#no other social media site allows you to make so many tags on a post and easily filter them

[var-username]

Hey so not to be dramatic but has anyone else come back to this site and rediscovered the joys the internet has? Like, I've been active recently but today because of the reddit protests, I couldn't do my mindless scrolling there. Because of that, today I've been really digging in here and there's so much??? stuff??? and it's all beautiful and funny!

Anything I've seen before feels nostalgic instead of bots reposting for internet points, and whenever I finish the stuff on my dash I just find a new blog and suddenly I'm in a whole new world! I've had this blog since August of 2014, and over those 9 years I've forgotten that the internet can be good!

So thank you all for keeping the old internet alive and well in places like this hellsite, and here's to watching it lap other social media platforms by doing absolutely nothing

#and also bless the tag system on this site holy shit #no other social media site allows you to make so many tags on a post and easily filter them #without being like instagram and restricting what types of content are allowed or favored by The Algorithm :tm: #certified var original

[0sbrain]

here's a list of mozilla add-ons for all of you tumblrinas out there to have a better internet experience

also, if you like my post, please reblog it. Tumblr hates links but i had to put them so you adhd bitches actually download them <3 i know because i am also adhd bitches

BASIC STUFF:

AdGuard AdBlocker / uBlock Origin : adguard is a basic adblock and with origin you can also block any other element you want. for example i got rid of the shop menu on tumblr

Privacy Badger : this add on will block trackers. if an element contains a tracker it will give you the option to use it or not

Shinigami Eyes: this will highlight transphobic and trans friendly users and sites using different colors by using a moderated database. perfect to avoid terfs on any social media. i will explain how to use this and other add-ons on android as well under the read more cut

THINGS YOU TUMBLINAS WANT:

Xkit: the best tumblr related add on. with many customizable options, xkit not only enhances your experience from a visual standpoint, but provides some much needed accessibility tools

bonus: if you are into tf2 and wanna be a cool cat, you can also get the old version to add cool reblog icons

AO3 enhancer: some basic enhancements including reading time and the ability to block authors and tags

YOUTUBE

Return of the YouTube Dislike : pretty self explanatory

Youtube non-stop: gets rid of the annoying "Video paused. Continue watching?" popup when you have a video in the background

SponsorBlock: gives you options to skip either automatically or manually sponsors, videoclip non music sectors and discloses other type of sponsorships/paid partnerships

Enhancer for YouTube: adds some useful options such as custom play speed, let's you play videos in a window and most important of all, it allows you to make the youtube interface as ugly as your heart desires. I can't show a full image of what it looks like because i've been told its eye strainy and i want this post to be accessible but look at this <3

PocketTube: allows you to organize your subscriptions into groups

YouTube Comment Search: what it says

FINDING STUFF

WayBack Machine: you probably know about this site and definitely should get the add on. this allows you to save pages and access older versions with the click of a button. while you can search wayback using web archives, please get this one as well as it allows you to easily save pages and contribute to the archive.

Web Archives: it allows you to search through multiple archives and search engines including WayBack Machine, Google, Yandex and more.

Search by Image: allows you to reverse image search using multiple search engines (in my experience yandex tends to yield the best results)

Image Search Options: similar to the last one

this next section is pretty niche but... STEAM AND STEAM TRADING

SteamDB: adds some interesting and useful statistics

Augmented Steam: useful info specially for browsing and buying games

TF2 Trade Helper: an absolute godsend, lets you add items in bundles, keeps track of your keys and metal and your recent trades, displays links to the backpack tf page next to users profiles and more. look it tells me how much moneys i have and adds metal to trades without clicking one by one oh may god

IN CONCLUSION: oooooh you want to change to firefox so badly, you want to delete chrome and all the chrome clones that are actually just spyware and use firefox

HOW TO USE MOZILLA ADD-ONS ON YOUR PHONE

if you already use firefox on android, you'll know there are certain add-ons compatible with the app, some of them even being made just for the mobile version such as Video Background Play FIx. while most of them are pretty useful, some more specific ones aren't available on this version of the browser, but there's a way of getting some of them to work

you need to download the firefox nightly app, which is basically the same as the regular firefox browser but with the ability of activating developer mode. you can find how to do that here. once you've enabled it, you need to create a collection with all the add ons you want. i wouldn't recommend adding extensions if the creators haven't talked about phone compatibility, but XKit and Shinigami Eyes should work

also, don't tell the government this secret skater move, but you can try using both the regular firefox browser and nightly so you can have youtube videos in a floating box while you browse social media.

see? i can block this terf while Rick Rolling the people following this tutorial. isn't that tubular?

#zezo talks #firefox #internet safety #accessibility #id in alt text #this will get tagged as tf2 because mine heart desires and its mentioned like twice #tf2 #long post #but it's worth it i promise #tumblr

[awritingotaku]

The Unspoken Rules of Tumblr

As explained by someone who joined around 2019

Tumblr for all intents and purposes is not like other social media websites. Think the “I’m not like other girls” but they are not like other girls and it’s for the better. Having lurked around different social media platforms for years, I picked up on the spoken and unspoken rules that make this website more bearable than other ones. So here’s a list that will be important to new users.

Block but do not engage. Yes the rule that is understood by much of the user base and I think actually is one of the reasons why fandoms here are actually not that bad. If you remember any rule off this list, make it be this one. Why is this rule so important? Because flame wars often don’t change minds and it just creates a toxic environment. If you find someone that infuriates you, don’t attack them and just block. If they are really bad and pose a threat to people, collect evidence and do a warning post explaining why that person is dangerous but still block them.

Everyone here is a clown, even the famous ones. There is no superiority here. The number of followers you have often connects to how much of a clown you are. Now being a clown here isn’t always bad, many famous ones here make people’s days with their posts, but it’s not a contest here. In fact, fame is often considered a curse and once you have engrained yourself into the collective unconscious, you will mainly be remembered for why you became a famous tumblr clown.

Please hide your likes and follows. Don’t know how that started but it’s a thing here.

Likes do nothing, instead reblog. If it doesn’t fit the theme of your main blog, make a side blog for your reblogs.

Use tags. Tags are key here for both as a blog runner and blog reader. It allows you to quickly sort through things and see what you posted.

You don’t have to censor words like die or sex. We instead have trigger warnings tags that people can specifically block out if they don’t want to see content with stuff like that.

You want to been seen and see cool things, the algorithm is not going to do that for you. Instead you have to actively seek out what tags and blogs to follow to get the content you want. It’s more human and unlike most social media you gotta interact with people. If your feed is negative, it’s likely due to who you follow.

Don’t have a blank blog, the obvious bot usernames, or default profile pics. We are so used to fighting bots that we will auto block because of these. Some bots if you just try to click their username will get you viruses so we are careful.

Never forget the tumblr roots. Superwholock while often thought long dead still has a lasting memory here. It’s the websites heritage. Also add Hannibal and My Little Pony.

There is no cringe here for the most part. X Reader writers are just as valid as the artists here. We are all clowns because we are on this site.

Be kind and remember, people are just as human as you.

This has been you guide to Tumblr! I hope you enjoy this hellsite as much as I have.

#please reblog #tumblr #tumblr guide #tumblr tips #new user guide #tumblr rules #otaku speaks #be kind #do your part

[lindwurmkai]

hey, have you heard that pillowfort has ✨ drafts ✨ now? (as in, the ability to save your posts as drafts.) they're still working on the queue feature (update: it's done!), but drafts are a big step forward!

in case you missed it so far, pillowfort is like a cross between tumblr and dreamwidth/livejournal, with a simplified dashboard reminiscent of old school tumblr and some classic livejournal features such as communities, threaded comments, and the ability to make individual posts followers-only or mutuals-only.

what are communities? basically, central hubs for posts about any subject you want that, unlike hashtags, can be moderated. they may have rules, such as "[subject matter] must be tagged" for example. you can post directly to a community or reblog existing posts to it!

since the site is currently experiencing some financial trouble, i thought i'd help out by spreading the word once again.

edit: the fundraiser was a success! crisis averted! i knew we could do it :D

why you should give pillowfort a chance:

no ads

no venture capitalist funding

no spying on the users

completely free to use except for optional premium features

nsfw is allowed except for sexual depictions of minors. if you're unsure what exactly that means, their tos may help

communities and the privacy controls mentioned above are excellent features

great community, low drama compared to other websites (so far)

the site's features themselves encourage genuine connection and good-faith conversation over endless "discourse"

every blog can automatically be filtered by original posts only or reblogs only

reasons not to join:

if you enjoy algorithmic social media. there is no algorithm at all

if you want to post or look at machine-generated art. they're still finalising the wording and personally i hope some exception will be made for models trained on ethically sourced images, but basically an anti-AI rule is in the works (update: finished!)

