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shinelikethunder · 2 years

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seriously though, it's incredible how much of my "maybe titties again?" goodwill tumblr torched in 30 seconds through obnoxious UX alone:

i am browsing around in the android app. i see a post about disabling some new content filter. this is the first I've heard of it, even though my version of the app does turn out to have it - they put it in place before adding any mechanism to let me know it's there. strike one.

i go to settings > dashboard, the place where all the settings about what you do and don't see are supposed to live. no sign of it.

i go back to the settings menu. squint at it. see an unremarkable entry near the bottom called "Content you see" that isn't highlighted or marked as new in any way (even though i can't even visit anyone's blog anymore without having to actively tap past an FYI tooltip that can't be turned off, every single time, shilling weeks-old gift features that I've already used)

...oh, that's where my custom tag and keyword filters went. no prior indication they'd even been moved!

i have a lot of filters set up. like. a LOT. i now have to scroll past every single one of them, tag AND keyword, uncollapsed and unabridged, just to see whether there's another setting hiding underneath. on mobile! even the desktop site is more polite than this, jesus

just to recap so far: the only reason i even know to look is that i saw a random post about new content settings, and i would never have bothered with all that scrolling if i weren't crusty and paranoid about sites that hide vital settings in the depths of Menu Hell. i mean, that'd be crazy, right? surely listing all those filters with no collapse is a signal there's nothing worthwhile underneath them.

oh no wait, there they are!

it's not just one toggle, it's FOUR new settings!

all of them are set to "hide everything and never even let me know it was there"

even though there is a "blur" option that would've let me know that stuff was being hidden from me without actually showing it

even though i have, in the past, gone into every iteration of the adult content settings that tumblr has ever rolled out and affirmatively ordered it to show me the titties

THEY ARE NOT TOGGLES. EACH ONE OPENS A SEPARATE MENU SCREEN. every single one of the FOUR new settings needs like 3+ taps in the android app just to put it back to normal.

does turning on the catchall "mature content" setting cause the three more specific ones to default to "show" and let me pick restrictions as needed like a goddamn adult? NOPE, i have to go into the stupid little menu for every single one

it's almost like you didn't want me to find them and, having found them, wanted to make me pay as high an annoyance tax as possible to opt out of being nannied

the dashboard banner that eventually shows up, btw, says nothing about having been voluntold for additional filtering, and also just dumps you out in the general settings menu and leaves you to fend for yourself, with no indication of where this shit is hidden or what "this shit" even is. and that's downright friendly next to the link in the announcement post that's apparently been kicking people out of the app and onto web.

this is not how you get a rightfully mistrustful userbase to be optimistic about putting scarlet letters on their own posts. this is not how you convince anyone that it's just a courtesy, not a scarlet letter, or that it won't be used to punish and stigmatize you the instant the wind shifts direction.

in the most practical here-and-now terms, this is also not how you get people to USE the new content warnings on their posts! artists, especially, are hardly gonna jump to flag anything as mature if it means every single one of their followers - regardless of age, previous adult content settings, or whether they're in Apple's walled garden or not - has just been silently opted out of ever knowing it was there. (this goes double if it requires more than one sentence to explain how to reverse it. which this new setting seems almost deliberately designed to do.)

look, i want the titties back, okay? i would be delighted if this turned out to be the first step towards bringing them back. i know Tumblr is under duress from Apple that affects how they can do whatever they're doing here. but the way it's being rolled out sucks needless ass, and if they wanted my hope and trust, well, those are easier to muster up when I'm not going in grouchy about the frustrating UX of an app that's just taken hostile action against my prior explicitly-affirmed preferences.

#hellsite (derogatory)

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wip · 6 months

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Hello there! I've been curious, particularly since the mutual/follower/etc indicators were added to notifs in the activity feed (love that btw) - is there a chance we could get a toggle in the post editor to limit a post's visibility to only mutuals or only followers or something like that? Or maybe a revamp of private blogs that allows them a few more perks, like receiving/making replies? I think it'd be great for folks who might want to share selfies or personal art with friends without necessarily showing the whole world. The recent addition of being able to turn off reblogs was a great tool in a similar vein, but I'd definitely love to see us given even more visibility controls like these.

Thanks for your hard work, and have a nice day! :)

Answer: Hello there, @higherhell!

This is admittedly incredibly complex to do, but it still might be worthwhile.

What we can say is that we would love for us to do this: to enable more private/small-group interactions. We have talked about it, possibly, as much as one billion times internally. It has been on our idea backlog before, and the good folks at the @labs blog are working in this direction. We would certainly hope to make it happen someday.

What we would also add is that the only workaround in the product right now is to create a private group blog, one with those people you want able to see the content you’re trying to share with them privately. That’s the best we can offer right now.

We may well get to this in the future. If so, you will find updates either here on WIP or over at @changes.

#feature #posting #followers #notifications #security #backend #your suggestions

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bohdank · 10 months

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> Users aren’t stupid, but we are all human. Revealed preference is often the complete opposite of the stated preference, and we have the data that shows that. Our goal is to optimize the experience not kill features because “tumblr staff just wants so”.

I absolutely agree that data, research, user interviews, a/b tests, all that stuff is a far better source of information that "posts about tumblr." But the thing about data is that it's also very easy to draw incorrect or misguided conclusions from it. It's pretty well known that if you're good enough with statistics you can bend data to say nearly anything you want it to.

I don't think tumblr is doing this -- y'all want the site to succeed and deliberately misinterpreting your own stats would be beyond stupid -- but you absolutely may be doing this by accident. And the stakes here are Really High. The set of numbers you choose to pursue will drastically change the way you plan and impliment changes.

And internally, it's very easy for a conversation about statistics to become something of an echo chamber. I really really wish that y'all would actually share the reasoning and justification for the feature changes that you make *and listened to user feedback while open the the possibility that you aren't perfect.* I know that's a lot of work but I think the benefits in goodwill and trust that you reap from working with that level of transparency would be highly worthwhile.

I feel very strongly about this because I've recently come from a site that has effectively fallen apart due to the company chasing the wrong numbers -- I won't go into it because it's all over my blog but I really hope I don't have to watch it happen again. :(

First off, I appreciate the nuance you’ve brought to the conversation. Data is indeed a powerful tool but, as you pointed out, it’s also a tricky beast that can easily lead one astray if not handled with the right level of caution and diligence.

The risk of falling into an echo chamber is real, and there’s something to be said about the danger of falling in love with our own ideas to the point where we ignore contrary indicators.

But I want to reassure you and the rest of our community — we’re not just blindly chasing after numbers. To be frank, I don't know why people think we are just looking at numbers and not talking to real humans. We indeed strive to make data-informed decisions, not data-driven ones. It’s a subtle distinction, but an important one. It means we take into account qualitative feedback, anecdotal evidence, and even gut instincts in addition to the quantitative data.

