#but you can't edit posts with polls and I needed to add more tags

[xxthefairywitchxx]

Character 1

Character 2

For reference, I no longer know how old these's pictures are but over 12 years old, up to 16

[ivysangel]

I am dead serious when I say that you guys need to start giving writers feedback more often. I have a fic here that has a total of 4015 notes and only 218 aren't likes. So, let me break this down for you a bit.

Of 4015 notes, 186 are reblogs and 32 are comments. Two reblogs, as well as comments, are mine so I'll subtract them from the equation making the total number of notes 4011 (184 rbs, 30 comments, 3,797 likes).

Of the 184 reblogs, 16 are private, meaning they're absolutely useless in spreading and sharing the piece. The remaining 168 consists of 136 reblogs falling under "other reblogs" while only 32 fall under "comments and tags." And of the 32 under "comments and tags," only 9 have something besides a copy of the tags that I included in my initial post.

The 184 reblogs make up 4.6% of the total notes, the reblogs under "comments and tags" make up 0.8% of the total notes, and the reblogs under "comments and tags" with anything besides tags copied from the initial post make up 0.2% of the total notes.

At one point, I reblogged the post, asking if anyone wanted a part two. That's when I got my first comments. The first 6 comments were in response to that, and of the 30 total comments (excluding my own), only two were unrelated to a part two. Which means I can guarantee that I wouldn't have had that many comments had I not posed the question of a sequel fic.

And if I add those 2 comments to the 9 reblogs, I get 0.3% of the total notes on my post that make up the portion of notes that aren't likes, empty reblogs, or comments about a part two. And that's me being generous because two of the reblogs actually do mention a part two.

I also posted a poll asking what people wanted in part two, and that poll got 238 votes. That is 54 people more who voted for what they wanted in a part two that didn't reblog or help push part one.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing people in my notifs liking my posts, but sometimes it's just not enough. It is utterly exhausting waking up to multiple hundreds of notifications and not seeing a single person compliment your work. You guys will like stuff, follow, and then head straight to the inbox asking for more. I know it's been said a hundred times before, but we are not machines; we do this for free in our spare time.

The post in question was written when I was tired out of my mind, and I ended up not liking it, so I let it sit in my drafts. I briefly mentioned it on my blog and was met with one of my followers showing interest in the idea, which prompted me to revise, edit, and post it. It was a gift, as are all fics and pieces of art by writers and artists on this site, and yet it was treated like a commodity.

When people say it's unmotivating they're not kidding. When I had 100+ asks in my inbox, all of them being requests, I felt like I had the worst case of writers block known to man. I would open my inbox and immediately close it because the idea of posting anything knowing the only response would be more requests, was awful.

When people leave little messages in the tags, full-blown commentary, or kind messages in my inbox referencing posts, I feel more motivated than ever. Those responses are what drives me to write more. But when I, and other writers, are being treated like we're here to cook up whatever fantasisies you have in mind, I can't help but side-eye a little.

We wouldn't write if we didn't enjoy it, but the moment it feels like a job, it becomes that much less enjoyable, and then everybody loses. Just send a kind message to your favorite writers every once in a while. I promise it'll make their day.

I would also like to say that as I've written this, I've seen more people like that post. So, there's that.

[chocolatepot]

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

Selecting a server

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

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

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

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

Applying to your instance

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

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

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

Posting

The mechanics of posting are just like Twitter's.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Following other people

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

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

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

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

[siriuslychessi]

Hello lovelies!

Since many of you actually replied yes to the poll, I think I'll bite the bullet earlier and expedite things for the gift exchange!

For those of you who don’t know what a gift exchange is, well it’s basically a Secret Santa where you sent a prompt and someone in the fandom will reply with something (a drabble, micro fic, a drawing, edit, moodboard, etc.) by December 28th, just to make the end of the year a bit more cheerful.

To participate you just have to fill this form by November 29th. 

A few guidelines (this is long but necessary but I'll put it under the cut):

This is a fun event, for everyone involved. Please keep in mind this if you decide to participate, if you want to join the fun but can't make a gift that's okay too! Sharing is caring so share the event and the works, and of course like/comment/etc!

