#you'll find the balance

[ashtonsunshine]

hey carmo!! i'm wondering if i can ask you maybe a couple questions/for advice as someone who's on other social medias than just tumblr? (to which i have to say 1) you're so pretty omg and 2) congrats on ashton retweeting you and liking your poster) i've been off basically all my other socials for about a year now and i'm realising i'm much more able to be myself on here without the expectations of all the people i still have on my socials from school and uni and every part of my life, and showing this side of myself on say, instagram, is kinda terrifying me, but at the same time it's important to me to push through this and get to the point i can be more genuine on there, i know it'll feel good when whoever still follows me knows a version of me that isn't as fake and highly masking as i've been for most of my life.

kinda pressuring myself on this rn too because i've gone and made a parody of red line that's about protesting genocide and i know if i post it there's a nonzero chance ashton will see it and if he sees it he will absolutely love it but i've never posted any of my music online before and i've also never sung anything in public either. and these are just things that are scary but i can get through them, but in the meantime i did want to ask, how do you do it, how do you decide what to post on there vs here, etc, if you're willing to answer at all? anyway thank you so much <3

Hello! 😊

Thank you so much! That's very nice of you. 💛

I've been on Tumblr for so long now and I'm pretty sure that people on here who follow me from the beginning can attest to the fact that I'm not the same person I was back then. I've grown a lot here. More confident. More outwards. More free. More unashamedly me.

Back then, there were no relatives on my Instagram, which made it easy for me to just do whatever I wanted. I've always been very careful in keeping family away from me online (hence Tumblr) because, as you said, expectations. That's why my Facebook is dead. All of them are on there. I was never afraid of my friends or uni colleagues. At 23, I had stopped caring in a way. I just wanted to be me, but it still didn't come naturally. I was still in my shell and afraid of what people would think, but I kept posting photos I liked that I wasn't ashamed of.

However, as the years went by, relatives started migrating onto Instagram, and I couldn't just block them (I mean, I could, but, ya know, interrogation would follow), so I just let it happen. I did block them from seeing my stories, though, so I still have some total relative-free freedom on there. Now they comment on my pics online and irl and they just accept it. What are they going to do? Tell a (almost) 30 year old woman what to do? I don't think so. I'd tell them to fuck off. They know not to mess with me anymore. 🤣

I personally always used social media for the things and people I like, and not to please anyone but me. I created and upkept my own bubbly, happy and genuine bubble, and I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm still very awkward in person, though, but I'm embracing looking stupid and silly in order to be able to move on with my life. It's not easy, but we roll anyways. 😎

My point is: it takes time and a it's a constant effort. You don't need to go all out, just bit by bit. You'll reach a point where you don't care anymore. And if someone has anything unpleasant to say about you or what you like, then bye bye! You don't need them in your life. You said "whoever still follows me", and that's exactly it. Those who don't mind your quirks and genuinely like you will stay, and that's all that matters. Hell, they might even encourage you further! 😊

When it comes to what I post here vs anywhere else, it's simple. I have different standards for each. Tumblr is for fandom and for me to be silly and fun and weird and insanely unfiltered. Instagram is for me irl, so it's more curated (my photos, my art, be it 5SOS or not). And Twitter is for...., honestly, I don't know. The reason I still have Twitter is because Ashton follows me on there, so I have a higher chance of him seeing my stuff. My Twitter page is very quiet. My feed is basically updates from artists I like. I don't do the social on there because I've always been scared of Twitter fandom, ngl. 😅

I only started posting my art on Instagram and Twitter because I wanted 5SOS to see it, and it has paid off on various occasions, which made me very happy. So there is a chance he will see your song, but you have to tag him in it. That's what I do. That's how he saw my StyH poster.

My advice to you, and for anyone who's reading this, is to be yourself, and I don't mean that in a magical oh just be yourself kinda way. I mean it as be genuine in what you post, wherever and whatever it might be. Masking or not masking. If you post something you truly like and that you are truly fully comfortable with, then there's nothing to fear. If people leave, then they leave. It doesn't need to be grandiose. It can be something little for a start. A photo that you absolutely adore but think that people will find weird, for example.

