Tumgik
#( i was on the other blog but kept a tab open to here as well and i just ended up closing it bc idk )
tinystepsforward · 15 days
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i've still been keeping tabs on what's happening at automattic. a couple of things i've observed:
toni schneider (who is a man btw), the interim ceo, has been quite open with staff in ways that mean they generally seem relieved to have him leading the company for now. i've heard people speak optimistically about him from all parts of the spectrum (by which i mean: staff who are trans tumblr users right through to staff who are "anti-woke" or whatever and were absolutely intolerable to work with as a trans person), which seems like... a good sign? maybe.
this relative transparency includes things like weekly updates from an executive level, as well as openly saying that he did have to directly speak to matt and encourage him to, you know, stop posting.
matt is back to his usual milquetoast blogging, and replied to someone on mastodon about the AI issue saying he'd comment on it when he's back in may, so whatever toni said to him seems to have worked for him keeping out of it for now.
people have no idea what it's gonna look like when matt's back.
the best case scenario is that schneider manages to create a significant enough boost in morale and productivity that "it'd be nice if we just kept him" becomes a sentiment that isn't held just by the rank and file. i don't know how likely that is, but there's a sense of cautious hope and of making the most of this reprieve from matt's increasingly erratic decisions no matter what.
the tumblr staff statement was approved by schneider and hr, so i am also hopeful they won't face repercussions. what they said might seem pretty mild from the outside, or carefully worded, but it's pretty clear to me and to most people who've worked at companies like this that it's a pretty bold one.
i'll quote a friend:
keep reminding the more histrionic elements out there that: 1. there really are trans people, INCLUDING TRANS WOMEN, in the fight here. 2. we don't have nearly the power they seem to think we do. 3. we're fighting anyway. was the statement we wrote enough? fuck no. does it fix everything? fuck no. but we literally called out the CEO, and got the greenlight for it from the interim CEO. i don't know where this will end, but that's not nothing.
i'm not sure automattic deserves the immense honor of having this many of its brave, dedicated trans staff put effort into trying to make it better. but it has them, and it would be wise to do its best to keep them. so many of us — even me, even now — believe in the ideals that drew us to the work automattic does, and hope that it can return to them. we will see!
other things i want to say:
the wellbeing of my friends on staff is my priority. i am interested primarily in their safety, and won't pressure them to give me goss. the ways i've spoken publicly are already pretty scary to people who might worry about retaliation against them just for being known to be my friend.
this is a regular personal blog. i'll keep updating if there's shit to update about, but i also don't work at automattic any more (thank fuck, again), have a life, and am not interested in declaring matt my specific nemesis or otherwise acting purely out of spite.
some of youse really deeply do not understand companies, the internet, generative ai, or pretty much anything else i've said. that's okay — big tech in particular is fucked up on purpose bc it benefits those in power to have it be incomprehensible! but maybe it's not a great position from which to get mad at me specifically or at staff for idk not personally assassinating matt.
got tired of blocking transphobes so i've turned anons off. i'll probably flick them back on eventually.
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imaginidol · 8 months
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Do u have any tips/advice on starting a fanfic blog ??
Hi!! I appreciate you asking me first of all, it makes me feel like I'm getting better to the point where I can give my own tips <3
I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE THIS IS SO LONG :(
I've given you here my 4 best tips that have helped me :) I hope they are of some use to you as well!!
I'll tell you what--the one thing that really helped me grow personally was consistency with writing. I did have a point where I went MIA for a while because of school, but I took advantage over this whole summer to write, write, write! Sure, if you read some of my old stuff it's actually pretty bad and poorly written lol, but I just kept going until eventually I found a decent-ish writing style that works for me. Sometimes I'd have a REALLY nice fic written, and other times it feels like my writing just wasn't it/downgrading. It's a lot of yo-yo'ing, but keep going at it and soon enough the ideas and words will come to you smoothly.
What I also started with was moodboards!! Like this Mingi moodboard, for example, which eventually became an inspiration for a short fanfic story that I went along with based off the pictures. You know what else is cute sometimes, too? Posting song links if a certain song is an inspiration for a fic. I'm gonna start diong it, and most definitely will be linking from anything like orchestra to noise music if it fits a vibe lol. I'll admit, I haven't gotten to give a really detailed moodboard + fic like that Mingi one in a while and I'd like to go back to it. And, it's currently my post with the most notes ever, so I really would advise you to try a fun mood board with pictures and feel your way around the vibes and write!
As for HOW to write -- I'm currently working on "show, don't tell." I like reading a few of my absolute favorite fics from other people and I study how they use methods of showing emotions, gestures, events, etc. in discriptive manners--it makes me feel as though the fic comes to life and I'm really there, feeling and experiencing everything my y/n does!! Also this is a short fun challenge that I give myself -- I don't ever use "Y/N" in any of my fics because i feel like it disrupts the flow of the reading lol (this is just my own preference though, you don't have to do this!) instead, I refer to anyone directing their attention to you as "You," or if your partner is speaking to you, something like "thank you, my love/how have you been, love?" :P ALSO!! I alwaayyysss have a second tab open on google where I look up synonyms/antonyms of words so that I don't repeat them so much. Like, angry synonym, and I'll choose the word vexed instead. Works wonders and actually enhances your vocab!!
Requests will come in soon, and they will definitely challenge you to think outside the box and get creative!! Who says all stories have to be happy endings? What if they're about self-reflection? Love? Friendship? Or just silly buffonery 😆 I could ask you a few requests as well if you'd like as a way to get started :') Also, interact with followers as inbox msgs come in! I wasn't too good at this at the start and it is one thing I wish I could go back and work on.
Thank you if you actually even made it all the way down here! My hope with this blog is that my fanfics will help me become a decent enough writer to a point where one day I'll have enough creative experience to draft a full YA novel, which has been a dream of mine since elementary school! I hope these tips help you in anyway, and I can't help but thank you and anyone else who even gives a second thought to this blog for all the ways you guys help me fix and enhance my writing.
-ii
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someone1348 · 2 years
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It's Headcannon time!!! I got this idea from Kasey! @kasey-writes-stuff so go check out her take on this first because it is incredible and credit where credit is due!
I hope you all enjoy!
The concept is: The dream smp cc's (content creators) ask to borrow your phone for something and accidentally discover you like tickles
I think about this concept waaaayyy too much so I hope you all enjoy what goes through my mind haha!
-K :]
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Quackity- This one is on my mind all the time! (It's Quackity! Hehe! Why wouldn't it be lol!) Anyway! My man's would ask to borrow your phone for a camera shot, see a tumblr notification, accidentally click on it and spend an hour /lh /j just scrolling through your blog! He's learning something new. At first he was a little confused but as he kept going he thought it was absolutely adorable! And just couldn't help himself! the only other reason he kept scrolling was to find out what gets you the most, for future reference of course! He doesn't go too far in though with scrolling; he doesn't want you to get suspicious one but he also feels bad for snooping. After he does get the shot though and some further information he hands it back to you with a smirk. He won't bring it up but just know he has the rest of the night planned down to a T and there will be a lot of giggles involved. After that though he will ask you about it, he explains that it was an accident but that he finds it so adorable and doesn't mind giving you tickles anytime you want! He makes sure you are comfortable first that is his top priority but just know he won't go so easy on you either (of course while always respecting your boundaries!) teasy butt! Haha! (I love him so much!-) His tickles after that are always a new adventure! The man is unpredictable but thats the best part! (I can go into more detail on Quackity but thats for another day! We've got more people to do! Next up! Dream!)
Dream- Dream's phone was dead and he desperately needed to text sapnap and figure some things out, of course you let him borrow yours! And he does text sapnap but after he pressed send the notification for tumblr came up and when clicking out of the messages he accidentally clicked on it. His frist reaction was to panic and click off but his hands stopped right as he saw your blog he quickly glanced at it and discovered your secret. He smiled to himself looking up at you while you watched TV, quickly looking back down and replying to the text sapnap sent. Once everything was settled he clicked out of all of the tabs and handed it back to you saying that everything was complete! He isn't the type to call you out like that, he'll keep it on the down low until you're ready to talk about it, but he will absolutely be a tease about it in the meantime, this is Dream we are talking about here! He will be slipping the word "Tickle" into a couple of conversations subtlety, Quick pokes or pinches to the sides and a few Tickle hugs here and there. When you do tell him though he can't help the "oh I know" that slips out of him when you confess "I found your blog" "DUDE!" Once things get serious though he will reassure you that your secret is safe with him and that he is there for whenever you want tickles! He wants to learn everything he can learn about it to give you optimal happiness and when the real tickling begins after that day, good luck and watch out for his teasing voice, he plays the role well my friends!
George- George's reactions are always something, so when he asked to borrow your phone for a moment to look something up, he accidentally clicked on the open tab next to it which was your blog. He paused for a moment and said "uhhh" while scrolling a bit. You quickly took note of his tone and checked to see what was wrong, maybe the wifi went out or something, to your shock you saw the screen and took the phone back, not really knowing what to do you left to an empty room. It took a minute for George to register what just happened but the minute he did he rushed to you to let you know that he was so so so sorry and that it was a total accident! He thought you had been mad that he was on it but after some brief communication between you two everything was cleared up in no time! He reassured you that he didn't find it werid at all and thought it was really cute actually! He gave you a hug and made sure you were comfortable before poking you in the sides repeatedly to enjoy your giggles while saying "if you ever need help you know where to find me! I may not be the best but I bet I can make you the most giggly! See look im already winning!" George's tickles after that day are more on the soft/gentle side, by nature but I promise you if you ask for some more playful tickles he will happily deliver!
