#understanding the differences in workplace experiences

[sreehari28]

Burnout and bore out are two distinct phenomena that can affect individuals in the workplace, albeit through different causes and experiences. Understanding the differences between burnout and burnout is essential for organizations and individuals to effectively address and mitigate these challenges. By understanding the differences between burnout and burnout, organizations can implement targeted strategies to prevent and address these workplace challenges. Prioritizing employee well-being, providing meaningful work experiences, and promoting a healthy work-life balance is key to creating a productive and fulfilling work environment for individuals.

[uncanny-tranny]

It's really frustrating being trans sometimes with cis loved ones because other cis people will go, "oh but it's such a huge adjustment for them! They're grieving for your pre-transition self/they aren't used to the change yet/it's hard on them!"

It's just so frustrating that people forget that trans people's feelings on this matter, too. Cis people aren't the only ones who have adjustments to make. Frankly, as much as I sympathize with cis people in this position, I can't help but be really jaded about it because so often, cis people jump to the defense of other cis people and they will seemingly forget to or refuse to give the same grace to trans people.

[originalaccountname]

alright i gotta ask, and of course youre free to not answer (of COURSE) but what led to all the reblogs regarding shipping? did something happen, are you okay?

I've had to unfollow someone whose art I liked because of them spouting "anti" rhetoric and making a low-key callout post for someone who isn't even on tumblr and now I'm doing my part in counterbalancing any potential damage

[ridher]

jj's purposeful touches to fluster his sweet & shy coworker

you'd been working at the little drink shack sat in the middle of kildare for a couple of weeks now. recently moving into a house on the south side of the island, you needed a job to help out your family.

it wasn't too hard, mixing up smoothies, coffees, or lemonades for kooks and pogues alike — nobody minded where you came from with a face like that.

but perhaps the most exciting part of the job was the sun-bleached blonde-haired boy about your age, who more often than not was working alongside you during shifts.

his flirting was obvious — but no different from how he'd act towards practically any pretty girl stopping by for a drink. so, you didn't let yourself get invested, because that was just jj.

it's a day just like that, he'll say something, anything to get you a little flustered with a proud, cheeky smile before turning right around to flash a flirty wink to the girl across the counter.

you'd be lying to say it didn't sting a little bit. you trudged around with a pouty frown, trying to avoid him just because you didn't want to deal with any more of his teasing.

he notices when a stupid joke that would usually have you giggling all sweetly how he adored, instead was met with an unamused hum. it takes a moment to process it, brushing it off and letting silence pass for the next few customers.

you're stirring up a couple of lattes when jj has had enough. with the excuse of such a small workplace, he shuffles sideways behind you, placing his hands firmly on the sides of your waist, with purpose.

your movements stutter and you're suddenly glad to be facing away from him so your clear reaction to his touch isn't so obvious — at least that's what you think. his hands slowly slide off while dropping lower, hardly brushing over your hips before they're gone from your body.

jj's smirking, watching as closely as he can out of the corner of his eye to gauge your expression. he can't think of a time he's touched you and the experience has his own thoughts racing.

but you don't say anything, just serving up the iced beverages with a polite smile.

there's a lull around closing when jj takes another chance, approaching from behind, smoothing a palm over the small of your back and leaning over your shoulder to glance across scribbles of math he doesn't understand.

"what's up with you, huh?" he murmurs all seductively under his breath, warmth fanning across your neck.

"nothing." is what you manage to whisper, thumbing through a booklet to record the cash in the register. unfortunately, just his hands on your skin gets you all soft.

"mhm.. you think i don't know wha's goin' on?" he continues, moving to stand beside you with his hand still bracketed on your back as if to hold you in place.

"enlighten me, jj." you breathe out in a sigh, hands fumbling around with his presence surrounding you.

"ya like this.. like me." his statement is punctuated with a squeeze of his fingertips into the side of your waist.

confirming nor denying his accusation, you continue trying to stay focused on the task at hand — not wanting to admit it was true out of embarrassment.

"so does every other girl you talk to on this island." the not-so-subtle dig and admission uncommonly silenced the boy.

"nah, nah— ion care about them. talking 'bout you." at that you finally tilt your head to look up at him all doe-eyed with parted lips, nothing coming out as you register his words.

his smirk is lopsided and he tilts his head, eyes flitting to your lips as he tongues at the inside of his cheek — enamored by you.

his thumb swipes over your skin before he slips away to help a customer you hadn't even noticed, haze lingering on your face and lowering before reluctantly addressing the third party.

the unspoken confessions only serve to increase the already palpable tension in the small shack. who knew just the warm touch of the maybank boy's hand would have you rethinking all feelings towards him? he did, that's for sure.

[ghelgheli]

Well in that case we can also argue that ''trans woman" fonctions as an umbrella gender characterized by a particular adversarial and oppositional relationship to patriarchy: transmisogyny produces trans womanhood, and afab trans women are certainly this.

''Trans woman'' is also an essentialist archetype that some trans women fail to met (e.g those born with a vulva, those who can bear children).

The social reality of the afab transfem can be similar to the one of (conventional) transfemininity if the afab person is perceived (and thus treated) as a transfem..so what about those people ? Aren't they functionally transfem ? Their lived material experience isn't transfem? However similarity can also arises from interesections between racialization, misogyny, or lesbianism, intersexuality, detransition etc, creating experiences that are functionally like or adjacent to trans womanhood. Some afabs can also be ''women by dint of being less than women'' and thus are transfems, this is not exclusive to amab transfems.

the crux of your problem is this sentence: "the social reality of the afab transfem can be similar to the one of (conventional) transfemininity if the afab person is perceived (and thus treated) as a trans fem"

this is the main justification I see being used for claims of transfemininity/trans womanhood/being tma by people who were cafab: people keep mistaking me for a tranny, and that makes me a tranny! this rests on a complete misunderstanding of the systemic nature of transmisogyny. being mistaken for a trans woman, even on the regular, does not put someone in the same totalizing relationship to hegemonic gender, for the simple reason that (as I have now said multiple times) the logic of transmisogyny operates thru birth assignment. the corrective violence of transmisogyny is applied specifically because betraying coercive assignment as male puts a person in a unique degenerate position as far as cisheteropatriarchy is concerned. someone who was cafab will always have their birth assignment as a shield against this, even if there are instances of mistaken identity where it cannot be used in time.

