#(by any criteria you deem important)

[goldensunset]

[jihyocentric]

sequel to alphas unnie line trying to breed jihyo from ages ago

“she might be mine, i don’t know… she looks like me a little bit.” momo shrugs, scratching her nape lazily. “the nose looks like mine.”

the four of them stand in the middle of the kitchen, all of them exhausted from taking care of their baby, who couldn’t fully relax without her mommy there.

it wasn’t the first time jihyo had to spend the night out of the city due to work, but it was the first time she did that and jisoo got sick.

the four of them barely made it through the night, getting less than two hours of sleep each of them, having to give their baby all the attention and aid needed.

“i’m sure she’s mine,” nayeon sighs as she speaks, fully convinced that she had been the one who succeeded and won the race, and so that debate shouldn’t even be happening, as jisoo was the result of her effort as jihyo’s alpha. “she definitely looks like me. she acts like me.”

the baby couldn’t quite understand what her moms were saying, watching them attentively as she sat on her high chair, with a piece of mushy carrot in her tiny fist, still considering eating it.

“let’s be honest here,” sana huffs, making use of her height to try and make nayeon’s ego any less big, but she was far from intimidating nayeon. she couldn’t under such a circumstance, not when nayeon was utterly serious about jisoo being hers. “she only looks like jihyo! we can’t know for sure, but if anything she’s mine. i’m the strongest!”

“you’re not…” momo mumbles quietly, not fully inclined to turning that into a real discussion.

they were all aware that the four of them were jisoo’s moms, no matter who had actually gotten jihyo pregnant, and all four of them had refused to make a blood test from the very beginning, as it wasn’t needed — they were jisoo’s parents.

a conventional family might not be the right way to describe them, as having more than two parents wasn’t the most common scenario for most kids, but the four of them fit all of the criteria they deemed required to be a parent.

they shared their duties as a family, divided housework equally, and, as the most important item of a long list, they loved jisoo more than anything in the world. all of them were willing to give her anything she could possibly need for the rest of her life — and that was all that mattered. all of that was enough proof that jisoo was theirs.

“should i say she’s mine or am i too late?” jeongyeon asks. she had been actively listening to nayeon, momo and sana’s discussion, waiting for her turn to speak, nearly breaking a laugh at times when sana and nayeon’s argument got heated.

“say it, just so i can deny it,” sana claps excitedly. that little debate that had been happening for hours with short breaks to keep them sane, was keeping her awake and full of energy.

if jihyo were to ask anything, they’d all agreed not to tell her about it, but finding reasons why jisoo was particularly their kid was one of the things that kept them going.

nayeon would always use the shape of their baby’s ears as an argument, sana heavily agreed that jisoo’s big eyes resembled hers, momo convinced herself that jisoo’s nose was just like hers.

and jeongyeon… jeongyeon didn’t have a reasoning, which is why she’d always take longer to come up with anything.

jeongyeon clears her throat, prepared to give them an energetic response. “you are all wrong! jisoo is mine!”

“that was kinda bad,” nayeon shakes her head. “try again, but mean it.” she gives jeongyeon her advice and sana and momo nod, agreeing with her.

jeongyeon opens her mouth, ready to formulate a better line to keep their discussion going, but she’s interrupted by a little noise, one that was entirely new for all of them.

“na…” jisoo pouts, half of her food eaten, all she could really ingest with an irritated stomach. she looks at nayeon as she speaks a new syllable, the first one after the couple of sounds she used to signify multiple different things and the ‘mi’, which she used to call jihyo, unable to pronounce the ‘j’, and the ‘m’ was easier. “na!”

“nayeon?! me?” nayeon coos happily, picking up the baby from the high chair. “see, she’s proving my point!”

but nayeon’s happiness doesn’t last long, as the next thing jisoo does is trying to jump to sana’s lap, squealing the ‘na’ again, leaving nayeon speechless.

sana laughs as nayeon’s smile disappears and a pout replaces it. “it’s for sana. i told you-”

and then again, jisoo doesn’t stop at sana’s lap. she has an angry face as she’s passed to momo’s lap, almost stopping there when momo holds her in the perfect position for her upset belly.

but the ‘na’ that she wanted to reach was entirely too close for her to give in and stay in the wrong mama’s lap.

“na!” jisoo says loudly as soon as jeongyeon holds her.

it was true that she loved all of their laps and didn’t hold any favoritism towards her moms, except jihyo, because that was the lap that also provided her with food.

but jeongyeon’s lap looked more appealing for her that time, and perhaps the reason was that it was the farthest away, making it harder for her to reach it and consequentially more interesting.

“jeongyeon-na,” momo rolls her eyes, crossing her arms as jisoo lays her head against jeongyeon’s chest and closes her eyes, seemingly ready to go back to sleep — her moms weren’t the only ones who didn’t get to rest that night. “jihyo calls her that. but that’s cheating, because ‘na’ is the easiest syllable ever for a baby to say.”

momo says and sana and nayeon immediately agree — not that jeongyeon was expecting for them to be by her side. they were all against each other when it came to that topic.

when the night comes and jihyo is finally back, jeongyeon is the only one awake to welcome her from her trip, also getting the prize of being the one to share the bed with jihyo that night.

“so how was the trip?” jeongyeon asks once jihyo comes out of the bathroom in her sleepwear, ready to sleep for undetermined hours — or until jisoo was also awake.

“tiring. don’t want to talk about it now,” jihyo sighs, taking her place on the bed, next to jeongyeon. “was she a good girl? did she give you any trouble? she was sleeping so soundly when i arrived, i almost didn’t believe she was sick.”

jihyo rests her head against jeongyeon’s chest, eyes slowly closing as she muttered her words softly, getting rest after spending the entire day worried about her baby, forced to work despite everything.

“she had a tummy ache, but i think we were able to deal with it. she’s way better now, i bet she’ll sleep more than you.” jeongyeon replies. “hyo, i shouldn’t be asking this, but… i mean, i know this doesn’t change anything…”

“mhm?” jihyo hums once jeongyeon stops.

jeongyeon takes a short time before continuing. “you do know who her biological mom is, don’t you?”

jihyo opens her tired eyes, moving slowly as she props her chin over jeongyeon’s chest, looking at her softly. that was the first time any of them had made her that question, and yet jihyo knew jeongyeon didn’t need her answer. jeongyeon didn’t really want one.

“do you want me to tell you?” jihyo asks calmly, knowing jeongyeon wouldn’t truly want her to say it — not because the answer could be bad when the four of them were the only candidates, but because it wouldn’t be fair for the others.

jeongyeon just had to be sure, not verbally, that what she thought was true. and deep down she already was.

and so, jeongyeon shakes her head. “i want you to rest. that’s all, baby.”

jihyo nuzzles up against her, head tucked in the curve of jeongyeon’s neck, muttering a small ‘i love you’ as she rubs her nose against jeongyeon’s warm skin, drifting to sleep almost immediately.

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 810: Ossuarium Living Tomb

I’ve had this record in my draft box since 2019. I must’ve taken a picture of it before some trip with the intention of writing about it from the road. I see it every time I open my drafts, and as a result, it’s stayed fresh in my mind for over four years.

Ossuarium were a sludgy, vicious doom-tinged death metal band from Portland, OR, and their sole LP was on the front end of 20 Buck Spin’s gradual shift from focusing on stoner / doom stuff to the old school death metal revival.

It’s now January 2024 and I still don’t have a lot to say about Living Tomb despite the fact that I've listened to it quite a bit over the years. It’s well-recorded but still a little rough around the edges performance-wise. There’s a fine line between “this sounds like a real band… warts and all!” versus “was this really the best take they could get?,” and for me the band still resides in the former. If you can hang with Cerebral Rot and Cryptworm, you can certainly get down with Ossuarium.

I feel a little bad talking about Ossuarium today because, admittedly, they’re a springboard for talking about other things on my mind. But such is one of the inevitable truths about music writing—it often comes with a writer’s agenda. Perhaps that’s an obvious statement on par with “all criticism is just one person’s opinion and rooted in that person’s biases and current frame of mind.” But perhaps they also both warrant repeating.

So let’s clear the air: this post is largely motivated by my desire to talk about the recent news of Pitchfork’s merger with GQ. That’s my agenda. Let’s also clear the air on who is writing this: I’m a 46-year-old musician who has also dabbled in writing about music in various professional capacities. Having a foot in both the creator and the critic roles meant that I generally avoided writing about anything I didn’t like. When it comes to death metal, my journey started with childhood friends who got really into the classic Floridian, New York, and Scandinavian death metal bands around 1990. But truth be told, I didn’t really click with any straight-up death metal until Morbid Angel’s Domination came out in 1995.

