#they all get jobs at 16 - non-negotiable

[livwritesstuff]

So I’ve made a few references to Steve being an Excel guy as an adult (because someone had to be in charge of Steve and Eddie’s money and it certainly wasn’t going to be Eddie).

He’s got the classic spreadsheets – monthly budget, college savings projections, income tracking because he and Eddie both work jobs with variable incomes (Steve is a counselor and Eddie is an author), the whole nine yards.

Steve also has some “extracurricular” spreadsheets. I’ve talked about how Steve has a spreadsheet tracking the combinations of Mario Kart racers/vehicles he tries out (there’s a ranking system involved, it’s very complex). He’s got one for his fantasy football league, obviously, and he and Moe put money on their March Madness brackets so there’s a spreadsheet for that too.

Eddie’s personal favorite is the one comparing monthly expenses by kid, which isn’t exactly a necessary metric per se, but from it stems a game Steve and Eddie secretly play: who is the most expensive Harrington daughter?

The winner tends to rotate throughout the year, but Hazel is usually their least expensive child in the long run. She does ballet, which isn’t too bad when she’s little but then she graduates to pointe shoes, and Steve had no idea that not only do pointe shoes set you back $100 minimum, they also wear out ridiculously fast, and, as he’s been told many times, you can’t wear the dead ones.

Moe usually takes that top spot in the winter – elite basketball teams aren’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination, and then in high school she gets into snowboarding, which is somehow even more expensive. She’s also consistently the reason they hit their health insurance deductible every year. 

Robbie is their overall most expensive kid by a mile. She drove up their car insurance by getting into an accident a month after she got her driver's license, had braces for five years, and the prescription on her glasses has changed every eighteen months since she was seven. She’s notorious for breaking her phone, so she racks up quite a tab in that regard too (the one year they got a protection plan was also the one year she had no phone-related incidents, so they didn’t even bother renewing it – they just make her suffer with a cracked screen for a few months before they finally drag her to the mall to get it fixed). There’s also the year Eddie bought her an electric violin which was, naturally, not cheap (Eddie argues it shouldn’t count because he was the brains behind that operation).

[thedartingandsprinting]

Natsuo Todoroki hasn't changed

Since he was introduced, I have always considered Natsuo troublesome for his family. He doesn't respect Rei and Fuyumi's choices to forgive Enji. He spreads the false rumours that Toya said to him as a kid. Despite Enji already atoning, Natsuo gets aggressive with him, stressing out the whole family and preventing them from healing.

As the manga reached its finale, I hoped that Natsuo would realise he was going down a dangerous path and apologise for his mistakes. However, this turned out not to be the case. Natsuo hasn't changed and is set to turn out like his father, if not worse.

When it comes to stopping Toya, the Todoroki family is inconsistent with their choices. At first, the family's civilians remained safe, and the heroes were allowed to do their jobs. Otherwise, they could get into legal trouble for vigilantism. It doesn't matter how personal the stakes are. Additionally, Shoto could focus on his fight with Dabi and not worry about his loved ones.

Natsuo fulfils his promise at first, remaining in the shelter and keeping his sister safe.

It was reckless enough when Rei got involved in Toya's fight. Then, Natsuo and Fuyumi had to disobey their mother. Three civilians had stuck their noses in hero work. Luckily, it all ended well in the end.

Who knows, this plan change could be better in the long term. They are in the middle of a war, and sometimes, you can't wait for legal permission. The ice users have no hero training but could negotiate as the criminal's family. Natsuo claims he is the closest to Toya, so he must step up the most here.

For a brief moment, Natsuo seems he is on the right track. He remembers the night when Toya called the women "useless", and he refused to refute it. He enabled Toya for too long and now Natsuo must take responsibility.

Instead, he unhelpfully insults Toya. Where is Natsuo admitting his own guilt? Where is his meaningful speech? He hardly tries for the brother he claimed to be close to and enabled.

This is why non-professionals getting involved was a bad idea. He could have angered Toya further and made everything more dangerous.

After this brief line to Toya, Natsuo gives up on negotiating. Instead, he focuses on using his untrained quirk and trying to overpower Toya. This could have been disastrous.

When Shoto finally defeats Toya, Natsuo makes his loyalties known. He doesn't rush to check on Toya, who is likely dead. Instead, he keeps his distance. Natsuo is simply flunking his duties.

Natsuo doesn't even acknowledge or thank Shoto for saving everyone. It is Fuyumi who speaks up.

Despite having his thoughts, Natsuo doesn't say any of them aloud. He completely ignores his villainous brother dying on the ground and the complicated history that led to this point.

Enji's apologies revealed the bitter truth about Natsuo. He had it the easiest out of the entire Todoroki family. Enji and Shoto have put their lives countless times on the line to save them. Rei has spent ten years in a mental hospital. Fuyumi had to do the housework and keep the family together from a young age.

Meanwhile, Natsuo can fulfil his dreams at college, get a girlfriend and barely phone home. It is time for him to do his fair share and do some emotional labour. He can ease the load of his loved ones. However, he selfishly makes them do all the heavy lifting.

Even after his 16-year-old brother faints, Natsuo doesn't move to check on him. Toya is one thing, but Shoto is the most innocent one of all.

Even at the lowest possible point, Natsuo can't help but insult Enji: "Mom and Fuyumi had enough heat for one day." He indirectly throws shade on Shoto as well, just because he has a fire quirk.

Worst of all, Natsuo demands that Enji continue fighting despite losing his arm and having third-degree burns. Ignoring the family aspect momentarily, Natsuo is incredibly ungrateful as a civilian towards a serving hero.

After the war, the Todoroki family visit Toya in the hospital. Despite his brother dying and everyone being scarred, Natsuo just coldly stares. Rei and Fuyumi pipe up, but the thirdborn thinks he can ignore the past.

Worst of all, Natsuo decides to make it all about him and suddenly announces he is disowning Enji. Is he going to abandon his mother to look after his wheelchair-bound father? Will he ignore all the effort that Enji has put into atoning?

A child unnecessarily disowning their parent will leave an emotional scar on their very soul.

Has Natsuo reflected on everyone's part in the family's dysfunctionality? Does he not understand how sociopathic Toya was as a child and responsible for his parents' poor mental health? He remembers that Toya called the women "useless", but he doesn't acknowledge all the other horrible things Toya did.

Will Natsuo be a hypocrite and not disown the relatives who sold off his mother?

Despite Natsuo's stinging words at Enji, he gives him emotional whiplash by praising him. Deep down, Natsuo knows Enji deserves better, and he wants a connection with his father. However, he is overtaken by childish stubbornness and pettyness. Natsuo is the only person preventing Fuyumi's dream of their family being complete and he is denying her that. He is holding everyone back. He is a coward and ungrateful.

I'm seriously convinced that Natsuo will continue the cycle of abuse. He is already making the same mistake of marrying at the young age of twenty.

I'm wondering what Natsuo's girlfriend feels about this. Why did she agree to never meet her father-in-law? Why did she agree to a non-ceremonial wedding? Did she agree that her future children would never know their grandfather? She looks like she has a shy personality, and I wonder if Natsuo likes to take advantage of that. Is he controlling towards her?

What will his attitude be towards his future children? What if they become curious about their family history? What if they have fire quirks? What if they look exactly like Enji?

I fear that Natsuo will become like Kotaro Shimura, Shigaraki's father. If this happens, the ice user would be worse than Enji. Endeavour lost his father at a young age and didn't have a good example for his own parenting. Meanwhile, Natsuo has a long history to learn from. Multiple loved ones are reaching out to him and begging him to heal. Natsuo should know better, yet he chooses to fester on his grudges and potentially carry on the abusive cycle.

Natsuo already has a fierce temper and a habit of hitting things. How long before it turns from objects to real people?

[total-drama-brainrot]

TD World Tour AU, where Noah is Chris’s Assistant from the start of World Tour, instead of a contestant ... Alejandro tries to charm Noah, like Alejandro had charmed Chef, but Noah is immune to his charms... What if Assistant Noah still told Owen that Alejandro is like 'an eel dipped in grease' and Alejandro CAN'T get rid of Assistant Noah for saying that?... Would they have a weird frenemy relationship for the rest of the show?... With Alejandro sometimes teasingly flirting with Noah, like he does with Heather? 😘

In my take on an Assistant Noah AU, Noah would be entirely immune to Alejandro's charm, not because he's switched on to The Archvillain's true colours (which, he is, but I digress) but because Assistant Noah is The Saltiest Bitch.

-

Imagine with me, for a moment, that you've landed yourself a pretty sweet gig; you're the personal assistant of an A-list celebrity who's only real job at the moment is hosting and directing one (1) reality TV show. The pay is really good and the job itself comes with a tonne of benefits, plus it's the perfect position for you to develop networks within the business (Noah canonically mentions "working his way up this 'biz", implying he has a desire to continue in the field of showbusiness).

Now imagine with me that said celebrity is Chris McLean, renown sadist and all-around disaster of a man. This guy absolutely pawns off the majority of his work onto you, meaning it falls onto your shoulders to; corral the on-set interns into some semblance of competency, make sure that each challenge is properly set up and ready to go, make sure Chris himself is set up and ready to go, and put up with regular coffee run requests. That's a lot of work for one 16~17 year old, even if you are a certified genius.

You're overworked, sleep-deprived and two seconds away from snapping at the nearest intern at any given moment.

And then, during the filming of the latest season, the guy you hand picked to star in the non-existent "Total Drama Dirtbags" (mostly because he was better looking than his brother, who also applied) tries to charm and flirt his way into you giving him advantages in the competition- or at the very least, trick you into divulging information on their next challenge. It's as if he thinks you're somehow not aware of the fact that he's a total scumbag, despite knowing you work on the show and therefore have seen both his acts of sabotage and the confessions in which he plots them.

Suffice to say, you're kind of insulted. I mean, really? Flirting? You don't even have time for something as trivial as a relationship, or even a fling! There's challenges to set up, international negotiations to suffer through, and unpaid interns to boss around- your schedule's booked!

And yet he keeps flirting with you, even after you've snubbed him multiple times. At this point you're pretty sure it's become a point of wounded pride for him, instead of the game tactic it started as; after all, his charms have worked on pretty much everyone on the cast, what makes you so different?

Eventually, as the herd thins, you decide to warn your best friend (who's somehow miraculously remained in the competition, despite his 'team leader's' obvious dislike of him) about Alejandro's less-than-noble intentions. Owen misconstrues your selfless act of solidarity as a sign of jealousy, or god forbid 'denial of your feelings', towards Alejandro. Which, what? No, that's not it at all! The one time you try to be a good friend and this is how you're repaid?

Alejandro overhears this, unfortunately, and seems to take the fact that you're not fooled by his obviously fake mask as some sort of personal affront. Of course, as the person who's essentially running the show, there's not much he can do to you besides carry on being the nuisance he is- which is exactly what he does, but more.

