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thesugarsoiree · 7 months

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Of Winter’s Flame | CHAPTER TWO

“Stay safe, make sure Tohrren is with you at all times; no matter what.” Cregan held Y/n’s forehead to his, the girl hugging tightly to his body.

She was ten and seven now, a young Lady of elegant stature who had become the North itself. Her dark hair was thick and long, cascading down past her waist even with half tied up in intricate braids. The girl had grown beautifully into her soft features and delicate disposition — well, as delicate as a Lady of the North could be. Y/n was kind to her people and caring of her community, she was well trained in the sword and bow thanks to Cregan and well versed in the written word thanks to her maesters. Perhaps that charm, the same charm that brought her mother South, was what beckoned her there now.

The King’s final letter to Y/n after a year of correspondence was a summoning to Kingslanding. She was to join his court as a Lady of the Queen and ‘take her rightful place as a Targaryen’ according to the King’s writings.

“I will miss you, uncle.” Y/n barely held back the tears glazing her bright eyes, stepping away from Cregan.

“You are a Stark, your mothers daughter, nobody can change that.” Cregan’s smile was bittersweet as he held Y/n’s face, drinking in the last he would see of her for months — maybe even years.

“I love you, uncle.” Y/n kissed his cheek, his beard fully grown and braided like her hair.

“I love you too , Y/n.”

Y/n tried her best to get sleep while in the carriage, yet so far all she could do was stare out of the window as the North slowly but surely turned into the South. Her hand languidly stroked Tohrren, the hound finding better sleep than her on this journey.

One thing would not leave her mind, and that was the realization that she could possibly claim a dragon. A story she was told a few years ago came to her mind, one recounted by her cousin, Rhaenyra.

It was a cool evening, as most in the North were, and Y/n alongside Rhaenyra sat within the library of Winterfell. The Princess had gathered a handful of books and chronicles she desired Y/n to read, both sitting in comfortable silence as the fireplace crackled between them.

“Rhaenyra, why do I not have a dragon?” Y/n looked up from her pages, and Rhaenyra did as well. The woman saw the book the younger girl was reading; Dragons of Westeros: A History.

“All of these dragons were bonded to their riders in the crib, as small hatchlings. Why was an egg not placed within mine?” Y/n furrowed her brow, frustrated with this revelation. Rhaenyra’s lips twitched up, her violet gaze wandering towards the soft flames of the fireplace.

“Your father…he is a complicated man, but I believe I know the reason why. Would you like to hear a story?” Rhaenyra asked and Y/n nodded rapidly, closing her book.

“Back in the time of Aenys Targaryen, when the wise King Jaehaerys was still a babe, the wild dragon of the south was born.” Rhaenyra began, looking towards Y/n.

“She was said to be the product of Balerion and Vhagar, hatched from a dark purple egg with swirls of blue decorating its shell. She was born a beautiful dragon, the most radiant of her time, with wings that blended into the night sky and large icy eyes which froze the strongest of men in their tracks.

She was meant to be the mount of little Jaehaerys, but the beast had other plans. She took off one fateful evening and disappeared for years,” Rhaenyra enjoyed the way Y/n leaned in further to hear her, the girl enamored by the tale.

“Then, on a cool night quite like this, the wildling returned. She was full grown, with sharp talons and wide wings that casted shadows over Kingslanding just as her fathers had. She was smaller than her mother, but not by much. Viserys Targaryen, in an attempt to escape his captor and uncle, Maegor the Cruel, tried to tame the wild beast. He would, however, be unsuccessful.” Y/n gasped, putting her hand over her mouth.

“The wild dragon killed him as soon as she took to the air, throwing him back down to his tragic death. This would earn her the name Crownstealer.” Rhaenyra took the book from Y/n’s lap, flipping through a few pages before she found the one depicting the wild dragon.

“I think that your father has faith that you will be the first to tame her, this is why you have no dragon.” Rhaenyra knew what she said were lies, and eventually Y/n would realize that too, but in the moment Y/n chatted on and on about how she would change the dragon's name and be the first rider of the great Crownstealer.

Now, of course, Y/n knew that her cousin was making up excuses for her fathers ignorance. Yet, she couldn't help the idea of taming the untamable being quite appealing. It was a thought for a later time, a time when she would see Crownstealer’s shadow in person, not a time when she desperately needed to sleep.

Y/n forced her eyes shut, mind fading into dreams of Crownstealer’s painting.

Winter had arrived.

Y/n stepped out of her carriage after Tohrren, a footman lending his hand to her. She took it with a smile, although it did not last long once the gates to the palace opened. There, followed by a procession of her ladies and knights, was Queen Alicent Hightower. Her regality was not exaggerated, with auburn hair braided back in a southern style and ringlets of jewels resting on her forehead acting as her crown. Her dress was a forest green, deep and alluring with its golden accents. The style was long and flowing, off-shoulder sleeves framing the dainty seven-starred necklace she wore. Upon further inspection of the gold details Y/n realized that they were streams of winding smoke coming from a tower at the base of her dress. The Hightower.

“Lady Y/n,” The Queen smiled, stopping in front of the girl, “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, my husband is quite fond of you.”

Y/n curtsied politely before handing her furs to her footman, the sun far more overbearing in the southern sky.

“I should say the same, your grace. Thank you for receiving me.” Y/n kept her tone even, wary of the watchful eyes of the Queen’s people. An imposing male figure stood to her right, sharp eyes looking Y/n up and down. The man’s white and gold armor was a dead giveaway that he was a man of the Kingsguard, well-kept brown hair brushed out of his face.

“Ser Criston, please show Lady Y/n’s guard where they will be staying.” The man to her right nodded stiffly, leaving to go speak with the procession of Northern men that had followed Y/n down from Winterfell. It was at the insistence of her uncle; over two dozen knights assigned to protect her whilst she was away.

“Please, my child, follow me.” Alicent beckoned, Y/n falling in line beside her. Alicent linked arms with Y/n, patting the girl's forearm with care.

“Tohrren, heel.” Y/n commanded, the hound following close beside. Alicent raised a brow but held her tongue, ignoring the action.

“The King has eagerly awaited your arrival, I think he will be shocked to see how Northern you are.” The Queen chuckled, attempting to make conversation as they made their way to the King’s chambers.

“I have been told I favor my mother in looks, but I have my fathers eyes. Targaryen eyes, perhaps the King will find solace in that.” Y/n hummed as they entered the Red Keep.

“Yes, perhaps…Y/n, it is a Northern name, correct?” Alicent questioned.

“It is, my mother declared it her favourite before I was born. If I was to be a boy, however, my namesake would have been my grandfathers; Rickon.” Y/n confirmed, mouth slightly agape from her surroundings. The Red Keep was an imposing piece of architecture, with single halls as big as Winterfell and twice the amount of nobles floating about. Y/n also noticed an alarming amount of seven spiked stars, the religious symbol anywhere they could squeeze it.

“Do you…do you have a Godswood I can pray at here, your grace?” Y/n asked, abruptly aware that the Old Gods did not serve here.

“We are subscribed to the Faith of the Seven in the South, but we do have a weirwood tree in our gardens, my daughter often reads there.” Alicent sighed, eyes weary as she recounted the tree that held so many memories.

