#⟡ ⬝ ( promotion ) ┋ love for the audience.

[unteriors]

With all due love and respect, most of the interiors you're showing from Piedmont are old (1950s-60s) country houses. Not exactly what I'd think of in terms of real estate neocapitalist dystopia hell. Many of those houses would be absolutely fine with a bit of work. It's definitely a tragic consequence of capitalism that nobody is buying them tho, for sure.

I understand where you're coming from. There are a few things here that irk me a little though - occasionally I'll receive some feedback that touches on similar themes. To start, I'm not really that motivated by titles when it comes to creative projects. There are things in the world, in my own life, in what I see around me, that I find interesting or disturbing or which I have anxieties about, and I put time into exploring them. Almost by accident I've amassed an enormous amount of imagery culled from real estate listings on my PC. I can explain the motivations and ideas behind it, but I'm not very good at wrapping everything up in a neat bow. I've come across a similar thing for another blog I've had for much longer, where people in its audience (or friends and family) would often message me saying that this particular image isn't really an Unplace, and the ambiguity of the title ends up narrowing their perception of the scope of the project (and makes it seem much more superficial - for a similar reason I'm not keen on the concept of liminal spaces, or the word liminal generally). With this blog, I made a conscious decision to use a title that would be broad enough to ward off attempts to pigeonhole it into specific, surface-level interpretations, which would sort of work against and challenge itself (and the viewer).

When I was in art school I was keen on the idea of antimarketing, which extends to branding. Advertising (increasingly over the past half-century) has a way of corroding depth and reducing substance to easily-accessible content guided by broadly-accepted conventions around social norms. I feel like it should only be a thing you deal with yourself as much as you have to, and I try to deadvertise the things I do as much as I can. I feel like these images deadvertise places. I look for real estate imagery which, on the direct, immediate level of their intended purpose, fail miserably (i.e., I do not want to buy this house. I sense lead paint, asbestos. This house may contain a corpse. Stay away). On a secondary level, in addition to selling a product, advertising often sells an idea about the world. With real estate imagery, the idea is much like the one this ask represents these houses as - a way of looking at housing that reduces it to an investment, which views older houses in a state of disrepair as something to be renovated and resold for a profit. This feels particularly myopic and inappropriate when it comes to Italy, a part of the world I've spent time in (though not Piedmont), which has layers and layers of history and human misery in every lived (and abandoned) surface, and which was hit hard by the twentieth century and still seems to be falling apart in many ways. As you pointed out, it's a consequence of the economic system that's currently oppressing Italy (involving years of austerity forced upon it by waves of neoliberal administrations, including within the country and in EU economic policy, against a backdrop of corruption and aggressive anticommunism that the US played a role in) that it has an issue with housing vacancy sitting comfortably alongside the same housing crisis most of us are experiencing (this article goes into a lot of detail about it).

There's the more technical question of how much work would be needed to rehabilitate these places and make them livable - I know in Australia houses that are only fifty or sixty years old often require specialised work by contractors (which our propaganda system that promotes DIY culture and house flipping tends to gloss over). And then, who would put the effort into renovating these places and then living in them? There are parts of Italy with very high unemployment rates, particularly among young people, where people have been leaving for generations. I guess, if someone from a richer country uses the exchange rate to buy and do up a rundown house in a village somewhere and pumps money into the local economy, there are some good sides to that. But I can't get away from the idea that, in our current system, renovating an older house - fixing it up - has the cumulative effect of pricing more people out of housing. I felt bad even about buying a house in my own country - more mortgages mean higher house prices, ultimately. The rot in the economic superstructure feeds into our artistic and conceptual understanding of housing. That creates tensions, between the real, deeper, historically and culturally rich, lived experience of a house, and the fake, greige, airbrushed, negatively-geared, embalmed home-as-investment that's sold to us, and I find those cracks in the surface (peeling paint, if you will) interesting.

This may be getting close to paranoia, but there's also a phenomenon where, if you say anything too negative and controversial, you come to expect that some people will instinctively react by mocking it. This is something I feel instinctively (again, maybe the answer to this lies more in therapy than in looking at the outside world). Often without evidence of their own to demonstrate why what you have said is wrong. It reminds me of a reddit post I saw floating around on tumblr a few years ago, about how the attitude to the world you see in South Park is that, if you complain too much about something (i.e. if you point out that something is wrong), and you demonstrate that you care about that without hiding behind irony, that makes you the problem. You find this all through pop culture from a certain time period (the Simpsons could be just as bad, I also come across this attitude in contemporary art - the laugh react on Facebook feels like its late-stage distillation). It's hard to tell how much people are encoded by it, or if it provides a framework for seeing the world and handling moral issues for people who already held these attitudes. I named this blog Neoliberal Capitalist Real Estate Dystopia Hellscape to weed out those those attitudes and make the people who would ordinarily express them self-conscious. It's getting harder and harder for people to deny that it's not an accurate description, the middle-class psychological bubble has been getting harder to keep insulated for some time now.

