#i think there are some tumblr etiquette posts floating around still..... but that will get you started!! :]

[definitelynotshouting]

HI i literally have never used tumblr before. I made an account specifically because of how mych I love your hunger au. Like actually dying over it.

Your fic is actually the best thing i’ve read. Pls. Lots of love

THE POWEERR OF HUNGER AU....... AW MAN THANK YOU SO MUCH THIS IS SO SWEET WTF /POS

[prettyboykatsuki]

Hi! I'm not sure what the Tumblr etiquette is here, so if I misstep forgive me, but I wanted to let you know that I used a screenshot with your name on it on a post about 1960's fanfic - which, to my surprise, has apparently "done the numbers" and has like 15k notes on it now:

https://www.tumblr.com/bliss-bliss-bliss-bliss/711429082005553152/fanfolks-today-need-to-remember-how-important-the?source=share

It wasn't exactly a reblog because I was still figuring out how stuff worked, so you're not getting notifications about it - I think you had reblogs turned off. If that means you object to your writing being circulated, it wasn't my intention to disrespect that and I'm sorry.

I'm not even sure how to bring it up now, or if an ask is even the right format, but it seemed like the right thing to at least let you know that like fifteen thousand people have seen a blurb you wrote in support of older women in fan spaces. If you want me to edit the post I'm happy to of course, but it, uh, it seems to be really resonating with people.

P.S. I saw your posts about college - that sounds rough! I'm so sorry you're struggling with it! I'm not going to advise you whether or not to keep going, because everyone is different; I'm just going to remind you to reach out for help, and to listen to yourself, and to be kind to yourself. Good luck ~

hey! i saw that post floating around and yes i did turn rbs off but mostly because the post was blowing up and i simply didn't want to see the notifs anymore. i don't necessarily have a problem with you screenshotting the post and using it since you still included my url and everything plus the post itself isnt super novel anyways

you don't have to edit it!! im glad the message got to people some other way. at the time of posting i had like two separate text notes absolutely wreaking havoc on my notifs so i just turned off rbs for both. i appreciate you reaching out anyways, but seriously no need for apology!! i didnt see it as disrespectful. if i turn off rbs and people still want to rb some other way it is what it is yk. its out of my hands at some point

im glad it resonates and i mean what i said lmao. i think the disrespect of older women in fandom is insane because 99.9% of amazing fanwork comes from that demographic of people. i would know!! they are my friends and mutuals!!!!

re : ps : thank you!! its whooping my ass but ill be okay. thanks for the warm wishes and kindness in general, always appreciated!! hope you're having a great day!

[bookofmirth]

Hello! I saw some recent posts floating around and felt compelled to reach out because things are not okay and have not been okay for a while. I’m an elriel but I’m among a large group of elriels that aren’t very vocal on tumblr but we still see the words that some of the more popular elriel accounts make and we do not agree or condone them. I don’t know if it is a maturity or cultural difference or just a lack of basic human decency but some of the things that are said are appalling and sickening and do not at all reflect what the majority of us actually believe. There are so many elriels that have preferred to disengage from this ship war and not make text posts/answer questions/etc so to see accounts with larger followings (or who just consistently make posts) say such disturbing things, especially regarding gwyn as a SA survivor, is extremely unsettling for us because we do not want to be reflected by those kinds of fans.

All this to say, there is a very large but quiet group of elriels who agree with you and other gwynriels who have spoken out against certain troubling comments. We may prefer the elriel ship but we all absolutely know that if sjm were to write about gwynriel that it would be a beautiful, consensual, loving story. I can’t control the actions or words of other elriels but I just felt the need to reach out and let you know that a lot of us see what is going on and we do not agree or support these people making these comments. A lot of us have privately messaged accounts to let them know that although we are on “their side” of the ship war, their comments are not okay and have even hurt us too. I do not believe these people will change but I do hope that not all elriel fans will be held accountable to the comments made by a few that even we do not support. While I understand the anger behind the responses to those posts, it does hurt when I see the constant generalizations about “all elriels” because, as I said, there are so many of us that have chosen not to be a part of this ship war and celebrate our ship in silence. I personally have tried so hard to stay neutral and when I constantly see how terrible, delusional, immature, etc all elriels are, it especially frustrating. I hope this message makes sense and I hope that it brings even a little comfort to know that not all elriels believe in such horrible ideas.

Hello!!! First off, thank you for sending me this. I know this past year hasn't been easy on the fandom, and that includes literally every type of shipper. I never used to have to block as many people as I have blocked. I've never had people so blatantly ignore basic fandom/tumblr etiquette. We used to be able to have discussions with people we don't agree 100% with. There never used to be fights in the comments. Everything we say feels like it can be used against us, and it's not a great environment.

I'm going to respond to different bits just because it's easier.

I don’t know if it is a maturity or cultural difference or just a lack of basic human decency but some of the things that are said are appalling and sickening and do not at all reflect what the majority of us actually believe.

This is very, very heartening to hear.

I genuinely think that some of the people saying and agreeing with these things are just doing so for the shock value. I genuinely think that they say these things because it gets them attention and they get notes, and they get anons. Maybe I'm naive, but I just can't see someone saying these things and actually believing them. This is ultimately why I don't give them any of the above - none of my attention, notes, and certainly not anons.

(I've also wondered about the cultural differences.)

Disengaging from the ship war is totally valid. I hope that you are still able to enjoy content and create it in relative peace. At this point, the ship war is making even that difficult, but hopefully you've found your own group of people who you can actually enjoy this series with.

I do not believe these people will change but I do hope that not all elriel fans will be held accountable to the comments made by a few that even we do not support.

Absolutely agree, on every level. As I mentioned above, some of these comments seem disingenuous to me, and they seem incredibly inconsistent to boot, which just reinforces that these people do not care about what they are saying, they just want the attention. So why would they change? They are getting exactly what they want.