“The King’s Chambers,” Alicent stopped at the end of a long hall, ornate double doors waiting to be opened, “Your hound must wait out here, the King is ill and should not be exposed to any…disturbances.”

Alicent sounded innocent enough, and Y/n wasn't about to disobey the Queen, so she handed Tohrren’s leash to one of the knights as the doors were opened. Tohrren would still be right outside if she needed him, which considering who she was about to meet, Y/n hoped not. Alicent led the way, confident strides making her quick. Y/n took a few deep breaths, twiddling with the fur of her sleeves. This was it.

She was about to meet the King.

#x reader #aemond x reader #aemond targaryen x reader #hotd x reader #x fem!reader #aemond targaryen smut #aemond one eye #asoif/got #aemond targaryen #hotd aemond #house of the dragon #hotd #game of thrones #ofwintersflame

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asleepies · 4 months

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I hate hate hate shaving so much. It has literally been the worst part of transitioning for me. It makes me want to rip my face off sometimes.

I started using a safer razor recently, and I’m getting pretty good at it, so it’s not every time, but no matter what I try I still have days where my skin is just not having it. A knick free shave can still leave me blotchy and irritated.

Granted, I’m not doing much in the way of after shave care. I’ve tried a couple of creams but they don’t seem to do much and I can’t afford to keep buying stuff that won’t work. Plus they all smell like Men™️, which does not help with the dysphoria.

My best option of course is electrolysis, because 99% of my grays live in my beard, so that’s the plan for this coming year. In the meantime, any product recommendations are welcome.

#trans #transgender #transfemme #mtf #trans girl #trans artist #queer #queer artist #transition problems #illustration #cartoon #drawing #sketch #webcomic #art #shaving

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jokerislandgirl32 · 7 months

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I read one of your character bios for Violet and it’s so funny that she uses Zach’s credit card to shop at bath and body works 😭 Does she buy anything there for him to make up for it? LOL —CCFM

Thank you for the ask, it took me forever, but here it is, and I absolutely love it!!! Now on to the question at hand!!!

She absolutely does! While Violet does purchase items for Zach, most of what she purchases for herself is for Zach’s benefit.

Read the rest below the cut! Sorry it’s long, as usual 😂!

Zach loves when she wears perfume, and she will always lets him pick the scents he likes best for her to use. So, on most of the Bath and Body Works trips he tags along or shows up because she’s taking too long. Violet uses the test strips for the fragrances, gives them to him to smell, and Zach’s very vocal about which he does and does not like. This leads to him insulting the store staff (for scents he hates) and flirting with Violet (for scents he loves).

Zach is a stickler for cleanliness, so she buys hand soap and pocket bac for both of them, Violet usually goes for more clean scents for him, but he’s also a lover of the floral and fruity scents. For hand cleaning purposes, he really likes crisp morning air, turquoise waters, sweet pea, fresh cut lilacs, and Japanese cherry blossom.

Violet buys shower gel for herself, but Zach ends up using it sometimes, so she’s bought him Sweet Pea shower gel on a few occasions, much to his displeasure….

Zach: “I never use that, why did you buy that!?!?”

Violet: “you literally used it this morning, I can smell it on you….”

Zach: “No I didn’t!”

Violet: “Do you want me to take it back?”

Zach: “….No….”

Her go to purchases for him are from the aromatherapy department. She buys him products that help him to relax and unwind after a long day of running his company, trying to outsmart the Wild Kratts, or creating his inventions.

Violet typically purchases items that are Eucalyptus + Spearmint scented to help him relax, and Lavender + Vanilla to help him fall asleep. She’ll get items with these scents in shower/bath gels, shower steamers, candles, lotions, and pillow mist.

She also buys him items from the Men’s Shop. Zach likes these items because they make him feel manly. Zach is prone to coughing at the more “robust scents,” so Violet usually keeps her purchases to the shaving and hair care items. Zach particularly likes the hair gel and beard oil, yes, he uses this only on his soul patch, don’t judge him, lol. He also likes anything in the Black Tie scent because well, it has black in the title, and that’s his color, lol.

And I’d like to end by clarifying that Violet uses his credit card for a lot of things…I kind of headcanon that Zach gave her one of his credit cards when they were still friends so she could get things she needed, prior to her getting a job, and even after when her money was tight, without having to go to her aunt or cousin for the money. Violet is not the type of person who would take advantage of this, and she usually kept her purchases to a minimum.

Even at Bath and Body Works, lol.

#wild kratts #zach varmitech #wild kratts zach #love zach varmitech #wild violet au #violet varmitech #ziolet #wild kratts fanfic #wild kratts oc #bath and body works #bath and body care #bath and body products #asks #nice asks #thanks for the ask!#f/o x s/i #self ship stuff

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blackraged · 2 years

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I can't help but think about what the men's bathroom at the VP would look like early in the morning.

Like, think about it; a multitude of different personalities, clashing at the importance of their needs in hygiene.

Wouldn't that be fun to watch?

Those who take barely any to no time up in the bathroom: KAY/O, Omen and Cypher

I mean, it's pretty obvious why. KAY/O is a machine.

Omen is.....a ghost...in one way or another.

And Cypher, well, he is Cypher. He wouldn't risk being seen, not even for the sake of proper hygiene. It's not like they can smell his breath under his mask anyway. Otherwise, I would say he showers frequently with his mask on, but I don't think he waterboards himself willingly.

Agents who take a fairly decent amount of time up in the bathroom: Yoru, Chamber and Brimstone

Yoru takes 3 minute showers, so there is no problem with that. It's the fact that he stays almost half an hour in front of the mirror, fixing himself. He needs at least 3 cans of hairspray to get his hair stand up like an onion's end. He also plucks his eyebrows. (Sorry Yoru, but I ain't buying your eyebrow split.)

Chamber canonically drowns himself in expensive perfume and colognes. Dang, who would have thought? I'm pretty sure he waxes too, but only in his free time. Chamber is as smooth as a baby's butt, and he is weirdly proud of that.

Brimstone's an old dog. He takes a little bit longer to get ready, but he still manages to keep up with the younger ones. While I would like to say he shaves, I honestly do not think he does. He is past that age line, and he even only trims his beard maybe once or twice a month. Honestly though? Out of all the male agents, he smells the best. Like, you won't be smacked in the face by Dior Sauvage Eau de Toilette as you walk by. (Looking at you, Chamber) He just smells really nice.

The one who could be done within 10 minutes, but decides not to: Phoenix

He sings in the shower. I don't know what more you want me to say.

The ones who take fOREVER: Breach and Sova

Ship aside, I had to think a lot about these two. Like, A LOT. As someone, who has a long military line in the family, and also really fucking long hair, I had to sort all pros and cons for these two on why they would be either the first ones ready in the morning, or the last ones. Oh well...

