#and one more note just in my tags is that those “why aren’t we interacting’ memes usually don’t help. they don’t break the ice comfortably

[minteagalaxea]

hot . line (p. one) | jy. uso

jey uso . part one

genre: smut (minors dni) content warnings: phone sex . (unknown) mutual masturbation . daddy kink . afab reader (she/her pronouns) . dirty talk . sexposition (ish) word count: 2.29k inspiration: the concept of a glucose guardian/sucrose supplier . the accountants in the john wick series . the notion of parasocial relationships . songs: good to me by seventeen (slowed and reverb) (x) . light a flame by seventeen (slowed and reverb) (x) note: thank you to @lov3rla03 and @spiicii for endorsing my brand of nonsense. dialogue isn't generally my strong suit, but i wanted to try something new!

oh, she hated this. she really hated that she was resorting to this of all things.

her fingers clutched the business card lex gave her, a black card with dark red foiling to mark the name of the organization and the phone number. it felt like a death knell as she lied in her room, screwing her eyes shut one she dialed the number and she heard the line pick up, honestly anticipating a robotic voice on the end, or some type of attempt at sultriness.

yet, the voice, a low contralto hum, was soothing on the other end as they greeted, “welcome to the bloodline. how may i direct your call?”

she wasn’t sure how to answer, and her silence only served to embarrass her further as she stammered and rambled, “i-i’m sorry…this is my first time, and i just…my friend gave me the card, and i don’t know if this is a good id—”

the voice on the other end offered a soothing laugh to carefully interrupt her. “it’s alright, my dear. i should have asked first. would you like to know how this works? my name is quynh.”

her stomach felt less heavy, knowing she was at least speaking to a real person, and she mused an assent.

“initially, the gentlemen prefer phone interactions, just to have a feel for you and for the sake of discretion. they aren’t recorded or monitored. you’re certainly allowed to choose when you’d like, as many of our clients do, so please don’t feel pressured to stick to one if that goes against your preferences. later on, if you’d like in-person interactions, those can be arranged, but they generally reserve that for more routine clients. there’s no hard and fast rule as to how many phone conversations are required, that’s between you and him. we charge by session, and tips are not necessary, but certainly appreciated—i hope that’s alright.”

she blinked, hearing the basic ground rules, and she found herself questioning why she was thinking that this was going to be some casual hotline-escort service, given the hefty price tag that suggested a luxury clientele. though, she considered, money wasn’t hard to come by for her in her line of work. and lex provided glowing reviews, so she supposed that it couldn’t.

“umm…which gentlemen am i allowed to choose from?” she inquired with trepidation, and easily as ever, quynh answered.

“there’s roman: big dom kind of man, baritone-bass voice. unfortunately, he isn’t accepting new clients, but he’s here if you need to discuss any issues or concerns regarding the others regarding safety or consent,” they started, tone carrying an undertone of secrecy and intimacy that had the woman curious, but unwilling to prod the stranger more about this.

“then, there’s solo: stoic, but certainly intense. a preference for those wanting to indulge more…rough fantasies. bondage is a big thing of his.” she shivered, and quynh laughed soothingly, as if sensing her discomfort, “don’t worry, bun. he has his own niche, and i wouldn’t recommend him for you since you don’t seem like the rough kinda girl. we want to provide a positive experience for all of our clients, but especially our new ones.”

the woman sighed in relief, continuing her relative silence as quynh exhausted their voice just to provide her knowledge and comfort, “perhaps on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we have sami. sweet, a bit shy, kind of a switch, can be a bit more submissive—or at least, lean towards it, though i like to equate him to a service top. gives very nice praise, too, and has an excitable charm. cheerful, and expressive even through the phone.” there was a fondness there, and she answered.

“maybe…not too soft?”

“well, i think the last of our two gentlemen might be up your alley,” the receptionist mused with a fond chortle, “jimmy and jey.”

just hearing their names had a wave of comfort washing over her, like a hug delivered by this person on the other line.

“jimmy’s the more adventurous one, with ideas as creative as his degrading. not quite as mean as solo can be, but he’s up there. the bad boy twin, if i had to term him. he’s got some cute pet names, so it tends to even out.

“but, i’d recommend you to jey—tends to be better with first-timers. he’s not like sami in that he’s all sweet…but if it helps, he does like calling his female subjects things like ‘mami’. he’s got a big flirtatious streak; big praise thing with him, too.”

that was all it took for her to settle on him with an assertive tone, though really, she had a suspicion that quynh was saving jey for last, and after a few rings on the line, there was a new voice on the other end of the line.

“how’re you doing, mamas?”

fuck. one greeting and she was already wet, and she already had to scamper to grab her vibrator from the drawer in her nightstand in the most feeble stride at composure, all her confidence flying entirely out of the proverbial window.

the attempt, however, was generally fruitless with her stammering, “h-hi…i’m uh, not sure h-how…to start all of this.”

she earned a chuckle on the line, sounding endeared by her green nature to this entire thing as he answered, “that’s alright, mami. we can take it nice and slow, work you up real nice. why don’t you tell me a bit about you, baby?”

“wh-what do you wanna know?”

“maybe what got a sweet little thing like you out here on a phone with a man like me?”

her breath hitched, and she wasn’t sure what to say as she admitted, “i work a high-profile job…and i think i need someone to help me get the edge off. maybe i’m too pent up? work has been so busy.”

“yeah, mamas? need me to help you cum and sleep well tonight?”

shit, just the suggestion of that, the lick of his voice was already making her lose her mind, but she assented as she surreptitiously turned on the bullet, “y-yes, please.”

the man on the other end chuckled, “well, aren’t you a good girl for me, baby, using all your manners? gonna give you a reward if you behave like that for me."

ut, his voice took a sharper, biting edge subsequently. “or perhaps not, because i didn’t say you could touch yourself, did i?”

a chill ran down her spine, gasping as she realized that he did manage to hear the buzz of her very discreet, reportedly near silent vibrator. “i’m sorry, daddy…just wanted to take the edge off.” and holy shit, she didn’t expect herself to call him that.

“well, mamas, you better behave, or daddy won’t let you do any of those things.” his voice was teasing, but she hadn’t realized that calling him “daddy” would make his breath hitch in the way that elevated her reality that he’s just as turned on as her, no matter how fictitious it was from. perhaps it was that that made her more comfortable to play along, his voice and reactions spurring her on to indulge her fantasies a bit.

“i’m sorry, daddy. i promise i’ll behave now.”

“that’s right, mami. now, why don’t you tell me what you’re wearing?”

she wasn’t sure how to broach this one, but she tried her best as she spread her legs and reclined into her satin pillows, “nothing…just a big sweater, that’s all.”

that boded positively for her, she presumed, given the groan jey elicited as she heard a rustle of fabric on his end, “nothing underneath? naughty girl.

“but, i can’t blame you, mamas. you sound so stressed…no wonder you need your toy. so stressed your fingers won’t do it for you, huh? needa think about something bigger than your pretty little fingers?” he continued, just slightly more conversational with that heady undertone.

“yeah, daddy. wanna think about your fingers if i’m so lucky,” she admitted bashfully, surprising herself with her boldness as she got more comfortable. quynh was right—she would end up liking him.

jey’s choked groan on the other line brought prickles along her every nerve as he chuckled in approval in an attempt to regain some semblance of composure, “shit, mami, you can. you can put that vibrator and think about how daddy's fingers should be in your pretty cunt instead of some toy.”

she obeyed—how could she not when he sounded like sin and virtue in equal measure, and she pressed the bullet on her clit, letting it whir there as she tried to pay him some attention, too, as she settled into the rhythm of their dialogue. “are you thinking about me, daddy, about what i could do for you right now?”

“fuck, of course i am, mamas. thinking about the pretty words coming out of your prettier mouth.” there was a certain cadence there; she wasn’t sure how much of it was authentically him, given the line of work, but she wouldn’t push as she plunged the bullet inside of her.

jey’s groans and growls and the shifting on the line had her curiosity growing about if he was actually stroking herself as they both enabled each other’s pleasure, stoked the heat in their bodies. “daddy, wish it was your fingers right now,” she crooned in between her gasps of bliss, dragging her vibrator to a higher intensity, “i know it’d feel so much better.”

“shit, babygirl, keep talking like that, and i’m gonna wish it was your mouth on my dick instead with how sweet you’re being to me.”

“oh, daddy, i’d take care of you so well.” her voice began veering into a sense of dreaminess, loosened as she plunged her toy in and out of her depths to seek some relief, “won’t you let me help you? promise i’d take you all the way down and won’t gag.”

“i’m gonna hold you to that, mami. you’d look like a fucking masterpiece with your mouth full of dick. or with that pussy full of my dick, too,” he grunted, breathing labored over the phone as something rocked, perhaps the bed, perhaps an audio recording. she couldn’t care right now, determined to chase after that elusive release, “turn that shit up, baby, and fuck yourself faster.”

her moans filled the line as she did exactly as jey requested, pushing her damn bullet to the limits in ways she had never pushed it to the maximum setting. yet, here she was, her sounds louder and reverberating through the phone and overpowering the whir of the toy’s motor.

“fuck, daddy, wish it was your fingers—wish you could stretch me out all nice and wide and pretty for you,” she mewled, thrusting her vibrator in and envisioning it was a pair of thicker, more human digits instead, “my fingers won’t cut it. need you.”

jey’s grunting reached a fever pitch as he elicited a groan, something long and hypnotic as he said, “i know you need me, mamas. touch your clit, i’m gonna get you there.” she heard the frenetic rustle of the sheets on his line, haphazard like the bounce of his mattress while her free hand circled her neglected, now extremely sensitive pearl.

her voice took on a pleading, sultry tone as she begged in her wake, “daddy, come for me, you know you want to. you’d feel so good, so much better.” or, at least, it would assuage her ego assuming he was jerking off. she indulged the fantasy.

“i know, mamas. want you to come with me, can you manage that?’

she could, partially because holy fucking shit did he sound somehow even sexier. the fact that he asked dragged her to the edge with just a single question had her seeing stars, her moans nearly drowning out what she could hear on his end as his own sounds—a cacophony of grunts, groans and gravelly filth—prolonged that monstrous high that she had her still rubbing her clit and drenching her sheets for. she could only hope he was in a similar predicament.

in the moments of respite, to recompose, she heard jey’s breathless, effusive voice inquire, “how was that for your first time doing this, mamas?”

her laugh emerged choked, mind almost reeling from the gravel of dominance earlier to his current ease, “good. better than expected, actually. i, umm, hope you enjoyed it, too.”

“i definitely did, mami, don’t you worry.”

“and…” she started, deciding to impulsively blurt it outright before she lost her nerve, “could i…could we possibly do this again? this was…really nice, and i didn’t know i needed it.”

his warm, hearty chuckle was enough to balm her nerves, her worries. she wasn’t even sure why she was worried. technically, she was paying for his time—there weren’t meant to be strings. “of course. i’ll let quynh know for ya. let you get some rest.”

her own heart warmed at the consideration, and she swiped to send him the payment, with an exceedingly generous tip that significantly amplified the already-exorbitant (yet, justified) charge; she could only envision the look on his face, seeing the slightly cheeky note she added: for making me cum so hard, daddy ♡ - mami.

jey’s laugh sounded like heaven and hell, all incredulous and mirthful as he said, “same time next week, mamas?”

her lips wrapped around her chosen farewell like a promise as she responded, “looking forward to it, daddy.” and the call ended.

as far as she was concerned, he didn’t make a mess of his bed like her, a consummate professional through and through.

and if he did? well…that was his secret, not hers.

