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I.1.2 Is libertarian communism impossible?

In a word, no. While the “calculation argument” (see last section) is often used by propertarians (so-called right-wing “libertarians”) as the basis for the argument that communism (a moneyless society) is impossible, it is based on certain false ideas of what prices do, the nature of the market and how a communist-anarchist society would function. This is hardly surprising, as Mises based his theory on a variation of neo-classical economics and the Marxist social-democratic (and so Leninist) ideas of what a “socialist” economy would look like. So there has been little discussion of what a true (i.e. libertarian) communist society would be like, one that utterly transformed the existing conditions of production by workers’ self-management and the abolition of both wage-labour and money. However, it is useful here to indicate exactly why communism would work and why the “calculation argument” is flawed as an objection to it.

Mises argued that without money there was no way a socialist economy would make “rational” production decisions. Not even Mises denied that a moneyless society could estimate what is likely to be needed over a given period of time (as expressed as physical quantities of definite types and sorts of objects). As he argued, “calculation in natura in an economy without exchange can embrace consumption-goods only.” His argument was that the next step, working out which productive methods to employ, would not be possible, or at least would not be able to be done “rationally,” i.e. avoiding waste and inefficiency. The evaluation of producer goods “can only be done with some kind of economic calculation. The human mind cannot orient itself properly among the bewildering mass of intermediate products and potentialities without such aid. It would simply stand perplexed before the problems of management and location.” Thus we would quickly see “the spectacle of a socialist economic order floundering in the ocean of possible and conceivable economic combinations without the compass of economic calculation.” [“Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth”, pp. 87–130, Collectivist Economic Planning, F.A. von Hayek (ed.), p. 104, p. 103 and p. 110] Hence the claim that monetary calculation based on market prices is the only solution.

This argument is not without its force. How can a producer be expected to know if tin is a better use of resources than iron when creating a product if all they know is that iron and tin are available and suitable for their purpose? Or, if we have a consumer good which can be made with A + 2B or 2A + B (where A and B are both input factors such as steel, oil electricity, etc.) how can we tell which method is more efficient (i.e. which one used least resources and so left the most over for other uses)? With market prices, Mises’ argued, it is simple. If A cost $10 and B $5, then clearly method one would be the most efficient ($20 versus $25). Without the market, Mises argued, such a decision would be impossible and so every decision would be “groping in the dark.” [Op. Cit., p. 110]

Mises’ argument rests on three flawed assumptions, two against communism and one for capitalism. The first two negative assumptions are that communism entails central planning and that it is impossible to make investment decisions without money values. We discuss why each is wrong in this section. Mises’ positive assumption for capitalism, namely that markets allow exact and efficient allocation of resources, is discussed in section I.1.5.

Firstly, Mises assumes a centralised planned economy. As Hayek summarised, the crux of the matter was “the impossibility of a rational calculation in a centrally directed economy from which prices are necessarily absent”, one which “involves planning on a most extensive scale — minute direction of practically all productive activity by one central authority”. Thus the “one central authority has to solve the economic problem of distributing a limited amount of resources between a practically infinite number of competing purposes” with “a reasonable degree of accuracy, with a degree of success equally or approaching the results of competitive capitalism” is what “constitutes the problem of socialism as a method.” [“The Nature and History of the Problem”, pp. 1–40, Op. Cit., p. 35, p. 19 and pp. 16–7]

While this was a common idea in Marxian social democracy (and the Leninism that came from it), centralised organisations are rejected by anarchism. As Bakunin argued, “where are the intellects powerful enough to embrace the infinite multiplicity and diversity of real interests, aspirations, wishes, and needs which sum up the collective will of the people? And to invent a social organisation that will not be a Procrustean bed upon which the violence of the State will more or less overtly force unhappy society to stretch out?” Moreover, a socialist government, “unless it were endowed with omniscience, omnipresence, and the omnipotence which the theologians attribute to God, could not possibly know and foresee the needs of its people, or satisfy with an even justice those interests which are most legitimate and pressing.” [Bakunin on Anarchism, pp. 268–9 and p. 318] For Malatesta, such a system would require “immense centralisation” and would either be “an impossible thing to achieve, or, if possible, would end up as a colossal and very complex tyranny.” [At the Café, p. 65]

Kropotkin, likewise, dismissed the notion of central planning as the “economic changes that will result from the social revolution will be so immense and so profound … that it will be impossible for one or even a number of individuals to elaborate the social forms to which a further society must give birth. The elaboration of new social forms can only be the collective work of the masses.” [Words of a Rebel, p. 175] The notion that a “strongly centralised Government” could ”command that a prescribed quantity” of a good “be sent to such a place on such a day” and be “received on a given day by a specified official and stored in particular warehouses” was not only “undesirable” but also “wildly Utopian.” During his discussion of the benefits of free agreement against state tutelage, Kropotkin noted that only the former allowed the utilisation of “the co-operation, the enthusiasm, the local knowledge” of the people. [The Conquest of Bread, pp. 82–3 and p. 137]

Kropotkin’s own experience had shown how the “high functionaries” of the Tsarist bureaucracy “were simply charming in their innocent ignorance” of the areas they were meant to be administrating and how, thanks to Marxism, the socialist ideal had “lost the character of something that had to be worked out by the labour organisations themselves, and became state management of industries — in fact, state socialism; that is, state capitalism.” As an anarchist, he knew that governments become “isolated from the masses” and so “the very success of socialism” required “the ideas of no-government, of self-reliance, of free initiative of the individual” to be “preached side by side with those of socialised ownership and production.” Thus it was essential that socialism was decentralised, federal and participatory, that the “structure of the society which we longed for” was “worked out, in theory and practice, from beneath” in by “all labour unions” with “a full knowledge of local needs of each trade and each locality.” [Memoirs of a Revolutionist, p. 184, p. 360, p. 374–5 and p. 376]

So anarchists can agree with Mises that central planning cannot work in practice as its advocates hope. Or, more correctly, Mises agreed with the anarchists, as we had opposed central planning first. We have long recognised that no small body of people can be expected to know what happens in society and plan accordingly (“No single brain nor any bureau of brains can see to this organisation.” [Issac Puente, Libertarian Communism, p. 29]). Moreover, there is the pressing question of freedom as well, for “the despotism of [the ‘socialist’] State would be equal to the despotism of the present state, increased by the economic despotism of all the capital which would pass into the hands of the State, and the whole would be multiplied by all the centralisation necessary for this new State. And it is for this reason that we, the Anarchists, friends of liberty, we intend to fight them to the end.” [Carlo Cafiero, “Anarchy and Communism”, pp. 179–86, The Raven, No. 6, p. 179]

As John O’Neill summarises, the “argument against centralised planning is one that has been articulated within the history of socialist planning as an argument for democratic and decentralised decision making.” [The Market, p. 132] So, for good economic and political reasons, anarchists reject central planning. This central libertarian socialist position feeds directly into refuting Mises’ argument, for while a centralised system would need to compare a large (“infinite”) number of possible alternatives to a large number of possible needs, this is not the case in a decentralised system. Rather than a vast multitude of alternatives which would swamp a centralised planning agency, one workplace comparing different alternatives to meet a specific need faces a much lower number of possibilities as the objective technical requirements (use-values) of a project are known and so local knowledge will eliminate most of the options available to a small number which can be directly compared.

As such, removing the assumption of a central planning body automatically drains Mises’ critique of much of its force — rather than an “the ocean of possible and conceivable economic combinations” faced by a central body, a specific workplace or community has a more limited number of possible solutions for a limited number of requirements. Moreover, any complex machine is a product of less complex goods, meaning that the workplace is a consumer of other workplace’s goods. If, as Mises admitted, a customer can decide between consumption goods without the need for money then the user and producer of a “higher order” good can decide between consumption goods required to meet their needs.

In terms of decision making, it is true that a centralised planning agency would be swamped by the multiple options available to it. However, in a decentralised socialist system individual workplaces and communes would be deciding between a much smaller number of alternatives. Moreover, unlike a centralised system, the individual firm or commune knows exactly what is required to meet its needs, and so the number of possible alternatives is reduced as well (for example, certain materials are simply technically unsuitable for certain tasks).

Mises’ other assumption is equally flawed. This is that without the market, no information is passed between producers beyond the final outcome of production. In other words, he assumed that the final product is all that counts in evaluating its use. Needless to say, it is true that without more information than the name of a given product it is impossible to determine whether using it would be an efficient utilisation of resources. Yet more information can be provided which can be used to inform decision making. As socialists Adam Buick and John Crump point out, “at the level of the individual production unit or industry, the only calculations that would be necessary in socialism would be calculations in kind. On the one side would be recorded the resources (materials, energy, equipment, labour) used up in production and on the other the amount of good produced, together with any by-products… . Socialist production is simply the production of use values from use values, and nothing more.” [State Capitalism: The Wages System Under New Management, p. 137] Thus any good used as an input into a production process would require the communication of this kind of information.

The generation and communication of such information implies a decentralised, horizontal network between producers and consumers. This is because what counts as a use-value can only be determined by those directly using it. Thus the production of use-values from use-values cannot be achieved via central planning, as the central planners have no notion of the use-value of the goods being used or produced. Such knowledge lies in many hands, dispersed throughout society, and so socialist production implies decentralisation. Capitalist ideologues claim that the market allows the utilisation of such dispersed knowledge, but as John O’Neill notes, “the market may be one way in which dispersed knowledge can be put to good effect. It is not … the only way”. “The strength of the epistemological argument for the market depends in part on the implausibility of assuming that all knowledge could be centralised upon some particular planning agency” he stresses, but Mises’ “argument ignores, however, the existence of the decentralised but predominantly non-market institutions for the distribution of knowledge … The assumption that only the market can co-ordinate dispersed non-vocalisable knowledge is false.” [Op. Cit., p. 118 and p. 132]

So, in order to determine if a specific good is useful to a person, that person needs to know its “cost.” Under capitalism, the notion of cost has been so associated with price that we have to put the word “cost” in quotation marks. However, the real cost of, say, writing a book, is not a sum of money but so much paper, so much energy, so much ink, so much human labour. In order to make a rational decision on whether a given good is better for meeting a given need than another, the would-be consumer requires this information. However, under capitalism this information is hidden by the price.

