#we can also see that the new thing of sending people to OP's blog without showing the actual post we're clicking on

[go-learn-esperanto]

I know we're all complaining about the new layout — I know, it's really stupid, it looks like Twitter — but I want to share with you this bug report I sent to Staff, as I believe it contextualises why the "changing features that aren't broken just because you can" ideal from Tumblr's higher ups ends up making the lives more difficult for a lot of its users; more specifically disabled folks.

Good afternoon, When using Lightbox View I need to click on the image for the caption to disappear — this is absolutely necessary as I'm visually impaired, and have the letter size on max, and when viewing an image the Lightbox View caption occupies an excessive amount of my screen, so seeing an image is not easy — however this made me discover two things:

1. If you click on the area where the caption is, even when it's hidden, it will take you to whatever blog was in the caption. This is quite annoying as I'm actually trying to zoom in but keep being accidentally transported to someone else's blog. (AKA the caption seems only to become invisible, but it's still there, so when I click around the caption is supposed to be it'll act as if it's still there)

2. If you try to zoom in in that caption area not only can you not zoom in but it will also make the caption appear again, however you won't be able to make it disappear again by clicking on any area of the image. The caption will be there without you being able to make it disappear. I will add obviously none of this was a problem in the old image viewer, I don't have any intrusive captions or accidentally going to other images and blogs that I don't want to go to. Please I beg you to give us an option to return to the old image viewer on the dashboard. You also made it more difficult to click on a post to only see that specific post, something I did a lot since it allowed me to use the old image viewer. Previously I could click on the user's name and it would open it on their blogs. That would do the trick. Now you have to click on the surrounding blank space but because, again, of my accessibility features I need to have on to be able to use Tumblr, there are almost no blank spaces available for me to click on! I assume you're aware this is not a problem of the accessibility features themselves, as I had no qualms about any of this previous to these new features being implemented, but a fault of your new features that are inaccessible and are causing more harm than good.

[cabaretofwords]

Hi! Do you mind me asking how writblr works? I am new to tumblr and writblr.

Hey Love, thanks for the ask! And welcome to this little part of the internet.

I know there are detailed posts out there on this but I haven't been able to find them (if anyone has one, please feel free to link it!)

Writeblr is a community on Tumblr focused on writing. Most people I interact with are writing novels (as am I), but there are definitely people writing poetry and short stories and comics. Anyone who thinks themselves a writer can have a writing blog, even if we are not actively writing (me again).

Writeblr works best when you are interacting with other community members. This can be done in lots of different ways.

You can use the dash - liking, commenting and reblogging are all ways of interacting with other writeblrs. Liking won't create further interaction or spread a post but it does say you were there, and you enjoyed yourself; a comment allows you to interact with the op (original poster) and other users without spreading the post, and a reblog puts the post on your blog and the dash of your followers. You can use tags to talk if you don't want to add to the post or you can leave your thoughts in text for anyone who reblogs from you to have on their blog.

You've figured out asks already - these are a great way to publicly interact with other writeblrs.

You may encounter ask games: a post of a list of questions with symbols or numbers, usually related to writing or the users writeblr. You can send these questions to the blog who reblogged them to find out more about them or their WIP. The etiquette around these posts is that, if you reblog one, you send an ask to the user you reblogged it from. You can also send asks to anyone who reblogs it from you, to help everyone who wants an ask is getting at least one.

Then there are tag games. When you get tagged in a tag game go and read the rules on the post and read OPs post while you are there. Then create an original post following said rules. Tag the person who tagged you at the top of the post, and then tag people to nominate them to play at the bottom. Sometimes the game has a number of people you should tag, other times it's up to you. I like to tag 3 people I've interacted with recently.

You do not have to play if you've been tagged. No one will harass you over it. Writeblr should be fun for you. There is no algorithm - you create your own experience here, so if you don't like someone, unfollow or block. Those buttons are there for a reason.

So you have a blog, you've followed a few people, you've reblogged some great posts. Might be time to tell us you're here and what you are interested in!

Enter Intro Posts.

There are two main kinds of intro post:

one that tells us who you are and what you like, what you are working on and what you like to write.

Then there is the WIP (work in progress) intro post that tells us about what you are writing, the characters and themes, why we should be interested.

Both posts are useful for finding your tribe on writeblr. To find new blogs and wips, or to look at different examples of what you can do you can search for "Wip into" and "writeblr intro". There are more tags but these terms will get you started.

I'm going to end this here. I hope it helps. I'm sure there is more, but I have to take my cat to the vet!

The main thing to remember is that this is a community. If you want interaction and for people to care about what you are working on you have to put it out there first. Interact in the ways you want to see in your notes.

[gettingbyy]

8/7/2024, 8/11/2024

this post is for mouse, but you can read it, too, if you want.

i really need to do more photography. i've been too nervous and tired to go out by myself (i think i talked about that last post), but scrolling through my flickr, i get super sad that i don't have new art in there. obvi i've been doing some phone camera photos, but also as we discussed xD those cameras/software are pretty trash nowadays. i even have some medium format rolls shot and ready to develop. i wanted to finish one more roll of 35mm to send in with them and i just....haven't. there are only like 14 shots left on the roll but here i am. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ maybe this weekend, i'm hoping to go downtown for a video game concert and i could almost certainly knock out the rest of the roll while i'm in the city.

also i still haven't officially rejected W cos he keeps coming back with some kind of bare minimum effort and it ropes me back in because of how good things were the first week we were talking. why do emotionally unavailable men and mascs always try to date me, and why do i (almost) always fall for it? ugh.

aaaaaaaaaaaanyways this is not how i intended this post to go xD the main thing i want to talk about is whimsy and how difficult it is to maintain because we live in A SocietyTM. it kind of came up because of this video: https://youtu.be/OW1tEPb3-UQ?si=CITcsW_WuK_uo8Z2 it's a long one that's about john green lol but one of the points she makes about his "downfall" was talking about how the internet used to be a softer/less jaded place for weirdos and their weird humor (see: early viral videos), and for people like those on tumblr to be unapologetically passionate about things that really ultimately didn't matter to most people. you saw this in xanga communities, too, where you could have these groups full of people trying to write poetry and encourage each other at it, without worrying about a bad actor coming in and attacking/mocking people. you would never be able to have that same level of open community today without serious moderation, and there would still be a huge chance for harm. the olden days still had problems, don't get me wrong - i've been watching deep dive videos on early fandom and fanfic lore recently - but overall, there was a loooooottttttt less random bullying. you really only got hate (if you did at all) if you were a bigger-name player in your community/space. the xanga communities demonstrated that the best, i think.

it was around the time we were in college, i'd say, when this started changing and being "someone on tumblr" became something to be mocked. it got especially bad when the "cringey social justice keyboard warrior" trope started gaining popularity in alt-right/fascist and conservative groups, and fighting for social justice was somehow perverted into being a bad thing. this definitely came from a place of blatant racism, i noticed it really ramped up around 2012 when trayvon martin was murdered, and even more in 2014 when tamir rice was. even on my unknown blogs, i would get random hateful asks or reblogs if i was posting anything social justice-related. the shift in internet culture feels like it started with that trope, and the hate that trope got, and morphed it into something "palatable" for the everyman. being jaded, sarcastic, and unnecessarily cruel became acceptable, and anonymity on the internet became a shield from consequences instead of a boon to forming communities. you still see the fallout from this today, the culture hasn't (and most likely won't) shift back on a large scale, and people share increasingly personal details about themselves to show they're a real person and not a bad faith actor trying to infiltrate. other than on discord, when you look in those wholesome, more welcoming communities, almost everyone has their real first and sometimes last name posted somewhere, more people are using pictures showing their face, they're sharing everyday details about their lives, taking more openly about current careers, etc., while at the same time people who are more anonymous aren't as welcomed anymore. this is especially true on twitch - i've seen so many streamers bring on their parents or their pets or talk about their house/neighborhood/city, all while showing their full face and sometimes full name. people who don't show their face or who have a vtube persona instead (the channels where someone is an anime character doing movements instead of a real person) get significantly less traffic, and find it much harder to create any kind of regular audience.

the days where we could be known by an icon and a fake name are largely behind us, in most spaces. if we're trying to be somewhere with sincerity, there's a weird undercurrent of not-so-gentle pressure to share specific things about yourself and take away that anonymity. i know it's been born of a need to protect spaces, and because bigots and bullies use anonymous profiles to go after people, but in a lot of ways, it's super harmful to us as internet users and makes the bigots and bullies' jobs easier. people are much easier to intimidate and unnerve and harass if you have access to enough information, and the bigots can keep doing what they're doing because we have no way to react to those threats. you can get an anonymous message from someone threatening you with the knowledge of your full address, but you have no way to trace that back to the perpetrator. it's also taken away safe places that people in our generation had to explore our identities and figure out who we were without threat of adult intervention/judgment. i have some truly cringe-awful poetry out there from when i was like 13 and thought i was deep, and (probably) no one will be able to find it and attribute it to me. i don't think i could do the same thing nowadays, with how communities have changed over the years. it's not only a change in larger internet culture, but also a change in how many of those communities are available - everything is being homogenized into a few huge social media sites, and those social media sites are all cannibalizing off each other until they all look virtually the same. tiktok and instagram hugely rely on videos (tiktok because of vine, instagram because of tiktok) and it's just another way that anonymity we used to have is being eroded. places like fictionpress, fanfic.net, xanga, they're all gone under the crushing pressure of those behemoths. they may still exist technically, but they're largely dead. xanga is literally dead lol.

i guess the point i'm trying to make with all this is i feel bad for the young kids who are out there being their fully cringe selves in a much more public and critical and cruel eye. someone in a discord i'm in shared a random 14-year-old's tiktok the other day, making fun of them for having bad takes about politics, and all i could think was, "i used to say things like that. my friends used to say things like that." and now that kid is going to have that floating around on the internet for weeks, months, years even, depending how long it goes on. going viral changes someone's life, and even when it's for a "good reason," it's still something that follows them like...basically forever, at least in some capacity.

i have more i want to say about other things, but i'm going to end this one here cos it got a little disjointed at the end xD LOVE YOU BBG

[amitsonpal]

10 Reasons Why Content is King in Digital Marketing

In the world of digital marketing, content is king. That’s because, without quality content, you won’t be able to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs), you won’t be able to engage your audience, and you won’t be able to convert leads into customers. Content is the foundation of any good digital marketing strategy, which is why we’ve put together this blog post. In it, we’ll explore 10 reasons why content is so important in digital marketing and give you some tips on how to create quality content that will help you achieve your marketing goals.

Here Are 10 Reasons Why Content is King in Digital Marketing:-

Content is the Foundation of All Marketing

If there is one thing that all digital marketing campaigns have in common, it is that they all rely on content. Whether it is text, images, videos, or any other type of content, without it your marketing efforts will fall flat.

This is because the content is the foundation of all marketing. It is what you use to connect with your audience and build relationships. It is what you use to persuade and sell. And it is what you use to stand out from the competition.

In short, content is King in digital marketing because it is the most important tool you have for achieving your marketing goals. If you want to succeed in digital marketing, you need to make sure that your content is high-quality, engaging, and relevant to your target audience.

Content builds brand awareness and reputation

Content is important for digital marketing because it helps build brand awareness and reputation. Good content can help a company stand out from the competition, and it can also attract new customers and followers.

Content can come in many forms, such as blog posts, infographics, videos, and more. It’s important to create high-quality content that is interesting and informative, and that will resonate with your target audience.

Regularly publishing fresh content on your website and social media channels can help you build a strong online presence, and it can also boost your search engine rankings. Creating meaningful content is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy.

Content drives traffic and generates leads

As we all know, content is king when it comes to digital marketing. But why is this the case? Here are a few reasons:

1. Content drives traffic and generates leads

No matter what business you’re in, you need traffic and leads to survive and thrive. And there’s no better way to get these things than by creating killer content. If your content is good, people will naturally want to share it with others, which will drive traffic to your site. And if your content is really good, people will want to buy whatever it is that you’re selling. So if you’re not creating great content, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

2. Content builds trust and credibility

If you want people to do business with you, they need to trust you first. And one of the best ways to build trust is by creating quality content that helps people solve their problems. When people see that you’re an expert in your field and that you’re always putting out helpful information, they’ll be much more likely to do business with you.

