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mostlysignssomeportents · 6 months

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A taxonomy of corporate bullshit

Next Tuesday (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.

There are six lies that corporations have told since time immemorial, and Nick Hanauer, Joan Walsh and Donald Cohen's new book Corporate Bullsht: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America* provides an essential taxonomy of this dirty six:

https://thenewpress.com/books/corporate-bullsht

In his review for The American Prospect, David Dayen summarizes how these six lies "offer a civic-minded, reasonable-sounding justification for positions that in fact are motivated entirely by self-interest":

https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-10-27-lies-my-corporation-told-me-hanauer-walsh-cohen-review/

I. Pure denial

As far back as the slave trade, corporate apologists and mouthpieces have led by asserting that true things are false, and vice-versa. In 1837, John Calhoun asserted that "Never before has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically, but morally and intellectually." George Fitzhugh called enslaved Africans in America "the freest people in the world."

This tactic never went away. Children sent to work in factories are "perfectly happy." Polluted water is "purer than the water that came from the river before we used it." Poor families "don't really exist." Pesticides don't lead to "illness or death." Climate change is "beneficial." Lead "helps guard your health."

II. Markets can solve problems, governments can't

Alan Greenspan made a career out of blithely asserting that markets self-correct. It was only after the world economy imploded in 2008 that he admitted that his doctrine had a "flaw":

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/greenspan-admits-flaw-to-congress-predicts-more-economic-problems

No matter how serious a problem is, the market will fix it. In 1973, the US Chamber of Commerce railed against safety regulations, because "safety is good business," and could be left to the market. If unsafe products persist in the market, it's because consumers choose to trade safety off "for a lower price tag" (Chamber spox Laurence Kraus). Racism can't be corrected with anti-discrimination laws. It's only when "the market" realizes that racism is bad for business that it will finally be abolished.

III. Consumers and workers are to blame

In 1946, the National Coal Association blamed rampant deaths and maimings in the country's coal-mines on "carelessness on the part of men." In 2003, the National Restaurant Association sang the same tune, condemning nutritional labels because "there are not good or bad foods. There are good and bad diets." Reagan's interior secretary Donald Hodel counseled personal responsibility to address a thinning ozone layer: "people who don’t stand out in the sun—it doesn’t affect them."

IV. Government cures are always worse than the disease

Lee Iacocca called 1970's Clean Air Act "a threat to the entire American economy and to every person in America." Every labor and consumer protection before and since has been damned as a plague on American jobs and prosperity. The incentive to work can't survive Social Security, welfare or unemployment insurance. Minimum wages kill jobs, etc etc.

V. Helping people only hurts them

Medicare will "destroy private initiative for our aged to protect themselves with insurance" (Republican Senator Milward Simpson, 1965). Covid relief is unfair to people that are currently in the workforce" (Republican Governor Brian Kemp, 2021). Welfare produces "learned helplessness."

VI. Everyone who disagrees with me is a socialist

Grover Cleveland's 2% on top incomes is "communistic warfare against rights of property" (NY Tribune, 1895). "Socialized medicine" will leave "our children and our children’s children [asking] what it once was like in America when men were free" (Reagan, 1961).

Everything is "socialism": anti-child labor laws, Social Security, minimum wages, family and medical leave. Even fascism is socialism! In 1938, the National Association of Manufacturers called labor rights "communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism."

As Dayen says, it's refreshing to see how the right hasn't had an original idea in 150 years, and simply relies on repeating the same nonsense with minor updates. Right wing ideological innovation consists of finding new ways to say, "actually, your boss is right."

The left's great curse is object permanence: the ability to remember things, like the fact that it used to be possible for a worker to support a family of five on a single income, or that the economy once experienced decades of growth with a 90%+ top rate of income tax (other things the left manages to remember: the "intelligence community" are sociopathic monsters, not Trump-slaying heroes).

When the business lobby rails against long-overdue antitrust action against Amazon and Google, object permanence puts it all in perspective. The talking points about this being job-destroying socialism are the same warmed-over nonsense used to defend rail-barons and Rockefeller. "If you don't like it, shop elsewhere," has been the corporate apologist's line since slavery times.

As Dayen says, Corporate Bullshit is a "reference book for conservative debating points, in an attempt to rob them of their rhetorical power." It will be out on Halloween:

https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9781620977514

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/27/six-sells/#youre-holding-it-wrong

#pluralistic #corporate bullshit #lies #books #reviews #taxonomies #labor #denialism #consumerism #Nick Hanauer #Joan Walsh #Donald Cohen #history #object permanence #taking the right seriously

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deadpool15 · 6 months

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My girl

Watching her sit there and dance now, that was amazing. I mean, I love to see my girl dance, especially since I know it took her a lot of courage to battle someone like Kristen. She was known in the dance world, and when she went up their you could see it in everyone's eyes. Curiosity yet excitement, though no one wished to take one that level themselves, so when she stood up and looked at us, I knew at that moment I would be happy no matter what. Bada was always cheering us on throughout the entire competition she was on our side. Even when I told her I had a thing for her little sister Yaya. She was our youngest member on the BEBE crew, and now everyone saw the skill and wanted her to join, but she didn't. "You're an amazing dancer, Yaya, and you would be a great addition to the crew. When have I ever been wrong about something like this," we watched Bada sit there trying to compromise with her younger sister, who before today we had no idea she had. "You're my big sister. You're supposed to say that. Can you imagine what it will be like. At times like this, I'm grateful we don't look alike, I'll be known as the downgrade Lee sister."

After some time, we managed to get her on the crew, even getting her to become my girlfriend with the help of her older sister, of course. Getting her listening to the comments of our crew was tough, like we knew that everyone was gonna put on a facade for the show but like wow they were either very good at it or just shit talking for fun. Then, when we heard the comments about Yaya, all hell broke loose.

Biggy- So it seems we have more then a two international teams?

Nob- But she is on team BEBE, so probably just another one of Bada's lost cause of a student.

Redlic- Yes, I remember her she took one of my classes before she isn't the best. It was actually sad to watch.

Redy- She is Bada's younger sister, I remember seeing her when she was a lot younger during our Cupcakes era.

Halo- I would hate to be her. Imagine living in someone's shadow your entire life.

I looked over and was pissed how dare they say that about my fucking girl. She is more talented than any of these wannabes. "That's bullshit and they know it," we were all shocked by Badas' words. Never had she been so ill tempted to swear on camera. We sat down comforting Yaya. She has always been the sensitive type. "Hey, bubbs, don't listen to even of them, ok? You have more talent in your left thumb than they have in their entire bodies." I tell her, smiling while grabbing her body to bring her closer to me. The rest of the team starts nodding their heads, agreeing with me. Everyone else comes down with LADYBOUNCE glaring at us like we were supposed to be scared or gi e a shit.

Back to where we were, the dance battle with Kristen was normal, giving us your average thrill and suspense until it started getting sexual. Now I know how people think when they see Yaya, shit I think like that when I see her. Kristen was giving her the bedroom eyes, my fucking girl. Everyone was sealed once Yaya gained a burst of confidence and decided to throw her ass back against Kristen. Now, any other time one would say a great battler plays along with thie opponents, dancing with them to throw them off their game, it's something I've learned in freestyle. Now, when I see people do it, I praise them for having good battle techniques, but as soon as Kristen started angling her hips to catch some ass I was done. The battle was over. Well, there was, and it seemed like my mine had just begun.

Before I knew it Kristen started becoming closer, I mean Jam Republic as a whole was cool and buddies with us but none of them shared such a distinct interest in a short, ebony beautiful young lady that happened to me my fucking girl. Getting her number to hand out was cool, I'm not overly possessive, so I was fine with that. Going shopping and eating together was ok, but clubbing was just a fucking no no. This leads us to this moment. "Baby, I love you so much, ok. And I trust you wholeheartedly. But you're not going to club with Kristen." I say while holding her waist, causing her smile to drop and back up from me. "Why, not?" I truly do love my baby, but she was so oblivious that sometimes anyone could see that girl wanted her except of course herself. "Baby, she has been trying to get with you for months, and I know she is your friend, and you see her as one, but she definitely wants fuck you ok. Anyone can see it. Especially in that dress I mean I would wanna fuck you too." She smiled for a moment before remembering the situation and there it goes the argument had begin.

