#it's my blog so i get to put in the effort that the writers actively refused to put in

[thebramblewood]

this is in a similar vein to an ask you got recently but do you have any tips for those who are interested in sims 4 (or even other games like ts3 and ts2) storytelling? I write fanfiction but I think making sims 4 stories could be a fun venture. Anyway, thank you for your time! I love your stories so very much they're literally my hyperfixation!

Well, that makes two of us because it's literally my hyperfixation. I think I've shared bits of advice before, so some of this might sound familiar, but here are some things I think are important to remember (and I tried to be concise, I swear).

Write the story you want to write. Obviously, it's a great feeling when something takes off and people get invested. But if you pursue an idea only because you think Simblr will like it, you probably won't be inspired for long and it'll probably show. I've been very lucky with my story, but it didn't blow up overnight. Early on, I was thrilled to get double digit notes or one reblog or comment and was admittedly disappointed when I put a lot of effort into something and nobody seemed to notice. But I kept going because I was obsessed and wanted to see it through, and that's more true now than ever.

Start with low stakes and allow yourself to evolve. Before I was on Simblr, I made Sims stories with no poses or visual enhancements or fancy editing. I wrote them for myself, and I loved every minute of it, but they also gave me a solid foundation for the kind of storytelling I do now. Even after starting this blog, I eased myself into it. I learned how to use poses and Reshade, then moved on to more advanced editing techniques, then moved on to teaching myself to make poses and very basic CC. If you try to learn it all at once, you're more likely to give up because you're overwhelmed. Take your time and make peace with the fact that perfection isn't possible. Everyone's always learning!

Take advantage of the fact that Sims is a game. Even though I've been a creative writer for most of my life, I don't come up with fully-fleshed, elaborate Sims stories from scratch. It started off with my legacy and not wanting every generation to feel the same. I thought about gameplay I hadn't experienced yet and centered each generation's story around that. Even with HZID, I just wanted to make and play with vampires! That's it! Initially, I used a lot of gameplay to convey Helena's college experiences, and I still try to incorporate it when I can. It can really be a great base to spark your creativity if you don't know where to start.

Don't have a life outside your story. I'm joking. Kind of. I'm not a very social person and I don't like leaving my house if I don't have to. This leaves me with a lot of time for working on story things. Honestly, I could probably stand to work on it less. But for better or worse, I'm doing story-related things most nights and weekends, and even if I'm not doing anything, I'm thinking about it. It's probably mental illness, but we'll just call it passion. At the same time, it's also important to take breaks! If you're feeling burnt out, step away for a while. If you can't make yourself step away completely (raises hand), just edit the script or spin your blorbos around in CAS or something rather than going straight for posing a scene.

Follow and interact with other storytellers. This is probably the most important thing, and as someone who struggles with social anxiety it was the hardest for me to do. But I try to make a point of keeping up with other stories, commenting, and reblogging. Not only will the amazing talent of other writers inspire you, but you're building meaningful connections that make them more likely to want to interact with your story. There's no denying it feels amazing to watch your audience grow. But no one's going to see you if you don't make an effort to be seen, as scary as it can be. So try to be active in the community and support other storytellers the way you want to be supported!

[sinswithpleasure]

Addressing My Ask Box

Hey guys, Sins here.

I'm sorry if this might seem rude and/or entitled, but I feel that I have to get this off my chest.

First of all, I really appreciate the flood of asks just off today. I like that you readers are actively willing to engage me and reach out in any shape or form, but I have to set some ground rules.

Nearly every ask since my last fic in July has been the same variation of "idol and idol cuddling" and "idol x idol sex", and I'm really getting burnt out on these. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that you all have put in the time to type all of it out, but I'm really not sure if you want a fic, you're just dumping random things, or...?

I've seen my fair share of "top 5 idols whose pits u wanna lick" to just, pure statements that i can't reply to, such as "i think chaewon has great tits" or "wony can't stop eating gaeul's cunt". Most of the time, I'm actively not sure what to do with this—I'm very lost on your intentions and would prefer more clarity.

I've actually said this privately to a lot of other writers: low effort ask means low effort reply. Any ask I don't understand either gets deleted or answered with one word only. I really don't want to give low effort replies because to me, being a writer is akin to being a customer service representative—my job is to serve up stuff that makes you enjoy yourself, and part of that is giving you good replies to the asks that you put time into to type into my ask box. However, there's really not much I can work on with one liners without context other than "nise" because I really don't know what to do with them, and I do not want to delete asks so readily since you have put effort into them.

I've always found how sapphics send asks to wlw blogs here, as well as on platforms like CuriousCat or Retrospring so wonderful. For example:

kmj saying on live that the other members would be different baseball positions and she would be the cheerleader...three way gang bang for mj in a tiny little skirt please

was a literal ask a friend of mine on twt got about aespa, and it's stuff like this where I can expand on and help you realise a fantasy. Not only that, it's also fun for me because there is context. I need more than sex to build up any piece of a fic for you—idea generation is not as easy as it seems. The example above at least has a setting I can imagine, characters that I can explore, and all in all has space for inspirational expansion.

Tldr—Help me help you. Give me more context, give me something more than the sex acts. This goes for a lot of suggestion-type asks—the more effort you put into an idea to suggest, the more receptive most writers will be.

Thank you.

Sins.

[papatundespainknife]

was reminded again about how much i HATE the shows names for the mikaelsons bc they DON’T MAKE FUCKING SENSE FOR 10TH CENTURY NORSEMEN. So i’m gonna throw out here the names i used for them on my very short lived klaus and elijah blogs (burn out is real lol). the idea here was that these were their names they were given/born with which they later change around to the ones we know them by to you know, keep up with the times a lil better.

first off the last names are now MíMISSON and MÍMISDÓTTIR because tHaT’s HoW nOrSe LaSt NaMeS wOrK.

Mímir = Mikael Mímir is a famous character in Scandinavian myth. He was a wise man and advisor to Odin who was decapitated in the Æsir–Vanir War. Odin did some witchcraft to preserve his head and now keeps it in the well at the bottom of Yggdrasil and asks him shit. It just feels like the kinda thing parents would name their kid with optimism he’d grow up Wise and favored by Odin but then he turns out Like That. Picks Mikael later on because he would be the time to associate himself with a divine messenger warrior angel who 1v1′d Satan. The prick.

