#IWW Did You Know

[iww-gnv]

Image description copied from alt text: A square graphic with a red background that shows a raised fist bearing the IWW logo and text that reads, "Did you know? The IWW was founded in Chicago, Illinois in June 1905." The union website, iww.org, is also listed. End image description.

Did you know?

The Industrial Workers of the World, or the IWW, was founded in Chicago, Illinois in June of 1905. Its members are often nicknamed "Wobblies," and the union itself is frequently called "the One Big Union."

Why "One Big Union?" Because the IWW was founded to serve every worker. At the time the IWW was founded, only a short list of specialized trades had unions. Major industries such as textiles, docks, agriculture, and mining were all without representation, and many of the IWW's first battles were to organize those very workers!

If you're a member of the working class, you have a place with the IWW!

Learn More:

IWW - Our History

IWW History Project - University of Washington

The Industrial Workers of the World - PBS

Wobblies of the World: A Global History of the IWW, Edited by Peter Cole, David Struthers, and Kenyon Zimmer

[clowningaroundmars]

aaaaand done!

hobieposes 4 u <3

some ppl seemed to like the sketch i posted and then deleted so here u go ↓

[imsobadatnicknames2]

Music commission prices!

Update: Editing my prices again bc I still think I was undercharging a little bit from my work and also the payment processor I use to transfer money from P*ypal to my bank account recently increased their fees.

Hey everyone! My name's Carlos, I'm a composer and producer. I'm one half of the technical death metal band Beyond Flesh, and I've been doing commissioned music work since 2021. I did all the battle themes for the RPGmaker game Those Infernal Girls! and several battle themes for the "Chillen in Chult" arc of the the D&D twitch show Dice Dynamics. I also did one bonus track for the album We Will All Sing One Song by the James Connolly Upstate New York IWW.

I can make music for your:

OC

Climactic TTRPG moment

Videogame

Short Film

Whatever else idk

The main genres I do are metal, synthwave, and dungeon synth, but I've done a bunch of commissioned work in different genres, from 8bit to jazz to EDM to hiphop backing tracks. If in doubt, ask me and I'll tell you if I can do a particular genre or not.

Prices:

Base commission price (Includes 1 minute of music, 2 instrument tracks plus percussion track) - $12 USD

Extra instrument track - $6 USD

Extra minute of music - $6 USD

Examples:

Some examples of my previous work so you can get an idea of my range:

You don't need to know anything about music theory or related language to commission me, but do have in mind that the more ifnormation you're able to provide the better the end result will be. Vibe descriptions, reference tracks that you want it to sound similar to, writeups of the character and/or scene it's for, and anything else you can think of are massively helpful. I'll be continually sending you WIPs through the entire process so you can judge the direction I'm going in and provide notes if necessary.

You get to keep all rights to the song to use it for any purpose. I, however, keep the right to post it on my tumblr blog, my youtube channel, or any of my socials for promotional purposes.

You may contact me through DMs here, or through the following media:

e-mail: juan.hernandez9903@gmail.com

Discord: carlos7318

I only accept payment via p*ypal invoices, as c*shapp and v*nmo don't work in my country.

[radiofreederry]

Happy birthday, Utah Phillips! (May 15, 1935)

A prolific singer-songwriter in the American folk tradition and a committed member of the Industrial Workers of the World, Bruce "Utah" Phillips was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but spent his formative years growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah. After serving in the US Army during the Korean War, Phillips, deeply affected by the death and destruction he had not only seen but caused, spent some time wandering America, hopping trains and getting into fights. Eventually he returned to Utah and became an acolyte of the Catholic anarchist Ammon Hennacy, who introduced Phillips to both anarchism and pacifism, philosophies which Phillips would hold fast to for the rest of his life. Phillips became a keeper and teller of stories, collecting the experiences and lives of older generations of radicals and ensuring that they would not be forgotten. He helped to preserve the traditional IWW songbook and mentor the next generation of folk singers. Phillips also hosted a radio show, Loafer's Glory, which ran for 100 episodes in national syndication. Phillips eventually settled in Nevada City, California, where he was active in community organizing and helped to found a homeless shelter. In ill health in his last years, Phillips died in 2008.

