#I'm s much older

[coolcoolcoolbutwtf]

AO3 is down for maintenance:( I've known about it for awhile but stilllll !) Oh and I'm about to be a big sibling. Mom's going to the hospital right now 👍 •ᴗ•

And I just found out that one of my all time favorite FICS updated and I can't even read it for almost 5 hours \(TOT)/ the pain!

The fic withdrawals are so painful! Let me read so I can forget about the possibility of my mom dying ╰(ɵ̥̥ ˑ̫ ɵ̥̥ ╰)

[angelsdean]

I need people to understand how S&P (standards and practices) works in television and how much influence they have over what gets to stay IN an episode of a show and how the big time network execs are the ones holding the purse strings and making final decisions on a show's content, not the writers / showrunners / creatives involved.

So many creators have shared S&P notes over the years of the wild and nonsensical things networks wanted them to omit / change / forbid. Most famously on tumblr, I've seen it so many times, is the notes from Gravity Falls. But here's a post compiling a bunch of particularly bad ones from various networks too. Do you see the things they're asking to be changed / cut ?

Now imagine, anything you want to get into your show and actually air has to get through S&P and the network execs. A lot of creators have had to resort to underhanded methods. A lot of creators have had to relegate things to subtext and innuendo and scenes that are "open to interpretation" instead of explicit in meaning. Things have had to be coded and symbolized. And they're relying on their audience to be good readers, good at media literacy, to notice and get it. This stuff isn't the ramblings of conspiracy theorists, it's the true practices creatives have had to use to be able to tell diverse stories for ages. The Hays Code is pretty well known, it exists because of censorship. It was a way to symbolize certain things and get past censors.

Queercoding, in particular, has been used for ages in both visual media and literature do signal to queer audiences that yes, this character is one of us, but no, we can't be explicit about it because TPTB won't allow it. It's a wink-wink, nudge-nudge to those in the know. It's the deliberate use of certain queer imagery / clothing / mannerisms / phrases / references to other queer media / subtle glances and lingering touches. Things that offer plausible deniability and can be explained away or go unnoticed by straight audiences to get past those network censors. But that queer viewers WILL (hopefully) pick up on.

Because, unfortunately, still to this day, a lot of antiquated network execs don't think queer narratives are profitable. They don't think they'll appeal to general audiences, because that's what matters, whatever appeals to most of the audience demographic so they can keep watching and keep making the network more money. The networks don't care about telling good stories! Most of them are old white cishet business men, not creatives. They don't care about character arcs and what will make fans happy. They don't care about storytelling. What they care about is profit and they're basing their ideas of what's profitable on what they believe is the predominate target demographic, usually white cis heterosexual audiences.

So, imagine a show that started airing in the early 2000s. Imagine a show where the two main characters are based on two characters from a famous Beat Generation novel, where one of the characters is queer! based on a real like bisexual man! The creator is aware of this, most definitely. And sure, it's 2005, there's no way they were thinking of making that explicit about Dean in the text because it just wouldn't fly back then to have a main character be queer. But! it's made subtext. And there are nods to that queerness placed in the text. Things that are open to interpretation. Things that are drenched in metaphor (looking at you 1x06 Skin "I know I'm a freak" "maybe this thing was born human but was different...hated. Until he learned to become someone else.") Things that are blink-and-you-miss-it and left to plausible deniability (things like seemingly spending an hour in the men's bathroom, or always reacting a little vulnerable and awkward when you're clocked instead of laughing it off and making a homophobic joke abt it)

And then, years later there's a ship! It's popular and at first the writers aren't really seriously thinking about it but they'll throw the fans a bone here and there. Then, some writers do get on the destiel train and start actively writing scenes for them that are suggestive. And only a fraction of what they write actually makes it into the text. So many lines left on the cutting room floor: i love past you. i forgive you i love you. i lost cas and it damn near broke me. spread cas's ashes alone. of course i wanted you to stay. if cas were here. -- etc. Everything cut was not cut by the writers! Why would a writer write something to then sabotage their own story and cut it? No, these are things that didn't make it past the network. Somewhere a note was made maybe "too gay" or "don't feed the shippers" or simply "no destiel."