Eistla = Esther Frankly the one I’m least likely to actually USE the canon name for outside of meta and general fandom talking and only for clarity reasons. Since she died in the 10th century and isn’t around again until the 21st century for a hot minute there’s really no need to figure out a new name for her. Derived from “Eist/Oast” which means like “Pyre/Embers/Fire/Etc” also the name of Jotunn.

Freya = Freya No notes for obvious reasons. Fun fact tho, Freya is just the feminine form of Freyr which means “Lord/Master” or “Fertile” which tracks with how both Freya and Freyr are associated with fertility. Freya is the Vanir goddess oflove, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future) so I mean, she’s very accurately named lol.

Finnbjǫrn = Finn Honestly again another dude who didn’t really change his name because he was in a box for 900 years but also lucked out that Finn’s both a nickname for his own name and like, A Normal Ass Name to this day. Finn usually refers to Finland/Lapland and björn/bjǫrn means “bear/warrior”. Which like honestly, yes so real, such vibes for my specialest boy.

Eylaugr = Elijah Eylaugr is the male form of Eylaug and is built from “Ey” which means “island” or “floodplain” and Laug which in old germanic means “to celebrate marriage/to swear a holy oath/to be dedicated” and is likely related to the old Norse “Laug/Log” which means “bath (in connection with religious worship)”. Likely picked Elijah due to the auditory similarity to help with like, fucking remembering it and responding to it (honestly a major factor for all of them lbr) but also keeps the holy vibes aesthetic since Elijah is a prophet and miracle worker and I think he’d appreciate that through line of like, aesthetic continuity.

Næskunungr = Nikalus Combination of “Nes” (ness/spit of land) and “Konung” (king). Old Norse neskonungr = 'ness-king', 'small-king'; one who has no more than a ness over which to rule. Which like, god SUCH A BURN EVEN FROM YOUTH. I’d just been looking for something that sounded reasonably close to “Niklaus” on an auditory level but then I saw the breakdown of the parts and was like “oh yeah, that’s Klaus”. Like you could see it as parents being like “aw little king baby :)” or “look at this napeleon complex motherfucker even before napeleon complexes are a THING” and I think that’s beautiful. Goes with Niklaus later because again, reasonably close to Næskunungr in sound and also means “Victor of the people” and I mean...... Yeah.... He’d do that.....

Ragrifridr/Ragnfríðr = Rebekah Built from “regin” (advise/decision/might/power (of the gods) ) and “fríðr” (beautiful/beloved/good/alive/peaceful/safe). She absolutely picked it for the sound and vibes and nothing else but it does mean “Moderator, To Tie, Noose, To Bind, Captivating, Strong Combatant, Hearty”. Which does feel very good for her so like, 10/10 on that front

Kolr = Kol Again another one who gets no notes. Stunning, perfect, flawless. Kol/Kolr in old Norse just means “coal” so like, lol okay I see we gave up around here I guess.

Heðinn = Henrik Heðinn means “jacket of fur or skin” in Old Norse. I’ve already given some leeway in places like Finn’s name which is more finnish than it is norwegian but I gotta draw the line somewhere and I’m doing it at Henrik’s german ass name. Again another one who would’ve never used their canon name because he’s Fuckin’ Dead. Tried to pick something was from the right rough area and sounded similar enough and then I saw the meaning of this name and was like “oh that’s some nice foreshadowing if I’ve ever seen it”.

BONUS ROUND--

Since I’m the boss now and say that Sage is from the same time period here’s a more timeline appropriate name for her too

Sannhild = Sage Built of the Old Norse: sannr (true/truthful) and “hildr” (battle/fight). Mainly picked for the auditory closeness to Sage and vibes.

[drtanner]

You know, I think I'm starting to understand why the sharing culture on this site is such dogshit now.

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I spent several solid hours going through my art and writing tags as far back as 2012 and manually deleting everything I found, including all of my own reblogs, because I don't expect my opt out from having my blogs' data scraped to be honoured, and seeing the difference in the way people interacted with my work back then and the way they interact with it now (or the way they don't interact with it at all, more specifically) was deeply and tragically enlightening.

tl;dr, despite having had a fraction of the followers back then that I have now, as well as being an objectively better artist and writer than I used to be 10+ years ago, my work travelled further and people engaged with it more, and they also sent me asks with drabble prompts and questions about my OCs all the time, whereas none of that happens at all anymore. This place was a lot more communal back in that pre-2016 era and generally a lot more rewarding and fun.

There's been plenty of posts going around over the last few years begging people to reblog because that's how this site works, but every one of those posts always winds up lousy with people saying they just click "Like" on things because they like them but not enough to put them on their own blog, or because they don't want to clutter their blog, or because tagging things is too much effort or whatever, and I'm noticing a pattern. There's something that all of these common responses have in common:

All of these people are wholly concerned with themselves and the way their blog looks, or what their blog is supposed to be for, or some other similarly entirely self-centred point of focus.

Listen. Other people have already tried to explain to you that that's not what this place is about or what this place is for or that you can make as many sideblogs as you want if you're trying to curate something specific, and they've had little success in emparting understanding to you, so I'm going to try a different approach.

Here are ten (10) benefits of reblogging that will make this site more fun and engaging for you, personally! ( b ._.)b

You get to keep the thing for yourself, but you also get to pass it along for other people to play with, too! Best of all worlds. How often do you get to keep a thing and share it?

Look in your Activity after you reblog something you enjoy to find other people who like the same things that you do! This is a terrific way to find new people to follow.

Sometimes you'll make a comment when you reblog something and later find that an awful lot of strangers are reblogging it from you directly for some reason. This is usually because someone else later down the line made a much stupider and worse comment and those strangers are now all clicking on your reblog so that they can reblog the post without that other person's stupider and worse comment on it. I like it a lot when this happens. You can get a lot of new followers this way, too!