We regularly run user interview sessions and use other qualitative research instruments to inform our product decisions. To say more, we want to involve our community in the decision-making process as much as possible, not just as passive recipients of the changes we implement but as active contributors.

That being said, it’s a tough balancing act. We’re constantly trying to find the sweet spot between sharing enough to make people feel included and informed, and sharing too much that it becomes overwhelming or confusing. But rest assured, every piece of feedback is invaluable in helping us strike that balance.

#tumblr #tumblr staff

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frecklystars · 8 months

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Pls ignore if this bothers you but how do you know if self shipping is healthy or not? I have always used it to cope but I also get told by people that it's unhealthy to want to love characters since they're fictional. I've always admired you and how dedicated you are to the characters you love, you don't act like anything holds you back, and I wish I could do that. I envy you sometimes. I've printed your art, I hope you don't mind. It brings me comfort when I feel down on myself like this.

Hey babe, first off, it's all good. I'm never bothered by kind and well-intentioned asks such as this ❤

I'll answer your ask in reverse; I don't mind that you've printed my art, in fact I am very very very flattered!!!! Most of my artwork is really made just for myself (hence the self insert, haha) I'm assuming you're printing my old fanart or perhaps even my current Ken pieces - or even if you are printing my self insert for whatever reason that may be, I still think that's flattering. I have a love/hate relationship with my work, and I fell out of the habit of drawing for almost a year and I didn't pick it back up again until a little over a month ago, so I am glad you have an appreciation for the things that I create. This helps me feel motivated to create more! And I'm happy that I can be a part of your life in some small way.

As for your envy, I think that's unnecessary. You can be just as dedicated as me, possibly even more so, because I've actually had some really fucked up shit holding me back from self shipping for almost a year now (long story) and I am just now starting to dip my toes back into it, and I am still afraid, I am still unlearning the instilled reaction to fear the very characters that used to comfort me. It will take me a long time and it hurts so, so, so badly every single day. But even before I had That Fear holding me back, there was still nothing to envy about me. Something you aren't noticing within yourself is possibly the very thing you observe in me, someone you don't know. I gently ask, rhetorically, what is it about myself and my connection to characters that you value so highly? And what stops you from cultivating that within yourself? It must be already inside of you for you to value it. You are someone who is just as worthy of love as I am, after all!

To answer your actual question... no, I do not feel as if anyone having interest in fictional characters is unhealthy, to an extent. Are you preventing yourself from engaging with other things, such as going outside, cooking, cleaning, taking care of yourself physically and emotionally? Are you possessive of these characters to the point that it leads to destructive behavior, to yourself or others? Do you imagine these characters to genuinely treat you with kindness, or do you use them as a weapon to heighten your insecurities (telling yourself repeatedly that they wouldn't love you or find you attractive, writing them to be violent towards you or uncharacteristically aggressive as a way of punishing yourself or feeding negative thoughts about yourself, etc)? If the answer is no to all of these, then I don't see any issues.

I have always felt that self shipping, or really even just enjoying a character without the additional step to self ship, is always worthwhile to me because I find the exploration of my relationships with these characters to be invigorating, whether it's me genuinely writing myself to be IN a relationship with them or if it's me simply interacting with their source material and not even diving deeper into the world or placing myself inside of it. Sharing artwork also gives a sense of community even if I don't actively engage with fandom/the self ship community, having this blog and answering asks and connecting with friends over shared joy of characters is a healthy thing. I've made some meaningful friendships online and almost all of them are because I've bonded with others about favorite characters. Some ppl may find it unhealthy if they're actively choosing to be malicious. I can promise you most people see "this person has a crush on a fictional character" as kind of standard since the early 2000s lol. And online ppl especially aren't seeing all of you, so why should their opinion of you rly matter in the first place? Let's say, for example... my blog... if someone went through every single one of my posts (and there's 30,000+ posts, I believe) they'd still only see the smallest fraction of myself as a person and their judgement of me would be completely invalid - and tbh nobody among us would ever seem "healthy" if they're only viewing a single aspect of ourselves anyways. Nobody else except ppl within my physical social circle see my day to day life. This blog is literally just a blip of myself.

When people see behavior that is unlike their own, it's easy for them to assign negative labels to it. Behaving "outside of the norm" is already considered negative by default in this world we live in. It sucks! And there are certainly some ppl who don't self ship who probably take one look at my blog and make a quick judgement about it, possibly thinking I might not have a grip on reality or something. But most people don't make that immediate assumption unless if they're just looking to be hateful, and even if it this was everyone's reaction (it's not, I promise you people are way less judgmental about self shipping than you think), it shouldn't stop you from letting yourself have fun. I love drawing characters holding my hand! I love imagining them standing next to me when I'm doing something that I'm nervous about, like I hate working with fire/intense heat so I hate using the oven but I have to do it if I want to bake myself a cake, and nobody else is gonna do it for me, so I imagine someone who bakes/cooks often like Prince Gumball or Deckard Wizard standing next to me and smiling warmly and telling me he's rly proud of me for taking something out of the oven, even if I'm shaky while doing it. I love wearing bracelets and earrings and rings and necklaces and imagining that my F/Os gave these trinkets to me, or that I'd give these trinkets to them. I love baking and decorating little cakes and treating myself to little gifts for my anniversaries, and I have so many opportunities to celebrate loving myself because I have so, so, so many F/Os who love me. We breathe life into these characters when we create these stories with them, we manifest them in our own way and we all do it differently because none of us are exactly the same. It's like we all leave our own unique one-of-a-king fingerprint on a character...

...and isn't that beautiful? Isn't that a feeling you should celebrate? Why hold yourself back? People will always dislike what you do, people will always judge you regardless of what you do. You can paint a picture of a butterfly, post it, and most people will enjoy it, but there are some people who would want you dead for it, people who have nothing but violence in their hearts. People will hate you for no reason other than the fact that they can, regardless of what you're doing. It's an unfortunate part of life, but also a bit freeing to know that since it'll happen regardless, is there really anything stopping you from doing what brings you joy, besides your own fear of what people think of you? People who you'll never meet, people who do not hold any value to you whatsoever?

Anyway, the only way I see self shipping as unhealthy is if it is negatively impacting your life, then in that case something would definitely need to change. I'd listen to your own mind/feelings rather than taking my word for it, because ofc I don't know how you're self shipping -- you say that people are telling you it's unhealthy "because they're fictional", if that's the only reason, well... that's not unhealthy. That's the point of self shipping... they're fictional sdflkjsdf they are literally called Fictional Others. Anyone who assumes you aren't in your right mind because you want to imagine yourself or an OC holding hands with a canon character, well... it says a lot more about them as a person than it says about you, I can promise you that.

