#people will probably be underwhelmed

[erigold13261]

Okay okay okay! I might use this design I have for Tatiana's mom instead for a first cousin once removed character to Tatiana (so her mother's sister/brother's grandkid).

Look, I know it's confusing but I REALLY want to use this design for present day stuff! She would be the same age around Cyril as they would be of the same generation.

I REALLY need to make a family tree for Tatiana (along with Neon's and Yinu's family as they are also pretty big. Nova doesn't need one I feel because his family is just his parents and him. No cousins or aunts/uncles. I could do grandparents at some point though lol)

[snobwhimsicality]

hello chat i am going to be a hater in tags for a moment (jst finished natlan act IV)

[mintandcreme]

:)

[rosetheocto]

what better way to wake up on New Year’s Eve than to have the honor of finally being targeted by BigCal Guy (during his ‘final attack’ no less!) at 1 AM just for you to be unable to see the stuff he spammed you with cuz you only use Tumblr on mobile (they blur the pics if you don’t follow them)

[nerdsandqueens]

Anyone complaining about Mythal's design just like people complained about Mystra's design is a dog whistle.

Blocked. Blocked. And Blocked.

[fiona-fififi]

...

[classicintp]

How do I sincerely relay that I am a very plain and boring person (at least, in a general sense of the term by society's standards), but without it sounding self-deprecating, pitiful, or edgy?

[aromanticannibal]

The pattern is that people straight up do not read™. or they read a 3-5 tweet summary of what happened and treat it as if they did. or because shonen expectations based on "the classics" is bullshit and significantly rotted people's brains when deciding wether an ending is good or not.

Which could be nothing right

yeahhh. i will forever regret reading the last chapter through leaks because it was a dreadful experience, and watching everyone ever shit on it for like a week after genuinely made me want to just get off the internet forever or something because i felt like an idiot for liking the ending (all this is my fault for getting too invested in both tumblr and mha etc etc).

All the "it's rushed" and pacing complaints barely matter to me at this point because you just cannot feel the pacing of something correctly when you're reading it exclusively through leaks. you can't absorb info like that. And don't get me started on the number of complaints and criticisms I've seen of the last chapter that are just provably bullshit (I saw someone say Izuku didn't get a statue lmao. yes he did, you just read the fucking leaks and watched twitter drama unfold instead of reading the actual chapter i fear).

[sskk-manifesto]

!

[kopw]

Angle, draw and feud for the wrestling asks please!

this is gonna get long. you have been warned

angle: your favorite storyline(s)? why?

the ospreay-omega-okada relationship dynamic triangle... thing. whatever those three have going on. if i have to formulate it as a storyline... ospreay's hero story. that's maybe the best way of putting it. everything from the point he joined chaos to him beating okada at this year's g1, with a very large appendage in the shape of one kenny omega

my main interest since around september of last year has been the ospreay-omega feud, but i think it's near impossible to look at that as an isolated storyline removed from its context. which is why one of the first things kenny rubs in ospreay's face during that off-air promo after the first round of trios tournament matches is the fact that ospreay went there fresh off a loss to okada at the g1, contrasted with the fact that kenny was able to beat okada before. and why okada and kenny teaming at new year dash against united empire was a very pointed message at ospreay, who dropped his title to kenny at wk beforehand. and why ospreay had to beat kenny before he was able to beat okada. so on and so forth

like... these three people just feed into each other in such intricate ways, i don't think you could tell one story without explaining another along the way. i have like at least three essay-length conversations about them per week. and also the ospreay-omega feud in particular is very personal to me. right place, right time, stuff like that

draw: list 5-10 qualities about your favorite wrestler(s) that caused you to be fan of him/her/them!

i think right now the wrestler i like the most is... ospreay. obviously there are people who like him heaps more than i do, i'd say i'm just an enjoyer mostly, but i like watching him a lot

the first thing that always catches my attention when feeling a pull towards specific wrestlers is what they do in the ring. i watch wrestling for... well... wrestling, first and foremost. and ospreay just possesses such outstanding athletic prowess... i don't know how he does what he does. his current move set is also informed by a lot of things i typically enjoy in wrestling (high-flying and impactful kicks). love hunting down the inspiration behind specific moves he does... he has great taste when it comes to what he decides to draw from

the way he paces his matches. i think it's one of those hit or miss things where if you hate fast-paced action you're not gonna like him. my attention span is fried at this point and i do look for a certain level of stimulation when it comes to matches so it's as close to perfect as it gets

i talked about this with a friend recently, but the way ospreay carries himself within the context of kayfabe is one of the most interesting facets of him i think. it's very jarring to see him perform beside all of these characters when he himself... isn't so much of a character, in the traditional sense. i don't want to stick a label on his forehead that says he's the most authentic wrestler out there or anything but his character work is incredibly honest. downright gripping stuff i tell you

big sexy entrance coat

shoot autihd icon

feud: your favorite rivalries?

