#this goes for any other social media site (or at least tumblr and twitter) too

[blazehedgehog]

Putting this out there for y'all but I'm 99% sure this is a scam.

I'm wary about this kind of stuff since I've heard people run scams like this. Generally I don't blog about this kind of stuff, but if you follow me on Cohost or Twitter, you know I will sometimes retweet people in need -- but I never do it at random, I always try to make sure it is coming from someone I marginally trust or even know personally. Never strangers.

So when a "stranger" approaches me in my tumblr ask box, immediately I go about investigating.

This user's blog passes the first sniff test: a seemingly "real" avatar (not a default shape, not a stolen selfie), there's an actual blog description, and they even have some likes.

Red flag number one: This blog has only made six posts. I have post timestamps turned on, so I can see that all six posts were made on January 31st of this year. Nothing before that date, and nothing after that date.

Red flag number two: Five of those six posts are reblogs (generic animal memes). The only original blog is the pinned post about the supposed cat. No other pictures of the cat, no other pictures of the daughter, no other posts about lifestyle or interests in any shape or form.

Red flag number three: Though the blog has some likes, they only have seven likes, five of which are also the things they reblogged. One of which is someone publicly boosting their message about the supposed cat.

Red flag number four: Tumblr lets you view a blog's following list, so you can see who they follow. This user is following at least two obvious spambots (empty blog, default shape avatar).

Red flag number five: They don't even follow me. How did they find my blog? On what grounds do they think I'd be a good fit to boost their message? I do not signal boost charity on tumblr very often, as stated.

Red flag number six: Their pinned post mentions they "have a paypal" but they're gathering money through some obscure crowdfunding platform I've never heard of ("because gofundme takes too much money out.") I haven't clicked their link, but I did google the site name, and it's some sort of social media profile card service (like linktree) that also lets you raise money. The service lists high profile clients, most of which may as well be fake clip art images for all I know, outside of the Comedy Central logo. Not super trustworthy.

Red flag number seven: "Try to answer this ask privately." Why? Because it's obvious this is all super suspicious?

Nobody wants to be heartless, which is exactly what this message is built to prey upon. If this person's cat is real, my heart truly goes out to it, because I've lost many pets over the years. Some of which had their health decline so rapidly they literally died in my arms as we were rushing to the vet emergency room. I've been more emotionally wrecked by some pet deaths than people I knew.

So I don't want to inflict that on anyone.

But the red flags are overwhelming. This person is not to be trusted. Be on your guard with what you share, folks.

[unspeakablehorror]

Where To Find Me

Added: Sept 21, 2024

Updated: Sept 21, 2024

Just making a pinned post.

My Websites

Unspeakablehorror's Site - I'll be keeping copies of my fanfic here, recipes, assorted essays, and other things of interest to me here. I will also archive select works from others on this site (with the creator's permission).

New Old Web - This is my website where I talk about how the web is crashing and burning and think about how we can make it not crash and burn. I'm still building it up, but I hope I can add lots more thoughts here.

Main Social Media

I currently feel that I use Pillowfort the most and Dreamwidth the second most. Something my main social media sites both have in common? They don't take venture capital. They're also great for longform writing and conversations.

unspeakablehorror at Pillowfort - Like if Tumblr and LiveJournal had a baby. I love the way this site handles commenting, reblogs, post edits, and privacy. And I love the communities feature. I'm the mod of 3 different Star Wars comms on here: Andor, Sith Empire, and Star Wars-The Sacred Texts.

unspeakablehorror at Dreamwidth - LiveJournal but better. Interface is a bit retro but I absolutely love the tag cloud. Every social media should have tag clouds. Dreamwidth has so many customization features. Also this site has my favorite setup for privacy options. And I love the communities feature on here. I'm the mod of the Sith of Korriban comm here.

Secondary Social Media

unspeakablehorror at Mastodon (fandom.ink instance) - I am on Mastodon, too, the most popular type of Fediverse server. Mastodon is similar to Twitter with respect to the character count limitations, but uses a protocol for social media that allows accounts on different Fediverse servers to seamlessly interact with each other (as long as the server isn’t blocked for incompatible rules). It also incorporates the idea of decentralization in a very intriguing way and is entirely non-profit.

unspeakablehorror at cohost.org - Yeah, I'm here too. I don't currently use this account as much, but I do check the site from time to time and I've made a few posts here. I'd be here more often if any of my friends used this platform, but I don't prefer the interface, which is too much like Tumblr for my taste. Basically this is Tumblr if the interface wasn't total garbage, lol. I think I clash with some of the core principles of this site somewhat, and the only way to delete your page is by emailing the site owners, but at least it doesn't have ads or take venture capital. This site is what happens when some furries with coding and design skills are given a bunch of $$$ to make a social media site. $$$ ran out! As per the most recent financial update, Cohost is planning an imminent shut down. A switch to read-only mode is planned to start in October and deletion of the entire site is expected by the end of the year.

unspeakablehorror at goblin.band - like Tumblr but for the Fediverse. Just joined recently so we'll see how this goes!

[rookedonafeeling]

“The negative consequences of the takeover of media by children’s stories are, I think, in part an expression of what happens when people find themselves in spaces where they can egg each other on and deny the value of restraint. But this is really a story of smaller communities, and there the consequences are more personally severe. Not to again bash a network I used to use and frequently found useful, but Tumblr exemplifies the internet’s tendency to push people into more and more extreme versions of every position that’s popular within their subcultures. You can certainly see this in the competitive social justice posturing that went on to infect Twitter and the world, where the actual righteous purpose of increasing equality and justice became subservient to the demand to express that purpose in an arcane vocabulary and with performative conviction. But I think the fandom world is the purest expression of all of this: what Tumblr consistently does is to take people with normal, deep, passionate attachment to a given movie or show or musician, and transform that into a pathological and parasocial dependence. Tumblr takes people who daydream about the characters in their favorite shows and makes them people who cut themselves in order to contain their emotions about them. I’ve gotten really, really, really into the characters and stories in my favorite books, in my life, and I understand that the impulse is both beguiling and dangerous. All you can do is pull yourself back from it when you can tell you’re in too deep, when you can’t fall asleep at night. What Tumblr and similar communities do is to provide you with someone who will always tell you, “don’t pull back, keep going, go deeper.” The site is littered with people talking about how they have developed attachments to fictional characters that are actively harmful to their regular lives. This drives both their sense that they are truer fans than anyone else and also Tumblr’s business model.

You can see this sort of thing, not just at Tumblr but increasingly everywhere, in the positively violent emotional attachment “fandom” people have to their favorite pairings. They will assert the supremacy of a particular couple - often gleefully unrelated to the actual plot of the source material, like Harry Potter and Snape or whatever - and become incredibly animated when someone denies the legitimacy of that pairing or asserts the superiority of another. The pairing off of of characters unconnected in canon goes back a long way, to the original “slash” communities, and is not at all unhealthy in and of itself. These “one true pairings” are fun and healthy, so long as they’re kept in proper perspective, as all things must be. Similarly, there’s the constant tendency to declare that certain characters are “coded” as gay, or queer, or trans, or similar. This too is unobjectionable, if expressed as a provisional claim. But a lot of these fans don’t want any of this to be considered provisional. The pairing they advance is the right pairing. The character they think is gay is gay, no matter how much or how little evidence there is in the text. And they tend to become very upset if anyone suggests otherwise. In literary terms, a reading that two particular characters would be a great pairing, or that there are subtextual hints that they have a romantic or sexual connection, or that they’re queer, is no more or less valid than any other. But the least valid literary reading is always the one that insists that there are no other valid readings, and this is exactly what predominates in those spaces.”

[toshodai]

Archive update, 19 August 2023

Hello! There was a serialization's worth of time between the current series of updates and the last, wasn't it? A fair few things came up over the past couple months that took up the webmaster's attention, though they've calmed down enough for them to return to their efforts here with renewed vigor. Another stint of Izumi-san's twitter being open came and went in that time, for an even shorter time than last year's. As disappointing as the output might be, there's not as many things that need to be sorted through, so the webmaster is going to try to get everything that isn't too intensive to translate archived and organized by the end of the month. The queue of Izumi-san's past tweets has been filled for the Tuesdays and Thursdays through all of August and beyond, so there'll be a steady stream of posts for at least a little while.

Ah, but the webmaster has been using the wrong name for that other social media site, haven't they?

Aftzaak Archival Office was established on tumblr for two major reasons. One is that tumblr is already geared towards organization out of the box; a robust tagging system and an actual archive page are integrated into every single blog, making it easy for creators to curate posts into specific categories and users to narrow things down closely to what they're looking for. (A surprisingly long tail of engagement that can be extended independent of algorithmic influence also doesn't hurt, though popularity should be very low on the list of reasons anyone should like Magus of the Library for.)

On the flip side, reason number two is that twitter is awful for giving the vast majority of posts on its platform any real longevity, even moreso than the other major social media sites. This is, of course, by design—the strict text limits and ease of transmission were always intended for quick-fired thoughts instead of thought-out speech, evoke the same transience of moments in time as they pass, not persist over weeks, months, years.

Put like that, it's actually kind of baffling that Izumi-san would chose to make twitter the place to release all the extra goodies—especially for a series about libraries, bastions of reliability and informativity and longevity as they should be. But, career creatives have to go where their audience goes; and even outside of that rationale, Japan's online communities supposedly relied upon twitter even more than other cultures in the first place. You can tell from how much kana fills a search query for a certain feature or third party site after it's been disabled, like so...

Oh, wait. That's something the webmaster is lamenting, too...

If you never took to twitter or used it heavily, you might not know why folks are mourning the loss of a "Tweetdeck." Tweetdeck was a third-party-turned-officially-supported interface for using twitter, allowing users to take the default jumble of all one follows and divide it up into multiple feeds of pretty much whatever specific thing they wanted for each, be it a specific user or list of users or tweets with images or videos or text only tweets or whatever; all organized on a single, scrolling screen. This allowed people to focus on the exact feeds of content relevant to them, or view all the feeds they could ever want like a security camera room or a multi-monitor computer setup. It also took out all the advertisements without the need for adblock, which was a big, enticing cherry on top even if you didn't like the smaller viewports.

