#there’s gonna be a post with a reblog with the 10 pages because tumblr mobile sucks

[isdalinarhot]

[protect-namine]

I was gonna put these tags in tumblr's feedback form but like. if I was someone reading feedback, I'd honestly rather read something that's actionable (because sentiment is easy to understand but hard to make solutions for) so I'm just gonna draft here some suggestions before sending, because apparently, I have opinions. anyway this'll just be one of many, I'm sure staff will see a lot of suggestions in their time, so I'm not really expecting anything to come out of this. but uh, my two cents:

okay, first of all, what is tumblr? (I promise I'm going somewhere with this, it informs the actionable points later). I think it's obvious now that the tumblr userbase wants tumblr to stay true to what makes tumblr unique instead of copying what other social media sites are doing. but what is it that makes tumblr unique? why did people come here, and why have users stayed on this platform? a lot of us have been here for more than a decade now despite this site "slowly dying" and just hanging on by a miracle.

for me, what I like is how different tumblr culture is. tags function as community hubs, as ways to archive and organize individual blogs, and as quiet commentary. blogs are not treated like social media "user accounts" tied to an identity and one way of socializing. they are pseudonymous and flexible enough to function as a portfolio, a diary, an account to interact with other accounts, a collection of essays, anything really! it's a blog! you can do whatever you want! as much as we engage with other users, blogs are also a personal space just for you. this is your own little place on the internet, your own bulletin board. it can be anything you want it to be. and like, the pseudonymity thing (and not making follower count public) is important, I think, because it informs how users interact. nobody here gets influencer points. just do you. it's freeing in a way other sites aren't.

also, you can queue posts. how neat is that? I think it's cool because posts have longevity in this site, which also builds into site culture. this is why we have homegrown memes and inside jokes. posts don't disappear after 24 hours. you can reblog 10 year old posts if you think the art is really cool or the joke is really funny or the post is still relatable, and no one will find that weird.

and that's the thing, isn't it? tumblr is a microblogging site before it is a "social media" site. customizability is built into the platform. don't want an algorithm? you can opt-out on so many ways your dashboard can show posts. you can customize your blog theme and create your own tags to organize posts. you can change your dashboard colors. posts don't have a character limit and they give you so many tools for formatting. you can make sideblogs!! double, triple the blogs!! maybe you have a public fandom blog, an aesthetic blog, and a personal diary that you keep private. so many tools to make your experience flexible.

okay, so what are actionable things we can do to double down on what makes tumblr special? mind you, these are all just suggestions and like, I didn't really think of how easy or fast they will be to implement nor how much money this will rake in. but like. also, even if these suggestions are stupid hard to do, I believe that just showing the general direction of changes to do and prioritize should be reflected on showing off what makes tumblr different. and I hope to illustrate that here.

so, sticking on that theme of blogging and customizability:

we have a blog system. cool! you know what blogs have? about pages. tag pages. we used to make custom pages for this, now newer users just link their carrd. yeah, that's easier, but what if all tumblr blogs just had a default about page and tag page? like, you know what frustrates me about the mobile view for blogs? I have to manually link about and tag pages there (or carrd links, but I don't have a carrd). why can't it be a default thing? make all blogs have an about page and a tags page. users can turn it off if they don't want it. users can customize the pages further if they want to make it fancy. the tags page can list your top 10 tags or whatever as a start. we already show popular tags in a blog's search bar, so just take that to the next level. and this has the added benefit of reminding people that, hey, you have a blog and this is your playground for self expression. playgrounds are fun when there are toys! give users toys for their blogs, tumblr!

a functioning blog navigation system. what do all blogs have? well they have submissions and asks, and users will usually have some custom tags for them. blogs have a whole archive system that's underutilized and rather hidden. why not create a system that makes it easier to find all of these when scrolling through a blog? let users set their custom tag for asks and make that visible in the blog navigation menu, or just make them more accessible and easier to find. I don't want to go to the web version and type /archive in the url anymore. also, users can decide which ones to enable/disable in the nav system (maybe users don't want submissions or archives there, that's cool too).

users can see the top posts for a blog. cool! how about we make a customizable version of that? like, we can still keep the tumblr-generated top posts, but what if we let blogs have a user-generated highlights page as well? keep the highlights page limited to a couple of posts, maybe 10. artists can put their favorite art there. writers with their fics. fandom blogs with their meta essays and funny posts. aesthetic blogs with gifs and moodboards they're proud of. random posts about their day that they want people to know. maybe a blog has a combination of all of them to show the variety in their blog. give users a way to show what's generally on their blog in a flash. like top posts, but users decide which ones are the top one. like pinned posts, but longer.

