#I get redirected to the dashboard and??? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bobbiedebruyn · 3 months

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So you just joined Tumblr?

Tumblr basics + Fandoms/Gifmaking

Congratulations, you just landed at Tumblr! This hellsite (affectionate) can seem intimidating and complicated at first, but once you grasp the basics of it it’ll quickly turn into your own personal little hut in the forest. Tumblr is a website where you and only you curate your dashboard, you’ll see the content that you seek on your own. In this post, I’ll explain the basics of Tumblr and the basics of how fandoms function here with the help of Bob. Okay, let’s get started.

1. Blog customization

The first thing you should do as soon as you land on Tumblr is add a profile picture and header before you interact with people. You want to be distinguishable from bots and therefore avoid getting blocked. You can also add anything to your bio, there's no character limit. Some folks add their name and pronouns, but there are no rules about that. There are also no rules about profile pictures. It can be a picture of you, a picture of your dog, a picture of a rock, or a picture of your favorite character. If you plan on staying on the fandom side, you might notice that a lot of fandom blogs have colorful-looking icons (a cutout of a character on a colorful background), for these icons and also headers I suggest checking out source blogs that make those icons. For starters, @iconheadersource is a goldmine where you definitely going to find something that’d suit you and your blog.

Tumblr on mobile and Tumblr on desktop are two different creatures when it comes to customization. On the desktop, you can customize your blog with coding (HTML + JS). Now Bob will demonstrate to us some examples of blogs on desktop.

If you want to customize your desktop blog, I suggest checking out @phantomcodes and @glenthemes for the codes.

Tutorial on how to install themes

Using javascript on Tumblr pages

2. Search Engine

Nice! You've made your blog look pretty! Now, let's shift our focus to the search engine and ways to discover content. As mentioned earlier, you curate your dashboard by looking for things you enjoy and like. Search using hashtags or the names of your interests (TV shows, movies, birds, music, etc.) to find your piece of cake. For instance, folks who create posts about TV shows you like use tags to ensure their posts reach others interested in the same thing. So, let's go ahead and search for something right now.

Once you search for that specific tag, you are redirected to the corresponding tag page. Here, you can see that posts are sorted by "Latest" or "Top" (indicating posts with the most notes). On the right side, you will find related tags and blogs which are frequently using the searched tag. By following the tag, both the tag itself and the posts tagged with it will automatically appear on your dashboard in the "Your tags" section. You have the option to filter tags according to your preferences. In the settings, you can choose to block specific tags if you prefer not to see content related to some particular topics.

The only method for sharing posts and content on this website is through reblogging. On Tumblr, reposting others' content, including art, gifs, and fics, is not accepted. Reposting means downloading art, gifs, etc., creating your own post, and then sharing it. And that's a big no-no, strongly discouraged. Your likes essentially function as bookmarks, and you have the option to set them to be private. When you save something, it doesn't appear on your friends' dashboards.

We don't censor things here, and I advise you not to do so too. If you need to mention a word that might be potentially triggering or could be flagged on another social media, feel free to say it. Many users have specific topics and tags filtered out, so if you use variations like "K!tKat" instead of "KitKat" in the tags, it can bypass the tag filter, potentially causing more harm as people will see content that triggers them. And remember to always tag posts that have flickering or flashing!!!

If you want to organize your reblogs or make comments on a reblog, use the tags section and not the comments section itself. This is called "#add tags." Feel free to type whatever you want, but keep in mind that the original poster receives notifications when someone reblogs their post and adds tags. Yes, all tags are visible to us.

Okay, so let's quickly recap this information with the help of our dear friend, Bob.

3. Social interactions

So let's move on to one of the crucial topics - how to make friends on Tumblr? Personally, I don't think there's one particular formula for that. Sometimes you just see a funny bloke posting about something as random as desert rain frogs, grab them, and go "You're my friend now" and that's how you become mutuals.

However, there are other, more common ways to become friends with someone. You can start by reblogging someone's post, adding tags to the reblog, and then following the person. Create your own posts, tag them to ensure they reach the folks who are interested in the same things as you, and participate in fandom events and challenges if you're into that. Interact with people you want to befriend, message them, send them asks. You will eventually find your crowd. You'll also find swifties, and fans of supernatural who never moved on from that destiel love confession four years ago, they also can be your friends, at some point, you will become friends and chill with each other. Be open to new interests to make sure your dashboard is not dull and boring.

Tumblr doesn't have the supposed hierarchy, and you don't have to listen to anyone who tells you otherwise, you curate your own experience and blocking is pretty normalized here. Notes and followers (which are private for everyone) don't really matter, stick to your beliefs and your vibe and you'll be fine. We're all equal losers here.

4. Fandom / Gifmaking

Fandoms play a significant role on Tumblr, they're closely tied with gifmaking. As a fellow creature of fandom, I'm adding this part because we don't gatekeep - more gifmakers and fandom enthusiasts mean a better fandom experience. As I mentioned earlier, everything has its tag, making it easy to find your favorite TV show fandom by searching for the tag. This is also how you can connect with people who share an interest in that specific TV show. Upon entering the tag, you'll stumble upon numerous moving pictures – these are GIFs. People create GIFs of everything, from their "blorbo" (the term for favorite character) to beloved ships and favorite moments. There are also plenty of creative GIFs with different coloring and complicated effects. And the best part? You can do it too!

There are a lot of ways to make GIFs. Some people use Photoshop, and some use Photopea which is an excellent accessible option. I'll be linking posts for Photoshop under this text. For Photopea tutorials and guides, please check out @photopeablr.

I've been making GIFs for three years at this point, and those are the tutorials I used when I was just starting out:

how to make a gif:

comprehensive guide 101

basic gif making tutorial + mvp player installation

gifmaking for beginners

how to install MVP player on a PC

film downloading & screen-capping tips

correct photoset dimensions

coloring

how to fix orange-washed characters

how to: coloring east & southeast asian celebs

channel mixer

colored background

color manipulation

vibrant coloring

how to brighten dark scenes

color isolation

effects

glitch effect

blending

crossfade transition

gradient effect in the text

gradient text

red colour accent on the b&w gifs

how to add a gif in a template

blurring gif backgrounds

using templates

text

text tutorial 1

font resources

understanding fonts and typefaces

split text

subtitles

other

icon tutorial

gif headers

For more tutorials, inspirations, and resources - please check out @usergif. It's a good source blog for all gifmakers.

Wait but what's a source blog? These are blogs that center around a specific theme, creating content for a particular topic. They are managed by multiple editors, these blogs track their own tags to reblog content related to the theme. They can be source blogs dedicated to gifmaking (just like @usergif), a TV show, a movie, a character, a celebrity, a sports team, or literally anything else. Typically, these blogs incorporate terms like "network," "source," "central," "creators," "hub," or "daily" in their usernames, making them easily distinguishable from regular personal blogs. Examples of source blogs that come to my mind right now are @dailyanakin, @heartstoppercentral, and @nancywheelercentral.

Let's also talk about tracking tags, which are often included in blogs's bios, whether they're from source blogs or solo gifmakers. You can add these tags to your posts when creating a gifset related to a specific source blog or something you know a particular gifmaker would appreciate. Basically, the gifmaker can search their tracking tag, much like a regular Tumblr tag, and view the most recent sets in which someone used their tag.

The last thing I want to talk about are usernames, and main and side blogs. On Tumblr, we have two types of blogs: the main blog and the side blog. The main blog is the initial blog created when you sign up for your account. This blog has full functionality and all features, allowing you to follow other blogs, like posts, and send asks to other blogs. In addition to the main blog, you can create side blogs on your account. Side blogs lack some of the features of main blogs; you can't like posts, follow other blogs, or send asks from a side blog. They have slightly different functionality – a side blog can be password-protected, have multiple users, and allow you to send direct messages to people. Other users can follow your side blog, and you can receive asks from them.

