fayrobertsuk - Tumblr blog

[fayrobertsuk]

I have had approximately two hours of sleep after doing a round trip of about 250+ miles over the course of 23 hours and loading/ unloading two rooms-worth of stuff, so I have zero filters. NONE. I am incredibly glad I haven't just blurted some extremely frank stuff at work so far. (And no, before you ask, I have a VERY low tolerance for/ high sensitivity to caffeine, so I'm surviving on sugar and stubbornness.)

[fayrobertsuk]

Oooooh!

some doodles from camlann

gwaine and the green knight; ser peredur green; dai and the fairy queen rhiannon

[fayrobertsuk]

In the UK our politicians prefer to be all "No, I definitely hate trans people and their allies more!" "No me!" and we're supposed to vote for one of them.

the political campaign smear ads around here are all things like one guy accusing the other of being “just another Black Lives Matter-lover” (because they won’t let you say slurs I guess) and then the other guy responding with “don’t believe the lies! I actually hate Black Lives Matter even more than my opponent does!”

[fayrobertsuk]

sailor watching the shores: Ahoy, seals ahead! guy who's just about to invent selkies: Awh, those beasts are so pretty that if one could turn into a lass, I would marry it. other sailor, lowering his spyglass: Dude I swear to god if you say one more weird fucking thing today we're throwing you overboard.

[fayrobertsuk]

many happy returns! 🎂🎊

Oh wow! Thanks! ❤️

[fayrobertsuk]

Hahaha, AWESOME! Ridiculous levels of talent here! (This is my own fault for saying "surprise me!" when @alicornpig asked what kind of balloon animal I wanted.)

[Image description: two photos of different balloon animals using glossy, metallic materials help up against a cream wall in a pale tan hand with a bare forearm. The left-hand photo is of a snail; its body is dark blue edging onto teal, and its shell is lighter teal edging onto green. It is graced with a pair of long, elegant eyestalks. The right-hand photo is of a unicorn; its body is is a rosy bronze shade and it looks very cute; maybe a baby unicorn? Its horn is remarkably long and slender. End image description.]

Damn, you're spoiling us - we'll want balloon animals every year!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @ZEUS-JAPONICUS!

It’s @zeus-japonicus and @fayrobertsuk birthdays so here are their birthday balloon animals (I used to be a children’s entertainer I wear many hats) ANYWAY go wish these lovelies a happy birthday!

[fayrobertsuk]

Today on "Why is asking for help from people who have explicitly and specifically offered you that help in particular SO FUCKING SCARY?!" we bring you the people who offered to help me move house, who have told me that they can sort out the plumbing bit that the removal firm won't... and me going hot and cold before asking them if they could... do that...

Aaaaaaaaaaaah...

[fayrobertsuk]

Occide, Regina

Made this for a friend who had someone give them the old "God makes no mistakes" line in response to them being trans.

(Image description in alt-text.)

[fayrobertsuk]

So it was 1997 or thereabouts, and my best friend of the time had come back from her intercalated year and was finishing her degree. She also had a boyfriend who, I'm fairly convinced, fancied himself more than anyone or anything.

Anyway, I can't remember his name for the life of me, and four months of interaction before him dumping her in the worst way was not a decent amount of time in which to form the lasting impression that leads to retention of names, but I'll always remember this conversation, Sunday afternoon in her flat, after talking about Anne Rice books and watching random stuff on her TV, with him waiting until she was in the kitchen before asking fairly freshly out me "How do you know you're bisexual if you've never slept with a woman?"

Now, the tone may not come across here, but it was not the vibe of a man who was asking because he wanted pointers for his own sense of identity. I thought about how to translate myself into terms he'd understand, then inspiration bloomed in pixels in front of me and I pointed to the movie we were vaguely watching, saying "See Uma Thurman?"

"Yeah."

"Do you fancy her?"

"Of course."

"How do you know if you've never slept with her?"

I don't think he was expecting an answer, looking back. Certainly not a simple one. And, in fairness, he did say "Yeah, okay, fair point..." after he'd got over not being the smartest arse in the room.

But the thing is that what I hope for anyone who's still seen as not the default in society is that people stop asking us to justify ourselves. Trust that we've done the work of examining our own experiences and feelings on the topic unless we're asking for help in that regard.

[fayrobertsuk]

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Dydd Gwŷl Dewi Hapus, pawb! Cofiwch: wnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd.

[fayrobertsuk]

every so often im struck by the memory of one of my college professors getting very angry with our class (art history of pompeii 250) because when she excitedly detailed the ingenious roman invention of heated floors in bathhouses via hearths in small crawlspaces, we asked who was tending the fires. she said "oh, slaves i suppose. but that isnt the point". and we said that it actually very much was the point. she had just told us that in roman society there were dozens of people, maybe hundreds, who spent every day of their enslaved lives crawling in cramped, hot, smoky tunnels to light fires to warm pools of water (which they were not allowed to swim in). how could that not be the point?

she wanted us to focus on the art, on the innovation of heated plumbing, on the tiles and decorations of the bathhouses, and all we wanted to do was learn more about the people under the floors. and she didn't know anything more about that. in fact, she said she thought we were focusing too much on superfluous details.

it feels almost hokey to put too fine a point on the idea im getting at here but i will anyway: There are a lot of people who are still under the floors. all these beautiful, convenient, brilliant innovations of modern society (think fast fashion, chatgpt, uber, doordash) are still powered by people working in inhumane, untenable conditions.

