#secretly gay pope

[gh0stsp1d3r]

Can I request JJ and Pope being in poly relationship with a female reader? NSFW and SFW pls if you can

AHHH id love to THANK YOU SK FORB THIS

SFW

- they’re very much so in denial at first, and they both are strictly dating you for a little. That is until you finally get them to admit how gay they are for each other.

“Just admit it, you guys are so in love!” You attempted, watching both boys shake their heads but look at each other at the same time.

“Nope.” JJ protested.

“I mean… I’ve thought about it, but I don’t think I really…”

JJ’s eyes snapped up to meet his, quirking an eyebrow. “You’ve thought about it…?”

you’re wearing a smirk and clapping your hands together in victory.

- anyways they are literally the best bfs ever. popes the more calm and romantic one. He’s the one that ends up cleaning your guys messes a lot.

-and JJ is the more chaotic but charming one. It’s a perfect balance.

- days usually start like this…

“JJ, what did I tell you about leaving your clothes on the ground?” Pope groaned, frustrated as he picked up the boys dirty clothes and threw them into a hamper.

“Sorry!” He shouted from the living room, you giggling at the boys.

- anyways dates are a mix of super cute and also chaotic. Like you guys cannot go anywhere without jj saying some dumb shit that makes you both look at him with a “seriously dude?” look.

- but you both love him for it anyways.

- JJ is also the most protective one in the relationship. Doesn’t let anyone say shit about either you or pope. has gotten into multiple fights for it and will continue to do so, Pope is lecturing him and telling him to stop before he gets locked up and your wrapping his wounds. He is more obvious and loud about his affection.

- and Pope is the most secretly affectionate out of the two of you. He showers you both in compliments, most of them discrete.

- JJ is one for pda and pope is not.

“Jesus, stop- stop, both of you.” He shot you both warning glares, watching you both be those couples who couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

“Oh, so I have a super hot girlfriend and im supposed to not wanna touch her all the time? That doesn’t make sense.” JJ teased, wrapping an arm around you.

“We are literally outside a McDonald’s.”

- they both scream casual dominance !! specially pope

NSFW

- okok AHHH. pope is much more gentle with sex, he’s the one telling JJ to be slower sometimes, to go easier on you..

- JJ is more fast and fervent when it comes to sex. He practically pounces on you both.

- THREE. WAY. KISSES!! All of you love em and they’re just so so sexy.

- and watching pope and jj kiss? oh my fucking god.

- you all pope always have hickeys. Jj just loves them too much.

- if you’re into anal, JJ loves fucking your ass while Pope has your pussy :3 he calls it his hole, and pope calls him a freak for it.

- speaking of freakiness I think we all know jj wins in that category. He dgaf, he pretty much down for anything and everything.

- also pope has the biggest fucking load ever. when you first fuck you and jj are like 👁️👁️ does it ever stop?

- two words. Eiffel Tower.

- you ask to hold them when their soft. And jj is like why not and pope looks at you both like you’re from another planet.

[blckbrrybasket]

Pope sighed deeply as he stared out at the water, feeling utterly defeated. The waves below the dock crashed into the support beams while he hugged his knees to his chest. Many times he’d find himself out here late at night, wishing things were different. The taunts from boys at school had cut deeper than he thought they had. He could be called “gay” or “queer” all day long, it didn’t phase him.

He knew there was truth to their ‘insults’, deep down. People were gay, it’s a fact of life, that wasn’t what got him angry. What got him so upset was when he saw them being genuinely grossed out by gay people. They found it disgusting, him disgusting.

He heard footsteps falling behind him but didn’t turn in the direction, unwelcoming to any conversation someone may start. Then the voice of someone he couldn’t determine if he wanted to speak most or least to called out to him. “Hey, Pope!” JJ jogged down the dock, smile wide on his face. He hadn’t yet realized Pope’s dejection.

Once he reached Pope, JJ nudged his side with the toe of his boot. “Yo. Why you sittin’ out here alone?” Of course it was JJ. It was always JJ, in every way. Pope shrugged, not meeting his friend's eyes. “Nothing. Just...stuff at school.”

JJ sat down beside him, eyes focusing on Pope’s mouth. “Assholes giving you trouble again? What'd they say this time?” When Pope didn't answer, JJ nudged him playfully. “Did you die on me?” He was met with a heavy sigh as Pope reluctantly looked at him.

“Nothing, JJ. They just called me gay, like the worst thing on earth to be would be being gay.” Pope didn’t mention the more vile things said. JJ shifted not knowing exactly how to comfort Pope without making a joke. Expecting a different answer, JJ prompted him lightheartedly, “Well? Are you?”

Pope glanced at JJ, his heart in his throat. There was something in JJ's eyes, or lack thereof. He wasn’t judging by any means. Slowly, Pope nodded. JJ’s eyebrows slowly climbed his face and he looked out at the water before leaning back on his hands, shoulder touching Pope’s.

“You know they don’t know shit right?” JJ was the first to break the silence as always. “They’re just dickheads,” he said matter-of-factly. “They don't understand.” Pope wasn’t sure if he had read too deep or if he was hitting the mark when he looked at JJ in surprise.

His tone gave Pope courage. Their eyes met again, and this time Pope thought he saw something more in JJ's gaze. Affection. Longing. Suddenly every casual touch and private moment they’d shared took on a new light.

Pope’s mind raced as he took it in. JJ couldn’t like boys. Could he? He studied the relaxed look on JJ’s face as if he knew what he was silently telling Pope. It was all the words he couldn’t find a way to say out loud. ‘It’s okay. You’re okay. I love you too.’

It was everything Pope had secretly dreamed of and dared not hope for. He licked his lips nervously. “JJ...” JJ’s throat bobbed, setting sun basking him in its rays. “Yeah?” He started almost shakily. Pope searched his eyes again, pinky sliding over JJ’s. All he needed was when JJ more confidently hooked their fingers together. “Yeah.” Pope whispered, not needing to say anything further.

He wasn’t as afraid anymore, but his confession could wait another day. For now he wanted to sit here where he considered it to be the prettiest place on earth with his favorite person.

[rei-ismyname]

1602 X-Men

After some Neil Gaiman time travel nonsense centred around Steve Rogers posing as a white native American (sigh) we get to meet the X-Men of this time.

Dreams of the Danger Room, subtle.

Carlos Javier runs a private school that's secretly for Witchbreed. Here's the O5, with Jean pulling a Sweet Polly Oliver. Scottish James refers to King James I, who burns mutants at the stake (and Doc Strange, bc he's a dick.) He's also revealed to be Wolverine. All the characterisation is pretty thin - the size of the cast leading to heavy Flanderisation. Scott is a gruff dick, Warren is a gay himbo, Chuck is a dreamer and pragmatist, Bobby and Jean are more background characters. Oh and Hank is verbose.

Magneto is the Grand Inquisitor with a really dubious plan to throw non-passing mutants under the bus. In this he's aided by Sister Wanda and Brother Petros. The Grand Inquisitor basically just sucks, a mega fanatic, which is a shame. Minimal pathos there.

We meet Werner first as he's about to be burnt alive for having wings. Not looking good for him.

Never fear, the X-Men roll in and fuck their shit up. Mags can't stop them without outing himself.

Scott blows up the troublesome wall by lifting his blindfold. BOOM!

They benefit heavily from Chuck's wealth and influence here too. Jean propels the boat with her mind.

It seems Chuck will moralise at anyone in any time period, telling Nick Fury to stop smoking. Curiously, Logan is anti tobacco in 1602, but he's also the King of Scotland and a Protestant.

Yep, Mags is a real dick. Although, he's working with Wanda and Pietro and he's never treated them very well. He is explicitly Jewish, though he hides that as well.

The Pope sends some chumps to kill the Grand Inquisitor (as a CK2 and history enthusiast, very accurate) but sadly for them their knives are metal. Looks like the jig is up. Honestly I don't really like this mini and it's spinoffs very much, but I do like the X-Men. I read it so you don't have to.

[camisoledadparis]

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 … December 11

1475 – Pope Leo X (d.1521), born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest (only a deacon) to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses. He was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, the most famous ruler of the Florentine Republic, and Clarice Orsini. His cousin, Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, would later succeed him as Pope Clement VII (1523-34).

