#i like to complain about money and not work

[driftawayomnichord]

Genshin characters react to you sleeping on the floor - Part 2

Warning: not proof read; this is pure fluff and crack; (featuring Pantalone; Alhaitham; +Bonus: Jing Yuan)

*THUD*

Pantalone

Dealing with idiotic aristocracy is incredibly exhausting, sadly for Pantalone, that is a part of his everyday routine. Every day he goes into his office and has to stand their behaviour. So his favourite thing do to after a long day of work is to go back home and complain and gossip about said aristocrats. Usually be prefers to do that in bed, in your dark cozy room.

Today was no different, the moment he got home he rushed to find you and let all the built up frustration go. And so he did, at dinner, while getting ready for bed, in bed…he was particularly annoyed today it seems.

And after some time the pair naturally drifted off to sleep. That was until two hours later Pantalone woke up to get some water and after he had his drink he turned around with the intention to hug you.

Where are you.

He stood up and called for you - nothing. Went to check the bathroom - nothing. Living room - nothing. Dining room - nothing. The study - nothing. He went through every single room in that house to find absolutely nothing. Asked every servant if they have seen you - nothing.

He was left standing there, just completely puzzled as to what happened to you. And the first idea that came to his mind is one of his biggest fears. Maybe you never really loved him, were only using him for money and you were cheating on him.

While he wanted to avoid thinking about that possibility it just couldn’t escape his mind. He ordered some of the guards to go look for you around the city and decided to head to his bedroom.

Walking in he went towards the window, closer to your side of the bed when he suddenly hit his foot on-…something.

“Ouch- damn it.” Your voice rang.

He looked down and saw you…on the floor…glaring at him.

“Why did you hit me? What’s wrong with you?” You asked him annoyed. “I was sleeping.”

“You were…here.”

“It’s the middle of the night, of course I’m here, sleeping. Or at least was…”

“Why are you on the floor…” he questioned.

“I’m what-…why am I on the floor?”

He simply chuckled, picked you up, plopping you on your bed and laying down next to you. He shouldn’t have worried.

(( _ _ ))..zzzZZ

Alhaitham

Both of you were preparing to go to bed, brushing your teeth, hair, putting on some moisturiser (that you definitely don’t force Alhaitham to do). You were talking about your plans for tomorrow, or more like you complaining that you don’t want to bother tomorrow.

“After you are done with your presentation we will head out on a walk.” He suggested and headed out of the bathroom into the bedroom to finally relax his body, expecting you to follow him. But you didn’t?

“Are you coming?” He shouted.

You poked your head from the hallway into the bedroom and looked at him nervously. “I forgot about the presentation, you go ahead and sleep and I will join you later.” You told him and ran to the living room to prepare your presentation.

The next morning Alhaitham woke up and noticed that you never really went to bed. So he headed out into the living room to see if you fell asleep there but you weren’t on the couch. He could see documents and papers stacked on the table and the couch but you weren’t there.

He looked for you in the rest of the rooms and still nothing. So he had no other choice but to ask his roommate if h e had seen you.

“Kaveh, have you seen [Name] today or last night?” Alhaitham shouted through the door.

Kaveh opened it and looked at the scribe a little confused.

“Yeah, last night around 4 in the morning. They were in the living room writing something. Why?”

“Well, they are nowhere to be seen.”

“What- let me check.” Said Kaveh, not believing that you would just disappear.

He walked into the living room scanning it when he heard Alhaitham speak up from behind him.

“Do you really believe that I would just miss them?”

That’s when Kaveh’s eyes focused on something - you…on the floor under the table.

“Yes, I believe.” Kaveh replied, pointing at your direction.

Alhaitham walked up to you and called out for you, but you didn’t bulge. So he sighted and picked you up, carrying you into your shared room and plopping you in bed.

(( _ _ ))..zzzZZ

Bonus: Jing Yuan

After working the whole day, not having time to even lift his head up, Jing Yuan loves to just lay in bed under the warm covers with pillows all over the place, hugging his lover.

While there is nothing in the universe that can make him even consider skipping cuddle times, there is one thing that can make you. The scorching heat. It’s warm, and you can’t stand it.

So when you go into bed that night you know that you will have to fight your way into freedom. But he just kept dragging you over to him again and again.

“It’s hot as hell in here I cannot handle the heat, just let me gooo…” you keep on trying to fight him off of you.

“Relax a little and you will cool down.” He whined, just wanting to sleep already.

“Let me go! You are like a heater!” You complain as you try to crawl out of his grasp, but to no avail.

He just grumbled and buried his face into your hair. You stopped moving for a moment and sighed. That’s when you pulled the ultimate move - the tornado. You started spinning in the direction opposite of him and in the process pulling a bit of his hair causing him to let go.

Which wasn’t exactly calculated in your plan��you straight up rolled off the bed and onto poor mimi who was sleeping on the floor right next to the bed.

She jumped and looked at you as if prepared to attack until she recognised your face in the dark and calmed down.

Meanwhile Jing Yuan crawled over and peeked his head to see what happened and started laughing at you.

“Very funny, yes, ha ha. Mimi almost bit my head off.” You said sarcastically.

“Are you really going to blame me for this?”

I felt like another part was needed, but idk if I should continue with this series or start another one. I do know that us fatui fans have been starved of fanfics so maybe I should add even more of them?

And yes we did have a special guest in this one ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪

[magnoliapromenadegalleria]

I take no issue with monetizing cc. You release good content and have an agreeable release window, I either choose to subscribe, or I wait. Cool. What I do take issue with is this

Perma-paywalls or ridiculous early access release windows. Anything exceeding thirty days is excessive. My opinion.

2. New creators setting up immediate early access. The skillset is just not there yet to put a price on your creations. You barely have a base to sell to. This includes creators who created for other games, then come over to The Sims and try to sell to us. For example, the creator that makes skins and admitted they don't even play the game. Simply here for profit.

3. Creators that do not qc their work, or steal from other creators. Girl.

4. Customer service. Once you start creating for profit, whether it be supplemental or your main source, you have to have a level of customer service and professionalism. You have now started a brand. A very niche brand, but that's what it is. You cannot be short with people for asking valid questions and catching an attitude with them. Like that one lady with the tree coming out in February. If you are one of those rare creators who is lucky enough money to hire someone to handle your social media, I suggest you do that. Or supply a friend with more patience with their favorite coffee or something and let them handle it. Something.

5. Not interacting with the community you are trying to sell to. Connect with people. Repost their edits, lookbooks, builds, leave comments, give a like. The creator mentioned above commented that no one comments on their stuff, at least not here. Fair. This community does not talk like it used to, but to each other like it used to, but you can go to creator pages and see that they are perfectly curated advertisements. Like a showroom. No reblogs of anyone using their content. If you want that for your main page fine, but at least have another side blog where you can do the outlined above.

