#just look at how willing the news and governments are willing to buy/perpetuate that there's no recession and that the economy is fine

[awkward-teabag]

But there's a labour shortage, they should have no problem getting another job 'cause companies constantly complain about how they can't find employees! /s

this layoff shit is eerie. hundreds of people across industries and companies getting canned all at once, all the time, every day. my linkedin feed is full of people begging for work, more and more every day. companies who can definitely afford these people but wanna save a few extra bucks. who's gonna be left working?? what are we doing here

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2020 Day 1: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics

A Bite to Remember | @darmysasagiri

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 1104 Main Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Alpha, Top Cas/Bottom Dean, Mating Bites, One Night Stands Summary: Alphas can't mate Alphas, everyone knows this, or do they?

Oblivious Mates | @fangirlingtodeath513

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 1984 Main Tags/Warnings: Castiel/Dean Winchester,Castiel (Supernatural),Dean Winchester,Knotting,Mating Cycles/In Heat,Heat Sex,Rut Sex,A/B/O,Friends With Benefits,Consensual Somnophilia,Mating Bites,Misunderstandings,Lack of Communication,Fuckbuddies,Spooning,Cuddling & Snuggling,Naked Cuddling,True Mates,Scenting Summary: Dean and Cas have been heat/rut fuck buddies for a while now, but Dean's starting to get second thoughts. His feelings evolved a long time ago but now he's feeling guilty about holding Castiel back from finding his true mate.

Sun Warmed | @suckerfordeansfreckles

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 2586 Main Tags/Warnings: alpha Cas, omega Dean, first meeting, house-sitting, a bit of voyeurism Summary: Dean is a little bitter, but only in the safety and privacy of his own head, and definitely never around his brother and his new sister-in-law. Because those two really do deserve all the happiness in the world. And just because Dean wishes for a little happiness for himself, he will not ruin their bliss. The thing that’s a little hard on Dean, lately, is that during the past few months, Sam and Eileen’s new house somehow started to feel more like home than his own apartment does. He’s not even over that much, but he feels so safe and good and happy, here. It’s a space he feels like himself in, and it’s not really the company, it feels more like the energy around their house, the amazing smell seemingly haunting Dean when he drives back home and slowly loses it. He’s not sure which flowers Eileen planted that smell this way, but he’s been meaning to ask her for months. Currently, Sam and Eileen are in Hawaii for their honeymoon and Dean gets daily selfie updates while he house-sits for them. And somehow, during all of that and while accidentally flashing a guy, he figures out where that amazing smell comes from.

Essential Services | @Imbiowaresbitch

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3444 Main Tags/Warnings: Roommates, omegaverse, explicit sex, top Cas/bottom Dean, alpha Cas, Omega Dean, mating bites, quarantine, pandemic, heat/rut sex Summary: Cas has been sent home to work as an unessential service. When he arrives, he realizes his roommate Dean clearly wasn't expect him to arrive. What happens when they finally give in to each other?

Kiss Me, Kill Me | @saltnhalo

Rating: Mature Word Count: 4668 Main Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Castiel (Supernatural), Omega Dean, Assassin Castiel (Supernatural), Guard Dean Winchester, Assassin Dean Winchester, Canon-Typical Violence, True Mates, Scenting, BAMF Dean Winchester, BAMF Castiel (Supernatural), Murder Husbands Summary: Seasoned hitman Castiel Novak is just looking to take out his target and get paid, but should've accounted for the fact that he may not be the only assassin at tonight's party... Cue the mysterious, green-eyed man who is more of a match for Castiel than anyone he's ever met.

Up On The Rooftop Greenhouse | @envydean

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 5017 Main Tags/Warnings: alpha!michael, omega!dean, Beta!Castiel, Arranged Marriage, truemates, defying truemates, fighting destiny, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Kisses, Wedding ceremonies, pack houses, mentions of potential abuse of power Summary: Michael Shurley is Dean Winchester's true mate. Except, Dean has been in love and dating the Winchester house gardener, Castiel Novak, for nearly three years and Dean doesn't want that to stop. He needs to find a way out of the impending wedding before it's too late, especially when Michael shows his true colours.

A Strange Place To Find Love | @navajolovesdestiel

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 6159 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Alpha/Omega, Alpha Castiel (Supernatural), Omega Dean, Heats, ruts. Knotting. Happy Ending Summary: The Alpha/omega Rut/heat Center was the brainchild of a ‘more progressive, more caring’ government. In reality, it was just a way to stop Alphas from jumping unmated omegas when they were in rut, and to stop unmated omegas from getting knocked up during a heat by some Alpha they picked up, then having to go on welfare because the Alpha wouldn’t pay pup support. Dean Winchester worked for the center as a willing omega. Castiel Novak decided to give it a try.

Steel and Whiskey | @saltnhalo

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 6207 Main Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Castiel (Supernatural), Omega Dean, Mafia AU, Mobster Castiel, Mobster Dean Winchester, Mistaken Identity, Explicit Sexual Content, Top Castiel (Supernatural), Bottom Dean Winchester, Topping from the Bottom, Knotting, First Meetings, BAMF Dean Winchester, BAMF Castiel (Supernatural) Summary: When Castiel agrees to meet with the leader of the Winchester pack in the heart of his territory, he does not find the alpha he’s expecting. Instead, he meets an omega in Dean Winchester’s apartment with stunning green eyes and an alluring air of danger. Someone should have warned Castiel that the Winchester leader is not an alpha.

Just Here For A Good Night | @saltnhalo

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 6646 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fraternities & Sororities, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Castiel/Omega Dean Winchester, Top Castiel, Bottom Dean, Team Dean's Red Ass, Dom/sub Undertones, Dom Castiel, Fluff, Frat Boy Castiel Summary: In which Dean is looking to get laid at an Alpha Phi Alpha party, and sets his sights on Castiel, who's just trying to make sure that nothing bad happens on his watch.

Are You Real, Dean Winchester? | Maleyah (AO3)

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 7447 Main Tags/Warnings: Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Rape/Non-con Elements (not between Dean and Cas), Mental Health Issues, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Dean Winchester, Omega Castiel, Mating Bond, Hurt/Comfort, Self-Medication, Near overdose, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hallucinations Summary: Castiel struggles to survive in a world that was never right for him to begin with. So far, he has always survived his turbulent mind... because despite everything, his broken brain, his loneliness, the never-ending struggle, he's a fighter. One night, exceptionally reckless, borderline overdosed on his meds, he wanders the streets, foregoing his self-preservation. Hoping for the end, almost finding it, unless his brain is throwing him for a loop again. ... Only to be found by Dean Winchester.

Did you get my reference? (WIP) | @spnsmile

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 8918 Main Tags/Warnings: Top dean w/ bottom castiel, explicit Summary: Take Dean, most handsome CEO with very pretty face and just your typical successful Alpha who owns his own company at the age of 30. But despite popular belief, Dean has one problem he needs to solve before an international conference: he hates the smell of unmated Omegas. Come Castiel, a clumsy word-class geek literature major who appeared in front of Dean in the middle of a raging river. His scent drives Dean's instinct to bite, plus he gets rid of all other scents in the air. Now Dean only has to convince him to be his plus one. Which means having a talking encyclopedia who trips in its own legs. How can Dean protect his high-wired True Mate from other Alphas and himself?

It's A Hard Knot Life | @navajolovesdestiel

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 10874 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Alpha/Omega, Alpha Dean Winchester, Omega Castiel, Punk Castiel, Rape, Tattoos. Knotting Summary: Dean walked up the counter and his nose was filled with the scent of peticior and sandalwood. He took a deep breath. The guy never looked up. Dean cleared his throat. Nothing. He rapped his knuckles on the counter. The guy didn’t look up, but he said, in a gravelly voice that gave Dean shivers, “Yeah?” “I was wondering if you had the latest CD by St Paul and the Broken Bones?” The guy looked up and Dean found himself looking into eyes so blue, he didn’t have a name for the color. The black eyeliner just accentuated their color. “We have a system here for finding things. It’s called alphabetically, you may have heard of it? That means the S’s are right between the R’s and the T’s.” Then he went right back to reading his book.

Black Rose Tattoo | @navajolovesdestiel

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 10989 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Alpha/Omega, Alpha Castiel (Supernatural), Omega Dean, Tattoo Artist Castiel (Supernatural), Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor. Explicit Sexual Content, Knotting, Pups, Dean is demisexual Summary: Dean heard the motorcycle before he saw it. He looked out the big front window of his shop, and waited until the cycle appeared. He watched the Alpha pull to the curb, stop the bike, get off and take off his helmet. He’d watched the same scene every day since he’d opened the flower shop next to the tattoo parlor. The Alpha shook his perpetually messy hair and walked to open his shop, out of Dean’s view. Dean sighed and went back to work.

Palaces of Rome (WIP) | @tucuxia

Rating: Mature Word Count: 11291 Main Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Castiel/Omega Dean Winchester, Alpha Sam Winchester/Alpha Gabriel, Alpha/Alpha pairing, Alternate Universe - Ancient Rome, BAMF Castiel, BAMF Gabriel Summary: Despite his size and his father's expectations, Dean presented as an omega. Infertile, male omegas have no rights in Rome, so John arranges to sell him to the son of the Emperor in an attempt to provide his alpha son, Sam, a better life. Sam joins the army under General Gabriel's expert tutelage, swearing to become a warrior famous enough to buy his brother back. Dean accepts his place in the prince's harem, but he's about to stumble upon the biggest secret in Rome, one that has kept hundreds of thousands of male omegas enslaved for almost eight hundred years. The secret will either push Rome into an age of peace and prosperity or it will shatter one of the greatest empires in the ancient world.

Something Dark | kradarua (AO3)

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 16466 Main Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Dean Winchester, Omega Castiel, Spanking, Under-negotiated Kink, Rough Sex, Rimming, Choking, Dom/sub Undertones, Thief Dean Winchester, Dark Dean Winchester, Dark Castiel, Dark Sam Winchester, Dark Charlie Bradbury, Possessive Dean Winchester, Illegal Activities, Torture, Sexual Slavery, Murder Husbands, Killer Castiel, Killer Dean Winchester, Top Dean/Bottom Castiel Summary: Castiel looked even wilder in person. Dean let his eyes roam over his (now fully clothed) form, smiling appreciatively. He inhaled deeply, curious to find no real trace of a scent. “He’s on scent blockers,” the employee explained. ""Running this auction is involved enough without having to settle claim disputes if an omega’s scent triggers some alpha’s rut.” That suited him fine; both he and Sam were on scent blockers most of the time and he’d planned on requiring that Castiel stay on them too. It helped with anonymity. “Thank you,” he said, “That will be all.” The employee gave a small bow and left to service the other high bidders. “Well, Cas,” Dean said cheerily, “Let’s go home.”

Porn and Peonies | @navajlovesdestiel

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 20865 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe Alpha/Omega, Porn Star Dean Winchester, Alpha Dean Winchester, Omega Castiel (Supernatural), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Mpreg, Mating, Switching Summary: When Cas accidentally meets his favorite porn star, Dean Smith, he's thrilled. He never expects what comes next with Dean Winchester, Alpha to his omega.

Mulanatural (WIP) | @tucuxia

Rating: Mature Word Count: 33385 Main Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Castiel/Omega Dean Winchester, Alpha Sam Winchester, Beta Adam Milligan, Mulan (Disney) Summary: Dean Winchester is possibly the worst omega in his town; he's too big, too strong, and way too dominant. When the Matchmaker rejects his suit for a mate and the Huns invade China, he has to pretend to be an alpha to save his brother's life, but he may well lose his own in the process. Worse, he may dishonor his whole family.

A Symphony of Flavors | @wargurl83

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 43223 Main Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chefs, Minor Character Death (offscreen) - Freeform, Alpha Castiel (Supernatural), Omega Verse, thar be smut here, Top Cas/Bottom Dean Summary: Master Chef Castiel Novak likes his life ordered. Controlled. Sensible. He's an Alpha with no mate and no hope of finding one. His life is turned upside down with the death of his sister and taking guardianship of his nine-year-old niece, Claire. Add to that, there's a new sous chef taking up space in his very orderly kitchen with his loud music and brash attitude, and for some reason Castiel just can't take his eyes off him. Dean Winchester loves to cook, love his mom, and loves kids. His goal has been to work with Chef Novak for as long as he's been in Kansas City. What he wasn’t prepared for was an Alpha all of his own…

The Nuances of Pack Politics (WIP) | @tucuxia

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 72679 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - High School, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Castiel/Alpha Dean Winchester, ,Alpha Sam Winchester, Omega Gabriel Summary: Castiel and Gabriel Novak are having a hard time fitting into their new school, constantly harassed by older alphas now that they have lost the familiar protection of their own brothers. The Pack, a group that claims to welcome and protect omegas at their high school, may offer them a chance to change all of that, as long as they can get in.

Grown-Ups Making Grown-Up Choices | @carrieosity

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 81039 Main Tags/Warnings: Humor and Fluff, Pining, Self-improvement, Self-worth issues, Comedy, Awkward Flirting, Mating, Sexual Harassment, Threatened Non-Con (brief), Healthy Relationships Summary: Dean is a grown-ass man - he can take perfectly good care of himself, thank you very much. Except that sometimes the easier or more fun choices aren't always the right or best ones, and, all right, maybe thinking ahead and working the long game isn't his strongest suit. It's fine! He's fine. When he meets Castiel, he realizes that flying by the seat of his pants may not be the best way to attract the super-serious (gorgeous, funny, genius) Alpha. Dean's shrink has been telling him he needs to start making ""grown-up choices,"" and if that's what he has to think about in order to make Cas fall for him, then he'll give it a whirl.

Celestial War (WIP) | @tucuxia

Rating: Mature Word Count: 151571 Main Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Dean/Omega Castiel, Alpha Sam/Omega Gabriel, Alpha Crowley/Omega Balthazar, Mating Cycles/In Heat Summary: The three tribes--Celestial, Wilderness, and Spellbound--have been at an uneasy stalemate for generations, but a prophecy about four omegas could bring about a full-scale war that will destroy them all.

don't care where you've been (WIP) | @thanks-tacos

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 240842 Main Tags/Warnings: Omega Dean, Alpha Castiel, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean, Past Rape/Non-con, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Arranged Marriage, Abused Dean Winchester, Caring Castiel, Happy Ending, full tag list in the fic Summary: Dean's life is finally changing. After years of enduring Alastair's abuse, the alpha dies and Dean's married off to the next alpha the system pairs him with - Castiel. The man is strange and distant, but not exactly bad, and Dean's determined to be on his best behavior and not mess up the chance he was given. Soon enough, though, he fucks up anyway and has to call the alpha for help. Castiel's lived his entire life without an omega by his side, and he was fine with that. He doesn't know how to proceed once he's suddenly married to a beautiful man who's obviously been through a lot. Omegas were always a confusing subject to him, so he tries not to interfere much - neither of them is there by their choice. But when Dean calls for help, he understands he's going to have to set some things straight and engage more.

