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elysiansparadise · 4 months ago

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Ruler of the 1st house in the houses

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

Throughout their lives, these natives experience experiences that make them very clear that they themselves must be their own priority, that they should never put other people's needs first if that means putting their own needs aside. They are focused on knowing themselves better, increasing their knowledge of themselves and always keeping their priorities in mind so as not to stray. They stand out for being very independent people who may even be uncomfortable having to ask for help from others, in fact, it is likely that they have learned to be independent from a very early age. Many of them have a great ability to lead groups or at least inspire others to empower themselves and do things their way. They never hesitate to say what they think, but they can be more reserved when it comes to opening up emotionally to others, as they have very high walls between themselves and others. They do not like to interfere in the lives of others and hate when others feel they have the right to tell them how to live their lives or how to act, and they won't hesitate defending their points of view fiercely. It bothers them when other people don't take them seriously or when their boundaries are ignored, and believe me, they won't allow themselves to be trampled on by someone, because they stand out for their courage and strong sense of self. Their immediate environment sees them as people with a strong, almost unbreakable self-esteem, they exude power, strength and can give the impression of being invincible, even being able to easily intimidate other people. They do not like to feel or appear weak. They constantly seek to improve either in the skills they have or as people. They have initiative and do not sit back and wait for things to happen, some can be impatient when it comes to seeing the fruits of their work. They don't like to feel unproductive. They are people who will always prefer to be authentic rather than hypocritical in order to fit in or be surrounded by people, and since I mentioned it, many of them can be rather ambiverts. They are very selective with the people they surround themselves with and being alone is not a fear for them.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These natives prioritize finding stability in their lives, in every possible sense, from economic stability to mental and emotional stability. Throughout their lives they embark on a path of self-worth, working on their self-esteem and learning to recognize their positive sides. They are focused on making their lives something they can enjoy and do things that they consider valuable to invest their time and energy. They are very attractive people, they can be seen as naturally elegant. They aspire to have a quiet life in which they have everything they need and did not need when they were younger, they know what they deserve and do not settle for crumbs or little. These natives stand out for being calm and rational, they don't like to rush into things, but they know how to give their all once they make a decision. They highly value their authenticity and independence, however, they do not hesitate to support their closest circle. It is very likely that from a young age they have been a strong support, whether for a parent, other family members or even friends. They give the impression of being very stable, of having things in order in their lives and of being almost unbreakable, they project a strength that is rather approachable and people can feel safe with them, even drawn at them. For them, tangibility is crucial, that is, actions before words, from showing their love and affection with actions or gifts (as well as enjoying being shown affection in this way), to not promising things that they know they cannot. achieve. They are people who work hard and progressively in everything they consider important, whether in the workplace, personal or love sphere. They believe that small details are always important, small efforts that are constant and significant. There are little things about these natives that are considered attractive, often things that are not under their control such as mannerisms or their voice. They take care of their appearance and like to dress in clothes that they feel comfortable in, they prioritize their own comfort when it comes to this. They may easily attract money into their lives or be naturally good at managing finances.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

For these natives speaking their minds is the most important thing, they like to be clear with what they think, want and even feel. If they have something to say they will not hesitate to do so. They stand out for being very rational people, capable of seeing things from different perspectives. Their minds can be restless and that can lead them to be people with a tendency to multitask and even have many diverse and different interests among them. Speaking of which, these people love to learn new things, the idea of knowing everything they can about a topic that catches their attention fascinates them, although sometimes once this task is finished they can get bored. They need constant mental stimulation and to stay busy. Many of them have a strong tendency to overthink things and be somewhat anxious, worrying about the future. Despite this, these people know how to adapt very well to changes and constantly seek to make small changes, whether in their rhythms of life, activities or even in their appearances. These people can read well the environment in which they find themselves and easily adapt to it as well as to the people who are there. Your relationship with your siblings or cousins can be very influential, or they can even be a great influence on your siblings or other younger members of your family. These natives are quite cunning and intelligent and give the impression of being not easily fooled and very cultured. People tend to listen to what they say more easily, because they have a lot of charm. For them, communication is key in any relationship, especially those that they consider important to them, and they could not be with someone who does not have a topic of conversation or who does not let them talk/does not listen to them. They like to maintain a calm and bearable environment, jokers, witty and very funny, they love to entertain themselves and amuse others with their stories and occurrences. There is a playful and slightly mischievous appeal to them, and it should be added that as the years go by, they seem to look younger. It is easy for them to follow a conversation since, as I mentioned, they adapt very quickly to people, no matter how different they are from them. They stand out as good communicators, whether orally or in writing, and also for their creativity. They like to learn how to do many things and it is no surprise that many of them have a wide variety of skills.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

Throughout their lives, these natives experience experiences that lead them to always seek their own emotional comfort, to worry and take care of their emotional needs, but above all their inner peace. They are naturally perceptive and caring people when it comes to other people's emotions, they seem to read them very well and never try to make others uncomfortable. They are internally very sensitive people, although they create a shell that protects them from getting hurt or from others taking advantage of this emotionality and their hearts. The family gave great lessons to the native and their relationship with them is quite important to them, whether because of how close they are and how well they get along, or because of the scars they may have left. These natives do not forget easily, and may find themselves constantly thinking about the past. They do not hesitate to go deep inside themselves and analyze themselves, they are quite self-aware, but it will always be a process that they prefer to do on their own. Many of them may have this bad tendency to repress their feelings, always wanting to appear strong or simply preferring to break down when they are alone. They are very supportive and warm people with those they love, always respectful of their emotions and boundaries. They have a strong protective instinct towards all those with whom they form strong emotional bonds. For them it is crucial to feel safe and secure, there is nothing they want more than to keep their inner child happy, avoiding repeating situations from the past that previously hurt them. There is something about them that makes people feel naturally comfortable, people can open up to them more easily and tell them very private things. They may feel a strong interest in the past of the people they care about, from family or friends. It is likely that these natives are very similar, either in physical appearance or behavior to ancestors or older people in their families. Home for them is a place where they feel like they can be themselves, where they don't have to have their barriers up and where they feel protected and comfortable. They may find comfort in being with themselves, although at times the loneliness can become overwhelming. What is clear is that they value quality in their emotional ties with people, which is why they prefer to be on their own rather than calling the wrong person family or friend.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

Over the course of their lives, these natives embark on a path toward self-love and self-acceptance. They are people who can place many expectations on themselves and can be very demanding, although very few people see it and realize it. This happens because people tend to see them as very confident, charismatic and incredibly attractive people, since these natives have the ability to attract the attention of others with ease. A mix of attractiveness and sensuality. Throughout their lives, they learn to love and appreciate each other, to never let disrespect pass or be with people who do not love and respect them as they deserve. These people have a very intense way of loving, for them it is all or nothing, they are not people who commit halfway, and despite their flirtatious yet independent appearance, when they find someone with whom they want to be in a relationship, they do not hesitate. They really like romance, details and they love the idea of having a relationship in which love and passion abound. They like emotional intensity in their relationships, someone who adores them and loves them madly, who is crazy about them and shows the same degree of devotion as them. These people know what they want in a relationship, and they would rather be alone than be with someone who doesn't meet the requirements. They are usually lucky enough to be liked back by their crushes and can attract many hidden admirers. These people like to show themselves as strong, confident and empowered, as people who do not depend on anyone or the opinions of other people, because the experiences they have lived have taught them to be authentic and true to themselves.These people may excel deeply in some skill or talent, and may be seen as great at this. They are really passionate about their interests, beyond romance, if they have hobbies they can put their heart entirely into them. They have the ability to charm the people they interact with. They are very honest and open people with what they want, they do not hold back their opinions and can have a lethal bluntness on many occasions. Deep down, they are very expressive, emotional and loving individuals, never leaving any room for doubt about the love or appreciation they feel.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

Throughout their lives, these natives experience the constant belief that to be worthy of something they have to work hard, although this leads them to be dedicated and responsible people with everything they consider important in their lives, it also influences the way they relate to their environment, believing that they have to be something specific or achieve things in order to feel good about themselves. These natives have a strong need to be productive, to do something constantly, and they can feel bad about themselves when they are not being efficient. They are demanding of themselves, they stand out for their intelligence and observation skills. Their independence is one of their strongest characteristics and despite being very capable individually, they know how to work as a team and are quite efficient and collaborative. They like to feel like they are doing things with purpose, meaningful things, and they think very carefully about what they want to use their energy for, making sure not to waste time on things they consider meaningless. They are very helpful and empathetic people from a rather practical approach, from giving advice to being easy to solve issues of any kind. They can be very nervous people, they have a tendency to worry a lot about things, from their own performance to possible outcomes. For them it is important to have a job for which they feel passion, a job that allows them to have a certain individuality and that allows them to grow and continue learning, this placement makes it likely that they will work in something that they really like, even from a very young age. They are people who respect all living beings, whether people, plants, animals, they can have a strong bond with their pets and manage to connect with animals in a unique and wholesome way. Even if they like fun and variety, these people prefer to have a rather stable life, putting their mental and emotional peace before anything else. They are people very focused on their well-being in all areas, taking care of themselves and doing things that give them a sense of fulfillment. They stand out for their high level of devotion and loyalty in everything they consider important in their lives. They have a great work ethic that allows them to grow quickly in the workplace.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

One of the most prominent lessons in the lives of these natives is about relationships, learning that it is better to be alone than in bad company. Many of these natives develop this balance in learning to be on their own, but also in learning to relate to other people. These natives greatly seek quality in their relationships and put a lot of their energy into making them positive and equitable for both parties. They are people who are very easy to understand and read other people, their attitudes, feelings and needs. People find them very alluring, graceful and people who are generally pleasant to be with, because they are not judgmental of others and when they accept someone into their lives they accept them genuinely. Despite this, they are people who are very clear about what they do not want to deal with in relationships and tend to be quite assertive in them. These people appear polite and approachable to other people, they have a certain charisma that others quickly perceive and it is precisely this subtle charm that attracts others. They will never stay in relationships in which they feel that they give more than they receive, because that search for stability and balance that they have applies in all areas but specifically in their relationships. This placement assures us that the natives will be able to feel that they can be themselves in the presence of their partner, feeling more authentic than when they are with other people. They are very romantic, dedicated and passionate people in their relationships, and they can attract a future spouse like that. Marriage will bring you a lot of self-discovery and can be very beneficial for your lives, giving you not only happiness but fulfillment. They can more easily gain the support of other people and in addition to knowing how to work very well as a team, they manage to connect and really make others feel heard and understood. It is likely that when they were young they gave a lot of importance to what others thought of them, and this is precisely one of the issues that they learn to deal with as time goes by. These people do not hesitate to take the first step in love, they are driven and very direct. Their personality in them may be dominant, however, they may be attracted to equally dominant people.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

Here we meet natives with a certain aura of mystery around them. They do not usually reveal much about themselves so easily, they choose to keep to themselves everything they consider important or very personal, they are observers, and will always deeply analyze whether someone is trustworthy or not, trusting their instincts and being right most of the time. They seek something more than the reality to which they are accustomed, they seek to break the barriers of the predictable, mundane and superficial, entering the core of things and people. They look for the genuine, the raw and the authentic. These people are aware of the beautiful sides of life, but also the most tense and that is precisely why they remain alert, attentive and careful not to get hurt again. They hate feeling too vulnerable, showing their weaknesses, their sadness or points that others can use to hurt them. They are people surrounded by a lot of enigma and magnetism, many people recognize in them a survivor, someone whose strength and reserve makes them feel strangely drawn to them. They may find themselves attracting attention even when they want to go unnoticed. Loyal by nature, these people stand firm to their words, although they are not usually too open with what they feel, they feel intensely, they are quite intense in fact, and capable of giving themselves completely. It is difficult for them to trust other people, many times having trusted and been betrayed at their earliest ages, they have learned to rely on themselves and it can be a difficult task for them to let others in. The world is a complex place for them, full of bittersweet memories, some that they would like to return to and others that they would like to erase, yet their strength makes them reborn stronger and wiser. They do not hesitate to provide support and guidance, but it is difficult for them to accept when someone wants to do the same for them. They long to know themselves completely, even if it makes them face things about themselves that are difficult to accept, they are not afraid to know themselves completely, which makes them want to know others with such depth.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