I'm going to say something that not everyone will agree with, but I can see someone thinking, "but anon, if you don't agree with those statements, then why don't you speak out? Why don't you keep them in line?" And just to be clear, I do not think that is your job, or anything else's. It's the responsibility of the people making those statements, and of anyone who supports them. So if you, anon, have ever wondered if you should say something publicly, don't. You aren't the elriel fandom police, just like I'm not the elucien or gwynriel fandom police. Trying to do so privately in DMs was kind of you, but you can't control their actions if they refuse to change.

While I understand the anger behind the responses to those posts, it does hurt when I see the constant generalizations about “all elriels” because, as I said, there are so many of us that have chosen not to be a part of this ship war and celebrate our ship in silence. I personally have tried so hard to stay neutral and when I constantly see how terrible, delusional, immature, etc all elriels are, it especially frustrating.

I understand this completely - I get lumped in with gwynriels even though I don't really ship it, and I see posts about "omg eluciens really think" and then OP says something I've never thought or said in my life. It's incredibly frustrating that people don't see each other as individuals anymore.

And tack on the horrible ways that people act on twitter and tiktok and it's like... 1000% worse. There are some legit bullies out there, screenshotting people and calling out minors and saying racist, sexist, transphobic crap. And I assume that many elriels are embarrassed to be associated with them. I'm embarrassed to be associated with anyone who says the horrible shit people say about Elain, too. Or Feyre. Or Nesta. This whole fandom, it's embarrassing to be part of this past year 😅

I've asked people many many times not to send me asks that talk about all elriels in a negative light, I have deleted asks that do so, but I am sure that I have posts out there that cross the line that I try not to cross. I try not to contribute to the problem, and I know that I could be better. (This is actually the main reason I delete rude asks - it's not just about me, but about the atmosphere that post might contribute to.) I very intentionally use "people" instead of "shippers of X". Sometimes I lose my patience. I'll keep trying!

I hope this message makes sense and I hope that it brings even a little comfort to know that not all elriels believe in such horrible ideas.

It absolutely does! I know intellectually that there must be elriels who read this stuff with horror, but I also wonder sometimes what other people actually think.

Even if you and I don't ship Elain with the same person, we could probably agree on nessian? And feysand? And emorie, maybe some non-canon ships? There's honestly no reason for there to be such a huge divide. For my part, I'm going to concentrate on making content that I want to see, rather than contributing to this atmosphere.

[mittensmorgul]

Can’t everyone use tumblr how they want?

YES!

This site is exactly what people make of it for themselves. That was the exact point of that post. The fact that people reacted negatively to it at all proves my point. Seriously.

I have a number of other anons that are clearly from people who don't actually follow me, and are only here in a reactionary fashion having seen it on someone else's reblog, or else heard about it in passing and decided the best reaction to an ultimately harmless and rather bumbling post was to take personal offense and bring anonymous hate to a stranger on the internet. (and at least one not-anonymous "go kill yourself" type comment on the post itself)

THAT was the point of making that post.

For people who might be new to this fandom or new to tumblr in general (or even for people who have been here for years), your experience here is exactly what you make of it. I haven't seen that sort of vitriolic kneejerk reaction to anything I've written or posted in years. That post touched nerves. So it was a bit of an experiment, and I'm sorry to everyone who experienced any of that negativity second-hand. NOBODY should be made to feel like shit when engaging with something that is supposed to be fun. But I've learned over the years that that's exactly what some people consider fun.

There are new people to this fandom since the absolute free for all of the weeks after November 5th. We all reveled in those weeks before the show collapsed in on itself two weeks later. It was like 15 years worth of Hiatus Blogging followed by... well... some of the worst genuine hurt and disillusionment I've ever experienced or witnessed inflicted on a fandom by a piece of media.

There have to be at least a few people who floated into this fandom during that emotional roller coaster who want to make sense of it all, who were at least curious enough about how a show could've brought the characters to that emotional moment in 15.18 before effectively ignoring it all and burning the entire 15 year narrative to nothing just two episodes later.

Some folks stuck around to dig through the ashes of fandom in search of carrion, and that's fine. Some have zero desire to ever engage with the show or the fandom beyond mocking it for ever having existed at all, and that is also fine! But some folks? They might be wondering why anyone ever saw anything in this narrative to begin with, and they might be interested in knowing that there is this vast collection of information available to them (funny that none of my self-righteous anons even mentioned those, outside of one pointing out that my phrasing introducing that section of links was easily interpreted as condescending... which... yeah... again that was the point, and no I will not edit that language. none of us are free from sin).

Tumblr hasn't "changed." It was always this way. This site is not a monolith. Fandom is not a monolith. Even smaller groups within fandom aren't monoliths. Things that are considered "tumblr standard etiquette" do not exist across this entire website. And even within the supernatural fandom, and even within the tumblr-destiel-portion of the fandom there aren't "rules" dictating how you interact with anyone. Well, the one specific rule we should all be able to agree on is that you don't bring hate to real actual human beings, and yet...

There has ALWAYS been the option to engage with fandom here on whatever level an individual chooses. And that hasn't really changed since the finale aired. Anyone who thinks that Tumblr or the fandom has "evolved" or "changed" has likely just fallen in with a different fandom bubble then they'd existed within before. None of the bubbles have actually popped or disappeared. But which one you experience is entirely your own choice. You curate your experience here.

That was the point, illustrated by the vast array of comments I actually got on that post, structured with a little bit of everything including "tumblr mom from 2014." Everything pisses some people off, you know? Even the perception that some stranger on the internet might dare to lay down an arbitrary "rule" that zero people actually have to follow. See what I mean?

Because if any of the people who kneejerked at it actually followed me, or knew me at all, they wouldn't have kneejerked. They would've seen the point.

So your experience is what you make of it here. There are resources for people actually interested in engaging with the narrative or the fandom or the history of it. People mock "tumblr moms" or "fandom moms" all the time, but there wouldn't ~be~ a fandom without the people who actually build those resources. I.e. adults with the time, money, and personal investment in actually sustaining the fandom, instead of running around with torches trying to burn it down at every new whiff of perceived ~drama~ to latch on to.