you may retort that sometimes the violence against someone who was cafab proceeds apace despite disclosure of this assignment—perhaps in the case of the cafab butch lesbian facing street violence (thinking of nearby versions of hannah gadsby's story in nannette), or the working class transmasc on T running up against discrimination at the workplace, or, famously, the case of woman athletes, generally Black and sometimes intersex as in the case of Caster Semenya, being banned from sports competitions (I imagine this is one of the examples you're alluding to when you mention intersections). but to equivocate this to transfemininity is itself violent erasure. you would be neglecting that in every case there is a difference between the person under discussion and someone against whom transmisogyny has set its whole machinery.

there are tma masc lesbians, there are working class transfems on T, there are Black trans women for whom participation in sport is yet more complicated. the realities of navigating the legal-medical-social apparatus of gender is multiplied in impossibility for all of them, because birth assignment is the charge laid by transmisogyny to condemn the trans woman. whatever intersection your "afab transfem" sits at, there will always be this difference between them and transfemininity. this is a difference that will be leveraged against the latter, not the former.

if you think you can reskin my argument as you have in this ask and maintain its fit to reality, then you understand neither misogyny nor transmisogyny. transmisogyny against the "afab transfem" is a mistake by the lights of hegemonic gender itself, to be amended (not necessarily into something harmless, but certainly into something different) upon the revelation of birth assignment. meanwhile the misogyny experienced by trans women (including closeted trans women, including the trans girl who does not even know why she is being treated thus!) does not happen by accident, but as part of the logic of (trans)misogyny itself, because trans women fail to be men despite their birth assignment and this demands punishment. there is not an escape-by-disclosure here. in other words, misogyny deliberately makes trans women women! there is no defense the trans woman can mount on the basis of birth assignment, because that is the very event against which her existence is measured.

this is not true of your imagined afab transfem, nor is any further punishment systemically levelled against the "afab transfem" because of their failing to meet the "essentialist archetype" of trans womanhood. on the contrary, the "afab transfem" remains asymmetrically empowered to use transmisogyny against the transfeminine. yes, cafab ppl are not exempt from violent transphobia, but this is not a violence predicated on the same gender-betrayal the transfeminine person embodies. the political distinction between these experiences remains.

a final point: you are correct that some cafabs can be "woman by dint of being less than woman" but I never claimed that this was a unique trait of transfemininity! in fact I made it clear that this is a common condition for many women (ableism, fatphobia, classism, etc. can all degender a woman). what is unique is the role the logic of transmisogyny plays in defining transfemininity, and the specific manner in which it underclasses the transfeminine subject—makes her the kind of person for whom only a certain, highly peripheralized form of existence is permissible.

if you are interested in describing the way the world is (hopefully with intent to change it) then this is not the way to go about that. any careful analysis of the power relations that cisheteropatriarchy uses to facilitate gender-classing in service of the division of labour will make this clear. you can argue whatever you want! you can also be wrong.

[twig-tea]

Things from Wandee Goodday ep 3 I can't stop thinking about:

I love so much that we got some good friends with benefits tension around personal boundaries when Dee asked who Yei was and then backed off (but Yak told him anyway). And between the jokes about rimming, Dee demanding Yak pay more attention to his dick last episode, and starting this episode in the 69 position, I am very, very here for this show saying over and over that sex is not just one act.

[ID: Gif of the beginning of episode 3, whichi is a pan-to-shot of Dee and Yak laying in 69 position on the floor under blankets]

i loved the different responses to hearing someone you love is in a "Friends with Benefits" situation; Kao warned Dee not to catch feelings or read too much into the situation and Cher/Yei teased Yak for lying to himself about what the situation is. Both are super valid and speak to who Dee and Yak are, who Kao and Cher/Yei are, and all of their experiences with love. And it speaks to the closeness of these relationships too, that Cher noticed Yak's necklace gone immediately and Kao similarly clocked its addition on Dee instantly.

Super here for Kao being the ultimate support bestie at work, equal parts haranguing and backing Dee up. Their relationship is perfection.

I really liked Yak peace-ing out of their agreement when Dee dropped a huge request with no context, that was so valid and in the spirit of FWB (he didn't actually owe him a bigger conversation).

I've already reblogged a couple of other people (@negrowhat and @lurkingshan) talking about this so I won't belabour it, but I am judging Dee for not only ignoring Yak's boundaries by going to his workplace and forcing him to train him and then flirting with him during training sessions after Yak both made clear he's worried about being out at work and had ended their agreement. I hope we get more of an explanation for Yak's reticence about dating a man while aiming for the championship as well as his change of mind.

The conversations with Cher and Oyei have me so curious about their history! Tell me everything, show. I put these questions in tags on a gifset (but to put them on main: Where is Oyei and Yak's father (who is also a former champ but apparently uninvolved with this family business, if he's still alive)? What happened to Yak's mother that he doesn't know if he takes after her? Why can they go to Cher's family for financial help but not Yei/Yak's (to the point where they had to take out what sounds like a predatory loan during COVID)? What is Cher afraid of re: being seen being affectionate to Oyei, and where does that come from? Is this history related to why Yak is so worried about his relationship to Dee getting in the way of his championship? All of this is seeded so organically and I'm so, so curious. It also has me even more in my feelings about Cher and Yei calling Yak their son.

[ID: Gif of Yei saying to Cher: I own this place. What's there to be afraid of? From the set linked in the paragraph above]

[I have a clown theory that Cher and Oyei's relationship is why his dad is out of the picture and his gym is in financial trouble (because it prevented Yei from getting sponsorship despite being a champion), and why Yak is worried about being in a relationship with a man even though he knows his brother won't care...we'll see how much of this the show pulls together!]

The flash of trauma from Dee at the crosswalk was interesting too; where is that going? What happened in Dee's past and how is it going to affect the story in future?

[More clown speculation: Is it related to why Dee is so good with patients and passionate about ortho? Has he seen someone in his life become disabled due to physical injury?]

