#don't think the video loads on the dashboard?

[en--dear]

@antimononormative

Reply to @cinnachoopy anti-mononormativity ≠ anti-monogamy #anticolonialism #anticapitalism #monogamy #nonmonogamy #polyamory #polyam #polyamorous

♬ original sound - Nayeli

Just found Nayeli’s account on tiktok but I love them so much - they articulate many of my thoughts around mononormativity so well <3 <3 

[direct link to video] [Nayeli’s tiktok]

[silvesi]

I forgot to say. I go by Sourfangs now. If ur thinking "WHO R U" it's Silvesi hi . Still gonna use silv on games n such, just prefer to have my social media/public stuff under a seperate name .

1. Because I made it when I was 14 and

2. I'd like to play video games and share m discord/steam etc with people irl without exposing my gay little hoarde of art (゜゜;)

I also don't really use the dashboard here a lot anymore, favouring bluesky my beloved

My bsky

Funnily enough, wrecking my hands made me re-evaluate my relationship w/social media. Didn't think I was pressuring myself into being active all the time and feeling obliged to talk to everyone since i didnt post loads? I love touching grass! TURNS OUT I WAS. Gonna be quieter, or sporadic, but my life is far more balanced now. Enjoying myself so much more, finding it so much easier to just... exist 🙏

[dangerous-advantage]

concerning the new changes (07.10.23)

all right fuck it i wasn't gonna do this but then i ended up filling the tags on the post i reblogged.

so here's my thoughts on staff's 'Tumblr's Core Product Strategy" post and the things that i think could actually be good!... if staff respects tumblr's culture in implementing them.

to note, i am referring to this post. for better context, please go read the whole thing and try not to skip details, since i think it's important to understand the post through your own perspective if you want to participate in the conversation.

this post worried me at first, both because changes in the tumblr ecosystem with as much weight as this post carries have, historically, been pretty bad for the userbase.

starting off with a focus on creating a larger user base and inviting more, new creators rather than with a strong plan to focus on improving the current state of tumblr sets off alarm bells.

reading through the rest of it leaves me with... mixed thoughts. while it honestly does seem like they've heard a lot of the things we've been screaming at them about and might actually take steps to make things improve, i'm still wary.

this isn't a post explaining specific changes tumblr plans to implement. in fact, there are relatively few examples of actual strategies being communicated. it's just an overview with a lot of implications for the future.

i mean, not even the new tumblr labs group has any idea what the exact changes are going to be. just look at this:

[ID: A screenshot containing text from a post made by the aforementioned account. It reads, "But we're not sure exactly what that change looks like, so we've assembled a new team, called Tumblr Labs, to figure it out as quickly..." It cuts off here. /End ID]

and i think that's the problem.

so, the post. staff explains that the issue, as they see it, is that the platform is fundamentally flawed-- i.e., because tumblr is difficult to use if you don't have an understanding of the site before, it tends to scare off new users rather than encourage engagement.

this isn't untrue. however, it should be noted, the tumblr userbase has cultivated a culture of teaching newcomers how the website and the website's culture functions. (see: the many posts made as 'guides' in the wake of the twitter and reddit fiascos, as well as @/strange-aeon's video on the topic.)

(not to say that this system isn't imperfect and could be improved by directing new users to the these posts, buuuuuuut i'll get into that later.)

now: i (and i think most of the userbase) agree with staff on the main point-- tumblr, as a platform, is broken. we have long complained about the bugs and the messy reblog chains and the notifications overwhelming you if a post gains traction.

(though, we've also just integrated that into tumblr culture, but that's a tangent for a different time.)

here's the thing: staff does mention these things as problems they want to fix.

here's a short list of some things the post mentions that i honestly agree are a problem, and that a lot of people have wanted to see change!

[ID: Screenshots of items taken from the bulleted lists on staff's post. These read as follows: "Improving Tumblr's search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards." "Making it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread." "Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral." "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." /End ID]

again, these are things that i agree are issues and would be cool to see improved upon. but staff doesn't tell us how they plan to do this.

in staff's response to the userbases' assumption that they're going to remove the reverse-chronological dashboard, they state they're 'surprised' users came away with this assumption.

i, for one, am not.

the relationship between tumblr staff and the tumblr collective has been strained for a long time. mounting frustrations about users' actual issues with the website being ignored while new features are implemented that are almost unanimously disliked doesn't help.

and don't forget, the last time a change as drastic as this post is making it seem came into action, the porn ban was implemented. a change that had an overall negative effect on the community and tumblr's culture at large. it tore away crucial aspects of tumblr's identity that we'll probably never get back.

so while this post does address issues users have wanted to see fixed, of course we're still going to be wary.

the bottom line is, users don't trust staff to implement changes that will be beneficial to improving the platform for the tumblr userbase. (the recent reddit and twitter debacles don't help things much, either.)

i think staff needs to realize, as the final poster put it, tumblr already has innate value. value created by the community.

if staff focuses on improving tumblr to be easier to use-- in accordance with elevating tumblr's culture-- it will attract more people, simply by being less broken all the time.

this brings me to the other (main) issue i have: putting new users first over the current userbase.

this may not have been what staff meant to imply, but the emphasis seems to be on improving the userbase for incoming users, rather than those of us who are already here.

to be clear, i don't think that making tumblr easier to navigate for new users is bad. i mean, there's a reason we were writing guides. joining tumblr if you aren't already exposed to it can be daunting.

allowing new users to rely on an actual, working algorithm (although i think a user-driven algorithim is possibly one of the best parts of tumblr) isn't inherently bad. using that algorithim to elevate new creators isn't bad, either.

it's the way they choose to do this that makes us wary. like i mentioned before, we already have somewhat of a system for on-boarding new users to the site: word of mouth from more experienced users. this helps with both learning how to navigate tumblr and introducing new users to tumblr culture.

with all this in mind: where do we go from here?

in my mind, the solution for these problems comes down to communication. if staff wants more trust from the tumblr userbase, they need to show they are willing to listen to feedback from the tumblr collective.

when implementing changes, a great way to avoid the immediate backlash and distrust of tumblr users is by clearly outlining the changes they plan to make and the strategies by which they will be carried out.

another user made the analogy that websites should be like cities, where the users have a say in (as staff puts it) the 'evolution of tumblr.'

(mmmmmaybe we could use that spiffy new poll feature, too? everybody loves polls!)

for on-boarding new users, staff could take inspiration from the userbase in implementing a system by which new users are given the information needed to navigate tumblr. tidy up the site, remove bugs, and make it easier to use, and a lot of problems will sort themselves out.

then, we can go from there.

regarding the rest of the stuff i brushed over, i don't feel i can really say much without knowing what they actually plan to do, or where they plan to go with these things.

for example, here's another list of images of things from the post that i am cautiously intrigued by, but am worried will be improved for the worse:

[ID: Another series of images, showing more of the items listed in staff's post. They read as follows: "Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs." "Get creators' new content in front of people who are interested in it." "Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting." "Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs." "Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds." /End ID.]

the bottom line is this: if staff wants the support of the userbase in upcoming changes, they need to show that they respect and value us and the culture at large. in my opinion, staff has made strides in embracing tumblr culture, but we need to know these changes are not just motivated by profit.

if staff intends to keep it's current users, they need to to recognize that we deserve a say in this, too.

without the userbase, tumblr wouldn't exist. end of story. we are what keep tumblr alive. as stated before, expanding the userbase is not a bad thing. but doing so to the detriment of tumblr's culture is.

in this regard, i do truly hope that staff means what they said in the conclusion of their original post:

[ID: An image of the conclusion of staff's post. It reads: "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 priotitizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we--" The words then cut off. /End ID]

so, @staff. if you really do believe this: prove it.

[fuckyeahilike]

Downsides and dangers of the Carnivore diet - part 1

People don't read these things, but I'm going to leave a few warnings to those who are considering following a Carnivore diet. The first one is not so much about the diet as it's about the people in the "community".

