12/25/2019 c1 Dawn-x-Darkling
When I was a dishwasher, for 3 years, I learned a lot about human greed. Our supervisor, who was the main waitress, forbid the cooks and other wait staff from sharing tips or from putting out a tip jar. On punishment of write-ups, of which 3 meant automatic termination. I can count on one hand the times a cook risked their job to share their tips with me, and I was grateful every time, no matter how small the amount was.
For reference, when a cook didn't have a tip jar out, the rips totaled less than $20, usually from less than 5 people total. In contrast, that number jumped to over $200 with the same cook, the very next day, and the same people coming in to eat, if there was a tip jar. (hotel restaurant, you see) The only other change was our supervisor not working that day. I Think that's quite telling.
My mother, who worked at the same restaurant some seven years before, with the same supervisor, as a waitress, got to see firsthand how that supervisor discriminated against people who looked poorer. The supervisor was short, almost rude with them, when she spent a good deal of time being nice to the wealthy and giving them near-constant attention. While the supervisor never shared tips with the cook and dishwasher, my mother always made sure she split it equally with them, even making sure that any other wait staff who happened to be working at the time got an equal share. Not that it was ever busy enough to warrant more than 1 wait staff very often; though she never gave the same consideration to the supervisor due to their behavior.
I kept my head down because I needed the job, so I never questioned it at the time, but nowadays it really gets to me how greedy it all was.
Nowadays, I am of the opinion that the whole tipping thing should be abolished if it encourages behavior like that. We should all be played properly for the quality of our work, not just for how nice we are to the wealthier-looking people.
Anyways, sorry for my rant. I really enjoyed this chapter and how events taught Liv a healthy perspective on money.

12/25/2019 c1 1Gamesfever
Really love your work, but I'm mad about one thing. When I worked as a dishwasher myself, I did not get any tips at all. So now I'm mad at my own experience of being a dishwasher.

12/25/2019 c1 Cateagle
That was a great start and I look forward to future chapters. I admit, I will definitely see a pattern if a gentleman of Scandinavian background named Matthew Helm shows up (granted, if he was the original, he would be in his late-60's/early-70's at the time of the story but the original is ornery enough to hang around).

I wonder if he's going to spend his remaining off hours in the US dealing with sex traffickers; that could make an interesting hobby.

'Twill be most interesting to see what he finds when he investigates that interesting pattern he's observing at the gun show.

12/25/2019 c1 takanis
Excellent.

12/25/2019 c1 1bob19h
great chapter. though if you are going to use the hogwarts colors for the dice would it not make more sense to use green for the book that holds chamber of secrets? or am i just a stupid reviewer who is over thinking the cover art?

12/25/2019 c1 Diakron
And a Merry Christmas to you as well!

12/25/2019 c1 1TheGreatBubbaJ
Excellent, glad to see this back. Keep up the good work lad and Merry Christmas.