#Law firm marketing leads

[reda-marketing]

Effective Strategies for Personal Injury Lead Generation: Your Complete Guide

Discover Proven Tactics for Personal Injury Lead Generation in Our Comprehensive Guide - Boost Your Outreach and Client Base with Effective Strategies!

[swiss-army-fangirl]

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[gobeyondseo]

Why Every Family Law Attorney Needs a Strong Online Presence

Effective family law digital marketing is essential for growing your practice and attracting new clients. At GoBeyond SEO, we specialize in strategies that generate quality family law firm leads, helping you connect with individuals in need of your services. From targeted SEO to paid advertising, our solutions are tailored specifically to the needs of family law firms. If you're looking to enhance your online presence and boost your client base, our marketing for family law attorneys can help you stand out in a competitive market. To know more, read the full blog: https://gobeyondseo4.wordpress.com/2024/09/26/why-every-family-law-attorney-needs-a-strong-online-presence/ 

[growmyfirmonlinee]

Unlocking Success: Social Media Advertising Strategies For Law Firms

In today's digital age, the power of social media advertising cannot be overstated. Mastering social media advertising strategies is a game-changer for law firms aiming to expand their client base and boost their revenue streams. With the right approach, legal professionals can effectively target specific legal services, craft compelling ad copy, and leverage audience segmentation to maximize the impact of their ad campaigns for the best legal leads for attorneys.

Targeting Specific Legal Services:

Specificity is key to law firms' social media advertising. Rather than casting a wide net, target specific legal services that align with your firm's expertise. Whether it's personal injury, family law, or estate planning, honing in on niche areas allows you to tailor your messaging to resonate with potential clients seeking those services. Platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn offer robust targeting options that enable you to reach individuals based on their demographics, interests, and even life events, ensuring your ads are seen by the right audience at the right time.

Crafting Compelling Ad Copy:

The art of persuasion is paramount in social media advertising. Your ad copy must be clear, concise, and compelling. Start by highlighting the benefits of your legal services, addressing common pain points, and offering solutions that resonate with your target audience. Use language that speaks directly to their needs and aspirations, positioning your firm as the go-to solution for their legal concerns. Incorporating testimonials, case studies, and relevant statistics can also lend credibility to your ad copy, instilling confidence in prospective clients and motivating them to take action.

Leveraging Audience Segmentation:

One size does not fit all when it comes to social media advertising. Audience segmentation allows you to divide your target audience into distinct groups based on shared characteristics or behaviors, enabling you to deliver more personalized and relevant content to each segment. For law firms, this means tailoring your ad campaigns to resonate with different demographics, such as age, location, and legal needs. By understanding each audience segment's unique preferences and pain points, you can create targeted ads that speak directly to their interests and motivations, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion.

Conclusion:

In the competitive legal industry landscape, social media advertising offers a powerful opportunity for law firms to attract the best legal leads for lawyers and drive business growth. By targeting specific legal services, crafting compelling ad copy, and leveraging audience segmentation, legal professionals can optimize their ad campaigns for maximum impact and ROI. Embrace the power of social media advertising and unlock the potential for success in your law firm's marketing efforts.

Remember, the key to effective social media advertising lies in strategy, creativity, and continuous optimization. Stay proactive, stay relevant, and watch your legal leads soar.

With the right approach and a touch of creativity, your law firm can harness social media advertising's full potential to attract, engage, and convert clients like never before.

[esotericalchemist]

𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 - 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬?

Masterlist - YouTube (subliminals)

In Vedic Astrology, the eleventh house is known as the House of Gains and represents your aspirations, income, and the fulfillment of desires. This house shows how and where you are likely to achieve success and material wealth in life. The placement of the ruling planet of your eleventh house, as well as any planets within it, offers insight into the sources of your financial gains, social connections, and overall prosperity. Essentially, understanding the eleventh house helps you see where opportunities for growth and abundance may manifest in your life.

𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Aries influencing your eleventh house, you tackle friendships, goals, and financial gains with enthusiasm, boldness, and a trailblazing attitude. You’re likely to secure wealth by being assertive, taking calculated risks, and pursuing competitive or entrepreneurial paths. Your friends and social networks are often key to your success, frequently drawn from dynamic or high-energy environments.

Mars in the Houses (Mars is the ruler of Aries)

Mars in the 1st House: Your gains come from personal drive, leadership, and independent projects. For example, you might start a business like a fitness studio, using your energy and visibility to promote your brand and grow your venture.

Mars in the 2nd House: Wealth tends to flow from managing finances, property, or physical assets. You might find success through real estate investments, or in financial sectors such as banking, perhaps working as a stockbroker or in property management.

Mars in the 3rd House: Profits are linked to communication, marketing, media, or travel. You might thrive in advertising, writing for publications, or running a travel blog, turning your communication skills into financial gain.

Mars in the 4th House: Your wealth could come from real estate, family inheritance, or home-based businesses. For instance, you might profit from buying and renovating homes or establish a successful home business, such as property management or interior design.

Mars in the 5th House: Creative projects, speculative investments, or entertainment ventures may be lucrative for you. This could mean profiting from stock market investments, cryptocurrency, or finding success in the arts as a performer or artist.

Mars in the 6th House: Hard work, health-related fields, or competitive industries could bring financial rewards. You might build wealth through a career in healthcare, as a personal trainer, or by excelling in a demanding legal profession, gaining success by overcoming obstacles.

Mars in the 7th House: Financial gains are often tied to partnerships—whether personal or business-related. You could team up with someone to start a business like a law firm or gain wealth through marriage to a prominent or driven partner.

Mars in the 8th House: Joint ventures, inheritances, or industries focusing on transformation, such as finance or psychology, could bring you wealth. You might inherit assets or succeed through business partnerships or roles in fields like investment banking or insurance.

Mars in the 9th House: Wealth may arise from education, law, travel, or publishing. You could build success as a professor, lawyer, or publisher, or by pursuing international opportunities, such as work in the travel industry.

Mars in the 10th House: Career achievements, leadership positions, or public recognition are key to your financial success. You might rise to a leadership role, like CEO or political figure, where your ambition and dynamic energy lead you to the top.

Mars in the 11th House: Your wealth may stem from your social circles, technology, or large organizations. You could benefit by working in the tech industry, founding an innovative business, or through influential friends who open doors to profitable opportunities.

Mars in the 12th House: Profits come from behind-the-scenes efforts, foreign ventures, or spiritual pursuits. You might gain financially by working in hospitals, charitable organizations, or through businesses tied to travel, import/export, or spiritual guidance.

𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Taurus governing your eleventh house, your approach to wealth and gains is grounded, patient, and often centered around material security. You favor slow, steady growth, and may build your financial success through reliable investments or artistic ventures. Friendships and social networks can be significant in your financial development, particularly when aligned with shared values or tied to industries focused on luxury and beauty.

Venus in the Houses (Venus is the ruler of Taurus)

Venus in the 1st House: You are likely to attract wealth through your charm, physical appeal, and the way you present yourself. For instance, you could succeed in beauty, fashion, or personal branding—becoming a successful influencer or model, where your appearance and social magnetism are vital assets.

Venus in the 2nd House: Wealth flows through careful handling of finances, luxury goods, or industries related to beauty and aesthetics. You might find financial success in areas like fine art, jewelry, or running a high-end boutique. This placement supports a steady income in beauty or fashion-related businesses.

Venus in the 3rd House: Financial success arises through communication, media, or education, particularly in artistic fields. You could thrive as a writer, work in advertising or public relations, or make money from teaching or speaking on topics related to beauty or luxury.

Venus in the 4th House: Gains are often tied to property, real estate, or home-based ventures, particularly those related to comfort and aesthetics. You might generate wealth by flipping houses, engaging in interior design, or running a family business. Inheritance or familial wealth could also play a role.

Venus in the 5th House: Your financial success may come from creative endeavors, entertainment, or speculative investments. You could profit from acting, filmmaking, or other artistic projects. Additionally, this placement can indicate gains through stock market investments, particularly in sectors related to art or entertainment.

Venus in the 6th House: Profits are earned through service, health, or beauty-related industries. You might build wealth by working in areas like cosmetology, health spas, or wellness centers. A talent for creating a harmonious work environment could also lead to financial success in these fields.

Venus in the 7th House: Gains often come through partnerships, whether in marriage or business. You may benefit financially through a significant relationship or business collaboration, particularly with someone involved in luxury, legal fields, or the arts. Joint ventures in creative industries could be very profitable.

Venus in the 8th House: Wealth may come from inheritances, shared resources, or transformative industries. You might gain through an inheritance, or profit from partnerships in finance, psychology, or the arts. This placement can also suggest financial gains through investments or using other people’s assets effectively.

Venus in the 9th House: Financial success is connected to education, law, or travel, especially in beauty or luxury industries. You might earn through international fashion, tourism, or by teaching beauty-related subjects at a university. There’s also potential for profit from foreign investments or luxury travel enterprises.

Venus in the 10th House: Wealth comes from career success, public recognition, or artistic achievements. You might thrive in high-profile roles within the arts, luxury markets, or fashion industry. This placement is highly favorable for building wealth through a career in design, beauty, or entertainment.

Venus in the 11th House: Gains are tied to social networks, large organizations, or technology, particularly within the luxury or beauty sectors. You could profit from working in social media marketing or technology platforms related to fashion or beauty. Friendships and connections in elite circles may also lead to financial opportunities.

Venus in the 12th House: Profits come from behind-the-scenes work, foreign ventures, or spiritual and artistic pursuits. You might find financial success through working in luxury hotels or resorts abroad, or by being involved in art projects that promote beauty or tranquility. Investments in foreign luxury markets could also be rewarding.

𝐆𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Gemini ruling your eleventh house, your approach to financial gains is driven by intellect, communication, and adaptability. You may accumulate wealth through industries such as writing, media, technology, or education, where your ability to communicate ideas clearly and multitask proves invaluable. Social networks and friendships can be instrumental in your financial success, and you tend to thrive in environments where flexibility and quick thinking are required to stay ahead in an ever-evolving world.

Mercury in the Houses (Ruler of Gemini)

Mercury in the 1st House: Financial success comes from your personal communication skills, fast thinking, and intellectual pursuits. For example, you may achieve wealth as a public speaker, teacher, or writer, where your ability to express yourself clearly and think on your feet directly contributes to your success.

Mercury in the 2nd House: Wealth is generated through intellectual work, business, or trade, especially in fields involving communication or technology. You might find financial success by managing a tech startup, working in sales, or running a communications-based business, such as publishing or e-commerce.

Mercury in the 3rd House: Profits are tied to communication, writing, journalism, or short-distance travel. You could earn money as a journalist, blogger, or in public relations, using your communication skills to promote products, services, or ideas.

Mercury in the 4th House: You may gain wealth through real estate, family businesses, or intellectual work done from home. For example, running an online business, freelancing, or writing from home could be highly profitable. There is also potential for success in educational ventures related to real estate or family enterprises.

Mercury in the 5th House: Wealth can be accumulated through creative pursuits, entertainment, or speculative investments. You might succeed financially by writing screenplays, managing creative projects, or working in the entertainment industry. This placement also suggests potential gains from stock market investments or other speculative ventures.

Mercury in the 6th House: Profits come from service-oriented industries, health, or work involving communication or technology. For instance, you might find financial success working as a healthcare administrator, medical transcriptionist, or by managing digital solutions in the healthcare sector.

Mercury in the 7th House: Financial gains are often linked to partnerships, both personal and business, and intellectual collaborations. You may benefit by working with a business partner in legal, consulting, or writing fields. Marriage or partnerships in these industries may also bring financial advantages.

Mercury in the 8th House: Wealth is earned through joint ventures, inheritances, or industries that focus on transformation and finance. You might thrive in managing other people’s money, such as in financial planning or investments, or profit through publishing books on psychology or the occult.

Mercury in the 9th House: Profits come from teaching, law, travel, or publishing, especially on international platforms. For example, you might gain wealth by working as a professor, lawyer, or writer, particularly if your work involves education, international law, or travel blogging.

Mercury in the 10th House: Wealth is tied to career achievements, public speaking, or intellectual endeavors. You could succeed financially as a high-profile journalist, politician, or public speaker, where your communication skills and intellectual abilities propel your career forward.

Mercury in the 11th House: Gains are linked to social networks, technology, or large organizations, particularly those involving communication. You might profit by managing online platforms, social media businesses, or through connections with tech companies, where your ability to network and communicate pays off financially.

Mercury in the 12th House: Financial success comes from behind-the-scenes work, foreign ventures, or intellectual and spiritual pursuits. You might earn through research, spiritual writing, or working in foreign lands as a consultant or writer, especially on topics related to international affairs or spiritual matters.

𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Cancer ruling your eleventh house, your approach to financial gains is deeply influenced by emotional connections, nurturing relationships, and home-related ventures. You are likely to accumulate wealth through businesses that promote comfort, security, or caregiving, such as hospitality, food, real estate, or childcare. Your social networks and friendships often play a crucial role in your financial success, providing both emotional support and practical assistance.

Moon in the Houses (Ruler of Cancer)

Moon in the 1st House: Your financial gains are tied to self-driven efforts and emotional expression. For example, you might succeed by becoming a public figure in nurturing roles, such as a therapist, chef, or lifestyle coach, where you can connect with others through your emotions and personal brand.

Moon in the 2nd House: Wealth comes from a strong desire for financial security and possibly from family resources. You might accumulate wealth through real estate investments, family-run businesses, or careers related to food, home goods, or caregiving, such as owning a family restaurant or working in childcare.

Moon in the 3rd House: Profits arise through communication, media, or relationships within your local community. You might earn by writing about family, home life, or food, or through local ventures like running a café or bakery. Short-distance travel or involvement in local businesses can also bring financial success.

Moon in the 4th House: Gains are connected to family, real estate, or home-based businesses. You may profit from buying and selling properties, managing rentals, or running a business from home, such as interior design, home decor, or even a bed-and-breakfast.

Moon in the 5th House: Wealth comes from creative endeavors, children, or emotionally fulfilling projects. You could find financial success by working on projects related to children, such as writing children’s books or running a daycare. Speculative ventures, particularly those that resonate with family values, could also prove profitable.

Moon in the 6th House: Financial success is tied to service-oriented professions, health, or caregiving roles. You might earn money by working in healthcare, nutrition, or any field that involves caring for others, such as being a nurse, dietitian, or personal caregiver.

Moon in the 7th House: Wealth comes through partnerships, marriage, or collaborative ventures. You may benefit from a business partnership or marriage, particularly in caregiving or hospitality-related industries, such as real estate, family-owned businesses, or ventures focused on comfort and security.

Moon in the 8th House: Financial gains may come from inheritances, shared resources, or transformative industries. You could inherit family wealth or benefit from joint ventures in industries like psychology, emotional healing, or those dealing with death and transformation, such as funeral services.

Moon in the 9th House: Wealth arises from higher education, travel, or teaching in nurturing roles. You might profit from teaching caregiving or hospitality-related subjects, or by working in real estate or hospitality abroad. Writing or publishing on family, home, or caregiving topics can also bring financial rewards.

Moon in the 10th House: Your financial success is closely tied to career achievements in caregiving or public service roles. You might excel in public careers related to healthcare, food, or hospitality, such as managing a chain of hotels or leading a family business in the food or service industry.

Moon in the 11th House: Financial gains come through social networks, community involvement, or large organizations focused on caregiving and emotional well-being. You could profit by working in healthcare, social work, or community welfare organizations, or by leveraging supportive friendships and networks to create financial opportunities.