[cugzarui]

future self here: read the article it's pretty good. anyway down heres my take before i finished the article

---------------

ok imma make the post while reading the article

this reads more like something thats meant to make you outraged than something that makes a genuine attempt to analyze the lightning thief. ragemongering if you will.

Now why the hell would the Greek gods ever live in America? Great question. Here’s where it starts to get real ugly real quick.

is it though? is it really? cuz im pretty sure the real world reason is to have an excuse to make the series happen in America (the home of the target audience) as opposed to greece (not the home of the target audience). and the in-story reason is just whatever lets you justify this in-universe.

Chiron who had been previously disguised as a Latin teacher in a wheelchair—presumably to better hide his… horse parts? I’m not sure

yes? it has admittedly been a while since i read those books but im pretty sure that is the cannon in universe reason why he uses a wheelchair. did you read the book?

ok reading further they start bringing up actually relevant points that do support their claim. im not gonna copy all of that but i will respond with: it is still a book about the greek gods and is based on greek legends. idk if you forgot but greeks are white europeans. legends about demigods tend to have exceptionalism as part of their main themes. often explicitly. yea unless you're writing some really sanitized story, basing it on greek legends will probably make it at least a little problematic.

i didnt know that bit about western civilization being a new concept. that is a good point:

This emphasis on the power of western civilization — a concept that didn’t emerge until the 19th century and was bound up in “imperialism and colonialism, white supremacism, classism and exceptionalism” — absolutely pervades The Lightning Thief,

lets keep reading -

It is perhaps tempting to write this off as a common — albeit indelicate — narrative technique. Riordan is writing for Americans, so he crafted a narrative focused on Americans.

oh i was anticipated.

the promotion of a (falsely) white ancient Greece and Rome is not limited to The Lightning Thief. White people love narratives wherein Greeks, Romans, and their gods are white

ok yea ancient greece wasnt just white people. still they were definitely europeans. actually let me just google this real quick -

What races lived in ancient Greece?

Hellenes

Central and Eastern Greek tribes (Aeolians, Achaeans and Ionians) ...

Western Greek tribes (Dorians and Macedonians) ...

Macedonians-Magnetes.

https://en.wikipedia.org

List of ancient Greek tribes - Wikipedia

that doesnt help much. a bunch of ancient greek tribes i don't recognize. hmmm maybe if i go into the article and nope nope just more words and graphs i dont understand. ok since im a little stupid lets go with this. ancient greece definitely had non-white people in it too, but i dont think its that controversial to say it was mainly white europeans. if not, then you have to explain how the current inhabitants are mostly white europeans. which...idk you can probably explain it pretty easily but i am not smart and the simplest explanation is just that the ethnicities of the current inhabitants roughly matches that of the ancient inhabitants.

i still dont think its so unreasonable to assume that rick decided to move the gods to america as a way to appeal to his audience, rather than as some kind of white supremacist move. though tbf it could be both. he doesn't even have to be aware hes doing it for it to be the case. but just because it could be the case doesnt mean it is.

the way he phrases it in-story does kinda seem supremacist now that i think about it but again, this is a story about demigods and is based on ancient myths and literal legends. giving these things some epic framing with exceptionalism is hardly surprising.

and...thats about all the notes i have about the article. it goes on to make a lot of good points and best of all, it doesn't actually pile up on rick and his stories that much. just brings attention to the fact that there is some genuine white supremacy stuff in there and that you should be aware of that. it doesn't even tell you not to read them and it makes note of the fact rick has gotten much better at not doing white supremacy.

in a way i was right about this article being rage mongering. just that it only rage mongers at the beginning as a way to draw you in to read it. call that a hook call it clickbait but the article is genuinely good and insightful and i recommend reading it.

you thought you can just read my addition instead of the article didnt you? think again buster you are merely a fool.