[iniquitousyearning]

tldr: respect eachother.

this is the post i’m referring to. read this first. 🤍

there are a few different topics id like to cover here; before i begin, please know that i am coming wholly from a place of respect and understanding, while also feeling the need to defend my friend. mari (@thatdammchickennugget) is one of the sweetest, full hearted individuals i have had the pleasure of meeting, and she did not deserve to be spoken to like that.

most important; respect.

the fact i even have to reiterate this fact is disheartening in itself, but, please: give respect, get respect. at the heart of this fandom, we are all here for the same reason. to read and write for characters we love. it seems that sometimes, perhaps we forget this fact and we focus too much on the analytics of it all.

i understand the frustration, i too was once a new writer and can promise you the feeling is not lost on me. you are valid for having these feelings, but there is a right and a wrong way to go about it.

there simply has just been too much hate in this fandom lately. there are tensions for all sorts of reasons. shaming and mocking people for making friends and fostering safe spaces is not how this fandom has ever operated. ‘big blogs’ are humans with feelings, the exact same as you, and to immediately assume the reason they aren’t reading or reblogging your fics is because they don’t want to support anyone except their friends is an unfortunate stance to take; given it’s simply not true.

perhaps you may be forgetting that there are real lives behind these screens. lives with traumas and grief and heartache and stress. not actively reblogging every fic we come across doesn’t equate to not wanting to support, it may just simply mean that we’re going through some shit and don’t have the time to read as much as we’d like to.

for new writers, a side note;

if you’re a new writer, you need to assess within yourself why it is you’re writing. there’s going to be low points, topics or themes not as highly sought. low notes do not depict your worth, and to point fingers at others because they’re not supporting you the way you want them to, screams to me, someone who is writing for all the wrong reasons.

interactions and reblogs are so fucking appreciated but shouldn’t be the root of why you are doing what you’re doing. i write for tom more than anyone and his fandom is the smallest aside from blaise. the amount of writers that actively reblog my fics is very very low, and that’s okay. no one owes me or you anything.

i’m going to wrap this up by saying this; over half of my mutuals are small blogs or nonwriters. i have made majority of my mutuals on here by interactions alone, wether it be me searching for fics or them commenting on mine. it’s easy to make friends, it��s easy to find those supports, you just have to reach out.

i will always encourage every single one of you, to send me your fics, to tag me in them, whatever the hell you want to do. it’s hard to be everywhere at once. i have always been loving and welcoming and inclusive to everyone, i know all of you know this. if anyone wants my support, do not ever be afraid to ask it. i will not bite you, i will not ignore you, i will not tell you to get lost.

reach out. i’m here. 🤍

[firewall000]

About the whole tiredsn0w situation…

I have recently been made aware of this whole situation in which tiredsn0ws essentially getting harassed. As a close friends of hers, I feel obligated to say something, however  I won't reveal my identity for my own sanity.

Most of the matter I will be commenting on stems from @sneakysnekbetch ‘s blog.

CW for mentions/discussions of bullying, fetishisation, sexualisation, racism, pedophilia etc.

I didn’t scroll as far on the blog, so the screenshot order will be what is newest.

First of all, sn0w has acknowledged that the drawing may come off as sexual but is not drawn to be. I can see how it’s uncomfortable but at the end of the day, the artist didn’t intend for it to be weird. You can find it weird, but wouldn’t you say the person who made the work knows more about it than you? Rhetorical. 

Second of all, to address the third and fourth image added in the first screenshot: it is so incredibly important to note that SCP-049 has BPD in this canon. He is heavily inspired by someone with BPD who Snow knows herself. The fixation/dependency/obsession that comes with having an FP is not weird just because it is platonic or familial-adjacent. Same for the last image. One of the tags was quite literally, ‘don’t tag as ship’, meaning it isn’t romantic:

Saying you ‘need someone’ is not an inherently sexual thing.

(Referring to third image, as its been cut off)

The problem with all your claims is that you leave out a shit ton of context and exaggerate what you do present.

What is depicted in the screenshot is not a tantrum, but a personal opinion that was phrased in a rather long way. Someone being non-sharing or not wanting to interact with ships is perfectly fine. I myself block SCP-049 x OC/SCP-035 shippers because it makes me uncomfortable. Likewise, this is just someone stating a boundary. Oh no! This person doesn’t like to see ships! Because of personal discomfort! 

Not to mention that Sn0ws discomfort with SCP-049 x SCP-035 stems from the fact it creates personal distress with her and, in canon, is considered abusive (See: That’s not love, Isabel.)

This isn’t bullying. Unless you provide contextually relevant details, it won’t be bullying.

Obviously, even if it isn’t bullying, it is still perfectly valid to feel upset from getting comments that aren’t 100% supportive of something you create. I’ve been there myself, but to call it bullying is wrong.  

Instead, that entire response just seems constructive.

Again, this doesn’t seem butthurt, rather just clarifying? You just love to blow things out of proportion, Snek.

Also, it is SO ironic how you talk about ‘’Multiple canons’, yet you’re the person who complains about SCP-049 acting a certain way in one canon?

We also see SCP-049 being extremely paranoid and obsessive with his ideals in the article. you  know what else? We also only see a bit of his character in the article. There are many ways to flesh out SCP-049s character and lore. Not everything has to be article-accurate. Especially because the entire deal with the SCP: Foundation is that there is no true canon. Go figure.

Overall, I agree with anon.

I agree that the first and latter image are odd, but those are incredibly old and also have been deleted for a good reason. The BBC one… yeah, extremely uncomfortable and weird. Again, deleted for a good fucking reason. Do I think an apology would have done better? Yeah. But still, deleted for good reason.

The second drawing, however… is just not sexual at all? Seriously, so many of your arguments boil down to, “I THINK IT IS SEXUAL EVEN THOUGH IT ISN’T!” and it is so embarrassing. So much of SCP-6118s character revolves around mental illness (that the author also has), so why are you so upset that mental illness is depicted realistically and, by proxy, uncomfortably? Get over it.

I will reiterate my point— the artist knows their own work better than yourself. But you don’t seem to understand that concept, as shown here:

(full art for context)

Again, that art is not sexual at all. It is someone in restraints. A soldier, no less. Restraints are so commonly used in non-sexual ways in literally so much media. You’d know if you stepped outside of spaces that portray such things as sexual.. Same with objectification. It is almost like soldiers are seen as living weapons rather than humans. You know, almost like they are being objectified. 

It is almost like Sn0ws writing is literal psychological horror and focuses on the consequences of abuse, mental illness and the like. 

Seriously, this one in particular is a you problem. It is no one’s fault but your own if the first thing you think of is sexual stuff. Actually embarrassing. 

You can so absolutely find a song choice weird, but again, Sn0w said she explained her intent with the drawing SEVERAL times. Not to mention that it is so incredibly common to interpret songs that are romantic or sexual in a completely different/platonic way. Trying to explain to someone what THEY meant when THEY made THEIR work is so cringe. 

For context, this is the drawing:

Stressing on the phrasing of ‘lyric(s)’. A lyric. Some lines. Not the entire song.

’Most of the work form her friends is just smut’, yeah, here is tiredsn0ws opinion on said work:

It is almost like a ton changes in a whole year and that there is a reason Sn0w distances herself from her old work and chose to rewrite it. Not to mention that sn0w has said the opposite about infantilisation of SCP-6118: 

She has expressed cringe and discomfort for most of her old works.

Key word: teenage. One makes and does things that are incredibly weird and uncomfortable and regrets them later on during teenhood. Sn0w has drastically changed since her old works. Here is a full overview of her thoughts regarding her old works:

Also, pointer: SCP-6118 is asexual and aromantic, not gay. Tiredsn0ws version of SCP-049 is asexual and aromantic. Tiredsn0w herself is asexual and aromantic. Aromanticism is very present in her new work. To add onto my point about SCP-6118 being SCP-049s FP (taken from rev. 10 from the scp sandbox) and their relationship being not-romantic:

Actually, none of her characters dynamics are written to be romantic:

I just had to save this one for last. Do you know how absolutely fucked up it is to compare someone to a literal fucking pedophile? A groomer? Snek, you literally forced Sn0w to reveal extremely personal and traumatic details just for her to prove she isn’t, but you don’t care about that and instead keep persisting, and for what? I will not share screenshots out of respect for sn0w, but you know very well. You should be ashamed of yourself.

In conclusion, most of this boils down to people not understanding aromanticism and personality disorders in writing and making up their own interpretations of what someone meant with their work while also invading their privacy.  There is a severe lack in understanding of actual story and thought process. Her work is not intended for a general audience and instead for  people with mental illness and those willing to sympathize with the grimmer aspects of it.  

And also, to Snek:  your arguments are not constructive, they are contextually spotty and so chronically online it makes my head hurt. Your weird usage of condescending titles (i.e. babygirl, bro, etc) aren’t cool or a good ‘got-cha’, it is incredibly uncomfortable and cringe to see. Do some internal insight on why you perceive so many things as fetishistic or sexual, because at this point, it is literally just a you problem.  Do better.

Also, a note about something tiredsn0w (and I, minimally) have noticed:

Micro aggressions are not okay, Snek. And neither are ignorance and performative actions. 

And lastly— leave tiredsn0w alone. I block people who I think are weird also. The block button is right there, it’s free and it is available for a reason. If I can do it, so can you. 

As per my personal opinion, I think that if someone has expressed distaste for their old work and wishes to disconnect themselves from it, then that is okay and should not be held over their head. The artist knows their work better than others. Even when intent is explained, it goes in on one ear and out on the other. 

[antimony-medusa]

Guys, every time I post something about like “you may not realize this but you’re really coming up on a kink here, consider tagging”, as the post escapes my circle I keep getting people coming into my notes like “YEAH I’m sick of those FREAKS in the fandom, get them out” and like that is not what I’m saying at all.

I have been posting things because I think some people aren’t realizing how they’re coming across in some cases, or not realizing that this connection is tropes they’re super into has a specific name. It happened just the other day with someone coming up to me like “wait intox kink is a thing”? And yes. These are all things. There are names for all these things.

I’m posting these things because a) it starts to get rude to take some of these tropes and insist there’s nothing but vanilla posting happening in this fic. In the same way as you wouldn’t show up to work in a bikini there are fic subjects that are rude to drop on people unwarned.

And like, when I hit things I’m not into unwarned there’s a whole spectrum there from raising my eyebrows and continuing to having to click off a fic, but I do not have a moral or ethical problem with people writing family relationships I consider to be suspect. I think you should tag it to be polite but in the same way as I would go Huh about someone coming into my work in a bikini, I think they’ve misread the tone of the room, but they have not committed a mortal sin. I’m not saying that this person who showed up in a bikini is someone we should shun out of the community. God, I have hit legit triggers unwarned for before, and I don’t enjoy that, but I don’t think the person who did this is a terrible person or something. You messed up but you’re still like, fine.

But I’m also posting it because b) knowing that what you’re into has a name can be an experience full of joy. Mortifying? Yes! Especially if you realize that this is a theme through multiple of your works and you had no idea! Ask me about my fucking discovery that I found dubcon interesting and I’d been writing YA novels with romantic interactions structured around uneven power deferentials. I wanted to throw myself into the sea and never write again.

But once I went ohhhhhhh that’s why I found interactions where one person had a dearth of options to be interesting, I could b) not put it in my work unwarned for and not for all audiences c) investigate that theme more fully and decide if I wanted to celebrate it structurally and focus in on it or just include it as a fun highlight d) seek out other works with that tag and see other people exploring that. e) understand the baffling reactions I had going on from people where sometimes I could bring up a story and it would go well and sometimes they would hate it and it seemed random? Connected to Whump? Me trying to do romance was bad? No, it turns out one of my friends hates consent issues and I think they’re fun. You know how much easier that made interactions with that friend?