Speaking of, I really loved seeing Dee be good at his job and great with patients and their families. In addition to it being just nice to see and good for our understanding of his character, it sets him up to have a fighting chance in the contest too, since patients apparently get a vote.

I love love love the camaraderie and giggling between Dee and Yak around making Ter jealous and shoving their fake relationship in those gossiping nurses' faces. The way they are actually friends who like one another and enjoy spending time together is just really wonderful to watch.

My biggest question is: Will Dee get a chance in this narrative to show up for Yak the way Yak has been showing up for Dee? And how can that current imbalance be reconciled with this all leading towards Dee trying to get a placement to go abroad--and his self-stated toxic trait of always needing to win? [shoutout to @chicademartinica for laying that out succinctly in her post]

In the meantime, I'm having a blast.

[soars22]

Alright, my lovely people. I’d like to give a little rundown of what a labor union is and what protections it provides for workers because I think that it’s context that’s important to the current situation. Please bear in mind that I am by no means an expert. I am drawing on my research and my own experience being in a union at a previous job to write this post. Please feel free to reblog with anything I’ve missed.

What is a union?

A union is a group of workers who have banded together in order to use their collective strength and voices to make a difference in their workplace. Many unions were formed due to dissatisfaction with exploitative or unsafe working conditions (look up Appalachian coal miners if you want to see an example).

What do unions do?

Unions are there to act on behalf of their workers; their entire purpose is to ensure that their members (and, often by extension, non-members) receive fair wages, proper breaks, safe working conditions, and many other benefits. They are made by and for workers.

What do unions NOT do?

Unions do NOT exist to break up companies. Unions are there to ensure that workers are treated fairly. Union leaders will first do everything in their power to obtain better working conditions by negotiating with the company on the behalf of the employees. Shutting down a business because of poor labor conditions will never be a union’s priority; they will ALWAYS be on the side of the labor force. The union may take the company to court and the company might later collapse as a result of that (whether because of court fees, public backlash, or other reasons) but the goal is to preserve the workers’ jobs while also making sure that the workers are treated fairly.

What does this mean for qsmp?

I don’t know. Do I think there are major problems? Yes, absolutely. Do I think that Quackity is working to address these problems? Again, yes. Do I-or anyone else for that matter-know what those solutions are or what they may look like? No, we do not!! I cannot see into the future; neither can Twitter. We need to have patience and understanding as we all wait to see what comes next.

I’ve seen a lot of doomposting here. I’ve seen a lot of anxiety and stress. If that’s where your mind is at, you might need to take a break from the internet for a bit; god knows I might. This situation isn’t going to be fixed by attacking the cc’s or the admins or anyone else who’s involved. That’s not our job; we’re only adding more negativity and stress to people who may already be at their limit.

Be kind. Be patient. Be a community. That’s what this server is all about, ultimately. It’s time to prove that. Hope this helps.

[lostryu]

i need gay rights because literally not a single self-proclaimed cis/het 'ally' understands the alienating experience that comes with being the only gay person in the workplace.

i am a gnc butch lesbian. i use he/him pronouns. when i came out to my manager regarding my pronouns (i had been an open lesbian since the moment of my hire), she told me that she supported me, but she could not enforce or ask our clients to use the correct pronouns for me. she told me it was something i would have to learn to deal with. she never uses the correct pronouns for me unless a person from a different department (who also happens to be LGBT+) is present. she is our HR in addition to manager.

none of my coworkers in my department ever remember to use my pronouns. if i remind them, they go over the top with the "im sorry's" and the "im still learning" and "you know i try my hardest's!" and "i swear im not homophobic!", it has been over 6 months since i came out. if i say nothing, they continue to use she/her (unless that other lgbt+ person from the other department is present, then they miraculously get it right).

sometimes they call me 'girl'. they always flounder and correct to "man-boy-uh youknowwhatimeanright". they laugh it off. they never bother to ask what terms i am comfortable with, or if i even cared in the first place. they don't care about my gender, they never bother to ask. somehow the subject gets changed every time i try to tell them, or set a boundary.

once in a while in a slow shift, the conversation will hop to our dating lives. somehow, it always jumps to how men suck and how dating a woman must be so much easier. they wish they could be gay and not straight. every time, they'll stare at me expectantly, like i am an animal at the zoo. no matter what i say, positive or negative, i must be lying. i cannot be that happy in my relationship, or if i have any issues, they must be minor. if i say 'why don't you try dating a girl then' to their remarks, they'll laugh, say something like "there is no way i possibly could" with that special tone of disguised disgust.

i am a prop, at work. they tell me about how much they love their kids. how they could bring anyone home and they wouldn't care. "they could be black, brown, or purple," they'll say "it could be a woman or a man! I support gay rights!" Then they will talk about how hungry they are, and how they will be going to Chick Fil a for the 4th time this week. 'as a treat'. it is thursday. they talk about going to Hobby Lobby again for christmas decorations, or another sale. sometimes i think i can taste blood.

its june. they talk about the pride parade and how excited they are to see the queens and their 'funny costumes'. they talk about how fun it is to go and watch, how they like the free things the corporations hand out. they don't want to bring their younger kids though. they're not old enough. they do not know that the first pride was a riot. they do not know what happened during the AIDS crisis, how many died. they don't really care when i try to tell them, they'd rather focus on the fun parts of the parade. the spectacle.

i wear a pronoun pin, to make it easier. still somehow no one can get my pronouns right. a client notices it. commends me for "being brave" and "coming out." she never uses my correct pronouns. i stopped wearing the pin after the 11th person asked me if my name on my name tag was my real one, and after the 45th person went out of their way to use incorrect pronouns every sentence. my manager, the HR, did not care.

i need gay rights, but somehow everything got resolved when they allowed us to marry in 2015. to our allies, the work is done. somehow i am left more alone than when we started.

[leafington]

𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙩! 𝙘𝙪𝙩, 𝙘𝙪𝙩, 𝙘𝙪𝙩! - kento n.

content warning !! - blackfem!reader, nanami's charisma being sky high, culture shock (on nanami's end), fluff, not proofread, self-inserted barber experience (i get my lineups at home), ib an ugly fucking picture of the back of nanamis head and his barber clearly needs to be fired.

