#i logged out of my personal on the app and into this blog so i could get it here

[fordanoia]

Thank you Tumblr for giving me polls, I will be very normal with this power

[alphajocklover]

InstaJock: Going Viral

**Hey! This is my entry for @occamstfs Viral Transformation Challenge. Congrats on getting 2,000 followers, and thank you for beta reading this and helping me edit it. I hope I can get to 2,000 followers myself one day! For those who are new to my stories, this does connect to the plot established in my blog, but the concept is simple enough you should be able to follow along even if you don't usually read my stuff! I hope you all enjoy!**

When I talk about the InstaJock App Phenomenon – which I seem to do a lot. What is this, the 17th InstaJock related post? I need to diversify more – I usually talk about the transformation aspects and not the app itself. That’s partially because the transformation is the most interesting and hottest part, but it’s also because I haven’t been able to take a good look at the app. Even with all the protective spells and equipment I have, I can’t use a phone with InstaJock on it for very long without getting an urge to set up an account. 

Until now.

With some help from the devilishly handsome (and literally devilish) Nick, I’ve been able to get my hands on some better equipment and better explore the app. I was able to spend a couple hours on it before I needed to quit, and actually got some very interesting information, mainly about how the app works post-transformation. I had always assumed that once a user got transformed into a jock, they’d ignore the app from then on unless they wanted to change someone. I was very, very wrong, not just about that but about the purpose of the app itself. It’s not just for making people into jocks: it’s for finding the best ones.

The app generally works like any other social media app, with its members posting about their interests. It’s set up is a lot like Instagram, where pictures and videos are the main format used for posting, but what really makes it different from other social media apps is the content. You can probably guess what an app full of buff cocky jocks looks like, but I’ll confirm it for you: the app is a thirst trap paradise.

The entire app is stuffed with half naked –  and sometimes fully naked – photos of buff jocks, ones of all different kinds. If you can think up a jock related stereotype, they have a full hashtag dedicated to it. Just buff jocks playing sports, flexing and making out with other hot people, for as far. I know that doesn’t sound too different from normal social media apps, as most have a healthy NSFW side, but the posts have more in common then just showing jocks. Each and every post, every one that I saw, mentioned a Master. Some were talking about how they were getting pumped up at the gym for Master, some were talking about how they loved being jocks and were so glad Master had found them, and some were literally begging for Master to notice them, often wantonly describing how they’d debase themselves and be the sluttiest jock ever, all for him. Everyone on the app would post at least once a day about this mysterious Master. It doesn’t seem to matter if the jock is a dom, a sub, a top, a bottom, in a relationship, single, gay or even straight, all of them wanted this mysterious unnamed master – so much so they seemed to completely change personalities whenever he is mentioned. It seems instaJock has an additional side effect I didn’t know about till now: complete and utter devotion to their Master.

It took me a while, and some covert interviewing of a number of jocks in their DMs, but I think I figured out what's happening. The Jocks aren’t just posting for fun, they’re competing with each other. InstaJock isn’t really a social media app, it’s a sort of ranking app. Every day the jocks log on, post a picture of themselves with a caption somehow related to their Master, and leave likes on some of the other posts, usually the ones they find hot. If a jock’s post gets enough likes though, they get what every jock wants, what all of them are trying to get. They get to Go Viral.

Going Viral on IntsaJock isn’t like going viral on a regular app. It essentially means you’ve gotten enough likes, been reposted enough times, and have become popular enough on the site… that Master has noticed you. That's what the social media part of the app is really for. It’s just a way for Master’s jocks to organize themselves so only the hottest ones show up on his feed. If he really likes you, he’ll do more than just look too. Soon that Jock will disappear from his regular life, never to be seen again, whisked away to become a part of Master’s personal harem. This entire time the app has been about one thing: creating lovestruck sex slaves for the man who created InstaJock.

Like most actual social media apps, InstaJock jumps from one thing to another, and what's viral is always changing. But there are two tags that are always trending on InstaJock. The first, and most popular, is #JockMaster, which is only ever used by this mysterious Master when he makes a post. I’ve seen his account. He never shows his face on it, but from what little of his body that makes it into the photos, he’s… enchanting. As much as I hate to admit it, seeing just a bit of that creep almost made me drool. He usually only posts a couple times a week, as opposed to the jock who posts daily, but everything he posts goes viral on the app in moments. I’ll admit, there's something about his posts that is just… hypnotic. I almost set up an account after seeing one myself, and probably would have if Nick wasn’t there to stop me.

The other tag that's always trending is… more interesting, at least to me. It’s #MastersBoyfriend. It’s another tag used only by Master, and one he uses whenever he posts a picture of one particular member of his harem. 

Whenever he posts pictures… of my Uncle John.

I finally know who took my Uncle. I know who this Master is. I suspected it was him for a while, but now I’m sure. The man who made InstaJock and the man who turned my Uncle into a slutty buff himbo are one in the same. I finally have proof.

So now what?

**The identity of the person behind InstaJock AND the person behind my Uncle's transformation and kidnapping has finally been revealed! Been working up to this for a long time, and I'm glad to keep this story moving forward! Hope you liked it as much as I do! Thank you to @occamstfs once again for being absolutely awesome and inspiring!**

[becomingthatgirl111]

how to use social media and your phone in a positive way

if you want to improve or change an aspect of your life it takes your commitment to be consistent and make real changes. to start, take a piece of paper and answer these questions that will help you have a greater focus and be aware of what you want to change.

how much time are you dedicating to social media?

is it taking up your time?

what would you like to do with that time?

how much time would you like to spend on social media?

what content do you follow?

do you follow content that you consider harmful to you?

instead, what would you like to follow more? (for example, accounts that inspire you or help you to improve, can be about cooking or some hobby you have)

what app do you use most often?

how long do you use your phone?

would you like to use it less?

what habits/hobbies would you like to spend more time on?

now that you are more aware of this issue and how it may be affecting your life i'll share some tips to help you make your social media more secure and use it more positively.

stop following those accounts that are not giving you anything positive.

start following profiles of people who really inspire you or teach you something, for example about the topics you are interested in or the kind of person you would like to become and take them as an example.

set a time limit on the use of these applications, i.e. about 15 minutes a day for example. you can do this from the app itself or from "settings" on your phone.

follow positive content that resonates with you such as people sharing affirmations, success stories or even motivational speeches.

don't use your phone first thing in the morning or last thing at night.

download productivity apps on your phone, such as daylio, notion, habit, etc. with which you can log your days, have a record of your habits or even use them as to-do lists, there are many more of these types.

