A Dragon at the Dinner Table

I'm a sometime amateur writer, who loves boardgames and GMing tabletop RPGs. 30s, white, trans autistic lesbian

[dragonatthedinnertable]

All of my plushies!

In order of how long I’ve had them.

^ This is Brownie. I’ve had him since I was 1 year old, apparently. I remember insisting that teddy bears were 1 when they are born, so that we would be the same age.

I had a whole bunch of stuffed toys as a kid, but he’s the only one I have left, and the others vanished when my parents moved.

^ Mittens. When I moved to the city for university, my grandma sent her to me, because I’d never lived without cats before, and she didn’t want me to be lonely. <3

^ Shelby. I got her at the Denver Aquarium when we went to the US to visit the aforementioned grandma. I’m so glad she got to meet my wife, and Shelby will always remind me of that trip.

^ Squiddy. I got him from the free box at the thrift store we used to live next to. Honestly, I was just amazed at the idea of a plush squid.

^ Mortimer. He was a birthday present from my wife. She also got me turtle socks. (Can you guess yet what my favourite animal is?)

^ Myrtle the Purple Turtle. Some work friends got her for me as a surprise when I came out to them. She lived on my work desk for ages.

^ Moira. My first dragon plushie. She always looks sad.

^ Ember. Both she & Moira were birthday presents the same year, but I don’t remember which one I got first.

Ember sometimes comes in the car or my purse with me.

^ Meryl. She’s a weighted lap turtle that I got not terribly long after my autism diagnosis, and after we discovered the joy of weighted blankets. I sit with her on my lap every single day.

^ Poppy is so huge & so huggable. I got her as a gift to myself for making it through the first lockdown in 2020.

^ Gizmo. A Nameday present from my mum. He fits on my shoulder.

^ Romeo. A Valentine’s gift from my wife <3

^ Charity. I bought her with an Easter egg this year, with my first paycheck from my new job.

^ Millicent! I got her at a craft market just last weekend. @thankyouforyourcooperation​ saw the same stall, and was tempted to buy her (or a sibling) for me.

[achillesinhighheels]

[notbecauseofvictories]

SUPER TOP SECRET WORK HACK!!! If you explicitly tell people, "You are an adult and a professional, I trust you to do your job; just keep me in the loop and let me know if there are questions," then thank and/or praise them when they accomplish your mutual goals? they will keep doing things for and with you. Sometimes they will even side with you over other people in the organization, because you've taken the time to establish that baseline respect and trust! hashtag winning or whatever

[sonneillonv]

I just want to say this can work with kids too, mostly because of the 'respect' thing.

This past month, Parks & Rec has been doing a lot of work on the field adjacent to my school. They have trucks with flatbeds, mowing/tree-cutting/postholing machinery, etc. And when they arrived, I (campus monitor) was told I would need to herd the kids away from the trucks/machinery and basically prevent them from creating a dangerous situation.

So when recess came around and the kids stampeded out the door I held them up and I said (being funny but at the same time serious, you know how it is, kids listen better if you're funny)

"Okay, I know that you're all smart AND mature, right? And talented and good looking? Definitely the smartest and most talented class in this school? (I say this to every class, they're all 'my favorites'.) And because you're SO intelligent and mature, I don't need to actually TELL you that these guys have vehicles and machinery that you need to stay clear of, right? Because I know you figured that out already, and I also know that YOU know how sad I would be if any of you were run over, or squashed, or had a pole fall on you. I would be SO SAD, like, I would probably have to lie down on the floor and cry. So you're not going to make me cry, right? I can trust you to stay away from the trucks and machines no matter where they are on the field? Because you're wonderful and amazing? My favorites? My inspiration?"

And they're laughing at me of course, because I'm being so dramatic. Some of them are "Yes, and-"ing my dramatics and inventing more involved mourning processes I should undertake if any of them get run over. Some of them are yelling at me that they are NOT mature yet and they are VERY STUPID and I should know this.

It's been three weeks. We had one conversation about it. None of them have gone anywhere near the trucks. This is actually in excess of the typical elementary-schooler's working memory and I'm very proud of them. I haven't had to blow the whistle at ONE person for getting too close even when the trucks were literally 40 feet from the actual playground.

"I know I can trust you to do this", even when phrased with humor, is like a magic key that unlocks teamwork+cooperation.

[onbearfeet]

I usually phrased it to middle-schoolers as, "I was a weird artist before I was a teacher, so I don't understand how children work, really. So I am going to treat you guys like adults unless and until you give me a reason not to." It's amazing how far they'll go to keep that adult status.

[dailycatsblog]

[only-cat-memes]

[aomitois]

rb and tag your favorite song that's not in english, japanese or korean

[tokkibean]

i do not “delete sentences” when they start “hindering the plot” i COPY PASTE THEM into a SEPARATE DOC made just for keeping all my USELESS LINES that i will also NEVER USE so therefore i should JUST DELETE THEM but i DONT because id FEEL BAD if i did

[harpyharpyharpy]

You don't actually have to kill your darlings. You can just put them in the oubliette #myoubliette

[stormcided]

"Uh...nevermind"

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1997-2003)

"Doppelgangland" S3 E16 + "Checkpoint" S5 E12

[aralintheobsessive]

if you want butterflies, you need to live with caterpillars.

i am not being metaphorical, i work in a garden center, stop buying plants 'to bring in the bees and butterflies' and then immediately poisoning every caterpillar that dares to consume a single leaf

you will not get butterflies if you kill all the things that turn into butterflies! what are you doing!

[aralintheobsessive]

getting a lot of responses to this going 'ok but it would be good as a metaphor though' so I will accept a metaphorical interpretation as long as you ALSO (!) promise to be considerate towards larval forms of insects specifically and biodiversity in general, deal?

[chinesewednesday]

[luidilovins]

my couchsona

[seananmcguire]

I would buy this and cover it in weird plush and sleep on it every night.

[orpheuslament]

terrifying when you watch a movie or a show or whatever & youre like that was fun but it felt a little redundant they didnt need to hammer the point home that much & then you go online & theres thousands of people going that was so weird i did not get it what did that mean google.com ending explained please?

[seananmcguire]

I know that I have an issue with overexplaining myself in books. I know it can get repetitive, and I cut so much more than makes it into the final draft.

And I do this because I have grown up in a world where I can say dinner is my magic onion secret surprise (the surprise is onions) eight times, and still have someone sit down, take a bite, and then ask me if there are onions in there.

[witchofanguish]

[lutzlig]

LOL LOOK AT THE SHUTTERS

[lutzlig]

[blighted-vessel]

you only love me for my brainwashing spores that make everyone love me. hmph

[jadeazora]

Pokemon GO's new log-in screen for Forever Forward is a throwback to one of its oldest ones!

[storyweavingspider]

I’m not sure which one came first but I’m happy for their transition!

[storyweavingspider]

Good for her and for the family and for pedestrian safety :)

[dragongirlsweetie]

the problem with fantasyposting on here is the amount of people who try to "um actually" you on the basis that your post doesn't comply with the rules/mechanics/worldbuilding of dungeons and dragons

[thoradvice]

if you've lost years of your life to abuse or mental illness, please know it's not too late for you. it's never too late for you. you can do everything you dreamed of when you were a kid - there's still time. you have time to shape yourself and your life into what you want. there is no time limit on happiness.