#Client Relationship

[caandcpa]

Redefining Client Engagement: Nurturing Strong Relationships in the Digital Era

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, client engagement has taken on a whole new significance for accounting firms. The traditional methods of interaction have given way to more dynamic and personalized approaches. This blog sheds light on the transformative power of client engagement in the accounting realm and how accounting firms can harness technology to redefine their strategies, cultivate enduring relationships, and elevate client satisfaction to new heights.

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[techniver]

Why is client hunting so tricky in guest posting?

Client hunting can be tricky in guest posting for several reasons. Here are a few of the most common challenges:

1. Identifying the right clients: Not all businesses are a good fit for guest posting. Some businesses may not have a strong online presence or may not be interested in generating backlinks. It can be difficult to identify potential clients who are willing to pay for guest posts and who have a target audience that is relevant to your expertise.

2. Standing out from the competition: There are many other guest bloggers and content creators out there vying for the same guest posting opportunities. It can be difficult to make your pitch stand out from the crowd and convince potential clients that you are the best person for the job.

3. Crafting compelling outreach messages: Your initial outreach message is often the first impression you make on a potential client. It is important to craft a message that is well-written, professional, and tailored to the specific client you are targeting.

4. Negotiating rates and terms: Guest blogging rates can vary widely depending on your experience, the authority of the website you are guest posting on, and the target audience of the website. It can be difficult to negotiate rates that are fair to both you and the client.

5. Building long-term relationships: Once you have landed a guest posting gig, it is important to build a strong relationship with the client. This will make it more likely that they will want to work with you again in the future.

Here are a few tips for overcoming these challenges and improving your chances of success in client hunting:

1. Do your research: Take the time to research potential clients and understand their business goals. This will help you tailor your pitch to their specific needs.

2. Showcase your expertise: Create a portfolio of your best guest posts and other writing samples. This will give potential clients a sense of your skills and experience.

3. Network with other bloggers and content creators: Attending industry events and joining online communities can help you connect with potential clients and collaborators.

4. Offer valuable guest posts: Write high-quality, well-researched guest posts that will provide value to the client's audience. This will make them more likely to want to work with you again in the future.

5. Be patient and persistent: Client hunting takes time and effort. Don't get discouraged if you don't land every gig you apply for. Just keep putting yourself out there and eventually you will start to see results.

Please Follow, like, and comment on this answer if you found it helpful!

[madhukumarc]

What are suggestions for gifts that build loyalty and strengthen client relationships?

The quest for the perfect gift to build loyalty and strengthen client relationships is actually a challenge that many businesses face, but fear not.

Here are the top 6 effective suggestions shared that will likely impress your clients and keep them coming back for more.

1. Personalized Gifts:

There's something incredibly special about receiving a gift that is tailored specifically to you.

Consider personalized items such as engraved pens, custom-made stationery, or even monogrammed accessories.

These thoughtful touches show your clients that you truly value their individuality.

Expert insight -“Taking a portion of your advertising budget and reinvesting that money into custom gifts for your most loyal customers. In return, you’ll earn a few ambassadors, and you might be amazed about the demand it can drum up or new business it creates” – Casey Hill’s LinkedIn Post

2. Experiential Gifts:

Sometimes, the best way to strengthen a relationship is through shared experiences.

Think about offering your clients tickets to a sporting event, a concert, or even a weekend getaway.

This not only creates lasting memories but also provides an opportunity to connect on a more personal level.

3. Subscription Boxes:

Everyone loves surprises, and subscription boxes are all the rage these days.

Choose a subscription service that aligns with your client's interests or industry.

Whether it's a monthly book club, a gourmet food box, or a curated selection of skincare products, this gift will keep on giving and remind your clients of your thoughtful gesture each time they receive their box.

4. Tech Gadgets:

In today's digital age, tech gadgets are always a hit. Consider gifting your clients with the latest gadgets like smart home devices, wireless headphones, or portable chargers.

Not only are these practical gifts, but they also show that you're up-to-date with the latest trends and technology.

5. Handwritten Notes:

In this age of emails and text messages, a handwritten note can go a long way toward making a lasting impression.

Take the time to write a heartfelt thank-you note expressing your appreciation for their business and support.

