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GET YOUR BODY OUT OF SURVIVAL MODE SO YOU CAN CREATE FROM YOUR HEART

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job search

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Autism Diagnosis Criteria Explained:

Category B

Neurodivergent Lou

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if you like crafting and also free things, might i suggest the antique pattern library?

it’s a not for profit that’s gathering books, patterns, and other materials related to crafting that are out of copyright (or getting permission from copyright holders in some cases) in order to share them online. they scan items, clean them up, then make everything available for free!

free things are great, especially when you’re just starting to get into something. like oh, i’m supposed to spend money on this hobby i just picked up 20 minutes ago???

the first time i ended up on the site, i seriously spent hours just trawling through everything. there’s the usual suspects like knitting, crochet, embroidery, but there’s also woodwork, calligraphy, and books on things like how to mount and frame pictures. with cross stitch patterns, they also make modern charts with the dmc colour codes available.

links to their webbed site and instagram:

https://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/

https://www.instagram.com/theantiquepatternlibrary/

behold, a glorious cat cross stitch pattern (link goes to antique pattern library page):

[image id: Multicolour charted cross stitch design of a cat sitting on a red pillow with tassels, holding a green ball]

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GET GRUFFALO'D, BITCH

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god forbid 5000 year old girls do anything

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what they don't tell you about making friends is you gotta be a lil annoying. you gotta push past the fear of "what if they don't want to talk to me" and simply ask someone how their day is going, send a meme. you cannot connect to people if you're both just awkwardly waiting for the other to start.

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Former Employee Exposes Alleged Abuse, Corruption, and Retaliation at ISM and PUMA

A former employee of ISM, a German company partnered with sportswear giant PUMA, has come forward with detailed allegations of workplace abuse, unethical practices, and institutional corruption, supported by internal communications and police reports obtained by this publication.

Initial Complaint and Allegations of Abuse The former employee, whose identity remains confidential, began working at ISM in March 2022. In November 2022, the individual witnessed an incident involving ISM’s General Manager, Engin Gumus, and a female colleague. According to the employee’s official complaint to PUMA, Gumus was seen standing over the lady in an “abusive tone,” causing her to shake and appear visibly distressed. The employee described the scene as deeply disturbing: "I felt so bad and helpless. I could not imagine how she was feeling.”

The complaint, sent to PUMA’s compliance team on November 25, 2022, detailed a pattern of abusive behavior by Gumus, particularly targeting female employees. The employee alleged that Gumus’s wife, Julia Kramer, the CEO of ISM, enabled this behavior and that HR was ineffective, describing the department as a “part-time documentation runner.” The employee expressed concern for colleagues, many of whom were older women who feared losing their jobs if they spoke out.

PUMA’s Response and Internal Investigation PUMA’s compliance team, led by Chief Compliance Officer Dr. Raliza Koleva, acknowledged the complaint and requested a formal submission through their Speak Up platform or via email. The employee complied, providing a detailed account of the November 18 incident and urging PUMA to intervene.

However, by December 14, 2022, the employee grew frustrated with the lack of progress, emailing PUMA officials to express desperation. “Please update me on the status of the complaint,” the employee wrote. “I am worried that you do not comprehend the severity of the situation.”

On December 15, 2022, Koleva responded, stating that PUMA had prepared a letter addressing the allegations and would send it to ISM. Despite this, the employee claims no meaningful action was taken, and the situation at ISM continued to deteriorate.

Escalation and Police Involvement On December 22, 2022, the employee filed a formal report with the Lippstadt Police, detailing a series of incidents at ISM that they believed constituted harassment and intimidation. In the report, the employee described a confrontation with Gumus on December 20, during which concerns about workplace oppression were raised.

The employee also recounted a disturbing encounter on December 21, when a warehouse employee allegedly brandished a screwdriver in a threatening manner. “He looked at me and the screwdriver and put me in an adrenaline rush,” the employee wrote. “I passed him and turned close, not allowing too much space between us.”