Gifted with great curiosity, these natives have a way of seeing life that is quite out of the box, not settling for everything they are used to seeing in their daily lives. They have the need to find themselves and their authenticity in a huge world full of possibilities. They are not conformist people, and they are constantly in search of information, knowledge and experiences that bring them positive sensations or that are enough to satisfy that desire to discover. Discovering goes beyond the earthly plane such as traveling or interacting with people from other countries (which may be possible), but rather also encompasses the spiritual, emotional and/or internal terrain. They have a high intrapersonal intelligence, which gives the impression of being rational, self-aware and wise people, and also allows them to get to know others in a more personal way. They stand out for their open mentality and their ability to delve into seeing things from different points of view. Many of them possess a certain charm and natural charm, there is something about them and their nature that makes them attract others and rewarding experiences throughout their lives. They always prefer to live a life with passion and purpose, and they are in constant search for theirs, to do something important or at least satisfactory in their stay in this life, they do not like to do things just for the sake of it, they long to give it life, give it a meaning to things. They do not allow themselves to be prejudiced and prefer not to have them in the first place, they appreciate the beauty in differences and do not like to make others feel uncomfortable with who they are. They are people who have a mindset of not worrying but rather taking care of themselves, they do not seek control over what they know they cannot control and on many occasions they know that it is better to let go and let go, having it easier than other people to do this. They may have interests that people consider unconventional or that are very different from those of the people around them. They are people who take pride in being different but don't feel the need to flaunt it. They have an interest in other cultures and may have plans in their dreams to visit different places in the world to which they feel connected in one way or another.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These natives are perfectly clear about what is important to them, what they want to achieve and who they are. From a young age they know that they have to work hard to get what they want, and from a young age they show themselves to be responsible and dedicated. This is an indicator of a person who had to mature since they were children, carrying issues or responsibilities both personal and from others, and in some cases, from people older than them. They tend to easily attract the admiration, respect and attention of people, likewise many of them can be successful in jobs in which they either have a position of authority or in which they are in constant contact with people. They can easily gain recognition simply by being themselves or pursuing one of their passions or talents. Their image matters a lot to them, so they do not hesitate to defend themselves and fight to maintain everything they have achieved throughout their lives. They have a strong need to feel proud of themselves, they often place high expectations on themselves, and it may be a behavior they have learned from a very young age. There is nothing they want more than to make their inner child proud, and be the adult they would have liked to have by their side. They believe that only they themselves can solve their problems, that no one will come to save them and that they have to make things happen, however, deep down, they wish they could have guidance and support. Many of them are not very open with other people, but what is certain is that having them in your life guarantees you a partner, friend or partner who will always be blunt, supportive and shared with you, never making you feel vulnerable or unprotected. It can be easy for these people to relate fluidly with bosses or authority figures, and it should be added that they can be quite good bosses themselves thanks to their decision and practical and fair vision of things. They like to surround themselves with productive, hard-working people who motivate them, these people being partners, friends or family. People who make excuses, who take advantage of others, and who are hypocritical earn their disdain. They are people who, although open and direct with what they think and want, are difficult to get to know deeply.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

These natives are in a constant search for belonging, they are likely to feel that they hardly fit in with their peers, that they have problems connecting on a deep level with others or forming bonds of friendship. Although it is difficult for them to call anyone a friend, once they give that title, these natives stand out for being very supportive, encouraging and honest people. Precisely because it is difficult for them to form friendships, when they have one that they consider genuine they attach great importance to loyalty to that bond. These natives are interested in deeper and more personal ties, they feel that to form a good friendship, both need to be themselves and adore each other in that way, authenticity and openness are things they look for. They are independent people, very firm in what they believe and what they consider fair, they have their own criteria and do not feel the need to follow the masses or act according to what others believe or expect. Many of them have great charisma, and it seems to grow the older they get, they have a knack for inspiring other people, often motivating them to be themselves and go towards everything they aspire to. Since I mention it, they stand out for being not only creative people, but great dreamers even from a very young age. They stand out for their intelligence, cunning and for being able to learn many different things regardless of how different each topic is from the other. They like to remain rational and act logically and without causing so much drama. They do not like to live in the past, do what everyone else does or feel like one of the crowd. These natives seek to do what seems important to them, but above all in their own way. Sometimes they can think too much about the future, facing tendencies to overthink or worries about what is going to happen. Some are somewhat nervous and thinking about the future either excites them too much or causes them some anxiety. These natives can have great economic stability if they decide to pursue that career that attracts their attention. Many of them may enjoy spending a lot of time on social networks and may become influential, popular or well-known on them. People can admire them quite a bit and even come to appreciate them.

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟐𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

Here we find people who, due to life circumstances, have learned not to reveal much about themselves, including very personal aspects. These people may have experienced a lot of stress or difficult events to process at a young age, causing them to mature prematurely. They have great intuition that makes them realize what others go unnoticed, they sense people's moods, their emotions at the moment and even whether they are trustworthy people or not. They can seem mysterious and very reserved to the people they interact with, they decide what to show and what not to show. They are very empathetic people and sensitive to the moods of the people around them, they are capable of putting themselves in someone else's shoes. They are understanding, sensitive and much more emotional than they show at first glance. These people long to find either a place where they feel like they belong or a group of people that makes them feel understood, since many of them have the ability to make others feel accepted, supported and loved, even when they throughout in their lives they may feel that they do not connect so easily with others. They may have abilities to inspire, care, heal or make others feel better, and people can trust them more easily. These people look for a deep meaning not only in life, but in general behind everything that surrounds them, they prefer depth, that which has a true significance, one that marks them and contributes something to their lives. Many of them may have a strong tendency to doubt their intention, often fearing that their fears will get in the way and cloud their judgment. They are people with a very beautiful and resilient soul, often carrying wounds that people are not aware of, and that is precisely what makes them want to really see inside people, make them feel as seen as they would like to feel. Throughout their lives they experience identity crises, or long periods in which they are searching for themselves, often alone. Many of them seem to be in their own world, because they do not seek to get involved in other people's lives. Things hardly remain hidden for these natives, they have the peculiarity that information always reaches them, even if they do not look for it.

#astrology #ruler of the 1st in the houses #1st house ruler #ruler of the 1st house #1st house #birth chart #natal chart

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balioc · 2 months ago

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Looking at the world from a manager's perspective, you can productively model the pool of workers as being divided into a few basic groups, which are defined and characterized by their driving motivations.

Insert all the usual disclaimers for this sort of thing - this is the roughest type of rough typology. I pulled these categories out of my raw intuition, and possibly a few more would crop up with some additional thought. In reality, the boundaries of these categories are incredibly fuzzy, and almost every individual is actually going to be motivated by a complicated mix of all the relevant motivations; we're talking REALLY SIMPLE HEURISTICS here. Etc.

There have been other well-known worker typologies that share a lot in common with my thoughts here; this is mostly not novel, it's mostly meant to refine a few ideas for particular purposes.

Hustlers are motivated by concrete personal advantage. Most commonly, and most straightforwardly, they want money - as much of it as they can get. They may also be interested in fame, idiosyncratic perks, etc. They do whatever they have to do in order to get what they want.

No surprise: you see huge preponderances of these guys in fields that provide outsize concrete rewards, e.g. finance, the upper echelons of management, etc. But not every natural-born Hustler is in a position to enter a glitzy high-paying field, and in fact you find Hustlers all throughout society and all throughout the economy, finding or making hustles wherever they go.

Having Hustlers working for you is mostly pretty great. They get shit done. They can be induced to work incredibly hard - probably harder than anyone else, under most circumstances - and they'll shank their own mothers if the price is right. If you need anything really important from them, anything at all, it's just a matter of bribing them enough.

...they will also, of course, cheerfully shank you if the price is right. Hustlers aren't the only wellsprings of institutional politics and infighting, but they're the most dangerous ones; they're always potential rivals to everyone around them. Also, you need to keep the tangible rewards flowing in a steady stream in order to get anything out of them, or else they'll put most of their effort into jumping ship (one way or another).

Craftsmen are motivated by the desire to do good work in their chosen fields, for its own sake and for the sake of their treasured self-image as people who do good work.

As you'd expect, for the most part, they're excellent workers and should be prized. But they're not perfect workers. Common weaknesses and downsides include:

They tend to have their own ideas about How Things Should Get Done; they're often resistant to externally-imposed product/service requirements or process changes (and bad at implementing those things) (no matter how important or well-conceived they are), and they're very resistant to "just get it out the door, right now done is better than good."

Being driven chiefly by internal motivation is great, but sometimes it's useful to be able to push things along with external motivators, and Craftsmen are pretty resistant to those. They don't like working more or harder than they're naturally inclined to work, they mostly sneer at carrots, and sticks make them sad and unproductive.

It's important to note that, while noteworthy skill within a field correlates with having a Craftsman temperament and motivation suite - for obvious reasons - those things are not identical at all. Plenty of Craftsmen are bad at their jobs, or just average, and plenty of the best workers are most motivated by things other than the Excellence of the Work Itself.

Fanatics are a relatively rare and specialized group, whom you find mostly within a few specific sorts of culturally-valorized fields. They're motivated by a desire to be part of something Important and Good in a Broader Sense: to Save the World, or some smaller-bore version of that.

They make amazing front-line soldiers, in the sorts of institutions that have "front-line soldiers." They work super hard, and you don't even need to bribe them, you just need to keep them hopped up on inspiration.

The big problem with them is that they're mostly motivated by a feeling - the feeling of Being Righteous - and it's not easy to control where they get that feeling, in any kind of precise way. They're just as resistant to external motivators as Craftsmen are, or even more so, but they're also not being guided by an ideal of effective quality. (No, not even if their chosen cause is theoretically all about an ideal of effective quality, hem hem.) They will happily waste vast amounts of time and money doing useless things, or even counterproductive things, so long as they're engaged in tasks that hit the right psychological buttons for them. There's also a constant risk that a Fanatic will decide that his employer is unrighteous, or that one of his coworkers is unrighteous, and start an internal conflict; the risk scales in a more-than-linear fashion with the number of Fanatics you keep around.

The biggest group, unsurprisingly, is the Normies. In most fields, it is much the biggest group. Normies are motivated by the desire to be members in good standing of their communities, to have positive relationships with the people around them, and to live up to basic norms and expectations.

Managerial skills, in the traditional sense, are incredibly important with Normies. If you want them to do good work for you - and you should want that, as a manager, you've almost certainly got a whole bunch of them - not only do you have to keep them pointed in the right direction, you have to make sure that they're supporting each other. With Hustlers, you just have to throw money at them (and avoid their power plays); with Craftsmen, you just have to let them do their thing, and occasionally badger them into giving you what you need; with Fanatics, you just have to be inspirational; but with Normies, you have to lead, and construct a productive community. You have to set reasonable, achievable norms and expectations that will get you what you need.

This wouldn't be complete if I didn't talk about the Defectors. The Defectors are motivated by not working. They don't want to be there, they resent having to do their jobs, and their primary goal is to shirk as much as possible. They will, by default, put much more effort into shirking than into their assigned tasks.

Obviously, managers don't want to have to deal with them, for good reason. But they're out there, in large numbers - not always in the places and fields where you'd expect to find them - and learning to manage them is sometimes more viable than trying to get rid of them. ("Moving Heaven and Earth to find them jobs that will change their attitude" is often a good plan, although of course it's not always possible and not always worth it.)

Crucially, Defectors are not Normies. If you start with the assumption that the average baseline worker is lazy and sour, you will make some incredibly stupid decisions. There are some fields where, for structural reasons, you can expect that a very large number of your workers will be Defectors; this is a huge and complicated challenge, well beyond the scope of this post, and good luck to you if you have to handle it, but it's not the default.

----------------------

Once you have those categories in your head, and can play with them, a number of obvious-seeming ideas present themselves. Just a couple, for now:

Most high-level executives are Hustlers, or have strong Hustler tendencies, for obvious reasons. Most of the people around them are Hustlers, or have strong Hustler tendencies. This means that they tend to overweight the Hustler outlook, by a lot, when they try to model what their workers are like. More specifically, I'd wager that a lot of them intuitively divide the world into "good workers" ( = Hustlers) and "bad workers" ( = Defectors). This will lead to a heavy overreliance on tangible rewards, a systematic shortchanging of community-building, etc. Which is in fact just what we see.

In particular - crucially - Hustlers and Defectors are the only worker types who ever become more productive under heavy stress. Hustlers actually benefit from it, because it raises the stakes of the game that they're already playing. (If you succeed, you'll be king of the world! If you fail, you'll be shark food! Go go go!) Defectors suffer terribly from stress, of course, but they can sometimes be spooked into doing their jobs as opposed to doing nothing, and sometimes that's the best/easiest way to get something out of them. But stress is terrible for everyone else. Craftsmen lose their focus. Fanatics lose their hope. It's worst of all for Normies, because they take all their cues from the vibes around them; they're productive when they learn to associate work with comfort and happiness, and when you fill their working world with frantic desperation, you just put them in a permanent cringe state.

stop trying to pit your Normies against each other in competitions for status and rewards dear God what are you stupid

To some extent, you can control your institution by controlling what types of workers you have. But only to some extent. There are only so many Hustlers and Craftsmen to go around, and if you want them, you will have to (a) be able to identify them reliably on little information [HINT: you are probably very bad at this], and (b) provide them with what they want [tangible rewards / comfortable security and interesting work]. "We are going to employ only the good special people" is feasible if you're an outfit of four workers; at a dozen, it's already become a stretch; at a few hundred, uh, pfffffffft. If you want to operate at scale, you need to be able to make Normies do good work, there is no substitute for it.

#management #social engineering

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kiztae · 7 months ago

Text

raindrops ― s.jaeyun

genre: fluff, very suggestive, boyfriend trope

wc: 1.2k

warnings: f.reader, making out ( alot), dry humping, slightly sub! or switch!jake, praise, neediness.

summary: it's cold, it's raining, you and your boyfriend like each other way too much and know just how to feel warmer admist this rainy weather.

a/n: this is pretty short, i had an impulse to write after seeing this jake concept pic and this was what came out. i could possibly write a pt. 2, if you'd like ◡̈ . i also wanted to post after ghosting this account for so long. i hope you enjoy! (ps. jake is dangerously pretty, get this man under control.)

