#went to reblog this on tumblr since i reposted it on my instagram but i don’t think i ever did here - so enjoy!

[celandineitsaflowerdickward]

🍪 Betty & Jug making a gingerbread murder scene - tho the real killer is Jughead and his rapid consumption of the gingerbread men - a previous commission for @alpacalypseartb -click for better quality

[bapouro]

i never bothered to curate my followers theres too many. but also this place is like my toilet to me. i used to post my paintings on here but its kind of hard to feel like i can separate that now on here but also its my blog all mine. its interesting. a couple years ago i even had someone repost my art on instagram because he got it from here and thought i had reposted my own art since i reblogged so many jokes. well whatever theres links on my site if someone went looking... remember when tumblr was like a legit art sharing platform? my professors do. lol.

[twotangledsisters]

I saw you post about people stealing your art through another friend. Have you thought about creating an art tag for your name that people could search up here on tumblr?

Hi, thanks so much for the advice!

I do have a tag/watermark that I started using after the first incident, and I put it on every drawing plus wips, or at least try to, I won't deny I do occasionally forget, it's pretty simple and kinda subtle:

Includes my wishes about reposting, as well as my tumblr and my Tiktok.

Less subtle is my signature and my username in all fanart!

However, even with these stuff in place, it doesn't really solve the issue about reposting people's artworks (reposting meaning download or copying an image and uploading again on the same or another site, this isn't the same as reblogs or even reposts on TikTok where it's more a share feature!).

Very few users take the time if they see art reposted on instagram or pinterest to look up the original artist.

Even on sites that DO credit the original artist, most people do not bother to click that link and give the original artist any attention.

And because accounts that repost art do not have to create anything, they can upload tons of stunning pieces a days and directly compete with the actual artists making it even harder for artists to get noticed.

Also, since most accounts doing this do not inform the original artist their doing this, an artist might have two comments on a piece of art and think it sucks because it reached so few people, while on another account that isn't there's, it's getting all the love and attention! (I have had this happen to me and seen it happen to others and I can tell you it HURTS).

Having a tag is super important, and I implore any artists who hasn't got one to make one because even if you think you're art isn't good enough to be stolen, I thought the same thing! Unfortunately I cannot stress enough that isn't a solution and it's super important artists continue to fight this theft by reporting accounts when they are stealing our art, and if everybody could just not support accounts that reupload art without permission, that would be great too.

Also, I know we have this discussion every other day in fandom but give the creatives in your fandom some love! Everybody loves seeing the beautiful art or reading their fave ship, but behind all of this is a person who spent a lot of time of love on that piece and deserves to know the impact it's having! ❤️

Also, again, huge thanks to the original asker for the advice! It's great advice, I went on a bit of a ramble cause I saw the chance to remind my audience of this matter which is one that is close and dear to my heart!

[fuckyeahcolourfuleyeshadow]

In case anyone in this blog's currently small audience has noticed the my posting frequency for this blog has slowed right down to a halt:

Tbh i would have been posting more but since the whole Tumblr selling us out to Midjourney/AI training, I am kinda nervous/iffy on reposting other people's artworks (makeup) on here.

Tho now that Meta has actually ended up outdoing Tumblr on that front (see news about Meta's recent Privacy Policy update that came into effect 26 June I think it was?), artists'/makeup artists' work on Instagram (where I had been sourcing the existing posts on this blog from) is in just as much danger (if not more) as being replicated in AI results, due to the fact that Meta just straight up made it quite literally impossible to "opt out" in some countries - here in New Zealand, America, who knows where else. The EU is (allegedly) protected due to the stipulation/protection in the EUDP that things like data usage for AI training has to be opted out for users by default - which Meta blatantly ignored and opted everybody in by default, hence the only reason we actually heard about this abuse against our rights.

So yeah in conclusion I'm kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place here: I wanted to share the beautiful works of creators (with credit of course), but I don't want to share another artists' work that leads to their work being scraped for AI/ending up in AI "art" results. And it can be hard to acquire permission for every image you repost, especially with a disability. On the other hand, with the advent of Instagram jumping on the bandwagon of stealing everyone's (and not just artists by profession, regular people's personal posts too! Whatever free content they can exploit from us they will) precious work and posts, it feels like it becomes a bit of a free-for-all anyway where if an artist has their work on Instagram, their work has already been scraped by now anyway?

And I have a lot of these sideblogs laying dormant now. It seems like it could be the somewhat death of curated blogs, since we are msot of us artists who don't want to hurt another artists' IP rights/livelihood.

Any advice? What are other folks who run these kinds of blogs doing?

(Btw i went thru and opted out main and all my sideblogs as soon as i saw the post floating about displaying the Tumblr community's outrage at Tumblr over the change to train AI on our data.)

Btw expecting potential crickets/tumbleweed in response to this post, honestly, as this is my most recently-made and updated sideblog so doesn't have the reach of some of my other ones. I might reblog around my other blogs for reach if i get the spoons #spoonieforlife

[yeowninefive]

My 2023 Art Retrospective (Part 2)

This is the second part of an already long reflection of my art progress from this year. Click this link to read the first part.

Art output/reception: Not much else to say that was different from 2022, honestly. It's pretty straightforward sequel escalation--I managed to again beat my old records by a pretty significant amount--over eighty unique drawings, which increases to over ninety when including alternate versions...and the count goes even higher (over one-hundreds) when taking another factor into consideration (I'll address it later). I'd also again say that I do get the sentiment of my art being less obscure as it was in the past--I'd say there were a significant boost of interest (in views and/or interactions such as favorites/likes, reblogs/reposts, etc.) with my art in 2023 compared to 2022--with my 2023 art on dA actually showing nearly quadruple the number of favorites and number of views that my art in 2022 received (at least, based on my personal metrics of art with favorites/views above a certain threshold).

This giant amplification of art production is admittedly based on a few real-life scenarios. Overall I can definitely say that certain other hobbies that I like to do (watching films/shows and playing videogames/making Smash Bros. montages) took a major backseat; and that's actually something I'd like to address going into 2024. The question there of course is if I'm at a point where I could keep up my art production without--which is again where my time management comes in. I hope I can make better strides in figuring it out--there have been more than a few times where I've stayed up late working on art that I reasonably could had pushed off for later and went to bed, and spending lots of time on art that I could had spent doing something else. I am of the thought that if push really does come to shove, I'm okay with putting out less art for 2024 if it means I can get back to doing other things.

Another thing I'm thinking about/looking into using more is sticking more towards a fixed/predicting publishing schedule, so I can "stack up/queue" completed artwork and put more time towards other things. Posting art on multiple avenues is also time-consuming (esp. since I like to add tags and descriptions when appropriate), so I'm also thinking about learning how to utilize APIs, if possible, so I can quickly and/or simultaneously post new art to multiple platforms. Speaking of which.

Art platforms: I talked about trying to change strategy with my art platforms with the first-run/second-run approach, I even talking about having tumblr serving as more of a second-run account. Obviously, that didn't really pan out--that much is clear with this site still being the host for my retrospective art rambles, warts and all. I guess I'm just too embedded with this platform to really shift it towards second gear. Maybe I can take steps there by relying more with scheduled art releases.

I talked about expanding my platforms once Twitter started self-immolating under Elon's then-new control, and dA also showing its hand by jumping headfirst into the AI train. (And it goes without saying that tumblr itself, with the contentious choices and decisions taken this year, isn't off the hook with making dumb decisions--though they eventually overextended themselves/shot themselves in the foot and re-adjusted their focus. Which is...some sort of acknowledgement of mistakes, I guess?) I ended up wading into the waters of three new platforms (technically two, one was actually a 2nd take)...and my experience I'd say as a pretty mixed bag, probably leaning more towards negative.

Instagram was the one that I eventually decided to take another stab with, and I'm afraid I didn't get much, if any, value out of it at all. Even when re-entering that platform with my (to-date) most popular works as the focus, I ultimately felt the lack of interest rendered it of minimal value, even as a "second-run" art account; ultimately just having it go dormant. (By the same coin, it doesn't leave me really invested in setting up shop over at Threads--though I feel for anyone looking to swear off Musk-Twitter/X, I would definitely recommend people there as a baseline.) Cohost by the same coin is also pretty empty, but that at least has the argument of being a much smaller platform that is also aiming for a different approach to social media. Nonetheless, I feel like that's a platform I could probably pump the brakes on a bit in terms of use; with few people the wiser. Bluesky to me actually comes out the best out of the new ventures I've tried--namely because it has the most expats from Twitter that I'm familiar with, who I've been able to follow and share their art, and vice-versa. Even with it still lacking features, its growing audience (esp. with it now going public) feels like the ideal "new" platform to keep tabs on.