if you cannot live without reblog additions (reblogging with comment). all discussions on a pillowfort post take place in the comments section, and only your own followers see your tags. this has its pros and cons for sure! a similar feature to scratch that itch may be implemented in the future, but it will never be exactly like on tumblr.

if you need everything to be an app. the website works fine in a mobile browser and a progressive web app will hopefully be released soon (basically it's like an app in your browser and on mobile these can be added to the homescreen like real apps i think? they have push notifications!), but there's not going to be a native app available through official app stores due to the restrictions of those stores.

other factors to consider:

yes, the userbase is still small. depending on your interests, activity may be very slow. but we can change that! and on the plus side, reblogging your post to a community is a good way to easily get more eyes on it; way more effective than simply adding tags imo

the site culture is a bit different than on tumblr. many people read everything that's been posted since the last time they were online and don't follow more users/communities than they can keep up with. it's still somewhat lacking in shitposts and heavy on "essays" but don't be afraid to post whatever 😅

there are no blog themes like we have them on tumblr as yet, but you can customise your blog's colours and use html/insert links and images in your blog description

likes literally do nothing except to let OP know you enjoyed their post. you can't look at a list of all your likes. beware!

the staff is small and development is slow. some highly anticipated planned features other than the aforementioned queue include: - multi-account management - dashboard filters/reading lists - post bookmarking (since likes don't work that way) but we don't know how soon any of those will be implemented.

there is a user-developed browser extension (well, a userscript) called tassel available that adds additional features much like tumblr's beloved xkit :)

✨ okay, so how do i sign up? ✨

if you're interested but confused by the sign-up process or still under the impression that you need to pay to sign up (false), i'll put some clarifications and invite codes under the read more below. plus a note on donating, premium features, the paypal issue etc.

in a nutshell:

it's free

signing up without an invite code is possible, but you may have to wait a short while - supposedly less than an hour atm. just submit your email to the waitlist

if you don't feel like waiting, you can either use an invite code from an existing user or pay $5 to sign up instantly

every user gets plenty of invite codes and we're all willing to hand them out at the drop of a hat. they're really not hard to come by

some invites to get you started (just click the link):

invite 1 ▪ invite 2 ▪ invite 3 ▪ invite 4 ▪ invite 5

invite 6 ▪ invite 7 ▪ invite 8 ▪ invite 9 ▪ invite 10

invite 11 ▪ invite 12 ▪ invite 13 ▪ invite 14 ▪ invite 15

invite 16 ▪ invite 17 ▪ invite 18 ▪ invite 19 ▪ invite 20

i'll try to periodically check if any have been used and cross those out.

...paypal issue?

ok so paypal doesn't like working with sites that allow nsfw. as a result, you need a credit card in order to donate to pillowfort, buy one of those insta-registration keys, or subscribe to premium features*. i personally happen to have a credit card and would be willing to help out anyone who trusts me enough to send the money to me via paypal, but i realise chances are only my friends will do this.

some users are currently organising various activities for the purpose of letting people who only have paypal contribute to the site's survival. it's not super relevant for new users and won't get you access to premium features, but i thought i'd mention it anyway in case someone loves the concept of the site so much they want to support it immediately. a fundraising community has been created to collect posts of that nature!

*premium features are strictly limited to two categories of things:

fun little extras that no one truly needs

higher image upload limits, because obviously big images take up bandwidth and are therefore a reason for increased costs

you will never need to pay for vital accessibility features or anything of the sort. :)

#join us join us join us #my art got so many more notes over there #pillowfort #pillowfort social #social media #tumblr alternatives #;

[armoralor]

[TW: homophobia, threats of physical violence, SA, gun violence]

IMPORTANT: do not interact with the person mentioned below. please do not send hate or harass ANY of the accounts mentioned. the point of this post is to warn the community of a serious threat, not to dog pile or stir a hate mob. his accounts have been reported and local authorities have been made aware of his potential for harm. Last updated: 01/30/2024. New information begins close to the bottom, starting at the red text.

Some of you may already be familiar with the homophobic incel that was previously filling the Ahsoka & Sabine Wren tags with vile misogyny. He's gone by many names due to banning and deactivations: @sabezrastan01, @longlivetheemporer, @imperialloyalist01, @standorando, and @imperialsycophant. Here's the guy that gave us this classic:

Now, as meme worthy as that post was- it's unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg. Despite his exile from this social media site, he continues to be active on Instagram and TikTok. He also continues to get support from some of the same folks that have been painting sapphics and wolfwren shippers out as vicious bullies.

I didn't intend to find everything I did, but this man constantly comments under official Star Wars media posts calling queer women "degenerates" and "beasts," so it's been hard to miss. It honestly hurts to reread this shit again, but I want to warn anyone who 1) may interact with him without realizing he's a incel neo nazi 2) may be harmed by his continued harassment.

First thing to remember about him- he doesn't just complain about shipping, he has wished death and harm upon multiple people. On top of the two screenshots below, he also discussed wanting to put a bullet in Dave Filoni's head (the alt account was taken down before I thought to screenshot):

He wrote "these people need to be beaten" on a dozen anti-wolfwren posts before his most recent account was taken down. He has embraced the common anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric of queer people being pedophiles and rapists:

He repeatedly brings rape up unprompted, especially when talking to nonbinary folks and women:

Plus buys into the "woke agenda" causing queer relationships to happen in media:

You'll notice the irony of him "worrying" wolfwren shippers are going to threaten the actors, despite him previously threatening to kill Dave Filoni and beat wolfwren shippers. He seems to be projecting a lot of his own desires and wishes onto other people, which will become even more obvious further down this post.

Now, thankfully his last tumblr account was taken down for inciting violence, but as i mentioned before, it's hard to miss him on other platforms:

Out of morbid curiosity I clicked on his account, and it's unfortunately what you would expect for from an incel. His follower and following list is littered with white nationalists, militia groups, tactical gear stores, weapon vendors, alt-right religious orgs, and 4chan neo nazis.

Instagram Followers:

Instagram Following:

It's clean he's unhinged and a danger to those who don't share similar interests. He seems to make allowances for anyone who ships sabezra, but otherwise is a diehard supporter of alt-right Christian nationalist beliefs.

One of his previous account names on Instagram was @cajunminuteman, with a confederate flag as his pfp. In current alt right groups, a minuteman is a person who is ready to pick up a gun and fight on a minutes' notice, typically in a militia against the government. His previous account also followed a number of Christian Southern Nationalist accounts:

There are a number of shippers that continue to interact with this man. Most sabezra shippers I've chatted with are very sweet, some of you even share discord servers with me and have so much love for this fandom. I'm only asking those of you who choose to ignore this man's threats of violence to revaluate how far you are willing to go to support a fictional ship.

Wolfwren shippers have bore the brunt of fandom hate and harassment since Ahsoka started airing. We continue to get called degenerates, rapists, pedophiles, and threatened with physical violence. This is not the same, or in any way equivalent, to silly jokes made about fictional ships being made canon. It's exhausting to get constant harassment in real life AND online.

Are there mean wolfwren shippers? Absolutely. I'm sorry queer people sometimes cheer on cishet ships not becoming canon, I know it sucks when it's over something you like. No, enjoying cishet ships doesn't make you any less queer, and I'm sorry there was an asshole out there that said that shit. But can we PLEASE stop acting like sapphics and wolfwren enjoyers are ALWAYS bullies? That we're somehow always the ones threatening people? It plays into the alt-right rhetoric of the LGBTQIA+ community being predators and I'm so sick of it, especially when there is so much outright vile hate for queers.

If there are any wolfwrens sending hate and/or threats, I am begging for an example or name so they can be reported properly. None of us condone any of the nasty shit that's been sent, we deal with enough hate irl. This man's closest friends aren't much better, joking about wanting to hurt wolfwren shippers and how the LGBTQIA+ community is a bad thing:

The most recent return to tumblr was under account @imperialsycophant where he tried to pretend he wasn't the same incel loser:

He eventually went mask off, realizing that most people weren't foolded:

On January 24 2024, his most recent Instagram account (@imperialloyalist01) was taken down. Less than 24 hours later, a sabezra shipper DM'd me asking me to delete this post. I explained to the shipper that the point of this post was to warn the fandom as a whole of this guy's behaviour, and at multiple points I make it clear everyone should stay away + not engage any of the accounts involved.