"but it's so cold!" he whined playfully.

small droplets of water were pouring over your window as you laid down, each of your body's temperatures radiating against the other, serving as the best source of warmth in the middle of this chilly rain night.

"you're being such a baby. a cute one, but a baby." you chuckle in response, your hands tracing soft circles over your boyfriend's t-shirt covered back. "just for a little while! come on."

were you being unproductive? maybe. did it matter? no. your exams were finally over and you had spent the last days catching up on anything that was not related to your studies (thank god).

when you first tried to move your icy hands under jake's t-shirt and onto his wide back you were met with a quick yelp and a tug away from him as he whisper-shouted a "woah!" in amazement.

you both giggled it off but he made sure to grab your hands in his and kiss them gently while he cuddled you even more tightly (which seemed impossible before) as the sweet loving boyfriend he was. the same sweet loving boyfriend who while doing so prohibited you from repeating your past try for a warm up.

"i like you so much, but that is so not happening." he stared at you with a smile and then a playful squint of his eyes as he reached back for your waist to push you further against him, closing his eyes briefly while he hid his face in the crook of neck. "i can keep you warm enough like this." he muffled.

"oh please, that's just an excuse to get closer to my chest. don't think i don't know you well enough, sim." you rolled your eyes with a brief giggle and then moved one hand to his hair and started to play with it softly, admiring your boyfriend's pretty features in awe.

"hah, maybe." he replied with amusement. if you thought you liked your boyfriend too much, he was entirely drunk on you. he took in your scent, your skin against his, all of you with such intent, almost as if you were surreal and just an illusion. you were perfect. if he could, he'd chew you up.

"mm, maybe you should keep me warm like this." you sighed with satisfaction as you curled your finger on his hair with a bit more strength, earning the cutest reaction from your boyfriend, a shaky breath and his hazy eyes staring up at you.

"yeah?" he smiled, his excitement being obvious but you loved it just like that. you both always took care of each other, these moments were your favorite.

"yeah." you hooked a handful of his hair in your hand and carefully brought him up to your face with enough force to make him breathe out from the pull but not hurt him, at least not for now.

"you're so perfect." he managed to let out quietly before he smashed his lips on yours impatiently. as always, his lips felt so plush against yours, even with the almost insatiable way in which he was kissing you, he made it feel soft. his mouth quickly started to devour yours once you slightly parted it open for him, your breath getting caught in your chest with how hot you were starting to feel. you could feel his tongue brush against yours, the palm of his hand caress your cheeks, all while he grasped you so intently.

he could never get tired of kissing you. he was pretty sure it was one of his most favorite things to do, no matter the time or place. if he could have you, be with you, he would do so.

"mnf― jake―" you spoke breathlessly, your mind now lost on him and barely able to speak a few words. you don't know why you even tried to say something when you already know just how heated you both get once you start.

"babe? ha― you good?" he muttered out without really stopping to pepper you with kisses, his hands now starting to roam your body, grabbing whatever he could with pure need.

"mhm― yeah, so good." your arms wrapped themselves around his neck in a sweet embrace. the boy quickly nodded with a tiny chuckle of satisfaction, moving his hands further down to start groping your ass, filling his hands with it.

"you're so hot. god―" without even pronouncing the end of his sentence clearly, his mouth was on yours again. it was like he was eating you up, like a starved man. with his hands on your ass, he managed to start pressing you against his hardening crotch, pushing against you almost in a desperate way. "you're warm now, every inch of your skin..." he grasped your thigh with a certain force that made you whine into him, your arms closing in on him even more. his whispers between kisses and his straight up fondling of you made your actions get gradually sloppy with how good it felt to have him on top of you.

"jake― faster." you whined while one of your hands reached for his hair again, aware of much it riled him up. you weren't sure how but you already felt like you were on fire, the knot in your stomach threatening to snap any moment with the way your boyfriend's hips pushed against your center so well.

"whatever you need― fuck, i'm close. i'm sorr―" before he could even try to finish that sentence, you shut him up quickly with a colliding of your lips on his, not wanting to hear anything like an apology right now. he was just so sweet, he wanted to make you feel so good, could you really blame him?

you both could not help the constant airy gasps between kisses, your bed starting to shake in sync with jake, both of you too lost in the moment to care about anything other than giving each other pleasure.

he went to grab your waist with one hand, placing the other against the back of your head to keep you both close to each other, neither of your mouths wanting to separate. it wasn't anything new, you both knew just much you needed to feel each other's lips on yours, loving to taste each other. to eat each other up, to your last breaths.

with a few last grinds of your boyfriend's hips on yours, you both moaned into each other's mouths while your highs took you over the edge, your breaths echoing around the room with rhythm.

"i am... definitely not cold anymore." he chuckled while he pressed his forehead against yours and placed a few strands of your hair behind your ear carefully.

"yeah? so i can finally get my cold hands under your shirt?" you ask while being unable to help your cheeky grin as you still tried to catch your breath.

"oh. that was not what i was saying― y/n!―" before he could finish talking, you had already jumped the boy and swept your chilly hands on his back while you both laughed and he tried his best to wiggle himself out of your grasp.

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owlwithanapple · 19 days ago

Text

Their Favorite ❤️‍🔥👄🔞

Content : Adult Content

Characters : Bruce Wayne x Y/N

“Y/N, I have an emergency, maybe a lot of emergency, reschedule all my meetings. I'll be back in a maybe few hours or late night? Do it for me, thanks.” Bruce says walking out of his office as he puts on the jacket that matches his pants.

Y/N had been working at Wayne Enterprises as Bruce's personal assistant for almost a year now? Which was quite an accomplishment, considering most people quit for the same reason. He always seemed to have a lot of“emergency” and his poor assistant ended up having to reschedule his entire schedule.

Other than that, he didn't give much more work and the pay was generous. Maybe too freaking generous. Sure, he had to compensate Y/N enough to keep them from asking any questions, the least he needed was for his assistant to find out that he was none other than the Dark Knight.

“Oh, my sweet girl. Go buy yourself something nice to make up for it, don't worry about the price and charge it to my account. And don’t hesitate, you have my word.” Bruce winked seductively added before calling the elevator.

“Uh huh. Emergency again? What a busy man you are. I should considering buying a condo since you said charge it to your account.” There is sarcasm in your words to make fun of him.

He chuckled slightly when heard your comment. You were usually pretty witty and a little bit naughty, it was one of the things that made both of you working together so enjoyable.

The elevator stopped at the parking lot and he walked over to his car. He joked before getting into the car. “Just don't spend more than you make. I can't have my assistant going bankrupt.”

“Gotcha, daddy~since I have your card.” You stand aside his car winking at him playfully as he allows you to spend his money while you played his card in hand.

He was momentarily taken back by the wink. The comment combined with the wink made his thoughts go somewhere they shouldn't. He managed to regain composure and chuckled again.

“Keep it up because I might just have to fire you.” He said jokingly, although it came out sounding a little less like a joke than he intended.

“I know very well that you won't do that.” You smirked confidently as you’re not afraid he would fire you.

He chuckled and shake his head. He started the car and revved the engine a few times. “I like your confidence, charming and hot. I'm off. Don’t have too much fun with my card.”

You couldn't help but laugh, enjoying the teasing interaction between the two of you during work time. After watching his car leave, you returned to the office to handle the work he assigned to you.

Bruce smirked as he watched you walk away. You were certainly a breath of fresh air from the usual sticklers that worked in high positions at Wayne Enterprises. As he drove to the batcave, Bruce still kept your comment in his mind from earlier.

‘Daddy’

Normally he’d find that statement offensive, it sounded like she was calling him an old man. But for some reason, coming from you it didn’t have the same effect. The smile on his lips couldn't be concealed at all when recalling every banter between you two.

A few hours later, Bruce returned to Wayne Enterprises. He was tired from the night, the amount of criminals trying to take advantage of his “busy schedule” seemed to have increased. He was also in a pretty foul mood, his night had been quite unproductive, most criminals seemed to have been staying indoors.

Bruce walked into the building and was heading back to his office when he caught a glimpse of you through your office door. You still working on his schedule. Bruce paused in the doorway, watching you silently for a few moments.

As Bruce watched, he couldn’t help but notice how pretty you looked, the perfect blend of sharp and soft, which somehow fit together perfectly. He enjoyed you around him while working with him, not boring and serious like soldiers. It’s fun and bantering like intimate close friends.

He realized hadn’t said a word since walking in and he had been standing there watching you for what probably seemed like an uncomfortable amount of time. It only further solidified his assumption that he didn’t get out enough.

You leaned beside the shelf and flipped the document that he hasn’t finalized and filled out yet, obviously didn’t notice he’s back to Wayne Enterprises. Bruce cleared his throat gently to get your attention “I’m back, sweet girl.”

“How long you standing there? You should bang into my office rather than standing like a statue.” You close the document putting it back on desk. “Oh by the way, welcome back, handsome. So what’s the emergency?”

He stepped a bit closer, now leaning against the doorway as he watched her. He shoved his hand up and sighed but he pulled back a smiles as he don’t want to expose Batman’s duty. “Just some part time job. Must be annoying having to constantly deal with my ‘emergencies’, but I do appreciate it. I don’t know what I’d do without a competent assistant.”

You tilt your head because you feel he’s so suspicious especially about the emergency he mentioned, but didn’t force him to talk about it. He’s your boss and you’re his personal assistant, respect each other boundaries “Uh huh. What a busy man you are. The schedule I already rescheduled it.”

“Well done, sweet girl. I expected nothing less from my favorite assistant.” Bruce answered, a hint of a smile and teasing on his lips.

He admiring the way you held yourself, as assistant you’re confident and calm, as a close friend you’re naughty and teasing. Something that seemed to be harder to find in Gotham.

Bruce’s eyes moved to the clock and he straightened himself with a sigh. “It’s late, you should get going. Can’t let sweet girl like you work overtime again.”

“Yup. I need a good nap, especially my boss trusts me so much then I have to face a mountain of paperwork.”You rolled your eyes when he still flirted with you. You start packing things into your handbag and prepare to go home.

“Yeah, you look tired—.“ Bruce realized he can’t stopped to flirt with you. Maybe is the casual way to talk with you including some flirty things like this. He was about to tell you looked good, even tired.

Instead, he said “Well, drive safe. Can’t have my favourite assistant getting in any accidents.”He started to walk away but paused and added flirtatious words. “I’m watching you and my account transaction history. Don’t think I’ve forgotten to see what you bought with my card.”

You pouted at him like you’re thinking about what you were going to buy when his cards were in your hand, suddenly an idea appeared on your mind and you made a sound like real “Opps. Maybe a condo? Or Range Rover? Hahahaha. Goodbye, Bruce.”

He chuckled at your retort. He had to give it to you, you are just as witty and so attractive just like his ex lover Selina Kyle, but both of you are different ways of charming people. Bruce nodded in response. “Night. My sweet girl.”

After you left, Bruce returned to his own office and sat at his desk. He was supposed to finish some paperwork, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Specifically, on you. Bruce had never considered himself a very romantic or sexual person. After all, with his work as Batman, he didn’t have much time for romance. With you or Selina Kyle.

And yet, here he was, sitting in his office and his thoughts were on you. Not on criminals or the Batman, but on a beautiful 25 year old woman who is his personal assistant. Bruce leaned back in his desk chair and sighed, it was very unlikely that he’d get anything done tonight.

He was sure most people in similar circumstances would go out to a bar and flirt with an attractive woman, maybe even bring her home and have some “fun”. But Bruce wasn’t most people. The idea of going to a bar to flirt with some random women wasn’t appealing, he didn’t work that way.

He had to admit, the thought of bringing you home and having some “fun” was very appealing…Holy shit…No. He ran a hand over his face. Was he really thinking about bringing you , his attractive younger assistant home?

Damn his mind. It would be crazy. Insane even. He’d lose his favorite sweet assistant, the one person in Wayne Enterprises he could trust and enjoyed working with. Not only that, you were much younger than him, almost 10 years. How old was he? A 35 year old man thinking about a 25 year old like this?

No. He couldn’t think like that. Besides, there was the chance that you had already in a relationship. It was probably the most likely scenario anyway. He pinched his nose bridge and murmured “What a sweet girl..”

Suddenly, an unbidden thought popped into his mind: if you are single, would you be into him? Bruce shake his head. Since when did he think in that way? Of course not. How many times had he heard the old trope about people not dating their bosses.

In your apartment, you sat down on the couch, scrolling and browsing online by use your laptop. You had your legs tucked under yourself, laptop in lap as you typed away, looking through items to charge to your boss’ credit card…As you browsed, kept your mind occupied with other things, so you didn’t accidentally go overboard.

Finally, you made a decision which item you should buy for yourself. An online transaction appears in his account. It’s you using his card to purchase a whole new coffee machine, especially the expensive one that includes a lot of new equipment.

‘Bing.’

He looked up from his work after the noise and went to his computer. Opening it up and looking at the transaction that has just popped up. Bruce’s eyes widened slightly when he realized what it was. ‘She’s certainly not holding back…’ He thought with a smirk.

In the same time, you laughed at the purchase price and succeeded. You never holding back especially you have this special treatment which is personally given by your boss. You take a screenshot for the transaction and send it to his chat account. “Thanks~my favorite boss. Love you so much.”