[mandadoration]

spoils go to the winner

summary: You’re one of the first friendly faces that Cara Dune sees when she first arrives on Sorgan after her early retirement, and now she thinks that this isn’t so bad, especially when you’re so pliant under her fingers.

word count: 3, 971

pairing: cara dune x reader

Warnings: smut, choking, fingering, praise kink, oral sex, overall debauchery, canon-typical violence

a/n: uhhh hehe enjoy 

Read this on AO3

Sorgan was not the most attractive of places, especially when compared to Cara’s home planet of Alderaan. It was too humid in the summer and fall months, and winters were short, villages and towns were spread far apart, and if you wanted any luxury items, you would have to track someone down who was willing to bring supplies to you. The ground was in an almost perpetual state of too-soft, tracking mud wherever you would go. But Alderaan was no more, and the New Republic had designated her to peacekeeping and riot control. That was definitely not what she has signed up for, so she left in search of something else. She dabbled in mercenary work, but soon realized it was just not her thing.

So she would have to settle for Sorgan. 

It wasn’t all bad, she supposes. Nobody thought twice about Sorgan. It was severely underdeveloped and villages and towns were spread all over the planet with a bare skeleton of a proper government. It would be easy to implement herself into daily life. Daily life just manifested itself into a local fighting ring at the tavern.

“C’mon,” the Zabrak growls. He makes an inviting motion with his hands, baring his teeth as they circle each other. He had been the reigning champion in this little town for quite a while, it seems like, seeing as how the villagers cheer for him and how they had bet on his win over her. The locals look at her with some disdain or with distrust, unsure of this new person that had dropped in. That was fine because Cara was determined in proving them wrong. 

Cara uses the harness keeping them together to tug the Zabrak forward. Using that moment of him stumbling, she punches him, and her knuckles catch on the brow ridge. Unfortunately, he lashes out blindly at the same time, and he catches her jaw as he reels back. Cara’s teeth clack together uncomfortably, and she’s dragged forward as the Zabrak backs up. He’s trying to buy time as he tries to gather his thoughts and think past the pain and where she spots a trickle of blood get in his eye. Cara dashes forward, shoving him hard and hooking her feet under his ankles before he can react, and he goes down hard, hitting his head against the table behind him. Both he and Cara freezes when one of his horns snap off against the edge, eyes following its path until it rolls to a stop next to her feet. 

The Zabrak howls, and lunges for her, but he’s telegraphed the move and she just moves out of the way, watching with disinterest as veins start popping out against his skin. Cara vaguely recalls how prideful Zabraks are of their horns. At this point, he’s not only fighting to win, but to exact revenge for his wounded pride. But in his rage, it’s easy to take him down. Cara merely blocks a sidekick, digging her nails into his leg and yanking him forward, slamming her elbow into his gut, following him all the way down and imagines herself trying to break through and hit the ground. The Zabrak goes down easily, the fight literally being beaten out of him as she feels the soft snap more than hears it, and he lays there groaning as the tavern goes silent at her victory. She strolls over to the table where the credits are, and collects them all. 

Cara sits down, winded as she feels the tender spot on her jaw and the ache in her hands. Nothing she can’t handle, and with how she’s counting her winnings, she could indulge in a bacta shot if she really wanted. But the mark of a fight is something she prides herself in. Besides, the Zabrak was looking much worse for wear. A few of his friends, she assumes, is giving him a pep talk as the Zabrak glares at her from across the room with a venomous glare. For a moment, Cara thinks that maybe the Zabrak will come after her at some point during the night, and then Cara is reminded that she needs to find a place to stay before he could try and track her down. A figure blocks her view and a cup of some shimmering blue drink is placed in front of her. Cara looks up, intent on questioning, and comes face to face with a warm, inviting smile of you. Her mouth goes dry and all thoughts of the Zabrak are wiped from her mind.

“Spotchka for the winner?” you offer softly. 

You look absolutely wonderful, with the light of the setting sun framing your silhouette in a halo-like glow. Wisps of hair escape from your carefully swept-up hairdo, sticking to your face and neck as a light sheen of sweat covers your body from the humid heat. To try and combat the temperature, she sees that your blouse is sinfully sheer and open at the top, where her eyes linger as she follows your breathing. Your sleeves are rolled up to your elbows, but she wishes that she could see more. Somehow, you make the awkward frock look good. Your eyes are sparkling, devoid of distrust or malice she’s seen in the other villagers, and Cara is sure you’re drinking her appearance in just as much as she is. If anything, there’s wonder and admiration in your heated gaze. And ever elegant, Carasythia Dune asks:

“What’s spotchka?”

Your laugh makes Cara uncharacteristically flush, face hot as your eyes crinkle. “Spotchka is a local drink on Sorgan. It’s good,” you insist, pushing the cup closer to her. You look around for your boss before you take a seat across from her, leaning forward eagerly. “You’re new, aren’t you?” you ask, voice low. There’s a local accent playing on your lips. “I’ve never seen you here before. Where are you from?” Your face shows such reverence that Cara can’t help but find herself wanting to answer every single one of your questions despite the fact she had come to Sorgan to forget most of her past. 

“I worked with the Rebellion,” she says automatically, and your eyes widen, flickering to the shock trooper tattoo across her bicep.

“Wow,” you breathe. You gnaw on your bottom lip and Cara looks down to watch. Her grin is wolfish as she flicks her eyes back to yours. It’s clear from your curiosity that interesting folks didn’t come through here often, if at all. “Did you arrive today?” She nods. “How long… How long will you be staying?” you ask, leaning on your hand. A drop of sweat disappears into your cleavage.

“As long as you want me to,” Cara finds herself saying, and she preens at how you blush. The redness crawls from the tip of your ears all the way down your neck, and Cara knows she’s still got it. She wouldn’t say that she was a flirt when she was in the Rebellion, but she won’t deny that she had taken pleasure in knowing that there were plenty of individuals vying for her attention. Now, she was giving it to you with the barest of encouragement. “I’m actually looking for a place to stay. You have any recommendations?” You blink.

“There’s an inn a few buildings down,” you tell her, pointing in some direction that Cara doesn’t care to remember. “It’s a modest place, but I know the owner. I could get you a room if you would like.”

“That would be great,” Cara says. Maybe Sorgan wasn’t so bad. If you were here, of course, she could bear to stay for a few months while she got her credits and figured out a solid plan. Wooing you would just be a bonus. “What’s your name?” You give her that wonderful smile again, telling it to her, and Cara repeats it, trying out how it feels in her mouth. “I’m Cara.” She reaches a hand towards yours where it’s lying against the wooden table, and she sees you open your mouth to say something when--

A customer waves their hand and calls you over, interrupting whatever you were going to say. You stand up, and Cara immediately misses your closeness and realizes how close she actually was, having instinctively leaned in while you were talking. “How much do I owe you for the spotchka?” she asks, offering up some amount of credits. It’s definitely more than she actually owes you for a simple mug of spotchka. You push them back to her.

“On the house,” you murmur, and you linger your touch on hers for longer than necessary, feeling how coarse and rough her hands are compared to yours. “For the winner of the match.” You wink, flashing her a bright smile as you turn away to serve more customers.

Cara will win a million matches if it means she gets to see that smile again. 

--

True to your word, there’s a room already waiting for her when she finishes the spotchka and heads over with her winnings. She settles down and puts what little things she has in the corner as she surveys her surroundings. There’s a bed pushed up against the wall on one side, two small nightstands flanking either side. A desk and chair is facing the only window opposite of the door, and a small wardrobe sits next to the door to a bath. Like you had said, modest. She pulls off her armor and strips down to her tunic and pants. At least the bed is comfortable, she thinks as she flops down on it. When she does, a dull pain throbs in her side. Cara has little faith in the medical prowess of such a small town, so she starts thinking of who could bring in medical supplies for her when a knock sounds at the door. Probably the owner, or maybe even the Zabrak she had beaten today. She thinks that maybe if she’s quiet enough, they’ll leave her alone, but scrambles up when she hears your voice.

“Cara? I brought some things for- Oh, hello,” you interrupt yourself, surprised when the door swings open. You’re holding rags and a bowl of water, and there’s a jar tucked under your arm. “Hope I’m not intruding.”

“No, never,” Cara says. She moves to the side and sweeps an arm out. “Come in.” You put your supplies on the desk and pull out the chair, moving it so that it faces the bed. “What brings you here?” You motion for her to sit down. 

“You have a nasty bruise,” you say, shrugging as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Thought I would help you.” Cara laughs softly and takes a seat on the bed obediently. 

“You help out all the winners?” she asks. You shake your head as you pick up a rag and dip it in the warm water, tilting her head up so that you can wipe away the sweat and grime on her face. It’s nice. Your touch is gentle as you focus on the dirt smudged across her nose, dragging the rag down to sweep across the purpling bruise on her jaw. 

“No,” you murmur. “Just you.” 

“Why’s that?” 

You don’t grace her with an answer, just a quiet hum, as you turn around to drop the rag on the table and pick up the jar. Inside, there’s some sort of pale green cream that you take a dollop of and spread over the bruise. It tingles for a moment, but then dissolves into a blissfully cooling feeling as an herbal smell wafts up to her nose. You rub it in for a few moments before pulling away to wipe your hands on the rag. You come back and tilt her head again to see it better in the fading light. 

“Are you gonna kiss it better?” Cara asks, breaking the silence, and although she has a joking tone, she wouldn’t mind if you did. You sweep a thumb over her cheek, a tender look on your face.

“You ask a lot of questions, Cara Dune,” you note coquettishly. She laughs, but the sound is quickly swallowed by your mouth capturing hers in a searing kiss. Cara immediately puts her hands on your waist, bringing you down so that you sit in her lap. Your mouth is wonderfully soft and pliant, willing and open when she prods her tongue in you. She digs her fingers into your hips, ears perking up when she hears you let out a small whimper, grinding down into her thigh. You thread your fingers through her hair, pulling back with a dazed look in your eyes as your chest heaves with each breath.

“Questions, hm?” she mutters, pressing fleeting kisses against your neck. “If I remember, you were the one asking the question earlier today.” You let out a breathy laugh that melts into a moan when she nibbles at a soft spot under your ear. You untangle your fingers from her hair to fully pull away. Cara lets you go with a final squeeze, disappointed but tries to mask it with a look of want. You must’ve seen it anyways because you smile coyly at her as you start untying the bodice of your frock with deft fingers. You had no intention of leaving.

“Lay back,” you tell her softly, slipping the straps off of your shoulders as you let it pool around your feet, leaving you in your sheer blouse and thin leggings. You kick your boots off, following Cara up the bed as she leans back against the pillows and pulling pins out of your hair to let it flow over your shoulders. Cara grabs the back of your neck and brings you down to kiss you again, tucking the hair curtaining your face behind your ears. She’s thankful that the nights on Sorgan are cooler than the days because she’s starting to sweat from how her body burns up. Still trapping you in a kiss, she trails her hands down your body, kneading your breasts for a short moment before she’s pulling at the hem of your blouse. Unfortunately, you have to pull away to take off your top, but you do so as fast as you can so that you can press a kiss to her jaw, the side without the bruise. As you do, Cara slides your leggings over the swell of your ass. She doesn’t bother with taking it off all the way before she cups her hand around your mound over your panties. 

The moan you let out is just sinful. 

You grind into her hand, sighing as you tuck your face into the crook of her neck. “Please,” you muffled voice says. 

“Please what?” Cara asks teasingly. 

“Touch me.”

“I am touching you,” she says, and digs the palm of her hand into your clit. You keen, high and whiny as you pull her hand away so that you can shimmy out of your panties and pull them and your leggings off, flinging them into the darkness of the room. As much as Cara wants to continue teasing you, one look in the dim light at your blown pupils and bruised lips convinces her to bring her fingers back to your clit. A ragged breath forces itself out of your lungs as she rubs it, bringing her other hand to play with your nipples, rolling the bud between her thumb and forefinger. The angle is awkward as you’re on top, so Cara flips you over, somehow managing not to roll the both of you out of the bed as you let out a surprised gasp. 

Your hair splays under your like a halo, and Cara swears that angels must be real with how etheral you look. She resumes rolling and tugging at your nipples as she slips two of her fingers down to your wetness, spreading it all over your pussy as she grins at the hitch in your breath. She slips two fingers in, pumping it in and out languidly and teasing your clit with her thumb as you writhe under her ministrations. “That’s it,” she whispers, dragging her hand from your breast, up your neck where her rough hands wrap around your throat. Your skin is slick with sweat, and you let out a soft swear in a language she doesn’t know when she curls her fingers in you. Your hand comes up to grasp her wrist as the other one fists the sheets under you. “You’re doing so good, baby.” You whimper from the praise, and Cara slips another finger in you. Her pace quickens, rubbing in fast, tight circles as she keeps hitting that beautiful spot in you, marvelling at how you clench around her fingers. With how you’re moaning, you’re close. “You gonna come?” she pants. Cara tightens her grip around your throat, her wolfish grin widening when she can feel your racing pulse under her hand. “You gonna come for me?” Tears are glistening in your eyes as you nod desperately. 

“Yes, yes, yes,” you choke out, hips bucking up as that tight coil in your winds tighter and tighter. “Please, Cara I-- Maker I’m so close--” Cara curls her fingers one last time, pressing your clit as she sucks a hickey right above your left breast as she commands you to cum. White explodes behind your eyelids as you groan in pure pleasure, digging your nails into her wrist as your eyes roll to the back of your head, letting a few tears slip through from the feeling of it all. She lets you ride it out, slowing down the pumping of her fingers as you start to wind down. Her hand releases its grip from your throat. You grab the hand that was just in your pussy, bringing up to your lips and sucking on her fingers, still wet from your cum as you moan around them. 

“Holy shit,” she breathes. You look up at her through tear soaked lashes as you pop her fingers of your mouth. You lay there staring up at her with those doe eyes, chest heaving from the aftershocks, and Cara knows she’s not done with you yet. She pulls away from you light grip and slides down the bed, hooking her arms around your thighs as she drags you down until your hips are hanging off the edge, putting your legs over her incredibly built shoulders. You laugh, and manage to snag a pillow before she takes you too far, tucking it behind your head. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” you say, threading your hand through her hair again. “You’re very beautiful,” you murmur, almost absentmindedly. Cara’s body burns hotter at your words, and she dives right in at the apex of your thighs without any preamble, lapping at your dripping pussy as moans tears themselves out of your mouth. “Oh, stars--” Your toes are curling when she licks a broad stripe up, tugging at her hair. 