Like, part of the posting I have been doing is because there are tropes you don’t bring up in polite company. Incest is one of them. Consent issues. Daddy kink. If I was doing these things and putting them in the platonic tag, I would want to be warned that I was doing it. And sometimes the tone of my posts has gotten a bit hysterical because seeing endless waves of this stuff presented as though it’s vanilla can make you feel like you’re in the mirror dimension. *I* know that you shouldn’t be doing that, but everyone around me had shown up to the exam wearing a banana bikini. They are gonna go out into the work world like that. Do they not know? Etc.

But like if you spend enough time with yourself you’ll find you’ve got one or two interests you have to pick the friend group to talk about because people will think they’re weird. Everybody is like this. People are strange and complex. I don’t want to get into pointing and going ahahahahahahah look at that, and I’m sorry if I’ve gone down that path.

I just think that it would be helpful if we use the right words for things occasionally.

[donotbelasagne]

IN9 episodes tournament, round 1 stats

I have created a spreadsheet based on the wonderful polls by @insideno9bracket and now I am here to give you some solid facts (it's about 1000 words long, I sincerely apologise).

First off, I looked at the general data.

The mean amount of votes per poll was a nice round 90 (to the nearest whole number), with a SD of 11.6 (quite a lot).

The mode was 83, and the median 89.5 (meaning there are a few outliers at the top).

The mean amount of notes per poll was 17 (to the nearest whole number), with 10 of were likes and 7 were reblogs (the number of comments proved to be almost negligible, with a mean of 0.25 comments per poll).

Firstly, I think this shows the general trend on Tumblr of moving away from reblogs and towards likes (a trend that other Tumblr users have made way more interesting posts about, so I won't go into detail about this here). Due to the nature of these polls, I really enjoy reading people's reblog-tags, so I urge you to reblog more next round so I have a good time lol.

Secondly, it shows that only 19% of the people who voted also interacted with the post in another way (not taking into consideration those who liked AND reblogged). Again, I feel like we can do better than this next round. I want to know why you choose the episode you choose! Give me those unhinged and insanely biased tags, reblog with propaganda of why people should vote for a specific episode! It’s what these polls are all about!

Next up, let's take a look at the most popular polls and episodes.

The top 3 most voted for polls were:

Nana's Party vs Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room (125 votes)

Zanzibar vs Paraskevidekatriaphobia (108 votes)

Sardines vs How Do You Plead (105 votes)

The top 3 most voted for episodes were:

Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room (115 votes)

Plodding On (82 votes)

The Stake Out & Cold Comfort (81 votes)

Now, the main take-away from this is how insanely popular BCDR is. It got more votes by itself, than all other polls did in total. Another take-away is the popularity of Sardines and How Do You Plead (we’ll seem them again in the “closest calls” part of this post). People really fought for both those episodes. My last take-away for now, is that we are all insanely predictable and I love that for us lol. Of course Plodding On and The Stake Out are in the top 3, of course they are. 

If we look at the most voted for polls/episodes, we of course also need to look at the least voted for (or as I’d like to call it; the bit of this post that would get Reece annoyed).

The top 3 least voted for polls were: 

Private View vs Boo To A Goose (55 votes)

And The Winner Is vs Thinking Out Loud (75 votes)

Hurry Up And Wait vs A Quiet Night In (80 votes)

The top 3 least voted for episodes were: 

Hurry Up and Wait & The Referee’s A W***er (8 votes)

A Random Act Of Kindness, Nana’s Party & Love Is A Stranger (10 votes)

Kid/Nap (14 votes)

A couple of points on this, Private View vs Boo To a Goose was the first poll to happen, which I believe is the main reason this poll received so few votes. Secondly, some of the episodes in this top 3 were just unlucky with which episode they were up against and aren’t bad episodes per se (to be fair, are there any actual bad episodes? I think not. Just popular and less popular ones). For example, The Referee’s a W***er was up against Cold Comfort (which got 91% of the votes), and Nana’s Party was up against BCDR (which got 92% of the votes). 

This brings me nicely to the point of win margins. 

Top 3 biggest win margins:

Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room (92%) vs Nana’s Party (8%) 

Cold Comfort (91%) vs The Referee’s A W***er (9%)

A Quiet Night In (90%) vs Hurry Up And Wait (10%)

Top 3 smallest win margins 

Thinking Out Loud (52%) vs And The Winner Is (48%)

The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge (58.4%) vs The Party’s Over (41.6%)

12 Days Of Christine (59%) vs To Have And To Hold (41%) As well as: Sardines (59%) vs How Do You Plead (41%) 

The biggest win margins are all quite straightforward; iconic episodes vs average episodes. Not much to say about that. The smallest win margins are either between two average episodes, or two iconic episodes (/documentaries).

I wonder if perhaps there could be a “golden ticket” poll at some point, to get one of these just-didn’t-win episodes back into the competition (@insideno9bracket)? 

Lastly, I looked at the most and least interacted with polls. 

Top 3 most interacted with polls:

Death Be Not Proud vs The Stake Out (28 notes)

Nana’s Party vs Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room (25 notes)

Tempting Fate vs Wise Owl & The Last Weekend vs Mulberry Close (24 notes) 

Makes a lot of sense, people are very passionate about these episodes. 

Top 3 least interacted with polls:

And The Winner is vs Thinking Out Loud (9 notes)

Mother’s Ruin vs Seance Time (10 notes)

Hurry Up and Wait vs A Quiet Night In (11 notes)

It’s either because people weren’t too fussed about these 3 polls (seems unlikely, but alright), or everyone was busy when these polls came out lol. If anyone has a better explanation, I’d love to hear it. 

Some extra thoughts: 

A lot of this was more or less as I expected, though I thought The Trolley Problem would feature more heavily at the top (it ranks 10th in amount of votes). 

I cannot wait for round 2 and seeing if the current trends continue, or if new pairings will change it all up!

Please let me know if there are any other stats you’d like to see! I’ve just gone with everything I could think of, but I’m always open to doing more pointless stats. 

Thank you everyone for voting and thank you @Insideno9brackets for doing this. I’m having a great time.

[lily-fics-11]

The Girl Next Door: Chapter 6 (Hazel Callahan, Bottoms)

Fic master post here

Tag list: @avocifera, @academiareid, @fictionalgap @dynsdiary @sndixz @athenalive @lamoobsessions @eloud12

(feel free to comment to be added to taglist)

The Girl Next Door

You hadn't been close with your neighbor Hazel for years. But you find her beat up in the locker room after fight club and all of that changes

Chapter 6

Isabel and Brittany question you about Hazel. Your best friends can’t help but try and push you and Hazel together, and it seems to be getting to your head. It almost seems like Hazel is treating you like more than a friend?

Word count: 4.2k

CW: Profanities, not beta read

It’s Saturday night, at Brittany’s house, with her and Isabel. Brittany is painting your nails your favorite color when she notices the beaded bracelet on your wrist.

“H?” she questions. “Why the letter H?”

“Oh. The H. It’s for Hazel, actually,” you explain, avoiding eye contact and praying your face isn’t flushed.

“Are you guys like-” Isabel starts with clear excitement but you cut her off. “No, it's not like that. Like at all. Not even a little. We were always best friends, and now we are again.”

“Ok, fine, I guess. But we had no idea you two even knew each other until like a week ago. What happened between you guys because I’ve literally never seen you two interact with each other before now? Did you do something? Did she do something? Was it the both of you? Whatever happened had to have been bad, so why are things ok all of the sudden?” Isabel looks both confused and concerned. It makes sense why your best friend would be unsure of what to make of this confusing situation. You don’t even fully understand it yourself.

You take a deep breath before coming clean. “I’ve been in love with Hazel since middle school. But right when I realized I had feelings for her, she pushed me away, and I never knew why. I was in so much pain so I forced myself to move on. Make new friends, and eventually get into a relationship. But even though I had convinced myself otherwise, I’ve been in love with her the whole time. I found her bloody in the locker room after fight club one day and I couldn’t just leave her there like that. We ended up talking and reconnecting. I eventually confronted her, so she explained everything to me. I don’t want to share stories that aren’t mine to tell, but I will say that she just thought she was doing what was best for me. She apologized and I couldn’t help but forgive her. I know that Hazel never meant to hurt me, and I love her too much to pass up the opportunity to have her back in my life. All those years it felt like a piece of me was missing, and I finally had a chance to put things back together. I don’t have her the way that I want her, but it’s so much better than not having her at all.”

“Oh, wow.” Brittany takes a deep breath. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea you had been through all of that. But are you sure that this is worth it? Hazel is a sweetheart, and she would never do anything to hurt you on purpose, but are you going to be hurting yourself?” 

You run a hand through your hair and take a moment to think about it. This is kind of insane. You could potentially do some major damage to yourself. But there is nothing you want more than Hazel. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“Well if that’s the case I’m really happy for you. You guys would be so cute together.” Isabel claps enthusiastically.

You shake your head no at her. “Isabel, please, don’t get my hopes up like that. I have no reason to believe that she feels the same way about me. If anything I’ve got far more evidence for her not seeing me like that. I think she’s just happy to be friends again.”

“Hazel mentions you in the notes like all the time. Like way more than anyone else.” Brittany grins mischievously. You raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” 

“The notes she takes every meeting and emails to everyone. Do you not get them?” 

You wrinkle your nose and furrow your eyebrows. “I get them. I never noticed it. I'm sure you guys are exaggerating and didn’t even think about it until now.”

Brittany laughs. “We have been suspicious since the first time we saw you guys together. Do you not know what you look like when you look at her? Haven’t you seen the way that she looks at you?”

Isabel is quick to add “you guys started driving to school together even though you love your alone time, and remember that night you hung out at her house? You didn’t answer your phone for hours and that is so unlike you.”

Before you even get a chance to defend yourself Brittany throws at you what she believes to be some hard hitting evidence. “I have seen you guys fight each other. The sexual tension is so obvious. I have never seen two people pin each other to the ground so much. Especially not with that hungry look in their eyes.”

You are at a loss for words, so you close your eyes and flop backwards to lay down. Isabel pokes your leg. You don’t open your eyes but that doesn’t stop her from asking “were you there the day we were talking about celebrity crushes?”

“Nope.” You hear her giggle. “Well I didn’t make the connection until now, but you know that actress that everyone says you look like? That’s Hazel’s celebrity crush.”

You open your eyes and sit up, feeling defeated. “I’m sure it is just a coincidence.”

“You can believe what you want, but I’m still going to be shipping you guys so hard!” Isabel squeals.

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

Isabel and Brittany were not kidding when they said they would be rooting for you and Hazel. You appreciate their enthusiasm, but you would be mortified if Hazel noticed them giggling and watching you stand next to each other at the next fight club meeting. Isabel and Brittany’s eyes light up when you and Hazel are paired up for a fight. Your friend's stares were burning holes into the back of your head when you were on the ground straddling Hazel’s waist. This is only going to feed into their delusions. It seems useless at this point to hope they keep their eagerness in check.

It didn't take long for them to try and set you and Hazel up with each other, they took the first chance they got. You were unaware of their scheming until they approached you and Hazel at the end of fight club to see if you guys would want to get ice cream all together. “A little sweet treat before we all have to study for that math test tomorrow,” Isabel offers with a smile.

Brittany makes an excuse to take you with her in her car. “You forgot your shirt at my house, I need to give it back to you.” There was no shirt. Brittany just wanted to prepare you for what definitely isn’t a date, even though she seems to think it is. 