we have a badge system. cool! how about we let users create their own custom badges? and let them share those badges with others? heck we can even make it a paid feature. I buy a badge from the marketplace, tumblr gets a small cut for distributing, but the creator gets most of the payment (this is important! pay your artists!). I mean, this is already a thing with blog themes (though idk, do people actually pay for themes these days?)

this one is just a personal thing, but aside from badges, can we get little hats for our icon/pfp/avatar/whatever people call it these days? like the top hat from that one april fools'. just a lil hat on the dashboard, I think that would be cute. :)

create an onboarding experience for new users. show users a guided tutorial on what settings they can opt in or out of, what they can customize on their blog, how to follow tags, and so on. maybe we don't need to appeal to how users from other sites use those sites. we want them to see what makes tumblr unique and how to actually see it. and I know what you're going to say. "oh, but the friction, protect-namine. the onboarding experience means it takes longer for users to start using the site". one: make it optional then. two: honestly, we probably should have more friction because we have a spambot problem. one of the best deterrents for spam is making it harder for them to start using the site.

tumblr is a playground and playgrounds need toys that are fun. tumblr live/tv? hate it. polls? love it, it builds community and everyone likes clicking buttons. layout change? don't like it, it makes tumblr look like other sites and it looks cluttered and takes attention away from the dashboard. ability to set popular tags in a blog search bar? love that, it makes my blog mine, now can we just extend this concept to every other change we can do for the site?

I am suggesting these things with love. maybe some of these suggestions are too hard or we don't have resources for them, maybe some of them are already in progress. I have no fucking idea. but I just think tumblr already has something going on for itself, and I would really like for that thing to keep going and be prioritized instead of seeing this site be cannibalized into something it isn't (a twitter clone).

[olderthannetfic]

See like- DNIs I think are rather dumb, BYF (what DNIs used to be before the reblog banners started being a thing and Those have an unhinged bullshit history you would NOT believe I could unload but back on topic) is a great choice for stating boundaries & blockable offenses & stances without being like 'if you dont stalk my blog to the most unreadable carrd known to man hidden in an unmarked hyperlink to see if your on it Im Allowed to harass you'. DNIs... Well I gotten passive aggressively bitched at before for not going on desktop and clicking through someones unmarked hyperlink about pages to read their DNI (not even the hovertext bio, UNMARKED desktop about link that didnt show up on mobile) before reblogging to an aesthetic blog that they wouldnt know I was on their DNI for unless they stalked MY blog for reblogging a post with hundereds of notes. Thats the real purpose of a DNI over a BYF in 9/10 cases- to have permission by social cred to harass anyone liking/reblogging their posts for 'violating their dni' because they didnt stalk the blogs of every post they liked or reblogged.

Like a BYF does everything all the people claim a DNI does, and like most of the people on a DNI are NEVER gonna respect a DNI or think the DNI doesnt apply to them so its really only useful for the excuse to entrap someone in a callout(which is shitty) or as a way to signal to potential new followers what your disk horse opinions are(what a BYF can serve as).

Like 'please dont send asks about x or follow if you are y' are reasonable boundaries, but 'dont touch my posts if you are a freak' (which is like 50% of dnis at this point) is.... not a concrete or reasonable boundary.

If (general)you need to have a DNI for trigger reasons, get xkit and disable avatars, then blacklist a bunch of stuff. If you still cant be safe with that, it might be best to just. Not have a tumblr.

--

I find BYF kind of dumb as a term too. I'll state what my blog is like, but you following or not following, reading or not reading is up to you, not me.

I can ask people not to send asks on topic X, but there's no guarantee they'll even see that. It's far easier to just ignore asks one isn't interested in or to block people one doesn't want to talk to.

[dingoat]

Tagged by @verbose-vespertine as a ‘get to know the blogger’ thing, thankyou! I like this one because it doesn’t ask a million real-world-identifying questions :D

1. why did you choose your url?

Just a combination of two animals I like chosen on a whim to make a unique, pleasant sounding word that I wasn’t using elsewhere because I had no idea what I was gonna do with this tumblr thing at the time.

2. any sideblogs?

@bookofcrow is my IC/aesthetic sideblog! Mostly stuff that reminds me of Ahuska, or things that remind her of people in her life, and the odd (very rare atm) sketchbook page of hers!

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

Looks like early 2012? Have I been here TEN YEARS omg. I didn’t really start ‘existing’ on here properly till 2017 or so though.

4. why did you originally start your blog?

Friend at the time said ‘look at this blogging site’ and it confused the hell out of me. I shared and reblogged some stuff but didn’t really achieve a whole lot until some Much Better People came into my life much later down the track.

