#Even if I'm active on Tumblr a bunch reblogging stuff

[cathalbravecog]

Mity I doodled (mostly from memory) earlier instead of studying for finals

#Sorry if I've been talking to people less or if I ignored literally anybody I'm trying to focus on stuff #Even if I'm active on Tumblr a bunch reblogging stuff #I'm tryna not to distract myself TOO HARD #I got finals this week dawg.... #I feel really bad for it but also I feel better distancing myself a bit from certain activity online #And like tumblr #Bc I've been checking this app endlessly and I need to get out of that habit #I think I did well enough about that today (that I wasn't actively thinking about it) and now I have the feeling og #POST AND SKITTER AWAY back so that feels a bit better but I feel bad for not responding to people oops #IRTS oakey. Have a mity. I will be mental illness rambles in my tags sorry #I am go eepy after posting this #Toontown #Toontown Corporate Clash #(unsure abt main tagging this for reasons stated earlier and bc too many notes can get to my brain but... I likey this one.) #Rainmaker #Guz art

[maddy-ferguson]

i don't know how people whose blogs are still fully byler do it there's only so many times you can read the exact same post before you start going crazy

#even the greatest posts #like love you guys #it isn't even that i've lost interest it's just that yk. there's nothing new happening and there's only so many times you (me) can read the #exact same post before going crazy. stir-crazy. if that makes sense #i had to follow random non-st people in like november/december or else i would've had to detumblrize which i didn't want to do #like i actually admire people whose blogs are still fully about st and i mean i'm literally still here even though it's not what i reblog #the most 75% of my dash is still st/bylers #but i had to like. start reblogging other stuff #because this isn't a new tumblr account right but since i hadn't been active in...a while this summer i unfollowed a bunch of people #who hadn't posted in years and so i only had bylers and like 5 other people left. hence the need to follow other people #i think it has to do with the fact that analysis is so prevalent like. i've read maybe one analysis post in the past month i can't #and not just analysis but people like being like 'omg guys i think this means this' and after a while it's like. yes. we know this #and i'm not saying people should stop lol it's just...well i had to start looking at gifs of shows i don't know between the this means #this posts #and like i say: brf slt

[ecoamerica]

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[ms-demeanor]

since twitter has become actively hostile to its users, so they came to tumblr, and reddit has become actively hostile to its users, so they came to tumblr, what do we do now that tumblr is becoming (more) actively hostile to its users? i’ve been here for over a decade so i know tumblr users are the type to cling on despite everything and revel in undoing every change, but i’m so tired of the way this website breaks the way it fundamentally works in order to appeal to new users. the twitterfication of the site seems so much worse than when people jumped ship after the porn ban, and even then, only small communities (and twitter) cropped up as solutions. you might not be the person to ask for a definitive answer, but i figured a tech blog might be interested in considering - what do we do when there’s nowhere left to go?

Okay so, I mean this very seriously: how has tumblr meaningfully become like twitter?

I don't personally find the sidebar view obnoxious and it seems to me like just another layout change that's pretty typical to tumblr. New users are getting signed up with a bit more emphasis on algorithmic feeds, but that is still very easy to change (MUCH easier than on any other social platform) and the algorithm has been there for everyone for quite a while, we just typically don't notice it because a lot of long-term tumblr users don't go into the "for you" feed.

I don't think that tumblr *has* fundamentally broken the way that it works to appeal to new users. My dash now is still very much like my dash in 2019, and still very much like my dash in 2018 (though much less pornographic). Reblogs are still reblogs, likes are still likes. Replies, for all that they seem like they've been around forever, are new and good and I think they work well. I'm irritated that the notes menu doesn't have a "view all" option but I think that's a worthwhile tradeoff for an easy way to see tags.

I *do not* understand why tumblr has broken linking back to previous reblogs but I don't think that's out of an effort to act like twitter; it is a bizarre choice that I dislike and don't understand but I also don't think that it has fundamentally changed the way the site works and i mean you've been around long enough that I'm sure you've had the same experience I have of going into the notes of a post and randomly clicking until you found a version that you wanted to reblog without a bunch of bullshit at the bottom. Tumblr has always kind of sucked, this change DOES suck but it doesn't suck in a way that is particularly novel or insurmountable. (For instance, I think this change sucks MUCH LESS than when they made posts with links invisible to the search, that is something that is genuinely bad that has been long lasting but doesn't get brought up much in lists of the ways that tumblr has gone wrong)

Tumblr *is* changing, but I think it is changing more incrementally and less terribly than other parts of the internet. I also hate the floating clown, the login walls, the dash-only view for blogs (you can't archive it and I HATE that), and - to an extent - the new lightbox on mobile. And I dislike that less than I thought I would but I don't think it's a fundamental change that necessarily impacts my interactions with the site - it *adds* a feature that I don't care for but it doesn't *break* anything that I require to have a good time on tumblr - in that way I think of it very much like Live. People hate Live so much and I find that perplexing because it is so easy to simply ignore it.

But that's not really your question; that's just some stuff I want people to think about because as much as tumblr has changed in the last two years it is nowhere near as fucked up as the recent things that twitter and reddit have pulled.

So, as to your question: where do we go?

Well. Not to be an extremely old person on the internet, but damned if I don't miss email lists. And forums. God I miss forums. Neither of those things has all the bonuses of platforms like twitter or reddit or tumblr or facebook, but they were great ways to hang out with people you liked on the internet.

The internet is changing. I can feel it, you can feel it, I'm pretty sure we're all like cattle in a field lifting our noses and hearing some distant rumbling and becoming slowly aware that it's almost time to run. There's a coming stampede and it isn't here yet but you know it's on its way. You're not imagining that, that's how things feel right now and there are a shitload of things contributing to it.

Things like SESTA/FOSTA and KOSA (which has not passed yet but is a big red flag waving on the horizon) have been eroding away the way that users on various platforms can function. Some platforms have consolidated in ways that harm users; some new platforms have popped up and shaken up the map of the internet; some platforms are being torn apart brick by brick by owners who don't care about the users. It kind of seems like people are actually looking up and realizing that advertising is A) bad and B) doesn't actually work and I think we're running straight toward another advertising-based crash like we saw in 2017. It feels like all the desperate things that tumblr is doing is just rearranging deck chairs on the titanic as the internet as a whole starts to sink into the ocean.

