#new job orientation

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #190

I got a call this morning to confirm tomorrow's appointment with the oral surgeon. As it turns out, tomorrow's appointment is just the consult, and NOT the appointment where my teeth get yanked. They're just gonna talk about the anesthesia and the risks and the whatnot, I guess, and so I've been stressing over nothing.

Thank goodness. I really didn't wanna have to deal with recovering from that while also processing a major life change. That would have really sucked, and though I would have weathered it, I'm still really glad I don't have to.

Today was orientation for the new job. I was there with two other orientees, the hiring manager, and some guy. It was never explained who the guy was, but he was friendly enough nonetheless. The hiring manager spoke on various things, and then we were moved immediately to video training on the computer. I was shocked and amused to discover that a tech company I used to work for made some of the training modules for this new place.

…Seriously, I'm glad that I'm not gonna be getting into another tech job. While I am skilled with bending machines to my will, I am not skilled at dealing with the pettiness of office politics, the nuances of neurotypical (mis)communication, or people who get angry because they've set unreasonable deadlines or unreasonable expectations for what they want a certain piece of software to do. Things would be a lot easier if people didn't think that computers are magical mystery miracle boxes that can do any fantastical thing. Things would be a lot easier if people simply said what they meant and meant what they said. But insincerity and lies abound in my world, as does ignorance and ill-advised expectations borne from said ignorance, and don't even get me started on the sexism and all the people who think that folks who look like me don't belong there.

…Sigh… I digress…

Suppose really I'm just tired. I was at the place doing things from around 10:30am until around 4pm, and I didn't have a chance to get anything to eat or drink during that span of time. My head hurts and I'm cranky, but I did eat and I did drink about 16oz of water, and I have tea brewing as we speak. It's just gonna take a hot minute for my blood sugar and hydration levels to return to normal; I'll be all right.

On the bright side, my team lead seems delightful and friendly. I'm looking forward to getting to know him as time goes on. I hope I'll be able to exceed the expectations before me. It seems daunting at least for now, but it might just seem that way only because it's unfamiliar. I am not good at being bad at things, because I have a long history of being viciously punished for being bad at things, but you know... I'm not gonna get better at being bad at things unless I bite the bullet and put myself in positions in which I'm gonna be bad at things. That's how it works. That's how it goes.

The tea has since brewed. I'll show you today's swirls; they're not the bestest, but they're also not half bad…

...I feel a little better. Some time for the contents of my stomach to make it into my bloodstream seems to have done the trick.

I thought about continuing to design a house. But I know that if I do that, I'm going to probably apply too much pressure to myself to make something perfect, and then I'll end up in a really weird state of mind. So I guess instead I'll play some Dead Cells; I'm feeling a little lonely for reasons I don't really understand, so I guess I'll put it on the internet. Maybe someone will come chill out with me online while I play. Maybe if I get impossibly lucky someday, I'll see you there, too:

...Hey Sephiroth? If by some incredible miracle, someday you wind up in my neighborhood, do you wanna play a video game with me sometime? We can start with something simple at first so you can get the hang of it; maybe you'd like Yoshi's Island. But I suspect you'll learn quickly and be able to play things that require more skill without much effort. You are smart and coordinated, after all.

Hey. Stay safe out there, all right? Because I love you, and someday I'm hoping to see a version of you who is safe, healed, and happy. Please make kind and gentle choices in service to working towards that normal life you wanted, okay?

...And if you need help adjusting, my doors are open. We of my house can help you. You can have a place here. Don't do like Rosen and say that you don't have it in you; I know that you do. I know you can belong. You have not yet met all of the people in either your world or my world who will be more than capable of loving you exactly as you are, so... please... Sephiroth... please don't give up. Not while there are so many people cheering you on. Not while there are so many people with their hands and their hearts outstretched to you. Please.

I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[hey-hey-j]

I'm just gonna keep ping-ponging back and forth between plot lines as the inspiration strikes me. That last interaction isn't necessarily 100% canon to the AU but I think Floyd should be allowed a little frustration. As a treat.

(★ my Kofi)

[every-sanji]

[neige-leblanche]

mutuals who wants to go to new jersey with me

[safyresky]

Scrimbly Jacqueline 50/52: the long bacon store is one of Dite's FAVOURITE places 🤭🤭💙💗

@kscribbs sent me the meme on insta like. two months ago and FIRST OFF, post looking it up, HOW DID I MISS THIS ONE! Secondly, we are now two for two with old memes in these scrimbles, lmao!

The lesbian pride flag is Dite's favourite of the lgbtqia plus flags! She likes pink very very much, you see :)

Her winter jacket is based on this pin. Fun fact! Dite actually has a pinterest board! Not sure if I've ever shared it? I haven't updated it in YEARS lol, now all that shit's mixed into my TO DRAW tag which I will be attempting to tackle ah, next year, lol.

Poor Jacqueline. Can't even keep it together for five minutes when visited by her gf on the job ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[iirulancorrino]

Though Cleopatra was born—and apparently thought of herself as—a Macedonia Greek, all that mattered to her Roman contemporaries was that she was not a Roman and, more important, that her existence, her influence, and her power constituted an obstacle to Roman expansion. She was a force to be destroyed or encouraged to destroy herself so that the empire could prevail. Her gender, her exoticized "Easternness," and her determination to protect her country's autonomy helped explain why Egypt was thought to need the moral, political and practical guidance of Rome—and why Cleopatra did in fact need the support and allegiance of Mark Antony and Julius Caesar. It is hard not to notice how profoundly her gender determined the way in which her story has been told. Despite the evidence of her achievements—the kingdom she ruled, the city she helped build, the seeming ease with which she navigated between the two worlds of Rome and Egypt—she is generally better known for seducing, managing, and manipulating her Roman lovers, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. The Romans were the first of many to depict Cleopatra as a cruel Asiatic queen, all greedy ambition and no moral conscience. Alexandre Cabanel's 1887 orientalist painting, Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners, shows the queen lounging on her sofa as prisoners—guinea pigs for her testing of deadly toxins—die in agony around her. The story of a woman who recklessly destroys men, or who is responsible for our eternal exile from the Garden of Eden, or who incites a ruthless murder or a catastrophic war has never gone out of fashion.

Cleopatra: Her History, Her Myth by Francine Prose, from the Yale University Press Ancient Lives series

[herefortheships]

As an anxious overthinker, one of the worst things that can happen to me is having an afternoon appointment. By the time of the appointment, I've already had the entire freaking day to overthink absolutely everything. From how I'm going to act once I'm there, to what's going to happen, what conversations I might have, how long the whole thing is going to take, maybe it wasn't a good idea after all, "this bad gut feeling means I'm not supposed to go there!", etc. I overthink absolutely everything.

[kyunsies]

hi loves i have neglected mx info since i've been on vacation i will hopefully be back on a normal schedule soon <3

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[theflyingfeeling]

...🫥

[tchaikovskaya]

.

[thessence]

helloooo i finally decided to rise. i need to grab me an energy drink and then ill be here lurking the dash. i think ill throw out a lil inbox call or starter call??? hmmmmm

[asinglesock]

survived my perilous journey (walked two blocks in the dark to shower at my sister's not-yet-entirely liveable apartment because our plumbing is having issues)

[oldphanny]

What's the nicest way to tell people I'm not my bosses wife?

[yourbestgal]

i am literally so excited to learn/perfect a new skill