Even if you don't have the time or spoons to play with jpegs like dolls yourself, your reblog can put the post in front of those folks who do. Playing with jpegs like dolls is half of what makes this site function; give it a bit of time, and the jpegs will cross your dash again with new additions. As it is with anything you love, set it free, and the love will come back to you one hundredfold. 💜

Look in your Activity after reblogging some art or writing to see people going nuts in the tags. You can also go nuts in the tags if you want; everyone loves seeing this when it happens, especially the artist or writer themselves.

Commenting with your reblog is like raising your hand to share your opinion with the whole room, whereas reblogging with your comment in the tags is more like whispering to the person next to you and keeping it between yourselves. Contrary to what you might have been told by others, both are perfectly fine and good and they each have their place. You can do both on the same reblog, even! Take part in the conversation!

If you're too shy to talk, reblogging without commentary is a lot like parallel play. You're all enjoying the same thing quietly together!

When you reblog things a lot, you'll start to see the same people popping up in your Activity feed all the time. These people are your friends whether you actually talk to them or not.

Stuck for something to say? Point out something you liked about the post! It can be something small! Acknowledging things that make you happy out loud is good for your mental health and also your soul.

Reblogging also invites other people who are doing all of these things to find and follow you!

There's so much to do on here beyond checking your dash and occasionally looking at the For You tab. You can discover all kinds of people and things by making a bit of an effort and having a poke around in your Activity feed and on the blogs of people who interact with the posts you're seeing and passing along! I promise you don't need an algorithm to do this for you; the action of exploring the landscape around you on this website is fun in its own right!

Get out there and see who your neighbours are. 💜

[izicodes]

Writing About The Codeblr Community

Sunday 22nd October 2023

I am making an article about us! Well, about the coding community on here (#codeblr)!

I got advice from a frequent writer on Medium that I should write about something I am passionate about and to find out what exactly, she said "What topic would you talk about for hours in front of an audience?" and honestly it would be Tumblr, but more especially about the Codeblr community!

⬇️ Below for more information + how you can help! ⬇️

I've made some notes on what I want to talk about. It's still not complete as I made the notes around midnight last night so I was a bit tired whilst I was typing but I will take time to talk to people, plan the various topics I want to cover properly and get enough information!

🤔 What's my aim with writing the article?

To shed light to the community and the hard work everyone has put into their codeblr/studyblr blogs. From people sharing resources, to those who share their programming progresses. Someone asked me time ago about sharing their codeblr blogs on their resume/CV and on other social media platforms - if people can share their YouTube, Twitter, Instagram account on coding, why not their Codeblr blog? Your Tumblr blog is just as worthy as someone sharing on Twitter. Plus it's nicer and more welcoming here~!

Anyhoo, if you see your name in the list, I will ask permission to mention you! I won't force it or anything.

🔍 Questions for those who want to be involved!

I would greatly ask if anyone wants to be in the article, I would love to ask you about your own experience. I try my best to follow as many codeblr blogs as I can (because I love seeing that kind of posts on my feed). The questions if you want to answer (not all if you don't want to):

Why did you choose to share on Tumblr rather than the other more popular social media platforms?

Do you prefer it/Why do you like the Codeblr community?

How long have you been a member of Codeblr, and how active are you in the community?

In what ways has Codeblr contributed to your learning and growth as a coder?

Are there specific resources, tutorials, or discussions on Codeblr that have been especially beneficial to you?

Have you participated in any notable collaborations or group projects with other Codeblr members?

How do you view the importance of diversity and inclusion within Codeblr?

Have you observed efforts within the community to foster an inclusive environment?

✨ Thank you so so so much for reading, if you can't help then that's a-okay! Watch out for the article being posted on my Medium account - I'll make a new post on here when I do publish it! Fingers-crossed it's an actual good read~!

⤷ ♡ my shop ○ my mini website ○ pinned ○ navigation ♡

[kingkatsuki]

you are a whole ass weirdo for blocking people out of nowhere for not REBLOGGING your stuff 😭😭😭 you are one of the most popular blogs in the whole mha fandom, you gotta be kidding you don't even lack the reach or the platform, i didn't peg you for being this interaction hungry

Hihihi! You’re clearly very upset that I’ve blocked you for not supporting content creators by reblogging their fics. I’m really sorry that you won’t be able to be a silent follower anymore, but maybe you can check out my ao3 instead if you just want to silently consume content without clicking any buttons.

The reason why I block people who don’t reblog fanfics (as I’ve mentioned a million times before it doesn’t have to be my fanfics, doesn’t even have to be bnha fandom) is because you bring absolutely nothing to fandom or the fandom community. There’s no point you following me, so I just block you to make myself more comfortable.

The people I’ve blocked for being blank blogs or not reblogging content that have messaged me have all been unblocked after supporting writers/artists. And honestly most of them have never reblogged any of my fics, and I’m okay with that… because they’re supporting someone.

There’s gotta be someone on this website that you hold above all else, that whenever they post they put a smile on your face? That bring you comfort when you’re having a bad day? That you actively look at their page first, like a morning newspaper or you think of randomly throughout the day like “oh, this was in ____’s fic,” … you don’t even want to support your most favourite author/artist?

It’s nothing to do with my “reach” or my “platform”. I’m a nerdy woman who reads and writes fanfic in my spare time, not David Attenborough. But regardless of whether I have 1 follower or 100,000 followers I, like every other creator that posts their stuff online (musicians, artists, writers, even fucking tiktokers) want feedback on my work! Even if it’s just an empty reblog or a quick comment “that was great” “good job” it means so much more than a like on a fic.

We’ve spoken about this before on tumblr but the like to reblog ratios on fanfics (and other content) is laughable. A fic with 5000 notes might only have 200 reblogs and 5 comments, and the lack of feedback will result in the creator wondering if it was even worth posting, if it’s even worth them posting again.

This is the reason why people stop creating, and it’s not just in the fanfic community. What do you think happens when your favourite musicians music flops, or your favourite TV show doesn’t bring in the ratings? People stop making, they stop producing. It’s the same shit with fanfics.

The fanfiction that you’re so mindlessly consuming takes time and effort. There’s a real person behind the screen gifting you their piece of art for free, and you don’t have time to click a button?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll continue to say it. I’m incredibly lucky I have the friends and followers that I do on this website, people that comment on my fics and reblog with the loveliest tags. Even the ones that are too shy to interact with me, I see your usernames in my notifs whenever you reblog something. But I know a lot of friends and followers do not get that same luxury, there are writers who pour their heart and soul into writing on here and get no likes, no reblogs and no comments. But people like you are reading and enjoying their fics.

