#river medway

[boysboysboysss]

Dexter Clift aka Drag Queen River Medway is sort of the perfect twink. I’m obsessed with him

[illustratus]

The Raid on the Medway, 1667 by Willem Schellinks

[biblewaterzzz]

[missjanjie]

speaking of crackships lmao

[clubkidandcollectives]

[t4yce]

river talking about shrek 2 [x]

[karaokesoul32]

Photo shoot yesterday

Followed by an evening out with Hallie ending in Freedom Bar (where else for Jenry?) & a promise (perhaps?) of Drag Jordan to come

More solo shots to come according to Jordan

[justanothergeneralkrow]

Saw this and realized that every time a UK season had an asian queen they got sent home on Snatch Game

[you-will-adore-me]

i went to the RPDR UK S3 tour on Wednesday and omg it was so good. Them girls were done dirty, they’re all phenomenal performers.

[puppywritesthings]

hello rivella nation

from: @rivermedway on instagram

[freykitten]

Hello sweetie 💜

[illustratus]

The Raid on the Medway, 1667 by Willem Schellinks

[biblewaterzzz]

[missjanjie]

idc y’all rivella was a good moment for a reason

[clubkidandcollectives]

[artificialqueens]

📬 Paint Pals (River Medway & Arantxa Castilla-La Mancha) - Hannah

a/n: i wanted to challenge myself and write something based in friendship and not romance and the pen pals challenge was perfect for that! i picked river and arantxa purely for their mutual love of hannah montana and popstar vibes and made them art students because why not lol.

the italics are the written letters and the bolded are the texts.

read on ao3 if you prefer!

  As soon as her professor explained this project, Arantxa was bouncing off the walls excited for it. It was so different from the main projects she had been doing and she was very excited at the prospect of potentially making friends with someone in another country without technology being the middleman of communication. 

  The project outlines were to start a painting but not to finish it, only paint it halfway, then the half-complete painting gets set to a predetermined partner in the UK for a swap to finish each other’s paintings. And today was the day that the deliveries had come. 

he only thing Arantxa knew about her partner thus far was their name – River – and she hopes that by the end of the day she’ll know the mystery person a little better. The blonde’s professor hands out identical cardboard boxes to the class at the end of the lesson and sends them on their way, and Arantxa swears she had never walked home faster. 

  She drops the box on the end of her bed and as she opens it, she is greeted with white tissue paper and a brown envelope with her name written on it in fancy cursive calligraphy. The letter inside is written on handmade paper, white with multi-colored flecks throughout, and the writing is written in a perfect balance of cursive and print.

  Dear Arantxa,

  Hey, how are you? Hope you’re well! Thought I should introduce myself a bit before anything else. As you know, my name is River and I’m a 3rd year student as well with a focus on painting, my pronouns are she/her and I’m bisexual. I’m originally from a small town in Kent but I now live in London for uni with a few of my classmates as my roommates and I have an older sister who also lives in London as well. 

  As for hobbies, I was a dancer growing up and I still take part in classes when I can, and I am also a part-time instructor for little kids dance classes. Some things I’m interested in are collecting dolls and Hannah Montana, which I know probably makes me sound childish but they’ve always held a special place in my heart and they always will.

  My prof suggested I talk about my art practice too so I guess I’ll share a bit about what I like to do. I tend to focus most on realism and portraiture both in painting and drawing, but especially painting. My favorite paintings I’ve done are sort of slice-of-life, like if a candid photo became a painting.

  This project is such a neat idea and I am so excited to be your partner for this. I can’t wait to receive your painting and your letter and see what we end up creating! Also, if you want to reach out beyond paper my Instagram is @/river.m

  All the best,

River

  Arantxa felt spiritually connected to this girl from just the letter, they were almost the same person with how similar their interests were and she couldn’t wait to unwrap the canvas to see what River had started for her to complete.

  Meanwhile in London, the same situation was happening to River, receiving a box at the end of class and rushing home to open it as soon as possible to read about her partner and see how she paints and what she’s started.

