#do you get notifs if someone replies to your anonymous message...? i'm not sure either way but

[skalidra]

I want to write Batships and darker stories but I'm absolutely terrified of getting hate response because on my ao3 there are only gen fics. Do you any tips or advice?

My immediate answer is just say fuck it and do it anyway, because if your readers are the kind of people to kick up a fuss and send hate just because you've started writing something they might not like, they're not readers you wanted anyway.

However, I know that's not helpful, so that bit of speech-ing put aside, here's the actual advice.

If you don't feel comfortable, for whatever reason, posting darker fic or Batships to your Ao3, you've got three main options.

A) Make a new account.

This is the most secure option. There are still plenty of invite codes floating about (I might actually still have a couple, if you need), and it shouldn't be that difficult to create a new account. That will let you create an entirely new persona to post these stories under, free from connection to your old one. Now, this does have the negative that you won't carry over any of your past readers that might be interested, but you won't carry over any hateful ones, either. Fresh, blank slate. I'd recommend this one.

B) Post under the Anonymous Collection.

There's one enormous collection on Ao3 called Anonymous, which you can use to make your story be posted as though it had an unrevealed author. It's not perfect (note the disclaimer in the description), and someone who worked hard at it could probably still link you, but it is a first level of privacy. You'll still get comment notifications and all that, and you can choose to reply as an anonymous user if you like. This has the benefit of being able to merge it into your main account later, if a time comes that you're comfortable with adding it.

C) Orphan the stories.

This is the 'cast it into the void' option. Orphaning a work places it under Ao3's orphan account. You have zero connection to the story; it functions as if Ao3 itself had posted the work, and they'll maintain it under their umbrella account. This is permanent. There is no retrieving a story from this. (Also please note, I'm not positive this will work. I don't know if a work needs to be posted before it can be orphaned, or whether you might be able to post straight into that. You might need to post it into an anonymous collection and then orphan it as a second step to ensure anonymity. I'm not sure. But, if this is the option you want to do, you can message me off anon and I'll help you figure it out.)

Good luck, and happy posting. (We of the dark works and free-shipping raise a glass to you, newcomer.)

[livebloggingmydescentintomadness]

the most important thing to understand about tumblr is that this place is a lawless wasteland, and it's very hard to get in trouble here. this is the official list of of unacceptable content, but while someone can report you for posting something like pro-self harm or pro-anorexia content, you DO NOT need to censor any words like "die" or "kill" or "sex". no one is monitoring the words you use.

in fact, one of tumblr's time-honored traditions is making up the most grandiose, elaborate threats and insults possible. nobody here says "i'm going to kill you," they say, "i'm going to pop out your eyeballs and fashion them into salt and pepper shakers." if someone dunks on you on your own post, you are fully expected to reply, "i hope you choke on your saliva in front of your crush, you moldy piece of beef jerky."

another important thing to know about tumblr is that once you post something, you lose all control over what happens to that post. only the people you have already blocked are incapable of saying and doing whatever they want with that post, and you have to just put up with it. you can delete the post to stop receiving notifications, but deleting the post will only delete it from YOUR blog, and complaining about people being annoying on your post is generally considered poor form. sure, you can SAY "dni if", but once your post is out there, it's out there, and people can say whatever they want in the reblogs and the tags. it's wise to think twice before you post.

one of the benefits of tags is that they allow you to organize your blog and find posts later. if you tag a post as "resources", then for as long as your blog exists you can go to yoururl.tumblr.com/tagged/resources and find everything you've tagged with "resources." you can also use yoururl.tumblr.com/search/keyword to find any word(s) from any post in your blog, provided the tumblr search function gods have smiled upon you that day.

therefore, tags are used for organization, for allowing others to find your content, for warnings (e.g. "self harm tw" or "suicide mention tw" or "nazi cw"), and also for rambling about whatever you want.

for that matter, it's also a time-honored tradition for someone to either screenshot or copy/paste your tags into a reblog if they like what you've had to say. this is not stealing, this is passing peer review and a high honor. it is polite to credit the person whose tags you're reblogging, typically by going "tags via @url"

there's also a hotly-contested practice of simply typing "prev tags" in your tags, which indicates that you like what the person you reblogged from said in their tags. this is fine on occasion, but a lot of us get QUITE peeved if we're expected to click back through multiple reblogs to find the "prev prev prev tags" that is just some mildly amusing comment.

while you can comment whatever you want on your own blog, it is generally expected that you keep your thoughts in the tags unless you have something significant to offer to the reblog chain. leaving things like "hahaha" or "good to know" in the comments quickly clutters up the post.

it's pretty normal to just start talking to strangers, as long as you're polite. most of us enjoy getting asks and messages, so if you find someone whose blog you like, don't be shy about saying something to them. they might not respond, but they'll appreciate it nonetheless.

if you wind up stepping into a pile of shit and people start harassing you, turn off anonymous messages and definitely turn off submissions. if you still get hate, block block block. there's zero shame in blocking anyone who bothers you. if you’re receiving harassment on a sideblog, copy the harasser’s url, go to settings>sideblog in question, then scroll down to “blocked tumblrs” and manually add the url. otherwise they may only be blocked from your primary account.

tumblr loves its long-running jokes. we are still making posts about memes from years ago. if you see a reference that you don't understand, like "children's hospital" or a picture of ramen noodles, assume it's a very old joke that we gleefully beat like a dead horse.

tumblr also loves dates and anniversaries. just go with it and reblog the "it's october 3rd" mean girls gif on october 3rd.

there's nothing wrong with "likespamming" someone's blog, or scrolling through it and liking/reblogging a couple dozen posts in a row. it's flattering. no one cares.

it's also perfectly normal to reblog old posts. you can reblog a post from yesterday and then a post from 2012 and no one will bat an eye. it doesn't matter.

lastly, this is a place to relax and have fun. unless you're an artist, gifmaker, or writer trying to get some eyes on your work (more power to you), don't worry about engagement or follower count or anything. having lots of followers on tumblr mostly just means getting people yelling at you more. relax. reblog and post whatever the fuck you want.

this place may be a lawless wasteland, but it's our lawless wasteland.

tumblr guide for new users:

1) there is no algorithm for your dashboard. can't stress this enough. your dashboard is in chronological order of posts and reblogs from people you follow. "based on your likes!" is a joke and they removed that feature in a week

2) because of the lack of algorithm, likes do nothing. if you want more people to see a post, you have to reblog it so it goes on your follower's dashes

3) the vast majority of posts on a person's blog tend to be reblogs. think 90% or so. some of those will have that person commenting on it, and more will have tags

4) comments stay on reblog chains, while tags only show up on your reblog of that post. it's kind of like a whisper voice. in either case, both op and the person you reblogged from see that in their notifications

5) tags don't go in the body of the post. writing "staying in #lasvegas" won't make it appear in the las vegas tag, it'll just look weird

6) it's totally normal to reblog and post multiple things in one day. it's normal to reblog the same post twice in a row. it's normal to have 100 posts+reblogs in a day. post limit (the total number of original posts and reblogs) for a single day is 250. you heard me. 250. go hog fucking wild

7) it defaults to having a visible likes tab on your blog (but only on your blog, not the dashboard) but most people toggle it off

8) "tumblr clout" is a fucking joke. no one can see your follower count, and no one makes money here. there are no influencers. enjoy not giving a shit about maintaining a public persona. it's all anonymous and your employers won't find you here