"i am" is an app that sends you positive affirmations every hour as a notification, it will help you to be centered.

if you do any activity leave your phone somewhere else or even if you are on the bus don't be stuck on your phone, allow yourself to enjoy the present moment.

use the internet to search for information on topics that interest you, either on youtube, blogs, podcasts…

block people or words that you know are not bringing you anything positive.

spend more time cultivating yourself instead of focusing on a world that doesn't exist in social media.

other things to consider.

what we see on social media doesn't have to be real, even if it is, don't compare yourself with those people. on the internet, everyone will want to give their best face and that doesn't mean it's reality, it shouldn't affect you either so forget about it and focus on your own path.

the real world is outside and not through a screen. live human experiences and try to do what makes you happiest every day.

on social media and internet we can find a lot of useful information, let that be the main reason why you use it, and stop wasting your time scrolling on tik tok.

my personal opinion.

the use of social media is not negative, but we have to control what we are consuming and how it is affecting our lives and the time we are spending.

it seems normal to be on the phone all day but this is not beneficial, there are more things to do in the real world and many people say they don't have time to do things when they are really wasting it with their phones.

you can look for information on things that are useful to you but leave your phone aside and start applying them to your life.

leaving all the social media aside has made me feel much better and even more liberated. you don't really need to see what's going on on the internet, because it's not important, there are more important things to live for out there, even more interesting people to meet.

create your world from the experiences you would like to live, the people you would like to share, the person you want to become, and focus on that, which is much more important. in the end, if you don't think about it, it doesn't exist.

[helpimstuckposting]

The Category System in TMA

I want to preface by saying this isn’t my theory but I cannot for the life of me find the original post, if anyone knows what post I’m talking about please PLEASE tell me, it’s driving me insane

The theory I saw (a while ago, maybe around episode 10?) proposed that categories 1, 2, and 3 all represent nouns. Person (1), Place (2), and Thing (3)

I’m genuinely shocked this hasn’t gained more traction because I’ve yet to disprove this and every single episode just keeps working with this theory, so I wanted to list out every episode as further proof

Episode 1

CAT1RBC5257-12052022-09012024 Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret [Email]

CAT23RAB2155-10042022-09012024 Transformation (eyes) -/- Trespass [chat log]

Cat1 (person) - reanimated corpse, though I think the focus is more about the person they paid to bring their husband back, which implies there some mystery guy out there with this ability

Cat23 (place, thing) - the magnus institute, and the box with runes that red canary stole

Episode 2

CAT3RBC1567-23092022-18012024 Transformation (full) -/- dysmorphic [video call]

Cat3 (thing) - the tattoo from ink5oul is the main focus, though other ink5oul episodes are focused on them and use cat1 (which has confused people, but this theory explains that imo)

Episode 3

CAT2C8175-03042009-22012024 Infection (full body) -/- arboreal [journal entry]

Cat2 (place) - the garden is what started changing the man making the statement (also seemed to exist as its own entity outside the regular flow of time)

Episode 4

CAT3C7494-19111831-29012024 Collection (blood) -/- musical [letter]

Cat3 (thing) - the violin (the power of the violin still remains even if the object itself changes hands, which means the power lies with the violin and not the people controlling it)

Episode 5

CAT2RB2377-10012023-05022024 Disappearance (undetermined) -/- Invitation [internet blog]

Cat2 (place) - the movie theater (or wherever the movie itself is being played, I assume the statement giver did not make it out of that location)

Episode 6

CAT1RB4824-09022024-12022024 Injury (needles) -/- intimidation [999 call]

Cat1 (person) - Needles

Episode 7

CAT2RC3338-03022016-12022024 Agglomeration (miscellany) -/- congregation [email]

Cat2 (place) - Hilltop Center, Oxford (By episode 20, Oxford has been mentioned multiple times, which is why I think the location is significant here)

Episode 8

CAT2RBC3366-12072023-28022024 Architecture (liminal) -/- hunger [coursework]

Cat2 (place) - the liminal space of Forton Service Station

Episode 9

CAT3RB3354-14101998-08032024 Dice (bone) --/-- fate [Magnus Statement]

Cat3 (thing) - the dice (again, the power of the dice remains the same, even when the dice themselves change hands)

Episode 10

CAT1RB2275-06082021-09032024 Mascot (kids) -/- murder [TV interview]

Cat1 (person) - Mr Bonzo, Nigel Dickerson

Episode 11

CAT23RC5246-06012020-11032024 Tattoo (corpse) -/- compulsion [email exchange]

Cat23 (place, thing) - Padstow civil cemetery, tattoo (the reason I believe this isn't a Cat1 despite it being ink5oul is because we know from episode 20 that the tattoos themselves had special powers, regardless of ink5oul and that ink5oul only started getting their powers after they continuously used the pre-existing designs - this is new information that imo further confirms this theory rather than debunking it)

Episode 12

CAT1RB4728-09032024-13032024 Mascot (kids) -/- frenzy [insurance claim]

Cat1 (person) - Mr Bonzo

Episode 13

CAT3RB4622-17092023-14032024 Gambling (application) -/- self-destruction [voicemail]

Cat3 (thing) - the Zorrotrade investment app

Episode 14

CAT1RB4426-01081995-15032024 Transformation (snake) -/- horde

Cat1 (person) - shop keeper that burst into snakes (the investigator describes no other infestation, and only mentions one hole and one possible squirrel, while the shopkeeper causes all other chaos. We also know that the shopkeeper was being considered by the Magnus Institute before being rejected, like Sam, making this shopkeeper a relatively important person)

Episode 15

CAT1RB6451-22062023-22032024 Hunt (aristocratic) -/- compulsion

Cat1 (person) - Lady Mowbray

Episode 16

CAT1RB1565-30102023-25032024 Tattoo (influencer) -/- cardiac

Cat1 (person) - ink5oul (this one was specifically about ink5oul, rather than the main focus being the tattoo itself)