Brittany glances over at you while she is driving. “Do you want to fix your hair?” She asks.

You squint your eyes at her. “Uhh.. why?”

She playfully rolls her eyes. “Don’t you want to look nice for your date with Hazel?”

That makes you laugh. “Brittany, it’s not a date if she doesn’t know that it’s a date.”

“You know what I mean. I have a hair brush in the glove box. There’s also some lipstick in there if you want to use it.”

“I’m not going to try and impress a girl who doesn’t want to be impressed”

“But isn’t it worth trying?” Without answering you pull the brush and lipstick out of the glove box and flip down the mirror. 

Upon arrival, you and Brittany meet up with Hazel and Isabel before going inside. You enter first and approach the counter to order. After scanning your options you tell your friends “I can’t decide between cookies and cream and chocolate chip cookie dough.”

“Hey same!” Hazel smiles at you. 

“If neither of you can decide between them, why don’t you just get both and share?” Isabel teases. God Isabel, right in front of Hazel?

“Oh… I, uh…” you begin but Hazel cuts you off. “Sounds like a good idea, right?” she asks expectantly. You just nod and force a smile. As much as you have protested it, you would love for this to be a date. But it's not, and you need to keep your expectations in check. Once the ice cream Hazel had ordered for the two of you is ready, you pull out your wallet only for her to step in front of you and pay for the whole thing without even asking. You blush and look away, accidentally making eye contact with Brittany who mouths “date” to you. Your palm meets your forehead. You really are grateful that your friends are trying to help you out, but you are going to have to explain to them that getting your hopes up will only make things worse in the end. 

You intentionally sit next to Hazel, it will feel less romantic than being across from her. Not being able to stare longingly into her eyes is for the best. However, that didn’t keep you from questioning Hazel’s every move. Yes you were sharing food, but why did she sit so close to you? Seats nearly touching, practically shoulder to shoulder, knees brushing up against each other if moving more than an inch. Even worse, why did she put her arm around the back of your chair everytime she sat back to talk? Hazel talks a lot. If you weren't paying attention she would do it without you realizing and her arm would end up slung around your shoulders. You would sit there, absolutely mortified, while Isabel and Brittany failed to contain their excitement, though Hazel was none the wiser. You did your best to avoid looking over at her, that award winning smile and warm gaze far too easy to get lost in. 

About halfway through the bowls of ice cream Hazel excuses herself to the bathroom. 

Once Hazel is out of earshot Isabel slams her hands on the table and leans forwards. “Sooooooo…”

“So what?” You sigh. 

“Come on, you know what she means,” Brittany crosses her arms and grins.

You put your hands up in the air like you have been cornered by the police. “I can’t say that I know what you guys are talking about.”

“This date!” The two yell in unison. 

“Oh my god guys, could you please keep it down? I hate to break it to you, but if Hazel and I are on a date, then you two are on a date with each other. Just two best friends, eating some ice cream, that's all.”

“You are sharing ice cream!” Isabel exclaims, gesturing to the bowl in front of you. 

You run your hands through your hair. “Because you suggested it.”

Brittany points to Hazel’s chair. “You guys are sitting so close together.”

“Well we're sharing the ice cream.”

“She keeps putting her arm around you!” Brittany sounds exasperated. 

“You can’t ignore the way she looks at you!” Isabel pleads.

You put your hands down on the table in an attempt to further assert yourself. “If you keep getting my hopes up it's going to hurt even worse when she finally gets a girlfriend or in some other way makes it clear that she doesn't feel the same way.”

Brittany looks so disappointed. “We wouldn’t be trying to set you guys up if we didn't think there was something there.”

“I want this so bad,” slips out of your mouth as wild fantasies dance through your head. 

“Maybe it's time that you give this a chance,” Isabel timidly suggests. 

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but only if she took the lead,” you admit, nervously twisting your bracelet and averting your eyes. 

Isabel and Brittany’s eyes wander behind you, so with panicked eyes you sharply run your hand past your throat, signaling that this conversation is officially being cut off. 

Even though there is no way she could have known what had been discussed while she was gone, you are paranoid that Hazel somehow heard everything. You worry that the feelings left behind are written all over your face. Fortunately,  nothing goes wrong as you all finish eating.

After cleaning up you are the only one to sit back down at the table. The other girls look at you, confused. You tilt your head back and groan. “I do not want to go home and study for this test. It's going to be miserable.”

“Well how much have you studied so far?” Hazel questions.

“Not enough,” you sigh. Hazel steps towards you and takes your hand. You can’t even imagine how unfortunate the look on your face is right now. She pulls you up to your feet. “Just think,” she tries to encourage you,”by this time tomorrow it will be over, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you are right.” You concede, expecting her to let go of your hand at that point, but she doesn't. Hazel holds your hand all the way to the car, and doesn’t let go until she has opened up the passenger side door and you have made yourself comfortable.

You can hardly believe it, but maybe Isabel and Brittany are onto something? Like this is absolutely mind boggling and insane. Is this even possible, or a mere delusion? Furthermore, are you actually starting to get your hopes up? You are playing a dangerous game, but you reap what you sow.

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

Last night you studied like your life depended on it, and it was exhausting. In the morning you hit the snooze button as many times as you can without the risk of being late, sacrificing a part of your morning routine each time you slammed on the button to make the blaring noise stop. In the end you walked out the door without a stitch of makeup in the sweatpants and sweatshirt you wore to bed.

You meet Hazel in your driveway. When you unlock the car’s doors she gets in right away. You open the door but stop to groan and pout. “I really don’t want to do this,” you whine to Hazel and she smiles and shakes her head. “Oh neither do I.”

“Then why don’t we just skip? We could stay home and binge watch something,” you suggest, half serious and half not. 

Hazel sighs. “I literally couldn’t want anything more.” Your breath hitches. “But, we both studied so much that it would be a waste to miss the test. Not to mention that your mom would kill the both of us if she found out that we skipped school.” Hazel leans over the center console and reaches her hand towards you. You take it and let her pull you into the car. You are very aware of how you keep finding your hand in hers. Are you unhappy about this test? Obviously. Are you slightly exaggerating because it means Hazel might hold your hand? That’s not even a question. 

You hesitate to start the car, so Hazel gently places her hand on your thigh. She tilts her head to the side, carefully observing you with a dreamy look in her eyes. Her hand placement was more than enough to snap you out of your mood. But the way she was looking at you? That just might make you risk it all. You fight off the urge to lean over and steal a kiss from the girl you love. 

When you turn the key in the ignition you are expecting Hazel to pull away, so you are pleasantly surprised when she doesn’t. Previously, you would have shied away from moments like these, but Isabel and Brittany have really gotten inside of your head. 

“If you want you can come hang out at my place after school. We can watch an old movie.” Hazel proposes. 

You look over and meet her gaze and a smile spreads across your face. “I would love that.”

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

Hazel catches up with you on the way out of class after your test, putting her arm around your shoulders, causing a shock to your system. Though it’s a pleasant surprise, it isn’t easy to play it cool.

“So, how do you think you did?” Hazel smiles at you, looking at your… lips? You look down at your feet because you fear internal combustion, though still able to feel Hazel’s lingering gaze. 

You are so nervous that you stutter when you answer her question. “I-I um think I actually d-did well. How about you?”

“I’m going to be honest, I was a little distracted. I was thinking about, well, things. But I still think I managed to pull it off.” Despite her claims of having been distracted, she sounds rather excited and you can’t miss the opportunity to see that look on her face, so your eyes wander back up to meet hers. That cute goofy smile is more than enough to put all the stress from this test behind you. In all honesty, Hazel could erase just about anything from your mind. You know that your own expression must be mirroring hers. “Well I’m glad that you made it through okay.”

Hazel nods at you. “I’ve got to go but I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah of course.” 

Hazel pulls away from you, running her hand down your arm. The light graze of her fingertips momentarily lingers on your hand before finally drifting away and waving as she walks off. Hazel continues to look back at you until she stumbles into someone and has to turn her attention ahead of her.

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

When you get to Hazel’s house Mrs. Callahan is delighted to see you, and invites you to sit down with her. Hazel rolls her eyes and leans against the doorway with her arms crossed. You smirk as an image of what Hazel would look like doing THE lean crosses your mind. When you sit down next to Mrs. Callahan she slides a magazine over to you. 

“I want you to have this. You don’t have to look at it now, but there is a spread that starts on page 17, it’s from one of my favorite designers and every outfit would look absolutely amazing on you! Check it out when you get the chance and definitely keep this in mind the next time you want to do some shopping.” Mrs. Callahan is beaming at you. Hazel has always been a tomboy so she loved talking about fashion with you and would join you and your mom on shopping trips.

You thank her and then Hazel clears her throat, so you start to get up.

“Can I ask you a quick question?” Mrs. Callahan asks.

“Of course.”

She leans and whispers, just low enough for Hazel not to be able to hear, “you’ve put that ex girlfriend of yours behind you, correct?”

Your eyes widen, taken off guard by the personal question. “Oh yeah, she's no longer a part of my life,” you explain, doing your best to keep your voice down because it’s clear she wants this conversation to be private.

Mrs. Callahan looks satisfied and you can only assume that your mother had divulged the details of your tumultuous relationship. She continues with her hushed tone “you deserve much better than the way that girl treated you, honey. I don’t think you will have to look too far to find the right girl for you.” 

“We should head upstairs,” Hazel calls over impatiently. 

“I’m actually heading out now. I won’t be back until pretty late.” Mrs. Callahan informs you. Hazel grumbles a goodbye and you wave before she walks out the door.

“I’m going to put my stuff in my room, I’ll be right back,” she tells you before disappearing up the stairs.

After entering the living room a feeling of nostalgia washes over you. There are so many memories here of blanket forts, movie nights, and playing games. After leaving your things in the corner you sit down all the way to the side of the couch, right up against the arm rest. It’s not long before Hazel appears in front of you, “Do you know what you want to watch?” You suggest a movie and Hazel thinks it’s a great idea. 

She takes a seat in the center of the couch, as if to give you some space, while also testing the waters of trying to get close to you. You aren’t quite sure how you feel about this yet, but decide to live in the moment. While looking at the tv, out of the corner of your eye, you see that Hazel is watching you. She looks a little dazed, eyes soft, biting her lip. When you look over to her she quickly snaps her head towards the tv.

The movie is lighthearted but anytime you and Hazel look at each other the eye contact is intense. Whether you are laughing at a joke or reciting a quote in unison you kept getting caught up in the moment. The part of the movie you were reacting to would pass, but you would still be gazing into her beautiful eyes, and she would be staring right back. Then, the two of you would realize what you were doing and regain your composure. 

You start to feel cold so you get up to get the sweatshirt you have in your backpack. 

“Where are you going?” Hazel questions, and you peer over your shoulder at her. There is disappointment in her eyes, seeing you walk away.

“Just grabbing my sweatshirt,” you reassure her.

“Are you cold?” She asks, looking concerned, and you nod your head. 

“I’ve got a blanket right here, if you want to use that instead,” Hazel offers, gesturing to a blanket hanging over the back of the couch. 

“Uh, sure. Thanks.” You take your spot back on the couch and Hazel passes you the blanket. 

“I think I’m actually cold too, would you mind sharing?” She inquires, fixing her hair even though it looks fine. 

You blink rapidly, a little taken back. “No, not at all.”

“Is it ok if I, uh, sit a little closer? It would be easier to share,” Hazel asks, looking down and fidgeting with one of her rings. 