For example, all of the scripts we've been acquiring and sharing with the entire fandom free of charge. I know that the fandom bubbles who seize on those scripts like hungry vultures to cough back up out of context "gotcha" posts postulating whatever theory of the differences between script and screen will dredge up the most drama or outrage in their fandom bubble... they haven't even considered how those scripts were acquired and made available to them. To them, they are "leaks." They are gifts that fell out of the sky and landed in their laps. There isn't even the barest curiosity about their origins or relevance beyond whatever social nourishment they derive by making up stuff and spouting it out with unearned authority. It's sad. But if that's how they enjoy the fandom, it's nice to remind them that none of the fandom they cannibalize would exist without the rest of us, too.

Yes, even the people you disagree with. Even the people who ship the things you find disgusting or repulsive. Even people who have an entirely different experience to your own. Even the people who are only here for those gotcha posts.

Fandom is not by nature a nihilistic shitshow, or no fandom would survive the amount of drama the 1% try to bring to it. Here have a fanlore article about this phenomenon. Right now, in Supernatural fandom, it feels like more than 1%, but I promise it really is only 1%. They're just really loud. There's actually other avenues to participatory fandom available to anyone who chooses to find them. Parts of this vast fandom that aren't focused on that 1% of reactionary leg-chewing at every turn. None of them are (as the linked article confirms) truly 100% free of unnecessary drama or bad behavior (including ME, I mean I MADE THAT POST!), but on tumblr you can curate your own experience. Fandom actually can be fun without burning down the thing you claim to be a fan of, or attacking other real human people for having the audacity to exist on the internet in a way you might believe is out of touch or pathetic. Seriously, nobody deserves to experience that from anyone over a fucking television show. Like seriously, take a step back and examine your life and your choices at that point.

Tumblr was exactly the same as a fandom community when I joined as it is now. Throughout my entire time here, I've curated my own personal experience to exactly what I derive the most personal satisfaction from. During that time I have had numerous friends and mutuals lament that their personal experience had become so toxic, but they were afraid to trim those blogs from their dash for fear of having no content left to engage with at all. For years there have been follow lists and blog recs and people desperate to find a more "peaceful and fun" fandom experience. People grow exhausted and embittered when their entire experience of fandom is an emotionally draining drama train. It's like pandemic doom scrolling, but for the thing that should be a respite from that sort of mindset, something that's supposed to be entertainment. The show did enough to us all, we don't have to turn around and re-inflict it on each other day in and day out on tumblr dot com.

So if even one person saw my post and thought well shit maybe I actually want to engage with a wider swath of fandom and see what's there, after seven months of post-finale drama, this whole other region of fandom is still here, still being the curators of the archives, the creators of stories and art and meta and gifs and videos and actually caring about it all that will keep this fandom going long after the current round of exhausting drama inevitably plays itself out.

The amount of in-group language in the negative replies I got was unsurprising. It's like folks are living in an alternate universe that doesn't mesh at all with what I experience on this exact same hellsite. Almost like we exist in entirely different bubbles of fandom, with entirely different purposes for existing at all. Everyone on this hellsite gets to pick which bubble (or bubbles) to take up residence in. Some people simply forget that their personal bubble isn't the universal defining experience of this site. Unfortunately, I doubt my little disruption to their bubbles will actually make any of them see that, but you anon... I think you did.

You are highly encouraged to engage with fandom EXACTLY THE WAY YOU CHOOSE. You have the ultimate power in controlling your entire experience here. Tumblr and Supernatural Fandom on tumblr is not Just One Thing that everyone who wants to participate in must conform to one specific code of ethics or behavior to be part of. And that NOBODY has the right to tell anyone else they're doing it wrong (including ME! I am 100% including myself in this!).

It's not MY job to dictate how anyone else experiences this fandom, as much as it was not the job of the people who reblogged my post (which I did not personally shove into their eyeballs with a demand for compliance... how did any of those people even *find* my post?) solely to tell me how *I* need to change how I experience the fandom, you see? Don'tcha love hypocrisy!

But the point was made for those who care, and a lot of people got to update their block lists (I still don't block anyone, as I said I curated my fandom space here and generally don't follow folks that don't personally make me happy and enrich my life by engaging with their content. However other people choose to engage with *my* content (any of it, going back nearly 50k posts over the last decade) is their business entirely. Sometimes I just feel the need to draw out people who are all too eager to expose their own whole asses in public. Mission accomplished.

[ineffably-good]

Too Close For Comfort

Just a little piece of fluff and nonsense inspired by this tumblr post the other day...

Enjoy!

Read this on AO3

It had been a perfectly ordinary Tuesday morning, Crowley thought. He’d slept in quite late, misted and shouted at the plants, and made and downed a total of seven espressos with his nifty new kitchen toy, a shiny espresso maker that somehow never needed to be plugged in or washed. He was just downing the seventh one, standing up at the kitchen counter in the way of true Italians, when there was a sudden shimmer in the air behind him and everything went haywire.

“You got DISCORPORATED?” Crowley thundered at the shimmering, misty shape behind him that still somehow managed to retain the distinct appearance of wearing a bowtie. “How in the everliving fuck did you get yourself discorporated??”

The mist that was Aziraphale couldn’t blush, of course, but it nonetheless managed to communicate the sensation that it was blushing. “I stepped in front of a bus.”

“You stepped in front of a bus,” Crowley repeated, deadpan. “And why was that?”

“Well obviously because I was distracted!”

“You were distracted!” Crowley scrubbed a hand over his face and hair, messing it up wildly. “Oh, fine, you were DISTRACTED. There’s just the small problem with the fact that Heaven isn’t likely to give you another body, you realize. They’re not particularly cooperative about these things now that we’re on our own side!”

Mist-Aziraphale made a shushing gesture and Crowley, never having been shushed by a noncorporeal being before, found himself quieting down just at the novelty of it.