Everything included in this thread is public information taken from public posts or public accounts. The shipper who DM'd me still demanded I remove this post, as it could "hurt their friends."

The context of who the incel associates himself with is helpful when conveying the severity & underlying motives of his actions. There are approximately two non alt-right/neo-nazi accounts in the following/follower lists I shared. Those who were following @imperialloyalist01 up until January 24th were both privately and publicly made aware they were following a person threatening harm against others, but they continued to like, comment, and follow the account. This does not mean any of them should be harassed or bothered. It simply provides additional context to the situation and will hopefully aid others in forming their own opinions on who they wish to befriend.

When I reminded the shipper who DM'd me that their friends were continuing to make jokes about hitting/hurting wolfwren shippers, AND tagging wolfwren in those edits, I did not get a response. However, what I did get was mass spam reported.

Shortly after I sent the above message and the sabezra shipper realized I would not be taking this post down, my account was hate reported and temporarily terminated. Tumblr has an automated feature that bans accounts immediately (out of safety) if they are reported by a large group of people at the same time (which is fair, say someone posts torture or something terrible). Thankfully, after I emailed the abuse support team and explained the situation, they reinstated my account:

I will not be sharing the name of the sabezra shippers who tried to take down my account. I already get harassed enough, and I don't want anyone to go through the same shit. Please remember that a small group of bad people do NOT represent an entire community. There are plenty of sweet sabezra shippers that do not support this kind of disgusting and hateful behaviour.

Key takeaways: don't send hate or threats. Let people have their fun online while they attempt to avoid the Horrors of real life. Please don't support people spewing vile hate JUST because they like the same fictional ships as you.

Other posts related to him: (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

#updated Friday Jan 30 2024 #sabezra #wolfwren #ezrabine #sabine wren #ezra bridger #bluebean #swr #rebels #shin hati #ahsoka #tw homophobia #tw sa #tw violence #text #mine #i reported him but who knows what will come of it- i just want everyone to stay safe. do not engage for your own safety please.

[chocolatepot]

Twitter is rapidly sinking as people are only allowed to look at it for about ten minutes a day, so I thought I would put together a post explaining the best way to get started on Mastodon! It can be an intimidating prospect as it's not as immediately user-friendly as Twitter or other corporate social media sites.

Selecting a server

The main difference between Mastodon and Twitter is that you don't just "sign up for Mastodon". Mastodon is effectively made up of hundreds of small sites (called "instances") that are all interconnected ("federated") and use the same interface. The instance you choose has only a minor effect on your experience. The main one to be aware of is that if an instance is known to be poorly moderated and have users who cause a lot of trouble, other instances may unlink from it ("defederate") and make it more difficult for people on it to interact with you. This is rare. The very big, unthemed instances like mastodon.social are more likely to have this problem than any fannish one, in my experience. (You can also make a personal choice to block an entire instance if you have an issue with it.)

The other effect is that each instance has its own universal feed of all users on it.

The sidebar looks almost exactly like Twitter's, except for "local" and "federated". Your home feed is just the people you follow. "Local" is everyone on your instance, and "federated" is everyone on any instance yours is federated with. The local feed is why it's worthwhile to choose an instance that has some sort of theme you're interested in, like fandom, tech, queer issues, history, etc.

The two main fannish instances I'm aware of are fandom.ink and federatedfandom.net. There's also wandering.shop but that seems to be more for writers, in my experience. If you want a different sort of instance, just google "[topic] mastodon instance" and you should find it.

Applying to your instance

Because instances are more tightly moderated than the rest of social media, you can't always immediately get into the one you want. (Though I suspect that many have opened up slightly as Twitter flails.) You may need to submit some kind of application and wait a few days.

If you know someone on the instance you want to join, they may be able to get you an invite code so you can skip the queue. I have unlimited invites for fandom.ink, hit me up if you want to join.

You can also join an instance that's currently taking new accounts and then transfer into the one you want later. For the impatient souls.

Posting

The mechanics of posting are just like Twitter's.

You type in the box, you hit "toot" (I know), and out it goes. You may notice that you get a 500 character limit! This is nice.

If you add an image, make sure to add alt text. Not including alt text may get you flamed or shamed. You can also make a poll, set privacy levels, and add a content/spoiler/trigger warning that will require people to click through to see the text.

Use of hashtags is strongly encouraged on Mastodon. I've seen some talk praising Tumblr's style of having a separate field for tags and suggesting Mastodon add that, but I don't know if it'll happen. But unlike Twitter, there's an earnest culture of incorporating tags into your text (eg "I just bought a new #fountainpen") and following tags to get posts about different topics. This is the main way to find people with similar interests to follow, outside of your local feed.

It's also Mastodon culture to write an introductory post with your interests, including hashtags, so that people can find you.

Something else to be aware of is that you can edit your posts! If anyone has already rt'd ("boosted") them - they will just get a notification of your edit.

You cannot qrt on Mastodon at this time. It's a hotly debated topic. You will have to settle for boosting and then replying, or making your own post with context and linking to the post you want to qrt.

Following other people

If the person you want to follow is on your instance, that's all well and good. Click on their name, go to their profile, click the "follow" button.

If they are not on your instance, you need to make sure that you're accessing them through your instance. Clicking on their name from your federated feed, or if someone has boosted them onto your home feed, will automatically take you to the version of their profile on your instance. Also all well and good.

If you get to their profile from somewhere else, such as a direct link from another social media platform, that's a problem. If you try to follow, their instance will bleat at you that you don't have an account. There are two ways to get around this.

One is to paste their entire username (eg "@[email protected]") into the search bar on your instance, from your home feed. The other is to navigate to "http://[your server address]/[their whole username]" in your address bar. Both will take you to the same place.

#mastodon #tutorial #please join me on mastodon it's lonely

[writingwithcolor]

Happy New Year from WWC, Updates, aka we’re alive! (12/31/22)

Hi lovely followers,

First of all, thanks so much for your patience and all your continued support for WritingWithColor. 2022 has been heavily, heartily, devoted to tending to our personal lives, from pressing demands at work, school, mental health, family matters, and so on. All the while, trying to dig through the long backlog of Q's.

2023 should show us some more devotion to WWC. We'll answer more questions, invite fresh mods in the team to balance the load, and last (but not least) get the new Writingwithcolor.org up and running! Your kind donations have gone towards the new blog in progress and will continue to support it. Once that’s all established and stabilized, we’ll look into meeting our other fun goals, such as:

Diverse writing advice e-publications.

Follower giveaways and bonus content.

Charity and community causes.

See support the mods page to donate or learn more

We have made some major strides behind the scenes, though. 

Progress made in 2022

Here's some progress made so far.

1. Writingwithcolor.org, as mentioned, is a thing! Its also been around for a while. It won't forever lead to tumblr, but to our new site, when it's complete. But as long as Tumblr is around and working for us, we'll keep some sort of link between them, so no need for you to fully switch to a new platform to see our content. (Note: you can use that URL to share WWC on other social media. Facebook has blocked all Tumblr URLs, as is.)

2. Major clean-up in the tags, improvements to search. You'll notice both consolidation and separation of some tags. For example, you can search the tags for "Black stereotypes" or even "Black women stereotypes" whereas before they were separated out, which created a less concise search. 

Updated tags and improvements:

X + stereotypes (e.g. Jewish stereotypes, Jewish women stereotypes, etc.)

X + tropes (e.g. Black tropes, Black men tropes, etc.)

X + names (e.g. Indian names, Korean names, etc.)

Colonialism, was colonization

Exotification, was exotic

Fetishization, was fetish

Othering, was other

Microaggressions, was micro-aggressions (the "-” breaks search)

lgbtqia, was lgbtqa+ and lgbtqia+ (the “+” breaks search)

interracial + romance, friendship, relationships, marriage, adoption (it used to all be nestled under "interracial”)

Many more, with some changes ongoing. Check the navigation

What to expect in 2023

     1. Blog askbox re-opening. We haven't determined a exact date yet, but it will be early 2023. | Early 2023

     2. New askbox. Along with re-opening the askbox, we will have a new means for you to submit your questions. | Early 2023

     Our new askbox will:

Streamline the process by organizing the Q's for us (Previously, they’ve been manually screened and organized by Colette with the help of others...oo wee) 

Allow us to respond to questions faster.