You nod your head at her once again, feeling nervously excited. Hazel slides over and when she said close she meant close, she left no space between the two of you. Shaky hands drape the blanket across your laps. You feel your heart pounding in every part of your body. Isabel and Brittany’s idealistic thinking has infected your brain. Should you make a move to see how she reacts or wait and see if she does? You decide to wait and see if she takes any initiative. You meant it when you said you wanted 

Hazel doesn’t leave you waiting for long. She rests her arm behind you, on the back of the couch, like she is inviting you into her. You obviously take the bait. There was no space to close between you but you lean your weight into her and rest your head on her shoulder. Hazel then wraps her arm around your waist, holding you against her. It all feels like a dream, breathing in her scent, feeling the warmth of her body next to yours. You are buzzing from the way her hand is firmly planted on your waist. Her voice is like a melody and her laugh is like a warm hug. You savor every moment with her.

After the movie is over, and you are getting ready to go, Hazel puts her hand on your arm. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but what did my mom whisper to you earlier?”

“Oh, she just asked about my ex.”

“She asked you about what?”

“My ex.”

“Sorry, I heard you the first time, I just can’t believe she would bring that up, I told her not to.” Hazel sighs.

“What do you mean that you told her not to? Have you been discussing my love life Hazel Callahan?” You laugh at her. You aren’t mad, just intrigued.

“Your mom had told my mom about your break up, so she came to me to try and get more information. She was really worried about whether or not you were ok. I told her that I wasn’t totally sure, because we hadn’t talked much about it. But she knows that I wanted us to be, uh, friends again, so she was very hopeful that you were in the right place for us to start a- I mean start over. My mom would bring you up from time to time over the years, hoping we would be friends again. When I explained to her that it was hard to tell whether or not you were also in, uh, the right place for that, she told me that we are meant to be, I guess friends, so the opportunity would present itself.”

You smile, feeling a flush across your face, knowing that Hazel has always intended to get you back in her life. 

“Well, I am doing ok. I know a lot has happened between us, but I have a feeling that things are going to work out the way they are supposed to.”

[vahalia-cress]

RP/Community Etiquette Notes: For Beginners

Something I noticed over the years on this platform, as some people will use other people’s inspiration, time sourcing and finding things that correlate with their own characters (speaking of RP blogs specifically) and reblog when the mood strikes, and then there are some out there that will reblog waves and waves of your content treating the content and your archive like a personal storage, pool and receptacle for endless content for their own RP blogs.

I cannot stress enough how demoralizing this may be for some people who experience this, myself included, where other RPers in a community or overlapping communities will mass-reblog your stuff with zero interaction. 

I also want to preface that if you reblog a few times here and there from one person or a mutual RP blog, that this post doesn’t pertain to you – unless of course you are someone who is experiencing someone else reblogging consistently everything you post for your own OC to where you feel like they’re starting to lose their identity and what makes them an original character.

The reason that this becomes a point of contention for some RPers is that it feels like, over time (and the more it is done in excess), people feel like bites of their character and what unique bits are made up of them are being chewed off consistently.

If it has ever crossed your mind that “Maybe I reblog too much from this person too often,” you may be right, especially if the other person is also another RP blog. If you’ve ever had to ask yourself that question, then perhaps this post pertains to you.

Reblogging, in general, on socials such as Tumblr (X, TikTok, FB, etc.) is just part of the social ecosystem. Social platforms are supposed to encourage the sharing of information and ideas. But as RPers, we need to realize how far is too far and at what point are we just chomping off parts of other people’s characters for our own benefit. How much is too much? How does the person on the other side of the screen feel about it?

I can tell you that nine times out of ten, they notice, which is why several RP blogs out there will suggest reblogging from the source.

It’s totally fine to feel inspired and reblog posts you enjoy, but we also have to be cognizant of the extent to which we’re doing this to one another. A few here and there, once in a blue moon, when the mood strikes is harmless – but if you’re reblogging from someone who posts 4 times a day (as an example) and you’re reblogging each of those posts or reblogging from them every time they post something, it might be time to step back and consider if maybe this post pertains to you and how do you go about your interactions.

Don’t @ other people on someone else's RP posts if someone else is already @’ed or if it pertains to a ship. The best way to go about this is to just reblog from the source or from a source that doesn’t have the @’s in there. Don't remove their @’s.

If someone posts a piece of artwork of their character, don’t reblog it with tags claiming it's your character or any sort of relation to it. The artwork was made for them, not you.

Specifically speaking of the FF14 community and GPOSE posts: It’s not okay to have full conversations in someone’s comments about wanting to ‘recreate’ what they posted. It’s best to leave a kind comment, like the post, and quietly do your own recreation. Give credit where credit is due. DMing people and asking them privately if they would mind doing a similar shot for their own character is the kind and mature thing to do. I’ve had many people come to me and do/ask this specifically of me, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for them for:

-Taking my feelings into consideration enough to DM me directly and ask. -Acknowledging the fact that they’ve been inspired and we can have a discussion about it. -I’m not being excluded from the narrative as the creator of the idea. -My posts aren’t being eaten alive by vultures, and the joy of the shots being entirely overshadowed by “I’m so gonna recreate this for my own OC/WoL when I get home.”

A few takeaways from this post:

-Inspiration =/= Outright copying. They’re two different definitions. Inspiration is taking elements of something and recreating something else, using the source as a starting point. Copying is just replicating without any creative modification. -Find other methods of finding your own type of content, be it from the sources of posts (OP posts) and other platforms such as Pinterest etc. -Master your own Impulses. -Consider other RPers on the other side of the screen who put a lot of time and dedication into building aesthetics for their characters. -Interaction is important. -Communication and utilizing DM features are also very important. -Other people’s artwork of their characters or commissions is not for your personal use. -Paving your own way is far more rewarding. -RP blogs of other OCs and aesthetics aren’t posted for the consumption of other people like they’re simply in a grocery store plucking things off the shelf that they enjoy. RP blogs are designed for aesthetics, stories, questions, and more for THEIR characters. Not yours. Please be mindful of that and practice restraint and independence in finding your own content and practicing proper reblog etiquette with your RP peers.

Just a few things I’ve encountered during my time here on Tumblr within the FF14 community. I’ve also been a part of other MMO RP communities here on Tumblr as far back as 2010, and I thought I would share a few things I’ve noticed in hopes of helping educate the newcomers here on the platform.

I too, in the past and when I first began here, have likely been guilty of doing a few of these things. I think is important for the beginners here to be aware of and to have open discussions about as peers on a platform we all enjoy and through a hobby we all appreciate – especially since I don’t see this topic brought up enough as casual and kind PSAs.

Please keep in mind that this post is just how I feel on the topic(s) when those experiences find my doorstep and is not meant to incite discourse, negativity, or hate in any way nor is it directed at certain individuals and is only presented in a general sense. I wanted to impart a teeny-tiny bit of wisdom to beginners here on this platform, and I implore others to reblog and add to this should they have other points and ideas to share. 

Stay mindful. Stay kind to one another.

[isalisewrites]

I'd just like to say that, while I much, MUCH prefer bottom Harry no matter the ship, the way you've written Terrible, But Great has me sold on literally WHATEVER you choose to do. Like,,,, I have no doubt that I'll still enjoy whatever dynamic they have bc you're literally so fucking talented.

I've always said that the right writer would be able to sell any ship to me with good writing, and I have the full belief that you absolutely can sell top harry to me (totally as a figure of speech) and if you didn't for whatever reason, I'd read it anyway.

Interacting with fandom involves adapting a certain amount of "fuck it, we ball" mentality if you want to truly enjoy it. Instead of, like, arguing with strangers over silly shit. Being open allows you to enjoy more content, is what I'm getting at.

I love your fic. I love your writing. Thank you for doing what you do! I literally gasp and squeal every time I've see you update.🩷

-ArcticArcana on Ao3

Ow, ow, ow, my heart.

Dear lord, this is exceedingly flattering. Thank you so much.

See, this is the same for me. I can be sold on just about any ship if the writer convinces me of it. I’m old and I’m hungry. I want it. Hell, I’ve read good Voldemort/Fenrir before. I’m out here hardcore shipping Voldemort/Tom with Newt Scamander all by lonesome self, doing my damndest to make it make sense. 

And it’s not like people aren’t allowed to have their preferences. I tend to enjoy bottom Draco/top Harry a little more than top Draco/bottom Harry, but I’ll read both regardless. (Also, where the fuck are our switches at??? Come on, now. We do exist, thank you.) I don’t generally care in the end. They’re both great. I just note what I enjoy a little more.

There is one ship where I note I gravitate towards a preference more often than not and that’s top Zhongli/bottom Tartaglia (Genshin Impact). But that’s because I prefer to see Tartaglia get railed, not because it’s ‘not in his character to top.’ I also love seeing Zhongli be a service top, but I’m here for both, of course. 

And EXACTLY. The reason why I will complain about the discourse or call it out as poor writing now is because I’m tired of seeing the closed mindedness. We're losing nuance in our society at an alarming rate. You’re missing out on some amazing stories if you’re filtering for bottom/top tags. It’s why I refuse to add that in any of my stories, even when we get to the sex scenes.

Obviously, these characters aren’t alive. They’re not real. However, when I write, I write as if they are real people. I do not impose very much on them.

So, when it comes to intimacy, TBG Tom and Harry will let me know. It’s their decision, not mine. In TBG, they’re also young and stupid. They don’t know anything. They don’t have the internet to tell them their options. They’re just going to experience each other in however way that is.

I will say this: I already know what happens in those intimacy scenes and it will be unlike anything you’ve ever read before. (At least unlike anything I’ve read.) These are two boys just figuring it out together. It'll be in character with the patient Harry and the asexual Tom.

Also, I really appreciate your kind words. It encourages me in a time when things have been hard in my life. I will continue to keep writing and hopefully continue to bring you all a little more joy in your lives. <3

Isa

[finemeal]

AO3 Etiquette

Alright, y’all, you already know what I’m about to say. But go ahead get some water, something to eat, take your meds, and whatever else you need to do as I go into this. Ready? Good.

I’ve seen far too many users on AO3 being rude and saying things that I’m not even sure they understand is rude.

If you’ve done these things, don’t sweat it too much. As long as you learn and do better, that’s what’s important. I don’t wanna make anyone feel bad, but I want to make y’all AWARE.

So let’s talk about some basic etiquette for interacting on AO3.

(Disclaimer: not every AO3 author is going to agree. Some are okay with some of these things, some aren’t. Let’s just play on the safe side yeah?)

Comment Etiquette

Listen, we’ve all left comments on fics we like. But here’s the thing, some of us don’t realize what comments are rude or not.

Comments that pass the vibe check:

Hearts

Something you liked about the story

Saying you enjoyed the story

Excited to see more from an author (not demanding an update, not asking for more, just genuine excitement for whatever the author has in store)

Anything that is genuinely nice

Theories on what you think will happen (not necessarily what you want or hope happens)

Comments that do not pass the vibe check:

DEMANDING an update

Treating fic authors like content pumps and not real people who do this in their free time

Critiquing the story

Saying how they should’ve written something different

Constructive criticism that the author did NOT ask for

Saying things that are purposefully antagonistic

Trolling

Anything that if someone said to you about something you worked hard on you would think was rude

Dogging on how a character was written

Comments that are WILDLY different from the tone of the story (i.e leaving a graphically violent comment on a story that does not feature graphic violence)

Any mention on how long it’s been since they’ve updated — you’re gonna make your wait longer

This one is more of a personal ick but any “want to see” comments, specifically on one-shots (I want you to enjoy what I’ve written, not talk about stories you hope I’ll write — unless author says that they specifically want those comments)

Honestly there’s so many comments that do not pass the vibe check I can’t even list them all. But I listed a BUNCH so, general rule of thumb is: If you’re not sure it’s rude, reach out to a friend and ask. Also, you can ask for people in the comment section to vibe check you if you’re unsure. And? If you know it’s rude and say it anyway, you’re an asshole.