Suddenly, his flirting from before seems like nothing, because now he's really trying to get under your skin with that same plastic charm; it's like he took the dial to his natural flirtatiousness and turned it to eleven. It's annoying. And worse, it's getting in the way of your work flow.

You'd love to stage his elimination, but you know the public outcry from his untimely departure from the show would outweigh the relief of being rid of him, so you resolve to do as you have been; ignoring Alejandro until he gets bored. (That's easier said than done- he's really good at getting under your skin, like the thorns on a rose bush.)

To make matters Even Worse, your elusive appearances on the show- as Chris' personal assistant it would be impossible to avoid the cameras entirely, but you'd bribed the editing team to cut as much of your unwitting footage from the final edit as they could- paired with your 'entertaining dynamic' with Alejandro has the viewers clambering for more, so now you're obligated to act as a de facto co-host alongside your boss.

So now you're stuck having to at least acknowledge Alejandro, if only to give the editors something to work with. Great.

-

At least, that's what my take on an Assistant Noah AU would entail.🤷‍♀️

[cosmic-metanoia]

Femininity Concepts in FFXVI

***Spoilers for Final Fantasy XVI***

Well, here I am again, now focusing on the female characters.

Like I did in the previous post, I will focus on the female Dominants first then highlight some secondary characters that really stood out.

*Jill - Come on, we gotta start with our beloved gal. She demonstrates this silent but strong (and even fearsome) spirit. She's very supportive of Clive but is not afraid to voice her opinions. She possesses a natural elegance and grace but demonstrates her fierce capabilities on the battlefield. She has a knack for negotiation and relating to others. We really see her unveil her dark side when she confronts her past head on in the Iron Kingdom. What's fantastic is that she asked for Clive's support and understanding but made it clear that she would be the one to face off against the Crystalline Orthodoxy's head priest (his name escapes me). Jill may not always make background commentary but her words are carefully selected and measured.

*Benedikta - She is your classic femme fatale that plays with men to further advance her position. Yet the one who she is in a love/hate relationship with is the one she can't have. She is ferocious yet what makes her different is that she contains this hidden sorrow and just wants to be genuinely loved. The way she frantically panicked when she lost her Eikon honestly brought tears to my eyes. She ended up with the wrong crowd and played this game of political chess in a room full of powerful men yet she instantly realized how useless she was to them in that moment of losing her most valuable piece.

*Side note: Let's hope that Leviathan the Lost is another female Eikon when the DLC hits in the next few months!! <3

*Jote - Okay, this awesome woman is HIGHLY underrated! She is incredibly enigmatic and we learn so much about her from the thoughts of other characters but never from her own lips! Initially players may brush her off as some unimportant maid servant but we see that she is so much more - a shield, a formidable fighter (though never witnessed!), a healer, a scout, etc. She's basically doing the jobs of Tarja, Clive, and Gav wrapped up in one! Yet her eyes give away her feelings towards Joshua and especially when she frets over his health. Yes, she longs for him but what makes it unique is that she loves him for who he is, not for what benefits his Eikon brings to the Undying that worships him.

*Mid - A freakin' prodigy. I mean, she is the head of the hideaway engineers! An occupation that is stereotypically masculine. She is 100% focused on her tasks and is not your typical 16 year old gal for sure. Her genius inventions, zest for life, and fast-talking mannerisms has all of the hideaway family wrapped around her finger (true, also because she is Cid's daughter). That whole scene with Joshua kneeling to kiss her hand upon meeting her cracked me up - she's the last woman who requires a chivalrous display but what I love is how she laughed and pulled him up and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

*Charon - What can I say, this woman does not take s--- from ANYONE. She's even intimidating to some of the men at the hideaway which is absolutely hilarious. She is a hardened woman that commands respect but has her softer side which takes time to reveal. Money is on her mind but eventually she learns that there should be more to life - using her abilities as a cunning merchant to help a cause greater than herself.

*Tarja - Like Charon, she also does not accept any B.S. and takes her job as the non-magical physicker very seriously. What's great is that she isn't a nurse but the actual (and only) doctor of the hideaway. Her extensive knowledge is incredibly valuable and the hideaway would definitely not have survived without her.

*Vivian - A woman held in high-esteem who is so focused on the garnering of knowledge that she even gets targeted by assassins. Her intelligence certainly tips the scales in favor of the Cursebreakers to gain the upper hand.

*Anabella - I have a huge post written about her but I figure it's worth mentioning a particular aspect. She possesses quite the evil ambitions and is able to persuade not just the theocratic Sanbrequois emperor but powerful men from other nations - NOT just through her looks but through her conniving strategies. She longs for a powerful legacy forged by the greatest possible noble blood and even views herself as the prized breeding cow.

Some other examples of different aspects of female characters include: Eloise who is an astute businesswoman who conducted deals and contracts while her brother Theodore (sob) became her trusted porter; Martha who is the tough protector of Martha's Rest - the Rosarians put their trust and faith in her; the same with the Northreach residents when it came to Isabelle. What's great about her is that she is a courtesan but we see her blossom into a strong and trustworthy leader that many held in high esteem.

Even the stoic Dorys is the commander of a Cursebreakers squad.

I love how the story had female characters each with their own drives and ambitions whether they were motivated by a just cause or for evil reasons.

[chaifootsteps]

I just don't get how Viv expects anyone to believe that she cares about being careful how she represents SA when she has:

made a sex joke when talking about the visuals that accompany Poison

allegedly not even put trigger warnings on what looks to be an incredibly graphic rape scene in a show with a 16+ rating

decided Blitzo is in the wrong when Stolas coerced him into a sex for services deal to keep his job going when he was being shot at, just because she decided to change tack halfway through and make them a couple

liked a Tweet saying Blitzo could have just 'negotiated his way out' of having sex with Stolas, despite Stolas having all the power and being a Prince (major yikes, don't know why that didn't get more pushback)

has a long history on HB at this point of depicting powerful people as being the sympathetic ones who need protection from the evil, vindictive poors who ought to be happy with their lot in life and not complain when the rich want to use them for their own benefit (which could easily be projection at this point given Viv's habit of using and discarding people with less privilege and social capital than her)

has a long history of misogynistic writing on HB where most female characters are either the Missing Mom Saint or else they're bitches or monsters (in other words, the Madonna-whore complex). The one exception is Millie who is the most underwritten character by far, and Loona who is constantly sexualized by the fandom and is barely even a character by s2

portrays abuse solely through the vector of 'who do I want the audience to feel sorry for because I like them?'

promoted a pin set with Angel and Husk being chained up by Val and Alastor, and acted like it's 'just an angst thing'

allegedly allowed Raph to storyboard the Poison sequence despite knowing they ship Angel and Val and maybe aren't the best choice if she wanted to avoid making this sequence just exploitative and shocking?

either outed Raph has having been a victim of SA, or lied about it since it contradicts Raph's earlier statements. it's hard to believe she got permission to say this when it came out in the middle of an ongoing Twitter slapfight

this sort of thing is exactly why people say her work is like fanfic. it's not only the 'shrew Stella stereotype', it's the insistence on shoehorning in dark themes and then handling them with all the grace and sensitivity of a 13 year old. it's the exact same impulse as the non stop swearing - it's wanting to be seen as adult in the most childish way possible.

if she really cares about SA and how it's represented - don't let someone who clearly has a history of drawing Angel being graphically abused be involved in the making of scenes including Angel and Val! (You managed it for Addict, what the heck happened??) Don't throw a temper tantrum, step back and think about what you're actually saying and what message you're sending to your young audience! Do the bare minimum courtesy of having TWs for the one thing pretty much universally agreed should have a TW!

but I don't think Viv will do any of that, because I think she cares more about being seen as a genius flawless writer than she does her audience or any actual victims of SA who don't agree that the way the show goes about it is good.

the problem is not Angel Dust or his being hypersexual.

the problem is Viv and Raph

Couldn't have said it better.

[letstalktag]

If Studios Won’t Support a Celebrity Project, They Won’t Support the Rest of Us.

Any excuses we make for why shows we don’t like fail don’t matter. “If they wanted it to stay on, they should’ve made it good lol”, “Maybe next time they’ll make something people actually like lmao”

There won’t be a next time. As CEOs are rapidly replaced with finance-minded men who don’t care about the craft and don’t have experience in any creative fields, the will to invest in good, long-form media with good, long-form stories shrinks.

These men want viral, instant success to show their shareholders, and every dollar they “save” by cutting productions and low-key union busting goes straight into their own pockets in the form of bonuses.

The insidious formula currently in use, following Netflix’s lead, is these companies order one season (~16-24 episodes) from an animation studio, split it into two or three short seasons for streaming, market it to death to gain new subscribers, and then cancel the show.

This means that they don’t order a new season from the animation studios, which legally obligated the entire crew to a small pay raise, and also tricks new subscribers into staying on their platform. The data shows that most people will allow passive subscriptions to continue, even if they hardly use the service, because it’s more convenient to ‘just have it.’ So these shows, in essence, are not being viewed as shows by the streaming companies. They’re 16 episode ads to convince you to sign up for the streaming companies, and everyone who cares about the shows, and the stories, and the characters we love, gets laid off and spends the next several months (at best!) looking for a new job.

Now, with the threats of automating our storytelling and the active practice of exploiting our non-union neighbors, unemployment in nearly every creative field is at an all-time high. We need animation fans, industry hopefuls, and fellow professionals all over the world to stand with us, to give creatives a future and make this industry a better place for all of us.

To learn more about The Animation Guild Negotiations 2024, head over to https://www.tagnegotiations2024.com

And remember to #StandWithAnimation !

[stainedglassandpigs]

Working on some stuff about the timeline for my Dc Universe and how it maps out, I want to get all my favs in it. This is semi based on my knowledge of the dc universe and shit that makes me happy so pls walk with me here with some of this

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This all takes place in Modern times 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Clark Kent went to metropolis university for journalism on a football scholarship, doesn’t play every game but is a valuable player who brings a southern charm to the city, flashing a corn bread feed smile that has the stadiums cheering load when he does make an appearance on the field. Was more notable in his university’s student paper than on the field, bringing a sense of warmth and community to sports section that many non-sports fans once neglected, not to mention his foodie column were he galavants about the city trying new local ma and pop shops giving beautiful pieces on the history of his meals and small looks into the lives and culture that made the dish. Unfortunately for his every building fans the young bull does not have any public forms of social media, a very not chronological online individual

Lex Luther notorious son of the Luthor Corp Conglomerate who took leave form the socialite scene for a few years seemingly making a return to the city, paparazzi have spotted him at all his old local hang outs,but what’s really caught the eye and attention of the people of Metropolis is his recent knew found vigor for the sciences. The young Luther being seen brushing up with top geneticist and rumors in the streets say leading cloning biologists as well, perhaps Luthor corp is switching from their roots of Tec and into Bio only time will tell. On another more trivial note the seemingly reformed party boy has been seen in the stands of Metropolis University football stadium, perhaps a new love interest has entered the young billionaires life. Very chronically online and constantly trending for arguing with people over subjects he’s stupidly well versed in but no one cares because he’s so annoying about it they just wanna tell piss him off. The #cancellexluthor is a mainstay for the twitter trending page.