"I have a good friend in the East, who comes to my shows and says, you sing a lot about the past, you can't live in the past, you know. I say to him, I can go outside and pick up a rock that's older than the oldest song you know, and bring it back in here and drop it on your foot. Now the past didn't go anywhere, did it? It's right here, right now."

[dailyanarchistposts]

The Demands and What Lies Ahead

On June 9th, CHAZ representatives released a list of demands that were authored by many of the collective voices in the zone. Most of them are extremely realistic and can be accomplished if Seattle actually had a representative government instead of one that works for Amazon. The list of demands falls under four categories: economics, education, the justice system and health and human services. The authors stated further that the zone was on land taken from the local Native American Duwamish people over a century ago. The Pacific Northwest has a long history with native tribes and the collective voices of the zone realize that. Additionally, they have requested no violence be used in attempts to remove the zoners and that they be allowed to operate in a communal structure in order to “show the country what is possible through collective voices.” CHAZ has been praised by the IWW’s Industrial Worker publication as an effective way to distribute badly needed social services. The irony behind the creation of CHAZ is that austerity measures have been put in many American cities since the CARES bailout back in March. This is expected during crises and it’s not acceptable to those not just in CHAZ but protesting within the BLM movement. Austerity has been a prime focus during these protests because while police departments across the country see their budgets increase every year, every other line item of public services continue to be cut. Anarchists in the zone realize they need to do more planning going forward. They have already began deputizing scouts and are working on expanding their perimeter even more. Smoking areas have been designated and local marijuana growers have flooded the zone to provide free marijuana. The anti-capitalist views of the inhabitants will create an atmosphere of brainstorming that will only serve the commune for the better going forward. As an example of this, many have began talking about black-owned banks, divesting from local corporations and prison reform. Local activists even gave a soapbox speech criticizing the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and how their representatives in conservative state legislatures write laws without “any clue” as to who they represent. The opportunity is there to create a flourishing commune in a short term project that will ultimately likely be destroyed at some point. The main goal is to provide a glimpse for Americans what can be possible though communal action when you operate outside of the system of government that many Americans take for granted. This is not a country that is used to communal action and most citizens probably don’t even know the definition of a co-op. Kshama Sawant is a Seattle City Council member and member of the Trotskyist Socialist Alternative Party (SA). She visited the zone on June 9th and asked the residents to turn it into a community center for restorative justice. She agreed that there needs to be long term goals and that the method of going beyond policing (police abolition) needs to be analyzed and discoursed in the mainstream. Sawant did suggest caution though on pushing the city too far. She, along with the residents want to avoid future violence if the police do eventually move in to tear down the commune. The development of CHAZ is a real time education in community organizing and anarchist alternatives. Amazon and Boeing weren’t going to provide the people of Seattle with basic life necessities. Those in CHAZ hope they can demonstrate that social services can be provided in a vacuum. They have stated they will continue to build the commune and will continue until they are forced out. Long live the commune!

[tips-from-a-tech-worker]

On radio silence...

Howdy folks,

Been a little quiet as of the last few months. Basically, I was made redundant / quit my job and have been unemployed since February.

Honestly, I am not too bothered about it. It was a fairly mutual agreement, and from the sounds of it, I was lucky to get out when I did!

Since then I've been getting as involved in IWW organising as I can whilst also applying for jobs. It's been quite enjoyable! But... It would be nice to have some money...

I'll be trying to keep this account active, but if I go silent then now you know why!

Also, and I am bracing myself for this, I am happy to give advice in terms of union organising with folks. I am no expert, but I can tell you what has worked for me and others I know, and what hasn't!

Otherwise, hope everyone's been doing well!