Several modern historians have concluded that Leo was homosexual. Contemporary tracts and accounts such as that of Francesco Guicciardini have been found to allude to active same-sex relations - alleging Count Ludovico Rangone and Galeotto Malatesta were among his lovers.

Cesare Falconi has examined in particular Leo's infatuation with the Venetian noble Marcantonio Flaminio, with Leo arranging the best education that could be offered for the time. Von Pastor has argued, however, against the credibility of these testimonies, and rejected accusations of immorality as anti-papal polemic. Gucciardini was not resident at the papal court during Leo's pontificate, while other contemporaries such as Matteo Herculano took pains to praise his chastity. Paul Strathern, a British writer and academic, argues that Leo, while homosexual, was not sexually active as pope, despite identifying notable members of that family as such.

Jean Cocteau and Jean Marais

1913 – Jean Marais, French actor (d.1998); Marais was never much of an actor, and it is doubtful he would have achieved international fame had he not become Jean Cocteau's lover, but he was, by universal acclaim, one of the most handsome men ever to appear in films. In the 1940s when he made most of his movies for Cocteau, actors were still slicking down their hair with Kreml and Vitalis. But he changed all that. His cheveaux fous and athletic good looks created a new style of postwar leading man.

Cocteau and Marais

When in 1946 he spent his time in Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast, trapped within an ape-like constume, waiting for Beauty's kiss to turn him once again into Jean Marais, Gay moviegoers around the world secretly wished that they were Josette Day who actually got to kiss the handsome actor's furry face. What is perhaps most interesting about the friendship between Cocteau and Marais is that the actor's face in profile bore an astonishing resemblance to the boys Cocteau had been sketching for thirty years before meeting him.

In the 1960s, he played the famed villain of the Fantômas trilogy. After 1970, Marais's on-screen performances became few and far between, as he preferred concentrating on his stage work. He kept performing on stage until his eighties, also working as a sculptor. In 1985, he was the head of the jury at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.

1945 – John Preston (d.1994) was an author of gay erotica and an editor of gay nonfiction anthologies.

He grew up in Medfield, Massachusetts, later living in a number of major American cities before settling in Portland, Maine in 1979. A writer of fiction and nonfiction, dealing mostly with issues in gay life, he was a pioneer in the early gay rights movement in Minneapolis. He helped found one of the earliest gay community centers in the United States, edited two newsletters devoted to sexual health, and served as editor of The Advocate in 1975.

He was the author or editor of nearly fifty books, including such erotic landmarks as Mr. Benson and I Once Had a Master and Other Tales of Erotic Love. Other works include Franny, the Queen of Provincetown (first a novel, then adapted for stage), The Big Gay Book: A Man's Survival Guide for the Nineties, Personal Dispatches: Writers Confront AIDS, and Hometowns: Gay Men Write About Where They Belong.

Preston's writing (which he described as pornography) was part of a movement in the 1970s and 1980s toward higher literary quality in gay erotic fiction. Preston was an outspoken advocate of the artistic and social worth of erotic writings, delivering a lecture at Harvard University entitled My Life as a Pornographer. The lecture was later published in an essay collection with the same name. The collection includes Preston's thoughts about the gay leather community, to which he belonged.

His writings caused controversy when he was one of several gay and lesbian authors to have their books confiscated at the border by Canada Customs. Testimony regarding the literary merit of his novel I Once Had a Master helped a Vancouver LGBT bookstore, Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium, to partially win a case against Canada Customs in the Canadian Supreme Court in 2000.

Preston also brought gay erotic fiction to mainstream readers by editing the Flesh and the Word anthologies for a major press.

Preston served as a journalist and essayist throughout his life. He wrote news articles for Drummer and other gay magazines, produced a syndicated column on gay life in Maine, and penned a column for Lambda Book Report called "Preston on Publishing." His nonfiction anthologies, which collected essays by himself and others on everyday aspects of gay and lesbian life, won him the Lambda Literary Award and the American Library Association's Stonewall Book Award. He was especially noted for his writings on New England.

In addition, Preston wrote men's adventure novels under the pseudonyms of Mike McCray, Preston MacAdam, and Jack Hilt (pen names that he shared with other authors). Taking what he had learned from authoring those books, he wrote the "Alex Kane" adventure novels about gay characters. These books, which included "Sweet Dreams," "Golden Years," and "Deadly Lies," combined action-story plots with an exploration of issues such as the problems facing gay youth.

Preston was among the first writers to popularize the genre of safe sex stories, editing a safe sex anthology entitled Hot Living in 1985. He helped to found the AIDS Project of Southern Maine. In the late 1980s, he discovered that he himself was HIV positive.

Some of his last essays, found in his nonfiction anthologies and in his posthumous collection Winter's Light, describe his struggle to come emotionally to terms with a disease that had already killed many of his friends and fellow writers.

He died of AIDS complications on April 28, 1994, aged 48, at his home in Portland.

1948 – Alvin Baltrop (d.2004) was a gay African-American photographer who earned fame through his photographs of the Hudson River piers during the 1970s and 1980s.

Baltrop was born in 1948 in the Bronx. He discovered his love of photography in junior high school. Baltrop received no formal art education; older photographers from the neighborhood taught him different techniques and how to develop photos himself.

Baltrop enlisted in the Navy as a medic during the Vietnam War and continued taking photos, mainly of his friends in sexually provocative poses. He built his own developing lab in the sick bay, using medic trays for developing trays. After his time in the Navy, Baltrop worked odd jobs as a street vendor, a jewelry designer, a printer, and a cab driver. Because he wanted to spend more time taking photos at the Hudson River piers, he quit his job as a cab driver to become a self-employed mover. He would park his van at the piers for days at a time, living out of his van to take pictures.

From 1975 through 1986, Baltrop took photographs of the West Side piers, where he was a well-known member of the community. Baltrop knew every person he photographed, and people often volunteered to be photographed. Younger boys and men at the piers often confided in him about their sexual orientation, their relationships with their families, their housing status, and their work.

Baltrop captured the gay cruising spots and hookup culture that existed in New York City before the AIDS epidemic. Baltrop's photographs not only captured human personalities, but also the aesthetics of the dilapidated piers. His life work is a snapshot of gay, African-American, and New York City history.

Baltrop struggled to make his way in the art world, facing racism from the white gay art world. Gay curators often rejected his work, accused him of stealing it, or stole his work themselves.

"Three Sailors"

Late during the 1990s, NYC artist John Drury, who knew Alvin from their shared neighborhood - Drury living on Third Street, with his wife and Baltrop on Second Street, in lower Manhattan - befriended the artist and recognized the photographers unique abilities, nominating him for a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award for the Arts. Alvin Baltrop had few exhibits in his lifetime; his work gaining international fame only after his death.

According to one journalist, Baltrop came out as gay at fourteen years old. Baltrop had long term relationships with men and women, but preferred identifying as gay.

Baltrop was diagnosed with cancer in the 1990s. Impoverished and without health insurance, curators and filmmakers attempted to exploit him for their own financial gain. He died on February 1, 2004

1990 – Nakshatra Bagwe, born in Mumbai, India, is an Indian actor and award winning film maker. Nakshatra will be making his Indian feature film debut in My Son is Gay and is due for his international film debut as the lead actor of Hearts. His films Logging Out, Book of Love, Curtains and PR (Public Relations) represent the current LGBT scenario of India.

He is a LGBT rights activist and also an organiser of Gujarat's first ever pride march. Nakshatra has participated in several Pride Parades in India. He won KASHISH – Mumbai International Queer Film Festival in 2012 for his debut film Logging Out. It was screened at prestigious venues like Queens Museum of Arts (New York), The Old Cinema (London) and it was also a part of Queer India European tour 2012 to raise awareness about LGBT issues in the Indian context.

Nakshatra hails from Konkan coastal region. Masure, Malvan is his native village. He takes part in homosexuality awareness projects. Nakshatra and his mother were featured in a promo of popular Indian television show Satyamev Jayte. He came out to society when he participated in Asia’s first LGBT flashmob. He also participated in second queer flashmob which happened at Dadar station, Mumbai. Nakshatra posed nude for a campaign named 'Breaking Closets'.

In July 2014, He became the brand ambassador of Moovz, a global social network for gay men. Nakshatra is first and only openly Indian LGBT person to be signed up as the brand ambassador by any brand till now.