3. Content helps with SEO

If you want your website to rank high in search engines, then you need to make sure your site has a lot of great content. Search engines love websites that are full of relevant and well-written articles, so if you can provide them with what they’re looking for, they’ll be more likely to send traffic your way. Plus, the more

Content converts lead into customers

When it comes to digital marketing, content is king. Here are a few reasons why content is so important in digital marketing:

1. Content converts leads into customers.

If you want to convert leads into customers, you need compelling content that speaks to their needs and helps them see the value in your product or service. Without great content, even the most interested leads will quickly move on to other options.

2. Content builds trust and credibility.

For customers to buy from you, they need to trust you. Content is a great way to build trust and credibility with your audience. By providing helpful, informative, and engaging content, you can show potential customers that you know what you’re talking about and that you’re an authority in your industry.

3. Content drives SEO success.

One of the main goals of digital marketing is to improve your website’s search engine ranking. And one of the best ways to do that is by creating high-quality content that contains relevant keywords and phrases. When potential customers search for those keywords, your website will be more likely to show up in the results, driving traffic (and eventually sales) to your site.

4. Content fuels social media success.

Social media is another important part of digital marketing, and content is essential for driving social media engagement. By sharing interesting, shareable content on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you can get more people

Content helps you build a relationship with your customers

To build a relationship with your customers, content must be able to do several things:

-It must be interesting so that customers will want to read it.

-It must be well written so that customers will understand it.

-It must be relevant so that customers will find it useful.

-It must be shareable so that customers can tell their friends about it.

If you can create content that meets all of these criteria, you will be well on your way to building a strong relationship with your customers.

Content educates your customers

Content educates your customers and helps them to make informed decisions about your products or services. It also allows you to build trust and credibility with your audience, which is essential for any successful business.

When it comes to digital marketing, content is king. That’s because, without quality content, it’s difficult to achieve any of your other marketing goals. If you want to attract new customers and grow your business, you need to create informative, engaging, and valuable content.

Here are just a few reasons why content is so important in digital marketing:

1. Content educates your customers and helps them to make informed decisions about your products or services.

2. Content allows you to build trust and credibility with your audience, which is essential for any successful business.

3. Content can help you attract new customers and grow your business.

4. Content can be used to improve your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts and get more eyes on your website or blog.

5. Quality content can be repurposed into different formats (e-books, infographics, blog posts, etc.), which gives you more bang for your buck and helps you reach a wider audience.

Content builds trust and credibility

Content builds trust and credibility because it provides valuable information that helps people make informed decisions. It also helps build relationships with customers and prospects by providing information that they can use to improve their lives.

When you provide helpful, informative content, people are more likely to trust you and do business with you. They know that you’re not just trying to sell them something – you want to help them. And when they know they can trust you, they’re more likely to buy from you.

So if you want to build trust and credibility with your customers and prospects, start creating great content that will help them in some way. When you do, you’ll find that your business will start to grow as a result.

Content is shareable and increases reach

Content is shareable and greatly increases reach. It can be used to attract new customers and keep existing ones engaged. Here are some more reasons why content is so important in digital marketing:

1. It’s a great way to connect with customers and build relationships.

2. People are more likely to buy from companies they know and trust, and good content helps establish that trust.

3. Content can be a powerful tool for SEO, helping you to rank higher in search engine results pages and drive more traffic to your website.

4. It’s an effective way to generate leads and convert them into customers.

5. Good content can help you stand out from the competition and make your brand more memorable.

Content is evergreen and timeless

Content is evergreen and timeless because it can be repurposed and reused in a variety of ways to reach different audiences. It can also be updated and refreshed to stay relevant over time. Good content is the foundation of any good marketing strategy, so it’s important to invest in quality content that will continue to pay off long after it’s published.

Conclusion

In a world where digital marketing is constantly evolving, it’s important to remember that content is still king. That’s why we’ve put together a list of 10 reasons why content is so important in digital marketing. From building trust with your audience to improving your SEO, there are countless reasons why you need to make sure your content is high-quality and relevant. So what are you waiting for? Start creating killer content today!

[bluewinnerangel]

I KNOW! I was literally like the least thing they could have done was follow us 💀

Aaaaand I'm going on a rant now. People don't really view tumblr users the same way they do accounts on platforms they are active on themselves... I think over there they understand it's nice to see a notif come in and so they do the same for others, meanwhile tumblr is some other plane of existence where we do not require the same treatment and a post can sit on 2 reblogs but have 40K likes on someones instagram on your explore page (this actually happened to me)... and the amount of times I've seen a completely deepfried screenshotted post of mine that's been taken to twitter then to instagram over to a tiktok and then part of a youtube compilation post, one that would sit on less than 100 notes, one that got who knows how many interactions each step of that journey, and none of that response ever reaching me, while I made it. (not to mention the follow button is visible in the screenshot more often than not) Also. I'm out here writing posts first of all mainly for myself but in a way tailored to my bubble, tailored to you, to the people I see in my notifs. You're in the back of my mind when writing it, the fucking tiktok horde isn't. If someone grabs that and runs with it.. it's not meant for twitter or tiktok like I haven't written it in a way for that .. bubble.. to understand, it's for my tumblr friends who I know will have context. Like there's a baseline of understanding in this place that's not there on other platforms. And I try to spell some things out sometimes just in case it'll reach some new people, other times I'm just shitposting for my friends yk. So don't bring it somewhere it just brings up questions in a pool of people not capable of answering it without notifying the person who wrote it, leaving it up for interpretation out in a void of "WHAT" and "I-" and "HUH"'s like that's just a bit frustrating when it's your words yk. (ok that got sidetracked)

But to get back to the post in question, this might be where they got it from by the way.. i mean .. its.. nice to see the peoples reactions? 💀

Anyway to anyone taking screenshots of posts on here and taking it to other platforms: Just fucking interact with us. Ask Us If You Can Repost. Some people don't mind the reposting, others you're making very very uncomfortable. Because exposing the @ of someone's blog they consider their safe space to an audience they don't know is scary as fuck, especially because there's an anon ask option on this hellsite. Like the thing is you're possibly sending anon hate our way. EDIT: And this does not mean repost anyway but cut our @'s off because then you're cutting off the source and not crediting and that's even worse. I'm just saying some people don't want you to repost at all for this reason, please don't fucking repost without credit. Anyway the point is if you like a post enough to repost it, follow OP and reblog (that like button doesn't do shit. reblog.) the post on tumblr because that's a free happy serotonin boost for OP and the person you're reblogging from. Even if you have a tiny account and nobody will see it, OP does in their notifs and that makes them happy and that's the only thing that matters k. write your response in the rb tags if you want. If you do have a blog but it doesn't fit your content make a sideblog if you have to. Even if it's got 0 followers, on tumblr you can't see that, and it doesnt matter. All that matters is you give OP some interaction and make them happy, instead of .. this. A fking rant post before noon.

[reminiscingtonight]

Heyo, just a quick lesson for all you fuckers out there who still can't get it through your thick skulls that trashing people online is a). a shitty thing to do, and b). really quite embarrassing for you (because please, tell us you have no life without explicitly saying it). I thought I'd just throw this out here to give y'all a little incentive to quit being little dipshits.

Quick review before we start today’s lesson, according to Black's Law Dictionary (aka the most used law dictionary in the US), harassment means "repetitive annoying, irritating conduct towards another that is designed to torment the victim... Harassment may be oral, written, graphic. The goal is to be create unrest in the target of such conduct." Now that we've gotten that down, the next step is to see if what you're doing qualifies as harassment. 

Telling someone the world would be better off without them → creates unrest to your target, check ✔️

Repeatedly sending hate to the same blog (or multiple blogs bc you're salty that someone has more friends than you) → repetitive conduct with the intent to torment your victim, double check ✔️✔️

Well, harassing anons, it looks like you fit the definition of harassment to a T.

Now, what to do with that information? Well, fun fact, there are a couple laws out there that *gasp* makes your tomfoolery quite illegal.

Before you rip a hole into me and give me the classic "not everyone lives in the US," I'm going to throw a curveball and say over 150 countries have passed forms of anti-harassment laws, so don't be an ass and just look up your own laws.

Also, another side note, I'm going to be talking about US federal statutes, but be sure to check your state's laws, because your state can have some harsher punishments set up against harassment than stated in the federal law.

Alrighty, to start off, we have 47 U.S. Code § 223, aka the Telephone Harassment Act. My favorite part of the act is where it says it's a crime to utilize "a telecommunications device, whether or not conversation or communication ensues, without disclosing his identity and with intent to abuse, threaten, or harass any specific person." Granted we're in 2022 and they could be a bit more inclusive with gender equality and all that, but this act boiled down basically says it's illegal to harass people, online or in person.

And then there's also 18 U.S. Code § 2261A, the federal anti-stalking law. I can already tell what's going on in that small head of yours, so don't worry, I'll act it out for you guys so you understand what I mean.

Limp dick coward anons who send hate: "Oh, but me telling someone to off themselves doesn't mean I'm stalking them! I'm just being an asshole. Being an asshole makes me a really pathetic human being but it doesn't make me a stalker."

OP who's fed up with all the hate being spread around: "Well I got news for you, buddy. You can still sue someone under anti-stalking laws if you're being harassed. Just think about it. If you continually harass me, the logical thought would be that you're going out of your way to be a creep on my page (*cough cough* stalker *cough*) just to be able to get your unwanted messages my way."

So in conclusion, harassment is a shit thing to do. It’s also a thing that can land you in lots of hot water, so just don’t do it (unless you think getting fined and being imprisoned anywhere from a year to life sounds fun).

Cool, cool. Now that we've delved a little into the law world, do what you want with this information. You can listen to me and get the fuck out of people's inboxes and maybe try to find something productive to do with your lives OR you can keep on being slimy sleazeballs. After all, who am I, a stranger on the internet, to tell you what to do with your life? (See what I did here? I'm being a sane individual who could care less what you do with your own life bc it's your life, not mine)

All I can say is, if you want to waste my time with your continuous pointless bullshit, I guess I'll waste your time and see you in court.

[rpbetter]

Reblog Etiquette (and ships)

At this point, we all know about “reblog karma” and “reblogging from source.” Though, I say that...and am questioning it. You should fucking know this by now, but in the event you don’t, let me define that shit for you.

Reblog Karma: the RPC’s oldest attempt at keeping people from clogging notifications and using others as meme resources. Essentially, don’t reblog a meme from a mutual unless you are sending them something from that meme first. Not all blogs practice it, or practice it the same way, please see their rules.

Reblogging from Source: another effort to stop being used as a meme/aesthetics resource. Many RPers would like you to reblog quotes, aesthetics, and memes from their source (original post location or the meme/aesthetics/quotes resource blog they got it from), even if you are sending them a meme. This is especially applicable when not interacting with the RPer.

Okay, that’s out of the way.

There is more to Reblog Etiquette than this!

And, when that etiquette is nonexistent, it almost always deals with a RPer’s ship. Mentioning ship partners and/or tagging ships on a reblog from another RPer, not removing that RPer’s mentions or tags, and even dropping a mention or outright RPing in the comments of another RPer’s reblog.

Don’t reblog from another mun and tag your ship or mention (@) your ship partner(s).

Don’t reblog a post with someone else’s mention still stuck to it.

Don’t reblog a post and leave the previous mun’s tags still in the tags.

Don’t go into the comments on someone’s post and mention your ship partner(s).

Don’t roleplay in the comments of someone else’s post.

None of this is alright, I have no idea what would make anyone think this is appropriate reblog etiquette, but it very much is not. It’s incredibly rude and lazy. Because I know that many people have similar ship aesthetics and so on, I’m not saying you shouldn’t reblog something for your own ships that a mutual has for theirs. (That’s a whole other in depth conversation we’ll have later.)

I’m saying that this is how you should be going about it:

Reblog from the source.

-What if there is no source because it’s deactivated, or there is another reason why I can’t access it? 

