Ghosta Nova 👻🎸

#ahhhhhh #so good #<3

happy birthday daniellllllllllll 🫶

What do the Fifth House actually do?

Sure, yes, ghosts and tradition and the Heart of the Emperor, and Watchers Over the River - but none of those things give you the kind of assets that mean you can dress your cavalier in a coat that "probably cost more than the Ninth House had in its coffers" for a dinner party.

It's made clear very early on that the Fifth are a power to be reckoned with. When they first receive the letter about the Lyctoral pilgrimage, Gideon assumes it would be on the Third or Fifth. Harrow, meanwhile, has frequently-repeated anxieties about the Ninth being subsumed by the Third or Fifth, to the point that she worries that the anniversary party invitation may be an attempt to wipe out the other Houses. Teacher describes the Fifth's relationship with the Fourth as "hegemonic". The Fifth loom so large in the cultural imagination, they even inform the name of the made up porn magazine that Gideon offers to Crux.

The links between the Third and the Fifth that both Gideon and Harrow make seem to reflect both the fact that these two Houses have particular power and influence, but also that they frequently cooperate. Judith writes about the close cooperation of the Second, Third, and Fifth, a relationship which becomes a source of tension as the scions seek to establish authority after the Fifth are murdered. Judith says:

“The Fifth are dead. I take authority for the Fifth. I say we need military intervention, and we need it right now. As the highest-ranked Cohort officer present, that decision falls to me.” “A Cohort captain,” said Naberius, “don’t rank higher than a Third official.” “I’m very much afraid that it does, Tern.” “Prince Tern, if you please,” said Ianthe.

Which makes it sound as though Abigail might technically have been considered the highest ranking person at Canaan House (likely because she was head of her House and not an heir in waiting like Judith or Coronabeth), and that following her death there is some question as to whether the Second or the Third should take control, but notably no suggestion that anyone else might.

We know what the Second do: they are the leaders of the Cohort and the Bureau, the military and intelligence that forms the core of imperial expansion. Most of the information that we get about the other Houses talks only about their cultural or ritual roles in the empire - we get very little in the way of gritty details of what happens outside of the Dominicus system.

We know a little bit about what the Third does - according to Tor they are cultural trendsetters and players in soft power, but the one detail we get in GTN itself is revealing: when Gideon imagines her glorious future in the Cohort, one of the assignments she considers boring is the prospect of being "in some foreign city babysitting some Third governor." Which makes it sound rather like the Second are conquering the planets and the Third are then running them. But the books are even lighter in details about what the Fifth do, beyond ghosts and manners.

However, there is one suggestive detail: an important topic in HTN is stele travel - the necromantic FTL used by the Nine Houses. And Mercymorn, in describing a stele, specifically states that Fifth House adepts are required for their construction. Which rather makes it sound like the Fifth have a monopoly on the manufacturer of the technology required for FTL travel. Now that in and of itself could be the basis of their enormous wealth - selling aerospace tech to an ever expansionist military is probably quite lucrative.

But there's another element of House imperialism that only gets mentioned in passing that doesn't seem to be entirely accounted for, which Judith describes in As Yet Unsent:

"Their other line of attack is the business contracts. They claim that the services asked of them by the Emperor were set down in lifetime contracts by previous generations, who assumed the contracts would be terminated upon the Emperor’s death."

There are obviously some unanswered questions about the imperialist project of the Nine Houses - both Augustine and Coronabeth question quite why it works the way it does - but from the above it sounds like in many respects it functions exactly as you would expect an empire to: as a vehicle for the exploitation of others' resources.

Perhaps the Cohort themselves administer these business contracts. Perhaps they fall under the purview of the Third House planetary governors. But if you're exporting resources from the living planets of your empire to the mostly desolate planets of the Dominicus system, you're going to need some FTL ships and a whole lot of bureaucracy.

And if there's one other detail that we get about the Fifth, it's that there is something significant about the political power of their bureaucracy. As Judith puts it: "Quinn himself is a Fifth House bureaucrat with all that entails."

Are the Second, Third, and Fifth so close and so powerful because they form the bedrock of the empire: the conquest, control, and exploitation of planets beyond the Dominicus system?

heartbreaking:

girl has sooooooo many ambitions and ideas for projects but can only get 1.5 basic tasks done per day

Ahhh so much fic!!! #Marvey #Mike x Harvey #Suits #Fanfiction list

MARVEY FICS MASTERPOST

I decided to compile all the marvey fics I love!!

