#every day for the next week is minimum 80... :(

[heartbeetz]

Why is the 85°F summer heat starting in May I'm going to melt away...... :(((

[creatingblackcharacters]

Some General Notes, Week 1

(in no particular order, no you don't have to agree, no they're not "the right answer", no I'm not going to argue. They're just my thoughts!)

-What I definitely enjoyed seeing was (the discomfort and frustration of, rightfully so!) people realizing just how much writing and character design go hand in hand, when told they could not consider the writing! Context is a beast, isn't it? People unfortunately judge with their eyes a lot faster than they bother to read and comprehend (‼️‼️‼️) and so sometimes we have to think about what we've drawn, and what we're trying to or could possibly SAY with that design. It doesn't have to be super detailed, but little things can go a long way.

-White folk tended to overcorrect, with more negative opinions about certain designs than Black and NB fans of color. I don't think it came from a bad place, as much as a place of concern with some lack of understanding.

-Black viewers are overall quite gracious about Black character design if it looks like you cared enough to try (contrary to popular Tumblr and Societal Belief, we don't bite!) But it did sometimes feel that it was to the point of being too nice. There are a lot of Black people who will accept the bare minimum just to feel included, and I hope to one day see less of that. We deserve the effort!

-Measured in three separate groups, we actually tend to be on the same page about design! We won't see the end result of the polls til next week (sorry ahead of time about the poll notification onslaught) so I could be wrong, but usually after the first thirty minutes, our bars tended to trend similarly from what I saw. This is likely due to the bias of my userbase; I'm sure if this poll reached The Unfortunate Masses of Fan Racists, it would be different. We shall see!

-There is usually a beginning wave of NB fans of color that actually find designs better than Black people will, which I found interesting, but then it evens out over time.

-Professional artists seem to be real big fans of the fade. The fade and the killmonger. The fade is funny because fades have been around for decades, and no one ever cared this much, but suddenly there are fades every other character. I wish there were more teeny weeny afros and short locs and just loose curls. Twists too!

-A lot of people were surprised about some characters who were supposed to be Black (and actually were). Which is telling, both on your side as the viewer and their side as the artists! Because that means something was not conveyed, communicated, or understood when you consumed that media!

-Black folk, I love y'all, I'm saying this kindly and I want you to hear me: I think there were times where your emotional attachment to the design affected your answers, even when told to only base it off visuals (e.g., yes, I know that particular character wears wigs! I know that's in the writing! I hear y'all! But unfortunately, when told to look at that character with the pictures provided, without the writing, given the genre, no, that is not an apparent piece of information. I am sorry.)

-I think NB fans of color especially understood this concept, which is just because a character isn't Black doesn't mean they aren't still a person of color. I say that to mean, some of these people felt ambiguously brown to a point that yes, they could be anyone else! 80% of the blue haired characters submitted (and the majority of the gacha ones) fell into this category, imo. Like, we should not all have to share the One Brown for Representation.

-I definitely didn't think that people would assume that the answers were "is this design Black, nonblack, or white"... I must admit that it doesn't make much sense to me 😅 it explained some of the answers I saw, though. Felt like some folks had to be trolling. Unfortunate, not something I can control once posted. Moving on.

-I do wish more people understood that this was meant to be a thought exercise moreso than "this is the right answer" (though sometimes, there was a right answer lmao. Beau is trash IDC.) It's not to gauge "do you know" as much as "based off of what you know, what would you say". It's for you (and me) to gauge where you are! It's okay to realize that you don't know what you don't know!

[xagave]

Absolutely, get ready for BABIES. The oldest foster we have right now is Lazarus who we got when he was 3 months old from a hoarding case. He had an extremely bad case of herpes that almost killed him and it turns out he has a really bad immune system so he's always getting sick. He's about 8 months old now and he's sort of a long term foster because he currently has FIP and treatment requires one shot every day for 80 days minimum. The meds are a bit expensive so shameless plug but if anyone wants to help us pay for the meds my wife's ko-fi is here

Here he is the day we brought Lazarus home ^

And here he is now! His FIP treatment is going very well so far ^ Our second oldest are Penny and Kazoo. We got Penny when she was 5 weeks old from a guy whose dog brought her home in his mouth (she was fine the dog was gentle.) We got Kazoo when he was 10 days old from some dudes in the next town over who didn't have time to bottlefeed a newborn. Kazoo is 2 weeks older than Penny and they became best friends!!

10 day old Kazoo and 5 week old Penny ^

Kazoo and Penny now ^

Kazoo and Penny at an adoption event ^ We're having a hard time finding them a home because we refuse to split up bonded pairs

Penny playing in the tub lol ^ Next are a batch of kittens we got from an irresponsible breeder who was fine with letting kittens get sick and starve to death. We originally only got 2 of them when they were 3 days old (breeder let mom cat get sick and die because she didn't want to pay for vet care and tried to pawn the babies off on the other nursing moms and it didn't work out) and they were born premature so they had a lot of health problems. They had rhinovirus and coccidia and the little brown kitten had an umbilical hernia that then became septic and THEN she started getting big pockets of infection in random places like under her chin and in her toes? But we managed to get them healthy and fat and thriving. My wife was able to convince the breeder to give us the remaining kittens 3 days ago and they're half the size of our first two because they've been sick and slowly starving this entire time (they're now 5 weeks old). They're still really sick and have Poop Liquid Until You Die disease so it's not fun on our end but we're working hard on getting them fat and healthy. They don't really have official names but we've been calling them Zoosmell Pooplord, Insufferable Prick, Flighty Broad, Farmstink Butlass, and Huss lol

The first two nuggets ^

They were sooooooo small ^

Finally fat and healthy at 3 weeks old! ^

The full litter now at 5 and a half weeks old ^

Comparison pic ^. Right kitten is the nugget we've had since he was 3 days old and left kitten is his brother who the breeder just now let us take. It's hard to tell with the fluff but he's borderline skeletal :( Next is a 3 month old kitten that a foster brought to an adoption event who was very clearly sick. Skinny and lethargic with a bad coccidia infection so we took him home that day 1.5 weeks ago and also sent the foster person home with some medicine to fix the coccidia in their other kittens. We've been calling him Christmas Tree Boy cause he's always got a poofy tail or Poop Boy because he hates sharing litter boxes and keeps pooping in random corners 😒 Didn't take long to get him healthy so this weekend he's getting yeeted into another adoption event and whoever adopts him needs to give special attention to his Litter Box Needs

^ He's very cute and loves playing with our other fosters but for the love of god we are TIRED of his Poop Surprises Someone who adopted a bonded trio from us a few months ago is returning them to us tomorrow because their fiance is allergic, so as of tomorrow we will have 12 fosters in our house. Sounds like a lot but we've had 30+ foster kittens crammed in here at the same time so it's a breath of fresh air in comparison💀

Edit: Not a foster kitten but honorable mention to my new betta who I named Gemini because You Know Why

He has a 5 gallon tank all to himself but I don't have a pic of him in it cause he's shy and he hides lol but it's the one behind the cup. Aiming to give him live plants soon

[blubberquark]

How Not To Do A Podcast

Don't have a web site: You don't really need one is this day and age. People find your podcast on Spotify, or on Apple Podcasts, or on YouTube. If you put your episodes up on YouTube, don't need hosting or a domain or a home page!

