#html is not our friend

[ms0milk]

𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 𝐀𝐋𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓 || 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕

[𝐚𝐥 · 𝐟𝐚 · 𝐛𝐞𝐭] ー 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉

0‏‏‎(n.) a set of letters in fixed order of pleasure. linked below is my full alphabet library, requests are always open

0(v.) don't be afraid to ask. have a little guidance

‏‎𝐌𝐇𝐀

incoming ✎ ༘⋆

𝐊𝐍𝐘

obanai rengoku sanemi

𝐉𝐉𝐊

nanami

𝐂𝐇𝐒𝐌

kishibe

mdni design by @cafekitsune! everything else? me >:)

[taohun]

holy shit telegram export chat is so good 

[coolxatu]

i wish i could remember what my icanhascheezburger account was named i want to go back so bad

[annefic]

.

[bobbiedebruyn]

So you just joined Tumblr?

Tumblr basics + Fandoms/Gifmaking

Congratulations, you just landed at Tumblr! This hellsite (affectionate) can seem intimidating and complicated at first, but once you grasp the basics of it it’ll quickly turn into your own personal little hut in the forest. Tumblr is a website where you and only you curate your dashboard, you’ll see the content that you seek on your own. In this post, I’ll explain the basics of Tumblr and the basics of how fandoms function here with the help of Bob. Okay, let’s get started.

1. Blog customization

The first thing you should do as soon as you land on Tumblr is add a profile picture and header before you interact with people. You want to be distinguishable from bots and therefore avoid getting blocked. You can also add anything to your bio, there's no character limit. Some folks add their name and pronouns, but there are no rules about that. There are also no rules about profile pictures. It can be a picture of you, a picture of your dog, a picture of a rock, or a picture of your favorite character. If you plan on staying on the fandom side, you might notice that a lot of fandom blogs have colorful-looking icons (a cutout of a character on a colorful background), for these icons and also headers I suggest checking out source blogs that make those icons. For starters, @iconheadersource is a goldmine where you definitely going to find something that’d suit you and your blog.

Tumblr on mobile and Tumblr on desktop are two different creatures when it comes to customization. On the desktop, you can customize your blog with coding (HTML + JS). Now Bob will demonstrate to us some examples of blogs on desktop.

If you want to customize your desktop blog, I suggest checking out @phantomcodes and @glenthemes for the codes.

Tutorial on how to install themes

Using javascript on Tumblr pages

2. Search Engine

Nice! You've made your blog look pretty! Now, let's shift our focus to the search engine and ways to discover content. As mentioned earlier, you curate your dashboard by looking for things you enjoy and like. Search using hashtags or the names of your interests (TV shows, movies, birds, music, etc.) to find your piece of cake. For instance, folks who create posts about TV shows you like use tags to ensure their posts reach others interested in the same thing. So, let's go ahead and search for something right now.

Once you search for that specific tag, you are redirected to the corresponding tag page. Here, you can see that posts are sorted by "Latest" or "Top" (indicating posts with the most notes). On the right side, you will find related tags and blogs which are frequently using the searched tag. By following the tag, both the tag itself and the posts tagged with it will automatically appear on your dashboard in the "Your tags" section. You have the option to filter tags according to your preferences. In the settings, you can choose to block specific tags if you prefer not to see content related to some particular topics.

The only method for sharing posts and content on this website is through reblogging. On Tumblr, reposting others' content, including art, gifs, and fics, is not accepted. Reposting means downloading art, gifs, etc., creating your own post, and then sharing it. And that's a big no-no, strongly discouraged. Your likes essentially function as bookmarks, and you have the option to set them to be private. When you save something, it doesn't appear on your friends' dashboards.

We don't censor things here, and I advise you not to do so too. If you need to mention a word that might be potentially triggering or could be flagged on another social media, feel free to say it. Many users have specific topics and tags filtered out, so if you use variations like "K!tKat" instead of "KitKat" in the tags, it can bypass the tag filter, potentially causing more harm as people will see content that triggers them. And remember to always tag posts that have flickering or flashing!!!

If you want to organize your reblogs or make comments on a reblog, use the tags section and not the comments section itself. This is called "#add tags." Feel free to type whatever you want, but keep in mind that the original poster receives notifications when someone reblogs their post and adds tags. Yes, all tags are visible to us.

Okay, so let's quickly recap this information with the help of our dear friend, Bob.

3. Social interactions

So let's move on to one of the crucial topics - how to make friends on Tumblr? Personally, I don't think there's one particular formula for that. Sometimes you just see a funny bloke posting about something as random as desert rain frogs, grab them, and go "You're my friend now" and that's how you become mutuals. 

However, there are other, more common ways to become friends with someone. You can start by reblogging someone's post, adding tags to the reblog, and then following the person. Create your own posts, tag them to ensure they reach the folks who are interested in the same things as you, and participate in fandom events and challenges if you're into that. Interact with people you want to befriend, message them, send them asks. You will eventually find your crowd. You'll also find swifties, and fans of supernatural who never moved on from that destiel love confession four years ago, they also can be your friends, at some point, you will become friends and chill with each other. Be open to new interests to make sure your dashboard is not dull and boring.

Tumblr doesn't have the supposed hierarchy, and you don't have to listen to anyone who tells you otherwise, you curate your own experience and blocking is pretty normalized here. Notes and followers (which are private for everyone) don't really matter, stick to your beliefs and your vibe and you'll be fine. We're all equal losers here.

4. Fandom / Gifmaking

Fandoms play a significant role on Tumblr, they're closely tied with gifmaking. As a fellow creature of fandom, I'm adding this part because we don't gatekeep - more gifmakers and fandom enthusiasts mean a better fandom experience. As I mentioned earlier, everything has its tag, making it easy to find your favorite TV show fandom by searching for the tag. This is also how you can connect with people who share an interest in that specific TV show. Upon entering the tag, you'll stumble upon numerous moving pictures – these are GIFs. People create GIFs of everything, from their "blorbo" (the term for favorite character) to beloved ships and favorite moments. There are also plenty of creative GIFs with different coloring and complicated effects. And the best part? You can do it too!

There are a lot of ways to make GIFs. Some people use Photoshop, and some use Photopea which is an excellent accessible option. I'll be linking posts for Photoshop under this text. For Photopea tutorials and guides, please check out @photopeablr.

I've been making GIFs for three years at this point, and those are the tutorials I used when I was just starting out:

how to make a gif:

comprehensive guide 101

basic gif making tutorial + mvp player installation 

gifmaking for beginners

how to install MVP player on a PC

film downloading & screen-capping tips

correct photoset dimensions 

coloring

how to fix orange-washed characters

how to: coloring east & southeast asian celebs

channel mixer

colored background

color manipulation

vibrant coloring

how to brighten dark scenes

color isolation

effects

glitch effect

blending

crossfade transition

gradient effect in the text

gradient text

red colour accent on the b&w gifs

how to add a gif in a template

blurring gif backgrounds

using templates

text

text tutorial 1

font resources

understanding fonts and typefaces

split text

subtitles

other

icon tutorial

gif headers 

For more tutorials, inspirations, and resources - please check out @usergif. It's a good source blog for all gifmakers.

Wait but what's a source blog? These are blogs that center around a specific theme, creating content for a particular topic. They are managed by multiple editors, these blogs track their own tags to reblog content related to the theme. They can be source blogs dedicated to gifmaking (just like @usergif), a TV show, a movie, a character, a celebrity, a sports team, or literally anything else. Typically, these blogs incorporate terms like "network," "source," "central," "creators," "hub," or "daily" in their usernames, making them easily distinguishable from regular personal blogs. Examples of source blogs that come to my mind right now are @dailyanakin, @heartstoppercentral, and @nancywheelercentral.

Let's also talk about tracking tags, which are often included in blogs's bios, whether they're from source blogs or solo gifmakers. You can add these tags to your posts when creating a gifset related to a specific source blog or something you know a particular gifmaker would appreciate. Basically, the gifmaker can search their tracking tag, much like a regular Tumblr tag, and view the most recent sets in which someone used their tag.

The last thing I want to talk about are usernames, and main and side blogs. On Tumblr, we have two types of blogs: the main blog and the side blog. The main blog is the initial blog created when you sign up for your account. This blog has full functionality and all features, allowing you to follow other blogs, like posts, and send asks to other blogs. In addition to the main blog, you can create side blogs on your account. Side blogs lack some of the features of main blogs; you can't like posts, follow other blogs, or send asks from a side blog. They have slightly different functionality – a side blog can be password-protected, have multiple users, and allow you to send direct messages to people. Other users can follow your side blog, and you can receive asks from them.

Many people use side blogs as URL holders. For instance, when a new TV show is announced, someone might be the quickest to save all canonical character names. You can then message that empty side blog to inquire if they're willing to trade that specific URL or if it's available for a giveaway. Canonical URLs are often challenging to obtain, so many people add letters in between or at the end or use symbols like "-", and they also mix names and surnames of different characters.