This personal touch shows that you value the relationship and are willing to go the extra mile.

6. Charitable Donations:

Another great way to build loyalty is by giving back to the community together.

Consider making a donation to a cause that aligns with your client's values and interests.

Not only does this show your commitment to making a difference, but it also creates an opportunity for your clients to get involved and feel good about supporting a cause they care about.

Pro-Tip: Adopt a loyalty program to extend benefits and create a win-win situation.

Image Source - The State of Customer Experience by XD [experience dynamic]

Remember, the key to choosing the right gift is knowing your clients well. Take the time to understand their preferences, interests, and values.

By selecting gifts that resonate with them on a personal level, you'll be sure to strengthen your client relationships and foster long-term loyalty.

Here's related information that you may find helpful – What drives Brand Loyalty? [Know these 7 most important factors]

[remembertheplunge]

All of the magical places in town are closing

March 17, 2020

I stopped at Preservation Coffee House on the way to court. The stairs up to the loft are taped off. Chairs are on the tables. Conchetta’s restaurant overflow will help pay the salaries at Preservation. They have the same owner. But, Conchettas’s is losing customers. Preservation will go on as long as it can. Brenden Theater closes Wednesday. The State Theater is closed. All of the magical places in town are closing.

Walking to court, I was in mourning.

At the court house, In talking with my client, who is prison bound, I said that things outside are frightening, to give him some perspective. His situation is difficult, but now, no one is secure. His only contact with his kids may be letters to and from prison. I told him that Zoe and I only communicate through letters. Never a text or an e mail. Rarely a phone call or a personal visit. And, we maintain a beautiful, rich relationship. And, via our letters, there is a record of it. She showed me a large plastic bin of letters I have written to her.

End of entry

Notes 3/31/2025

The above journal entry was written in the early days of the Covid 19 pandemic. Before the pandemic hit, I used to love writing and working my journals in the upstairs loft at Preservation Coffee. It is not far from the Brenden Theaters, which showed current movies, and the State Theater which showed classic , art and foreign films. To me, they were places where magic was done. And , they were gone. They never really returned for me.

Zoe was my sister. She died in 2023. I cherish the letters and the post cards that she sent to me through the years. Those, together with her journals which I have, in a way, allow our conversation to continue.

The feel of the Trump Musk dictatorship now is similar to the feel of the Covid 19 in 2020 and on. Both have the feel of no safe place and the threat of potential harm. Both make you feel that you are a stranger in a strange land.

[serpentface]

how is sex work perceived and treated - spiritually, legally, morally - in broad areas relevant to the white calf core cast? imperial wardi, the hills etc

Sex work is EXTREMELY stigmatized in Imperial Wardin, yet generally regarded as an element of society and a necessary function, not one to be eliminated. You'll occasionally find fringe groups decrying the presence of brothels as polluting elements upon cities, but they are minority figures- sex work is legal, generally accepted, and very common.

There are some exceptions- in most of the city-states, only sex work out of registered brothels is considered fully legal (independent sex workers are breaking the law in most city-states, though how much these laws are enforced varies heavily). All legally operating brothels must be officially registered, and are heavily taxed.

Prostitution of children is illegal, and this is one of VERY few protections for sex workers that is strongly enforced. But it should be clear that the societal definition of a child here does not match the contemporary- a person is generally considered an adult woman upon menarche (which is later on average due to poorer nutrition, but is still going to include a lot of like, 14 year olds). Boys are considered adults at the age of 16.

Forced prostitution is also illegal on paper, but this is poorly enforced. Even when not Outright forced, many sex workers are working as indentured laborers, or under prohibitive conditions where they have very little freedom of movement or legal ability to leave during the duration of their contracts.

Sex workers are an incredibly vulnerable, stigmatized social minority that have very few protections and are often subject to abuse.

The stigma against sex work surrounds the sex workers themselves. This is culturally justified and partly rooted in aspects of broader body taboo- receiving penetration = metaphysical vulnerability = openness to spiritual pollution, and they are considered to be heavily polluted by their line of work (regardless of whether or not a given person actually is receiving penetration on a regular basis- male sex workers who primarily have women as clients receive much the same treatment, the stigma here is fundamentally a form of bigotry, not something with a consistent internal logic).