6. Pushing something out just to push it. I think we have entered a space, both creator and follower/consumer, where everything feels so fast-paced. What's the new thing coming out, what's next, etc. So much so that I think it has made creators push out content just to keep up, especially if they rely on that income. This has resulted in some creators getting into hot water for releasing the same item(s) in different sets and in different colors. Or creators releasing duplicates of the same thing. It can be frustrating, but I question if it is because they're just trying to keep up, or afraid to try something new or different in fear of it not doing well. Some smaller creators who create different content don't get as much love and I question if they would receive more if they followed the wave, or were big enough to start one.

Now to this community

If a creator disrespects you or others or moves in a way that you don't fundamentally agree with, and you complain but still download and or advertise their content, you're moving counterproductive to your plight. Why would anyone reflect on themselves when you prove that you're going to advertise their content anyway?

2. Show love to these creators. Big and small, especially small, monetized or not. Everyone likes to hear or see that what they release is valued. Don't harass or disrespect creators if they take a break, or they don't get something out quickly. Especially the modders.

3. Interact with each other. Even if your aesthetics or different. This is a community. If you see something you like, LIKE IT. Share it, leave a comment.

4. Create the thing simmer. The edit, cc, build, lookbook, whatever. Create the thing and share the thing. Even if it isn't part of a popular trend or aesthetic.

I'm speaking about myself here too because I want to better about this.

I want this to feel fun again. Not just based on what is in at the moment.

This might be read. Might not. Just my two Abes. Anyway I'm about to make some soup from scratch. Toodles!

[nomie-11]

Vi x Reader - Piltover's Princess

masterlist!

The first time Vi saw you, she had to do a double take, and then a triple take. Jayce Talis’ little sister, Piltover’s Princess. She was smitten. 

“Cupcake, who is that?” She whispered with a nudge, not taking her eyes off of you as you crossed the room, a light and polite smile on your face. 

“Hm?” Caitlyn turned her head to match Vi’s view. “Oh? Y/n? She’s a friend of mine.”

A brief moment passed where Vi tried to think of the proper words to say, but her mind was blank, not working properly at the sight of your radiant eyes. 

“Do you think she’s gay?”

Caitlyn nearly spit out her wine. 

—————————————

The second time Vi saw you, it was at one of Piltover’s extravagant galas. The kind where everyone looked like they were dipped in gold and smelled of old money. Vi hated these events, but Caitlyn had insisted she come along. 

And there you were again. Standing near the balcony, your laughter ringing like bells over the dull murmur of ancient politicians and annoying industrialists. The soft moonlight spilling through the glass doors made your skin practically glow. Vi nudged Caitlyn, harder this time. 

“She’s here,” Vi hissed, eyes glued to you like you were the only thing in the room. 

“Yes, she’s here,” Caitlyn replied, sounding mildly amused. “She’s Jayce’s sister, Vi. Of course she’s here.”

“Yeah, but why didn’t you tell me she’d be here?” Vi complained, fidgeting with the cuffs of her jacket. 

“Vi, you look like you’re about to fight someone,” Caitlyn teased. 

“I’m not! I just–” Vi trailed off as you glanced int their direction, your striking eyes meeting hers for the briefest second. Her heart did a strange little flip. 

You smiled—a small, knowing thing—and waved. 

Caitlyn, ever observant, caught the way Vi stiffened and the faint flush creeping up her cheeks. She grinned to herself. 

“Go say hello,” Caitlyn suggested, nudging Vi toward you. 

“Wait, what? No, I can’t just—”

But it was too late. Caitlyn had already started toward you, leaving Vi no choice but to follow. 

“Y/n,” Caitlyn greeted warmly as she reached you, her voice smooth and composed. “It’s lovely to see you tonight.” 

“Caitlyn!” you said, your face lighting up at the sight of her. Then your eyes flicked to Vi. “And���?” 

“This is Vi,” Caitlyn introduced, her tone just a little too casual. “A close friend of mine.” 

You raised an eyebrow, your smile turning playful. “A friend, huh?” 

Vi’s throat suddenly felt dry. She extended a hand, trying to keep it cool. “Vi. Nice to meet you.” 

“Likewise,” you said, taking her hand. Your touch lingered just a second longer than necessary, and Vi was certain she saw something mischievous flicker in your eyes. 

Caitlyn cleared her throat, drawing your attention back to her. “You look stunning tonight, Y/n,” she said, her voice softening just slightly. Then she leaned over to Vi, pretending to cough as she whispered: “Come on, idiot. Compliment her.” 

“Yeah,” Vi managed to squeak out. “Your-uh-dress! It’s really pretty.” 

Vi felt like she was drowning under the weight of your attention. You were polite, elegant, and… absolutely enchanting. 

“Thank you, Caitlyn, and thank you as well, Vi,” you replied, a faint blush rising to your cheeks. “You’re both too kind. And you clean up nicely yourselves.” 

Vi could swear her cheeks were as pink as her hair, and she didn’t even get a direct compliment from you. 

“So,” you said, tilting your head, “what brings you two to a place like this? Surely not the riveting conversation?” 

Caitlyn chuckled, her eyes sparkling. “No, just the usual obligation. Though it’s not all bad now that you’re here.” The grin on Caitlyn’s face was mischievous as she glanced over at Vi, a flustered look on the fighter’s face. 

Vi shot Caitlyn a look back, feeling completely out of her depth. You, however, seemed delighted by the interplay between them, your gaze flitting between the two with interest. 

“Well,” you said, taking a step closer to Vi, your smiling widening, “maybe I’ll make your evening a little less boring.” 

Vi’s heart practically stopped.

—------------------------

The third time she saw you, it was a rare day off for Vi, and she’d planned to spend it aimlessly wandering the bustling streets of Piltover. Caitlyn had tagged along, insisting she needed to check on a few vendors for some ongoing investigation. Vi didn’t mind; Caitlyn’s company was always better than being alone. 

What she wasn’t expecting was to see you standing at a flower stall, holding a bouquet of brightly colored violets. 

“Oh no,” Vi muttered under her breath, instinctively ducking behind Caitlyn. 

“What is it now?” Caitlyn asked, turning to follow Vi’s line of sight. The second she spotted you, she smirked. “Oh, it’s Y/n. Why are you hiding?” 

“I’m not hiding,” Vi lied, her broad shoulder still visible behind Caitlyn despite Caitlyn’s towering figure. 

“Sure you’re not.” Caitlyn adjusted her posture just slightly to block Vi further, her own tone suddenly a little too casual. “Though I can’t imagine why you’re panicking. She looks quite lovely today.” 

“She’s always lovely,” Vi grumbled, her face heating up. “And she’s coming this way.” 

Before either of them could think of a plan, you spotted them and lit up. “Caitlyn! Vi!” You called out, making a beeline for them with a bouquet in hand. 