  A magenta envelope covered in purple and light pink stars sits atop the canvas that’s wrapped in bubble wrap, guitar shaped stickers seal the envelope and hold the bubble wrap around the canvas as well. When River opens the letter she sees the entire thing is written in hot pink sparkly gel pen. Based on the stationary choices, the brunette feels excited about her partner already.

  Hola River!

  Como estas? I hope you’re doing well! My name is Arantxa, I use she/her pronouns and I identify as a non-binary lesbian. I’m also a 3rd year arts student with a focus in painting and printmaking. I currently live in Madrid with 2 of my best friends as my roommates who are both sculptors. We’re all art students too so our apartment looks like a messy studio more often than not, there’s always paint, ink and clay splattered somewhere! 

  Some things to know about me is that I love horror movies (especially Scream, it’s my fave!), Hannah Montana, Barbie and anything pink. My life is very full of color from my clothes and furniture to all my art. I also love funky, creative makeup, my bestie Hugaçeo does lots of looks like what’s on Instagram and TikTok and they're so cool to see in person!

  As for my practice, it's very colorful like I mentioned, I'm always running out of my bright and neon paints. Most of my paintings are abstract but on occasion I'll add some figures onto an abstract background for a challenge. My methods are very out of the ordinary. I get messy and throw paint at the canvas, kinda like Jackson Pollock but if he used Warhol's color scheme, and if I do include figure work it’s kind of like a Liechtenstein comic book style. If you couldn't tell, I love Pop Art!

  Anyways, I'm so super excited for this project! It's going to be so cool to see how our styles mash up, especially if they're super different or even completely opposite. My Instagram is @/arantxaclm if you want to reach out and talk outside of the project!

  Adios!

Arantxa

  This person sounded like the living embodiment of sunshine, like the most energetic person to be around and River felt like Arantxa would be the life of the party. They would definitely get along in real life, the brunette was sure of it. She could only imagine the amount of color and chaos that was on the canvas that still sat wrapped on her desk.

    As the two painted the canvas, they texted everyday over DM's, getting to know each other better everyday and becoming close friends over the course of three weeks even though they both felt they were kindred spirits. 

  When the day finally came to present their final artworks, River and Arantxa were the most excited they’d ever been to present because this would also be the first time they get to see each other in real time.

Could they have facetime called before now? Yes, they totally could have, but the pair thought it would make seeing the finished products even more exciting if it was not only the first time they saw the paintings since they sent them out but also the first time they got to talk to each other in person – well, over video call but face-to-face nonetheless.

  The anticipation of finally getting a chance to talk to each other was eating at them both, the excitement was through the roof. The second their names were called, the two ran up to the front instantly and began chatting, getting carried away from the task at hand because they were just so glad to finally meet face-to-face.

River was the one that got her and Arantxa back on track, putting her painting on the easel for her class and pulling up the picture on the computer for Arantxa and her class to see and the blonde doing the same on her end. 

  The way that each of their styles combined was so interesting to see, each of them attempt their art in differently but the way that each of their styles managed to compliment each other, the combination of colorful abstract and figure realism came together on two different canvases, everyone had nothing but good things to say. 

  Their profs eventually had to get them to wrap up to keep going with the other presentations, but the second the two got out of class they pulled out their phones.

  river: omg i still can't believe how good our paintings turned out

  arantxa: ikr!! our styles came together so well

               and everyone loved them!!

  river: it was so nice to finally see you irl too we should video chat more often

  arantxa: i totally agree 🥰

  river: hannah montana watch party when lol

  arantxa: omg yes we definitely need to do that it would be so much fun!! 

  river: totally it’s so nice to finally meet someone who likes hannah montana as much   as i do

               i’m so glad we were paired up for the project 🥰

               honestly its like were almost the same person in different countries

  arantxa: we are it’s crazy!! our personalities are like clones of each other 🤣

  Their conversation continued for a little while longer before they both had to get to other obligations but the happiness that filled River and Arantxa was unparalleled. Smiles spread across their faces, peps in their steps, and all around good moods the entire rest of their day.

It’s crazy to think that someone who is so similar to you lives somewhere in the world, and you could become friends simply through a letter and many many online interactions. And maybe if you’re lucky enough, you’ll get to meet them in real time and become friends for life.