#people: bea arthur

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

Between the hotvintagepoll, the vintagestagestars poll and the vintagetvstars poll, my conviction that people were just hotter last century is getting increasingly cemented

[moppets]

i do laugh at the armand/daniel "age gap" jokes but i wish we discussed how hot armand finds him way more than how often i see posts about daniel looking old. like we get it, daniel has wrinkles okay cool - lets move on!! a life lived in the textures of a face is sexy!! vampires are ageless!! like ben daniel's as santiago had me, a lesbian, gasping at how hot they made him. you think they aren't gonna slut eric bogosian out?? like look at this and tell me this show gives a shit about "age"

[princeconsortroad]

Whatever you do, don't think about how, in Alex, Henry has a safe person, an interested person, an amused person and a person he loves and who loves him back to rant about Byron's poetry to 🥺

[cheesecakeonthelanai]

The Golden Girls - Favourite Moments

Season 5, Episodes 25 & 26 - “The President’s Coming! The President’s Coming!”

[omegabenaeart]

Nothing to see here. The baby just got tall🧍

Uhhh I also made the old men....older

[philtatosbuck]

in theory i should be more sympathetic with catherine fox but in reality i do hate he a little bit for abandoning all three of her children in the face of their father's death

[s1mpl3sp0ng3]

sometimes i watch golden girls and i just tear up remembering everything each cast member did for the queer community

estelle getty lost her nephew to AIDS and moved in with him during the last months of his life to take care of him. she started a foundation that cares for people affected by AIDS that's still there to this day. she saw one of the writers on her show was queer, walked right up to him and said "you're one of us!" and promised to protect him. she put her career on the line to become an outspoken ally of AIDS patients at a time when it would've been career suicide

bea arthur was a staunch gay and trans ally who donated a lot of her time and money to helping homeless lgbt youth. when she died, she left them thousands of dollars to stay afloat after she was gone. she was incredibly socially active in the queer community!

rue mcclanahan was a staunch advocate of marriage rights for gay couples and openly devoted her time and money for the fight for equality. she also openly participated in queer spaces and loved the community with her entire heart. she was intimately aware of gay mens' particular love for her character blanche and she fully embraced it

everybody knows by now about betty white's activism, but i'll say it anyway. not only did she join the fight for marriage equality, but she was a great mother to her lesbian stepdaughter. she participated in anti-bullying campaigns specifically against lgbt youth. she accompanied liberace to events because it wasn't safe for him to be out. she loved us and she fought for us just like the others

all four of them did SO MANY amazing things for us, and it makes me happy that we had people like them -- that we still do in people like dolly parton! we didn't deserve them. i wish i could've met all of them and told them how grateful i am!

[runawrites-blog]

Where The Fuck Did She Learn That? (Deadpool x Reader)

Summary: After accidentally teaching his daughter a swear word, Wade tries to teach her other words before you come home. You still end up finding out. (Female Reader) Word Count: 1,850 Warnings: Swearing. Kid-Fic. Wade is a Girl Dad. Minor Arguing. No Y/N. No Deadpool and Wolverine Spoilers. A/N: The child character is named Bea (nickname Bee) after Bea Arthur from Golden Girls because, in the flashback scene from Deadpool, we see Wade wearing a shirt with her likeness on it. Also, someone asked me to tag them in my other Deadpool fics but I am not sure if that means ALL Deadpool fics I write or just series, so I didn't tag them. I am new to people wanting to be tagged in my writing, so please if you want to be tagged clarify what you want to be tagged in so I (a dumbass) can understand it. Sorry ^^ Crossposted on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58276927

---

“There she is!”

Wade smiled softly when his one-year-old daughter babbled happily as he picked her up from her playmat on the ground, hoisting her up over his head and making her giggle excitedly. He grinned back at her as he bounced her a few times before settling her on his hip, nodding along to her mostly nonsensical babbles. You’d told him that after around twelve months you two could expect her first words and he was now eagerly waiting for it every day.

He would ever admit that to you because he knew you’d tease him relentlessly about it and as any of his readers knew you were only allowed to do that in bed. But as to not do you injustice, he had to admit that most of the time you weren’t teasing him about how he interacted with his daughter, that most of the time you thought it was absolutely endearing.