Alpha-Omega Verse

Imperfect Perfection – Skara_Brae

The Strange Courtship of Mike Ross – Skara Brae

Walk Away If You Can Serie – Blue_Five Probably Me Safe In Your Soul

Apocalypse

End of the World (as We Know It) – leista

Here at the end of all things – tattooedsiren

Plant My Apple Tree – FightFireWithFire

Boxing Verse

Shackled and Drawn - batty4u

Breaking Up – Or Just a Fight – & Making Up

And I did happen to you - thesetemplebones

awake & unafraid – turnyourankle

Bullshit - lagirl266

Every Second - tattooedsiren

Feels Like Rain - nevergone

the spaces grown between us - CS_WhiteWolf

Pineapple Apology - Frozen-Void

Predictable – inflowers

Unpredictable (Sequel of Predictable) – inflowers

Priorities - LethalTraps

5 + 1 Things

5 times Mike sat in Harvey’s lap by necessity and one time he did it just because he could - Unspoken0dreams

between hot it is and how it should be (or: Five times people confuse them for a couple and one time they’re right) – foamskyandsea

Call Me Maybe (or: 5 times Mike Ross texted Harvey Specter, and the one time the tables were turned) – malawi

Childish Things (or: Tree times Mike is ridiculous and immature [and one time Harvey is, too]) - blue_wo1f

Complimentary colors (or: Five times in which Harvey and Mike match) - foamskyandsea

Five Times Harvey and Mike Proposed to Each Other, and One Time Someone Said Yes - bookem_assbutt

Five Times Harvey Showed he cared – Splotcher

Five Times Harvey Surprised Mike - Dahlia_Moon

Five times Harvey witnesses Mike gets handsy, and one time he experiences it himself – mackietommo

Five Times Mike Is Sporting Wood in Harvey’s Presence and One Time Harvey Does Something About It –  tardisonameter

Five Times Mike Makes Harvey Laugh – And The One Time He Makes Him Smile - sal_si_puedes

Five Times Mike’s Phone Sort of Gets Him Into Trouble and One Time It Really, Really Doesn’t - Robin Gills (Akiseo)

Harvey Ain’t no White Rabbit (or: Harvey Specter waits for anybody, except Mike – Four times others notices, one time Mike did) – TheGroupofOne

Heart of Gold (or: Five times Harvey said no and the one time he didn’t) – shotstorylong

I like the way you move (or: Harvey is an awesome dancer. Mike finds out and is astonished) - alerie

I Can Barely Say (or: there are certain times for which words could never be enough) - emms14

in the other hours (or: Five times Mike couldn’t sleep and the one time he feel asleep when he really shouldn’t have) – tattooedsiren

in•somnia (or: Five times Harvey only mostly fails at that whole “not caring” thing, and one time he falls spectaculary) – myystic (neoinean)

Only When We’re Drunk (or: 5 times Harvey has seen Mike drunk, and one time Mike schemes to get it the other way around) – purpleushi

Say it ain’t so, I will not go (or: Five times Harvey sees Mike dressed casually) - foamskyandsea

Sleep is a Symptom of Caffeine Deprivation (or: 5 times Harvey watched Mike sleep, and one time Mike watched Harvey sleep) – PhoenixFlame

The Five People that Mike Didn’t Know Loved Him and the One Person He Loved Back - Tigress33

The Agreement (or: Mike needs a way to relieve stress. Harvey can provide it) – joannereads

The Art of the Unexpected (or: 5 Times Harvey kissed Mike unexpectedly and 1 time Mike kissed him) – butterflycell

The Five Times Harvey and Mike Slept Together (and the one time they acknowledged it) - LeahxLeah

the pieces that make up the whole (or: Five times Mikes learned something about Harvey) - waywardrenegades

The Truth About Us (or: Five times someone find about the true nature of Harvey and Mike’s relationship and the one time that they told someone) – AmorVerdan

Three Times Harvey Accidentally Hit On Mike And One Time He Did It On Purpose – GotTheSilver

Three Times Harvey Asked Mike to Marry Him (and one time Mike said yes) – skyenapped