How many times have you wished you got a part two to a fic? Or a new fic from an author who stopped writing? I know for people like you it’s easy to click out and just find something else to read, but I’ve lost some of my favourite authors on here because people like you won’t even click a button.

I deserve interaction, all the other creators on here deserve interaction.

TL;DR — You’re selfish, and I don’t want you following me💕

[fitzrove]

Shamelessly stolen from seeing it on someone else's blog... Create a fanfic tropes tier list

Here's mine:

Some thoughts under the cut xD

All of these come with the caveat that it has to be well-written, basically. The older I get the less patience I have for stuff that's low-effort or just not to my taste hshhd. However, I see the tiers as something where I can pretty easily be convinced to read fic with tier S tropes, whereas getting me to enjoy a tier D fic would be difficult... Anyway, comments on individual tropes:

pwp - The best kind is where it's unapologetic kinky sex but a somewhat plausible scenario that's deeply in-character (or at least tries to be) >:))

a/b/o - This is a very very mixed bag for me... Contrary to what many people say, I don't actually enjoy plotty longfics (or the idea of reading longfics) talking about the societal aspects/worldbuilding implications of it. Also, the more focus there is on um... animal traits.... the less into it I am HFDHFHHJ. BUT I've sometimes liked the work of mandarin language todolf oneshot fanfic writers on ao3... I have no idea what the fuck is going on half of the time because google translate is imperfect, but those sure are some Fics with Stuff Happening in them xDD my favourite ones are rudolf x stephanie ones though because they're pretty much the only rudolf x stephanie femdom fics out there.........

soulmate au - I know this is super controversial for how it portrays relationships, but I actually find it okay :D When I read them I always interpret it as taking place in a much more deterministic world than our own... and I actually think that pure angst fics about the premise are rather interesting too. But I do think it has to be done quite well to work!

Royalty au - I'm such a whore about historical research so this has the potential to really irritate me xDD And for my current main fandom activities it's redundant... But idk, it's fine I think.

Fluff - This is one I've changed my mind on quite a bit over the years, namely in terms of actually kind of disliking pure fluff nowadays. I really prefer hurt/comfort and other fics where there are some stakes at play, or fics where the "fluff" is actually straight up emotional abuse HSDHDSHDHFSH (it's ok you can say todolf<33). It's just a lot more exciting to have setup + payoff vs pure fluff. I don't really experience the urge to read fluff fic as a response to the original media being emotionally charged/sad, I want fix-it fics to start from the standpoint of that negative emotion and have ups and downs before getting to the happy ending!

Crossover - hate crossovers where characters from multiple unrelated media interact, do sometimes enjoy crossovers where characters from y are in the universe of x (or experience a phenomenon from x). I mean, I've written a tdv au ahshshsh so I can't complain too much xD

Pregnancy fic, baby fic - no. This is a very hard if not impossible sell for me. I've written a longfic where the main characters have kids during it, but I never focused on the pregnancy and baby parts per se. I just don't like it haha

High school au, fairytale au, college au, coffee shop au, amnesia fic - I do NOT understand the appeal of any of these lmao

Humor, crack fic - Has to be done really well to work and most of the time it just doesn't for me ajdjjsjd. Humor is so personal and individual, and a conscious attempt to be funny as the main point of a fic falls flat so easily...... I like witty writing, but crack fic per se doesn't work for me unless it's crack treaten extremely seriously (implausible tropes and scenarios can be fun!! Buuut I do have pretty high standards for suspension of disbelief hshsdjdj. So it needs a lot of work put into it basically)

[usedpidemo]

Update - 2nd year anniversary! (plus a reflection, and future plans).

Hi everyone! π here.

Today, May 13th, is the day I officially opened up this blog and began writing degenerate and immoral stories! 2 fucking years have passed, how time flies. So much can change in a year, and so do some of the stats!

First work: Sandwich - Red Velvet Wendy (published 05/13/21, 4:03 a.m.)

Highest note count: Awards after-party affair - Itzy Yuna (published 10/23/22, 1167 notes)

Number of works published: 80 fics (1 fic every 9.1 days)

500 followers: June 18, 2021 (36 days or 1 month, 5 days)

1,000 followers: October 12, 2021 (152 days or 4 months, 30 days)

2,000 followers: June 18, 2022 (401 days or 1 year, 1 month, and 5 days)

3,000 followers: November 12, 2022 (548 days or 1 year, 5 months, and 30 days)

Follower count: 3,953 followers (5.4 followers a day)

I wish I had something awesome lined up to celebrate this milestone, but I don't have anything prepared XD I've been busy and lazy at the same time. (Is that even possible?)

Actually, yeah, I do have a whole week's worth of cool things lined up this week! If I can even follow through with this one...

Monday: AMA

Tuesday: Reader Poll

Wednesday: ???

Thursday: ???

Friday: ???

I don't want to make the fun section of the update elaborately long, so I just want to say thank you so much to everyone for the support! Even though I'm not as active or as productive as I used to be, your eagerness never wavered, and you guys enjoy me talking about random shit on the side, whether it be song lyrics, Pokémon, or literally posts without any context to them. I love you guys. Here's to another year 🧡

Everything else from this point is a brief reflection and introspection of what I've been feeling since then. You can ignore this if you wish to do so.

So today marks the second anniversary since I opened up this Tumblr and became a degenerate writer. The work I've been putting up is getting worse—in a sexual and filthy way, not objectively—and my mental health has been getter much, much better! When I made the same anniversary post around this time a year ago, I was at an all-time low, mentally speaking. I really felt like I had not much left to give at that point, my skill has stagnated, and I thought there wasn't much for me to improve on. If you asked me if I had any future plans for this blog, I'd say I'd be done by the end of 2022, if not sooner.

It's now 2023, and I believe I'm as good as I can be right now. Slumps happen for a reason, and you can't always win, but it's how you bounce back from the lowest of lows that you reach highest of highs. And I believe I can still get better.

