#i-really-should-change-my-url-original

[i-really-should-change-my-url]

So what I'm hearing is that we ALL fell in love with Ronald "shows his autistic inventor friend A Bugs Life" Gladden

[rwuffles]

How & Why to add Plain Text to your Coining Posts!

[PT: How and why to add plain text to your coining posts. END PT.]

What is plain text?

Plain text is just text without any outside formatting (i.e. bold, italics, big, etc.) that's added to posts that have them.

Why do posts need plain text?

A lot of the time, it's for people who are visually impaired and/or who have any vision issues! Bolded or italics may be harder to read, big text might be worse for some people instead of better, and colored text could mess with a person's eyes (like me!) for some examples. At the end of the day, it's for accessibility!

Okay, how do I do plain text?

There's a few different ways you can write the plain text itself, and really, how you do it is up to you.

[PT: Text. END PT.]

[pt: text. end pt.]

PT: Text. END PT.

pt: text. end pt.

Those are just a few of the most common ways we see people write them; essentially, the core components are "PT" (to indicate a start of a plain text) and "END PT" (to indicate the end). As for the plain text itself, it should be the exact same thing but with proper grammar/vocabulary (other than capitalization, if you prefer all lowercase). Some examples are:

hallo!!! how r u doing today :333 -> PT: Hallo! How are you doing today? :3 [cat emoticon]. END PT.

vi'm doing good, how about kyu? -> [PT: Vi'm [I'm] doing good, how about you? END PT.]

th4t's g00d! h4v3 y0u n0t1c3d th4t 0ur tqs 4r3 ch4ng1ng 3v3ry m3ss4g3? -> pt: that's good! have you noticed that our tqs [typing quirks] are changing every message? end pt.

why ywes, the fictional character has! h♡ believes that the op of this post is a dork -> [pt: why yes, [i have]! h[heart] believes that the [original poster] of this post is a dork. end pt.]

Personally, if something needs to be changed in a plain text—that being an acronym, pronoun, or something else—I flip-flop between adding it next to it in brackets or parenthesis or just straight up replacing it in brackets. Either or works!

Where should I put plain text?

It depends on the text you're making plain, if that makes sense. For example: if it's something unreadable (i.e. replacing letters with numbers), then you're gonna want the plain text before the actual text. On the other hand, if it is readable—at least to screenreaders—you should put the plain text right below the text itself. Some people like to put all of the plain text at the end of their posts, too; the only thing you're going to want to stay away from is putting it under the cut! This is because if you change your URL (I believe) or deactivate your blog, anything under the cut is no longer accessible and therefore your post no longer has a plain text.

But, plain texts don't fit my post's aesthetic/make my posts look more cluttered!

Have you considered that, in that case, it isn't the plain text's fault? If your post has so many things that need separate plain texts that it ends up just making your post look bad, then I don't think that the plain text is to blame; having a million different things of text colored and bolded and using fancy fonts is just unnecessary. I like to think that my posts are fairly aesthetic, albeit a bit simple.

Could we get a boost for this post? (not forced!) @radiomogai @the-astropaws @local-maneater @hysangel @rabidbatboy @vampitsm @icwdtea @smilepilled @pupcoins

[myfairkatiecat]

Not to be rude but I think it's quite silly to say OP's religious beliefs are irrelevant, and cannot be referenced, because they are not explicitly mentioned in the post being reblogged, when op has stated directly that they are homophobic because of their religious beliefs, and the post being reblogged is being accused of homophobia. Like, if some guy made a post saying "I think no women should be able to have jobs because that makes them less dependent on men and therefore I can't get a girlfriend", then made a separate post saying "Media nowadays glorifies women having jobs too much!! Stay at home mothers need more representation!!!" I think it would be extremely relevant in that situation to say, "Ok, this guy has clearly stated biases in this conversation, which calls into question whether this post is REALLY just about representation in media or whether it's indicative of OP's real life agenda." (Not trying to conflate religion with being an incel here btw, just giving an example of another time when knowing more information about the source of the post changes the way you might interpret it.)

The person reblogging that post didn't just say "OP's username is religious so I'm going to read this as homophobic!!!", they linked a specific post in which OP directly stated "My religion prevents me from accepting LGBT people, and I use my religious texts to justify why being LGBT is wrong." How is that not relevant context for their post griping about how fandom makes everything gay?

Ooh, let’s work within your hypothetical!

Some guy is being misogynistic on their blog but then makes a valid post about how stay at home mother’s don’t get enough representation in media.

If the post that says “stay at home mothers should get more representation!” says absolutely nothing about how women actually shouldn’t ever get jobs, then it’s a good post about the validity of mothers we choose to stay at home and how they deserve more representation in the media! There is therefore nothing wrong with reblogging and agreeing with the post, and going into the reblogs of that post to tell everyone “how hard is it for you to just look at their url and blog and realize they say other stuff that you DON’T agree with?” would be kinda rude.

Reblogging a post boosts the signal on what was said in that post. It doesn’t subscribe you to that person’s entire belief system.