Stay safe and solidarity folks!

[fairiedance]

Wildcat Wearing Keffiyeh

This one was inspired directly by my Palestinian friend, he's a labor activist and he has done some incredible work in various unions (and non-union movements) over the years. He's nice enough to have put some serious time into labor organizing for free for employees of organizations he doesn't even work for just because he hates seeing people being treated unfairly. When I tell you he is the nicest person I have EVER met I really mean it. I actually met him through his labor activism.

As usual ALL PROCEEDS from these will go to this wonderful man to help him afford to bring his girlfriend over to America and to help his other loved ones around the Levant who are being hurt directly and/or financially by the attacks on Gaza, the increasing Israeli raids in the West Bank and the collateral damage in surrounding countries. The cat is found here and here (on shirts, stickers, notebooks, etc). All designs found HERE (click on each to see more product options).

For those not familiar, this is the black cat/wildcat/sabo-tabby, an old union symbol likely designed by IWW member Ralph Chaplin. It is associated with sabotage, wildcat (unprotected) strikes and other radical labor actions.

By the way, did you know that Israeli trade unions have historically fought against the Arab workforce?

[poppyandzena]

The It's Not Therapy podcast did an interview with Poppy and Zena about Noeh, and Poppy says that SHE initiated sex with Noeh. Poppy's tone instantly shifts as soon as she realized what she just said and that she just fucked up. Poppy knows she wasn't raped, but im guessing that's one reason why she is pulling her "i couldn't consent because of the mentew iwwness" shtick.

I'll say it again: BPD does not deprive you of autonomy and consent. Poppy initiated. Noeh left. Poppy accused her of rape.

[decolonize-the-everything]

Hey are you personally involved in the general strike card thing? Is it legit? Because it doesn't look like it to me honestly. By kegit I don't mean like theyre not scammers or smth but are they actually doing something meaningful or did someone just create a website and that's it

No, leaders are listed on the partners page and I am not one of them.

Make your own choices ❤️

They have some info on their site, but if that isn't enough you, you could absolutely join the IWW or another union that's been more established and is verifiably organizing & organized.

Personally, I signed the card. Like what are they gonna do? Even if it doesn't work out I think it's inspiring to see the number go up. It gives me hope and maybe it's doing the same for a more legit group to do a better job.

Personally, idk why tf unions arent organizing together at this point. Everyone's striking or wants to strike it feels like. What are we waiting around for, you know? Anyway if you haven't joined one then do that.

Got a hundred in a couple days ❤️

It looks decentralized as hell to me, but the updates and changes to the site over time really make me feel like it's just some people doing their best and still trying to find the best people for the job as they get more support and build the movement. I think the intentions are genuinely good. The partners page would be insanely bizarre for someone who didn't believe in the people or grassroots efforts at the very least.

I truly don't see how this couldnt be meaningful if people gave it a chance to be something.

So I'm gonna put my eggs in this basket and hope that enough of the right people to do the same thing and this gets somewhere.

[alwayschasingrainbows]

Tangled Web Readalong Chapter 1.7.

another long post, so sorry about it, but I have so many thoughts about one, incredibly short paragraph...:

"Peter, being notoriously and incurably left-handed, had not been accepted for overseas service." (Tangled Web).

It appears that Peter Penhallow did not fight on the front lines of World War I. Didn't he enlist in the infantry after being rejected for overseas service? Was he unable to take part in the fight because he was left-handed? I haven't heard about such cases of exclusion from combat, but maybe one of you has such knowledge?

By the way, in this novel World War I is presented in a very negative light, which is surprising in Montgomery's novels. You can see how much her bitterness has grown over the years. In Rilla of Ingleside, the war is presented as a fight for a better world: bloody, yes, but glorious nonetheless. The soldiers returned wounded and aged, but in the glow of the glory of sacrifice for a better cause.