My relationship with Pitchfork? I didn’t have internet at home until 2005, and consequently I didn’t spend any time looking at music websites until roughly 2006. In 2007, I began freelancing for the music department of Seattle's local alternative weekly newspaper, The Stranger. Part of my job involved gathering news from various music websites and doing a daily highlights post for their blog, so I started visiting Pitchfork every day. And that habit continued for roughly ten years.

That whole time I had a love / hate relationship with the site. I loved that they were committed to broadening their coverage to encompass a greater variety of genres and styles. I hated how that included devoting more and more coverage to giant pop stars. I loved their in-depth album reviews. I hated how those reviews could sometimes feel like personal vendettas against specific artists and how the rating system often felt out of alignment with the writing due to the score being based on a group vote. I loved that they operated at an intersection of my various musical interests. I hated that their criteria for coverage was never really clear: if they were only covering the cream of the crop across diverse genres, why were they dishing out bad reviews? Or if they were only covering artists already deemed important outside of their orbit, why were they considered one of, if not THE the top cultural tastemaker when it came to music?

Pitchfork was bought by Condé Nast in 2015. More and more of their news pieces revolved around pop stars. They started adding articles that seemed more fit for a lifestyle magazine than a music blog. It no longer turned me on to new things, and at some point I realized that looking at Pitchfork always involved some combination of frustration and disappointment. I’ll sometimes check in to see what they’ve said about a record I like, and I almost always regret it.

"But the writing was stronger than ever," I saw a few P4K contributors say on social media in the wake of the news that the site would be absorbed by GQ, as if anyone went to a music blog first and foremost for the WRITING, as opposed to... say... i dunno... the SUBJECT MATTER. "People don't realize that a 7.0 is actually a really good score," others would say in defense of the site's apparent inability to be excited about the very artists they chose to cover, as if a 7.0 doesn't read as a C- to any reader with a public school education, and consequently come across as "just passable" and not only not worth listening to, but also not even worth reading past the score. "We never stopped covering fringe music," others said, which is absolutely true. But when paired with an avalanche of Taylor Swift and Kanye coverage, those forays into freakier territories felt, perhaps unfairly, like the work of dilettantes and dabblers. A jack of all trades, master of none. Founder Ryan Schreiber finally left the site in 2019, but it already felt like Pitchfork had lost its initial vision years prior. I can’t imagine Pitchfork 3.0 will see an improvement in that capacity.

But what can you do? We live under the impossible capitalist model of infinite growth and yet we’re still somehow shocked when something gets too big to sustain itself. I doubt Schreiber had ambitions any loftier than sharing his music opinions with strangers when he started Pitchfork in 1996. At some point he began getting ad revenue. Other writers started getting paid. It became a career path. More people got hired. They needed more clicks, so they wrote about things that pulled in a new audience. Writing about pop stars meant more traffic from Google. Meanwhile, their initial readership stopped checking in. The reader who got hipped to Sleater-Kinney back at the turn of the century probably isn't all that interested in what Miley Cyrus is up to in 2024.

I was certainly one of those people. But my declining interest in Pitchfork also coincided with my growing disenchantment with the freelance hustle. It was tough to figure out what editors wanted and even harder to muster up the enthusiasm to write about the "hot" new pop artists that were already getting coverage. I started getting more work on the PR side of music world, which not only paid better, but allowed me to bond with like-minded artists and help share the excitement behind their vision. I started noticing how often my press releases were just slightly re-worded in album reviews. I can't say I blame writers--I would've had to write a Pitchfork album review every single work day of the month just to cover my rent in Brooklyn.

It's important to state that I didn't become cynical to music writing as a whole. I loved writers like Dave Segal and Mark Richardson (both Pitchfork contributors, I might add). I loved the enthusiasm, the disregard for what was popular at the time, the new perspectives, the depth of knowledge they held, and the fact that they focused on music that wasn't necessarily up my alley but succeeded in helping me appreciate stuff outside of my comfort zone. I wanted to write like that... without having to grade someone's work or weigh in on every trend. Beyond that, I wanted to do the thing that editors hate... I wanted to insert myself into the piece. Not out of ego, but because understanding the appeal of music that isn't instantly gratifying is often aided by having that specific personal angle. "This album got me through a break-up" or "this album permanently altered my brain chemistry when I heard it on mushrooms during the golden hour of a camping trip" will ultimately tell me more about how to approach a record than a bunch of adjectives and hyperbole. So in June 2017 I started writing these album posts in part because I wanted to do what Ryan Scheiber did back in 1996--I wanted to share my passion for other people's music--but I didn't hold any ambitions beyond cataloging my records and sharing my stories about them.

Strangely enough, my excitement for new music actually grew once I weaned myself off of music sites like Pitchfork. I found, among other things, a weird little pocket of heavy metal that hit my sweet spot and I've had a blast exploring it. I've finally found the bands that are more interested in being grimy than glossy. Bands that aren't afraid of a little slop. Bands that aren't trying to cross-pollinate with some divergent style of music. Bands like Ossuarium: meaty, oozing with dread, and just a teeny bit clunky.

Is there much to write about beyond that? Probably not. And that's okay. I don't think Ossuarium had ambitions beyond hanging out, drinking beer together in the practice space, and adding to an existing musical tradition they all loved. And 20 Buck Spin probably had a good handle on how big the band was gonna be. They printed up a conservative amount of LPs and sold 'em at a price that would guarantee they wouldn't sit on warehouse shelves for very long but would cover their costs and maybe allow them to send out a royalties check or two.

Living Tomb didn't need to be any bigger than that. Ossuarium weren't trying to break out and gain fans outside of their own tiny little community. They weren't trying to capitalize on the zeitgeist. They weren't claiming that appreciating their music would make you a better and more well-rounded person. They didn't take on more commercial attributes under the guise of inclusivity. And it didn't need to be overanalyzed and it didn't really warrant an in-depth long-form review from someone like Pitchfork (although I just looked it up and whaddaya know... it got a 7.6).

[marshallpupfan]

You have a massive taste for Marshall Merch, so well: What, in your opinion is the most high quality items you've came across, Plushes, Toys, etc.

A part of me feels like the plush dolls are a bit hard to judge, since their quality can be all over the place. One day, you'll find a doll that looks surprisingly good, and then the next, Marshall looks like one of those knock-off characters sold at a dollar store. Still, I was able to pick out a few that I think represent some high quality, such as...

...the Build-a-Bear plush, which I think is still one of the finer plush dolls in my collection to this day. It's such a shame they don't sell these in the BAB stores anymore (last I heard, anyway).

And this plush doll from "GUND". Honestly, they often release high quality products, so I'm not surprised I'm finding myself including their name here. This one in-particular has always stood out to me.

Moving away from plush dolls, I wanted to find some items that I felt here high quality in the sense that A) they represent or look like the character quite well, B) are painted or manufactured carefully, and C) are actually sturdy or seem like they'll last.

This, sadly, leaves out some of the items I purchased recently. For example, that cup topper I got from the AMC Theater; it's nice, but Marshall's outfit on it is all red, despite his actual outfit having more color than that (such as the black on his hind legs). While it's a cool item and I'm happy to have it, that seemed like such a shoulder shrug to the manufacturers, thus I wouldn't deem it "high quality".

In any case...

One such item that fits this criteria, imo, is this item. It looks surprisingly great, the character looks quite accurate, and it doesn't feel cheap... and it's just a shampoo bottle! Crazy to think a company put this much effort into something that might get thrown away once its empty. This one was never sold in the United States, so I had to import it from the United Kingdom.

I also feel this bank fits my criteria, too. Funnily enough, this was also imported from the United Kingdom. I'd joke and say all of their products must be high quality, but I also imported a battery-powered bubble blower from them, and that thing feels so cheap and brittle, just staring at it might cause it to break. lol

The Christmas ornaments... er... hang on. That's not a great pic, huh? My phone can be so inconsistent. Sometimes it looks good, sometimes not. The flash can help, but not always. My TracFone camera is something that's NOT high quality. lol

Okay, now that I've returned with my mother's camera (after scrounging around for four AA batteries to power the thing)...

The Christmas ornaments can often look weird, hastily painted, and have eyes that appear so... off. But then you'll find ones like this that are surprisingly good. It really stands out, imo. However...

THIS is easily the best of the bunch. It's made by Hallmark, and the detail is surprisingly so good! My only gripe is the crease around his mouth, but even the Chase ornament (released a year prior) did the same thing, too. Guess it's unavoidable, since they didn't even skimp on giving the inside of his mouth some detail, too. I have to wonder if we'll ever see another Marshall ornament of this quality again? I hope we do... and I'll collect it, of course. :)

(The flash kept making the pic too dark, so this is the best I could do.)