Many people use side blogs as URL holders. For instance, when a new TV show is announced, someone might be the quickest to save all canonical character names. You can then message that empty side blog to inquire if they're willing to trade that specific URL or if it's available for a giveaway. Canonical URLs are often challenging to obtain, so many people add letters in between or at the end or use symbols like "-", and they also mix names and surnames of different characters.

5. The End

Okay, so we've just covered how Tumblr works, how fandoms operate, and how to get into gifmaking. I hope this guide by me and Bob has been helpful to you. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to my ask box or simply ask Bob. I hope you enjoy your stay here, and that your experience with this website will be a positive one.

#tumblr #welcome to tumblr #tumblr etiquette #how to tumblr #fandom community #fandom culture #photoshop tutorial #gif tutorial #gif resources #kas.txt #mine

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cemeterything · 4 months

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i think lots of people who were bullied, mistreated, or ostracized growing up get pretty maladaptive about it as adults........ i see so many people on social media who seem think that what they went through was only bad because THEY didn't deserve it, and if THEY had the social capitol, THEY would've hurt people who DID deserve it, instead. i think having all that anger and pain in their hearts makes it hard to imagine a world without the violence they went through, so they fantasize about redirecting it "positively" rather than striving for a world where no one hurts like they did. i think it's a testament to your character that you went the opposite way, but i'm unfortunately not surprised some people have a kneejerk response to you taking accountability for your own behavior & refusing to continue the cycle of violence, since it doesn't square with their own ideas of victimhood. thanks for saying everything you have on this situation and being an all around kind, positive presence on my dashboard <3

no i completely agree, because for a time i WAS one of those people. i was so miserable and bitter about my own pain that i was jealous of everyone around me and perceived other people enjoying their own lives as a personal attack, and punched down out of fear of being knocked back down to the very bottom of the social ladder after i'd just managed to climb out of there myself. fortunately i've always had a personal principle that i can't expect anyone to do anything i'm not willing to do myself, so recognition of my own hypocrisy knocked me back on track pretty quickly when i realised that i could hardly expect anyone to ever extend any compassion or sympathy to me if i wasn't going to make the same effort on my part. and i won't pretend it was easy, because when you've been traumatised for most of your life it is incredibly hard to have faith in anyone ever again, and open yourself up to the possibility of being hurt by lowering your defences enough to let other people get close. but trust me when i say that it's worth it. no matter how hard an uphill battle it is, it's worth every step. i'm a much happier, more successful, loved and confident person because i let myself move forward.

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tervaneula · 1 month

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u said leoichi drabble prompt request. consider. one injured and the other protecting them and then the injured one has to calm them down bc 'they're okay, really, promise, rest now'

OKAY SO this fused with a ghost of an idea I've had for a while and it ended up being a bit more serious than the prompt called for and a lot longer than just a drabble. (It's ~1120 words.) CW: blood and injury

Also I made a silly header thing I don't know what to do with, so I'm putting it here since this fic doesn't come with art of its own :'3

“Yui, I’m okay–”

The rabbit turns his head to look at him, furious.

“I heard your shell crack, Leonardo, and I'm not an idiot! Now stay down and let me handle this!”

He falls quiet for a moment before redirecting his glare towards their adversary and then adds a muted, “Please.”

There's no compromising with Yuichi in this state, apparently, and Leonardo stays right where he got crushed between metal claws and the concrete, splayed on the ground next to those very same claws which had gotten swiftly cut from the wrist for their transgressions.

He does roll onto his side to get his body weight off his shell, and yeah, alright, one or more of the old cracks that never healed properly must have split open again. It's tough to breathe and his back feels… His kimono is sticking to his shell and his back feels wet now that he's paying attention, and that. That is not good.

Just his luck to run into a massive mecha wreaking havoc on an otherwise lovely day, huh. He wasn't even supposed to be on patrol and thus is embarrassingly swordless.

Good thing that his date and their resident samurai always carries his.

The slider watches as Yuichi does quick work of the metal hunk's wiring behind its knees, his frighteningly sharp katana slicing through the cables like butter. The mech falls with a ground-shaking rumble, unable to rise again, arm flailing as it tries to catch the rabbit. It's no use, Yuichi is much smaller and faster – and as soon as he reaches the mech's head, it's already rolling. The construct immediately loses power and Yuichi wrenches the windowed hatch in its chest open. Turns out there's no pilot, just a program-operated dashboard, and he makes sure that none of the controls are functional after he's done with them.

Leonardo thinks he could watch Yuichi trash villains all day long, he's practically mesmerised by the strength hidden in that soft frame despite his shell throbbing unpleasantly in tandem with his heartbeat. He sighs, lovestruck.

As his final move, Yuichi thrusts his katana into the heart of the mecha and Leonardo sees a spray of ink-black oil splash all over Yuichi's face and the front of his kimono. It makes him laugh and he realises his mistake too late, his lungs struggling to draw breath again as he finally gets hit with the pain, his body trying to stop him from moving; from causing any more damage. Shit, shit, shit.

He had hoped he wouldn’t need to bother any of his brothers today since he was supposed to spend the whole day with Yuichi but he knows to pick his battles, now. He opens the comm link embedded in his prosthetic, contacting someone who he knows will pick up.

“Che~ello!” comes the cheerful answer in just a few seconds, and Leonardo can't help but smile.

“Mikeyyy, hermano, I'm in a bit of a pickle,” he wheezes, feeling the shift in his little brother's energy as soon as he hears the strain in his voice.

“Leo? Are you okay?”

“Not really, no,” Leonardo grunts. “Got into a scuffle with some big haywire robot– don’t worry, that’s taken care of. I suspect Donnie will want to scrap it for parts. Um. My shell’s– my shell’s cracked though.”

Leonardo can vividly imagine the colour draining from Michelangelo's face and it would be funny if he wasn't acutely aware of a broken shell coming with the very real possibility of his innards turning into outnards.

“I'm calling Draxy. Stay put, I'll get Lee to pick you up.”

“Right,” Leonardo sighs, the line going out just when Yuichi is finally done with the mech and rushing to his side, face haphazardly wiped from oil. His gaze is sharp as he kneels next to him, sweaty and out of breath, and Leonardo thinks he looks like a knight. Or maybe like a samurai of the old, in this case.

“There’s my hero,” he coos before Yuichi can get a word out and the rabbit’s brow furrows.

“Don’t start,” he snaps but his tone softens almost immediately, “I saw you calling someone. It’s bad, isn’t it? It… it looks really bad.”

“Yeeeah, this kimono is definitely ruined,” Leonardo laments, “unless you know how to, gh, get blood out of corduroy? No? Or the obi?”

Yuichi stares.

“A– a shame, really, I did like this one a lot–”

“Leonardo!” Yuichi interrupts him and grabs his bicep, looking two seconds away from crying. Leonardo frowns. He knows he’s getting a little delirious but he was sincerely trying his best to lift his mate’s mood.

“Leon, please, you’re rambling. Is someone coming? Can I do anything?”

“‘m not rambling,” Leonardo grumbles, hissing when he fills his lungs again. “Leo’s coming to get us, Draxy– Draxum will treat the shell. And no, better keep the obi in place until we get to the medbay.”

Yuichi’s shoulders slump and he sighs, most likely relieved that he’s not going to have to figure out how to deal with a cracked shell. Leonardo does not like the lingering worry in Yuichi’s gaze one bit, though, and he offers him a grin. It’s a little shaky but whatever.

