#and then drew the show actors :3

[strawberri-draws]

New teaser for the show dropped so I doodled them :DDD

[jackgoodfellow]

I made a new suitor for my horror-comedy dating manga concept I Escaped My Genre!

At this community cooking college, majoring in dinner theatre of course means that you must master the art of theatre AS WELL AS the art of cabaret-appropriate foods that align with the themes of whatever show you are doing!

But the college also has a vibrant student theatre scene: Phoenix is actually directing the Drama Club's production of Romeo & Juliet this spring as their end-of-year final! I wonder if Samo will try out! (And I wonder if Phoenix will end up looking romantically into Samo's eyes and finding that in that moment, all zyr carefully-curated bravado drops away, and suddenly, ze is no longer acting; ze is simply feeling, and it changes everything.)

Also, since I put so much work into this character design, Phoenix will absolutely be making an appearance in my graphic novel! (You can find my published scripts and concept art here, if you wanna make my day!)

[quilterdyke]

i have finally fulfilled my dream of taking part in a 70s inspired childrens show <3

[wildesqdreams]

teen vogue

pairings - drew starkey x actress!female!reader, the outer banks cast x actress!female!reader (platonic).

summary - outer banks cast plays "truth or dare" on teen vogue.

warnings - mentions of tomdaya, drew eating a spoon of mayonnaise, spoilers for outer banks if you haven't watched the show... and my shitty writing.

navigation | masterlist | request | taglist

a/n: i haven't really seen any new drew fics, so after watching the outer banks interviews, i decided to write something. i litterally cannot wait for obx season 3, like literally. okay, hope you enjoy :)

"we're the cast of 'outer banks' and we're here with teen vogue to play truth or dare."

the actors played rock, paper, scissors with each other to know who would go first. madison won, as she beat y/n since the two girls were left last, resulting in her starting first.

"i think because i'm first, i feel like it's okay to play it safe, so," she put her hand in the bowl in front of her, "we're gonna go with truth."

the girl read the paper, she pulled out, "whose trailer is the messiest?" and like that she momently answered, "i'm gonna say jd."

carlacia beside y/n said, "i knew that was coming,'' while looking at the boy.

jonathan spoke, "what about y/n?!"

"hey," the girl turned to him, " my trailer is clean on the weekends," that made drew let out a chuckle.

"okay, well, first of all... it's not just my stuff in that trailer," the boy stated, making the cast laugh, "when john comes in there, he's got his whole workflow going, you know what i mean?" he drank his coffee.

madison continued, "you're right, i don't have a roommate so my place is pretty tidy, but the pro is, it is the 'mario cart' trailer," she pointed back towards jonathan.

carlacia added, "it's the gaming trailer."

"i set it up for everybody... everybody, everybody comes in and plays in my trailer," and others agreed with what the boy said.

"i'm gonna go with truth," y/n leaned forward and took a piece of paper out of the bowl.

she unfolded it and read, "oh, this is a good one," she let out a laugh.

the girl felt drew lean down. feeling his warm breath on her ear, as he spoke, goosebumps appeared on her arms, "kiss, marry, kill - pope, jj, and rafe," he leaned back, eyes remaining on the girl, "interesting."

"why's there not john b?" chase asked.

"he's sarah's man," jonathan answered, as chase nodded.

madison looked at the girl beside her, "sooo, y/n... what's it gonna be?"

"well, obviously i'm killing rafe."

"hey," austin said, "you could change him."

that made y/n chuckle, "by getting a bullet in my head? no, thanks," the cast laughed, "and, ummm... then i'm probably kissing jj and marrying pope."

drew dramatically put a hand to his heart, "ouch."

the comment made y/n smile and shake her head.

"why not marry jj?" madelyn asked, tilting her head, so she could see the girl.

y/n looked at her hands in her lap, as she fidgeted with her fingers, feeling nervous about talking so much. the girl felt a hand come to her back. it was drew, softly rubbing up and down, "i feel like jj gets in a lot of trouble, so i just couldn't handle the stress because of him, and... i'll leave him for someone else," she lifted her head back up while looking at the camera, "you'll found out in season 3."

madelyn nodded, and austin spoke up, "doesn't drew cause trouble?"

"yeah, a little, but i can handle it."

the girl heard carlacia mutter beside her, so she could only hear, "it's called love."

she felt drew's touch disappear and she looked back, at him, seeing him smiling at the camera, "well... i'm gonna pretend that i didn't hear that," he then looked at the girl, still with the smile on his face.

"throw me the dare bowl," jonathan asked.

y/n grabbed it and turned to give it to him, hearing madison beside her say, "okaayy".

he picked out a piece of paper and read, "talk to the camera and tell your celebrity crush that you like them."

"this is great," carlacia spoke.

"oh, boy... all seven of them?"

the cast laughed and y/n said, "you could try, maybe you'll get a call from one of them later."

"from zendaya," drew added.

"pfftt, yeah, only in my wildest dreams where tom holland doesn't exist," laughter again was heard from the comment, "that was a joke, we love zendaya and tom," jonathan spoke in a serious tone.

"tomdaya forever," chase said, as the cast nodded agreeing.

jonathan looked at the camera, "y/n y/l/n," at his words everyone giggled.

drew looked at the guy next to him, smiling, "ay, man, wait a second."

austin chuckled, "someone's stealing your girl."

"i'm kidding, i'm kidding," jonathan looked back at the camera, "zoë kravits," laughter yet again was heard.

madison, giggled, "why do we have the same?"

"i mean c'mon," he continued.

madelyn looked at him, "i think she'll go for it."

"she's already fallen," y/n said.

austin added, "yeah, you got her."

"well, i don't know."

"channing tatum is out. out of this," madelyn confirmed.

"no, i can't... i'm, i'm not as magic as mike, but," the girls laughed, "i'll still make your dreams come true."

"oooh, that was a good one," y/n nodded while looking at him.

drew leaned forward, while making grabby hands, "give me truth."

y/n gave him the bowl, and he smiled, "thank you."

he picked out a paper and read, "who's most like their character in real life," there was silence before he added, "me?"

the cast laughed, while drew mouthed 'no', as jonathan spoke, ''let him speak his truth.''

drew smiled, "actually... actually, yes."

"y/n?" austin asked, "is he?"

"yeah, am i?" drew looked at the girl, who was sitting on the couch in front of him.

"oh, yeah, definitely... he's kind and lovely, exactly like our sweet rafe," she let out a laugh.

she looked at him, as he continued talking, "umm, i'm gonna go with the old rudy boy,'' his gaze locked with y/n's, ''cause he is a tasmanian devil."

the cast chuckled and drew's lip corners lifted when he saw his girl smile.

''for sure,'' carlacia agreed.

austin looked at the second bowl, "i'm gonna go with dare," and once again y/n passed the bowl to him.

he had picked out a piece of paper with the text 'eat three crackers and then sing your favorite song' written on it. the boy made a face that made the others laugh.

while austin was putting the crackers in his mouth, madelyn said, "we can actually help austin with this,'' and y/n agreed.

"yeah, yeah," jonathan nodded.

the boy with the full mouth counted, "one, two, three," before the cast started singing the song 'charlie, last name wilson' by charlie wilson.

as they finished they all clapped, "yeaahh."

y/n felt something on her shoulder. as she turned she saw drew cleaning the crumbs off of austins leg, which landed on her. he looked at her and mouthed a 'sorry, baby,' as he brushed her shoulder.

she laughed with the others when austin said, while eating the crackers, "i need a water, need a water."

jonathan added, "he's dying.''

after he got the water bottle and took a sip, he looked at the camera, giving thumbs up, "okay, we're good."

carlacia had already picked truth, "oh, god," chase and y/n leaned to her sides to see the text, as she read, "read the last text message you sent," she looked at the camera, "no chance, we're not," she didn't even finish before they all started laughing.

jonathan clapped, "oh, shoot, they couldn't..."

"NO,'' carlacia leaned on y/n shoulder.

a few seconds later, the girl grabbed her phone. as drew said, "let's go, yeahh."

"oh, i know what it's gonna be," the girl beside her said.

"i texted tanner and i said 'can you get me and y/n super bowl tickets'?" and the room was filled with laughter again.

"running sharks.''

"make it happen."

carlacia smiled, "rihanna's in the super bowl this year, and... we're on the hunt for tickets."

"we love rihanna," y/n added.

"yeah, we do."

drew couldn't even rest from the pickle shot with jonathan because the next dare was for him to eat a spoon of mayonnaise.

austin was really nice and picked a lot of mayo from the jar for drew.

he grabbed the spoon in one hand and the jar in the other, as he looked at the camera, while austin said, "c'mon now... you got this from north carolina."

and with that drew ate the mayonnaise.

everyone was shocked and disgusted and gagging at the sight, while the boy enjoyed the mayo.