Moon in the 12th House: Profits are earned through behind-the-scenes work, foreign ventures, or roles involving emotional and spiritual healing. You might gain wealth by working in hospitals, spiritual retreats, or through caregiving roles in secluded settings like a hospice. Overseas ventures related to caregiving, or spiritual services, may also bring financial success.

𝐋𝐞𝐨 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Leo ruling your eleventh house, you pursue financial gains with a sense of confidence, creativity, and a desire for recognition. Leadership roles, creative ventures, and public visibility are likely to be avenues for accumulating wealth. Your social networks can significantly influence your success, particularly when they involve influential or creative individuals. Your drive to express your individuality and stand out pushes you toward financial success, especially in areas where you can shine and take on prominent roles.

Sun in the Houses (Ruler of Leo)

Sun in the 1st House: Financial gains come through personal charisma, leadership, and self-promotion. You might achieve wealth by being the face of a business, becoming a public figure, or stepping into leadership roles where your confidence and presence attract opportunities—such as becoming an entrepreneur, actor, or leader in a visible field.

Sun in the 2nd House: Wealth is earned through personal assets, financial management, and a focus on material security. You could profit from investments in luxury goods, art, or jewelry, or by taking leadership roles in industries related to wealth management or high-end markets. Your focus on stability and value makes you financially successful.

Sun in the 3rd House: Profits arise through communication, media, and entrepreneurial ventures involving short-distance travel or education. You might gain wealth by working in media, public speaking, or by leading a business that focuses on writing, marketing, or teaching.

Sun in the 4th House: Wealth comes through real estate, family businesses, or home-related industries. You may accumulate wealth by managing property, working in real estate, or profiting from family enterprises. This placement also favors ventures focused on luxury home environments, such as interior design or property development.

Sun in the 5th House: Your financial success comes from creative endeavors, entertainment, or speculative investments. You could thrive in careers involving acting, performing, or creating luxury goods. Additionally, speculative markets like stocks or investments in industries related to children, education, or entertainment could lead to wealth.

Sun in the 6th House: Wealth is gained through service-oriented professions, health industries, or leadership in daily work routines. You might find financial success by managing teams in healthcare, leading service industries, or excelling in high-profile positions that involve helping others, such as fitness or wellness management.

Sun in the 7th House: Gains come through partnerships, marriage, or collaborative business ventures. You may accumulate wealth through a significant partnership, whether in marriage or business, especially in high-profile fields like law, entertainment, or public relations. Taking a leadership role in joint ventures can also be a path to financial success.

Sun in the 8th House: Wealth may come from joint ventures, inheritances, or transformative industries. You could gain financially through family inheritance or by working in fields such as psychology, investments, or life-transition industries like insurance, counseling, or financial planning.

Sun in the 9th House: Profits arise from teaching, travel, law, or publishing, particularly in high-profile or international roles. You may gain wealth as a well-known educator, lawyer, or author. Opportunities in travel or working within global industries, such as luxury tourism or international business, can also lead to financial success.

Sun in the 10th House: Financial success is linked to career achievements, leadership roles, and public authority. You could become wealthy by taking on leadership positions in large corporations, government, or entertainment industries. Public recognition and respect for your work often translate into financial rewards.

Sun in the 11th House: Wealth comes from social networks, large organizations, or technology. You could profit from networking with influential individuals or working in large corporations or tech-based industries. This placement is ideal for standing out and taking leadership roles in media, technology, or large organizations.

Sun in the 12th House: Financial gains are achieved through behind-the-scenes work, foreign ventures, or spiritual and creative pursuits. You might build wealth by working in secluded settings such as hospitals, spiritual retreats, or foreign countries. Creative projects related to introspection, art, or spirituality can also be sources of financial success.

𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐨 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Virgo ruling your eleventh house, your approach to financial gains is practical, detail-oriented, and focused on efficiency. You are likely to accumulate wealth through work related to service, health, research, or intellectual pursuits. Success comes from refining systems, improving processes, and maintaining a methodical approach to your goals. Your social networks tend to be composed of hardworking, dedicated individuals who share your values. Your ability to analyze, organize, and solve problems ensures steady and sustainable financial growth over time.

Mercury in the Houses (ruler of Virgo)

Mercury in the 1st House: Financial gains come through your intelligence, communication skills, and self-promotion. For example, you might find success by using your analytical mind and problem-solving abilities in fields like consulting, writing, or teaching, where you can establish yourself as an expert.

Mercury in the 2nd House: Wealth is earned through intellectual work, business, or fields involving communication. You may thrive in careers such as accounting, bookkeeping, or managing small businesses, where attention to detail and financial management skills are crucial to your success.

Mercury in the 3rd House: Profits arise from writing, media, communication, or local businesses. You could earn by working as a journalist, editor, or teacher, or through running a local business. Communication-based work, such as starting a blog focused on health, wellness, or practical advice, may also be profitable.

Mercury in the 4th House: Gains are linked to home-based businesses, family enterprises, or real estate. You might succeed by running a family business, working from home as a consultant, or investing in property. This placement also favors careers in home improvement services or real estate management.

Mercury in the 5th House: Wealth comes from creative projects, education, or speculative ventures. You could achieve financial success by working in children's education, teaching, or coaching. Alternatively, you might profit from creative writing or speculative investments like the stock market or gambling.

Mercury in the 6th House: Profits are earned through health-related fields, service-oriented work, or administrative roles. You could find financial success by working in healthcare management, as a nutritionist, or in wellness-related industries, where your organizational skills and attention to detail are vital assets.

Mercury in the 7th House: Wealth comes through partnerships, collaborations, or legal work. You may benefit from working with a business partner on intellectual ventures, writing contracts, or consulting in fields like mediation, counseling, or legal advice.

Mercury in the 8th House: Financial gains are tied to joint ventures, investments, or transformative industries. You might earn through financial planning, investment management, or by working in research, psychology, or therapeutic industries that focus on personal or financial transformation.

Mercury in the 9th House: Profits arise from teaching, travel, law, or publishing. You might find success in education, international business, or travel-related industries, such as becoming a travel blogger. Writing or publishing, especially on academic or philosophical topics, can also lead to wealth.

Mercury in the 10th House: Wealth is linked to career achievements in intellectual or communication-driven roles. You could thrive in high-level administrative positions, corporate communication roles, or as an expert consultant in your chosen field, where your intellect and organizational abilities shine.

Mercury in the 11th House: Gains come from social networks, technology, or large organizations. You might profit from working in tech, analytics, or science-based industries, or by leveraging a large network of business or intellectual connections to create financial opportunities.

Mercury in the 12th House: Financial success comes from behind-the-scenes work, foreign ventures, or research. You could earn by working in secluded environments like hospitals or research institutions, or through intellectual pursuits abroad, such as becoming a translator, international consultant, or academic researcher.

𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Libra ruling your eleventh house, your approach to financial gains is driven by balance, harmony, and social relationships. You may accumulate wealth through collaborations, partnerships, and connections in fields related to beauty, art, law, or diplomacy. Your friendships and social networks are essential to your financial success, often helping you form important alliances. Creating peace and harmony in group settings or within partnerships is likely to open doors for lucrative opportunities.

Venus in the Houses (ruler of Libra)

Venus in the 1st House: Financial gains come through your personal charm, appearance, and social appeal. For instance, you might succeed in industries like fashion, beauty, or public relations, where your ability to present yourself in an attractive and harmonious manner brings lucrative opportunities.

Venus in the 2nd House: Wealth is earned through luxury goods, aesthetics, or careful financial management. You might thrive by working in the fashion industry, running a high-end boutique, or managing a jewelry business. Your appreciation for beauty and material comfort will likely guide you toward financial success.

Venus in the 3rd House: Profits arise through communication, media, or education, especially in artistic fields. You could gain financially by writing about beauty, fashion, or relationships, or by working in advertising, public relations, or media. Your ability to communicate artistic or aesthetic ideas effectively leads to financial gains.

Venus in the 4th House: Gains come from real estate, family businesses, or ventures related to home and beauty. You might profit from interior design, property management, or home-based beauty services. Family wealth or engaging in industries that enhance comfort and beauty within domestic spaces can also contribute to your financial success.

Venus in the 5th House: Wealth is generated through creative endeavors, entertainment, or speculative ventures. You might succeed in the arts, acting, or through performing. Additionally, investments in luxury or fashion-related industries may bring financial rewards. Romantic partnerships or ventures involving children could also be lucrative.

Venus in the 6th House: Profits come from service-oriented work, health, or beauty industries. You may earn by working in wellness, fashion, or beauty services, such as being a beautician, personal stylist, or running a health spa. Your ability to create harmonious environments in the workplace will further boost your income.

Venus in the 7th House: Gains come through partnerships, marriage, or legal work. You might profit from a marriage or business partnership, especially in beauty, law, or fashion. Collaborative ventures in fields like wedding planning, relationship counseling, or law could lead to significant financial gains.

Venus in the 8th House: Wealth comes from inheritances, joint ventures, or industries focused on transformation. You might gain through shared resources, marriage, or by working in financial planning or psychology. Joint investments, luxury services, or industries like cosmetic surgery could also lead to financial success.

Venus in the 9th House: Profits arise from teaching, travel, law, or publishing, particularly in areas related to beauty or relationships. You might earn money by teaching or writing about relationships, law, or artistic topics. Businesses involving luxury travel or beauty tourism may also be highly profitable.

Venus in the 10th House: Wealth comes from career achievements in the public sphere, particularly in beauty, law, or the arts. You could thrive by holding a prominent position in the fashion or beauty industry, or as a public figure in law, diplomacy, or entertainment. Public recognition for your work in aesthetic fields will likely lead to financial success.

Venus in the 11th House: Gains come through social networks, large organizations, or technology, particularly in fields related to beauty or luxury. You might profit by working in fashion technology, social media marketing, or through influential friends in high-end sectors. Networking with creative professionals can introduce lucrative opportunities.

Venus in the 12th House: Financial success comes from behind-the-scenes work, foreign lands, or spiritual and artistic endeavors. You might earn wealth by working in luxury hotels, wellness retreats, or through charitable work that promotes beauty and harmony. Artistic projects in secluded environments or abroad could also bring financial rewards.

𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐢𝐨 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Scorpio ruling the eleventh house, your approach to financial gains is strategic, intense, and often transformative. You tend to accumulate wealth through deep emotional relationships, joint ventures, or industries tied to finance, psychology, and transformation. Your social networks are likely to include powerful and influential individuals, and you may leverage these connections to access hidden resources or manage shared assets. Your determination and ability to navigate complex situations help you achieve long-term financial success.

Mars in the Houses (ruler of Scorpio)

Mars in the 1st House: Financial gains come through your personal drive, ambition, and assertive actions. You may accumulate wealth by starting your own business, taking on leadership roles, or working in high-energy fields like sports, fitness, or entrepreneurship, where quick decision-making and initiative are key.

Mars in the 2nd House: Wealth is earned through physical assets, assertive financial management, or industries tied to material goods. You might gain by investing in real estate, working in property management, or industries related to construction or metals. Your proactive approach to financial matters ensures solid material growth.

Mars in the 3rd House: Profits arise from communication, writing, or media-related ventures. You might build wealth by working in journalism, marketing, or running a media company. Quick thinking and direct communication are your assets, and industries like sales or short-term travel can also lead to financial success.

Mars in the 4th House: Financial success comes through real estate, family inheritances, or home-based businesses. You might accumulate wealth by investing in property, renovating homes, or managing a family business. Ventures related to real estate or home improvements, such as house flipping, can prove highly profitable.

Mars in the 5th House: Wealth comes from creative ventures, speculative investments, or entertainment industries. You could succeed as an actor, director, or in any creative field, especially those involving risk, like the stock market or cryptocurrency. Your willingness to take calculated risks could lead to significant financial rewards.

Mars in the 6th House: Profits come from service-oriented professions, health fields, or competitive industries. You may achieve financial success in healthcare as a surgeon or physical trainer, or by excelling in competitive environments like law, the military, or corporate sectors. Your perseverance and work ethic lead to consistent financial gains.

Mars in the 7th House: Financial gains are tied to partnerships, alliances, or marriage. You might profit from a strategic business partnership in fields like law, finance, or consulting. Alternatively, wealth may come through marriage, particularly if your partner works in a high-energy or competitive industry.

Mars in the 8th House: Wealth comes from joint ventures, inheritances, or industries focused on transformation. You could build financial success by managing other people’s resources in roles like investment banking, financial planning, or insurance. Inheritance or working in fields like psychology, healing, or transformative services could also bring wealth.

Mars in the 9th House: Profits arise from teaching, law, international business, or travel-related industries. You might gain by working as a professor, lawyer, or through international business ventures. Travel, foreign investments, or industries like adventure tourism or higher education can also be financially rewarding.

Mars in the 10th House: Wealth is tied to career achievements, public recognition, and leadership roles. You may achieve financial success by leading large organizations or taking on prominent roles in competitive fields like finance, military, or government. Your ambition and determination push you toward the top, where financial rewards follow.

Mars in the 11th House: Gains come through social networks, large organizations, or collective ventures. You might profit by working in technology, finance, or large-scale enterprises. Your ability to network within influential circles and lead group initiatives opens up significant financial opportunities.

Mars in the 12th House: Financial success comes from behind-the-scenes work, foreign investments, or industries related to healing and spirituality. You could build wealth by working in hospitals, prisons, or spiritual retreats. Investments abroad or in transformative fields, such as therapy or hidden resources, could also be lucrative.

𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Sagittarius ruling your eleventh house, your approach to financial gains is characterized by expansiveness, optimism, and a focus on growth, higher learning, and adventure. Wealth may come from teaching, international business, publishing, law, or travel-related endeavors. Your social circles are broad and diverse, often including individuals from various cultural and intellectual backgrounds. Financial success is likely to come by embracing opportunities that involve exploration, education, or philosophical pursuits, allowing you to expand your horizons.

Jupiter in the Houses (ruler of Sagittarius)

Jupiter in the 1st House: Gains come through personal charisma, leadership, and an optimistic outlook. Example: You could achieve wealth as a teacher, motivational speaker, or entrepreneur, where your confidence and expansive nature draw financial opportunities. Your leadership abilities and ability to inspire others help you attract success.

Jupiter in the 2nd House: Wealth is earned through investments, teaching, or industries tied to higher learning and travel. Example: You might accumulate wealth through international trade, real estate investments abroad, or by working in education, such as owning language schools or cultural institutions. Your ability to manage resources with a long-term perspective is key to your success.

Jupiter in the 3rd House: Profits arise from communication, writing, media, or short-distance travel, often connected to educational or philosophical topics. Example: You could earn by publishing books on travel, education, or philosophy, or by working in media that promotes intellectual growth. Local teaching ventures, educational tours, or creating content that inspires learning may also bring wealth.

Jupiter in the 4th House: Gains come from real estate, family businesses, or educational ventures related to the home. Example: You might profit from real estate investments, especially in culturally significant properties, or by running a family business involving education, such as homeschooling consulting or online educational programs.

Jupiter in the 5th House: Wealth is derived from creative pursuits, teaching, or speculative investments in educational or intellectual ventures. Example: You could build wealth by running educational programs for children, teaching creative subjects, or investing in entertainment or intellectual property. Your ability to inspire others through your creativity often leads to financial rewards.

Jupiter in the 6th House: Profits come through service industries, health, or teaching, particularly in educational or travel-related fields. Example: You might earn by teaching at universities, managing educational institutions, or working in healthcare sectors with an emphasis on wellness and travel, such as retreats or international health services.

