TUMBLR IS SO BORING WITH ALL YOU NERDS AT DASHCON
♥
((you all better come back with some amazing tales))
@cassandrasdreamworld / cassandrasdreamworld.tumblr.com
TUMBLR IS SO BORING WITH ALL YOU NERDS AT DASHCON
♥
((you all better come back with some amazing tales))
Damn @prideknights you outdid yourself, the quality is impeccable! I love the poem and feel it in my soul💌
Omg, I just got mine in the mail and I second the above: The quality is superb. Not gonna lie, I love this deck so much. The art, the back of the cards, the quality, the poem. It's all just *chef's kiss*
@prideknights Well done, indeed!
Thank you! If you want a deck, the playing cards are back in stock! The store is open until March 31, 2024 or when stock runs out!
OO GUYS IF YOU HAVEN'T YET GET YOURSELVES A PACK OF THESE CARDS THEY ARE SO FRICKING COOL
Honestly, ever since becoming a fanfic writer myself I’ve become like 500% more understanding and patient about other authors’ update schedules. An author takes 6+ months to post their next chapter? Yeah, totally get that real life can get in the way. An author abandons a fic? Disappointing, but it happens- sometimes inspiration for a story just dies. An author apologizes about taking so long to post a 10k word chapter? Dude, that’s like 18-20 pages on Word single-spaced. It takes me at least a week to write an essay for school a quarter the length of that, and that’s with a deadline.
It’s probably the most important thing writing fanfic has taught me, tbh. How to fully appreciate the hard work someone else has put into their story. How important the role of the audience is to an author. And that no matter what, you are never entitled to demand more of a story that you are getting for free.
I wonder if work just.. got harder in the 2000s, comparatively.
So like... ok. I haven't researched this and I'm mostly thinking out loud, so forgive me.
I entered the working world in 2005. I had a few odd jobs for a few years and then finally just bit the bullet in 2009, got a job at a grocery storeas an inventory clerk. My job was to count surplus items in the backroom and update the counts. Additional responsibilities included helping stock the front end. I left that job in less than a year.
A friend of mine now works at the same chain, different location, same job title, in 2022. But where I shared that title with two other people, he's the only one with that job title. Additionally, there are less stockpersons, and he is often called out to the floor to help them, which impedes his primary job function. He is also expected to clean bathrooms and some other maintenance things that I cant imagine doing as an inventory clerk.
And I thought maybe it was just that his location is understaffed, but looking back on the past few years where I was expected to do everything (be the front end, the dispatcher, the manufacturer, the teacher, trainer, janitor, delivery driver, account handler... christ, how did I do all this?) I'm looking at the issue with fresh eyes.
I hear sometimes about the 'slim down,' where a lot of companies took on a trend of hiring less people than they need to cut down on the cost of labor, and I look at how fast a person can burn out at a job. And how many jobs are considered 'high pressure sales' when they dont need to be.
Like I'm looking at the possibility of starting a business and I'm looking at the jobs I've had that burned me out and why. And it's almost always been 'I was always juggling responsibilities because we needed more staff'.
Like it seemed like I was doing everything, but getting paid the same.
And I think about that backroom job, where occasionally i would have to help out the stockers on big days, but mostly my job was one function.
It's not like that anymore, is it?
So when I hear someone bemoan that 'no one wants to work anymore' I just think... y'know, work ain't what it used to be. When you're working the work of 3.5 people because someone at corporate decided it was right and good to hire less people than they need because it saves them 20$ per hour per store, but you still dint get your bonus because shrinks too high or they didnt make the amount of money they thought they would or you gave too many coupons ONCE. And it's like they're actively trying to chase people away, and then threaten you with automation but they do t make work attractive enough for people to show...
Work dont want no one anymore.
Oh damn, the notes on this. Apparently it's not my imagination and y'all have lived some horror stories.
