Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
@operasiren.bsky.social
Professional Mom Friend. Special interests include mermaids, fiber arts, native plants, dolphins, foraging, my cat babies, opera, musical theater, and learning how to unmask after 31 years of undiagnosed autism! I hate turf and TERFs.
This year I learned how to wallpaper the inside of a fake pumpkin with vellum and Mod Podge. That is all. (Can you tell I haven't made props for a show since 2019?)
October 20, 2025 at 3:28 PM
This year I learned how to wallpaper the inside of a fake pumpkin with vellum and Mod Podge. That is all. (Can you tell I haven't made props for a show since 2019?)
I'm in this photo and I don't like it.
It was really powerful when I realized that,
in order to be “unapologetically me,”
in order to shed my inappropriately high level of guilt,
I’ll need to tolerate being made to feel as if I ought to apologize,
I will need to tolerate feeling like I’m “in trouble,”
& then STILL *not* apologize.
in order to be “unapologetically me,”
in order to shed my inappropriately high level of guilt,
I’ll need to tolerate being made to feel as if I ought to apologize,
I will need to tolerate feeling like I’m “in trouble,”
& then STILL *not* apologize.
October 15, 2025 at 12:19 PM
I'm in this photo and I don't like it.
Are you ever casually using software that you've relied on for years when they suddenly roll out a major GUI update and then you become paralyzed with overwhelm because everything has moved around? Or is that just the tism?
July 7, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Are you ever casually using software that you've relied on for years when they suddenly roll out a major GUI update and then you become paralyzed with overwhelm because everything has moved around? Or is that just the tism?
The fact that I stopped going to Subway as soon as the Seafood Sensation dropped off the menu and still only go there if I have no other option should have been enough to let me skip neuropsych screening and get my tism diagnosis
May 16, 2025 at 2:24 AM
The fact that I stopped going to Subway as soon as the Seafood Sensation dropped off the menu and still only go there if I have no other option should have been enough to let me skip neuropsych screening and get my tism diagnosis
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
You weren’t unmotivated.
It was autistic inertia.
You didn’t forget.
Your brain dropped the thread under pressure.
You weren’t ignoring the task.
Your were in survival mode.
They called it procrastination.
You called it failure.
It’s never about willpower.
It’s always about capacity.
It was autistic inertia.
You didn’t forget.
Your brain dropped the thread under pressure.
You weren’t ignoring the task.
Your were in survival mode.
They called it procrastination.
You called it failure.
It’s never about willpower.
It’s always about capacity.
April 8, 2025 at 5:30 AM
You weren’t unmotivated.
It was autistic inertia.
You didn’t forget.
Your brain dropped the thread under pressure.
You weren’t ignoring the task.
Your were in survival mode.
They called it procrastination.
You called it failure.
It’s never about willpower.
It’s always about capacity.
It was autistic inertia.
You didn’t forget.
Your brain dropped the thread under pressure.
You weren’t ignoring the task.
Your were in survival mode.
They called it procrastination.
You called it failure.
It’s never about willpower.
It’s always about capacity.
Young Millennial with a home loan here! I bought a bunch of canning jars for canning and most of them have moved into the drinkware cabinet without ever having experienced a rolling boil. They're a matching set but they're not actually glasses so am I getting kicked out of the club?
millennials, xennials, and gen-xers who are in the "stable functional adult" cohort: do you own matching sets of drinking glasses? I feel like even among the "respectable" of us, buying a set of glasses is weird; your main drinkingware is an ecclectic collection of cool glasses you got piecemeal
February 23, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Young Millennial with a home loan here! I bought a bunch of canning jars for canning and most of them have moved into the drinkware cabinet without ever having experienced a rolling boil. They're a matching set but they're not actually glasses so am I getting kicked out of the club?
My great-grandparents risked their lives to house and hide American soldiers in their home in Tuscany during WWII. In a way I'm grateful that my Nonno, who was a child at the time, is in late stages of Alzheimer's so that he doesn't have to experience fascism in America the way he did in Capannori.
February 14, 2025 at 4:08 PM
My great-grandparents risked their lives to house and hide American soldiers in their home in Tuscany during WWII. In a way I'm grateful that my Nonno, who was a child at the time, is in late stages of Alzheimer's so that he doesn't have to experience fascism in America the way he did in Capannori.