5. The End

Okay, so we've just covered how Tumblr works, how fandoms operate, and how to get into gifmaking. I hope this guide by me and Bob has been helpful to you. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to my ask box or simply ask Bob. I hope you enjoy your stay here, and that your experience with this website will be a positive one.

[empty-movement]

Empty Movement's 2023 Revolutionary Girl Utena UPDATE

Fashionably late? As always. 2023 was a HUGE year for Empty Movement, so much so that to confess, we did a big fail in actually keeping up with sharing the stuff we did! OOPS. So finally, we proudly bring you: all the Revolutionary Girl Utena content we dropped in 2023. Essays, artbooks, CD information, you name it. Click below for the entire site update, or get it at the source, as always, at ohtori.nu.

In Analysis (Fan Essays): • seebee's essay The Power of Living an Embodying Narrative is about more than Utena, it's about the fandom--including us. We were both interviewed for this piece, and the result is an absolutely beautiful essay that has helped inform how we do Utena stuff going forward. Thank you so much for letting us be part of this! • seebee's VIDEO essay FILM CUTS BACK | transfeminism in utena absolutely blew our minds and it's so good we're listing it. Look at the title. Just go watch it, it rules. • Nicole Winchester's essay No Choice But To Become Witches: The Bishōjo-Demonic Phallic Mother Dichotomy in Revolutionary Girl Utena catches you up to speed on the academic discussion around what might best be described as the shoujo manga iteration of the Madonna-Whore complex. Then, naturally, it finds plenty to say about Utena. Great work that was well worth the coding!

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In From the Mouths of Babes (Translated Meta/Creator Content): • Cross X Talk, A Round Table Discussion Commemorating the Second Musical Utena GOGAI FUCKIN' GOGAI. Nagumo and friends bring us the final untranslated part of the 2019 Black Rose Musical's program guide: the monster interview with Ikuhara and the director of the musicals, Yoshitani. INCREDIBLE content here that 100% lives up to the first musical's similar encounter! A must read!! • The Rose Apocalypse's Ei Takatori Interview The director of the mysterious 1999 musical (yes the machine gun one, and YES WE HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT IT COMING) interviewed in The Rose Apocalypse book. This...is that. Thank you so much to iris hahn for translating, and I can't wait to bring you more of this mythology!!! • The Utena Dossier Animage Magazine's June 1997 supplemental, this 36-page Utena tome has ben translated by Nagumo with editing by Ayu Ohseki. Because so much of the content is in its visual presentation, I worked the translation into the original scans! Check it out! (PS. Yes that is an entirely different gallery on the emptymovement.com domain, no this won't stay there, yes it has been a weird couple years.) The Dossier includes two long interviews that are also worked into html pages for easy viewing! The Auspicious Joining of Manga and Anime: Saito and Hasegawa For Whom the Director Smiles: Ikuhara and Kitakubo

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In Historia Arcana & The Bibliothèque (Untranslated Resources): • There are a lot of changes happening in this arena!!! How and where to place different materials has been a moving target, so I'll do my best! The sites don't quite reflect this yet, but Historia Arcana will be for cover to cover Utena media, including special magazine publications. Something Eternal's gallery, the Bibliothèque, will be for magazine articles, clippings, and other things. Major artbooks will likely be in both places, cross referenced. New books in Historia Arcana: • The Rose Spiral: Reflections on the Mythology of Utena While not strictly official, this is a fan published book of in depth analysis of Utena, circa 1998! Yep, cover to cover. • Revolution Dictionary (OST 1 First Press Bonus) Cross-referenced from Audiology, this is the bonus dictionary you only got if you grabbed it early! Cool! • Revolutionary Girl Utena Making of Visuals Book Art of UTENA I am mentioning this for completions sake and because I already uploaded it, but this is a cover to cover high resolution, uncleaned scan of the 1999 Art of Utena artbook. I am going to clean the scans, and ultimately be posting the official artbooks elsewhere. • Revolutionary Girl Utena Photobook: Rose Memories This special Animage bonus could be purchased for 700 yen, and back then, was probably a great way to keep the anime in your pocket! It's entirely shots from the TV series, though, so there's nothing specifically new. But I scan it all, baby. New books in the Bibliothèque: • Chiho Saito's 1999 Revolutionary Girl Utena Original Illustration Collection HI THIS IS A VERY BIG DEAL. Read more about why when you visit! TLDR? Here's some of the best artwork of Utena, rescanned and remastered by yours truly to be the best big big scans of big big beautiful Chiho Saito Art. This is a feast. I even made myself a calendar! (Note that the price is such that I don't make a profit on these, so if you're looking to donate, definitely go by other routes, haha.) You will find multiple ways to obtain the scans, and in more than one size. Either way you soak up the rays, enjoy 'em! New articles and clips in the Bibliothèque: • H! Rockin' on Japan Magazine Saito X Oikawa This fashion music magazine's July 1999 article has ALREADY BEEN TRANSLATED? Like, I am going to add the translation officially to the site of course, but holy hell Nagumo is amazing!! This article is actually the origin of a Saito art piece that uh, well. Now we know she went to a love hotel with movie Akio's VA. Cool! Anyway check it out! • Comickers Magazine, August 1997 This absolute monster find is an industry-focused magazine with this gorgeous spread and interview with Chiho Saito. It gets into how she does things. The making of Utena. All kinds of stuff. I'd LOVE to know more about this one!! • Comickers Magazine, June 1998 Again, an industry-focused publication, this time it's exploring the manga and the anime and how they compare. Again looks like a tasty meal!! • Volks Magazine, Spring 2022 YEP SCANS OF THE BOOK OF THE DOLLFIES. For a lot of us, this is at close as we get to these ludicrously gorgeous dolls. I included a few extra pages because they were just fuckin' cool and felt relevant. • Sega Saturn Magazine, December 1997 One of two grabs I got recently on Yahoo! Japan! This appears to be the first look announcement of the 1998 Utena video game! (Yes we have more on it, yes we will eventually post links.) • Sega Saturn Magazine, April 1998 This feature brings attention to the voice actors, who are all returning for the game! • Dengeki G's Magazine, January 1998 Another gaming focused magazine, with frankly a more adult edge, cheaply lets the readers know about Utena. These three game magazine moments are just a bizarre reminder of how we did things before the internet, LMAO

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In Audiology (Music and CD Information): • Complete information about the STAR CHILD - Girls Character Song Best album! You also definitely can't grab the two new remix tracks there. • Did you know there was a first press bonus dictionary for the first OST? I DIDN'T UNTIL RECENTLY. Now I know all about it, and so can you. Check it out! Obviously, scans available, both here and in Historia Arcana. • I FINALLY acquired a complete set of the Utena CD singles!! Check out complete track lists, scans, and information for ALL FIVE Utena singles. Yes. Including the movie Akio guy's one.

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In The Doujinshi Gallery: • Several dozen dounjinshi were uploaded earlier in the year, and can be found listed on the Site Update archive here.

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That's all for now, folks! There's so so so much coming. I have the episode 18 and 20 (!!!!) storyboards to scan, as well as a fully translated scanlation of The Duelist Bible. We're planning to do something for Anthy's rare LEAP YEAR birthday coming up, probably a musical stream or something! Love!

[astercontrol]

If KOSA passes

Or if any other form of censorship (there are many in the works!) ever succeeds at stepping in to impede our ability to communicate online:

We have to make plans.

Now, I dunno who'll even see this post. The few followers I have are TRON fans (who despite the fantasy we live in, tend to have realistically dismal views IRL about Disney and the various corporate uses of software).

And this fandom, on average, is pretty tech-savvy. It's where I've encountered the most people under 20 years old who actually know how to use a desktop or laptop computer.

So, if there's any hope for what I'm thinking about, this is prolly a good place to start with it.

(As with all my posts, I encourage reblogging and containment-breaching.)

(Gifs are clips from TRON 1982, mainly the "deleted love scene," from the DVD extras.)

Anyway.

Current society has moved online communication much too far onto major social media sites for my comfort. Whoever you communicate with over the internet, chances are you do it through a service owned by a big company: Tumblr, Twitter, Discord, Telegram, Facebook, whatever. Even TikTok (shudder).

These sites, despite their many flaws, can provide experiences that are valuable and hard to get otherwise. And once all your friends are on one site, you can't just leave and stay in touch with them all, not unless they all go the same place. It's easy to see why it's hard to abandon any social media platform.

But a backup plan is important. Because, as we've seen over and over, social media sites can't be relied on. They change their policies suddenly, without good reason-- and are inconsistent, even discriminatory, about enforcing those policies.

If they're funded by ads, the advertisers are their main customers, and your posts are the product. Their goal is that the posts most valuable to the advertisers get seen by people the advertisers consider desirable customers.

Helping you communicate-- making your posts get seen by the people you want to communicate with-- is optional to them.