“Heeey, bunbun. Listen. This is nothing I haven’t been through before. I’ll be fine.”

Yuichi gives him an honest-to-God kicked-puppy look and Leonardo thinks it’s the most adorable thing he’s ever seen in his life. He almost tells him so but Yuichi cups his cheek and his forced grin melts away into surprised silence.

“I hate seeing you hurt,” Yuichi murmurs, leaning down to press his forehead against Leonardo’s. The slider’s eyes flutter shut and he lifts his hand to hold onto Yuichi’s wrist.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I mean it. I should’ve been more careful.”

Yuichi huffs and leans away to gently bump their foreheads together.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“Maybe, but ’m still sorry. Didn’t want to worry you.”

“You’re an idiot,” Yuichi says, exasperated. “You should know that at this point, I’ll always worry.”

Leonardo grins and this time it’s genuine. Breathing in his partner’s scent is like a balm to him, even if it’s tinged with the bitterness of motor oil, even if his body currently thinks that breathing is overrated. Even if he just got called an idiot by none other than said partner.

“Raincheck on the date?” he mumbles, and finally he gets a chuckle out of the rabbit. Yuichi straightens his back and flicks him on the nose.

“Like you even needed to ask. Idiot.”

Before Leonardo can express his displeasure of being called an idiot for a second time there’s the familiar electric hum of a portal opening behind him, and someone whistles.

“Sheesh, old man. That kimono is definitely ruined.”

#NOT PROOFREAD I had to stop myself because every time I tried to check this over I kept writing MORE and that's just not sustainable #sdfghhsfghjafsfd #anyway these peepaws gay #rottmnt #rottmnt fanart #rottmnt fanfiction #leoichi #peepaw leo #peepaw yuichi #other characters mentioned + a cameo from #rise leo #future leonardo #future leo #samurai rabbit #usagi chronicles #yuichi usagi #usagi yuichi #tervdraws #tervdrabbles

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mornyavie · 1 year

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I come bearing good news!!!!

You can do url manipulations on dashboard blogs now!

The command is ?offset=N, where N is the number of posts backwards you want to start. It works on the main blog as well as on tags and searches - just put it at the end of the url.

For instance, https://www.tumblr.com/mornyavie?offset=1 will take you to a view which starts at the second-most-recent post on my blog. You could also go to ?offset=1000! But if you go to ?offset=10000 you’ll get a “this tumblr is content-free” type message because I haven’t posted that many times yet.

It works the same way with tags or searches; https://www.tumblr.com/mornyavie/tagged/horses?offset=30 will send you “back in time.”

If you enter a /page/N style url trying to navigate to a blog with custom theme disabled, it’ll automatically convert it to a ?offset=(Number of posts per page)*(N-1) when you get redirected.

I don’t know if this was always true and I just didn’t notice, but regardless I think “pagination” of this style is super important for archive / searching purposes so! Very excited to have found it.

#tumblr is a functioning website

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gin-juice-tonic · 1 year

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For people who dont actually have blogs but just accounts and dashboard view pages. It really doesnt take very long to actually make a blog on the site

just go into your blog settings

Switch on “enable custom theme” and click “edit theme”

Use the default theme if you want. It’s easy to navigate and edit

Add some images on there to the header and the icon, and maybe and a title to fix things up real nice. Maybe play with the accent colors too

i’m gonna talk about adding links in your description and adding blog pages, still very easy but slightly more advanced customize type stuff, under the cut if anyone doesnt know how to do those but wants to

When you do your description, you can use HTML to give you more options than just straight text

my example text is: This is my blog! Feel free to send in gossip. Or anything at all. <br>

<a href="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/gravityfalls/images/9/99/S1e17_shandra.png/revision/latest?cb=20130412121840">My Favorite Shandra Pic</a>

<br> is a line break, which is what lets me start a new line

<a href=“url”>Title</a> lets you link somewhere else from your blog, and displays whatever you put for “title” with a hyperlink.

the one i used just links to this

you’d get sent to it on the gravity falls wiki if you clicked that part of my description. You can link people wherever you want. Tags on your blog, your other social media, your Carrd, a certain catchy 80s youtube song. Whatever

You can also add pages to your blog when you scroll all the way down the options

You can give a page a url relating to your blog, and you can have a link to it show up on your page with the other standard links

So then whenever anyone clicked “FAQ” they would get linked to a newly created FAQ page.

Though you can also use it to redirect people to specific tags already on your blog

I do that on my blog with a few of my tags.

if you were to go on my blog and click “DRAWS” you’d get sent to “https://gin-juice-tonic.tumblr.com/tagged/Pbbth“, which is my art tag

In the editor it wont display your tag, it will just display whatever page you create (like below)

but in practice when you click the button on the blog it will take you to the tag you want

#long post #my horse secrets exposed...

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wip · 10 months

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RSS feeds need love -- they're an excellent way of managing feeds when you're trying to keep track of way more than the dashboard/tabs can handle. It seems to have been left by the wayside: photo posts were randomly broke (some but not all are now fixed), reblogged "asks" only show the original answer, older blogs with "shorten posts in feed" still exist even though the option was removed. Dashboard-only blogs don't even allow RSS. Are there any plans to improve that system at all?

Answer: Hey, @nameless-sdk!

So, your last point is a misconception I’d love to clear up: blogs without custom themes do have RSS feeds! For example, while https://macmanx.tumblr.com/ redirects to https://www.tumblr.com/macmanx, https://macmanx.tumblr.com/rss does not redirect and works exactly as it does if the blog did have a custom theme. The exception is if the blog is “hidden” and requires login to view—these blogs do not have RSS feeds, because there is no way to authenticate with Tumblr over RSS! Since this is a privacy setting, this is fully intentional.

As for the other concerns, I agree—it would be awesome to see RSS get more support. Unfortunately, it’s not really aligned with our current priorities. In the meantime, if your RSS reader has a setting to simply visit the webpage of feed items (I know Mozilla Thunderbird has one), I’d recommend using that to read Tumblr posts via RSS.

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions—it’s much appreciated.

Best,

—April

#feature #rss feeds #posting #backend #your suggestions

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lacefuneral · 11 months

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hi reddit. here are some tips.

i will be putting these below a "readmore" - which is the first lesson. on desktop there is a button for this. on mobile you type :readmore: followed by a linebreak. it is considered common ettique to shorten your long posts in this way.

by the way, are you reblogging a long post that isn't under a readmore? tag that as #long post so users can blacklist it and not have to scroll for five years.

(weird gaps in bullet points due to character limits lmao)

Title. Icon. Banner. blog description. (look around if you need an idea for what to put in your blog description.) Blogs without this information (ESPECIALLY the no icon + no title combo) gets you blocked immediately. This is because tumblr has always had a severe bot problem. Just grab a meme from your camera roll or a picture of a character you like from google.

also, because most users have their pronouns in their bio, it is expected that you will look there to check before addressing them, out of courtesy. don't just default to "they" - only do that if a person's pronoun's are unclear or if the pronouns listed ARE "they."

Disable public likes. the like button is for personal bookmarking. very often, people will like posts they have not read yet, so that they can read them later. a person's likes is not always reflective of their stances, and if your likes are public, people may use them against you in an argument. think of your likes as your browser history. tumblr users value privacy in this instance.

unrelated to the above point: likes are also used to show compassion for a user going through a tough time, or to say "hey, i thought this joke you made was funny." this use of likes is more for friend-to-friend communication.

