#also varis deserved better
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Thinking of how I've been incredibly spoiled by FF XIV and how its team handles ongoing stories. People keep repeating about the latest genshin conundrum that it's just called an ongoing story, and... no? It doesn't have to be like this?
Even if it's common it doesn't mean such a thing should be normal.
But maybe I'm just holding everyone else to an unreasonable standard.
#ff xiv#I've been unhappy with some of the narrative choices#5.3 finale I'm looking at you#sorrow of werlyt I'm looking at you too#also varis deserved better#I complain about pacing every single patch#I'm unhappy about the aetherology lectures right about now#but for the six years I've been playing I never felt let down#with genshin I feel let down#also the way ff14 does reveals#remember shadowhunter#I think delighted shouting kept reaching stratosphere for a month after the patch release#and the most touching thing was when they expanded the open demo not just to the main game#but also to heavensward#because you don't leave players on a cliffhanger like this#you just don't#yoshi-p and his team are nothing but considerate#and I came to appreciate that very much#there's something incredible in knowing that no matter what the authors do I won't be disappointed
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Zenos viator Galvus and him trying to deal with actually feeling things for once (Even if he doesn't really understand how to handle the comfort he receives from others for it)
I am also giving this man a dad that actually cares, because this brainworm have gotten me and there is no saving me from them.
#ffxiv#sketch#zenos yae galvus#adventurer zenos#durante#zero#local man learns how to feel again... and is regretting it immensely-#as his old habits of “ignore” or “shut down” dont work that well anymore#because#at least from what I've personally looked into#unironically zenos' method of reaper contract was the smartest way to go about- he wouldnt have had the context that they used to be people#but I also write Zenos with the thought that he would abhor becoming anything like Varis-#and I dont think he'd like being directly responsible for turning another person into a weapon or a tool like how he was- intentional or no#and I think its just a neat point of tension between adventurer zenos and zero#and it just ends feeding into what I write one of his main hurdles being#his resignation that he may never change- or that he isnt worth compassion because of the circumstances he grew up in#and him being so ready to take blame and resign the possibility of apologizing because (given context) i dont doubt#that Varis had constantly blamed him for Carosa's death#and it also just gives me a bit of reasoning why him being called a monster (specifically thinking of the scene with Krile) sets him off#I also just like the idea of Durante taking him in as a hesitant mentor and accidently bonding with him- even beyond the theories I have#(and this is totally me being biased because I ADORE durante as a character)#but I think helping Zenos and the way Zenos and Wol would later interact with each other would give him a measure of peace#of being able to guide someone and be there for someone like it seemed golbez was for him#I also think zenos deserves at least one warm fatherly hug#and who better than the strange old ass voidsent who could honestly probably rotate him any moment his guard is down
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THE THING IS the star wars shows are almost all unequivocally Bad* but there are JUST ENOUGH exceptions** that sometimes when u see a new show coming out*** you go WELL perhaps there is hope after all. and maybe it looks cool**** :) and someone else may be thinking well sol isn't it easy for you since you are a star wars fan? and the truth of the matter is that NO. it is because i am a star wars fan that i know just how bad star wars is. and my love for star wars has a direct correlation to how much i hate its shows***** so u see actually it is very difficult for me
#*in varying ways eg tbb (racist) tbobf (racist; dick felony has a small acorn in place of where most ppl would have a frontal lobe)#**mando; andor; moses ingram; ewan mcgregor's extremely camp old gay man voice in kenobi; etc#***the acolyte; skeleton crew#****amandla stenberg.#*****this will make sense especially if u are say a star wars fans who likes aliens and has seen even one seen from ahsoka disney+ or a#star wars fan who loves niche lore like the nightsisters and dathomir (sorry guys u deserve better) or a star wars fan who#perceives things + has correct opinions + knows jedi r space buddhists (+sick but optional plasma sword) + not space cops/christian monks#croidhe#addendum that i looked up the acolyte cast out of curiosity after this (there is a korean jedi!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and apparently the reviews r a#whopping 1.5/5 on goog and 3.5/10 on imdb;;#however i also know how much star wars fans old and new hate black leads and co-leads so?
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I don't understand ;~; who are your new monster blorbos? morgott? margit?