Bruce’s computer pinged again as he received a message. He smiled as he read that you had thanked him and said you love him. He knew you didn’t mean it in a romantic way, and yet for some stupid reason, it made his heart flutter. He quickly wrote a short reply. “Goodnight, my sweet girl.”

“Night night, my boss.” You type a message and send it to him. You feel a little sleepy, before that you go into the bathroom, take off your clothes and take a hot bath. You come out of the bathroom with naked, you dry your body and hair, put on your lace nightgown and climbed on the bed to sleep.

By the time Bruce saw the reply on his computer, he had turned it off and was on his way back to the manor. He kept thinking about the email, especially when you had thanked him, called him ��favorite” and said you“love” him. He knew he shouldn’t be this excited for something that might have just been a funny remark, but he couldn’t help it.

He wasn’t focused on the road, just letting the autopilot car drive by itself while his thoughts were still filled with his assistant. After a while he made his way to his bedroom. It’s not like he would get much work done anyway if his thoughts were preoccupied with his very attractive personal assistant.

Bruce stripped out of his clothes, taking a quick shower, just like you , came out just as naked and dried his body with a towel. He had no reason to wear any clothes to bed, completely exposed himself. He stood in front of the mirror. He was a playboy in Gotham City. Thanks to his alter ego as Batman fighting criminals, he had such attractive muscles. He lying under his covers, closed his eyes and sleep.

Morning comes, you arrive at your work building early as usual. You stepped into the elevator and scan the access card to go directly to Bruce's office. After arriving at the floor, you go to the office kitchen to make two cups of coffee. Bring it into his office, put his credit card on the desk and return it to him, then sort out the documents on the desk.

A little while later, Bruce arrived. After parking his car in the parking lot, made his way inside, greeted by many of his employees, most of them greeted him with a smile. He got into the elevator and get to his floor. He didn’t have to wait long before it arrived.

Bruce walked through the hallway that led to his office. He slowed slightly as he passed your office, but didn’t stop. Arriving at his office, he pushed the door open. As expected, you are already at work. Two cups of coffee sat on his desk, along with the file he had been working with last night.

Bruce smirked when he saw his credit card on his desk, it seemed like you were enjoying the benefits it gave you. He picked up the card and put it back into his wallet. Bruce took the coffees and smiled his thanks. He said with a chuckle. “I see you’re already putting that card to good use. Did you have fun with my credit card yesterday?”

You chuckled and turned your back to him while sorting out the documents, you answered him in a teasing tone as usual. “You know. A coffee machine. I've always wanted one in my apartment.”

“And the most expensive one you could find, I assume…?” He said in a teasing voice, a smirk still on his lips. Bruce picked up a cup and took a sip of the hot coffee. It was perfect as always.

You stop what you are doing and turn around to give him a smug smile. You look around the office to make sure no one is outside, then you walk over to him and sit at his desk. “I was thinking about the expensive stuff suits your taste. Maybe you can stopped by and I can make a coffee for you with my new coffee machine. If you free.”

He watched you go over to his desk and sit on the edge, a smirk on lips. He was momentarily surprised by how close you were sitting. When you made the suggestion to have a drink in your apartment, something flashed through Bruce’s mind. For a moment, he almost thought you are insinuating something.

Bruce placed his cup of coffee down on his desk and stood up, standing directly in front of you. He looked down at you , he almost towered over you while you sitting down. He leaned closer, his arms folded across his chest. “Maybe…I should be free sometime. I’d need to know your address though…”

You chuckled and nodded slightly, then took out your phone and sent the address of your apartment and the exact location to his chatroom. “There. Remember mark it as important.”

Bing—

Bruce heard the sound of his phone notifying him of a new message and picked it up. The message, your apartment’s address. He smiled when you made the comment and looked up from his phone. “Don’t pretend like you’re not handing your address out to every guy you meet.”

You grabbed his tie pulled it closer to make him standing between your legs. You stroke his tie like tracing the sensations with your fingers. He was standing between your legs now. “Because the others… I never invited them to come stopped by in my apartment for a coffee.”

Bruce’s breath hitched when you pulled him closer and started touching his tie, his hands reflexively reached out and placed themselves on the desk. His hands gripping the desk’s edge, his knuckles starting to turning white.

Bruce was trying to keep his composure and not make it look like the actions were affecting him, but it wasn’t exactly working. He tried and failed to ignore the feeling of your legs on either side of him, your thighs were practically against his hips. “And why would that be?”

You looked into his eyes and gently traced your fingers over his tie. Being able to smell his faint scent and the smell of coffee just now from such a close distance which makes your heart move. “Because you know how to taste it.”

Bruce’s breath hitches as you looked into his eyes, your fingers tracing over his tie. He was intensely aware of how close both of you, he could practically feel the warmth of your breath on his face. Your words, the simple comment of a double meaning sent a rush of heat through him. He could feel his heart thump in his chest.

Bruce moved his right hand and placed it on your thigh, letting it rest there. He said, his gaze drifting to her lips. “And I know how to taste other things too…”

You tilted your head and looked innocently, but you knew his meaning when his gaze turned to your lips. You released his tie and holding his hand that’s on your thigh. “Sounds great. I wonder what you will do?”

Bruce’s grip on your thigh tightens slightly. He knew you’re playing innocent, and he was falling for it. He took a step forward, eliminating the distance between them and pressed his body against you. He placed his other hand on your hip, holding you in place.

He bent down a little, his lips only a few millimeters away. He could feel the heat rising in his chest and in the pit of his stomach. He said in a low voice, his breathing becoming a bit shallow. “I have few ideas…”

You chuckled at him “Must be a great idea.”

His voice was still in a low tone, he was still staring into your eyes. He could feel that he was already getting aroused, your proximity and the scent of skin weren’t helping. He brought his hand from your hip up to chin, tilting your head up slightly. His gaze falling on your lips. “Should I show you a sample?”

You turned your head and looked at the clock. There were still thirty minutes left before his meeting. You didn't want to waste it. You grabbed his hand and moved it to your inner thigh to tease him. “Time is of the essence, don't waste it.”

He still has at least half an hour to kill before he needed to be in the conference room for a meeting. As good as that idea sounded, he wouldn’t be able to fully express it without being late. He looked back down at you as you moved his hand to your inner thigh, his breath hitched as he felt the smoothness of your skin under his hand. “Oh don’t worry… I don’t have any intentions of wasting time.”

All it took was a few simple words on part, the little self-control that was left inside of Bruce was gone. A primal part of his brain had taken over. As soon as he finished speaking, he squatted down and spread wide open your legs to accommodate his body.

Without giving you a chance, he pulled your panties down and buried his face under your skirt, licking your clitoris with his tongue to taste you. You felt a rush of passion, the part he licked was constantly rubbed by his tongue, as if he was sucking you in hungrily. You grabbed his shoulders, your body trembled continuously, you straightened your waist and tilted your head upwards to moan.

When the two of you were busy, the phone on his desk suddenly rang, interrupting both of your enjoyment. You turned your head saw it was from Lucius Fox, which must be the preparation for the meeting. You stopped him from licking, but he ignored it and indulged in it. With no other options left, you clutched his clothes tightly, stifling your own moans, and forced yourself answered his call for him.

“H-Hey Mr Lucius…how can I help you…?” You answer the phone, your voice slightly shaky as you clutched onto Bruce as he continued. You said, but mentally cursing at Bruce because he’s not stopping what’s he’s doing right now! You tried your best to make your voice sound normal, keeping back a moan as you felt Bruce’s tongue run over your sensitive parts.

On the other end of the phone, Lucius had expected to speak to Bruce, but instead was met with your voice. Not knowing the situation, completely unaware of what was happening on the other side of the phone call, continued on. “Hey smart girl, is Bruce there with you? I need to quickly talk with him for a second about something important, is he available?”

Bruce, who was kneeling under the desk, didn’t even think about what it looked like on the other end of the phone call. He continued licking, enjoying the taste and texture. The moment you reached climax, you were about to moan loudly out but you can’t, you clutching his clothes tightly almost to ripping it to suppress the feeling.

You poked Bruce's head to hint that Lucius wanted to talk to him. Unexpectedly, Bruce looked up for a moment, silently communicating to you that he wanted you to speak for him.While he had never asked anything like this before, you had to admit that in your hazy mind it was actually quite funny in a messed up way.

How would Lucius feel to know his boss was between his personal assistant’s legs? However, he wasn’t going to stop what he was doing and you were forced to act as his mouth piece in the meantime. In this sneaky situation, you suddenly have a funny idea to make fun of Bruce. You suppress yourself and continue to talk to Lucius in phone while clutching his clothes tightly. “He is currently busy... Busy doing bad things..”

As you were forced to speak on behalf of your boss, holding back the moans and pleasure he was giving you. Lucius’s voice from the other end of the phone call went silent for a second before he spoke again. He asked, sounding a little confused but concerned. “Ummm… care to elaborate on that..?”

Meanwhile, Bruce looked up at you, his eyes narrowing when he heard you say ‘busy doing bad things.’ He got what you were doing and was slightly annoyed by it. Especially in this kind of situation, he'll keep you company with your naughty ideas , so he decided to punish you by biting your thighs.

A sudden tingling sensation increases the pleasure of your desire. You tilt your head back and your climax explodes once again. You clutched the phone harder than ever to hold yourself back. “He messed up the files....now I have to help him with it....”

Bruce’s ears twitched as he heard you speak. It was a clear that your voice was shaking a lot, clearly an effect of him and what he was doing. The comment you gave in response to Lucius gave him a hint that you were trying to play a game of your own, and it was clear that you were having a hard time getting your words out without sounding too obvious.

He felt a sense of satisfaction as he heard you struggle to speak. He decided that it was time to increase the torture a little. Suddenly, you felt a surge of excitement came over, his fingers tracing outside your sensitive parts.

Seeing the effects that his actions had on you, and hearing how hard it was for you to speak without letting anything slip to Lucius on the phone, Bruce smirked. He knew that he had you exactly where he wanted you, right on the edge. He wasn’t satisfied though. Bruce wanted to listen to you get more riled up and he thought of a way to do exactly that.

Bruce’s hands moved from your inner thighs and started tracing his fingers up and down on your outer parts, the sensation felt even more heightened due to the anticipation. He was teasing you. You continued speaking into your phone, but the words were coming out more labored and breathless than usual.

“Smart girl, are you alright over there…?” Lucius’s voice broke the silence that was on the call, he could tell from your shaky voice and weird behaviour that something wasn’t quite right.

Meanwhile Bruce looked up at you as he ran his finger along your most sensitive part, he knew that you were getting desperate and was waiting for your next words. Until he put a finger inside you to play it, you coughed to cover up your orgasm. “I’m alright…just my throat is a bit itchy…”

When you started coughing and tried to cover it up, Bruce was a little bit surprised, he thought you would have been able to handle it a little longer. He felt his mouth twitch into a smirk when he heard what you said to Lucius. It was clear that you were lying, but he couldn’t help but find the whole situation slightly amusing.

As he saw you struggling to hold yourself back, Bruce decided to up the ante and added a second finger. You grit your teeth, want to hang up the phone in your hand and throw it into the trash can. Your boss enjoys this atmosphere. Seeing you messed up by him increases his desire and enthusiasm.

As soon as Bruce added a second finger it was almost too much to bear for you, it was becoming increasingly hard to hold yourself back without doing something obvious. Meanwhile, Lucius was still sitting on the other end of the phone, his voice filled with a hint of concern. “Are you sure you’re alright…?”

“Yes…I’ll drink more water…thanks for your concern.”Bruce continued to watch you struggle and trying to keep your cool for Lucius’s sake. He knew that you were at your limit and was trying to hold on for dear life. But he didn’t think that you could get much farther without accidentally slipping in the obvious truth.

He curled his fingers slightly inside of you, he couldn’t help but smirk and feel a little pride because your body reacted so passionately. You didn't expect you couldn’t suppress his fingers so great inside you that when he did this, you would squirt so much like a mess. The feeling of Bruce’s fingers curling inside of you was too much and you had to suppress a moan.

Bruce watched your reaction, his smirk deepening a little. He was thoroughly enjoy watching you struggle on the phone to Lucius, listening to you struggle to keep your moans down so that Lucius didn’t catch on. Meanwhile, Lucius on the other end of the phone was getting a little suspicious. “You sound strange over the phone. You sure you’re alright? Should I come and check on you..?”

“Huh?! Um…nonono…don’t worry about it….”When you suddenly squirted on his fingers, Bruce was a little stunned by the sudden amount. He was only going to cause you a little more discomfort and make you try even harder to act normal.

You clutched the phone and his shirts tightly to suppress your feelings was about exposing out. He raised an eyebrow slightly in shock, slightly surprised at what you did. He could hear you desperately trying to stop any moans from being heard at the other end of the phone.

“Are you sure…?” Lucius asked again, getting more suspicious, especially your voice and breath. Lucius sounding like he was seconds away from getting up from his chair and heading over to check on you two.

You heard the sound of moving chair, sounds like Lucius was about stand up from his chair over the phone, and you tensed. For a moment you are distracted, you felt something hot rubbing against your entrance, it was Bruce.

His hot dick rubs against your entrance. He pushed you down to his desk, his face was smirked like he’s enjoying this moment. You swallow your saliva, do your best blurting out something to stopped Lucius leaving his office. “Mr Lucius, I’m really fine…Bruce and I still sorted out the meeting documents…”

As soon as you blurted that Bruce and you were working on the documents for the meeting, Lucius paused for a moment before speaking, thinking.“Alright fine… but don’t forget the meeting is in a few minutes.”