Don't link to the RSS Feed: If you do have a web site, you can just not bother with a public RSS feed. People on Apple podcasts get your episodes from Apple. If you want to post the episodes to your Web site, just embed the mp3a in blog posts! Don't give the hoi polloi access to the RSS feed, or they might steal your content, or worse, drive up hosting costs by downloading all the mp3s at once!

Don't bother with show notes: Show notes limit your reach. They don't show up the same on YouTube and Spotify, and you can't embed images in a pinned comment. Even worse, show notes lead people away from your podcast or the app. Alternatively, treat show notes as required reading. If you must have them, this is the way to get the most out of your show notes. Refer to the show notes all the time, and tell our audience to just read or listen to the linked stuff. Don't bother excerpting or paraphrasing things from elsewhere on the Internet. People are on a PC, they can click on links! In the show notes, don't bother adding context either. When your listeners have listened to the episode, they will know what the links mean.

Talk about your editing process and audio setup: Did you just buy a new mic? Are you recording on your laptop microphone in a hotel room? Don't just apologise for the audio quality, tell your listeners that normally you would record on the same hardware that NPR uses for This American Life. Talk about how you bought a new Mac Studio Ultra with 128 GB of RAM for editing the pauses out, and that time you had to interrupt the interview because your guest opened the door to accept a package delivery.

Keep introductions to a minimum: Your listeners have listened to the previous 500 episodes in chronological order, so they know what your podcast is about and who is hosting it. Don't start your podcast episodes with the name of the podcast, or introductions where every host says "Hello, I am Alice" "And I am Bob. This is the Alice and Bob send cryptic messages podcast. Today we're going to discuss PGP." This stuff is lame. Just say "Hi, here we are again, how has your last week been?" or "We're back! Sooo..."

If you really have to introduce multiple speakers, just have one host name everybody. Instead of repeating what the podcast is and who is doing it every time, start the episode with frequently updated information like upcoming meet-ups, listener feedback about the episode before last, how to reach you on twitter, your new mastodon instance, and current Patreon goals.

Use .mp3, .aac, or .wma: As long as the bit rate is high enough, people won't notice. Your goal is to reach as many people as possible, so an old file format like WMA is the best. For audiophiles, also have a feed in FLAC format. In the past, 250MB episodes would have been annoying, but everybody listens on YouTube and Spotify anyway (they do the transcoding for you). If they don't, maybe the 250MB per hour will make them reconsider.

Episodes should least at least 80 minutes long: Sometimes time flies, sometimes you need a lot of time to get to the point. People love to listen to the Joe Rogan Experience, which is sometimes 3 hours long. If your guests have more to say, don't record a bonus episode, just ask yourself: What would Rogan do?

Chapter marks work against you: Chapter marks let listeners skip past the ads, but they also let them skip past the part where you announce the next listener meet-up, the new URL of the t-shirt store, and ways to contact you. It is of vital importance that in five years, people who listen to your podcast will be familiarised with the old twitter handle you used to have, the old coupon code for RAID: Shadow Legends that doesn't work any more, and the listener meet-up in downtown Mariupol.

Frequently upgrade your web site: Like I said, it's usually not worth having a web site. But if you do, you need to

keep it fresh.

To do this, you should frequently update the URL of your home page, the URLs of blog posts where users can listen to individual episodes in their browser, your commenting system, your domain name, and the character encoding of your transcripts.

Listeners love banter and personality: Don't read from a script, because that sounds lame and stilted. Don't even have an agenda or written notes. If you want to talk something out, do it live on air. If you talk to a co-host or a guest about the topic or the ground rules for the episode, then do that live on air, too. If you go off topic, or if you have to spend a minute googling something during an episode, if your dog barks, a host goes on a tangent or if there is a package delivery at the door, just say "we'll edit that part out" and then leave the whole thing in, or edit but leave in the bit where you say "we'll edit it out in post". That joke never gets old. Asking your co-hosts about the topic of today's episode gives your podcast personality, rich texture, and entertainment value. The key is to be your raw, unfiltered self. Anybody can read from a script, but only you can answer the door for an Amazon package.

Listeners love drama: If somebody sends you a mean tweet, don't ignore it and move on. Use it! Read out all the mean tweets on your podcast. Make them a regular feature. Ask your listeners whether they agree! They will shower you with sympathy and engagement. If you don't have enough twitter drama to go on, you can invite guests for drama: Get people from twitter onto your podcast. I know, it sounds like a threat when you have twitter beef with somebody and ask them onto your show where you can edit them and you have an audience that's on your side, but you're reasonable here. You can say "twitter is such a terrible format for this, let's hash it out somewhere more appropriate". In the best case, you win the twitter argument without actually having to record the episode. You can just say in your podcast they didn't want to debate you.

Don't record episode 0 or -1: Back in 2005, it was customary to record an "episode zero" as the first thing in your RSS feed. There was even a cool service (now defunct) that aggregated all every "episode zero" from feeds into a feed of upcoming podcasts. These days, you record a trailer for your podcast and that is inserted into feeds of other podcasts at Wondery, Tortoise Media, and Serial Productions. It's passé to have a 15 minute introduction to an upcoming podcast.

Similarly, it used to be customary to record one or more "negative" episodes where you just check out your recording equipment and get used to the process, figure out which segments and interview formats work. You're a professional though. You don't need to get used to hearing your own voice.

You can go the extra mile and scrub everything but the latest 5 episodes from the feed.