5. why did you choose your icon?

It’s Ahuska! Drawn by @trashmuh and gifted to me by @askshivanulegacy and it still makes me smile EVERY DAY so it stays.

6. why did you choose your header?

Absolute whim for both PC and mobile versions, no thought behind either except ‘image that goes sideways’. Might change them one day.

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

CAT GHOST

8. how many mutuals do you have?

Literally no idea how to work this out in a not exhausting painstaking way but rest assured you’re all Very Good, also the people whose blogs I check in on individually every now and again but don’t actively follow because I can’t commit to that much scrolling on a daily basis.

9. how many followers do you have?

a nice amount but I don’t play the number comparison game

10. how many blogs do you follow?

275 hahaha there’s probably a bunch that are 100% inactive these days

11. have you ever made a shitpost?

Probably? Does this count?

12. how many times do you use tumblr a day?

I check in pretty frequently but don’t necessarily actively do stuff on it every day.

13. have you ever fought another blog?

Nah. I’ve had some hostility directed my way in the past but the whole ‘don’t engage’ option really does wonders for the mental health, I recommend.

14. how do you feel about “need to reblog” posts?

Yeaaah nope, not big on the guilt tripping thing.

15. do you like tag games?

Yes! I might sometimes forget to do them and let them vanish into the ether but I always love being tagged it’s such a pleasant little buzz to know that anyone’s thought of me.

16. do you like ask games?

Character asks are THE BEST even if I don’t always get around to them though I try! I think about my kids all the time but there’s just something neat about knowing someone else out there has had a curious thought about them?

17. which of your mutuals do you think are tumblr famous?

Man idk who the ‘big names’ are or what, or if any of them follow me back? I have a friend who was tumblr famous in some circles way way back but they saw some of the worst sides of humanity as a result and is long long gone. Too much attention on the internet frankly scares the hell out of me, I like to keep my head low and stay in my weird little corners.

18. do you have a crush on a mutual?

I mean I’m married to a mutual?? XD And I guess I could say I’ve had friend-crushes maybe but I daresay they’re regular proper friendships nowadays.

[cupcraft]

I primarily use the “For You” Tumblr page a lot to discover artists, (I am on Mobile and it’s very easy to switch between the Dashboard and For You pages here) the more posts of a specific artist I like, the more likely it is for that artist to show up on my For You page multiple times until I follow them, as well as other people who post for certain fandoms, I actually found you through the For You page (You were talking about the Liking vs Reblog situation)

The posts I tend to see on the For You page usually have more than a hundred notes, and I tend to enjoy going through the For You page more than my Dashboard.

Why?

Well, I have a bad habit of everything and everyone, this is my fourth tumblr blog, on every Tumblr I have had before this, I followed over 3,000 people, most of whom would get lost in my Dash. Most of these people are artists and writers, on YouTube I have been subscribed to so many people that I think I hit the subscription limit on an account I mainly used to follow animators and YouTube would unsubscribe me by oldest subscription.

Why am I saying all of this?

Well, put this into perspective, I am a blog with less than 10 followers, I am following a lot of artists and if I were to reblog every piece of art that came into my eyesight, I’d honestly be off Tumblr within 10 minutes due to how strict I am with tagging stuff, and for some reason tagging things drains me, I get frustrated every time a tag doesn’t show up in the auto options as I’m typing it, and it doesn’t help that I’m constantly exhausted due to various factors, including depression.

I like things so people know I’ve seen it and enjoyed it. Do I reblog art? Yes, I do, but that’s like, a very small percentage of what I see on my dash weekly. And usually when I reblog stuff in bulk, its me documenting something that is going on, a fandom or tumblr’s reaction to something, or a cool concept I may like to play around with in the future or something that I want to comment on (Or an animatic or animation, those are high on my reblog priority list), other I just reblog because I feel I’m able to in that moment.

I understand that a lot of people on tumblr say “Just reblog it! You need to add tags!!” I can’t just not add tags, I view the contents of my blog as a history thing, if I don’t tag things and I want to look back on something, I won’t be able to find it. At all. Especially not if I want to show someone something.

The worst part to me is when people threaten to block people like me because “I like too much but don’t engage enough”, bro, I physically don’t have enough spoons to reblog every single thing you do, you are punishing me for saying I like your art, there is a possibility for me to reblog your art sometimes, but don’t get mad at me for not reblogging your thing when my depression and exhaustion is telling me that reblogging and tagging everything is just, too much work. I want to relax for a bit, and liking thing is how I say “Great job!”