For me, I've learnt over the years to just be. I'm living my life, and I'm not ashamed of what I like. I'm insignificant, so I'm just gonna exist my own way. I don't care anymore. If people think I'm crazy for liking a band so much, so be it. I'm not hurting anyone. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I kinda ramble a bit, but I hope it was helpful. 😚

[spaciebabie]

absolutely obsessed w/the idea that fluttershy is taller than twilight. giant lanky pegasus and her tiny alicorn girlfriend

[sainz100]

a few Carlos moments from the 2024 Azerbaijan GP

[softquietsteadylove]

You get so many specific prompts, so I thought maybe it might be fun to send you a prompt with just a few words so you can write ANYTHING you want for them, in any au or in canon! (And obviously if muse doesn’t strike feel free to skip lol but if you like this i’ll keep sending them!) words for this one: sunshine, gratitude, eyes

"Hey."

Gil smiles as she finds her place next to him. They're not on watch, he just would rather be out here than on Ajak's mission to socialise with the humans. "Hey, Sunshine."

She laughs, because she thinks it's funny that he calls her these things. Like it's a sweet joke, just between the two of them. He calls her that because it suits her--describes her. "Admiring the view?"

Honestly, the planet is...dull. Not that Sersi wouldn't have a whole dissertation with which to correct him on that. But he hasn't yet seen enough of it to think it's this truly marvellous place. "I like the water."

"Hm," Thena muses beside him, also taking in the shades of green and blue below them. The scent of the salt travels upward and the breeze of it rustles her hair. "There is something calming about it."

Gil isn't sure if he would describe it as calming. He always looks down at the waves crashing into a cliff as a tumultuous and violent thing. He thinks they should fear and respect the sea, but keep their distance. "You think?"

But Thena nods, soaking in its majesty. "The humans have claimed the earth they need, plots of land and spaces for their settlements. But no one owns the sea."

No, that is true. The waters of this planet are unencumbered, threatening to swallow up the landmasses by domination but always receding as per the moon's orders.

Thena bumps his hip with hers.

He chuckles, "what?"

She tilts her head, and it is unfair for someone so deadly to be so charming. "You're ruminating."

"I am not," he laughs off, but she's caught him fair and square.

"Share your thoughts," she prompts him, pursing her lips as a playfulness comes over her, "oh great tyrant king, Gilgamesh."

He rolls his eyes and huffs at her poking fun. As if her joy is not his joy also. "We shouldn't take the ocean lightly. It's dangerous, no matter how calm the beach waves might look at times."

"I'm not taking it lightly," she replies easily, and he gets the sense that she's heard and understood all the thoughts in his head. "I see it for what it is--the force behind it."

They both look out into the bay, where the gentle lapping of waves against the shore gives way to the rough and choppy texture of endless depth. Those waters will see plenty of Deviant carcasses, too deep for the humans to ever find.

"But I accept that along with this part," she moves her head in the other direction, nodding to where Sersi is showing a human family how to cast a net. The young ones giggle with glee and their joy makes the Elemental Eternal glow from within. "They are both part of the sea. I think that only adds to its beauty."

Beauty, Gilgamesh thinks, is not so simple a thing. He struggles to describe things as beautiful. A sunrise or a sunset merely exists, the sea is the colour it is because of the sediment in the water, the sky changes per the hour sometimes.

But he sees the light shining off Thena's eyes, constricting her pupils and bringing out the green colour of them. The darker rim around the iris, the jade colours swirling more calmly. That, he thinks, is beauty.

"Gil?" Thena asks, pulling him from his silence.

He smiles, because she's good at making him smile. "I guess I see what you mean."

"I for one am thankful for the cooling breeze the water offers," she states more clearly and lightly, moving away from the contemplative. She inhales as another wave crashes below and causes an updraft.

