#we buy houses pennsylvania

[fisherpropertysolutions]

Fisher Property Solutions offers a fast and hassle-free solution. As leading cash home buyers in Chester County, we provide homeowners with fair cash offers for their homes, regardless of their condition. Our goal is to make the home-selling process as smooth and stress-free as possible, eliminating the need for repairs, showings, and lengthy negotiations.

Fisher Property Solutions 477 Noble Rd, Atglen, PA 19310 (484) 378–9379

My Official Website: https://www.sellmyhousefastchestercounty.com/ Google Plus Listing: https://www.google.com/maps?cid=16551205527505429693

Our Other Links:

sell my house fast Chester County: https://www.sellmyhousefastchestercounty.com/sell-your-house/

Service We Offer:

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[thrivingisthegoal]

Golf Courses ARE Being Converted

The Solarpunk "fantasy" that so many of us tout as a dream vision, converting golf courses into ecological wonderlands, is being implemented across the USA according to this NYT article!

The article covers courses in Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Colorado, and New York that are being bought and turned into habitat and hiking trails.

The article goes more into detail about how sand traps are being turned into sand boxes for kids, endangered local species are being planted, rocks for owl habitat are being installed, and that as these courses become wilder, they are creating more areas for biodiversity to thrive.

Most of the courses in transition are being bought by Local Land Trusts. Apparently the supply of golf courses in the USA is way over the demand, and many have been shut down since the early 2000s. While many are bought up and paved over, land Trusts have been able to buy several and turn them into what the communities want: public areas for people and wildlife. It does make a point to say that not every hold course location lends itself well to habitat for animals (but that doesn't mean it wouldn't make great housing!)

So lets be excited by the fact that people we don't even know about are working on the solutions we love to see! Turning a private space that needs thousands of gallons of water and fertilizer into an ecologically oriented public space is the future I want to see! I can say when I used to work in water conservation, we were getting a lot of clients that were golf courses that were interested in cutting their resource input, and they ended up planting a lot of natives! So even the golf courses that still operate could be making an effort.

So what I'd encourage you to do is see if there's any land or community trusts in your area, and see if you can get involved! Maybe even look into how to start one in your community! Through land trusts it's not always golf course conversions, but community gardens, solar fields, disaster adaptation, or low cost housing! (Here's a link to the first locator I found, but that doesn't mean if something isn't on here it doesn't exist in your area, do some digging!)

[vaspider]

When we moved to Oregon in 2019, we always planned eventually to move back "home" to Pennsylvania, the state where, before that, I'd spent all but a year of my life since we moved there in '88.

Today, I'm going to have a conversation with my partners. I think we just have to assume I -- we -- can't go home.

Maybe ever.

Pennsylvania itself is in a low-risk category within two years, but it could easily -- well I know it -- swing into red if the next election cycle breaks another way.

That's not the kind of place where you buy the house that you intend them to "take you out of toes first," as I joked with my wives when we last talked about our plans.

That's what these laws mean to people like me. They mean "the state you consider home might become actively hostile to you within the next 5 years, so you can't plan to buy a home there." They mean "you shouldn't even board a plane that has a likelihood of having a layover in Florida, and you're definitely not going to repeat your 2019 drive across the country, one of the best and worst experiences of your life and the most time you've gotten to spend with your brother in one week since you graduated from high school." They mean half the states in this country are actively hostile to you, legally speaking, in a way you thought was finally behind you.

Sometime soon, I'm going to call my mother and tell her that we're not planning on moving back.

I don't have a clever closing line for this. I'm just sad.

[reasonandempathy]

The weird radical/revolutionary politic larpers on this site are so allergic to political pragmatism I swear lmao. I am definitely left of the Democratic Party and I am certainly voting for Joe Biden in November. Not because I like him (I don’t). He is absolutely horrific on Gaza and that’s only the top (and priority considering there is a genocide going on there) of a list of complaints I have about him. I even voted uncommitted in my state’s presidential primary (the Pennsylvania one; I had to write it in) to protest. However, I’m still thinking pragmatically. Trump has said things that make me credibly think he will be worse on Gaza (insane that being worse on Gaza than Biden is possible but it is unfortunately), and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Project 2025, the potential for him to appoint more deeply conservative justices, more of his aggressively screwing over poor and middle class people with his tax policies. And does anyone else remember the spike in hate crimes after the race was called for him in 2016? Before he was even inaugurated? Whether people vote or not in November we will still have to deal with one of these two men in office come January unless all of the internet ancom larpers overthrow the government by then (doubt), so I’d rather deal with the one who will be marginally less bad and who didn’t try to overthrow the government. Can’t have your revolution if nobody’s alive cause you kept pushing off politically participating because there was no perfect option. 👍

Political pragmatist anon, sorry for ranting in your askbox but I feel like I lose brain cells watching these people talk. The other day I saw someone say Biden is bad because Roe v. Wade fell under his administration… even though the reason for that was Trump appointed justices. 💀 (2/2)

Fucking insane. Sincerely.

It's a completely, flatly binary choice for anyone with a brain stem and sincerity. It's distilled into the two below images:

Where all major third party candidates are even on the ballot

How many electoral votes the largest of those (green party, a.k.a. Jill Stein) would win if they won every single state they're on the ballot for.

They are literally, legally, incapable of winning the election. They are not on enough state ballots to win and Jill Stein would need to somehow win California and Texas to even "win" all the states they're on the ballot for. Which, again, would still not be enough to win the presidency and throw it to the currently existing Republican House of Representatives. Which would put Trump in office.

It's that straightforward. That simple. That BLARINGLY obvious to literally everyone except these people.

On the one hand you have:

Significant and continuous support for Israel and it's genocide

Record levels of pardons for low-level drug offenses

the gearing up of the strongest anti-trust regime since the early 20th century

the most aggressive NLRB I've seen in my lifetime, with massive wins and institutional changes to help workers

Including getting Rail strike workers a week of sick-leave that gets paid out at the end of the year, which is better than NYC and LA sick leave laws

Millions of people (not enough) getting student debt forgiveness

Some trillion dollars (not enough)of investment in renewable resources and infrastructure

Proposed taxes on unrealized capital gains (a.k.a. how billionaires never have any money but can still buy Kentucky, Iowa, and Twitter)

Effectively an end to overdraft fees

The explicit support of leftist world leaders like Lula de Silva. Who he has explicitly worked with to expand worker rights in South America.

Has capped (some, not enough, only a tiny amount really but it's something) some drug prices, including Insulin.

Reduced disability discrimination in medical treatment

Billions in additional national pre-k funding

Ending federal use of private prisons

Pushing bills to raise Social Security tax thresholds higher to help secure the General Fund

Increasing SSI benefits

and more

vs

Said Israel should just nuke Gaza and "get it over with"

Personally takes pride in and credit for getting Roe v Wade overturned

Is arguing in court that the President should be allowed to assassinate political rivals

Muslim Ban Bullshit, insistently

Actively damages our global standing and diplomatic efforts just by getting obsessed with having a Big Button

Implemented massive tax cuts on ich people, tax hikes on middle class and poor people, and actively wants to do it again

"Only wants to be a dictator for a little bit, guys, what's the big deal"

Is loudly publicly arguing that the US shouldn't honor its military alliances after-the-fact

Tore up an effective and substantial anti-nuclear-proliferation treaty with Iran

Had a DoEd that actively just refused to process student debt forgiveness applications that have been the law of the land for decades now

Has a long record of actively curtailing and weakening the NLRB and labor movement, including allowing managers to retaliate against workers, weakened workplace accommodation requirements for disabled people, and more

Rubber stamped a number of massive mergers building larger, more powerful top companies and increasing monopolistic practices

Fucking COVID Bullshit and hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths

Openly supporting fascists and wannabe-bootlicks ("Very fine people" being only the beginning of it

It's really not fucking close.

[simply-ivanka]

Suddenly Democrats Care About the Border

Biden and Schumer begin to see their political vulnerability.