Go into the post’s notes. At some point, damn near every post that could be used as an aesthetic, quote, or prompt for a ship (and RP in general) has been reblogged by at least one source blog. Look for RP meme, aesthetic, help, and other resource blog urls. If you cannot find one of those, look for urls that are general resource-style blogs. Personal blogs reblog aesthetics etc. as well, and there are many such resource blogs out there. -If you’re uncomfortable reblogging from a personal, that’s tough shit; I hate to break it to you, but most of your resources came from personal blogs. Deal with it, or don’t reblog anything you can’t find filtered through a RP specific resource.

-- “But this takes time/effort lol I just want to use it for my ship.” Again, tough shit. Sometimes, it does take energy not to be rude and do the right the thing. In all honesty, it’s fairly rare that doing the right thing is effortless, even when it’s something as simple as RP. Grow up.

--- You went through the notes, but there’s no appropriate blog to reblog from, now what?

Just because it’s a rare occurrence doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I know this one isn’t, I’ve had it happen too! My choice was to not reblog it at all, I just sent the link to my ship partner privately instead. If you don’t have that kind of friendship, you really wanted it on the dash, or another reason, you are now left with one option, and you’re not going to like it. Message the mutual you want to reblog from. Politely, explain that you’d like to reblog the post for your ship, and ask if they’re comfortable with it. No guilting, begging, or general, weird ass rudeness. If they decline, accept it just as politely, thank them for their response. If they accept, thank them, and especially if this isn’t a mutual you interact with much, be sure you’re showing them continued support on the dash by reading and liking/commenting on their headcanon posts and other appropriate material. (You should be anyway.)

Remove any mentions present (@’s)

Seriously, this is incredibly rude! Yet, with the typical lack of self-reflection and awareness of others in the RPC here, I see it multiple times a day on my dash. Not just with RP-blog-to-RP-blog interaction either, I also see RPers reblogging from personals and leaving their mentions attached. (I see it the other way around too, but I’m not here to school personal blogs.) For all the excessive emphasis RPers put on appearance, you’d think they’d want to get rid of something that looks this sloppy, but no. Not if it takes one extra second of effort!

-I know that xkit’s editable reblogs tends to break whenever tumblr gives us a new, exciting, hideous, insulting, limitation, I mean update, but come the fuck on. It is also one of the quickest things to regain functionality, so, maybe you should save the reblog to drafts, be following xkit’s blog for updates, and edit it once there has been a patch. If it’s worth it to you, it’s worth a short wait. When it’s working, you can easily remove that mention with editable reblogs.

--If you’re going to use being mobile as an excuse, or if you don’t want to wait on it/don’t use xkit, again, go to the source. And, also again, if that isn’t an option, you can find where it has been reblogged by an appropriate blog at some point in its history, sans mentions. Reblog from there.

Do not reblog someone else’s tags (#)

Some people have their xkit set up to reblog automatically with the previous poster’s tags. While that can be useful in some situations, I can think of, very literally, no situation this is appropriate for an RPer to use. If you have this set up on your personal/resource blog/wtfe and your RP blog is a sideblog (or you are using certain methods of having your browser open to two separate blog accounts where your xkit settings are transferring over), it’s up to you to delete the tags on these posts.

-It takes maybe one full second to click in the tag field and hit your delete button a few times to clear it. Do that. It’s never, ever, appropriate to keep someone’s ship, muse, verse, or other personalized tags attached to a reblog.

--If you are a personal blog reading this somehow, maybe you’re wanting to get into RP, please take note of this. This is one of the many reasons why most RPers will not interact with personals. We don’t like you reblogging an aesthetic post and keeping our tags on it.

In the case of both situations, not only is it rude and lazy, it’s fucking with someone else’s tags and privacy. Most RPers don’t want their content showing up in generally searchable tags, it’s one of the reasons that personalizing tags came about. Furthermore, if I’m on my dash and click a mutual’s custom tag for aesthetics, verses, ships, and so on, it’s now going to come up with instances of those tags on someone else’s blog as well.

Delete the fucking tags if they auto-populate. Don’t use someone else’s custom tags of your own volition either.

“Subverting” reblogs to mention in comments is a hard no, too

-So, you don’t want to reblog the post, but do want to @ your ship partner(s) in it? There’s no way to do that without being rude and strange. To be honest, this is even worse than just reblogging and tagging your ship.

I may not be the OP, but you came onto a post on my blog, one very likely tagged for my ships and/or having my ship partners mentioned on it, and commented on it mentioning your ship partner. It’s every bit as offensive and more so than someone reblogging from me and using it for a ship I’m not a part of. I don’t know what’s worse, when that other mun is a ship partner, casual mutual who doesn’t interact, or a writing partner but not ship partner. It’s all deeply fucked up. No one’s RP blog is here for your use like this!

--You’re also not subverting anything. I think the idea is to be polite or go unnoticed. People seem to lack a basic grasp on how tumblr works; you get notifications on reblogged posts you are not the OP of when someone comments on them just like you get a notif when someone likes it. The only way to genuinely be secretive about this would be to comment on it from the source or a resource blog. They will get the notification.

If you are commenting on, liking, or reblogging a post you see on the dash, the person having reblogged it, putting it there for you to encounter, will be notified of your interaction with it.

---What I’m saying, just in case it isn’t abundantly clear, for the third time now: you’re not being slick. Your mutuals will see that you weirdly @’ed someone in a comment on their reblog. They know.

----The appropriate behavior is to do just as advised in the above points: GO TO THE SOURCE. If no source exists, find an appropriate resource blog in the notes. You may then, and only then, give that mention in a comment.

Frankly, it’s still weird, and I would recommend you just reblog it from the source to interact with it. There is always the option of sending it to the intended party by way of tumblr’s messenger or linking the post in an off tumblr messenger like discord.

I say this because it hasn’t escaped my attention that the only time I have this issue on my own RP blog is when the imagery or text is fucking filthy. As in, Other Mun didn’t want something that sexual, kinky, violent, and so on to be posted to their own blog. You need to grow up if that’s your deal. Like writing smut or violence, if you need to do it in private only, you’re obviously not adult enough to handle the topic.

Keep your roleplay where it belongs; in your inbox and threads

-It’s not appropriate to start up RP in the comments of another RPer’s reblogged ship aesthetic. (Or anything else, this just happens to be the most common.) It’s incredibly odd and offensive to look in your notifications and see that a mutual and their ship partner are flirting, or outright fucking, in the comments of a post you reblogged for your ship.

It’s just as awkward feeling and offensive when someone reblogs the post and begins full-blown RP on it. It’s one thing when it’s a post originating from an RP resource blog, or when it’s kept to something like a mention and a short line that your writing partner can start their original post in inspiration of. But...

--You know how I said above that auto-copying tags thing is one of the reasons why RPers are iffy about personal blogs? Well, this is one of the reasons why personal blogs think RPers are exceedingly weird members of fandom that need to be excluded and devalued. It’s odd, especially if you’ve never encountered RP, to see someone reblogging your quote, moodboard, or other original post and RPing on it.

Listen, we all need to RP some crack and commentary sometimes, but it’s best left in the tags or put into a new post.

---Instead of RPing (not sorry, especially if it is smut) on that post, link the image to show in a new post, and go from there.

Please remember to be polite about artists, including photographers and gifers, when you do this! Tumblr automatically gives the source of imagery when you use a link to display the picture, that’s why I recommended doing that instead of saving, then re-uploading the image as though it is your own. If you’re going to do that, even if it’s just silliness going on, give mention of the artist, photographer’s blog/site, or gifer’s blog in the tag or below the image.

Tumblr is deeply unfriendly to artists of all sorts, don’t be fuel that. When you upload artwork for the sake of RP, again, even if it’s just crack, that’s literally violating what artists ask people not to do; you’re reposting their art without permission and credit.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

20 years a blogger

It's been twenty years, to the day, since I published my first blog-post.

I'm a blogger.

Blogging - publicly breaking down the things that seem significant, then synthesizing them in longer pieces - is the defining activity of my days.

https://boingboing.net/2001/01/13/hey-mark-made-me-a.html

Over the years, I've been lauded, threatened, sued (more than once). I've met many people who read my work and have made connections with many more whose work  I wrote about. Combing through my old posts every morning is a journey through my intellectual development.

It's been almost exactly a year I left Boing Boing, after 19 years. It wasn't planned, and it wasn't fun, but it was definitely time. I still own a chunk of the business and wish them well. But after 19 years, it was time for a change.

A few weeks after I quit Boing Boing, I started a solo project. It's called Pluralistic: it's a blog that is published simultaneously on Twitter, Mastodon, Tumblr, a newsletter and the web. It's got no tracking or ads. Here's the very first edition:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/19/pluralist-19-feb-2020/

I don't often do "process posts" but this merits it. Here's how I built Pluralistic and here's how it works today, after nearly a year.

I get up at 5AM and make coffee. Then I sit down on the sofa and open a huge tab-group, and scroll through my RSS feeds using Newsblur.

I spend the next 1-2 hours winnowing through all the stuff that seems important. I have a chronic pain problem and I really shouldn't sit on the sofa for more than 10 minutes, so I use a timer and get up every 10 minutes and do one minute of physio.

After a couple hours, I'm left with 3-4 tabs that I want to write articles about that day. When I started writing Pluralistic, I had a text file on my desktop with some blank HTML I'd tinkered with to generate a layout; now I have an XML file (more on that later).

First I go through these tabs and think up metadata tags I want to use for each; I type these into the template using my text-editor (gedit), like this:

   <xtags>

process, blogging, pluralistic, recursion, navel-gazing

   </xtags>

Each post has its own little template. It needs an anchor tag (for this post, that's "hfbd"), a title ("20 years a blogger") and a slug ("Reflections on a lifetime of reflecting"). I fill these in for each post.

Then I come up with a graphic for each post: I've got a giant folder of public domain clip-art, and I'm good at using all the search tools for open-licensed art: the Library of Congress, Wikimedia, Creative Commons, Flickr Commons, and, ofc, Google Image Search.

I am neither an artist nor a shooper, but I've been editing clip art since I created pixel-art versions of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood glyphs using Bannermaker for the Apple //c in 1985 and printed them out on enough fan-fold paper to form a border around my bedroom.

As I create the graphics, I pre-compose Creative Commons attribution strings to go in the post; there's two versions, one for the blog/newsletter and one for Mastodon/Twitter/Tumblr. I compose these manually.

Here's a recent one:

Blog/Newsletter:

(<i>Image: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:QAnon_in_red_shirt_(48555421111).jpg">Marc Nozell</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">CC BY</a>, modified</i>)

Twitter/Masto/Tumblr:

Image: Marc Nozell (modified)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:QAnon_in_red_shirt_(48555421111).jpg

CC BY

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

This is purely manual work, but I've been composing these CC attribution strings since CC launched in 2003, and they're just muscle-memory now. Reflex.

These attribution strings, as well as anything else I'll need to go from Twitter to the web (for example, the names of people whose Twitter handles I use in posts, or images I drop in, go into the text file). Here's how the post looks at this point in the composition.

<hr>

<a name="hfbd"></a>

<img src="https://craphound.com/images/20yrs.jpg">

<h1>20 years a blogger</h1><xtagline>Reflections on a lifetime of reflecting.</xtagline>

<img src="https://craphound.com/images/frnklogo.jpg">

See that <img> tag in there for frnklogo.jpg? I snuck that in while I was composing this in Twitter. When I locate an image on the web I want to use in a post, I save it to a dir on my desktop that syncs every 60 seconds to the /images/ dir on my webserver.

As I save it, I copy the filename to my clipboard, flip over to gedit, and type in the <img> tag, pasting the filename. I've typed <img src="https://craphound.com/images/ CTRL-V"> tens of thousands of times - muscle memory.

Once the thread is complete, I copy each tweet back into gedit, tabbing back and forth, replacing Twitter handles and hashtags with non-Twitter versions, changing the ALL CAPS EMPHASIS to the extra-character-consuming *asterisk-bracketed emphasis*.

My composition is greatly aided both 20 years' worth of mnemonic slurry of semi-remembered posts and the ability to search memex.craphound.com (the site where I've mirrored all my Boing Boing posts) easily.

A huge, searchable database of decades of thoughts really simplifies the process of synthesis.

Next I port the posts to other media. I copy the headline and paste it into a new Tumblr compose tab, then import the image and tag the post "pluralistic."