If your worries circle more around how you're perceived, ask yourself, how badly do you want to break free of that? Is constricting yourself worth it? My tone is gentle here, is it really genuinely worth it to hold yourself back? I think the most freeing thing I've ever done was go all out with my self shipping. I'm drawing it, writing it, I'm making animatics to love songs, I'm buying voice clips from voice actors asking for them to have the character say "I love you" and then I'm recording myself saying "I love you too" and shoving those audio clips into a video and storyboarding me and that character to that audio and playing it back and adding romantic music and sound effects and god it's so freeing. It's so freeing. Fitting yourself to a perceived "normalcy" is not worth it for me. Ask yourself if it's worth it, for you. Again, a gentle, genuine, soft-toned rhetorical question: is your mood improved when you're fitting yourself in a box rather than freely expressing yourself? Because ultimately, self shipping is for you. Just you.

You can also always start small, if this is something you really want to do. You don't have to make a blog full of self ship tags and art and writing and screenshots and gushing. You don't have to go big. You can take baby steps, if you want. Have a sketchbook dedicated to doodles of you and your F/O (and if you don't usually draw... do it anyway. Make stick figures. Drawing feels good.) Write little blurbs of you and your F/O doing something nice together, however big or small. Write 5 sentences in a notebook where you're holding hands and walking down a sidewalk and they stop to pick a flower for you just to see you smile. Do this for yourself.

I wish good things for you anon, I hope you don't mind i rambled a bit there but self shipping is something I'm very passionate about and it saddened me to read how you "feel down on yourself" as you phrased it. I'm glad my art can bring you some comfort, I hope it continues to do so. Thank you for reaching out to me ❤

#anonymous #asks #if your fear of how others perceive you is the only thing stopping you #then by all means. overcome it. whats that quote? 'im scared' 'then do it scared'#i would give ANYTHING to self ship with starscream and bumblebee and 50 billion other robots again #ANYTHING #i lost such a vital part of my own heart. due to something i cannot control #but fearing what others think of you IS something you can unlearn and control #it takes time! it wont be overnight! but i believe in you!!! and you can do it!!!#anon. you see something in me that you already have within yourself!! its there!!!#you have your own burning star in your heart and its bright and shining!!!#now take it out of its lantern!!! let it go nova!!!

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aethesfaelibrarae · 2 months

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Are You Normal about Furries, Bronies and Neopronouns? And More Social Justice Litmus Tests You're Probably Failing

Listen—

I'm not saying that you have to like Furries. I'm not even saying that they're not cringe.

What I am saying is, this: just like any other fandom, there's what people find the most accessible part of the fandom (ie, the Loud part) and then there's what people find solace in. The first hurdle, at it's core, is asking the question: are you okay with weirdos that you personally don't like, understand or associate with? Are you okay with seeing a furry on TikTok, on Twitter, in real life existing? There are some people who really can't be. And that's how we get to the point where a librarian is bullied off the Internet, armchair headcanonned as autistic and no doubt traumatized. Because, at the end of the day, this question isn't so much "are you OK with Furries?" but have you grown up past the need to have your worldview palatable to you—or do you still need to have easily digestable weirdos to treat them as humans?

Bronies is that next step—mental image the Internet has instilled in a lot of us aside, the question becomes that of nuance. Can you acknowledge that two things can be true?

1) In this day and age, it is not only unfair but illogical to expect and demand that adult fans of a particular media not engage with that media in the ways that they would engage with other types of media. I'm talking about Bronies, yes but also Avatar the Last Airbender fans, Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Bluey and countless others.

There's this rise in black and white purity and pearl-clutching type of thinking that ends up like a worse version of every dystopia.

2) Should the adults in these spaces understand that any new additions to that media is not for them and that these spaces that they are apart of are, more likely than not, predominantly occupied by minors? Yes, of course!

The problem and stumbling point for this is... Too many people view this as a one or the other situation. I've seen minors proudly disregard 18+ warnings, I've seen adults arguing with, doxxing and being creeps. I find pro-shippers confusing and abhorrent. I don't have any easy fix for how to approach this. All I can do is put warnings, block/ban any minor engaging in unsafe behavior on my blog(s) [especially if they're brazenly foolhardy enough to announce it] and not be a creep myself. I'm getting to the point where I'm just going to ignore whatever the Internet calls the new "old age" and do my own thing.

Neopronouns—what really is the final boss for some people but not the final boss here.

After being an unpaid gender and sexuality 111 professor for two years, I say with extreme prejudice and exhaustion, ask me for my cashapp before you ask me questions or get to Googling*. Neopronouns have been around since Shakespeare. Singular They predates Singular You as a pronoun. Please go update your resume and do something worthwhile, find a hobby, grow a garden, something, anything else other than being mad at the person using fae/faer, frog, star or bun/bunself pronouns. You don't have to understand it, just respect it. And if you don't want to, maybe just don't engage with them??

Moving on to some newer ones. The major questions are—do you rock with Hawaii and Palestine? The Congo and Sudan? Do you support these places being free? Are you boycotting Starbucks and McDonald's? Are you watching Gaza and Rafah? Are you using your phone and other tech for as long as you can? Avoiding blood diamonds even more now? What are your thoughts about Covid? Are you still masking in public?

As we wind down, I also have to throw in the very basics, the ones that I always base my morals on—do you put the grocery store cart back? How do you treat waitstaff and people that you perceive as having some power over? If you see someone stealing groceries, especially baby formula, what do you do?

Answer these questions in your heart of hearts and sit with it. More than anything, this is specifically trying to call out the Vote Blue No Matter Who crowd and the brand of I'm a Good Person because I'm Better than You Liberal/left-facing centrist.

To be frank with you, I genuinely think that you fail some of the questions spectacularly and that's why you struggle with dismantling capitalism, white supremacy or anything else you claim to be so very against.

Because at the end of the day, when the revolution comes, you will be holding hands with at least one disabled Brony Furry with a name you can't say, neopronouns and dyed hair. Or when it's already too late and the voice of the people has gone deep underground, you will be face to face with the worst of survivors and no gentle voice to guide you through your moral quandary, just bitter, tired activists or people who waffle in the face of what needs to be done.

Your cognitive reasoning will shut down the moment you get offended. You should answer these questions and then sit with why you're offended.

And then if you still have the forethought to type, go donate, go click on the Arab site that's under 90% of activist accounts or bios. I promise you that the energy will be better used for them.

