#friendly advice

[victusinveritas]

I have a friend from Dublin who I'll call occasionally just to vent and he always gives very solid advice, even if some of that advice is 'Well, ye could always burn the place to the ground. Sure, they'd cram yes in a new office eventually, but ye'dn't've to work at all for a few days."

He's not wrong, the building in question was actually kinda nice and I'd have felt bad about setting it alight. The building has since been destroyed (by an official wrecking crew and not a blogger with a torch), rendering my hesitations moot. The thing that really helped was leaving the particular job to go somewhere that treated me like a human and paid me a living wage.

Anyhoo, try to have a friend from somewhere outside of Murica who can look at the late-stage-capitalist fascist hellscape of a country and let you know how the world looks outside the constantly shaking snow globe of trash and hatred.

[youngchronicpain]

Today, I am almost 3 weeks post-op. I decided that I wanted (needed) to make cookie dough with the remaining Christmas chocolate we had lying around. Baking makes me happy and I was tired of snacking on the same chocolates day after day.

About half way through mixing, I realized I was not yet ready for such a task. But decided to finish it because I was home alone and knew I could rest this evening while my partner made us dinner and cleaned.

But while he was busy doing various household tasks, ones we typically would share but I am currently unable to manage, I could hear my parent's voices in my head. "If you can make cookie dough, you can make rice."

I knew it wasn't a great idea. But I also figured "eh, it's just rice." Even though I was still hurting from my earlier kitchen adventure.

As I was washing the rice for our dinner, I realized how bad of a mistake it was. Lifting the pot and dumping out the dirtied water again and again was only hurting me more.

I think it is funny that even as an almost 30 year old, engaged and living in my own space, the same old voices from my childhood come creeping in.

So if you are also recovering, from surgery, overdoing it, or otherwise, take it from me:

Someone else can make the rice. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Lie down. Rest. And maybe eat some cookies.

[magicmalcolm]

[mariaswagdalena]

If I were Tuchel, I would get that team on a plane to CDMX expeditiously to start training in high altitude because everyone that’s been there knows it’s no fucking joke.

He also has to make them train on a pitch with those concert-level speakers blasting insults in Mexican-Spanish because they’re going to face a raucous crowd the likes that we’ve never seen as a footballing species.

[kafkaontheroad]

Cheesy Alex daily pic challenge #18 Why ?

[shaotie]

Tags are Hard! 😭 (a brief guide to ao3 tagging)

ever feel that way?

have you ever tried posting a new fic on ao3 but end up blankly staring at the 'additional tags' text box, not knowing what to put in?

I've been there!

for anyone who's interested, here are some things I've learned over time that helps me tag my work on ao3 😃💚🐢

1. Jot Down Tags as You're Writing Your Fic

This is the biggest one for me. I keep a separate notebook and write down tags as I think of them while I write and edit my work, it helps me think of tags I would have otherwise completely missed.

2. Search for Keywords

I regularly go to ao3 -> post -> new work then scroll down to 'additional tags' and type in a keyword from my notes to see what I get.

ex: this way I've been able to turn the single tag 'angst' into:

heavy angst

angst with a happy ending

angst and hurt/comfort

angst and feels

angst and fluff

what would have been 1 tag is now 6 which better helps readers find your work or decide if they want to read it 😃

3. Keep in Mind the Purpose of Tagging is to Help Readers Either Find Content They're Looking For or to Filter Out Content They Want to Avoid.

If you don't use some tags because you're worried about spoilers you might end up with an audience who abandons your fic when you post a part they want to avoid.

You might also miss out on readers who are specifically searching for content your fic contains but because you didn't tag it your story won't appear in their search.

If you're worried about spoilers there is a 'Tags Contain Spoilers' tag on ao3 (but be sure to add it near the beginning because tags show in the order they were put in)

another option is to use the 'Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings' tag (ao3 lists: 'choose this option if you don't know what you should warn for; if you don't like warning for certain topics or warnings in general; if you want to avoid some spoilers, but not others'). This way readers know from the beginning there are things you didn't tag for.

4. Learn From Other Writers

look through the tags other writers use for similar genre fics to get ideas (this is how I found out about the 'tags have spoilers' tag)

I also look through tags I used on my past fics to see if anything is there I forgot about but can use again.

5. Ask For Help

some readers are writers too and anyone who comments on your fic might be able to help you out if you let them know you're struggling to tag your work and ask for help.

If all else fails and you're still struggling with ao3 tags there is a 'Tags Are Hard' tag so you can let your readers know you're not missing tags on purpose.

References & Additional Help:

ao3 wiki (go to: Features -> Tags)

ao3 tag search

Archive FAQ > Tags

An (Incomplete) Guide to Ao3 Tags (Reddit - I didn't read it all)

Fanlore.org (If I don't know what a tag means I'll go here and use the search option to find out)

~▪️🔹~🔹▪️~

🔹my masterpost

[the-way-we-were]

Photography by the-way-we-were (2025):

A dark sip…