Then I paste the text of the post into Tumblr and manually select, cut, and re-paste every URL in the post (because Tumblr's automatic URL-to-clickable-link tool's been broken for 10+ months).

Next I past the whole post into a Mastodon compose field. Working by trial and error, I cut it down to <500 characters, breaking at a para-break and putting the rest on my clipboard. I post, reply, and add the next item in the thread until it's all done.

*Then* I hit publish on my Twitter thread. Composing in Twitter is the most unforgiving medium I've ever worked in. You have to keep each stanza below 280 chars. You can't save a thread as a draft, so as you edit it, you have to pray your browser doesn't crash.

And once you hit publish, you can't edit it. Forever. So you want to publish Twitter threads LAST, because the process of mirroring them to Tumblr and Mastodon reveals typos and mistakes (but there's no way to save the thread while you work!).

Now I create a draft Wordpress post on pluralistic.net, and create a custom slug for the page (today's is "two-decades"). Saving the draft generates the URL for the page, which I add to the XML file.

Once all the day's posts are done, I make sure to credit all my sources in another part of that master XML file, and then I flip to the command line and run a bunch of python scripts that do MAGIC: formatting the master file as a newsletter, a blog post, and a master thread.

Those python scripts saved my ASS. For the first two months of Pluralistic, i did all the reformatting by hand. It was a lot of search-replace (I used a checklist) and I ALWAYS screwed it up and had to debug, sometimes taking hours.

Then, out of the blue, a reader - Loren Kohnfelder - wrote to me to point out bugs in the site's RSS. He offered to help with text automation and we embarked on a month of intensive back-and-forth as he wrote a custom suite for me.

Those programs take my XML file and spit out all the files I need to publish my site, newsletter and master thread (which I pin to my profile). They've saved me more time than I can say. I probably couldn't kept this up without Loren's generous help (thank you, Loren!).

I open up the output from the scripts in gedit. I paste the blog post into the Wordpress draft and copy-paste the metadata tags into WP's "tags" field. I preview the post, tweak as necessary, and publish.

(And now I write this, I realize I forgot to mention that while I'm doing the graphics, I also create a square header image that makes a grid-collage out of the day's post images, using the Gimp's "alignment" tool)

(because I'm composing this in Twitter, it would be a LOT of work to insert that information further up in the post, where it would make sense to have it - see what I mean about an unforgiving medium?)

(While I'm on the subject: putting the "add tweet to thread" and "publish the whole thread" buttons next to each other is a cruel joke that has caused me to repeatedly publish before I was done, and deleting a thread after you publish it is a nightmare)

Now I paste the newsletter file into a new mail message, address it to my Mailman server, and create a custom subject for the day, send it, open the Mailman admin interface in a browser, and approve the message.

Now it's time to create that anthology post you can see pinned to my Mastodon and Twitter accounts. Loren's script uses a template to produce all the tweets for the day, but it's not easy to get that pre-written thread into Twitter and Mastodon.

Part of the problem is that each day's Twitter master thread has a tweet with a link to the day's Mastodon master thread ("Are you trying to wean yourself off Big Tech? Follow these threads on the #fediverse at @pluralistic@mamot.fr. Here's today's edition: LINK").

So the first order of business is to create the Mastodon thread, pin it, copy the link to it, and paste it into the template for the Twitter thread, then create and pin the Twitter thread.

Now it's time to get ready for tomorrow. I open up the master XML template file and overwrite my daily working file with its contents. I edit the file's header with tomorrow's date, trim away any "Upcoming appearances" that have gone by, etc.

Then I compose tomorrow's retrospective links. I open tabs for this day a year ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and (now) 20 years ago:

http://memex.craphound.com/2020/01/14

http://memex.craphound.com/2016/01/14

http://memex.craphound.com/2011/01/14

http://memex.craphound.com/2006/01/14

http://memex.craphound.com/2001/01/14

I go through each day, and open anything I want to republish in its own tab, then open the OP link in the next tab (finding it in the @internetarchive if necessary). Then I copy my original headline and the link to the article into tomorrow's XML file, like so:

#10yrsago Disney World’s awful Tiki Room catches fire <a href="https://thedisneyblog.com/2011/01/12/fire-reported-at-magic-kingdom-tiki-room/">https://thedisneyblog.com/2011/01/12/fire-reported-at-magic-kingdom-tiki-room/</a>

And NOW my day is done.

So, why do I do all this?

First and foremost, I do it for ME. The memex I've created by thinking about and then describing every interesting thing I've encountered is hugely important for how I understand the world. It's the raw material of every novel, article, story and speech I write.

And I do it for the causes I believe in. There's stuff in this world I want to change for the better. Explaining what I think is wrong, and how it can be improved, is the best way I know for nudging it in a direction I want to see it move.

The more people I reach, the more it moves.

When I left Boing Boing, I lost access to a freestanding way of communicating. Though I had popular Twitter and Tumblr accounts, they are at the mercy of giant companies with itchy banhammers and arbitrary moderation policies.

I'd long been a fan of the POSSE - Post Own Site, Share Everywhere - ethic, the idea that your work lives on platforms you control, but that it travels to meet your readers wherever they are.

Pluralistic posts start out as Twitter threads because that's the most constrained medium I work in, but their permalinks (each with multiple hidden messages in their slugs) are anchored to a server I control.

When my threads get popular, I make a point of appending the pluralistic.net permalink to them.

When I started blogging, 20 years ago, blogger.com had few amenities. None of the familiar utilities of today's media came with the package.

Back then, I'd manually create my headlines with <h2> tags. I'd manually create discussion links for each post on Quicktopic. I'd manually paste each post into a Yahoo Groups email. All the guff I do today to publish Pluralistic is, in some way, nothing new.

20 years in, blogging is still a curious mix of both technical, literary and graphic bodgery, with each day's work demanding the kind of technical minutuae we were told would disappear with WYSIWYG desktop publishing.

I grew up in the back-rooms of print shops where my dad and his friends published radical newspapers, laying out editions with a razor-blade and rubber cement on a light table. Today, I spend hours slicing up ASCII with a cursor.

I go through my old posts every day. I know that much - most? - of them are not for the ages. But some of them are good. Some, I think, are great. They define who I am. They're my outboard brain.

[tomodachimeter]

Answering old asks

m(__)m

That is all.

Emojis aside, I really am so very sorry it’s taken me so long to get around to responding to messages since the manga ended, I’ve been extremely busy in my personal life so it was kind of all I could do to cope with the manga ending during that time too, haha. As of now even the last volume and fanbook are already out, but I’ll leave a few comments on the messages I’ve been sent as they were. I’m also grouping together messages that are more of readers’ own comments rather than questions for me and responding all at once, so please forgive me if I couldn’t get around to responding individually!

“My heart pains to seeing the end ahahhhhh ashiya and abeno parted waysI really really really hope for something to come next. it kinda feels sad for meabt this ending”

“Honestly I like the ending but I didn’t like how the author left out information about abeno’s background. For instance, what happen to his parents?, where did he come from?, how did he come meeting Ao?,etc. I really wanted to see all of that, including how ashiya told his mom and sister about sakaes death. Other then that, I REALLY LOVE THE PROPOSAL!!! What is with shouen manga/anime with these different type of propsals like, “I’ll skate infinity with you”, “ I will die so you won’t be alone”,etc. Like COME ON!!! I also want to see a adult ashiya and abeno 🙏.”

I feel the same, I love the ending in its own way but I also expected so much more and I wanted to see more of their adventures. So I respect sensei’s decision but that just means it’s a free-for-all in terms of headcanons after!!

“Now that the manga has ended, I really wish the anime hadn't screwed up with the season 2 ending, so we could have gotten a continuation... I really miss animated Fuzzy running around, Ashiya's screaming and Abeno's "Hah?" (´꒳`)♡”

I wonder what they’d do for a season 3 if it ever came to pass. There are a few ways they could go about it like kind of just continuing down the manga, or they could ignore what they animated at the end of s2 and then keep going (Ao no Exorcist style), or I don’t even know, honestly. No matter how dissatisfied I am with how they do anime, I’d still watch it though. :U

“Wow I can't believe it took me so long to realize this! Recently, I noticed that the dynamic between Hanae-Sakae-Aoi-Abeno and the plot revolving around them is very similar to what happens in the manga Switch (Kai-his dad-Hal's dad-Hal). The relationship between Kai and Hal is similar to Hanae and Abeno's. Kai's dad died and this is related to Hal's dad, who has survived thanks to the death of his friend (Kai's dad). Plus Kai manifests what seems to be his dad's personality when he's in danger.”

“So much tears! I really don't want this to end, but I knew it was too good to be true. Though, the way the way the manga ended felt like a new beginning. Hanae made a promise/vow to Itsuki that he will return, no matter how long it takes, so he hopes Itsuki will wait for him. Also, that picture of Sakae and Aoi on the counter makes me hope that Hanae and his family (plus Sakae in heaven) has peace now. I felt like crying more. Thank you for everything and I hope to see you again!”

“ok rip Abeno's past... rip yellow eyes... rip this cliffhanger ending...“

“Suddenly I see that anon ask about OPs and EDs and partings & separations in a new light... darn. (╯°Д °)╯╧╧”

Fittingly enough, Sensei mentioned in the fanbook that Mononokean has always been a story about meetings and partings too, but still...! More...!!!

“I think this ending is very fitting. Ashiya was never truly part of the youkai world, he was always taking one step in only to step out soon after, and going back and forth between loving youkai and being afraid of them. Ashiya's state of employment has always had a "temporary" feeling to it, including, for example, the fact that he never changed his clothes, and his Mononokean-crest clothes were "borrowed". UItimately, Ashiya didn't seem like he could dedicate his life to youkai, unlike Abeno. (continuing from my previous ask about "Ashiya not being part of the youkai world") It wasn't only Ashiya's feelings on the matter that kept him away from the world of youkai. Abeno contributed greatly to this, as he constantly tried to keep Ashiya away from the Underworld, from danger, from knowing too much, and from youkai themselves, even though Ashiya was technically his employee. If Abeno had tried, even a little, to pull Ashiya into his world, Ashiya would have responded to him, I'm sure. (another "Ashiya not being part of the youkai world" ask) The fact Abeno actively blocked Ashiya from his world was the greatest reason why Ashiya didn't feel like he belonged there. But he still felt connected to Abeno, at least. Rather than dedicate his life to youkai, Ashiya seemed like he might dedicate it to Abeno. Yet this feeling was also met with a wall. By the time Abeno realized how precious it was, having someone who saw the same things as him by his side, it was already too late. (last ask in the series "Ashiya not being part of the youkai world") Ironically, the Mononokean and most other youkai were more open and willing to welcome Ashiya into their world. Still, if and when Ashiya can see youkai again, I hope Abeno will have realized the opportunity he'd wasted. When these two reunite, I hope Abeno won't push Ashiya away again. That's all. I wanted to share these thoughts with you. Please let me know your opinion on the matter. Thank you for reading! :)”

I think you’re right on point with the themes you’ve pointed out and I believe that’s what Sensei was going for too, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s terribly lonely for them to be separated from each other. ___(:3 At least we’re left with a (high) possibility of them getting back together (heh) and even moreso with the fanbook extra content too, so here’s to their continued adventures.

“I am not sure if you are familiar with this anime/manga/light novel series “No. 6” because the end of the Mononokean manga series appears similar to the end of the former in terms of the bond between the two male leads if you get what I mean.”

I know of it and it’s something I’ve always meant to get around to watching, but I have not seen it yet!

“Nooo, I can't believe it's over! 😭 But you know, ever since FNM's ending was announced, I've been looking for something to fill the void this precious story would inevitably leave in my heart, and then someone said "Watch Natsume Yuujinchou, the themes are similar and it's heartwarming". So I started it and, oh boy, I've been screaming at every episode because I'm not used to people openly showing their affection! 😂 So much hugging, hand-holding, head-patting... I'm melting!! (send help pls)”

“Hello Spring! We've reached the end of this wonderful journey, it seems. It's time for a new start. Thank you so much for everything you've done for this fandom, it wouldn't have been the same without you! Seriously, thank you, from the bottom of my heart! 😌 (PS: I forgot to mention, I opened this blog on my old old laptop, with its 1280x720 resolution, and the "ON YOUR OWN, BUT NOT ALONE" strip was right there covering Ashiya's and Abeno's faces, I had such a good laugh! I'm sorry I laughed!!)”