Caitlyn straightened immediately, all poise and grace. “Y/n! What a surprise to see you here.” 

“Is it?” you teased, tilting your head. “This is the main market street, after all.” 

“Right, of course,” Caitlyn said with a small smirk. 

Vi, still half-hiding behind Caitlyn, managed a weak wave. “Hey.” 

You raised an eyebrow, amused by Vi’s sudden shyness. “Hi, Vi,” you said, stepping closer. “You’re not much of a flower person, are you?” 

“I—uh—” Vi stammered, looking desperately at Caitlyn for help. 

“She’s more of a practical type,” Caitlyn interjected smoothly, clearly enjoying Vi’s discomfort. “Tools and gadgets—although her name is Violet.” 

“That makes sense,” you said, smiling at Vi, who looked like she was about to combust. “But they’d suit you, you know. A little color never hurts.” 

Vi’s brain short-circuited. Caitlyn, sensing her friend’s distress, stepped in with a quick change of subject. “And the flowers? Are those for someone special?” 

Your smile turned coy. “Maybe.” you glanced at Vi, who looked ready to fall through the cobblestones, and added, “You’ll have to wait and see.” 

As you walked away, bouquet in hand, Ciatlyn turned to Vi with a smirk. “Smooth.” 

“Shut up,” Vi muttered, watching you disappear into the crowd with a dazed expression. 

—-----------------------------

The next time they saw you, it was at a small, high end cafe where Caitlyn had insisted on dragging Vi for lunch. Neither of them expected you to stroll in, dressed casually but no less stunning, and immediately notice them. 

“Mind if I join you?” you asked, already pulling out a chair before they could answer. 

“Of course not,” Caitlyn said quickly, nudging Vi under the table when she failed to say anything. 

Vi, startled out of her trance, nearly knocked over her glass of water. “Uh, yeah! Totally fine. Sit—uh—sit down.” 

“I already am,” you said with a laugh, clearly enjoying her awkwardness.

The conversation started simple enough, with caitlyn asking about your family and Vi chiming in with the occasional comment. But then the server arrived, setting down the menus, and things quickly spiraled.

“What can I get you?” the server asked, turning to Caitlyn first. 

“I’ll have the house special,” Caitlyn said smoothly, handing back the menu. 

“And for you?” the server asked, looking at Vi. 

Vi froze, realizing that she hadn’t even opened her menu. “Uh… I’ll have what she’s having.” 

The server nodded and turned to you. “And you?” 

You smiled. “Just the tea for now, thank you.” 

Once the server left, you looked at Vi with a playful grin. “Didn’t peg you as a house special kind of girl.” 

Vi shrugged, trying to act cool. “Yeah, well, it sounded… special.” 

Caitlyn, meanwhile, was barely hiding her laughter behind a perfectly polite hand. “Smooth, Vi. Very smooth.”

“Oh, leave her alone,” you said, your voice warm as you reached across the table to lightly touch Vi’s hand. “I think it’s endearing.” 

Vi immediately went red, her brain short-circuiting again. Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at you, clearly nothing the way your gaze lingered on Vi a moment too long. 

The rest of the meal was a blur for Vi, who barely managed to form coherent sentences. By the time you excused yourself with a wink and a promise to “see them soon,” Caitlyn leaned back in her chair, smirking at Vi. 

“You’re hopeless,” Caitlyn said with a smug grin, sipping her tea. 

Vi groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I know.”

-------

If you enjoyed this one shot, please check out my other series!

[khorneschosen]

Yeah dude most people are cunts about politics. Either you haven't been at this long or you are being purposely dense.

Most people don't even give you the benefit of treating others in good faith after you give them good faith. Frankly I don't have to treat you in good faith at all. And demanding it, is stretching that benevolence.

I gave the right stats, wrong name. I get my latin mixed up from time to time.

Here's the pdf

Enjoy not reading it in any great detail. Also another fun fact, the divide between women and men is the methods of murder used. Men are messy, women however prefer poison, and violence by proxy.

Interestingly, when a woman uses violence by proxy, we don't consider it statistically because technically she didn't kill her husband.

Then there is the sentencing and conviction gap between men and women as shown in the first statistics.

And then on top of that you have the sheer fact that if a woman wants to leave a man destitute, without home, car, money, children and everything else, all she has to do is divorce him and the courts will do that work for her. In short, right now a woman doesn't have to kill a man to take everything from him. Just marry him. Or just live with him for a certain amount of time.

Furthermore, you'll notice an interesting historical trend. When women were killing their husbands in greater numbers was when they had the least amount of protections from abusers and ability to safely leave. Now the situation is reversed where a man due to the Duluth model of domestic violence, a man is left in the spot where if he is abused he will be arrested. If he defends himself or his children he will be arrested, if he locks himself in a room he will be arrested. If his abuser hurts herself in abusing him, he will be arrested.

Don't like it? Start advocating for equal and fair courts that don't take account of gender or atleast stop advocating for the terrible policies you continue to do so.

So in closing why would you expect any other outcome? This btw is another case of pushing for a policy without concern for its outcomes.

Edit now that I have time to reply to you fully: I think I forgot to write a conclusion again so here it is.

The number of wives vs husbands doesn't actually deal with an issue of "validation of murder" as at no point will I say "murder is good" but that "your data is wrong" or that "pointing to the numbers of those murders don't actually address the point of which murder is validated."

To which I would also point out women have been shown statistically to more likely get away with their murder on a claim of self defense. Considering the conviction rate differences mentioned earlier, whether this claim was truthful or ad hoc after the act, remains a question, but does not change the overall fact that the system is more likely to convict a female murderer over a male one.

So your argument is untruthful, incorrectly applied, and wrong. Either way you look at it this was a bad move.

Also, an argument isn't valid or invalid by whether its made in good faith. What matters in debate is how convincing it is, in philosophy whether its true. Truth matters in our argument. Not whether I treat my opponent with respect he will not return in kind.

Good faith must be earned. Maybe you are a vaush fan, someone who treats everyone in the worst faith possible and then complains that they don't treat him in good faith, a good faith he has never close to earning.

Our system's issue isn't and hasn't been the for profit nature of it, but the government regulations. Because previously to the regulations it ran much more efficiently and effectively. But it was purposely mangled by people who vote like you. Because if you mangle a system to the point it doesn't function, then you can advocate for greater control and regulation. Succeed or fail you get what you want.

No its bait. It had nothing to do with the conversation. You could have picked self defense which has a better basis but you chose this.

Also whether you picked it knowingly you have more to say about feminism than about the healthcare debate. Whats more your arguments on healthcare are begging where as you speak authoritatively about feminism. Its clumsy and very transparent.

But I will play ball because Id rather deal with your strongholds and crush them rather lance some pointless boil.