Diana prince does not have an alter ego she does not feel the need, and it’s very hard to hide her supernatural origins as a 6’8 woman with glorious gleaming muscles and an accent for a language that has not been spoken in the human world for centuries. Although the international people’s princess does not need a job she does enjoy working at a Smithsonian negotiating the return of stolen artifacts from around the world to their proper homeland, meeting a certain Barbara Minerva who causes the demigod to giggle a little to hard at jokes the other archaeologist and anthropologist don’t seem to find as funny. The world knows her as Wonder Woman powerful heroine and Ambassador to the mysterious Themyscria were her triplet sister rules (people think it’s a cultural thing when Queen Nubia call Diana sister, little do they know she’s being deadass).

(unfortunately I am a Percy Jackson kid so I fear I do like the Zeus Daughter route I beg forgiveness my sisters I know, I have seen Hades as a lovely replacement, and the streets say it’s lazy and over done and takes away for the female centric story that is Diana so perhaps Athena or Aphrodite would make a good replacement to Zeus, but I fear I am not letting go of the daughter of goddess (god) bit

Bruce Wayne has recently returned to Gotham city a decade after the tragic passing of his parents the young heir has reportedly been running His family business since being able to legal inherit it at 16. The young man seems to be making a name for himself in manny different areas of the city, some say he’s a jerk, some says he’s the sweetest thing since apple pie the verdict is still out for the young heir. The paparazzi having great difficulty capturing the young man one minute they have the perfect shot of him walking out of the Synagogue his family once attended together the next he’s vanished and being reported seen going into a high brow event with the next top model on his arm. They say he will be an attendees for this years met gala the public’s has begun buzzing with excitement. In an unrelated note crime in the city of Gotham has had an unusual new bump in the night, no one knows what to think of this new string of beaten up blue mobsters found laying every which way in the streets.

[mercurymusing]

The inverse of this that doesn't come up as often but is usually fairly central to arguments by landlord apologists, is that being a landlord is actually a job.

There's work involved! Actual, non-negotiable labor, which is inherent to the role! Bear with me a minute, the first part of this is going to be a bit of devil's advocacy. I promise it's relevant.

(Sticking this under a break because it got a bit long)

Housing requires a lot of maintenance. Things break or need to be replaced, or just need to be cleaned occasionally so they don't break sooner. Landscaping needs maintenance. Admin work like paying taxes and utilities has to be done. Taking rent isn't a free action, you've got to process payments. Finding tenants takes work, more if you're being picky and doing exclusionary background checks. Evicting people definitely takes work, even if you do it when they aren't home and even if they don't try to fight it. Hiring someone else to do any of this requires a different kind of work. You've got to find someone to hire, you've got to direct them, you've got to make sure they're doing the work properly, you've got to pay them, etc

Being a shitty landlord doesn't get you out of it either! You can avoid some of the work by doing a bad job at it, but at a certain point you've got to go paint over all the outlets between tenants. Some types of property might take less work per tenant, e.g. a house versus an apartment building, but if you have more tenants the work multiplies. If you've got an hour of "work" a week per tenant and you've got 40 tenants, that's a full time job.

It's very easy to be a slumlord who actively and consistently works as many hours a week as any of your tenants. Having a "job" or doing "work" doesn't make you a good person.

But maybe that labor could justify it all? In an ideal world, the rent you pay to a landlord would be commensurate with the service provided. What that might look like:

Say you're renting a one bedroom house on its own lot. This is probably the highest maintenance and lowest rent per tenant type of property. It's the easiest to calculate, anyway.

It costs a certain amount to keep a property in good condition and livable. Taxes, the cost of appliances that need to be replaced, utilities, etc. Call that the baseline, that you'd be paying personally even if you owned the place. House maintenance costs are usually estimated as a percentage of value, as are property taxes. We'll say 3% overall. A one bedroom house in my city is going for like $350k these days, but we'll say this house is worth $300k, which gives us $9000 in annual costs or $750 a month. Add in utilities, say $800 a month as baseline.

Say the landlord stops by like once a week to mow the lawn or replace a light bulb or whatever. They've got to winter proof every year and paint every few years, etc. For the sake of argument let's say they spend 4 hours a week. That's 16 hours a month, let's give them $20/hr. Labor cost: $320

That puts your rent at $1140. Checking Zillow, I'm seeing some absurdly sketchy rentals at $1150 and some okay ones at closer to $1500. We're in the right range, anyway.

The thing is, the injustice and evil of landlords isn't that some people don't own their homes.

Renting is fine! Renting is great, actually, for a lot of people. If you're disabled and can't care for a property on your own, or you're living somewhere long term but not permanently (for school or work or just to travel), or even just because you don't want to. Universal home ownership isn't a great idea either. That's how you get endless suburban sprawl.

The problem isn't even that there are private landlords. Public housing is great, but there are entirely ethical ways for private property owners to provide housing. Running a boarding house isn't evil, nor is renting out a space you aren't using but will use in the future.

There's a hidden inequality within the capitalist framework we live in that undermines the demonstration above, and then there's the more fundamental violation of the basic human right to shelter.

For the first:

Note that any single house rental properties not owned by a larger property management company will probably have a mortgage! That drives up the cost of rent, of course, but the real issue is that the owner is building equity with every payment. If your rent is $1500 a month and the landlord is paying an $1100 mortgage, you're not just paying them for the service of maintaining a living space for you to use. You're outright buying them a house. You'll spend ten years making monthly payments and at the end have as much as you started with. They'll have the property.

And property is capital is power. If you're in an area where the value of real estate increases over time, then just owning a property you can sell later earns you a profit. Even if you don't sell it, you can use it as collateral to convince people to give you more money to spend. "Look, I need $500k to buy a house. If I don't make my payments, you can keep the new house. I'll definitely be able to make payments, because I can just sell this other house in an emergency." Then you've got a property you own outright and you can rent the new one out so that someone else makes the payments for you. And you're not going to lower the monthly rent on the first place, of course, even if you don't have to pay as much each month now that the mortgage is gone.

You can offset this benefit somewhat by lowering rent, if you want to try to balance the value you provide to your renters. "Hey. It costs me $X to own this property each month. I'll do $Y amount of maintenance work for you each month. My equity in this property increases by $Z each month. If you pay $[X+Y-Z] every month you can live here." This is about as fair as you can get, and it can be done. Small scale landlords, like someone who inherits a second home and rents it out, are usually closer to this ideal then the big corporate types.

The fundamental problem with landlords is that housing isn't an optional service. It's not a nice to have, where you only get it if it's available at a reasonable price. Housing is a basic need, which makes it a basic right under any worthwhile moral framework.

If public housing was freely available and private landlords were a luxury option, they'd be free to be as awful as they could get away with and still find customers. If a restaurant is filthy and the service is bad, nobody goes there if they can eat somewhere else. But because there's no alternative, landlords will always find customers, no matter how awful they are.

If we can't establish sufficient alternative housing options, then the solution is to control how awful landlords are allowed to be. This isn't because we think they're dicks and want them to suffer. The point of housing regulations is to protect the people who live there, because they can't go anywhere else. Tenant rights are essential.

The problem with landlords as a class is that because they have property, they have capital, and they have power. They use this power to create systems which elevate landlord rights as property owners over the rights of their tenants. More fundamentally, they build systems which elevate the right to own property over more basic rights such as shelter.

Failing to pay rent is a violation of an agreement you have with your landlord. They have provided a service, which you haven't compensated them for. Does this justify removing your access to housing? Or preventing you from obtaining housing in the first place? Are these harms really equal? The landlord thinks so, so the systems they build think so.

An analogy though. You bump someone's car in a parking lot and leave a scratch and dent. It will cost them $500 to get fixed. You've harmed them by damaging their property. How much harm are they allowed to deal you in return? A beating? Do they get to cut off your hand? Do they get to kill you, fast or slow?

Do they get to kick you out of your home, for the week of minimum wage profit they've lost?

message to all leftists: understand that landlords are bad because they are extorting you in exchange for a basic necessity of survival, not because they are "lazy" or "don't have real jobs"

[hire4]

Babysitter Near Me: The Cost of Quality Childcare in Your Area

When it comes to finding a "babysitter near me," many parents are quickly discovering that the cost of quality childcare is as varied as the caregivers themselves. It's a dance between budget and best care, with numerous factors playing into the final figure. In this post, we'll explore the multifaceted world of babysitting costs in your area and provide insights into how to balance financial constraints with the well-being of your children. Visit us on Hire 4 for more details.

Understanding the Landscape of Babysitting Costs

The search for a "babysitter near me" often begins with a simple question: "How much does it cost?" The answer, however, is anything but simple. Rates can fluctuate based on geography, experience, the number of children, and additional responsibilities the sitter might take on. According to recent statistics, the national average rate for babysitting is around $16-18 per hour, but this can soar upwards of $25 or more in high-cost-of-living cities.

Factors That Influence Babysitting Rates

Location, Location, Location:

Just as with real estate, location is king in determining the cost of babysitting. Urban centers where the cost of living is high will often have higher babysitting rates compared to rural areas. It's supply and demand at play; more competition and higher living costs drive up wages.

Experience Counts:

A babysitter’s experience is a critical determinant of their hourly rate. A high school student looking for a part-time job might charge less than a professional nanny with certifications in childcare and years of experience. You're not just paying for their time; you're investing in their expertise.

The Number of Children:

It stands to reason that watching over multiple children requires more work and, therefore, commands a higher rate. Some sitters charge a base rate for one child and add a few dollars per hour for each additional child.

Specialized Care:

If your child has special needs or requires extra attention, the cost will reflect that. Specialized care often necessitates additional training and a higher level of vigilance, both of which merit higher compensation.

The Hidden Costs Behind the Hourly Rate

When evaluating the cost of a "babysitter near me," it's essential to consider the less obvious elements that add value to the service provided. This includes the sitter's time spent preparing activities, the potential for emergency handling, and their willingness to adapt to the unique needs of your family.

How to Gauge the Going Rate in Your Area

To understand what constitutes a fair price for a "babysitter near me," start by researching local rates. Online platforms, community boards, and social media groups can provide a wealth of information. Additionally, asking fellow parents about their experiences and costs can offer valuable benchmarks.

Balancing Cost with Quality

Prioritize Your Non-Negotiables:

Determine what qualities are essential in a babysitter for your peace of mind. Is it first aid training, experience with children of a certain age, or a background check? Decide what you're willing to pay extra for and what you can live without.