“This ending was really beautiful and yet sad. The promise made me hope but.. it's still so angst that maybe it will take years to hanae be able to see yokais again. I wonder if wazawa-sensei is okay, like, usually when a manga is ending they advertise previously, but the news was so suddenly that made me worry about sensei's health status. I also don't think that the publisher canceled the manga. So, I still don't know if this sudden ending was planned or not.”

Haha when I first made that tumblr theme, I kind of liked the effect that the strip had in covering Ashiya and Abeno’s faces somehow, but it always moves around depending on resolution lol.

In the afterword of the last volume and the fanbook, Sensei touched lightly on their various reasons for ending the manga (which I plan to cover eventually... when I have time...) and while I don’t think we’ll ever know fully, I got the impression that sensei personally seems in good health and even expressed that they would like to make another manga in the future, so as readers and fans we don’t need to worry too much.

“The manga ended well but we are left with unanswered questions : What is Abeno's past ? / Are golden eyes and hair special ? / What about Aoi's face ? / What really happened the day Aoi came back injured ? At this time she wasn't infected but Sakae died trying to save her (something is wrong with the plot) ?! / What about Fuzzy gender and his "human form" ?”

I will just say we got answers to some of those questions in the fanbook, and some we did not. :Y Please hold on for fanbook info!

Hey there. I’ve just read through the last chapter of the Mononokean. What a story. There are still a few questions that left me wondering: (1) What is the origin of the Mononokean itself?, (2) What is the origin of the Influence that flows within specific characters of the story?, (3) If Aoi was able to provide young Ashiya with a part of Sakae’s “Influence,” could it be done again?, & (4) If Ashiya could still see Fuzzy, what do you think this means for his potential abilities?

1. We were told in the first fanbook that the Mononokean was originally a well-loved tea ceremony room, and as we know in the Mononokean universe (also generally a concept in Japanese culture/religion, you can looked up the term “tsukumogami”), things that are used/loved sometimes end up gaining a sentience of their own, and if I remember right that’s how the Mononokean came to be too. (it’s been a while since I’ve reread the first fanbook so if I’m wrong please do correct me). As for any other specifics, we only know that Aoi and Abeno have been the first and second masters respectively, I’m pretty sure.

2. This was answered in the fanbook, which I’d like to summarize eventually! But Influence seems to be a natural power that develops in babies who have been in close contact with yokai before they were born, and golden hair and eyes are also a sign of that.

3. The partial Sakae Influence (lol wording) that Aoi gave to Ashiya as a baby was what Ashiya returned to Aoi to save them. I suppose since they’ve already done it before it’s technically possible, but that’d defeat the whole purpose of what they tried to do already haha.

4. I think it’s as Abeno theorizes, that Ashiya always did have a bit of ability to sense yokai on his own as well!

“I was looking for more FnM content and found out about your fanfictions on Ao3, so I read them all and oh my Lord! They were *so* good!! And I was very surprised and very glad to find out you ship Ashiya x Abeno, I'm especially happy because you ship them in that order, since I was so sure everybody would be shipping them in reverse order! Thank you so much for sharing your works!! (≧▽≦) ♡”

Thank you for your kind comments, I’m always so happy to hear someone loves my fic! I do love writing them even though I haven’t done it for a while and I have so many ideas and WIPs that I’ve still never gotten around to completely, but I swear I will do them someday... While I do think the reverse order is more popular in general, there’s a decent AshiItsu (the Japanese term for the ship haha) fandom thriving on Twitter!

Again thank you so much everyone! Look forward to fanbook info I’d like to get around to posting about soon!

[lavendersage]

i saw that post from the girl who's girlfriend isn't quite ready to be out. if ur blog didnt seem to celebrate love of all kinds (and i'm not talking straight vs gay, i'm talking happy vs sad) i would have kept this to myself, but between ur response and the op's story itself, i think im going to take this chance of sharing a burden on my heart, maybe to help someone else, or just for the shot at becoming at peace with it. a couple weeks ago, when u asked for everyone to send u stories of their lovers, i wrote most of this out but didnt send it.

i (21F) am a college student (god, is this reddit?). my entire life, i have cultivated the cleanest good girl image that i could. my parents sacrificed so much for my sister and i to grow up far more comfortable then they did, so i have tried to honor them with a little golden child they could brag about. straight As, never missed school, did community service, perfect SATs. i worked tirelessly to be on-paper perfect.

one of the reasons i've worked so hard to earn Good Noodle Stars is to make up for the fact that i am terminally homosexual. i realized real early that i could literally cure cancer and the first comment on the news video will be, "okay, she cured cancer, but at least I'm not gay like she is." i could raise thousands for charity, and my aunts would still say, "our kids may not get off the couch but at least they have sex correctly." so they dont know. few people do, none outside my closest circle.

in walks Mars(21NB). Mars is an anachronism. they are both a romantic with and without a capital R. be still my Dark Academia heart.

we got very close before school broke for Covid. Mars wrote me a letter every other week, encrypted and folded so that the only way to open them was to rip a paper seam that would show if someone had tampered with it. it was intoxicating. it was the first time i felt able to communicate freely about anything. i dont know - i didnt hold back my emotions, emboldened by writing in cipher. i spent all summer waiting for those red sealed envelopes, filled with stories and poetry and honeyed nonsense, and i refused to not respond with mirrored passion.

it was all great until it set in that I was going to have to face Mars again, in person. i prayed our school would decide all students had to stay remote. of course I wanted to see Mars, i want to do much more than just see them, but i knew it would only be a matter of time between us being reunited and them asking me out.

this was a person who crafted a puzzle where the answers were flowers that were a declaration of fidelity in Victorian Flower Language. of course i ate that up with a spoon. u would have too. listen, i know all aesthetics are fads and all fads age badly, but if the cottagecore girls get to learn to sew and bake and grow, i owe dark academia for teaching me the vocabulary and actions of my most treasured relationship yet, and giving me permission to be earnest and vulnerable in this life for 10 goddamn minutes. Mars is handsome and a genius and i was not used to feeling connected to anyone. but for all that joy, i was also drowning with the thought of having to break their heart by explaining i cant date anyone AFAB.

so the semester starts. Mars asks me over for a homecooked meal since restaurants don't exist here at the end of the world. they made me a beautiful dinner with all my dietary needs in mind. just like everything else i ate it up. and i made no effort to stop them from inviting me over for food and conversation again and again and a fourth time just to make sure it really hurt.

they kissed me after the last dinner. and I kissed them back, before stopping. they apologized for moving too quickly, but i explained that they had moved at the perfect pace, just with the wrong person.

there is no nice ending to this. it's real life. Mars took it as a breakup and didnt reach out to me again. i sobbed from halloween to christmas, i swear. i'm the villain in this story.

i started this post off as a sign of solidarity to the other young lady, but now im realizing that this letter would be better read by her fearful beloved, not her. it is 4am where i live, so i apologize if this has all gotten away from me.

love is a garden u have to water yourself. ngl, my favorite part about this blog is all the posts about learning to love yourself, learning to see ur intrinsic value dispite the core facets of u that have been deemed flaws, and trust the relationship between me, myself, and i.

i started out telling myself i was writing this to help the high school kid, but i havent shared this with anyone. writing this out has helped me process a thing or two, or at least start to. i like this idea of lavendersage being a kindly cryptid who will alchemise ur heartache into calm.

i hope you dont mind if i try to make this a thing.

my story is in the shape of a love letter. its tearstained before it even hits the water. i drop it in your river and watch it float away.

y’all are breaking my heart with these stories this week 🤧i feel so sad to read them and so helpless to respond, because i know how deep that pain must run and i don’t know if there’s truly anything i could say or do to take it away. but if i can lessen it from 100 to 99, well, then i’ll have fulfilled my goal of existing on this website. at the very least, i’m glad that writing this message helped you process some things on your own, but i’m happy to share my thoughts anyway.

your mars sounds like a top tier human being. victorian flower language? i’m swooning. it’s no surprise to me that you fell for them, and they were clearly head over heels for you. folks don’t make grand gestures like that for just anyone, that’s for sure 🥺

and i’m very sad to hear about the way things ended. but, anon, i can’t help but wonder if it is indeed over, or if hope exists on the precipice of a great act of bravery performed by you--something i know from experience is much easier said than done, and something i’ve failed to do in the past, so i’m not trying to be a hypocrite here. the ball is definitely in your court, though.

also...it doesn’t sit well with me to hear you call yourself a villain. i understand why you see it that way, as it’s clear that you deeply care for this person. but for many folks...the fear of what our family will say or think or do weighs so heavily on us that it robs us of any possibility of happiness with someone who isn’t the kind of person our family wants us to end up with. i’m sure plenty of folks, myself included, can empathize with this. and i’m sure on some level, mars does too.

my love, as with all things, i hope whatever happens next works out for the best, and that you don’t let this experience darken your heart. if things change between you and mars, please feel free to drop me a note. i’ll always be here to listen 💚💚💚`

[duhragonball]

Yamcha if you're still doing the character meme?

I am still doing these, and I’m enjoying it, so keep ‘em coming.   Before I start, let me promote the original post, in case anyone else wants to start their own thing.  I’d link to the OP, but I guess they deleted this from their blog, probably because their notifications went nuts.

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: Let’s be honest, Yamcha doesn’t get a lot of big “hero moments” in Dragon Ball.   Or Dragon Ball Z, or Dragon Ball GT, or Dragon Ball Su-- Look, you get the idea.   In most arcs, he’s the first one to get benched.   In tournaments, he always loses in the first round.   He spent the King Piccolo Saga recovering from a broken leg.    Against the Saiyans, he was the first one to die.  Against the Androids, he was nearly killed and had to sit out the rest of that arc.   In the Buu Sagas he was retired.    In a number of major storylines, he just isn’t there, because no one called him.

But he remains a fixture in the franchise anyway, because he’s always showing up for more.  Let’s take the Buu Saga as an example.   It didn’t surprise me to find out he had retired, mainly from a dramatic standpoint.    There’s a lot of new characters in the Buu arc, and it made sense for some of the older characters to step aside and make room for them.   But he’s still there, because he wants to see Goku one last time, and he wants to hang out with his friends and watch some of them kick the crap out of each other.   It was kind of sad to see him stay behind while the others rushed off to follow the Supreme Kai, but he’s retired, after all.    Also, they didn’t stop to fill him in on what was happening.    I suspect he might have tagged along if they asked.  

As it was, he still ended up getting involved, and he was with the Dragon Team right up until Super Buu cornered them on the Lookout.     And the next time we see him, he’s on the Grand Kai Planet with Krillin, and King Kai seriously considers sending them in to take on Buu in case Goku and Vegeta can’t get the job done.   

And that’s a big deal, because it even comes up in the anime.   King Kai tells them that he arranged for them to keep their bodies as a precaution, but he’s totally in favor of letting them remain on the Grand Kai Planet with all of the other honored warriors, like Goku.  So you start with this desert bandit, a highwayman without a highway, probably because he’s afraid of all the women that use the interstate.   But he gradually overcomes his fears and insecurities, never completely, but just enough to put one foot in front of the other and become a better man.    And finally he ends up receiving a place among the great heroes of old.  

So why doesn’t that get more attention?   You could make a whole epic story out of that, except it’s not Yamcha’s story.  He’s a supporting character.   So the franchise itself tends to play it down.    Even Yamcha doesn’t really take it all that seriously.   I don’t know if that’s modesty or cluelessness or Big Himbo Energy or what, but that’s why it’s so easy for everyone to write him off as a loser or a failure.   They’re overlooking the bigger picture.

The best way to illustrate this is with this TFS short that serves as an epilogue to their DBZ Abridged series.   Yamcha goes back to playing baseball for the Taitans, only to get fired, because he’s so talented that he’s literally broken the game, and no one buys tickets anymore.    But he gets a gigantic severance package, and he still goes down in history as the greatest ballplayer in history.  What always gets to me is that they have to explain to him that this is actually a win.  As his coach puts it, “you do nothing but win.”   