I feel like we should be able to do something about this. Like we should be able to say 'no' to lean staffing and we should have a say in what our responsibilities are.
I'm thinking about all the times i should have just straight up said something. Like I think I had it in my head that if I took on all the responsibilities in the shop, eventually I would be rewarded with higher pay. But it doesnt work like that anymore. The reward for digging the best hole is a bigger shovel.
That's no way to live, though. And I just put up with it like it was normal to be so tired at the end of the day that I couldnt move. Maybe I should have just said 'no, you do it' when they started making me work outside my title.
Because that took a serious toll on my mental health.
i know so many people have said it but
UNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONSUNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONSUNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONSUNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONSUNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONSUNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONS UNIONS
I HAVE A UNION JOB AND LET ME TELL YOU SOME THINGS
It is part time, contract, hourly, full remote. Because it's union? They have to offer me a minimum of 25 hours a week. If I *voluntarily* go under, that is on me, but they ALWAYS offer me up to that. If I ask for the hours, they HAVE to give them.
Overtime doesn't trigger until 40 hrs/wk... but any time spent on emails, spreadsheets, my timesheet, ANY admin task that's more than 15 min? I can bill for that. ALL training, meetings, etc? I bill for that.
I get holiday pay. Seperate from vacation, sick leave, personal time; if it's a federal or state holiday I *automatically* get 5 hours of pay for that day. Period. Unlimited. I got paid 5 hours to do nothing on MLK day and presidents day, no questions asked, nothing taken away from my other pay.
I get sick leave, vacation leave, "personal" leave (anything that isn't the former two -- like, "my friend had an accident and I need to drive them home"). I get health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance. I get access to the credit union. I get access to job search help if my position gets dissolved / I get laid off!
It costs about $80/month in union dues, but I MORE than get that back in terms of benefits and peace of mind, and it's automatically deducted from my paycheck.
U N I O N S.
as we are living through a new resurgence in unions, after they were systematically decimated for decades, people might ask ‘how do i join a union?’ or ‘how do i unionize my workplace?’. the IWW isn’t a union union in the sense that it will automatically give you benefits like the above. BUT it is the single best place to start if you want to begin unionizing your workplace, connecting with other workers (including prisoners), and generally learn about unions and the international labor struggle.
Whenever unions being destroyed comes up, some asshat's always like "but the duuuues" like, STFU. I'd HAPPILY pay the dues to not be fuckin exploited.
The slim down has affected everything. It's why most of the movie theaters around me are nasty, the retail stores are always a trainwreck, and you constantly have long wait times at restaurants and grocery stores. It's the captains, NOT the crew.
We were waiting for tires at Walmart, and they'd called someone to a section on intercom a buncha times and some ol fart customer was so offended "Why don't they send a MANAGER there???" WOMAN. It's WALMART. They do not hire the goddamn people! I get unreasonably pissed about this cuz too many people have no idea what work is actually like now and make dumbass complaints and harass workers, bitching at the wrong thing.
Food service has gotten way worse thank staffing slim downs, ghost kitchens and online ordering. Seriously, look up the ghost kitchens. Tons of big chains try to pass off hokey "local" sounding food on grub hub and door dash that comes straight outta IHOP and Applebee's. It leaves the people working those restaurants effectively running numerous restaraunts of the same kitchen for single restaraunt pay. Ghost Kitchens have come under serious litigation in Houston specifically for having such poorly maintained spaces, workers have gotten seriously hurt.
It is so fucked how we're conditioned into saying yes to everything till you end up doing 5 people's work under the false promise of a better future. It burned my careers and bridges to the ground. Don't make my mistakes. I'm hopeful that GenZ and the rest of the up and comers will continue to take less bullshit at work and justifiably cry on TikTok behind the service counter cuz work is NOT working.
More Perfect Union is an excellent YouTube channel doing fantastic labor journalism that I can't recommend enough.
