#but i'm kinda like 'they could fire me' (i'm in a union so no they won't)

[marielle-heller]

tragic news: girl gets covid AFTER starting job she really likes, is now mourning missing all her sweet precious library classes and also is worried she will somehow lose her library while she is gone

[runawaymarbles]

9-1-1 fic recs

because if I do nothing but read 9-1-1 fic for a month solid I feel like I should. Since my bookmark notes are all spoilers. Buck/Eddie unless specified otherwise.

to your front door by hammersmiths | G | 3k

Buck and Pepa are bridge buddies and Pepa is happy to arrange everyone's lives.

i'm headed to the mountains by hammersmiths | 8k | G

a.k.a. Abby Clark does deserve rights

pick me, choose me, love me by trysetmeonfire | T | 9k

It is some kind of hell, it seems to me, to be forced to choose one irreplaceable thing over another. Buck and Chris get stuck and Eddie has to get one of them out first.

brick by spqr | E | 10k

9-1-1 fic I read and loved before I knew anything else about 9-1-1. Post lightning strike, Buck and Eddie are not at all on the same page.

i love you, ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard? by rarakiplin (gmontys) | T | 10k

"Because, Evan" is actually a love confession, but Buck's with Taylor. They handle it great.

the stick-around by derryfacts2 (winchysteria) | T | 10k

Buck is bleeding out. It's surprisingly funny.

Ace of Hearts by glorious_spoon | T | 10k

The poker night was a date but Buck doesn't realize it until later.

darlin', i'm just tryin' to tell ya by archerincombat | T | 10k

The station adopts a dog that has cancer and Ravi has some feelings about it.

still by brewrosemilk | T | 10k

Eddie is standing on a bomb.

the light's been out though, baby by hattalove | M | 15k

There's a video of the shooting.

like a hole in the ground by clytemnestra | T | 15k

Buck shares his feelings but they still don't know how to communicate.

maybe love won't let you down by sibylsleaves | M | 15k

Buck tells Eddie he loves him; Eddie thinks he himself is terrible at relationships and so he dodges the question. Things are OK until they aren't.

False Start (timing’s everything) by Morgane (smilla840) | E | 16k

Buck and Eddie hook up, and then Buck gets back together with Taylor. Ouches all the way down. It's great.

i would like a place i could call my own by maybeamystery | E | 17k

Buck and Eddie hooked up at the end of season 3. It does not make things better.

find a way to you (if it kills me) by foxwatson | M | 20k

Buck doesn't realize he has feelings for Eddie until Eddie lets Linda set him up. They both suck at coming out.

stay soft; get eaten by eddiediass | T | 20k

Ramon Diaz is dying.

every time we stop talking (the universe starts screaming) by withmeornotatall | M | 20k

Buck is being reckless, Eddie's pissed about it, and Natalia is asking a lot of questions about everybody's trauma.

where there's smoke, there's fire by wakeupnew | T | 24k

You're really not supposed to be secretly dating your coworker. Luckily, they have a union rep.

into the fire by brewrosemilk | E | 27k

Cheating fic (complimentary); Buck and Eddie sleep together. It's messy.

Tick Tick Boom by ChasetheWindTouchtheSky | 30k | T

Buck's having a breakdown; he's not talking to his parents; he doesn't tell Maddie this but he does go to drag brunch.

I Kinda Fell Half In Love (And You're To Blame) by orphan_account E | 33k

Eddie is dating Ana and Buck can't figure out why he doesn't like it. Also, Chris is trying to return to school after COVID and they're really stressed about it.

the going water and the gone by trysetmeonfire | T | 30k

Eddie is lost at sea and presumed dead. The logistics of death are complicated and custody isn't as easy as saying you want your platonic bro to raise your kid without telling anyone.

i don't swim and you're not in love by hattalove | T | 30k

Eddie is dating Ana, Buck tries to get over himself, and there's a sewer leak at Abuela's.

listen to you breathing (is where I wanna be) by Yavilee | T | 40k

Buck goes down in an earthquake and is missing, presumed. He and Eddie leave each other voicemails.

everything (nothing) has changed by bizarrestars | E | 50k

Buck goes to therapy, tells Eddie that he's in love with him but he's going to get over it, and Eddie has a meltdown for 50,000 words except this is from Buck's POV and Buck's an idiot.

across our great divide (a glorious sunrise) by catchingpapermoons | M | 50k

Buck and Eddie go to couples therapy in s5 and I? Cry.

a blaze in the dark by woodchoc_magnum | E | 117k

Buck gets caught up in Natalia, Eddie starts dating someone else, it goes about how you'd expect. Hurts in a delightful way.

tell me about despair by hattalove | M | 150k

THEEEEE Eddie Diaz fic.

just to be with you by woodchoc_magnum | M | 150k

Buck and Eddie keep their relationship secret for months and it turns out it's hard to come back from that.

The things we lost in the fire by SunSpell80

Buck's uncle molested him when he was a kid. Buck's relationship with his parents is complicated in a way that doesn't villanize them, but is still messy as fuck. I am rotating it in my brain. (Note: the author presumably wrote this before we met Buck's parents in canon, but got tired of changing the names a couple chapters in.)

[astrojoy]

What Candy Is Coming Your Way?

Candy = good news

PAC

Candy Bag 1

💀 Boundaries improving (You will soon have more respect for yourself. I even got a song that flew out that clarified this, which was by Billie Eilish "You should see me in a crown") I keep imagining a cold person (who really isn't cold at heart) but can appear that way because of how the world treated them. It's a 'take no more sh-t' energy

💀 A lot of you will grow stronger and be more courageous, again :)

💀 More optimism or being headfirst with where you set your mind to

💀 Some of you are getting a new job or will be changing your career path

💀 A new friendship, particularly from the same sex/gender. I feel like this new friendship will be quite long lasting! Maybe some of you when you get a different job will make a new friend at this place

💀 Some of you can't wait for more cold weather ngl. I'm seeing its coming so dw 🤣 (it's October 30th rn as I'm making this)

💀 More relaxing time. More time to hang out with friends or loved ones. Some of you may soon invite or be invited to go out for coffee or tea with someone or some people

💀 For a lot of you life has been kinda stagnant. You may have been feeling discontent, like life is on a loop. Just boredom in total. It's about to be disrupted and life will move faster miss gals and pals 😏

💀 Also whatever these changes that are coming into your life are, are obviously good news, however they will take you out of your comfort zone at times, you are being told to tread bravely. Especially if you are someone who has trouble adapting to sudden changes

💀 This pile carried a lot of Fire and Wands energy. You guys had a major arcana card fly out, "Strength"

Psychic visions I got for you guys (could be a personal item/name/like/dislike/issue etc etc):

👻 Names of your friends/pets/family/you (I got a lot of pet names) - Pumpkin. Chestnut. Jonathan/Justin. Ivory. Strawberry/Berry. Bagel. Bunny/Easter. Egg??.

👻 Bundle of bananas

👻 Someone yanked a paper off a table (it was aggressive oml 😳 chill my guy. Is someone stressed about paperwork/classwork? Maybe someone will finally finish something and that was a yank of relief 😂)

👻 A peeled banana (wtf 🤣 does someone here like bananas AHAHA such a random vision)

👻 A rubber ducky (OHH Bananas and rubber ducks are both yellow. I wonder if the color is significant for this pile. Yellow is an optimistic and powerful color associated with energy and silliness or fun)

👻 Lasagna (Someone here may like it a lot) possibly have it some time soon (just depends)

👻 AGAIN someone yanked something off a desk or table. Similar vision of the same place/lighting and similar gesture. They yanked something else that wasn't a paper and wore something with sleeves (got a better view of them) someone here with darker hair

👻 A stereotypical piece of candy in the shape of this -> 🍬 It had a clear wrapper and was colored orangish pinkish? Warm colored. Someone here may have a sweetooth or get candy or something sweet soon :)

Candy Bag 2

💀 For a select few of you only, there may be some people behind your back, they may be jealous and start creating friction with something in your life or just in total. Like them creating accusations or something. Well I'm seeing you rise out on top so don't worry about them :)

💀 For others, I'm seeing a union. If you aren't looking for love then this is a partnership on some type of project or work. For the people looking for love or who wouldn't mind it, there's someone coming in with a possible offer of some sort. A love offer or confession "you are only mine" a promise of loyalty