In addition to concerns around penetration, the act of '''selling''' the body itself is seen as a polluting devaluation of the sacred body and using it to extreme excess. Sexuality and libido is societally valued, but in a framework of moderation- sex workers are seen as wildly out of moderation and are often ascribed qualities of an excessive libido by virtue of their line of work.

Sex workers are prohibited from entering most temples and participating in many public rites, justified in their ‘polluted’ status, under the assumption that it will de-purify the place and sully most rites. This serves to keep them isolated from key facets of social life and culture, and can leave many spiritually ostracized (most sex workers from within this cultural sphere are also going to believe in notions that they are spiritually polluted, with limited outlets to cleanse themselves).

There is one folk tradition that has developed to assuage some of these fears and the sense of isolation- an epithet to the Face Ganmache that translates literally to 'Mother of Whores' (a rather strong name that reclaims degrading slang in the original language as well), which watches over sex workers and their labors. This is wholly a folk tradition and not part of core dogma, and priests are self-appointed, mostly elderly former sex workers. They provide rites of purification and blessings for those denied access to temples, sometimes train themselves as midwives to assist in births (or abortions), and will help ensure deceased workers get proper funeral rites.

Generally, the concept of something being spiritually polluted translates to full avoidance of the person/place/thing involved, but these concerns are rarely applied to the Hiring of sex workers (ie they are spiritually polluted and highly impure and shouldn't enter temples but you, the client, are not affected by contact). While some people will try to provide logical explanations for why hiring a sex worker is not polluting, this does not have any true underlying logic and is a product of a society that both reviles sex workers and desires their labor.

They are generally expected to visually identify themselves as sex workers at all times- the exact details vary by city-state, but wearing hair unbraided and an uncovered head in public is most common (particularly in the west of the region).

Male sex workers are denied certain rights otherwise available by default to men (self-legal representation, ability to own land that is not gifted, etc). Female sex workers do not have these rights to begin with, and have even more difficulty than other women in finding legal representation, given that they situationally rarely have fathers/husbands/male family members willing to support them.

Because of their inability to represent themselves in court and the difficulty in finding representation, they often have little to no recourse against abuse or violations of their contracts. There are some lawyers who specialize in representing sex workers (fewer still who do this entirely out of benevolence for a vulnerable social class), but they are few and far between.

The majority of sex work is marketed towards male clients, and the majority of sex workers are women. Male sex workers are mostly young men who serve male clients, and will usually keep themselves beardless and not overtly masculine (while not distinctly effeminate either) to remain desirable targets for the sexual outlet of most men. (There is no concept of sexuality in this culture- if you are a man, you are a penetrative partner in sex and the gender of the receiving partner is of little concern. Younger men beneath you in social stature (in practice, these are almost always sex workers) are considered appropriate targets of male desire, and as such you have some men who would be considered heterosexual by contemporary standards having sex with other men). Male workers who primarily serve female clients tend to vary more in age and have less social restrictions on their appearance or masculine presentation.

Eunuch sex workers usually serve male clients, and are regarded as appropriate targets of male attraction regardless of their age (largely as they are seen as entirely incapable of performing penetrative roles, and conceptualized as de-gendered). Akoshos (those designated male who perform women's gender roles) sex workers are seen as uniquely predisposed to serve both male and female clients, as their gendered space is broadly conceptualized as dual-gendered (being physically capable of performing 'male' penetrative roles while living under women's social roles)

Hiring of sex workers is not considered infidelity and is entirely permissible to do while married, though women are often heavily discouraged from doing so (largely out of concerns of pregnancy, partly out of patriarchal control over women's sexual behavior). A woman who pays for sex work receives more scrutiny than is applied to men. It is not outright inappropriate, but can be considered indicative of an excessive libido or overmasculinization. Women are imagined as having naturally lower libidos than men, so behaviors that challenge this notion tend to be be noted.