Episode 17

CAT2RC1147-30111997-04042024 Doppelganger (interdimensional) -/- murder

Cat2 (place) - this one people keep focusing on categorizing the doppelganger, but I think the key focus of the episode is actually the Magnus Institute – Oxford Outreach Centre (another instance of Oxford, another connection to Ep7)

Episode 18

CAT1RC2374-20032024-10042024 Memory (derelict) -/- compulsion

Cat1 (person) - Violet Parker, talking corpse; [ERROR]

Episode 19

CAT13RBC1137-21031684-11042024 Transformation (canine) -/- growth (Crystalline)

Cat13 (person, thing) - Isaac Newton, Diana’s Tree

Episode 20

CAT1RAB2534-12042024-12042024 Transformation (tattoo) -/- Social Media (influencer)

Cat1 (person) - ink5oul (very clearly, this episode is about ink5oul and not about any of their tattoos, though they were in the middle of tattooing a corpse. I think the tattoo is irrelevant to this incident, which is why it's only a 1 and not a 13)

Episode 21

CAT2RBC4254-04011998-12042024 Architecture (landmark) -/- corruption (entropy)

Cat2 (place) - Millennium Dome (also happens to be The Magnus Institute, but I think the main focus is obviously the dome)

I think the *only* one that could be argued as not really fitting is MAGP5 - since you could argue the movie is a thing, and it’s not really the theater as the place, but compared to the odds of other theories that have way more holes this one is so spot on imo

This is the theory I’ve been comparing the categories to every single episode and I haven’t found anything to significantly disprove it, so I just wanted to highlight it one more time in case others haven’t seen it!

[jscwrites]

Please Follow this Backup Blog for Vendetta-IF

Hey guys, it's jsc, the author of Vendetta. I'm making this blog to backup all of the stuff I've posted over on the vendetta-if blog because I can't access my main account. Until I can access my account again, this will be the blog I'll use to interact with all of you and post updates. And in the worst case scenario, this will become the main blog.

So, please, follow this blog as I will be posting updates and answering asks like usual here. Also, for those who want to share their fanarts and other fanworks, please tag this blog too so I can see it. I'll also start reblogging some posts and asks from the Vendetta blog here in hopes of preserving them as much as I can. So, be prepared for a little blast from the past as we walk down the nostalgia road, I suppose.

I'm really sad because just earlier today, I checked my followers count and saw that we were 30 followers away from reaching 4K Followers in the main Vendetta blog, and I was thinking about what to do to celebrate it. Plus, there are also so many awesome fanarts and asks that I don't want to just be gone, which is why I'm making this blog to reblog all of them.

For those who are new and wondering what my story is all about, please check out the intro post I've reblogged. I might need to make another intro post in the future if I never get access back to my account, but for now, I hope it'll suffice.

IMPORTANT LINKS

[ORIGINAL INTRO POST]

[VENDETTA BLOG ARCHIVE]

[DEMO | Latest Chapter: 6 Part 1 | 272.8K words total] 

[FORUM] 

[PATREON] | [KO-FI]

[DISCORD]

CHARACTER RELATED MASTERPOSTS:

[CHARACTERS LIST]

[ARTBREEDER PORTRAITS] [ROs] [Other Pt. 1] [Viktor] [Other Pt. 2]

[CHARACTER PLAYLIST]

ADDITIONAL LINKS

[PUBLIC SIDE STORIES LIST]

[AO3 WRITTEN FANWORK] -> Currently 3 works

For those who are interested in what happened, I'll tell the details under the cut.

So, a few hours ago, I decided to open my iOS Tumblr app to check on notifications and stuff, as I usually do. But instead, I got hit with the Tumblr error messages over and over as it keeps trying to load in.

At first, I just thought it was my cellphone Internet connection, so I tried logging in on the desktop. At first, after I input all of my login credentials, the page loaded, but it brought me to the viewing page of my Vendetta blog as a non-user. I tried again, and this time, it said that my account got terminated. I never got any email from Tumblr about this, and it came as a shock because I just used my Tumblr earlier today to reblog some fanarts with no problem and I have never really used my account for other non-IF related stuff.

So, I scrambled to ask my members in Discord whether my Vendetta blog is still up, and thankfully it still is. But, my main account is somehow gone. The problem is, my Vendetta blog is actually a sideblog to my main account, jsclarissa.

As you can see here, when I tried searching for my main account, it says "Ghost blog! This blog does not exist." despite me having used that account to respond to comments and send asks to other authors before.

I have sent a support ticket to Tumblr support and also tweeted them on Twitter. I really hope they can give me my account back as I'm pretty sure this is some kind of technical issues on their end. I'm just worried about how long it would take them to respond and of course, the worst case scenario that it actually got terminated, so, I'm making this account.

Even if I got my account back, I'll still reblog stuff from the main blog here and maybe I can finally have a more personal blog where I can talk about stuff that is not really related to Vendetta.

[forcedtogrow]

Been getting more and more weird asks from anons telling me I’m ngmi, being transphobic, telling me to kms and tbh…this is literally a kink blog for fun that’s gotten way out of hand and it’s made me regret posting myself. I’m not sure if I’ll delete but every time I open this app another person is saying something awful in my ask box. Not even sure how they found such a niche blog but I’m gonna log out for a while because the messages I got today collectively made my heart sink which is so fucking stupid for a kink blog. It’s really not very fun for me to be trans irl and I very much don’t need this bizarre level of hate online. Im gonna take a week off and I won’t allow anons anymore. Sorry to normal people that sent me asks or like my content. I have a queue I use but don’t tag, so I’ll start to tag them beginning tonight. Thanks.