oh lord. well, elden ring, so buckle up. putting most of it behind a readmore yw
margit is a projection of morgott! this is morgott
he is
the son of a god + the first ever ✨️elden lord✨️
but he was born with a """curse""", hence the horns and tail and generally not human physique (he's an omen. not metaphorically, that what his kind are called) so mom and dad shackled him and his twin brother in the sewers so their existence wouldn't besmirch the royal line. they got out Eventually
this is his brother (mohg). he pledged himself to a god besides his mom and embraced his curse so he's hiding in the underworld until the golden order falls
anyway the golden order is the era that began with their momgod's reign. before that was the crucible era, which fun fact sounds much less hateful toward omens. didn't throw them in sewers and/or mutilate them etc
anyway anyway there's an Event where the elden ring (powerful) shatters and a bunch of demigods each get a fragment of it and there's a war and in the end of all that, morgott becomes the "veiled monarch"
he has to be veiled (by magic that makes him look human, presumably) or just never show his face. probably the latter afaik. so he kind of seems to be trapped in another prison but at least now it's a castle not the sewers
btw morgott is like. fanatical about the golden order, carrying out what he assumes marika's (momgod) wishes to be after her death* even though the tenets of the golden order say he's an abomination and a disgrace and subhuman and the worst and kick his ass every day. because he was born with the omen curse. he has stockholm syndrome of the most heartbreaking variety. like he hates himself so very much but he doesn't think anyone else will do the job that needs to be done
mohg said fuck that noise and tbh I do not blame him
anyway anyway anyway morgott's job (self-imposed) is to guard this big gold magic tree (erd tree). he gets zero benefits or recognition for doing this. part of this job is killing a bunch of tarnished (player character) who want to usurp him and potentially hurt the tree. to do this he projects himself across the country as margit the fell omen, since he can't expose his identity
this is the erd tree
margit is like. idk if I'd say an alter ego. he's a physical projection, looks exactly like morgott, has some of his combat ability, he's the version you fight early on in the game
later when he's at full strength he has many more moves. very scary. he also has a big sword imbued with his cursed blood that looks like this
uhhhhhh his other full sibling is godwyn (who got halfway assassinated and is now physically trapped on the mortal plane without a soul. rip. this was otchestrsted by their half sister. double rip). this is godwyn's back
that pic isn't necessary but I enjoy it
I probably forgot some important stuff and included some irrelevant stuff :) I hope you enjoyed
#welcome to leo tries to explain some elden ring lore. sorry in advance#morgott the omen king#elden ring#the short version is that he deserves so much better forever#asks answered#this is also just. from memory i didn't double check anything so yk. accuracy may vary
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See you everywhere, now that you’re gone (Patreon)
#Doodles#SCII#Damned#Helix#ZEX#Dexter Favin#Ft. Wally West and Xigbar again - they're good to him <3#Hhhh ;; The sads :'0#ZEX never got to fully show off his uniform ;;#I was so hoping for that! He deserves to show off and feel nice and be praised </3#At least he'd surrounded himself with good people - the dynamics around which are also interesting#Wally lovely <3 He's so sweet honestly just wants to offer a shoulder if he's able any small bit of comfort#He's injured and he's still trying to hug ZEX weh ;; Any bit of solace ♥#Xigbar's way of cheering him up is his own kind of misplaced sweetness haha I love the care put into everyone's quirks <3#Ugh the whole thing of Nobodies trying to (and failing to! To varying degrees) convince themselves that they don't have emotions#Clearly Xig is unbothered by this so it's better to just flirt and not worry about it! It's a shame but it happens to everyone#I see you Xigbar ♥ Really tho him being a bit flippant and silly and tactile with ZEX did seem to help haha#''Let me comfort you'' pfft - sad silliness hehe#And then Dexter showed up!! I was so unprepared for that!!#Honestly I only expected him to come visit The One Time so I was so not ready for him to be here after All This#He made ZEX cry last time and this time he came to it already crying ;;#Ughhughgh ZEX's unshakable trust for DAX - even just his voice - being the breaking point of his self control I jfdlksahfds#Someone he can be weak in front of since he doesn't want to be seen by anyone that way - only to DAX ;;;;#Offering any bit of familiarity as comfort weh I'm fine this is fine ;;#Poor ZEX :( Being so powerless and helpless in this situation is so sad!! At least when he was in the War he was in control to an extent#He only touched his cheek with his uniform later that night which I do honestly love the imagery of soft and tender <3#I like drawing people holding things fully to their face more than I remembered haha#And then the fact that his roommate changed the same night and it was /Kirk/ of all people fjdslahfdsfd wehhhhh 😭#Kirk is genuinely the sweetest to him he is absolutely best boy but to have a Captain after all that ;;;;#It cuts so deeply ironic oww <3 <3
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I don’t normally post about lore cause no thoughts but fuck it, I’m seeing way too many bad faith takes here. Please assume that I am talking about the rp characters unless otherwise specified.
Do I think certain things could have been worded slightly better? Yes. Do I think that Dream suddenly showing a hint of remorse was weird and that it only happened for sake of drama? Yes. Do I think. That Punz could’ve been removed from that last scene and it would’ve changed nothing?? Yes, though it was funny to imagine him just standing there on his phone while discduo had there heart to heart. However,
I do not think it was cc!Tommy’s intention to have his character sympathize with his abuser. Mainly because that fully does not make sense for Tommy as a person /or/ as a character.
In that last scene, we see Tommy, who knows he only has a few minutes left to live, desperately trying to make sense of what has happened to him. Why, why would someone do what Dream to him? He has to hash this out now because he knows he’ll never get the chance again. He decides, “fuck it. I’ve got nothing left lose so why don’t I just ask”.