So, "lean staffing" was mentioned above. Not only do I hate the practice, I hate the term... calling it "lean" implies that what you cut away was fat. That it was healthier for it. But what you cut was SLACK. And slack is what allows lines to tighten without breaking. I call it "taut" staffing. A taut line is a line under strain. Strain too long, and it breaks. Increase the tension and it breaks. A taut line is one that cannot absorb changes.
Look, I'm mad at Bernie for other reasons rn, but he and the head of the UAW (United Auto Workers union) are petitioning right now for a 32 hour work week. This won't alleviate all of the problems (and will certainly create some new ones) - but it will force companies to either hire more staff to distribute the overworked hours or pay a shit ton more overtime to workers. (article about the UAW push) (link to the bill) (link to the CSPAN hearing) (Bernie Sanders' website)
This is impacting office work, too.
What it looks like here is a push for automation, moving work offshore, the elimination of roles like "project manager," and the expectation that since I'm now a manager (salary) I will take on at least one project a year in addition to my normal duties.
I have received so much pressure to track time on tasks down to the hourly level for my whole team, get everyone to handle more accounts, every task and audit is challenged (why do we need this, how many results do you get per week/month, how much money has been saved with it? How can you prevent the issues in the first place?), and every process is expected to be audited quarterly.
This is complete bullshit and requires aggressive enforcement of boundaries but also a certain amount of give on my part to meet objectives so that I can maintain my position and the social capital/good will that enables me to get things done.
My boyfriend, on the other hand, is union, and I'm so envious...
This took me three days and my hand hurts so bad. y'all better reblog it
must a fictional relationship be “healthy” or “functional”? is it not enough to simply watch two made up people destroy each other, hand in unlovable hand???
hey what the fuck is wrong with you people
idk, what is wrong with me? i’m in a healthy and stable relationship with a great partner, i’ve had lots of therapy that has helped me establish strong boundaries and recognize red flags, and i have an active social life and fulfilling career. could it be that i just… like to read books and watch movies and tv shows about dysfunctional people??? you tell me, tumblr user girlcreator!
You’re a bourgeois degenerate who wants to see shitty despicable & violent relationships for your disgusting sense of entertainment— and you should feel fucking ashamed of yourself.
I agree with @girlcreator but I definitely know there’s something wrong with you. People like you are a huge red flag to me. Bad vibes, for sure.
can you weirdos just smoke some fucking weed
shakespeare frantically rewriting macbeth’s marriage to be healthy and adjusted becuase no one will ever want to watch the original
reblog if you’re a bourgeois degenerate who wants to see shitty despicable and violent relationships for your disgusting sense of entertainment (and you should feel fucking ashamed of yourself)
happy ten years, trans bugs!
Not all of The Rules Of The Internet (origin of Rule 34 and, less remembered, Rules 50 (A Crossover, no matter how improbable, will eventually happen in Fan Art, Fan Fiction, or official release material, often through fanfiction of it) and 63 (For every given male character, there is a female version of that character (and vice-versa). And there is always porn of that character.) has aged well, but always remember a few other rules (boiled down to the basic meaning):
Rule 11: No matter how much you love debating, keep in mind that no one on the internet debates. Instead they mock your intelligence as well as your parents. (Never assume any “debate” is done in good faith if you have any reason to believe otherwise)
Rule 13: Anything you say can and will be turned into something else (someone somewhere will maliciously twist your words)
Rule 14: Do not argue with trolls—it means they win. (Don’t Feed The Trolls, block em and go, you don’t owe them shit)
Rule 33: Lurk more—it's never enough. (If you don’t know, don’t speak up. Internet version of “better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and confirm it”)
Rule 39: CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL. (Classic memes never truly go out of style, someone will appreciate it…)
Rule 40: EVEN WITH CRUISE CONTROL YOU STILL HAVE TO STEER (…but you can always go overboard, mix it up every once in a while)
Rule 49: No matter what it is, it is somebody's fetish. (Self explanatory, but in more modern times a reminder to be wary of people asking for things you don’t possibly believe could be a fetish)
Rule 62: It has been cracked and pirated. You can find anything if you look long enough. (Keep Circulating The Tapes, and ask any tech savvy friends if they know a guy)
sometimes you need to give up committing to the bit when someone genuinely can’t tell if it’s a bit or not and is getting distressed about it :/ sorry
sometimes all u need to do is take one second to say "(yeah this is a bit)" if someone is genuinely asking because they genuinely can't tell, and then you can continue with the bit. i just feel like refusing to acknowledge someone saying "i cant tell if youre joking or not" and you just continue, or even say, "im not joking" then you're not being very funny, you're just being kind of mean, i think.
