#7 point structure

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji Goes To Lotus Pier AU: Part 3: Enveloping Feelings.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 4 (soon))

[melz-367]

right, so this is odd but I just had the WEIRDEST revelation and went what if I made Michael Yew trans, gave him a massive self-hate arc when he hits puberty and make Jake the best boyfriend ever for just being awesome through it?

...

so I did.

and I can't be asked to make a proper story out of my random chunks of writing to put on ao3 so I'm posting it here lol

just... don't question where my brain went with this, it's cool, I'm insane

😎 👍🏻

first bit is a lil angsty and cringe bc I havent edited properly but the rest is basically crack and chaos

~~~

Jake wasn't all that surprised when he found Michael in their tree, staring at the sky miserably. Instead, he sat beside his boyfriend and joined him in watching the clouds. "What's up?"

Michael sighed heavily, muttering something under his breath that Jake didn't catch. He raised an eyebrow at the son of Apollo, and the archer huffed, covering his face with his hands as he spoke.

"Maturing."

Jake paused. "Sorry?"

His boyfriend groaned, rubbing at his eyes and refusing to look at Jake. "I'm maturing."

"Right. And...? Isn't that what everyone does as they get older?"

"No. Well, yes, but like..." He sighed, spitting it out. "My body is maturing and I hate it."

Jake stopped, realisation washing over him. "Oh. So, you're..."

"Menstruating." Michael said through gritted teeth. "And it sucks. It doesn't feel right. Also, hip curvature equally sucks."

He looked at the son of Apollo, faintly befuddled. "Hip curvature?"

Michael groaned, then sat up and pulled his shirt tightly around his waist, and Jake paused as he spotted what the archer had been hiding under loose t-shirts and hoodies.

Oh.

His boyfriend's hips had indeed curved, forming a slim waist and slight hourglass figure that most girls would die for. Michael, however, looked absolutely miserable about it, seemingly under the impression Jake might be put off or horrified by the change, but the son of Hephaestus just looked at his boyfriend and noted how it accentuated his natural beauty. He gently moved to wrap his arms around the other, carefully pulling the archer into his lap, and found his hands fit just perfectly in his boyfriend's curves, meaning he was easily able to hold the smaller boy, and it felt right. Michael had tears in his eyes, and Jake pulled him closer, resting his head on the other's shoulder as the son of Apollo refused to meet his eyes, staring out into the trees stubbornly.

"I think you're beautiful." He hummed, pressing a kiss to the archer's jaw, and Michael blushed, but still avoided eye contact, seemingly embarrassed as he sniffled quietly. Jake smiled and cupped his boyfriend's chin, turning his face to look at him. "Hey. I don't care that your hips are curvy, or that you're on your period, or any of that shit. Actually, I do care, and I think it makes you even more beautiful. This," He slipped his hands under his boyfriend's shirt, tracing his fingers along his boyfriend's sides and outlining his curvy figure. "Is not something to be ashamed of. I love you for who you are, and that will never change, yeah?"

Michael smiled slightly, then sighed, looking at himself in disgust. "I'm a girl."

"No you're not. And if you are, I'll love you just the same. Doesn't matter to me."

Michael snickered slightly at that. "Are you seriously saying you'd turn bisexual just for me?"

Jake smirked, shrugging. "Yup. I'm yours, no matter what."

His boyfriend looked at him for a minute, then grinned, leaning forwards to kiss him. "I don't deserve you."

"Likewise."

"I'm still a boy, though."

He grinned. "Good. Thought so."

Michael snickered, then sighed and looked back down at himself, frowning. "But this still isn't good."

"Why?"

"The bone structure isn't as strong." He said, matter-of-factly, and Jake smirked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"So, it makes you more delicate?"

Michael sighed, rolling his eyes. "Technically, yes."

"Good to know. Guess I'll have to be extra gentle." He grinned, and Michael slapped him lightly, huffing, but there was a smile twitching at the son of Apollo's lips.

"Shut up. I'm not fragile."

"Only to me."

"Shh. I'm fine. See?" He hit himself in the ribs, hard, and Jake paused, grabbing his boyfriend's hands and looking at him, unimpressed.

"Don't hurt yourself."

"I'm fine."

"Please."

Michael looked at him for a moment, then sighed and nodded, leaning his head on Jake's shoulder. Jake smiled, moving his hands back to the other's waist, secretly loving the feel of his boyfriend's curves, not disgusted in the slightest by the change, and instead enjoyed the way the son of Apollo did feel more delicate, in contrast to his normally hard, stony exterior. Michael was unbelievably strong in some ways, but in others he was much more fragile, particularly mentally, and Jake sometimes had to take the initiative, not that he minded, because in times like this, Michael let himself be taken care of, and the son of Hephaestus enjoyed it.

~~

He soon found out that the only downside to reassuring the son of Apollo that he loved the way he looked, was when Michael used that to his advantage, and managed to twist Jake into a complete mess, simply by losing a bet.

Michael had reluctantly informed him earlier in the day that he'd managed to lose a bet with Kayla, and she was making him pay the price at campfire. Therefore, Jake was expecting his boyfriend to be forced into playing his guitar during sing-along, or telling bad jokes onstage, or something else the son of Apollo would greatly dislike.

He did not expect him to walk in wearing his sister's clothes.

Michael was dragged into the amphitheater by a giggling Kayla, the son of Apollo wearing skinny jeans, a crop top, and his camp necklace tied around his bow, with only the bronze pendant Jake had given him on show. Jake felt his brain short-circuit as he looked at the other boy, noting how ridiculously good Michael looked in those clothes, with his slim figure and tanned skin shown off brilliantly. Nyssa whistled quietly next to him, nudging her brother in the ribs.

"Kay mentioned she was giving Mikey a glow up as punishment for losing, but I didn't think she'd be able to get him looking that good. Damn, when did he grow into his height like that?"

Jake just stared, completely and utterly entranced by the other boy. Kayla soon spotted him gaping, and nudged her brother, gesturing to Jake and grinning. Michael turned and spotted him, instantly blushing scarlet when he noticed the son of Hephaestus staring at him, and he smirked, winking at the other boy, which absolutely did not help with Jake's current state of mind. Nyssa snickered and poked him.