"You have always had some time against her from day one when she is just trying to be nice. She is my friend, and I don't say shit about any of your friends that you have out with when you wanna go dance and drink." I was sitting on the bed staring at her. She looked so beautiful in that dress, but it left nothing to the imagination. Her ass was literally hanging out, and it was hard to focus on the right things. "First of all, watch your mouth. You know I don't like the swearing, and second I don't exactly have anything against Kristen, I'm pretty sure she is a nice person when she isn't trying to get into other people's girlfriends pants baby," she rolls her eyes at me before sucking her teeth and then going to the bathroom. "OK, I'm being patient with your baby, and I completely understand you're upset. You got all pretty, and you can't go out, so how about we go do something, huh? Go on a date." I tell her to try to ease the attitude she is having now before I blow up on her. "First of all, fuck you. I'm not going anywhere with you, and second, I'm a grown ass woman. I can swear when I want to, especially when my girlfriend feels like being annoying, ok?" I clenched my jaw before yanking her towards me and shoving her on the bed. "Can't be fucking nice to you can I? You wanna go out and be pretty for your little friend ok. Let's make you look all pretty for her."

And that's how we ended up in this position, with her face down ass up as I shoved my strap into her back to back. I had pressed the record button on my phone a while ago, getting the idea of sending Kristen a little message to make shit clear. "Aww, come on, baby, your camera shy now. You usually love the camera. Love sha-aking your ass on people and all that stuff, don't you. Look at the fucking camera little girl." She glazes up through her lashes, looking so fucking ruined. Just how I like her. Eyes rolling to the back of her head after coming for the fourth time tonight. "Tired baby?" She moans out voice only able to produce moans at this point, she was all fucked out. But I had a point to prove. "How about you tell our little friend here who you belong to, baby?" I smirk, watching her start to scratch the pillows up again, gasping for her. Pushing into her slowly now while rubbing clit. Pussy all swollen, and dripping from the previous times she came. "Can you do it, baby, since you are so grown. Remember that?"

She started whining for me to go faster until I looked to up and seeing Kristen texted her. "Would you look at that baby, your little admirer misses you. I wonder where you are and why you're so busy." I make sure to thrust faster after each word. Her cries can be heard all the way outside the room. "S-soo.... s-sorry....pls." I smile at that, "Are you baby. Ready to be my little obedient girl again, aren't you. Just tell me who you belong to." She tries to hide in my neck away from the camera before yelling out. "M-Minah... Belong to Minah. All yours." I push myself up while grabbing her hips to thrust faster and play with her beautiful tits. I lean over, kissing her cheek before shoving my tongue in her mouth. "That's right, baby, my girl." By the time I was done with her, she forgot all about her plans with Kristen, we lay in bed cuddling while watching a movie, then I looked at the phone and sent the video to her, gotta make sure she understands. "All mine."

(Request by @itstherenaissance)

#street woman fighter 2 #swf2 #minah lee #team bebe #mina lee x reader

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sungbeam · 3 months

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BIRD HUNT — teaser

nonidol!choi line x f!reader

gotham city is a gutter running rampant with the ill, corrupt, and the insane. at times, justice and vengeance must be served by one's own hand... no matter the lengths one must go to do so.

▷ genre, teaser warnings. bat family au, vigilantes au, murder mystery au, action, suspense, humor, swearing, mentions of dead bodies, murder, grief, corruption

▷ taglist. open

▷ first ep drop. feb 2nd?, pst (or earlier if i somehow get more writing done)

series masterlist

TEASER BELOW THE CUT (APPROX. 800 WORDS)

"How do you know Ln Yn?"

Beomgyu whirled around just as Soobin settled into the desk chair, waiting. Beomgyu made a scoffing noise, eyebrows flying up to his shaggy bangs. "Where did that come from?"

Soobin shrugged. "You tell me." He slurped up a bit more milk from his cereal before adding, "You're the one who reacted like that in front of everyone when she said she was grieving her mother's death. You sounded shocked that she died."

"Well yeah, wouldn't you be shocked to hear someone else died within the past three days?"

"Stop trying to bullshit him, Gyu."

Both the brothers looked up at the voice who had just entered the underground space. Yeonjun strolled into the main area in a white tank top and sweats, hair sticking up in different places. He stretched his arms above his head and yawned loud and wide.

Soobin cocked a brow at him. "Nice of you to finally join us, hyung. How'd the 'date' go?"

"Great," Yeonjun quipped. "We're going on a second one soon. I think Felix almost sent me off with a kiss goodnight." He slumped onto the edge of the desk, eyes lazily taking in the images and information displayed on the many monitor screens. "This is our stiff, huh?"

Soobin sent him a look that distinctly read 'No, we're just looking at dead bodies for fun.'

"Yeah," Beomgyu replied. "The note the killer left is so familiar to me though. Have you seen it before?" He knocked his knuckles against the monitor with the note.

Yeonjun's eyes narrowed on the screen, before he leaned back with that bored look renewed on his face. "You're both idiots. It's from that one killing a couple weeks ago."

Beomgyu and Soobin traded looks. "What?"

Their eldest brother leaned down to reach the lowest drawer at the desk. From its depths, he fished out a large bag of chips and grabbed a handful to stuff his face with. "Y'know," he garbled and gestured vaguely with his crumb-dusted fingers. "Beomgyu, you know! You were there with me. It was that one lawyer guy who was found dead in his car beneath the bridge. That same note was taped to his windshield."

"Oh yeah," Beomgyu drawled, while Soobin shook his head with a sigh. The former then knocked his foot against the latter's shin. "Aye! You didn't even know it."

"Yeah, because I wasn't on that case," Soobin fired back. He finished off the rest of his bowl of cereal and set the empty ceramic in his lap before crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes, like his brothers', were lined beneath with heavy eye bags. Someone was supposed to be on patrol around the city right now, but neither of the three brothers were in any rush to get up. "So it's just one person going after these people then."

Yeonjun chewed his bottom lip. "Then we just gotta find the connection."

"Was the lawyer guy from a couple weeks ago Lee Sungjae's attorney?" Soobin asked.

Beomgyu grabbed a hold of the wireless keyboard on the desk and braced it upon his thighs. He pulled up an internet browser and typed in their inquiry. All three brothers made noises of disgruntlement; if the lawyer hadn't been Sungjae's attorney, then how were they connected? It was no secret that 99.9 percent of the population here in Gotham had some sort of shadow looming over their shoulder. It was almost impossible to get anywhere without the help of a corrupt figure, whether that be a mob boss like the Penguin or a loan shark with special strategies to get someone to pay up.

Either way, there would be lots of digging required.

"Let's start with Lee Sungjae and the lawyer's records,'' Soobin decided as he sat up in the chair. "We'll sort through phone records, acquire security footage of their movements, their texts, etcetera."

"I call none of those," Yeonjun said. When his younger brothers scowled at him, he raised both hands in feigned surrender with a giggle. "Fine, fine. You're both lookin' at me like I murdered your favorite puppy."

They remained silent.

"What, too soon?"

The basement headquarters suddenly erupted in a dull siren sound, and Beomgyu was swift to pull up a set of footage on one of the monitors. It displayed a section of the sky, a white spotlight circle cast against a massive, dark gray cumulus cloud with a distinct bat shape in the center—their call to action.

All three men were on their feet in an instant—keyboard and cereal bowl abandoned on the table, capes and utility belts clicked into place.

"Meet you losers there!" Yeonjun hollered as the cave filled with the revving roar of his motorcycle engine like a clap of thunder.

Soobin and Beomgyu hurried over to their respective cycles. "Hey, we're not done talking about Yn!" Soobin called to his younger brother.

Beomgyu flashed him a thin smile. "That's what you think!" And he sped away down the runway.