**Googling has become a skill especially in this Age of Misinformation and algorithms—there are always alternatives if you know where to look and again, request how you can compensate for the time and effort it'll take me to find you sources and then we'll talk.

—Aethe the Librarywyrm

#writing #creative writing #free palestine #free gaza #palestine #introspection #kind of journalism #social justice

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mixelation · 1 year

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vagueposting but i link to the post pissing me off and quote it. so not vagueposting at all but the blog has a massive following so it's not like. bullying

there is A Post i keep seeing, despite my best efforts to scrub OP from my dash, and it's specifically this version

reasons this post annoys the bejeebus out of me:

This is not a dunk on fandom—love the energy!—but I dream of the things we all could accomplish if we devoted some of that love and passion to the living creatures of planet Earth.

This is absolutely a dunk on fandom. You have literally structured your post around calling out "fandom" for not spending energy on something you think is more worthwhile. "Oh, no, OP meant in addition to fandom activities--" Nope! Maybe that's what they wanted to say, but they did not frame their post this way. The singled out fandom, played the "not to mean but--" card completely straight, and then somehow laid their environmental anxieties at the feet of fandom. They genuinely sound like one of those PTA moms who gives themselves anxiety over what innocuous things other people's kids do in their free time, which do not affect them at all.

[...]

Let me tell you a secret. Talk to gardeners and ecologists from your parents' and grandparents' generation, and you will recognize the same kind of people [as artists], passionate, socially awkward and probably some flavor of neurodivergent, except their blorbos are lichens, salamanders, mushrooms, bats, turtles, and birds.

These people were the ones that taught us how important those creatures were in the first place. That learned how to study them and wrote down what they observed.

Here's a neat little rhetorical device where OP isolates people "from your parents' and grandparents' generation" as separate but still accessible entities. This magical mood of loving nature is so close to you, but you've been isolated! Forgotten the old ways! These magic old people infused you with love for nature, and learned how to.... study them and write down what they saw...? No one was studying ecology or studiously improving gardening methods before your grandparents. There are no gen Z ecologists. There are no magic nature-loving people who also do fandom. Nuh-uh. It's just these magical older generation gardeners with all this secret knowledge.

Also, I never talk about (one part of) this, but I am a neurodivergent scientist running a fandom blog, and I do think claiming ecologists/gardeners are all "some flavor of neurodivergent" is a super weird take. First, ecologists (and scientists at large) are diverse people, not some cute stereotype in your head. Second, don't diagnose strangers, jfc. Third, "some flavor of neurodivergent" does not automatically make someone your friend or your magical relatable nature guide who wants to infodump all their cool nature facts like a trained dog.

IME ecologists and other people working in conservation ARE hype to tell you about their research and work, but I think linking this trend of enthusiasm to "oh, probably your local cute neurodivergent person--" is harmful in more ways than one to, like, everyone involved.

Here is something important: People cannot care about saving what they haven't even heard of.

This is true, or at least dogma I've heard actual conservationists say. It also has nothing to do with "fandom."

When I first started researching plants, I was shocked and horrified to find the internet almost empty of informative resources. No pictures, no paragraphs written by knowledgeable people, no cheat sheets, no diagrams.

There is not a single photo of a couple-months-old American Sycamore sapling anywhere on Google. Not one.

This is not true. There are in fact many plant identification websites, along with insect, spider, bird, mushroom, etc websites, often run by government organizations, botanical gardens, plant nurseries and nature enthusiasts. They often look like they were designed in the early 2000s and never updated, and there's not a really good umbrella website (except maybe iNaturalist?), but these resources definitely exist. If you google "Platanus occidentalis seedling" or "Platanus occidentalis sapling," you can indeed find the photos OP claims do not exist (examples: x, x). This is the piece of the post that pisses me off the most, because by claiming things literally don't exist on the internet, you actively discourage people form seeking them out.

Side note: I actually blocked OP over a different set of posts where they blogged at length and with extreme performative concern over not being able to find a specific type of study, which was a study design so common anyone who's spent more than thirty seconds figuring out google scholar could have found one. Posts like this are not actually helpful for general science education and instead just upset people while simultaneously misinforming them and discouraging them from doing their own searches.

When I started doing educational events at the place I volunteer, I had to write stat blocks and handouts about my trees MYSELF. From scratch.

So does the information literally not exist, or did you compile existing info into a streamlined form to fit your purposes....? How did you learn the information? Did one of the magical old people tell you?

Everyone I've talked to has said the same thing—I would like to plant native species and create a place for wildlife, but there isn't any information.

Don't let people tell you that you can't do anything. We already have scientists. We need artists. Bloggers. Enthusiasts. Hobbyists. Shitposters. We need love, passion, and obsession.

These things exist. These types of spaces exist in real life and all over the internet. Why are you writing like they are a dying breed? Reddit might have its problems, but there are tons of subreddits filled with enthusiastic people who will help you figure out a native plant garden. There is almost definitely at least one desperate conservation group who has this information available for your area (try googling your region and "native plant" - example: "bay area native plant" brings up the California Native Plant Society). You will have to spend some time reading, but I promise the information is there if you spend as long on google as you do making posts like this. You are harming these groups by writing as if they don't exist or are barely functioning due to lack of community support.

We need people whose talents are in editing, photoshopping, shitposting and meme-making, because the internet is where the conversations of the world happen, and we need to be talking about the living things of our planet that are in peril. Their beauty. Their importance. I'm completely dead fucking serious here.

I do agree with this point. Scientists are trained to make graphs, but they're not trained to make graphic design, if you know what I mean.

However, OP's goal is......

Do y'all have any idea how powerful a force your enthusiasm is?? To save the world, we need people who are like that, but about niche bees.

Imagine the most feral and unhinged of freaky fandom folk.

Now imagine someone who is Like That about prairie grasses.

To... have "fandom folk" redirect their energy at.... plants and bees? The subsequent blogging indicates that OP simply wants more blogs that post photos and art of plants and fungi. Okay, cool. What does this have to do with fandom? Do you know that fandom is a hobby for most people, and they go off and do other things in their life that might not be apparent to you, a stranger on the internet? Do you know how many of these magic ecologists and conservationists spend all day doing the work you want to see, and then go goof off in fandom to relax? Do you know that you do not have the right to control or criticize people's harmless hobbies, which do not affect you?

Someone else reblogged and added this comment:

Unfortunately fandom is mostly character analysis, and plants have no character to analyze so this will never happen

Also, the most helpful thing for them to do to save the planet is to donate money to those already doing it, not clogging up the system with terribly thought out newbie orgs

OP decided to reply to this comment more than once, jumping on the idea that "plants have no character" as ridiculous and then making fun of the idea of donating money. I want to emphasize that OP reblogged this person twice, which solicited their many followers to jump on their wording and yell about making plants blorbos, rather than think about any of OP's supposed points about conservation or gardening or environmentalism.