Most people who do this arrive at it after decades of chronic diseases that, as it turns out, where mostly caused by metabolic disorders, which is why they're curable with the right diet. You arrive at Carnivore at final fucking last and after you've tried everything because the consensus is always that you can never be too vegetarian. Vegetarianism is for herbivores and we're obligatory carnivores. However the standard advice, for now, is the opposite. So Carnivore is what you do when you're desperate... and then it works. The people in the "community" are perfectly fine good people doing a good job of passing along the knowledge they have acquired, hoping it will be of value to others. That's it, that's all. Nobody knows everything but everyone knows something and they're all worth listening to.

I wouldn't say the community is crawling with Trump supporting Conservative anti-vaxxers, but they're there. I think somewhere along the way fascists decided that vegetarianism is for soy boys whereas eating meat is for men who believe in Jesus; and then there's also the aspect of always going against the establishment... unless the establishment is Trump saying doctors should open people's bodies up and shine sun light inside them to kill the Covid virus, then it must be science.

The last time I had to unfollow a Carnivore influencer for being a fascist he made a short video redirecting his viewers to another site, where we'd be able to watch what turned out to be an anti-Covid vaccine video. That other site is Rumble, a site that claims to be the censorship-free version of Youtube.

Whenever a site claims to be the censorship-free version of a popular site like Twitter or Youtube, understand: it's a far-right site that is free of democracy and human rights, not free of censorship. Coming from them, censorship means democracy and human rights.

The last time I joined such a site it claimed to be the censorship-free version of pre-Elon Musk Twitter, with more diversity of opinions and more interesting content. What could possibly go wrong, right? Who doesn't want more diversity and inclusivity and less suppression of varied content?

It was an almost exclusively Nazi site for Nazis. I have many and varied interests that I put on my check list and they never showed up on my dashboard. There was no anti-Nazi content, either, just for the sake of "inclusivity", it really was just Nazi anti-semitism 100% of the time.

I finally had enough when I logged in one day and was greeted with a series of photos of a sexy young blond wearing a black mini dress, burning a flag with the star of David. Words can not express to what an extent I did not sign up for this shit.

That's what free from - wink wink nudge nudge - "censorship" means in Anglo-Saxon speak.

So I watched the other video on the Rumble site and it was a conspiracy video about how Covid was never an infectious disease but was only ever transmitted through the vaccines themselves. Before the vaccines came along the hospitals that we were told were loaded with patients were actually practically empty and doctors had little to do, except to put Covid on the death certificates of those who died of other causes. Only by watching videos like this will you ever know the "truth".

This was a guy I had been following for the Carnivore tips.

My diagnosis is that he decided to take a leaf off of the Alex Jones school of financial self-help: you encourage and instill fear and paranoia in your audience and then tell them that they can trust no one else, that you and you alone can tell them what is really going on, and that only you can tell them how to interpret the dystopian reality that they live in; and that only by commenting, liking and subscribing and of course sending you all their money will it be possible for you to continue to do all this important journalism with all the hard hitting facts that proper news stations and the government are hiding from you.

Don't join communities, is all I'm saying. Continue to think for yourself and never trust a guru. Male gurus of any kind (spiritual, vegetarians, carnivores...) are often rapists as well, don't be alone with them. Follow many different sites and don't be afraid to listen to contrarian voices. If I had stuck religiously to any one thing I would never have found the path that works for me.

[crystalis39]

Thanks for the tip on blocking the premium button to fix the Stylus theme. I have another question, but I'm not sure if you can answer it. The section at the top of my dashboard that used to list "Text, Photo, Video, etc." disappeared and can sometimes be seen if I scroll down faster than the posts load, like it's trapped at the bottom beneath everything. Did you find a way to fix that? It's really troublesome.

I don't think I have a bug like that, so I can't help there unforch :(

[nathank77]

5/17/24

10:15 p.m

I got my hdcp bypasser to work yesterday.I did absolutely nothing special but fuck with wires for over 45 minutes and all of sudden eurica.

The only trick I learned was load the game up. It can bypass it but when you have the ps3 menu up and then load the game it goes to a black screen and then the Hdcp error gets thrown up bc it disconnects to the tv i guess..... but I can't tell you what I did special to get it to bypass it beyond that with the wires.....

Idk if I'm going to keep it. I took full advantage of it just bc I still may return it. Sure it bypasses it but only after 45 minutes of fucking with wires and the screen between the menu and the game loading breaks the handshake....rendering it useless unless you load the game first. Once I turned the game off it said no video lmfao

I have until May 30th to return it... I may just fuck with wires and enjoy it until then... as it should be plug and play... but I want to play my old silent hill games... so I mean idk... something smelled like it smoked... that's what bypassing hdcp is like despite it not being illegal.... thank you PS3! anyways I'm glad I got to record the greatest hits version of silent hill 2. Despite being all the clicks but one on each video I posted... I'm also the likes too.. I'm getting desperate bc click rate matters all my videos get filtered to invisible land bc I get hardly any views..

I took 1MG of Xanax, 25MG of Hydroxyzine and 2MG of Melatonin at 3:30 a.m... I passed out around 5:20 maybe. I woke up at 7:51 a.m needing to pee wayy too bad to ignore it... so I took Benadryl 25MG and fell back to sleep after eating a Think Protein Bar. I slept until 12:30 p.m. I kinda woke up a lot but kept falling back to sleep... I know I shouldn't have to drug myself so much just to sleep but this is my life now and I don't get the best quality sleep but I sleep.. so that's all that matters..

Anyways- I did my disability appt the close out letter was a error which infuriated me. I didn't show it to the representative though.. and now I am scheduled out into July... she told me to call every week and see if he got his final determination... I'm annoyed af. Cause like the drugs I got to take to sleep just to wake up at that fucking time.... anyways it won't happen again cause I'll call weekly.

I tried to get a hold of the licensure department to confirm they got my report. I can't get anyone to pick up after 30 minutes of waiting...so I emailed them tonight referencing my tracking number and when I shipped it and when It said delivered I provided the tracking number and everything asking for a confirmation from the department.

I also went to New Hampshire and got cigarettes. I cleaned out my car when I was there. When I get my oil change I'm getting a full car wash and detailing to clean up the leaves and dirt and shit and wipe down my dashboard and shit. I also have to figure out how to put freon in my car. It's coolish. The compressor is working and once I replaced the fuse the air started coming out of it but- it could be cooler and nicer...

So I already have freon I guess I'll figure it out. In June I've had Beauty for a decade. So I'm going to get that oil change and the car wash. I might do a tune up depending on the cost... if it's like 80$ and what they replace of course.. I got to call and ask but I'm looking to do that the 28th. Hopefully I can do the freon before that.

The drive was okay. Going home I cried hysterically about Nala. I ugly cried. Hardcore as I drove home. I guess I still got to cope with it. I don't want to say more I want to cry typing about it.

I also had some mental images of her dead. So that's great.

I'm starving. I still got to check my car. I made dinner, veggies burgers with vegan bacon its really good actually the bacon and the veggie burgers lol and then I'm going to do that and maybe shave my head. I got to set up my sleep pill too which is stressful with ocd and the hallucination....

So the rest of the night will be fun lol not really.. I'm worried about sleeping on the half MG of xanax bc I had to do the 1mg last night. I also had 2 Red Bulls to get me through the day.

I have to go grocery shopping tomorrow, and do laundry.. so that's cool but Sunday I can relax and hopefully use my HDCP bypasser and play silent hill something. Idk what yet.

I took some photos of myself in the bathroom bc I'm wearing this white shirt and I look good as fuck. I have like 9 or so and I like all them but they all look the same lol the self love and overconfidence is overflowing.

I had a weird mental picture on the car ride home of a naked trans guy who was buff but it was rather segmented. I knew what it was but- like it was very unclear..

It was psychosis trying to say no matter how buff I get I will never have a dick. Cause I'm hardcore considering working out and also fun fact I have no desire to get bottom surgery. At all.