Honestly, I don't think it's that bad. I think it *feels* bad, but I think we're looking at a slow whimpering death of the platforms, not a bang. I think tumblr is going to hang on at least for a few years and I think it's going to end up like livejournal and myspace, which both still exist as websites that are recognizable as updated versions of the sites they were in 2004-2010. The thing that I think would really, honestly hurt tumblr in a fundamental way is if it moved to a more algorithmic and data-sales based model of advertising, and I think that's still pretty distant. I think Automattic is aware that killing the chronological feed would be the one unforgivable sin that would cause a mass exodus and a final crash, and I think when we see that, when we can't just scroll through the feed and see what our friends did that day in order of when they did it, that's when the party is over here.

But that's still not answering your question.

So, where do we go? What do we do? Well, for now, I'd say it's a good time to get contact info for your friends across various platforms. Get email addresses, get phone numbers.

Now is also the time for you to set up a personal website. NeoCities is currently the best place to do this, though it takes a lot more effort than just starting a blog on tumblr. I think that various oldschool blogging sites like Wordpress and Blogger/Blogspot/whatever the hell the google one is are a better place to have your emergency backup than a more platform-y platform if you aren't up to doing something with NeoCities.

If you've got the ability to do so and a group of people who are interested in the same core subject, set up a forum. There's a decent amount of off-the-shelf forum software out there and a text-and-small-images forum isn't prohibitively expensive, but it's never going to be huge and you're never going to have the kind of spread and virality and random connections that you would on a platform with millions or billions of users.

If you can't set up a forum, setting up or joining a discord server for your friends is a decent enough option at the moment, and may be a very good option for people who are looking to keep their interactions more private.

But yeah i think right now is a great time for people to start setting up their own personal websites, to start visiting actual webpages again, to start bookmarking their friends' websites, and to start collecting contact info that isn't tied to platforms.

[theminecraftbee]

I'm really glad to have found the Hermitcraft fandom here on Tumblr, I've been a long time fan and it's awesome to discover all this great fanart and content and stuff. Any must-follow MCYT/Hermitcraft/Minecraft blogs?

oh gosh, welcome! in general i am BAD about remembering who i follow and who i don't; a great way to find who you want to follow might be to just go through the #hermitcraft tag and follow people you find funny, or, heck, if i reblog a lot of art from a certain artist you like (or not a lot, like one art even), go follow them!

while we're here, a few additional general etiquette rules (keeping in mind that like, this is tumblr, trying to claim ANYTHING is a whole-community norm is basically impossible i am claiming a norm from my specific circle of guys): do not crosstag, only tag things that are actually in your post. don't use the 'minecraft' tag, that tag is for people who like the actual game. (i mean, you can use it if you are posting about minecraft, but not if you're posting about the youtubers). it's generally considered rude to put your crit in the main tags, especially without tagging 'discourse' somewhere so it can be filtered. shipping should generally have a 'hermitshipping' tag on it for filtering purposes as well, but if something is tagged hermitshipping and you're mad about it just like, block them, they did the important part.

the hermits i know of on tumblr (could be more, idk): @/joehills @/pearlescentmoo @/falsesymmetry @/therealdocm77 (not actually active but has the account) @/geminitayyt. cleo also had an account but it is no longer active. also @/inthelittlewood is here and like very active, as is @/askzloyxp and @/quinnhills. as a general etiquette rule, just... act like they're perfectly ordinary tumblr users and continue your business as usual! and don't send them weird asks or anything.

off the top of my head, a few blogs i like, an EXTREMELY non-exhaustive list, find your own guys out there as well you won't regret it! like, you will find the experience you like best just going out there and looking for it yourself! i've absolutely missed a bunch of guys i love, let alone guys you would love! this is like 10 million percent non-exhaustive, i follow 1,570 blogs apparently, many of which aren't hermitcraft or mcyt related, but many of which are, so i just sorta. went for it. and when i was having trouble remembering if a name was a repeat that's when i stopped. so. non-exhaustive list:

@nightshadeowl, @jestroer, @astronomodome, @kingtheghast, @floweroflaurelin, @roenais, @silverskye13, @wasyago, @rusty-courage, @art-by-fate, @silverskye13, @redstonedust, @betweenlands, @sixteenth-days, @judas-iscaryot, @terracottakore, @cherrifire, @antimony-medusa, @hybbart, @made-nondescript, @luigra, @cuteiemonster, @mawofthemagnetar, @potionofinstantdamage, @concorp, @spiderziege, @salemoleander, @bc-jpeg, @magicalmanhattanproject, @simplydm, @12u3ie, @mishapen-dear, @lunarblazes, @girltimeswithscar, @kishdoodles, @quaranmine, @shadeswift99, @bdoubleowo, @quicksandblock, @beacon-lamp, @kikunai, @sideblague, @applestruda, @ingapotejtoo, @belmarzi, @strifetxt

anyway FEEL FREE TO PROMO GUYS OR YOURSELF ON THIS POST TOO! from what i understand we may be getting some new guys sometime soon here from the twitter lands? so it may be helpful to have that for anyone who's looking for new guys to follow!

and most of all: WELCOME!!!

#answered #i DEFINITELY MISSED ABOUT A MILLION BELOVED MUTUALS AND IM SO SORRY #I JUST. I STARTED TO RUN OUT OF ABILITY TO TELL IF ID ALREADY LISTED ONE OF YOUR BLOGS #PRETTY SURE I ACCIDENTALLY DOUBLED SOMEONE ALREADY. #also i am so sorry none of these links work. see when i tried to publish this ask originally tumblr decided that it couldn't actually #so i had to copy-paste it and try again. #anyway WELCOME I HOPE YOU FIND YOUR PEOPLE! :D #also if you don't wanna be on this post let me know and i'll remove you and also i'm sorry

[larytello]

I find it funny and sad how Tumblr users are SO CONDITIONED to English language as default they will just NOT interact with posts in other languages whatsoever, no matter how cool the thing is - not even a like and reblog without adding comments or tags to it

Small rant ahead with something that happened this week AND I SHOULD POST IT IN MY OWN LANGUAGE TO PROVE A POINT but I won't and it'll still prove a point.

I have a Paw Patrol sideblog. It's a very active blog where I post, reblog, receive lots of asks constantly, I post my art there, etc. I got more active followers there than here on my personal blog and that's saying something (my personal has over 10x more followers than the Paw Patrol one AND STILL that one is more active lmao). People are always liking the posts/reblogs, always adding a comment, always reblogging with comments and/or nice/funny tags, sending asks. Literally it's very active.

Last week I reblogged there a post I found, it was a video of a mom and her daughter playing together with Paw Patrol toys and a handcrafted Lookout Tower made out of cardboard. THAT TOWER LOOKS SO COOL. It's amazing and the mom made it herself for her daughter and they were playing together so happily. Naturally this reblog should get a lot of likes and some reblogs, right?