Furthermore, the original poster, Gracie, says very very little about that topic on her blog to keep from offending anyone. I’ve never seen her try to force her beliefs onto anyone. She’s super respectful while also believing, as her religion states, that her God is the one true God. This is a belief claim about a system that would therefore according to her beliefs apply to everyone, but she isn’t forcing anyone to agree with her. The post that was cited in that reblog in which Gracie says explicitly her beliefs regarding the LGBT community and scripture was in a response to an ask that was sent to her. She didn’t even volunteer the information, someone asked her for it, and she replied honestly. I have never seen Gracie be anything but respectful, and if you knew her, you’d know she’s super kind and never would want anyone to feel invalidated or uncomfortable because of something she posts.

No one, including Gracie, is forcing you to agree with her religious beliefs. If they make you uncomfortable, I highly recommend not scrolling through a Christian blog. When people are reblogging her post, they aren’t even necessarily saying they agree with everything she’s ever posted. That topic is entirely separate. If you want to converse civilly with Gracie about why she believes what she believes, I recommend being respectful to her. If you’d rather ignore her all together, I point you towards the block button.

If somebody’s religion or belief system makes you uncomfortable enough that you don’t want to engage with any of their content, that’s your choice, but the people in the reblogs aren’t being “dumb” for not “checking who the source is,” they’re just saying they agree with the post they agree with.

Imagine agreeing with a post you agree with! Novel concept.

In short, posts are independent pieces of text. Reblogging a post doesn’t say anything except “I agree with this piece of text and want to share it.” If that piece of text doesn’t say anything about OP’s religion, then their religion isn’t relevant to the post. It’s as simple as that.

I hope you have a blessed day <3

[i23kazu]

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐁𝐆 !

welcome , welcome — its time for another round of ebg ! i'm really excited to host this round hehe, especially in celebration of 3.3k. i hope we have lots of fun – please play as fair and with as many people as you can ! try not to just stick with your own friend groups , this is an incredibly good time to try and get to know other genshinblrs . let's have lots of fun for this round ! please send each other sabotages too if you’re planning on playing :>

sign up form is here!

the signup form will close once we hit 25 participants ! check out the list of rules below !

𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒

the game will run from 19 to 26 january 2024 ! it will be hosted by me :)

participants are not allowed to interact with their original biases. their original biases do not exist to them during this game.

reblogging things with / directly responding to things that contain your original bias' / their name will incur a strike !

participants may reply to asks containing their original bias' name, but must not say it / describe the bias in any way.

sabotaging others who have the same bias is allowed , but you are not allowed to say the bias' name, or describe them in any way. they do not exist to you. if you can figure out a way to still sabotage someone who has them... you're most welcome to.

participants have 3 lives ! with each strike, one life dies. 3 strikes, and the player loses the game.

during this ebg, you can earn points by creating things about your assigned bias. (eg. if my assigned bias is kaeya, and if i write something for kaeya (200+ words), i'll get 500 points!)

tag me (@i23kazu) when you create something! i'll assign you your points. each piece of work is standard with 500 points. use the tag #genshinblr january ebg 2024 so that i can track it better !

players and non-players are allowed to sabotage each other with asks . a list with everybody's original biases will be released ! please go ham !

non-players, i am counting on you to help me check on the players !!!!

yes , you are allowed to reblog the original bias list post at the start of the game even though it has your og bias name on it . reblogging it midway through the game will earn you a strike .

url changes are not necessary , but theme changes ( if it has your original bias ) are ! players are given 24 hours to change their themes , if their original theme is of their original bias — only when the game starts . after the 24 hour limit is up , players who still have their original bias as their theme will earn a strike . if your original theme is not about your original bias, there is no need to change it .

players who lose the game will earn a forfeit that will have to be performed at the end of the event ♡

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒

500 points are awarded as a standard for each creation. for writing, it should be 200 words minimum, and for art, it should be lineart minimum. for edits, it'll be at my discretion! each piece should have some effort put into it – not just created for the sake of earning points .

players can use their points from creations to strike people ! each strike costs 1000 points . each player is limited to one earnable, redeemable , and giftable strike each day . just send me an ask to strike someone !

players will be able to spend 2000 points to heal themselves as well ! the heals have no limit per day – as long as you can fork up 2000 points, you get the heal !

for 2000 points , players can redeem one hour to be free from ebg , starting from the period of time when i approve the redemption . the hour is consecutive and cannot be split up into different periods . this one hour can only be redeemed ONCE in the entirety of the whole game , and has to be approved by me first before starting the period . if players start the hour without me knowing, they will earn a strike .

[kiwiana-writes]

Hi MJ! I was so excited to read your new WIP snippet today, thank you for sharing it! I love it, I've missed your brand of humour!

I'm writing this because it made me sad to read that you're afraid of being lost to obscurity. Please know that not only do I adore your fics and name drop you to any of my fandom friends who'll listen to me yap— I have waxed poetic about the rockstar!Alex WIP to so many folks— but also, I think of you and what you're up to often.