[liesmyth]

@takiki16 tags on my post are too good not to be shared! The context is wild shit that legit happened in IRL football ⚽ that I need the Ted Lasso fandom to be aware of, because it'd make for excellent fic material:

the MANAGERS #the PERSONAL DRAMA#I KNOW that ted lasso is not designed to be an actual realistic show #I KNOW that this whole thing did in fact begin as a way to soft trap Americans into watching the Prem #to the point that JOSE FUCKING MOURINHO ACTUALLY HAD A PART IN THE ORIGINAL NBC AD #I do NOT want to change the vibe of the show at all #(but like…a dramedy about the EPL that REALLY wanted to roast some fuckers would perhaps…NOT look like ted lasso #if they wanted to start with the managers it would just be two middle aged idiots with BOILING beef #who had to be physically restrained from throwing hands every other game and have personally destroyed each others’ marriages

Okay WHO would Roy have managerial beef with. I vote Arteta. Actually as @elizabear suggests, it's funnier if it's one sided

He would also instinctively dislike Rob Edwards of Luton because Jamie once said he's the hottest manager in the EPL. Roy's annoyed and he doesn't know why. (Rob Edwards is very hot)

For an example of managers throwing hands... the Tuchel/Conte handshake

In fact here's a whole compilation of managers throwing hands.

Thank you for bringing up Mourinho! This is his ad, btw. "What do you WANT Ted?" lives in my mind rent-free

After much soul-searching I've decided Roy likes Mou a lot among all the managers he's played for. YES, he is a total cunt BUT

he's really fucking funny about it. Like, really.

he's never met a referee he didn't have beef with but most of all Anthony Taylor (as a Roma fan I have to agree with him on that)

the entire 2005 Chelsea team would've died for him. I've said this before, but there can't be a Frank Lampard in TL if Roy plays the box-to-box midfielder role, so this quote about Mourinho walking into Lampard naked in the shower to give him a pep talk? That's Roy. To me.

I can't even pick a quote among all the shit he's said about all the managers he's played against, but I especially enjoy when he used to be a bitch about Pep and Pep was like "I don't know her." It was like a one-sided crush dating back from their Barca days

#if they wanted it to be about the players the literal sky is the limit. WHATEVER the writers room can come up with#it cannot come CLOSE to the batshit drama that real Sockckckckcer Playahs have amongst each other#also intricate rituals. NOT ENOUGH INTRICATE RITUALS#when Jamie scored that free kick after getting permission to be a prick Dani should have kissed him with tongue

Here's some homoeroticism:

#but TO COME BACK TO OP’S POINT ABOUT ACTUAL GAMEPLAY#I want to see Coach Roy get red carded and have to sit in the stands for the next game cursing and swearing

He'd get, like, 3 red cards a season MINIMUM. Mourinho who. Here's Klopp losing it a bit. Here's Pep being passive aggressive as fuck. Pochettino from 2 days ago. Also from last weekend: De Zerbi's "I don't like 80% of referees in England" he's so right for this.

Manager Roy would get himself red carded the week before Richmond play Chelsea away. Totally accidental. So he doesn't have to have a lil cry about it.

#I want to see what it would take to get Zoreaux sent off#and then they have to stick Bumbercatch in goal and it turns out he has some Hyper Specific Phobia about the situation#he manages to save the team but his coping mechanisms for dealing with Forcible Keeper Phobia make up the comedy B-plot of the episode#

I want CLUB RIVALRY. dunno where Richmond actually physically is but imagine if they had derbies#Ted has to be made to understand that no coach - for THIS game we will not stop till we see BLOOD#Richmond wins but bc they are playing away the home fans actively are tossing crap at them as they celebrate on the pitch#also the sprinklers come on and it’s a bus full of soaked greyhounds on the ride home

They're in West London! Maybe they just fucking hate Fulham. Or Brentford.

Actually, I've thought long and hard about Richmond's derby rivalries. Semi-canon sources say they have a bit of a West London rivalry with Brentford BUT to me it doesn't make much sense because Richmond are supposed to have been mid-table in the Prem for years, top-flight but mediocre. Brentford only made it to the Prem in 2021.

Actually, I've decided that Richmond kind of take the place of QPR for most of their history, except they didn't get relegated when QPR did. This is because 1) it'd be too many London-based clubs otherwise but, more importantly, 2) when Man City won their first title in 2012 with Agueeeeeero!!! that was against Richmond. It's funny, To Me.

Also you know Roy still fucking hates Newcastle from his Sunderland academy days. If his pundit career had lasted longer he'd be having top tier shithousery with Alan Shearer every week about it.

Anyway here's a whole youtube playlist about WILD derbies.

#ALSO BC SUAREZ IS COMING TO MIAMI - BITING INCIDENTS CAN THEY DO THAT

As an Italian I am legally obliged to SAY that if Suarez hadn't bitten Chiellini at the World Cup we would have gone past the group stage because Uruguay scored off a corner they won while Italy were all busy telling the ref that there was a fucking cannibal on the pitch. I don't forgive and I don't forget.

Anyway for context: cannibal Luis Suarez. He's a repeat offender. Someone at Richmond would think it was very funny

[lilyfaewood]

A Long Vent

Been sitting on this one for a while so just. Trying to get this out. Gonna be basically a soft life story so, please, don't read if you don't want to. I just need to vent while I wait to get back on the schedule with my psychiatrist. TW: Family/work issues, abuse, manipulation, trauma, lasting things, emotional uncertainty, CPTSD, mention of SH

I have been out of therapy for about 4 months at this point and it honestly kinda came at a really bad time. Before getting too deep, I'm working to reschedule my next appointment, but scheduling is difficult after my therapist had personal biz of their own crop up.

Before the election, I felt like things were moving well, like I was getting into the groove of finally beginning to understand myself. But that crumbled pretty quickly afterwards and I don't think I've really been able to recover. The truth is a lot of my issues and problems come from a CPTSD setting where just ideas were constantly pushed into me at a young age. So I wanna dive into the origin of that.

All of that started with puberty really, something started firing in my brain and I started to struggle in school and personal life. The idea that I was *lazy* or *didn't care* became just self-evident truths. I spent like all my days playing video games and escaping to communities that I felt more comfortable in (thank you World of Warcraft). And my parents fucking hated it. Thought I was burning away my life. Every time I struggled, and I struggled EVERY SEMESTER failing at least one class, the video games were at fault.

So everything that I cared about was a distraction, something that would push me away from being successful. So when I went to college and nearly failed out freshman year chasing my musical passion I was sure that there was nothing left for me. I came back in sophomore year, and struggled my way through college, always having at least something that I couldn't hold up. At least one class a semester that I failed. But I made it through.

I ended up getting a job in esports. Working for a T1 organization and built teams that won world championships. Suddenly the tune changed. The video games worked out, I was successful and it was because of my passion and everything that my parents hated. But they didn't hate it anymore! They were advocates even saying how it was a legitimate business and one that was a viable career.

I felt that validation. Finally. I was working on something that I was passionate about. My parents were finally proud of me and talked well about me to their friends. I wasn't wasting my life anymore!