"it's like ew."

he even swallowed it, which made y/n stare in shock.

austin gagged, "i don't like mayo."

"i don't like it either," jonathan stated.

chase laughed, "y/n won't be coming home with you."

"yeah," y/n shook her head, "definitely not," she turned back to face the front.

"we'll see about that," drew smiled down at the girl.

when he was done he breathed heavily, while austin patted his back, "what a champ."

y/n looked at him and scrunched her face, "god, you smell like mayo."

"lovely, no?"

"absolutely no," she looked at jonathan, "i'm gonna be living with you from now on."

and before anyone could say anything he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, "no you won't."

the girls beside y/n gagged at the smell, "ew, what the fuck, drew!!!" but the boy just smiled, while drinking his water, feeling proud.

"thank you teen vogue for having us, see you next time!" the outer banks cast ended the video after the last dare, which was for jonathan.

and like every other interview, it ended on a happy note ended, because laughter was heard, when madison howled like a wolf.

taglist: @willowpains @rana030

[wyattjohnston]

closer than i ever even knew - quinn hughes

summary: quinn saves the day and goes mini-golfing

word count: 1.1k

note: happy belated birthday @fallinallincurls! this is much, much shorter than i anticipated and i hope it's short but sweet. muchas gracias to @offside-the-lines <3

bingo: friends to lovers | witty banter | fake dating | it’s always been you

It starts, like any good romance movie does, with an event she doesn’t want to go to and a friend willing to save the day.

The event isn’t even big or fancy, which makes the whole thing so funny. She’s under no obligation to bring anyone, let alone a romantic partner, but, during the busiest hour of her week, a coworker had asked if she was going to, and the ‘yes’ had slipped from her mouth before she’d even realised it was happening.

Thus, Quinn Hughes was playing mini golf at a "team bonding" event her company decided was a good idea.

Her intention hadn’t been to earn any brownie points by bringing him—he had volunteered himself, after all—but the second they arrived and her boss spotted Quinn Hughes, Captain of the Vancouver Canucks, she immediately grouped them with her, her wife and the next nearest couple.

They wasted no time in heading to the first hole, her boss taking the lead and making sure they weren’t stuck behind anybody else. Which turned out to be a good thing because Quinn was taking practice swings with the putter.

She rolled her eyes as she asked, “Are you taking this seriously, or are you having fun?”

“Are we on a team?”

“No, it’s individual.”

“Then I’m taking it seriously,” Quinn answered easily. “No way am I letting you win.”

The questions came through shortly after they started, nosing in on the relationship lie that resulted in Quinn joining them for the day. Well, they weren’t aware that it was a lie, of course.

Luckily for her, Quinn was all too happy to do the talking.

The lingering looks and touches had her wondering why Quinn pursued hockey when he would have been just as successful as an actor. Even though he was determined to win, the simple repositioning of her hands on the putter and the minute correction of the position of her hips were leaving her short of words.

“Is this good enough for you, Captain?” she called over her shoulder, teasing Quinn as she lined up for her next shot. The wiggle in her hips was joking—mostly involuntary even—but it immediately drew Quinn’s eyes, even though he was mid-conversation.

“You’ve got great form, babe.”

A wink accompanied the sentence and she had to look away so that her blush wouldn’t be seen by her coworkers. Or by Quinn.

It did mean that she turned around and focused on her putting, leading to a nice hole-in-one.

At various points throughout the afternoon, Quinn’s hand found hers. Their fingers intertwined in a perfect fit, and it took all her power to not act like it was a strange occurrence; she desperately wanted to get out of her head and enjoy those moments while they lasted.

Her boss, finally taking a break from talking about hockey, asked about how they met. The looks sent Quinn’s way were a discrete panic, but he didn’t seem to be facing the same problem.

“We had the same routine running the Sea Wall—seemed like fate that we kept running into each other when my schedule’s so chaotic, you know?” he answered, providing an entirely accurate retelling that had her shocked he hadn’t opted for something a bit more romantic. “She literally fell for me.”

“Me?” she nearly screeched, any confusion she was feeling or fluttering in her stomach was immediately overtaken by incredulity. “You tripped over a dog lead!”

“You distracted me, what can I say?”

There was some cooing that followed, and Quinn refused to make eye contact despite the cocky smile on his face. It was becoming increasingly difficult to tell whether it was all just for show.

Her boss ended up winning, after a lot of effort and a competitive nature that would rival anybody Quinn played with or against. She and Quinn shared many sideways glances with raised eyebrows at just how competitive she was.

The world stopped spinning when Quinn leaned in and whispered directly into her ear, “Still beat you, though.”

As they were leaving, Quinn took her hand again. It was so casual that she wasn’t sure any thought had gone into it at all—and with nobody looking their way, it did nothing to heighten their ruse. She glanced down at their hands, too distracted to even say a proper goodbye as Quinn earnestly told everyone he hoped to see them again soon—that also added to her confusion.

The streets of Vancouver were deeply familiar, etched into her brain from a young age with every slight raise in the concrete committed to muscle memory, so she knew that they were headed towards the water and away from either of their apartments the second Quinn chose a direction. The Sea Wall surrounding the city was her favourite part of it with nothing else even coming close.

“Weird time for a run?” she asked. She wiggled her fingers just to test the pressure. Quinn squeezed back. “I don’t want to go for a run right now.”

“Nobody is going for a run,” he said gently. “I didn’t even want to be going for runs but I saw you on that first day and kept going out just in case I’d see you again.”

She screwed up her face, the disbelief that ran through her had her pulling her hand from Quinn’s and huffing, “Don’t be stupid.”

“How am I being stupid?” There was a tinge of hurt in his voice that she so rarely heard; she felt it right in her chest.

“I don’t know, Q. I just don’t believe you went out of your way to find me. That’s not…” Her voice was muffled by the sound of the water rushing against the Sea Wall. “That doesn’t happen in real life. To me.”

Quinn stared at her, seemingly taking in every inch of her face, and she could only imagine the expression she was making. If she looked as pathetic as she felt, she would need to make sure she never saw him again.

“It’s happening to you.” he stressed. “Today was… Today… I’d like today to be every day.”

She had so many things she wanted to say but no ability to make them come out of her mouth. She felt no less pathetic than she did a moment earlier, though she did feel a little more hopeful. It had been a good day, even if confusing, and she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been wanting something similar since they first met years prior.

“Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because you’re Quinn Hughes? Because you’re the Captain of the Vancouver Canucks? We’ve just spent the entire day with your ass being kissed—you could have your pick of any woman in Vancouver. We’ve been friends for like, what? Three years now and you’ve never—”

“I am now. I don’t want anybody else. I want you. It’s always been you.”

i would very much love to hear your thoughts if you have any, and would love if you'd reblog and share it with some more people <3

[probably-writing-x]

Blushing Boy

Drew Starkey x Reader

Summary: There were few things that made Drew Starkey lose his confidence, in fact, perhaps only one could truly ever do it; you. He didn’t know how, or why, but you just seemed to have that goddamn effect on him.

Warnings: Nothing besties, just fluffy as heck

Author’s Note: Thank you so so much for the love on my other post, I just had to post this one too !! Please please send in any requests you have my angels <3

Not my gif

You were just about nearing the end of press for Outer Banks Season 3, and all bases had been covered - you’d done interviews to see how well you knew your cast mates, ones looking at scenes from the show, and, of course, the puppy interview. Today was your last day, though all of you were split up in different places, on different projects, and so the last day of interviews would be done over zoom. This was your first experience working on the show, having come in to play Rafe’s love interest as the start of the season. Thankfully, the fans had fallen in love with you, and especially with your storyline with Drew. So much so, in fact, that they’d started to ship you two as actors as well, adoring every moment that they saw you spend together. The two of you were just friends, but you can’t say you didn’t find it amusing whenever theories were made. And, being honest, some of the edits did make you two look cute.

That was your side of things, anyway. Drew had fallen for you at the same rate that Rafe had fallen for your character. He wanted to see you every morning you started work, waiting to catch sight of you on set. He wanted to film all of his scenes with you, watching in awe whenever you acted. He was mesmerised whenever he saw you at events, amazed by you from the red carpets to the earliest of mornings. Drew felt like a schoolboy around you, stumbling over his words, blushing at prolonged eye contact, ears pricking up at the sound of your name. And it only got worse the more he saw of you.