ALSO: author’s will read your comments! They may not respond, but 9/10 author’s will read the comment so remember that you’re not posting into the void. And? People will call you out if you’re being rude. Don’t double down. Apologize, delete comment, move on.

Author’s talk, we will block you if you’re a raging asshole cuz we don’t need that kinda energy in our fics. And, sometimes we’ll turn off anon commenters cuz if you’re going to continue to be an asshole, and can’t even say it to our face, you din’t deserve to comment.

Bookmark Etiquette

This one is prolly gonna get a lot of people riled up and I simply don’t care. If you disagree, that’s fine, just know as an author and friends with other AO3 author’s we consider these sorts of things rude.

Bookmarks that pass the vibe check:

No comment

A nice comment with the bookmark

Private bookmarks (no matter what it’s tagged/commented with)

Nice/neutral tags

A note to self about where you left off

Bookmarks that do not pass the vibe check:

Anything rude for the comment/tag section of a bookmark — unsure what’s rude? See comment section above

Ranking the fic (see this way more often in bookmarks than anywhere else)

Unread bookmarks (not always a fail, it’s just weird? You can mark for later, why are you bookmarking my story without reading it?)

If your bookmark is private? It doesn’t matter how you tag/note it/whatever. But if it’s public? Author’s will sometimes go look at bookmarks because people will leave nice little comments that make us feel good. If you say something mean we can’t even delete it. But I can guarantee we’ll block you!

Yes, bookmarks are for the reader, but just because you didn’t intend for an author to see what you said doesn’t make it any less mean. If it’s public: shame on you. Make a bookmark that’s mean in private, then I won’t care.

Conclusion

Don’t be mean. If you don’t like a story, you don’t have to say anything. It takes more time to leave a nasty comment or bookmark something in a mean way than it does to just back out of the fic. I get it, you don’t like the fic. I don’t like every fic I read. You know what we do? We use the back button.

We’re all people, we all have lives and things going on. Just know 2024 is the year I’m no longer replying to nasty comments. I’m deleting them, blocking if I want to, and moving on.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Again, this post has a very aggressive tone because I’m sick of seeing mean comments on my friend’s fics. Will this stop those comments? No, but I hope it lessens them.

This truly is just about educating people. If you have any questions, anything you want to add. Feel free, pop off monarchs.

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Some questions about recent posting!

Anonymous asked:

How do I gain access to this 🔑 account?

Just DM me, Anon! We just need to make sure that you are an adult and would be okay with the stuff that we post there.

Anonymous asked:

Why are u against ur stuff bein tagged as x reader when some of ur ramblings could be considered as such?

It’s because that would be misleading, Anon.

We don’t have anything against “x reader” stuff, but this isn’t the type of content that we create, and even though some of my ramblings could be considered as such, this isn’t the intent. Whenever I write headcanons and use phrasing like “you’d have to really try to piss this guy off”, I’m not doing it with the idea of you-the-reader interacting with the character – it’s more of a generic statement about that exact character and their personality.

We ship characters with each other, and even if one of the parts of the ship is not a major canon character, a mob or just some rando we came up with for the sake of the story, none of this feels the same as “x reader” to me. We focus on their interactions with other characters and with other potential people within the story, which, in my head, is the opposite of the “x reader” posts. It’s not “if you, the reader, were to date Trey, he would act like that”, but more of a “Trey is the type of person that does this when he is dating someone”, implying either one of the existing ships or some random student.

Of course, you can still read those posts as if they were written to be hypothetical scenarios for the reader, but when it comes to tagging, it could create awkward situations. Like when I draw Malleus (just an example) doing something flirty, in my head implying that the other party is either someone we ship him with, or that it’s just a generic drawing, and people assume that it’s “x reader” because someone tagged it as such, which leads to them being then disappointed that we ship Malleus with Lilia of all people and don’t want to play along with yume comments. It’s just ends up being uncomfortable for everyone involved, and, I’ll say it directly as well, it is uncomfortable for us.

Sorry for rambling, and I hope that makes sense. Once again, it’s not like I have anything against it, it just wouldn’t be truthful to tag our posts like that, just like it wouldn’t be truthful to tag them as Leechcest or Idivil because those aren’t the ships that we are depicting.

Anonymous asked:

Nerd Kalim is hurting my brain 🥵 Can we get him a harem full of gyarus? NRC has plenty of them...

(related to this drawing)

Hehe sorry~

Oh god, Kalim and his gyarus… Every bottom is a gyaru now, congratulations Kalim… Honestly though, Jamil has such nice sporty gyaru vibes!! But they would look so cursed together with Kalim’s nerdy looks lol In a good way.

For some reason, we talk a lot about Kalim’s harem these days hmmm. There is another ask I’ll reply to hopefully soon related to the topic of Kalim’s harem…

eh-nonnie-mouse asked:

Azul may be hard as a rock but Idia's as soft as a bun ( I'd like to think as bony and lanky as Idia is. He's got some cushion on his ass)

Also Idia if you keep poking Azul might decide to poke you somewhere else 😉

Awww, this is so cute! Idia being unexpectedly soft… Azul needs to be careful with how and where he’s poking him, he could leave marks everywhere~

I feel like I always end up drawing Idia “finding out after fucking around”, so to speak. He keeps pestering Azul, and Azul keeps “poking him” in the right places as his revenge…

thestarlightfae asked:

Is Idia commenting on Azul's muscles?

Yep! He keeps forgetting that Azul got them pecs…

thestarlightfae asked:

Alright! Another question as I read through the headcanons! When you that Leona may have had a relationship with twst!Zuzu do you mean the canon one-Kifagi/Negi-or an oc of yours?

I’ll answer all of your questions!

I should also clarify: I didn’t mean that he had relationship with twst!Zazu, I tried to note that this is NOT him that I’m talking about! We haven’t seen the event, so I have no idea what he is all about, but based on the vibes, I don’t think he would fit that role. This wasn’t about any specific OC either; it’s just that when I look at Leona, I can picture him having an older male figure in his life at some point. Someone that he secretly admired and maybe had a connection with, but at this point in his life it’s just a thing from the past. Nothing too deep, I don’t really want to dive into it lol Just a thought that I had.

Also! I just noticed his gold nail-polish! Its pretty, but Kalim is wearing too much gold, he needs more variety (comment on his character, not your art: you art is amazing as always). I bite my nails so I never wear nail polish cause I'll still end up biting, and it tastes really bad. On the topic of nail-biting, do you think and of the twst boys bite their nails?

I’m glad you liked the art, thank you so much!! Yeah, Kalim really is the king of gold lol It looks good on him… even though it’s excessive sometimes. But now I wonder if Kalim bites his nails. Weirdly, I feel like he doesn’t. 🤔 But I’ll think about it some more + about other characters as well, and write a proper post about it! At some point…

Also, have you seen the Scalding Sands event? If so, do you think Najima is a top or bottom?

Haven’t seen it, unfortunately, so no thoughts about Najma :( But I like her design…

I'll go now! Thank you! Have fun the wild journey of my adhd thoughts! Please lmk if I'm being too much and I'll try to tone it down next time!

No worries about the thoughts and questions, thank you for your ask! Feel free to send more; I am pretty speedy with my reply this time, but god I am grateful for everyone’s patience…

Wait! One more! I personally headcanon Leona to have some sort of Alcohol (that word is way to hard to spell) dependancy! What do you think? Do you think any of the twst characters use drugs/ or drink excessively? Do you think any of them are addicted? Alright! Goodbye for real this time!

…this is also a topic for a post that’s going to take longer for me to think about, so for now I’ll just keep being grateful for your patience! It’s an interesting one to think about, and I might group it with some other ask I’ve been wanting to address already…

Thank you for your questions <3

[danganwolfpack]

FAQ

So what are your muses exactly?

You can think of them as whatever, I don’t really care what people think or believe about it. However, if you’re looking for a genuine answer, they are technically soulbonds.

Okay, then what’s a soulbond?

A soulbond is when you make a spiritual connection to someone from another universe, and pull them into your headspace. Tends to happen accidentally for me, with a lot of effort(I still don’t know how I do it honestly lol), or if I start considering “What if?”s too hard, which is what happened with Black Cat. Sometimes they just randomly show up from dreams!

Can they go back?

Of course they can! As long as they aren’t DOA, can come and go as they like! Time is relative to wherever they are to perceive it, so it’s kinda like no time has passed whenever they do go back. We have a few daytrippers here who will go back days at a time sometimes.

What’s a DOA?

DOA, or Dead On Arrival, is a way to describe soulbonds pulled from death or right before. Kinda makes it their afterlife. DOAs typically come with residual mental and emotional trauma to their souls, which manifest as chronic pain and complications reminiscent of how they died. The more they heal from that trauma, the more those symptoms fade.

Does this mean you’re an endogenic system?

Technically? I’m a mixed system and have both a main pack (trauma) and bonds pack(nontrauma) here I think it’s fun to see everyone interact, they deserve their own space though outside the main pack in my opinion, so for the kids that want it, that's what here is for!

Why do you keep using the term Pack?

Honestly? It's because we prefer it. A pack is different from a family to me. Closer knit and more likely to help and be there for you, no matter what, even beyond family sometimes. That and it scratches the inner desire for that unity and a pack, and with wolves here it kinda just works.

Someone is acting funny! Why are they talking like a kid? Or barking? Or squeaking?

They’re probably age regressing or pet regressing, let them be them please. If you want to talk to them when they’re big or human, feel free to note that and I can see what I can do. AKA hope I remember to ask/show them later lol.

What’s age regression?

Age regression is a nonsexual coping mechanism where someone regresses to the mindset of a child. Some here are vent regressors, which means they regress in response to or to cope with trauma, but they may also regress sometimes for fun or to relax. Some will slip without meaning to. While others are caregivers and here to help out with the little ones. Or even swap back and forth between!

Then what is pet regression?

Kinda similar, but as an animal instead. Animal regressors may be more skittish sometimes since they can’t express their needs or wants through words as well, if at all, and that can be scary! Some of our Komaeda’s, wolves, and DICE members fall into this category, but I promise, they shouldn’t bite! As long as you aren’t mean, most of them are super sweet!

Don’t wanna interact with that? Don’t have to!

I’ll be working up some custom tags, like #kitto for those and you can block the tag if you don’t want to see it. Some may not come out of it often, and the wolves are almost always at least partially in that mode when they’re regressors so be warned! I’m just here to have fun so please be kind either way.

[theriu]

Hey guys! So I have definitely had some Feelings about this post, but you know what? Despite my severe dislike of some parts of this, there are some good concepts in this plan, too. I do want to acknowledge the bits I think sound like good ideas and show that we as users aren’t JUST raging about everything. So in an effort to be fair, I’m going to point out a few points that are smart AND a few that do not make any sense from my 10+ years experience. I hope this will be helpful!

✅

This is a little vague, but I do like the direction. Tumblr CAN be cofusing when you are just getting started; the tag system especially was mystifying to me when I first logged on in 2012. I’m all for exploring ways to help new users understand how to get started! Perhaps a simple popup tutorial when a person makes their first account, like on some game apps?

❌

What… I don’t… what???? Literally every person I have ever talked to or heard from on this subject (in OVER TEN YEARS) has said that the ability to curate our experience is a PRIMARY OPTIMAL FEATURE of tumblr! Who are you guys talking to who made you think this only serves a small portion of your audience?!? Curatability is one of your most unique and biggest assets!