Not to mention that the whole business model of an ad-funded website is generally unsustainable. Many of these sites are operating at a loss, relying on shareholders in a fragile bubble, doomed to fail soon just from lack of real profit.

And the more restrictions --like KOSA-- that the law puts on freedom of online speech, the likelier they are to go down or just become unusable. Every rule a site is required to follow is another strain on its resources, and most of them are already failing badly at even enforcing their own self-imposed rules.

If we want any control over our continued ability to stay in touch with our online friends-- we need to have a backup plan. Maybe it'll be simple at first, a bare-bones system we cobble together-- but it's gotta be something that will work. For a while at least.

There are lots of really good posts about ways to build your own website, using a service like Neocities. I VERY MUCH recommend learning this skill-- learning to make websites of the very simplest, most stable, glitch-resistant type, made of html pages-- which you can upload to a host while you store backups on your home computer. If you value the writing and art that you put online, this is probably the safest you can keep it.

But that's for making your own creative work public.

As for communicating with others-- for example, receiving and answering other people's comments on your work-- that gets more complex. I personally haven't found it worthwhile to troubleshoot the problems that come with having a system that allows visitors to comment publicly on my website.

But what we do still have-- and likely will for a long time-- is email.

Those of us who came of age before social media's current hold... well, we might take this for granted. Email was the first form of online contact we ever encountered… and thus it can seem to us like the most ordinary, the most boring.

But in the current world, it is a rare and precious thing to find a method of communicating that doesn't require everyone in the chat to be signed on with the same corporation.

Email is, as of now, still perfectly legal-- as much as social media companies have been trying to herd the populace away from it. I'm sure there are other ways to share thoughts online that are not bound by laws. But I am not going to go into that here.

Email service is provided by law-abiding companies, which will comply with subpoenas if law enforcement thinks you are emailing about doing illegal things. So, email is not a surefire way to be safe, if laws become dystopian enough to threaten your freedom to talk about your own life and identity.

But it's safer than posting on a public social media page.

For now.

Email is beautifully decentralized. You can get an email address many different ways-- some reliant on a company like Gmail, others hosted on your own domain. And different people, with all different types of email addresses, hosted in all different ways-- can all communicate together by the same method.

Of course any of these people, individually, can lose their email address for some reason or other, and have to get a new one. But as long as they still know the email addresses of their contacts, they can reconnect and recover from that loss. The structure of a group linked by email is reliant not on a single company-- but on the group itself, the friends you can actually count on.

This is why I am trying to promote the idea of forming email lists, as a backup plan to give people a way to stay in touch as mainstream social media sites prove to be unsustainable.

I'm envisioning a simple system of sending emails to several addresses at once, and making each reply visible to everyone in the chat by using "reply all" (or, if desired, editing the To field to reply to only some).

If enough people get used to using email in this way, it could fill most of the needs met by any other group chat or forum …without depending on a centralized social media company that's taking dystopian measures to try and make the business profitable.

So here are some thoughts about how I personally imagine it could work.

(Feel free to comment and bring up any thoughts I haven't addressed, or suggestions to customize how specific groups could set it up. This is meant as more of a starting point for brainstorming than a catch-all solution.)

As I see it, here are the basics of what you and your friends would each need to start out:

An email address. Any kind, hosted anywhere. You should use a dedicated email account just for this group, one that you do NOT use for other communication. Being in this group will result in things you don't want happening to your main email address-- like getting a TON of email, one for every post and reply. Or someone could get your email address that you really don't want any contact with. Use a burner email account (one that you can easily replace) and change it if needed.

The knowledge of how to "REPLY ALL" in your email. This will be necessary in order to add a comment that everyone in the group can see.

The knowledge of how to EDIT THE "TO" FIELD in your email, and remove addresses from the list of all recipients. This will be necessary if you want to CHANGE WHICH PEOPLE in the group can see your comment.

The knowledge of how to FILTER WORDS in your email. This will be necessary if a topic comes up that you don't want to see any mentions of.

The knowledge of how to BLOCK PEOPLE in your email. This will be very important. If someone joins this email group who you do not want to interact with, it will be up to you to BLOCK them so that you do NOT see their messages. (If they are bad enough to evade the block with multiple burner accounts, that's what you have a burner account for. Change it, and share the new one only with those you trust not to give it to them.)

Every person in the group will be effectively a "moderator" of the group, able to remove people from it by cutting their email addresses out of the "To" field. Members will all have equal "moderator" privileges, each able to tailor the group to their own needs.

This means the group may naturally split, over time, into other groups, each one removing some people and adding others. Some will overlap, some won't. This is good! This is, in my opinion, what online interaction SHOULD be like! There should be MANY groups like this!

In this way, we can keep online discussion alive, no matter WHAT happens to any of the social media websites.

If the dystopia got bad enough to shut down email, we could even continue with postal mail and photocopies, like they did in the days of print-zine fanfiction.

If it looks like the dystopia is gonna come for postal mail too, we'll use the connection we have to preserve whatever contacts we can with people who live near us.

Not saying it's GONNA get that bad. But these steps of preparation are good no matter exactly what kind of bad stuff happens.

As long as some organized form of communication still exists, we'll have a place where it's at least a little safer to be your true self…

to plan events and meetups…

and maybe even activities a little too risque to make the final cut of a 1982 Disney movie.

They're trying to censor us. We want a Free System. So we're gonna fight back.

For the Users. Not the corporations.

Peace out, programs. <3

[apod]

2024 May 12

Red Aurora over Poland Image Credit & Copyright: Mariusz Durlej

Explanation: Northern lights don't usually reach this far south. Magnetic chaos in the Sun's huge Active Region 3664, however, produced a surface explosion that sent a burst of electrons, protons, and more massive, charged nuclei into the Solar System. A few days later, that coronal mass ejection (CME) impacted the Earth and triggered auroras that are being reported unusually far from our planet's north and south poles. The free sky show might not be over -- the sunspot rich AR3664 has ejected even more CMEs that might also impact the Earth tonight or tomorrow. That active region is now near the Sun's edge, though, and will soon be rotating away from the Earth. Pictured, a red and rayed aurora was captured in a single 6-second exposure from Racibórz, Poland early last night. The photographer's friend, seeing an aurora for the first time, is visible in the distance also taking images of the beautifully colorful nighttime sky.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240512.html

[wolfes]

NEW EDITOR 101: A GUIDE FOR GIFMAKERS by v @shangs

Hi friends! I know I said I would do this way back in April/May when this change was announced but I've been massively busy lately so thank you all for being patient with me :)

Based on the results of this poll, I will be trying my level best to help make a guide for gifmakers to best deal with any problems that have been present with the new editor. However, it's worth noting that I have personally not experienced any of these problems myself and I have no record of any problems from other people that I could send to staff and get guidance on, so for some of these issues I will unfortunately be a broken record.

That being said, I have been using the new editor for a few months now and it hasn't been too bad. So don't be discouraged by the new editor if you still love to make gifs and share them. You may need to adapt a bit, but it's doable!

This is meant to be comprehensive and will be explanation and image heavy. Full guide under the cut.

CONTENTS:

What is the new editor?

Steps to take before posting

Making a post

Troubleshooting

01. WHAT IS THE NEW EDITOR?

Some of you may be asking yourselves what the point of the new editor even is and why it's being implemented in the first place when we already had a (mostly) functional editor. My very limited understanding of it as a CS student is app compatibility and flexibility. I'm not totally clear on the details nor am I 100% certain this is the case, but NPF posts (basically, posts made with the "new editor") first started with the mobile app. I'm unsure if the different post types were simply too unwieldy to transfer to the app - having to make a whole bunch of post types when with the new editor you can now have posts with any elements you want without the rigidity of a set post type - or if it was simply not able to be implemented, but the apps have always used NPF. The majority of Tumblr users are coming from the mobile apps. Then it became a case of having the legacy editor for the web users (which were fewer in number) and the new NPF editor for everyone else. That takes resources to keep around and it's pretty inefficient. Naturally the older editor that was used by less people was going to get the axe, especially since you couldn't tell on mobile that there was even a difference between NPF or legacy posts.

So now here we are and the posts are NPF. This means they're in "Neue Post Format." Basically, every post you make is by default a text post, containing "blocks" of other media - as gifmakers we will primarily be dealing with photos.

I understand that it's frustrating to many to see "our gifs are now rendered as text posts" and ask WHY it's happening when photos should logically be rendered as photo posts - but the fact is, there's now no real delineation between a "text post" and a "photo post." The reason NPF posts are now "text posts" is because that's how they are rendered for desktop themes, not because everyone is going to see your post as text and your gifs are going to be compressed into the quality of a potato (though I know some have seen this issue - more on that later.)

02. STEPS TO TAKE BEFORE POSTING

The long and short of it is that you may have to update your theme. More detail here for those who are interested, but check that your theme supports "new editor posts" or "NPF posts" AND that this is true for original posts (you can read more about why in this ask and, although this may be a bit time-consuming, test it out on your blog). I can say with certainty that my second theme Cygnus supports original NPF posts. This is NOT true of my first theme, though.