“Okay, thank you guys all for joining me today,” The interviewer begins, smiling widely into the screen, “We’ve got Madelyn, Chase, Madison, Rudy, Jonathon, Carlacia, Drew and (Y/N), the cast of season three of Outer Banks, now streaming on Netflix. How are you guys doing?”

“I’m good,” Madelyn smiles.

“I’m tired, I flew back from Paris today and I’m so jetlagged,” Madison laughs.

“Okay, we’ll start off with a question for Chase, how has it been with the new additions to the cast this season - with Carlacia and (Y/N). How does that fit in with the dynamic of you guys working together?”

Chase leans closer to his microphone and speaks, “You know I think we got really lucky again to work with another great group of people, we all get on so well and these two just fit in perfectly with that, and it makes it so easy to go to work when you’re with such a good bunch.”

“Amazing, and (Y/N), what was your experience like being on set?”

You shift in your seat, glancing at all of the faces on screen, “Like Chase said, it was just ideal getting to work with everyone, it’s like being on one long holiday all working together, you’re out in the sun everyday, you’re on the water, you’re doing stunts, it was just such a great experience. And I was so lucky to get to share the screen with Drew, he makes it so easy to come into work everyday and, I mean, it’s not exactly hard to pretend to fall in love with him.”

You glance at him on the screen and the way his eyes seem so transfixed as you speak, like he holds onto every syllable one at a time. He’s wearing a purple t-shirt that brings out his eyes and his hair is messy in that sort of perfect way it always was.

“And Drew, what was it like to be working with (Y/N) so closely?”

“Yeah, I mean,” He coughs over his words, “It was great, (Y/N) is just perfect to work with, I couldn’t have asked for anyone better. She’s so talented, and kind and supportive as an actress and she just made me want to get up every day and come into work.”

You’re sure your cheeks heat with the vulnerability of what he has said. His are bright red too, and you’re relieved for a moment to share the same feeling even across the screen.

A few more questions are asked, Rudy explains about how many injuries he managed to pick up on set and Jonathon tells an embarrassing story about you and Madelyn from the wrap party. And then attention falls back to you and Drew.

“So, whilst I’ve got you guys here, I have to ask Drew and (Y/N) about the rumours that have been going around about you two, can you tell me anything the fans will want to hear?”

You laugh, slightly allowing yourself a bit more time before you figure out what to say, “You know, these things are inevitable when you play a couple on a show. But I think we take it as a compliment if anything, at least it was convincing enough for people to believe us, you know? Right Drew?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Drew chuckles dryly, “I’m just glad they know that we don’t hate each other.”

“Are you blushing Starkey?!” Rudy exclaims, coming closer to the screen.

Drew laughs and looks away, biting the tip of his tongue between his teeth, “Shut it Pankow.”

Everyone laughs but it’s as if you can feel all eyes on the two of you, and in that moment, all you want it for him to be there with you to share the attention. For him to be close enough that your hand could brush his, your eyes could focus solely on Drew’s, your laugh in rhythm with his. And, in that moment, perhaps for the first time, you realise that maybe those edits had realised something before you had.

“Okay, well it’s been great speaking to you guys, thank you so much for joining me,” The interviewer finishes up, closing off before telling you that you’re all done and you can log off from the call.

You shut your laptop and pull out your phone to see notifications already bursting through. They’re all from the groupchat you had with the other girls.

Oh my god did you see his face?

Are you kidding me rn??? That boy is in love with you

I’ll never forgive you if you don’t date Starkey fr

You laugh, fingers hovering over the buttons as you try to figure out a response. You wanted to tell them that they were being stupid, that there was no reason for them to think like that. But you can’t bring yourself to lie to them.

You swipe away from that chat, scrolling the short way down to where Drew’s chat with you was. The last thing he’d sent you was a fan made video of the two of you, a video from set where he had you on his shoulders in the pool and both of you fell under.

When you go to text him, he’s already typing.

And this time, you’re the one that’s blushing.

[problematicbyler]

an incomplete history of byler sexuality discourse

and how widespread fandom purity culture and homophobia created a flourishing nsfw sub-fandom

some may call me chronically online, but i call myself a fandom historian. i've been a member of some fandom or another since i was about thirteen, and i've always been interested in the rise and fall of fandom discourse. though it's annoying in the moment it's happening, i think it's very interesting and telling to look back at the overall arcs and trends.

so, let's talk about the many times the fandom has cancelled people over byler sexuality, and how each level of "hornygate" has contributed to the growth of the proship/byler smut community.

(i use the term proship in its intended definition, which is to say, not "problematic shipping," but rather being pro-fiction, anti-censorship, and anti-harassment; it is a position of believing the fiction one creates or consumes doesn't reflect a person's real life beliefs or morals.)

i have been a stranger things lover since season 1, a byler shipper since season 2, and an active part of the byler community on tumblr since season 4. i'll mostly be focusing on post-season 4 discourse because that's what i've really been most present for and that was the period that really marked a turning point in the fandom.

seasons 1-3

i wasn't as plugged into fandom discourse back in the day, but the broad strokes of early discourse was mostly thinly veiled homophobia. claiming that it was sexualization to assume will or mike could be queer despite blatant queer coding, implying that analysts were no better than will's bullies to assume his sexuality, etc etc. people were criticized for shipping byler at all because they were so young (but these people naturally had no issue with mileven, so, again, homophobia).

season 4 (may-july 2022)

now, season 4. this is where byler was brought to the attention of a lot more fans, and stranger things' viewership reached wider than ever. the byler fandom on tumblr booms from 4k to 100k over the course of season 4's release.

this brought a lot of new people who have never been in fandoms before, people who never learned don't like don't read or your kink is not my kink and that's okay or ship and let ship.

or, a lot of times, people who had only been in fandoms for celebrities and bands, which tend to have different rules when it comes to shipping and sex, because they're real people. hence a lot of young antis' conflation of character with their actors, but that's a different rant.

so with a rapidly growing fandom, a show ripe for analysis, and the art of media literacy bleeding out on the ground in front of us, the hellscape of the fandom post-season 4 in 2022 followed as such:

august 2022

jo/kendra gate where two extremely popular analysts were called out for "sexualizing" byler while being adults (early to mid 20s). they were dogpiled and harassed because one of them said that will was giving mike "bedroom eyes" (he was) and one of them said mike was checking will out (he was):

pyshiie and moogate. the proship side of byler twitter rose up and started to divide itself. i'll credit my own joining-the-dark-side to pyshiie and moo, formerly barbjeanisms, who were two popular artists called out respectively for sexualizing byler and generally being proship. similarly, people were called out and criticized for even following or interacting with those accounts after this discourse.

september 2022

hosegate is the most famous across the byler fandom, and it's when some users proposed that the scene in the pizzeria uses phallic imagery to imply mike turns will on (or vice versa) and a lot of people thought that was too sexualized, it caused a divide, and more fanpolicing, etc.

october 2022

the artist noodlesandtea was harassed for having liked arguably nsfw bakudeku art (they were shirtless, it wasn't explicit) on the same account where they draw characters who are minors. they also drew byler kissing, which was a problem for some? anyone who defended them was also called a pedo, naturally. noodles also got called out for having drawn fanart of the popular e-rated fanfiction....

the unmarked mixtape. a massively popular sequel to a massively popular fic, the red envelope. for a long time, those were the most widely recommended byler fics, but it very soon became taboo to even admit to reading them because the sequel has explicit sex and the first has them making out.

sonnet116 gate is another fic that was beloved and then rapidly turned on by byler twitter because it had implied, fade to black sex scenes. it was about them hooking up but had no smut. and even the non explicit idea of that was offensive and pedophilic of anyone who dared read it. around this time, another fic was called out for having will moaning into a kiss, because writing a teenager moaning was also offensive and pedophilic.

i'm told i (jana / troublebyler gate?) may have influenced a lot of people joining twitter for byler smut after writing illicit affairs and some other smutty oneshots in rapid succession, seeing a lot of byler shippers moving to the proship side of the fandom just to discuss and write byler smut. i also hosted a little fandom gossip column on my curiouscat where a lot of folks confessed to reading or writing smut while pretending to be "normal" in the "main" fandom. it basically revealed/implied that a large amount of popular authors, artists, and accounts were secretly pro byler smut, and that many proshippers were "undercover" in the "main" fandom.

the blocklist era. around this time the "main" fandom also created a "st twt safety" account on twitter which was basically targeted harassment and mass reporting of proshippers. the account does warn of some genuine bad actors sending gore images via dms, being racist, etc. but by far, the majority of it was simply calling out proshippers for sexualizing byler, sharing screenshots they thought were "gross," which only resulted in spreading nsfw content to unintended audiences of minors that likely never would have seen the nsfw accounts otherwise.