1998 – At a meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Denver, a resolution was passed rejecting reparative therapy. It stated that attempts to change a person's sexual orientation can cause depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behaviour. A similar resolution was passed by the American Psychological Association in August 1997. Dr. Nada Stotland, head of the association's public affairs committee, told the Denver Post that the very existence of reparative therapy spreads the idea that homosexuality is a disease or evil and has a dehumanizing effect resulting in an increase in discrimination, harassment, and violence against gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.

[hieronymus-botch]

developing a new left wing equivalent of qanon where pope francis actually played the copy of undertale matpat gave him and became woke and since then he's been secretly working to undermine the church from the inside and any day now he's gonna have the swiss guard behead all the disloyal cardinals and hold a vatican 3 where he declares that god said you can be as gay and trans as you want

[febo-asoma]

"Pope Francis has reportedly said there is “too much faggotry” among trainee priests in remarks that will confound those who regarded him as being sympathetic to homosexuals in the Catholic Church.

The 87-year-old Argentinian pontiff reportedly made the remarks in a behind-closed-doors address to bishops last week but they leaked out to the Italian press on Monday.

He said he was opposed to trainee priests – known as seminarians – leading a “double life” by purporting to be celibate but secretly being gay.

According to multiple Italian news outlets on Monday night, citing different sources, Francis told a gathering of the Italian Bishops Conference: “There’s already too much faggotry” in seminaries.

The Pope famously said “Who am I to judge?” when asked about homosexuals within the Church at the start of his papacy in 2013, heralding a new, more inclusive approach to the issue.

He said that gay people should never be shunned or ostracised, telling journalists on his return flight from a visit to Brazil: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

But his remarks to Italian bishops, if confirmed, appear to throw that tolerance into question.

Rarely discussed by higher echelons

The forthright nature of the slang term shocked many of the bishops, according to Italian news reports.

It is an open secret in Rome that many seminarians and priests are gay but it is rarely discussed by the higher echelons of the Catholic Church – even though they may include gay people as well.

The Italian press speculated that the Pope might not have twigged how offensive and pejorative was the word that he used: “frociaggine”, meaning faggotry.

Although his Italian is good, his mother tongue is Spanish.

The use of the word was at odds with Francis’s prior stance on homosexuality, with him being seen as broadly tolerant, even welcoming, to gay Catholics, even though Catholic Church teaching holds that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered”. Seminarians and priests, of whatever sexual persuasion, are supposed to be celibate.

The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment on the Pope’s reported use of the pejorative phrase.

He reportedly made the comment on May 20 during a four-day meeting of the Italian Bishops Conference.

Last year, Pope Francis allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, sparking a backlash among conservative Catholics."

you're laughing. pope francis just called catholic priests a bunch of faggots in front of his bishops and you're laughing

[thistreasurehunter]

After the Rain

Summary: In the wake of a storm, The Pogues pass the time playing truth or dare and, slowly, secret feelings are revealed.

A/N: I’ve never written anything like this before, so I would love feedback.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the Outer Banks characters or settings.

*****************************************

The tail end of a storm was blowing over the Outer Banks. Dirty cotton wool clouds hung low in the sky and the angry gunfire of rain had finally begun to ease into a soothing staccato patter again the windowpanes. The muggy heat of the last month, that had previously pressed against the skin like wet clothes, had broken at last.

Inside The Chateau, The Pogues lounged, languid in the quiet calm the change in the weather had brought: John B and Sarah curled in a chair, Pope reading by the light from the window, Kie on the floor with a deck of cards playing solitaire and JJ on the sofa with a pile of balled up foil and candy wrappers, lazily aiming at a coffee mug abandoned on the floor earlier.

“Looks like it’s easing up out there,” Pope commented.

“Umm,” John B agreed. “Hopefully there won’t be too much property damage this time.”

“Still, the power will probably stay off for a while yet,” noted Kie.

“It will on The Cut, at least” huffed JJ, lobbing a balled-up foil wrapper across the room where it hit the rim of the mug and bounced off.

“We could play a game,” suggested Sarah. “My sister and I play one like Truth or Dare, but it’s just Truth. We could try that?”

“You know what would be better that Truth or Truth, Sarah?” said Kie smiling, “Truth or Dare.”

“Okay,” Sarah laughed, “I guess we can be more adventurous than Wheezie and I can in the backseat of our dad’s car on long journeys!”

“Okay sweetie, as it’s your idea, do you want to go first?” John B said, gently stroking Sarah’s hair.

“Okay, truth.”

The others paused for a moment, thinking.

“What’s your… guilty pleasure?” Kie asked finally.

“Oh, that’s a good one. Um, let me think. I’d probably have to say, daytime tv murder mysteries ��� Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, those yellow writing made-for-TV films. So cheesy, I know, but there’s something so comforting about them. I like to watch them curled up on the sofa with hot tea and some chocolate. Sometimes Wheezie and Rafe watch them with me. Rafe teases me about them all the time, but he still comes and watches with me. We’re not as close as we used to be, but in those moments, he just feels like my big brother again.”

“That’s so lovely Sarah,” Kie smiled.

John B pressed a kiss to the top of Sarah’s head.

“Right” Sarah replied, “my turn to choose. Kie, Truth or Dare?”

“Truth”

“Okay, same question – what’s your guilty pleasure?”

“Long showers” Kie replied straight away. “Taking my time to wash all the salt water from my hair, using my favourite coconut body wash, just standing and feeling the spray on my skin and all the way to my scalp, letting my muscles all unwind under the press of the hot water. Washing the day away. Then getting out and wrapping up in a big fluffy towel. Bliss.”

“We’re really going for quite touching answers today,” JJ smirked, “I thought truth or dare was code for ‘tell us who you secretly fancy and what you’ve done in bed’.”

“It’s what you make it,” John B laughed.

“Okay JJ,” said Kie, “Truth or Dare?”

“Dare.”

“I dare you to run down to the dock and back again, fast as you can.”

JJ sighed, “Fine, kind of boring, but fine. I mean it’s still raining pretty hard and I’ll get soaked. But whatever, I’ll get to pick next.”

The blond boy unfolded himself from his position on the sofa, casually running his fingers through his hair. As ever, it loosely settled in an almost gravity defying sweep, that JJ hoped looked carefree and haphazard, but which he actually secretly practiced in front of the mirror. He tramped across the room, playfully tweaking the rim of Pope’s snapback on his way to the screen door. Pope swatted at him, then watched him go, catching a quick glimpse of his toned abs through his muscle-tee as he turned at the door flashing a quick grin at them all before wrenching the door open and lurching off. He sprinted down the scrubby back yard, past the firepit and down towards the dock. The others watched from the doorway as he hurtled down the dock, smacked the wood of the mooring post, then spinning and making his way back up the incline towards the house. A couple of times his boots skidded on the sodden ground and he nearly overbalanced, but he just managed to right himself. The others laughed from inside.

“Graceful” laughed John B.

“Shut up,” JJ barked as he crashed back through the screen door in a shower of water droplets. The others jumped back quickly.

The pounding rain from earlier had eased considerably, but it was still falling in steady sheets. JJ was soaked though, water running from his hair in rivulets and the fabric of his tee sticking to the toned muscle beneath. Pope caught himself staring at the water droplets running from the sharp jut of his jawline down the column of his neck and flicked his eyes away guiltily.

Laughing, JJ pushed the wet hair from his face, then proceeded to shake as much water off as he could.

“Hey dude!” John B laughed with him, “stop trying to shake yourself dry like a dog and just get a towel like a normal person!”

JJ grinned again, but before setting off across the room in the direction of the bathroom, he carefully toed one boot off, then the other, then reached down and in one fluid motion, pealed the tee off his body and over his head. As he did, Pope’s eyes travelled up the expanse of glistening, rain-slickened golden skin and taut muscle, his mouth suddenly going dry.

JJ wrung out the tee as best he could through the screen door, then hung it on the back of a chair to dry off. He then padded down the hall in search of a towel. The others drifted back to their previous positions. Pope went and poured himself a glass of water in the kitchen, then set himself down on the sofa. JJ came back into the room, rubbing a towel briskly over his head, then plonked himself down on the sofa next to Pope.

“Right,” he smirked. “My turn. And rather than picking one person, I’ve got a dare I want to challenge you all to take part in. Everyone game? And just to let you know, anyone that chickens out is just asking for payback – JJ style!”

They all eyed each other warily.

