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zooophagous · 2 years

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Sleep was the enemy of the anxious thing. For many hours, he sat awake, fighting it, convinced that closing his eyes would only lead to some new, fresh Hell being visited on him while he was locked deeply in his dream state. Stress was hard on a body, however, even an immortal one, and eventually Strauss succumbed to rest. Dreams escaped him, he plunged deep into a deathlike state of near oblivion- and then, very suddenly, he existed again.

There were noises in the hall beyond his door. It sounded of thunder, or distant gun shots. Some decades ago he had survived explosions as war ravaged Europe- this sounded something like that, but without the earth shaking terror that accompanied it. There was also the sound of someone yelling.

Perhaps this begged investigation. He got dressed carefully, heeding his instructions to wear pants when not in his room. He did not put on undergarments, because -they could not make him- but a tee shirt and sweatpants and a pair of grip-bottomed socks had him dressed enough. It occurred to him the door might be locked- if there was real trouble, he may be unable to investigate or even escape- but the heavy door slid open easily when he tried it.

Well. Relative freedom. Unexpected, for a vampire in the Van Helsing Institute. He pulled his blanket off his bed and draped it over his shoulders like a cape. The wamrth and weight of the thing lent him a small bit of comfort in uncertainty. He stepped quietly out into the hall and followed his ears.

At the end of the hall was what Artemis had called 'the game room.' It sounded something like a war game from here. He turned the corner to see a young man, sitting on the floor in front of the television, a small plastic device of some kind in his hand, and a picture of gunfire and violence and Hell broiling across the screen.

Ah, the television, and a 'video game.' Such an obnoxious noise. He glared at the man sitting on the floor, who had yet to notice him. He was a scruffy faced individual, dressed in tie-dye, ruddy skinned and stout. He seemed to be responsible for the virtual bloodshed.

"That thing makes a noise that could raise the dead."

Strauss snarked in annoyance. The man on the floor whipped his head around to meet the stranger's gaze, and got up with a smile and a laugh.

"Oh, hey! Hi buddy, I was wondering when you'd show up. Troy Cunningham." Before the vampire even had time to act, Troy had crossed the room and taken him by the hand, giving him a firm handshake. Strauss only blinked stupidly and let his hand hang limply in the stranger's grasp.

"Ah... guten abend, Herr Cunningham. I am Luther Strauss."

"Just Troy, thanks. Herr Cunningham was my father." Troy laughed. "Hey, before I forget, what are your pronouns, bud?"

"Uh. I am dead. Can I turn that off?" Strauss pointed at the television. "It is not because I mean to be the death of mirth. It is just, the speakers on these things. They hurt my ears."

"OH! Oh hang on, I have something for you." Troy retreated to his seat for a moment, and returned with a small plastic box, which he thrust into the vampire's palm. "Here, Artemis mentioned you had trouble with noises. TVs and electronics make these really high pitched annoying sounds that not everyone can hear. These helped me."

Strauss tilted his head and stared vacantly at the box. Inside were two small funnel shaped objects, with a short of corkscrew pattern grooved into them. "What is this?"

"Noise reducing ear plugs. I got them when I was big into going to concerts. It cuts down on the loudest sounds but still lets you hear most of the good stuff. You just stick 'em right in your ear hole."

"Fascinating." Strauss replied flatly. That sounded stupid. He wondered if this wasn't some sort of joke at his expense, but... when in Rome. He took the small objects and gently inserted them into his ears. The room and the television were... surprisingly, pleasantly muffled.

"How's it treatin' you bud?"

"Actually, Troy. I believe it is helping." He blinked in surprise and stepped further into the room, towards the TV. "I've never been able to stand to be near one of these things. I feel I can almost tolerate it now."

"Yeah, these things were a godsend for me! All that high pitched crap my parents could never hear, and you can FORGET concerts without 'em. So you've never watched TV before?"

"Not really, no. Not for more than a moment or two at a time."

"Do you want to play Doom?"

"Uh." The vampire looked between the new face and the television. "Sure."

He took a seat in front of the television, cross legged on the floor. He pulled his blanket further around himself in a tiny makeshift tent of protection. "What is the premise of this game?"

"It's easy. You get a gun and kill a bunch of demons."