Seek Out Recommendations:

Often, the best babysitters come via word-of-mouth. A recommended sitter might be slightly pricier, but the added trust and often-improved quality can be worth the extra dollars.

Consider Flexible Arrangements:

If cost is a major concern, think about flexible arrangements. Sharing a sitter with another family, hiring a "mother's helper" who assists while you're home, or trading off babysitting with neighbors can cut down on expenses.

Is High Cost Synonymous with High Quality?

Not necessarily. A higher rate doesn’t always guarantee a better babysitter. While you often get what you pay for, there are many babysitters who may charge less but still provide loving and reliable care. It’s all about finding the right balance and ensuring that your child’s safety and well-being are the top priority.

The Long-Term Investment in Quality Childcare

Investing in a quality "babysitter near me" is not just a short-term expense; it’s about the long-term developmental environment of your child. A great babysitter can become a role model, a teacher, and a significant part of your child's life. The peace of mind that comes with knowing your children are in good hands is priceless.

Conclusion

The quest to find a quality "babysitter near me" will inevitably involve a discussion about cost. It's essential to remember that the price of babysitting services is not merely an expense but an investment in your child’s care and your own peace of mind. By understanding the factors that influence babysitting rates and knowing your family's priorities, you can make an informed decision that balances cost with quality, ensuring that your little ones are in the best hands when you step out the door. Read more of our blogs for a better understanding here: https://hire4.com/blog/.

[blouisparadise]

We frequently get asked what our members favorite fics are, so for today’s rec list, we asked each member of BLP to choose FIVE favorite fics for this list - no repeats allowed. Please keep in mind that this is not a complete list of our favorites - there are so many amazing BL fics out there that we all have a lot more than this! Still, we hope you enjoy. Happy reading!

1) Take Off Your Business Suit | Explicit | 3082 words

“Yes, let me get another chair.” Louis said, leaning up off of the desk. He stood up but before he could leave the office to get another chair, Harry was grabbing his hand.

The words that came out of Harry’s mouth made Louis’ knees weak and heart beat quicken. “Just sit on my lap.” Harry said. Whatever he said afterwards didn’t make it into Louis’ ears as he was moving quickly over to Harry and placing himself on Harry’s lap.

Louis would take anything Harry wanted to give him; hand touching, lap sitting, all of it. Louis hadn't realized he was holding his breath until it came out in a quiet sigh. “Okay so th-this one will be slightly different right?” He asked as he pointed at the sheet of paper in front of him.

2) Quietly Our Hearts Beat | Explicit | 7539 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Louis and Harry in the universe of ‘A Quiet Place’.

3) A Love Reaction | Explicit | 9968 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Louis’s staring up at him, head tilted slightly back, and his blue eyes are glassy, locked with Harry’s in an unblinking and gentle gaze. He looks ready to do whatever Harry says, to please him whatever way.

4) To Love Without Reason | Explicit | 8854 words

“Come on in, soldier,” Louis pats Harry’s chest and walks away, leaving Harry to follow behind.

Harry stands in the living room, looking around at Louis’ dwelling. Family pictures placed high on a shelf, certificates of Louis’ practice, and other trinkets that make Harry entirely too nostalgic.

“I have to warn you,” Louis says as he puts the kettle on, the water droplets from his hair trickling down the golden skin of his back. “The door jams if you lock it so you'll have to leave it ajar.”

Harry acknowledges with a soft hum, too entranced by Louis’ glistening skin to form a coherent reply.

5) No Good Unless It’s Real | Explicit | 17021 words

Louis is a very busy farmer who’s just trying to make it to his next nap and Harry’s the new hot vet that’s determined to infiltrate every area of his life.

6) A Springtime’s Wilt, An Autumn’s Bloom | Explicit | 20593 words

Harry is Louis' personal chauffeur, and although he hides his feelings for his boss behind a wall of rigid professionalism, Louis still manages to squeeze through the cracks.

7) Ready To Fall | Explicit | 21220 words

“Ninety and rising,” Nick says triumphantly, as though making Harry’s heartbeat pick up by thrusting an obscenely attractive person in front of his face is any kind of success. “Louis Tomlinson has just walked into our control room and suddenly our dear Harry Styles has lost all ability to speak. Could this be some kind of strange coincidence?”

“I hate you,” Harry hisses, forcing his eyes back into Nick’s direction, uncaring that the mic must have picked it up. “I thought we agreed that you were going to play fair.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nick denies, except he’s holding up a picture of Louis’ face now, sharp cheekbones prominent, soft lashes nearly sweeping against his cheeks as he looks down, and his fucking mouth –

“A hundred and two!” Nick crows, all but clapping his hands together in glee. “The highest it’s ever been!”

“To be fair, I did bend over the desk on purpose,” Louis’ voice comes crackling in the headphones. Harry practically breaks his neck whipping his head around at the sound of it, gaping at him through the glass panel. “You can’t really blame him for getting a little excited about that, can you?”

8) Written In The Stars (That’s You And Me) | Explicit | 22632 words

Louis pushes himself up on one elbow and stretches enough to just barely trace his fingertips over Harry’s jawline. Harry’s eyes drop to track his movements as he does it again. “D’you feel that?” he whispers.

To him, it feels like all of the universe’s magic lives just beneath his skin when he touches Harry with intent. It feels like something special. Louis watches Harry’s lips part and wants to touch that too. He almost does, but then Harry shakes his head. “Feel what?”

9) Middle Ground | Explicit | 23561 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Harry moves to a new town for work where he meets the enigma that is Louis Tomlinson.

10) England Has My Bones | Explicit | 24087 words

The next time Harry thinks about calling, it’s 4.14 in the morning on a Parisian hotel balcony.

11) Like A Siren In The Night | Explicit | 24868 words

“There is an infestation in my home,” Louis hisses, righting himself quickly and pushing his way past Harry, heading directly for the kitchen. He’s rather haphazardly dressed himself, a coat thrown on over a loose flannel shirt and black pants, slippers on his feet.

Harry resists the urge to sigh, closing the door and trailing behind him slowly. “What kind of infestation?”

For all he knows, Louis is going to claim that there’s a ghost infestation. Harry has no idea what the end game is here – all he knows is that Louis has found at least three complaints a week to bring up since he’s been living on Harry’s property, and he’s been living here for six months.

It’s way too many fucking complaints, is what Harry is saying. Especially when most of them are ridiculous to start with.

12) Hold Onto This Heaven (Of Yours) | Explicit | 25213 words

An ode to being too young, too sad, and too in love.

13) The Devil’s In The Details | Explicit | 25372 words

He squeals when Harry smacks his bum as he bends over to pick up his bag, swinging it over his shoulder. Harry smiles smugly at him, bottom lip caught between his teeth. “When are you going to start calling me professor?” He asks.

“When you actually are one,” Louis says with his hand on the doorknob. He cocks his head to the side in curiosity. “Isn’t that how words work? You did study English, right?”

Louis’ quick to slip out the door before Harry can smack him again, his laugh echoing through the hallways as he makes his way to his next class with flushed cheeks and a bright smile.

14) A Trail Of Honey Through It All | Explicit | 27086 words

The boy in front of him, well really, the man in front of him, was like something out of a confusing wet dream. Built, tall, tan and muscular, his skin glistened with sweat after a long day of working outdoors with his hands. He was wearing a cut up old American football shirt, the bottom hem was torn and the sleeves were cut off to the point where the t-shirt was really just a loose tank top. The shorts he had on had clearly been full length jeans at one point, and were now just crudely cut off above the knee. His white socks were pulled up too high on his calves, and the brown work boots he had on were old as fuck, the leather peeling along the edges of the soles. Curly brown hair stuck out from the edges of his backwards snapback, and there was a smudge of grease wiped along his brow bone. The smattering of hair along his jaw proved that he hadn’t shaved in a week or two, the hair growing in thicker across his upper lip and around his chin. His sinfully bowed mouth was pink and plump, and Louis was suddenly hyper-focused on the way that he chewed at the toothpick stuck between his lips. He looked like he needed a shower. Louis wanted to lick him.

15) You Fit In My Poems (Like A Perfect Rhyme) | Explicit | 27598 words

The one where Harry works in an old bookshop and Louis is the pretty stranger that ends up stranded there in the middle of a storm.

16) Where The Lights Are Beautiful | Mature | 31170 words | Sequel

The accidental bonding A/B/O fic.

17) Once Upon A Dream | Explicit | 33319 words | Sequel

Louis is psychic and gets caught in the middle of a murder investigation led by FBI Special Agent Harry Styles.

18) Stuck On You | Explicit | 33983 words

Louis’ life revolves around his stickers. Harry’s life revolves around his job. The universe has decided their worlds should revolve around each other.

19) Coeur De Pirate | Explicit | 34207 words

He tilts his chin up as the Captain strides across the deck, his footfalls falling loudly against the planks. The crew watches them from afar.

Stepping into his space, the Captain wraps an arm around Louis’ waist and pulls him in. He lowers his head to breathe his words against Louis’ cheeks. “I won,” he whispers, “I’ve come to claim my prize.”

20) What This World Is About | Explicit | 34472 words

An eighties American high school AU; there are first times, football games, and feelings.

Alternatively titled: the beginning.

21) Close To Nowhere | Explicit | 34589 words

Louis and Harry are psychics who kind of hate each other. They go to Tennessee to investigate a haunting.

22) Before We Knew | Explicit | 39830 words

Louis has been skeptical of soulmates for years so it seems like fate when he finally bumps into the owner of the obnoxiously large signature printed onto his skin since age sixteen: Harry Styles, a human rights attorney who is firmly against soulmates.

23) The Space Between | Explicit | 39917 words

Harry Styles is the alpha rockstar who can’t sleep and doesn’t know why.

Louis Tomlinson is the omega PhD student who helps him figure it out.

24) The Sweetest Incantation | Explicit | 40580 words

Harry is a witch who's still working on developing his powers and Louis is a werecat who falls into his life and turns it upside down.

25) Worth Dying For | Explicit | 44906 words

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Louis says, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. In the center of the table, a set of three glossy photos stares up at him, mocking him.

“A security detail is non-negotiable, Louis, you know this,” his mum reminds him, tapping the middle photo with two fingers.

Louis doesn’t look back down at the pictures, gesturing towards them wildly, over-dramatically. “This is not a security detail!” he protests. “This is a lanky college student. In what world do you hire someone like this kid to protect me?”

26) Tastes Like Summer, Smiles Like May | Explicit | 47519 words

A cold prince, an alpha with nothing left to lose and a kingdom with a secret.

27) Love’s Truest Language | Explicit | 48195 words

The first part was meant as a joke. He didn't really expect Harry to buy anything. It was just Louis’ way of softening the ‘get the fuck out’ blow.

“Where's your order forms, then?”

“I don't want your flowers.” Louis chided before directing all of his attention to the arrangement in front of him.

