#((omg that was longer than expected

[nell0-0]

Hyrule Warriors but instead of the lil' hero of time there's the hero shade :)

[kimdokjas]

wait wait, what’s the change tumblr did to the reblog chains ? 🥲🥲🥲 I’m so lost

okay so basically, let's say you see a post on your dash

before the update, if you clicked on a url, you could do 3 things:

view that specific reblog on the blog you follow (A)

view the previous reblog on the blog A reblogged it from (B)

view the original post on op's blog (C)

however, staff recently implemented an update where clicking on a url no longer takes you to that specific post. now, clicking on a url just takes you to the blog itself.

this means that you now get 5 things:

view ONLY that specific reblog on the blog you follow (A) -> changed location near header. also, you will now ONLY see that post and nothing else

view ONLY the original post on op's blog (C) -> changed location near header. you will only see that post and nothing else. and ONLY if the op hasn't deleted it, otherwise it just shows an error

view the blog of the person you follow (D)

view the blog of the person D reblogged it from (F) -> option B no longer exists

view the blog of the op (E)

you might be thinking: "cool! i get more options so that's good, right?" well, no.

there are SEVERAL things wrong with this and it goes beyond the prev tags issue

1) first of all, it's counterintuitive that A and C changed locations to the area near the header, especially if your userbase was already used to the previous functions. it just seems like horrible UX design to me but let's put that aside for now.

2) as you can see, option B which allowed you to see the previous reblog of a post no longer exists.

now, if you click on the previous url, you will just be taken to their entire blog. you can no longer view the post itself.

someone asked staff about this, and they replied in this post that the change was INTENTIONAL and if you want to view the previous reblog you would have to "go through the notes view".

to borrow what someone else said:

basically, this update just killed the prev tags culture in one fell swoop.

(sure, you can still use it to reply directly to the person you're reblogging from, but it's now literally useless to use "prev tags" for everyone else involved. sure, you can choose to copy tags or peer review them, but again, if people will have to copy them then the less people are likely to use them, and not every prev lends itself to peer-reviewing imo)

now, listen. i know not everyone likes the prev tags culture, but it just seems like such a poorly-thought decision to kill a culture that like... half of your entire userbase uses (see this poll as a quick reference) and that's UNIQUE to your site and sets you apart from other social media.

but it's also not even just prev tags. let's say you want to remove an annoying addition on a post's reblog chain? you can no longer do that.

however, i feel like this is the most important point:

regardless of how you may feel about the prev tags culture, the pure UI aspect of it should remain

what i mean by this is: even if you don't like prev tags, simply 1) being able to access the reblog chain, and 2) clicking on a post and actually have it take you to their BLOG (and not just a page with that one single post) is literally essential navigation.

this update threatens to drive down user engagement (which is already critically low) by making it harder to navigate. which is actually another point:

3) even if you click on A and C now to view those specific posts, it's NOT the same as it used to be.

before, you could view the reblog directly on the blog. so you could just scroll down and see the other posts leading up to it. now, you will be taken to a page where you will ONLY see that post and nothing else.

but also, you can no longer easily navigate other people's blogs.

you know how sometimes you would see like 50 notifications of someone going through an entire tag on your blog? that's going to happen a lot less, i'm afraid.

let's suppose you want to go to op's blog because they're an artist and you want to see more of their art. so you click on C and see that the tag they use for posts with their art is "#my art"

cool! before, you could just click on that tag and immediately view ALL of their art as long as the posts have that tag.

but now, if you click on that tag, it will take you to the ENTIRE tumblr tag with literally all the posts that everyone in the history of time has tagged with that specific tag.

now, to do the same thing that just took 2 clicks before, you would have to: click on C to view the post -> look for the tag you want to navigate -> click E to view their whole blog -> scroll and look for a post that just so happens to have that tag (the search function is literally useless) and hope to god that there's a recent one or you'll have to scroll for ages or simply give up -> if you happen to find it, click on that tag to navigate their posts.

you see how this is counterproductive, right? you see how this can literally drive down engagement with content creators, right?

if you make people's blogs harder to navigate, you will literally drive down the number of likes and reblogs on their posts, which have already been steadily declining for years now.