It's pushing thirty minutes that you've been gawking at the back of your husband's head. When he first got home and threw his stuff where they belonged, you knew something was wrong. You, as the supportive wife you are, came to his aid and stepped back seeing his grumpy expression.

"Be honest, how bad is it?"

Nanami did not want an honest answer because he's locked himself in the bathroom ever since because of the 'Who the fuck did your hair?' that escaped faster than your brain could register. You didn't mean it in a bad way, you were just upset due to some unlicensed prick who ruined your man's hair.

Uneven, cut horribly wrong, hairline crooked, he practically came home a different man and not in the good way. "Baby, it'll grow back." You console him, scrunching your face. He's never had a problem with his stylist until today, what made today different? Nanami shrugs off your hand originally positioned in his hair, his tone sour. "Not in three days time. How am I supposed to go to work like this?" You would call him dramatic but if you were in his shoes, you'd be mad too.

"Maybe you could wear a hat? Or like some sort of headband, scarf—" You list, replacing your touch to land on his back. "And is any of that appropriate for a professional workplace?" Shit, you're just making it worse, and the look on your face isn't helping.

Nanami's far more pissed now, you've been staring at it all day. He gets it, his cut is bad. He's beating himself up about it that he let it happen! He tries to forget about it, but suddenly there's a reflection of him everywhere in the house. To make matters significantly unfavorable, Gojo's laughter erupted from his phone later in the evening spouting all sorts of comparisons to his nasty do.

"YOU LOOK LIKE ANGELICA'S DOLL HAHAHAH." His loud exclamation gets cut off by the phone being inable to pick up how hard he's laughing. "STAR TREK CALLED, THEY NEED A NEW CAST MEMBERRR." It was almost sad to watch Nanami try to even muster up the ability to yell at him, Gojo isn't even calling him for his first purpose anymore.

His day has been everything stemming from the word rough. Nanami turned his back away from you like it was your fault (it was) in your shared bed. You tried googling solutions to his problem, nothing came up besides 'Quick tips on hair growth!' and '5 Easy Steps to Obtain Natural Hair Growth!', while drenching his hair in oil might do the trick, it wouldn't save him the embarrassment for his upcoming day at work.

Essentially, you forgot all about it when you opened up social media to mindlessly scroll for a bit. Coincidentally, a post from a close friend came up that showed off a client's hair he did. You liked it and scrolled once more before a thought crossed your mind.

"Ken?" You tap his shoulder lightly. "I think I can fix your..." You eyeball at his head in the dark, questioning if it can even be remotely related to hair. "problem." And you show him the short footage. Nanami skeptically looks between your phone and you, internally wondering if you're being genuine. "With all due respect, I understand you're trying to help, but I do not want that kind of style nor do I think it'll hold seeing as how different our hair textures are." A groan comes out shortly after rolling your eyes. "I'm not suggesting you get waves, Kento. I'm saying I could try to get you a booking there to at least attempt to save your head."

Seconds of silence pass, becoming a minute later, before Nanami heavily sighs and tosses his arm over his head. "And you trust him enough to where I won't end up bald?" He double-checks. "Yes. His wife does my hair for everything and I took my nephew there to get himself straight." Hesitantly, he throws a nod of confirmation, allowing you to message your friend to see if he could squeeze in an emergency booking for Nanami.

You weren't aware that you got a reply until the morning, luckily, your friend agreed to take him in whenever the two of you could come. After getting dressed and cleaning up a little, you shuffled through your purse to make sure you were prepared. Nanami, on the other hand, wore one of your silk pink bonnets on his head to hide the disaster beneath it.

It was a last resort, but whatever kept him satisfied.

The drive there wasn't long in your eyes, but for Nanami it was down right torture. He didn't know these people other than your friend who ran the barber shop, that and he's breaking the universal law of staying loyal to his standard barber—even if he'd never forgive him, he still felt bad. Having parked your car off to the side, your husband stood awkwardly when you tried to drag him inside despite his constant protesting, you had to promise him you'd take him out for bread later, bribing him like a little kid.

"Hey, Y/n! Long time no see." Your friend greets, permitting a side hug as additional welcome. He turns to Nanami wearing what he presumes is your bonnet, and fights off a chuckle. "And you must be her husband?" He goes for a dap, and to your shock, follows through, patting each other on the back. "I am, Y/n speaks quite much and highly of you." He raises an eyebrow at this and mutters something about you and your type for sticks in the mud. "Let's see the damage." The male prompts for Nanami to take the makeshift protectant off.

Collective 'Damn's' and hisses erupt in the small room, your friend even thinning his lips and coughing to hold back a cackle. A few barbers stopped what they were doing or snapped their attention back to their job, even some customers didn't even wanna look.

"Stop it. He's been pissy about it enough." You grimace, and your friend throws an arm around Nanami. "Don't worry, man. You're in good hands." He whisks Nanami off to his chair, grabbing an apron cape to put over him.

You, yourself, worry about Nanami's adaption to this new environment. The constant chatter of controversial topics, sports, things that bother them or don't understand. It's less impressive than sitting at his desk while a scheduled person comes in. From your spot across the room, he was surprisingly doing fine. They kept everything to a minimum seeing as you were present, but Nanami was actually getting along with everyone quite well! He bonded with your friend and his workers, discussions shifting like clockwork, weight lifted off your shoulders at this, feeling comfortable enough to finally acknowledge whatever kept blowing your phone up.

Nanami sat there for no longer than thirty minutes, paying his new friend a large wad and sending him off not only another firm dap but a decent style that didn't make him look dragged through the dirt. "You look good." You smile, running your fingers across his clean-cut gently. "I feel good." He lets you do as you please. "They were awfully talkative, not that it was a bad thing." He admits, slightly shaken from how much speaking he did. "I don't even think you talk that much to me." You tease, now gushing over his much better hairstyle.