He slowly pushes forward his dick into yours, his waist begins to hit your hips roughly like his hunger reaches the limit, secreting hormones in your body. You lean your head back and grab his tie to calm your nerves. “Alright, see you later…Mr Lucius…”

When you spoke again, you tried to sound as normal as you possibly could, but it was clear that you were struggling. You tried to remain composed and calm as you spoke, but your mind was still in a haze from his actions. Lucius said, sounding a little reluctant, but still convinced. “I’ll see you in the meeting. Bye.”

When you heard Lucius hang up, you finally let go of all your worries. You put the phone aside and finally got back to work with your boss. You straddled your legs around his waist feeling his dick inside your body so deep and hot. “You bastard…”

All your worries and troubles vanished as soon as you heard Lucius hang up. With no one on the other end of the phone, you no longer had to worry about trying to hide yourself from him. He asked, pretending to be innocent, even though you both knew exactly what he did. “Me? What did I do that was so bad..?”

He fucks you over and over again without stopping, and the two of you enjoy the atmosphere and the pleasure brought by this little game. He was very fast, and the sensitive spots in your body were constantly poked, causing you to climax repeatedly, as if he knew where your weaknesses were. “You…know…if others knew about this…Bruce Wayne under his personal assistant’s skirt…that would be so funny…”

Every thrust felt like magic, as if he knew every single thing you wanted and needed. He knew exactly how to make you feel good. He smirked and looked at you as you mentioned that if others knew about what was happening under your skirt. “Oh yeah, it would be. Everyone would think that Bruce Wayne is so weak that he couldn’t even wait, is doing it in his office.”

The speed and intensity that he was moving, was incredible. It felt like he was possessed. “And they would think that he is such a bad boss that he doesn’t care about work, he just wants to do something else.”

He lifts your left leg hook it over his shoulder. His lips pass over every part of your left leg and leave kiss marks. You can feel a strong possessive breath coming from him. His movements are bigger and rougher without holding himself. He fucks you too extremely, just like him wanted to messing you up.

“I’m sure lots of people wouldn’t be surprised though, they’d probably think that it’s typical for him to take his assistant instead of getting a girlfriend. After all, it’s a lot easier to screw when you’re right there at hand.” He whispered in your ears make you shiver.

You clutched the edge of his desk, unable to close your mouth. Luckily his office was well soundproofed, otherwise the sounds of your moans, squirting, and thrusting would have spread throughout the building. “Oh…ah…Bruce…I’m again…”

The office was quiet, save for the sound of breathing and the occasional moan that he drew from you. But thanks the soundproofing, those sounds were firmly contained within the room, keeping them safe from anyone outside. “You’d better keep your voice down…unless you want someone to walk in and catch us.”

You enjoy the feeling of being possessed by him at this moment. You obey his orders, you grab his hand and put it to your mouth, you lick his thumb with your tongue and then gently bite it, the air from your mouth passes through his skin, you suppress your moaning desire. “Oh…Bruce…not fair to shut my mouth…Your office is obviously soundproof.”

Every time you licked his thumb and bit it slightly, he felt his skin tingle. It was like electricity was running down his spine every time your tongue touched him.

He smirked when heard you say that it was unfair for him to shut your mouth. He said with a cheeky grin.“I’m the boss, it’s my job to be unfair. But that doesn’t mean I want to listen to your loud moans…”

You squeeze his hot dick tightly inside yours and tease him to irritate him. You felt a burst of pain, but it ignited your desire to be abused. He’s kinda enjoying your naughty behavior in this intimate game.

He let out a low moan when you squeezed him inside, and it was getting a little harder to keep his cool and his voice down. He tried to keep his voice steady and even as he spoke. “You really are a little tease…don’t get so cocky, I’m your boss.”

Again. His rough hands slapped your peach-like buttocks, and gripping tightly until leaving red marks there. You squirt once more, the hot breath coming from the pain of his slapping your buttocks, he simply shows no mercy to you. “Ugh! Bruce!! More!”

He enjoyed the way you looked at him, in a mixture of pain and pleasure, mixed in with a hint of desperation. He liked seeing you like this, in pain, but also enjoying the whole situation. He gave your booty another rough slap, his hand making a sharp move.

Your pain-pleasure was delicious for him, it was like music, like a drug he couldn’t get enough of. He could tell that you were in some pain, but your body still craved him and wanted to feel more. His desire for you was too strong, he needed to release more of himself.

You bit his thumb and almost let out a moan, your breathing quickened. Your trembling voice aroused desire once again as his lust burned every part of your body. “More…push me more…my boss…”

He could see how close you were getting and he knew that you needed something to tip you over the edge. He was enjoying this, watching you and listening to your trembling voice. He teased and taunted you, wanting to draw as many helpless begging sounds out of you as he could. “Oh, begging for it already, are you? What a sweet girl you are, so craving me.”

“Ugh ah….I couldn’t hold it anymore!”When you finally give in to the sensation, the amount of squirting exceeded your expectations, and your loud moans were almost enough to break the soundproofing on the walls. You release his thumb from your mouth and cover your mouth to reduce the sound of your loud moans.

He’s surprised at the amount of your squirting. It’s quite an amount, but he seems to enjoy it, it’s like a boost of energy to him. He looked down at you, his eyes darkened and his smirked, enjoying the sight of you trying to cover your moans up. He placed his hand on top of your hand that covered your mouth, preventing you from muffling the sounds. “Shh…Not so loud, sweet girl. What a great scene I love.”

Your moans and the sound of you squirting filled the room, making it impossible to ignore what was happening. He gently caressed your hair, looking at you with a hint of satisfaction. His thing is surging inside you, it has reached its peak and is about to burst out inside you.

His body is tense, his breathing is laboured, he’s trying his best to contain himself, to hold on a little longer, but it’s getting difficult. He groans again, his body shaking slightly, like he’s fighting hard against an invisible force. He moans, “I…I…I need..”

You feel it’s hurting your buttocks, he gripped it so hardly to increased your pleasure because he reached the edge was about to exposed. The sweat, the passion, the breath, the satisfaction and the pain. You clutched him tightly and moan louder don’t care anymore. All of the sensations pushed both of you two reached the climax in the same time.

It was like a race, a race to see who could reach the edge first, but you both could tell that you were both close, so close to the moment when nothing else mattered but the two of you, and the pleasure that you shared. His body is on fire, the sweat is trickling down his skin, his breathing is desperate, like he’s trying to catch his breath and failing.

Your body was full of his marks, some were fading, but most of them were brand new. He’d made sure to cover you in them, to leave his mark all over you and make sure that others knew you were his. He can’t say anything, his office surrounded by pants and moans, every part of body tense as both of you struggles with pleasure.

He’s trying to hold on, to not let himself burst. He’s groaning like it’s taking all his strength to hold back. It’s becoming difficult for him to hold back, he’s panting and moaning. He can’t say anything, every part of his body is tense as he. His body is shaking, you feel he’s filling up with his sweet hot juice inside your body.

You panting trying to catch your breath from the excitement and extremely passionate moment with your boss. When he finally releases, he let out a deep guttural moan, like a mixture of relief and satisfaction. He’s trying to catch his breath, panting and sweaty. “That…that was amazing.”

You chuckle at him after he moved away from you. With your last stamina, you pushed yourself up to sitting on the desk, the desk is messing like hell. Both of you completely ignored what surroundings both of you and buried each other in intimate moments. “Wow…that was extremely rough time.”

He looked at you, laughing slightly as you pushed yourself up to sit on his desk, your body still recovering from the activities.He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the messy desk, it was a clear indication of what had just happened between the two of you. He said, panting slightly. “Yeah, it was. Didn’t expect us to get so… rough.”

He continued looking at you, taking in the sight of your body covered in marks, the proof of what had just happened between the two of you. His body was still shaking slightly, his breath panting as he tried to regain his composure. “You’re…a naughty one.”

You pouted and swinging your legs playfully at him. You pulled him closer to his unbuttoned his suit jacket and pressed a red lipstick kiss mark inside his white shirt. You buttoned his suit jacket and whispered. “Because I’m your favorite assistant. So I’m allowed being naughty with you.”

He watched carefully as you buttoned his suit jacket, and didn’t protest once, letting you do as you please. When you whispered that you were his favorite assistant and allowed to be naughty with him, he smirked and nodded. “That’s true, you’re my favorite after all. But don’t get too carried away.”

You playfully pressed his cheek a kiss when both of you satisfied, then noticed the what time the clock showed. There are still ten minutes before the meeting time. You see that you are a little messy, you immediately get off from his desk and before you go to the bathroom to clean yourself up, especially your private parts. You winking at him. “Got to go, need to clean myself.”

He looked at the mess you left behind, with the slightly tousled desk and the chair. He let out a slight sigh and began fixing himself up a little, his tie, his hair, and his suit jacket. When he was done, he looked at the time. Ten minutes before the meeting.

The way the desk was messy, the way the room smelled, everything was a constant reminder of what had just happened between the two of you. He smirked, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction and excitement. He was the type of man to get off on taking control and having power over others, and having you as his assistant added an extra layer of excitement to it.

He adjusted his tie and fixed his hair, making sure he looked composed and presentable. It was important for him to maintain an air of professionalism, even though the two of you had just engaged in some rather unprofessional activities.

He took a moment to sit behind his desk and take a few deep breaths to compose himself. He still couldn’t believe what had just happened, but he was also feeling a sense of excitement and curiosity about how the rest of the day would play out.

After cleaning yourself, you notice that both your legs have his marks. You have no choice but to put on black semi sheer stockings to cover up the marks on your legs so that others won't ask you unnecessary questions. You leave the bathroom and pick up the meeting materials on his desk. “Shall we go? My favorite boss.”

He noticed the black semi sheer stockings that you had put on to cover up the marks left on your legs. It’s kinda seductive and sexy looking at them. A small smirk formed on his face as he knew exactly what you were covering up.He stood up from his desk and smoothed out his clothes, making sure he looked presentable. “We shall, my favorite assistant.”

He couldn’t help but let his gaze linger on you for a moment, appreciating the way the stockings fit you perfectly. He knew that he was the only one who would know what was under them, and the thought of that made him feel both possessive and intrigued. He stepped closer to you and put a hand on the small of your back to guide you towards the meeting room.

Both of you walked side by side down the corridor, your bodies close together. Both of you walked in the same pace in the corridor, both of you satisfied with each other passionately. You stole a glance at him and whispered. “Did you think future I have to cover my legs with stockings?”

He could feel your warmth beside him, he was secretly satisfied knowing that only he knew what was under those stockings. He chuckled slightly. He looked down at your legs covered in stockings and then back up at you. “Well... that depends on me. Do you think you’ll have to wear them again in the future?”

You look around to confirm that is no one is around the corridors. You pulled him closer and whispered in his ears and bitten his earlobe. “If you bite me and leave me marks again.”

He couldn’t help but shiver a little at the feeling of your breath on his skin. He smirked and leaned in closer to you, his voice low and playful. “If I leave more marks on you, you know I'll expect you to wear stockings again. I don't want anyone else to see what's mine, my favorite assistant.”

Both of you chuckled at each other. As you continued walking. He glanced at you again, appreciating the way the stockings accentuated your legs, and the thought of leaving more marks on you filled his mind with excitement. But for now, he had to focus on the meeting, despite the distractions of his very naughty little assistant.

Bonus Part

Over the next few weeks, a unspoken agreement had been established between the two of you. During work hours, you both maintained a professional and respectful attitude as boss and personal assistant, keeping your true feelings and relationship masked from your colleagues.

However, when the two of you were alone together, that professional facade melted away, replaced by a passionate and intense connection. Keeping your relationship a secret added a thrill and a sense of the forbidden to your connection.

One day, he had a sly idea in mind to spice things up a little bit. Without warning, he went out and bought a wireless sex toy, specifically a remote-controlled vibrator. With a devious smile, he put the vibrator in the box and then placed the box in the drawer of your desk. He then made his way to the office, and he had the remote control in his pocket.

As expected, you were surprised by the appearance of a mysterious box on your desk. After opening it, you found a wireless vibrator, with the control remote missing. You couldn’t help but feel a little puzzled and intrigued. Just then he appeared at your desk, a sly smile on his face. He leaned against the desk. “I see you found my little surprise.”

You held back your smile and looked at the little fun thing he gave you under the desk. This guy is adding to the fun of the little game between us. “So…what game you going to play this time?”

He gave you a wink and then pushed himself away from the desk, casually walking away, leaving you guessing what he had in store for you. “You know me. I like to keep things interesting. Let’s just say… I have a little plan. Just make sure you keep that thing.”

You chuckle at his back as he left your office, and took out the instruction manual to read. Put the toy in underwear and put it on to fit your sensitive parts. Then use the wireless remote control to control the intensity of the vibration to bringing the pleasure. The intensity levels range from low to high.

But then, you realized that there was no remote control in the box. Bruce must have it, which meant he would be the one controlling the intensity of the vibration. You couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and slight nervousness at the thought.