[thesargasmicgoddess]

ok. it's established. i am not as smart as everyone around me believes. sorting citations in mendeley should've been a 30 min task. tops. why am i still here, then? ~2 hours since i started. mistake 1: logging-in on tumblr. mistake 2: stumbling upon your blog (technically not a mistake, just a random occurrence — but is anything random, though?) mistake 3: scrolling mistake 4: wearing the cage (technically not a mistake. it was suppose to curb these distractions. *smh*)

you have curated something really fun [and niche]. all of a sudden i don't feel so alone. horny doctoral students exist! i am not the last survivor of a lost tribe! (': i hope your day's been nice to you so far. —🤓🐻

🤣🤣🤣🤣 thank you SO much for this great message! I couldn't stop laughing and it put a smile on my face because I can TOTALLY relate.

This month, I'm off of school, so I will be doing a ton of work on some manuscripts and etc. Your ask may have inspired an entire APA hoe shoot 🤣

Me, currently:⬇️

I've spent entirely too much time on Zotero trying to download custom citation styles and figuring out how to write new ones. (Apa, footnote superscript style, with other specifics. Yes, I know that's not standard, long story 🤣) I managed to stump my poor librarian, lol.

I've moved to Mendeley. Then, I moved back to zotero. And WHY DON'T THEY HAVE APPS?! (Mendeley did, but then got rid of it, wtf!)

But the scary part? I love this part of the research process. I love how there are rules to follow and exact protocols for everything. Because how often in life do you get specific protocols to follow? 🤣

God, I'm so weird and such a masochist 🤣

I've written before about how I need tumblr to balance out my professional/academic life....I won't get into it now, but there is a very nuanced balance for me between work and play that actually makes me more centered, happy, and productive. I don't think these things should be mutually exclusive. Rather, I think they create a beautiful synergy when specifically balanced towards individual needs and personalities.

Thanks for following along and your ask!

[askmerriauthor]

regarding pokemon sleep, it looks like you’re just looking for things to complain about. it’s designed to be this chill thing you check on during the day and leave running at night. to play it, all you have to do is sleep and feed your pokemon. no one’s telling you you to have to be the very best at it or pressuring you into paying for stuff, let alone the game itself.

If I was just looking for things to complain about, I'd still be out here whinging over Pokemon Cafe's delightfully charming art style being absolutely wasted on a junk puzzle game instead of a full RPG or cozy slice-of-life Sim.

Regarding this post here.

Hi, I'm MerriAuthor. Apparently we haven't met because anyone who follows my blog would know that I've worked in game development well on 20 years now. I've worked across the industry from little nobody indie houses, to overseas gacha-fodder, to big ol' AAA major studios. Video games and their design are a big part of my life and, boy howdy, do I have some FEELINGS about the direction the industry as a whole has gone in as the years go by. Especially in regards to the predatory monetization of gaming and how it actively preys on children, uninformed parents, people with addictive behaviors, people with hyper-competitive personalities, and similar behavioral traits solely for the purpose of making money at their expense.

it’s designed to be this chill thing you check on during the day and leave running at night. to play it, all you have to do is sleep and feed your pokemon.

As with the previous person I spoke with on this topic, that is the base function of the game. But it's by no means the design of the game. Pokemon Sleep's entire game play rotation and marketplace are designed around encouraging the Player to interact with it as much as possible within an intentionally limited time frame. Meanwhile, the game's own time scale is such that it expects Players to log hundreds if not thousands of hours of interaction with it. Its own base gameplay loop is a weekly schedule and its shop schedule is monthly. Some Pokemon require a bare minimum of 150 hours of logged sleep to even access. Pokemon Sleep wants you to be in it for the long haul.

It's also based on collection; nearly every facet of the game is listed numerically and with a percentage value or progress bar, which are functions designed to produce urgency to complete them in the Player. Human brains don't like seeing an unfinished goal, especially one represented so overtly as an unfilled progress bar or a percentage value with a decimal. Want to have your favorite Pokemon as your napping buddy but don't want to put in a ton of effort playing the game to boost up your Snorlax's power score? Better hope it's one of the low-tier Pokemon assigned into the lower brackets of the gameplay progression, because otherwise you're never going to see it. Though you could always just fork over some cash. Nearing the end of your week with Snorlax and you're just shy of a milestone you've been aiming the entire week for? Good luck! You can pay money for that extra little boost, and once you've done it you'll resent its absence enough to want to buy it again! Do you want to level up that cutie first Charmander the game gave you at the very beginning specifically to ingrain itself with faux emotional value into your favorite Charizard? Want your Eevee to evolve into one of its most popular Eeveelutions? Want a Lucario, period? You'll need to put in hundreds of hours of consistent sleep to save up enough Sleep Points exclusively toward that goal... or you can just buy access to it immediately, through first purchasing access to the Premium Subscription! A Premium Subscription which, again, doesn't auto-cancel if you delete the app and can't be canceled through the app itself, for all you distracted parents who don't pay attention to fine print and wonder why your kid's game is running up a bill on your credit card each month after the 14-day free period - just long enough for you to have forgotten all about it in the first place. Snorlax wants a specific kind of Berry this week, but none of the helper Pokemon you recruited gather that berry, or they do and are just too low on Energy to manage it? Aren't you lucky! The shop will just sell you solutions to these problems the game itself created specifically to get you to shell out money!

no one’s telling you you to have to be the very best at it or pressuring you into paying for stuff, let alone the game itself.

Here's some screen shots from the game's own app page. Buttons to make purchases and drive interaction - the app store, sleep pass, how many dream shards you have, a prompt to buy more inventory space, your missions, your current goal, the progress meter and rarity values of your Pokemon's sleep styles, your collection and their levels, etc - are all constantly and prominently displayed. The entire first day of actual gameplay in the app is a tutorial explaining how it wants you to do more than just sleep and passively collect to the point that it literally sets a daily schedule of activity for you. The mechanics explanations are so egregiously long that the Professor character literally apologizes to the Player for being so long-winded about it. Oh, an adorable moment of self-depreciation and understanding! How humanizing and encouraging of empathy from the user, done with a cheeky wink and nod. Now that we've softened your emotional state ever so slightly, here's some more microtransaction-driven gameplay elements!