obviously there is nuance to this and if you know someone really well sometimes going in harder on the bit will make them get that it's a bit and that's fine if you know them. but just be mindful, yknow? not everyone can pick up on stuff like that, and pushing harder on a bit by saying "im serious" when someone asks if you're joking or not can be harmful in some situations.
🔝this
my hearing has been aided and holy shit is this how you guys hear all the time
I can hear the birds calling to eachother!! im sat inside my house and I can still hear them!!
my cats purrs are so loud...I never knew how happy he was when I petted him 😭😭
bees have such nice buzzes!!!!!
rustling leaves sound nice. motorbikes do not
I can hear the river running through my village...this world has so many beautiful and amazing sounds
if you rub your hands on a leather sofa. that sounds excellent
gravel sounds fantastic btw. go kick some gravel immediately
CRUNCHY LEAVES
I still can't get over jinx purring. I never knew how happy he was or how much he loves me. he's been purring since I got home, every time I say hi to him. my husband says he's always purring like that, I just never heard it before
thank you @dwiwediblino for suggesting a clicky keyboard. I just tried it out and what a FANTASTIC sound
Have you heard the pitter patter sound of your cats toes yet? Always enjoy that sound
yes!! when we came home and I called him downstairs for some food I heard him leap off the bed I think and his excited patters down the stairs
food in frying pans really do be sizzling...
the sound of old crinkly book pages oh my GOD I have found my new favourite sound
went down to the village river and it was so nice!! the river is pretty low rn because of the lack of rain but when it rains lots I want to go back and see it go fast and hear it
also! hearing the rustle of grass as I walk through it!
and and and i threw a stone into the water and it made a very satisfying splash sound :)
What do you think of this noise?
that's such a funny sound I need to get some sheets of metal and laminate some paper immediately omg
popped my hearing aid on when I woke up and just listened to my husband breathe next to me. he's here, I get to wake up next to my best friend every day. he's alive. he loves me.
then he started snoring very loudly and it was even worse with the amplified sound
you guys can hear the ticking of watches?? they're so loud!!
when you light a cigarette and you hear a faint crackle as the dried leaves catch fire. very good.
I was hanging my washing outside and I shook out a pillowcase to hang it up and it made a very good whoosh sound with a slightly sharp crack!
the crackling sound of a candle wick being lit!! what a fun noise!!
a bird landed on the tree branches above my head and I heard it!! I thought birds were silent but theyre not!!
heard my neighbour come home from his daily bike ride and the bike made a clicking sound??? :0
im outside in my garden with my easel doing some painting and I was drawing on the easel and it makes a scratchy noise?! the pencil was scratching! it makes a very good sound indeed!!
all of you who were suggesting a cold drink over some ice...you were all so right for that
sizzling barbecues!! loud and fun!! different foods make different sizzles
I CAN HEAR THUNDER THERES SO MANY DIFFERENT PITCHES TO IT WOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWOWWOW
IT ACTUALLY RUMBLES!!! JUST LIKE IN THE BOOKS!!!!!!