Disable anything in your settings that is algorithmic including seeing posts based on other people's likes (one, because algorithms exist to make you mad and two, as part of respecting privacy)

set "following" to appear before "for you" (and overall avoid "for you")

Snooze Tumblr Live (sorry. you have to do this once a week bc tumblr sucks.)

Open your askbox so people can communicate with you. Decide if you want to allow anonymous asks and/or public DMs.

Enable the desktop version of your blog. This makes it so that when you use a computer and go to [yourusername].tumblr.com you can have a website with HTML and CSS. tumblr has tried very hard to kill blog personalization but you can find many helpful users posting in the tags, as well as pre-made themes you can install. tumblr users are the ones making the bulk of neocities websites, and in general tend to be friendly in redirecting you to resources.

enabling your desktop blog also allows you to insert links and do very basic editing (like inserting line breaks) in your blog description (we call "bio") which translates to the mobile version of your theme. you have to do this in the editor for the desktop on a computer. also, editing your theme on mobile (like changing color, font) will undo your HTML. your best bet is to edit your mobile theme first and THEN do the HTML/link stuff on a computer. i know it sounds a bit convoluted but you'll figure it out. (this website is made of duct tape)

also while you are on desktop: download xkit rewritten. it won't work on mobile but it gives you a lot of helpful features. also consider installing ublock origin if you haven't already, because tumblr will sometimes add annoying widgets to their website and that tool will allow you to block them. i also use "palettes for tumblr" to customize my dashboard color. tumblr DOES have built-in dashboard themes but i do not like them personally.

pinned posts. you can pin any post you make or reblog. some people use this to pin a funny meme, and other people use the pinned post as an extended bio (or otherwise an alternative to it). a tumblr post made on desktop can hold up to 30 images (the limit is 10 on mobile.) you can also embed links, a video, and even audio. you can change text color, have bullet points, and increase font size. as such, you can express yourself much more in a pinned post than in your mobile blog description. a typical pinned post may include information about the user, a link to an external website (like a carrd, neocities, or linktree), and sometimes an image or two. tumblr allows you to disable reblogs for a post, so most pinned posts are set this way so it just stays on a user's blog.

DNIs (also called "BYF"). not everyone uses them, and they can be divisive. it stands for "Do Not Interact" - and is a boundary set to keep people away. this may include age (example: "minors DNI"), political opinions (example: "prolifers DNI"), and sometimes deeply niche online discourse. DNIs are also sometimes a joke (example: "DNI if you like tuna salad"). there is actually a meme where someone will write a post with a very long, unreasonable DNI and users will count how many apply to them.

If you would upvote a post on reddit, you would reblog it here. If you see something and you think it is cool, you think it is funny, or you think it is helpful, reblog it. Some users have sideblogs (you can have infinite sideblogs attached to your main account) to organize all of the posts they reblog. Others simply use a tagging system for organizational purposes (and so users can blacklist ("filter") those tags in their settings if they don't want to see the post). For example, if I followed a user for Star Trek, but they also posted a lot of Star Wars, I might add "#star wars" to my list of filters. This way, I am only seeing the Star Trek posts. Tumblr's default way of handling this is to display a box that says "this post contains #Star Wars" and you can choose whether or not to open it. on desktop with xkit rewritten, you can have it hide those boxes entirely. please use filters. your sanity will thank you.

In a reblog, Organizational Tags are for /you./ I see a lot of confusion about this from new users. If you reblog someone else's post and add 500 tags..... it's not going to get picked up in tumblr search. You're not going to get any sort of exposure. Because it is not your post. Those tags are only for /you/ - if you want to find the post again.

tags are also used for commentary. most tumblr users do /not/ talk in post replies or in the comments of a reblog. most of them talk in tags. tags have a character limit so these messages are broken up in fragments. tumblr uses a comma (,) to make a new tag, so users often use either no punctuation or a period (.) or a hyphen (-) to break up thoughts. two apostrophes ('') are used instead of quotation marks (because they dont work in tags). this is also where "tumblr writing style" comes from. we all began to write in lowercase and use punctuation in. a weird way. like. for emphasis. there is also the Tumblr Comma, a special unicode character that resembles a comma and works in tags when copy+pasted or put there with a keyboard shortcut. but this is often not used. here it is: ‚

also here's an example of tags. you will notice that commentary goes before organizational: #GOD DHSHSKDDJDL #i cannot BELIEVE i forgot about this. what the fuck #star trek #spock

when leaving tags, most users talk to themselves. but please remember that tags can be seen by anyone, including the original poster. in general, it is discouraged to traumadump or be rude.

"prev tags" (which tumblr staff is trying their damnest to erase sadly) is when a user reblogs a post from another user and tags it simply ''prev'' or ''prev tags" (meaning "i agree with the previous user's tags"). sometimes it's because a thoughtful observation was made, but usually it's a way of saying "hey! that was a funny joke!" without putting the user on blast by screenshotting the tags. it's most common between friends and mutuals (users following each other). i would say it is equivalent to users whispering to each other and giggling rather than getting up on a table and shouting. "prev tag chain" is when users reblog "prev tags" "prev prev tags" - and so on. however, sadly, tumblr has removed the feature of moving backwards in a reblog chain on desktop. i have not updated my app and refuse to, so i so not know if it is gone on mobile as well, but it probably is. EDIT: the browser extension Xkit Rewritten has an option now, in "tweaks" called "restore links to individual posts in post header." it should be the first option. prev tags, on desktop at least, is saved!

screenshotting someone elses tags and adding the image in a reblog is known as "passing peer review." it is, however, considered to be Greatly Annoying to accompany those tags with unnecessary commentary (ex: "these tags pass peer review!" "WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE THIS IN THE TAGS" "LMAAOO THIS IS SO FUNNYYY"). the tags can stand on their own. the only instance in which this is different is during a serious discussion, when you want to build off of another user's perspective. in which case, you address them as normal. some people credit taggers, some people don't. crediting tends to occur in discussions.

when making an original post, do not use irrelevant tags for Exposure. this is Greatly Hated by the userbase and is also against the TOS. you will get blocked at best, reported or yelled at at worst. only add relevant tags, and do not go overboard.

reposting other people's artwork is highly discouraged and is considered the Highest Offense. if you do any sort of reposting, you should credit and link to a creator directly. however, tumblr loves reposted videos, especially ones from tiktok. there are entire accounts dedicated to posting those.

sideblogs! it is possible to have multiple blogs under one email address. tumblr treats these blogs as proxies of your main blog. this means that sending someone an ask/commenting in the replies of a post will always appear with the name of your main blog, your likes will appear with the name of your main blog, and that if you follow someone you will appear on their followers list as your main blog (so you may be mutuals with someone and not even know it because their sideblog interacts with you, but isn't on your follower's list... because their main blog is listed there instead.) however, DMs DO appear as the sideblog name. you cannot swap your main blog with your sideblog. and right now, there is a bug where deleting a sideblog will delete your entire tumblr account so. don't do that lol. anyway, the amount of sideblogs you can make is literally infinite and i think there's just a Daily Limit of creating 10 of them or something. some users make a sideblog for each interest they have. others have no sideblogs and reblog everything to main. and then you have people like me that do both. somehow. some users will make sideblogs to hoard URLs. also sorry i'm just introducing this now, but that is what our usernames are called. because when tumblr was more desktop-oriented, every blog was literally a Personal Website. so ya. we call them "URLs." anyway, if someone wants to hang onto a URL for later, they might save it on an empty blog. this usually pisses people off. a "canon URL" is when someone has a URL that is like One Word or a Company Name or a Fictional character. hypothetical examples: "ketchup" "burgerking" "lukeskywalker." these are highly rare, coveted, and you look cool as hell if you have one.

