Some of you may have seen that multiple posts are being flagged for mature content by Tumblr's new algorithm, most of them innocent of any mature or sexually explicit theme.
Some of these newly-flagged posts are nearly 10 years old. I've noticed a few of mine were posts which were flagged in the last great purge 6 years ago and which had been subsequently cleared after a review.
Unfortunately, often only one user gets the chance to appeal the flag and get it reviewed - and that is not necessarily the original poster. I have several third party reblogs now flagged in my blog, some of which I have been able to appeal, others not. Given the age of some of these posts, the op may not even be on Tumblr any more.
If you find any op's posts have been flagged in your own blog and you have been given the Review or Appeal button (displayed on the banner they have added at the top of the post), please send them to Tumblr for review if you think they have been wrongly flagged. Tumblr has added an option to include a brief explanation as to why you think the post should be reinstated.
Finally, if you spot any of my posts (@take2intotheshower) flagged in your blog, can I please ask you to drop me a message to let me know? I am aware of many of my old Strike Back gifsets having been flagged in the past and have kept a list of the URLs, but most of my other sets would have contained nothing even remotely controversial.
honestly? abandoned/on indefinite hiatus/very slow to update fics, even and especially AUs and longfics, are often some of my absolute favorites. and people who refuse to read them are missing out!
for one, stories don’t have to be finished to be enjoyable and worth reading. but also? an unfinished fic is a whole little universe that just keeps on existing in my head! their world stays alive for me in a way that doesn’t always happen with fics I binge read and finish, and i love it. i don’t know how their story ends, so it just keeps going! and even when those stories DO update and finish years later, they’ve been in my head for so long that they stick around like old friends.
so to any author with unfinished works: thank you SO much for sharing what you had without waiting to finish it first. you’re just giving me the gift of getting to spend more time with your story and your idea. if you do update again someday, i’ll be delighted to jump back in! but if you don’t, just know a little piece of your world still lives on in a beloved tiny terrarium in my brain. i promise i’m taking good care of it :)
i don’t normally ask this, but if this resonates with you please reblog it, so it can reach the authors who need to hear it <3
This is an experiment to see if there really are as few of us as people think.You can also use this to freak out your followers who think you’re 25 or something. Yay!
I am a PASSIONATE commenter on fanfiction, but sometimes it slows down my reading because I don't want to read if I don't have the mental energy to leave the long comments I want to
Still, as an author, I know even a short note can mean the world.
So, I put together a little guide with different “levels” of comments, so it’s easier to leave something without overthinking!
for maximum impact with minimum effort can I strongly recommend the quick highlight?
copy pasting a particular line and your reaction to it is a phenomenal way to quickly provide specific, unique feedback!
it can even just be a keysmash or an emoji response to the quoted bit
authors have SO many micro decisions and careful word choices that go into the writing process and that they'll almost never get to see a specific reaction to
it's so fun to get even one of these things highlighted
This has been in my drafts for ages, and I thought I might as well post it since it was the tenth anniversary of Blindspot yesterday. It's not really rounded off very well, but I'm not going to work on it any more, so...
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Character Flaw (spoilers for up to 4x13)
"Kurt? Could I talk to you about something?"
The apprehensive tone of his wife's voice set off instant alarm bells, but Kurt tried not to jump to conclusions. He set aside his phone and gestured for her to join him on the couch.
"Sure. You feeling okay? No more ZIP symptoms?"
Jane smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not relapsing, and I don't want a divorce."
He relaxed—mostly. "Okay, that's a good start."
Jane took his hand, but didn't snuggle against him the way she usually did. Her smile faded, and she took a deep breath.
"Now that the ZIP is gone...there's something I..." She shook her head, seeming frustrated with herself.
"Take your time," he told her, though her reticence was making him nervous.
Jane took a second to corral her thoughts, then began again. "When I was dying... there were a few things I noticed that worried me. About...how you were handling it."
His first instinct was to ask her if she was really going to go there, when she'd literally reverted to her former persona and tried to kill him. But that wouldn't be fair.
"Okay," he said neutrally, fighting defensiveness.
"I love that you were so determined to find a cure for me. You know that, right?" As he nodded, she continued, "But there were moments, when I was in the hospital... Right before I passed out, I was trying to say goodbye, but you wouldn't let me. I was an hour or two away from death, and you kept insisting that I was going to live."
"And you did. I don't understand—"
"But if I'd died, Kurt..." Jane shook her head sadly. "As I lost consciousness, I remember feeling this awful despair. If not for those Stanton cells, I never would have woken up again, and the last thing I would have known was that you refused to accept my goodbye. And that you'd hate yourself forever, for breaking a promise that wasn't in your power to keep. Even if I'd never have held you responsible."
He hung his head, the accuracy of her words conflicting with his own stubbornness. "But I was right. We found a cure. And if I'd just given up without calling Lee, we never would have known he'd gone to Peru. He could have stolen the book from Patterson and Rich, and you wouldn't have gotten the cure in time."
She sighed, without any real irritation behind the sound. "I'm not saying you shouldn't have called Lee. I agree - that call probably saved my life, and I'm so grateful to all of you for what you did for me. Truly."
"But...?" His lips twisted into a wry facsimile of a smile.
"But you were never close to accepting what could easily have been reality, Kurt. I was dying, and we had a chance to say goodbye. So many people don't get that with their loved ones. But you didn't let me say it, and you would have dragged my ghost around like Taylor's, for the rest of your life."
He flinched at the sound of Taylor's name, even though he'd been certain it was coming. "Taylor was different. I didn't have answers."
"But you always blamed yourself. And you would have, if I'd died."
What did she want from him? Every time she mentioned the fact that he'd almost lost her, he flashed back to those awful days in the hospital. Her vision loss. The tremble in her voice as she'd confessed her fear. The seizure that had ripped all control from her weakening body.