Somewhat ironically, given how “Austrian” economics tends to stress that the informational limitations are at the root of its “impossibility” of socialism, the fact is that the market hides a significant amount of essential information required to make a sensible investment decision. This can be seen from an analysis of Mises’ discussion on why labour-time cannot replace money as a decision-making tool. Using labour, he argued, “leaves the employment of material factors of production out of account” and presents an example of two goods, P and Q, which take 10 hours to produce. P takes 8 hours of labour, plus 2 units of raw material A (which is produced by an hour’s socially necessary labour). Q takes 9 hours of labour and one unit of A. He asserts that in terms of labour P and Q “are equivalent, but in value terms P is more valuable than Q. The former is false, and only the later corresponds to the nature and purpose of calculation.” [“Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth”, Op. Cit., p. 113]

The flaw in his argument is clear. Assuming that an hour of socially necessary labour is £10 then, in price terms, P would have £80 of direct labour costs, with £20 of raw material A while Q would have £90 of direct labour and £10 of A. Both cost £100 so it hard to see how this “corresponds to the nature and purpose of calculation”! Using less of raw material A is a judgement made in addition to “calculation” in this example. The question of whether to economise on the use of A simply cannot be made using prices. If P, for example, can only be produced via a more ecologically destructive process than Q or if the work process by which P is created is marked by dull, mindless work but Q’s is more satisfying for the people involved than Q may be considered a better decision. Sadly, that kind of information is not communicated by the price mechanism.

As John O’Neill points out, “Mises’ earlier arguments against socialist planning turned on an assumption about commensurability. His central argument was that rational economic decision-making required a single measure on the basis of which the worth of alternative states of affairs could be calculated and compared.” [Ecology, Policy and Politics, p. 115] This central assumption was unchallenged by Taylor and Lange in their defence of “socialism”, meaning that from the start the debate against Mises was defensive and based on the argument that socialist planning could mimic the market and produce results which were efficient from a capitalist point of view.

Anarchists question whether using prices means basing all decision making on one criterion and ignoring all others is a rational thing to do. As O’Neill suggests, “the relative scarcity of items … hardly exhaust the full gamut of information that is distributed throughout society which might be relevant to the co-ordination of economic activities and plans.” [The Market, p. 196] Saying that a good costs £10 does not tell you much about the amount of pollution its production or use generates, under what conditions of labour it was produced, whether its price is affected by the market power of the firm producing it, whether it is produced in an ecologically sustainable way, and so forth. Similarly, saying that another, similar, good costs £9 does not tell you whether than £1 difference is due to a more efficient use of inputs or whether it is caused by imposing pollution onto the planet.

And do prices actually reflect costs? The question of profit, the reward for owning capital and allowing others to use it, is hardly a cost in the same way as labour, resources and so on (attempts to explain profits as an equivalent sacrifice as labour have always been ridiculous and quickly dropped). When looking at prices to evaluate efficient use for goods, you cannot actually tell by the price if this is so. Two goods may have the same price, but profit levels (perhaps under the influence of market power) may be such that one has a higher cost price than another. The price mechanism fails to indicate which uses least resources as it is influenced by market power. Indeed, as Takis Fotopoulos notes, ”[i]f … both central planning and the market economy inevitably lead to concentrations of power, then neither the former nor the latter can produce the sort of information flows and incentives which are necessary for the best functioning of any economic system.” [Towards an Inclusive Democracy, p. 252] Moreover, a good produced under a authoritarian state which represses its workforce could have a lower price than one produced in a country which allowed unions to organise and has basic human rights. The repression would force down the cost of labour, so making the good in question appear as a more “efficient” use of resources. In other words, the market can mask inhumanity as “efficiency” and actually reward that behaviour by market share.

In other words, market prices can be horribly distorted in that they ignore quality issues. Exchanges therefore occur in light of false information and, moreover, with anti-social motivations — to maximise short-term surplus for the capitalists regardless of losses to others. Thus they distort valuations and impose a crass, narrow and ultimately self-defeating individualism. Prices are shaped by more than costs, with, for example, market power increasing market prices far higher than actual costs. Market prices also fail to take into account public goods and so bias allocation choices against them not to mention ignoring the effects on the wider society, i.e. beyond the direct buyers and sellers. Similarly, in order to make rational decisions relating to using a good, you need to know why the price has changed for if a change is permanent or transient implies different responses. Thus the current price is not enough in itself. Has the good become more expensive temporarily, due, say, to a strike? Or is it because the supply of the resource has been exhausted? Actions that are sensible in the former situation will be wrong in the other. As O’Neill suggests, “the information [in the market] is passed back without dialogue. The market informs by ‘exit’ — some products find a market, others do not. ‘Voice’ is not exercised. This failure of dialogue … represents an informational failure of the market, not a virtue … The market … does distribute information … it also blocks a great deal.” [Op. Cit., p. 99]

So a purely market-based system leaves out information on which to base rational resource allocations (or, at the very least, hides it). The reason for this is that a market system measures, at best, preferences of individual buyers among the available options. This assumes that all the pertinent use-values that are to be outcomes of production are things that are to be consumed by the individual, rather than use-values that are collectively enjoyed (like clean air). Prices in the market do not measure social costs or externalities, meaning that such costs are not reflected in the price and so you cannot have a rational price system. Similarly, if the market measures only preferences amongst things that can be monopolised and sold to individuals, as distinguished from values that are enjoyed collectively, then it follows that information necessary for rational decision-making in production is not provided by the market. In other words, capitalist “calculation” fails because private firms are oblivious to the social cost of their labour and raw materials inputs.

Indeed, prices often mis-value goods as companies can gain a competitive advantage by passing costs onto society (in the form of pollution, for example, or de-skilling workers, increasing job insecurity, and so on). This externalisation of costs is actually rewarded in the market as consumers seek the lowest prices, unaware of the reasons why it is lower (such information cannot be gathered from looking at the price). Even if we assume that such activity is penalised by fines later, the damage is still done and cannot be undone. Indeed, the company may be able to weather the fines due to the profits it originally made by externalising costs (see section E.3). Thus the market creates a perverse incentive to subsidise their input costs through off-the-book social and environmental externalities. As Chomsky suggests:

“it is by now widely realised that the economist’s ‘externalities can no longer be consigned to footnotes. No one who gives a moment’s thought to the problems of contemporary society can fail to be aware of the social costs of consumption and production, the progressive destruction of the environment, the utter irrationality of the utilisation of contemporary technology, the inability of a system based on profit or growth-maximisation to deal with needs that can only be expressed collectively, and the enormous bias this system imposes towards maximisation of commodities for personal use in place of the general improvement of the quality of life.” [Radical Priorities, pp. 190–1]

Prices hide the actual costs that production involved for the individual, society, and the environment, and instead boils everything down into one factor, namely price. There is a lack of dialogue and information between producer and consumer.

Moreover, without using another means of cost accounting instead of prices how can supporters of capitalism know there is a correlation between actual and price costs? One can determine whether such a correlation exists by measuring one against the other. If this cannot be done, then the claim that prices measure costs is a tautology (in that a price represents a cost and we know that it is a cost because it has a price). If it can be done, then we can calculate costs in some other sense than in market prices and so the argument that only market prices represent costs falls. Equally, there may be costs (in terms of quality of life issues) which cannot be reflected in price terms.

Simply put, the market fails to distribute all relevant information and, particularly when prices are at disequilibrium, can communicate distinctly misleading information. In the words of two South African anarchists, “prices in capitalism provided at best incomplete and partial information that obscured the workings of capitalism, and would generate and reproduce economic and social inequalities. Ignoring the social character of the economy with their methodological individualism, economic liberals also ignored the social costs of particular choices and the question of externalities.” [Michael Schmidt and Lucien van der Walt, Black Flame, p. 92] This suggests that prices cannot be taken to reflect real costs any more that they can reflect the social expression of the valuation of goods. They are the result of a conflict waged over these goods and those that acted as their inputs (including, of course, labour). Market and social power, much more than need or resource usage, decides the issue. The inequality in the means of purchasers, in the market power of firms and in the bargaining position of labour and capital all play their part, so distorting any relationship a price may have to its costs in terms of resource use. Prices are misshapen.

Little wonder Kropotkin asked whether “are we not yet bound to analyse that compound result we call price rather than to accept it as a supreme and blind ruler of our actions?” [Fields, Factories and Workshops Tomorrow, p. 71] It is precisely these real costs, hidden by price, which need to be communicated to producers and consumers for them to make informed and rational decisions concerning their economic activity.

It is useful to remember that Mises argued that it is the complexity of a modern economy that ensures money is required: “Within the narrow confines of household economy, for instance, where the father can supervise the entire economic management, it is possible to determine the significance of changes in the processes of production, without such aids to the mind [as monetary calculation], and yet with more or less of accuracy.” However, “the mind of one man alone — be it ever so cunning, is too weak to grasp the importance of any single one among the countlessly many goods of higher order. No single man can ever master all the possibilities of production, innumerable as they are, as to be in a position to make straightway evident judgements of value without the aid of some system of computation.” [Op. Cit., p. 102]

A libertarian communist society would, it must be stressed, use various “aids to the mind” to help individuals and groups to make economic decisions. This would reduce the complexity of economic decision making, by allowing different options and resources to be compared to each other. Hence the complexity of economic decision making in an economy with a multitude of goods can be reduced by the use of rational algorithmic procedures and methods to aid the process. Such tools would aid decision making, not dominate it as these decisions affect humans and the planet and should never be made automatically.

That being the case, a libertarian communist society would quickly develop the means of comparing the real impact of specific “higher order” goods in terms of their real costs (i.e. the amount of labour, energy and raw materials used plus any social and ecological costs). Moreover, it should be remembered that production goods are made up on inputs of other goods, that is, higher goods are made up of consumption goods of a lower order. If, as Mises admits, calculation without money is possible for consumption goods then the creation of “higher order” goods can be also achieved and a record of its costs made and communicated to those who seek to use it.

