#swedish billy

[robthegoodfellow]

Billy Hargrove’s Extensive Knife Collection

Rated G - 1.5k (or read on AO3)

commissioned by @ihni​ for harringroveforturkey! based on a discussion of our Swedish Billy headcanons 💛

(tw for brief reference to Steve being mistaken for a sexual predator because of his shady-seeming presence at the Byers)

...🔪🔪🔪 ...

The thing was—Billy Hargrove just seemed like the type to have one or more knives on him at any given moment. Like, he gave off this general sense of imminent violence, this erratic rage simmering away under the skin. Even before Hargrove beat his head into the Byers’ floor, Steve had known the guy was pretty much always a breath from destruction. It wafted off of him like the woodsy cologne that Steve had smelled and distantly pondered moments before he stopped smelling anything for a while, on account of the bastard punching him in the nose a hundred times.

So yeah, when Steve saw him during their lunch period, a couple weeks after the thrashing, the dregs of autumn warmth barely clinging to the air—a couple weeks after Hargrove had snagged him in the hallway, thrown him against a locker and seethed I find you near my sister again and I’ll gut ya quicker n’ you can blink—a couple weeks after Steve realized he was maybe into volatile dudes and that said volatile dude thought Steve was into little girls, what the fuck—like he was saying, a couple weeks after all that, when he saw Hargrove emerging from behind the gym building, from the direction of the running track, folding a knife and slipping it into the pocket of his leather jacket, he felt compelled to investigate.

Given that Steve hadn’t yet figured out how to assure someone you weren’t a creepy predator without sounding like a total creepy predator, he waited until Hargrove was out of sight, then crossed the parking lot and peered around the corner, ventured as far as the bleachers, even—but saw no signs of a recent stabbing. No student or teacher or animal bleeding out on the ground.

So he shrugged and went back inside.

But then, over the next few days, he realized he’d never once seen Hargrove in the cafeteria since that blond curly mullet had first darkened Steve’s door. Not once. And because Steve apparently hadn’t had enough combustible encounters of late, he went looking.

The bell was about to go when he got to the bleachers—and no Hargrove. Steve had half a mind to skip next period; it was history and he hated history—so fucking boring, and he hadn’t done the homework—so when he circled to the back of the metal stands and saw something pale on the ground underneath, he happily let it draw his feet nearer.

It was… a horse. A small, roughly carved wooden horse, about the height and length of his palm. Not like, a detailed horse, just the vague shape of a narrow face, a curving neck, a stout torso, and four straight simple legs. No hooves, no tail. But still, undeniably a horse.

He thought it was kinda neat, so he took it home with him, put it on his bedside table next to the alarm clock.

The following week, when he scouted the bleachers again—driven from the lunchroom because Nancy and Jonathan had been making goo-goo eyes at each other and it was still a bit fresh, that particular wound—around the same place he’d spotted the last carving, he found a wooden… bear? Or maybe a fat dog, but the rounded ears and butt were reading more “bear.”

He took that one home with him, too. Had the silly passing thought that it was nice for the horse to have company. A friend.

It was the third time patrolling that he confirmed what some small incredulous part of him had been theorizing all along. Steve skipped lunch entirely, went the long way around to approach the bleachers from behind, stopped at a distance nonetheless.

Because there, leaning against the announcer’s booth, high up in the stands, hunched over his lap, one leg hanging loose between the slats of the seats, was Billy Hargrove.

Steve would know that mullet anywhere.

Smoke drifted above him, dissipating lazy. Occasionally the hanging leg swung a bit, sort of childlike, which was—a fucking trip. Steve stayed where he was, just watching awhile, then, not knowing what he’d do or say if Hargrove spied him spying, and not wanting to disturb his peace at any rate, he turned and walked back the long way again.

So he could just—think.

When he snuck over to the bleachers before driving home the next afternoon, curiosity getting the better of him, he learned what Hargrove had been whittling that time.

It was unfinished. Maybe he’d grown frustrated, because it was more ambitious than his previous figures: the beginnings of a bearded face, its features only just manifesting from the fine-grained block.

Nearby, half-hidden on the dirt ground, was another surprise. He would’ve missed it if it hadn’t gleamed, catching the sun precisely at the right moment, because its handle was the exact shade of the surrounding moldering maple leaves—this deep reddish brown.

A knife.

But not really the kind of knife he’d imagine in Hargrove’s possession—and not the folding pocketknife he’d glimpsed before. No, this was—an antique? Sharp blade about three inches long, and the handle this weird oblong shape, the letters WGF burned into the wood toward the base.

And maybe he should’ve left it there—because Hargrove would notice it was gone, was bound to come looking where he last had it—but Steve was selfish. A bit of a jerk.

So he pocketed both. Didn’t add them to his bedside collection, though.