✅

That sounds like a good idea, honestly! I personally enjoy getting lots of notes, but I know lots of people seek ways to mute notifications when they have a post go viral. This seems like a nice way to help users be less afraid of their posts blowing up (or at least minimize the debris XD) I don’t use push notifications myself but I assume this would also apply there.

❌

I’m guessing this is one of the points that had people thinking you guys were messing with the chronological feed. I point again at my confusion over your claim that a curated dashboard experience is a negative—we do not want random posts from people we don’t follow showing up on our dashboards, mainly because we do not trust algorithms to understand what we as individuals like. Consider how many of us never touch the For You tab because most of the posts on there completely miss the mark.

✅

I’m down for this! The app is certainly slow and buggy sometimes. (As I type this, my keyboard is lagging at least one letter behind what I am typing.) The second claim is kinda vague, but I think we can all agree fewer bugs would be appreciated!

❌❌❌

Tumblr.

@staff .

I am holding your face gently in my hands.

I am begging you with tears in my eyes

PLEASE OH PLEASE PLEASE NO DO NOT!!! COLLAPSE!!! THE REBLOG THREADS!!!

There is NO WAY an algorithm can reliably differentiate “clutter” from “vital pieces of a reblog conversation that are essential to making it funny.” This will inevitably truncate the conversations that are the main reason most viral tumblr posts go viral! More times than not, it’s not the FIRST part of a post that makes it classic—it’s the responses that build off it.

And remember your point about making it easier for new users to engage with the site? Skipping to the end of a chain or not being able to see WHY a post is funny or compelling without the extra (annoying) action of clicking some tiny dropdown arrow will make new users AND old users even less inclined to engage with posts! If ANY bullet point on this list can be rescinded, I BEG you to make it this one!

To wrap up: I do think some of the changes and improvements you guys are working on sound good! I just ask on behalf of myself and other users: Please consider how you can improve the TUMBLR experience, not how you can make us into a new twitter or reddit (both sites that use collapsible reblogs AND are currently having Major Issues). We’re not looking for more of those sites; we love tumblr because it’s the only social media site like it: a self-curated place to interact at the level each of us is comfortable with and share each others’ great posts and interactions, without feeling like products instead of people. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we stay.

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience. 

Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content. 

To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Improve the platform’s performance, stability, and quality.

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr has a “top of the funnel” issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog view—where there isn’t much of a reason to sign up. 

We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand “what is Tumblr.” which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.

Actions & Next Steps

Improving Tumblr’s search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to “get” Tumblr and entice them to sign up.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the user’s diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.

The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.

Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a person’s preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant. 

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are. 

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr’s charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.

Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread. 

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a user’s Following feed. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (“Following”), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.

Actions & Next Steps

Get creators’ new content in front of people who are interested in it. 

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.

Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.

Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.

Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a user’s shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.  

Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.  

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.  

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.

Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.

Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users. 

Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.

Conclusion

Our mission has always been to empower the world’s creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.

[rose-fall]

Q&A

-

General

Q: Why are they furries?

A: ‘Cause I want them to be. I’m a furry and I enjoy drawing anthro characters. I know them being anthros have nothing to do with the story, lore, or symbolism at all but I don’t really care.

Q: Why are there two blogs? Why not just post the pages on this one?

A: I post the pages on a separate blog, @rose-fall-comic, for organization purposes. It’s easier to navigate the comic there than it would be on this blog. The pages have their own tagging system and I don’t want to add a whole bunch more tags to my tag guide just for volume navigation alone, so I feel it’s just best to keep them all in one place instead.

Adaptations

Q: Can I make a comic dub of Rose Fall?

A: Not yet. I know I’ll be ok with it one day though (when that happens I’ll update this answer). Just not now.

Q: Can I translate the comic into another language?

A: Yes, I’m all for making the comic accessible for other languages. As long as you keep the integrity of the original (dont change any story details, don’t change characters’ genders, sexualities, etc.). I will not endorse any translations that change things up like that. Make sure to post it with proper credit too, including links to the original english version. I’d prefer you post it either on Tumblr or ComicFury. If you want textless versions of the pages, DM me and I’ll provide you a link to a Trello board that holds textless versions of public pages so it’ll be easier for you to edit.

Other Permissions

Q: Are headcanons regarding the characters ok?

A: It depends. I don’t want anyone having headcanons that changes a character’s gender or orientation (since none of my characters are allocishet) or headcanons that removes a character’s transness or disability. However, I am fine with trans headcanons of characters that aren’t canonically trans (as long as the gender itself isn’t changed) and headcanons that give a character a disability they aren’t confirmed to have (as long as its disability-positive, none of that “this character is an awful person so they must have [insert demonized mental disability]” bullshit). I also ask to not spread headcanons as though they are fact.

Questions That Will Be Ignored

Q: Can you draw this or that for me?

A: I’m not taking requests. I’ll make posts whenever I’m feeling up for it though. But those times will be temporary and they won’t occur often.

Q: What would this character look like in a certain media’s world? / How would this character fit in a certain media’s world?

A: I don’t like trying to translate my characters into worlds they weren’t made for. So you won’t be getting any answers to these kinds of questions. The same goes for whenever I’m open for requests too, I won’t take any requests that are like “draw so-and-so as if they were in this one media’s world”.

Q: What are your thoughts on *insert other webcomic name*?

A: I won’t answer these kinds of questions and any similar because they are not Rose Fall related. If you want to see the kind of webcomics I like - and suggest new ones to me - you can do so here: @ausi-supports-webcomics

Q: *insert what is essentially roleplay*

A: Just don’t try to roleplay in my inbox lol. If you wanna interact with my characters to an extent, you can do so at the ask blog, @ask-rose-fall. (note: askblog is not currently ready to be active yet)

Q: *insert what is essentially venting*

A: We are both strangers to each other. I’d prefer you didn’t vent in my inbox. Please talk with a professional or someone you trust if you’re feeling unsafe. If by any chance I do answer, the post will be private.

[deivorous]

PSA - How to Start

The Quick Guide To Interacting (Even If You’re Anxious)

My biggest piece of advice to RPer’s both new and old is don’t be afraid to reach out and talk to others first.

I have seen a lot of blogs come and go, and a lot of people expressing frustration about how they don’t get enough interaction, or how people never send them asks, or reply to their starters. The get disheartened, and many people stop writing as a result. And my thought is always the same:

Did you send an ask? Did you reply to an open starter? Did you make any attempt to interact with them or are you both just sitting on your thumbs um-ing and ah-ing and waiting for someone else to decide to message you first?

I don’t intend for this to sound mean at all, I understand that some people can be anxious (I certainly can be), but I also genuinely believe that a lot of anxiety is sprung from the lack of open communication. When I first started out I was one of the people who kind of just… posted a lot and hoped my followers would start sending stuff? And that didn’t happen. It made me feel really shitty and I lost a lot of confidence in myself and my writing. And that was wrong, both as a thought process and as an overarching mentality. My writing isn’t bad, my characterization isn’t bad, and I’m not a bad person. The only issue was that someone at some point needs to take the first step and say hello!

So! How do you say hello?

Step 1: See an ask meme on someones blog that you really want to befriend them, send them one or two questions! Read their answer! And then (and here’s the tricky part) leave a little comment in the replies of that post to tell them what part of their reply you liked, you can even leave a little IC reply of your muse reacting to something. - Now you’ve broken the ice! The mun knows who you are (and if you are mutuals) and will probably be pretty grateful that you sent an ask! You can now send more, and they might even send you a few back! Now you’re interacting!

(Note: If they haven’t posted a meme in a while, you can scroll back through their blog and find one, or think up one of your own - send in the QUESTION, not the icon. Treat it as a stand alone. People love writing about their muses, so you just need to create the opportunity for them to do so!)

Step 2: Now that you’re interacting, you can try to send an IC ask (You can do this in step 1 too, but if you’re more shy you can wait for step 2!) - whether its from a meme or not. Starting from a question means that you are already in the middle of a conversation with the muses, and it helps to make things flow more smoothly. Don’t be stressed if the thread dies after a reply or two - it’s not meant to last forever, that’s okay! It’s meant to allow the two of you to get a feel of each other and your writing styles. Have fun with it!

Step 3: Send an IM. This might feel like the biggest step, but do not worry. A compliment, I find, is the kindest and nicest way to introduce yourself ooc. I know that I for one am always very flattered if someone takes the time to find something about my recent reply/writing/characterization/hcs and share that with me. A little ‘Hello! I laughed so much at xxxx line you wrote’ or ‘I love your hc on xxxx!’ is such a nice message to get. Being nice is the best way to make friends and it can lead to more RP in the future.

Note: If you don’t ‘click’ don’t worry. You’re not always going to be best friends with everyone. Leave it be. That doesn’t mean that they don’t appreciate your asks, and won’t send you some, and it doesn’t mean that you can never write together. It just means that you don’t have perfect chemistry. If you don’t click it is still a very nice idea to send people memes and questions when they appear on your dash. The community thrives off of participation! So participate and you’ll find the good karma comes around.

Furthermore, don’t be dissuaded by seeing others interact with their friends on the dashboard. Some people have been writing together for years, and its presumptuous to assume you will have the same friendship in only a few days. It’s not elitist for someone to have fun with their own bestie.

And sometimes you just don’t get along with someone at all. The chemistry isn’t there. It doesn’t mean either of you are bad people or that your writing is bad - it just means you aren’t compatible. Let it go. You’ll find your people.

A final disclaimer: read peoples rules and blogs - they are there to help facilitate interaction!

If there’s a rule saying ‘I only write with mutuals’, then wait to become a mutual to send or request something IC. If there’s a rule saying ‘I don’t write XYZ’ then don’t send an ask about XYZ.

And read their blogs because they might have a list of open starters, a wishlist, or even a plot generator pre-prepared! Use this to your advantage - they are telling you want they are interested in writing! That’s a huge hint :D

[harfblarf]

“Help my Cat” Scam Going Around

Have you received an ask in your inbox from an account that previously wasn’t following you, pleading for a signal boost on their vet-related post? I got one today, but something felt fishy. Or perhaps “phishy” is more accurate?

Here’s the ask:

Now a couple odd things right off the bat. This is a blog I’ve never seen or interacted with, who wasn’t following me prior to sending the ask, so I immediately wondered how they pulled my name to ask for help. And while the world in general is a shitshow, so I can sort of see why a person would default to saying it “isn’t the best time to ask for help”, they say it with such confidence without knowing me at all.

Odder still, from their posts-- which at least do look extremely normal and human-like, down to the mishapocalypse profile picture-- we don’t share any interests aside from... well. Cats.

The other odd thing is them specifically requesting I reply privately, through DM or a private answer. I wouldn’t think much of it except they’re already asking me to publicly share something on my blog; if I’m going to answer the ask, why can’t I do so publicly?

I scroll through their blog some more. Their pinned post is, indeed, asking for help with their cat:

Weirdly, though, an earlier version of this post uses a completely different name for the cat??

This is bizarre to me and my red flags are pinging louder. Maybe it’s innocuous, though, I mean, it could just be a nickname or something? Why would you change it though?

Also, the post’s ratio is weird-- 101 reblogs to 44 likes. I suppose not too shocking if they’re doing this use-an-ask-to-get-a-boost tactic widely, but the ratio is pretty extreme. I check the notes. Every single reblog with tags has some variation on ‘boost’ or ‘signal boost’; there are no comments. No one has mentioned knowing this person, no one has vouched for the legitimacy of the post... but two mention that they were asked to boost the post.