I do try to reblog smaller artists, but me reblogging isn’t gonna get your post anywhere buddy. If I had more than 15 followers I’d make an bigger effort to reblog art with less notes all the time because there is a higher chance that one of them will be on and see it, but as it stands I believe most of my followers are bots, I barely have the energy to write, and in my opinion getting Likes shows that your post is reaching people and you should be proud of that.

Social media has made a post reaching 5 or 50 people seem like a failure, but if you put that into perspective that’s enough people to fill a room, and how many people do you know who would willingly go to the same place to see the work of a random stranger completely willingly and tell someone they liked it?

Stop comparing posts with hundreds or thousands of notes or views to your own numbers, the fact people saw it and cared enough to leave a sign that they like it is impressive, there have been times when I posted something, hoping it’d gain traction, only for no one to even bother looking twice, I have had so many posts and art pieces that never got a single note in the last 10 years I’ve been on tumblr, less than 50 posts broke 10 notes, I’ve only had 3 posts break 100 notes, and only 1 post go past 500 notes. This is across multiple blogs.

Yes, it can be disappointing when things aren’t reblogged, but it’s a sign people see you, and that’s a good thing, because most people don’t even get that. Engagement of any kind is a sign you’ve done something right, especially when it comes to art. Sure, only getting likes can be a frustrating thing, but don’t let it ruin your day, it’s still valuable, people are looking at you, and if they had decided to not leave those likes, you wouldn’t know they saw you in the first place, because there would no sign anyone even knows you’re there.

hey anon i just wanted to thank you for reaching out and i appreciate your perspective. There's a lot of nuance to the discussion you brought up so i just was replying to your ask to let you know that i read it and appreciate you sending this to me.

I hope youre having a good day!

[rpmemedumpster]

Hi, I'm an old Role Playing veteran. I've been trying really hard to get back into the semi literate rp world (do people still use these terms??) but all of my old rp sites and forums have been long shut down. Do you have any advice for me on where I can start my rp journey again?

Hello! I have no experience with forum rp, i only used to rp through private messages on DeviantArt, so if any followers here would like to chime in with more advice that would be superb! I have an rp aid tag that might help as well.

Anyway, tumblr is a pretty good site for rp if you ask me, because of the format. You’ve got your inbox people can send messages to and publish, and the nature of text-posts I’ve always found super helpful. I’m going to go into this assuming you’ve got no knowledge of tumblr rp so I hope this doesn’t come across as condescending or anything but I wanna be thorough!

Firstly! You’ll need info on your character (on tumblr, these are frequently called “muses”). 

A muse can be a canon character from a piece of media, or an original character. This information is best held on some kind of about or bio page, however those who roleplay on mobile cannot edit their blog pages to my knowledge so many have been hosting their bios on google docs, and linking to them in their description! This is the most important thing, because if nobody knows anything about your character, it’ll be hard to rp.

Next, a rules page!

Many will not want to rp with anybody who don’t have one. A rules page includes basically a little bit about your boundaries. Whether or not you rp with ocs, whether or not you engage in sexual rp, if you like to ship your character, things you need tagged, ect. If you don’t know where to start, it might be a good idea to look at some other folks’! I found that very helpful in my start on tumblr.

Get some kind of promotional post, and utilize the tags!

Some people create pretty graphics, I’ve got templates for them in my resources tag. Other people tend to do something a bit more simple, just an icon of their character perhaps and a little short advertisement of their character in a text post. People can find you if you use the tags. Say, if you’re roleplaying as Naruto, you’re gonna wanna tag the post as: #naruto rp, #manga rp,#anime rp, ect. For something like an oc you might want to tag it as: #oc rp, #fandomless rp, and any genres you might want to rp in such as #horror rp, #crime rp, #historical rp

Lastly, reach out! 

Sometimes the tags, especially original character ones, can be super flooded to the point where you might get lost in a sea of posts. Following people in my opinion is a good way to get noticed, because often they’ll check your blog out and maybe follow back. Some people are particular with who they interact with and there are some community specific terms I’ll link below but it never hurts to reach out and ask people if they’d like to roleplay.