Between what's now currently five platforms I'm regularly active on (maybe four if I do move cohost towards more of a passive/background role), I don't see myself making any further expansions for 2024. Pillowfort I considered, but hadn't signed up the broad lack of activity, which eventually seemed to come back to haunt the site when they were at risk of shutting down due to lack of profits. They did manage a successful crowdfund, so hopefully that marks a turning point for their fortunes. Newgrounds is also probably the only other platform besides Bluesky that a lot of artists/creatives I follow have set-up shop; though I feel that if I do join Newgrounds, it will be as a replacement for an existing platform I'm already on, and not just another extension (e.g. if Twitter finally collapsed/was shut down/was widely abandoned).

Alternate art label/art blog: So when in art output I talked about an additional factor pushing my art over the triple digits this year? This was the additional factor. Sometime during the summer, I decided to open a new art blog under a new label where I can post art I normally wouldn't post under this label. (Art that to date, isn't explicit --not like I would be able to post such art here anyway-- but is suggestive/mature enough to not be worksafe.) Truth be told, there have are a couple of works on this blog/label that pushed the envelope a bit into that area anyway, and my main blog has historically had such material crop up on an regular--to--irregular basis regardless. In other words, this is a bit of an expected/natural extension.

My current policy is that this blog and my main blog don't really directly draw attention to it outside of a few instances like this one, or even really acknowledge it by name. The most I will say (for anyone curious/looking for it) is that art from that blog occasionally turns up in my main blog, and it (to date) has only featured some of my OCs (and at least one from another creator).

A Decade of Drawing: If you've been following my Twitter account, you may be aware of a long thread I wrote impromptu in response to another creator, with me discussing why I'm not as "big" as a creator that I probably/possible could have been or should had been, which I feel serves as a more self-critical review of my art trajectory over the past ten years. (Long story shortened into bullet points--subject matter, drawing process/frequency, "timing" of when I started drawing, the platforms I posted my art on in question, and commissions/requests. Some of this stuff I've already touched on in this retrospective already.)

However, I would also like to turn things towards more of a positive note by pointing out what I've done then compared to now. I'm still sheepish about stuff like doing art commissions; but I'm still able to occasionally crank out gift art like I do like nobody's business--and I mainly do those purely just for the fun of it. By that coin, although I'm still a (self-prescribed) obscure artist, I know there does exist small group of people on the 'net somewhere (other artists, just online friends, and others) that are honest fans of the stuff I make and continue following my works and ideas, and I don't ever want to lose sight of that.

I feel that I've also really broadened my art direction in trying to replicate multiple art directions and different subjects. I still have yet to really try and reattempt my oldest stuff (environmental artwork/landscapes), but I've also freely bounced around between original character design, fanart, animation, comics, and videogame concepts. Although I've drawn OCs and comics before, I don't really think I've ever really taken seriously writing down ideas for stories/characters and polish/develop them until I started drawing on a regular basis. (This seems a bit premature to boast as an accomplishment, but I really do mean it--it's honestly up to myself to prove it and really start translating the backlog of my concepts.)

I'll finally end things here by putting it into the perspective of this real-life factoid. A lot can change in ten years for the better, and I'd say it's not just my art that has done so. I started this little online art career shortly after I had just graduated from high school, and was getting prepared to start attending college. My first drawing tablet was itself a graduation gift. That was ten years (and an additional extra six-seven months) ago.

At some point in the first month of the new year, my degree (which after an entire decade of trials, tribulations, and setbacks, I was able to finally complete in December) is supposed to arrive in the mail. I'll probably post a little doodle to commemorate the occasion. In a lot of ways, I view 2013 as the end of an age and the dawn of the next; and I feel confident is saying with the end of 2023 and going into 2024, the feelings and sentiments are very much familiar.

....

I think I have finally covered everything that was on my mind. Again, here's an honest thank you to anyone who has stuck around to read the whole thing (so far), and have a Happy New Year's Eve/New Year's Day and a wonderful 2024.

[jacqthehermit-navigation]

ART RELATED

Do you take commissions/requests/art trades/collabs?

Only from my loved ones depending on my free time. But generally no.

Where did you learn to draw?

Even though I came from a family of artists, I am actually self-taught. I wasn't able to go to an art school like I've always wanted. I mostly learned from watching cartoons and animes.

When did you start drawing?

Ever since childhood.

I used to draw traditionally. When I started posting my art online back in 2008, I drew on paper, scanned it then colored it on Photoshop using my mouse.

I went full digital in 2013 after saving up and buying my first pen tablet (Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch 3rd Gen).

Who are your favorite artists?

Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, Masashi Kishimoto and Kubo Tite.

What do you use to draw?

Pen Tablet:

Wacom Intuos Pro Small

Software:

Paint Tool Sai for drawing

Photoshop for rendering

Kinemaster for video editing

Can you explain your brush settings?

Most of my brush settings are default. The others are from random artists that I watched and liked so I decided to use them too. I've been using these settings for a long time now and I can't remember the last time I added or changed something.

If you are looking for an artist to explain "what's this and that for" regarding brush settings then unfortunately it's not me. You can copy my settings if you liked them though.

Can I copy your art style?

You can use my art style as a guide but please don't copy it from A-Z. Add your own personal touch and twist as much as you can.

Can you give me art tips?

This is from my 2022 art ramblings:

Whenever artists wanna try something new to improve their art, we tend to make big drastic changes right away. This can be effective for others but not for everyone. As you can see, my art style is still the same as last year with minimal tweaks.

I decided that if I’m gonna make improvements, I’m gonna do it gradually instead of incorporating them all at once. This can be a big help in maintaining consistency. If the changes were small, we can easily remember and apply them on our next artwork.

I may now have more confidence with regards to my art compared to before but I am still not confident enough in giving/teaching art tips to people. Most of the time I am just winging my art and I personally feel like it's not right to impart that type of "knowledge" to others lmao. There are a lot of experienced artists on different platforms and you can easily search for their tutorials and advices.

Can I use your art for my profile pic?

As long as it's for personal use, you are free to use my art (icons, profile picture, wallpapers, etc). Please credit me if you can.

IMPORTANT: Do not edit, crop, trace or alter my art in any way, shape or form.

Can I share your artwork on other sites?

Artworks:

I am against reposting. I have an account in almost all platforms so you guys don't need to repost them. Just reblog/retweet/share them directly from the original post.

Note: If the artwork I made was from a very, very small fandom then I mostly allow reposting so it can reach more people. You just need to ask permission first and put proper credits.

Videos:

No. Do not repost/reupload my videos specially on Tiktok.

How long does it take you to finish an artwork?

Artworks:

I mostly do single cel shading nowadays to speed up my process. It takes me 1-3 days to finish depending on how many characters and how detailed the artwork is.

Videos:

I usually make 1 video a month but if I'm more energetic, I can make 2-3 videos.

How can I support you as an artist?

Youtube ➔ Like, comment, share and subscribe

Instagram ➔ Save, share, comment and like

Twitter ➔ Retweet, like and comment

Tumblr ➔ Reblog, like and comment

Kofi ➔ Any amount is appreciated

[iguessweallcrazyithinktho]

Can you do a imagine where Jack shows support to his gf who's bisexual for pride month and makes a tiktok where him and urban sing to the reader "Be who you areeee, for your priiiiide!!!" Lmao 💀 happy pride everyone btw! 🌈💖

Be who you are

Genre: fluff

Pairing: Jack Harlow x reader. Reader x roommate/best friend urban

Author note: reader and Jack been dating for about 3 years

Feedback/likes/comments/reblogs encouraged!

DONOT repost my content anywhere. Not Wattpad, AO3, or your tumblr. I will find you

💖🍶🌼💅🏾🌺🦄🌸🐖🧁🎠🩰🪞🍭🦩☁️

One of the worse parts about living with your boyfriend Jack and your friend urban was the fact they were two crazy assholes. They were more two peas in a pod than you and Jack. They always found a way together to annoy you and make you really rethink moving in with them. But you loved them non of the less.

You woke up early in the morning before urban or Jack woke up. You went to the gym for about 30 minutes before you came back to the condo. Jack and urban were now awake. You said a simple hi to them both before going into the kitchen to make a protein shake and breakfast for you all(since you're the only one who can cook).

While you were doing that Jack was scrolling through Instagram. A few pride month post popped up in his dash. Jack looked at the date and noticed what day it was. June 1st.

He smirked to himself knowing what he could do to annoy you today.

Before you and Jack even started dating you told him you were bisexual. He of course never found a problem with that or made it a big deal. It was something minor to him, but he was going to make it a big deal today.

"hey urb."

Urban who was sitting on the other end of the couch looked at Jack. "What?"

"I want you to help me with something."

Jack told urban his plan to which he agreed to. You had no idea what they were both planning simply because you were too busy making your breakfast.

Jack started his recording and walked into the kitchen with urban.