The following day, the employee sought clarity from a colleague in the warehouse, who referred to the two individuals involved as “evil police.” This interaction, coupled with the earlier incidents, led the employees to conclude that they were being targeted for speaking out against Gumus and ISM’s leadership.

Allegations of Systemic Misconduct The employee’s report to the police expanded on the initial complaint, alleging that ISM operated as a “modern sweatshop.” They accused the company of rounding employees’ clock-in times to reduce pay, failing to test shoes for restricted substances, and maintaining a warehouse where workers were subjected to harsh conditions for low wages.

The employee also claimed that ISM’s HR department had a conflict of interest, with the HR manager’s husband working at a neighboring factory. They alleged an agreement between the two companies to avoid hiring each other’s employees, further suppressing labor rights.

Retaliation and Intimidation Following the complaints, the employee reported being subjected to ongoing intimidation. In early 2023, they claimed that individuals resembling “minions” broke into his apartment and stole PUMA shoe prototypes they were developing. Fearing for their safety, the employee left Germany and has since faced intimidation, and threats by PUMA and ISM.

PUMA’s Alleged Complicity The employee accused PUMA of failing to address the complaints adequately, suggesting the company prioritized its reputation over employee welfare. They alleged that PUMA’s compliance team, led by Koleva, conducted a superficial investigation and ultimately sided with ISM.

In February 2023, PUMA arranged a mediated meeting between the employee and Julia Kramer, which the employee described as unproductive. They later claimed that PUMA struck a deal with ISM and footwear company PIP to acquire parts of ISM, using the proceeds to silence witnesses and corrupt officials.

Legal Proceedings and Ongoing Investigation The case is now under review by the Paderborn Public Prosecutor’s Office, with the file reference number 37 Js 343/23. Despite the delays, the employee remains hopeful that the new prosecutor, described as an anti-corruption advocate, will bring accountability to ISM and PUMA.

Calls for Accountability In his final plea to authorities, the employee urged a thorough investigation into ISM’s leadership and PUMA’s handling of the allegations. “ISM is a criminal organization,” he stated while acknowledging personal accountability if proven wrong.

The Lippstadt Police confirmed receipt of the report but declined to comment on ongoing proceedings. Neither ISM nor PUMA has issued formal responses to the allegations.

As legal processes unfold, the case highlights the risks faced by corporate whistleblowers and raises urgent questions about ethical oversight in global supply chains.

—Additional reporting contributed by investigative teams.

 

Source: Former Employee Exposes Alleged Abuse, Corruption, and Retaliation at ISM and PUMA

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earlier this week Twitter user ppuccin0 tweeted about a fashion article that advised against tops with large floral patterns, saying the wearer was in danger of looking like a "ロマンティックおばさん," or a "romantic auntie." the tweet went viral with many agreeing that a "romantic auntie" sounded like a very nice thing to aspire to be, and some even posted illustrations or photos tagged with the trend

illustration by Toyota Yuu (author of Cherry Magic)

illustration by 141shkw/Sora Midori (author of Beautiful Curse)

photos by Takinami Yukari (author of Motokare Mania and Watashi-tachi wa Mutsuu Ren'ai ga Shitai or "We Want A Painless Romance")

illustration by m:m (mangaka of Matataki no End Roll)

illustration by ooinuai (mangaka of Onikui Kitan)

illustration by ma2 (mangaka of The Reason We Fall In Love)

BONUS:

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Because of Re: Carmilla, I thought you all would enjoy my edition of Carmilla :

The holes go all the way through, the sides of the book are red, and on some pages the text is colored red just under the holes !