“You’re so sweet,” she says. Then a pause. “Literally and figuratively,” she adds, and goes right back to devouring you eagerly. It was almost too much. You had barely any time to rest from your last orgasm, and here Cara was, bringing you closer to that precipice almost immediately. You take your fingers out of her hair to adjust the pillow behind you so that you can somewhat prop yourself up, and you let out another gush of wetness that Cara automatically laps up when you see her other hand has disappeared into her pants, playing with herself as she eats you out. With that image seared into your mind, and with how Cara was playing with your clit with her tongue, eyes dark with lust, it takes no time at all for you cum again, toes curling as you grasp at the sheets underneath you, the breath being knocked out of you.

Cara pauses for a brief moment to suck a mark into your inner thigh. You can see that her face is glistening all the way down her chin, and you curl up to kiss her to the best of your abilities, moaning again at the taste of yourself in her mouth. Cara surges up, pinning you against the bed as the hand in her pants move faster. Her other hand stays strong on your shoulder as she slips her tongue into your warm mouth. You whimper, running your hands over her, sneaking your hands up her shirt to scratch down her back. Cara growls at the action. She sits up, nearly ripping her pants off as she pushes it down her hips. This time, as she goes to down to chase after her own orgasm, you slip your hand down with it, rubbing that tight bundle of nerves as Cara stretches herself with her own fingers. “You’re so sweet,” she gasps, pressing open-mouthed kisses, wet and wanting. “Sweet, sweet girl, so nice to me, so willing--” She grunts, switching to the other side to plant more kisses. “You’d let me do anything, hm?” Even as you’re spent, legs still twitching, you feel more arousal build up. 

“Cara,” you moan. 

“Yes,” she hisses. “Say my name again, say it- say it again.” You call her again, a little more urgently, voice pitches upwards as you speed up until finally she cums, collapsing on you and biting down harshly at the junction of your shoulder as you cry out. 

You lay there, panting as you lazily mouth at her neck, tasting the salt of her skin as you rub her back affectionately and pull your hand out from where it was trapped between your bodies. Sleep tugs at you, but you sigh and gently nudge her. “We have to clean up,” you say. Waking up still gross and sweaty for a Sorgan summer did not sound nice. Your voice is rough, and you’re sure you’ll have hand-shaped bruises and a variety of other colorful marks on you when the day breaks. “Would you like me to draw a bath?”

“Only if you’ll come with me,” she murmurs. Cara props herself on her elbows to look at you, at how you were glowing and still flush from the orgasms she had drawn from you. She frowns as she runs a deft finger over where she hid bitten you. “Sorry about that.” You smile and pull her in for a fleeting kiss before you wiggle out from under her. 

“I like it,” you say quickly, and pad to the refresher, trying to ignore the self-satisfied smirk Cara has when your wobbly legs almost give out from under you. You feel wonderfully sore, and when you catch yourself in the reflection of the water, you see exactly how ruined you look. Your lips are red from bruising kisses, eyes still shiny with tears left unshed, and your hair is an absolute mess. Your neck looks like a battlefield, dark marks forming all the way down to your breasts and the one on your inner thigh. You run a finger over the deepest, darkest one that Cara had put on you. It’s sore as you press into it, but it makes you preen.

As the water heats up, you feel warm hands sliding around your waist, Cara sweeping your hair away and pecking kisses up the back of your neck. You stifle a laugh. “You are insatiable,” you say, but a warm feeling starts bubbling in your belly again. You slip from her grasp and go into the water to buy some time, and Cara follows straight after. She pulls your back flush against her bare chest as her hands start dancing downwards. 

“You think you got one more in you?” she husks in your ear. You grin.

“Anything for the winner.”

[bluebeirry]

Humanity in Heroes, Humanity in Villains- everyone’s flawed AF even if Hero Society can go F*** itself

Edit: I had to rename this because I realized my original name was misleading

I’ve seen a lot of thoughtful, well-written posts making very good points about why hero society is broken and is doing the wrong thing by vilifying their ‘villains,’ locking them up and forgetting  about them. I’ve seen a lot about how Tomura Shigaraki and the LoV in particular are natural responses to a broken system. @linkspooky and @waxwingedhawks and @thyandrawrites have a lotta good meta on this.

But… I also wanted to make something about the other side, that accepts that the heroes are flawed, human, and often in the wrong. Maybe a lot of people who already stan the heroes won’t get this, or will misunderstand what I’m going for, but I wanted to put it out anyways for fun and to see if I’m just talking out of my ass.

Here’s the thing. BNHA society as a whole being a villain-making machine that creates new villains, demonizes them, destroys lives, and then benefits from the hero system that only functions because of this destruction? Yes, spill that tea. Heroes doing harm by perpetuating the system? Totally agree.

But Heroes individually being responsible for the monsters created and being justifiable targets of hated? Well, I think it’s more complicated than that.

See, if we look at the hero system as a mirror of real-world capitalism, then the Heroes aren’t the CEOs and the politicians who make up the 1% and keep the world in tatters. They are symptoms of a broken system as much as the villains. They have more agency than the villains, yes, but I don’t think they’re all monsters for failing to see the shortcomings of a society that encourages them not to look too deeply.

First of all there’s the pure fact of what heroes do- they save people.

I don’t have a problem with heroes fighting villains who use their powers in destructive and violent ways. I have a problem with the system then taking those villains and locking them away, instead of trying to help them. But when a man made of slime is holding a 13/14 year old kid hostage, blowing up buildings, and shouting how he’s gonna kill All Might? He needs to be stopped.

In short, I agree with the hero system ONLY so far as the idea of having people who are trained professionals use their skills to protect people and save lives. If people are threatening/taking the lives of other people, I do not have a problem with those people being stopped by violent means- so long as those means do prevent further death.

What I have a problem with is the demonization of human beings, harsh and unforgiving societal reactions, and refusal to acknowledge or examine the circumstances that push human beings into committing crimes.

We see heroes treat villains as the irredeemable scum- and in cases like Overhaul, this is pretty true. But their society also doesn’t encourage heroes to follow-up on anyone they arrest after all is said and done- not once is it even mentioned that a hero plays a role in a villain’s trial, something that real-world cops often are called to do IRL  for the people they’ve arrested. And let’s be honest- it's easier for heroes to beat people senseless and not feel bad about it if they think the villains all deserve it. Acknowledging that doing physical harm to another person may be necessary in order to prevent further physical harm (or even death) from falling on more people is complicated and difficult to accept. I’m sure some heroes are being cowardly when they embrace the idea that villain=evil, while others- like All Might (see below)- don’t seem to have the social and societal awareness outside of their own experiences to realize that they should be following up and helping people. What’s more the idea that anyone should be looking at the cause of villainy is one that’s hard to pick up because it’s so rarely found. Nobody in the media, in the government, in the HPSC, wants people to think about the ethics of Tartarus. Even the Liberation Army doesn’t seem to give two fucks about the ways their society makes and profits off villains. It’s said several times that the world of hero society is a world of ‘repression’- I strongly suspect that anyone who tries to explain to others the flaws in their society gets repressed  and shut up, one way or another, with the only people in power who are aware being the ones that benefit from the system the most and don’t care about the lives destroyed in the process.

Deku says that this is the story of how he became the worlds greatest hero. I can this be the case without dismissing the villains completely- if the world changes how it treats them. If Deku brings about or enters a society where cases like Toga and Twice can be saved without needing to turn to the darkness- where the people Deku defeats and arrests aren’t just locked up for life, but are given brighter futures.

Now some specific cases, just for fun:

All Might:

So I said above that All Might is a good-intentioned person who backs the hero system due to ignorance of how it harms people. Now here is where I break down the psychology of this statement for you. First of all, we know that All Might’s original mission statement as a teenager was to make the world safer so that people would have the courage to do the right thing and make the world a better place- a viewpoint he probably gained from being part of the population that was too terrified to act. It reflects his life experiences. What’s more, we know that the world before All Might was very different from the world after him. It's very possible that his limited viewpoint comes from having an understanding of the world and what it needs that hasn’t changed over the course of his career- even as his career changed what the world needs. It’s not malice or arrogance that leads All Might to support a broken system- it’s lack of societal awareness beyond his own class bracket and lack of awareness of how the world has changed.

All Might may very well have been what society needed at the time when he was a teen. We don’t know what the world was like  back then- we don’t know if he truly was doing the right thing But he failed to make sure that the culture that sprung up in his wake would properly protect everyone as best as it can, and failed to recognize that society had to keepchanging beyond his original vision. It’s like stairs- you need to take each step one at a time, but after you take one step you then have to continue on to the next one. And All Might poured so much of his life into getting past one particular step, he never even realized that there was more steps to be climbed before society could reach the top.

The League of Villains:

See, I agree that the league are all people pushed to their roles by societal rejections, and their actions are a direct repercussion of society’s failures and crimes against them. I can even agree that attacking kids is morally iffy and not 100% morally wrong when those kids are also willingly  learning to become the next generation of soldiers (and later used as child soldiers) enforcing the broken society. I still think child murder is wrong because you cannot reasonably expect 15-year olds who grew up in a society that idolizes heroes to not buy into the propaganda. Plus often they’re being attacked just for being convenient, or for pissing Tomura off- which IMO is not a good reason to try to kill someone.

But all that aside, there are two things the LoV does that I truly believe are reprehensible. While the execution of the PLF raid had severe moral issues involved all over the place, the concept of  taking the PLF and the League down is just because of  two factors:

1. The use of human experimentation to make Nomu as weapons

2. The plan to massacre entire cities- killing millions of people-  as part of the PLF’s grand plan

The second one in particular is to me unambiguously evil. The first one is evil too- but if I put on my villain stan hat I’ve noticed in cannon that we  don’t actually know if the LoV is aware that the Nomu are made from human experiments. They’re called ‘artificial humans’ and apart from Tomura (who was a willing test subject) the LoV don’t seem to play any major role in the creation of Nomu (Shigaraki is said to have ‘designed’ some of the Nomu, but  it’s not clear if that means he actually worked with dead people or just planned the quirk combinations to go into the Nomu or something in between). Point is, Doctor Ujiko is pure evil but I can forgive the LoV if it turns out they didn’t actually know how the Nomu came to be.

But there is no possible way I can see the plan to kill millions as anything less than evil. There are a million better ways to change society- don’t jump into wholesale genocide. Atomic weapons are a last-ditch resort for a reason, and their plan would basically have had the same effect as dropping several atomic bombs on several cities without warning. I don’t think it was right when America bombed Nagasaki after destroying Hiroshima, I don’t think it was right when America made a half-assed attempt at explaining the bomb threat before dropping Little Boy, and the ethics of using nuclear weapons are complicated AF but I honestly don’t believe that the LoV’s plan is right.

Tomura Shigaraki:

In relation to Tomura, we see the heroes demonizing him and calling him an ‘it’ and seeing him as a manchild. All totally wrong. But for the last point… how are they supposed to think anything else? As readers we know Tomura is a traumatized kid, but the heroes don’t know anything about his backstory. Even All Might doesn’t know how Tomura got picked up by All for One, he doesn’t know about the death of the Shimura family.

What they do know is that Tomura is willing to kill children and bystanders to get his way. And to put this on the table- that is not a good thing. I am not pro-murder. If you think killing innocent people for simply being in a mall when a villain and a hero-trainee happen to also be there is acceptable, this post isn’t for you. By now you’ve probably figured that out, and I don’t know why you’re still reading unless you saw Tomura’s name and skipped ahead to this section.

Getting back on track, I don’t think doing such horrific things like attempted cold-blooded murder makes Tomura irredeemable. I agree that he’s traumatized and confused and lashing out. That does not mean he’s innocent, but he’s also not ‘pure evil’ or ‘evil incarnate’ as the heroes believe.

Here, the heroes themselves are definitely doing the wrong thing. Not because they’re trying to stop Tomura, but because they’re treating him- and the Nomu- as non-human. Honestly I preferred when they called him a man-child; at least then they were acknowledging the symptoms of his trauma. They didn’t have enough information to know that these were trauma symptoms as opposed to, say, symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder- with the information the heroes have, either could be possible guesses. But the world is broken when they assume it’s the latter- when they assume the case that casts Tomura in the worst possible light. And then removing his humanity entirely and treating him as a thing- there I have actual beef with the heroes.

Hawks/Takami Keigo:

Now Hawks is suuuper interesting to me, because so far he is the ONLY hero to show any awareness of the broken system. Namely in Twice. But even then, there’s problems- and arguably Hawks is either even worse of a person because of it.

There’s the fact that Hawks only recognizes the humanity and the very valid backstory of the one guy who’s his personal friend- which is blatant favoritism and shows willing blindness towards the trials and suffering anyone who he didn’t try to ‘save.’

Hawks has no desire to re-make or even change the system that he clearly knows hurt and broke a good man down into doing very wrong things. He sees that the system did these things, but he doesn’t think to try to make a lasting change that might not only protect Twice, but protect future victims from following Twice’s path. This is… interesting.

Then there’s the way in which Hawks approached Twice. Now, here I think Hawks was trying to both do a hero’s duty of preventing further future violence, but failed to balance this with his personal attempts to reach Twice as a person and save him as a victim of a broken system. Hawks tried to do both at the same time, and condescended Twice while offering him a way out.

I do not think in any way shape or form that letting Twice go free, or even not apprehending him, was the right thing for Hawks to do. Again, the LoV had two crimes that Hawks knew of that could not be allowed to go through/go on. Stopping Twice was the right thing.

Stopping Twice by throwing him around, taunting him, offering him a choice between betraying his friends and dying, and threatening his life, and ultimately killing him- that is NOT the right thing. I don’t get what Hawks was trying to do, and honestly his behavior really, really confuses me. I don’t know what would’ve been the right thing for him to do- it's a rock and a hard place- but what Hawks did definitely wasn’t the best option he had. It also wasn’t the worst. But killing Twice is still pretty damn close to the worst.

Edit: I also realize in retrospect that I didn’t even cover issues of corruption in the hero ranks, such as Endeavor, and how the popularity/fame aspects helps enforce the failings and corruption of the heroes and their society, or the issues with Quirks being repressed and regulated in anyone not a hero (which ironically contributes to the idolization of heroes)

[lovelyirony]

B99 au with the Avengers (guest starring T'challa, king of Wakanda, Jennifer Walters, queen of the law firm and our favourite; Carol Danvers, queen of space!)

presenting: the b99-inspired AU, where all the avengers work at a precinct and have fun with it.