Why destroy that which you don't hold strongly enough to defend?

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-metaphysics/

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-epistemology/

Feel free to not read it aswell but frankly see the work it's based on is in the form of kant's critique of pure reason. All post modern philosophy requires the irrational base kant provides for their theories. From modern Christianity, to socialism, to feminism. All of them cite his discrediting of reason in the formation of their philosophy.

Did you not know? Rationality is a tool of male oppression according to feminism.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227633936_Gendered_Rationality_A_Genealogical_Exploration_of_the_Philosophical_and_Sociological_Conceptions_of_Rationality_Masculinity_and_Organization

I would prefer primary citations but Im on mobile and the primary works are harder to find as I dont typically read them.

A discussion about the conflict in our ideas. Should we let our abstractions fight in an attempt to gain supremacy over each other while we are just indifferent observers? The standards of knowing whether you are right or wrong are deeply important. How do you know if you are wrong? I have my standard it's philosophical and its existence exists. Disprove that and everything else follows.

Can data be manipulated?

Also till this exact second I thought I was debating a rather effeminate man. Your race didn't come up in how you write.

And how many children are without a parent because of denied medical care, homelessness, police brutality, etc.

If you're going to use "but they have children", be consistent.

[mads-hemmo]

It’s Nice to Have a Friend - Jschlatt

Part 2

Reader has been lonely their whole life. They have never been in a relationship. They don’t understand why no one will love them but their best friend, Schlatt has always been in love with them.

Part 1

Part 3

Schlatt remembers the day he met you like it was yesterday. He started at a middle school away from most of the friends he had in elementary school. This meant that he didn’t have any friends, but he did his best to not let it affect him. One day at lunch time, he sat by himself as he had for the past two weeks. Then out of nowhere, this kid came and sat by him. “Hi I’m (Y/N), you’re Jonathon right?” You had asked.

He just nods. He had seen you in class before. He was really curious as to why you were sitting by him while everyone else had left him alone.

“Cool. Nice shirt,” you tell him. He looks down at the Mario Kart shirt his mom had bought him from Target.

“Thanks,” he said. “Do you play?”

“Yeah, I play on the Wii and my DSi. I play as Peach. Not because she’s a girl, but because she’s cool. Also my little brother has taken over Yoshi.”

From that moment, you and Schlatt became best friends. You were even the one who came up with the nickname, Schlatt. His nicknames for you changed over the years but it ultimately landed on Bub/Bubba and Toots. The latter started as a joke but it stuck.

Schlatt has been with you for every phase of your teenage life: the one direction phase that he thinks never went away, your “emo” phase, your trying to fit in phase, and your party college phase. While many people found you to be completely ridiculous and sometimes over the top, Schlatt stuck by your side. He knew they didn’t get to see the real you. The one who likes playing video games and watching shitty musicals.

You were also with him through everything. You were there when he started making videos and you became his first subscriber. Neither of you imagined that he would blow up the way he did. When he started streaming on Twitch, the both of you knew something big was about to happen especially after SMPlive. He always talked to you first to flesh out ideas on the Dream SMP during his presidential reign.

Schlatt was always appreciative of how supportive you were with everything he did. He loved having someone who wasn’t attached to anything online. Someone who didn’t care how much money he made or how famous he got. Maybe that’s why he started developing feelings for you.

It wasn't always a thing. Perhaps the feelings were always there, but he hadn’t really noticed them until a few years ago. Back in High School, when you complained about being single, he had wondered why no one wanted to be with you. You were real, funny, and attractive. But he always made sure to assure you that everyone you went to school with sucked and were all fucking stupid anyways.

The feelings really started making themself evident when he moved to Austin. He had surrounded himself with just content creators and was working all the time. When he was extra stressed, Schlatt would call you on Discord. No matter what you were doing, you stopped everything to simply talk and play games with him.

“Don’t you have midterms?” he would ask while you created a house on Minecraft.

“Yeah, but they can wait. I feel confident that I’ll pass them. If I don’t, I’ll just sell pictures of my feet until I can afford to start again,” you tell him.

He smiles to himself. Something about how normal you are makes his heart skip a beat. You could have brought up the money he makes but no you resorted to talking about selling pictures of your feet. “Your feet are ugly. Don’t think they would make you much profit.”

Conversations like these made him realize that he had to leave the hell hole of Austin and move back to New York. Back to you. Now he felt happy again getting to spend as much time with you as possible.

His crush was so embarrassing that all his online friends know about you. They also make a point to bring it up when he’s not filming. “How’s your partner, Schlatt?” Astro asks, before they start filing for Sleep Deprived.

“They aren’t my partner,” Schlatt says.

“Not yet,” Mika adds.

Schlatt sighs. He knows you’ll never feel the same way about him that he feels for you. He’s not the Jonathan you want. He’s not Jonathan Groff or Jonathan Bailey. He’s just Schlatt, your best friend, nothing else.

Schlatt decides to ignore his feelings and just play Stardew Valley. While playing, he sees that you sent him a snap. It’s just a picture of you holding a Rammie plushie with the caption, “my new best friend because mine is busy working like a loser.”

He smiles like a loser at his phone and takes a screenshot. It takes everything in him to not tell you how cute you are. Instead he sends a photo of his forehead with a simple, “fuck you”.

Schlatt’s attention goes back to the screen. “Who the fuck stole my Persian Rugs?” he asks, when his character wakes up.

After a few hours of recording, he decides to call you on Discord. You answer quickly. “Sup Fucker?” You say over the call. “You done working?”

“Yeah I just finished filming for Sleep Deprived. What are you up to?” Schlatt asks, happy to hear your voice.

“Currently playing Balatro then I’m going to work on crocheting a blanket. I’m also watching New Girl.”

He admired how talented you were. Always working on something new. He loved how creative you were in everything you did. “What watch of New Girl is this now?”

“I think 6, maybe 7. I’ve lost count. With every watch, you can tell how obvious that Jess and Nick are end game. Nick is so in love and Jess is oblivious. It’s hilarious. How could anyone be that stupid?” You laugh.

Schlatt lets out a choked laugh. “Yeah it’s crazy.”

“If I were to fancast Chuckle Sandwich for New Girl. Tucker is Winston because duh, Charlie is Coach since he was there at the beginning and shows up every now and then, Ted is Schidmt, and you’re Nick.”

“Oh is that so? Who’s Jess then?”

“Obviously I’m not a part of the crew, but probably me since she’s my spirit animal,” you tell him.

“That’s interesting,” he says, wondering if you noticed what you said. It’s obvious you didn’t make a connection.

“Oh did you see that Grace is engaged and Molly is pregnant?” You change the subject, not even meaning to.

“No I didn’t. I don’t follow anyone from high school anymore and I couldn’t care less.”