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
I hope the teacher that I've already made cry once, who told my child being bullied for being trans that "it didn't matter" and "ignore it", plans on having tissues with her at the next meeting.
She refused to let him go to the principal to talk about it.
Ignoring trans bullying is how kids die.
She refused to let him go to the principal to talk about it.
Ignoring trans bullying is how kids die.
February 12, 2025 at 3:40 PM
I hope the teacher that I've already made cry once, who told my child being bullied for being trans that "it didn't matter" and "ignore it", plans on having tissues with her at the next meeting.
She refused to let him go to the principal to talk about it.
Ignoring trans bullying is how kids die.
She refused to let him go to the principal to talk about it.
Ignoring trans bullying is how kids die.
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
Do not EVER tell a trans kid to "ignore" being bullied.
A better world means challenging the bullies, not brushing them off. And that means for kids too. My child has every right to ask the grownups that are supposed to be safe to protect and support them. All kids do. That's the better world.
A better world means challenging the bullies, not brushing them off. And that means for kids too. My child has every right to ask the grownups that are supposed to be safe to protect and support them. All kids do. That's the better world.
February 12, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Do not EVER tell a trans kid to "ignore" being bullied.
A better world means challenging the bullies, not brushing them off. And that means for kids too. My child has every right to ask the grownups that are supposed to be safe to protect and support them. All kids do. That's the better world.
A better world means challenging the bullies, not brushing them off. And that means for kids too. My child has every right to ask the grownups that are supposed to be safe to protect and support them. All kids do. That's the better world.
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
Asking people to "ignore" bullying or make it seem unimportant to address is victim-blaming and does nothing to challenge the culture of power and control that got us into a fucking oligarch coup in the first place.
Make the people who are wrong change.
Make the people who are wrong change.
February 12, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Asking people to "ignore" bullying or make it seem unimportant to address is victim-blaming and does nothing to challenge the culture of power and control that got us into a fucking oligarch coup in the first place.
Make the people who are wrong change.
Make the people who are wrong change.
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
Be yourself! Not like that.
Speak up! Not like that.
Relax! Not like that.
Advocate for yourself! Not like that.
Meet your needs! Not like that.
Find what works for you! Not like that.
Being different is awesome! Not like that.
Find your passions! Not like that.
Take care of yourself! Not like that.
Speak up! Not like that.
Relax! Not like that.
Advocate for yourself! Not like that.
Meet your needs! Not like that.
Find what works for you! Not like that.
Being different is awesome! Not like that.
Find your passions! Not like that.
Take care of yourself! Not like that.
I recently sat in a class about how important it is to listen to others.
When autistic and disabled folx spoke up about how the things that being said weren’t relevant, we were shut down and told we don’t know how to listen.
Love it.
When autistic and disabled folx spoke up about how the things that being said weren’t relevant, we were shut down and told we don’t know how to listen.
Love it.
February 11, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Be yourself! Not like that.
Speak up! Not like that.
Relax! Not like that.
Advocate for yourself! Not like that.
Meet your needs! Not like that.
Find what works for you! Not like that.
Being different is awesome! Not like that.
Find your passions! Not like that.
Take care of yourself! Not like that.
Speak up! Not like that.
Relax! Not like that.
Advocate for yourself! Not like that.
Meet your needs! Not like that.
Find what works for you! Not like that.
Being different is awesome! Not like that.
Find your passions! Not like that.
Take care of yourself! Not like that.
First neti pot of the season let's gooo
January 31, 2025 at 5:46 PM
First neti pot of the season let's gooo
Explain your username:
Some of my special interests are opera, mermaids, and mythology. Also sirens, while sometimes depicted as mermaids, are bird women who sing to lure men to their deaths and that's a vibe I can get behind.
Some of my special interests are opera, mermaids, and mythology. Also sirens, while sometimes depicted as mermaids, are bird women who sing to lure men to their deaths and that's a vibe I can get behind.