Gil unfolds his arms so he can move some of her hair off her shoulder and away from tickling her face needlessly. She looks at him and he withdraws, exhausted from the affection. "I don't have to be thankful to a body of water."

Thena laughs, and it's a very cute laugh for a Goddess of War. "There must be something for which you're thankful."

Her. It's always her. If she knew the degree to which he focused his thoughts on her surely she would recoil.

"Hm?" she prods, sliding closer until he can feel her much smaller arm against his thicker one. Their shoulder plates clink together and she celebrates getting a laugh out of him. "Anything?"

He looks at her unabashedly now. If he could tell her that she is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen, he would. Far more than any of their travels to this planet, far more than any natural phenomenon here now, he would. "I guess there is something."

"Something?"

"Someone," he amends quickly, and it seems to make his point. She smiles down at the water below, something like shyness coming over her.

Her hands clasp behind her back, "I'm sure they're thankful for you, too."

He snorts, "I don't know about that."

"Well," Thena angles herself towards him before rising onto her toes, "I am."

Gilgamesh lets her bend to press her lips to his cheek. He does it passively, letting her delicate hands balance her against his shoulder and his elbow. He leans ever so slightly for her, but that's it. He doesn't want to encourage this. He'll lose all sense, if he does.

"Shall we?" she prompts him, turning in the direction of their own.

"Fine," he grunts, but follows her like she has him on a leash. His steps are heavy and slow behind her light and graceful ones. If something were to approach from behind, let it face him first before so much as getting a glimpse of her.

"You should tell Ajak you are warming to the planet," Thena suggests lightly. "She seems quite bewitched by it. To say nothing of Sersi."

Gilgamesh has to constantly stop himself from telling Ikaris that he will never fully capture Sersi's heart away from this planet and the people residing here.

"We have much of it to see," she looks over her shoulder at him. "Perhaps somewhere you would like more."

He thinks all of this planet will look the same--feel the same. He shrugs.

Thena doesn't take offense to his lack of contribution. She looks forward again, "Ajak says we will abandon the ship entirely the more humans perceive us."

Gil doesn't entirely trust Ajak. He thinks she means well, but he also thinks that there are times when she doesn't tell them all she knows.

"I know you will miss our refuge away from them."

Gil uncrosses his arms, moving more deliberately to walk beside his partner. "So long as they don't ask me to join in any dancing, then fine."

Thena laughs, letting him capture her hand in his. "I'll defend you from such trials."

Then he has no qualms, no matter where they go, or how long they stay on this blue and green marble. If she is with him, then he can face anything.

[anistarrose]

fill up your lungs, feel better

In scattered clearings in the woods, outside cabins and encircling a lake, congregations of battle-tested heroes light campfires, tear open bags of marshmallows, and break into song and spooky stories alongside their friends, laughter bubbling up into the night air alongside the smoke and embers. But from within the shadows, behind the trees, a solitary — no audience or accompanying voices to speak of, not for him — strains his non-existent ears, scouring the camp for familiar voices.

Are they here? Is she here?

No. She wouldn’t be. She can’t be. She wouldn’t leave the moonbase unattended…

Not knowing I’m out here. No. She’s too smart for that.

And she’s smarter than he is, quite possibly. Would the Bureau see the Red Robes as half as dangerous if they knew one was impulsive enough to wander onto the grounds of their stronghold-slash-weekend corporate retreat, alone and badly outnumbered by sworn foes, just to try and catch a glimpse of the Reclaimers? Would Lucretia have a harder time spinning him as a threat, if only her employees saw him in this state?

Of course, he won’t be caught by them, unless he chooses to be. A lich, who multiclassed as a rouge nine decades ago, in a foggy forest at night? Might as well be a needle — no, even less, a mere snippet of thread — in a haystack. But what he’s doing here, beneath the moonlight? It’s still so foolhardy.

He should not be looking for his boys again so soon — not while he’s still pulling himself together from the last time. Not when he’ll inevitably be tempted to show himself — and certainly not when if he does, he’ll have to face the lack of trust, the lack of any recognition, in their eyes again. He’ll break again, and dig his hole even deeper. Lose even more trust than he realized they had left for him. Fail Lup, and fail the world —

(keep reading on ao3!)