What's so great about cis penis? The image made me horny a little of the naked buff transguy like I could look like that..of course there was some self hate but not really cause it's hot.. like 1 out of 10 for self hate and 9 out of 10 for horny lol

The only thing a cis penis is good for is babies and penetration.. I get it some girls like it, and the g spot and all that but the majority of cis gendered relationships the girl doesn't cum.... every person I've ever been with cums every single time and my next girlfriend will too if I ever find one..

I mean also what can't a dildo do that a cis penis can? Move and pulsate. So I get that that might be awesome but some fancy dildos can do that but I wouldn't wear anything like that anyways. You take my body as it is or you don't have to. I like my body.

The whole biological children thing sucks but I mean- if I wanted to go through procedures technically I could get a girl pregnant and or carry myself but I'd never do either especially carry.. but both never ever. And I've thought about it- my genetics are broken. Idk if we need anymore of us. There are so many kids in broken homes and orphaned and they need love and I have a lot to give.

I'd love to see my eyes or my nose but depending on my partner I'd love to see her eyes. Like Elise for example if somehow she could carry a child that is biologically mine I'd be disappointed if they had my eyes.... something I love about her children despite the fact that I may never meet them is they have her eyes and they look like her. And yea. So I don't need a child to be biologically mine although if I end up with Stacey I mean- one of the only pluses is my name being on the birth certificate. Skin cell babies aren't really a thing but being involved in the whole pregnancy would be cool although it doesn't matter. I just want kids to love me as much as I love them and be seen as a father figure.

I feel like when I wrote that about Stacey It made it sound like I wouldn't be happy if I ended up with a mother who didn't want more kids. That is not even remotely true. It would be a plus to be on the birth certificate/be apart of the pregnancy. I can't lie. It would be great to have a skin cell baby or to help pick a donar who looks a little like me, a short Italian with glasses lol I feel like the glasses at a young age are required but yea. Idc honestly.

All I want is to be apart of a family to be needed and loved and receive a father day card and be depended on and loved. I would like to be called dad but it is not required the father's day card would be a dream. I tear up thinking about it. Nathan is good enough I never get tired of hearing it.

Anyways I just wanted to clear that up. As when I think about being with Stacey I try to see the very few, "positives." And when I imagine a mystery girl it's like tbh idc if she wanted to get pregnant or already has kids. I JUST WANT KIDS. That's all.

Whelp I got to check my car and then take a shower at least. I hope I fall asleep easily. I am truly worried. Tomorrow I'm going to have a red bull day with silent hill if I can get home from the stop and shop quickly enough.

When I go to the dentist I'm going to get an estimate for the teeth sealant regardless of back pay since it still isn't a thing. I'm hoping it's affordable enough cause I'd go through with one of them to start at least and the second a few months later... although I likely won't get a 6 month cleaning... but I won't need it as badly if that stupid groove wasn't plaque central. The other one isn't too bad...but one is brown and it drives me crazy with all the stuff I do to take care of my teeth...

I'm also worried about getting to my bloodwork/t shot on Wednesday but I guess I'll worry about that later...

Erin can see me until at least the end of May. She doesn't know if she can after due to her losing her license. At that point I may just go to two days a week with Mike so I don't have to look for another therapist and get rejected by so many therapists due to being trans and having auditory hallucinations...

I'm probably going to join planet fitness the 1st of the month, the start up is expensive but I'm going to hit my super prime. 👌

June I only have the cardiologist minus my biweekly t shot. So yea. I hope the complaint for Kristen is taken seriously and isn't thrown out bc I'm "crazy."

[always-andromeda]

Time for a little talk. Skip if you don’t feel like reading. I just wanted to get some thoughts out because I’ve been seeing a lot of fatphobia pop up on my dashboard and I just got some comments that reminded me of it all.

TW: discussion around fatphobia, mention of EDs (nothing graphic), disgusting comments from a disgusting individual.

So a few months ago I made this silly little post:

Essentially, that day I got a load of OOTD videos from a plus size influencer on my for you page. And I was saddened to open the comments on every single one and see that the top comments were all insulting, unfunny comments about this woman who was simply just. Standing in front of a camera. Striking some poses. Showing off her outfit.

However. The other day, I got some particularly gross comments on that post:

Now let me clarify, I didn’t legitimize their comments with a response. I have since blocked them and I’m keeping their username covered because honestly, it’s just some random bullshit blog that reposts stolen aesthetic images from Pinterest and makes disparaging comments about fat people on tumblr. Their life is grim enough by the looks of things.

And I'm not posting this to say, "Look at the mean comments I got!! Feel bad for me!! 🥺" Because if this was just regular old fatphobia, I would've ignored and blocked this bullshit like I've done in the past. But it's that first comment that made me chuckle. Friends, I present to you the weakest excuse I've heard for being an absolute piece of shit:

They put themselves out there. They deserve the insults. Plain and simple.

For extra context: I've been fat my whole life. And I probably always will be. I've been insulted for it by "friends" and bullies alike. No matter how much I've restricted, worked out, binged, and purged, none of it has ever made me lose weight. If anything, all those actions have done to me is physical damage that I can't undo!

But these people don't care about that. They don't care about listening and extending empathy and learning like a decent human being might. Even if a fat person did try and comply with this person's bullshit logic and go to the gym to "fix" themselves, they'd still get treated like shit for the simple fact that they exist and they have a body and they dare to show it in public. There is no correct or incorrect way to be fat.

A person's body does not hold some inherent moral value. Leaving pathetically vile comments on a random post from a random blog you don't even follow sure does hold a moral value though I think! One that matters just an eeeensy bit more than my fat ass saying in a silly tumblr post: "Hey, it'd be really cool if I could just...exist...without getting stomped into oblivion, thanks!"

If I dared to pretend that comments like these are made with a shred of good faith in them, I would argue that there is no "winning" with people like this. They only care to perpetuate a cycle of self loathing and discouragement specifically designed to keep us in the position of being punching bags. All they care to do is hurt people they don't know because the internet has afforded them a level of removal from the rot within their hearts.

I'm not saying anything groundbreaking, I'm aware. There are plenty of folks who are more articulate than I am who have had these conversations dozens of time over.

But these people feed on our misery. They feed on their ability to kick up a fuss and hurt our feelings with half assed insults. One might argue that I'm kicking up a fuss right now typing up a long ass tumblr post in response to two measly comments. If that's your contribution to this discussion, get absolutely fucked, this post isn't for you. It’s not for the commenter either.

This post is for all of my homies who have become the punching bag, both on and offline. Because it hurts either way. I hear you and I see you, friends. And the second you start to doubt yourself when these beasts rear their ugly heads, please remember that their words have nothing to do with you. They use their words and their energy to deliberately cause harm. And there is something deeply wrong with that. Some wrong thing that you don't possess purely for some physical trait. Never ever forget that distinction.

I love you all. I'm glad we exist. And I hope that we can keep spreading love in whatever ways we can.

[vrankup]

Unveiling Google Ads: A Journey to Success |vrankup|

 Hey there, digital trailblazers it's your best digital marketing agency in dwarka, vrankup! In a world where the internet is the king and online avenues are bustling with action, businesses are unleashing the power of Google Ads. Yep, you heard it right – Google Ads, the advertising superhero that's changing the game for brands everywhere. Buckle up, because we're diving headfirst into the thrilling realm of Google Ads campaigns, learning how they tick, what goodies they bring to the table, and some killer moves to make your campaigns rock.

**The Google Ads Show**

Picture this: a swanky online advertising platform known as Google Ads, designed by the wizardry of Google. It's like a giant marketplace of advertising solutions, tailor-made for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Oh, and it works on the genius principle of pay-per-click (PPC), where you only shell out when someone's curious enough to click on your ad. Your ads? Oh, they're not just chilling on Google search results; they're spreading their wings on YouTube and other cool partner websites too. Total visibility, people!

**Unpacking the Goodies**

So, why's everyone hyped about Google Ads campaigns? Well, lemme give you the lowdown on the sweet benefits:

1. **Laser-Focused Targeting**: Imagine a bow and arrow, but instead of arrows, you've got ads hitting the bullseye of your target audience. Google Ads lets you micromanage who sees your ads – from keywords to demographics to locations – it's like having a magnifying glass for your ads.