"hi guys. I'm almost do-"

Jack and urban cut you off and began to sing. "Be who you are for you priiiiiide." You looked at them confused.

"don't hiiiiide."

They looked at you, you stood there looking at them both for a quick minute wondering what the fuck just happened.

"happy pride month." Jack said smiling at you. He turned the camera around making sure he and urban was in the shot and you were in the background.

"wow cool." You said unamused. "Love it." You rolled your eyes and went back to doing what you do. Jack laughed and stopped recording.

"did you like our song baby?"

You looked at him with a disgusted look on your face making urban laugh.

"yeah, You two are great allies. Now fuck off"

Jack jaw dropped in shock before he walked out of the kitchen. He knew you loved it though.

-----

Request are closed

© 2022 writing by iguessweallcrazyithinktho

[jung-koook]

let me talk about something here please.

every time I open my inbox I saw hates messages. I prefer to block these messages, ignore them completely but this time I think I need to reply to these ones that left me extremely offended.

stealing from twitter??? what?? whenever I go on twitter and see a photo or video and post it here I always put the credits. I also check their twitter account to see if there are any messages from them asking us to not repost their videos and photos. and after so many controversies and fansites wrong behaviors, i also stopped supporting fansite fantakes. when I go on twitter to look for translations for my gifs I always put the credits in the description of them. when I post only the translation I take a screenshot of their account and post it showing their username. I also use twitter for news and I always post a screenshot showing where the new came from. and I use twitter to see other instagrams uploading members photos, but do i need to put credits where i got these photos? please, I didnt steal anything from anyone!

now this one.. gosh :/ being called a sasaeng is so offensive, I’m really shook right now :/ let me reply to this message :////

first of all, I am a 24 year old adult, thank you. “has major saesang behavior”??? what do you mean by that?? if you call me something like that you have to give me proof of what you're talking about! I never posted anything from their private events and schedules. nor pics of them just enjoying their lives. i document every moment of jeongguks life?? I cant understand what you're talking about because i dont to that. I never posted anything private about his life!

i already posted some pics of jeongguk that his brother posted on his instagram and his brother talking about gureum. his brother always interacted with army on instagram. he already posted some pics of jeongguk and some bangtan fanarts on his instagram. his brother never told armys not to interact with his account. but after some people asked me not to post these photos/pics here anymore, i deleted them.  (i dont see anything wrong with posting these since his brother doesnt see a problem with it. different from hobis sister who already said she doesnt like her instagram posts beind shared. )

when jeongguk was to film the ‘left and right’ mv. I saw a translation account translate to where he was going. I had read the kmedia news but I didnt realize that the two accounts were talking about different places. so I completely wrongly shared what the translation account translated but that account translated the place bighit was trying to keep private. a nice person here saw it and came to warn me about it and after that i deleted my post and apologize for sharing that here. I think unfortunately these are mistakes that anyone can make. but that doesnt make them saesang. please search on saesang term first.

if i cared about ony notes i wouldnt make gifs anymore. I make gifs because its a hobby that helps me to relax, to forget about the things that are bothering me in my personal life, to show a little bit of my love and admiration for bangtan by making my gifs. but notes are something important and caring about notes is nothing wrong! everyone wants to have their work recognized in some way right? and here its through the notes. so yes, I will self-reblog my posts whenever I want, thanks. :) 

I dont know why but there seem to be a lot of people who dont like that I've been here since 2013 lol and they think I dont deserve the support I got since the start of my blog. been here since the beginning helped me a lot and its something important for me. please dont try to take that out of my story. my blog is a beautiful part of my history as a bangtan fan. please dont try to hurt this part of my story. I went on hiatus for a while because I'm studying architecture and I had to focus only on my studies :)) when i came back tumblr was completely different. the people I knew from before werent here. even though i still had a lot of followers i felt like most werent here anymore either. so for me it was like starting my blog all over again. most of the people who support my blog here dont know it from the beginning, most are new people. so the reason I have support here is not because I've been here since 2013. the only ugliness I see here is you and your messages. you tried to ruin my day and you succeeded. :)

I'm tired of people trying to make things up about me! leave me alone! I'm not hurting anyone. I just post my gifs, support the work of other talented people here and scream for bangtan. stop trying to make up extremely dangerous lies about me! if you dont like me and my blog, stop being pathetic please do something for yourself. blocked my blog so you will never see me here again.

P.S. I’m sorry for my bad english but i needed to answer these messages. and I answered that way because I needed to block these people or the same person from my blog.

[dehavilland]

Eyyyy, thanks @astrophysicist-guitar-god!  I love a good tag game.🥺💖

1. Why did you choose your url?

It’s the name I go by on the Internet. 😂 I hate change, so regardless of whichever fandom I’m in, I keep it consistent. (People with multiple AO3 accounts for different fandoms, I can’t even. Don’t @ me!!!) 

2. Any side blogs? If you have them, name them and why you have them

Technically @havvy-land is a sideblog but it’s just a regular blog under a different email address because the sideblog vs main blog things confuses me too much. You can’t answer asks or you can answer asks or... Yeah, I’ve been here for like a solid ten years and I still have no idea how Tumblr works. 

3. How long have you been on Tumblr?

Oh, now I have to actually figure this one out. Since April 25th, 2011 according to my archive.

4. Do you have a queue tag?

No. Because I’m too lazy to keep up a queue, but if I had one, I think I’d use “queue ball - corner pocket” even though it’s silly because you don’t really announce which pocket you’re going to sink the cue ball into because you’re not supposed to sink the cue ball......

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

My original blog was to join in all the cool kids in the Supernatural fandom -- urghegrhghhh -- and then I never really used it that much and still don’t. Started this one when I started mostly posting Queen stuff just to be able to start with a fresh timeline without having to unfollow everyone I knew on the other blog. And never really use this one either! 🙌

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

I’m so used to my avatar being Olivia de Havilland that I started answering this question that way, but over here it’s John Deacon looking like he’s done with life. Figured I should have a Queen-specific pfp for what was essentially supposed to be a Queen blog. ~~branding.🌟

7. Why did you choose your header?

I don’t think I have a header on either blog. I don’t think I know how to do that.  😂  

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

On this blog, it’s the Crystal-and-all-the-Boys post. 1400+ notes and going strong, and I’ve seen it reposted on Instagram twice. 😂  

9. How many mutuals do you have?

How many mutuals do I have that are mutuals I engage with or just happen to be mutuals? I don’t know and I don’t feel like counting -- but I appreciate that Tumblr now tells you if someone you’re following follows you back so that you can fret about people who aren’t!

10. How many followers do you have?

Over here, 820. Can’t tell you why. I assume most of them are inactive now! 

11. How many people do you follow?

I went on a purge a few months back to unfollow inactive blogs and people who had moved on from Queen stuff and were posting things I wasn’t really vibing with -- shoutout to the individual who is ALWAYS posting cool recipes because I will NEVER unfollow you, that shit is GREAT. So right now we’re down to 220.

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

Yes! One time. And then someone started sending me postal codes and phone numbers into my inbox and I’m not entirely sure if the two things were related or not, but I figure they were trying to give me my details like “haha! I know where you live!” but while they were for the right general part of the country, they weren’t actually mine. So idk, honestly. 

13. How often do you use Tumblr each day?

How much do I use Tumblr each week you mean? Hahahaha. I open it once a day or so, scroll for a bit, like a few things and then move on. One day I’ll fix my theme so it has a scroll bar again and then use this more. She said without much confidence.

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

Uhhhhh, no? I mean, I’ve had fallings-out with people where we unfollowed each other but I’ve never had a heated Tumblr argument. “Who won” feels like a loaded question -- how do you quantify WINNING on Tumblr???  😂

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

If you’re going to unfollow me because I didn’t reblog something on my mostly inactive Tumblr account, there’s a good chance we’re not going to hit it off as friends anyway.  😂

16. Do you like tag games?

I don’t spend a lot of time on Tumblr beyond the occasional twenty minutes of idle scrolling but I love the feeling of “oh, someone thought of me 🥺” so tag away!

17. Do you like ask games?

This one requires a little more active participation from me, which I am obviously against 😂 but if I see a friend hosting an ask game, I often drop an anon ask in their inbox just to make them smile. 

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

Does this question just exist to annoy your friends? 😂 If I say X person is Tumblr famous but not Y person, I’ma get heated DMs and hurt feelings, aren’t I? Not falling into this one. (Send me the anon messages tho, I can take it.)