Help guide askers through the process to better ensure ask is meeting guidelines, making it more likely to be answered.

     3. New blog launch! Individually hosted and paid for by donation funds from you all! | Spring 2023

     4. Continued blog improvement and cleanup (i.e. tag improvement, outdated post updating or deletion, fixed broken links) | Ongoing, 2023

Again, thanks so much for your support and just enjoying the blog. If you’d like to reply to this post to boost your favorite inclusive books or media of 2022, feel free.

See ya in 2023!

Sincerely,

~Mod Colette and the WWC Team

#wwc #writingwithcolor #wwc updates #books #authors

[queengiuliettafirstlady]

🧡 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘, 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 2 - AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE (AU)-THEMED OTOME CONTENT CREATION CHALLENGE

For the second time, @xxsycamore and I are bringing to you a week-long exploration of the trope Alternative Universe! (link to last year’s challenge here)

→ GENERAL RULES

Works of all forms are welcome! Fanarts, fanfics, headcanons, etc.

Limited to otome fandoms - mobile otome games such as: IkeSeries (Ikemen Vampire, Ikemen Prince, Ikemen Villains, Ikemen Sengoku, Ikemen Revolution, Ikemen Genjiden); Tears of Themis; Obey me!; Mr Love: Queen’s Choice; Light and Night; Voltage games; Mystic Messenger and others, as well as console otomes.

This challenge takes place between June 19th and June 25th, 2023. The deadline for posting your works is July 15th (until midnight, UTC+2).

Instead of making the masterlist after the deadline, @xxsycamore who is in charge of it will try to create the post in advance and update it regularly during the challenge. Don’t hesitate to contact us if your work was done within the deadline but wasn’t featured in the masterlist. Or, if you prefer not to be featured on the masterlist instead!

When posting your works, use the tag #different universe same love ccc - you can as well tag @xxsycamore and @queengiuliettafirstlady in your posts! It will help us find your work easier!

Posting to other sites is allowed - as long as you mention the challenge and its creators.

Reblogs are appreciated!

→ CONTENT RULES

This challenge features a list of 14 AU prompts, two for each day, plus 7 dialogue prompts which you can match to your liking, if you want to. You’re free to create a work based on whichever AU you like more for that day. You can also create works for both AU prompts, and you can also mix the two prompts into one work! Whatever suits your preferences :) You can create more than one work for the same prompt, too!

You can find the lists of prompts on the banner above, as well at the bottom of this post.

Under the cut, you will also find a short explanation of each AU prompt, just in case there is anything unclear about them.

Any additional rules are up to the content creators. You are free to choose the rating(make sure to mark your NSFW works accordingly, and if you’re minor, make sure not to interact with such!), and also the genre (the challenge’s main focus is romantic love, but it is not obligatory for your work to be of such genre), all characters and ships included are up to you (OCs, character x MC, character x character, etc.)

You’re free to take requests from your audience using these prompt lists, again please make sure to mention the challenge and its creators.

You’re absolutely free to post your works for this challenge after its deadline, July 15th - but please note that they won’t be featured in the masterlist!

The final and most important rule is to have fun and not pressure yourself about full completion of the challenge. Do only as many works as you wish! :)

Here is a free-to-use banner/header for the challenge!:

If you have any additional questions, we’ll be happy to help. There is no such thing as a stupid question, so don’t hesitate to get in contact with us! We wish you happy creating!

→ THE LISTS

Day 1 - June 19th- Bodyguard AU | Mafia AU

Day 2 - June 20th- Angels and Demons AU | Pirate/Mermaid AU

Day 3 - June 21st- Social Media AU |Coffee/Flower shop AU

Day 4 - June 22nd- Celebrity AU | Bookstore AU

Day 5 - June 23rd - Forbidden love AU | Soulmates AU

Day 6 - June 24th- Office AU | Circus/Magic AU

Day 7 - June 25th- FREE DAY (an AU of your choice!)

Dialogue prompts:

“Him? Are you kidding me? He’s not even my type!”

“We didn’t even exchange numbers! I’m such a fool.”

“We should have never met.”

“Ah, it’s you again! Do you come here often?”

“I’ll be waiting at our spot. Make sure no one sees you.”

“Promise me we will always have each other.”

“Maybe we’ll meet again someday.”

Under the cut you’ll find a short explanation of each AU:

Bodyguard AU - character A is appointed to protect character B

Mafia AU - an extension of Mobster AU, with a mafia setting - typically involves rivalry and enemies-to-lovers tropes

Angels and Demons AU - typically depicts the forbidden love between character A who is an angel and character B who is a demon. You can also write about Fallen angels/Ascended demons.

Pirate/Mermaid AU - an AU that features merfolk characters or pirates - or both!

Social Media AU - an AU where the characters meet on social media and begin their friendship/relationship online.

Coffee/Flower shop AU - typically resolves around a small business that character A either owns or works at, and their loyal customer, character B; but they can also be both customers, or coworkers.

Celebrity AU - placing your character(s) in a setting where they’re famous. Other characters could be their fans; working with them, meeting them by chance…

Bookstore AU - similar to Coffee/Flower shop AU.

Forbidden love AU - a setting where the characters are forbidden from being together for whatever reason.

Soulmates AU - a setting where everyone has One True Love and the ways of finding it varies depending on the creator. An example of a popular Soulmate AU is “Your soulmate’s name is written on you”.

Office AU - a setting where the characters work together in an office.

Circus/Magic AU - a setting where the characters either work in the circus or are magic users - the latter involves anything fantasy-related, basically.

FREE DAY - The last day of this challenge is for you to choose your own prompt! It can perfectly well overlap with an already existing prompt. Maybe your favorite Alternative Universe wasn’t in the list above? This is your chance to include your idea in the list :)

ONCE AGAIN, HAPPY CREATING! WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOUR CREATIONS 🧡

#writing challenge #prompt list #writing prompts #ikemen vampire #ikevamp #ikemen prince #ikepri #ikemen villains #ikevil #ikemen sengoku #ikesen #ikemen revolution #ikerev #ikemen genjiden #thears of themis #mystic messenger #mysme #tot #light and night #otome #ikemen #cybird #voltage inc

[slavicafire]

I apologize if this is not something I should ask you but do you have any advice for new users? I still don’t quite know how to work this site.

oh goodness. no need to apologise, of course, but I doubt I can give any meaningful advice here - especially given that I've never really been a user of any other social media site and so most things about tumblr seem very obvious to me, like asking a native speaker of a language for tips to learn it - but I've seen plenty of useful posts going around, many of which can be found under the new users tag.

still, some things that I haven't seen mentioned all that much that might be useful for following and/or interacting with a blog like mine:

while there are some blogs (especially sideblogs) with very specific and consistent content, most users will have things that are Their Thing... and then a lot of other stuff thrown in there as well. using me as an example: I have my sideblogs which function as sort of e-shrines, devotional spaces, and these will have very specific and uniform sort of content pertaining to their very theme. now, my main blog - so the one you've sent this ask to - is mostly Slavic Paganism and Folklore related, but of course, as you can see, there's just... everything else I like here as well. it often will lie somewhere close to that Slavic and Folk domain but sometimes will go in such different or opposite directions that it might be surprising for someone used to really uniform spaces.

many blogs will have specific personal tags which are used as labels to categorise posts on the blog, be able to get back to them, signal a very specific sort of content, or allow followers to blacklist it. for example, I have the tag #żmija gada which is a tag I use for my personal posts where I talk about things. I have tags like #folklore which allow me to have some order to my blog but will also show up for users searching tumblr for that content in general, and then I also have tags like, for example, #bad luck confessions, which is a tag related to a very specific ask thread I have with people interacting with my blog and that makes very little sense outside of my blog.

even if you follow someone and like 99% of their content, don't be afraid to blacklist the 1% you don't like. sometimes this balance will even shift in the other direction and that's also alright: I follow users I really like but block like 80% of their content because I don't care for it. blacklisting/blocking tags is encouraged and not seen as a bad thing at all.

building a dashboard you will enjoy - observing or interacting with - will take time. while you can, of course, follow 100 recommended Big Blogs or Specific Content Blogs right away, chances are that you will experience much more enjoyment once you organically start finding new blogs you might like. if you like the content of a given blog, don't be afraid to check the blogs that person reblogs from or the blogs they interact with - and follow those, or look through them to find other blogs. community building works a bit different on tumblr and it takes time to learn it organically. there is no rush, don't worry.

don't be afraid to unfollow if you realise you don't like the content. it's okay, and it's much better than seeing something that bothers you all the time - or, gods forbid, messaging the user to ask them to change what they post.

if you want to ask someone something, sending an ask is much better than a submission (if they have them open) - submissions have to be posted instead of answered and it's a whole mess. also, not everyone will want to interact through DMs - sometimes they're really broken, and are, after all, direct messages, and not everyone wants to just start talking to strangers as if they're friends already.

honestly, take it easy. it's just a silly website, you can't commit some sort of grave social blunder that will haunt you forever - just take your time, find content you like, and have some patience with how the technical part of the experience works.