"Oh." His voice fell. "Truth be told, Troy, that is something of a sore subject for me."

"Yeah? Ooooh is it because of the vampire hunting thing? Oh, hey, do crosses bother you?"

"No. Religious imagery, much like God himself, is innefective and does nothing. It is more the things that people have done under a cross shaped banner that frighten me. The people who come bearing them are fairly universally unkind to a vampire."

"Hey man, I get it. Religious nuts aren't really crazy about me either."

"And what are you? you don't look vampire."

"I'm gay."

"Ah." Strauss nodded in understanding. "Forgive me, I have been literally living under a rock. I forget there are struggles beyond my own."

"Don't worry about it dude. Hey, can I ask you an uncomfortable question?"

"This entire interaction is uncomfortable."

"You come from an "older generation" of sorts. Is me being gay going to, you know, make it weird? Like are you bothered by that? Cuz I'm not going to hide it, just so we're clear."

"No, Troy, most of my prejudices died when I did. They no longer serve me. I do not mind you so long as you are not frightened of a vampire."

"Nah, I can take ya." Troy joked, and elbowed him playfully. Strauss nearly toppled from the impact. Troy was much stronger than he let on. "Here, if you're not put off by it already I can show you how to play."

"Maybe I will just watch you for a bit, to see what it is like. Is that agreeable?"

"Sure. If you like this you'd love Twitch. We're gonna have to get you caught up on some shows too. Hey, has anyone ever told you that you sound like Alan Rickman?"

"Who?"

"Oh, good. You'll find out, Strauss, you'll find out."

"...Luther."

"Luther?"

"Herr Strauss was my father." He said with a nervous smile.

"Ha! good good. Making progress already. I like it."

#long post #writing #wayward souls

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rt8815 · 8 months

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I pre-ordered Loki!

Now I need to buy a Blu-ray player 😆

And I've been meaning to replace my deceased region free player for years now anyway, sooo...

Stupidly expensive electronic device it is, then. Because evidently you can't get the fancy 4K Blu-ray player without Wi-Fi and streaming media included.

#i have the money #it's just a lot #one thing at a time #loki #loki my beloved

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hearthouses · 1 year

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21, 23, 6, 9

21. Will you try writing software, like Scrivener or those programs that won’t let you stop writing?

I've tried Scrivener and embarrassingly couldn't make it work for me, there were just too many features. I don't necessarily like the programs that make it impossible for you to leave the tab because it creates unnecessary anxiety that makes it harder to write. I do sometimes lust for those distraction-free electronic writing devices like Freewrite, but they're stupidly expensive.

23. Would you like to go on a writing retreat?

As long as they weren't asking me what I was working on and I would be left alone for the majority of the time, sure.

Answered six HERE and nine HERE.

#marshalcoded #replies!

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naralanis · 3 years

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little bumps in the road (pt. 23)

Previously on LBitR...

Lena doesn’t even get a full second to process the full impact of Alex’s words. Almost the second after Lena’s eyes register the Supergirl sigil on that little screen, all lights in the bunker go out with a deafening boom.

The pager-like device still showing the sigil casts an eerie glow on Alex’s face, and its green hue is far too reminiscent of Kryptonite for Lena to keep looking at it.

“That can’t be good,” the agent mutters grimly.

Lena is inclined to agree, but doesn’t respond beyond a curt nod Alex probably can’t even see. Her eyes are glued to where she knows the door of her cell is, even if she can’t see a foot past her own nose.

Her mind conjures up an image of Lex emerging from the shadows in the corridor, laughing madly, face illuminated by green, teeth in his shark-like grin gleaming in the sickly, radioactive glow of Kryptonite.

He’s not there, of course. They wait with bated breath in the darkness, expecting something—anything—to happen, enveloped by a panic neither of them dares voice.

“Lena?” Alex tries, but Lena waves her off.

“Shush,” she hisses. They can’t see anything, so Lena closes her eyes and concentrates on listening, trying to focus on the sounds—or lack thereof.

She doesn’t really know what she’s listening for, exactly. Maybe the lights will just come back on. Maybe the whole bunker will get blown up. Maybe, any minute now, they’ll hear the distinctive clicking of Lex’s expensive leather shoes from the corridor as he approaches with a pep to his step.

