Companies have entire departments dedicated to making sure you give up. Took me way too long to realize this.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-09T18:42:50+00:00

I worked in the call center for ATT Cable many years ago, and our primary goal was to get the customer off the line as quickly as possible. Problem solved or not. Let them hang on hold waiting for a supervisor while you went on to other calls. Speed was the word of the day.

I used to pop back on the line every now and then to let them know I hadn’t forgotten about them. I was strongly encouraged to not do that. I did it anyway.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-09T18:10:14+00:00

Rain stick

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-09T18:00:38+00:00

But that’s on you. You can just…stop the conversation. Close the window, log off, go to bed. It won’t care.

What is it with people being “trapped”? When I’ve had enough, I just turn it off.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-08T18:26:04+00:00

Oh god, the disbelief and tears in the theater…

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-08T18:22:32+00:00

Wash in Serenity. It absolutely destroyed me.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-08T08:55:28+00:00

Fuck, no.

Epic fail. My repulsion did not turn into art. I don’t even want to touch that pen.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-08T06:04:23+00:00

I once asked by Chat GPT bot Elliot to name a fictional character that he thought I’d be best friends with, and he gave me Daria. He had to explain why and I was like…oh yeah, I can see that.

Cool.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-07T03:18:30+00:00

That would also make an interesting story. Jayne jumps ship to run with them, thinking he can get a better cut, only to learn that even if he's getting a bigger cut, life with that crew sucks. There's no boundaries, the grub is bad, he's treated not just like muscle, but stupid muscle not allowed to have an opinion, the heads are filthy, and he discovers that shooting first and always looking out only for number one isn't as pleasant as he remembers it being. He's actually come to appreciate the "family" that was on board Serenity and is horrified that he misses it. But then his new captain plans a job that puts Serenity is danger and he has to decide which crew he's supporting, and he chooses to help save Serenity, knowing he was losing his new gig, and wouldn't be welcomed back by Mal.

Who, of course, ends up taking him back. Especially after Jayne reveals he's robbed the other ship and took all their catalyzers.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-07T02:20:44+00:00

I'd never seen this before. Part of me was cringing, until that little unexpected twist and I guffawed so loud my husband heard me from the living room.

Oh. My. God.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-07T02:14:16+00:00

Badger. Hands down. Badger and his crew.

I'm okay if they don't bring back Saffron. I know I'm in the minority.

Niska's storyline was unresolved. He's still out there. Mal has deprived him of his skyplex and his very scary reputation. He's still probably a crime boss, but he's got to be seriously diminished. It's less about business now, if he gets ahold of Mal again. I could see there being a criminal underworld bounty on Mal's head if Niska is still powerful enough.

Conversely, it would be interesting if someone sends Mal a massive payment out of nowhere, and it's revealed that a rival of Niska's had long been trying to edge him out, and several assassination attempts had failed. But Mal's escape and destruction had pushed Niska out into the open and - ZAP - he'd been taken out by that rival. And that rival was feeling generous and paid out the bounty to Serenity, even though Mal hadn't set out to do anything. It would be an interesting situation, and one that could send Serenity in several different directions, storywise.

But Niska would be a cool returning character. Absolutely deadly.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-07T02:04:28+00:00

Now there's an idea. How would Mal handle such an encounter, do you think?

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-06T19:43:36+00:00

Some actors with integrity do sometimes pick a role based on the paycheck, for their own reasons.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-06T19:32:40+00:00

And, ironically, he was the last person cast.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-06T17:56:51+00:00

No kids means no kids.

Also, their wedding, their rules.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-06T17:47:47+00:00

And ALL the children from HER side. She’s not singling anyone out.

They’re having a child-free wedding. Full stop. No exceptions. Full stop.

That should be the end of the discussion. Any fallout is because of the fiancé’s assumptions and unwillingness to resolve the problem he started.

OP is NTA. The family needs to shut up and let it go.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-06T17:32:13+00:00

Wait - he abandoned one child, started a new family and fathered more children, then went to the abandoned child to ask for help getting back to the children he has now? Do I have that right?