“That’s fair, but how do these bitches find their soulmate and make babies? It’s so ugh!”

“They will probably get a divorce in three years and I doubt the guys they are with are much better than them,” he says. He wishes you wouldn’t worry about people that don’t matter to either of you.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Did I tell you about my new friend, Paige from work?”

“No I don’t think you did. What about her?” He is confused why you are bringing up some random girl. He really hopes she’s not a new crush of yours. He couldn’t handle you crushing on a person you know.

“I think you should get to know her. I think the two of you would really hit it off. She played softball and she is just overall cool. I can give you her number.”

It’s worse than he thought. You weren’t into her, you thought he would be. This was a recurring thing that Schlatt despised every time it happens. He doesn’t want to go on a date with some random girl. He wants you, but he can’t let you know that. “Maybe. I’m still not really wanting to date. I want to focus on my career and the new projects I’m working on,” Schlatt tells you. It’s not a complete lie, but it’s not the complete truth either. If he was going on a date with you, it’d be a different story.

“Oh okay. I told her you were a busy guy. She just sounded like someone you’d be into.”

He can tell he made you slightly upset and that’s his least favorite thing to do. “Thank you for thinking of me, Bub,” he tells you. “What are your plans tonight?”

“I’m not sure yet. Just crafting probably. Did you have something in mind?” You ask.

He didn’t have any plans, but he wanted to spend time with you. Being away from you, made him want to hang out with you as much as possible. Even if it was as simple as watching a movie or playing with the cats. He sometimes imagines the two of you living together. Getting to spend as much time as possible doing the most mundane things would make him so happy.

“I can order some sushi and we can do that coloring thing you told me about,” he says, hoping you’d be down to come over.

“Sure. When should I come by? Do I need to bring my pajamas?” You ask.

“Uh sure if you want to stay over. We both know you’ll be in leggings or shorts though, so you might not need them.”

“Good point. If anything I’ll steal some of your clothes,” you tell him, nonchalantly.

Schlatt feels a lump in his throat thinking of how big his clothes would be on you. You’d probably suffocate in them, but he’s sure you’d look damn cute. “Yeah, sure,” He stammers out. “I’m done working so come by whenever.”

“Alright see you soon.” You hang up before he can say anything else.

Schlatt starts feeling giddy like a little girl waiting for your arrival. He starts picking up what he can. He checks himself out in the mirror, fluffing up his hair a bit. He applies a little bit of cologne. When he goes back to the living room, he sees Jambo judging him. “I’m a fucking disaster. Aren’t I?”

Jambo just meows in agreement. Schlatt sighs, he wonders how long he can unrequitely love you. He’s sure it’s going to kill him before he confesses. He knows that it will be best to just wallow in his self pity instead of fucking up your friendship.

A doorbell ringing interrupts him. He trips on his way to opening the door. When he opens it, he expects to see your pretty face, but that’s not who’s on the other side. “Surprise,” Ted says on the other side of the door.

Schlatt just stares at him in disbelief. He sees you walk behind them. “Am I interrupting something?” You ask.

“The infamous (Y/N), I’ve heard so much about you!”

Schlatt knew in that moment that he was royally fucked.

A/N: another late night post! But I can’t stop writing. I’m going to be so sad next week when I have to go back to work. Reader is general neutral, but I may add some fem! stuff. Also the ending just popped in my brain last minute! Hope you all enjoy!! Thanks for reading!!

[scoobydoodean]

Sam and Dean are having a covert fight the entirety of 7.13 "Slice Girls", from the very beginning to the end over the very different ways they're coping with Bobby's death.

Sam is pushing them to hunt more (which is typical—also see: 2.02, 3.11, 4.09), while Dean is exhibiting the same depression symptoms we've seen all season, expressing deep cynicism about the job (ex: 7.05, 7.09) fantasizing about escape, and seeking drinks and conversation with strangers in bars as a distraction.

We open 7.13 with Sam driving and Dean asleep in the passenger seat, and it's immediately apparent that Dean didn't want to go on this hunt, and Sam really really did. It's also apparent that Sam is bothered by how Dean is coping, and Dean is bothered by how Sam is coping... Probably because Sam's way of coping (hunting) is the exact opposite of what Dean would like to do.

SAM: Is that Bobby’s? [DEAN takes a drink from Bobby's flask.] SAM: I didn’t know you kept that. DEAN: Yeah, mine sprung a leak. SAM: You know, most people would just carry a – a photo or something for a memento. DEAN: Shut up, man. I’m – I’m – I’m honoring the guy, all right? This is, uh, grief therapy, kind of like you and your wild-goose chase. SAM: Wild-goose chase? DEAN: Yeah.

Sam's clearly worried about Dean's drinking, and has been for a while, but he's too antsy to address the subject outright, so he teases instead. Dean reads the underlying judgement and argues that what he's doing is no less destructive than Sam pushing them to drive through the night for a case that might not be anything. The thing is, this is absolutely a weird situation that's right up their alley as a potential case. Dean just didn't do the reading, because he didn't want to go on a hunt to begin with.

SAM: Four guys murdered in two weeks, hands and feet cut off. DEAN: Yeah, well, some guy with a foot fetish run amuck. SAM: Grown men thrown so hard they went through walls. Did you – did you even read the article? DEAN: No, I was napping.

Sam then reminds Dean that they agreed the previous episode that it was best to stay busy to cope with Bobby's death... or rather—Sam said he wanted to work to cope with Bobby's death, and Dean agreed that that was best for him too but didn't mean it, then practiced fake smiles in the driver's seat.

SAM: Well, anyway, what else you got going on? Dick Roman’s a dead end for now, you might as well – DEAN: Stay busy. SAM: Exactly. DEAN: Yeah.

At the forensics lab, Dean has an odd interaction with the forensics expert, bragging about their health care benefits package as "FBI agents". This annoys Sam, who's all business. Dean's small talk full of lies feels odd—but might reflect his desire to escape to a job that provides them with actual pay and health insurance (hell—as Bobby's emergency contact, he might be dodging calls over Bobby's insurance over his stay in the trauma center).

Dean begrudgingly admits there's a case here, and Sam wants to begin research, but Dean nopes right out of that.

SAM: Let’s get a bite to eat, go back to the motel, haul out the laptop. DEAN: That’s a great idea. Actually, that’s a brilliant idea. Here’s my counter. You do that, I’ll go undercover, go mingle amongst the locals and see, uh, what kind of clues bubble to the surface. SAM: You’re going to a bar.

Sam tries to call Dean out for bailing, but Dean doesn't actually give a damn that Sam wants him to work, so he basically just goes, "yep" and takes off.

