💫

Because in the end, all I know and understand are the stars above. Leaving Tunglr again, ta ta!

[starlightandtears]

............i can't believe this site is still alive.

[tepkunset]

Seeing people try to defend the lack of racial/ethnic diversity on Tumblr is... wow. So let me share a reminder: It used to be better! Still dominantly white, but better than what it is now, at least. Then everyone got tired of the "blackouts" and other mostly Black-led conversations around racism because it was "ruining their fandom fun" or something idk and quite literally chased out so many bloggers of colour through harassment campaigns from the user-base and massive staff-led blog purges. This was not even that long ago, btw.

I can think of so many beloved mutuals who had to leave this site for their mental health because they just couldn't take it anymore.

Tumblr deserves every shred of criticism it gets for being so white after all that.

[starlightandtears]

*tap tap* Is this thing on??? I had to reset my password to get back on here after all these years. It's me, the #BlackoutDay co-creator formerly known as blackoutqueen.

OP and the folks in the comments -- I have to say I am honored that people still remember and hold #BlackoutDay dear to their hearts a whole ten years later. It makes me happy that those days are remembered fondly. When a dear friend of mine told me this post was going around, I figured I should pop back on and say a bit of my piece.

You're right. This site deserves every bit of criticism it gets for how it centers and upholds whiteness.

For years, I tried to be strong and tried to be polite as I got bombarded from every side -- slurs and threats of doxxing from racists, misdirected anger from Black bloggers who felt hurt they never went viral, snide remarks from people on Black Twitter who felt ownership over #BlackoutDay because apparently Black Twitter was the only subculture with any impact online, doxxing from misogynistic YouTubers like Tommy Sotomayer, whining fandoms, staff and Tumblr as a brand featuring us and then leaving us to the wolves whenever we got harrassed, and tbh, a co-creator of mine who almost always needed reminding to treat the younger women around him (including me) with respect. Between all that and people calling me selfish for wanting to be cited and credited correctly, I gave up.

I was only 20 when #BlackoutDay started, and when it all became too much, I decided to put myself first and give up on organizing it all together. I left Tumblr and don't usually talk about #BlackoutDay anymore because for the incredible impact I made across the internet, I only earned suffering. To this day, the mention of it really breaks my heart because I saw so much potential for us that I literally changed my career to pursue that dream, and racism, fatphobia, and anti-Blackness shattered it to bits.

I'm doing okay these days, using the skills I crafted here as a young person to organize IRL, but have all but stopped mentioning my involvement in #BlackoutDay simply because remembering how that was the start of people treating me like garbage on Tumblr, a site I was giving my heart to and working on changing for free, still gives me chills in the worst way. The staff at the time knew how I was being hurt and did nothing, my mutuals were breaking their fingers trying to defend me, and it was too much.

I hope you all who still actively use Tumblr know that despite everything, you still have the power to change the culture of this site. Given all the things we are currently witnessing (Free Palestine, the Congo, Sudan, until we are all free), you can make little changes and stand for what is honest and true, and you don't need special days to do it.

I thank everyone who ever participated and boosted #BlackoutDay from the bottom of my heart.

[celceta]

I love seasonal fruits they're like girl we're back lol

[prinxe-with-no-crown]

happy pride month

[8pxl]

PSA: Tumblr/Wordpress is preparing to start selling our user data to Midjourney and OpenAI.

you have to MANUALLY opt out of it as well.

to opt out on desktop, click your blog ➡️ blog settings ➡️ scroll til you see visibility options and it’ll be the last option to toggle.

to opt out on mobile, click your blog ➡️ scroll then click visibility ➡️ toggle opt out option.

if you’ve already opted out of showing up in google searches, it’s preselected for you. but you also have to opt out for each blog you own separately, so if you’d like to prevent AI scraping your blog i’d really recommend taking the time to opt out. (source)

[starlightandtears]

I can't fuckin believe this AI bullshit and all this shit is moved around on this site what

[starlightandtears]

hey , not doin anything much but finding reasons to keep living

under rocks and

at the top of buildings and trees

at the bottom of a laugh

and in the corners of a round room

in the clapping of our hands and the giggle in your eye

in the galaxy where my heart should be

[starlightandtears]

He looked down to see he was standing on the sky...