Jupiter in the 7th House: Gains come through partnerships, collaborations, or legal work, especially in international or educational fields. Example: You could profit from a business or legal partnership that deals with international law, education, or foreign investments. Collaborative ventures that focus on growth, expansion, and global reach lead to significant financial success.

Jupiter in the 8th House: Wealth comes from joint ventures, inheritances, or transformation-based industries like finance or psychology. Example: You might gain financially through shared resources, investments, or inheritances. Working in transformative fields, such as financial planning, educational funding, or psychological counseling, could also bring wealth.

Jupiter in the 9th House: Profits arise from teaching, law, travel, or publishing, particularly in global or philosophical fields. Example: You might earn wealth as a professor, lawyer, or travel consultant. International business ventures, such as starting an educational travel company or publishing books on philosophy, could lead to significant financial success.

Jupiter in the 10th House: Wealth is tied to career achievements, public leadership, and authority in fields related to education, law, or travel. Example: You could gain wealth through high-profile roles in education, law, or as a public figure in global initiatives. Leadership in international business or educational reform could result in substantial financial rewards.

Jupiter in the 11th House: Gains come through social networks, large organizations, or technology, especially in education or travel. Example: You might profit by working with large educational or travel organizations, or by networking in intellectual and global circles. Involvement in global educational programs or travel technology startups could bring financial success.

Jupiter in the 12th House: Profits come from behind-the-scenes work, foreign lands, or spiritual and intellectual pursuits. Example: You might gain wealth by working in spiritual retreats, universities abroad, or industries related to foreign investments or educational ventures. Teaching or consulting in secluded or spiritual environments can also be lucrative, particularly in roles that focus on personal growth or spirituality.

𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Capricorn ruling your eleventh house, you take a disciplined, methodical approach to achieving financial gains, often focusing on long-term planning, hard work, and responsibility. Financial success may come through structured industries like business, government, real estate, or leadership roles. Your social networks are likely to include influential or authoritative figures, and you may achieve wealth by aligning yourself with institutions or steadily advancing within your chosen field. You are driven by the desire for stability, and your success often stems from careful, strategic efforts.

Saturn in the Houses (ruler of Capricorn)

Saturn in the 1st House: Financial gains come through personal discipline, leadership, and perseverance. Example: You might achieve wealth by taking on leadership roles where your reputation and hard work are essential. Becoming a CEO or rising in a field that values responsibility and structure could lead to long-term financial success.

Saturn in the 2nd House: Wealth is earned through careful financial planning, savings, and long-term investments. Example: You may accumulate wealth through cautious investments in real estate or by working in finance, accountancy, or banking. Your disciplined approach to managing money ensures steady financial rewards over time.

Saturn in the 3rd House: Profits arise from communication, writing, or media ventures that require discipline and long-term effort. Example: You might earn by working in publishing, journalism, or technical writing. Success in these fields comes from years of consistent effort and attention to detail, with financial rewards building slowly over time.

Saturn in the 4th House: Gains come through real estate, family businesses, or property-related investments. Example: You could profit by investing in real estate or managing family assets. Building wealth through property or home-based businesses, with a focus on long-term growth, can lead to financial security.

Saturn in the 5th House: Wealth is generated through creative endeavors, speculative investments, or education-related ventures. Example: You might earn by working in industries like film production, education management, or through long-term investments in stocks or real estate. Your structured approach to creative projects or speculative ventures ensures sustainable financial growth.

Saturn in the 6th House: Profits come from service-oriented industries, health, or disciplined work routines. Example: You may gain wealth by working in healthcare management, legal services, or in careers where service, structure, and discipline are essential, such as HR or law enforcement. Consistent work in these fields can lead to long-term financial success.

Saturn in the 7th House: Financial gains come through partnerships, business alliances, or legal work, often developed over time. Example: You could profit from long-term business partnerships or legal agreements in structured fields like law, real estate, or corporate business. Marrying a successful partner in a traditional field might also bring financial benefits.

Saturn in the 8th House: Wealth comes through joint ventures, inheritances, or managing shared resources. Example: You may achieve financial success by managing other people’s money or assets, working in fields like banking, finance, or insurance. Carefully handling joint ventures or family inheritances can also lead to long-term wealth.

Saturn in the 9th House: Profits arise from teaching, law, publishing, or international business, especially in structured fields. Example: You could earn wealth by building a career in academia, law, or international trade. Long-term involvement in publishing or large educational institutions, such as universities or think tanks, can also bring financial success.

Saturn in the 10th House: Wealth comes from career achievements, leadership roles, and authority in large organizations. Example: You may achieve financial success by steadily climbing the corporate ladder or taking leadership roles in business, government, or large institutions. Your dedication to long-term career goals brings substantial financial rewards.

Saturn in the 11th House: Financial gains come through social networks, large organizations, or collective efforts, often tied to responsibility and long-term planning. Example: You could profit by working in industries like technology or finance, where your network connects you to influential individuals and organizations. Building wealth through large companies, NGOs, or group ventures focused on long-term goals is a viable path.

Saturn in the 12th House: Wealth comes from behind-the-scenes work, foreign lands, or industries related to healing and institutions. Example: You might gain wealth by working in hospitals, prisons, or charitable organizations, particularly in roles that require discipline and structure. Long-term investments abroad or work in secluded environments may also bring financial success.

𝐀𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Aquarius ruling your eleventh house, your approach to financial gains is innovative, forward-thinking, and often tied to collective efforts, large organizations, or social causes. You are likely to accumulate wealth through long-term planning in industries such as technology, social reform, or intellectual pursuits. Your social networks, friendships, and collaborations are key to your financial success, and you may benefit from working within groups or organizations that focus on future growth or humanitarian efforts.

Saturn in the Houses (ruler of Aquarius)

Saturn in the 1st House: Financial gains come through personal discipline, leadership, and a structured approach to self-development. Example: You might achieve wealth by assuming leadership roles in technology, science, or social reform, where steady, long-term effort and responsibility are rewarded. Your ability to remain methodical and patient leads to financial success in these fields.

Saturn in the 2nd House: Wealth is accumulated through careful financial planning, long-term investments, and a conservative approach to resources. Example: You could gain wealth through disciplined investments in real estate, technology, or infrastructure. A patient approach to saving and building resources slowly will lead to significant financial stability over time.

Saturn in the 3rd House: Profits arise from communication, media, or tech-related industries that require perseverance and long-term effort. Example: You might earn by working in journalism, media production, or education, particularly in technical or innovative subjects. Careers in writing, teaching, or media focused on technology or social progress could lead to financial rewards after years of hard work.

Saturn in the 4th House: Gains come from real estate, family businesses, or property management, emphasizing long-term stability. Example: You could profit from managing family properties, investing in real estate, or working in property management or construction. Your disciplined and structured approach to building assets will create long-term financial stability through real estate.

Saturn in the 5th House: Wealth comes from creative endeavors, speculative investments, or education, achieved through slow and disciplined effort. Example: You may find financial success in structured creative fields, such as directing films, or by making well-researched investments in stocks or real estate. Your methodical approach to speculative ventures pays off in the long run.

Saturn in the 6th House: Profits come from service-oriented professions, health, or routine work, particularly in tech or efficiency-driven industries. Example: You could earn by managing teams in healthcare or technology, or by working in fields like IT or engineering. Your disciplined approach to work and service ensures financial stability, especially in industries focused on innovation and progress.

Saturn in the 7th House: Gains come through partnerships, business alliances, or legal work, particularly in tech, law, or structured industries. Example: You might gain wealth through a business partnership in fields like technology, law, or social reform. Long-term collaborations or marrying a partner in a structured industry may also bring financial benefits.

Saturn in the 8th House: Wealth comes from joint ventures, inheritances, or managing shared resources. Example: You may accumulate wealth by managing other people’s money, such as in banking, finance, or insurance. Careful and long-term planning in joint financial ventures or through inheritances can lead to financial success.

Saturn in the 9th House: Profits arise from teaching, law, travel, or publishing, particularly in intellectual or technology-related fields. Example: You could earn wealth as a professor, lawyer, or through publishing work related to science, technology, or social structures. Long-term ventures in international business or higher education will also lead to financial success.

Saturn in the 10th House: Wealth is tied to career achievements in leadership roles, especially in large organizations or government. Example: You might achieve financial success by rising to leadership positions in large corporations, tech companies, or governmental institutions. Your disciplined and steady approach to career advancement ensures significant rewards over time.

Saturn in the 11th House: Gains come from social networks, large organizations, or collective ventures, especially those focused on innovation or social progress. Example: You might profit from working with large organizations or humanitarian groups, or by leveraging your connections with influential people in tech or social causes. Long-term involvement in collective projects will bring financial stability and success.

Saturn in the 12th House: Profits come through behind-the-scenes work, foreign lands, or industries related to healing or institutional work. Example: You may gain wealth by working in hospitals, prisons, or charitable organizations, particularly in administrative or managerial roles. Long-term investments in foreign markets or work abroad in institutional settings can also lead to financial success.

𝐏𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

With Pisces ruling your eleventh house, your approach to financial gains is intuitive, creative, and often tied to spiritual or imaginative endeavors. You may find success in artistic ventures, healing professions, or charitable work, and industries related to water, spirituality, or creativity may also be sources of wealth. You tend to follow your inner vision, and your empathetic and spiritually inclined social networks can help guide you toward success. Your wealth is likely to be linked to your ability to dream big and connect with higher ideals.

Jupiter in the Houses (ruler of Pisces)

Jupiter in the 1st House: Financial gains come through personal growth, optimism, and leadership in creative or spiritual fields. Example: You might achieve wealth through public speaking, coaching, or becoming a spiritual leader. Your expansive personality and ability to inspire others can open up financial opportunities in creative or spiritual ventures.

Jupiter in the 2nd House: Wealth is earned through investments, teaching, or industries related to spirituality, healing, or creativity. Example: You could gain financially by working in wellness, holistic health, or education, with investments in art, music, or spiritual projects providing long-term financial rewards.

Jupiter in the 3rd House: Profits arise from communication, writing, or media ventures with a focus on creative or spiritual themes. Example: You may earn by writing books on spirituality or creativity, or by running a blog, podcast, or media platform that explores healing, the arts, or personal growth.

Jupiter in the 4th House: Gains come from real estate, family businesses, or ventures related to spirituality or healing at home. Example: You might profit from running a spiritual retreat, yoga studio, or investing in peaceful real estate that promotes healing and well-being. Holistic home businesses could also bring financial success.

Jupiter in the 5th House: Wealth is derived from creative endeavors, entertainment, or speculative investments, especially in the arts or spiritual education. Example: You could succeed financially by working in entertainment, acting, or teaching creative arts. Investments in artistic or spiritual ventures, such as music, film, or alternative education, may also be rewarding.

Jupiter in the 6th House: Profits come through service-oriented professions, health, or routine work, especially in healing, spiritual, or creative fields. Example: You may gain wealth by working as a healer, counselor, or wellness practitioner. Managing spiritual retreats, health clinics, or creative workspaces could bring steady financial growth over time.

Jupiter in the 7th House: Gains are achieved through partnerships, collaborations, or legal work, particularly in spiritual, creative, or healing industries. Example: You could profit from collaborating with a partner in a spiritual business or healing center. A marriage or partnership with someone in these fields might also bring financial success through shared ventures.

Jupiter in the 8th House: Wealth comes through joint ventures, inheritances, or industries related to finance, psychology, or spiritual transformation. Example: You could accumulate wealth by managing other people’s money or working in investment banking, or by running a business focused on psychology, healing, or esoteric practices. Inheritances or shared resources may also play a significant role in your financial success.

Jupiter in the 9th House: Profits arise from teaching, law, travel, or publishing, particularly in spiritual or creative fields. Example: You might earn wealth as a professor of spirituality or philosophy, or by writing and publishing books on creativity, personal growth, or spiritual topics. International work or teaching in foreign countries could also bring financial success.

Jupiter in the 10th House: Wealth comes from career achievements in leadership roles related to spirituality, creativity, or healing professions. Example: You may gain wealth by becoming a spiritual leader, motivational speaker, or public figure in the arts. Running a successful business or organization in healing, creativity, or spirituality can lead to long-term financial success.

Jupiter in the 11th House: Gains come through social networks, large organizations, or collective ventures involving spirituality, creativity, or humanitarian work. Example: You might profit from working with charitable organizations, creative collectives, or spiritual groups. Networking with individuals in the arts, healing, or spiritual communities will open up financial opportunities for you.

Jupiter in the 12th House: Profits come from behind-the-scenes work, foreign lands, or industries related to spirituality, healing, or charitable work. Example: You could gain wealth by working in hospitals, spiritual retreats, or other healing institutions, or through international work related to healing and spirituality. Long-term involvement in charitable work or esoteric fields could bring significant financial rewards.

Masterlist

[blindmagdalena]

Guilty Pleasures

18+ 3.3k homelander x plus size f!reader. workplace harassment, stalking, voyeurism, masturbation, lite humiliation kink, sublander flavored. nebulously takes place post s1. part 1/4. AO3 link. | Chapter Directory

Homelander is on top of the world. He can say or do whatever the fuck he wants, and the sycophants around him will bend over backwards to make his word law, with few notable exceptions.

He never expected you to be one of them. When you put him in his place after a workplace incident, he becomes fixated on the promise of a firm hand alongside a soft body.

It’s Thursday, which means Homelander is currently bored to tears less than ten minutes into Vought’s weekly digital marketing meeting. These monotonous discussions of percentages and trending graphics gradually begin to feel like a drill pushing slowly into each of his ears, but they’re a necessary evil if he wants to have input when it comes to his image.

He taps his fingers impatiently on the armrest of his chair. The tapping pauses, however, at the appearance of a new presenter.

You.

You’re a far cry from the dime a dozen jackass in a suit that had been presenting before you. He’s sure he hasn’t seen you before, which means you’re new. His gaze drifts from your round face to the sensible cut of your blouse, the garment buttoned nearly to your throat. Anything less would be considered lewd given the size of your breasts. He wets his lips absently, adjusting himself to sit a little straighter.

He’s completely lost track of what you’re talking about in favor of watching the way your hips sway each time you walk from one end of the board to the other, tactfully engaging each observer. You have a resonant voice, commanding attention without sounding harsh. With a rack like that, you must have to fight to have a word you say heard by anyone with even a passing interest in a good pair of tits.

Not that the cheap fabric of your bra is doing them any favors. Silk would be better. He’s always liked the shine of it. Softer, too. It wouldn’t scrape against your shirt the way he can hear that cotton blend you’re wearing is doing. 

Curious, he focuses his vision to peer through your blouse. Your undergarments are plain and sensible. Boring. Still, it elicits a distinct pang between his legs. His mouth waters slightly. Even from where he is, he can smell you, fresh and clean, slightly sweet smelling–like vanilla. Your clothes may be pedestrian but at least your perfume is nice.

Letting his gaze slide lower, he admires how the curves of your body flow into one another. He can tell just by looking at you how soft you would feel against him, under him. How good you would feel to grip and hold in place, sink into and lose himself in. Your voice has a soothing quality to it that lets him easily imagine you’re breathlessly singing his praises instead of rattling off bullet points in a presentation.

Fuck, he’s getting hard, his cock throbbing lightly against the cup of his suit. It’s the only thing that allows him to fantasize as freely as he does. The best part of it is that he’s fairly certain he can sense something warm and wet throbbing between your thick thighs.

He suspects he’s not the only one fantasizing.

The room is quiet for a second too long, and Homelander abruptly tunes back in to realize you’re staring directly at him, expectancy in your gaze. He pulls a blank, realizing he hasn’t processed anything you’ve said. “Say again?”