💀 Happiness is coming into your life here at some point

💀 Some of you are going on a vacation. For others who may not be able to physically go on one, this talks about a mental one as well. Finding relaxing moments to calm the mind

💀 Attaining an authority position, success or victory in overcoming a challenge your in. Some here are getting a raise at work while others are upgrading in their life. This can be on social media too

💀 Experiencing happiness, again, I had the song fly out by Louis Armstrong "What a wonderful world"

💀 Uh, random, someone may have an encounter with a spirit or possibly a spirit guide. Whether it's through the dreams or waking life. Since this is good news based I'm guessing this isn't a bad one though :)

💀 This lover or whatever offer is coming in for a lot of people here is someone you don't know or aren't as familiar with. I had the song by Svrcina "Who are you" fly out

💀 Taboo energy is in the depths of this pile you picked. Some witches/wiccans are here. Some here have a cat. There may be good news revolving around general occult things :) maybe its answers you seek or practices you've worked on. Now I understand why I got my spirit card

💀 This pile carried a lot of Water and Cups energy

Psychic visions I got for you guys (could be a personal item/name/like/dislike/issue etc etc):

👻 Names of your friends/pets/family/you - G/Gina/Gunther? (Could start with a G? Or be just G/GG). Pony. Stephanie Princess. Cynthia. 4. Curly. Rose/Violet/Someone has or knows someone that's named after a flower (also could be the middle/last name. F (Name starts with an F? Fifi Fred? or something idk).

👻 A horse (A pet)

👻 Onigiri (someone here really likes these)

👻 Water (someone here may have a phobia or fear of drowning/possibly a memory of almost?)

👻 Apple (someone could have something of theirs shaped like an apple or maybe have apple trees, or just enjoy the fruit. Maybe an apple brand product)

👻 "Diamond" 😂 could be anything. Maybe someone here likes diamonds, maybe it's a name of someone you know. Possibly A treasured item has a diamond, etc etc

👻 I got the shape of a heart. Then I heard "Stove". So someone here might possibly have something on the stove or around that area (like decor or maybe a cooking timer, picture, mitten, on the fridge or beside the stove etc etc) with the shape of a heart or heart patterns picture(s) on it :)

Candy Bag 3

💀 This pile has slightly similar themes to one of the other piles but in a different way

💀 A new job or raise is in the cards

💀 A lot of people here feel stuck in something. Stuck in a situation, environment or maybe even to someone. Don't worry, the good news here is you are breaking free. For very few I'm seeing this negative thing that isn't serving you is so stuck that you've gotten "comfortable" in it. Or in other words, "used" to it, you feel numb and like it's all you know almost. I had the song by Call Me Karizma "Nails" fly out

💀 Btw I also said you won't feel stuck forever. Good news coming your way is a release. Leaving something behind. I had another song clarify this by One Republic "Counting Stars" Some things even though they're wrong or bad for you may make you feel the need to stay in the patterns you've been in but overall it's all about following the dreams and moving forward

💀 A manifestation may come to fruition too :)

💀 If you have any addictions or if you have an issue with self sabatoging (mental health issues in any way too) then I'm being told this will find mental balance. Good news for some may be medication coming in, getting help/therapy or even just leaving whatever situation had been causing this stress and etc. The effect of leaving will help you mentally

💀 Soulmate union is coming together for some! (Soulmates for me can range from friends, family, lovers, pets, etc)

💀 I'm getting a lot of hot, steamy, romantic and even sexual energy in this pile for some definitely here. Do some here have dirty thoughts or maybe even sexual addictions? Maybe someone here has a partner with such a thing? It's being toned down and eased so it's not as heavy on the shoulders. The song by Chloe Adams "Dirty thoughts" flew out

💀 Protection

Psychic visions I got for you guys (could be a personal item/name/like/dislike/issue etc etc):

👻 Names of your friends/pets/family/you - Love/Lovely. Baby/BB. Butterfly. Someone may have a pet snake or pet named after a snake "Slither" "Python" "Venom"

👻 Bow and Arrow/possibly a harp (I could only see a gold fancy or elvish rim of it the rest was blurred)

👻 "Doritos" (Someone likes this snack)

👻 Superman

👻 Someone here is girly btw. Like stereotypically feminine

👻 Some people here like to draw. I'm getting a lot of traditional drawing though :) Pen/pencil/marker/paint stuff etc

👻 Musical talent/writing in this pile. I'm guessing all this creative energy is coming out because it's quite prominent ^

👻 This pile didn't get as many visions/messages as the last ones did on this section. Maybe my mind is clouded now xD

[pommunist]

it is really sad to me that the money seems to be alex's main priority and that communication seems to be his second. because the thing is, the big problem is the communication!

lea tried to talk to her supervisors and fix things, but they completely dismissed her. pomme's admin was fired (or at least shut out of the project) because the higher ups were assholes who thought she was giving out info to lea. lea said that they were made to feel like their mental health doesn't matter and that the ''content'' matters more. they weren't even allowed to talk to each other privately because the higher ups (probably a way to isolate them so they wouldn't speak out)

the money was never the problem, if they had been treated with more respect then lea wouldn't have leaked it out. if there was communication then the money would have been resolved a LONG time ago (they would have been able to complain to alex and the shitty higher ups would be fired and changed)

i do genuinely believe that alex cares (they literally committed embezzlement against him) but his priorities are WAY off the mark. i understand that he wants to fix the money first, but he should fix it WHILE discussing it with the workers.

like, even a ''i'm sorry for the lack of communication but i am very busy now'' would be good. them firing the twt admins was honestly, understandable. alex is probably paranoid about the union and doesn't want any possibility of unpaid labor. but i wished he communicated more with them instead of leaving them on hold.

the fact that pomme's admin STILL hasn't been contacted to pretty upsetting too :( he should've done that first thing because from her preservative she doesn't even know if they'll bring her back or just replace her. even if the french streamers said they wouldn't come back if pomme's admin is replaced, it would be much more reassuring to her if alex straight up says so.

i hope by the time they actually open the merch shop we have some kind of confirmation that pomme's admin has been contacted and that communication is happening. the merch itself is a great idea to fund the project, but they should first reassure admins and stuff.

i do love qsmp and want things to be fixed and i do genuinely believe that it WILL be fixed, i just think alex's way of going about things right now isn't the best. he wants to fix the hardest issue first and then go to the easier ones but in my opinion, he should go from easy problems to harder problems. he NEEDS to fix the problems and should start with the easier ones first.

find pomme's admin and put her back on the team -> start communication and update your staff -> talk to your staff and get testimonies -> fire the higher ups -> figure out money stuff

his way of thinking seems to be like this:

put admins on hold -> fix money -> bring back admins -> fire higher ups

i believe he has the best intentions, but he isn't going about it in the right way.

(sorry for the rant, i'm just kinda frustrated :( this isn't an unsolvable issue and i want to this to be solved in the best way possible and THIS IS NOT IT! you're very cool and sick btw)

this is so well put out anon idek what to add 😳 based

maybe just to say that while firing the twitter admins could be a good thing if that can avoid the legal issue of unpaid work, the way it was done (after a complete radio silent,by discord message and deleting the server, in the middle of the night for some timezones) is NOT IT

[matan4il]

Do you have a favorite underrated Buddie scene?? I mean we have so many epic heavily loaded scenes we all concentrate on that it feels like some of the ones that would be heavy fodder in other Fandoms get overlooked.

For me it's that tiny moment during the call center fire when Eddie called out for Buck and we see him look back then say here hold this to the other firefighter, I gotta go help my boyfriend right now. I'm not sure why the subtlety gets me so much. Maybe the underlying fact that Eddie is "with Buck", meaning Buck should be leading. So it kind of cool it shows Buck will still follow Eddie any where. I don't know I just love that little moment!!

Hi Nonnie, thank you for the lovely ask and for your answer. I love it!

Oh, I feel like with my weekly Buddie meta I have probably yelled too much about too many things, so I'm not sure I have a right to speak. Even if I did, I'm not sure if my choice would be exactly "underrated," but I guess I would say the 202 to 204 arc of Buck being introduced to Chris and choosing to step into Eddie's mess with him.

Everything about this is gold, any one of these could qualify IMO as an underrated moment in Buddie's love story:

The way Buck wants to know who Eddie is trying to call in 202. Damn, Buck, YOU WERE AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS TWO SHIFTS AGO, KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS!