So, "no destiel." That's pretty clearly the message we got from the CW for years. "No destiel. Destiel will alienate our general audience. Two of our main characters being queer? And in a relationship? No way." So what can the pro-destiel creatives involved do, if the network is saying no? What can the writers do if most of their explicit destiel (or queer dean) lines / moments are getting cut? Relegate things to subtext. Make jokes that straight people can wave off but queer people can read into. Make costuming and set design choices that the hardcore fans who are already looking will notice while the general audience and the out-of-touch network execs won't blink and eye at (I'm looking at you Jerry and your lamps and disappearing second nightstands and your gay flamingo bar!)

And then, when the audience asks, "is destiel real? is this proof of destiel?" what can the creatives do but deny? Yes, it hurts, to be told "No no I don't know what you're talking about. There's no destiel in supernatural" a la "there is no war in Ba Sing Se" but! if the network said "no destiel!" and you and your creative team have been working to keep putting destiel in the subtext of the narrative in a way that will get past censors, you can't just go "Yes, actually, all that subtext and symbolism you're picking up, yea it's because destiel is actually in the narrative."

But, there's a BIG difference between actively putting queer themes and subtext into the narrative and then saying it's not there (but it is! and the audience sees it!) versus NOT putting any queer content into the text but SAYING it is there to entice queer fans to continue watching. The latter, is textbook queerbaiting. The former? Is not. The former is the tactics so many creatives have had to use for years, decades, centuries, to get past censorship and signal to those in the know that yea, characters like you are here, they exist in this story.

Were the spn writers perfect? No, absolutely not. And I don't think every instance of queer content was a secret signal. Some stuff, depending on the writer, might've been a period-typical gay joke. These writers are flawed. But it's no secret that there were pro-destiel writers in the writing room throughout the years, and that efforts were made to make it explicitly canon (the market research!)

So no, the writers weren't ever perfect or a homogeneous entity. But they definitely were fighting an uphill battle constantly for 15 yrs against S&P and network execs with antiquated ideas of what's profitable / appealing.

Spn even called out the networks before, on the show, using a silly example of complaints abt the lighting of the show and how dark the early seasons were. Brightening the later seasons wasn't a creative choice, but a network choice. And if the networks can complain abt and change something as trivial as the lighting of a show, they definitely are having a hand in influencing the content of the show, especially queer content.

Even in s15, (seasons fifteen!!!) Misha has said he worried Castiel's confession would not air. In 2020!!! And Jensen recorded that scene on his personal phone! Why? Sure, for the memories. But also, I do not doubt for a second that part of it was for insurance, should the scene mysteriously disappear completely. We've seen the finale script. We've seen the omitted omitted omitted scenes. We all saw how they hacked the confession scene to bits. The weird cuts and close-ups. That's not the writers doing. That's likely not even the editors (willingly). That's orders from on high. All of the fuckery we saw in s15 reeks of network interference. Writers are not trying to sabotage their own stories, believe me.

Anyways, TLDR: Networks have a lot more power than many think and they get final say in what makes it to air. And for years creative teams have had to find ways to get past network censorship if they want "banned" or "unapproved" "unprofitable" "unwanted" content to make it into the show. That means relying on techniques like symbolism, subtext, and queercoding, and then shutting up about it. Denying its there, saying it's all "open to interpretation" all while they continue to put that open to interpretation content into the show. And that's not queerbaiting, as frustrating as it might be for queer audiences to be told that what they're seeing isn't there, it's still not queerbaiting. Queerbaiting is a marketing technique to draw in queer fans by baiting them with the promise of queer content and then having no queer content in said media. But if you are picking up on queer themes / subtext / symbolism / coding that is in front of your face IN the text, that's not queerbaiting. It's there, covertly, for you, because someone higher up didn't want it to be there explicitly or at all.