No, they were still in his pocket the following day, a Friday, as he strode, heart hammering, to the bleachers, ears ringing like the lunch bell forgot to shut up.

Hargrove was already there, pacing under the stands, cursing under his breath, the dirt bare from frantic swipes.

Steve cleared his throat—and holy fuck that was a switchblade, that was a switchblade Hargrove had whipped out in one fluid movement as he whirled, the steel flashing free.

“Please don’t gut me for real!” It was choked, high and hysterical, hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry—I just—” Fumbling, he reached into his coat, drew out the knife.

The moment Hargrove saw it, he darted, quick as a cat, and snatched it from limp fingers.

“I—uh, found it,” Steve finished, lamely.

Hargrove didn’t look at him, busy sliding the knife into a worn leather sheath he’d produced from somewhere in his jacket. He tucked both it and the folded switchblade back out of sight, and Steve faintly wondered just how many knives Hargrove carried on his person.

“You waiting for thanks or something?” Hargrove asked, his tone very much indicating that thanks would not be forthcoming.

“What—what is it? The knife?” Steve asked, because he did, after all, have a death wish. “It’s… important?”

Maybe he should just let Hargrove stab him, Steve thought, mentally face-palming. Put him out of his misery.

Hargrove glared at him a long moment, then—to Steve’s everlasting shock—he answered. “A sloyd knife. My morfar’s—grandpa’s.”

“Oh,” Steve said, heartened, trying to work up the nerve to—just do it. Haltingly, he drew the bearded figure from his pocket. “For—um, carving stuff?”

Hargrove stared at the misshapen block of wood, unreadable, but Steve firmly reminded himself he’d faced down monsters from a hell dimension, and soldiered on.

“Is it him? Your… morfar?” Did his best to repeat the sounds, awkward.

Hargrove blinked, still didn’t respond.

Steve waved his extended arm a bit, encouraging. “You should finish it.”

Finally, fucking finally, Hargrove reached out, took it.

Sensing he was fast overstaying his welcome, Steve backstepped, nodding sharply, and turned toward the parking lot—then jerked around again.

“I’m not a perv,” he blurted. Because there wasn’t any graceful way to say it, he’d realized, flushing hot in the cool air.

Hargrove cracked a smile, a small little thing, and Steve stupidly traced it with his eyes, riveted. “I know.” He scuffed the dirt with a dusty boot. “She said you were—babysitting.”

“Yes,” Steve agreed, silently thanking Max with his entire being. “I was. Doing that.”

And to ensure he didn’t humiliate himself further, Steve spun, marched to the school entrance without looking back.

He spent the next week avoiding Hargrove, not wanting to seem like the stalker he was in case the guy had put two and two together on the lack of discarded carvings among the leaves.

After last bell, students pouring across the parking lot en route to weekend plans, Steve trudged alone to his car, which would convey him to an empty house. His key was in the door before he saw it, perched on the windshield wiper.

A rugged face above slouching shoulders, slender waves gouged in his moustache and beard that suited the curly hair peeking beneath one of those old-fashioned caps with the short brim.

He looked up, unconsciously seeking the spot Hargrove always parked, and saw him leaning against the Camaro, staring back.

Steve smiled.

…🔪🔪🔪 …

Edited to add, in case anyone’s curious:

All about Dala horses

Carved bear looked like this

All about Sloyd/Slöjd knives

#harringrove #swedish billy #harringroveforturkey #harringrove for turkey #this was a much-needed fluffy break from the angst fic #so EXTRA thanks to inhi #billy hargrove #steve harrington

[stranger-rants]

Speaking of ethnicity headcanons, I do have a soft spot for @robthegoodfellow ‘s Swedish!Billy… have we thought about how his mom in her white dress with red flowers is reminiscent of Sankta Lucia and how she represents “light” during the dark winters and how Billy’s mom was a light in the darkness when he was possessed?

#catholic billy #swedish billy

[ihni]

Merry Christmas everyone!

In Sweden, we celebrate on Christmas Eve: we watch classic old Disney shorts at 3 pm (a tradition since 1960), and then we start with food, and eat together, and then after dinner, SANTA shows up to deliver the presents (often when someone in the family have CONVENIENTLY gone out to buy the newspaper ... it's sad, really, how they keep missing Santa every year ... :p).

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #merry christmas everyone! #swedish christmas #swedish billy hargrove #harringrove doodles #ihni doodles

[sunricgod]

bruce “i love you” yamada and vance “i hope you have a nice christmas” hopper.

#watched season two of yr yesterday #it's brainrot time #the fact that my mental health depended on the relationship status of two swedish boys— #anyWAY #brance #bruce yamada #vance hopper #finbin #rinney #finney blake #robin arellano #billy showalter #griffin stagg #the black phone

[innitmarvellous]

#hignfy #s20e06 #paul merton #ian hislop #angus deayton #my gifs #does that mean i'm swedish too? /looks at all the billy & kallax shelves

[missacensnakelover]

The Gangreen Gang all at Ikea enjoying ice cream sodas and shopping for furniture!