While the specific “aids to the mind” as well as “costs” and their relative weight would be determined by the people of a free society, we can speculate that it would include direct and indirect labour, externalities (such as pollution), energy use and materials, and so forth. As such, it must be stressed that a libertarian communist society would seek to communicate the “costs” associated with any specific product as well as its relative scarcity. In other words, it needs a means of determining the objective or absolute costs associated with different alternatives as well as an indication of how much of a given good is available at a given it (i.e., its scarcity). Both of these can be determined without the use of money and markets.

Section I.4 discusses possible frameworks for an anarchist economy, including suggestions for libertarian communist economic decision-making processes. In terms of “aids to the mind”, these include methods to compare goods for resource allocation by indicating the absolute costs involved in producing a good and the relative scarcity of a specific good, among other things. Such a framework is necessary because “an appeal to a necessary role for practical judgements in decision making is not to deny any role to general principles. Neither … does it deny any place for the use of technical rules and algorithmic procedures … Moreover, there is a necessary role for rules of thumb, standard procedures, the default procedures and institutional arrangements that can be followed unreflectively and which reduce the scope for explicit judgements comparing different states of affairs. There are limits in time, efficient use of resources and the dispersal of knowledge which require rules and institutions. Such rules and institutions can free us for space and time for reflective judgements where they matter most.” [John O’Neill, Ecology, Policy and Politics, pp. 117–8] It is these “rules and institutions need themselves to be open to critical and reflective appraisal.” [O’Neill, The Market, p. 118]

Economic decisions, in other words, cannot be reduced down to one factor yet Mises argued that anyone “who wished to make calculations in regard to a complicated process of production will immediately notice whether he has worked more economically than others or not; if he finds, from reference to the exchange values obtaining in the market, that he will not be able to produce profitably, this shows that others understand how to make better use of the higher-order goods in question.” [Op. Cit., pp. 97–8] However, this only shows whether someone has worked more profitably than others, not whether it is more economical. Market power automatically muddles this issue, as does the possibility of reducing the monetary cost of production by recklessly exploiting natural resources and labour, polluting, or otherwise passing costs onto others. Similarly, the issue of wealth inequality is important, for if the production of luxury goods proves more profitable than basic essentials for the poor does this show that producing the former is a better use of resources? And, of course, the key issue of the relative strength of market power between workers and capitalists plays a key role in determining “profitably.”

Basing your economic decision making on a single criteria, namely profitability, can, and does, lead to perverse results. Most obviously, the tendency for capitalists to save money by not introducing safety equipment (“To save a dollar the capitalist build their railroads poorly, and along comes a train, and loads of people are killed. What are their lives to him, if by their sacrifice he has saved money?” [Emma Goldman, A Documentary History of the American Years, vol. 1, p. 157]). Similarly, it is considered a more “efficient” use of resources to condemn workers to deskilling and degrading work than “waste” resources in developing machines to eliminate or reduce it (“How many machines remain unused solely because they do not return an immediate profit to the capitalist! … How many discoveries, how many applications of science remain a dead letter solely because they don’t bring the capitalist enough!” [Carlo Cafiero, “Anarchy and Communism”, pp. 179–86, The Raven, No. 6, p. 182]). Similarly, those investments which have a higher initial cost but which, in the long run, would have, say, a smaller environmental impact would not be selected in a profit-driven system.

This has seriously irrational effects, because the managers of capitalist enterprises are obliged to choose technical means of production which produce the cheapest results. All other considerations are subordinate, in particular the health and welfare of the producers and the effects on the environment. The harmful effects resulting from “rational” capitalist production methods have long been pointed out. For example, speed-ups, pain, stress, accidents, boredom, overwork, long hours and so on all harm the physical and mental health of those involved, while pollution, the destruction of the environment, and the exhaustion of non-renewable resources all have serious effects on both the planet and those who live on it. As green economist E. F. Schumacher argued:

“But what does it mean when we say that something is uneconomic? . .. [S]omething is uneconomic when it fails to earn an adequate profit in terms of money. The method of economics does not, and cannot, produce any other meaning … The judgement of economics … is an extremely fragmentary judgement; out of the large number of aspects which in real life have to be seen and judged together before a decision can be taken, economics supplies only one — whether a money profit accrues to those who undertake it or not.” [Small is Beautiful, pp. 27–8]

Schumacher stressed that “about the fragmentary nature of the judgements of economics there can be no doubt whatever. Even with the narrow compass of the economic calculus, these judgements are necessarily and methodically narrow. For one thing, they give vastly more weight to the short than to the long term… [S]econd, they are based on a definition of cost which excludes all ‘free goods’ … [such as the] environment, except for those parts that have been privately appropriated. This means that an activity can be economic although it plays hell with the environment, and that a competing activity, if at some cost it protects and conserves the environment, will be uneconomic.” Moreover, ”[d]o not overlook the words ‘to those who undertake it.’ It is a great error to assume, for instance, that the methodology of economics is normally applied to determine whether an activity carried out by a group within society yields a profit to society as a whole.” [Op. Cit., p. 29]

To claim that prices include all these “externalities” is nonsense. If they did, we would not see capital moving to third-world countries with few or no anti-pollution or labour laws. At best, the “cost” of pollution would only be included in a price if the company was sued successfully in court for damages — in other words, once the damage is done. Ultimately, companies have a strong interest in buying inputs with the lowest prices, regardless of how they are produced. In fact, the market rewards such behaviour as a company which was socially responsible would be penalised by higher costs, and so market prices. It is reductionist accounting and its accompanying “ethics of mathematics” that produces the “irrationality of rationality” which plagues capitalism’s exclusive reliance on prices (i.e. profits) to measure “efficiency.”

Ironically enough, Mises also pointed to the irrational nature of the price mechanism. He stated (correctly) that there are “extra-economic” elements which “monetary calculation cannot embrace” because of “its very nature.” He acknowledged that these “considerations themselves can scarcely be termed irrational” and, as examples, listed ”[i]n any place where men regard as significant the beauty of a neighbourhood or a building, the health, happiness and contentment of mankind, the honour of individuals or nations.” He also noted that “they are just as much motive forces of rational conduct as are economic factors” but they “do not enter into exchange relationships.” How rational is an economic system which ignores the “health, happiness and contentment” of people? Or the beauty of their surroundings? Which, moreover, penalises those who take these factors into consideration? For anarchists, Mises comments indicate well the inverted logic of capitalism. That Mises can support a system which ignores the needs of individuals, their happiness, health, surroundings, environment and so on by “its very nature” says a lot. His suggestion that we assign monetary values to such dimensions begs the question and has plausibility only if it assumes what it is supposed to prove. [Op. Cit., p. 99–100] Indeed, the person who would put a price on friendship simply would have no friends as they simply do not understand what friendship is and are thereby excluded from much which is best in human life. Likewise for other “extra-economic” goods that individual’s value, such as beautiful places, happiness, the environment and so on.

So essential information required for sensible decision making would have to be recorded and communicated in a communist society and used to evaluate different options using agreed methods of comparison. This differs drastically from the price mechanism as it recognises that mindless, automatic calculation is impossible in social choices. Such choices have an unavoidable ethical and social dimension simply because they involve other human beings and the environment. As Mises himself acknowledged, monetary calculation does not capture such dimensions.

We, therefore, need to employ practical judgement in making choices aided by a full understanding of the real social and ecological costs involved using, of course, the appropriate “aids to the mind.” Given that an anarchist society would be complex and integrated, such aids would be essential but, due to its decentralised nature, it need not embrace the price mechanism. It can evaluate the efficiency of its decisions by looking at the real costs involved to society rather than embrace the distorted system of costing explicit in the price mechanism (as Kropotkin once put it, “if we analyse price” we must “make a distinction between its different elements”. [Op. Cit., p. 72]).

In summary, then, Mises considered only central planning as genuine socialism, meaning that a decentralised communism was not addressed. Weighting up the pros and cons of how to use millions of different goods in the millions of potential situations they could be used would be impossible in a centralised system, yet in decentralised communism this is not an issue. Each individual commune and syndicate would be choosing from the few alternatives required to meet their needs. With the needs known, the alternatives can be compared — particularly if agreed criteria (“aids to the mind”) are utilised and the appropriate agreed information communicated.

Efficient economic decision making in a moneyless “economy” is possible, assuming that sufficient information is passed between syndicates and communes to evaluate the relative and absolute costs of a good. Thus, decisions can be reached which aimed to reduce the use of goods in short supply or which take large amounts of resources to produce (or which produce large externalities to create). While a centralised system would be swamped by the large number of different uses and combinations of goods, a decentralised communist system would not be.

Thus, anarchists argue that Mises was wrong. Communism is viable, but only if it is libertarian communism. Ultimately, though, the real charge is not that socialism is “impossible” but rather that it would be inefficient, i.e., it would allocate resources such that too much is used to achieve specified goals and that there would be no way to check that the allocated resources were valued sufficiently to warrant their use in the first place. While some may portray this as a case of planning against markets (no-planning), this is false. Planning occurs in capitalism (as can be seen from any business), it is a question of whether capitalism ensures that more plans can be co-ordinated and needs meet by means of relative prices and profit-loss accounting than by communism (free access and distribution according to need). As such, the question is does the capitalist system adds additional problems to the efficient co-ordination of plans? Libertarian communists argue, yes, it does (as we discuss at length in section I.1.5).