This person, apparently: the only form of doing good in the world that exists is donating money to a charitable organization. There is no such thing as work or outreach or education only money

In the ideal world, people would have dedicated jobs for the things described above. There are people who make a living off of doing scientific illustrations, and I would love for there to be more paid positions where artists and trained educators work with scientists on outreach. Established organizations do need volunteers, but they also need money so they can hire trained professionals to do the things OP is calling on fandom for.

Anyway, as a scientist and a fandom blog, here's this:

What you do with your spare time is up to you. If it's posting weird headcanons at 2 AM, whatever. You do you. You do not have to direct energy at saving the world or whatever.

If you're interested in ~touching grass~, I recommend googling for state/national parks in your area, as they're easy to identify and often put on cool events. You can also google for specific societies or hobbies, or places like botanical gardens and nurseries. Hobbyist mycologists are wild people, for example. These orgs often have volunteer days if you don't have a lot of time to commit.

Are you an artist, graphic designer, or illustrator? You may be surprised how many groups would love to have you design a pamphlet or logo! They will generally give your the information they want people to know and not just have you put together your own information unless you volunteer to do so (source: anecdata from scientists I know who also happen to be talented artists).

Memes are cool, but if you're trying to use them to ~spread information~, please do your best to fact check and then also provide citations. If you make a viral meme of bad information I will be forced to write a vent post about it. :P

#vent

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mmnazzar · 1 month

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Mastering the Art of Being a Stellar Affiliate Marketer

Introduction:

In the digital age, affiliate marketing has emerged as a lucrative avenue for individuals seeking to generate passive income. Becoming a successful affiliate marketer entails more than just promoting products; it requires strategic planning, relationship building, and a keen understanding of your audience. In this comprehensive guide, we delve into the intricacies of excelling as an affiliate business, offering practical tips and insights to help you thrive in this dynamic industry.

Understanding Affiliate Marketing:

Understanding affiliate marketing basics is crucial before delving into success tactics. Fundamentally, affiliate marketing is collaborating with businesses to advertise their goods or services in return for a cut of purchases made via your referral link. Because it enables higher sales and brand exposure, this business model benefits both the merchant and the affiliate marketer.

Choosing Your Niche:

A key to becoming a successful affiliate marketer is choosing a niche that fits your target market, area of expertise, and interests. You may gain your audience's trust and position yourself as an authority in a particular field by concentrating on it. Make sure there is enough demand and competition in lucrative sectors by conducting in-depth research.

Building a Strong Online Presence:

You must have a strong online presence on a variety of channels in order to market affiliate products. This involves setting up a polished blog or website where you may post excellent information relevant to your specialty. Utilize email marketing, social media, and other digital channels as well to connect and interact with your target market.

Creating Compelling Content:

In the realm of affiliate marketing, content is king. You need to be producing worthwhile, educational, and interesting content all the time if you want to draw in and keep readers. Blog entries, product reviews, guides, videos, and more can be used for this. With your content, put your attention on solving the issues and meeting the wants of your audience.

Selecting the Right Affiliate Programs:

With so many affiliate programs out there, it's important to pick the ones that pay competitive commissions and fit your specialty. To determine which affiliate network or program best suits your audience and objectives, do some research on them. Seek for programs that offer a variety of goods and services, prompt payouts, and dependable tracking methods.

Building Trust with Your Audience:

The foundation of effective affiliate marketing is trust. You need to come across to your audience as a reliable and trustworthy source of advice and information. Be open and honest about your affiliate relationships, and only recommend goods and services that you sincerely believe in. Developing a lasting relationship with your audience is considerably more important than closing a deal right away.

Optimizing for Conversions:

As an affiliate marketer, you must improve your techniques for conversions if you want to maximize your earning potential. This entails employing convincing copywriting strategies, search engine optimization (SEO), and the strategic placement of calls-to-action (CTAs) across your content. To raise your conversion rates over time, evaluate your performance indicators frequently and make any improvements.

Diversifying Your Revenue Streams:

Although affiliate marketing can be a very profitable source of income, it's a good idea to diversify your sources of income in order to reduce risk. Consider looking at additional revenue streams like consultancy, digital product sales, and sponsored content opportunities. Not only may diversification boost your earning potential, but it also offers protection against changes in the affiliate marketing industry.

Staying Updated and Adaptable:

Affiliate marketing is a dynamic area that is always changing due to the frequent emergence of new technology, trends, and techniques. Make a commitment to lifelong learning and follow industry advancements to stay ahead of the curve. In the always evolving digital landscape, you must be prepared to modify your strategy and try out new approaches in order to stay competitive.

Conclusion:

A systematic strategy, effort, and dedication are necessary to become a great Affiliate marketing You can fully utilize Affiliate marketing as a long-term revenue stream by selecting the appropriate niche, establishing a solid online presence, producing engaging content, and developing trust with your audience. Continue honing your tactics, keeping up with market developments, and never stop learning. In the fast-paced world of Affiliate marketing, you can succeed spectacularly if you have the correct attitude and perseverance.

To Becoming a Great Affiliate Mindset & Fokus E-Book! JOIN NOW

#affiliatemarketing #digital marketing #online earning

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sohannabarberaesque · 2 months

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Postcards from Snagglepuss

And Gatlinburg awaits!

OFF I-39/90 AT A TRUCK STOP OUTSIDE JANESVILLE, WI: "You know, Snagglepuss," Huckleberry Hound was observing as we were getting the journey underway again in our motorhome, "having the Cattanooga Cats hosting an informal Easter parade down Gatlinburg way seems so--"

"Quixotic. Interesting, even," saith I to compensate for Huck's being in a struggle for words apropos the moment. "Especially with the routing bypassing Chicago--I-39, for the most part, down to Bloomington, Illinois ... thence on I-74 via Indianapolis to Cincinnati, maybe a bowl or two of Cincinnati chili, even ... joining I-75 from the Queen City to Knoxville, Tennessee, thence on US 441 into the Queen Mother of Tourist Traps!"

"And I've oft wondered why exactly Gatlinburg would be such a 'gold standard,' so to speak, for tacky tourist-dependent communities," mused Huck over a substantial-size soda as he was filling the motorhome with diesel fuel, preceded by some additive supposed to improve engine performance--especially after winter storage.

Which also saw Crazy Claws, our guest this time around, get some decent(?) Wisconsin cheese, sausage and crackers in a not-so-touristy sort of manner, which he put down to "just wanting to get some decent snacking out of the way without the 'cheese shop' markups as seem common to tourist areas. Wisconsin Dells included, come to think of it!"