The only circumstances in which hiring sex workers as a man attracts scrutiny is when it is deemed excessive, symptomatic of an uncontrolled libido. Men who hire male sex workers closer to their age and/or bearded will also attract scrutiny- while not outright Condemned, it's suspiciously out of the acceptable range for male desire (though will most often similarly be interpreted as an excessive, uncontrolled libido, ie you'll just fuck anything with a hole). Receiving penetration from a sex worker as a man is wholly condemned, as is seen as UNIQUELY violating, not only a severe deviance from male social roles, but at the hands of a stigmatized, polluted figure that is at the absolute bottom of the social ladder. This usually happens in secret and often involves paying the worker off for their silence.

The one major exception to stigma against sex workers is in the lemna courtesan tradition. Lemna are mostly unmarried women and/or akoshos who are very skilled trained performers who work as entertainers for wealthy clients. Their services are not sexual in nature, rather they sing, dance, act, play music, and recite poetry, and are skilled conversationalists that provide company for clients. Lemna usually operate out of elite brothels, but as separate services to the sex workers, and are in theory never available for sex work. Lemna providing sex work sometimes (though not frequently) occurs in practice, but it is always be presented as something they have not been Paid to do- their payment was for entertainment, and they will present it as a (almost always purely fantastical) situation that they have grown attracted to their client and are engaging in a romantic tryst.

Lemna courtesanship is long-established and a valued part of this culture's art and theater traditions, and they do not face the same stigma as sex workers, rather being seen as an elite class of performers. They do not exactly have a High place in society either (as unmarried civilian women and/or akoshos, they are notably lacking in social power), but the regard towards them is overall positive. The exemption to this stigma partially lies within the framework of body taboo (they do not explicitly 'sell' their bodies or directly engage in sex work), but is largely rooted in the esteem of their tradition rather than any coherent logic.

-----

Sex work has a much less significant, less complicated, and less intensely stigmatized place in the highlands, mostly due to its reduced presence. Most people are living in relatively small agricultural villages, or transiently as herders, so there are fewer opportunities for sex workers to operate on regular and official levels. The only places you can reliably find sex workers within the highlands are in small quasi-towns that crop up around land trade routes, or occasionally as traveling traders (usually offering material goods in addition to sex work services).

There’s also no intra-highlands currency system, so sex workers will usually be paid in goods, which in turn influences the cultural lens on sex work. Goods have direct, immediate utilitarian value that currency does not, and paying goods for service is most pragmatically done as a means of material practicality- forming alliances, acquiring farmhands, receiving the defensive or offensive service of warriors, etc, not for temporary gratification.

The fact that this cultural sphere is fairly egalitarian in terms of gender (though it has strongly enforced, separate gender roles for married men and women) also contributes to the comparative lack of stigma- part of the Imperial Wardi stigma against sex work is interwoven with misogyny (with women sex workers being the most degraded extent of femininity, and male sex workers taking on inappropriate, degraded feminine roles in providing sexual services). Women have equal overall societal power to men in the Hill Tribes cultural sphere, and things associated with femininity are not Themselves degrading (men seen as feminine are not shamed for femininity itself, rather in their specific failure to perform male gender roles- the distinction can be subtle but is very significant to how gender roles are approached).

Casual sex between unmarried men and women is fully accepted, somewhat seen as a hallmark of youth. However, married couples are expected to remain exclusively faithful to one another. This also goes a ways to discourage hiring of sex workers, which would be accepted grounds for a divorce and a mark of shame on the person who strayed.

While not excessively stigmatized, the views on sex work here is nowhere near Enlightened And Supportive either, it’s still seen as a highly degrading, unfortunate line of work. Sex workers are usually going to be unmarried women of marriageable age who could not (or would not) acquire a husband for one reason or another. They are women who failed in expected roles of marriage and becoming the manager of a family’s home and property, and have not even taken an esteemed, productive role for spinsters (usually physical labor in herding, farming, raiding) in favor of one that is considered ‘selling’ one’s body to provide useless, base services to desperate men. It's something that will usually be looked at as sad and unfortunate at best, or an absurd dereliction of duty at worst.

Male sex workers are virtually unheard of (within the highlands at least, there's cultural stereotypes of Wardi men being effeminate and predisposed to sex with men, so of course THEY'VE got male sex workers all over the fucking place), and the concept of a man operating as a sex worker would just seem absurd to most.

