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blackpearlblast · 5 months

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you can give seven days of internet connection to someone in gaza for just 6 USD

gazaesims.com is a website dedicated to helping people donate esims for people in gaza. (for the ultimate guide to donating an esim, see http://tinyurl.com/gaza-esims) there are multiple options for where to purchase an esim to donate, for the price i listed you want to use nomad esims. you can get a $3 discount by using someone's referral code from the notes of this post. it also will give the referrer credit to buy more esims! (you can only use a referral code on your first purchase) @/fairuzfan also a tag for esim referral codes here, some of which are nomad. BACKPACKNOMAD is another code to get $3 off your first purchase, it's been working for some people but not others so try out a referral code instead if you can't get it to work. also it took over an hour for the email with my information to come through so don't panic if it doesn't show up right away. (logging back into your nomad account seems to have helped some people get their emails to send!) NOMADCNG is a code for 5% off any middle east region nomad esims from connecting gaza. it can be used on any purchase, not just your first but is generally going to give less off than the first-purchase only codes, so use those first. it can be used in combination with nomad points. (nomad promo codes do not work on plans that are already on sale, unlimited plans, and plans under $5)

weekly tuesdays only code on nomad web, PST timezone! it gives 10% off plans 10gb and above. NOMADTUE

troubleshooting hint 1: if you are trying to pay through paypal, make sure you have pop-ups enabled! otherwise the payment window won't be able to appear.

troubleshooting hint 2: if you are trying to purchase an esim using the provider's app, it may block you from purchasing if your phone does not fit the requirements to install and use their esims. use their website in your browser instead and this problem should go away.

edit as of 4/9/24: nomad (regional middle east), holafly (israel and egypt), simly (palestine and middle east), and airalo (discover) are currently in the highest in demand. here is a purchase guide i made that covers all of the esim platforms, including these three platforms. if it has been more than 3 weeks since you initially sent your esim and your esim has not been activated, you can reforward your original email with the expiration date in the subject line. you can see gothhabiba’s guide for how to tell if your esims have been activated. if your esim has expired without use, you can contact customer service to renew or replace it.

#esims for gaza #free palestine #free gaza #palestine #gaza

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detailtilted · 3 months

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Index of Enhanced Edition Con Videos

I'll maintain this index in a pinned post for easy reference. Click the links to go to the YouTube videos, or click here for a more readable Google Docs table which includes these links plus a tab noting which events I skipped, temporarily or permanently, and why.

2007-11-11, Chicago - J2 Breakfast (00:23:42)

2007-11-11, Chicago - Jensen Solo (00:21:55)

2007-11-11, Chicago - Jared Solo (00:29:44)

2007-11-11, Chicago - J2 Main (00:38:24)

2008-07-27, San Diego Comic Con - SPN Panel (00:50:52)

2008-11-16, Chicago - J2 Breakfast (00:26:16)

2008-11-16, Chicago - Jared Solo (00:26:20)

The main panels from CHICON 2008 are up next. They'll have better video quality (for the most part) than the Breakfast panel from that event.

Thank you to everyone who has shown an interest in these videos. The reblogs and likes all made me very happy, and I especially appreciated the kind comments some of you left in your reblog text and tags. I'm unsure of the proper Tumblr way to respond directly to that in a way that won't annoy people, but I've definitely noticed and appreciated it!

An explanation of this project and my tentative plans for it are listed below the break. A lot of it will be familiar if you've read my earlier posts, but it's more detailed -- and excessively long! There's also some info on how you can help, especially if you have any old videos or audio files that you'd be willing to contribute.

Why Do You Call These "Enhanced Editions"?

The videos I'm using are not my own, but I've spent many hours adding enhancements to them. Credit and links to the original videos are in the video descriptions. These are the typical enhancements you'll see:

I'm upscaling the videos as best I can. It isn't remotely perfect, but it's a little more watchable than the originals. I'm not experienced with this and the videos I'm working with are very low quality by today's standards. They were also recorded under difficult circumstances. Video taking wasn't permitted at most of the earlier cons, so the people who took them did so at the risk of getting kicked out. They couldn't exactly come waltzing in with a tripod, so the videos are shaky, they don't always have a clear view of the stage, and sometimes they cut off at unfortunate moments. They can be frustrating to watch, but we owe these people a debt of gratitude for capturing this footage because otherwise it would have been lost altogether.

The original videos are usually in multiple parts, but I'm editing them together into a single video as cohesively as possible. I may use videos from multiple sources to provide the most complete video possible, and I'll select the ones with the highest video quality available. Sometimes there just aren't a lot out there, though.

I'm adding extra content to help clarify references people make during the panels. The videos I've worked with so far don't take up the full width of a modern video frame, so I've taken advantage of that extra space to display the extra content to the side where it's less obtrusive. There are explanations for obscure references that are way funnier when you understand what they mean, plus episode references to help jog the memory for those of us who haven't rewatched the show a million times. In rare cases where I think it will enhance understanding, I'll insert brief episode clips that highlight what they're talking about.

I'm putting a LOT of time into adding good, color-coded English subtitles that can be turned on and off with YouTube's CC button. These videos can be frustrating to understand because the audience often drowns them out and Jared and Jensen tend to talk at the same time when they're together. I can't always figure everything out, but it's far better than the crazy, auto-generated nonsense that many videos have. The color-coding helps with telling who's saying what: red for Jared, blue for Jensen, green for the general audience, yellow for the current fan at the microphone, and white for other people such as staff.

If there's missing footage that I can't find anywhere, then if I can find a source that seems to have reliable details about what was discussed, I'll add still images with a brief summary and a link to my source in the video description.

What Conventions Do You Plan to Enhance?

I don't want to make grand promises that I'll enhance videos for every old convention, although I definitely love the idea of doing so. How far I go with this will depend on how much sustained interest there is from other people and how much spare time I have myself. My output speed will probably be erratic depending on what's going on in my life at the time.

My general plan was to start with the oldest conventions and work my way forward. For now, I only plan to enhance the panels with Jared and/or Jensen since they're my main interest. I may temporarily skip over conventions that they didn't both attend, but with the intent to go back and fill those in later.

One big constraint will be whether I can find enough videos to work with for a convention, and just how bad the quality is. I've found that some videos are too poor of a quality to upscale, at least with my limited skill. Since these videos are painful to watch in their raw form, I suspect people will be less interested in watching "enhanced" videos that don't include at least some noticeable improvement in visual quality, but please do let me know if I'm wrong. For that reason, I'll probably skip past cons if I can't upscale the videos, at least for now.

As I work through the old conventions, I'll make a good attempt to upscale the available videos. If I don't have much success, then I'll skip over that convention with the hope that someday either the technology or my skills will improve, or maybe a more skilled fan will be able to accomplish more with it. If I make it through all the low-hanging fruit, I might come back to those problematic conventions and just create a cohesive edit with special content and subtitles even if I can't substantially improve the video quality.

These are just my general thoughts right now but the project is young, so my strategy may change.

Can I Help?

If you have any old convention videos or audio files that you're willing to contribute, please message me! For now, let's limit it to content from 2010 or older. Maybe I can use them, maybe I can't, but the more I have to work with, the better chance I have of creating something more complete. If I do use your material, I'll credit you in whatever manner you prefer.

My main source of videos has been the Supernatural Wiki convention pages and the playlists that sil9800 has put together on YouTube. If your videos can be found there, and if the links to them still work, then I've probably found them already. There are a lot of dead or private video links on the Wiki though, and also dead links on various LiveJournal pages linked to from the Wiki, so there were more videos out there at one point. (If you have any videos you don't want me to use for this project, let me know and I'll respect your wishes.) I also run keyword searches on YouTube, but I rarely find anything that I hadn't already found from those other sources.

Even if your video looks terrible, you might just have a missing piece of footage that I couldn't find anywhere else, or your video might upscale more easily than another. If nothing else, I might be able to hear something in the audio that will help me fill in a subtitle I couldn't figure out.

Likewise, audio files can be helpful even without video. If nothing else, they may help me fill in some subtitles. If the audio file is consistently easier to understand than the audio on the videos I'm using, I can also substitute the audio from your file in place of the video's audio. If you have audio of sections of the panels for which no known videos exist, that could also help me fill in those gaps.

If you're watching my enhanced videos with the subtitles turned on, please do let me know if you catch any errors or if you can clearly understand something I marked as [inaudible]. I can't change the videos themselves on YouTube, not without breaking the links and causing confusion, but it's pretty easy to update the subtitles because they're a separate file. It's important to me to try not to put words in their mouths that they might not have said, so I'm trying not to guess based on context. However, there were times when I felt like I should have been able to understand what they said but I just couldn't manage it, and I'm sure someone with different ears may be able to figure out some of the parts I couldn't.

#enhanced edition con video #j2 #jared padalecki #jensen ackles #sam winchester #dean winchester #supernatural #index

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voylitscope · 11 months

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Stucky Recs: Pride Edition

So, the original plan was to do dystopias and apocalypses as the next theme. I actually started that post. It's sitting in my drafts. But then between work, moving, and other real-life stuff, I sort of ran out of days in May. Now it's mid-June. And since it is mid-June -- and since part of the whole point of these rec lists is the theming -- I thought I'd go for Pride recs instead.

