#smoakingquiver

I was tagged by the practically perfect agirlandhershows. Thank you J for tagging me. 

January 2014: My sister has watched Arrow from the beginning. I was always aware that it existed, but never gave it a shot. I was too invested in Doctor Who and Sherlock and Harry Potter to add anything else to my, then, overflowing plate (which funnily enough is more full now then it ever was). 

I remember walking down the stairs to my sister watching ‘Blast Radius’. The scene that I walked in on was the scene, the ‘maybe he’s dreaming about you’ scene. I stopped to watch that beautiful minute and a half of dialogue. When it was over, I turned to my sister and said, “they love each other, don’t they?”. She nodded with an enthusiastic ‘yes’. 

You would think that after seeing that moment I would have started watching, but that was not the case. 

April 2014: I think I was bored one day, so I went on Netflix. By that time I had watched every episode of Doctor Who twenty times. I wanted something new. And there Arrow was sitting in the ‘TV Series’ category. I remembered that moment I walked in on and I pressed play. 

And that was the end my life as I knew it. I was hooked within the first five minutes. 

I watched the first season on Netflix within a week. I scoured the internet to watch most of season 2. By the time I caught up, the second season finale was days away. My first live episode was ‘Unthinkable’. What a way to be welcomed into a fandom. 

Tumblr was home to my personal blog, which consisted of my rants, feelings, and some Doctor Who. Nothing special. After I got caught up on Arrow, and while the world was waiting on Unthinkable, I decided to make a multifandom blog. I wasn’t expecting much. I wasn’t expecting to interact with anyone. I didn’t even expect followers. And over a year later, those expectations have been blown out of the water. 

I was always the kid/teenager/young adult who was shy, quiet, and antisocial. I’ve always felt that there wasn’t a place for me and my weird obsessive nature. Tumblr told me otherwise. I’ve seen posts, messages, conversations, fanart, fanvids, gifsets, edits, and fanfiction that prove that I’m not alone. And that is a wonderful feeling. 

Shortly after this blog came into being is when the Smoaking Universe came to be and that’s when V, J, Soph, Kelly, Jay, Shwe, and Laura came into my life. Just like Felicity, these friendships are irreplaceable. 

One of the best Tumblr decisions I’ve ever made was driving to Philadelphia to meet J. It was cold and raining, but it was one of the best days of my little existence. 

I have ‘met’ so many wonderful people I can’t even begin to list them. You guys know who you are. These friendships are the ones that last and long after Arrow is over, I hope to still have contact with each and every one of you. 

I cannot thank this fandom enough for welcoming and embracing and supporting me. You are the best! This fandom is my home.