As you carefully placed the toy in your thong, you could feel a strong sense of excitement and anticipation building within you. The friction against your sensitive parts only served to heighten the sensation. You stand up and walk towards his office, the feeling of the toy against your body making every step feel pleasurable.

When you reach his office, you knock on his door and wait for his response, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness. He looked up from his desk when he heard the knock on his door, he had been anticipating your arrival. He leaned back in his chair and called out. “Come in.”

He watched as you entered the room, closing the door behind you. A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he noticed the slight change in your gait. He sees you tapping on his desk, indicating that you have used the toy. He quickly cuts off his conversation and gives you a subtle nod, conveying that he got your message.

You stand nearby, maintaining a professional and focused demeanor, notebook in hand as you record the topics of the conversation. Suddenly, you feel a slight vibration in your thong, catching you off guard. You try your best to keep your composure, but the pleasure is undeniable.

He continues talking business, all the while discreetly adjusting the intensity of the vibration using the remote control. His eyes flicker up at you, a hint of amusement and control in his gaze. He keeps the vibration at a low, tantalizing level, wanting to draw it out and tease you further.

He can see your efforts to maintain a focused demeanor, but the small tells in your body language give away the pleasure you're feeling. He notices the slight flush in your cheeks, the clench of your thighs, the way your breath hitches ever so slightly.

You grip the pen tightly, trying to keep your focus on writing in the notebook as each time the vibration increases, your grip on the pen gets harder. He smirks at the way you're desperately trying to keep your cool, clearly enjoying the effect the toy is having on you. He keeps adjusting the intensity discreetly, watching as your hand trembles slightly with every increase in vibration.

He looks away from you to continue the conversation, but he keeps the vibration level as it is, enjoying the way you squirm and try to keep your voice steady. The continuous vibrations were starting to cause a new, noticeable effect on you. You were so focused on maintaining your composure that you hadn't realized how turned on you had become.

You were grateful that you had chosen to wear a black dress that day, because you could feel your wetness without even realizing it. The feeling was both pleasurable and maddening. He looks at you again, taking in your appearance. He can tell from the way you're standing that you're uncomfortable, but he just smirks and continues the conversation with the subordinate.

The sudden onslaught of the highest vibration setting was almost too much to bear. You had to do everything in your power to hold it together, biting your lip to keep from moaning out loud.

You quickly tried to distract yourself by coughing loudly, hoping that the people in the room would think you're just clearing your throat. "Ahem. Sorry, my throat is itchy…"

He looks at you, his smirk widening as he sees the effect the toy is having on you. He notices the way you bite your lip and cough to cover up any moans. He asks, feigning concern in his voice. "Are you okay? You look a little flushed."

You cleared your throat again, and kicked his chair under his desk. “Ahem, thanks for your concern, I’m good, just my throat a little itchy. Mr Bruce Wayne….”

He felt a wave of excitement wash over him. He knew that you were getting desperate, and he loved seeing you struggle to maintain your cool. When you spoke his name, he gave you a sly smile and continued his conversation like nothing was wrong. “I’m glad to hear that. Just let me know if you need anything."

You clutched the pen and notebook tightly. You stilled maintain your professional attitude in front of them. “If you say so, may I leave for a while? I need to use the bathroom.”

He looked at you with a nonchalant expression, as if the toy wasn't affecting you at all. He nodded. As you turned to leave, he casually increased the vibration level. As you were about to leave, the vibrations suddenly intensified, and you couldn't hold back the moan that escaped your lips.

“Kya!!!”You gasped and stumbled a little, catching yourself against the doorframe. You felt your knees buckle and your body trembled, the pleasure overwhelming you.The sudden increase in intensity was too much for you to handle and before you could even leave the room, a loud moan escaped your lips.

The sudden outburst immediately caught the attention of everyone in the room, including the subordinates. They looked at you with a surprised expression, while Bruce just smirked. He knew damn well that you were only using it as an excuse to cover up your actual reason for moaning.

You squatted awkwardly on the ground, feigning a pain in your heel caused by the high heels you were wearing, knowing that it was a weak excuse, but it was all you could think of in the moment. "Sorry. These heels just don't fit right."

He tried to hold back his smile as he watched you make up an excuse for your outburst. He could see the way you were trembling slightly, the flush in your cheeks, and the way your eyes were unfocused. He leaned back in his chair, trying to look casual and unbothered, but his mind was racing with all the things he wanted to do to you.

Meanwhile, the subordinate looked at you, a little worried. "Are you okay," he asked tentatively.

You stood up as quickly as possible, feeling the wetness that had already started to soak through your thong. You tried to maintain a professional expression and a charming smile as you thanked the subordinate for their concern. “Thanks for your concern, now I have to excuse myself.”

As you left the room, he leaned back in his chair and watched you go, his eyes fixed on your ass just a bit too long. He could see the way you were walking, slightly unsteady and squirmy, and he knew that the toy was still running at full blast.

The sight of you leaving the room, desperate to get some relief, was driving him wild. He shifted in his seat, trying to suppress the thoughts that were going through his mind.

After the meeting was finally over, Bruce dismissed the subordinate and sat back in his chair, his mind still preoccupied with thoughts of you. He leaned back in his chair and waited for you to return, wondering how you were holding up after the toy had been tormenting you for so long.

Thankfully you brought spare clothes with you, you returned to his office. When no one was around, you locked the door. You approached him, straddled his lap, and lifted his chin. “Such a naughty boss you are. You’re gonna make me squirt in front of others.”

His eyes roaming over your body. He let you lift his chin, tilting his head back to look at you better. He looked up at you with a sly smile. His hands moving to rest on your hips. “Can you blame me, though? You look absolutely gorgeous.”

You pouted acting like you angry and pressed a quick kiss on his lips. You asked him in playful tone. “Even I squirted in front of others?”

He chuckled at your playful pout, enjoying the way you tried to act mad. As you pressed a quick kiss on his lips, he couldn't help but smile. "Especially if you squir—“

He was cut off by a knock on the door, breaking the moment. He cursed under his breath, frustrated at the interruption. You chuckle at him especially when he makes that face, you tickling his chin with fingers and teasing him. “Aww, don’t be mad. Tonight my apartment. You still keep the key?”

He chuckled at your playful touch, enjoying the feeling of your fingers tickling his chin. When you mentioned your apartment and the key. He looked at you with a mischievous smile, his eyes flickering with desire. “Tonight, then. I'll be there.”

— The End —

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zipper-neck · 11 months ago

Text

Trans Rules of Engagement

By Florence Ashley

Strong communities make us all safer. As anti-trans movements gain in power and influence, holding space for each other through our flaws remains critical. Yet the very conditions that create our need for community care make it hard for us to care for each other. We are raw, wounded, traumatized, and hypervigilant. We make mistakes brought on by fear and hurt. We lash out at each other when we do wrong, often partaking in pile-ons facilitated by the synchronous nature of online interactions. Whether we realize it or not, we often exclude trans people from community when they need it most.

I have lost count of the number of trans people I have seen cast out of online trans spaces for misdeeds both major and minor—far too often with my help. I sometimes find myself wondering where they are now and whether they are still alive. Because, as Kai Cheng Thom has taught us, social death often means real death for trans people. Trans communities are life-sustaining in a world that hates us so, so much. In a world that wants us dead. We have lost too many people not to stop and think about how we can foster life among each other.

This goal I have for myself—that of fostering life—motivates the following principles and rules for engaging in online intra-community conflicts while preserving the life-sustaining spirit of our communities. Countless times have I failed to heed these principles and ignored these rules. This failure, which many of us share, is precisely why I now want to lay these principles and rules down on paper. If only as a reminder of my aspirations. The principles and rules are meant to be adopted for oneself, not imposed onto others. Their purpose is to foster productive engagement, not create even more conflict and rigidity. I hope that this will be a living document, and invite you to make your own version if you would like. Borrow what is useful, supplement with what is needed, alter what can be improved.

Some, and perhaps all, of the principles I acknowledge are false, hence the need for a living document. Each of my suggested rules have exceptions. In setting them out, I am staking a claim as to the sort of myths and half-truths that are necessary to sustain life in a world that wants us dead. We must treat them as true if we wish to foster life-sustaining communities and survive the hellscape we belabor.

Principles

1. We are all flawed, traumatized humans at the end of their rope. Many of our actions say more about the conditions we live under than who we are as people.

2. No one is disposable. No one is unsalvageable.

3. Life holds greater value than being right or comfortable. Hurt is preferable to death.

4. No one should be deprived of community.

5. Harm does not require further harm. Punishment does not equate protection or healing.

Rules

1. Do not depart from these rules, unless you have to.

2. Morgan M. Page’s Rule: Try to avoid criticizing other trans people in public. The world does it enough already.

3. Favor in person or private conversations: Addressing someone’s comments or actions in person or privately is typically more constructive and effective. It allows you to communicate more cogently and with more nuance problems in someone’s actions or words and because it is less likely to make them react defensively from a place of trauma or fear.

4. Take your time: Few things require an immediate response. Responding while caught in a surge of thoughts and feelings is often unproductive. Ask yourself how much harm was done, versus how much we are reminded of an earlier harm. Ask whether your response is rooted in misperception or potential biases towards the person due to race, disability, gender, or other marginalized identities. Consider whether their words or actions reflect a different kind of thinking or communication style, a lack of access to education, or limited access to progressive communities and norms. You can respond tomorrow, once you have collected your thoughts, talked to others, and gained perspective.

5. Don’t mob: Be aware of group dynamics. Ask yourself if you are connected to this person and in community with them. Avoid jumping into the fray when others are already criticizing the person. Do not invite others to join in and mob them. Withdraw if others join in, and kindly ask people to stay conscious of mobbing dynamics. Mobbing rapidly grows out of proportion.

6. De-escalate: Focus on de-escalating conflicts. Ask what people mean or want, and why. Ask them for clarification or elaboration if needed. Ask yourself if you know enough about the context of the situation. Distinguish the action from the person, and acknowledge that it is normal to respond defensively or aggressively to public criticism and mobbing. People are traumatized, mentally ill, and are scared of losing the little social support they have. As a result, conflict can trigger a fight-or-flight response in both those who are criticized and who criticize, which leads to escalating conflict and ends in a loss of community. Dropping the conversation to return at a later date is preferable to escalation. Often, I find it best to limit myself to three replies in conversations that aren’t constructive.

7. Respond proportionately: Responses to words and behaviours should be proportionate to their harm, and reflect a need for healing and protection rather than punishment. When we speak from a place of hurt, we can understandably but unfortunately forget the measure and impact of our response. Use language that reflects the nuances and gradations of harm rather than a coarse good and evil binary. Cutting all social support and community banishment are rarely a proportionate response, even for someone who doubles down and does not apologize. Responding proportionately is asking first and foremost what response sustains rather than dissolves life. Especially when it comes to words, it is better to under-react than to over-react.

8. Ensure support for everyone: Check in on those who are criticized and those who criticize them. Remind people that we are all in this together, and that banishment is not how we work as a community. Everyone deserves to have their needs met. Do not shun or reproach people who offer support to those who were criticized or called out. Distinguish supporting a person from enabling their behavior.

9. Hold space for people to grow: Allow space for people to be accountable, change, and move on from previous conflicts. Do not hold past behavior over people’s head, nor dig up past misdeeds to fuel present conflicts.

10. Resolve conflict and harm as a community: We must ask how our communities enable and cause hurt and harm, and find ways to transform the conditions that create them. Holding accountable, problem-solving, and conflict resolution are functions that should be taken up by the collective, not isolated and unsupported individuals.

11. Center those most hurt or harmed: Focus on supporting and empowering people who are hurt and harmed rather than on punishment. Ask what they need to be safe and integrated in our communities, while committing to support for everyone; what they need to repair their relationship to the person who hurt or harmed them. Focus your involvement on bringing people together, fostering dialogue and mutual understanding, and restoring a sense of community togetherness, rather than deciding who is right or wrong.♦

#florence ashley #trans rules of engagement #trans #community #article #ethics

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genderkoolaid · 1 year ago

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hey i was wondering something and i wanted to know your opinion on it

Why is it problematic to say i hate men but not white people or straight people

(i'm a trans south east asian man btw)

I'd say on, like, a casual exasperated level, its not problematic to say "I hate [x]." It gets problematic when your venting about a group becomes your sole lens of viewing + interacting with that group.

Like, its entirely alright to be frustrated with behaviors common to cishet white men and express that in a vent by saying you hate them. But... its like how people make the correct point that they shouldn't be expected or obligated to give all their energy to coddling people with power over them, but translate that into "i never have to care about a member of this group at all" which directly conflicts with just. being in a community? Like women should not be expected to be caretakers for men, but people in a community need to take care of each other. When the only way you engage with a group of people is by expressing hatred and asserting how much you aren't obligated to care about them, its easier than people think to find yourself dehumanizing them.

Which does not mean "you are just as bad as a racist/misogynist" or "you are oppressing them"; you are An Individual whose biases are not necessarily backed up by powerful systemic powers. But, for one, its very easy for those biases to be used by systemic forces: with men, misandry is very easily used to justify all kinds of violence towards marginalized men & people perceived as men. You also have situations where people will say the Holocaust "wasn't as bad" as, say, US slavery, because it was "white on white violence," or saying the Armenian genocide also wasn't that big of a deal because "it was done to Christians and Christians are always killing people" (two real things I have seen been said). And, again: if you are going to care about community and restorative/transformative justice and all that, you need to be able to give a shit about all kinds of people who you live with. You need to be able to see them as whole beings you are capable of connecting with on some level. You don't personally need to date or befriend men, but you do need to be able to give a shit about men in your community.