Breach is a Viking. Most of you might know that back in the middle ages, Vikings took pretty good care of themselves hygiene wise, compared to everyone else at the time. So, I do have to say that, while Breach is the most homeless looking out of all Agents (Twitter's words, not mine. I'd marry his ass any time), he is definitely the cleanest in all of VP. Yeah, you heard me. That man smells nice, he takes showers regularly, he washes and brushes his hair, shaves, and keeps himself generally clean. As soon as he is done with his work out, or has returned from a mission, the first thing he does is hit the showers. He doesn't even use any expensive scented products. It's just soap and water, man. Also he puts his hair in a clean braid every day. (I've got really long hair, and let me tell you, even if I sold my soul, I could never keep my hair in a braid for more than 4 hours. Hair strands always manage to escape somehow and I end up looking like a feral witch.)

I strongly believe Sova shaves every morning. This is evident through his shadow beard. (You know, the grey shadow around his chin that comes from shaving) Just like Chamber, Sova has a military background, therefore spending enough time on getting ready in the morning wasn’t exactly an option. I genuinely think, that he can finish in 2 minutes or even less, and be battle ready in under 4. But this is where it got confusing, right, because Sova has long hair. And taking care, every morning, of said long hair, isn’t exactly easy. Even worse is, that the boy just puts a fucking clip in it and calls it a day.

He is possibly one of the best, if not the best Agent at VP. But as a soldier AND marksman, do you really want your long hair dangling in front of you, blocking your vision?

Like, yeah sure, he takes good care of it, and if anyone were to smell or touch his hair, they’d feel heaven on earth because it is just that soft. Yet, I still think he should at least keep his hair better together.

I’m not saying he should have kept it in a braid instead, but, he should have kept it in a braid instead. (I love his long hair, and you could try to pry it from my cold dead hands, but substance over style, okay? Look at Breach, he got the memo) Other than that, Sova definitely sweats a bit more than the other Agents, so he uses a lot of deodorant. Also, big fan of face creams.

Bonus: All other Agents complain about Sova's and Breach's hair being on the ground and sink, and just... everywhere. Oh, the curse of luscious, strong, long hair.

Good day.

Them Ladies are next 👉👉

#well this just turned into a unnecessary rant #but also you can tell who my favourites are lmao #im not sorry #valorant #sova #breach #chamber #cypher #KAY/O #brimstone #phoenix #omen #yoru #valorant headcanons #headcanon #funny thoughts #blackrage writing

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weltonlasso · 11 months

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can confirm the Brendan interview helps with the grieving process. like don’t get me wrong im still mad as shit but the like PIT in my stomach has lessened and the gaping hole in my chest is gone. (I thought if I misinterpreted Ted/Rebecca i couldn’t trust myself) but Brendan really doubled down and said Beard and Jane aren’t toxic, she’s not manipulative and abusive! THEN he double-doubled down and said it was an intentional choice not to have Ted at his best (and truly ONLY) friends wedding cause he’s busy with soccer practice (but this was not said in jest-fuckhead was dead serious). AND THEN then they let Beard and Jane wed with the red string of fate WHILE pregnant. AFTER THE SHOW TEASED THAT STRING OF FATE TO TR AND WROTE REBECCA WANTING TO BE A MOM.

and for the BIG FINALE he said that WE were conditioned to see those connections and to expect a relationship between Ted and Rebecca through years of M/F lead media. Sorry but that’s fucking rude and GROSSSSSSS!!!!! someone needs to get him logged out of Reddit. what a fucking slap in the face to us AND their own writing. What he is describing is literally the opposite of the entire narrative for me, so I literally can’t be bothered to care it they don’t. it seems like we watched two entirely different programs so why not treat it as such. My cannon is mine based on the exposition and character development with deep connections and meaningful relationships and idk just legitimately paying attention to the writing/directing/editing/acting choices that were made.

Like are the creators really so fucking far removed from their final product that they can’t see the collective of the story they’ve put together?

Someone ask them to go back and rewatch the show from the beginning and then come tell me they thought season 3 actually was good or even decent. And give me legitimate reasons for everyones stories being “subverted” and confirm that all of those final storylines make sense

because they DO NOT if you’ve followed the story from the beginning. Or even this season. Like legit the BEST storyline this season was the Jamie growth and Jamie/Roy relationship evolution. Lol what a gross take for them to end that with them regressing back to “dumb men” over Keeley. this season literally feels like every episode was written by someone who subsequently forgets to tell next weeks guy about his main plot points. the audience is watching and waiting to connect the storyline/ arcs together.

Idk idk man but im fine with it being trash if they are!!!!

Emmy winner Ted Lasso put out a pedestrian finale to appease a casual viewer and allow the writers to ignore storylines from the episodes they clearly didn’t have time to read.

In my head, in our collective blogging, and in fanfic we have truly captured a deeper more beautiful story than what they made. Their ideas were too pedestrian, but we saw two middle aged people, damaged in almost opposite ways, beautifully come into each others lives for the better, and fill them up in all the ways they were missing, like puzzle pieces. We allowed them to be themselves and LOVE themselves and to choose themselves and their wants and happinesses. And they can do it together. After every similar traumatic backstory and all of the same HURT we had to witness these two go through. They deserved happy and they deserved it together. Sorry the creators missed out on that. It was incredible.

#I’ll still be grieving for a time but not sick to my stomach anymore and just generally over IT at this point #decisions were made #finales are sometimes written to be controversial or memorable #and I guess that’s what they thought they wanted for the story they told #but the story I consumed was so fucking far from that that I have to still give them props that I could FEEL so many feelings #ted lasso #ted x rebecca

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rachaeltam · 9 days

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Best men's products for keeping your skin and beard healthy.

#discount #marketing #beauty #skincare tips #skincare #health #photography #skincare routine #menstyle #bearded man #guys with beards

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homomenhommes · 7 months

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THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more …

c.500 – Today the Christian church honours the feast day of St Galla (d.550), a Roman nun of the turn of the 6th century. What makes her of particular interest to gay people today, is her intimate friendship and devoted attention to her colleague, the nun Benedicta. This devotion was so intense, that according to legend, in answer to prayer, they were permitted to die together, so as to avoid being separated even for a moment of eternity.

In his Dialogues, Pope Saint Gregory the Great speaks of a holy woman of Rome named Galla, who had been married for less than a year when her husband died. Refusing to remarry, the young widow resolved to devote the rest of her life to God. To protect her beauty againt men's attention, it is said she disguised herself as a man and God gave her a beard.

Joining with a community of women living near St. Peter's Basilica, caring for the poor and sick, this wealthy and pious woman founded a convent and a hospital. She is reputed to have once healed a young deaf and mute girl by blessing some water, and having the girl drink from it.

As she lay stricken with breast cancer, Galla kept two candles burning each night at the foot of her bed, for Gregory explains, "She hated darkness, being a friend of light, physical as well as spiritual light."

It was between these two candles that one night the Apostle Saint Peter appeared in a vision to Galla. The dying woman asked him: "Have my sins been forgiven?"

Smiling, Peter nodded yes and answered, "They are forgiven. Come."

But Saint Galla now requested, "I beg you to let Sister Benedicta come with me."

Peter told her, "Sister Benedicta will follow you in thirty days." Three days later, Galla died, and a month later, Benedicta.

Their story (or myth) is an important reminder that for all the modern Church's opposition to homosexuality, the record shows that same-sex couples and queer saints, nuns, priests, bishops, and popes have always been present, throughout Church history.