Then the abuse set in. 80 hour work weeks for minimum wage, working day and night shifts every day, Just keep up the grind. Keep it up and you'll get that raise, you'll get that shiny new *general manager* position. Suddenly I couldn't keep up.

But wait! This is what I'm good at! This is my passion! I can just burn the candle at both ends. I can make it work. Oh I found a new job with more promise! This will be a great way to REALLY make a difference. Why am I failing again? Why am I told I'm not doing enough, I'm working more hours. I'm working for equity not wages. Well let me just cut out food. I can survive on gas station snacks. Oh my coworkers can't afford their homes anymore while they work here and now just moved in the office so they can work more. That carrot's in front of them! It's in front of me too, why can't I push myself harder...

Why can't I push myself harder...

And then I burned out. My passion, my love, everything that I did in my life built to it. And I couldn't do it. My boss hated me and thought I was a nepo-baby because I had a family that financially supported my home during this time. I was just. a tool to use and to discard. Just like the players he told were better off killing themselves than leaving the company. Was I better off that way too?

I was so fractured. I retreated into a shell, one that only my now husband really could help with.

I did eventually get back on my feet, and found my current job that I've been at for five and a half years. But those fears. Those horrible lessons were burned into my brain. That even in something that I care about. It would NEVER be enough. So I slip up. Often. But at least now, I'm not pushed as hard, and I finally have supports that understand this part of me.

Now back to the beginning of this post. I was getting better. And I still think I have some of that figured out, but the stress of this world and for people like me has been eating at me and I feel like my armor is so weak. The work I put into myself to make it so that I could start to get some semblance of self-confidence back has faded a bit. I just. Want to feel safe. And that's really hard right now.

So that's my vent. Just. Wishing I could feel safe enough to have the spoons to prevent these old issues from coming back and rearing their head. I want to do better, I just don't feel like I have the ability to help myself

[dvorahwyn]

URGENT emergency commissions!!

Click the info sheet to view in full size and see prices!

Hey friends! I know I have just created my art tumblr, but you can check out my other art social media and my main tumblr(@fernsinthemist) or just message me if you want any more info!

My name is Deborah, you can call me Debs, I live with my wonderful partner and our pets.

At the moment, I am the only one who works as my partner is currently studying(although she is looking for a part-time WFH job, if anyone knows of anyone hiring!).

We are struggling a LOT right now. I got paid last in December and have only €87 left until I get paid in February and I need to get important things such as my dog's meds, cat litter and food groceries for us.

We are trying to find a way to make some extra money to keep us going for the month and to get the most important things paid for.

More info about our situation under the cut. Warning, it's long.

As for the commissions, I am opening up these emergency commissions with set prices, however, I can negotiate prices as I really, really need the money right now and I am desperate.

I mainly take payment via PayPal but can talk about other options if they suit you better! I take payment upfront and will continue to keep in contact throughout the duration of making your commission.

I will draw any species and if you want a specific pose or expression I will try my best.

I will not draw heavy NSFW but can consider artistic nudity.

TO BOOK A COMMISSION simply message me either here or on my main blog at @fernsinthemist - I reply a bit faster there. On this blog please expect a reply within a few hours to one day.

Thank you SO much for any orders or sharing and please if you can, reblog this for me to spread the word. Thank you so so much!

More info about why I need to sell these commissions:

Our dog, my almost 11 year old best husky friend, has recently had TPLO surgery on one knee, and is yet to get surgery on his other knee. He is on painkillers daily - if he skips them he is in a lot of pain and has accidents in the house, they keep him going. They are expensive tablets and have so far cost me about €2 per day. He needs an extra dose now which will up the cost of the meds.

I spent most of last year sick due to autistic burnout, endometriosis and hormonal issues and was out of work for months due to being sick and because I was bullied out of a job I loved with my whole heart. After looking for a long time I got a job in August and have lovely coworkers and management but it doesn't pay enough for me to make a living. On top of that I had to end up topping up a loan so that I could finally get my dog's surgery and I now have an extra €204 going from my account every month.

I have bills to pay each month and pay for bins, electricity, broadband for work and phone credit. Each month the bills are:

Bins: €39.40

Broadband: €30

Phone credit: €20

Electricity: Between €115-€130, waiting to get the bill

Loan: €204

My dog's meds: Approx. €2 per day going by prices per tablet, so €62 for the month, with more added from next week on as I have to up his dose. This is so urgent as I am out of his meds today.

Rent: €800

On top of that, I have a few pricey expenses coming up:

My dog's post-op x-rays: My dog is 12 weeks post-op and needs to have x-rays soon to check that everything is healing well and to see how his other leg is looking. These will host either €160 for one leg and €220 for both. I also need someone to pick me and him up and bring me to and from the vet and have to cover their petrol which will be at least €50.

Groceries: We have to get groceries delivered here and usually have to spend a minimum of €50 to get delivery. Even without the minimum they would cost us about €50-€80 because of the ridiculous jump in prices here.

Cat litter: We have just ran out of cat litter, and I have to order it. I buy bags of wood pellets used for burning in stoves as they are the same thing as wooded cat litter but are cheaper(life hack for you fellow cat parents out there) - a bag lasts us two changes max and costs about €7, so I will have to order at least three bags to last us until I get paid.

Heating: We have oil heating in the house and have to get our tank filled up to be able to heat up the house. For that we have to get delivery from the local oil company and have to spend at least €180 to get enough oil to last for a short while. We can spend more if we want to fill the tank up more but I want to get just what we can afford and save.

We have also been renting this house since August and it turned out that our landlord hasn't been as honest as he claimed he was and due to some misunderstandings we have to find somewhere else to rent as quickly as possible. We moved here because the last house I rented was put up for sale, and had to find something quick, and it's been a disaster to put it lightly.

I also need to start insuring my car which I've had for a while but have not been able to drive. As we moved to the countryside and have a 20 minute drive to town it's a struggle and we are so isolated and can't even make it to the nearest bus stop 2km away because even though that's a walkable distance we have to walk on a dangerous national road and everyone thinks we are crazy if we do it(and we kind of are because that road has had so many fatal accidents recently). But as I am a new driver and have to do my exam before June, and my girlfriend has a driver's license from her home country and has never had her own car to begin with, insurance is expensive at about €200 per month or about €2200-ish for the year. If I can start to sell some commissions maybe I can at least get my car insured and then I can start to travel for my other job(I have worked for myself as a dog trainer for years but can't get to my clients currently.)