There’s a flicker of irritation in your eyes before you tightly school your expression back into polite professionalism. His lips slowly split into a devious smile that he consciously fine-tunes to be more neutral. How close you came to some sort of heated response was kind of… cute. It makes him want to give your proverbial pigtails another tug just to see what else he can evoke.

The thought of pulling your hair is good. The thought of you pulling his hair is better, though.

“I asked if you have any feedback for our campaign leading up to the premiere,” you say, though Homelander finds himself more interested in the flash of your tongue he gets as you run it along your teeth afterwards. Your temperature is up a notch, too. You must not be used to such direct attention from someone like him.

“Nope,” he says glibly, turning on one of his patented knock-out smiles. “Looks good to me.” At that, he pointedly looks you up and down, meeting your gaze with a quick wink. 

Judging by the slight tic at the corner of your mouth, you aren’t charmed by his response. Still, he waits in preemptive satisfaction for you to appease him by returning his smile.

You don’t.

Instead, you say nothing more than a terse “Wonderful,” the singular word barely passing for civil, let alone professional. You move on, and Homelander finds himself taken aback. You don’t meet his eye for the remainder of the presentation, and while that gives him plenty of opportunity to ogle you, it bothers him.

Towards the end of your time, he clears his throat. Everyone looks at him.

Everyone but you.

“Thanks so much for your time,” you say to the committee, smiling, finishing your piece with a small incline of your head. You go sit, and there’s a slightly awkward pause before the next presenter takes center stage.

Homelander sits in stunned silence. The idea that you, some fresh faced nobody, think you’re in any position to blow him off is laughable at best. Who cares if he didn’t pay attention to your little presentation? That’s not his job. You’re lucky he’s even here, lucky that someone like him would think to give you time out of his day.

By the time the meeting concludes, you haven’t spared him so much as a glance. Indignation builds hotly in his chest. He’s had more than enough of being snubbed lately. He’s not going to tolerate it from the likes of you.

You should be on your hands and knees begging for his attention.

He watches a handful of your peers congratulate you on your first presentation, though plenty of others cast him wary glances and decide not to approach you. They know better. They know who’s really in charge around here. Naturally, they all skitter away like roaches when he strides towards you.

“Not bad for your first presentation,” he tells you, his smile toned down into a thin, lopsided smirk.

You look around yourself, no doubt taking note of how the other little insects around you have scattered. Maybe now you’ll realize your mistake.

“Thank you, sir,” you say, your body angled slightly away from him, as if you’re ready to bolt at any second.

“Got a lot on my mind, though, so I don’t think I absorbed as much as I could have,” he says, laying on that boyish charm a little thicker than usual. “Would really appreciate it if you could stick around and run that by me one more time.”

Your gaze flickers away from him–he wishes you would stop doing that–to the others who’re filtering out of the room, slowly leaving the two of you behind. “As I said during the presentation, all the documents will be available online,” you say, finally looking back at him. You actually have the audacity to look annoyed that he’s talking to you.

“I don’t have a computer,” he replies, his own voice beginning to flatten.

“I’m sure someone in IT can help you with that,” you say, undeterred by his attempts to corner you. 

His smile tightens minutely. “Do you have some kind of problem with me?”

Your heart jumps. He finds satisfaction in that, at least.

“No, sir,” you say sharply, a barely discernible hitch in your voice. “What I have are deadlines. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to meet them.” With that, you manage to squeeze by him. Despite the steady confident tap of your shoes against the floor, your heart races rabbit-like in his ears.

He contemplates you as you go, momentarily stupefied by your flagrant disregard for him. You weren’t entirely unaffected by his presence, though. If you’d had less of an avenue for escape, would you have been so flippant? He continues to focus on the beat of your heart as your steps carry you further from him. It doesn’t slow. You’re still full of adrenaline, the scent of it lingering alongside your perfume. He inhales a slow, deep breath, the leather of his gloves creaking as he curls and uncurls his fist.

Homelander finds himself wondering what your agenda is, what makes you so desperate to break from the norm and catch his attention. It’s clear to him that’s what you want. Why else would you be so stubborn where anyone else would yield? He scoffs to himself. 

God, it’s so obvious in hindsight.

He has no doubt that your brazen attitude would shatter if he pressed in closer, if you felt the heat of his breath on your lips. He could part your soft thighs and paint the face of God on the ceiling above you with his tongue inside you. You couldn’t dismiss him so easily then, could you?

You’re so determined to be noticed that it’s almost pathetic. He shouldn’t reward this kind of behavior, and yet he feels strangely inclined to commend it. What you’ve done is brave in a way. Insolence and sycophants he can’t abide, but a touch of bravery? Well… That can be rewarded.

Your heart thunders in your ears as you make a beeline for your office. You can feel a terrible burn crawling up your chest and into your cheeks, the reality of what just happened finally allowed to sink in. You had spent all morning preparing yourself for presenting your work in front of not only your new peers at Vought, but in front of the world’s most prolific superhero. You were solid, you were ready.

Until you felt the gravity of his gaze on you. The weight of it made you stutter where you shouldn’t have, lose your train of thought mid-sentence. Every time you dared to look at him, he was looking at you like he was going to swallow you whole. Never have you felt more acutely aware of yourself than you did beneath his stare, feeling the way he was picking you apart as keenly as you would feel his hands undressing you.

It left you as furious as you are flustered.

That arrogant bastard!

You close the door behind you with a rough breath, closing your eyes. You can’t even sit, you have to pace your office instead, shaking your hands out as you walk. You know you weren’t imagining it. He confirmed as much for you when it took a solid eight seconds of silence for him to tear his gaze up from your chest, smiling as wickedly as any devil and caught elbow-deep in the cookie jar.

You couldn’t look him in the eye after that. It was humiliating to be reduced so thoroughly and obviously in front of your peers. Worst of all, he seemed damn pleased by it. 

Though that isn’t the only reason your heart is still racing. You’re not quite ready to address that yet. You’re fairly certain if you’d been forced to speak to him any more than you had, you would have said something that would cause you to lose your job. You just need space to breathe, to collect yourself, to–

There’s a brisk knock at your door. Great. What now?

“Just a m–” You’re stopped dead in your tracks by a familiar flash of red, white and blue as Homelander lets himself into your office, closing the door securely behind him. 

“Howdy,” he greets. He looks cartoonishly wide and brightly colored against the neutral colors of your office, even more larger than life than he’d seemed in the conference room. He has a smile that looks like it belongs in the mouth of a shark about to take a bite of you. It sets you off kilter completely–not that you’d been much on it to begin with.

You gawk a moment before managing to close your mouth. “Homelander,” you say, your voice curt in your own ears. You have no idea how to address him, still frazzled from not only the presentation, but your interaction that followed it. You should ask him what he needs. 

“What’re you doing here?” That came out ruder than you meant it to. Not that he doesn’t deserve it. Still, you’re trying to keep this job.

“Are you always this pleasant?” He asks, cocking his head slightly as he comes to a stop in front of you, his arms held behind his back beneath his swaying cape. “Or did I catch you on a bad day?”

Is he serious?

“Your conduct today was inappropriate,” you say flatly, settling your hands on your hips.

Homelander scoffs lightly. “Oh, relax. You gonna ‘#Metoo’ me over a wink? Christ, you’re done up tighter than that blouse of yours,” he says, his gaze dipping. A chill rolls up your spine as you watch his tongue roll along his teeth. He’s like an animal anticipating a meal.

Your jaw drops, cold shock settling in your gut alongside that blistering heat. Of all the things you had prepared yourself for before coming to Vought, Homelander being a misogynistic sex-pest hadn’t been on your list.

Well. Not the sex-pest part, anyways.

You point to your office door. “Get out.”

He blinks, zero comprehension in those deceptively charming baby blues. His smile turns incredulous. “I’m starting to think you don’t understand what’s happening here,” he says, his tone taking on a precarious edge. He lets out a breathy, mirthless laugh. “You know, most people in your position would be begging for my attention.”

There it is.

You suck a noise through your teeth, nodding slowly. "Oh, I understand exactly what’s happening here,” you say, shifting your weight like you’re winding up for a pitch. “I know you think you're special because you're famous, or a supe, or both. I know you think I should be grateful that you’d even look at someone like me, but you’re not special, and I’m not grateful. The reality of the matter is I can get dick whenever I want it–good dick–and I can get it without being humiliated at my job.”

The silence in the room is deafening. Homelander looks stupefied, but you decide that you’re not done.

“You're not blessing me by making entitled passes and crude remarks while I'm trying to work. You’re being a nuisance,” you say, your heart beating in your throat. “So please, would you kindly leave?” You ask, voice firm despite the friendlier nature of your phrasing.

Finally, Homelander is the one left gawking. He looks like a fish with the way his mouth keeps opening and closing, but it’s the dismissive, aborted little scoffs he makes in between that really sell his wounded bewilderment. You can see tension lurking just beneath the surface, an anger that skulks in the creak of his leather gloves.

Fear begins to creep up the back of your throat, burning like bile, but you hold steady as he seems to be deciding what he’s going to do with you. The longer the quiet stretches on, your focus entirely on the subtle spasms in his expression, the more sweat begins to prickle at the back of your neck. You refuse to fill the space, you refuse to back down.

For all his power, he’s still just a man.

Eventually, he swallows. “Okie-dokie,” he says, his tone unlike anything you expected. He sounds confused–a little dazed, even. He walks to the door, and after one hesitant look back at you, he leaves.

The door closes with a soft click that still makes you flinch, the sound of it loud in the silence of the room. You blink several times, the abruptness of his departure making the whole encounter feel like some sort of fever dream. 

What the fuck just happened?

You’re not special.

The impact of those words struck Homelander’s ears like a loud, painful ringing that follows him as he walks out of your office. He feels off balance, each step leaning slightly to the right.

It’s a ludicrous statement. Objectively wrong. Who in the fucking world could be more special than him? He’s a literal god, and you’re no one. A faceless, nameless cog in Vought’s mechanism that hoists him to the top of it all. That’s your job. To elevate him. Worship him.

Instead you spoke to him as if he were nothing. He could have cut you down where you stood for that. He could have put your head through your office window, snapped your neck, held your skull and burned your eyes out of–

He shakes his head sharply, swaying. He all but stumbles into the bathroom, surprising one of the worker drones washing their hands. “Get out,” Homelander says gruffly.

“Uh, sir–”

“Get the fuck out!” He snaps, startling the man so badly he immediately rushes off, fumbling with the door on his way out. Homelander slams it shut and lets out a ragged breath, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes, then his temples as he paces the bathroom. His reflection taunts him from his peripheral vision.

He hasn’t been able to look himself in the eye since he snapped his Doppelganger’s neck while he knelt before him.

That’s what he wants from you, isn’t it? Mindless desperate praise and worship. Why, then, does the thought od it make his stomach churn so violently he can taste the burn of bile? He tugs compulsively at his suit collar, the press of it against his skin uncharacteristically hot and itchy.

“I can get dick whenever I want it–good dick.”

He shamefully palms himself through his suit, confusingly hard amidst a swirling turbulence of contradicting thoughts and feelings. He could be good for you, too, if you’d fucking let him. He knows he could make you crumble, take apart that carefully constructed demeanor of professionalism and make you see him for what he is. He can prove himself to you. He will prove that you’re wrong about him, and then you’ll show him the love respect he deserves.

Hurriedly, he unzips his pants. His eyelashes flutter as he shoves his hand into them, roughly grabbing hold of his cock. He braces his forearm against the bathroom door and lets his head drop forward, watching his crimson glove pump the leaking head of his dick. His mind bounces between scenarios. He imagines himself in your place, fully on display for you to ogle. He imagines you’re watching him even now, staring him down with that unaffected look of indifference, of irritation, of disgust.

He bites back a whine, gritting his teeth. He wants so badly to imagine his face buried in your soft tits while he fucks the plush space between your thighs, but he knows you won’t let him. Not right away. You’d make him earn it, wouldn’t you? You’d make him watch you please yourself before he ever got so much as a taste.

The glassiness in his eyes begins to sizzle, the moisture burning away as crimson light flares up in them. Would you laugh if you could see him now, or would you scold him for touching himself without your permission?

Homelander comes hard, tipping his head back with a loud moan as he paints the bathroom door with ribbon after ribbon of come. He barely manages not to blow a hole through the ceiling, the light of his eyes flaring and softening in time with each euphoric wave of release. He pants through it, head falling forward and thunking lightly against the door, resting there while he catches his breath.

“Fuck,” he exhales eventually, sighing. He wipes his hand on the wall and then carefully tucks himself back into his pants, his mind swirling hazily on the best high he’s had since…

Clearing his throat, he puts himself back together before leaving the bathroom. Clearly, the thing that he’s been missing is a challenge. 

Luckily for him, you’ve kindly volunteered yourself.

( chapter two )

[nina-ya]

Ways That Zoro Wordlessly Says "I Love You"

Luffy Zoro Sanji Law Kid Shanks Pairing: Zoro x reader CW: Drinking. Overall just fluff WC: 862

Wandering through the lively markets of the island, Zoro stood by your side, his hand always finding a firm grip on any part of you within reach—whether it be your hand, your waist, or your arm. It was his way to ensure that you would not slip away into the crowd.

As you paused to admire a colorful display of exotic fruits, Zoro instinctively drew a little closer, his gaze scanning the surroundings. A persistent merchant approached, eager to haggle you. Meeting the merchant's eyes, Zoro narrowed his gaze and firmly placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. The unspoken threat was enough to make the merchant back off.

You continue to peruse the market with Zoro by your side.. His protective instincts kicked in as he guided you away from anyone who seemed sketchy, positioned himself between you and the crowd, and kept a watchful eye on potential threats. These acts of protection serve as a reminder that he wants you to be safe no matter what. You know Zoro loves you when he goes out of his way to protect you.

-

-

-

A rare moment of calmness settles over the Sunny as it sails through the sea. The sun bathes the deck in hues of soft pinks and warm oranges as it sets. Zoro's muscular frame leans against the ship, arms crossed, and head lowered as he sleeps.

You approach the peacefully sleeping swordsman, noting the subtle signs of restlessness in his stirring form. Gently, you sit beside him, and he fully awakes, a reflection of the perpetual alertness that has been engrained into his nature. Softly, you encourage him to go back to sleep, grabbing his arm and pulling him down to let him sleep in a more comfortable, lying down position. Zoro complies, opting to settle on your lap, your thighs serving as a comfortable pillow. As you stroke his hair, the familiar rhythm of deep breathing returns, and he once again falls asleep.

Hours pass, and the scene remains unchanged. Zoro continues to sleep soundly in your embrace, undisturbed by anything that would normally wake him. Napping like this is a small and intimate moment that you two have grown to share over the time of getting to know each other. You know Zoro loves you when he feels safe enough to sleep in your embrace.

-

-

-

The unmistakable sound of a sword being unsheathed rings through the air as Zoro's voice calls out, "Come here." You approach him, and he places the hilt of a sword in your hand, unsheathing another one for himself.

Your desire to learn the art of swordsmanship has led to training sessions with the marimo. As you grip the sword, the weight and balance feel different from any other weapon you've held. Zoro insists that his swords are the only suitable ones for you to practice with. His explanation that the swords in the armory are "not good to practice with" seems somewhat dubious, especially since he doesn't extend the same courtesy to others. You, it seems, are the sole exception to this rule- being able to handle his swords when others can’t.