1984 – Odin Biron is an American actor living in Moscow and Minneapolis. While not well-known in the United States, he is best-known in Russia for playing the character Dr Phil Richards in the popular medical sitcom, Interns.

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Biron grew up nearby in rural Minnesota, moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his mother after his parents' divorce. While studying at the University of Michigan, he studied at the Moscow Art Theatre on student exchange and was, unusually, invited to stay and join the incoming Russian class. In one of his final student roles, he won an award for his portrayal of Hamlet in a production that toured to New York's Baryshnikov Arts Center.

Landing a role in Interns, a top-rated Russian medical sitcom, in 2006 raised Biron's profile substantially and he has spoken about being recognised in nightclubs and avoiding "celebrity events" as a result. In a country where a large majority of the population view the United States "badly" or "very badly", Biron is one of a few Americans in the public eye, yet the success of Interns has led to Biron being considered a heartthrob and very popular.

Biron came out to his parents as a teenager and made no big secret of his homosexuality, but Russia is very socially conservative on LGBT rights, with hostility towards legal recognition of same-sex marriage and support for laws discriminating against LGBT people. His character on Interns was raised by two gay fathers, though the treatment of the issue of sexuality on the show has been described as reinforcing the Soviet idea that homosexuality is a product of Western moral decay, rather than being used to promote more liberal values.

It is very common for LGBT performers in Russia to avoid coming out, with an unspoken don't ask, don't tell arrangement between the entertainment industry and the mainstream press. After the passage of 2013's Russian LGBT propaganda law, Biron's Interns co-star and former Orthodox priest Ivan Okhlobystin made international news with genocidally homophobic remarks made in a December 2013 talk in Novosibirsk, leading Biron to consider leaving the show and Russian TV altogether. As a result, he came out in an interview with New York magazine in early 2015, to mixed reactions, reported in the Russian press accompanied by mentions of Okhlobystin's remarks. After an initial reaction leaving Biron with "a sense of physical danger, political danger", he initially left Russia. He returned later without any apparent negative effect on his career, though his friendship with Okhlobystin had become untenable after the former priest's reaction describing him as a "pervert" and a "sodomite".

Biron lived in Moscow with his boyfriend, a Kazakh film director. In an interview with Minnesota's Star Tribune in May 2015, however, he mentioned that he was back in the United States permanently and, as well as acting, was pursuing a Le Cordon Bleu culinary degree.

1840 – John Addington Symonds (d.1893) was an English poet and literary critic. Although he married and had a family, he was an early advocate of male love (homosexuality), which he believed could include pederastic as well as egalitarian relationships. He referred to it as l'amour de l'impossible (love of the impossible). A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies about writers and artists. He also wrote much poetry inspired by his homosexual affairs.

John Symonds was born at Bristol, England in 1840. Considered delicate, the younger Symonds did not take part in games after age 14 at Harrow School, and he showed no particular promise as a scholar.

In January 1858 Symonds received a letter from his friend Alfred Pretor, telling of Pretor's affair with their headmaster, Charles John Vaughan. Symonds was shocked and disgusted, feelings complicated by his growing awareness of his own homosexuality. He did not mention the incident for more than a year until, in 1859 and a student at Oxford University, he told the story to John Conington, the Latin professor. Conington encouraged Symonds to tell his father about his friend's affair, and the senior Symonds forced Vaughan to resign from Harrow. Pretor was angered by the younger man's part and never spoke to Symonds again.

In the fall of 1858, Symonds went to Balliol College, Oxford. In spring of that same year, he fell in love with Willie Dyer, a Bristol choirboy three years younger. They engaged in a chaste love affair that lasted a year, until broken up by the senior Symonds. The friendship continued for several years afterward, until at least 1864. Dyer became organist and choirmaster of St Nicholas' Church, Bristol.

In 1862, an accusation of misconduct caused a nervous breakdown and a rest trip to Switzerland where he met his wife to be, whom he married in 1864.

In 1868, Symonds met and fell in love with Norman Moor, a youth about to go up to Oxford, who became his pupil. Their affair, erotic and sensual but kept short of coitus, lasted four years. According to Symonds' diary of 28 January 1870, "I stripped him naked and fed sight, touch and mouth on these things." The relationship occupied a good part of his time. (On one occasion he left his family and travelled to Italy and Switzerland with Moor.) It also inspired his most productive period of writing poetry, published in 1880 as New and Old: A Volume of Verse.

While the taboos of Victorian England prevented Symonds from speaking openly about homosexuality, his works published for a general audience contained strong implications and some of the first direct references to male-male sexual love in English literature. For example, in "The Meeting of David and Jonathan", from 1878, Jonathan takes David "In his arms of strength / [and] in that kiss / Soul into soul was knit and bliss to bliss".

The same year, his translations of Michelangelo's sonnets to the painter's beloved Tommaso Cavalieri restore the male pronouns which had been made female by previous editors. By the end of his life, Symonds' homosexuality had become an open secret in Victorian literary and cultural circles.

Simultaneously to these widely available works, Symonds was writing, privately publishing and distributing more candid writings about homosexuality. As well as a large number of poems written throughout the 1860s and 1870s, Symonds wrote one of the first essays in defense of homosexuality in the English language, A Problem in Greek Ethics, in 1883. A follow-up essay from 1891, A Problem in Modern Ethics, includes proposals for reforming anti-homosexual legislation.

1924 – On this date the Chilean writer Jose Donoso was born (d.1996). He lived most of his life in Chile, although he spent some years in self-imposed exile in Mexico, the United States (Iowa) and Spain. After 1973, he claimed his exile was a form of protest against the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Donoso was the author of a number of remarkable stories and novels, which contributed greatly to the Latin American literary boom and the foundation of the literary movement known as Magical Realism. His best known works include the novels Coronación, El lugar sin límites (The Place Without Limits) and El obsceno pájaro de la noche (The Obscene Bird of Night). His works deal with a number of themes, including sexuality and psychology, and are often darkly humorous. He is also considered an innovative stylist.

After his death his personal papers at the Iowa Writers' Workshop revealed an active sex life and the fact of Donoso's homosexuality. It came as a shock to some in Latin America's intelligentsia that one of the great writers of the 20th century was in fact Gay.

1513 – Spanish conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa discovered what he claimed was a colony of cross-dressing males in present day Panama. It was reported that he massacred them.

1659 – Richard Berry is banished from Plymouth Colony, after his third arrest on various homosexual sex charges.

1969 – The Washington Blade publishes its first issue. At that time it was called The Gay Blade and contained hard hitting journalism and gay activism.

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chhotudihatti · 2 years

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dunkzillla · 1 year

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Here We Go One More Time

Nigel McGuinness/Bryan Danielson

Been going crazy about not only Nigel being back but also Nigel/Bryan so I had to revisit it. Went back and watched their matches and this comes from that — set immediately after both Supercard of Honor 2023 and Unified 2006, flashback is time stamped!

Title: Here We Go One More Time

Pairings: Nigel McGuinness/Bryan Danielson

Ratings/Warnings: Mature, Language.

Summary: Bryan’s older now, they both are, his hair is longer and he’s got a beard. But he’s still wearing those stupid plaid button downs. Still vegetarian, or vegan, or whatever they’re calling it these days, according to Instagram. That’s still his American Dragon.