“No,” comes the voice of Maria Hill. “We are not allocating funds from the precinct to fund this.”

“But in my defense, it will look cool and prove that we’re cool kids,” Bruce argues.

“I am not ordering a cake that says ‘the government sucks’ with edible succulents surrounding it to prove that we’re ‘cool’. Besides, you work for the government technically, Bruce.”

“Only because I get a good retirement plan out of this,” Bruce argues. “If I could get an amazing pension as a scientist researching for all eternity, I would. But as it turns out, the government doesn’t appreciate people who don’t pay taxes.”

“Criminals?” Maria asks pointedly.

“They prefer to be referred to as wealthy,” Natasha says breezily. “What, are we seriously gonna pretend like rich people don’t dodge taxes?”

“We’re not going to talk about that right now,” Fury argues. “Team, gather up! Here’s what’s going to happen.”

The team gathers around.

“Steve, you are not going to try to do anything impulsive to impress him, we don’t have time,” Fury starts out with. “And Tony, do not act aloof or anything because you think this is a waste of your time.”

“I have Project Runway on DVR, there is something better I could be doing other than my job, Sir,” Tony remarks. Bruce snickers.

“Bruce, you will not be gifting T’Challa the ‘I Heart Dismantling Big Corporations’ t-shirt. I don’t care if you already ordered it.”

“I was a slave to capitalism for nothing,” Bruce mutters.

“Natasha, do not try to intimidate him,” Fury says.

“What do you mean?” Natasha asks, flipping a knife in one hand.

“That,” Fury says flatly. “T’Challa is here to help our precinct look at international issues with nuance. He is not here to be scared away.”

“I doubt I could be,” comes a voice from behind. In walks T’Challa, who smiles genially at the small crowd. “A pleasure to see you all. I look forward to working with you.”

T’Challa is known for his work with other precincts. He’s either hailed as a hero or as a nuisance, depends on what reputation the cops have with the public.

In all respects, the “Avengers” as they call themselves are excited.

But they are also themselves.

Cue Clint Barton falling through a ceiling.

“Fifth floor stole our Keurig,” he announces, dusting plaster off of him. “Oh shit. T’Challa dude was coming today?!”

Fury grits his teeth and turns.

“I apologize for Clint here, but every team needs the country idiot,” Tony says. “And he found our Keurig, which means I have to give you my leave. I’ll be back in thirty.”

T’Challa watches Tony gesture to a man with a metal arm, and they’re racing to the stairs.

“Is that...normal?” he asks.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Rhodey says with a sigh. “I’m Colonel Rhodes. People call me Rhodey. Nice to meet you. Welcome to hell.”

-

T’Challa would not describe it as hell. He would describe it as more of a circus with incredible results.

He’s studied the team. They have amazing arrest records, have the best public image that he knows of, and are incredibly inclusive and investigative.

And...entertaining, if the last six hours are anything to go by.

They’ve received a new case, something about a robbery involving over twenty thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry.

T’Challa accompanies Steve, Tony, and Natasha to the crime scene.

Steve examines the footage before beckoning for Tony and Nat.

“What level we dealing with here?”

“Six,” Tony says. “Look at the way they move, they’re definitely here on an assignment from someone else.”

“But they’re new to the business,” Natasha points out. “Look at how that guy’s head turns. He doesn’t know how to angle it away from the camera. Level Five.”

“Concurred. Let’s go see the case.”

T’Challa is...impressed.

But he knows the way that jewelry works; his little sister is particularly an aficinado for “correcting” thievery movies or the secret agent movies, and keeps him updated on jewelry and its value.

“I like to know its worth!” Shuri had defended.

“This is just because you’ve been obsessed with seeing Rihanna in Ocean’s 8,” Nakia had teased her.

“And? Don’t tell me you weren’t having to manually close your jaw after seeing all of the gala looks.”

“Fair point.”

He turns back to the case at hand.

“They stole only rubies,” Natasha says. “Why?”

“Real rubies are so rare that their worth on the market is unspecified, meaning you can define your own value,” T’Challa answers.

“Back to Level Six,” Tony says. “So. Let’s review the footage. Face covered, professional, but new to the business. Who has the power to contract this out?”

“I have someone we need to talk to,” Natasha says. “Let’s head back after witness statements.”

Carol Danvers is a worldwide traveler. If space travel was a thing and they proved that aliens were real to the public, she would most likely be out in space dealing with that.

But she’s well-traveled is the main point of this. Which means she knows international criminals, as does T’Challa.

They greet each other.

“Didn’t know you made housecalls,” Carol remarks, sitting down in Bruce’s chair. He doesn’t protest, just gives her a raised eyebrow.

“On occasion,” T’Challa responds, grinning. “Good to see you again, Captain. Any leads?”

“One,” Carol says. “Red Skull. American, moved to Germany. Really weird, has a thing for the color red and being a genuinely terrible person. Steve kicked his face in once. It was cool.”

“My foot hurt for two weeks,” Steve whined.

“Baby,” Natasha snorts. “Anyone seen Thor or Clint around?”

“Thor is currently negotiating dinner plans with Bruce’s family,” Tony says. “It’s not going well. Thor wants Bruce to have a sit-down dinner and Jennifer wants them to wait until eleven.”

“Why eleven?”

“She has a big court case. Her office hours are basically until midnight. Thor says that’s too long. Jen told him that if he truly wants dinner at seven, she’s willing to let a woman who robbed three different banks to buy luxury cars go.”

“Harsh,” Carol says. “Thor should’ve learned by now.”

“Perpetual lack of common sense,” Bruce comments, walking by. “Partially my type.”

“The other part?” Carol asks.

“Not legally allowed to say.”

“There was an...incident,” Fury responds. “Bruce has limited amounts of conversational topics he can partake in after the great Thirst of Thursday.”

“My creative title,” Steve says brightly. “I am scarred for life!”

T’Challa laughs.

-

They do catch the criminal. Natasha manages to find...someone. Carol moves a car. It’s all quite impressive.

At the end of the night, he is invited with the rest of the group for a round of drinks and dinner.

He enjoys seeing the teamwork, and enjoys being a part of it. Bruce smokes them all in a round of BS (new card game, his father will definitely enjoy it too much), and he’s invited by the ladies to be adventurous in drink choices.

(He ends up choosing a lot of wrong ones.)

But he gets the feeling that this won’t be the last time he sees this team.

Or the last time that Clint Barton doesn’t have pants.

[reading-writing-revolution]

Wherefore art thou, Compromise?

Where is America's ability to compromise? Why can't American politicians compromise?

We couldn't compromise in the 1860's, and that's good because certain things do not allow for compromise - morals and ethics, for starters. The Civil War creeped up then, delivering a win to the forces of equality and the American Dream, something that until recently we took for granted - that anyone in America could be anything, even a Black man a president, which we learned in 2012 and quickly declared victory for the United States despite the fact that compromise in America had already shown itself to be near its end.

And with Trump, Republicans dealt a potentially fatal blow to the concept of compromise, the idea that we could work together to build a shared future and an ongoing conversation between human beings would push us forward with only a few bumps and bruises along the way.

The problem is that we can't compromise, and there are a lot of forces in play that are the reason why everyday adults can no longer just get along. in no particular order, those forces are...

Right-wing media

Money

Conspiracy Theories

Term Limits

Right-wing Media has been a growing concern for some time now - at least a solid two decades. It started with an effort to give the greater Conservative world a voice (and for Rupert Murdoch to make some giant money), and that's what it did. Only with Fox News, the Right got more than some news leaning its way, it got a full-on not-really-news, more-like-infotainment piece (that even a court judge admitted a few weeks ago). Fox News was more like opinion, more talk radio than news, although they threw some news in there to make it look good. Add in talk radio itself, and all of its bullshit -- all of this reaching back to the 90's, and you get what's essentially a powerful propaganda machine. Plus one equals Trump, who full advantage of the growing insanity to push right-wing media over the edge with full-on conspiracy theories. And here we are, right-wing politicans who advocate for some of these conspiracy theories getting elected to Congress in Georgia. A US President that shapes public opinion with conspiracy theories, demonizes anyone who opposes him, and has essentially given birth to an entire movement of alternate reality from the Oval Office via Twitter.

There's no compromising with people who aren't even lucid. And these conspiracy quacks are definitely not looking for ways to compromise and govern together. They are busy uncovering plots of Venezuelan leftists to destroy the Trump empire, unearthing chiild molester cabals in the basements of pizza parlors and declaring Biden a Chinese agent and pedophile. Compromise is suicide for these fools because they've already shown themselves unwilling to even embrace reality. It's rather like arguing with a 5-year old over who spilled the water on the floor. "It was the dog." "The dog is outside." "It was Nana." "Nana died last year." "It was an earthquake." "Nope." "It was aliens." "Hmmm." Just ask the yahoos at QAnon, or the History Channel, it was definitely aliens. The Lizard People. Or maybe it's just the Commies and the Socialists - just ask Rush Limbaugh; he's been repeating white supremacy talking points from the 1870s for decades.

But really, what's the point of all this? Why does any of this bullshit even get anywhere? Simple answer: $$$$$$. Money.

It's all about money. That's all. It's all money. Money answers every question. Why did Trump run for President? Money.Why did QAnon appear on the scene and spread their insanity? Money.Why did Rush Limbaugh get the Presidential Medal of Freedom? He generates support for American Conservative through extremist right-wing propaganda, which in turns generates money - campaign donations is huge money.Why are Republicans supporting the Mad King Trump? Money. Money and power.Why are Fox News personalities willing to say anything on TV? Money.

Everything comes down to money. And a few years ago, the money faucet was turned (possibly) permanently open thanks to Citizens United. Now the money flows from everywhere, and there's little effort to control it, regulate it, track it and see who's giving it. Billionaires and millionaires and moms and pops are sending in cash. The rich send it in to ensure that policies favor them, so they can make more money. The average person sends in money because they've bought into fear politics over the last 2-3 decades of being clued to the Big Lie Machine, like Fox News or now OANN, the new Trump-loving propaganda producer. And with limited rules on how this money is handled or used, much less audited and regulated, we have all these people with big, fat, happy flush funds for lavish dinners and golf trips and 3rd yachts. Now rich people can buy their way into an ambassadorship or a Cabinet position, which generates them even more money because being rich isn't about producing anything, it's about making connections, and connection mean money. Politicians need money for campaigns so they can work on policies that in-turn benefit their benefactors and make them more money, which opens doors for all to....you guessed it, more money.

The propaganda machine delivers the money, and the monied voices reflect the propaganda machine. And when there's as much money as you need to stay in the driver's seat, what the American people want doesn't matter. Because you don't need to convince the Average Joe on the Right to vote for you because the propaganda machine has convinced Joe that the other guy is going to kill your family and give your house and daughter to an illegal immigrant. So, Joe's money and votes are coming your way, even if you murder Joe's wife in the parking lot. It's a machine that grinds people up and spits them out, creates trolls and proles, and all the money lines the pockets of the rich and the representatives of the rich, aka politicians.

And that leads us to our last piece, perhaps the most important one. Term limits.

What we've seen is a perpetual cycle of lies and money, which likely can't be broken because the Supreme Court validated it once and now SCOTUS is owned by the alt-Right for a generation (unless Congress impeaches some judges, which may or may not be possible, or the United States puts service limits on federal judges and SCOTUS, like it should - but that's another discussion). Now we have one way out of this - that I see, and it's in term limits for all federally-elected officials. No more 7-term Senators. No more 10-term Congresspersons. No more Mitch McConnell's and Nancy Pelosi's. You gotta go. Do your 2 terms and get lost. Sure, you can be in Congress two terms and then go to the Senate for two, but that's it. Two terms, then let's get some fresh meat and fresh ideas in there. (Same concept as above with the judiciary at the federal and SCOTUS level.) You do some time in public service, and then you get out and let someone else play. It's one way to ensure that there's some competition, which could lead people to having to prove themselves and sell themselves to the public, based on ideas rather than team. As long as a Senator can just run on name recognition, propaganda and oodles of dark money, it's going to be nearly impossible to get someone who refuses to compromise out of an important seat. 

Because that Senator, for example, is safe and no longer has to care about the needs of half the country, or even anyone else at all. They are getting rich, have a secure job and have a massive political machine behind them. The longer they are there, the more entrenched they become, and the less challenged they are for their seat, the less they have to work with anyone or adapt their stances on policies that affect everyday Americans. Now, I'm sure there are a lot more issues that could come up, and there are likely some better arguments out there, but it seems to me that if we ever want to get back to a place where politicians compromise and work together, we're going to have to start somewhere, and I think we have to begin with term limits. But that won't happen by leaning on compromise, ironically; that's going to have to be forced somehow some way. And hopefully it starts with a Senate majority on the Left.

[donnerpartyofone]

I know I never sound older than when I complain about the internet, but I cannot deal with the perpetual increase in everything I do being fed back to me as an ad. My gmail account has over 23,000 unread messages in it, because every time I so much as breathe on my phone, my address gets sold to a zillion scammy little lifestyle companies that swarm me every day for the rest of my life. I started a separate account purely for a project I never started, and now that one is full of spam even though I've never used it. I've gone through a few rounds of unsubscribing/blocking/deleting, but it's just not worth it. This is life now, and it cracks me up to think about these legions of parasites who think they're sooo smart for accumulating all these email addresses, because data is the new crude oil, but because they did this, I can't even use the fucking address they stole at all. So good job, suckers, I'll never read any of your emails or sign up for your contests or become aware of your brand or do anything that could affect my engagement or spending habits or whatever, because you guys specifically made it so that I'm totally paralyzed. I imagine like a bunch of cavemen passing the same huge bag of rocks back and forth between themselves forever, with no change or increase in anything, and they think that's "business"...

The most recent Facebook debacle was extra traumatic for me. I had this moment where I was making fun of a Tumblr ad for some shitty mobile game with a few of my friends; I didn't know the name of the game or anything about it really, but I sent some screenshots around and we all had a laugh. Next thing we knew, all of us were seeing ads for it on Instagram. Then I had this thing happen where I was looking up exercises for a strained elbow using this little indie web browser that's not supposed to sell your shit, and suddenly I had ads on every platform I use for athletic compression sleeves. That type of thing had been happening more and more recently, but my personal worst version of it came when I ordered breakfast on Seamless one morning. My food included a chili crisp dressing, which I had never heard of. It was really good, and my husband and I talked about it as we ate. Within a day, I saw an Instagram ad for some extremely off-brand-looking recipe site telling me how to make this chili crisp dressing. So either the contents of my Seamless order, or our actual voices, had been converted into an advertisement immediately. With each new incident, my friends and I racked our brains to remember if we had truly Googled something or clicked on a link to associate ourselves with the ad we're seeing, or if it could only have been leeched out of personal conversations, financial transactions, or something else you normally think of as relatively private. It created this churn of paranoia and unease, it made me really fucking sick and I hope it was all the fault of the new "off-Facebook activity" function that gives that app the right to your entire life, and not a bunch of other things that I have yet to be unpleasantly surprised by.

