#chum

[reachartwork]

"The Goon Economy: Why People Choose to Work for Supervillains"

Leslie Lester, for Psychology Today, October 2022

When asked why anyone would choose to work for supervillains, most people imagine costumed henchmen cackling maniacally while fighting Spider-Man. The reality is far more mundane - and more economically fascinating.

"It's just a job," says Former Employee X under the condition of anonymity, who worked security for a major East Coast villain organization. "Better benefits than Netsphere, better pay than private security, and yeah, higher risk, but you've got clear procedures for hero encounters. Most guys never even see a cape."

The numbers support this pragmatic view. While exact figures are difficult to obtain, conservative estimates suggest supervillain organizations employ hundreds of thousands of workers across the U.S., from direct muscle to legitimate business employees. The total economic impact likely rivals major corporations.

But why choose such high-risk employment? Dr. Sarah Chen, economist at MIT, suggests three key factors:

Economic Pressure: "In cities with active supervillain presence, these organizations often control major employment sectors - construction, shipping, waste management. Sometimes working for them isn't really a choice."

Risk vs. Reward: The average "muscle" for a villain organization makes 1.5-2 times standard security work, with comprehensive health coverage and legal protection. "When you're living paycheck to paycheck," Chen notes, "guaranteed medical care becomes very attractive."

Systemic Integration: Many workers start through legitimate businesses, becoming gradually involved in illegal activities. "It's rarely a conscious choice to 'become a minion,'" Chen explains. "It's more like finding out your company has mob ties - but you've got a mortgage and kids in school."

The psychology is equally complex. Dr. James Morrison of Harvard explains: "These organizations offer what many legitimate employers don't: clear advancement paths, protection from both heroes and rivals, and often a sense of belonging. They're filling gaps in our social safety net."

The rise of powers-based crime has only increased this trend. "Supervillain organizations have better protocols for superhuman encounters than most legitimate businesses," Morrison notes. "If you're working in a city where hero-villain battles are common, that matters."

[smilingcrittersthingig]

Pendantswap Critters (4/8)

Time for another set! We’re halfway there! Now we have the elephant and the mouse!

Chum, a genius with a few screws loose. He loves making machines and different kinds of strange stuff using junk from the garbage. His experiments often go wrong and his mess has to be cleaned up by the others but despite that he never stops, he might even be becoming more passionate with each failure.

Rattus Rattlebrain, a mouse with a passion for knowledge. He loves learning and sharing what he knows. Sometimes he ends up rambling a bit much and he’s a bit hard to follow but seeing the mouse happily explain makes you happy to listen.

At the moment, they’ve just regarded Chum as a mad scientist and find his antics annoying but they do respect his talent, the fact that he’s able to create weird contraptions with simple junk from the trash is in it of itself impressive, even if he’s lost his marbles.

Rattus is completely blind without his glasses, and Rattus always ends up losing them, either in a normal way or a completely strange and unexpected fashion. He considers this to be a bother but he finds eye contacts uncomfortable.

[mammoth-clangen]

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It's crimmus! Merry chrimbus! Merry chrysler!

I really like this moon! I think it's one of my best as far as page flow and pretty backgrounds go, I used references of bears at salmon runs in Alaska c:

Also yes! Salmon time! I love them so much they're cool af I watched documentaries to work out which ones the Kindred should be hunting and then kinda just went with "this was 12ka ago and it could be anything so I'll just make them plausibly salmon" cx

*cracks knuckles* H'okay so. Just letting you know that there are 4 parts to this moon and it only goes downhill from here. If you can't deal with characters in a lot of distress then you may wanna skip the next page and read it at a later date when you can! I'm still working on part 4 bc it's kinda a lot and im also anxious bc i changed up the formatting and Even Though Kindred Is Mine and For Me, im worried everyone will hate it c':

Kindred of the Mammoth is on Comicfury as well!

[scopophilic1997]

scopOphilic_micromessaging_1278 - scopOphilic1997 presents a new micro-messaging series: small, subtle, and often unintentional messages we send and receive verbally and non-verbally. (2024)

[glazenewt]

Just two chums judging you with their side eyes

fr just two pictures of me while at work

[goat-guy-tm]

I know there is like 0 FragPunk fandom yet cause the game is 5 days old, but I'm really normal about the game...

[crabeetle]

[monicracar]

An exclusive animation made by the same studio that produced A Salmon Good Time! In this short, Frank and Sammy are asked to do a specific task…

Plz go support the creator of this series @loafbud !

[wemlygust]

"I love you, shark bait", said Batman.

Bruce calling anyone "chum" as a term of endearment always feels wrong because that word, to me, has almost exclusively meant "bloody meat you throw in the water to attract or distract sharks". So every time I read him calling his kids that, there is a split second, before I mentally correct myself, that it reads like this:

Batman tugged Robin into a hug. "It's okay, cannon fodder. I've got you." or Bruce frowned at Tim. "When's the last time you slept, meat shield?" or Damian scowled. "Hn," said Batman. Then after a moment, "There's always tomorrow, bait." But I do know what it actually means so I mentally course correct and it's fine. xD This isn't a complaint, really. I just think it's funny. I don't think I've ever read 'chum' as an endearment anywhere else, so I'm curious how widespread this is in the comics, or if it's a fanon only thing, or if it's from a particular show? Is this a regional use of the word chum? Am I just the only one who primarily thinks of chum as shark food??

[misterspectacular]

Sign this petition to urge Peacock to greenlight Season 2 of MEGAMIND RULES!

DO IT FOR MEGAMIND!!!

Do it for ADAM LAMBERT!

[seabeck]

Imagine living some place where you can’t just go down to your local river in fall and witness this. Boring.

[reachartwork]

Samantha "Sam" Small is a 14 year old high school freshman and superhero-in-training, recruited by the Delaware Valley Defenders to protect Philadelphia. Her powers let her bite through metal and smell when people bleed. Her interests include soccer, women, putting herself in danger, and Shabbat dinner with her Pop-Pop Moe.

Chum is a slice-of-life/action web serial, currently around 1,100,000 words. It has been described as "good enough to spend hours organizing info on it", a "beautiful coming of age story", and "a superhero story to rival worm". It's got dinosaurs in it. It's got heartbreak in it. It's got really good fight scenes in it.

Go read it on Royal Road or Wordpress and consider joining the Chumcord!

[froggybrainz]

Every time you draw what I think is Jeff I just think of this possum

They do look identical, don't they? Lol

Anyway, meet Jeff's new pet Chum.

[kashlegon]

Salmonids!!!

[possiblycringe]

My part of an art trade with @worldsewage!!! This is her Home run au!