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

Maybe. 😏 (no)

20. Tags:

I’m for the “anyone who wants to do it can do it” but if these people want to do it, I hope me tagging them makes them smile: @sammyspreadyourwings @runningfortocome @epaily @spandexpride @smittyjaws @unicornsapplesandstuff

[aenslem]

ATTENTION: REPOSTER ON TWITTER/INSTAGRAM - glojo3798 / GlojoCuscuhing

Hey guys, I will take some of your time here by writing about this particular Star Trek gifs reposter that’s been brought to my attention, but first let me provide some links explaining what reposting is and why it is bad. See posts here and here. A lot of gif makers and other content creators have faced reposters since tumblr exists and I myself wrote a lot of posts about it, but those sum it up well.

Recently I was notified by @ansonmountdaily that there is a massive reposter who’s been going through tumblr stealing thousands of Star Trek gif sets over the course of at least three years, and reposting them on their Instagram and Twitter accounts glojo3798 and GlojoCuscuhing, 99.99% of the time without giving credit to the original gif makers on tumblr, which come from every Star Trek fandom (TOS, TNG, VOY, DS9, Discovery and Picard) See list by AnsonMountDaily at the bottom of the post for a sampling of gif makers that have been targeted. The purpose of this post is to let people know their work has been reposted offsite without credit. It is not meant to attack the reposter in any way.

This individual has reposted 7000+ gif sets for which they’ve received thousands of views and likes from their 4100+ Instagram and 1700+ Twitter followers. Reposts include gifs clearly watermarked with the gif makers’ names but conveniently re-cut by them to make the watermark on gifs harder to see. Glojo also has the habit of combining stolen gifs, creating a collage, changing the size and order of the gifs, putting additional text over the graphic, and sometimes even their own watermark on stolen edits (original), giving the impression they’re the creator of those works. To top it off, Glojo has turned other people’s gifs into “birthday gift” collages, tagging Star Trek actors’ Twitter/Instagram handles on the reposts, again making it seem as if the gifs were their creations.

Glojo knows where the gifs originate from because the captions on the reposts are often the same as on the tumblr posts, and on the rare occasion they do admit the gifs are not theirs, it’s done in a vague manner, in the style “credit to the owner” (“gif from tumblr”) which is not credit at all, it’s merely acknowledging the platform the gifs come from, when credit should be given to specific users.

Before AnsonMountDaily told me about the reposting I did not know about any of this and am pretty sure the gif makers on the list didn’t either. They have since been notified. Glojo was contacted via Instagram about giving credit more than once, only to block those users. I myself wrote to them (also commented) about it, but they were not even bothered to answer me, but still continued to repost my works after i wrote them.

I want to ask those who see Glojo’s reposts or already follow them on social media, to NOT like/follow reposters or give them views. Please encourage the content creator and not the thief. We know it can be difficult sometimes to recognize an account as a reposter, and that net etiquette about reposting and ”resharing” isn’t immediately clear to everyone browsing social media, which is why we’re alerting people about this particular case, and spreading the word to other graphics makers who have been affected.

If you respect content creators who provide you with fanart and gifs for your favorite fandom, if you appreciate the love and dedication and energy they put into their work, and don’t want them to lose interest in giffing (a skill that takes time to practice and learn, and a process that is longer and far more involved than non-gif makers tend to believe), do not encourage people like Glojo into stealing more because it is very upsetting. As a member of @startrekladies I had a hard time going back on posting there because a lot of Glojo’s stolen works originate from said blog or got reblogged by it. More than that, Glojo went through my old blog @spockemon and reposted 50+ edits and gifs, and even my Doctor Who gifs (original), and that’s just what I found from browsing their instagram a little, pretty sure if i scroll down to the end i could find more :/ which is very upsetting.

They reposted not only Star Trek gifs/edits, but also Doctor Who, Farscape, Stargate and Star Wars gifs.

We do hope that if they repost more they will give a credit to original creator, but as someone whose gifs and edits were reposted a lot and even re-edited and watermarked by glojo, i prefer them to not repost my works at all. Even if it is just a small screencap edit, I still put my time and effort into it and using it as a base for their work and even claiming as theirs is disrespectful.  The worst is - Glojo is not the only one who does this, there are more accounts stealing works from creators and getting praise for it, never mentioning that it is not their work. That is why my recent gifs are all watermarked. I put in my about page that if someone reposts my works outside tumblr at least give me credit, linking back to my tumblr, that is not much to ask and all the time I ask for the credit I get rude answers and get blocked. or no answer at all :/ I hope you will have better luck with it.

Feel free to reblog this post to help us spread the word, thank you! If your gifs have been reposted and you wish for them to be deleted, we suggest you either contact Glojo on their social media and politely request a removal (please, DO NOT harass or attack them!), or report the reposts to Twitter/Instagram.

Thank you very much for reading!

The following are gif makers’ names and examples of their gif sets that have been reposted on Glojo’s Instagram and/or Twitter that we can recognize. Please note this is just a small sampling of gifs Glojo has taken from each gif maker, there are many more, just like there are numerous other gif makers not covered on the list! (if you want to be removed from the list, contact me)

@anneboleyns: Janeway’s hair (repost)

@ansonmountdaily: Pike, Spock and Number One (repost + another), Ensign Spock (repost), Pike’s thruster suit (repost)

@bamfness: Saving the galaxy (repost), We are Borg (repost + another), Seven (repost)

@burnhamandtilly: Burnham outfits (repost + another + another), Sarek outfits (repost)

@carlithiel: Disease (repost), Infinite Regress (repost), The Thaw (repost), Seven (repost)

@claudiablacks: Intendant Kira (repost), Jadzia outfits (repost + another)

@cowboyjimkirk: Spock beanie (repost + another), Talos IV (repost)

@cuddlybitch via @picardsource: Clancy and Picard (repost + another), Locutus (repost), 218 warbirds (repost), Picard’s wine (repost + another), Airiam (repost)

@danvers-carols: Pike (repost)

@discovernow: Jet Reno (repost), Spock on the bridge (repost)

@e-ripley: Pike’s winter uniform (repost), Pike and Spock (repost)

@gatissed: Are we safe here (repost + another)

@gayparmak: Odo and Quark (repost)

@gayspockk via @picardsource: Raffi’s fave holo (repost + another)

@geordilaforges (@jane-foster): Troi (repost), Crusher (repost)

@haybalemaze: Enslave them (repost + another), Seven drinking (repost + another)

@indianajcnes: Pike (repost), Pike in the chair (repost)

@intergalacticexplorer: Number One as Admiral (repost)

@jeor: Pike’s traits (repost)

@leisylaura: Kate Mulgrew (repost)

@likefreedominspring: Pike and Georgiou (repost)

@lovely-trek: TOS happy cast (repost + another), Kirk and Tribbles (repost)

@marcygoomen: Kate Mulgrew’s Birthday (repost)

@mindmeld: I do love you (repost)

@mistressvera: Heads up (repost), We have to stop them (repost + another)

@myrcella: Beverly (repost), Beverly and Jean-Luc (repost)

@onaperduamedee: Georgiou (repost), Burnham white undershirt (repost)

@philippageorgiou: You had it coming (repost + another), Pike on the bridge (repost), Beverly (repost)

@readysteadytrek: The Voyage Home (repost)

@ssaalexblake: Sarek and Amanda (repost)

@startreksource: Pike (repost)

@static-warp-bubble: The Pikes (repost), The Ensign or Cadet (repost)

@toboldlyblahblahblah​: Tasha Yar (repost)

@whatelsecanwedonow: Hubris (repost), Romulan lives (repost), Shields up (repost)

@youmissedthewholeshow: Hit it (repost), Number One (repost)

and mine (@sopheirion): Pike and Spock (repost), Pike’s goodbye (repost), The Orville (repost) Rand and Uhura (repost), Original (repost), Kirk (repost) - and many other recent gifs of mine and not only from @startrekladies and @sci-fi-gifs.

[jiangwanyin]

GETTING TO KNOW ME!

i was tagged by @xie-wang thank you so much!!! and because obviously it took my forever to get round to actually doing this (i'm so sorry) since then i was tagged by @haleths and @manwesbreath too thank you loves!!! 💜

why did you choose your URL?

i don't really remember the process but originally it was for my tolkien sideblog so obviously i wanted something that fits the theme and i love glorfindel and it was the only one i could think of

any side-blogs? name them and why you have them.

none, and after having like ten sideblogs for years i gotta say i'm really enjoying being annoying on main and i'd like to formally apologize to everyone who followed me back here out of loyalty after following only one of my old blogs (most likely the tolkien one) with more specific content and now has to put up with whatever the hell this is

how long have you been on tumblr?

