@somerandomdudelmao... I don't know what to say about this part...
Song : Unfair [edit audio] || by HMDream
OH
OH IT HURTS
Oh F U C K IT HURTS
I'm starting to get smile lines.
How lovely to have smiled so often that happiness permanently etches itself into your face
How metal to have lived a life where your face now pre-warns people not to fuck with you
How resilient to have cared so strongly that empathy is now visibly displayed on your face
Omg ultimate wife material 😭
masks and helmets that hides someone's face in such a way that they become the face themselves my beloved
these are all creatures to me
Angel of War, angular and strange, gleaming silver and gold,
Angel of Wonder, pure and one-eyed, looking to stars new and old,
Angel of Harvest, simple and hidden, bring nature's sweetness to all,
Angel of Health, mysterious and fine, beacon when life starts to fall,
Angel of the Deep, crooked and cage-like, guide us across the sea,
Angel of Solace, protect us from evil, lead us to where we are free.
ALT(image description:) a phrase - angels of - followed by bright-on-black drawings of helmet-covered faces of: a knight captioned as war, an astronaut captioned as wonder, a medieval beekeeper captioned as harvest, a plague doctor captioned as health, an old-fashined diver captioned as the deep, a gasmasked person captioned as solace (/end description)
a quick fanart to the concept; do you think a motorcyclist and a person in a surgical mask and cap may join these ranks?
So my coworker (lab mate?) is partially deaf and was given a sign language interpreter by the university (so he doesn’t pay for anything) and also got one at his new job, which is really cool.
I didn’t realize just how hard sign language interpreters work until I started interacting with his interpreter.
Any time I need a Zoom call from my coworker to get him to explain some machine learning stuff to me, his interpreter joins the Zoom call.
During 2 hour lab meetings, he has 2 interpreters that constantly switch so they don’t get tired, and when there’s only one, we have to take a break in the middle so she can rest.
Both his interpreters spent a lot of time reading complex scientific journal articles in machine learning in order to agree on what language to use during the lab meetings.
We went out for a lab lunch and everyone ordered all this delicious food…and the interpreter couldn’t eat anything, because she had to work (my coworker said it’s part of their job but still!).
She would constantly ask me what the group on the other side of the table was talking about so she could keep my coworker “in the loop” of the “office chatter” instead of only interpreting when someone spoke directly to him.
Having to struggle with words from other languages (I’m bilingual and when I mixed in some Urdu words, the interpreter asked me to translate so she could sign them). Also having to interpret conversations where everyone is interrupting each other.
Just…it’s such an important job and I didn’t realize how much work goes into it. Sign language interpreters are amazing and really do their part to not only “translate” for deaf people, but to make them feel included in all of the conversation.
If you’re interacting with someone and their interpreter, there are things you can do to make that communication easier!
1) If either of the people don’t know you well, or if it’s a busy video or phone call, say your name before you speak! This makes it easier to track who’s saying what and helps the deaf person and the interpreter get to know you better.
2) Try your best to not speak over/interrupt others or make side comments while someone else is speaking. It’s really hard! If you manage to do it, though, everyone will follow the conversation better, not just the deaf person and their interpreter.
3) If you’re using an acronym, a non-English word, a slang term, or a technical term that the interpreter might not know, define and/or spell it politely and as briefly as possible. Use the full term, then say the acronym. Take a second to clarify words that might sound a lot like other words. If you can fingerspell, that can be helpful, too! You, the deaf person, and the interpreter will eventually build a rhythm that makes this easier to do and get a sense of what does or doesn’t need to be defined
4) Don’t engage the interpreter in conversation. It can feel weird, but the interpreter is working and needs to pay attention to things that are not you. If they’re on a break and want to chat, they’ll approach you.
5) Most importantly, remember to look at the deaf person, NOT the interpreter, while speaking with the deaf person! Unless you’re making one of those brief explanations to help the interpreter out, you should look at the person you’re speaking to. You should also look at the deaf person while the interpreter speaks, because the deaf person is who you’re actually listening to. It can feel really weird to basically ignore a person, especially someone whose hands are moving and catching your attention, but that’s what’s polite.
5.1) If you, like me, need to be looking at a person to understand what they’re saying, tell the deaf person that so they know you’re doing what you need to to communicate with them, not ignoring them in favor of the interpreter, which is rude. This is also helpful information for the interpreter, who will then know to keep eye contact with you while interpreting whenever possible. Make sure to give this info to the deaf person first and foremost, though.
(These tips can also be helpful for talking with folks who are hard of hearing but not using an interpreter, especially on video or phone calls. Don’t interrupt, don’t start side conversations, and turn your face toward the hard of hearing person while speaking as much as possible!)
I love seeing little kids in love with "weird" things. Just pure delight over something that would usually be used to create something spooky/scary.
like there comes a point where you think something is fundamentally wrong with you. and then it turns out it’s just Friday and you haven’t washed your hair in three days and maybe you’re also just a little lonely and the combination of all three of those things is whittling a hole into your chest every time you breathe. but also the sun’s up. and you’ve survived everything so far, so you’ll survive this too, even if it hurts, even if you have to survive it many times.