Sapnap- THIS TEASE! You already know! Sapnap is bold, so is dream but Sapnap is just on a different level! So when he asked to borrow your phone to check something on Twitter and accidentally clicked on tumblr instead and found your blog, after checking things out for himself, smirking a bit before becoming serious again, he walked up to you and asked you what it was about, he showed you what he was seeing on the screen and when nothing could come out of your mouth he put the phone down and made sure his voice was gentle while saying "Hey Hey, everything is all good, im just curious about it! It's adorable and if it makes you happy I'm all in! Your secret is safe with me but I don't want you to hide this adorable version of yourself! Lucky for me I found out first instead of someone else! Now I can keep your giggles all to myself! You want me to tickle you right now? I can if you-" "Sapnap!" "Oops!" He giggled along with you before you two had a conversation about it, your likes, dislikes, boundaries, ect! He was really happy to learn and now will take advantage of this knowledge any chance he gets! He loves seeing you smile so of course this is going to be something he is into! He won't overstep your boundaries of course but he plays the tickle monster role very well! All around a 10/10 ler! His tickles after that are more on the playful side but he will also give you some great gentle tickles if you ask for that, he adapts easily to fit your needs and is more than happy to do so! He also encourages you to start telling some of the others as time goes on, he won't push you of course but he just wants to see you happy and he knows none of the others are going to judge you as well; He's got a kind heart! Maybe you were lucky that Sapnap found out first.
Punz- Now I don't know too much about Punz but I think he would handle it really well! From what I've seen he is a very nice person and his voice is really calming so yeah I feel like him finding out would go really well! You let him borrow your phone to call someone, he got lost, the phone glitched and he accidentally pressed on the Tumblr app instead. He really wanted to click off, well because he has a good moral compass, but he just couldn't. He immediately read the pinned post and smiled to himself just casually reading some more of your posts. He got so caught up in it he completely forgot about the call he was supposed to make, the sound of you laughing at something on the TV snapped him out of his dream state, he immediately called who he needed to and handed you back your phone with some slight red on his cheeks but a big smile. He wanted to approach it kindly so he sat down next to you and asked if there was anything you would like to tell him "any secrets you're hiding?~" he tried to sound just a bit teasey which made you a bit confused "don't make me tickle it out of you~" you immediately checked your phone, saw the tab was still open and then looked back at him and his wiggling fingers. He stopped of course so you two could talk about it, it was a very nice conversation, you talked about everything! he was very understanding and happy to know! He apologized as well for snooping, to be fair it was an accident at first but everything happens for a reason! "Accident or not im glad you trust me enough with this and I promise I won't say anything to anyone!" He smiled before smirking again keeping up his natrually teasy nature; "Does this mean that I'm your own personal ler now because I can be if you want" he winked at you as you playfully smacked his arm lightly, "you better start running im gonna getcha'!" Punz's tickles after that day are really randomized, some days he's more playful, some days he's in the middle, other times he's more gentle, but no matter the day he always tries to incorporate it somehow into your day to day! It becomes the new normal with you two! It's truly a dream come true!
Karl- THE SWEETEST! I headcannon that Karl knows a bit about our community before this all happens so when he finds out he's even more ecstatic! When the fluffy haired brunette asks to borrow your phone to send something over to himself and sees a tumblr notification, his curiosity gets the better of him and he clicks on it. His face beamed brighter than ever in that moment while glancing over most of the things you have put up on your blog he giggles and happy stims a little bit, out of your sight of course! He sends what he needed to send over to himself before handing your phone back and scribbling against your sides quickly before acting like nothing happened.
Tommy- Ohoho boy!! Tommy asked to borrow your phone for the vlog, he didn't have enough storage and needed your help so of course you let him. And while he was trying to get a couple of shots a notification came up and he got curious "I didn't know (Y/N) had tumblr" he checked it out and soon understood why he never knew. His heart absolutely melted! He knew very little about the community but he was overjoyed to be there even if it was only for a minute! He was even more happy because this was your phone and your account! He knew someone in the community now and desperately wanted to know more! After he filmed what he needed too and edited everything he walked up to you a smile spread across his features just absolutely giddy! He wasted no time but decided to be subtle about it. The two of you hung out in the living room for a bit both scrolling through the internet in comfortable scilence before Tommy broke it with a question that brought heat to your cheeks "Hey (Y/N) do you know what a lee and ler is? I've been seeing it everywhere and have no clue what it could mean?" He didn't look up from his phone but the smirk he was hiding inside was priceless. Once he finally decided to look at you he let out the smirk "something wrong?~" After you shook your head he said again "I've got this tickle in my throat that just won't go away!" You cracked after a few more of these and explained everything to him, he just kept getting brighter and brighter! "Yeahhh I know! I got too curious and stumbled upon your tumblr account" "Tommy!" "I know! Im sorry for snooping but im glad I know! Plus you knew I'd find out eventually, I would have tickled it out of you regardless" "Tommy!!!" "HAHAHA Sorry Sorry! It's true though!" After a few more moments of comfortable scilence he asked if you could tell him more! You both talked about everything, likes, dislikes, boundaries, terminology, everything he was so happy to learn!! He loves seeing you smile and making others happy so this was a perfect win in his eyes! After the conversation he broke the ice once more with another question "Can I tickle you now?" This made you blink a bit, you didn't know what to say but one look at the egar sunshine boy and you couldn't say no, you just ran and let the blonde have his fun, but hey you were having fun too so its a win win! Tommy's tickles after that day are a good mix of gentle, fast and playful all at once! He already says the word Tickle so much in his everyday speech but you can guarantee he's saying that a lot more now! And of course tickling you almost every chance he can get! He even texts you tickle teases sometimes, from across the room just to see your reactions and make you smile again! Best boy I swear!
Tubbo- He's so kind oh my goodness!! It was a complete accident! Tubbo was trying to fix your settings and accidentally clicked on a tumblr notification that popped up! He was going to click off Instantly but your secret caught his eye. He was nice enough to stop what he was doing and sit down with you and ask about it. The conversation went really really well! He was very engaged in the conversation, he listened to everything you had to say, he asked questions and he was just overall so nice about it! He pinky swore to you that he wouldn't tell anyone without your permission. He wasn't the most physical person but that didn't mean he wasn't going to tickle you! Quite the opposite actually he tickled you a lot more now! He's actually really good at it! His tickles after that day really just depends on what you want but he will definitely poke you in the side in passing, and whenever he feels like it! A quick scribble along the neck too! He will do whatever he wants that is within your boundaries of course! It's gotten so constant that he will give you a look and the two of you know exactly what it means! It means your being silly and he's about to get you good! So you better start running, bee boy doesn't mess around, just ask Tommy! Honestly he just wants to see you happy and if Tickles are going to help then it's tickles you sha'll get!
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Ranboo- Where do I even start! First off he is so respectful during it all but he is such a tease! He asked to borrow your phone to text Billzo about some upcoming plans since his phone was dead and when you went to go shower/do other things he completely forgot this wasn't his phone, his brain worked on autopilot and he absent-mindedly clicked on the app. He snapped out of it when he didn't recognize his own page, realized this was your phone, was going to put it back but he saw his name and got curious. He ended up scrolling for the duration of the time that you were gone and loved every second of it, he was so intrigued and wanted to learn more about this lovely community and was even more stoked when he remembered that this was your account! He took his time scrolling through your blog, the tags, your recent searches, everything he could find until you got back. He happily handed you your phone back of course and went about the day, accept with a plan in his mind. Slowly but surely he pulled you into his tickly trap! After that was done he couldn't stop smiling down at you. You asked what he did that for and he just smiled brighter replying "well you like it right? I wanted to give you something you would enjoy" you blinked at him before he confessed everything to you. He apologized of course and then the two of you talked about it. It was a very comforting atmosphere and a really great talk! "Im going to be tickling you more often now just so you know" he said with wiggling fingers up and ready you lightly pushed him back as he laughed with you putting the fingers away "Ler!Ranboo for your most recent search huh~" "RANBOO!!" "HAHAHA!!" He was promptly shoved after that comment (in a joking way of course!) This was going to be a wild ride! But it feels good now that someone knows. His tickles are like Tubbo's they adapt but he does enjoy a playful atmosphere!
I hope you guys enjoyed! If you want me to add anything or anyone let me know! These kinda turned out more like oneshots but ill take it! Heheh apologies for the length! Whoops! Remember to drink water, take care of yourselves and have a great day/evening or night My friends!
-K :]
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lonelyteenagerdotmp3 · 4 months
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shouldn't have rebloged smh that was one post btw you've got special scenes or was that just my awesome aura radiating through the screen? (Yes)
*rubs hands in anticipation* so the sherlockian explanation of how i found you is –
i first thought it was a porn bot (second time this year i thought you're a porn bot) then realised bots don't reblog posts that goes against the policy of being bots and that's also how bots differentiate bots and actual people
thought it was a new user who didn't know how to use tumblr yet and was learning i was like older people wouldn't do the combination of words then letters thing because they know that's how we immediately catch bots
then clicked on the reblog thing and saw that there's only two posts and both the posts were reblogged from people i know (one being me of course)
sudden suspicion
suspicion increased when i saw the following and likes tab being open and upon checking saw the likes and following both being remarkably empty now as we all know newer users aren't acquainted with tumblr and think that likes help and blog should be pristine and well kept people like us who've been here longer know better than to do either of these
suspicion increased even more by the string of numbers 69420 because to the best of my belief only a few of my mutuals would very happily make a blatant 69 or 420 joke one of them is you
when i thought a bit about it i caught the connection you love animals (i was close to reblogging a kitty post the other day thinking yeah ray will see that and then remembering oh he deactivated) (so i absolutely know the best way to lure you would be to place a trap of kitties or some other animals) you reblogged the post of baby foxes i was almost completely sure it was you even though i didn't reblog the fox post trying to lure you but now that i know it'd certainly work i'll deliberately reblog cat pics for you to see :3
and the other post also showed something but i'm not gonna say what let's just say you're very percy-ish but i wasn't sure if you follow tumblr rules and to what extent since you reblog everything on earth all the time already
now see all this seems too long but the whole thing happened within seconds and i know you didn't ask for this psychoanalysis so i'm sorry
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littlecreativecorner · 8 months
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Feedback and Suggestions to Tumblr Changes
Rant that has been coming for a week or two now, extremely expedited by the recent change they made to literally make it look like Twitter. I’m assuming the change stems from this statement they put in their latest Staff post:
"The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use."
