We're not going to tackle all of these, though, as it's rarely necessary. Warning: I’m not a professional with coding, but I have been using HTML coding for two decades on the internet. This is just to encourage more commenting on our favorite fics. :3
Opening and Closing Tags
Let’s start with the basics: tags. Each opening tag is written within this: <> And every closing tag written within: </> You need these for the code to work. For example, what I want in <b>bold</b> in this sentence must be between an opening and closing tag. You can stack appropriate tags on top of each other like <b><i>this</i></b>.
If you mis-nest your tags like:
<b><i>this</b></i> and not like <b><i>this</i></b>
AO3 will correct the format for you, so there isn't too big an issue there. There's a few ways AO3 will clean up your formatting for you, but try not to forget your closing tags as it will then make everything after the opening tag like this:
The only thing I want to <b>bold in this sentence is the word 'bold' but without the closing tag everything after is now bold which sort of defeats the purpose.
With that out of the way, let's talk about the tags and what they mean!
Font Styles
Bold and Italics have two tags each you can choose from. Which you choose to use is up to you.
Bold has b (for bold) and strong
Strikethrough is <strike> if you wish to cross something out.
Italics has i (for italics) and em (for emphasis)
Font Size
There's two very easy options of <big> and <small> to change the size of your words/sentences. Both work as you expect given their tag names. However, there is one major difference in how they work.
Big can be layered repeatedly like this <big><big><big><big><big><big><big><big><big><big> to get the larger size you want (but make sure you're using the same amount of closing tags!).
However, when it comes to small, it can only be used once. No matter how many times you could try repeating them, the size will only go down 1 size.
Quoting
My go-to for comments is quoting a line or paragraph from the fic so I can comment on it specifically. There's 2 ways of doing it!
The <q> tag is more for short quotation. It will put "quotation marks" around what you are quoting. Where as blockquote can be used for any sized quotation. It does not add quotation marks and instead look like this 🔽
<blockquote>Here on Tumblr, it's what we use for Indented formatting!</blockquote>
Embedding Reaction Pics & GIFs
We all love a good reaction gif or pic. As far as I'm aware, this is only available to registered users as there was an influx of bots embedding distasteful things in comments in the past. So keep this in mind when commenting. Bare with me while I try to explain this one.
To embed an image/gif, things get only slightly more difficult than the previous tags. For one, it has no closing tag. The tag itself + plus the information added within tying it to the image is all you need.
<img> is the base tag.
<img src="img.gif"> would be "finished" product. src means source. In "" would be the path the the image/gif of your choice. This is not the website to the page, but a link to the image itself. The path to the image should always end in: .png .gif .jpg, etc (any image related file type).
Let's pic a gif from giphy, like we would use in a comment. Say I want to add this one ⬇️
That's all the tags I think any commenter will ever truly need when writing comments on ao3 fics. Go have fun showing your love to authors in more creative ways!
Hey y’all I have an announcement! My web app that I’ve been working on, Afro Index, is now live! It’s a visual reference library of Black hairstyles, for artist, animators, writers, and anyone who wants to learn more about them!
Check it out at afroindex.org! 💛✨
A reference library for Black hairstyles with accurate naming,
structured filtering, and curated reference images.
today i redesigned my old character development graphs to make them a lot more accessible and easy to use! i've always wanted a visual resource to build the general outlines of a character's personality, so i tried to create some templates that could be used for tons of different scenarios, no matter what kind of universe your character exists in! these can be filled out in ms paint, with a multiply layer or however you choose - feel free to use and repost them for your ocs, or even use them for canon characters!!!
(edit: imgur link with hi-res images for cleaner editing <3)
below the cut is an example of how they can be used!
Hey someone suggested I use ChatGPT to figure out adulting today, and as I was going through the mental list of places I'd rather look, I realized "beloved strangers on Tumblr dot net" was on that list.
So if you have an aspect of adulting that you're really good at-taxes, budgeting, cooking, insurance, credit, time management, house upkeep, anything-please feel free to reblog with any tips.
That's us! Professional internet adults, specializing in financial stuff! We recommend starting with our Grand List of All Articles, or one of our Masterposts:
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need To Know About Taxes
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about How to Increase Your Income
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about Retirement and How to Retire
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about Credit and Credit Cards
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about Investing for Beginners
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about How to Pay off Debt
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need To Know About Living Independently for the First Time
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about Repairing Our Busted-Ass World
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about Self-Care
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about Getting a Job, Raise, or Promotion
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about Saving Money and Being Frugal
I'm going to sound radical when I say this, but out of all sexualities aro/aces are the only ones going through that OG queer experience. And I bet most aroaces agree with me, but we just don't say it out loud.