Under Control: The Four People Who Noticed Harvey Noticing Mike and The One Person Who Totally Didn’t – cimera

We’ve all been there (or: Five times they think they’re obvious, and the one time they really are) – foamskyandsea

You mend my heart with a rose (or: Four times Mike got Harvey a rose and one time Harvey returned the favor) – whittyrabbit

ER Verse (or where Harvey or Mike get injured, or they’re sick)

Mike

Betrayed - harvey-bangs-mike

Bravery - Rayrawl

Hearts Will Hold - rories

Midnight Encounter – laughter_now

Harvey

New Pathways - jonius_belonius (Joni_Beloni)

Silent Vigil Serie – laughter_now Silent Vigil Getting it Right

take your time cause you’re up against space – emms14

Established Relationship (in other words: fluffy…)

Anniversary

Anniversary - lostinspacexx3

One Month – lionessvalenti

Room 2005 - Snowball’s-Chance

A win-win situation (?)

A Little More – uptopcomeon

Driving a Harvey - flamyshine

Coming Home

Be Home For Sunday – KaliTracer

Easy As Breathing – butterflycell

Faster Faster - carnifax

Midnight Calls - lostinspacexx3

No More Trips – skyenapped

The Verdict - Sairyn

When the Heart Yearns - Boondock Winchester

Coming Out

Strictly Ballroom - sal_si_puedes

Deprived Domesticity - Beautiful_lies_x

Getting Married & Honeymoon

Can’t help falling in love - flamyshine

Interlude - suitsfan

my love is like that - neverphemeral

Pretty, Pretty Please? -FarAwayInWonderland

Thankful - hana-to-mame

Having a “date”

Green Wine and Pizza – turnyourankle

Yippe-ki-yay motherf**ker – whittyrabbit

Having fun and “fun” –wink–

A Hot Shower - lostinspacexx3

C'mon Fire Me Up - Peace. Love. And Other Things

Laughing So Hard Your Face Hurts - lostinspacexx3

Say Goodnight - suitsfan

Skeletons in the Closet - carnifax

Upside Down and Inside Out - mskatej

Jus the why they’re together

An Ordinary Day - adaycertain

Body Language Serie – thesetemplebones communicate something incommunicable reveals of our most secret self

Domo Arigato, Mr. Spectro - smartalli

Easy Like Saturday Morning - TheMastress

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Mike and Harvey and a Few Things You Didn’t – bballgirl3022

Falling In Love - lostinspacex

Metaphors – makingitwork

Mike’s Smile - lostinspacexx3

Most of all – inflowers

Nights Like These - Xazz

old words – tattooedsiren

Pretty Roads - lostinspacexx3

Rain On A Tin Roof - suitsfan

The Daily Grind - townpariah

The Rainbow Series – accol

The Right Words - hana-to-mame

Untitled Rainbow Ficlets - vaguesalvation

With You I Fall So Fast - VerityFrancesB

Moving in together

Home - lostinspacexx3

Home Sweet Home – ProLazy

Moving In - harvey-bangs-mike

with wild hope - tattooedsiren

Secretly Married

Exclusively Yours Verse Serie – tattooedsiren Exclusively Yours love consists in this A Series of Small Things There It Shall Remain Forever The True Measure of Love Yours Alone

Mr Specter - Olor et Luna

Where Harvey just doesn’t accept they have a relationship (but in the end he does, like “oh my god, I love him”)

A pragmatic romance - inflowers

Body Heat - Enigmaforum

Disturbing the Peace - Grim Lupine

Gatekeeper - SodiumBicarb

Sometimes Mike just wants flowers - whittyrabbit

Nop, sorry, you’re not healthy anymore… diabetes

A New Cure - suitsfan

Books - lostinspacexx3

Calling Out - lostinspacexx3

Late Night Trips - lostinspacexx3

Perfect Price - lostinspacexx3

Off the Clock - Ella Dean Pendragon

One peaceful afternoon – flamyshine

Saturday Morning - lostinspacexx3

Waltz - lostinspacexx3

Ugly Issues

Stronger Than Superman - fortgetyouinsiberia

Pre-Established Relationship

Slowly development using the “canon”

altering life by holding it still - tattooedsiren

An Expression Of Feelings - LiliFayre

even the impossible is easy – Anonymous

if ever I was running - tattooedsiren

Just A Little Fire - Anonymous

Lit Up - phreakycat

something inevitable – tattooedsiren

Stay With Me - nevergone

the indispensable first step - tattoodsiren

this tornado loves you - liketheroad

Where both Harvey and Mike don’t clearly understand – or choose to ignore – their feelings and ignore they have something (because they’re idiots, but in the end they get their shit together but sometimes they don’t)