The thing is - nothing is easy to use, the first time. If you've never been on a website, if you've never used a program, a game, an app - the chances are, you are not going to know how to use it easily if you haven't encountered it before. Does that intrinsically make the service you're using bad? No! So what could Tumblr do to help instead? Well. Huge feedback and suggestion dump under the cut, with the LEAST rant-driven comparisons I can muster. I'll be sending this post as feedback myself, but I want it public too.
I'm going to break these down into bullet points with explanations, but keep in mind that I'm just one person, and I'm bound to miss out on plenty of things others might have thought of; this is not the blog to send in feedback or suggestions or other thoughts, it's a one-off long as all fuck post because I'm opinionated. Take the list and run with it, add to it, use it - whatever, but please don't come to me for more takes about this. That being said:
Section 1: Layout
Feedback: New layout
I won’t be the first or the last person to say this: the new layout is basically Twitter. You know this, I know this, the staff knows this. Tumblr…is not Twitter. The obvious pro to this change is that everyone that’s ever used Twitter in their life is going to know where things are, because it looks like a worse version of their (already bad) platform. The cons are…everything else. From this point onward I’m referring to the 19/7 layout as the Twitter layout because it’s simpler, and it’s true. Also I don’t like it.
I don’t want to spend my time here when it looks like this, and frankly, people don’t want to use any social media platforms that are an obvious rip-off of others in looks and function; they are going to use Twitter regardless until it dies. This is why few people have gone to Mastodon and kept using it even if it IS a better alternative to Twitter, and quite similar. It’s the same with games. You want more people to use Tumblr? Make it unique. Keep the old layout, or do adjustments that actually benefit the interface, and double down on the uniqueness of what it can do different, and better, not what it can do the same. Tumblr is a blogging platform; lean in on it. I digress. The Twitter layout dissection below.
Suggestion: Layout (desktop) and interface
I have a wide screen, and my personal experiences are written from that point of view; however, everything I mention here should be tested for ALL screen sizes, to optimize placement and user experience. I’ve gone through the tags to gather some opinions and mellow out my initial reaction of “oof, change bad”, but also I’ve always hated the Twitter layout which is the reason I don’t have one. Shocker.
The layout is cramped to me. It feels squished. Opening one thing overlaps on the other, having to scroll down for basic account functions feels insane to me because that’s where the likes, the drafts, the posts are. It makes me less likely to go through any of the website actual functions because I just can’t see them, and I have to put in extra effort of scrolling around to find them. The general upside of Tumblr for me was the ability to have sideblogs and easily access and edit them, and see posts, and likes, and other blog-specific things.
The Messages, Activity, and TumblrMart tabs still open as pop-up like features. For messages- no issue, there’s no need for it to take up further space. It was like this beforehand, and I didn’t mind it then either. I think that’s fine. Activity and TumblrMart, to me, feel spammy to look at. Personally, opening Activity in a half-tab like the one you get where you report blogs would be ok, because you can actually look through it with less fear of clicking off, but also, I don’t get a lot of notifications so I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other. I have seen that it covers the dashboard which you might want to be looking at, so frankly, it’s probably best to not have it pop-up there at the very least. TumblrMart…please let it lead to its own site segment. No wonder people aren’t using it. It doesn’t have a clear overview, or options, nor do you feel like you can peacefully look around.
The fact that everything is on the left side sucks from an user standpoint as well because going swiftly from reblogging/liking/refreshing to account/messages/settings is not friendly user interface. This, to me at least, essentially discourages the interaction wanted. I digress. I think it’s a decent idea to separate left and right side and make things in part more accessible, but not like this.
My personal subjective opinion for a new (“more intuitive” interface) and suggestion:
Keep what is currently the account tab on the right, permanently open (likes, following, what’s new, help, shortcuts, log out) OR toggleable, with a toggleable (separate) “blogs” tab under it for privacy on the dashboard lest someone walk by and sneak a glance. Opening the blogs drop-down would by default make your main blog interface open, and side blogs closed; leave the toggleability and options as-is on the Twitter layout, that is fine.
Above this, put back the Home, Explore, Activity, TumblrMart, Domain, and Ad-Free icons. Home, Explore and Activity for usage, make TumblrMart lead to its own distinctive site instead of being a pop-up, and the rest people will eventually click on and know what they are. Potentially you could merge Ad-Free and Domain into one site you can just scroll through instead. Bind this with the search tab in the middle the way that it was, so things don’t stick cramped to the top of the page.
Leave Messages, Inbox and Settings on the left, and instead of “t” write “tumblr.” because there’s lots of empty space up top there otherwise, and it would look less awkward. Drop-down settings especially is a good thing to me because the settings interface was amongst the least intuitive things for new users, and it’s important because it shapes the entire usage of the site, and is one of the first things people go to for customization of their experience. Under this, stick “Check out these blogs” and “Radar”. Or only “Radar”. Workshop it or ask for user opinions.
That’s just one opinion of possibilities of one user, and no one has to agree with me whatsoever, but I’m not going to sit and pretend that things will never change ever even if I don’t want them to. There’s plenty of ground to cover here, but I really shouldn’t be doing the job of the Tumblr board of 200 people who already work there. Regardless, I’m upset, and I don’t want to use Tumblr anymore because of the changes you’re making, and I want to fix the leaks in the roof of my only house, because honestly? I don’t use social media besides Tumblr. I digress.
Feedback: Blogs (layout-adjacent)
I’ve been on this platform for over 10 years and I want to be absolutely clear on something; I hate the simplification of everything with a burning passion. I don’t want to spread misinformation and say that blogs not having their own immediate domain and theme on sign-up saves money, or space, or what-have-you, because I don’t know, but if it’s true then I understand the reasoning for the change. However, I do know that the slow erasure of personal themes makes the entire website bland as all fuck to me. I’m going to separate this in chunks because it’s important to me and I think Tumblr should use this function (as well as chronological non-algorithmical feed) to attract new users instead of trying to be something it isn’t. Is it realistic? Not my job to figure out, nor how to make it work! I’m already making a whole itemized list for a lot of things.
Feedback: Regarding mobile blog layouts:
A good change! I like that it’s simple and sleek and still customizable in a way where you can hide your likes and followings. I also don’t mind that the same settings are retained on the desktop version of your blog to keep consistency. It’s neat! However, I’m not the biggest fan of the desktop version of blogs, and so, regarding desktop layouts:
Suggestion: Make blogs that have a theme open in a new tab when clicked on.
In all honesty, I scroll less on blogs when I’m not on their personalized theme. It’s simply not inviting. It’s fine for one post; sometimes I just want to take a link from the source to pass it on, but when I further click on the blog icon to get to the main page of the blog itself, I wish it led to the actual theme as opposed to the dashboard version. I love looking through others’ posts and blog on their own personalized page, and frankly, it’s the reason I joined and spent so much time on Tumblr. If the theme is Godawful, or difficult to see, there’s always a button in the top right which literally leads to the dashboard version of the blog, on any blog with any theme. When I scroll through the dashboard version of a blog, I last maybe 5 posts at most, don’t like/reblog much, don’t follow, which further just stops the chain of engagement in this platform.
I can agree this isn’t for everyone, and people might not care too much about it. However, it’s like…a few lines of code to implement, and put in settings as a toggleable function. It would keep everyone happy. And make it known to new users.
Section 2: Retaining new users
Now that we’ve determined how nobody wants a rip-off website, and how changes are possible and have potential and don’t have to be bad, and how, certain layout functions are out there that little people know about, we’re going to move on to the statement that Tumblr staff made about not being able to attract and retain new users. I’m going to make a separate post completely that goes in on the topic of engagement (important for a website!), but here I want to focus on the differences in old and new user experiences.
Feedback: User experience for new accounts
I feel like lots of old users aren’t aware that this is what the new sign-up for Tumblr looks like, with all the steps. To Tumblr staff: no wonder people don’t understand anything or stay on the platform, and you think that algorithms are the way to go. Changing the interface to “please” or “attract” new users won’t do much if they still can’t understand and use the core functions of the site. The functions that are actually not badly described on the help page. The functions that make the site worthwhile visiting and being on for what it is.
The steps given after signing up force people to mindlessly click on things, without any understanding, and the interface looks…spammy. There’s no indication on making someone unfamiliar with the culture or layout actually familiar and understanding of it, there’s no explanation, nothing. It’s not inviting and it looks like a hassle, and if people don’t understand this, they will click things randomly, then go to their dashboard and be cranky because they don’t get what’s going on.
Suggestion: Signup and post-signup interface changes, tutorials
On the “What are you into?” page, elaborate on what following “tags and topics you want to see” means; will this show up on the dashboard, will it give you notifications, what? Let people know that they will see everything in a tag from all users, where it will be located, how if they tag an original post it will also be found in the tags, but that tagging reblogs won’t. People don’t know. Teach them as they go along.
Leave a few suggested (popular) tags, potentially a list of currently trending tags. Introduce a search function next to it that allows a quick scroll through whatever tag people might think of, with a sentence or two about how to use search/tags: this both familiarizes people with the difference between the “tagged” and “searched” terms on their dashboard (you could explain this, too!), and gives people the incentive to write whatever they want and follow that instead of one of 20 randomly generated tags that they then have to unfollow. Naturally, add a button saying “no thank you” to this step so that people that know how to use Tumblr don’t have to do any of that while making a new account.