This item also counts. It looks better than most of the figurines I've collected, and to think, it's just a simple flashlight. I guess it helps that the designs of the pups are quite simple, thus some products can get their likeness down pat so well... which makes it confusing when other manufacturers gets them so wrong. lol

This snow glove is also really, really good. The pups are a little expressionless, but other than that, it just looks great. I feel like plenty of care went into this one... which is probably why they sold out so quickly when I went looking for one. lol

I could probably find some more items, but I think this will do it for now. However, before closing this out, I would like to state one thing; just because I don't find every item in my collection to be of high quality, that doesn't mean I dislike them or something. Sure, that AMC topper I mentioned earlier might be missing some color and detail I was hoping to see, but I'm not disappointed in it at all. I was still really happy to get one! In fact, outside of a very few items, I've loved collecting everything you see in my collection thus far! Hey, something doesn't have to be perfect to be good. :)

[sound-traveller]

snailchans-kitty -> sound-traveller

°☆welcome to the imaginary express!☆°

🇵🇸 have you gotten your daily clicks in today?

(2024 note:)

PLS SEND UR ASKS AGAIN IF I HAVENT REPLIED TO THEM YET!!!

I've had issues a few months ago with tumblr ask editing and ended up. deleting a lot of stuff by accident so pls send it over again!!! tysm ^^

-snowy / walnut / hydrangea

-17 y/o

-aroace lesbian, nonbinary (any but she/her)

-main blog is @kittensnowie

-carrd (list of f/os and s/is + kins)

hi! welcome to my little selfshipping corner =w=

-my blog is mostly centered around my platonic f/os, although i might post about my romantic f/os once in a while. -i'm usually pretty cool with sharing my f/os in any way!

-i am a walnut cookie psychological fictkin which impacts some of my selfships. feel free to ask me for my other kins if needed!

-feel free to tag me for whatever you'd like!! ^^

If we're mutuals, please tag the following with "#snowy don't look". It's not needed ofc but it helps!

-any content about my familial f/os that is suggestive or sexualizing them

-baguette × coffee candy, lotus dragon × hydrangea

-anything with bodily fluids

-mouth-to-mouth kissing (i know this makes me sound like a little kid im so sorry)

DNI if-

-you fit basic DNI criteria (lgbt-phobic, racist, MAP / Zoo, etc.)

-proship / neutral

-you are a part of the Countryhumans or DSMP fandom

(might add more later on)

Tags:

#°•|| snowy.txt ||•°

-used for any text posts

#°•|| snowy's rbs ||•°

-reblog tag

#°•|| match made! ||•°

-used for tagging others' ships / selfships

#°•|| delivery ☆! ||•°

-used for original art / writing

#°•|| letter recieved ||•°

-used for ask responses

#!!!

-anything deemed important in general

#°•|| a message for queue! ||•°

-queued posts

#☆ snowy views their f/os under a microscope

-analysis / infodump tag

thats it for now!! ty for reading >w<

[y0rk-ie]

INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone, I'm Yorkie (He/Him), but you can call me whatever the hell you want. Kindly read this before scrolling down my blog, as I feel it's important.

For starters, this is my main (and only) blog. It's multipurpose, but I mainly just use it to interact with posts I find funny and share any art I make. There's not a hint of professionalism to be seen here I'm afraid.

My interests can fluctuate occasionally, but as of right now I'm into TF2, The Hunger Games (books > movies, sorry), Splatoon, and other assorted media. I'll also sometimes make/promote posts about my more casual interests, but that's to be expected tbh. Oh, and I'm also violently passionate about my OCs and their crappy lore, so expect posts along those lines every once in a while.

Some heads up before you follow:

- I'm neurodivergent and very, very, awkward. Please don't take offence if I type strangely or take years to reply to DMs/asks. - (Adding onto this ^^^) I'm also dyslexic, so expect frequent typos and grammatical mistakes on here. - Aaand finally I'm very sarcastic/dry when I make jokes. Feel free to ask if you'd like for me to elaborate on any tone issues if need be.

As for a DNI? I haven't really got anything specific besides the basic criteria (if you're into anything illegal/discriminatory then shoo), but I'd prefer that accounts fully dedicated to eating disorder/self-harm or outright NSFW content stay away. That's it I think lmao.

Tags I use:

- #Y0rkie productions: Art and other assorted creations made by me - #Assorted rambling: Text posts made by me (mute this to shut me up) - #Reblog: General tag for reblogs in which I've added additional tags to (can be both fandom-related and general) - #Post add on: Reblog of posts originally made by me, usually responding to another user's comment or adding on extra info to a post - #Poll: Polls ran by me - #Notice: Misc. text posts regarding my blog/content that I deem important - #CW: (insert topic here): Self-explanatory. Markers used for potentially upsetting subjects within my posts - #You ask I answer: Ask tag - #OC garble: Assorted text posts and trivia regarding my OCs

Status on art-related stuff:

- Commissions: CLOSED - Art Trades: FRIENDS/MUTUALS ONLY - Requests: OPEN (unless otherwise specified)

(Will update this in future if needed)

[cbk1000]

I'm really a bit ehhhhh about this new compensation system.

So, under my old company, everyone got the same cost of living raise across the board, and then your bonus was merit-based. It was a measly raise; I think it was usually about 1%, so under this new system, even though we don't get bonuses, it will actually be more money overall...if you score high enough to merit a raise.

The issue is, there are brackets of 0%, 2.5%, and 3%. The absolute highest raise you can get is 3%. I calculated that out, and that is $140 extra a month for me. And that's calculated on my gross pay, so that would not be what I actually take home. Let's say maybe $100 extra a month, after taxes and benefits and all that. If someone threw $100 at me, I would not turn it down, but that is not very much money. An extra $50 a paycheck is barely noticeable, tbh, unless you are REALLY hard up, but it's still not going to go very far. My boss said that at a leadership meeting she attended, there was a lot of emphasis on how important these evaluations are and how this company has VERY high standards and the grades really need to be earned. So, is this like a situation where basically nobody gets that 3% because their standards are impossibly high? I've been evaluated under three different managers under the old system and always scored in the highest possible bracket. Under the old system, a manager did have to justify in their comments why they had scored someone really high or low, so it's not that different, but the emphasis on their standards and the wording of the merit breakdown just kind of really sounds like, "You better dance REALLY hard for that extra hundred bucks, monkey."

The other thing is, in the 0% bracket, the descriptions breaking down what puts you in that cover three different types of employees: employees with 'role model behaviors' who exemplify the values of the company, are 'team players', adapt well to change, etc. etc., but have inconsistent results and struggle with their workload. Then you have the employee who is extremely technically proficient and good at their job, but has 'inconsistent behaviors', which I take some issue with, especially if we're being graded on how much 'joy' we do our jobs with. The description for this category lists things like 'inconsistently demonstrates value-based behaviors', 'operates independent of the team or organization' and 'does not use a "systems" view', which isn't clarified, so I don't know what the criteria is for this. And then the third category is someone who is a very poor performer with a poor attitude. So basically, if you get excellent result, but your attitude is deemed poor, you get no raise. If you are a role model of good behavior but struggle with your workload, you get no raise.

Then for a 2% raise, you have to have solid behaviors and solid results; for a 2.5%, role model behavior with solid results, or role model results with solid behavior; the 3% is 'exceptional' and covers someone who has role-model behavior and exceptional results.

I'm not personally worried about getting screwed out of a raise, but a lot of this language is too broad in my opinion when it determines whether you get any raise at all, let alone the percentage. At least under the old system you knew you would get a raise, even if it was a small one, and the extra bonus was based on a similar system.

I dunno. I guess we shall see how this plays out.

[scorpionatori]

Movie Star:

A look at the importance of Natori’s famous actor persona, brought to you by a narcissistic actor who just knows him better<3

Another character study of Natori Shuuichi from your beloved local Natori expert. This time I’ll specifically delve into how his role as a famous actor plays into the rest of his character.

Summary of Natori’s Background

Let’s start off listing the things in Natori’s life that led to his many issues:

Emotional neglect and abuse: Natori grew up not being shown any love or affection from anyone as a child (except perhaps his mother before her death). In addition to this, he was blamed directly for negative events that happened to his family, including his mother’s death, and was deemed as creepy and dangerous and worthless by his relatives. As a young child, he had to bear that blame and guilt that everyone forced onto him.

Scorn and Gossip: He was the subject of negative rumors and gossip from relatives and peers alike. He grew up hearing people say only negative things about him behind his back, and this continued into adulthood in the exorcist community.

Peer Rejection: While as a teenager he seemed to be the one avoiding his peers, I think it’s safe to say he never was able to fit in with or be accepted by children his age growing up. While he was popular for his looks amongst girls, boys at his school gossiped about him constantly and even called him creepy.

So basically, we have a neglected and abused kid with zero attachments to people and rejection from both relatives and peers, who’s grown up hearing only negative things about himself. What happens when that kid suddenly becomes very popular and successful? It’s a good thing for sure that he receives this finally, but Natori’s two very different experiences with others definitely caused complex aspects of his character to develop.