It didn't get any. It's the only reblog so far there that didn't get a single bit of interaction.

Do you know why?

The mom and daughter are Brazilians. They speak Brazilian Portuguese. The text in the post is in Brazilian Portuguese. I added a long comment myself ALSO in Brazilian Portuguese (it is my first language as I'm Brazilian too) saying how cool it was, joking about the prices of official Lookout Tower toys (absurdly expensive around here) and that I've been planning myself to also build the Lookout Tower and the Paw Patroller with cardboard as well but I'm still in the first sketching stages, but seeing her project really inspired me to go ahead and continue working on my own.

I even followed her blog and she followed me back too. She posts a bunch of cool stuff and toys and games she creates with her kids, it's really AWESOME. I could spend HOURS looking at their posts.

But as she posted in Brazilian Portuguese and I commented also in Brazilian Portuguese and added tags ALSO in Brazilian Portuguese, it looks like NO ONE BATTED AN EYE AT IT.

What, are y'all afraid of using GOOGLE TRANSLATE???? How the fuck do you think I learned English ON MY OWN to interact with people on the internet in the first place when I was like 13, 14 years old??? I didn't even have English teachers at school and high school, I legit learned on my own because the world wasn't interested in trying to communicate with me, I was the one who had to adapt to communicate with it all.

Also I'd just like to say I love Tumblr community but y'all are SERIOUSLY LOSING INTERACTION POINTS to fucking DEVIANTART LMFAOOOOOO AT LEAST THERE PEOPLE KEEP MAKING AN EFFORT TO TRANSLATE MY OLD POSTS IN PORTUGUESE EVEN NOWADAYS XDDDD

You don't even need to learn another language like I did! YOU HAVE ONLINE TRANSLATORS. Back in my time, Google Translate was ABSURDLY AWFUL when translating anything to Brazilian Portuguese and vice-versa (it still is, but way less awful now over the years it took to better itself about it).

I USED TO TRANSLATE STUFF LITERALLY MANUALLY USING A DICTIONARY. You have the instant translation technology, FUCKING USE IT, YOU COWARDS

#Literally NO ONE INTERACTED #NOT EVEN A LIKE #ISTG

[copperbadge]

Have we found a tumblr replacement yet? Apparently the latest “live” shenanigans were the thing that it took to break me. I’m not trying to stir shit, I’m just mostly here for you and a couple other blogs, so I’m going wherever you go.

I wish, but unfortunately not so far. I mean, I've talked a little about how I'd like to find one but there aren't really any viable ones right now, and there may not be a fandom mass-migration for years still. I'm more likely to follow the crowd than blaze a trail in this case, so it may be some time. For now my only real tactic is to simply not engage with staff or support at Tumblr in any way, and accept the changes as gradual steps towards the site's demise with as much serenity as I can muster.

I've already accidentally opened Tumblr Live twice while trying to navigate the app, which I'm sure is intentional, given I've now suddenly opened Tumblr Live twice since its inception instead of Zero. Relatedly, I would love to see them redirect that passion into making the "Mute Notifications" button actually work, but mine is not to reason why.

Anyway. There are options available, like obviously there are other social media platforms, but none have quite the combination of "easy to use" and "has a lot of people on it" and "Offers the same functionality" (photo and video hosting, an app, etc) even with an "ease of use" and "functionality" that are as crap as Tumblr's.

For example, Dreamwidth is great, but it's a Livejournal code fork so it's a very different format from Tumblr, more labor-intensive to make and share posts (no reblog function, image embedding can get a bit complicated, etc). CoHost is new and very promising but a bit of a ghost town right now -- I'm there and I've had a bunch of people find me there but still exponentially less than are on Tumblr. Pillowfort I still need to re-investigate; I'm there as well but it's been a while since I looked in, and I was struggling with the functionality previously. I had a look at Mastodon, but as positive as decentralized servers could be for the future of social media, I actively dislike the idea, and it also seems difficult to set up and complex to maintain. Discord is....there, and a lot of fandom stuff has shifted there, but its structure is very different and it's also decentralized, and also I hate it passionately and refuse to use it, so that's a no-go for me, though I suspect it's where fandom might end up.

If you're struggling with accessing tumblr directly, you might consider feeding the blogs you follow to an RSS reader -- I know people who do that and find it pretty functional, because then if they want to comment they can just pop open the specific post and deal with it directly. I don't know how much you know about RSS and I don't have the energy to fully explain it right now, but NetVibes is a pretty decent free RSS reader and it's what I use for certain blogs outside of Tumblr.

In any case, if I do find a place, or if I see the migration beginning, I'll sound the alarm :) In the meantime I'm still reading through my tumblr, stashing away posts to save off when I leave, even if that'll be a while.

[ecoamerica]

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[abarbaricyalp]

do you have any advice for a new writer trying to post on ao3 I want my stories to be noticed (also thanks for not leaving -- so many writers are gone now)

*Looks at my recent hits counts* I'm not sure I'm the best reference for this 😅

I think there are two aspects to getting engagement on fan works:

1: There is the actual work you put into posting your fics. This includes tags, cross posting, and self promotion.

Tags: Make sure you are tagging what is relevant to your fic. AO3 doesn't run on an algorithm, so the way people find your fics is primarily through searches. There is an excellent post on tumblr somewhere that discusses how to accurately tag your work, and I highly suggest starting there! (Post here) Also when tagging, I would suggest considering what YOU would search if you were looking for a fic like this. Quite often, I've found that the tag I was looking for isn't on AO3 yet. Don't be afraid to type in the specific trope or AU you are writing. Look at other tags to get a feel for the structure of the tag, but other than that, have fun.

Also, it may seem counterintuitive, but don't over-tag, by which I mean tagging a bunch of tropes or characters or ships that aren't in your story. It's a fast way to have people disregard your fic instantly, or even mute your name on AO3. Especially in smaller fandoms, I totally get the desire to tag a bigger ship, but it just makes more trouble for you in the long run.

Similarly, on tumblr, keep tags tight. I tend to only tag ship, character (name and superhero name), show/ movie, franchise, and the challenge I'm answering if I am. I know other people tag the actors of the characters. I don't because I know when I go into an actor's tag, I don't want to see fic (of their characters or them either) but that's entirely up to you. But don't tag characters or shows etc that have nothing to do with your fic. This is just courtesy in fandom spaces.