Alex holds her breath—Lena can hear her sharp intake followed by nothing at all, and she almost tells her not to bother, except she suddenly does hear something.

There’s a muted click, right above their heads, followed by moments of something that sounds a lot like radio static—electronic hissing and cutting out, intermittent and exasperating.

Then, there’s something else. The static fades, and is almost immediately replaced by a thud-and-click, and then…

There’s music, coming through what Lena now knows are hidden speakers, concealed in the ceiling.

She turns to Alex. “Can you hear—” Lena begins, only to cut herself short as the hairs on her arms stand. The wave of goosebumps is a symptom of the chill that suddenly overtakes her as Lena recognizes the opening notes that come before Frank Sinatra’s distinctive voice.

And now, the end is near… And so I face the final curtain…

“Motherfucker,” Lena hisses, knocking her forehead against the glass with a little more force than is perhaps warranted.

The moment she does, however, there’s a louder, much more ominous-sounding hiss. Lena’s eyes snap open and upwards in search of the source, but she can’t locate it.

Until she see’s Alex’s panicked look in the low light of her device, as a thick fog descends around the agent.

“What the hell—” Alex begins to say, but it prompts a fit of coughing; within seconds, the gas in her cell is so thick Lena can barely see her.

“Alex!” Lena shouts, slamming the barrier between them with her good fist repeatedly, feeling the bones in her hand ache as they thud uselessly against inches of reinforced glass. “Alex!”

It’s too late, of course. The gas is thick as smoke in the other cell, swirling menacingly in the glow of Alex’s device, and it just keeps coming, saturating the space. It’s already hard to see, but now Lena can barely make out just how hard Alex fights to stay conscious.

“No, no, no!”

Lena’s screams reverberate in the small space, her hand still slamming uselessly against the barrier. Alex suddenly slaps her hand onto the glass—its impact echoes above Lena’s screams, above the song that gets progressively louder to taunt them through the speakers above.

“Lena!” Alex gasps through a cough, her voice already wavering as she struggles to keep her eyes open. “Lena—”

Lena mirrors her position, splaying her own palm over Alex’s on the other side of the glass. Before she can say anything, Alex’s eyes flutter closed despite her best efforts, and her hand slips away, squeaking and leaving a faint trail of sweat as she falls limply to the floor.

“Alex! No!”

Barely seconds after Alex’s body thuds onto the ground, there’s another hiss, and Lena recognizes it immediately as the distinctive sound of her cell door sliding open a few feet away.

She almost wishes Lex had come to the cell in person, if only so she could punch him, even with her non-dominant hand. Lena wants to claw at his face, make him hurt, bleed. She wants him to suffer.

Of course, he’s not there. He’s probably cackling to himself behind an array of screens, sitting back on some stupidly expensive high-backed chair as he watches his deranged machinations unfold.

There’s nothing at Lena’s cell door, not even lights. Lena has to take a long moment before she goes—she tries to look through the glass, tries to see if Alex is even breathing on the other side, but the gas has grown so dense Lena can’t even see her anymore.

My Way grows louder and louder, straining the tinny speakers and Lena’s ears all at once as she tries to follow the wall of her cell to the door, hands outstretched to the darkness when she turns into the corridor, retracing the steps she took when she had been escorted here.

There’s a faint, barely noticeable light at the end of the pitch-black corridor. It blinks in a familiar hue of green, and it makes Lena want to turn the other way around and run.

She doesn’t, of course. Trying would be futile.

The damn song keeps playing as Lena slowly, painstakingly makes her way down the corridor toward the light. It builds, then it ends, only to begin again, set on a loop. The memories of Lex raging against Superman at the dinner table while Sinatra played in the background at Luthor Manor are seared in Lena’s memory, and it’s like Lex knows it. He probably does.

Lex had always been dramatic. Lena briefly wonders if he would have been able to curb his homicidal impulses had he gone into theatre or something.

The thought does a bit too much of a good job in distracting her, because after what feels like a whole mile of walking in the darkness, Lena’s finally reached the source of the eerie green glow that has been guiding her hesitant steps. When she sees it, Lena has to swallow against the bile rising in her throat.