At the bar, Dean again imagines himself as a normal person, talking with Lydia about having a decent year in terms of income. Sam and Dean have spent a lot of the season squatting in abandoned homes because their money situation is so bad (Dean complains about this in 7.09 and 7.12), and Dean burned 15 grand he managed to scrape together (probably from Bobby's estate) on payments to Frank. Lydia talks about not being ready to settle down. Dean at least pretends to agree (this is 8 episodes after his last attempt at a one night stand required a pep talk to convince himself, "One night stands are what you do").

Next, the brothers fight at least two separate times about Sam finding an expert (Preofessor Morisson) to do some of the lore search they used to rely on Bobby for, with Dean grumbling (essentially) about how no one can replace Bobby, and Sam being annoyed that Dean's grumbling when they have no other choice if they want to solve the case.

After that, things start to take a turn from what happened at the beginning of the episode with Dean denying the obvious. Sam starts making some really weird accusations and denials that just don't make sense.

First, Dean contacts Lydia because he realizes he left his flask at her house. Sam insists on the narrative that Dean's catching feelings, when it's blatantly obvious that Dean just wants to retrieve a flask with sentimental value because it belonged to Bobby. Then Sam's teasing Dean over Lydia not answering his calls, inferring that Dean is wounded by rejection, instead of very clearly just wants the flask. Right after another complaint from Dean about Morrison:

SAM: Dean, you know what? I want to call him, too, okay? Believe me. But Bobby's not here. So we're settling [for Professor Morrison]. DEAN: Yeah. We sure are. [DEAN looks at his phone.] DEAN: Damn it, why hasn't she called? SAM: Who? Lydia? Wait, so some girl's actually dumping you the morning after? DEAN: I think you're enjoying this a little more than you need to. Screw it. I'm going over there and getting the flask.

I think we can make an argument here that Sam's denying the significance Dean assigns to the flask because it represents 1) Dean's worsening relationship with alcohol 2) How that relationship to alcohol in season 7 is attached to Dean's grief over losing people he loves (Cas and Bobby).

Second, Sam weirdly pretends that Dean's description of Lydia's toddler talking like an adult and growing to the size of a 6 year old with hours is not weird and that Dean is just being crazy somehow... and it's even weirder that Sam pretends it's not weird and that Dean is being crazy, given Dean shares this information about Lydia with Sam after Sam finds out that the bar where Dean met Lydia is directly connected to the disappearances of several men who met one night stands there.

One the phone, Sam complains that Dean hasn't met up with him:

SAM: You never showed. DEAN: I'm outside Lydia's. SAM: Oh, come on, man. What, are you obsessed or something? DEAN: No, I'm telling you. I have been eating at the buffet of strange all afternoon. SAM: Meaning what? DEAN: I'll tell you the second I know. But something ain't right. SAM: Or you're obsessed. DEAN: Shut up. I'm serious.

Then later in person, Sam repeatedly denies that Dean could possibly know what he's talking about:

SAM: So what? I mean, so maybe she has another kid she didn't tell you about. DEAN: Nope, just the one. Emma. But that night, when I was with her, she didn't have any. And I was at her place, man. There was no playpens, no blankets, no rubber ducks. SAM: Right. Like you would have been focused on that kind of thing.

and,

DEAN: Then, all of a sudden, boom – baby. SAM: Yeah, the one you thought talked. DEAN: Oh, it talked. And not baby talk, either. SAM: Now you know so much about child development?

Dean eventually gets genuinely irritated:

DEAN: Lydia's handing this kid who's calling her mommy over to these two women, right? But this is not a baby. No, no, this kid's got to be five. And same name – Emma. SAM: You know, George Foreman named all his sons George. DEAN: Are you deliberately messing with me?

Sam just shrugs. I think Sam's denying the stakes here because he doesn't want to believe yet another person he cares about might be in danger. He'd prefer to believe Dean is just playing Dean Winchester, Playboy Who's Caught Feelings. It's only after they get a lore update from Professor Morrison matching Dean's story that Sam relents.

Third, Sam blows up at Dean when he suggests Bobby is haunting them through the flask... except... Sam also clearly thinks there's something to it? Dean sees a paper move and immediately reports it to Sam as a sign of ghost activity, and Sam doesn't hesitate to take out the EMF meter... but then he notices there's a nearby powerline and gets condescending about how it's obviously interfering with the readings. Dean suggests maybe the flask is haunted, and Sam gets mad.

SAM: We burned him, Dean. DEAN: So what?

They know that objects can be haunted. They know that.

SAM: So, what are you suggesting? DEAN: I don't know. What are you?

Dean knows Sam thinks he's crazy.

SAM: Concentrate on something else. DEAN: Why? SAM: Because it's [raising his voice and stepping close to DEAN] not Bobby! DEAN: Could be. SAM: No, it couldn't be. DEAN: Why not? SAM: [loudly, very close to DEAN] Because we want it to be.

The thing is, Sam immediately does something that contradicts his vehement rejection of Dean's theory that Bobby moved the papers!!!

SAM snatches the piece of parchment from the bed. DEAN: Maybe it's useful. SAM: It's in a pile of "maybe it's useful." Besides, it's in Greek. Nobody reads Greek. DEAN: Yeah, except Greeks. Oh, and Bobby. SAM: And Professor Morrison. DEAN: Really? SAM: I'm going, Dean. You stay here, keep the door locked. Don't go anywhere. I mean it.

Wow wow wow.

Anyway though. Is it any wonder Sam lectures Dean at the end of the episode for hesitating to kill his own daughter, insists that she wasn't really his, and then when Dean says that is objectively false, Sam calls him crazy?

SAM: You know what? Bobby was right. Your head's not in it, man. When Cas died, you were wobbly, but now...

Finally, Dean snaps back.

DEAN: Now what? Oh, what, you're dealing with it so perfect? Yeah, news flash, pal – you're just as screwed up as I am! You're just... bigger.

Sam doesn't get to pretend he's fine just because his coping strategies involve hunting to escape instead of drinking. Like Dean, he is avoiding certain realities to cope with his grief and fears. Hell—one could argue he does that much more than Dean during this episode.

Excerpts from 7.13 transcript on the good SPN wiki

[boyhooters]

I am now accepting donations for being a weird little guy. it's chronic

[tgmsunmontue]

^^^Someone needs to write it where Bradley does it on purpose and chickens out because I WANT TO READ IT...

In the meantime here is something I cooked up where Bradley is an idiot with a crush the size of Jupiter.

... ... ...

The first time it's a legitimate mistake, Bradley messaging his old college roommate Izaak with a picture and the comment being an in-joke about buying wings when they were hungover and promising marriage. He's a little hungover, eyes blurry, and it's not a wrong number exactly, but it's not the right one either.

Fuck.

He has to change Hangman's contact in his phone to actually Hangman and not Jake. What possessed him to put it in as Jake? It's right below Izaak in his contacts.