Many a devoted power tweeter would come to use twitter almost exclusively through Tweetdeck. The webmaster was not one of those people when it came to their personal use—but when it came to digging through the backlog of Izumi-san's catalog, Tweetdeck's streamlined column and faster loading times made it invaluable to quickly access all the extra Izumi-san has put out there.

And as of two days ago, August 18, access to Tweetdeck has been locked only to ""premium subscribers."" Quite possibly one of the last freely accessible ways of making twitter's interface more user friendly, gone.

This is just another mystifying (to say the least) decision made by the new, relatively-recently-minted owner of twitter, who will be referred to as the muskrat for the duration of this paragraph. Despite its numerous assurances to the contrary, the muskrat's decisions since taking ownership have consisted entirely of wholesale vandalism of just about everything twitter's most devoted users have found most useful about the site. The decision that most have likely heard of due to its sheer absurdity is an entire rebrand of an identity that had a nigh-perpetual foothold in the global cultural consciousness for over a decade. (This is why no one who has ever gained anything of genuine value from Twitter calls it X.)

There's no need for us to speculate over whatever motive could possibly be behind these decisions, as better writers than the webmaster have long since done so. But said conceitedness does have grave ramifications for anyone curious about Magus of the Library beyond the story put down on paper. The most obvious of these serves as the header for this post: anyone clicking the source link on any posts here will either be redirected to the login screen if they don't have an account, or be walled of by the lock on Izumi-san's account—and that's if any indication is given that the post exists at all.

It's unclear what, if anything Izumi-san will do as twitter grows more unstable. The site is surely hemorrhaging its population by the day as figures leave and their friends or audience follow them elsewhere. This is, of course, a big assumption—a fair few of the more affluent posters are still tweeting through the chaos until it finally consumes the site, and the footprint of its cultural hold will probably always be hard to sweep from people's minds. If a final scandal that drives enough people away or catastrophic crash that truly breaks the site doesn't happen first, we won't know until Izumi-san's account is opened again for volume 8's release next year.

But, rest assured! Just about everything Izumi-san has posted related to Magus has been uploaded to the public folder (if not completely organized still), and everything within there has been sequestered away on an external hard drive for further safekeeping. The webmaster also still does have access to Tweetdeck at the time of posting thanks to a workaround by an intrepid coder, so the archival work can continue uninterrupted...for now.

[lancecharleson]

Well well well...

This one goes out to all the tumblr influencers who helped much of this site’s userbase migrate to Twitter.

I have a lot of things to say that I know some of you don’t want to hear.

But before I do, I want you to know that I am fully aware that Apple's policies and Tumblr (circa 2018)'s irrational decision making is what resulted in The Tumblr Exodus of 2018 happening. What I want to talk about is how many of you with more clout than most were ready to flock, nail and rivet yourself to the birdapp, let complacency run it's course, and why there needs to be accountability from those who influenced the direction of the Exodus. So...

Congratulations! You ended up wasting so much of people's precious time, forcing them to rebuild their audience again on a platform that was doomed from the start to be taken over by genuinely godawful people (thanks largely to how the site's algorithm works). If I were you, I wouldn't plan on sticking around to see it get worse with Lonnie Muskrat at the helm, who's planning to allow all the cultists and bullies who were banned 2 years ago (for PR reasons and not the constant breaking of community guidelines) back onto the platform, who continue to pretend having no semblance of an ethical compass is the same thing as having a "differing opinion." But no, you keep insisting: "OH but there are people on there who can't afford to start over again!"

"OH but it's the place where everyone and everything is (no it's not)!"

"OH but the alternative sites you recommend aren't the jack of all trades social media sites that twitter is!"

"OH but there are extensions to help you block out all the horrible stuff and curate the site in a way that makes twitter a more """comfy""" experience!"

"OH but-

OH SO WHAT?

Some of us were telling you for YEARS since The 2018 Exodus to seek alternate sites that aren't like Twitter, or at least diversify to multiple sites and use your influence on the birdapp, to spread the word around to help people connect with each other (if you're reading this right now and you're someone who's done any or all of these things, then disregard this rant).

Yet you didn't want to listen.

You made ZERO effort to plan in the long term how to keep your social presence on the internet known by alternate means, just in case a catastrophe like the twitsla merger happened. You had MONTHS in advance to make a good head start on just that, and you chose to stick to that hellsite. 

I don't care what you say to convince me there is no alternative to Twitter, I am never going back.

This is the final straw. I've had enough.

I have always hated Twitter, ever since I moved there.

4 years of experience on there has resulted in far too many painful memories to count than good, and I’m not staying to make more.

The first year I spent on there wasn’t so bad, but then 2019 was the year when I was given a glimpse of just how awful that particular side of site’s userbase can be.

Beyond that though, the site is dogshit when it comes to elevating artists, it’s limited word format has destroyed attention spans, there is no way to sort or archive posts, it has a genuinely triggering trend feed designed in such a way to solely generate clicks, and it has a heavily biased algorithm that does not favor voices who genuinely want to be a powerful force for good in this world.

But worst of all, I am disgusted to even occupy the same space as the billionaire worshippers who laugh, circlejerk, and delight in their insatiable desire to destroy democracy, society and human life. Bullying and harassment from those bad actors has always been a big problem on Twitter, a problem that, believe it or not, was actually getting close to being solved by the site’s software engineering team, who’ve been pushing for algorithmic transparency and choice, and inventing and building ethical AI tooling and methodologies to deal with the problem. Too fucking bad that’s been thrown away by a multi-billionaire manchild, who has signalled loud and clear he intends to exacerbate that problem, as he’s fired the team, without notice no less, along with another notable team that is vital to ensuring hate speech isn’t normalized on the platform.

Those bastards are coming en mass to harass and dox all your friends who either come from marginalized backgrounds or don't have the same level of clout as you do, and I highly recommend you start instructing them on where to branch out and ensure them you have their backs every step of the way right now.

Despite what happened, communities on Tumblr continue to thrive, and while it's nice that the site’s company is more lax about artistic nudity in the same vein as DeviantArt (to whatever extent that is), I still wish they did more by, at the very least, doing what Discord did and only restrict access to the nasty stuff to Apple users only, rather than the scorch-the-earth approach they did 4 years ago. 

There's also places like Pillowfort, Cohost, and if you're an artist specifically there's sites like DA, Newgrounds and Itaku. There are many more sites that I’m probably missing that some people know about (and can recommend in the replies), but they exist. The key is to spread the word around and let your friends know where you are. 

There’s also the spiritual successor to Twitter coming soon called BlueSky, being developed by jack and all the former employees that muskrat fired, which began right as lonnie announced his intentions to colonize Twitter. But who knows how that’ll turn out. Whether or not they’ll also take onboard the HR team and the software engineers to continue working on their ethical algorithm and AI projects, remains to be seen.   

I can already see coming from a mile away all the people coming to tell me “All those sites are shit because of one or two flaws” or “Barely anyone goes there forehead, it’s a ghost town.”

What is stopping you from trying anyway?

You want to stay on Twitter so badly? Fine, more power to you. 

But I promise you moving shop is better than being on a social media site that is quickly becoming an amalgamation of everything wrong with Youtube, 4Chan and Facebook.

If you made it this far into the post, thank you for reading, and welcome back.

[screentones-webcomicresources]

Marketing your Webcomic on Social Media

So! You’re starting a webcomic and want to share it on social media! Good idea! But how?

The ins and outs of every platform shift and change, nobody has surefire answers, and not all of them are going to be right for you. But some specifics to keep in mind as you approach social media as a webcomic creator can go a long way.

Before you start: Can they read your comic?

Before you get started on any platform - have at least one chapter ready to read. A cold launch on your very first page with 0 followers will probably not go anywhere fast, unless it's an AMAZING first page that explodes everyone's brains instantly, which is rare. It's really good to give people a mini-story to chew on.

On the other hand, it can also be cool to show the PROCESS of starting the webcomic, even before it launches. Heck, some people make accounts solely for their webcomic OCs, and then make the story later. It mostly depends on how much of the behind-the-scenes process you're comfortable with sharing right from the get go.

Where to Post

The biggest platforms that webcomic creators are using right now are Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, TikTok, and deviantART (Facebook might still work for some folks as well, but we don’t have that experience.)

Talk about your comic on any or all of these places to begin with! But as time goes by, try and foster the ones that are most fun for you, and easiest for you to handle. You don't need to post everywhere all the time every day. If you're just on Twitter, great! If you're everywhere, great! It'll all depend on what you like and what you can personally handle.

Next, decide if you want to have your webcomic accounts be separate from your personal accounts. Some people open a whole other account on a site solely for comic news and updates - but not everyone does. Either way is valid!

How to get visibility:

There are many ways to start getting seen by others, so experiment with a lot of things!

Post in different formats depending on what each platform does best.

Show your process! People love sketches. People love seeing works in progress. People love seeing you film your screen and put it up on TikTok, like a window into your 'studio.' Embrace the messy stuff - not everything needs to be super polished!

Talk to people if you'd like to make connections. Genuine interest in their work and their process really does go a long way. That said, stick to appropriate spaces and don’t hound people who aren’t interested in talking to you!

Once you make some friends on these platforms - support them with fan art and comments and general good vibes! As always, your desire to make art or leave comments should come from a genuine place, but hey, if a fellow creator likes your art and shares it, that's already some visibility for your art style and your passion.

Reshare old content that you like after a while! People miss things all the time. If you like looking at a thing again, someone else might too. Share it again!

Also, don't let low engagement at the beginning get you down. It's not common for someone to come into a new platform and have everyone go OH MY GOSH, INSTANT FOLLOW on a massive scale. You have to be ok with very slow growth at first. Remember, you're connecting with only a few people at first, then those people will read your comic, tell a few friends, their friends will tell a few other friends, etc etc. The growth isn't always consistent, but it does get a little more exponential as time goes on, if you keep at it!

Events and discussions can also be an easy way to get visibility and make connections when you’re first starting out. Most of these apply to the art community in general, but you can totally include yourself if you're making a webcomic. Because your webcomic IS art! These sorts of activities include:

Art Share Threads - this applies both for regular art and for webcomics. Seek them out, especially on accounts with viewerships that mirror your own. Be smart about where you share (maybe don’t drop your fantasy comic in the middle of a cape comic thread) - but share as often as you're comfortable!