In Tangled Web, however, we see a completely different face of war: Naomi's husband does not recognize her and does not love her as before; Donna and Virginia lose their husbands, and their grief is shown in a mocking way; one of the men dies of pneumonia before he even has a chance to leave a training camp; the other experiences a "moment of glory", but it is described ironically and without due respect.

It seems to me that Montgomery no longer believes in fighting for a better world.

In Rilla, war is presented as consuming many lives, tragic, but in a way also... glorious and not without meaning. Pacifists are portrayed as ridiculous and harmful.

In Tangled Web, however, so far none of the main characters has commented on the war as a "great victory" or "a glorious fight for the homeland." In fact, it seems that none of the characters whose adventures we have seen so far took part in it (aside from Naomi's husband).

We know absolutely nothing about Hugh's reasons not to join (or did he?). Peter did not- although given his temperament and adventurous spirit he ought to have been the first to enlist. Left-handedness seems like Maud's hastily concocted explanation. Maybe Maud believed that war robs people of everything - including their energy and love for living on the edge? Maybe she didn't want Peter to stop being Peter?

I wonder how the war might affect the characters in other of Montgomery's books. Would Barney be able to love forests and write books about them if he had to fight for survival for four years? Would Teddy be able to paint if he had to come face to face with another man - perhaps a writer, a doctor, a father - and had to choose between his life and that man's? Or Walter, with his love of beauty - would he have been able to write poetry if he had survived?

One might say that Andrew Stuart continued to live, got married and started a family. True. But he himself claimed that the war aged him ten years. We don't know the trauma he underwent. Perhaps his too quick marriage to Robin, his inability to be a good husband to his young wife and a good father to his newborn baby was the result of war trauma? Who knows what was left of Andrew-of-the-years-before in Andrew who returned in 1918?

In her later novels, I think Maud doesn't specifically mention the war in relation to her characters (except Andrew). She even creates worlds in which there is no mention of war… Emily's Quest's ending, for example never mentions the war even though it should have happened there, especially as something about the war is mentioned in Emily Climbs: "one stormy night in a February of the olden years before the world turned upside down."

Similarly, there is no mention of the war in The Blue Castle (IWW) or Mistress Pat (IIWW) - at least as far as I remember - if I am mistaken, please correct me :).

I find it so interesting how Maud's change of heart is portrayed in her novels.

[anti-workshop]

SHAKY HANDS STICKER CLUB

Hey friends! I alluded to a big thing coming and THIS IS IT!

Patreon sucks ass but it's sort of the name of the game for fundraising things, and we need to raise funds, so here we are!

Do you like stickers? Do you like buttons? Do you like queer leftist shit as well as unique pieces of art you can adhere to the world or wear on your person? Please join our sticker club! You get stickers every month and maybe button/s if you want!

Check it out here -> STICKER CLUB

Also! More short designs will be coming soon! So stay tuned!

Read more below if you wanna know why we're doing this. Warning, it's long and sort of sad.

We started screen printing from one of our basements in 2020. It was, needless to say, the worst possible time to try and start a business. We barely survived and were able to move into the basement of the Milwaukee IWW's new union hall so we could all split the rent and make it affordable.

That was back in 2021. We were still struggling, but through word of mouth we got jobs and kept the lights on. We weren't really able to pay ourselves, but we all had second or third jobs so it was (mostly) fine.

We printed from that basement for about a year (and I hit my head on the ceiling and doorways hundreds of times) when a fellow wobbly and co-op enthusiast invited us to join his co-op as a DBA (doing business as). He sold us on the idea by offering to subsidize our workers' comp, general liability and book keeping expenses so we could try and grow sustainably. After some meetings we agreed to join as a DBA and we put our faith in this fellow worker whose intentions seemed pure and generous. We'll call him G.

Throughout the co-op's history some of our worker-owners' personal lives have been pretty chaotic. Working multiple jobs is stressful enough as a lot of you know, and so is navigating the continued stress of covid, having kids who are dealing with being bullied for being trans, all of us having major depression, adhd, etc. etc. We relied on each other, kept the lights on and just forged ahead, but there were some jobs that we delivered late or very late because of the chaos. G was understandably frustrated by these setbacks, as was I.