Exhibit A: there have been times when I've thought of changing my url here but didn't only because I had submitted a prompt for your subscriber shindig and didn't want you to struggle to find me here in case you ever try to tag me haha! (This is not me trying to make you feel guilty about the subscriber shindig event btw! I just want to point out that I do think of you and that you're not forgotten in the least).

I also love the writer's ask games you play here and try to submit something when I notice it. I didn't know it was a big old case of writer's block keeping you away from writing; I just assumed you must be busy with Life™️. Thank you for sharing how you're feeling though, friend.

Could I do anything to help? Perhaps I'll drop in here occassionally or on ao3 comments whenever I think of you? Would that be a helpful reminder? I'm usually very shy (which is why this is anon!) but your fics have brought me so much joy and excitement in the past year, I'd really like to help you feel less sad. I don't know how to help with writer's block but reminders that you're loved? They're so easy!

💖

This was SUCH a lovely message to wake up to, anon, thank you 🥰

Practical thing first: if you (or anyone reading this) does change your username and you still have a subscriber shindig fic outstanding, just drop me a message so I can update my spreadsheet! Though I should be able to figure it out anyway, because I’m tackling them in order 😅

And I don’t know of many authors who are going to object to a reread comment/lovely tumblr message/etc—or at least I’M certainly not going to complain lmao. That is such a lovely, kind offer! I fucking love interacting with y’all so much and it sparks so much joy—I’m just having a bit of trouble fanning those sparks into an actual creative fire at the moment. If it helps, my original writing is suffering just as much if not more 😂

(Also god, rockstar Alex exes to lovers my BELOVED. One day.)

[howlingmoonrise]

tagged by the fantastic @sunriseverse! thanks sunny!! 💖

under the cut because this one is long

1. why did you choose your url?

i wanted a new fandom penname and at the time adjective + noun names were a thing. i fiddled with several different variations, tried and failed to acquire kaleidoscopicmoonrise at the time (it's mine now!!), and landed on this one. i wanted something a little spooky, especially since soul eater was my fandom at the time - though it doesn't feel like it now that my icon is a lot more sane-looking lmfao

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them.

uh. yeah. a stupid amount (like 30+?), so i'm definitely not naming them all. most active are obviously this howl blog, my main blog @commandersya, this one for danny phantom and gravity falls stuff, @howlingspacegoo gets some activity every now and then when venom stuff resurfaces, and some others i use for reblogging specific reference stuff. most of the rest are for fandom events i've run in the past.

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

since like 2011-2012. i've seen it all.

4. do you have a queue tag?

lmao absolutely not. i don't use the queue function, though on occasion i'll schedule posts to space them out when i'm going through a tag in order not to reblog all of it at once, or for specific dates like halloween

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

this one was for soul eater writing purposes. tumblr in general was because my cousin dragged me into it and then i realized there was a lot of bandom stuff in here (i was really into black veil brides for my first year or two on tumblr)

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp?

i broke ties with the soul eater fandom in a not great way and wanted to change my icon. yoi provided the perfect yuri expression with the kind of benevolent dictator smile i really like, despite that not being the original intent for it when the animators drew it ✊😔

7. why did you choose your header?

i had to check my header real quick lmfao. jason todd is just an excellent blorbo and when a good artist draws him.... 👀👀👀

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

oh gods. probably my dracula/barbie fic at nearly 3.5k notes. where's that ben affleck cigarrette pic when you need it. alternatively some ancient black veil brides photo/gif on my main blog.

9. how many mutuals do you have?

idk but i cherish y'all 💖

10. how many followers do you have?

dunno 😭 they're split across dozens of blogs so i'm not counting them all

11. how many people do you follow?

1.8k+, though i should follow more. my dash has times when it's pretty dead.

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

probably? yes. just remembered the i bit the butte psoh post.

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

however long i'm online on my laptop, more or less. so a sizeable amount of hours

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

LMAO. i was in both voltron and yoi fandoms, writing for and running events for "problematic" ships. take a wild wild guess.

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts?

hate them. 90% of the time it'll make me automatically skip it. for the other 10%, if it has relevant info on the op's original post and that little sentence is on the comments then i might go back and reblog from the op just to get rid of it

16. do you like tag games?

love them!

17. do you like ask games?

see above

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

i have uhhh. some. olderthannetfic, nemainofthewater, i think also colubrina for a while there, off the top of my head.

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

if friend crushes count then several ✊😔

20. what is the last song you listened to?

the cramps - goo goo muck

21. what are you currently watching?

i am. so bad at finishing things so like a bajillion shows. the double i might drop despite it having been very very good until like episode 30-something. meet you at the blossom i need to finish like the last two eps. wandee goodday i need to finish four episodes iirc. i was in like episode 5 of century of love. i was on episode... 17? of my journey to you, which if i power through shall be for the antagonist sidepair/trio rather than the main characters. i was also at episode 16 of new life begins, which was fairly good and i do want to continue though i keep forgetting i have that tab open somewhere.

