There.

Happy New Year!

mOcKiNg CrOwLey

one of the many versions of me

Details:

Reliable narrators do not exist. There are only degrees of unreliability.

I feel like many people have a fundamental misconception of what unreliable narrator means. It's simply a narrative vehicle not a character flaw, a sign that the character is a bad person. There are also many different types of unreliable narrators in fiction. Being an unreliable narrator doesn't necessarily mean that the character is 'wrong', it definitely doesn't mean that they're wrong about everything even if some aspects in their story are inaccurate, and only some unreliable narrators actively and consciously lie. Stories that have unreliable narrators also tend to deal with perception and memory and they often don't even have one objective truth, just different versions. It reflects real life where we know human memory is highly unreliable and vague and people can interpret same events very differently

Again. Crowley and Aziraphale.

🌷🌿Spring angel 🌿🌷

Okay ngh I’m really nervous to post this but hERE WE GO :|

,, I’m not very good at anatomy but I am stubborn and wanted to draw this anyway

,, I’ll try to open commissions soon but I keep procrastinating:’)

“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”

— Octavia E. Butler

Fandom resources intro & explainer (with a bit of history)

Hi! So I’ve been reading fic for like… 25 years (I’m 37). I’ve been around for a lot and seen a lot, but I only started writing last year, and I remember what it was like to feel like I wasn’t really involved in fandom in the past. Even though I was reading fic constantly and I wanted to be involved. And I remember the feeling of being new to something and not having any idea what people are talking about. So, I figured I’d share some resources. (If this helps just one person I will be happy.) Below you'll find more on how to figure out what people are talking about and some ideas for engaging actively with fandom. (Also, I'm not an expert, I'm just good at research.)

Fanlore, or how to figure out what the heck people are talking about

Have you ever been reading a post on tumblr and thought, ok, everyone seems to know what this thing is but I don’t? Maybe it’s “strikethrough,” maybe it’s a reference to the founding of ao3 (by fans), maybe it’s the ball pit. Well, I have a website for you: fanlore.org

Note: this is not to say that I think we should all necessarily be using the same slang from 20 years ago, or that everyone needs to be an expert on fandom history. I just know and remember the feeling of being left out because I didn't know what people were talking about, and I love to look things up. So this is how I do that. and similar to wikipedia, it's a great starting point for research... and then maybe you'll find a thread you want to tug on a bit more.

Fanlore is the wiki for fandom, in both a general and specific sense. It’s got pages on fandom history and slang and tropes and everything else. Here are some pages that may be of interest to get you started:

Strikethrough, or what happened to livejournal? And while we’re on the subject, why is everyone so nostalgic for LJ anyway?

What's the deal with the fanfiction.net purge?

The founding of ao3 (and see the "no direct advertising" section for more on why you can't talk about commissions or sales on ao3, and the section on racism for an overview of various discussions with links to more)

What’s a lemon?

A list of tropes, fun to explore

YKINMKATO (or, kink tomato)

What's the ball pit?

What’s up with people using the word slash?

A big list of fandom slang in the fandom glossary

What's a fandom challenge?

And they have a new visitor portal! and more!

Fandom and all the ways we engage with it

Something I often wondered as a fan before I started writing was, what is my role here? How do I engage with fandom? What do fans do if they don’t write or make art?

So I thought I’d make a list! I love lists. And maybe you’ll see something in my list that speaks to you and makes you feel like you have something for you where you didn’t before. That would make me so happy. Fanlore also has a whole category page for fan activities which is way more exhaustive than my list!

Writing (fic, poetry, meta, and more)

Making art - fanart, gifs, memes, so much more

Recording podfics

Making podcasts

Organizing fic archives/libraries/fic rec pages or tumblr accounts (the hours I spent exploring the Sterek library account, y’all...)

Creating and organizing character or media archives (think of all the possibilities - outfit compendiums, dialogue arhives, etc.)

Making fic rec lists (around themes, authors, etc.) and sharing them

Making playlists (around themes, fandoms, characters, relationships, more!) and sharing them - also called fanmixes

Making fanvids (videos) and sharing them

Contributing to a wiki

Cosplay

Crafts - knitting, crocheting, sewing, woodworking, and more!

Commenting and contributing to discussions

Creating and sharing polls

Interviewing fellow fans

Fan surveys

Creating moodboards and/or collages

Liveblogging as you watch or rewatch new episodes or movies (make sure to tag it)

Sending asks and comments

Leaving kudos and comments (on ao3) and commenting/reblogging (on tumblr)

Hosting viewing parties

Running fandom events (or helping with them), like challenges

Bookbinding (not for profit)

Making zines

How do I get started?

In my experience, when people say their inboxes are open, they mostly mean it. If you see someone who makes art you love, tell them you love it and ask them how they got started. Ask them what tools they use! If you see someone making amazing gifs, tell them you love them and ask for tips or resources. And share their work!

Fanlore also has resources, so the links and ideas are out there. And reaching out to someone on tumblr is often the easiest way in. Send an ask, write a comment, reblog with a comment. Explore the tags for your fandom. Tell someone you loved something or ask them a question. And on that topic, consider my asks and messages open if you want to chat! Or talk about any of this! Or share your ideas for more ways to do fandom!

Talking to people can be scary, I know, but just remember that we all have something in common - we're waaaaaaaay too into something (or a lot of things) and would love to talk about it. We're dying to talk about it. Please talk about it with us. And that is a foundation we can build on! Even if it’s just in comments or in reblogs or in tags - we love comments and reblogs and tags.

If talking to someone doesn’t go anywhere, that’s ok. Like in non-tumblr life, we all get along with some people more than others. We all have different types of connections all across this platform, some closer than others. Sometimes people are busy or life is happening or they just can’t engage right then. Sometimes you won’t click with someone. That’s all ok! Reaching out gets easier with practice.

If you do make or share something, tag it! Use fandom tags and broader tumblr tags (e.g., 'podfic') to help people find it.

I love fandom, and I always have, even when I was the lurkiest of lurkers. So I hope this helps. 🧡 My inbox, as I said, is open.