fiadhaisteach - Tumblr blog

[fiadhaisteach]

So, there's a lot of USians around who are very clearly fucking fed up with their political choices this election cycle, and planning to sit it out.

And I get it! What's the point of voting if there's no one to vote for?

The thing is, I'm Australian. In Australia, voting is compulsory. We don't get to sit out our elections, and I'll be real honest with you - we don't exactly get better choices than you lot. So how do you vote if there's no one to vote for? You find someone to vote against. And there's always someone to vote against.

Now, we have the pleasure of preferential voting in Australia - We get to rank every candidate from 1 to X, and I'll tell you, there's something so cathartic about putting the biggest bastard of the lot at the very bottom of your preferences. I understand that USians don't get that option - you get to mark one person, and that's it.

That means that you get one shot, so aim it at the biggest bastard of the lot. The candidate you most utterly detest. Put your vote in the worst possible place for them. Don't even think about who that vote's going towards, that's not the point. Remember, every vote is a vote against someone. Make sure you fuck up that someone's election day!

[fiadhaisteach]

Something that literally changed my life was working with a friend on a coding thing. He was helping me create an auto rig script and was trying to explain something to me but his words were just turning into static in my brain. I was tired and confused and there was so many new concepts happening.

I could feel myself working toward a crying meltdown and was getting preemptively ashamed of what was about to happen when he said, “Hey, are you someone who benefits from breaks?”

It broke me.

Did I benefit from breaks? I didn’t know. I’d never taken them.

When a problem frustrated or upset me I just gritted my teeth and plowed through the emotional distress because eventually if you batter and flail at something long enough you figure it out. So what if you get bruised on the way.

I viscerally remembered in that moment being forced to sit at the table late into the night with my dad screaming at me, trying to understand math. I remembered taking that with me into adulthood and having breakdowns every week trying to understand coding. I could have taken a break? Would it help? I didn’t know! I’d never taken one!

“Yes,” I told him. We paused our call. I ate lunch. I focused on other stuff for half an hour. I came back in a significantly better state of mind, and the thing he’d been trying to explain had been gently cooking in the back of my head and seemed easier to understand.

Now when I find myself gritting my teeth at problems I can hear his gentle voice asking if I benefit from breaks. Yes, dear god, yes why did I never get taught breaks? Why was the only way I knew to keep suffering until something worked?

I was relating to this same friend recently my roadtrip to the redwoods with my wife. “We stopped every hour or so to get out and stretch our legs and switch drivers. It was really nice. When I was a kid we’d just drive twelve hours straight and not stop for anything, just gas. We’d eat in the car and power through.”

He gave a wry smile, immediately connecting the mindset of my parents on a road trip to what they’d instilled in me about brute forcing through discomfort. “Do you benefit from breaks?” he echoed, drawing my attention to it, making me smile with the same sad acknowledgement.

Take breaks. You’re allowed. You don’t have to slam into problems over and over and over, let yourself rest. It will get easier. Take. Breaks.

[fiadhaisteach]

Temples are built for gods. Knowing this a farmer builds a small temple to see what kind of god turns up.

[fiadhaisteach]

you came back wrong and i am racked with guilt because i cannot bear to see you like this and i should have let you rest. i loved you so much that i defied death itself but i do not think either of us are happy

[fiadhaisteach]

‼️‼️

If you're having trouble keeping up with what's going on in Palestine because of US news coverage of university protests, here are some articles you can read and a video you can watch:

While CNN & all the other mainstream media try to paint the university protests as "pro terrorism" (which they're not, they're literally anti-war protests.) Palestinians are being slaughtered by the minute.

Please don't stop speaking about Palestine.

[fiadhaisteach]

Y'all, the world is sleeping on what NASA just pulled off with Voyager 1

The probe has been sending gibberish science data back to Earth, and scientists feared it was just the probe finally dying. You know, after working for 50 GODDAMN YEARS and LEAVING THE GODDAMN SOLAR SYSTEM and STILL CHURNING OUT GODDAMN DATA.