On the “find your people” page, you should straight up explain what following people means and how to find people to follow, given that it’s the core function of the website, no matter how much you try to force the algorithm. The issue with following random people for new users is that they don’t know how to find them after this step, and there is only so far that the “check out these blogs” tab will get you. This ties into engagement, and so, I’ll go into a little more detail later.
Likewise, managing of the “For you”, “Following” etc. is not customizable and removable for new users. Please make this customizable the same way that the old users have it, wherein you can turn off certain tabs. In all genuine honesty, I find all that unnecessary, but I know some newer users might use it (whether it’s because they like it, or they don’t know any better, I can’t say). I think the choice of what the “primary” tab is should be given to the user though.
Regarding the rest of the website functions: You know when you download an app or a game and you have a darkened screen with highlighted points that let you know where is what and point at it, sometimes including pictures? And you read it to get familiar with the interface/controls, and skip it if you just don’t care? Brainstorm on how to make one of those. This solves 99% of your issues with people that want to use the platform and also read. Make it simple, to the point, cover the raw basics, and include an easily accessible link to the other tutorials with screenshots on the help page that I know exist but are horribly hard to find. Which brings me to my next issue…
Suggestion: Make the help and feedback sites easy to access and use.
It’s as simple as putting the words “Help” and “Feedback/support” on the right side under whatever text there was, or under the “suggested blogs” batch, or something. This is literally THE easiest change to make on the old layout and would undoubtedly help a lot of people that don’t understand the platform. Likewise, honestly, the help page with actual tutorials is kinda bad (the tutorials seem ok from what I’ve skimmed though). It’s big and bulky and stretched out and it makes getting to the actual tutorial you might need a little bit of a hassle. I’d suggest to rework that layout over the dashboard layout any day.
And regarding the people that don’t read? Well, first of all, that’s their issue. Secondly, the way new account making works on Tumblr needs to be reworked in a way where doing whatever is necessary while making the account before getting to use the platform needs to be optimized and clearer, with better instructions. The issue isn’t the layout, as much as a fundamental misunderstanding of the platform, which I’ve written about 6 paragraphs of just above.
Section 3: Engagement
With all of that out of the way, let’s get to the meat of the problem. One of the key issues Tumblr seems to have is this:
“To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.���
I’d like to go in on this because to me this is the most important facet of why Tumblr is changing things. I urge you, staff specifically, to read this carefully and clearly.
Feedback: Engagement with the platform
A lot of reasoning for changes comes from a lack of engagement with the platform and its contents, and the want to get more users and as a consequence earn more money to keep the site running. I’ve already written about introducing new users to the website interface and culture better, so I’m going to write the following with the assumption that all site features are understood. Platform engagement and features are intertwined, and so this will include both feedback on current features and suggestions for future ones that I think would hopefully help engagement. Because this is about Tumblr changes, it’s only fair we start with the obvious.
Feedback: Make blogs and polls related to changes easier to access.
I’ve gone through a few blogs such as @/changes, @/wip, @/labs and @/staff. First off, most of these aren’t interlinked with each other, and it’s very very annoying. It costs 5 minutes to make a pinned post on each of those blogs that links to the others so people know what to turn to regarding which update/change. Likewise, please stop silencing/refusing blaze/putting mature setting on posts that discuss and complain about changes. This has never gone over well with anyone. You’re alienating your userbase.
Regarding polls about changes that you apparently do on one of your changes blogs: I’ve never seen them, and I’ve never seen any notices about them. If you care about retaining any user base you might still have, you might want to have these more often, and facilitate and encourage discussion and open suggestions. Mostly, just make a notice about the poll last until it is over just like you make the notices about “ask X from Y show!” things. I’d be more than happy to contribute if I actually knew there was a poll happening.
With that out of the way, let’s get to the rest of them.
Feedback: Algorithm and the “for you” page.
Plenty of people have said this before me, and better than me. I want to stress the fact that the “for you” page discourages reblogs, discourages interaction, and above all, discourages new content creators. The new algorithm functions use popular posts (without reblogs, no less!), which further pushes good and popular creators or bloggers, and leaves others in the dust. Making this the default dashboard and search results not only stagnates content, but also alienates creators you oh-so-dearly want to see bloom. I think having it as an option is inevitable in this day and age, but also, I would much rather see emphasis on the chronological, following and self-curating experience, than a trend-chasing one. You need to give people the space to grow if you want to encourage their growth. This space is hard to find when only popular things are pushed upwards.
Feedback: Search and tagged.
We all know the search function is broken in unspeakable ways. Unfortunately most new users a) don’t know that and b) don’t understand the difference between the search and the tags. For the latter, I’ve already suggested things. For the former: fix the search function. And maybe let people pick whether they want to default to search or tag they’re looking for when pressing enter in the search bar? I’m tired of double clicking because I tend to prefer going to tags.
Feedback: Issues with the Tumblr Live function.
Remove it. Few people use it, I doubt that it’s highly moderated, and I’m absolutely certain it’s costing you money more than it should. The fact that a recent Staff Q&A livestream was on it was a slap in the face given that at least a third of the userbase cannot access it given that they are in the EU. If your website function is banned in the EU, you might want to reconsider implementing it. If people want livestreams, they will go to Twitch, or less likely to Instagram. Tumblr doesn’t need this. It won’t make new users come. Market it as a blogging platform that it is, not a livestreaming platform.
Feedback: Issues with spam and bots.
There’s so many porn pots in all tags spamming everything and messaging users, and we all know it’s an issue. Work on removing them from the site more than you work on removing actual real live users that post porn on the site. At least the live users aren’t likely to give you viruses and scam. Related, make new users aware of this issue and urge them to change their icon or at least make an introductory post. If they get blocked for the assumption that they’re a bot, they see less on Tumblr, there is less engagement.
Suggestion: Following, specifically regarding new users.
The reason why “most users see only 25 posts a day” isn’t that they are lacking an algorithm, it’s that they’re lacking people they follow, and the fact that most suggested blogs to follow are ones that create content as opposed to reblogging it, and because creation takes time, well…people don’t get posts on their dashboard. The simplest way I can think to fix this would be to also suggest blogs that reblog based on source content tags they reblog. And because I know some people would rather have their little private corner: make this toggleable based on if their blog is searchable or such.
Alternatively, coin a known tag such as “New user follows” or something, wherein both new users can post asking for people to like if they post about XYZ fandom/topics so they can check the blogs out, and the old users can post a list of topics they talk about, and new users can just follow that way. “Like if you post X” in fandom tags used to be such a common thing, but I don’t think encouraging spam in said tags is a good idea, and so: new highly specific tag, which can also be noted and explained in the sign-up process!
New users don’t know this, but I (for one) find people that reblog things either by going up a chain of reblogs, or just visiting random blogs through reblogged posts of posts I like and content I enjoy. I’m sure every other user out there has their own method of finding new blogs. For this to work though, you need to have people that reblog, which leads to my next point.
Suggestion: Reblogging regarding new users only.
For the new users, it’s confusing to differentiate between a reblog and an original post, especially considering you can tag both. This kind of ties into tutorials that I suggested beforehand, but it should at least be mentioned somewhere, preferably during (or right after) the sign-up process. Granted, this might be mentioned in the help page somewhere, but after this entire manifesto, I don’t have it in me to check.
Suggestion: Encouraging reblogs for both new and old users.
I’m running out of singular brain cell power to one-man brainstorm things for the staff here, and I’m certain people have their own ideas to boot. The only thing I can think of is to give people a boon for a 1-minute crab run or 24-hour badge choice per, like, 1000 posts reblogged, 4 times a month to avoid spam. Either it will be funny or it will be ignored. I don’t have it in me to think about this because the moment I had started reblogging a decent chunk of things on my own blog, Tumblr made the layout change, and now I simply don’t want to.
Suggestion: Change replies to posts.
If there’s any one thing I ever actually wanted on Tumblr that Twitter has, it’s the fact that replies to an original post are threaded. I know this has been asked for plenty of times, but keeps getting delayed. You want to encourage connection and communication? Thread the replies. Please.
Feedback/suggestion: Reblog chains.
Bring back the ability to look at singular reblogs by going through a reblog chain. You're killing the culture of "previous tags". Also this just sucks. And it's harder to find blogs through a reblog chain that way. This suggestion is not eloquent because I'm adding it in as an edit since my brain is literally fried from writing the rest of this.
Likewise, don't condense reblogs. People have said it better than me as well, but that kills the culture of the site, it kills engagement in the way the site is made, and frankly seeing a punchline before the joke isn't going to make anyone reblog anything.
Feedback/suggestion: Advertise the option to have custom themes.
This is primarily meant to attract new users, and is bound to my suggestion of letting blogs open in new tabs. People love custom things and self-expression, and most new users don’t even know that this is an option. I know that the theme shop wasn’t profitable since the themes weren’t all that good; fine. But you can still use this function of the site to attract and keep people. Yes, the dashboard is the same for everyone, but each personalized blog can look however you want it to, and that’s the joy in it.
Suggestion: Accessibility
This goes without saying, and given that I luckily don't have many things that hinder me in using the site, I am not the best person to speak on this. Make gifs toggleable. Let people zoom in on images. Listen to those that need these features to happily use your site if you want them to stay.
Suggestion: More items in shop.
I imagine the reason most people don’t outright buy merch is that items with the name of any kind of internet site aren’t usually “cool”. I understand Tumblr needs money, and there’s only so many silly trends that are always going to be popular to buy. I also understand that a decent chunk of users probably don’t want crabs. The items in the shop are not my job to workshop, but honestly you could ask for userbase suggestions for it to get a feeling for what people want.