the people who run these systems want you to focus on the good - who doesnt love warm water? - but if anything is going to improve or change in our lifetimes, you need to examine these things with an attentive, critical, and empathetic eye. and for fucks sake stop ordering from amazon

[fayrobertsuk]

It's been a long year and it's only February…

Well, it's time to put this out there: I've had a fairly shitty few years (like, haven't we all, obviously), but it's included a long, expensive legal battle against unscrupulous cysts, which is finally concluded satisfactorily save being left somewhat skint on the other side of it. Doesn’t help that said battle meant that I had to move house - not exactly a low activity on the expense and stress scales…

So I'm looking for extra work, to help while we wait for the Luxury Space Communism to kick in (I'd settle for Universal Basic Income or an end to the Housing and Cost of Living Crisis, tbh).

Things I do to a professional standard include:

Creative Mentoring and Tutoring (writing and performance techniques, especially for poetry - bespoke or standard workshops available for groups as well as one-to-one).

Project Management (feeling overwhelmed by a project you want to get off the ground and/ or run within budget and timescale? I can help with that).

Business Change Management (you need to expand or shift your business focus? I can help that happen in a well-managed fashion).

Performance Poetry (got a bunch of poems, 18 years' experience delivering them live, and a nice voice).

Writing to Commission (especially poetry, but I write both fictive prose and essays too).

Voice Acting and Narration (I've acted in audio dramas and narrated short stories, training videos, and so far one documentary).

Book and Pamphlet Production (I operate a small press).

Basic website setup and maintenance.

Training on any of the above.

I have a sliding scale of rates depending on customer circumstances, and you can book me for a free initial consultation via my website: https://www.fayroberts.co.uk/crass-commercialism/services/

And if you fancy just sending me money because you're generous, I have a ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/fayroberts

[fayrobertsuk]

brb, setting this as my morning alarm.

to all my demotivated girls

[fayrobertsuk]

FEDERAL INQUIRY INTO ADHD MEDICATION SHORTAGE ANNNOUNCED

IF YOU HAVE STRUGGLED TO GET YOUR ADHD MEDICATION, YOU HAVE 60 DAYS TO TELL THE FTC YOUR STORY FOR CONSIDERATION IN THIS INQUIRY AT THE LINK BELOW! The FTC must read all responses. So tell them about having to call multiple pharmacies, being unable to get generics, your struggles with insurance coverage, everything!

[fayrobertsuk]

I must sleep. Sleep is the mind-healer. Sleep is the big-life that brings total ability to fucking do anything. I will face my bed. I will permit the blankie to pass over me and snores to pass through me. And when sleep has gone past I will turn the outer eye to greet the new morning. When the sleep has gone there will be everything. Energy and will to live will remain.

[fayrobertsuk]

“I know I’ve told this story before, but my abusive ex refused to let me take birth control. I was on the pill until he found them in my purse. I went to the Student Health Center—they were completely unhelpful, choosing to lecture me about the importance of safe sex (recommending condoms) instead of actually listening to my problem. Then I went to Planned Parenthood. The Nurse Practitioner took one look at my fading bruises and stopped the exam. She called in the doctor. The doctor came in and simply asked me: “Are you ready to leave him?” When I denied that I was being abused, she didn’t argue with me. She just asked me what I needed. I said I need a birth control method that my boyfriend couldn’t detect. She recommended a few options and we decided on Depo. When I told her that my boyfriend read my emails and listened to my phone messages and was known to follow me, she suggested to do the Depo injections at off hours when the clinic was normally closed. She made a note in my chart and instructed the front desk never to leave messages for me—instead, she programmed her personal cell phone number into my phone under the name “Nora”. She told me she would call me to schedule my appointments; she wouldn’t leave a message, but I should call her back when I was able to. And that was it. No judgment. No lecture. She walked me to the door and told me to call her day or night if I needed anything. That she lived 5 blocks from campus and would come get me. That I wasn’t alone. That she just wanted me to be safe. I never called her to come to my rescue. But I have no doubt that she would have come if I had called. She kept me on Depo for a year, giving me those monthly injections in secret, helping me prevent a desperately unwanted pregnancy. I cannot thank Planned Parenthood enough for the work they do.”

—

Curious Georgiana (via grrrlstudies)

I know I’ve reblogged this before, but it bears re-reblogging (?).  This is how you respond to abuse, this is how you give people control over their bodies/uteruses, this is how you act as a generally non-judgmental and compassionate person.  I love this story so fucking much.

(via coffeewithants)

[fayrobertsuk]

In mine and many other east Asian cultures, the dragon traditionally symbolises things like power, wealth and strength (imperial symbol and all)

I think we often forget that in the story of the Great Race, the dragon came in fifth because it'd stopped to give people rain. Then it'd stopped again to push a rabbit adrift on a log across the wide river so it reached the shore safely (that's why the Rabbit year comes before the Dragon).

Dragons aren't meant to just be powerful - they are meant to do good with such power, and to help those in need.

So in this lunar new year, I hope you gain more power, so that you might be able to help others. I pray you have abundant resources so you may give to yourself and those around you. I wish you courage, endurance, kindness and generosity, for yourself and your people.

I hope you, and I, will be rain givers, life preservers, joy bringers.

I hope we will be dragons.