And then he gets his answer. And he finally understands. Tommy and Tubbo have spent this entire four part finale reminiscing about the good old days. Back when things were simple. Before the wars and the politics and the baggage, before everyone hated each other. And in limbo he sees that deep down, Dream wants the same thing, he’s just gone about it in completely the wrong way.
The beauty in Tommy’s character, to me, is that he is so loud and annoying and rude and when he’s bored he will pick fights just to see what’ll happen. But beneath all that, there’s a quiet kindness that people like Dream have never gotten to see. And in his final moments he extends that kindness to Dream, not because all is forgiven, but because we’re both about to die so we may as well make our peace. “Fuck you for what you did to me, and I’m sorry that I have to kill you.”
(Just want to say before this next paragraph that I am in no way saying that Dream’s actions, especially exile and beyond, are excusable, nor do I think Tommy deserved what he went through, nor do I think he(Dream) deserved any kind of redemption/reconciliation arc. Redemption=death was the only option for him if they wanted to go that route.)
And in the new world? With wiped memories and a clean slate? They’re friendly with each other because they have no reason not to be. They don’t know each other. Because the whole point of this ending is that their dynamic started mostly through circumstance. Dream may have been a control freak from the beginning, but he was not an evil abusive master manipulator. He thought Tommy was a little shit(and let’s be honest with ourselves, he was kind of a menace in the early days), and then they were on opposite sides of a war. First it was just politics, and then Tommy was easy scapegoat to push his own agenda, then it snowballed from there. Dream was not sick and twisted from the start, he became that monster over time through a series of bad decisions and poorly managed obsessions.
The point of the ending was to explore a what-if  scenario. “What if Tommy and Dream met for the first time, without all the emotional and political and personal baggage? Will they still end up hating each other in the end, or will they find common ground? Will they end up just not having anything to do with each other? Who knows, we’ll have to wait and see!”
It’s a clean slate. And things are simple.
#dream smp#dsmp#discduo#c!tommy#c!dream#I will say there is some merit to the interpretation that like#Tommy is so emotionally strung out and tired that he does fully forgive Dream#either in a similar way to how he forgave Wilbur#or because with this new understanding he genuinely want Dream to be better#extending kindness to those who certainly don’t deserve it and such#or just because he wanted to die with no grudges#I honestly think that’s an interesting thing to explore because it does happen in real life#with varying degrees of success#I think it’s also very in character for Tommy to believe that even an evil man like Dream can change#I don’t mention all this in the main post because in this context they literally don’t have time for that kind of story arc#it just wouldn’t make sense from a writing perspective#bleaching my thoughts
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unpopular opinion?? maybe?
Matt & Ivy have a really interesting dynamic!! both pre- and post-canon!! with or without romantic undertones!! either reciprocal or one-sided!!
and obviously it has to be handled with a particular level of care/respect BUT I think if we allowed them enough grace there is space to explore a really interesting possibility for that relationship.
#obviously Matt is not ENTITLED to Ivy - im absolutely not saying that at all#and he definitely did a lot of things extremely wrong and Ivy doesn’t HAVE to forgive him - she doesn't even have to *like* him#and in many stagings she actually doesn’t at all! even pre-canon she isn't into him on a *platonic* level - which i love for her#but I also think that - misguided & clumsy about it though he was - Matt is genuinely trying his best to see her as a person.#an idealized version of a person yes. but a person nonetheless.#which is what Ivy wants from Jason (and tbf he sees her as a person also but it’s an obviously different situation)#and while you can't force romantic compatibility (that was like. the whole point.) in some versions of the show they're not-quite-dating#- in varying types of “situationship” with varying levels of commitment. so it's not insane to me to say hey#maybe they need time to stabilize themselves and figure out who they are again after the events of the show. but maybe a couple years -#- down the line they reconnect and they're both in a better place & maybe this time it can all work out.#idk I think I just see a lot of people write it off entirely - and they’re well within their rights to do so don’t get me wrong#but I don’t think it’s fair necessarily to put them in the ‘doomed to fail’ category#wow okay I care about them as a pair more than I realised#tldr; give Matt & Ivy and their relationship dynamic the grace + complexity they deserve#mouse talks bapo#bare a pop opera#Ivy Robinson#Matt Lloyd#[as a side note - sometimes I think about queer Matt & transmasc Ivy & the interesting concept of their potential boyfriendism]
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Always gotta ask for my girls Squirrelflight and/or Nightcloud :)
#nightcloud#warrior cats#warriors#windclan#aaaaargrhghg i spent so long trying to get down a good pose for this one but ended up just having her sit#anyways previously i was never too invested in crow breeze and night as like. a group but nightcloud has grown on me recently#they werent characters i had super strong opinions on reading the books and then vaguely stayed away from when i like#first entered the fandom and realised how strong and varied the opinions on them were. not getting into that thanks#discourse is only fun when it's characters youre either invested in yourself or dont give a single shit about at all#but in hindsight a lot of nightcloud hate is just weird misogyny hjdfkljl#she really deserved better man#also im purple eyes nightcloud gang sorrryyyy i prefer the visual distinction of her crow and breeze all having different eyes#even with different body shapes/posture/fur length sometimes black and dark grey cats can be a bit hard to distinguish at a glance
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☕️ favorite bug? (being unreasonably broad with the word "bug" here, anything small and invertebrate)
asian longhorned beetles!!!!!!!!!!!!! they are so small and silly and i love their dorky lil antennae so much :] partially because of research for Bugifying The Blorbos(tm) but mostly because they showed up in an episode of wildkratts and i thought they were really cool (even if they were being framed solely from the invasive species angle)
like! it makes sense, because in north america they Are invasive, and thats where they were, but also they still treated th thangs with respect and that made me happy. iloveyou funy animal shows :]
but um um. i like their colors, how theyre kinda bluish where the black smears to white, they have cute little faces... and and and ! i learned they have little patches on their legs specifically for cleaning their antennae :] they are so neat. i love them dearly. i want to know more about them just on th principle of getting to know them.