©2024 leafington dont steal please!! :)

[sreehari28]

Burnout and bore out are two distinct phenomena that can affect individuals in the workplace, albeit through different causes and experiences. Understanding the differences between burnout and burnout is essential for organizations and individuals to effectively address and mitigate these challenges. By understanding the differences between burnout and burnout, organizations can implement targeted strategies to prevent and address these workplace challenges. Prioritizing employee well-being, providing meaningful work experiences, and promoting a healthy work-life balance is key to creating a productive and fulfilling work environment for individuals.

[thesiltverses]

I was listening to S2Q&A and I went over the character limit on Spotify so I'm just gonna drop my comment here instead:

I think all y'all do incredible work, but I'm especially a fan of the sound design! It's one of my favorite things about audio dramas that makes them distinct from audio books. The environmental storytelling that comes through is so satisfying and easy to understand without sounding manufactured.

I might be a minority, but I actually love the muddiness and chaos of your action/battle scenes. You're clearly mastering a fine line between listenability and honoring the disarray of the scene. I enjoy the brief pockets where I don't understand what's happening beat-for-beat because it feels like I'm caught in the fray of it, and not being able to 'keep the score' until it's over ramps up the tension deliciously.

Everyone does fabulous work on this, but I just wanted to gas up your sound design. It's like costuming or lighting- you're doing your job well when those things support the story, and it means people don't notice that effort at times because it's so seamless. One 'tech' to another: very well done!!!

Thank you so much, that's really kind and means a lot! Other than in the Q&As, I haven't really talked that much about picking up sound design duties over the course of the series, but it really has been a meaningful and exciting learning experience for me, not least as a writer getting to hone his writing via audio editing.

Since you mentioned it and I can't pass up the opportunity for a rant - listenability and what that actually should mean in practice is a topic I think about a lot.

I think it's important for audiodrama designers not to get haughty or defensive when listeners struggle to comprehend a particular sequence (I have designed scenes poorly where the dialogue clearly didn't rise over the background noise sufficiently, I've designed scenes poorly where the action was clearly too chaotic or lacked sufficient cues to help the audience through it).

But equally - between wildly different auditory processing capabilities and the wildly different listening environments and listening habits at play, I don't believe there's any perfect state of comprehensibility available in this medium, and sometimes I think our hunt for it can lead us astray.

Over the years, I've heard from listeners who honestly can't tell the voices of actors with globe-spanning accents apart, I've heard from listeners who can't pick up on environmental SFX cues indicating a change of location and need something more explicit in the dialogue whenever there's a scene shift, I've heard from listeners who can only listen through one earbud in the workplace and therefore don't want binaural sound, listeners who struggle to hear any action sequence whatsoever as more than incoherent noise, and listeners who can only enjoy audiodramas solely as a second-screen activity and who can't keep up with a fast-moving or complicated plot without regular recaps.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with any of that, and those listeners aren't wrong to respond in this way - everyone has their own processing threshold, and everyone has their own needs and preferences as an audience member.

But I also don't believe I'd personally want to create a full-cast show under the limitations that would arise from my attempting to strictly solve all of those problems at once (as opposed to being flexible and considerate about them during the design process).

There has to be room for calculated ambition and big swings in the medium, and there has to be room to trust the audience to keep up with you during the ambitious moments, albeit with one eye firmly on accessibility - otherwise audiodrama is likely to remain dominated by 'one actor with a nice soothing voice telling stories' or 'one small group of characters having lots of conversations about their ongoing efforts to resolve a single plot thread'. Which is often fantastic, but there's plenty of it already!

When it comes to action scenes in particular, I've been trying to operate under the consistent philosophy of 'before, DURING, after', with equal weight and design attention given to each third.

In other words, if we do enough careful and quiet work to establish the environment and props and rising tension ahead of a big noisy chaotic sequence, and if we do the careful and quiet work afterwards to clearly show where the characters have ended up and what condition they're in, my belief is that it's 100% acceptable if the audience can't immediately track the movement of Character A's fist hitting Character B and Character B falling against a table in three seconds flat.

Like good action editing in cinema, an engaged audience member will follow the motion and comprehend the outcome cleanly, even if they don't take in all the details. That, to me, is a vastly better result for the work than having to include a 'oh, no, he stabbed you with that knife!!' line of dialogue.

Anyway, you just wanted to gas me up which was very kind and instead I wrote out this big long blather. So apologies, and thank you so much again!

[1863-project]

I've been thinking a lot lately about my experiences as an autistic adult and how difficult certain things actually have been for me, and one of the things that really hit me recently was how I can tell the patrons at the library I work at are judging me. They say things to me they'd never say to my co-workers, because my co-workers seem "normal" to them. But I can think of two different cases in the last year or so that really stand out to me that illustrate this.

The first was a patron who wanted the writing address of the governor of New Hampshire. I found it and went to write it down for her. She didn't want it that way, she wanted it printed. Of course, Wikipedia wasn't going to print well, and she was starting to get difficult about it, so I came up with a solution - I'd type it into a Word document and print it for her. I was excited that I'd come up with something, and I enthusiastically expressed this excitement by raising the volume of my voice. She decided I was "weird," told me so to my face, and left instead of letting me help her.

More recently, I showed similar excitement when showing a patron how to use Google Maps, excitedly reassuring her that we'd do it together and that I wasn't going to just tell her to do something she didn't know how to do. This patron told me my enthusiasm made me seem "like a schoolgirl." I deflated immediately, pointed out I was actually 34 years old, and did everything else with an extremely dampened mood.

Being an autistic adult in the workplace - or anywhere - is an uncomfortable experience. The first patron decided I was scary. The second patron infantilized me. The dichotomy of being an autistic adult is that some people decide you're uncanny and scary and some people decide you're actually a child. Both are microaggressions. Both are ableism. The third option is, of course, to mask so well they can't tell, and then get told "But you don't seem autistic!" when you drop the big reveal on them (if you do). There's no winning here.

I think, often, of Ingo and Emmet, autistic adults who, like me, are in the workplace, are really good at their jobs and take them seriously, and are really enthusiastic about what they do. I think about what sorts of things people must say to them, about the judgment they likely experience from passengers and trainers. I think about how gratifying it must be for them to repeatedly face trainers like Hilda, who only cares about battling and not who she's up against, because in those moments there's no judgment, just Pokemon battles. Just as my regular patrons who know me and are okay with me are a comfort to me, so too must their returning trainers be one to them, a beacon of acceptance in a world that refuses to understand.

