#he's so jason mamoa coded

[froggywizzard]

This is how I imagine ACOTAR characters to be in the real world.

Part 7 CASSIAN

[akajustmerry]

Can you tell us more about queercoding in relation to robes? I'm so intrigued by that, especially when I've heard so many people say that Dale's queerness got sidelined this season

okay I'm gonna address the last thing you mention in this ask first ie Dale's queerness being "sidelined" because I've also seen this being said and from the bottom of my heart I want to say that if you (not you anon) watched season 3 of the Newsreader and thought that that Dale's queerness was sidelined, you do not have the reading comprehension skills or maturity necessary to appreciate the show. So just quickly wrt to the sideline claim:

Dale's bisexuality and his fear of it being discovered drives the great majority of his decisions - from how he dresses to who he spends time with to what he spends money on. So much so he has a literal mental breakdown over the constant pressure. Something that's a character's main motivation is by definition not sidelined.

I find what people usually mean when they say this, especially about bisexual characters but generally about LGB characters is that they view queer representation as almost exclusively queer intimacy. It should go without saying but being queer is about who you want to be intimate with as much as it is about actually being intimate. Dale doesn't experience a lot of queer intimacy and that is by design because of his fears of being discovered. Again the fact he isn't intimate with men is driven by his understanding of his queerness.

Finally, I really need Sam Reid fans from the Iwtv fandom to understand that Dale is the secondary protagonist of the Newsreader. Helen is the protagonist. And more generally, this is an ensemble show. If Dale feels off to the side it's because he is not the main character and not the focus of the show. At best he's the second main character behind Helen. This show is actually about Helen.

Okay that rant is done, onto the robe stuff:

Forgive me, I can't credit exactly where this was first discussed, historically, (I believe maybe in the documentary The Celluloid Closet but if anyone has a better reference lmk), but elaborate robes/dressing gowns have often been used in queer coding. This is in part because fancy robes on men signify significant disposable income via being a bachelor and having no wife or kids. They're luxury items.

This coding through costume goes as far back as Sam's uncle in Bewitched who was very queer coded and often wore elaborate dressing gowns. There's even a joke in The Nanny where Fran isn't surprised people think Max is gay and she lists off his bachelor status, grooming habits and robes. More recently, you can see this kind of coding through robes in costume design in Ripley where it's made a point that Tom takes and wears Dickey's robes, and in Queer 2024. This kind of design choice is even in Interview With The Vampire. Lestat and Louis both wear very fancy robes throughout the series (Lestat's far more opulent ofc), literally the morning after they first have sex there's that shot of Lestat seeing Louis out the door wearing a very snazzy dressing gown.

I think there's also a gendered element too in that dressing gowns/robes are seen as items of clothing a traditionally masculine man would not wear. This is also why male villains wearing dress robes is a trope because it's kind of a way to code deviancy by way of male femininity which has often had crossover with coding queerness. Not the most sophisticated or good faith example, I know, but the most recent fast and furious movie has a whole sequence where Jason Mamoa (bad guy) has a pamper session surrounded by dead bodies while he paints his nails and wears a purple fluffy robe. The very old homophobic signification of using a robe to indicate male femininity, therefore queerness and therefore deviancy is so clear in that movie that I was kinda shocked to see it in one made so recently.

Of course I'm not saying that Dale wearing a robe is homophobic. It's not, but it does align with a very rich history of using snazzy dressing gowns to signify being a bachelor, being wealthy and being queer. All things Dale is grappling with in season 3 and I really enjoyed it as a detail, as you can see. Thanks for asking 🥰

[littlesistersti]

Creative final project for a Short Story course. I chose “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I interpreted the story with themes of idolisation and such.

That influenced my process: I chose Markiplier as the “model” because he has a lot of shirtless photos out there so it was an easy find and because he is a major idol \ icon who gets a lot of fawning over. I chose to put a blank spot over the face to represent how everybody has their own sense of “handsomest man in the world” and has their own idols. I could’ve put the words “your idol here” but one, forgot in the rush, and two, thought it would be nicer in a different way to leave it blank. Like that self-portrait with the green apple 🍏. I forgot to clean up the mic wire or whatever it was. I asked the class to guess and my prof thought I might’ve used Jason Mamoa. Honestly, I could’ve because he is very big, a strong icon\idol fawned over, and played a character relating to the sea. Fits the role of Esteban. Don’t know why he escaped me.

Sources of the images used!

Water

Photo by Fabrizio Conti on Unsplash

Photo by Noah Usry on Unsplash

Wood

Single log: Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash

Many logs: Photo by Ginevra Austine on Unsplash

Photo by Yasemin K. on Unsplash

Shirt

Photo by henri meilhac on Unsplash

Photo by Taisiia Shestopal on Unsplash

Canvas

Photo by Olga Thelavart on Unsplash

Linen

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Flowers

Yellow field: PicsArt photo from @ macmmaya

Red: Photo by Jani-Petteri Tammi on Unsplash

White Daisy: Photo by Linus Belanger on Unsplash

Blue: Photo by Oscar Ivan Esquivel Arteaga on Unsplash

Amber: Photo by Sergio Arteaga on Unsplash

Orchid: Photo by Philip Graves on Unsplash

peony/rose: Photo by Juan Rojas on Unsplash

Bright yellow sticker: weirdly enough, it’s all over PicsArt with many names attached

Other brush tools of flowers

Misc.

