of whether or not any of the terms they use are correct (or just total made up bullshit), but I did note that the man Castillo speaks to is referred to as an "orisha," which I'm pretty sure means spirit or god? So either they mistook orisha to mean priest, or uhhhh Castillo communed with a traditional Yoruba deity.

Basically: it's a bit of a mixed bag, but it could've been so, so much worse.

Also the episode opens on THIS image, which really has a hell of an impact:

When the body is discovered at the beginning of the episode, there are a bunch of beat cops who basically react to this by saying "oh, they want a war? Good, let's give them a war and kill everyone." Castillo, with distressing mildness, is like "don't, please." Broski I know you are the commanding officer but also they are not going to listen to you, here.

Castillo and Rico speak briefly on their concern that these are ritual Santería killings, and Trudy asks the pair of them for clarification. She seems to accept that of course weird-and-spooky Castillo would know about this sort of thing, but appears deeply baffled that Rico does.

A bland 80's lady we never see again emerges from Sonny's boat as Sonny does... maintenance? In what are essentially his undies; she requests a call back and he strongly, cheerfully implies that is unlikely to happen. Later he picks up a bikini top from the deck and carries it around like someone left their dirty socks on board.

Sonny looks like he has no pants.

A bureaucrat "from the city" comes to repossess Sonny's Ferrari, and Izzy appears and menaces the man with a fish, and calls him, I think, "su-su-suit-io," in reference to the Phil Collins song. Sonny's car is repossessed despite this incredible show of force.

I had forgotten that this is the episode where Sonny and Rico roll around on the ground like they forgot where their own legs and guns are

So suave, so capable

Sonny is a dick about all the religious stuff; when they go to visit Castillo's friend who is a Santería practitioner (the illustrious Eartha Kitt) he says something along the lines of "a closet full of dolls and beads," and "what is this, some kind of get-even religion?" It's not his finest hour

I desperately want to know the backstory for how Castillo and Chata met

Sonny asks Izzy at one point in this episode, "are you out of your patootie?" Which I have to assume is accidental dad-speak slipping out

The coolest man on TV though, right, right

Two of the dirty cops pull over two young men in a Porsche, and everything goes as badly as it possibly could: the police are paranoid because of the murders, and immediately brandish their guns for what appears to be a routine traffic stop; the men being pulled over react with equal foolishness and threats of violence and try to pull a weapon of their own; the cops panic and kill the occupants of the vehicle in cold blood before anyone even has a chance to speak. Bystanders see this and run down the beach in terror as the victim's head leans lifelessly on the windshield wiper lever, and the cops continue to just stand with their guns in hand.

In the next scene, Sonny states-- "bad cops, Rico. There isn't anything lower--" he's reacting to news of their embezzlement. However, from an audience perspective its clear that these officers, who we just saw play judge, jury, and executioner on two young men for, presumably, driving somewhat badly, are corrupt on every single level-- and just like with real world mobsters, the only reason they're getting caught is because of the money.

At the bar, Rico orders a virgin colada, because he's cute as heck

The "house band" at the bar is The Power Station, and one of the Duran Duran boys practically palms Sonny's face while they're talking

Also I know the actual intention here was "oh, hey, did the two of you each separately get married to individual women since last I saw you," but like

That's how you choose to phrase that, huh

Rico (correctly) implies Sonny cannot be trusted to watch the dirty cops and tried to gently warn him off making trouble; Sonny starts a fucking bar fight, which The Power Station blithely plays through. This should be noted comes after Castillo explicitly tells Sonny and Rico not to let them know they're under investigation. Womp womp

What follows is an absolutely haunting scene-- rather than taking their frustration out on (white, Southern, good 'ol boy) Sonny who actually started the fight, the (also white) dirty cops follow Rico home, tailing him across jurisdictions to the strains of Dark Night by the Blasters, a song that opens:

Hot air hangs like a dead man From a white oak tree

It's a punch in the gut-- and a stark reminder that cops, on the whole, protect those in their midst who abuse power and use it for their own gain, and will turn on any "good" cops in rather than ever give up the ability to abuse those privileges. We realize that Rico is in no less danger as a Black cop as he is as a Black man; while he manages to bluff them off him, but the moment is one of genuine terror.