We'll do dystopias in July.

I could have done a lot of different rules/qualifiers with this theming, but, for this time/post I went with, "actively has sexuality themes as a decently large plot point." I ended up with 12 fics.

Note: As part of my personal campaign to combat the persistent idea that every great fic in this fandom was written in 2015, I'm now marking recs of fics written post-2016 and recs of fics written post-Endgame.

Canon

🏳️‍🌈 Tin Soldiers | idrilka | Teen | 19,743 words

You know what's great? Fake pop culture, fake academia, and fake social media. This fic makes such good use of all of those things and is so smart about it. I love that this fic narratively sandwiches CA:TWS. So a large part of the point here is the public perception of Steve, and of SteveandBucky right before, during, and then after the events of CA:TWS, in a world where all of that is real. The way it's done is brilliant and feels so true and accurate to life. There is live tweeting and live reactions. There are news headlines. There's fandom culture and blogging. There are social media arguments. It's just so well done. There are a lot of fics that look, at least briefly, at the public perception/use of Steve's legend in some way, and a lot of them are fantastic. I'm just so especially of fond of this fic. There's a hyper-realism to it. Plus, it includes a scene of people live reacting to Steve spontaneously and bluntly coming out on CNN. It's some beautiful stuff.

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As Michelle Mbatha argues in The Anatomy of a Sidekick, “Barnes’ transition from a partner to a sidekick marks the point at which the relationship between Barnes and Rogers becomes that of a mentor and pupil, thus effectively prohibiting any potentially »unsavoury« readings of their partnership” (121). In this sort of dynamic, one which emphasizes the much more prominent age difference, there is, indeed, no place for any assumptions of queerness or any sort of code similar to that which permeated cinematographic works of the time, signifying penalizable, “forbidden” practices falling under the censorship guidelines (see also: The Celluloid Closet, 1995). Bucky, then, in taking his place as Captain America’s teenage sidekick, becomes figuratively castrated in order to appear effectively sexless and thus avoid any possibility of coding their relationship as queer.

Moreover, the insistence upon heteronormative and ultimately exclusionary interpretations of Rogers’ relationships with Barnes and Carter respectively, both in the comics and in biographical writings, comes from the need to reaffirm the image created by the American propaganda, which constructed Captain America to reflect the intrinsically jingoistic policies of the United States, to propagate the myth of American machismo and uphold the wholesome image of the American everyman at the same time.

🏳️‍🌈Let me be buried under your name | tempestaurora | Teen | 50,669 words | **Post-Endgame Rec**

Oh no. This one. So, sometimes, my notes on fics in my rec database have sensible things like comments about tropes or moments I definitely want to point out. Other times, well -- The notes on this one say, "DOG TAGS," and also, "OH GOD." Which is very helpful of me. To myself. But I will say more coherent words about it to all of you. I imagine that fics that have both wartime and post-TWS scenes are emotionally trying for us all, and this very painful, and very beautiful fic is certainly a good example of why. There is a heartbreaking quality to the wartime Bucky POV, the during Hydra captivity POV, and the post-TWS Bucky POV that has really stayed with me. Bucky's thought processes, and his descriptions of Steve at various points, especially, are so observant and vulnerable all at once. It's also all just -- Guttingly but wonderfully romantic.

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Maybe he’d read before the light died entirely. Steve had bought him a pulp novel at the market and Bucky had been working through it slowly, dragging out the story and making it last, to make the most of the pages. He’d likely read it three times over before trading it for something else, and even then he’d tell the story to himself – mythical, magical things he’d never even thought of existing; time travel and other worlds, aliens and laser guns and space ships, exploring the stars. His eyes fluttered shut, and he just listened to Steve’s breathing, to him drawing, to the birds outside the window. He’d more than once thought that he could live in this moment forever; that he’d be more than happy to live out the rest of his days just like this one, with Steve and a crummy apartment and a warm summer day. Screw marriage, kids, and a house in the suburbs – this was where Bucky pictured when he thought of home. This was what he’d be imagining on the cold nights in Europe. This was what he’d fight to come home to.

🏳️‍🌈We wear red so they don't see us bleed | unicornpoe | Teen | 2,161 words | **Post-Endgame Rec**

This is the most beautifully tense little fic. A canon-divergent-before-canon-starts fic (I never know how to classify those. If it's AU, but Steve and Bucky still move in together by like, 1939-ish... is it fully AU? Like, yes because them as childhood friends is important, obviously, but also -- in the grand scheme of overall canon -- sort of no?) that has Steve and Bucky sitting in jail cell doing this dance of little cues about each other. This is all little words and gazes and touches; there is a conversation under a conversation in this fic. They're having this casual chat as strangers in jail, except they're also having this whole second secret dialogue underneath it where they're trying to make sure they speak each other's language. Also? I adore this characterization. I love it.

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Bucky stands up and crosses the cell in two long strides, draping himself in clean lines along the section of free bench next to Steve; he pulls one leg up beneath him and stretches the other out, so that their ankles almost touch. Turned toward Steve as Bucky is, he can watch fully the sharp, barely-there movement of Steve’s eyes flickering down to their legs, and then back up to the wall across from them. He doesn’t turn to Bucky. It’s mostly silent in here. There’s a faint murmur of voices somewhere down the hallway, the quiet, steady tick of a clock hidden from view, the various noises of the men locked up with them—but other than that, nothing. “Where’d a guy like you learn to throw a punch like that?” Bucky asks finally, when he’s spent too long staring at the delicate, fucked-up line of this man’s profile, spent too long raking his eyes over and over again down the line of his feather-soft lashes. The corner of Steve’s mouth ticks up, just slightly, just a little bit.

Shrunkyclunks

💗I just met you (and this is crazy) | littlesystems | Explicit | 41,784 words | *Post-2016 Rec*

This is one of those fics that surprised me with just how much I liked it. I certainly wasn't expecting to dislike it, but I was not expecting to love it so much, either. It's a joy, though, just a total feel-good joy. It's a fic that has Steve and Bucky pretty instantly head-over-heals for each other, something I never ever object to, and the instant attraction works so well here. I think, too, so much of what I love about this one, is that they make each other so happy in it -- like the two of them truly just get dumber and happier and more in love with every 100 or so words of this fic. So then I get happier and happier as I continue to read it. Seriously, this fic is a joy in part because Steve's POV is so damn giddy and joyful about Bucky. I love that. It's good stuff.

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“You’re a person, Steve. And if people hurt you or take advantage of you, that’s not your fault, either. You should be able to go to a bar. You should be able to hook up with some guy. There’s nothing wrong with any of that. The fact that someone took pictures is the photographer’s fault. And the fact that newspapers decided to print it is the editors’ fault. And the fact that some fuckwad decided to lie for a quick buck is his fault. You may regret it, and that’s fine. But I don’t want to hear you blame yourself again. Got that?” Steve nods. His throat feels tight enough that he’s not sure he can speak. Bucky tips their foreheads together and they sit in silence, until Steve has naturally matched his breathing to Bucky’s - slow, deliberate, relaxed, and not geared up for a fight. Bucky kisses him softly, then.

💗The Voyager | notlucy | Explicit | 76,740 words | *Post-2016 Rec*

I am a sucker for the Steve and Bucky road trip fic. A very recently arrived in 21st century Steve on a road trip with a modern Bucky? All that time alone? In those motels? That might or might not have the right number of beds? This is a good trope that we should very much use forever. This fic is such a classic sort of road trip fic. Honestly, I've never been on any sort of proper, real road trip, but I'd like to think this fic feels like a road trip -- what they must feel like, anyway. There's such freedom in the storytelling here. There's a suspended sense of time in this fic. There's a way this fic rolls along with a pace that makes sense here, in this story -- it's a pace that definitely wouldn't work in all stories, which is exactly why it does, in this one. It's lovely, it's a little bit surreal, and it stays with you long after you finish it.

Quote:

“Wow,” Bucky managed. Words were difficult when faced with something so spectacular, the canyon spread out before them lit with the slow, smoldering burn of that deep, ancient glow. “Awesome,” Steve murmured, the word incongruous in his mouth. Bucky nearly poked fun, until he realized Steve meant it literally - what they were seeing was awesome. Smiling, he leaned his head against Steve’s shoulder before entwining their fingers, not caring a whit who might see them. Who might care. At that moment, Bucky wanted to tell the entire world, because he was in love. Except it wasn’t love. Strong like, maybe. Effortlessly increasing affection, sure. But not love. You couldn’t fall in love that fast. He’d only known Steve since May, after all. It was at most infatuation. Appreciation. Fascination. Bucky was a very level-headed person. It wasn’t love. But it was something.