A few things that come to mind for me would be: more critters (just change the crab to something else!), more badges that are really just emojis, icon frames for you on the dashboard, self-picker for dashboard colors beyond the basic 12 offered, etc. Cash in on the customization. That being said: listen to your userbase regarding changes, features and functionality of the site, so that they in any way shape or form want to spend money on you in the first place, and so that they’re even there to do so. People won’t want to buy things if you’re actively working against them. There was a post about trust in website changes somewhere which explained it well; if I find the term I will edit it in here. I find it important.
Suggestion: Introduce a function to spoiler text and/or images.
This speaks for itself. The function to put text under a spoiler bar (think: Discord or Reddit) is to me, less necessary on Tumblr than the function to spoiler images. This leads back to the fact that Tumblr is a blogging platform, and you don’t censor things on blogs like that. However, spoilering images would be a good addition, especially given that some people might want to post leaks and/or content they don’t want people to see outright. This also introduces the option to have more suggestive content under a filter if people so choose. But I’ll be straightforward here: we all know what my next (and last) suggestion is going to be.
Suggestion: Bring back porn/mature/explicit content.
I want to preface this with the fact that I frankly don’t care about consuming porn, but I do care about content creators, fandom, and seeing art. And I do understand that Tumblr staff, for every request they have had to bring back porn, said that the issue is with apps and Apple etc. But this also needs pointing out, explicitly:
You want to attract and retain users? Bring back porn. Everyone and their mother knows that some porn is still alive and well on Tumblr, if you know where to look. Everyone but new (and non-) users. It’s a bit of an open secret, but if new users don’t engage with the old users because they don’t know how (issues and resolution suggestions mentioned beforehand), they are never ever going to find out. Let me be absolutely clear: People are not on Twitter because of the layout, or the algorithm. People are on Twitter and other popular platforms because they allow mature content, and so, a lot of content creators they care about are there.
And the issue here is, is that the mature content remaining on Tumblr is either live porn, comes from porn bots, or absolutely censored in like 3 posted art pieces. You want to encourage content creators and retain users? Stop alienating half of them from your platform. A lot of adults enjoy and engage in mature content. I repeat: the issue isn’t in the interface, or the function of the website; the issue is the content, or lack thereof, and fundamental introduction to the functions of the site.
I considered making Twitter JUST for the fact that certain artists were alienated on Tumblr and (shadow)banned for posting suggestive art, or porn art, and moved to Twitter to put their mature content there. It’s not about the layout.
It’s not my job to figure out how to do this. Frankly, I think a step in the right direction would be to enable and un-shadow mature content on desktop first and foremost, while still censoring it on app, especially for people who in their settings do have mature content enabled. Why can I still not see mature posts in the tags and search even though I’ve enabled it? Go from there. Figure it out. But you’re lying to yourself if you think the lack of engagement only stems from the layout and certain functions.
Allow mature content outright. I can guarantee you that this will help with the userbase, considering a majority of it left after mature content was removed, and some tried to “come back” after the false (recent-ish) assumption of it being once again allowed. We all know they went back out the moment it turned out mature content was still banned.
That's it! If you read this far as an user, thanks! I've surely missed out on a lot of things and barely scratched the surface, but this helped get things out of my head, and will hopefully stay in the thoughts of staff. If you're staff: you should have read all of it.
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voicefromthecorner · 1 year
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I can see where the narrative is going here, so I’m sure the game isn’t about to leave us on a downer note, but I have to appreciate this moment here where, much like Shiki earlier, Rindo is bracing himself for the possibility of disappointment - the possibility that he’ll never see Shoka again. In this moment, he’s just in mourning as he starts to accept that possibility. And you can see how much that breaks his heart. Especially the line “There’s so much I wanted to say.” Grief is, from that famous WandaVision line, love persevering, though I’ve also heard it defined as love unexpressed. It’s a bit of both, I guess and it’s always sad to see.
Real talk. This is a pretty serious and personal anecdote, so feel free to skip the rest of this post if you’re not here for that, but...
I had a friend on here, this very website, who disappeared off it some years back. She went through a few different usernames, even a couple of different blogs, I think, but she always kept in touch. She was probably the closest online friend I’ve ever had. We shared so many interests and often reacted to things together. We played ask games and confided some struggles in each other from time to time. I tried to encourage her every time she was down about things and I appreciated how much she would do the same for me. She was a talented writer, loved writing reviews. She was a kind friend who made such a great effort to be there for me when I needed someone to talk to. And she was so funny.
A little like Rindo and Shoka here, it turned out we were surprisingly local to each other. Our shared country is part of how we met but, while there was a concern about privacy, we noticed there was a slight overlap of our citygoing experiences. One of my biggest regrets was turning down an opportunity to go and see a play that she was in. I had to for a family thing, but looking back, I wish I hadn’t missed that opportunity. I actually “missed my chance to make a friend”. Though I hoped I would, I never got any other chances to meet her. Maybe things would be no different if I had, but I’ll never know.
We still chatted and got along as well as ever, but then one day she just stopped posting. I gave her space for a bit but then I started to get concerned and tried reaching out to check in with her, but she never replied. That was a long time ago now. She had a review blog outside of this website that I kept tabs on but one day, even that disappeared. I don’t know where she is or what she’s doing, but honestly, I don’t mind that part. I just wish I knew if she’s okay. I try not to dwell on it too much, but I still miss her and I always hope that she’s doing alright.
So sometimes I feel like Fret, missing somebody that I tried to be there for and not really knowing how to deal with the regret and sadness that comes with it, but mostly I feel like Rindo here. She may never come back and while I wish we could talk like we used to, there’s nothing I can do but keep going and pray that she’s alright. That she’s happy. I miss her and there’s a lot I’ll never get to say to her, but I’d trade all of it just to know that she’s in a good place.
Being on this website never felt the same when she was gone. For a long time, I came close to closing my account here, but I kept it open primarily to make sure she would still have a friend to talk to if she ever came back, if she wanted it. Some days, it was the only reason my account was still here. But then I started liveblogging TWEWY and now we’re here. I’m here.
So yeah, that’s kind of my story. Seeing Rindo here just reminded me of that feeling. I’ve considered posting about it a few times, since it was so tied to this blog and all, but it never felt like a good time. I’m glad, even if it’s here in the liveblog, that I’ve expressed it. I think I’ve needed to put in writing for a while, just to get it off my chest if nothing else.
To my friend, if you’re reading this, then I’m glad you’re okay. I do miss you, but I’m thankful for our friendship and I wish you nothing less than a bright future, whether or not I’m there for it. You’re the best and you always were.
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dash-n-step · 2 years
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You could argue the rpgs are kinda cheating cause you know, rpgmaker games are as prevalent as VNs, especially back in the day, but neither here nor there. Speaking of back in the day, there was also stuff like Hammerkind, and that Jane cooking game. Also would like to hear some of your fanventure reccomendations, besides VE or Kittyquest. Nothing towards Kittyquest, thats more me already guessing it from the blog banner and description.
heheheheh yeah it's no surprise that I'd recommend Kittyquest, I've had half a mind to blaze a post I made about it, that's how much I think people should read it, like even taking away my davepeta bias (they don't even show up at that often lmao) it's just a much more fun look into a post canon homestuck, with the world its built.
and while it's neither here nor there, I think it's a matter of the era/fandom. Like homestuck fans aren't going towards visual novels because they're any "easier" (the accessibility of tools especially for people who just want to write and draw does help of course), it's because it directly melds well with the format of comics/flashes/adventure games that the series itself runs on, and pesterquest/friendsims normalized it. It's like how if you go back you'll find a whole bunch of [x]stuck AUs and concepts and whatever, because back then people literally just did whatever because it was an active and chaotic fandom, for better and for worse.
For MSPFAs, again I don't spend as much as I'd like to in reading them and haven't really caught up and I already have a huge backlog when it comes to other stuff, but some that I've kept tabs on are, some of these aren't that active though:
(you've opened the floodgates anon, I didn't expect this post to get this long)
Martyrdom (last update: May 30th, 2022) , which is about the midnight crew finding some weird dudes stepping on their turf and trying to deal with them.
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Homestuck (last update: April 21st, 2022), an mspfa that starts off where somehow Jade is teleported to the start of the comic, and there's something about OCs and there's a lot of earthbound music and I thought it was neat with how it changes things up
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OH FUCK I forgot, Oasisquest (last update: September 16, 2021), it hasn't updated in a while but it's an mspfa that I think is based off the creators' roleplaying, so there's a new planet, mostly fantrolls and the designs are good
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Oh and of course Act 8 (Last Update: April 16, 2021), because everybody has to have at least one "the ending of homestuck underwhelmed me, we can totally fix it" mspfa comic to follow. I don't remember too much but it does some neat stuff with Gamzee, Aradia and Tavros get a neat meat up, and Davepeta does some cool stuff here and there, so you know I'm down, even if it hasn't updated in like a year
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OH FUCK also Deltastuck (last update: April 13, 2022), it's almost exactly what you'd expect form the name, but it's UNDERTALE characters trying to use sburb to get out of the underground, I haven't checked it out in a while since it had to stop to make a big flash update, but that's actually done now so it's somewhat still going
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and uh, I think I'll end this off with a really old one, Nightfall (discontinued), which I haven't even finished but it interests me in that it's so clearly written before certain things in the comic that it almost feels like a time capsule.
It's basically centered around vrisjohn and it's post canon but in the way that I guess people just assumed that when the kids were done with the game and made a new universe they'd do normal kids stuff again and be in a normal americana setting while the trolls fuck off to their own planet, except suddenly Vriska shows up and has to hide out at John's place because humans don't know about aliens.
And of course the stakes get randomly high with some kind of magic alien ninja or something, I never got that far to understand but it was interesting to find, and while the creator doesn't plan on finishing it, they've basically adapted it into an original work, Xenologia (last update: June 25th, 2022) that apparently is still hosted on MSPFA and has multiple chapters out
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we don't talk 'bout alt mewniverse no no no, we dont' talk 'bout alt mewniverse~
Also while we're down here, I've never actually read Vast Error. A part of me thinks it's funnier not to read it, so I can look at it in the same confusion as people who've never read homestuck probably looks at posts about it.