I think sometimes about how I can't go into the tags for these characters that are just like me, because there's content that treats them the way the real world treats me. It isn't all of the things people make, but it's enough that I can't take the chance of looking myself, because you never know. It's been this way since 2010, and it shows no signs of stopping. I think about how all fandoms have this problem, about how many people experience this, and it hurts deep in my chest. I wish desperately for a kinder world in which people like me aren't treated as "weird" because we're enthusiastic about work, because we don't have volume control, because we can't mask, because we're not like most people.

I do what I've always done - I generally just talk about the things I like with trusted friends who also like the things I like. It's safer that way. I don't have to worry about stumbling upon the things I already experience in real life. If my friends find something safe, they bring it to me, a wonderful show of kindness and affection that I am always deeply grateful for.

I just wish I lived in a world that thought about how things affect people more, about how a respectful portrayal can give someone hope and help them love the person in the mirror. But every "unhinged" or "scary" depiction of normal autistic traits reminds me how far we still have to go, how Autism Speaks and other hate groups still dominate the narrative even as they fade into the background.

Everyone can do what they want in fandom, but it's supposed to be an inclusive space, not an alienating one, and I think it's good to be thoughtful. You never know who you may be helping or hurting.

[trans-axolotl]

and this is also why i think that any meaningful community building/advocacy/support around madness/neurodivergence/mental illness needs to be founded on principles of liberation and abolition, and that we need to be able to distinguish between people who are allies based on our shared values + goals, and between people who use some of the same language as us, but are fundamentally advocating for separate things.

One example I see a lot of is the idea of "lived experience" professionals, people who have a career in the mental health system and who also have some personal experience with mental illness. These professionals oftentimes will talk about their own negative experiences in the mental health system, and come into their careers with a genuine desire to improve the experience of patients. But their impact is incredibly limited by the system they have chosen to work in: the coercive elements of psychiatry incentivize professionals to buy into the existing power structures instead of disrupting them. And as a whole, many lived experience professionals end up getting exploited and tokenized by their employers and used as an attempt to make carceral psychiatry seem more palatable. Professionals in this dynamic are not working to effectively challenge the structural violence of their profession: they become complicit, even if they do also have good intentions and provide individual support.

(I do know some radical providers who have found innovative ways to fuck up the system and destabilize and shift power in their workplaces, but this is a very small number of providers and is not most of the lived experience providers I've talked with.)

Another example I see a lot in our spaces has to do with the evolution of the neurodiversity paradigm. I feel a very deep connection to the original conceptualization of neurodiversity and neurodivergent as coined by Kassiane Asasumasu, but in recent years I've seen a lot of people using neurodivergent language in a way that feels pretty dramatically different than the foundational principles. This isn't saying that people should stop using ND terminology or that all neurodivergent spaces are like this--rather, I just want to point out some trends I see in certain communities, both online and in my in personal life. Although people will often use neurodivergent language and on the surface, seem allied with concepts of deinstitutionalization, acceptance, etc, the values and structure in these community spaces often rely heavily on ideas of classification based in DSM, and build very prescriptive and rigid models for categorizing different types of neurodivergence in a way that ends up excluding some M/MI/ND people. Certain types of knowledge are valued over other types of knowledge, and certain diagnoses are prioritized as worthy of support over others. There's a lot of value placed on identifying and classifying many types of behaviors, beliefs, thoughts, actions, into specific categories, and a lack of solidarity between different diagnoses or the wider disability community.

Again, this isn't to say that ND terminology is bad or useless--I think it is an incredibly helpful explanatory model/shorthand for finding community and will call myself neurodivergent, and find a lot of value in community identification and sharing of wisdom. I just feel like it's important to realize that not every ND person, organization, or initiative, is actually invested in the project of fighting for our liberation.

when thinking about our activism, as abolitionists, it's important to be very specific about what our goals, values, and tactics are. For example, understanding the concept of non-reformist reforms helps us distinguish what immediate goals are useful, versus what reforms work to increase the carceral power of the psychiatric system. And when building our own value systems and trying to build alternative ways of caring for ourselves and our communities, we need to be able to evaluate what brings us closer to autonomy, freedom, and interdependence. I need people to understand that just because someone is also against psych hospitalization does not mean that they are also allies in the project of letting mad people live free, authentic, meaningful, and supported lives, and that oftentimes people's allyship is conditional on our willingness to conform to their ideas of a "good" mentally ill person.

[sensualnoiree]

astro notes: venus in pisces 💕✨

March 11th Venus Ingresses into Pisces

Pisces, as a water sign, symbolizes the vast and boundless depths of the ocean, representing the realm of the unconscious mind, intuition, and spirituality. Water is fluid, adaptable, and reflective, mirroring the ever-changing nature of our emotions and innermost desires. In Pisces, these qualities are heightened, inviting us to explore the depths of our psyche and connect with the spiritual dimensions of existence.

The archetype of water is associated with themes of healing, purification, and transformation. Water has the power to cleanse and purify, washing away the old to make way for the new. Similarly, Pisces encourages us to confront and release old patterns and wounds that may be holding us back, allowing for deep healing and transformation to take place.

Venus, as the planet of love and beauty, takes on a special significance when in Pisces. Here, Venus's energy becomes infused with the spiritual and transcendent qualities of Pisces, leading to a deepening of our capacity for love, compassion, and empathy. Venus in Pisces invites us to approach love from a soulful perspective, transcending the limitations of the ego and connecting with the divine essence within ourselves and others.

The combination of Venus in Pisces represents a merging of the personal and the universal, the earthly and the spiritual. It invites us to open our hearts and minds to the infinite possibilities of love and connection, and to recognize the divinity that resides within each of us. This transit offers an opportunity for profound growth and evolution, as we align ourselves with the deeper currents of existence and surrender to the flow of life.