so like. everyone in the pjo fandom has read this article right? ok cool

[binomech]

lumon is a pharmaceutical that needs disease to exist for their economic profit, while also claiming that their ultimate goal is balance, pulchritude, purity, control. they base their whole promotion of severance as something that can cure a person's grief through the amputation of it, as if death was the ultimate evil, as if grief was a septic miasma to drain. conveniently, a lack of grief means a lack of attachment, a lack of attachment makes for better workers.

darkness is intimacy, it's a right to one's emotions without a purpose or an audience. lumon's halogens light up everything that transpires inside the building, your own grief can be repackaged and sold to an audience if edited well enough. darkness is a shroud that takes away our sense of direction but also returns us to our body.

kier seems to be in perpetual winter, the tree branches are nude and there's no end in sight to fields of snow and blue light and hunger, animals can't thrive, crops can't thrive. woe's hollow is much the same, insofar as it's lumon land. dieter egan became one with nature, he wanted, he loved, his rotting corpse haunts and entices. sex and desire are constantly presented as a prerrequisite for suffering and rot, because loving someone means losing them will bring grief, because bringing a person into the world (through childbirth or severance) means accepting that you will love them, and they will suffer, and they will die someday. to love is to accept death.

grief is suffocating, a black rot encroaching the wood in our trees and the canvases we made out of them. we carry it with us wherever we go and it's heavy, but it's this rot that will feed new life. we will sit at our green desks on a green carpet unfer a great big halogen light that primes all of our words of kinship and love for an audience to justify our suffering, but conspire in a dark supply closet where our grief and desire can be just ours, cramped and warm.

plants become a symbol for warmth and care and grief. plants die, plants rot, plants feed you and you feed them. green is for rot and for spring, the garden in perpetuity doesn't even get real sunlight. mammalians nurturable field feeds the goats and the goats feed it upon death, burt and irving's little eden is a mysterious storage room but the plants are real. gemma died and the warmth of spring went with her, but ms. casey has a tree of her own in her office. charlotte cobel used a green respirator and it helped her even if it didn't save her, even if the winter came inexorably after each spring. but spring will come again. we will grieve, and in the warmth of the sun we will watch a sapling grow from the rotting remains of our our old selves and loved ones.

[gayofthefae]

Rewatched the van scene in context and the most coherent understanding I've ever had of Mike's monologue is this watch, seeing it as him talking about fearing "when this all over" - once they're safe but also now that he's figured out what's going on in him - that his personality isn't enough to keep him around if he isn't serving her romantically. The easiest I've ever been able to understand that monologue, most coherent and consistent to every line, moreso than any romantic interpretation I've seen that gets confusing and contradictory in all lines of being discarded if he CAN say it.

I'd also like to add that I had 0 confusion on my first watch. The first confusing/contradiction to him having feelings for Will was him saying "I love you". His speech here had complete consistency to me to the previously supported idea by 4x05 and 4x04 lines that he did not love El, loved Will, and was scared of losing El because of it.

I had 0 confusion before his following actions. All of his previous scenes supported it, in fact. Only his following actions were confusing but that doesn't retcon inconsistency, it only speaks to change of mind or odd decision-making after-the fact.

Mike's speech only makes sense if he's scared of losing El because this is the only thing keeping him around, not if he's scared of success not being enough - something unsupported by previous lines and that has required me to much more actively think his inner monologue while watching. That isn't how it should go, it works only forced and stretched at places. Audience members need to engage to connect dots before they're explained, but they shouldn't have to actively engage to understand anything happening or any words being said at all, that's not what that is. And engaging with analysis isn't the same as forcing interpretation - additionally, something that cannot be done on a first watch while you're still learning what he's gonna say next and can't forcibly connect dots you don't have.

Mike's speech should be comprehensible. It only is if he's scared of losing her due to failure, which is what he's said he is every previous time he's talked about it - there is also no additional reason to believe that he has since become capable offscreen. It is such on a rewatch only in this interpretation and this is the only interpretation that has been promoted to viewers on a first watch. We have repeatedly been told what Mike is thinking without being shown a single change in it then are shown this speech that at the very least can be interpreted the same, so a first viewer will and they know that. They intend it then. And even knowing after the fact, it just confirms it because it is not only what is prompted the first time, it is the only thing that works once we've heard it all too.

Regardless of following actions, if it doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense. (Especially if his following actions have an explanation given further "engaging". Those are just dots to be connected.)