Eddie's hesitancy, but willingness to share the most pressure part of his life, the most vulnerable part of his heart, with the guy who was a dick to him just two shifts ago. I GET IT ALREADY

The way Buck keeps encouraging Eddie to believe the best possible scenario when it comes to Chris, a child he literally has no investment in, and Buck's doing it even at moments when Eddie is not giving an indication of being distressed. This is where Eddie first sees Buck is marriage and co-parenting material, and there's no faster way to Eddie's heart than that

Eddie choosing to let Buck drive him to Christopher's school, meaning reserved Eddie allows the guy who was a dick to him just two shifts ago to witness his emotional re-union with his son, and accepts that he will introduce them to each other as Buck will drive them both home at the end of 203, NO I AM NOT OKAY

Buck choosing to get involved and help Eddie with Chris by introducing him to Carla in 204, just everything about that ep is WILD and I have not been able to shut up about it since s2, but really the most significant thing will always be the way Buck doesn't have to be told to step into Eddie's mess with him. Buck WANTS TO

I hope this kinda answers the question? Thank you again and have a lovely day! As always, you can find my ask tag here. xoxox

[magpiepills]

Ok I'm game! Tell me about ho-ing around your errand spots. Post office guy? 😏 Kroger gal and bank girl? 😺 And LITERAL HELICOPTER PILOT?? 👀

Friend!! Ok, you have got to hear about this pilot.

So last weekend I was at this community event for kids where they can climb all over emergency vehicles- fire trucks, swat trucks, ambulances, garbage trucks, so on. I was there with my niece and nephew. Anyway, one of the things the kids could check out was a helicopter. I have been RUINED by Frankie Morales and I have a certain Pavlovian response to helicopters now so I was more than happy to wait in line to get a look inside a helicopter. I figured I could at least be delusional for a minute and that would be the end of it. HOW WRONG I WAS!!

The helicopter was an air ambulance and the pilot was a medic. He was kinda short but he had on a cap, aviators, had a scruffy greying beard, and his suit was unzipped and his chest hair was chest hairing. It was glorious. He had the sleeves rolled up and tattoos on his forearms. I flirted as best I could. It was a crowded area so I didn’t have the time to really lay it on like I like to do, but it made my week anyway.

My post office guy is an older Latino with a cute accent and a steady government job and a union. I love union men. The last time I saw him he remembered me from a month ago. He was flirty. I need to find more excuses to mail things.

My Kroger girl wasn’t my type but she would flirt back with me when I flirted with her. Good times, but now she’s gone and that’s honestly fine with me.

My bank girl was probably too young for me but she was so pretty! Wherever she went, I’m certain she’s looking gorgeous. I didn’t flirt with her much because I couldn’t tell if she was into women, and above all I try to be a respectful trollop.

[veetyuh]

More historical Hetalia about England and Sealand thirsting for each other, England being fucking obsessed with trying to keep him, and them being close in the modern day. With video! ❤️

The English govt:

• wiretapped the Bates

• sent spies to follow their movements in-person (Roy kicked the shit out of one)

• dick-swinging. . . with boats. . . Literally the Ocean Cock and the Crested Cock, my beloveds. Arthur why are you sending your younger brother two boats named cock. What. 🤨

I'm not joking look at them

• tried to buy the fort back, but it was a ruse to steal it while they were gone to negotiations. Tried to board it with a ship literally codenamed Big Brother. Arthur please be less melodramatic challenge.

• tried to scare them out by blowing up an identical fort within sight of them, promising, "you're next!" The carnage of what could soon become Peter was floating around him for months

It looks kinda badass actually, but imagine your own brother giving you a death threat like this, just to scare off the new human family you're happy with and take you for himself. (BEFORE they declared him independent!)

• proposed a military takeover. The proposal was rejected by the PRIME FUCKIN MINISTER OF THE UK, Harold Wilson, because he did not want to risk hurting the English civilians on board. Literally the prime minister weighed in on this dispute. You can't tell me Arthur wasn't upset when this went to his highest level of government.

• Tried to starve them out by making Roy go through customs every time he left port, and ruining his groceries in the process. "Oh, is it REALLY condensed milk in that tin? I'd better open it to find out."

• tried to sue the Bates and lost, because the judge ruled they're out of British jurisdiction.

• proposed to fucking bomb the place, and tried to, but chickened out last minute. Ultimate hissy fit, "If I can't have him, no one can!!"

• tried to buy it back a second time. Rejected.

• tried to buy it back a third time. Rejected.

• continued to worry and obsess over him, even after they realized he could do nothing. Were paranoid about him joining the Soviets and becoming a threat. There is legit documentation from the British government calling him "England's Cuba."

Sealand being affectionate toward Britain:

• Prince Roy was a WWII veteran and described as deeply patriotic -- he founded Sealand not to rebuke the UK, but as a romantic gesture for his wife, who dreamed of having her own island. It was never meant to be taken seriously by others, and they do not care about international recognition.

• prince Michael has described himself as "very proud to be an Englishman."

• Buyout offers in the early 2000s were rejected for concerns on Britain's behalf. i.e. they had a general disdain for Pirate Bay and other private companies, deeming them too irresponsible to reside so close to england's shores.

• they've flown Union Jack before, and more recently have extended condolences over the queen's death.

• and celebrated the kings coronation

And god, their more recent history. With all these nice little exchanges from Peter. Add to it England rushing to save Sealand during the fire. And them playfully bickering over who actually owns Ipswich (Peter does). Their history is so fucked up and yandere-like in the past, but recently, so very sweet. 🥺

• generally everything they do is UK-based. Their citizens live there most of the time, and not on the fort. They raise money for charity there. They train (and CRUSH) in American football there. Thats their home. Just as much as the fort is. 💕

[faeflowerz]

Happy Birthday Riddle Rosehearts 🌹🌹🌹

No, I'm not late. I didn’t get caught up in Enstars. I didn’t forget to write this. I am also ignoring the characters I missed until their birthdays roll around again. also am not upset that i don't have his first bday outfit. Got his union thoooo ayyyy~

So I already knew I would love Riddle when I started playing. I'm not even a Wonderland fan (Neverland all the way babeyyy) but that lil tomato makes me tingly inside. What can I say? He's small in size but big in taste! 

And have yall seen prototype!Riddle??? Uhm?!?!? Hello?!?!?!?! Can I have both?!?!?!?

Let's get to it. 

So what has changed about the tiny tyrant? He was the first chapter and he ushered in the series with his Mommy issues. He's the best foot forward. I'm serious. Chapter 1 is solid compared to the others. It's my favorite chapter (1,6,3,4,5,2) and everyone sets the setting well. 

I think he's also up there on the most substantial change in characterization. While he's still got a stick in his ass, it's not as deep. He's showing more of his empathetic side and putting forth patience that the QOH isn't known for. A good queen must be fierce, but she also is fair in her deliverance of justice. She tends to her subjects and holds them to reasonable standards. Well, I at least think so. He's a palatable leader. 

Something I've started to notice about Riddle is that he's naive. But his naivety also gives him courage? While he has been sheltered most of his life, Riddle is sure of his skills. He's willing to fight Malleus if the fairy ever tries to come for his spot. Now, if he would win is not the point. The fact that this little boy is willing to say it to Mal on his birthday speaks volumes. He would probably lose if he challenged him as is. That's his naivety/confidence. Now, if it was like, after a year or something, he would go down swinging for sure. That's his talent and skill. He's also interested in the duel being a learning experience which is a mature way of viewing a dorm leader battle. I would say every battle is an exp but the stakes are meaningful in a leader duel. 

Speaking of which, it's cute that he would go there. Sure, it's to balance out the other picks, but Riddle would flourish in Diasomnia. He's packing a lot of power despite his size and if he learned how to keep his temper on lock, god. He'd be a big deal. Also he's good at fire magic for some reason like, is he an arsonist in training? Also the rose thorn motif on him sounds kinda hot. His OB uses thorns soooo.

Uhm, let's talk about his pick for a brother. 