By John Thune -- Wall Street Journal Opinion/ May 20, 2024

Trailing in the polls and desperate less than six months before Election Day, President Biden and Senate Democrats are trying something new: their best impersonations of Republicans.

The architects of the Biden border crisis—the worst in American history—suddenly want the American people to know they’re on the case. After three-plus years of mismanaging border security, resulting in more than nine million entries through the southern border, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is telegraphing that he may force Senate floor votes related to the border.

That’s his prerogative as leader, but I don’t expect anyone to buy this political theater. For starters, Mr. Biden has authority to take action at the border and to do so today. It’s the same authority he used to issue a multitude of executive actions relaxing border security, including rescinding the national emergency at the southern border, halting border-wall construction, ending the Remain in Mexico policy, and discouraging Immigration and Customs Enforcement from apprehending illegal immigrants.

The president this month ordered the removal of criminals and potential terrorists. This is a switch from the policy he started shortly after his inauguration, and the new order was made only after hundreds of people on the terrorist watchlist were encountered in between ports of entry on his watch. Vote for me, and I’ll clean up the historic mess I made is hardly an effective campaign pitch, and a few meaningless Senate votes won’t erase my Democratic colleagues’ long records of enabling illegal immigration.

In this Congress alone, Senate Democrats have banded together to protect taxpayer-funded flights for illegal immigrants to different states in the U.S. and keep federal dollars flowing to sanctuary cities. Democrats blocked votes on a litany of common-sense border-security and enforcement measures, including a proposal from Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) that would have let state and local law enforcement detain criminal illegal aliens until ICE can deport them. They even stopped legislation from Sen. Ted Budd (R., N.C.) that would deem assaulting a law-enforcement officer a deportable offense.

Not one Senate Democrat supported H.R. 2, House Republicans’ signature border bill, after Senate Republicans twice forced it to be considered.

But now Democrats need voters in Montana, Ohio, Nevada and Pennsylvania to believe they’re serious about the border. They aren’t motivated by national security. They’re concerned about their own political vulnerability. They’ve recognized, albeit too late, that the chaos of an open border is a political liability.

If Mr. Schumer devotes floor time to debating border legislation, he should expect some difficult conversations ahead—the same kinds of conversations we would have had in the Senate if every Democrat hadn’t voted to dismiss the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas without a trial.

It’s abundantly clear that the American people want an end to lawlessness at the southern border. They want the president to do his job and defend America’s borders. The bad political bet that Mr. Biden and Mr. Schumer are making is that voters will hire the arsonists to put out the fire.

Mr. Thune, a South Dakota Republican, is Senate minority whip.

[girlwiththeobsessions]

love sick c. f.

this book has also been published on wattpad. same username as the one on here. i update faster on there.

you and conrad had a secret relationship two summers ago, when you were 15 and he was 16. you broke up with him because your younger sister, belly had liked him, and you were afraid of hurting her. now, flash forward, you were 17, and you thought you had gotten over him, but maybe you haven’t

you are adopted in this! y/n's parents were close with the fishers and conklins but died in a car accident, so laurel adopts y/n

part 2

i. the drive

ME AND MY FAMILY have been coming to cousins since i was a baby, since before i was born.

the tradition was, me and my mom would go to the summer beach house in cousins, along with my moms friends, laurel park and susannah fisher, and laurel's daughter and son, and susannah's two sons.

the beach house felt magical, every summer, i couldn't wait to return each summer.

most of the time, me and belly would tag along with the moms, mostly just my mom.

my mom would take us shopping a lot, and get us frozen yogurt after, then we'd go swimming.

laurel and susannah didn't really like to swim with us. that's what made my mom so special. until both of my parents died. when i was seven. in a car crash.

my parents were my whole world. i miss them everyday.

after that happened, i had to move from north carolina to pennsylvania with the conklin's.

from what i remember, i was pretty shut down for the next two years, and sad all the time, but eventually i got better.

laurel had taken me in with her, john, steven, and belly, and i had my last name changed to l/n-conklin.

i had found hobbies to cope with my parents death. in sixth grade, i had taken up soccer. in eighth grade, i started volleyball. now, as a junior, i was on my schools soccer and volleyball team.

i was pretty smart too, academically. with my grades averaging with a's and b's since freshman year. i wanted to go to college, my dream school was university of southern california, usc.

today though, was the day i returned to cousins for the summer, of course, i was excited. i was in belly's room, packing, with taylor jewel, me and belly were both close friends with her.

"drew's bummed you're missing the beach match with the boys team next weekend." taylor told belly, laying down on the bed, on her phone.

belly turned around. "uh, make sure tell sophie to square up for the block." belly tells taylor, ignoring what she said.

"drew martinez is texting me about you, and you're talking about volleyball?" taylor said with a surprised expression.

"drew doesn't care if i'm there or not, he wants an excuse to text you." belly denied, not really acknowledging the fact that she had a glow up basically. "and you better take this game seriously, i mean, team pride is on the line, taylor."

"please, you know me better than that." taylor looked up. "i would never let a boy beat me at anything."

belly and i laughed. "i thought you came here to help us pack." belly smiled.

"fine.." taylor got up. "i'll help. here's a tip, don't bring that speedo. it doesn't do a thing for your new boobs." taylor said with a a laugh, sitting on belly's bed, flipping through a magazine.

"it's not a speedo." belly defended with a frown looking down at the swimsuit.

"yes it is." i intervene, looking at my phone.

"we're just saying babes, like you need to pack cute things." taylor says flipping a page in the magazine she's reading.

"well, i always buy a new suit when i get there." belly tells us with a smile.

"okay, well, buy one that doesn't look like you're trying out for the swim team." i pressed.

"are you serious y/n?" belly giggled, flopping onto the bed and launching herself onto me.

"girls! were leaving in the next 10 minutes!" laurel shouted from downstairs.

"we got to go." belly said with a frown.

"no, we don't, we still have 10 minutes!" i told the two of them with a smirk.

we started laughing again, but once it stopped, we sat on the bed, belly on the floor, taylor switching to a more serious tone.

"okay, before i let you both go you both have to tell me your summer wishes. like the one thing that you guys want to happen this summer."

"i don't know." belly took a deep sigh.

"you little liar, yes you do." taylor giggled at belly.

"you want a hot make out sesh with conrad fisher, you want his tongue in your mouth, you dirty little slut!" taylor joked.

i shifted uncomfortably, trying to plaster a laugh. "taylor! ew."

"i'm just saying, i mean, you've been in love with him since we were twelve." taylor reminded her as belly got up.

"it doesn't matter what i do, he doesn't see me that way." belly frowned.

"oh, he'll see you." i looked at belly up and down. "whether he wants to or not. you look a lot different than last summer, belly."

taylor laughed, then turned to me. "what about you, y/n?"

i looked away. "what about me?"

"your summer wish." taylor reminded me.

"i don't know yet." i sighed. "i guess go to a lot of parties, and make more friends."

"no boyfriend? no fling?" taylor asked, a little confused. "come on y/n, a whole summer on the beach? no nothing?"

"oh wow, big deal, a seventeen year old that doesn't care about a boyfriend." i sighed again. "i guess i've never really been that interested in getting a boyfriend." i shrugged. "i have other priorities."

i did. i applied for a job as a lifeguard at the country club, to get some money for college. i wanted to apply to ucla, it was my dream school.

i always try to keep myself busy, keep myself doing something productive, and i think the job would help.

"girls, we're leaving now!"

ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚

during the drive, belly got shotgun, steven was driving, and i sat in the backseat with mom, which i didn't really mind.

the song 'can't do better' by kim petras was blasting, while belly sung along from the top of her lungs.

i unbuckled my seatbelt and spread my legs across the backseat.

"uh, can you guys turn it down a little?" laurel asked. "and, y/n, sit right."

i sighed and sat straight, buckling my seatbelt. "i want you guys to be better about helping out this summer." laurel told us.

"don't just leave your dishes, load them into the dishwasher. and, not just your dish either, steven. i want you to be good houseguests." she continued.