Harry laughed under his breath as he stood to his full height, “Who said anything about them being for you, love?”

28) Through The Wheatfields And The Coastlines | Explicit | 52855 words

The one where Louis needs inspiration, and a certain cowboy and his lamb are the perfect distraction.

29) Latibule | Mature | 54322 words

A Spirited Away AU of sorts where Louis just wants to heal and be left alone, only for all his plans to be destroyed by the hands of an infuriating British God.

30) Warming Up To You | Explicit | 56227 words

Prompt 111: Louis and Harry are strangers that somehow got stranded during a blizzard. They find themselves in an abandoned cabin and have to cuddle for warmth. Cuddling leads to much more.

31) Feeling Borrowed, Always Blue | Explicit | 68214 words

Louis has been dreaming of his wedding since he was young - he just never expected it to happen like this.

32) Curly Bun Man | Not Rated | 68597 words

I just paid for these Doritos but they're stuck in the vending machine and I know you've been waiting but I am not going to let you buy something until you help me. AU.

33) Waiting On You | Explicit | 76584 words | Sequel

“Vampires,” Louis says with disgust, glaring over at the vampire who is noisily slurping from the woman’s neck nearby.

Zayn gives the neat fang marks on Louis’ neck a meaningful look.

“Can’t live with them, can’t live without them,” Louis finishes, ignoring Zayn when he rolls his eyes.

Louis takes a long sip of his milkshake, presses his fingers against the marks on his neck, and definitely doesn’t think about the vampire who left them there.

34) Through Struggles, To The Stars | Explicit | 80582 words

Louis is a Starfleet captain trying to find his place in the universe. Harry is a prince just trying to do what's right.

35) I Want You So Much (But I Hate Your Guts) | Mature | 83648 words

AU in which Louis gets accepted to play for the Manchester University Alpha-Beta Football Team. The only problem: Louis is actually an Omega. He is determined to make it big in the football world, though, and he can't do that bound to an Omega team. With the help of a faked doctor's certificate and some pretty strong suppressants he is ready to fight for his dream.

That Harry Styles (Alpha, second year and youngest football captain of the A-B team in ages) doesn't seem to like him complicates matters, though.

36) Where You Lay | Explicit | 86038 words

When Louis's upcoming heat threatens his success at his new dream job, he asks the best (and only) person he can think of to help him through it: his best mates' best mate, Harry Styles.  Harry reluctantly accepts, and together the two navigate a strange friends with benefits relationship that quickly turns complicated.

37) And Down The Long And Silent Street | Mature | 86090 words

Wherein Louis and Harry are on the opposite ends of the social ladder, but their paths still cross on the filthy streets Louis calls his home. The odds are staked against them from the beginning, and even more when Louis' past finally catches up with him.

38) Swim In The Smoke | Explicit | 101778 words

“What about this, Captain?” Liam asks, nudging the boy kneeling between their feet with the toe of his boot. The boy hisses and swipes at him, slurring out something unintelligible around the makeshift gag Niall had to stuff in his mouth. He misses by a mile and tries again, just as ineffectively.

Harry looks down at him, at the way the sun streams over his face and shoulders, at the way the gag stretches his mouth, lips pink and chapped. He’s lithe and pretty, smudged all over with dirt. They had found him tied up below deck, mostly unconscious, next to a barrel full of gold. He’s clearly a prisoner, but there’s something familiar about him, something that niggles at Harry’s brain. Something he can’t quite put his finger on.

“Put him in my cabin,” Harry decides, turning back to deal with the rest of the loot. The boys screams out jumbled curse words at Harry’s back, muffled by the gag, and Harry can’t understand any of it.

39) The Galaxy’s Edge | Explicit | 113921 words

Things never quite go as they are planned during a simple rescue job.

40) Tainted Saints And Velvet Vices | Explicit | 126057 words | Sequel (WIP)

A self-fulfilling Hogwarts AU in which Louis is new to seventh year and Harry is the resident devil-may-care Slytherin set to make his entire experience a living misery. Due to less than favourable circumstances they're forced to forge an unwilling, tentative relationship for their own survival. Repressed emotions, decidedly unromantic ballroom dancing, Triwizard Tournament tasks, creative jinxes and twilight flying above the Forbidden Forest ensue.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[lillllbabygirl]

I'm not really one to do this, it's a littlbitt 😉😉 BOLD for me B U T

as i'd like to say... #ohwellfuckit

here ya goooo!!!!

== Results from bdsmtest.org ==

100% Brat

99% Submissive

91% Exhibitionist

91% Masochist

84% Rope bunny

81% Experimentalist

77% Boy/Girl

71% Voyeur

71% Slave

67% Degradee

61% Non-monogamist

57% Sadist

36% Ageplayer

34% Switch

33% Vanilla

22% Master/Mistress

18% Pet

16% Dominant

15% Rigger

14% Degrader

6% Owner

5% Brat tamer

3% Daddy/Mommy

2% Primal (Hunter)

0% Primal (Prey)

BDSM is an umbrella term for a variety of (often erotic) practices or roleplaying; it is an acronym representing three components:

• BD: Bondage & Discipline (playing with physical restraints, training, punishment, etc.)

• DS: Dominance & Submission (playing with obedience, power exchange, service, humility, etc.)

• SM: Sadism & Masochism (playing with pain, degradation, fear, etc.)

More often than not, other 'deviant' sexual practices are also considered to be part of BDSM.

BDSM is a consensual activity respecting the fundamental rights of every human being involved; this separates it from sexual and domestic abuse.

BDSM Archetypes

Everyone is different, and finding two kinksters with the exact same preferences is probably impossible. There are however a few common 'archetypes' that people can identify with to varying degrees (from 0% to 100%). Curious to what extent each archetype suits you? Take the test! The list below is by no means complete but it should cover the most common ones.

Dominant

Dominants like to be in charge. Some like to have their partner obey them without questioning, others like some resistance while taking it their way. Some are dominant only in the bedroom, others are dominant throughout their daily life as well. Unlike the top roles (giving pain/bondage/degradation), being dominant is more about who decides what happens (and takes the responsibility that comes with it) than about the contents of what happens.

Submissive

Submissives like to follow. Some like to give the control away to their partner(s), some like to have it forcibly taken from them. Some are submissive only in the bedroom, others are submissive throughout their daily life as well (usually with limitations). Unlike the bottom roles (receiving pain/bondage/degradation), being submissive is more about who decides what happens (and takes the responsibility that comes with it) than about the contents of what happens.

Sadist

Sadists enjoy inflicting (certain types of) pain on their partner(s), usually in a sexual context.

Masochist

Masochists enjoy receiving (certain types of) pain from their partner(s), usually in a sexual context. Masochism is independent of pain tolerance: it is purely about the ability to enjoy (or get aroused by) certain levels of pain.

Rigger

Riggers like to tie up and restrain their partner(s), using rope and/or other attributes (chains, cuffs, spreader bars, etc.). Whether for sexual enhancement, for art or just for fun, they enjoy having their partners completely at their mercy.

Rope bunny

Rope bunny likes to be tied up and restrained, using rope and/or other attributes (chains, cuffs, spreader bars, etc.). Whether for sexual enhancement, for art or just for fun, they enjoy being totally at the mercy of their partner(s).

Master/Mistress

Masters/Mistresses receive complete control over the life of their slave(s), and all responsibilities that come with it. They go a step further than dominants in the sense that their power exchange is present 24/7 and in all aspects of their life (except for negotiated exceptions such as during their office jobs). Their primary focus is to create a stable and safe environment for their slave(s), to allow optimal servitude.

Slave

Slaves completely hand over the control and responsibilities over their life to their master/mistress. They go a step further than submissives in the sense that their power exchange is present 24/7 and in all aspects of their life (except for negotiated exceptions such as during their office jobs). Serving their master/mistress is their primary focus in life and they rarely have limits for them.

Degrader

Degraders like to degrade and humiliate their play partner(s), either by acting upon them in a degrading way, or by or by forcing them to do things they consider degrading.

Degradee

Degradees like to be degraded and humiliated by their play partner(s), either by being acted upon in a degrading way, or by being forced do things they consider degrading.

Owner

Owners own pets/properties and take responsibility over them, on a 24/7 basis. Sexuality is not necessarily involved; in some cases role play attributes are also provided (e.g. a cage for the pet). There is no link at all with sex with animals (which is simply not on the BDSM spectrum), and many pets don't even feel like they're playing an animal, it's more about the typical relationship between an owner and a pet.

Pet

Pets are property of their owner in daily life. Sexuality is not necessarily involved; in some cases role play attributes are also provided (e.g. a cage for the pet). There is no link at all with sex with animals (which is simply not on the BDSM spectrum), and many pets don't even feel like they're playing an animal, it's more about the typical relationship between an owner and a pet.

Brat tamer

Brat tamers are, in essence, dominants who enjoy handling bratty submissives. They find disobedience a form of playfulness from the side of the submissive, rather than a form of rudeness. They will take no offence to it, but will still teach the sub a well deserved lesson (because, of course, that is why the bratty sub shows such behavior in the first place).

Brat

Brats are, in essence, naughty submissives. They find disobedience a form of playfulness rather than letting their dominant down, and require a compatible dominant who will not only teach them a lesson, but also accept that any number of lessons might still not necessarily change this behavior.

Primal (Hunter)

Primals are mainly focused on their natural instincts and they enjoy letting their inner animal out during sex. The key part for primals play is that the participants show their raw, emotional sexual feelings during play. All of the labels, roles, and protocols go out the window, and the prey can become a snarling, growing, clawing animal hell-bent on getting away from its predator (you).

Primal (Prey)

Primals are mainly focused on their natural instincts and they enjoy letting their inner animal out during sex. The key part for primals play is that the participants show their raw, emotional sexual feelings during play. All of the labels, roles, and protocols go out the window, and the prey (you) can become a snarling, growing, clawing animal hell-bent on getting away from its predator.

Daddy/Mommy

Daddies/Mommies take on a caretaker role in the relationship, being a guide as much a dominant. Daddies/Mommies dominate their little treasure submissives with an iron fist in a velvet glove: much cuddly and affectionate on the outside, while being as sturdy and hard on the inside as other dominants. Using subtle psychological mechanisms rather than brute power, they nurture their littles into obedience. Sexuality is not necessarily involved, and there is no link at all with pedophilia (which is simply not on the BDSM spectrum).

Boy/Girl

Littles (girls/boys) are submissive spirits with a strong flavor childlike innocence. They long for a nurturing loving dominant who plays a guiding, almost parental role in their lives. While they require a softer approach to be dominated than most other submissives, their submission can be just as deep as that of other submissives or slaves. Sexuality is not necessarily involved, and there is no link at all with pedophilia (which is simply not on the BDSM spectrum).