2. **Metrics Galore**: Data is your best buddy here. With Google Ads, you get a backstage pass to real-time performance insights. That means you're not just guessing; you're tweaking your campaigns based on actual results. It's like a GPS for your ad journey.

3. **Budget Bliss**: You don't need a vault of gold coins to play this game. Google Ads plays nice with budgets of all sizes. You decide how much you wanna drop, whether it's daily or for the whole shebang. No surprise bills, just cool control.

4. **Flash Speed Results**: Patience? Who needs it! Google Ads dishes out results faster than a pizza delivery. Once your campaign's all set and good to go, your ads can be dancing on search results and websites in a jiffy.

|Vrankup|

**Cooking Up a Google Ads Storm**

Now, let's roll up those sleeves and get cooking with a successful Google Ads campaign:

1. **Super Sleuth Keywords**: Step one is diving into the deep sea of keywords. You gotta know what your peeps are typing in that search bar. Google's Keyword Planner is your treasure map – it shows you the keywords that make people tick.

2. **Show-Stopping Ad Copy**: Your ad copy's like the red carpet for your business. The headlines gotta be as catchy as a pop song, and your description? Think of it as a teaser for the blockbuster of the year. Hook 'em, reel 'em in.

3. **Landing Page Magic**: Imagine your ad's a fairy tale and your landing page's the enchanting castle. They should match! Quick-loading, crystal-clear info, and a big, fat call-to-action – that's the landing page spell you need.

4. **Extensions Extraordinaire**: Ad extensions are like bonus levels in a video game. They give your audience more info, like your location, number, or links to your awesome website. It's like adding sprinkles to your already delicious cupcake.

5. **Eyes on the Prize**: Here's the secret sauce – keep a constant eye on your campaign. Dive into the data, tweak your bids, shuffle your keywords, and toss in new ad variations. It's like tuning up a race car for peak performance.

**Wrapping it up**

So there you have it, the Google Ads extravaganza in all its glory! It's the modern-day magic carpet that takes your business to the digital skies. Remember, the secret recipe here involves digging deep into keywords, jazzing up your ad copy, and always keeping an eye on the data dashboard. Embrace the Google Ads wizardry and watch your campaigns soar to new heights. It's time to paint the digital town red with your ads, and Google Ads is your trusty brush. Let's rock the digital world, one click at a time!

Catch you later, 

digital marketing agency in dwarka |vrankup|

[aurorashard]

Seems to be limited to the dashboard vs when viewing your own blog. I'm assuming it's an A/B test. I Really hate the image repeat thing. The overlay is annoying, but not world ending. I suppose relogging while looking at the photo is alright, but it stays until you tap the photo, it doesn't fade after a set time. That I've seen anyways.

Eta: when viewing a photo set with more than one image, you still swipe to the side to see the next one. To close the photo viewer, you swipe from the top of the screen to the bottom, and the image is swooshed off to the side. Don't love how the clearing doesn't match the motion, and swiping from the bottom to the top doesn't close the viewer, which I think it usually does.

Eta: when you swipe up when looking at a photo post, it loads other posts with the same/similar tags. (Ex. I posted something tagged "Tumblr" and got posts tagged with "Tumblr" as well as some "funny Twitter tweets" blog. Also looked at a Barbie movie gif and the next three posts were all Barbie movie themed.

Eta: I'm really missing the ability to swipe upwards to clear a video. Must be how I tend to hold my phone, but when I'm swiping down to clear it I just keep seeking within the video. I don't want to do the infinite scroll of videos like TikTok; as it is, I wish you could turn off infinite scroll on the mobile app.

What's with this new image viewer on mobile??? You can swipe down and it pulls up another post?

[emptymasks]

Can you recommend any musicals that are online that have a a lot of lgbt rep but also a happy ending. I don’t really like sad endings and much prefer happy endings. I know a lot of musicals are dark and have gloomy endings so this might be a difficult answer sorry🙏🏻

Sorry this has take ages to get to answering, I've been trying to think of and find ones that fit because the ones I think of first don't have happy endings for the LGBT+ characters because the whole tone of the musical is kinda dark.

What I'm assuming you mean by sad ending is any really dark musicals or the LGBT+ character/s dying. There are some musicals out there that aren't dark, and have happy and brighter parts, but still have the LGBT+ character die at the end. So all of these musicals have no LGBT+ deaths in them.

I'm just going to list all musicals with LGBT+ characters and no LGBT+ characters die and/or don’t have very consistent dark tones, and link to any videos of them I know of, if there are any. 

List is under the cut with names, summaries and links! It's just under the cut so this post doesn't take up loads of room on everyone's dashboard.  There’s for sure more, these are just the ones I know about.

Any videos labelled ‘proshot’ are professional/official recordings. Any videos without that are bootlegs, as in filmed by an audience member.

Avenue Q

"The laugh-out-loud musical tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton, who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. He soon discovers that, although the residents seem nice, it's clear that this is not your ordinary neighborhood. Together, Princeton and his new-found friends struggle to find jobs, dates and their ever-elusive purpose in life."

Main gay character

Video | Audio Audio 2

Bathhouse: The Musical!

"The show follows the story of Billy, a wide-eyed youth venturing into a bathhouse for the very first time. He is looking for love, but soon realizes that the other patrons are looking for something "a little more temporary". With some guidance, Billy soon learns the ins and outs of bathhouse etiquette."

Various mlm characters

Boy Meets Boy

"The show is a fast-paced, light-hearted musical-comedy, featuring a 1930s style Astaire/Rogers romance between two men, and a same-sex marriage. The world of the play posits that in 1936, same-sex relationships are considered as normal as heterosexual ones. The play begins against the background of the abdication of Edward VIII and ends with the Duke of Windsor's (and the protagonists') June 1937 weddings. This is appropriate, as one of the major themes is "Giving it Up for Love". The action occurs in the Savoy Hotel, a few elegant nightspots in London, a bar in Spain, and a black-sheep aunt's disreputable establishment in Paris."

Lead gay romance

Video | Audio

The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical

"The Break Up Notebook tells the story of Helen Hill, a thirty-three-year-old lesbian from Los Angeles. Having just been dumped, she begins dating again with the support of her gay friend Bob and her butch and femme gal pals Monica and Joanie."

Lead lesbian character, supporting lgbt+ characters

La Cage aux Folles

"Based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, it tells the story of a gay couple, Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his romantic partner and star attraction, and the farcical adventures that ensue when Georges's son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancée's ultra-conservative parents to meet them. La cage aux folles literally means "the cage of crazy women". However, folles is also a slang term for effeminate homosexuals (queens). Opening on Broadway in 1983, La Cage broke barriers for gay representation by becoming the first hit Broadway musical centered on a homosexual relationship. The show's Act One finale, "I Am What I Am", received praise as a "gay anthem" and has been widely recorded. The original production ran for more than four years (1,761 performances), and won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book."

Lead gay drag queen character, lead gay romance

Video | Audio Audio 2 Audio 3

Everybody's Talking About Jamie

"The musical is inspired by the 2011 television documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16 directed by Jenny Popplewell. The musical follows a 16-year-old teenager as he overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness to become a drag queen." A film version of the musical is set to be released in September 2021.

Lead gay drag queen character

Video (Proshot) 2021 Film Trailer | Audio

Firebringer (one of the few on this list I’ve actually seen and would 100% recommend if you want something fun to watch)

"At the dawn of humanity, one tribe of cave-people survives the many trials of prehistoric life under the wise leadership of Jemilla, The Peacemaker. Jemilla taught her people to express themselves, rather than bashing each others' heads with rocks and eating each others' babies. But one member of the tribe doesn't seem to fit in: Zazzalil. She's always trying to invent things to make life easier… for herself. While out hatching her latest scheme, Zazzalil stumbles upon the most important discovery in history. One that will pit her tribe against wooly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and change the world forever. She'll travel from omega to alpha, and become… the Firebringer!"