Respect each other. This is a hard rule, if you start bashing anyone for their preferences you will be taken out from the list. It is important to know that we have differences but that doesn't mean we need to spread hate around our fun groups.

Ship and let ship. There is a space for everyone, and we will try to make it so, there are a lot of Jily shippers in my mutuals, but if this spread to other ships and part of the fandom this will be welcomed, and respected, even if we all agree to disagree.

Communicate. If you have any issues whatsoever with the timeframes, the prompts, etc, please communicate. We want everyone to have a gift by the end of the year. If you can not make it, or need more time, or whatever it is, we will understand, we have backup creators in case something happens.

All creations should be posted on December 28th. Extensions can be granted if informed.

Other things:

The non sensitive information will be shared in a general document, this way if anyone loses their prompt they can go back and check it there.

We’ll have a general list of triggers. We send all the triggers to the Gift Givers so they know not to put things in their works. However, if you prefer to be anonymous about it we will just add the triggers to a full list that the creators need to mind not to us.

The date of publishing is December 28th, your timezone. This is so we all get surprised by the same date.

Tumblr: You can draft the post or add it to the queue if you finish it earlier. Or you can submit it to me and I’ll post it at the proper time.

AO3: there will be a hidden collection in AO3 that will reveal itself at Dec 28th so you can publish there and no one would see the work until then. 

FF.net: There is no queueing in that site, you can draft and publish on that date.

None of the above: You can submit it to me and I’ll post it at the proper time.

Tags: Please tag the post #potterversegiftexchange2023 the person you are giving the present to, and the ship.

If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask!

[bluesdesk]

First of all, I noticed I forgot to update the rankings on the previous round! It's fixed now. Sorry for that!

During the last round We lost the oracle games (first poll) and Age of calamity (second poll)! Starting from the next round, there won't be the need to split it in two sections! But please tumblr add more option slots :( Age of Calamity got less votes than the oracles.

What can I say about these two? I played the demo of AOC and the gameplay is similar to HW (of course) with some botw elements. I kinda liked the demo, and some characters like Makimi are cute :D Though I wish the story was different, and actually told what really happened, instead of an highly unlikely alternate reality. The plot made me lose interest in it, I don't think I'll ever play the full version. As for the oracles, I've actually played a bit of each on NSO! The major issue (at least with seasons) is that there's nobody telling Link where to go or a diary of sorts, and after some time I did't play I didn't know where to go. But the mechanics were interesting.

Back to the poll, remember to vote the game you think is the worst out of these in the list! Please don't vote a game if you don't know it! Knowing means having played the game (even not completed), watched a gameplay, read the wiki! Having read the manga is ok too, I can't think of any other things rn but I hope you got what I mean :D

Reblogs are appreciated, since for obvious reasons I won't tag this as Linked Universe, but the majority of my interactions come from that fandom!

LINK TO THE OTHER HALF OF THE POLL

<< Previous round first half - second half

Rankings under the cut!

The CDIs

Triforce Heroes

Zelda 2

Hyrule Warriors / Legends / Definitive

Cadence of Hyrule

Zelda 1

Four Swords Adventures

Four Swords

Oracle of Seasons/Ages

Age of Calamity

[aroswagshowdown]

also if i make a losers bracket or any kind of part 2 to this tournament then i'll work on making it more accessible (image IDs, plain text, and the like). i saw a lot of "needs id" and "no id" tags on the poll reblogs and it made me realize i forgot to add that, but you can't edit posts with polls in them

[darsynia]

hello darsy! happy valentine's day!, first i wanted to remind you of what an amazing person you are i really mean it and that i love the posts you share and the polls, absolutely make my days, also want to ask you if you had a tag list? and in that case if i could be added, please? i would like to start reading your published writings here but i don't know where to first start and i would like to just pop up from nothing after getting the notification you updated, beforehand, thank you, i wish you the best of weeks and some good rest! send you my love<3

Oh goodness, thank you so much! I'm twirling :D And that pic is just the most preciously applicable to your kind words! I've been super shy about sending messages and stuff, this really makes my day 💚

I'd love to add you! I have a couple of different things going, but am happy to tag and then if you aren't in the mood for that thing or it's not your typical fare it's fine. However, if you'd like to specify, cause I have about 3 'kinds' of stories I'm currently posting, that's also good!