Word Count: 2,416

AO3

——————————————

— 31st March 2023 —

Nigel McGuinness knows what it feels like to lose a title. Knows what it’s like to fall short of being the best on the night, so he knows what Wheeler Yuta feels when he loses his Pure title to Shibata.

The kid refuses to shake Shibata’s hand and slinks away to the back, cradling his sore head. Nigel’s never wrestled Shibata, but he knows how that feels too, when your brain feels like it’s rattling around in your skull unattached to anything.

Once the show wraps up, Nigel catches up with everyone backstage he hadn’t managed to see before the show started. He’s glad to be back. WWE had been fun, great even, but Ring of Honor was, is, home. It’s where he feels at peace, and even if he can’t get in the ring anymore, it’s still where he wants to be.

He’s walking through the halls biting into an apple he’d nabbed from catering when he hears it. It’s a hushed conversation, hidden behind a bunch of production boxes. He could recognise that voice anywhere.

“I was stupid, wasn’t I?”

“Yes, but I’m still proud of you. Not many men would call out Shibata like that.” Bryan’s voice is unusually soft. Well, unusually to Nigel. He hasn’t been on the receiving end of that tone of voice in a long time.

“You’ll get it back. You’ll be three time Pure champ. Whether that’s in a few months or years down the line. This isn’t the end Yuta. Losing isn’t the end.”

“That’s not—“

“What I said before, yeah, I know. I didn’t think I had anything else to teach you, but I was wrong. You might not need me to teach you moves, but there’s still a lot you need to learn mentally.”

Nigel shakes his head even though there’s no one around to see him. Losing isn’t the end, no, but Nigel remembers losing the Pure title, and how it was retired in Bryan’s hands. Bryan himself only had a day with it, he has to know how it feels having it taken away from you.

It’s good to see the Pure title back. The night Nigel lost it to Bryan, he’d taken Bryan out for a terrible kebab and wondered where he would go from that loss. And now here he is, back in Ring of Honor, having just called a Pure title match between a young kid tutored by the one and only American Dragon. His American Dragon.

— 12th August 2006 —

The bleeding has stopped, and Nigel’s head isn’t swimming as much. He’s got clothes on, and he’d managed to lace his trainers up, so that’s something. He hasn’t bothered to brush out the spikes in his hair, or even really clean the blood from himself. It’s the middle of the night in Liverpool. No one will care.

“Oi,” He shouts across the room. Bryan’s dressed too, talking animatedly to Colt about God knows what, but the minute he hears Nigel’s voice he looks over. Good. He doesn’t have anything against Colt, but moments like this, just after they’ve beaten seven bells out of each other in the ring — Bryan fucking coming away the victor, he’s title-less now — that Nigel feels the most possessive of the American Dragon. Bryan made him bleed, Bryan knocked him out so that the ref had to stop the match, Bryan took his title from him. He’s his. They belong to each other.

“I’m leaving, you coming?”

They’re not even rooming together. Bryan’s rooming with Colt, both of them coming up with some crazy scheme about maybe we should video the shit we do, and Nigel’s with Doug, but Bryan knows to follow. Wants to follow wherever Nigel goes. He’s good like that.

“Yeah, lemme just—“ Bryan spins around, looking for his jacket and bag before spotting it and pulling it on, swinging his bag over his shoulder.

Nigel busies himself with pulling a cigarette from the pack in his jeans pocket, letting Bryan get together before he’s striding out of the arena.

It’s late, nearly midnight, and the show’s been wound down for a while now so the streets are pretty empty. Bryan walks beside him, no doubt wanting to say something about his smoking habit but keeping his mouth shut because he knows what type of mood Nigel’s in.

“Where are we going?”

Bryan always talks about not trusting him. Bryan hits him in the ring like he wants Nigel to completely disappear, like he wants to finish him for good. Yet he follows without question whenever Nigel asks.

“I’m hungry, we’re getting something to eat.”

If it hadn’t been past last orders Nigel would have probably corralled Bryan into a pub and made him sink a couple of pints to loosen him up, even if he does say he’s T total. Get him all pliable and soft like he likes him. Instead, he’ll have to make do with whatever late night kebab shop is still open along the streets of Liverpool.

Nigel takes them into the first one he sees, and thankfully it’s got a few tables so that they can actually sit down to eat. It’s deserted, and Bryan looks up at the menu sceptically.

“Is everything cooked… together?”

Nigel hasn’t been in a kebab shop for a bit, any time he comes back to the UK it’s usually a short visit, and he tries to be good and eat the right food like Bryan — but not tonight. Not when he just lost his Pure title after almost a year.

“Probably. You could just ask for a salad if you’re gonna be a little prick.”

Bryan’s vegetarian, but he doesn’t like to eat any kind of dairy product or even really come into contact with the stuff. Nigel tries to be good, better than he used to be when he was at University and eating take out food every night, but he needs meat. Meat and cheese. He doesn’t know how Bryan lives.

“Shut up.” Bryan mumbles, as someone comes from the back to take their order.

“What can I get you boss?”

Ah, Nigel’s missed good old British customer service. He rattles off his kebab order, practically feeling the disgust from Bryan next to him before looking at him, waiting for his order. Bryan stares at the menu for another moment before sighing.

“The veggie burger please.”

“Chips?” The guy asks and Bryan frowns.

“Fries?”

“Yeah, chips mate, thanks.” Nigel says, handing over the money.

“I don’t want chips I want —“

“They’re the same thing, wanker. We call them chips over here. You won’t be getting crisps.”

“Crisps?”

“Shut up, sit down.” It’s as if Bryan’s never been to the UK before. He’s told him about chips versus crisps so many times now.

Nigel bullies Bryan over to one of the tables once he’s been given his change, taking their two cans of soda over with him. They’re diet, because life’s all about balance.

Bryan’s little flip phone starts buzzing uncontrollably. Word must have gotten out that he’d won, now the holder of the World and Pure title’s. Undisputed. Everyone texting him words of congratulations. They don’t know that it’s not going to be for long. Bryan’s not going to be walking around with two belts. They’re putting the Pure title on the shelf.

Nigel’s not angry. He’s grown up from being angry about title losses. Losses aren’t the end, you come back from them, fight another day and win again. It’s just. That was his Pure title. Three hundred and fifty plus days of his life he’s spent defending it, showing just about anyone who’ll listen as to why he’s the best. He’s sad. Sad that it’s over, sad that he doesn’t have the final laugh with the title.

“When are they taking it off you?”

Bryan seems confused by the question, confused even more by the burger that’s put in front of him and the mountain of chips — fries — it comes with.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not going to have the belt long, Dragon.”

“You’re not getting a rematch—“

“No one’s getting a match with it. Haven’t you heard? They’re retiring it.”

Bryan doesn’t look like he’s heard, no. He’s picking at his chips, looking down at them as he processes that information in his head. Nigel knows how he feels. The Pure title is special. He likes the rules that he can twist and twist until it’s his advantage, he likes that it’s different, that you can call yourself a different type of wrestler when you hold that belt. You’re a Pure wrestler. But at least Bryan gets to go down as the last champion. He’ll get his name up there on all the statistics. Last champion. Shortest reign, probably. Nigel won’t have his name on the statistics. He’s not the first or the last. He’s not the longest and he’s not shortest. He’s not the oldest and he’s not the youngest. He’s not anything. He’s just one guy who held the title once. Bryan’s going to outdo him, again.