Ageplayer

Ageplayers like to play with age as part of their kink. They typically take on a much younger or older age than they actually are, or prefer playing with a partner that does so. Attributes and behavior changes (such as pacifiers, coloring books, speaking in more childlike language, etc.) are commonly paired with this, to enrich the context and make it more appropriate for the played age. Sexuality is not necessarily involved, and there is no link at all with pedophilia (which is simply not on the BDSM spectrum).

Exhibitionist

Exhibitionists enjoy showing their naked body or a sexual activity to other people. Consensually, of course.

Voyeur

Voyeurs enjoy watching the nakedness or sexual activity of other people. Consensually, of course.

Experimentalist

Experimentalists want to have tried it all. An open mind and an insatiable curiosity are their key features, and they will rarely form an opinion before they have gathered first hand experience. They often have plenty of fantasies and will actively pursue to try them out.

Non-monogamist

Non-monogamists do not see sexuality as necessarily a 1 on 1 thing. Whether this means they will have several relationships or just see other people outside their relationship (or have even more exquisite constructions) depends entirely on the person and the situation, but they all have one thing in common: their sexuality is more than just between them and one fixed partner.

Switch

Switches like to... well, switch. Always taking a dominant or top position is not for them, neither is always taking a submissive or bottom position. Some prefer to switch with the same partner or partners, others have a dominant play partner and a submissive play partner, but in either case they do not fit on one end point of the spectrum.

Vanilla

Vanilla people enjoy regular, standard sex and relationship models. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you're having fun!

B O O M ! :)

yw. :))

[beaniebaneenie]

Why are you telling people not to boycott as opposed to telling them "Yes, you should boycott but also do these things that help"? I've seen absolutely nothing from the workers that indicate they want you to give the company money.

I'm getting a slight whiff of troll here, but I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you're asking because you genuinely want to know.

This is gonna be a long one, so strap in.

_________________

I said the things I said mainly because the strikers have very specifically NOT asked for a boycott. They clearly outline the things they actually want people to do, and a boycott is nowhere on that list.

And as I stated in the post that I'm positive caused this ask,

1. If enough people claim that strikers want a boycott, the Company can use that at the table in a few ways. They can refuse to negotiate, claiming the strikers are in "bad faith" (something that you never want to happen during negotiations). They can claim that the strikers DO want a boycott, and in a lot of states, strikes are only legally protected in incredibly narrow circumstances... often, if strikers push for a boycott, OR if consumers do it on their behalf and claim the strikers really want it, legally the Company can claim that the strikers are causing "intentional sabotage" and fire them. Remember, the point of a strike is that you want to still have your job at the end of it... you just want conditions to be better.

2. One of the main reasons that strikes work at all is basic supply and demand.

-Company sees demand for a thing. They produce a large supply of the thing.

-Workers who actually produce the thing are not treated well by the Company. They go on strike and stop making the thing. Supply is now very low.

-CONSUMERS (that's you!) still have a high demand for the thing.

-Workers are on strike and not producing the thing. Demand is very high, Supply is very low.

..........and now the Company has a REASON to even bother sitting down at the table: restoring their profits by getting the Workers to end the strike.

-The Workers say they'll come back when conditions are better. Company feels increasing pressure from the High Demand/Low Supply bottleneck, and actually agrees to terms.

This is a fundamental basis for how a TON of strikes work, especially for companies that have a tangible and consumable product, like Kellogg's.

Contrary to popular belief, most strikes do not include a boycott.

____________________________

If you personally don't feel comfy buying Kellogg's stuff while this is going on, or even ever again? You do you, boo.

But you do realize just how much Kellogg's owns, right?

I'm genuinely asking, do you realize exactly how much work you're going to have to put in to ensure that they don't get even a dime?

In case it's difficult to see, Kellogg's also owns a ton of non-cereal brands: Eggo, Nutri-Grain, Pringles, Pop-Tarts... and even more. They also own Dorset Cereals, and Twinings Tea. They also own the UK department store brand, Primark (sort of the UK version of Target).

They own 38 companies/brands in food/beverage products alone. (Not counting separate flavors or variations in every single brand. For example, there are 16 separate types of Cheez-Its... and multiple flavors for each type.)

It is a full time job just to be sure that one thing you wanna buy isn't owned by Kellogg's.

_________________________

By the way, while you're compiling that big list of stuff you don't want to buy... you'd better add all the stuff from Nestle, Mondelez, and General Mills too... because all of these companies and Kellogg's are actually owned by a single parent company.

Also, Nestle has a joint company with Coca-Cola called Beverage Partners Worldwide, so all Coca-Cola brands and products (there are at least 25 brands here too, and each with their own product list) would have to be tracked and included in your big list of "Bad Stuff".

There is no such thing as "ethical consumption" in the late-stage dystopian capitalism that we live under.

About 75% of the brands in that graphic are owned by a single parent company.

Nestle, Wonka, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Associated British Foods, Cadbury, Mondelez, and Kellogg's up there? All owned by a single parent company.

FairLife dairy, Coco Tipo coconut water, Bacardi mixers, Costa Coffee, Dunkin Donuts, Vitaminwater, Minute Maid, and Odwalla smoothies are all also owned by Coca-Cola (which is owned by the parent company that owns Kellogg's) so you'd better put them on your list too.

If you thought you were making an Ethical Choice(TM) by getting a box of Kashi cereal, an RxBar, and a bottle of FairLife milk? You just bought Kellogg's products.

Even a lot of generic brands are also owned by companies like Kellogg's...

For example, Walgreen's in-house generic "Nice(TM)" Brand is owned & produced by Kraft. Which is owned by General Foods. Which is owned by Nabisco. Which is owned by Mondelez. Which is owned by the same parent company that owns Kellogg's.

Destroy any illusion you have of free market, or "consumer choice"... because it hasn't existed in decades.

_____________________________

While you're thinking about that, also think about the actual commitment to a true boycott... time, energy, and financial.

There are millions of people who do not have the available energy or time required to go through their entire list of daily consumable products to ensure that none of them are from a company that Kellogg's owns (or a parent or sister company or subsidiary). Or to go through all these products and find suitable alternatives.

Most of the things that Kellogg's actually produces are food & beverage. People still need to eat. That's not a luxury item, or a need that can just be turned off.

There are millions of people in the US (Kellogg's prime market) who quite literally cannot afford to spend the time going through every item they need, figuring out if it belongs to a company anywhere in the Kellogg's chain, finding a substitute that somehow isn't owned by any of those companies, finding somewhere that sells it, getting there, and buying it instead.

A lot of these same people are also struggling financially and literally cannot afford the higher prices of a non-Kellogg's product, even without the added stress of a pandemic that a large portion of the globe is ignoring, and 50+ million Americans still being out of work, and millions more on significantly decreased salaries, compared to what they were making pre-pandemic.

I'll use myself as the example for this one... pre-pandemic, I made $53,000 annually. I lost my job in March of 2020, and managed to scrape by on a combination of unemployment checks, savings, and a few short temp jobs for over a year, until I landed the temp job I currently have... which is still a $13,000 pay cut from where I was before. $13k is about my yearly cost for rent and utilities... which haven't gone down, despite the significant pay cut.

And I am luckier than most.

Ethical consumption in late-stage dystopian capitalism is impossible for nearly every single consumer.

There are millions of families and individuals that, if they didn't buy Kellogg's products, would starve. That is the fault of the SYSTEM we live under, not the consumer who bought a box of Frosted Flakes.

Maybe that same consumer can write a support letter to a striker. Maybe they can tweet about the strike to let other people know it's happening, and influence public opinion. Maybe they can manage a $5 donation to a strike fund.

All of which, by the way, are specific things that the Kellogg's strikers have actually asked for.

You learn a lot of this stuff if you have Teamsters in your family, and I'm well aware that the American government in particular works very hard to keep their populace from learning any of it.

But it also relates back to a simple principle that applies to nearly all relationships and interactions in life... not just when dealing with a strike.

"If you truly want to help someone, ask them how you can do that. Provide help according to the needs they tell you. If you're only interested in offering the help you want to give, then you're not as interested in helping as you think you are."

__________________________

If you decide that you have the time, energy, and money to commit to not buying any products from any companies in the entire Kellogg's chain, and that's what you need to do to feel like you're a good person?

Go ahead. I'm not stopping you.

It's when you decide that a publicized boycott is what the strikers want (contrary to their official statements and requests), and that anyone who is unable or unwilling to do the same is irredeemably morally bankrupt, that we have a problem.

[leslieexplainsitall]

I posted 405 times in 2022

That's 149 more posts than 2021!

41 posts created (10%)

364 posts reblogged (90%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@insanitysbloomings

@leslieexplainsitall

@justaleapoffaith

@lilacborrower

@twinklecupcake

I tagged 23 of my posts in 2022

#smblr - 15 posts

#stage management - 15 posts

#theatre - 15 posts

#tech - 15 posts

#techblr - 13 posts

#sm - 12 posts

#smproblems - 8 posts

#stage managers - 2 posts

#but i should clean it if i want to get laid - 1 post

#my aparement is a mess - 1 post

Longest Tag: 76 characters

#i know retaining water and weight fluctuations happen but this is ridiculous

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I recivied my first equity contract today and in the rider I received, there was a clause that said I would receive an additional 2/6 of my salary during tech.

Two thoughts

2) An increase in pay during tech should be an industry standard. Idk if AEA actors get it, but definitely for SMs because we work longer hours outside tech time. I might try to negotiate this next time I take a non-Union gig (if I don't join)

2) 2/6 is just a third, right? Am I missing something? Like I passed 4th grade math. I'm just confused by this fraction.

15 notes - Posted March 9, 2022

#4

Thriving

See the full post

16 notes - Posted March 20, 2022

#3

So I this week I got offers to work shows at two different theatres this spring. I can't do both, since the overlap this is not an easy decision

The first show I received an offer for is a small theatre slightly outside the city (but easily assessable via public transit.).

Equity SM Contract

SPT tier 5 pay rate

All black play

It's the type of theatre I want to make

Offer #2 is to ASM a musical at a bigger theatre in the city (so less of a commute)

Equity ASM Contract

LORT-C pay rate (!!!!)

Not an all black show (idk about casting)

Have not read/listened to it, but what little I know about it does not excite me.

So it kind of boils down to money vs. art. I can obviously ask for more money, but I can't in good conscience ask the smaller theatre to match the bigger theatre's payrate. But asking for an extra $100-$150 a week doesn't seem like too big of an ask. But besides the money, there are a lot of other factors I need to weigh in. And at the end of the day, I don't think I'll ruin a relationship with either company by saying no to one of them.

I understand that I am incredibly lucky to be in a position to choose between doing a show that creatively excites me vs something for money. Maybe I'll have a little more clarity once I know more things about each production. But right or I'm in tech for a fringe show that is not fulfilling for me and honestly the environment has been stressful since day 1. This job feels like a paycheck to me, I'm not enjoying myself at all. Not that I'm saying I won't enjoy myself doing the musical. But I just know that the bigger production the more stressful, but I'd be an ASM working under an SM I hadn't worked with within 5 years. Just need to get out of tech and be in a better mindset to make that decision.