november 2022

practice kissing gate is where a handful of popular fic writers were criticized for writing practice kissing fics (such as undertow), and in fact, any amount of byler making out, because adults "fantasizing" about teenagers kissing was "gross."

the proship corner of st twitter continued to grow a lot thanks to so many lovely fan creators, all of whom i couldn't possibly list but who have done a lot for the community! but we continued to get bombarded with endless callout posts and block lists and witch hunting. people were unabashedly policing people's following lists and likes on twitter to call people out for engaging with any questionable users or content. (if you search byler twitter now you can still see the wreckage of so many witch hunts.)

onward through 2023

over time things have mostly calmed down, or at least enough of the folks on "opposing sides" of the fandom have mutually blocked each other to survive. this is likely also influenced by the hiatus leaving the fandom to quiet down, the collapse of twitter-turned-x having many users migrate their fandom content elsewhere, and the mass exodus of many people from the fandom for political reasons. if i had to guess, the ramp-up to season 5 will see all new conflict as more "casual" fans return to the fandom. but who's to say.

which brings us to now:

spicybylerpolls gate, wherein the byler tag on tumblr collectively had to reckon with the fact that people want byler to have sex and it doesn't make them creeps to vote in silly polls about it. people criticized the blog for being overly sexualized and pure fantasy versus more "acceptable" analysis, with many making sweeping moralizing statements about anyone who dared interact with the blog.

this has kicked off tumblr's own sort of horny revolution in encouraging folks to be more open on here, whereas previously we were confined to our corner of twitter.

so in summary:

people over and over again put fan creators on a pedestal just to turn on them when they're "betrayed" when a person's views did not one-to-one line up to theirs.

teens in the fandom especially were "betrayed" by adults in the fandom they thought were "safe" (and i would argue that self proclaimed "safe" adults in fandom are far more dangerous to real life minors than the proship fans who sexualize fictional characters but dont interact with real teens)

most everything has been fueled by widespread ageism at any fan over the age of 18, widespread homophobia and puritanism in regards to exploring queer sexuality or discussing sex at all

so much hate has been over what are essentially "thought crimes", with people watering down serious accusations like pedophilia into a petty insult over disagreements on fiction

and the cycle repeats itself endlessly until things devolve back into witch hunting and policing peoples following and likes etc

the best part to me is that every single cancellation just resulted in more people flooding to the horny side of the fandom to post more freely and without shame. every time a person on twitter posted screenshots of my account to say how "gross" it was (while simultaneously exposing my 18+ nsfw content to their audience of minors) i had a surge in followers. the more the fandom squeezes, the more people slip from its hold.

but that doesn't make the harassment campaigns okay, and it doesn't mean the fandom didn't do massive amounts of harm to real people in an attempt to protect fictional characters.

my hope going forward is that the fandom can coexist as a community where people don't have to like or agree with certain content to treat the people who create it with respect and dignity. and i hope that, while this side of the fandom might grow more on tumblr, we don't have to relive the same old discourses and go through the same cycles we went through on twitter.

and remember kids, the block button is both free and fun.

[forecast0ctopus]

Any advice on drawing McCoy? I’m not used to drawing ancient wrinkley bastards (affectionate) and it’s surprisingly tough v-v

FOR SURE lmao i made. a diagram. just a warning that i am going to be irritating and long winded because u just hit a topic i really like sorry lmao

so first off i did some traces just to show whats there vs redraws to show my interpretation

ive said this on other asks but again jsyk, tracing isnt bad!! its a tool. theres some stuff with intellectual property and whatnot but using tracing to study shapes and forms is a really valuable practice.

also just taking some time to learn facial structures and anatomy is super useful, reading what bones and muscles are where and how they interact with one another. taking this info and staring in the mirror and moving your face around and thinking about it. just really furthers understanding of how the face works. trying to sound normal about this but i love anatomy and motion and physics and whatever

anyways im going to go through all the numbered points so there's no confusion. 1. forehead lines - self explanatory. more prominent when brows are raised 2. crows feet - at the outer corners of the eyes, more prominent when smiling or squinting 3. nasolabial folds - the folds that go from the corners of the nose to the corners of the mouth. more prominent when the mouth is wide, like smiling 4. brow furrow - self explanatory, most prominent when brows are furrowed. mccoy tends to have two right next to his eyebrows, kirk has one in the middle. everyones face works different lmao 5. chin crease - caused by how the chin and lower lip interact. 6. nasojugal groove - start from the inner corners of the eye and can extent over the cheeks. everyone has these and idk why people dont like them i think theyre really cool!!!! but Society. i guess. :/ 7. eye bags - caused by the skin sagging beneath the eyes. mccoy isnt even that old in tos i think hes meant to be mid 40s by the end of the 5 year mission, hes just got really prominent eye bags lmao 8. idk what the name is for these, but when the mouth is wide and pushes the skin to the sides, these folds sometimes form outside of the nasolabial folds 9. philtrum - the groove above the upper lip. i dont usually draw this but mccoy's struck me as prominent enough that i usually draw it on him 10. masseter - the muscle that moves the jaw up and down. its a pretty rugged muscle and while i wouldnt say mccoy's is especially prominent, it kind of extends that nasojugal groove from certain angles/positions 11. orbicularis oris - mouth muscle, usually easier to see when lips are pursed or frowns are pulled. mccoy's is pretty prominent from 3/4ths or side, his mouth tends to protrude in profile 12. this isnt a muscle but more of a line defining the planes of the face, but since i drew it i felt i should explain lmao

a few points:

im an animator i tend to exaggerate and emphasize certain things so i usually make him more square.

i like to combine eyebags and crows feet for brevity/flow, same with nasojugal grooves, eyebags, and masseter lines. my approach is always subject to change based on pose, expression, reference image, etc.

i take out details that i deem redundant or cluttering and keep what details i need to make things feel Right

all this info is applicable to any character of any age, its just in how you apply it and facial proportions that willl change how old a character is perceived to be

there's a lot more with drawing a Character rather than an Actor, just because the features are there doesnt necessarily mean things will feel correct? its very much in the mannerisms and poses and expressions

i only went over my approach to his likeness but not really body type or posing or anything idk if u want that i could always try to answer that later haha

_______________

anyways all that info kind of exists nebulously in my brain while i draw its not like im sitting there thinking Must Draw. Nasolabial Fold...... i jsut do what feels right with the visual info i have. also i love specificity in faces.... i dont like to be a hater but when every character is drawn the same it pisses me off a little lmao. so

also dont take my word as The Only Way to do anything i just draw how i like to draw and no one should feel like these are things that Must be done to be a good artist or anything do whatever the hell u wanna do

[piebingo]

Some of my favourite things about Young Royals

The scenery. It is such a beautiful show, with the place they filmed at, the way they edited things. Not only is the show fun to watch but it is nice to watch. You know?

The characters. None of them are perfect and they all feel human. They all have background stories that are interesting and feel real (and that are more or less explored ofc, there’s no time to show everyone’s whole life story). Sure I’m here and stayed here for wilmon but the characters drew me in before the love story did.

The family dynamics. One of my most anticipated plot —apart from the love story ofc— are Wille’s relation with his family and the Simon-Sara drama. Lisa nailed those two dynamics. I can’t wait to see what happens with them and I know that Edvin and Pernilla, and Omar and Frida, will be able to deliver those things amazingly. They really chose actors that worked well together and I love that.

The soundtrack. It’s just really good, what can I say? I love how well it fits with the scenes, how they use the words to tell us a bit more about the story and the characters’ thoughts. A lot of those songs are now in my study playlist and they’re getting me those degrees.

Simon’s song. I really liked that storyline. First I love that they can use Omar’s talent for Simon’s singing. But I loved the way Simon was trying to move on and they showed us that, but there’s still a part of him that just couldn’t. And showing that through the song? I think that was brilliant. And then Wille not knowing it was about him, Jan-Olof refusing the choir to sing it… I really liked that whole plot line. It perfectly went with Simon’s own storyline and showed his true feelings.

How realistic they made those teenagers. They are messy and hurtful. They rewear the same clothes all the time use social media in a pretty real way. That’s not always the case and it’s refreshing to see.

The friendships. Ayub, Simon and Rosh’s friendship is definitely my favourite. They are there for Simon and support him, but don’t hesitate to call him out on his shit when needed. The other friendships are also superb but this one steals the show for me. Also I just really really love Ayub.