"Dude, you're basically drooling over him right now, you know that?"

Jake slowly peeled his eyes off his boyfriend, face bright red in embarrassment as he looked away, instead meeting Nyssa's eyes as his sister smirked at him. "I- shut up." He blushed, and Nyssa grinned.

"Wow. You really are a simp."

"Shut up! I just... didn't expect it. He looks good, though."

His sister smirked, looking back at the son of Apollo. "True. Since when did puberty hit him, my gods."

Jake snickered. "About a month ago. He was really upset, got his period and everything."

Nyssa winced. "Poor guy. Confused?"

"Nah, he knew what was going on. Just embarrassed, mostly. Disgusted by himself, which I wasn't okay with, but I think we've sorted it. He had to go to Ellie for period advice, which he was not happy about either."

"Hm. A late bloomer, clearly."

"Apparently so."

"He's grown into it, though. If he was a girl, he could totally pull that figure off. Damn."

"Yup." Jake was staring again, and he knew it. Michael seemed to be finding it endlessly amusing. Nyssa suddenly poked him again.

"Not gonna lie, I don't think you're the only one checking him out." She hummed, nodding to a boy that had slipped through the crowd to sit next to Michael, eyes trained on the son of Apollo's hips and waist. Jake scowled as he sat down beside Michael, much too close for anyone's comfort, and quite clearly started flirting, trying to touch the son of Apollo and wrap an arm around his waist. Michael, however, was not amused in the slightest, and Jake could see him snapping at the other boy and pushing him away. The camper didn't seem to get the hint and kept pushing, until Michael rolled his eyes and pointed to his necklace, then at Jake, who was glaring the guy down, resisting the urge to punch his face into a wall. Michael seemed quite amused by the angry fire blaring in his boyfriend's eyes, and eventually managed to shove the camper away, but Jake could still see far too many eyes on his boyfriend, and it made him grit his teeth. He'd never been a massively jealous person, but right now he was feeling seriously possessive; the urge to walk over, make out with the archer and hold him tightly, clear to everyone that the son of Apollo was his, becoming very strong in the back of his mind.

He just about managed to avoid that until the end of campfire, and then as everyone was packing up, the other boy just grinned at him and disappeared back to cabin seven, leaving Jake fuming as he returned to cabin nine. Jackass.

~~

"Hey."

Jake was sitting against one of the trees bordering the lake, just relaxing and watching some of the younger campers splash around in the water, until he heard a very familiar voice and looked up.

That was his first mistake.

Michael was stood next to him, grinning and leaning against the tree, wearing a similar outfit to the night before with low rise skinny jeans and a slightly cropped shirt. He was still wearing his bronze pendant, with his bow slung over his shoulder, and the son of Apollo looked absolutely amazing. Jake just stared at him for a moment, then shook his head and quickly looked away, training his eyes on one of the trees on the other side of the lake. Michael snickered, flopping down next to him, and Jake groaned internally. This wasn't going to end well for him. Michael just laughed. "Are you ignoring me?"

"No." Jake replied, continuing to stare at the trees. "Just not looking."

"Why?" He could hear Michael's grin in his voice, and he knew the other boy knew exactly what he was doing to Jake. Asshole.

"Because I can't have a conversation with you if I can't think straight. Literally."

Michael snickered, shuffling up so they were shoulder to shoulder, and Jake sighed heavily as the other boy spoke, smirking. "Do you like it?"

He huffed. "Too much, along with half of camp." He grumbled, and Michael snickered again.

"Jealous?"

"Unbelievably jealous. I was about ready to punch that guy last night."

He snorted. "Wasn't the nicest guy, I'll be honest. Bit touchy."

"Looked it."

"You wanted to kill him, didn't you?"

"Just a bit. Gods, I don't know what the fuck you've done to me, but I completely stopped working last night. You melted my brain into a puddle of sappy thoughts."

Michael laughed at that, but Jake had noticed a new camper, roughly their age, quite clearly checking Michael out with a smirk. He muttered something to his buddy, and then they were both staring at the son of Apollo and oh, Jake felt the possessive urges return. He just about managed to keep a cap on it, but Michael saw right through him and snickered, nudging the son of Hephaestus teasingly. "You alright there, Tool Boy?"

"No." He growled.

"And why's that?"

"Because there's about five other people checking you out here, and it's pissing me off."

"What are you going to do about it?"

He turned and saw the son of Apollo grinning at him innocently, and Jake sighed heavily, knowing the archer had got his way quite easily here, but he couldn't bring himself to care too much.

"Jackass." He muttered as he leant forwards, and Michael laughed as they kissed. It wasn't as long as Jake would have liked, considering there were about ten little kids in view, but it certainly did the job as Jake spotted several shocked or annoyed looks when they pulled away, much to his amusement. Michael snickered, and the son of Hephaestus hummed, gently grabbing the smaller boy and pulling him onto his lap before he could protest. Michael smirked, leaning back to look at him as Jake wound his arms around the archer's waist protectively, and Jake shrugged, smiling.

"Someone feeling a bit possessive?" The son of Apollo teased, grinning, and Jake hummed, watching the guys that had been checking Michael out huff and walk away, rolling their eyes. Good.

"Possibly. You're absolutely fucking beautiful." He murmured, resting his head on the smaller boy's shoulder, and Michael blushed brightly, but smiled.

"Does that mean I should borrow my sister's clothes more often?" He smirked, and Jake huffed.

"If you want me worked up into a complete mess on a daily basis." He grumbled, moving his hands to hold his boyfriend's waist, rubbing his thumbs along the other's sides and tracing his curves. "I'm glad you're embracing this, though."

Michael shrugged, humming and leaning into the son of Hephaestus' touch. "I thought over what you said. And then Carly walked in when I was changing and completely

freaked and made me play dress up with her and Kayla."

Jake snickered. "You enjoyed it, didn't you?"

"Hm." He shrugged. "Carly supposedly figured out what my best colour is or some shit. And apparently Kayla had wanted to put me in a bunch of random different outfits for a while now, so she loved it."

