#more ranting

[wafel1160]

It’s ironic that Catnap was the one to burn at the end of the game.

As heretics are supposed to be the ones that burn. They’re the ones that are supposed to pay for the sin of heresy.

Instead Catnap puts Dogday in a position where it looks like he is being crucified.

And why are Dogdays legs torn off? Sure it can be a form of punishment- but is there any real significance? Any symbolism- any connection?

Is it just to give Dogday a slow death? Like what Crucifixion is meant to be as a punishment?

Anyways- just a random thought I had.

[kenziek1w1]

IDC WHAT ANYONE SAYS, This woman Is gorgeous.

[frazzledsoul]

Oh, and while I'm ranting about Lane, so much of the discussion on what her life should have looked like centers around her two main love interests. Look, I get it, it's a rom com. However, a lot of fans seem to view Lane as merely an extension of Dave, who they pretty much worship. If only she would have stayed with Dave, the band would have become massive rock stars, her contraception never would have failed, and he would have never, ever developed a flaw at any point and her life would have been perfect. I'm sorry, but how is this relatively tame teenage boy going to accomplish all of that single-handedly? It doesn't sound realistic to me.

The show could have kept Lane single, it could have had her date someone outside the band, it could have explored her going to college, it could have had her stay broken up with Zach, it could have had explore other musical options besides the band, it could have had her stay in the band and have them move to a major city or go on tour at the end of the show, it could have done those latter options and just forgone the pregnancy, it could have still kept the pregnancy and let the family/band move out of SH at the end of the show, Lane and/or Zach could have moved somewhere with a residency or become session musicians or work at a record label, Mama Kim could have gone on tour with all of them and start a new version of the Partridge Family....look, there are lots of options, both with and without Zach, both with and without babies. Literally none of them involve Dave. Lane's fate should not be tied to him as her savior. He could not single-handedly give her a different fate.

I am partial to the Mama Kim Partridge Family plan, though. Just send them all on the road and see what happens.

[neck-thats-made-for-bruising]

Thinking about all the shit I put into my body and how I might not ever eat healthy and I'm going to get older and be unhealthy and hate myself more than I already do

and I'm gonna have to explain why I literally only eat children's food because just recently I've gotten really insecure about eating lunch from home and it's the same thing every day and it's all 'kid food' and people have made fun of me for it and just thinking about it makes me feel bad

[mytypeismohg]

At least I've learned that my father is far more of a piece of shit than I ever thought. I regret anything good I've ever said about him. I'm so glad I don't have friends in real life nor interact with any of my extended family. Everyone always fear mongers how the "abnormal, weird, gross" people are the danger in societies. NO. The so-called "normal, good, rIgHtEoUs" people are.

[aliceat97point3]

Every time I go farther up the chain of adaptation for Nightmare Alley I end up deeply disappointed in whatever film adaptation I've seen just before.

Nightmare Alley is the story of a possible sociopath learning mentalism and using it to way up the social ladder until he reaches too high by pushing the wrong people too far.

First came 2021 film: Great visuals, Good actors, okay writing. About half an hour too long in my opinion. themes of manipulating with Christianity, what drives people to drink or not drink, how psychology can be used for good or for ill, how parents fuck up their kids. Not quite as indepth as I wanted but yeah overall not bad

Second: 1947 film: 40 minutes shorter! Characters more compelling, plot more dynamic but cinematography a little lacking. Overall I enjoyed it way more. They nixed the parental themes but all the other themes are stronger for it. Has a slightly happier ending than it should've but I suspect Haze coad shenanigans.