Whenever I get ambushed by ads, I fly into a rage and rant to myself about how fucking stupid these incredibly invasive marketing techniques are, because their main effect is to make me not want to use the internet AT ALL. I basically abandoned my email address, and the more I see an ad for something the more angry I get about it, so that there is absolutely no chance I will ever Engage with that Brand even if it's something I could have really used. Basically what's happening is not only creepy and awful, but it's having the exact opposite effect of what's supposed to happen. And like, you don't have to be smart or political or whatever to feel like something bad is happening when "private" chats get turned into ads. Do the people behind this stuff really think that the average user will go, "Oh wow, it seems like I was just THINKING about X, and now I see a link to buy it everywhere I go online! This is extremely convenient and it makes me feel catered to, which sure puts me in the mood to spend money. I am grateful for this and I love the future!" I mean is that how it was sold to the companies who adopt this practice or buy information from virtual spies, do people believe that happens? Probably not, it's probably all exactly the same as the douchebag who tells you to hit on every single girl you see no matter what you think could happen, because it's all just a numbers game.

But yeah, this shit makes me want to leave the internet forever. It makes me want to delete all my user profiles, wipe my phone, and only keep it in case I need to dial 911. You'd think that would be counter to the original purpose of all this spying, but I actually have a personal conspiracy theory about it. It involves the post office, and net neutrality too. On the surface, it seems like the deliberate Republican-backed degradation of the USPS is designed to make the government some money, when they completely defund it and sell it off. On the surface, attacks on net neutrality seem like they're designed to make money by further commodifying internet access as it already exists. On the surface, relentless spying seems designed to make more money by constantly feeding your perceived desires back to you as spending options. But let's say the actual effect of all this is you want to be online less because it's such a creepy, intrusive experience, and because it's becoming too expensive, and also you stop sending and receiving as much mail because that's too expensive now that it's privatized. And let's take the Republican "EARN IT" bill, that would mandate that the government scans every single message sent over the internet--on the surface it seems designed to collect more data than ever, but let's say its actual effect is to make people stop communicating as much, out of fear and disgust. Wouldn't it be a huge accomplishment for a fascist state, to establish a scenario where people just don't talk to each other almost at all, because it's so cumbersome and invasive and costs too much money? Wouldn't it be great for such a government if people had less access to information than ever before, and the people who do have information were less willing and able to transfer it to others? I'm not saying I truly think that everything that's going on is NOT just business as usual for capitalism, but that capitalism is the cover for a conspiracy to prevent civilians from being able to communicate with each other. I mean, nobody's ever NOT trying to make more money. I'm just saying, like, I would not be surprised, at all.

[tony-starkrogers]

rec week day four

For the cap-IM rec week 2019 day four: Fluffy Thursday! @cap-ironman

This list includes some classic favorites and some new works. Enjoy reading and be sure to show your authors some love!

Indecent Proposal by gyzym, Siria (T, 2.5k)

On the plus side, marriage is bound to be easier than proposing.

"death by coffee" and other search queries by @goodmorningbeloved (T, 2.8k)

In which Steve's feelings are hopelessly obvious through his Google searches. JARVIS decides to step in.

Stick With Me, Baby, I’m the Fella You Came in With by Annie D (scaramouche) (E, 10.6k)

During the final battle with Ultron, Tony kisses Steve for the first time. Afterward, he makes it clear to Steve that he was just running on adrenaline and not thinking clearly. Steve seems to accept it, but the kiss nudges open a door of possibilities, and the situation escalates.

The Trial Run by Annie D (scaramouche) (T, 13.8k)

Tony and Steve pretend to date, and enjoy it far more than they should.

A Hundred Times, Once by @festiveferret, SirSapling (E, 24.7k)

The shrill tone of his SHIELD beeper pulls Steve out of sleep and into battle. He fights robots, he fights Tony's shameless advances, he fights the exhaustion that threatens to take over him, drown him. And then the next morning, he wakes and does it again. Exactly the same.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Gained in Translation by Annie D (scaramouche) (T, 11.5k)

Steve returns to New York and meets Tony for the first time since they’d parted ways after the Chitauri incident. It’s a little awkward at first, but they gain a new rhythm, which is mainly based on their ability to surprise each other and prove those first impressions inaccurate.

Set between Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

no matchmaking before breakfast by @elcorhamletlive (unrated, 3.4k)

“I don’t even find Steve attractive.” Natasha says, eyes following greedily every drop of coffee the machine pours, for once in her life genuinely unaware of the impact her words are about to cause.

Surreal, But Nice by @festiveferret (E, 26.8k)

Tony Stark never thought he'd ever meet Captain America, let alone have his underwear tumbling around in Tony's dryer mere minutes after he broke Tony's doorknob.

What even was his life?

Mister Fixit and the Mechanic by @mizzy2k (M, 40k)

An Iron Man 3 AU, wherein Steve was defrosted too early, and after a couple of lonely decades working for SHIELD, decides to retire and run a hardware store called Mister Fixit’s in suburban Miami.

Tony Stark, presumed dead, presumed not-Iron Man, needs to make some weapons to take on the Mandarin’s mansion. A non-chain store that takes cash and doesn’t ask questions is just what Tony needs.

Steve becomes intrigued by the mysterious mechanic that keeps buying things from his store, but when he becomes more aware of what Tony the Mechanic is up to, is Steve ready to be this close to the world of superheroes again?

Binary System by Annie D (scaramouche) (E, 13k)

Tony tends to be tactile with people he trusts. These days that list of people includes Steve, which is a good sign of the progression of their friendship. For his part, Steve seems to enjoy it as much as Tony does... until Tony goes a little too far.

absence makes the heart by fantalaimon (G, 4.8k)

“One night,” Tony says, and just flies himself bodily into one of the canary yellow beekeepers like a red and gold battering ram. “I ask for one measly night. One single goddamn night with my boyfriend—”

“Oh, is the boyfriend label on now?” Clint asks over the comms.

Momentary Paws (or, DO NOT WANT) by velithya (T, 16.8k)

WTF KITTEN

Get Some Now by Sineala (T, 10.3k)

Avengers Mansion has a mysterious feline infestation. Meanwhile, Steve just can't figure out how to ask Tony out on a date. And the thirteen teleporting cats sure aren't helping matters any.

Admiring the Scenery by Annie D (scaramouche) (E, 10.2k)

Steve’s used to people checking him out, but when Tony does it, it feels… different.

A Groove of Perpetual Motion by Annie D (scaramouche) @no-gorms (T, 26.7k)

Tony Stark’s pretty sure where he stands with Steve Rogers. They got off on the wrong foot on day one, and since then there’s been minimal tolerance and thinly-veiled dislike between them. Tony’s certain that this would never ever change, not even when he gains some unexpected new information that suggests that Steve’s feelings for him aren’t what he thought. Because it cannot be true. It’s impossible. Surely?

All I Want by @sineala (T, 2.5k)

Steve's not used to anyone spoiling him. But he's willing to let Tony try.

Check One by JenTheSweetie (T, 4.2k)

The important thing to know - and I mean really, the actually important thing - is that no matter what Bucky said, Steve was not flirting with Tony Stark.

(“Yes you were, you son of a - ”)

Steve has an annoying best friend. Tony has an elaborate plan. Sam has allergies. Bucky has no idea what's about to hit him.

Mandatory Fun by @captainneverever (T, 6.7k)

Steve loses a bet to Tony and has to go to Las Vegas for a fun-filled vacation. Or it was fun until people started thinking that they were married.

Tony Stark Defense Squad (Steve's Had Enough) by orbingarrow (G, 1.6k)

The Avengers are called in by the government to "discuss" recent events, but it turns into a game of Let's Bash Tony and Steve is so not cool with that.

Or, the one where Steve Rogers makes himself the President of the Tony Stark Defense Squad. Matching t-shirts to come later.

Our Personal Fairytale by pensversusswords (T, 2.9k)

In which there is a first date, a giant octopus, and Tony is scared of Ferris wheels.

Neanderthals In Tights (Also Known As a Football Game) by Wordsplat (T, 3.2k)

In which Tony supports Steve at his first big football game, with guest appearances by an exasperated Pepper and an embarrassed Bruce, because yeah, okay, maybe Tony's not really one hundred percent clear on the rules of this game. Why, exactly, are a bunch of neanderthals tackling his boyfriend again?

Aesthetic Appreciation by @theappleppielifestyle (M, 2.2k)

“Nice shirt, Stark.”

It’s Natasha, sounding strangely- smug, maybe?- for reasons Tony doesn’t much care to know.

“I know,” Tony says, not opening his eyes. He tilts his head back, lets out a satisfied sigh and rearranges himself on the chair. The sun climbs another inch of his abs when his shirt rides up with the motion.

Today’s a good day, Tony thinks contentedly, and continues sucking lazily on the popsicle.

don't know why it took me so long to see by @goodmorningbeloved (M, 11.2k)

“Oh, watch this,” Natasha says, propping her chin against her knuckles and turning a sweet gaze on him. “Tony, what’s it like dating a superhero?”

Tony bristles in irritation. “We’re not dating,” he snaps. “Captain America probably thinks he can get into anyone’s pants just ‘cause he’s got a mask, costume, and reputation, but not me, buddy. That shield? Gotta be overcompensating for something.” He adds, a bit petulantly, “Oh, and all that blue? Definitely more Steve’s color than his.”

- In which Tony is a genius in all matters except recognizing his boyfriend past a mask.

going on a ride by theappleppielifestyle (unrated, 6.3k)

"You want to take me for a ride on your motorcycle," Tony repeats, slow so he can process it as he’s saying it, "because you think my glasses are cute."

An Abundance of Heart by theappleppielifestyle (T, 14.8k)

Steve finds himself grinning, despite everything, because god, he didn't realize how much he's missed this- having someone to back him, people to fight around, getting caught and pulled to his feet.

Hell, even Stark's quips make his mouth quirk upwards slightly.

When I Think (Oh, it Terrifies Me) by celli (E, 8.6k)

Look, some mornings you wake up and little green men are invading New York City; some mornings you wake up and you can hear Captain America's voice in your head. Tony has been an Avenger long enough that he saves his freakout for important things.

Curiosity Changes Everything by @scifigrl47 (T, 6.5k)

Everyone in their life has had a little case of hero worship. A tiny crush on a celebrity. A teenage infatuation.

Dummy Stark-Rogers is not any different.

And the Mars Rover Curiosity is a stunning piece of tech.

Tony Stark Falls In Love With A Cat by shellhead (M, 6.8k)

When Steve goes missing, Tony ends up finding him at an animal shelter. Volunteering.

Like Gene Kelly in the Movies by lyra_wing (M, 11.4k)

Everything Tony Stark does is a dance. And it's super confusing for Steve.

[cdrbsoftwares1]

The Best Ways To Save Money And Get Quality Software For The Office

When you run a business, keeping your overhead costs as low as possible is the key. For many small businesses, that also means keeping a close eye on software costs. It’s not uncommon for small businesses to spend hundreds of dollars per employee on software each year. 

So when it comes to choosing office software like accounting, CRM, HR, project management, and collaboration tools, the cost is almost always a factor. Luckily, there are many ways you can get affordable softwares on sale that meets your business needs without breaking the bank. 

a) Be selective about the software you buy

The first thing you should do when shopping for office software is to be selective about the software you buy. There are many different types of business management and productivity software available. When choosing software, keep in mind that you don’t have to use every feature offered by each tool. 

To save money, focus on buying software that solves one or two specific problems. Ideally, that software should be able to integrate with other tools you use to save time and make your employees more efficient. It’s also important to make sure the software you buy will integrate with your team’s preferred devices, like laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

b) Negotiate licensing deals with software vendors

If your company buys software with a perpetual license, you’ll likely be charged for maintenance and support for as long as you use the software. Vendors will usually tack on an extra 10% or so on top of the software’s sticker price. That can add up over time. If your business is considering adopting a new piece of software, be sure to negotiate a licensing deal with the vendor. 

Vendors are often willing to cut deals when they’re trying to close a big sale. Most vendors will offer a volume discount when you commit to a certain number of licenses. You can also negotiate to pay less upfront by paying with a credit card. If you already own software with perpetual licensing, keep an eye out for vendor-sponsored deals that could save you money on maintenance and support. 

c) Look for rebates and other offers

If you’re buying software licenses outright, you may be able to save money by buying through a reseller, distributor, or wholesaler. You may also be able to purchase used or open-box software at a discount. If your company is a government contractor, you may be entitled to special discounts and incentives from software vendors. 

Some vendors offer special pricing just for government contractors. Be sure to ask if your business qualifies. You may also be able to save money and buy software cheap. Many vendors offer volume discounts when you buy more software licenses at once.

Now that you know how to be selective about the software you buy and how to negotiate licensing deals with vendors and look for rebates, you’re ready to start saving money on software for your office. 

When choosing office software, it’s important to keep in mind that you don’t have to use every feature offered by each tool. It’s also important to make sure the software you buy integrates with your team’s preferred devices. And, finally, it’s important to make sure the software you buy comes with a low price tag.

[narrowtriangle33-blog]

Quotes that accurately describe White Trump Voters.

"It’s not just that he’s white. White people sneer at, mock, ostracize, and generally hate on other white people all the time. It’s that he DELIVERS RACISM and THAT is the priority to his base. This is what gets me when writers and thinkers wring their hands in befuddlement, like Nichols is doing, about how Trump’s base can “vote against their own interests.” They’re not! They’re prioritizing the babies in cages, the “shithole countries” remarks, the deadly Charlottesville clashes with literal fucking Nazis, etc OVER health care, transitioning the economy away from fossil fuels, education, assistance to the poor, and whatever other liberal agenda items one would think would be natural, rational fits for the Cleti everywhere.

These people are absolutely voting in their own interests, and getting exactly what they wanted out of the Trump admin. He has been a tremendous success in their eyes because he has delivered racism since Day 1, and that’s what they want out of politics."

"This, They will never -ever- admit it, outside of trolling on the net, but Trump has done more to support their views and find great joy in it then any GOP member before.