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voltadcmar · 2 years
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|| Maybe I should have checked before, but alas... there is no Disco Elysium fandom on tumblr. That’s somewhat disappointing, I should have known. It’s too small - yet there sometimes are fandoms existing from really small games, so I was hoping.
So basically, I could have kept my separate blogs for Hank and Karl, and just throw the idea of adding Kim into the roster into the wind. ...Unless there are people willing to RP with him anyway, even if they’re not from the same fandom.
But finding THAT usually is hard - especially with games that are unfamiliar (I have seen it being hyped on Twitter, so I thought there would be at least SOME rp action going on here on tumblr but... well. Couldn’t find anything so far really.)
Anyways - I’ll keep the multimuse obvs. I put stuff all into here AND a good friend of mine is actually working on a new theme for me. I don’t wanna have this all for nothing - and maybe it’s not that bad to actually have Hank and Karl on one blog, even though things may get a little messy and aesthetics are different now, and it’s harder for people to see who you actually RP within the first glance but... yeah. Means I don’t have to use Session Box all the time and have two tabs open. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In other words - good morning lol.
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monriatitans · 1 month
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Ta-Da! List: Saturday, February 24th
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I share my “Ta-Da! List” every day; no TMI.
Don’t know what a “Ta-Da! List” is? To learn more, check out @adhdjesse‘s book Extra Focus here.
Abbreviations
– O&T: Opinions & Truth Blog – TMA: TitansMonriArt – WGS: The Weekend Game Show – ASO: Artist Shout-Out – COTMQ: Cause of the Month Quote – NRL: The Neverending Reading List – SQ: Stupidity Quote – BMAC: Buy Me a Coffee – TDL: Ta-Da! List
Ta-Da! List
✧ throughout the day: – kept emails manageable – loaded the dishwasher ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ✧ on the bedroom setup: – TMA Medium: activated the subscription promotion message – O&T Medium: finished importing January O&T NRL posts with Canva designed Feature Images – O&T: shared today’s TDL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ✧ on the office setup: – WGS: gave a human artist, Roxanne Henderson-Payne, a shout-out by sharing it on O&T and other social media; where the shout-out spread was listed in the BMAC February 2024 Artist Shout-Outs Album; began preparing the COTMQs for March and April; prepared the ASO for tomorrow, February 25th. – O&T: NRL – shared “Circle K Cycles” by Karen Tei Yamashita to O&T and other social media; began preparing the SQs for March; moved the MonriaTitans’ Bookshop out from under Tip on the Site Menu and the Cause of the Month link out from under Announcements to About > Mission > Perspective Sharing; added an additional “links do not open into a new tab” warning widget – O&T Medium: activated the subscription promotion message, began importing the January O&T NRL posts with Canva designed Feature Images ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ✧ chores and miscellaneous: – watched Dry Bar Comedy‘s video “I have No Patience For Stupid People. Mike James – Full Special” via YouTube repeatedly – took out the trash – checked the mail – we weren’t prepared to cook, so we ordered Chili’s – watched “Olympus Has Fallen” repeatedly – watched “The Expendables”
Well, these are all the updates I had for today! Thank you for reading!
May every decision you make be *in the spirit of fairness* and may the rest of your day *NOT go to $#!7*!
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Enjoy what I do? Please consider supporting via the Tip page! Want to know when there’s more? Click here to subscribe for updates and/or hit the Follow button! Watch MonriaTitans on Twitch and YouTube! For more about MonriaTitans, click here! The image was made in Canva!
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aruruzuki · 1 year
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29th March, 2023
Crossroads
26th February, 28th March
I feel that Nogizaka46 have reached a milestone at those days
It was the graduation day for
Akimoto Manatsu-san, the 1st gen and Suzuki Ayane-san, the 2nd gen
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First of all, I'm going to talk about Akimoto Manatsu-san
Manatsu-san is the person who kept the core of Nogizaka46 remains unchanged throughout the years
Even though in generation wise we are far apart, we actually didn't feel that way because she was always so close with us
The pink dress really suited Manatsu-san well At the very last, seeing her graduating with her trademark (?) bare shoulder, I, as a fan, thought that "She is a stylish, cool and cute idol afterall..."
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Suzuki Ayane-san,
Everything about her, from the way she stood to the way she speak, was elegant
At the last enjin (the usual shouting before live), Ayane-san said
"Some of you might be worried because there'll be no more 1ki and 2ki members, but please remember that the path that we've taken up to this point, is the path we have taken as Nogizaka46"
Ayane-san often speaks great things with beautiful words Her attitude of conveying something to the other person without using short words, is beautiful as well
Since yesterday, I opened the blogs on the Nogizaka46's Message app, and then I saw Ayane-san's thumbnail in the Kenkyuusei's section tab, like I was searching the remaining traces of her
The dress she wore was also elegant and really suited her well Especially the glove Ayane-san use made her look like that she is the princess from some kingdom, and I thought that the design symbolized Ayane-san really well
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I'm sure that their graduation will be the turning point of Nogizaka46
Nevertheless, our seniors, all of 1ki and 2ki members have left us We want to cherish the unchanged parts of Nogizaka46, and then continue to grow from now on!
And then, even though it's already (very) late,
thank you for coming to the 11th Year Birthday LIVE
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These are the congratulatory flowers Thank you so much for giving me such beautiful flowers! It was because all of you, I can do my best It's not like a flattery or something like that. I really mean it that way
I'm going to end my blog here Thank you for reading up to this point
I will write again soon
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misshvariety1307 · 1 year
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I posted 219 times in 2022
That's 156 more posts than 2021!
34 posts created (16%)
185 posts reblogged (84%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@ecto-stone
@dp-marvel94
@krossan
@ghostgirlautobot13
@neoyi
I tagged 158 of my posts in 2022
Only 28% of my posts had no tags
#danny phantom - 112 posts
#reblog - 98 posts
#not my art - 88 posts
#vlad plasmius - 34 posts
#oc - 25 posts
#digital art - 21 posts
#nyreena dark - 21 posts
#vlad masters - 18 posts
#character art - 12 posts
#dan phantom - 11 posts
Longest Tag: 120 characters
#gosh hachi how you're able to just replicate neoyi's style so well and make it so impactful is something truly wonderful
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
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Well, here she is! The new (third) redraw of Presca! And honestly, she came out so much better than all of the times I've drawn her before! My sassy little goth beauty is ready to kick butt and save the world! Enjoy!
21 notes - Posted March 28, 2022
#4
Well, I'm finally entering the DannyMay ring! And what better day than this for something I'm finally ready to share!
This is a mini fic that I've been working on for quite some time now (but I've been nervous posting it due to it being the first fic I've shipped Danny and Nyreena together in a long, long time. (Please don't throw me to the flames 😅))
I hope you all like it! Enjoy!
Here's the outfit designs for Chapter 4:
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40 notes - Posted May 9, 2022
#3
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"Come one, come all! Come see the daring tight rope dancer Despera as she pirouettes with such grace and flair! But how can she have such balance on the rope as she dances, knowing there is no net below to catch her if she happens to fall?....."
You know, it's about time I did this sort of concept where Nyreena had been swept up in Freakshow's power and his latest controlled performer. And what better way then to use it for today's Chaos prompt? XD
And finally dress her as ballerina, something that seriously needed to be done for quite a while XD
I hope you all like it and I'll see you next time!
(Please open image in a new tab to see it in full detail!)
43 notes - Posted October 17, 2022
#2
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FIRST POST OF 2022!!!! LET'S GOOOO!!!!
Oh man, I am so, so, so, so happy at how this turned out!!! It has been a long time since I worked on this so I definitely had to make it a goal of this year to get it done as one of the first projects of the year. And to get it done in just two separate days of working on it I'm very proud that it came out better than I expected.
I really hope you all enjoy it and I'll see you next time!!!
48 notes - Posted January 8, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
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Alright, first Transformers post of 2022!
And what other post would it be but a Cops and Mobs AU post? XD
Well, what's this? The two of them going out for a glamorous night out on the town? What could have possibly prompted this? Maybe a future fanfic may shed some details 😉
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This one has been sitting, desperately waiting to be finished, and I just kept ignoring it. (I feel so bad for neglecting it 😖)
But, this year, I vowed that I was going to finished the projects that I haven't finished and get them out to the world!
@pastelpaperplanes I hope this brightens your day and makes it awesome! Keep rocking as always!!
55 notes - Posted January 17, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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daemadness · 2 years
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Felt like making a post since I've gained quite a lot of new followers on this blog (as well as on my main, most people being the same on both), as well as lots of reblogs which is GREAT too since the fandom here is already way too tiny!!! And I'm aware that I haven't been too active on this side of Tumblr in a long time.
I haven't had the queue running since the last spring, simply because I started to run out of blog to reblog from. I feel like I have already had everything in my blog, and I keep finding older blog and reblogging from those has its own problems. At least when I last time added stuff to my queue and drafts, I had to use the old XKit for adding stuff directly from blogs because using the regular system is nerve-racking. On top of all that, reblogging old posts means the HTML code of those posts looks different from recent posts, which is why adding tags, also, got extremely frustrating. I use quick tags and tag bundles exactly for the reason that I don't need to type every single tag there myself, and that I don't need to open every single post individually for adding tags. Well guess what - old posts did not support the quick tags anymore. It just kept saying there was an error, and I had to type everything down myself. Often several times. (And not tagging just is not an option for me!) Plus, Tumblr often likes/liked (not sure if it's already fixed) to refresh the queue/draft page so that it got just pain in the add to click and edit individual posts only to scroll down the drafts/queue every single time, and then do that like. 70 times in a row. Which is far from fun.