“That’s no joke actually,” John B shuddered. “After the last time I backed out of a dare he kept leaving his worn socks and boxers in my bed for a week. Sometimes while I was in it! Whatever he has planned will be a hundred times better than waking up with his underwear draped on your face, trust me!”

“Gross!” Sarah squealed. JJ grinned, bending his head and flourishing his arm in a mock bow.

“Okay then,” JJ carried on, “I take it everyone’s on board?” The others nodded reluctantly.

“Then I dare everyone in this room to play three rounds of spin the bottle – round one, quick kiss; round two, proper kiss with tongue; and round three, full on seven-minutes-in-heaven-style make out sesh. No backing out, no skipping, no passing your turn. No matter how awkward, you just have to lock lips with whoever you get paired with.”

Pope felt the atmosphere in the room thicken. He could see his friends shooting looks at each other.

Sarah swallowed, looking up at her boyfriend, “what do you think?”

“I’m okay with it if you are, baby,” he smiled, squeezing her shoulder. Then he whispered something into her ear that only she could hear. Sarah blushed suddenly, biting her lip and squirming against him, ducking her head slightly to try to hide her pink cheeks behind her hair, but not before the others had seen.

JJ looked over to Pope, catching his eye and grinning, raising his eyebrow suggestively. Pope rolled his eyes back at him, but inside his heart was hammering against his chest.

“Okay, we’re in” Sarah giggled, “Kie? Pope?”

“Fine,” Kie sighed.

“Y-yeah,” Pope stuttered finally.

Sweeping the cards from the forgotten game of solitaire into a pile, Kie uncurled from the floor and went to get an empty beer bottle from the recycling.

John B trailed his fingers up and down Sarah’s arm absently. Pope watched their lazy movement, aware of the pulse of blood he could suddenly hear thrumming in his ears and trying to ignore the warm weight of his best friend on the sofa next to him and the single, tiny point of contact where JJ’s knee brushed his own leg.

Kie returned and set the bottle on the floor.

“Okay, so I assume we spin twice for each round then,” she looked up at the others. At their nods, Kie twisted her fingers, setting the bottle to revolve on the floor before it slowed to point at John B. Sarah’s eyes sparkled and John B hid his smile by pressing his nose into the back of her hair.

Kie leaned forwards and spun again and this time the bottle landed on JJ.

Pope’s heart sank slightly. Sarah let out a sharp intake of breath, then huffed it out quickly in a laugh. JJ smacked a hand against his forehead lightly, groaning and shaking his head. Kie joined Sarah laughing, “Come on JJ, what did you say? No backing out wasn’t it?” Pope laughed weekly along with them.

JJ pulled himself to his feet and John B followed. JJ opened his arms wide and jokingly said in a high falsetto “Come ‘ere loverboy”. He leaned forwards and planted a kiss on John B’s mouth with an over-exaggerated smacking sound. He then pulled back and grimaced, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. John B laughed and sat back down, “yeah, you’re not really my type either mate”.

“Well that’s round one ‘quick kiss’ done,” Sarah said. “Next we’ve got ‘proper kiss with tongue’.”

Kie lined up the bottle again and spun. When it finally stopped, it was pointing directly at her. She reached forward and quickly spun it again. Pope saw Kie’s eyes fixed on the bottle and perhaps he was imaging it, but with the fierce expression on Kie’s face it looked as though she was willing the bottle to land on a particular person. Please, just once, her lips seemed to mouth. When the bottle stopped, it was pointing at Sarah. A flash of relief seemed to pass over Kie’s face, quickly followed by guilt. Pope looked to see if anyone else had noticed, but nobody was looking: Sarah and John B were eyeing each other suggestively and when Pope turned, JJ’s eyes were on his own face. Pope opened his mouth to say something and JJ’s eyes quickly flicked up to his eyes. Pope closed his mouth and turned back to the room, lost for a moment.

Across the room, Sarah had eased herself down onto the floor and crawled over to where Kie sat nervously. She reached her hand out and trailed her fingers down the side of Kie’s face, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. John B leaned forwards, elbows on knees, eyes glued to the girls on the floor. Kie swallowed and licked her lips. Sarah leaned forwards and gently pressed her lips against Kie’s. After a heartbeat, Kie pressed forwards, her lips moving against Sarah’s and her hand going up to card slowly through Sarah’s silky hair. Sarah cupped Kie’s cheek, her thumb gently stroking along the cheekbone. Pope saw Kie’s lips part and a flash of tongue before the girls’ mouths slotted together again. When they finally pulled apart, they kept their heads close, foreheads touching, breathing each other’s air for a final moment. Kie brought her hand forwards and ever so gently traced her thumb over Sarah’s bottom lip, then, as though suddenly catching herself, pulled it away suddenly, breaking the spell of the moment.

“That,” John B declared, “was hot.”

Kie hummed absently in response, a strange expression of mixed longing and sadness on her face.

Oblivious, John B grinned widely, opening his arms for Sarah, but as she moved back over to him, Pope saw the dazed expression on her face and the slight frown around her eyes. She sat back in John B’s lap, staring at her hands and let him pepper kisses over her neck and shoulder, but Pope saw her furtive glance in Kie’s direction.

“Well,” Kie exclaimed, “last round.”

“The last pair are really going to have to up their game to top the last performance,” John B joked.

Sarah cleared her throat, “everyone’s had a go now, right?”

“No, Pope hasn’t,” JJ said quickly. “Maybe we should nominate him and then just spin for his partner?”

“That’s hardly fair,” John B replied.

Pope looked over at JJ, catching his eye and shrugging, trying not to lose himself in the piercing blue gaze.

“I’m spinning twice,” Kie decided.

Pope watched the bottle spin, vaguely aware the thudding of his pulse in his ears had returned. And finally, he swallowed hard when he realised the bottle had come to a rest pointing directly at him.

“Guess we didn’t need to cheat after all,” Sarah noted.

Kie lent over and spun the bottle again.

Time slowed for Pope, his eyes following the mesmerising twist of the bottle on the floor, vaguely aware of the sound of his friends making drumroll and crescendo noises, hearing the thud of his pulse in his ears, feeling the pounding of his heart against his ribs and, above all, the warm point of contact on his leg from JJ’s knee. When the bottle finally slowed, the thump in his ears grew to a deafening roaring and he slowly looked up to stare into the face of his best friend, who, catching his breath, suddenly looked just as wide-eyed.

“Haha, poor JJ,” John B teased lightly. “Hope you didn’t set this dare just for a guilt-free chance to mack on our girls! Looks like you pulled the short straw.”

“Something like that,” JJ croaked.

“Remember,” John B cut in. “You’ve got to make this seven-minutes-in-heaven level steamy!”

JJ ignored him and shuffled closer to Pope on the sofa.

“You sure this is okay?” He asked quietly.

Pope swallowed and nodded.

JJ brought their bodies even closer, then glanced down nervously, suddenly overly aware of his naked chest. He was so close, Pope could see the fan of JJ’s lashes against his cheeks, smell his slightly minty shampoo, the clean freshness of his skin and also something deeper. Something that reminded him of freshly cut grass after the rain. Even from here, Pope imagined he could taste the salt of the ocean on JJ’s skin. Pope leaned forward slightly and breathed it in. And that was when JJ looked up, their eyes met and the rest of the world faded away, and for the first time, Pope saw his own secret longing reflected back at him in JJ’s eyes. Eyes that looked more nervous and hopeful that he had ever seen them. And just like that, Pope let his walls come crashing down like a house of cards and he leaned forwards until he met JJ’s lips with his own.

JJ’s eyes fluttered shut as he melted against Pope, mouth parting and hand coming up to rest on Pope’s neck, lost in the slow push and slide of their lips and tongues.

Pope leaned into the hand on his neck; the feeling of the fingertips on the sensitive skin setting off sparks of fire along his veins. This, he though, yes, this. He brought a hand up to bury in JJ’s wild blond locks, feeling JJ quietly hitch in a breath when he gently tugged. JJ’s mouth caught Pope’s bottom lip and Pope almost groaned as he felt the soft scrape of JJ’s teeth as he slowly traced them over the over-stimulated skin. Pope felt the smallest tweak as the corner of JJ’s mouth twisted upwards in the tiniest ghost of a grin. Pope pulled his lips away to pepper a trail of feather light kisses along JJ’s neck and jawline, ending just below his ear. His chest rising and falling heavily, JJ tilted his head to give Pope more access and, encouraged, Pope tentatively took the lobe of JJ’s ear into his mouth and sucked. JJ’s breathing faltered and suddenly Pope could feel the sweet bite of blunt nails raking down the back of his neck. JJ brought their lips back together and this time, Pope could feel the build and the urgency behind JJ’s movements.