So they analyzed the gibberish and realized that in it was a total readout of EVERYTHING ON THE PROBE. Data, the programming, hardware specs and status, everything. They realized that one of the chips was malfunctioning.

So what do you do when your probe is 22 Billion km away and needs a fix? Why, you just REPROGRAM THAT ENTIRE GODDAMN THING. Told it to avoid the bad chip, store the data elsewhere.

Sent the new code on April 18th. Got a response on April 20th - yeah, it's so far away that it took that long just to transmit.

And the probe is working again.

From a programmer's perspective, that may be the most fucking impressive thing I have ever heard.

[fiadhaisteach]

On This Day

(previous TIRTWs & TIRTW Key/Legend)

Things I’ve Read This Week* - 2020.04.25

gif by me 😁 (Nigella, in Arl Eamon’s Denerim estate)

New Stories

The Feedback System by @couriersiccs - MCIT - 9,757 words, WIP

Loki by @littleblue-eyedbird (@littleblue-eyedbirdchirps) - Solas/Female Lavellan - 26,706 words, WIP

Rereads

Looking Glass, ❇️Looking Glass, ❇️Little Sacrifices, ❇️Pride’s Point of View, ❇️Looking Glass Tumblr Prompts️ by @feynites - Pride/Female Lavellan, past Solas/Female Lavellan - 337,757 words, HSE WIP

A Singular Shadow by AntlersandFangs - Solas/MGIT - 103,645 words, WIP (also in subscription updates, but I keep rereading it, too… at least once/per week, start to end since they started posting)

This Bond of Red, This Was My Heart by @meichiri - Solas/Female Trevelyan - 102,659 words, complete

Tumblr Reads

At Wit’s End by @in-arlathan - Solas/Female Lavellan

A Hand Pressed to a Cheek prompt by @eleveny - Solas/Female Lavellan

Falling by @serial-chillr - Abelas/Female Lavellan

“That doesn’t even make sense.” prompt by @pedlimwen - Solas/Female Lavellan

Subscription Updates

A Singular Shadow by AntlersandFangs - Solas/MGIT - (Ch. 23-30)

Unwritten by @unrealromance - Solas/MGIT (Ch. 98)

Echoes Across Time by @jlhallares - Solas/MGIT (Ch. 215)

Fen'Harel’s Teeth by @greeneli - Solas/Female Lavellan (Ch. 4)

What Is and What Could Be, Hellathen by @sassyelffriend - Solas/Female Lavellan (Ch. 1), series sub

The Guardian by @solas-disapproves - Solas/OFC (Ch. 117)

What of the Hedge Mage? by @commonevilmastermind - Solas/Female Lavellan (Ch. 7-10)

Lingrean Rosal'sule'din, It’s Not Lost Until You Give Up by @skyerie - Gaspard de Chalons & Female Lavellan, Solas/Female Lavellan (Ch. 101-105)

This Bond of Red, The Body of a complete Soul by @meichiri - Solas/Female Trevelyan, OMC /OMC (Ch. 14)

Inevitable by @himluv - Solas/Female Lavellan (Ch. 32)

Chasing Orbs by @thecelticlass & @thededfa - Solas/OFC (Ch. 25)

Heritage (English), Heritage by Luwan_Kyuu - Solas|Fen'Harel/Female Lavellan (Ch. 22)

Diary of a Dislocated Knife-ear, Dislocated Souls: Skyhold by @thereallonelyagain - Solas/MGIT, OFC /OMC (Ch. 212-213)

Vena Eolas: The Journey of an Elvhen Spirit, Sule Tael Tasalal - Until We Meet Again by @faerieavalon - Solas/OFC/Felassan (Ch. 56)

» side note - multiple chapters may mean multiple updates; or might just be me refreshing my memory or reorienting myself in the story.

*TIRTW & can recommend

I do a quick search for author tumblrs (if they’re not posted on their fic, or AO3 profile); then assume they either don’t have one, or don’t want it linked to their fic, if it’s hard to find. So if you are a writer who has a tumblr they want linked to their rec, or know someone who is, just let me know and I’ll fix it.