Soobin chuckled to himself, grinning. Then he revved his engine and launched himself after his brothers.

permanent taglist: @flwoie @vatterie @seomisaho @hqrana @ja4hyvn @outrologist @meosjinnn @hyunjaespresent-deobi @stayarmytinyzenmoa-l @gyulfriend @polarisjisung @jaehunnyy @shakalakaboomboo @soonyoungblr @loveliestfelix @zhaixiaowen @justanotherkpopstanlol @w3bqrl @kangfication @fluorescentloves @haechansbbg @super-btstrash-posts @http-gyu @mvvnsseul @mars101 @rikizm

series taglist: @winterchimez @mosviqu @boba-beom @strawbrinkofdeath @baek-at-it-again95 @todosmash

#txt x reader #choi yeonjun x reader #choi soobin x reader #choi beomgyu x reader #yeonjun x reader #beomgyu x reader #soobin x reader #txt oneshots #txt series #txt imagines #txt scenarios #txt drabbles #yeonjun imagines #yeonjun oneshot #beomgyu imagines #beomgyu oneshot #soobin imagines #soobin oneshot

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listen-to-the-inner-walrus · 10 months

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can you explain why you dont believe the titanic switch conspiracy theory? didnt they find a propeller with "olympic" written on it amongst the wreckage?

i feel like the phrase "you just activated my trap card" applies here but i have also never watched yu-gi-oh so dont fully know the correct use of that. anyway whats the text limit on a tumblr post because i think i might hit it with this response.

before we begin (if you wanna join me on this fucking journey), ill just drop some useful sources on the topic:

olympic & titanic - an analysis of the robin gardiner conspiracy theory dissertation by mark chirnside in july 2006

titanic or olympic: which ship sank? by steve hall and bruce beveridge

olympic & titanic: the truth behind the conspiracy by steve hall and bruce beveridge

with that shipkeeping housekeeping out of the way, lets jump into it after the cut

so hands up, how many people knew that this theory originated in a book from 1995?

yeah, its a pretty modern theory considering titanic sank in 1912. the theory originated in the riddle of the titanic by robin gardiner and dan van der dat.

and the theory argues that the ships were switched and titanic (actually olympic) was deliberately sank as part of an insurance scam. now they didnt do this at all for shits and giggles. instead, the theory posits that the navy enquiry that followed the 1911 collision between hms hawke and olympic was biased which meant white star line couldnt recover the costs of repair from lloyds (the insurance company), and therefore, they wrote olmpic off as too damaged to be repaired, lied about the amount of damage, switched the ships and sank olympic disguised as titanic to recover some costs.

far-fetched? oh definitely and it gets worse, but ill leave that til later in this gargantuan response because its really fucking funny.

(seriously, i recommend you read til the end or just skip to the part where i start talking about the sinking itself because fam, gardiners theory gets wild )

according to van der dat, who is a dutch journalist and naval history writer with an incredibly dutch name, gardiner had wrote the manuscript after researching the titanic for however many years and sent it to his literary agent. this agent had previously worked with van der dat and so sent it to him to double-check the information by going back to the original sources. he then rewrote the book with line-by-line consultation with gardiner.

and would you like to hear a quote from van der dat regarding the theory? i think you would:

"the publishers were disillusioned when the theory did not stand up"

he also, in correspondence with titanic author and researcher paul lee, called it "bilge" which is a fun ship joke alongside calling the theory bullshit.

anyway, the publishers went ahead with the book anyway because fuck integrity, i guess... thats kinda harsh considering this first book (oh yeah, theres more) was praised for stellar research and for being balanced, and the final chapter of the book literally acknowledges that the wreck has titanics shipyard number (401) on it, hence disproving the theory.

in 1997, it was published in the us under the name the titanic conspiracy - cover-ups and mysteries of the worlds most famous sea disaster, and it sold like sliced bread in 1928 because 1997 was titanic fever, baby!

unsurprisingly, gardiner's following books (titanic: the ship that never sank? in 1998; the history of the white star line in 2001; the great titanic conspiracy in 2010) were a lot less well-received and were not co-authored by van der dat.

"but wait, kai!" you might shout if youre up to date with issues of the times from 1914, "what about raymond asquith's comments? he was junior counsel for the board of trade at the sinking inquiry!"

and i would say, what about it? the letter asquith wrote to the times was a sarcastic letter in response to a prior stance taken by the paper.

yes, he said "the architect, the owner, and the captain to repair their desperate fortunes by sinking the ship and sharing the insurance money" but said letter also included the phrase "manipulating dummy icebergs".

if were taking sarcastic or satirical responses outside of their original contexts as serious quotes, then i guess i need to cancel my dropout subscription since the company holds the opinion that oj simpson is innocent.

and while were here, that single deathbed confession from james fenton is not evidence of anything. his name is not on any crew lists or survivor lists, and not a single payment was ever claimed by a crewman called james fenton. he was not on board the titanic and his claims hold no weight.

now, my go-to explanation as to why i dont believe the switch theory is that their insurance scam would have lost them money and they would know that it would have lost them money.

see, it cost white star (which was a subsidiary of the international mercantile marine) £1.5million/$7.5million to build titanic and they insured it by lloyds (you can check their records on their website) for £1million/$5million.

you dont have to be good at maths to see a problem here.

they didnt just not insure the rest; it was self-insured by imm's insurance fund, but that still means theyd have lost £500,000/$2.5million on the sunken ship.

this whole insurance thing was established by uh the united states senate inquiry report:

"the vessel fully equipped, cost £1,500,000 sterling, or about $7,500,000. at the time of the accident the vessel carried insurance of £1,000,000 sterling or about $5,000,000, the remaining risk being carried by the company's insurance fund."

oh and the £1,000,009 insurance was announced in the daily mirror on 16th april 1912

and the insurance scam seemingly thought up by someones whose first and only introduction to maths was golf isnt the only way white star would have lost money on this.

after the sinking, olympic was temporarily pulled from service to increase safety measures like adding more lifeboats. obviously, a logical move made by a company with a brand new, safer ship on their hands who were desperate for any money they can make.

white star also halted construction of britannic, titanics other sister ship, in order to alter the design and make it safer. this costs quite a bit of money and is, again, an odd choice for a company apparently desperate for money.

and hey, question for you guys: if you were alive in 1913 and needed to cross the atlantic, would you

a) choose the near identical sister ship of that ship that sank last year and was the deadliest sinking of a ship at that time

b) choose any other option such as the lusitania or the mauretania or the ss france or the ss imperator

personally id take my chances with option a, idk about you

yeah so the point im making here is that the sinking of the titanic was what the kids say

a marketing disaster

it was the loss of the newest flagship on its maiden fucking voyage and it had been touted as "practically unsinkable". maybe just maybe people wouldnt feel that comfortable getting on a white star line ship after that.

i dont have any figures for you because reading through a detailed account of white stars history just is not on my to-do list, but that doesnt even matter. what matters is that its clearly a massive risk and who the fuck is taking that risk?

as titanic author, senan molony states:

"one doesnt need to compare designs and count portholes - a moments serious consideration of the reputational risk involved - individually and collectively - is all that is required to end any entertainment of the notion"

anyway, you guys wanna compare designs and count portholes? yeah? okay, here we go!

may i present a non-exhaustive list of differences between the ships:

olympics wheelhouse was curved; titanics was flat

titanic was 4 inches longer

the porthole arrangements on shelter deck c were different

on b deck, olympic had a 1st class promenade; titanic had 2 private verandahs and suites (put a pin in this by the way, it comes back in the best of ways)

titanic had additional cabins on promenade deck a

olympics promenade was open all the way along; on titanic, the forward half of the 1st class promenade on a-deck was enclosed with retractable glass screens

on titanic, the forward bridge wings aft docking bridge on the stern extended over the ships side by a couple of feet; this would not be true for olympic until the 1912/13 refit

the officers deck house was pushed out more on titanic

the iron gates of the elevators were different between the ships and this is evident in the wreck itself

their propellers had different pitches and hence not interchangeable (pitch is a theoretical concept which is like the distance a propeller would move if it turned once through something solid, yeah i dont know either)

the wireless cabin had an outside window on olympic, but not titanic

further, it was placed on the port side of the officers deck house on olympic but amidship on titanic

they had different air vent arrangements around the funnels

white star line cut the ships names into the shell-plating at the bow and stern, four feet high and a ½ inch deep

now, please, close your eyes, take a deep breath and consider how much money it would cost to switch just the list above. now compare all of that to the -£500,000/$2.5million youre losing in the insurance scam.