im also deeply fond of fireflies and cicadas!!! again, partially for blorbo reasons, but mostly because i grew up with them. fireflies are such lil sweethearts, some of my most cherished memories are of running after them on summer nights... im lucky i still have em around even after the move :] maybe therell be more since our yard is more wildlife friendly..
and cicadas.. i dont ever actually see em, but i hear them. its so very peaceful hearing their lil wavy whispers. like a little choir ! i dont think we have em here which makes me sad, but i remember them fondly :]
#i also love roly polys!! and worms.. mofths. beetles of all kinds. tho those are mostly generic ambient 'yay creature! ^_^' moments#its really funny though; i literally just drafted a post asking if anyone knew any cool bugs dkfjgndkfh#i only refrained from posting bc i found a cool blog t dig through; and my ability to handle bug images varies at times =w=''#but ! i want to get better with them; theyre quite darling and they deserve better. theyre so neat. yay :]#piktalk#WAIT. SLUGS. I LOVE SLUGS AND SNAILS. SMALL INVERTEBRATE WIN!!!!!
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reworking my outline for sotm in rose gold metallic pen. ✨for kon.✨ it's what he deserves :)
#also using the sparkly gel pens in varying colors to annotate the main points as i go#because. again. its what he deserves#also yes i do all my fic outlining by hand in a physical notebook#i think better on paper i guess idk!!#and uh... yes... i am in fact reworking the outline for.. uh... adding another chapter reasons...#bc part of why i deleted the og ch7 to redo it is that it felt rushed#anyway. this rose gold pen also makes me :)!!!! inside bc i bought it on a trip to visit one of my besties several years ago#and i think of them every time i use it and it makes me soft and happy <3#jo if you see this post its about you youre the bestie its the pen i bought at that stationery shop in kc with u#rimi talks
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the feeling of scrolling thru my feed and seeing my own art reblogged by each of friends n mutuals every 2 seconds is so
#uncomfortably full of love#the urge to hide under my bed is strong but it’s good this time…#apparently#ur allowed to enjoy people’s love and affection#even if you think you don’t deserve it#i also took a nap im feeling better after that#don’t tell vari
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Sometimes I forget that not everyone has the same love for music as I do. And man! It pisses me off sometimes.
#okay man fuck you i hope ur night gets worse like actually - me a minute ago#like........... can u admit that they incorporated that song REALLY FUCKING WELL into the show-#(and having varied enough versions of it too so it didnt get TOO stale)#or were u not paying attention. think abt it on more than a surface level for like 10 secs im begging!!#(although i do agree that the ending. couldve been better. their fear of KILLING killing one of main characters def hindered both#the themes of the show and and character. fuck whats the word .. development? like. it just didn't make sense that the other main character#didnt want her Dead dead after all that. he shoudlve killed her like goddamn!! if they had one more episode maybe..? 🤔)#(oh and also i dont like how they completely brushed off the comedy relief character's death. like man. she deserved better than that.#u couldve used it to set the tone at least!!!! but noooooooooo we cant do that these days can we)#anyways yeah overall it was really good. WAY better than i was expecting tbh. teared up several times#solid 8/10 methinks .
