Another year, another Thanksgiving, another Black Friday, another several weeks of hardship for people in shipping and retail. Three of  bastiel’s ‘sonas and mine having their struggles with Christmas consumption.
Fox-Bas aka Bazaar working check-out, the strain of standing for so long while so pregnant starting to get to him.
Dragon/Kobold Bas managing his store and being at their wits’ end seeing the coming inventory.
Snake Bas struggles in the storeroom – she may be big (and one of the strongest Bas forms in my mind), but it’s still a repetitive strain, especially with this clutch getting in the way and adding weight that she can’t put down.
And my Darren, losing his patience with his latest workload and giving into an overwhelming combination of burning rage and crushing despair.
I’ve been getting really depressed with my truck loading job over the past few months, and (not to get too into their life out of respect and privacy) Bas has some retail job miseries as well. And Black Friday is when things really start turning downhill for us and others who do these jobs. Something to keep in mind this week, up to Christmas, and during post-holiday returns.
And Bastiel, here’s to hoping we both get through it this year and that we find our lights at the ends of our tunnels.🫂
Fox-Bas/Bazaar, Dragon/Kobold Bas, and Snake Bas belong to Bastiel (BBastiel on Twitter, and bastiel.bsky.social on BlueSky); Darren belongs to me.