Weekly Comic Chats: These are events where creators can talk about the webcomic creation process. They basically cover everything, so if you're wearing a lot of hats for your webcomic, it's a good place to talk and to learn! The one that we all know best is @WebcomicChat on Twitter -  follow it and check out their weekly discussions!

Participate in MEMES! Either redrawing existing ones, or hopping on the bandwagons of those that pop up - seemingly overnight! It's an easy way for a potential reader to be like "ok, the vibe of this meme is giving me the vibe of the comic," which is a great 'in' for getting someone started or invested. Have fun with them!

Collaborate with a group! Zines, group pictures, and other group events can be great as well. If you're making a "webring" of friends and creators, it's cool to see those comics consolidated somehow. See what you can organize!  It's good to see people supporting each other - we like that, and we need more of it.

When to Post

Every social media site or app is going to have some sort of pattern for 'what time is best to post.' It's different for each one, and on some, it matters a ton, on others, it matters far less. Do some research into the peak hours of the service you're using. On Twitter, it's usually best to post around noon eastern time - when a lot of people are either just about to start work on the west coast, or just about to go to lunch on the east coast. It doesn't always apply, but there are absolutely DEAD ZONES during the day, where even the most beautiful posts go to die.

Hashtags

On Twitter, try to limit your hashtag usage - but using #webcomic or #webcomics can be helpful! On Instagram... go hog wild. On TikTok... you don't have unlimited hashtags, but you can still include a lot of them. In general - just look at what other similar creators are doing, and literally copy them on their hashtag use. Just do it. There's no shame. Steal the hashtags.

How to Behave on Social Media

How you put yourself out there not just as a comic, but as a person MAKING a comic should also be a big consideration in your approach. Ultimately, it'll come down to your comfort level, your personality, and how personal you want to be. A lot of it comes down to common sense - don't be a jerk to other people - but your mileage may vary on what kind of vibe you want to set.

While you can absolutely get an audience for being extremely opinionated and sassy (especially if your comic has strong messages), it definitely doesn't work for everyone and can often affect how people perceive your story. The best use of social media is always a genuine portrayal of your personality, but with a little dash of neutrality here and there, especially if you're using it for marketing.

Know how to control yourself and think before you post something controversial. We've absolutely seen people just completely lose it on main, and while that can be entertaining sometimes, in other cases, it can really blow things up in a way that can’t be undone and drain your energy and morale to deal with the aftermath. Having the control to be chill and professional in public and vent your spicy hot takes in private can be the difference between a great social media experience and a draining one.

Parasocial connections are also a common trap just starting out.  It’s great to get the word out in appropriate spaces, but stick to talking to people who want to be talked to, and DON'T DM strangers just because they have large follower counts, or put other on your mailing list without their consent.

Self-Care

Social media presence takes time, patience, and energy. It’s a great tool to grow your audience and make important connections with your peers, but you’re also likely going to be making posts that never get seen in the process of navigating algorithms and finding the places both you and your audience like to hang out. Use it as a tool and not a judgment on your work.  If you find it too consuming or unhealthy, use queueing/scheduling tools to give yourself space from each post or take breaks. No matter what, stay healthy.

[whileyoureinschoolidothisallday]

yuh hello I decided to pin an info post so let’s get into it

♥*♡∞:｡.｡ 𝔸𝔹𝕆𝕌𝕋 𝕄𝔼 ｡.｡:∞♡*♥

WELCOME! =D 

My name’s Arisa Cliché! You can call me Risa for short! This blog has been my humble corner of tumblr since 2010! I am a 30-something Adult, so if that makes you uncomfortable, don’t feel obligated to stay. 99% of the time this is a SFW blog tho, and any other rare discussions or fandom pics will be tagged as such. This is my personal blog and I typically fill it up with text posts about my life, reblogs, fandom content, human rights/political posts, aesthetic pics, and anything else I’m into! I consider myself a cripplepunk anarchist and those vibes will be present to the best of my ability in the social justice flavored takes I reblog or post. If you don’t like any of these things, I wouldn’t hit the follow button. Also, feel free to block me!

I’m a writer! I typically write original YA/NA Fantasy, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction, but I also dabble in Fanfiction and fan theories when the mood hits me. If you’d like to support my work, I post everything on AO3 and on my sideblog, Writing with Chaos. I’ve been writing a YA book called Cynical Chaos since I was 15, and if you wanna know more about it, or meet my precious OCs, click here!

Admittedly, I don’t post as much on tumblr as I used to. I’ve mostly migrated to twitter since the 2020 Purge, but I stick around here for a safe haven when things get a little too fast paced over there (and let’s be honest the memes are way better here ;p) and also to visit the communities I’m part of! I got a lot of side blogs and there’s many things I’d miss if I completely left. I’m afraid I’m here till this place burns. If you wanna follow me anywhere else, I’m @chaosonwheels23 on both Twitter and Instagram.

My ask box is always open and I love hearing from y’all so feel free to say hi! ^_^ The only rules I really have is if you try to start arguments with me about any of the ridiculous tumblr shit/harmful irl ideologies present on this site, such as terf/swerf beliefs, anti-blm or other racism, any radical feminist stances, exclusionism/gatekeeping of any kind, puritan behavior, ableism, or shipping discourse, I will simply block you without a response. I have absolutely zero interest in debating these things. I don’t vet much except to check if you’re a bot--so if I block you and you don’t fit any of the following, it’s cause your blog was empty or you had a sus name--but if I find out you are a terf, swerf, fash trash, rad fem, or you post l*licon, I will block on sight. I do not follow back unless we’ve had friendly interactions a decent amount of times. These rules apply to all social medias.

If you’re still here after all that, click the read more for a little more about me and tag suggestions! Feel free to also read the full tag list on the right!

I hope you have a good, safe day and thanks for stopping by! （＾－＾✿）

*°:⋆ₓₒ 𝔽𝕌ℕ 𝔽𝔸ℂ𝕋𝕊 ₓₒ⋆:°*  

Some small things about me that aren’t listed on my sidebar!  

-I’m Taurus Sun and Moon, Libra Rising, Aries Venus, Mars Cancer

-INFJ

-I graduated college (undergrad) in Fall 2019 with a BFA in Creative Writing. Eventually, I also want to go back and finish my BA in Gender and Women’s Studies so I can work in domestic violence counseling.

-I am the cutest Lolita on four wheels ;p I started wearing the fashion actively around 2017

-I have two pets: A GSD named Sahara and a black cat named Luna Rae

-The reason why I use a wheelchair is because of a neuromuscular degenerative disorder that I was born with

-I practice witchcraft and identify as a Pagan since 2013/2014. All talk about that goes over here. I like cottage and sea witchery, tarot, sigils, rootwork, and kinda gettin’ into astrology.

-I love to sing!!!!

*＊✿❀𝔽𝔸𝕍𝕆ℝ𝕀𝕋𝔼 𝕋ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔾𝕊 ❀✿＊*

✧･ﾟ 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓬

-Thrice

-ADTR (at least before the Incident...) 

-Underoath

-Paramore

-MCR

-All Time Low

-Kings of Leon

-Issues 

-Four Year Strong

-State Champs

-Homesafe

-Teenage Wrist

-Loathe

-Sleep Token

-Meet Me @ the Altar

-Fox Lake

-Marina and the Diamonds

-Lorde

-Rihanna 

-Beyoncé 

-Halsey

-Willow

-SZA

-Kesha

-Lil Nas X

-BTS

-Meg Thee Stallion

-Rico Nasty

-Tyler the Creator

-Kilo Kish

-Kendrick Lamar

-Childish Gambino

-Flo Milli

-JPEGMafia

-Jidenna

-Obviously my favorite genres are metalcore/post-hardcore/pop-punk and I identify the most with that, but clearly I listen to literally everything lmao

✧･ﾟ 𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓻𝓼

-Pink 

-Red

-Purple

-Silver

-Black 

✧･ﾟ 𝓥𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓸 𝓖𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓼

-JRPGS (Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, etc)

-RPGs (Bioshock, Fallout, Detroit: Become Human, Undertale)

-Platformers (Sonic, Jak and Daxter, Kirby, etc)

-Adventure (Pokemon, Zelda)

-Fighting/Beat ‘Em Ups (Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Scott Pilgrim)

-Action (Devil May Cry, Last of Us, Uncharted, Hades)

-Indie Horror/Psych Horror (Little Nightmares, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Doki Doki, OFF)

-Simulation/Survival (Don’t Starve, Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, Papers Please, Not Tonight)

-Dating Sims/Visual Novels (Obey Me, Mystic Messenger, Dream Daddy) 

-Dress-Up/Light-Hearted Games (Love Nikki, Rhythm Heaven, Cooking Mama)

✧･ﾟ 𝓐𝓷𝓲𝓶𝓮

-Sailor Moon

-Yu Yu Hakusho 

-Dragon Ball Z 

-Lucky Star 

-Princess Tutu 

-Little Witch Academia 

-Jujutsu Kaisen

-Link Click

-Demon Slayer

-Fire Force

-The Case Study of Vanitas

-My Hero Academia

-The Way of the Househusband  

-Full Metal Alchemist 

✧･ﾟ 𝓣𝓥

-Skins 

-That 70s Show 

-Living Single 

-The Magicians 

-Pose

-Gravity Falls 

-Over the Garden Wall

-Parks and Rec 

-The Good Place 

-Vampire Diaries 

✧･ﾟ 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓼

-Going Bovine

-Heir Apparent 

-Hunger Games 

-Wuthering Heights

-Practical Magic

-Hell Followed With Us

✧･ﾟ 𝓕𝓸𝓸𝓭, 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓽𝓼, & 𝓓𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓴𝓼

-Pasta

-Pizza

-French Fries

-Steak and Fried Potatoes 

-Most chicken dishes

-Curry

-Tempura

-Quesadillas

-Junk Food(TM)

-Seafood

-Fresh bread

-Cheesecake 

-Blueberry Muffins 

-Banana Bread

-Chocolate 

-Caramel 

-Lemon cake, bread, bars, etc

-Cookies

-Apple juice

-Hot cocoa

-Sparkling Grape Juice

-Strawberry Soda

✧･ﾟ 𝓐𝓷𝓲𝓶𝓪𝓵𝓼

-Elephants 

-Tigers

-Puffins

-Snakes

-Bunnies

-Foxes

-Fish

✧･ﾟ𝓐𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓼

-Punk/Cripplepunk

-Emo

-Nu-Goth

-Pastel Goth

-Glam/Baddie

-Lolita

-Kawaii

-Cottagecore

-Witch

-Dark Academia/Light Academia 

-Barbiecore

-Pixel Art

-Vaporwave

‧̍̊˙˚˙ᵕ꒳ᵕ˙˚˙ ℝ𝔼ℂ𝕆𝕄𝕄𝔼ℕ𝔻𝔼𝔻 𝕋𝔸𝔾𝕊 ˚˙ᵕ꒳ᵕ˙˚˙‧̍̊

° 𐐪𐑂 𝓓𝓪𝓲𝓵𝔂 𝓛𝓲𝓯𝓮

Real life with Risa - texts posts from me!