Because of the chaos, for about 5 months I was literally the only person working at the shop, performing literally every task from emails to quotes and mockups to invoices to pre-press, press, post-press and fulfillment. The Goncahrov shirts y'all purchased literally paid our rent, and I cannot thank you enough for that.

Then a fellow worker we'll call Z joined the co-op and saved my life. Z is amazing and I love him and owe him so much. He and I just kept at it and did what we could to care for our fellow workers who were struggling while away from the shop.

For about a year we've been trying to get an equipment loan to improve our processes because our little 4-color press and our flash and conveyor dryers suck ass. They're functional, extremely difficult to use, and they make our final product inconsistent and screen printing is a nightmare on them. It was all we could afford so we made the best of it and pursued a loan from a really cool cooperative lender that lends to other co-ops.

After a year of paperwork, making reports of our revenue and costs, analyzing our processes to improve them and show we were a viable business, they finally granted us the loan! We got a new press, better dryer, more screens and an incredible water-based digital printer/plotter combo that allows us to do stickers and decals and banners and buttons and other cool shit like that.

While we were applying for the loan, we were also pursuing a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the PPPWU (formerly the GCC) because we would be the only worker-owned co-op in our region (and maybe the US) to have the allied label, the most coveted union bug for printing. The local president was amazing to work with and we finally got awarded our union label and started paying dues.

It was around the time we began seeking the loan that G was doing and saying things we were a little confused by. He unilaterally fired two worker-owners in his co-op after months of mediation on my part to try and address interpersonal conflict. It's my fault for not seeing the writing on the wall then, but because he had done so much to help us, we justified his actions to look past our concerns.

Then, when those workers were gone he started to get abusive in text threads towards me and the other print folks, and we still looked past it because he had a lot going on in his life and that kind of stress can bring out the worst in anyone.

Well, a few weeks ago it came to our attention that we don't own our print co-op anymore, and we functionally stopped owning it once we signed on as a DBA. We thought we were all worker owners, but it turns out only I am, because I paid in at the time when I had the money. The abuse has escalated to the point that Z has quit, leaving only me the original creator the our co-op who we'll call M.

We're sort of trapped now. We're on the hook for rent at the shop until 2025, as well as the payments for our $30k loan, in a business that's been swept out from under us by someone we trusted who has become toxic and plainly cruel in his treatment of us.

Despite the stress and never really paying ourselves, I've enjoyed learning water-based screen printing and making garments people actually wear! It's been amazing! As the anti-workshop, we've been able to fund programs for our local IWW, the local tenants union and the local pro-palestine, anti-war committee. That has felt so good.

We've made our space an extremely queer, worker-focused spot for folks to learn the ins and outs of design and printing, which I am so proud of.

We're still here. We're still printing. We need to raise the funds to buy our equipment back by paying off this loan, so we can stop being a DBA of G's co-op and be our own entity again.

Failing that, we'll see what happens.

[iww-gnv]

Did you know you can join the Industrial Workers of the World even if you aren't traditionally employed? Check out IWW.org/join for more information on finding a local branch today!

[Image description copied from alt text: A square graphic with an illustration of a person sitting at a table with a laptop, looking at the screen with confusion. Text on the graphic reads, "Freelancer? Self-employed? Between jobs? You can still unionize! Find out how at IWW.org/join." The IWW logo is included in the bottom right corner. End description.]