Community terms: (some may be missing but i tried my best)

rpc: roleplay community

muse: a roleplay character. Can be an original character, or a character from an existing work. Sometimes real people as well such as youtubers but this is frowned upon generally.

mun or mod: the person who writes the character

ic: in-character

ooc: out of character. Can also be used to say a particular portrayal is poorly written, or not true to canon. (ie: this ___ blog is so ooc)

fc: face-claim, some blogs may used icons of actors or models in place of drawings for their characters appearance. FCs may also be from comics, manga, or cartoons.

mun fc: icons on ooc posts from the mun, different than the blog’s character.

private: (usually) will only roleplay with people who they follow, and also follow back

selective: this person may be choosy with who they chose to write with

semi-selective: this person is more open about who they write with, but will still deny some blogs

nonselective: this person will most likely right with just about anyone

musings: reblogged posts that often are something their character might say or think

thread: whatever particular rp scene that is being written. Usually takes place in the form of a text post.

meme/starters: something to be sent into the inbox for rp. Can be ooc or ic depending.

multiverse: multiple “verses” or timelies. Used for AU’s or for separating multiple ships.

multiship: this blog ships with multiple characters, each existing within separate timelines so that the character is not dating 10 different other characters at the same time.

multimuse: this blog has more than one character.

f2f: face-to-face, the characters are interacting in person

blog or online: a more meta (i guess?) style of rp where the characters are interacting on their tumblr blogs or otherwise online

one-liner: usually just dialogue in a response

para: a single paragraph in a response

multi-para: multiple paragraphs in a single response

novella: very long thread responses

group: a roleplay group! I don’t actually know how these work but that’s what this is.

indie: independent rp, not affiliated with a particular group.

fandomless: usually for an OC, this is an original character not created to exist within a pre-existing piece of media. tldr; not a fan oc/fan chara

self insert: an oc that exists to be the mun within the rp space.

Other helpful stuff:

new x-kit: very very helpful and a must-have as this will allow you to tag asks on desktop, check mutuals right on your dash, and most importantly trim posts so they’re not super long.

sessionbox: if you have more than one character you rp, and have a separate blog for each of them, this extension allows you to be logged into multiple accounts in different tabs

fancy text generator: lets you get text 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘, just by pasting in the plain text!

BeFunky: collage maker for moodboards and such

I hope this helps, if you have any more questions feel free to send another ask!

[diningpageantry]

Scales, Fins, and other Fishy Daydreams

Archive Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18215168/chapters/43151156

Chapter 3/10 of It’s A Handheld Disaster

Word Count: 1553

Chapter Summary: Baz takes Simon's shitpost text a step further, and the outcome ends up spreading a few rumors.

SIMON

bi-sammy: sammy would still fuck huxley if he looked like the fish from shape of water

I grin smugly at my screen, sitting in a dark room with nothing shining but my mobile. The shutters stay shut, and the light from the bottom of the doorway barely filters into the room. It’s just me, this scratchy blanket, and Baz, somewhere else in England on another screen. I absolutely adore that.

gaystrell: why would you say something so controversial yet so brave.jpg

Sometimes, I catch myself smiling. Other times, I elect to ignore how real it feels. It’s weird, given that it feels like I’m just chatting with someone who I see everyday. The casualness of this reminds me of texting Penny in the afternoon on a Thursday.

Except, given the current time, it could be interpreted as more intimate than that of a friend’s text.

8am on a Saturday is usually a time reserved for comfort. For staying warm with someone you care about. Instead, I’m just messaging Baz.

bi-sammy: because im right

bi-sammy: hear me out here ive got a brilliant idea

gaystrell: whoever taught you the definition of a brilliant idea was clearly misleading you

bi-sammy: dont be an arse until youve heard it

bi-sammy: wanker

gaystrell: you’re truly proving your point

bi-sammy: ANYWAY

bi-sammy: shape of water au

bi-sammy: thats all

gaystrell: i’m appalled.

gaystrell: hold on.

I don’t think much of it. Occasionally, he disappears for an hour to two. I don’t bother asking, assuming it’s none of my business, but I do tend to worry a bit. I hope he’s alright.

After clicking off my phone, my head settles against my pillow as my eyes fall shut.

There’s something about this. There’s something about him. It’s a bit hard to pinpoint what it is, but the overwhelming feeling of comfort I have in the notifications I get from him just answering my bullshit is incredibly welcomed. He’s semisweet. I don’t know why I didn’t see it earlier, but he’s a fantastically bitter person.

My head slowly turns over, eyes opening and straining in the darkness.

I hate my empty room.

I hate the absence of comfort--I hate the plainness of these walls.

I want to say I hate my foster dad, but I also feel like I’m not allowed to say that. Not because the system will take me again and throw me back (even though I could have left a year back, if I was still in it). Instead, I feel like I shouldn’t hate him. Theoretically, I should be thankful for what I have. I’m not in a boy’s home, and I haven’t been since I was 11, but the remnants remain. The fights don’t go away, and neither do the weeks of starvation.

Still, I sort of despise living here under Davy.

That’s what he makes me call him. His name. His nickname. Not dad; of course not dad. He’s had me in his care for roughly six years, but he’s still Davy to me.

Shitty fucking Davy, with his strict curfews and practically using me as a housemaid because he’s too cheap to care for himself.