[sapphicyanli]

might be a corn plate tweet kind of post but during the last round of the mingle game which is where the group only consist of two people, everyone else was running without holding hands except players 222 and 333 that is a canon couple (or exes so far i guess) in the show, and the other pairing that are holding hands are players 120 and 246. could this be a hint that hyunju (120) and gyeong sok (246) could be an endgame in season 3?? bcs i certainly hope so

also the meaning of the color room that they were in is....well, quite fitting for their current relationship dynamic to say the least i'd say

[manish1942-blog]

Sir Ji Greetings with Regards 🙏🙏

💐💐🌹🌹💐💐🌹🌹

God Bless You with Health, Prosperity, Immense Success and Lots Of Happiness,

I see God in You Sir ji, Your Aura is Very High,Your Greatness is that You do not show it..

I was truly Blessed to Meet and Talk to You On the #KBC Set On the 8th January 2025

During the Meeting with the Audience On the KBC Set, Sir Ji I told You that during the Promotion of Your Aarakshan Movie and Abhishek Bachchan Sir Ji's Dum Maaro Dum in Patna, Our Security Company had Provided Ssecurity Service ,

Sir You and Abhishek Bachchan ji had also gone to Meet Shubhash K Jha ji at his House, and in Patna You had stayed at Prakash Jha Sir ji's place.

Sir We All are Very Happy and Very Proud of it. .

I Bow before Your Greatness 🙏🙏

Sir, I have been Your staunch fan for more than 45 Years.

I love and Respect You the Most

I follow you On X, Facebook, Tumblr and Disqus and send you posts.

Sir, I Request You to Please Follow Me Back and Bless Me by becoming a part of Your EF Extended Family.

Sir Ji My Love and Regards Forever

🙏🙏💐💐🌹🌹💐💐🌹🌹

My Best Wishes are Always with

Manish Mishra

X Account: @ manishm1942

Email ID: manishm1942@gmail.com

DAY 6209

Jalsa, Mumbai Feb 15, 2025/Feb 16 Sat/Sun 4:06 am

When the hurly burly's done ; when the battle is lost and won .. then shall we three meet again in ONE ..

er.. WON ..

lost at this moment last year .. and victory this year .. determined passion and the will to be up on the stands with the emblem of VICTORY .. the CUP ..

How and why was it designed thus - the CUP of victory .. a symbol of the Winner .. a cup ?? really ..??

and then all the intricate actions proposed for them - bite it , kiss it , scream with its rising , inscribe it .. name fame game ..

Ahhh .. the human .. ever the thirst for recognition .. and position ..

I came 1st .. I won .. I beat the others .. my marks the highest .. my standing among the top the best ..

etc etc etc ...

And so filled with the glory of this , the night escapes along and the morn beckons soonest .. in a few whiles perhaps ..

The generation, needs the air to involve in the screams and freedom of cheer .. to let loose the strings of attached compulsion and break away to be in the free of suppressions ..

Each day a learning .. and each DAY 👆🏼 .. a leaning too .. for the days of yore and the educative times in the academic pretense .. the past years , the old associations .. and the often connect to disclose the relation with the elders .. and family ..

And this did it :

Dr Amarnath Jha .. Vice Chancellor of the Allahabad University .. the ultimate scholar of the time .. Head of the English Department .. mentor to several .. but for me , mentor to Babuji .. and the most respected in the annals of the University and many other institutions ..

A large chapter in Babuji's auto biography describes various personal incidents with Jha Saheb ..

And today his generational relative, coincidentally studying in Delhi University at the time of the time of mine , and a dear friend , brings forth this information of the forming of the NDA in Khadakwasla, nr Pune in Maharashtra ..

And describes a most uninhibited dream of hers ..

Dream experience: I Found myself in Allahabad and had a glimpse of the Kumbh mela ..sadhus and pilgrims swirling in the icy waters of the Ganga.. Then I went up to a large and dark hall high up on the banks Everyone wore white as they were waiting to cremate their loved ones I was waiting to cremate my Papa and Ma .. The room was packed Someone told me' Go to the 4 th floor Soon it will be the turn of your parents to be cremated'.. So I climbed upto the 4th floor which was an open wooden deck There was a huge cremation fire where my parents were waiting to be cremated.. Beyond the fire was the Ganga river.. I was most surprised because I had seen the Ganga far below.. This Ganga was connected to the sky..Aakash Ganga maybe.. A Voice said : The Kumbha mela on the Ganga below celebrates the cycle of Life . This Ganga touching the sky embraces death, transcends life and celebrates Eternity..