22. sweet/ savoury/ spicy?

savoury!

23. what is your current relationship status?

single and ace so not planning on changing that!

24. what is your current obsession?

the spirealm/kaleidoscope of death, and mysterious lotus casebook

25. what are nine albums/ songs you've been listening to lately?

- La P'tite Fumée - Cypher - Brody Dale - Don't Mess With Me - Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster - Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) - The Cramps - What's Inside a Girl - Linkin Park - Heavy is the Crown - Miyavi & PVRIS - Snakes - D-A-D - Sleeping My Day Away - Aerosmith - Dream On

no-pressure tagging! @junemermaid @a-memory-a-distant-echo @snorlaxlovesme @where-the-water-flows @nemainofthewater

[jasondeansgothwife]

gerbert fic rec list

alright, kitty’s third fic rec list time! requested by @meowmeowcat759506 just after i had thought of doing one of these for gerbert, which is really fun! love you (platonic) clay <3

♡ = a favorite of kitty’s

1. On My Own: sad angsty pre and post break up gerbert

make sure to read all tags! very bwaaahhh and ough!! one shot. 642 words.

♡ 2. Well, We Kiss Like Painted Tigers: Written for a kiss meme prompt: "Bert/Gerard, smeared makeup."

trigger warning for mentions of drugs, alcohol, and addiction! god, i adore this one. one shot. 829 words.

♡ 3. Extent of My Sin: “And I don’t want to think too much about what we should and shouldn’t do.” Originally written June 2005.

trigger warning for drugs and sex! i love this one’s vibe, and it uses nine inch nails lyrics, which is cool! one shot. 2,067 words.

4. Clumsy Heart: The summer Bert and Gerard got together, Gerard was busy falling apart.

contains sex, drugs/alcohol/cigarettes. surprised me by not having a sad ending! has a fun sort of chaotic summer romance vibe to it. gerbert fics actually written in 2000s type time hit different. one shot. 2,266 words.

♡ 5. the confrontation: Bert confronts Gerard and calls him out on, basically, everything.

HOLY SHIT lmao. fighting (verbal and physical), cigarettes and alcohol, minor discussion of body image, f slur, minor nsfw. background past frerard. basically, post-break-up gerbert fight featuring an amalgamation of prorev theories, openly bisexual bert, sad little puppy unrequited love frankie iero, and deeply closeted gay gerard. daily dose of drama for someone who doesn’t leave her house (me). one shot. 7,938 words.

6. your love is my drug: Bert loves mornings like this. Waking up with his boyfriend kissing him sweetly then maybe later, they'll make those awesome waffles or maybe they'll have morning sex or whatever. He fucking loves this.

fluff. contains sexual content and background frikey. really cute!! one shot. 2,004 words.

♡ 7. Blush: Gerard lives in black and white. He’s fine with it. But when he meets Frank, everything changes.

soulmate au, but with a theme of “people can make their own choices about their soulmates.” starts out as frerard, but gerbert is endgame! has sad parts but a very happy ending. featuring background petekey, ashlee simpson (who i adore) and a baby! trigger warning for character death and some sexual content. multi chapter. 9,181 words.

8. Just Ask: Bert has plenty he wants, but doesn't want to ask.

costume party! warnings for sexual content and alcohol, and also for teh fact tha they wear cop costumes, lol. one shot. 4,517 words.

9. Parents’ Weekend: Gerard loves the guy, he really does. Really. But sometimes Bert, bless his heart, just gets things...Wrong. Despite his wonderful intentions.

very cute short thing about bert being nervous to meet gerard’s parents after they’ve been dating for a while. no warnings except swearing, but my blog url currently has a curse word in it, so anyone reading this is probably fine with that, haha! one shot. 483 words.

[describe-things]

sigh.

@lunapegasus on January 5th 2024 tagged a post I created an image description for with:

prev it's really nice of you to add the image desc. and everything but maybe don't tell op what to do?

The tags I add to posts that I make descriptions for:

Please copy and paste into the original post for accessability, no credit needed! It should just stay in plain text like it is now, without being put in italics bold or color, and go directly below the image, and above the caption. Image descriptions are for the visually impaired and blind, the way subtitles are for the deaf and hard of hearing. A plain text image description in the body of the post itself is more accessible than just ALT text. The image description should not go under a read more as that is inaccessible, and if you change your URL or delete the original post, everything under the read-more will be lost forever.

In the nicest way possible, @lunapegasus, this is the fastest way you could have possibly said you don't care about disabled people besides flat out saying it :(

Did you even read the tags? Do you not understand why I take the time to write these, and why I ask people to add them to the original posts? Have you never seen the posts of people who need these descriptions begging artists to add them so they can enjoy art of their favorite characters along with everyone else? Have you never seen a single post by a disabled person begging to be included?

I am not ordering anyone to do anything when I add image descriptions to their art, my tags are there so that people know they can add the ID to the original post, because many people think "stealing" image descriptions is rude, and so that people know why they are created in the first place.