You can try to add the NPF Fix by @glenthemes to your own theme (beware if you don't know HTML/CSS) or try this tip by @burningblake for original posts.

Feel free to add theme makers with fully NPF-compatible themes in the notes! I have been happily using my own theme so I can't say to what degree others' themes are NPF-friendly.

03. MAKING A POST

If you're sticking around to post on the new editor and you have trouble ordering your gifs around, here's a little guide on how to post.

If I click on "Photo" from web and open up the editor, here's how it looks:

I went ahead and added three full-width gifs and the editor put them in like so:

You'll most likely also have to order your gifs around in the way you want them. You can go ahead and hover over your gifs to see the button to orient them (the four dots in the top left corner) and the button for an image description (the three dots in the bottom right corner). I've attached images of all three below:

If you hold the orientation button, move your gif around until you see the blue line that shows where your gif will end up in the spot that you want it. For example, I wanted to move the second gif below the first one, so I oriented it so that the blue line would show the marker between the two gifs:

Now my gifs are oriented nicely! Of course, this is a simpler layout, but the principles still hold.

If you save your gifs as a draft and reopen them or you just notice a large gap like this in between your gifs when you're in the editor, don't worry.

This will not show up in dash view or on a desktop theme that supports original NPF posts. For example, this is how the gifs' gap (without modification) looked in my desktop theme:

With your gifs ordered, the final step is to add alt text. You can read more about alt text and why you should use it here. (Feel free to ignore the sections about the captions on the legacy editor since it is no longer relevant. It's also unnecessary to clearly mark descriptions if they're not in the caption of your post because they will clearly show up under "ALT" on Tumblr.)

If you click the three dots in the bottom right corner as seen above, and click "update image description:"

You can add the description you like and click "update." Your photos' alt text will show up under the "ALT" bubble on Tumblr. This is generally a good practice to get into to make your content more accessible, so I hope you guys will consider using alt text regularly :)

Also, I've noticed that in the editor, if you go back and edit something it will take some time to show up. You may have to refresh the page or load it again after some time, but your edits should be there. I would not go back and edit posts again if you see your posts haven't shown up. I also advise against editing your posts on mobile because it's easier to make a mistake.

And there you go, you've successfully made a post with the new editor!

04. TROUBLESHOOTING

I'm sure you've all been waiting for this. Unfortunately I am probably going to be extremely unhelpful if the editor hasn't been refined in the last few months for those experiencing issues. I'm going to go in the categories that I listed out in my original poll, but keep in mind that I haven't personally seen any of these issues on my end so I haven't been able to contact staff with any evidence that this happened other than my poll.

Dashboard view quality issues: I haven't noticed this issue. I'm not sure if this has been fixed since the original poll was posted. If you're experiencing this issue, this is not something I know how to fix so I would contact staff with screenshots of the issue.

Desktop theme side padding: As noted before, this is a theme issue. If you change themes to something that is NPF-compatible with original posts, there shouldn't be any more issues here.

Small gifs on mobile: In my experience this was happening regardless of what editor was used; it's a bug that seems to have been fixed since this poll was created. If you're still experiencing it, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I would advise contacting staff.

New editor doesn't accept gifs of size 9.8MB < x < 10MB: I haven't experienced this issue so I would say the only workaround would be to either trim the size of your gif so that it is under 9.8MB or whatever threshold seems to be the cutoff or contact staff (I am so sorry for constantly having to suggest this 😭 unfortunately there's no trick I can offer because the new editor has been taking all my gifs just fine)

Logistical issues ordering gifsets: I hope this guide has been able to answer the majority of questions and shed some light on some of the more buggy behaviors of the new editor, but if you have any more specific questions you can feel free to shoot me an ask!

HTML issues / colored text: Unfortunately it seems colored text may be deprecated entirely? This could be for accessibility purposes because I believe screen readers would read out every single letter of gradient text in captions which I imagine can get quite frustrating for users of this technology. I recommend just using the normal rich text editor. If you want small text, you can highlight and click the <s> button!

Other: If it seems like something I may be able to answer, please feel free to ask me. Otherwise... hound staff 😭

Here's where you can hound staff, btw. If you're having major issues I would advise you guys to submit support tickets. That way if there are any widespread bugs, staff will hopefully be able to fix them.

I hope this guide was helpful to you guys in dealing with the new editor, and happy giffing <3

[billthedrake]

TRAINING THE SALES GUY (PART SIX)

Previous chapters here: https://www.gaydemon.com/stories/Training_the_Sales_Guy_42206.html

I was supposed to be the one training my co-worker Carson, but the next business trip was more the other way around.

"The Dream Team is back," he said when I showed up at the gate area of the airport. Carson always got there early, and I always cut it close. He looked like a million bucks, in his slim-cut suit and neatly trimmed hair cut and beard. I knew things were just a sex-buddy dynamic between us, and that we were coworkers first. And Carson Wells had a bro-ish personality that was good in small doses but got on my nerves sometimes. But if the dude was gay I'd probably be getting more than a little crushed out on him.

"You probably say that to the other account execs," I teased as I took a sip of coffee.

Maybe that was a pissy thing to say and Carson would read some jealousy into it. But he just smiled back and laughed. "I forgot how cranky you are in the morning, Boss."

Those baby blues and that flirty disposition was making me wonder how good I was at maintaining my defenses and boundaries.

"It's why I'm single, Wells." I figured some self-deprecating humor would help.

"I doubt that," he said with surprising sincerity. "You just got off your game, Boss. When was the last time you went on a date?"

Maybe Carson had an ulterior motive for asking. A way of saying that nothing romantic or permanent was going to develop between us. But his tone was natural, on the level. I realized that he probably talks this way to his bro buddies in the office, and this was his way of including me in that work-friend category.

I sat down next to him. "About two months ago. When was your last date, Wells?"

He flashed his pearly white smile. "Had two last week, Boss. Different chicks.... it's a lot of effort, but I enjoy the hunt, you know?"

"I get that," I said. I'd been like that when I was in my 20s. But after the divorce, I'd had fun with more casual sex but found the process of using apps a fucking chore.

As we drifted into small talk, and then lined up to board the flight, a deep part of me hoped Carson wasn't so successful at his dating that he'd cut me off entirely. Then another part of me hoped for that very thing.

****

We were all business that day. Carson was particularly focused on our presentation. He was normally in the zone on our sales calls, but that day he was nervous I could tell. It was a huge prospective client, and it would mean a fat commission for Wells. It was getting to him.

I pulled him aside during a quick break an hour and a half in. "Relax, buddy," I said. "We got this."

I could see the tension in his handsome face. "Yeah?" Not believing me but appreciative of my forced confidence.

I shrugged. "It's a like a date. You can't want her too much, or it's all fucked up."

Hell, I didn't know how straight guys dated, but the advice seemed to work. "Yeah," he said.

We did good but not great. It might not matter, depending on what the company wanted. I wasn't going to sweat it. We'd come in and done our part. The rest was out of our hands.

And Carson was back in fine form over the dinner. We'd taken a number of the contacts out to a nice steak restaurant, and Wells was in classic sales guy mode. Chatty but not too chatty, able to engage with everyone at the table, comfortable in mixing business with pleasure.

And he was in a good mood after, as we got back to our hotel.

"Wanna come to my room, Boss?" he asked.

I wasn't expecting this. It had been a long day. And if it had been anyone other than Carson I might have even begged off getting my cock sucked.

"Sounds great, Wells," I said.

We wheeled our luggage to the elevator, and I think we both had smirks on our faces as we rode up.

"I guess we're getting more comfortable with this," Carson said, speaking the very thought I was thinking.

I nodded. "If you ever don't feel comfortable, Carson, please let me know." I'd gone too far in this affair to be safe from HR consequences, but at least I wanted to give Carson an out any time he felt like it.

He laughed. I expected him to make a crack about uptight Bill, but instead he said, "It's crazy. I knew I liked sucking dick, but you got me into the other stuff, Boss... I even watch the videos you sent."

Indeed I'd discovered a new Pornhub guy with a very minimal gag reflex and no inhibitions about working the one he had.

I was getting turned on, surprisingly by Carson's candor as much as anything. "Well it's really hot to experience your skills," I said, my voice almost cracking into a whisper.

The elevator dinged and we wheeled our bags down the hall. Carson tapped his key card and we entered.

"Um, Carson... can I ask you something?" I started. "What makes you like it?" I'd been afraid to ask. Afraid I'd spook this straight guy with a major bi streak.

He'd clearly been asking himself the same question. "I dunno, Boss... it's just... when you use my throat, it's like I'm not the one who needs dick, you're just feeding it to me."

I didn't quite follow. "You afraid of being gay, Carson?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I'm not gay, thought maybe you don't believe me."

"I believe you," I replied. "But it doesn't matter if I do."