[fiadhaisteach]

Hundreds of Jewish anti-war demonstrators have been arrested during a Passover seder that doubled as a protest in New York, as they shut down a major thoroughfare to pray for a ceasefire and urge the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, to end US military aid to Israel.

The 300 or so arrests took place on Tuesday night at Grand Army Plaza, on the doorstep of Schumer’s Brooklyn residence, where thousands of mostly Jewish New Yorkers gathered for the seder, a ritual that marked the second night of the holiday celebrated as a festival of freedom by Jews worldwide.

The seder came just before the US Senate resoundingly passed a military package that includes $26bn for Israel.

[fiadhaisteach]

returning to the arms of my lover (jstor) oh how i have missed her

[fiadhaisteach]

Alright, to ao3's soon to be arriving Wattpad Refugees, a basic guide to general user culture:

1.) Unlike Wattpads vote system that let's you like each chapter, the ao3 equivalent kudos only allows one per work. Everyone is generally quietly annoyed about this. To engage with each chapter, you're heavily encouraged to comment. Trust me, it makes people's day.

2.) Ao3 has no algorithm. By default it's latest updated work first. You can find things to your taste through searches, filters and tags.

3.) 'No archive warnings apply' and 'user has chosen not to use archive warnings' mean two very different things. No archives warnings means the work is free from any content that could require a warning tag (character death, graphic depictions of violence, non-con, etc). User has chosen not to use archive warnings means it could contain any of the warning content, be it hasn't been explicitly tagged. Treat it like an allergen. No archive warnings apply is allergen free. User has chosen not to use archive warnings, may contain traces or whole chunks of the allergen. If you're likely to have a bad reaction, maybe don't take the risk.

4.) Speaking of warnings, ao3 has very few restrictions on the type of work that's allowed. Whatever your personal thoughts or feelings on that are, thats how the site is. You're likely to run across some dark subject matters and a lot of people are uncomfortable with reading that. You're well within your rights not like these works and have your opinion on whether they should be allowed, but harassing the authors of such works (or any works) is more likely to come back on you than them. Ao3 operates on a strong policy of 'don't like, don't read'. Use the tagging system to your full advantage to only engage with the kind of works you want to see.

We look forward to welcoming you all and seeing the fantastic works you create. Happy writing!

[fiadhaisteach]

I know "60s housewives who invented slash fanfiction" has taken on a life of its own as a phrase, but Kirk/Spock didn't really exist until the 70s and THOSE WOMEN HAD JOBS. They were teachers and librarians and bookkeepers and scientists and they damn well spent their own money going to conventions, printing zines, buying fanart and making fandom happen. Put some respect on their names.

[fiadhaisteach]

online communities are so strange because people slip away so easily. you can be on here for years, folding people you've never met into the fabric of your daily life, and then they disappear, leaving only ghost posts scattered across tumblr behind. or their blog stays dormant, for weeks, months, years, until you're only still following them because you remember that they love sunflowers or they were kind to you when they didn't have to be or the last thing they posted was sad and raw and you still worry about them sometimes.

and sometimes they come back when you least expect it, years later, even, and there's this sudden rush of relief like there you are, there you are, even though you barely knew each other.

there's a strange kind of love to it. i don't know you and i want to hold your hand across miles and time zones and oceans. i can still see the imprint of you in this community you left. you don't think anyone will notice or care when you're gone, but we notice and we care and we wish you well.

i hope you're all okay out there. i hope the sun is shining on your face and you are breathing deeply. i miss you.

[fiadhaisteach]

“Which shot in the movie ended up being the toughest to pull off, and why?”

[fiadhaisteach]

[fiadhaisteach]

Hi I'm Lauren I'm new to this app, I'm just trying to make some friends. Can i be your friend?

Gonna suspend disbelief for a minute and assume this is true. :) If it is!

How to Make Friends on Tumblr Dot Com! from a fandom perspective

1) Look for people with common interests and follow them.