4 years i think?

do you have a queue tag?

bold of you to assume i even use the queue and don't just reblog fifty posts in one go, leave for a couple of hours and then repeat

why did you start your blog in the first place?

this blog specifically because i was tired of my old one and felt like i wasn't really able to be myself on there but i feel like this question is more about how you ended up on tumblr to begin with in which case for me it was seeing star wars textposts reposted on instagram fan accounts back when we were waiting for tlj to be released and i decided to check out the source?

why did you choose your icon?

because it's hanguang-june babeyy

why did you choose your header?

i don't think there even was a thought process behind it, i just wanted something new since i was redoing my theme a bit for pride and it was the only thing i could think of so i went with it

what’s your post with the most notes?

this eowyn one i made for tolkienweek i think?

how many followers do you have?

134

how many people do you follow?

176

have you ever made a shitpost?

at one point i'm sure i have but not recently i don't think?? my sense of humour is basically nonexistent until it's like 4am and i'm too exhausted to have any reservations about saying whatever's on my mind so it's not really my genre

how often do you use tumblr each day?

more than i'm willing to admit

did you have a fight/argument with a blog once?

nothing big, i did use to get into fights when i started out because i was really petty but since then i've either become a better person or just gotten too tired, but i think the last time someone tried to start shit with me was in the led zeppelin fandom for suggesting that we should maybe stop constantly sexualising the band members which didn't go down too well shdvdjsx

how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this post’?

best way to ensure i won't reblog it <3

do you like tag/ask games?

oh absolutely, nothing like a socially acceptable excuse to talk about myself 😌

which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

i mean that's a question of perspective but shockingly enough a solid amount of them are? no idea how they even put up with me

do you have a crush on a mutual?

if we've interacted twice i am in love with you i don't make the rules but i would actually die for some of you and you know who you are so no need to expose my blatant favouritism 😌

aand finally i'm tagging @afklints @thcrin @coralinejoines @sapphirecastles and @passingthetime if you feel like doing it? 🌷

[cyberloops]

The Facebook-ising of Tumblr

Some people may have noticed a sudden change in their statistics or in what shows up in their dashboard. This seems to only be affecting the mobile app at the moment, but since so many of us browse on our phones... that effects a lot of us. Because it spills over into trends and statistics in general affect algorithms and trends everywhere else.

What was the change? They added a checkbox in settings called Best stuff first. Which means that you see more popular posts first, and less popular posts last. Y’know, like Facebook. And it defaults to being turned on.

Within a few days of this option going live, I went from getting 20+ followers a day to about 2. I’ve seen some complaints from other people about their OC having a rapid dip in likes and reblogs, while things like aesthetic, meme, or other similarly viral posts are staying busy. Because instead of just getting a feed of things from the people we follow, now the default is to show the most popular posts first. So that post that you are the hundredth person to reblog is at the top of your follower’s feeds, not any original content you’ve made.

If you personally want to help fight this, then make sure you go into the mobile settings on Tumblr under General Settings > Dashboard > and turn off Best Stuff First. The other option there, Stuff in your orbit seems a little more benign, and may actually help the app recommend things that people you tend to agree with like. It might actually help expand what you see, not limit it. So at least for now, I’m leaving that one checked.

As for me... well, this has pretty well borked my tumblr. This is a blog focused on my original content, I just repost other interesting cyberpunk and retro tech to fill in the space between my own posts. But since early January, I pretty much stopped getting followers, and my notes on OC are noticeably less.

This blog started out as a work blog for a project that has since turned into something far different. But now it’s stagnating. I’m going to keep posting here. I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. This might slowly turn back around. But for now, I think I’m going to look into other places as well. Youtube isn’t the best place for a musician like me who doesn’t really perform live. But it’s a platform. Instagram and Soundcloud are also options,although Soundcloud charges a premium fee for anyone who posts over a certain amount... and after putting out an album with 53 tracks, I’ve got a bit of a back catalog at this point.

[just-things-things]

why did you start this acc?

So, this ask has been sitting in my inbox for a couple of days now. I keep coming back to it and just never knew how to answer. Now, I’m giving you a too long answer for such a simple ask:

More under the cut

Back in seventh grade, ( I’m a sophomore now, so this would have been about three years ago ) I ran an Instagram fan page for a completely different fandom. I thought it was successful, even if I only reposted other people’s work, ( Which I’m not proud of ) but I was really happy about how everything turned out. 

One day, on the bus ride to school, I told this one girl - we’ll name her Isabella - about my fan page. She had been a friend since kindergarten, and I trusted her. During lunch, she went and told the rest of the “friend” group. They bashed me all day for being a “nerd,” “stupid,” and an “attention seeker.” It sucked.

When I went home that day, I went online and passed the account on to someone else. I asked them to change the password and “take good care of it.” I never went back to it, even today I don’t know the password. I don’t even remember who I passed the account to. Heck, I don’t remember the name of the account. I never even looked for it. I went from going home everyday to a loving community with a great fan page to nothing. I felt like something was missing, but it was “okay” because now I was “normal.”

For the next year and a half, I lived in my own little world with fanfiction and the occasional scrolling on Pinterest. I kept it a secret, knowing I was weird. It wasn’t about till the end of my Freshman year that I was reading fanfiction at about 3 a.m. when in the end notes was a link to join a discord server about the ship I was reading. It took a couple days of convincing, but I finally joined. I was inspired.

Everyone there was so nice and welcoming. Those people convinced me to do something that made me happy, which resulted in this account. As all things do, the account started off slow, with only one or two notes for each thing I posted. I was discouraged and ready to quit, but one person reblogged a post and the account blossomed. I don’t think people realize how important it is to reblog things, it helps people grow. Ever since then, Tumblr has been a safe place and people have continued to support everything I post. 

On that note, I love each and everyone of you. We recently reached 430 followers in only four and a half months. ( Which I’m proud of! ) I’d really appreciate if you guys, girls, and non-binaries would send me asks! I take prompts and will answer any questions you give me, please don’t hold back! Also, if you’re lonely or want to talk to someone, DM me! I don’t have internet friends and would love to gain some, hit me up!

Now that that is done, I hope this answer was enough, and if you are starting a new account, or if your’s isn’t doing as well as you thought it would, that’s OK! Give it time, and never let anyone tell you your passion is “dumb.” It’s not. 

Love you all!

@justpeterparkerthingsgirl

[daesungindistress]

Why are you like this? I remember the times you used to be a Daesung page and now you post all day about how much you hate SR.We all get it. You hate him. Bravo. I'll give you a medal too. But where is Daesung in all this? When did your big hate for SR become bigger than any love you have for Dae? And if you don't believe me, just compare your posts of SR against your posts of Daesung. It's really disappointing as a Daesung fan that works her a$$ off for him to watch you. 😒 I'm D's hoes leader.

I know you. You’re the one who joked about it taking a scandal for me to talk about Daesung again. That would have been funnier if there’d been any truth to it.

Because really, I don’t know how you’re scrolling through my blog and somehow missing all these posts about Daesung? I do talk a great deal about Seungri lately, mainly because I continue to receive messages about him from my followers (many of which I never get around to btw). I post occasionally about the other members too, of course, but this blog is still and always will be dedicated to and in celebration of Daesung. In fact, quite a few of my posts that discuss Seungri are as much about Daesung as they are about Seungri. Because even with Seungri gone, the DaeRi dynamic has always been and probably always will be fascinating to me.

My love for Dae… some posts in which I drag Seungri I do out of love for Daesung – for example, my D-Day concert DVD screencaps and the discussion posts that followed. I’ve always thought that something went wrong between the two of them that day, and that Daesung deserved better than to have his concert crashed like that. By someone who wouldn’t even leave when asked to repeatedly.

Continuing on… this is a bit unexciting as far as explanations go, but it doesn’t help that the VIP fandom on Tumblr is practically comatose right now, so there isn’t much Dae content to go around. That will change when BB become active again.

“What about Igija Festival?” you might be ready to ask. Yeah, this is getting a bit technical now, but I don’t much like crossposting from other social media platforms, and most new content these days appears on Twitter and Instagram. Embedding posts from Twitter to Tumblr just plain doesn’t work, and I’m wary of embedding vids from Instagram because I’ve been burned by accounts suddenly going private and losing access to said videos too many times. And I always feel kind of gross downloading and reposting. So I spend my time here answering asks and reblogging what meager scraps of Daesung content come my way. Again, it’s a dry spell, one I hope we’ll reach the end of soon.

As for your question, “Why are you like this?” I know what you’re really getting at: my “hate” for Seungri. Do you want the truth? Okay. It’s not even about Seungri anymore, not really. It’s you.

Well, not you specifically, but the subset of this fandom that you belong to. The fans still calling for his return to BB. The fans determined to drag what’s left of BB’s name and reputation through the mud right alongside his – even though Seungri left precisely to prevent that very thing from happening. Why do this to the four cherished members we have left? Why, when he shut the door on any future he might have in the industry? Why, after the four warned him so many times? After they made it known over and over again that he would likely one day leave them? Why is it so hard to accept that he finally did it? Because the way it ended was so tangled and twisted?