"mom, susannah has people who clean, doesn't she?" steven asked, curiously.

laurel flicked steven on the head. "steven!"

"owww!" steven complained. "alright, alright. sorry."

mom is weird about money, the fact that susannah has money, and we don't.

"just.. be considerate, and act like i raised you right. steven, y/n, that means don't stay out too late."

"mommmm!" we both complained.

"i'm too old for a curfew." i frowned.

"wait, what about me? i don't have a curfew either, right?" belly asked from the front seat.

steven started to laugh. "what do you need a curfew for? you don't go anywhere."

"steven!" i threw my phone charger at him. "don't be a jackass."

"what?" steven continued laughing.

"we'll talk about it when it comes up." laurel told belly.

"oh, and y/n, don't forget, you promised you'd take me driving." belly reminded me.

"belly, i told you i'd take you." laurel intervened.

"yeah, but.. you're too judgy." belly quietly said.

me and steven started laughing. "excuse me?" laurel asked.

"yeah, sorry." belly laughed too.

we parked in front of the gas station me, belly, and mom going in.

belly got some cheetos and sour patches. she opened the bag of cheetos and ate a few.

"belly!" i whisper-yelled.

"what!?"

"at least pay for it first."

me and belly looked over at the register, to see a guy staring at us.

"hey." he nodded his head.

i smiled and waved, while belly grabbed a coke, and we brought our snacks up to the register.

"what's up with you, y/n?" jumper said with a smile.

"jumper? i didn't know you work here now." i said in surprise.

he turned to belly. "who's this? are you new this summer?"

belly looked behind her, then back at jumper. "uh, me? no.."

"really?" he smirked, and scanned the snacks. "thought i knew every pretty girl in cousins."

"ew, don't flirt with my little sister, idiot." i warned him.

to be honest, i wasn't really fond with jumper. the way he sort of treated girls like they were objects just wasn't too appealing to me.

he rolled his eyes. "whatever. you both coming to the bonfire tonight? first of the season."

"uh.. maybe." i responded.

"come!" he encouraged us, then turned to belly again with a smile. "i'll introduce you to some of my friends."

"maybe i will." belly smiled back

i gave belly a quick side eye. "maybe she won't." i look back to jumper, trying to protect belly.

laurel walked up to us. "after i get settled in, you wanna go to whale of a tale with me, so i can presign stock for the signing tonight?" she asked belly.

"uh..."

"remember.. when you used to sit on my lap when i used to sign there?" laurel continued

"no, i don't.. remember that." belly chuckled.

"i'll make you a deal." laurel said, as we walked out. "i'll let you pick out tonight's desert if you come in and keep me company."

"see you later." jumped smirked at belly.

"what's later?" laurel asked, curiously.

"nothing." belly responded, a little too quickly.

ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚

END OF CHAPTER

[bidisasterevankinard]

your hands keep me warm

buddie/G/ 859 words

Buck always is cold. As much as he remembers he always needed hoodies or jackets when most of his friends would prefer to wear T-shirts. But he wasn’t like them. His hands are always cold and his feets freezing when it's even a little bit chilly.

So he tries to never leave the house without a hoodie or sweater to keep him warm, and for being at home he has a huge collection of comfortable, warm, and super soft hoodies and warm fluffy socks of all the possible colors, and a collection of tea which takes whole cupboard in his kitchen. Buck likes to keep himself warm.

Especially because either way he wouldn’t be able to rest and sleep normally till he's warm and he can super easily catch a cold. Eddie still laughs a lot the moment Buck starts to have a runny nose and sore throat when he was cold for less than twenty minutes.

Buck always just makes a sad face and doesn’t talk with Eddie hiding in the layers of blankets till the cup of tasty tea appears in front of him. But even then he makes Eddie say sorry and only after that takes the cup in his hands, keeping both his big palms around his favorite big mug to try and warm his hands a little.

That’s actually exactly what is happening right now. Really cold and rainy weather came to LA, and no matter how Buck tried to keep himself warm, always wearing warm clothes, having an umbrella with him, and drinking a lot of warm drinks he still caught a cold and now feels really bad, lying in his and his boyfriend's bed, trying to keep himself warm under two blankets and wearing Eddie’s hoodie and sweats and his favorite green socks with hamsters. Chris bought it for his last birthday.

But no matter what normal people would already feel quite warm, Buck still feels like he’s outside in Pennsylvania in winter without clothes. He knows how it feels because once he was dared to do it at a party when he was eighteen.

He knows it’s not the best sight and if he’s not going to feel any warmer soon Eddie would definitely take him to the hospital, but Buck hopes the medicine his boyfriend promised to buy on the way from school, when Buck couldn’t even get up for breakfast with Chris, will help.

Eddie is actually the reason Buck is not in his super dirty from sweating all night in a hoodie and sweats and under the blanket they keep deep inside their wardrobe. Buck has zero strength to change anything in his position, but Eddie insisted on changing Buck in new clothes and giving him another blanket. He also made Buck his favorite tea and light fruit smoothie Buck drank fast and received an incredibly beautiful smile back for this and a kiss on his forehead.

Drifting between sleep and his thoughts, Buck hears how the door is opened, then someone takes off his shoes and goes to the kitchen putting groceries bags there, and comes to their bedroom.

“Are you sleeping?” Buck smiles when he hears how Eddie whispers it, not wanting if he is really asleep to wake him up.

“No, still can’t feel warm enough,” he answers quietly and then starts coughing.

“I’ll go take your medicine and will be back.”

In minutes Eddie is back with some pills and water for him and a sandwich from his favorite place. He ate a half and Eddie is not insisting on more then takes pills and goes back to try and try to fall asleep.

“Stay with me, please? I need hugs. You always keep me warm when we cuddle,” Buck pouts and makes the biggest puppy eyes to make his boyfriend stay with him.

“Of course, just let me take it all to the kitchen.”

Eddie comes back in second and takes off everything except his underwear and on Buck's raised eyebrow he simply answers.

“I’m always warm, even hot, and when you wear a hoodie under one blanket I never even wear a tank top. Now under those blankets, I would die either way. And I think you need a new hoodie,” Eddie takes another hoodie from their wardrobe and quickly changes Buck, but he still shivers when stays naked for a moment.

“I think we can leave one blanket for now, but the warmer one, please,” Buck says, already in position for his boyfriend to spoon him behind.

Eddie just chuckles but leaves one blanket and lies with Buck, moving so close that there is not even a millimeter of space between them, and his chest and stomach are completely pressed against Buck's back, one arm hugs him around the waist, and the other becomes Buck's pillow and Eddie uses it to sort through Buck's curls, knowing that it always soothes him and Buck falls asleep in seconds.

And what is happening now, feeling how Eddie keeps him warm and save and shows him his love Buck falls asleep in minutes.

[theculturedmarxist]

A few minutes earlier, Walz had been onstage in Washington at a Center for American Progress event, chiding a crowd of engaged but worried Democrats, “Everybody who says, ‘I wish he was younger.’ I wish I was skinnier! [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis wishes he was more likable! It’s not going to happen. … There’s a responsibility for us not to buy into that.”

STOP EXPECTING THINGS OF US!

Or as Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle told CNN more bluntly, “People should shut the hell up.”

STOP DEMANDING WE DO ANY BETTER!

“I deal in the real world,” said the Philadelphia-area Democrat, who has been proudly supporting Biden for years. “He is going to be the nominee, regardless of whether people think they can construct on paper a more attractive nominee or not.”

IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!!

“Every time Democrats go on TV and say, ‘The president’s done a great job, but he’s 80 years old,’ all they’re doing is feeding this appetite out there by some for a third-party run,” said Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City-area Democrat. “And that could be the worst thing that happens in a century.”

WE LIVE IN THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS DON'T LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVES AND RUIN EVERYTHING NOW!