17 notes - Posted September 14, 2022

#2

The show I've been working on these past several weeks has been hella stressful and literally messy.

There is a huge bloody mess onstage and we've known since the first rehearsal that the stage would be a bitch clean, the actors are supposed to clean most of it during the show, but the clean up was never properly choreographed in rehearsals. It was a lot of hypotheticals and doing it in the moment without stopping and too many actors have slipped when we finally used the blood.

Today on day 4 of Tech we finally, choreographed the cleanup to make it as safe as possible and it now involves a shit ton of towels. Way more than I anticipated. I also have to wash bloody linens too.

Because I'm sharing the laundry room with costumes who also needs to wash bloody clothes I realized it was impossible to wash what will most likely be around 2 loads of towels and 2 loads of linens (that also need to be folded) during pre and post show.

So I told the production manager that I either need to be paid to come in outside of my call times to do the laundry (since I am not hourly) or hire someone to do the laundry during the day.

He's going to look for someone, and since we are still in tech I'm not sure if I need to wash everything everyday because I don't have duplicates yet. But I am very glad I advocated for myself.

25 notes - Posted April 9, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

My SM cut her hand during the break and had to go to the ER to get stitches less than 3 hours before the preview tonight.

So I, the ASM, was asked to call the show tonight with less than 2 hours to prepare.

I. FUCKING. DID. IT.

Like of course I made mistakes, (only a few were noticeable imo). But I fucking did it. I'm still riding that high because the SM had been at the theatre for over 25 years and this had never happened before.

I was nervous, but now that it's over I feel vindicated. Working that this theatre has been hard because most of the production team has been there for 10+ years and I feel inadequate sometimes since I've only been there for a few months.

But this reminded me that I am a good stage manager. And honestly? I needed that.

40 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[masterthespianduchovny]

The counter argument to people being against Sam/Rebecca for legitimate reasons are claims that Sam is being “infantilized.”

These age gap conversations in general are difficult to have because one side won’t acknowledge that just because two people are adults doesn’t mean they are in the same place emotionally and mentally. And this is a very important thing to note.

Someone being 18, a legal adult in America (I think you can date adults at 16 in the UK), doesn’t mean they are able to date a significantly older person, say 38, without a problem. Because, more times than not, which is an understatement, there’s a lot of fucking problems in an age gap relationship even if the older person isn’t dating the younger for nefarious reasons.

It is not infantilizing Sam or any young adult to say, “hey, this relationship may be detrimental to them because of their age.” That is just…facts.

Many people on tumblr and other SM sites often talk about how they still feel like kids at 22 and are still figuring life at, despite having jobs, kids, and shit. Despite being in full blown relationships, these young adults don’t feel like adults and that’s because you aren’t magically mature just because you’ve reached an arbitrary age to be declared a legal adult.

You just aren’t.

And being mature in one aspect of your life or regarding emotional development doesn’t mean you’re mature in other aspects. At 17, I was mature enough to understand this.

Because maturity isn’t just something you obtain like your degree or license, it’s an ongoing, ever evolving thing.

It’s life experience. As in how you learn and grow from it.

Acknowledging that someone doesn’t have significant life experience isn’t infantilizing them, it’s giving an important perspective to a crowd of who is essentially arguing “age ain’t nothing, but a number.”

If you’re all for an 18 year old dating a 38 year old, why not a 16 year old and a 36 year. It’s only a two year difference, right? And what if that 16 year old is really mature? Most would have an issue with that. People are justifying a significantly older person dating a younger person due to legality and not they are actually mature and on the same level. But there’s not much difference between a 16 and 18 year old or an 18 year old and a 20 year old. But guess what, there is a significant difference between people between the ages of 18-22 dating people a decade or more.

I literally just turned 30 last week and, even when I was 25, after a while I could tell when I was speaking to a teen or someone in their early 20s. Because, whether or not you get along with them, there are just some things that, because they haven’t had enough life experience, they don’t have the nuance or perspective to engage with you a certain way and this is even on a non romantic level.

And, in some cases, the younger person is more “mature” not because they’re actually that mature, but because the older person is that immature.

So before I get into the issues with Sam and Rebecca, let me give you four examples of age gaps relationships:

1. A friend of mine dating an older man when she was 23 and he was 38. She was a manager at a gym and he was a gym member. They would have sex and hang out, but she wanted commitment. Whenever she asked him about it, he’d get weird on her. After finally breaking it off months later, he “loved” her and finally wanted commitment, but she’d moved on. While she dated him, I told her my two cents on the situation and left it alone. Last month, she recalled this conversation as she groaned in displeasure hearing about an age gap relationship. She’s now skeptical of older people dating significantly younger people.

2. A friend of mine was 18 dating a 28 year old. We all worked at a pizzeria. He watched her on the cameras from the back when he became a manager—got mad if she talked to male coworkers. Used to gaslight her, controlled her via manipulation, and other gross toxic shit. After emotionally tormenting her for a year or so and pressuring her to live with him, which her parents allowed due to some issues they didn’t want to exacerbate, he cheated on her. They’re broken up now. She was always stressed out while with him.

3. A girl got into her first and only relationship when she was 19 with a man who was 32. They’re now married 23 and 36. She wants to wait to have kids and on her birthday he gifted her baby clothes. Make of that what you will.

4. A girl, 22, dated her 37 year old professor. At 28, she feels like she’s outgrown him and is disturbed about how and when they got together. And one night she heard him advise his friends to date younger girls so they can mold them. Yeah…

Sure you have marriages that have age gaps that lasted, but even then, very few of those are actually healthy. The younger person is usually taking orders from the older partner, can’t do certain things, doesn’t have any true agency, skills to survive on their own, etc. What typically happens is after that person becomes older, they begin to question their relationship because what seemed okay when they were younger, is unsettling after becoming older.

Like I said, take out the nefarious shit, and there is still a significant life experience gulf between Sam and Rebecca and that is one of the many issues with this pairing. Despite what some romantics and media loves to say, “love does not conquer all.” Most of the marriages that end in divorce isn’t because they couple fell out of love, it’s due to finances. Love couldn’t conquer that. Some marriages end because one of them changed or they could’ve overcome their vast differences.

I’m not saying Sam and Rebecca are on a path for marriage or are even in love, they aren’t, however, they idea that just because they get along and have some things in common means it would be a great relationship is very shortsighted. There isn’t even enough significant interaction to prove this. Getting along on an app isn’t the same as connecting face to face. And none of this can overcome Rebecca’s life experience and, relatively speaking, Sam’s lack thereof.

And I’d argue that, on average, athletes tend to be immature because they live in such a bubble where people constantly kiss their ass. Which makes Sam look more mature than he probably is.

Even then, being with an older person ages you. This younger person misses out on so much, many of which they regret, because they’re trying to be mature enough for their older partner. They don’t want to seen as immature for doing young shit when that’s exactly their age range.

But let’s get into the real consequences for Sam here:

1. Sam has to keep his relationship a secret. The media will tear him up about dating/fucking the owner of the team. And so will fans. People love to mention he’s being infantilized because he’s young and black, how do you think that is going to go if anyone finds out about them? Racism, baby. He won’t suffer from sexism, however, they will question his place on the team and if he deserves to be there. This will taint him and even cause issues with his parents. So secret relationship it is.

2. If his teammates found out, this will fracture his relationship with them. Whether or not it’s true, Sam will be blamed for shit outside of his control. They’ll think he only got more playing time, more pay, or whatever because he’s fucking Rebecca. OR they’ll try to ask him for favors and get upset if he won’t do it. His team will think he’s getting favoritism and believe there is a power imbalance between them and Sam as a result. Don’t believe me, Google dynamics once students realize a classmate is dating their teacher or an employee is dating their boss. It usually doesn’t go over so well.

So even if the relationship is loving and healthy, Sam will suffer from being with Rebecca. Because if it's a secret, it’s going to bother him eventually that they have to sneak around and the anxiety of being caught. If it’s out in the open, he will suffer harassment, alienation, his play will suffer because his teammates probably won’t pass to him, etc.

Which leads to, 3: transferring teams. But how is that fair? Sam is developing well under ted and now that may delay his development and stock just so he can be with Rebecca? We want this young, black man to succeed, but his career will be kneecapped due to his relationship. Sam is serious about football and this would be a major blow to him.

Like I said, take out nefarious shit and this relationship is still detrimental to Sam. And even with a healthy relationship, there will still be a disconnect that will lead to their relationship ending because they are in two vastly different places in their lives.

That is not infantilizing Sam, that’s reality.

And, again, that power imbalance is massive. We saw how easy it was for Rebecca to send Jamie back to Man City. She has so much power, control, and influence over Sam’s career and livelihood. She can dictate how much or how little they offer to pay him during contract negotiations.

And this is the ship people are getting upset at others rightfully taking issue with?

It doesn’t even make sense for Rebecca to go along with this either. She played a part in Keeley breaking up with Jamie, which age, Jamie being younger, played a key part in it. She’s even disgusted by Rupert dating a significantly younger woman. I doubt her opinion centered on maturity. She’s not going to suddenly support this relationship if she found out that Bex is super mature.

Rebecca would stand to lose a lot of she were to get involved with Sam and others found out. She’d get dragged through the mud worse than she did after her divorce. She’s lose them support of her staff. And it would fuck up the relationship she has with her players.

Now some Sam/Rebecca supporters have called bullshit on people who are against this relationship, yet support Ted and Rebecca. They claim it’s the same power imbalance or that one exists.

1. It’s not the same power imbalance.

2. Yes, one does exist, but it’s not nearly as wide as it is with Sam and it wouldn’t destroy her either.

Ted has the authority to hire and fire people. He has the authority to facilitate trades, call up people, and send them down. He has a lot of influence that Sam does not. They aren’t equals, but there also isn’t a massive power disparity either.

Rebecca also can’t completely fuck over Ted like she can Sam if she went all scorned woman. Because, doing so, would entail her own demise. Even if you don’t include that, Ted is only attached to Richmond. He doesn’t care about having a career as a football coach in the ways coaches from non US countries do. He can go back and have a career as an American football coach and still be massively successful. Or, if Rebecca did want to fuck him over, he has that bomb as to why he was hired. Ted doesn’t even have to play that card for it to be played by either Higgins or Keeley.

Because one of them will if they feel it’s necessary.

We have no clue what’s going to happen with this storyline. But the idea that people against Sam and Rebecca being a thing, romantically or sexually, being fueled by racism or sexism is misguided, hypocritical, and flat out wrong. If this entanglement is pursued, it stands to harm Sam from various angles and that’s MY objection.