Modern

🌈On The Back of a Raindrop | musette22 @musette22 | Explicit | 52,215 words | **Post-Endgame Rec**

Something I love to read in kid fics is any time that thing happens where it's not just Steve and Bucky acting like a couple without being together yet, but a group of people starting to act like a family unit in every single way -- except that no one has talked about that, or acknowledged it, and technically, someone is actually still the neighbor, or the babysitter, or, in this case, the gardener. I love that, and I love this fic, specifically. Featuring this sweetest and loveliest and healthiest family forming in a backyard garden over the months of a beautiful summer. It's so domestic, so intimate, and it happens so naturally over the course of this story. It makes everything feel so perfectly meant to be, so romantic, and so satisfying. Also! One of my database notes on this one is, "SARAH," because this is a fic with a very alive Sarah Rogers, and I love, love, love, Steve and Sarah's relationship in this fic.

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Now that he’s gotten to know him, seen him with the twins, has gradually watched Bucky’s tan deepening and bringing out the grey-blue of his eyes, Steve is so wildly attracted to him sometimes that it knocks the breath right out of him. It’s how he ends up sketching Bucky again on Wednesday, from his usual spot in the shade. He makes sure to make it a PG rendition this time, including Gracie and Miles as well, so that when later, Bucky asks him ‘Hey, whatcha drawin’?’, Steve can actually show him the sketch. Bucky is silent for the longest time when Steve hands over his sketchbook. For a moment, Steve almost panics, wondering if he accidentally forgot to draw Bucky’s jeans or something, but then Bucky looks up, a look in his eyes that Steve can’t quite pinpoint. “This is amazing, Steve. Could I… Would you mind if I hold on to it, maybe?” Steve blinks in surprise. “Of course, yeah. I mean, it’s not my best work. I could do you something better if you like.” “It’s perfect,” Bucky frowns, seeming almost offended Steve would suggest otherwise. “I love it.”

🌈One for Fiction | thepinupchemist | Explicit | 6,713 words |*Post-2016 Rec*

I very much enjoy a shrinkyclinky-ish modern fic where Bucky is a disaster about the fact that Steve, like, exists. I am just so here for this, and this very adorable fic is a top-tier demonstration of that. Featuring a Veteran-turned-librarian Bucky and a barista Steve, and a lot of awkward flirting. At a library! Also featuring a lot of Bucky being a disaster about Steve, but also a lot of Steve being like, "...have you? seen? or? met? yourself? You are definitely the catch here." It's cute. They're cute. This fic is cute.

Quote:

“Fun fact about the library,” Bucky went on, “As long as no one can see your computer screen, you’re allowed to look at porn. That’s protected under intellectual freedom.” Steve raised a brow. “Interesting.” They meandered back to Bucky’s display. The night, as far as nights went, was a quiet one for the library, and the cafe was a ghost town, but for the group of teenagers with bags of McDonald’s scattered across the table and AP History books open on their laps. “Where’d everyone get their pronoun pins?” asked Steve, as Bucky pushed his stepladder upright, collected his tape dispenser, and climbed back up to finish hanging the flag garland. “They make ‘em at one of our sister libraries,” Bucky said, “Have a pin press over there and everything. I’m picking up a couple of shifts for one of the ladies over there next week; you want me to grab you some?” See, Bucky used to be this smooth. He used to be this smooth all the time. Apparently, trauma and PTSD aside, he could still be smooth every once in a while. A pleased little smile tilted beautiful Steve’s beautiful lips. He said, “That would be awesome. Do they have pride ones, too? Like your rainbow?” Does Steve like men? Steve might like men. Be cool, Barnes. Don’t be weird.

🌈Wholesale Change | biblionerd07 | Mature | 83,320 words | *Post-2016 Rec*

You know how sometimes you're the captain of an NHL team, and you're very talented, but over the years you've gained a bad reputation? And so your people all but force you to do a The Bachelor-esq dating show? And you've been having a terrible few years and feel like your life is falling apart? And also you're bisexual and closeted because of the whole NHL thing? And also the camera guy on that dating show is your long-lost very attractive best friend? Who also used to play hockey? Look, this fic has a ridiculous premise. In the best possible way. It's a delightfully ridiculous premise. It's so much fun. There's literally a dating show. Steve gets mad about dating show manipulations and lies! And, you know, Steve definitely ends up selecting one of the dating show contestants. Steve definitely does not fall for Bucky instead! Steve definitely does not purposefully out himself on live TV. Steve absolutely follows the rules and sees the dating show contract through! Because as we all know, Steve Rogers follows rules and does what people with authority tell him to do. Always and at all times. So much fun. So delightful.

Quote:

“I’m so tired of lying,” Steve says. He almost sags with the weight of it all, now that’s admitted it. He was trying so hard to outrun it all. Outskate it all, maybe. But he’s been losing for a long time now. “I know,” Bucky murmurs. “I’m sorry. But I don’t think letting him tell the world is going to make you feel any better. You need to tell the truth on your own terms.” Steve sighs and leans his shoulder against Bucky’s. “I’ll talk to whoever I pick,” he says. They deserve that, at least. He doesn’t want to pick someone under false pretenses. Falser, anyway. “You won’t get much alone time,” Bucky warns. “But I’m sure you can find a way.” “Nothing gets in Captain America’s way when his mind’s made up,” Steve says in his cheesy commercial voice. It was a line from some ad campaign he did for a sports drink he didn’t even like. Bucky snorts. “I was thinking more about Steve Rogers,” Bucky says. “That asshole’s unstoppable.” And after a line like that? All Steve can do is kiss him.

🌈Songbird | chicklette | Explicit | 70,843 words | **Post-Endgame Rec**

I am very fond of this fic. It's music industry closeting -- but then planned sexuality revealing. Through lies. This is a fic that starts off with what should have been a one-night stand -- a great one, as one-night stands go, but a one-night stand. Except, pictures are taken of them very early the next morning, hugging, in front of Steve's apartment. And Bucky is very famous and very not out. Bucky's already got a damaged reputation and a host of other problems, and so his team decides that, actually, Bucky pretending to date some non-famous, pretty-faced, nice boy for a couple months might do his reputation some good. So, then, as you can imagine, being Steve and Bucky, the two of them spend the fic doing a very excellent, really great, just super good job, at sticking to having a formal arrangement. A no sex, no feelings, totally-just-a-business-deal-smile-for-the-camera-thing. They're total pros at it, okay? It goes so well for them. They definitely succeed. Just because, whatever, they quickly become friends and get close, it's totally still fine. They're definitely still doing really amazing at this, alright? They've got it under control. They're not going to crack on any of this. No sex. No not-for-the-cameras-kissing. No feelings. No one will cry at any point. Nope. They're So Good at this. Like I said, I'm super fond of this one.

Quote:

Steve smiles, his face going all soft and sweet, and it’s like a knife to Bucky’s heart. Ten more weeks, and someone else gets all those smiles. It’s a Goddamned shame, is what it is. His thoughts are uncomfortable enough that Bucky gets up and goes to the railing, looking back out over Manhattan. All the people there, living their lives, day in and day out. How many broken hearts is he looking at right now? How many people starry-eyed with new love? How many people, he wonders, comfortable in an old love, one that’s solid and still growing, deeply rooted, secure enough to be safe, but fresh enough to still bloom? “Penny for your thoughts,” Steve says, and Bucky tilts his head to look at him. “There’s a million love songs happening right now, just waiting for someone to write them.” “That’s awful hopeful, coming from you.” Bucky chuckles. “Nah, I was just wondering how many people we’re looking at right now with broken hearts.”

🌈Strong Saftey | queenmab_scherzo | Mature | 23,043 words

As a first note here, I will point out that this fic is a sequel to Targeting, and it is probably most satisfying when read with full context. But I really do think it can absolutely be read on its own. I really, really appreciate and love the way this fic handles Bucky and trauma. (the Targeting 'verse mirrors canon very closely, re: bad things happening to Bucky. Except that it's about college football.) Bucky's headspace here, and the way that then translates to his actual dialogue/actions is so, so well done. Plus, Steve and Bucky are preestablished in this fic, and it's healthy and lovely and romantic and makes me emotional-- Bucky is so hard on himself about everything, all the time, but he's got Steve, who is wonderfully loving and supportive. Also! Bucky befriends a cat. Also! Bucky legitimately has Steve saved in his phone like this: "Punk ❤️."

Quote:

"Vanilla latte, no whip?" the barista calls. Steve goes to the counter for his drink, but keeps his ears open. "I just wanted to tell you—I came out to my high school team last week. And, um. It's gone really well actually." "Wow," Bucky croaks. "Yeah, it just, I've been scared about it for a long time, but then you told the whole NFL, so I thought—yeah. I just wanted to say … thanks." From the corner of his eye, Steve can see them shake hands. "Wow," Bucky says again. He clears his throat a little. "Thank you. I mean, thanks for telling me." "I'm headed out to visit Oregon now, actually." "Football?" "Yeah." "Holy shit," Bucky says, candid as ever. "That's legit, man. Good luck." "Thank you." The kid starts to turn away, then adds: "For everything." When Steve goes back to Bucky's side, Bucky is staring into the paper bag at his donut. He sniffs, audibly.

"Are you crying?" Steve asks quietly. "No." Steve can't see his eyes through the sunglasses, but his nose is really red. It makes Steve smile. He doesn't press the issue.