Made by me! (x)

#gangreen gang #ikea #furniture #ice cream sodas #soda floats #ace #snake #big billy #grubber #little arturo #displays #swedish #furniture store #bed #lamps #couch #kitchenware #appliances #acedcop-lover

[hoxtimusprime]

The original 4 heisters as songs with money in the title:

Money by Pink Floyd for Dallas

Bitch Better Have My Money by Rihanna for Chains

Money, Money, Money by Abba for Wolf

And Mony Mony by Billy Idol for Hoxton

Do y'all see my vision? 😔

#ben talks #payday 2 #payday the heist #payday #dallas would love classic rock #chains loves pop songs has sung beyonce and adele before #wolf is swedish and well its abba everyone loves abba #they also just love disco pop 80s stuff me thinks #and well hoxton probably listened to billy idol at one point #hes also bri ish

[clatterbane]

Dag Vag - Dansar Med Mig Själv

One amusing Swedified cover that the Spotify algorithm dug up. Stylistic differences or no, I was sort of embarrassed that it took me a minute to figure out why this sounded so familiar. 😅

#music #dag vag #dansar med mig själv #1982 #7 lyckliga elefanter #covers #billy idol #generation x #dancing with myself #Youtube #svenska #swedish

[crossbackpoke-check]

Dylan Larkin has become an Au Pair for the Summer.

is that not exactly what quinn’s summer insta post said?? “hanging out with the boys & our cool au pair”?? :))) the way i have a note from a MONTH AGO written on my phone that says

one of our swim instructors is so so good with kids and he’s the perfect victim for scenarios so basically everyone’s in love with him and what i’m SaYiNg is summertime melted ice cream sticky sunscreen pool au with WHO i have a craving

like are you in my notes app. have you got my google docs password. because besTIE!! you have given me a gift!!! dylan larkin babysitter extraordinaire that’s who.

mind is frantically brrring trying to decide if competent & capable au pair dylan falls in love with the DNR worker at the park he always takes the kids to OR with the hot father figure whose kids he takes care of,,, 🤪

#liv in the replies #should also mention i am absolutely obsessed with this steve/billy nanny/lifeguard fic which like. thanks i’ll take that in a baker’s dozen #and is the reason i have the craving in the first place besides the fact that everyone really is a little bit in love with this swim teacher #if you didn’t know the hot dad is henrik & i am incredibly tempted to completely ignore the canon in favor of a canon i can work with #which is henrik saying he’d be a billet dad to two (?) new rookies (y’know. mo played in rögle i can swing it also ray ray is swedish 👀) #and then completely not realizing how much help he would need to take care of the kids so he hires au pair dylan #who is working his way through college @ umich as an au pair (he can’t live in during the school year bc class but if it’s summer… live in) #yes the DNR worker is bert who else would it be i’m also stating for the record that there’s a bike park so bert can bandage the kids’ knees #it is incredibly tempting to keep dylan’s kids as the ragtag usntdp crew & have him travel around to different houses working himself #to the bone taking care of the kids until someone finally notices & takes care of HIM (am i projecting a little captaincy here absolutely) #dylan working an overnight shift babysitting quinn & jack & luke & he was up till three am bc jack was scared of the thunderstorm #& turning around to get cole ready to go to summer camp by 7 then picking up trevor after he drops cole off & taking him to the park (does #dyl nearly fall asleep & panic that he’s lost trevor?) dark circles under his eyes but he’s gotta do the work it’s fine he loves the kids #brain magnamoniously said ‘you could also have a dylan/zach pairing’ but declined to provide plot or context so just know that’s an option #dylan dealing with the hughes house shenanigans of all the kids’ parents go away on a trip & dyl spends a month out at the lake house w/them #while their parents are on a cruise & OH neighbor??? hot neighbor??? (hot neighbor can be a dilf OR a dick with a heart of gold) (either way #the kids help matchmake & i do keep saying kids with the implication that they’re de-aged a lil bit for logic purposes quinn can be ten he’s #the oldest and responsible & his little solemn face helping dylan make mac n cheese is priceless to me oh i love it so then age-wise… #jack is 9? zeegs is also 9 & so is cole luke is the baby he’s six & honestly that’s perf the boys are old enough they can do some things but #too young to be left on their own so actually i’ve fallen in love with this mo & lucas can be other kids on the lakeeeee they’re friends w/) #& the kids all get together & want to have play dates & spend time together so that’s how dyl gets to know the hot neighbor #still have not decided whomst i want if you’ve made it this far in the tags please weigh in there is the convincing argument of ray ray #imprinting like a lil duckling on bert during the season but also henrik wears cable knit sweaters & he’s a dilf & that’s the argument #fully also the valid option of t-rated babysitting shenanigans slice of life w/vague flirtations dyl’s milk shaking all the boys to the yard #have just considered. bert has a baby. i could give bert a baby in this. we’re not gonna DO IT but we all just know this right #he could have little pigtails that match his baby’s with scrunchies & i hate it here i’m making it UP it’s not real it can’t hurt me #also hope u all know z’s ass is getting roasted there WILL be a scene of them playing king of the hill on a big lake mat &mo destroys z ktfo #moritz seider may not be dylan’s child in this but he will most certainly be the author’s favorite child in this & you will be able to know #also sorry not sorry to be like this but au pairs getting monthly pocket money… come and show me how it’s done… 😵‍💫dylan sugar baby send twe #also also: dylan foreign exchange coming to live in sweden with henrik & being his au pair & henrik can still play hockey 😗 mo & lucas too