Some crows came by and Crowed The Voice said : Do you know why the crow comes when we pass ? The crow has the sharpest and finest vertical line at the centre of his tongue.. When the crow flies over the Ganga he draws a very fine gossamer thread exactly at the central line of the Ganga.. When ashes of our departed are immersed the ashes go alone into the depth of the Ganga to merge with the Gangetic soil.. But that fine centre line,like an umbilical cord , is where the soul is released , transcends tangible boundaries on its pathway to Eternity as crows and eagles show the way ..

There is more , but too personal to be put down here .. I feel ..

I sought permission to 'put it up on my Blog' .. and got it .. but then the desire from them, to visit my Blog and to disclose the link .. that scared me .. because their intellectual capacity cannot in any way lie side by side with my stupidity ..

To which there was an intellectual response :

Nothing of yours is stupid ..honestly .. life is made up of big things and very small even petty things ..the challenge is to connect the dots ..learn at each level how to be a bit objective even tho we can't help being reactive, learn the lessons and expand our consciousness.. small 'stupid' things are very important because they are like pin pricks to a balloon .. very provocative ..

My love and 😴 .. its 4:50 am of the 16th

Amitabh Bachchan

Birthday - EF - Fatima Mahomed

Sunday, 16 February .. love and care ..🌺

[caroandcats]

Me, hooked up to a machine while I'm donating my blood: my best friend Chimney is going to be so proud 🥹

No but seriously, new blood donation drive episode when??

[d1shfandomz]

persona 5 had so much potential to be one of the greatest social commentaries of its decade in, hell, not even just in gaming and they fucking blew it by giving us fanservice of minors with gigantic tits and totally not pedophilic romance options as opposed to thematically poignant queer relationship options and you expect me to not be pissed off?? like ur kidding

[autistic-katara]

scrolling the open atla tag nd stumbling across the weird takes i was not subjected to when scrolling only the zukka tag

[caswlw]

the idea that they’re writing the season as they go so they’re seeing the reaction the audience has and that it (even in the smallest way possible) could have an impact on what happens this season (and in future seasons) is so wild to me. not saying that they’re seeing our response and saying “oh that sounds good, totally writing that in,” but it’s not impossible to say that they will see what the people want, realize the best way to generate buzz and excitement and increased viewership is to keep your fans happy, and then actually do something about it instead of killing characters/storylines just for kicks

911 has the opportunity to be that bitch even more than it already is and they shouldn’t squander it while they’re on top

[paperlovesadness]

Miles being asked about TLSP in interviews: overdone. Kind of sad & frustrating. Unoriginal. Often bordering on disrespectful.

Alex being asked about TLSP in interviews: innovative. Barely done. Has great potential.

I DARE these interviewers to flip their approach. Come on cowards, go ask Alex about Miles this time.

[tags go into ~nuances~]

[eifnacht]

TAGS POST

⟡   ⬝   ( self. ) ┋ the great detective.

⟡   ⬝   ( aes. ) ┋ dedication to my people.

⟡   ⬝   ( thoughts. ) ┋ a freedom to choose to be better.

⟡   ⬝   ( ooc. ) ┋ sometimes you gotta just say something weird.

⟡   ⬝   ( music. ) ┋ headphones and daydreams.

⟡   ⬝   ( queue. ) ┋ madder than a hatter spinning only faster.

⟡   ⬝   ( about. ) ┋ zeal and dedication; two sides of the same coin.

⟡   ⬝   ( memes. ) ┋ world's end dancehall.

⟡   ⬝   ( asks ) ┋ won't you sit and talk for a while?

⟡   ⬝   ( mun art ) ┋ whisper your love and i'll whisper mine.

⟡   ⬝   ( v01 main ) ┋ forever entangled in a web of misconception.

⟡   ⬝   ( v02 HSR ) ┋ imagined precipice between here and nowhere.

⟡   ⬝   ( v03 fantasy ) ┋ a fine line between ferocity and frenzy.

⟡   ⬝   ( v04 wellspring ) ┋ searching for answers on distant shorelines.

⟡   ⬝   ( v05 pathfinder ) ┋ a world of possibility & probability.

⟡   ⬝   ( self promo ) ┋ love for the writer.

⟡   ⬝   ( promotion ) ┋ love for the audience.

[otb-mp3]

is the message he’s sending actually going to be used to help further his career though

[frenchtwistresistance]

On tonight’s episode of Bullying Lee Meriwether…

Or: Match Game Who Wore It Better: Lee Meriwether or Laura Ingalls?