He changes it and then blinks in confusion. Without any other names starting with I it doesn't matter if he's entered as Hangman or Jake, his contact details are still right above or below Izaak's.

Regardless he messages Jake again and apologises for the message, saying he got it wrong. Fully expects him to take the piss next time they see each other.

Then he messages Izaak with the actual message and bemoans several things:

his hangover

his messaging Jake

the fact that Izaak isn't there to bring him greasy food and he had to leave his house to do it

Of course Izaak answers back almost immediately:

>>Jake the guy you've got a massive crush on?

Oh no.

No no no.

Bradley is not of sound mind and body right now and Izaak is going to be like a shark scenting blood in the water. Then his phone vibrates again and he peers down at it, realising Jake, no, Hangman has now messaged him back

**Wings and a wedding. Winning combo!

**Damn. Ah well. The wings look good. Enjoy.

Bradley blinks, because is that... flirting? Is Jake flirting with him? He screenshots it and sends it to Izaak along with a row of question marks.

>>Oh, so it's not one sided.

It sure as fuck is, Bradley types back.

>>My money on your moustache that he's interested in you.

Bradley rolls his eyes, because he's not going to give in to juvenile games they used to play in college.

>>Anyway, you're meant to be getting fitted for your suit for the wedding. Send him, and me, a picture of you getting all dressed up.

Bradley chews his bottom lip, because it's not the worst idea Izaak has had.

... ... ...

Thing is, Izaak is getting married and Bradley is his best man. So he's right at the top of his recent contacts. And occasionally he forgets who is the most recent, not double checking who he's sending messages to. Fortunately Jake just seems to have resigned himself to receiving messages from him out of the blue with no to little context.

... ... ...

Over the next 10-14 days Jake receives images of Bradley:

Dressed in suit, asking if his ass looks big.

Jake wants to bite it.

In bed all sleep rumpled, complaining about the early hour and being awake.

Jake wants to kiss him, bring him coffee, and run his fingers through his curls.

Gym selfie, saying he's working on his stamina.

Jake wants to know what the fuck for??? He stares at that one for too long for it to be healthy. He doesn't care.

Then there's the other messages, nearly always with pictures.

Looking forward to seeing you and catching up.

Made this for dinner tonight, my skills in the kitchen have improved greatly!

Did what you suggested and went and patted all the dogs at the shelter. Helped a little.

Moustache is in fine form! Thanks for asking!

You know me, happy to sleep anywhere.

Sun's out guns out!

You jealous?

New do!

Why would I bring a +1? I'm going to be a bit busy.

He even answers some of them. Sometimes with a looking good Bradshaw, almost as good as me or with ????? when he's simply confused. When he answers he nearly always gets an apology for bothering him again with a message not meant for him. Jake doesn't reply with a I really don't mind.

It's all providing a glimpse of what Bradshaw might be like with his friends or maybe his girlfriend or boyfriend. Jake doesn't even know that much, because they're not fucking friends. He wants to be though. Wants to be more than friends, wonders if that's ever going to be possible.

Jake asks Bradley about his plans for their upcoming leave and Bradley seems surprised that Jake doesn't know. Says he's going to his best friends' wedding, that he's the best man. Jake expresses surprise that his best friend isn't in the service and Bradley says he had years at college first.

Jake realises then that Izaak must be right beside him in Rooster's contacts and he desperately wants to know what name he's under.

Then he gets a message that reads:

I have it so fucking bad for him it's ridiculous. I mean, how is he so hot? Look at this asshole.

Attached is a picture of Jake himself from earlier in the day.

This is giving me hangster vibes

[barghest-land]

hate it when i wanna draw something really cool but then forget that for that i'll need to like. Actually sit down and do it myself

[tizeline]

Does that mean you watched the new sonic movie?

If so, how did you like it?

Spoiler alert vvv

I have, and I did like it, but I dunno if I vibe with it as much as other people seem to do. TBF I've never loved the live action Sonic movies, they're decent enough but definitely not my favorite piece of Sonic media. That being said, this was probably my favorite out of the movies so far? They have improved a lot since the first one which is great to see.

One thing I think the movie did great was the action scenes, the coreography and animation was so fun and impactful and incredibly exciting to see! I also think the movie did a good job on selling us on Shadow's and Maria's friendship in a short period of time, that little montage of the two of them just doing a bunch of silly goofy shenanigans was really endearing. The wholesome innonsence of it all makes Maria's death hurt way more.

EXTRA spoiler, but arguably one of the things that made me the most excited in ghe movie was the post credit scene where Amy showed up LMAOOOO I've been waiting for her to show up. And I exepcted Metal Sonic to show up sooner or later in these movies, but I didn't expect a whole army of them haha but that seems like a fun idea.

[frogeyedape]

I am so unbelievably pissed off. FUCK HOAs

Oh, my trash/recycling bin can't be visible except on pickup day? Ok whatever fine I hate you but I can deal with this

Weekly inspections?????? FU FU FU FU FU

SECOND NOTICE ALSO WE'RE CHARGING YOU MONEY TO SEND YOU CERTIFIED MAIL OF THIS TOTALLY LEGIT TOTALLY SECOND NOTICE OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY A VIOLATION cue me: checks notes. Hmm. My recycling bin was. on the curb. on recycling pickup day. You know. The day it has to be out. The day it is motherfucking ALLOWED TO BE FUCKING OUT AND VISIBLE.

so. 1) not a violation

I have sent them the trash AND recycling pickup schedules, which are DIFFERENT, btw

I have disputed the fact of the violation

I have disputed the linking of this "violation" to a previous violation MONTHS AGO--their "first notice" in this case was a "Courtesy Notice" LITERALLY 5 MONTHS AGO and they've done so many inspections since then and my bin CLEARLY WASN'T OUT IN THOSE INTERVENING MONTHS so WTMFH

So I am posting like a crazy person here instead of sending the absolutely deranged email I almost sent (I did send a slightly less deranged version with the disputes, and requesting a hearing)

OMG. It has been. Less than one hour since I learned this fun fun news. My bin was out YESTERDAY, y'all. YESTERDAY. I am going to blow a gasket

[hauntingthenarrativepod]

(this is qiqi) (look if it's an unhinged overly complicated response it's likely to be qiqi can we just pin that somewhere)

He's one of those adolescent German Shepherds with huge paws and ears that the rest of the body hasn't grown into. He's still cooking.

This is one of the greatest descriptions of Lockwood I have ever seen. I want this cross-stitched on a pillow somewhere. It's beautiful.

OK so let's talk Sykes a little bit cause I'm loving your tags there.

Sykes is just...not really talked about much, is he?

Timeline-wise, Lucy is 13 or 14 at her interview, and Lockwood/George are about a year older. 13 gives me hives so let's go with Lucy being 14 and the boys 15.