You know…he's probably hiding the real reason why he wants Jade. Think about it. Riddle is the one who told Trey how Jade controls everything. Riddle shares a homeroom with Jade. He experiences him as much as he sees Silver and Sebek (maybe more depending on when they meet for clubs). He's right that Jade is seemingly polite and seemingly compliant with rules and shit. He's surreptitious with his power. That's what makes him efficient and dangerous. Riddle wants someone like that on his side. That's what he's not telling Azul. Hell, Riddle even admits that he's not fond of Jade's other traits.

As his younger brother amuses me too. His naivety is at work. I'm an only child but younger siblings won't always listen to you. Jade's too independent for any of that. He could probably be a better big brother since he steps back when he knows someone's gotta learn a lesson. Jade gently tried to offer to nip the Leona issue in the bud in chap 3. Azul foolishly barreled forward with his plans regardless. Azul fucked up and Jade knew it. So he let his bestie learn. So in Riddle's case, Jade would be a better older brother than little (bc Jade will deprogram his naivety). But I think he's got a better option for a little brother: Epel.

I was torn between him or Jack but I think Epel could benefit from Riddle's brand of micromanagement. Vil is strict, but Epel doesn't listen to Vil bc as we saw in chap 5, he was out to fix Epel. Vil does care and wants Epel to grow but the ulterior motives muddied their relationship. With Riddle, they both get to have a brother. Plus, size matters. A lot. Riddle, as I said before, is small but a powerhouse. From their interactions and voice lines, they seem fond of each other. Riddle is firm and he will get Epel to show more formality and respect but since he's the same height as him, Epel will be more receptive to what he has to say. And notice how Riddle always tells people to speak loudly and be 💯 instead of mumbling? That trait needs to be preserved in Epel. 

Riddle wants to do good and be a good mentor to his peers (imma talk about his career goals in a sec) so if Epel were to be taken under his wing, they would be fond of each other while also seeing Epel reach new heights that wouldn't be impeded by negative relationships. Plus Riddle is a little feminine (bc he emulates a queen too) so Epel will still unlearn toxic masculinity. 

Okay, so Riddle wants to be a doctor. A doctor. That's…unexpected. Well, not entirely. He has a classic doctor tiger mom (more on that later I promise) so I can see this being a "carry the legacy" type of thing. But as we can see, Riddle is clearly great with students. 

In his element, Riddle can educate upperclassmen as well as underclassmen. He's extremely smart and I think helping people in an educational setting is significantly more beneficial to his potential. Professor Rosehearts sounds super hot. He's firm yet gentle, and when he asks you to see him after class, you've got butterflies. He's handsome and when he talks, you're hooked on every word. You know he's scolding you for being so scatterbrained and distracted, but you can't help it. You're in love with him even though you know he wouldn't regret it if he would just take you and pin you to his desk-

So Riddle's mom is pretty…rough. I see people making jokes about her, usually projecting their own mama onto her. I personally think Riddle's mom wanted him, as in, he was a planned pregnancy. It only makes sense that they would only want one and then go to painstaking lengths to raise him "right". But unfortunately parenting is trial and error. I'm curious about how their family life has changed since he’s around other kids. I'm assuming he was homeschooled? Do we have any information on that? Anyway, school is usually when kids start finding their own identity and I wish we could get updates on how the OB gang is doing in specific areas where they were struggling. Since Twst is overloaded with characters, you gotta do your research on them rather than get main story satisfaction. 

So what do I want for Riddle going forward? I unno, he's perfect. And I stand behind that. He's working on himself and that's all I can ask for any of these characters. Each of them are sentimental to somebody in the fandom and as long as they continue to mature and develop through the series, I'm content. So to round out the last of the birthdays with the one who started it all,

Happy Birthday, Riddle! ❤🌹

[wartakes]

“Don’t Start None, Won’t Be None” (OLD ESSAY)

This essay was originally posted on November 22nd, 2020 (at the tail end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia). I think this is where I started to find my footing and what I was about more in terms of my ideology and approach to war and conflict and peace and probably the earliest essay I'm still kinda proud of. This is where the birth of the "Don't Start None, Won't Be None"/"Fuck Around and Find out"/ Doctrine emerged. (Full essay below the cut).

“Some people seem confused by my posts recently. Just because I’m anti war does not mean I’m a pacifist.”

That is what Joe Kassabian – author of both fiction and non-fiction and the host of “Lions Led by Donkeys”, one of my favorite podcasts and a gateway that led me to leftism – tweeted out a day after war erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The reason that some of the listeners of Joe’s podcast and readers of his books might have been confused or upset was obvious if you know anything about him. After all, as long as I have been consuming Joe’s content, he has made his views on war pretty obvious: he’s against it. I could think of more than a handful of episodes of his podcast where he and his cohost Nick had very clearly stated that military blunders like the ones they examined throughout history can simply be avoided if you “don’t go to war” and “don’t invade people.” This was given further weight by their combined military service, which included time spent in Afghanistan for Joe.

However, the recent war in the South Caucasus has a personal dimension for Joe as an Armenian-American. The conflict and long going disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan center on territory known as Artsakh or Nagorno-Karabakh. Though internationally recognized as a territory of Azerbaijan, Artsakh is both historically and overwhelmingly ethnically-Armenian and only became part of Azerbaijan under the former-Soviet Union, when the Soviet government created Nagorno-Karabakh as an autonomous region within Azerbaijan in 1920. Artsakh itself has been nominally independent – though officially unrecognized – since after the last full-scale war between Armenia and Azerbaijan following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, a bloody conflict was halted by a cease-fire in 1994.

Since the last war, both countries have engaged in a prolonged, low-level struggle with one another over Artsakh, with occasional flare ups. But on September 27, 2020, the conflict escalated back into a fully blown conventional war as Azerbaijan’s military launched attacks with armor, artillery and airpower in an attempt to seize Artsakh. They have done so with the full political and military support of Turkey – which committed the infamous and horrific 1915 genocide against the Armenian people.

The escalating conflict has quickly brought with it violence and suffering for the civilians of not only Armenia and Artsakh – which have been directly targeted – but also for the citizens of Azerbaijan, caught in the crossfire and victims of collateral damage. There have also been reports of Azerbaijani war crimes against Armenian POWs. As of November 10th, a contentious peace agreement brokered by Russia has taken effect that heavily favors Azerbaijan and has garnered mass opposition in Armenia, ending this most recent conflict between the two states in a way that virtually guarantees renewed fighting between them both in the future.

With all this in mind, it is understandable why Joe would strongly support both Artsakh and Armenia proper in defending themselves from Azerbaijani and Turkish aggression. However, clearly enough people were confused or upset by Joe’s words and actions that he felt like he had to make the tweet I referenced at the onset of this essay to clarify his feelings. That gets to the heart of an issue that I’ve seen a fair amount in the relatively short time since I first delved into the world of leftism, when it comes to war and international relations: a misconception of what it really means to be “anti-war.”

Being Anti-War vs. Being Pacifist

On the surface being “anti-war” seems like it should be very simple: you are against war. That’s certainly what the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition gets across when it defines the term as being “opposed to war” (yes, I’m actually pulling the high school book report move of referring to the dictionary definition of a word; deal with it, internet). The gist of that definition certainly seems to be the point I’ve seen articulated by any anti-war protest or protestor I’ve ever seen – either in person or through second-hand accounts in the media.

That being said, an important distinction needs to be made between being opposed to something and refusing to participate in it. In this case, I mean the difference between being anti-war and pacifist – a distinction that feels like it gets muddled when it comes to anti-war activism. This is the distinction I that I believe that people who were confused by Joe’s vocal support of Armenia were not making.

While being anti-war means generally being opposed to war, being pacifist is specifically defined as “refusal to bear arms on moral or religious grounds” (yes I did it again; die mad about it; word choice and definitions matter). The distinction here is important because while being pacifist rules out participation in war altogether – even if it is forced upon you – being anti-war does not. Being opposed to an activity does not necessitate a refusal to engage in an activity, especially if your well-being and the well-being of others depends on it.

I offer up an extremely simplified example: I am generally opposed to punching someone in the face (except if they’re a Nazi; in which case, you should feel free to liberate their teeth from their fashy head). That being said, if I was suddenly attacked by some rando on the street – or a good friend or family member of mine was attacked in the same situation and I was standing right next to them – you’d better believe I’d fight back with anything and everything I had at my disposal until the assailant was no longer a threat to me or whoever I was with who had been attacked.  