Like Yamcha himself, we often see him from the lens of these insane Dragon Ball adventures, where you have to have glowy hair and a hot cyborg wife to be considered a success.   But to the rest of the world, he’s a jacked up millionaire with fantastic hair, and he’s a real sweetheart.   Who couldn’t like this dude?

Why I don’t: As you may have noticed, I tend to only use this section to talk about why I disliked the characters initially.   I have to think back to 1999 when I was still having trouble keeping track of who’s who.   In particular, I found Yamcha’s presence frustrating because he looked and dressed almost exactly like Goku, but not quite, which seemed bizarre.    Later, I picked up on the context, and it didn’t bother me as much.  

Yamcha does have a bit of an overconfident streak in some situations, which might look like unfounded arrogance, but I think it’s really just his carefree nature and enthusiastic can-do spirit.   He was confident about their chances against the Saiyans, but I don’t think that was him being cocky.   He just knew they had all trained hard and he was stronger than he’d ever been.    But that’s easy for people to jump on as a reason to hate the guy.  

Future Trunks claimed that he fooled around while he was involved with Bulma, but come on.    Does anyone really buy that?    Besides, at best, that would only apply to Future Yamcha, the one who died in the other timeline.   Once Trunks changed the past, all bets were off.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I’m gonna get a little nuts here and go with TFS’s playthrough of Legacy of Goku I, where they decided to level up Yamcha and have him solo Broly.

Basically, in an RPG game like this, Wolf Fang Fist can do monster damage, so they maxed out Yamcha’s stats to wreck the game’s hidden superboss.  You have to skip to 1:40:00 or so to see the successful attempt, but I loved this video.   This is where I learned to respect the utterance of “Roga... fufuken!”  Broly probably would have respected it, too, except he died from all those hits he took.

Favorite season/movie: You know, that fight with Tien was a classic.   Not sure it’s in my top ten, but it’s on a lot of people’s lists, and I absolutely get that.

Dumb as it may sound, I enjoyed seeing Yamcha in the hospital, wrestling with his own despair as he recuperated from his broken leg.   And when he shows up at the end to congratulate Tien and accepts Tien’s apology, well, like I said, Yamcha has this great character arc, but it’s easy to overlook with everything else that goes on.

Favorite line: I forget which game it was in, maybe Budokai 3, but one of his pre-fight taunts is “Watch this, Puar!  I’m gonna win!”, which always makes me think of Puar sitting just off-camera, watching the action from a little lawn chair.  

Favorite outfit:

I may take some heat for this, but I like the Androids/Cell Saga version of Yamcha, with the short, spiky hair.  This dude’s long, luxurious rockstar ‘do is a national treasure, sure, but I dig this look more.  

Also, I consider Yamcha to be the only guy from the Turtle School who pulls off the slippers and no-blue-undershirt look.   It looks off when I see it on Krillin and Goku, but with Yamcha it just feels right. 

OTP: This guy gets shipped with a lot of people, probably because he’s one of the major characters without an established love interest.   Folks still carry a torch for Bulma, some people ship him with Tien, Frieza hit on him in FighterZ, and I’m still trying to make sense of that.   He flirts with your character in the Xenoverse games.    Years ago, I considered doing something with that, but I’ve fleshed out my OC enough to where I don’t think that fits. 

At the end of the day, I can only see Yamcha getting together with @cozymochi ‘s OC, Marzi.  

Brotp: Tien, Krillin, Goku.  Hell, I always figured Yamcha was one of the few people Vegeta could get along with to some extent.  

I mean, Tien couldn’t stand to be one the same planet as Vegeta, but Yamcha keeps coming over to have hot dogs at Bulma’s place, long after the Namekians have left.  

Head Canon: He’s Luffa’s type, don’t get me wrong.    I just don’t see any room in my fic for a whirlwind courtship.    The stars just don’t align.

Unpopular opinion: I’m not really behind this notion that they should give the humans more stuff to do in future series.   When it comes to supporting characters, sometimes they get phased out, and there’s no point in phasing them back in unless there’s a compelling story idea for them.   

I think it’s dumb how they teased Yamcha in the Tournament of Power prelude, only to leave him out of the tournament itself.    On the other hand, they put Tien on the team and barely used him, which tells me that even if they’d put Yamcha on the team, it wouldn’t have amounted to anything.   

I get it, people love these characters and want to see them used more, but I’d rather have one strong Yamcha story than a hundred non-starters.  And at this point, I think the only thing anyone can do is rely on fan-created content.    Be the change you want to see in the world.

A wish: Crap, it’s after ten pm.    I dunno, I wish Marzi was canon.  

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I feel like the character’s already been through worse than I could come up with for him.   

5 words to best describe them: Cat loves food, yeah yeah yeah.   That’s six, but who cares?

My nickname for them: Yeah, I don’t have one.

[singingaboutwishingx]

hello! ik u love musicals and the ww so i had a thought—donnajosh the last 5 years au?

oh. my god. pain. why would you put me in pain like this.

i imagine that instead of being a novelist, josh is a political pundit—he has his degrees from harvard and yale, and he’s trying to climb up the ladder. at the beginning, he’s running a political news/commentary blog while he’s in a low-level position for a mid-range news outlet. donna never met freeride, but the drama minor really stuck with her, and it turned out that she was like, really good at being a musical theatre actress. after she graduated, she decided to pursue it full-time.

another difference in this au is that i would kind of reverse the roles. i think that donna would be analogous to jamie, while josh would fill cathy’s place.

i just ended up mapping the whole thing out chronologically by song, so that starts under the cut.

goodbye until tomorrow- donna and josh meet and sleep together. there’s a sense in both directions that they’ve met their soulmate, and it’s glorious.

shiksa goddess- donna is obv not jewish, but she knows that josh is not the guy her parents would want her to date. while they are republicans, and josh’s staunchly democratic views would make them uncomfortable, it’s more of the fact that he’s super outspoken, both politically and in general.

i can do better than that- basically the same as in the musical. josh and donna drive back to josh’s hometown so she can meet his parents. josh tells her about his friend, sam, whose girlfriend got pregnant in high school, and they got married and never left town. he also tells her about his college girlfriend, amy, who blew him off after nearly a year. he doesn’t need much from donna. all he wants is her.

moving too fast- donna gets a callback for the anything goes revival, and they take a chance and cast a complete unknown as hope harcourt. she becomes an instant star, a media darling, and a huge fan favorite. (it helps that they cast big names as reno and billy, which attracts some attention to the production and allows the unknown actors for oakleigh and hope to be pulled into the spotlight.) donna’s in love, and she’s on top of the world.

climbing uphill- josh is writing furiously. he keeps submitting op-eds everywhere and applying for higher positions at other companies, but there’s always someone or some writing that’s just a little bit better. he’s kind of afraid because the underachieving husband isn’t really where he thrives—he’s always had big dreams. he’s happy that donna’s found success, but he’s kind of bitter that it’s taking her away from him so much.

the schmuel song- josh is feeling down about his career. he basically just wants to give up, stop running his blog, and not even try to go any higher at his job. donna assures him that he’s immensely talented, and that she believes in him more than anyone could ever believe in someone.

when you come home to me- josh spends most of his nights alone, trying to write something that might maybe possibly be published, while donna, he knows, is out living her dream. she’s out there doing amazing things without him, but she’ll always come home at the end of the night. he knows that she’ll always come back home to him.

the next ten minutes- yay marriage! happy fun wedding time!

a summer in ohio- josh is hired to assist at a major news outlet in ohio. it feels less fun as the summer wears on, but it looks good on his resume. he misses being separated from donna so much.

a miracle would happen- donna loves josh desperately, and she honestly would never cheat on him. however, since her run in anything goes, she’s been going to all of these events and seeing all these other people who are more successful than josh. and like, the fact that his career hasn’t really taken off isn’t a problem, but she has a feeling that something doesn’t sit right with him. she wishes he’d just be happy for her with no strings.

i’m a part of that- josh sits at opening night of broadway’s new smash hit, which is essentially a star vehicle for donna (i mean, she had to audition, but the part was always hers). he sees her fall for her love interest and it’s so convincing that josh has to tell himself that she’s thinking of him when she looks at her co-star like that (and really, donna’s just! that! good!). broadway is this whole world that he can appreciate but never fully be a part of, and josh wishes that he could be thriving like donna.

if i didn’t believe in you- as josh’s resentment for donna’s constant absence grows into resentment for her success, donna’s disappointment in josh grows, too. she is by no means disappointed in his lack of tangible accomplishment—she knows her own success is such a fluke, but she’s grateful for every minute—but the way he always seems to have reservations at her triumphs. she tells josh that she loves him deeply, profoundly, but needs more support than this.

nobody needs to know- cut? sorry. i simply don’t think that donna would do this. she might have some feelings that lie elsewhere, but no way would she actually cheat on josh.

see i’m smiling- donna takes a couple days off of the show to come see josh in ohio. he actually gets to fill in for a newscaster on saturday night, and he’s really excited for donna to come to the taping. it’s also his birthday, and he thought they were planning to spend it together, but at the last minute, donna is called back to new york to meet with a movie producer about an upcoming project. josh begs her to please come see his taping and just let them work around her schedule, but donna keeps denying him. this could be a huge opportunity for her. she can always watch the recording later and they can celebrate a week late. he makes a comment about her always being gone, and it spirals into a knock-down-drag-out fight. donna leaves for new york.

i could never rescue you- months later, after their marriage has continued to slip away despite their best efforts, donna sits him down. she says she wants a divorce. she can’t be with him anymore because they’ve tried and they’ve tried, but nothing can make him happy for her and nothing can make her not feel like her success is the cause of his lack thereof. donna’s already packed a bag. she walks out the door.

still hurting- and at last, we arrive at the beginning. donna still leaves him a letter even though they sat down in person, and josh reads it and hurts. it’s not fair. how can she just walk away from him and leave him with this heavy grief for their love?

the trouble i’m having with making this au work (not that it’s a bad idea or anything—i think it’s fantastic and heartbreaking) is that cathy and jamie (i mean, mostly jamie) are worse people than josh and donna, and i just like... i don’t really see any universe where either of them cheat on the other or where one is too self-absorbed to realize how seriously cruel they are. josh had a few moments in the show that make me go “well...” about that statement, but on the whole, they’re both really kind, considerate people.

while cathy and jamie were basically incompatible from the start, josh and donna’s marriage fails because they both don’t realize what the other’s problems are. in josh’s case, his abandonment issues take center stage, while donna feels almost wrong for succeeding.

other choices for a ww tl5y au that interest me very much include cj and toby, toby and andy, and zoey and charlie.

thank you sm for sending me this idea!!!

[iinfortunii]

rules: code of conduct.

BEGIN.

Before we start, I would like you to have certain things in mind when approaching me ooc. I am very shy and quite awkward, which results in me not being much of a talker; however, I will always try my best to be friendly to whoever wants to approach. I dislike pet names so please do not use them with me unless we are very close. There will be times when I'm just exhausted, so my wording could sound rude/aggressive, to which I apologize in advance -I never mean to hurt people’s feelings. I also reserve the right to interact with WHOEVER I want, and pestering me about it will only get you blocked.

Updates will be made as required.

I. BASIC.

A. This blog is: Selective / Independent / Canon Divergent / NSFW / Mutuals only / Singleship / Mostly iconless / Multiverse / AU, Crossover, OC, and Multimuse friendly / Vaguely affiliated with the OP RP fandom.

B. I am a very slow rper for many reasons —school, family, my ever-fluctuating mood —and I would appreciate it if you refrained from pestering me for replies. In return I offer as much patience as necessary. Think of this blog as low activity please.

C. English is not my mother language so I apologize in advance for any mistakes made.

D. I track the tag #iinfortunii, although mentioning me works just as fine.

E. Constructive criticism is always welcome but anon hate will be immediately deleted. I have no problems if you disagree with my portrayal, but it doesn't give you the right to harass me.

F. Mun and muse are both over 18, so there are chances that heavy content will be present; however I won't be writing smut. I can roleplay anything before or after the act if requested, but the moment things get far too explicit, I'll do a fade-to-black. I ask of you to not lie about your age or else you’ll be blocked indefinitely.