“Joe Biden is on the freedom, democracy and opportunity agenda that beat MAGA Republicans in 2020, in 2022, and will win again in 2024,” Ben Wikler, the Democratic party chair in the top battleground state of Wisconsin, told CNN. “Every hour that someone spends fantasizing about some other ticket is an hour they could have spent calling voters or raising money to help reelect President Biden and Vice President Harris.”

WE'RE GREAT! WE'RE DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB!! OUR POSITION IS COMPLETELY UNASSAILABLE AND WE'RE DEFINITELY GOING TO WIN EVEN THOUGH WE INSPIRE NO CONFIDENCE IN OURSELVES OR OUR SUPPORTERS.

“All these pundits will talk about polling, polling, polling — OK, fine, let’s talk about that,” Harris said, drawing an enthusiastic standing ovation during the DNC meeting in St. Louis. “What we did on the climate crisis: I think 80% popularity. Lowering the cost of prescription drugs to $35 a month, I think everyone loves that. $2,000 a year for seniors for prescription medication, hallelujah. Fighting for relief of student loan debt. 800,000 new manufacturing jobs. Popular, popular, popular.”

Delusional, delusional, delusional.

“That which doesn’t kill him,” the congressman said hopefully, “makes him stronger.”

lol, lmao

[emlovesstates]

I can't get a over this Fuller house scenario where the three guys that the girls are involved with in the show oh decide to buy a restaurant and I think this is a funny concept especially of the north east and three north east states to be specific New York, Pennsylvania And New Jersey and then whoever they're dating or involved with it's just like you bought a restaurant and the PANYNJ I like we're gonna be Kings of cold cuts

In this situation, I feel like the West Coast trio would be the three people that they are dating /engaged

divorced/engaged

New York is the primary investor

So California had a speech thing to do and he comes home and he sees Oregon and Washington angrily folding laundry and he asked why and then they explain and he's like with those two knuckleheads and then he's like oh maybe they'll make a go of it and then one of them says oh I'm glad you're on board because New York's the primary investors

And California's like with those two knuckleheads

And Washington's like yeah now we got three knuckleheads

Washington is probably engage to Pennsylvania

Oregon is with New Jersey now they have the Kimmy Gibler, and Fernando relationship that that is super complicated



[fisherpropertysolutions]

Fisher Property Solutions can turn your property into cash in as little as a week. We buy houses in any condition, allowing sellers to avoid the time-consuming process of listing, showings, and negotiations. We buy rental properties as-is, saving landlords time and money on repairs and upgrades. Whether you have a single rental unit or a portfolio of properties, we’re interested in making you a fair cash offer. If you’re asking, how can we buy houses Pennsylvania? Call at (484) 378–9379 or visit our website.

Fisher Property Solutions 477 Noble Rd, Atglen, PA 19310 (484) 378–9379

My Official Website: https://www.sellmyhousefastchestercounty.com/ Google Plus Listing: https://www.google.com/maps?cid=16551205527505429693

Our Other Links:

sell my house fast Chester County: https://www.sellmyhousefastchestercounty.com/sell-your-house/

Service We Offer:

selling property buying houses Real Estate services

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[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

Maresuke Nogi was always his own toughest critic. Emperor Meiji trusted him and appointed him to high military posts in Japan: general in the imperial army, governor-general of Taiwan. But we all make mistakes, and Nogi’s lapses gnawed at him. Twice he requested the emperor’s leave to commit ritual suicide. Each time, the emperor refused. In Nogi’s home, now a quiet shrine in a Tokyo meadow, you can see pictures of Nogi reading the newspaper on September 13, 1912, the morning of his boss’s funeral. No one was left to stop him. Near the photo you can see the sword he used later that day to disembowel himself.

I raise the example of General Nogi to encourage present-day leaders (military, political, educational) to take a much more modest step. They should offer to resign—often, and both in times of trouble and in times of calm. This weekend, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, Liz Magill, did the honorable thing, and the chair of Penn’s board, Scott Bok, followed his kōhai’s example shortly after. Magill resigned because she, along with Harvard President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, performed abysmally under questioning in Congress. Their inquisitor, upstate New York’s Elise Stefanik, a Republican, asked them whether chanting genocidal slogans violated their universities’ policies. It depends on the context, they all said, on the advice of counsel and the worst PR teams money can buy. Within days, Magill and Gay conceded that their answers had not been ideal. Gay is facing calls for her resignation, too.

Resign. Resign. Everyone: resign. Resignation has come to mean failure, something one does when cornered, caught dead to rights, incapable of continuing for even another day. It should be an act of honor—a high point in a career of service. It isn’t shameful. It is noble. It is the first and sometimes only step in the expiation of shame, and (ironically) the ultimate sign of one’s fitness for office.

No one demonstrates the value of these traits better than those who lack them entirely. I thought of Nogi’s katana, flashing from its scabbard, last week when the House voted to expel George Santos, Stefanik’s colleague in New York’s Republican delegation. The House almost never kicks anyone out, mainly because those facing expulsion have in the past tended to resign rather than weather the indignity of an expulsion vote. Santos is taking his ouster well and posting prolifically on TikTok. A psychologically normal person would have resigned the instant his tower of lies showed signs of wobbling. To let it crash down, then dance around the rubble of that tower until the orderlies arrive and pull you away, is truly mad behavior, and a demonstration of unfitness for the job, or indeed any job other than TikTok star.

I cannot prove this, but I believe the tendency to stick it out rather than resign started roughly when Representative Anthony Weiner (New York again, this time a Democrat) called a press conference to discuss whether he had, in fact, tweeted a picture of his penis, tumescent in his underwear. He could have just quit, and eventually he did (but lived to humiliate himself another day). But that pause to hold a press conference broke the seal on something dangerous, the idea that one can talk one’s way through a mortification. To take the podium and subject oneself to hostile questioning under those circumstances bespoke a delusionary chutzpah.

It soon became clear that anyone socially defective enough to persist through a scandal has a good chance of surviving it. By the time then-candidate Donald Trump (Republican, guess where) appeared on the Access Hollywood tape, describing his hobby of sexually assaulting women, it ceased to be obvious that at some point one should tap out and go home. If you have no shame, and you refuse to go, there might not be anyone out there who can make you. Mechanisms exist, as the Santos case shows. But the mechanisms were devised to govern people from another time, sensitive to ridicule and guffaws.

One should be ready for criticism, both earned and unearned. But resignation—more precisely, the offer of resignation—is an expression of confidence, both in oneself and in one’s employers or constituents. A board can reject a resignation. Voters can turn out in the streets to beg you to reconsider, or can turn out at the ballot to vote you back in. In fact, the more defensible one’s position, the greater esteem we should show for the one who offers to leave it. Call this the Nogi rule.

Harvard’s Claudine Gay evidently believed that she’d erred, because she reverted immediately to damage-control mode after leaving Washington. The next day, she told the Crimson that her testimony did not represent “my truth”—that is, that she disapproves of genocidal anti-Semitism. (This is an extreme example of the political axiom “If you’re explaining, you’re losing.”) Her original answer before Congress lacked any visceral disapproval of anti-Semitism, certainly none to match Harvard’s recent record of condemning speech deemed offensive to historically disadvantaged groups. Her affect was robotic, neutral. She showed no signs of concern at all.

But her neutrality was born of an honorable principle, well worth defending. It reflected the values of free expression in a modern interpretation of the First Amendment, under which anyone can say just about any foolish thing, as long as saying it isn’t about to cause someone else to break the law. If the “context” of a genocidal chant is a nonviolent rally, the university shouldn’t stop anyone from chanting. (It should examine its soul. But that is another matter.) If the context is a crowd of protesters with bricks in hand, running at a group of Jews, the university should expel or fire every demonstrator there, whether armed with a brick or a bullhorn. All three presidents should have said this, then added a note of contrition over their universities’ failure to uphold these principles of free expression in the past.