Disappointed almost to the point of being offended that Nobody bullies Lee Meriwether about this ensemble in Match Game ‘77 episode 1057:

Guess I’ll have to do the bullying myself 🙄:

What is this outfit, Lee Ann? Your evening wear from when you were crowned Miss Irish Washerwoman 1896?

We’ll excuse any questionable answers just this once because we know you’re still all shook up from coming here today by wagon train on the Oregon Trail.

Better move this game along. Lee Meriwether’s got her audition for Maria Von Trapp in 45 minutes.

(I’m sure there are many zingers I missed. But it’s four fewer than Brett, Charles, Richard, and Betty White missed. Alas. 😔)

[manish1942-blog]

Sir Ji Greetings with Regards 🙏🙏

💐💐🌹🌹💐💐🌹🌹

God Bless You with Health, Prosperity, Immense Success and Lots Of Happiness,

I see God in You Sir ji, Your Aura is Very High,Your Greatness is that You do not show it..

I was truly Blessed to Meet and Talk to You On the #KBC Set On the 8th January 2025

During the Meeting with the Audience On the KBC Set, Sir Ji I told You that during the Promotion of Your Aarakshan Movie and Abhishek Bachchan Sir Ji's Dum Maaro Dum in Patna, Our Security Company had Provided Ssecurity Service ,

Sir You and Abhishek Bachchan ji had also gone to Meet Shubhash K Jha ji at his House, and in Patna You had stayed at Prakash Jha Sir ji's place.

Sir We All are Very Happy and Very Proud of it. .

I Bow before Your Greatness 🙏🙏

Sir, I have been Your staunch fan for more than 45 Years.

I love and Respect You the Most

I follow you On X, Facebook, Tumblr and Disqus and send you posts.

Sir, I Request You to Please Follow Me Back and Bless Me by becoming a part of Your EF Extended Family.

Sir Ji My Love and Regards Forever

🙏🙏💐💐🌹🌹💐💐🌹🌹

My Best Wishes are Always with

Manish Mishra

X Account: @ manishm1942

Email ID: manishm1942@gmail.com

DAY 6208

Jalsa, Mumbai Feb 14, 2025 Fri 10:02 pm

Birthday - EF - Rajinder Sehgal// Ef Ishtar Saiyadi/ Ef Rita Varma Saturday, 15 February ....

my wishes for this special day and my love to all ..🌺❤️

Technology pushes to keep improving the gadgetry .. and it happens rapidly .. just when we are getting acclimatised with the recent device , another newer one pops up ..

And then begins another war .. getting the new one to know understand its workings ..

So for the past few days this is what is taking up the entire work time ..

And giving the job to a tech savy person is not on .. must learn how the machine is to be functioned and used .. its my mchine, I should know .. cant keep rushing off to a tech to seek assistance ..

So the entire day has been exhaustive in fixing learning and still not succeeding with the new machine ..

AAAARRRRGGHHHHH ..

IF I SURVIVE THIS ORDEAL SHALL RETURN .. else later then .. in hopefully more relaxed chimes ..

Amitabh Bachchan

[simpforboys]

surprise!

drew starkey x fem!singer!reader

summary: ever since the reader started blowing up, all the interviews and promotions that would ask her who her celebrity crush is, she always had the same answer. so when Jimmy Fallon invites her on his show, he might have a surprise in store…

warnings: fluff!! second hand embarrassment, reader gushes about Drew, she’s just a fangirl at heart

‘perfume’ by del water gap mentioned <3

part two , part three, part four

2020

“Who’s your celebrity crush?”

“Drew Starkey, he plays Rafe in Outer Banks.”

“Do you have a celebrity crush?

“Yeah, Drew Starkey from Outer Banks.”

“Are there any people you would hope to collab with or meet?”

“Definitely Drew Starkey from Outer Banks.”

2021

“Last year you said multiple times Drew Starkey is your celebrity crush, is this still true?”

“Yeah, he’s still my main one.”

“Are there any guys you’re interested in?”

“My dream guy is Drew Starkey, if that’s what you mean.”

“What’s your type in a man?”

“Umm… probably Drew Starkey.”

2022

“Update us on all the boy drama! Anyone interesting?”

“Just waiting for Drew Starkey.”

“You look stunning! Are you here with anyone tonight?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Your crush around Drew Starkey, is that still a thing?”

“It still is… have you seen his new movie ‘Hellraiser’?”

2023

“Your new EP just released, are any of the songs about Drew Starkey?”

“Not on this one, no. Maybe the next one.”