Third: Wikipedia summary of the novel hits harder than either movie!!

fourth: Book review coming soon (probably on my second blog) but OH MY GOD I AM PISSED THAT THE 2021 VERSION IS BASICLY JUST THE '47 VERSION plus some random "edgy" additions that kinda prove no one read the book because the stuff they add makes Stan seem like a way better person than he is in the book. and that's definitely not the right vibe for this story

[shannadreamgoddess]

Look call me stupid for using discord for my AO3 images if you want but I'm genuinely kind of tired fighting for my life trying to keep my story and my site in working order. Like it's something new every month or so, from Google Domains selling to squarespace or discord turning off permanent image links or Twitter going ham with AI.

Feels like even after I fix all this crap if I were to die the next day my stuff would only survive a month before some company or another fucks everything up again. Everything on the internet is simultaneously permanent and extremely volatile.

[snorkling-in-sodasea]

Stolas-Related Thoughts

And now it’s Stolas’s turn. Now kind of like the one concerning Blitz, this post is NOT for Stolas fans. Not that I really dislike him, especially not as much as I do Blitz, but I doubt my opinions are gonna be all that positive. The same thing can be said for Stolitz, so you’ve been warned

So Stolas at the start was fine to me, too, and it does help me, even now, that Stolas is of a nicer demeanor. Really, my opinion of him was neutral throughout season 1. The most that changed was that my dislike for Blitz grew and grew so I figured, if Stolas really wants to deal with that mess, then let him. Maybe at least then Blitz will be inspired to change. Because like I said, Blitz needs someone who won’t abandon him so that he actually deal with the worst aspects of himself and change for the better

Then I read posts on tumblr about people’s thoughts - it’s something I like to do and I’m sure I’m not alone in making that a hobby - and I see people’s thoughts about Stolas. I have liked a couple more posts, this time ones relating to Stolas, and you can probably find them if you get to my likes. (I’m still not sure exactly how it works since I’m not very big on using social media)

Anyways, two posts I have agreed with. One was super long but it got into detail how Stolas isn’t as good of a dad as the show and a large chunk of the fandom liked to believe. The biggest offender that I’ll take from that post is when Stolas took Octavia to Loo Loo Land even though she didn’t want to. The thing is, another fanfic writer I know, they like to write Stolas as this loving, dedicated dad who is entirely. Not that I don’t enjoy reading that version but it doesn’t feel like it’s really Stolas; I just feel the disconnect less than I do with kinder, nobler versions of Blitz. In any case, this fanfic writer saw that canon Stolas only really acted lewd because he thought it’d draw Blitzo in and I can see that. The fanfic writer also made a post about how Stolas lived, the kinds of indirect people he’s dealt with his whole life, and how it’d make an impact on his overall people skills, as well as how he’s impacted by the marriage to Stella. I agree with all that, too

I can still think of a problem if I were to take the fanfic writer’s post into consideration, though, the specific part where Stolas is just pretending to be slutty for Blitz. Because the post talking about Stolas not being as good a dad as people think can apply, since it means that Stolas is so desperate for companionship that he doesn’t even try restraining being vulgar right where his daughter can see and hear him. In fact, Stolas even twists his hanging out with his daughter to distract her from the problems at home to his liking, since he WANTED the most painful physical reminder of the problems at home to come along with them

As much as the fanfic writer write about how Stolas can’t read people and so missed how Octavia wasn’t having fun, Stolas did something stupid. Stolas isn’t a stupid person but you know, just like all of us, he’s not immune to making stupid decisions or having moments of being stupid. Even if you insist that he just didn’t think it through, that’s just it; if you don’t think it through, then there’s not a lot of intelligence attached to whatever you were thinking. You’d be hard-pressed to call it smart if you did something without thinking it through

And here, Stolas made a stupid-ass decision or had a moment of being a dumbass by not only wanting to invite the most painful physical reminder of the problems at home when the whole fucking point of the trip is to distract her from the problems at home, and did, but also unabashedly flirted with said cause of family drama right where Octavia can see and hear him do it. Really, if Stolas was really just clueless about how social stuff is supposed to work because of how isolated he is, that doesn’t make it any more okay to me that he basically rubbed in his affair in Octavia’s face for practically a whole damn day, all without ever realizing how messed up it was for him to do so until Octavia exploded. And that’s the best case scenario! At worst, and like I said, Stolas is being so starved for love and affection in a way that doesn’t come from his daughter that Stolas doesn’t even think to control himself or his sexual performance AT ALL whatsoever around his daughter, let alone actually do it. As sympathetic as Stolas’s circumstances are, I can’t look at his behavior as good anymore or even all that funny.