He took that in. "Yeah. I guess having a cock in my mouth always feels like the last thing I should be doing, and the taboo of it gets me off."

"The forbidden fruit thing is hot for me too," I said.

Carson's blue eyes twinkled in amusement. "Fuck yeah it is, Boss." He pulled out his phone and wallet and set them on the table. "I think the fact you're a fag..." he stopped himself. "Sorry boss... but I think that when your cock is in my mouth and it takes me to this fucked up place."

I didn't know what to make of it. But I was getting head from Carson more than I ever dreamed of, so I decided not to get pissed off. "Please don't get therapy, Carson," I joked. "At least not anytime soon."

That made the guy laugh. He's so fucking sexy when he laughs. "Don't worry, Boss."

With that he knelt down in front of me. I was already hard and Carson's touch at my crotch made me harder. He teased and massaged my ridge in my suit pants, then pulled my zipper down.

"OK if we start with some old-fashioned head?" he asked.

"Yeah," I croaked. "More than OK." I'd been enjoying the more extreme throat training lately, but a standard Carson Wells BJ was always gonna get me off big.

He licked my dick up and down, before pulling back. "You mad at me for what I said?" he asked.

I nodded. "A little, yeah." I figured I should be honest. "But I'm not gonna stay mad at you, Carson. Just don't call me that again. You can think it or whatever."

"Yeah," he sighed. He was genuinely contrite. He seemed to be taking in my cock with his hungry eyes, examining my length and girth.

Then, slowly he opened his mouth and descended on me.

"Oh fuck!" I hissed. Carson's mouth felt great. I knew I'd spend the next day wondering if these blowjobs were keeping me from finding a boyfriend, even a casual one. Carson Wells had gone from top 5 in his oral skills to top cocksucker in my life experience, period. The best I'd ever have, I knew.

I looked down as he blew me. His hunky body in his navy suit, head bobbing up and down. I could hear the spit and the suction around my prick and the rhythmic soft moans from this throat. He was working himself deeper on my pole, working up to a deep throat. Not fast but steady, knowing what he was doing. He was getting me to that place, fast, that build up of pleasure, and then it was like his mouth and throat was gonna milk the load out of my balls.

Only he pulled off instantly and gripped the base of my prick, pinching it slightly. "Goddamn, you're worked up tonight, Boss."

"Jesus, Wells," I exclaimed.

My excitement made him smile. "See? Sometimes it's better not to have to go all hardcore and shit." He let go of my dong and started tonguing the bottom half of the shaft. With anyone else, it might look slutty, but I knew Carson was mostly trying to let me enjoy this without blowing too soon. It worked, sort of.

There was a clear excitement for him, too, as he looked up at me, hands on his trousers, gym-toned chest showing between the spread lapels of his coat. Unlike me, he wasn't wearing a tie but instead rocking that more millennial business-bro look. It suited him.

"Thanks for letting me initiate this, Boss," he said softly. "I don't know if I'd like it the other way."

In my head our affair wasn't one-way, but I knew what Carson meant. "You do a lot for me, Wells... I want you comfortable with it."

He nodded. He reached down and fiddled with his zipper and belt. Often he didn't like jerking, and I think he was shy of letting me see his dick. But Carson was pulling it out now and wrapping his fist around it just as he leaned back forward.

"MMMmmh," he moaned around my prick as he swallowed me. He'd gotten warmed up already so now was just a skilled, silky deep throating. Up and down, six, seven inches at a time. Almost bouncing. Carson was driving his blowjob but he was abusing his throat all on his own. Deep throating me, faster and faster, till he was spearing his gullet with rhythmic gutteral sounds.

"God yes," I hissed. Watching him do a sword swallowing thing like a pro.

I heard the gurgle of a gag on one down stroke then that familiar mucusy slickness on my meat, dripping out of Carson's mouth and onto my balls. That did it for me.

"Shit!" I muttered. And I was cumming down Wells' throat.

He slowed his mouth strokes just enough to be able to swallow my semen comfortably. And as he rode out the aftershocks of my orgasm, he stroked himself to completion.

Carson finally pulled back, a flush look of sexual satisfaction on his face, which must have matched mine.

"Thanks you, Wells.... you outdid yourself." I wanted to give him every compliment I could.

He smirked. "Yeah, I've been wanting to try that, Boss." He looked down at his hand. It was covered in his own jizz. Carson shoots a lot. He got up off his knees, holding his hand out to keep the dripping load from getting on his suit. I'd have to get mine cleaned, but it would be worth it.

He wiped off then offered me the Kleenex box. I used a couple to handle the spit and throat slime. There were some cum dribbles too but Carson took care of most of those. I tucked back in and sighed.

"We good, Wells?" I asked.

His green eyes met mine. "Yeah, we're good."

I wanted to kiss him bad. But that wasn't in the cards. So I grabbed my luggage and gave Carson one last nod before walking out of his room and over to mine.

As I got ready for bed, I thought over the evening. Sometimes I had real misgivings about fooling around with my straight-ish coworker. But that night I had none. The sex was hot as hell.

****

"You up?" came the text bright and early the next morning.

I was up, but barely. It was pretty early. "Yes. Still on East Coast time."

"Can I come by?"

My morning wood throbbed. "Sure."

Fuck, this was too easy. Wells was going to make me look forward to business travel all right.

I wasn't decent when he showed up a minute later. But that didn't matter. Carson had on only a pair of gym shorts and athletic shirt. The shorts didn't hide a thick boner.

"Hey," he said, morning voice making him sound deeper.

I ushered him in. "Hey," I laughed. It was a little absurd how carried away we were getting. But Carson's body was looking really fucking good in those clothes.

"I was jerking off and I thought the hair of the dog might be in order."

I smiled. I was now self conscious that Carson noticed the boner in my underwear. "I'm surprised I have anything left in the tanks after last night. You drained me, buddy."

Wells had a slightly nervous look on his face now. "You not up for it?" he asked.

"I'm very up for it," I replied.

I took the initiative and peeled down my briefs. By now Wells had seen my cock a lot but I wasn't sure how often I was completely naked.

The man's eyes were pretty much on my dick though, till he took them away and looked back up at me. "You OK if we try something new, Boss?"

"After last night... you can try out as much as you want," I said.

He grinned and peeled off his shirt. I'd never have a body that could compete with his, but that was OK. "I've been watching some videos. I guess they give me ideas."

My heart was pounding now. I wasn't expecting a two-fer on this trip. So it was a nice surprise. Particularly as Carson slid down his gym shorts. He was hard and I could see his dick still was covered in a lot of lube. I wondered how long the guy had been jerking off that morning.

My own bone twitched as I watched my coworker lie down on his back, settling in on the unmade bed, till his head lay just past the edge. I didn't need a diagram to know what he had in mind. I stepped up, hands on my hips and positioned my cock above his face.

Wasting no time, Carson leaned up, attacking my nuts with his tongue before I angled my prick to let him lick that. As he did, he jerked his cock, not fast, just enough to prime the pump during this foreplay ritual.

"Fuck, Boss, you have a great cock," he hissed. Hearing that was enough to make me spurt some precum on his chin and neck. Carson could tasted it was he licked his way to the head.

I swiveled my hips back to give him access. That tongue laved all around my head, slobbering it down. Carson wasn't shy about extra spit with me now and excess saliva dripped down his face.

"God fucking damn, Wells," I hissed as I watched the lewd sight.

He muttered something then more spit ran out just before he swallowed me.

The trick of being an oral top, particularly for the more extreme sucking, is knowing when you can take charge. Carson was ready. I reached down and pressed against his shoulder. To steady him but also to let him know I was coming in.

Wells grunted along my cock but was ready. I steadily speared his throat, from the inner part to the deeper reaches. He quickly stopped jerking and I realized it was to keep from coming. Wells was loving this shit.

I pulled back and thrust in again. And again. Wells' throat was snug and wet and alive. I don't know why we hadn't done this before, but we were doing it now.

I heard his soft grunts and felt his excitement as I steadily fucked his throat. Taking my hands off his shoulder, I leaned forward. That meant I couldn't watch his face and throat as easily, but the better thrusting angle made it worth while.

I just went for it. Not super rough, but steady firm thrusts deep into Carson's gullet in rapid succession. Figured I could stir the pot and see if I could get some nice slime.

It took a half minute, a half minute of watching Carson's dick jerk in excitement before I heard and felt it.

I stopped and withdrew. To give Wells a break and check in on him, but also to see that trophy. That milky mucus was thick around my bone but I didn't realize just how much there was until I pulled out completely and watched thick river of slime run down his handsome face.

"Fuck!" he gasped, chest rising and falling as he caught his breath.

"You OK, Wells?" I asked.

He was beet red and not opening his eyes but he grunted a yes. "Go for it, Boss."

I got back in place. Entry was easier this time. And as I fucked his face I heard the sloppy wet sloshing.

"Gonna cum..." I said.