4) options D and E to view the blogs and not the posts are literally useless because you could already access other people's blogs before. you just had to click on their url to view their blogs starting from that specific post AND you could choose to just refresh it to view their newest posts.

either way, the change just seems completely unnecessary. and again, it's not just about the prev tags culture but about basic UI.

so what can we do about it?

i normally don't advocate for flooding staff with messages but i do feel like this is one of the worst updates staff has ever done (and that's saying something) and something needs to change.

even if they don't retcon the entire update, that's fine, but staff could at least add the option to view the reblog chain as a different feature (maybe even opt-in) for example. there are better ways to go about this than just axing an entire existing feature.

also, this same issue that makes it harder to navigate blogs needs to change. i feel like content creators will be especially affected by this unless this changes because you can no longer easily navigate their tags, so it will inevitably drive down engagement.

so please, contact staff and let them know we want a change.

you can contact support here!

here's a template for a possible message you could send, but feel free to edit it. (under category you can choose "Feedback")

Hi, I would like to politely request a change to the recent update that affects the reblog chain of posts. Regardless of the "prev tags" culture itself, the UI aspect of being able to view the reblog chain of a post is essential for navigation on this website. Even adding it as a separate, opt-in feature would be a huge help. Additionally, clicking on a post and then on one of the tags now takes you to the entire tumblr tag instead of the tag on that blog, which makes it harder to navigate blogs. Both of these issues have the potential to drive down user engagement by actively making it harder to navigate Tumblr, but especially for content creators. I hope you can do something to address these issues as soon as possible. Thanks in advance and have a nice day.

also, if you can and/or want, reblogs are appreciated to help spread the word!

that's pretty much the gist of the issue from what i've seen, but if anyone else has anything to add or a different way we could contact staff to make ourselves heard, please feel free to let me know!

TLDR: it's not just about prev tags, this update affects basic functionality and content creators as well

Update Sept 07, 2024: this issue was "fixed" a few months back, although with some caveats / downgrades. You can check out this post for how to view the reblog chain, but all the other issues addressed in this post still remain.

[robylovi]

Bit I audibly SCREAMED at from chapter 8 of Two Virgin Losers by @literaphobe (GO READ IT, IT’S RLLY FUN)

+ the nerds in their jammies

[flying-cat]

People don't want character redemption they want a revenge plot from a story that was never supposed to be about revenge

[twistedpraes]

aster • mc • ramshackle dorm

run run lost boy, they say to me away from all of reality

i finally drew my twst mc! their name is aster, they're the prefect of the ramshackle dorm, and they are both very confused and very unamused by everything that's going on. might as well have fun while they're here~

aster here is the second star to the right from peter pan. think like yvaine from stardusts, who likes to watch the little humans from up above. but ends up as a fallen star, who has no actual recollection that they are in fact a star. tho the name should be a dead giveaway.

"who are you?" / "a.... star?" / "aster? got it" and that's how introductions with crowley went.

funny enough i named my mc aster before i came up with the story

[bright-and-burning]

omg these words are delicious, "shimmer" or "something about them"?

i picked shimmer!! enjoy ~670 words of halloween party landoscar + background goofy ass roommate hijinks :)

send me a number and i’ll write a micro story

“Where’s Lando?”

“In the kitchen, I believe,” George says, not even looking at Oscar. “Charles! Put the glitter down!”

Oscar ducks under where Alex is teetering on a dining chair hanging strands of paper bats. Oscar’s job comes later: he gets to deep clean the house tomorrow morning, after everyone’s left.

“Charles! Glitter down now!”

Given the muffled shouting coming from the living room, he lucked out.

The kitchen is quieter. Lit mostly with fairy lights, music playing quietly from Lando’s phone as he dances around the room, pulling a tray of jello shots out of the fridge.

“Nice costume.”

Lando spins, hand clutched to his chest.

“Fucking hell, Oscar.”

It is a nice costume. Eye catching, certainly, with the bunny ears rising half a foot out of his curls.

“Couldn’t commit to the full look?” Like Oscar can talk. He’s wearing a Patty Mills jersey and jeans.

“Had to put on shorts, the leotard was gonna get me arrested,” Lando explains, smile more than a little mischievous. He turns back around. Oscar leans back against the counter, pretending not to watch Lando’s ass in his tiny adidas shorts.

“Shots?”

“Sorry?”

Lando’s close; Oscar must’ve spaced out, listening to him sing as he made whatever concoction they’ll be drinking tonight.