All choices involve lost possibilities, so the efficient use of resources is required to increase the possibilities for creating other goods. At best, all you can say is that by picking options which cost the least a market economy will make more resources available for other activities. Yet this assumption crucially depends equating “efficient” with profitable, a situation which cannot be predicted beforehand and which easily leads to inefficient allocation of resources (particularly if we are looking at meeting human needs). Then there are the costs of using money for if we are talking of opportunity costs, of the freeing up of resources for other uses, then the labour and other resources used to process money related activities should be included. While these activities (banking, advertising, defending property, and so forth) are essential to a capitalist economy, they are not needed and unproductive from the standpoint of producing use values or meeting human need. This would suggest that a libertarian communist economy would have a productive advantage over a capitalist economy as the elimination of this structural waste intrinsic to capitalism will free up a vast amount of labour and materials for socially useful production. This is not to mention the so-called “costs” which are no such thing, but relate to capitalist property rights. Thus “rent” may be considered a cost under capitalism, but would disappear if those who used a resource controlled it rather than pay a tribute to gain access to it. As Kropotkin argued, “the capitalist system makes us pay for everything three or four times its labour value” thanks to rent, profit, interest and the actions of middle men. Such system specific “costs” hide the actual costs (in terms of labour and resource use) by increasing the price compared to if we “reckon our expenses in labour”. [Op. Cit., p. 68]

Moreover, somewhat ironically, this “economising” of resources which the market claims to achieve is not to conserve resources for future generations or to ensure environmental stability. Rather, it is to allow more goods to be produced in order to accumulate more capital. It could be argued that the market forces producers to minimise costs on the assumption that lower costs will be more likely to result in higher profits. However, this leaves the social impact of such cost-cutting out of the equation. For example, imposing externalities on others does reduce a firm’s prices and, as a result, is rewarded by the market however alienating and exhausting work or rising pollution levels does not seem like a wise thing to do. So, yes, it is true that a capitalist firm will seek to minimise costs in order to maximise profits. This, at first glance, could be seen as leading to an efficient use of resources until such time as the results of this become clear. Thus goods could be created which do not last as long as they could, which need constant repairing, etc. So a house produced “efficiently” under capitalism could be a worse place to live simply because costs were reduced by cutting corners (less insulation, thinner walls, less robust materials, etc.). In addition, the collective outcome of all these “efficient” decisions could be socially inefficient as they reduce the quality of life of those subject to them as well as leading to over-investment, over-production, falling profits and economic crisis. As such, it could be argued that Mises’ argument exposes more difficulties for capitalism rather than for anarchism.

Finally, it should be noted that most anarchists would question the criteria Hayek and Mises used to judge the relative merits of communism and capitalism. As the former put it, the issue was “a distribution of income independent of private property in the means of production and a volume of output which was at least approximately the same or even greater than that procured under free competition.” [“The Nature and History of the Problem”, Op. Cit., p. 37] Thus the issue is reduced to that of output (quantity), not issues of freedom (quality). If slavery or Stalinism had produced more output than free market capitalism, that would not make either system desirable This was, in fact, a common argument against Stalinism during the 1950s and 1960s when it did appear that central planning was producing more goods (and, ironically, by the propertarian right against the welfare state for, it should be remembered, that volume of output, like profitability and so “efficiency”, in the market depends on income distribution and a redistribution from rich to poor could easily result in more output becoming profitable). Similarly, that capitalism produces more alcohol and Prozac to meet the higher demand for dulling the minds of those trying to survive under it would not be an argument against libertarian communism! As we discuss in section I.4, while anarchists seek to meet material human needs we do not aim, as under capitalism, to sacrifice all other goals to that aim as capitalism does. Thus, to state the obvious, the aim for maximum volume of output only makes sense under capitalism as the maximum of human happiness and liberty may occur with a lower volume of output in a free society. The people of a society without oppression, exploitation and alienation will hardly act in identical ways, nor seek the same volume of output, as those in one, like capitalism, marked by those traits!

Moreover, the volume of output is a somewhat misleading criteria as it totally ignores its distribution. If the bulk of that volume goes to a few, then that is hardly a good use of resources. This is hardly an academic concern as can be seen from the Hayek influenced neo-liberalism of the 1980s onwards. As economist Paul Krugman notes, the value of the output of an average worker “has risen almost 50 percent since 1973. Yet the growing concentration of income in the hands of a small minority had proceeded so rapidly that we’re not sure whether the typical American has gained anything from rising productivity.” This means that wealth have flooded upwards, and “the lion’s share of economic growth in America over the past thirty years has gone to a small, wealthy minority.” [The Conscience of a Liberal, p. 124 and p. 244]

To conclude. Capitalist “efficiency” is hardly rational and for a fully human and ecological efficiency libertarian communism is required. As Buick and Crump point out, “socialist society still has to be concerned with using resources efficiently and rationally, but the criteria of ‘efficiency’ and ‘rationality’ are not the same as they are under capitalism.” [Op. Cit., p. 137] Under communist-anarchism, the decision-making system used to determine the best use of resources is not more or less “efficient” than market allocation, because it goes beyond the market-based concept of “efficiency.” It does not seek to mimic the market but to do what the market fails to do. This is important, because the market is not the rational system its defenders often claim. While reducing all decisions to one common factor is, without a doubt, an easy method of decision making, it also has serious side-effects because of its reductionistic basis. The market makes decision making simplistic and generates a host of irrationalities and dehumanising effects as a result. So, to claim that communism will be “more” efficient than capitalism or vice versa misses the point. Libertarian communism will be “efficient” in a totally different way and people will act in ways considered “irrational” only under the narrow logic of capitalism.

For another critique of Mises, see Robin Cox’s “The ‘Economic Calculation’ controversy: unravelling of a myth” [Common Voice, Issue 3]

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weather-phenomenon · 10 days ago

Text

new bucket list attempt everything on this list at least once

Master list of creative hobbies

Art creative hobbies

1. Botanical illustration

2. Architectural drawing

3. Urban sketching

4. Comic and manga illustration

5. Children’s book illustration

6. Digital art and design

7. Figure drawing

8. Fashion illustration

9. Mapmaking

10. Doodling and zentangle

11. Sticker making

12. Coloring books (for adults)

13. Paint by numbers

14. Diamond painting

DIY creative hobbies and crafts

15. Soap making

16. Resin molding

17. Button making

18. Candle making

19. Basket weaving

20. Terrazzo

21. Sand art bottles

22. String art

23. Perler beads

24. Seed beading

25. Wreath making

Industrial creative hobbies

26. Woodworking

27. Woodturning

28. Wood burning (pyrography)

29. Glass blowing

30. Glass etching

31. Stained glass art

32. Concrete molds

33. Jewelry making

34. Leather working

35. Metalworking and welding

36. Metal embossing

37. Mosaics

Sculpting and carving hobbies

38. Sculpting

39. Ice sculpting

40. Wood carving

41. Pottery

42. Soap carving

43. Sand sculptures and sandcastle building

Printmaking creative hobbies

44. Linocut printmaking

45. Woodcut printmaking

46. Screen printing

47. Rubber stamping

Needlecraft creative hobbies

48. Sewing

49. Cosplay

50. Embroidery

51. Cross-stitching

52. Crewel

53. Needle felting

54. Quilting

55. Crochet

56. Amigurumi

57. Knitting

58. Arm knitting

59. Needlepoint

Fiber arts hobbies

60. Visible mending

61. Macrame

62. Weaving

63. Rug tufting

64. Punch needle

65. Latch hook

66. Lace making

67. Dreamcatchers

Miniature creative hobbies

68. Model building

69. Painting miniatures

70. Dollhouses

71. Fairy gardens

72. Bonkei

73. Diorama making

74. Putz houses and nativity scenes

75. Lego MOC

Stationery and lettering hobbies

76. Calligraphy

77. Hand lettering

78. Art journaling

79. Bullet journaling

80. Card making

81. Scrapbooking

Papercraft creative hobbies

82. Origami

83. Papercraft modeling

84. Paper quilling

85. Collage art

86. Paper making

87. Bookbinding

88. Pop-up making

89. Paper mache

Digital creative hobbies

90. 3D printing

91. Stop motion animation

92. Graphic design

93. Photo manipulation

94. Game development

95. Raspberry Pi

Plant-related creative hobbies

96. Bonsai

97. Tree shaping (Pooktre)

98. Terrariums

99. Aquascaping

100. Flower pressing

101. Flower arranging

102. Topiary gardening

103. Seed art

104. Rock gardening

Other creative hobbies and crafts

105. Puzzles

106. Sudoku

107. Crossword puzzles

108. Writing

109. Learning a foreign language

110. Cooking

111. Music

112. Photography

113. Dancing

114. Sports

115. Improv

116. Nail art

117. Baking

118. Magic

119. Tarot cards

120. Card stacking

121. Collecting

#crafts #art #bucket list

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borrelia · 1 month ago

Note

SONIC SUPER SPECIAL 8 SONIC SUPER SPECIAL 10 SONIC SUPER SPECIAL 12 SONIC SUPER SPECIAL 14 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 103-104 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 112 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 149-150 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 197 SONIC UNIVERSE 28-32 (SCOURGE LOCKDOWN) ^zonic story list. he doesnt show up in every lockdown issue and his appearances there are minor but you might as well read the whole thing since the entire story is set in the no zone

this guy rules!!! happy bday penosh i read your funny guy's stories!

final rating: 5/10 not enough zonic. and then he became an actual cop.

^aww thats a cute crossover :)

ultraman refrance??

there is so much superhero shit in here. i see how you transitioned from this to spiderman

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

IM BEING ATTACKED!!!!

describing a cartoon goose egg as "physical trauma" is really fucking good

FIRST SONIC COMIC IMAGE I EVER SAVED ON MY PHONE LETS GOOOOOO. sidenote there are so many ads in these comics??? this issue had 18 PAGES of ad. what the hell...

hold on. is this...

IS THIS....

IT IIIISSSSSS. AAAAAAAAAAA YOU ARE PLAGUING ME WITH ALL THE CLASSICS.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

these zonics are cute :)

yardleys art feels like a breath of fresh air. i feel like i like it now. and zector is here :)

i put it up in the top part but yaay zonic gets to be active and do action stuff now! this is great!

i see now why people think this guy is cool. this is fun writing.

ill be honest a lot of these stories i'm mostly skimming through bc idc abt most of whats happening and idk who these characters are. at least now if i did want to read it theres not that much text. but hey the zone cops are here yaaay time to read :)

AWESOME COVERRRR

so he wasn't king all that time until recently??? does that mean. mirror mobius king sonic came FIRST?!???

