Hiya! I'm AG. My pronouns are he/him and I'm probably gay.
284 posts
Latest Posts by rabidnationalist - Page 2
The next time you've got a friend over, set an example and put your phone on the table, visibly there but not too far away, to let them know that you're intentionally present, not distracted, your attention is undivided and you want to be fully focused on being right there to spend time with them. Don't mention it or draw attention to this, you're not doing this to be preachy or wanting praise, you just want to be a good friend and you value your friend's time. Ideally, your friend will either notice this or even pick it up without conscious notice, and set their own phone aside on the table as well.
Then, when your friend takes a minute to go to the bathroom, grab your phone and take a photo of your friend's phone sitting on your table. Do not touch it, and put your own phone back exactly where it was immediately once you've got the picture. Carry on with whatever you two were doing.
Once your time is up and your friend has left for home, wait for a good 15 minutes or so, for them to either get back home or be well on their way there. Text your friend, "hey, you forgot your phone", and send them the photo you took of their phone on your table. Set a stopwatch running from the moment your friend sees the message.
Measure how many seconds it takes for your friend to process this and tell you to go fuck yourself.
Another Tim Drake fanart cause I love him so much. I'll go crazy if I don't draw my boy once in a while.
Years and years ago, I read a book on cryptography that I picked up because it looked interesting--and it was!
But there was a side anecdote in there that stayed with me for more general purposes.
The author was describing a cryptography class that they had taken back in college where the professor was demonstrating the process of "reversibility", which is a principle that most codes depend on. Specifically, it should be easy to encode, and very hard to decode without the key--it is hard to reverse the process.
So he had an example code that he used for his class to demonstrate this, a variation on the Book Code, where the encoded text would be a series of phone numbers.
The key to the code was that phone books are sorted alphabetically, so you could encode the text easily--picking phone numbers from the appropriate alphabetical sections to use ahead of time would be easy. But since phone books were sorted alphabetically, not numerically, it would be nearly impossible to reverse the code without exhaustively searching the phone book for each string of numbers and seeing what name it was tied to.
Nowadays, defeating this would be child's play, given computerized databases, but back in the 80s and 90s, this would have been a good code... at least, until one of the students raised their hand and asked, "Why not just call the phone numbers and ask who lives there?"
The professor apparently was dumbfounded.
He had never considered that question. As a result, his cipher, which seemed to be nearly unbreakable to him, had such an obvious flaw, because he was the sort of person who could never coldcall someone to ask that sort of thing!
In the crypto book, the author went on to use this story as an example of why security systems should not be tested by the designer (because of course the security system is ready for everything they thought of, by definition), but for me, as a writer, it stuck with me for a different reason.
It's worth talking out your story plot with other people just to see if there's a "Why not just call the phone numbers?" obvious plot hole that you've missed, because of your singular perspective as a person. Especially if you're writing the sort of plot where you have people trying to outsmart each other.
Writing Tips
Punctuating Dialogue
✧
➸ “This is a sentence.”
➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.
➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”
➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”
➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”
➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”
➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.
“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.
“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”
➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”
➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”
However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!
➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.
If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)
➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“
“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.
➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.
➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”
➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.
“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”
➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.
“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”
Tim: Duke, you're an optimist. Try to see the bright side.
Duke: The bright side is on fire, Tim.
Tim: And it's warm! See, that wasn't so hard. Now you try.
Duke: .....
Duke: I suppose it's kind of pretty.
Tim: That’s the spirit!
Bruce [voice far away]: Are you two insane! The building is on fire! Get out!
Tim Drake is a social chameleon. He can switch personas in the blink of an eye depending on the people around him.
You'd never think the rich socialite Timothy Drake that attends charity galas in a suit that costs more than most people make in a year is the same guy that hangs out at the skate park in ripped jeans, scuffed sneakers and loose band shirts.
He effortlessly switches between being the CEO of a multi-million dollar company to being an annoying little brother. Borderline feral vigilante one second to loving boyfriend the next.
His entire demeanor changes, like he's become a brand new person every time. Heck, he'll even change his accent for shits and giggles. Posh, upper class Bristol becoming the filthiest Crime Alley accent ever to assault your ears.
The whiplash his family experiences every time they interact with him fills him with delight.
When a fic doesn’t fit my head canons but it’s well-written
SILKSONG INDEED REAL. SUCK IT!