#I will tag this as #new users #although I haven't said anything even remotely useful outside of rambling about the particulars of my own blog

[dial-a-dyke]

Do you know about Queering the Map?

Hey y'all! I wanna highlight a queer platform I've been really interested in recently, one that has gained popularity in the last couple months especially. You might recognize this heartbreaking and intimate excerpt from Gaza that's been circulating social media platforms in the last couple months:

I’ve always imagined you and me sitting out in the sun, hand and hand, free at last. We spoke of all the places we would go if we could. Yet you are gone now. If I had known that bombs raining down on us would take you from me, I would have gladly told the world how I adored you more than anything. I’m sorry I was a coward.

The post comes from queeringthemap.com which, according to their Instagram, "is a community-generated counter mapping platform for digitally archiving LGBTQ2IA+ experience in relation to physical space."

Basically, Queering the Map allows you to post your own queer memories from anywhere in the world, completely anonymous. Wanna mark where you and your girlfriend had your first date? Drop a pin. Wanna place yourself in the middle of the ocean as a metaphor for unrequited love? Drop a pin. Wanna reflect on being the only queer person in your town? Drop a pin.

There is no limit to what users can post - or what they can see. Every post that users have ever created is still on the site, serving as make-shift digital archive for queer memories. Posts are public to any user who visits the website, allowing people to browse the digital globe and the queer experiences people have shared.

Founded by Canadian artist Lucas LaRochelle in 2017, Queering the Map has connected countless LGBTQ2IA+ people from around the world. Some like to share their own memories, others find hope in reading others' posts, and some share the posts to other platforms for rhetorical purposes.

Take the excerpt above from Gaza, for example. It first began to circulate the web (to my knowledge) roughly a year ago, and then again in June after it was featured in a NYT article. Then, in October, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, and Tumblr users began sharing the screenshotted post to show solidarity with Palestinians - especially queer Palestinians. The Dyke Project used this excerpt and others from Gaza to display on bus advertising systems. Something about Queering the Map captivated attention in a unique way - something about it made people feel like it was the right place to turn in moments and feelings of tragedy and horror.

Other times, people share posts that simply spoke to them. Illustrator Aude Nasr brought some posts to life, helping us picture the moments people were trying to document. I've posted some of Nasr's art here.

I encourage you all to check out queeringthemap.com at some point, if not to post for yourself but to just see the beautiful, lively, and complicated memories someone, somewhere, wanted you to see. And to my queer siblings everywhere: I am constantly amazed by our desire to connect with each other, to defy borders and time, and to write our stories down.

Quick userguide:

Entering the website, users find themselves in a zoomed in location on the map. The water is blue, but the land is pink with dotted lines indicating borders between states or regions, and straight lines between countries. Using their mouse, one can scroll to zoom in or out. Memories are marked on the pink map by black location tags, which you can click on to view the specific memory a user shared for that location, or simply run your mouse over it for a smaller box to show the text. Zooming out too far, a user might see a black blob, no pink space in sight as so many memories have been posted to a particular region.

Were you familiar with Queering the Map before this post? What about before the last couple of months? What Queering the Map entry speaks to you? What does queer memory making mean to you?

Here's some posts I've been thinking about lately.

It gets better. When I first got here I was so unsure of myself and if I would be accepted. Now, I know I am loved, I am more sure and I have been accepted and embraced unlike ever before. Roll Pride baby!

came out to my daughter here while driving her to school, 6 years later and 6000km away she came out to me .

Came out to my folks. It didn’t go too well.

Was with the cutest guy I’d ever met

I’m from rafah and she’s from deir al balah, she got married later and i left gaza strip, to this day i think of you, to this day i wish to be back to sleep with you in the same bed, i want you to call for my name again, i wish if i can be with you again my heart. بحبك وبالرغم من الي صار دايما في بالي.

Idk how long I will live so I just want this to be my memory here before I die. I am not going to leave my home, come what may. My biggest regret is not kissing this one guy. He died two days back. We had told how much we like each other and I was too shy to kiss last time. He died in the bombing. I think a big part of me died too. And soon I will be dead. To younus, i will kiss you in heaven.

First kiss 16 years ago

One day, this sea will not divide us.

i hope your family knows i will love you until the day i die. i hope we meet in every life, no matter how many times you break my heart. Wo ai ni

故事从这里开始 : ) Un día te olvidaré, no importa que sea tan difícil. Me lo creo.

#queer #queer history #lgbtq #sapphic #gay

[these-written-reveries]

➡ Mutuals, followers, and anyone else with a sense of humanity, please read this! Especially if you've been avoiding what's been happening in Palestine! This is partially me expressing my thoughts/feelings, but I do have a good point and helpful links at the end!

I have to say I am so heartbroken and disappointed to see people here actively choosing to engage in their own privilege and turning a blind eye to this tragedy. Apparently even boosting posts by reblogging is too much?

And of course, many of these people are white and have never experienced the world outside of their own white privilege and individualistic mindset (which stems directly from white supremacy/capitalism), so the thought of having to break out of that and feel uncomfortable for the sake of trying to help other people that aren't like them is like asking them to cut off their fucking arm. Meanwhile, people of color across the world have been doing so much to try to push for change, even though it was the white powers of the world who started this mess and are continuing to support it. If anything, as white people, we have an even stronger responsibility to clean up the mess our ancestors started. ESPECIALLY when our corrupt white leaders refuse to stand up and do the right thing. It is unfortunate and unfair that the responsibility lands on us everyday people to try to stop a literal genocide, but it is the reality of our present times. And we must do the right thing!

Because what happens if we all don't contribute to this? What happens if this movement for change fizzles out bc people decide to turn away from it bc it's hard/uncomfortable/scary? Well, not only will Palestinians be potentially wiped out of existence, but our world as we know it will stand no chance at ever changing. If we don't come together as humans and form community (locally & internationally), if we don't stand by our fellow siblings from other parts of the world and fight for their lives/freedom, change will never happen. And we need change, on so many levels. Do you guys really think this doesn't affect you? It affects ALL OF US. If not now, then it will later. If we can't even come together against a genocide of people, how are we ever gonna be able to stand together for any other movement of change?

This is OUR responsibility, as humans, as people. Many of our world leaders and people in power lack humanity, but that doesn't mean we don't. Right? Please prove me right here. Because seeing some of my mutuals agreeing with posts about people saying "you don't have to engage in what's going on or try to help if it makes you uncomfy, guys 🥺" is so disheartening. And let me be clear, I am not encouraging you to doomscroll all day and throw away your personal lives and cause yourselves to mentally spiral and burn yourselves out (possibly even more than you already are). What each of us is capable of doing to help this movement is gonna look different, depending on the person. But doing something is better than nothing at all. And yes, if you have any empathy in your hearts, you are going to feel pain and heartache and rage over what is happening in Palestine. Good! Use those feelings to continue to push for change! Let's actually make good use of our humanity and our privilege!

Here are some small, but impactful ways to help:

BOOST POSTS (don't just like them, reblog! This helps more than you think it does, even if you don't have many followers! It's about making noise and not allowing social media to suppress our voices!) Tag them with things such as #palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza

Contact your representatives/government! (The US and Europe sites provided will write an automatic script for you, but you can also find a pre-written script for your country here if you don't know where to begin with writing your own!)

United States (At the end of the script, you should add something along the lines of "If you do not stand with Palestine and vote to stop funding Israel, I will not be voting for you next election.")

Europe (click on your country at the top of the page and it'll tell you who your representatives are, how to reach them, and provide a script that you can copy and paste!)