THESE GUYS!!

i changed my mind i hate this writing for zonic. wtf. why is he a cop now.

i cant add more pictures but i see now why people think scourge is a little meow meow. well i hate it. idc abt what hes doing wheres ZONIC.... okay he came back :) AND HES STILL A FUCKING COOOPPP. BOOOOOO. what a sad end for this character....

#mewtuals #let me format my imagesss fuck youuuuu

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magnetothemagnificent · 1 year ago

Text

I guess it's time I share my list of birds from this past Jewish year (I've been keeping two Big Year lists, Jewish year and secular year). All are from the US, except the last few which are indicated.

1. Ruby-crowned kinglet

2. American Robin

* Leucistic American Robin

3. Song sparrow

4. Rock pigeon

* Melanistic rock pigeon

5. Chipping sparrow

6. Hairy woodpecker

7. Mourning dove

8. Northern flicker

9. Eastern towhee

10. White crowned sparrow

11. White-throated sparrow

12 Savannah sparrow

13. House sparrow

14. European starling

15. American Crow

16. Common Raven

17. Gray catbird

18. Northern mockingbird

19. Canada Goose

20. Spotted Sandpiper

21. American herring gull

22. Marsh wren

23. Limpkin

24. Great white heron

25. Cattle egret

26. Anhinga

27. Snowy egret

28. Great blue heron

29. Black-crowned night heron

30. Wood stork

31. Common gallinule

32. Blue-gray gnatcatcher

33. Turkey vulture

34. Black vulture

35. Yellow rumped warbler

36. Tufted titmouse

37. Little blue heron

38. White ibis

39. Cooper's hawk

40. Cardinal

41. Green heron

42. Carolina wren

43. Palm warbler

44. Pine warbler

45. Sandhill crane

46. Carolina chickadee

47. Bluejay

48. Osprey

49. Chimney swift

50. Red-tailed hawk

51. Prairie warbler

52. American kestrel

53. Glossy ibis

54. Pied-billed grebe

55. Double-crested cormorant

56. Grey kingbird

57. Brown pelican

58. Fish crow

59. Royal tern

60. Bald eagle

61. Painted bunting

62. American white pelican

63. Common grackle

64. Boat-tailed grackle

65. Great-tailed grackle

66. American purple gallinule

67. American coot

68. Brown-headed cowbird

69. Tricolored heron

70. Mallard

71. Black-bellied whistling duck

72. Eastern kingbird

73. Yellow-billed cuckoo

74. Muscovy duck

75. American bittern

76. Ring-billed gull

77. American Pekin

78. Mallard-Pekin hybrid

79. Eastern bluebird

80. Yellow-bellied sapsucker

81. Red-winged blackbird

82. White-eyed vireo

83. Mottled duck

84. Broad-winged hawk

85. Dark-eyed junco

86. Brown thrasher

87. Sharp-shinned hawk

88. House finch

89. Eastern Phoebe

90. Downy woodpecker

91. Fox sparrow

92. Loggerhead Shrike!!!!

93. White breasted nuthatch

94. Red-bellied woodpecker

95. Brown creeper

96. Pileated woodpecker

97. American goldfinch

98. House wren

99. Barn swallow

100. Tree swallow

101. Black and white warbler

102. Red eyed vireo

103. Yellow warbler

104. Mute swan

105. Rusty blackbird

106. Common yellowthroat

107. Warbling vireo

108. Northern waterthrush

109. Veery

110. Swamp sparrow

111. Wood duck

112. American redstart

113. Orchard oriole

114. Greater Yellowlegs

115. Lesser Yellowlegs

116. Baltimore oriole

117. Hermit thrush

118. Wood thrush

119. Ovenbird

120. Indigo bunting

121. Black-throated blue warbler

122. Scarlet tanager

123. Worm-eating warbler

124. Northern rough-winged swallow

125. Blue-headed vireo

126. Northern parula

127. Prothonotary warbler

128. Philadelphia vireo

129. Blackburnian warbler

130. Magnolia warbler

131. Cedar waxwing

132. Blackpoll warbler

133. Yellow-throated vireo

134. Eastern wood pewee

135. Acadian flycatcher

136. Tennessee warbler

137. Caspian tern

138. Laughing gull

139. Forster's tern

140. American oystercatcher

141. Green-winged teal

142. Purple Martin

143. Least tern

144. Field sparrow

145. Killdeer

146. Grey-cheeked thrush

147. Rose-breasted grosbeak

148. Great-crested flycatcher

149. Swainson's thrush

150. Bay-breasted warbler

151. Chestnut-sided warbler

152. Willow flycatcher

153. Ruby-throated hummingbird

154. Peregrine falcon

155. Hooded crow IL

156. Laughing dove IL

157. Eurasian collared dove IL

158. Eurasian jackdaw IL

159. Common myna IL

160. Rose-ringed parakeet IL

161. White spectacled bulbul IL

162. European bee eater IL

163. Chukar IL

164. Short toed snake eagle IL

165. White stork IL

166. Little egret IL

167. Pygmy cormorant IL

168. Eurasian hoopoe IL

169. Alpine swift IL

170. Graceful pinia IL

171. Eastern Olivaceous Warbler IL

172. Tristan's Starling IL

173. Fan tailed raven IL

174. Eurasian black cap IL

Here's to at least 200 next year!

#birding #birds #big year

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headsincloud9 · 1 year ago

Text

Part 1 | Part 3

SMUT MINORS DNI

85. "I didn't know you were so sensitive."

86. "Don't be so rough, there can't be any marks."

87. "| really don't care. You stilook hot and I'm trying not to fuck you senseless right now.

88. "Are you sure? Once we start, I might not be able to stop."

89. "No. I'm supposed to making YOU feel good."

90, "Stop teasing me so much."

91. "Bed. Now."

92. "You're in trouble now."

93. "I'm waiting."

94. "Maybe I should get you a collar so you don't forget who you belong to."

95. "You better watch your fucking mouth."

96. "Do you really think it's a good idea to talk like that to me?"

97. "Didl say you could stop?"

98, "First one to make a noise loses."

99. "| love the way you look with my fingers inside you."

100. "You keep acting like a brat I'll take you over my knee right here, I don't care how many people are watching."

101. "I guess I'll just get off all by myself."

102. "You deserve a reward for being so good today, what would you like it to be?"

103. "I can't wait to put bruises all over that pretty skin."

104, "Could you send me a hot photo of yourself, I need something to get off to.

105. "You look so good on your knees like that."

106. "These walls are pretty thick. Which means you and I can be as loud as we want."

107, "Did you touch yourself while I was gone."

108. "If you leave the house wearing that then the second you come home I'm bending you over the bed."

109, "Mine."

110. "We can't do that here."

111. "Oh kitten, don't make me tell you twice."

112. "Behave."

113, "What did you just say?"

114. "Do I want to know why you were screaming?"

115. "Come here."

116. "Watch me."

117. "I don't want to hear your excuses anymore."

118. "If you can't sleep...how about we have sex?"

119, "Put that thing away."

120. "Don't go whipping that thing out!*

121. "Don't kink shame mel"

122. "If you interrupt me one more time - so help me god."

123. "I'm going to put on my clothes before you say anything else."

124, "Tell me what you want.

125. "Could you make me feel as good as I do?"

126. "Y-you're not..w-wearing anything under that are you?"

127. "Are you trying to turn me on or are you really that oblivious?"

128. "There's no way anyone is that innocent!"

129. "You taste like fucking candy.'

130. "The only way you're getting off is on my thigh."

131. "Wait your turn, love."

132. "Oh my god did you just say that out loud?"

133. "You make a sound and it's game over.'

134. "Just let me finish this and I swear I'll go down on you till you cum at least three time.'

135. "If 1 have to stop what I'm doing, you won't be able to walk the next way.

136. "1 could just pull your bikini bottoms to the side, no one willnotice.

137. "|haven't even touched you and you're already wet."

138. "Were you just masturbating?"

139. "What are you doing in my bed?"

140. "Want help with that?"

141. "Shut up!" "Why don't you come over here and make me!"

142. "You're so tucking hot when you're mad."

143. "The fucks wrong with you are you in heat?"

144, "We're not just friends and you know it."

145. "Come here, you can sit on my lap till'm done working.

146. "What? Does that feel good?

147. "You mean like this?"

148. "I'm not jealous! it's just...you're mine."

149. "Did it hit when you fell from heaven?" "No, but 1 scraped my knee crawling out of Hell."

150. "If we get caught I'm blaming you."

151. "We have to be quiet."

152. "Tellme that again."

153. "You have no idea how much I want you."

154, "If we weren't in public right now, I'd have my head between your legs

155. "Sayit."

156. "If you don't like my teasing then why are you moaning?"

157, "Wow -I didn't realize you were that... flexible."

158. "I'm gonna fuck you so hard you forget that guy's name."

159. "You better shut that pretty little mouth before 1 put it to work, doll"

160. "I think that's the first time I've heard you moan.

161. "I really want to kiss you right now."

162. "Wanna fuck?"

163. "Hey, you dtf?"

164. "You're not taking me to bed. Ever," "Who said it had to be on the bed?"

165. "She/He may seem all sweet and innocent but behind closed doors that boy/girl is dark

and dirty."

166, "Ah. He/she's playing hard-to-get. That's cute."

167. "For the love of fuck." "Yep. That's me. I like to fuck."

168. "Just eat me." ". .But you'll die.." "that is not what I meant-"

169. "How do I look?"

#avatar the way of water #avatar 2022 #jazzy prompts #2 paragraph smut #smut prompts #avatar 2009 #atwow smut #tonowari x reader smut #jake sully smut #tsu'tey x reader smut #quaritch x reader smut

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styxbugg · 6 months ago

Text

Transcription of Uncle Matt’s postcards from season 1 of the og series

Rb s1

101: The Beginning…

(No postcard)

102: Wembley and the Gorgs

Dear Nephew Gobo,

I have made yet another amazing discovery about this weird world…

Today I observed certain types of creatures here that live in the sky. They swoop and soar and seem altogether as carefree as Fraggles. Then I realized that these wonderful creatures were being held captive. They were trapped on the end of strings! Suddenly, I saw a second kind of flying creature. When I saw that, I just had to act.