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literally the biggest mood of all time, ms williams
#why do i have such a loyalty and deep seated devotion to my depression that feeling anything even remotely close to good is a betrayal#idk maybe it’s because for as long as i can remember my default state has some form of uncomfortable#like i know in my mind that it’s okay to be happy or at least somewhat close to it#but that doesn’t mean i don’t feel weirdly guilty for it#like i literally just got out of a depressive episode where i was extremely suicidal#and yet i still feel guilty?#like don’t i deserve a break?#i almost died a few years ago and i still feel guilty about that#my relationship with happiness is so bizarre#i can’t remember the last time i was mentally stable#probably never#but that’s bc my brain is wired funny#like even when i’m not depressed my brain isn’t fully functioning at all times#idk my point is i’ve been feeling good lately and i’m working on feeling good about feeling good#which sounds ass backwards#but it’s the truth#i mostly try not to think about it and just enjoy what i’m doing that day#results tend to vary#maybe it’s also because i hate when people i love are hurting (like my love is currently) and i wanna take their hurt away from them#and i feel bad for feeling good when they don’t?#idk it’s fucking maddening#i do wish i could help ppl better tho just anyways#but without ripping myself apart in the process#gwen rambles#gwenposting
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now some people may not like to hear it but even the worst people who exist are still people & there is no human being who has More right than others to decide whether others deserve to live or die (does not mean i personally condemn murder in self defense or anything of the sort or killing fascists or whatever i'm just saying as a baseline This Is How it Is) & this is why the death penalty is not a good thing no matter how good & trustworthy the people in any government might be. people on average also deserve the chance to learn to do better. & no, someone who's been forcefed propaganda their entire life will not let go of that deeply entrenched mindset so easily, it's not particularly unrealistic & it absolutely sucks to deal with but in the context of tangibly working toward world peace it's also not an issue to try & help such people both in material ways & in helping them learn better rather than cut them down or abandon them to a grim fate. all this to say that's why i don't think garlemald is written badly, as unpleasant as the experience might be. walks off the stage
#ffposting#also if you hate garlemald's writing THIS much but like emet-selch i think theres a disconnect there i just dont understand.#like he made it that way. you do understand this is all because of him right. maybe you should be more upset about that.#garlemald is very uncomfortable & the real life parallels it draws make it a very very touchy Thing to deal with#but i do not think it is handled badly.#their supremacy is entirely gone by the time of edw the people there have known nothing but propaganda#the populares are known to be a minority. people like cid or jenomis aren't that common. this is why they get along#the propaganda is such that even occupied domans like asahi fell for it & feel absolutely nothing for their kin#thats what propaganda does. there is absolutely a degree of responsibility regarding what they do & i would never say otherwise#however the idea that we should let them die & not get a chance to rebuild after theyve lost everything (again) is like. huh.#when you want to work toward world peace in a meaningful way you cant just abandon anyone like that.#like thats a whole people. they suck! but it is not immutable & they deserve the opportunity to do better like any other#id much rather they face retribution for their actions in meaningful ways including working toward reparations#wrt all the peoples the empire occupied than to round them up to kill them or worse let them die to the telophoroi#OR to becoming blasphemies. that would make things so extremely worse.#i just dont understand how you can have sympathy for jullus when he was just like everyone else at first#but you want to leave the rest of them to die. & i dont get how you can like emet & want them to die.#like he fucking did this its a pretty notable very fucking bad thing that he did. no doubt varis has made it worse#but varis was in power for like 2 years at best.#that emet was playing a role & did not actually believe in or care about what he was doing does not erase that he did it#& i personally find it hypocritical to like him if you balk at the idea of garlemald restoration. clears throat#i believe in killing fascists but i also dont believe in punitive justice#& by the time of edw garlean civilians do not hold the systemic power they once mightve#which i think is also important. their entire country is in shambles.#if anything its the ideal opportunity for them all to start anew & learn better. shed their preconceptions as one might say#that said i still skip garlemald cutscenes bc i dont need cunts calling me a savage ✋-_-#do not take any of this for garlean apologia i fucking hate dealing with them on an individual level as a xaela player lmfao#but yeah. if you can feel pity for livia who is a military general WHO HAS ACTIVELY KILLED YOUR FRIENDS#but not for the civilians whove never been exposed to anything other than propaganda. idk man. 30 tags. fly free my post
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Paying consumer debts is basically optional in the United States
The vast majority of America's debt collection targets $500-2,000 credit card debts. It is a filthy business, operated by lawless firms who hire unskilled workers drawn from the same economic background as their targets, who routinely and grotesquely flout the law, but only when it comes to the people with the least ability to pay.
America has fairly robust laws to protect debtors from sleazy debt-collection practices, notably the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which has been on the books since 1978. The FDCPA puts strict limits on the conduct of debt collectors, and offers real remedies to debtors when they are abused.
But for FDPCA provisions to be honored, they must be understood. The people who collect these debts are almost entirely untrained. The people they collected the debts from are likewise in the dark. The only specialized expertise debt-collection firms concern themselves with are a series of gotcha tricks and semi-automated legal shenanigans that let them take money they don't deserve from people who can't afford to pay it.
There's no better person to explain this dynamic than Patrick McKenzie, a finance and technology expert whose Bits About Money newsletter is absolutely essential reading. No one breaks down the internal operations of the finance sector like McKenzie. His latest edition, "Credit card debt collection," is a fantastic read:
https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/the-waste-stream-of-consumer-finance/
McKenzie describes how a debt collector who mistook him for a different PJ McKenzie and tried to shake him down for a couple hundred bucks, and how this launched him into a life as a volunteer advocate for debtors who were less equipped to defend themselves from collectors than he was.
McKenzie's conclusion is that "paying consumer debts is basically optional in the United States." If you stand on your rights (which requires that you know your rights), then you will quickly discover that debt collectors don't have – and can't get – the documentation needed to collect on whatever debts they think you owe (even if you really owe them).