The first step in finding friends on tumblr dot com is finding people who like the stuff you do. Fandom tags are great for this! Use the search function to look for fandoms you like. Find people who are talking about the things you like! Follow them.

IE: You have 'Owl House' in your bio. Use the tumblr search to look for Owl House, or if you want to specifically look for a ship, look up CHARACTER x CHARACTER. IE: Luz x Amity.

Once you've found the fan stuff you like to see, you can use the more common fandom tags fans like to use, like 'TOH' for 'the owl house' and 'lumity' for 'luz x amity'

2) Interact with the people who make and interact with the stuff you like.

There are many ways to interact on tunglr dot com.

LIKES- Hitting that heart button on a post. A like is just a thumbs up, an acknowledgement, an 'this is cool'. This is the equivalent of a passing smile. It shows someone 'I'm friendly!'

You can also use likes to bookmark things you want to reblog later, but you don't have time for right now!

REBLOGS- This is you showing things you think are cool to other people, and just saving them to look at later. Your blog is for you. It's your neat rock collection. It's your pictures in your locker. It's your scrapbook.

Leaving TAGS on your reblogs (the bar at the bottom of a post that says 'add tags') allows them

a) to be searchable on your blog. If someone sees your blog and also likes Amity, they can search for it and see all the cool Amity stuff you found if you've tagged it properly.

b) to leave notes for the creator of the post. Things like 'woah this is cool'. It's the equivalent of leaving someone a nice note. Something they can look at, save, and smile about later. Tags hold no social expectation for the creator.

It is ALWAYS better to reblog things without tags than to not reblog them at all. Why? Because we're all here to share stuff, and not reblogging because you can't do it 'right' kills the ecosystem. Sometimes I don't have the spoons for tagging. So I reblog without them.

If you feel like you have something to ADD to the post, and to the fandom discussion, you can always reblog with a post of your own added! Don't be shy about this. It's a basic function of the site. It isn't rude to do!

Being a dick in the reblog, however, is rude. If you don't like something and want to make a post about it, or you disagree, make YOUR OWN POST. You can do that. :) Just tag it appropriately so you find your target audience.

IE: You hate the Lumity ship. Do not tag your negative post LUMITY, as it will show up to all the people who like the ship. That's rude. Find the tag specifically for Lumity haters, your true brethren. Usually they're something like ANTI-LUMITY.

COMMENTS-

Comments are for when you want to say something about a post, but not add to it directly. More immediate and personal than talking in tags, commenting also invites a response from the poster instead of everyone who looks at your tags/reblog post.

Comments are NOT for telling a poster how much you dislike their opinion, their fandom, ships, or anything else like that. DO NOT DO THAT. It will not make you friends. Unless your goal is to befriend other unpleasant people. In which case um…try twitter?

ASKS-

It is OKAY to send people asks, like you sent me this. It's a good thing! It opens conversations and helps you show someone that you're interested in them as a friend! My profile specifically says I'm open to asks, and many other peoples' do too.

Just keep in mind that this is social media, and tumblr has a culture of anonymity. That means don't get too personal with it. Don't ask people things like their age, real name, relationship status, etc.

If you have trouble with social cues, it can be fraught and stressful to send asks. That's understandable. It isn't necessary to use asks to make friends.

If you do send asks, be aware: asks also do not always get answered. That's the nature of the site, and it's okay. Sometimes people forget they reblogged an ask game (me). Sometimes it's not a question they want to answer. Sometimes they don't have time/energy/context right then and there.

There are MANY reasons an ask won't be answered. No one owes you a reason or an answer. If that upsets you, sending asks may not be for you.

Please keep in mind this is an overview, and everyone is different. Check pinned posts and bios for specific preferences! <3 This is how you start being part of a fandom, which is the first step to making friends!

3) Being a Positive Part of Your Ecosystem

Now that you are interacting with the people who post the things you like, and interacting with the fandom either big or small and being a part of it, you should be adding TO the fandom in some fashion. And yes, supporting fanwork creators by reblogging, tagging, and giving likes IS adding to fandom. One big thing to remember, though.