Someone cleared their throat.

The moment broke and JJ and Pope pulled back slightly, still only inches apart. Their eyes met and the look they shared was somehow so familiar, but also so new, so foreign. Pope thought he saw joy, excitement and anticipation written on JJ’s face, but also a hint of fear. JJ’s shoulders heaved as he tried to steady his breathing. Quickly, his eyes flashed down to Pope’s lips and then back up again. Pope raised an eyebrow at him and JJ replied with a small shrug of the shoulders and a sheepish, almost apologetic little half smile. It was then that Pope’s face cracked into the wide smile of sheer, unbridled happiness and a second later JJ was grinning too, and winking at him, and taking Pope’s hand in his own and squeezing. Pope squeezed back. Then JJ and Pope turned, hand in hand, to greet the surprised reaction of their friends.

[shesnake]

which makes no sense when you think about it bc labyrinth is supposed to be anti-church so logically should be pro-homo ALSO him saying "you introduced him to guilt and shame!" is ??????? bro he was literally raised catholic his whole thing is repression his uncle-secretly-his-dad is literally the pope??????? how david s goyer made a show about leonardo da vinci without knowing what gay people are is truly one of the great mysteries of our time

da vinci's demons rewatch with my brother we've reached the point mid season 3 when I quit watching back in the day everything is new to to me and I can't believe there's a whole episode where leo has riario tied up (this is the 5th episode where this has happened actually, but:) and riario's split personality deranged labyrinth serial killer alter ego spends the entire time cussing leo out for making his normal self gay

[hartigays]

Rafebarry from the POV of outsiders like the pouges and kooks who notice their relationship develop<3

doing this one out of order bc it called to me <3 the following povs include: jj, pope, kie, topper, and sarah!

side/minor pairings are jjpope and sarahkie

fic under the cut :-)

jj

the sun is hot on jj’s forehead as he sits in the passenger’s seat of luke’s truck, idling in front of barry’s trailer.

he hates these days. it’s never been jj’s favorite activity, coming along with his dad while he buys drugs with money they should be spending on food.

not to mention, it takes for-fucking-ever. luke tends to get real chatty after his first high of the day, and barry is the type of dealer who’s always just fucked up enough to allow it.

today, however, jj’s forehead is only mildly burnt when luke exits the trailer.

actually, he’s being ushered out by barry, who looks irritated in a way that jj has never seen before. though, to be fair, the only times jj has been around him are when barry’s high or when they’re trying to mutually kick each other’s asses.

luke is grumbling to himself as he climbs into the driver’s seat, fumbling with his keys. obviously already fucked up.

jj eyes him warily, before flickering his gaze back towards the trailer. he’s only a little surprised to see rafe cameron suddenly standing in the doorway with barry, looking like they’re arguing about something.

okay, maybe jj is a lot surprised to see the scene playing out before him. because despite the seemingly heated tone of their conversation, barry has a hand resting on one of rafe’s elbows. it’s almost a tender gesture, and jj has to look away, suddenly feeling like he’s intruding on something.

barry touches rafe the way jj touches pope. and that’s… that’s a bit much to take in, to be honest. because jj sure as hell doesn’t touch pope the way friends are technically supposed to touch each other.

it’s an information overload, and he has no idea what to do with it. jj decides to file the racing thoughts away for later, when he inevitably spills his guts to pope about just exactly what he’s seen at barry’s today.

luke finally gets the truck started, pulling off of barry’s property without even noticing the moment unfolding before them.

jj takes one last look at rafe and barry, crowded in the doorway of the trailer while looking at each other like everything around them has fallen away, like it’s just the two of them left in the world.

interesting.

pope

it’s a sunday afternoon when they come in.

they’re arguing about something, barry looking thrilled by it whereas rafe just looks like he wants to smash his head through the nearest window.

“you ain’t really fished, country club,” pope hears barry saying when they’re close enough, “not til’ you caught a gator.”

pope suppresses a snort. there isn’t a soul in the OBX who’s caught a gator and didn’t come away with a chunk of themselves missing, and typically always empty-handed.

not like he’s going to tell two dickheads like barry or rafe that. if they want to go get chomped to bits by alligators, by all means.

pope is curious about the nature of their relationship, though. it’s interesting, and interesting things never cease to draw him in. (see: jj maybank).

jj had mentioned a few days ago that barry and rafe have seemed… different, recently. ever since then, pope has wondered about it. it’s a curious relationship, so he doesn’t think it’s that weird that he’s been desperately trying to understand it from all angles.

pope also just wants to know if jj is right. if barry and rafe really do have a thing going on. because like he’d told jj, he’ll believe it when he sees it.

it’s not like jj needs to know that he’s been secretly agonizing over it for absolutely no reason for the last three days.

pope stays seated quietly behind the counter, casually flipping through a magazine without really reading it, glancing up every now and then to spy on barry and rafe.

they’re standing by the bait selection, quietly conversing back and forth. pope can’t make out what they’re saying, but based on their expressions, they’re probably just talking about bait.

that is, until rafe passes barry a certain kind of bait with a questioning glance, and barry accepts it with a proud smile. rafe’s cheeks turn bright pink, and when their fingers brush as rafe passes off the bait, his face takes on a nearly scarlet hue.

so, okay, yeah. jj was definitely on the mark. it still makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever, but at the same time, they seem to operate in sync. it’s almost natural, whatever flows between them.

pope watches them walk up to the counter, feigning wariness to hide his curiosity, internally noting that he has a lot of homework to do later.

kie

the wreck is unusually slow tonight. it’s a thursday evening, and usually more patrons show up, pre-gaming their friday night bash with a thursday kickoff.

there are only three families and a few scattered couples seated here and there.

that is, until they walk in.

kie can’t really say that she hasn’t been expecting this. she wishes she could say that, to be quite honest, but jj and pope have made it their personal mission to torment her with information about barry and rafe that she truly never needed or wanted to know.

not that they’re more than likely gay as hell - kiara doesn’t care about that. she’d be a bit of a hypocrite if she did, if she’s being honest. it’s the fact that they’re rafe and barry.

two people who’s fates the cosmos should never have aligned. if what pope and jj say is true, anyway.

somehow, kie hasn’t come up with any reason to doubt it. rafe is crazy, barry is pure chaos in physical form. she imagines they’re like a nuclear bomb waiting to go off, but she also sees how it works.

kie really, really hates that she can see how it works.

there’s another waitress working tonight, and she’s the one to seat the couple. or pair. or whatever they are. kie can’t remember her name - she’s only here for the summer, anyway. nevertheless, she has the inexplicable desire to drag the poor girl away when she attempts to flirt with rafe.

not only because rafe is liable to stab her in a parking lot or something, but also because rafe and barry are clearly on some sort of date.

she doesn’t know why, but after the waitress finally walks away, kiara keeps waiting on bated breath for more people to show up and join rafe and barry’s party. despite the fact that they’ve been seated at a table for two.

no one else shows up.

they spend the evening conversing quietly back and forth, their voices occasionally raising when they get into a little spat about something.

which happens about every ten seconds, if kie has been accurately keeping track.

not that she’s watching them, necessarily. it’s just a bit of a shock, seeing what jj and pope have been telling her for days play out right in front of her, in real time.

they don’t operate like the other couples in the restaurant, that’s for sure. or any sort of couple kie has ever seen before in her entire life. but pope was right, whatever flows between them is freakishly natural.

and that’s why kiara can’t stop watching. she can’t stop honing in on every movement - the way they steadily shift closer throughout the evening, first putting their elbows on the quaint table, scooting them closer and closer until they’re nearly touching, leaning into each other like they’re being pulled together by some magnetic force, unable to stay apart.

it’s like when kie knocks on sarah’s window and watches her come close, pressing into the glass as if she’s being sucked in by some invisible force, the same one that drives sarah across the room towards her, pulling her into her orbit.

kiara shakes her head, trying to shake off the thoughts. she really doesn’t need to be going around equating her relationship with sarah with whatever the fuck is going on between rafe and barry.