Ask box! - Y’all send me comments!

Helpful links - various websites and resources 

Helpful tips - tips for tons of different subjects 

Adulting - How to be Responsible 101

Things to remember 

Me - #relatable

° 𐐪𐑂 𝓢𝓸𝓬𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓙𝓾𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓮 

ORGANIZE - the main tag. Tips on self-sustainability, protest safety, links for charities and donations, general resources, etc

Disability rights - posts discussing ableism and how we can fight against it 

° 𐐪𐑂 𝓐𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓬

FOOD! GLORIOUS FOOD! - Foodie pics

Disabled Lolita - my Lolita fashion journey! Includes aesthetic pics and history about the fashion

Pretty pictures - main aesthetic tag

Pretty art - Art with no fandom tag

Pretty spaces - Aesthetic rooms

Pretty words -  Words I like (Not all of the words are happy, just a warning)

Aesthetic - various vibes

What a wonderful world -  Beautiful places and things on Earth

Music, playlists - Tunes, bruh

° 𐐪𐑂 𝓕𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓶

The Furry Scare of 2005 - Sonic

Bible Fanfiction - Obey Me! This is a 16+ tag for suggestive art! (see also: rad resources, demonic headcanons, RAD Library, and RAD Library: Restricted Section (that one is 18+ only please!!!!))

X-men but Anime - My Hero Academia. (See also: MY EXPLODEY SON for Bakugou, I C E Y H O T for Todoroki, The Pure Son for Midoriya, and The Evil One for Dabi (this one has nsfw fics and pics so 18+ only!!!)

POKEMON 

kny - Demon Slayer. See also my tag for the best skrunkly demon boy, gyuutarou simp hours (there are nsfw fics in here so this is an 18+ tag only please!!!)

Kpop Koolaid - BTS

gone to the underworld bbl - Hades

Stardew Valley - includes mod links!!!

Undertale - also includes Deltarune

Risa liveblogs

[martinijordan]

About:

You can call me Latte. I'm over 21, autistic, & Non Binary. I've been drawing since childhood & I am self taught. Please be aware there will be spicy things here and there. So, for that reason I consider this to be an 18+ blog. Minors please steer clear.

LINKS:

Gen Art / ( currently TVC/armand×lestat )

Boostle

Twitter

Instagram

Carrd

Commissions info

NSFW / 18+ ONLY (art)

Soriku

INPRNT

FAQ:

Please do not request me to draw Loustat. I focus mostly on Lestat×Armand. There are PLENTY of other artists that draw Loustat and its a popular enough ship, so I'm sure you can find plenty of art of it. The same really goes for Lestat × Louis × Armand as a trio. I'm not into it, so I won't draw it.

I draw devil's minion art indirectly or sparingly. I thought it was cute so I do engage every now and then but I rarely draw overtly shippy art unless I feel like it.

I don't have any intention to draw show versions of the characters on my own, but you are free to commission me to draw those versions.

However, if If you commission me, you are allowed to ask me for ships I dont draw and for show versions.

I am a proshipper. You ship something I don't? That's cool with me. Even the ships I mentioned earlier I don't draw are 100% fine with me. I won't berate anyone over it (I just ask you not to urge me to draw it.) But since I notice this happening lately, I just have to say: if you have "proshippers DNI" and follow me anyway, thats on you. Just know I already noticed you here, haha.

You are allowed to use my art as profile pictures on tumblr or other social media sites so long as there is proper credit. I know Discord is harder to attach credit, but feel free to use my art as a pfp there, too. I just honestly ask for credit where possible.

Please do not repost my art. If you want me to post a piece on instagram, facebook or twitter, that I haven't already, please let me know. The same goes for INPRNT.

Feel free to send requests. I wont promise I will do everything, I am selective so I may decline things if they are not something I'm into. But I do try to get to most things with various levels of completion to them. Requests OPEN

I try to post at least once a week or every other day, but I do take weekends off from posting. If you notice I'm quiet during those days, that's why. If I'm on hiatus, it may take longer for me to post, but I do check this blog daily, so if you message me or send an ask, I will see it.

Sometimes artblock does hit and it can last a week or more. But I'm not completely gone, I promise!

Feel free to send me asks!

[monkberries]

So here goes: Personally I find Paul to be hot with a beard. But it annoys me because there’s always some Paul stan who’s like “he was super depressed during that time you know” anytime someone says how hot he looks with a beard. Like first of all, I don’t think we should go around diagnosing people and assuming how he felt 24/7 just based on a couple of quotes when we don’t know him, and second of all I was just saying he looks good. Also idk why Paul stans want to pretend like Paul is STILL a victim when he’s definitely not. He’s a super successful billionaire musician. He’s fine.

I'm going to assume all four of these were from the same anon; I received another along these same lines that seems to be from someone else:

OKAY. There's a lot here.

As I've said before, I think the concept you are both talking about - that Paul is the favourite, that people will attack you if you criticize him, that people are vilifying John more now - is true, but is also a matter of perspective. I think sometimes we perceive the whole fandom as just the people we're surrounded by; that can be true in smaller fandoms, like for obscure shows or whatever, but for the Beatles, the fandom is so much bigger and more spread out across generations, social media platforms, and works of literature than almost any other fandom. There are literally thousands upon thousands of books either about or tangentially about the Beatles; there are pockets on every platform from tumblr to twitter to podcasts to instagram to facebook etc., and it branches off even more niche within those to like, facebook groups specifically for podcasts about the Beatles, or discord servers, or livejournal threads, or music forums, or fics on ao3. There are fansites with thoughtful speculative articles like heydullblog and blogs specifically reviewing Beatle books like beatlebioreview and sites cataloging every bit of minutiae like the Beatles Bible, all with their own flavor of comment sections. And not only that, the Beatles fandom spans generations and cultures in a way that almost nothing else ever has or ever will.

And this is not even going into the shifting narratives that have been in play over the years surrounding Paul specifically, and the huge, huge difference between the perceptions of him by the authors and the Counterculture People, the perceptions of him by regular ass Wings fans who have only idly flipped through Rolling Stone while waiting in line at the local bodega, and the perceptions of him by everyone in between, who may or may not have been unconsciously influenced by the wider narratives about him.

All that is to make the case that the fandom that you are experiencing on tumblr/twitter is an extremely small fraction of The Fandom at large. For every Paul stan on twitter that yells at people for not believing that Paul literally invented music, there is a John stan in a facebook group going on about John's supposedly tireless peace efforts. For every nuanced, well sourced post on amoralto's blog, there is someone in the Beatles Bible comment section saying that John and Paul hated each other. For every fan who's read the major Beatles bios with a critical eye towards bias, there are plenty more fans who just absorbed them as straight fact. This is not to say that your experiences are not real or valid! They absolutely are! What I am saying is that there are infinite permutations of infinite Beatles fandoms out there, and the people you see who insist that Paul is still treated worse than John, I would imagine, are occupying various permutations of the fandom where that is more true, alongside the one they share with you. It's not for me to say whether the Paul or John people have the upper hand on the whole - truly, I don't think anyone has enough perspective on the whole fandom to make any judgment on that, no matter what general Grand Pronouncements anyone may make about The Fandom.

As I've said before, any overly defensive "stan" behavior, whether it's for John or Paul or George or anyone, is exhausting to me, so I definitely understand where you're coming from re: him being supposedly underrated. He is literally one of the most successful musicians of all time; as of the beginning of this year, he is worth 1.2 billion dollars; and, thanks to his own efforts and the efforts of quite a few fans and writers out there over the decades, he now enjoys an incredibly positive "granddude" reputation. There are ways in which it can be exasperating to read yet another indignant refutation of music reviews for RAM that came out fifty years ago, when his last three albums have hit the top 3 in the charts in both the US and the UK and have gotten great reviews. I have seen people wonder, honestly wonder, how much more money Paul could have made, how much more respected he could have been, if the rock press had been inclined to give RAM good reviews. When I see that, it does start to feel like fans of Paul, at least the defensive ones in the fandom permutations I occupy, are arguing with the author photo of Philip Norman in the book jacket for Shout!. It's not that I think those arguments and discussions are not worth having; I do think they're worth having because I believe that the only way we can continue to grow is if we grapple with the mistakes made in the past. But there is a strange kind of disconnect that happens when you read about someone indignantly defending Wild Life as though the members of Wings are currently, actively having eggs and rotten fruit thrown at them, and then you remember that Paul is currently, and has been for many years now, one of the richest men in the entire world.

As for the misogyny thing, I'll copy and paste a quote from Erin Weber which may explain a little better than I can:

"Where it starts entering into serious discussion for me is when you have professional grown men (Schaffner would be the most glaring example of this, but not the only one) repeatedly using the term “pretty” or “pretty-faced” to refer to another grown man. (Norman does the same). Schaffner doesn’t only do that once or twice, he uses one of those exact words at least fifteen times in his references to McCartney. “Pretty-boy” is also a term that at least one journalist has used to describe Paul, and that’s not a stealth insult: that’s an overt one. (My husband, who hates the Yankees, routinely used the term “pretty-boy” to insult Alex Rodriguez. And it wasn’t meant as a compliment).