It’s a Lexosuit.

It’s an empty one, waiting there for her like some kind of robot awaiting orders, and Lena wants to scream; she wants to yell and kick at the abominable contraption.

“If you think I’m putting that on,” she says, loud, clear, and determined, because she knows her brother can hear her, “you are fucking mistaken.”

The empty suit’s visor lights up, and Lex’s voice comes through, clear as crystal.

“Well, why not?” he says, sounding endlessly amused. Lena wipes at errant tears that escape her control and run down her cheeks; she’s not sure if Lex can see her, but if he does, she doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

He laughs, ominous and gleeful all at once. “Come on, Lena. I wanted you to have more than a front-row seat this time.”

Lena can practically hear his widening grin; it makes her grit her teeth, jaw clenching painfully at the cheerful tone of his voice. “Killing Supergirl is now a fully immersive experience!”

Lena clenches her good fist at her side, trying her best not to reel back and punch the suit out of blinding hot fury. She needs to save that punch for her brother’s face.

“You’re out of your goddamn mind, Lex,” she says instead, injecting as much confidence as she can, even as she feels her legs begin to tremble as the suit begins to seemingly disintegrate before her eyes.

“Now, Lena, that’s just hurtful,” Lex’s voice comes through, still clear as day, as the Kryptonite-powered nanites that make up the suit begin to envelop Lena’s body from her feet up.

Lena can’t move, she can’t even flinch; she is frozen in the spot as the nanites shroud her body like a living swarm. She’s biting her bottom lip until it bleeds, trying to concentrate on her mental boxes, on the sound of Kara’s voice, of the worry in her eyes. The reconstructed visor envelops her head entirely, and Lex’s voice rings through hear ears.

“You’re just going to have to trust me, Lena.”

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rowanhdja781-blog · 5 years

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What You Require To Learn About Eb 5 Visa And Green Card

Thailand genuine estate financial investments may provide lucrative revenues. Immigrants in this country aren't responsible to pay tax when they offer realty towards personal customers. Should you be taking a look at this as a company enterprise, this article may help you out.

Coping With The Australian Expense Of Living

We wonder as to why the Obama department of immigration does not prosecute the New Black Panthers for their now well advertised actions at a Philly polling location on election day, 2008? I imply we have video tape evidence of the voter intimidation.

youtube

Tulsa World Rebuttal On Immigration

Hong Kong is likewise a place where you can buy the trendiest everything with the most affordable price in the world - mobile phone, computer system, digital video camera, electronic devices, style and accessories etc. You must be convinced by the vast array department of immigration options and their low prices.

Travel Options Between Bangkok And Siem Reap

President Rambo informed the UN to get screwed and then got into Iraq with minimal assistance from our allies. This has resulted in the concern being brought almost solely by our overworked American soldiers. Nice plan.

Hope British Columbia lies about 100 miles from Washington State. The supervisor of the Thunderbird Motel, Kevin Walker, said Jenkins sat in the cars and truck when a young lady checked the 2 of them in. The automobile had Alberta license plate numbers. He went on to state the female reserved the space for 3 days and paid money for it. After the three days were up and the couple had not checked out is when he went immigration to australia the room, discovering Jenkins hanging from the clothing rack in the closet.

Pattaya, Thailand - How To Arrive From Bangkok Airport

youtube

I believe this is the most neglected big-game fish in the United States. The reason is, people would rather fish for rainbow and brook trout simply because they are simpler to capture. But among the innovative anglers, they like the obstacle and sport of searching beast brownies. When you fish for brownies, you need to pay close attention to the forage and try to match it. Brownies are just picky eaters and it takes more to trick them.

So for anybody who thinks this is an insane concept, simply remember back to journalism conference when at the really eleventh hour a press reporter asked BO about Crowley and Gates, which was totally off subject. BO plainly specified he didn't know the facts, offering him "wiggle space," ought to he misspeak. He then stated the Police acted "stupidly," without admonitioning his friend, Teacher Gates. https://clas.berkeley.edu/research/immigration-economic-benefits-immigration It's extremely suspicious this included one of Obama's friends. Could anyone have staged it any much better?

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samuelfields · 6 years

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What Are You Saving And Investing So Diligently For?