G. This is a heavily headcanon-based blog, and changes are likely to be made as more information is revealed about him, though I reserve the right to adjust the new information according to my interpretation of Deuce or simply ignore it, which is why I’m canon divergent.

H. If you'd like to turn an ask into a thread, you can turn it into a new post, or reblog from me, as I won't be using the Tumblr asks anymore due to the problems that come with formatting and such.

I. Ask box is open for everyone ic or ooc, but you aren't allowed to turn it into a thread and nor I will reply to it if we’re not mutuals. Please don't push me, because I won't hesitate to block.

J. No godmoding —only a minor is allowed if it moves a thread forward —or metagaming, please. Don't kill Deuce either, unless plotted beforehand, and most importantly, don't hold your muse back.

K. Discord is available for mutuals upon request.

L. Just because I write something it does not mean I condone it. Please have this in mind and again, do not pester me about it. Any and all nsfw matters will be tagged accordingly. There will be triggering topics present, and you can know more about this on the section below.

M. DO NOT involve me in drama or call-out posts. I’m heavily against both things. On this note, you’ll never see me rebloging a call-out post. This culture is so damaging and toxic, and I firmly believe no one should play the role of the judge for the good of the community just because you had issues with someone or don’t agree with the things they roleplay. Talk things privately, be mature about it, hard-block the person and move on. I am also very aware that a lot of people have done things that can’t be excused, but I like to believe that people can change for the better. If you try to drag me into it, I'll hard block any and all people involved indefinitely.

II. TRIGGERS.

A. They will be tagged as trigger tw, trigger / and trigger cw.

B. I do my best to stay up to date with my mutuals triggers. Your comfort is way more important to me than you might think, so never be hesitant to approach me via IM, (anonymous) ask or stop following me.

C. Triggers that are likely to appear, although some more than others: violence || blood || death || drugs || abuse || knives || body image || medical equipment || suggestive content || etc

D. I have no triggers, so you are free to go wild with your content. I only ask you remember to tag your nsfw (both written and visual), please.

III. INTERACTIONS.

A. Deuce won't like everyone. He might/will make wrong assumptions about your character. He will insult and bite back. He won't always be nice to those he likes. He does many things that serve his interests. You, as the mun, have no reason to take it personal, because I'm won't follow someone I don't like; if you DO take it personal however, and decide to rouse drama, then I'll be hard-blocking you. Goes for me as well —I have no reason to get angry for any of the things noted above.

B. My bonds page displays the relationships that have been built over time, not necessarily through interaction alone but over plotting as well. Refer to it for more information.

C. Interactions with OCs related to canon characters will only take place as long as said OCs have a detailed about page. Personally, I'm not interested in the idea of an OC being blood-related to my portrayal, so I apologize in advance.

D. Formatting isn’t a big thing across my blogs, save for the small text. Please don’t mix either sup/sub with small text when writing with me, as I have eyesight problems. Don’t use colored text either.

E. Non-romantic pre-established relationships are allowed! Just make sure to talk it out with me first, yeah?

01. Spade / Whitebeard pirates (canon and original characters alike that i am MUTUALS with) will have a pre-established relationship as long as the other mun is comfortable with such idea, though that relationship will be limited to merely crewmates, unless discussed otherwise.

F. You don’t need to match my writing length as long as I’m given enough to work with. If something about my reply bothers or doesn’t work with you, let me know and I’ll re-work it.

G. I really enjoy plotting scenarios or talking out about the relationships my muse could have with other muses, so hit me up if you’ve got any ideas! I’ll try to do the same!

H. Mun does not equal muse, so don’t go assuming I’m a jerk simply because Deuce is an asshole from time to time. I’m set on the idea that I’ll give people the same treatment they give me —which is always nice and kind. Kudos to everyone for this ♡

I. I don’t use a threadtracker because I rely on my memory (terrible mistake, I know), but I try to draft people’s replies as soon as I see them. If by any reason it seems like I lost it, then please let me know / send me a link with it and I’ll be deeply grateful.

J. I don’t do nor reply to greetings starters for matters of my own comfort, so I ask of you to never expect a starter or a reply from them.

IV. SHIPPING.

A. Singleship, with the spot taken by daadzi, which means Deuce is no longer open for romantic relationships.

01. Under no circumstances, I will accept more romantic relationships once the spot is taken. That being said, I won’t discourage your muse from falling for / hitting on him, although I ask you to understand he will never respond with the same interest or will never react gently if he’s pushed too far.

02. If my shipping partner is comfortable enough, I'll interact with duplicates with the condition that the relationship is strictly platonic.

B. Constant interaction, mutual interest, and chemistry are a must for the sake of better communication (both ic and ooc, preferably).

C. Please do not approach me if you wish our characters to have either a: one night stand or friends with benefits type of relationships. It won’t work out due to the nature of Deuce’s personality, and for that I apologize.

E. My ship has its own tag so you're free to block it if you don't want to see it on your dashboard. In addition, I'll also tag those posts with only the ship name for this very purpose.

F. Please do not force ships on me.

V. CELEBRATIONS.

A. First off, I am absolutely terrible at keeping up with dates, and to be frank, I am not the biggest fan of celebrating, which is why I think it’s necessary to say I won’t be partaking in any holidays, not even Deuce’s birthday (not that he has one, to begin with). Obviously I will still reply to any gifts received, and will send out things in return —you know, common courtesy.

B. I won't be sending out birthday gifts every year, and I might write drabbles for people once in a blue moon; it doesn’t mean they will be done for the specific date though, so please be patient.

VI. REASONS TO NOT FOLLOW BACK / UNFOLLOW.

A. Too much drama / call-outs / vague posts / sexual content.

B. Content makes me uncomfortable.

C. You are a personal blog without a visible rp sideblog. Please make sure it's easy to find.

D. You do not have a proper tag system.

E. Your blog doesn’t have a rules and about pages.

F. You lack the manners to deal with people respectfully.

G. I have no interest / lost interest.

H. I'm constantly / only used as a meme archive.

I. Other reasons may apply. I will soft block so we can both cease following each other and avoid any potential awkward situations. I won’t make a fuss if you decide to unfollow so I expect the same courtesy.

VII. ABOUT BEATRICE.

She is not a real person. Her concept as Deuce’s (toxic) pseudolover is my creation and was somewhat inspired from the real life Beatrice Portinari. Do have in mind that Deuce doesn’t talk about her so your muse can’t simply approach him and ask about her unless they can go through his memories / read his mind / any capability alike or he speaks about her, though it won't take a genius to figure out that she's a product of his imagination.

You can read about her by clicking here -link to be added.

She serves as a lie to shield himself from the internalized homophobia he deals with up until meeting Ace.

NOTE: As stated previously, Mun =/= muse, but I too have been dealing with compulsory heterosexuality for far too long, so I'd like to apologize in advance for projecting a bit of that into my portrayal. I'll work so that this part makes sense with what we've been given from Ace's novel.

VIII. MISCELLANEOUS.

A. I will never force people to follow me, so if by any reason you have to unfollow/block me, please go ahead. Your comfort matters and have every right to do what you must to ensure your wellbeing. With that said, I will not tolerate and will immediately hard block if you try to police my content.

B. I do not follow back immediately, and it can take me from a few hours to several days to follow back. Do not take it personally if I choose not to.

C. If I follow it’s because I am interested in interacting. I only ask you to be patient because it might take me a while to gather the courage to send something to your inbox or talk to you.

D. I have. ZERO knowledge about medicine. Don’t expect me to go full force and try to be 100% accurate, because I won’t.

E. I practice reblog karma (send a meme to someone if I’m rebloging it from them). If you see something you’d like to reblog but have no intention in sending something yourself, then please reblog from the source.

IX. FINISH.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! As you might have noticed, there’s no password to send. Make sure to check the psa tag for any updates, or don’t hesitate to send an ask if there’s anything unclear! I do my best so as not to post too much OOC posts, but sometimes it just happens. If it's nothing important, then I'll erase it whenever I have the chance/remember.

Keanu Reeves vc: You’re all breathtaking!

[sevensav--d-archived]

@oceansofrp​ sent  🔥 🔥 🔥

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular opinion.

🔥 Ty you’re the perfect person for me to go off about this first one with- lets talk about ocs.

OCs are often treated badly in this RPC.

As ya’ll know, I write ocs.  I write a lot of them, I write a grand total of.... Eleven, with varying degrees of activity.  So obviously, this is an issue that I not only care about, but it effects me GREATLY.  I don’t write any canon characters (anymore) bc I can’t take the pressure of being ic and true to canon bc I’m a stickler for canon.  Anyway.

OCs.  We’ve all probably had them at some point.  IF you’ve been around long enough there was even a server dedicated to them that I was a part of.  And in being in that server and writing ocs, I have made some observations.

-OC Popularity is often directly linked to either the popularity of the writer.  Chances are, if you’re a popular blog that writes canons.... If you offer an OC, people will like them.  Blogs are popular because the writing is good and the writer is friendly, so obviously, your OC will be appealing.  This??  Isn’t a bad thing.  It’s just something that I have noticed.  I’ll never really get all that mad at an oc for being popular lol.  I might get jealous but like.  I won’t do jack about it.

-OCs are often better than canon characters.  I said it.  Lets face it, Horikoshi has so many characters that he can’t make all of them as fleshed out and well cooked like the protagonists and the main antagonists. OCs offer fresh new blood to the story we all know and love, and they might just end up spicing up what your blog canon is.  Seriously, I’d fuckin kill to see some of the OC’s ive met in the actual publicization.  And we can all agree, any OC is better than Mineta. /lh Anyway, holding canon characters i nthe highest regard of who’s worth writing and who’s worth writing with, you’re only holding yourself back,

-People are often stinky about family of canon character OCs and I think people shouldn’t brush them off so readily.  Like.  Bro, *holds up Hideki Kirishima* this boy is canon idc what you say.  IT’s fun to make the world a little bigger.  Indulge a bit, see how it feels to give your canon muse a sibling.  Just.  JUST DO IT.

-People avoid oc muses with bitchin powers As if our main characters aren’t OP as hell.  Like.  Come one.  We’re having fun don;t make us feel bad.  Communicate and talk about things.  Just bc my OC has a quirk that COULD kill yours immediately, doesn’t mean I’m gonna make it happen without your permission.  People are quick to assume that OCs godmod.  Stop that.

-SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE OCS BUT ARE SCARED TO WRITE THEM.  Y’all.  It’s okay.  Please, write your ocs.  People will come to them, I swear.  Some of my favorite ocs pretty much had to be coaxed out of people, and now i can’t imagine these ocs not running around.  We should be confident in our creations.  It takes a huge amount of skill to create a new character from scratch.

🔥 That actually kinda brings me into my next thing, which is what I like to call the Just Make And OC moment.  I’ve seen this in a lot of fandoms, and I’ve started to see it more and more in this community.  What is this moment?

Say you’re writing a canon character.  You think, hey, I like this character, but what if.... X.  So, you roll with it, you do X.  You like it, you keep it.  And then, you’re like... What if.... Y.  And you do that too.  Great, you’re having fun.  But then, you’re like... Z... I REALLY want Z.  And these can be small things, but more often than not, they’re BIG things.  Big, CHARACTER CHANGING things.  

We all have the freedom to interpret canon how we want, and write our muses how we want.... But... What if you just... Took everything you just did.... And just... Made an OC.  Like, you’ve changed core elements of the character so much that they’re barely recognizable.  just give them a new name, maybe change the hair color and BOOM.  You have a GREAT OC to start with.  I used to be in the Undertale RPC and Fandom and if you’re familiar you know that Undertale is just... AU City.  And it’s fun, I’m glad people have fun- but if you’re changing literally everything about a character, even their NAME... It’s just??  Why bother, just make an OC.  It’s fine.  BC if you think about it, you’re not really an alternate universe, it’s the MHA universe and its character that you’re altering.  And there’s a point where... You’ve just made your own character, and that’s sick as hell.

I’m not talking like... Those things where “Oh yeah it’s all the same except instead of dying, Magne lives and has a beautiful husband and lives to be one hundred” or “This is a verse where a villain character gets rehabbed into heroic society” because those are things that wont take away or add too much to the character.  It’s more like you’re opening a door for new things without adding or taking away too much.  It’s when you diverge so far from the character... THAT’S when the Just Make An OC Moment kicks in.