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Loretta Young (The Farmer’s Daughter, The Stranger, Love is News)— Her cheekbones!! Her lips!! Her big eyes and small nose and not quite classical features!! The planes of her face hypnotize me and her smile clears my mind of anything else. She’s an interesting beauty, not a standard one, almost in a Mads Mikkelsen type way (I repeat: cheekbones). Also I’m begging people to watch The Farmer’s Daughter, a charming rom com where my babygirl Joseph Cotten falls through the ice while skating because he got distracted by how pretty she was, and where Loretta puts on a 40s-bad Swedish accent and runs for Congress! Girlboss!

Marlene Dietrich (Shanghai Express, Witness for the Prosecution, Morocco)—its marlene dietrich!!!! queer legend, easily the hottest person to ever wear a tuxedo, that hot hot voice, those glamorous glamorous movies.... most famously she starred in a string of movies directed by josef von sternberg throughout the 1930s, beginning with the blue angel which catapulted her to stardom in the role of the cabaret singer lola lola. known for his exquisite eye for lighting, texture, imagery, von sternberg devoted himself over the course of their collaborations to acquiring exceptional skill at photographing dietrich herself in particular, a worthy direction in which to expend effort im sure we can all agree. she collaborated with many other great directors of the era as well, including rouben mamoulian (song of songs), frank borzage (desire), ernst lubitsch (angel), fritz lang (rancho notorious), and billy wilder (witness for the prosecution). the encyclopedia britannica entry im looking at while compiling this propaganda describes her as having an “aura of sophistication and languid sexuality” which✔️💯. born marie magdalene dietrich, she combined her first and middle names to coin the moniker “marlene”. she was a trendsetter in her incorporation of trousers, suits, and menswear into her wardrobe and her androgynous allure was often remarked upon. critic kenneth tynan wrote, “She has sex, but no particular gender. She has the bearing of a man; the characters she plays love power and wear trousers. Her masculinity appeals to women and her sexuality to men.” in the 1920s she enjoyed the vibrant queer nightlife of weimar berlin, visiting gay bars and drag balls, and in hollywood her love affairs with men and women were an open secret. she was an ardent opponent of nazi germany, refusing lucrative contacts offered her to make films there, raising money with billy wilder to help jews and dissidents escape, and undertaking extensive USO tours to entertain soldiers with an act that included her a playing musical saw and doing a mindreading routine she learned from orson welles. starting in the 50s and continuing into the mid-70s she worked largely as a cabaret artist touring the world to large audiences, employing burt bacharach as her musical arranger.

This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Loretta Young:

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

"ms dietrich....ms dietrich pls.....sit on my face"

"First of all, there are those publicity photos of her in a tux. Second of all, I have never been the same since knowing that she sent copies of those photos to her Berlin lovers signed "Daddy Marlene." Not only is she hot in all circumstances, but she can do everything from earthy to ice queen. Also, she kept getting sexy romantic lead parts in Hollywood after the age of 40, which would be rare even now. She hated Nazis, loved her friends, and had a sapphic social circle in Hollywood. She also had cheekbones that could cut glass and a voice that could melt you."

Bisexual icon, super hot when dressed both masculine and feminine, lived up her life in the queer Berlin scene of the 1920s, central to the 'sewing circle' of the secret sapphic actresses of Old Hollywood, refused lucrative offers by the Nazis and helped Jews and others under persecution to escape Nazi Germany, the love of my life

Her GENDER her looks her voice her everything

“In her films and record-breaking cabaret performances, Miss Dietrich artfully projected cool sophistication, self-mockery and infinite experience. Her sexuality was audacious, her wit was insolent and her manner was ageless. With a world-weary charm and a diaphanous gown showing off her celebrated legs, she was the quintessential cabaret entertainer of Weimar-era Germany.”