[fearfylsymmetry]

less of an ask and more of a compliment i love the way your tags are organized…”decay as a commodity” “bodies shifting in narrow spaces” etc is it your own original work or quoting from a song/poem/or something?

helloo angel and welcomee to the show, its always such a joy when people appreciate my silly little tagging system. they're all just random sentences i thought up ages ago, , just to make sense of the mess in front of you etc y'know how it gets love. i couldn't really get behind tagging things as "art" "people, faces places things" etc. i needed to inject a bit of flavour to the whole thing (let this not be read as a subtle jab towards any new york based tumblrinas , we're above that c'mon now). i wouldn't say these little phrases are "personal" by any means but they have been motifs i wanted to actively explore in the art i make so no harm putting them up here i guess haha

for posterity's sake i thought i'd just copy an explanation of my tags from an old ask

decay as a commodity : okay so i envisioned this as a way to just summarize modern living? i think of a whole blueish neon color scheme with this one. my line of thinking was,, with the world slowly rotting away and living becoming so expensive and exhausting, whats the one commodity we all share? wouldn't it be decay? aren't we all slowly fading together etc etc. i use this for images with cooler muted tones and anything with a futuristic vibe,, along with some grimey, monochrome photography

the setting dawn: this is the polar opposite of decay, i think of it as "hope beyond hope" a la Prior Walter's line in Angels in America. i know "the setting sun " might sound more natural but i think of it as,, dawn , when the sun breaks through - in this short period the world starts to wake. qs the dawn sets the day kicks in, with all its routine misery. Dawn i think, is the only time the sun is kind to you, because its still hidden away at least slightly. But the day truly starts and itbeats down on you. And yet we continue to live, past the boredom and the pain, we live past hope, past the quiet comfort of dawn. I use this for pictures with earthy tones and things on the more uplifting side

bodies shifting in narrow spaces: this has some overlap with the decay tag, im not as organized as i need 2 be. i use this for figures & portraits ill want to draw or just really any photography i like that features a human presence. think of it as people so dependent on an outside gaze they constantly try to reinvent themselves, or just, everyday people, getting less and less time to live, having to work and forcing themselves into relationships with any real connection

original sin and other contingencies: im trying to fit this in for more risque photography and maybe things on the more gory side. how do i explain this.. okay so... when there's nothing left to do you'll always have sin to turn to just yo keep yourself occupied, along with other methods/contingencies u get the jist

linen that lingers: my fashion tag nothing more 2 it

the canvas as testimony: for art that is made for the gallery or art that is held in higher regard i guess, more high culture. it includes painting, sculptures,along with architecture,, but maybe i should make an architecture tag. i think of the things here as more personal efforts

motion on a still surface: for art that is energetic and really pops off the page. includes comics, manga, fanart, animation. stuff here may be more low culture but really its not. i just differentiate these art tags as ,,one is stuck to the canvas whatever that canvas may be, while the other leaps off the page

word on a wing let me soar: books, poetry, articles, journals , all words that i adore

a conversation with the self: i wanted this to be for things that are very personal to me but i just use my other tags

angels in descent: my little funny haha tag for yknow ,,, funny haha. yknow the "devil's rejects" the movie? like its a way of saying people so horrible no even the devil would take them. okay so i thought " god's rejects " but that's lame. so i landed on this, like idk...imagine angels falling from grace

arcade shuffle: for my little viddy games lol. sorry for being a #gamergirl but yes it happens sadly ,,moving on

jet jump jive: for songs

at the pictures: for movies,, like imagine im going "cant talk im at the pictures wheee ^_^"

there is such a great distance between now and later: to track my art and writing progress but i barely use it cause it barely draw or write these days i blame the wave of despair that washeth over me

proof of concept: photos i took but there's like almost nothing here

misc that are just funny 2 me like i do it 4 a little chuckle i deserve it:

screw it posting hole - for hole the band

bowies in spaaace - for bowie, after the flight of the concords song cmon its a little funny at least cmon now

twink speaks- for twin peaks lol

[alebrijediscordico]