truly, a spend less on candles situation.

and while we're here, shall we quickly talk about how much hush money white star would be paying to silence everyone about this since its apparently an illegal insurance scam.

not to make another non-exhaustive list but heres just who i can think of that youd have to silence:

the 15,000 workers employed directly by the shipyard

the 20,000+ workers in support services or sub contractors

any permanent or casual staff at the belfast dock and harbour comission

all of the officers and crew who came directly from olympic onto titanic such as the captain or stewardess violet jessop (puppet history fans rise up) who interestingly remarked on how improved titanic was compared to olympic

any staff at white star, imm and harland & wolff (where she was built) who would be in the know such as designers

passengers who had previously sailed on olympic who then sailed on titanic

just like anyone in belfast who walked past while the ships were docked together

olympics wreckers: thomas wards & sons who kept huge loose-leaf ledgers for each ships. the one for olympic was 72 pages long and funnily enough olympics yard number and builders I'd frequently appear in it, as seen below

bob ballard who was the one who found titanic. hes known as a very honest man and didnt even claim salvage rights on titanic because he assumed everyone else would also recognise it was a gravesite. he also said "i think it is the titanic at the bottom of the ocean"

every other explorer or researcher like james fucking cameron or us navy consultant and titanic wreck explorer, parks stephenson

its been estimated likely over 60,000 people were involved in just the building of titanic. this was ⅕ of belfasts population and ⅓ of the working population. heres a photo of them leaving olympic at the end of the day

now maybe im just a fool, but that looks like a lot of people you need to silence, and unless white star were blackmailing them or idk fucking killing them i guess, thats a lot of hush money just in the photo above.

i mean, theres also the claim, from noted liar james fenton, that the surviving crew were forced to sign the official secrets act of 1911, but that act was about espionage that benefits the enemy military so im not sure how this is relevant to the switch, and also, again, the guy was never on the ship.

are you perhaps starting to get the picture as to why i dont believe the conspiracy theory because im still going.

okay so as established, if the ships were switched, there would have clearly been a lot of work that would need to be done to switch the ships.

and i only mentioned some of the structural differences, i didnt get into the aesthetic differences like the floor tiles and carpeting being different colours, or how the lounge furniture in each ship having the ship name on them.

mind you, this is what titanic looked like (in the foreground) when olympic was first docked next to her:

this was taken around october 11. olympic docked next to titanic on october 7th for repairs after that whole catastrophic collision.

now how much time do you think it was before olympic sailed away? mind you, titanic has already been launched at this point and just needs to be fitted-out, and that normally takes around 4 to 6 months?

oh, what was that? 44 days? why, kid, youre going somewhere. it was 44 days exactly!

now, i dont think i need to get into the fact that the dock only had 1 crane (which you needed to install and uninstall funnels and machinery) that physically couldnt reach olympic unless she was moved or how olympic was painted white for her launch and then painted black and that the white paint would get exposed in rough weather so the same would have to be applied to titanic so it would look convincingly like olympic.

i mean, you have that information now, but im hoping just by the words "44 days", you might get how off the wall insane it is to suggest white star was able to switch the ships so well no one noticed for decades in 44 fucking days.

"wait kai, youre forgetting that they were docked together again!" you shout, "after olympic threw a propeller, they were docked together from march 1st to march 7th 1912"

and i dont know dude, im pretty sure white star cant warp space time so i really dont know what eight extra days is gonna do.

i hate to strawman but man, the late robin gardiner would have won a gold medal in scarecrow hide and seek.

lets also take a quick detour into the idea that olympics repairs were so expensive.

without getting into gardiners claims about the damage because theres no evidence of it and as mark chirnside states "there are no credible sources indicating that the damage to olympic was worse than reported at the time - and indeed ample sworn expert testimony to the contrary", lets just quickly go over some financial stuff.

during the case, it was unofficially estimated that the damage didnt exceed $125,000. imm, by including lost passenger receipts, wanted to claim for as high as $750,000, but they lost that case.

during the year 1911, imms surplus profit was $822,062. so weve got:

750,000 > 822,062

now as we might remember from key stage 1 maths, the bigger number eats the smaller number, aka, their surplus profit covered the costs of repair.

aka, no ill-advised insurance scam needed.

"thousands of people in belfast would have seen the switch operation - and yet there is not one word in the papers of reporters or photographers rushing out to find out what was happening."

-dr paul lee

so this is the section where i ask how did no one fucking notice?

no one on titanic, who had previously sailed on olympic, ever said anything about the switch other than one guy who was literally not on the ship at any point.

no one who has ever explored the wreck or done research on it has definitively stated it was olympic. rather, they have definitively stated otherwise.

for example, what remains of the base on the wheelhouse shows it to be straight and not curved, and as you might remember: titanics wheelhouse was heterosexual straight and olympics was curved.

(id be impressed if you did remember)

also, as parks stephenson has stated:

"weve got actual high def images of this wreck. ive seen with my own eyes. weve identified the name titanic on the port bow"

its difficult to make out but its there; the name is on the fucking ship.

also, as you might remember, titanics b-deck was different to olympics. the 2 suites there were nicknamed the "millionaire suites" and jim cameron has used rovs to go inside of them.

funnily enough, robin gardiner has gone on the record saying that these suites didnt exist so make of that what you will.

and further, no one noticed anything about olympic even though she sailed for 24 more years. theres no written record of anything, theres nothing in the board of trade reports, theres no photographic proof and theres not even fucking hearsay.

she served as a damn troopship in ww1, youd figure someone would figure it out as all of her fittings were ripped out.

but no, theres nothing.

as i mentioned above, olympic was scrapped in 1935, but some of her fittings were auctioned off and still exist today. and these have the number 400 on them because that was her shipyard number. titanics was 401 and the wreck reflects this also:

the wooden parts are from olympic; the other has been salvaged from titanics wreck.

theres even the famous myth that olympic or olympus as one person told me is written on the propeller at the bottom of the ocean. its not, but you can see the number 401 written on it:

and while were disproving myths about the name olympic being on the titanic, the story about olympic being engraved on titanics lifeboats is also false:

theres no written testimony, no sketches and no photographs of this.

white star didnt engrave names onto lifeboats, the names were on metal plates that were screwed on

do you really think they did all of this work but just didnt fucking swap the lifeboats? if theyre this stupid, how did it take until 1995 for someone to figure it out?

we can also discuss the stupid olympic room thing while were here. see theres a maritime superstition that changing the name on a ship is bad luck and obviously, if youre swapping the ships, youre changing the names.

so to... get around this? cheat luck? outsmart superstition? i dont fucking know, to take a detour to avoid this, white star named a room "the olympic room."

i cannot find any evidence at all that this room ever existed. its not in the design plans or the blueprints, and no passenger or crew has ever said it existed, so im pretty sure the room just didnt exist.

and even if it did exist, titanic was in the olympic class of ships. thats what olympic, titanic and britannic were. its not weird to have an olympic room on an olympic class ship. i mean it is weird in this case since the room didnt exist, but you get my point.

and heres some quickfire myths and falsehoods

the myth about the 14 vs 16 bow portholes is also a false. yes, titanic had 14 portholes on launch but an extra 2 were added before her maiden voyage so yes, the ship photographed departing southampton with 16 bow portholes is the titanic, and do you really think it would take 83 years to figure this out if it was this easy?

similarly, titanic did have evenly spaced b-deck windows on launch, but then the extra verandahs and suites were added so the window configuration was altered, so that photograph is off the titanic.

the idea that titanic had a 2 degree list to port like the olympic before her is evidence of the switch theory is, to borrow a word from dan van der dat, bilge. plenty of ships at the time and now have minor lists. the one on titanic was only recorded by 2 passengers and we know that the list was related to coal consumption. it means nothing.