The way I’m so excited for season 3. They left so many good plot lines to answer and I can’t wait to see how they get resolved. Whether that be wilmon or Simon-Sara, or wtv else happening I cannot wait to see what Lisa had in mind for everyone.

That’s it for now tho I know I’m forgetting so many things. Don’t hesitate to add your favourite things or send me an ask or wtv! I love to know what stands out about the show to other people. ◡̈

[starlight-bread-blog]

Why Lokius Should Have Been Canon

This is a sort of combo of two metas that didn't quite get point my across. Some parts will be copied directly, but there's a lot of original content. I will discuss the ship between Loki and Mobius, their place in the show, and the MCU at large. My focus for this meta won't be parallels or motifs, because these things border on well-written friendships. But there will be some of that.

Romance in the MCU

There are a lot of straight couples in the MCU. (Almost) Every main hero is in some heterosexual relationship, Loki included.

(That's not all, not remotely).

But in the LGBTQ+ department... uh.. I think it was mentioned that Valkyrie had a girlfriend... uh... America Chavez had a pride pin... and Loki:

One line. Queer experiences are never a focal point of a show/movie the same way heterosexual experiences are. And that needs to change.

Romance In the Show

Wrong, toxic, or unsuccessfu romantic love is a recurring theme in the show.

Sylki

Sylki was an icky relationship right off the bat. They are the same person. I can't find the post at the moment, but someone has pointed out in their post that them being the same person is referenced in every episode in season 1 (edit: here it is), which is when the romance took place. This made their romance uncomfortable for many viewers.

(Some consider Sylki a toxic relationship, but for this post, the topic is too large to handle with the nuance I'd like to handle it with).

When he's drunk, Loki compares love to a dagger, stating that it hurts you, but when you try to find strength in it, it's not real.

Which is exactly what happens. Sylvie pushes Loki into a portal and they never get back together.

The Love Triangle

In 02×03, Ravonna Renslayer is infatuated with Victor Timely, but he leaves her behind and betrays her when Miss Minutes told him to. One episode later, we discover that they were indeed an item, and established the TVA together. He Who Remains deleted her memories and they never rekindle their love.

Later in the episode, is the best example of "wrong" romance in the show. Miss Minutes, the AI clock, confesses her love to Viktor Timely. He, obviously, freaks out and shuts her off. Nothing ever comes of this.

Brad and Dox

This one is small, but a big indication to romance being a theme. In 02×01, we're shown this:

The gap in the age of the actors is uncomfortable, and a character in universe has this reaction to it. It is never mentioned again.

So what does all of this leave us with? Not much. None of this properly ties to the finale, or anything really. If I were to write the show I would cut a lot of this out, since it serves no purpose. But it does make you keep romance and its shortcomings in mind. The writers want it to be there, in the back of your head.

Loki and Mobius

Finally! I got to talk about them. The two people in question. First things first, who are they, together? They became really supportive, close friends.

Fans even drew parallels to Chaos & Order, which is a very important theme in Loki. But I'm not here to unpack them. These things don't necessarily make them in love. So what does make them in love? I'll present you my evidence, and you ask yourself,

Would it be valid to suggest romantic implications if a man and a women are:

1) Extremely thouchy with each other.

2) Riding on a tandem bike together.

3) Willing to suffer a fate worst than death for another.

4) Falling on each other after that^

5) Literally the Interrupted Declaration of Love trope. (Ex)

6) Being framed in a circle.

7) Waiting & giving permission to attack.

8) Fixing themselvs before seeing the other.

Of course yes. Maybe you think some of these are a strech, but ultimately, people would point out romantic connotations across the board. And I'm here, pointing them out right now. Some scenes between Loki and Mobius have romantic implications.

Conclusion

Loki is a queer protagonist in the MCU, a universe that lacks representation of queer experiences. His show constantlty reminded us of romance, sometimes for seemigly no reason. In the second season, they wrote him and his best friend with romantic implications. And then, nothing. It should not have been nothing. Lokius should have been canon.

[uncouth-the-fifth]

Mandy Davis, you punk ass bitch - Sam Winchester/Reader (for #samweek2023)

read it on ao3. masterlist.

Pairing: Sam Winchester/Reader. Tags/Warnings: just fluff! Word Count: 2k Notes: for @ghostsam and @suncaptor's Sam Winchester Appreciation Week :) happy birthday baby boy!!! ily ily ily <;3 Ask to be added to my taglists for future posts!

The alarm clock in Bobby’s guest bedroom was a little busted, so you weren’t crazy confident that it could get you up at midnight like you wanted. True to form, you were hauled ass-first out of sleep a little after two in the morning, and staggered out of bed bleary-eyed and cursing. 

What kind of sick freaks tortured themselves like this? Very, very dedicated girlfriends. Just like you’d predicted, the other side of the bed hadn’t been touched. Sam was probably still downstairs, straining his neck over a book and adding to his exhaustive research notes. Totally clueless. You groped around the floor for the spare pajama pants you’d stolen from him ages ago and hopped into them as quietly as you could. The house was serene but not quiet, filled with the natural creaks and sighs of the old wood and the flutter of the loose siding in the breeze. You knew it would be impossible to stay silent on the stupid ancient stairway, but you were determined not to wake Dean. There was no way you were letting him beat you to this like he had last year. Pouring all of your hunter chops into the task, you snuck down the stairs like a goddamn ghost, and made sure to throw Dean’s door two gloating middle fingers in the dark. Eat that, Winchester.

Every inch of the first floor was covered by safe blue darkness, except for a teeny circle of buttery lamplight that you followed to the kitchen. Before you turned the corner, you made bets with yourself about how Sam would be sitting: hunched completely over the kitchen table, that’s for sure, probably rubbing at his aching neck and glaring at what he was reading.

When you were close enough to see, you let your footsteps be heard so as not to scare him. Man, you were good. The same angle you’d pictured and everything.

Sam pried his face away from his research and squinted at his watch, then at you, sheepish. “Oh, hey… sorry. I promised that I’d be up hours ago.”

You knew he was already finding ten ways to beat himself up over it, so you drew yourself towards him with an understanding smile. “No sweat,” you waved it off, “I’m glad you’re still up. It means I get to do this.”

The first chance you got, you pounced on him, sliding up behind his chair and squeezing your arms around his shoulders. Sam made a pleased little sound that quickly became embarrassed—you scooped up his face and started smushing noisy kisses everywhere you could reach. Sam pretended to squirm and groan for your benefit, but he was a lousy actor. Just a few kisses melted him like butter. 

As he relaxed, so did you. Sam wrapped a loose hand around your wrist, and you gave him one more deep kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday, Sammy.”

“So that’s where this is coming from,” Sam realized. He started scrubbing sleepily at his eyes, sighing and laughing without humor, “God, I didn’t even know it was May.”

You hid your evil smile in Sam’s hair. “So… I take it I beat your brother to saying it first?”

“You did,” Sam confirmed. Just by hearing his voice you knew he had on that small, dopey smile that he reserved only for you.

“Fuck yeah,” You hiss in victory. You put on a whole show to get a laugh out of him, pumping your fist and salsaing in a happy circle.

A few tired chuckles seep out of your boyfriend. He sounds beyond exhausted, and you’ve got it so bad for him that just that makes your heart throb with sympathy. Feeling stupid and in love and obsessed with him, you fall down into the closest empty seat and take Sam’s hand, wishing more than anything that the whole world would throw him a party. He deserved so much more than what this shitty world ever gave him. Even the small gift you’d managed to pull together for him didn’t feel like enough.

“I have two gifts for the birthday boy,” you tell him, holding up two important fingers. “Do you want to open them both right now?”

Sam has had a sum total of two good birthdays in his entire life, so he props a hand on his thigh and shrugs. He’s never been very eager to make a thing out of May 2nd. “Whatever you wanna do.”

You make a sound like an incorrect gameshow buzzer. “Wrong! Birthday boy makes the decisions today.”

There it is. Sam cracks an even bigger, shier smile, sinking into his seat a little bit. “Okay, okay,” he relents, “...Can I open them now?”

“Of course you can,” you flirt, and start to feel around under the table. It is your greatest joy in life to mess with Sam, and for a moment you’re flooded with that joy when you find the gift with your hand, pull it loose from where you taped it, and slap it onto the table.

Sam’s face blooms with amused disbelief. He’s been grinding away at these books for hours, and of course, his birthday gift was right under his nose this entire time. “You masterminded all of this, didn’t you?” He guesses, smile growing, “Is the second one under my chair? Behind my ear or something?”

“Close,” you admit, and gesture him in. Dutiful as ever, Sam listens, only to be pulled into a deep, loving kiss. “She’s right here,” you murmur.