Then the other post about Stolas’s behavior was actually a short one relating to his wife. Stolas said in the first episode of season 2 that he would have felt bad if he had hurt Stella but she didn’t feel hurt. For a while, I believed it, being a little annoyed that she was acting so one-dimensional. Then the post said that she did get hurt. She just didn’t hurt in the way that Stolas thinks would count. The very fact that she did send an assassin after Stolas’s ass for the cheating means that she had a reaction to the cheating. Having a reaction to the cheating means that she had felt something. Even if it’s bruised ego, it’s significant that it even got bruised to begin with. In fact, if Stella truly didn’t care, then she should have done absolutely nothing in response to Stolas’s actions, since apathy is the true opposite to love, or even hate

Then Western Energy comes along and Stolas claims that cheating implies a betrayal and that his marriage to Stella was very much arranged. The second part’s true but the first part, isn’t being legally married commitment enough? The fact you just go and have sex with someone who’s not your spouse without said spouse knowing about it, that’s EXACTLY what an affair is. That’s EXACTLY what cheating is. I mean, the same applies if you replace ‘spouse’ with ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’ but surely you get the gist. It really feels like, now, the writers are trying to deflect as much blame from Stolas as possible when what he did was cheat on his wife and put his daughter in an uncomfortable situation thanks to it. Not that I’ll deny that Stella’s a horrible person but I don’t like the idea of deflecting blame when someone clearly did something bad just because another person who’s involved is blatantly worse. Really, if we were supposed to be forgiving like that, then we would forgive all the abusive parents who were abused by their own parents. Like maybe Crimson became a sociopath because he had sociopathic parents growing up - it is the mob - but are we really supposed to look at Crimson in a better light now that we got that possibility in our heads?

Really, my best guess on how Stolas, character-wise, would have such a narrow-minded perspective on what cheating and betrayal is is that he really doesn’t have much social know-how to understand the more complicated stuff. That he’s really. It still comes off as a little self-righteous, especially since we got no indications whatsoever that Stella actually cheated on him. Maybe she did, and I wouldn’t be surprised, but I’m going with the ‘innocent-until-proven-guilty’ thing so Stella’s never cheated on Stolas and he comes off as bad for trying to deflect blame in what he did.

And honestly, even if Stella’s feelings were never taken into consideration, there’s still the fact that Stolas so dumbly broadcasted that he slept with an imp, which could reflect badly on the family name, at least more so than Stella does already at those parties (but maybe it’s the kind of besmirching that will leave the Geotia family respectable enough even after all is said and done). Honestly, it’s amazing that it was big shocking news at Ozzie’s since Stolas never kept it a secret to begin with. Maybe it’s different for Beelzebub because, as the sin of Gluttony, she’s supposed to just take what she wants and if it happens to be an ordinary hellhound so be it. But yeah, Charlie trying to pitch her idea in the pilot meant that not even the princess of Hell is given respect as long as she doesn’t seem mean and tough. So maybe Stella would still be right for trying to punish Stolas, the problem is that she chose to do so in a method that would leave a heartbroken Octavia. Stella would definitely still be right for worrying if people will start giving her shit because she’s not seen as respectable enough to not start shit with her. I can’t blame Stella for being worried about whether or not she’ll survive and Stolas going about his affair definitely jeopardized that. Even if we don’t give a shit about Stella PERIOD, there’s still Octavia; Stolas jeopardized Octavia’s standing in society because the way he went about the affair