Genuinely, not to sound arrogant, because Lord knows I'm not the best fanfic writer—fuck no—I'm not anywhere close, even in a theoretical top 1000 list, but I do think some of my finest work have come up in my most recent fics. I don't know, it feels more polished and there was more effort and deliberation put into it. The numbers don't lie, either; every single work I published since May 2022 has over 400+ notes, and I've even passed the 1000+ note barrier twice! It goes to show that you guys are enjoying what I'm putting out as much as I love making them, slow and difficult it may be. I can fondly smile at last year's additions to my masterlist and say, "I can't believe I did that."

I do want to apologize if my output rate has drastically slowed down, and if I'm not as active as I was before. It's unfortunately part of the sacrifice needed for better quality control, and also because I have more personal commitments to attend to. 2023 has been fantastic for me so far in almost every department, except maybe physically—I could use more exercise—but that can be worked upon.

I do believe I'm on borrowed time. Again, look at the gap between fics over the past six months ago, and it's only going to widen once I enter my third year of college. I also have to begin considering what hobbies and other things I should do to occupy my free time, so I can be more productive as a person. This isn't to say I'm definitely quitting, but I expect more responsibilities to be shouldered onto me in the future, and having time for myself is going to be pretty much a birthday gift with how rare it might be given, and I'd prefer spending my time off recharging and relaxing instead of stressing over inconsequential or 'fun' things.

There's a lot of people I want to thank specifically, because while I was struggling with my own personal battles, they've been encouraging me to continue fighting and have been absolute lads—and lasses—throughout the past year. When I needed someone to talk to that wasn't my therapist, they were there, and I took solace in their comfort and companionship. I can't tag you guys, but if you're reading this—Chunk, Raf, Peach, Aaron, Sol, V1n, Iz, Ddeun, C.o, Kaede, Frisky, Smite, Shaun, Sins, Jett, Eros, Prael, Ken, Cray, CJ, Sooya, Gray, Svn—I sincerely thank you. God bless each and every single one of you. And to Tim, I really hope you can see this, but I'm truly, truly sorry. I hope we can find a way to bury that fracture in our relationship in the past, and we can reconcile. If not, then I just want closure and peace for the both of us.

So in closing, I want to thank you so much for sticking with me through the bad times and prospering with me through the good, and I'm always humbled that you've taken a chance on me when I started, when I was a hopeful newbie, two years ago. Now here we are. I appreciate every single one of you, be it a fellow writer, a reader, or a lurker.

With grace,

Peter / π

[despairforme]

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

[ Oh man this post got long (and surprisingly serious) fjfjfjffjjf I wrote this 2 days ahead of time because I was so excited about it ahahaha --- I'm wishing you all a wonderful 2024!!!!!

2023 was a year of surprising development for me. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, or if I'm simply moving into a different mindset. I loved this year! It was awesome, and I'm so happy to see that I've written MORE for Nnoitra this year than I did in 2022 ( even though my overall word-count went down from 290 000 to 280 000 ). I can't say I completed many of my goals ( or any of them LOL ). I had lots of goals for 2023, but I was unable to complete them. The past few months, especially, have brought forth big changes in my creative flow and focus.

I've realized that I need to change my priorities, to better fit my new mindset.

Roleplaying is no longer going to be my main focus. In the past, whenever I've wanted to write, I've always focused on finishing drafts, asks ect. I've mostly written on here, since that's what I prefer. Or, rather - what I used to prefer. This is not to say I don't have muse for Nnoitra, because I always feel inspired for him. What's changed are my priorities. I've come to the conclusion that what's important to me is creating stories. Since Nnoitra's story ( main verse ) has become so stagnant, it feels less important to me. I know I can drive the story on, push it forward and thus find it important once more, but - I don't want to do that. I want to create my own, original stories instead. Becoming a professional writer has always been my dream, and that's simply not possible to do when I'm prioritizing rping. Roleplaying is going to have to take the backseat.

--- That being said, I'm absolutely not quitting! I can't imagine myself not writing for Nnoitra, so I'll be writing on here like before, and I'll even try to be more consistent. An enemy of mine in 2023 has been procrastination. One of my goals for 2024 is to conquer this, so that I can be more efficient with my time. I think that by dedicating less time to roleplay, I'll be more efficient when I do sit down and write for my muses. My activity the past few months have been spotty, so I'd love to get into a better flow.

2024 GOALS:

FOCUS ON PERSONAL PROJECTS. I have a lot of them. Two (three?) book projects, two long OC-centered fanfictions.

WRITE FANDOM PROJECTS. I have a lot of ideas for fanfictions, and I want to make the time to write them. Some are long, some are short. Getting feedback on my stories has always been a great feeling, and fanfiction is the best way to get that serotonin.

CHANGE MY WRITING HABITS. My habits are bad. They lead to a ton of procrastination and wasted time. I want to be more structured when it comes to my writing time (and my time in general, but especially my writing time). I want to stick to schedules, word-count goals, page goals ect. Conquering procrastination is going to be key.

CONSISTENT RP POSTING. Even though I won't be focusing on roleplaying, I still intend to do it regularly and get replies and asks out in a more timely manner. I'll probably set off some time in the evening to get replies done, and have some fun on the dash when others are online. I'll try to be consistent across my blogs, not just on Nnoitra.

CREATE THINGS THAT ARE PHYSICAL. I've come to realize that I love things that translate to the real world. Not just words on a screen, or a digital artwork, but things that you can touch. It's why I've absolutely fallen in love with watercolor painting. I'm going to try to print some of my writing work so that I have physical copies. I'm also going to print my art so that I can hold it in real life.

FIND A SHIP FOR NNOITRA. It's been so long since I wrote a ship for him, and I need it back in my life. I've been looking for a ship for him the whole time, but I need to put more effort in, and let him interact with more characters, as well as continue to develop the relationships he does have ( in case one of them turns romantic? ). I'd love for 2024 to be the year Nnoitra falls in love again.