whatever it is, though, kie can’t help but note that it’s something light rather than dark. something almost like happiness - something she never actually thought rafe was capable of feeling.

but with the way rafe is looking at barry, their hands now linked together beneath the table where they think no one else can see, kie is starting to rethink just about everything she knows about rafe cameron.

well, maybe not everything. but some things. enough that her head will be full for the foreseeable future. all because of barry and rafe fucking cameron of all people.

what the fuck.

topper

“you’ve been gone for like, weeks, dude,” topper says, eyeing rafe from across the table.

they’re at the figure eight country club, having drinks (on topper, of course) and a light lunch. it’d been topper’s idea. rafe had merely reluctantly agreed, claiming he had nothing else going on today.

he’d sounded almost like he was pouting about something. now that he’s seated across from topper, he can clearly see that rafe is definitely pouting about something.

which isn’t unusual, per se. but it is unusual that rafe isn’t bitching about whatever it is.

to be fair, rafe has been different these days. topper doesn’t really know what’s going on with him at all, their lives having suddenly and unexpectedly diverged for reasons topper still doesn’t understand.

it’s not like rafe was his best friend or anything - the guy’s a dick more often than not. but they had been friends at least, and confided in one another from time to time. guy to guy.

topper still wonders what happened, to this day. he doesn’t think rafe will ever tell him, though. not fully. and that’s okay, topper isn’t, like, desperately interested or anything, but a bit of an explanation would be nice. even a half-assed one.

“i’ve had shit going on,” rafe finally answers, as vague as can be.

topper rolls his eyes. “obviously. come on, man. i just want to know what’s been up with you lately.”

“you mean you want to know what’s been up with sarah,” rafe corrects, taking a long sip of his beer.

and okay, yeah, maybe topper’s desire to get back in touch with rafe has a little something to do with wanting to know what sarah’s been up to. but he does want to know whats been going on with rafe, too. that wasn’t a lie. he’d just omitted some details, sue him.

“yeah, okay,” topper agrees, not bothering with lying. “but i’ve also been wondering about you, man. you just kinda. disappeared.”

rafe picks at his burger, before pushing it away with a sigh. “shit happens, top.”

it’s so far from an explanation that topper kind of wants to throttle him all of a sudden, but rafe doesn’t give him the chance. his phone starts ringing, and he pulls it out with a triumphant smile, like he’s just won something.

something he’s definitely very, very smug about.

topper thinks he hears something along the lines of ‘m fuckin’ outside you little shithead brat coming from the person on the other end of the line.

rafe just smiles wider, putting on an innocent look even though whoever he’s talking to can’t see him. “coming!”

listen. listen. rafe fucking sing-songs it. topper feels like he’s been punched directly in the solar plexus. his mind reels.

topper is nowhere close to catching up, but rafe is already standing up and excusing himself, saying he has somewhere to be and thanking topper for the lunch half-heartedly, not contributing anything towards the bill.

typical rafe.

topper latches onto that familiarity to get his brain working again, shoving himself back from the table and racing out of the club, tossing a few too many bills on the table as he runs out. he practically chases rafe down, tumbling out the front doors as rafe is crossing the parking lot.

rafe comes to a stop next to some guy on a motorcycle, and neither of them have seen topper yet, clearly. because in the next moment rafe is pulling off the guy’s helmet and kissing barry the fucking coke dealer right on the mouth, tongue and all.

topper almost blacks out on the steps.

instead, he steadies himself on the railing of the staircase, shouting across the parking lot, “what the fuck, rafe?”

the reaction topper gets is not the one he was expecting. rafe just grins like a shark, then climbs on the back of barry’s bike. he wraps his arms around barry’s waist, then he taps barry twice, and they’re speeding out of the parking lot.

“we are so fucking talking about this!” topper yells after them, his head still spinning.

the roar of the motorcycle drowns out the noise.

sarah

she isn’t sure what wakes her up at first.

for a moment, sarah thinks kie is at her window. she frowns in confusion, still half-asleep, wondering why kie would be here without texting or calling first.

they always text or call first.

when sarah sits up and looks over at her window, there’s nothing there. but she knows she heard something, something that roused her from her peaceful slumber.

there it is again. it sounds like a squeaking noise, like an old window or a screen door opening. a moment later, quiet voices, drifting through the vent in her bedroom.

sarah wonders if it’s ward, if he’s having some secret meeting that would be truly invaluable to overhear.

she scrambles out of bed, tip-toeing to her air vent and sinking down to her knees. she leans closer, then closer still. all she can here are soft voices - she can’t make out any words. whatever the conversation is about, it’s interspersed with giggles and gasps.

oh. oh my god. ward is cheating, he has to be. and wouldn’t that be such sweet justice? catching ward in the act of something he can’t deny? something that could potentially keep rose from continuing to feed his endless greed?

sarah stands up and races across her room as quietly as she can, poking her head out the door and looking around before creeping into the hallway. she quietly makes her way to ward’s office, stopping just outside and leaning close to listen.

silence.

if they’re done already, that’s pretty pathetic on ward’s part, sarah thinks. but then she hears it again, the soft cacophony of sounds, only louder this time.

sarah follows the noise, her curiosity getting to the better of her. it leads her straight to rafe’s bedroom.

she really should’ve known better than to open the door.

“oh my god! oh my god? oh my god.” sarah slaps her hands over her eyes, already trying to scrub the image of barry on top of her brother from her mind.

she just walked in on rafe. having sex. with barry.

sarah feels a little faint.

“jesus christ, sarah, would you get the fuck out?” sarah hears rafe snap, and she fumbles for the doorknob, slamming the door shut quickly.

she backs away in horror, practically bolting back to her room and flinging herself onto her bed. sarah grabs her phone, firing off a few texts to the group chat.

sarah: SOS!!! walked in on barry and rafe…

sarah: oh god

sarah: i can’t even say it

jj: were they? y’know

jj: like

jj: brokeback mountain style or

pope: jesus christ jj

pope: that’s disgusting

pope: ………

pope: but for real though were they?

john b: i’d also like to know

kie: you know what count me in too

sarah: oh my god.

sarah: i hate all of you.

sarah has the most useless friends on the planet, and the drug dealer is fucking her brother. frankly, she’s had enough for one night.

sarah tosses her phone onto the floor and puts a pillow over her face, drifting back into her blissful state of unconsciousness. she’s not awake to hear rafe and barry start up again.

thank fucking god for small mercies.

[tanadrin]

i really really want to play splatoon 3 but i have no money to pay for it so i'm sad. anyway that's probably not insane enough so i will mention that I also believe that the Pope shot JFK, Marjorie Taylor Greene is a cryptojew, and Osama bin Laden was Genghis Khan time travelling.

on the basis that lots of homophobes turn out to be secretly gay, lots of antisemites turning out to be secretly jewish would be only mildly surprising. although i think it would be more accurate to say that evangelical christians envy the comparatively strong traditions and theological arguments of judaism, and desperately yearn to coopt them for themselves.

[alphinias]

The jj/popes in s3: pope is wearing a shirt with fruit on it, this is obviously a sign that he is gay and secretly in love with jj

[littlesistersti]

Nickname: Stine or Sti online, offline nicknames are [need to know]

Height: 155 cm and I will always refer to that because I gave up with the weird 5 ft or 5’1 or 5’2 (is American)

Last thing I googled: Automatic fill in? My car bill.

For real? what is difference between IPA: /ʂ/ and /ɕ/ and /ʃ/ ?

I still don't know

Song that sums me up: you think your local dumba-s is that much self-aware?