If the writers keep deflecting blame off of Stolas - which is a shame because he really was more interesting, especially in the narrative, if he had cheated and it wasn’t ignored that he did something bad - then he’s becoming a perfect match for Blitz. He’s becoming someone who just goes about getting what he wants, he doesn’t suffer as much as he should and even avoids guilt or other bad feelings from it if he’s really gonna say things like ‘cheating implies a betrayal’, and I’m caring for him less and less as the show goes on. Maybe not as strongly as Blitz but it’s not like some parts of the new behavior is making him more endearing to me

[loveeari]

I've been reading some fics where they make ron seem like some ignorant douche with anger issues and make hermione seem like some saint like figure who never had any problems ever. They also make harry seem like a backgorund character but OH YES LETS TALK ABOUT DRACO MF MALFOY.

RON WEASLEY WAS FUCKING LOYAL DOWN TO THE LINE

WHAT DID DRACO

JACKSHIT

ya'll out here playing the, "oh e's some poor soul with an abusive situation and daddy issues hnnngg sad boi hours"

STFUP

WHAT DID HE DO

WHAT DID DRACO MALFOY DO IN THE SECOND WAR

he's openly racist he called hermione slurs (yet people ship together but whatver thats a whole nother' rant) the only time he realized hey this ins't a good idea is when hi finally figured out the dark lord aint shit. but ya'll people watching them movies are look poor agsty abie stup ya'll are actually ugh

and

THIS RON WEASLEY BASHING

SIR

MA'M

what the hell is up with this, the most loyal mf who ACTED LIKE A TEENAGER HIS AGE SHOULD IS GETTING SHITTED ON

BUTT OHHHHHHH HERMIONE GRANGER IS THIS GODDESS WITH NO ISSUES AT ALL

MF ATTACKED HIM WITH BIRDS BECAUSE SHE GOT NO ATTENTION FROM THE FEELINGS SHE DON'T WANNA SAY TO HIM

also

HARRY WAS IN AN ABUSIVE HOUSEHOLD LIKE ACTUALLY CANON BRO LIVED IN A CUBOARD BUT HE DIDN'T TREAT PEOPLE LIKE SHIT

FUCKING SIRIUS DEFECTED FROM IS CCRAZY AS FAMILY CUZ HE LEARNED RIGHT FROM WROONG

BUT NO DRACO MALFOY IS A GOD RIGHT

k im done

i think i got more but thast part 2

[bishiglomper]

Wow today got worse. Notice how I did not say "how could the day get worse" in my last post because with the sink broken i was trying with every fiber of my being... to not even think about the landlord. Or the fact that we're all useless and the house is even shittier than usual and- no, don't even think about the fact we're due for a house inspection, we're too sick, that would do absolutely no good--

..Well guess fuckin what

We have been notified of our inspection date.

The family has wisely chosen not to tell me when that is exactly. I'm not asking. If my sister is sure we're not doomed, I'll let her control the pace. She'll be doing most of the managing and staging anyway...

My sister came in and explained how okay and manageable the situation is. And that no one was allowed to panic for at least 72 hours.

So I'm trying really hard not to think about it too deeply because once I get on a spiral it'll be bad. Mostly for my sister because of that whole "need to fix it" response.

Also the last few times I've had that sort of stress, I ended up in the ER for super high blood sugar. I'm already sick, I'm sure it's not doing good in the first place. I don't really want to check it.. but I guess the responsible thing would be to monitor it. 🙄

I dont know what to eat tonight because we ordered low-energy groceries. Which involved a lot of pizza, cereal, fruit..

I got some seasoned veggies for meals but the bag I had today? Didn't even fill a paper bowl. Which means I'm hungry. 😂 my other bag of veggies has potatoes; which unfortunately, it appears I'm one of those people who's bloodsugar spikes pretty bad with potatoes. So I dont have any good options...