"You wouldn't have blamed yourself, if you'd been in my shoes?" he asked, trying to banish the dread the memories brought.
"That's not the point. Kurt, please just think about this. I'm not trying to pick a fight. I only mentioned it because it scares me, knowing how you'd use my death as a weapon to hurt yourself. Even if you didn't realise that was what you were doing."
All these mentions of losing her were turning his stomach. "I didn't want to make you worry, okay? I tried to hold it together, for both of us."
Jane kissed his knuckles tenderly. "And you did. You were a pillar of strength - even the Remi part of me couldn't help but lean on you."
"That's good. Right?"
She nodded, her expression clouding for a second. "It stopped me from killing you, more than once."
It was still so surreal to remember the hatred in Remi's eyes as she'd glared at him. The unveilled contempt she'd shown him was nowhere in his wife's gentle demeanour now. Kurt didn't think he'd ever fully understand her reasons for loathing him the way she had.
"I don't know how to pull back from how I feel, Jane. Losing you and Bethany... The idea scares the hell out of me."
"I know. It scares me, too." She gave him a sad smile. "It's a completely logical fear. I just...wanted to point out the issue, just to plant a seed in your mind, I guess. Maybe by the time we're in our eighties, and one of us goes, it will have grown into something."
This fic snippet was going to be a 'rookie agent has a huge crush on Jane and the entire team thinks it's hilarious' story, but I never got past the first scene. Posting now, because I might as well share it.
*
Untitled Jeller Fic Snippet (season 3 or the latter half of 4)
The whole thing started when Jane saved Sagansky's newly-assigned rookie agent from being decapitated by a swung machete during a raid. In the heat of battle, she knocked an opponent out cold with a baton, whirled and saw the danger. Sensing he was out of his depth, she pushed the rookie aside, blocking the machete's path with her weapon just in time.
A minute of intense fighting later, it was all over. The warehouse was full of flammable material, making it too dangerous to use firearms, but they'd had the element of surprise on their side. Most of the mobsters had been sensible enough to keep their own guns holstered.
Jane glanced around, scanning one last time for threats before relaxing her guard. The dazed rookie was still on the floor. Hope he didn't hit his head when I shoved him.
She approached and offered him a hand up. "Sorry about muscling in. I didn't think you'd be able to block him in time."
Blushing to the roots of his blond hair, the rookie got to his feet. "I think you were right. I was top of my Quantico class for marksmanship, but this fight...?" He shrugged dejectedly.
"We've all got our strengths," Jane reassured him. "You're new, right? I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Jane Doe."
She offered her hand again, this time for him to shake.
"I know," he said - then somehow blushed pinker. "I mean, everyone knows who you are. You're kinda famous around SIOC."
Jane pulled a handful of zipties out of her pocket, waiting for him to realise he hadn't offered his own name.
"Oh! Sorry. I'm Ethan. Ethan Newall. I, um, think that guy hit me too hard. Did Sagansky see that? She's gonna be pissed."
Jane smiled and handed over some of her ties. "I won't tell if you won't. Just keep your guard up next time. Let's get these guys secured for transport before they wake up."
"Right! Thanks." The flustered rookie scurried off as Sagansky approached.
"Thanks for looking out for him, Jane. He's good, but he's still green."
Jane finished restraining the closest enemy and stood up, rolling her aching shoulder experimentally. "No problem. We were all new once."
Where was Kurt? It was unusual for her to have been separated from him in a raid, but they'd had a lot of exits to cover, and had strategically spread out the more experienced hand-to-hand fighters. It was too soon to be anxious, yet she couldn't help but scan the surroundings for signs of him.
"Above you," Sagansky said, amusement in her voice.
Jane glanced up, her tension instantly easing when she saw Kurt leaning over the railing of the metal gantry overhead. Their eyes met, his expression warmed, and she sensed his tension easing, right along with her own.
"You need a hand getting anyone down from there?" she called.
He shook his head, glancing over his shoulder. "They're not going anywhere. Nichols and I'll keep an eye on them until the ones downstairs are loaded up."
He disappeared from view again, and Jane looked down at the unconscious man at her feet, checking for any deterioration in his condition.
"I don't know how you do it," Sagansky said. "It's hard enough having my team in danger. If my wife was out here too..." She trailed off with a whistle, both eyebrows arched.
Jane smiled. "This is how it's always been with me and Kurt. It's actually worse knowing he's out there without me to back him up."
"And he feels the same? Because I could swear I've overheard you having the 'you're not going out there'/'oh yes, I am' argument. More than once."
Jane rolled her eyes. "He'd wrap me in bubble wrap and stuff me in one of those padded envelopes if he could. But he knows I can handle myself, and since we're partners in more than one sense, we can be each other's backup. It's stressful sometimes, but it works for us."
Turns out the creator for this set also made an amazing lego version of the title credits
and there's quite a story to it getting made
Some backstory here, I've been trying to get this made for 10 years now, I designed just the office and mulder and scully back in 2014, I submitted it to LEGO ideas but it was deemed "too mature". I posted pics online and somehow Gillian Anderson saw it, one of her people reached out and asked if I could send her the minifigs I designed. I did and she took this picture of her and David on the set of series 10 holding their respective minifigrues" Lego still wouldn't allow it to be submitted though. Fast forward a few years and they'd done Stranger Things LEGO and other more mature shows and movies, so I tried again and this time they allowed it, it got to 10k votes (the required amount to be reviewed to see if they would make it a set) but they had 50 other projects to choose from and unfortunately it wasn't approved. Fast forward to now, they have a 90s Challenge where people can submit set ideas based on 90s shows or movies, I revamped the design, adding the UFO forest scene on top and submitted it for this challenge.