Image descriptions are accessibility tools that allow disabled people, especially those who are visually or cognitively impaired, to interact with art on the internet.

I take time out of my day to make art more accessible to other disabled people because I care about other disabled people and want to help artists who don't know how or why image descriptions are made in the first place.

Please do not act like I am bossing people around or being rude by adding image descriptions to other people's art and asking people to add them to the original post so that the internet can become a slightly less hostile place for disabled people to exist.

If you wouldn't react this way to any other accessibility tool, don't act like this in regards to image descriptions. It's just showing you have no regard for disabled people who need these tools, and is incredibly disrespectful and hurtful to see, when I spent so much time yesterday writing image descriptions for other people's art that I barely got time to draw any of my own, and ended up hurting my wrist doing so.

Come on, please. Think before you tag things like this.

Disabled people use the internet too, and it is completely uncalled for to act like we're being demanding and rude by asking for the bare minimum, while we are doing all the work for you in the first place and literally hurting ourselves in the process :/

[asmoshoebox]

you know i love those dash simulator posts but it would be silly to make one for bvm haha

0 notes

🤖 hellzbelz reblogged blasphem-baby-one-more-time

💿 gerard-streets-thighs Follow

cashier at hot topic yesterday said he liked my shoelaces but he seemed really genuine and i was wearing my boots with the gay laces so i just fistbumped him and walked away. do i deserve to be drawn and quartered over this minor social faux pas yes or no

#prev LMFAO #keep doing it

423 notes

🌈 becks-lox-rebagels

the only thing worse than applying for jobs is interviewing for jobs what the fuck was that phone call ??????? i swear the guy (?) sounded like they were literally dying. prolly just a smoker though 💀 i hope this gig works out man i dont feel great about it

#the good news is my bubbe is coming to see us next week :) #becks personal log

1 note

🤖 hellzbelz reblogged

🚬 maiale-e-fagioli

WHY THE FUCK IS GAS SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE IM GOING TO EXPLODE EVERYONE ON THIS DAMN PLANET

🚬 maiale-e-fagioli

they don't know this post is about the hearse running out of gas on the turnpike last week. with. you know. things. inside of it

#wtf misnis

327 notes

🎸 blasphem-baby-one-more-time reblogged

🤖 hellzbelz

dude qhat if there was a way to make like. so so you knwo how money s madeup right .well wht if it was worse

🤖 hellzbelz

like if isnteadof it being materials we assign arbitrsry value ot based on manufactres scarcity wht if it was digital adn the value was based onlike uniqhe digital signaturess and algorthims qnd all the value came fromn specualotye invensitmetn instea d of anything REMTOELY real lmfaooooooo

doctorsexy-deactivated20210504

🌐 worldheritageposts Follow

Date of Origin: March 3, 2009

#who keeps bringing this back lmao cryptocurrency is already dead

93,672 notes

🕸 inthefogofmyowndarkinnermind reblogged

👻 beetlejuicebeetlejuicebeejeezus Follow

girl help there's a cosplayer on the bus rn in FULL monster mode it's SO FUCKING COOL and also HOT

👻 beetlejuicebeetlejuicebeejeezus

they did like an eldritch double face thing and the makeup is impeccable, it looks so real that i just. i just wanna lick it. "i saw you from across the bus and think you're super intimidating, can i bite you?" but genuinely !!!!!!!!! also they're like suuuper gnc which makes it one morbillion times sexier. god. definitely drawing them when i get home

#woagh that sounds rad as hell. and soooo valid op #like. i just want to eat a demon out and die with its talons inside me #and frankly i dont think thats too much to ask

315 notes

🔥 vintagefaggotry reblogged starry-cocked-adonis

wetnwilde-secondedition

"oh, i don't think you're ready yet," he says, pressing a broad, calloused finger against your dripping cunt. "i wouldn't want to hurt you, after all.....

Keep reading

🍷 starry-cocked-adonis Follow

new blog same fat wet manhole! they will never kill me in a way that matters!

#asmo originals archive #i miss my old url smh

667 notes

💀 damiens-demon-lair reblogged

🕸 inthefogofmyowndarkinnermind

rly loved the dusk over campus tonight 🦇

#omg slay #gothcore #goth #aesthetic #alt aesthetic

25 notes

🤖 hellzbelz reblogged

🎸 blasphem-baby-one-more-time

bee butts. you agree. reblog.

1,634 notes

🔥 vintagefaggotry reblogged

🚬 maiale-e-fagioli

#bestie why are you polling tumbler about this #personally id keep it #makes a great tactile stim

2 notes

💀 damiens-demon-lair

might change my name again. i like damien but it just doesnt feel like me anymore idk idk

#i dont understanddd it just feels Wrong #sometimes i feel like theres really smth wrong with me man #and not in the goth way #like im goth i know that but being a goth guy is just. blegh #goth girls just have so many more options for looks it's not fair

1 note

🎸 blasphem-baby-one-more-time reblogged

😈 mallratgothbandofficial Follow

We're coming.....and we hope you will too...