jp morgan (owner of imm) did not cancel last minute. as mark baber points out on encyclopedia titanica, it was announced in the new york times that hed be in venice on april 23. at that time, transatlantic voyages took at least 5 days so it would at least be a 10 day round trip and likely not give him time to get to venice for the opening of a store of whatever it was.

also, j bruce ismays wife and kids also didnt cancel last minute. theyd already decided to go on holiday to wales rather than sail on titanic.

addendum to that point: if ismay knew it was going to be sank deliberately and so warned his wife, why would he get on board himself? further, why would harland and wolff designer thomas andrews (who did not survive by the way) get on board?

and we're finally at my favourite part of this entire mess: the sinking itself.

see, a deliberate sinking doesnt really make sense for titanic because the conditions under which she sank has led to the descriptor "freak sinking."

these are: a new moon meaning less light, unusually calm ocean that disallowed lookouts to watch for foam as waves hit any icebergs, ice having drifted further south than normal for that time of year, and a sideways glancing blow that breached more watertight compartments than the ship could handle and stay afloat.

and idk dude, is there not an easier way? like maybe some light arson. just call it an accidental fire that got out of control and led to the ship being a write-off, this isnt difficult.

but you see gardiner has an answer to this, and i am laughing as im typing this, he claims that:

titanic didnt hit an iceberg, it hit an imm rescue ship.

thats right, this guy fully says titanic didnt hit an iceberg. apparently it hit another ship and NO ONE FUCKING NOTICED

i mean we have testimony from survivors but fuck them i guess.

he claims that as titanic was apparently a "steel double-hulled vessel" so an iceberg simply couldnt inflict so much damage.

yeah titanic wasnt double-hulled. she had a double bottom, but it was only after titanic that shipbuilders were like ah maybe full double hulls arent an unnecessary expense after all.

theres also the issue of uh no evidence of this rescue ship ever existing? at all? i dont know where it came from, i dont know where it went, and who fucking knows, maybe it was called the rms cotton eyed joe.

yeah so weve got a theory riddled with problems and im just gonna introduce some more problems with this theory as gardiner has also alleged that:

the original plan was to open the seacocks and slowly flood the ship, but this was interrupted by titanic hitting another ship

1) titanic didnt have seacocks? and 2) was the rest of it a coincidence then? i think its meant to be a coincidence.

i believe his theory is alleging that the crew on titanic would open the seacocks that didnt exist to flood the ship slowly, and that the imm rescue ship that also didnt exist was in the area in advance to help evacuate passengers, alongside other ships such as the ss californian.

this is that ship that was like 10 miles away or something and didnt respond to titanics distress signals. according to gardiner, they were expecting a rendezvous with titanic according to the "original plan", but never received it.

instead, they saw the rockets of the fabled imm rescue ship and helped them instead.

this is fucking stupid.

i cant be charitable here, its a fucking stupid theory. i mean, that imm ship did not exist, and also californian is a ridiculous choice for a rescue ship. her capacity was 47 passengers and 55 crew; there were more than 2200 people on board titanic.

to counteract this argument, gardiner alleges carpathia was also in on the scheme as a rescue ship. she, at least, had capacity for the passengers, but theres also several problems with this too.

for one, it was fucking 50 miles away and famously arrived several hours after the sinking even though the captain had her running at top speed to get there.

for two, carpathia was owned by cunard, white stars rival. was their rival line in on the insurance scam??? how much money did they have to pay cunard for this????? why? just why?

do you understand why i dont believe it? please tell me you understand. i need you to understand. i need you to tell me that you understand that the guy who created this conspiracy claimed titanic didnt hit an iceberg.

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wannaeatramyeon · 9 months

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Masterlist of Lookism ✨Bullshit✨ Pt 2

Lookism Masterlist | You're here! Part 2 ☞ (multi-character headcanons/dynamics)

Lookism Storylines ☞ (fun shit. mix of x reader and with reader)

Gun + Goo | Jake + Samuel | Everyone else ☞ (single character-centric standalones)

... Even More Lookism Masterlist ☞ (different characters in same scenarios series)

How To Fight/Viral Hit Masterlist | Seong Taehoon

Multi-Character Headcanons/Dynamics

Lookism actually contributing to society (Eli, Johan, Jake, Samuel, Eugene, Gun, Goo)

Lookism boys crushing on you (Johan, Jake, Vasco, Gun, Goo) | Part 2 (Samuel, Zack, Daniel, Eugene)

Lookism shopping headcanons (Johan, Gun, Jake, Goo)

Lookism jealous headcanons: Least jealous (Jake, Vasco, Gun, Daniel, Eli) | Most jealous (Vin, Goo, Samuel, Johan)

Lookism with non South Korean S/O (Gun, Samuel, Vasco, Jake)

Lookism being a menace at your window (Gun to Daniel, Vasco, Jake, Johan, Goo, Samuel)

Lookism first date headcanon (Zack, Goo, Gun, Samuel, Jake, Johan)

Lookism sharing love hotel room headcanon (Samuel, Gun, Jake, Goo, Johan, Daniel, Vasco, Zack, DG)

Lookism x Reader: tall, quiet, glasses (Goo, Jake)

Lookism Ideal Types (Johan, Jake, Gun, Goo)

Lookism boys... resting their head in your lap hc (Johan, Jake, Gun, Goo, Vasco, Vin, Warren)

Lookism reacting to S/O getting hurt (Jake, Samuel, Warren, Gun, Goo)

Lookism x Reader: Twerking (Jake, Goo, Samuel, Gun, DG)

Lookism boys as dads + what their kid's like (Jake, Samuel, Warren, Goo, Ryuhei, Eugene, Vasco, Zack, Johan)

Lookism Yanderes: Gun Park, Goo Kim, Samuel Seo | DG/James Lee

Shopping with your boyfriend: Gun Park, Eugene

Lookism Boys with Petite S/O: Johan, Vin, Jake, Samuel, Goo

Lookism Boys being ill + YOU looking after them hc (Gun, Goo, Samuel, Jake, Vin, Johan)

Accidentally hurting S/O: Goo, Jake, Gun, Samuel, Vin

Lookism Boys helping with Recovery (Gun, Goo, Samuel, Vasco, Eli)

Lookism x Reader: Kabedon with Samuel, Gun, Johan, Goo, Jake

Medic!Reader tending to Samuel Seo, Gun Park, Johan Seong

Love at First Sight Double-Take at First-ish Meeting: Gun, Goo, Jake, Sammy, Vin + Taehoon!

Lookism Boys in committed relationships (longer term etc): Sammy, Jake, Eli, Gun, Goo, Vin

Lookism guys: What they like about you(r body): Gun, Goo, Jake, Sam, Vin

Seasons of Lookism: Jake, Goo, Samuel, Gun

Lookism with Tired, Introvert S/O hc: Vasco, Goo, Jake, Gun

Lookism x Reader: You, too busy to eat. Gun, Jakey, Goo, Sammy

Lookism as your Older Sibling: Goo, Gun, DG, Ten Geniuses

Big Deal Shenanigans: Lua is back

Makeup nonsense with your boyfriend: Gun Park, Goo Kim

Bloody Research with your boyfriend: Gun Park, Goo Kim

You're not my type: Goo, Gun

With an annoying, clingy!SO - Gun, Goo, Jake, Vin, Taehoon hc

Your box of belongings: Gun, Goo, Samuel

Lookism x Reader: Vulnerability (Vin, Goo, Gun)

Lookism x Reader: Simps (Gun, Ryuhei, Jake)

Lookism x Reader: Happy Holidays! (All my blorbos - Gun Park, Goo Kim, Ryuhei Kuroda, Jake Kim, Vin Jin, Samuel Seo)

Lookism: "No thank you! I have a partner!" - Gun Park, Ryuhei Kuroda, Goo Kim, DG, Vin Jin, Jake Kim, Samuel Seo

Lookism Guys: Ruffling their Hair - Gun, Jake, Sammy, Ryuhei, Johan, Vincent

Lookism x Reader: Subway Stumble (Jake, Gun, Goo)

#I'm sorry #these masterlists are getting insane. I hit link limit again...#lookism headcanons #lookism hc #lookism x reader #lookism #lookism fanfic #lookism fic #wannaeatramyeon #masterlist

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creative-kny-fics · 21 days

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hey!!!!! how are you?

if fic are open..... can I ask you for some lee: Muichiro and ler: Tanjiro or Genya?