Two lead bisexual women characters

Video (Proshot) | Audio

Hair

"Hair tells the story of the "tribe", a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the "Age of Aquarius" living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against conscription into the Vietnam War. Claude, his good friend Berger, their roommate Sheila and their friends struggle to balance their young lives, loves, and the sexual revolution with their rebellion against the war and their conservative parents and society. Ultimately, Claude must decide whether to resist the draft as his friends have done, or to succumb to the pressures of his parents (and conservative America) to serve in Vietnam, compromising his pacifist principles and risking his life." There was a film adaption in 1976.

Everyone's sexuality is basically up for debate

Video (Proshot) Act 1 Act 2 (Austrian production but sung in English and spoken in a mix of English and German) Video 2 (Broadway 2009 Revival) | Audio Audio 2 

Head over Heels

"A jukebox musical featuring the songs of The Go-Go’s and based on Philip Sidney’s The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia, Head Over Heels is the story of what happens when the royal court of Arcadia is threatened by the mystical Oracle of Delphi with the loss of its “Beat,” the divine power that ensures the kingdom’s prosperity. King Basilius, whose own title is at stake, forces the members of the royal family and court on a journey to the woods in an attempt to escape the Oracle’s seemingly unavoidable prophecies. Through a plot containing usurped kingship, unlikely lovers, and gender-fluid disguises, Head Over Heels preaches unconditional love and acceptance of yourself and everyone you know, no matter their gender or sexual identity, and uses some of the greatest pop rock hits of the late 20th century."

Main non-binary character, a genderfluid character, bisexuals (A lgbt+ character does die but is brought back to life soon after)

Video | Audio

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

"The musical follows Hedwig Robinson, a genderqueer East German singer of a fictional rock and roll band. The story draws on Mitchell's life as the child of a U.S. Army Major General who once commanded the U.S. sector of occupied West Berlin. The character of Hedwig was inspired by a German divorced U.S. Army wife who was Mitchell's family babysitter and moonlighted as a prostitute at her trailer park home in Junction City, Kansas. The music is steeped in the androgynous 1970s glam rock style of David Bowie (who co-produced the Los Angeles production of the show), as well as the work of John Lennon and early punk performers Lou Reed and Iggy Pop." A film version was made in 2001.

Lead genderqueer character (TW and spoiler but I think I should give a heads up for the mention of a botched gender-reassignment surgery in the song 'Angry Inch')

Video (2015 Broadway Revival) Video 2 (1998 Off-Broadway) | Audio Audio 2 Audio 3

It Shoulda Been You

"The bride is Jewish. The groom is Catholic. Her mother is a force of nature. His mother is a tempest in a cocktail shaker. And, when the bride's ex-boyfriend crashes the party, the perfect wedding starts to unravel faster than you can whistle "Here Comes the Bride!"  It's up to the sister of the bride to turn a tangled mess into happily ever after in this musical comedy for anyone who ever had parents."

Main lesbian and gay character

Video | Audio

The Kid

"The protagonist, Dan, is a sex advice columnist who decides to adopt a child with his partner Terry. Throughout the musical the couple encounter difficulties including making the decision to adopt, finding a birth mother, and overcoming apprehension about the adoption process."

Lead gay romance

Kinky Boots

"Based on the 2005 British film Kinky Boots, written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth and mostly inspired by true events, the musical tells the story of Charlie Price. Having inherited a shoe factory from his father, Charlie forms an unlikely partnership with cabaret performer and drag queen Lola to produce a line of high-heeled boots and save the business. In the process, Charlie and Lola discover that they are not so different after all."

Lead drag queen character

Video (Proshot) | Audio Audio 2

A New Brain

"A New Brain is a show about making the most out of life in the face of tragedy. When a neurotic, frustrated composer is confronted with a terminal illness, he finds comfort in the healing power of art. The show is in fact the William Finn’s autobiographical account of his own battle for life when he was afflicted with a seemingly terminal illness. As the central character, Gordon Michael Schwinn struggles to survive, he finds salvation in the healing power of art."

Lead gay character

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

"Adapted from Elliott's 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the musical tells the story of two drag queens and a trans woman, who contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a resort town in the remote Australian desert. As they head west from Sydney aboard their lavender bus, Priscilla, the three friends come to the forefront of a comedy of errors, encountering a number of strange characters, as well as incidents of homophobia, while widening comfort zones and finding new horizons."

A lead trans-woman character and two lead drag queens

The Prom

"The musical follows four Broadway actors lamenting their days of fame, as they travel to the conservative town of Edgewater, Indiana, to help a lesbian student banned from bringing her girlfriend to high school prom. A film adaptation, produced and directed by Ryan Murphy, was released on Netflix on December 11, 2020."

Lead lesbian character

Video | Audio

Soho Cinders

"A modern adaptation of the Cinderella story, Soho Cinders transfers the action to the heart of London's Soho. The eponymous heroine is replaced by a young rent boy called Robbie who gets wrapped up in an illicit affair with an aspiring politician called James Prince. The story intertwines elements of Cinderella with contemporary political scandal and an urban setting."

Lead gay romance (I don't know 100% that no LGBT+ character's die in this, I couldn't find full summaries)

Audio

A Strange Loop

"The musical is about Usher, coincidentally named the same as his day-job as an usher for The Lion King on Broadway, a fat, Black, gay writer who tries to navigate the heteronormative white world. He is backed by a six-person all-black-queer ensemble who voice his inner thoughts as he begrudgingly ghost writes a new Tyler Perry stage play."

Lead gay character

Audio

Tanz der Vampire

Professor Ambronsius and his young assistant Alfred are on the hunt for vampires and stumble upon a small village. They suspect that the villagers know more about vampires than they let on, and soon discover there is a castle in the woods where the vampire Graf von Krolock and his son Herbert live. While staying at the inn, Alfred meets Sarah, the innkeeper’s daughter, her father being so overprotective that he keeps her locked in her room every day and every night. Sarah longs to escape her life and has been secretly conversing with Krolock for some time. She’s no damsel in distress, she’s attracted to him and what he offers and so she sneaks out of her home and goes to his castle. Alfred is convinced she has been kidnapped and he and the Professor go to the castle to rescue her.

Main bisexual character, supporting gay character

Video (German with English subtitles) | Audio

Victor/Victoria

"Based on the 1982 film of the same name, which was a remake of the German film comedy Viktor und Viktoria shot by Reinhold Schünzel in 1933 from his own script. When refined British soprano Victoria Grant finds herself down on her luck in Paris, she discovers to her dismay that producers and nightclub owners are looking for a sound that is much less “legitimate” than hers. On the brink of starvation, she is rescued by Toddy, a warm, generous, and flamboyant nightclub singer, who gets a brilliant idea: dress Victoria as a man, and pass her off as a female impersonator, where she will delight the whole of Gay Paree with her eerie gender-bending and astonishing vocal range. No sooner does Victoria find success in her new role, then she falls in love with King Marchan, a tough Chicago nightclub owner and possible gangster who oozes masculine appeal. King, in turn, is terrified to find himself falling for a man, and refuses to be believe that “Victor” is truly “Victor”. With hired detectives creeping through her hotel room, King’s showgirl lady friend Norma Cassidy out for some jealous revenge, and King’s sweet bodyguard, Squash Bernstein, revealing his homosexuality to smitten Toddy, Victoria’s life is a whirlwind of complications. Can she really go through life being Victor/Victoria? Victoria must decide which is more important: a thrilling new career, or a sweet and sudden love. With a jazzy, sophisticated score by Henry Mancini and Frank Wildhorn, and a clever book by Blake Edwards, Victor / Victoria is a wise, warm, and moving story about self-discovery, tolerance, and second chances, as well as a sparkling ode to the city of Paris, and giddy, flamboyant, creative nightlife of the 1930s."