*EDIT: Per a polite anon, I will clarify that signal boost/boost tags themselves aren't a red flag; what bothered me was that the post's ONLY interaction history came from boosts from seeming strangers. An active fandom blog, active enough to think posting a plea for financial help might get traction, SHOULD have at least one or two mutuals or friends who are willing to push the post and vouch for its legitimacy. Because the only engagement was from people who had clearly been approached via ask, like me, I got the heebie jeebies.

Okay, I’m doubtful enough that I’m not comfortable boosting this post myself. But let me check one more thing.

I search google for the exact phrasing of the help-requested post.

Ah.

There’s well over a dozen blogs pulled up with this exact phrasing. Most of them use the name “Koppi” instead of either “Ashel” or “Biscuit”, but a few use “Ashel”. The oldest result, from 2016, uses “Ashel”; more commonly, these results are from 2022 or earlier this year and again, most say “Koppi”. Also interesting: basically none of these posts exist anymore. Google can identify the exact wording even beyond what I included in my search query using whatever demonic powers allow it to reference removed content, but they’ve clearly been deleted.

Additionally, which I clarify for those like me who attribute Google’s quirks to demonic powers rather than an actual understanding of how it works: if the dates didn’t make it clear, these aren’t the blogs in the notes of falesyorac’s post. I cross-referenced the names. It’s not pulling up those reblogs, so presumably the majority of these results at one time came from someone who drafted and posted the wording to their blog, not from reblogs.

Maybe it was once a real post, maybe it’s always been a scam, but evidently the content of the post has been stolen and recirculated at this point. Along the way I found this as well, an anon warning someone who must have reblogged a version of the scam post:

So this is at least partly confirmed as a scam from another source.

Please be wary, do your due diligence before you put your money anywhere, and block & report falseyorac. I’m not sure the nature of the falseyorac blog originally; it may have been a real account that got hijacked, it may be a very convincing fake, it may be a real person’s blog who is trying to to leverage their innocuous appearance to pull quick money with a beggar scheme. Regardless, it is evident there is not a genuine Ashel/Biscuit needing help today and that whoever holds the falseyorac account right now is trying to pull a scam.

One more thing-- one of those reblog’s tags I showed earlier.

I also have a tag for reblogs of cats. (It’s “cats”.) I suspect this is where this particular iteration of the scam is pulling its targets from-- after all, people who reblog cats enough to tag them must care about them, right?

Finally, I am tagging the people who reblogged falseyorac’s post with tags (there’s too many for me to do everyone who reblogged it at all) below the readmore-- if I messed up and tagged the wrong person and/or you want your name removed, please just contact me and ask. I want to make sure you can see this warning, but I’m happy to untag you if it bothers you for any reason.

@thislilfecker​ / @koreanbibliophilegirl / @kingminyard / @sss-shyshy / @shoutmonishere / @cleocatrablossy / @mothmansass / @aroanehring / @valkyrie-ellis / @jae-writes-fanfiction / @ninja-chibi / @iambecomeahamburger

(A few people’s names didn’t come up when I tried to tag them, so I wasn’t able to include them here, rip.)

[heyiwrotesomethings]

Hey , love your work. Could I request a oneshot of mary and a very dense she/her reader, so mary has to go above and beyond and break past her tsundere wall to confess to the reader. Mary would probably be like "This god damn idiot."

Do I Have to Spell it Out for You?

Mary Saotome x She/Her Reader

A/N: Hey, Reader may be dense but Mary doesn’t exactly make it easy with that tsundere attitude. Hope you enjoy! Word Count: 1,593

“Hey.” Mary greeted (Y/n) curtly, slapping a fat stack of yen on the girl’s desk. “Here’s your cut from the gamble yesterday.”

“Thanks Mary! …Hm?” (Y/n) tilted her head to the side. Surely she hadn’t earned that much money on the gamble. “Isn’t this too much?”

“What? You think I can count cards but I can’t count yen?” Mary groused. “I gave you what you deserved. You figured out the cheat, you get a bit more of the cut. Don’t overthink it.”

“Sure. If it’s really alright with you, thanks Mary!”

“Yeah, whatever, you already said that, idiot.” Mary walked stiffly over to her desk and made a show of opening her textbook and looking busy. Meanwhile her heart was pounding. If (Y/n) gave her that stupid smile one my time, she would perish on the spot.

She had been dealing with (suffering with) her feelings for (Y/n) for months. She kept dropping hints that she was interested in her, but the idiot didn’t suspect a thing. How much more obvious could she be! Extra yen, picking her over Yumeko and Ririka for gambles, treating her to lunches off campus to be among normal people for a change. What wasn’t clicking?

She shot (Y/n) a side-eye glance as the teacher came into the room. To anyone else she would have appeared to have been staring daggers at the girl when really she was appreciating how the sun streaming through the windows backlit her, giving her an outline like gold.

(Y/n) felt eyes on her and looked up from her note taking and met Mary’s eye, making the blonde flinch in her seat and blush at being caught. (Y/n) simply smiled at her and gave her a little wave before facing front again.

Mary bore down on her pencil so hard, the tip snapped. How dare this girl have so much power of her and not even notice! She tossed her pencil into her desk and pulled out a pen instead and began writing notes furiously, earning a couple sideways glances from the classmates around her with her loud scrapes.

Yumeko giggled into her hand, having watched the whole interaction and Ryota sat in his seat looking as lost as always. He met Mary’s eye for only a millisecond before turning away, but he still felt like he had been electrocuted.

***

After classes were over, Mary walked over to (Y/n)’s desk before the girl even finished packing up her belongings.

“Hey. I’m leaving this fucked up school to go to see a movie and eat dinner. If you want to come with I won’t stop you. I don’t care.”

“That does sound fun… you really won’t mind if I tag along?” (Y/n) asked.

“That’s what I said, wasn’t it? Hurry up before I leave you behind.” Mary grit her teeth as familiar arms wrapped around her shoulders. She elbowed the person behind her, unsatisfied by the obviously fake yelp of pain.

“Ow, Mary-chan, so mean!” Yumeko pouted, rubbing her ribs. She quickly returned to her usual chipper self, however. “What are you two up to, hm?”

“None of your—!”

“Mary said she’s going to a movie and then dinner. She said I could come, maybe you guys could come too?”

“That does sound fun!” Yumeko grinned, looping arms with (Y/n). “Don’t you think Ryota?”

“Uh, yeah, I think—“

“You two aren’t coming! God, can’t you guys do anything without me?” Mary griped. She snatched (Y/n) out of Yumeko’s grasp, snapped up her school bag and dragged her out of the door.

“We will meet you there then!” Yumeko waved.

“You better not!” Mary shouted over her shoulder.

“I don’t know Mary. Wouldn’t it be fun if more of our friends tagged along?”

“No!”

“Why not?”

Mary was about to have an aneurysm.

“I was doing you a favor just extending the invitation to you. Don’t test my patience with those other degenerates.”

“Okay.” (Y/n) shrugged and let Mary pull her whatever way she wanted. Mary only slowed when they were well off of the school grounds.

***

Mary thought she was doing everything right. She let (Y/n) pick the movie, paid for both their tickets and snacks… she tried to hold her hand but (Y/n) just thought she wanted popcorn. Then they went to dinner and (Y/n) insisted to pay for that, to pay back for the movie she said. Mary accepted begrudgingly. She tried to offer (Y/n) a bite of her food, her chopsticks hanging in the air, but (Y/n) took some directly from her plate before pushing her own towards Mary and offering her some of her food.

Did she really not know how hard this was for Mary, to be vulnerable like this? She was thwarting her at every turn. Couldn’t she tell what all of this was about?

“Thanks for letting me come with you tonight.” (Y/n) said as they rode the transit back to the school grounds.

“Yeah, sure.” Mary grumbled, she bit the inside of her lip out of aggravation. “We… we should do it again sometime.” She gritted out.

“Sure! I enjoy spending time with you.”

Yes!

“You’re one of my best friends, Mary.”

No! Yes, but no!

Mary couldn’t take it anymore. She really didn’t want to have to resort to this but she left her with no choice.

“(Y/n)!” She yelled, startling some of the other people on the bus.

“Yeah?” (Y/n) perked up.

She was staring at Mary so intently that it almost made her want to leap out of the moving bus.

“(Y/n), you— I, damn it!” She pulled at her hair then dug in pocket of her shirt and pulled out a pen. “Do I really have to spell it out for you?!” She tore a notebook from her bag and flipped it to a random blank page and scribbled, loudly cursing when the movement of the bus jostled her arm.

When she was finished, she ripped out the page and pushed it into (Y/n)’s chest. (Y/n) took the note in one hand and rubbed at collarbone with the other as she read, her face grew shocked as she read the note twice, thrice…

“Mary, you wanted this to be a date? You really mean it? You like me?”

Mary was blushing so hard she could hear the blood rushing through her ears. Her throat strained to answer, test out a few nonsense noises. Damn it, Mary, it was one word! Finally, she snatched the paper back to scratch it down. (Y/n) barely managed to catch the paper before she could be smacked in the chest again.

“Yes? Yes!” (Y/n) hugged Mary hard and though she struggled against the hug, (Y/n) did not ease up. “I’m sorry Mary, I didn’t know.”

“I think I made it perfectly clear!” Mary fumed, “You are just dense! Incredibly dense! I don’t know how this school hasn’t eaten you alive already!”

“Mary, you have to admit you didn’t make it easy for me. You are very flippant in the way you speak.”

“No way! I was clear! You are dense!” Mary refused to backdown, but (Y/n) still smiled as she rolled her eyes. She leaned her weight against Mary, making her blush even more prominent.

“Alright, I’m dense and you very clear with your intentions when they are matters of the heart.”

Mary’s eyes narrowed in an accusatory manner. Yet she couldn’t help but to lean back into (Y/n) as well. “Why did that sound sarcastic?”

“I don’t know what you mean…”

“Quit it.”

“Hey, what do you want to do for the rest of the weekend?”

“Why are you asking me all of the sudden?!” Mary asked defensively, immediately noticing her error.”

“Because you’re my girlfriend now… or did I read that wrong? It’s so hard to know for sure when you talk to me like that.”

“…I picked today. You pick tomorrow?” She asked, watching her feet tap against the floor with a face that reminded (Y/n) of a grumpy puppy.

“Okay, sounds good.” (Y/n) kissed Mary on the cheek and then directed her attention to the front of the bus. “Our stop is here.”

Mary missed (Y/n)’s contact immediately and almost had to jog after her when she left the bus.

“H-hey! Why are you walking so fast?”

“It’s chilly out, isn’t it?” (Y/n) smiled.

“Sure, but you just… and I want to…” Mary stuttered.

“What do you want Mary?” (Y/n) teased.

“You know what I want!”

“Maybe, but I think it would be a good idea if you practiced saying what you mean and what you want rather than thinking I can read your mind. In other words, speak your heart, and you will be rewarded.”

Mary pursed her lips. (Y/n) made a good point. Maybe she was dense, but she wasn’t a fool. She was a decent gambler, a very smart girl. It wouldn’t kill Mary to actually try to meet her half way.

“I want… I want to kiss you too. On the cheek.”

“On the cheek. Alright.” (Y/n) smiled, presenting her cheek to Mary. She was there and gone so fast (Y/n) didn’t know for sure if she had done it. But it was a big step for Mary so she wouldn’t tease her about it. “Would you like to hold my hand while we walk to the dorms?”

“Why would…! Mhm.. I’d.. like.. that.”

(Y/n) took Mary’s hand and silently marveled at its warmth. As they walked back, she wondered if Mary was always that warm, or if it because of how much she was blushing.