Its fine to feel annoyance and anger and use "hatred" to express that. But the problem occurs when people take "its okay to be angry with your oppressors and not spend all your energy coddling them" and make that the end-all be-all of their relationship with people of whatever group; revolutions can't accomplish compassionate goals when they are run on hatred. Very hooksian concept but "love" (as in "a combination of care, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect and trust", not in a strictly emotional sense but as an action) is a skill that is as vital as understanding class dynamics and protest tactics. Maybe you don't need to love everyone, but try to have the capacity to love anyone; the ability to physically care for someone you don't emotionally like is, I think, a vital step towards truly challenging and bringing down the kyriarchy.

Basically its about recognizing when your venting stops being an outlet and starts being a way for unproductive feelings to shape how you view other people.

#hooksian in reference to bell hooks btw #m.#ask box

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fairuzfan · 1 year ago

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I’m a genocide historian and I do think comparisons between the Holocaust and the genocide in Palestine are unproductive because A) the Holocaust is pretty distinct from Palestinian genocide not in its exceptionalism but in its method - the “shipping” of victims from 20+ countries by international rail to a handful of centralized killing sites; 15000 people being gassed in Auschwitz daily (a single gas chamber had standing capacity for 2,000 people) and their stolen hair sold in bales for use as maritime rope and cushion stuffing - and forcing Holocaust parallels obfuscates the terrible and very unique methods of genocide being used by Israel against Palestinians. B) People often invoke the Holocaust as an emotional appeal regarding the moral culpability of all Jews (“how could you do what was done to your ancestors!”) when the same responsibility to end the genocide in Palestine exists regardless of one’s background or religion.

What Israel is doing in Palestine is 100% a genocide. Whether or not it is similar to the Holocaust (or any previous atrocity) does not make this any more or less true.

The thing that doesn't make sense to me with this point is that no one is saying that the Holocaust and Palestinian genocide are a 1:1 comparison. Like most people acknowledge the terrible genocide that occurred in the Holocaust against all its victims. But when they're talking about comparing genocides, there are tell tale signs that repeat throughout history that are precursers to larger events. Like when people compare the Warsaw ghetto to Gaza. I'd say those are quite similar in practice and intention. When we "compare" genocides (not a 1:1 but more of a drawing parellels by disecting the inteion and reasoning behind certain events that werent necessarily actively violent but passively violent) its to show "hey this is going to get really bad really soon because something like this happened before." Masha Gessen has an article about this that I reblogged.

People should care about fighting injustice everywhere I agree. But that doesn't change the fact that parallel drawing is an act separate from emotional invocation. When genocide scholars and survivors talk about "Hey this was like xyz that happened to me/in history" it's to show that there is precedent for this thinking and a terrible methodology happening when genocides occur. They dont just get really bad out of nowhere, you need to examine the precursors to prevent the large event from happening. How that large event happens differs from place to place, I agree. But to say that because things happen differently against different people means you can't examine the underlying reasons behind those actions is kind of reductive. By this definition you can never compare any genocide ever and all the terrible things that happen just happen naturally without any political or social influence.

Arnesa talks about how the Bosnian genocide precursors mirror the Palestinian genocide. She also talks about how Lula specifically should have mentioned other genocides (like Rwanda, Bosnia, etc) in his statement because there are parallels there too. I'd argue that's the real intention behind genocide studies, in that you notice trends and patterns to analyze how certain events might turn out.

I do want to mention because this is where im coming from a little bit, it is a pretty big zionist talking point (by especially American dems) saying you can't compare the holocaust to what's happening to Palestinians because it's antisemitic, which is not a real talking point and actually kind of rude in that it assumes that Palestinians can't call out parallels between their treatment and the treatment of those in the Holocaust because they're fundamentally doing it from a point of antisemitism and not a plea for recognition that the events are mirroring each other.

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local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti · 4 months ago

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Okay, so I'm gonna contribute to the discourse as someone who did research at both Khao Khaew and the now demolished Dusit Zoo, both part of the Zoological Parks Association Under Royal Patronage (ZPA). And as someone familiar with the workings of AZA zoos as a contrast.

I will concede that on one hand, standards and practices leave a lot to be desired. Unfortunately part of it is connected to the same social norms that have allowed JJ Market to continue the exotic pet trade, animal cafes and roadside zoos to proliferate, and people to own trendy dog breeds that clearly don't belong in Bangkok. And it's what leads to a lot of stereotypic and distressed behaviors passed off as cute (including but not limited to Moo Deng); this is before the toxic element of social media is added to the mix.

There's also economics. Yes, Thailand is technically an industrialized country, but in the same way that Indonesia and Vietnam are (contrast with Singapore, which is proportionately ahead of most Western countries). It's important to see what's between those gleaming skyscrapers. And that is a contributing factor to a lot of resource shortfalls for the zoos themselves; that's not getting into COVID and the ripple effect of closing Dusit Zoo without an alternative in place.

In that regard, the damning thing is that the standards of ZPA zoos are actually leaps and bounds ahead of not just the country but the region (minus Singapore; I would argue that it's actually unproductive to bring its zoo up as a comparison). Like look at Pata and the now defunct Tiger Temple; places that Westerners reveled in as late as the 00s. At least in ZPA case, they have also done essential conservation work; especially for clouded leopards, hornbills, and sun bears.

That doesn't make it any less WTF when I see a lot of clout-chasing vids that

Still part of me can't help but get defensive at the manner of fixation from a primarily western crowd. Both from those who use Western/Industrialized zoos as a way to contrast, as well as the PETA-types.

I do *not* think you yourself are being racist. If anything it's paternalistic to assume that a zoo in Thailand can't be held to higher standards. *However*, I have found a very patronizing mentality among many other western critics that does veer into racism frequently. You are already familiar with the way anti-zoo folks will take something out of context to fit their agenda; now force that through an othering lens.

At the same time, I will concede Thais are glossing over issues and practices when they rush to defend KKZ. Considering the context of how they are approached, I empathize with why they are defensive. But many do downplay and refuse to tackle the aforementioned social norm in how animal husbandry is viewed by wider populace.

TLDR: KKZ and the other ZPA branches have a ton of issues, a lot of those issues are socially systemic, and there should be pressure to reform. At the same time, it shouldn't get canceled, especially considering the important bts work it does and especially the immediate alternatives. And that pressure to reform should be accompanied by resources.

Hey there I really appreciate you sharing your research into the facilities! My intention of the posts has never been to "cancel" the zoo or to dictate their protocols. I don't believe in any sort of western dictation to other countries.

Honestly, I completely understand the defensiveness towards criticism of the handling of Moo Deng - she's an icon, she's brought in millions of dollars into the Thailand economy and the zoo's profits. Tourists are travelling all around the world to see her!

Although it has gotten to the point where their defensiveness is veering into delusion, with people insisting that pygmy hippos love it when you smack them and chase them around so it's fine actually... but I digress...

And I'm sure that the keeper thinks what he's doing is completely fine and not an issue. And if it generates clicks and views, that's good for the zoo, right? So why would they see any point in changing their practises?

I guess my hope is that maybe they might use those millions of dollars to improve conditions for the animals and the staff, provide resources for collaboration with zoos like Singapore Zoo and give keepers more resources to review and improve current pracises.

But they won't do that if their current poor animal husbandry practises are reinforced with clout and feverant defense of the keepers (it's actually kind of amazing how loyal people are to this one keeper!)

So now they have money and potentially more resources from this whole thing - but they're probably not going to use it to change practises that got them that money in the first place.

Anyway, I agree with your points and you've summed it up well!

#anyway this ask was great sorry for rambling on it but I really appreciate the time you took to write this up #animal welfare #zoo animal welfare

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genderqueerdykes · 5 months ago

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I'm a trans masculine person, yet I still wear feminine clothes. I don't know if I'm still considered "trans" to cis people, and my own mother (cis) questioned if I was going to be an actual "man." I'm so confused, and I need help trying to explain my gender identity to people, especially her.

~Jace~

thats rude as hell. why is that any of her business. why do you have to prove your manhood ?

that is very bizarre behavior. honestly i would tell her that it's literally not her business and you do not have to prove anything to her. you are allowed to dress in whatever ways make you comfortable. cisgender men wake up and wear the exact same clothes every day and their manhood is not brought into question. only when the man is trans do people really get up our asses.

there's no dress code for being a man. there's no dress code for being trans. also she doesn't know what it's like to try to pass as a man. it's not always easy. people are nosy. people love to bully butch people. people love to harass transmascs for dressing "TOO" masc. this isn't any of her business. honestly tell her you aren't questioning her gender, so why does she feel the need to do it to you? like seriously, what reason could there possibly be. her gender is not under attack. your gender is none of her business. that is slightly creepy but also deeply unnecessary behavior

also transition comes in steps. you can't jump straight to the end all at once that defeats the purpose. part of transition is enjoying the journey. it's allowing yourself to change in small ways and enjoy the things about yourself you may not have been able to embrace before. it's seriously okay to take it slow and go at your own pace. when i came out to my family my sister did the exact same thing. she told me "if you want to be seen as a man, you have to act like one." and forced me to shovel the snow in the back yard that had accumulated from a blizzard.

people should not be prying this deep and forcing trans mascs and men to prove that we're mascs and men. for. some reason. you don't have to earn masculinity or manhood. also masculine people can have any degree of femininity existing alongside their masculinity. they don't cancel each other out. whether or not you ever identify as a man is not up to her and it's just not her business.

good luck, if anyone has any other suggetions feel free to pitch in. that is just bizarre and unproductive behavior

#asks #answers #transmasculine #transmasc #misgendering #transphobia #transandrophobia #antimasculism

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canmom · 14 days ago

Text

assorted TTRPG things

nugget from the tab bonfire: at some point I was reading about RPGs. some things that are old, some are new(ish). here are some links, since I think they are interesting, and some additional comments.

first-up: my own RPG posts are now archived here. that section of my site is looking a whole lot more fleshed out now.

1. ritual

in 2021, Meguey Baker wrote this one about 'ritual in game design', fitting TTRPGs into her frame of faciliating rituals for essentially therapeutic purposes, aimed at parents. since I like talking in a vaguely (vaguely) anthropological way about the analogies between TTRPGs and other activities (improv comedy, kink, wrestling), this is very relevant.

by Meguey's definition, a ritual is defined through this series of words: intentional contained conscious creative action. of course, she gives these words fairly specialised definitions. she's mostly interested in addressing TTRPGs that go into tough, bleedy places, described in books like Alice Is Missing, BFF, and Bluebeard’s Bride - of these I'm only familiar with the third but I'm kind of aware of the genre of game she's talking about. she suggests that these principles don't really apply if you're just playing to hang out and have a good time, but to my mind, just because you're less formal about it doesn't mean that's not an aspect of ritual, and the analysis is similarly applicable there, just lower-stakes.

in fact I think a whole lot of human activities are rituals (classic bryn move to grab a conceptual hammer and start seeing nails everywhere). the analogy goes the other way too, rituals are kind of like games.

I'm not entirely convinced the breakdown into jargon words really does a lot for me, but the crucial thing here is the sort of entering and exiting into a constrained social space which has its special set of rules. meguey writes these cool little coloured lists which depict the various stages of getting you into a game/ritual headspace and exiting it afterwards...

...and specialises it to the case of roleplaying games as you see. it's pretty BDSM-like isn't it? sure, that's something I'm currently interested in, I recently read The New [Topping/Bottoming] Books, but it certainly does suggest that analogy strongly for me; I think a general recognition that RPGs should have aftercare would do a lot more for the scene than a lot of the other 'safety tools' like X-cards and so on. (a weaker analogy is the principles of animation: anticipation, action, follow-through.)

this idea of ritual also strongly parallels the definition of 'play' of roger callilois:

1. it is free, or not obligatory 2. it is separate from the routine of life, occupying its own time and space 3. it is uncertain, so that the results of play cannot be pre-determined and the player's initiative is involved 4. it is unproductive in that it creates no wealth, and ends as it begins economically speaking 5. it is governed by rules that suspend ordinary laws and behaviours and that must be followed by players 6. it involves make-believe that may be set against 'real life'.[6]: 100–101

as a set of traits which describe a somewhat fuzzy sphere of activity. meguey's account of 'ritual' focuses more on the set of steps you follow to enter and leave the ritual space, but it is describing, I think, a heavily overlapping 'thing'.

why so explicitly break down a process that most people seem to come by naturally? well, probably for the same reason that kink people do it: the more you play with [emotional] fire, the more care you must exercise to keep it contained. but it is also pretty important, I think, to pursue some degree of ritual for the middle part to actually work. you need to switch mental gears first to get yourself operating in 'game space'. same goes for a number of other 'spaces' for that matter. in RPGs we already have plenty of rituals: getting set up around the table (for offline games), general chitchat beforehand to get us feeling social with the other players, the brief summary of the previous session to mark the transition into RPG mode...

one non-obvious extension that Meguey makes, in the third excerpt above is to the actual text of RPG books, in terms of how they are presented to the reader. I think this is genuinely quite an insight - when you read a book you get into RPG space a bit and imagine playing the game, building up the fantasy of what playing it will entail (c.f. what's the book for, part 3).

though, that said - it is tricky to pursue a strict ritual structure in presentation, I think, because I think RPG books tend to be read very non-linearly. only quite short games tend to get read cover-to-cover in one sitting. otherwise you tend to skip to the part that you need. still: the manner of presentation is very important to an RPG book serving its purposes. and this is a fascinating frame for it.