🌈Rough Edges | sparkagrace @sparkagrace | Mature | 33,278 words | **Post-Endgame Rec**

Showmances and Rivals-to-Lovers on the Stars on Ice Tour! There's a lot to be excited about here. This fic is such a delight, truly. I love it. You know that post that goes, "What is a rival other than a crush you're mad about having?" Steve spends the first chunk of this fic so disproportionately angry at Bucky for incredibly minor things. Like standing in rooms or... skating. It's amazing. But then there is bonding and heart-to-hearts. Often on skating benches! And, as it turns out, those two being around each other a lot is, as always, a very, very good thing, in the long run. One that helps them both. Also! Becca texts Bucky lots of pictures of Alpine -- pictures from Alpine. Also! Bucky and Nat have a somewhat frighteningly intense friendship/skating partnership and it's all just so, so great.

Quote:

Bucky continues on the corner edges while Steve sorts through one of the color groups. He thinks he has enough to make up branches of the tree that was displayed on the front of the box. He likes it when he finds the pieces that fit together, it’s like his brain fires little electrons of glee when they slot into place perfectly. He tries not to think about the fact it’s the same feeling he gets sometimes when he and Bucky execute their twizzles in perfect synchronicity. The same way he likes the sound of their prop swords clashing when they’re choreographing their throne number. Everything seems to feel matched when he’s around Bucky lately, like they’re synced partners as much as he is with Maria or Bucky is with Natasha. Puzzle pieces. Bucky seems to be enjoying it too. The quiet as they work together to put together this puzzle that neither of them would have looked twice at if they weren’t desperate for a distraction. A distraction from his heartache, from Bucky’s boredom… from the way that Bucky keeps looking over at him, from how he wishes they were doing this under different circumstances.

🌈Right where we are | steveandbucky | Teen | 10,395 words

This is actually the first fic in a whole 'verse, and they're all super sweet and super lovely. I really enjoy the way this Steve and Bucky build their relationship. I love seeing them get to have happier lives where they just get to be good for each other and good to each other, and this 'verse's Steve and Bucky, who do their best to communicate and who are so so cutely smitten from the gate, are great for that.

Quote:

“Hi,” Bucky smiles again, wider this time and the effect it has on Steve is embarrassing, since he can barely get out a greeting in response. Bucky looks ten times better in person. His now longer hair parted in the middle, and he has a two-day-old stubble, looking gorgeous in a navy blue shirt and dark form-fitting jeans. “Fancy running into you here,” he says as he leans closer to be heard above the music. Steve gets a waft of cologne, a sharp and somewhat sweet scent that draws him in as he briefly leans in to speak close to Bucky’s ear. “I’m just here with some friends, I swear I’m not stalking you.” Bucky laughs heartily, ducking his head and crinkling his nose as he does. It’s the cutest thing Steve’s ever seen, and fuck if he wouldn’t spend every minute of every day trying to get Bucky to laugh like that again. “Didn’t think you were stalking me. But what a coincidence, huh?” Bucky says, still grinning. “Nice to finally meet you, Steve Rogers.”

Bonus:

So, this is WIP, and I haven't started reading it yet. But! From everything I know about it, it absolutely fits what I'm going for on this rec list. Also, I've loved every other fic by @zenaidamacrouras1 that I've read. So while I can't actually rec something without reading it, I did feel like this should be in this post somewhere:

Unpredictable Synchronicity | Zenaidamacrouras1 | Mature | 106,788 words (WIP)

Second bonus:

These are fics that 100 percent should/would be on this list, except that I literally just rec'd them in my Brooklyn stories post. They are wonderful for all reasons described in the Brooklyn post:

Three White Horses | magdaliny | Mature | 16,601 words

Not In The Answer But The Question | aimmyarrowshigh @aimmyarrowshigh | Teen | 27,382 Words

Ill With Want | thedoubteriswise | Mature | 26,999 words

This turned into a very long post, but that feels fitting. Happy Pride! 🌈

Like I said, next up will be dystopias, apocalypses, etc.

More Recs

#SteveBucky #Stucky fic #Stucky Fic rec #Fic recs #Fic Rec Series #me rambling about other people's writing

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maypop-the-dragon · 3 months

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PSA: Free Software

Reading this may really save your time, privacy, and money! Reblog or share to spread awareness!

Folks often use software that’s expensive and sometimes even inferior because they don’t know there are alternatives. So to those unfamiliar: basically, free and open-source (FOSS) or "libre" software is free to use and anyone can access the original code to make their own version or work on fixing problems.

That does not mean anyone can randomly add a virus and give it to everyone—any respectable libre project has checks in place to make sure changes to the official version are good! Libre software is typically developed by communities who really care about the quality of the software as a goal in itself.

There are libre alternatives to many well-known programs that do everything an average user needs (find out more under the cut!) for free with no DRM, license keys, or subscriptions.

Using libre software when possible is an easy way to fight against and free yourself from corporate greed while actually being more convenient in many cases! If you need an app to do something, perhaps try searching online for things like:

foss [whatever it is]

libre [whatever it is]

open source [whatever it is]

Feel free to recommend more libre software in the tags, replies, comments, or whatever you freaks like to do!

Some Libre Software I Personally Enjoy…

LibreOffice

LibreOffice is an office suite, much like Microsoft Office. It includes equivalents for apps like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, which can view and edit files created for those apps.

I can't say I've used it much myself yet. I do not personally like using office software except when I have to for school.

OpenShot

OpenShot Video Editor is, as the name suggests, a video editing program. It has industry-standard features like splicing, layering, transitions, and greenscreen.

I've only made one video with it so far, but I'm already very happy with it. I had already paid for a video editor (Cyberlink PowerDirector Pro), but I needed to reinstall it and I didn't remember how. Out of desperation, I searched up "FOSS video editor" and I'm so glad I did. There's no launcher, there's no promotion of other apps and asset packs—it's just a video editor with a normal installer.

GIMP

GNU Image Manipulation Program is an image editor, much like Photoshop. Originally created for Linux but also available for Windows and MacOS, it provides plenty of functionality for editing images. It is a bit unintuitive to learn at first, though.

I've used it to create and modify images for years, including logos, really bad traceover art, and Minecraft textures. It doesn't have certain advanced tech like AI paint-in, but it has served my purposes well and it might just work for yours!

(Be sure to go to Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Colors. I have no idea why that's not enabled by default.)

Audacity

Audacity is an audio editing program. It can record, load, splice, and layer audio files and apply effects to them.

Audacity is another program I've used for a long time. It is not designed to compose music, but it is great for podcasts, simple edits, and loading legacy MS Paint to hear cool noises.

7-Zip

7-Zip is a file manager and archive tool. It supports many archive types including ZIP, RAR, TAR, and its own format, 7Z. It can view and modify the contents of archives, encrypt and decrypt archives, and all that good stuff.

Personally, I use 7-Zip to look inside JAR files for Minecraft reasons. I must admit that its UI is ugly.

Firefox

Firefox is an internet browser, much like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. While browsers are free, many of them include tracking or other anti-consumer practices. For example, Google plans to release an update to Chromium (the base that most browsers are built from these days) that makes ad blockers less effective by removing the APIs they currently rely on.

Aside from fighting monopolies, benefits include: support for animated themes (the one in the picture is Purple Night Theme), good ad blockers forever, an (albeit hidden) compact UI option (available on about:config), and a cute fox icon.

uBlock Origin

As far as I know, uBlock Origin is one of the best ad blockers there is.

I was on a sketchy website with my brother, and he was using Opera GX's ad blocker. Much of the time when he clicked on anything, it would take us to a random sponsored page. I suggested that he try uBlock Origin, and with uBlock Origin, that didn't happen anymore.

Linux

Linux is a kernel, but the term is often used to refer to operating systems (much like Windows or MacOS) built on it. There are many different Linux-based operating systems (or "distros") to choose from, but apps made for Linux usually work on most popular distros. You can also use many normally Windows-only apps on Linux through compatibility layers like WINE.

I don't have all four of these, so the images are from Wikipedia. I tried to show a variety of Linux distros made for different kinds of users.

If you want to replace your operating system, I recommend being very careful because you can end up breaking things. Many computer manufacturers don't care about supporting Linux, meaning that things may not work (Nvidia graphic cards notoriously have issues on Linux, for example).

Personally, I tried installing Pop!_OS on a laptop, and the sound output mysteriously doesn't work. I may try switching to Arch Linux, since it is extremely customizable and I might be able to experiment until I find a configuration where the audio works.

Many Linux distros offer "Live USB" functionality, which works as both a demo and an installer. You should thoroughly test your distro on a Live USB session before you actually install it to be absolutely sure that everything works. Even if it seems fine, you should probably look into dual-booting with your existing operating system, just in case you need it for some reason.

Happy computering!

#196 #psa #foss #open source #tech #software #apps #computer stuff #I really hope Tumblr doesn't block this for having links or something. Someone mentioned that being a possibility and now I'm worried.#please reblog #2024-01-26

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writernopal · 1 year

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Listen once, listen true, else ye'll end up at the bottom of that bonny blue! Keep to the Code: sail calm, sail fair, catch the wind, nay my ripe stare! There be gold aplenty so nay be selfish, have a care! Now, if'n ye be settled, if'n ye can keep to, salute yer Captain and find yer station, there be tales to be told and legends needin' of investigation...