It’s a really dorky gift to give him, but more than anything you want this day to be special for him. Underneath all the teasing attitude you’re throwing around, you’re overwhelmed with the urge to do something for him, to make up for the myriad of shitty birthdays he’s survived, and the strength of it could pulverize every monster in the whole damn state. A content hum drains out of him. You kiss him like you could squeeze the fear out of him with your hands, curling your fingers through the tufts of hair at his neck and stroking his scalp.

When you draw back, Sam’s face is bright red. He gives you this bashful look like he’s never in a million years been kissed like that, and instead of getting smug, you just feel plain happy. “I love it,” Sam confesses, “That’s the best birthday gift I’ve ever been given.”

You’re sure that’s not a tough race to beat, but hey, it’s nice to hear. Sam gives your hand a sweet squeeze before scooping your actual, physical gift off the kitchen table. The gift-wrapping resources at Bobby’s house were pretty lacking, so you got creative with some paper bags, twine, and markers, wrapping your gift in the paper and then drawing stars all over it. Sam stares at it for so long that you consider making fun of him, but even the stupid impromptu wrapping paper you came up with is something he’s never had before. You’d kind of hoped that he’d just tear into it, but Sam takes the time to carefully untie your twine knot to keep the paper intact, his long fingers moving delicately along the string.

Packed inside the paper is a set of envelopes. They have teen-you written all over them, from the color of the envelopes, the glitter pen your decorated them with, and the old stickers all over the sides. Some are creased and folded awkwardly, others have smeared pen and peeling stickers. Every single one has Sam’s name written on one side.

“This is your handwriting,” he notices, curious. “...What are these?”

“These,” you enunciate, trying to contain your excitement for his reaction, “are all the love letters I wrote for you in high school.”

Pure delight slowly transforms Sam’s face. His jaw drops, and the second he realizes the absolute treasure trove of glorious teenage embarrassment he’s holding, he slaps the letters protectively to his chest. “No—way,” he gapes, eyes sparkling. “No. There’s no way. There’s no way in hell you’d ever just give me such quality blackmail material like this.”

But you did, because for whatever reason you’re totally into this loser. Those letters are full of the cringiest, sappiest writing one can possibly imagine, back when you’d convinced yourself you were a poetry-writing god and were utterly obsessed with Sam. (Well. Some things never change, but). The two of you hadn’t started dating until much later, so you figured he’d love to see just how long he’s been driving you insane. And, yeah. Blackmail material. If anyone else but Sam ever read these, the galactic weight of your embarrassment would instantly blink you out of existence.

“That’s how much I love you,” you tell him, shrugging. That simple.

The biggest, dorkiest grin takes up his whole face, and you force yourself to relax, happy to know you’ve at least given him this one thing. Without hesitation, he fishes the first letter out of the pile and carefully peels it open. The actual letter is on plain notebook paper, and, to Sam’s utter delight, is also penned in glitter. 

He clears his throat and reads the heading. “Ooh. March 6th, 1998.” His smirk is a little too evil for your liking, “We would’ve been in… tenth grade?”

You shove your face in your hands and groan.

“Dear Sam,” he says, in a high, girly voice. You smack him on the shoulder for the shitty impression of you, which just makes the laughter splitting his sides even louder. “Today, I saw Mandy talking to you by your locker—”

“Oh god.”

“She doesn’t even try to hide her stupid crush on you,” Sam reads, biting back giggles. “At least I’m subtle about it.”

Not true. You were not at all subtle about it. God, this is torture… But it’s been a long time since you’ve heard Sam sound this happy.

“I swear, Sammy, I wanted to punch her lights out so bad. She doesn’t even know you, or your family, or what we’re all really like.” Sam throws you a mean little smile at this next part, “Nobody knows you like I do.”

He loves to fuck with you just as much as you love to fuck with him, so, of course, this sends Sam into a full-body fit. He’s bent over the table wheezing for breath just a couple minutes later. You try to hold on to your shame, you really do, but he’s just too damn cute. Sam never laughs like this anymore.

You stuff your blazing hot face into his shoulder, pouting. “Are you happy, now that you’ve humiliated me?”

Sam slouches back in his chair, his whole face bright with humor. He’s so happy that he pulls you out of your chair and loops you into his lap, where you can feel every bit of his bassy laughter seeping through your back. A big, long arm seals around your waist and keeps you close to him, and while you’re distracted by his warmth and hands and cologne, he’s trapped you.

“I am,” Sam confesses, and it’s even more embarrassing how your whole body floods with butterflies. “Think you could keep reading these to me? I wanna hear them in your voice.”

Pfft. Okay. Whatever. With his stupid cute face. “Sam…” I warn.

“Authenticity! And hey,” he budges you, “I thought the birthday boy makes the decisions today?”

You make a face, just to remind him who he’s testing here. But he’s giving you the same pretty, boyish smile you wrote about in these letters a hundred times, the tension in his body gone, and the whole world is quiet just for the two of you. And yeah, it is his fucking birthday.

Sighing, you find the spot where Sam left off. He thanks you with some kisses to your shoulder that make you consider writing poetry about him all over again, and the two of you snuggle close.

“Sleep with both eyes open, Mandy Davis, you punk ass bitch. I know where you live!”

-

taglist: @samssluttybangs @cookiemumster1 @lacilou @cevans-winchester @leigh70 @seraphimluxe @emily-roberts @emme-looou @aloneatpeace @williamstop @ornella0910 @chaoticshepardplaid @dakota-dream @lcvecstiel @goghkiss @spnexploration @stoneyggirl2 @urm0mmmbbg @mulattomoon

[shannankle]

My Top Shows 2023

Doing this at the last minute but here goes--the top 10 shows I watched in 2023!

*Note: I rate my shows on a letter scale cause I don't like narrowing it down to a specific number. (S-standout As-Strong Bs-Fine Cs-There's some problems Ds-ooof)

1. Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

This one instantly became an all time favorite. It covers themes about grief and loss in a deeply empathetic and humanizing way along side the supernatural elements. I don't know if it's because I've experienced loss myself or because it's a universal experience, but I love shows like this that help you understand what it means to grieve and heal in a familiar yet new light. It reminded me a lot of Natsume Yuujinchou (another favorite) in that respect.

Aside from the larger themes, you have a distinct directing style, quirky sense of humor, well-rounded cast of characters, and excellent acting (the lead actor was also in Your Name Engraved Herein and he's just as standout here). In addition to all that, the show gives us a main trio of characters whose strengths are deliberately not their wits. This is used for humor but also to make more meaningful points about connection, empathy, and different ways of thinking (yes, I headcanon the main trio as neurodivergent).

Rating: S+

2. The Eighth Sense

This show! Another piece that is deeply rooted in exploring trauma and loss. This time within the framework of a romance. I'm usually pretty hesitant with stories that bring disability into romance, especially mental illness. There's a tendency to lean into the idea that love cures all and other not so great tropes. The Eighth Sense does a great job balancing that line, giving us romantic beats without wading into them uncritically. In the end, healing and love are things we choose not something guaranteed, but there's still an immense hope in that. I'm an giant sucker for shows that tackle both queer and crip experiences with nuance and grace, and the Eighth Sense hit that mark for me (so much so it even had me writing a little meta). On top of that it has beautiful cinematography and visual choices.

Rating: S

3. Moonlight Chicken

A beautiful show all around! P'Aof constantly knocks it out of the park with every show he directs, but I felt particularly strong about Moonlight Chicken. I adore the way it centers on themes of home and community. It even inspired some meta and a bit of personal reflection for me on what it means to choose home as someone who is queer and disabled. The show gives us the messiness that comes with navigating new and old relationships and somehow also the simplicity of it all. And of course, the show includes a Deaf character and handles his story with nuance and clear care.

Rating: S

4. Shadow

Singto, Fluke, and Fiat in a queer horror show--sign me up! It wasn't as scary as I expected, more psychological (which is good because I am so picky about what types of horror are too much for me vs what I enjoy). I loved the way the show played with time and reality and drew upon various religious practices to create a unique atmosphere. I also adored the attention to small details that make the piece ripe for analysis. I will probably be eyeing clocks and tech in many shows to come. It's also a show that is bringing up themes about queerness, mental illness, domestic violence, and historical trauma. I'm continually drawn to pieces that are queer and crip, so I suppose it's no surprise that this one drew me in too.

I know this show was divisive, about as many people thought it stuck the landing as didn't. I happen to land in the former category. I adore media that makes me stop and think, and given the amount of meta the show had/has me writing, I'd say it well and truly tickled my brain. The show didn't always go where I most wanted or expected but I think that challenged me even more to really think about what the show might be trying to do (my thoughts on that here, spoilers though).