Under Zoro's watchful eye, the training session begins. His instructions are informative, and his demonstrations are precise. The clash of steel against steel fills the air as you follow his lead. He would oftentimes opt to focus on your form, gently grabbing you from behind and positioning you in different ways. He encourages you through proud smiles, motivating words, and small rewards such as a kiss every time you overcome a new feat. Training with Zoro is something unlike anything else. You know Zoro loves you when he lets you handle his swords.

-

-

-

The crew gathers for a celebratory banquet after a victorious battle. Laughter and music fill the air, but Zoro notices a subtle change in your demeanor. Sensing that something is wrong, he decides to take action.

Spotting you sitting alone, Zoro grabs a bottle of his favorite sake and makes his way over. Wordlessly, he holds the bottle to you, a silent offer of comfort. Your eyes meet his, and without a word, you accept the gesture, taking a generous swig from the bottle.

Zoro takes a seat beside you and the two of you pass the bottle back and forth. As the sake flows, so does the conversation. Zoro pays close attention to you, encouraging you to share your thoughts and making attempts to cheer you up along the way. 

The more you drink, the more you seem to relax. As the night progresses, the sake starts to work its magic, fostering a playfulness between the two of you. His hand finds yours, fingers intertwining in an affectionate gesture.

The crew continues to celebrate around you, but in that moment, it feels as if the only thing that matters is the two of you. Zoros gaze never leaves you, the sound of your shared laughter rings through the air, and subtle yet affectionate touches are exchanged between you two. The world fades away when you and Zoro drink together, giving way to intimate moments between you and the swordsman. You know Zoro loves you when he only thinks of you when drinking. 

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The moral injury of having your work enshittified

This Monday (November 27), I'm appearing at the Toronto Metro Reference Library with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.

On November 29, I'm at NYC's Strand Books with my novel The Lost Cause, a solarpunk tale of hope and danger that Rebecca Solnit called "completely delightful."

This week, I wrote about how the Great Enshittening – in which all the digital services we rely on become unusable, extractive piles of shit – did not result from the decay of the morals of tech company leadership, but rather, from the collapse of the forces that discipline corporate wrongdoing:

https://locusmag.com/2023/11/commentary-by-cory-doctorow-dont-be-evil/

The failure to enforce competition law allowed a few companies to buy out their rivals, or sell goods below cost until their rivals collapsed, or bribe key parts of their supply chain not to allow rivals to participate:

https://www.engadget.com/google-reportedly-pays-apple-36-percent-of-ad-search-revenues-from-safari-191730783.html

The resulting concentration of the tech sector meant that the surviving firms were stupendously wealthy, and cozy enough that they could agree on a common legislative agenda. That regulatory capture has allowed tech companies to violate labor, privacy and consumer protection laws by arguing that the law doesn't apply when you use an app to violate it:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

But the regulatory capture isn't just about preventing regulation: it's also about creating regulation – laws that make it illegal to reverse-engineer, scrape, and otherwise mod, hack or reconfigure existing services to claw back value that has been taken away from users and business customers. This gives rise to Jay Freeman's perfectly named doctrine of "felony contempt of business-model," in which it is illegal to use your own property in ways that anger the shareholders of the company that sold it to you:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain

Undisciplined by the threat of competition, regulation, or unilateral modification by users, companies are free to enshittify their products. But what does that actually look like? I say that enshittification is always precipitated by a lost argument.

It starts when someone around a board-room table proposes doing something that's bad for users but good for the company. If the company faces the discipline of competition, regulation or self-help measures, then the workers who are disgusted by this course of action can say, "I think doing this would be gross, and what's more, it's going to make the company poorer," and so they win the argument.

But when you take away that discipline, the argument gets reduced to, "Don't do this because it would make me ashamed to work here, even though it will make the company richer." Money talks, bullshit walks. Let the enshittification begin!

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/22/who-wins-the-argument/#corporations-are-people-my-friend

But why do workers care at all? That's where phrases like "don't be evil" come into the picture. Until very recently, tech workers participated in one of history's tightest labor markets, in which multiple companies with gigantic war-chests bid on their labor. Even low-level employees routinely fielded calls from recruiters who dangled offers of higher salaries and larger stock grants if they would jump ship for a company's rival.

Employers built "campuses" filled with lavish perks: massages, sports facilities, daycare, gourmet cafeterias. They offered workers generous benefit packages, including exotic health benefits like having your eggs frozen so you could delay fertility while offsetting the risks normally associated with conceiving at a later age.

But all of this was a transparent ruse: the business-case for free meals, gyms, dry-cleaning, catering and massages was to keep workers at their laptops for 10, 12, or even 16 hours per day. That egg-freezing perk wasn't about helping workers plan their families: it was about thumbing the scales in favor of working through your entire twenties and thirties without taking any parental leave.

In other words, tech employers valued their employees as a means to an end: they wanted to get the best geeks on the payroll and then work them like government mules. The perks and pay weren't the result of comradeship between management and labor: they were the result of the discipline of competition for labor.

This wasn't really a secret, of course. Big Tech workers are split into two camps: blue badges (salaried employees) and green badges (contractors). Whenever there is a slack labor market for a specific job or skill, it is converted from a blue badge job to a green badge job. Green badges don't get the food or the massages or the kombucha. They don't get stock or daycare. They don't get to freeze their eggs. They also work long hours, but they are incentivized by the fear of poverty.

Tech giants went to great lengths to shield blue badges from green badges – at some Google campuses, these workforces actually used different entrances and worked in different facilities or on different floors. Sometimes, green badge working hours would be staggered so that the armies of ragged clickworkers would not be lined up to badge in when their social betters swanned off the luxury bus and into their airy adult kindergartens.

But Big Tech worked hard to convince those blue badges that they were truly valued. Companies hosted regular town halls where employees could ask impertinent questions of their CEOs. They maintained freewheeling internal social media sites where techies could rail against corporate foolishness and make Dilbert references.

And they came up with mottoes.

Apple told its employees it was a sound environmental steward that cared about privacy. Apple also deliberately turned old devices into e-waste by shredding them to ensure that they wouldn't be repaired and compete with new devices:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

And even as they were blocking Facebook's surveillance tools, they quietly built their own nonconsensual mass surveillance program and lied to customers about it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Facebook told employees they were on a "mission to connect every person in the world," but instead deliberately sowed discontent among its users and trapped them in silos that meant that anyone who left Facebook lost all their friends:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/facebooks-secret-war-switching-costs

And Google promised its employees that they would not "be evil" if they worked at Google. For many googlers, that mattered. They wanted to do something good with their lives, and they had a choice about who they would work for. What's more, they did make things that were good. At their high points, Google Maps, Google Mail, and of course, Google Search were incredible.

My own life was totally transformed by Maps: I have very poor spatial sense, need to actually stop and think to tell my right from my left, and I spent more of my life at least a little lost and often very lost. Google Maps is the cognitive prosthesis I needed to become someone who can go anywhere. I'm profoundly grateful to the people who built that service.

There's a name for phenomenon in which you care so much about your job that you endure poor conditions and abuse: it's called "vocational awe," as coined by Fobazi Ettarh:

https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/

Ettarh uses the term to apply to traditionally low-waged workers like librarians, teachers and nurses. In our book Chokepoint Capitalism, Rebecca Giblin and I talked about how it applies to artists and other creative workers, too:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

But vocational awe is also omnipresent in tech. The grandiose claims to be on a mission to make the world a better place are not just puffery – they're a vital means of motivating workers who can easily quit their jobs and find a new one to put in 16-hour days. The massages and kombucha and egg-freezing are not framed as perks, but as logistical supports, provided so that techies on an important mission can pursue a shared social goal without being distracted by their balky, inconvenient meatsuits.

Steve Jobs was a master of instilling vocational awe. He was full of aphorisms like "we're here to make a dent in the universe, otherwise why even be here?" Or his infamous line to John Sculley, whom he lured away from Pepsi: "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?"

Vocational awe cuts both ways. If your workforce actually believes in all that high-minded stuff, if they actually sacrifice their health, family lives and self-care to further the mission, they will defend it. That brings me back to enshittification, and the argument: "If we do this bad thing to the product I work on, it will make me hate myself."

The decline in market discipline for large tech companies has been accompanied by a decline in labor discipline, as the market for technical work grew less and less competitive. Since the dotcom collapse, the ability of tech giants to starve new entrants of market oxygen has shrunk techies' dreams.

Tech workers once dreamed of working for a big, unwieldy firm for a few years before setting out on their own to topple it with a startup. Then, the dream shrank: work for that big, clumsy firm for a few years, then do a fake startup that makes a fake product that is acquihired by your old employer, as an incredibly inefficient and roundabout way to get a raise and a bonus.

Then the dream shrank again: work for a big, ugly firm for life, but get those perks, the massages and the kombucha and the stock options and the gourmet cafeteria and the egg-freezing. Then it shrank again: work for Google for a while, but then get laid off along with 12,000 co-workers, just months after the company does a stock buyback that would cover all those salaries for the next 27 years:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/10/the-proletarianization-of-tech-workers/

Tech workers' power was fundamentally individual. In a tight labor market, tech workers could personally stand up to their bosses. They got "workplace democracy" by mouthing off at town hall meetings. They didn't have a union, and they thought they didn't need one. Of course, they did need one, because there were limits to individual power, even for the most in-demand workers, especially when it came to ghastly, long-running sexual abuse from high-ranking executives:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/technology/google-sexual-harassment-andy-rubin.html

Today, atomized tech workers who are ordered to enshittify the products they take pride in are losing the argument. Workers who put in long hours, missed funerals and school plays and little league games and anniversaries and family vacations are being ordered to flush that sacrifice down the toilet to grind out a few basis points towards a KPI.

It's a form of moral injury, and it's palpable in the first-person accounts of former workers who've exited these large firms or the entire field. The viral "Reflecting on 18 years at Google," written by Ian Hixie, vibrates with it:

https://ln.hixie.ch/?start=1700627373

Hixie describes the sense of mission he brought to his job, the workplace democracy he experienced as employees' views were both solicited and heeded. He describes the positive contributions he was able to make to a commons of technical standards that rippled out beyond Google – and then, he says, "Google's culture eroded":

Decisions went from being made for the benefit of users, to the benefit of Google, to the benefit of whoever was making the decision.

In other words, techies started losing the argument. Layoffs weakened worker power – not just to defend their own interest, but to defend the users interests. Worker power is always about more than workers – think of how the 2019 LA teachers' strike won greenspace for every school, a ban on immigration sweeps of students' parents at the school gates and other community benefits:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/23/a-collective-bargain/

Hixie attributes the changes to a change in leadership, but I respectfully disagree. Hixie points to the original shareholder letter from the Google founders, in which they informed investors contemplating their IPO that they were retaining a controlling interest in the company's governance so that they could ignore their shareholders' priorities in favor of a vision of Google as a positive force in the world:

https://abc.xyz/investor/founders-letters/ipo-letter/

Hixie says that the leadership that succeeded the founders lost sight of this vision – but the whole point of that letter is that the founders never fully ceded control to subsequent executive teams. Yes, those executive teams were accountable to the shareholders, but the largest block of voting shares were retained by the founders.

I don't think the enshittification of Google was due to a change in leadership – I think it was due to a change in discipline, the discipline imposed by competition, regulation and the threat of self-help measures. Take ads: when Google had to contend with one-click adblocker installation, it had to constantly balance the risk of making users so fed up that they googled "how do I block ads?" and then never saw another ad ever again.

But once Google seized the majority of the mobile market, it was able to funnel users into apps, and reverse-engineering an app is a felony (felony contempt of business-model) under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. An app is just a web-page wrapped in enough IP to make it a crime to install an ad-blocker.

And as Google acquired control over the browser market, it was likewise able to reduce the self-help measures available to browser users who found ads sufficiently obnoxious to trigger googling "how do I block ads?" The apotheosis of this is the yearslong campaign to block adblockers in Chrome, which the company has sworn it will finally do this coming June:

https://www.tumblr.com/tevruden/734352367416410112/you-have-until-june-to-dump-chrome

My contention here is not that Google's enshittification was precipitated by a change in personnel via the promotion of managers who have shitty ideas. Google's enshittification was precipitated by a change in discipline, as the negative consequences of heeding those shitty ideas were abolished thanks to monopoly.

This is bad news for people like me, who rely on services like Google Maps as cognitive prostheses. Elizabeth Laraki, one of the original Google Maps designers, has published a scorching critique of the latest GMaps design:

https://twitter.com/elizlaraki/status/1727351922254852182

Laraki calls out numerous enshittificatory design-choices that have left Maps screens covered in "crud" – multiple revenue-maximizing elements that come at the expense of usability, shifting value from users to Google.

What Laraki doesn't say is that these UI elements are auctioned off to merchants, which means that the business that gives Google the most money gets the greatest prominence in Maps, even if it's not the best merchant. That's a recurring motif in enshittified tech platforms, most notoriously Amazon, which makes $31b/year auctioning off top search placement to companies whose products aren't relevant enough to your query to command that position on their own:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

Enshittification begets enshittification. To succeed on Amazon, you must divert funds from product quality to auction placement, which means that the top results are the worst products:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/06/attention-rents/#consumer-welfare-queens

The exception is searches for Apple products: Apple and Amazon have a cozy arrangement that means that searches for Apple products are a timewarp back to the pre-enshittification Amazon, when the company worried enough about losing your business to heed the employees who objected to sacrificing search quality as part of a merchant extortion racket:

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-gives-apple-special-treatment-while-others-suffer-junk-ads-2023-11

Not every tech worker is a tech bro, in other words. Many workers care deeply about making your life better. But the microeconomics of the boardroom in a monopolized tech sector rewards the worst people and continuously promotes them. Forget the Peter Principle: tech is ruled by the Sam Principle.

As OpenAI went through four CEOs in a single week, lots of commentators remarked on Sam Altman's rise and fall and rise, but I only found one commentator who really had Altman's number. Writing in Today in Tabs, Rusty Foster nailed Altman to the wall:

https://www.todayintabs.com/p/defective-accelerationism

Altman's history goes like this: first, he founded a useless startup that raised $30m, only to be acquired and shuttered. Then Altman got a job running Y Combinator, where he somehow failed at taking huge tranches of equity from "every Stanford dropout with an idea for software to replace something Mommy used to do." After that, he founded OpenAI, a company that he claims to believe presents an existential risk to the entire human risk – which he structured so incompetently that he was then forced out of it.

His reward for this string of farcical, mounting failures? He was put back in charge of the company he mis-structured despite his claimed belief that it will destroy the human race if not properly managed.

Altman's been around for a long time. He founded his startup in 2005. There've always been Sams – of both the Bankman-Fried varietal and the Altman genus – in tech. But they didn't get to run amok. They were disciplined by their competitors, regulators, users and workers. The collapse of competition led to an across-the-board collapse in all of those forms of discipline, revealing the executives for the mediocre sociopaths they always were, and exposing tech workers' vocational awe for the shabby trick it was from the start.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/25/moral-injury/#enshittification

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Light the Way - Part One

Pairing: Modern!Aemond Targaryen x f!reader Warnings: Angst, date rape/roofies, slight BDSM Word count: ~4k

Chapter summary: Starting a new job is never easy, it's even worse when your boss is an arsehole. When he unexpectedly comes to the rescue though, the relationship dynamic changes drastically.