“Oh.” Is all Bryan says, taking a tentative bite of his burger.

He’s — he’s Bryan. Handsome, clean shaven with a close buzz cut, always wearing some soft looking t-shirt or plaid button down. Nigel hates him. He hates that Bryan is so good. Hates that he’s always so happy. Hates that he wins and wins and gets everything. Nigel hates him but he’s his, they’re… theirs. Bryan followed him when he asked him to, even after everything they did to each other in the ring. Nigel will take him back to his hotel room, tell Doug to find Colt, and he’ll screw his Bryan into the mattress. He’ll take all his feelings out about losing the title, about Bryan beating him, about the amount of concussions he’s had and where he goes from here on Bryan. And then he’ll get up in the morning and get in the car and drive to the airport. He’ll keep pushing on, keep being beaten by Bryan. He doesn’t know how much longer he can go on, but he’ll go on.

“You’ll challenge me for the world title again?”

Bryan seems to have deemed the burger good enough to take a second bite out of, and his foot kicks Nigel’s under the table.

“Might do, don’t know if I’m next in line though.”

He’s barely touched his food. Just picking at it as he watches Bryan eat his.

“It was the ref's decision. Those losses don’t count.”

“Still lost me the belt.”

“You’re pretty high up on the list of challengers, I’d say.”

Bryan would say that. He wants Nigel in the ring any chance they can get. They’ve had four matches so far, their first being a tag match that Bryan’s team won. Then Bryan challenged for the Pure title and lost because Nigel kept Bryan out of the ring and won by count out. Nigel challenged for the World title and lost, and then tonight, Nigel lost again. He’s sure they’ll have many more matches, title and non title, but he’s not sure it will be as soon as Bryan’s hoping.

Nigel hates him but Bryan’s here, eating shitty kebab shop chips at midnight in rainy Liverpool. Bryan wants to take him on again, wants him to have another go for his title. Bryan’s got his foot against Nigel’s ankle even though there’s probably still some of Nigel’s blood on his hands.

There’s no one else Nigel would rather do this dance with than his American Dragon, Bryan Danielson.

— 31st March 2023 —

Nigel steps away from the private moment. He doesn’t need to hear anything else, he’s just a commentator, he doesn’t need to get inside intel to help him win anything, though the instinct is still there, buried deep inside of him.

He and Bryan have had many, many more matches since that night in Liverpool. They’d both been champions, both won and lost against each other, but then Bryan had gone onto bigger and better things and he had stayed stagnant, injury and illness holding him down until he went behind the commentary desk and got all the way to WWE. They’d been in the same company for a while but they never really crossed paths.

And now the Pure title is back and Bryan’s not extending his one day reign any longer, he’s making sure his protege cements his legacy. Wheeler Yuta is already on the statistics board, with the most amount of reigns. Bryan’s got the shortest. Nigel, just like back then, isn’t anywhere near it.

That’s okay, though. Nigel’s learnt to live with that. He’s got a hell of a lot of other stuff to be proud of.

There’s footsteps behind him, soft voices, but Nigel doesn’t turn around. Not until Bryan calls out to him.

“Oi,” He says, loud, and with the most terrible attempt at a British accent Nigel’s ever heard. He’s got a smirk on his face. They haven’t spoken, Nigel hadn’t bothered to tell him he was joining the company, figured either he’d have found out on his own and wouldn’t care or they’d have a conversation when he got here. Bryan’s older now, they both are, his hair is longer and he’s got a beard. But he’s still wearing those stupid plaid button downs. Still vegetarian, or vegan, or whatever they’re calling it these days, according to Instagram. That’s still his American Dragon.

They haven’t followed each other for a long time. Their paths have been separate for the better part of thirteen years, when Bryan left Nigel couldn’t follow, not in the way he wanted to, anyway.

“We’re leaving, are you coming?”

Wheeler’s next to him, holding the back of his neck. Bryan’s arm is around him, looking at Nigel expectantly. The way Nigel used to look at Bryan. He could follow him now. They’re in the same company. Bryan’s still wrestling but he’s got a group now, a young kid looking up at him, he’s building the next wave of wrestlers. He’s moulding Yuta into something akin to what Bryan was when they first met, just with all the veteran Bryan knowledge. If Nigel follows, he’ll be back in Bryan’s space, Bryan’s orbit, the one he was catapulted out of so long ago. If he follows, his story with Bryan will start again.

Nigel bites into his apple and shoves a hand in his pocket, stepping towards Bryan and Yuta.

Here they go again.

#writing #nigel mcguinness #bryan danielson #wheeler yuta #nigel mcguinness x bryan danielson #bryan danielson x wheeler yuta #ring of honor

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non-binary-laurie-strode · 1 year

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Who cares about the Oscars? The most celebrated awards of the year are, of course, the Pink Bette awards!

The Pink Bettes are my own version of my film awards. I originally did this as a silly joke in 2020 for the films I had seen in 2019, so this is the fourth itineration of them. (2019's films, 2020's films, 2021's films, and now 2022's films.) Last year, I kinda just dropped the post and ran because I was feeling down about things, but I'm going to be pushing this one. (Sorry in advance.)

The rules are these: Any film that was new-to-me in 2022 is eligible for an award. Thus, Bound, a 1996 film, is eligible for these awards even though it is decades old; it's about when I saw them. I typically choose 5-6 "winners" to be designated My Favourite _____. This is done because choosing just one is silly when I can spread the love around; additionally, I call them "My Favourite" because it's about my emotional response to them, and honestly I would feel egotistical calling something the definitive BEST.

Anyway, here we go:

Some categories will have a little summary or write-up; others won't. There's only so many adjectives I can use to describe stuff, yknow?

For better or worse, these line readings gripped us. These all became meme-ified, in some way, between me and Mack.

"These are tortillas! Tortillas deliciosas!" - Hong Chau, The Menu. (Honorary mention to "You'll eat less than you desire and more than you deserve"—not a funny memed phrase, but the delivery. Chilling.)

"anD eNOUgh chamPAYNE... tFILL thNILE! *throws drink*" - Gal Gadot, Death on the Nile

The Trish Story - Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar

"Are you the LESBIAN?" - Idina Menzel, Kissing Jessica Stein

"He died?! *hand on heart*" - Tovah Feldshuh, Kissing Jessica Stein

youtube

All of these disappointed in some measure. Shame, shame, shame!

Netflix's Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The original TCM is one of the few horror movies to actually really get to me, with that ending being particularly nauseating. This new Netflix entry is a cheap and lazy attempt at continuing a franchise.

The Evil Dead, The Evil Dead 2 - The first time I encountered The Evil Dead as a property, it was in a college production of the musical The Evil Dead. The musical is, surprisingly, the best packaging of this property. These two, largely the same story but with a bigger budget the second time around, both completely fail to live up to the fun of the musical.

Men - I thought, after X and Pearl, I would like A24 horror more. Ha.