“Shots, Oscar. Bit of liquor in a little glass? Taken in one go?”

Lando’s eyes are dancing. Oscar mock-scowls at him.

“I know what a shot is, Lando.”

“Good! Then you can take one with me.”

He’s smiling, lime wedges and salt shaker in hand. Already knew he’d convince him, the fucker.

Oscar sighs and shrugs. Tequila can’t make things worse.

Lando takes his hand. Oscar’s not prepared for him to lean down and lick it for him. Not even a little. His breath catches.

There’s some kind of shimmer on Lando’s eyelids, more than normal. Entrancing in the warm kitchen light. He adds salt before straightening, bunny ears brushing Oscar’s face on his way up.

Lando lets go of his hand, making quick work of his own.

Oscar’s still feeling a little out of breath when Lando hands him a shot glass.

“To a good party,” he says. There’s a crash from the living room, followed by a shriek.

“To nobody breaking our shit,” Oscar adds.

They clink glasses; Lando holds eye contact as they lick up their lines of salt.

Oscar’s gonna choke on his shot if he’s not careful. He tips his head back to take it, already reaching blindly for the lime wedge.

Lando shudders next to him, lime between his teeth. “Jesus Christ, we have got to up our tequila budget. That’s horrific.”

Oscar laughs, folding a little with the force of it. When he straightens back up, Lando’s got an odd look on his face. Oscar makes a questioning noise.

Lando seems to make a decision, lips thinning for a moment. He crowds Oscar against the counter, hands planted on either side of his body, body heat searing through the jersey where his arms brush against Oscar’s ribs. Oscar’s heart rate has skyrocketed.

“Happy Halloween, Osc,” Lando says, leaning close.

Oscar leans in, slow.

“Happy Halloween.”

The door slams open. Oscar jumps, hip slamming into the lip of the counter. That’s going to bruise. Lando’s arms tighten, wrapping around Oscar’s waist.

It’s Charles, bottle of glitter clutched tight to his chest. He holds a finger up to his lips, and darts down the hall.

“Charles!!!”

Oscar turns back to Lando, lips twitching with the effort not to laugh. They make eye contact, and immediately burst into giggles.

Lando leans in, pressing a kiss to Oscar’s cheek, before disentangling from him.

“Well,” Lando sighs. “Duty calls.”

“I thought you were on drinks?”

“I am.”

Oscar squints at him.

“Forcing George to taste-test the jello shots until he forgets about his war against glitter is a very important part of drinks duty, I’ll have you know.”

Lando grabs the tray.

“Find me later?” He asks over his shoulder, already half out of the kitchen.

Oscar nods.

“I’ll find you.”

[faunandfloraas]

It is kinda funny seeing people talk about Seungmin lately because he definitely has gotten more bold and confident for sure. He's also just getting opportunities to be perceived as an individual on his own as well for the first time in a while but it's still jarring to see people be like Aw he was always such a quiet goodie two shoes little nerd and it's like...... he was the one to leave and seek out his own vocal coach and blatantly talk about it, which of course lead to I.N and Lee Know also doing the same, he was the one to go on bubble and tell off sasaengs who used to camp outside their old dorm for invading members privacy but also because it effected other residents and staff at the complex, something that i'm certain upper management wouldnt have been happy about, and he wasn't curt or nice about it either. like he's never actually been a wallflower, he's always had a pretty strong backbone and seems to stick to his principals, its not really new.

[tyrannosaurus-maxy]

Growing up via press interviews (2015 - Jun 2023)

[that-was-anticlimactic]

this is our place, we make the rules

Kunikida rolls his eyes and takes a couple steps towards them, his gaze never straying from theirs and Dazai’s as they watch with bated breath. “You’re both terrible at this. That isn’t how you ask someone to dance!”

He bows, then holds a hand out to each of them, hands shaking lightly.

“May I have this dance?”

And, shit, how could Chuuya ever say no?

[or, chuuya, kunikida, and dazai dance, make out, and fall asleep together]

💫4,146 words | kunichuuzai💫

a two year anniversary gift for my beloved, @zukkaoru !!! i love you so so soooooo much! thank you for being in my life MWAH <333

[masonjarsmoments]

Casper rolls his eyes, though he’s grinning. “Congrats. You’re officially the biggest kid at the Oktoberfest.”