Cross-posting: I admit, I can be kind of bad about cross-posting, but I do find that it helps drive engagement when I do buckle down and get it done. Cross-posting is publishing or promoting a fic on multiple platforms. For instance, I use AO3 AND tumblr. On tumblr fic posts,I link to the AO3 (if there is one, I'm pretty bad about publishing shorter things on here only) And when I publish the fic on AO3, I'm supposed to be linking back to my tumblr. This helps more people see your fic and it grows your community when people are able to follow you on various platforms and spread your fic and kudos around. If you have fan accounts elsewhere and you're comfortable with it, feel free to promote there as well. Also check any discord or group servers you may be on for rules about promoting or channels meant exactly for that.

Self-promoting: this is pretty similar to the above. Because AO3 doesn't have an algorithm, it's kind of up to you to keep interest alive in your fics, especially if you want eyes on it for the first several days afterwards. I know it feels embarrassing to reblog your own fic posts all the time, but it's impossible to tell who may have seen or not seen that you posted a new fic. I don't have any set times for this, personally. I try to catch what I consider active times on tumblr, but that's entirely subjective. It's just trial and error, really. Secondly, don't be embarrassed to recommend your own fics (I'm kind of bad at this) If someone is looking for recs on a specific trope or AU and you know you have just the fic, tell them! Unfortunately, you have to be your own biggest cheerleader when it comes to your own art because no one knows and loves it as much as you do. It feels awkward and I know I get embarrassed if people aren't reccing my fics on their own, but you really are your biggest advocate. Fandom is kind of a popularity contest sometimes 🤷‍♀️ Hype your own self up

2: Now that the technical stuff is done, let's move on to the community aspect of fic posting. (This is not really what you asked for, but i think it's more important sometimes than the actual tags and AO3 procedures) Curating a community and making friends is HUGE as far as readership goes. Especially in smaller fandoms (I assume this is about Sambucky fics/fandom) community is everything. Being a name people recognize and trust is important to regular readership.

Building community: don't be afraid to interact with other writers on this platform or others! The Sambucky fandom has this delightful habit of playfully creating headcanons and ficlets based off of text posts. The Daily Sambucky Fluff Diary project is so much fun and so interactive. I have honestly never been in such a fun, supportive group as the sambucky writers on tumblr. I highly suggest playing in this sandbox and getting familiar with other writers. We hype each other up all the time.

Understanding the rules of play: this is kind of an addendum, but the sambucky fandom is rightfully protective over Sam and his portrayal in fics, as well as Bucky. Reading fics, community interaction posts, and even the rules laid out in various challenges (like the bingos that are hosted at various times) will really help you get a sense of how to respectfully tell stories with Sam and Bucky without being racist, ableist, or disregarding to these characters. Quite often Sam (and Bucky, and especially Sambucky) is only there to prop up other characters. This is something the fandom will (again, rightfully) push back on and avoid. I highly suggest looking at the rules that are laid out in the Sambucky Library's bingo rounds to get an idea of the sandbox rules.

Engagement: the sambucky fandom is small, so we don't really have big organized events like Bangs or Reverse Bangs. However, we do have lots of fun, smaller challenges, namely the bingos! There is also Samtember, the Anniversary Challenge (I don't think that's what we called it) and various prompt week challenges, including an AU week (and we like birthdays here). I highly suggest following @ sambuckylibrary to keep apprised of challenges and prompts. Filling out these prompts when you can and want is a great way to break into the fandom and get engagement with your fics. They are all very low stakes and the reward is new fics, friends, and interaction!

I would also suggest joining a discord server, if that is something you're interested in. (I personally am not in any, but that's because I don't like making new accounts on things, not because I don't want to be part of the fun) This is a great place to interact with other fans, promote your fics, get new recs, and generally reap the fun of fandom in a more condensed space, rather than the entirety of AO3 or tumblr.

One last thing to keep in mind: you've already pointed out that fan fic/art/engagement is decreased in our fandom. This will be reflected in your hits/kudos/comments, especially if you're coming from a bigger fandom. Don't let this discourage you. In fact, I really suggest not looking at stats as much as possible. The wealth of engagement in this fandom will be seen in your relationships and interactions with other fans, not in skyrocketing numbers. Allegedly, Cap4 and Thunderbolts come out in 2025 and our guys look to have an episode in the next season of What-If, but without new content, interest will lag and numerical engagement with it. Just keep this in mind as you begin/ continue your journey into the fandom.

That's a lot of words to say: tag properly, make friends, and have fun ❤️🤍💙❤️🩶🖤🪽🐺

#sambucky #writing #i answer things

[unityrain24]

i've gotten a few new followers recently who seems to be loki series fans... and i just. you do realize that this is a very anti-series blog, right? it's in my description too

i know i haven't reblogged a whole bunch of anti loki series stuff lately, but it's not because i've "changed my mind" or anything. I am just to tired to read long metas (i haven't been reblogging many og loki metas recently either), i do not have the emotional energy to deal with awful feelings that come with the series, and also the other anti-series blog i follow also are getting emotional burnout from it so they aren't posting/reblogging a whole bunch of anti loki stuff either so that's less content for me to reblog.

but know that i am still very anti-loki series, and had strong feeling about it even before i got a tumblr account and literally no one in my life shared my views. When i finally got a tumblr account, like the first thing i did was read through all of the master posts of all the most major anti-series blogs. I read and reblogged probably hundreds. Like i combed through the archives. And i felt so validated finally.

The loki series was a terrible insult to lokis character. They took away his intelligence and his grace and his strategy and his humour and his masking and his cool reserved (but still witty) demeanor. They took away key aspects of his backstory, and invalidated every bad thing that ever happened to him. They didn't simply reduce his complex personality to something stupidly simple, they completely took away practically every part of his personality, and replaced it with things that weren't ever part of him. They blamed him for things he never did (and don't mention things he actually should be blamed for), called him inherently evil, and made him the butt of every joke. That thing you see on the screen is not the same character, not even a different character, but a bastardization of wearing someone else's corpse. The makers didn't even watch the previous installments he was in.

The series was questionable, if not outright terrifying, in its morals/messages (having the main character be stolen and stripped of everything, then work for a genocidal fascist organization and be happy about it)(portrayed either a questionable strange psuedo-incest abuser or an abusive fascist as the two romance options)(etc etc).