The logic of that example translates to war. Like Joe, I consider myself to be anti-war – despite my lifelong study of it and fascination with it as a phenomenon. But that does not mean I think that you should never fight a war under any circumstances, even if you are the one being attacked by an aggressor. I’m no pacifist – as the above example probably made crystal clear.

On the contrary, I believe that a country that is the victim of aggression has every right to defend itself – just like the victim of a random attack would in my hypothetical example. You could go even further to say that a country has an obligation to defend its people from aggression – especially in the face of mass destruction and possible genocide. Moreover, I’d argue that in the spirit of international solidarity, if an allied or innocent country is the victim of aggression, any leftist state has a duty to come to that ally’s aid and help to defend them and their people until the aggressor is no longer in a position to do them any harm. In my eyes, this is the only major reason a leftist government would to go to war: to defend yourself or an ally against attacks by an aggressor (another time we can get into the nuance of lesser included cases such as going to war to prevent genocide or to enforce or keep the peace – something definitely relevant to cases like Armenia’s as well).

This is certainly not a new idea. In the aftermath of World War I, the signatories to the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 all renounced war as an instrument of policy – though reserving the right to war in the case of self-defense. Likewise, the United Nations Charter prohibits its members from the use of force to resolve conflicts between one another, but still allows them the right to self-defense if attacked by an aggressor. Naturally, these documents have failed to stop aggression altogether, but the point here is that the idea of being anti-war but reserving the right to defend oneself against an aggressor is an established and realistic one. You can’t count on everyone else to play by the same rules. There are always going to be those with malicious intent and the ability to act upon that intent.

The “Don’t Start None, Won’t Be None” Doctrine

All this connects back to one of the main points I made in the first essay for this site and one of the main reasons why I started writing these essays in the first place. Even if your country were to turn completely leftist overnight, you simply cannot count on ever other place in the world to do the same simultaneously, nor can you count on them to respect that change.

While some might like to imagine a sudden and complete globe-spanning revolution turning the planet into a fully-automated Star Trek-style space communist paradise in short order, the reality is that will almost certainly never happen (though it’s fun to think about, I won’t lie). The reality is that if any kind of leftist administration is ever achieved in the United States, we would have to deal with an international order based around states and governments. Within that order there would be more than a handful of states that would disagree with our governing principles, as well as with some that might actively wish us and anyone aligned with us harm.

This doesn’t mean that we should be doing more of the same as we have under past administrations, intervening in ongoing conflicts and launching invasions in the pursuit of empire and in the service of capital. Doing that, but under new branding, would simply be imperialism in another guise much in the same way some authoritarian leftist governments have couched it. A democratic socialist government should not seek to start wars. However, if attacked – or if an ally who shares the same principles and values as us is attacked – we should fight back. We should definitely seek to fight to defend ourselves or our friends until the aggressor is no longer in a position to do further harm to ourselves or the ally.

Almost more important than fighting back to defend oneself, is the act of making this intent clear to anyone who may wish to do us or others any harm, exercising the simple concept of deterrence. Clearly and effectively signaling that while we will not seek out and start wars and wish to live in peace, that we will defend ourselves fully if we are attacked, in itself may help to prevent wars that might occur if a potential adversary sees us as being pacifists rather than being simply anti-war but willing to fight back in the way we have defined so far. I don’t have an eloquent name for this overall foreign policy and defense doctrine, so I’ll settle for calling it the “don’t start none, won’t be none” doctrine.

The gist of the “don’t start none, won’t be none” doctrine is that we won’t go around causing trouble, kicking in doors and launching invasions for resources or political clout. But if someone comes around intending to the do the same against us or an innocent victim, then the aggressor had best not be operating under the delusion they won’t face any kind of retaliation.

This is not to say there may not be lesser included cases where invention may be necessary. Things like intervening in an internal conflict to stop a genocide or for other humanitarian reasons (something we can cover in a future essay). But in terms of large-scale armed conflict between states, the only real acceptable reason for a non-authoritarian leftist government to go to war should to be for the purpose of defending itself and like-minded allies (in another future piece I’ll also dedicate more time to thinking about what that might look like in terms of execution and operations)

The Last Resort (but still an option)

Many leftists might see war as a horror and a nightmare that should be avoided at all costs. I understand that viewpoint and I agree with that, but only to a point.

I think a country should always try methods short of war to avoid a conflict first but avoiding war should never come at “all costs”, no matter what. This is especially true when avoiding war would entail giving up everything you and everyone you care about had worked to achieve, or potentially could entail your very life – a prospect that Armenians today are very cognizant of given their history with ethnic cleansing and genocide.

The example of appeasement leading up to World War II is often overused – or even incorrectly used in support of ill-intent towards others – but that doesn’t mean that it does not carry valid lessons that we should take to heart. Seeking solutions short of war should always be the first attempt at resolving issues between states – maybe even the second, third, and so on as well. But you should never simply give up everything you have in order to avoid a war – and if you did, at that point the war would probably still happen anyway. Likewise, you should always be prepared to fight a war if it comes to that – even if you are committed to not being the one to draw first blood in a conflict.

A reality I will return to constantly throughout these rantings and ravings is the fact that I don’t think war or states are going anywhere anytime soon, regardless of how our politics may change in the decades to come. I like to think I understand why some people say we should simply abolish borders and disband states and end war that way. But as a realist (lower case “r”, not upper case “R” like Morgenthau or Mearsheimer), at the very least I don’t believe that is feasible in our lifetimes or even the lifetimes of the next generation (at the very most, I don’t believe it is possible ever, but that’s something maybe I can expand on in another essay). War is and will continue to be a persistent element of life on Earth. As long as there are individuals with the ability to marshal people and resources to that end – which there always will be – war will continue to occur.

With war remaining a constant possibility, we will need to be prepared to fight it, even if we do not seek to start it. We will need to be prepared to fight it even if we are not the ones who attack first, because there will always be those who are weaker and more vulnerable through no fault of their own who may be preyed upon by aggressors for any number of reasons, and we’d be paying lip service to any ideas of international solidarity and other principles of leftism and basic human decency if we did not come to their aid. Consider if you will, yet another form of mutual aid, same as helping to provide food, medical care, and other necessities. If it comes to blows, we must be prepared to offer our own ability to fight as another form of aid to those who need it.

War is a terrible and destructive man-made disaster. But just as we can’t avoid natural disasters, as long as we exist as a species we will never be able to completely avoid man-made ones either, and we must be prepared for them even if we hope and pray they never happen.

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

About to be controversial? I don't know much about the situation in Qatar. My point is not about Qatar as much as it is about how certain people are reacting to the World Cup controversy - it's like they're getting off on it.

Kpop reddit needs to shut the fuck up about Jungkook and BTS. BTS and NFTs are redditors' favorite controversial topics. Minors in kpop and the sexualization and exploitation of minors in kpop - ie. the dark side of kpop? Kinda sad but we'll listen to kpop anyway. Korea having no anti-discrimination laws and not being minority friendly (it's much better than Qatar but still pretty bad)? Sad, but we like our kdramas. Mass consumerism (unsustainable and unethical production and consumption) and corruption in kpop? It's all good, gotta have those photocards. Saudi Arabia? The BTS concert was bad but Kcon is okay. Like, pick a fucking side.

Not to minimize the situation in Qatar and not saying we shouldn't boycott the World Cup in Qatar, but FIFA has been dirty since the beginning and people only care now when it comes to Qatar? There were controversies in the past, like with Russia, but FIFA is not the problem to people, is it? It's only Qatar?

Where does your chocolate, coffee, cotton come from? Do you know that slave labor, particularly child labor, is riffe in these industries? Your favorite companies know about it. They sell you some bullshit about Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa and sustainability but it's all amounts to very little. Your clothing is made in sweatshops. Workers who try to unionize are often fired, beaten, maybe raped, sometimes killed. There's blood on your hands too.

Boycott Qatar all you want, but take a hard look at yourself in the process and maybe take that energy and protest against capitalism as well. Maybe boycott kpop companies as well, and FIFA in general. This doesn't end with Qatar, but it sure seems like Qatar is the only evil in the world right now. Why aren't you criticizing your country and their players for taking part in the World Cup? Are you criticizing the people who are watching the World Cup right now - many of them outraged as well - and bringing in money to FIFA and Qatar? I hate to play devil's advocate but people are always okay with turning a blind eye to Western companies and Western problems comparatively to Eastern countries.