“Did you have fun stuffing shapes in boxes? Bet that was absolutely riveting!”

The excited way in which he always spoke to her never failed to make her gurgle excitedly, bouncing in his grasp as her little hands reached up to pat all over his face. Wade just chuckled at her excitement, leaning over to examine the toys on the ground, pretending to be deep in thought.

“So help me out here, the star-shaped block goes into the star-shaped hole right? And the triangle one into the triangle-shaped hole?” He mused, crouching down and pointing at the corresponding shapes and nodding along to his daughter’s babbles. “Got it. Thanks, Bee.”

It was a nickname you two had used for the baby ever since your pregnancy because she had always moved around a lot, making you two call her a busy bee. And when your daughter had been born you two had decided on a fitting name but since you had so adamantly fought Wade on how you couldn’t call a baby Bee and he had not really wanted to argue with you after you’d just given birth, he’d agreed. And like that, you two had decided on the name Bea, only for you to later find out Wade had suggested it because he just loved ‘Golden Girls’.

“How about we get you a snack?” Wade asked in a soft voice, bouncing Bea on his hip as he made his way to the kitchen. “I could try apple bunnies like Mommy makes them but don’t get upset when they come out looking like apple roadkill instead! Deal?”

He had out his pinky at Bea and she reached for it, grabbing it with her whole hand and shaking it around a little. Wade just shrugged at that.

“Close enough!”

Sitting her down in her highchair, Wade started cutting up some apples for Bea, humming along in agreement to whatever she was babbling about behind him. None of her words were distinguishable as of yet but she loved babbling to herself. You’d once said that she truly was Wade’s child because he could never keep his mouth shut, either. When he’d called you fucking rude for it you had almost tackled him with how fast you’d tried to cover his mouth, chiding him for using foul language around Bea. His joke about how you could always gag him had only made you roll your eyes.

“Almost done, Bee. Just keep telling your story. Daddy’s listening.”

As he readied his knife to try and cut into the apple twice, so the two cut-in areas could be lifted to simulate ears, he slipped up and sliced right into his thumb. Dropping the knife onto the counter he shook his hand a little.

“Fuck!”

“Fuck!”

Cut thumb and apple forgotten, Wade felt his blood run cold and he froze in his spot before slowly turning his head to see whether or not he had heard that right. When he looked over his shoulder he saw Bea giggling happily, clapping her tiny hands as she repeated the word over and over again.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

He was dead. You were going to come back and find out that your child’s first word was a swear word and that it was his fault, on top of that. Then you were going to tear him a new one and not in a way he would like you to. Panicking he rushed over to the highchair, crouching down in front of it and shaking his head.

“No, no, Bee. You can’t say that. It’s a bad word.”

“Fuck!”

“No!” Wade exclaimed in desperation as his daughter giggled on and repeated the word. “Can you be a sweetheart for Daddy and stop saying that? Please?”

It was dumb to try and reason with a baby, he knew that. None of his readers would have to remind him of that but in his desperate state of mind, it was the only thing he thought of trying. But it didn’t help. Bea was repeating the word still and Wade stood up in frustration, burying his face in his hands.

As he imagined how you would react, how you would make him sleep on the couch for months he realised the worst thing was that would would likely get upset about this. So he quickly thought of an idea. He had to make Bea forget the swear word and try to get her to say something else.

So quickly, he picked her up again, holding her close as he sat her down on his hip and went around the kitchen, pointing out random objects only to get the swear word as a reply again. Then he moved on into the living room to try doing the same there.

“Flower.”

“Fuck.”

“Table.”

“Fuck.”

“Couch.”

“Fuck.”

This went on for some time until eventually Wade went into Bea’s bedroom and walked around, once more pointing out random objects until they reached her crib and the mobile hanging over it. Bea reached out for the little aquatic creatures hanging from it and Wade got an idea -- a word that was as short as the swear word and also started with the same letter. Gentle, he stopped the mobile and grabbed a small blue fish between both his fingers.

“Fish.”

“Fish!”

“Yes, Fish! Good girl, Bee!” Wade said and nodded, beaming as his daughter repeated the word a few more times. “Fish. That’s a fish.”