Bros - Enough has been said about this one, I think. Aside from a few jokes ("Like the bearded lady in The Greatest Showman, this is me."), I just didn't really find it funny.

Memoirs of an Invisible Man - John Carpenter, why the fuck is there a brownface scene in this one? You can do so much better than that, John.

The opposite of the previous category: These movies impressed me much more than they had any right to!

Marry Me - Featuring former musical theatre tumblrite Mason! For all of two seconds! Anyway this is so much fun and the title song is lowkey a jam.

The Lost City - Okay, aside from the fun of Sandra Bullock, seeing Channging Tatum's ass HUGE on a screen just... yeah. Yeah.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Okay, so, I used to think this one was like... a frat bro thing? I saw Greek and was like Greek life? But no, it's just Greek Greek.

The Batman - Here for the sole reason that it's a superhero movie that I came out mostly positive on.

Drive - Maybe I was just horny for Ryan Gosling. Who knows?

These four are 2022 releases that sort of came and went in theatres. I think they deserved better!

Three Thousand Years of Longing - Really, I just love Tilda so much. This is a modernistic version of the Thousand and One Nights with a clearly neurodivergent character at the front who finds romance. And it's so neat!

Umma - Sandra Oh in a horror movie. What more could you want?

Mrs Harris Goes To Paris - It's nicecore but it's still so lovely. When you think she won't get the dress is CRUSHING.

See How They Run - Saoirse Ronan in an Agatha Christie send-up comedy. Of course it's delightful! Though, at our screening, we had a gaggle of teens sitting across the auditorium, and they were being so loud and so obnoxious, and usually I am fine to let the youth be the youth, but girls... my blood boiled that day. I was ready to tear someone apart! Thankfully they left soon after.

Oh boy, here's where the graphic design is not my passion comes out. Anyhow. Supporting Performances. There are nine that I've picked out, with some honorable mentions:

Ke Huy Quan, EEAAO - He is so lovely and so wonderful and he deserves every single good thing that is happening to him right now.

Jamie Lee Curtis, EEAAO - My mother finally got an Oscar nom! I'm so happy for her. Deirdre is so ridiculous, and Jamie really commits to the insanity.

Stephanie Hsu, EEAAO - She is going THROUGH it in EEAAO. I almost put her in lead, but since she literally got a Supporting Oscar nom, I guess she can fit here.

Brandon Parea, Nope - Five stars, Angel, five stars.

Justin Long, Barbarian - When will he call me the f-slur? He's an ass but he made it look fun.

Billie Lourd, Ticket to Paradise - She has like one vibe across most of her performances, but she does it so extremely well.

Hong Chau, The Menu - Hong Chau, my beloved. I have only known her for two months, but she has completely gotten me in her grip.

Candice Bergen, Let Them All Talk - I don't actually have anything witty to say about her. She just Did Well in this one.

Hong Chau, The Whale - The moment where she realises he had the money the whole time and cracks? Ugh. Performance!

Honorable mentions: Tyne Daly, Hello My Name Is Doris; Tovah Feldshuh, Kissing Jessica Stein; Paul Dano, Little Miss Sunshine; Bill Skarsgard, Barbarian (RIP Sweet Little Meow Meow).

This is fairly self-explanatory.

Michelle Yeoh, EEAAO - "You can either lay there or you can come with me and change the multiverse." "I'll just lay here!" I used the opera picture because that's my favourite Lewk for her, but she's just so amazing all around. In all forms!

Sally Field, Hello My Name Is Doris - What really gets me with this one is when her therapist tries to clean up her house and she has a full break down. The way she speaks those lines just really hits.

Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading - God forbid women do anything. She's totally insane in this and is a complete wrecking ball. I love it!

Mia Goth, Pearl - That end credits face journey alone is worth a thousand awards. Just captivating!

Jennifer Tilly & Gina Gershon, Bound - Genders, genders all around. Of course the Wachowskis would make something so cool and sleek, and these two are the perfect ones to realise that vision.

Austin Butler, Elvis - Tom Hanks had a very "what the hell is this" performance, but really, the transformation for Austin Butler in this is super impressive. I am not immune to biopics!

Jenny Slate, Marcel The Shell With Shoes On - He Is Just A Little Boy and I love him.

Keke Palmer, Nope - Release the spin cut! (She has a spin in the trailer during her spiel at the beginning, and it's cut in the movie. That would have gotten her the Oscar nom, I'm sure.)

Kristen Wiig, Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar - The way this movie just radiates the energy of our friendship, I can't. Kristen gets the leg up on her co-star because she double dips on roles and I think I prefer her delivery.

Thandiwe Newton, God's Country - So, we saw God's Country on a whim because Mack liked the lead actress. And I totally get it. She's so strong and so unyielding in the face of those nutcases in this, and, though I know nothing about her and heard nothing about the film otherwise, she has stayed with me.

Cate Blanchett, Tár - That first long shot, where she's just talking as the camera is rolling? Electrifying. She had us hooked from moment one.

Ralph Fiennes, The Menu - Yes, Chef! We love you, Chef!

Honorable mentions: Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye; Matt Damon, The Talented Mr Ripley; Emma Thompson, The Remainds of the Day.

Oh, good, we're back to reasonable category sizes. Anyway, though I am a horror queen, I feel as though the films I loved most in 2022 were not horror! But there were a few that rose to the top.

Scream 5 - It's Scream. It's good! "Trap? Yeah, it's a trap." Such a simple exchange, but it's my favourite moment in that one. I'm so excited for 6!

Pearl - Sorry, Paris. But I loved this. It's mostly a character study for a horror movie character until the final act, and what a final act it is! "I'm a star!" and the end credits face journey are just such great moments.

Nope - I liked it better than Us! But really, Jordan Peele is just consistently so good at writing horror.

City of the Dead - The way this is a dark horse pick for me. It just hits that spooky foggy creepy Halloween aesthetic that I love so much! And it's got great performances and a decent enough story. Plus, the Elvira inserts are fun!

Barbarian - This happened to a friend once, I think.

The Menu - Truly my favourite movie of 2022, coming in right at the end of the year. The mix between the comedy and the horror, the social jokes, Hong Chau... it's perfection to me.

Honorable mentions: Let The Right One In, Watcher, The Autopsy of Jane Doe.

Dramatique! To some extent or another; I don't think Before Sunrise counts as a comedy or a horror, so it kind of falls here even though it's just a romance.

Dramarama - This one hits me so hard that it hurts. A group of high school graduates, all very into theatre, have one last murder mystery party as a group, before they split up. And it's just so... if you weren't in theatre in high school, you won't get it, but if you were, this hurts.

EEAAO - Do I need to explain.

Bound - As explained above!

The Talented Mr Ripley - The schemes! The intrigue! The homoeroticism! I love it!

Before Sunrise - A tender, sweet romance in Vienna. All of one night, with the lovely Ethan Hawke, just wandering a sleepy city at night.

Tár - Captivating, electric, a modern tragedy of hubris. For me, Best Picture needs to be between EEAAO and Tár. There is nothing else. Honorable mentions: Pride & Prejudice, In The Mood For Love, The Remains of the Day.