Thank you for reading, you don't have to write if you don't want to ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Well, the three certainly have a nice friendship, so I don't see why not!

Lee: Muichiro Tokito

Lers: Genya Shinazugawa and Tanjiro Kamado

Class had ended, the trio were preparing to leave when... 'KAMADO TANJIRO!!'

'Oh... What's up Genya?' 'Let's talk about this somewhere else...'

They went to the nearest cafeteria, once Aoi left the meals and left, Genya told him about his problem.

Sanemi, his older brother and a mathematics teacher, had threatened to confiscate his free festival tickets if Genya's rank was not the best. 'Oh... I understand... Mmmmm, maybe we could find someone to help you study! Something like a private teacher!'

'Hey, why don't we ask Aoi for help?! AOI!!!', Inosuke hadn't even received a response and was already taking action.

But Genya refused, covering his red face as he repeated 'Not girls! Girls noooo!!', fortunately when Aoi arrived, Inosuke asked her for the second dish. 'Hmmm, I was planning to ask Kanao or Shinobu-San for help... But I respect your decision of no women!'

Tanjiro snapped his fingers, he had the perfect candidate!

'TOKITO-KUN!!', Tanjiro knocked on the door of the residence. From it came one of the Tokito brothers, precisely Muichiro, who welcomed them.

After hearing the story, he agreed on the condition that Genya call him 'Tokito-San', and he reluctantly agreed.

'Wow...Tanjiro was right, you're terrible at this. I think I should have agreed to let Kotetsu use his robot on you instead of letting him go out with that boy in yellow and that girl face...', Tanjiro gasped and Genya resisted the urge to yell and curse him.

'T-Tokito-Kun! That was very rude and impolite!'

'Telling the truth is not being rude and ill-mannered... I gave him easy exercises and he still took too long to answer the questions...'

Genya growled, it was the only thing missing, first Sanemi and, now, a child were complaining to him about his grades. But Tanjiro wasn't going to sit idly by, it wasn't the right way to help his friend.

'Tokito-Kun... I feel obliged to do it... Excuse me' 'What-? T-TANJIRO NO!!', Muichiro grabbed Tanjiro by the wrists and tried to push him away, but he wasn't so successful.

Genya was also an older brother and knew what Tanjiro was trying to do, so he approached him and held him by the arms, pinning him in a hug.

'Well, this can be resolved in two ways... If you say a few words of support to Genya, I'll let you go free. Otherwise, you'll know what will happen...'

'WHAT?! BUT HE'S TERRIBLE AT MATH, I HAVE TO BE HONEST!!', Tanjiro sighed and knelt down.

Muichiro thought it was ridiculous, it wasn't the first time he was tickled, Yui always did it, but now?! Although... He wasn't Yui...

'T-Tanjiro... Thihihis is... RiHIdiculohohous...!! Mhmhmhmhm!! G-Gehehenyahaha!! L-lehehet me gohohoho!!'

'No. Tanjiro is right, be a better teacher and tell me some words of support or I won't let you go~'

'Buhuhut yohohou suhuhuck in mahahath!!' 'Then deal with this'

Genya simply laughed and started running one of his fingers down his neck, trying not to laugh when Muichiro shrugged from laughing. As if it were worse for Muichiro, Tanjiro dared to tell Genya to give him a raspberry on his neck while he continued to squeeze his sides.

'W-wahahaihit!! I wihihill dohoho ihihihit!! EAHAHAHAHA!! NOHOHOT THAHAHAT!! O-okahahahay!! No no no no no!! COHOHOMEHEHE OHOHON!!'

'Come on, you think you could fool us with that "I'll do it" bullshit?! Please! We have siblings and they ALWAYS do the same thing when they realize the tickling won't stop, right Tanjiro?!', Tanjiro nodded.

'LEHEHET ME GOHOHO!! THEHEHE LEHESSOHOHON-!!' 'The lesson will continue after you say something nice to me, say it and we'll stop~'

Muichiro was stubborn and flatly refused, he was being honest, right?

'WAHAHAIHIT!! AHAHAHAHAHA!! YOHOHOU TWOHOHO AHAREHEHE TO MUHUHUCH!!'

'Come on Tokito-Kun, are you seriously using that tone with Genya knowing the consequences? Last chance, will you colaborate~?', he received no response. 'Well, poke poke poke', Tanjiro said, as he poke his belly button

Muichiro put his head back, he thought of something that is short but convincing enough for both of them. 'GEHENYAHAHA!! YOHOHOU AHAHARE AHAHAHAHAHA GREHEHEHAHAT MHMHMHMHM STUDEHEHEHENT!!'

'Sorry, what did you say? I can't understand you if you laugh so much~!', Tanjiro laughed and stopped Genya.

And he did it just in time, Yuichiro came in looking for his brother and found him in a ball. When he asked them, their response was 'he was surprised by Genya's math skills', Yuichiro didn't believe it until his brother gave a thumbs up in approval.

'You are better?'

'Y-yehehes...'

'Well, we have to continue with the lesson and I hope that this time you treat me with more respect unless I want that "break" again~'

Muichiro got up and sat down, he didn't deny that he felt okay, but that wasn't relevant to the lesson, although it was relevant to the future

#demon slayer tickling #demon slayer tickle #ler!tanjiro #ler!genya #lee!muichiro #kimetsu academy

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bulkhummus · 4 months

Text

wtnv 240 react

not a scary title at all 👍

DISPARITION JUMPSCARE

on god if this is some bullshit about anxiety as a parent and its NOT framed through cecil Carlos and esteban im gonna tear my hair out

garbage eaters<3333

LEE MARVIN MY LOOOOVEEEEEEEEEEEE

man I have to go make a meme about a boy with a knife

HEY UM HEY WHY DO U WANNA GO TO CARLOS' LAB

8. devours you say....... 9. the desert other world........... sorry im thinking about Carlos being so sweet to this boy and showing him his experiments and also a little concerned 10. so much of it is beautiful ill fucking cry I WANT YOU TO FEEL LIKE YOU CAN ALWAYS DROP IN IF YOU NEED TO ILL CRY ILL CRY 11. CARLOS WHYD U LET HIM LEAVE ITS A BOY 12. lee marvinnnnnnnn leeeeeeeeeeeeee 13. feeling lighter that tapes are gone hmmm weighed down by legacy hmmmmmmm hmmmmmm 14. cecil gets stabbed when 15. PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT AND INDICATOR OF FUTURE RESULTS IM GONNA THROW UPPPPPPP 16. cecil being so scaredy cute cuuute cute 17. it would make it much easier if you weren't afraid 18. GREATEST WEAPON IS MY VOICE YES BABYGIRL 19.you have to become c 20. bro

holy fuckkkkkkkkkkk ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok

#fandoms gonna be batshit about this I already know #wtnv #wtnv spoilers #welp

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inlocusmads · 2 months

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list of ocs in my crimes canon:

oof okay so this took a While lmao. I hope to keep this list handy because it's easier for me to explore these characters once they're written on paper.

There are two categories: 'the recurring cast' who make cameos in fics and' 'potential crossovers' that I still wrote down, but not sure how it might "feel" like. I also have a third category - 'one-offs' as in they're mentioned but you don't see them everm but they're just only 2-3 characters and their stories are already over, so... I dunno lmao. Maybe I'll make a different list and add those guys in.

recurring cast:

Buddy "Bull" Bager (he/him, 45): Nora's number one contact for anything to do with famous people. Bull's been in many social circles - from being a concierge at fancy hotels to driving around celebrities and he's got all the insider information. He's strong, was a big name in underground street fighting rings but now wants to settle down and start businesses he's passionate about - ranging from a mechanic shop to a bakery. Got his nickname "Bull" because he once wore a t-shirt that had a picture of one, once.