She graduated from university a year ago with a Bachelor’s degree in PR and Marketing, and still has no idea what she wants from life, although the last twelve months of working as a barista have proven to her that a career in hospitality and customer service is definitely not it. Having happened across an online advertisement of a vacancy for the position of a personal assistant at a private law firm, she applied on a whim, never expecting to hear back. It’s not like she was qualified anyway, so she had nothing to lose

Yet, here she is, almost four weeks later, standing in the foyer of Red Keep Legal, preparing to begin her first day. The office building is sleek and modern, minimalist in decor, yet the polish of everything suggests it is incomprehensibly expensive. A handsome, bearded, older man, dressed in a sharp suit collects her from reception. She learns his name is Otto Hightower and he is a partner at the firm. They are high end solicitors and only take on the most exclusive of clients. She turns his business card over in her hands, the thickness of the smooth, matte black cardstock is high quality, with ornate golden lettering and a blood red logo of a three headed dragon. She knows she has seen that logo before, but can’t place where exactly.

“You’ll be a personal assistant to my grandson, Aemond.” Otto tells her. “He’s working on a particularly tricky case at the moment, so you’ll be responsible for ensuring he has everything he needs. I imagine he won’t ask you to do much more than get him coffee.” 

So there it was, the reason she’d gotten the job. She was hoping her coffee making days were behind her, but no such luck. She sighs inwardly, the bitter irony is almost comical.

“Anyway, if you have no further questions, I shall introduce you to Aemond.” Otto concludes.

She smiles and nods politely as he turns on his heel and leads her towards the elevator, stopping on the second to last floor. She follows him along a marble floored corridor, before he gently raps his knuckles against the rich mahogany of an office door. After a few moments the door swings open to reveal the most ethereal being she’d ever laid eyes upon. He is impossibly tall without being gangly or awkward; his long, lithe limbs flow like water as he props himself against the doorframe. His silky, silver locks are perfectly coiffed and she feels self conscious as the bright blue of his right eye scans all the way from her feet to the top of her head, analysing every inch. She notices the skin around his left eye is lightly scarred - the only indication that the realistic prosthetic that sits within the socket isn’t something he can actually see out of. The simple long sleeved top and black trousers she’s wearing suddenly feel drab in comparison to the well tailored navy blue suit he wears, and she fights the urge to hide herself. 

“Aemond, this is your new personal assistant.” Otto informs him, gesturing towards her. “Your mother and I worked hard to find this one, so perhaps you could try being a little more cordial than last time.”

She doesn’t stop to think about what that could possibly mean, letting out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding in and rushing forward, smiling wide and extending a hand. 

“Hi Aemond! It’s wonderful to meet you!” 

His plush, full lips remain unmoving, as he stuffs his hands into his pockets, not returning the gesture and continuing to study her. 

She drops her hand, feeling deflated and laughs nervously.

Clearly not picking up on the awkwardness, or simply not caring, Otto glances between the two of them, before giving a curt nod and striding back towards the elevator.

Aemond watches him go before returning his attention back to her. 

“Wonderful to meet me, hm?” he finally says, quirking an eyebrow. 

Before she can respond, he continues, “Look, I’ve told my grandfather I don’t need an assistant and I like my own space. I’m looking over some contracts at the moment, so I would prefer it if you could make yourself scarce.” He disappears from view, allowing his office door to close behind him.

She immediately feels miserable. Her shoulders slump as she stands in front of the closed door. The first day of a new job should feel exciting, especially when your boss is so breathtakingly handsome, but this guy is rude and has declared her useless within minutes of meeting her. For a moment she considers just walking out and not returning.

She spends the remainder of the day sitting at her desk that’s positioned to the outer left of Aemond’s door. No one goes in or out, and not once does she catch sight of him. As far as first days go this is undoubtedly the worst she has ever experienced. As tempting as it is to just bail and head home, she desperately needs the cash, so she watches the hours slowly tick by on the off chance her stand-offish boss may suddenly decide he needs something. By the time 6pm rolls around, and she stands to gather her things, her legs have cramped from sitting for so long and she curses herself for only stretching her legs on the few occasions she went to the bathroom.

Arriving home, she finds her flatmate isn’t back yet and breathes a sigh of relief, knowing she’d be bombarded with questions about her first day and not have a positive answer for any of them. She uses the opportunity to pace the flat, rifling through the contact sheet and paperwork she has been given. She sighs when she happens upon the number listed for Aemond - what was the point of having the number of someone who seemingly wanted nothing to do with her? She saves it to her phone anyway, tomorrow was a new day after all. Perhaps she’ll score a few brownie points if she texts and offers to grab him coffee on her way to the office. She still can’t figure out why he’d been so cold towards her. Flopping down on the couch with a glass of wine, she boots up her laptop, deciding to do some research on Aemond Targaryen, as she realises that beyond meeting him today and knowing he works for one of the most prestigious law firms in all of Westeros, she really knows nothing about the man she is supposed to be working for.

She wakes up early the next morning, armed with a plan. Her evening of wine-fuelled research had been fruitful. She’d discovered that Aemond was from a family of famous Valyrian legal, political and business figures. Her recognition of the logo on Otto’s card was because it was regularly splashed across all of the major tabloid and broadsheet newspapers. She’d read through a few old articles regarding family drama, disputes over assets, and the death of his father to get an idea of who he was, before deciding his cold demeanour is likely attributed to the combined stress of his job and seemingly endless rifts between his mother and half-sister. She decides that if she is to break down his walls then she will do so with kindness, but she also wants to look the part - if she is to fit in with such sophisticated people then she needs to start dressing like one. She slips into a pencil skirt so fitted it looks like it has been painted on, alongside a sheer white blouse and a killer pair of black stilettos. She completes the look with perfectly styled hair and a thick coat of blood red lipstick. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t vying for more than Aemond’s professional attention, but she’d try anything at this point just to get him to acknowledge her presence. Giving herself a last once over look in the mirror, she fires off what she considers to be a breezy good morning text to Aemond, before heading to the coffee shop she used to work at. “Good morning Mr. Targaryen! Hope you’re well today. I’ll grab you a coffee on my way to the office. See you soon!”

Arriving exactly thirty minutes later, coffees in hand, she is disappointed to see that she’s been left on read. Nevermind. She has gone all out with the coffee order, asking for the special roast of beans with an extra shot and foamed milk. This was sure to win him over. She knocks timidly at his office door and after a long moment is about to knock again when it swings slowly open with a perfectly poised Aemond on the other side. God, he was breathtaking.

She realises she has gone too long without saying anything when he snaps out an impatient “Yes?” She jumps slightly, stepping forward into his office without an invitation. Aemond cautiously backs away, his brow furrowing with suspicion and confusion.

She thrusts one of the cups towards him, “Umm…I text you. Did you - uh - coffee?” Great, now I’ve lost the fucking power of speech.

Aemond gingerly accepts the cup from her, without saying thank you. “Are you always this articulate?” He says flatly, before taking a sip. His nose instantly wrinkles, “Ugh, does this have milk in it? I’m allergic to dairy."

Her eyes widen in horror, "Oh gods,, I’m so sorry! I should have thought to ask, I can always get you-"

"Forget it.” He cuts her off, “That will be all for the day, before you try to poison me any further. Close the door on your way out.”

Fantastic, another day sat at my desk, except this time I’m dressed like a cheap escort. 

The confidence she’d felt when she stepped out of the door this morning had been crushed flat by Aemond in a matter of seconds. She sits with her hands clasped tightly in front of her on the desk, willing her unshed tears away. Did he want her to quit? She’d placed everything on this job and she didn’t want to give it up without a fight. Sje simply couldn’t understand why Aemond seemed to hate her so much.

After a few hours pass by, she notices it is lunch time - he has to take a break some time. She decides that now is when she’ll make her move. Standing purposefully, she sniffs back her tears and checks her make-up in her compact mirror, before strutting back towards Aemond’s door. She’ll give that arsehole a piece of her mind. It was about time he learned to respect her.

She bursts into Aemond’s office without knocking. “Just who in the hell do you think you are?!” she rants, not waiting for his reaction to her sudden intrusion.

He looks up from the documents he has been reading and stares at her, but his expression is unreadable.

He stays silent, so she continues her tirade. “I didn’t have a fucking clue who you were when I accepted this job, despite that I’ve treated you with nothing but respect and you can’t even extend me the same courtesy!” She paces as she yells at him, gesticulating wildly. There’s a part of her telling her to stop, that this behaviour will likely get her fired, but at this point it would have been like attempting to put toothpaste back in the tube. “I know you think you’re hot shit, but that doesn’t exempt you from behaving like a decent human being.” She stops and looks at him then, his face still a mask of neutrality as he gazes up at her from his seat at the desk. “Why aren’t you saying anything?!” She demands.

“Oh, are you done?” He replies sarcastically.

She throws her hands up in exasperation, eliciting a huge sigh at his complete lack of emotion. 

Accepting her reaction as affirmation, he diverts his attention back to his paperwork and mutters “Well, if that’s all, you know where the door is.”

It takes all of her willpower not to grab the nearest object and launch it towards his head. She storms outside, slamming the door as she goes. Fuck this. Walking purposefully straight to the elevator, she lets it take her to the ground floor before hastily exiting the office building. There was absolutely no way she was spending another second in this godforsaken building.

Arriving home she throws her keys a little too aggressively onto the kitchen counter and heads straight towards the fridge, grabbing for the can of whipped cream. As she loudly squirts an unhealthy sized swirl of it into her mouth, her flatmate, Rhea, looks up from her laptop with an amused smile and asks “Rough morning?”

She hadn’t noticed her sitting at the dining table, too engrossed in her own foul mood to have any awareness of her surroundings. “Think I lost my job.” She slurs without bothering to swallow.

Rhea closes the lid of her laptop and rushes to pull her into a bear hug. Finally releasing her, she smiles kindly and wipes cream from her chin, before saying “First of all, you’re gross, and second, how has that happened? You’ve been there less than 48 hours!”

“It’s a long story.” She sighs, “The short version is that my boss is an arsehole, so I yelled at him and then left the office.”

“Oh.” Rhea winces, “That’s bad.”

“What the fuck am I going to do?!” She whines, rubbing her temples.

“Well, it might not solve your impending unemployment, but we could go out tonight?”

“Are you high right now, Rhea?! The only thing I’ll be doing tonight is looking at the classifieds!”

“Come on, you were miserable for so long in your last job and don’t seem to be faring much better in this one. You deserve a little fun!”

“I dunno…”

“I’m not taking no for an answer! I’m working from home today, so having a reason to leave the flat later will keep me sane. Plus you don’t even need to get changed - you are wearing that outfit!”

“Fine. I guess one drink couldn’t hurt.”

Rhea squeals with excitement, clapping her hands. “Amazing! Now be a doll and fuck off until 7pm, I have to concentrate.”

Rhea returns to her laptop while she retreats to her room, wondering if there will ever be a point this week where she isn’t being told to go away by someone.

The bar they end up at later that evening is loud and overcrowded. Despite that, she can feel herself relaxing. Perhaps it was the second white wine she was sipping or the steady beat of the music causing her to sway your hips involuntarily, but for the first time in two days she wasn't thinking about Aemond. She sighs contentedly, draining her glass and flashing Rhea a toothy grin as she pushes through the crowd with their next round of drinks. 

“Having fun?” Rhea half shouts over the cacophony of noise. 

Nodding, she grabs her hand, dragging her towards the dance floor. She chugs her drink as they both move to the rhythm of the song playing. She feels woozy and attributes it to drinking too much wine too fast.

“You want water?” She shouts to Rhea, making a drinking motion with her hand. Rhea nods gratefully and she staggers her way to the bar. She can feel her vision shifting in and out of focus and getting her legs to work the way she wants them to is proving difficult. Changing course, she heads outside, deciding a few lungfuls of fresh air will help set her straight.

As she slides down the brick exterior of the building she barely notices the dark figure that has followed her outside. “Easy.” A gruff male voice says, though in her mind it sounds far away, “Just relax.” Rough hands paw at her as her head flops around on a neck that feels boneless.

“Get the fuck off her.” She hears a familiar voice snarl demandingly. The man is gone in a flash and replaced instead by someone crouching in front of her, cupping her cheeks and coaxing her to look up into a concerned blue eye.

“Aemond?” She slurs.

“Keep looking at me.” Aemond says, cradling her head, “I’m fairly certain that that prick spiked your drink. I’m going to make sure you get home safely, but you need to stay awake, okay?”

Her eyes are glassy and Aemond blurs and duplicates in her vision as he keeps her face tilted up towards him. “Rhea.” She mumbles groggily.

As if summoned by the utterance of her name, her room mate pushes her way out of the bar, phone in hand, looking left and right. When she finally catches sight of her slumped on the ground with a man crouching over her, she shrieks and runs towards her. “What are you doing to her?!”

“Helping her.” Aemond replies flatly, without looking away from her. “Pretty sure she’s been spiked.”

“Jesus!” Rhea squeals, kneeling at her side, before finally looking over at Aemond. “Holy shit! You’re Aemond Targaryen! Your uncle is so hot!”

Aemond rolls his eye, hooking his arms around the body of the semi-conscious woman in front of him and slowly lifting her to her feet.

“Should we call the police?” Rhea asks, slowly realising the gravity of the situation.

Aemond turns to stare at her. “It will take an hour for them to get here.” He explains. “And when they do they’ll just file a report which they’ll never follow up on. Our time is better spent getting her home, so she’s at least safe. I’m assuming you know where she lives?”

Rhea nods. “We’re flatmates.”

Aemond momentarily supports her weight with a single arm as he fishes his phone out of his pocket, unlocks it and passes it to Rhea. “Order an Uber”.

“Thanks for helping her.” Rhea says, as the Uber finally pulls up to the curb. They waited in total silence and any excitement Rhea had felt at having met Aemond was rapidly dissipating into awkward discomfort. “I can look after her from here.” She moves to take her from the supporting hold he has on her.

“Because you’ve done such an incredible job of that so far.” He retorts icily. “I’m coming with you.”

He maneuveres her limp form into the back of the car as Rhea makes her way around to the other side to sit next to her. She is surprised to see Aemond fold his tall frame into the backseat beside her, fully expecting him to ride shotgun. The drive back is tense and uncomfortable. She sits unconscious, sandwiched between the two of them, her heading lolling against Aemond’s shoulder.

“So…” Rhea begins, attempting to break the silence, “You’re the arsehole boss then?”

It was intended as a joke, but Aemond’s humourless chuckle instantly makes her cheeks burn at having said something so rude. “Is it true you’re going to fire her?”

Aemond seems surprised at that. “No,” He says simply. “I won’t expect to see her in the office tomorrow, she’ll need a day to recover, but tell her to be there at 9am sharp on Thursday. And I take my coffee black.”

“Sure.” Rhea smiles meekly. By this point, the Uber has pulled up to its destination. “Would you like to uh…?” She asks, gesturing towards the block of flats.

“No, I think you’ll be fine from here.” He responds, “Goodnight.”

With that, Rhea is left to help her out of the car, which pulls away as soon as she's closed the door.

The next day she awakens with no memory of the evening before, feeling like she has the mother of all hangovers. She swears loudly as she looks at the time and realises it’s almost midday. If she wasn’t fired before, she certainly was now.

Hearing she is awake, Rhea sweeps into the room with a tall glass of water for her. She fills her in on the details of the previous evening and she listens in stunned silence. She spends the rest of the day in bed, struggling to process what has happened to her and the fact that a man she’d assumed hated her had come so valiantly to her rescue.

Thursday morning rolls around quickly and she dresses simply in black trousers and a sensible cardigan. She heads to grab Aemond his morning coffee; black coffee. No sooner had she deposited the cup into his hand had apologies begun tumbling from her lips, saying sorry for how she’d spoken to him, sorry for storming off, sorry for him having to look after her. He cuts her off, sliding a sheet of paper towards her.