That was the cue. He grabbed his own dick and jerked in rapid strokes.

We came together. My dick pumping its morning load straight into his guts as his own fired out. Like I say, Carson's a gusher, and I enjoyed watching several streaks of thick cum land on his muscular body.

I knew I had to give him a break now, and fast. I wasn't rough, but quickly I pulled out.

He sucked in some air while I went to get a washcloth for him. He seemed grateful for it and as he sat up he wiped his face down.

"Damn, Boss, you're hardcore."

I nodded. "I got news for you Wells, you're pretty hardcore yourself."

He finished wiping off and I took the cloth from him. It was only then that we felt self conscious being fully naked with one another.

Carson looked at the clock. "Well, I'm not getting my morning workout in, I guess," he said, acknowledging the time. We had about a half hour before we had to leave to the airport. "But fuck I was horny."

I gave a nod and watched Carson find his clothes.

"You're getting really good at this, Carson," I said. Not just complimenting him, but acknowledging that he was taking the throat abuse like a pro.

He pulled on his T shirt and flashed a grin. "I am, aren't I?"

"You doing anyone else?" I asked. I don't know why I did, but curiosity got the best of me.

He seemed offended though. "Would it bother you if I did?" he asked.

I shook my head and gave the best contrite expression I could. "Not at all. You're your own man, Wells. Just curious was all."

That seemed to put him at ease, but his voice was still quiet. "You're the only dude I suck, Boss."

"Cool," I said. I gave a pause. "I know this arrangement is weird as fuck, Wells. But anytime you offer head, I'm not gonna turn you down."

He liked that. "You'll find a boyfriend to focus on, Boss," he said. He'd bene thinking about that. "In the meantime, let's just have fun, OK?"

Dude actually fist bumped me on the way out of my hotel room.

***

Carson upgraded on the flight back, while I stayed in coach. I was glad not to have to make small talk. Still, I felt a strange elation when I got the news on my work phone as we landed. The decision was fast. We'd won the prospect as a client.

Carson was waiting for me at the gate in the terminal. "The Dream Team did it!" he growled, pulling me into a bear hug.

I hugged him back. "You're buying me drinks with that commission money, Wells."

[peppermint-cardboard]

hey. hello my friend. i am grabbing you by the shoulders oh so gently. do not become hopeless. that is exactly what they want. blue state governments will give them hell over the next presidential term, and you can rest assured there will absolutely be people in our government fighting for democracy.

the thing we can all do that will have the most direct immediate impact and will lay the groundwork for cultures of help, creativity, and love is to get involved at the local community level.

i’m talking especially to my fellow teens here!!! may not be able to vote but that doesn’t mean we’re not able to help.

for my fellow Angelenos!

Hollywood Food Coalition - free food! you can sign up to volunteer and do meal prep (cooking), meal service (serving food), or help at their food bank. locations are on their website. thanksgiving is coming up and HFC will need volunteers!

My Friend’s Place - free aid for youth homelessness, especially queer youth homelessness. volunteering is for 18 years and older

Los Angeles LGBT Center - exactly what it sounds like. offers a wide range of wonderful services and opportunities for volunteering. also works with school GSAs!

Moonwater Farm - a community farm in Compton with great opportunities for education and sometimes paid fellowships

for people everywhere else! just some general recommendations:

The Trevor Project - queer youth services that have saved my ass a number of times. i don’t know if they call the police as part of their responses or not (offers a single-click-to-leave button in case of emergency)

TrevorSpace - a great queer youth-centered website and a very safe place for queer community and discussion

Debate Me, Bro - a great anarchist newsletter/advice column run by a friend of mine!

The Child And Its Enemies - anarchist child rights-focused podcast also run by that same friend of mine :)

Neocities - make a website! learn some HTML! it’s fun, it’s pretty simple, and it’s a way to get a message out if that’s what you want but it’s also just a great de-stresser

Queer Liberation Library - need i even elaborate on the importance of libraries and access to queer media over the coming few years? (offers a single-click-to-leave button in case of emergency)

American Civil Liberties Union - an activism and aid organization that gave the Republicans absolute hell last time and will continue to do so this time

Blackline (800-604-5841) - a crisis and help hotline prioritizing BI&POC and black queer people. will not call the police!

Trans Lifeline (US: 877-565-8860, Canada: 877-330-6366) - a helpline run by and for trans folks. has a quick escape button and will not call the police!

Wildflower Alliance Peer Support Line (888-407-4515) - a warmline to chat with trained therapists and professionals. will not call the police!

StrongHearts Native Helpline (844-762-8483) - a domestic and sexual violence helpline prioritizing Native Americans and Alaska Natives. has a quick escape button and will not call the police!

Thrive Lifeline (313-662-8209) - a live crisis warmline prioritizing marginalized people. also offers text messaging! will not call the police!

LGBT National Health Center (888-843-4564) - exactly what it sounds like! warmlines for queer people if you need help. has a quick escape button and will not call the police!

Transfeminine Science - a fantastic resource for... transfeminine science. exactly what it says on the tin.

Planned Parenthood - an incredibly prolific and important organization that offers a very wide array of vastly important services. if you live in an at least semi-urban city in the U.S., Planned Parenthood probably has a clinic near you. you should find out if they do!!!

please feel free to add more resources if you know any!!

other recommendations: say hi to a neighbor. bake someone a pie. start a garden. treat homeless people like your neighbors (because they are). propose a community movie night. have a party in your apartment building. call a friend. text a friend. draw something. cook something good. go to a restaurant you like. buy some DVDs. get a new stuffed animal. compliment a stranger’s shirt. ask for a hug. offer someone a hug. listen to music. KEEP LIVING!!!!!!!!!

don't just survive, keep living <3

[the-togepi-man]

Facebook is republican, Elon is trying to ban the word Weird on X, I vote we move back to Myspace so we can all rate our top friends and change our music and relearn HTML

[libraford]

I will sometimes complain that I don't make much money and someone who is very well-meaning will advise me to 'learn to code.'

That's like telling someone to 'learn to draw an anatomically correct hand.'

I'm pretty good at drawing hands because I drew throughout high school, did art programs in college, and continued to draw consistently as an adult- so I developed a knack for drawing complicated things.

There are a lot of people who cannot draw hands. It doesn't make them bad artists, it just means that they didn't focus on the same things as I did. And if they focused on drawing hands, maybe they'd get pretty good at it, too.

But also maybe they wouldn't! Some people just don't! Like they can study and sketch the bone structure and the guidelines and the forms to hell and back but turning it into a hand just isn't happening.

That's me with code. I know enough html to hotlink some text and turn it into fun colors. I tried to learn some code in college because we were told that it would be required of us in our professional lives, but I did not get very far. Its not because I'm lazy, or that I had a bad teacher, or that I don't WANT to- my brain just does not do numbers the way that coders do numbers.

I watch my photography mentor in one of her zoom meetings rattle off coding terms and I'm jealous. My brain can't do that. She watches me sketch out compositions and maps for photoshoots from memory and she's jealous. I watch my girlfriend cut an old prom dress into pieces and sew it back together into a costume and I'm jealous. She sees me dance in it and she's jealous.

Like I understand that this is the direction of the world- that coding is a very important skill that pays well because its in demand (or is it? I've had so many coding friends get laid off in the past year that it makes me nervous) but I don't see the point in learning a skill that I know will frustrate me, that I will not be good at, and that I will inevitably be the first to be let go if I manage to get a job in the field.

[slapthebass]

EUROPE TOUR24 FROM DEPRESSION TO [mode of Withering to death & UROBOROS] - Live reports (Warsaw + Paris)

Warsaw - Progresja 19/03/24 (mode of WTD)

Travelled to Poland on the 16th, we had mixed weather during the week-end but it was luckily quite sunny (albeit cold-ish) while we queued outside the venue! My friend and I had Priority upgrades for this show so we arrived around 14:30 & waited right next to the VIP queue. Venue logistics for the queue(s) were a bit fuzzy at first* but we got our laminated passes around 16:00 (just after the VIPs got theirs + goodies) then waited for a bit after 18:00 when the VIPs entered the building. Diru/prod staff keeps a printed list of VIP/priority passes holders and distributes passes and goodies by checking the names.

*Fans were better organised with sharpies and unofficial waiting numbers :)

We went in and waited (again :) ) in the pit for 1h, behind the caution tape separating the VIP from the rest of the room. This allowed us to get some merch at the stand, then at 19:00 the security guards lifted the caution tape and we managed to get nice spots at the 2nd & 3rd rows in front of Die's mic. We waited again for another hour while the general attendance ticket holders entered the venue, then the show started around 20:20 (a bit late because of a technical issue with Die's guitar apparently, that had all their technicians running around looking stressed out), without any intro if I remember correctly, maybe because of said technical issue (but there were Diru remixes being played through the speakers during the whole time we waited inside).