“I know, my dear, I know,” Aziraphale said. “But I have a plan. Just calm down and listen to me for a moment, please? You can yell at me later.”

“Oh I WILL,” Crowley threatened, looking grim. He plopped down on a kitchen stool and folded his arms over his chest. “Start talking.”

 --

“I don’t know whether that plan is brilliant or stupid,” Crowley groused.

“In that case,” the mist said primly, “let’s go with brilliant. It will work, Crowley, I know it will.”

Crowley frowned and considered making himself an eighth espresso just to gain some thinking time, but he discarded the notion. His nerves were on edge enough.

“So you want to merge with me,” he said. “Angel and demonic in one corporeal shell. How do you know we won’t both explode? We couldn’t do it the last time you were floating around like this.”

“Well yes,” said the mist, “but we weren’t together back then. I think it’s safe to say that we have both gotten our corporeal selves much more used to each other’s essences now. I don’t think my presence will harm you at all. And if it seems to, I will back out quick as a snap. No harm done.”

“It’s not like you have much of another option, I suppose,” Crowley said, resigned to his fate. “All right, let’s give it a try.”

He braced himself on the kitchen counter and waited. And waited. And waited.

“Anytime now, angel,” he snipped, looking up. “What’s the hold up?”

“Oh,” dithered the misty shape. “I just feel… like I’m imposing on you. Are you sure you’re ready?”

Crowley rolled his eyes, hard. “Just get on with it.”

Mist-Aziraphale took a deep breath, managed to somehow look apologetic, and flowed into him.

No one combusted.

It was, Crowley thought, a positive sign.

 --

It was an unusual thing to be inhabiting a body with one’s boyfriend, thought Aziraphale. He had thought that he knew every inch of Crowley’s body rather intimately at this point, after over a year of dating and even once swapping bodies completely, but he found it was rather a different thing to be locked inside someone’s body while they were still in it. He found himself feeling unexpectedly shy, and rather unsure of the etiquette of the whole thing.

For example, when one wanted to take a turn using the vocal cords, did one just – do so? Or did one clear their throat politely first?

He decided to try the throat clearing trick. “Ahem,” he said politely. Crowley instinctively fought the sensation at first, then relaxed when he realized it was Aziraphale trying to speak. “I wonder, might we make a cup of tea? It’s rather… jittery in here.”

“Sure, angel, whatever you want.” Crowley headed for the kitchen and began filling a kettle.

“Ahem,” the other voice inside him said again. “Would you mind terribly if – that is to say – oh dear, this is complicated to manuever…”

Crowley turned off the water and put the kettle down. “You want to make the tea, don’t you.”

“Well, I do make it better than you do,” Aziraphale said politely. “Could I perhaps drive the body for just a moment?”

Crowley sighed and did his best to relax. “I suppose?”

Aziraphale manuevered around and happily took over the demon’s brainstem to control his physical movements; there were an uncomfortable few moments not unlike when you are changing gears in a strange car for the first time, but then everything proceeded smoothly as Crowley sat back inside his own head and watched Aziraphale put together the tea in the same fussy way he always did.

When the water had boiled and the bone china cup had been appropriately warmed before being filled with just the right amount of tea with just the appropriate dash of sugar and a saucer had been found and both had been carried to the living room and the angel-driving-the-demon had finally been seated and taken his first indulgent sip and let out a contented sigh, Crowley finally nudged at him to relinquish control of the steering wheel, so to speak, which the angel did immediately.

“Great,” Crowley said, back in control of the vocal cords. “Let’s move this into the office – I need to get on the computer.” Without waiting for Aziraphale to agree, he picked up the cup and saucer and sauntered them both into the other room, where he sprawled down in the chair and opened his laptop.

“Crowley,” Aziraphale complained, “I wanted to actually drink the tea.”

Crowley sighed and picked up the cup in a rather big hurry and took a huge gulp.

“That’s hardly the way to enjoy it, my dear,” Aziraphale said.

“Is that a pout?” Crowley said. “I absolutely refuse to let you make me pout, angel.”

He felt the angel sigh and release his control over the mouth muscles. “Very well,” he said primly. “Just give me a drink every now and then while you’re using the arms, ok?”

“They’re not ‘the’ arms,” Crowley reminded him, “they’re ‘my’ arms. And you are a guest in there.”

“I’m well aware, dearest,” Aziraphale said, sounding a little hurt.

Crowley stuffed down a vague sensation of guilt, which he was oddly aware that Aziraphale was well aware of, since they were sharing a brain, and got to work pulling up his infernal email account.

“Let’s get moving on this,” he muttered. “Time to contact the powers that be.”

 --

“I can hear you thinking,” Crowley said as he worked on writing his most threatening email to Michael, the archangel who had already demonstrated a slight moral ambiguity and willingness to play by slightly more shaded rules than the others.

“It’s just that you’re being so rude,” Aziraphale said. “Also you misspelled ‘wanker’ in line seven.”

“I’m being rude on purpose,” Crowley said, “it’s a threatening email.”

“Nonetheless, manners are important,” Aziraphale prodded.

“So, you’d like me to write a polite threatening letter.”

“It can certainly be done,” Aziraphale said. “If you’ll just give me control of the arms for a moment, I can make a few edits for you –”

Crowley shut the laptop lid. “Forget it. I’ll call her instead.”

“Oh well now, that’s a very good idea.”

 --

“Michael!” Crowley said jovially. “How’s tricks?”

“Demon Crowley,” Michael said coolly. “To what do I owe the displeasure?”

“Need to talk with you,” Crowley said. “You see, Aziraphale’s been discorporated, and you’re going to help us out with getting him another body.”

“And why on earth would I do that?” Michael asked. “I can’t think of anything that would possibly entice me to get that traitor another body.”

“Well you see,” Crowley said, “Aziraphale has set up shop inside my corporation for the moment.”

Crowley could almost hear Michael wrinkling her nose in distaste. “That sounds unpleasant, but is hardly my concern –”

“No,” Crowley cut in. “It’s quite largely your concern. Because I now have all of the powers of Hell at my disposal, plus all of Aziraphale’s grace. Imagine what I could do with that combination?”