Aries Rising: With Venus transiting through the 12th house of Pisces, Aries rising individuals may experience a deepening of their spiritual practices and a heightened connection to their inner world. This transit encourages them to explore their subconscious mind and confront any hidden emotions or fears that may be holding them back. It's a time for introspection, meditation, and connecting with their intuition. They may also find themselves drawn to acts of compassion and selfless service, as they seek to dissolve boundaries and connect with the collective consciousness.

Taurus Rising: For Taurus rising individuals, Venus transiting through the 11th house of Pisces highlights the importance of friendship, community, and social connections. This transit encourages them to cultivate deeper and more meaningful relationships with their friends and acquaintances, and to explore their role within their larger social circle. It's a time for collaboration, networking, and working towards common goals with like-minded individuals. They may also feel inspired to engage in humanitarian efforts or contribute to causes that are close to their heart.

Gemini Rising: With Venus transiting through the 10th house of Pisces, Gemini rising individuals may experience a heightened focus on their career, reputation, and public image. This transit encourages them to align their professional endeavors with their deeper spiritual values and aspirations. It's a time for soulful expression in the workplace, as they seek to bring more beauty, harmony, and compassion into their work environment. They may also receive recognition or praise for their creative talents and contributions.

Cancer Rising: For Cancer rising individuals, Venus transiting through the 9th house of Pisces highlights the importance of expansion, growth, and higher learning. This transit encourages them to explore new horizons, both physically and spiritually, and to broaden their perspectives through education, travel, or philosophical inquiry. It's a time for seeking deeper meaning and understanding in their lives, as they connect with their inner wisdom and explore their spiritual beliefs. They may also feel drawn to explore different cultures, religions, or spiritual practices that resonate with their soul's journey.

Leo Rising: With Venus transiting through the 8th house of Pisces, Leo rising individuals may experience a deepening of their intimate connections and a greater awareness of their own innermost desires and fears. This transit encourages them to explore the depths of their psyche and confront any unconscious patterns or traumas that may be affecting their relationships. It's a time for healing and transformation, as they release old emotional baggage and embrace vulnerability in their relationships. They may also feel a heightened sense of passion and intensity in their intimate connections.

Virgo Rising: For Virgo rising individuals, Venus transiting through the 7th house of Pisces highlights the importance of partnership, balance, and harmony in their relationships. This transit encourages them to focus on cooperation, compromise, and mutual support in their partnerships, both personal and professional. It's a time for deepening their connections with others and finding common ground through empathy and understanding. They may also feel drawn to seek out relationships that nourish their soul and reflect their spiritual values.

Libra Rising: With Venus transiting through the 6th house of Pisces, Libra rising individuals may experience a heightened focus on health, well-being, and daily routines. This transit encourages them to cultivate self-care practices that nourish their body, mind, and soul, and to prioritize their emotional and spiritual needs. It's a time for finding balance and harmony in their daily lives, as they seek to align their actions with their deeper values and aspirations. They may also feel drawn to explore holistic healing modalities or engage in acts of service that benefit others.

Scorpio Rising: For Scorpio rising individuals, Venus transiting through the 5th house of Pisces highlights the importance of creativity, self-expression, and joy in their lives. This transit encourages them to embrace their inner child and indulge in activities that bring them pleasure and inspiration. It's a time for exploring their creative talents and passions, and for allowing themselves to be fully present in the moment. They may also feel drawn to deepen their connections with their loved ones and express their affection more openly and freely

Sagittarius Rising: With Venus transiting through the 4th house of Pisces, Sagittarius rising individuals may experience a deepening of their emotional roots and a greater appreciation for their home and family life. This transit encourages them to create a nurturing and supportive environment where they can feel safe and secure. It's a time for exploring their emotional needs and connecting with their innermost feelings, as they seek to find peace and contentment within themselves. They may also feel drawn to explore their ancestral heritage or engage in activities that honor their roots.

Capricorn Rising: For Capricorn rising individuals, Venus transiting through the 3rd house of Pisces highlights the importance of communication, learning, and intellectual pursuits. This transit encourages them to express themselves with greater compassion and empathy, and to seek out opportunities for growth and expansion in their mental and spiritual development. It's a time for engaging in meaningful conversations with others and sharing their wisdom and insights with the world. They may also feel drawn to explore their creative talents through writing, teaching, or other forms of artistic expression.

Aquarius Rising: With Venus transiting through the 2nd house of Pisces, Aquarius rising individuals may experience a greater appreciation for their material resources and a deeper understanding of their true worth and value. This transit encourages them to cultivate a sense of abundance and gratitude in their lives, and to explore their relationship with money and possessions from a soulful perspective. It's a time for aligning their financial goals with their deeper spiritual values, and for investing in things that bring them joy and fulfillment. They may also feel drawn to explore alternative forms of income or pursue creative ventures that reflect their unique talents and interests.

Pisces Rising: For Pisces rising individuals, Venus transiting through their 1st house brings a sense of renewal, rejuvenation, and self-discovery. This transit encourages them to embrace their true selves and express their authentic nature with confidence and grace. It's a time for reinventing themselves and exploring new possibilities for growth and expansion. They may feel a heightened sense of attractiveness and magnetism during this transit, as they radiate love and beauty from within. It's also an opportunity for them to set new intentions and embark on a journey of self-love and self-expression.

follow for more astro insights like this and support me over on yt @quenysefields or instagram sensualnoiree

[astrologyzodiacsigns]

Asteroid Chaos Through the Signs/Houses

Chaos in the Aries/1st House

- Identity and Self-Perception: Individuals might experience inner turmoil regarding their identity or appearance. They may frequently reinvent themselves or face sudden changes in how they are perceived by others.

- Potential: This placement can lead to personal growth through self-discovery and transformation, as embracing chaos can help reveal one's true self.

Chaos in the Taurus/2nd House

- Values and Finances: There may be instability in financial matters or material possessions. Personal values might also fluctuate or be challenged frequently.

- Potential: Learning to manage and adapt to financial unpredictability can lead to a deeper understanding of one's values and resourcefulness.

Chaos in the Gemini/3rd House

- Communication and Learning: Communication styles may be erratic, and there might be frequent disruptions in learning environments or with siblings and neighbors.

- Potential: Embracing change in how one communicates and absorbs information can lead to innovative ideas and adaptability.