⚓About Me⚓

Hi, I'm N. Opal (call me nopal 🌵) and I write for fun! I mostly write original, long-form pieces in multi-pov style and dabble into short stories here and there. I love participating in tag/ask games and gushing over other people's characters and stories, so come say hi!

age: 30

pronouns: she/her

where: southern california

other stuff i like doing: running, weightlifting, yoga, reading, drinking coffee, playing video games, making unfunny jokes

Check out my Completed Works and WIPs below the cut! And here are a few handy links to help you around!

Important Blog Updates (as of October 3, 2023)

My author website

About my pen name

Character Directory

WIP Taglist Opt-In/Out Form

⚓Completed Works - Novels⚓

Note: Reading links go to Wattpad unless stated otherwise.

🦎 "As A Stranger Or A Friend?"⏳

SECOND EDITION EDIT AVAILABLE NOW

Free to read, 18+ (minors DNI), find it here. Characters: Mariel, Axtapor Length: 64.4K words Genres: romance, fantasy, adventure, medium magic, pirates Tags: aasoaf, aasoaf1, aasoaf lore, meta aasoaf lore, aasoaf feels, mariel, axtapor

🦎⏳"As A Stranger Or A Friend?: The Swallow And The Drowned Sailor"🔮🌌

AVAILABLE NOW

Free to read, 18+ (minors DNI), find it here. Access to free release material (Axtapor & Mariel's Scrapbook + Mini Art Gallery) can be found on my website under the Mixed Media section. Contains spoilers. Characters: Mariel, Axtapor, Fay, Wilkes Length: 106K words Genres: romance, fantasy, adventure, medium magic, pirates Tags: aasoaf, aasoaf2, aasoaf 2's maiden voyage, aasoaf lore, meta aasoaf lore, aasoaf feels, mariel, axtapor, fay, wilkes

⚓Completed Works - Collaborations⚓

🦎 Mariel & Axtapor's Scrapbook⏳

Experience the world of "As A Stranger Or A Friend?" like never before in this special mixed-media release that contains lore, maps, and much more! Each page has been hand-picked for you, not by me, dear reader, but by Mariel and Axtapor themselves! Note, contains spoilers for AASOAF 2. Free to read, all ages, access it on my website. Characters: Mariel, Axtapor Length: 60 pages Authored By: N. Opal Illustrated and Designed By: @illjustpretend Tags: aasoaf 2's maiden voyage

⚓WIPs⚓

⏳🔮🌕"As A Stranger Or A Friend?: Children Of The Broken Star" 🦎🌌☄️

The conclusion to the AASOAF trilogy💙 See the masterpost here! Status: DRAFTING Join/leave the taglist using this Google Form. Characters:Mariel, Axtapor, Fay, Wilkes, Magdalene*, Sartor* Length: ? Genres: romance, fantasy, adventure, medium magic, pirates, knights Tags: aasoaf, aasoaf3, aasoaf lore, meta aasoaf lore, aasoaf feels, mariel, axtapor, fay, wilkes, magdalene, sartor Starred (*) characters courtesy of and created by @illjustpretend

🩸 Man O' War 🐍

This episodic collection of works will chronicle the lives, misadventures, and layered relationship of the affectionately known Lizardfolk Boatswains of the Angel's Lyre, Hartim and Lexlar. Its release will be chapter by chapter, with installments posted to Wattpad as they become available! See the masterpost here! Status: DRAFTING Join/leave the taglist using this Google Form. Characters: Lexlar, Hartim, Cassia, Kirik Length: ? Genres: slice of life, fantasy, romance, adventure, soft magic, pirates, vampirism Tags: lexlar, hartim, kirik, cassia

⚓What I Will Write Next⚓

A Western of some kind! 🤠

#writeblr #my writing #original content #pinned post #masterlist #fantasy #romance #aasoaf #free to read #writeblr intro

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thewolvesof1998 · 5 months

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AO3 | Redbubble | ko-fi

Art and Sticker Commissions are open!

My Fics:

You can see all my posts about my fics/WIPs by searching the tag 'thewolvesof1998 writes'

I ain't proud of all the punches that I've thrown (826 T): Post AO3

You with the dark curls, you with the watercolor eyes (1.6k M): Post AO3

asking all these questions, just to be polite, while dying inside (1.2k T): Post AO3

Tapping Morse Code into your heart (2.8k E): Post AO3

I want you to be selfish with me (4.6k M): Post AO3

You bring me comfort (4.2k T): Post AO3

I Can See You (3.1k, T): Post AO3

Alright, Cowboy, Go Get 'Em (2/3 Chapters, 16.9K, E): Post AO3 Masterlist

Under the Guise of Violence (3k E): Post AO3

nicknames, supernova similes and the family we make (798w, G): Post AO3

let me cradle your body (be a safe place to rest) (1.9K, G): Post AO3

even when the heat breaks I'm still yours (6.1k, E) Post AO3

We might end up real close (2.2k, Explicit) Post AO3

They don’t know (your name is already mine) (General, 7.6k) Post AO3

Fic Writing Review 2023 (which includes a list of all my current wips and links to post about them.)

Masterlist of ‘I don’t mind if we fight, If you make me bleed.’ posts

My favourite writing tool

My Original Writing:

Someone to be Gentle- Original Poem

Water Burial -Original Poem (trigger warnings)

My God is a Woman - Original Poem

My Edits:

You can see all my post about my edits by searching the tag 'thewolvesof1998 edit'

Don't Go Where I Can't Follow - LOTR inspired Buddie

Evan Buckley Icons

Eddie Diaz Instagram Post

What Was I Made For x Evan Buckley

Buck's Tweets inspired by Oliver's own Tweets

RWRB Buddie Movie Posters

Ryan Guzman Twilight poster

My Art:

You can see all my post about my art by searching the tag 'thewolvesof1998 art'

Cowboy Buck inspired by my fic Alright, Cowboy, Go Get 'Em

Sad pumpkin Buckley

Buck in short shorts and crop top pt. 1 (wip)

Buck in short shorts and crop top pt. 2 (wip)

Rodeo Star Buck (wip)

Rodeo Star Buck (finished)

My Stickers

'I do not panic' Eddie Diaz sticker

Grog Mayo Sticker

Wolf Pack Dispatch:

1/12/23

1/01/24

HOW TO WATCH SEASON 7 OF 9-1-1

#9-1-1 #buddie #thewolvesof1998 writes #thewolvesof1998 art #thewolvesof1998 edit

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sennaverstappen · 6 months

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🌷☀️🪽 i always feel unbeatable🪽 🪽☀️🌷

maple, 21 years old, dutch, f1 (modern and vintage!), fe, some wec, some indycar, a little bit of footy 💗 sideblog (fb from @nymfias) they/them, likes giffing and analysing ☀️ — leafycats on ao3 🍃 🐈

mv01 🦁🇳🇱☀️, as12, sv05, lestappen, simi, prosenna ♡ dni if you hate max

✨🪽💌click read more for extra info 💌🪽✨

LOVE: mv01 (🦁🇳🇱☀️), sv05, kr07, as12, cl16, aa23, ll36, fa14, gr63// lestappen, prosenna, simi // mclaren + red bull racing (kind of. its complicated.)🪽💙🧡

LIKE: a LOT of drivers 💕💕🥹🥹, such as = ap00, ms01, ln04, nr06, lh44, op81, ys21// carlando, galex, 4433, landorge, gax (most max ships tbh i aint picky 😁) // williams (currently in time-out)

DNI: max haters (block me), general dni, you try to get drivers to pay attention to rpf (post about it on platforms drivers can see it - such as linking ao3 under max’s tweets)

hello, nice to meet you 🌷 my name’s maple and i looove to talk 🥰🥰 i also make gifs, which you can find under the hashtag #my gifs 🌷✨☀️ i also write and edit sometimes!! all my thoughts/original posts are under #.txt 🪽🪽💌💌

i will basically only root for max to win 🦁🙏🌈 i do like a lot a lot of other drivers though, so please don’t see that as me dissing anyone… he’s just my very very special boy… 🥺🥺🥺🥺💓💓🌷🌷🌷🌷 i’m very critical of ferrari 😭😭 but i do root for them in wec. again. complicated

i am mostly on maxblr (as u can tell) but i also really adore the rest of the grid 🙏💕💕🥰🥰‼️ i mean, it’s not like i don’t love the others - i am just very very in love with max 💀💀💀

please ask me about my 500000 wips. i love them all very very much. ‼️‼️‼️💥😭 i try to tag all things for every gp - ex: #dutch gp 2023 - as it is happening 🥰 i LOVE to chat and answer any question 🥹🥹💕💕 please feel free to hmu (even if we arent mutuals!!)

i have a few other sideblogs: @zandvoort23 is my diary/race blog, @simiarchive is my simi archive blog (wip), @rbrlestappen is my rbr lestappen blog (duh), @destappen is my nyck x max blog✨🥰💥💥

description is from richard siken - war of the foxes, which mr siken himself has claimed as #lestappencoded (it is very very lestappen coded)

#.txt #f1 #max verstappen #charles leclerc #lestappen #sebastian vettel #f1blr #prosenna #ayrton senna #2023 project

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rjalker · 8 months

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Free to use for whatever you want Flatlander basic anatomy design! It's public domain because I made it and I said so!