This Saturday at the Moonbeef Cafe in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

#BE THERE OR BE SQUARE

[thelaurenshippen]

Hey Lauren! I've just finished writing my first novel, I'm also the writer/creator of the audio series Life & Death on the Rim (Star Wars fan audio drama), and I've started my own company Galactic North Productions. What I really want to understand is how other writers/creators who are successful and profitable got there. If there are any insights you can give me I'm all ears, whether that's associations, conventions, marketing, etc etc I just really want to learn. Very determined. Thank you!

hey!!! first off, HUGE congrats on finishing your first novel, that's an incredible feat and you should be unbelievably proud!!!! secondly, I hadn't heard of this podcast before but as a huge fan of both star wars and fan works, I am absolutely putting it on my tbl list right now!!!!

so. this is a great question. and a hard question. and one that I'm probably going to spend way too many words answering, if I know myself at all.

I think this question, in part, depends on what you consider successful and profitable! for me, it's meant being a jack of all trades - a lot of my work has come from being someone who knows how to make a podcast from soup to nuts and from being a person who a lot of people know. you've already done the hard thing: making something. that's your resume, now get the resume out there!

I wish I could give advice about marketing and finding an audience, but honestly it's changed so much since I started out that I hardly know how to find an audience anymore. but the basic approach always stands I think: don't promo, build community. be authentic and enthusiastic, and hang out in online spaces that you're already excited to be in. share your passion with people. clearly you already know how to do that, making a fan podcast!

in terms of getting to know your peers, I always recommend people join the WGA Audio Alliance discord to get to know who else is working in the space and hear about events. I did meet a lot of people at events early on, but unfortunately a lot of those things don't exist anymore (or were one-offs to begin with) or were smaller, invite-only things. if you're in NY, LA, Chicago, or London, there are vibrant AD scenes, so seek those out and go to (or organize!) a meet-up.

knowing your peers is the single most important thing for getting jobs. with the exception of one cold outreach, every job I've ever gotten has been because I met somebody and vibed with them. stay in touch but not too much - don't email your industry contacts all the time, but every 8-18 months, reach out to folks and do a catch up zoom or coffee. but don't network just to network! get to know people whose work you really like. getting to know peers at your same level is just as - if not more - important as networking to those who are further along in success than you.

be incredibly findable. having the facebook page, instagram, etc. is great, but if you're a production company hoping to make money through providing services like producing, directing, writing, etc. (which is primarily how I've made a living - I don't really make money directly from my original podcasts), having a website is a must. if you don't want to pay for squarespace or wix, you can make a website through tumblr and then just buy a url and have it redirect (I wrote about this a bit in my production guide). same deal if you want to be hired as a writer - having a website or some kind of resume is huge. I'm not saying you need to have an instagram detailing your personal life or anything (for me, I get personal about my thoughts on social media, but I never post my family/partner/non-industry friends/etc. some creators have had massive success building mystery (lemony snicket, the team behind midst), but I have no idea how to do that lol

this is already too long, so to summarize: build a community, both in your audience and your colleagues, be very clear and open about the skills you have/services you provide, and, ideally, do a lot of different things that put you in front of a lot of different audiences. try a lot of things and stick with what works.

to speak more on my personal journey, just briefly: 90% of being successful in the art and entertainment industry is luck. I know that people always say that, and it sucks as advice because it's not advice at all, but it is just true. luck and timing. the only way to improve your chances are to make stuff, meet people, and be easily accessible.

I know that's all exceptionally broad advice - if you'd like to share more specifics about your career goals, I'm happy to get more specific too!

[nothoughtsgarf]

Regarding Garfield.Fandom.com and the Future of NoThoughtsGarf

This is an issue that I have been semi-aware of for some time now, and i figured I should face it head on by asking what you all think.

Should I switch sourcing from GoComics.com/Garfield to Garfield.Fandom.com? This would increase the comic quality, but may decrease the 'ease of access' to the original comic

Explanation + My Thoughts under the Read More

I've had this on my mind since August 2023, but it's really come to a point... at this point. I've come across a few issues while editing these comics, which I've been very vocal about in many of the 'read more' sections. How the lattice backgrounds are so annoying, and clouds/bushes are my greatest enemies >:( , and most importantly, how low resolution some of the 'meme' comic panels ("Garfield in a padded cell" and "Garfield thrown through a window") are on GoComic.

In the past, it was only when there was a misprint in GoComic that I would try Fandom because I find the website irritating to navigate and cumbersome to link to. No shade intended to the wonderful people of Garfield.Fandom, but it just feels awkward to link to the pages since the comics are grouped by month. So any curious Garfers would need to scroll past ads and other stuff to find a date's comic, or I have to link the image directly, hoping it doesn't break or change over time.