"The bar scene in Morocco awoke something in me and ultimately changed my gender"

"Her manner, the critic Kenneth Tynan wrote, was that of ‘a serpentine lasso whereby her voice casually winds itself around our most vulnerable fantasies.’ Her friend Maurice Chevalier said: ‘Dietrich is something that never existed before and may never exist again.’”

"Songstress, photographer, fashion icon, out bisexual phenom (notoriously stole Lupe Velez and Joan Crawford's men, and Errol Flynn's wife, had a torrid affair with Greta Garbo that ended in a 60-year feud, other notable conquests including Erich Maria Remarque -yes, the guy who wrote All Quiet on the Western Front- Douglas Fairbanks Junior, Claudette Colbert, Mercedes de Acosta, Edith Piaf), anti-Nazi activist. Marlene was a bitch - she had an open marriage for decades and one of her favorite things was making catty commentary about her current lover with her husband, and her relationship with her daughter was painful- but she was also immensely talented, a hard worker, an opponent of fascism and the hottest ice queen in Hollywood for a long time."

"She can sing! She can act! She told the Nazis to fuck off and became a US citizen out of spite! She worked with other German exiles to create a fund to help Jews and German dissidents escape (she donated an entire movie salary, about $450k, to the cause). She looks REALLY GOOD in a suit. If you're not convinced, please listen to her sing "Lili Marlene". Absolutely gorgeous woman with a gorgeous voice."

Gifset link

"Bisexual icon and Nazi-hater. Looks absolutely stunning in the suits she liked to wear. 'I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men'."

"Did a bunch of humanitarian work during ww2, pretty sure a shot of her from Shanghai express was the inspiration for one of queens album covers and also her in the suit in Morocco (1930) CHANGED LIVES. I’m sure she’s already been submitted but I wanted an opportunity to submit one of my favourite pictures of her for the poll"

"would you not let her walk on you?"

#marlene dietrich #loretta young #hotvintagepoll #fuck that old woman #ladies 2 #Youtube

[strangestcase]

House of Leaves muppet musical adaptation

Kermit the Frog as Will “Navy” Navidson

Fozzie Bear as Tom Navidson

Miss Piggy as Karen Green

Sam the Eagle as Holloway

Wax and Jed are fused into a single character played by Rizzo the Rat

Chad and Daisy are fused into a single character played by Robin

Bunsen and Beaker as Billy Reston

Gonzo the Great as Johnny Truant

Pepe the King Prawn as Lude

Waldorf and Statler as Zampanò (providing a sarcastic narration to Will’s misadventures)

The Swedish Chef as that one guy that beats the shit out of Lude.

Johnny’s many love interests are played by chickens.

Thumper is played by Animal in drag. Everyone just rolls with it.

Dr Teeth as Johnny’s boss, with the other members of the Electric Mayhem being the different customers of the tattoo studio.

Sweetums as that one big custodian at the beginning.

Scooter is there. I don’t know what he does but he’s there. Crazy Harry blows something up also.

The one human actor is Willem Dafoe, who plays the Minotaur. He wears a black bodysuit that only leaves his face visible and all he does is perform a horrible little dance every time a character alludes to the Minotaur. He never interacts with anyone or says anything at all.

#house of leaves #the muppets

[00lari00]

Alex and Alice (the lady and the tramp)

Based on this reblog by @bluetorchsky, I wanted to tell you a bit about them and at least a summary of their story because I really think they're cute and their love is kind of… funny XD And I also wanted to see Violin and Accordion reacting to Alex! They can work together and Alex likes to play the guitar! At least their boys can give Alex some tips and teach him a few things… XD

Name: Alexandre Cunha (Alex)

Age: 34

Nationality: Brazil

Skills: Can play the guitar, can fight capoeira very well and generally defend himself using his bare hands and strength, doesn't use weapons much but sometimes likes to use a baseball bat.

Curiosity?: He is trans

He joined the toppat clan when he was 16 years old, his parents were in debt with the clan so they literally sold their son to try and pay off their debt (Early Sir Wilford and Billy G era). Despite Alex's bad situation, Ralf (AKA Right Hand Man) took care of Alex as his apprentice and taught the little recruit everything he knew about fighting and defense, often almost treating him like a son but with heavy fighting training.

Over time he has become a tougher and more reserved person, and he respects Ralf a lot for teaching him all this, for teaching him how to be a stronger person. And now he's a Toppat bodyguard… and that's where Alice comes in

Name: Alice Svensson

Age: 32

Nationality: Swedish

Skills: Very good at arguments and managing things in the clan next door if her cousin Sven Svensson. They taking care of things like money and plans for the clan. She is very good at persuading and use words to her advantage.

She joined the clan when she was 23 years old (Near the end of Terrence's era), she comes from a rich mafia family. Her and Sven's family is... Complicated, in this family everyone has to be successful or a source of pride for their parents... If you cannot achieve your goal or come second, you are weak and incompetent. This caused a rivalry between Sven and Alice since childhood, Alice sometimes teased Sven for not being enough, although she regrets it a little now... Because they both suffered for the same thing.