In order to get closer to the murderer, Castillo has Chata introduce him to another practitioner. She says he must be vetted by the orisha first; Castillo goes to an undisclosed location full of jungle plants and strange animals, and has a mystical staring contest with a man who steps out of a stone ruin. There is a cow on a stairway. That is not where cows belong.

I do not know that this sequence is any more or less inaccurate than other depictions of Santería in other TV, but it is certainly more interesting

We learn that the reason the Santería-practicing gangsters have been killing the dirty cops is because the dirty cops kidnapped one of the gangsters' children

When Castillo tells Sonny he has dealt with his car and he should be able to get it back now, Sonny straight up looks him he's going to suck Castillo's dick about it

While waiting to bust the dirty cop gang, Sonny and Rico are harassed by an old woman who thinks they're the actual for-real power company, and the two of them just chuckle like idiots about it

I sincerely hope this is a dummy but..... I think it might just be John Diehl hoping desperately he doesn't die

[copperbadge]

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

Ways to Give:

dapperanachronism linked to a fundraiser for Chris and Nina, who are trying to recover after Chris lost his job for pushing back against illegal labor practices. While he was unemployed, their car was repossessed; he has a new job offer, but needs a car for it, and he will lose his employment without it. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

Nikki is currently working on paying off back rent owed and with fall cold approaching knows that her utilities will go up; they're raising funds to help cover groceries, winter boots, and back rent and bills. You can send funds via paypal to ncdavis1701@yahoo.com or via cashapp to $ncdavis1701; she's requesting donors add a brief note what the funds are for and where they came from.

rilee16 is raising funds to keep the lights on; their roommate, with whom they have had a number of issues, has begun running appliances all day to drive up the bill. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here.

thishazeleyeddemon is president of Sacramento State's new Secular Student Alliance, which will be hosting Dr. Darrel Ray, a psychologist and author, to speak on recovery from religious trauma; they'd like him to come speak on October 12th, but need to raise funds for a speaker honorarium; when I visited this morning the funds had been raised but I'm sure they could use the extra going forward. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

Help For Free:

treesah is asking folks to come out and vote for her friend, Rachel Raydo, on Inked Originals, a contest where she's in the running to win $20K and be featured in Inked Magazine; her tattoos have very personal meaning for her and tie into her recovery journey, and winning would mean a lot. Voting is free, but requires a Facebook account or credit card to prevent bots. You can participate here!

marveltrumpshate, a fandom charity auction focused on Marvel characters, ships, and universes, is open for sign-ups until September 30th; you can offer various forms of fanwork or service (fic, art, editing, graphics, podfics, videos, merch, etc) and auction winners donate their bid amount directly to one of the nonprofits on the list. This is the sixth year for Marvel Trumps Hate, which has raised $178K since 2018! You can read more and sign up here.

Recurring Needs:

frenchroasted's cousin, who has been fundraising for a used wheelchair-accessible van after herniating her back lifting her stepson's wheelchair and had to have surgery for it, has partnered with MyDMDHero which is now hosting their fundraiser on GiveButter so that their donations are tax-deductible. You can read more and support the fundraiser, formerly at GoFundMe, here.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can post items for my attention at the Radio Free Monday submissions form. If you're new to fundraising, you may want to check out my guide to fundraising here.

[erraticopeninghours]

Crowley and Beelzebub Talk

Thoughts on 1.13: Crowley and Beelzebub talk

I feel so badly for Crowley that his “precious, peaceful, fragile existence” cannot be.  It’s interesting to contrast Heaven and Hell’s approaches to Aziraphale and Crowley, both as workers and later as retired/traitors.

Heaven treats Aziraphale’s bookshop with the same apathy that they do other earthly possessions (and beings.)  First, in the 1800 deleted scene, they almost take it away from Aziraphale, and even when they decide not to, it is never treated as an important matter.  Second, though Shadwell definitely plays a role in it, the bookshop fire would have been preventable if not for Heaven / Metatron insisting on leaving the portal open.  Following the fire, the bookshop is returned to Aziraphale (this time by Adam / earthly intervention), and what Aziraphale temporarily lost is never addressed as important.  