Michael thought for a moment. “That’s preposterous. Such a thing isn’t even possible. Your base matter is incompatible.”

Crowley gave in to the incessant nudging and allowed Aziraphale to take over the vocal cords. “Was incompatible,” Aziraphale said. On screen, Michael blinked as Aziraphale’s voice somehow began emerging from Crowley’s mouth. “We have mingled our essences enough times prior to this, however, that this is no longer the case.”

“I really don’t need to be privy to that type of information,” Michael sighed.

“And you know,” Aziraphale continued, “I can’t really do anything to stop Crowley while he’s –” he stopped and grasped for the right word – “hosting me. I can take control for short periods of time but only if he allows it. And he’s quite right that he has access to all of my powers. And all of my knowledge of heavenly infrastructure. Battle plans and whatnot.”

Michael’s eyes glittered. “You wouldn’t dare let him have full access to your memory banks.”

Crowley nudged Aziraphale and took back control. “He certainly would,” he said, “and even if he didn’t want to, he couldn’t stop me.” He waited while Aziraphale quietly fed him a few alarming bits of information. “Taking a look around right now,” he said airily. “You have exactly 124 battle regiments at present, armed with – what is that Aziraphale? Oh, stop fighting me, you idiot. I’m going to see it anyways – armed with a combination of light and heavy –”

“All right, all right,” Michael shouted, leaning forward anxiously. “What is it you want me to do?”

“You’re going to steal us a corporation,” Crowley said. “The same corporation he’s had, I know you have extras. And you’re going to deliver it to the bookshop.”

“That will take some time,” Michael muttered.

“How long?”

“Forty-eight hours.”

“Fine.” Crowley gave a smile that did not reach his eyes. “Nice doing business with you, Michael.”

--

“Oh, can I drive?” Aziraphale asked as they settled into the driver’s seat of the Bentley.

“Can you –” Crowley sputtered. “Absolutely not! And if you so much as touch a single neuron while I’m driving us over to the bookshop I will wait until you’ve got a body again and then kick your ass. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” sniffed Aziraphale.

 --

 Crowley swung into the bookstore and headed directly for the liquor cabinet.

“I didn’t mean to,” Aziraphale said. “It was just – you almost hit that old woman and her cart!”

“Not my fault she’s out there taking terrible risks, is it?” Crowley said, uncorking a bottle of gin and taking a long swallow.

Aziraphale spluttered. “Oh, must you, my dear? You know I dislike the taste of gin.”

“My tastebuds, my rules,” Crowley said.

On the desk to their left, Frederick awoke from that deep stillness that meant sleep and examined his pointy friend.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I’VE BEEN HUNGRY FOR DAYS!

It had been six hours at most. Crowley huffed and went to the freezer for a mousicle. He took one out, popped it in the microwave to thaw, and turned his focus back inward.

“Anyway,” he said. “Don’t change the subject. You took control of the wheel and nearly wrecked us.”

“What was I supposed to do, close my eyes? That would have wrecked us too, since they’re your eyelids.”

“I don’t know,” Crowley sputtered. “just mentally read a book or something.”

“I will try that next time,” Aziraphale said consolingly.

The microwave dinged and Crowley made a disgusted face. “You feed him, angel,” he said.

Aziraphale, feeling agreeable, quickly popped the mouse into Freddy’s cage. “There you are, dear friend,” he said. “So sorry about the wait.”

Frederick reared up his head and examined Crowley closely.

WHY DO YOU SOUND LIKE THE FLUFFY ONE? he shouted.

Crowley took back control. “It’s a long story,” he said. “Suffice it to say that Aziraphale is in here with me for the moment.”

SOUNDS CROWDED, Frederick said doubtfully. DON’T GET ANY BIG IDEAS ABOUT PUTTING ME IN THERE TOO. YOU MIGHT HAVE EATEN YOUR FRIEND, BUT THAT’S ALL YOU GET.

“I didn’t eat him!” Crowley insisted.

LOOKS THAT WAY FROM HERE, SNAKEBIRD.

Crowley sighed and headed for the bottle of gin again.

It was going to be, they both thought in near unison, a long two days.

[walkingshcdow-a]

3, 6 & 15

Salty Munday | Accepting!

3. Why did you leave your last fandom?

I don’t tend to leave fandoms permanently - I always cycle back. I thought I’d left the Repo fandom for good after a LOT of interpersonal drama, but I brought Amber back last month. I “left” the Disney fandom recently because I put Maleficent and Diaval on hiatus, but I’ll be back in time. 

6. Your view on Mary/Gary sues?

I see them as training wheels to better writing. They aren’t inherently bad, since they teach you a lot about writing - especially in an RP community - but it’s really embarrassing to be doing this for ten years and still only produce Mary Sues/Gary Stus. 

I think the biggest problem lies in the term itself and the stigma it carries? We all know someone is MUCH MORE LIKELY to be accused of writing a “Mary Sue” if they are writing a female character. There’s a LOT of (mostly internalized) misogyny floating around the internet And people are more likely to cry “Mary Sue!” if that female OC is hooking up with a hot male canon. Let me be clear: a female OC - including one who is hooking up with a hot male canon - is not automatically a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue/Gary Stu is, by definition, a poorly written character, whose powers and appeal are not organically shown, but crammed down the readers throats. That’s neither good writing nor good manners. It is, however, a crash course in RP etiquette and writing because if you’re writing a Mary Sue/Gary Stu, people lack patience with you. They’ll either let you know What’s Up or just not interact with you until you’ve gotten a grasp on how to write well and collaboratively. 

I’d be a damn liar if I said I didn’t start out writing Mary Sues/Gary Stus and that most RPers - especially those who are starting or started out young - don’t or didn’t have that phase. I don’t cringe when I see what I think of as a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. I don’t comment. I think “this person is learning” and I move on. I’m past that phase and I’m past shaming people for learning. . 