Perhaps worst of all are the fans who see signs in everything, messages that only exist inside their heads. I’ve seen actual diagnosed delusion that developed by reading too deeply into what was believed to be symbolic imagery in social media posts. In a good friend of mine. I was there, I watched it grow, I tried to steer her out of it (and failed; she was eventually hospitalized). I have no patience for it. It’s not cute, it’s not funny, it’s downright alarming and it’s not doing a single one of you an ounce of good.

I want to ignore it, and I do try. But then someone puts it in front of me, or I get bored and meander around Twitter and accidentally wander into a Seungri-positive space where people are somehow still sobbing over OT5 – after six months of this – and whoops, I’m riled up all over again. You guys piss me off, that’s it, that’s all. Is that a personal problem? Yeah, probably. But every time I see someone pushing their Seungri-isn’t-gone agenda, I’m here countering it, pushing back like a reflex with one of my own and reminding everyone I can reach that actually, yeah, he is.

It’s a vicious cycle. And it’s exhausting. Believe me, I am so ready to get Seungri out of my head. But it needs to be a group effort. If you guys stopped talking about him, so would I. If Big Bang were to come back tomorrow and neglected to mention him, so would I.

Realistically though, the fandom is never going to stop mentioning him, not completely, and I don’t think BB will pretend he never existed either. He’s a part of our past, even if a painful one. As for my posts about him, I expect they’ll taper off when the others are in front of us again, giving us something fresh and interesting and positive to talk about for a change… and when this matter is finally settled once and for all. Since for some of you, SR announcing his own retirement wasn’t enough. It’s been a rough year in so many ways. Just counting down the days…

[regentcorpse]

Added after I wrote this, I know my grammar is a mess in this. This post is 2223 words, longer than most high school essays which averaged 1500 words. If you don’t want to read all of this it has been separated into paragraphs and most of the conversation points are in the last three paragraphs. This sentence was added in after word count, the original post was on Facebook which is why the link in this does point to my own blog: My sentence structures are not correct, and this is Facebook and I don’t give a crap about that here. I did try to do my best to make it somewhat understandable with several ideas and conversations all in this. Also I didn’t originally separate it into paragraphs. If a sentence seems out of place at the start or end of a paragraph, my bad. But please read, comment opinions, not angry but constructive to build a conversation. I also don’t know how but this became more like an info blog post, but valid points and openings for conversations are made.

These newish Apple features like the Memoji, like it’s aight but still lacking in so many hair styles and facial depth, forehead, chins, and noses. Hopefully the will add a lot more features to be able to make it more like you, in a cartoon version. I’m about to check out the full bitmoji app to see what all they have, but I feel like apple should of used bitmoji, and since Apple has a version, I know android does. How is their version in your experience? (Please reply even if you don’t know me, I want to have decent conversations with people, but I hardly have anyone to talk to about random stuff like this.) Also the fact that Apple has Memoji in their database of words and not Bitmoji, is extremely weird, and pointless not to have it.

I don’t know how I feel overall about Apples decisions on these updates. They seem to be trying to almost build a legit social media around their platforms, I wouldn’t be surprised if they make something like Google+, which will most likely fail all together as a product, not because it will be awful but because we already have the social media giants that control most people’s lives, work, and reputation.

Facebook is for memes mostly and socializing with like minded people with their pages and groups. Not to mention that so many people use their marketplace now as well, which did shock me that it took of with other apps offering the same thing before Facebook did. To those who didn’t know, yes, Facebook stole that idea from OfferUp and LetGo(I think there was another around before the marketplace.)

You have Snapchat, the goofy fun social media where you can have personalized stories, private or public, and I may be wrong but they are also the ones that introduced the idea(maybe didn’t originally have the idea, but did introduce it, I think. Let me know if I am wrong please, I would like to know.) Next, the thing that made Snapchat big originally was the disappearing pictures after 10 seconds, which you couldn’t edit when the app first came out, the initial release didn’t even have filters or all the extra stuff they have now, it was so basic and simple and blew up. Another thing that made Snapchat big in the same way, disappearing photos meant disappearing nudes for both male and female, only that at first they could be screenshots, that didn’t notify you. In a future version, they disabled screenshoting photos from the default system buttons, but of course people found ways and made apps to get around it. Snapchat then started to block accounts for using those apps, then came the solution of notifying users of screenshots and then recordings when Apple released that feature. I know Snapchat probably wasn’t the first to make the goofy photo filters, but they did make it so much easier and almost more advanced with their simple facial mapping(yes it is simple since it’s meant to work with phones without facial recognition and all the other fancy face features.). Now Snapchat is a place to socialize in groups, or privately with friends through photos, messages, and video. Another big use now is the porn industry, where I think it’s safe to say only females succeed at making a lot of money with. It also seems to avoid spam bots and stuff. I’ve never received anything from a fake user or bot, besides their built in Snapchat bot, so that is honestly impressive and I applaud them for trying to keep it safe and friendly, except for the usual douchebag guys that send dick picks and stalk girls no matter their age. Danger lurks at all corners of the internet, and making friends is easier now, and just an add and a message away sometimes. But be careful who you add and honestly block anyone who harasses you or sends you unwanted images. And report them, help improve internet society and safety. This goes for all social media platforms.

Instagram is built solely around the personal sharing of photos to a feed and nothing else really. I know everyone was shocked that it became as big as it did, considering you can do the same thing in Facebook, and easily share other peoples photos to your friends. Although it is just photos, the people on there that are successful, actually do influence people and promote sponsors and their products. Some use it to get money, for their more explicit content. It followed Snapchat in adding stories, then filters, and has been successful in its endeavors. You can find everything legal on their as well as some illegal content such as drug use. As mentioned above, yes bots and fake accounts exist, be weary in who you talk to and exchange messages and photos with on here as well.

Twitter has been around for a long time and honestly, I see it being the first to die, due to overall lack of community and now with all the user interface updates and whatnot, it can be difficult to understand how the social environment of it works. Basically you get I think 140 characters to insert into the status prompt or whatever you/they want to call it. I personally don’t use it much, I get on there to see any updates from game companies and some of my favorite authors and music artists. I do this maybe once a week or two. I honestly don’t understand the point in twitter nor how getting followers and conversations started on there, if you have any suggestions for me please let me know if you are still somehow reading this.

Tumblr, ye olde blogging platform, one of the best until the pornography bam that yahoo added once their app was removed from the Apple store after I think being reported for child pornography. A lot of people lost their blogs and thousands of followers and countless hours of work. Many others had a lot of their content censored by a community guidelines photo or by being completely removed. So yes we can all agree that it’s a good thing they are trying to do what they can to combat child pornography of Tumblr, but a lot of people saw this as a complete change of environment for tumblr, whether being used for art, music, porn, pizza, cats etc.. Another big complaint that caused this change is how easy it was to lie about your age and turn off the content filter that got rid of the majority of inappropriate content. It was literally just a search option, then they tried moving it to your phone settings to the app setting in there to turn it off, which was still too easy. I can say you will still see pornographic content on Tumblr, mostly by accident, but there are people still posting getting around their image search algorithms. Past that to summarize, it’s basically a bigger version of Twitter, allowing for blog posts of most media types now, they have a reblog button to repost on your own page(these also get their own sub domains where it follows such as mine regentcorpse.tumblr.com. This is not for promotion, just an easy example(it’s a new blog with only like one blog post, but yes is my personal blog.) You can use your own domain if you own the address and route it to tumblrs name-servers, which most domain hosts have guides available to help you understand the process and set it up. They follow Wordpress in allowing themes which are only visible in a web browser and not the Tumblr mobile app, but on mobile you can edit the color scheme and fonts to what they have stock. To be like twitter with the features of Wordpress except custom plugins, it is a phenomenal platform still where you can truly be yourself and no one actually has to know who you are, you just post the content you love, the content you create(except for the porn content that a lot of people now went to Snapchat and Twitter for, and probably some private instagrams). You can find almost everything you heart desires within lawful reasons, I mean honestly you could probably find someone to buy illegal stuff from like guns, drugs, etc but I’ve never looked for that type of stuff on there. I love cyberpunk culture and there are so much content around it on tumblr. It also has pretty decent privacy setting for a blog, which can be password locked I believe and you can set permissions for it to be only people you follow or follow you, or no one or everyone can message you, ask questions(which can be anonymous), and submit content to your blog(also can be anonymous). The tumblr community can be toxic but also so helpful and beautiful seeing some of the ways people come together on there. It can range from legit bugs to books and quotes to programming and even professional use.

There is also LinkedIn, which is a very professional platform where you can add your professional resume and skills and may get recruited to jobs. I remember something like this tried to launch on Facebook but I do believe it failed out, as I haven’t seen anything about it or a link since they probably removed it.