Shitty fucking Davy, not letting me add anything to my room because the day I turn 18, I’m out of here until his next kid (and cheque, apparently) come in. Told me I’d wreck the walls and ruin his furniture if I did put anything on it, too.

So that’s what I’ve got. Blank walls, blank furniture, blank everything. It’s like a jail cell for a bedroom, and everything I’ve got to show for myself is in a backpack and two dresser drawers/

But, at least, I own my mobile.

Every summer job, mixed with odds and ends shit and whatever I can do for my bill. It’s all mine, and Davy can’t fucking touch it.

Maybe that’s why, when I feel it buzz against my chest, it makes me feel more alive. It’s a reminder of all that work just to be able to talk to someone freely.

Arguably, the best feeling in the goddamn world.

I grab it and flip it over. It’s just an email about uni.

Fuck.

I end up scrolling through tumblr for a little while, doing nothing but liking and reblogging a thing here or there. It takes a little while before a little drop down falls from the top of my screen.

gaystrell: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r7Wkwj7MSFk0--DgquHGhYVBbqneEYq0J01t0uMRmxA/edit?usp=sharing

gaystrell: feel the need to apologize before you click the link, but then again, you asked for this hell

When I click on it, it pulls up a doc titled just “crackfic”, and I’m floored with the first sentence alone.

“Fuck my fish ass harder, daddy.”

My hand flies up, covering my mouth as I practically wheeze as quietly as possible. A few paragraphs in and I’m nearly crying into my palm, muffling my laughter as I read through pages upon pages of the most ridiculous fic I’ve ever laid my eyes upon.

I check the word count out of pure curiosity, and it somehow makes me laugh harder.

bi-sammy: holy fucking shit

bi-sammy: i swear to god if you don’t post that i will

gaystrell: already in the process of making the archive post

gaystrell: i seriously believe you underestimate my sincere ability to be the biggest dick on the street

bi-sammy: i dont know whether or not u meant that as ur literal dick or the big dick energy in making that a post but id probably agree with you in both

bi-sammy: tag me in the post pls i want to be the first to reblog it

gaystrell: you’re a ridiculous, sad, little man

gaystrell: of course i’ll tag you

Within minutes, it’s uploaded with the absolute worst slew of Archive tags attached to it, and as soon as he tags me in his post, I tap the notification.

Scales, Fins, and other Fishy Daydreams

Word Count: 3,192

Summary: Fish!Huxley and Sam get it on Shape of Water style

@bi-sammy this is your fault (you're welcome)

I immediately slam like and pull up reblog, rapidly typing out my response before posting.

absolute madman. cant believe youve done this. i trust you with my entire life.

As usual, he's quick to reblog back.

anything for the absolute pain in my life x

Smiling shamelessly, I ride on the moment's high as our conversation stays out in the world. I quite enjoy this version of his softness. The public, taunting replies to mine. In all this time of following him, I can't really recall him ever being this friendly with anyone but me.

Makes me feel special. Maybe too much so.

BAZ

The jarring shock of the seemingly endless notifications rattles me momentarily speechless.

It isn't even 15 minutes after I'd replied to Snow and there's already a few people reblogging it with comments about him and I. A quick “i ship y'all’ to “powermove of the century”. Each make me flush deeper as the replies flood in.

If I were to be practical, I'm aware that I shouldn't be so flustered over the concept of us being a couple. It's most likely my overactive, sad, lonely imagination, but the idea of being loved just makes me blush. Especially since it's someone who doesn't seem to absolutely loathe me.

gaystrell: are you reading these?

bi-sammy: the what?

bi-sammy: i have. nothing to read. i cant read.

gaystrell: use your two remaining brain cells look at the notes for the crackfic

bi-sammy: holy shit

bi-sammy: im cackling

A notification pops up, making me snort this time. I pull up the post and send it off to him without a second thought.

gaystrell: sent a post

gaystrell: “sounds like something huxley would do for sam”

bi-sammy: stop im gonna piss myself shits too fucking funny

I pull it back up, scrolling down to reblog and adding a quick reply that, in all honesty, I should have thought out more. Secretly, part of me is glad that I sent it.

huxley wishes he was this smooth ;)

Within seconds, replies flood in from everywhere. From jokes about Snow and I possibly dating to the concept of Huxley writing (purposefully) shitty homoerotica about himself as a fishman. I quite like the conversation about the latter, while the former makes my chest knot in ways inexplicable.

Going through the notes makes me smile, even if it's mildly embarrassing. The amount of times I've seen the eyes emoji used is definitely excessive, but still somewhat welcomed.