Explain your username:
My genes go back to Sparta, which was a matrilineal city-state, cuz the men were expected to die in battle. Leonidas of 300 fame was married to Queen Gorgo (Gorgon mythology traces back to Sparta)
So if our glare turns men to stone, i’m hoping my wink turns y’all to smiles 😉
My genes go back to Sparta, which was a matrilineal city-state, cuz the men were expected to die in battle. Leonidas of 300 fame was married to Queen Gorgo (Gorgon mythology traces back to Sparta)
So if our glare turns men to stone, i’m hoping my wink turns y’all to smiles 😉
January 25, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Explain your username:
Some of my special interests are opera, mermaids, and mythology. Also sirens, while sometimes depicted as mermaids, are bird women who sing to lure men to their deaths and that's a vibe I can get behind.
Some of my special interests are opera, mermaids, and mythology. Also sirens, while sometimes depicted as mermaids, are bird women who sing to lure men to their deaths and that's a vibe I can get behind.
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
Usually, few things distress an autistic person more than realizing something they said or did has been misunderstood. The distress and earnestness with which we try to correct the error is usually so noticeable people laugh at us for it.
January 22, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Usually, few things distress an autistic person more than realizing something they said or did has been misunderstood. The distress and earnestness with which we try to correct the error is usually so noticeable people laugh at us for it.
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
Just in case you want to believe the mainstream narrative, you should know...
January 21, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Just in case you want to believe the mainstream narrative, you should know...
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
All the people saying "Elon isn't a Nazi he's just autsitic" can just fuck off into the stratosphere. Him doing a Nazi salute isn't an autism thing, it's a Nazi thing, like a very typical Nazi thing in fact.
January 21, 2025 at 5:20 PM
All the people saying "Elon isn't a Nazi he's just autsitic" can just fuck off into the stratosphere. Him doing a Nazi salute isn't an autism thing, it's a Nazi thing, like a very typical Nazi thing in fact.
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
it's not cool to assert others' neuroculture/neurotype is OR what their dx should be. not appropriate. We NEED to believe people regardless of outward appearances
AAAAND it doesn't! fucking! matter! whether or not he's Autistic.
Irrelevant to his Nazi signaling & abhorrent behavior. k?kthnxbye.
AAAAND it doesn't! fucking! matter! whether or not he's Autistic.
Irrelevant to his Nazi signaling & abhorrent behavior. k?kthnxbye.
January 21, 2025 at 5:56 PM
it's not cool to assert others' neuroculture/neurotype is OR what their dx should be. not appropriate. We NEED to believe people regardless of outward appearances
AAAAND it doesn't! fucking! matter! whether or not he's Autistic.
Irrelevant to his Nazi signaling & abhorrent behavior. k?kthnxbye.
AAAAND it doesn't! fucking! matter! whether or not he's Autistic.
Irrelevant to his Nazi signaling & abhorrent behavior. k?kthnxbye.
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
Friends - Please do not question whether or not Elon is or isn't "actually" Autistic
it does not
fucking
matter
doesn't matter! If you're gonna punch nazis plz ALSO punch Autistic nazis
we don't have to doubt his neurotype to KNOW he's a garbage racist human doing garbage racist evil cruel things
it does not
fucking
matter
doesn't matter! If you're gonna punch nazis plz ALSO punch Autistic nazis
we don't have to doubt his neurotype to KNOW he's a garbage racist human doing garbage racist evil cruel things
January 21, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Friends - Please do not question whether or not Elon is or isn't "actually" Autistic
it does not
fucking
matter
doesn't matter! If you're gonna punch nazis plz ALSO punch Autistic nazis
we don't have to doubt his neurotype to KNOW he's a garbage racist human doing garbage racist evil cruel things
it does not
fucking
matter
doesn't matter! If you're gonna punch nazis plz ALSO punch Autistic nazis
we don't have to doubt his neurotype to KNOW he's a garbage racist human doing garbage racist evil cruel things
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
Who hasn’t been innocently hanging out at the inauguration of a man dubbed by people in his own party as the next Hitler and accidentally performed a Nazi salute that could only be more blatant if it was accompanied by a tiny finger moustache?
thedailytism.com/the-autistic...
thedailytism.com/the-autistic...
