The Rabbit Hole Goes Deep... @hawkinsoutcasts - Tumblr Blog

The Rabbit Hole Goes Deep...

Hello! My name is Sunny and welcome to my Stranger Things blog. :) Here, you'll find my art and writing that centers around my AU based on the series, called Hawkins Outcasts.

|| My AO3 || Pinterest || Spotify Playlists ||

This blog is basically a hobby for me at this point. I tend to work on it when I'm not working on my original stories and characters over at my main blog @sunycartoons. While I primarily focus on Hawkins Outcasts, I also work on other, smaller AUs such as the Older Party AU. (which pretty much acts as a sequel to HOC) I also reblog other people's fanworks at least once or twice a day via queuing.

I wanna make it clear that this blog is run by a 28 year old adult who likes to explore mature themes as well as horror stuff. I'm going to do my best to not engage with any kind of fandom discourse, and while I love ST, I have no desire to get involved with any future installments of the franchise. The first four seasons and first half of season 5 are all I need lol.

ANYWAY I hope you enjoy your stay here!

MAIN TAGS

|| hawkins outcasts || hoc lore || hoc s1 || older party au || missuny's fanart || missuny's fanfics || reblog || st fanon || not my fanart || not my fanfic || st canon discussion || asks ||

RELATIONSHIPS

NOTE: Red means romantic, blue means platonic || byler || lumax || henderhop || jancy || jopper || elmike || elwill || byers brothers || hopper sisters || hopper family || byers family || wheeler family || sinclair family || henderson family || mayfield family || party boys || madwise || madwheel || elmax || elumax || byclair || byerson || poly party ||

#pinned post

karust

give me your personally made up Byler variants to doodle!

karust

further Byler variants based on twitter replies~

karust

EVEN MORE Byler variants from comments across platforms ♥

#byler #will byers #mike wheeler #not my fanart #st fanon

shadylavender

some s3 will sketches :)

(references under the cut)

I think I will start posting my Mike comic. I almost have 10 pages done, so I'm thinking about posting those while I work on the rest, basically doing them in batches. Just feel like I've taken long enough to start sharing actual pages.

This project is taking longer than I expected, and while I certainly don't want to rush...I also don't want to take months to finish it. It's been almost a month since I started this so it's time to catch up.

Idk those are my thoughts at the moment

#sunny's thoughts

shoujowill

I feel like I sometimes sound like a broken record, but I just want to point out that the "absolutely everything means something" approach to analysis does not accurately reflect how long-form TV production works. It's almost impossible for everyone to be on the same page about absolutely everything. While many background details and hints regarding major plot points can intentionally be put there for people to notice and analyse, the final product is at the mercy of so many different things: a shifting writers room, costume and set designers who have their own trademarks, the script landing differently in the hands of actors with their own quirks and inflections... the list goes on. Ideas go through so many levels before they hit the screen.

I was thinking about this after watching this great video essay about how Gravity Falls, which is my favourite show of all time, was written. Overall, it stands as an incredible example of how to plan and execute a long-con mystery with engaging hints and details -- but also a great example of how fandoms sometimes don't understand how TV production works and as a result can overly-mythologise the *power* of showrunners and details and how it all comes together. Even something like GF, which is upheld as like the golden standard of mystery shows, had its fair share of animation errors and stuff made up on the fly. IMO, the difference is that the GF production team -- unlike that of ST -- had a clear understanding of the scope of the show, and were also great at improvising and making sure they did something with the unplanned ideas they threw in there, but that's not the point of this post haha.

This is part of why the "media literacy yadayayda" stuff that constantly gets used as a "gotcha" argument in conspiracy shipping/analysis rubs me the wrong way. Media literacy isn't just about how far you can read into things. In the context of fandom discussion, it's about understanding that shows are works of fiction and thus are at the mercy of the environment it was produced in (both the product itself and what themes/meanings are communicated within it and how). You can't always analyse and make accurate predictions as if it were something completely independent of the production environment. You need to understand the context of the work and the associated limitations of said context. Obligatory 'yes we can still point out and criticise bad writing' note, but I also just want to acknowledge the nuance here and how fandom environments can also contribute to disappointment.

This got kind of rambly and might not be super concise or thought-out but it's something I've been thinking about as a kind of ex-bylr (??? or at least as someone who participated in this kind of flawed analysis when I was a younger teen. And I'm not necessarily just talking about ships here, but also about the overall show lore and how disappointing it is. It's frustrating, but also not a mystery about how it got to that point).

#very good post

bylerbigbang

Announcing the Byler Big Bang 2026!

As we’ve already mentioned there will be a Byler Big Bang 2026, but since this is our fifth year hosting this event, we’ve decided to turn things a little…upside down: Instead of a normal big bang, we’ll be hosting the event in the style of a reverse big bang!

What does that mean?

A reverse big bang runs mostly like a normal big bang. Writers and artists are paired up to create corresponding fics and artworks, which they then post on a designated date during the posting period. The main difference: During a reverse big bang the artists get to choose what to draw, while the writers have their pick from the art ideas presented to them by the artists.

This also means a slight change in schedule. While we normally wait until halfway through the event to pair up our teams, this time around claims will happen as soon as the sign up period closes to give writers as much time to work on their fics as possible.

When is the sign up period?

General sign ups open on June 18th and close on July 17th. Writers get to sign up for a few more days while artists send in their ideas and we prepare everything for claims. Our posting period will be in November this time around—but you can expect a more detailed schedule with the post announcing that sign ups are now open.

fruifruit

if the sinclairs have no fans im dead

jediwill

imagine how proud bob would be if he saw sorcerer will

Do you think you'll ever post your comics on AO3?

Oh definitely! I know AO3 isn't nesscarily for art, but I want to keep my Hawkins Outcasts stuff local, so I feel like posting them on AO3 and advertising them on Tumblr will be ideal.

I originally was gonna make a new Comic Fury account just for fandom comics, but eh...I don't want to stretch myself too thin.

#sunny's thoughts #asks

psycheandthistle

happy pride month

will-mcfly

will byers trying out drag <3 happy pride

#I love this #will byers #not my fanart #drag queen #st fanon

Nighty night babes wish me luck at work tomorrow

#missuny's fanart #wip #hoc comics

swanhiru

#St fanon #not my fanart #will byers #jonathan byers

byerswheeler

the sweetest boy to ever exist! he deserves the whole world!

#will byers

sunycartoons

Wandering Cryptids Reference Sheets 2026!

I'm finally done! It took me more than a month to finish this project I think, but I did it.

I really wanted to make new, completed refs for each of the boys. It's been several years since I've done them so it should suffice for the next couple.