People think this is all about Ted/Rebecca when, personally, I’d lose (some) respect for Rebecca if she got involved with Sam. That would taint her for me. Because let’s be real, many of us are grossed out by Rupert dating, marrying, and then impregnating Bex. Yet, some are okay with Rebecca and Sam getting together and those who are against it are sexist? And I truly believe the same people supporting this ship are also grossed out by Rupert’s relationship.

How is Rupert’s relationship gross, but we shouldn’t obsess over age with Rebecca and Sam? People say Sam is mature enough to date Rebecca, which implies that Bex isn’t mature enough to be with Rupert and that IS sexist.

Even if the writers confirm tomorrow that Ted/Rebecca will never be a thing, I wouldn’t object any less to Sam/Rebecca. If Sam was Roy’s age and in Roy’s position, I’d have way less of an issue.

But you’re going to have a tough time convincing me that a young man who is 20/21 and employed by a 47 year woman who can heavily influence his career isn’t a massive power imbalance that shouldn’t be explored by fans.

I’m really curious to see how this post ages once the storyline plays out. But this post is about exploring what it means for Sam and Rebecca to get involved and how the accusations of infantilizing Sam doesn’t pass the sniff test.

[inkleaf-cafe]

Okay i cant find the post but i’ll take it as a yes so here:

1: sleep tight don’t let the milf’s bite

2: I sometimes think you’re not neurotypical

3:i can just smell the trauma

4:my queerness could never

5:i can just feel the gay

6:You know how i said “I definitely jinxed it”…yea i did

7:sounds like a crisis…mood

8:In one sentence i somehow made my whole bloodline ashamed of me

9:Dont know if this is supped to be gay or therapy

10:my yawns sound like a quiet chainsaw

11:my dreams are either trauma or gay…what does that mean

12:my dream was amazing filled with zombies but amazing

13:be the gays you need to be

14:i think i ate some soap

15:My brain was somewhat okay and you completely ruined it

16:Okay who do i have to kill this time

17:Yes im using a musical to teach politics

18: think i made a random poem and somehow it got deep

19:What do you not understand about me reading gay shit on webtoon and seeing cute dresses?

20:I will be the monster under your bed i will either comfort you till you sleep or be Jeff the killer

21:Ah yes blackmail the best way to negotiate

22:feel’s like i’ve zoned out while reading this

23:Wheres the TL;DR because i just stopped at Hi!

24:Yea you lost me im in Stratosphere

25:* eats vomit cutely *

26:I still question both of our sanity

27:When they call me baby girl

28: thats stupid bitches tok

29:I mean wouldnt it be cool that your ex is the moon

30:do you even sleep

31:The only people i hate are real people

32:I use the happy emojis all the time they all look dead inside

33:Social anxiety isn’t pog

34:WHOS GONNE GRAB THE BIG ASS COIN OFF HIS FORHEAD

35:MEOWTH SALAD

36:i thought Jessie and James were gay

37:Its called insomnia

38: Hermione is holding me at gun point

39:Is kicking someone a team sport?

40:what part of asl with out sign do you not get

41:kiddo but an insult

42:i was gonne say i watched Luca but damn do you need therapy

43: knew all that trauma would pay off one day

44:imagine not having fangs 🤡

45: being stupid is my job you cant take it from me

46:the whole world hates England

47:okay but arson would be so much fun

48:Do i rly sond like a dog when i say things out loud

49:THEY MADE ME LIVE AND THATS A HATE CRIME ON ME

50:I mean zeus is a whore

51:So we got bad bitch and better bitch making up the baby girl squad

52:Sometimes I challenge how much i can disappoint my ancestors

53:Ghost be judgin while i hit that rennagade

54:Fuck ✨ grammar ✨

55:KNEW YOU WERE A BEAVER

56:Probs an alligator too

57:this blog could always be *cursive rainbow* gayer

58:ah,pintrest my love,my pride,my joy THE FUCKING BANE OF MY EXISTENCE FUCK YOU I FUCKING LOVE YOU AND WANT YOU TO DIE A PAINFUL DEATH

59:✨ alcohol ✨

60:Kiddo go to drugs dont do school

61::i still have trauma from the zebra cardigan

62:yes YES BE THE GAYS YOU NEED TO BE

63:aww thats so gay 🥺

64:hol’ on a god damn fucking second…this shit gay

65:am i turning straight?

66:you broke your fucking plant this better be worth it

67:i have two moods “i wanna die” and ✨gay✨

68:they look like shit but they can look like shit together

69:nice 😏(i never said this or wrote this before just sayin’ its nice)

70:fuck you (affectionate) [is it weird that i said that at least 20 times]

71: fuck you……TAKE MY LIKES

72:we can capitalize off of your dog

73:oh shit i thought that was elsa jumping off of that bridge she made

74:wait are you implying they’re the last non binary orange

75:i might die for the third time now

76:are you god? I mean sans undertale profile pic but still are you god?

77:heh gæ

78:when i sleep i sleep

79:i will not tolerate dead memes in my class room unless its doge

80:he looks so cute but damn do i want to kill him

81:people are just too damn kinky these days

82:so this is what it feels like to have attachment issues

83:But Etida u e-mol-Dionizijo Aguado my beloved

84:I like it just my brains too small to comprehend it

85:shes a sexist feminist in the making

86:i want a mineta x death fic

87:they’ll plan my funeral…add saxobeat

88:a-am i a-a child?!?

89:hey girl you a flashbomb cus you bright

90:hey girl is your gender water cus its fluid

91:Ok im actually proud of that one i better not hear a cricket

92:okay now he looks like an emo boy

93:Yea my will to live is as low as my self esteem

94:can someone plan my funeral yea i know its wedding galore same thing

95:remembering that time i called saiki a tsundere bitch

96:* call me by your name starts playing* NOT AGAIN

97:i may have “i kicked a child” as one of my names but you’re a monster

98:DEATH IS A RACE AND I WANNA WIN

99:Bye :] , wtf?

100:GO CATBOY GO(00:03 am)

101:you know i have a pain tolerance of

102:I kin that emoji

103:That blood stain looks like a pp

104: am i too middle school

105:I feel like my sass level has risen

106:OH! PROCRASTINATION

107:nah i kinda wanna continue to write my raid shadow legends x reader fic

108:plus my confidence is as low as my will to live

109: who wants to have the honour of killing me

110:great mind think alike but also wt

I-

Wow-

[schrodingersauthorii]

I have an Idea, but I cannot for the life of me get the words to go, so I'm going to make y'all suffer in Idea Hell with me.

Full disclosure: this fic MUST be cracky. This 100% does not work unless you embrace the ridiculousness full heartedly, so start the Benny Hills Theme in your head

Basically, Lu Ten adopts Zuko, but way earlier than plausibly possible. Like, Lu Ten is 16 implausible.

The premise is that Lu Ten notices that Ozai is physically abusing Zuko, and ends up adopting him because he has hereditary Dumbass Disease and Fire Lord Azulon went 'this will be hilarious.'

I'm talking 'The Blue Spirit' levels of problem solving. All Lu Ten wanted was to get his Uncle to stop hurting his cousin, but he somehow ended up adopting Zuko instead. Maybe he challenged Ozai to an obscure Agni Kai meant to prove that a parent was unfit, and only found out it also automatic transfered custody after he won.

Iroh, the keeper of teenaged Lu Ten's single brain cell, is away, or he would have stopped this nonsense before it began. He gets a letter congratulating him on becoming a grandfather, and immediately tries to get Azulon to reverse this nonsense.

All Agni Kais are final, but as Zuko's legal father Lu Ten can disown him or remove him from the line of succession.

"HELLS no," Lu Ten says.

The Benny Hills music stops. Sike, we're realistically exploring the consequences of a crack premise for maximum angst.

This is, of course, a political NIGHTMARE. Lu Ten essentially declared war on Ozai, and Ozai has enough allies to make that *dangerous.*

The assassination attempts begin almost immediately.

Fire Lord Azulon is a big believer in survival of the fittest, and learning by doing. Either Lu Ten learns from the experience to become a stronger heir, or he dies and Iroh has to remarry like Azulon had always pushed him to. He is of absolutely no help, until Ozai tries to assassinate him too.

So Ozai is executed, and the remainder of his family banished.

So yeah, Lu Ten (and Zuko) SURE DID learn some lessons, and have the emotional (and physical) scars to prove it.

Everyone's traumatized, but life moves on. Eventually, much later than in canon, Lu Ten is ordered to join the Siege of Ba Sing Se. The only problem? He doesn't trust the court enough to leave Zuko alone at the palace.

So he hatches a Plan with a capital P. They'll pretend that they sent Zuko to Ember Island, but in reality bring him with them disguised as a Healer's apprentice.

This is a terrible idea, but the threat of leaving Zuko alone at the palace is great enough that Iroh reluctantly agrees.

Apprentice Lee is good at his job. That, more than anything, sells the illusion. Poor kid looks like he's thirteen, but he's definitely got the drive and discipline of a up and coming sixteen year old Healer's apprentice.

(Sixteen being the minimum age of recruitment for Healers, opposed to eighteen for soldiers.)

No wonder the Prince Iroh and Prince Lu Ten like him, what with his uncanny resemblance to the youngest Prince. You go kid, get that royal patronage!

Aaaand guess who rediscovers true fire healing after Lu Ten is mortally injured?

Lu Ten hypes the heck out of that propaganda, because he Learned from the Ozai experience, okay. Zuko's healing is a sign from Agni that they will soon win the war, and you wouldn't dare touch a *Divine Sign,* would you?

Zuko is very much into this healing thing, sign or no sign. He can heal people, so he's going to heal *all* the people, okay?

All the *fire nation soldiers,* Zuko. Right? RIGHT?

Remember when I said Lu Ten had hereditary Dumbass Disease? He's mostly outgrown it by now. Zuko? Not so much.

Guess what Fire Nation? You may have a fire healer, but the Earth Kingdom has a SPIRIT healer. One that's obviously competing with your healer: why else would he only show up at night around the same area as the fire prince?

Zuko has... questions, now. Questions 'the glory of the Fire Nation justifies the means' answers less and less.

And then the Avatar shows up.

Obviously, the ONLY WAY for this to go is for Zuko to get accidentally kidnapped as the Blue Spirit, and later willingly join with the Avatar to end the war at great emotional cost.

(Unfortunately for the royals, Lu Ten's propaganda worked a little too well. And... Lu Ten doesn't particularly want to continue the war anyway. Nor does Iroh. Not after Ba Sing Se.)

Fire Lord Azulon orders Zuko killed for treason. Fire Lord Azulon has a fatal stroke (just the last in a long line of recent, non-fatal ones, though very, very few people know that.) Fire Lord Iroh, in accordance with Agni's will, begins peace negotiations.

It's a long, uphill battle for reparations, but the war finally is over, and Zuko is welcomed back home. As are Ursa and Azula.

(There's no way that can possibly go wrong, right?)