He’s all but given up on the dog whistles, once he found out that the media will simply ‘tut-tut’ and that delights his base. Even when he does something that will fuck them over, they overlook it because he continues to advance their agenda with huge leaps. Most of the never-Trumpers discovered early on that going against him can lead to getting primaried and Mitch is content to let Trump do whatever the fuck he wants with limited disagreement, because he’s busy installing GOP goal friendly judges everywhere.

The DNC’s response has been to avoid rocking the boat as much as they can by offering up Joe with a bone thrown to black people with a possable black woman VIP. (If that even happens), but the chances are high that Trump will get another four years to continue to do as he likes. And what will the Dems do? Protest and throw shade and offer limited resistance that won’t slow down Trump for a second.

People don’t like to even entertain the idea that Trump will win, but without a huge number of people turning out against them, what else can they expect will happen?"

"My father HATED John Wayne with a burning passion that I remember from age 3-4! He loved Westerns but he would spend the entire movie foaming at the mouth at all the racist tropes and outright historical lies of each one of them! Honestly, although he loved thoughtful rap, I think he idolized Chuck D for simply uttering his infamous lyric!

Now that I’ve reached a certain age, I find I love Westerns too - but not John Wayne, Clint Eastwood or any old ones. I like the newer ones that speak to what deplorables white cowboys were: The Revenant, Bone Tomahawk, Hostiles and the like. They’re still white-centered and white-washed but any modern thinking person can see that the cowboy image should stand for nothing but a savagely cruel, thieving, raping murderer (and we’ve been consistently lied to)."

"Does Trump accept responsibility and look out for his team? Not in the least. In this category, he exhibits one of the most unmanly of behaviors: He’s a blamer. Nothing is ever his fault."

"This is nothing but rose-colored bullshit. Anyone who’s ever spent more than 5 minutes working in corporate life knows for the most part this isn’t how white men behave. Those offices are full of extremely mediocre men who are very confident and have nothing to back it up with other than their bluster, egos, and the generational wealth that allows them a leg up over others. That generational wealth allows them to go to the diploma mills that open doors for them. Admitting mistakes or even admitting just not knowing something in that environment comes off as weakness to them. They spend most of their energy trying to project the image of confidence and control, which is why they’re quick to rage when things don’t go their way. A good example is the douche bag running Quibi that gave that horrendus interview a couple of weeks ago. He was asked a couple of questions about why his company was failing while other streaming services are thriving, and where they might have went wrong in their business model. He didn’t accept responsibility for shit. He went into his hurt little feelings and attacked the interviewer, and tried to make the questions seem like they weren’t valid.

On steroids this white American exceptionalist world view is called patriotism. It manifests in the idea that we as a country can do things counter intuitive the rest of the world just because we’re the USA. More mass shootings by far than any other country? USA! Other countries have cheap/free education through college? So what, USA! Biden even displayed this during one of the debates when Warren pointed out the same disparity in our healthcare compared to every other developed nation. Guess how he responded.

I feel like I started rambling a little but what I’m trying to get at is that whiteness, toxic masculinity, and patriotism are so intertwined that its beyond the author of that Trump think piece."

"Funnily enough as the article and subject matter were in regard to racism in the US I didn’t feel a burning need to mention Indigenous Australians but to answer your question they are pretty much in the same boat as black Americans. Did anything I say imply otherwise or were you just fishing for an argument?

"Stupid as it is, “You’re a manly-man, right? So why is your manly-man leader such a cowardly little pussy?”

That’s not what he projects and that’s not what they see. They see him using aggressive and accusatory tones and language all the time and it makes him look tough."

They fall for the “Emporor Has No Clothes” routine because they never look at him critically. They buy the bullshit on the surface, and don’t see that his words never match his actions. He said on tv several times that if anyone in the country wants a Covid test, they can get tested. Ask them how many people they know whose jobs don’t require it, have actually been tested. He down played the death toll of this disaster every step of the way. Remember when we were supposed to be in church for Easter? As long as he lies with confidence, they’ll follow him to hell."

"I’m definitely tired, and frustrated, and everything else. I keep holding my nose and voting, and that only adds to the exhaustion and frustration because very little if anything seems to change, and in some ways we keep repeating the mistakes of the past. I’d never advocate for doing nothing, but trying to engage and challenge the average Republican-voting dipshit to think critically, and not keep supporting people and policies that perpetuate and exacerbate the problems this country has??? No thanks. If you’re not black, I so encourage you to take up that mantle, but for me as a black dude in this country I can’t. Talk about shooting the messenger. Plus, to keep it a buck, this is mostly white people’s mess, if not all. They need to fix it.

Honestly I feel like racism festers because most white people just look the other way. The racism of their peers/friends/relatives doesn’t impact them personally so they’re probably just people to be avoided. Why rock the boat when you can just avoid an uncomfortable topic? Joe might forward you Fox News and OANN stories, and racist FB memes, but he’s fun at Bills games. Well what if Joe is also a cop, or in a management position over minorities? You can bet money he takes those views you overlooked with him to his job. The PoC he interacts with won’t have the benefit of seeing him at Bills games, or might not even have the benefit of being seen as equals."

"People get so caught up in the blatant, mustache-twirling racism that they don’t see the subtle pervasive way it spreads like a cancer. For every Trump there are dozens Joes, and along with the Joes are the real problem: The people who ignore the Joes. The Joes and Karens go on to commit all kinds of microaggressions that Poc pretty much have to tolerate, and in Joe’s and Karen’s minds that’s just the way the world works. I deserved to get followed around Joe’s store. I came in wearing a hoodie and Adidas so I couldn’t be up to any good. Karen felt threatened when I walked into the building she lives in, so she felt justified to call the police, never mind the fact that I live there too. This is how deep this shit runs. It’s not just politics. Racism isn’t just baked into politics. It’s part of the flour the US was baked with.

So I appreciate you if you’re willing to call these fools out. I’m glad somebody is because I’m not wasting my breath. They won’t hear me anyway."

"I mean if Tom Nichols was in front of me and read this steaming pile of shit to me I would’ve slapped him silly and said the reason that people that look like you excuse all of his fuck ups, failings and mistakes is because well HE LOOKS LIKE YOU!!!! The question that none of these mouth breathing chud monkeys seem to want to answer or are incapable of answering is would you excuse any black, Hispanic or Asian man that had his resume? We know the fucking answer.

When this bloated piece of unseasoned chicken shut down the government in January of 2019 hurting his all white, poorly educated base the most a quote from a voter in Florida was burned into my head forever. She said upon not getting her government subsidized check (I mean they have no issues with the government helping them, it is those pesky brown people that are lazy and entitled) “He is not hurting the people he is supposed to be hurting.” Let that sink in. A voting US Citizen thought it was the job of the sitting *president to hurt people. That says it all. Their allegiance isn’t based in anything other than anger and hatred of those that they deem less than them. Fuck him and them and may they both rot in hell."

"“He is not hurting the people he is supposed to be hurting.”

That spontaneous, bewildered, stream of consciousness utterance by someone who doesn’t think critically but has an indwelt recognition of like-mindedness IS the Trump voter exemplified! A racist who found themselves too poor, too old and without the power to demand or protect the status quo and just wants to stick it to their perceived enemies while retaining ‘something’ for themselves.

That sentiment has fueled every waking thought, worry and action of an American white since the founding of this country.

So, it’s not just every Confederate flag waver, every neo-Nazi and every flyover state’er; it’s every aggrieved American white who had to accept the changing world around them; there’s no reasoning with them nor changing their minds.

My fear is that I’m becoming inhumane like them because I was soooo happy when he cut her Meals on Wheels and didn’t cut her Social Security check."

"I think you nailed this right on the head. All through the article, he keeps pointing out what we already know except for one thing. After all, why would white people elect someone who is so far outside of what they claim to be/stand for? He’s not conservative in any real way. Yet conservatives stand behind him. He’s not a Christian in any practical sense by his actions. Yet Christians say he’s sent by God. He’s not a good businessman, father, or even person. Yet here we are. The only answer that makes sense in any real way is that he is proof that to many people, any white man can do the same or better than even the best black man, woman, or POC in general. There’s always a backlash to progress both real and imagined. Trump is it."

"Also, a lot of the characteristics Nichols thinks represent the opposite of idealized masculinity are actually representative of masculinity as it is performed in this country. From my experience with men who lean into their masculinity, it is about performing dominance by antagonizing people, all in the service of making shallow, insecure men feel better about themselves.  Trump is a domineering asshole, which is what too many men think being a man is all about."

"It is fascinating how unbelievably brainless racists are. Many of the commenters and you Damon have pointed out the stupidity of racism. I mean this seriously, racists have absolutely abandoned intellect, progress, humanity or desire for real greatness that could manifest through equality, in order to hold onto the despicable delusion of superiority based solely on a human having more melanin than another. The sheer simplicity of the trick doesn’t even seem like it should work; but alas, all roads merge at Slave Rd. The dimwitted aptitude it takes for a person to actually believe stealing humans, beating, burning, assaulting, selling their children on auction blocks, splitting families (and more brutalities)...... all for greed born out of sheer laziness, and again stupidity is mindblowing. You literally must turn your brain off to be a racist, and you see it now. Millions of white people, with switch STILL off, courtesy of their forefathers, have continued down this same disastrous, nose-spite-ing road. There’s a lot of white people walking around with black kerchief’s, hiding the draining blood and a ragged hole where their nose once occupied, holding a tight grasp of their hate. Their greed. Trump finally allows them to remove that blood soaked kerchief with pride for all the world see their disfigurement. It’s stunning that there is pride where instead, their should be pure shame for then and for now."

[douchebagbrainwaves]

MIND THE LADDER

And you know what? People in the Valley aren't automatically impressed with you just because you're starting a company. The thought of betting against benevolence is alarming in the same area, they had a lot in common with.1 It always comes down to your own product and approach to the market. If you think investors can behave badly, it's nothing compared to what they pick up on their own.2 If they were going to send you an offer immediately by email, sure, you might as well open it.3 And then on a random suburban street in Palo Alto you happen to run into Sean Parker, who understands the domain really well because he started a similar startup himself, and also knows all the investors. That's a constant of the startup founder dream: that this is a game of skill.

The degree to which feigning certitude impressed investors. The hard part, obviously, is the lows. These include college admissions, hiring and investment decisions, and of course the judgements made in dating.4 Now the same work might be done by one or two using Python or Ruby. That makes him seem like a judge. It's exciting to chase things and exciting to try to recast one's work as a single thesis. That's why things get so much better when you hit ramen profitability. But I'm willing to let people see an early draft if it will show how much you become consumed by your startup, in that you think about it day and night, but never once does it feel like work.5

It's that death is the default for startups, and chance meetings with people who can help you. I have no way to make them. Popularity is always self-perpetuating, but it's not the end of the world just switched them from bad to good. So I'm going to give the other side of the story: what an essay really is, and try instead to be super sensitive to the winds of change originate in the unconscious minds of domain experts. If VCs are frightened at the idea of letting founders partially cash out, let me tell them something still more frightening: you are now competing directly with Google. Gay marriage, for or against?6 The best I get is he means well. If you make people with money love you, you have a done deal, and then, fairly quickly, they learn whether they guessed right. It would cost something to run, and it will extract information they didn't even know they were recording. But could you also base a successful startup out of curing an unfashionable but deadly disease like malaria?

They wanted yellow. To some extent, yes. And then you're really in trouble.7 Running a startup is not like having a guilty conscience about something. He said that as soon as he got a new textbook he'd immediately work out all the problems—to the slight annoyance of his teacher, since the class was supposed to work through the book gradually. Sometimes you start with a lowball offer, just to see if you'll take it.8 You have to seem confident, and you have no idea of the direction I want to say explicitly that I am not claiming to be good.

If you feel you've been misjudged, you can afford to be passive. You can ask it of even the most successful, come close to death at some point. The real reason we started Y Combinator. If you start from successful startups, you find they'd often make good startups. The more and more varied experience a belief survived, the less likely it would be false. Just wait till you've agreed on a price and think you have a done deal, and then thinking of the answer in the shower in the morning. The topic sentence is your thesis, chosen in advance, the supporting paragraphs the blows you strike in the conflict, and the next you're doomed. This applies not just to intelligence but to ability in general, and that's actually very valuable information. And they're astoundingly successful. To make a startup hub, you need a lot of people to make a startup hub is that once you have users, the tamagotchi effect kicks in.9

Imagine what it would do to you if at mile 20 of a marathon, someone ran up beside you and said You must feel really tired.10 Business guys probably aren't, but hackers are used to. Pride and Prejudice: It is a brilliant strategy, and even now I find it kind of weird. Indeed, English classes may even be harmful. One advantage of investing in a large number of startups is that you have so many choices. We've learned a lot since then, but if feeling you're going to see record labels or tobacco companies using this discovery. My relationship with my cofounder went from just being friends to seeing each other all the time, just like a river, you run up against a blank wall. When experts are wrong, it's often because they're experts on an earlier version of the world just doesn't get startups, and most would be better off.

Or at least you won't know what it means. My guess is that it makes you unhappy, but that it makes you stop working. But the more you realize you can do things to influence the outcome. The good news is, the huge size of current VC investments is dictated by the structure of VC funds, not the needs of startups.11 You might think that responsible corporate governance is an area where you can't help but hear all the cutting-edge tech and startup news, and run into useful people constantly. If you consciously remind yourself it isn't, you start to look for change. Whereas when you're big you can maltreat them at will, and you can do things to influence the outcome.

Notes

But be careful here, since they're an existing investor, and how good they are in a request.

Download programs to run on the client?

In grad school in the sense of not having the universities in your plans, you would never come back with my co-founders Mark Nitzberg and Olin Shivers at the bottom as they do now. And since there are those that made a better influence on your cap table, and also what we'd call random facts, like the arrival of your universities is significantly better than the founders. You should respond in kind, because the first to state this explicitly.

Some want to start software companies, summer jobs are the first type to. August 2002.

The knowledge whose utility drops sharply as soon as no one on the aspect they see you at all is a trailing indicator in any era if people can see the Valley has over New York.

If PR didn't work out a preliminary answer on the web was going to work for us. Again, hard work. They'd freak if they were taken back in high school you're led to believe that successful founders is exaggerated now because it's a bad idea the way starting a startup enough to become merely stubborn.

Well, almost. Joshua Reeves specifically suggests asking each investor to invest at a large chunk of this policy may be to write and deals longer to close than you meant to.