My beloved cat also went missing over a month ago and (this is drastic so please don't read this next part if you are sensitive) I found her passed away behind our house after a few days due to negligence of the landlord - he has a septic tank behind the house that he has left open and she fell into it and drowned. (you can start reading here again) I have had to cremate her and to get the ashes back I paid €218. It was a difficult purchase and maybe many people don't feel it is a necessary one but she was my very first cat that was all of my own and she was there for me through a very difficult time and she passed away much too young at only 3 years old.

Between all of that I haven't even been able to afford to buy Christmas gifts for 2024 and I feel awful about it.

The worst part of it all is that I have only €87 left until I get paid on the 3rd of February.

Any little bit helps, and I appreciate every share.

Thank you so much for reading, if you've read all of this, and for wanting to help. I appreciate you so much. <3

[bakershakers]

beautiful as the place i live and blessed am i to be able to live here, it is still horrible for a multitude of reasons, namely 3; weather, politics, and walkability.

firstly, yall can shout all you want about how florida has "the best weather" when we all know that isnt true. 80° days every month of the year, sweltering heat in the summers (which is essentially late april to early october) with 80% minimum humidity, and not to mention NOT TO MENTIONNNNNNN the hurricanes, the storm surges, the tornadoes, the hail. its undeniably awful, and idc what anyone has to say about it. "oh but you dont get snow!!" okay and??? i wish we did because its so damn hot. its not even meant to get this hot in florida, but tying into my next point:

our polticians dont even think climate change is real, hell our governor doesnt think that!! that is insane. genuinely insane. this past hurricane season was absolutely devastating especially for my community. you cant look at these two once in over a century events occurring happening in less than 2 weeks from eachother and say "thats normal," because it ISNT!! climate change is real regardless of what your pea brain thinks. thats not even the only thing wrong with florida politics. the governor hates on gay people for no reason. i wasnt made bisexual by my surroundings, by how i was raised. i was raised extremely conservative in a strict muslim household in a suburban community filled with republicans. i was not raised to acknowledge gay peoples' existence. and guess what, i turned out gay. you cannot look me in the face and tell me my community's turning children gay when i have first hand accounts of figuring it out myself. its insane that people believe that. i was born this way and you cant change that, and neither can our greedy politicians, mr i bought a $30k+ golf simulator illegally using taxpayer dollars, mr i wear heels in my boots to make myself look taller but then i also am actively trying to ban children from attending drag shows bc i feel like it, mr dont say gay in schools bc itll somehow turn our children gay, mr climate change doesnt exist meanwhile i live in one of the most affected states by it.

my third point, is walkability, which heavily heavily ties into politics. if you know me irl youll know how much i truly care about this. my representative is an idiot who thinks cars=freedom. how is forcing people to pay thousands a year just to fucking leave the house without dying, while also making it more likely for others without that privilege to die, freedom?? it isnt! its not freedom. cars were only ever meant to be luxury items. cars were never meant to be a main mode of transportation. sure, some communities in florida have amazing public transit and walkability, but spend even a day in florida outside any major downtown (like tampa, miami, orlando, etc) and youll quickly find out that where most floridians live, you cant live without a car. florida is extra bad with this, cars bring litter, noise, and air pollutants. add to this floridas extremely fragile ecosystems that we basically paved over with asphalt so 2 ton hunks of metal can get from point a to point b within 3 miles of eachother in 90% of trips.

anyways yeah, thats why i hate florida even though im blessed and privileged enough to live here. i do have to admit, our sunsets are gorgeous, and our beaches are very very nice. i love clearwater beach, has to be my fav ive been to in florida. our wildlife is also very unique and diverse, i love it!! i still would rather not live here.

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Recouping from these last two weeks, still. Kiddo's mom texted yesterday to say they were heading out of Reno towards home, and so last night was my first night back "home" at my place. Oof. I love my bed. I guess I'm just gettin' old, but it just feels like I'm gonna need another coupla days before i'm really done resting up from it this year.

I wouldn't've gone out today at all if it weren't for the fact I needed to go to the credit union and get the two checks to put in the landlord's slot. Glad to finally get it done, just didn't have it in me yesterday to do it. I ran back over there to grab my pillow and that camping pad i had atop the "No Mattress For Old Men" bed, and ran back here.

The heat ain't helpin', but I"ve been holed up in here with the AC set on 76, which is a bearable temp, much more so than 78 or 80. It's not full-blown Texas Heat, but it's enough to make you feel drained after bein' out in it.

But it has been a very long two weeks this time. It's just wearing on my carcass harder the older I get. But If she's gonna be doing this every year, I'll be the go-to cook and bottle washer while she's gone.

Worked my butt off cookin' and bakin' for kiddo, and she appreciated it. Bunny now demands a strawberry when I walk back in in the afternoons. I done spoil't her. lol.

I've got to see if there's a bed frame comin' this week or no, because I have to take new photos for that craigslist ad. I just have the text up right now, and I need to get fresh pics of how it all looks. But I don't think I'm gonna be able to do a whole lot of anything this next two days, other than get some groceries...there was literally nothing in the house until I went out today and brought some bare minimum stuff to get through until tomorrow.

It was all about as pleasant as it could be today, it's not that it was unpleasant, it's just when I'm drained like I am now, I just have got to watch where I expend what little energy I do have. No longer apologize for it...which is, I guess, an improvement. (insert wry chuckle, mouth set in half-smile of grim determination here)

[blazehedgehog]

What do you feel about the Concord game situation?

Another live service grave for the cemetery. Who cares

I am getting extremely tired of live service games. Currently, I play:

Fortnite

Multiversus

Mario Kart Tour

I usually play Fortnite and Multiversus one right after another directly after the shop updates (5pm PST) and I do my one daily Mario Kart race right before bed.

Mario Kart both is and isn't so bad. A single race in that takes less than two minutes, but I have other complaints with its leaderboard and ranking system we aren't getting into right now and I've been debating on making a video about it (to the point where I captured a lot of footage).

Fortnite and Multiversus on the other hand eat up hours of my night, every night.

I am a Fortnite Founder. That means I bought (or was gifted) the Fortnite: Save the World Founder's Pack before it left early access. I have kind of a love/hate thing with Save the World, but the founder's pack means I get free currency as long as I finish one mission per night. It's a minimum of 80 vbucks per night ($0.80), but there can sometimes be bonus "Alert" missions on certain days that can multiply that up to about 260 vbucks per night ($2.60). That could be upwards of $50 in free vbucks per month, meaning 95% of my vast collection of Fortnite cosmetics (over $2000 worth according to Fortnite.gg) was free.

Each STW match is about 10-20 minutes. And if you're doing, say, four per night, that's at least an hour. Just for STW. If I'm trying to finish my Battle Royale battle pass, I'll often do 2-3 matches of that per night, too. So now that's two hours. And at the start of this year, Fortnite also launched Festival (Rock Band 6), Rocket Racing and Lego Fortnite. Each with their own progression.