But I’ll say it again: Gay should resign. To offer her neck to Harvard’s Board of Overseers would show her confidence that its members, like Emperor Meiji, would see past her error and ask her to endure in her position. It would also demonstrate her willingness to own that error, to acknowledge it publicly and unselfishly. Maybe the board would accept her resignation, and maybe it would not. Either of these fates is better than the one she is courting. At the moment she is trying to wriggle out of her error, and clinging to her job as if her dignity depended on keeping it. Better to teach by example that the reverse is often true, that dignity depends on leaving a job—and that staying suggests that one has nothing else, once it is gone.

The greatest legacy a resignation leaves is the creation of a culture of resignation. One institution that, up until now, has had such a culture is the Israeli defense establishment. A few weeks ago, I spoke with a former Mossad official who assured me that the entire leadership of the Mossad and the Israel Defense Forces would, as soon as the Gaza war reached a satisfactory pause, resign from their positions. They would do so, he said, because resignation was the only honorable response to their failure to foresee and prevent Hamas’s attack on October 7. Their predecessors did so in 2006, after the very messy war with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and after several other episodes of modest failure in Israeli history. That they might stick around, slinking back to their offices as if hoping everyone forgot about their mistakes, would be inconceivable. In this context, one understands better the popular rage against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in whom the spirit of General Nogi is extinct: To this day, he is making the case to the Israeli right for his remaining their leader indefinitely.

One can’t get far in politics without a dogged willingness to destroy one’s critics and step on their corpses to reach the next height. But this is a minimal qualification for success, and everyone who attains high office, having climbed up from decades in the Senate or in departmental meetings, has it to an unusual degree. To persist is just to do what comes naturally for these people. To give up at the right moment—that is a quality against type, and a virtue possessed by the greatest of leaders. It is nevertheless available even to those who have hitherto shown no signs of greatness at all. Let it be said of them what is said in Macbeth of the Thane of Cawdor: that nothing became them in public service like the leaving it.

[ivebeattheoddsbefore]

@suchamessiputoutflames

[Ben. He and I had been friends since college. That was the sort of friendship that rarely lasted. Usually once college ends, you gradually lose touch with those people who once meant the world to you. Especially from the guys' perspective of things. Guys were terrible at keeping in touch. Ben though... We couldn't shake each other, and after years continued to pass, we found that we didn't want to. After leaving Pennsylvania for LA in order to join the police academy and ultimately become a police officer, it was Ben who supported me. Don't get me wrong, he told me "I was completely out of my mind, and that midlife crisis' usually look more like a weird hairstyle, an earring, or buying a car I neither need nor want. They usually aren't in the form of a completely ridiculous career change at forty." He was right, but it didn't deter me either. He may not have understood it, but he continued to support me; even letting me crash indefinitely at his pool house, and sometimes the main house too, when he was on his lengthy business trips. He was a great friend. One who's back I would always have, like he's always had mine, which is probably why I reluctantly agreed to this blind date he allegedly set me up on, even though dating was the last thing I had on my mind] "John, you're in a rut. You haven't dated since the divorce. Sarah is already remarried, so if you feel guilty about dating, don't. It's time. Past time, if you ask me. You're not getting any younger, so it's time to find the one." [I didn't necessarily agree, but I respected his perspective on the situation nonetheless] "She's beautiful, seems nice, and when I did a background check on her, she checked out all the important boxes." [I shook my head in response. Leave it to Ben to run a background check on a woman he wants to set me up with. The police officer in me would let that go in one ear and out the other though. Ultimately I agreed. Not because I wanted to go on this blind date, because I didn't, but because I knew if I didn't agree, Ben would never drop it. Ben went out of town for his next business trip, and as promised, I went to this blind date. Found myself at the highly demanded table that Ben requested when he placed the reservation; sipping on a drink while waiting for "Bailey" to arrive. Problem was, she never did. Yes, I waited there an embarrassing and pathetic amount of time before finally throwing in the towel and leaving. Mind you, that wasn't before I heard my waiter, one of the bus boys, and even the restaurant manager asking me if I thought she showed up, saw me, and left. Oh yeah, that's one to wound the pride for sure. It was worse though once Lucy and Jackson found out, since they made a point to tell everyone else; leading them to also tease me that she probably showed up, saw me, and left] Great, guys. Thanks for the vote of confidence. [I said flatly and without humor as we proceeded with the morning meeting and would commence with the start of this day. Ben was expected back at some point today from his business trip, so I'd be sure to give him an earful in person once I was home later this evening. Nope. Never again would I let him set me up on a blind date. Rut or not, I'd find my own dates from here on out. I thought to myself as morning meeting ended, and Nyla and I left, so we could get started with what I expected would turn out to be a busy day on patrol]

[socialjusticeinamerica]

Organized Christian religions do not endorse Republikkkan fascists. Individuals might but the churches as whole do not. Evangelicals are the only ones and that is because they are for-profit. G.W. Bush, while working on his dad’s presidential campaign, began the practice of paying off evangelical ministers to preach in favor of Republikkkans.

Evangelicals are not an organized religion with a hierarchy, charter, or mission statement. Each local church is separate from the others. Anyone can appoint themselves minister without any training or education and open their own church. The church minister or pastor decides what he/she will preach. They rely mainly on Old Testament fire and brimstone, because it is better known and appeals to the poorly educated, and completely ignore the New Testament with it’s more progressive messages about peace and tolerance.

People who belong to mainstream denominations will refer to themselves as Lutherans, Methodists, Catholics, etc. Since Evangelicals do not belong to an established denomination they simply refer to themselves as Christians. Many of them were poached from established denominations because they were too ignorant to know there was a difference or because they like the lack of restrictions on actually being expected to follow the teachings of Jesus. Evangelicals often church shop and will join the closest evangelical church or the one with the most popular pastor. Televangelist charlatans are self-appointed evangelical ministers who grew their local church into a mega church. Often these televangelists, like Pat Robertson, we’re booted out of mainstream religions because they are kooks and grifters.

Evangelicals despise Obama/Biden because their administration took evangelical tax exempt status away over them actively campaigning in political races. When G.W. Bush was governor of Texas he began the practice of farming out state social services to evangelical churches, the non-governmental organizations (NGO’s).

Southern Baptists are similar to the evangelicals but are organized. They are well know for rogue parishes attacking lgbt and boycotting Disney for decades. During the Trump years they voted on dis-allowing racism, bigotry, and fascism. The vote was close but they barely managed to vote no and release a statement saying those things were against the teachings of Jesus. Southern Baptists number over 16 million, which isn’t much, making them the largest single group supporting Republikkkans in the old Confederacy. Their numbers are dwindling and their support for Republikkkans is dwindling as the younger members are rejecting the bigotry of their parents. This has been highlighted by student protests at Liberty University where the students repeatedly denounce the University leadership’s support for Trump and the other Republikkkan MAGAts.

It’s worth noting that whenever the Koch/Walton political machines buy a state legislature and turn a state red, or purple, the evangelicals filter in to that area. Depressed rural areas around the country are spouting evangelical and baptist churches like weeds. Wherever Republikkkan policies depress the local economy you can expect evangelicals to follow. The Deep South, Confederacy, Bible Belt, is no longer the base of Republikkkan infestation. Looking at politics maps you will see that only the West Coast and Northeast (minus Maine) are the only true blue states. The old rust belt/Mid-West has gone red and purple along with Pennsylvania. We are hopelessly outgunned. For decades the Koch and Walton families have been buying up state legislatures in order to control this country and have a majority in the House of Representatives. We have the numbers but are mainly based in cities which are gerrymandered.

Blue votes now only count in state-wide and national elections. The Electoral College is working against us and the Republikkkans are working on returning the right to choose a president to the House of Representatives as it was in the beginning before political parties. Despite our numbers we are on the verge of extinction. Since Reagan in 1980 we have been relying on the popularity of individual Democratic candidates for president or governor. Look the tidal wave of hate laws sweeping the country. We do not control the state legislatures and it is killing everything we want and deserve as a people. Koch/Walton knew they could create the country they wanted by buying relatively inexpensive state legislatures. This is why they have the vast network of political foundations writing laws for Republikkkans to submit as bills through criminal stooges like Cruz and McConnell to name a few. The Trump deregulation of railroads was written by Koch/Walton operatives. The abortion bills are written by them and the gun deregulation etc. We have nothing to match the Federalist Society which has taken over the Supreme Court. We have no ALEC which matches potential Republikkkan candidates with billionaire donors. We have nothing to match the NRA which is now controlled and funded by Putin to destabilize the US.