So this leads me to ask What would an Apple Social Media Platform consist of? How would they try to outdo the others, and how would they make it appealing enough for people to use/switch to. Yes Apple is a big name, but so was google which failed at social media. They had good ideas but went about it completely wrong.

I feel like Apple would attempt to make a platform around creativity and art of all types. I feel like it would be a platform that would combine GarageBand, IMessages, Memoji, and all their other great apps into one. If they added collaboration on projects a lot easier in that aspect, and didn’t force themselves into everyone(Yes, Google that’s a shot at you.), they could make a truly great platform where we could see great things made by groups, communities, artists, and I could see them adding some sort of collaboration for web developers and programmers, which I would like to see knowing that Facebook, the corporation not social network, owns Oculus, and they already have a lot of resources for developers. Do you think Apple might be working on a social media platform, or do you think they will just keep adding out of place features? Do you think they would succeed in it or absolutely fail? Do you think Apple would stand a chance against the other giants that have been around and built up their user base? Also another issue is how exclusive Apple is with everything, just the fact you can log into Apple TV and watch it on a Windows Pc is a miracle. Do you think Apple will make it exclusive or would they put in the effort of being their media platform to everyone no matter their device? Remember everyone had a MySpace, now you never even hear about it, Facebook was a surprising switch with it having limited functionality and basically no customization options for your profile like MySpace and some other media’s had.

I want to hear your thoughts, opinions, and speculations about this, let’s start an open and friendly conversation, no hate or trolls, I don’t want all of that and your comments will be deleted and I may even block you from seeing posts like this on your feed and my page. This is at an end because my thumbs are tired and my phones dying and Facebook is lagging from how much I just put on here, but seriously comment, let me know what’s running in your mind, even what you would like to see change in social media in general or even in specific ones. I hope you all do open a nice and positive and informative conversation, I want to see that on Facebook more and I want to make friends I can talk about this type of stuff with in depth or even as broad as mostly common knowledge.

[diningpageantry]

Don’t @ Me

Archive Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18215168/chapters/43092371

Chapter 1/10 of It’s A Handheld Disaster

Word Count: 3118

Fic Summary: Teenage life is hard enough, but with the added weight of their lives, both Simon and Baz thrive online in a fandom for the British crime show, Gastrell, about the genius Huxley and his "flatmate" Sam. Through Tumblr, they find each other, and sink into something more than just being mutuals.

Chapter Summary: A shitpost is taken a little too personally, and an argument breaks out. In true Baz fashion, he seeks to prove himself right in the most ridiculous way possible.

BAZ

Morning routines are the most menial shit in the realm of existence of arbitrary tasks.

Everyone seems to have them, yet nobody really has a set one. For example, my step-mum has a long, seemingly pointless hour of simply facial cleansers, serums, and hair products. When I’d asked her years ago why she does it all, she shook her head and said “You’ll never be an aging woman, Basilton.”

I couldn’t quite argue with that.

Regardless, it’s a part of life. The routines. Wake up, morning routine, morning activity, eat, afternoon activity, usually afternoon snack, evening activity, dinner, night-time activity, sleep.

A boring, underwhelming cycle of the day.

Although, I suppose it’s shittier for me, since the homeschooling doesn’t give me a chance to do much besides sit and read. Of course, I have my car and I can drive off to whatever. Hell, father even suggested I get a job to occupy myself, but I don’t quite see the point given how much money we have (and the risk factors with moving around so frequently).

So, here I am. Finishing my classes in a matter of months, then having an entire year of pointless bullshit.

Needless to say, my entire day’s routine isn’t the most thrilling. Wake up at 10 on a good day, check social media and emails, then just lay here until I can’t wait to piss. Piss. Go to eat breakfast and get greeted by screaming children and my poor step-mum trying to wrangle them in. Go upstairs, go back online, see whatever’s on my dash, reblog some shit, then try to do something vaguely productive. Check Archive, check email again. Nothing’s on the emails, ever. Text Dev and Niall, who get awfully pissed since they are in school. Get more food. Eat. Bring tea upstairs, despite the disdained look from our maid (who hates collecting my piles of mugs). Write for a couple hours. Take an afternoon nap, if I please. Wake up and sit there (again). Maybe lonely wank. Go back to the bathroom, stare at myself in the mirror for a good few minutes. Sit on the toilet for half an hour for no reason besides the fact that my phone seems more interesting while sitting there as compared to sitting in bed. Sit then on the bathroom floor doing the same thing. Go back to my bed, listen to music on my phone and work on my laptop. Write, maybe scroll. Get dinner brought to me as they tut that I should be more active. Eat. Go downstairs for an evening workout (they’re right, I shouldn’t confine myself to my bed). Come back, do exactly what I do for half the day until I pass out somewhere around 3 am. Repeat.

Dream life for an 17 year old. Social life of a god.

Somewhat.

It’s shit to say (and sort of embarrassing to share) that there’s sort of a social media presence around me. Not quite the Instagram model bullshit, but based around fan life.

Yes, it’s a laughing stock. That’s where my popularity lies--a mixed grab-bag of various ages gathering around various platforms to enthuse about certain topics. And I’m somehow lucky enough to have the slightest bit of popularity here.

As in, a large following. A large, somehow active following.

It isn’t exactly thrilling as one would like to think. Sure, it’s fun to see a scattered group of regulars pop up, and I have my mutuals, but it’s a sad existence to sit around and make various shitposts with nothing better to occupy my mind. Or, at least, that’s what Dev and Niall tell me.

All in all, I blame Fiona. She’s the one who got me into the show, saying she thought the character was a bit like me. After I saw it, I found the three connections she’d grasped at.

Gay, dark-haired, and violinist.

As if that’s a rarity.

Yet, surely enough, I did love it. The cinematography, the characters, the storyline. It was intriguing--captivating.

It doesn’t hurt that the online community was still on the smaller side when I first got there. The show was only a season in when I made my blog, and I’ve stuck through all this bullshit to get me here. One of the regulars. Reposted everywhere, uncredited usually. Big fics, large interactions. Shitposts with thousands upon thousands of notes. I’m recognizable; a suggested name.

Don’t get me wrong, the attention is spectacular. I love interacting with people beyond this depressing household, and they’re usually fairly nice (usually) (except those ravenous for an argument). It’s just awkward to share at times when people ask why your mobile’s got 99+ symbols next to the apps and you just shrug and say “I’m shit at checking it” to avoid the conversation because most people see it as childish.

It’s a shame, really. Especially since I feel emotionally attached to these goddamn fictional fuckers.

I suppose that’s what makes it all the more personal, then. Even the shitposts mean something to me.

Which is what makes this is a long, winded way of saying fuck whoever’s arguing with me about whether or not Huxley is a fucking Ravenclaw. (He is. Hands down.) How’d I get here, staring at my mobile in disbelief at a brief back and forth post turned fight? Because it feels like a reasonable question to wonder.

I got here because, as almost all mornings, I woke up, opened my phone, read my notifs, then sat here, thinking of something. Anything. Then, in a tired haze, typed out a single text post on tumblr.

huxley gastrell is a ravenclaw send tweet

Following so, I went about my typical morning. Of course. Then--then--I check my phone as I’m going downstairs and I see it. I see the “@bi-sammy mentioned you in a post!” notif, then read the God-forsaken reblog.

@gaystrell op do you take criticism on your posts?

I frowned at my phone, typing out a quick response before tucking it back into my pocket.

@bi-sammy no.

What I hadn’t anticipated, though, was the reply I’d open up to soon after I’d started poking at my morning meal.

@gaystrell well too bad bc ur WRONG and ur opinions are UGLY

#he’s clearly a slytherin this is slytherin oppression #don’t tell me he and bryonie aren’t from a slytherin family

Now I sit, staring and completely awestruck at such a post. Now, I won’t deny Bryonie Gastrell is definitely, in all possible ways, a Slytherin. Cunning and ambitious as fuck, as any political spy may be, but fuck anyone who tries to dismiss Huxley’s clear Ravenclaw leanings.

It takes me a moment to fully process, mouth robotically chewing my eggs as I contemplate my answer.

@bi-sammy there is absolutely no proof of huxley being a slytherin and more than enough support towards him being a ravenclaw. get your clueless negativity off my blog, you utter tit.

With that, I settle my phone face down onto my table and try to enjoy my lovely plate of scrambled eggs, barely ignoring the boiling of my blood.

SIMON

My phone lights up with the new notification, dragging my attention away from my laptop as the words slide down onto the screen. “@gaystrell mentioned you in a post!” I hate to admit that I get a little pattering in my heart, urging my hand out to grasp the mobile as I pause the Youtube video currently playing. As I read his words, I slowly blink out of my excitement.

Tit. He called me a bloody tit.

Of course this fucking wanker called me a tit.