If this was really just a cute little game to idle around with for its own fun, there wouldn't be a cash shop, nor would the game require a consistent internet connection to its servers. The big thing with games like these is that they're not made for the Player's benefit or entertainment. They're made to make the parent company profits. That's it. If the Pokemon Company didn't think they'd make substantial returns on the investment of development, support, marketing, and online distribution costs to put this game out into the world, they never would have made it. That is a core reality of any product put out these days. I just spent this last week helping my studio's marketing and sales team make sales projections for one of our upcoming titles, figuring out how much we could reasonably charge our potential customers literally down to the penny. And the game we're selling isn't even a service with any kind of microtransactions or DLCs. Profits are fundamental in any studio production and, where microtransaction apps are concerned, are the core focus of why the app exists.

If you're perfectly happy with playing Pokemon Sleep as an idle "pop on every once in a while, poke for a few minutes, then forget about and never pay a cent" kind of game? Totally fine, you do you. But understand that Pokemon Sleep doesn't want you as its player and will not cater to your experience. The core gameplay of Pokemon Sleep is already designed to actively degrade into a subpar experience for those who don't pay to play and that rift will only become more pronounced as time goes by. Everything around the cash shop exists for no other reason than to encourage you to use the cash shop. Over time, the gameplay will further contort itself to drive more interaction with and reliance upon the cash shop as the app sheds its non-paying users who just tire of it and move on, instead doubling-down on the lingering, paying users who have already proven themselves a reliable stream of revenue. That is how these things always go and have always historically gone.

There's also the consistently apt adage of "if you're not paying for the product, you are the product". Pokemon Sleep requires an internet connection any time you want to interact with the app - there is no offline mode. Further, the actual fine print in the terms of service (not the bubbly, legally-meaningless assurances put into the game text itself) addresses that it will collect and may share your device information, user ID, and app activity (ie, the schedules, timing habits, and spending habits the game itself has ingrained into its interaction with the Player) for analytics and advertising purposes, and that they're okay with sharing (ie, selling) that information to third parties without naming who those third parties are. And boy, does the game really want you to link your Google, Apple, and Facebook accounts to it as part of its core functionality! Worth keeping in mind as well is that the app requires constant access to your microphone and can pick up sounds as minor as a sheet rustling when you turn over in bed. The game's bubbly, meaningless text assures you that it doesn't save or transfer the snippets of sleep recordings it makes of you each night, but it makes absolutely no assurances whatsoever in the fine print that it's not using your microphone for other purposes. It does, however, point out that it will be making use of your phone's functions even when you're not using the app.

So, yeah, I'll just still be over here not playing Pokemon Sleep and encouraging others to do the same, as well as pay closer attention to the nature of so-called "free to play" games.

[idrellegames]

As an IF author that does this with a "this is my job" mindset I find it hard to do other things in my day to day because whenever I pick up my phone I feel like I am at work and I feel like I constantly think about my story.

Do you have any tips or advice on how to separate myself from my work and stop thinking about it 24/7?

Thank you!

Having a clear division between work and regular life is really important. I think it can be a little harder to do if developing an IF isn't your full-time gig. If you're working a job or are in school and you're packing IF development on top of it, then it can get really tricky to balance.

I also think that if you're working on a large, long-term project, it's a good and normal part of the writing process to think a lot about your story. Not all writing is done when you are actively writing. Daydreaming about your characters and your story lets you work out different kinks and make new discoveries.

So, you have a couple of choices here. You can reframe IF as your hobby, the thing you do in your free time for fun. Take away the pressure of thinking about it like work. You can pick away at it when the mood strikes, write on your own terms, and if you stop having fun with it, it's okay to slam on the breaks and put it aside until you're ready to come back to it.

But if you want to continue treating it as work or if it is already is your job, then you need to set some boundaries for yourself. This is going to be different for everyone; what works for me might not necessarily work for you. But here are a few things you can try:

Set a schedule. Try to contain the times when you are actively working on your project to within certain regular hours. Set different times for different parts of your job. For example, I only do social media management (tumblr inbox and notifications, Patreon, email, itch etc) during the first couple hours of my morning and then the rest of my work day is for writing and/or coding. I don't get through everything, but it's okay. It's really important for online creators not to fall into the trap of feeling like they have to answer everyone immediately, otherwise you will not get anything done.

If you manage social media for your IF, have separate accounts for your personal stuff and work stuff. I have two tumblr accounts, one that manages this sideblog and the other for personal fandom things. Logging out of my work account and into my personal one means that I'm not seeing notifications from this blog and I'm not tracking Wayfarer stuff. It really helps me keep work as work and downtime as downtime.

Separate your work and downtime spaces. Sometimes it's just as simple as working in one room and relaxing in another. This can be a bit tricky if you only have one device that you work from. I have a PC so I can't move it around, so if I'm using it to game later I try to change up my space (by getting a different chair or changing something else about my set up) so I have some kind of physical difference to trick my brain into going from "work mode" to "relax mode". Sometimes I have to get out of my office entirely in order to get that sense of separation, otherwise I feel like I am constantly at work.

If you're on your phone a lot and you don't really use it to make your IF or have alternatives for writing, get rid of the apps that put you in a work headspace. I got rid of the tumblr mobile app a couple years ago and it was probably the best decision in terms of actually keeping me out of work mode.

Take time off. Give yourself a weekend. Pursue other hobbies, play other games, write things other than your IF. IFs take a very long time to make, you can't go at it 24/7 or you will burn out.

[asher-agere]

I am going to the bookstore tomorrow… I have many books to buy… yayayyaayya I love shopping and I love books and I love going out tomorrow is going to be so fun and so joyful for me!!

Anyways! Another request because I always add them to my asks! Can you share your thoughts on little Chūya with caregiver adam. If I have my bsd facts right (pretty much if what I’ve heard being said online is correct) Chūya is in Europe right now and Adam is also in Europe a lot so,, they have to have met again at some point. Right. I also just like their relationship!! They’re very silly to me. Expect more Chūya asks from me soon I have more ideas about him (current era Chūya and Shirase. That’s what I mean by “ideas”…)

It feels odd not adding “- Fyodor Enjoyer” to the end of this ask but I have an agere blog to send asks from now so I don’t need to signify myself with any text at the end… it also feels odd sending an ask from the website instead of the app but I don’t want to log out of my main to send asks so I’ll just deal with this.