PART of the reason I think people don’t just do this is they like being connected to the canon character, bc it means that they can still garner interest but chances are, if you already have people interested in writing with you, they will happily take your oc. 

All that to say, if you write a canon divergent canon character, don’t stop, if it makes you happy.  Like, seriously this is just something I see and feel.  But also dont?  Be surprised?  If people aren’t super on board?  I don’t really like to write with straight up moral flipped characters bc i feel like... If Deku was a sadistic villain brought up by AFO instead of his mom, he ain’t Deku anymore.  THATS JUST ME, but I’m not the only person who feels that way.  People might just want that classic vanilla canon, and you shouldn’t make people feel guilty for it, in my opinion.  Keep doing what makes you happy, and let other folks to the same.  

Also, it’s not your place to tell someone what they should or shouldn’t do.  If someone writes a canon divergent and you don’t like the divergences, move on.  It’s not your business.  That’s not what I’m doing, I’m just saying that sometimes I am bothered by this, because to me it seems like a lot of these canon divergent canons are in essence, OCs, but since they still have the canon’s name and face strapped to it, it gets more love and attention.  And that bugs me, and I will point it out!  I’m not sorry for it.

I know this one will make me lose some of you so I’m sorry.

🔥 I’m running out of juice but uh can we talk about how blogs about minor characters are the fucking tits bc like i said earlier Horikoshi has so many characters he left a lot of side characters with next to no bones and the people who take those bones and stuff them full of flesh???  Chefs kiss.  That’s kind of my exception to the Just Make An OC Moment.  At some point, that character just BELONGS to that person, like Spinner belongs to Eros, or how Meow created a Hawks’ dad that is so much better than what we got, and Flowers literally created Wash.

[roleplay-salt]

About; Rules; FAQ

Welcome to Roleplay Salt! This is a blog for roleplayers to vent & rant anonymously about the things that peeve or hurt them in the roleplaying community.

GENERAL

Your submission will always be posted anonymously; no exceptions. (This includes positivity submissions & shoutouts.)

Your submission’s text will be placed in a graphic and then copied as plain text as its caption for accessibility purposes.

Topics must be roleplay-related. (This can, of course, include experiences with partners doing things that may be unrelated to roleplay, but would still be considered relevant if it impacts your roleplaying experience with that particular partner.)

Anyone following our blog will be allowed to leave replies on submissions, whether in agreement or disagreement, and everyone is allowed (even encouraged) to reblog submissions, with or without their own commentary. However, we will delete any spamming comments, including ones that are or are similar to “Why don’t you come off anon and say that?” Such comments provide nothing to the discussion. In fact, they usually shut down discussion and it completely disregards the entire point of this blog’s existence. No one has to “come off anon” nor are they “cowards” for seeking safety behind anonymity. Your aggressiveness with that sentiment only reinforces the reason why they want to be anonymous in the first place. ADDENDUM: We will delete salt replies that involve simply telling others to, essentially, “shut up and move on already” and “stop sending salt replies in about this”. You’re more than allowed to say this things in the comments, but we will no longer be making them a part of any future debates.

We actively edit and restructure the wording of submissions. We read every single one of your submissions and we care about consistency and readability. We will correct any spelling errors, grammar errors, and odd sentencing structure, and we will often lengthen abbreviations and slang, and we will fill out any curse words or sensitive terms that were originally 'censored' in the submissions. Do not take it personally! Again, we aim for consistency. We will never just copy/paste your submission and then post it. That's terrible.  

T Y P E S    O F    S A L T

Vents & Rants

Complaints

Negative Confessions

Callouts

T Y P E S    O F    S U G A R

Advice & Suggestions

Critique

Positive Confessions

Shoutouts

T Y P E S    O F    F L O U R

The “Flour” category is reserved for any submissions that do not appropriately fit under “Salt” or “Sugar”, often involving personal confessions and storytelling.

C A L L O U T S    &    S H O U T O U T S

A callout submission is specifically speaking nastily and meanly about someone else, regardless if it’s the truth or not.  All URLs & names in a callout submission will be marked out to preserve the other party’s anonymity as well.  We are a safe place for you to release your anger, frustration and hurt, even if it’s towards someone and not something. But we cannot and will not participate in the true nature of a callout. That will need to be something that you do for yourself if you believe that it’s important for you, your friends and your fandom community.

A shoutout submission is specifically speaking kindly and positively about someone else.

All URLs & names in a shoutout submission will remain visible, and the person will be tagged & mentioned on the post so as to better the odds of them seeing it.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

“Who are the moderators?”

Currently, there is only one operating the blog: Moderator Bull.

“Am I allowed to know your roleplay/personal blogs?”

Unfortunately, no. To preserve our own anonymity (for many of the same reasons as the submitters), we have agreed on the terms to never give out our URLs if requested. If we are interested in your blog, then we will follow you at our own discretion!

“Will you remove a submission for me?”

That depends on the type of submission, what it is about, and what your reasoning for wanting it removed is. The whole point of anonymity is that nothing gets tied back to you. The only cases where we will greatly consider removing a submission is if it’s involving a shoutout about you and you don’t want to be affiliated with us. 

“Will you remove my comments on a submission?”

Of course! However, we will not remove any corresponding responses to you (except in instances where, if yours is removed, the next comment is made to look like it’s being directed to the person prior to your comment. We don’t want to cause unnecessary conflict.) We will also not be relied upon to keep deleting comments you regret leaving behind. If you’re wanting to leave a public response on submissions, then you must be prepared to have others possibly publicly disagree with you.

“Can I ask you for roleplay advice?”

Go right ahead! But we can’t promise the best or most insightful of answers, or that we’ll get to them relatively soon! Chances are, we will post your questions anonymously so that others in the community can help.

“Why did you follow my blog?”

To make our existence known to you and, if you like us, hoping that you will send in a submission of your own or tell your roleplay partners about us!

“How did you find my blog?”

Most likely through the Recommended sidebar feature, a mutual, or just the good ol’ search function.  

“Could you unfollow me?”

If you don’t want to be associated with us, then we recommend blocking the blog so that we don’t unintentionally follow you again!

“Hey, could you do something about the people leaving rude, mean responses on the submissions?”

Unless they are throwing bigoted slurs, threats, or suicide-baiting remarks at the anonymous submitter, they are not doing anything wrong. They have just as much right to disagree with your submission as you had when you sent it to us. We are, first and foremost, a place to vent frustrations or hurts behind the safety of anonymity, and we are also a free-speech blog. We are of the belief that discussions, no matter how heated, is healthy and brings the community together as a whole. Just as your submission may provide someone else with the awareness that they are not alone in similar frustrations, someone disagreeing with your submission may provide a new perspective to you and others that had not been considered before.

“How does name-calling and swearing and being mean add to a discussion? You and your blog are what are wrong with the roleplaying community!”

Just because someone isn’t being nice to you as they give their side of the argument, doesn’t mean that it cancels out their actual argument. You’re choosing to be offended and distracted by how abrasive they are, and that’s no one’s problem to deal with but your own. You have the ability to block anyone so that you no longer have to see their comments on future submissions. Why would we police what people say, the endgame of which would be to ban them from ever reblogging or commenting on submissions again if they don’t listen to us, if you’re not even willing to try solving the problem first by just blocking them? Wanting to have the last word or being upset that your submission didn’t receive the feedback you wanted is not a reason for us to step in and step on someone else’s right to speak, rudely or otherwise. If you’re not going to block them, then why should we?

“Could you not post submissions on sensitive topics like noncon, incest, and pedophilia?”

We have started tagging posts that we believe might be sensitive and controversial in nature with the tag “#twcontroversy”. We recommend blacklisting this tag. If that is still not enough, then we recommend unfollowing/blocking us. These are topics just as relevant in the roleplaying community as anything else.

“Could you promote me?”

Certainly! But only if you are another community-involved blog (a blog that provides a ‘service’ to the community, such as advice, roleplay help, a place for confessions, etc.), and it must be relevant to the roleplaying community to some degree! If you want to promote a roleplay blog, then we suggest sending in a shoutout submission!

“I sent a confession in weeks ago. Where is it? How long will it take for it to get posted?”

It’s either sitting in the queue or sitting in our drafts, waiting to be queued. We have 1,200+ followers so far, and on average we’re sent 15+ submissions a night. We only post between 5 to 8 submissions at night. Your submission is on a wait list. That’s all we can tell you.

“Why don’t you just close your submission box until all the current confessions are posted?”

Because we’re a vent blog first and foremost. If we close our ask/submission boxes, then we’re no longer an option for people who might desperately need to vent or talk about something that could have happened to them that day but have no other options. We want to be a healthy alternative to just bottling it up or possibly lashing out at the wrong people.

“I don’t believe you! I think you deleted my submission because one of you didn’t like it! You’re not unbiased at all!”

We’ve posted submissions about highly controversial roleplay topics like noncon, racism, transphobia, and pedophilia. We reassure you that your salt submission about OCs, theme trends, blog selectivity, etc. is not on that same level, least of all to the point that one of us would delete it. The only submissions that we have deleted, so far, are the ones that have included racial and homophobic slurs.

“[insert OP/commenter] is obviously a rapist/pedophilie!”

If we find that you have accused someone of being a rapist, pedophile, or apologist of either because of their defensive views on noncon/pedophilic ships or roleplay, your comment will be removed and you will be blocked. These are serious accusations that you shouldn’t be throwing at people over fictional content and we refuse to to let you use this blog as a platform to spew such slanderous accusations.

[recurring-polynya]

Omg its barely been a day and I can already see a bunch salt and antis ready to start a Ship war and shit on Renji and Orihime.

Hey, kids, it’s your ol’ fandom mom Polynya, here.

The fandom is kicking up again, and I personally think that’s great, but it also means its more important than ever for you to curate your experience.

Anyone is allowed to say anyone they want on their own blog. Anyone is allowed to reblog whatever they want.

That doesn’t mean you have to follow them.

If you find that a persons posts or reblogs give you an icky feeling, you can just unfollow them. I know, it feels like you’re being mean, but it’s really not. It would be sort of nice if you could still be mutuals with a person without following them, so let’s just all be chill and acknowledge that you can be friends with a person, that you can like a person, without wanting to see all their posts.

I, personally, am very excited about the new anime. I have talked plenty of smack about the TYBWA, and I am not looking forward to some of those interminable Quincy fights, but I had a wonderful day talking with friends about how excited we are about seeing new OPs and the majesty of the ByaHitsu Comedy Hour.

Other people aren’t excited, and that’s fine. I mean, there’s a really simple solution for them, which is that they can not watch it. We live in a time with an excess of great things to read and watch and listen to, and personally, I don’t care to hop on social media and shit on things that make other people happy, but its their blog and they can do what they want. I am sure many of them are having fun, and just because it isn’t for me doesn’t mean they don’t have that right. I’ll probably give it a few days to die down, but if there are people on my feed that continue to reblog that kind of salt, I might have to do some gardening.

And I honestly hope that if my blog makes you feel crummy that you can feel free to not follow me. I don’t consider myself a hater by any means, but I occasionally enjoy good-naturedly dragging some characters and I can understand how that might rankle if they are your favs. We can even like the same characters, but have different impressions and headcanons. I want everyone to have a nice time here on tumblr dot com a lot more than I want all the followers.

Bashing characters is dumb and I wish people didn’t do it, but there’s nothing to be done about it. It doesn’t seem like it brings happiness to the people who do it, and I think that’s really sad. I’ve been in fandom for a long time, and I tend to ignore characters I don’t care for and write AUs to ignore endings I didn’t like. Not everyone has that perspective, and you aren’t gonna talk any sense into people, they’ll have to come to their own truths, so just ignore them. I just hope that someday they realize that OT4s are so, so much more fun than creepy adultery fic.

Finally, the one thing I do beg everyone not to do is to send mean asks to other people. That’s shitty. Maybe let’s not be a shitty fandom, okay? You can write whatever you want on your own blog, but don’t be a dick.

Love to all, I can’t wait to be welcoming to new fans, and if you ever need some positivity or a pep talk, hmu.

💖💖💖