Main gay and bisexual characters

[girlcored]

how do you make your gifs?

i use photoshop :) and basically everything i do is a collection of tactics picked up from various tutorials. this is the tutorial i first followed, but i can give a brief overview of my current process (i can't tell if you're asking for a tutorial but i'll write one anyway) under the cut

first step is screen capping using kmplayer (free to download). screen capping is the best for high quality

open video file (always 1080p or better), scrub to the scene you want to gif (i'll use aotc. for fun)

right click for this menu:

make sure you have these settings:

by default, frames will go to the 'capture' folder, but i find it useful to make a unique folder for each gif i make to access it easier

click start and then play the video until the frames you want to gif have passed, stop frame extraction. simple enough

now, all the frames are in a folder and you can load them into photoshop

2. actually using photoshop

i always load my frames into a stack:

this takes a second, but i think it's worth it for high quality

with all layers selected, switch from the 'video' timeline to the frame-by-frame timeline, using the icon in the bottom left corner of the window

from:

to:

right now, all the frames are in the opposite order. go to the three bars in the upper right hand corner of the timeline

first, make frames from layers

then, select all frames (again using the three horizontal lines in the top right). finally, reverse the frames.

3. cropping, timing, image size

this is the step where you have to do all three.

cropping: you can crop however you want, but i usually use the photoshop presets like 16x9. just make sure all your layers are still selected.

it's also important to trim any frames that are extraneous or you don't want. for tumblr, i try to aim for at least less than 50 frames on any given gif. ~30 is what i prefer

timing: most people put gifs at a delay of 0.05 sec. between frames. with all FRAMES selected, click the drop down at the bottom of any frame, change the delay as you please (Custom delay)

image size: every post on the tumblr dashboard is 540px wide. when making gifsets, this is important to consider

with everything still selected, go Image -> Image Size... (ctrl+alt+i on pc)

from there, you could export and have a gif appropriate for tumblr, but you probably still want to do some coloring.

here's my gif with NO coloring:

4. sharpening & coloring

everything after this part is pretty subjective in terms of what's "best" to do. this is just my method!!

to color, i convert my frames into a smart object. with everything selected (frames and layers), i switch to the video timeline again

then Filter -> Convert for Smart Filters. now every frame is condensed into one layer! yay!

i have a sharpening action, but it's just Filter -> Sharpen -> Smart Sharpen...

with these basic settings:

you can play around with these settings, though (FOR ANIMATION: set the opacity of this layer to ~30-40%). oversharpened gifs look low quality and unsharpened gifs look fuzzy

coloring is where you really get to have fun!! generally, my basic goal with any coloring layers is to brighten and balance colors.

go to the Adjustments windows and add a curves layer.

selecting white and black points (if they exist) with the eyedroppers can help balance colors AND brighten the gif

gif now:

next, i use a Levels layer to add contrast

you can use white/black/grey points again, but i usually don't.

the left box can be from anywhere ~10-25 and the middle ~1.0-1.5

with levels:

from there, i use Color Balance and Selective Color layers to alter anything else.

in this gif, i think the midtones are too yellow, so i'll change that with a color balance layer. i'd also recommend playing with the shadow tones to shift the overall tone of the gif. never go too extreme with these values, it ruins quality

with these settings:

after that, i adjust any layers as needed!

5. caption (worst part)

add a layer of text, the box should span the entire gif:

then, i use a stroke and drop shadow (triple click on text layer for blending options):

but, again, this is all up to you.

6: export

here are the settings i'm gonna use (File -> Save for Web):

finished gif:

[glitterge1pen]

Have You Ever Considered Craft Supplies Instead Of Drugs? Then This Might Be For You.

Kyōtani Kentarou x reader, sfw, fluff, 1,691word count 

His room for the most part was clean. It’s main function was for sleep though. This was apparent. His clothes, which were mainly basketball shorts and blank t-shirts, were scattered about in a way that told you he threw them there when going to bed.

Kyotani had told you to give him a few minutes, while he was in the bathroom brushing his teeth and struggling with the cap of his eyeliner pen. You felt comfortable enough in his apartment to check the fridge and see if anything was worth your while. But still you felt a bit like an intruder in his bedroom, which is where you had wandered off to.

The walls were white, mostly bare. There was a poster up for some band you didn't recognize, and another one advertising the Sendai Frogs that looked like he had ripped it off one wall to get onto his. You smiled at the thought of him stealing the poster from the grocery store display window or stadium parking lot.

You give his room one last once over before turning to leave. On your way out you trip over a shoe box. You would have just ignored it but a few tufts of paper flew out from the lid. You bend down to collect them but find that these aren't just trash from the shoe box. Quietly, and with a tinge of guilt, you kneel down to gently put the papers back in the box. The little scraps of paper you had found were actually sticky notes, you couldn't decipher the writing on them because of how faded and old the paper was.

You get one quick glimpse inside the shoe box on Kyotani’s floor. There are dozens of papers, printed photos, receipts, tickets, and what you assume are old keys. You feel like you've seen something very private of Kyotani’s and when you turn around to find him standing in the doorway, you gasp in shock.

“What are you doing in here?”

He seems more concerned and confused about you versus the fact that you are in his room. You decide sarcasm is the best choice of action.

“What? You embarrassed about me being in your bedroom?”

“Shut up and get out!”

Kyotani puts his hands on your shoulders and tosses you out into the hallway.

“Hey, hey, what time is it because we might actually be late to the movie now,”

You say pulling out your phone to get a glance at the clock. There was only twenty minutes before you were supposed to be at the theater.

“We’ll be fine, the trailers always play for too long anyways”

He says leading you out the front door.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

When the team wins a game and you head out to eat with the guys afterwards, your eyes don't usually follow Kyotani’s hands so closely. You hope that no one else has picked up on your new habit. But last week's venture into his bedroom has left you reeling in thought.

Kyotani doesn't really like to be hugged. During movie nights he sits separate from the pile of pillows and bodies. He tolerates head pats and high fives. When he hangs up the phone you can feel how difficult it is for him to say something like “bye I love you” platonic or not.

You hadn't really considered it before, at least not so intently in relation to Kyotani. Most people were easy to understand in their affections and how they garnered it. Or if they weren't so obvious, they made some sort of distinction, a simple “I don't like when people do this” or “I prefer this”.

Being friends with Kyotani you had assumed that he was content with what people gave him because he never asked for more. He didn't hug you when you two parted ways, and you never forced him to. He didn't ask or push on others boundaries but now after seeing that shoe box you wondered why he had never advocated for his own. You thought perhaps it wasnt that Kyotani disliked those other forms of affection or care, but rather he didn't regard those other acts as affections at all.

The sounds of the restaurant fade back in as your thoughts simmer down. You feel Tsukishima and Yamaguchi next to you. Enthralled in a conversation about some show they had been binging together. Apparently Yamaguchi had watched a few episodes without Tsukishima and everyone found the annoyed, bitter expression on Tsukishima hilarious, the table erupting in laughter.

“You good? You've been staring at nothing for five minutes,”

Kyotani said to you before taking another bite into his food. He sat across from you, his elbows propping him up over his plate of food.

“Yeah, just tired today,”

You say shaking your head as if trying to wake yourself up.

As the evening wears on, your eyes still follow Kyotani’s hands. Trying to catch the moment of thievery in action. To see if your contemplations are grounded in Kyotani’s actions or rather thoughts with nothing to hold as they pass you by.

But as everyone files out of the restaurant, the bill already split, the copy of the receipt abandoned on the table, you watch as Kyotani lingers for just a moment, to pocket the slip of paper.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

You couldn't remember the last time you had attempted to burn a CD. Was it you who did it or a friend? It was years ago though that was for sure. You had made three playlists on spotify, checking and double checking that they were private playlists. After arranging them and finding the songs that fit just right with each list you started finding youtube videos of each song. From there you converted the links to MP3 audio.

While your computer whirred and the audio filed loaded onto the disk you thought about decorating the CD cases. Of course covering the clear plastic case with glitter gel pen and cute stickers was very tempting. But you weren't sure that was Kyotani’s style. At the same time this was supposed to be a gift from you. You met yourself halfway.  Decorating one CD case like how you would have wanted, and the other with more of a Kyotani flair, the third somewhere in between the two.