The credit card companies are fully aware of this, and bank (literally) on the fact that "the vast majority of consumers, including those with the socioeconomic wherewithal to walk away from their debts, feel themselves morally bound and pay as agreed."
If you find yourself on the business end of a debt collector's harassment campaign, you can generally make it end simply by "carefully sending a series of letters invoking [your] rights under the FDCPA." The debt collector who receives these letters will have bought your debt at five cents on the dollar, and will simply write it off.
By contrast, the mere act of paying anything marks you out as substantially more likely to pay than nearly everyone else on their hit-list. Paying anything doesn't trigger forbearance, it invites a flood of harassing calls and letters, because you've demonstrated that you can be coerced into paying.
But while learning FDCPA rules isn't overly difficult, it's also beyond the wherewithal of the most distressed debtors (and people falsely accused of being debtors). McKenzie recounts that many of the people he helped were living under chaotic circumstances that put seemingly simple things "like writing letters and counting to 30 days" beyond their needs.
This means that the people best able to defend themselves against illegal shakedowns are less likely to be targeted. Instead, debt collectors husband their resources so they can use them "to do abusive and frequently illegal shakedowns of the people the legislation was meant to benefit."
Here's how this debt market works. If you become delinquent in meeting your credit card payments ("delinquent" has a flexible meaning that varies with each issuer), then your debt will be sold to a collector. It is packaged in part of a large spreadsheet – a CSV file – and likely sold to one of 10 large firms that control 75% of the industry.
The "mom and pops" who have the other quarter of the industry might also get your debt, but it's more likely that they'll buy it as a kind of tailings from one of the big guys, who package up the debts they couldn't collect on and sell them at even deeper discounts.
The people who make the calls are often barely better off than the people they're calling. They're minimally trained and required to work at a breakneck pace. Employee turnover is 75-100% annually: imagine the worst call center job in the world, and then make it worse, and make "success" into a moral injury, and you've got the debt-collector rank-and-file.
To improve the yield on this awful process, debt collection companies start by purging these spreadsheets of likely duds: dead people, people with very low credit-scores, and people who appear on a list of debtors who know their rights and are likely to stand on them (that's right, merely insisting on your rights can ensure that the entire debt-collection industry leaves you alone, forever).
The FDPCA gives you rights: for example, you have the right to verify the debt and see the contract you signed when you took it on. The debt collector who calls you almost certainly does not have that contract and can't get it. Your original lender might, but they stopped caring about your debt the minute they sold it to a debt-collector. Their own IT systems are baling-wire-and-spit Rube Goldberg machines that glue together the wheezing computers of all the companies they've bought over the last 25 years. Retrieving your paperwork is a nontrivial task, and the lender doesn't have any reason to perform it.
Debt collectors are bottom feeders. They are buying delinquent debts at 5 cents on the dollar and hoping to recover 8 percent of them; at 7 percent, they're losing money. They aren't "large, nationally scaled, hypercompetent operators" – they're shoestring operations that can only be viable if they hire unskilled workers and fail to train them.
They are subject to automatic damages for illegal behavior, but they still break the law all the time. As McKenzie writes, a debt collector will "commit three federal torts in a few minutes of talking to a debtor then follow up with a confirmation of the same in writing." A statement like "if you don’t pay me I will sue you and then Immigration will take notice of that and yank your green card" makes the requisite three violations: a false threat of legal action, a false statement of affiliation with a federal agency, and "a false alleged consequence for debt nonpayment not provided for in law."
If you know this, you can likely end the process right there. If you don't, buckle in. The one area that debt collectors invest heavily in is the automation that allows them to engage in high-intensity harassment. They use "predictive dialers" to make multiple calls at once, only connecting the collector to the calls that pick up. They will call you repeatedly. They'll call your family, something they're legally prohibited from doing except to get your contact info, but they'll do it anyway, betting that you'll scrape up $250 to keep them from harassing your mother.
These dialing systems are far better organized than any of the company's record keeping about what you owe. A company may sell your debt on and fail to keep track of it, with the effect that multiple collectors will call you about the same debt, and even paying off one of them will not stop the other.
Talking to these people is a bad idea, because the one area where collectors get sophisticated training is in emptying your bank account. If you consent to a "payment plan," they will use your account and routing info to start whacking your bank account, and your bank will let them do it, because the one part of your conversation they reliably record is this payment plan rigamarole. Sending a check won't help – they'll use the account info on the front of your check to undertake "demand debits" from your account, and backstop it with that recorded call.
Any agreement on your part to get on a payment plan transforms the old, low-value debt you incurred with your credit card into a brand new, high value debt that you owe to the bill collector. There's a good chance they'll sell this debt to another collector and take the lump sum – and then the new collector will commence a fresh round of harassment.
McKenzie says you should never talk to a debt collector. Make them put everything in writing. They are almost certain to lie to you and violate your rights, and a written record will help you prove it later. What's more, debt collection agencies just don't have the capacity or competence to engage in written correspondence. Tell them to put it in writing and there's a good chance they'll just give up and move on, hunting softer targets.