Jake smirked. On the one hand, it was hard to imagine Michael willingly playing dress up with his sisters, but on the other hand he knew the son of Apollo would do anything to see his siblings smile, so it wasn't all that surprising. "And what did Carly say your best colour was?"

"Green, apparently."

"Do you even own anything green?"

"Nope. I have no idea how she figured that out, but she made me wear a green shirt and... yeah, I kinda see her point."

Jake raised an eyebrow at that. Michael was never one to ever think he looked good in anything, particularly with his history with his body, but if he thought he looked decent in green... That was interesting. He wondered what magic Carly had done to make the son of Apollo like wearing something.

"Interesting. Is that another thing that's likely to make my brain fry?"

Michael snickered. "Yeah, probably."

"I'm happy you think it looks good on you." He grinned, pressing a kiss to the smaller boy's jaw, and Michael blushed.

"Shut up."

"Nope." He smirked, pressing another kiss to his boyfriend's jawline. "You're beautiful, and perfect, and amazing, and I'm the luckiest person ever because I get to date you and those losers don't."

Michael blushed brightly, his ears tinting red, and Jake grinned, amused by the reaction. Michael rolled his eyes, but kissed him anyway. "You're such a sap."

"You love it."

"Shut up."

~~

Jake frowned as he walked past the Apollo table at breakfast, noting Michael wasn't there, and looked at Lee in confusion. The older son of Apollo grimaced.

"He's back in the cabin. Not feeling well."

That made Jake frown. Michael rarely got sick- and never that badly either- it was a side effect of being the son of the god of sickness, so either Lee was lying, or his boyfriend was embarrassed and hadn't given his brother the true reason for why he was staying inside.

Jake popped in the Apollo cabin after breakfast to check on him, and found Michael curled up in a pile of blankets on his bed, holding his stomach and looking absolutely miserable. Jake walked over and carefully climbed the ladder, sitting next to the archer, and Michael looked at him for a minute, then sighed. "I'm fine, don't worry."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "If you were fine, you'd be outside. What's up?"

Michael huffed. "It's just- ugh." He winced, leaning forward slightly and wrapping his arms tighter around his waist in pain. Jake looked at him in concern.

"What is it? Why are you...?"

His boyfriend groaned quietly, head now on his knees as he rocked back and forth slightly.

"Nothing. Just..." He sighed. "Cramps."

"What, like stomach cramps, or- oh." Understanding dawned on the son of Hephaestus, and Michael groaned again, nodding.

"Yeah, fucking period cramps. Shit."

"Bad?"

"Really bad. I couldn't walk earlier. Lee did a scan and told me there wasn't much he could do, I just have to wait it out. Fuck-" He groaned again, cursing. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

Jake winced, then looked around the cabin, searching for something. He hummed when he spotted what he was looking for, climbing down off the bed and walking over to grab a beanbag stuffed parrot. He wasn't sure whose it was, but he knew it was microwaveable, and that's all that mattered. He walked over to the small microwave they kept in the corner of cabin seven, used for reheating things or making hot packs for injuries, and plopped the parrot inside, pressing start. Michael looked at him in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

He shrugged. "Nyssa uses a hot water bottle to combat hers. Figured a parrot might work the same."

Michael raised an eyebrow. "You're microwaving Carly's parrot?"

"Mhm. The bean filled ones are like hot packs, just covered in fluff. Harls has a dragon one that Niss steals every so often."

The microwave beeped, and he pulled the parrot out, now very warm, and walked back over to Michael's bed, climbing up and flopping down next to the son of Apollo, passing him the parrot.

"Try it."

Michael looked at it. "What, I just hold it?" Jake smirked.

"No, you put it where it hurts, dummy."

"Oh. Right."

Michael took the parrot and placed it just below his stomach, curling back up again and humming happily. Jake smiled. "Better?"

"Yeah, actually. Thanks."

"Anytime. I am gonna get you a beanbag animal now, though. I don't want Carly to kill me for stealing hers."

Michael rolled his eyes. "I can get one myself, you know."

Jake smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"

Michael elbowed him and he snickered, then looked up as the door to the Apollo cabin opened and the rest of Michael's siblings walked in, not even noticing Jake and Michael until Sam turned and spotted them, grinning and placing his hands on his hips. "Mason. Are you trying to make a move on my brother?"

Michael rolled his eyes as Jake blushed. "No, dumbass."

"Oh, really?" Carly grinned. Jake smiled.

"I borrowed your parrot for Michael's cramps, hope you don't mind."

She looked at him for a minute, then smirked. "Ah, you're here on boyfriend duties. I see. It's fine, I use it for that anyway."

Michael huffed, and Ellie smiled, walking over and reaching up to ruffle his hair teasingly.

"Feeling better than earlier?"

He sighed. "Ish."

"Are they like, a stomach ache, or more like someone stabbing you?" Austin asked casually, flopping backwards onto his bed, and Lee suddenly grinned, moving to rummage through a cupboard in the back of the cabin.

"Why don't you try it?"

Kayla looked at him. "Sorry?"

"We have a machine that replicates the pain of a period cramp, because I convinced Chiron it could be useful for teaching people about why they are a valid excuse to skip on things."

Jake snorted. "To teach the Ares cabin, you mean?" Lee shrugged and Ellie hummed.

"Not Clarisse. She gets them bad."

Lee suddenly pulled a box out of the cupboard, blowing the dust off and smiling. "There it is. It has different settings, so why don't we get the people that experience them to put up their normal setting for the rest of us to try?"

Carly smirked. "Sure. I'll go first."

Lee explained how it worked; putting a pair of pads just below your stomach under your shirt and turning the knob up a notch at a time to reach the average pain scale. Carly hummed and placed the pads below her stomach, then turned the dial up slightly. She continued for a few notches until she started wincing, then stopped. "Five."

Kayla snatched it next, placing the pads on herself instead and turning up the dial until it hit her average and she winced. "Yeah, five."