Like, you should care about those who died in Qatar and about their families. You shouldn't want to give Qatar and FIFA your money and support. But what about everything else you choose to ignore and give a pass? Redditors are saying the situation is black and white and there are no 'whataboutisms'. If that's the case, then all of you who posted your condolences when Queen Elizabeth died are evil; all of you who knowingly buy cheap sweatshop-made clothing for fun are evil (buy second hand, buy less, support ethical and sustainable brands if possible); all of you who buy tech are evil (do you know where those metals come from? People die in mining too).

Honestly, not to be callous, but picking and choosing what issue to be outrageously angry about and ignoring the rest of the world's problems is more performative than Jungkook or BTS's 'activism' (they've never labeled it as such). I've criticized BTS plenty and will continue to do so - I'm not blind to their flaws at all. Maybe the issue with Qatar isn't bothering me as much at is could be because I've become desensitized to BTS not caring about problematic people (Snoop Dog, Kayne, Nicki Minaj, Dr. Dre etc.), but, like, please, shut the fuck up for a second. You sound like my dad who was ranting against Qatar yet excited to watch the matches. Make it make sense.

[theoncomingdoo-dah]

Episode 1.3 The Unquiet Dead

so I actually used to be kinda neutral on this episode. not my least favorite but not one of my favorites

WILL THAT CHANGE? Stay tuned.

not gonna lie, the opening is genuinely creepy.

seeing this opening, the BETTER ONE, after seeing the one for series 7 so many times is kinda a trip

LITTLE DETAIL! The way that Nine is talking to Rose in the opening while the TARDIS is in flight sounds very...insisting. Like FUTURE WAS BUST, LETS GO TO THE PAST NOW SINCE I PROMISED YOU A TIME MACHINE. Almost like he's kicking himself for where he took her first, so now they need to go somewhere better. I never noticed that!

And the fact that he chose Christmas as the time to bring her. Something safe and nice. He was really trying. 🥺

"Not a bad life?"..."Better with two!

on God, one of my favorite Ninerose quotes. Especially with the teeny tiny awkward pause after it.... GAHHH LOVE IT

Nine just smiling after Rose passes (when she can't see him) Please. PLEASE.

then he says her in the dress and her hair put up, the look of disbelief in his eyes like "wow, she can look even prettier??"

AND SHE JUST ASSUMES THAT HES GONNA MAKE FUN OF HER?? ROSE PLEASE

And then the draw back. He always has to keep his cards close to his chest.

CRIME AGAINST NATURE WE DIDNT GET TO SEE NINE IN HIS 1860 OUTFIT. THERE ARE PICTURES. WHY DIDNT IT HAPPEN.

Rose you look so pretty

WHEN THEY LINK ARMS AAAAAAA

He is just BEAMING

hahaha wales jokes

people screaming! bad stuff! Nine: "AW HELL YES"

FANTASTIC

The scene between Nine and Charles Dickens is great. Honestly amazing.

Nine talks him up and how amazing he is only to be like "Yeah that one thing you did, that was shit"

God I love him so much

Nine goes from being interested in the pipes but the MOMENT he hears Rose, he gets all serious. MMMMM LOVE IT

KICKS THE DOOR DOWN FUCK YOU

Another quick switch! After grabbing Rose, he says "hi!" with a big smile, only to get all serious again about the walking dead, then smiles again when he gets brag about finding Charles Dickens

When Rose goes off on the undertaker, Nine just stands in the corner, cheesing. I fucking love this dynamic.

Also another detail? More than likely when Rose was talking about the undertaker hands "having a quick wander", that was probably Gwyneth. (since she grabbed Rose's legs to put her in the herse.) Complete accident.

JUST SHUT UP

But he still apologized later. 🥺

He's honestly being so understanding with Charles! Like "You're not stupid for not believing, there's just more to the world than you don't know about."

There's she goes. Rose "what are your pronouns and would you like to join a union" Tyler.

Another detail. Gwyneth mentions that Rose has been thinking about her father alot. "More than ever." Rose is now a time traveler. This means that Father's Day was not a spur of the moment thing. She'd been thinking it over for awhile, maybe even working up the courage to ask the Doctor if she could go back. That's...alot.

BAD WOLF MENTIONED EYYYYY

how long have you been standing there Nine

"I love a happy medium." sir shut up before I kiss you on the mouth

When the Gelth mention "The Time War", Rose looks over in Nine's direction. And he looks distressed...

Charles gets drunk after the seance. Fair.

I really like the "moral dilemma" exchange between Rose and Nine here.

Love the fire thing that happens when the Gelth reveal their intentions.

NINES FUCKING PISSED

I can't help but think while Rose and Nine are locked behind the bars that he's thinking "dammit I fucked up again"

IN CARDIFF 😬

"I'm so glad I met you." end me. just end me now.

Charles interrupts the moment but for good reason, he's excused

man I miss when the forehead kisses were platonic and sweet and wholesome 😑

FANTASTIC

"Down, boy."

I really like the ending to this one. I can't tell if Charles is really happy or still kinda drunk. Either way it's great.

Conclusion:

NEVER FORGET WHAT THEY TOOK FROM US

-referring to Nine in his 1860 outfit-

[prettyhighforawhiteguyblog]

Amazon Vine reviewers should unionize.

We are being thrown housewares for our work. We are not getting milk frothers for free. We are creators writing content. Writing advertisements for Amazon itself.

Our critical reviews are used to lie about Amazons integrity. Our positive reviews get shit sold. Even our semi critical reviews being sales because they create stars and give a new product traction.

And we have to really create those reviews on our own because we sell half our shit on the Facebook Black Marketplace and write reviews that are based on what we see in the pictures.

Amazon knows we sell them. They have some nefarious reason making us pay taxes on our "free" stuff that they probably making us pay taxes on it so they can write it off as a fucking business expense.

As if the money mattered to Bezos. A few hundred bucks in taxes on our little home business means so much to us. Far more than to Bezos or the IRS. And the IRS could fucking leave us alone if Bezos would just start paying his fucking taxes on his infinite wealth. What is he going to lose when he has a trillion Freedom Tokens? But he makes us pay exorbitant taxes on trinkets we deliver all over town like drug dealers just to get some fucking pocket money.

Fuck that noise. Our ad content brings in billions for Amazon.

Mostly because they help these predatory sellers foist the same 3 shitty makes in 40 alphabet soup companies using the exact same fucking photos colluding the shit out of America. They know we're faking it, you know we're faking it. Even half the customers suspect we're faking it. But enough believe it. And these fuckers get a few dozen reviews under the newest branding of the same fucking shit from China Bezos floods is with.

You know Amazon taxes them all for using it's site and I'm sure they have some policy that makes more money somehow by charging new companies higher taxes or some shit. And the Chinese just calculate that as a minor cost of business expense.

They are raping the shit out of us for dollars and giving us our own recycled plastic shit in return.

It's hilarious. I applaud it. Well played Xi. I bow to you sir.

Now here's two middle fingers and a spit in you eye for the Weigers.

I wish.

This little scenario would doubtlessly cost me my life. I'm sure Mr Xi would make my death s priority of the Chinese Intelligence Agencies.

And I'm sure all our Bluetooth shit is infected with Chinese viruses to spy and affect our computers. I'm a dead man. All my shit is networked and GPS.

And I'm also sure the manufacturers are slapping in their own malware with the spyware contract software on everything to make extra money on our processing per and data. And a whole fucking lot of profiteering by draining all our processing for supercomputer networks dedicated to fucking crypto Global Warming accelerator bullshit for more stupid Freedom Bucks to live in Capitalism. But the Jerry rigged network of devices and computers is kinda a genius way of making at least this particular super computers doing crypto is not making CC2 directly. I mean they are still profiting from it... But anyway if someone needed a supercomputer for something more noble like scientific research...

If original, this is a Nobel kind of idea and I want a cut. A volunteer network of people putting more reputable malware on their computers. People can volunteer their processing power for science. It would never run while you were active, but when you laptop or phone goes to sleep it uses your computers processing power and spare ram to support say Stanford research. It would fire up research. It would be a cool thing to do this for your alma mater and your favorite basketball team.

Back to business. Unionizing and getting paid.

