Punny Gurl

There was a big push to eliminate "degrading jobs" but the strategy was to eliminate the position, then create a new position outside of the bargaining unit to do the work. So like, we wouldn't have dishwashers, but we'd have people who washed dishes that weren't eligible to be in the union.

I was like A) what the actual fuck? Dish washing isn't "degrading", it's fucking vital. B) What the actual fuck? You want to create a union just to exploit different people?

The first time someone told me that busing tables was "degrading", I was like "Oh, uhh, yeah, like it's very necessary work but under compensated for how vital it is?" and they responded "No, touching plates that other people have eaten off of is disgusting."

In bargaining, someone on the Union side suggested that we eliminate all the cashiers and exclusively use self-checkouts (they were a cashier and didn't like it). The organizer told them that the union wasn't in the habit of eliminating bargaining unit positions. (This is the same person I've talked about how said that "as a prison abolitionist" we just needed to execute most criminals.)

It got me thinking, along with Ann Russell talking about how to treat cleaners (being a cleaner herself), about how we conceptualise domestic service as particularly degrading in all its forms, when, really, why is that? Why is paying someone to do something intrinsically bad?

Like, even in a moneyless, gift economy society, there would still be people whose primary contribution to their communities would be cleaning. Some people like to clean, and are really rather good at it.

I've talked ad nauseam in the past about how British attitudes towards cleaners and other service based positions today are the descendants of Victorian attitudes. That is, both the attitudes of conservatives and many progressives of that time. The trade union movement was particularly exclusionary towards service workers.

It doesn't matter if all you did was day-dream about your characters while staring at the ceiling.

Spideypool fic idea #11

SUMMARY: Deadpool is there for Spider-Man from the beginning of his superhero career. Having what’s essentially a murderous fairy godmother changes things for both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. As years pass, Peter’s gratitude takes on a different shape, but he’s afraid to confess his growing feelings and risk losing the person who matters to him most.

(Basically, a morally gray Spidey mentored by Deadpool, which makes him even more badass than he canonically is. I'm working on like three fics rn, but I think this one has possessed me lately.)

This is going to be a difficult post to read.

Please skip it and protect yourself if necessary.

On May 18, 2026 in New York, one of my very favorite humans, the author Piper J Drake (Lalana Dararutana), died. She was not yet 50.

She leaves behind an amazing husband (Matthew), wonderful parents and siblings, a large and delightful family of foodies, thousands of devoted readers, and countless friends who loved her, one of whom was me.

Piper fought cancer incredibly hard, at great expense in all ways, to stay alive as long as she could. It was only when she was told she wouldn’t be able to eat the foods she loved that she decided enough was enough. Fair cop, if you ask me.

This last winter I was away in Thailand, a place I truly love, spending time with people I adore. But it was not a vacation, it was a pre-reminiscence. Piper and I were foreshadowing the fact that we would not get to be crotchety little old ladies complaining together about the lack of good spice profiles in our nursing home’s kitchen.

Instead, we spent several months co-authoring experiences and hoarding memories, mostly mine – because we knew she wasn’t going to get to keep them for herself. We got out and about (me learning to push a wheelchair… badly) visiting food markets, gardens, and temples. We even did a little shopping, terrorizing vendors with our infectious enthusiasm.

I’m sure we were horribly embarrassing for everyone around us and I will miss her.

One of my most beloved Piper memories is us at a fancy restaurant in Seattle squealing over a yummy appetizer, Matthew smiling at us with a kind of indulgent wonder. (I’m sure we were a lot.) Piper prepared the “perfect bite” off her own plate and fed it to me, just because she wanted to see my delighted face. Both of us have cultural heritage, from very different parts of the world, that believe food is love.

That bite was one of the purest acts of love I have ever received in my whole life.

And I will miss her.

She introduced me to one of my favorite teas (Taiwanese milk oolong), and teapots (Japanese), and countless new-to-me Thai dishes (especially khanom).

No one else I have ever met so exactly shared my taste in both food and travel, and those are two of my most favourite things ever. Bonus, we were both writers! No wonder she so quickly became one of mine.

When I asked what her favorite parts were to write, she said “movement, whether fighting or intimacy.” This makes perfect sense if you knew her or read her books. She was strong and graceful and still discussing story structure right up until the end. I am gutted we got less than ten years. It wasn’t enough time.

It just wasn’t. 

She left, without question, too soon. And I know, without a doubt, that I am not the only one who will miss her.