We are still legally classified as a mental disorder or psychosexual dysfunction in most countries. Aroace people have fought hard, partially successfully, to have asexuality removed from the DSM-V in 2013.
My sexuality, aegosexuality/autochorisexuality, was literally named and defined by a doctor who wrote about it and asexuality as a paraphilia, in 2012.
Aro/aces are at high risk of experiencing conversion therapy. We're 10% more likely to be offered or undergo such therapies compared to other sexual minorities, and around 48% aromatics reported having experienced attempts or suggestions to "fix" or "cure" them. This includes being pressured or even forced to take medication.
Aromatics are especially discriminated in mental healthcare because of all the above.
In some places non-consummation is a ground to annul marriage and/or is ruled as cruelty. Basically, if you don't have sex with your partner, in the eyes of law, you are being cruel to your husband/wife and you're at fault for the divorce.
Asexuals are significantly more sexually assaulted than homosexuals (but not bisexual).
Aro/aces are not protected by most anti-discrimination laws, because asexuality is seen as lack of sexuality and not a sexual orientation. Same goes for romantic attraction.
Aro/aces have secret codes/signals for showing other aro/aces their identity without needing to come out to others. We wear white and black rings on specific finger and hand, just like gays did with handkerchiefs and lesbians with carabiners.
There's almost no media that doesn't dehumanise people who don't feel romantic or sexual attraction. Those that do exist were made by aro/ace people.
Surveys show most allos don't understand what asexually is, even when they are confident in their definition. This leads to almost all of asexuals being told they aren't actually ace because of xyz by allos.
Now, I'm not trying to make it into Oppression Olympics but I believe it's important to acknowledge how strongly discriminated aro/aces are when most people claim we aren't oppressed at all. I've heard so many times how aro/aces have "straight privileges" but what kind of privilege is it if we have to pretend to be straight and never come out to fucking have it? We deserves legal recognition, we deserve protection, we deserve acceptance, and we deserve to be seen.
✧ Broken ribs suck. You don’t just “walk it off.” Breathing hurts. Laughing hurts. Existing hurts. Characters with rib injuries won’t be doing heroic sprints.
✧ Concussions aren’t instant naps. Dazed vision, nausea, dizziness, maybe even personality changes, but they’re not going to collapse neatly like in the movies.
✧ Blood loss is sneaky. It’s not just about dramatic pools of blood. It’s dizziness, confusion, and the body getting cold as circulation tanks.
✧ Adrenaline lies. Someone can take a serious injury and not feel it until the fight’s over. That “I didn’t realize I was bleeding until later” trope? Very real.
✧ Twisted ankles are brutal. One bad step and suddenly running is off the table. Even walking hurts like hell. Perfect way to ground a chase scene.
✧ Burns linger. Even small burns hurt more than most people expect. Blisters, infection risk, constant pain, it’s not just a cool scar later.
✧ Dislocated shoulders = useless arm. Characters can’t keep swinging a sword or firing a gun. They’re basically fighting one-armed until it’s fixed.
✧ Shock is a thing. Pale skin, trembling, rapid heartbeat, and eventually disorientation. A character might not even realize how bad their wound is.
✧ Stitches aren’t magic. Getting sewn up is painful and recovery takes time. They’re not instantly battle-ready after a needle and thread.
✧ Scars tell stories. Some fade, some don’t. Some stay sensitive forever. Don’t forget the aftermath when the wound becomes part of the character.
some people think writers are so eloquent and good with words, but the reality is that we can sit there with our fingers on the keyboard going, “what’s the word for non-sunlight lighting? Like, fake lighting?” and for ten minutes, all our brain will supply is “unofficial”, and we know that’s not the right word, but it’s the only word we can come up with…until finally it’s like our face got smashed into a brick wall and we remember the word we want is “artificial”.
Folks, friends, y’all…. esk*mo is a slur. I understand a lot of people don’t know that, I don’t want to be a dick about it, but I’ve been seeing it in fics. Wanna write “esk*mo kisses”? Just say “nuzzled noses” or something.
I’m not here to call anybody out, it’s been in multiple fics, I’m not vague posting. This is just a psa. 👍🏻
[Text Description: “Hey! Reminder: Eskimo is a slur. It means ‘snow eaters’ in Cree and is a slur against Inuit . Also don’t use ‘Eskimo kisses’. It’s called Kunik. It is a greeting mostly used for family… Kunik was how I’d greet my mom and grandmother as a small child.” /TD]
I think we should really be exploring the potential dynamic between Father Alvin and The Red Soul, especially if we’re going off of ‘Angel Player/Soul Theory’. Like imagine being your town’s pastor and the god you worship ends up being this weird little red heart that’s been possessing the (arguably weirder) town human. Also Alvin should 100% be a cleric in the Dark World.