I am SUPER excited for 2024! I love new years and fresh starts, and I feel so incredibly inspired by the changes in my mindset. I feel like I've been stuck for a good while with rping. Don't get me wrong, I've loved every second of it, and I've learnt so much about writing - and met the most amazing people. It's just that it's time for a change. Time for me to create other kinds of stories. I thought that things were aligned for me to write books last year, but I really didn't have the right mindset - but now I do! I'm hyped!! Hope you're ALL going to have the most amazing 2024 guys!! ]

[centrally-unplanned]

I stumbled upon you by accident, but I really appreciate your general vibe of opinionated-yet-thoughtful discussion of niches beyond my own. Do you have any recommendations for people to follow (on or off tumblr) that shoot for the same feel?

Oh, I certainly must have such an answer but I am typically bad at these, I get things from such varied sources these days! By no means a definitive list, going purely by me scrolling through my recent blog activity...

@intimate-mirror is of course a very good blogger who "puts in the effort" on thought to take them the extra mile. @phaeton-flier is a bit more of a quick-hitter but definitely digs up interesting points at a good frequency (and is very funny), for more of the cultural side @dagny-hashtaggart writes a lot of things that make me go "we approach things the same way". Oh also, like idk maybe seems silly to even mention, but @argumate, in between the cacophonic chaos that is their blog, probably generates more interesting "sources" and quotes than anyone else here, valuable aggregation work.

As for wider bloggers, I am probably not that surprising, so you likely won't learn much here - Matt Yglesias is my go-to on US politics, Adam Tooze is an obvious more academic-left source for international economic/political affairs. I follow the Progress Studies people a lot? Construction Physics by Brian Potter for modern YIMBY/Energy type stuff, Age of Invention by Anton Howes for historical lenses on growth & innovation. I also value the people who do a lot of cross-linking, you get diverse sources that way. Like I love Marginal Revolutions - I disagree with Tyler Cowen 50% of the time but he generates more interesting links-per-capita than anyone else on the planet and he is normally very thought provoking.

I think specificity is key - there are generalists out there, MR has a ton of breadth for example, but as you learn what you specifically care about a writer's real strength comes out as the person covering that niche in the way that keeps teaching you new stuff.

(Also from the timing assuming you don't want anime writers lol. And thank you for the compliment! Its very kind of you)

[zorosdimples]

I definitely get your point but the toxicity in fandom spaces really does make it difficult to enjoy it now especially on here. I’ve seen so much discourse in the last 24 hours in the jjk fandom and I know you say you’re trying to curate a safe space or positive space without someone looking through the tags to find new content to reblog so others can reblog in your circles it’s almost impossible to keep that ideal going? Because how would new non-toxic people ever get their work seen if it isn’t found through main tags? And it sounds like you don’t bother looking for or reading new writers work either if you said there’s no point with tags

i will answer this even though you ended it on—what sounds to me like—a passive-aggressive note. maybe you didn’t intend for it to come across that way, but it did.

i would like to start by saying that i am not a timeworn, well-established blog; i’ve been here since july 2023, which is about 10 and a half months at this point, and never shared fanfic or actively participated in the animanga community until then. a lot of people that i’ve met have been on tumblr for years. so relatively speaking, i’m a “new writer” in fandom.

i’m not going to talk about discourse or the abuse of the tagging system because i think this is an issue on any and every social media platform. unless there are mods who go through and ensure that all posts are relevant to the tags they’re under, there will always be irrelevant content in certain tags; many people are more interested in their work being seen than in abiding by any sort of organizational standards.

that said, tumblr has a unique issue. sometimes, tagging simply doesn’t work on here. it has happened to myself and countless others on multiple occasions: you tag your post currently and it doesn’t show up in the tags. it can be related to images/banners/dividers or words you use in the tags (i.e. using the word “horny” or putting “tw choking”). but other times nothing is “wrong” but your post still won’t show up! and there’s nothing to do about it except to 1. delete the post and wait it out or 2. keep the post up and let it not show up in the tags.

of course it would be nice if the tags worked and if people would keep relevant posts under the correct tags, but that’s a not realistic option currently, so there are other ways to go about sharing work. also i would like to say that while the tags aren’t a complete loss, they aren’t a reliable way to find new work. i never said there was “no point with the tags.”

this was the crux of my post that you saw: the best way to find artists and writers and individuals is through community. you can search tags and see which specific blogs are popular for those tags, and work your way from there. but writers don’t blow up and get noticed because their works are in the tags; they gain traction once they find a place in the community.

i’ve said this in private before—never on my blog—but in my opinion, there are 3 components to a “viral” post:

it’s about something that’s currently popular

it looks pleasing to the eye (to draw people’s interest)

it’s shared by the right blogs

a new writer will never be popular if they only rely on the tags; they must do digging and groundwork to find blogs that they relate to and enjoy. it’s not an overnight process. it takes time and effort. and the same goes for readers! it starts small: by finding one or two blogs that you adore. and then seeing who those blogs interact with, and working your way outward. again: it takes time and energy. but it’s so worth it.

new writers (and artists) are constantly joining our community, and we usually find them when they follow us or follow blogs that we follow. so, to address your last point: no, i don’t often sift through the tags. but i do look at every single blog that follows me, and i do follow new writers. and i do see what the people i follow are reblogging, and find new writers that way, too.

also you can filter and block words and tags that you don’t want to see, like “discourse” and whatnot. the beautiful thing about tumblr is you can curate your space to best suit you!

[syntheticavenger]

do you know why engagement is down

I think for a number of reasons.

People used to like, comment and reblog fics. There's a whole debate about reblogging a fic versus liking a fic but I like the engagement so I'll take a comment or a blog or even a like.

But for whatever reason, a lot of people went to AO3 - myself included and I find interaction there to be a lot more engaging. I get a lot more comments there and it makes me want to continue posting my work because people are actively engaging in it.

Here, I get maybe 50-75 notes on a fic now and then anons (and a lot non-anon) who ask for the next part and when I check... no type of engagement with my fic at all. Writers are content creators and it's nice to know the work that we put into our stories are read. Please note that I am not saying it needs to be done but to have an idea, write it down and get excited, only to find it sitting there makes you want to sort of find another place to find that engagement, you know?

I think newer Tumblr users who are engaging with content need to know that interaction when they like a fic is important and asking for more updates on a fic when they've made no effort to engage can sometimes put pressure on that person to create more which then leads to this weird cycle of putting out content in a void.

I think people like reading what people write, don't get me wrong. But saying so is even better.