Ellie was an eight, and Michael said that apparently he'd reached a break in his cramps, so he'd give it a go. The son of Apollo scrunched his face up as he turned the dial, flitting straight past five and eight, up to ten. There were fifteen notches on the scale, and Ellie stared at him as he grimaced in pain, taking the pads off quickly. “Ten.”

“Ten??”

He winced. “Yeah.”

Austin wandered over, picking it up off Michael’s bunk and walking over to Lee. “Can I try?”

Lee smiled at him, gesturing for his little brother to sit beside him on the bed as he talked him through it. Austin made it to a four, and he winced, looking at Kayla.

“Yeah, I see your point.”

She hummed, nodding, and Ash grabbed the machine next, him and Sam sitting on Sam’s bunk and messing with it for a bit. Ash made it to seven, grimacing, and Sam looked at Jake quickly. “Do you want to go next?”

Michael snickered. “Give it to Jake last in case he blows it up.”

Jake looked at him. “Seriously? I’m not that bad.”

“Jake, I’m surprised you haven’t seriously injured yourself yet with the amount of things you’ve accidentally blown up this month.”

“Harsh.”

Ash snorted, passing the device to Sam. “Just take it while they argue like an old married couple.”

“Hey!”

“Michael, he’s not wrong.” Kayla grinned, and Michael rolled his eyes, flipping his sister off and ignoring Lee’s dirty look at the action. Sam made it to eight, and Will got to six, then it was passed to Jake. He frowned as he turned it on, quickly noticing a problem with the electronics, and the rest of the room snickered as he pulled a screwdriver and a pair of pliers out of his pocket and quickly started fixing the problem, because it would annoy him if he didn’t. Michael grinned, taking advantage of his distraction, and flicked the dial straight up to ten. Jake yelped, doubling over in pain, and a small explosion occurred, blowing up the device. He sighed heavily and sat back up after a moment, glaring daggers at his boyfriend, who smiled back innocently, nodding to the machine.

“I think there’s something else for you to fix now.”

Jake huffed, swatting him on the head. “Jackass.”

“Language!”

“I thought you weren’t allowed to do that for me because you have no responsibility over me?” He smirked, ignoring the rest of Michael’s siblings laughing at the blown up device while Lee raised an eyebrow at the son of Hephaestus. Carly snorted.

“You’ve basically become an extra sibling at this point, you’re in here that often. Plus,” She grinned. “Brother in law counts, doesn’t it?”

Both Michael and Jake immediately blushed scarlet, and Michael waved his hands at his sister, scowling. “Slow down a bit, for fuck’s sake.”

“Language!”

“Fuck off!”

Kayla snickered. “Dibs on first speech at their wedding.”

Jake groaned as Will snickered. “Oh, come on-”

“When’s the date? Gotta get my suit ready.”

“Will, I will pin you to an archery target.”

“You can’t even move right now.”

“Won’t fucking stop me.”

“Language!”

“Piss off Lee!”

“Fine, but I’m walking you down the aisle.”

“Lee!” Jake groaned again, ignoring Lee’s teasing smirk. “Don’t encourage them! We’re fifteen and sixteen!”

“Oh yeah, you’re a pervert.” Carly nodded. “Preying on someone younger than you.”

Michael burst into laughter as Jake looked at the daughter of Apollo. “Carly, what the heck? I’m five months older, not fifteen years.”

“You never know.”

He scoffed. “You never know- yes, because I look like I’m thirty, clearly.” Michael was in fits of laughter, and Jake huffed, picking up the device and hopping off his boyfriend’s bunk, walking out the cabin and rolling his eyes at the teasing smirks. “Goodbye, I’m going to fix your machine. Michael, you better eat lunch.”

“Ooh, Mikey, you’ve been called out for starving.”

“Starving?? Bitch, how many meals do you think I’ve missed?”

“Language!”

“OH MY GOD I’M FIFTEEN!”

“AUSTIN’S ELEVEN!”

Jake snickered as he closed the door behind him, listening to the group bicker between themselves. Some things never changed.

[individuating]

my #truth:

ep 1 = ep 7 (beatriceless)

ep 2 = ep 6 (furniture)

ep 3 = ep 5 (tools)

ep 4 = ep 8 (ange focus)

[bejeweledmp3]

tell me why i'm considering opening the doc and writing fanfiction during my lunch break. ON MY PHONE

[wygolvillage]

if i hear "scars to your beautiful" one more time on the work radio thingy i am going to murder someone. what a bleak, miserable and condescending song. i think im convinced that its my least favorite song of all time

[bangjiazheng]

7 Point Story Structure Found In Every Great Movie - Paul Chitlik

[auphelia]

Even after 11 years, I'm not sure I'm ready for 7 days to die to leave alpha testing. It's too soon

[probablyasocialecologist]

"Hannibal at Erez, dispatch a Zik [attack drone]," came the command on October 7.

Those words, reported by Israeli newspaper Haaretz in July, confirm what many Israelis have feared since the Hamas attacks on October 7 in southern Israel.

Israeli forces have killed their own citizens.

[...]

In July, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed commanders in the IDF gave the order to fire on troops who had been captured by Hamas at three separate locations, explicitly referencing the Hannibal Directive.

One former Israeli officer, Air Force Colonel Nof Erez, told a Haaretz podcast the directive was not specifically ordered but was "apparently applied" by responding aircrews.

Panicked, operating without their normal command structure and unable to coordinate with ground forces, they fired on vehicles returning to Gaza, knowing they were likely carrying hostages.

"This was a mass Hannibal. It was tons and tons of openings in the fence, and thousands of people in every type of vehicle, some with hostages and some without," Colonel Erez said.

Air force pilots described to Yedioth Ahronot newspaper the firing of "tremendous" amounts of ammunition on October 7 at people attempting to cross the border between Gaza and Israel.

"Twenty-eight fighter helicopters shot over the course of the day all of the ammunition in their bellies, in renewed runs to rearm. We are talking about hundreds of 30-millimetre cannon mortars and Hellfire missiles," reporter Yoav Zeitoun said.

[...]