My reaction to this is based both on studies that I’m aware of (I’d have to hunt them up, but I’ve seen them referenced before) which argue that the use of feminized language can be a method of stealth insult/diminishment when used by men to describe other men, and my own personal experience. It is difficult to see a situation where a grown man using the term “pretty” or any variation of the word “pretty” to describe another grown man means it as a compliment. Even if its purely meant as a descriptive term, it is a descriptive term that is weighted with significant meaning and is feminizing. And given the rock press’s obsession with masculinity and its insistence, as noted in other studies, of using masculine terms to portray a song as good and feminizing terms to describe them as weak or inferior, I don’t think its a coincidence that a rock press that knew well the power of masculine and feminine language commonly used feminized language, particularly in the 1970s and 80s, to describe McCartney."

I personally see this more as pseudo-homophobic than pseudo-misogynistic (like, when I see a man called "pretty" by another man in an insulting way, I immediately think "oh, that author wanted to say a gay slur but he's too Professional"), but the two things can get muddled together, I suppose.

Anyway, actionable items:

Diversify Your Fan Experience. More perspectives can really help gain a fuller understanding of not just the fandom but the Beatles themselves. Don't be afraid to be wrong, and don't be afraid to be right; always be open to learning new things and hearing new insights.

If All Else Fails, Block 'Em.

[fattlestacks]

(Just gonna answer this way ‘cause it might run long and Tumblr’s reply system suuuuuckssss... also [redacted artist name] ‘cause I don’t need to bring another artist into my bum out session, haha)

Thanks. :) You’ve always been very supportive of my work and I really appreciate it! Especially on days like this. I don’t know if you’d wanna be named so I left your name off the comments.

As far as my activity goes... my output is probably my best selling point... I do try to do at least one drawing every day which is a good amount, I think. It doesn’t always work out that way, but that’s the aim.

As far as the Tumblr purge goes, it seems irrelevant to my experience. Yes, traffic has slowed down some and things have been harder to find/search for but like I said, this has been my experience for many years, long before the Tumblr purge happened. I also follow a good number of chubby kink artists here and from my observations, they have no problem getting 300-1000+ likes on their artwork so... Even many of the artists I have as mutuals, I share their artwork, they share other peoples’ artwork, they never share mine. I don’t really know what to make of that other than it’s not Tumblr... it’s me.

Same with Twitter. We all moved over there at the same time, all of us started fresh over there and most of the chubby kink artists I know/follow there have double to triple the amount of followers that I do now and have no issues getting huge amounts of like/retweets on their work. I don’t know what to make of that either other than, you know... it’s me. 

And this isn’t exclusive to artists who draw super sizes (though yes, those artists will always be more popular in the community than someone who draws realistic or small chubby kink sizes) the majority of chubby kink artists I follow draw smaller sizes. Not all of them of course, but most of them. That is what I seek out after all...

My experience with DA was much of the same, I’m afraid. I never had a huge following there either, despite that being the site I was on for the longest. My work wasn’t very popular, I struggled just as much for any sort of attention there as I have everywhere else. But a lot of what chased me away from DA (other than for whatever reason their site always made my art look grainy and awful) was just that it seemed like the chubby kink community there, while active had started to emphasize way more on like huge farting blobs and such (which like, if that’s your thing, no shade. It’s just not for me). Every day on DA was just another sweaty farting blob in my inbox after another and it got to be too much. I very rarely see that on Tumblr or Twitter. 

I don’t really know what to do about any of this, other than feel bad about it and keep chugging along I guess. I know I need to just come to terms with the fact that I will never really be a popular artist. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing... being relatively obscure is probably a blessing when it comes to social media. I’ve seen enough popular artists being harassed and it’s definitely no fun.

Still... I do wish the other chubby kink artists wanted to be my friends, haha. At the very least. But they all don’t seem to like me for whatever reason.

[terubakudan]

Hi! Um, small long-ish update I guess:

I took a small break from social media for a while simply because my mental health needed it ^^" That and I needed to take the local CPA exam here, which in all honesty I'm not expecting to pass but even trying is enough for me.

I do apologize for all the anonymous asks that I clogged the GazettE tag with which was unnecessary. Though to be honest I could have seriously used some help at that time, I'd like to think I'm a strong person but even getting messages like that...well, even the strongest people can break. I think it's fair to say that I was unfairly ganged up on.

While some good points were raised, my opinion on fan fiction still holds, heck, I don't even write fan fiction but I've been on the internet long enough to see how many good writers there are, writers who mind you, put their heart into their work and publish it for free for all to see, the same goes for artists and other people who make any form of fan content, whether they do it for profit or not, they deserve all the kudos in the world. I know this has probably been said so many times but it deserves to be said and said again because people often forget to appreciate them.

My point is-please always remember to treat people with kindness, and show proper appreciation when due, those always go a long way. I know the Internet and social media is a largely anonymous place, but that doesn't mean that you get to be rude to other users, there are living, breathing human beings behind that screen, behind each username, which I think we all too often forget. I know it's much easier to ignore and forget, but please, please please don't do that because it's easy, be kind to others because it's the right thing to do, and if someone like me who isn't very socially savvy can do that, so can you.

You don't have to like everybody, nor strive to be liked by everybody, nor do you have to agree or disagree with everyone, that's outright impossible. And that the world would be a very boring place if everyone thought the same or liked the same things. But at the very least, show some respect. That really goes a long way.

I want to say a huge thank you as well to everyone who stood by me, who interacted with this blog in any form, like, seriously, it really makes me happy that you guys could get some sort of joy out of this weirdass blog xD I'd like to tag some of you, but I'm wayyyy too shy to do that and um, you guys know who you are ^^

Also-

I'll be starting work this Wednesday!

Which basically means I'll be less available from then on xD

I'm still going to keep this blog open and hopefully update it so and then, and of course I'll reply to any messages I get, but I really can't guarantee what my future work hours are going to be like (it's a regular 9-5-ish job but that employer is notorious for employee overtime).

You may also see me lurking around on this site xD

Basically, I'll still be on Tumblr, just less often. I love it too much to leave, I've met some really awesome people on this site, and I think it's still the go-to site for when you want to interact with any fandom. Way better than Twitter! I feel you can't have meaningful conversations on Twitter xD Yeah Tumblr is a hellsite, but a hellsite~(please picture it that I said that affectionately xD)

One last thing, I encourage anyone to take a "social media break" once in a while or when needed, it really does wonders for your mind.

[purplesurveys]

1278

Social Media Survey

[joybucket]

What is your favorite social media site?  Either Twitter or YouTube, though I never use YouTube as a social media site per se so I guess this round goes to Twitter.

Do you use...

facebook? myspace? twitter? snapchat? instagram? youtube? pinterest? bzoink? another site with message boards? tumblr? deviantart? xanga?

Facebook

Do you get on Facebook every day?  Yeah pretty much all throughout the day. I used to never use it, like never ever; but back in college all announcements were coursed through Facebook so I was technically required to be on it regularly, and it was from there that I began to see memes and start to be more active. I’m a shitposter more than anything though and I rarely ever post stuff of my own. How many FB friends do you have?  I have 679 at the moment but I want to get rid of like 500 of them; it’s just such a long list to go through so I never get to proceed with my unfriending spree lol.

Have you ever been on a deleting spree?  HAHA I just mentioned that. I’ve always wanted to, but like I said 679 is already such an exhaustive list for me, and that’s considering I only started touching my Facebook in like 2019. I can’t imagine people who started Facebook in like 2009 and have 4000 friends aka most people I know.

Have you blocked a lot of haters?  I don’t have haters; at least I’m not aware of any that I have. Not that it’s something I care about at this point.

Do you get bullied online a lot?  No, but that’s also because I don’t really open the channels for people to send in hate. I don’t have Q&A handles like Curious Cat and I never pick out that option in Instagram where people can send in questions.

What's your favorite Facebook app?  Oh I never use Facebook for their apps. Are those still even a thing...? Anyway, I mainly go there to be on the hunt for stupid memes I can reshare or to watch videos that are either funny or informative.

Are you a fan of selfies?  I don’t mind if other people do it, but I think I’m honestly bad at selfies so I almost never take them. I’ve never figured out my angles or what filters look ok on me.

Has anyone ever called the police on you because they didn't like your status?  No but I have had my posts reported because they were deemed ‘offensive.’ Which is weird because my posts that have been taken down are those that speak out against disgusting men, which says a lot about Facebook runs their shit more than anything else.

Are you in any facebook groups?  I’m in nearly a hundred groups, both private i.e. for school purposes, and public.

Are you the admin of any groups?  Nah. Too much time and effort needed out of me.

Do you report abuse to group admins whenever you see it?  Yes. I report the post then leave the group.

What could make Facebook better?  They could put more effort into detecting and banning troll farms.

What year did you start using Facebook?  I made an account in 2012 because of a high school class that required us to upload this specific video-format homework onto Facebook (which in hindsight is such an insensitive homework considering that was nearly a decade ago when the Philippines was still severely behind in internet connection speeds?? Ugh). But I didn’t start actively using my account until around two years ago.

What is your current profile picture of?  Myself, posing in front of the sunflowers in school during the recent graduation season.

Did you like the old Myspace better than Facebook?  I was never a regular user of Myspace, so...

Pinterest

What are some of your favorite boards?  I’ve never had a clue what the purpose of Pinterest was. I mean I have an account...but I’ve also never gotten the hang of it?? so I never touch it hahaha.

Have you ever done a craft you saw on Pinterest?  Well no, because I’m terrible at arts and crafts anyway.

Do you have a Dream Wedding board? If so, what's on it?  No.

If you have a Dream House board, what does your dream house look like?  Ok fine this one I did start hahahah but I don’t even remember what I added on there anymore. I’m sure it was filled with modern-style houses with minimalist interior design.

Do you wish they'd bring the "like" button back?  I’m not even aware of this option.

Do you have a Bucket List board?  Not aware of this either.

Which do you like better: Just Girly Things or And That's Who I Am? The second one sounds less childish. < Same, and it sounds like it covers more.

Do you have a board for tattoos you like? If so, what are some of your faves?  No. The only one I ever made was the house one, then Pinterest quickly became boring from there when I realized there wasn’t much else I could do besides making mood boards.