Even my archive has a few comments already, although more based around the fic itself. More ironically, though, is the one person who probably took it seriously and just commented, “Nice fic!” I love the abundance of shameless appreciation for obscure fanfiction in the depths of this community.

Snow's messages roll down my mobile screen as I'm checking the comments, continuously replacing the previous message for the top slot.

bi-sammy: mate

bi-sammy: i love you

bi-sammy: also every time you reblog something of mine i get like 5 followers

bi-sammy: if you mention me i get 10

bi-sammy: youre???????????? a god????????

bi-sammy: can i marry you????????????

I slowly close my laptop, eyes on my phone with an absolutely gleeful grin.

gaystrell: when and where?

[pennyfynotes]

10.--.17 // 12:00pm // starting a studyblr- the creation

to the anon who sent me an ask about this ages ago: i'm so sorry. life has been a little bit of a roller coaster lately and, in all honesty, i'm struggling. but anyway, here's the advice you requested! xoxo, m

starting a studyblr is a little bit daunting, i totally get it. there are so many blogs out there and it seems like everybody's work is perfect and they've all got everything together and how the hell are you supposed to meet these standards?!?!? but everybody started somewhere and (as much as it might be hard to believe) we're not all perfect. so here are some tips from a *seasoned pro* (ok not really but it makes me feel credible):

the very beginning: ok so you're gonna do it. you're gonna take the plunge. these are the things you kinda need to start a studyblr.

1. your url is important. not saying you have to spend weeks brainstorming and vetting the best idea, but be smart about it. if your url is “ilovebrendonurie”, no one is gonna know you’re a studyblr. when you pop up in people’s recommended blogs and they’re into studyblrs, they might not click on yours because your url gives no indication that you’re part of the community. when i go searching for new blogs to follow, i don’t want to have to click on the little block thing and go to your blog just to figure out if you’re a studyblr or not. we’re lazy. you don’t have to explicitly put the word “study” in your url, but make it something that’ll clue people in.

2. your bio is also important. to clarify, i’m talking about the little tiny one that show up on mobile or in the little block that shows up when you hover over a blog url. generally, people want to find studyblrs that are similar to themselves so they might be able to get tips or trade advice. this is the place to put those crucial details to catch someone’s eye. here’s what i’d recommend (personally i’d pick and choose, all of these things is kind of a lot):

>> your name (or pen name)

>> age (not mandatory and you can clue people in with other things)

>> level of schooling (hs? college/uni? grad?)

>> grade (9th grade? college freshie? this is a great way to clue people into your approximate age w/o directly saying it)

>> gender/pronouns (it makes it easier for people when they address you, though i actually don’t have this in my bio)

>> major/fav subjects

>> country (if you’re comfortable. you can always go more/less geographically specific)

>> personality things (mbti type, hogwarts house etc)

>> extracurrics/interests

3. icon! these are super fun, also a great way to indicate you’re a studyblr (choose some books or pens or something). you can go to flaticon.com for some fun options, make your “own” using some templates from canva.com or look around tumblr. there are so many talented people here who put out their work for others to use (you can find some under my tag #digital).

4. banner/background tbh not really sure what the official name for this is. i personally like the simple route (mine is just a b/w photo of some roses), but other people use banners with their blog names on them (most of which are made on canva). this is definitely one of the less important things, as you’ll really only see it if you click on a blog on mobile.

5. desktop theme these are soooo fun. just search “theme” or “theme hunter” on tumblr and you’ll find tons of great stuff as well as blogs dedicated to just themes (some or the blogs are super nice and categorize the themes for you). a theme is really important in terms of making navigation easy for your viewers and also helps you express your style. i’d look for one that has a menu with spaces for at least 3 pages (in addition to home and ask and possibly index). 

6. ****navigation. this is super important. this is where i’m about to explain why you want that menu. you’ll (probably) want pages for each of these things:

>> about: this is where you put a more detailed bio about yourself. go more in depth about your interests and really show off your personality. it’s also really popular (and helpful) to put your past and current classes.

>> my posts: this is a page that will display *only* your original content, no reblogs. the way you do this is: (1) choose a tag for all your original posts (ex: #mine, #original, #[yourname]posts). tag *only* your oc with this. (2) when the theme editor asks for the url/link, put in “/tagged/[your tag here]”

>> navigation: this is where you can link to pages/categories that you didnt have space for in your menu and where you can link to common tags. for example:

>>>>> my masterposts (this is an example of a category): this is similar to “my content”, but more specific. i have a specific tag i use on my masterposts and, on the navigation page, i just put a link on the text “my masterposts”. the url would be something like “[your url].tumblr.com/tagged/[your category tag]”

>>>>>> #bujo (example of a tag): i tag my reblogs with certain categories so they’re easier for me and my viewers to find. you’d do the same thing as before, just replacing the “category tag” with “bujo” (in this case) in the url.