Australia

Canada

3. Take part in the BDS movement by choosing not to support as many brands on this list as you can!

4. Donate (free option included!)

Click the button on this site (can be done once every 24 hours) and you will be helping to donate to Palestinians for free! Every click takes money from the sponsors who support this cause and gives it to Palestinians. (I plan on setting an alarm every day to remind me to press this button, and I suggest you do too!)

If you have money to spare for this cause, donate to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund!

5. Finally, learn what you can, even in small doses! This guide gives great info on the past/present regarding Palestine and provides lots of sources! This is perfect if you're interested in learning more, but don't know where to begin.

Bottom line: it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to take action and contribute to this movement. Small action is still action and -with enough of it- can lead to big change! The hardest part is working to unwind/unlearn/recognize our individualistic mindsets and our privilege and choosing to do and be better! Change is only possible if we all do our part to make it happen. So let's make it happen! ❤️

#palestine #free palestine #from the river to the sea palestine will be free #gaza #free gaza #k.talks

[malevolent-monthly]

FAQ

What is Malevolent Monthly?

Malevolent Monthly is a recurring event based on the “draw this in your style” (DTIYS) events that are common in the visual art community. DTIYS events are typically hosted by a single artist who asks other artists to draw a particular piece of theirs in their own style. Many artworks are then created with the same subject matter in different art styles. The motivation behind this event is to encourage writers to write something that may have a similar plot as somebody else’s but that differs in style, execution, and other things that make writers unique. In other words, “write this in your style”!

How does this event work?

Prompts will be released on the 1st of each month, starting January 1st, 2024. Writers will then have the entire month to write a fic based on the prompt. Fics responding to the prompts can be posted anytime. Participants can also send asks or submissions with snippets from their fic, and we will preview them on our Tumblr.

How do I participate?

To participate, all you need to do is write a fic based on the prompt given at the beginning of the month and post it. Fics must be based on the prompt given to be considered part of this event.

Do I have to participate each month?

Nope! You can participate once, or you can participate every month, or anywhere in between. 

How do prompts work? 

Prompts will be posted on the first day of the month on Tumblr, Pillowfort, and AO3. Prompts will be general enough to give you flexibility when writing but specific enough that all fics will have similar plots/subject matter. (Eg. ‘John and Arthur go to see a movie together, but it’s rudely interrupted.’) 

I don’t think I’m going to finish my fic on time; can I post it after the month is over?

Absolutely! We won’t be sharing prompts fulfilled after the end of the month on our Tumblr/Pillowfort, but the AO3 collection will remain open to submissions for past prompts, and we encourage you to finish your fic even if it’ll be a bit late.

Can I write for a past prompt?

Yes! Though we won’t be sharing works written for past prompts on our Tumblr/Pillowfort, the AO3 collection will remain open to submissions for past prompts, so you can write for any past prompt that interests you and add it to the collection.

Can I submit a prompt?

Yes, you can submit a prompt! Anybody can submit prompts, regardless of whether or not you plan on participating in the event as a writer. Prompts can be submitted via our Tumblr or Pillowfort askbox.

Is there a word count minimum or maximum?

There is no word count minimum or maximum. You can write monthly 100-word drabbles or monthly 100,000-word epic novels—whatever inspires you!

Can I participate if I’m a minor (under 18)?

Sure! There is no age restriction for this event.

Can I participate if I’m not a writer?

If you feel inspired by the monthly prompt, you can absolutely create art (or other non-written creations) for it! However, as this is officially a write-this-in-your-style event, we will only be sharing written content on our blogs/in our AO3 collection.

What social media do I need to participate?

We will be posting prompts on Tumblr, AO3, and Pillowfort, so you will need some way to access or view the prompt on one of those three sites to participate. However, you can post your work wherever is most convenient for you, and you will be able to view the AO3 collection without an account, so there is no official social media requirement.

Can I co-write with someone else?

Sure!

What kind of fics can I write?

Any fic centered around the canon characters and/or world of Malevolent is permitted, including AUs, crossovers (where Malevolent characters are central to the story), and NSFW content. Writers must clearly label sensitive content (including, at minimum, AO3’s four major archive warnings) when posting. Any content is allowed as long as it is properly tagged. The exception is any content that is discriminatory or categorized as hate speech, which will not be shared by the mod team on social media or accepted into the AO3 collection.

Where do we post our works?

We will be reblogging works on Tumblr and Pillowfort, and we will also have an AO3 collection that you can post your work to. However, you can post your works on whichever site is most convenient for you.

When posting on Tumblr or Pillowfort, use the tag #malevolent monthly and tag our blog @malevolent-monthly in the body of the post so that we can see it!

How do I add my fic to the AO3 collection?

Follow the Google Doc guide here to add your fic to the Malevolent Monthly collection. Note that the collection is in the prompt meme style, so there are a few extra steps involved that differ from posting to a typical collection. The guide has pictures and step-by-step instructions that should help you post your fic successfully. However, if you have any difficulties, please send us a message.

I plan to include an image in my post/in my fic. Do I need an image ID for it?

Image IDs are highly encouraged, but not strictly required, for this event. Please consider adding IDs when applicable to increase the accessibility of your post or your fic. For a guide on how to write image IDs, please see this document.

Who are the moderators for this event?

The moderators are:

Jay (@bluejayblueskies)

Jack (@organchordsandlightning)

Rowan (@splitting-infinities)

I have another question not answered here.

Please send us an ask!

#malevolent monthly

[unspeakablehorror]

Where to Find Me

Date Created: 7/20/2023 Last Update: 9/1/2023

Edit on 9/1/2023: Added a link to my personal website to the Fanworks section as well, since my fanfic can be found there.

Edit on 8/7/2023: Added a second website that's for archiving fanworks and other stuff I like to 'My Websites'.

EDIT on 7/21/2023: The @ symbol was automatically redirecting (or attempting to redirect) the second part of the pillowfort, dreamwidth, and cohost urls to tumblr accounts, so I got rid of these in all the links.

NOTE: I HAVE STOPPED REGULARLY CHECKING TUMBLR.

The interface of this site has become nearly intolerable for me, and it's become clear to me over the intervening years that Mullenweg is committed to making it progressively worse. So if you've wondered if the reason I've stopped commenting on your posts has anything to do with you, let me assure you, it's not. It's not you. It's not me, either. It's Tumblr. I logged out like maybe a week ago? And it's been amazing? I can live my life again? Miss you all, though.

So anyone who knows me (or has looked through this blog carefully enough) knows I haven't been on here since 2018. But it's been a few years, so now it's time to update my 'Where to Find Me' post! Since there have been several notable changes, and because I wanted to change how this post was structured a bit, it felt easier to me to just make a new post rather than editing the old.

My Websites

Unspeakablehorror's Site - I'll be keeping copies of my fanfic here, recipes, assorted essays, and other things of interest to me here. I will also archive select works from others on this site (with the creator's permission).

New Old Web - This is my website where I talk about how the web is crashing and burning and think about how we can make it not crash and burn. I'm still building it up, but I hope I can add lots more thoughts here.

Main Social Media

I currently feel that I use Pillowfort the most and Dreamwidth the second most. Something my main social media sites both have in common? They don't take venture capital. They're also great for longform writing and conversations.

unspeakablehorror at Pillowfort - Like if Tumblr and LiveJournal had a baby. I love the way this site handles commenting, reblogs, post edits, and privacy. And I love the communities feature. I'm the mod of 3 different Star Wars comms on here: Andor, Sith Empire, and Star Wars-The Sacred Texts.

unspeakablehorror at Dreamwidth - LiveJournal but better. Interface is a bit retro but I absolutely love the tag cloud. Every social media should have tag clouds. Dreamwidth has so many customization features. Also this site has my favorite setup for privacy options. And I love the communities feature on here. I'm the mod of the Sith of Korriban comm here.

Secondary Social Media

unspeakablehorror at Mastodon (fandom.ink instance) - I am on Mastodon, too, which is similar to Twitter with respect to the character count limitations, but has many exciting ideas, like using a protocol for social media that allows accounts on different servers to seamlessly interact with each other (as long as the server isn’t blocked for incompatible rules). It also incorporates the idea of decentralization in a very intriguing way and is entirely non-profit.

unspeakablehorror at cohost.org - Yeah, I'm here too. I don't currently use this account as much, but I do check the site from time to time and I've made a few posts here. I'd be here more often if any of my friends used this platform, but I don't prefer the interface, which is too much like Tumblr for my taste. Basically this is Tumblr if the interface wasn't total garbage, lol. I think I clash with some of the core principles of this site somewhat, and the only way to delete your page is by emailing the site owners, but at least it doesn't have ads or take venture capital. This site is what happens when some furries with coding and design skills are given a bunch of $$$ to make a social media site.