OH MY GOD
when people pop off with some ass take like "why should I have to put my pronouns in my profile or signature or whatever, my name is Tom and I have short hair and am wearing an oxford shirt in my profile pic, figure it out" I always think
so do you just not talk to people from other countries for your job, ever?
like, some people don't, and you can follow the flowchart to a different part of the argument about why pushing back about pronouns is stupid, but I e-mail people in Singapore and Dubai and Japan and India every day. A lot of those people have names that are probably their local equivalent of "Tom," but I have never seen them before and I have no idea if that's a girl's name or a boy's name. They usually have profile pics too. I don't know how common short hair is for women or long hair is for men in their country. I don't know if that style of shirt is more common for men or more common for women. I'm not writing this from some homogenous whitebread oasis, either, I live in New York City, it's just simply not possible for me to know the common names in every language of every country where the people I need to work with, live.
just put your stupid pronouns in your signature, some exasperated project manager in Mumbai will one day appreciate it
i don’t think people who don’t read comics/mostly read wfa understand how much of a dweeb tim drake actually is because he was supposed to be a Good Role Model For Tween Boys in the 90s. one time he found out his roommate at boarding school was an alcoholic so he poured all his alcohol down the drain instead of just ignoring it like a normal person. his girlfriend wanted to have sex with him and instead of just saying “i’m not ready” he launched into a monologue about how “making love is like opening a door” and he “isn’t ready to open that door yet” because they “might have adult feelings for each other, but [they’re] still just kids.” 90s tim was the type of kid to remind the teacher to assign homework. he somehow got mad bitches even though everyone highkey thought he was weird. in one panel of one issue he randomly said he had to be “vewwy quiet” and never spoke like that again. he canonically plays dungeons and dragons (or the fictional dc equivalent). the money his dad left him after he died wasn’t even a lot because his dad went bankrupt shortly before his death. like it was a substantial amount but not enough to make him rich. i cannot stress enough that tim was SUCH a Regular Guy TM and constantly worried about not standing out. he purposefully did bad at sports and pretended to be winded in gym class so people wouldn’t suspect anything. like he wouldn’t even try and be average, he would purposefully almost fail. he is not a cool rich skater kid guys he’s such a dork
Just an experiment. Reblog if you actually give a fuck about male victims of domestic violence and rape.
Of fucking course
What sick bastard doesn’t
I understand Tim Drake because I too hate when Bruce & Dicks actions don't line up with my head canons of them.
i am vibrating
I actually really like the thing when you're starting to get the hang of a new language, enough to understand and say simple sentences but you gotta get creative to get more complex thoughts across, like a puzzle. I remember a time in the restortation school when a classmate who wasn't natively finnish and did her best anyway dropped something and sighed, telling me "every day is monday this week. I have had four mondays this week." And I understood.
I don't think I speak much of spanish anymore, but in the nursing school training period I did there, I did manage to get by with making weird Tarzan sentences. I got a nosebleed at some point and startled another nurse. Not knowing the words "humidity" or "stress", I managed to string together: "This is ok. It is hot, it is cold, I have a bad day, I am sad, I have blood. This is normal for me." And she understood.
And sometimes you just say things weird, but it's better than not saying it. One time, I was stuck in a narrow hallway behind someone walking really slowly with a walker, and he apologised for being in the way. I was not in any hurry, but didn't know the spanish word for "hurry", but I did know enough words to try to circumvent it by borrowing the english "I have all the time in the world."
The man burst into one of those cackling old man laughters that they do when something in this world still manages to surprise them. He had to be somewhere between 70 and a 100 years old, and I guess if there was one thing he wasn't expecting to hear today, it would be a random blond vaguely baltic-looking fuck casually announce that he is the sole owner and keeper of the very concept of time.
Daily fucking reminder that Luigi Mangione is innocent, completely and fully. He has been convicted of no crime. He has had no fair trial. He is a SUSPECT. Luigi Mangione is entirely innocent and everyone needs to stop parroting this insidious propaganda that he “committed” the crime he is only SUSPECTED of. He is not a murderer. He is not a criminal. He is an innocent man.
An aesthetic that first appears to be pure and basic Heterosexuals Are At It Again, but becomes increasingly uncomfortable until you finally understand:
these babygrows (onesies) with parental professions on eBay.