Both of these incidents dovetail nicely with Heaven’s approach of killing Job’s three children, then expecting gratitude after they “make it better” by giving him seven new children.  Heaven is careless with what Aziraphale values most and dismisses the importance that he chooses to place on things and people, but generally does not seek to destroy things for the purpose of tormenting Aziraphale.  Instead, they’re cruel through callousness. 

On the other hand, we see Hell actively work to violate Crowley’s boundaries and intentionally (mis)use his possessions to hurt him.  In Season 1, there’s the orders from Satan; Hastur and Ligur’s invasion of his flat; and Hastur’s appearance in the Bentley and removal of Crowley’s sunglasses.  In Season 2, we learn that Hell has continued this pattern into Crowley’s “retirement.”  Despite Crowley being “persona non grata,” Hell repossesses his flat, and Beelzebub begins their conversation by appearing in the Bentley.  

For me, just the presence of another demon in the Bentley was very unsettling and felt much more dangerous than Crowley’s earlier talks with Shax in the park and on the street.  I also feel like it was a definite power play by Beelzebub – them making a point – given that they clearly have the ability to “call” Crowley to Hell.  The fly that flew inside of Crowley’s mouth also felt like an invasion, especially since one of Crowley’s main strategies for staying safe is through quick-talking. 

Lastly, there were several phrases that Beelzebub used which I really enjoyed. 

(1) “What if I said Hell was willing to forget everything you did, that we were willing to accept you back, no questions asked with a hefty promotion?” is fantastic! Partly because it demonstrates Hell/demons’ knowledge that having past misbehavior “forgotten” is generally worth more than any token “forgiveness.”  It also completely avoids the word “forgiveness,” while clearly offering more absolution than Heaven tends to offer (at least to demons. Consider: “Unforgivable, that’s what I am.”)  And thirdly, this is what Metatron offers Aziraphale at the end of the season, except that Aziraphale - for whatever reason(s) - accepts the offer!  

(2) “[Y]ou find Gabriel for me and you can have whatever your nasty little heart desires” is also a great line because during my first watch, my instinctive reaction was that Beelzebub can no longer offer Crowley anything that he really wants.  His heart only desires a certain angel and perhaps select Earthly pleasures.  On rewatch, however, the line was even better because while Beelzebub can’t give Crowley whatever his nasty little heart desires, Crowley theoretically could have given Beelzebub whatever their nasty little heart desires - Gabriel! 

(3) “So, if you hear anything, come to me first, yeah?” is a fun line because we know that Crowley will not come to Beelzebub first.  Even though Crowley has just argued with Aziraphale over helping Jim/Gabriel and stormed out of the bookshop, we as the audience have no doubt that Crowley will go to Aziraphale first with any important information. (At least, until he doesn’t…)  Despite the accompanying frustration, Crowley is committed to their side, and that commitment is obvious to both the audience and to Crowley himself.

(previous) (next)

[checkoutmybookshelf]

I'm Sorry, You Packed HOW MANY Tropes into that Hoopskirt???

So...I'd be lying if I tried to tell you that I picked up this book for any reason other than the big poofy 1850s ball gowns on the cover. I'd also be lying if I said I had any expectations beyond cute, fluffy, wlw romance.

Then we got stuck into the book and suddenly I was like...I'm sorry, this cover did not prepare me for the ANGST and GROUNDING and WEIGHT and POLITICAL DIMENSIONS of this book. Not to mention that it manages to pack a metric ton of tropes into not that long a book, including but not limited to second-chance romance, parent trapping, friends-to-lovers, and the power of friendship. AND it's LGBTQIA+. I was not expecting to cry over this book, but here we are. Let's talk Don't Want You Like a Best Friend.

This is your SPOILER WARNING because I'm running on three hours of sleep and don't believe for a second that I'm not going to be randomly tossing SPOILERS all over the place. Be warned.

Oh, and this is a CONTENT WARNING for marital and domestic abuse. For both this book and this review.

Gwen is a debutante in her fourth season with no interest in marriage and the biggest rake of a father in London.

Beth is a first-season debutante on a mission to marry well, because her cousin is repossessing her and her mother's house at the end of the season and they will be homeless and penniless.