15-ish minute doodles of these two :3

[alborde]

having your first full(ish) time job be a fixed-time position in a foreign country is such a weird thing in regards of starting to find your own little thing as an adult

[go-our-own-ways]

every time I see someone post something anti-ao3 I lose like 5 years off my life

[riftwalker-limbro]

kelth was about to be polite about it and not suggest a nickname. clearly i had to commit a writer's intervention. we're not fucking calling him vinculum for more than a page max, kid. no.

[twilighttheater]

Relationship tags cause why not

[meticulousmaker]

It always confuses me when abled people are opposed to accessibility options, or they react like it's an annoying or unnecessary thing to ask for. Like why would you be against having more benches? More benches is a good thing that benefits everyone, disabled and abled alike. There's literally no downside. Put more benches in cities.

walkable cities also means sittable cities send tweet

[scarlet-witchery]

can't wait till my mom dies so I can be free but also so I can legally change my first name

[orangeoldsport]

It is important not to overcrowd the ecosystem in order to maintain the conditions required for the species to thrive

I say to myself as I put the mugs away in the almost overflowing mug cabinet

[blizzardfluffykpop]

I’m so fucking delulu I make up scenarios about my faves and it kind of scares me but I do try not to mix my social life with my private and it’s working great but Damm I try everything to stop being delulu but nothing works I try to give myself a break from them but I’m still delusional 😭🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭🪦🪦

Sorry for the rant I don’t have friends that are my age or that would understand ( tbh I only own one but she would understand )

As a fanfic writer- that's kind of what I do here- I love making up fantasies about my faves. It's okay. It only ever is a problem when you can't separate reality from fiction/fantasy. Like as in: if you think your fave should/can only ever be with you. That's not cool. And you'd need to do more than touch grass. But it's okay to make up fantasies. 🥰

Making up fantasies to get you through your day about your faves is not a big deal I promise. It's okay to be 'delulu' and make fantasies- if it makes you happy it can't be that bad.

[Now this is where I have to state that delusions are a real like mental disorder. And some people do experience them to the point where they can longer differentiate reality from fiction. (I have a whole ramble I could talk about with the word delulu and how hurtful it can be to people who truly experience it. But I like the fun/joking aspect of it so it's a thin line)]

Don't apologize- feel free to come to my ask box/messaging thing as much as you wish. Tbh when you have genuine friends; they'll never judge but sometimes tease. I'm sure if she's a genuine friend she'd understand. And would want to hear about your faves. (as long as you let her talk about her obsessions too) She may not get it, but that doesn't mean she won't listen.

And if that doesn't sit well with you. I promise you, that you'll find people that will understand and (in some cases) make up fantasies/stories with you. [Now you can always go my route and write about them. You don't ever have to publish them, but it may make you feel better to have them written down!]

"I can't get through a single a day without some made up fantasy" - Grumpter's Fever Dream

Lastly, again feel free to come to my ask box and talk about your fantasies if you wish :) I'd love to hear em cause I'm always making them. I promise it's okay and isn't scary, you're okay.

[ryanthedemiboy]

Things to make sure to include (briefly):

-watermark/source ("Random Name Here's watermark is next to the staff" is fine)

-all text

-style (ie photo, screenshot, cartoon, manga, sketch, painting)

-if it's of a character, include what the character looks like (I know this might seem obvious but it's included in very few IDs of fanart — it doesn't need to be detailed. "A drawing of Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. He's a young white teenager with yellow blond hair. He's lounging on a couch in black pants and a red coat. His metal hand peeks out from his right sleeve.")

-also include where the character is from! Whether it's a book, tv show, movie, video game, please include it!

yknow i never noticed the sheer rareness of images having ids or alt text on this website until i started adding alt text to my art (and trying to remember to add it to any images i post in general, especially text screenshots) and that makes me kinda sad