[jonahmagnus-research]

Juwgen weitnew? stupid idiot mothewfucking juwgein weitnew god damn foow book cowwecting dust eating wat owd bastawd shithead idiot avataw of the whowe biggest cwown in the ciwcus waughed out of town cowboy mothewfucking juwgein weitnew

stowp pinning me whewn i tawk abouwt juwgein weitenew i hate him so much why does he have so many fucked up books why did he decide tuwu fuck awound awnd find out juwst set thewm woose iws he dead iws he a bastawd man has such a viscewaw affect own me nowt even in the woom nevew seen thiws mans face awnd i know he has the wowwds shittiest beawd get away fwom me

if i wanted tuwu get intwo heaven awnd god said juwgein weitnews waiting inside i wouwd piss own gods feet fow the sowe puwpose of getting sent bawck down

if i have tuwu deaw with juwgein weitnew speaking owne wowd in pewson own voice in podcast nowt onwy wiww i cwose the tab i wiww dewete my bookmawk out of spite awnd have tuwu wewatch the entiwe sewies again fow the expewience of being abwe tuwu skip aww the times whewn he iws mentioned ow awive

i dont even know why i hate him so much. he cowwects books but i am juwst mad because i am angy

he bettew have sowme fucked up backstowy tuwu expwain thiws if hes juwst sowme wich shithead whos a fan of cweepypasta awnd wanted the iww vewsion iww gow ham

bettew have had a book make him kiww a man cuz if he didnt im going tuwu make him

paypaw.com/ifuckinghatejuwgeinweitnew

episodes nowt even abouwt him. vaguewy mentioned whawt iws supposed tuwu maybe be hiws wibwawy awnd i wost iwt

whewe the fuck iws juwgein weitnew if hes stiww awive im going tuwu so deepwy wish he wasnt

cwusty owd man

iww punch weitnew awnd hiws sad fwaiw owd man twig bones wiww simpwy fwake apawt undew my epic huge meat fist awnd he wiww disintegwate untiw aww thats weft iws owne finaw book he kept own him at aww times simpwy titwed now uwu fucked up

Ah... I beg your pardon? I am sorry, but this is... almost wholly incomprehensible to me. Is this related to that Jurgen Leitner fellow? I, ah—thank you for sharing, I suppose.

Lord, people these days are incredibly strange.

[theintelligenceoflove]

Shoutout @writingcold for tagging me to tell yall about 10 songs I'm currently obsessed with. (No particular order)

1. "Ripple" the Grateful Dead

"Let there be songs to fill the air" is so *chefs kiss* this song just fucks me up and if I were a deadhead I'd probably tattoo that on me

2. "Hot Burrito #1" The Flying Burrito Brothers

I can't stop listening to the album, I have no idea why, but damn it's so good. And this song is ALWAYS stuck in my head.

3. "American Lawn" Blake Rouse

I don't care how good Starcatcher is, this is the beat album of 2023, and this song is SO FUCKING GOOD this kid is such a good lyricist

4. "Layla" Derek and the Dominos

This song reminds me of Jake so bad, I just want him to play it for me but he's got this goofy grin and he's bobbing his head.

5. "Take it To The Limit" The Eagles

This is not my favorite Eagles song, not by a long shot. But @jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka literally just mentioned a friends to lovers Jake fic and this is the first song to come to mind "And when you're looking for your freedom/ and no one seems to care." and "Put me on a highway/ a show me a sign"

6. "Midnight Rider" Stephen Stills

don't @ me about this being Stephen's version and not The Allman Brothers Band version. My coworker yesterday told me "you should put on that Silver Dollar" song you're in a bad mood. And this is the version of that song I have on my work playlist.

7. "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" Sylvester

Anytime someone calls a song "a queer anthem" and it's not this song they're wrong. Sylvester queen of disco did not write this fucking amazing song for y'all to be calling things written by straight women queer anthems. I wrote a whole academic paper about the effect of AIDS on gay may sexual subcutulres for my history of pandemics class and titled it with this song.

8. "Outside" George Michael

I have an entire footnote about this song in my thesis. Because public sense deserves nuanced and historicized conversations. Particularly as applied to gay men. Moreover, I'm upset my mother didn't have me nine years before she was born so I could have had a chance with George.