So naturally they plot to get Gwen's dad and Beth's mom together.

This is not as wild as it seems, because before Lady Demeroven's father forced her to marry Beth's dad (who is both an abusive asshole and thankfully super dead), she was deeply in love with Dashiell Havenfort. When she broke his heart. Lord Havenfort went off, got drunk, partied, and then there was Gwen--who he raised as a single dad because Gwen's mother died in childbirth.

So we have that little powder keg to begin the story, and it's set against the increasingly critical backdrop of Havenfort and the father of the aggressively vanilla boy who decides to marry Beth (yeah, they have names, I don't care. It's vanilla boy and his dickhead dad from here on in) going toe-to-toe in parliament trying to pass and prevent, respectively, a piece of legislation that would allow women to divorce their husbands for reasons other than being beaten bloody. This really underscores the situation that Beth and her mother had been in, and the one that they might be in again if Beth goes through with the marriage to vanilla boy. Thankfully she doesn't, but honestly, the number of men just waltzing around in this world going "women are property and I should be able to beat the snot out of them if I want to" was really depressing. And that depression just intensified when Beth and Gwen finally realized they wanted a sapphic relationship with each other.

The patriarchy sucks, guys. So hard.

Watching Beth and Gwen try to parent trap their respective parents was a lot of fun, and once they realized what they wanted, their relationship was also fun. That's not to say that the book was perfectly executed, though. The first half of the book is slooooooooooooow. Like slow enough that I considered DNFing the book. I'm glad I didn't, because once the "Oh, I'm sapphic" realization hits, the angst of being sapphic in a patriarchal world where marriage was women's only real hope of financial stability hit true and hard. Trying to find another way to live in a world that didn't want you to exist was really interesting.

The other thing that I wasn't a fan of--and your mileage may vary--was that while the setting and politics and fashion were extremely well-grounded in the 1850s, the character dialogue and language is jarringly modern. At one point, someone said to "put that energy out to the world" and I just had to put the book down for a minute and take a few deep breaths. So depending on how real-feeling you want the history part of this historical romance to feel, your mileage may vary with the language.

Now, the thing that I truly loved about this book is that is faces abuse and its effects full in the face, and refuses to continue a cycle of abuse. The MCA passes, and then women help each other recover and get out of abusive situations. Lady Demeroven's first marriage was abusive and violent, although she hid the extent of it from Beth. She tries to ensure that Beth ends up with a man who will be kind to her, and vanilla boy might have been...but his dickhead dad wouldn't have been, and dickhead dad might have influenced vanilla boy to become abusive. Lady Demeroven ultimately refuses to allow either the cycle of accepting abuse or the cycle of abusive men teaching their sons that abuse is acceptable or *shudder* somehow their marital duty. Lady Demeroven goes on a whole journey to heal her own trauma enough to stop the cycle and protect Beth, and she does. She shuts that shit down, and they walk.

Like the door slam in the Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the door slamming behind Lady and Beth Demeroven heralds freedom and happiness. It is the end of a cycle that devalues women and that tells other women that they can make a different choice. And this book does it gently, acknowledging that doing so is HARD, and it takes courage and help and support. Honestly, I was SO HERE for Lady Demeroven's journey and her finding happiness with Dashiell at the end of the book.

Overall, this was not a perfect book. There were pacing and execution issues, and Lady Demeroven and Lord Havenfort kind of steal the show from their daughters' romance. But this book had THINGS TO SAY, and those things are important to say, and perhaps say even more loudly now in 2024 than they were back in the Victorian era. So this book was fun, it had clear things to say, and honestly it was a fun read.

[moonstruckdraws]

Luci Interacts!

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She and Pico can't fucking stand each other. Luci and Pico are like parallelly opposites, if that makes sense. They're nemeses :3 @hellishgayliath

Context! Pico and Luci didn't meet until after the episode "Repo Mantis". Luci was aware of Todd, but hasn't met him in person at this time and was originally going to be the one to get Todd's trailer, until Donnie and Mikey showed up and make a deal with Repo for the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy. Instead, Luci spends the entire episode with Mrs. Nubbins before Repo gives her a different job to do before Mikey and Donnie come back.