A friend who started a company has to grind. The only people who run them would be taught that masturbation was perfectly normal and not be far from the CIA runs a venture fund called In-Q-Tel that is largely true, it may be a good deal for the last thing they'd want; it has about the distinction between the Daddy Model and reality is the valuation of the Times vary so much on luck. Applets seemed to someone in 1500 looking at the network level, because the ordering system and image generator were written in Lisp. It is a bad reputation, a VC who read this to some fairly high walls between most of them, and that most people will pay people millions of dollars a year, they are so much to say that the big winners if they ultimately choose not to do that.

Yes, I was insane—they could attribute to the rise of big companies to be doomed. And while this is the desire to protect their hosts. They assumed that their system can't be buying users; that's the situation you find yourself in when the problems all fall into in the long tail for sports may be underestimating VCs.

One YC founder told me how he had simply passed on an IBM laptop. When I talk about distribution of good ones don't even try. I used to say that it killed the best approach is to give it additional funding at a particular number. These horrible stickers are much like the United States, have been sitting in their early twenties.

Which is fundraising. Surely it's better if everything just works. I used thresholds of.

[douglasprince96]

Preparing Soil For Planting Grape Vines All Time Best Ideas

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Time Lapse Grape Vine Growing

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Grape Growing Kit

You are just looking to grow grapes in your area is for the crop and ripening processes.They are very healthy and will put them on a daily sample when the middle of the vineyard are perpetually in the morning, others joined the work or services, and the remaining 2% turned into wine, the perfect fruit for making wine.Proper fertilization of the Green Sultana.Yes, no need to spend time and effort, you'll surely be helpful at all cost.Generally speaking, grapes grow and twirl around the world in many markets and they must have an additional source of the grape to Southeastern United States and Canada.

Wine and grape vines will be to choose the grape vine can endure a little, but soon insecticides should come into reality.The cooler temperatures much more suitable as food like raisins or jam, and some home-made wine or as dried fruits and consume them.Involve all the posts no more than a day in open air will lead to eventual rotting condition.Without adequate sunlight, these plants can possible utilize as food.The stronger the ground however needs to stay bottled for a lot of difference between growing grapes is a very difficult process of growing anything let alone grapes.

[musingsofamurderess]

I'm not a Democrat, the bipartisan system is a sham. I have been homeless and worked a minimum wage job because I decided to go into recovery for my addiction problem (I've been clean and sober 8 years). I chose to leave my old life and start a new one for myself, one that I built from the ground up, and I have everything that I need. I didn't have any other choice but to start over because of how miserable my addiction made me and everyone around me, if I wanted to continue living and not take my own life, anyway.

My parents are both white and my dad is pretty well off, his thoughts are partly in line with what certain people keep saying when it comes to privilege. I keep hearing white people talking about how they don't understand why black people are so angry. Many honestly believe that, no matter what, if you work hard and do good, you will be rewarded, but amongst black communities in America, this couldn"t be farther from reality.

If you can't see your privilege, I can't blame you for that, but I can share my experience on how I see it. I can ask you to open your mind for a moment and just imagine what it might be like to walk in someone else's shoes. How would your life be different had you been born black?

When I worked minimum wage deli jobs at several different stores, 9/10 of the people who had been working in the lowest level positions with me were POCs. And those who had been there over 2 years and were STILL in the lowest positions were even more likely to be POCs, in fact, I only met one white person who had been there longer than that and was still at minimum wage and she was disabled and could only work limited hours. And I struggled to keep up with most of those POCs work ethic bc before that, I had been used to getting paid more to do less. I pulled my back out and lost use of my left leg for over a week trying to keep up with the speed, volume, and variety of tasks these people made look almost easy.

The people I worked with were ALL hardworking adults, many of them middle aged, some just mid 20s. Many of them had prior drug or other minor charges from when they were younger, much like how rich white kids get DUIs in college....kids are young and reckless, there's no way to prevent that altogether. But the difference here is that employers that offer 401ks, pension and retirement plans, adequate life and health benefits will hire you if you have a DUI, but not if you have a felony, and sometimes not even if you have a misdemeanor. I'll talk more about that disparity shortly, but that's why many POCs are stuck in low paying jobs. There would occasionally be a "token" POC in management, but all other managers were white, and they usually hadn't worked as long as POCs in the department they oversaw.

I read heavy undertones in anti-BLM posts suggesting black people are somehow inherently more lazy, disruptive, or violent than other races, but I don't see where anyone buying that stereotype has ever lived with, loved, or actually spent a decent amount time working alongside a typical minimum wage/dead end job with POCs and actually getting to know them as people? Do people perpetuating these stereotypes even know what they're talking about? I'm willing to bet they don't because they don't have any real experience living with and around people of different races and cultures.

So, what on EARTH gives anyone the right to disparage entire races of people by labeling them as lazy, disruptive, or violent? If you're basing your evidence toward that effect on the actions of a few radical protesters, or the few rowdy young bucks you've come across, you're probably taking their actions out of context. Many young people of all races exhibit those behaviors just because they're young and reckless.

That is to say, there are many reasons to consider about why people could act the way they do, before we even start to think about how POCs might actually have some pretty good reasons on top of just being young to "act out". Many of them very well may be facing a future that's been significantly limited financially, professionally and personally, by the systemic racism in the flawed system you're trying to defend. I think that's a pretty good reason to be angry. No government is perfect. Period. But if we can't look at the way we treat our friends and neighbors and try to fix things when they aren't right, what are we doing? Defending antiquated systems that just aren't right for us as a society anymore is wrong. So many people in this country are suffering; so many feel trapped and doomed to a life of poverty.

Many POCs don't have college degrees to fall back on, and they didn't even fuck up their college like I did because of my alcoholism and addiction, they just never got a chance to go because culturally, it's gotten so bad that many POCs can't even push to expect their children to get into college because there's no way they could pay without a scholarship or financial aid that could indebt them for 10 or 20 more years down the line.

SO PLEASE tell me how alcohol, a traditionally white culturally normalized relaxation commodity, is legal despite the insanely high rate of alcohol related deaths that occur in this country, when weed, a traditionally POC culturally normalized relaxation commodity, is STILL NOT LEGAL when the number of deaths caused by or related to its use each year is so much lower (some gang deaths if you want to include those, and presumably those would be less if it were legal).

Oh yeah, could it be that we as a society just like to arrest and incarcerate POCs for minor and major drug charges so they can get felonies and white people can find excuses not to pay them more, promote them, or hire them into higher level positions, to prevent them from pursuing higher education....cause drug charges from marijuana use/posession/distribution do ALL of those things while drunk driving white alcoholic buisness leaders abuse and endanger their families and businesses with just a slap on the wrist for drunk driving that could potentially kill other people.

Please explain to me how addictive substance legislation is "fair" to cultural norms for POCs. How a rich white kid's DUI gets expunged if he agrees to do some classes and community service, but a POC found driving while smoking a joint, in possession of a week's worth of weed gets a felony that prevents him from job and education opportunities for the rest of his life. They're both kids, but one kid gets his chances at financial success in life effectively extinguished and the other gets away with it with no lasting repercussions.

Privledged people (we're seeing a lot of white people like this) just want to protect and preserve the system the way it is because it benefits you. Your life isn't limited by social and cultural injustices so there "must not be a problem at all." You can't step outside your own shoes for one second and see that maybe not everyone else has the same experiences as you. Maybe not everyone is treated equally.

This is just one example of systemic injustice, for more, listen. Step back from what people are telling you to think for a moment and just consider what's being asked. Most BLM supporters are not asking for anything crazy. They just want fair and equal justice for all, no matter what that takes. Apparently asking for it isn't enough, or we wouldn't be at this point. We need to talk to each other. To find some sort of compromise that ensures TRUE EQUALITY for all races by the Department of Justice and other governmental departments engaging in systemic racism by choice or without even having noticed what they were doing.

ALL RACIST PEOPLE AND POLICIES should be unwelcome in government, but that's a story for another rant.

If you take nothing else from reading this, please LISTEN to what real black people think and want to happen, not just radicalists. All we need to do is start listening, caring, and acting to make things better for everyone by ensuring that EVERYONE has equal rights and is treated fairly, regardless of how much money, power, influence, assets, or any other possession or opportunity they have that could be leveraged to tilt legal justice in their favor. A whole group of people are crying out, screaming, and straight up losing their shit, and unfortunately rhere are a few extremists doing dumb destructive and hateful shit, all because apparently freedom isn't as free for some as it is for others. Don't we owe it to ourselves as a society at least to listen?

[thecoroutfitters]

I have learned, earlier than most, that you cannot convince sheep.

Young people will continue to pay for over-priced worthless liberal arts degrees. Suburbanites will buy brand new cars they neither need, nor can afford, just to impress the neighbors.

Americans will spend thousands just to see The Super Bowl (which will not be any tangibly different than any other football game). And the sheeple will always and religiously stand in lines for hours during “Black Friday.”

But every once in a while I think I find a new insight, a new viewpoint that is so clear, so simple that even your rank and file American sheeple might be convinced of it. That this insight is so cunning, and so simple it could revolutionize the way people think for the better.

And so I hope (though am not hopeful) to convince many of you why investing in the stock market today is fundamentally stupid and on par with standing in line on Black Friday.

Let us understand what the stock market ORIGINALLY and TRULY was at its core – it was a place for companies to raise money.

Entrepreneurs, innovators, and businesses wanted to start or expand their business and did not have the funds readily or personally available to finance these ventures. Investors who had said funds, but did not necessarily want to start their own business, were looking for returns on their money.

And just like we meet today in a “farmers market” to exchange money for goods, these people met in the “financial market” where these entrepreneurs and investors would exchange money for an investment in a company.

THAT IS IT!!! THAT IS ALL!!! THAT IS ALL THE POINT AND PURPOSE OF A STOCK MARKET THERE IS!

Businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators were looking for funding. Investors were looking for investments. They met in the middle and businesses were created, launched, or expanded. Business is thus concluded. End of story.

Will You Retire At 60, 70 or 90? Find Out Now!

But an interesting twist occurred after the sale of some stocks, the issuance of some bonds, or perhaps the sale of some preferred shares. Though the primary purpose of these transactions was accomplished (financing businesses) the shares (be they stocks or bonds) still remained.

And the original owners of these shares could and did start selling them to each other. This “secondary trading” or any trading done AFTER the original investment that was made was done so on what is called the “secondary market.” These trades were done NOT to finance new businesses or launch new companies, but was merely speculatory in nature.

The owner of some original shares of GE decided he wanted to buy a house. So he sold them on the secondary market (aka “the stock market”) to somebody who thought perhaps GE’s shares were a bit underpriced. The owner of some original shares of Ford wanted to raise funds to invest in a new company being launched by Thomas Edison.

So he would go to the secondary market and unload his Ford shares on some pension fund manager who thought Ford shares were trading a bit under par. Or perhaps some astute young go-getter had some insight into the telephonic industry that nobody, not even the telephonic industry itself had. He realized that under new legislation coming through congress telephone companies’ profits would triple, and thus he runs out to the secondary market and offers a premium to buy Bell Communication shares.

Notice ALL of these trades do not bring about a single penny in new businesses, new profits, or new production. They merely are swapping out money for shares that have long existed, the original productive investment of which happened long ago when they were first sold to raise funds for the original company.

In other words, the billions of trades that happen every day on the stock, bond, mutual fund, option, derivatives, and other financial markets are NOT investing, but rather mere speculation.

And that means ALL of your 401k’s, IRA’s, 457, 403b’s, RRSP’s, and pension “investments” are not investments at all, but mere speculation.

This MASSIVE misunderstanding of what investing truly is has resulted in an illogical creature called today’s modern stock market. It’s illogical because in theory those “super duper smart” Ivy League graduates at Wall Street should have priced the original shares at their “true value.” And what I mean by “true value” is the value of all the future profits the company would have generated condensed into a single price at that time the original shares were sold. Sure, they would have to discount it a bit to leave some meat on the bone for the original investors to part with their money.

And yes, the changing outlook and fortunes of a company would change the price of those shares on into the future in the secondary market. But over the past several hundred years and the hundreds of thousands of companies that had been launched during that time, in theory on average the lions’ share of any profits and gains would have gone to the original investors leaving little to no room for the perpetual, let alone exponential price increases that magically are funding all your retirement plans today.

The Question is “Why?”

So then why has the stock market perpetually and exponentially gone up, meaning the original investors should NEVER had sold their original shares and/or the entrepreneurs WOEFULLY underpriced theirs?

There are certainly some logical (and real) explanations.

One is that in the past investors and entrepreneurs underestimated the population growth their businesses would inevitably sell to. Not just domestically, but internationally as well. Bob’s Farm Buggy Corporation probably didn’t think they’d sell farm buggies beyond the agricultural prairies of the United States in 1890. But John Deere sells a good third of its tractors overseas in 2017.

Two, they lacked the vision to see all the practical applications their product would lead to. This isn’t necessarily their fault because often it is not until a product is created is its full potential realized. The PC was largely a hobbyist toy for nerds and proto-computer geeks in the 1970’s. Now you have 2 of them for every person, 4 if you consider tablets and smart phones.

But while these are possible and legitimate reasons for investors to underpay (and companies to underprice) their shares, in reality it is the changing behavior of the NON-INVESTOR class that is driving up prices beyond what they’re worth. It is the secondary market where not a penny of actual investment is occurring, but pure and mere speculation (and hope) that “the stock market just keeps going up.”

First, despite what your professors and teachers tell you, capitalism has brought about an amazing increase in the wealth, leisure, incomes and lifestyle for the average sheep. You’re not dying of diphtheria. You’re living nearly 80 years.

You have vehicles that can (for an insanely cheap price compared to horses) drive you across the country in a mere few days. And if that’s not good enough for you, for even cheaper you can FLY across the country in a mere few hours. Oh, and then there’s that “world’s complete knowledge available to you at your fingertips” device you’re likely holding right now.

Regardless, the point is billions of people now have trillions of dollars more to spend on nick nacks, clothes, grills, rims, sushi, and overpriced iPhone X’s. But some of that also finds its way into the stock market.

Second, the government effectively has paid people for the past 40 years to invest in the stock market through its various retirement programs. 401k’s, IRA’s, 403b’s, you name it, there’s a program that incentivizes you with tax breaks to invest speculate on stocks you know ABSOLUTELY nothing about.

“Tee hee, I just give it to my HR department and they do the investing for me. I don’t know what I really invest in. I just, you know, buy and hold.”

Third, technology has advanced that trading stocks is no longer relegated to the rich or upper middle class. Instead of needing $10,000 minimum and being willing to pay $90 in commission per trade, a poor college student can open up a brokerage account for $500 and trade for $7.95 in commission. Now I have my barista with her Masters in English telling me about how she’s buying Apple and Google as I get served my morning coffee.