Bergman's investigation found 70 vehicles were destroyed by Israeli aircraft and tanks to prevent them being driven into Gaza, killing everyone inside.

"It is not clear at this point how many of the abductees were killed due to the activation of this [Hannibal] order on October 7," he wrote.

6 September 2024

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The one weird monopoly trick that gave us Walmart and Amazon and killed Main Street

I'm coming to BURNING MAN! On TUESDAY (Aug 27) at 1PM, I'm giving a talk called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE!" at PALENQUE NORTE (7&E). On WEDNESDAY (Aug 28) at NOON, I'm doing a "Talking Caterpillar" Q&A at LIMINAL LABS (830&C).

Walmart didn't just happen. The rise of Walmart – and Amazon, its online successor – was the result of a specific policy choice, the decision by the Reagan administration not to enforce a key antitrust law. Walmart may have been founded by Sam Walton, but its success (and the demise of the American Main Street) are down to Reaganomics.

The law that Reagan neutered? The Robinson-Patman Act, a very boring-sounding law that makes it illegal for powerful companies (like Walmart) to demand preferential pricing from their suppliers (farmers, packaged goods makers, meat producers, etc). The idea here is straightforward. A company like Walmart is a powerful buyer (a "monopsonist" – compare with "monopolist," a powerful seller). That means that they can demand deep discounts from suppliers. Smaller stores – the mom and pop store on your Main Street – don't have the clout to demand those discounts. Worse, because those buyers are weak, the sellers – packaged goods companies, agribusiness cartels, Big Meat – can actually charge them more to make up for the losses they're taking in selling below cost to Walmart.

Reagan ordered his antitrust cops to stop enforcing Robinson-Patman, which was a huge giveaway to big business. Of course, that's not how Reagan framed it: He called Robinson-Patman a declaration of "war on low prices," because it prevented big companies from using their buying power to squeeze huge discounts. Reagan's court sorcerers/economists asserted that if Walmart could get goods at lower prices, they would sell goods at lower prices.

Which was true…up to a point. Because preferential discounting (offering better discounts to bigger customers) creates a structural advantage over smaller businesses, it meant that big box stores would eventually eliminate virtually all of their smaller competitors. That's exactly what happened: downtowns withered, suburban big boxes grew. Spending that would have formerly stayed in the community was whisked away to corporate headquarters. These corporate HQs were inevitably located in "onshore-offshore" tax haven states, meaning they were barely taxed at the state level. That left plenty of money in these big companies' coffers to spend on funny accountants who'd help them avoid federal taxes, too. That's another structural advantage the big box stores had over the mom-and-pops: not only did they get their inventory at below-cost discounts, they didn't have to pay tax on the profits, either.

MBA programs actually teach this as a strategy to pursue: they usually refer to Amazon's "flywheel" where lower prices bring in more customers which allows them to demand even lower prices:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaSwWYemLek

You might have heard about rural and inner-city "food deserts," where all the independent grocery stores have shuttered, leaving behind nothing but dollar stores? These are the direct product of the decision not to enforce Robinson-Patman. Dollar stores target working class neighborhoods with functional, beloved local grocers. They open multiple dollar stores nearby (nearly all the dollar stores you see are owned by one of two conglomerates, no matter what the sign over the door says). They price goods below cost and pay for high levels of staffing, draining business off the community grocery store until it collapses. Then, all the dollar stores except one close and the remaining store fires most of its staff (working at a dollar store is incredibly dangerous, thanks to low staffing levels that make them easy targets for armed robbers). Then, they jack up prices, selling goods in "cheater" sizes that are smaller than the normal retail packaging, and which are only made available to large dollar store conglomerates:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/27/walmarts-jackals/#cheater-sizes

Writing in The American Prospect, Max M Miller and Bryce Tuttle1 – a current and a former staffer for FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya – write about the long shadow cast by Reagan's decision to put Robinson-Patman in mothballs:

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-08-13-stopping-excessive-market-power-monopoly/

They tell the story of Robinson-Patman's origins in 1936, when A&P was using preferential discounts to destroy the independent grocery sector and endanger the American food system. A&P didn't just demand preferential discounts from its suppliers; it also charged them a fortune to be displayed on its shelves, an early version of Amazon's $38b/year payola system:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/#relentless-payola

They point out that Robinson-Patman didn't really need to be enacted; America already had an antitrust law that banned this conduct: section 2 of the the Clayton Act, which was passed in 1914. But for decades, the US courts refused to interpret the Clayton Act according to its plain meaning, with judges tying themselves in knots to insist that the law couldn't possibly mean what it said. Robinson-Patman was one of a series of antitrust laws that Congress passed in a bid to explain in words so small even federal judges could understand them that the purpose of American antitrust law was to keep corporations weak:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men

Both the Clayton Act and Robinson-Patman reject the argument that it's OK to let monopolies form and come to dominate critical sectors of the American economy based on the theoretical possibility that this will lead to lower prices. They reject this idea first as a legal matter. We don't let giant corporations victimize small businesses and their suppliers just because that might help someone else.

Beyond this, there's the realpolitik of monopoly. Yes, companies could pass lower costs on to customers, but will they? Look at Amazon: the company takes $0.45-$0.51 out of every dollar that its sellers earn, and requires them to offer their lowest price on Amazon. No one has a 45-51% margin, so every seller jacks up their prices on Amazon, but you don't notice it, because Amazon forces them to jack up prices everywhere else:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/01/managerial-discretion/#junk-fees

The Robinson-Patman Act did important work, and its absence led to many of the horribles we're living through today. This week on his Peoples & Things podcast, Lee Vinsel talked with Benjamin Waterhouse about his new book, One Day I’ll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion That Conquered America:

https://athenaeum.vt.domains/peoplesandthings/2024/08/12/78-benjamin-c-waterhouse-on-one-day-ill-work-for-myself-the-dream-and-delusion-that-conquered-america/

Towards the end of the discussion, Vinsel and Waterhouse turn to Robinson-Patman, its author, Wright Patman, and the politics of small business in America. They point out – correctly – that Wright Patman was something of a creep, a "Dixiecrat" (southern Democrat) who was either an ideological segregationist or someone who didn't mind supporting segregation irrespective of his beliefs.