Adding stuff to queue just got too overwhelming. Tumblr freezing my browser when opening several tabs of a blog at once. Then quick tags and tag bundles stopped working and posts breaking because the old HTML code doesn't match the current HTML code. And the queue/drafts refreshing itself every single time cos you can't use quick tags.
But I feel like I need to start going through blogs again. I feel like I owe that to my old as well as new followers. Hopefully adding stuff to the queue won't be as enraging as it used to be. At some point even the beta editor changed somehow and I had to use the old one because in the new one you no longer could arrange images so making gifsets or photosets was impossible. And you can't arrange them in the old one either, unless you open it on the app, but where you sometimes still can't arrange them because the desktop code doesn't match the mobile code. And if you can open them on mobile, then you might not be able to open them on the desktop anymore cos Tumblr says it was created on the app. Besides, this web beta editor still doesn't work perfectly. I wonder if it ever will.
The last issue then is of course: the like-reblog ratios. This is not Instagram. If you only like and never reblog anything, you can be sure that I will block you in an instant. ESPECIALLY if you don't have a blog title and use the default icons. Then I will assume you're either a bot, or "spying us for (dä) content" which is not acceptable, at least not in my eyes. Go make your own content and don't steal what others have worked on hard, sometimes for hours. Which leads us back to like-reblog ratio: reblog art, please. And reblog creations. Reblogging IS NOT reposting, and reblogging is very very very much encouraged! (If you're new to Tumblr, it's that arrows symbol that looks like recycling symbol.) So please please please, reblog creations! Our tiny fandom is already tiny enough so when everyone's here just watching and not sharing and interacting (by reblogging! writing stuff in the tags!), I assure you that the Tumblr fandom WILL die out eventually. In fact it used to be way more active before, and it's been horribly inactive over the past 2-3 years. Also I used to post my art, edits, memes and videos here but recently gave up on that because there's just no interaction whatsoever anymore. So I don't see any point in sharing MY content to others if others don't care to look at it. So, I'm creating for myself and also keeping it all to myself, then. Maybe sharing it to some friends + my Instagram followers since IG seems to treat artists a bit better than Tumblr.
Alright, I guess that's enough. I'll try to get back to keeping this blog active, but finding "new" content is so hard nowadays, and I already explained the problems with the older posts. (I also started school a month ago so that will take some of my time, but I'm still spending time on Tumblr as if my life depended on it so it hasn't affected my Tumblr time that much yet.)
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hermarks-a · 3 years
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i've been getting some weird vibes from here and it makes me go 😫 idk i just feel so uncomfortable suddenly
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2022 Multi-Fandom Event
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We're baaaaaack! *cackles*
Hello! First of all I'd like to thank @jandjsalmon for essentially being my 'beta' as I developed this second year's Fanfic Reading Challenge. You did so much, and deserve tons of credit for this alongside me! @attractiverock also helped by looking over new tasks and asking some really spectacular questions that helped develop what I think is a really superior challenge this year. Three cheers!!!
But now... It's time to get ahead/on top of the doldrums of 2022 and immerse ourselves in fantasy worlds --- The Neverending Story will always be a classic exactly for that reason --- because we all need a break from the world we live in, right? I know that the 2021 challenge helped relax me and others who participated, and hopefully the trend can continue into this year! (But don't forget to be a good, productive, and caring citizen of Earth, because everyone needs love these days.)
Before we get into the brass tacks of the basics new participants will need/want (though this is all repeated on the first tab of the challenge spreadsheet, and in more detail!), let me give you the link(s) to the challenge and to two wonderful reading log tools @jandjsalmon and @juuls developed to make keeping track of your reading that much easier! (It can also be used for books!)
And here they be...
The Long-Awaited 2022 Fanfiction Reading Challenge!
Open it! Click 'File'! Make a copy! It's yours now! We can't spy on it! Now personalize it, and start reading your hearts o... well. Really, read just as much as you always do! xD This we do know!
The above spreadsheet includes:
Tab 1, the FAQ/Rules/general info section. A welcome page!
Tab 2, Regular Mode
Tab 3, Hard Mode
Tab 4, Extreme Mode
Tab 5, Swappables (see the challenge spreadsheet or blog FAQ for more info on what these are (when the latter is updated)). To put it simply, however, they are tasks you can swap out for any other challenge task you don't wish to complete.
Tab 6 and 7, 'Fic Tracking Sheet' and 'Reading Log', created by @jandjsalmon and @juuls respectively, are there to use if you wish. Both fic tracking tools (to see what you've read over the course of the year, like this example of mine from last year) have their pros and cons, so give each or neither a try, and figure out what works best for you if you want to keep track of each fic. This is not necessary to complete the challenge, though!
Jandy's Fic Tracking Sheet
Juulna's Reading Log
These here, above, are separate copies of the logs if you so wish to keep your files separate from the challenge or... I mean, you could just want to keep track of what you read without even participating in the challenge! *shrugs* Who am I to judge?
For further assistance, here's a link to my reading log from 2021, so you can see how I (sometimes in a very hodge-podge way) kept track of what I was doing, reading, and how I was labelling fics, adding fics for the future, etc.
Don't worry, it may seem like a lot (!!) but it's really quite easy to navigate and understand, and you are always welcome to ask me questions at any time. :) The first step is to open the spreadsheet and then make a copy of your own. Then we can talk if you need to!
(If you need another format other than Google Sheets, like Excel or Word or something else, please let me know so I can get those to you ASAP!)
So what is this 'challenge(s)'? Here are the basics:
The event runs from January 1st to December 31st, 2022. If you started a fic in 2021 but finished it in 2022, that absolutely counts in full towards the 2022 challenge and word count. Anything you read before you start this challenge (whether in January or May or October) counts too!
Signing up: You don't need to sign up at all! You can just grab a copy of the challenge spreadsheet and fill it out however you wish (or even keep track of your tasks in an entirely different manner like a Word doc). Declaring your intention to participate is more of a thing if you want to be held accountable for your goals, but it's not like we're going to be angry with you if you don't finish any of it!
This challenge operates on the honour system. If you said you completed a fic for a certain task, that's between you and whichever ghost/saint haunts/watches over you. Come January 2023, all I'll ask is just to see the document you've used to keep track of your challenge, so I can match it up to the numbers which determine which prize you get!
Yes! Prizes! Here's an example of Juulna's 2021 badge for completing hard and regular mode:
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Badge(s) created by the amazing and incomparable artist @saganarojanaolt, who I will be commissioning for next year's badge and a banner as well! (Until then you get my shoddy banners.) They based this particular art on my own basset, Ygritte, and I could just stare at it forever. <3 Here's the link to the post with the other badges!!
So what do I have to do? … Just read!! Have fun! Enjoy yourself! And fill out the challenge spreadsheet if you'd like any of the following badges (further info on the FAQ page or on the spreadsheet itself):
~~~ Participant Prize: Complete at least one task from the challenge!
~~~ Regular Mode: Complete at least 80% of the regular mode tasks, which is the equivalent of 100/125 tasks, regular mode only.
~~~ Hard Mode: Complete at least 90% of the hard mode tasks, which is the equivalent of 78/87 tasks, hard mode only, along with the previous requirement of 80% of the regular mode tasks being completed.
~~~ Extreme Mode: Complete at least 95% of the extreme mode tasks, which is the equivalent of 62/65 tasks, extreme mode only, along with the previous requirements of 80% of the regular mode tasks and 90% of the hard mode tasks being completed. (Grand total of at least 240/277 task completions.) … it's easier than it sounds. *snorts*
~~~ and some secret prizes you can unlock with no clue that you did just that until the end of the year!
Please help signal boost this post, as I only have so much reach into so many fandoms, and it's a rather small number! I will be encouraging friends of mine to reblog this, and I would love it if you could as well. Everyone deserves a distraction this year (wasn't it just 2019 last year???), especially if it keeps you happy, occupied, and away from those who sit just a wee bit too close to you!
That's about it for the Year Two Opening Post! I need a nap now...
But...…
The most important thing of all, in the end..... is to have a frickin' blast, my loves! <3
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padawanlost · 3 years
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Hello there! I just wanted to ask about something that’s been confusing me real quick: did Anakin lord over others with his Chosen One status or not? Because I thought he was insecure, disliked all the expectations that came with it, and didn’t really believe in that old prophecy to begin with. But, in Jude Watson’s books he thinks he deserves all these things because of it and rubs that status in other faces? I just need some clarity please lol thank you so much and I adore your blog ❤️
No, not at all. If anything, one of Anakin’s biggest difficulties was to assert himself in front of others (specially people in power).
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This is a man who is considered a hero of the galaxy, of the most powerful jedi ever, married, soon to be father, beloved and respect by his men and even complete strangers…yet…look at how easily he submits.
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If Anakin had been anything like some ‘fans’ like to pretend he was, he wouldn’t be the character portrayed on screen. He’d more like characters like Tony Stark, someone who is completely confident in his abilities and is not ashamed to admit it. But that’s NOT the character we see on screen, or anywhere else for that matter.