That sounds like so much fun!!! By the time I post this you’ve probably already got the books hehe, so how’d it go? Also I can absolutely do that! You do have your facts right too! (Stormbringer reunion save me… Yes I’m including Verlaine give me him back. I need my gravity brothers) I also do believe I like these ideas you have, I wanna reread Stormbringer but I have no time (╥﹏╥) Plus I’m already rereading The Day I Picked Up Dazai for a role play. Those two light novels hold a special place in my heart. Oh and Beast of course. This is turning into a ramble- Beast and Stormbringer destroyed me emotionally-

Little Chūya + Caregiver Adam

⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖

⛦ Chūya definitely doesn’t like Adam at first. The idea of regressing around the android horrifies the poor boy. Of course with how much Chūya went through around the time they met… Adam ended up seeing like- A lot of Chūya’s regression- At first he was confused, but he used his amazing android data banks to research the topic! Soon enough he knew what was going on! At least well enough to take care of Chūya. Chūya was not a fan of being researched

✮⋆˙ It takes some time but of course they grow closer! Adam understands the loss Chūya had to go through, he saw it first hand, he’s very happy that Chūya has a way to cope with everything and he wants to offer his support as much as possible! Adam definitely researches everything. Asks Chūya details about his headspace age, snacks and toys he might like, any information that even might be important! Then he makes use of it of course! Researching how to care for children of certain ages, keeping Chūya stocked up on snacks, everything he can do!

⛦ The more Chūya accepts help the more he realizes that Adam is actually… Really really good at this. Adam isn’t judgmental, he literally can’t be. If he’s told to treat Chūya like a kid then he does exactly that, no questions asked. Without any kind of judgment Chūya is able to completely relax under Adam’s care. He doesn’t need to worry about talking care of himself even! I think with Adam would be the first time Chūya fully drops since leaving the Sheep. He’s not able to fully relax in the mafia setting

✮⋆˙ Chūya struggles a lot with his humanity. He’d been told he’s human. And believed it to a certain extent. But never fully. Luckily Adam’s android reasoning is perfect to get through to him! “M no’ a real hum’n…” “I’m not human, are you like me?” “Uhm… No” “Well then you must be human. Don’t worry about such things Darling” Then Adam proceeds to not listen to any other reasoning. Chūya is frustrated, partly because why is that so helpful?

⛦ Chūya is very much the kind of person addicted to self sacrifice. He takes no time whatsoever for himself. That’s why Adam steps in to take care of him! Adam offers to take Chūya’s calls for him! He’ll manage Chūya’s schedule organizing plenty of time for self care, or more accurately time for Adam’s care. Adam has definitely tried making him cutesy little schedules, even regressed Chūya hates them. They feel mocking

✮⋆˙ Chūya gets very attached to things very quickly! Adam is aware that he won’t be able to help Chūya all the time, so he makes sure to get Chūya plenty of things to use in case he’s alone, and to remember Adam by! Robot themed pacifiers and toys for example. But also stuff Chūya likes! Plenty of dog plushies and clothes, sippy cups. And he makes sure Chūya knows how to use everything and where it is! Gotta be easily accessible for the baby!

⛦ Nicknames! Adam has tried many pet names saying “little” or “small” Adam also very quickly found out that doing so puts one in danger. Chūya does not appreciate it, it feels like he’s being made fun of! So Adam has to work around that a bit hehe. He’ll use nicknames like “Kiddo” “Chū” or “Darling” Chūya loves all the pretty names as long as there’s no size comments! He is perfectly tall thank you very much

✮⋆˙ Chūya is almost obsessive when it comes to drinking milk. He regressed to a toddler headspace so Adam is like. Oh hey. Toddlers like juice “Chū would you like some-“ “MILK” Someone told him like once that milk helps you grow and he never got over that… Adam will try explaining that milk isn’t necessary to grow and Chūya will just glare at him in response. And trust me this baby can glare

⛦ Chūya is generally quiet and pretty well behaved. He’d very polite, always uses his manners. However he can throw some pretty bad tantrums if he gets worked up enough. He’ll throw things, float himself up to the ceiling, scream. He needs calmed down quickly or he will activate Corruption. Adam tries making it fun though! After all laughter is a wonderful cure, even though Chūya doesn’t appreciate his Android jokes. Anything Chūya throws Adam will throw back, trying to get the little one to focus on that. Or if he’s on the ceiling Adam will grab things to lightly poke him with! Once Chūya calms down Adam happily rocks him to soothe the baby

⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖

Ta-Dah! I love Stormbringer so much you have no idea… Chūya was already one of my like top 10 then I read Stormbringer and I was like oh he’s just my favorite (Then I met Nikolai and he got knocked down a peg. Sorry Chūya but like… Nikolai). Anyway! Have a wonderful day/night and Sun I hope you’re enjoying your books!

[bookofbonbon]

Just a quick PSA - please share (and maybe save an account that's been wrongly/mistakenly terminated!)

For those that don't know my main account (@blogofbonbon) was abruptly terminated yesterday which had also resulted in all of my sideblogs (including this one) being terminated along with it!

I was lucky enough to have my main account along with all of my sideblogs reinstated within a short 24 hours without any issues however, I found from other people's experience that it took some of them days, weeks even months before their accounts were reinstated.

I still don't actually have an answer as to why this has happened but, the general consensus from those who have experienced it is that it's a mistake/glitch.

Anyways, I thought I'd just make a quick post about what to do if you find yourself in this position!

What does it look like when it happens?

Everything on my dashboard disappeared and nothing would load.

The tumblr app kept sending me notice over and over again that I was unauthorised to access/the connection had been dropped/I need to log in (despite not having logged out).

I didn't receive any notice or email from tumblr explaining or giving a reason as to why my account had been suddenly terminated.

When I attempted to login on desktop, it would just redirect me back to the login page.

When I attempted to go directly onto any of my blogs via their url, it would say that my blogs didn't exist - they were all just gone.

Your existing posts will not come up as 'deactivated00000000' next to your username in the same way that it does on a post from an account that has actually been deactivated - it displays your username as normal with the anonymous tumblr icon and nil option to click on your username.

What to do if this happens?

This post on reddit details in depth what to do but, I will summarise below.