Normally I'd say fuck it and eat a can of spaghetti os but that is also carbs. So I'm feeling a bit fucked. 😐

I really hate this particular Monday.

....one bit of good news is my aunt has declared she and the uncle are safe from covid. We didnt disease them. (Despite the nephew being in her face) So at least there's that. 🙆 Gives me hope we didn't disease anyone by being out Friday. If the aunt can sit in a car full of our breathing and not get sick I dont think we passed any germs. We even sent her home with tests. 👀

Small blessings

[mercurymusing]

Extra note after seeing staff's response to what's apparently the new panic.

My takeaway from the original post wasn't that they'd be getting rid of the chronological followed only dash. Wasn't actually worried about that. I'm fairly confident they'll keep it around, even if it gets deprioritized.

I'm frustrated by the increasing invasiveness of the algorithmic features and the way they're being forced on longtime active users that have already strongly indicated their preferences. I'm personally inclined to think that onboarding new users into a default still barely functional algorithm driven environment will be bad for retention, engagement, and site culture, but I'll admit that some people are into that junk!

What's really setting me off here are the bits about post and conversation formatting and "navigation". We've already seen the beginning of that, with the change to direct links to posts. It's already breaking critical functionality! Functionality that directly impacts access to "high-quality content", "user participation in conversations", and "users returning to Tumblr"!

The ability to jump to a reply on a post in the full context of the blog it was posted to is an incredibly powerful feature in so many ways. It lets you see any tags that were added (half the conversation, navigation tool for related content that Tumblr should be developing), see the chronologically adjacent posts that give context to the content and conversations, and makes it easier to explore existing archival content!

Do they or do they not want to leverage the decade plus of content they've got? Do they want to encourage interactions with smaller creators that have built up portfolios, or do they want a site filled with flash-in-the-pan disposable viral content from established popular blogs? The whole reason they're pushing this product strategy is to increase revenue, because it costs so much to run the place. It costs so much in part because of how many damn posts we've all made in the last decade.

If they're already paying to host all of that junk, why not make it easier to explore? If you can't access a blogs archive without being logged in, and you can only see that archive one post at a time, then it's basically invisible. It might as well not exist. We could all (users, creators, brands) just go use snapchat for fuck's sake.

(I'll acknowledge the theoretical bandwidth issues of loading entire years old chunks of a blog every time a user just wants to see a single post, but come on. Make the single post view the one you get from the blog link and the in context one the version from the whitespace, if you must. And if that's your reasoning, just admit it! Don't try to pretend it's a UI issue for new users! That's insulting for everyone involved!)

(I get it, the prev tags stuff could get stupid. But it was a little quirk of site culture that did more to encourage conversations and networks of mutuals than half the shit staff has tried to do deliberately. Rolling a UI change out that seems to have killed it entirely by accident is just so half-assed.)

And look. There are so many neat ways they could explore reblog chain tree visualization that would improve navigation. Full collapsed subthread forum/reddit style views that retain tags. Or imagine the dot reblog graphs with more info and seamless zooming to different levels of detail.

Instead they seem to be pushing towards a version of tumblr that prioritizes bare original posts, with replies and reblogs tucked away in the notes. And that bit about "[e]xpand[ing] ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts." Reblogs and replies are too hard, so we're just going to do fucking quote tweets? Seriously?

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

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

The Diagnosis

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

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

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

Our Guiding Principles

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

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

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

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

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

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

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

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

Actions & Next Steps

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

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

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

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

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

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

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

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

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

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

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

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

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

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

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

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

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

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

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

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

Actions & Next Steps

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

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

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

[catmask]

when u go to write a mentally ill person in ur story you are presented two options. the first option is to write your mental illness realistically as you actually experience it with all the ups and downs and people who are like you will resonate with it and feel seen. except every person who reads instagram infographics on mental health that uses the phrase narcicisst for anyone who does anything that crosses them and unironically call themself a dark empath will call you scary and tell you that youre demonizing mentally ill people

the second option is to lie and write inspiration porn for those people to get hard to

[mar-zom]

i wish there wasn’t such a stigmatized view on platonically loving people.