I'm not sure this essay necessarily gives a new direction (as a designer or a player), but it does give an interesting angle to understand things I was already doing previously, and do them a little more deliberately.

for example, when I make a point of mentioning moments that I enjoyed in the time after an RPG session before we all part ways, that is the 'return/celebration' part of the ritual, and crucially it reassures everyone that even if they were playing an unpleasant character or there was inter-character conflict in the session, it was something I was looking for and appreciated. I do this because there have been times when I've felt a bad kind of bleed, fearing that my character was 'too much' and was detracting from the session, or that a conflict in-character reflected an OOC conflict. having an explicit affirmation helps drive away those fears.

2. rule zero in D&D

this history of 'rule zero' in D&D editions dates all the way back to 2012 (although it seems to have been updated since), but it's still very relevant to my current efforts to understand RPGs, books, and all the weird practices around them, the role of 'rulings' in OSR, etc etc.

right off the bat, I appreciate the nuances that this early paragraph expresses:

The attitude towards rulings vs. rules in the game shows up - directly and explicitly in the rules text - implicitly in the text and detectable via textual analysis - in the surrounding publications considered semi-canonical (Dragon magazine, nowadays forums and designer blogs), and - the culture of gamers surrounding it.

while the rest of the post is still focused on what books say rather than what people did with those books, it's a relief when people note that there is a difference.

so, the essay traces a general evolution of ideas about what role the rules in the book are supposed to follow as D&D moved away from wargaming and passed through the hands of different publishers. how much interpolation and discretion the DM is supposed to apply to the text, how authoritative they're supposed to be at their own table compared to the non-DM players...

it's fascinating to observe how the culture of the game evolved. it's also tricky to distil the different currents down into a brief summary - I tried and realised I was just recapping the article in less detail. luckily the author wrote a summary so I can just quote that:

0e – the referee is an aribiter and fills in the gaps 1e – the DM is large and in charge, the rules are pretty good, your players are at both’s behest B/X and 2e – the DM and players are both important, the rules are super mutable 3e/early 3.5e – the rules and players and DM are leveled out in importance, meaning rulings are minimized and a negotiation with players BECMI/late 3.5e/4e – the rules are pretty fixed and players and DM are equal and subject to the rules as law; RAW is an option OSR and Pathfinder – splitting off in their own directions in reaction to 4e, OSR back to a mix of 0e and B/X flavored attitudes and Pathfinder to a hybrid of 1e/2e/3e attitudes 5e – The DM is clearly in charge and can ignore/change rules and rolls as they deem wise, with the goal of everyone having fun (as opposed to the sometimes-stated 1e goal of “keeping the players in their place”.) It reincorporated a lot of the 1e and 2e thinking into the game to an even greater degree than Pathfinder. PF2e – Effectively back to 3e positioning fairly exactly. It stepped back away from where PF1e and 5e were going and got a little less enthusiastic about GM authority, carefully scoping it to interpretation and, sometimes, changes to make things fun. Maybe a *little* more towards 5e than 3e was, but only by a hair.

anyway, there are a couple of interesting points I want to pull out of the discussion. first is this insightful comment on the broader implications of rules that grant abilities - something to discuss further in a later post...

The problem with [D&D 3.5e's claim that you can try anything and the rules only govern chances of success] from a textual interpretation standpoint is that it’s hard to not interpret the raft of “possibility” options in the 3e branch of D&D as being restriction of options. I can try to throw my opponent in a grapple – until a feat comes out that says “In a grapple, you can now throw your opponent.” Thus despite mitigating statements by the designers, their design itself passively promulgates an approach to the rules as written.

there's also an interesting line about how 'old school' the OSR actually is, answer being that it's complicated.

Some, however, consider this to be a bit of a retcon of how old school gaming actually worked. As you can see from this research, it is and it isn’t – the “rulings vs. rules” concept was very strong especially in B/X and 2e, somewhat less so in 0e/1e, and actively militated against in BECMI. Hackmaster and the Knights of the Dinner Table comic prominently parody the not uncommon rules-adherence mode of play in AD&D. As all nostalgia does, the Quick Primer picks certain elements out of the past to bring back and leaves aside some other elements.

finally, we have this comment about the (then very new) 5th edition approach to framing its rules:

It also appears to take a hint from the OSR’s formulation of “rulings, not rules” as well as the prominent fiction-first modern indie games like Apocalypse World when it describes the basic pattern of play – 1. The DM describes the environment 2. The players describe what they want to do (and the DM decides how to resolve those actions – importantly, the PCs don’t decide what rules they use) 3. The DM narrates the results

...which is somewhat true to my experience of 5e, although I think there is still a fairly significant component of 'I use this ability on my character sheet' in the game (I use this weapon, I cast this spell, I use this special ability). So the players do often decide what rules they want to invoke. Although, that is also true of Apocalypse World - something to go into another day.

mostly I think it's really helpful to have a proper sense of the space of practices represented by D&D, since popular discourse (including the game's rulebooks) way too often seems to assume there is only one way that D&D is played. this is a good stab at exploring some of the dimensions, and will definitely inform whatever is the next investigation I make into the structure of RPGs.

for another angle on D&D history, I came across this old (2016) ENWorld post tracing how Gygax got increasingly proprietary and litigious with D&D, and hostile to people putting their own spins on it.

it seems like for more on this topic of early RPG history I should be taking a look at The Elusive Shift by John Peterson, so posssibly more to come on this subject when I get round to reading that one.

3. blorb

I came across Sandra Snan's website, idiomdrottning.org, which is another one of those classic static-site treasure troves of someone's thoughts on everything for like the last decade.

like me, she came back to playing trad games like D&D after spending a while exploring the storygames milieu. She landed on a set of practices relating to the concreteness of the setting, in explicit opposition to 'no myth'-style games where anything not stated out loud is fair game to be modified for the sake of narrative.

she calls this 'blorb', and as these things tend to, it gets something like a manifesto. many other articles on this site talk about various facets of roleplaying games are written about on the site in relation to this.

'blorb' focuses on the relationship between preparation and improvisation: making a big show of referring to things on paper, and making decisions in the open, to reinforce the sort of metanarrative that there is an underlying reality even if it hasn't fully been discovered yet. it emphasises more granular simulation over abstraction.

since it's a little hard to navigate Sandra's archives, I've gathered the posts that are relevant to the subject here:

the chasm width problem (motivating, raising the issue that few games explicitly address the how of DMing)

blorb principles

realism and blorb (which discusses the other name 'klokkverk' used elsewhere in the milieu, and compares it to 'no myth') + the fictioneers talk about blorb again

radically transparent DM-ing

say the DC

antiblorb

GM-less roleplaying games

a blorb thought

the quest queue

there's probably others but these are the main ones I read

for contrast, no myth, a somewhat overlapping and somewhat very different paradigm of games that broadly sums up the norms of the Forge/'story games' tradition.

to sandra, 'blorb' is a statement of the type of roleplaying she finds vastly more satisfying to operate, and the crucial elements to make that happen.

what I find interesting about blorb is that, since its main interlocutor is the Forge/story-games tradition, it puts a fair bit of discussion into how this affects the fiction in practice. e.g. what you should prepare and what you can still improvise, and how the existence of the 'gloracle' (the combination of prepped materials and dice/rules, and rigour in consulting them) shapes our notion of 'the fiction'.

via this post, vincent baker back in 2012 defined RPGs thus:

To me, the crucial feature that makes a game an RPG is that it works by the (so-called) lumpley primple: in order to play, we have to create fictional stuff and agree that, for gameplay purposes, it's true. This is a pretty technical and inclusive definition. It includes Once Upon a Time and that game where you sit in a circle and pretend that some of you are werewolves, for instance.

something I find very interesting RPGs is the process of 'synchronisation' of the shared fiction. the idea of 'shared fiction' is something of an elaborate illusion. every player has a different version of it, with different emphases, different things that are fresh in memory, different interpretations of the images...

consider verbal descriptions of locations. my sense of what is in a scene will constantly be adjusted based on the stream of description I'm receiving from other players - the 'shared fiction' is at best something we approach asymptotically.

in an extreme example, a DM could lead with an elaborate description of the architecture, decorations, and layout of the room, before wrapping up with 'and curled around the central pillar is a mighty red dragon'. dun dun dun! suddenly, I have to recontextualise everything in the scene I was building in my head to accomodate the presence of the dragon.

the unreliability of this communications channel was a source for a vein of classic D&D humour, such as the Dread Gazebo of yore, where the communication channel breaks down leading to an inconsistency in the 'shared' fiction.

'no myth' and similar ideas come from the recognition that, until something is said out loud and enters part of the shared fiction, it can be changed freely between any possibility consistent with the 'established' facts. sort of like the wave function collapse algorithm. they take the attitude that you should do this deliberately to maximise drama and add complications, taking on more of a writer/director role. this character enters a bar, what should they encounter there? it would be fucked up if they encountered their ex, right? ergo their ex is there.

there is a degree of this in every RPG, not just your high-improv post-Forge story games. in order for some sort of consensus to be reached, parts of it must be black-boxed and unpredictable. for example, if I am inhabiting a character, I have my idea of how they will act and what they're feeling and thinking about, and that's authoritative. but that means for everyone else's characters, I have my impressions and predictions, but they're subject to being updated as soon as that player speaks.

for Sandra, this recognition that everything is getting moved around for drama undermines the substance of the world - an inescapable awareness even if the players take pains to make the established, spoken-out-loud fiction consistent.

so, additional 'authority' is central to the 'blorb' playstyle. that is, in addition to each player's authority to make up stuff within their domain (e.g. what their character does), you make a big point of deferring to some additional authorities such as pre-prepped material and dice (which Sandra calls the 'gloracle'), and making it explicit to the players that you're doing so. for example, you might talk about the random encounter tables you're using and what would change their contents, or declare the DC before every roll.

it's kind of a defensive style of DMing, in that it's entirely designed to forestall any suspicion of 'fudging' behind the scenes. the tradeoff is: more explicit discussion of game mechanics which might detract from the sort of 'atmosphere', but equally a stronger sense of inhabiting an external world where things are 'really' happening 'offscreen'.

to me, the idea of 'fudging' doesn't bother me nearly as much as it seems to bother Sandra, but I think there is some truth to the thought that if everything is subject to random tables or pure off-the-dome improv, the game can start to feel a very homogeneous. as Sandra puts it in one of her articles:

I don’t want to expand randomly as we go either, because if everything is randomly rolled as you go along, where’s the agency? South becomes the same as north becomes the same as west because wherever you go, the dice are furnishing for you, so the choice about where to go matters less.

it's probably got something to do with information theory, right? once you become familiar with the table, and you know when the table will be invoked, you've broadly found out what there is to know about that thing. there are only so many bits of information.

I was saying the other day, games are interesting because they are something to explore through interacting with them to discover all their weird nuances. players are pretty good at sniffing out how complex and varied the underlying system is. a wide set of interesting, spicy locations - and logical relations between them - has more nuances to discover than a random table with, say, 10 entries.

the problem is of course that such a prep-focused playstyle can lead to huge amounts of 'wasted' effort fleshing out elements of the gloracle which may never be activated, especially if players don't spend their time rubbing against your creation in various ways to discover its nuances. Sandra's approach is to work out what's easy to improvise on the fly (the 'wallpaper') and what is crucial to pin down in advance, and largely prepare the latter - the difference, I guess, coming down to experience. we can think of it in programming terms: a small authoritative state and things that can be derived from that.

in my experience, at least some players have become a lot more considerate of the workload of GMing. far from trying to resist 'railroading', they will often generally deliberately try to steer themselves towards whatever location a DM has prepared as a courtesy; meanwhile the GM will be able to get a sense of where the players are planning to go so they can prep between sessions. however, that is contrary to the more 'sandboxy' approach where the core appeal is 'you can do pretty much anything', which is what Sandra is trying to generate I think.

I'm too much of an improv-focused GM to really become a partisan of 'blorb' - for me, discovering improv-oriented story games after D&D was as revelatory as discovering D&D after storygames was for Sandra lol. I trust somewhat in my ability to come up with weird interesting stuff on the fly and flesh it out later, and I tend to find the moment of being in the hotseat of an RPG gets the creative juices flowing like nothing else, so it's actually quite difficult to come up with anything good during prep.

however, I think there is a lot to be said for the value of making at least certain things concrete, and communicating that to the players, and Sandra makes a good case for showing your hand. it's a way to make the shared fantasy take on certain qualities it won't have if it remains purely arbitrary improv, even if the only real functional difference is when you make something up. both because it's hard to keep track of everything in your head without some kind of aid, and because the first idea you come up with will rarely be the richest, most interesting.

so next time i run a game, I'm not going to take such a zero-prep, all-improv approach, but try and work a bit harder on 'overall consistency'.

definitely a provocative blog to encounter...

#roleplaying games #tabletop roleplaying

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