Do you have a "Random" or "Miscellaneous" board?  No.

Have you ever reached the maximum number of boards?  No.

Do you have any secret boards?  No.

Have you ever had a Pin deleted because of copyright laws?  No.

Do you have a Color board? No.

Do you have an About Me board? If so, what's on it? No.

YouTube

Do you have a YouTube channel? If so, what is it?  Technically I do but I only have it so I can tailor video suggestions to my interests and so that I can like videos and subscribe to channels I like.

What kind of things do you post on YouTube?  I’ve never posted any video on there, not even private ones. I’m also not the type to comment.

What do you like to watch on YouTube?  These days YouTube serves as a stress reliever for me, which is to say I would typically go for humorous BTS-related compilations because there are sooooo many hilarious channels that make these great videos haha. Occasionally I’d go back to channels or series that I used to frequent, like Good Mythical Morning, Buzzfeed’s Worth It and Unsolved, Try Guys, Watcher, etc. 

Are you subscribed to any channels?  To so many.

Do you watch any vlogs? If so, what ones are your favorite?  Hm probably Jiwoo’s, though her channel is called Mejiwoo. I find her content calming and conversational and basically fun to binge-watch when I’m not looking for anything super super particular to watch.

If you have a channel, how many subscribers do you have?  0. I’m just a lurker.

Will you subscribe to my channel? (msg me if you want a link!)  Only if it’s really fit to my interests, I guess.

Do you watch music videos?  Rarely; not a fan of MVs in particular. I only really ever put an exception for BTS.

Have you ever watched a TV show on youtube?  Well no since their copyright team works hard and works fast lol. I do watch entire video game walkthroughs from time to time.

Have you ever worked out to exercise videos on youtube?  No, I can’t care less about working out tbh.

Have you watched Amanda Todd's famous video?  No. I’m scared that it might be too upsetting or triggering for me.

Have you ever looked up how to do something on YouTube?  Not really, I prefer looking up articles that can teach me step by step in words.

Do you get a lot of hate comments on youtube?  No, I’ve never posted anything on there.

How long have you been a youtuber?  Never been.

Instagram

Do you post on Instagram a lot?  I do 1-3 Instagram stories in a week, I would say. As for posts, I only have 4 in total and I don’t really feel the pressure to add more. I just post when I feel the want to.

Have you ever posted a poll on instagram?  Nah, I’m not too sure if anyone would participate so I’ve never tried. If you don't have an iPhone, do you wish you could use Instagram?  I’m pretty sure other operating systems can also use Instagram...

Do you have any followers?  Around 50, I think.

Do you like Instagram filters? I’ll use them sometimes to make my stories appear prettier.

Twitter

Do you think twitter is stupid? Hehe show me at least one person who doesn’t think so. < Coming from someone who regularly uses Twitter, agree. It is crazy stupid but stupid is what I’m there for. Which is honestly not always such a bad thing to me - I like that people are more themselves, more stripped-down, vulnerable on Twitter. People always seem to want to show off their best selves on Facebook and Instagram, so I’m actually kind of grateful that there is at least one social media out there where people can just be their clumsy, goofy selves.

How often do you tweet?  Probably a maximum of five a day. Nowadays I’m on there mostly to just scroll through my timelines.

Do you get on twitter every day?  Yes, both on my personal and fan account.

Bzoink

Do you make a lot of surveys?  I never make them but I try to take them as often as I can.

Do you take a lot of surveys?  Haha sorry, was one step ahead of you. Yeah, I do.

Do you post in the message boards?  Nah. I dunno if I’m even permitted to check the message boards on Bzoink considering I don’t have an account.

What types of surveys are your favorite?  Categorized surveys like this one or countdown ones can be fun, but at the end of the day I like sticking to the classic random survey.

Do you have friends on here?  Not on Bzoink, but here on Tumblr yes! There’s a number of people here I like keeping up with :)

Do you post all your secrets on here?  Again, not on Bzoink; but yep I share pretty much everything here.

What type of survey do you think I should make next?  Anything but basic/about me-themed ones that will ask for my name and eye color and weight.

Do you read peoples' answers to your surveys?  I’ve never made a survey.

Do you think you are good at making surveys? 

Do you try to make unique surveys?

What type of surveys do you want to see more of?

Random

This or That

Scattergories

Have You Ever

Are you like me?

About You

Personal, Deep Questions

Girly

Music shuffle

Would You Rather

Do you have this in your bedroom?

Long

Short

All About Your Crush

Fashion

Make-up

School

Music

Your health

Your friends

Confessions

Girl Confessions - how different is this from just confessions? Hahaha

R-Rated

Controversial topics

Myspace

Did you have a myspace when you were in high school?  I started an account in like 4th grade when Myspace was ~big, but I didn’t find it fun and everyone my age was on Friendster anyway, so I was largely inactive.

Do you use myspace now?  No. Is it still even around? I have no clue.

Do you miss bulletins? I didn’t get to join in on the fun so there’s nothing to miss.

Did you like customizing your profile with the old myspace?  Not attributed to Myspace but I did have a lot of fun customizing my Multiply and Tumblr accounts back in the day. That was a period where I really got to learn and play around with HTML :)

Did you have music on your profile?  Not on Myspace again but I did on Multiply! I had a cute little playlist that played the songs immediately as soon as you landed on my page hahaha.

Did you learn HTML when you used Myspace?  Tumblr, yeah. I believe the skills are still there but I’ll definitely be a bit rusty.

Did you have a customized cursor?  Oh, no. Wasn’t a fan of those as I found them a bit tacky.

Did you use glitter graphics?  Also found those tacky haha no, I never used those.

Do you remember posting glitter graphics on friends' pages?  Nope.

Did you make "dolls"?  I don’t recall ever making those.

Did you use photo captions?  Not sure what this is referring to so let’s just say no.

Did you have a photo slideshow on your profile?  Hmmm nope, I don’t think so.

Xanga

Did you have a Xanga account back in the day?  No. It wasn’t big here so I had never heard of it until I started taking surveys on here and heard people mentioning Xanga, actually.

Do you have a xanga account now?  No.

Did you post photos and quotes on your xanga page?  I never had any.

Snapchat

Do you use snapchat?  I did; I was superrrrr active on there for a time. It kind of just got old at one point, though, and my feed got more and more dead until I too just left my account dormant altogether.

What is your favorite filter?  There were a lot of cute ones on there that helped me be more confident with taking selfies but my favorites have to be the dog and flower crown ones.

Tumblr

Do you understand Tumblr?  I had a better handle of it when I ran a fan account that required me to be more active; but now that I really just go on here to take surveys I just use the basic functions and nothing more. But yeah, I understand just enough to get by.

Do you use Tumblr?  Yeah. Even on the days I don’t post surveys, I regularly go on here to keep up with friends I like keeping up with like Elisabeth, Lane, Steph, Lina, Julie :)

Other

What forum sites did you use to love that aren't around anymore?  There was one message board I frequented for this girly/tween magazine I used to collect, but I won’t share the name.

Are there any other great social media sites that you recommend?  I think this survey was able to cover all the main ones I use.

Do you use a photo editing site? If so, what?  I use apps instead of sites to edit my photos.

Do you ever use BeFunky.com?  Nope.

Do you use a video editing site? If so, what?  Nah, I rarely have to edit videos in a super intricate, detailed way. Apple’s video editing features suffice for me.

Have you ever downloaded fonts?  Very occasionally since it’s never necessary.

Have you ever used photobucket to upload an image?  No but I remember going on there back in the day to look for images. I never uploaded any, though.

Do you use iTunes?  Not anymore. I have an account on Spotify now.

Do you listen to music on Pandora?  No, never used it.

[smilestudy]

Hello! Now that most of us are home with not much to do, I thought I’d share a process that might help you stay productive and organised.

What is a digital cleanse? A digital cleanse (to me anyway) is the digital version of spring cleaning. This is the time to make sure your devices are tidy and organised. I have separated this post into four different areas to tackle while completing a digital cleanse.

I will most likely make a more in-depth post on this aspect very soon as I believe it is super important to keep your computer clean, especially as a student.

Folders are your best friend!

Organise all the items on your computer desktop into appropriate folders.

I suggest at least creating a general folder for school and then creating subfolders for each class.

Do I really need this?

You’ve probably dragged and dropped a lot of random images or downloads onto your desktop that you just never opened.

Go through every item on your desktop and either delete it or finding it a spot in a folder.

If you’re indecisive on where it goes or if you want to delete it, create a “misc” folder to throw all the random items.

Trash and Finder Applications

Sort through the trash bin icon and ensure that everything in there is okay to be deleted and then click “empty!”

I am not sure what the equivalent to this is on non-Mac computers but go through the Finder application, especially the applications and downloads, and delete anything you no longer need or use

Your computer browser is frequently overlooked when cleaning up your computer. Which is a shame because it’s where most of us spend most of our time while on our computer!

Bookmarks Bar:

If you’re like me, you constantly bookmark sites and then never go back to them again

First, go to your bookmark manager and immediately delete links that you have zero interest in returning to.

Then, separate the remaining links into different categories and create folders for each.

Some folder ideas: “sources” (for when you’re writing academic essays), “google drive” (for those that use docs, slides, sheets, etc), “articles to read”, “wishlist” (i have my wishlist folder separated into further subfolders for “books” and “clothes”), “recipes”, “things to do” (for any museums, shows, experiences you want to check out in your city)

Make sure to have your email and any school websites on your bookmarks bar. I also like to have Wikipedia saved there too as I’m always reading about something there.

Little tip: Avoid keeping social media websites on your bookmarks bar to avoid distractions. Instead, create a folder titled “Social Media” to keep on your bookmarks bar just so those sneaky Tumblr and YouTube logos aren’t tempting you but you still have easy access!

Extensions:

Uninstall any extensions that you no longer use

While you’re at it, install some helpful extensions!

My favourite extensions (for Chrome) are:

Honey: Automatically applies coupons when you shop online

Grammarly: Helps fix any spelling or grammar mistakes

YouTube Blocker: Allows you to block any creators or keywords from showing up on your homepage or the recommended sidebar

This one is fairly self-explanatory and I’m pretty sure most of us clean out our social media profiles periodically. I will list some additional places to tidy up in addition to the obvious ones.