“Are you seeing anyone? Has Drew Starkey called?”

“No, not yet. Maybe next year.”

“Have you seen season three of ‘Outer Banks’ yet?”

“Yes, oh my god! Drew looked so good.”

2024

“Your new song ‘Perfume’ is an absolute hit! Is it about Drew Starkey?”

“Omg, no, but it should’ve been.”

“You’ve quickly risen to fame! Has Drew Starkey noticed you yet?”

“Unfortunately, no. He’s probably hiding.”

Ever since your career started, in every single interview you get the question regarding celebrity crushes, the answer was always the same.

Drew Starkey.

It became a known meme revolving you and your fans, along with the media. Practically every interview just loved to teased you about your known celebrity crush.

Your popularity rose more in 2023 to 2024, so, when Jimmy Fallon reached out to you to have you on his show, your agency immediately agreed.

Standing behind the curtain wearing a tight brown suit, the pants wide-leg. Black boots were your choice of footwear, your makeup done perfectly to match the outfit.

“Ladies and gentlemen, bring your hands together for Y/n L/n!”

When Jimmy announced your name, you came out from behind the curtain, a big smile on your face as you waved to the audience.

Shaking hands and hugging some of the crew members before you finally hugged Jimmy, settling down in the blue chair.

“How are you doing tonight?” Jimmy asks with a warm smile.

“I’m doing good! Pretty nervous to be honest, this is my first talkshow.” You answered sincerely.

The audience clapped and Jimmy sunk back in his seat a little more.

“Well, I’m glad to be your first one! So, your new song ‘Perfume’ recently came out, congratulations on 200 million streams.”

“Thank you so much, really.” Your hands were shaking as you fidgeted with the brown fabric on your knee, one leg crossed over the other.

“So, you’ve been singing since 2020?” Jimmy asks.

“Yeah, I started posting videos on Tik Tok but my career really took off at the end of 2023 and now here we are.” You smile, the whole experience still so surreal.

“Your voice is phenomenal, seriously. I’ll need to have you come back and sing on the show for us.” Jimmy says, causing the audience to erupt into cheers.

You laughed a little, nodding your head. “Of course, anytime.”

Jimmy continued to talk to you for a few more minutes about your career, the conversation flowing smoothly as you cracked some nervous jokes.

“So, I have to ask, Y/n. Since your career began you’ve said your celebrity crush is Drew Starkey, can you tell us more about this?”

You felt your face get a little warm as you shifted in your seat, an anxious smile on your lips.

“I dunno, I guess I’ve just always found him attractive. He’s insanely talented and just seems like a very genuine soul.” You say sheepishly, avoiding looking at the camera.

“He’s also becoming more and more popular right now, with season four of ‘Outer Banks’ that came out in October and November along with his new movie ‘Queer’.” Jimmy adds on.

“Yeah, I’m a pretty big fan so I’ve been following along with it. I’m very proud of him, in like a supportive-fan way.” You say, making the audience laugh at the last part.

You were completely oblivious to Jimmy looking behind you, motioning with his hand underneath his desk.

“So it’s not just his looks?” Jimmy teases.

“I mean, he’s a very beautiful man. He looks good with any haircut especially that mullet he had last year — and oh my god, he just looked so good in season four of ‘Outer Banks.’ Plus he has these big biceps that just bulge out of any shirt.”

You hadn’t even realized you were gushing over your celebrity crush until you finally caught yourself, hearing the audience laughing.

“Oh, gosh. You are really into him, huh?” Jimmy teases.

“What would you do if he was standing right behind you?” The host asks.

If you weren’t so nervous from being on a national talkshow you probably would’ve understood his message.

But your brain caused you to miss it, being as oblivious as ever.

“Probably pass out.” You answered, hearing the audience giggle more. Jimmy had an amused grin on his face.

“Please don’t pass out.”

Your posture immediately straightened, body tense as you stood up from the seat.

Turning around, your heart dropped to your stomach when you saw Drew fucking Starkey standing there.

The audience’s laughter grew as well as Jimmy’s, clearly satisfied with the surprise.

Your hands went to cover your mouth, face feeling hot like you had a fever. You just gushed about this man practically to his face.

“Hi, Y/n. I’m Drew.”

You couldn’t respond, just in pure shock as you stare at the tall man.

Drew also looked a little sheepish, his cheeks pink as he grinned at you.

“Did you— did you hear everything?” You finally managed to choke out.