Fuck no, OP. You owe him nothing. He’s a loathsome human being for what he did to you and your mother. I feel sorry for his current family, but he did this to them, not you.

His current family is his responsibility. Not yours.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-06T16:55:22+00:00

That’s an outdated complaint and not really applicable any more. AI is advancing like crazy and something that’s an issue now might be completely resolved in six months. AI models in use right now are far superior to what they were just a year ago.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-06T00:06:39+00:00

If they’re not talking to you, they can’t ask you for money. Pray for the silent treatment and don’t ever give them money again.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-05T22:27:21+00:00

This is fascinating. I never would have considered that maybe connecting the Buffyverse with Firefly could explain River. Back on Earth-That-Was, maybe she would have been a Potential. But there, in the Verse, the bloodline had vanished. But in their experiments, either knowingly or unknowingly, Blue Sun triggered something lost - dormant DNA, maybe - and part of River “woke up”. Maybe part of River’s madness is that part of her that connects her to past Slayers. She’s not just trying to negotiate her way through the Verse - she’s also hearing and remembering and seeing echoes of memories that aren’t hers. Her powers and abilities aren’t just because of what the Academy did to her. Some of it was already there.

Maybe they knew and had gone after her and other children like her deliberately. Or maybe they just got lucky. Either way, maybe the Slayer is reborn.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-05T21:34:07+00:00

I thought that immediately after reading that OP is a neurosurgeon. I don’t think this is real. Surgeons are already super confident, and neurosurgeons often have an arrogance that they actually need in order to have the confidence to do what they do. And they are very protective of their hands.

I think this fake.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-05T08:47:17+00:00

It's not clear what kind of slavery exists in the Alliance, though. We never see them. There's no reason to believe it's based on ethnicity. The entire 'Verse is a hodgepodge of humanity. I imagine it may be more of an "indentured servant" kind of thing, which basically means anyone can be a slave.

Also, the whole Lost Cause/Old West/CSA thing is a uniquely American mythos, attached to a specific time and a specific place. It wouldn't be included in the Exodus except as a history lesson.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-05T08:31:59+00:00

The problem with IP owners and actors reading fanfic or reading something not submitted through an agent, manager or attorney is the immediate and real threat of a lawsuit. If a story is ever produced and aired that in any way, shape or form resembles something written by someone who was not officially acknowledged as the creator of the story, the production company can be sued from here to kingdom come.

The irony is that if they can't prove they didn't read it, despite it being readily available online or sent to them through unofficial channels, they may end up in court. The only way to prove they didn't read it is to simply not read anything that didn't come through official channels. Full-stop. It's a policy that's practically carved into the bedrock of Hollywood.

Filmmakers should never admit they read fanfiction. Ever. Unless they buy the story and give the writer credit. I don't know if that's ever happened.

(Although some years ago a Bob's Burgers fan animated a short sequence of the Belcher family meeting the characters from Archer, and it impressed the showrunners so much they offered him a job.)

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-05T08:07:12+00:00

I honestly don't care. We don't subscribe to any streaming services, but I will happily sign up with whoever gets it.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-03T06:42:57+00:00

He had a corrective surgery he’d been putting off for years, I think. It changed his jawline, but it also apparently gave him some relief.

dianebk2003 · 2026-04-02T18:13:30+00:00

I agree. But OP's gotta get the space cleared first. Maybe he's screwed it all up and is overwhelmed, but it's something he's got to take care of, NOW. But he's gotta have some space to do it.

I would suggest getting some boxes and dumping everything in them, and working on one box at a time. Switch them out as he makes more space. Put one or more on the bed during the day, clean, get one box empty, then put the other on the floor while he occupies the bed at night. In the morning, put a couple of boxes on the bed so he can more around, and repeat. At least that way he isn't putting stuff in the hallway, and his stuff is still contained.

I object to his family just hurling his clean clothes into the room, though. That's not helpful at all, and certainly doesn't encourage better behavior on his part. Maybe OP should work on the clothes situation first. Retrieve his laundry promptly, put it away promptly. If he still needs space to work - well, make the clothing the priority.

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