One other thing debt collectors due is robo-sue their targets, bulk-filing boilerplate suits against debtors, real and imaginary. If you don't show up for court (which is what usually happens), they'll get a default judgment, and with it, the legal right to raid your bank account and your paycheck. That, in turn, is an asset that, once again, the debt collector can sell to an even scummier bottom-feeder, pocketing a lump sum.
McKenzie doesn't know what will fix this. But Michael Hudson, a renowned scholar of the debt practices of antiquity, has some ideas. Hudson has written eloquently and persuasively about the longstanding practice of jubilee, in which all debts were periodically wiped clean (say, whenever a new king took the throne, or once per generation):
https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/24/grandparents-optional-party/#jubilee
Hudson's core maxim is that "debt's that can't be paid won't be paid." The productive economy will have need for credit to secure the inputs to their processes. Farmers need to borrow every year for labor, seed and fertilizer. If all goes according to plan, the producer pays off the lender after the production is done and the goods are sold.
But even the most competent producer will eventually find themselves unable to pay. The best-prepared farmer can't save every harvest from blight, hailstorms or fire. When the producer can't pay the creditor, they go a little deeper into debt. That debt accumulates, getting worse with interest and with each bad beat.
Run this process long enough and the entire productive economy will be captive to lenders, who will be able to direct production for follies and fripperies. Farmers stop producing the food the people need so they can devote their land to ornamental flowers for creditors' tables. Left to themselves, credit markets produce hereditary castes of lenders and debtors, with lenders exercising ever-more power over debtors.
This is socially destabilizing; you can feel it in McKenzie's eloquent, barely controlled rage at the hopeless structural knot that produces the abusive and predatory debt industry. Hudson's claim is that the rulers of antiquity knew this – and that we forgot it. Jubilee was key to producing long term political stability. Take away Jubilee and civilizations collapse:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/08/jubilant/#construire-des-passerelles
Debts that can't be paid won't be paid. Debt collectors know this. It's irrefutable. The point of debt markets isn't to ensure that debts are discharged – it's to ensure that every penny the hereditary debtor class has is transferred to the creditor class, at the hands of their fellow debtors.
In her 2021 Paris Review article "America's Dead Souls," Molly McGhee gives a haunting, wrenching account of the debts her parents incurred and the harassment they endured:
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2021/05/17/americas-dead-souls/
After I published on it, many readers wrote in disbelief, insisting that the debt collection practices McGhee described were illegal:
https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/19/zombie-debt/#damnation
And they are illegal. But debt collection is a trade founded on lawlessness, and its core competence is to identify and target people who can't invoke the law in their own defense.
Going to Defcon this weekend? I’m giving a keynote, “An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet’s Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse,” today (Aug 12) at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!
https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826
I’m kickstarting the audiobook for “The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation,” a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It’s a DRM-free book, which means Audible won’t carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:
http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org
If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/12/do-not-pay/#fair-debt-collection-practices-act
#pluralistic#jubilee#debts that cant be paid wont be paid#Patrick McKenzie#patio11#bits about money#debt#debt collection#do not pay#bottom feeders#Fair Debt Collection Practices Act#fdcpa#finance#armbreakers
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ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི₊ ⊹ ˎˊ- how they make you feel beautiful
ot13 x reader — some mentions of insecurities
a/n: don’t mind me pushing the taking-pictures-as-a-love-language agenda for wonu, as always
— seungcheol: with gifts
with him, gifts for no particular reason are much more frequent than gifts for a specific occasion. he doesn’t like to come home empty handed and always says you deserve all the pretty things in the world. if he ever buys you a piece of clothing or jewelry, then he’ll be the happiest man on earth every time you wear it, showering you with compliments a little bit more than usual just because he loves spoiling you <3
— jeonghan: with specific compliments
every variation of color in your irises, the micro expressions on your face, the way your laugh slightly varies depending on what’s provoking it: whether it’s something new or not, jeonghan will compliment the slightest details in your appearance or your personality. sometimes he begins with a “did i ever tell you…”, and you know you’re about to hear the sweetest thing ever. like, “did i ever tell you how dreamy you look in that light? i can’t stop looking at you,” and even though he’s just talking about the orange-ish hues of your bedside lamp, you know he’s being 100% honest.
— joshua: by saying it out loud
“you’re the prettiest” while you’re brushing your teeth, “you look so gorgeous” when he’s picking you up in his car, or just your usual “hey beautiful” when you wake up in the morning. he never gets tired of saying it and you never get tired of hearing it. he barely uses your name anymore because he’s so used to calling you ‘beautiful’. the man is so smitten he could spend hours flirting with you, years into the relationship. and it’s even better if you’re easily flustered because he loves how shy you get when you hear those words…
��� jun: with cuddles
there’s something about the way his fingers mindlessly trace your silhouette that makes you feel like the most delicate sculpture ever. you could just be cuddling in silence, reading a book or scrolling on your phone, and his hands will gently brush against your skin like they were made to do that and nothing else. sometimes you feel like returning the favor, but although he doesn’t mind it at all, it’ll never come close to how much he loves cherishing you with his cuddles.