So, I have the Stephen series Animate Objects, and that starts with a 2-part story, Day Eight, where aid worker Amista Cairn runs into Stephen Strange and feels oddly compelled to show up at the sanctum to figure him out. That's followed by Diminished Seventh, a seven part sequel where Stephen and Amy work through his suspicion and her confusion as an ancient Babylonian relic imprinted on her the second she set foot in the sanctum. The next in the series will be Sixth Sense, which I haven't started yet, but it'll delve more deeply into what is up with the relic, and whether Stephen and Amy can get over their mutual mistrust, since they can't keep their hands off of each other...

The other series I'm posting is Trust Fall, which is a Tony/OC MCU re-write that will include more women in the Avengers, a team-oriented take earlier on in the chronology, and features Tony Stark and Emory Autumn. Emory is a PA to a pop star whose career needed a boost, so she went to Afghanistan to sing for the troops, putting Emory in the position to be kidnapped along with Tony, in the cave. Emory's smart and capable, but she's let her friend walk all over her for far too long. Tony and Emory both realize they need to change for the better as they fall for each other. A complication arises as Yinsen offers Emory a serum injection he'd spent his life savings on for his own family, who are now gone. Emory's new powers help them escape the cave-- but they put her in SHIELD's sights. ((EDIT: oh I forgot. There is so much sexy kissing in this story. SO MUCH. Gosh! Eventually smut in this one))

Along with Trust Fall I have a couple of other Tony Stark smut or ask stories (including a Tony/Steve I'm writing right now)

The third thing I've been writing is Steve/Reader fics, I have a oneshot set early on after Thanos's snap, and my series is called Just Right. Post-Ultron, Reader works as the 'armorer' for the Avengers, and she's loved Steve from afar for a year without being brave enough to say anything. Another version of Steve Rogers shows up, and this version looks at her like a precious gift-- but what's going on? What's happened to this Steve, and will it happen to their universe? Reader wants her Steve, but if this other version goes home, will she lose her chance to be with Steve Rogers? I also have a Sam Wilson/Reader argument kiss ask that's coming up, too!

I would be delighted to tag you in any or all of them, and again, no pressure-- I know I'm tagged in a few things that I look forward to getting to, but haven't yet!

Thanks again! I'm writing this at the DMV and I think the person beside me thinks it's a love letter, bahahaha. Honestly I love writing and getting to share it, so it kind of is? 💚

[bluesdesk]

During the last round We lost the oracle games (first poll) and Age of calamity (second poll)! Starting from the next round, there won't be the need to split it in two sections! But please tumblr add more option slots :( Age of Calamity got less votes than the oracles.

The rankings we got are really different compared to those I got on reddit. I didn't expect Hyrule Warriors to be yeeted out so soon, before Cadence, and Four Swords to beat FSA (by one position, but still...). The major Zelda titles are all still here though! My favorite 5 are all still in game :D

Back to the poll, remember to vote the game you think is the worst out of these in the list! Please don't vote a game if you don't know it! Knowing means having played the game (even not completed), watched a gameplay, read the wiki! Having read the manga is ok too, I can't think of any other things rn but I hope you got what I mean :D

Reblogs are appreciated, since for obvious reasons I won't tag this as Linked Universe, but the majority of my interactions come from that fandom!

LINK TO THE OTHER HALF OF THE POLL

<< Previous round first half - second half

Rankings under the cut!

The CDIs

Triforce Heroes

Zelda 2

Hyrule Warriors / Legends / Definitive

Cadence of Hyrule

Zelda 1

Four Swords Adventures

Four Swords

Oracle of Seasons/Ages

Age of Calamity