Art by CKongsavage.com

Now that tax season is over, it’s a good time to reflect on why you are saving and investing so diligently. Reminding yourself of the why is an important motivator to keep going. Goodness knows it’s too easy to eat one more cookie and find ourselves unrecognizable 10 years later when we live in a free and abundant country.

Since graduating from college in 1999, I’ve been motivated to max out my 401(k) and save as much as possible because I knew there was no safety net. My parents drove an eight year old Toyota Camry to their government jobs. We lived in a cozy townhouse. And they worked until their 60s. After sending my big sister to college, I wasn’t sure they had much to spare if I faltered.

After saving enough money to live off ~$80,000 a year in passive income in 2012, I continued to try and save as much of my after tax income as possible because I was unsure whether I had made the right move. Walking away from a six figure salary at the age of 34 is not normal. Some might even call it stupidly stupid.

Given I’ve survived more than six years of unemployment, there’s a growing chance I’ll continue to stay unemployed for the foreseeable future. That said, I plan to continue saving aggressively for many reasons. I’d love to hear yours as well.

Why Save And Invest For The Future

1) A family to support. Life was relatively easy financially when it was just my wife and I. We could adjust our spending down if necessary or find freelance work if we needed extra money or excitement. Now that we have a toddler, we have fixed costs that must be spent and a lot less time to do anything outside of childcare and Financial Samurai.

Although we made a pact that my wife could leave Corporate America when she turned 34 as well if Financial Samurai was still running, when she finally did renounce her steady paycheck in 2015 I felt added pressure to save, invest, and write because I became the main revenue generator. When our son was born in early 2017, the pressure to provide grew even more.

Related: How To Stop Worrying About Your Child’s Future In This Brutally Competitive World

2) Paying for college. I have no doubt by the time my son goes to college in 2035, the all-in cost will rise to $125,000+ a year. Goodness forbid he decides to take five years to graduate! To pay $500,000 – $600,000 for him to attend college in 18 years requires $28,000 – $33,000 a year in savings.

My hope is that he either gets admitted to a fantastic state school or is smart enough to get merit based scholarships. But I won’t count on it. Perhaps there will be a movement by 2035 where college will either be free for everybody as we move towards a more socialist regime or that attending college is no longer necessary thanks to even more enriching courses online.

Related: Are You Willing To Go To Public School All Your Life For $1,000,000?

3) Affordable housing. I’m also certain the cost of housing will also be much more expensive by the year 2040 when he finally graduates from college. For example, the median house price in San Francisco will rise to $3,250,000 from ~$1,600,000 today if prices grow by just 3% a year for 24 years. Meanwhile, if you don’t have a $650,000 downpayment to buy the median $3,250,000 home in the future, it will cost you over $8,000 a month to rent the place under the same metrics.

Once housing costs are squared away, it’s much easier to pursue your interests. What a shame it would be to turn down a wonderful opportunity that doesn’t pay the greatest due to an absurdly high cost of living.

Related: Why I Wanted To Build A Real Estate Empire

4) Car maintenance expenses. The warranty on my 2015 family car is running out this year. As a result, I’ve got to budget for the inevitable costly repairs that could range from $1,000 – $5,000 on average. The amount of parts and electronics that go into cars these days compared to 30 years ago is night and day. In the past, we could easily fix our own vehicles. Now, we’ve got to hook our cars up to an electronic diagnostic and then go from there. Finally, replacing four 22″ mud + snow tires and breaks look like it will cost me $3,000.

Related: The 1/10th Rule For Car Buying Everyone Must Follow

5) Property taxes. Although I got rid of $23,000 a year in property taxes by selling one of my properties last year, I’ve still got to pay ~$16,000 a year in property taxes for my primary residence, $9,600 a year for a SF rental condo, and $4,800 a year for my Lake Tahoe property. That’s $30,400 a year just in property taxes. Yes, the rent I receive from two properties will cover the $14,400 in property taxes, but it’s still a never ending wealth tax that will only grow over time.