TIME TO REVIVE THIS POST. I heard lambs the other day and they make really sweet noises. I also went for a walk around a local nature reserve yesterday and heard lots of birds. and I met a dog who said "boof" at me. im still absolutely bowled over by the sound of the sea. in my job I rip up a lot of cardboard boxes and I enjoy the noise.
for humour, here are some sounds that I hate:
i cannot possibly overstate the psychological damage of growing up being abused in a way that is considered so disgusting as to be literally unspeakable and treated as such.
every single person on this website and everywhere else needs to take a long fucking look at how they talk about and think about csa and how it might fucking feel to have things that literally happened to you be considered so taboo that frank depictions are declared obscene or so disgusting so as to be talked about only in whispered tones
CAN YOU EVEN BEGIN TO CONCEPTUALIZE THE MULTIPLICATION OF TRAUMA THAT COMES FROM YOUR ABUSE BEING TREATED LIKE RADIOACTIVE WASTE THAT MUST BE BURIED LEST IT CONTAMINATE OTHERS BY ITS VERY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT DESCRIPTION OR EXISTENCE
i had friends on here that used to be very frank and open about their status as CSA survivors. because they insisted on talking about the subject frankly and with depth and nuance they were called pedophile apologists, which was quickly shortened just to pedos, and constantly harassed. one teenager specifically sent someone she knew to be a csa survivor links to triggering materials in an attempt to get them to reconsider being friends with me because i was also considered a pedo.
the way online spaces decided to Protect The Children from pedophilia has done no such thing, just like we warned you it wouldn't. instead it gave bullies and bigots a perfect label to slap onto any victim they wanted, at the direct expense of csa survivors everywhere. it's also been horrible for queer artists of all sorts. we have been saying this over and over for a decade at least.
im so fucking ANGRY
I have an abuse story that I am told is like, bad and I genuinely have a serious problem comprehending that it might be and let me say the extent to which I have felt too tainted to exist, to be depicted is So Fucking High. So High. I have heard that I am not allowed to depict myself in fiction because it is Condoning It and it has seeped into my bones despite the fact that I do not believe this in regards to anyone else. (I don’t actually think you need to have trauma to write about things either but). It made me want to stop writing for a long time. It still does, honestly.
(Inej from Six of Crows is like HI SAME TRAUMA to give an idea and it was incredible to actually be seen. She and Genya. And a friend wrote an OC who is me and listen, seeing people with my trauma being loved and protected and valued is life changing and saving).
I’m sorry for commenting all over this post but genuinely fandom purity culture has made me feel more tainted and dirty.
The reason 1st Person POV is so derided in fanfic is because of characterization. In 3rd Person POV, you just have to convince us that the character would say or do that thing, and if not we’re sometimes willing to overlook it for the sake of the plot. In 1st Person, every single line of the story needs to feel In-Character, and OOC moments become grating faster because by sheer statistics they feel like they happen more often.
You basically have to find an author who perfectly vibes with your interpretation of that character and who’s a good enough writer that it doesn’t feel clunky. Original fiction doesn’t have this problem nearly so much, because there’s no pre-built expectations. “Ah, so this is what this character thinks when confronted with this thing? Good to know.” As opposed to fanfic, where the reader will often find themselves going, “No, that’s not what they’d think if they saw that. No, that’s not how they’d feel if someone said that. No, this narration is incorrect.”
After being burned like that a certain number of times, lots of readers end up with a Pavlovian response. They see 1st Person POV, they see that first “I,” and they’re immediately annoyed because 1st Person POV stories have so often annoyed them in the past. They start avoiding them out of principle.
(This is not dissimilar to the problem with 2nd Person POV in any format, outside of maybe Choose Your Own Adventure novels. The author directly tells you, the reader, how you think/feel/react, and you, the reader, go, “WTF, no I don’t!” Which then jerks you out of the immersion & makes the story less enjoyable.)
None of which is to say don’t use those formats if you enjoy them. Just… I saw some people expressing frustration over the general distaste fandom culture seems to have for 1st Person POV, and while I don’t want to get involved in that argument, I did want to explain. For general information, I guess.