Skilner (he/him, 63): Ex-drug supplier turned janitor for literally any place imaginable. He's good with names and addresses and doesn't forget people easily, which makes him a great contact if you're looking for someone on a more domestic level. Pretty old, so doesn't fight much. He has a niece whom he loves very much and would move mountains for. He aspires to put his old life behind him and really work to being a normal guy, get an education if he can afford it somewhere down the road.

Mx. TJ (they/them, 29): Former bank robber - well not exactly in the way you'd expect - but yes, they did bypass the security system just to tell the authorities how stupid their security system really was. Now TJ doesn't do it all that much since they and their team are on the run. If Luke can get through security tapes, TJ can barrel through government servers. They usually have a 'scratch my back and ill scratch yours' way of payment, so Nora would usually have to supply them information or run errands on behalf of them. TJ also takes cases on a 'dire' basis, meaning Nora can't just contact them to look up xyz unless it is an absolute emergency.

Officer Jillian (she/they, 32): Jillian was Nora's coworker at the 53rd precinct and still works there. They keep her updated on all happenings within the NYPD and beyond. Jillian also has many friends in restaurant circles, so she's the one to go for, if you're ever looking for recommendations or if you're looking to track down a person's tastes in cuisine. Nora actually learned of Ricochet's taste in this particular hollandaise sauce that they served in the Sensation En Bouche thanks to Jillian doing her homework on high profile criminals and where they usually go. They're also the first to call out on Nora's bullshit in the sparse moments they hang out.

Monty Jackson (he/him, 31): Monty was very close to Trystan since he was one of the latter's very first friends in New York. Monty runs a small sandwich shop with his college friends Lee and Todd. He doesn't know what he wants to do with life, but will gladly help you out with yours. He isn't much of an informant or anything - can't do much for you, but like Skilner, he's pretty good with names and addresses and has built up a connection over the years from sourcing supplies over the years. However he's a bit of a crook, doesn't know what he talks about, will talk out of his ass and is a pain to deal with, but if you know how to talk to him, he'd tell you how to win at life.

Lenny "Lee" Yamada (he/him, 29): Trystan's other close friend. Lee is the brains of the sandwich shop. He's a committed person, dedicated, loves his job and wants to earn money so he could put himself through culinary school. Despite Monty minoring in economics, Lee knows more about the market than he does and he didn't even finish college. Lee's super into research and he's pretty efficient at scouring the web for answers, thanks to his experience hunting down old blogs and broken links and salvage recipes. If it's on the web, it cannot fly under his radar. Lee was chronically online before "chronically online" became a thing.

Samaya G. Pallan (she/her, 21): Samaya is a barista/assistant manager in the coffee house across the street from the Ginovesi Agency. She's good friends with all the four of them, given they're regulars but exceptionally close with Ruby. She is a music student, very good at identifying musical notes and being able to tell you where you're likely to be - as in, where you live, where you are at your current position in life, where you'd like to be and so on - solely from your taste in music. She does this thing where she likes to judge people and embody being a hater for funsies by allowing people to suggest their playlists for the music in the coffee shop. She was able to read through Luke's little crush on Ruby from what he played in the shop.

Kimia Ahktar (she/her, 27): Kimia runs an Art Conservatory - one that teaches art as well as runs programs to "conserve" pieces of old art. Her family came from a long line of painters and artisans, especially her great-grandfather who was a prominent artist during his time. Kimia and Sonja Dormer ran in the same social circles, with Sonja usually putting up her work when Kimia's Conservatory conducted art shows. They weren't close, since Kimia didn't really want to be a part of this "academia" of elite for-profit people. She met Trystan (and Nora) when she learned her great grandfather's work had been forged. Kimia's made many enemies in the art society in the past, which is why she's quite weary about talking to new people and likes to keep to herself.

Isac Zamfir (they/he, 48): One of Trystan's old contacts, Izaak works as a librarian in the Romanian embassy in Drakovia . They have a degree in metallurgy and are pretty close with museum directors and cultural ambassadors - especially an avid financial contributor to the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum among many other heritage sites. Isac's background in metallurgy and current venture into gemology puts them at a valuable position where they're able to assist in retrieving stolen museum artefacts back to their homelands. He and Trystan have been close thanks to their shared interests, thanks to attending many dinner parties in lieu of his engagement to Juliana Georgescu. In fact it was Isac who cultivated Trystan's interest in jewelry and Trystan who'd consulted them for assistance to find ways to get more funding into museums once he gets coronated.

Aizan "Kaz" Tso (he/him, 34): Aizan is a friend of Mafalda's. He runs a bookshop/novelty shop who sometimes dabbles in metalworking and plaque-making. Mafalda basically took him in as her own kid like how she did with Nora -- helping him get through college, get him safe gender-affirming surgery and assisted him as he got himself some financial stability. Kaz majored in manufacturing and design engineering and really wanted to set up his own additive manufacturing business and combine his love for comic books somehow. He runs his own shop, selling books and figurines of characters he made and is the guy behind the 'best detective/employee' plaque the Agency made into a quarterly tradition. He does so as a thank-you to Mafalda. Kaz is also super into pop culture, so he sometimes helps the gang out when they require his expertise.

potential crossovers:

Inam Vallath (laws of attraction-ish? | she/her, 34): Inam is an intellectual property lawyer. She majored in mechanical engineering in undergrad, with a minor in art history before switching over to IP law. Now she majorly works with entrepreneurs in the domain of protecting their brand, protecting their work from infringement and detecting it. She gets a pool of clients from mostly the automobile or tech industry, publishing and sometimes the art fields. It's usually trickier for her to deal with art, which is why she goes by the books and tries to get a complete story as much as possible. She currently works as a junior associate at Brahms & Partners, IP. Inam works with Nora on Kimia's case to aid her in the discovery process. They kind of start developing a more serious partnership later on.

Ramona "Rowan" Stone (murder at homecoming | she/her, 19): Rowan is an aspiring investigative journalist from Beachwood who started on this path after her sister, Perdita went missing. She goes on to major in journalism in New York and gets a part-time job as a writer for a small up-and-coming digital newspaper/blog to pay for her expenses. During her time gaining experience in the field, she stumbles on old allegations for the NYPD's internal corruption and decides to report on it; only to have her be a massive target planted by none other than the 53rd precinct and Captain Thompson. This is around the time Rowan meets Nora who tells her to keep calm and helps her deal with the matter. Later, Nora and Rowan forge a new partnership. Nora helps Rowan finish her article without any turbulence. She was a big influence on Rowan and her motivation to go pursue the truth. Eventually Rowan would do her internship at The Styrne Examiner.

Aloka Sinott (veil of secrets | she/her, 35): Aloka earned her big break from helping solve the mystery of the Birchport killer. However she didn't return back to the New York Herald or take up a job offer with the FBI. She was offered a place in a non-profit investigative journalist organization - The Styrne Examiner based in New York, who also put out articles. They collaborate with major news organizations and are committed to bring back valiant journalism and commit to the truth. Aloka works on a lot of different projects but gives a lot of priority to training young interns. This is where she met Rowan and took her under her wing; helping her hone her craft and build up her experience in the field. The two of them became good friends solely due to their pasts. Rowan was able to connect with Aloka and how she dealt with a missing persons case involving Kate.

Morgan Horowitz/Hayes (the unexpected heiress (modern day) | they/them, 29): Morgan is the descendant of the Hayes family - known for their influence in the electrical power industry based in New York. They got into corporate law and currently are working in the business's R&D division to come up with more sustainable technology measures. They're a well-known person especially to Trystan since the Hayes-Horowitz family had long been an avid supporter of the arts and were generous to Ruth Iverson's once-upon-a-time charity. Morgan's family is also a long-term client to Brahms & Partners IP. They basically helped Inam skyrocket her career after choosing her to represent them and aid them when a smaller company copied the design of a new sustainable wind turbine and filed the patent under their name. It was also Inam's first ever case and Morgan's first ever dealing of such a case as a manager and the two handled it pretty well.