When the CD’s were done you carefully placed them into their new plastic homes. Grabbing a black sharpie to scribble the playlist names onto each. You felt like wrapping them would be too extravagant so you settled for tying a ribbon around the two.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

“What the hell do you want?” Kyotani says as he pulls up next to you on the curb outside your place. You had texted him earlier while he was at work, asking if could stop by after he got off. He has the window rolled down and you take it upon yourself to unlock the passenger door and climb inside.

"I wanted you to test these out"

You were hoping that you had done everything right with the computer.You hand him the CD's, he flips them over in his hands inspecting them.

“Is it cool if I take these ribbons off?”

You nod and he turns the car radio on to insert the CD’s. As the first song starts playing you turn to him.

“This is that band you like right? The one on that poster in your room?”

Kyotani is visibly flustered by this.

“Yes? Did you...did you make these for me?”

You throw your head back in a laugh.

“Yes, I made them for you,”

“Oh,”

He says in a rather soft amazed tone.

“Look, I didn't mean to, but when I was in your room the other day I tripped over that shoe box you have,”

You keep your eyes trained on the street outside the dashboard window. Unsure and a bit nervous to see what Kyotani is thinking. Tempted by curiosity though, you do look at him for a brief moment, only to find him also intensely staring off into the street. His face lit up red with embarrassment.

“I’m glad that I saw it though. Because that stuff is important to you and I want to know what you think is important”

The air in the car feels like it is clinging to your skin with tension. You think the pressure will start to crack your bones when Kyotani’s voice splinters the suspense.

“It's easier to feel something when its tangible, when you can hold it, it's why people still buy polaroids and go to museums and shit”

You nod, a jovial ease overcoming you as he continues to speak.

“I don't really like, uh, I guess physical affection or even talking or it’s not like talking, people call it words of affirmation or whatever,”

You hold the smile of your lips down, you don't want him to think you’re teasing him in this moment. You're just happy that he is comfortable enough with you to say such things.

“I know lots of other people like to have those types of things though, and I worked really hard to get used to stuff, but I don't know, this is what I like,”

He says gesturing with the CD case to you.

“I mean so like, birthday cards, post-it notes, bus transfers? Things that are directly attached to memories and people? Anything else you want me to know about?”

While it hurts a little that he’s struggling to talk about this matter, you can't help but revel in the unusual brash shyness of Kyotani. He does mutter something, but when you lean in closer to signal that you didn't hear him the first time he repeats himself.

“Event pamphlets. I know it's trash but I like it”

“Promise you won't get mad?”

You drawl your voice out and make it sweet so he knows you're messing with him.

“Hm?”

He says, eyebrow quirked in question.

“I think you'd be really into scrapbooking”

“Shut the hell up before I kick you out of my car”

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

A/N: Took a break from my current writing obsession to spit this out .

[ellas-purnell]

sorry i haven’t been on here all day. what did tumblr do now and what does that have to do with gifs quality?

this post can explain what they're doing but basically they're converting gifs to mp4 format aka video as a way to "load the site faster" 🙄 but from what i've noticed on some sets already, it compromises the quality on the dashboard severely. the sets still look fine on blogs themselves (unless you have the view blog from dashboard option enabled) and i think on mobile. but sets affected look extremely blurry and pixely so it's discouraging for content creators because no one works hard on a gifset for it to be uploaded in the shittiest quality possible.

here's an example of what it looks like (this is best viewed on a desktop browser so you can see the difference since, like i said, i don't think mobile is affected by this yet):

this set looks fine on my actual blog. the same set on the dashboard, however, looks like crap. you can tell the difference right away.

your best way to bypass this at the moment is to add a single transparent line or square or whatever to your gif before you save it. i just did this with my recent irma vep set and it seemed to work. but, yeah... tumblr is just trying to push us out i guess.

[heloisedaphnebrightmore]

How to grow your blog - For Beginners!

Since I receive quite a few messages about how I grew my blog and how others could improve theirs, I decided to do this post to help you with whatever knowledge I gathered throughout my time on here.

Disclaimer: These are only my personal observations, there's no proven success if used and they may differ in other people's case.

Things I will discuss below will include;

Interactions

Masterlists / Navigations

Tags

Taglists

Simplicity

So, I guess it's time for us to begin :)

Interactions

First and foremost, interactions are the most important elements of Tumblr. These can include asks/ comments/ reblogs/ reblogs with comments and any sort of interactions with other blogs.

Asks are important because while you're having fun and chatting away with people, your name shows up on their blog and their followers might be intrigued by your user name or what you said and they check out your blog.

Comments. When you read a fic or see a beautiful edit and leave a comment on that certain post, most of the time the creator will check out your profile and other people who leave comments might find you sweet and head to your blog as well. It's nothing deep with an underlying meaning. It's simple curiosity. If what you write is kind or relatable, people feel drawn to you.

Reblogs. Reblogs are one of the most important part of Tumblr. That's the only way your art can be spread. Sure, tags are important and helpful, but reblogs are the ones that keep your art alive. When you reblog a post you're essentially sharing someone else's content with 10, 100 or 1000 people without your knowledge.

Reblogs with comments are possibly the most important and significant part of this site. You don't just share someone else's art, you also add your positive comment to it, which draws people's attention. When you reblog someone else's art, they might check out your blog and they might reblog yours. Of course, it's not a rule nor should it be expected, but from my personal experiences, I have gained loads of followers through my mutuals. Their kind words and love for my fics have drawn quite a large traffic to my blog and vice versa.

Masterlists / Navigations

Many people will tell you that tags are enough and you don't need a Masterlist. I disagree. Whilst tags are good and useful, tumblr's tags aren't reliable and on top of that people can be quite lazy. The easiest way to showcase your art - whether it be fanfiction, fanart, gifs, drawings, video edits and such - is to basically offer them to your visitors/followers on a silver platter. It can be a bother at times, always keeping it up to date, but when people have to search for your content they get discouraged because let's be honest, we like things that are easily accessible.

Masterlists can be a single Tumblr post or a Google drive document where you add the link of your creations. In my Masterlist you can find different characters, organised by different fandoms. If you use Google drive make the document readable [but not editable] for the public.

Some people, such as myself, create Navigation posts, where they add relevant sub menus which help their followers navigate easier on their blogs. These can contain where to send "asks", "rules" that the owner of the blog might set, "blog recommendations", "side blogs", "about me" menus and the like.

Tags

Although I mentioned that tags can be unreliable, they're still a necessity. Search for relevant tags and use them when you post your art. Meanwhile reblogging is the easiest way to get your creations out there, people do regularly search for tags when they wish to see something and the only way they will find you is if your post appears in tags.

If you're not sure whether your tags are working, you can always head to your dashboard, click on the 👤 in the right upper corner, go down to the posts menu and look for the post you want to check on. Once you found it, click on the tag that you would like to search for. If it shows up in the recent tab of the search results, it means the tag is working, but if after 5 minutes of posting it's still not there, you might need to reupload your work. Unfortunately Tumblr has some issues with the tags and it takes two or even three attempts at times to upload something correctly, whilst other times it might work immediately.

On a side note, if you reblog nsfw content or triggering content, you might want to tag those appropriately. Tw food, tw blood, tw. etc. Depends on the content of the triggering post.

You can also create your own tags. Such as "XY's inbox" for your asks or "XY shares" for anything that you reblog from others. This way people can block those tags and see only those posts on your blog that they might find interesting.

Taglists

Taglists aren't a necessity, especially because there are many different ways to notify your followers of new creations, but it's certainly useful. The reason I think taglists are important is because tumblr won't always show your posts on everyone's dashboard, especially if they follow loads of people. However, when you use a taglist, and mention people on your newest posts, they will be able to get a notification of your update.

Of course, if you feel like tagging people might be bothersome, you might create a side-blog where you reblog your posts and people can turn on notifications to be notified of your updates. This option has been rather popular recently, because usually we reblog and post many things on our main blogs and people don't want to get notified about every trivial post, so a side-blog with the most important posts might just be it for you.