“This,” He begins, “Is a list of things I need you to do for me today. Think you can handle it?”

She nods, stunned at finally being asked to help him out.

“Perfect. See you later.”

The day passes in a blur and she struggles. This is the first day she’s actually performing the job she has been hired to do and the busy, demanding nature of a prestigious law firm was worlds apart from the past two days of sitting at her desk and sulking. She gets lost trying to deliver documents to various people’s offices, forgets to seal contracts in confidential envelopes and accidentally hangs up on no less than five clients while trying to transfer their calls. It is a complete disaster.

She sits, highlighting every instance of the word “Harrenhal” in a document, feeling totally overwhelmed. How could anyone manage to be so bad at a relatively simple job?! The truth was, she kept finding herself distracted, thinking about what had happened to her two nights ago. What would have happened if Aemond hadn’t shown up? She caps the highlighter pen, resting her head in her hands and fails to suppress a sob.

Hearing his office door open, she turns to face Aemond as he exits, attempting to compose herself, but knows he has likely already seen her crying. “Sorry.” She whispers. “I’m just having a bad day. Ignore me.” She sniffles and wipes her eyes.

Silently Aemond beckons her into his office, maintaining eye contact as he does so.

She follows obediently, dread gnawing at her insides, certain he’s going to fire her.

 “Kneel.” He quietly commands, once the door is closed behind them.

“What?!” Her eyes widen in shock.

“Trust me, you need this. Kneel.” He insists.

She does as she is told, kneeling before him, gazing up at his impossibly tall frame with curiosity.

He slowly reaches out a hand, fingers gently grazing her jawline, before running a thumb over her lips. He pushes gently, parting them and meeting the resistance of her teeth. “Open”.

This time she doesn’t question his request, silently accepting the alien intrusion of Aemond’s thumb into her mouth. Instinctively she feels herself sucking on the digit and gradually relaxes. The sensation sends a throb of arousal straight to her core. She’d never experienced anything like this before, but seeing him tower over her, offering his thumb for her to suck was strangely erotic.

“Better?” He asks.

She simply nods, doe-eyed and staring at him in awe.

“Good.” He smiles slightly, stooping down until his lips are ghosting the shell of her ear. It makes her shiver. “I much preferred Tuesday’s outfit, by the way. Maybe that can make a reappearance tomorrow?”

Part two || Series masterlist

[lostinsaltburn]

BREATHE - AO3

Explicit - Felix x Oliver - AU

After his first year at Oxford, Felix needed a change, wanted a break, like a gap year or something. School was mundane and boring, rarely challenging anymore when his teachers never bothered to mark him down even when his assignments just had a front page to them. After all the talk Farleigh had about how lively the US was he just wanted to try it out, have a little taste.

Over the summer his interest in the gym had really heightened. His mother took note, proud of her little boy for focusing on his health and just having something he was passionate about that wasn't going to result in baby Felix's running rampant around Saltburn. With a mother's loving push she got Felix to enroll in a PT course.

It didn't take long for Felix to become absolutely infatuated with the idea, convincing his father, with his mothers help to buy him a high end gym in California. Thankfully he didn't have to run the place, his father meeting him in the middle by hiring an accountant and manager. The marketing and his own PT schedule would all be up to him though.

It had been incredible, the initial move, getting set up in his new apartment and dragging Farleigh along to work there too. New places, new people and some freedom to express himself sexually and openly was more then he expected.

The gym was high end, focusing on the clients in the neighboring law firms, apartments and offices. A fancy juice bar even available on site.

It felt nice, comfortable to rub shoulders with all these new people, to experience the differences between the circles. He understood now what his aunt had meant about the cold hearted English.

In the beginning he'd lost a lot of client's by partying all night and forgetting their early morning appointments. Eventually though his bread and butter clientele started to emerge and he got better at scheduling clients to the type of hours he wanted to work, forcing others to take the earlier clients.

Between Grindr and the gym clientele Felix was never lonely, his bed was never cold. His charm always wining out especially if someone got a little too clingy. Like most things though, even this had recently gotten a little boring, he wanted something different, wanted a chase, wanted to have to work for something. There was no fun in it anymore, it felt empty and easy and he liked a challenge. Everyone Felix met just fell in line behind his lead and it was starting to become a little frustrating, maybe Felix didn't want to have to lead all the time.

At the gym he had to take the lead in the marketing, in his group of friends everybody looked toward him to show them a good time, to herd them all to the next bar, to start the conversations so they could continue it. It was frustrating, reminded him too much of his friendship circle in Oxford. He just wanted someone else to tell him what to do now, he didn't want to make decisions for everything, to have all these expectations placed on his shoulders. He could have fun even if he was only following, he was sure of it, dreamed of it and in every dream he loved it.

Read more - A03 Link

[thoughtportal]

It sounds weird to say that carrots are having a moment, but social media has catapulted the humble root to a status resembling stardom. Anecdotal evidence suggests online carrot recipes trail in popularity only those for potatoes and brussels sprouts among vegetables, and Pinterest numbers support that: recipe searches for honey balsamic carrots on the platform are up 75% this year, while queries for roasted parmesan carrots skyrocketed 700%. Fresh carrots are an expanding $1.4 billion U.S. market, andAmericans are expected to consume 100 million pounds this Thanksgiving — roughly five ounces for every human being in the country.

At least 60% of those carrots are produced by just two companies, Bolthouse and Grimmway, both of which were acquired by buyout firms, in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

“There’s only two sources,” Adam Waglay, cofounder and co-CEO of Bolthouse owner Butterfly Equity, told Forbes. “We joke around — it’s kind of like the OPEC of carrots.”

Cartels are less funny for neighbors of the two producers in Southern California’s Cuyama Valley, who are calling for a boycott of Big Carrot over the amount of water their farms are sucking out of the ground. In 2022, Bolthouse and Grimmway together were responsible for 67%, or 9.6 billion gallons, of the area’s total water use. Local residents said they expect their wells to dry up if the carrot farms continue to use as much water as they do — Grimmway CEO Jeff Huckaby told Forbes his company has already reduced the amount of acreage it farms — and the two carrot producers have joined forces to defend their thirst in court. That worries local residents, who say they lack the deep pockets needed to wage a prolonged legal battle.

Cattle rancher Jake Furstenfeld places a boycott sign in New Cuyama, California in September.Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo

Water fights like this can take years to resolve, and often become a way to delay cutbacks, Karrigan Bork, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law, told Forbes. “You see these rights again and again get trimmed back by the state or by courts,” Bork said. “In some cases, your savvy water users recognize that, and for them, just delaying that trimming back is a success, and the longer they can do that, the happier they will be.”

Price Concerns

Waglay uses the word “duopoly” to describe the two companies. Such market consolidationoften leads to higher prices, and the government has for years used increased consumer prices as an indicator of possible unfair competition. The U.S. Department of Agriculture declined to comment on any antitrust issues.

Since 2019, carrot producer prices have increased more than 40%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, outpacing the 22% inflation in the U.S. economy.

Carrot Top

Prices are near their highest since 2019, when Bolthouse was acquired by a private equity firm. Grimmway changed hands a year later.

Huckaby, the Grimmway CEO, told Forbes that the costs of a number of inputs have gone up, too. Packaging, fertilizer and fuel prices have all risen at a higher rate than inflation, he said, and California’s minimum wage has increased 27% since 2018. At $15 an hour, it’s the second-highest in the country.

Still, the carrot business has been a lucrative play. Total U.S. production value has increased 34% since 2019.

Duopoly Origins

Bolthouse, founded in 1915 in Grant, Michigan, started selling carrots packed in cellophane bags in 1959. In the 1970s and 1980s, production was centered around Bakersfield, California. After Bakersfield farmer Mike Yurosek invented “baby carrots” in 1986, consumption soared.

In the 1990s, Bolthouse ballooned into the largest carrot operator, reportedly shipping some 80% of California’s carrots. It amounted to half the U.S. carrot market in 1992, followed by Grimmway, founded by brothers Bob and Rod Grimm in 1969, and Yurosek’s family-owned outfit. Grimmway eventually bought out Mike Yurosek & Son. The carrot crop is now the tenth-biggest commodity in California, where one-third of America’s vegetables are grown.

Today, the industry’s growth could be limited by dwindling water supplies in the drought-prone Cuyama Valley, 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles and 90 miles west of Bakersfield. But the companies behind the duopoly aren’t giving up without a fight.

Both businesses, which own their own manufacturing, are hitting a similar point in their ownership lifecycles. Private equity-backed businesses typically change hands every three to five years. In 2019, Butterfly Equity acquired Bolthouse from publicly traded Campbell Soup for $510 million in cash. A year later, Grimmway was acquired by Teays River Investments, a Zionsville, Indiana-based investment firm, for an undisclosed amount. That means both businesses are in the sweet spot of what most investors consider the hot time to unload an investment or take it public.

Los Angeles, California-based Butterfly has sold only one of its investments, an organic protein company called Orgain, acquired by Nestle Health Science in February 2022 after two years of Butterfly ownership. Grimmway is Teays River’s only current investment after exiting two others in 2019 and 2013. Teays River held those investments for eight years and one year, respectively.

Grimmway’s owner, which according to Pitchbook has $1.38 billion in assets under management, is backed by pension funds including the public employees of the states of Maine and Oregon, Texas teachers, the New York state Teamsters union and the Producer-Writers Guild of America.

Butterfly Equity, by comparison, has $4 billion in assets under management and is backed byexecutives of private equity giant KKR, where Waglay worked for eight years. The firm has done eight deals in the eight years since it launched. Butterfly also owns America’s largest striped bass farm, the largest free-range egg company, an avocado oil maker that controls 60% of the market, and a large whey protein manufacturer.

Water Rights

Bolthouse and Grimmway started working with each other in a way that competitors rarely do. They filed a lawsuit together in 2021 in Kern County, California to ask a court to decide how to split up the water of New Cuyama, where they farm.

What’s happening in Cuyama Valley is an example of the kinds of water fights that are surfacing across California. Farmers of a variety of crops there have depended on irrigation for decades. Those years of pumping water and spraying it over crops through sprinklers or complex drip irrigation systems have had drastic implications, including threats of land sinking, a receding water table that makes it tougher to dig wells and the threat of some of them drying out.

That’s why water use around New Cuyama could get reduced by two-thirds over the next two decades. To bring the region back to a sustainable level by 2040, water cuts of 5% started this year and will continue each year going forward. The Cuyama basin currently has an annual water deficit of more than 8 billion gallons, and much of the area’s carrot farmland may have to be taken out of production. Some experts say Bolthouse and Grimmway would have to reduce their water consumption by about double what the city of Santa Barbara, California uses annually.

But water-efficient sprinklers can only save so much. The carrot companies’ lawsuit has forced area farmers, ranchers, residents and even the area’s public school to rack up legal bills. In response, a coalition of locals launched a boycott of carrots in July. The boycott’s goals: for the companies to drop the lawsuit, pay all legal fees and to reduce the amount of water they pump. One flyer the boycotters distributed suggests a Thanksgiving recipe for brussels sprouts instead.

Both Bolthouse and Grimmway lease farmland rather than own it. They recently withdrew from the lawsuit, though the companies that own the farmland are still in it, and what the judge decides will dictate how much the companies are able to farm there in the future.

Expanding Elsewhere

Huckaby said the carrot boycott has taken aim at Grimmway and Bolthouse because they’re easy targets. Only 3,700 of the 13,000 acres that Grimmway leases in the Cuyama Valley are being farmed, according to Huckaby. “We cut way back and we cut way back and we cut back and no one else did,” he said.

The companies may have to find new farmland to grow carrots. The average American now eats roughly seven pounds of the fresh vegetable every year, with consumption up 2% so far in 2023, according to NielsenIQ.

Grimmway has already expanded its farming operations outside of California with facilities in Florida, Washington and other states.

Butterfly’s Waglay doesn’t deny that water is one of the biggest barriers that his investment in Bolthouse faces. “Water challenges,” he said with a sigh. “This asset has great access to water, but it’s going to get worse and worse, and you need to be planning for that and trying to work on ways to minimize that. That’ll be a long-term challenge.”

California water fights often result in residents and smaller business owners getting “outgunned in the courts by large commercial actors,” Pomona College environmental analysis and politics professor Heather Williams, an expert on water issues, told Forbes. The lawsuit is among the first of many, she said.

“It’s put into motion a race to the basin — pumping as much as you can, and putting that into production,” Williams said. “Water is property in California. It’s what a rational actor acting on behalf of investors is going to do. If they’re playing this game, they’ve got to play hard.”

Grimmway and Bolthouse can move on, said Williams, unlike most of the residents in New Cuyama. “These are their homes, their small farms. If the well goes dry, it’s worth basically nothing,” she said. “They can’t pay lawyers for ten years of litigation.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Supreme Court poised to appoint federal judges to run the US economy.

January 18, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

JAN 17, 2024

The Supreme Court heard oral argument on two cases that provide the Court with the opportunity to overturn the “Chevron deference doctrine.” Based on comments from the Justices, it seems likely that the justices will overturn judicial precedent that has been settled for forty years. If they do, their decision will reshape the balance of power between the three branches of government by appointing federal judges as regulators of the world’s largest economy, supplanting the expertise of federal agencies (a.k.a. the “administrative state”).

Although the Chevron doctrine seems like an arcane area of the law, it strikes at the heart of the US economy. If the Court were to invalidate the doctrine, it would do so in service of the conservative billionaires who have bought and paid for four of the justices on the Court. The losers would be the American people, who rely on the expertise of federal regulators to protect their water, food, working conditions, financial systems, public markets, transportation, product safety, health care services, and more.

The potential overruling of the Chevron doctrine is a proxy for a broader effort by the reactionary majority to pare the power of the executive branch and Congress while empowering the courts. Let’s take a moment to examine the context of that effort.

But I will not bury the lead (or the lede): The reactionary majority on the Court is out of control. In disregarding precedent that conflicts with the conservative legal agenda of its Federalist Society overlords, the Court is acting in a lawless manner. It is squandering hard-earned legitimacy. It is time to expand the Court—the only solution that requires a simple majority in two chambers of Congress and the signature of the president.

The “administrative state” sounds bad. Is it?

No. The administrative state is good. It refers to the collective body of federal employees, regulators, and experts who help maintain an orderly US economy. Conservatives use the term “administrative state” to denigrate federal regulation and expertise. They want corporations to operate free of all federal restraint—free to pollute, free to defraud, free to impose dangerous and unfair working conditions, free to release dangerous products into the marketplace, and free to engage in deceptive practices in public markets.

The US economy is the largest, most robust economy in the world because federal regulators impose standards for safety, honesty, transparency, and accountability. Not only is the US economy the largest in the world (as measured by nominal GDP), but its GDP per capita ($76,398) overshadows that of the second largest economy, China ($12,270). The US dollar is the reserve currency for the world and its markets are a haven for foreign investment and capital formation. See The Top 25 Economies in the World (investopedia.com)

US consumers, banks, investment firms, and foreign investors are attracted to the US economy because it is regulated. US corporations want all the benefits of regulations—until regulations get in the way of making more money. It is at that point that the “administrative state” is seen as “the enemy” by conservatives who value profit maximization above human health, safety, and solvency.

It is difficult to comprehend how big the US economy is. To paraphrase Douglas Adams’s quote about space, “It’s big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is.” Suffice to say, the US economy is so big it cannot be regulated by several hundred federal judges with dockets filled with criminal cases and major business disputes.