Since GoComic has each comic on a standalone page, I can link the page and know that the comic will be right there on the screen. You can go to the next comic by pressing the next button, go to a specific comic with the date selector (useful for sunday comics), or change the url to find a certain date very easily

Fandom: https://garfield.fandom.com/wiki/Garfield,_May_1981_comic_strips?file=1981-05-18.gif

GoComic: https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/1981/05/18

gocomics.com/garfield/<YEAR>/<MONTH>/<DAY>

Linking aside, the real crux of the issue is that many of the earlier comics (especially pre-2000s) are simply more vibrant, colorful, and high-res on Garfield.Fandom

Most strikingly is that some of the comics where I'm having a Bad Time™ due to mushy patterns or gristly gradients are actually less of a problem.

A (possible) downside to better fidelity is that mistakes may end up being more apparent (which may mean more community participation ?). but for the later comics (2010-present) there's not that much of a difference between the websites.

And most selfish of all, I already have my macros set for GoComic, so that I can pull up the page, press f9, and then the image, the date, and the links are all pulled faster and more consistently than copying and typing by hand (my keyboard has a tendency to double up or miss some letters, my fingers have a tendency to misspell words and smear letters). So I just don't want to redo it again.

Thanks for reading all this, and for enjoying the comics so far. It's been very fulfilling to do this. The queue is still locked and loaded to continue with the comics I've already edited, but I figured that this was important enough to bump into the queue so we can feel out how this should all continue :)

[i-really-should-change-my-url]

More places need an "I'm severely overstimulated and I just need a quiet and dark room for 30 minutes while my friends party" spot

[luguangs]

hi, I was going through my archive and stumbled upon that post of yours about getting suspended by staff for having "too many sideblogs" that I had reblogged to spread awareness.

someone I follow got suspended in october also for having too many sideblogs, staff asked them to delete some and only then did they get their account back.

now I'm worried about the amount of sideblogs I have. how many blogs did you have at the time staff suspended you, including the ones you are just a member of? like is it more than 10 or would staff do this randomly to users who have 4-5 blogs including their main?

it's totally bullshit that they do this to active users when many inactives (who won't ever return to tumblr) still have all their blogs and sideblogs and bots are taking up urls one after the other and bothering actual users. I'm sorry they did this to you.

thank you <3 i appreciate your words, it really was a super stressful time for me not knowing whether this blog i've poured my heart into for over a decade was going to get terminated out of nowhere 😭 and in a lot of ways i feel like i still haven't caught up to everything i missed while i was gone, and the backlog just keeps getting bigger

i can't remember exactly how many sideblogs i had back then, but it was definitely more than 10. it seems kind of arbitrary though because i know of people with like 30+ urls and they've been fine?

also the weird thing for me was that they included the blogs i was just a member of, so i didn't even have the power to delete them like they were asking me to. not to sound like a tumblr ancient ™ but back when we didn't have built-in dms or discord, we used to make private sideblogs with our mutuals to talk (kinda similar to the communities feature nowadays) and those were being counted as inactive as well. i'm guessing that since all the posts were private, they appeared to be inactive? because of that i ended up having to leave several of those blogs, so all of those conversations with some of my oldest friends here are now gone :(

it's just so bizarre because it feels like they're going after actual users instead of focusing on the biggest issues at hand? as you said, bots keep taking up urls every single day, and there are so many inactive users who haven't been online in years that still have their massive url hoards. for a while, tumblr used to append "-blog" to inactive urls (which imo was a great idea to free up old urls) but even then, it seemed to be completely random and only applied to very few blogs. i've literally been waiting for a canon url to free up for 9 years and it's completely blank so :/

if you only have 4-5 sideblogs i'd say you're most likely safe! but then again it's always a toss up when it comes to staff so i can also give you some advice just in case:

avoid contacting staff as much as you can

this is just speculation but after talking with the handful of other people i know that went through the same thing, it seems like most of us contacted staff for other issues before being suspended some time later. my guess is that if you pop up on their radar, you run the risk of being scrutinized more closely even for something completely unrelated to the issue you were originally seeking help for.

2. keep your sideblogs few and active

of course, if you have urls you don't really plan on using (even if they're really good) you should free them up because the fewer urls you have, the less risk you run of getting suspended one day. also they'd make a lot of other users happy. if you prefer, you can even give them to your friends or mutuals. it's better than just letting them sit there gathering digital dust.

however, if you have a handful of urls you love and actually plan on using someday, try to keep them active. give them a purpose and occasionally reblog posts, change your header and pfp, etc. (if this seems like a lot of work to you then it's probably best to release those urls)

i had to part with a few urls that i was really fond of back then so i know how hard it is </3 but trust me it's best to just not run the risk if you can avoid it.

3. back up your blog

just in case, because you never know what might happen. this post links to a google doc with several different alternatives to back up your blog. it may take some getting used to at first, but try to choose the method that's easiest for you so you can do it regularly!