You can also PM me if you want to inquire about other ways to contact me or discuss anything else. I might be a little slow to answer Tumblr PMs, but I'll try to log in from time to time to check for them. Hopefully Tumblr doesn't end up breaking that, too, lol.

Fanworks

I am actually in the process of decentralizing my fic storage! Currently using a combination of social media posts for my oneshots and external storage links to store pdfs and epubs of my longfic. These can be found by examining my 'About me' in my bio on Pillowfort and my profile on Dreamwidth. My eventual goal is to also have my own website to store my fic on.

Unspeakablehorror's Site - I'll be keeping copies of my fanfic here, among other things.

Fanfic on Pillowfort - Access all my fic from Pillowfort!

Fanfic on Dreamwidth - Access all my fic from Dreamwidth!

unspeakablehorror at AO3 - Ah, I hope AO3 can work out their, uh, severe organizational issues, but in the meantime, I'm uncertain how much presence I'm going to have on this site.

unspeakablehorror at ffnet - This site is awful. The ads alone cause me psychological damage. Probably going to have to phase out posting here.

Well, that's all. Time for me to take my leave of this ball pit!

#social media #where to find me #adios ball pit #like I said #I'll log on occasionally to check my notes and PMs #but I'm not going to be constantly logging on and going through my dashboard #can't take the ads #hate 'snooze Tumblr live' #hate Tumblr Live in general #hate every change that makes this site more unusable #can't take it anymore lol

[psalacanthea]

Hi I'm Lauren I'm new to this app, I'm just trying to make some friends. Can i be your friend?

Gonna suspend disbelief for a minute and assume this is true. :) If it is!

How to Make Friends on Tumblr Dot Com! from a fandom perspective

1) Look for people with common interests and follow them.

The first step in finding friends on tumblr dot com is finding people who like the stuff you do. Fandom tags are great for this! Use the search function to look for fandoms you like. Find people who are talking about the things you like! Follow them.

IE: You have 'Owl House' in your bio. Use the tumblr search to look for Owl House, or if you want to specifically look for a ship, look up CHARACTER x CHARACTER. IE: Luz x Amity.

Once you've found the fan stuff you like to see, you can use the more common fandom tags fans like to use, like 'TOH' for 'the owl house' and 'lumity' for 'luz x amity'

2) Interact with the people who make and interact with the stuff you like.

There are many ways to interact on tunglr dot com.

LIKES- Hitting that heart button on a post. A like is just a thumbs up, an acknowledgement, an 'this is cool'. This is the equivalent of a passing smile. It shows someone 'I'm friendly!'

You can also use likes to bookmark things you want to reblog later, but you don't have time for right now!

REBLOGS- This is you showing things you think are cool to other people, and just saving them to look at later. Your blog is for you. It's your neat rock collection. It's your pictures in your locker. It's your scrapbook.

Leaving TAGS on your reblogs (the bar at the bottom of a post that says 'add tags') allows them

a) to be searchable on your blog. If someone sees your blog and also likes Amity, they can search for it and see all the cool Amity stuff you found if you've tagged it properly.

b) to leave notes for the creator of the post. Things like 'woah this is cool'. It's the equivalent of leaving someone a nice note. Something they can look at, save, and smile about later. Tags hold no social expectation for the creator.

It is ALWAYS better to reblog things without tags than to not reblog them at all. Why? Because we're all here to share stuff, and not reblogging because you can't do it 'right' kills the ecosystem. Sometimes I don't have the spoons for tagging. So I reblog without them.

If you feel like you have something to ADD to the post, and to the fandom discussion, you can always reblog with a post of your own added! Don't be shy about this. It's a basic function of the site. It isn't rude to do!

Being a dick in the reblog, however, is rude. If you don't like something and want to make a post about it, or you disagree, make YOUR OWN POST. You can do that. :) Just tag it appropriately so you find your target audience.

IE: You hate the Lumity ship. Do not tag your negative post LUMITY, as it will show up to all the people who like the ship. That's rude. Find the tag specifically for Lumity haters, your true brethren. Usually they're something like ANTI-LUMITY.

COMMENTS-

Comments are for when you want to say something about a post, but not add to it directly. More immediate and personal than talking in tags, commenting also invites a response from the poster instead of everyone who looks at your tags/reblog post.

Comments are NOT for telling a poster how much you dislike their opinion, their fandom, ships, or anything else like that. DO NOT DO THAT. It will not make you friends. Unless your goal is to befriend other unpleasant people. In which case um…try twitter?

ASKS-

It is OKAY to send people asks, like you sent me this. It's a good thing! It opens conversations and helps you show someone that you're interested in them as a friend! My profile specifically says I'm open to asks, and many other peoples' do too.

Just keep in mind that this is social media, and tumblr has a culture of anonymity. That means don't get too personal with it. Don't ask people things like their age, real name, relationship status, etc.

If you have trouble with social cues, it can be fraught and stressful to send asks. That's understandable. It isn't necessary to use asks to make friends.

If you do send asks, be aware: asks also do not always get answered. That's the nature of the site, and it's okay. Sometimes people forget they reblogged an ask game (me). Sometimes it's not a question they want to answer. Sometimes they don't have time/energy/context right then and there.

There are MANY reasons an ask won't be answered. No one owes you a reason or an answer. If that upsets you, sending asks may not be for you.

Please keep in mind this is an overview, and everyone is different. Check pinned posts and bios for specific preferences! <3 This is how you start being part of a fandom, which is the first step to making friends!

3) Being a Positive Part of Your Ecosystem

Now that you are interacting with the people who post the things you like, and interacting with the fandom either big or small and being a part of it, you should be adding TO the fandom in some fashion. And yes, supporting fanwork creators by reblogging, tagging, and giving likes IS adding to fandom. One big thing to remember, though.

FANS DO NOT MAKE CONTENT, FANS MAKE FAN WORKS.

If you want to keep your ecosystem friendly, casual, and fun, please treat fandom artists, writers, curators, meta-posters, etc like people. That means not having expectations of public-facing behavior, social purity, speed of creation, fandom loyalty, or manditory interaction with other fans.

a) finding followers

If you look for other fans who are reaching out for interaction, you will find people who will follow you and interact with you. Look for people posting questions, ask games, artists and writers posting their works. Look for people who are sharing what they love, and love it with them.

Interact with the people who interact with you!

If a stranger follows you, check them out! Maybe you guys have common interests. Maybe you vibrate on the same frequency.

If someone follows you back, that makes them your mutual. It doesn't really mean anything no matter what people say. All it really says is 'your stuff is cool, I want to look at it, too.' It means they vibe with you.

This isn't twitter. You don't have to be 'mutuals' to interact with each other. There are many people I like a lot that I do not follow. Why?

Because I don't want to see their Tumblr interests on my dash. Maybe they're in a fandom I Do Not Want to see. Maybe they're really into a ship I dislike. Maybe they post something that grosses me out. So I don't want to see it.

That's literally it.

Being a positive part of your ecosystem does not mean being a perfect uwu bean. It doesn't mean always being upbeat. It just means that you support the things you care about because you want to keep seeing them. It means befriending people because they seem cool. It means being genuine. It means not pushing your expectations on other people.

It also means accepting something kind of sucky.

NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO BE YOUR FRIEND.

It's a fact of life that sucks, but it's true. Put your effort in where it's rewarded. Give back what you're given from others. Don't try to fill a bucket with a hole in it.

b) using messages

DMs (direct messages) are another thing that varies from person to person. But, if you want to get to know someone on a one-to-one level, DMs are the way to go. Oftentimes people put their DM preferences in a bio or pinned post. Not everyone does.

DMs are a way of saying something in private, like sharing a link to a funny post you know they'll like(you can always use @(theirname) in the text box of a reblog if it's a tumblr post), talking in-depth about something you'd both mentioned in posts, or asking about something personal they'd posted on their blog, like a favorite recipe, or movie, or something like that.

DMs are more personal and not everyone is comfortable with them.