All I Ever – nevergone

Change is Only Natural - 1stBonesFan (1stBonesFan_is_SterekGirl)

Continental Drift - townpariah

For All of the Plans We Made - foamskyandsea

I Know Who I Want - foamskyandsea

I told YOU – blackeyedsoul

Lie To Me  - nevergone

Make me Nervous - brilligspoons

Monochrome - carnifax

Sleep Tonight - suitsfan

Surprises - suitsfan

The Least They Ever Gave You (Was the Most You Ever Knew) – skyenapped

your broken crown – tattooedsiren

Where Harvey has an “existential crisis” (and you only think “oh, Harvey finally”)

I Wanna Hold Your Hand – VampirePam

Third Definition – khasael

Turn of Events - bballgirl3022

Where Mike doesn’t notice Harvey’s feelings until the very end (because he can be an idiot too… oh, and he also has existential crisis, a “oh my god, what did I do?” crisis)

All My Fortunes At Thy Foot I’ll Lay - tattooedsiren

And We’ll Pretend - goblinish

Blackmail - Sairyn

Confessions – Sairyn

finding the way - smatalli

Harold’s Secret - pineapplesandcanopeners

Just a Kiss - suitsfan

Mike’s secret admirer - flamyshine

Some Guys Don’t – Love2Slash

The Red Earth of Tara – sal_si_puedes

Truth or Dare - purpleushi

Vinyls – aspirateurkilleuse

Where Mike has enough

Getting Rid Of A Distraction – ShadowMoon

I’ve got a feeling – inflowers

The Art Of Lying - LeahxLeah

You read this and you’ll get diabetes… yummy

PrettyHandsome Kindergarten – flamyshine

Reason 10 - The-Fall-Season

The Way You Look Tonight - Bontaque

Warm hands on my heart - flamyshine

Ficlets 2x1

all the words in the world may not be enough - tattooedsiren

Marvey - FarAwayInWonderland

Snapshots - tattooedsiren

What if? – machtaholic (cinderella81)

Gender bending

A Charmed Life - DizzyDrea

Halloween Time

something strange (or: Five ways Harvey and Mike spend Halloween) - cuddlebuck

Harry Potter Verse

Would It Be So - flitterflutterfly

Just Like Heaven AU (or something like that)

The Haunting of Penthouse B - Skara_Brae

What Dreams May Come - tattooedsiren

Magic and supernatural things exist here

Advocatus Diaboli - sal_si_puedes

All But Memories – pageleaf

Love thy neighbor - flamyshine

Read My Mind - makingitwork

Reverse Polarity - machtaholic (cinderella81)

The Cat That Walked By Himself - Xanthe

Matchmaking

Obviously Oblivious - Leista

The Puppy, the Five Frogs, and the Not-So-Charming Prince - triskadekaphobicnazi

The Marvey Chronicles – flamyshine 

Military AU

Fair Winds and Following Seas Serie – lilgirllost (lil_grl_lost) Of All the Gin Joints Here’s Looking At You, Kid The Thing That Keeps Him Going

High Speed - machtaholic (cinderella81)

M-Preg AU

For You – Blue_Five

Mike’s Cravings - DinoMoMo

Though the Stars Walk Backwards – UchiHime

Beginning Serie – penguino3782 Boring Parties Chats and Mrs Butterworth’s Dad, Not Father Daddy Anxiety Complications  

Musician AU

Mike and Harvey

Crescendo - smatalli

Mike

Mike + The Harmony – Sauffie

Streed Kid Serie – veritas_st Looking Sharp (Not Looking for Love) You Sound Like Music The Initial Response

Nothing Hill AU

Mike

76 & Lexington – widnst

Harvey

when our stars collide - tattooedsiren

Parenting (or where they want kids)

Everything Good In The World – skyenapped

Take Your Daughter to Work - bballgirl3022

this life, this love – tattooedsiren

Window Shopping - lostinspacexx3

The Proposal AU

Casual Encounters - Attorney C (arh581958)