Our creative reviews get people to buy this shit. We deserve a cut

We write the reviews that get the people to buy your shit. And make you a fuckton more of these fucking US Dollars chaining us to Capitalism. We can't even live without money like a peasant. We need Freedom Bucks. And you don't. And we believe that however much that money is worth to Bezos, we deserve our wages. We deserve a cut in this dirty work.

You sell shit. We all know this. You could demand some level of quality on Amazon like the old stores. They had several standard brands. But only the brands they trusted the quality of or if the people demanded Jordans or whatever Capitalist shit we liked at the time.

We help you shovel this nameless shit at people for gross amounts of profit. Give me my pay.

I create the ads that people read. And here's the crazy thing. They find out our assessments were all over as individuals, but they're still relatively trustworthy as a whole group.

Figuring out how shitty or not this shitty product is going to work is a fucking skill. We are pretty fucking good at it.

On the rare occasion that we do we get something that is truly good, we make sure the reader knows it because we want people to get good shit.

And really, we're pretty likely to just say 5 stars and make shit up out of our butt in the review because hey, it probably works as well as one can expect for 50 bucks.

Our reviews are ads they get customers. First to check out shit with reviews to see how shitty it is and whether or not to take a chance. They look at reviews first to see what other people thought after they bought it. They see Vines. They might ignore them it they might use them as an advisor and take a chance anyway on a good bet according to johhnyfiveisalive7. And it turns outjohhnyfiveisalive7 is pretty reliable in their little analysis and obvious personal experiences. And who doesn't like a story and silly pics. So they trust johhnyfiveisalive7's suggestions and buy more of the shit you shoveled at them to try. You get a community of respected experts. People buy the shit you let us keep for our work. Even if it is shitty, just because it got enough meh reviews they take a chance on it. (And get stuck with more cheap shit usually.)

Amazon doesn't sell inexpensive decent quantity shit. It sells cheap shitty shit that is occasionally not so expensive.

Anyways Bezos is making boku bank of our creative work and expert, respected analysis. We should unionize and demand our cut.

Bezos will threaten to cut your vine access. Oh noes.

Your house is already furnished with shitty Amazon shit. Selling this shit is a shit show for spending cash unless you get real dedicated. The new toys and gifts to give are nice. But really, what do you get for your creative work beyond telling a few jokes in public.

What will they do without decent writers all of a sudden?

We They might bring in scabs. But they won't be good at their job and since the products are always new they need a new source of trusted reviewers.

So they might try to phase out dissidents here and there or in waves at leadership remove them from the community and to prevent union action. Be strong. Union strong.

But anyway we should ask for wages in proportion to the money we are bringing in and to the work we are really doing. We should get hundreds of thousands. We have better odds asking for ad creation level wages.

Without us they couldn't push all this alphabet shit on Americans and bug all our shit for China and slow down all our shit for crypto.

They can't keep selling their shit because nobody trusts their shit because it's all the same shitty shit with me shitty names that don't make sense. They killed all the real brands. They just flooded the market with cheap shit that is all nameless and unknown. Who's going to buy the latest shitty model everybody copies of nobody will review it.

Who's going to take a chance on a weird new name with 0 reviews? You need traction. You need Vine now. There's no history on all these new models. We can't see last year's buyers or 5 years ago buyers. Usually we can't even see last month's reviews, they are so new.

Nobody is going to buy your flea market shit without us. Vine wants a cut.

================

By the by:

You know sneaker companies and Michael Jordan in particular need to face up to their destruction of Black neighborhoods with their shitty Capitalism shows. I say Jordon because he really launched the sneaker collector craze. With his flashy shoes and slick ads and likable personality plus court dominance.

Jordan really needsto face up and and pay up.

He has to face up to the fact he profited off some terrible shit as he sold his shitty shoes made by fucking prison slave labor. He fucked up Black community, destroyed lives and whole inner city neighborhoods. As people fight fight and died and desperately sold it bought it robbed it to wear or sell for it's inflated price based on our adoration and admiration of Jordan. People regularly resorted to prostitution and violence in order to have and/or steal. How many people died over a back alley hold up gone wrong. How many ended up in the Justice System, in hell.

Jordan needs to pay up. Reinvest in Black America. That could be his new thing while he still quietly profits off of shoe sales.

[bard-llama]

I could use some good vibes/friendly hugs/whatever today. My entire queer staff resource group just got punished in retaliation for me speaking up in favor of our unionization effort. We're so close to winning, but gods, they really are good at fucking our morale over.

So in case anyone needs a reminder: management is NEVER your friend. Doesn't matter if you know them and love them and have worked with them for years. When push comes to shove, they will ALWAYS fuck you over in favor of upper management/business profits. ALWAYS.

If somehow we fail to pass the union, I'm almost certainly getting fired, which at least means I'll be able to collect unemployment, but it won't be much. But I also CAN'T work much anymore, so I think I'm just kinda fucked. Which is GREAT because I also no longer have short term disability insurance, which means if I need surgery again, then I just... don't get income for that period.

Gods, fuck this country so much.

In case anyone feels like it, here's my kofi: https://ko-fi.com/llama1412

[mariacallous]

So, I gave my employer my 2 weeks notice last Friday, and today I was sick so I called in. My supervisor asked me to meet with her on teams, so I agreed figuring it was important. There was my supervisor, manager, and someone from HR there. They told me that I had hit my occurrence limit on absences (which I'm pretty sure is wrong?) and they were gonna move up my termination date to today. Like, I feel like I should be happy, this gets me out of a bunch of tedious wrap up work I would have needed to do, and my medical coverage is good until the end of the month, but I feel kinda shitty. Maybe like I got fired instead of leaving on my own terms? Idk, this situation just feels weird to me. Can I ask your take on the situation? Am I being irrational?

1. Some places do have limits on how often you can call out sick in a certain time period or with other restrictions - I would check your union contract/agreement or, if non-unionized, look at your employment contract/agreement. To give an example, my previous job it was in our union contract that if you called out sick three times in a three-month period, the next time(s) after that you would need a doctor's note in order to use sick leave and not be classed as AWOP (absent without pay) for that day/period you were out sick, and the three month period started from the date of the last time you called out sick. The number of days you were out sick didn't matter, just the number of times you were out.

2. It is a little weird, since you were basically a week and half or so from being gone anyway - although this does save them having to pay or schedule you for the remainder of the time. You might want to check your contract/agreement and see if early termination affects anything else, like accrual payout. Depending on the termination reason, it could also affect your ability to collect unemployment (if that was a concern or issue).

3. I think the fact that it is less on your own terms is definitely a factor, and the fact that it happened virtually and not in-person.

[gayvillains]

Hi. For the ask game: 1 (actual lol), 10, 18, 28 (for someone other than Julian!), 50. That's it I'm done!

(Content warning for suicide and institutionalisation in the headcanons. I don't go into it in much depth but just in case)

1. Who is your favourite ghost?

oh yes, har-har! laugh it up! Julian is my favourite, tied with the Captain. you git.

10. Which ghost would you say you're least like?

Probably Kitty. I think I could probably find something in all the ghosts to relate to, and with her it's probably that I worry I'm that overbearing, but I'm not in actual fact. And possibly her naivety, but I don't think I'm that naive anymore. Kitty is very optimistic, unaware of boundaries, and innocent and I just am the grumpiest, most painfully self-aware little pervert ever.

18. What is your favourite Ghosts fanfiction?

There are soooo many good ones obviously but it has got to be Performative by inkyfishes. It had a big influence on me being into Julian/Cap and those snippets at the start and end about Julian's past were like 70% of my inspiration for starting a whole backstory fic lmao. It's so perfectly in-character and it's so rare that people write from Julian's pov and even rarer that it feels so authentic.

And I think about "A man at the Oxford Union told me that he loved me. That I was going to be Foreign Secretary. [...] That I was going to be Foreign Secretary if I stopped loving him" every single day of my LIFE!

Very close second place is Catching Up With My Eyes Wide Shut by TooManyFandomsNeverEnoughTime. But thinking about it for too long makes me go bright red so I shall not be elaborating.

28. Top 5 headcanons for [insert character name here]?

Very rude of you to not actually give me a character here. Here's Cap:

- Kinda heavy but I do strongly suspect his death was suicide. Ben mentioned that he knew from the start how the Captain died, but that they probably wouldn't bring it up? I think? Unless I'm misremembering.