The autistic guide to waving exuberantly without accidentally Sieg Heiling
We’ve all done it. Who hasn’t been innocently hanging out at the inauguration of a man dubbed by people in his own party as the next Hitler and accidentally performed a Nazi salute that could only be ...
thedailytism.com
January 21, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Who hasn’t been innocently hanging out at the inauguration of a man dubbed by people in his own party as the next Hitler and accidentally performed a Nazi salute that could only be more blatant if it was accompanied by a tiny finger moustache?
thedailytism.com/the-autistic...
thedailytism.com/the-autistic...
Reposted by Nicole Verive Brett (she/her)
I saw this yesterday (credit to Roberta Sam, a native two spirit). This is my mantra going forward.
"If you don't have hope, HAVE SPITE"
"If you don't have hope, HAVE SPITE"
January 21, 2025 at 2:29 PM
I saw this yesterday (credit to Roberta Sam, a native two spirit). This is my mantra going forward.
"If you don't have hope, HAVE SPITE"
"If you don't have hope, HAVE SPITE"
I am also diagnosed level 1 Autistic (aka the version that used to be named after a literal N*zi), and I have never once accidentally done a N*zi salute, never mind multiple times. Blame him, not his autism. He knew what he was doing.
January 21, 2025 at 2:55 PM
I am also diagnosed level 1 Autistic (aka the version that used to be named after a literal N*zi), and I have never once accidentally done a N*zi salute, never mind multiple times. Blame him, not his autism. He knew what he was doing.
I was diagnosed with IBS and fibromyalgia, which was my doctors' (plural) way of saying "you say it hurts but there's nothing wrong." Medical gaslighting is a problem - and when you're experiencing sensory pain that you assume is normal, it's even harder to advocate for yourself.
Here are some examples of why a lot of autistic people can't tell what is pain - it's because we're taught to ignore are sensory sensitivities *which are actually painful*
It's as if we are experiencing a chronic pain condition.
autisticscienceperson.com/2021/03/29/a...
It's as if we are experiencing a chronic pain condition.
autisticscienceperson.com/2021/03/29/a...
Autistic Sensory Pain and the Medical Consequences
I want to talk about the physical health of autistic people and how the gaslighting of our sensory sensitivities teaches us to ignore our pain – whether it be physical or sensory. There are m…
autisticscienceperson.com
January 20, 2025 at 3:09 AM
I was diagnosed with IBS and fibromyalgia, which was my doctors' (plural) way of saying "you say it hurts but there's nothing wrong." Medical gaslighting is a problem - and when you're experiencing sensory pain that you assume is normal, it's even harder to advocate for yourself.
My husband and I used to have a routine at night called "cutes" where we would cuddle in bed and show each other the cute TikToks we found during the day. Now our cutes is cuddling our former stray cat and knowing that he's strong enough and wiggly enough to get out if he wanted. I'm okay with this.
January 19, 2025 at 8:43 PM
My husband and I used to have a routine at night called "cutes" where we would cuddle in bed and show each other the cute TikToks we found during the day. Now our cutes is cuddling our former stray cat and knowing that he's strong enough and wiggly enough to get out if he wanted. I'm okay with this.
Things I said to my middle cat child yesterday:
"I know nothing is sacred to you, but do you know what's sacred to me? Rules. And you are committing sacrilege by insisting on jumping on the counter. Do better."
Will anything change? No. Do I feel better for having said it? Also no.
"I know nothing is sacred to you, but do you know what's sacred to me? Rules. And you are committing sacrilege by insisting on jumping on the counter. Do better."
Will anything change? No. Do I feel better for having said it? Also no.
January 9, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Things I said to my middle cat child yesterday:
"I know nothing is sacred to you, but do you know what's sacred to me? Rules. And you are committing sacrilege by insisting on jumping on the counter. Do better."
Will anything change? No. Do I feel better for having said it? Also no.
"I know nothing is sacred to you, but do you know what's sacred to me? Rules. And you are committing sacrilege by insisting on jumping on the counter. Do better."
Will anything change? No. Do I feel better for having said it? Also no.
Such feral. So fierce. Not a love bug or snuggle bean at all. Definitely not a foster fail.
January 8, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Such feral. So fierce. Not a love bug or snuggle bean at all. Definitely not a foster fail.