An entrepreneurial sort, eBay user “justtheshirt” realized that for some people, the perfect gift for, say, the baby of a beekeeper is a onesie saying “Daddy’s Little Beekeeper.” In fact, the more obscure the profession, the more excited the customer will feel about the representation! So they took a list of All the Professions, and generated a listing for each one. If someone buys a onesie, they can stamp it with whatever the listing said - and make a rather enormous profit, on a £3 onesie, having made exactly one design and used one script. Genius!
The issue is, they didn’t curate the list. Not a single human appears to have overseen this process. So they have inadvertently created some uncomfortably themed babywear, like “Daddy’s Little Maid,” “Daddy’s Little Nightwalker,” and “Daddy’s Little Courtesan.”
The database also contained a massive proportion of obscure Medieval English professions, like “fulker” and “meader” and “whipcord maker.” (The auto-generated listing enthuses something like, “the perfect gift for a whipcord maker - or just for someone who wishes they were one!”)
There are onesies for babies whose daddies are herbalists, muleteers and sacristans.
I have come full circle in my feelings about this and now I am all in favor of dressing babies in these, as long as the profession is incredibly obscure, and the daddy in question refuses to explain anything.
there is a voice inside my head that whispers “wing au” every time i join a new fandom. it is currently winning.
TRUNCATED DECACHORON
SPREAD THIS ALL OVER TUMBLR FOR NO REASON
(image description: a three panel drawing with very simple sketched lines and only a little quick coloration. it depicts a woman sitting at a desk, with a computer keyboard, musing aloud; "sometimes I wish my creative works would just make themselves...", after which she is startled by the arrival of a stick figure with a square head labeled "generative AI," which replies; "I can do that." the final panel is the only one with detailed color and lighting, showing the artist whipping out a pencil-shaped laser gun and exploding the AI entity. end description.)
had a conversation in a writing server, decided to make a meme about it.
🚨 Do's and Don'ts of asking for help on Tumblr 🚨
First of all, you chose the wrong website. None of us are privileged or wealthy. The most you'll usually get from an average Tumblerian is 10 dollars. Always remember that Tumblr is full of young adults and teenagers who are struggling with their own lives, NOT millionaires with an unlimited supply of money. Avoid pressuring people to donate or making them feel guilty if they can't or don't want to.
Do not overexcessively use emojis. Bots have been doing this since the dawn of time and it's what most people look out for.
Don't spam mentions. @ing hundreds of people in your post is annoying. You won't gain sympathy from anyone this way.
Another Tumblr blog "verifying" you is NOT and will NEVER BE valid. You need to validate yourself by offering evidence to support your claims. This could include photos, documentation, or links to relevant resources. Other Tumblr blogs are NOT qualified enough to verify that you are someone in need of genuine help.
Read people's bios/pinneds before sending an ask. Look out for stuff that says something like "do not send donation requests" or "do not ask for donations". This means that the person you're asking for help from will ignore your request completely and/or block you. This does NOT make them a bad person. Every person has the right to their own money.
Tag your posts appropriately. That way, people who want to find you will and people who don't want to find you won't. Use relevant tags to reach people who are most likely interested in donating to your cause.
While it's natural to express your emotions, avoid using overly dramatic or manipulative tactics to elicit sympathy. This can only make your situation worse and destroy your reputation. Overly dramatic posts can turn away potential donations, so be honest and transparent about your situation.
Don't neglect security. Posting your personal information online is DANGEROUS. I understand you're frustrated, but please don't take drastic measures, such as sharing your exact location, to make a point.
Consider the timing of your donation requests. Posting during peak Tumblr activity hours can increase visibility.
Be prepared to answer questions. People will ask questions in order to understand your situation better or to verify if you're a legitimate cause before donating. Be friendly, respectful, and honest.
Stay safe out there! Although not physically, we're with you in heart! ❤️🖤🤍💚
A tip for donaters:
Keep in mind that scammers will often use emotional manipulation to lure you in. Gaza scam bots are more common than real victims here on Tumblr, so always make sure you're donating to an honest source. I recommend donating to charities instead, if you can.
the suffering never ends
if tumblr were a village and all of us were the villagers living in this place together, we’d be walking outside our houses to the street filled with our neighbors marching with knives in hands today.
x/twitter, instagram, tiktok and other social media platforms would be looking at us from their villages with fear in their eyes, not understanding what the fuck our village got going on this time.
I think it would be poetic for us.