But the levels of social shame surrounding sex work are actually higher for the client in this cultural context- it’s suggestive that you either cannot afford to get a wife/do not have the requisite masculine skillset to be a husband, or otherwise that you’re so utterly incapable of getting laid that you have to go to great effort and barter for sex, a petty expense of valuable goods. It's both a foolish waste and in many ways a failure of expected male gender roles. Most men who hire the services of sex workers will keep it on the down low, or (if living near the borders) commute to Wardi towns or tradeways for access. It’s seen as an act of desperation, foolish, emasculating, and will generally be mocked and shamed.

I actually have a framework of a folktale that kind of demonstrates the cultural lens pre-established (no names for the characters or clans involved, it's supposed to be of the far northern Bict-Braíghnnas tribe). I'll put it under the cut:

One of the folktales describes a young woman who was strikingly beautiful and exceedingly clever. She was of the Bict-Braíghnnas, the lone daughter of a very small, very poor clan, consisting only of her immediate family and a few cousins. Her father had died young, and her younger brothers and cousins were malnourished and inexperienced, and could do little to protect or grow their meager herd of horses (they certainly could not afford cattle). She had to take on the role of the provider for herself and remained unmarried long past marriageable age, living day by day doing whatever she could to scrape by and keep her family afloat.

She became aware that the patriarch of her ruling clan had an eye for her, and he began approaching her in hopes of soliciting sex. At first, she always brushed him off. She found him repulsive, as he was foolish and greedy and rather ugly. But she started to see an opportunity in all this. It was a humiliating opportunity, but one she was willing to take.

The next time he approached, she pretended to consider his advances, but only if he should provide payment in turn- if she was as beautiful as he kept saying, and he was as wealthy as he kept bragging, wouldn't it be worth the price? He first offered her a sack of barley, but she laughed him off. He then offered her fine clothes, but she feigned insult, was she not already beautiful even in poor, worn rags? He then offered her a breeding pair of pheasants, and she pushed aside her shawl to expose her breasts, and sweetly asked if he Really could not do better, wealthy in cattle as he was. The man was now, quite clearly, hard in his trousers.

He finally relented to an obscene payment- he would go under his wife (the owner of his cattle)'s nose and give her an adult cow, in payment for having sex with him just once. This is a high price to pay, but she was gorgeous and he was rich in cattle and could afford to lose one (or two. or five. Maybe more.). She accepted his offer and had sex with him, and came away with her very first cow.

(Some tellings of this story go on a tangent here where she sneaks the cow right back into the man's fields under cover of darkness, to breed it with one of his bulls and begin forming her own herd)

Over the next several months, he started regularly approaching her for sex in exchange for cattle, until he had to start coming up with explanations to his wife as to where the missing cattle had gone- he first claimed they were given as gifts, then that some were stolen, inventing wild stories of great raids and declaring open conflict with the greatest rival to his clan, all as means of masking his dalliances. This skirmishing came at great cost to his own clan, but he was too foolish and weak-willed to stop.

The woman was meanwhile using her newfound and growing wealth in cattle to make connections and political moves, slowly establishing herself as a powerful figure and having many in her debt. Her brothers and cousins, finally well fed, grew tall and healthy and began to take on roles as herders, protectors, and raiders, with the assistance of more young men gained in alliance. All the while, she dutifully continued her paid trysts with the patriarch whenever he summoned her.

Eventually, the man had given her so many cattle (which had been bred in the meantime, and more had been acquired in trade and raids) that she had three times as many as he did. One day, she did not appear as expected. She had amassed great wealth for herself and her clan, and had been courting the unwed son of the patriarch’s rival clan. The son paid a hefty bride price for her, and they were wed on that day.

Now the wealthiest in cattle and the most powerful clan in the valley, the woman and her new husband ousted the weakened and disgraced former patriarch, becoming the new ruling clan of the Bict-Braíghnnas. The couple were wise and wealthy rulers, and their clan remains in power and rich in cattle to this day.

---

The cultural outlook on sex work (among other things) is fairly well encapsulated here- the sex work itself is degrading, but this fits into common motifs of this cultural sphere’s folktales where the hero figure overcomes difficult and often degrading situations with wit and social skill, and ultimately rises above it. Note that as a (non-comedic) hero of this tale, she uses her sex work very intentionally and pragmatically for material gain and alongside many other measures to increase her standing. Also note that, when unmarried, she's specified as taking up practical labor roles, and ultimately acquires a husband and ends the story in the expected position as a wife.