I can’t call people nicknames and pet names like hun and honey without them immediately assuming i have romantic interest in them.

i can’t tell my friends i love them without adding on “platonically” or shortening the phrase “ily” “love you” “love u”

i love a lot of people. i love my sister, i love my boyfriend, and i love my best friend. All different versions of love.

let us love people openly and honestly without it being seen as “making a move” or being romantically interested.

please please please stop assuming that love is strictly romantic, i promise you life becomes so much brighter and bigger when you stop keeping love strictly romantic.

[bixels]

The final TF2 issue really got to me. Spoilers, but it’s the reveal that all of this suffering and murder and war over gravel and shitty land was for nothing but senseless, bottomless hatred. That the administrator can’t even remember where this revenge plot started as she flashes through different false memories of her parents’ deaths. There was never a tragic backstory or justification, only terrible people doing despicable things. And despite how crass and stupid and unserious TF2 is, the story subverts every expectation by showing the survivors and inheritors willingly breaking the cycle. Ms. Pauling lies to the administrator and chooses not to save her, and finally lets her die. (Hurts even more if you read into the subtext that Ms. Pauling is in love with the administrator.) She lets the final cache of Australium go and walks away from the burden and legacy of a century-old bloodfeud. Hale lets Gray’s daughter go and live her life freely. Spy is the first to arrive at Scout’s house and meet his big family, finally takes off his mask, and helps with the kids. Even Merasmus exhaustedly makes peace with himself and Soldier and chooses not to curse him or something. There’s nothing to finish, no promises to keep, and no one to avenge. The only thing to do is break the cycle and walk away.

It feels odd how happy and warm everything is, but it feels so right and earned. These bloodthirsty, awful, violent men were expendable cogs in a machine of endless violence, and they found a way out. It’s a genuinely great message about letting go the past that burdens you and finding the will and a way to hit the bricks, change, and be happy. Maybe they don’t technically deserve happiness, but they’ve got it nonetheless, and they’re not gonna let it go to waste. They’re still all crazy and violent, but on their own terms now and with people who love them! Smiles.

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

I am incredibly serious right now when I beg you all, please, and if you have Twitter or Tiktok or whatever to please spread the word: click on an author's profile on Ao3.

You want to know if an author has written more? Want to know if they're still writing? Want to see more from them? Want to know if they've written a trope or kink or sex scenario you enjoy?

Click on their name. And look at their profile.

I cannot tell you how many times in the last six months someone has read a new or newer fic of mine and said they (a new reader who has read nothing else I've done) "can't wait to see what you do next!" I've written 50+ fics and over a million words already.

"I don't know if you're still writing..." click on my profile. I am. I literally wrote a 128k+ fic for that ship last month.

"Would you ever do X?" "Please do Y!" I already did. Click on my name and look at my works.

Archive of our Own is a library. It's an archive. Not social media. It is your responsibility to fight back against the laziness that corporate algorithms have trained into you.

Click my author name. Just click it. Just click it.

Before you demand more, or ask if a writer will do XYZ, or wonder if the author still writing, or anything - click on their profile. Click on the author's profile.

I'm not trying to be mean or condescending or anything like that. I'm just exhausted. It's disheartening and frustrating to repeat myself ad nauseam, because someone couldn't take thirty seconds to do the tiniest bit of work to see if I've written lately, if I've written more for their ship, or scan my works to see if I've written what they're asking for. Please. Please. I'm begging.

Click the author's name, and explore before you ask.

[melxhunter]

I feel like there are a lot of people out there who needs to hear this:

If you dropped out of school because of diagnosed (or undiagnosed) ADHD, Autism, ADD, OCD, Dyslexia, Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, schizophrenia etc… You did not fail. The education system failed you.