"At least Crazy Claws had some sense in his mind," Huck added.

Yet what was especially worthwhile was the meetup of The King and girlfriend Sheena, he in a denim jeans jacket looking so cool and Sheena in a V-neck sweater, considering the coolish weather. But at least they followed a sort of Funatstic tradition we've established while travelling of travelling light, packing pretty much the essentials (maybe a couple days' change of clothes, consider some time at a laundromat at destination before returning, and essential toiletries and medications, if required).

"Heeeeeeyyyyyy ... and heeeeeeyyyyy again!" was how The King made his presence known into the motorhome, doing the old Edd Byrnes number with the Brylcreem and pocket comb along that glossy leonine mane of his. "And I take it we are heading for the Great Smoky Mountains over Easter?"

"I take it you received our message by text," explained I.

"Actually, King and Sheena," Huckleberry Hound remarked, "it's that the Cattanooga Cats--as in that Gatlinburg coffee shop of theirs, Cattanooga Klatsche--are arranging an impromptu Easter Parade of sorts in Gatlinburg along the Parkway on Easter Sunday!"

"Ohhh," Sheena purred oh so seductively, "I can't help but seriously appreciate what coffees the Cattanooga Cats manage to come up with!"

"I take it," Huck asked, "you order your coffees from Cattanooga Klatsche?"

"Correctamundo" was how The King responded with his usual leonine swagger. "You never tasted anything better--especially when it's whole bean, and ground back at home! Especially when you can blend two such varieties, impromptu, and grind them together!"

"Hopefully," Crazy Claws chimed in, "you can stand some not-so-touristy Wisconsin cheeses and sausages for the odd snacking as we head down to Gatlinburg."

"And who else," Sheena remarked, "will be joing us?"

"It'll be rather interesting," saith I. "And we have a couple more Funtastic types joining us down the road--let alone many others perhaps heading to Gatlinburg before too long." (This as we were driving back onto I-39, which is part of I-90 into Rockford, with tolling prevailing until the I-39 junction just on the southeast side of Rockford; I-39 continuing southward with US 51 to Bloomington.)

*************

@warnerbrosentertainment @ultrakeencollectionbreadfan @theweekenddigest @iheartgod175 @funtasticworld @archive-archives @screamingtoosoftly @themineralyoucrave @thebigdingle @thylordshipofbutts @warnerbros-blog1 @groovybribri @zodiacfan32 @jellystone-enjoyer @indigo-corvus @warnerbrosent-blog

#hanna barbera #fanfic #fanfiction #motorhome #road trip #on the road #snagglepuss #huckleberry hound #crazy claws #cheese and sausage #the king and sheena #heyyy it's the king!#refueling #hannabarberaforever

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playingforward · 3 months

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intro post :3

hi!!! hello!!!

the name’s ajax, although i’m also called a whole Host of other things in place of/addition to that, depending on the vibes. dawn, crow, and violet are the most common ones you’ll see :))

the pronouns in my bio are usually accurate, but they occasionally change. if you interact with me on a personal level (in dms/on other platforms), i'll inform you of my current name & pronoun preferences.

i'm a digital artist in an educational program on the subject, an occasional fanfiction writer, massive mathematics & biochemical sciences nerd, tea connoisseur, jewelry collector, friend to many & awkward to all

this blog is a multifandom + personal mess because sideblogs aren’t manageable for me.

long-term post/reblog topics: sword art online (practically lifelong special interest), persona 5 (+ 3&4 a bit, but i’ve only played p5), the legend of zelda + lu, my dear partner @voheit, homestuck, THE ARCANE ASCENSION SERIES BY ANDREW ROWE PLEASE GOD DOES ANYONE KNOW IT; advocacy/activism

from the river to the sea, palestine will be free. saying so is the least anyone can do about it

tag guide and extra personal info under the cut :)

my username is a reference to the sword art online episode 01x08, in which kirito and asuna have a conversation about who will "play forward" - i.e., make the decision of what they will be doing - that day.

tag guide: these exist mainly for myself, to aid in categorizing + retroactively searching for things i’ve put on here

blue bucket of gold - personal posts/stuff that i’ve had a hand in composing in some way. chatty reblogs aren’t usually tagged with this, but sometimes i forget -> wording derived from a sufjan stevens lyric that felt particularly Me

hoard - a dragon collecting shinies. things i find especially worthwhile

keep - a derivative of hoard, but even more important/Practical information for which i’m likely to search my own blog

emotional intelligence - a derivative of keep, posts relevant to emotional or mental health, self-care, advice, etc. generally tends to be practical. i recommend going through that tag if you need to hear a perspective on life/feelings which isn’t rattling around in your own skull :)

@ voheit - with no space, this tag exists specifically for things that i’d like to share with tumblr user voheit <3 with no time pressure or feeling uncomfortable with tagging them directly on the post, for whatever reason there may be

draconic - posts that feel draconic in nature to me, especially in a way that pertains to my own identity

other context about me:

- too close to legal adulthood and independence for comfort. rapidly approaching the asymptote of 18

-i often use vaguely christian phrases (dear god, lord above, holy fuck, god bless) in a nonreligious way

- I HAVE MEMORY ISSUES!!!!!!!!! i Will forget some things you’ve said to me no matter how much i want to remember. please remind me of it when i ask, or seem to be Obviously Missing Context, and the conversation will flow as before - or get into a fun tangent about the forgotten memory. i am experienced with dealing with my own issues!!! go with my flow and you’ll be just fine. do not guilt trip me about it, though. this is out of my control

- i am a dragon :3 in my heart

- also plural, but we don't talk about it often on here. sometimes reblog informational/positivity posts on the subject.

#as i write these tag descriptions i realize how much this system comes from my need to categorize things to a high degree of specificity #i’ve considered breaking up emotional intelligence into multiple tags too... lord help me #blue bucket of gold #about me #long post

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oliveroctavius · 3 months

Note

Would you consider (even briefly) turning reblogs back on for the post of yours re Lichtenstein's artwork (or lack thereof) and plagiarism? I really liked it and would really like to have it (and other additions in the reblog chain) on my blog for future reference (given tumblr's (less-than) stellar search-function)

You know what, sure, it's free game again for a week or until I get tired of it again. The longest version of the post responding to jackelving's legitimate criticisms of my sloppy, grouchy wording is probably the most worthwhile.

#I just got sick of endless rows of tags repeating my own pettiest complaints back to myself and realized #I might be creating a new annoying oversimplified popular conception of my own here in the wake of that post getting 12k notes

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tokyogruel · 4 months

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Shidou! 1, 2, 5, and 9!