That's a valid critique of Wright Patman, but it's got little bearing on the substance and history of the law that bears his name, the Robinson-Patman Act. Vinsel and Waterhouse get into that as well, and while they made some good points that I wholeheartedly agreed with, I fiercely disagree with the conclusion they drew from these points.

Vinsel and Waterhouse point out (again, correctly) that small businesses have a long history of supporting reactionary causes and attacking workers' rights – associations of small businesses, small women-owned business, and small minority-owned businesses were all in on opposition to minimum wages and other key labor causes.

But while this is all true, that doesn't make Robinson-Patman a reactionary law, or bad for workers. The point of protecting small businesses from the predatory practices of large firms is to maintain an American economy where business can't trump workers or government. Large companies are literally ungovernable: they have gigantic war-chests they can spend lobbying governments and corrupting the political process, and concentrated sectors find it comparatively easy to come together to decide on a single lobbying position and then make it reality.

As Vinsel and Waterhouse discuss, US big business has traditionally hated small business. They recount a notorious and telling anaecdote about the editor of the Chamber of Commerce magazine asking his boss if he could include coverage of small businesses, given the many small business owners who belonged to the Chamber, only to be told, "Over my dead body." Why did – why does – big business hate small business so much? Because small businesses wreck the game. If they are included in hearings, notices of inquiry, or just given a vote on what the Chamber of Commerce will lobby for with their membership dollars, they will ask for things that break with the big business lobbying consensus.

That's why we should like small business. Not because small business owners are incapable of being petty tyrants, but because whatever else, they will be petty. They won't be able to hire million-dollar-a-month union-busting law-firms, they won't be able to bribe Congress to pass favorable laws, they can't capture their regulators with juicy offers of sweet jobs after their government service ends.

Vinsel and Waterhouse point out that many large firms emerged during the era in which Robinson-Patman was in force, but that misunderstands the purpose of Robinson-Patman: it wasn't designed to prevent any large businesses from emerging. There are some capital-intensive sectors (say, chip fabrication) where the minimum size for doing anything is pretty damned big.

As Miller and Tuttle write:

The goal of RPA was not to create a permanent Jeffersonian agrarian republic of exclusively small businesses. It was to preserve a diverse economy of big and small businesses. Congress recognized that the needs of communities and people—whether in their role as consumers, business owners, or workers—are varied and diverse. A handful of large chains would never be able to meet all those needs in every community, especially if they are granted pricing power.

The fight against monopoly is only secondarily a fight between small businesses and giant ones. It's foundationally a fight about whether corporations should have so much power that they are too big to fail, too big to jail, and too big to care.

Community voting for SXSW is live! If you wanna hear RIDA QADRI and me talk about how GIG WORKERS can DISENSHITTIFY their jobs with INTEROPERABILITY, VOTE FOR THIS ONE!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/14/the-price-is-wright/#enforcement-priorities

[joy-haver]

there isn't a "kill all the ____" that will fix the problems of the world, because, 1. you probably can't. 2. if you did, more of them would probably come into existence, or 3. other people would come to fit the same social position. 4. There isn't a group of Fundamentally Bad Evil People that Cause All The Problems, because 5. Harm isn't caused by a type of person. everyone causes harm and an effective system of addressing harm has to contend with that. 6. you will end up expanding the definition of ____ to include whoever else you want to kill anyway. which will suck. 7. Destruction without building will leave nothing behind. New harms will arise. Old harms will continue. Because there is nothing to replace them. There is nothing Helpful being done. a better world isn't created by just getting rid of all the bad stuff and calling it a day. you have to actually make something that meets peoples needs. 8. structures of power and harm sometimes maintain themselves even if no one intends them to or purposefully wants them to. 9. systems of power will end up finding a scapegoat. they will convince you that some marginalized group are the real ____ and you should focus on them. and in your zeal and blood thirst you, or at least some of your allies, will fall for it. And you will commit atrocities. 10. The world that is created can only come from the world that is. And look, whatever group you are thinking of -- yes I mean them too. Pedophiles, rapists, murderers, sociopaths, nazis, billionaires, cops, you name it. Harm and oppression is far too complicated to ever be solved with Finding The Right Group To Kill. And there are lots of really great arguments to be made about why eliminationist rhetoric is ethically bad, or historically questionable, etc. I am open to that being added on and talked about too. But my point is that It Will Not Accomplish Your Desired Results. You Will Have Committed Atrocities and You Will Have Failed At Achieving Your Initial Goal.

[badgertracksart]

Portfolio advice, from a lead who hires Concept Artists

(This was originally a twitter thread I wrote before the site self imolated, hense it's strange structure.) I wrote this after a weekend of portfolio reviews - 1. Like a maths exam, please please show your working. I want to see thumbs options, mid options and of course a final design.

2. Arrange your portfolio, I don't want to bounce about between subject matter and pipeline. Your portfolio's narrative should be as strong as your work... 3. Please make worlds that excite the viewer, make them want to go in and explore them, explain to them the interesting parts of the town, or the way the character's hat unfolds. How will this draw the viewer in? 4. As I've said before the majority of your project work is explanatory not mood, make sure your portfolio contains explanatory work. Explained here -

5. A lot of beautiful post apocolyptic paintings, , but 80% of realistic games and film, we just give the environment artists photo ref, they are capable artists in their own right. Different work in stylised where you do need to create rules for how things can be translated. 6. Production art contains call out sheets, material references and flat graphics. This doesn't have to be your final image, but it should support it.

7. Design characters on a swatch(es) of the environment they will be viewed in. Not on white. I make swatch backgrounds from screenshots, it avoids assumptions that damage readability. 8. Reverse of this, put people in your environments, show me the scale.

9. It's not a deal breaker for a review, but if you intend to get a job, please show me your work on a screen larger than a smartphone (print outs probably the cheapest option with the best battery life). 10. Please have your contact details clearly visible, and by that I mean email address, I will not pass your social media contact on, I cannot input your form into my tracking system. EMAIL ADDRESS emblazoned and bake it in, sometimes recruiters do funky stuff to pdfs

11. Your portfolio will never feel done, not to you anyway. You will have learnt from your latest pieces and want to apply it to older work. But we know art is a journey. Send your portfolio anyway. I've been in the industry 10+ years and my portfolio is still not 'finished'. 12. If you are applying to an environment centric Concept Art position then please vary your times of day! Golden hour is cool but show me some happy sunny days, looming overcast days, what about at night? Vary your weather too! Sunny snowy day? Rainy Spring day? Stormy night?