Even smaller less important things made it terrible. Making a show about "loki" then having it not be about him, but rather the tva, just to expand disney/mcu's while multiverse obsession? Having the series be called "loki" the whole aesthetic of the show being something painfully not loki? from the music to the lighting to the costumes to the plot to the everything? The lack consistency of the show to the installments prior/post it (again bc they don't care to research)? Gaps in logic? Also the fact that they seem to keep mixing up the concept of multiverses with timelines? (an alternate universe is different from a branch off of one universes timeline. Alligator loki, for example, does not make sense being a loki "variant" because the timeline could not deviate in a way that would make that happen). The fact that it was called "loki" but all the merch is racist genocidal tva? The fact that they condemn loki for certain things but praise the tva for doing far worse things? The way they made tom overact in such an embarrassing way? The way they marketed as having genderfluid loki, and then not only not showing it, but actively denying it?

i could go on and on and on but since i'm not formatting this as an essay the disorganization and lack of proper sentences/grammar is just muddling my point so i won't continue that long paragraph.

anyways.

and it's not "just" a show to me. its not "just" a fictional character. it's not "not a big deal." It is. It is a big deal. To me. I've dealt with mental illnesses my whole life, and when they get bad, they get bad. Dangerously bad. Having a comfort character/ world in my head i could escape to is a vital coping mechanism for me. When they first announced the loki series, a certain nervousness set in me, and with every new piece of information released, it got worse and worse, and my mental state got worse and worse. fuck man, i wanted to kill myself so that i wouldn't be alive when it came out (amongst other reasons). When it did finally come out, not only were all my fears proven correct, it proved to much, much, much worse than i could have ever imagined. It was horrific. It was like they stole what was dearest to me and disfigured it in front of my eyes and got the blood all over me and it would wash out, and the scent and colour and feel and taste of blood filled all my senses. My mental illnesses got a lot worse (both from reason related to and unrelated to the series), and i couldn't even use my necessary coping mechanism bc every time i thought of loki (even my og loki), the series and how it ruined everything would invade my mind. things were bad for me. and all i got was people saying "it's not that bad, your being dramatic, you should watch it!"

And perhaps i'm one-in-million in that sense, it's not like they made the series specifically to personally do that to me. And they don't know that it did.

but should they be ashamed? that they took something that was originally a complex piece of art and passion and expression, and did that to it? They turned it into some soulless money-making formula? They went from wanting to make stories to wanting to make money? From quality to quantity? Shouldn't they feel ashamed, that they disrespected the original artists and writers and filmmakers who put so much into it, only to not even watch them when "wanting" to continue it? Shouldn't they feel ashamed at their hollow greed and corruption? Shouldn't they feel ashamed for forcing an actor to ruin a character they cared so much about, and not allowed for their ideas?

even without what it emotionally did to people, they should be ashamed.

#sorry if this didn't make sense i was just typing rather than Writing. brain vomit. idk if i made sense #anti loki series #loki series hate #loki series criticism #loki series negativity #fuck disney #unityrain.txt #tw suicide #tw vent #tw blood

[birdyverdie]

After 8 years I'm finally making a pinned post

(Even though pinning only came out like. A few years ago.)

Anyways! Hi I'm Birdy!, I use Tumblr for funsies and I mostly reblog and leave little comments on the tags :)

Huge Bird Enjoyer, I actively invite people to send me pictures of birds for me to identify/to make me happy :D

I'm into very many different things but right now I'm very into:

Darkest Dungeon

Other current interests include:

Jujutsu Kaisen (They massacred my boyyy)

Dungeon Meshi

SCP Foundation

Team Fortress 2

Hades (game)

I have a bunch of other old interests too, and stuff I still enjoy. It's too many to count ;;

Tags:

This bird speaks: anything written by me. Mostly personal thoughts.

This bird responds: my responses to asks

This bird draws: art tag

Laugh rule: my new "reblogged cuz I found this funny" my old one is extensive but had a very....13 year old fatalistic-eque tag name.

No context: anything that isn't related to any fandom interest.

(I'll probably think of more at some point.)

I'm an AI hater so I'll be posting any new art here Nightshaded + Glazed, but you can check out the clean version on my Pillowfort.

I write fics sometimes! Check me out on Ao3: Birdyverdie

I'm a chatty person so I don't mind random asks or DMs, beware though, you may get paragraphs in return!

Hope you have a good day :)

#pinned post :)

[cardiophilecabaret]

so real for that :( i miss pre purge cardiophile tumblr when it was mostly just art and writing. i remember the first time i found your old rp prompts from years ago and they were always among the top posts. i hope you're able to find a small part of the community that keeps you happy! it's nice to see you back

Ah, now you're going to make me all sappy <3

I miss pre-purge cardiophile tumblr as well. I am not ashamed to talk about how shitty the cardiophile tag has become and how useless it is now. I miss the art, I miss the writing, I miss the quotes, and the gifs from movies/videogames/ect. I miss the musing, and fandoms talking about different heart related things and everyone connecting with each other.

You dive in there now and it's just tits. Not that there's anything wrong with tits, but that is not what I went in the tag to see. Tits and sometimes even dicks. I came here for heart content, not naked people doing really weird unattractive things and barely any heart stuff involved in it?? Like, idk. That's just my opinion of course but I just try not to talk to most cardiophiles anymore unless they give good vibes.

I remember being around when cardiophiles were harassing nurses and such too....that was....not a great time. As a whole, we feel weird and gross and then we just go and do a bunch of weird and gross things so that people who thought it was cute before now actually do think its weird and gross. And I don't like being associated with it, but its not like I can just turn my cardiophilia off, either!

Anyway, thank you so much for this ask, you are so sweet. I'm happy you are still around. Thank you for being here, and hopefully I can be much more active in the future if I can find content to reblog that isn't just straight up p0rn! <3

#cardiophilia #cardiophile #absolute disgrace the way cardiophilia is handled on this site unfortuantely #unfortunately * i can type

[greatstormcat]

Can I have some advice from one writer to another? It's okay if not, feel free to ignore

Basically, I'm fairly new to posting my fics and art here on Tumblr and I can't stop myself from feeling a little inadequate sometimes. I've been posting for about four or five months now and my writing posts rarely get more than 20-30 notes, if that. I've had my more popular posts, one of which hit almost 1000 notes, but other than that I don't really see much attention.

I feel bad for thinking like this, since so many people say that I should be writing for myself and not the validation of others, but I really want to share my work with people. I've been writing as a hobby for a while but I started my writing blog because I want people to find joy in my work as much as I do.

But when all of the stuff I post doesn't get much reach, it just feels awful. I keep getting the feeling that my ideas/works aren't that great, because if no one else finds them interesting then why should I?

With all of this said though, I feel so superficial for thinking this way. I want to be happy with my work but none of it feels meaningful the more I post and the more my stuff gets put to the wayside, y'know? A few of my mutuals have hyped me up and it feels good, but then it wears off really fast when even after weeks I barely see any notifications from anyone other than them.

Sorry for the long message, but I just wanted to see if you had any ideas on how to stop myself from starting to dislike my work because no one else really enjoys it, or at least don't show that they enjoy it.