No matter how many times I or others beat this drum you’ll still shop at Walmart, but Koch products, and send your kids to Betsy DeVos charter schools. You can’t just go to a pride parade or BLM/antifa protest and Pat yourselves on the back. Those are great starting places but you must fight the right wing in its entirety. Voting out Trump wasn’t the end but rather the beginning. 2020 saw Trump rejected on a personal level but it did not see the rejection of MAGA which is thriving and lashing out in a bid to finish us off at this moment in time. If Ron DeSantis becomes President you’ll miss the days of Trump squandering his opportunities by engaging in petty bickering.

[harryforvogue]

Part Two | Chapter Eleven: Summer Rain

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

July 1919

Harry spends most of his time in the library in his aunt and uncle's house, hovering over the selection of books, mainly the ones that have been translated in recent years. They've been checked out or bought at the bookstore I visited, but the library the family has in their own home is a few of the most recent ones, from last year. As I watch him hunch over the shelf and run his fingers over the spines of the book curiously, I see a glimmer of the man from England who I married.

His long legs carry him over between shelves, one hand tucked into his pocket, a crease between his eyebrows as he reads each title, making a face of interest or distaste, and then continues on, either tucking the book under his arm or focusing on a separate selection altogether. The books don't have covers, and I can't tell which he's found to be the most interesting until he comes to sit on the couch opposite of me and open the book, showing the gleam of the metallic title.

If I pressed about it now, he'd vehemently argue against it, but Harry once loved romance novels and would send them to me, or buy us both a pair so we could read together. He used to enjoy listening to me read them out loud, the sun in his face as he laid his head on my thigh under that same willow tree in the park down the street from his house, a slightly smile on his face when I lowered or increased my voice to impersonate the tone of the narrator or speaker. He'd turn his head into my stomach and nuzzle his face, throwing an absent arm behind my back to make sure my spine wasn't aching from sitting on the ground against the tree roots after hours.

We'd return home slightly more tan than before, only realizing when Harry would remove his rings at night before sneaking to my room at night, the pale skin under contrasting with the now slightly browned skin. After laying together, I'd run my fingers over the smooth skin, pressing my fingers against his to measure and play with his digits. It would be similar to a fresh breath of air after being confined in a prison for so long, laying on his chest and listening to the gentle hum of his heartbeat as his breathing shallow and he fell asleep.

Harry looks up at me, frowning. "What?"

I blink, my eyes dry and aching. "Sorry. I was just...thinking."

Harry closes his book and pushes it off his lap, crossing his ankles.

We've been at Geraldine and Jared's for five days now and since our argumentative discussion, I've caught him glancing down at my ring finger as often as he tries to hold a conversation with me.

His eyes wander as we speak, from my face to my hands, to his lap and anywhere else except my eyes, back tightened uncomfortably to the point where I want to reach over and hold his hand to tell him that it's alright and that he doesn't need to push himself this much.

Harry's said something that I haven't caught while thinking to myself, and I blink again, saying, "What was that?"

"I said," Harry repeats slowly, running his fingers over the smooth cover of his book. "What were you thinking of?"

"Oh." My ears feel slightly hot. "How you used to make me read to you in London."

His expression changes to a look of surprise. "Right," he says, almost dreamily. "I remember that. Seems like ages ago."

It seems like ages to him, but for me it was just yesterday. I would pause in between sentence to gaze down at him, admiring his beauty from his straight eyebrows to the dark wisps of his curls that refuse to fall in line with his partition, the freckles that I suspected only came out in the summer even though I didn't know how he looked in the winter. His head felt heavy in my lap, my legs already gone to sleep. I'd drop a hand into his hair and run my fingers clumsily through the strands, pulling a little too roughly when met with resistance from his curls.

Harry notices my discomfort, so he frowns down at the brown book beside him. "I'd ask you to read this book out loud, but I'm afraid it's not a very fun read."

"What's it about? Something boring and history related?"

He looks offended. "The 1909 New York City Labor Strikes."

"Is that what interests you?"

"Presently, yes."

"Couldn't find anything more...light?"

"None that I wanted," he says, leaning back. "Why? Do you want to read it out loud?"

"No," I answer. "But if you wish to recommend it to me once you're done, I'll be here."

Harry nods. "Will do."

He looks down at his book, but doesn't open it, drumming his fingers over it. He presses his tongue into his cheek and then drops his shoulders, glancing up at me again. I meet his eyes over my book and look at him, waiting for his voice.

"Your accent," he says, frowning. "You're losing it a bit."

I smile teasingly. "Do I sound American?"

"Yes."

"Does that bother you?"

He looks conflicted, biting his cheek. "Yes and no. While I prefer it American, I can't help but miss the accent." He looks away, his neck flushed. "It is you, after all."

"So why do you prefer it to be more American?" I clear my throat and bring back my natural accent. "I've found that since my accent is so hard to understand, I need to speak more American. More harsh, I guess. L'anglaise est très ridicule."

He frowns at the sound of my voice. "Annaliese," he says slowly, "if I tell you something, will you promise not to probe me about it? I can't discuss it in detail. No matter how ridiculous it sounds."

I pause, suddenly both intrigued and worried. "Sure," I say, despite my habit of poking around until I know everything.

Harry takes a deep breath and says, still slowly, "When you speak to me in French, or how you did just now, speak with your accent, it brings back the most awful memories of when I was in France."

Struck with confusion at his confession, I put my book down and raise my eyebrows. "I can't control that."

He hastily holds his hands up in defense. "I know. That's why I didn't want to tell you. It's the worst thing for a husband to say to his wife, but...in an effort to be more communicative and open as we discussed previously, I figured you should know."

"So what should I do?" I say before I can stop myself. "What do you want me to do about that?"

How many times have I triggered his memory with my voice, with my French that leaks into my speech without realizing? I bite down on my thumb.

"It's not your fault. I'm not asking you to stop talking altogether. I just, well, I just hope you're not upset about me saying I prefer one accent over the other." He ducks his head timidly, and drops his gaze to the floor.

"That's not what I'm upset about. I'm not upset, actually. Just concerned. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't control this. And I don't know some words in English, so I need to say them in..."

Harry cuts me off, shaking his head. "Wait, no no. Stop for a second. I didn't say you had to stop bloody talking or anything. You can do whatever you want. It's just--well-- it's quite difficult to be around you, given your accent and the French and all." His tone is harsher suddenly, his eyes turning away.

This certainly doesn't help minimize my concern, my own eyes widening to their capacity. "Christ. It's hard to be around me for this reason?"

"Well." Harry looks uncomfortable. "Not only this reason."

"Oh good God. What other reason?"

He backpedals quickly, shaking his head. "It's not a long list. Just small things like--" He stops. "It's nothing."

"Like me talking?"

"Well," he repeats, anxiously sitting back, crossing his legs. "I can't help that, Annaliese. You can understand that, can't you? Be reasonable."

"You want me to be reasonable? I am. Please tell me how to fix it."

"I don't think you can fix it." The tips of his ears are slightly pink as he flushes with a bit of irritation. "You can't help it just like I can't help it."

"I want you to be comfortable, so I think we should think about how to work on this. I can try my best to not speak French, but it may slip out. The accent, though, I can't do anything about. You know I'm ready to work on us, Harry. Tell me what else bothers you that I do."

There's a tense silence before Harry speaks again. "It's hard for me to be around you for a number of reasons, Annaliese, and this is a more reasonable one."

I'm trying my hardest not to sound upset, but he reads my face well. "Tell me the other reasons why you can't be around me."