However, I’m unlikely to RP with characters I consider Mary Sues/Gary Stus (i.e. overpowered with unbalanced and organic characterization), because I’m old and crabby and I teach kids how to write every day and I don’t want to take my work to the RP sphere. I’m not here to teach or train other writers - props to those experienced writers who don’t mind it. I scroll past. I don’t bully. Follow my example, folks. 

I mean... is this even still... in the Discourse for RP?

I mean, of course it is. I worry that some of my characters continue to fall in this Mary Sue/Gary Stu spectrum. Yikes. The RPC has damaged me; this is my scar to wear - the fear that every attempt at originality I make will be damned as being “Sue-ish” and therefore not good enough. Let’s be kinder to people who are just starting out, even if the kindest thing you can do is recognize that their work is not for you and move on. 

15. What is your biggest pet peeve?

I have so many pet peeves. If I’m not irritated about something, check my pulse and be ready to administer CPR.

I think lately my biggest pet peeve has been that people in the RPC have ceased to use proper grammar and syntax. This is not an issue with ESL blogs - or, rather, not an issue primarily with ESL blogs, but rather a pandemic in the community. People drop articles like “A” and “The” a lot. Whose “hands reached through the darkness"? We’ll never know because the mun didn’t put a pronoun. Can anyone explain to me need for two ampersands in a row instead of saying “and” once? And will someone please help me distribute thesauruses to those who need synonyms for “eyes” because yikes. Look. I get it. Not everyone here speaks English as a first language; not all who do were English majors and literature nerds before joining the Tumbl-o-sphere. I get it. But as an English teacher, I get very bristly when the “aesthetic” of a post overtakes using basic, readily understood language. The point of writing is to be understood. If I can’t understand your post or, if to understand your post, I have to make a series of complex inferences that make me look like the Clare Danes meme with the math, you need to edit.

Please note - I’m not talking about typos. I’m not talking about people who are in early to intermediate stages of learning English. I’m not talking about people with learning disabilities. You go, you funky little typists and bilinguals! Keep learning, keep checking your work and doing a good job! I am taking to task those who have had English in their tool kit for eighteen years or more and just chuck it out the window to look cool. You don’t look cool. Some of y’all look like a dictionary threw up every adjective. I hope you don’t email your boss that way. 

And... I GET IT. Language is ever-evolving. Tumblr is arguably a “visual” medium. 1. Those of you whose posts cannot be comprehended by the average (or above average) reader are on an evolutionary branch that will die with you and 2. ALL BOOKS ARE VISUAL MEDIUMS, DUMBASSES. If you want to make “aesthetic” text posts, read some e.e. cummings and pick up some techniques to make your stylistic choices meaningful. 

That’s just one pet peeve though. XD

[circegrimoire]

Divination etiquette

So you want a reading. You find a blog which is open for readings, but what now? This post is about how to best approach requesting a reading while being polite and considerate of your diviner.

1) Determine the type of reading you want...BEFORE you message them (if you can). Most diviners have an FAQ or a masterpost floating around their blog that details what they offer. If you've done the digging and still can't find it, go ahead and ask them...but look first. You wouldn't commission an artist without first determining what style, type, etc. You're engaging this person's services. There is nothing wrong with being confused and asking for clarification, but you should do your part to find out what you can first.

2) Have question(s) ready. I can't tell you how many people have asked me for a general reading. That may work for some forms of divination, but many require specific questions from the querent in order to divine properly. Be sure to have some questions ready. Know specifically what you want to find out. If you have followed rule number one, you be able to determine in advance depending on the type of divination. You could also send them an ask ahead of time asking if they accept general readings.

3) Expect a wait. People have lives outside of Tumblr. There's work, school, and other engagements. People migh have health problems, family emergencies, or just too much to do. There are also some days where our energies might be too low for readings. If your diviner has set hours, you might not worry about having to wait quite that long, but they may still have other readings to contend with besides yours. Be patient, and make sure to check that their reading requests are open. Don't bother diviners with closed askboxes, etc.

4) Do. Not. Haggle. Some diviners charge for readings. Don't try to get us to do it for free. Don't try to talk down the price. Pay the price, or forget about the reading. It is rude. Don't do it.

And aside from all this, remember to be kind and respectful as always. If anyone can think of any other tips, feel free to add on!

[peacemaker-ic]

I just recently started up a blog for my own for builds that I'll be making, although I wanted to ask you a question. I noticed that you have a lot of followers, which is understandable, considering your custom content and builds are really amazing and detailed. Is there anything you did specifically to let people know that you're making this kind of content, so that they will be more aware of it? Again, this is just me asking a question to someone who has more experience than me.

I don’t know if I am the best person to ask, I really don’t put that much effort into sharing as I like my creations to speak for themselves. I think I am qualified enough to give you a rundown on how simblr works though which is related to your question. I think being on tumblr is more then just getting your stuff out there, as it is just part of a bigger picture which is all interconnected. It is hard to do one thing without doing another and so on and so forth. 

In order to share your creations, you need people to share them with (whether that is just a like or maybe a reblog), which means getting involved in simblr by making friends, or just getting involved and commenting/participating on posts. Also consider posting more then just what you share; maybe gameplay photos is you play as well, even just progress pictures of what you are building. It gives people the opportunity to get involved with what you are doing which can strike up conversations and hopefully friendships. 

This is probably a big generalisation and doesn’t apply to everyone, but smaller simblrs are probably more active on their blogs then bigger ones either because they are newer around here or still in that honeymoon phase of joining a new social media platform (we have all been there). It is much easier making friends with active people then ones that are less so. 

Also probably avoid being a salesman. This does work with some people when you try promoting your own blog on other people’s posts, but most of the time it doesn’t come off well. Just being nice, but also constructive criticism goes way further and people get interested enough to check you out rather then the opposite happening. 

Discord has become an increasingly popular way of simblrs to chat outside of the platform and if you are into that sort of thing, is a great way to find people with similar interests to you. There are often posts floating around about new servers you can join. I am not sure if there are any specifically targeted towards builders, but that would be awesome. 