Ahhh I know this thought process very well, and I promise you that everyone else that reads this that’s running a blog of any sort knows it too! We’ve all been in this exact same spot, some more recently than others. My first piece of advice is cling to those mutuals, hype eachother up because those are the people that will look after you. Getting a load of notes from faceless internet denizens isn’t going to sustain you anywhere near as much as you think it is. Getting random/insane asks and comments from people who interact with you is so much more important. (Sending hugs to all my mutuals.)

But, that said, I know you want to get your stuff out there to the people that will enjoy it, and this is hard work. I’ve not been going very long although I’ve been lurking around Tumblr since it was first created. My top tips for you are firstly nag the shit out of people to reblog your stuff. Unfortunately a lot of people are happy to hit like on something but leave it at that, they forget that unless stuff gets reblogged it sits still and dies. Reblogs are the lifeblood of Tumblr!

Secondly don’t be afraid to use a load of tags, just make sure they are appropriate ones. Don't tag spam, you’ll get flamed for that as it is terrible etiquette and will piss people off and get you blocked. Use as many tags for your subject/character as you can get in there and your post will pop up in the following tags section for readers. You can also use the scheduler which looks at when you corner of the site is most active.

Third, interact with other people who like the same stuff and they’ll likely end up looking through your blog and sharing your work. This is the one I struggled with the most because my autism is a nasty huge hairy bastard that stops me behaving like a normal human being in conversations. 

Fourth bit of advice, stop comparing yourself to who you consider ‘big blogs’. Behind every screen here is someone writing an idea on their tea break sitting on the toilet. There are no celebrities in fandom, just a bunch of normal people like you and me who happen to enjoy the same thing. Don’t think ‘oh I’ll never be as good as X blog’ because that person is thinking that same though about someone else. 

Last piece of advice following on from that, enjoy what you’re doing. It's really obvious when someone is just making ‘content’ because they think they have to keep up posting to be relevant. Only post stuff you have enjoyed writing/drawing and if you need a break, take one.

The biggest thing is to not hang your selfworth on this, it's just a bit of fun and doesn’t reflect you as a human being. 

That turned out like a huge motherly talk, and I hope it doesn’t come across as condescending because tone is hard to convey. Feel free to use or ignore as you see fit! If you feel up to it feel free to tag me in something you’ve written or drawn.

#storm cat answers #this is why we need to look for posts with only a few notes and share them not jsut focus on those that have a huge following already #love the little blogs!

[13eyond13]

Hii for the fandom ask game I'm shooting two of your questions right back at you because when you asked me them they made me immediately wonder about your answers, 23 and 25! Also: 1, 8, and 16!

omg thank you for so many asks!

23. The fandom you're curious about because of a mutual:

@stvlti posting on my dash about the new Scott Pilgrim anime got me curious enough to start watching it recently! I read those comics back in college and thought they were pretty great, as was the Edgar Wright movie. And the anime seems like a very good adaptation of it so far. Can't explain how funny it is as a Canadian to see Canada as the setting for an anime, either... I just feel like we have such a bland normie country to set things in, hahaha

I'm also getting very curious about a ton of different manga thanks to the recs I've received on my blog recently! (X)

25. A piece of advice for taking care of yourself in fandom spaces:

HMMM.

I think the main thing I get people asking me about here sometimes is how to make more friends in the fandom, especially when you're new and don't know anybody. I think the main bits of advice I have on that front is:

(1) I SWEAR YOU AREN'T BEING SNUBBED/INTENTIONALLY IGNORED, YOU'RE PROBABLY JUST NOT ON OTHER PEOPLE'S RADARS AT ALL

So follow a bunch of other bloggers in that fandom and interact with their blogs first! Like their posts, send them polite/friendly asks looking for their takes (this is especially easy to do when people reblog ask memes), and be brave enough not to go on anon when you do it so they can see your lovely face and actually potentially make a connection with you! Most people LOVE getting asks and are flattered when somebody else asks for their thoughts. If you're genuine with your interest it shouldn't take long for other people to start taking interest in you back.

Which leads to my second point of:

(2) MAKE SURE YOU ACTUALLY ARE POSTING THINGS ON YOUR BLOG ON A SEMI-REGULAR BASIS! People will probably click on your blog once you start interacting with them, and they will most likely only follow you back if you actually have stuff on your blog that shows your interests/personality/the kinds of things they can expect you to be posting on their dash! You can easily stock up a bunch of posts into a queue if you're worried about spamming the dash or don't want to be online 24/7 too, so it will keep your blog active without you actually having to be there all the time.

ALSO DO NOT HAVE TOO MUCH SHAME TO LITERALLY ASK YOUR FOLLOWERS TO SEND YOU ASKS. Reblog fandom ask memes, it's a great way to give people a template of questions to bug you nicely with, and answering one ask often leads to receiving another ask!

(3) DO YOUR OWN THING WHETHER OR NOT ANYBODY IS CONSTANTLY PATTING YOU ON THE BACK. First and foremost I'm usually making myself laugh here on my blog and hoarding all of these posts for myself, so even when I'm not getting constant feedback from others I'm still having a good time and posting on the regular! I'm SUPER glad that other people get something out of it too, but I think when it comes to blogging you should treat your blog like your own personal little kingdom where you are making the rules, and other people can follow or unfollow as they please.

And finally:

(4) YOU WILL EVENTUALLY LOSE A FOLLOWER OR TWO, BUT SO DO I AND SO DOES EVERYBODY ELSE. Try not to obsessively check your follower count or to take it as a huge calamity if your count goes down instead of up once in a while! It WILL eventually go back up again, and you genuinely have no idea why it dropped most of the time (it probably wasn't anything majorly personal - maybe somebody just is no longer in your fandom, maybe Tumblr is clearing out some porn bots, maybe a follower is deactivating their blog - or maybe you DID post something that somebody didn't like, but that's ok, it's probably better if they aren't following you anymore anyways!) And you should ALSO block/unfollow people freely if they're really making your blogging experience uncomfortable - at the end of the day you don't really know them and they don't really know you, and you will both probably move on and forget about it not too far down the road.

1. List 3 positive things about your current fandom(s):

(1) Genuinely extremely chill and cozy, and almost always has been in my experience!