Acting Career

We sadly don’t know a lot about the start of Natori’s acting career, other than that at some point between the ages of 16 and 23 he became a popular movie star with many fans. Quite contrary to the life he grew up with. While his actor persona is often used as comic relief in the series, it does reflect many important aspects of his character. An actor must have many faces as they go through their various roles, which reflects his unstable sense of identity. Being famous and popular provides him with positive attention and praise that he lacked growing up. It also strongly ties into to his problems with intimacy and closeness and vulnerability. His detective role in particular is reminiscent of his need to protect others and be a hero. We see his acting career as the ground on which he builds up his self esteem.

Attention Issues and Narcissism

I always went back and forth on how I felt about this, but after writing this all up, I’ve decided: Natori is a narcissist.

To break things down, let’s look at the symptoms of the actual personality disorder and how it applies to him (5 or more criteria have to be met):

(Note: I kind of hate the DSM-5 but whatever)

Grandiose self importance: Natori sees himself as being especially important, talented, and attractive when compared with other people. He also sees himself as someone who must protect others, and that he’s more capable of this than other people. He thinks it’s his role to protect his family in particular, and that he needs to look after Natsume and keep him safe from harm. He places very high expectations on himself, and crashes into disappointment and low self worth if he doesn’t meet these expectations (notably when he fails to exorcise the dangerous youkai on his very first try).

Preoccupation with fantasies of success, power, brilliance, beauty, etc: He doesn’t seem to fantasize about these things too much (though let’s note we don’t often get his internal perspective so I can’t speak too much on this one). He is, though, quite intent on becoming important and needed in the exorcist community when he starts out. He is preoccupied as a teen with thoughts of becoming a powerful exorcist.

Belief that one is special and unique and can only be understood by or be associated with high-status people or institutions: This one’s funny to me because he meets the heir of the head clan of the exorcist community who says he wants to team up with him and immediately decides he wants nothing to do with him. However, this is due to his deep insecurities and other issues, not necessarily because he doesn’t want to be associated with someone of high status. He seems drawn to the hope of being recognized and praised and accepted, and he seeks this amidst the powerful exorcists he wants recognition from. He is drawn to Natsume’s strong powers and wants to work with him. He mentions about Tanuma that he has no interest in recruiting someone who only barely has powers. This shows he only has interest in partnering with someone as or more powerful than he is. I think the “understood by” is key here, especially with Natsume. Natori is very selective of who he associates closely with, and Natsume is pretty much this one person. Natori sees himself as someone different and unique who can’t be understood by others, and upon meeting Natsume, who has similar personal background and strong powers, believes he’s finally found the person he can truly call a companion. He’s the ideal perfect person he believes he can be understood by when they first meet.

Requires excessive attention: Natori thrives strongly on attention and praise from others, and seems to be at his best when receiving this. He seems to love being out in public where he can run into fans, and doesn’t hesitate to promote himself.

Sense of entitlement: When they first meet, Natori acts entitled to Natsume’s help. He thinks he should have someone that powerful as an assistant who can help him be an even stronger exorcist, and he expects that Natsume will go along with what he wants. At the Hakozaki mansion, he believes he’s the one who should obtain the contents of the sealed room and believes they will be most safe in his hands and not with the other exorcists.

Interpersonally exploitative: He wants to use Natsume’s powers to help increase his own power as an exorcist, despite Natsume’s disinterest in helping. His initial interactions with Natsume are driven by his own personal desires for a powerful assistant and companion, and he was pushy and manipulative about it at first.

Lacking empathy: Natori seems to have lower levels of empathy. He has a difficult time relating to others and recognizing their needs and understanding their perspectives. Not only does he find this difficult, he seems to resist this as well. He stops himself from considering Matoba’s experiences and perspectives to change his opinion of him, and he struggles to consider and comprehend why Natsume would care about youkai and doesn’t bother looking at things from his point of view. I’d say he has a lack of both affective empathy and cognitive empathy. He doesn’t completely lack it, but he struggles with it AND I’d say actively stops himself from experiencing empathy at times when he could.

Envious of others/thinks others are envious of them: Envy to me isn’t the best way to describe what Natori experiences, but I think he does fit this. He isn’t envious of Matoba, but he does feel intimidated and insecure around him because of their large gap in experience and skill. Matoba is naturally more powerful and has years more experience than he has. Because of this and Matoba’s behavior, he assumes that the other boy is looking down on him and judging him and testing him. This causes Natori to avoid him, as it only makes his feelings of insecurity worse to be around a peer much more advanced than he is. (I’d like to note that THIS is often the cause behind a narcissist’s envy of others. We feel inherently inferior, and the accomplishments and talents of others, especially peers, make the feeling 100x worse). In terms of “thinking others are envious of them”, Natori even says aloud that the reason other exorcists have for cursing him is because they’re jealous that someone so talented entered the community. They’re only hurting him because they know how much better he is than them.

Arrogant/haughty behaviors or attitudes: Natori frequently brags around others about being talented and attractive, to the point of being overbearing (this is often used for comic relief). He is stubborn about his views and he looks down on Natsume and his opinions when they first meet, believing his views are the “correct” ones that should be followed, including for the sake of the one in disagreement with him.

Other common signs he has:

He has either high or low self esteem depending on how he's viewed and treated by others.

He overestimates his abilities, which leads to disappointing himself and crashing.

He compares himself with others and defines himself in relation to them (he needs to be as strong as Matoba, he needs to be as kind and helpful as Takuma).

He obsesses over moving up and progressing in his chosen areas of expertise.

He perceives others as being jealous of him.

These symptoms were present for him by early adulthood, affect many aspects of his life and relationships, impact how he perceives himself and others, and paints how he interacts with people.

After this, I think you could definitely make the argument for Natori as a character meeting the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder.

So how does this all tie into the acting thing? Speaking from personal experience, acting is a very enticing hobby or job if you struggle with narcissistic symptoms. What is acting, if not an opportunity to take the spotlight and be seen and understood by a mob of people who are watching you with awe? (only half joking). I know for me personally, this is what made me want to be an actor, and it wouldn’t be surprising if this this is what Natori would have found enticing about the career. A chance at bringing in a ton of positive attention and praise? Sign him up. Finally he’s getting the attention he needs, the attention he deserves.

Identity

It’s made especially clear in his backstory that Natori struggles with his sense of personal identity. He sees his world as wavering, and he’s deeply detached from his surroundings, especially other people. He has a very hard time seeing himself and others clearly. Acting is his perfect job. He’s given a character. He’s given a script. He gets to put on a mask and be someone else who knows who they are and what they have to say and how they have to interact. It’s not a true identity, but it works as a substitute. It’s a safe identity. Acting is a double-edged sword for one who struggles with their identity. On one hand, it provides an alternative way to interact with the world and other people. From studying a character, you gain a deeper understanding of human nature and psyche. An actor’s job is to study the character and quite literally bring them to life. You become the character you’re playing, and you, as the character, interact with other people who are interacting with you as their own characters. The problem is, what if you are only connecting to the world via a mask? Natori can pour his heart and soul into his performances, but he lacks a solid sense of who he himself is as a person. He leans on his roles, and on his persona as a famous person (both in the acting and exorcist community). He likes to put on an air of wit and charisma and charm, while struggling to see himself clearly outside of this. Natori has a carefully constructed persona of a well put-together and successful celebrity, while keeping his anxieties and insecurities buried away underneath. He's able to appear clean and pretty but internally still struggles to define and understand himself.

Does this make his "sparkly celebrity persona" just a fake mask? I don't think so. I think even if he had to force himself to act this way contrary to how he used to be, he has genuinely become more self-assured and confident and cheerful and friendly. He appears to love the positive attention it attracts and it helps him interact with others. However, this persona does not work on Natsume who finds his charming attitude strange and obnoxious. It's with Natsume that we begin to see Natori let his guard down a little and show a more genuine and sincere personality underneath as their friendship develops. Underneath his charming and friendly demeanor, he can be cold and stubborn and manipulative. But he is also gentle, protective, caring, and supportive. He is anxious and easily frazzled and irritable. He also truly is a charming and dazzling movie star who loves getting attention from every girl who sees him on the street.

Intimacy and Vulnerability

Perhaps my favorite aspect of Natori's acting career is how it pertains to his struggles with personal intimacy, as well as vulnerability. Acting is seen as a vulnerable profession. You have to pour out your heart into a character in front of an audience, and convey powerful emotions. You have to risk embarrassment and discomfort. But the thing is, it's a safe type of vulnerability. After all, the audience isn't seeing you as a person, they're seeing the character you're playing.

Natori has significant problems actually being close to people. He's anxious and insecure, and the risk of being vulnerable is terrifying. But he needs that human connection just like anyone else. So he finds a safe way to connect with others, and that's through acting. Through acting he can express himself and interact with others in a way that’s controlled and safe. He has a written script to talk through, and a costume to present himself in. He can be emotional and expressive without having to display his true feelings to people. He can talk to people without having to use his own words.