When you actually want to share something, be sure to utilise tagging. TS4CC and S4CC are the most common, but there are others people use too. If you are unsure what to label, check out cc finds blogs to see what they use. Also don’t forget a unique tag/s for your own blog so you can eventually set up a downloads pae, or a directory. It is easier to add tags now then later on. Also as a side note since i see a lot of drama about it, probably avoid using CC tags on stuff that isn’t cc. This is more just common decency then anything. I know people want to get noticed out there, but cluttering an important tag is not the way to do it (simblr etiquette rule right there). 

This is the last point, but I think it is the most important. Do it for you. I have seen many people fall down the “pleasing others” rabbit hole never to return. That is not to say doing requests can’t be fun, and that constructive critisim shouldn’t be considered, but some of the community can be ungrateful and vile twats and that makes it less then fun. If you are doing it for yourself, there is less emphasis on likes and reblog numbers and your blog can grow naturally the way you want it as you find your way around this crazy, fun, sometimes childish, but also creative community. 

I have no idea if this wall of text will be helpful or whether there is any useful information, but hopefully there is something in there to help you on your simblr journey. 

[humanrebel]

Serpents and Lions Ch.3

Fandom: My Hero Academia Characters: Ochako Uraraka, Katsuki Bakugou, Class 1-A Relationship: Bakugou/Uraraka, Slow Burn Summary: She can hide her identity, but not her personality.

A/N: So if I remember correctly, tumblr stopped showing posts in the tags if they contained an outside link. I’m not sure if this is still in effect, but just in case, I’m not going to link the AO3 or FFN links yet. I am going to reblog this post with them, though, so please be patient :) (also pls review ;) )

2K // First // Last // Next

When Ochako wakes, she is immediately nauseous. She rolls onto her side, cheeks bulging with bile, and spews right into the bed. There’s nothing in her stomach after that, but still she heaves, saliva dripping from her lips and onto shaky arms.

“Not used to the sea, are we?” she hears, along with a good-natured chuckle, and it occurs to her that she just made a mess of a bed that’s not her own.

“I’m so sorr-” She shoots up, apology half-spoken, then falls back onto her pillows. She only half-notices the vomit that she lands in because her head is just swimming . There’s not one thought that can travel straight through her brain; everything in there is currently a twisting, winding labyrinth of pain and dizziness. She groans, throwing an arm over her eyes.

“Oh, come on, now.” A hand rests against her shoulder and pulls her up, steadying her to rest against the wall. A bowl is pressed into her hands. “Here you go. It’s just broth and bread, but I have a feeling that’s all you can stomach at the moment.”

Ochako looks up to find an elderly woman standing beside her, with neat pink hair and a kindly face. A white shawl is draped around her, and though she stands no taller than Ochako’s hips, she exudes a powerful aura, as though she could topple a giant with barely a wave of her arm. She smiles.

“You eat, and try to keep that down. I’ll go call in some other young’ins to help you bathe and such.” She starts out the door, but doesn’t go much farther. “The name’s Chiyo, by the way. And yours?”

“Ura–” she stops, spoon halfway to her mouth, thoughts flying a mile a minute through her scattered mind.

Shin. The Uraraka name. Hysa castle. Betrayal. Fire and blood. Blood blood blood.

Shin, wearing a mask. Secret identity.

Ochako recalls the dream she had the night before her parents’ death–a dream of herself, floating high above the castle, bobbing in the wind, as if the earth had no claim to her. A name floated through her mind, brought to her by both a summer breeze and a winter tempest.

“Uravity,” she says, like the final nail in the coffin of Ochako Uraraka.

Chiyo purses her lips. “Sounds like a pirate’s name to me.” Her face softens. “But if you’re not ready to share your true self just yet, we’re willing to wait.”

Her strength had returned with every sip of broth, every bite of bread. And though her stomach still churned like the waves, and she had to lean heavily on someone to walk about, she couldn’t stand being cooped up in the infirmary. Instead she walks the ship–because that’s what’s she on, she realized during her bath–on wobbly legs. She tries to walk, at least, but is more being dragged around by Yaoyorozu as they tour the ship.

“This is the main deck” she says, pulling Ochako along. “Most of the crew is either here or in their rooms below. The main mast is this way, Kaminari and Kouda should be up there now. Over here…”

Ochako lifts her eyes, trailing the mast into the sky before it disappears. “I’ve been asleep for three days, right?” she asks, interrupting Yaoyorozu’s impromptu lesson.

“...Yes,” is the answer, and tears well in Ochako’s eyes that she won’t allow to fall. She wipes away one that does escape, then reaches into the pocket of her borrowed breeches to put it away. It was a tradition her family always held, to put their emotions away for a time better suited to exploring them. Aboard a rocking ship, sick to her stomach and on wobbly knees, in front of an entire crew of strangers is definitely not the best time for an emotional breakdown.

There won’t ever be a good time for that, not until she reclaims her throne, at least. There’s an inner strength she can feel, a voice inside that tells her she can’t rest until then, and she’s not about to disappoint it.

She tries to walk again, though she’s still unsteady, she does manage a few steps almost on her own, with just her hand perched on Yaoyorozu’s shoulder. Yaoyorozu smiles, lifting a hand to her back, and begins droning on about life on the ship, remedies for seasickness, and other crew members–just about anything, mostly, though the gleam in her eyes says she’s proud.

And then Ochako falls. Well, not really. The deck bucks beneath her, practically disappears into a shower of splinters, and she flies upwards. Yaoyorozu calls her name but is nowhere in sight. She screams, a short, shrill sound that comes in bursts. She spins through the air, direction completely lost to her, her meager meal close to coming back up.

“Sorry!” Gentle arms embrace her, resting across her shoulders and beneath her knees. She clings to the boy’s collar and neck, her fingers digging into his exposed skin. When she peeks over his shoulder, they’re back on the ground, at the edge of a freshly-made hole in the deck. Splinters cover the floor around it, and annoyed groans come from all around.