(2) People have the best sense of humour here. IDK I think I took it for granted that all fandoms were like that but anytime I venture into other ones I find myself being a bit disappointed that people just aren't as funny in general a lot of the time

(3) OMG thank you everybody for all the delicious fanfic and fanart, and for continuing to still make it steadily even in 2023

8. You hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc.):

I'm gonna advocate for a ship I don't even have a ton of personal investment in and say meronia! God, stop sleeping on this pairing already and/or acting like it's way more problematic than it actually is, you silly ancient fandom you (no, they are not basically related, they simply went to the same school in their childhood for a bit). These two definitely deserve to have their relationship a bit better explored!

16. A tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate:

Watari had an entire-ass family of his own, apparently!

Isn't that weird to think about? There is actually SO MUCH unanswered stuff about how his relationship with L actually was set up, especially if you are just going by the original manga serial and aren't using the one-shots or the anime or LABB novel to flesh out L's backstory or any Wammy's lore. And sometimes I think it might be neat to see people exploring it in totally different ways that would still be 100% plausible based on what little we know!

[ask meme]

#ask #ratbefriender #ask meme #p #fandom #watari #l lawliet #meronia

[audioandart]

Tumblr (seems to be) Actively Censoring Pro Palestinian Posts

So as many people who are invested in the genocide happening in Gaza right now have noticed, Tumblr seems to be actively censoring any posts that are pro Palestine. There's the evidence we all seem to be aware of, such as the suppressing of related tags and keeping them from trending, but I've noticed some smaller things as well.

(Also, if you're wondering why it's "seems to be", it's because I'm very sure that's what's happening but I don't like to speak in absolutes. So take this as "I'm 100% sure it's being censored but I can't literally read the code rn or anything so MAYBE-". Giving them the benefit of the doubt I suppose 😔)

So the first thing that's really been noticed is how many times the pro Palestine tags are suddenly gone from trending, even though they're definitely being basically flooded with posts and reblogs and whatnot. They'll be trending and pretty quickly, (like sometimes within a couple hours?) even though the amount is still high, it'll suddenly no longer be on trending. Definitely take my timeline here with a grain of salt because my perception of time is wack, (it's the autism) but I've seen many people point it out so I know I'm not completely losing my mind.

There's also the fact that many accounts supporting Palestine seemed to have some shadow ban issues. This has happened with a few different stances/issues with this website and I didn't see it a whole bunch for Palestine (though I'm like 85% sure at minimum that's simply because I'm not the best at noticing the accounts regularity of posting or anything so if it wasn't pointed out to me I wouldn't have noticed them being gone. This is also partially the autism, what you gonna do 🤷‍♀️). Shadow banning is, in my opinion, one of the most despicable ways to attack a cause because information is of course one of the most important things for this sort of thing. To shut down a source of info simply because you don't agree with it is terrible, (especially if the info is true,) and to do it quietly so either no one notices or if they do notice, the info provider can't explain why or what happened is, again, despicable. Especially when some of the info providers are currently in an area where people are legitimately being killed daily, no, HOURLY, so for all you know they've been killed. I definitely don't want to be seen as overreacting or anything, but I will say that not too long ago, an account I kept tabs on had been shadow banned, and one of the very real worries I had was something bad had happened to them. I'm not getting into any specifics but this wasn't even related to Palestine, and maybe I have a penchant for drama or overreacting but I know people worry, and people care, and I'd rather people care and nothing bad have happened than people be apathetic and something terrible happen.

I've recently discovered a new way Tumblr seems to be censoring, and that's claiming a post contains filtered tags. I have a few tags filtered, completely unrelated to Palestine or Gaza or Israel or even politics, and yet I've seen Tumblr claim multiple posts have tags I have filtered on them. I've also only got like 2 tags filtered, for reference I guess. 2 of the at least 7 posts Tumblr has claimed I have filtered, that were in fact not something I have filtered, were not related to Palestine. TWO. That means FIVE of the posts WERE related to Palestine, and all of them were pro Palestine of course. This is the tactic I'm least sure on, because it's totally possible it's coincidence rather than causation, (I keep track of lots of pro Palestine stuff so it's more likely they're gonna get the broken tag thing,) but the thing that's making me lean towards it being deliberate is that issue/glitch didn't start happening until AFTER I'd been invested in the Palestine stuff, for a little while in fact.

So, Tumblr. Do what you will with this post. Maybe you'll ignore it because I'm a small poster. Maybe you'll try to punish me for it. Maybe it'll even get taken down (which I believe some pro Palestine posts have as well but I'm far less knowledgeable on that so I'm not going to get into it.) I used to avidly support you. I used to be remorseful about being too poor to support you. But as sure as the sun will rise, the rivers and sea fill the land with green, the Palestinians survive, know that regardless how much you censor, people will keep talking. They'll talk, and protest, and SCREAM into the void if they have to, because this is wrong. Try to keep people quiet, they will never stay that way.

(PS. I don't currently have any pictures because I'm too silly to remember to screenshot things but I'll add them if I get some.)

#just a silly goofy girl in a serious mood #that tag gets one adjective because it's serious #free palestine #palestine #current events #free gaza #genocide

[petrichoraline]

For the honest answer ask game: what's the history of your blog? (this really just includes how/when you began blogging on tumblr, content, your interactions and your special moments on here etc; whatever you wish to prioritize for the ask in context).

honest hour question answered 3 days later <3 truly hope the wait was worth it love hahah

as someone who's gone through my archive already, you know i started out as a bts fan account in 2015. (my previous blog is not gonna be discussed for the simple reason that it's barely relevant to this one)

i believe i used to tag and organise my reblogs? there was a time where i cared enough and i loved srolling through my own blog, i stopped enjoying that when i became more involved w/ fandom on here and things weren't aesthetics based anymore. i don't like going through it that much now. i used to play around with themes, search for them, tweak colours and fonts for hours. after i returned years later there was an issue with the editor so now i can't change my theme at all and it sucks cause i just want to edit a few things.

so it started of as a bts fanblog, then i started rb-ing other kpop stuff, maybe afterwards i started sharing gifsets from movies and series i liked? as for fandom, i had a good amount of mutuals - accidentally became one with a girl from my country, we went out once and it was very nice <3 procrastinated and lost track fo tag games back then too lmaoo i felt a lot of dissatisfaction over it so i try to do everything now with my current fandom :)

back then is when i started reading fanfiction - i believe my first imagine was a taegi one where v was an artist and yoongi a photographer lol i stumbled upon it on the dash randomly and i got introduced to ao3 a bit after

iirc for the following years after i'd stopped stanning bts, i used to come back either relatively often or once in a blue moon - in the beginning i was just enjoying wtv my dash was offering me or seeking out specific stuff, then i started using it as a tracklist of what shows i've watched haha, no tags, just rb after finishing a show.