Related: How To Reduce Your Property Taxes

6) Home maintenance. Besides property tax, there is constant home maintenance expense to deal with. The big ones include replacing a roof every 15 years for $15,000 – $20,000, painting the exterior every 10-15 years for $10,000 – $15,000, and regular upkeep of the grounds that might run $1,000 – $2,000 a year. I’ve become very handy at fixing leaks, replacing caulk, and interior painting as a landlord since 2005.

7) The possibility of having a second child. There’s less than a 25% chance we’ll have a biological second child due to our advanced ages, but there’s still a chance. We are also considering adopting or fostering a child as well. If we have a second child, our costs will increase between $1,000 – $5,000 a month depending on the age and time the second child comes.

8) A Hawaiian dream home. This is our biggest future expense that doesn’t have to come true. We’ve thought about living on a flat piece of land near the beach for a while now. Unfortunately, a four bedroom, three bathroom home on a 10,000 sqft lot within a 10 minute walk to the beach will cost around $3,000,000. Ideally, we’d like to purchase the property by 2023, when our son is eligible to begin kindergarten.

One can always dream right? When you dream you tend to find ways to make things happen. There’s a good chance we’ll just settle for a smaller house for 30% less if it’s just the three of us.

9) Insurance that neither my wife or I will ever have to go back to work. For the first year, both my wife and I were unsure whether leaving work in our 30s was a good idea. After all, I believe that the ideal age to leave work and do your own thing is between 41 – 45. But after all this time, we are convinced that life is so much better not having to work a day job, even if it is the best day job on Earth. We’ve spoken to hundreds of people who we think have dream jobs, and none of them are truly ecstatic with what they do. There’s always something that bothers them, be it a long commute, a new boss, a prickly co-worker, aggressive sales targets, etc.

Related: The Ideal Age For Retirement To Minimize Regret And Maximize Happiness

10) To be able to comfortably provide for our parents for the rest of their lives. If there is one thing we must get right, it’s to be able to provide everything our parents want or need for the rest of their lives. There is no way we will ever let them live in a strange place if they don’t want to. Instead, we will customize their respective houses and pay for care to come to them if that is what they prefer.

We estimate that it will cost around $10,000 a month per set of parents to be able to provide for such care, excluding any customization work that is required to the house e.g. building a wheel chair entrance ramp, installing an electronic chair that gets them up the stairs, installing communication devices in every room, cleaning, landscaping, and live-in care, etc.

We also anticipate having to pay for food delivery, transportation, and their vacations as well. If there is one area where we should spend the most money, it’s on our parents.

Save For The Unknown Future

After a while, saving and investing will become part of your DNA. You will do so unconsciously because you’re unconsciously preparing for an unknown future.

The more you save, the more secure you will feel. If you end up with too much, there are plenty of people out there who could use your financial help.

Readers, what are some things you are saving and investing for? Shout out to Wunder Capital for sponsoring my latest podcast. One of the easiest ways to invest in large scale solar energy projects around the US.

https://www.financialsamurai.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/WhyAreWeSavingFuture.mp3

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ronaldmrashid · 6 years

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What Are You Saving And Investing So Diligently For?

Art by CKongsavage.com

Why Save And Invest For The Future

Related: How To Stop Worrying About Your Child’s Future In This Brutally Competitive World

Related: Are You Willing To Go To Public School All Your Life For $1,000,000?

Related: Why I Wanted To Build A Real Estate Empire

Related: The 1/10th Rule For Car Buying Everyone Must Follow

Related: How To Reduce Your Property Taxes

One can always dream right? When you dream you tend to find ways to make things happen. There’s a good chance we’ll just settle for a smaller house for 30% less if it’s just the three of us.

Related: The Ideal Age For Retirement To Minimize Regret And Maximize Happiness

We also anticipate having to pay for food delivery, transportation, and their vacations as well. If there is one area where we should spend the most money, it’s on our parents.

Save For The Unknown Future

After a while, saving and investing will become part of your DNA. You will do so unconsciously because you’re unconsciously preparing for an unknown future.

The more you save, the more secure you will feel. If you end up with too much, there are plenty of people out there who could use your financial help.

https://www.financialsamurai.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/WhyAreWeSavingFuture.mp3

The post What Are You Saving And Investing So Diligently For? appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from https://www.financialsamurai.com/what-are-you-saving-and-investing-so-diligently-for/

#Financial Samurai

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