sort of answered in the first one already (because there's a big overlap between the two for me) but some others that i think worth mentioning are: giulia vs syuri, shibata vs goto and hiromu vs ospreay. oh and of course hino vs yuki "not sexy" iino

[fluxweeed]

yes I agree that you’re implicitly required to rec a fic you’re involved in which is why it HURTS WHEN PEOPLE DONT like oof. you said yes to work on it but then you didn’t like it that much hey. obviously I’d rather that than people rec something they don’t actually like, I’m not saying it should be disingenuous, it just hurts you know? ouch

nahhh i don't think ppl should feel obligated to do marketing for a fic they've already put time and energy into helping the writer with!

[hallous]

hi!! so i dont have a commission for you, but i do have a question if thats okay! i think your art is absolutely gorgeous, and i love your style and how pleasing it is to look at with how you use lines and colors. i really do love how you draw and sketch and i was hoping you could give me some advice. i really want to start getting into art, but i just have no idea how. i have a little sketchbook with some pens that a friend gave me, but when i sit down and try to actually do anything, i just have no idea how. i dont know how to start, where to start, or even how to begin the process, ya know? ive never actually drawn or sketched anything before, so its all completely new to me. do you have any tips that you think are good for beginners to learn? or anything you did when you first started out that helped you? if youre too busy to answer any of this, thats absolutely fine! i just wanted to ask because of how much i admire your skills, so i figured i should just take the risk. i hope youre having a really wonderful week, and thank you for taking the time to read this behemoth of an ask lol

oh hello! first of all, thank you so much!

secondly! i don't remember exactly how i started to draw. my mom often tells me i used to do it since very little, but don't really have any memories of it ahah.

that aside! i remember getting into anime and how i liked the pretty pictures i saw! i used to try to copy styles i enjoyed, mainly card captor sakura and inuyasha. even so, whenever i tried to draw something of my own it wouldn't look how i wanted, but i was stubborn about it and kept going.

drawing is magical but also tortuous in a way? it takes a while to get good at it and it's often a bumpy ride. so after all that, what i can tell you on how to start is just: pick up a drawing, an anime or manga panel you like and try drawing the eye maybe? or just a floating head, something like that 😊 experiment with how drawing with a pencil feels, how the drawing with a pen feels! how to add color with the tools you have.

most of all, have fun drawing and trying different things! it doesn't have to be perfect specially because drawing is something that keeps on evolving as a skill the more you do it.

i hope this helps in some way 💕

[cagesings]

so  ever-loving  emotional  over  these  audios  guys

[mysterialnos]

@staff reqs/ideas in tags? Also honestly doing some data collection and idea fielding might not be the worst idea. Throw out some surveys or polls (lol) maybe and get what people like, dislike, use, don't use (though the latter hopefully y'all have click metrics for).

Idk, I feel like there's a way to solve this without devolving into every other platform. I avoid algos myself, it's why I'm here, and I'm a SWE. It's organic here, and I can breathe.

On the complete other side, open source social sounds like a trip and a fantastic idea from my perspective, lolol. (Idk how easy, very different from what I work with)

If y'all do open source people can add/make shit and really lean into the "customizable" brand. You could even market that a little. A build kit, premade stuff, etc.

I think things use to be more customizable anyway. Like lean into yee old neigh myspace level stuff, I bet people would lose their minds (in a good way) with like cool blog wallpaper and stuff. Really hone in on that individuality.

I could go on. Yes and your site's current direction friends, and don't make it into something it's not, which everyone else seems to be dying doing anyway. That's what I'd say.

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.

[maganne-studies]

"My father said it looked very sad: a stairway in a field of ruin, going up to nowhere."

- The Woman Who Had Two Navels by NIck Joaquin

[tokyo-lockdown]

Finished Fumi's route on the last night of the year. I love everyone and everything about this game and now I'm empty inside and I know there's 6 routes left but I don't know how to move on.