Harry pauses for a minute, his eyes turning distant. "No."

I stay quiet trying to figure out my next words. This conversation is never one I thought I'd have with Harry. To me, I don't believe I'm being overbearing. I have moments where I get too upset with Harry and it translates to irritation, but for the most part, I believe that my suggesting we have a conversation is not something a married couple should be struggling with.

Like Harry, I have my own fears. The thought of Harry leaving me for reasons he can't tell me flashes through my head. Pain prickles at my throat when it tightens.

"What do we do about this vacation, Harry? If being with me is so..."

He meets my eyes for a brief moment before looking away at the bookshelves. "I invited you because you're my wife and you need to be here with me."

"Your wife?" I repeat, the uncomfortable feeling creeping over my body again like it did the night of our previous argument. "You can't stand me. You can't even look at me."

His head tilts back in my direction, but his eyes don't meet mine.. "That's not what I said at all."

"I don't understand anything you're saying then." I swallow, waiting for him to look at me and explain what he thinks of our relationship. "You said it would be okay if I wanted to leave you just a few days ago. And now you're telling me you brought me with you because I'm your wife and you need me to be here. Harry, I don't think you know what you want."

He doesn't say anything to disagree.

"I think for the sake of this marriage, we need to figure out our next step. And if it won't be done in a conversation together, then maybe you need time on your own to consider our situation right now. I have never wanted to hurt you or make you uncomfortable. If it's something you want me to stop doing, you know I'll agree to it. We've stopped sleeping together or in the same room. We rarely talk. We're doing everything your way, so please just figure out what you want and let me know. I know what I want and I think it's time you know what you want."

Harry doesn't answer again. I put my books down on my seat and slowly rise, fixing my clothes.

"I'm ready to talk about it whenever you'd like. I'll give you all the time in the world, Harry. And all the space because I love you and want you to be okay. But not talking to me at all or telling me what you want me to change about the way we're currently living isn't fair to me."

Slowly, I stride to the door of the library and exit. Harry's normally the one to walk away from a conversation, but the thought of making him uncomfortable with my presence makes my skin itch with something I can't describe: a mixture of helplessness and disappointment.

***

After leaving the house, I head into town, unaware of the dark skies as I keep my gaze down on my boots while I walk.

Harry's words echo in my head over and over. It's hard for him. It's unbearable. I am unbearable to him.

The burn in my thigh happens when I begin the uphill climb, the checkered pavement disappearing into the asphalt on the road. This is when I realize I've walked past the town square and the shop I intended on visiting. It's a surprise at first, but when I look back to see the house barely visible, the urge to continue until the house is over the hill becomes powerful.

The sun disappears behind the clouds, and it becomes apparent, I realize as I walk, that I will be getting drenched by the cold summer rain within the next few minutes. Unable to do anything but embrace it with my lack of umbrella or durable hat, I walk slower. The air smells fresh and cleaner the more distance I put between the residential area and I.

The field I find myself on is already quite soggy, the heels of my boots sinking into the mud the further I venture. I wonder why Grace hasn't decided to take me to this particular field as it's larger and extends over more acres than the other one. It's not littered with trees and crunching branches either, green and fading brown prevalent. It's all I can see as I hold a hand up to peer over the land more closely. There's not a single person around me, the sound of traffic now deafened, and the sights breathtaking and so very country.

I inhale deeply and look up at the sky with my eyes closed as soon as the rain begins to pour, catching me off guard. The scent is salty, but the wind is still warm. It's quite comforting, a distinction from the otherwise scorching heat I've become accustomed to. The cold rain soothes any sun burns I may have.

The memory of summers in France back with my parents takes me violently. Nearly every year, it would rain on my birthday. It became a tradition to admire the rain and then run in it, dancing and laughing with my friends. The rain would be the same temperature as it is right now, but more enjoyable.

It hits me suddenly that I miss my parents. They have never been helpful, but simply telling them about what's happening to Harry would help me. After all, being in a foreign country makes you realize how lonely one can be when nobody around them is familiar.

The drizzle eventually turns into a heavier pour, and my shivering increases.

It's time to go back home, I decide, pulling my coat tighter against my body, beginning the walk back. The wetter ground pulls me by the heels of my boots into the earth, however, with determined strides, I refuse to let myself slide into the mud. That would be quite the sight, waddling back into the clean house completely dirty.

A part of me, though, wants to lay down in the soft mud and seek sanctuary.

The rain continues harder as I shuffle back into town, thoroughly drenched now. The cold has settled in and I cannot walk without stopping for a few moments just to tremble. The hat on my head droops with the weight of the water, causing the droplets at the brim to slide down the back of my neck and into my shirt. I feel every drop on my spine, and no amount of wiping will help as the back of my shirt is wet and cold on my skin already.

By the time I'm back home, I can barely feel my fingers, and I raise my hand to forcefully knock on the wood door. It takes a few moments until the door swings open to reveal Aunt Geraldine. Her eyes widen immediately and she gasps, tugging me in quickly, locking the door behind me.

"Annaliese!" She helps the shoes off my feet and then shuffles me to the carpet in the foyer to avoid any more cold from the hardwood floor. "Summer rain," she mutters. "How awful. Nothing a hot bath can't fix, though. Not to worry."

"It's quite alright." I whisper, teeth chattering. "Did it to myself." I send her a smile. "I knew it was going to rain. It's okay."

As she guides me to the staircase, Harry's departing from the library, and he catches my trembling frame. He tosses the books he's holding onto the nearest table and reaches forward, grabbing my elbow.

"Christ's sake," he says, a twinge of surprise in his voice. "Why didn't you come back sooner? I told you this morning that it was going to start raining soon and we shouldn't go to town."

I shake his hand off my elbow and turn my body away, climbing the stairs slowly. "It's okay. I knew it was going to rain."

Harry ignores me, climbing the stairs behind. "You're going to catch a cold. Why didn't you come back earlier if you knew?"

"Didn't think it would be so heavy."

Once I get to my room, I step in and expect Geraldine to accompany me, but when I turn, it's only Harry and he shuts the door behind him. When he's upset, his face is flushed and his eyes dangerously bright.

"You shouldn't have walked away from me. We don't do that," Harry says, making me sit on the bed. "When have we ever done that? You tell me to never run away, but look at you. You're no better than me."

Taking a deep breath, I remind myself that he is just mad and doesn't mean what he's saying. I try not to take it to heart, but when he says that I'm no better than him, it makes me realize just how negatively he thinks of himself.

"I'm okay," I repeat. "I'm just gonna take a bath."

Harry disappears from my view. I hear the water rushing into the tub, Harry hissing as he touches the hot water. He returns with another towel and drapes it over my hair, rubbing my scalp with it.

"Were you so angry that you felt the need to run from me? Fuck's sake, Annaliese. You don't think things through at all sometimes."

"Harry," I say. "I'm okay. Calm down. I didn't run from you. Just took a walk."

From the way he makes a frustrated sound from the back of his throat, I know I'm in for it.

"You had no reason to leave the house. I have been so fucking honest, Annaliese." He crouches down in front of me and finally keeps eye contact with me. "I have been honest with you since the day that I came back. I told you that night at the station that things will be different and I will be unable to help them, alright? How many times have I told you that? You haven't changed a bit, you know? Still as stubborn as always."

I let the words settle in before answering quietly. "That makes two of us."

"What?"

"You're just as stubborn as I am." I look down at my wedding ring, twisting it gently. "God, Harry. What do you want me to do? Apologize? I will. I'm sorry. For what, I'm not sure because you don't want to tell me."

"Understand," he says, exasperated. "Just try to think of what I'm going through."

"I can't though," I say, shaking my head some more. "I don't know what you're going through. Maybe I'd understand better but... Maybe I'm being selfish trying to force you to do things you don't want, but that's not how it is in my eyes."

"And how is it in your eyes?" He's rubbing his forehead tensely, glancing at the ceiling.

"I'm thinking baby steps could help you. Help you heal."