He must think that since he’s this big bad blogger, he can call me a tit right out in the open. (Although, he is talking to me, so that’s a plus) (No! No no no, bad validation, Simon. Bad). What, with his thousands of followers and fans of his own, he thinks he can try to say shit out in the open?

Fuck it. He’s either getting a DM or a bloody fist fight from me. I’ll take a train to wherever the fuck he lives (which is somewhere in England, since that’s what his bio says) (and his aunt lives in London, since he’s posted about visiting her) (I really do wonder where he’s from and how close he might be--what if I run into him one day?) (No wait fuck I don’t want that anymore).

Clicking on his blog, the little person drop down gives me the option of a message. I barely think as I type it out, vision going spotty from the adrenaline of the twinging anger.

bi-sammy: i swear to god there was no point to the battle of hogwarts if you’re just going to go around and absolutely slander the slytherin name and dare say that huxley is not one of them and, rather, is a ravenclaw

At first, I grin at it, watching my lone message appear into the empty chat. It’s so freeing--so powerful to send it. I pride myself, in the moment, for this solid move of communication. Of course I’m fucking proud. I messaged the arse myself and gave him a space to fight.

Maybe Penny’s right, I should dial down the confrontation, but it’s just the internet. Nothing important happens through a stupid little argument over Huxley’s true Hogwarts house (although, I’m sure I know I’m right in my heart), but it is a bit of fun to fuck around with someone. It’s a distraction. And that’s why I’m here, afterall. To have a distraction.

Penny thinks it’s a bit silly, but she doesn’t really complain. All she’s ever said was  “I thought we left fandom stuff behind us when we were 14.” She said it over lunch, watching me scroll through my at-the-time new tumblr.

It’s funny, I thought I did leave it behind when I was younger. It seemed unneeded as life shifted. I’d just found a stable foster home, with someone who was going to keep me for a while. I found Penny a couple months before I deactivated my old account. I was happy; we were free. I didn’t need a venting place.

Shits been sort of hitting the fan recently, though. No uni plans, David’s been getting more controlling, and of course, Agatha dumping me. It all crashed on top of me a few months ago, and somehow, the only place that I could find healthy coping was online. So, I started fresh. Made a blog and settled in. It’s not big, but I’ve had a few posts get noticed. I have a good few hundred followers, and one nice anon who asks me how I am every few weeks. It’s not a lot, but it’s comforting.

I feel at home here, even with a little discourse.

Well, only when the discourse is answered. Which, in this situation, I don’t know if it will be, given it’s been over an hour now and Baz hasn’t answered.

If that’s even his name.

It’s what his bio says, at least.

baz. 17. cisguy (he/him). gay. don’t interact if you think huxley is remotely straight.

I’ve wondered for a while what Baz stands for. He refuses to answer it in asks; he always says it’s too personal. He’s sort of odd like that--never posts pictures of anything that could be linked back. Seems sort of creepy, but then again, a lot of people follow him. It’s reasonable to want space.

Maybe that’s why he’s not answering. He probably wants space of some sort, but it’d be at least decent to answer someone who tried to have a discussion (that’s at least what I’m calling that message I sent--a discussion starter).

I frown at my phone, keeping it on silent as I slide it into my front pocket and settle into my seat in maths. I’ll say it--I sulk in class, a little bitter that I don’t have his attention (despite the fact that he seems like he’s always active online, which seems odd). Eventually, I exhale and try to let it slip away. There went my one interaction with him. My few seconds of the weirdest fucking bliss online, gone.

Then, it happens. As the class is ending, I pull out my screen just enough to see and there it is. A clear notification telling me he’d answered. Oddly enough, it’s just him sending me a link to a Google Doc.

Weird.

I ignore it for the moment being, letting myself ride the wave of relaxation that I actually got a reply. It passes my mind until I’m sitting in the back of Agatha’s car, listening to Penny and Aggie in the front talking about whatever’s on their mind. The rides are sort of awkward as of recently. At least Agatha agreed to drive me home (it’s a good 45 minute walk, if not) after some convincing from Penny, but her and I don’t really chat. It’s just the two of them.

Given that time, I have a chance to pull out my mobile and thumb through what was sent.

gaystrell: https://docs.google.com/document/d/175qFASmqD7hey8lE0eoE-6VhhFYE9DP6bpnI32Aay98/edit?usp=sharing

I click on it, not expecting that much (or, really, not expecting anything at all). Yet, the second it pops up and loads, my jaw drops.

“Jesus fuck,” I say aloud, scrolling through it. Penny turns her head, frowning as I stay locked on my screen.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“No--no nothing,” I say, waving a hand. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s got to be something for that reaction,” she says, keeping turned in her seat as she eyes me up. “Just tell us, Si.”

“I mean it when I say it’s nothing.” My voice gets quieter as I shift, reading the title. “It’s just fandom stuff. It’s really nothing.”

I hear her disgruntled huff as she turns back, mumbling something about me reacting too dramatically to this. “It isn’t even real.” It’s said under her breath, yet it still rings clear in my ears.

It isn’t really fake, either.

Hell, this is six pages of real. “Why Huxley Gastrell is, Without a Doubt, a Ravenclaw”. Shared by Basilton Pitch (is that his actual name?!). Fucking hell, it’s detailed to no ends. You’d think, with this much writing, there’d be pages of pointless filler where he’d just type “im gay hi huxley is also a gay we’re all gay here aren’t we”, but no. It’s full, grammatically correct sentences detailing his points.

It’s a bit much to read in the car, so I settle my mobile face down onto the seat as I’m left reeling. That… was a bit more than I’d expected.

Shit, did he write that for me?

This isn’t real. This can’t be real.

BAZ

Whoever says that having a flair for the dramatics is pointless has clearly never met me, because I wouldn’t quite call this masterpiece of an essay “pointless”. In fact, I should send it to academics. Rename it “A Study In Multi-Dimensional Characters and their Associated Generalized Personality Traits”. I’ll be hailed as a genius, as I deserve to be.

I crack my knuckles, and see the little person pop up.

Surely enough, it’s @bi-sammy’s name that he has listed online, Simon. It’s curious, he has his last name listed as “Snow”. Although, the smallest part of me believes it’s a pseudonym. Given our interactions, I doubt he’s clever enough to think of a solid pseudonym. And, even at that, why pick Snow?

Either way, it’s surprisingly endearing. Simon Snow. Sounds sweet. Sounds innocent.

I watch his cursor turn on, then his icon goes grey after a few moments. My heart starts to trip, making my cheeks begin to flush. Is… he ignoring this?

No. He can’t be. I put in hard work and dedication into this work, and I deserve the respect I’d sent into it. Fucking hell, three fully developed points (his devotion to intellectual work, his effort to step out of public light for Sam’s sake, and his overall lack of ambition for moving forward). I clearly set it out, and ended it properly; I’d proven that Huxley is a Ravenclaw. Case and point, opinion made, the end.

And, here I sit, watching him have the audacity to open it up then close it back. That was my hard work put in there, and he closes it? Who in the name of all that is sacred thinks he’s that above other people to the point where he just ignores--

Oh. He’s back on. Nevermind.

He’s… probably a school student. It’s roughly the time that most classes end, I suppose.

I make a mental apology to him, despite having never ranted directly to him in the first place.

He stays active for a good bit; long enough to show he’s reading. I assume that he’d just close off and message me, but after minutes, I notice a little highlighted comment pop up on the last sentence.

Simon Snow i………. owe you every single possible apology

Each word makes me grin like I haven’t in a while. A wide, cheek-creasing grin. There’s something so sweet to that--so personal. It feels like a note passed to me in a classroom under the tables. Like a cute “Blink if you like me”, although I doubt he has quite an intention.

Nevertheless, it warms my chest, sending my head back as I smile. I’m not sure whether or not it’s the satisfaction of winning, or his words, but I laugh outwardly into the room. It stays with me, reverberating onto my skin and my throat.

I look back at the comment, then leave it untouched. If he won’t remove it, then I won’t either.

With a glance at our personal messages tab, I figure that’s that. Even field, no more argument. No more interaction. It’s a bit of a shame, given the effort I’d just extorted for his sake, that he hasn’t answered in our chat.

While I’m disappointed to close off the document, I smile at it one last time. Sometimes I have to move on from random people, especially when they come on a bit strong.

Except, I find, moments later that I’m wrong about one thing--the moving on. He didn’t just stop his interaction, but instead made a public post.

“@bi-sammy mentioned you in a post!”

This time, I really laugh. A full bellied, hand-covering-mouth laugh.

i guess i have to suck @gayhuxell’s cock now because i was wrong and the bloody arse was right. huxley is a ravenclaw.

#fuck me i guess

I take a minute, rereading over his words a few times before typing a simple answer with my reblog.

i’m available anytime behind a mcdonald’s parking lot