Luci does not like Todd as she believes that he's a manipulative person that uses his kindness to get what he wants. This thought is fueled after Luci meets Todd to try and reposes a different loaned item, and sees the giant puppy rescue he has. She asks about it, and that's how she learns of the events of the episode. This greatly angers Luci and she starts yelling at everything, but not in Todd's face as his kindness still has a bit of an effect on her. (I like to think she's one of the least effected people from Todd's endless kindness, but it still has enough of an effect to where she does the bare minimum in her anger, like not screaming in his face or keeping her insults under her breath) At this point, Pico would probably hear the commotion, and would most likely turn into them yelling at each other before Luci storms off. This would establish their hatred for each other, since Pico is protective of Todd.

And this isn't the push and shove kind of rivalry, no this is full on insulting each other in every other sentence, aggressive glares, and attempted murder :D I'd like to think Pico would learn all vulgar words from her and her bad mouth, that she definitely got from Repo

Accurate Representation lol

If it's really heated, they'll start to insult each other's dads, but this is a very rare thing. They're both aware of how much they value their parents and don't like going that low. But if one of them does insult the other's dad, well someone is going to walk away with a scar or two.

This is also a time to explain Luci's physical body real quick; so some moths don't eat because they don't have mouths, which is why they don't live very long. I wanted Luci to have a mouth with no teeth to reflect this, as well as to show how little she uses it. She only opens her mouth mainly to yell or scream and only does it when very very angry.

Like mentioned earlier, Luci does not like Todd, finding him annoying and deceiving. Any time his irresistible kindness starts to take effect, she explodes in rage and gets as far away from him as possible. This is also prevents loaned or late paid items from getting repossessed, same end result except it's not because they felt bad or gave Todd more time Luci just gets too frustrated to deal with him.

Luci is also slightly afraid of dogs! Not to where it's a major problem, but she'd like to avoid them or see them at a distance if possible. If it wasn't for her stubbornness and disliking to Todd, she'd avoid Todd and his puppy rescue as much as possible. At most, if there are too many dogs, she'll freeze up for a few minutes before she swiftly leaves. Mrs. Nubbins made her a cat lover, despite this mantis cat trying to kill her at times, and values their chillness and sassiness.

When trying to deal with Todd, they'll converse a little bit away from the puppy rescue because it makes her more comfortable and Todd is considerate, so he'll agree. Of course, Pico isn't far keeping an eye and ear out on their conversations, and I think he'd smile every time Luci gets frustrated and storms off from Todd.

Bao & Luci are actually very chill and casual

Luci isn't always aggressive and explosive; she just seems to be that way, especially to Pico. She mainly acts this way when it deals with Repo's businesses or Todd, which is the only time Pico sees her. Neither of them have seen each other interact with their dads personally or with their companions (Mrs. Nubbins & Miho), so they've only seen each other's nasty side towards each other, of course.

With Bao though, she's more laid back and chill, still sassy though and her vulgar language is less present. She and Bao share gossip, mainly Luci as lots of drama can happen in the junkyard like reality tv lol. Luci discovered Bao's tea shop when in a heated fit and was trying to cool off. She felt almost immediately soothed by the environment, and it became one of her safe places. Bao did not know of Pico and Luci's dynamic and didn't even know Luci was the person Pico would be talking about. Pico would never say her name when talking trash about her, claiming that "she's too nasty and terrible to even say her name". So Bao would see a softer side to Luci that Pico never did see

Of course, one of these days they'd run into each other at the tea shop, and it would go something like this lol. Moths are nocturnal, and even though Luci can be up in the morning, she's usually up by noon. And when going places, it's usually the late afternoon or night and it's these times that she goes to the tea shop. I think Pico would be bringing over some dog chow for Momo or gardening stuff a bit later in the day and would see Bao and Luci conversing.

Afterwards, Pico wouldn't understand how he could stand Luci while Bao would probably try to tell him of the Luci he knows, of course Pico wouldn't believe him. Luci wouldn't understand how Bao could date someone like Pico, to where Bao does the same thing, but a bit more serious to show he won't tolerate her insulting their relationship (to which she does not ever).