[teatitty]

Was showing some TW3 Lambert scenes to Rae tonight and it's soooo cute that he's such an emotional drunk. Depending on dialogue choices, you can have a scene play out where Geralt's like "you know you're like a little brother to me right?" And Lambert goes "[voice cracking] Why would you say that to me? I'm gonna cry. Come here" and as he moves in for a hug he knocks the empty wine bottle to the floor and just shatters it everywhere ruining the moment asfrtdfgt they're all such a fucking mess

[bitternace]

if youre still taking the top 100 song rqs - how about 34 and something kairi related? ❤️ (dont worry about it if you're already swamped with rqs!)

but i regret just one thing: i never got to change your mind

[ID: a digital drawing of kairi from kingdom hearts. the background is a sketchy rendition of the tunnel in Traverse Town's secret waterway. the shadows are a little chunky, and the circular waterway frames her from the shoulder up.

she is in her kingdom hearts outfit, shown from the thigh up. with her back to the audience, kairi holds her right arm behind her back, shoulders tense. her right hand is curled into a fist. /End ID.]

[noirrelite]

The many ways I've drawn Sierra's eyes since Feb 2022, in rough chronological order (oldest to newest)

[rayjenkins]

you ever think about how Strahm and Perez are kind of narrative equivalents of Tapp and Sing

[aq2003]

omfg . radio play version of much ado with david as benedick from 2001

[cerise-on-top]

Hello :3 and it’s completely okay if not of course but could you do a Kate laswell x chubby s/o, your work is amazing btw :)

Hello! Thank you! Don't worry, I've written about Farah with a chubby reader before, so I can do Laswell as well :-)

Laswell with a Chubby!S/O

As long as you’re healthy and doing just fine, Laswell really couldn’t care less about what you look like, so she really doesn’t mind you being chubby. In fact, to her it’s a  sign that you’re eating well enough. However, she will sometimes make sure that you don’t gain too much weight by eating too much sugar or other things that are unhealthy for you. Something along the lines of diabetes can be fatal very easily, and she really doesn’t wanna lose you to something that could have been prevented. She won’t always go out of her way to make sure you don’t eat a lot of sugar, she won’t monitor what you eat either, but she will make you aware and wants you to be careful. I know this could cause some disagreements among the two of you, but she just really wants you to be well. However, that doesn’t mean she wants you to change, not in the slightest, she loves you as you are. As long as you’re healthy you can do what you want.

Laswell isn’t a very physically affectionate person in general, so she won’t really do much in regards to hugging or cuddling you and using you as a pillow. Sure, she’ll give you the occasional hug and squeeze you a bit, but she knows there’s a chance you might be insecure about being chubby so she won’t go out of her way to make you aware of your being chubby too much. You’re beautiful in her eyes either way, it doesn’t matter to her how chubby you are.

If you ever feel down in the dumps about it, she’ll reassure you that you’re lovely as you are, that you don’t need to lose weight in order to be the prettiest person she’s ever seen. And she really does mean it. Again, she won’t be too touchy with you, but she’ll use her words to convince you that you’re worth so much more than you believe, that all those people hating on you are simply too insecure about themselves to see just how great you are. Laswell loves you and it shows through her actions and her words. However, she will support you if you do decide to lose weight. Might sometimes allow you to have a cheat day or two, though.

[yuriyuruandyuraart]

.shattered dream.

-buy the newest shampoo and make your hair wavier than our favorite dark angel's-

there's gotta be a secret to her looks! >:'Dc

shattered belongs to @galacii

dark cream/studio au belongs to @zu-is-here

fem!studio au designs are made by me

[yeonban]

Tobias is unironically beefing with 40+ year olds everywhere he goes and it's sodjuasdsahdsyd HOW does he always find some fucked up dude in his 40s-80s to immediately lock in on. What's this talent called

[apricote]

chilling at the beach with nathan.