— hoshi: by being your #1 hypeman
even though you’re someone that brings hoshi a lot of peace and serenity, your mere existence also gets him very excited for no apparent reason. the way he hypes you up whenever you’re getting ready to go out together is similar to the way people cheer for their favorite sports team. he’s celebrating two things: you being absolutely gorgeous, and him being lucky enough to be your partner. “honestly, if i saw you walking down the street without being the one dating you… i think i’d start crying.”
— wonwoo: by taking pictures
it’s not just him taking pictures that makes you feel beautiful, it’s the way he treats his photographs as if they’re the most precious things he owns. he regularly makes sure that they’re synchronized on his personal icloud account in case he ever loses them (it’s very serious to him). but also, he keeps a picture of you on his desk, in his wallet, as his phone wallpaper… and everyone thinks it’s the sweetest thing ever. the guys tried to tease him for it at first, but they quickly gave up because even they had to admit it’s an adorable way to express his love for you.
— woozi: with meaningful looks
it’s a rare occurrence to catch woozi in the act of being incredibly down bad for you. but it sometimes happens when you notice him looking at you with heart-shaped eyes and a smile tugging at his lips. you could be sitting on the other side of a room and his gaze would still find you in a second, lingering for a few seconds just to appreciate your beauty. he said so himself actually, when you asked him why he was looking at you so frequently. “everyone likes looking at beautiful things,” he replied very naturally, not picking up on the squeal you had to hold back.
— dokyeom: by talking about you
“y/n would love that”. “this would look amazing on y/n”. “oh look, y/n just sent me a pic!”. it’s a daily occurrence, and everyone knows they just have to deal with it. some boyfriends might try to gatekeep their partner: that’s not dokyeom’s case at all. in fact, people better be complimenting you in front of him! to be honest, he was talking about you non-stop before you guys even started dating, which is why you barely had to introduce yourself to his friends. you’re one of his proudest accomplishments and he wants the whole world to know about you!!
— mingyu: with kisses
there’s nothing like being kissed by mingyu to feel a sudden boost of self-confidence. his hands gently cupping your cheeks, the way he looks at you in between kisses and the growing smile in his eyes and on his lips… everything in his behavior seems tailor-made to make you feel like a vision of heaven. it doesn’t always have to be kisses on your lips tho, sometimes it’s on the back of your hand, on your shoulder or on your temple. but no matter where his lips touch your skin, they always convey just how much he cherishes you and every inch of your body.
— minghao: by drawing you
no other representation of yourself makes you feel as self-confident as minghao’s drawings of you. at first you were a bit taken aback by the feeling of seeing yourself through someone else’s perspective in such a raw way. but you got used to it pretty quickly, mostly because of how often minghao uses you as a reference. when you take a closer look at them, you realize his drawings are filled with details that not only depict your looks, but also traits of your personality. slowly but surely, you start to believe in the beauty he consistently finds in you, and that’s enough to let him know he’s doing a perfect job.
— seungkwan: by complimenting your insecurities
he doesn’t do it that often because he doesn’t want it to be the only thing he compliments you on. but seungkwan is very attentive to the way you perceive yourself so he will guess your insecurities even if you don’t talk about them out loud. therefore, he’ll find subtle ways to compliment them without making it too obvious. sometimes it’s not even out loud, it might just be by gently brushing against a body part you’re not confident in, or hyping you up in an outfit that doesn’t hide your insecurity. no matter how he does it, it always comes with such kindness and love that you have no choice but to feel a bit prettier than you did seconds ago.
— vernon: by paying attention
it sounds silly but it’s true. vernon pays attention to everything, from the colors you look most confident in, to what kind of compliments seem to work best on you. and later on, he’s able to adapt his behavior accordingly, to make you feel as good as possible in any situation. “you always know exactly what say, i don’t know how you do it,” you once told him, almost teary from how sweet he was being. “well, the fact that you strongly underestimate how beautiful you are is an insanely good motivation,” he replied, gently wiping the tears under your lash line.
— dino: by showing you off
he considers you the rarest gem of all, so yes of course he will show you off to whoever’s near! he’s the type of boyfriend that will enter a room before you just because he wants to do jazz hands for your entry. and he has such a smug look on his face when you two are out together, it’s like he’s in a permanent state of pride just because you’re holding hands in public. and although he’s not huge on pda, he has no problem complimenting you out loud in front of other people, and you find yourself on his instagram stories on a regular basis, which makes your self-esteem go up a notch every single time.
REQUESTS ARE OPEN!
#seventeen x reader#seventeen fluff#scoups x reader#jeonghan x reader#joshua x reader#jun x reader#hoshi x reader#wonwoo x reader#woozi x reader#dokyeom x reader#mingyu x reader#seungkwan x reader#minghao x reader#vernon x reader#dino x reader#seungcheol x reader
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