[moni-logues]

The ~engagement 'issue'~

I feel like I'm seeing more and more posts about readers' lack of engagement with writers on here and I now want to say something. I don't say things short so buckle in lmao

TL;DR: idgaf if you, readers, comment on my shit or not. I care that you enjoy it and, if you did, job complete, mission accomplished, well done. I want to be part of a community, not a service provider/'content creator'. I write because I want to and getting to hear people's thoughts and feedback is just a huge fucking bonus to that. Also, readers I love you.

I love my readers. All of them, loud and silent alike. Readers who comment with long reviews, pulling out quotes or bits they liked, reacting with predictions or responding to the characters. Readers who just comment that they really liked it! that it was good! Readers who like. Readers who read and leave no mark at all. Readers who follow me and readers who come across something I wrote another way, who didn't follow me before and don't after. I am deeply grateful that anyone takes the time to read the things I write, whether you've read everything I've ever posted or just one drabble.

I know that all writers are similarly grateful to have this space and to have people here who read their work. I do, to a certain extent, understand the frustration with regards to like:comment ratios.

However.

I know that reviews take effort. I am a chronically unenthusiastic person and it takes a lot for me to summon the energy to respond how I feel I should, in a way that I think would make the writer happy, in a way that I feel is befitting how I actually feel about the fic I read. There are other reasons I have been reading less recently but one of the reasons is that I feel pressure to review every single thing I read. So I just don't read!!! Isn't that stupid???? Sure, I'm putting imaginary presure on myself by thinking I need to respond in a particular way and that is very much my problem (and I'm trying hard to address it and read/review more anyway), but I feel like readers are taking a bit of a bashing right now and I don't ever want readers to stop reading or to have the reading experience spoilt by feeling a pressure to respond.

I write because I enjoy it. When I first started writing, I had no followers. It took me months to get 100 followers. It took almost a year to get to 1k and then I started over with a brand new blog. I wrote all 60k of A Fine Line by myself, with absolutely no one else reading it because I wanted to. I love getting comments from readers; I love hearing people's thoughts about the shit I write; I love this little community here... But that's what it is: community. This is not transactional! or at least, I don't want it to be! I am not writing fics as a service for which I am paid in reblogs. I am being a fan of BTS with other fans of BTS and we are making up little stories and imagining scenarios and having all kinds of fun with each other, whether you write or gif or edit or just consume. We're in this together!

I saw once, I don't remember where or when, a thing that said, if you are feeling miserable, do something nice for someone else and it will lift your mood. This is, in my experience, absolutely correct. Writers, if you are feeling miserable about your engagment, engage with others the way you want people to with you, write a review for someone else's fic that would make your day if you received it. We writers are all readers, too, and we are not exempt from these ~criticisms~ just because we write.

I am not trying to ~call anyone out~ or, in turn, criticise writers. I'm not. I understand. I do. But every time I see one of these posts, it upsets me, because if I were an active, engaged reader, it would make me feel bad. If I were a silent reader, it would make me feel bad. I don't ever want to make anyone feel bad for enjoying something. Readers don't owe us anything! If this issue is ruining the writing experience for you, it is on you to examine that; it is not the fault of your readers. If it means that you no longer enjoy writing, stop writing. Our time on earth is short and precious! Let's spend it, as much as we can, doing things we enjoy! Not doing things that make us miserable!

Fin.

[simpjaes]

adding to this cause i agree..

and you do all that FOR FREE AS WELL sometimes it's crazy to me to see how much you overwork yourselves writing stuff for a silly blog and you're getting nothing but some praises. i know it's something you enjoy doing but still, dealing with rude people, demands, weirdos, tmi's and HAVING to make time on your busy schedules to keep your writings updated :O i don't understand how readers can't respect writers when writers are literally the reason why they use this app like babe they're feeding you FOR FREE, thankful it's the least you should be

RETWEET.

i actually appreciate you so much for this :( it's def not a new conversation bc i think this has happened with me + every other writer i've been friends with here. there's a huge amount of entitlement with some people where we are expected to just take everything with a grain of salt, whether it's praise or not... and that's not very easy. it's also only human nature to focus on the negative, though i have stopped caring as much and do actively try to love on the people who love on me rather than focusing on....yknow....ppl treating me like a pornhub search bar ;o;

additionally, they expect us to constantly provide content while putting in so little effort themselves that not only will they not reblog, but they won't even read the warnings or author's notes then get mad after they ask a question, and you direct them to the answer they literally already had KJFHDSKJ

somehow all the effort goes into the demands and hateful comments, and it gets very tiring. i was a lil bit set off today with how people are treating my oomf tho. it's happened to me countless times but I cannot fucking stand when people start literally hating a writer simply because they know how to set their own boundaries and stopped caring if people like it or not lmfao....like......surprise!!!!ur the reason ppl get annoyed in the first place!!!! bc you put in no effort outside of demanding more from us!!!! then get mad when we tell you to stop asking and check our blog for once bc we've answered your question 4390850938593409 times already!!!!!

you kinda gotta be an asshole on tumblr sometimes. sure, people don't like it, but it's like.......why does everyone else get to be the asshole, but the ppl who are actually creating content aren't allowed to??? yknow??

IM YAPPING AGAIN SORRY ILYSM THANK YOU THANK YOU

[bulletproofscales]

Hey there, hope you’re well! Love your work, it’s amazing. Hope you don’t mind me asking, but was really interested in how you started writing BTS wg fics and which member of youe favourite to write about? always love your work and excited for whatever comes next :)

omg hiii!! ⸜( *ˊᵕˋ* )⸝ first of all, thank you soso much for the support?!!?!? it always makes me happy to see likes/reblogs/ao3 comments from blogs i recognize (ಥ﹏ಥ) and this ask,,, youre making my day.