1. favorite song lyrics?

i answered this one here! and kind of glad i did, it got loonngg,,

2. favorite mv moment/frame?

5. favorite voice drama line/moment?

(lines/translation taken from the milgram wiki)

molech:

"Es ...... Even if this is referred to as an interrogation, at this moment in time, I don't plan on using violence. In addition to that, any falsehood or silence from you will be acknowledged."

and later....

"Es Don't you dare… pat my head like that! *Kicks*

Shidou Nnngh...! P-Please hold on for a second...!"

"Es Shut up! Out of all the prisoners thus far, you're the one I can't stand the most. Going all pessimistic like that, running your mouth as if you knew everything, acting as if you're oh-so mature, and never budging from that composed expression of yours—the nerve of you! On top of that, you even went so far as to pat my head. Do you think I'm your child? Do you?! Don't fuck with me!"

these arent even really shidous lines though DXFGCHVJB

aesculapius:

"Es You're a doctor. I've deduced that your murders happened in the context of medical procedures.

Shidou ..."

,,,

"Shidou I need to be punished… but I need to stay alive, or young lives will be lost. I… I don't know what to wish for anymore. I'm starting to think… that I want to live. That I want to be forgiven. Despite being so riddled with sins…!"

9. do you forgive/not forgive their crime on its own?

well, what are we defining as his crime? thats a complicated answer

heres some theories i have, and my feelings on them:

the organ thief theory:

my interpretation of this one is that shidou did not pull the plug on braindead patients, or botch surgeries intentionally. shit like that can be tracked in the medical field- and will be stopped, swiftly. my idea is that shidou may twist his words, or try very very hard to convince families to pull the plug on their loved ones. "there are people who need the organs your family member can provide. youd be doing what's right"

i... dont know. i dont think i really would forgive him for this, depending on how he goes about it. it's important, yes, to tell people that donating organs is worthwhile post-mortem. but the decision to pull the plug on someone you love should not be over-influenced by some jackass who happens to have a degree in fuckery.

the "my wife and kids" theory:

(for clarification, i believe his family is an intricate day-dream of his, rather than his reality, but for this ill be speaking as if his family is real)

my interpretation of this one is that shidou took the heart of one of his children to give to his wife after an accident. i would forgive him for this- if his child is beyond saving but his wife could survive with a transplant, he is well within his right to make that decision on behalf of his family. even if it sucks

the "drunk driver" theory:

ive mentioned this one on my blog before, but havent gone into the details of it just yet. i also need to compile my evidence for it- but im pretty confident in it.

the theory is thus: shidou gets intoxicated, perhaps to celebrate- and decides, in all his adult-brained wisdom- that its fine if he drives afterward. he ends up crashing his car, either into another car or directly into civilians. he kills a child.

i would not forgive him if this is his crime

#creature speaks #ask tag #also i said this out loud but im having major huge deja vu rn lol #unrelated though the mention is mostly for my future reference

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forthegothicheroine · 2 years

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I need to share with you all an Ask a Manager letter from a person working at what seems to be a costume/prop store and is irritated by what horror nerds their coworkers are. I am actually sympathetic to a certain extent (everyone endlessly repeating movie quotes would get old even if I like the movies) but it raises many questions.

I live in a small city which doesn’t have many employment opportunities. The city has a high unemployment rate, and it’s rare to find work that isn’t in shops, farming, etc. Six years ago, the city council launched a project to fund start-up business ideas for marginalized individuals, including those with disabilities.

One of these ideas has become extremely successful. It’s essentially four neurodivergent eccentrics who live every day like it’s Halloween. They are commissioned by various organizations around the state to create bespoke services and goods. They’ve attracted something of a following with projects coming in all year in preparation for October. Jobs include making props for a small amusement park, making decor for a children’s hospital, local authorities hiring them to run haunted houses, etc. Because it has council funding, the start-up needs a couple of additional employees for administration. I accepted one of these admin roles as there are so few office-based jobs in the area.

I have worked there for two years and I feel like I’m in some sort of alternative reality. The office is filled with robotics, costumes, and prop projects. I’ve kept my complaints to what I thought was minimal, but the number of official logged complaints about the four people is in double digits. As an example, one was about a ruined handbag that had been seized as a prop and filled with jelly and rubber eyeballs. The other admin worker isn’t helpful — he has multiple Halloween-themed tattoos and named his kids in obvious tribute (think names like Casper, Salem etc.).

The entire city sees the team as underdog heroes and they really are involved in worthwhile projects. I appreciate that they probably have been excluded through their lives and have finally found an opportunity to form a community and work in a field they love. But my nerves are in shreds with the constant screams and cackles emitted from every corner of a small office. The latest is a wildlife charity wanting to put nesting boxes for actual BATS! in the office. They’re paying for it as a promotional/marketing service, with the resident ghouls blogging about and videoing the bats. Am I nuts, or is this completely bizarre?

After I submitted a complaint about the plans to move bats in, the local newspaper ran a massive double spread about the Halloween grinch trying to destroy this deeply loved community enterprise. They took the stance that I am some stuffy busybody ruining disabled people’s opportunities to shine and create joy and community spirit. I wasn’t named in the article but it was obvious to locals who the villain was.

Quitting means I’d be signing up for many years in a manual or service job in a city where everyone hates me. My son is counting down the days until he can legally change his name so he won’t be recognized. I had minor surgery last year and the week off felt like the first time in two years I could breathe.

As I’m writing this to you, my coworkers are bellowing out lines from films at each other repetitively, then identifying them. Here’s a sample:

A : What an excellent day for an exorcism! J: The Exorcist, 1973!

T: Listen to them, children of the night! J : Dracula, 1931!

Help!

The advice given is basically “If you work at a Halloween place they’re going to be into Halloween, you just have to decide if you can stand it or not.” But questions people in the comments are raising are:

1. Was that “ruined purse” something that belonged to someone and coworkers filled with jelly, or was it a discarded item that they repurposed into a prop?

2. Putting bats in the office? Really? A real charity wants to do that? Or is this hyperbole for putting bat boxes outside?

3. Were those “double digits” of complaints from different people, or all from the letter writer?

4. Are all these details just changed to avoid identifying anyone, and is this really a Christmas prop place?

What do you all think?

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sinister-faye · 4 months

Text

The new years resolution update.

Gonna keep this one smaller.

But I had another mental barrier pop up recently. And this one was the hardest one yet.

It turns out that most of my projects were a form of dissociation. Before recently, I only thought of disassociation as going numb. Or merely zoning out. But I never thought of it as a positive thing.

Like my plans all pretty much looked like:

Step 1: come up with a framework, or rough draft.

Step 2: I'll figure it out later. But it will probably be cool with 0 friction or obstacles.