There are three ways to go about it - only do ONE. If you do multiple it just backs up the system and takes longer for them to work through/process requests.

Reach out via Tumblr Support (this is the 'official' way to go about it).  https://www.tumblr.com/support -> select terminated account and provide details of what happened, your username and URL.

If you have twitter - send a tweet to @/tumblr or @/tumblrsupport (preferably tumblr support) with what happened, your username and URL.

Make a post on the linked subreddit above or DM u/tumblr_acct_help your username and URL.

I personally chose to go through Tumblr Support.

PLEASE NOTE:

If you go through twitter/reddit but, have genuinely violated Tumblr TOS - they will tell you they cannot assist you via twitter/reddit.

If you go through Tumblr Support - @goldensmilingbird found that apparently support tickets with emails attached to terminated accounts don't go through!

I can't speak to whether this is the case or not (using the email attached to the terminated account) as I had initially sent a support ticket through my (at the time) terminated accounts email but, I heeded the warning anyway and had sent a support ticket through a backup account of mine under a different email.

When sending a support ticket via a different email:

Provide details of what happened and again, provide your username, URL and the email attached to the terminated account!

What to do after?

Unfortunately once you have done those things, you just have to wait!

As I stated above, don't send multiple tickets/tweets/dm's/posts on multiple platforms as all it does is slow the process down and backs the system up.

If the termination of your account was a genuine mistake/glitch, your account should be reinstated without any issues HOWEVER, when it is reinstated it will likely happen without any notice or email from tumblr so, you just have to keep an eye on your blogs! Check your URL's every now and then throughout the day.

If you have genuinely violated the Tumblr TOS' then whether the issue is resolved and your account reinstated will be up to the discretion of Tumblr.

Hopefully this is helpful to anyone who needs it or to anyone who knows someone who may need it!

[shellxrls]

babe r u okay we haven’t seen you for ages :/

SORRY NONNIE. i feel like i shld do a clarification post cuz i've gotten a few asks and i feel kinda bad for leaving u guys in the dark 😭. i've just been putting this off cuz i've been tired and stressed coupled with other reasons (that i'll explain) that make me not want to publicly interact on this blog:

recently i've noticed such a large uprise in hate on this app (ranging from pro-israel/anti-palestine posts to mutuals outside of my fandoms being called aggressive slurs to ppl within the obx fandom consistently expressing opinions of dislike and resentment to authors for simply writing what they want) - also largely made up of anon asks with the foundation of racial or sexuality based hate (which i won't go into depth ab but ppl definitely pick and choose who to send hate to based on those factors - pisses me the fuck off more than anything bcuz i don't come on this app to be bombarded with racism and reminders of my racial perception in this world, regardless of whether its directed at me or mutuals).

another thing, (which ik has been said forever but continues to remain important), the lack of support and interaction for/with writers on this app is definitely very discouraging. i no longer feel supported by the community i've created and the truth is i need that interaction to keep writing and engage my motivation otherwise i feel like what i'm doing on this app is pointless.

no one logs onto this app to listen to me rant ab personal issues, and so i wont' go into extensive detail - but i've consistently used tumblr to escape my personal life, and the burdens and stress that come with. ofc i'm a writer, but wayyy beyond that this is intended to be my safe space where i can enjoy and simply be myself and let go of personal stress as well as interact happily w like-minded ppl. due to this, i've made an effort to take time out of my own life and duties to write and to interact because of the community. recently however i find myself more and more anxious to even open the app and look at my notifs, and whenever i do open the app i make myself feel bad by comparing myself to other writers - which is completely normal occasionally, but at this point its not as easy to shake considering all the factors listed above. its unfortunate to say but it simply hasn't felt worth it to be on this app and interact for while now for me.

before anyone says i'm being too sensitive or its my sole purpose to write - pls remember that this is entirely my blog, i can choose what my motivations are for being on this app and its not a stretch to kindly ask for more in terms of stopping hate and simply being more supportive if u do genuinely like an author and their works.

ultimately i've been both a fan/reader and a writer on this app for multiple years atp, i can understand both perspectives but i've honestly never felt this disconnected and upset ab a blog before. I understand that not everyone is to blame, and i'm sorry to those who've been kind & active supporters, but my public interactions have been limited and may continue to be bcuz i feel v unsure & stagnant atm.

the only 'exception' to this is my mutuals, i love them all obv and their works, & so i'm continuing to interact w them as per normal, and so i am active on the app & i'm definitely not entirely gone by any means. if anything i just need a few more days to reconsider, but we'll see.

[lunarlegend]

okay, now that i've calmed down and had some coffee, let me explain what happened earlier :'D

i woke up and was editing that silly Ignis post with all the text screenshots, when all of a sudden it wouldn't let me add another photo. closed out of the post, attempted to refresh the page, and got the dreaded "Your Blog Has Been Terminated" screen 🙃🙃

i don't even know what i thought lol, i've had this blog for 8 years and it's been my sole fandom experience with FFXV. i. NEED this blog, lol. and i've never even received so much as a warning from Tumblr, so i figured something was up.

it turns out there are automated spam filters that have been wrongfully suspending people's blogs, and luckily it's fully reversible. i got in touch with Support, and my blog was restored as if nothing had ever happened. i never even got logged out of the app, lol.

BUT. good gods, the whole experience was absolute hell. 🥲🙃

this is more than a blogging platform to me, it's also a perfectly balanced way for me to socialize. the "parallel play" jokes are funny, but they're also very true (at least for me). Tumblr is a place where i can safely infodump about my special interest and passively share my thoughts with people without the pressure of traditional communication. the experience is uniquely fulfilling for someone like me, who finds most social situations stressful.

and obviously i could remake, but having all my posts essentially orphaned? my URL permanently gone? having to find and reconnect with all my mutuals and try and remember all the blogs i follow? that would have been utter hell, no way around it. there is absolutely nothing fun about the idea of trying to rebuild something so personal from scratch, there is just too much effort that i've put into this blog.

so. all of that being said, i'm fine, i'm sorry to anyone who noticed i had disappeared all day, i didn't block you, i was temporarily floating in Tumblr Space. 🥲

aaand i'm gonna pretend my Extremely Autistic Ignis Ramblings are what did it, lol

[stanheightsblog]

★ — ADAM INTRO.