13. If you are applying for a character centric Concept Art role then please ensure your portfolio shows a variety of body types and ethnicities. 14. Designing characters for games? Please show back views and feet (!) Many potfolios contain only front views. This is a problem because:

You haven't shown you are considering the design from all angles.

In many games rear view is the main view.

Stop cropping feet.

15. If you are entry / graduating and looking at Portfolios to compare content and standard of yr own work too, look at hired grad/junior artists as opposed to seniors Seniors and leads often have old or personal work in their portfolio which isnt representative of the day job. 16a. Show clearly the intended use case for your Concept Art. Mention the game type in the description. Are these player character designs for a 3rd person adventure game? Then more back views please. Bonus points for diagetic ways of showing health / equipment / role etc.

16b. Are these designs for an FPS? Then really the player view of the gun needs to sell the player style/ choices, in an FPS your weapons are almost your character. Are these world designs? What's the view distance? For an RTS your shapes need to read from above & a distance. 16c. The lack of clarification means I am judging the design in isolation, which both harms the design (you might be considering the backview of a char as the main adventure character.) Or an NPC, their waist up expressions may be important for conveying exposition and mechanics.

16d. Concept art is not separate from gameplay, great concept art serves the game team before it is a good illustration.

17. Play games. A variety of games. Think about them. IMO to be a good concept artist you need to understand the common language & references used by your peers. Also understand the principles and common language your audience are used to. FPS design rules are v.diff from RTS.

18. There are many skills that are needed in concept art, please show them. For example: Graphic design - logos, liveries, typographic use etc. VFX concepts - Abilities, Ambience, motion concepts. Architectural knowledge - How buildings are built! & more but I'm out of space :O

[sayruq]

TWO MONTHS BEFORE Hamas attacked Israel, the Pentagon awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to build U.S. troop facilities for a secret base it maintains deep within Israel’s Negev desert, just 20 miles from Gaza. Code-named “Site 512,” the longstanding U.S. base is a radar facility that monitors the skies for missile attacks on Israel. On October 7, however, when thousands of Hamas rockets were launched, Site 512 saw nothing — because it is focused on Iran, more than 700 miles away. The U.S. Army is quietly moving ahead with construction at Site 512, a classified base perched atop Mt. Har Qeren in the Negev, to include what government records describe as a “life support facility”: military speak for barracks-like structures for personnel. Though President Joe Biden and the White House insist that there are no plans to send U.S. troops to Israel amid its war on Hamas, a secret U.S. military presence in Israel already exists. And the government contracts and budget documents show it is evidently growing. The $35.8 million U.S. troop facility, not publicly announced or previously reported, was obliquely referenced in an August 2 contract announcement by the Pentagon. Though the Defense Department has taken pains to obscure the site’s true nature — describing it in other records merely as a “classified worldwide” project — budget documents reviewed by The Intercept reveal that it is part of Site 512. (The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

[frownyalfred]

Everyone likes to talk about Clark recognizing Bruce’s specific heartbeat but as many have said you can’t really tell heartbeats apart beyond functional and structural differences

What if Clark isn’t just recognizing the heartbeat but the unique combination of sounds the entire body makes; the digestive process, swallowing, blinking, those patterns could come together as a more unique whole than trying to distinguish an individual organ

Idk if this makes sense but just imagine Bruce being like how did you know it was me, my cologne? And Clark has to be like “oh, it’s the sound your gallbladder makes when you take the stairs actually”

Dying at this. Poor Bruce has so much distinctive hardware and so many old injuries that his whole body is probably a finely tuned tracking instrument to Clark. His spine sounds like no one else's, with all that metal in it. All of his fingers creak because of how badly they've been broken and reset in the past. His knees are just rice crispies at this point. Every single internal organ runs at full capacity 24/7 and it sounds like a horrifying cacophony.

[soulcaretherapist]

In the Matrix Destiny chart, the number at the orange point marked with an X shows which professions and jobs are suitable for you. You can adapt this to each of your jobs and professions, and activate the energy of money in your life.

1 - Professions that are unconventional, not very common, and where you can apply theoretical knowledge to practice.

2 - Professions where you can use your creativity, solve problems, and help others.

3 - Professions where you are in a responsible role (manager, business owner, teacher, etc.) and where men can work with women, providing you with opportunities to shine.

4 - Management of money and creative fields for women, physical labor or group management for men.

5 - Professions that require organization and rules, with a clear, profitable outcome from the service provided (like a doctor's diagnosis).

6 - Any profession related to communication, with opportunities to rise in beauty/design fields.

7 - Professions involving movement, such as sports, tourism, military, or those combined with transportation/logistics.

8 - Professions involving advocacy, analysis, and a clear, structured process.

9 - Teaching, roles where you can share your knowledge and expertise.

10 - Managing teams, working in large office environments, and collaborating with similar professionals.

11 - Professions requiring physical strength, activity, and leadership roles.

12 - Professions related to helping people, nature, and creativity.

13 - Professions that may be challenging or chaotic, such as managing emergencies and crisis situations.

14 - Professions combining art, creativity, tourism, and entertainment.

15 - Leading large groups, helping individuals with dependencies, and working in various environments.

16 - Professions involving frequent travel, business trips, and communication/travel-related work.

17 - Professions where you can be in the spotlight, recognized on screen or social media (within your industry).

18 - Professions related to literature, art, information technology, where you can also engage in additional work like tarot reading due to your strong intuition and interpretative skills.

19 - Working with large audiences or followers, working for international companies, and finding happiness and passion in your chosen profession.

20 - Professions in the information industry, consultancy, spiritual fields, or writing.

21 - Global companies/brands, international presence, creating English content on social media, tourism/hospitality sector.