The actions of the man who hired her are distinctly shameful. He is performing his role as a husband TERRIBLY- being unfaithful, completely mismanaging his wife’s herds and ultimately driving his clan out of power all in pursuit of petty lust. He is in part an exaggerated, cartoonish embodiment of the cultural perception of the clients of sex workers- desperate, foolishly lustful, and an overall failure as a man. Most hearing this story would find his role highly comedic, a powerful but stupid foe for the clever and pragmatic hero to overcome.

(Very minor side note: the detail of him being enthralled by her breasts is also meant to be comedic- breasts are not sexualized in this culture (women's hips/thighs/buttocks are what is typically seen as sexually attractive), and many women will be out topless on hot days without note being made of it (toplessness is culturally acceptable, exposing genitalia/buttocks is not). The notion of a man being out of his mind horny over the sight of a bare tit would register to listeners as excessively lustful in a humorous capacity)

While the focus of the story is ultimately more on the contrast of thrifty and foolish behaviors, it also functions as a discouragement of hiring sex workers, casting the loss of assets in trade for sex as a similarly foolish venture, degrading to the worker and humiliating to the client.

[teeforhee]

book Murderbot likes its humans when they possess functioning self preservation skills, more or less. tv murderbot grows to like its humans despite their magnificent incompetence and frankly even when its humans are capable it doesn't get to see them being so. much to consider about this

[realbeefman]

oh yeah. weaving my web.

[justalittlechocolatemilkshake]

Excuse me, Phil is Dan’s “ remote crisis manager”. Something, something , Phil is the person Dan would call while in crisis anyways, so why not give him an official job title about it?

I CaNNoT

[siflshonen]

Seriously reconsidering rebranding this blog to be diary entries of the mishaps of my disaster theatre job

[kaurwreck]

One of my law professor once said, "You're a lawyer defending your case. There's gotta be blood. It has to be bloody because you're not nice. You shouldn't be nice. You're a lawyer. And you're here to win your case." and although im aware that he said it mostly as a joke—before he said that he pointed one of my classmate to tell him how they'd defend their company in the face of lawsuit and got a little disappointed with how tame my classmate answer was—i can't help but be curious of your thought on that as someone who's working in the field

We are ethically obligated to be zealous advocates for our clients. However, it is immensely difficult to advocate for your client effectively if you've managed to make everyone else involved, including the judge and opposing counsel, angry.

To provide an example, when I was a paralegal at a plaintiff-side workers' compensation firm, opposing counsel once forced our horrifically injured client to travel an hour to our office for a settlement conference, despite not having the authorization to settle for anything close to an amount he should have recognized as reasonable. My attorney, rightfully and righteously furious, laid into him in the middle of our office, humiliating him in front of the parties and our firm. Four days later, my attorney realized we needed a deadline extension, for which we'd have to request opposing counsel's permission. Opposing counsel was gracious enough to agree to the extension, but he very well could have said no after how we spoke to him, and that would have damaged our client's case.

More recently, as a transactional attorney, I was tasked with drafting a disengagement letter addressed to a manufacturer who had failed to design the product my nonprofit client ordered to my client's specifications, which had, for lack of a better term, fucked my client re: my client's other obligations. The law and facts were on our side; if the matter went before a court, we very likely would have won, and easily at that. (For frame of reference, my client serves disadvantaged children. Even the optics were on our side.) But, my client is a nonprofit, and every penny spent on litigation would have been a penny taken from my client's mission. Thus, to zealously advocate for my client, I couldn't go balls to the wall such that the other party became incensed and filed suit or protracted our disengagement process.

You don't have to be nice, but you have to be professional, thoughtful, and strategic. You don't win lawsuits and negotiations from drawing blood. You do so by achieving the outcome that your client asked you to achieve.

[fagsystem]

I really think I am still actually alloaro, just romance positive. Like I Never get the Desire to enter a partnership, just a desire to connect and see what happens.

I don't mind if it's a partnership, I love having partners, but right now I have some really homoerotic friendships. And they are wonderful and beautiful and while I don't think it'd be worse if it turned romantic, I also don't think it would be better either. It's kind of just up to them.