Wrist compass: Antik .it CODE 6076A WRIST COMPASS

https://www.antik.it/Antique-compasses/6076A-Wrist-compass/

Scapular: Cedar House

https://cedarhouse.co/premium-brown-scapular-brown-and-cream-our-lady-of-mt-carmel-regular-17in/

Holy water: Fatimayyc Gift Shop

https://www.fatimayycgiftshop.ca/product/holy-water-bottle-4-oz/28

Side note: Linus Belanger has plenty of fantastic photos for any of your “homely” or “cottage core” collages. Giving me small town where there’s a secret society of kid wizards maybe.

[thisislizheather]

Summer Saturdays Vol. 3

EATING

The patatas bravas at Huertas were the best I’ve ever had.

DRINKING

An unholy amount of iced coffees with vanilla sweet cream.

COOKING

I had a piece of leftover steak, so I made Philly cheesesteak potatoes that were unexpectedly great. It was literally just sliced steak, sautéed onions and provolone atop some cubed, roasted potatoes with a basil dip. Am I entering my era of creating my own (albeit basic) recipes? I MIGHT BE.

BAKING

Absolutely nothing, it’s hot as hell.

CRAVING

Making a mental note to get the incredible Emmy burger cheeseburger dumplings (only available in July) at Mimi Cheng’s.

Above Photo: The cheeseburger dumplings at Mimi Cheng’s, NYC

LISTENING

How have I never heard of the song deja vu before? In love.

WATCHING

I watched the newest season of Black Mirror and my favourite was definitely Beyond the Sea. That scene after Josh Hartnett puts his kids to bed and goes downstairs with his wife? May have watched that scene more than once. I also started the newest season of The Summer I Turned Pretty, which can be pretty corny but can also make you teary? Can’t explain it. Love it.

WEARING

Living in these all-red running shoes.

EXPERIENCING

I took a brutal fall on a sidewalk in the East Village and the wound is… wild. I really didn’t want to pay for a doctor visit, so I just went to a CVS pharmacy and begged a pharmacist to take a look and tell me what to do (is that as sad/cheap as it sounds? yup!) and thank christ for pharmacists.

LOVING

I don’t tend to idolize anyone physically, it’s not really my style. (I mean, except for early-aughts Joshua Jackson, Pennywise-era Bill Skarsgård, Riverdale-era Skeet Ulrich and any-time-he-appears-in-water Jason Mamoa…) Okay, forget what I said, I pine like no other. And I can’t get these outfits on these men (below) out of my mind. Just flawless. And they’re all Gucci?? I’ve gotta start paying attention to the Gucci men’s collection runway shows.

Above Photo: Ryan Gosling in Gucci

Above Photo: Josh Harnett in Gucci

Above Photo: Ryan Gosling in Gucci

Oh my jesus, I’m relooking at those photos and maybe I just like a half-open dress shirt?? Yep, cracked the code. Someone convince Nathan to stop buttoning up to his chin, please?

SHOPPING

Secured my Barbie ticket. Now we wait.

You can read Summer Saturdays Vol. 2 over here, and you can see my summer highlights on Instagram over here.

[ificouldhelpyouforget]

unusual asks #15, 16, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31, 34, 38. Oh and happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you!!! Thank you for sending these! I’ll make sure to send some back in the morning! :D

15. What’s a question you constantly get asked?: How old I am. It’s usually after I mention something much older than anyone in the room, or I make a comment about being old. Another one is what my natural hair color is. Lol.

16. If you had to get a tattoo right now, what would you get and where?: There’s a few in mind. One would be the tribal looking Brachydios (Monster Hunter) and it would be on my shoulder. Another would be this adorable black cat with bat wings. I can’t remember the artist, but I follow her here and on Instagram. I could come up with another 50 tattoo ideas I would get if I had the chance to. I have been itching for a new one for four years now.

22. If you could see any concert tonight, which would you choose?: McFly, Simple Plan, or Fall Out Boy. Oh wait, add Jonas Brothers on there, too.

23. If you could break one of your bad habits, which would you choose?: Uh, the one where I scroll through social media when I’m supposed to be writing or editing. It’s a horrible habit of mine. I just need to focus!

28. What celebrity would you rate a perfect 10?: Oh geez... I don’t know if anyone is a perfect 10, to be honest. Most of the celebrities high on my list smoke or are too involved in politics (in the preachy way rather than the informative way)... or they’ve cheated somewhere in their past... Jason Mamoa is pretty high up there though. He’s passionate about his culture, his family. He is a goofball. Handsome as fuck... looks good with long hair, short hair, beard, no beard. He’s strong and a great actor. I still wouldn’t put him at a perfect 10, but maybe a 9. :D

30. If you had to dye your hair an unnatural color right now, what would you choose?: Either bright red (like a firetruck) or purple. I’m dying to change my hair in some way. It’s why I cut my bangs (though right before this quarantine).

31. You can change one thing about your life right now, what would you choose?: Either my job or not needing to work to help support us. That’s the biggest one. I’ve loved this stay at home order because I hate working. I’m not bad at it, I just don’t like it. It’s not fun for me. I get stuck in a rut and I lose most of my creative motivation... And that makes me sad.

34. Do you like your Hogwarts house or do you wish you were a different one?: HUFFLEPUFF FOR LIFE! It was the first house I was ever sorted into on Pottermore (back when you needed a code to get in the first four days it opened). I’ve taken the quiz multiple times and have ended up in each house. Hufflepuff fits me best and makes total sense because my husband is totally a Slytherin. He even tried to cheat to get a different answer and wound up in Hufflepuff with me. He was trying to get Gryffindor. 

38. Post a picture of the outfit you would choose if you could have any outfit you wanted:

Either something like this or

Mykie’s (Glam and Gore on YouTube) entire wardrobe. She has the style I wish I could pull off, but I’m too big and not quite so punk as she is. She always has the coolest outfits.