The front door opening made him turn and freeze. He hoped his plan had worked as he walked out into the living room where you quickly spotted him and came over, cooing at the girl in his arms before taking her into yours. You bounced her around a bit as you leaned in to kiss Wade before looking back at Bea.

“Did you have fun with Daddy, Bee?”

“Fish!”

Your mouth fell open and a smile overtook your features as you stared at your daughter in disbelief. Then you looked up at Wade in absolute delight, bouncing Bea around on your hip as the girl giggled happily.

“She said her first word? That’s amazing! And it’s so funny that it’s fish.”

“I guess it’s because of her mobile.” Wade shrugged and then leaned forward to kiss Bea on the head as he continued lying to you. “She’s been going on about it all afternoon.”

“It’s just sad that I wasn’t there to hear it.” Your smile faltered just a bit but then your face lit up again. “Maybe I can see it on the baby monitor.”

Wade felt his blood run cold for a second before he realised why that wouldn’t be possible. “She said it in the kitchen. The baby monitor is in the bedroom, so I guess you won’t be able to see it. Sorry, Honey.”

Once more your face fell but it quickly lit up once again when Bea kept babbling on about fish and you looked up to smile at Wade, seemingly having decided that it didn’t matter because it was a wonderful thing nonetheless. Wade was about to embrace you and Bea when you piped up again, a big smile on your face.

“Wait a second. The baby monitor has two devices and both of them have cameras, so you can use them back and forth.” You mused, snapping your fingers and making Wade freeze as he realised where the other device was. “I left the other one in the kitchen yesterday!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, and now I can see our daughter speak her first word for the first time, too!”

Before Wade could come up with a lie you were on your way to the kitchen, Bea in your arms. Once there you sat down the footage of the empty kitchen until Wade saw the video of him putting Bea down in her highchair. His hands clamped down on the back of your chair as you started playing the footage, turning back to smile at him and tease him quietly about how sweet he was for always talking to Bea. But he wasn’t really listening, eyes trained on the monitor.

“Fuck!”

Wade felt himself freeze as you turned around in your chair, a deep scowl on your face as you looked up at him. “That was our daughter first word? And she said it because of you?”

“I am so sorry, Honeybun. My sweet pookie-bear, I swear it was not on purpose. I cut myself and it was out of reflex. Please, don’t kick me out!”

“Give me a second.”

You stood from your chair and walked into the living room to place Bea down on her playmat where she began playing with her shapes and blocks again. Wade followed you, head turned down as he waited for you to go off on him. As you marched over and guided him into the hallway, just far enough to be out of earshot but close enough to keep an eye on your daughter, he knew he was in for it.

“Bad enough that you teach her to swear, but you also lie to me about it!” You snapped quietly, probably not wanting to raise your voice and scare Bear. “I can’t believe you!”

Wade raised his hands in defeat. “It’s totally my fault, I know. But you gotta admit that I at least got her to quickly forget it. Now she’s just saying ‘fish’, so that’s good!”

“Yeah, I guess that’s good.” You sighed and shook your head, putting your hand on your hips. “At least you fixed this.”

“So really, if anything you shut be thankful!”

“Shut the fuck up, Wilson!”

”Fuck!”

Wade burst out laughing as you turned in horror, finding Bea on the floor, repeating the word over and over again. He watched in amusement as you hurried over and tried to redirect her to saying ‘fish’ again but it was of no use because now that Bea had been reminded of the word she was not going to stop saying it. Wade grinned to himself as he approached you, leaning in close to whisper in your ear so Bea wouldn’t hear him.

“Where the fuck did she learn that?”

[fuckyeahasexual]

"AIDS is not a bad person's disease! It is not god punishing people for their sins!"

The Golden Girls is a legendary American sitcom airing from 1985, to 1992. It centered around three older women and their daily life. The show was lauded for tackling controversial issues such as lgbt+ rights, ageism, racism, ableism, and beyond.

The ensemble actresses (Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty) supported social justice in real life. To this day, The Golden Girls are beloved by the lgbt+ community for the mark they made on American culture.

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

If you are a movie fan and haven't read the book yet, here are some irrelevant details from the book

Henry owns a cardigan

Arthur and Catherine meet on a Henry V play (which they named Henry after), which Catherine went to see and saw Arthur playing. She "shook off her security to disappear into London and dance all night".