9. "Bread and Roses" Judy Collins

big anarchist vibes. The socialists have taken the symbol of bread and roses. But it originated in anarchist circles in America in the early 19th century. When I was going to write about the IWW for my theis I decided when I finished, I'd get a bread and roses tattoo. I still want a bread and roses tattoo but I think I'll get something else to commemorate my MA degree.

10. "Light My Love" Greta Van Fleet.

so this is a song from this little band from Detroit. I don't know if y'all have ever heard of them, you should check them out I think you'll like them.

as always, I love being tagged but am horrible at tagging people bc it makes me anxious I'm sorry. If you want to do this say I tagged you I'm super okay with that!

[lwgh]

Ok, time for something self-indulgent

(Echo is in the RV when James bursts in, his hands behind his back)

James: HEY ECHO (puts in her hands an inconspicuous cookie from the lab from his leftovers)

Echo: (confused) Uh, hey, James. (looks down in her hands)

James: YOU CAN HAVE THIS, OKAY BYE. (runs off)

Echo: ooooookay (bites the cookie)

(Later James comes back in to the RV to Echo, who now has cat ears and cat tail and cat eyes)

Echo: What the hew did you put in that cookie?! I take one bite of that, fall asweep, and next thing I know, I gwew whatevew these things awe, and now evewytime i try to say awww or aeww I can't!

James: Wait, it worked? Man, I should take Bio.

Echo: IWW KIWW YOU

James: That's my cue to leave, hehe- (dashes off)

Echo: (hover-boots literally just BLAST OFF)

[jerzwriter]

I'm glad you're writing WTD now because it made me read it. I like it. But I had two questions.

Why did you pick Eli as Zoe's LI?

When Eli got bit and MC didn't do rule no. 3, did that bother you? They did it for everyone else, so why not Eli?

Hey Nonny, Thanks for the ask.

I know I answered #1 recently, but of course, I can't find it. In a nutshell, he was just the best choice for my MC.

QUESTION 1: She loves Troy very much but in a friend/brother way. They share a playful personality, but she's very serious when it comes to her responsibilities, and I found Troy too flippant for Zoe. Shannon would have been the second-best match, but I think she was a little too timid. In both of their cases, those differences aren't a barrier to being very close friends, but Zoe would want someone as brave and badass as she is. Could I tweak Zoe a tiny bit to make them work? Yes. But I like Zoe as she is.

I never considered Angel and Sledge as matches for Zoe. Angel is too immature and childlike (almost makes me go... iww... childlike), and Sledge is far too harsh. She likes them both as friends, but I'd have to make Zoe a different character for either of them to work romantically.

Eli & Zoe have a lot in common. They're both skilled marksmen/fighters, they take their responsibilities very seriously, and they're fiercely loyal. Both just recently (3 years is recent) lost the only remaining members of their family, and they died at the same place to boot. (This figures into my HC.) They get each other on a very deep level, and that's where the attraction stemmed. While Zoe is an extrovert who always sees the glass as half-full, he's an introvert who sees it as half-a-glass (not negative, nor positive, just pragmatic). I think they can make it work because they respect the differences in each other, and they don't demand that the other change. They love each other for who they are. Also, I don't think Eli is a true loner. That was a survival and protective mechanism in response to the extreme trauma surrounding his family's deaths. If he were a true loner, he would not have stayed on with them after leaving the cabin, and he would not have such allegiance to Olympus. I don't think he'll ever be a class clown, but he will lighten up a lot as time goes on.

QUESTION 2: It didn't bother me at all. I don't think it had anything to do with who it was (in fact, MC says as much in canon). It has to do with they just had the fight with the Raiders, and they overheard them say something that leads her to believe they may have something to help ward off the effects after a zombie bite. If she had found herself in the same position with her sister or any others, she would have done the same thing. I also believe that if the serum hadn't worked on Eli, she would have done what needed to be done, no matter how difficult it was. It would have been necessary for all, especially for Eli.

Thanks for the asks! :)