Today I want to do a bit of a "how to..." post because I seem to have been lacking on them recently - sorry about that.
For all of you who don't quite know what Tumblr is, it is a place where people can sign up and have their own blog. Now, it differs to the likes of Blogger and other blogging sites. Tumblr's main audience is set at teenagers who upload and reblog pictures and GIFs (moving images) of things they like.
People who have Tumblr have created essentially their own little language which can be extremely confusing to people who don't actually have Tumblr. Yes, I am a typical Tumblr user to be honest. I use it to reblog things I am interested in, but I also use it to add my blog posts to it. I do also use this Tumblr slang a lot, and it is starting to slip in to my normal every day conversation (sorry, Dad).
So without further ado, here is a list of words and phrases I think are essential to know when you are a first timer Tumblr user.
1. "Feels"
This is not "feels" in the conventional sense, before you think that I am a mad person for posting a normal word. On Tumblr feels literally mean emotions. A lot of people will say "right in the feels" which basically means "holy shit" for all your non-Tumblr folk. Or can be "too many feels" where they are literally dying from feeling overload after seeing something on the Tumblr-sphere.
2. Shipping
No, I am not talking about a form of parcel delivery. Shipping is where you basically put two people together who you think would be awesome in a relationship. Hence shipping (also known as ship) which is short for relationship - Tumblr people are smart like that. It can be seen all over Tumblr as "I ship (person one name) and (person two name)". For example: I ship Alfie and Zoe (YouTubers). This usually generates a nickname (think Brangelina). For my ship, the nickname is Zalfie - CUTE. This is so Tumblr it is unreal.
3. "I can't"
When you see someone saying "I can't" (usually seen as "OMG I can't....) this is where they get so overloaded by feels that they literally cannot comprehend anything. No joke. It's just another way of saying "too many feels" I guess. But Tumblr users often seem like their sentences end mid way through as it can literally seem like this: "That episode of Doctor Who the other day... OMG I can't". Seem fragmented to you? Not to me!
4. Fandom
To put it plain and simple, a fandom is a group of people who share the interest in the same things and become hopelessly and completely obsessed with it. This is not an exaggeration! There are fandoms for so many things in popular culture such as Doctor Who, bands, YouTube, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Anime, anything you name I bet you could find a fandom for. There are thousands of members in each fandom who post images of their subject of fandom for other member to see. It's is all quite nice really! For example, I am a member of the Disney fandom, Phan fandom (a mix of Amazingphil and Danisnotonfire), Harry Potter fandom, YouTube fandom and the Studio Ghibli fandom. Yes, I like a lot of shit, I know.
5. Fanfiction/fanfic/fic
Not just a random jumble of letters. Fanfiction (also referred to as fanfic or fic) is a story written by a member of a fandom about the subject of the fandom. A lot of these are actually amazingly cool and so well written. If you have not read a fanfic before then you might be in for a little bit of a shock...fanfic isn't usually for innocent eyes. Think 50 Shades of Grey with the subject of your fandom in it.....yeah, it gets a bit mental sometimes. For example: I have recent read (and been mentally scarred by) some of the fanfic's for Phan.....They were so good but shocked me yet I couldn't stop reading. I won't post them directly on to here as there may be innocent eyes, but feel free to do some Googling (DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MENTAL SCARRING YOU MAY BE VICTIM OF AFTER READING A FANFICTION)
6. GIF
You may have come across GIFs before on the old internet, but they are a massive thing on Tumblr. GIFs are essentially moving images usually of scenes from things from TV or YouTube, or can be a series of images of a person in a fandom. Nerd fact: GIF stands for graphic interchange format. They are all over Tumblr!
7. ajkdjisjfsdkf
You will see this a lot over Tumblr, and it isn't someone who has fallen asleep on their keyboard. This is usually used when there are no words someone can use for something they have seen. For example: I recently used this after seeing a GIF of Danisnotonfire on Tumblr where he was biting his lip. I had the typical reaction of "OMG" but that was not enough to express the feels there. It can also be used when there are just too many feels.
8. Fangirl/fangirling
A fangirl is a person who is such an ultimate fan of the subject of the fandom that they are ever so slightly obsessed with it. There are loads of them in the Phan fandom (might rename it Phandom from now on....) who just go absolutely nuts over seeing something about Dan or Phil on Tumblr. The word fangirling is basically the process of going nuts over something. For example: I fangirled over the image of Dan that I saw. Pretty simple really, and people can do this over absolutely anything - even chocolate.
9. Forever reblog
Forever reblog is something that people say when they see something they like on Tumblr and they just reblog it every single time they see it pop up on their dashboard (Tumblr homepage). This can be because they fangirl over it, or because something is so funny. There is a GIF of something that I will forever reblog because it literally has me in fits of giggles for hours every time I see it.
10. Dafuq
Say it out loud. There is your answer. Dafuq is another way of saying "WTF" without technically saying it. It is another one of those Tumblrisms that can be used in so many ways. For example: it can be used in sarcasm, when something is ridiculous, when you are annoyed at someone, when you find something confusing, or when something is just plain mad. This is so common on Tumblr that everyone is dafuqing all over the place!
11. I'm dying
Panic not when you hear a Tumblr user saying they are dying. They are not physically dying! They could be emotionally dying....or dying with laughter (metaphorical laughter of course). I'm dying is (typically) related to fangirling over something, or when there is a ridiculously hilarious GIF pop up on your dashboard. This is not to be confused with "I'm crying" which is used in a similar manner!
12. OTP (one true pairing)
This pairs (see what I did there) with the whole shipping thing. This is when you basically find a couple who are literally so perfect for each other that they should just never be with anyone else in the entire world for the rest of their lives. Sound dramatic to you? Well you are clearly not a Tumblr user!
I shit you not, I have used these words and phrases in general conversation with family and friends who look at me like I am a crazy person (maybe I am?).
Well that is my list of essential Tumblrisms that you really need to know before clicking on www.tumblr.com and signing up, otherwise you will look like you came from Mars. Just don't forget, saying these to random people in the street or people who don't have Tumblr might get you some weird looks and that person may never talk to you again.
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If you think I missed anything out, or have one that you might think I haven't heard then please do comment below!
Toodle-oo, peeps!
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