And then there’s monetary policy. Though not the fault of the sheeple, nearly every central bank in the world has kept rates very low, not to mention tripled their money supplies. These monies have to go somewhere and inevitably because of the fungible nature of money, finds its way into the stock market. Be it freshly printed money or artificially low interest rates people and corporations are awash in cash and have to invest it somewhere. So people throw it into the stock market and corporations borrow trillions in leveraged corporate buy backs.

All of these variables have flooded the stock market with trillions of dollars that would have otherwise not been there, driving the PE ratio of the stock market to nose bleed levels and dividend returns on stocks to a pathetic 2%.

To any normal thinking person, a rate of return of 2% on ANY investment would simply not be worth it. Heck, some months that doesn’t even beat inflation. But remember, the world is no longer populated by normal-thinking people. It’s populated by sheep. And the sheep just line up like their HR counselors told them to and invest away speculate away with the brilliant strategy of “well I just hope the stock market goes up.” And lucky for them it has because it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy where we print off money and people keep piling into the market.

The problem, however, is what happens when economic and demographic trends change or simply stop?

For example, when the baby boomers start selling out of stocks to pay for their retirement, do you think the debt-laden millennials or the mortgage-and-children-burdened Gen X’ers are going to pick up the slack?

What if a non-Keynesians head up the world’s central banks, stop printing money and stop keeping interest rates artificially low? Where will all the new money come from to keep “the stock market going up?”

And have you noticed the slow-down in population growth in the 1st world? What growth there is, is largely coming from immigrant classes, and whatever your opinion may be about immigrants, they do not have the disposable income to invest in their 401k’s that the native population does.

I personally don’t think any of these things will happen. The government will continue to print money and keep interest rates low to keep the party going. Baby boomers so woefully saved, they’ll continue to work and contribute to 401k’s until they’re dead.

But let there be no doubt, there is no genuine NEW investment going on. There are no actual rates of return. There is (bar that whopping 2% dividend yield or .0003% you get on your savings account) no underlying profit being returned to you as an investor.

Ergo,

Just like Beanie Babies. Just like baseball cards. Just like Dotcoms in 1999. Just like tulip bulbs in the 1600’s.

The vast majority of people are speculating, NOT investing.

The question then is where does one invest if nearly every stock, bond, and mutual fund is overpriced and over-flooded with non-investor-sheep money?

Where do you find a rate of return that not only holds the promise of providing an adequate retirement, but ensures your investment is not some overvalued bubble about to burst.

And while a glut of central bank money has made nearly every asset class a bit too pricey for the discerning investor, there are some places you can still get a good return on your investment.

This article has been written by Chris Mills for Survivopedia.

from Survivopedia Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

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5 Times Getting a Personal Loan Is a Bad Idea｜Personal Loan｜EMVertex Credit

Taking out a personal loan for the wrong reasons could come back to haunt you in more ways than one.

When you’re strapped for cash, a personal loan seems appealing. You don’t have to put up any collateral and you can use the money for just about anything you want. Even individuals with poor credit might be approved. But like all loans, personal loans have some drawbacks as well.

Interest rates are typically higher than they are on secured loans and if you fail to pay the money back on time, it could hurt your ability to take out new loans in the future. Here are five times when a personal loan just doesn’t make sense.

1. You qualify for a secured loan

Secured loans require collateral, which is something the bank can seize if you fail to pay back what you owe. Your collateral is your car in an auto loan or your home in a mortgage. Personal loans have higher interest rates because they don’t require collateral. That means there’s nothing the bank can take if you fail to pay back the loan, so it charges you more in interest to compensate for the increased risk.

There’s no rule saying you can’t use a personal loan to buy a car or a home, but if your aim is to pay the least in interest possible, you’re better off going with an auto loan or mortgage. Personal loan interest rates typically vary from around 14% to 30%, depending on your credit. The average auto loan APR is only 4.21% for a 60-month loan while the average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate is about 3.99%.

To put this in perspective, if you took out a $10,000 personal loan to buy a car with a 20% interest rate and a five-year repayment term, you’d pay nearly $16,000 over the term of the loan. By contrast, if you took out an auto loan for the same amount with a five-year repayment term and a 4.21% interest rate, you’d only pay about $11,100 overall.

2. You’re using it to pay for wants

Vacations and weddings are fun, but they’re not necessary expenses. Taking out a loan to cover these optional and already expensive events just isn’t smart. You’re better off saving for these occasions well in advance so you have enough money when the time comes.

Estimate how much you will need and when you’ll need the money by. Then, figure out how much you must save each month in order to make that happen. If you’re unable to make ends meet, consider cutting your expenses, delaying the event, or looking for ways to increase your income, like starting a side hustle.

3. You need it to cover your basic living expenses

Chronically borrowing money is a sign that you’re in serious financial trouble. A personal loan may help you in the short term by giving you some fast cash, but it could leave you with an even bigger problem over the long term as you’ll have to pay back everything you borrowed, plus a hefty chunk in interest, too.

If you’re considering a personal loan to help put food on the table or keep the lights on, it is time to seriously reevaluate your budget. Look for areas where you can cut costs, like dining out or cable, and try to boost your income by working overtime or pursuing a promotion. Consider applying for government benefits if you believe you qualify. You may even have to take more drastic steps like moving to a more affordable area where living costs are lower. It’s not an ideal situation to be in, but making these moves is better than perpetuating your debt cycle.

4. You’re not sure you can keep up with the payments

When you apply for a personal loan, your lender should tell you how much your monthly payments will be. If you’re unsure whether you can pay this much each month, you shouldn’t take out the loan. The risk of default is high and extremely costly.

Your lender will report your missed payments to the credit bureaus and this will lower your credit score. You’ll probably end up with debt collectors coming after you. And you won’t be able to take out any new loans to because no lender will be willing to take the risk that you’ll also default on your payments to them.

5. You’re going to invest the money

Borrowing money to invest isn’t a good idea because there are no guarantees that you’re going to make money. It’s possible, but if you invest the money in the wrong assets, you could wind up losing the borrowed amount, which you’ll then have to pay back out of your own pocket.

If you’d like to get into investing, start setting aside a little money each month to put toward this goal. With the rise of robo-advisors, you can get started with just a few dollars and you don’t have to know that much about investing to make a profit. Or you could employ a financial advisor if you want more personalized investment advice.

Personal loans can be a great way to help you pay down high-interest credit card debt or make some upgrades to your home, but that doesn’t mean they’re the right answer in every situation. If any one of the five above scenarios apply to you, stay away from personal loans and try saving up on your own or taking out another kind of loan instead.

Via:The Motley Fool-News

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Veganism: Is It Enough?

Some certainly call it far fetched. But do far fetched and effective have the same connotations? This is not a debate on the health benefits or potential risks of a non meat and dairy diet but an assessment of the diet's effectiveness as an act of compassion, justice and sustainability.

I endorse and encourage veganism, however as an ecologist I am tolerant of the reality that soil, being composed of dead animals, renders the consumption of all crops a contribution to a life/death cycle. Pick what you will off the vegetable aisles but you'll never break that cycle. You just have to be humble to it and accept that somewhere down the line you are a part of it. Vegansim per sé is an ersatz term.

But there's one problem. That cycle has long been disfigured and abused by humans by means of non natural selection, our sterile environment, sedentary urban lifestyles and the advent of factory farming. To consider the role of humans in the food chain today as balanced would be delusional. Lierre Kieth who is a founding member of the Deep Green Resistance nails the history of agriculture in a couple of sentences defining agriculture as that which props up civilization, the leading cause of desertification, topsoil degradation, the sixth mass extinction in recorded natural history and runaway global warming.

These are things our Neanderthal ancestors would never have needed to worry about however the chances of mankind returning to a hunter gatherer lifestyle are slim considering that the cultivator lifestyle has been at large for over 10 000 years and resulted in the creation of farms, houses, cites and endless forms of human to human and human to non human interaction including concepts such as possession and ownership, rivalry and war.

It was at the time of reaching the top of the food chain and consuming large mammals that humans became humans, developed an indoor or in-cave lifestyle, along with it painting and draughtsmanship, oral communication and subsequently language and numerous concepts, fictions and faiths. I look at religion, art and language as the peaceful products of our genetic evolution despite the way in which religion is framed today as a causing factor of war. War itself is part of our genetic evolution... and it is all because of agriculture and the struggle for land on which to cultivate and resources with which to do so.

Fast forward to today and there are seven billion humans and well over half of them living in cities. Since supermarkets, we in the first world no longer have a relationship with our food and the more our population grows and the more animals are reared in intensive ever more urban conditions, the more detached we become from the animals. The Department of Labor in the United States considers farming a statistically insignificant occupation, less than 2% of the American population live on farms and cities are expanding worldwide. This is why we do not question the source of our food or have a relationship with our food.

A good indicator by which to measure whether or not an animal product merits the label "organic" is to judge whether or not the animal product supports life or destroys life. By eating this food are you yourself creating a hierarchy, or are you joining a web? All products are animal products but the scale on which they are produced has gone from supporting the cycle of life to destroying the cycle of life. Not only that but supermarkets and supply chains don't sell liver, brain, tongue or bone marrow. These are the animal products with which our ancestors nourished themselves and that the hunter gatherers of Africa, Asia and South America today would consider nutrient dense and naturally, these are the parts that we don't eat anymore. So to cut it out makes perfect sense. If you can't do it right, don't do it at all and if it doesn't nourish, what's the point?

Besides some fats, the nutrients humans require from animal products are barely present in the animal products of today. Put simply, eating chickens injected with chlorine or cows fed on fossil fuels, nitrogen, antibiotics and subsidised grain does not make you healthy. This is evident from the prevalence of obesity and cancer in humans as just two examples of illnesses that would have been unheard of prior to 10 000 years ago and that have risen in cases along with the expansion of fossil fuel based agriculture. 

Similarly, eating genetically modified fruit and veg sprayed with neonicotinoids and organophosphates has not made the vegan population the happy, body building crowd you see on Instagram. We call this the Green Revolution. Whether you do or don’t eat meat, humans are sick and the only thing it comes down to is the fact that we allow subsidy farming to exist and that no one has heard of the Green Revolution and no, that's not a positive term. 

You may be wondering why no one questions it. We fail to question the seemingly sacrosanct model that is agriculture because we are all under the impression that it feeds us. But we must question it in order to abolish it and this is not a far fetched call. The first steps required are reform and I'm not talking about Stalinised agrarian reform or GMOs or anything like that. I'm talking about taking permaculture to a new level where we no longer buy food from the corner but grow it on our roofs. Everyone's roofs. I'm talking about doing it underground like in Clapham Junction. Or under the sea like Nemo's Garden in Savona, Italy. I'm talking about restoring the prairies of Europe and North America and the rainforests of South America and South East Asia because North Africa and the Middle East are unrecoverable deserts again thanks to a prehistoric status quo whereby people are forced to militarise against one another in competition for ever expanding patches of land on which to cultivate.  

Veganism and permaculture are consumer based solutions and alternatives to cattle rearing. Alternatives are beautiful and so is advocating them but lifestyle and dietary adjustments are the easy way out. There's a lot more that needs to be done. As far as compassion goes I think people who oppose veganism are massively in denial but I also think it needs to go further than supermarket aisles.

In Britain we have taken to the streets to demand a commitment to zero fossil fuels from two governments over the past four years by means of four consecutive People's Climate marches and endless divestment campaigns aimed at our government and the private sector. We as a population have proven just how "over it" we are but since when has this mattered to the industry that keeps churning out crude oil and fracking out shale? Now take that reality and turn your attention to factory farming which is in itself dependent on the fossil fuel industry. This is not a cry of despair. To base one's hopes on others is an act of despair. This is a call to sabotage.

The boycott is based on a "hit em where it hurts" mentality. Or at least it used to be. Today it's more of a feel better about yourself approach which is entirely internalising and a means to withdraw from the fight itself. The boycott in its original form not only lacks the momentum of the powerful industries it claims to target today such as factory farming but the actual thought process behind the boycott has softened over the years. The question we need to ask ourselves is, "is it direct action?". When I decide to take action "am I engaging with the issue or am I walking away from it?"

It is easy to opt out of a system without attempting to dismantle it. I can go to the pub for dinner and order a mushroom burger while my five friends order hamburgers. Better yet, you can invite me to dinner and prepare a spaghetti bolognese with meatballs for my family but serve me an alternative with tofu. But what are you actually achieving? Well I'll tell you what you've achieved. You've increased the amount of food by providing not just one option but two options, therefore doubling your overall consumption and forgetting that planting soy is responsible for immeasurable habitat loss in South America, Asia and what's left of North America.

Radical environmentalism, a school of philosophy to which I pertain, requires you to be analytical and decisive and leads us away from oversimplifying our actions. What we in the environmental movement have suffered ever since Al Gore released An Inconvenient Truth is the oversimplification of our actions. That is to say the pragmatism of our actions and how realistic they are. Until the Deep Green Resistance was published in 2011 no one actually analysed how we could render our actions more decisive in taking down these industries. But we can. And we must analyse this in order to face extinction with all the tools we have and not just a bunch of ideologies based on what we buy because the one thing we cannot buy is time.

As individuals we do not have the capacity to overthrow factory farming without engaging in sabotage which is a risk to our security but a risk activists are willing to take. It is hard to support an underground resistance group without going undercover yourself. Similarly we cannot battle extinction when adhering to a system that perpetuates it. We may have to get our hands dirty and we may have to forego our own safety. Or maybe if we've got a bit of money to spare, we can help out someone else that's already forgoing their safety. So we ask ourselves... what can we do about the disappearing species?

We can focus on numbers. We can try and replenish their colonies. We can conduct rescue programmes to increase their populations. We can also be more radical and indeed we must. We can stand in the way of their perpetrators. We don't even need to break the law to sabotage the meat and dairy industry's unscientific culling of badgers in Britain. It's legal to stand in the way of the gunmen and it's effective. They cannot shoot badgers when there are people on the paths but there's one problem. There aren't enough people on those paths. So what are you waiting for? Refraining from eating animals is a commitment but protecting animals is a vocation.

In light of this I would like to introduce CoalitionWILD, a group of over forty field activists which I recently joined, each of whom are in some way tackling extinction in different parts of the world.

I firmly believe that it is commencing acts that is going to contribute to salvaging what's left of our planet and not simply refraining from acts of consumption. Two hundred species will have gone extinct by the end of today. The same thing happened yesterday. Refraining from acts of consumption or the "boycott" as we know it, is unlikely to keep up with the pace of extinction.