- Leading on from that, I don't think any of the ghosts were there when he died. I kind of imagine something very exciting was going on in another room, like a party. Probably like the anniversary of the war ending so he's had time to get all those war medals. I think it's very hard to imagine the Captain outliving the war by very long, it's so entangled with who he is as a person... But anyway, none of the ghosts were there, and for a while he didn't even realise the pill had worked until he left the room and nobody could see him. And there was a caveman trying to jive.

- I don't think he was particularly into music, but I can imagine him passing a gramophone playing I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire by The Ink Spots and pausing until he becomes self-aware how it's started to affect him, thinking about Havers and whatnot.

- Pat and Julian are his best ghostie friends but I doubt he had many friends in life, instead he had colleagues, superiors, and inferiors. I think the reason he's closer to Julian and Pat is because he views them as on a sort of equal level of authority, as colleagues he respects rather than people he's responsible for or accountable to. It also means he butts heads with them more often, because they're also a sort of threat to his leadership (there can only be one Captain per company!)

- Back to being morose. I think the best explanation of his not fighting in WW1 is probably that he was in some kind of psychiatric ward for reasons relating to him being gay. It could equally have been a completely unrelated physical condition that meant he was hospitalised, I suppose, but what would have lasted all 4 years and then disappeared by WW2? Another alternate I guess is that he dodged the draft and then in the interwar years he was just so plagued with guilt over it that he threw himself into the war effort the next time around.

- This is six, I'm sorry, but I also just think he's from Coventry.

50. Name an AU you haven't seen someone create content for, but which you'd love to read a fic or see some art for.

I think a lot about the ghosts in each others' time periods, or in different time periods. That's something I'd love to see. Thomas and Julian as 1890s decadents/aesthetes. Cap in the Napoleonic Wars. Pat living in a 1960s hippie commune, etc. etc.

[pretoriafics]

Deep breaths - Immersive Weekends #3

Hey, guys! This is the last one from the Immersive Weekends. Actually, I should have posted it last weekend but it was my mom's birthday, so, I had to delay it. I'm kinda learning how to write smuts, but I think this is one of my faves! I found out that the secret is a sexy playlist lol

Have fun! <3

+18 ONLY Reader’s name: Meg Word count: 1.405 Pairings: White!Reader x Bucky Contain: Soulmate AU; Fluff <3; Smut Warnings: English is not my main language <3; Inappropriate language MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE MASTERLIST

Bucky was one of the rarest persons who anyone could find: He has a soulmate. Until he could find her, he would never see the colors of the world. During his life before being caught by Hydra, he tried so hard to find the one he was promised for him. However, he never found it. Barnes completely gives up his hope to found her when Hydra got him, and when he was finally free from them, he accepted he would never be able to find you. He was truly convinced his soulmate was already dead after so many years.

However, he was completely wrong.

You can even imagine how surprised and euphoric he was when he finally saw you for the first time. You were entering the Avengers Compound with your little brother Peter, smiling and laughing. Gosh, your smile was the most beautiful thing Bucky ever saw. Your ocean eyes had the power to embrace him and let him completely stuck. Your smile was inebriating, intoxicating. While the colors of the world were being revealed to him, Bucky was inevitably hitten by a kind of love at first sight that he could never be able to comprehend. You are not what he was expecting, but more than that. His mind would never be capable of imagining such a beautiful creature.

You did not know how to act in front of him when you realized Bucky was your mate. When he came to you to say his first "hi", you blushed. Bucky almost melted in pure love when he saw your red cheeks. He approached you calmly and with no hurries, and then, you finally get the first kiss of yours under the stars on the terrace of the Avengers Compound.

But, well... Bucky was being a little jealous lately. He did not talk with you about this, but you felt it when you were talking to a friend of yours. Well, it was pretty obvious. He cannot stop looking at your friend with a deadly glare.

Then, one night on his couch at his New York apartment, he looks at you while watching Netflix and simply says:

"Sweetheart, I have to mark you. How else will everyone know you’re mine?"

You just look at him, blushing because you know what it means. The only way he could mark you is under a union - which was just an exquisite way to say he only can do it during sex. You guys had never done that before, and you were pretty shy about this. You were just waiting for the right time.

"Are this because of Norman?"

"I don't like this guy."

"Babe-"

"You're mine, Meg. I'd looked for you for so much time, doll..." He said, holding your face with his human hand "I'd waited for you during so many years... And now that I've got you, I just can't lose you."

You gave him a smile, almost melting in pure love.

"You will not lose me, babe." You let out a low chuckle, founding his words adorable. You love the way he says he needs you. "I'm here with you. You are everything I had asked for. Actually, you're more than that."

He gave you a smile, pulling you to his lap.

"I want you."

You put your arms under his shoulders while sliding your fingers through his hair.

"I want you too."

Bucky puts his human hand on your face and pulls you to a slow and wet kiss. All that love on your heart was overflowing while you kiss him, feeling the taste of his lips.

While Bucky? Oh, he was addicted to everything on you. Your eyes, your lips... He has not touched your body the way he wanted yet, but he already was addicted to it too. Secretly, he watched every inch of your body. He watched every curve, and when you both are making out, Bucky always touches you with such a will. However, he always tried to restrain himself. He knew your wish to go slow.

But he cannot avoid his thoughts a few times. The simple act of looking at your body always made things with him. Now, he finally got permission to take your body to his wills.

His hands run through your body, firm and so in need of you. When he finally holds your waist, he pulls you closer while holding you with his vibranium arm. His human hand runs through your bare leg, and you let out a sigh between the kiss, tempted by his touch.

That made a fire burn inside of him, begging for you.

Urging to have your body, Bucky slaps one of your ass cheeks and holds it after that, making you let out a low giggle in amusement. A moan trespasses your lips between the kiss, and you move your hips painfully slow on him.

Man, he needs you so much. Each move of yours drives him crazy.

Bucky took your pajama shirt off of you, interrupting the kiss. Then, he slides his thumb under your inner lip while you look at his eyes, needy. You already started to blush due to the high temperature of your body.

If you already are so beautiful wanting him, he cannot even imagine how perfect you are when you come.

Possessed by lust, Bucky wraps his human fingers through your hair and pulls it. Your head goes back, exposing your neck and bare chest to his deepest desires. His lips go to the skin of your neck, putting soft kisses and slow nibbles on you while his vibranium hand rests on your moving hips. Then, he took you and lay you on the couch, fitting himself between your legs. Looking deep into your eyes, he slides his hands in the inner part of your legs slowly. It is incredible how everything on your body is like gasoline to him. The softness of your skin, the way your chest goes up and down with your deep breaths, your blushed skin to his touches, the way you bite your inner lip while you look at him... Everything just fed his will to tame your body and made you scream his name.

Bucky takes off the shorts of your pajamas, letting you just in your red lace. You sat on the couch, holding the hem of his pants. Then, he grabs your wrists, snapping his tongue in denial to you.

"No, no, no, baby girl." He pushes you to the couch again, letting you fell lay. His voice was so deep that it is making shivers run through your body. "Stay right here."

Without taking his eyes off of you, Bucky pulls his pants down with his heart running into his chest. Then, he pulls your red lace to the side, earning free access to you. Thirsty for your lips, he curves himself on top of you by supporting his body with his vibranium arm. Bucky kisses you while he enters your body slowly. Burning in lust, he groans while you let out a low moan. You already feel your forearm burning slightly, with the mate bond mark gaining form.

Bucky stops kissing you, looking deep into your eyes while he moves in and out of you slowly. His human hand runs through the side of your body down to up, feeling your body contort intoxicated by lust. Your hand slides to his back, craving your fingernails under his skin when he moves faster. You let escape a moan, with your eyes trapped on his. Seeing you contort in pleasure was pretty satisfying to him. It was the most beautiful thing ever.

His human hand wraps around your neck while he moves faster inside of you. Bucky blue eyes were darker in pure pleasure now. And then, a moan of yours got mixed into the sound of his body going into yours. It was his time to let out a groan. Barnes approaches his mouth to your ear and, with his deep and low voice, he said:

"Fuck, I love these sounds you make." He put his mouth away from your ear to look deep into your eyes now. His voice was imperative, demanding. "I want more, and I wanna hear it louder. I want everyone to know who you belong to. Let them heard it, babe."

The entire condo knew now who you belong to. And, oh, they heard you. All night.