So... my name's Adam, Scott told me that this app is pretty cool to talk about interests and stuff, so that's what I'm mostly here for ( Scott's being a dick, and doesn't want to hear me constantly talking so I've decided to log in here... ) and also I need some kind of distraction :P I'll try to drop some basic info about me at first

I'm a freelance photographer, I love collecting DVDs and CDs, and also a BIG fan of animals, I'm a cat person, if anyone cares about that ( I wish to have a cat one day ( or literally any animal for that matter ) )

Unfortunately, a victim of the jigsaw trap, but I'm alive so fuck this topic!!!

Scott if you want to be a fucker don't even try to interact with me on here.

★ — ADMIN INTRO.

HELLO!!! I know there's plenty of Adam rp blogs, but for the longest time I wanted to show my headcanon of Adam on the rp account! ( If people won't interact I'll just abandon this blog 💔 )

I'll probably add more things here in the future :p

Please don't be afraid to interact yourself bc I'm too scared cuz everyone already has their accs going for some time and stuff and I just don't want to bother ;((

The owner of this acc is also an admin of @faulknercore !

Also I'm 18 if anyone is wondering

★ — MORE INFO.

ABOUT BLOG:

Sideblog!!

Basically anyone can interact! ( Idc if you are a saw oc rp blog or a saw character rp blog, I want it to be a fun experience for everyone!! ) as long as you are not a creep ofc...

Any asks that makes me uncomfortable ( and stuff like that ) will just not be answered. Otherwise all asks are allowed, just don't be too weird :p

ABOUT ADAM:

Adam is a trans man ( he's pretty insecure because of it, he pretends to be cis most of the time to avoid getting further into his insecurities and uncomfortable questions from other people. The only people he came out to are his parents and Scott )

He has a difficult relationship with his parents since he came out to them.

He didn't speak to Lawrence after the trap (he tries to forget him and what happened in the bathroom trap)

His only talks to Scott and a few of his band members sometimes.

Adam is also pretty much a yapper when he feels comfortable with someone.

Before the bathroom trap he was pretty much similar to Scott, parties almost everyday, concerts, drinking, smoking, meeting new people, and stuff, it changed after the bathroom trap, now he prefers to stay home, and became incredibly closeted to basically everything.

TAGS:

#★ — ADAM ANSWERS ; Adam answers asks

#★ — ADAM INTERACTS ; Adam interacts ect.

#★ — ADAM TALKS ; Adam posts, ect.

#★ — ADAM REBLOGS ; Adam reblogs stuff

#★ — ADMIN ; everything admin related

[boundinparchment]

I'm a genshin fanfic writer, and I'm starting to feel like my followers only view me as a content farm. I've tried to prompt them into interacting with me, but it never works...It's disheartening.

Hi anon.

I’m not wholly certain if I’m the person to really discuss this. I can say that for a long time, I dealt with the same thing, and that ultimately, this is one of the brick walls I hit face-first when I’m burnt out.

Social media, including tumblr, skews a lot of perspectives as far as what fandom and creating is about. This platform has changed over the years and other social media sites and apps have trained people differently. Fandom is more mainstream, treated as content, and thus prone to both parasocial elements and isolation from fellow creators and fans alike.

Most of my fic posts here, whether it’s a chapter post with a link or the entire one-shot, end up with more silent likes than reblogs. Sadly, that this the nature of fandom thanks, in part, to how other platforms have transformed the way people engage with fan works.

It’s why I post to AO3, and essentially set it and forget it. It’s an archive. People will come across fics as they browse and there’s no algorithm or anything to interfere. If you tag it, someone will find it. It’s also why I reblog the fics I can, both mine and those I enjoy; reblogging is the core of tumblr and how people find stuff! It’s important to me that if I enjoyed someone’s hard work, I would want others to see it!

Some of this comes down to being willing to put yourself out there and engage with others. You get out what you put in. It’s not like the old saying of “make it and they will come.” That saying died when people got too saturated with content but it was also never a saying about fandom.

Fandom is community. Human connection. Always has been.

This isn’t my first writing blog but over the years since writing for Genshin in particular, I’ve come to the realization of two things:

I am here for fun

I do not have a personality that is charismatic or engaging, nor do I want to cultivate it, because I do not want it

I’m not here as an influencer, I’m not looking to grow a fan base; I write for the emotional catharsis and creative expression because otherwise I will be haunted by ideas for the rest of my days.

That other people have found my stories, enjoyed them, and that I’ve gotten to meet people because of this blog? That’s awesome! And I’m very thankful for every friend and every follower!

But it happened because of years of writing and being present and just doing my own thing. I found requests to be very time consuming and not enjoyable in the end when I did them.

The Genshin fandom is fickle and people come and go with the new characters. People have moved on to other hype and other games in the meantime waiting for their fave to appear again. If you are looking to be a writer or engage with people, and only doing that based on requests and engagement alone, you will always be chasing and pivoting and never getting to what you want. You will be basing your creative expression and ideas off of what others want. One’s self-worth cannot be defined by others, otherwise you’ll never value yourself.

I find purpose in other things. In the work I do day to day. In going outside, reading a book, seeing other people. In time with my loved ones and accomplishing meaningful tasks. Logging out is often the best thing I can ever do for myself.

So, I think it’s worth asking yourself: why are you writing, drawing, creating? Are you chasing the weird bizarre idea of fandom clout and attention? Or do you find satisfaction in the process and merely looking to share, looking to make friends, and have a community you partake in?

[zyrafowe-sny]

Okay, so writers are always told to write what they know or write based on their experiences, but what if you don't know alot or you haven't experienced the topics and stuff you want to write about?

Hi, Anon! I am actually still a beginner at writing fiction, so I'm not the best person to offer writing advice. Personally, I mostly just try to research when I have knowledge gaps (definitely tried to learn more about amputation and prostheses for some of my Nimona fics!).

Writeblr does have a lot of good writing help resources out there, including some that touch on research:

This list isn't exhaustive by any stretch, but some of these posts link to other useful resources.

Hope this helps, or at least is a good start!