Pez listens to kpop, and he got Alex into it

Nora watches drag race and got Henry into it

Henry is an Elton John fan (actually relevant in the book)

Alex is a Hall & Oates fan

Alex wears glasses (actually relevant in the book)

Henry is described by Alex as having lots of moles

Bea is the rockstar girlfriend, at the end of the book she plays on a concert and everything. She plays the guitar and is always wearing a leather jacket. She also has a fat cat called Mr Wobbles. And the queen wanted her to learn violin “since it was more proper” instead of guitar. “Bea was allowed to learn both, but she went to uni for classical violin.”

During the turkey phonecall, Henry is wearing a peely face mask

Amy is trans and has a pansexual wife

(Actually relevant) Catherine was not off in another country the whole story, just battling intense grief for her husband's death, so she wasn't present in her children's life, so they felt as if they lost both parents.

There's no king, she's actually a queen, her name is Mary and she should die (she's so so much worse on the book than the king is on the movie)

David is a service dog

(Actually relevant in the book) June bought a teen magazine at 15 and 13 year old Alex would sneak into her room to stare at the magazine (and the picture of a blonde 14 year old British prince on it).

Bea is the middle kid, Henry is the youngest

Henry is canonically on therapy and on antidepressants (since the start of the book)

I don't remember if they mentioned it on the movie but Arthur was James Bond and died of pancreatic cancer.

Alex’s favorite Olympic sport is rhythmic gymnastics

Bea had an addiction problem when Henry was about 17 (as a way to cope after their father's death) and only got herself into rehab after Henry went to her and started crying about dad was dead and he was gay and scared so she couldn't kill herself. That's how he came out to her

Alex doesn't wanna be president at the end of the book, he starts law school

Henry favourite star wars is Jedi, Alex's is Empire

June is allergic to peanuts

Alex runs and runs to cope and clear his head

He did not know he was bi until after Henry kissed him. Yes, he had a friend with benefits relationship with his high school friend Liam, but he genuinely thought it was perfectly platonic and straight

Also he doesn't keep on touch with Liam after high school (their friendship just slowly fades away, with living so far and Alex being suddenly famous) but they reconnect at the end

Alex and Henry move in together on a brownstone on Brooklyn, eventually they marry (after Henry abdicates) on the lake house, they move to a farmhouse on Austin, they spend their honeymoon unpacking

Pez is lactose intolerant

Bluebonnet is June’s code name, Barracuda is Alex’s

Henry is a big Austen fan, and makes references to her books through the story

Amy knits

Zahra has a sister who recently had a baby

June forced Alex into dresses as a kid

Henry’s favorite food is a cheap falafel stand ten minutes from the palace

Henry really likes sailing

Shaan has a motorbike

Alex is allergic to dust

Henry keeps a copy of Le Monde, the newspaper from the day they were in Paris, on his room

Alex and Nora dated when Alex was 17 and Nora 18 but realized they were definitely better off as friends. When they are bored, they like to create rumors about their relationship

Alex makes tons of lists to organize

Alex wears chinos, and claims kakhis are for white people

Nora is very good at math

Alex grew up catholic

At the end of their e-mails, Alex and Henry quoted historical lgbt love letters

Nora’s one-bedroom is “full of books and plants she tends to with complex spreadsheets of watering schedules.”

Nora is bisexual and on the aro spectrum (not canon on the book than she’s aro, but Casey did mention it somewhere)

Arthur gifted Henry a telescope for his seventh birthday

The karaoke scene happens not while on Texas but in some club full of queer people. The whole group is there, Pez got them matching kimonos. Alex’s says Hoe Dameron, Henry’s says Prince Buttercup. Aside from Henry singing Don’t Stop Me Now, Bea sings Call Me by Blondie, and Pez sings So Emotional by Whitney Houston in a “shockingly flawless falsetto”.

The lakehouse confessions happens while at night

The Kensington fight (after the lakehouse confession) is much more dramatic, they don’t go to the v&a that night, but the next night. That morning Henry got up early, and brought Alex coffee when he woke up. They made up.