I Now Pronounce You Mike and Harvey - aLLiCaT225

Limited Parthership – Pookaseraph

Speaking of Happiness – machtaholic (cinderella81)

whatever the question – tattooedsiren

Wear My Name – Lunarflare14

Porn with or without Plot

“With Plot”

Curious George - Anonymous

Inseparable – BatSuitsCrazy (McDanno50)

Slow - sal_si_puedes

The Prince and the Prostitute - forever_bright

Reward - Cashay

Without Plot

Hold Your Breath - dedougal

Interpretation of Love – quodpersortem

Sensitive - BearHatter

The Prada Tie - samspecter

The Video - jaraismylife

Ties - GoreBeeCormick

We will not be using my tie for that - accol

BDSM (or “I’ll teach you a lesson” porn)

Mr. (Hardass) Harvey Specter – MajicViolin

Obedience - hardeight

Step Two - jonius_belonius (Joni_Beloni)

Riot or Revolution - forever_bright

Single Parent AU

Mike

call me maybe – frozensight

The Luck of the Draw - Enigmaforum

Still I Fly – Anonymous

Harvey

Friends? I’d Say Family – mockturtletale

School Time AU

Mike is the student

Dedication to My Love WIP - writeaddict

Five things to do before graduation – whittyrabbit

Harvey and Mike are students

Swingin’ in the Halls Serie – agrajag Swingin’ in the Hall Burn Brighter  

Harvey is the teacher and Mike his assistant

Barely Legal WIP – Kitty Howell

Dolce Far Niente - EvavH

Soulmates AU

Imprimatur - Closer

Something Stupid Like Fate – smartalli

Travels in Time

all straight lines circle sometime – liketheroad

Do You Harvey Specter… - Sairyn

Vampires AU

1500 Years – AngularNotions

Five Times Mike Ross Was a Terrible Vampire and One Time He Wasn’t - ladyknightanka

Where Mike has different jobs – but he is NOT a lawyer (yet)

Barista/Coffee Shop

Every Sunday They Go Back To Monday - rories

Grande Soy Triple Dirty Chai – friskaz

Incidental Music – turnyourankle

Too Young For Me - Bontaque

Deliveryman

Pizza-Verse Serie – Closer Pizza And A Movie The Secret Life Of Lawyers A Series Of Covert Disasters  

Doctor

Fate’s Decree Serie – in_the_bottle A Bit Less Ordinary In Totidem Verbis From the Ashes Four First Impressions of Dr Michael Ross From the Ranks of Pearson Hardman Break Me With Ice Time Unfolds

Grocery Store/Cashier/Owner Store

20 Items or less – checkmatey

No Shoes, No shirt – Hardwood_Studios

Vinyl Advice Serie – mockturtletale Vinyl Advice: Stop, Look, Listen Vinyl Advice: Wrong From Right  

Second Spin - machtaholic (cinderella81)

Hot Dog Guy

Hot In the City - escribo

Nanny

Falling In Love To The Sounds of the City – GotTheSilver

Photographer

Unspoken - Sauffie

Tailor

You’d Look Good On me – VerityFrancesB

You’ve Got Me Now Under Your Thumb (Sequel of You’d Look Good On Me)– VerityFrancesB

Teacher

In Love With The Teacher - Sauffie

Tennis

untitled tennis star Mike ficlet – thatotherpery

Where the canon is almost canon and Mike is a REAL lawyer

In the Air (And Breathing) - escribo

Like Gravity - kaylin_neya

Konkurrenz belebt das Geschäft Serie – FarAwayInWnderland Hear Me, I’m Calling Your Name Regret Is For Fools (And Sometimes For Me) I´m The Queen Bee And I´ll Make You Dance For Me Thoughts On The Matter

Waiting Just For You WIP- FarAwayInWonderland

Where the canon still “exists” but Mike is not a lawyer anymore

all the way home – tattooedsiren

by my side - tattooedsiren

The Star Of His Own Halloween Special - team_freewill

7,776,000 - tattooedsiren

1 + 1 = (Sequel of 7,776,000) - tattooedsiren

Where the canon is canon but the Marvey is everywhere (or plot from the episodes)

Working Toward Informed Consent between 1x02 - 1x05 – 1shinymess (magpie4shinies)