It isn’t only the actual acting that relates to this, but his position of being famous as well. What Natori wants from people is love and attention. He never received this from the people around him growing up, like family or peers, and at this point the prospect of trying to get this through close personal bonds is uncomfortable and even frightening. But after becoming a popular actor, he can now receive this through fans, through media, through coworkers, and the like. These are all shallow and detached connections, however, which also means they’re “safer”. He might not run into that specific fan again, but he can hear their praises for a fleeting moment and chat with them back. His coworkers can congratulate him and give him flowers, but for most of them he’ll just move on and have new coworkers at his next job. These are all just professional connections. He discovers he doesn’t need close bonds in order to receive the love and attention he needed. And these shallow fleeting connections don’t require any intimacy or vulnerability on his part. Through fame and acting, he’s discovered a way to satisfy his need for love and attention without having to get close to anyone and risk revealing himself to people who wouldn’t understand him.

Self-Esteem

Natori experiences both very high and very low self esteem (remembering his narcissistic traits, this is to be expected).

Naturally, it defaults to being very low. He grew up feeling deep shame and guilt, and he’s very anxious and insecure and easily feels worthless and incompetent. Feeling this way, he needed to find something to tie into his identity, something to be good at, something he could excel in and build up a strong sense of self worth. Initially he looks for this in exorcism. This is somewhat successful eventually, as he does become very skilled and sought out, but he also has to worry about his comparisons with Matoba, and overall the community resents him for his family. So this wasn’t going to cut it by itself.

Somewhere down the line, however, he got into acting and eventually became a famous and celebrated young actor. This became something he could build his self worth upon. Suddenly he was receiving unlimited praise for his skill and his looks from many people. This causes him to now experience very high self esteem. He feels particularly talented and attractive, and frequently brags about himself. He’s finally receiving the praise he deserves, and can relish in it.

In his personal life he was living at the very bottom, in the exorcist community he was stuck at second place and surrounded by rivals who hated him, but as an actor he’s number one in his community, with no one to bring him down.

Hero Complex

Natori believes he needs to protect everyone, something he has in common with Natsume. He feels directly responsible for keeping his family safe from harm, and it’s his driving goal to help people with his exorcism job. Natsume is driven by fear and anxiety of losing what he’s gained (if he isn’t good enough to protect his loved ones, he shouldn’t be around them and will have to leave his current life), while Natori is driven more by a desire to be needed by others (if he’s strong enough to protect people, he will become needed and useful).

There’s a sort of comedy to his role as a dazzling detective in his movies. He gets to pretend to be someone who swoops in and saves the day every time, and is praised and admired for it. It’s a simple straightforward role where he doesn’t have to worry about failing or disappointing people. It reflects the fulfillment that Natori is looking for. He wants to be a hero who can protect people and get rid of the bad guys, so that people will need him around. But real life isn’t as dazzling and clean as the movies, it’s unpredictable and scary. Sometimes he fails, and all he can do is watch and pray things turn out all right. He wants to keep Natsume safe more than anything, but he continually watches him fall into mortal danger or finds out he’s in a troublesome situation. He thinks he needs to protect Natsume, and he wants to be his source of strength and safety.

In Conclusion

While it’s largely used for comedic effect in the series, being a famous actor reflects many important facets of Natori as a character, such as his narcissistic traits and behaviors, his struggles with identity and intimacy, his simultaneously high and low self esteem, and his desire to be a hero to people. As someone who has a lot of the aforementioned issues and loves acting, Natori is a very intriguing and lovable character to me and his personality is very realistic and human and well-written. I think Natori’s sparkly celebrity persona is more deep and important to his character than it’s given credit for, so I thought it would be fun to write about.

[thelikesoffinn]

Hi! I wanted to now: How do you decide if you answer an ask or don't? I had this one Astarion question and I don't want to be rude so I thought I'd ask your criteria first

Hiya there!

Don't worry, you can generally ask away freely! 90% of my "criteria" is tone, to be perfectly honest. So long as you're nice, on topic and keep to the regular conversation rules, it's quite likely that I'll answer your question!

The other 10% are mostly a mixture of different aspects.

If it's just banter, - so, someone talking about their Tav or their fics or whatever other topic without really asking anything - I'll just answer away.

But if there's a proper character-question in there, I usually try to look for these things:

1. Is it actually a question, or is it a rant with question marks?

2. Do I know enough about the character/situation/topic to actually give an answer? And if not, is it a bridge I can gap by researching?

(Probably the most important to me! I don't like just throwing stuff into the room without knowing what I'm talking about, so I always make sure to research if I deem it necessary.)

If you're planning to refute a point I made in one of my posts or simply offer your opinion on something I said, I usually just go through it and try to gather if my point was correctly understood and if the points that are made in turn make sense to me (and to the topic).

Otherwise, an answer won't do anyone any good because it's just us talking past each other like two ships in the night. Things like that turn ugly really quickly, and I'd like to avoid that where I can. (A good discussion needs a firm base - i.e., both parties need to understand the source and each others points to a proper degree - to work out. Otherwise, it's just a random bar throwdown).

Anyway, flower, I'd say just ask away and don't overthink it! I don't bite!

[hyunsoolgc]

-ˋˏ ◡  BETWEEN SUMMER & WINTER / @lgcminseo

Seo Minseo is what the kids would refer to as 'a real one' — someone with enough kindness and generosity to offer a friend assistance in any time of need; regardless of what it meant sacrificing for herself. Now, Hyunsoo had been faced with a certain dilemma inflicted upon him by his mother. She was always insistent that he would marry whomever she deemed fit for him, even if it meant arranging him on numerous blind dates with the daughters of colleagues or industry connections that were suitable to her standards. Personality and Hyunsoo's own tastes or feelings on the matter were never of any consequence to her.

However, with Minseo, he crafted the perfect solution that she just so happened to accept. Under the guise that she pose as his girlfriend, he has not seen a date forced on him since May. It is a relief; albeit, a temporary solution. In fact, his mother is all too pleased with his 'selection'. Minseo is still the daughter of parents that Hwang Jiyoon held in high esteem. Not to mention, the girl herself meets all of the criteria beyond that: beautiful, accomplished, polite, and not to mention, her talent for singing as a bonus.

Hyunsoo should have eventually expected for this current outcome he now finds himself in. The two of them are urged by their fathers to tag along on their excursion to the golf course, happy to leave their wives lounging by the pool to soak up the last remnants of warm air.

He does not renege on the promise to maintain the illusion. They sport matching shirts — powder blue, a color similar shade to the sky above the lush green hills. He exhales a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping as his father hands him his golf bag to carry. The man is all smiles when in company with Minseo's father; a rare sight only witnessed outside of his mother's scrutiny.

"Why don't you both go along ahead and get a golf cart and... I'll take Minseo to get a snack or drink? You can swing by and pick us up." Hyunsoo offers the suggestion with a firm but polite tone, earning a confirming nod from both of their fathers. He turns to Minseo and clears his throat, hesitating before he grabs for her hand. He makes certain to intertwine their fingers. Palm to palm, the action gives off the appearance of more intimacy. With eyes at their back at all times, it is important to dedicate to the act wholeheartedly, lest the illusion fade and their facade is uncovered.

He leans in towards her to speak, now that they are some distance away. "I think there is still time to make a run for it. They will hardly notice we're gone, right?"

[doku-no-bi]

Rules are necessary to maintain professionalism.

Hey, it's Kazumi and Vil here to give you the rules we'd like you to follow on our account!

Of course. Rules are needed to make sure we all stay safe and refined. We wouldn't want anyone acting unseemly.

Yeah... Just don't be inappropriate guys.

1. Although Vil is not a minor (18), I am. Any mildly suggestive things are okay (think kissing, flirting, etc), but nothing full on explicit/NSFW (due to me being a minor...). Platonic relationships are definitely okay!! Any blogs that don't want to interact with minors should steer clear.

2. Please remember to be kind! Vil is a person too, and he can be hurt by your words. Any asks that I deem harmful will be deleted.

3. Any time me and Vil talk together, I will be in blue and Vil will be in white. When he is talking alone, he will also be in white. To add to that, I will most likely be speaking in the tags because I talk a lot (and so Vil doesn't see my chatter). Please feel free to ignore this! I absolutely don't mind.

4. I use headcanons in my portrayal of Vil; I try to be as canon compliant as possible with the knowledge that I have of him.

5. Absolutely no homophobia, racism, transphobia, etc. Regular DNI criteria applies here.

6. If Vil doesn't respond to you, please don't feel too bad! He has so many things going on in his life, both in public spaces as well as school and his personal life.