This is a really good insight, and I’m wondering now if this is why I’m so much more tolerant of 1st person pov in fanfic for novels written in 1st person - if you can convincingly mimic the author’s voice, most of the characterization will pass.
I suspect this is also why Self Insert/Original Character fics can get away with 1st person so easily, because there’s no established character to contradict. If anything, this makes it a superior tool for the purpose of connecting the reader with this character who’s new to the canon.
it’s useful to keep in mind that every story has at least four agents: the narrator, the character(s), the audience, and the author. the agents here have greater and lesser power as well as greater or lesser control over one another, and their roles can also overlap or even swap.
the narrator isn’t necessarily the author: think of how daniel handler isn’t the same guy as lemony snickett. the author has set it up so that the narrator of A Series Of Unfortunate Events who tells the story is also a peripheral character in the story and also stands with his audience, helpless to do anything but witness the tragedy unfolding.
Y/N stories also abridge the role of audience, character, and narrator: the author is pretending to be you to help you pretend to be a character. the narrator isn’t the author herself, it’s a mutual cooperation.
in some third person stories, the narrator and author are almost indistinguishable, but they’re still never quite the same, and sometimes that subtle distinction is really fun to examine; in lord of the rings, for instance, tolkein presents the story as a translation from an earlier era. tolkein the author hides very slyly behind tolkein the translator; playing himself playing himself. the princess bride does this more blatantly, almost bombasically, with goldman the author piously reminding you at every turn that he’s only abridging the original princess bride which was written by s morgenstern.
in first person stories, the narrator is one specific character, so the distance between the narrator and the author is wide and explicit, while the distance between the narrator and the audience is much more fluid and obscure.
no conclusion, just that keeping in mind these positions can really help you understand what you do, and don’t, like from a story. and more intentionally work out how you want to frame the stories you yourself are writing.
reblog to cast level 5 spell: everyone who reads this gets a full night sleep
I thought I’d immortalize the wing-building process through which I created the wings for Dream XD! So here’s the-most-budget-stationary-wings-tutorial-ever.
[This is gonna be a long-ish post, fair warning!]
I just finished reading The Shadow/Batman and there are a few panels that really hit me. I don’t understand how people can hate Damian, knowing what he’s been through to make him who he is. I also don’t understand people who glorify his time with the League of Assassins.
Look at his face. My heart broke at this poor child’s fear. Here he is once he realized it was Ra’s pulling the strings.
Ra’s spends the rest of this issue (#4) reminding Damian that he is only alive because Ra’s allows it. Damian, using the strength and confidence in himself he’s gained since separating from the League, stands up to Ra’s.
Here’s the face of a child who has had enough of his grandfather’s shit.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t actually call in backup, but just relies on failsafe mechanisms to call his father should something go wrong, because he’s still stubborn as hell, and Ra’s blocks the distress signals. Bruce goes mad trying to track Damian, because he knew his son’s jet had crashed, but he was unable to locate it. And so this happens:
And this, I think, is the perfect summary of what has made the Damian character what it is. His grandfather has beaten him down time and time again, viciously. He has withstood some of the most horrendous physical and emotional abuse from the people who were supposed to care for him, and yet he keeps getting back up every time they knock him down. Throughout this issue, he keeps back talking his grandfather, refusing to give up and cow down to the man. He holds tightly to his beliefs and his confidence in himself and his place in the world, and refuses to allow this monster to control him.
This is why I think that Damian’s arrogance, his haughty attitude and overconfidence in himself, was all born from necessity. He can’t be humble and kind and survive in the world from which he came. He had to be aggressive and assertive to protect himself. This is also the reason I absolutely adore Damian. He is such a complex character, and most certainly a survivor, and I just love him.
hey @cassandrasdreamworld it’s one of yer boys
he was a skater boy
ALT