As she is an important member of the clan due to being from a mafia family, she hired Alex as her bodyguard and right-hand man.

Alex didn't like having to obey her at first, but he started to get to know her better and understand why she was a person who was sometimes selfish or sophisticated. He liked how delicate she was and wanted to protect her and be loyal to her... She is sophisticated like a lady and he is quiet, serious and loyal

As always he is afraid to take the first step in the relationship and is actually very shy, but she also started to like him. I LOVE HOW DIFFERENT THEY ARE XD KAKSJSKAKJ 💕💕 Could someone teach Alex about love... 👀

Tag: #only1toppat!au

#thsc #henry stickmin collection #henry stickmim collection #henry stickman fanart #lol #henry stickmin oc #the henry stickmin collection #only1toppat!au #thsc alex #thsc alice svensson #thsc terrence suave #thsc sir wilford iv

[ihni]

Okay, so it's graduation time in my town, and where I live it is customary for the 12th grade students to celebrate by piling into a truck bed (decorated by flags and signs and young birches and balloons), class by class, and be driven around town, shouting and yelling and singing (and drinking) and just celebrating the end of school. Most are dressed in white, wearing their student hats, with flowers and tiny stuffed animals and small bottles hung around their necks by their loved ones ...

... and it made me think of Swedish Billy, and now I'm kinda imagining him as being brought back to Sweden to live with his grandparents after season 3, after he recovered and Neil left, and doing his last year of (the equivalent of) high school there, and getting to graduate just like that.

I just need him happy and yelling and celebrating on a decorated truck bed with his peers while strangers smile indulgently at them, okay?

#swedish billy hargrove #shut up let me have this it's a beautiful mental image and I'd draw it if I could do it justice #billy hargrove

[sailoreuterpe]

Non-Romantic Song Recommendations

familial/platonic- the lyrics are relatively generic; family or friends

child love- perspective of a child to a guardian

grandchild love- perspective of a grandchild to a grandparent

parental love- perspective of a guardian to a child

sibling love- perspective of a sibling to a sibling

lyrics can tweak platonic- the lyrics are explicitly romantic in nature but can become generic with tweaking

romantic video- the official music video is explicitly romantic in nature; lyric music videos are usually less romantic

(This is my favorite familial/platonic song) Tracy Chapman (familial/platonic): The Promise - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-nqzwIvnZ0

Andrew Gold: Thank You for Being a Friend (familial/platonic)

Andy Grammer: Don't Give Up on Me (lyrics can tweak platonic)

A Great Big World: I Will Always Be There (familial/platonic)

Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn, Michael Lloyd: Love Survives (familial/platonic)

Alison Krauss: Baby Mine (parental love)

Alison Krauss: When You Say Nothing at All (familial/platonic)

Anthony Gonzalez: Proud Corazon (child love)

Avicii: Hey Brother (sibling love)

Ben E. King: Stand By Me (familial/platonic)

Bette Midler: Wind Beneath my Wings (child love, familial/platonic)

Bill Withers: Lean on Me (familial/platonic)

Billy Joel: Just the Way You Are (lyrics can tweak platonic)

Billy Joel: Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) (parental love)

Boyz 2 Men: Mama (child love)

Brendan Shine: A Mother's Love's a Blessing (child love)

Celtic Woman: Danny Boy (sibling love)

Christina Perri: A Thousand Years (romantic video, lyrics can tweak platonic)

Crosby, Stills, and Nash: Teach Your Children (child love, parental love)

Cyndi Lauper: True Colors (familial/platonic)

Dan Fogelberg: Leader of the Band (child love)

Diamond Rio: One More Day (familial/platonic)

Diana Ross: If We Hold On Together (familial/platonic)

Dionne Warwick: That's What Friends are For (familial/platonic)

Donna Lewis: At the Beginning (romantic video, lyrics can tweak platonic)

Gabriella Flores, Gael Garcia Bernal: Remember Me (child love, parental love)

Imagine Dragons: I Bet My Life (child love)

Jim Croce: I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song (lyrics can tweak platonic)

Jim Croce: Time in a Bottle (parental love)

Josh Groban: You Raise Me Up (familial/platonic)

Katy Perry: Unconditionally (romantic video, familial/platonic)

Kenny Loggins: Return to Pooh Corner (parental love)

Lionel Richie: Angel (familial/platonic)

Luther Vandross: Dance with My Father (child love)

Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (lyrics can tweak platonic)

Mary Chapin Carpenter: Grow Old Along with Me (lyrics can tweak platonic)

Melissa Wasserman: Twenty Two (sibling love)

Miranda Lambert: Over You (familial/platonic)