“Maybe.” Drew chuckled, scratching the side of his neck.

“How do you feel after hearing all that, Drew?” Jimmy chuckles.

“I’m honored,” Drew replies.

You hated the way he fucking said that and the way you understood that reference.

Drew held his hand out for you to shake, but your heart was beating too fast and your brain was turning into nervous mush that you just embarrassed yourself in front of your dream man.

“Are you going to shake his hand? Hug him?” Jimmy chuckled.

“I’m… scared.” You murmured, the audience swooning and giggling over your shyness.

“Can I hug you?” Drew asked.

Stunned, your head slowly nodded. His strong arms wrapped around your body, your forehead resting against his shoulder.

You couldn’t even hug him back properly, just too much in shock. He smelt like cologne and it made your knees weak.

“I love your new song, by the way.” Drew murmured softly in your ear.

“Yeah?” You whisper, feeling like an idiot for the way you were reacting in front of him.

Drew just nods and hums, soothingly caressing your back in an effort to calm you down.

“Ladies and gentlemen, give it up one last time for Y/n L/n and Drew Starkey!” Jimmy has to end the segment.

The audience cheers as Drew continues to embrace you.

He had known about you for the last few months, having a few of your songs in his playlists.

He was just constantly busy so he never really got the chance to reach out, but when Jimmy’s team contacted him about surprising you on the show, he was excited.

And nervous.

“Sorry about surprising you like that.” Jimmy comes over, causing you and Drew to finally pull away.

“You gave me trust issues for talkshows now.” You said jokingly, finally calming down a bit.

Drew and Jimmy both laughed softly.

The film crew told you and Drew that the commercial break would be ending soon so to step off stage.

You did your signature on the wall dedicated to Jimmy’s guests, feeling familiar blue eyes gazing at you.

After thanking each crew member and shaking hands or hugging, an assistant pointed you and Drew towards where a car will take you both back to your perspective hotels.

“You ready?” Drew asked you.

You nodded, feeling nervous due to the fact that you were about to be alone in the back of a car with your celebrity crush, other than the driver in the front.

Drew opened the door for you as you climbed in, hyperaware of how he slid in behind you onto the leather seat.

It was quiet for a few moments, you nervously fidgeting with the rings on your fingers.

“So… you like my new song?”

You finally manage to choke out.

Drew smiled softly, turning his head to look at you. He was still a little flustered at everything that happened, but also very amused.

“I do, yeah. Are you going to shoot a music video for it?” Drew asked.

You nod, making eye contact with him.

“Yeah, my idea is to tell a story about these two lovers who move to like a quieter part, I was thinking either the forest or a desert, that live in poorer conditions but are completely happy and content because they have each other. I want it to be full of love, so kissing, affection, a sex scene.”

You rambled on to him, your eyes falling to your hands as you played with your rings.

“Oh, wow. That sounds cool as fuck.” Drew murmured, also watching your hands fidget. He thought it was cute.

“I’ve had the idea in my head for a few years, actually. I started writing ‘Perfume’ in like… 2021? So, I just want everything to be perfect.”

You added on, looking back at him. He had his left leg crossed over his knee, his body language towards you.

“Well… if you need a male costar, I would love to do it.” He gave you a smile.

A small grin curled onto your lips, stomach hurting at realization of what he just implied.

“Yeah?”

He nodded, licking his lips.

“Mhm. I told you, I love the song. Plus, your idea sounds amazing, and if you want me to, I would love to be apart of it.”

You nodded, swallowing the lump in your throat when it finally hit you that Drew fucking Starkey wanted to be your on-screen lover.

“You’re not just fucking with me, right?”

You had to ask, blurting it out of your nervous mouth.

Drew just snorted, shaking his head in amusement. “No, I’m not.”

“Okay… I’ll have my manager reach out to your’s about details for when we start shooting. I appreciate it a lot.”

You were unaware the car finally came to a stop, parked outside your hotel, fans and security guards waiting for you.

“Yeah, I’ll definitely be there. Have a good night, Y/n.”

Drew smiled at you, your heart fluttering.

“You too, Drew.”

You got out of the car, letting the security guards guide you inside the hotel. You tried your best to take photos or sign autographs for your dedicated fans, something Drew admired as he watched from the back of the SUV.

By the time you finally got back into your hotel room and kicked off your boots, you started taking off your jewelry.

Flopping down onto the bed, you grabbed your phone.

It felt like your heart dropped to your stomach when one notification specifically caught your eye.

@/drewstarkey started following you back