So for the last 8 months, I've been playing a minimum of 2-4 hours of Fortnite every single night. And it's starting to make me very, very upset, because once I'm done with Fortnite, it feels like I don't want to (or don't have time to) play any other video games for the night.

And then there's Multiversus, a game I also enjoy playing, which unfortunately has developers whose favorite thing is presenting its players with the slowest grinds on earth. They will start an event in that game to let you earn rewards and it'll be like, 1500 event currency to "level up" to the next reward... and each fight only gives you 25. Meaning they expect you to play 60 matches just to level up the event once, and an event pass can be 12-18 levels long.

Usually there are quests attached to give you 3-5 levels for "free," but the bulk of the event is still this horrifying grind. They genuinely expect you to play 300-600+ matches over the course of maybe three weeks. I like to play Multiversus, but I am constantly teetering on the edge of dropping the game entirely because it feels so hostile and disrespectful of my time.

These games want to be your only game. You don't just play Fortnite, you only play Fortnite. This is further reinforced by Fortnite incorporating multiple entirely different games now. Why go anywhere else? Launch Fortnite once and never think about anything else.

You can like Concord's world, you can like Concord's characters, but at the end of the day that game was a trend chaser. It was a live service game, very likely originally pitched as an "extraction shooter", the flavor of the month. When it became apparent people were getting sick of that flavor, they hastily retooled it into a hero shooter to ride somebody else's coat tails. And it was designed to be one of the only games you'd ever play. Just like every live service game is, these days.

There are literally hundreds of games it will be buried next to, a long legacy of "WoW Killers" and such from the mid-to-late 2000's that thought they could dethrone the genre leader only to discover human beings only have so much time in the day and nobody's going to juggle more than two of those games at any given time.

They say nostalgia cycles are every 20 years and it seems a lot of developers are repeating mistakes they already made once back in 2004.

Concord, you will not be missed. I'm sure people worked on Concord that really cared about making it a good game, and it may even be a good game on some level, but it follows a long line of games in the wrong place at the wrong time, trying to steal thunder that was not theirs to steal... and failing.

The people who cared about making Concord a good game will go on to care about other projects that might ultimately also end up good. Talent probably did not wither and die in the creation of making Concord.

But, well, this post on Cohost put it best: (try not to) think about all the Tokyo Jungles, all of the Patapons, all of the Vib Ribbons and Ape Escapes and Jumping Flashes and Parappa the Rappers and Icos and LocoRocos that Sony could have made instead of apparently spending 8 years developing Concord. Concord, a game that still has not even broken 700 concurrent users on PC yet. I've made games more successful than Concord.

And just think: Sony canceled upwards of 6 other Live Service games this year alone. That leak from last year suggested they canceled something more like 14 live service games. Concord was just one unlucky enough to limp out the door.

These people are vampires in the worst description of the term.

[cloudsandcrescents]

What’s your publishing schedule looking like?

That’s a great question. I have no clue (kidding but also not?)

Kidding…not kidding lol…send help pls. But seriously.

Rough Schedule (As it Stands)

I’m currently working on a follow up to Relinquish that sort of fell by the wayside. That is nearly done (75-80%) and it will be up before the end of week (ideally today or tomorrow). This will just be added as a second chapter to the original.

Leather Black I’m actually planning to post more frequently on because that’s meant to be a short series similar to how I did Empty Rooms. I’m planning to resume updates for that this week/weekend with weekly updates but will ideally be more like every 2-3 days depending on my schedule. I really like this one so I’m eager to update for it but I think I just started tackling it at a time where there was a lot going on in my personal life that messed up my schedule quite a bit.

After Hours is reaching its end with maybe another 2-3 chapters (the last likely being an epilogue) so I’m trying to wrap it up by getting back to (at minimum) a biweekly update schedule. Max I’m giving myself to finish is through end of January since that’s around when I first started it. Should have an update to this by the end of next week.

Similar to After Hours, I intend to wrap up Promise Me very soon as well with, likely, another 2-3 chapters. The alternating updates really worked well for me as I would just toggle between which one was the previously updated fic. (Unrelated) Promise Me I’ve actually been debating on because I already set the layout for a sequel in my head. I was thinking about whether I wanted to just keep it going or create a separate fic for it and right now I feel like the latter so we’re surprisingly wrapping that up soon. Should have an update on this in about two weeks if not sooner.

I want to lighten the load before I tackle anything further so I think this is the point where I kind of stop the addition of any new fics until I get a better handle on my current WIP. That said, I most likely won’t be updating Hour of Need or When We Serve until I finish After Hours and Promise Me. Encore is there as well though I’m feeling a little iffy on whether or not I want to come back to that but we’ll see. HoN and WWS will likely follow the pattern of alternating biweekly or even weekly updates between the two once After Hours and Promise Me are done. We’re going to give these a hopeful return in early February but may come sooner.

I’ve gotten several Tumblr requests in my asks that I do see and will definitely get too. I have a tendency to overload myself and I’m very susceptible to burnout so those are just a little behind but I’m hoping to add a few into my update schedule resuming in Mid-Jan/Early-Feb if not sooner once I wrap up Leather Black and my other two bigger fics.

As always, thank you everyone for being so patient with me. I hope that I’m fortunate enough where I can eventually just write for a living and just play with words all day. Until then, I most resume my normal day to day life which isn’t nearly as exciting but keeps me equally busy. I write most of my fics on my phone but also try to sit at my computer to write which tends to motivate me more. Unfortunately, my computer has been inoperable for a few months now as I’ll likely need to replace the CPU I’m pretty sure I broke lol. It’s had to take a backseat to a few other things but I’m planning to get a replacement in mid January and hopefully that’ll help with a lot with my productivity.

I hope this provides anyone looking for their particular favorite of my works, a bit of relief knowing that updates are coming soon. Thank you all for being the best part of getting to do this, truly. 🩵

[dotthings]

Behind the cut, the full text of the WGA's latest statement on negotiations with the AMPTP. From here:

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Dear Members,

As promised, here’s a more detailed explanation of where we are in the negotiations: 

On Friday, August 11th after 102 days on strike, the AMPTP gave us the counteroffer they publicized Tuesday night, August 22nd. The Guild responded with our own counterproposal on August 15th, and there were discussions about a few issues on Wednesday and Thursday last week. On Friday August 18th late afternoon, Carol brought us in for a session that lasted under ten minutes and consisted of the companies making two minor moves on TV issues. 