Step 3: accept awards and accolades. And get a billion dollars.

When life got tough I would then use these blogs, the writing of lore™️, or the daydreaming about success act as a form of self regulation.

And holy shit life has been tough. There is a graveyard of like 16 projects from 2023. All decent ideas. But, no plans to deal with failure. No plans to deal with time limitations. No plans for any kind of struggle, or lack of knowledge.

During an awful time in my life I learned to daydream. A LOT. During my 2 year disassociation nightmare called a Mormon mission I learned how to make plans. But my current life sucked so fucking bad, that I couldn't let any amount of negativity into my little dream space. Including little pieces of friction like: lack of knowledge, or experience get in the way of my shiny dream that would save me from a life of drudgery. Anything that did not resemble that life.

So that mode and mindset stuck with me.

There didn't need to be a plan beyond wild success and awesome art. It really just needed to help me get through a struggle. But once I was getting started on something, if there was any friction, suddenly I needed to switch to something else. As the excitement and soothing feelings of project A would end. I would need project B to give me the emotional boost that I craved.

So I was self regulating my stress with daydreaming. While also somehow expecting those daydreams to come true. While on top of that all, feeling deep feelings of guilt for never completing something prior.

It was not healthy.

It still isn't.

I'm learning how to regulate my stress and recognize what I'm calling "daydream disassociation".

It sounds so basic but I'm lying out a roadmap. Then I'm laying in a course to point myself towards those goals. Charting where I am in skill level now, towards where I want to be.

My goals need to do the following:

- Have steps that I can work towards in the next 24 hours. Additional steps should be added once they are known. 48 hour and 72 hour goals really help hone a direction to work.

- include sacrifices or stress points as part of the plan, or accommodate for the possibility of stress points.

Example:

I want to exercise and get sexy. But I don't know that much about working out certain muscle groups.

I know that I will be sore, and tired, changing my diet and this will take up an hour of my already busy day.

Goals for 24 hours: look up fitness guides for beginners

Goals for 48 hours begin those exercises and take steps to study and improve nutrition.

No just envisioning myself on a beach, I need to think about what those workouts look like, how I will feel during and after, pain included, I will more than likely follow through with all of this.

And then if I do catch myself daydreaming about results I reassure myself that this is merely a dream, and the reality will be harder but worthwhile.

So if you read all this nonsense and wonder why I'm always writing as if I am a current indie dev darling who is mere weeks away from launching a product. It's because I believed it. But I didn't want to fight for it. But now I do.

The old blogs will remain up. To document this journey of self hype and dreaming.

The next post will be deliberate. And showcasing why you should follow me. As opposed to dropping vague hints hoping to entice you with something that is as substantial as a dream I once had.

If you have read any of my other posts. Thank you for following along with my creative journey. I'm going to build this journey on a solid foundation. Not on dreams and hopes.

Thank you.

#gamedev #creative writing #inspiration #mental health #journey #i really hope that this goes somewhere this time cuz i keep discovering that i was jever starting at square 1 but i was really at -10

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gemkun · 7 months

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💻, 😍, 💜, 🥇 c:

↬ 🐝 * ― 𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑻-𝑶𝑼𝑻𝑺 𝑶𝑭 𝑨𝑾𝑬𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑺.

💻 ― excellent writing

@cloudhymn i can't explain it but nine has such an elegant way with writing that captivates you and draws you in. i remember when we first wrote and i quickly became engrossed in our threads and just anyone is lucky to write with nine. there's also such a clear distinction between their muses and i dunno how nine manages it but they always maintain exceptional three-dimensionality with every blorbo they pick up.

🥇 ― well-developed oc

@holyfell i know we haven't interacted that much but owen comes up with the most creative and Incredible ocs. sometimes i forget they're not part of the canon lore because of how in-depth and fleshed out they are. hoyo should consider putting them in game cause they would be such a worthwhile addition.

😍 ― admiring from afar

@liuofu astrid has one of the prettiest blogs i have ever laid eyes on. she also has such an ethereal way of writing that brings her muses to life that is so amazing to see ? i remember when jingliu had her first appearance and i came to the dash and read one of her posts and was just floored at how quickly she was able to capture and harness jingliu as her own.

💜 ― receiver's choice ( simply shout out whoever you want )

@abyssin i wanna shout out tea cause this is call-out for how smelly she is !! no but tea you are such a light in my life and i love talking to you and hanging out while you attempt to get me to even consider childe which always ends in flames. your writing and graphics are so pleasant and i'm looking forward to delving into creating more crack (and maybe serious) rp with you !

#* ✦ 𝐈. ❮ ooc ❯ ⸻ ❝#* ✦ 𝐈𝐈. ❮ asks ❯ ⸻ ❝#okay now that i dish out the love i go shower

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candm-brittany-2023 · 1 year

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It was nearing 12.30 so we stopped for lunch at La Roche Blanche where we had overnighted 5 years ago.

We had originally thought we’d stay there the night, but there literally is nothing there and it’s going to rain all day tomorrow apparently, so we decided to move on. We’d go to Haute-Roche, near Montreuil-sur-Ille. That has electric.

We entered our first downhill lock. It’s much easier with absolutely no pull on the lines.

We have mentioned that all the éclusiers have been exceptionally helpful. However, the odd one goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Emanuel was the éclusier at Haute-Roche. He spoke a little bit of English. He wasn’t sure that the electric was working. If it wasn’t, we were moving on and he would have to operate the next lock for us. So he cycled to the mooring, helped us tie up and made phone calls when the electric didn’t work. It was one of those electric boxes that we have seen before, it needed €2 tokens which can be purchased at the town hall. Emanuel couldn’t guarantee that it would work even if we managed to get to the town hall before it shut. Here he is with the electric box.

We decided to move on. Emanuel was covering the next 3 locks and thought there was a space after 2 of them at St.Médard-sur-Ille.

We had already dropped the arch twice today. We were going to have to do it again. Oh well, we’re getting slick now!

After the 2nd lock Emanuel shot off on his bike and came back triumphantly saying there was a space. Hurrah! We could just about squeeze in but we had to turn the boat round so we could get off as the bank was sloped. There was electric there and it did work!

Fantastic.

The 2 barges either side had people on them and both were very helpful. The Frenchman on the barge directly behind us has offered to take us to the supermarket in his car! How good is that?

In the end it had been a long day. We set off at 9.30 and we got here at 4.30 having negotiated 14 locks. Knackered now, time for a drink in the evening sunshine. Because it’s going to rain all day tomorrow we’re staying put. Just noticed we’re under trees. Never mind, it’ll all wash off!

Just a quick addition to the blog. This is our view this evening. Stuff like this makes it all worthwhile. 🤔

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