Simplicity

This might be confusing so let me be less vague. As I said, we can be rather lazy and that doesn't mean we're bad people, we might just had a difficult day or too much to study or work and we just want easy access to content. Being simple is a necessity. Though it's good to be creative and unique, such as creating a Masterlist that's called "Where the stars shine", it's not obvious for many what is hidden behind those words and they might not be curious enough to check it out. By being simple and obvious, as I said before, you're offering your content on a silver platter. Simple and neat. Sometimes people just need things to be easy to find.

I have been told many times before that my blog is very organised and I feel very proud about that because it means people can find things easily. Of course, it's not proven, but I think that could be a factor in growing your blog. But as I've said, these are only my personal observations.

I hope this helps. Have a nice day :) Heloise Daphne Brightmore

[komakitigerdrop]

Apparently I didn't express myself accurately. As you said indeed, certain scenes don't mean anything, so my question is, what scenes would actually mean something? (I'm being hypothetical, not trying to say existing scenes mean anything.) Or are you going to keep believing in YxF even after something big happened between MxF/TxF/YC/AxF? I'm the kind who buys whatever couple the author sells, but I'm curious about shippers loyal to one specific couple.

Ahh, thank you for sending another ask. I was not pleased with my previous answer either - I was pressed for time and didn’t articulate my ideas very well.

I think that the best way to answer your ask is to break it down into a few different parts, if you don’t mind. I will hide it under a cut so that I don’t clutter people’s dashboards.

1. About Shipping

I am not the kind that buys whatever couple the author sells, just because I am not naturally invested in most fictional couples (regardless of media type - I guess I am either too cynical, or just overly realistic). I read other mangas and in most of them, either only one couple draws my attention, or none. I find most of the tropes used in yaoi either dumb, childish or both. That is all to say that I hardly ever find myself emotionally invested in a fictional couple, but when I do… I do.

2. About Finder specifically

This part will merge with the next, “scenes that matter”. The reason why I can’t bring myself to find Mikhail and Fei a believable/interesting couple is because their relationship is not organic. By organic, I mean: something that was construed over time, something that followed a trail, that was built upon events that primarily existed to advance other parts of the story. Finder started in 2002. Fei Long and Mikhail were introduced in 2007. For twelve years, FxM interactions were limited and emotionless. Even their sex scene in Volume 9 was a transaction. Nothing was built to suggest any kind of emotional connection between these two individuals, nothing was said, on the page, about either of them being remotely interested in starting a romance.

Bear with me here.

Reason being, Fei Long was a character created to gravitate around Asami. The crux of his existence in the manga was always the relationship with this one man, the feelings for this one man. No one else. Not Mikhail, not Tao, not Yoh. Flash forward to 2018, and YA gives us that iconic scene in which Fei Long ships Akihito and Asami to a desert island, and I think that this is the gamechanger. Now Fei Long is in a position to move on.

Coincidentally, we readers are given back Yoh and a sex scene with Mikhail in the same damn chapter.

Two suitors with feelings for him.

On one hand, Yoh, whose feelings he admitted to Fei Long in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Of course he was not reciprocated. Then, there was Finder no Rakuin, in which their affection was mutual. Had its plot not been written by Yamane Ayano herself, dialogues reviewed and all,  I would happily cast it aside as “non-canon”. But it was, so I won’t. If one accepts Finder no Souen as canon to explain Kuroda and Asami, then one needs to accept Finder no Rakuin as canon to explain the feelings Fei Long and Yoh have for each other. I won’t label those feelings because in all honesty, I wouldn’t know how to. Fei Long’s heart was not within reach, and yet Yoh still managed to touch it. There is a connection between those two men based on trust, on forgiving, and yes - on physical pleasure. It delivers in all fronts.

You ask, what would be necessary to convince me that Mikhail is the real deal? I’d say, I would need to see him deliver in those three fronts. I’m sorry, but a night of sex in exchange for a favor, and a moment of compassion after a session of torture won’t cut it for me. Mikhail going to see Yuri, as I mentioned before, was due to concern and a sense of duty - but in all honesty, he is not the first and won’t be the last to put his ass on the line for Fei Long. Akihito did it. Asami did it. Yoh did it. Do they all get a ticket to Fei’s heart? If they do, then what is the point?

It was the need to save Asami that ultimately brought Fei Long and Mikhail together. It was not mutual attraction, interest, or compatibility of values/goals/personalities. What happens when Asami is safe and sound? Has Mikhail made that much of an impression that his presence in Fei Long’s life will be justified long after their current shenagigans get sorted out?

Again: maybe yes. Maybe YA will find a way to make Mikhail relevant, maybe the road she chooses is a passionate romance. But will that convince me that she is “picking Mikhail over Yoh”? No. Because these two relationships do not compare. Mikhail is an open flame, Yoh is a slow burning amber. It’s just who they are, it’s what they have to offer. Their purposes and benefits as “love interests” are very, very different. And yes, I will even say that Fei Long might have a thing with Mikhail, but is Mikhail going for the marathon or just a sprint? As I said, things change. A moment of tenderness does not equal a love affair; a love affair does not equal a lifelong commitment. YA, smart woman she is, will probably leave both doors open until the very end, because with Fei Long, she can do whatever she wants with his love life. She can give us all or nothing, then have Tao reach age of 21 and join the race as well.

And I bet she will have a load of fun playing with our emotions.

(She does it so well, tho!)

Part 3: About scenes that matter

I will talk about the scenes that don’t matter: the ones that could easily be removed from the manga without any harm to the characters’ development or to the plot. My favorite example: the infamous Sakazakigate. I might come here later to post an apology but it does look like sensei completely abandoned that idea (she had Sakazaki record a video of the whole thing and never used it. Why? What was the point of it?)

In terms of Fei Long and Mikhail: I might be wrong about this one as well, but I think we never got confirmation that is was Mikhail who got the temple set on fire in exchange for Sudou’s info about the goods. Which is a shame, because this demonic deal could easily contribute to his hero journey if it was revealed that Mikhail himself sent Sakazaki to warn Akihito about the fire (hence double-crossing Sudou. Or triple-crossing - who knows at this point!)

I could backtrack and find more scenes that existed for apparently no reason but this is too long already. My point is: scenes that don’t matter are those that promise great waves and in the end, fall short. Time will tell how much of the current arc will have an impact in the future - do the scenes between Fei Long and Asami when they are saving each other’s lives really mean this new phase of their relationship or were they there just for the action? Does Fei Long’s moment of tenderness with Mikhail indicate that the doors are open for romance? If yes, will we see that romance now, later, two years from now?

All in all… the scenes that matter the most are those that change characters and the story in some kind of irrevocable way. I think certain scenes in Finder no Souen did that to Asami, same can be said to Fei Long in Finder no Rakuin. And those scenes cannot be invalidated by any other future scenes, because they happened, the people involved in them changed, the mark was made.

I will continue to celebrate Yoh and Fei Long simply because their past and everything they went through, their trust, their synergy, all of that deserves to be celebrated. If Fei Long ends up with Tao, then be it. With Mikhail, okay. If he ends up alone, okay too. There is more than one type of relationship between two people and that’s what I’m here for.

[boobachu]

Yeah there's also a read more and edit. XD Plus if you delete the post, the reblogs live on. and you can enable or disable comments on a post at any time. Also they got rid of the word "notes" and shortened anything over a thousand into this 28k bullshit. Also there's two active xkits Also fan mail is gone (sorta... I know it's somehow able to be accessed again but I forgot how) Also I think? You can have 30 minute videos but they gotta be under 5mb? I think? I haven't made a video in a year. Also apngs don't work here anymore, they broke it. (I forget if linking it from a separate server loads it here... it should but I've been too lazy to make a website) Also if you use a URL for your blog, your tags become unsearchable so bad idea... again too lazy to make website. Also you can still visit blocked blogs unless they're dashboard only.

yknow, i forgot that tumblr doesnt have a stupid character limit on posts AND has more variety it terms of text ON posts

just something ive noticed as ive been tryin to figure things back out here