Unfollow people on all platforms that no longer make you happy or that you are just no longer interested in

Clean out Tumblr and Twitter drafts + saved posts on Instagram and Facebook

Delete posts that you are no longer happy with or proud of having on your social media accounts

Check out your muted lists on various platforms and go ahead and unfollow them

Clean out, edit, or delete Pinterest boards, YouTube lists (especially the Watch Later list), and Spotify playlists. 

Delete any books you are no longer interested in reading on Goodreads

Delete any shows or movies you are no longer interested in on Netflix

Edit, add to, or delete wish lists on shopping websites

This is another self-explanatory one and a place that many of us already clean up occasionally as well. Here are my suggestions on how to tidy up and organise your phone:

Delete any apps you no longer use, distract you too much, or that you never even opened

Tip: Use the screen time feature on your phone to see what apps you spend the most time on to help you with this

I do recommend keeping some games on your phone that can be played on airplane mode to keep you busy while commuting, such as Sudoku, any word games, Tiny Wings, etc.

Clean out your Safari tabs

I personally tend to have a million tabs open on Safari that I literally never go back to

Exit out of anything you no longer need and consider transferring any links to your bookmarks bar on your computer

Clean out your Photos app

Idea: create folders for individual people in your life. For example, have a folder titled your friend’s or significant other’s name and put all your photos with/of them in there.

I am clearly a big fan of folders so here are some more folder recommendations: separate folders for each city you’ve visited, folders for specific dates or events, folders for your pets, or how about a meme folder? 

Make sure to “heart” or favourite photos you look at often for easy access. I keep a photo of my timetable, a bus schedule, and the campus map in my favourites album.

Clean out your Notes app:

I know most people’s notes app is filled with the most random things ever.

Delete anything that just makes no sense or that you no longer need.

Consider merging different notes if you’re like me and keep a lot of login information, passcodes, security questions, etc in there. Just put them all in one note.

Other tips:

If you really have the time, delete any contacts for people that you really don’t think you’ll ever contact again. 

Try out a different organisation system for your apps for a change

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for reading my post and I hope you took something from it. If you have any questions, feel free to send me an ask! You are more than welcome to add any additional tips or suggestions when reblogging or in the replies.

| Send me an ask | My original content | 

[obsessedwithallthingsbooks]

Cosmere characters on social media

alright guys it’s time for the Important Question: What social media would the cosmere characters use?

Kaladin: you bet his bitter ass is on Twitter. non-negotiable. the politics of it would piss him off, but the man lives for justice. he’d be bringing attention to patreons and such (for others, not himself) and maybe tweet out self defense/medical tips, or about something sweet Syl or Oroden did (or even tweet out quotes from his father). he’d have a campaign against amaram (those tweets are liked by Bridge Four and Adolin). the only reason why he hasn’t tweeted mega angry shit about lighteyes in general is because he doesn’t want to lose his job (in bursts of bitterness he occasionally likes OTHER people’s tweets about that though. he’d feel bad for jeopardizing his code. and Syl might get onto him about it. but. at least they can’t fire him for that). he’d be pretty silent about his depression on there (by that i mean he wouldn’t make posts or draw attention to it, but he’d definitely like some mental health tweets. i feel like shallan would post something incredibly vague about the matter every now and then and he’d like all that) 

Adolin’s cheerful so he can’t be anywhere near Twitter. it would break him. honestly, he’d make pinterest boards. he’d like the organization of it all. being able to have a panel for fashion AND swords???

Vin: girl is reclusive as HELL. i feel like she’d use social media though. I’m surprised to say, maybe Instagram? or Twitter too? insta bc she’s got a girly side, but idk.. i don’t see her as the posing for pictures type. she’d have instagram but she’d like never post. at least, book 1 Vin would never post. Book 3 Vin gives updates of her and Elend on her story and maybe writes a motivational paragraph every couple of months about her own struggles and finding herself. her insta grows with her character development. she avoids celebrities as much as possible.

Vasher: bitter old man is also on twitter. actually, no. he deleted all of his social media EXCEPT twitter. he only goes on there to laugh at arguments. he gets involved maybe twice. opposite with Vin, his involvement declines with his age. Nightblood would prod him to log in, though. if he could, he’d hack in and just type “EVIL EVIL EVIL EVIL EVIL EVIL EVIL.” 

(warning you: i actually haven’t?? read?? Elantris?? yet?? or white sand??? fake fan, i know. i’m waiting for white sand at the library. and elantris is on my Christmas list.)

Shai: Devianartdevianartdevianartdevianart. she’d get blocked from there though because someone posts their art with the caption ‘mine, do not steal,” and she doesn’t, she just recreates it to near perfection and posts it as hers. so yeah. blocked. she’s bitter about it. 

Hoid: man, oh man, would any of our little human sites suffice? jk, he’s on tumblr. he’s got that energy and would be able to take on multiple different personas. now that i say that, Shallan’s here too.

Wayne: Wayne doesn’t have social media, he fiddles with whatever he’s got in his pocket and that’s that.

Dalinar: whatever social media he has, he’s bad at it. especially if he’s arguing. nobody takes him seriously. even Adolin has trouble supporting some of his posts. Kaladin likes every single one though, especially if honor’s involved.

Sazed: the man has a whole blog that only two people read, but that’s enough for him. in fact, he thinks he’s famous until he asks people irl about it and refers them to his blog. when they don’t check it out, he gets dejected, but Vin--and every now and then, with Vin’s prodding--Elend will give his stuff a like.

Siri: she’d be a vlogger. idk why she has vlogger energy, but she does. “hey I’m in Hallandren~, hI BACK HOME! VIVENNA, HERE’S MY HUSBAND. YOU KNOW, THE GUY YOU WOULD HAVE MARRIED! *Susebron blushes into the camera and says nothing*” 

Lightsong: i don’t know what social media he’s on, but wherever he is, he actually gives some really sound advice buried beneath layers of self-effacing sarcasm

Jasnah: she uses Twitter to promote whatever book she’s just published and to call out everyone’s bullshit now and again. also to piss people off.

Pattern’s like a bot. literally no one can tell if he’s actually tweeting stuff out or if it’s generated. he has the same shit recycled bUT every now and then he’ll post about a discovery (which Syl will like and comment on like, “Oh! I remember finding out about MATING, something Kaladin won’t do!”). sometimes he’ll post something about Shallan and.. she was Very embarassed the first time it happened. However, talking to Pattern proved to be a long and ultimately fruitless conversation. Pattern still doesn’t understand why Shallan doesn’t like that, just that she doesn’t. he only talks about it occasionally, now. at least, online.

Elend: Goodreads! He’s also got something on the side--probably Instagram, actually, to be all ‘I LOVE MY WIFE!’ Kelsier. Cannot. STAND. IT. Elend notices that every one of Vin’s posts has received a like from Kelsier. nothing of Elend’s has ever been liked.

Feel free to add onto this!

[autumnslance]

how do you get into roleplaying on a ff server? like how do you do it and how do you know if your character is lore compliant? ;A; pls youre a big inspo to me

*Hugs Nonny* Getting into RP on a FF server can vary; I don’t actually RP much these days, outside of some friends I already have connections to--and that in itself can be difficult just due to Life! It can take time, and patience, and some fits and starts.

And this gets...really really long, so buckle up and go below the cut, please. :)

The cut got broken by an edit. Sigh.

In game there’s always the RP status tag, and just doing RP with folks in public spaces. There may be trolls now and then, but they can be ignored. I personally find Balmung’s Quicksand area too busy and anxiety inducing and not actually all that conducive to actual RP, even “meet at a tavern” walk-up type. But unless you already have a ready-made group of friends/FCmates willing to RP more than some random walk-ups with you, it may take some legwork to find folks you can and want to write with.

Social Media There are a couple of RP community blogs, like @mooglemeet​ and @ffxiv-crystal-rp​  and plenty of server-specific ones. There’s also some Discords for these communities. They host and advertise events and reblog people who are looking for RP contacts. Some of them have running gdoc calendars and in game linkshells and fellowships as well.

Shofie has a good post about Tumblr/social media RP blogging.

@shofie-ffxiv

It’s a fact now that social media outside game is a way to make contacts, or even a medium for RP itself. There are few centralized websites/forums for server RP communities anymore. Making connections over your social media, like Tumblr and Twitter, can help find RP. You can’t just throw your own character info out there or reblog prompts hoping others bite, though; you have to put in some work and show interest in others, too. This can be difficult and even scary. That’s OK.

RP is about collaboration and creating with other people, which means finding folks you can write with, and who see you as someone interesting but also interested in them and their OCs. If you want to keep it a solo endeavor focused on your own OCs, write fanfic (which I’ve actually made friends and gotten RP interests that way too through comment interactions, so hey).

If you reblog a prompt from someone, see others on your dash reblogging prompts, if people reblog that prompt post from you? Send them asks! Alternatively, don’t wait for prompts, just send asks, comments, or chats saying hello and things you notice or like about their blog/character/posts they make. Try to form connections with people you think are genuinely interesting and might be fun to talk with. Social media should be, well, social.

BUT respect boundaries, too. Don’t try sarcasm or jokes with people you don’t actually know, it tends to go over poorly. Unless someone’s specifically posting a naughty meme/prompt, keep stuff you others send clean and polite, especially if it’s unsolicited and you’re not already friends (doubly so if you don’t know how old they are IRL, there are laws you do not want to break). Respect if people aren’t open to random asks or chatting with new followers, or say “no” to RP, and know it’s not personal--it’s just what they have time, energy, and emotional/mental capacity for. Don’t give up on other people, though. This stuff can take time and effort to find those you click with.

Respect and communication with RP partners is pretty key.

Do curate your feeds and don’t be afraid to unfollow/mute/block folks, either. I’m selective in who I follow and remove as needed, too, for my own mental health. I miss so much of the discourse and drama and that’s fine by me. Also it costs nothing to not step in on a lot of the drama when it does pass in sight.

Profiles I have static RP profile pages for my girls here on Tumblr (and a lot of other static links and pages, but I’m weird about organizing like that). This way, if people want to write with me, send me prompts, if I sent them prompts, or they want to otherwise interact with my characters, the information is handily available. For some folks, this makes all the difference in who they choose to interact with: how easily can they find even basic info about your OC?