He looked down to see he was standing on the sky. Wait, what? A quick glance around confirmed that he was indeed standing above the clouds and a quick stomp told him that the surface beneath his feet was solid. This, of course made no logical sense unless he was

“Dead. You’re dead”, whispered the person that had suddenly appeared to his right. “You didn’t pull through after the gunshot wound. They tried to keep you awake until the medics got there but you bled out. The little girl is safe though. That’s why you’re here.”

Dead, huh? Oh well. Somehow, that blunt explanation calmed him; knowing that he’d acted fast enough to prevent the child from getting hit meant this sacrifice wasn’t in vain. Getting a good look at the person next to him, he felt an odd sense of familiarity.

“Where is…here? Heaven? Who are you?”

“Pffft this isn’t heaven, kid. You think we’d still be watching all the commotion down there if this were really heaven?”

The person paused and gestured down toward the people miles below.

“No. If this were heaven, we’d be somewhere minding our business. This is just the place You go after You die. You as in YOU kid. In this place, you’ll find every incarnation of You that’s ever lived….and died.”

DONE.

Game: send me a word or phrase and I’ll write an improvised short story or poem.

[starlightandtears]

Panopticon

Wake up. Breathe.

Cleanse.

This shirt, no this one.

A dress? A dress is better.

I should dress better.

Squeeze, scratch, stuff.

Paint, prod, pull.

Pull over, hide.

Cry. Wish. Hate. Breathe. Leave.

Display.

Inhale, hold.

Stomach. Breasts. Back. Thighs.

Tuck.

Display.

They see me.

They don’t.

Aren’t I beautiful today?

Have I failed you, watchers?

Tell me.

I’m trying, dear watchers.

Squeezed, scratched, stuffed.

Painted, prodded, pulled.

Watch me.

I tried.

Are you watching?

Watch me. Watch me. Watch me. Watch me.

Tell me.

Please.

See me.

[writing-prompt-s]

You are a guardian demon. Since the day you were born, you were tasked to protect a human and guide them to hell. Every day theres a bunch of stupid angels trying to take your human away. it was easy to keep them away, but now your human is starting to notice something is not right.

[starlightandtears]

‘Drip drip drip’ goes the bathroom faucet and the blood from the human’s nose.

I allowed them a glimpse of me in the dirty mirror, just for fun. And despite how much I know it hurts, they stare. Staring, jaw clenched. As if I’ll appear again if they hold their breath.

I’ve always admired their stubborn nature. Makes the job far more entertaining than I’d like to admit.

But when a bloody tear gently spills from their eyes, I decide to end our game. Can’t have too much harm come to them before the work is done. So, for the hellfire of it, I reach a long limb over to the right and knock the bottles standing on a ledge nearby into the shower. The noise startles them just enough to force them to whirl toward it.

Ah. A blink. And another.

As they shed a few more tears, I bring my face forward and relish in the shudder of Knowing but Not Seeing that passes through their body as I lick the blood from their cheek.

“Until our next game, human.”

[starlightandtears]

hope y'all are well -- quick updates: i got into a GLAAD initiative for Black Queer creators I wanted to get into, saw Beyonce last night, and quit a job for the first time (word to Break My Soul). Here cuz i need to rip some of my writing samples off of here for good and because the search system is shit, y'all know what I gotta do.

[starlightandtears]

Ya nah, I think I'm outtie again. So bored of the lack of original thought and innovation on these sites. These last few months have been fun, I'll see y'all when I see ya. Be good to yourself and others.

[starlightandtears]

EW god the new dash is crowded and ugly

[starlightandtears]

This actively makes the content I'm here to actually see on my computer smaller and I keep toggling back between this and twitter on my desktop and it's the same picture. Oh my jesus, put it back. The navigation at the top was FINE.

[starlightandtears]

EW god the new dash is crowded and ugly

[bluedevil]

help

[nashira]

out of curiosity because i am obsessed with this billboard, i went to their website and

THEY HAVE AN OFFICE PETS PAGE LMAO

[deliriumcrow]

[radicalgraff]

"Fuck Work, Let's Riot / ACAB"

Seen in Salem, Massachusetts

[pointnclick]

communion wafers are not cruelty free. they fucked that boy upppp

[starlightandtears]

I feel amazing about what we accomplished tonight!! I cried at the end of the panel bc the trailer for Abigail Disney's film showed how so many people working at Disney don't even have homes and I was tryna be sooooo brave but it got me