Web archive link for these two, plus my pencil drawings that I'll finish tomorrow. Also includes the one short story I wrote so far.

(Edit since I forgot to make it clear: You are 100% encouraged to download, share/repost these images, including the pencil drawings you can find at the link, as long as you link back to the web archive link so people can download the originals, include an image description for accessibility, and don't claim you made them!)

Please consider donating to the Web Archive if you've got any spare change!

You can buy the first design from my Threadless store :) I'll make more versions of it tomorrow.

Anyways I decided Flatlanders are monoecious like snails.

(Let me know if you would like this tagged as anything specific for filtering purposes! You can send anonymous asks to @neopronouns-in-action)

[ID: Three images. The first is a flat color digital drawing entitled, "Color-coded your convenience, An Adult Flatlander As Seen From the 3rd Dimension. [Warning: Do not poke internal organs!] Below the title is a drawing of an upward pointing triangle with color-coded internal organs each with a label of the corresponding color, connected with a line. In clockwise direction, they are: "Eyes: [Cannot see you unless you intersect Flatland in front of them]". The eyes are very small andinside a short opening at the tip of the triangle. "Brain" - A small pink blob along the right inside of the Flatlander, curving. "Proboscis / esophagus" - A light blue tube reaching from the eye and down to the: "Stomach" - a large green sack. "Nervous system" - Dark blue squiggly tubes branching across and around all the other organs in a random pattern. "Blood" - The purple-red color filling in the background behind all the organs rather than being in veins. "Birth canal" - An interlocking section in the outer wall of the Flatlander's skin, currently closed. Next to the birth canal is a tiny version of the larger triangle that is rotated 90 degrees, labeled "Newborns tend to be one-twelfth the size of their parent at birth". "Skin" - the dark grey outer layer that separates the Flatlander's insides from the outside world. It is intersperced with short black lines. "Womb" an orange sack in the bottom right corner of the Flatlander's insides. "Gonads: Sperm / Ova" - Two connected small sacs marked dark pink and gold on the triangle's flat side.

Below the Flatlander is black text that reads: "[Warning: Do not reveal a Flatlander's pregnancy status without permission!] Under The Current Regime, it is illegal for any Flatlander other than a Straight Line to carry a pregnancy, and illegal for a line to impregnate anyone. Attempting to congratulate a Flatlander on their pregnancy could get them killed! Discretion is the better part of valor! Keep their secrets to yourself!" Continuing along clockwise: "Unrealistic heart (the artist got lazy)." - a red heart-shape in the bottom left corner of the triangle. "Butt" - a short black line on the outer skin, connecting to the: "Kidney" - a dark red shape like a bean. "Lung" - a long, royal blue sack near the top of the triangle, next to the esophagus. "Cilia" - two thin, grey tendrils emerging from near all points of the triangle. The next image is a divider with black text below a black line, reading, "A Flatlander as seen from the 3rd dimension (true to color)" The last image is the same triangle Flatlander seen in the first diagram, now with the labels and text removed, with all of the internal organs in different shades of pink and purple. End ID.]

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pythianoracle · 1 month

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PSA About Some Shady Shit on Tumblr

This post is to bring light to some shady marketing on tumblr. This is not about an individual, but rather as a company posing as an aesthetic/meme account in order to get people to buy from their shitty drop shipping company.

I am making this post because I am sick of covert marketing and drop shippers over charging for the same stuff that can be found for cheaper and by the actual company. I am also concerned for the possible hazard of drop shipped items that need to be food safe in order to use.

Tumblr user @/my-kawaii—world is a drop shipping company pretending to be an aesthetic blogger who happens to “find” links to all the products in posts. All these links lead to the same drop shipping company website: Lavender Constellation. Under the cut is evidence to support my claim.

Alt text has been added for accessibility.

Hey, so I’m really not one to make posts like this, but I saw something that rlly sketched me out that some people may want to be aware of.

So, someone I follow reblogged this really cute teapot that my-kawaii—world posted!

[ID: a screenshot of a tweet reposted by user my-kawaii—world on tumblr. The post reads “losing my mind over this frog teapot my best friend gave me”. Attached to the tweet are two images showing a green frog teapot with two black tadpole cups. ID END]

Seems innocent enough, right? But then you scroll to the end of the post.

[ID: A screenshot of the bottom of the previous post by my-kawaii—world. Attached is a link to a storefront in green and pink text that reads “**Update For the people asking I asked her and she bought the frog tea set HERE🐸. ID END]

I thought “dang, a ton of people must have been asking them if they went to all that extra effort”, so I decided to check the tags.

[ID: A screenshot of the post reblogs with the user names blocked out in red to respect privacy. From top to bottom, the tags read: #cat #basically #cats and #haha. ID END]

Why would people be tagging this with cats if it has nothing to do with cats? Looking further, if you open up a reblog, you see this.

[ID: A screenshot a reblog that shows a different tweet. Punctuation has been added to alt text for readability. The tweet reads as follows: “Me: Invents a device to talk to cats. Cat: Oh god, finally you understand me. When ever I meow for hours it’s because I want wet food. I know this was so opaque for you. Me: No no, I knew you want wet food the whole time, but you can’t have it whenever you want. Cat: (blank space) Me: (blank space) Cat: first of all, fuck you,”. ID END]

They’re retroactively editing their high note posts to give more credibility to the shit they’re selling. Here is the listing on the linked website

[ID: a screenshot of a website called “Lavender Constellation”. The website has a light purple background with darker purple text. The listing image is of a green frog teapot with two black tadpole cups on a pink background and labeled “TEA SET FROG & TADPOLE”. The item’s original price is listed as $149.95 USD and is listed as on sale for $79.99 USD. ID END]

Wow isn’t it so cool that it’s on sale right now? Save over $60 USD? What a steal! They also offer free world-wide shipping and have a coupon code you can use. Crazy.

Upon further digging, the real teapot is the frog from the サンアート aka sunart brand, specifically from their parent and child collection. And guess what? You can get it on Amazon for less than half the price, even after the “sale”.

[ID: a screenshot of the same green frog teapot and black tadpole cups listen on Amazon. At the bottom are options to select, including Frog Parent, Elephant Parent, and an additional one that is cut off. The frog parent is $32.96 USD and the elephant parent is $26.22 USD. ID END]

I looked into the brand and they seem to specifically make ceramics additionally, the options to pick less popular options that I don’t see nearly as many bootlegs of make me pretty confident this is the actual product.

This is far from the only post they’ve done this with. Looking at their blog, you’ll see a sea of ads for their original posts, all linking to the same store:

[ID: A screenshot of a post by my-kawaii—world. The post is cut off due to the size of the device it was taken on. In the screenshot, there is an image of a silver sword ring with a skull on the pommel and a chain connecting the pommel to the cross-guard. Below the image is a link that red, bolded, and underlined text that reads: “OMG, I FINALLY FOUND THE RIGHT WITH FREE SHIPPING!!!!”. ID END]

And then following the link, we get taken right back to the Lavender Constellation website:

[ID: A screenshot of the same Lavender Collection Website from before with a pale purple background and darker purple text. The listing photo is of a person’s hand with a silver ring in the shape of a sword. It has a skull on the pommel and a chain connecting the pommel to the cross-guard. The listing is labeled “STAINLESS STEEL GOTH SWORD RING” in purple text. ID END]

If you go to their page, you will see a ton of other examples of this. Hell, I have even more examples, but I feel this post is long enough as is. I’m frankly fed up with people doing this shit, especially charging over double the price of an original product for a shitty knock off.

I’m not going to comment of the safety of these products (i.e., if the knock off teapot is food safe or not) because I don’t plan on buying one to test for lead, but that is a genuine risk you have when buying drop shipped products. For example, counterfeit makeup is well known for containing chemicals that can be harmful to the skin due because they’re much cheaper than the skin safe stuff. Here is a research article that discusses some of the harmful effects that unregulated, counterfeit makeup can have on your skin. The article is open access, so don’t worry about being blocked by a paywall.

Again, I don’t know if the counterfeit teapot is food safe or not, I haven’t been able to find any posts discussing the bootleg, or even Lavendar Constellation as a whole, but with stuff like this, it’s much better to be safe than sorry.

I am positive my-kawaii—world and Lavender Constellation are not the only people running operations like this on tumblr, I’m sure there are a shit ton more. Most will probably run the same way as my-kawaii—world. Essentially if you go to a page that posts a ton of cute, aesthetic products and they link to the same website for every single thing, it’s probably a drop shipping scam.

I’m not someone who thinks I’m “morally superior” for buying only name brand stuff, hell I own a few bootleg plushies, but items that need to food safe are not something I personally would fuck around with. And even if these bootlegs are food safe, the fact that they are charging over double the price of the original is so ludicrous and inexcusable.

Personally, I recommend blocking the @/my-kawaii—world account. Don’t micromanage people who have already reblogged from them unless they’re a friend, mutual, etc. Basically, don’t harass strangers who happened to reblog the original post or the edited post. Just get the word out there about this account.