i got inot a ramble so ill put one of these hehe sorry (ง ื▿ ื)ว

i dont mind the question at all!! even if i was a deep lurker in feedism communities of most of my fandoms. looking "chubby draco malfoy " into google images since 2012 (￣▽￣*)ゞ and later religiously following wg-writers of whatever fandom i migrated through. i would always send so many asks, and when i got into BTS i was older, and properly aware of what feedism was, and actively looking for it on tumblr. back then it was a handful of people with now deactivated blogs and @bangtanstummies (who as im writing this blog see has a deactivated blog as well :,) , i swear going through my dms is like going through a cementary) . i try to stay in touch with as many of the people now as i can!! but everyone will know im the suckiest at texts (@cookiesuga55 will know ) but id love to chat more and be more present

anyway back to the community in 2018, i really loved their stuff, and i felt like there was still room to add new ideas (which was hard in a fandom with as much fanficiton as BTS's) , thats what inspired to make my blog!! back then it was claled bangtangchub, and i didnt know how to activate my asks, bangtanstummies was the one to let me know and we even got into a discord all of us together!!! crazy times ( ◡‿◡ *) i remember being the oldest of the group👴 i was 15 at the time, some coudl argue it wasn't my place to be writing fetish fanfiction, maybe theyre right. but i found such a happy place in my fics. not only have i met some of my closest friends through here; (people ive met in real life!?!? ) but its helped me so much to find a safe place to explore my emotions, sexuality, and craft a hobby that was all my own. i dont think im that good of a writer, but i am really so proud of having stuck to something for so long, and having worked on it all by myself.

often times i feel like i lack the motivation to do anything with my life, and just all-around consider myself someone who lacks the strength and backbone to really do hard things. and i like to think of this blog, and my journey in it, as a place that proof i can... idk,, be good at things i worked hard on.

ANYWAY!! that was a long rant. As for the character i like writing the most about!! welli role play as jungkook almost daily! so i do feel a lot of myself in him. but i love writing all characters, over the years i really made an effort to not fall into a comfortable ship, because i really do think you could spin a wheel and whatever combination of bts members ahs their own unique loving dynamic.

as for things to come!! im working on a fic inspired by some art i saw recently by @gigichingado , jikook, im really liking how its turning out, and ofc because its me, its stretching out more and more in the build up ( _ _ ") . but i want it done over this week!! ps, i saw your obese tae requests, and i can definetly get something out after that (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

thank you for asking and giving me a place to rant!!

[angie-long-legs]

rp blog for angel dust from hazbin hotel

18+ | indie | selective | carrd

♡ performed by phoenix ♡

drafts: 17

queue: 6

inbox: 5

Rules Under Cut

AGE RESTRICTION

This blog is 18+: absolutely no exceptions. I will not RP with minors, nor will I allow minors to follow or interact due to the adult content portrayed on here. If your blog does not clearly state that you are an adult, you will be blocked.

BASICS

My blog is mutuals only and selective. Standard RP etiquette is expected. I don't do exclusives, but I do have mains. I am a slow writer, please be patient with me! I don't do passwords, but rest assured I have read your rules if I've followed you. No limit to the number of threads between us. OC friendly. Crossover friendly but will require major plotting to build a workable verse. I follow duplicates but likely will not interact IC unless it's crack. Currently high activity. Do not involve me in drama or discourse.

FORMAT + LITERACY

Multi-para/novella is my preference, but I am open to single para. One-liners are reserved for asks and crack. I don't expect length-matching - I have a tendency to write a lot and I don't want to overwhelm my partners. However, mutual effort is necessary. Not bothered by literacy skill, however, if your language or grammar make it so I cannot understand you then I won't be able to write with you.

MUN =/= MUSE

Angel Dust is not a "nice" character, to put it simply. He might not be kind to your muse, even if your muse is kind to him. I will always ask if I feel he is about to say anything particularly hurtful or get physically violent. Angel will also portray views or hold ignorance that does not align with what the mun thinks, believes, or understands. This is a work of fiction.

CONTENT WARNING

This is Angel Dust - dark topics and are going to be a common occurrence. Please be mindful of your own wellbeing and/or triggers. Sexual violence, physical violence, abuse, trauma, sex work, substance abuse and addiction are all big parts of Angel’s story, and while I will do my best to tag things accordingly, if this is likely to trigger you, I would advise not to follow.

TRIGGERS AND TAGGING

I tag common triggers such as abuse and violence, but if you need anything more specific tagged, let me know! The only non-standard trigger I ask be tagged if we are mutuals is animal cruelty.

I would suggest not following if you do not want suggestive content on your dash - I try to tag it but it's a struggle with this particular muse. However, I will always tag and censor NSFW and explicit content.

NSFW

NSFW content will be present! However, I won’t write smut unless we’ve been writing together for a while, and usually with some OOC discussion to get a feel for my partner’s ideas, preferences, and boundaries. All NSFW content will be tagged, and anything explicit will be under a cut.

SHIPPING

My main ship for Angel is Huskerdust. However, I ship based on chemistry, so if our muses develop a connection, I’m open to exploring this. I prefer this to be discussed OOC if it starts heading in that direction. And, obviously, Angel Dust is gay - I will be writing him as such.

ANGEL AND VALENTINO

I love writing Angel and Val and their dynamic is intrinsic to my portrayal, but I don’t consider my particular interpretation to be shipping. Writing characters who have a toxic and abusive relationship while also acknowledging love, sex and trauma bonding as a realistic part of that relationship is, in my opinion, a nuanced approach to take when portraying abuse. I enjoy exploring the dark aspects of their dynamic as well as the lighter and more comedic ones - and, consequently, all the horrible grey areas these contradictions create.

Do not involve me in shipping discourse.

SOFT LIMITS

I consider my soft limits to be topics or actions that require permission/prior discussion before implementing into a RP. Please ask me before including the following in any thread of ours: sexual assault, mentions of CSA, suicide, self-harm, one muse causing massive injury to another, or one muse killing another.

HARD LIMITS

These are topics that I will not touch. I will not write: Non-con/graphic descriptions of sexual violence, sexual or romantic interactions with a character who is a minor, incest, zoo, or m/f ships (last one is muse-specific, obviously).

BLOCKING

I only block for age restriction reasons, bad conduct, or for posting content I find triggering to ensure my own wellbeing. If I no longer want to interact with you, I will unfollow or soft block. If we have written before and I decide to unfollow, I will message beforehand. If you prefer to be blocked to avoid accidental re-following, let me know. I have no issue with anyone blocking me for whatever reason, curate your online space as you please! It's just my personal preference to be restrictive with my blocking habits.