Miranda Lambert: The House That Built Me (child love)

OK Go: I Won't Let You Down (familial/platonic)

Phil Collins: You'll Be in My Heart (parental love)

Phillip Phillips: Gone Gone Gone (familial/platonic)

Phillip Phillips: Home (familial/platonic)

Porter Robinson: Shelter (child love)

Queen: You’re My Best Friend (familial/platonic)

Rachel Platten: Better Place (familial/platonic)

Rachel Platten: Stand by You (familial/platonic)

Randy Newman: You've Got a Friend in Me (familial/platonic)

Regina Spektor: The Call (familial/platonic)

Rod Stewart: Forever Young (parental love)

Sarah Mclachlan: I Will Remember You (romantic video, lyrics can tweak platonic)

Savage Garden: I Knew I Loved You (romantic video, lyrics can tweak platonic)

Shania Twain: Forever and Always (romantic video, lyrics can tweak platonic)

Sick Puppies: All the Same (romantic video, lyrics can tweak platonic)

Sting: Fields of Gold (lyrics can tweak platonic)

Swedish House Mafia: Don't You Worry Child (child love, parental love)

Taylor Swift: marjorie (grandchild love)

Taylor Swift: Safe and Sound (familial/platonic)

Vienna Teng: Lullaby for a Stormy Night (parental love)

Will Smith: Just the Two of Us (parental love)

#Notes by Nikki #music #recommendations #lists #long post #aromantic #asexual #aroace #acearo #aro positivity #asexual positivity #family #friends #platonic love #familial love #child love #parental love #guardian love

[rgr-pop]

My goal for the year was to watch & log 100 movies. Shorts count, didn't matter whether I had seen them before, but they can only count once for the year. I logged 117!

First & last watched: Ken Russell's Women in Love (1969)--the reason I cared about movies so much this year, just an obvious life-changer for me--and Ken Russell's The Rainbow (1989)--Westlin's suggestion for the perfect round out. Surprised to be surprised by how good it was. Great films! Totally on the program! Questions to this day unanswered! Let's go!

Shorts (everything short of Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story) watched: 16

Favorite shorts: Nuit et Brouillard (Alain Resnais, 1956) (decided this year one of my all-time favorite films); Un Chant d'Amour (Jean Genet, 1950); Fireworks (Kenneth Anger, 1947)

Next year my shorts watching will be more programmatic

Films I watched twice in 2023: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987) (another film I realized this year obviously belongs in my top ten--more specifically I decided finally that this is my favorite non-Texas Chain Saw film); Beau is Afraid (Ari Aster, 2023); The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993)

By decade: Before 1900: 0 1900 - 1910: 1 1910 - 1919: 1 1920 - 1929: 1 bro come ON what the FUCK 1930 - 1939: 1 im literally evil 1940 - 1949: 7 1950 - 1959: 3 1960 - 1969: 24 1970 - 1979: 14 1980 - 1989: 16 1990 - 1999: 17 2000 - 2009: 13 2010 - 2019: 9 2020 - 2023: 10

By nation/language roughly: uk/english: 6 us/english: 66 canada/english: 6 france/french: 10 italy/italian: 4 italy/france/french: 1 italy/english: 1 czechoslovakia/czech: 5 palestine/arabic: 3 soviet/russian: 2 russia/russian: 1 austria/german: 1 austria/french: 1 spain/spanish: 1 japan/japanese: 1 poland/yiddish: 1 poland/polish: 1 senegal/wolof: 1 brazil/portuguese: 1 sweden/swedish: 1 eur/farsi: 1 south africa/afrikaans: 1

numbers not adding up there but w/e

By director: Not sure if this is surprising or totally unsurprising, but in spite of my auteurial talk (and all the thematic/completionist plans I like to make), I very rarely watched more than two movies by the same director. I can't decide how I feel about this, nor do I know how to proceed this year given that my goal is to discover who my top five directors might actually be. How do you go about investigating that?

Overwhelmingly the director I watched the most was Adrian Lyne, with five films. I have a few more things to work on but I'm close to done with my shakedown/theory. Neither my favorite director nor favorite guy, I would say I probably 'enjoy' and 'personally get more out of watching' his films more than most. In second place, I watched three Kenneth Anger films--all shorts of course. I watched two films each by the following directors: Ken Russell, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Paul Schrader, Bernardo Bertolucci, Ti West, Todd Haynes, Michael Haneke, Jan Švankmajer (both shorts), and Billy Wilder (one of which being a war department documentary short).