On Monday, the call came to meet with Carol and four of the CEOs on Tuesday night, August 22nd with an indication the companies were finally ready to get serious about bargaining for a deal. 

As we reported, the basic message of that meeting was that the companies’ first and only counteroffer to the WGA since the start of the strike, made 11 days before, was and had to be the basis for the only deal they were willing to make.

During the meeting with the CEOs, we spent two hours explaining that, though progress had been made, the language of the AMPTP’s offer was, as is typical of that body, a version of giving with one hand and taking back with the other. 

We repeated what we have said since day one, that our demands come directly from the membership itself. They address the existential threats to the profession of writing and to our individual careers, all caused by changes to the business model implemented by the companies in the last seven to ten years. We stressed that we could not and would not pick and choose among those threats; that we have not struck for nearly four months to half-save ourselves, nor are we leaving any sector of this Guild unprotected when we return to work. We are willing to negotiate within these areas, but every existential issue must be met with a genuine solution. 

At the end of the meeting, the companies told us they intended to go directly to our membership by releasing information on their August 11th proposal to the media “within the next 24 hours.” They released a six-page document 20 minutes after the meeting concluded.

This should be seen as what it is: simply a tactic in the middle of an ongoing negotiation. 

We aren’t going to negotiate by press release, so won’t go through the AMPTP’s characterization of its August 11th proposal in detail, but here are some broad strokes that may already be apparent: 

Many of the current deal points they have put forward—minimums, SVOD residuals, AVOD terms—are from a deal negotiated with the DGA more than 80 days ago. 

Member power—the strike—forced the companies to negotiate on more issues than they were willing to as of May 1, but still in the typical AMPTP mode of seeming to give while limiting the actual gains. Here are a few examples of areas they’ve made proposals that are not yet good enough: 

In screen, they have proposed a second step but only for a statistically tiny category of screenwriters, excluding all but the first writers of original screenplays. They dismissed the concept of weekly pay. 

They have ceded selected—but insufficient—minimum terms for some—but not all-Appendix A writers in SVOD. For example, they would not cover anything but comedy-variety.

In television, the companies have introduced the notion of an MBA guarantee of minimum staff size and duration. But the loopholes, limitations, and omissions in their modest proposal, too numerous to single out, make them effectively toothless.

Teams of two writers would receive P&H contributions as individuals. But not teams of three or more.

We have had real discussions and seen movement on their part regarding AI protections. But we are not yet where we need to be. As one example, they continue to refuse to regulate the use of our work to train AI to write new content for a motion picture. 

Finally, the companies say they have made a major concession by offering to allow six WGA staff to study limited streaming viewership data for the next three years, so we can return in 2026 to ask once again for a viewership-based residual. In the meantime, no writer can be told by the WGA about how well their project is doing, much less receive a residual based on that data.

The counteroffer is neither nothing, nor nearly enough. We will continue to advocate for proposals that fully address our issues rather than accept half measures like those mentioned above and other proposals not listed here. 

One last reminder illustrates why the AMPTP’s current stance is irrational. As we have repeated from the first day of our first member meeting—and on every day of this strike--our demands are fair and reasonable, and the companies can afford them. Here is the cost to each company of our current asks on the table, including the addition of increased health funding to address the impact of the strike.

Cost of WGA Proposal*

*In practice, the above totals over-estimate the impact to the companies’ bottom lines, as many of the costs will simply be absorbed into the budgets of individual television and film projects. **Combined company projection

Weigh this against the cost of not making a deal: the cost to 11,500 writers; to actors, crews and drivers; to anyone who works in and around the business but is not on strike; to the economies of California and New York and everywhere film and television is made; to consumers, pension plans and other shareholders; and to the companies themselves. It makes no sense. And everybody but the AMPTP knows it. 

In the last 36 hours the response from the membership is that you are undeterred by this latest tactic. Despite the AMPTP’s attempt at a detour around us, we remain committed to direct negotiations with the companies. That’s actually how a deal gets made and the strike ends. That will be good for the rest of the industry and the companies as well. 

Until then, we will see you on the picket lines. 

In solidarity. 

WGA Negotiating Committee

[iwritebigbellies-blog]

I was 22 when I got my first bookstore job, and at the time my entire experience of "old people" was my grandparents, none of whom had been particularly healthy, and none of whom I was close with. To my young eyes, all they did was sit around and be old. That was life after 60.

The owner of the bookstore was this grand old dame of 76 who had been in the business for 40 years. She'd had three kids with a husband who was extremely gay, and as soon as those were old enough, they split up. She read on an epic scale, was an avid follower of the opera, sang in several choirs, and scheduled arts programming for a private club. She had gentleman callers (so they styled themselves) at the store continuously the entire fifteen years I worked there--yah, into her NINETIES. She never took up seriously with any of them, because they couldn't keep up. She was impeccably dressed and put together every single day of her life, drank regularly, and said they would pry her estrogen supplements out of her cold, dead hands. She had a gang of elderly single lady friends, though, and they went out every night of the week. They knew everything and everyone, collectively. She got her first smart phone in her mid-80s and became extremely Online. I bet she's on Tumblr now. She is 96.

This blew my mind. Life didn't have to be over...ever.

We worship youth in our culture. Only the young have futures, and the aged exist to enable the lives of the young. We act as if by the time you hit forty, you've had your chance. You are now expected to step aside and scede life to others.

FUCK THAT. I have a lot of life ahead of me. I have places to go and books to read and people to fuck and food to eat and music to dance to and emotions to feel and nazis to punch and stories to tell and hearts to break and ventures to capitalize and empires to conquer. I am going to be doing this for the next fifty years, minimum.

Life has so much in it. Do it all, forever.

you have to stay alive. you're going to be such a beautiful middle aged freak. young freaks will see you in the street and know that things can be okay.

[bhuckies]

work rant below ✌🏻😜

gOD I am so fucking tired of doing every fucking thing at this goddamn store like yeah I get that I’m the manager but is it too much to expect that shit that I ask to get done gets done when I’m not there? Ive been consistently coming in at like six in the goddamn morning when we get trucks so I have time to myself to put out as much of the 60-80 boxes we get before we open so we’re not interrupted by customers as often but as soon as I leave for the day everyone else just apparently fucks off on their phones when there’s no customers?? and I’ve been taking longer breaks to make up for the fact I’m coming in at SIX and leaving at FIVE most days because my company doesn’t support overtime unless it’s an emergency but I fucking KNOW I’m being shit talked about for it because I’m not on the floor as often, guess what I’m doing in the back? FUCKING PAPERWORKKKKKKK

also fuckin tired of coming in and nobody’s taken a goddamn thing to the bank so I have to take like five deposits to the bank (like this morning) when I’ve asked closers to take the deposits to our bank NEXT DOOR after we close Tuesdays and Thursdays? it’s the fucking NIGHT DROP it is NOT THAT HARD.