--

i hope any of this is helpful for you! and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask! i'd like to help as much as i can so other people don't go through what i did 😭

[degenerate-mystery-inc-whore]

There's a lot of discussion on this site rn about how the term "degenerate" is fascist/nazi in origin and basically a genocide dogwhistle (which it absolutely is btw, I am not debating that at all) and how we should really stop using it in more casual contexts ("that video game strategy is degenerate", calling people "degens" as a friendly insult a la idiot or dummy) and treat it more like a slur. I'm sure you can see how this is giving me pause when haha oops my url and textpost tag feature the use of it heavily. I'm only referring to myself with it, and there is something fun about self labelling as a "degenerate freak transfem", but I also can't ignore the fact that I am building a "brand" around a term used to label people as "others" and mark them for execution. I didn't really have a point to this post, I just kinda wanted to air my thoughts on the subject.

TLDR I might change my url and textpost tag at some point to get rid of the negative associations. The mystery inc whore part will 100% stay though, I just need a better adjective up front

[i23kazu]

𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐀𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 – 𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐁𝐆 !

welcome , welcome — the ebg has officially started ! i understand that for many of you, it's your first time. thank you for joining the october ebg ! i'm incredibly excited to host this round hehe. i hope we have lots of fun – please play as fair and with as many people ! try not to just stick with your own friend groups , because this is a really good time to try and get to know more genshinblrs . let's have lots of fun for this week ! please send each other sabotages :>

𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒

the game will run from 6-13 october 2023 ! it will be hosted by me :)

participants are not allowed to interact with their original biases. their original biases do not exist to them during this game.

reblogging things with / directly responding to things that contain your original bias' / their name will incur a strike !

participants may reply to asks containing their original bias' name, but must not say it / describe the bias in any way.

participants have 3 lives ! with each strike, one life dies. 3 strikes, and the player loses the game.

during this ebg, you can earn points by creating things about your assigned bias. (eg. if my assigned bias is kaeya, and if i write something for kaeya (200+ words), i'll get 500 points!)

tag me (@i23kazu) when you create something! i'll assign you your points. each piece of work is standard with 500 points. use the tag #genshinblr october ebg 2023 so that i can track it better !

players and non-players are allowed to sabotage each other with asks . a list with everybody's original biases have been released ! go ham !

non-players, i am counting on you to help me check on the players !!!!

sabotaging someone with the same original bias as you will incur a strike if you say your original bias' name / anything related to the og bias !

yes , you are allowed to reblog the original bias list post at the start of the game even though it has your og bias name on it .

url changes are not necessary , but theme changes are ! players are given 24 hours to change their themes , if their original theme is of their original bias . after the 24 hour limit is up , players who still have their original bias as their theme will earn a strike .

players who lose during the game will earn a forfeit that will have to be performed at the end of the event ♡

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒

500 points are awarded as a standard for each creation. for writing, it should be 200 words minimum, and for art, it should be lineart minimum. for edits, it'll be at my discretion! each piece should have some effort put into it – not just created for the sake of earning points .

players can use their points from creations to strike people ! each strike costs 1000 points . each player is limited to one redeemable , giftable strike each day . just send me an ask to strike someone !

players will be able to spend 2000 points to heal themselves as well !

for 2000 points , players can redeem one hour to be free from ebg , starting from the period of time when i approve the redemption . the hour is consecutive and cannot be split up into different periods . this one hour can only be redeemed ONCE in the entirety of the whole game , and has to be approved by me first before starting the period . if players start the hour without me knowing, they will earn a strike .

[ronin-deactivated19851026]

one thing that makes me really sad is that i've been collecting all sorts of fanart and general artwork for a decade or so and i often wonder if any of these are lost to time online or not. reverse image search already barely works properly, either because of broken search engines or because people deleted their accounts/set those not to be searchable as an attempt to hide from ai crawlers.

and... i don't know, it genuinely makes me upset to know how much art i considered precious to me, is essentially gone and i don't know if i'm allowed to repost it elsewhere or not. that's part of the reason why i stopped caring what people do with my art (though i prefer people leave credits and sources, but considering that i change names and drop old urls, idc if they don't credit me, that's on me lmao): i may hate what i create, but it's something i made, something that will live on for a little bit longer than it should (possibly outlive me), something that might be liked by someone else more than by its creator. so i find it hypocritical to forbid people from saving, reposting and generally enjoying my stuff when i literally mourn all these small pieces of lost media that i forget to save or am not able to repost for one reason or another. (i don't even have a place where i can post my collections, every platform is a sinking ship and i have no money or energy to keep my own page)

i recently found that some people reuploaded really cringy and dumb art of mine before i deleted the account where i posted it. reuploads were also in original sizes in png. the whole thing is dumb as hell as holds literally zero value, but part of me is really happy that people enjoyed it when i posted it initially, found it worthy enough to archive it elsewhere. i guess it doesn't really hold "zero" value after all, and again, it's hypocritical of me to say considering i collect art that a lot of original artists got rid of in the same manner as i did.

idk what the bottom line here is.

i'm tired of experiencing loss. doesn't matter if it's people, objects, passion, art, anything else, i'm tired of losing.