Chaos in the Cancer/4th House

- Home and Family: Family life and home environments may be unstable or subject to sudden changes. This can include frequent moves or familial disruptions.

- Potential: Navigating familial chaos can foster emotional resilience and a deeper understanding of one's roots and personal history.

Chaos in the Leo/5th House

- Creativity and Romance: Creative projects and romantic relationships might be unpredictable or unconventional. There could be a tendency towards dramatic or chaotic love affairs.

- Potential: This placement can inspire unique artistic expressions and a bold approach to creativity and romance.

Chaos in the Virgo/6th House

- Work and Health: Work environments and daily routines may be disorderly or frequently change. Health issues could be unpredictable or stress-related.

- Potential: Learning to thrive amidst workplace chaos and developing flexible health routines can enhance well-being and efficiency.

Chaos in the Libra/7th House

- Partnerships: Close relationships and partnerships may be tumultuous or subject to sudden changes. There could be a pattern of attracting chaotic partners.

- Potential: Navigating relationship chaos can lead to profound insights about oneself and the nature of partnerships.

Chaos in the Scorpio/8th House

- Transformation and Shared Resources: Intense and transformative experiences, particularly involving shared resources, may be marked by chaos. This can include inheritance, taxes, and joint ventures.

- Potential: Embracing these transformative experiences can lead to significant personal growth and deeper psychological understanding.

Chaos in the Sagittarius/9th House

- Philosophy and Travel: Beliefs, higher education, and travel experiences might be erratic or unconventional. There could be a frequent shift in worldviews.

- Potential: This placement can foster an open-minded and adventurous approach to learning and exploring different cultures and philosophies.

Chaos in the Capricorn/10th House

- Career and Public Image: Career paths and public reputation may be unstable or marked by sudden changes. There might be an unconventional approach to achieving goals.

- Potential: Navigating professional chaos can lead to innovative career paths and a distinctive public image.

Chaos in the Aquarius/11th House

- Friendships and Groups: Friendships and involvement in groups or organizations may be unpredictable. There could be sudden changes in social circles or group dynamics.

- Potential: Embracing social chaos can lead to a diverse and dynamic network, fostering unique collaborations and community involvement.

Chaos in the Pisces/12th House

- Subconscious and Solitude: Inner life, subconscious patterns, and experiences of solitude may be chaotic. There could be frequent spiritual or psychological upheavals.

- Potential: This placement can lead to profound spiritual growth and deep psychological insights, as individuals learn to navigate and integrate their inner chaos.

[twig-tea]

The Trainee ep2: I am Seated

I am buzzing after The Trainee ep2. I love when a show sets up characters with clear arcs and then delivers on their journeys perfectly, and this show is being so smart about what it's laying down. We got a perfect introduction to Ryan and Jane in ep1 and in ep2 we're already seeing movement in their arcs in the direction the show has flagged. This is smart writing!

Ryan is a frustrating but lovable character; he is smart and competent he just has no drive and is unsure about his place in the world and his role in it. In other words, he's young and inexperienced. And he's in over his head; he signed up for this internship because his friend dragged him to it, and went for it because they hired him and he doesn't know what else to do with his life. He is clearly driven by doing a good job and being appreciated; the client at his parent's print shop liking his work was motivating for him, and the show has shown us that he keeps that place running. He actually has the makings of a great AD--noticing where other people fall short and pre-emptively filling those gaps, prepping so that when other people get to their next task their prep is already done, understanding all of the different pieces and how the need to fall into place; all of that will make him great at the job. But he doesn't know anything about making content and he isn't self-driven or motivated enough to do any reading on his own, at least not yet. I love how honest he is: He did not brook any trash talk of Jane after Jane showed up for him, and he recognizes his own flaws and doesn't want to be a burden. His hesitation is understandable considering his ignorance, and my frustration with him is mostly that he hasn't tried to address that in himself yet, but I also get it because he wasn't sure he wanted this role in the first place. I'm really excited to watch him fall in love with content creation, and with Jane, and to see him hone his skills.

Speaking of Jane, I love this character. He's grumpy, but the show has given us so many reasons why (all of whom are his colleagues, who seem to be unable to do anything without him while constantly talking badly about him behind his back). He's rude because he needs to be in order to get anything done at this place, and frankly, probably because he can be--he's so integral to this workplace that nobody can tell him to tone it down, even when it's not workplace appropriate. Baimon is a classic boss--charismatic but useless, and he clearly looks to Jane to solve any problem that comes up. I've worked with people like Jane before; so competent that they get away with being rude AF. And he's not actually a bad boss, is the thing. He gets annoyed and says so, but he doesn't hold Ryan's ignorance against him. Despite being frustrated that he wasn't given someone with experience to help him, he asked Ryan for his ideas on how to solve a problem, and then trusted him to execute the task. He calls Ryan out for being so slow to speak (this man is on a constant urgent deadline!), but still waits to hear him out. When Ryan admits he made a real mistake, Jane explains what he did wrong and how to avoid it in future. This is something I see people get twisted all the time: someone pointing out a mistake, even getting annoyed by it, and asking for it to be fixed, is not actually the same thing as not letting anyone make mistakes or being someone to whom you can't admit a mistake. Jane gave Ryan a chance to problem-solve, assigned him meaningful work, gave him credit for a good job, explained where he went wrong when Ryan admitted a mistake to him, helped him fix it, and let him make his own choices about staying or going. He said, if you don't like this job, you can quit, but I think you would be good at it. He sees potential in Ryan, and I am so excited to watch Jane turn Ryan into a competent colleague and then something more. In the meantime, please sign my petition to get Jane a minimum 2-week vacation and a skilled assistant.

Beyond these two characters, the humour is hitting for me, the work tension is so real, and the side characters are a lot of fun. Every one of the interns is nuanced and seems to have an arc ready for them, which I absolutely love. Pie is competent but self-interested and not a team player (happy to use Ryan to either help achieve a goal or throw him under the bus). Teh lacks confidence. Pah needs to learn to take things seriously. And this show so far is showing me that it's smart enough to deliver.

TL;DR The Trainee is excellent and I'm having a great time!