I was verifying all the deposits a couple of weeks ago because I was dropping them off before leaving for the day and one of my staff had the fucking NERVE to say “well that’s why we need to take them more often” after I sighed while verifying SIX DEPOSITS. same person who once responded with “but I don’t wanna go to the bank after close, I’m too tired” when I asked her to do it. so I just looked up at her and said “this wouldn’t be a problem if we were dropping them off at the night drop at close like I asked!” and fucking left and she didn’t think she said anything wrong? I’m not gonna be fucking chastised by a fucking 20 year old when you’re openly bitching when your BOSS asks you to do something!

all of this and I took a fucking write up from my DM because I’m being too soft on them and I’m just constantly reminding them to do shit instead of writing them up like I need to. fuck me I guess.

hopefully I get this job I’m interviewing for today so this isn’t my fucking problem anymore. then they’ll figure it the fuck out that I’m doing SO MUCH for them and asking for the bare fucking minimum in return which they can’t even do.

[harrison-abbott]

He turned up to work early every shift. And he never called in sick, except once, which was when he had Covid. He didn’t complain that it was minimum wage. Or that he was part of the group that was given 20% of the tips, whereas most of the staff got 80%. Didn’t get grumpy or snap at the other colleagues. Even if there were other things on his mind, he never lost his temper. And he showed an interest in the other colleagues’ lives. Just out of curiosity. The job was so boring that there was nothing else to do. And, even if the other chap was only interested in soccer, then, that was fine: it was still something to talk about. He worked the busy Christmas period, on the big days, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, through to New Year. There was even one point when he fell on the way back home, on the icy streets, and sprained his wrist pretty bad. And it all puffed up – his arm, and went blue by the next day – but, he still came into work anyway. And then the new year came and January was a bit of a relief. Quieter shifts. But then in February, this new girl started. She had a splash of power because she was one of the managers. And she was in her early twenties. And as soon as she started working there, the whole mood of the joint changed. Because she was rude and aggressive. Irritable. Swiped at him whenever she saw fit. And he had already been working here for years, whereas with her it was only a few weeks. He thought about going to the head manager about her behaviour. But, he didn’t see much point in being a snitch. He had a decent amount of money in his bank account. And he was getting older. And looked at his position, working in this shit job … and thought, was it really worth it? It had been bearable before the obnoxious girl started working there, but after she came it worsened. So one day he woke up and thought, the Hell with it, and he handed his notice in. He wouldn’t have an income for a while. But he wanted to travel to other countries, whilst he had the time and money to do so. And not be around people like that rude girl. And that’s what he did.

[omconsultants]

What are the Leave Rules for Employees under the Shops and Establishment Act in Maharashtra?

The Shops and Establishment Act is a critical piece of legislation in India that governs the working conditions of employees in commercial establishments, including shops, offices, and other business premises. In Maharashtra, the Act is implemented to ensure the welfare of employees by providing guidelines on various aspects of employment, including working hours, holidays, wages, and leave entitlements. Understanding the leave rules under this Act is crucial for both employers and employees to maintain compliance and ensure a healthy work-life balance.

Types of Leave Entitlements

Under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishment Act, employees are entitled to various types of leave to cater to different needs. The primary types of leave include:

Earned Leave (EL) / Privilege Leave (PL)

Sick Leave (SL)

Casual Leave (CL)

1. Earned Leave (EL) / Privilege Leave (PL)

Earned leave, also known as privilege leave, is granted to employees for rest and recuperation. The key points related to earned leave under the Act are:

Accrual: Employees are entitled to one day of earned leave for every 20 days of work performed in the previous year.

Carry Forward: Earned leave can be accumulated and carried forward to the next year, subject to a maximum limit as specified by the employer.

Encashment: Employees have the right to encash their earned leave at the time of resignation or retirement. The rate of encashment is generally based on the last drawn salary.

2. Sick Leave (SL)

Sick leave is provided to employees to recover from illness or injury. The provisions under the Act for sick leave include:

Entitlement: Employees are entitled to a minimum of 12 days of sick leave in a calendar year.

Documentation: Employers may require a medical certificate if the sick leave exceeds a specified duration, typically more than two or three consecutive days.

Carry Forward: Sick leave is generally not carried forward to the next year and lapses if not utilized.

3. Casual Leave (CL)

Casual leave is meant for short-term, unforeseen circumstances such as personal emergencies. The main aspects of casual leave under the Act are:

Entitlement: Employees are entitled to a minimum of 8 days of casual leave in a calendar year.

Advance Notice: Employees are usually required to provide advance notice to their employer when taking casual leave, except in emergencies.

Non-Accumulative: Casual leave is not carried forward to the next year and lapses if not utilized.

Maternity Leave

Apart from the general leave types, female employees are entitled to maternity leave under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, which applies to all establishments covered under the Shops and Establishment Act. The key provisions include:

Duration: Female employees are entitled to 26 weeks of maternity leave, of which up to 8 weeks can be taken before the expected delivery date.

Eligibility: To be eligible, the employee must have worked for at least 80 days in the 12 months preceding the date of delivery.

Festival and National Holidays

The Maharashtra Shops and Establishment Act also mandates that employees are entitled to paid holidays on specific national and festival days, which include:

Republic Day (January 26)

Independence Day (August 15)

Maharashtra Day (May 1)

In addition, employers may grant leave for other festivals as per mutual agreement between the employer and employees or as stipulated in the company's leave policy.

Compliance and Penalties

Employers are required to maintain proper records of all leave taken by employees and ensure compliance with the Act's provisions. Failure to adhere to these regulations can result in penalties, including fines and other legal consequences.

Conclusion

Understanding the leave rules under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishment Act is essential for both employers and employees to ensure a balanced work environment and compliance with legal requirements. The Act provides comprehensive guidelines on various types of leave, ensuring employees can take time off for rest, health, and personal emergencies while safeguarding their rights and well-being. Employers must adhere to these rules and maintain accurate records to avoid legal complications and foster a positive workplace culture.

Need Help with Compliance? Contact OM Consultants!

Navigating the intricacies of the Maharashtra Shops and Establishment Act can be challenging. OM Consultants is here to assist you in ensuring full compliance with all statutory requirements. Our expert team provides comprehensive services, from maintaining accurate leave records to advising on employee welfare policies.

Contact OM Consultants today to streamline your compliance process and create a better work environment for your employees!

Visit our website OM Consultants to learn more about our services.