I’ve always liked the concept of the red thread connecting souls through multiple lifetimes. Not just one thread of romantic love but multiple threads for all forms of love, from family to friendship and beyond.

If this is the case, and love is a many-stranded means of connection, then Piper wove a beautiful crimson tapestry. I was so very lucky to be part of that weave.

I hope in our next life that our thread will tug us together again and that I’m lucky enough to get to be her friend once more.

Piper requested donations to charities be made in her honor, in lieu of other forms of condolences:

Writing the Other 

Coral Gardeners

Clarion West

But, her medical expenses were exorbitant, leaving Matthew struggling not just with grief, if you have the means to contribute to her GoFundMe, that would really be appreciated.

Piper truly loved writing and releasing her books into the world, please read them and share them with others who might enjoy them?

Since you are readers of my stuff, the 3 I’d recommend the most are:

The Ink That Bleeds

A cozy paranormal mystery set in the greater Seattle area that I had the honor of brainstorming with her.

Wings Once Cursed And Bound

A romantic contemporary fantasy series (of linked stand-alones) that uses little known mythology, including Thai.

An Idol With Luv

If you enjoyed Divinity 36 or The 5th Gender this one might work for you. 

Please take care of yourselves out there and tell the people you love that you love them.

If Piper taught me nothing else it was to write when you can, take pictures of your food, and seize every opportunity to enjoy yourself.

So, please eat something tasty for us and remember:

Travel smart, pack the snacks.

Human Perry Poll ✨

Doofenshmirtz Poll ✨

In 2021, Swarovski (the company that makes the very sparkly crystals you see in certain jewelry, on figure-skaters' twinkliest outfits, on red carpet dresses), decided they didn't want the grubby fingers of small-time jewelers, clothing designers and costumers and crafters on their shiny beads and rhinestones anymore. They decided to limit their sales to "luxury" and couture creators, not girls who sell stuff on Etsy. The tenor of their press release on the subject was snide and insulting. Resellers (like your favorite bead shop) would no longer be allowed to carry their product; the average Jane on the street would not be able to purchase them. You could only get them if you had an authorized business agreement that bound you to very strict brand behavior. And those of us who still had good stock of the crystals would no longer be "permitted" to use the brand's name in our listings for sale.

Every bead shop and craft supply place and many, many small clothing makers--wedding shops, prom and dancing dress suppliers, the sort of salt of the Earth mom and pop time machines of shops that are the backbone of the field--scrambled to find something that could replace them. The last of the stock dwindled quickly, all of us grabbing what we could get while there was any chance of it, and then it was gone and we no longer had any access.

I was Big Pissed about it at the time. It was just so goddamn stuck-up, when wholesalers and indie jewelers had made them so much money, when some people I knew--when *I!*--had been brand-loyal for decades. But with no recourse, everyone pivoted fairly quickly, most of us to Preciosa Crystals. Those are Czech, quite sparkly, and considerably less expensive than Swarovski. The faceting method they use is different, but not worse; any differences are hardly noticeable when you're seeing them as a hundred pinpoints of light.

Well, out of nowhere, Swarovski just dropped this: https://www.harmanbeads.com/swarovski-brand-policy-update

"Effective June 1, 2026, Swarovski updated the distribution and brand usage policies introduced in 2021. Businesses may now purchase Swarovski Crystals without signing a Brand Control Agreement, and Authorized Distribution Partners may once again sell Swarovski Crystals to resellers, including bead stores and online retailers. Businesses may also use the Swarovski brand name when following Swarovski’s Proper Use Guidelines. Designers, manufacturers, artists, brands, retailers, and resellers are now eligible to purchase Swarovski Crystals through authorized distribution channels."

They want us back. A lot of the companies who could have kept a brand relationship with them also have swapped to Preciosa, over the last half-decade, in solidarity with indie creators and out of a sour awareness that it could be them, next. And it doesn't hurt that Preciosa was able to expand their line quite a bit now that everyone who wanted sparkle had no choice but to go to them.

And I'm not seeing nearly anyone who intends to return. The feeling is, "Y'all told us to fuck off! Off we fucked! And now, that's what you can do, too!" I'm seeing a lot of "How many of us did you stab in the back?" comments from the people whose money they're hoping to attract.

Take this Scarian tarot card I did for a friend’s project, I might consider doing more for other life series members, but we’ll see

And you might’ve noticed, by the style (because I’m indecisive and love experimenting), that I started watching Witch Hat Atelier, I watched it with my partner last weekend and I absolutely loved it, so I reaaaaaaally wanna draw my two fixations together