I have mixed feelings about this approach (let me watch man movies if i I want to!) but a quick skim suggests I watched about 15 films directed by women (12%)--lower than expected and probably low for me typically. I always have a romance habit on the backburner so it's never hard for me to watch a lot of movies by women, but obviously my focus on revered directors I never previously wanted to spend time on has had an impact here, meaning I should make an effort with Great women directors in 2024 to keep that in check. I will also say that I specifically recall having a hard time getting my hands on things I wanted to watch by women in a few different cases, including by Great women directors (Barbara Hammer and Akerman), and especially also soviet women directors. There's an overlap here with difficulty accessing short films!

I'm not an active or thoughtful starrer, but these are the films I watched in 2023 that I've given five stars to:

Women in Love (Ken Russell, 1969) (upgraded from four after the year of appreciating it) Mandabi (Ousmane Sembène, 1968) Crash (David Cronenberg, 1996) Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974) Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1956) Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975) (demoted Teorema [1968] to four stars to prevent Salo is A Perfect Film deflation) Un Chant d'Amour (Jean Genet, 1950)

Least favorite films watched in 2023: Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, 2019), Barbie (Greta Gerwig, 2023), All My Good Countrymen (Vojtěch Jasný, 1968), Zahrada (Jan Švankmajer, 1968), the one streaming true crime doc I watched that I then had to log (will not repeat in 2024)

Loved/treats for me: Barry Lyndon, Crossing Delancey, Unfaithful, The Cremator, The Night Porter, Cabaret, talking to people about Funny Games and realizing I love it more than I think I do

Recommended for the romance girls as a thank you for the good romance you have recommended me: Habibi (Susan Youssef, 2011)

Most incredible movie experience of the year by miles and I can only hope 2024 has something this good to offer: House of 1000 Corpses (Rob Zombie, 2003) anniversary screening my birthweek

The otherwise defining film of 2023 for me: Hostel (Eli Roth, 2005)

Onward! Back to work! On the Terror and Violence line! The Family is out there, comfortable, in relative peace…

#film #violence factory

[people-will-definitely-talk]

"We should welcome twitter users coming to tumblr" yeah okay but have you ever had to interact with twitter fandom people? They're some of the nastiest beings to ever exist on this fucking planet.

They're the same who stalked Joseph Quinn wherever he went after season 4 of Stranger Things dropped and Eddie Munson became a fan favourite, leaking his dating app profile and his private cellphone number. (They also leaked Gaten Matarazzo’s cellphone number from what I got.)

They’re the same who harassed the Heartstopper cast so much that one of the main actors deactivated his twitter profile and the other was forced into coming out as bi.

And god forbid if you DARE criticizing the show they like, even if you’re a fan of it yourself. Just this morning I got a load of shit thrown at me on twitter because I dared pointing out how netflix acts in different ways towards wlw shows than mlm shows. I went about it logically looking at stats, and used First Kill and Young Royals as an example, because I watched both and the stats were very different in terms of budget, of views, etc. so overall, an easier comparison to make than between two shows who had almost identical stats.

Somehow (considering I usually get, at most 10 interactions under a tweet on a good day), my tweet blew up among Young Royals fans and I got 1000+ among replies and qrts of people who disagreed and I thought okay, not everybody has the same opinion right? Conctructive criticism is a thing right?

Well, on the goddamn blue bird app it is not.

People just said stuff like “it’s just because that First Kill sucks ass” and I tried explaining why (aka the tanking starting budget), so they went on to straight up calling me stupid, dumb, ignorant, they said I did not understand that one is Netflix USA and the other is from Netflix Nordic, mixed with a lot of swearwords in the crassest display ever.

And like. The fun thing is, I’m completing a master’s degree in Swedish. With my main faculty being media criticism. It will literally be my job, one day, to translate and criticize Swedish-speaking and English-speaking media.

Plus, though it’s not one of my favourites, I’m a fan of Young Royals myself because I started watching it to practice my Swedish language skills, and actually worked with its subtitles for a project of translation I had to do for class.

Tumblr may be a hellsite (affectionate) bit it’s really chill now, and kind of a safe heaven for me where I can interact with any kind of fandom and talk freely about which shows, characters and ships/pairings I love (i.e. apparently everyone on twitter is a Billy Hargrove anti. Seriously. Went to see if there were some fanarts, hcs, or other pieces of fanon really, but there was nothing except for hate tweets against both the characters and fans who like him), even when it comes to more serious and technical stuff like why netflix dooms certain shows from the start (cough cough First Kill cough cough) and I would hate to see it become full of hate just like twitter is.

Soooo, tl;dr: Like hell am I welcoming people you can’t have a civil discussion over anything with here.

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove antis dni #stranger things #stranger things s4 #joseph quinn #gaten matarazzo #fandom #fandom stuff #fans #netflix shows fans are the worst btw #heartstopper #twitter #elon musk #first kill #young royals #netflix #is the worst #is the worst ever #I just want to chill #and enjoy stuff I like in peace #while having civil discussions over it #it's not fair #not okay #twitter migration #like hell no #kit connor #joe locke #rant #fandom discourse