i started engaging with fandom around the release of episode 5 of kinnporsche, i read a bunch of posts on here, then tms2 came around and i got even more into reading people's takes..at some point i started talking to people i guess hahah i don't even know when i started trying to put out content, so to say, i just know i was doing screenshot posts short before i found myself pushed to attempt gifs and that was after big dragon had just finished airing.

then i started my giffing journey. had support from @gillianthecat whom i loved giffing paulnice for. honestly that and the discussions we had were such an important part of me having fun with this site and keeping it up. and @joyladagang, my self-proclaimed #1 hype woman, made me feel super welcome. then i got even more moots, at some point i started reaching out or actively reciprocating others attempts at getting closer (though i had been active in discussions before that, i just mean i got a bit braver and started acting more familiar with everyone (esp w/ ppl i got closer to through @joyladagang like @cankersoregirl, @feralmuskyscentedhoepran, @loserlesbianongsa etc.)

i'm grateful to a lot of people on here, truly. it's not supposed to be a shoutout post so i won't be tagging any more people (esp since i would have to tag everyone who follows me plus a bunch of people i follow which..it's a bit much) but i'm genuinely thankful for each person that enjoys my rants, gifs, theories or wtv the things i post classify as, whether they found a post by accident or follow the blog. and i'm grateful to the creators i follow, and i'm happy to talk to so many sweet, smart and funny individuals on various topics daily.

so this is where my blog is at right now - trying to do a bit of everything and talking a bit with everyone. my issue, tbh, is i'm trying a bit too hard to satisfy everyone which sounds ridiculous but i am a bit of a people pleaser at times so it checks out lol

#ana thats such a good question!! thats a sleepy head answer youre getting though im sorry <33 #thank you sm for asking me smth <3 #ppg #petri replies #ask game

[il-predestinato]

hi!! i'd like to ask for your advice. i'd really like to have some mutuals (not sure if the term is correct) or like people here on tumblr or on twitter i can talk with about f1 and lestappen. the problem is that i usually don't interact with posts (apart from liking them) on any social media platform becasue i'm really anxious and insecure about stuff like this so that makes it a bit hard. i've been thinking about dming people but idk what to write because i'm worried it will come off as weird or lame. (((i just hope this message won't be like that))) my question is how do you start a this kinda conversation? do i just ask them if they want to talk or like.. ? i'm really sorry if this sounds stupid or something but i have absolutely zero skills in online interactions and you seem really nice and i hope it's okay that i reached out🫶🫶

Of course, it's always okay to reach out in my inbox!

I think lestappies are generally an inclusive and welcoming bunch of people, and many of us totally identify with the same insecurity with online interactions! I know I certainly do - as many times I see a post or tag and just want to ramble my love or my thoughts at that person but was too shy to put myself out there.

There is a lestappen discord community that you can join. I'm not sure how active it is (I haven't been on there too much; I just find it easier to talk to 1-4 people at a time! 😅), but it might be a good place to chat and make friends.

One awesome thing about tumblr is you can reblog and use tags without 'forcing' any interaction back. I've literally made friends on the basis of their reblog tag wall of thoughts on my posts, or my reblog tags on their posts. And yes, I can guarantee you that every. SINGLE. OP. loves reading the reblog tags. 🤣

I also think DMing (or Inbox Asking) people is totally fine! To be honest, I wish people did that more! I actually LOVE hearing from people who love the same things I do. I can't speak for everyone, but I think it's far from weird or lame. It's more like "omg someone wants to chat with me about lestappen?! that's amazing!"

As for starting a conversation, my go-to used to be "I just read your fic and it's fucking amazing...." I entered the lestappen fandom as a fic writer a few years ago (yes, shocking I know, *hides my current google doc folder with >100 pages of unfinished lestappen wips shamelessly*), so I know how much that means to writers, and even if I've left kudos and a comment already, sometimes I just want to reach out and tell them how much their story blew me away, made me zone out on the drive home, etc. And really it can be anything that is common ground - "saw your tags on that lestappen post - max is down SOOOO bad, right?!" "your gifset of the press conference was beautiful!" etc, etc.

I hope you enjoy your time and experience on lestappenblr! 😉

#lestappen #also please consider this my apology to the 1000+ inbox messages i've not had a chance to reply to #i swear i read every single one and i love reading them but i am the WORST at remembering to answer #and then it's been 6 months and i feel awkward answering at that point 😅 #elle.ask #anon

[moviesludge]

been feelin foggy and sluggish lately. not sure if its the change of seasons/weather, the end of Halloween time, taking a big rest after doing a lot of work and thinking, depression, fatigue, or diet. could be all of the above.

i actually make a lot of these personal posts, but I almost always delete them after typing them now because i feel like "who gives a shit". And not in a "poor me" way. Just in a way that's like "I can type this down as a catharsis for myself, which is the most important reason, but once I've done that what would be the point of sharing it?" Like why wouldn't I just keep a password protected blog and write my stuff there? Or in a thousand little notepad files (something I do actually do). Other times I feel like I'm being dumb about it and should just post whatever, like I used to. I go back and forth on the whole thing, but mostly I get that feeling of like "what's the point". Maybe I'm thinking about it too much, but somewhere during the last 10 years or so, I withdrew from being really candid really often on here, and I think there were a lot of different reasons for that. Although I did notice that it seemed like a lot of other people stopped too. For me I think it might mostly be a matter of social energy.

It also takes a certain amount of energy for me to be able to think really clearly. I told my friend how I'm not always clear-minded and he asked if I might have a carbon monoxide leak. Ha! Not the case, but a reasonable suggestion for safety's sake.

I suspect it's probably garden variety depression that ebbs and flows, and possibly a significant lack of quality sleep/energy. The times I tend to feel the best are after a workout (like now) or sometimes after having a really good sleep. It's an extremely noticeable difference when I'm energized and thinking very clearly. I've noticed that I'm 1000x more outgoing than I'd be otherwise. I'm way more sociable, way more interested in things, i notice more details, and generally am able to appreciate things more.

A big noticeable difference is when I'm writing joke captions for gifs. Far funnier jokes come to me way faster and easier when I'm sharp. It even affects my dash activity on tumblr. I'm way less likely to like a post if I'm feeling foggy and withdrawn. I remember one day where I felt shitty early in the day and passed over lots of posts and then liked & reblogged a bunch of the same ones later in the day when I felt better, could really see and understand them clearly, and cared about it.

Being dull also affects my ability to communicate clearly. I'm really tough on myself when it comes to putting people out, and sometimes I don't realize I said something stupid until it's too late. So I feel the need to apologize for it when it happens.

so anyway, yeah. i should get in the frankenstein machine or something