Also Alex takes his coffee with cinnamon

Alex, Nora and Henry are gen z, while June is a millennial

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

Lynnie herself is a rockstar. Her life has been so interesting, her career is pretty trailblazing in writing for theater and television - on purpose, she realized she had to write the roles she wanted to play, roles that didn't exist back then - and in her personal life she does wonderful advocacy work and foster care work. She's just a very nice lady. I'm still hunting down files I have saved from years ago but I did find an interview where she said Bea smiled watching tape of her first ep as youngDorothy, and that she thinks Bea knew the reverence she held her in (exact words) and that she always felt Bea was very kind and supportive of her. she also said "let's face it, no matter how old you are if you're a petite blonde people think you're adorable and cute, it's a lot easier in the world than if you're a tall dark girl and someone you have to get to know to not be threatened by" which is a very astute observation as to how Bea was and still is treated compared to certain other people. I've got to travel this week and I've abused your inbox enough but if I find anything else relevant I might come back in a few weeks. happy to have made people happy.

Oh, absolutely!! We've spent some words on her acting so far, but I know she was also a prolific writer and producer. What a queen!! And on top of that wonderful career, she's also a great person in her private life?!? I'm not surprised (kind of gathered it from all we talked about so far!), but still!! Rockstar is the perfect definition!!! Wow!!!

Also not surprised that Bea was kind and supportive of her -- everything I've found out about Bea points to the fact that she was a genuinely sweet, lovely person. It's wonderful that she got to work with someone who admired her so much!! She really deserved all the love and admiration in the world!

I agree. That's a very poignant observation on her part -- especially that 'someone you have to get to know not to be threatened by'. So many people seem to think of Bea as this brash, overbearing commanding type, and she certainly could be, on stage -- but from what I've read, in her private life she was shy and introverted and just a big sweetheart. And I agree that a big part of this disconnect is due to how she appeared to people! I love them both, but the difference in treatment between her and Betty White alone is proof that one's appearance can influence people's opinions much more than we like to admit.

Anon, have a safe trip, and thank you once again for everything you've told me!! Feel free to come back whenever you want! You've really made my month (and, judging from the reblogs, I'm not the only one!!). Thank you so much!

[clowniconography]

looking back at the type of straight celebrities who were typically considered "gay icons" in the 90s and before (people like bea arthur, dolly parton, and angela lansbury), they were usually well liked by gays both for their careers AND their work supporting the gay community through charity and networking. nowadays i feel like the requirement for a straight celebrity to be a gay icon has gone down to just. being liked by a lot of gay people and *maybe* also paying lip service to supporting the gay community. this is probably due to the influx of out queer celebrities, but also to the perception that lgbt people are more accepted by society than we once were. my point is that now more than ever we are seeing that this is not necessarily true, and we should again be requiring celebrities to actually use their money and reach to make material change for lgbt people if they want "gay icon" status. talk is fucking cheap

[vintagetvstars]

Diahann Carroll Vs. Rue McClanahan

Propaganda

Diahann Carroll - (Dynasty, Julia) - God every clip of her on Dynasty is just so iconic, her entrance, the bit where she shades Joan Collins' Alexis for her taste in caviar... "I wanted to be the first black bitch on television" she said, and she did it beautifully!

Rue McClanahan - (Golden Girls, Maude, Mama's Family) - Listen to me. I have never understood celebrity crushes until I first witnessed Rue McClanahan. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen - just look at her!! Gorgeous eyes, the cutest nose, a SPECTACULAR smile - she has this adorable, princess-like quality about her AND she's also a complete hottie AND she's aware of it: she HAS THE RANGE, people!! Her two most famous roles are polar opposites, in fact: she starred in the role of naive, gentle Vivian Cavender-Harmon in Maude (and I mean. Just look her up and tell me that's not an angel!), and then went on to gain even more well-deserved fame and success as the seductive, extroverted Blanche Devereaux in The Golden Girls (a role for which she won an Emmy in 1987 - her amazing, hilarious acceptance speech can be found here: . I should also point out that both of these are comedy characters and she is HILARIOUS as them both - the comedic timing, the delivery, the expressions, she was a comedy queen!!! As for her personal life, she was just a darling - and also very funny in person, not just in her acting roles! She was a staunch supporter of gay rights and a big advocate for same-sex marriage in the US, as well as a vegetarian and a big defender of animal rights. She suffered from illness in her later years which greatly impacted her health, but she was still very active up until her death in 2010, and she even released a wonderful autobiography in 2007 titled "My First Five Husbands... and the Ones Who Got Away". In her interviews she's always gentle, soft-spoken (her voice. dear god. sweet mother Aphrodite I cannot weave I am overcome with gay thoughts), and kind, but also sharp, witty, and just a delight to watch. I could go on forever talking about her honestly. I am actually in love with her and you should be too. She's just the best! Here, have some additional pics: (pics below the cut)