tumblr's /\/SFW policy (/\/ is an N. i've censored it.) is best described as ???. posts that are safe for work get marked as /\/SFW and hardcore p0rn somehow persists. in general, be very wary of posting even artistic nvdity (even though it is supposedly permitted.) never deliberately mark your own posts as Mature. this is essentially like walking directly into a bear trap and waving a big sign at tumblr staff saying "hey! make it so people can't find my blog and i'm far more likely to get banned!" also do not tag posts with "/\/SFW." too many of those will get your entire blog marked as mature (which makes your posts pretty much invisible to other users.) tumblr users used /\/SFT (/\/ot safe for tumblr) for a long time, but staff caught on. there is now no consensus and people use their own personal tags for it. just pick something and people will catch on and blacklist it if need be. (btw you CAN type whatever you want on this website. i am only censoring in the hopes that this will allow my post to appear in the tags. this isn't tiktok lol)

while it is possible to disable reblogs on a post, this is a very RECENT addition and most users forget it exists. as such, please use common sense. if someone has written a post about, say, how sad they are feeling because they got in a fight with their family... that's not a good post to reblog. a like would be better here, like a pat on the back.

we LOVE polls. we love them. they are like sports to us. most of them are popularity polls - who is the better character? but people also use polls for, say, making bug emojis "race" each other. or "lets build a cake." other people use polls to write poetry, or learn about regional differences, or even to draw a pen!s. if you tag a poll as "poll" it will most likely be seen and voted in, because users look in the tag to find buttons to click.

there is unfortunately a T3RF (this one censored specifically to protect my notifs lmao. 3 is E) presence here. report, block, ignore, move on. common courtesy for users to inform each other if one is accidentally reblogged from. it also helps to blacklist tags related to them to avoid them. use shinigam! eyes browser extension on desktop.

there is NO equivalent to reddit awards on this website. as the userbase hates the staff, it is considered blasphemous to spend your money on checkmarks, etc. - buying them as a gift for another user is seen as a hostile act. it's like receiving a "kick-me" sign. once owned, badges cannot be deleted. thankfully, tumblr now allows you to disable checkmarks and other badges from appearing publically. that said, some users also give checkmarks unironically to show appreciation??? and others buy checks for themselves???? so yeah. tumblr doesnt actually have a verification system - these exist to mock twitter and to make a quick buck.

tumblr blaze. essentially, tumblr has a system in place to showcase user posts instead of advertisements sometimes. this is done by the user paying money. the higher the amount, the more impressions. tumblr users can now also blaze OTHER PEOPLE'S POSTS. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BLAZE DISABLED!!! blazing another person's post (without asking first) is seen as a hostile act. why? because most blazed posts result in rude comments from strangers who are annoyed to see the post on their dashboard. unless it's like, a cute picture of a cat. or something genuinely helpful. boosting your soundcloud or a selfie or a rant about fandom does not typically garner positive responses. you can blaze just like. watch out. and also always ask the OP if you want to blaze someone else's post. (there is a reason this feature is called "blaze pvp")

tumblr merch is also frowned upon, as tumblr staff steals ideas from the userbase and profits off of them without financially compensating or crediting the users. there was a meme on here, "vanilla extract", that tumblr turned into water bottles while the person who made the meme was having to fundraise to survive :(

BLOCK. LIBERALLY.

umm i think thats it for now. but like if you have questions feel free to launch them into The Void with some tags and users are pretty quick to help out! hopefully i covered some stuff that other ppl haven't

#reddit #196 #reddit migration

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rayslittlekitten · 7 months

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I Almost Told You That I Loved You Ch. 17

Chapter 16 | IATYTILY Masterlist | Chapter 18

A/N: I am anticipating maybe five more chapters of this. That might be overshooting but I haven't fleshed out the ending ending yet.

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,537

Pairing: Jax Teller x F! reader

Plot: This takes place shortly after Tara leaves Charming. You start working at Teller-Morrow and an unlikely and messy relationship forms between you and Jax.

Warnings: mentions of emotional abuse?

Your car’s been acting up again. There is something rattling but other than that, the car seems to be running okay. No concerning lights are on, on the dashboard. You make a note to have someone check it out for you at TM tomorrow while you’re at work. Right now, you just need to make it home from school.

As you’re waiting at a red light, you feel and hear a motorcycle rumbling nearby. Instinctually, you look around for it and see one pulling up into the intersection perpendicular to you. Your stomach drops when you see Jax with a woman hugging him tightly from behind. Jax looks over his shoulder with a big smirk on his face. She leans in to kiss him and he kisses back.

*HOOOOOONK*

The person behind you leans on their horn, startling you and breaking Jax and his passenger apart. You floor it, hoping you can speed past them and he wouldn’t recognize you. Before Jax could realize what all the commotion is about, the woman distracts him again, pulling his attention back to her.

***

You haven’t talked to Jax since Sunday night and you’re still not sure what was bothering him, but you have a suspicion. He thinks he’s so complex and mysterious, but you’ve learned his habits and his antics are getting old really quick.

“Hey Ope, can you please get someone to take a look at my car? It’s making a weird noise.”

“Uh, sure. I’ll have Jax take a look,” Opie replies.

“Jax is shit at fixing cars,” you tell him. “Can you get Kai to do it instead?”

“I don’t know. We have a pretty tight schedule today.”

“Excuse me?”Jax strolls in from behind you and Opie. “Oh, please, Kai doesn’t know what to do with a car like yours.”

“I’m sure Kai can fix a goddamn spaceship if they existed,” you scoff at him.

Jax looks back at you for a moment with furrowed brows.

“What the hell? Is it that time of the month or something? Why the fuck are you copping an attitude with me?” He steps up to you.

Your eyes widen and a chuckle slips out of you.

“Are you serious? First off, fuck you. Secondly, you have the nerve to act like you weren’t acting strange Sunday night? You barely said bye to me before leaving,” you tell him.

“I told you, I wasn’t feeling well,” Jax shoves his hands into his pockets of his coveralls and shrugs.

Opie starts backing away and disappearing in the background without saying a word. This is no longer about your car and he doesn’t want to be involved.

“Oh, really? You must have felt much better yesterday having a little joyride with your newest thrill of the week,” you reply.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jax shakes his head and shrugs. He didn’t even blink.

“Jax, you can cut the bullshit. I saw you and that blonde yesterday, making out at the red light!”

Jax shifts his weight, his eyes redirect themselves to the concrete ground.

“Were you upset on Sunday because of what Luann asked me? About me staying or leaving for a new school?” you ask with arms crossed.

Jax lets out an exasperated sigh as he shifts his weight back to his other feet, looking away from you. His jaw twitches.

“And is that also why you went and buried your dick in someone else again?”

He scoffs, a smirk playing on his face.

“I don’t know if you did it to try to hurt me and put distance between us or if it’s your way to cope with your feelings, but if I’m going to be your girlfriend, this can’t keep happening,” you state.

“Girlfriend?” he chuckles and finally makes eye contact with you again. “Where’d you get that crazy idea from?”

You look back at him confused. You know the two of you technically never made it official, but he’s acting like you both didn’t have a conversation about it the other day.

“Oh, do you mean what we talked about last week? I didn’t ask you to be my girlfriend. I asked if you wanted to be my girlfriend,” he continues.

“And I thought you were supposed to be the smart one,” he sneers.

You want to slap that smug look off his face.

“You must think your pussy is that special, huh?” he laughs.

This isn’t new to you. It’s all flowers and hand holding one day and then completely ghosting you the next. The constant back and forth, giving and taking, making you feel loved and then making you feel undeserving. And in all that, the real winner is blaming it all on you. It’s always your fault. You should have known better. Why did you piss him off? Look what you made him do. But you’re not going to let the responsibility fall on you for this one. Not this time.