Followers: enough to count on my fingers

Sleep: less than healthy on school days then way too much on days off

Dream job: screenwright or author but an actual dream job would be a superhero or supervillain or magician/thaumaturge/mage or secret agent in a sci-fi world

Wearing: my hair in a twist using a hair stick and a Betsey Johnson pink ballerina pen, ran out of ink

Book/movie that summarize me: Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (books) or

any children's movie that has that one scene that makes you ask either "wait, this is for kids?" or "this is my gay awakening/where my kink began/why the villains were right"

Fav song: it changed every year because Eurovision but if I have to list non-ESC:

Biažy - Naviband,

И​с​п​о​в​е​д​ь Л​о​к​и \ Ispoved' Loki (Loki's Confession) - AeternA,

The Night (1988 Deathrock ver) - Aurelio Voltaire,

some punk rock songs for the amv nostalgia like I Promise - Simple Plan or I Will Not Bow - Breaking Benjamin

If I Die Young - The Band Perry and Dead Hearts - Stars and Runnin' by Adam Lambert counts for the amv nostalgia too

Kyounosuke Yashitate cover of Sebonzakura in Kanji (so it sounds Han-Japanese) or Bad Apple performed by the Wagaku band

Lemon <\3

Eh? Ah, Sou

you can already see a pattern of something rock or something not typisk modern pop

I definitely forgot lots more

æsthetic: fairycore academia ... autumn academia but instead of orange/brown, it's reds ... uh there is pastel pink ... once in awhile I break the pattern and go for punk or lesbian/bisexual fashion ... there's a pining for 18th c. fashion but it's out of my league sadly

Fav author: Hans Christian Andersen, Mary Pope Osbourne, Lewis Carrol, @itsthelass , @speedygal , I can refer to fanfic authors right?, @xiranjayzhao - yet to read them but love their Youtube channel

Random fact: nobody told me being a film major is secretly a psychology major because f-- you, Freud and your p-nis envy / castration anxiety

proceeds to apply Mulvey and Freud to explain misogyny in films

Tagging: @parasiticstars I don't know anybody else so freebie

15 questions 15 tags

ty @drowninglnstars for the tag !!

-nickname: red

-height: that's good question

-last thing i googled: ''malevolent transcripts''

-song stuck in head: antibiotics we're wonderful pills but dont ever think we'll cure all your ills and willow by tswift

-# of followers: at least 10

-amount of sleep: usually 4-6 hours (begrudgingly)

-dream job: librarian/historian

-wearing: shirt, grey sweater, black coat

-movie/book that summarizes you: all of them

-fav song: too many, right now probably constellations by the oh hellos! and faroe's theme from malevolent

-aesthetic: changes everyday, but personality wise eldritchcore/oddcore

-fav authors: alice oseman and any romantic author ever

-random fact: i can bend almost all of my joints backwards

not tagging 15 people because that is too many but -> @aroaceupmysleeve @galxgal @gothicwolf125 @arakhnee @lesbian-hannibal @transgenre-music and whoever want to join in :P

[thegreatestofheck]

Nothing More ⍋Routledge!Reader⍋

request -  Omg do a Routledge reader fic where John B is so focused on telling off JJ and warning him not to da*te his sister and he never worries about Pope and then Pope ends up dating her and John B is like 👁️👄👁️

warnings - none really, just a bunch of fluff I guess pairings - pope x reader, jj x reader, kie x reader (it’s a surprise 🥰) synopsis - You’re secretly dating one of the Pogues and your brother is starting to become suspicious. The only problem; he’s fixated on the wrong friend.  a/n - So, I went a little bit off the rails with this one. I had an idea and I ran with it, I really hope you don’t mind haha. I’m sorry it’s a little short. 

                                                   *** John B watched you carefully out of the corner of his eye. Your head rested in JJ’s lap and he fiddled with your hair. You weren’t paying enough attention to your brother to notice, listening intently instead to Kie as she rambled about astrology. 

“Okay, so, I don’t know if I should be insulted when you call me a cancer or not,” JJ said, his chewed off nails grazing gently over your scalp. The movement made your eyes flutter shut. 

“I didn’t call you a cancer, I said you are a Cancer.” 

“I’m not hearing the difference.”

Kie rolled her eyes. 

“It’s your star sign, dipshit,” you told him with your eyes closed. “The constellation you were born under.” 

“What’s that got to do with anything?” 

“Do you ever listen to a word I say?” Kie asked, half amused and half insulted. 

“Not generally, no.” JJ said. u8hPope, who was sitting with his nose in a book, started to laugh quietly to himself. “If I’m a Cancer, what’s y/n’s sign?” 

You looked over at Kie and raised your eyebrows. 

“Taurus,” Kie said with a knowing smile. You tapped your foot against her knee and rolled your eyes. “Pope is a Capricorn and John B, you’re an Aries.” 

John B didn’t seem to be paying attention at all. He kept his gaze fixed solely on you. 

Being John B’s half sister (younger only by four months) meant almost every single move you made was heavily scrutinized. Especially when it came to boys. More often than not, John B was far more concerned with whatever you were doing than the conversation at hand. Today wasn’t an exception. 

“J, can I talk to you real quick?” John B said, pushing himself out of the dirt. JJ looked up at him and then down at you. With a huff and a roll of your eyes, you sat up, letting JJ stand after your brother. You turned and leaned your head against Kie’s leg. 

“Hi,” she said, smiling down at you. 

“Hi,” you said back. 

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Pope asked, looking up at John B and JJ a few yards away behind a tree. 

“I bet he’s telling him off again,” you said, moving your eyes to look at the boys in the distance. 

“Really?” Pope sighed. “Again?” 

You shrugged your shoulders. 

“JB just takes the no pogue-on-pogue macking rule way too seriously,” Kie said with a laugh. 

“He’s the only one who hasn’t broken it, so of course he’s serious about it,” Pope said, looking back at his book. 

“’She’s my baby sister, JJ’,” you grumbled in a gruff voice in imitation of your brother. 

“’She’s not a kid anymore. She can make her own decisions’,” Kie whined, lamely mocking JJ. 

The two of you continued your dialogue, pretending like you knew exactly what was going on between the two of them. It dissolved into silly quips back and forth and then just senseless laughter. By the time JJ and John B returned, you and Kie were in hysterics. John B looked like he had been sucking on a lemon, but JJ was just smiling like normal. 

When he sat down, you lifted your legs and dropped them over his lap. JJ leaned back, raising his eyebrows at John B, almost like a direct challenge. You looked over at Pope and the two of you smiled. You even sent him a wink, knowing full well that John B was paying far more attention to JJ than to you or Pope or Kie. 

All any of you could do was laugh. 

                                                  ***

The party was in full swing. Kie and Pope were sitting, sipping on beers and laughing about something or another. John B was with Sarah Cameron, his girlfriend, by the keg, still passing out beers to whoever wanted one. 

You and JJ were on the dance floor. His hands were on your waist, his body pressed up against you from behind. You could feel the heat from his body pulsing off of him and you could smell his sweat and Old Spice. The music thrummed through your system as you lifted your hands to wrap around his neck. With you eyes closed, you let the rest of the world pass away, relishing in JJ’s touch. 

By the time the heat of dancing got to be too much and you and JJ were stumbling away from the dancers, John B was no longer at his station. Instead, he was standing angrily off to the side. You and JJ glanced at each other, rolling your eyes in sync, electing to head toward Pope and Kie instead of risking your brother’s anger. 

JJ sat next to Pope, flinging an arm around your shoulders as you sat between him and Kie. The four of you spent the rest of the night laughing it up, drinking, playing whatever games anyone offered them to play, and generally having a good time. 

It was around 2 am when the five of you made it back to the Chateau. John B was still looking sour, especially after Sarah left early to make it home before curfew. You knew that you couldn’t keep lying to your brother forever and he had just about reached his breaking point. 

When you all walked in to the Chateau, John B was pressed up against the wall, his arms crossed, and his eyes narrowed. 

“I’m calling a meeting,” he said. You had all expected it, so it wasn’t really a surprise. Still, it was crack ass early and you all wanted nothing more than to pass out. You walked over to the counter and lifted yourself up onto the counter. JJ moved to settle between your legs, but with a sharp look from John B, he elected to go elsewhere. Kie leaned up against the counter next to you. 

“I think you know why we’re here,” John B said. 

“This isn’t an AA meeting, JB. Just get on with it,” JJ snapped, clearly too tired to deal with this any longer. 

“Fine. JJ, y/n, I know you two have been fooling around the past couple months despite the clear line that I drew and I want to know what the fuck is up with that.” 

You heaved out a heavy sigh, tapping your heel against the creaky cupboard below. 

“You really don’t know much of anything,” JJ told him, getting more and more irritated by the minute. 

“You think I’m blind?” 

“No, I think you’re stupid.” 

“Okay, enough!” You shouted, lifting your head with a scowl before John B could cross the room. “John B, there’s something that I got to tell you that might make things a little less complicated.” 

Kie tensed next to you, but you almost felt yourself start to laugh. 

“What is it then?” 

“I, uh-” You pressed your lips into a fine line to keep yourself from laughing. “I’m gay.” 