I was unfortunately right next to an annoying (& bulky) man who kept pushing me & other fans around the whole time (I fought for my life the whole set and almost fell when the members entered the stage), but otherwise the show was very nice, it was great seeing them live for the first time even though it felt quite unreal! WTD is not my favourite album but it was still amazing to hear the songs live and the audience was really into it <3 I could see Die very clearly, Toshiya also came around a few times, as well as Kaoru in the end, but my view of Kyo and Shinya was a bit blocked. Die wore his usual tights with a black sleeveless top and red jacket; Shinya had a flowy white shirt as always; Kyo sported a simple black t-shirt & track pants (?) with a nice white make-up on the top half of his face; Toshiya wore the black siren dress (I almost died seeing it with my own two eyes) with thigh-high boots (not the same pair as in the 2024 Yurameki PV though, they had bulky heels instead of stilettos heels for practical reasons obviously :D), and Kaoru wore a black suit with a white shirt.

They all looked a bit jetlagged, having landed in Poland only the day before the 1st concert, and Die was breathing quite heavily during Akuro no oka in the end! The show ended quite abruptly with Akuro no oka, I was expecting Rasetsukoku as they tend to end most concerts with it but they all left the stage (Kaoru, Die and Toshiya being of course the last to leave after throwing picks everywhere).

On a personal note, I was overjoyed the finally see the brown ESP bass which is heavily featured on WTD songs <3

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/progresja-warsaw-poland-6baa32c2.html

The show ended around 22:00, it took a while for everyone to leave the venue!

Warsaw - Progresja 20/03/24 (mode of UROBOROS)

We had VIP upgrades this time & arrived around the same time as the day before, to wait with other fans under a nice sun :) Logistics were better than for the 1st show, with barriers already in place and 3 visible queues (VIP/Priority at the front + GA at the back of the 1st two lines). We heard reports & anecdotes from the previous day's VIP meet & greet and were 'warned' that Kyo had a paper bag on his head, so that saved us some awkwardness later :').

Staff also came while we were waiting, to check the names/tickets and distribute laminated passes & VIP goodies. We got a nice cotton bag, a fan, and an enveloppe to protect the postcards distributed by the group members. This time we got both a laminated pass and a wrist bracelet, to avoid cheating with passes from the day before. Staff also warned us no to take pictures/touch them during the M&G, then we entered the venue around 18:00 as expected. People queued in the stairs then before the doors of the main room upstairs (some went directly to the merch stand while we waited here), then the doors opened and we went inside one by one in a continued file, to meet the members and get the postcards. It was all very quick, I was a bit confused because they stayed in a quite dark area and I almost didn't recognize Kaoru who was first in line, oops. We didn't really had time to speak with them so I just took the signed postcards while thanking each of them; after Kaoru was Die with big sunglasses, Kyo with a paper bag on his head, Shinya with a mask on and Toshiya with sunglasses (he was the most smiley of them all and looked really nice and patient!). They were not yet wearing their stage outfits/makeup (except maybe for Kyo under the bag I guess?), and there was a gift box right next to the table to leave stuff for them.

Then we rushed to the stage and got 1st/2nd row spots, right between Kyo's platform on the left and Die's mic on the right! We waited again for two hours while speaking with nice fans from Romania who were right next to and behind us (hi if you're reading that!).

The show started on time with a nice intro video; it started with Vinushka, which is one of my favourite songs so I was really ecstatic to hear it live **. Kyo had a nice skull make-up which was really impressive with the visuals displayed on the screen! Then everything went blurry & heavy really fast haha, Uroboros really has to be experienced live at least once! HYDRA -666- & Reiketsu Nariseba in particular were especially impressive, they put them at the end of the main set to try and kill us I think :') (I was lucky enough to record the Toshiya-Die interaction during Reiketsu!). One calmer moment was Inconvenient Ideal, during which both Kaoru & Die went AWOL for a while (Kyo seemed to be looking for them at the beginning).

Not that the encore was softer, it started deceivingly 'calmly' with Dozing Green, then it was chaos again with Stuck Man, T.D.F.F. and Eddie back to back. Akuro no oka was again the last song of the encore/show, but they all looked less tired than the day before even though the show was more intense!

The audience was enthusiastic once again and we got pushed a lot from behind, but it was an overall great show.

Kyo left the stage first as usual after saying bye-bye, then Shinya briefly went on the platform to throw his drumsticks before leaving. Kaoru, Die and Toshiya stayed for a bit, throwing picks and water, and I managed to get one of Toshiya's bass picks!

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/progresja-warsaw-poland-6baa32c2.html

We took again a while to leave the venue, and headed to the merch stand to get more stuff (WTD/Uroboros lucky charms, stickers and postcards with cute drawings of the band members as monsters enjoying their trip to Europe <3).

Paris - Bataclan 22/03/24 (mode of WTD)

After a day of respite to travel back home, we headed to the Bataclan concert hall early in the afternoon to queue. I was a bit nervous as I'd never been to this venue before despite living in Paris, and its name was of course associated with dark memories from the 2015 terror attacks, but in the end the excitement to see Diru live again was greater than my anxiety :)

We had Priority upgrades and waited in the queue that was already in place; everything seemed quite well organised at first with three delimited lines but it ended a bit messy in the end with the VIPs moving to another line on the other side of the sidewalk, Priority upgrades members not knowing where to wait, etc. Luckily the weather was nice and sunny, and we waited more or less patiently until staff came with the laminated passes around 16:00. The VIPs got inside the venue a bit before 18:00, then the Priority upgrades; we waited again behind a caution tape inside the concert hall, which was then lifted at 19:00 and we managed to grab nice spots on the left side of the stage this time, I was at the barrier (1st row) right before Kaoru's mic and with an amazing view of Toshiya & Kyo!

There was a support artist this time, a French DJ who did his best to entertain us but I must admit we weren't really into it as we were waiting for the main set to begin. It wasn't that bad but I'd have preferred to wait with the Diru remixes like in Warsaw!

Unlike the 1st day in Warsaw, we had the intro music + video just before the band entered the stage (Die in red&white, Shinya in white, Kyo in black with a touch of eye-liner, Toshiya in the white dress and Kaoru in a steampunk-ish suit and vest **). Mode of WTD was great in Warsaw but it was wild in Paris, the audience sang everything loudly, cheered & clapped and the band seemed to really appreciate the vibe :)

It was the first time I really saw Kaoru so close (except for a few appearances on the right side of the stage in Warsaw) and it was amazing to see him play and make faces at the crowd & cameras, he really knows how to motivate people by (lovingly) yelling at them \o/

There was a funny moment during Akuro no oka in the end, when Toshiya almost began his bass solo too early with a single "klonk" and looked sheepish for a second (Kaoru was like "erm, i'm not finished yet mate" while still playing the guitar :D). I recorded the whole song but my phone mysteriously freezed right at this point so we concluded that Toshiya is actually a telepath and erased it with his preternatural powers :').

A very nice evening overall, it was the perfect combination of great songs & performances from the band + overjoyed participation from the audience! And the crowd was both enthusiastic and very chill pushing-wise on our end, so that was a nice respite from the Warsaw shows physically speaking :)

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/le-bataclan-paris-france-3aa096f.html

Paris - Bataclan 23/03/24 (mode of UROBOROS)

THE BEST CONCERT EVER

(Sorry, this needed to be said first).

4th (and last :'( ) show of the tour for us, so we hoped it would be great and we were not disappointed!

The queue outside was incredibly chaotic: despite being more or less organised the day before, it was a mess this time and nobody really knew where to wait. In addition, the weather was atrocious and we got rain showers, a chilly wind *and* a freezing hailstorm during the afternoon, everybody ended up soaked with chattering teeth for the remainder of the waiting time... But the VIPs finally went inside around 18:00, then us (Priority upgrades again) around 20 mn later.

After the caution tape was lifted, we went to the right side of the stage and had a nice spot in front of Die's mic once again! Then the GA ticket holders went in and the room quickly got quite warm, before the support act even started. It was the same DJ as the previous evening but the audience was a bit more into it this time.

The band entered the stage around 20:25 like the other days, with intro song + video again. There was a technical issue with the projected images on the screen during at least 20 mn, the visuals for Vinushka were really blurry and we also saw a computer error message during the following songs, but it got fixed at some point and didn't stop us from enjoying the show: from Vinushka to Bugaboo, everything was already wild but the band + crowd went really insane after that until near the end of the encore: Doukoku to Sarinu, HYDRA -666-, Gaika, Reiketsu Nariseba... the end of the main set was even wilder than the first time, they left us no time to breathe and we were all screaming, headbanging and jumping everywhere. Kyo looked really satisfied and apparently parted the crowd in two at some point (this is from another live report i read), the audience went wild and the security staff had to douse us with water to avoid more faintings (they had to evacuate at least three people from the pit from what i saw). I almost didn't take pictures this time, except for a few during the calmer songs and interludes because i just couldn't move for anything else than jumping up and down :')

We were already almost dead on our feet at the end of the main set, and the encore finished us, it was as wild as the main set but we managed to find some unexpected resources within us to scream and jump some more! Akuro no oka was a welcome and moving respite at the end (no bass solo mishap this time, a certain bassist was focusing haha), I personally wouldn't have survived another song like the rest and had to sit down after the show ended to re-learn how to breathe properly :') Luckily the venue staff took pity on us and put the AC on during the encore, so we barely managed not to pass out from heat exhaustion...