“Fuck you, Teller!” You growl and stalk away.

***

After clocking out, you walk out to the parking lot, you find Jax leaning on the driver’s side of your car having a smoke. You walk towards it and stop at a comfortable distance and glare at him. He notices you and pushes himself off your car. It’s been about a week of silent treatment from the both of you since the falling out.

“Hey,” Jax greets and then tosses his cigarette.

“Hey,” you reply flatly.

“Can we talk?”

“About?” you huff with crossed arms.

“Can we do this somewhere private?” His mouth twists.

You look at him, thinking about what you want to do.

“We can swing by and pick up some sandwiches,” he suggests with the slightest smile playing on his lips.

“Jax, I don’t know if–”

“I’m sorry for all the shit I said to you last time. You didn’t deserve that,” he cuts you off.

You are a bit thrown off by his apology.

“Did your moral compass steer you in the right direction again?” you ask sarcastically, wondering if he realized his behavior all on his own.

“Huh?” he asks, his brows knitted.

“Opie. I still don’t know how so completely different people are best friends,” you comment, your guard lowering a bit. “I don’t know if you realize he helps you out a lot.”

”Yeah, he’s a real one,” he nods, flashing a small smile. “That’s why he’s going to be my VP when the gavel gets passed down to me.”

“But no,” he shakes his head and then takes a step closer to you. “I know I fucked up and said some really fucked up things.”

He cautiously reaches out for your waist and pulls you in.

“I miss you.”

He leans in to kiss you, but you give him a gentle push, stopping him.

“No, Jax. That’s not how this works,” you tell him. “You can’t just do whatever you want, then apologize and assume everything is all good again.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, pulling back a bit.

“I’m tired of getting punished for whatever Tara did to you,” you tell him. “And your jealousy problems especially when I’m not even your girlfriend.”

You notice a tick in his jaw.

“You want to know what happened with me and Tara? Fine, I’ll tell you,” he states.

He gestures his head towards the clubhouse. You hesitate but then follow him. You and Jax end up on the roof where the two of you can have some privacy.

“Tara was the first girl I fell in love with and she broke my fucking heart when she left,” he starts to explain. “I really thought we were going to have this fairytale ending, just me and her against the world. She’d be my old lady while I run the club and we’d pop out a few kids, get a dog, white picket fence, the whole thing.”

He pauses, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

“She even talked about wanting to provide the life for our future children that she never got growing up but wanted. Her mom died when she was young, and her dad became a drunk. Still is, actually. I was going to take care of her, but it wasn’t good enough for her.”

He gently shakes his head as his jaw flexes again and a snarl starts forming.

“Tara had nobody! I opened up my home, my club, my heart to her and how did she thank me? By leaving!” He barks.

“You have nobody!” your ex threw in your face. “Without me, you’d be nothing but a sad, pathetic little girl.”

“I wanted to hurt you before you could hurt me,” he confesses. “And that’s not fair to you.”

So the man does have a conscience and can be self-aware. You wonder what changed.

“I’m sorry.” He looks over at you and puts his hand over yours, squeezing gently.

“I’m sorry, too. That you went through that heartache,” you sympathize.

“Can you forgive me?”

He seems sincere, but you’re taking it all in with a big grain of salt. You’ve heard this song and dance before too many times.

“Okay,” you finally nod and a smile splays across Jax’s face.

#Charlie hunnam #Charlie hunnam fanfiction #Jax teller #jax teller x reader #jax teller x you #jax teller x female reader #jax teller fanfiction #sons of anarchy #sons of anarchy fanfiction

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kverything-official · 2 months

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10 Free Kdrama Sites That Nobody Will Tell You About

Let’s be real here, even though most of us want to watch Korean dramas all day, not all of us can afford high price margins of streaming platforms. Given the fact that a big part of Korean drama fans are still students, it’s only natural to look for affordable ways to keep enjoying Kdramas in the best possible way.

This is why I decided to share these 10 free Kdrama sites that no one will tell you about. I have personally used these sites before and these work just fine. But you will need a little guide on how to use these and I am here to teach you the hacks.

So, read the blog till the end and discover the wonder that free Kdrama sites have to offer. Without further ado let’s get into the list.

10 free Kdrama sites for streaming

10. Dramafire

Starting with my least favorite site, Dramafire, this one is quite complicated and I myself don’t understand how to navigate through it properly. Nonetheless, it can be one of the best free Kdrama sites if you know your way through it.

The very first thing that upsets me is that there are a ton of different versions of the same site and if you don’t know which one is the real one, you are bound to get lost (just as I did). The next negative point is that there are both videos and blog posts, so you need to filter through those if you want to land on the dramas.

Another thing is that I don’t know yet, if there are any options of downloading or not, as it was quite difficult for me to navigate through the site. But again it’s better to have something other than having nothing.

So, you can bookmark this site and use this if your favorite free Kdrama sites aren’t working properly.

9. MyAsianTV

Next in the list, we have MyAsianTV. Even though I haven’t yet used it personally, the interface of this website looks promising. Unlike most of the free Kdrama sites, this one is organized and has different sections, where you can find the most recent Kdramas and the most popular ones of recent time.

There are very minimal advertisements, which is another plus point. You can also search for the dramas you are looking for through the search bar.

Not only Kdramas, but there are also movies and shows that you can easily find out by browsing through the different tabs and the search bar. Downloading here is very easy. However, just as the other free Kdrama sites, it will redirect you to different websites, which you need to be aware of. Other than that MyAsianTV is a standard free Kdrama site that you can use as your permanent choice for watching or downloading Kdramas for free.

8. Dramahood

Next up, we have Dramahood as our 8th free Kdrama site. Honestly, I didn’t like this one. It has a clean interface but that is rather glitchy. The dashboard took quite a lot of time to load, which means you shouldn’t expect much of an user-friendly experience.

The dashboard has a list of some of the most popular dramas and movies of all time, which would be better if replaced with the on-going series and movies.

I haven’t downloaded anything from this site, so I can’t review that experience but beware of the ads. Everything you tap will redirect you to another site, which is certainly very annoying.

But again, if your favorite free Kdrama sites aren’t working then this can be plausible choice.

7. Amazon Mini TV (For indian fans)

Amazon Mini TV is a very special feature as one of the free Kdrama sites for the Indian Kdrama fans. You can watch Kdramas for free, that too, from a trusted provider such as Amazon. But there are cons.

First of all, Amazon Mini TV is not an official streaming platform, it is rather a small inclusion to the Amazon ecommerce application. Hence, you can not expect the quality that Amazon prime Kdramas offers.

Secondly, the limitations of Kdramas are striking. There are very few Kdramas that you can browse through and watch. So, there is a bigger chance of you not finding the drama that you are looking for.

Thirdly, all the Kdramas are dubbed in Hindi. Many of you might like it but I prefer watching Kdramas in the original version (as it keeps my Korean under practice).

So, Amazon Mini TV might not become the kind of free Kdrama sites that you are looking for. However, it doesn’t hurt to try, right?