Master Poll List of the Hot Vintage TV Ladies Bracket

Additional propaganda below the cut

Diahann Carroll:

Diahann Carroll's First Scene on "Dynasty"

Rue McClanahan:

The Hottie™ of the Golden Girls, she was definitely a GILF. And her character's shenanigans were Emmy-winning but no less fun and her outfits were always on point and gorgeous, befitting her perfectly.

she!!!

as Vivian, with her fellow hottie Bea Arthur as Maude

as Blanche - look at those eyes!!!

come on, tell me you wouldn't do anything for that smile, I dare you

in her contract she specifically requested to be given all of Blanche's clothes and SHE WAS RIGHT

Okay so first of all. Rue has this way of moving around and looking at you that just-- I mean, I'm ace, but I *get* the allos. She's hot and she knows it (and she plays a character in The Golden Girls who's in her 50s, hot, and knows it as well. Which, talk about perfect casting??) But I'm mostly here to talk about the fact that she said this in her Emmy acceptance speech (paraphrased because I'm sharing the video with the right timestamp, and you should absolutely watch up until 3:40, because her delivery is UNMATCHED): "My mother said to me once [...] 'Oh, Eddi-Rue, for heaven's sake. Don't you know every kick's a boost?' There've been a lot of kicks, and there've been a lot of boosts. I'm not going to mention the people who gave me kicks... but you know who you are. And you'll be in the book." (Seriously though, do yourself a favour and watch that video. She's amazing!!) She said this, and proceeded to WRITE THE BOOK, titled "My first five husbands, and the ones who got away", which is *incredibly* funny, and such an earnest look into her life. She opens the acknowledgements with "This book is about my life and experiences as I lived them, and anyone who doesn't like it can jolly well lump it." And I mean... she's awesome. I could go on.

Rue McClanahan @ The Emmy Awards 1987

[brainless-tin-box]

I’m glad people seemed to like my idea of Bea Arthur Doctor Who because there’s some more in the works >:]

[vigilskeep]

What is Bea's perspective on her older brother in the Circle? Does this affect any of her ideas/decisions? For that matter, if he was still at the Conclave, does she even know he's dead?

there’s a big age gap—arthur is the eldest of his four, and then there was a gap after that before their father remarried and had bea—so because he was taken away in sort of his mid teenage years, bea truly doesn’t remember him very well. he remembers her fondly but as like the baby of the family rather than as a person you know

i don’t know how it affects her opinion on mages. (for clarity this would be two of her siblings in the circle, the youngest of arthur’s four is also a mage.) just those fractions of memories that things were nicer when arthur was here probably do encourage her natural open-mindedness. then again the other mage, cat, could sometimes be cruellest. (not a malicious kid exactly, i love cat, but she follows whatever role model she has, eager to be funniest, to impress. needs more parenting than she ever got at home.) i also think that kindly-meaning priests and her mother’s family and even maybe her templar aunt she really looks up to, they tried to be sympathetic to her getting bullied by her older siblings and maybe explained, you know, don’t pay your older siblings any mind, they’ve got the devil in them! of course they act out, they’ve got magic in their line, it makes them hot-blooded and cruel and bitter against the “pure”, don’t mind them, endure them, your father will see which of you he can rely on in the end. i think that’s the kind of andrastian superstition the people around her would have completely felt it was normal to casually say. so there’s a bit on both sides.

she definitely thinks of arthur and cat when she sees the mages in redcliffe and it does make her more sympathetic. she doesn’t have the right bones in her body to be resentful of them because of the connection like she maybe could. (she doesn’t even resent any of her siblings themselves really. open-minded and sympathetic to a fault, it’s not always for the best)

i... hadn’t thought about arthur and helena dying at the conclave in this scenario 😭 i might save them from that fate so i can have them around to play with. it’s only fun to have them both there if one must die and not the other. i’ll figure out where to put them instead