Rating: S

5. Our Dining Table

Japan does a lot of things well, but I'm particularly fond of their slice-of-life. Our Dining Table fits right in there with food and found family at the center. It's warm and cute, but has a depth beyond it's soft exterior, delving into loss, loneliness, and what it means to be fully seen by those around us. All of this tied up in a queer bow. It was easily the show I was most excited to watch each week when it was airing.

Rating: S

6. Mysterious Lotus Casebook

Another one I fell in love with this year! While it has plenty of tropes, cutting through the core of all of this is the growing friendship between the main trio, especially between Li Lian Hua and Fang Duo Bing. Their relationship and personal growth as characters was really beautiful to watch, on top of it just being a fun show with a great balance of humor and drama. Plus Fang Duo Bing's mom 😍

Rating: S

7. One Room Angel

Another solid entry out of Japan. As much as I love Japan's bright slice-of-life offerings like Our Dining Table, they also excel at stories that don't shy away from heavy or complex emotional themes. And I'm noticing as I tackle this post that I really resonate with heavy themes. One Room Angel has it's lighter moments and own quirky humor. But it also tackles depression and suicide as it explores the journey of finding enough connection and meaning in life to keep moving forward.

Rating: S

8. I Feel You Linger in the Air

I Feel You Linger in the Air was such a beautiful show! I'm so happy we got a historical thai bl this year and that it was so so lovely. I really liked last year's To Sir With Love but it does have it's Lakorn/soap style that is a bit more of an obstacle for me. IFYLITA certainly has it's drama, but it feels more tightly drawn. Throw in a little time travel and beautiful love scenes and it was a delight to watch.

Rating: S

9. My Beautiful Man S2, Eternal

When I watched the first season of My Beautiful Man I liked it but wasn't exactly sold. I read a bit of meta from the community which changed my tune a bit. But it wasn't until watching season 2 and Eternal that something really clicked. I immediately went back and watched season 1 after finishing the film and oh boy did I fall in love. Not only do S2 and Eternal give us great character growth and forward motion to Hira and Kiyoi's relationship, and they feel like a natural expansion of the first season in the best way possible. What can I say, I love the whole series!

Rating: A+

10. Kiseki: Dear to Me

Kiseki: Dear to Me feels like an outlier to me. It's hard for me to put my finger on just what made it click for me, but I was so into it when it was airing. I recognize that plot wise this show is a bit of a mess, but at the same time it hit something just right in my brain. Perhaps it was the emotional intimacy the actors portrayed? They did a fantastic job drawing me in. Apart from that I couldn't take my eyes off of Ai Di's impeccable fashion choices, and the many many cameos were quite fun.

Rating: A+ YMMV

A few close contenders:

My School President (S) *split airing 22' and 23'

Tokyo in April Is... (A+)

Laws of Attraction (A)

Bed Friend (A)

The End of the World with You (A)

Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend (A)

If it's with You (A)

Our Dating Sim (A)

Love Tractor (A)

The Warp Effect (A) *split airing 22' and 23'

The New Employee (A) *split airing 22' and 23'

La Pluie (A-)

Midnight Museum (A-)

[winterrrnight]

fan behaviour

PAIRING: drew starkey x musician!gn!reader

SUMMARY: the reader is a well known artist. Little do they know, they are their favorite actor's favorite singer.

WARNINGS: small mentions of anxiety

EDITH SPEAKS: the idea of musician!reader is inspired by @runningfrom2am 's fic 'kinda famous!' it's so so good, i definitely recommend reading it! <3 The plot of both the fics is nowhere near same, I've only taken inspiration from it :)

please like and/or reblog if you enjoy reading 🫶🏻 feedback is always appreciated :)

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The lights on the stage slowly start to dim down, and the crowd starts to get louder. You can't help but grin widely in your position at the backstage, ready to feel that familiar feeling of adrenaline rush through your veins each time you perform for your fans.

You've been in the music industry for quite a few years now, but you blew up recently with your second studio album. It was all so unexpected: the fame rising hotly each day, your fanbase increasing exponentially, and you getting the exposure you've always dreamed of. Music is your life, you've always wanted to impact the world with your music, and now here you are, ready to perform in your first arena.

The arena fits up to 9,000 people, and you were taken by surprise when you were informed that the concert is sold out. You start to feel the nerves kicking in, so you do a little breathing exercise you always do whenever anxiety starts to make its way to you.

"Hey, you'll be fine," your guitarist and best friend, Mia says. She hugs you tightly. "You are one of the best. All those people out there are here to see you rock and perform. You will do so wonderful."

"Thank you Mia," you smile at her. She acknowledges your smile, and your bandmates all go up on the stage, leaving you behind. They always start off with an intro before your entry. As they all walk up the stage, the crowd starts to scream even louder.

The intro lasts around 30 - 40 seconds, before it's your turn to go up. "You can do this," you whisper to yourself. You then make your way to the stage, and the screaming gets even louder, the crowd going absolutely wild to see you.

"Thank you everyone for coming!" You say in your mic, the crowd continuing to cheer you on. "I hope we all have the best time ever. I can't believe it: it's our first ever arena show!" The cheering and screaming continues on and you take a second to take in the crowd. The largest crowd of people is out there supporting you. You know you have to make it the most memorable experience for everyone out there, and for yourself.

Your band starts to play, and you start to sing the opening song. You've sung all these songs so many times; you've lost count. But each time you enjoy singing them even more. Music is in your soul, it's what makes you who you are.

↶ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷ ˊˎ-

You have prepared one of the longest setlist you've ever performed. It lasts for almost 2 hours, but to you, it feels like it was just a few minutes. This is definitely one of your favorite concerts, the crowd is insane, they are singing every lyric back to you. You love to be interactive with your fans so you have a few interactions with them throughout the show. You get so many bouquet of flowers, stuff toys, and see some of the most heart touching signs in the crowd.

You have just finished performing your last song of the evening, and the crowd is louder than ever. No one in the arena is feeling a lack of energy. Your bandmates come on your side and you all hug each other, big smiles on your faces.

"This is one of the most memorable nights of my life," you say in the mic. "You all mean the whole world to me, and the support you give me is overwhelming." You feel tears form in your eyes but you control yourself from letting them fall. "I hope every single person present here discovers peace and love in there life. You all deserve the whole world - actually, scratch that - you all deserve the whole fucking universe, and I would be a goner without you guys. Thank you for coming tonight! I hope I'll see most of you in the meet and greet!"

With the last screaming and cheering of the day, all of you get off the stage. There is an hour before the meet and greet starts, which gives you time to rest and change out of your sweaty clothes. For this hour you have a pop up shop set up, where your fans can buy your exclusive merch.

Out there in the crowd, there is a person you have no idea is there. It was THE Drew Starkey, one of your favorite actors of all time. You've seen him in movies with minor roles, to go and take on a big role like Rafe Cameron on Outer Banks.

And you are pretty much Drew's favorite singer. He's been listening to your music long before you blew up, in fact he's been listening to you since almost the beginning of your career.

He gets to see you live for the first time today, and he just falls in love with your stage presence. The way you sound even more beautiful live, the way you move around the stage dancing and hyping up everyone in the crowd, he's in love with it all.

And today, he has a big chance of meeting you. He got a meet and greet ticket, and in less than an hour you're about to meet him.

↶ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷ ˊˎ-

"Awww you're so sweet oh my god!" You say, taking the gift from the fan. She made a fan book for you by collecting messages for you from your fans all around the world though social media.

"I'm so happy you like it!" She says, ecstatically, as you lean in to give her another hug. You both turn around towards the camera to get the picture clicked. After greeting your last goodbyes, the girl leaves the room.

From outside, you hear the guard say, "next!" You walk towards the table set on the side to get yourself a glass of water. Behind your back, Drew has walked inside the room. You turn around to see Drew Starkey standing in front of you. You spit out the water in your mouth in utter shock.

"OH MY GOD!" You yell out loud, making Drew laugh. You rush up to him and give him a big hug. "Wow! It's Drew Starkey in front of me!"

"I'm such a massive fan of you," Drew says with a smile. Your mouth falls wide open. Drew Starkey is a fan of you?

"This is insane because I'm such a massive fan of you."

"WHAT? REALLY?" Drew says out loud, totally not expecting to hear that back. Your excitement matches with his as you nod your head vigorously.

"YES! I've been obsessed with your acting since so long now, every single role you've ever done is simply chef's kisses," you say, doing the chef's kisses gesture after.