FANS DO NOT MAKE CONTENT, FANS MAKE FAN WORKS.

If you want to keep your ecosystem friendly, casual, and fun, please treat fandom artists, writers, curators, meta-posters, etc like people. That means not having expectations of public-facing behavior, social purity, speed of creation, fandom loyalty, or manditory interaction with other fans.

a) finding followers

If you look for other fans who are reaching out for interaction, you will find people who will follow you and interact with you. Look for people posting questions, ask games, artists and writers posting their works. Look for people who are sharing what they love, and love it with them.

Interact with the people who interact with you!

If a stranger follows you, check them out! Maybe you guys have common interests. Maybe you vibrate on the same frequency.

If someone follows you back, that makes them your mutual. It doesn't really mean anything no matter what people say. All it really says is 'your stuff is cool, I want to look at it, too.' It means they vibe with you.

This isn't twitter. You don't have to be 'mutuals' to interact with each other. There are many people I like a lot that I do not follow. Why?

Because I don't want to see their Tumblr interests on my dash. Maybe they're in a fandom I Do Not Want to see. Maybe they're really into a ship I dislike. Maybe they post something that grosses me out. So I don't want to see it.

That's literally it.

Being a positive part of your ecosystem does not mean being a perfect uwu bean. It doesn't mean always being upbeat. It just means that you support the things you care about because you want to keep seeing them. It means befriending people because they seem cool. It means being genuine. It means not pushing your expectations on other people.

It also means accepting something kind of sucky.

NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO BE YOUR FRIEND.

It's a fact of life that sucks, but it's true. Put your effort in where it's rewarded. Give back what you're given from others. Don't try to fill a bucket with a hole in it.

b) using messages

DMs (direct messages) are another thing that varies from person to person. But, if you want to get to know someone on a one-to-one level, DMs are the way to go. Oftentimes people put their DM preferences in a bio or pinned post. Not everyone does.

DMs are a way of saying something in private, like sharing a link to a funny post you know they'll like(you can always use @(theirname) in the text box of a reblog if it's a tumblr post), talking in-depth about something you'd both mentioned in posts, or asking about something personal they'd posted on their blog, like a favorite recipe, or movie, or something like that.

DMs are more personal and not everyone is comfortable with them.

You should meet people at the level of friendship THEY want to give, not the one you want to have. If someone wants to chat with you in comments but not in DMs, then that's what you should do. Giving people a chance to opt-out when you message them is polite, and if they express on their blog having social anxiety, it might help them.

But DMs are not scary, or forbidden. You just have to respect people's boundaries and be clear while you're getting to know each other. If it's hard to tell if someone is okay with something, ASK. You're not a mind reader :)

c) blocking

What? How is blocking people good for fandom? Well...it's a little thing I like to call:

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Some people are assholes. Some people have Bad Takes. Some people live to pour poison into a fandom. Some people like to attack others and make up crusades so they can feel socially superior and morally pure. Some people just have a bad vibe. Some people just happen to have lots of fandom friends so you can't stop seeing their posts even though you disagree.

Block saves lives.

It's not an insult to be blocked. It's not mean to block people. It's curation. It's getting rid of things that introduce things you don't want into your happy little fandom tide pool.

Your ecosystem might be poisoned by That Ship, or a fandom headcanon, or a show you just don't want to see. Block it, baby! Block people, block tags, block me. Block it all. If you love someone you follow but hate the show, don't block them, block the show tag!

It's like magic!

See only what you want to see. Give only what you want to give. Find people who want to see and give the same things you do. Support them, and if they're worth your friendship, they'll support you too. Do not chase people who don't have the time, energy, or desire to interact with you on the level you want.

Keep it chill.

That is how you make friends on tumblo dot comms.

Being said, I'm not into The Owl House or your other listed interests! I hope you find people who will be a happy part of your personal tide pool of cool weird stuff. Good luck out there.

[fiadhaisteach]