[forever-fixating]

RWRB Appreciation Month Bingo: Platonic Dynamic

For @rwrbsource and @rwrbmovie's RWRB Appreciation Month Bingo: Platonic Dynamic

Platonic Dynamic: Henry and Pez

Author's Note: Henry and Pez have such an interesting friendship in the book, and I'm so sad we didn't get to see more of it in the movie. (Mayhaps something to elaborate on in the sequel?) I wanted to write this little moment because I believe that Pez was a major support for Henry when grappling with the aftermath of Arthur's death. Shoutout to Pez, you are a real one, darling! This bit is quite angsty, so maybe have a hanky handy?

Pez Okonjo considered himself to be a fairly emotionally intelligent person for his age. His parents raised him to always extend grace and understanding to people because he could never know what they might be going through. But, as he stood outside his dorm room, listening to his best friend struggle not to break down over the phone, he couldn't muster a single mite of grace or understanding for one Catherine Fox Mountchristen-Windsor.

"A-are you sure she isn't available?" Henry was saying. "I-It's just...things are really hard for me right now, and I wanted to-"

Henry's voice fell silent, no doubt listening to the laundry list of excuses and platitudes Catherine's equerries had on hand ever since Arthur's death. Pez tried to be understanding. Really, he did. He had no idea what it must be like to lose the love of one's life. But, in the past few months, especially after the nightclub incident with Bea, Pez had a front-row seat to what it was like to lose a parent.

Or two, Pez thought bitterly.

He listened to Henry mumble something. I swear to God Almighty, if he is fucking apologizing, Pez fumed silently. But anger wasn't what Henry needed at that moment. So, after a minute or two, he knocked on the door cheerfully and breezed in, saying, "So, I know you wanted falafel tonight, but our favorite stand closed early. I got us Indian instead. There's a few different options for you to choose from, plus leftovers for tomorrow!"

Pez pretended not to notice his friend's redden, glassy eyes or the quick swipes he made over his cheeks. Ever since Arthur, it was a delicate tightrope act of knowing when to push and when to let things be. Tonight was the latter.

Henry looked at the bulging bag of food Pez set down on the end of his bed and asked, "Wh-what happened with Cassandra? I thought you two had a date tonight."

Pez sighed, shucking off his jacket. "Can you believe she had the nerve, the gall, nay! The temerity to cancel on me? She said she had food poisoning or some such tosh, but then tell me why I saw her out with her girlfriends at the pub? Women, beautiful, beguiling creatures, though they may be, can be so fickle."

Henry managed a laugh, a small victory in Pez's eyes. "Oh crumbs, Pez. You haven't had much luck lately. That's what? The sixth cancellation in so many weeks?"

"Yes, you needn't rub in it, Haz!"

Of course, it was a lie. In truth, Pez did the canceling, as he had with most of the others who asked him out recently. The ladies were disappointed (because how could they not be?) but understood when Pez explained why. Part of him figured Henry knew the stories were a scam. But Pez couldn't fathom the idea of partying when his best mate was alone with his dark thoughts.

Pez sat down next to Henry, who asked, "Would you like to watch more Doctor Who?"

"Yes, please!" Pez said, digging into the bag and arranging the takeaway containers like a mini-buffet. "I believe we left off right before Ms. Donna Noble was set to make her debut?"

Henry nodded, his spirits lifting. "She's absolutely brilliant, I'm certain you'll love her. I love the dynamic she has with Ten. Oy, Space Man!"

Pez laughed and took a bite of a samosa while Henry queued up the episode on his laptop. As the opening credits played, Henry laid his head on Pez's shoulder.

"Thank you."

Pez rested his cheeks on limp, blonde hair. "You're welcome, Haz."

A/N— Sorry, not sorry, but if the fandom is going to rake Ellen over the coals for her shortcomings with Alex, there needs to be a lot more discussion about Catherine. True, she lost her husband, but Phillip, Bea, and Henry lost their father. She should have been there for them. Comment below with your thoughts! I promise the next ficlet will be decidedly less angsty.

Check out this post and join the fun in celebrating the one-year anniversary of our little romcom that could being released!