"I don't need to heal, Annaliese. I've told you that."

"What do you need then, Harry?" I exclaim, crossing my arms. Water drips from my hair onto him. "Because I can't figure it out so please spell it out for me."

Harry and gazes at me quietly for a minute. "Time," he finally says softly. "I just need time. I need to forget about it and then everything else will follow."

"You think you're just going to wake up one day and forget all about it like it was some sort of dream? Christ's sake, Harry, you still think about how your childhood was!" I'm hitting nerves, but it's to prove my point. "You still think about your father when you dream! You think I wouldn't notice the way you cry out when you used to sleep next to me? How can you still think of something that happened 10 years ago and then expect to stop thinking about something that happened not even a year ago!"

He puts his face in his hands and exhales, shoulders dropping. "What," he whispers, "do you suggest I do then?" His puts his forehead against the mattress besides my knee.

I raise a hand and hover it over the back of his neck, ready to massage the tension away. Hesitating at the last moment, I pause and draw my hand back to my lap.

"I want to help you," I tell him honestly. He picks his head up and looks at me, his eyes filled with tears. The sight breaks me. He bites the inside of his lip and doesn't bother to wipe away a tear dripping down his cheek and onto his lap.

"I get that," he whispers. "But please don't push me. I can't control my emotions when you push me, and you..." He takes a shaky breath. "I can't lose control of my emotions with you. I can with anyone else, but not you."

"Maybe we can start slow. But you have to tell me what bothers you about me. I can change for you."

"Don't want you to change. I am the one who needs to change."

"Harry, we're back at square one then."

"It's not like everything about you bothers me. I want to be close to you, but I know I can't be. I shouldn't be. You're so warm. You're my wife. I want to be with you, but I'm not... I'm not good right now. And I don't want to ruin you because you're so good." Harry's eyes well with tears again, his chest struggling to take a breath. "This is making no sense. It's not making sense to me either," he whispers, shaking his head desperately. "God. You're right. I don't know what I want."

"I know," I answer softly, hand twitching to touch him again. I gently raise my hand and hold it over his face, not quite touching. More tears slide down and I realize this is what he means by not letting his emotions get out of control. The tears show no sign of stopping.

Harry understands my intentions and darts his eyes from my hand to my face, unsure. Slowly, he tilts his head closer and lets the back of my fingers catch the remainder of his tears from his cheek. His eyes flutter shut as a smile passes over my face. I don't want to try my luck, so once the tears are eradicated, I remove my hand and his eyes open.

"I'm sorry Annaliese. I want to be better. I'm sorry for getting angry at you. That was ridiculous of me. And for everything I said in the library. It's not you. It's still me."

"I think it's both of us," I whisper sincerely. "You're going to be okay. I'm going to make sure of that. And if not," I shrug my shoulders, "well, then we're just going to try harder."

Harry stands up and sits besides me. His long body stretches, the ends of his shirt riding up to show beautiful pale skin, unmarked and soft. A slight trail of hair is visible for half a second. "You're not going to give up on me, are you?"

I can't help but laugh, standing up to head to the bathroom. He immediately stands as well to help me. "No, I am not."

There's a slight knock on the door, a hesitant one, and when Harry calls the person to come in, Jared sticks his head in and nods his head to us.

"Dinner will be ready soon. Will, er, the Styles's, be joining us?"

Harry nods, standing up, fixing his shirt. "Yes," he says, somewhat confidently, glancing at me for approval. "We'll be there in a bit."

[thegcng-arch]

on dennis' eighth verse:

most of dennis' upbringing is the same to what we see in canon. after high school he wanted to major in psychology but decided to switch it to business administration. he didn't really feel like he had a choice when it came to his life after college, working with frank was set in stone. dennis ends up graduating from the university of pennsylvania with a major in business administration and a minor in psychology. during his childhood he was often told that he would end up working for his father, frank, after he graduated. his twin sister dee ended up dropping out of college, and moved back in with frank and barbara with dreams of going to california to be an actress. once dennis had graduated he moves back in with frank and barbara. a few months later dee ends up moving out of the house and into her own apartment after reconnecting with charlie and mac. dennis stays distant and keeps his head down and focuses on working with frank. he mainly just works as frank's assistant, shadowing him primarily with his real estate business. he does this for almost a year. while dee, mac, and charlie buy a bar dennis is promoted to COO of wolf cola. with this promotion dennis moves out of his childhood home and gets a nice apartment downtown in philly. he works for wolf cola for a few years but he feels unfulfilled. he's fascinated with technology and computers and urges frank to look into starting up some sort of tech company. frank is hesitant at first and it takes a few months, but dennis convinces him to start up a tech company. they call it reynolds technologies, and they specify in making parts for computers and phones. frank is really into the idea of american made products so dennis hammers that home. shortly after reynolds technologies is founded frank and barbara get divorced and frank signs over a majority of his businesses to dennis. he wants to reunite with his daughter dee, return to living a more carefree life, and focus on charity. dennis finds this laughable but he doesn't complain, it's hard to do so when you get a very large check. dennis works as the ceo for reynolds technologies for a bit and after a few years he moves to being president of the company. he's a bit more hands off, but still works with the company to help with dealings. all of the companies that dennis owns are very successful and he makes a really nice living. he gets his own house in the suburbs of philly, and ends up owning different penthouse apartments in los angeles, new york, and chicago because of how often he travels for business. dennis' personality is similar to what we see in canon in the show, but he's a bit more healed. he had more time away from frank and barbara, and was able to make a successful life for himself. he still lies and schemes but he's more professional about it. he's incredibly charming and is used to getting what he wants. he's not afraid to flash around some money to do so. he rarely talks with frank at this point, or dee. he looks down on them, really, shocked that they decided to give up a life of riches to live in squalor.

[fantasyinallforms]

I got tagged in this game by the lovely @conkers-theficwriter. Thank you for the tag. This looks fun! 🥰

~~~~~~

Are you named after anyone? - Yes, Jacqueline Kennady Onassis. My mom adored her.

When was the last time you cried?- Last week

Do you have kids?- I wanted some at one point. Found out I can't have them. I am now incredibly ok with that.

What sports do you play/have played?- I was never much of a sports person. I did theater in high school.

Do you use sarcasm?- I use it when I speak but not when writing

What's the first thing you notice about people?- The way they talk about themselves.

What's your eye colour?- Brown

Scary movies or happy endings?- Happy endings, always.

Any talents?- I'm pretty talented in the kitchen, and I've gotten pretty good at building and refurbishing furniture and other DIY, especially after buying a house.

Where were you born?- Little Rock, Arkansas, completely by accident. We lived in Pennsylvania at the time, and my mom had me while visiting family. Really, mom who visits family 9 months pregnant?!

What are your hobbies?- Writing and the works of Tolkien trivia and lore. I am on a trivia team and hold open classes at my local library here in GA on the Silmarillion for those who struggle with digesting it.

Do you have any pets?- Yes! I have two dogs named Indy and Astro. And a cat named Lucky.

How tall are you?- 5'1"

Favourite subjects at school?- Social Studies and Home Ec. I would say literature and love reading; however, I'm dyslexic, and things like spelling and grammar are very difficult for me. I had a lot of teachers who couldn't understand why I was having a hard time, and they made those classes less fun. I have a lot of insecurity about that in my writing to this day.

Dream job?- Opening up a cooking studio to teach people how to cook. Cooking date nights or classes on specific cultural foods and how to prepare and enjoy them with guest chefs from those cultures. Baking classes, basics classes, weekly meal prep, chef 101 classes. And free classes for people who need help learning how to make good, healthy meals on an extremely tight budget. Then, after a good run of that, publish a few cookbooks and live out the rest of my days on the royalties in a little ranch home with a good internet connection in southern Illinois.

OK, Non-obligatory tags for: @lordoftherazzles @theladygreiwolf @cilil @freshvanillapng @smolestboop @i-did-not-mean-to @frosticenow @ironmandeficiency @the-girl-with-the-algebra-book