Read more at: 10 Free Kdrama Sites That Nobody Will Tell You About

#kim soo hyun #kim jiwon #queen of tears #kdrama #netflix kdrama #korean drama #free kdrama site

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monky · 8 months

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Stuff I would change as tumblr president

* mute users/tags

* functional mobile report abuse form

* no tumblr live

* bring back editing other ppl’s posts cuz it was funny you could do that

* cock/pussy on the dashboard ok

* ppl who post 50k word bts and mystic messenger self insert fics and tag with a million unrelated things get IP banned

* no Spotify links disguised as audio posts

* can use in-browser website on mobile without getting redirected to app

* delete/hide other ppl’s reblogs on your post

* html editing in text posts

Please elect me

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splatoon-countdown · 2 months

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Question regarding the future of the blog:

Here's my reasoning: From this point on I'm gonna countdown various Splatoon events, from splatfests to new games. But, obviously, those wont all be Side Order anymore. There's some pros and cons here, though... Pros: I can freely base my blog around Splatoon in general, and not just Side Order. Just keeping to a Side Order theme would be odd in the far future where I may be counting down to a Splatoon 4 DLC. Also, it allows me to do more with the blog that I would feel would be kind of odd for a Side Order focused blog. (Don't worry, I'm still gonna be focused on Side Order for a while even if this does happen.) Cons: URL changes are always a bit hard to adjust to, at first. Links will stop working, @'s have a chance to stop working, and watermarks will lead to a blog redirecting you to the current url. People scrolling their dashboard might not recognize the blog immediately. But these consequences only get worse the more time that passes, and although somewhat annoying, can be dealt with.

#fun stuff #Also in general either way the blog needs a redo of multiple things now that Side Order has come out to make things more general #not a countdown #Like that. Instead of being not a side order countdown its not a countdown in general.

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whump-card · 4 months

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Okay, I did a little investigating of how blocked and the new semi-blocked tags seem to work now(Jan 2024), particularly in relation to #lady whump. Bear with me, it's a long post (but it's half pictures!)

(I actually did a whole write-up of how they used to work but I never got around to posting it and now... things are different!)

DESKTOP FIRST: I tested the following with "Hide additional potentially mature content" both ON and OFF - it's the same on desktop wither way, because that setting has to do with the mobile app. All my community labels are set to "show."

First, there's the classically blocked tag, like #restraints:

Clicking on this tag used to take you to tumblr.com/TAGGED/restraints, and show the above with no content, but now it takes you to tumblr.com/SEARCH/restraints, and shows the above with no content. Manually typing in 'tagged' redirects you to 'search.'

Additionally, posts tagged with a tag like this do not show up in the feed of any other tags. If you tag your post with a fully blocked tag, you're throwing it into the void - you may as well have not tagged it with anything at all, only your followers and people directly reading your blog will see it.

But now there seems to be another level: clicking on a tag such as #nsfw takes you to tumblr.com/SEARCH/nsfw, but it shows content now! Additionally, posts tagged with #nsfw DO show up in the feed of other tags, as long as they have the Mature Community Label.

But WAIT! There's a third level! clicking on #lady whump takes you to a search instead of a tag, like #nsfw, but there's no warning, and posts without community labels appear. These posts are still able to appear in other tag feeds.

What's the big deal? You can't follow these tags. Take a look at what happens when you click on #whump, a 'safe' tag:

You are taken to tumblr.com/TAGGED/whump, and you also get this sidebar, which appeared on none of the previous pages:

You can follow #whump, and see posts from it on your dashboard if you wish. You can also explore related tags. You are unable to do this with tags that redirect to 'search.'

NOW (iOS) MOBILE:

If you have "Hide additional potentially mature content" OFF, searching #lady whump shows this:

And if you've got it turned ON, it shows this:

And posts tagged with #lady whump won't show up in the feeds of other tags for someone with this setting on, though it still appears on your dashboard if you follow the person, and on their blog if you go directly to it.

To sum up: on desktop, the limitation of #lady whump isn't as bad as it could be - but the "Hide additional potentially mature content" is ON by default, and many people aren't even aware of it, causing some real kneecapping on mobile.

I'm not about to make any sweeping declarations about how to handle this. The way #nsfw works now, allowing posts with the proper community label, is honestly kind of nice (even though it's only on desktop) - but limiting #lady whump as "mature content" is really unfortunate.

I guess: friendly reminder, especially to those newer among us, to check your settings and make sure that you're able to see all the stuff you want to be able to see. If you post content, check the tags you use to make sure you're not accidentally condemning your post to the void.

This is all investigation with no conclusion. I'd love to hear what other people think.

#female whumpee #whump #whump community #whumplr #whumblr #woman whump #lady whumpee

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anonymousewrites · 10 months

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Clan of Three (Book 1) Chapter Twelve

Father Figure! Mandalorian/Din Djarin x Teen! Reader

Chapter Twelve: The Offer

Summary: Mando gets an interesting message, and he has to consider bringing his foundlings closer to danger.

(Y/N) flipped their dagger between their fingers after they finished the latest job. It had been a simple one, just a bail jumper, but Mando knew a low-profile job would help them lay low while making some money. It had gone well, and Mando, (Y/N), and the Child were back on the road, flying through space until they came across another planet Mando was willing to stop on and find a job.

(Y/N)’s fighting had definitely improved. They were more adept at thinking in the moment and adapting to the fight. It came naturally to them, like their senses were attuned to understanding what their enemy was planning on.

Not for the first time, Mando wondered whether their natural talent at being in battle and their strangely heightened senses could be attributed to their weird abilities. Mando had never been around one, let alone two, people with “magic,” so he couldn’t know for sure, but nothing really felt out of the question.

Mando turned back from where he was watching (Y/N) twirl their Ushti dagger when a sudden holographic communication came through. Mando let it play.

The small form of Greef Karga appeared on the Razorcrest dashboard. “My friend, if you are receiving this transmission, that means you are alive.”

Mando focused more intently. Something seemed somber in Karga’s done. (Y/N) and the Child sensed it too, growing quiet and leaning forward.

“You might be surprised to hear this, but I am alive too. I guess we can call it even,” continued Karga’s message. “A lot has happened since we last saw each other. The man who hired you is still here, and his ranks of ex-imperial guards have grown. They have imposed despotic rule over my city, which has impeded the livelihood of the Guild. We consider him an enemy, but we cannot get close enough to take him out. If you would consider one last commission, I will very much make it worth your while.

“You have been successful so far in staving off their hunters, but they will not stop until they have their prizes,” said Karga. “So, here is my proposition: Return to Nevarro. Bring the children as bait. I will arrange an exchange and provide loyal Guild members as protection. Once we get near the client, you kill him, and we both get what we want. If you succeed, you keep the children, and I will have your name cleared with the Guild, for a man of honor should not be forced to live in exile. I await your arrival with optimism.” The message ended.

A moment of silence passed as the Child and (Y/N) watched Mando.

“What are we gonna do?” asked (Y/N).

“The job would benefit us, but if it went wrong, I’d be dead, and you two will be back with the Empire,” said Mando honestly.

“But if we did it, your name would be clear, and the Guild and the Client wouldn’t be after us,” said (Y/N).

Mando turned around in his seat. “It will be dangerous.”

“I’m willing to fight,” said (Y/N) fiercely.

Mando considered for a moment. But only for a moment, as his desire for his honor and to really rid the world of the Client threatening his foundlings overcame any feelings of doubt. Mando turned back to the control panel. “We’ll grab some reinforcements.”

(Y/N) perked up. “Cara?”

“And the Ugnaught,” confirmed Mando. “We can’t trust the Guild members yet.”

“I wouldn’t anyways,” said (Y/N) as Mando redirected the Razorcrest towards Sorgan.

Mando and (Y/N) walked into the Sorgan bar they had visited on their last trip. Inside, Cara was finishing up some sort of wrestling match, gleefully proving her strengths over the large alien before her and collecting her gambling money. Cara turned and paused when she saw them.

“Looking for some work?” asked Mando.

Cara chuckled. “Let me get a drink.”