Do I think my post will shut down their site and drive them off Tumblr? Probably not. But the more people that know about this specific scam and scams like it, the better.

#PSA #food safety #consumer safety #dropshipping

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prairiewhisper · 9 months

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Tagged by the lovely @briarhips :) to make a post of 9 book recs! thank you!

tagging @bittersweetish @lakevida

Disclaimer: I recently graduated college and it left me Unwell in mind and body, so two-thirds of this list is books I was gripping with both hands to keep me intact thru the Ordeal. Can't speak to my taste but I can say they worked for me bc here I am almost dead and in pieces but alive all the same ✌️ my thoughts on the books under the readmore bc theres like 200yrs of paragraph beneath

Tales of Effendi (Histoires d'Effendi in French): i know him as Effendi, my father knows him as Djoha, he's "a character in the folklore of the Muslim world from the Balkans to China (Wikipedia)." without his wisdom the days eating bread and mustard would not have passed. what would effendi do -> how to bear a situation with humor. the picture above is the edition that i have. (did you know there's a Chinese stop-motion animation of him?)

Jeeves & Wooster by P.G. Wodehouse: stories of a silly young man and his valet (the brains of the operation). these 2 have been my friends through many dangers (physics mechanic/electric) and without them I would have perished. It was a great comfort having company in the mud -> me 🤝 Bertie Wooster: suffering anna komnene-style stress caused by the thoughtlessness of others/professors

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: the misadventures of the mad knight Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza. The thinker's book. a friend of mine who no longer reads read the whole thing in the original Spanish

Lullaby (Chanson Douce in french) by Leïla Slimani: a gripping psychological thriller relating the events and individual psychology/relationships of the characters that led to the crime that opens the book. I don't think the film did it justice and the book is short so I recommend it. I read it a few times over

Vinegar & Char: Verse from the Southern Foodways Alliance edited by Sandra Beasley: a collection of poems about food by the Southern Foodways Alliance. There were some mornings (6am, January, 1hr commute) where I ate stale bread someone left out overnight with a cup of microwaved water or cold red beans. The height of misery. I'd read a poem with my bread and it would be the apricot jam that turned the thread to a rope

The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud: I finished reading the 3rd volume last summer while coding a final project (horrific) and studying for a final when I had summer classes (4hrs friday evenings in July -> unbearable) so my head was steam and I didn't think much of it. 1 month later when it processed and I was jumping off walls. at my age 🙄. This book somehow has all the stuff that drives me completely insane (caused by reading all of yugioh age 11 🙄) and it made its way to my "books that Did Something to my Fibers" list which I thought closed years ago. I wonder if Bart has this effect on everyone -> A friend (from above) and I had to drive across 2 states to see someone. My friend is Not Well in a different way than me and decided to start this 9hr drive at 5pm (January. high of 50 degrees.) So we drove all the night stopping only for 3min to get gas at 11 at night. This bozo had the Bartimaeus audiobook going nonstop (it was either that or his 2011 playlist, so). Way back, same thing: 9hr Bartimaeus lockdown. Little bit ago he was talking abt some restaurant and said "I want to take you but it's so far! An hour away!" Reader when I tell you I was baffled. "My man you drove 18 hours across state lines?" "Yes but I had Bartimaeus :) I could've done 12 hours with Bartimaeus :) Me and Bartimaeus would have a wonderful time :)" <- statements of the deranged. Anyway it's good reading if you're built how I am or adjacent to it

The Monster Blood Tattoo Series by D.M. Cornish: a high fantasy children's series about a foundling who makes his way in a world beset by monsters. The world building is Incredibly detailed and Bloodborne flavored to give you an idea. Interesting because of the prominence of chemistry and human modification (off-screen) in the narrative/daily life of the story -> people get organs to control lightning/telepathy. Nobody I talk to will read them because they're big books.

The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley: a collection of fairy tale retellings. I like McKinley because she disappears in her fairy tale prose and the atmosphere she builds suits the stories she tells

Garder le Cap by Sempé: a collection of Sempé's comic illustrations, with his characteristic humor and wit

If you make it this far, this is for you ^_^ -> 🍧

#whisp.ers #bartseq

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winterandwords · 1 year

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🔪 Bridge From Ashes (WIP summary)

Corruption and cruelty pulse through the veins of an opulent metropolis, where every side is the wrong side and progress is fuelled by exploitation. Too useful for prison and too dangerous for freedom, underworld assassin Rafael Turner is sentenced to service with a secretive military agency. When a mission to infiltrate a criminal operation drags his past to the surface and someone he thought he'd lost forever unexpectedly returns, how much is Rafe willing to risk to settle old scores and have a chance at a future he'd given up hoping for?

📝 BASICS Working title Project Frequency See tags #bridge from ashes and #project frequency 💕 TAG LIST @drabbleitout @ezestreet @i-can-even-burn-salad @kaiusvnoir @manathen @thegreatobsesso If you'd like to be added to the tag list, send me a message or an ask, or comment on this post.

✅ GENRE Cyberpunk/Neon-noir

📖 AUDIENCE Adult

👀 VIBE High-rise buildings and low-life scum. Everything hurts, but not enough to feel good. Yes, that’s a gun in my pocket and no, I’m not pleased to see you. If mind control is real, why do I still have to make decisions?

⭐ THE MAIN CHARACTER Rafe Turner is a close-range weapon with a face full of scars. He’s a necessary evil, but all evil is necessary to someone. He knows fear intimately, he wrote the code, and you’re going to tell him the truth whether you want to or not. He’s a hardcore masochist with an addictive personality and a weakness for people with the guts to call him on his shit, not that he’d ever admit it. Anything he’s good at feels like a curse, and the only thing he hates more than the world and everything in it is himself.

💜 THE OTHER GUY Gillen Kane is a god tier holder of grudges and his trust issues have trust issues. His presence can lower the temperature of a room. Beneath the carefully constructed facade of calm control, he’s extremely fragile and self-protective. Do not disturb; already disturbed. Trauma? What trauma? That’s just who he is. Now shut up and do what you’re told (but please don’t leave).

📸 IMAGE CREDIT Original photo by Drew Dizzy Graham on Unsplash, edited under license.

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midnight-coffeebreak · 3 months

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the main cast drawing is done!

featured here: KAM, Locket, Mirai, AR

I shall use this as an excuse to loredump under the cut (any future development will be tagged #Still Unnamed)

Still Unnamed is a world where all my robot characters are. it's essentially set in one big lab where this group only known as "The Manufacturers" build all these robots (dubbed Projects) for different purposes.

however, there are still tons of unknown Projects out there, most without bodies or even names. this is where the main cast comes in; being some of the only Projects given proper bodies, names and purposes, they wander the lab together, trying to find out more about these unknown Projects

KAM, Curse Project: full name T.M.K.A.M. (The Malware Known As Me), eventually shortened to KAM. KAM was originally designed to be a piece of malware, but was eventually given live via being turned into sprites on a monitor. they were well loved, until The Manufacturers decided to move their code to a physical body. this body would become known as Transfer Project, aka Locket. KAM's sprites still exist on their original monitor, but they are unable to speak properly without their code being there

Locket, Transfer Project: a robot fox with KAM's code inside of him. the code was edited to be non-malicious before being transferred; hense why Locket is way more energetic and happy to be who they are compared to KAM. he's mainly used as a test subject nowadays, used to test out new ideas before The Manufacturers commit to a new Project

Mirai, Bass Project: an android with a speaker built into her (it's under her shirt). this speaker was originally designed to be a defense mechanism, being able to knock people back with sound waves and bass. she's hasn't had a reason to create bass or sound waves strong enough to do that though, so she's mainly just used as a worn out Bluetooth speaker around the lab. when she isn't being used for that, she's the main investigator; looking around the lab for any hints towards unknown Projects

AR, Worker Project: full name Designated Worker AR, they're a drone designed to help with storage around the lab. he has two tails with claws on the ends of them, mainly used to carry the extra weight that he can't carry on his own. when he isn't moving boxes, he's very close (platonically) with Mirai, and likes to ask her questions about the other Projects

#niles ramblings #my art #oc art #Still Unnamed

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theblackdragon-studios · 1 year

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W. D. “Wings” Gaster Edition

Filled out the 25 Expressions challenge again, this time with one of my AU versions of Gaster from Undertale. This was to practice drawing him again mostly, but it also shows his various expressions as is the challenge.

For more information on this Gaster, go to the Read More below.

Blank version is under the Read More too.

Wings (the nickname given to him by my friend @allykatsart’s OC, Frost) is an AU version of Gaster (or so it is assumed). He comes from an Underswap AU for one of my oldest AUs: Shardie’s Tale.

Shardie’s Tale being the AU story where my OC, Shardie (most of you know her as the protagonist of Ōkamitale probably) ends up in an Undertale universe before the events of the game happen. In it she meets W. D. Gaster and his original science team, and the two become good friends as she comes to learn about the world she is now in and the rules of that world’s people and power.