7. That being said, I am also a full-time high school student, and so it is likely that my replies will be fully messed up (read: I tend to procrastinate by doing fun things and then I have a week to catch up on all my schoolwork). Please be mindful of that and don't spam me and Vil.

8. OCs? Absolutely! I love seeing your OCs. Make sure to send in a description of them either beforehand or in your starter (unless Vil doesn't know your character at all, I guess - but it would still help to have a general overview). If there's nothing of the sort, I will automatically assume that your character and Vil have never met. However, I am not comfortable with the first interaction with an OC being a romantic one, as it has become a problem before for me.

9. I can speak a little bit of Japanese (my parents are Japanese but I haven't actually tried to learn it well so it may be messy (though I'm working on it)) and I am learning Spanish (in school) so! I am willing to write replies using those languages as well as English (and I might use honorifics like "-san" so keep that in mind (probably will not due to Vil not using honorifics that much)). Spanish I can't guarantee though because it kind of can suck.

10. I also love shipping and am not very selective (I love seeing rare pairs, and in general seeing how their ship would work out). So, feel free to do that too! Before they get into a relationship, though, they need to have at least some sort of interaction beforehand (because I want to get to know you too, and even if you're playing a canon character, I still want to do some regular stuff first) To add to that, I am a multishipper, so each relationship happens in its own verse.

11. OOC talks? I love them, but if you aren't talking directly to Vil or something about him, then I'd redirect you to @kazumirambles which is my regular ol' talking blog (so I don't spam anyone).

12. Anons will always be treated platonically by Vil (as he doesn't know you that much), but you are welcome to send all your love to him! He does appreciate it a win over Neige ha. Also, if you want to be known with an emoji, you will be tagged as "kantokusei [emoji]" or "[emoji] kantokusei" so there's also that!

13. Mun does not equal muse!! Vil may say/do things that I would not do or that I don't condone. We do not share the same feelings or actions all the time.

And finally, remember to have fun!

And take care of yourself. Make sure to not stay up too late on your devices. Rest is important for a healthy life.

[keiyaku-tako]

Every Contract Needs a Set of Rules

Hey, it's Kazumi and Azul here to give you the rules we'd like you to follow on our account!

Yes, Kazumi-san. Everyone who wishes to speak to us needs to follow by these rules. After all, any contract has rules, does it not?

No need to speak so formally... But yeah!

1. Azul is a minor (17) and so am I. Any mildly suggestive things are okay (think kissing, flirting, etc), but nothing full on explicit/NSFW. Platonic relationships are definitely okay!! Any blogs that don't want to interact with minors should steer clear.

2. Please remember to be kind! Azul is a person too, and he can get hurt. Any asks that I deem harmful will be deleted.

3. Any time me and Azul talk together, I will be in blue and Azul will be in white. When he is talking alone, he will also be in white. To add to that, I will most likely be speaking in the tags because I talk a lot (and so Azul doesn't see my chatter). Please feel free to ignore this! I absolutely don't mind.

4. I use headcanons in my portrayal of Azul; I try to be as canon compliant as possible with the knowledge that I have of him.

5. Absolutely no homophobia, racism, transphobia, etc. Regular DNI criteria applies here.

6. If Azul doesn't respond to you, please don't feel too bad! He runs the Mostro Lounge and he spends most of his time doing that, doing schoolwork, participating in his club, etc... He sometimes loses track of time. He will reply, just be patient.

7. That being said, I am also a full-time high school student, and so it is likely that my replies will be fully messed up (read: I tend to procrastinate by doing fun things and then I have a week to catch up on all my schoolwork). Please be mindful of that and don't spam me and Azul.

8. OCs? Absolutely! I love seeing your OCs. Make sure to send in a description of them either beforehand or in your starter (unless Azul doesn't know your character at all, I guess - but it would still help to have a general overview). If there's nothing of the sort, I will automatically assume that your character and Azul have never met. However, I am not comfortable with the first interaction with an OC being a romantic one, as it has become a problem before for me.

9. I can speak a little bit of Japanese (my parents are Japanese but I haven't actually tried to learn it well so it may be messy (though I'm working on it)) and I am learning Spanish (in school) so! I am willing to write replies using those languages as well as English (and I will automatically use honorifics like "-san" so keep that in mind). Spanish I can't guarantee though because it kind of can suck.

10. I also love shipping and am not very selective (I love seeing rare pairs, and in general seeing how their ship would work out). So, feel free to do that too! Before they get into a relationship, though, they need to have at least some sort of interaction beforehand (because I want to get to know you too, and even if you're playing a canon character, I still want to do some regular stuff first) To add to that, I am a multishipper, so each relationship happens in its own verse.

11. OOC talks? I love them, but if you aren't talking directly to Azul or something about him, then I'd redirect you to @kazumirambles which is my regular ol' talking blog (so I don't spam anyone).

12. Anons will always be treated platonically by Azul (as he doesn't know you that much), but you are welcome to send all your love to him! He genuinely appreciates it (it gives his ego a boost). Also, if you want to be known with an emoji, you will be tagged as "kantokusei-san [emoji]" so there's also that!

13. Mun does not equal muse!! Azul may say/do things that I would not do or that I don't condone. We do not share the same feelings or actions all the time.

And finally, remember to have fun!

Was that really necessary?

Yes, don't be so boring Azul. Having fun is important!

[iceyrukia]

Hate how any criticism of the actions of some feminists always gets derailed by some libfem yelling “ stop shaming her!!!!!!1” Like it’s all so reactionary and frustrating. Imagine how much we could accomplish if libfems didn’t assume that any reflection or in depth critical thinking of potentially harmful practices and whether they cause harm to women wasn’t taken as inherently coming from a “ male perspective”, especially you know, when the freaking person doing the actual critiquing is a women themselves - not some random self-serving man. A woman wanting to really evaluate if certain “choices” are actually good for women’s liberation and well being in the long run is see as some killjoy. Or “ male aligned.”

But of course , this laziness is rather convenient because it’s easier to blame a woman who you don’t agree with as the actual perpetrator of misogyny then the actual practices ( “ reclaimed patriarchal gender roles”) than taking the time to ponder if they do woman any good or not. But since liberal feminism is strongly belief oriented, it’s no wonder that any questioning of any “choice” gets a knee-jerk reaction of accusations o hurting women’s feelings, which above all must be protected because women are fragile and can’t take criticism /s. Men hurt women’s feelings and that’s bad so any women that hurts other women’s’ feelings is the same and also bad…..that’s the logic here and the criteria that deems whether something or someone is “good feminist” or not. The most important thing above all in liberal feminism is if you believe and validate after all, and any woman that deviates from this is just a mean girl who “ doesn’t support women”. It’s all so juvenile and infantilizing.

Liberal feminism is belief oriented and is ultimately upheld by validation.

[dykeotomy]

3. I don't think feminism needs to reconstruct itself for trans women. The overlapping oppression they face is already being fought against by biological women, and simply acknowledging that trans women also face social misogyny isn't reconstructing the framework of feminism. There are problems only biological women face, yes, and no one is trying to demean those. Black women face misogyny differently because they are black, and that overlaps with their femaleness, but that doesn't mean that feminism needed to be built from the beginning to fit them in the movement.

Trans people in general are actually really likely to be raped according to the office for victims of crime ( https://ovc.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh226/files/pubs/forge/sexual_numbers.html ), that reported: “12 percent of transgender youth report being sexually assaulted in K–12 settings by peers or educational staff; 13 percent of African-American transgender people surveyed were sexually assaulted in the workplace; and 22 percent of homeless transgender individuals were assaulted while staying in shelters.”

Another study by the williams institute ( https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-trans-press-release/ ) said: “Transgender women and men had higher rates of violent victimization (86.1 and 107.5 per 1,000 people, respectively) than cisgender women and men (23.7 and 19.8 per 1,000 people, respectively).”

I think that seeing this is extremely important to include trans people within feminism, because even if they don't face the same type of misogyny as biological women, they still face misogyny and acknowledging that isn't “taking away” or “reconstructing” feminism, because that overlap is already being fought for by biological women and that has been the case for decades.

4. There are quite a few protections in place regarding surgeries, and countless trans people have talked about it. You need to be over 18, a signed letter from a professional (sometimes two of them) & persistent and documented gender dysphoria in all kinds of gender reassignment surgeries (as well as, of course, being deemed responsible enough to make such a decision), one complete year in hormones… And even then, the waiting period (like with any medical procedure) takes ages (furthermore, if you research the topic you'll see that trans women who surgeries like breast implants have it more difficult than trans men, because they need to meet more strict criteria.)

Talking about hormone replacement therapy, many places require a referral letter from a mental health professional, as well a gender dysphoria diagnosis, and the patients are extensively talked through what that means for their body, as well as a health evaluation from the doctor to assure that the person in question doesn't have any issues do to it. Puberty blockers are given to minors until they are over 18 (which are completely reversible) and therefore old enough to make their own medical decisions. The minors that get hormone replacement therapy need their parents' permission too.