Holger pokes him with the teddy bear. “Don’t be salty. You’ll get better with practice.” He leans in close, lowering his voice teasingly. “Or maybe you should stick to tennis.”

Casper nudges him, trying to look annoyed but failing miserably. “You’re insufferable, you know that?”

“Admit I’m better, and I’ll let it go.” there is this gleam again in his eyes and Casper needs to gather all his self control not to give in and also not to kiss him right there.

Beer, pretzels and leather pants 2/2

[mothflyy]

Two Law posts in a row because I love him :))

[zakuryoishi]

first two months of the rarepair calendar!! ft. inamine and aomido 👍

[oakiyo]

you've probably already been asked this before but how did you start out making cc and where did you learn to make it?

Hi! Learning CC can be a pretty daunting task and can seem really overwhelming, but the best/most effective way that I learnt was by watching speed meshes from other creators, and reading tutorials. Easier said than done, I know.

I think my first piece of advice before actually creating any content is familiarising yourself with the different programmes involved and how to navigate them. Blender, Photoshop (alternative photo editing programmes will work) and Sims 4 Studio are the essential tools to make custom content - there are a plethora of tutorials out that covering the UI, navigation, and shortcuts to move around and do certain things.

My second piece of advice is to just go for it - start with whatever knowledge you may have. This might be cropping a t-shirt or adding bangs to a hair - really simple mesh edits. Then, when you encounter an issue along the way, find a fix for that specific issue, whether that might be cuts, or UV textures.

It would be pretty hard to just make a singular tutorial on how to make custom content as it is a fairly complex 'thing' and there are so many unique ways of doing it. I'll list some helpful sources and tutorials under the 'keep reading' that I have read or made over the past couple years.

Tutorials:

SimLaughLove made huge masterlist post of tutorials and tips for creating custom content, which is where I read the majority of tutorials I used to get started.

Aharris00britney has quite a few speed meshes on their YouTube channel that I used a lot when understanding more complicated stuff like proportional editing and making textures.

About a year or so ago I made a weight tutorial for hairs that I still use to this day and has not failed me since.

Actually, I have a whole tutorials tab on my blog if you see anything there that interests you!

myshunosun has a lot of helpful resources and tutorials for build and buy custom content, if that's more your thing (link 1, link 2)

Other people on YouTube such as illogicalsims have some amazing beginner friendly tutorials for all sorts of content creation.

Useful links:

Sims4Studio

Blender 2.76

Photoshop

S4CASTools

Nvidia Texture Tools Exporter

If there is anything you don't think I have covered of think is worth me including, please let me know and I'll be sure to add it here! Creating custom content can seem really overwhelming and it is inventible to get frustrated and angry along the way - believe me I have had many a meltdowns over issues with my CC. Another point I want to mention is to never feel scared or as though you are being annoying when asking other people (myself included) for help. I am more than welcome to help you with your CC issues, just shoot me a message and I'll do my best to explain what your issue is and how to fix it.

If there are any areas you want to see covered in a tutorial please let me know and I'll try my best to write one.

[isame-allen]

Surfer boy card 👍

[jettorii]

i missed them for a hot minute

[kofeedoggo]

hello! sorry for being sudden but do evon and jae have any opinions regarding azure? may it be anakt or alnst time, up to you! (i absolutely adore their character design btw!)

Starting with Anakt, Jae and Evon didn't really have too much interactions with Azure, but the two respected him as a fellow classmate!

The first time Jae had seen how uncaring (aka the idgaf) Azure was, he was surprised to see someone even more listless than Evon LOL. He teased Evon for sure about it too,

"Hey look, you have some competition hehe." and Evon just gives him a blank stare 😭

But because of that reason, FOR ONCE!! Evon actually wanted to become someone's friend-- that being Azure. She had no explanation for it, sure it could've been because they have some similarities, or because Jae would occasionally mention how parallel they were-- but she has similarities for other people too... so why?

(read: it was a friend crush)

Whenever the two would walk by Azure, I like to think that Evon would be trying to nonchalantly glance at him but Jae just straight up stares.

Now as for Alien Stage, I think his death made the realization of their fates really, and I mean really settle in deep in their bones. The thought that someone they knew and once saw breathing is no longer terrified the hell out of them- but they didn't really want to think about it.

It really affected them one way or another!