2022 was all about comedy for me. There were so many just perfect comedies that we saw this year that it's hard to pick a handful to show off. Barb & Star is Mack and me spiritually, which means it is Beloved here, but all of these I look on so fondly.

Hello, My Name Is Doris - A old Sally Field tries to find love with a much younger man. She's very awkward, almost too much to watch at points, but she's soooo good.

Kissing Jessica Stein - We love people questioning their identity and then deciding if it works out for them or not! It's a fun time.

Burn After Reading - The relentless absurdity just kills me. The hair, the drôle situtations, it's all just SO much of a ride.

Little Miss Sunshine - That little girl deserved to win that pageant.

Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar - Again, this is just our friendship. It's so stupid, but I treasure these two ladies.

Glass Onion - "Did you think a sweatshop was a place where they manufactured sweatpants?" "Yeah..."

Honorable mentions: The Lost City, The Bob's Burgers Movie, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

But anyway. That's enough of the respectable awards. Let's have some fun.

We come to this place to celebrate men in film being hot, sexy, and/or slutty. Here are just some of the men that, ahem, piqued my interest. They are, of course, named after only the most beautiful man to have graced cinéma, Mr Keanu Reeves himself.

I'm doing these individually in case tumblr decides it doesn't like something :s (Also.... you've seen my graphic design skills.)

Dylan Minnette's shower scene in Scream 5. Not even a hint of ass! Cowards.

Nico Greetham in Dramarama just casually showing his chest around.

Girls...... seeing Channing Tatum's ass, huge, on a screen during The Lost City in a theatre. That was a MOMENT.

Félix Lefebvre in Summer of 85. We love blond French boys, huh.

Seeing THAT swinging on Kid Cudi in X...... You all know I'm an ass queen, but come onnnn.

When will Ryan Gosling Drive me around town? Huh? Don't I deserve that?

The cast of Fire Island as a whole. Or as a hole. Either way.

Speaking of beach boys, can we talk about the fuzz on Jude Law in The Talented Mr Ripley?

Ethan Hawke in Before Sunrise in such a simple look can be so hot. He's so sweet and tender and just lovely.

And then we have the duality of Ethan Hawke:

My commentary here will be reposting some letterboxd reviews of The Black Phone:

Thomas Doherty in The Invitation can turn me into a vampire if he wants, idc, I'd throw it all away. That woman was WILD to just turn that down so quickly!

And finally, Mr Thousand Shades of Grey himself, Jamie Dornan in Barb & Star. He's actually done a nude photoshoot but uh. I'll keep that one to myself.

Anyhow. If you made it this far, thank you for reading through the Pink Bettes! I'll be here again next year!

#the pink bettes #this is an extremely long post so i hope the read more works on every device lol

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seanhof · 8 months

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skyward-heir · 2 years

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some thoughts, because i need to purge myself:

i wish we could see a more morally complex world, them being pirates and all. not saying it isn't, but narratively it seems we're too limited to Stede's sanitized (dare i say, romantic) version of piracy: one where you can afford not to kill others—need not cast away parts of yourself—in order to survive, where your reputation isn't relevant because you don't need to board vessels for loot. protagonist-centered morality isn’t necessarily bad, but it'd be nice if s2 could change that a bit, what with Stede finally getting the "it's not about you" treatment. and please more female characters 🙏🏻

Oluwande, my beloved, i wish i was this cool. i just, i'm in awe at his common sense, his cuteness, his empathy! taking no shit from anyone! ahhhhh

congrats to Jim for having actually intelligible Spanish, for once, in an English-speaking production. i'm a native speaker (greeting from Argentina!), but my gods, why productions usually make it so hard to understand the designated Spanish-speaking character? (i know, expose yourself to other dialects outside your own, but like, sound mix teams do your job i beg you)

no thoughts, just... Frenchie 💖

didn't care at first for Lucius (might've been the sideburns i'll admit ajslkjk), but having the emotional braincell in this ship made me really like him

neither did i care for Stede, but like ✨ character development ✨ and gods he's great. love him. hopefully, the narrative will continue to push the whole 'be a little less self-centred my guy' thing. also i'd like for him to interact more with people who aren't Ed (and Ed with people who aren’t Stede). look i love their scenes together, but it'd be nice to see them outside the romance angle y'know?

Ed, honey, love you but please grow a beard again. it looks so good! anyway, been reading meta/headcanons on his Ambiguous Disorder™ and who he "really" is, but i think the outfit invites a comparison to... Road Warrior. in a world of nightmarish seas roads where "only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal enough to pillage, would survive" and pirates gangs "took over the highways ready to wage war for a tank of juice", ordinary men like Max (a cop scared that he was beginning to enjoy the rat circus, only a badge saying he's a good guy) are "battered and smashed". despite taking his revenge, Max is the shell of a burn-out, desolate man, haunted by the demons of his past, who wandered out to a blighted place and learned to live again. (and that's like the intro only.) anyway, he lives in the wasteland, helping out only when it suits him, uninterested in companionship or a chance to rebuild his life. ("come with us." / "what are you looking for out there? [...] there is a better way!" → "i never get involved") yet there is kindness: even when he's lost everything, he can still reclaim his humanity. so where am i going with this? no idea. maybe it's about Ed being a legend, about struggling with trauma but surviving no matter what, about choosing solitude, about enjoying the violence, about atonement. that he needs to acknowledge forging himself in fire and blood, instead of handwaving it. (...also the outfit is mmgh 🤤)

how could i not sympathize with Izzy when he's out there living a Greek tragedy, victim of his own hubris, destined to fail and realize all too late he's only got himself to blame. that he's superfluous, unneeded in any way or form... least of all by Ed. ("i need you here"? where was that sentiment after the duel?) because they're not even friends, if Ed's to be believed. at "stages of fucking each other over" and all that. could there be more to their 'dysfunctional love' than the Intricate Rituals™? if so, the self-sabotage is all on him, isn't it? and no matter how 'deeply in love' Izzy is, he'll have to admit defeat to the man who's bested him in every single way that matters, who loathed him—and rightly so everyone would tell him—at first sight. (if he even lives until that point. alternatively, he'll have to fuck off for good so everyone can live happily ever after.) to admit that whatever he and Ed have matters so little that being maimed while he's completely vulnerable is acceptable. so, yeah, kinda tragic. i'd love a redemption arc for Izzy. like if the repressed white dude with far more privilege, who is consistently bad at not really seeing beyond his own needs unless someone calls him out, can change for the better, why can't Izzy? (something something palatable forms of trauma, something something Die For Our Ship at play, something something Steddyhands please askjlskj)

all three of them (Stede, Ed, and Izzy) i love precisely because they're flawed so i just can't understand the necessity of certain fans to reduce three-dimensional characters to 'never did anything wrong' while demonizing the other, instead of accepting it takes two to tango, as they say

#ofmd #meta #our flag meets death #ofmd meta #oluwande boodhari #jim jimenez #frenchie #lucius spriggs #stede bonnet #edward teach #izzy hands #(guess who watched the series for the first time two weeks ago)#skyward-tags #alternatively the guy he's loved for years decides to assault him #or guy puts 'jilted wife' in his place and no one bats an eye bc he 'enjoyed' it #wait that's not how it's supposed to be read as?

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