“Sorry!” the boy says again. “We were sparring and I just…” He laughs sheepishly, and Ochako takes the chance to get a good look at him.

He’s very plain, is her first thought. His hair was dark and curly, and his face was amicably round. He looks at her curiously as he sets her down, then catches her again as she stumbles.

“I’m sorry,” she mutters, “this is my first time on a ship this big.”

“Ah, no worries! I was the same way!” He guides her hands to his forearms, a blush spreading quick across his cheeks as he does. His next sentence is stuttered, like he can’t quite get it out right. “I-I-I… it’ll f-fade eventually! Only took me a week or so to..to um…get used to it.”

“Right! I hope it’ll go away soon.” Ochako, too, blushes at their proximity, right until someone else storms up and starts yelling at the boy. He lets her go, a light blush still dotting his cheeks.

“Uravity! Are you okay?” Yaoyorozu runs up. Her lips are swollen, and there’s a cut across her nose, but she only worries for Ochako.

“I’m fine!” she assures, brushing splinters off her blouse. She gestures to the young man behind her. “He helped me.”

“Midoriya,” Yaoyorozu scolds, and he turns away from the crowd already scolding him. “You knew we picked up a new passenger a few days ago.”

“Sorry,” he says, a hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “I just wasn’t thinking. You know how Todoroki is, though.”

Yaoyorozu sighs. “Yes, I know.” She peeks down into the hole, standing closer to the edge than Ochako would’ve liked. “Are you okay, sir?”

“Just fine, Momo.” Yaoyorozu blushes, and another boy–an odd one, with red and white hair split straight down the middle–jumps up to join them on the deck. He’s familiar to Ochako, but she can’t quite place him. The way he looks at her, though, says he does, in fact, remember her. He tilts his head and opens his mouth, probably to ask what a princess is doing this far out on the ocean.

“I’m Uravity!” she says, all smiles and laughter, like she isn’t about to freak out.

The boy purses his lips, because he knows she’s lying(through omission, she convinced herself), but after a nudge from Yaoyorozu, he just nods.

“I’m Shouto Todoroki. Nice to meet you, Uravity.” And just like that, he turns to the other boy to discuss their training session. Yaoyorozu sighs and unbuttons the bottom of her blouse.

“Wh-what are you doing?!” Ochako squeaks, blushing and looking away.

“Covering the hole,” Yaoyorozu says, as if it’s the most casual thing in the world.

“With your shirt?”

“With my Gift. We can’t just leave a big hole in the ship. We can get Mr. Nishiya to fix it once we return to port, but until then, this will do.” She pulls a wooden plank from the skin on her stomach and lays it flat across the hole. Or she tries to, anyway. It’s five feet across to the other side, and she can quite get it balanced right, and it keeps smacking the underside of the deck. “Can you go get that settled for me?”

Ochako nods and starts towards it, but stumbles, dizzy now that the adrenaline of soaring through the air has worn off. “Oh, right,” Yaoyorozu mumbles, then louder, “Will you get the other end for me, Lord Todoroki?”

Lord Todoroki?

“I’ll get it!” the first boy interrupts. He jumps, and in a flying leap, clears the six-foot gap. He grabs the board, then calls out, “Where’s Sero?”

Can that boy fly ?

Another boy comes over, swinging from the rigging on a rope that extended from his elbow.

“Is everyone here Gifted?”

There’s a beat of silence where no one really moves, and Ochako realizes she said that out loud. “I’m sorry!” she squeaks. It’s a breach of etiquette to just ask about one’s Gift, and to assume someone even has one is a major faux pas, especially when they don’t.

But Todoroki comes in for the save, placing a hand on her shoulder and nodding to Yaoyorozu and the others. He guides her to a private place at the edge of the ship and they sit, Ochako with her head between her knees. Todoroki sits beside her, leaning against the railing.

“So where did you get that name? Uravity?” he asks. The name sounds heavy in his mouth, and it’s as he says it that she hears a slight accent in his voice.

“What’re you talking about?” She mumbles, words slurred by her churning stomach. “S’my name.”

“It’s a pirate name,” Todoroki says, sure as if he knew her personally. “An alias.”

“And how would you know?”

He changes the subject. “You came from Hysa Castle, didn’t you? What did you do there?”

“I was an apprentice seamstress.” The lie slips off her tongue easier than she would’ve liked.

“What happened?”

Ochako says nothing, her words dried up like a desert. But Todoroki is waiting, looking like he can see straight through her, so she scrapes them from her throat in visceral roughness.

“Ostford,” she spits like she’s trying to erase it from history. “They attacked the castle. Killed almost everyone inside.”

“Why?” Ochako doesn’t have an answer for that, but it’s not like she has a chance to answer as he continues his train of thought. “It’s not like Hysa is rich or powerful. Their main export is cloth, and strategically it’s not a good place to start a war. In fact–”

“I don’t know!” Ochako yells. “I don’t know what he wants! I don’t know why he-” sniff “ -he would do something like this!” She cant cry now, so she buries her head on her knees, wiping her eyes one the fabric of her pants.

“Who?”

“General Shin,” she murmurs, quiet once again. “He led the attack. Chased me to the beach through all the hidden tunnels.”

“The king’s brother,” Todoroki whispers to himself. “And what of the King and his family?”

Ochako gasps and turns, sticking her head over the ocean to finally empty her stomach. Todoroki says nothing, but he doesn’t need to. He knows the answer just from her reaction, and rubs soothing circles across her back. She keeps gasping, trying to hold back the tears.

Her body trembles as she sits back down. She takes deep breaths, eyes closed and hands to her chest.

“My condolences.” She peeks tired eyes at him. “It must have been bad when you found your parents like that.”

She doesn’t have the energy to deny it, and if she’s honest she can’t even remember the lie she told earlier. She just nods and shuts her eyes, leaning her head against the rail. “There was blood everywhere. As bright as rubies and dark as garnets…”