The Jedi Council didn’t want me, either. Being the Chosen One didn’t count for anything. Master Yoda wouldn’t train me, or Windu. Every member of the Jedi Council had had something more pressing to do than help him work out what this terrible, galaxy-changing power of his meant, and how he should live in its shadow. He still wasn’t sure. Anakin recalled standing there in that grand, polished Jedi Council Chamber, surrounded by what felt like fear, and disdain, and bewilderment—who were those Masters to feel bewildered, that the only person there who cared if he lived or died was Master Qui-Gon Jinn. And they stopped him training the Chosen One. Qui-Gon hadn’t cared what the Jedi Council said. He’d trained him anyway, a Padawan in all but name. Why am I thinking of all this now? Haven’t I put it behind me? Haven’t I had enough bad memories since then to take their place? Haven’t I vindicated Master Qui-Gon? [Karen Traviss. The Clone Wars]
Anakin enjoyed praise from Obi-Wan, but often became sullen when he was reprimanded. Obi-Wan assured him that he himself had been frequently reminded by Qui-Gon to be more mindful of the Force, but somehow even the slightest criticism managed to leave Anakin feeling stung. First they tell me to do my best, then they tell me I’ve gone too far! ANAKIN SKYWALKER IN THE RISE AND FALL OF DARTH VADER BY RYDER WINDHAM
Despite Anakin’s desire to distance himself from the slave he had once been, he was unable, or unwilling, to shed the other aspects that had defined him on Tatooine. He still dreamed of glory, still craved adventure, and never lost his appetite for high-speed thrills and the desire to prove himself in competition. THE RISE AND FALL OF DARTH VADER BY RYDER WINDHAM
Anakin was liked by the other students, but he had no close friends. He was not loved. Obi-Wan told himself that Anakin’s gifts naturally set him apart. But in his heart, he grieved for Anakin’s loneliness. JUDE WATSON [JEDI QUEST: THE WAY OF THE APPRENTICE]
Just when Anakin thought he’d passed that elusive finishing line that said adult, experienced, seen it all, he realized he was still twenty, Jedi or not, and the wounded boy in him still rose to the surface—provoked into angry violence, scared of abandonment, and still in need of approval. KAREN TRAVISS [STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS NOVELIZATION]
[Obi-Wan] knew, glancing at his Padawan’s eager face, that Anakin meant well from the bottom of his heart. If Obi-Wan saw a shadow on that heart, he knew it would pain his Padawan to know it. In many ways, Anakin was still a boy. A wounded, loving, anxious boy with great gifts he did not fully understand. Yet he was also a young man, close to maturity, who could do great harm. To others, yes. To himself, most of all JUDE WATSON [JEDI QUEST: THE SCHOOL OF FEAR]
“I just…” Anakin stopped. He took a ragged breath. “I thought you would be proud of me.” I am proud of you. Obi-Wan wanted to say the words. They were true. He was proud of so much in Anakin. But now was not the time to tell him that. Or was it? JUDE WATSON [JEDI QUEST: THE SCHOOL OF FEAR]
Fixing broken machines was like a meditation. Fixing broken machines was an antidote to every pain, every loss, every fear, every defeat. Fixing broken machines kept him from going mad. CLONE WARS GAMBIT: STEALTH
You are very observant, Ferus, but you must accept that I know him better than you,” Obi-Wan said carefully. “Anakin can be arrogant. I know that. But he is also learning and growing. He is respectful of his great power. He does not abuse it. He is younger than you, but he has seen much injustice, many terrible things. I do not think it so wrong that he wants to change things. You must understand that it isn’t ambition that drives him. It is compassion. OBI-WAN KENOBI IN STAR WARS – JEDI QUEST: THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD BY JUDE WATSON
Taking them, she looked up at him and shook her head, even though it still ached. “It’s odd. You’re nothing like I expected.” “Why?” he said, perching on the edge of the nearby chair. “What did you expect?” “I don’t know,” she said, floundering. “I can’t say I’ve ever given the Jedi much thought. I mean, not as individuals. I never expected to meet one—let alone two. I don’t tend to go places where your skills are needed. But—well—you’re gentle.” That made him smile. “As opposed to what?” She swallowed the pain-tabs, washing them down with a mouthful of water. “Oh. You know. The HoloNet news—it portrays as you as this—this—heroic warrior. Larger than life. Charging into battle, lightsaber flashing. Scourge of the Separatists. That kind of thing.” She shrugged. [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]
“Ten years in this place, and still he was an object of interest. Of speculation. All their hopes and dreams hanging on him like decorations on a bantha skeleton at Boonta Eve. He hated it.” [Clone Wars: Wild space, Karen Miller]
[Anakin] did not like the fact that he had won. It seemed wrong that he had stepped so far out of line, and yet had been retained as a Padawan. He did not like the unease this victory, if victory it was, produced in him. Above all weaknesses, arrogance was the most costly. They keep me here because I have potential they’ve never seen before. They keep me in training because they’re curious to see what I can do. I feel like a rich man who never knows whether his friends are true-or whether they just want his money. This was a particularly galling thought, and certainly neither true nor fair. Why do they put up with me, then? Why do I keep testing them? [Greg Bear’s Rogue Planet]
The only piece of media where Anakin is more ‘openly’ arrogant is in The Clone Wars (2008) but even then, he doesn’t flaunt his alleged ‘status’ over everyone. His arrogance is reflected more through his disobedience, not open defiance and antagonist behavior towards his peers.
But hey, what do Hayden Christensen, George Lucas and most Star Wars writers know? lol
PS: thank you! <3
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forbidding-souda · 3 years
Note
Hey! I've been in love with this blog for a while, so I decided to request! Can I ask for Fuyuhiko, Hiyoko, and Asahina with an innocent looking S/O but is extremely vulgar and swears a lot? ♡
Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, Hiyoko Saionji, and Aoi Asahina with a sweet looking S/O who is actually vulgar
This prompt with these characters is a cultural reset
Bruh it delete my mf writing because I decided to shrink the mfing tab bye kms here’s the rewrite
-Mod Souda
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Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu
The first time he saw you, you handed a person in his class a bouquet of flowers.
It was not Valentines Day, nor anybody's birthday.
There was a smile on your face, and you clapped when they said thank you.
Pathetic, he thought. A smile like that will give you nothing in this world.
Then, the condensation on Peko’s frappe stained the desk it’s rested on. 
He waited for her to notice. Instead, she was giving you her thanks. In your hands was a matching cup. He couldn’t tell what was inside of it. But something warm, he assumed. 
When you left the classroom, he decided to question it.
“What’s that for?”
“I’m not too sure.”
Peko lifted it up, droplets of water falling off. 
Chisa came to wipe it away with a towel. “I assume they are a philanthropist. I’m not sure who that is, either.”
In response, he propped his legs up on the table and pursed his lips. 
At least he knew you were a student here. He’s seen you in the hall, taking off your outside shoes in the morning.
It sparked a form of anger within him. What’s your reason for doing all of this? Do you want something in return? Is it really possible that you are the good person that you make yourself out to be? There had to be a catch.
He even kept his eye on you during lunch. You had a nice packaged meal and a game system. On the back was a sticker of a galaga ship. He recognized that. 
“Hey, techie,” he leaned down to Chiaki. She only looked up when he pointed over to you. “Do you know them?”
Her eyes shifted to him before falling back to her game. “Yep.”
Very helpful. As usual.
He gave up. But only for a second. His shoulders squared as he stood up straight. This might be awfully rude of him. 
The thought still didn’t stop him from storming over to you, pushing your head back by the forehead with his finger.
“What’s your deal?” 
You swatted his hand away. The sound of the game over screen played behind the sudden tension. 
“My deal?”
“The whole… giving random shit to strangers thing.”
A smile formed on your lips. “Are you jealous?”
“What?” He stuttered. “Jealous? I’m not jealous.”
“With that stupid fucking look on your face, I’d say you are.” You sat tall in your seat. “But to answer your question, I just like to make friends. They aren’t strangers, they are people that I like. Someone as hated and unloved as you wouldn’t be able to understand that.”
Now, you knock on his door, shifting the weight on each of your legs, unable to stand still. A Valentines Day card sits perfectly in the bento, even if you had to cut it in half in order for it to fit. Last year, you both only shared a drink in a park.
He opens the door, and you shove the flowers into his face. 
You smile. “Ahehe, I got you something.”
Hiyoko Saionji
You helped her tie her kimono every day.
It was an easy way to help her, something you liked doing.
Feeling her hair, soft and puffy, after she puts it in her pigtails. There’s no better texture.
But people don’t know that you two are dating whenever you are out in public. It’s often amusing. You don’t sit together in class, too. And if you are shopping, or backstage at one of her performances, people don’t assume you came together.
There are situations that happen, sometimes often. Maybe it’s one of those times you help her prepare for a dance. Or a competition, where there are other girls around.
They will whisper to each other, smiling and rolling their eyes.
Pointing and laughing, basically.
They will see you and not pay any mind about it. 
Your sweet eyes and kind lips don’t intimidate them.
But it should.
Because you don’t hesitate to slam their heads against the vanities they sit at - or yell curses at them and smear their makeup on the mirror.
You don’t take nicely to their unnecessary harassment.
And again, people don’t assume you are with her, so you never get both of you kicked out of venues. 
You… might get kicked out of them a lot. Allegedly. 
But it makes her smile every time. She gets a low cackle and an evil look in her eye. 
That’s her baby right there.
Aoi Asahina
You are more competitive than she is, definitely.
Yelling curses at her teammates and laughing at them when they aren’t perfect.
But other than that, you are very happy when around her. Only the presence of other people can make you snappy. If a boy tries to correct her on something, or comment on something weird she’d said, you are quick to insult their intelligence as well.
Reading is fundamental. 
Especially when you like using your fists as well. 
Or, again, the dirty jokes you often let out. It makes her blush in embarrassment.
You like embarrassing her. It’s fun to watch her face, and even the face of anticipation when she knows you’re going to say something.
It makes some of your classmates laugh. And with that, you yell at them. How rude of them to laugh at her !!!
Her lips curl into a smile when she sees the way you defend her.
But definitely, when she first met you, it was a big shock. 
She walked up to you, since you were kind-looking, just like her. She wanted to share a donut with you. It was the first day of school, and winter was almost about to begin. You had a scarf around your neck, which you held on to when you told her to fuck off.
Time changed that attitude of yours when you saw how genuine she is. And soon, you loved eating donuts with her.
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