Reyna "Rusty" Jones (open heart-ish | she/her, 34): Nora and Rusty were childhood friends who grew up on the same block in Manhattan. Rusty got her name from being well, a take-charge no-nonsense rough person and went on to leave home to go to medical school in supposedly Boston or Boston-adjacent(??) She did her internship and residency at Mass Kenmore before transferring to a more research-oriented hospital (about this time Mass Ken and Edenbrook may have had their feud and she was tired). Rusty and Nora aren't super in contact w each other but since they were such big part of each other's lives for a long time, they still text each other as much as they can or if they're reminded to. There was this one point where Nora didn't have Ruby or Luke's assistance and had to make do with Rusty's expertise on a case. I HC Nora might get involved in Rusty's life - either by offering her some professional help or just getting her out of a sticky situation. I don't know Rusty's story yet or what she ends up doing but hopefully I get to mull it over and come back later with an answer.

one-offs

Gustav Cvejić: Trystan's childhood friend-turned-boyfriend, Gustav is pretty headstrong. he's constantly getting into fights, he lives in a rough part of town and met Trystan when they went to the same primary school. After Trystan got pulled out of school to be homeschooled, Gustav still made it a priority to visit him in the palace. It thankfully worked considering his father was a wholesale vendor who supplied grain and flour to the palace. Gustav, thanks to his upbringing is more aware of the social happenings in the country as opposed to Trystan who had been sheltered for most of his life. It is in fact, Gustav offered him insight by helping him navigate this new life as a would-be king, offering him good advice and introducing new music to him.

He grew up in a very anti-monarchist household and developed the same beliefs after learning what was really out there. Thanks to this and his association with Trystan being known to Viktoria one day and all these years of secret-keeping, she tries her hardest to persuade Trystan, but decided to just simply stop her business with Gustav's father. To add further to the wound, she ensured the family was cut of any ties to the palace but at the same time, treated them as well, kings.

She gave Mr Cvejić a visa for Gustav to study abroad- she basically cornered them in a stalemate in exchange for their loyalty. Viktoria had to pull in a lot of strings because she believed Trystan was being "influenced" when in reality, he was just developing critical thinking skills from having a friend/boyfriend, you get the idea. This led to him developing a resentment for his own mother. Gustav's father sent him away to get an education abroad and that's the last they heard from the other. Even before Trystan could think about Gustav, he was whisked away to a new life preparing for his coronation.

Gustav has had a tough childhood. His father was a single parent and had dreamed for his son to take up the family business as a wholesaler, but wanting him to first get into a good school. They didn't make a lot of money, so when the opportunity presented itself, he sent Gustav away to America. He'd go on to study economics and would eventually come back home to settle down, but with a lingering hollowness he'd trace back to his past. Gustav and Trystan do end up reconciling someday in the future - perhaps when they meet again, because you just didn't let go of special people like that, but it's far away for now.

They'd lost contact after Viktoria's puppeteering, thus creating a sour taste of Trystan in Gustav's mouth and an absolute vile hatred for his mother in Trystan's heart. It never fails to go away.

Aneesa Wang: Aneesa was a postgrad student when she met Nora when the latter worked in the NYPD. Aneesa at that time, was an immigrant student on a visa as well. She'd come from Hong Kong to do her master's in New York along with her other friends. Aneesa's quiet, determined and pretty savvy. One day they all make a collective mistake by accidentally stumbling into an underground criminal gang looking for a quick weed fix. Aneesa's name is taken into their account at the time of purchase, but since neither of them could afford anything high-quality, they offered to pay it in installments -- only to come back home, say "fuck it" and not do that anymore.

After a couple of warnings, Aneesa's name and info quickly became an easy way for the underground guys to use as a "fall guy" contact. Suddenly she's receiving hundreds of calls, thousands of death threats, mysterious text messages. She literally stopped going to classes, afraid that someone might know something. It was Aneesa's first time in America, mind you. She'd gotten involved with the wrong people and she was so freaking scared. So she met Nora, covered in sweat and dirt - trying to scrub her name off credit cards and lists and using cold cash to get by. Aneesa's broke, terrified and Nora was her only hope.

Nora helped her out. She gave her shelter in her home, accompanied her to her classes - would basically sit outside her classes decked out in normal clothes but with her holster visible for everyone to see. By night, she'd try her best to track down these guys. It was around this time she'd discovered the so-called 'underground gang' was really composed of dirty cops - some even from her precinct, which made her stumble onto a huge corruption scandal. She tried to notify the higher-ups about it, with no avail. Aneesa wasn't going to get justice not when they were both fighting against horrible people.

Eventually, Aneesa had to drop out. Nora insisted the only way out was to leave the country because it got so dangerous that Aneesa was on every 'wanted by the police' list because she was technically a fall guy. Nora spent a long time thoroughly wiping away her data, ensuring she could somehow transfer her current uni credits to a college back home so she didn't have to worry about discontinuing her education and had to literally help her make a daring escape on a cruise ship heading for Spain and then get her tickets back home via plane.

Nora and Aneesa had a very brief relationship (?) to say the least. It wasn't really of the romantic pursuit but somewhere where they could both confide in each other and be able to trust the other- given Aneesa had spent weeks living in Nora's apartment before she left home. This was a major catalyst in Nora quitting the force. Literally the day after Aneesa left, Nora turned in her resignation letter.

As for if they're still in contact? It's tough to say. Nora does email her from time to time, but she can't afford to have it on the record since well, Aneesa's still a wanted person even though the case ran cold. They try to check in from time to time. Nora also firmly believed the theory that the 'underground gang' might have something to do with her father's death. Aneesa, as a thank-you, used to send back packages of little trinkets and things from home. Nora still has some of it on her desk.

Vinko Novac: Vinko was Trystan's old tutor from when he was a teenager and ever since his mother pulled him out of school. Vinko started off as trying to want to get a formidable job in the palace - since manning a government office as a clerk is practically the last resort-job option if you can't get in any other place. Vinko kind of stumbled his way into the royal family's affairs by being a speechwriter for Trystan for a while before he was moved up the ranks to become a de-facto "helper" of some sort where he'd just assist the prince with more than just speechwriting - it was a bit of everything, but mostly inclined towards academia.

Viktoria wasn't picky with her tutor options - she knew it was a thankless job with no takers. Vinko had a decent college degree, so he was kind of an interim tutor of sorts until they could find Trystan a proper tutor/mentor of some kind. Vinko's presence in Trystan's life was short, but he was the only one to make a more lasting impact. He taught Trys everything he knew now - the deviant tricks, the confidence, the poise, the 'how to talk like you know what you're talking about' - along with cultivating this inert curiosity in him to ask as many questions as he'd like. The worst part was, Vinko believed he was an actual tutor, when in reality Viktoria really intended for him to keep her son company and was quick to let him go once they found a foreign academic to teach him and learned he was just a crook who'd shimmied his way in just to make some money.

Trystan actually ended up encouraging Vinko to pursue a teaching degree if he really wanted to. But he ended up not doing that, just quietly leaving - hoping he'd made some impact because it was the first time he'd cared about something - a job, even though it was frivolous as "babysitting". He didn't find much success doing much else, just ended up getting berated by his father - a scriptwriter - only to just simply carry on with whatever he felt like doing.

Vinko's story is pretty sad, because he knows he wouldn't find that satisfaction. He felt like he'd just touched upon people's lives - but not wholly a person himself and can never feel that way - just doomed to this 'temporary appearance' box. He'd continue to stay in Drakovia, following through with Trystan for a while before getting sick of it very quickly. He'd try to move to the suburbs - maybe start a new life someplace else, but it would still be of no avail. He, much like his father, is doomed to being his own worst critic. Never more than the sum of his parts, just relying on dumb luck to get through. Vinko would find a career, nonetheless - a successful one (remember that one hugh jackman meme where he recognizes his former student?) but this would keep digging into his brain for years to come.

***

Please send me some asks about these guys! I'd love to talk about them and get to know them if I ever plan on writing crossovers.

I remember I wrote an Open Heart/Crimes of Passion crossover a long long time ago. It didn't work out because I was trying so hard to make it follow canon. Now I reject canon.

Thanks for.. reading until here lmao. you're a real one.

Until then I'll just keep editing and adding as I go.

#character introductions #i just took an idea and ran w it i love that for me

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