You should meet people at the level of friendship THEY want to give, not the one you want to have. If someone wants to chat with you in comments but not in DMs, then that's what you should do. Giving people a chance to opt-out when you message them is polite, and if they express on their blog having social anxiety, it might help them.

But DMs are not scary, or forbidden. You just have to respect people's boundaries and be clear while you're getting to know each other. If it's hard to tell if someone is okay with something, ASK. You're not a mind reader :)

c) blocking

What? How is blocking people good for fandom? Well...it's a little thing I like to call:

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Some people are assholes. Some people have Bad Takes. Some people live to pour poison into a fandom. Some people like to attack others and make up crusades so they can feel socially superior and morally pure. Some people just have a bad vibe. Some people just happen to have lots of fandom friends so you can't stop seeing their posts even though you disagree.

Block saves lives.

It's not an insult to be blocked. It's not mean to block people. It's curation. It's getting rid of things that introduce things you don't want into your happy little fandom tide pool.

Your ecosystem might be poisoned by That Ship, or a fandom headcanon, or a show you just don't want to see. Block it, baby! Block people, block tags, block me. Block it all. If you love someone you follow but hate the show, don't block them, block the show tag!

It's like magic!

See only what you want to see. Give only what you want to give. Find people who want to see and give the same things you do. Support them, and if they're worth your friendship, they'll support you too. Do not chase people who don't have the time, energy, or desire to interact with you on the level you want.

Keep it chill.

That is how you make friends on tumblo dot comms.

Being said, I'm not into The Owl House or your other listed interests! I hope you find people who will be a happy part of your personal tide pool of cool weird stuff. Good luck out there.

#random asks #we take it at face value here #anything can be a bot but #*shrug* maybe one person will see this and feel good about it

[iamthecomet]

I've really been feeling like I'm the annoying moot to people. Talking is hard but I see all these other people talking and rebloging from each other and I feel like I don't belong. I really don't think people like me. Do you ever feel like that? You have so many friends here as one of the big blogs.

Of course I feel like that sometimes! There are days/weeks where I feel like that all the time. I definitely have moments where I feel annoying and like no one really wants me here, and like people just put up with me. I'm sorry that you're feeling that way and you're struggling with your place in the community. I have some thoughts about it--I hope some of them help. All of that negative shit we feel is just our brains being mean to us. It can be so hard not to listen to it--but it's wrong. You're not the annoying moot (annoying moots don't exist in my opinion). Tumblr is the community site. No one is annoyed when you reblog (honestly people reblogging is the BEST). And they're definitely not annoyed when you jump into the conversation. Those are the things tumblr is about, that's what it's for. Please don't ever hesitate to reblog something you want to, or add onto a post if you want to. We're all here to scream about ghost together. No one minds a little extra screaming. I didn't think I belonged here either, for a long time. Genuinely. I thought people hated me because I kept shoving myself into conversations that weren't my own. But there is no other way to do it. To be a part of the community you have to shove yourself into it. You can't just wait for a gap in the circle to open you have to shove your way in. You have to let people know you're here and you want to be. And the best way to do that? Reblog. Talk to people in the tags. in replies. In asks. Make comments. Add on to people's thoughts. Allow yourself to contribute despite how uncomfortable it is. It's worth it. It's also super important to remember that what you see on social media (tumblr included) is not the whole picture of someone's life or relationships. Just because people reblog from each other and chat in the tags doesn't mean they talk outside of tumblr. It doesn't mean they're best friends. We're all just here screaming about Ghost together, and if that's all it is--then that's all it is. There's always room for more. ♥

#comet comments #comet's anons

[chacusha]

My tips to new users to make Tumblr more usable

This is kind of random but I think Tumblr is one of those websites that hides a lot of its functionality from users and comes with default settings that makes it kind unusable (at least for me). So I've decided to collect some suggestions about things to do immediately in order to make Tumblr a much more usable website:

Most important: Put the content you actually opt into on your dash. First, go to Settings > Dashboard and turn off "Best Stuff First." In general, (1) I don't think it's good to let social media sites curate your content feed (they're not very good! you can curate your own content feeds!), and (2) chronological ordering is much more helpful for making sense of information. I don't know why you would want posts on a site to be presented in any other way. Please save yourself and make your dash chronological by toggling this monstrosity OFF. Also for the love of god, turn off "Include posts liked by the blogs you follow" and "Include 'Based On Your Likes!'" too. Other people's experiences might be different from mine, but when Tumblr first introduced this feature and I tried it out for a while, it was so predictable that every time I came across a post that made me viscerally angry and think, "How the HELL did this get on my dash?" it was always always some random post from someone I wasn't even following… So yeah, get rid of that.

Second, make the "Following" tab your default, instead of the "For you" tab. How to do this is not particularly obvious. From the Tumblr homepage (not settings), you need to find the tabs at the top of your dash (For you, Following, Your tags) and then click the toggle/settings icon to the right of those tabs. This will allow you to reorder your tabs. In particular, what you need to do is click the pin icon to the right of "Following," and this will set Following to be your pinned and first tab. By default, when you open Tumblr, your dash will show the posts of people you have actually opted into following rather than what Tumblr suggests to you.

Next, make sure timestamps on posts are on. This should be the default (despite what Tumblr says?), but if you don't see timestamps at the top of all posts, I highly recommend turning this setting on (under Settings > Dashboard). Knowing when a post was made is hugely helpful for understanding the context of the post, and I don't know why websites would allow you to hide this, really, unless they want you walking around with no sense of time or context, which uh… I don't recommend that social media experience!

Turn off endless scrolling (under Settings > Dashboard): Websites like endless scrolling to keep people from leaving the site. I recommend turning this off to make it more obvious how many posts you've scrolled through on Tumblr, to make it easier to find your place in older posts, and also to make the website just lighter to load. When I last used it, the Tumblr mobile app does not allow pagination, which is pretty typical of social media apps in general. Honestly, I recommend just not using the Tumblr mobile app at all. I've uninstalled it and aside from missing the convenience of being able to attach photos from my phone onto Tumblr posts, I really don't miss it…

Things that you may or may not be interested in:

Enable custom theme on (each of) your blog(s): So fun fact: If you don't have a custom theme enabled, then when people visit your blog when not logged into Tumblr, they will only be able to scroll through a few of the posts on your blog before being prompted by Tumblr to log in if they want to see more. This popup cannot be gotten around, and so people without Tumblr accounts or who are browsing on a device/browser without a login session just won't be able to see your posts. Personally, I do not like this behavior -- I like my blogs to be archives with useful permalinks that can be browsed by anyone. Anyway, you can get rid of this annoying prompt by going to Account > (select blog) > Blog settings and toggling that "Enable custom theme" slider. It doesn't really matter what theme you use (although there are a lot of options to choose from), just use a custom one!

Turn off "Shorten long posts" (under Settings > Dashboard): YMMV, but I personally don't find this setting very helpful as the maximum length for when it starts cutting off posts is pretty short and falls far short of what I would consider a "long post" that is inconvenient to scroll past. Instead, you may want to turn off this setting and create a filter for the tag "long post" (under Settings > Account > Filtered Tags).

Mature content: If you're interested in possibly seeing mature content, you may want to review your mature content settings (under Settings > Account) as by default, Tumblr is set to hide it entirely and doesn't tell you that it's hidden posts from you and so you probably just will not be aware this setting is a thing! Personally, I use the "Blur" setting.

Hiding content from users you don't want to see: As far as I can tell, if you see someone's posts in (e.g.) tag searches and would prefer not to see any of that person's posts in public places like that tag or appear on your dash by people you follow reblogging their posts, you should block them. Official Tumblr documentation does not say that this is a feature of blocking, but it is.

When Tumblr's functionality isn't enough… External tools such as XKit Rewritten provide a whole lot of QoL fixes to Tumblr's interface like making it easier to reply to replies, hiding posts you've already seen, showing how many new/unread posts are in tracked tags, showing all tags on posts by default rather than requiring you to click "See all," etc. For me, one thing I needed in order to make Tumblr semi-usable for me is hiding notes in tag searches (because I don't really need constant reminders that my tastes aren't aligned with wider fandom's tastes lol). I couldn't find a tool that does this, so I wrote a simple Tampermonkey script to do it for me.

Hope this helps new users of Tumblr, and feel free to add other helpful tips if you have them!

#tumblr #complaining about tumblr on tumblr #social media #guides for new users