Once Gaster disappears (falls into his creation and shatters across time and space) Shardie then travels the Underground alone. At one point she meets and befriends the Soul of Kindness (the Green Soul) in that world, journeying with her until she meets her own end which Shardie cannot prevent. So she goes back to wandering the Underground alone until Frisk appears and the time loops begin.

With Frisk’s arrival, strange glitching creatures Shardie calls Corrupts then start popping up. Which Shardie finds only she can destroy and takes up that task, protecting the Underground from the sidelines as Frisk goes about their journey. At one point Shardie then met Tabitha, a half-human/half-Monster with cat features who takes an instant shine to Shardie after the canine creature disposed of another Corrupt. Eventually Shardie then met Tabitha’s older (adult) and more protective sister, Frost who did not like or trust Shardie. If that changes I don’t know.

Later it is revealed Tabitha and Frost have an error in their code. There is a high chance they will disappear from the world when Frisk Resets and not return for many Resets after. (Think Gaster’s Followers and the FUN value effecting their spawn chance. It’s similar to that, I think.)

A lot more happens after…but that’s all the context needed for Wings’ story, which is the Swap version of Shardie’s Tale. Instead of Shardie being the stranger from another world, it’s Gaster, but he isn’t a Shardian. Shardie, in turn, is a full Monster but looks like her usual wolf-creature self just bipedal and a scientist who goes by Dr. Kishimori. Instead of Gaster falling into his creation, Dr. Kishimori falls into hers and Gaster leaves because he has nothing left to stay for when all but Papyrus (and maybe Sans) have forgotten the Royal Scientist.

Gaster then does what Shardie in the other AU did, but I think he would have befriended the Soul of Justice (Yellow Soul) but I don’t know. Either way he eventually also starts killing Corrupts after Chara arrives, then meets Frost (who is the kind, friendly one here) through saving her from one. Unlike Shardie, who is openly against Tabitha tagging along because she (Tabitha, who is a child) will get hurt…Gaster is more reserved and acts like he just doesn’t want her around. She then started calling him Wings because he said his name was “Wing Dings”

Eventually he meets Tabitha as well (who is the guarded, surly one here but still a child…but if you asked Wings he would call Tabitha an annoying brat that asks too many questions.) And that’s it so far. There is more about Wings, but that will actually be revealed in Ōkamitale eventually.

Blank version of meme:

I did not make this, but there isn’t a link to the original anywhere. So posting it with mine.

#Undertale #Undertale au #w d Gaster #Gaster #Underswap #swap Gaster #meme #expression meme #blackdragon art #au gaster #Shardie’s tale #swapped Shardie’s tale #Gaster’s story #wings

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baezdylan · 2 years

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🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝

for every 🥝 i get, i’ll recommend a blog i love

OOOOOOO I LOVE!!!!! ten emojis -> ten blogs

everything's under the cut ⤵️

@a-dash-in-the-middle resident holden caulfield (just kidding, dash is todd anderson 🥰) you can't NOT like her blog because it is genuinely the most interesting, fantastical, versatile place on earth. it's like if the maze from the shining was starring in a fantasy or sci-fi film instead of a stephen king adaptation. the award for the most original tag essays goes toooooooo. dash always has something thought-provoking and brilliant to say. (even though she doesn't see it that way, but that's why she's todd) maddeningly creative. book recs are her weapons. if you check out her blog you'll probably encounter a bunch of dragons she adopted. (also her son is logan huntzberger 👀)

@brian-ur-bruh THE LEGEND!!!!! steve the hair harrington has nothing on jules. fiercely unique, KILLER MUSIC TASTE, wonderfully artistic and all in all an exceptional person. i call jules jules because of julian casablancas, need i say more? worships the only band ever aka the clash (here's the famous side blog: @capital-radio-three) fantastic guitar player!!!!! (did this amazing cover of "someday" with his band which he should brag about waaaaay more than he does)

@all-seeing-ifer JO MARCH OF TUMBLR!!!!!! the only person who i would trust with jo and laurie. talking with isabel is like sitting on the porch of your childhood house with your best friend, sharing a drink and feeling content with how everything turned out in the end. poetic watching the orange orange orange sunset kind of thing. just pure comfort and all things theatre. never fails to bring a smile on my face and continues to amaze me with their indescribable kindness and cleverness.

@paradigmx soooo easy to talk to. real cool (XTC FAN!!!!!!) and insightful. crazy smart. understands my detail-oriented craziness. will probably end up enriching your watchlist. you thought fox mulder was a fictional character? no, it's @paradigmx

@nightofthelivingpoet THE ROBERT TO MY ZOË!!!!!!! once accidentally bullied her into making a little women side blog. we are both rory gilmore-coded and will probably be crazy about academics all over your dash. say weird stuff like 🌌i love studying🌌. gracie's blog -> an enchanted forest. 99% sure that my rob pattz here is a time traveller. (it's ok i am too 🤭)

@quaffles-with-syrup MY PARTNER IN FANDOM CRIME!!!!! you might be familiar with stephen king's it, but only the two of us GET it yk? the ben hanscom to my stanley uris. immaculate energy. can change the world just by existing naturally. made out of bookish-ly real magic and correct opinions.

@wilsoncology UNDERSTANDS MY LOVE FOR MEDICINE, I AM SMILING SO BRIGHT RN!!!!! i just think of our likestorm-ing sessions and my day is already made. showers me with pictures of lisa cuddy which is the most you can do for tumblr user jochase really. wonderful artist, wonderful scientist, makes amazing edits, reblogs amazing content. don't think they realise how cool they are, but no worries i'll make the entirety of tumblr write poems about my fellow rsl enthusiast so it's fine <3

@crystalclrs is into everything i'm into, i make a profession out of stalking beth's blog (it's not my fault it's basically an art gallery????) could singlehandedly fly the tardis, i'm sure of it

@jonismitchell just thinking about arden's writing is making me tear up :") (check out her substack) every single word that she's written and i read is a part of this captivating, relatable, heartfelt mosaic of all things exceptional i keep in a special brain pocket of mine.

@freakwiththeknifecollection my daily dose of comfort is completely dependent on emily!!!! brighter than a sunflower, kinder than peeta mellark and as cool as jo harvelle. 🥰

#💌restless wind inside a letter box💌#ask game #this is such a jo ask game the ultimate emma woodhouse move #you all better follow each other

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cinderflower · 10 months

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With a lot of people slowly testing out the tumblr waters again, especially artists, here's some old, new, and underutilized features the site offers that I've found super useful and always appreciate personally when looking through artist's blogs. (See under the cut for more)

Have your own custom page setup:

To have your own blog page setup first make sure to enable your page under blog settings > enable custom theme

This lets users view your page at {username}.tumblr.com instead of tumblr.com/{username}

On this view you can add tabs that link out to your specific tags, custom sub-pages, or even other sites (eg. I have tabs that link out to my art tag as well as my AO3 page)

You also get control over setting up your own theme, which does require you to configure your HTML but luckily there are tons of free themes others have made that are as simple as pasting in the code then using the configurations

My personal preferred way to find themes is to navigate to the theme-maker's page from a blog I already enjoy and follow, usually there's a source/credit hyperlinked somewhere on the page (for example, the one I'm using is linked in the bottom right)

This also lets users access your blog's archive (see the next point)

Use tags and also enable featured tags:

If you think of your blog, especially as an artist, as an archive/portfolio it helps if a user can easily find all of your old art and the best way to do this is to tag all of your art

A lot of people simply use "my art" but some use other tags more specific to their username, either one works as long as you consistently tag only your work with it

Fandom tags/OC tags/theme tags/etc also all help with this, if a user is interested in all your content for X fandom or of X original character, this lets them easily find all posts for that fandom or character

You'll also show up in the global tags this way, but only the first handful of tags count towards this, so make sure to prioritize putting label tags you want for global searches first

Featured tags take this to the next level and are a relatively new feature that not many people take advantage of customizing, but you can set your featured tags to whatever you want, and this allows a user to then go into your archive and sort on these specific tags so now they can easily scroll through the tag in your archive without having to manually go page by page

Have a large set of posts already but they don't have the right tags? Mass Post Editor is your best friend here - it opens the archive view for you and lets you click on all the posts you want to update and edit the tags in the archive view across all of them at the same time

Blaze and Customize visibility per-post

Blaze is a new-ish feature that lets any user on the platform "blaze" your post which will push it onto the dashboards of X number of random users - there is no algorithm to determine who gets to see this posts

Blaze was originally original-poster permitted only, meaning only the person who made the post could blaze it but they've since updated it so anyone can Blaze any post that doesn't have it disallowed - you can update the global blaze setting for all posts on your blog to allow or disallow it in your blog settings (by default this ENABLED)

Sometimes you just want to make a personal post that you don't want going outside of the scope of your blog, you can now set whether or not a post can be reblog for each post

Set this to "No one" if you don't want it reblogged, similarly, disable blaze on the post

On the flip side, if you want your post to be shared, make sure this is set to "Anyone (on Tumblr)"! Otherwise your posts will never get spread and never be seen, which is fine for personal use and personal posts, but if you actually want others to find and share your content, make sure this isn't set to "No one"

#cinder rambles #hopefully this will be helpful to any mutuals :*

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