[xcziel]

feeling nostalgic and watching utube reactors discover classic songs and then feeling both old and incredulous

[esculentevil]

(Thorinduil) Gray Heart

Thorin’s age is showing more and more, the grays in his sooty hair deepening; but it does not make him fade; nor does it make him any less alive to Thranduil.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆💎AO3/Pillowfort🌲☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆

“What is wrong, meleth?”

Thorin grunts as he does not look up, does not move or budge beyond his index and thumb which twirl a lock of white-gold hair around a lock of near-white gray. The similar but contrasting strands glisten ethereally in the crescent moon’s light like scintillating gemstones not unlike the much coveted Arkenstone.

But it is not dragon’s greed that holds the Dwarfking’s heart.

“I grow old, Elfking.” His voice is deep and dark like the hollows ‘neath the earth; it vibrates aggressively against the soft and silken skin of his love and bedmate; it disturbs the strands of hair resting against Thranduil’s bare chest like ripples upon a pond and ghosts through salt and trust during times of pain and war. “Soon, too old for even you.”

“... and why would you think such a thing, guren?”

Black hair moves now as even they are dislodged upon his strong head when Thorin barks a scuffing laugh, ridiculing himself more so than his loved one. Thranduil frowns but awaits his answer in silence: he is patient; he can wait. “LOOK at me, amrâlimê: my face is growing worn, my beard thinning down... even my hair is loosing color! Soon... Soon, I will no longer satisfy you...”

“You think youth is what pleases me?”

“...” Thorin rubs the locks together again, contemplating his response. Finally, after a long moment of silence (during which he both marvels at and adores Thranduil’s infinite patience), he quietly admits: “Is it not? My passion, fire, ardor: were these not the things you said made me most attractive? Most pleasing?”

“And you think your age makes you loose them?”

“Doesn’t it?” Thorin’s hand is hot and tense--clenched to the point of hurting--when Thranduil rests his own upon it. The cool touch of elf-soft fingers along with the comfortingly chill press of metal rings is all it takes for the hand to relax; the soothing circles mimed by the Elfking’s thumb was just a sweet plus.

“Your age only grows you, Thorin; as mine has grown me: your passion has only broadened like your shoulders so that you may carry with you even more zeal; that fire that has been burning in your eyes and heart since you were a child has only turned into a raging blaze as you now have no restrictions with me or mine; and your ardor has only become more enrapturing and endearing since the day you finally allowed us both to act upon our united hearts so that they may gray to one.”

The soothingly delicate tones of Thranduil’s voice is disrupted by a sardonic huff. It is quickly followed by a (self-)mocking laugh, “Gray? Both??? Tell me, ELF, how are YOU going to GRAY???” Thorin’s bitter words, which remind Thranduil that neither of them have the power to keep the Dwarfking alive for much longer, sting the Elfking a lot more than they should and the ancient being flinches for it.

However, he does not back down or truly waver: “Most elves gray to the sea, ‘til they are unable to remain in the color of this world... I, however, will gray to you: I will grow to appreciate you and the rivers of pure silver in your unruly~ hair, carry in me a love for shadows in your smile that darken in lines upon your face, and act with reverence for the time you have allowed me to be whole with you--for those of your race have not enough on this earth and I am honored that you, whom did not have to, chose me to be The One whom you deem worthy of it: worthy of you, your love, your passion and zeal and heart, your blazing ardor which,” he laughs softly, sweetly yet strongly, and leans down with a smile just enough to kiss Thorin’s silvered hair, “Is the only death by fire I will ever want: the only way I want to become ashen and gray because it is beside YOU.

“Because your age does not make you any less to me; it only makes you more: more lovely, more enchanting, more sweet, more precious, more my everything.”

[silverselfshippingchaos]

here's my c.yberpunk character :D!

[bobthedragon]

I'm so happy I ran that poll, this is so cool?? it's set to go for a week for ppl who don't check tumblr daily, but the results are already so interesting for me! thank you for everyone who has participated so far <3

[kidfoundonstreets]

mom may possibly take technology away again so watch out for that.