Some people make Carrds. Some folks have gdoc links, or use Dreamwidth, etc. Just keep the links in the blog’s sidebar menu, and/or in the blog desc so people can see ‘em on mobile. There are templates out there, or you can make your own. Feel free to snag mine if you’d like. A lot of times people also copy their profiles to rebloggable posts when looking for RP contacts. Profiles are a good way to let folks know just the at-a-glance basics about your character(s).

I picked a simple theme with a simple layout that makes it easy to add and show off links. I put them in the blog desc to make them easy to find on mobile, too.

[Images: links from my blog sidebar menu showing how over organized I am]

RP, Stories, Lore Post some stories or RP logs (with permission of others involved) or even just random little blurbs and headcanons, as well as any screenshots, art, aesthetic posts for your OCs. Have something of interest to show for your character, too, so some of those folks your interacting with have something of their own to see and ask about!

If possible, try some light RP with friends and FC Mates who are amenable. Go to events, even if just to lurk at first. When you do get up the nerve to talk to people, don’t try to throw a character’s entire backstory at them, or try to steal the limelight--RP is collaboration, back and forth, and a lot like real conversation. Maybe come up with little light things to talk about if asked; a recent adventuring job, a silly shopping incident, etc. They can break the ice or just give you something to reply with for a few minutes.

Lore Compliance is Variable. Some people really want lore compliance, others are OK bending it here and there, while still others throw it out the window entirely. If you want to be super lore compliant...read. There’s a LOT of information, in game and out, for finding lore; from official publications and website material, to tools like Garland Tools site, to compilation blogs like @mirkemenagerie.

Note what’s important for your concept. Narrow it down. Characters aren’t going to know or be or do everything, so only worry about what’s necessary for the base idea. And be flexible; it’s SE’s sandbox, we just play in it, and they can change things any time. They usually do it in the guise of characters not knowing/having all the correct information, at least, but also some places just don’t exist in game yet so we don’t have info.

I’m unspecific about a lot of elements of Aeryn’s childhood, for instance, other than “traveling merchants near Thavnair.” I don’t have to be super specific. I can keep most details vague, and focus on her family and those relationships.

Dark, as my first character, has a fairly simple backstory that I’ve expanded on and adjusted over time as I learned and came up with new info. I also bet no one remembers I originally said Dark was from the North Shroud. I’ve changed things (now from East Shroud, due to the proximity to Gyr Abania and its Hellsguards) as I learned more about the world and my character. You don’t want to change things willy-nilly, but sometimes being flexible and smoothing down some rough edges and making small changes can be fine, especially as one gets more lore over time.

Iyna has a pretty detailed backstory, that came from a basic idea, and checking dates in the pre-Calamity timeline. I based her being taken and trained the way she was not only on what info we have about Garlemald’s imperial practices with conquered provinces, but borrowed a bit from real life and the re-education schools many Native Americans were forced into (though I haven’t gone into detail on that yet, either). I tied the turning point in Iyna’s life to a major event that wasn’t the Calamity, and have left plenty of space in between for me to fill in as time goes on and I learn more about her and the world.

The world isn’t static, and is bigger and more diverse than what can be shown in the game. There’s space in the margins for plenty of weird stuff and contradictions or unusual cases. So read up on what you can, ask questions, and then find where in those spaces your OC fits. Then, find people who enjoy similar tastes in lore compliance (or non-compliance), and who enjoy playing with you and your OCs, and not worrying about the rest. Can’t please everyone, nor get along with everyone, so don’t try; just find what works for you, and who works with you, and don’t police anyone else’s pretendy fun times, either.

There’s no magic answer on the “right” amount of lore compliance, or how to quickly and easily find RP partners or break into the broader RP community.

I hope this helps at least a little bit! Good luck in finding your niche for RP, and maybe I’ll see you sometime at an event :)

[dustinjohnson1981]

my first post

This is my first and maybe only post. I don’t know what to do anymore, I’ve been homeless for 3 months and it doesn’t seem like anyone cares. I’ve tried reaching out for help with shelters, churches, and even government programs and haven’t been able to get any assistance. Shelters won’t help cause I have an 11 year old pit bull dog that I’ve had since she was a few months old. She’s the sweetest dog you will ever meet, but because she’s a pit bull, there’s that stigma that she’s aggressive, which she isn’t. I’m no saint, and I’m not here to try and lead anyone on to thinking that I am, but I am a good person. I’m just an ordinary person, trying to get through this hell we call life. I have a couple people I call friends, but in reality, we’re more acquaintances that have just known each other for like the past 16 years. Maybe I’m just too different from the rest of humanity, but I would do just about anything to help a friend out if they were in my position, but my “friends” don’t want anything to do with me. I feel like I’m a burden and think I would be better off dead. I definitely don’t have any reason, any purpose for living, I’m just a waste of human existence. I’m not really into religion, at least definitely not the go to church every week type, and lately, about all my faith in God is me cursing at him for making me homeless, if God is even real. So of course religious people jump at me for those comments saying it’s the Devil, not God. I’m like, ok, if it’s the Devil, and he was one of God’s angels, why does he allow the Devil to exist still? God is suppose to be all powerful, all knowing, all loving, but he lets humanity suffer here on Earth. Religion will say I was created in the image of God, and that he already knows everything that is going to happen before it happens, so first, it’s like what in the hell was God smoking when he created me the way I am and then knew I was going to end up homeless and contemplating suicide. I never asked to be born, to be raised in an abusive family. I am thankful that at 39 now, I had the common sense to tell myself when I was 8 years old I will never have a wife of children of my own, so that way I won’t risk repeating the cycle of abuse. I feel like whether it is God, or just bad genes in science talk, I definitely got the short end of the straw. Being 5′5 sucks for height when women seem to want tall guys. And I definitely don’t have the skills for social interactions, probably why I’ve never had a girlfriend. I always end up in the friend zone. I compare my attributes to that of Danny DeVito in the movie, Twins, with Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you haven’t seen that movie, I recommend watching it, it’s a good movie. I wonder where I went wrong in life to end up homeless. I grew up being good with numbers, so always thought I was going to be an accountant, but was never good at anything else in school and really hated going. Tried my luck in college and that was a complete waste of time, can’t write 3-5 page essays for English, so was never able to finish my AA degree. I was always a fan of WWE wrestling growing up and that was like my dream to be a wrestler, but again, being short and untalented and uncharismatic, that was never going to happen. I can say I at least tried for it though, trained for almost 2 years before getting a minor tear in my shoulder.  I have no real skill set when it comes to work, I’ve spent my entire life working in warehouses through staffing agencies. Not being good is an understatement when it comes to job interviews. No matter how much I try and prepare for the questions, I always just freeze up like a deer in headlights. I hate working in warehouses to begin with, companies just treat employees like slaves, especially if you’re through an agency. They literally need no reason to end your assignment, so if they just look at you and decide they don’t like you, you aren’t going to last very long, that or they’re going to have you do the lowest type of work they have and force you to want to quit. They make you work 12 hour shifts days a week and only want to pay you minimum wage or slightly above that while as a company they make millions of dollars. And they do this to employees year round, regardless of weather conditions. So during summer, when it’s 102 degrees outside and your in a truck loading or unloading, it’s going to be like 110-115 degrees inside that truck and same in winter times, when it’s cold outside, it’s even worse inside, especially if you’re on a forklift, cause now you’re driving up and down lanes pulling pallets and you’re feeling the freezing wind as you drive. So I haven’t worked in about 2 weeks now and not sure when my next assignment will come, or if I’ll even take it. Obviously I need to so I can have money for food for my dog and myself, but it’s so depressing that I have nothing to show for my life. I’m in and out of motels these 3 months of being homeless, my checks barely cover the cost for a week at a motel. So my other bills don’t get paid, or if they do, their constantly being late. Having around $45,000 in bills/debts ain’t fun neither. I don’t even know why I made an account here and am writing this, I doubt anyone will read this and even less likely I will get any help. I’ve heard of Tumblr, but never really knew what it was. I only just found out after watching the Netflix documentary on Elisa Lam. When I have friends that won’t help, family that put me in this situation, why would complete strangers want to help me. I’ve tried GoFundMe and have had absolutely no luck there, I feel like you have to have a huge friend base on social media for that site to work. You post to your friends who share to others and so on and hopefully get people to help whatever the cause that person posted about, so for me, that just was a waste of time. Same with Twitter and TikTok, people respond how they feel bad for me but I can’t get anyone to want to help me with finding a job and a place to live. I can’t rent anyways, as I found out in December after applying to several places and being rejected, my grandmother put something called a judgment on my background so when apartments run a check and that pops up, they immediately decline my application. And renting a room isn’t an option neither as people don’t want my dog. I just feel hopeless and defeated in life and don’t see a reason to go on. I was just reading about the horrific car pile up accident in the Fort Worth, TX area the other day and feel bad for all those people, but at the same time, wish I was one of the six that died so that I could be gone from this world. Same if I could, I would gladly trade places with a child that’s dying from cancer or even if it was for one more day, trade with an someone’s parent, so that they could have that one extra day to tell that parent how much they love them before the parent passes. To be unloved in life, to feel completely invisible and unnoticeable to everyone around is one of the worse feelings I think you can have, and that’s how I feel everyday of my life. I don’t know why I keep hoping my life is going to get better, reality is it only ever gets worse by each passing day. And I don’t fear suicide or death in general, for me, it’s the pain I’ll endure in those final moments that scare the hell out of me. Like slitting my wrist or throat and bleeding out, or drowning. All the things that probable flash through your mind as your body reacts and obviously goes into fight or flight mode and tries to survive. Even jumping off a building or a bridge and watching yourself fall to your death, the panic you probable feel of how much pain you will feel when you hit the ground or get hit by a truck, or taking a gun and pulling the trigger, hoping that the bullet goes through exactly the way needed so that you hopefully don’t feel a thing as you fall to the floor dead. To me, it’s the process of dying that’s scary, not death itself. Death itself is mercy, I no longer will feel any pain, physical, emotional, psychological or any other way. Just nothingness, much how I feel my life is.