Then another great time at the end when the band members stayed on the stage: Kyo left quickly as usual but Shinya stayed a second longer than the other nights and threw not only his drumsticks but also a drumskin (??) like a frisbee in the crowd, then the usual suspects Kaoru, Toshiya and Die loitered for a while, throwing picks and smiling at the crowd <3 They looked like they didn't want to leave and neither did we!

The setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dir-en-grey/2024/le-bataclan-paris-france-1baa7d90.html

Gear

Don't think you can get out from a gear overview! For both albums/shows combined, we got:

Kaoru:

ESP D-KV 7str [Nothing]

ESP D-KV custom (blue JZH)

ESP D-KV 薰 custom (greenish/yellowish DKV - tag to be updated)

Die:

ESP D-DR 7str (lava D-DR)

ESP D-DR (red ESP)

ESP D-DR-300 (red mesh)

Morris S-custom D (acoustic black)

Toshiya:

ESP D-TR [RU-DRIVE Arch] (the brown one)

ESP D-TT [TRICK STAR] 00 (the black one)

ESP D-TT [TRICK STAR] 04 (striped blue)

Shinya:

Remo + Signia drumkit (it seems to be his default drumkit for abroad tours, maybe not to damage his usual Pearl one ?)

Sabian cymbals (probably as I didn't manage to take clear pictures of the brand)

Aaand that's it, thanks for reading all that! :)

[imacaprisun]

In light of the United States of Hell, the land of the fucked being one of the only countries in the whole entire world to state that food is not a human right, I think we should start planting food everywhere. Fruits, vegetables, greens, flowers, plant everything and anything that can be eaten. Stop digging out every weed that grows in your garden and try identifying them and see if you can eat them. Most of the common weeds in our backyard are edible and can also be used for medicine! Make seed bombs and throw them around everywhere. Try and start a community garden in your neighborhood. Also, gardening does not have to be stressful! We just made it stressful because we stopped using methods like the food forest, companion gardening, you get the picture. Hell, just throw a bunch of seeds into your backyard and see what happens. I would say plant more than enough for yourself and whoever lives with you and then donate the rest to homeless shelters, animal shelters, etc... Anywhere that needs food in general. Just remember to make sure everything you plant is native not only to the U.S., but to the state you live in as well. Learn how to forage and what foods you can find in forests near you. Once you learn a good bit about foraging, start teaching your friends and families as well. Maybe learn HTML and make your own website with all the information you learn! Help spread information about how to garden and forage. Go dumpster diving as well. Majority of the time, a lot of food is thrown out that is still fresh, but isn’t “good enough” to sell (aka not visually appeasing enough). Remember to bring along a friend and/or family member! It’s always safer to go in pairs or more when dumpster diving. Water isn’t free either, despite the fact it should be, so try setting up a rainwater barrel and learn how to purify water. If you have more than enough, donate it. Everyone deserves access to food and water!

[sysboxes]

Sysboxes FAQ

Responses to some questions we frequently get! This post is long, so full responses are under the cut, but here are the main questions this post addresses, in order:

What are userboxes and how do I use them?

How do you make your userboxes?

What styles/customization can I request?

Do you have a box for X?

When can I send in a request/When will the askbox reopen?

How many requests can I send in per ask or per user?

Is there any particular media you absolutely won’t make boxes for?

Why hasn’t a box been made for my request yet?

What does X term mean?

What is your syscourse stance/Why can’t pro/endos interact?

What are userboxes and how do I use them?

Userboxes are rectangular images, often with an image on the left and information about a person on the right. They were originally meant to appear on a Wikipedian’s user page to convey something about a person. To use our boxes, you can reblog them to your tumblr page and/or right click to save the image for later use.

We have seen people put userboxes in their intro posts, in a certain tag on their tumblr, in Discord and PluralKit profiles, on their SimplyPlural (this post explains how), or in exchanges with friends. We generally request that you credit sysboxes when using our userboxes.

How do you make your userboxes?

Different mods use different methods, like Canva and MS Paint, but our main method of making boxes is using yerich.net/userbox. In the box that says “Left Box (ID) Text”, enter the code “src=“yourpicturelinkhere” height=“45px” width=“45px”>”, replacing yourpicturelinkhere with your image URL. Customize your userbox using the rest of the options on the site. You can screenshot your box here, or you can go to htmleditor.com and paste the “Raw HTML” code from yerich. Then you can use HTML coding to mess around with size, font, and color before screenshotting your finished box.

What styles/customization can I request?

This post details a lot of the customization options you can request, like boxes vs. banners, different fonts, colors, and images, including hand-drawn art by mods. You can also request a specific mod do your box. Most mods are adults, but if you feel uncomfortable with a minor making your request, you are free to add that in your ask. Note that if you are requesting an image that contains someone else’s art, we must get permission from the artist to use the image for a userbox.

This being said, we are not infallible to making mistakes on the origins of an image. We do try to reverse image search when provided with an image in an ask, but if you notice your art in a userbox without having been asked permission for its use, please let us know so we can remedy the situation.

Do you have a box for X?

Please search our blog using a keyword for the box you’re looking for and possible variants on it. For example, if you’re looking for a box about food, try food, foods, eat, eats, and eating as keywords. If you’re looking for a box whose keyword is a common tag on our blog, try checking #hard to find tag on our blog for boxes. If you cannot find a box with these steps, we likely have not made one yet or whatever we do have is unlikely to fit your request idea.

When can I send in a request/When will the askbox reopen?

We let people know whether requests are open or closed in three ways: the box in our intro post, the title of the askbox itself, and a post when requests first open or close with the tag #sysboxes status update. When our requests are closed, please do not send any in for “when requests are open”; it will be deleted.

At any given time, we have hundreds of requests in our askbox. We try to keep requests open as long as we can, but even with a large number of mods, there is only so much we can do. We run this blog in our free time, while dealing with work, school, and mental and physical health issues. We do accept questions/appreciation while our requests are closed, but sometimes we save them to respond to when we clear the askbox, to look forward to later.

How many requests can I send in per ask or per user?

We don’t limit how many asks a single user can send in, but if possible, we prefer you send in multiple asks if you have multiple requests. We’ll still do multiple requests in one ask, but one request per ask allows us to more easily sort and number requests. It also lets us respond to when requests will be posted individually instead of waiting until every one is queued or posted to respond to a non-anonymous ask.

Is there any particular media you absolutely won’t make boxes for?

We are okay with requests pertaining to fictives from most media, as we understand they cannot control what source they introjected from. We will not make requests that express support for harmful media. As for media we won’t do requests for introjects from, we have decided not to make boxes pertaining to true crime or nazi introjects, for our and others comfortability. This is not a complete list, as different mods have different boundaries, but we try to honor requests whenever possible.

Why hasn’t a box been made for my request yet?

If you want to know exactly when your userbox will come out, send in your request off anon, and when we queue it, we will privately respond to your ask letting you know when to expect your box. Note our queue is very long.

We do not always do requests in the order we receive them. Some requests we must discuss or reword (for length, misinfo, etc.) before making. We do not make requests that incite hate/harassment, include misinformation (and can’t be reworded), include (specific) details that may endanger the user, or put us in the middle of heavy discourse we do not want to be roped into.

What does X term mean?

This is a userbox blog, and as such, we prefer you do not direct your questions about DID here. We are not professionals (and cannot diagnose anyone), and we recommend looking for credible resources. If you cannot find anything for your question or would like resources, some of the mods are ok with asks about things relating to DID on their system blogs. Mod blogs ok with these questions include @fromthewondersystem and @circular-bircular.

What is your syscourse stance/Why can’t pro/endos interact?

Individual mods fall across the syscourse spectrum (why circ is a mod), but this blog is overall anti-endo. In truth, we do not know nor much care whether it is possible to have a non-traumagenic system. We feel our system experiences are deeply informed by our trauma, and this is very different from endos’ experiences.

Additionally, mods of this blog have faced much harassment and harm from the pro-endo community, including being set back in recovery, misinformation, cultural appropriation, abuse, death threats, and doxxing. We are aware these issues extend beyond just the pro-endo community, but this is where we have most commonly found them. For these reasons, we do not want endos or pro-endos interacting with our blog or using our userboxes.

There are plenty of pro-endo userbox blogs already. We do allow syscourse-neutral/unaligned people to use our boxes - we are not here to force you to pick a side. People who are not pro-endo but allow pro-endos to interact with them may use our boxes, but we recommend noting that we are an anti-endo blog.