Definitely not asexual though. Very much not.

It's a very special and I think beautiful kind of relationship to be a nasty freak with your friends. Which isn't something asexual people can't have but oh boy I very much feel a pull to fuck like the majority of the people I know. Definitely attraction and not just sex favourablity.

[sombra7567]

LISTENING TO "AN ADVENTURER'S HEART" FROM WORDS BY PARKER, MA'AM WHY DO YOU HAVE ME GRINNING TO MYSELF, GOODNESS-

[remembertheplunge]

Common Threads

August 28, 1990

The moon tonight looks something  like this. (See following blog). First fall leaves filtering down now. Drought brown ivy.

A client, doomed to prison for many years to come, said to me when I saw him in the Stanislaus County jail “I’d like it if they would just give me a gram of heroin and leave me alone.” (Enough heroin to kill him) “Then they wouldn’t have to bother with this.” I said “I agree. Some types of life are worse than death.”

He was intelligent and articulate. I said “You seem to be such a quality person.”

He continued “We try to keep the cells clean. But, the new guys coming in are coming down off trips and throwing up. New guys, short timers. 9 men in 6 men cells—gotta step over bodyies to get to the John (toilet). I been here 4 months now.”

And, after leaving the jail, I go back and I try to tell others of his glory and magnificence, and they guffaw. And, I go out into the world with my grief and my longing and the world gaffaws.

And then I watch Common Threads. And , I find a warm, soft friend. I nestle and I cuddle in the sweet quilt of "Life is not denial".

End of entry

Notes 5/28/2025

Common Threads was a 1989 movie . On the eve of 1987's Second National March on Washington for lesbian and Gay rights, surviving families and friends of people who have died of Aids prepare panels for the Aids Quilt project. The stories behind 6 of the people memorialized in the panels are shared in the movie.

I must have watched Common Threads after my moving meeting with the client in the jail described in the above entry. The dignity portrayed in the film must have helped heal my mental jagged edges arising from hearing my client's story.

[dykesynthezoid]

“Armand should get to just kill Marius” tbh if Armand ever killed Marius he would pull a Sada Abe. Who said that

[heyitstea]

whenever a post of mine gets reblogged by someone and then a wave of reblogs come in after of people reblogging from that first account, i feel like im in the Roman republic watching a patron with his entourage of clients walking by

[chelemlem]

for the au headcanon game: age reversed oscarmark ??

anon pls... this gave me the most insane Worms of the Brain .

the winter after his f2 season (where he finishes runner's up in the championship) mark signs two-time wdc oscar piastri as his manager

oscar on the dl doesn't think this kid has that dawg in him But he appreciates his old-school bluntness and finds his awkward guy's guy hetero posturing vaguely endearing and hey, it's always nice to have another aussie on the grid since ricciardo flamed out

their first few seasons together are! fine. pretty consistent points, the odd podium here and there. oscar mercifully pretends not to notice mark's eyes on him and sends him back to his own hotel room after one(1) glass of wine, thanks

then red bull build The Car of All Time

and then they do it again. and again

as much as oscar tries not to let it show, he finds himself growing frustrated with mark's inability to take responsibility for his own driver shortcomings. he's too conservative on the throttle, doesn't take enough risks. there have been easy wins thrown away because of atrocious starts and poor defense and what was all that at sepang?? team orders aside, sebastian Was faster, he Did pass him. there's no point sitting around blaming the team for what was his own fault, in the end. mark retorts that well norris won 4 to your 2 mate so where do we go from here

they fuck about it (22 y/o service top mark webber anyone). oscar feels guilty for approximately one-third of a second before deciding: fuck it he's too old and tired for guilt actually. the next morning, he strokes mark's hair and says oh alright then when mark nervously asks if they can keep doing this

after one spectacularly terrible year of bad luck and getting walloped on-track by his younger teammate (think perez v verstappen '23), mark finally wins a late-season race. he may have lost out on challenging for the championship again but holy shit it's been such a long time coming. he actually tears up a bit on the podium he's just so happy and relieved and over the fucking moon. he calls oscar afterwards and proposes

oscar says... no. obviously