I waited for an opening and then I set about freeing the captive flying things. The first ones flew away into the sunshine. But, when I set free one of the other flying creatures, it immediately landed and waited for its master! Evidently, the world here is much the same as Fraggle Rock, in that some creatures value freedom more than others.

More news soon.

Love, Traveling Matt

103: Let the Water Run

Dear Nephew Gobo,

I have recently made a most amazing discovery. I found a race of creatures who can pull water down from the sky! These extraordinary bipeds actually produce droplets of water with long, stick-like objects called “umbrellas”. As I watched, the water ritual began.

First, the silly creatures gathered around a sacred pole. The creatures then looked up at the sky and held out their hands in a most curious fashion. Then suddenly, the creatures transformed their sticks into upside-down bowls. These they positioned over their heads. At that very moment, water poured from the sky!

An umbrella is a wonderful object! Not only does it get you wet, but it also keeps you dry. This has been an enlightening experience, to say the least. For one, I now appreciate how much simpler and more efficient it is to have Pipebangers.

Love, Traveling Matt

104: You Can’t Do That Without a Hat

Dear Nephew Gobo,

Sometimes exploring is exhausting. The other day, I was sitting down to rest my feet and wipe off the grime of traveling when one of the Silly Creatures in this world approached me.

“Oh, you poor man!” she said. “You look like you could use this.”

And then she gave me a most unexpected present. It was a beautiful, flat, shiny object, a real treasure! I was so overcome with this magnificent gift that I ran to show it to someone. Unfortunately, he liked it so much that he took it. I’d given up my treasure! But all was not lost. This generous creature gave me yet another and even more interesting treasure. It was soft to the touch and smelled utterly fantastic. Just then, one of the small, furry beasts that inhabit this world came along. So I showed him my treasure…

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this bizarre world, it’s that treasures come and treasures go. Of course, this time I ended up with nothing less than I started with. So I didn’t really lose anything, did I?

I hope all is well back home.

Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

105: Wembley Finds a Job (30 Minute Work Week)

Dear Nephew Gobo,

Exploring Outer Space is hard, so hard in fact, that sometimes I wonder if I’ve chosen the right job in this life. For instance, today I decided to investigate one of the transportation systems of this world. At first, it was so pleasant, I stood up to enjoy the view.

You know, they call this train system “rapid transit”. At first, it wasn’t very rapid at all. But after a while, it lived up to its name. Rapid transit is not for this Fraggle… After one ride, I have decided to walk everywhere. Although, walking doesn’t seem so easy at the moment. I never had this trouble back in Fraggle Rock.

Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

106: The Preachification of Convincing John

Dear Nephew Gobo,

This morning, I was walking down the street in this strange world. I turned a corner and there I saw something familiar: Doozers! They have Doozers in this world! The biggest giant Doozers imaginable. They were building a wonderful Doozer construction. Just looking at it, I grew so hungry I could hardly stand it.

I waited until I was alone, and then I prepared myself for a feast. But then I learned something else about this world… The food is terrible!

Love, your Uncle Travelling Matt

107: I Want to Be You

Dear Nephew Gobo,

The strangeness of this world never fails to challenge my resources. Recently, I was walking by a place that the Silly Creatures call a farm. It was a beautiful day. I wanted to study the farm’s inhabitants, so I decided to drop in.

I received a touching welcome from a very distinctive creature and I decided to investigate further. I put on a disguise. In all modesty, it was brilliant. The farmer was completely fooled!

“Where do you think you’re going, little pig?” she said.

It seems my disguise worked too well. So I may stay here longer than I planned. I wonder if you can send out for food? It’s always difficult being something you’re not, particularly in the name of science.

Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

108: The Terrible Tunnel

Dear Nephew Gobo,

The other day I saw something so strange, I just had to write to you about it. It started when I discovered an enormous Fraggle Pond. As you can imagine, I felt very, very comfortable being around water again. I saw many creatures who make their homes around this pond, but the strangest inhabitants of this region are the hole-sewing creatures. Apparently, holes are very powerful in this world. So powerful, in fact, that these creatures devote their lives to ridding the world of holes.

First they sew them together, and then they load the captive holes into boats, take them out into the middle of the Fraggle Pond and dump them in. I’m not sure why a simple hole is so dangerous. But I think holes are best avoided, don’t you?

I’ll write again soon.

Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

109: The Lost Treasure of the Fraggles

Dear Nephew Gobo,

Today I discovered something very strange but useful about this world. As I was walking along, I found something that looked like the Fraggle swimming hole. It was a pool of water with more water splashing into the middle. I was enjoying the sight, when one of the Silly Creatures came along and did something very strange.

“Excuse me, sir,” I said to this man, “but can you tell me why you did that?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said to me, “everyone throws money in fountains.”

I was delighted! For months now, I have been collecting this stuff that is called money, but I have never known what to do with it. Now at last, I know. You throw it in fountains.

Well, Gobo, I certainly am finding my way ‘round this strange world at last.

Much love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

110: Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk

Dear Nephew Gobo,

I can’t tell you how lonely it is for a Fraggle in the outside world. I’ve been trying to make friends with some of the creatures here… and believe me, some of them are strange. I am currently exploring a big city, so I have donned an appropriate disguise. It was here that I discovered that strange and sad little animal: the Sidewalk Creature. Sidewalk Creatures have very large heads and long, skinny bodies that appear to be rooted to the ground. They cannot move about to gather food. When they grow hungry, their faces turn red.

Interestingly, the Silly Creatures of this world seem to like the Sidewalk Creatures. They carry pockets of food for them. But the sad thing is that sometimes the Silly ones forget all about the dear little Sidewalk Creatures, so there they stand, starving for hours.

Once I found a bit of Sidewalk Creature food on the ground. So I fed one of the creatures. It made a grateful sound. I think I’ve made a friend! I hope so because I get lonely out here.

I miss all the good Fraggles of Fraggle Rock.

Love, Traveling Matt

111: Catch the Tail by the Tiger

Dear Nephew Gobo,

Well, my adventure has officially begun now that I’m in the outside world. The first job is to learn the language spoken by some shiny creatures I’ve met here.

“MAH.” It said, “MAH MAH.”

Before I could reply, another shiny creature greeted me with exactly the same words. The shiny creatures were trying to communicate! They wanted to make friends. Fortunately, I have an excellent for foreign languages. In no time, we were conversing fluently.

After a few exchanges I was able to compile a Fraggle dictionary of the shiny creature language. It consists of a single word… “MAH”. Translated loosely into Fragglish, it means, “Howdy, neighbor, move it or lose it.”

Anyway, I’m alright for now, but if you ever stop getting postcards, then you’ll know I’m in trouble.

Love, Traveling Matt

(Note: This is Uncle Matt’s first postcard he sent back.)

112: The Finger of Light

Dear Nephew Gobo,

Today I made contact with a tribe of mysterious beings I call the String Creatures. It’s curious, but right away I was drawn to them. It was almost as if I saw a family resemblance. It is still not entirely clear to me why these creatures choose to spend their lives attached to each other with string. There surely must be some mutual benefit.

Their leader was such a charismatic person that I inadvertently fell under his spell. This lifestyle may prove to be a little strange. [Somehow, I don’t feel quite in control anymore.] I’ll probably go off on my own again as soon as I find a pair of scissors.

Love, Uncle Traveling Matt

113: We Love You Wembley

Dear Nephew Gobo,

The Silly Creatures love some pretty bizarre things, you know. And the Fraggle-sized Silly Creatures especially love something very odd. Naturally, I was curious, so I decided to try one for myself. It seemed to be a Silly Creature’s moss pack. However… the foolish thing didn’t even keep my head warm! I think I’d rather have the real thing.

Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

114: The Challenge

(Postcard segment removed from AppleTV. Originally about smokers.)

115: I Don’t Care

Dear Nephew Gobo,

Sometimes it’s impossible to get rid of something you don’t want. For instance, the other day, I observed a Silly Creature throwing away a curved stick. Not very remarkable in itself, but the sticks proved to be magic. It came back! The Silly Creature tried to throw it away again and again and again, but with no success. The Silly Creature was obviously sad, so I decided to help. Fortunately, Gobo, I am an expert in such matters and can get rid of any stick, even a magic one.

Just remember this lesson, Nephew. It is often painful to part with magic objects.

Your Friend, Traveling Matt

(Note: Matt starts to say the closing before the last paragraph, before getting cut off and continuing the postcard.)

116: Capture the Moon

Dear Nephew Gobo,

If you look at the other side of this card, you’ll see a wondrous object. I was walking down a country road when I saw a sign. It said, “Rainbow Farms.” I was so excited! So, this is where they grow the rainbows. Soon, I found what I was looking for… A rainbow egg. I decided that, at all costs, I was going to watch the actual birth of a rainbow.

I waited and waited and waited. But unfortunately, I fell asleep. And when I woke up, it had already hatched! I looked out the window and there, arching over the sky, was the rainbow. How quickly they grow up.

Your friend, Uncle Traveling Matt

117: Marooned

[Dear Nephew Gobo,]

I was resting by the giant Fraggle pond, feeling very hungry, when I saw two of the Silly Creatures eating an interesting kind of food. It must've been very tough. They chewed and chewed and chewed. But they seemed to like it so much that I hinted politely that I might be pleased to share their snack. The clever girl creatures got my message and gave me a taste of this odd food. It certainly was chewy but it tasted delicious.

I was enjoying it, when suddenly, I noticed the two Silly Creatures again. It was awful! Their tongues inflated and exploded! Naturally, I spat out the food at once. Who would eat things that make your tongue explode? These creatures are weird.

[Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt.]

118: The Minstrels

Dear Nephew Gobo,

Today I stumbled upon a new form of the ancient art of meditation. I discovered certain highly trained individuals standing behind a sheet of transparent material. Their method is simple. They never move a muscle. I was anxious to give this interesting technique a try.