I was so happy when I found it in a little french bookshop specialized in queer texts ❤️

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The bimbo feminism girls who love Legally Blonde really missed like the whole point of the movie. The point is that she's not a brainless bimbo. She saves the day with her knowledge of haircare, sure, but she got in the room by going to law school. You cannot reduce that movie down to "Girl knowledge saves the day!" because the perm wouldn't have mattered if she hadn't spent the entire rest of the movie working her ass off in an unrelated field. The feminist angle is that she can have girly interests and also be smart, not that having girly interests is feminist in itself

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This news story is literally just the plot of Iron Widow and it's killin me

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when people pop off with some ass take like "why should I have to put my pronouns in my profile or signature or whatever, my name is Tom and I have short hair and am wearing an oxford shirt in my profile pic, figure it out" I always think

so do you just not talk to people from other countries for your job, ever?

like, some people don't, and you can follow the flowchart to a different part of the argument about why pushing back about pronouns is stupid, but I e-mail people in Singapore and Dubai and Japan and India every day. A lot of those people have names that are probably their local equivalent of "Tom," but I have never seen them before and I have no idea if that's a girl's name or a boy's name. They usually have profile pics too. I don't know how common short hair is for women or long hair is for men in their country. I don't know if that style of shirt is more common for men or more common for women. I'm not writing this from some homogenous whitebread oasis, either, I live in New York City, it's just simply not possible for me to know the common names in every language of every country where the people I need to work with, live.

just put your stupid pronouns in your signature, some exasperated project manager in Mumbai will one day appreciate it

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I recently shared a post on IG about the medical transition regret rate being only 1% and apparently it set off my partner. He thinks the study is biased and lectured me on how I'm stupid for believing a social media post as soon as he got home from work.

I tried googling more on it and The Heritage Foundation article on why transitioning doesn't work came up and I realized that's basically how my husband thinks about medical transition.

Is there any good resources that aren't biased? I'm not good at debating, I don't know how to find good resources. I just know myself and have friends who are trans. He just wants facts and doesn't care about personal anecdotes but like. I'm not a scientific study, I'm a person with feelings.

Why is anything positive about trans people biased but the negative articles are true? He says he's fine with socially transitioning but not medically transitioning. I think he's biased because he had a botched surgery (not gender related) and now thinks all surgery that isn't saving you from imminent death is unnecessary. Even the Heritage Foundation article said the failure rate was only 10% which still seems pretty low to me. I don't think the 90% of people who benefit from it should be stopped from transitioning because conservatives want to cling on the the 10% that didn't work out.

I do agree with my husband that people should be well informed about what effects surgery could have. But I also believe people should be able to choose what they do with their own bodies. He's just against medical surgeries at all.

He also doesn't understand why people would want to do HRT. I considered low dose T for a while but ultimately decided against it because the effects I didn't want weren't worth it just to get the ones I did want. But I have friends on hormones that are much happier now on it.

And I don't understand why he thinks HRT is any different than me being on birth control. That's a hormone that's made negative changes on my body but I decided that was worth it because I do not want to get pregnant. I had to go through several different kinds of birth control because I didn't know what the effects would be and every body is different. (Depo was a fucking nightmare. Some people have zero issues with it but I bled for 8 months straight and when I stopped I was puking nonstop from the withdrawals).

I think transitioning is a process and people might try things that work and don't work and it's going to be different for everyone.

My husband wasn't like this when we met. His younger brother is trans and he knew I was nonbinary before we started dating. He was supportive of his brother. He always uses the correct pronouns for me. But I'm starting to feel like he doesn't actually respect my gender anymore.

He got fired from the job he had when we met and now his boss is suuuuper right wing and most of his clientele is republican and it's changing him. It sucks. He's already lost one friendship over it and his brother isn't speaking to him anymore because he voted republican because it benefits his job. And he thinks everyone else is the problem.

He cares more about being right and smarter than everyone than my feelings. I feel like I'm in that episode of Bluey where she says grannies can't floss except the consequences are more serious and I haven't gotten to the end where they compromise Uuuuuggghhhhhhh.

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I'm going to *remembers suicide is often not a desire for death itself but rather an attempt to radically change one's life because the current state of being has become unbearable but the person can't think of any way to change it other than death* kill myself

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Maggie Vandewalle (American)

"Red Sky at Night", 2025.

Watercolor, 6" × 5".

Private Collection.