"This is sick, come on give me another hug," he says laughing, and you without any hesitation walk up to him and wrap your arms around his torso, while his are around your waist. You hug him tightly, and he hugs you back even tighter. He then starts to sway you both in your position, making you chuckle.

You tilt your head up, resting your chin on his chest and looking in his eyes. In this moment, everything feels so surreal. It feels so... right to be in this position, with his arms holding you this tightly, making you feel so safe, that not a single thing in this world can hurt you now.

"Uh... so sorry to ruin the moment here but we don't have much time left and quite many fans are still left to meet you," the guard says. You and Drew suddenly snap back into reality and spring away from each other.

"Oh... oh yes," you stammer.

"Can we get a picture?" Drew asks you.

"Oh of course!" You say. He hugs from the side and you both look ahead at the camera, both of you grinning widely.

"It was so wonderful meeting you Drew," you smile at him.

"You too," he smiles at you back. Drew walks to the exit door, but before he can leave, he turns around to look at you.

"Will I see you again?"

This causes your lips to upturn in the biggest grin.

"Yes."

[youremyheaven]

vedic astrology symbols & motifs pt 3

1. Serpent symbolism

Zendaya wearing a Roberto Cavalli dress with twin serpents on the back. She has her saturn & ketu in UBP.

She's also the ambassador for Bvlgari, a brand known for its iconic serpent motif. Fellow ambassador Priyanka Chopra also has serpent yoni (Rohini moon)

Julianne Moore, mrigashira moon wearing a dress featuring cobras

Kendall Jenner, UBP moon wearing a dress with snake imagery

Charlize Theron, ashlesha sun & mercury wearing a serpent pendant.

Cardi B, mrigashira ketu as Medusa

Rohini Mars, uma thurman as medusa in percy jackson

2. Punarvasu girls often play the Trophy Wife or the Dream Girl in media.

Malin Ackerman (punarvasu moon) played the titular Trophy Wife in the sitcom of the same name

Sofia Vergara (punarvasu sun & moon) plays Gloria Pritchett in modern family who is a classic example of a trophy wife.

Kaley Cuoco (punarvasu moon) plays Penny in TBBT. Penny is a quintessential "dream girl" type character.

Punarvasu moon Drew Barrymore plays a version of this role in nearly every romcom she's ever been in.

3. I have a soft spot for Virgo-Cancer couples. Virgo is considered the most masculine sign and Cancer is the most feminine sign. Sexual polarity is what drives a relationship and this could be why these couples are so fun to watch on screen and even irl.

Jay on the show, Modern Family is played by Ed O'Neill who is Purvaphalguni moon (tropical virgo) and Sofia Vergara, who plays his wife, has Punarvasu moon (tropical cancer).

Ed O'Neill was on the show Married With Children, where Katey Sagal played his wife. She has Pushya moon and Punarvasu Ketu. Its interesting how his two most well known characters are both husbands on shows about families with wives played by Cancer girlies👀

Chris Hemsworth is a Purvaphalguni sun and Uttaraphalguni moon and he is married to Elsa Pataky who is Punarvasu sun and Revati moon. Pisces is opposite to Virgo and opposite signs have insane chemistry.

I'll make a separate post about how movies often pair actors with opposite signs to play a couple and how this happens in real life as well (opposites attract 😏)

Priyanka Chopra is a Punarvasu sun and Nick Jonas is a Uttaraphalguni sun and stellium.

in Bridget Jones' Diary, Mark Darcy is played by Purvaphalguni sun Colin Firth and Bridget is played by Ashlesha moon Renee Zellwegger.

The OG romcom pairing. Adam Sandler, Purvaphalguni sun and Drew Barrymore who is Punarvasu moon.

Purvaphalguni sun, Hugh Grant and Pushya rising Julia Roberts in Notting Hill.

another iconic romcom pairing, Purvaphalguni sun Richard Gere with Pushya rising Julia Roberts.

6. I find a connection between Ashlesha and plastic surgery. Ashlesha is the star of restriction and its tightly coiled by nature. These natives often express their severity through their self-presentation. On another note, these tropical Leo natives become sidereal Cancers and while Leos are known for being extremely self conscious and prone to fluctuating self esteem, adding a layer of Cancerian sensitivity makes things worse for them. Their self-image becomes extremely personal and they feel a need to master perfectionism. (in my perspective, switching to sidereal does not cancel out one's tropical signs, it adds another layer or texture to it. Leos are so sensitive and picky, why? because they are sidereal Cancers underneath the surface. some Cancers are very typically girly and domestic whereas others are not? because they're split between the gemini and cancer signs in sidereal)

Now a lot of celebs get work done, especially these days but I think there are some celebrities who are known for their plastic surgery and these are just a few off the top of my head.

Megan Fox, ashlesha moon.

Kylie Jenner, ashlesha sun

Bella Hadid, ashlesha mars

Sridevi, ashlesha sun and stellium.

(she had already had some work done in the first pic) Sridevi is probably one of the first Indian actors to get plastic surgery back in the 70s/80s and was known for it.

[the-sun-and-the-sea]

Do you have any new favorite Odesta fics that you can recommend for the new year?

Hi! Sure, I definitely have some. These are some of my current favorites and have been published/updated within the last few months.

this is the place where we breathe for love by NORsevvy - This is a series featuring Odesta as well as Johanna & Finnick. There's some pre-canon stuff and stuff that aligns with canon, so that gives some variety. It's definitely a great place to start if you're into the found family dynamics between the victors.

no grave can hold my body down (i'll crawl home to her) by rosaeles - If you want a great Finnick lives AU (and who doesn't?), then you should check out this one. It's such a poignant and hopeful piece while still showing that there's struggle in survival, which I love.

Castles Crumbling by CJThrone - What I love about this one is its unique premise. It situates Annie and Finnick in the Panem we know but in a very different context. I won't say much more because I want to avoid spoilers but definitely go read the summary!

Tiger Shark by WreyWrites - This is a fic about Annie's Games and will follow through to the end of Mockingjay. It is canon divergent so there are some differences when we get to the canon timeline. This fic has a really fresh take on Annie, with an interesting blend between elements of Career Annie and non-Career Annie. If that didn't make sense, it will if you read it.

Growing Sideways, Growing Upwards by The_Nerdturtle - This is a modern AU in which Finnick and Annie are actors in Hollywood. It still incorporates elements of canon while giving the relationship a different backdrop. I found this one really cute so it might be a good one to look at.

An Unusual Customer by insomniacscribbler - This is another in-Panem AU that puts odesta into a different context. The dynamic here is really interesting which is what drew me to the fic. It's tagged pretty minimally but let me say that if you like POV Outsider or dramatic irony then you'll probably like this!

the waves and moving crests by inthesquare - This last one is another modern AU set in college, where Annie and Finnick are both students and Olympic athletes. I really like the elements of canon that it brings in, and the odesta romance is softer without being in Panem, while still having realism.

Those are some of my current favorites, I hope you can find something on here to read! As always, feel free to reblog with any recs of your own or self promo. Happy new year <3

[satanicsanity]

Idea! Wally discovering face paint and painting neighbor’s face?

Absolutely!! I can do that for ya! ^^ hope you're well!! <3

‼️please go support wally's ACTUAL voice actor, @DaFrankiestein!🩷🩷🩷‼️

The art & characters used are by clown/party coffin!🩷Go support them and donate to their Kofi of you can!

Subtitles, wally speaking: Oh! Neighbor, there you are! Come over here, I Have something to show you! Look at this! I picked it up from Howdy's today on accident! I thought it was normal paint but it turns out.. It's face paint! Have you ever heard of face paint before?? Well neither have I! Turns out it's paint but it's for your skin! Or your body, I guess you could say! I thought maybe we could try it! [pause] You're down?? Oh wonderful! Alright, I have this beautiful red color! And I wanted to use it on you, so.. Do you mind if I paint some hearts on your face?? [pause] Excellent! Alright, yep! Just turn your head! Alright, I think I'm gonna put it on... The apples of your cheeks! After all, that's my favorite part of anyone's face! Hah, I'm sure you can guess why! [pause] yep, just stay still! Don't worry about me messing up, I have very precise hands! And there you go! A little heart! Right on the apple of your cheek, and I'll get the other one! Right... There! Perfect! Oh you look so adorable Neighbor! Oh! You want to do me now, well of course! Yep, I'll stay still! [pause] Golly you're done already?? That was awfully quick! You're very speedy, neighbor! Can I see?? [pause] Aw neighbor you drew a little apple!.. You are just so cute! Thank you neighbor! Oh!! We should go show everyone else! They're gonna have a field-day with this! Haha!