>> credits: please make a page crediting your theme (though it might be built into the theme already) and your icon. don’t steal other people’s work.

>> blogroll: i don’t personally have one of these and it’s not a crucial as the others, but you can put your fav blogs here. a lot of themes have blogroll pages built in, but you can always manually make a page and link all the blogs you like.

ok but, how do i make a new page? for things like “my posts”, “my masterposts, or “#bujo”, you’re not actually making a page, you’re essentiall just pulling up search results so all you have to do is link the url to direct people to the “search results”. for things like “about” and “navigation”, scroll down to the bottom of the theme editor and you will see an option to add a page. you can choose its url to be whatever you like and then the text editor works very similarly to the editor for posting things.

this is not everything an i’m sure you guys will have more questions, so feel free to send me an ask or shoot me a message! hopefully it won’t be too long before i get part 2 (more about getting your blog out there) up, but don’t hesitate to ask me anything! xoxo, m

[lillyevanssss]

CLOSED

{Pretty banner by dev ( @cruciotus ) thank you!!!!}

What??? 500?? I cannot believe it, in all honesty!!

As you’ve noticed I’ve had c150, c250, c350, so why not c450? Because 500 is Iconic™ and too good not to celebrate!

What are we gonna be doing? Oh the usual things.

Follow me. Literally what is the point when I’m celebrating with my followers.

Reblog this post.

Send an ask with a quote you like for a blog compliment.

Send an ask with a book/movie/tv show/song recommendation for a small blog rate.

Send me your name and birthday + an idea of what you want for your birthday (no guarantees) to join my birthday page!

Posts are tagged c500, as always.

Btw, you can still join my net ( @potterversenet​ )

icon: /10 url: /10 content: /10 desktop theme: /10 mobile theme: /10 original posts (if you have them): /10 following: not yet | now | of course

p.s.: I will be holding a Tumblr Awards when I reach 1k! Just so you know. :D

[tinyleia]

I was tagged by @leedongsik earlier this week, thanks for that! I liked reading your answers and hope mine will be fun too. Let’s go🤩

1. Why did you choose your url?

Lol @leedongsik saying ‘I needed to be free from TB’  not meee

My previous url had I for a really, really long time and it no longer felt accurate to my interests or what I was reblogging on this channel. I watched True Beauty last year and absolutely loved Park Yoona’s character on it! I was trying some urls and this was not taken, so decided to go with it.

2. Any sideblogs?

I do not have any.

3. How long have you been on tumblr?

Somehwere around late 2011 or early 2012...... crazy long for sure and I strongly distance myself from anything I might have said and done on this blog before 2017 fyi

4. Do you have a queue tag?

I don’t! Can’t be bothered to spread my posts out over the day, I’m here when I’m here.

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

Pretty sure around 2012 Tumblr was the place to be for all things Kpop fandom, so that’s why I joined I think?

6. Why did you choose your avatar?

I love this picture of Yeri from RV, she’s looking cute with her glasses but is still giving strong ‘Don’t look at me vibes’ and that’s what I aspire to in life

7. Why did you choose your header?

I don’t have one, I like when my Mobile tumblr just has my avatar and some info on top. 

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

I think that would be a Doctor Who post from 2013 or something, it got reblogged by the official DW page and reblogged a zillion times. 

9. How many mutuals do you have?

Many thankfully! From that, I have about 7 that I talk to on a first name/regular basis. If we aren’t talking already shoot me a message because I love befriending people on here :)

10. How many followers do you have?

575

11. How many blogs do you follow?

456. Please not I don’t care much about these numbers nor do I moderate who follows me and who I follow tbh

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

Several, who doesn’t love talking shit???

13. How often do you use Tumblr?

I check the app several times a day like any normal non-addicted person would :) :) :) :)

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

No. I’m a very peace loving person, I could never say something rude to someone else, that’s just generally not how I am as a human being.

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

You really don’t need to do that children, you really don’t. Peer pressure is the worst lol

16. Do you like tag games?

Yes, absolutely!

17. Do you like ask games?

Another yes from me!

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

I feel like the true state of being tumblr famous died a couple years back, probably Luni/@gominshi

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

I LOVE ALL MY MUTUALS EVERYONE IS FAB AND NO ONE IS A CUNT TY ILY

20. Tags?

I’m gonna chicken out of this one sorry asdfghjkl if you see this and wanna do it consider yourselves tagged by me and let me know, I would love to read your answers!