"Someone whose name starts with a J and who would probably take the fact that there is any floor space at all as an invitation to kneel, perhaps?"

"...I didn't actually know his name but that sounds like the guy. Yes."

"Gimme some space to sit with you, maybe I can deal with him if he does decide to show up."

"Sure..." Terry moves objects. "I don't- I don't want him to be miserable or anything, it's just..."

She sits. "Oh, I know, that's straight-up sexual harassment. I kind of—am trying to work on it. With him. But gods is it a headache sometimes."

"And it's like, how can a sub be harassing a dom. I may be a dom but I don't want- I don't actually want to... I don't know. I'll shut up."

That eyebrow raise again. "You don't need to shut up. And subs harassing doms: totally a thing, as evidenced by our mutual acquaintance."

"Role stereotypes are bugging me again, that's all. Doms are confident and commanding at all times and always like submission. Never mind that I don't usually want to act like an alpha dom. I'd rather confidently read, or self-assuredly think about magic."

"Oh. Well I definitely read you as much closer to the other dom stereotype, to the extent people are close to stereotypes."

"Thanks, I guess? I just... Don't get it. I can vaguely get the appeal of being super dominant, but I have no idea what subs are thinking. So to speak."

"Well do you want to know?"

"...I would have thought I would say no, but now I'm curious."

"Well—people vary, I can't speak for everyone, but—there's a comfort in just... letting go. In trusting someone else so completely that you feel safe in giving yourself to them, you know it's gonna be okay because they're there and they're gonna make sure of it. Sometimes thinking is exhausting, and being able to just—not—is very, very restful.

"And there's also something that's just intrinsically appealing about being in someone else's power, in a way. That one's a bit harder to explain to someone who doesn't have it, but it just feels nice. It's sort of like—being in a warm safe place, but more."

"...Well that's. Thinking about that and about Jackson just makes me kind of sad."

"...yeah. It's why I wanna—help him, somehow. I know what it feels like, and he must be particularly sensitive and. Well. That's how he gets what he wants because he doesn't really see any other way to do it."

"And on the other hand, I can't stand it. I can't even tell him to go away, because then I told him to. I have sympathy and all but - but - I'm failing to come up with an analogy."

"Yeah, I know, it is in fact straight-up harassment, there's no way he doesn't get what he wants. Have you tried talking to someone in an official capacity?"

"I was basically laughed out of the office. That is when I devised my 'stuff occupies space' plan."

"Ugh," she groans in sympathy. "I—for what it's worth he at least varies his targets?" she says, gesturing at a table where Dominic and a few of his friends are sitting and studiously ignoring Jackson kneeling by. "And, you know, you've met Dominic, he's not exactly a noncentral example of dom and even he finds Jackson creepy. Maybe if lots of people complained..."

"What, a petition? 'Punish this one particular person, please'? I guess it could work, but it feels off."

"More like, if a big enough number of doms mentions it... but that might just duck him over."

"Making him stop somehow will make him miserable any which way, though. Is the awkwardness and revulsion he's causing worth his own not-very-deep satisfaction?" Sigh. "I don't want to keep talking about this."

She nods. "We can talk about something else."

"I read up a bunch of stuff about formal logic and it's surprisingly helpful with magic! I closed a bunch of, like, loopholes that were confusing the hell out of me."

"Formal logic, really? That's not at all like the way magic feels to me."