Six hours later, I felt a marvelous sense of exhilaration. I’ve never experienced anything quite so inspiring. You ought to try it sometime.

Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

(Note: Doc reads this one!)

119: The Great Radish Famine

(No postcard)

120: The Garden Plot

Dear Nephew Gobo,

The Silly Creatures of this world love rolling stuff around. They have rollers on everything. Yellow things, blue things, red things, and even things they sit on. Why, there are even some highly evolved ones who have grown actual rollers on their feet! I can’t tell you how thrilling it was to watch the way these creatures moved. They were so graceful. You can imagine how happy I was when one of these creatures noticed my interest and gave me some rollers of my own. I couldn’t wait to try it! I simply had to experience that wind-in-the-hair feeling for myself…

Believe me, there’s nothing like it in Fraggle Rock. Keep it that way.

Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

121: Gobo’s Discovery

Dear Nephew Gobo,

Sometimes it gets very hot here in Outer Space. And today, I thought I’d found the perfect place for a weary Fraggle to have a nice, cool rest. I looked around and I was amazed at what I saw. A couple of Silly Creatures with hungry buzzing machines were slicing the fuzz off some defenseless fluffy creatures! And then throwing the poor things out the door, with nothing on.

I tried to interview one of the fluffy creatures. However, I received no answer.

Well, Gobo, I’ve never been a hothead… and I guess now I never will be.

Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

122: Mokey’s Funeral

Dear Nephew Gobo,

Today is very sad for me. I found a great treasure, but I lost it again.

I was strolling about in a place where many of the Silly Creatures of this world congregate when, all of a sudden, I saw one of the creatures drop something. I rushed to see what it was and made the most amazing discovery. Inside of a brightly colored container was a cold stone! I mean, it was very, very cold. Furthermore, it sparkled like a diamond. Obviously this was a stone of great magic.

I quickly put the cold stone in my pocket and went in search of its true owner. But it was no use. The wizard who had dropped it was nowhere to be found. Eventually, I had to give up. And then I went to a quiet corner to examine the wondrous stone again. And I learned the awful truth… Somebody had stolen the magic cold stone.

All that was left in my pocket was a lot of water. And so it was that I learned that in this world there are magic cold stones which cry if they are stolen.

Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

123: The Beast of Bluerock

[Dear Nephew Gobo,]

I was passing through an area known to be inhabited by Silly Creatures. Everything appeared to be peaceful. Then I first laid eyes on two Silly Creatures taking their garden pets for a walk. The garden pets seemed tame, but rather noisy and boisterous. They appeared to be herbivorous, or grass-eating. Judging from their appetite, they seem to go a long time without food.

In the interest of research, I decided to get a closer look. Confidence can tame any beast – but don’t count on it.

[Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt]

124: New Trash Heap in Town

Dear Nephew Gobo,

Outer space is very big. It can sometimes be quite tiring just finding places to explore. An explorer’s feet are his most valuable asset. And I was giving mine a well-earned rest when I saw a most peculiar sight.

It was a strange, bouncing thing, followed by more strange, bouncing things with huge tails. It wasn’t until I saw their pouches and the little passengers inside, that I realized what these bouncing things were. Transportation systems!

Love, your Uncle Traveling Matt

#yes I’m still doing this #uncle traveling matt #uncle matts postcards #fraggle rock #fiddl is a very manly muppet

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punster-2319 · 5 months ago

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Ranking the Classic MGM Tom and Jerry Cartoons (Favorite to Least Favorite)

1. Solid Serenade (1946)

2. Trap Happy (1946)

3. Tee for Two (1945)

4. The Cat Concerto (1947)

5. Mouse Trouble (1944)

6. Jerry’s Cousin (1951)

7. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse (1947)

8. Texas Tom (1950)

9. Heavenly Puss (1949)

10. The Zoot Cat (1944)

11. Cat Fishin’ (1947)

12. Flirty Birdy (1945)

13. The Mouse Comes to Dinner (1945)

14. Springtime for Thomas (1946)

15. Baby Puss (1943)

16. Kitty Foiled (1948)

17. Little Quacker (1950)

18. Mouse in Manhattan (1945)

19. Jerry and the Lion (1950)

20. The Million Dollar Cat (1944)

21. The Truce Hurts (1950)

22. Fit to Be Tied (1952)

23. Quiet Please! (1945)

24. Pecos Pest (1955)

25. Puttin’ on the Dog (1944)

26. The Bodyguard (1944)

27. The Dog House (1952)

28. Safety Second (1950)

29. Part Time Pal (1947)

30. Saturday Evening Puss (1950)

31. Down Beat Bear (1956)

32. The Missing Mouse (1953)

33. Little Runaway (1952)

34. Professor Tom (1948)

35. Cue Ball Cat (1950)

36. Jerry’s Diary (1949)

37. Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl (1950)

38. Jerry and the Goldfish (1951)

39. The Flying Cat (1952)

40. The Duck Doctor (1952)

41. Sufferin’ Cats (1943)

42. Love That Pup (1949)

43. The Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943)

44. The Invisible Mouse (1947)

45. The Little Orphan (1949)

46. Nit-Witty Kitty (1952)

47. Jerry and Jumbo (1953)

48. Timid Tabby (1957)

49. The Bowling Alley-Cat (1942)

50. Puss Gets the Boot (1940)

51. Hatch Up Your Troubles (1949)

52. Sleepy-Time Tom (1951)

53. Fine Feathered Friend (1942)

54. Two Little Indians (1953)

55. Pet Peeve (1954)

56. Muscle Beach Tom (1956)

57. Smarty Cat (1955)

58. Puss n’ Toots (1942)

59. The Night Before Christmas (1941)

60. The Lonesome Mouse (1943)

61. The Milky Waif (1946)

62. Mouse Cleaning (1948)

63. Mouse for Sale (1955)

64. Posse Cat (1954)

65. The Two Mouseketeers (1952)

66. Touché, Pussy Cat! (1954)

67. Tom and Chérie (1955)

68. Tennis Chumps (1949)

69. Salt Water Tabby (1947)

70. A Mouse in the House (1947)

71. Fraidy Cat (1942)

72. The Midnight Snack (1941)

73. Barbecue Brawl (1956)

74. Royal Cat Nap (1958)

75. Hic-cup Pup (1954)

76. Old Rockin’ Chair Tom (1948)

77. Push-Button Kitten (1952)

78. Slicked-up Pup (1951)

79. Puppy Tale (1954)

80. Triplet Trouble (1952)

81. The Cat and the Mermouse (1949)

82. Casanova Cat (1951)

83. The Framed Cat (1951)

84. Cat Napping (1951)

85. Cruise Cat (1952)

86. That’s My Pup! (1954)

87. Dog Trouble (1942)

88. Little School Mouse (1954)

89. Pup on a Picnic (1955)

90. Robin Hoodwinked (1958)

90. The Vanishing Duck (1958)

92. Just Ducky (1953)

93. Downhearted Duckling (1954)

94. Southbound Duckling (1955)

95. That’s My Mommy (1955)

96. Happy Go Ducky (1958)

97. Tot Watchers (1958)

98. Busy Buddies (1956)

99. Tom’s Photo Finish (1957)

100. Polka-Dot Puss (1949)

101. Smitten Kitten (1952)

102. Life with Tom (1953)

103. His Mouse Friday (1951)

104. Mucho Mouse (1957)

105. Blue Cat Blues (1956)

106. Designs for Jerry (1954)

107. Neapolitan Mouse (1954)

108. Mice Follies (1954)

109. Johann Mouse (1953)

110. Baby Butch (1954)

111. The Flying Sorceress (1956)

112. The Egg and Jerry (1956)

113. Tops and Pops (1957)

114. Feedin’ the Kiddie (1957)

There’s all 114 classic MGM Tom and Jerry cartoons ranked (I’m not ranking the later Gene Deitch or Chuck Jones shorts).

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE CLASSIC TOM AND JERRY CARTOONS?

#took me 5 days to rank all of these 😭#ranking posts #tom and jerry #mgm cartoon studio #william hanna #joseph barbera #golden age of american animation

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bratshaws · 2 years ago

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through the hourglass 150. brb x oc

a/n: we reached 150 chapters. GUYS.what the hell..........<3 (reblogs and comments are super encouraged <3)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: JUST FLUFF!!!

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

/100/101/102/103/104/105/106/107/108/109/110/111/112/113/114/115/116/117/118/119/120/121/122/123/124/125/126/127/128/129/130/131/132/133/134/135/136/137/138/139/140/141/142/143/144/145/146/147

/148/149

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @novastories @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

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@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2

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“You know what,I kinda missed this.”

He looks up from his watch towards her, “What?”

Beatrice opens the doors that lead to their patio, holding onto the threshold as she inhales, “Warm,beachy air.” she murmurs, closing her eyes and feeling the breeze hit her cheeks, “I love Virginia, but I’m a San Diego gal.”

“You are,” she hears from behind, his steps getting closer, “You like the sun, the waves,” his arms slide around her waist and pulls her flush to his front, “And the diminutive clothing that I adore oh so much.” and he kisses her cheek soundly, “But you do look cute with that winter clothing.”

“Do I?”

“Like a teddy bear.” he coos, kissing her again and then propping his chin on her shoulder as they watch the dogs run around their yard. Beatrice places her hands on top of his arms as he hugs her, nuzzling her neck as she giggles softly because of his mustache against her skin. He huffs softly, pressing his eyebrows to her shoulder, “I don’t really wanna leave.”

“I know.” she whispers, “You are very touchy today.”

“Hmmmm…I spent so long with you that thinking about stepping out of the house is just,” a sigh, a heavy one, “Nightmarish.”

“That’s a bit dramatic.”

“And Nikki isn’t even up for me to say goodbye,” she could hear his pouting, “That’s cruel.”