Lockwood says that the agency's been registered for three months, and he got his full licence (a.k.a. his Grade 4) 'last year'. Lockwood was apprenticed to Sykes, so Sykes must've been around long enough to sign that certificate. We know Lucy's interview is in May, so the agency was registered in February, so Sykes died sometime in the 13 months before Feb - when Lockwood is 13 or 14.

George moves in a year before Lucy's interview - so May the year previously. I tend to think that it makes little sense for George to move in unless he's working with Lockwood (his parents are from London), and he never mentions working with Sykes, so I think it's likely that he moves in after Sykes dies. (Probably they futz about as a freelance/independent duo for a while before deciding to set up an actual company, which may take some time.) But anyway, if George moves in after Sykes dies, this means that Sykes has to die sometime Jan-May of the year before Lucy moves in. And yeah, Flo implies that his death was nasty which means traumatising so...it's no wonder Lockwood didn't talk about him.

As you say in your tags -- it's likely that Sykes was an actual Gravedigger, which would imply extremely working class. Which...makes a lot of sense, when you look at Lockwood. He does a lot of borderline charity cases, especially in the East End (a traditionally very poor area of London -- somewhere I'd expect a Gravedigger to run an independent shop, though). He swears like a fucking sailor (so many 'short responses') and eats absolutely terribly (have you hung around middle class/rich people? They all eat like Holly, even the kids). He tries to fob off the hard work on everyone but him because he wants to be lazy and keep his clothes nice, but he's also not afraid of it -- he doesn't complain about having to crawl through muck or worse, it's just part of the job. And despite the fact that he obviously has money and resources, you don't really feel a class difference between him and Lucy or George. Yes, we are going to do a whole episode on class, but I think the text supports the idea that Lockwood was a middle class, rich boy who's family fell on hard times (he did a lot of odd jobs when it was just him and Jess) and then roughed it with the commoners for quite a while.

(And I love how you point out in your tags that yeah, working class tends to stand up for each other. I do think Lockwood wasn't taken in by the big agencies because he was too old, but Sykes would take him in because he had nowhere else to go -- and Sykes did right by him, because a 9 year old boy, all alone, big house in Marylebone? The vultures must have been salivating)

2) Lockwood and Forgiveness! That's a really nice point, that he's so unforgiving with ghosts, but so forgiving with people!! I will counter you though that by the time he 'forgives' Kipps in TCS quite a bit has happened to deepen their connection in a positive way -- a) Kipps follows George into the catacombs and tries to save him, b) Lockwood and Kipps work Aickmere's together and are partnered up, solo, in the dark (and in this particular scenario Lockwood probably got to see quite a bit of how Kipps handles his team -- I tend to think that Aickmere's is when Lockwood starts really respecting Kipps) and then c) they'd worked Guppy House together, where Kipps had demonstrated a good deal of respect for Lockwood and his team. I do think that TSS Lockwood would magnanimously piss on Kipps if he was on fire, but I doubt he'd go out of his way to help Kipps to the same extent as he does in TCS.

Thoughts?

It’s Boxing Day in the UK, St. Stephen’s Day in Ireland, and December 26th in the US, and there’s no way we’d rather spend it than discussing the beloved namesake of our series — the one and only Anthony J. Lockwood, Esq.!

For our third episode of Haunting the Narrative, we’re going to be digging into all things Lockwood. We’ll talk about his dark backstory and how that links to the core traits and motivations we see him display. We'll discuss his ambition, his relationship to his family, and his own search for meaning throughout the books.

Somehow this is our shortest episode yet, which is nothing short of a Christmas miracle.

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Amazon

Click here for the transcript!

Join us on January 8 for our next episode on the Problem Economy!

[squisheebugdoodles]

Okay Here Is The Problem: everything costs money and yet money is something that i just literally never have. solution? kill the idea of money so that nothing costs anything Please. i'm so tired

[horsegirlhob]

Honestly the worst thing about being raised by and around professors is that I can't really do the whole students bitching about professors thing even when I mostly agree with it, because my whole life I have been hearing the professor's side of the story. Every time someone talks about how ridiculous mandatory attendance or participation is there's a part of me that starts loudly protesting about how actually being in class is really important for learning, and it must be so hugely frustrating for the professor when students just don't show up to your class half the time and then when they do show up they're playing sudoku on their computer.

[darkwood-sleddog]

Hi! I came across your post answering an ask ahout your most ✨controversial takes✨ on the world of dogs from back in April.

I read that you thought the AKC should not allow "professional handlers", and saw that you also seemed to distinguish these from breeders and owners. I've never given it much thought, but I think I would've assumed a handler was just another word for "owner" on my own.

What's the difference between these things, and why do you take your stance against handlers?

(I can infer what a breeder is as opposed to the others lmao, so I guess I'm asking about owner vs handler vs "professional" handler)

In dog conformation the dogs are handled by a handler when they go into the ring. This handler does not have to be the owner and in many instances is not. Professional handlers are just what they seem: people that handle dogs at dog shows for a living. A good handler knows how to make the dog look good, not just from a grooming standpoint, but when moving around a ring. Hiring a pro handler outsources this knowledge, time needed, and skill to somebody else.

There are several problems with this for me:

1.) dog shows, especially at the upper levels, are highly politicized. Hiring the ~right~ handler could give your dog the upper hand from a dog of equal or better value handled by somebody “lesser”. It keeps you and your dogs in the in-crowd.

2.) A dog that shows or “campaigns” a lot becomes known to judges, has more opportunities etc. When dogs are shown by professional handlers the owner/breeder is not always going with them and dogs can be on the road with their handlers going to show after show for months and even years at a time. This is not something the average purebred dog owner can afford.

3.) professional handlers are NOT cheap and conformation dog shows aren’t either. Having the monetary means to hire a well respected pro handler is not feasible for most people. This sets the people who already have the means to compete in dog shows and campaign their dogs year round leagues above people who cannot afford this. This further pinches top dog shows into a 1% that is near impossible to break into for new people, people from marginalized backgrounds, young people, etc.

4.) because of the competitive nature of modern dog shows and it becoming a “sport” instead of an evaluation of the quality of breeding stock you get people willing to look the other way on corrective grooming, poor temperaments, non correct structure to have “their people” win, to have their friends win, to have the people they are connected to win. Dog shows are not an even playing ground and very much an unspoken club of who is “in” and “out”. The culture and ability of hiring pros to take your dog around the country, to groom your dog, to show your dog ensures it stays this way.

In my opinion dogs should be lightly bathed and put into the rings with their owners/breeders/co-owners. Nothing more. This would imo, better level the playing ground and provide more equity in the purebred dog world.

[bandzboy]

it’s boggling my mind that instead of putting this drama on a streaming platform or distributing it somewhere they put on app that is powered by nfts and that has a mlm/pyramid scheme type system in it like this company never seizes to amaze me in the worst ways