5. In that case, then gender ideology isn't inherently upholding gender roles, since simply wanted to be called a word that describes the opposite sex and use the pronouns tied to this word isn't tied to harmful gender stereotypes.

Hi again, sorry for the delay! I'm honestly having so much fun debating these topics, I'm really glad I reached out. Have a good day! -L.A.

3. the problem with the trans women/black women argument is that black women don't have to do anything to earn their womanhood--they are just female. they are equally as female as white women, and it's wrong to imply that their blackness makes them somehow less deserving of feminism. if anything, radical feminism is meant to address every system of oppression that affects women, which includes racism.

nobody is denying that passing trans women face social misogyny. i will be the first to say this is true, but i am also the first to say that trans women who don't pass (the majority of them) face a very distinct, very different type of social backlash, and it is one that is also experienced by gay/effeminate men. a bigot isn't gonna stop a trans woman on the street and say "are you a trans woman or a feminine man?" before deciding to be transphobic or homophobic. the bigot will treat the trans woman as a man in a dress. this is horrible and should be fought against, 100%, but it is not misogyny and it is not female oppression.

the study of rape in trans people has numbers pretty similar to the american national average of women's sexual assault stats (approx. 17% of females are victims of sexual assault). the highest numbers in the study you linked for sexual assault percent are from homeless trans people and trans people in police custody, in which non-trans women are also more likely to be assaulted. adult females, in general, are 90% of all sexual assault victims. not to even mention the amount of daily harassment women face. i get catcalled at least half the time i go to the train station (weekly). i was told to stop wearing shorts in the grocery store at 10 years old, before i even hit puberty, because men would look. this is all anecdotal, of course, but every woman and girl that i know has stories like these (and worse). assault against trans people is abhorrent. but the assault that women face is for different reasons, more ingrained in our pop culture and everyday life, and deserves its own movement.

something i found interesting in your second link was how 1/4 of victimized trans women thought the incident was a hate crime, compared to 1/10 bio women. it wasn't until very recently (this year) that i started to think of rape and sexual harassment as misogynistic hate crimes. we're not taught to think like that. i also think it's interesting that trans men had higher levels of victimization than trans women--probably because they are female. and i'm not sure where this study got it's numbers for bio women, because nearly every other study i've read has at least 80% of all women as victims of sexual crimes (not even including things like domestic abuse or non-misogyny fueled crimes).

i will always include trans men in my feminism. they were raised as girls, have female bodies, face misogyny, etc. trans women are not part of my feminism because my feminism is aimed towards female liberation. i am fighting for a world that does not value males more than females. i can simultaneously be against the violent hate of trans women while centering my feminism around the female sex. my feminism is also about gender abolition and the removal of gender self ID, which is antithetical to trans people's beliefs that gender should be a personal identity.

4. i know two trans people who got top surgery as minors (16 and 17, respectively) and one who started hrt at 15. another one started at 18 but did not need a letter from a therapist--just one meeting with the doctor who would be prescribing the testosterone in order to go over risks and benefits. i think this varies state-by-state and country-by-country; i live in a very liberal area, so of course it's going to be easier access. in the time that i've spent in trans circles i've also seen how a popular belief is that trans medical care should be easily accessible to the point that someone wouldn't even need doctor approval.

i don't have much to say about the medicalization of trans people other than this link, honestly. it's a bit of a long read, but super eye-opening.

5. but what is the point in calling yourself a word for the opposite sex? it is, at best, inaccurate, and at worst, actively upholding the idea that because someone fits the opposite sex's gender roles, then they should BE the opposite sex. in a sexism-free world, the words man and woman would not mean anything other than male and female. masculinity and femininity would not correlate to either sex (and would hopefully not exist as concepts anyways, because they are regressive). "man" and "woman" are not strict boxes that exclude trans people from being themselves. a man can be as feminine as he wants and that does not change the fact that he is male. vice versa for women. transgenderism opens new boxes rather than acknowledging that absolutely nobody can fit into a box, anyways.

i'm having a lot of fun too!! and don't worry about the delays, i know we all have lives outside tumblr lol :) have a good day!!

[vistashr22]

A Kuwait Place

Kuwait is located in the northeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula, at the head of the Arabian Gulf. Bordered to the north and west by Iraq, to the south and west by Saudi Arabia, and the east by the Arabian Gulf, it is a member of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The oil industry accounts for over half of GDP and 90% of government export revenues. Kuwait imports most of its capital equipment, food, manufacturing equipment, and consumer goods.

Case in Hand:

In 2017, the government adopted a new development plan, “Kuwait Vision 2035”, which focused on economic reform designed to empower the private sector and transform Kuwait into a regional trade and investment hub.  Objectives of Kuwait Vision 2035 include upgraded infrastructure and diversification of the economy away from oil. 

P&G is a global consumer goods brand that originated in the USA and has been operating since 1837. The company moved into other countries in terms of manufacturing and product sales. There are 7.4 billion people on the planet—and over 5 billion in 180 countries use P&G products.

Task in Hand:

You are a Business Expansion Consultant and are required to pitch to the Board of Directors of P&G, which includes the following – 

Briefly elucidate the Division being set up in Kuwait and the most viable Location 

Workforce Diversification between expatriates and local population

Selection Criteria for the expatriates

Training and Development for the expatriates

Residential provision for the expatriates and Socio-Political Security measures in Kuwait

Detailed Compensation Plan for all the employees.

Deliverables: 

A Report of not less than 10 Pages 

A PPT of not more than 8 Pages

Any creatives that you deem necessary

Submission Details:

Deadline: 8:00 AM 24/09/22 Email Subject and File Name: A Kuwait Place_ECOXX Email Id: vistashr22@gmail.com

P.S. Get extra with extra deliverables

[georgeshutcheson]

All You Need to Know About Nanny Taxes in the UK

New Post has been published on https://www.fastaccountant.co.uk/all-you-need-to-know-about-nanny-taxes/

All You Need to Know About Nanny Taxes in the UK

So you’ve found the perfect nanny to look after your little ones, but now you’re wondering about the not-so-perfect topic of nanny taxes. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about nanny taxes in the UK, from understanding your responsibilities as an employer to navigating the world of HM Revenue & Customs. Whether you’re a first-time employer or simply need a refresher, consider this your go-to guide for all things nanny taxes in the UK.

Understanding Nanny Taxes

What are nanny taxes?

Nanny taxes refer to the taxes and obligations that employers have when hiring a nanny or household worker in the United Kingdom. It is important for families who employ nannies to understand their responsibilities regarding taxes, as failure to comply with these regulations can result in fines and penalties.

Why are nanny taxes important?

Paying nanny taxes is not just a legal requirement but also has several benefits. Firstly, it ensures that nannies have access to important social security benefits, such as pension contributions and other state benefits. Secondly, it helps nanny employers avoid penalties and fines from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Finally, it contributes to a fair and transparent employment relationship, providing both parties with protection under the law.

Who is responsible for paying nanny taxes in the UK?

In the UK, the responsibility of paying nanny taxes lies with the employer, which is typically the family who hires the nanny. As an employer, you are required to register with HMRC, pay National Insurance contributions on behalf of your nanny, deduct income tax through the PAYE system, and provide your nanny with a payslip and P60 at the end of the tax year.

What are the consequences of not paying nanny taxes?

Failure to pay nanny taxes can lead to serious consequences for both the employer and the nanny. As an employer, you may face penalties and fines from HMRC, along with potential legal action. Additionally, not paying nanny taxes may also negatively affect your nanny, as they will not have access to certain benefits and may face difficulties with their own tax and social security obligations.

Determining Employment Status

Employee or self-employed: how to determine the status of your nanny

Determining whether your nanny is an employee or self-employed is crucial for understanding your tax obligations. An employee is typically someone who works under the direction and control of the employer, while a self-employed individual works independently and has more control over their own work.

To determine your nanny’s employment status, you can consider factors such as the level of control you have over their work, whether they provide their own tools or equipment, and if they are responsible for their own expenses. It is important to review the criteria provided by HMRC to ensure you are making the correct determination.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) criteria for employment status

HMRC has specific criteria to determine employment status, which includes factors such as control, working arrangements, financial risk, and the provision of equipment. These criteria help determine whether your nanny should be classified as an employee or self-employed.

It is crucial to review the criteria provided by HMRC and consider each factor carefully to make an accurate determination. If you are unsure about the employment status of your nanny, it is advisable to seek professional advice to avoid any potential misclassification and its consequences.

Impact of employment status on tax obligations

The employment status of your nanny has a significant impact on your tax obligations as an employer. If your nanny is deemed an employee, you will be responsible for deducting income tax and National Insurance contributions from their wages through the PAYE system. Additionally, you will need to provide them with a payslip and ensure compliance with other employment regulations.