In fact Nicole was still fast asleep on her crib, the jetlag got to her more than did her parents and she ended up sleeping more than she was used to, which was pretty normal considering how long the trip was. Beatrice and Rooster were just adults with responsibilities and couldn’t enjoy a few more hours sleeping in. “Aw, my poor husband.” she pets the side of his face sweetly, then kisses his cheek a few times, “She’ll be awake when you come back.”

“...I guess.” he sighs, then turned towards Bea,”What are your plans today? Anything I should know?”

“Well,I’m going to see what my mom wants, then I’ll go talk to Shells about you know what and then I’ll probably clean the house a bit? It is pretty clean but we were out for a week there’s enough dust in here already.”

“That’s fair.”

“What about you? Anything…that I should worry about?”

Like a sudden deployment?

“Mm,no, not really.” he replies with his chin still on her shoulder, his eyes following the three dogs as they run around the yard - clearly happy to be surrounded by heat instead of the below zero temperatures from Virginia - “I don’t think so at least.”

Beatrice nodded, still caressing his arm as they stood there quietly. Her mind, while happy to be back in California, couldn’t really stay in one thought right now, in fact she just kept thinking how to break the news to her blood family. Since the pilots already knew, “...do you have any idea how to break the news to Mav?”

Cue to a very deep sigh, “No. Do you know how to break it to your parents?”

“No…”

‘Guess we’ll just make it as we go along,huh?”

Beatrice giggled, looking back at him to meet his smile and those brown eyes she fell in love with. She gently touched his face with her hand, following his scars with her thumb before touching his chin, “We will…I guess I’m just nervous. Maybe we should wait for the second ultrasound.”

“Maybe so, it’d be a great idea.” he mutters, “Anything to make sure they are okay.” he however groans when he hears his watch just beep repeatedly. He sighs, bringing her closer to him - more than she already was - and nuzzled her neck, “Walk me to the door?” she nods, letting him guide them towards it with their hands interlaced and Rooster’s wide steps making them reach the location faster.

Beatrice smiles more because he hasn’t let go of her hand even when he went to unlock the Bronco, just tugging her along every time he moved and clearly hating the idea of breaking the touch. “Roos.” he hums, opening the front door, looking back at her only for the brunette to nod to their hands, “You have to let me go.”

He flicks from their hands to her face, “....do I?”

“It’d be wise because I don’t think Evelyn’s dad would like to see me hanging onto you like a keychain.”

He purses his lips, shaking their hands a bit before slowly letting her go, only to grab it again and kiss her knuckles,then the back of her hand and finally the inside of her wrist, “There,done.” he stands there, watching her smile knowingly, “Actually.” she already purses her lips for him to kiss her and he wastes no time, cupping her face in his large hands and bringing her face closer to his.

She laughs against his mouth because he kept peppering kisses over hers, so much she had to gently push on his chest and break them apart, “Roos.” he whines in complaint, “You’ll have much more when you come back home.” another sad groan, “Don’t be a baby.”

“I’m not a baby.” he mutters - pouting while doing so - playing with the ends of her hair, “I just like kissing you.”

“And I like kissing you.” she fixes his collar then runs her hands down his shirt to smooth any wrinkles that might be there, “But you have to work and I have to…do stuff. Like clean.” and she pecked the tip of his nose before stepping back, closer to the door where the three dogs were.

Rooster sighed, tossing the keys up and grabbing them in mid air, “Fine,but,” he points a finger in her direction, partially inside the car, “I’ll want those kisses once I’m home.”

“You’ll get them.”

His eyes narrow, “All of them?”

“Every single one.” she smiles, crossing her arms over her bust, “I promise.”

Bradley narrows his eyes even more but smirks, “Alright.” and he drops his sunglasses over his eyes, clearly pleased by the outcome once he’s inside the car. Beatrice waits until the garage door rolls open to step closer to the car - and her husband quickly rolls the window down with the same smile as before. “Yess?”

She laughs, leaning closer to kiss his lips one last time, “Have a good day at work, okay?”

He smiles more, pressing another kiss to her lips, “I will. I’ll call you.”

“You better.” she laughs, stepping back so he could drive off from the garage and onto the street. She walks out, the dogs following, until she’s by the sidewalk, placing a hand on her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun and waving at him with her free one - he reciprocates with a wink before driving off. Once she’s alone with Jolene - because Jack and Eleanor went up to check on Nicole, she sighs a bit.

The pittie tilts her huge head at her, then presses her body against her thigh for comfort, “Oh Jojo,I’m okay.” she mutters, scratching the dog behind the ears and dropping her free hand to her stomach as she feels the smallest amount of nausea hitting her, “Anyway, let’s go back inside, I gotta get enough courage to clean the house.” Jolene barks in agreement, following Beatrice as she wanders into the house.

She walks inside and pauses, trying to hear if Nicole was awake and closing her eyes when she hears only silence. She does check on the baby monitor app and sees Nikki is just sleeping peacefully, “But she’ll wake up in a few minutes.” she tells herself, pulling her hair up in a bun and rolling her pants up her calves, “Alright, time to clean.”

Cleaning should be considered a type of therapy, in reality Dr.Varma said it truly was a type of therapy and if it helped Beatrice, she should always try to do it.

She just liked when things were tidy.

So, she decided to start in the master bedroom, being close to Nicole and making sure she was around in case the baby woke up. She tries to be quiet while bringing the cleaning supplies up the stairs, peeking into Nicole’s room as the end of the mop hits the staircase but their daughter was a heavy sleeper. She slept through a storm, a mop handle hitting the railing wouldn’t wake her up.

She was happy she managed to do so much, and she finished just in time for Nicole to wake up. Okay, it was just the master bedroom, but it was good enough. Now she was feeding Nikki in the kitchen while checking her phone and seeing her mother’s message one more time.

Claudia wants to go grocery shopping, and Beatrice was okay with that idea since she had some stuff to buy herself, but she had to be careful when out with her mom…she didn’t want to share much about it yet. Which reminded her, “Shells.’ she immediately found her friend’s contact and brought the phone to her ear, smiling at Nikki as she waits.

“Hey babes. What’s up?”

“Well,nothing much.” she chuckles, bringing another spoonful of mango purée to Nikki’s mouth - she was really her daughter, the way her little eyes widened the second the spoon entered her mouth was a clear sign of that - “But I wanted to check on you.”

“Me?”

“Hmmhm. I’m sure everything we talked about is between us still,right?”

“Everything we- oh you mean the p-” Beatrice clears her throat loudly, she knows for a fact that Shells was with Penny right now, she knew the two often worked out together - more like Penny jogged and Shells just marched along like an angry child who got forcefully out of bed - “Oh-um,yeah. Yeah you can count on me.”

“You didn’t keep it hidden when Nikki was still inside.”

“Okay,in my defense, you were with me.” Beatrice just rolled her eyes, “And we couldn’t lie to my aunt. Like, she knows stuff, she knows everything…but I can handle things right now,I can keep a secret.” Beatrice says nothing and the lack of response clearly annoys the blonde, “I do!”

“Uh-huh, anyway,I was just thinking about that and if there’s anything planned for this week.I know Penny wanted to bring more stuff over?”

“She did ask for a new keg of beer. Locally made, she’s trying to give more people chances. If it works, it’ll bring more people to the bar…also did you hear?”

“About?”

“There’s a new Navy bar being built, not too far from here.”

Beatrice blinks, wiping Nicole’s face, “Wait, really?” she leans back on her chair as Nicole babbles happily while slapping her hands together, “I didn’t know that.”

“My aunt thinks it’s just a bunch of former executives trying to make big money with something they have no idea about.” the blonde explains, “Like in Bar Rescue.”

“You watch Bar Rescue?”

“Penny had this weird fear that Jon Taffer would one day come into the Hard Deck, she never mentioned it to anyone except me and Melia though.” she chuckles a bit, “Was kinda funny. Never saw her like that.”

“Hm, still, it’s okay to keep an eye out I guess.”

“I think so…how about you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,I think I got some nausea now but,” she frowns,rubbing her stomach, “Hopefully it’ll disappear by the time I meet with my mom. I know she wants to go grocery shopping but ugh, some smells can be so…triggering? I know when I was with Nikki I couldn’t handle the smell of wine or beer and I really wanted to have bananas…more than normal.”

‘Mhm”

“It’s a pain in the ass.”

“I mean the closest thing I had to that was throwing up in the uh, that Frat party. Remember? With the toga boys and the giant inflatable giraffe.”

“That’s…not the same.”

“It is a little bit…anyway, Penny is coming closer so unless you want her to know we better cut the convo short.”

“Right,okay.” Beatrice straightens on her chair, “Remember, don’t tell anyone. Please Shells.”

“I won’t.” Shells says and Bea was sure she rolled her eyes the second those words left her mouth, “Jeez, have some trust in me. Bye Bumblebea.”

“By Shells.” Beatrice ended the call with a soft laugh, then dropped the phone on the table as she rubbed her eyes with the tips of her fingers, propping her face on her palms as she looked over at Nikki who had just finished her breakfast and was grinning at her. Beatrice grins back, wiping some of the golden yellow baby food from her cheeks and then keeping her eyes on that little girl for a little while.

Beatrice hoped, she hoped nothing bad would happen while she was out with her mother. Because the plan was still to wait a little bit more, they were going to the clinic again this week, so they could hold it in…besides her family’s uh…’enthusiasm’ could be very overwhelming as she well knows. She tapped her nail against the table as she breathes in deeply, looking down at the slowly growing bulge in her stomach, it was just a tidbit more visible now and then looked over at Nicole, “Well,” she pushes herself to her feet, “Come on Nikki,we gotta clean up and see nonna.”

“Aaa?”

“Yes,” she picks her up from the high chair, picking what was left of the mango purée with her free hand, “Nonna, she hasn’t seen you in so long, you grew a lot in such a short week, hm?” she really did, that onesie was already going up her little legs and Beatrice didn’t know how to feel about that. She didn’t know if she should be happy or not that Nicole was growing so much already, “You know what, let’s just take a bath and forget about this for a second.” and maybe think how to react when she met her mother later that day.

#bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x oc #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x female reader #bradley bradshaw x named reader #tgm oc #tgm fic #tgm fanfiction

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