Mando and (Y/N) sat down as Cara bought a bottle of alcohol and took a seat across from them. Mando let her pour a drink before explaining the situation. Cara was somber as she listened, carefully weighing her options.

“It seems like a straightforward operation,” said Mando. “They’re providing the plan and firepower.”

“We’re the snare,” said (Y/N).

“That’s why we’re coming to you,” said Mando.

“I don’t know. I’ve been advised to lay low,” said Cara. “If anybody runs my chain code, I’ll rot in a cell for the rest of my life.”

“Aren’t you a veteran?” asked (Y/N), raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, but I’ve been a lot of things since. Most of them carry a life sentence,” said Cara. “If I so much as book passage on a ship registered to the New Republic, I’m…” She trailed off and made a face.

“I have a ship. I can bring you there and back with a handsome reward,” offered Mando. “You can live free of worry.”

“I’m already free of worry,” said Cara. “And I’m not in the mood to play soldier anymore. Especially fighting some local warlord.”

“He’s not a local,” said (Y/N). They made eye contact with Cara. “He’s imperial.”

Cara was silent before smirking. “I’m in.”

Mando nodded. “Grab your weapons. We have another stop to make at Arvala-7.”

The Razorcrest landed just outside of the Ugnaught’s vapor farm. He met them outside and nodded in greeting, calmly walking them into his home.

“You have grown. Stronger,” observed the Ugnaught, nodding approvingly at (Y/N), who just shrugged. “The Child hasn’t grown much,” he observed, glancing at the Child.

“I think he might be a Strand-Cast,” said Mando.

“I don’t think he’s engineered,” said the Ugnaught. “I’ve worked in the gene farms. This one looks evolved. Too ugly.” He gestured to Cara. “This one, on the other hand, looks like she was farmed in the Cytocaves of Nora.”

“This is Cara Dune. She was a shock trooper,” said Mando.

“You were a Dropper?” asked the Ugnaught.

“Did you serve?” questioned Cara.

“On the other side, I’m afraid,” said the Ugnaught. “But I’m proud to say that I paid out my clan’s debt, and now I serve no one but myself.”

From behind him, a very familiar droid entered the house with a platter of drinks. It was IG-11, the droid that had tried to kill (Y/N) and the Child. (Y/N) grabbed the Child’s new cradle, fashioned on one of their latest jobs, and pulled him behind them as Mando stood and pulled a blaster. Cara reacted with him, her training come in handy with quick reflexes.

“Would anyone care for some tea?” asked IG-11.

The Ugnaught raised a hand. “Please lower your blasters. He will not harm you.”

“That thing is programmed to kill the kids,” said Mando watchfully.

“Not anymore,” corrected the Ugnaught. He gestured to the IG unit calmly placing the platter on the table. “It was left behind in the wake of your destruction. I found it laying where it fell. Devoid of all life. I recovered the flotsam and staked it as my own in accordance with the Charter of the New Republic. Little remained of its neural harness. Reconstruction was quite difficult but not impossible. It had to learn everything from scratch. This is something that cannot be taught with the twist of a spanner. It requires patience and repetition. I spent day after day reinforcing its development with patience and affirmation. It developed a personality as its experiences grew.”

“Is it still a hunter?” asked (Y/N).

“No. But it will protect,” said the Ugnaught.

Mando stared solemnly at the IG unit. “Tea?” it offered. Mando sighed.

“I must tend to the Blurrgs,” said the Ugnaught, rising.

He left without another word, in a very Ugnaught fashion. Mando rose and followed to speak with him. (Y/N) watched for the entrance. Cara leaned back.

“So, you’re still traveling with him?” she asked.

(Y/N) glanced back. “Yeah.”

“You move differently,” observed Cara. She grinned. “He taught you to fight better, didn’t he?”

(Y/N) smiled. “He did.”

“Good,” said Cara, nodding. “You good at it?”

“Of course,” said (Y/N), crossing their arms.

Cara chuckled. “Knew you had the fight in you.”

(Y/N) smiled and looked over at the Ugnaught and Mando. They were walking back over. “I think he convinced him.”

The Ugnaught approached them. “I, Kuiil, will join you. IG and I shall protect. And the blurrgs will join me as well.” Cara and (Y/N) frowned, looking at Mando, who didn’t react. “I have spoken.”

The group was ready to go.

Kuiil fed the blurrgs and patted them on the head before letting them rest aboard the Razorcrest. (Y/N) and the Child were watching Cara and Mando arm-wrestle.

“I got you, Mando,” said Cara, grinning.

“Care to double the bet?” said Mando, straining against her.

The Child’s eyes softened in worry as he saw his father, for what else could he call the shiny man taking care of him?, in what he thought was a fight. He raised a hand, looking directly at Cara, the woman “threatening” Mando. He clenched his little fist.

Cara gasped and let go of Mando to clutched her neck. She was acting like she was being choked.

(Y/N) felt a ripple run through them, and they looked down to see the Child’s movements. It was the abilities they shared. “Hey, hey, hey, buddy, no! Stop!” They covered his hand, and the Child blinked in confusion as he let Cara go. “She’s a friend!”

“That is not okay!” gasped Cara.

“Hmm. Very curious,” said Kuiil.

“Curious?! He almost killed me,” said Cara.

“Hey, he thought you two were fighting. He was trying to help Mando,” said (Y/N), patting the Child on the head.

Mando deadpanned. Of course they would encourage the kid fighting. “It’s fine, kid,” said Mando, looking at the Child, who perked up. “We’re friends.” The Child babbled happily.

“The story you told me of the mudhorn now makes more sense,” said Kuiil, nodding to Mando. He looked at (Y/N). “You can do what the Child can.” It was a statement, not a question, but (Y/N) nodded shortly.

“What is it?” asked Mando.

“I’ve heard rumors of what it is they can do,” said Kuiil.

“Really?” asked (Y/N), eager for possible answers about the strange powers they displayed. They needed some explanation about the chaos going on around them.

“What? When you worked for the Empire?” muttered Cara.

“When I was sold to the Empire, it was indentured servitude,” said Kuiil.

“Yet somehow, you walk free,” said Cara.

“I bought my freedom through the skill of my hands and the labor of three of your human lifetimes,” said Kuiil sternly. “Do not cast doubt upon that of what I am nor whom I shall serve.”

“Tell you what. I could really use your craftwork right now,” said Mando, diffusing the tension. He picked up the Child and motioned to the makeshift cradle. “Can you pad this container so the child can sleep better?”

“I shall fabricate a better one,” said Kuiil. “Then perhaps this Dropper can see how one can win their freedom with the skill of one’s hands.” And then, without another word, he set to work creating a new cradle for the Child while the Razorcrest flew towards Nevarro.

“So we’re headed to Nevarro,” said Cara.

“Have you ever been?” asked Mando.

“No,” responded Cara. “We lost a lot of our forces there. The city’s dug in pretty deep. No cover when you drop in. It stayed in Empire control until the end of the war.”

“The warlord we’re taking out was an imperial officer,” said Mando.

“What station?” asked Cara.

Mando looked at (Y/N). “Did you see any insignia?”

(Y/N) shook their head. “Nope. I just knew that he seemed important, and even the doctor guy was scared.”

“And I took out the safehouse when I snatched you and the kid,” said Mando. “More imps have reinforced since.”

“There’s something more going on,” decided Cara.

“Maybe,” said Mando.

“Probably,” added (Y/N).

“We’ll find out more when we land,” said Mando.

(Y/N) nodded, and out of habit, they began twisting their knife in their hand. They were preparing themself for a fight. They knew something would go wrong, nothing could be this easy. But (Y/N) had to do it. They knew they did.

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