22 - As long as you enjoy it, the specific profession is less important, with flexible working hours, being your own boss, and more leadership-oriented roles.

I'm open for chart readings. 🌸 Purchase your reading here

[lilacstro]

Astro Observation Pt 4

I hope you all are doing awesome and the last few posts resonated with you! Also, thank you so much for 250 followers <33 means so much to me

here we go :)

1.Taurus placements really like food, cooking. I mean, we all do, but its a little extra with them.

2.Taurus moons really have a soothing presence and voice, however, they may come as highly opinionated sometimes. They are usually very kind and polite while talking and may like things like art, music, poetry or, reading/ enjoying such things and actively talking about it.

3.I read somewhere that 8th house is temporary death while 12th house is what happens after death, maybe that is why it is the last house. Example, 12th house Capricorns may come back to give/receive karma, 12th house Scorpios may learn and complete the soul lessons or karmic contracts.

4.I dont know how many people does it resonates with since I only know a few capricorn risings but more these natives like structure and order, they sometimes secretly wanna run away from all and everything, probably just disappear or move to the countryside lol...may even struggle with maldaptive daydreaming. Also, they definitely don't wanna/can't be tamed AT ALL...you can't tell them what to do lol ..I wonder if it has something to do with the Sag 12th house. They do accept opinions and suggestions, but very selectively

5. The birth of a capricorn sun/rising/stellium child can be karmic. In the sense that, they are here to dispose karma to other people, while learn their own. Maybe because the ruler is Saturn. One of the things that can follow is a change/shift in the circumstances of the family.

6. This makes me think, 12th house indeed can show our hidden thoughts or desires. People with Sag risings have scorpio in 12th house, and this can secretly make them wanna have some kind of command, control and authority. I am a Sag rising, and this holds true for me.

7. Speaking of NN in solar return, I read someone reblogging my post saying they believe NN can also represent the lessons you learn and grow from, I instead believe its more of a karmic/soul lesson/fated thing, that rather tranforms/grows your soul and you may go through a huge shift in your perspective and some life-changing experiences concerning that area of life. Something that we are moving into, and will affect us from that point onwards, like a new theme unlocking.

Chiron, on the other hand, is different. No one wonder chiron is actually call the wounded healer, something that hurts and then heals.

example, nn in 1st house can mean you will go through major themes and experiences that will make you focus more on yourself and finding your identity and purpose and this should affect your further years. more of a spiritual growth

chiron in the 1st house can instead mean you will go through experiences that will make you question yourself, some kind of identity crisis, that will further lead to you believing and finding your true self. more of a personal growth.

i hope i made sense. moreover, astrology interpretations are very personal :) and you dont have to agree with anything i said if it doesnt feel right.

8. libra moon imo is one of the best moon placement to have. they are able to present their emotions pretty nicely and in order and that makes sense somehow. This is also a placement for a hopeless romantic tho lmao.

9. Libra MC people may always look confused. Somehow even struggling to chose between a pastry and a cake lmao.

10. I think women with Virgo+ Scorpio placements are the ones that can make the best lie detectors/detectives/real baddies. They may also enjoy dark psychology/ true crime stories/thriller.

11. Men with Venus in Saggitarius may like spiritual/religious women.

12. I think people with Venus-Asc aspects may always/eventually find beauty and confidence in their appearance and themselves, and that is very amazing imo.

13. Women with Pluto-Asc aspects may like dominance in some shape or form and may have a really good self control and hold of themselves.

14. I will want to ask, do people who have Uranus Retrogade in their chart somehow struggle with breaking electrical appliances/gadgets often? Like it will just break somehow?

15. Having asteroid industria at 28 degrees can show you have a potential to earn huge money through your career.

16. Wherever Jupiter lies in your chart, is where you can expect divine protection. Jupiter in 10th house? Protection from people with malicious intents/a bad public image. Jupiter in 6th house? Protection from accidents and diseases. Jupiter in 12th house? protection from hidden enemies/backstabbing. Jupiter in 11th house? Protection from fake friends/people.

17. I have often seen people say you should marry your 7th house sign but i would disagree again. The 7th house/DC is more about the qualities we admire in other people, and what do we look for while forming ANY relationship with others and this does not always have to mean that you would get along with them romantically.

support me on ko-fi :)

thats all for this post<33 i love you all. Please leave post recommendations, if you have any in the ask, messages or comments :)

[felassan]

[A link] to another article on their impressions, written by another reporter that attended the behind-closed-doors advanced presentation of DA:TV at Summer Game Fest.

Notes:

"We were told that one of the three key pillars of the game was 'Be Who You Want To Be.'"

"Numerous selections for a wide variety of body types & skin tones"

If you choose to fight/be aggressive in the bar scene, the fight scene that follows is just that, a fight scene as opposed to an actual combat encounter

At this point a popup advises that Varric paid attention to your choice (Fel note: I'm guessing like "Varric approves/disapproves"? it's interesting in that it seems that it is not only the 7 core party members who that will occur for)

"affable, irreverent, or tough dialogue selections" (Fel note: diplomatic/purple/red Hawke vibes)

In the demo they saw, because it was so early in the game, only one skill was available on the menu (this was also the same in the gameplay reveal video released to the public)

Some enemies have typical red health bars, others have an orange bar that is best taken down by heavy attacks, others still have a blue barrier bar best taken down by ranged attacks

Large bright conspicuous green vases give Rook a potion when broken (we also saw this in the public gameplay vid). these are dotted in numerous places, "and they almost feel like health checkpoints"

on the Lighthouse, and travel: "The Lighthouse will serve as a "central place" of rest and companion interaction. From here, you will head to the Crossroads to traverse "separate explorable regions of the world with your companions."

it was previously inferred from concept art and elsewhere, but this article confirms that we will visit Weisshaupt

"the focus on a mission-based structure, the class and skill systems, the character focus & dialogue choices" feel reminiscent of ME2

In the demo BioWare highlighted three pillars: 1. Be Who You Want To Be as mentioned above, 2. Inspire A Team Of Unforgettable Heroes, and 3. A World Worth Saving

[source]