After this run in, I think Luci wouldn't show up to the tea shop for a while, to where Bao asks if he and Pico could go check up on her and Pico is reluctant to. I think this is where Pico would firstly see Luci's softer side as they'd catch her with Mrs. Nubbins in her cave. Mrs. Nubbins notices their presence, Luci gets angry and embarrassed at being spied on (causing a bit of ripple in her and Bao's friendship), Mrs. Nubbins tries to eat them, Luci progressively tries to stop her, they're all tired, Luci wouldn't say anything except harsh glares and go inside her home. And I'll leave that plot point at that :]

If asked her opinion on Pico it'd go something like: "UGH! I can't STAND that trash eater! He's annoying, rude, and worst of all, sees that BEAVER as a GOOD GUY!! He even had the NERVE to F***ING insult Boss! He's the WORST! THE WORST!"

[m0101]

Akuma Partner AU:

In This AU, basically every time a character gets Akumatized instead of just returning to normal the Akuma doesn’t go away. Instead, the Akuma ends up sticking around with the Akumatized as what is essentially a spirit.

The akuma at this state can’t physically interact with the world around them, but they can at least talk to the Akumatized. At the beginning, the Akuma can only be seen and heard by the original Akumatized.

Only after certain conditions are made can the Akuma be seen by other people.

If a person gets overwhelmed by their emotions again, they can be akumatized again with their Akuma repossessing them again. It is still possible for a person to be Akumatized with a different Akuma. 

If they do, they can end up with multiple Akuma around them.

Character: Weaver

An OC involved in this AU, he is the holder of the Tarantula Miraculous with the Kwami Silk. 

Silks ability is Bind, to make binds that seal/restrain unnatural spirits and or anomalies.

His real identity is unknown as he’s almost always seen in his hero form.  He is associated with Fu, but not  part of the order he’s apart of. 

He would basically be the character who would make binds (which would basically be a thin bracelet) that would bind the Akuma and would help prevent the Akuma from taking over the original host. As he's’ done for other purposes in the past before hawkmoth for other reasons.

However, a persons emotions can potentially overwhelm the bind and they can be possessed again.

He’s a not super serious, though he does take his role seriously. The type of person to gauge things on the sidelines before taking an action or making a decision. 

Here’s an example of the dynamic of people and Akuma’s with…

Cut to the Césaire household in alya’s room as she works on her blog, while trying to ignore an extra voices input.

???: Y’know what would be a good idea for the blog!? A top 10 of who is likely Cat Noire’s secret identity, No wait, a claim that her identity is known to draw ehr out, NO even better we stakeout at some of our classmates houses, wait to see if any of them enters or leaves as Ladybug, take a picture and-

Alya: I know this is hypocritical for me to say, but could you PLEASE slow it down Wifi!?

She yells at the spectral form of Lady Wifi.

Wifi: Comoooooon!!! These are great ideas! Especially compared to what you always post, Ladybug always wins! We all know that! What about something more spicy for the blog, like Ladybug’s identity~?

Alya groans as she then tries to ignore Wifi.

Wifi:  Sure, we got Ladybug’s identity wrong the first time but that was only a small error on our part. All i’m saying is that if we just do enough digging and discover Ladybug’s identity-

Alya: You know exactly why I'm not doing that.

Wifi: And why not!?

Alya: Aside from the last time I attempted to do such a thing that led to trouble for me and leading to becoming YOU, it would be a breach in their privacy and could potentially ruin their lives, something I don’t want to do to them. 

Wifi: aaaand the negative issss?

Alya groans 

Wifi: Look at it this way, when you became me, our journalistic skills skyrocketed! With more time, there would be no secrets we couldn’t uncover! You're gonna tell me that you wouldn’t want to have another go with those powers?

Alya: You…. No, no I wouldn’t.

Wifi: Hah! You thought about it though didn’t you!? Cmon! Why not just remove the bracelet, let go for a little and then-

Alya: gaaahh! Shut up! 

Annoyed Alya tries to push Lady Wifi away… only for her hand to face right through her face.

Wifi:... y’know you can’t physically touch me right?

Alya just groans again as she just slumps on her bed annoyed at her unwanted new roommate and her annoying pestering.