Tied Together With An Easy Thread 1x07 – Stone_Princess

Invincible 1x09 – BatSuitsCrazy (McDannon50)

ex fide fiducia 2x01 - kim47

Fallen face first into love 2x01 – flamyshine

till the lights go out - foamskyandsea

Indirect Kiss 2x02 - suitsfan

The new best closer in the office 2x02 - flamyshine

A little puppy in the big scary city 2x03 - flamyshine

All You’re Giving Me Is Fiction 2x06 - anaeifly

Tongue Tied 2x06 - nuspock

I Could Not Kiss, Just Regress 2x07 - IrishFrenchy

A romantic confession 2x12 - flamyshine

2x12

Sometimes You Get What You Need 4x15 - inflowers

The Deal 5x15- Sauffie

Harvey/Mike - tattoedsiren

Marvey from other point of view

Alphabet Suits - LaylaBinx

Golden Threads – FarAwayInWonderland

Donna Sees All – butterflycell

Donna’s Intervention - oldsouls2302

landmarks to a treasure - tattooedsiren

My Give-A-Damn Clock Is Broken Between The Hours of 12am And 10pm - mistressofmythology

The Care & Keeping of Harvey Specter’s Puppy – smartalli

You Can Leave Your Hat On – laughter_now 

---

By DC's anarchist cartoonist, Mike Flugennock 2017

found goat milk and wheat ale at the store. theres no way im NOT making a white gilgamesh tonite

I've had a hard time articulating to people just how fundamental spinning used to be in people's lives, and how eerie it is that it's vanished so entirely. It occurred to me today that it's a bit like if in the future all food was made by machine, and people forgot what farming and cooking were. Not just that they forgot how to do it; they had never heard of it.

When they use phrases like "spinning yarns" for telling stories or "heckling a performer" without understanding where they come from, I imagine a scene in the future where someone uses the phrase "stir the pot" to mean "cause a disagreement" and I say, did you know a pot used to be a container for heating food, and stirring was a way of combining different components of food together? "Wow, you're full of weird facts! How do you even know that?"

When I say I spin and people say "What, like you do exercise bikes? Is that a kind of dancing? What's drafting? What's a hackle?" it's like if I started talking about my cooking hobby and my friend asked "What's salt? Also, what's cooking?" Well, you see, there are a lot of stages to food preparation, starting with planting crops, and cooking is one of the later stages. Salt is a chemical used in cooking which mostly alters the flavor of the food but can also be used for other things, like drawing out moisture...

"Wow, that sounds so complicated. You must have done a lot of research. You're so good at cooking!" I'm really not. In the past, children started learning about cooking as early as age five ("Isn't that child labor?"), and many people cooked every day their whole lives ("Man, people worked so hard back then."). And that's just an average person, not to mention people called "chefs" who did it professionally. I go to the historic preservation center to use their stove once or twice a week, and I started learning a couple years ago. So what I know is less sophisticated than what some children could do back in the day.

"Can you make me a snickers bar?" No, that would be pretty hard. I just make sandwiches mostly. Sometimes I do scrambled eggs. "Oh, I would've thought a snickers bar would be way more basic than eggs. They seem so simple!"

Haven't you ever wondered where food comes from? I ask them. When you were a kid, did you ever pick apart the different colored bits in your food and wonder what it was made of? "No, I never really thought about it." Did you know rice balls are called that because they're made from part of a plant called rice? "Oh haha, that's so weird. I thought 'rice' was just an adjective for anything that was soft and white."

People always ask me why I took up spinning. Isn't it weird that there are things we take so much for granted that we don't even notice when they're gone? Isn't it strange that something which has been part of humanity all across the planet since the Neanderthals is being forgotten in our generation? Isn't it funny that when knowledge dies, it leaves behind a ghost, just like a person? Don't you want to commune with it?

I laughed so fucking hard at this

Point

for no reason whatsoever here’s a reminder that if you consider yourself a leftist/punk/abolitionist/anarchist/radical in any sort of way and get called into jury duty, you are to become the most square person on earth during the jury questionnaire!!!

don’t be that guy who says fuck the police in the jury questionnaire! that just gets you sent home! if you want to generate change, interact with the case and use your jury vote for good! ESPECIALLY if it’s a high profile case!