Nor can Congress pass enough legislation to keep pace with ever changing technological and financial developments. Congress can’t pass a budget on time; the notion that it would be able to keep up with regulations necessary to regulate Bitcoin trading in public markets is risible.

What is the Chevron deference doctrine?

Managing the US economy requires hundreds of thousands of subject matter experts—a.k.a. “regulators”—who bring order, transparency, and honesty to the US economy. Those experts must make millions of judgments each year in creating, implementing and applying federal regulations.

And this is where the “Chevron deference doctrine” comes in. When federal experts and regulators interpret federal regulations in esoteric areas such as maintaining healthy fisheries, their decisions should be entitled to a certain amount of deference. And they have received such deference since 1984, when the US Supreme Court created a rule of judicial deference to decisions by federal regulators in the case of Chevron v. NRDC.

What happened at oral argument?

In a pair of cases, the US Supreme Court heard argument on Tuesday as to whether the Chevron deference doctrine should continue—or whether the Court should overturn the doctrine and effectively throw out 17,000 federal court decisions applying the doctrine. According to Court observers, including Mark Joseph Stern of Slate, the answer is “Yes, the Court is poised to appoint federal judges as regulators of the US economy.” See Mark Joseph Stern in Slate, The Supreme Court is seizing more power from Democratic presidents. (slate.com)

I recommend Stern’s article for a description of the grim atmosphere at the oral argument—kind of “pre-demise” wake for the Chevron deference doctrine. Stern does a superb job of explaining the effects of overruling Chevron:

Here’s the bottom line: Without Chevron deference, it’ll be open season on each and every regulation, with underinformed courts playing pretend scientist, economist, and policymaker all at once. Securities fraud, banking secrecy, mercury pollution, asylum applications, health care funding, plus all manner of civil rights laws: They are ultravulnerable to judicial attack in Chevron’s absence. That’s why the medical establishment has lined up in support of Chevron, explaining that its demise would mark a “tremendous disruption” for patients and providers; just rinse and repeat for every other area of law to see the convulsive disruptions on the horizon.

The Kochs and the Federalist Society have bought and paid for this sad outcome. The chaos that will follow will hurt consumers, travelers, investors, patients and—ultimately—American businesses, who will no longer be able to rely on federal regulators for guidance as to the meaning of federal regulations. Instead, businesses will get an answer to their questions after lengthy, expensive litigation before overworked and ill-prepared judges implement a political agenda.

Expand the Court. Disband the reactionary majority by relegating it to an irrelevant minority. If we win control of both chambers of Congress in 2024 and reelect Joe Biden, expanding the Court should be the first order of business.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[growmyfirmonline]

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[gobeyondseo]

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[mariacallous]

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in a challenge to abortion pill access across the country, including in states where abortion is legal. The stakes for abortion rights are sky-high, and the case is the most consequential battle over reproductive health care access since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

At the center of this fight is mifepristone, a pill that blocks a hormone needed for pregnancy. The drug has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for more than two decades, and it’s used to treat some patients with Cushing’s syndrome, as well as endometriosis and uterine fibroids. But its primary use is the one contested now—mifepristone is the first of two pills taken in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy for a standard medication abortion, along with the drug misoprostol.

If the justices side with the antiabortion activists seeking to limit access to mifepristone, it could upend nationwide access to the most common form of abortion care. A ruling that invalidates mifepristone’s approval would open the door for any judge to reverse the FDA approval of any drug, especially ones sometimes seen as controversial, such as HIV drugs and hormonal birth control. It could also have a chilling effect on the development of new drugs, making companies wary of investing research into medicines that could later be pulled from the market.

Pills are now the leading abortion method in the US, and their popularity has spiked in recent years. More than six in 10 abortions in 2023 were carried out via medication, according to new data from the Guttmacher Institute. Since rules around telehealth were relaxed during the Covid-19 pandemic, many patients seeking medication abortions have relied on virtual clinics, which send abortion pills by mail. And it keeps getting more popular: Hey Jane, a prominent telemedicine provider, saw demand increase 73 percent from 2022 to 2023. It recorded another 28 percent spike comparing data from January 2023 to January 2024.

“Telemedicine abortion is too effective to not be in the targets of antiabortion folks,” says Julie F. Kay, a longtime reproductive rights lawyer and director of the advocacy group Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.

Tomorrow’s argument comes after a long, tangled series of legal disputes in lower courts. The Supreme Court will be hearing two cases consolidated together, including FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, in which a coalition of antiabortion activists filed a suit challenging the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, asking for it to be removed from the market. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine is represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a right-wing Christian law firm that often takes politically charged cases.

Despite decades of scientific consensus on the drug’s safety record, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine has alleged that mifepristone is dangerous to women and leads to emergency room visits. A 2021 study cited by the plaintiffs to back up their claims was retracted in February after an independent review found that its authors came to inaccurate conclusions.

In April 2023, the Trump-appointed judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary ruling on the FDA case invalidating the agency’s approval of mifepristone. The ruling sent shock waves far beyond the reproductive-rights world, as it had major implications for the entire pharmaceutical industry, as well as the FDA itself; the ruling suggested that the courts could revoke a drug’s approval even after decades on the market.

The US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed Kacsmaryk’s decision a week later, allowing the drug to remain on the market, but undid FDA decisions in recent years that made mifepristone easier to prescribe and obtain. That decision limited the time frame in which it can be taken to the first seven weeks of pregnancy and put telemedicine access, as well as access to the generic version of the drug in jeopardy.

Following the 5th Circuit ruling, the FDA and Danco Laboratories sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court, asking the justices to preserve access until it could hear the case. In its legal filing, Danco aptly described the situation as “regulatory chaos.”

SCOTUS issued a temporary stay, maintaining the status quo; the court ultimately decided to take up the case in December 2023.

As all this was unfolding, pro-abortion-rights states across the country were passing what are known as shield laws, which protect medical practitioners who offer abortion care to pregnant patients in states where abortion is banned. This has allowed some providers, including the longtime medication-abortion-advocacy group Aid Access, to mail abortion pills to people who requested them in states like Louisiana and Arkansas.

Though the oral arguments before the Supreme Court begin on Tuesday, it will likely be months before a ruling. Court watchers suspect a decision may be handed down in June. With the US presidential election in the fall, the ruling may become a major campaign issue, especially as abortion access helped galvanize voters in the 2022 midterms.

If the Supreme Court agrees with the plaintiffs that mifepristone should be taken off the market, some in the pharmaceutical industry worry that it will undermine the authority of the FDA, the agency tasked with reviewing and approving drugs based on their safety and efficacy.

“This case isn't about mifepristone,” says Elizabeth Jeffords, CEO of Iolyx Therapeutics, a company developing drugs for immune and eye diseases. Jeffords is a signatory on an amicus brief filed in April 2023 that brought together 350 pharmaceutical companies, executives, and investors to challenge the Texas district court’s ruling.

“This case could have easily been about minoxidil for hair loss. It could have been about Mylotarg for cancer. It could have been about measles vaccines,” Jeffords says. “This is about whether or not the FDA is allowed to be the scientific arbiter of what is good and safe for patients.”

Greer Donley, an associate professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh and an expert on abortion on the law, doesn’t think it’s likely that the court will revoke mifepristone’s approval entirely. Instead, she sees two possible outcomes. The Supreme Court could dismiss the case or could undo the FDA’s decision in 2023 to permanently remove the in-person dispensing requirement and allow abortion by telehealth. “This would be an even more narrow decision than what the 5th Circuit did, but it would still be pretty devastating to abortion access,” she says.

The Supreme Court could also decide that the plaintiffs lack a right to bring the case to court, says David Cohen, a professor of law at Drexel University whose expertise is in constitutional law and gender issues. “This case could get kicked out on standing, meaning that the plaintiffs aren't the right people to bring this case,” he says. “If most of the questions are about standing, that will give you a sense that that's what the justices are concerned about.”

As the current Supreme Court is considered virulently antiabortion, reproductive-health-care workers are already preparing for the worst. Some telehealth providers have already floated a backup plan: offering misoprostol-only medication abortions. This is less than ideal, as the combination of pills is the current standard of care and offers the best results; misoprostol on its own can cause additional cramping and nausea. For some providers who may have to choose between misoprostol-only or nothing, it’s better than nothing.

Abortion-rights activists have no plans to give up on telehealth abortions, regardless of the outcome of this particular case. “Let us be clear, Hey Jane will not stop delivering telemedicine abortion care, regardless of the outcome of this case,” says Hey Jane’s CEO and cofounder, Kiki Freedman.

“They’re not going to stuff the genie back in the bottle,” Kay says.

[blackjackkent]

All right, time to take Rakha to meet all the kids!

-----

"I take no responsibility for your plants. You know I'm more of a mushroom man."

"You've let my study turn in to a thicket. Is this what I am hearing?"

Jord grins. "I tended to it. I just let it... thrive in its own independence. You know, same way you raised us?"

Jaheira rolls her eyes. "I raised you to be a sweet and kind boy. What happened?"

"I watched what you did instead of what you said," Jord answers dryly. "This house has taken in a lot of children over the years," he adds to Rakha. "Mother dear was sometimes more commander than, well... mother dear."

Rakha nods vaguely. Talking with Jord has been a mildly surreal experience, the only conversation she's ever had with another half-orc that has not seemed likely to end in bloodshed. He's very different from herself, from Z'rell - softspoken and preoccupied by the endless collection of growing things that drape the walls and shelves of this house.

She isn't really sure what to make of his comments about Jaheira. Then again, she has no memory of a mother to compare Jaheira to. "I've found her to be... firm but fair," she says carefully.

Jaheira barks a laugh. "You see? This one is well-trained," she tells Jord, raising an eyebrow at him. "I have no need for you any more, faithless boy."

Rakha eyes Jord curiously, wondering how he will take this gibe - but he just rolls his eyes and laughs. "Oh, save your fangs for someone who thinks you might actually use them," he says, equally dry.

Lounging back on his heels, he folds his arms. "I've only seen her truly angry once," he tells Rakha. "We were down the market when I was about nine years old. Some merchant started in with the usual - 'Yes, but where's your family? Whose son are you really?'" His smile flickers just slightly, and out of the corner of her eye Rakha can see Jaheira's eyes have gone hard. Then the moment passes, and both of them relax. "When mother was done with him," Jord finishes, "well, let's say he won't have any sons of his own to worry about."

Jaheira snorts. "Hmph. Nature's law in action."

Rakha isn't sure she follows all of this - but one bit sticks out. Jaheira saw someone attempting to judge Jord (as a boy) by his parentage - and she put a stop to that immediately. The implication - he was her son, all other history be damned.

Rakha finds herself somewhat comforted by that idea.

-----

"A fine day to you, saer! Are you known to this court?"

Unfortunately for Jhessem, Rakha's pretty baffled by this introduction. "Court?" she asks uncertainly. "Like a court of law?"

The girl rolls her eyes dramatically. "Ugh. A ruffian has breached the manor! I shall have the girl at the door beaten, her hair pulled!"

Rakha shoots Jaheira a bewildered look; the older woman just chuckles. "Jhessem discovered an old family tree in my study. We haven't had a moment's peace since."

"Tethyrian nobility!" Jhessem says excitedly. "You might be royalty, Jaheira!" She lifts her chin self-importantly. "You don't want to be queen, of course, and Rion curses to much. So it would have to be me."

"Careful, girl," Jaheira says dryly. "They have a habit of taking against tyrants there."

"Bah, I'm not a tyrant!" Jhessem says indignantly. "If any one calls me one, I'll have Fig chop their head off!"

-----

Speaking of Fig...

"Commander!"

"Spare me your salutes, you little traitor." Jaheira's words are harsh but her tone is lighter. She has straightened a little, the way Rakha has seen her do before battle leading the Harpers. She gets the impression this is a deliberate act that Fig has seen before. "You walked me right into that ambush."

"Sorry, Commander," Fig says with exaggerated penitence - but a smile flashes onto her lips at once afterwards. "You *are* my commander, but Jord promised me pies."

Jaheira laughs sharply. "Hm. I can't fault your priorities." Her expression grows more sober. "You'll look after them for me?"

Fig narrows her eyes hopefully. "Can I have a real sword?"

"No," Jaheira says.

Fig sighs. "Hm. Fine..."

-----

And of course my favorite of the kiddo conversations... Tate.

I think Rakha has just sort of bemusedly been following Jaheira through these conversations, trying to take in all the details and not look too much like the hulking terror that she feels herself to be. So I like to think that Jaheira specifically noticed Tate was missing all the way downstairs and deliberately peeled off to go find him, with the others trailing behind. And she visibly relaxes, relieved, to find him in the kids' bedroom:

"I hope you were hibernating, little cub," she says, uncharacteristically soft. "I can't think of another reason you wouldn't come down to say hello."

The little boy jumps nervously at the unexpected voice, and then his eyes go very big and wide and he starts to tremble with barely restrained emotion. "Jaheira!" he squeaks. "I d-didn't... didn't w-want to see. If you were r-really dead... They said..."

Jaheira lifts one eyebrow. "Who said?"

"Jord and Rion," the boy mumbles. "They didn't think I c-could hear..."

Jaheira's expression twists briefly and Rakha registers abruptly that it is taking her a great deal of effort to keep a calm smile on her face. "You little sneak-thief,"Jaheira says gently. "Well - they were wrong. Look! Not dead. I just... had a few adventures. Like..."

She trails off, and a moment's panic flashes through her eyes. She shoots a glance at Rakha, and Rakha realizes - with her own flash of panic - that she is being asked to contribute to the conversation. A story of their adventures, something to comfort the boy.

Rakha does not feel capable of comforting anyone, least of all this nervous creature to whom Jaheira speaks more softly than Rakha has ever witnessed before.

Shrug.

She opens her mouth, then closes it again and raises and lowers one shoulder helplessly. Jaheira raises an eyebrow at her in muted exasperation, then shrugs back and crouches down to the boy's eye level.

"Well, it doesn't matter," she says hastily, ruffling Tate's hair. "Because coming home is the best part." Tate relaxes and smiles a little bit. "Now, cub," Jaheira goes on gently. "Solitude is a wonderful thing - but not too much. Come downstairs and fight with your sisters."

Tate turns obediently to leave the room - then hesitates. "Wait," he mumbles nervously. "Here." Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a small, shiny object which he holds out in Jaheira's direction. "I was... keeping this. Safe."

Jaheira takes the object and turns it in her fingers with a rueful laugh. "My Harper pin." She raises an eyebrow at Tate pointedly, lips twitching. "Was a certain little sneak-thief playing down in my sanctuary?"

"N- no," Tate says sheepishly, and darts off.

-----

Jaheira looks at the pin in her hand for a long time, unmoving. Then she lifts her head and looks at Rakha thoughtfully. A hundred thoughts seem to pass behind her eyes in rapid succession, but in the end she only shrugs.

"This Harper pin opens more doors than most," she says idly, and passes it into Rakha's hand. "Come down to my study and see if you can figure it out."

She knows Rakha's instinct for curiosity, for finding answers, solving puzzles. It's yet another subtle welcoming gesture, another offer of trust. Sanctuary, she called the place this pin unlocks.

Rakha finds herself possessed of a sudden wild vision of herself - as the violent child she apparently once was - growing up in this house, with Jaheira's eyes on her, guiding her as she has guided that frightened boy, and the headstrong girl downstairs. Would things have been different? Would it have changed anything?

Perhaps not. Perhaps they simply would have died, just like the family that actually took her in. Perhaps Rakha's knife would just have found a different set of throats.

And yet... the vision is comforting, in a strange way she can't articulate, even to herself.