On the other hand, if your nanny is considered self-employed, their tax and National Insurance obligations will be different. They will be responsible for managing their own taxes and social security contributions, and you will not have the same level of withholding responsibilities as an employer.

Understanding the employment status of your nanny is crucial for fulfilling your tax obligations accurately and avoiding potential compliance issues.

Registering as an Employer

When do you need to register as an employer?

As a nanny employer, you must register as an employer if you meet certain criteria. Generally, you need to register with HMRC if you pay your nanny more than a specified amount each week, if you provide them with benefits and your nanny is an employee as opposed to being self employed.

It is important to stay informed about the current threshold for registration, as it may change from year to year. Failing to register as an employer when required can lead to penalties and legal consequences.

How to register as an employer in the UK

Registering as an employer is a relatively straightforward process. You can register online through the HMRC website by providing information about yourself, your nanny, and details about your household employment.

It is important to have all the necessary information ready before starting the registration process. This includes your National Insurance number, your nanny’s National Insurance number (if available), and relevant employment details such as pay rates and work hours.

Understanding Payroll

Calculating your nanny’s wages

Calculating your nanny’s wages involves considering various factors, such as their hourly rate, the number of hours worked, and any overtime or additional pay they may be entitled to. It is important to establish a fair and competitive wage that reflects your nanny’s skills, experience, and responsibilities.

To calculate your nanny’s wages accurately, you will need a payroll software or consult with a payroll provider. These resources can assist you in calculating the correct amount, factoring in any tax deductions and National Insurance contributions.

Handling deductions and benefits

As an employer, you may need to deduct income tax and National Insurance contributions from your nanny’s wages. These deductions are crucial for ensuring your nanny pays their fair share of taxes and receives the necessary social security benefits.

Additionally, you may provide benefits to your nanny, such as healthcare or a pension scheme. These benefits are considered part of their overall compensation package and should be factored into their payroll calculations.

It is important to keep accurate records of all deductions and benefits provided to your nanny, as these will be necessary for tax reporting purposes.

PAYE (Pay As You Earn) system

The PAYE system is the method used in the UK to deduct income tax and National Insurance contributions from employees’ wages. As an employer, you are responsible for operating the PAYE system for your nanny, deducting the appropriate amount and reporting it to HMRC.

The PAYE system ensures that your nanny’s tax obligations are met throughout the year, rather than having a significant tax burden at the end of the tax year. It is important to stay updated on changes to tax rates or thresholds to ensure accurate deductions.

Importance of keeping accurate payroll records

Maintaining accurate payroll records is crucial for both compliance purposes and your own peace of mind. You should keep records of your nanny’s wages, deductions, benefits, and other relevant employment details. These records will be necessary for tax reporting, as well as resolving any disputes or inquiries.

Ensure that your payroll records are kept securely and accessible for at least six years, as this is the timeframe during which HMRC can conduct tax investigations.

Nanny’s National Insurance Contributions

As an employer, you are responsible for calculating and deducting your nanny’s National Insurance contributions from their wages. You must ensure that the correct amount is deducted and accurately reported to HMRC.

It is essential to stay informed about the current National Insurance rates and thresholds to ensure compliance with your obligations. By fulfilling your responsibilities as an employer, you help your nanny maintain their contributions and access important social security benefits.

Pensions and Pensions Contributions

Automatic enrolment into a workplace pension scheme

Since 2012, the UK government has implemented automatic enrolment into workplace pension schemes for eligible employees, including nannies. This means that as an employer, you are required to provide your nanny with the opportunity to participate in a pension scheme.

Automatic enrolment ensures that your nanny has the opportunity to save for their retirement and receive employer contributions towards their pension. You should investigate and choose a suitable pension scheme that meets the requirements set out by the government.

Nanny’s pension contributions

Your nanny is also require to make contributions to their pension scheme. The amount of contributions may vary depending on the chosen scheme and the individual’s earnings.

It is important for your nanny to understand the importance of saving for retirement and the benefits of participating in a pension scheme. Encourage them to take advantage of any employer contributions and contribute a sufficient amount towards their pension.

Employer’s responsibilities regarding pensions

As an employer, you have certain responsibilities regarding your nanny’s pension scheme. You must choose a qualifying pension scheme, enrol your nanny into the scheme, and make employer contributions based on their qualifying earnings.

Additionally, you must inform your nanny about the automatic enrolment process, their rights regarding pension contributions, and provide the necessary information regarding the chosen pension scheme.

Ensuring compliance with pension obligations is essential for providing your nanny with a secure retirement future and maintaining a fair employment relationship.

Contracts and Employment Rights

Importance of having a written employment contract

Having a written employment contract is crucial for defining the details of your nanny’s employment and protecting both parties’ rights. A well-drafted contract should clearly outline their duties, working hours, pay rate, notice period, and any benefits or entitlements.

By having a written contract, you create a clear understanding of the expectations and responsibilities of both parties, minimizing potential misunderstandings or disputes.

Key elements to include in a nanny employment contract

A nanny employment contract should include several key elements to ensure clarity and protection for both the employer and the nanny. These elements may include:

Job title and description: Clearly define the role and responsibilities of the nanny.

Working hours: Outline the expected hours of work, including any overtime or weekend requirements.

Compensation: Specify the agreed-upon wage, including any benefits or additional payments.

Holidays and leave: Define the entitlement to annual leave, sick leave, and other types of leave.

Notice period: Specify the notice period required for termination of the employment agreement.

Confidentiality and non-disclosure: Address any obligations or restrictions regarding confidential information or trade secrets.

Dispute resolution: Include provisions for resolving any disputes that may arise during the employment period.

Including these key elements in the employment contract helps establish a fair and transparent employment relationship, ensuring that both parties are aware of their rights and obligations.

Nanny’s employment rights in the UK

Nannies in the UK are entitled to certain employment rights and protections. These rights include the right to receive the National Minimum Wage, protection from discrimination, and the right to a safe and healthy working environment.

Additionally, nannies have the right to take maternity, paternity, and adoption leave, as well as access to certain benefits such as paid annual leave and statutory sick pay.

As an employer, it is crucial to be aware of your nanny’s employment rights and ensure compliance with the relevant laws and regulations. This helps create a respectful and fair working environment and avoids potential legal issues.

The Role of Payroll Providers

Benefits of using a payroll provider for managing nanny taxes

Engaging a payroll provider can bring several benefits when it comes to managing nanny taxes. Firstly, it saves time and reduces administrative burden, as payroll providers specialize in the intricacies of payroll processing and tax calculations. This allows you to focus on other aspects of managing your household and provides peace of mind knowing that your nanny’s tax obligations are being handled accurately.

Another benefit is the expertise and knowledge that payroll providers bring to the table. They stay updated on changes in tax legislation and employment regulations, ensuring that you remain compliant with your obligations as an employer.

Services provided by payroll providers

Payroll providers offer a range of services to assist nanny employers with managing taxes and payroll. These services typically include payroll processing, tax calculations and deductions, compliance with employment regulations, and providing payslips and other necessary documentation.

Payroll providers can also offer advice and support on employment contracts, employment rights, and tax planning, which can be invaluable for nanny employers who may not have extensive knowledge in these areas.

Choosing a reliable payroll provider

When choosing a payroll provider, it is essential to consider their experience and reputation in the industry. Look for providers who specialize in nanny payroll and have a proven track record of delivering accurate and reliable services.

It is also important to consider the level of customer support and assistance they provide. Ensuring that you can easily communicate with the payroll provider and receive timely responses to your queries is essential for a smooth working relationship.

Research and compare different payroll providers to find the one that best meets your specific needs as a nanny employer. You may also consider seeking recommendations from other nanny employers or professional networks.

Seeking Professional Advice

Why consulting with a tax professional is recommended

Consulting with a tax professional is highly recommended when it comes to managing nanny taxes in the UK. Tax professionals have the expertise and knowledge to navigate the intricacies of tax laws and regulations, ensuring that you remain compliant and minimize potential risks.

Tax professionals can provide valuable advice and guidance on a range of tax-related matters, such as employment status determination, tax planning, and compliance with HMRC requirements. They can also assist you in preparing your annual tax returns and handle any inquiries or disputes that may arise.

Finding a qualified tax professional in the UK

When looking for a tax professional in the UK, it is important to find someone who is qualified and experienced in handling nanny taxes. Look for professionals who specialize in personal tax or employment tax, as they will have a deeper understanding of the specific issues faced by nanny employers.

You can start by asking for recommendations from friends, family, or other nanny employers who have had positive experiences with tax professionals. Additionally, professional organizations, such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) or the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT), can provide directories of qualified tax professionals that you can consider.

Before engaging a tax professional, schedule an initial consultation to discuss your specific needs and ensure that you feel comfortable working with them. This will help establish a strong working relationship and ensure that you receive the best possible advice and support.