John B’s eyes widened and he dropped his arms to his side. 

“I- what?” 

You nodded your head slowly. 

“Yeah. JJ is my best friend, nothing more.” You glanced down at Kie, who was looking up at you with tears in her eyes and a proud smile on her lips. She had come out to the pogues months ago and had been waiting eagerly for the day when you felt comfortable to as well. 

“y/n,” John B said, his voice breaking. He looked at the other three, who didn’t look surprised at all, and he realized that he was the last one to know. “I’m sorry you didn’t feel comfortable telling me. But I’m proud of you and I love you.” 

You smiled at him. 

“Thanks, bub. But there’s something else that I should tell you. I have been seeing someone,” you told him. John B stayed silent, clearly not wanting to say anything before you had finished, but he looked tense. “Yeah, uh, Kie and I have been dating for almost a year now.” 

“What?” 

You felt yourself smile. It was good to finally be able to say it. Kie put her hand on your knee, smiling up at you, and gave a little squeeze. 

“Did...you guys know about this?” John B asked, looking over at Pope and JJ who seemed to have no reaction to your deceleration whatsoever. They both nodded slowly. When John B looked at you with a face full of hurt, you thought you might as well explain. 

“A few months ago, back when you were hanging out with Sarah for every second of the day, we went to a party on the boneyard,” you told him. “It was just after Kie and I started dating and we were dancing together, chatting, whatnot, not really hiding it, but these guys kept saying gross things, people giving us looks, you know.

“We were getting super uncomfortable and wanted to leave, but JJ and Pope figured it out before we even told them. They’ve been...covering for us, I guess. And we’ve been-” You looked over at JJ and Pope. JJ looked at the ground and Pope looked straight at you, a small, proud smile on his face. “I guess, we’ve been covering for each other.” 

“Since we’re being honest all of the sudden for some reason,” JJ said with a sigh, lifting his head. “Pope and I have been going out, too.” 

He turned his head to look at John B, who looked like his head was seconds away from exploding. 

“I flirted and hung around your sister so that no one would say that disgusting “threesome” shit to her and Kie and so that Pope and I could keep things under the radar for a little bit longer.” JJ uncrossed his arms and reached out, lacing his fingers through Pope’s. 

Now, you couldn’t help but smile either. It had been a heavy weight on your chest, keeping such a big secret from your brother. But he told Sarah everything and, although you loved Sarah to death, you weren’t sure she would be able to keep something like this to herself. It was best if all of it just stayed between the four of you until you were all comfortable with it. 

“Are you mad?” You asked John B as he covered his face with his hands. He let out a deep, thoughtful sigh, before lowering his hands and looking up at the four of you with a beaming smile on his face. 

“How could I be mad?” He looked at you directly, tears swimming in your eyes. “You’re happy, aren’t you?”

You placed your hand over Kie’s, tracing your finger over her knuckles. 

“The happiest I’ve been in a long time.” Which was easily translated to “The happiest I’ve been since Dad died”. 

“I was so fixed on keeping you away from JJ, I thought....” John B stopped to laugh at himself. 

“You weren’t thinking straight,” you finished with a sympathetic nod. 

“Or you were thinking too straight,” Pope said, laughing at his joke. Kie and JJ looked at him with raised eyebrows, but you thought it was funny. 

“Shit, man,” John B said, pushing himself off the wall. “I’m so happy for you guys.” 

He walked over to you, pulling both you and Kie into a bear hug. He squeezed tightly, making you wheeze out laughter. 

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” you said, pushing him away from you. 

“We could go on triple dates!” He had the look of a kid in a candy shop, eyes wide as he glanced between you and Kie and JJ and Pope. 

“Ooh, slow down there,” JJ said, putting up the hand that wasn’t holding Pope’s. 

“We’ll do a double date someday,” Kie piped in. She pushed herself onto the counter next to you, wrapping an arm around your waist. 

John B smiled at the two of you. He moved forward to give you guys another hug, but you put a hand against his shoulder and pushed him back. 

“No more brotherly affection today,” you said. “I think I’ve had enough.” 

John B sighed and took a step back. 

“Are you going to yell at us any more or can we crash now?” JJ asked. “I’m beat.” 

“Oh, no, we’re all good,” John B said. “Kie, can I talk to you real quick?” 

You and Kie glanced at each other while JJ and Pope made their way toward the spare bedroom. You could hear the both of them snoring within seconds. 

“I, uh, sure,” Kie said. 

“Don’t try and steal my girlfriend from me now,” you said to your brother, only half smiling. 

“Just gonna lay some ground rules,” John B said. You scowled for just a moment, opening your mouth to say something. “Hey, if it was JJ you were dating, I’d have the same rules.” 

“What about no rules?” You suggested, tilting your head to the side. “Sorry to break it to you, but you’re still not my dad.” 

“I know. But I’m your brother and I’ll be damned before I let anyone hurt you...ever.” 

“I understand that, but Kie has been nothing but good to me since we started dating. She doesn’t need your rules. She-” 

“y/n, relax.” Kie said, putting a hand on your shoulder and giving you a loving smile. Then she turned to look at John B, that soft, kind smile never falling. “Let’s go talk somewhere.” 

You watched as she followed after your brother onto the front porch. You felt like maybe you should go to your room, sit up and wait for Kie. But you couldn’t look away. John B donned his serious face, talking with his hands as he always did. Kie stood there in front of him, hands in her back pockets as goosebumps scattered up and down her arms. There was a smile on her face, hidden beneath a serious look. 

Every once in a while, she glanced in through the Chateau window toward you. Once she even gave a wink. The conversation seemed to be going well enough. Still, you were almost surprised when John B opened his arms, inviting Kie in for a tight hug. You couldn’t help but smile. 

John B walked back inside, a little strut in his walk. 

“Night, sis,” he said, shooting you a thumbs up. 

“Night, John.” 

John B whistled all the way to his room. You laughed quietly, hanging your head and kicking your feet ever so slightly. 

Kie walked back in and let out a content sigh. You lifted your head to look at her. She walked toward you, settling herself between your knees and resting her arms on your shoulders. You hooked your fingers through the belt loops of her denim shorts. 

“Does it feel good?” She asked you quietly. “Knowing that he knows?” 

You nodded your head, rolling your lower lip between your teeth. 

“Yeah, it feels good. I wasn’t as scared as I thought I would be,” you told her. Kie put a hand on your cheek, brushing her thumb across your lips. 

“I’m proud of you,” she said, her voice husky and quiet. You leaned forward and kissed her lips, gently, softly. 

“So, what are our rules?” You asked her once you had pulled away, only keeping a breath between you and her. 

“Oh, you know John B. No macking in front of him, no sex in the shared bathroom. Watch out for each other at parties, the same old, same old,” she said with an amused smile. 

“That’s not so bad then,” you said, tugging on her belt loops to pull her closer. Kie let out one of her signature laughs that was almost near a giggle. It always made your heart pound in your chest. 

You had been in love with this girl for as long as you knew her. Being able to hold her at night was one of the only things keeping you sane these days. Knowing that your brother was aware of your relationship made it all the better. 

“Should we go to bed?” Kie asked and brushed a piece of hair behind your ear. 

“Yes please,” you whined. She took your hand with a smile and helped you down from the counter. You wrapped your arms around her waist and let her lead you back to your bedroom. You flopped onto your bed once safely inside and she laid down in front of you. Curling your arms around her waist, you smiled as you tucked face into the crook of her neck. You placed butterfly kisses against her shoulder and neck, humming softly to yourself. 

“y/n,” she mumbled. “I can’t sleep when you’re doing that.” 

You sighed and placed one more kiss against her shoulder before letting your eyes close finally. 

“You smell good,” she whispered. You popped your eyes open.

“I thought we were sleeping.” 

“I know, but I wanted you to know you smell good.”

“I smell like sweat.”

“The good kind.” 

“I love you, Kie,” you told her quietly, letting your eyes shut once again. 

“I love you, too.” 

[donttellanyoneyall]

Pope x reader: Guessing games

A/N: There’s a bit of JJ x Pope because I love them.

Summary: You get jealous of JJ because he spends a lot of time with Pope (back again with an exquisite summary)

Warning: Them vulgar languages and spelling mistakes and stuff

Your mind was messed up lately. Maybe it was because you started becoming more observant, thinking about things you usually would avoid. Right now you were avoiding one question:

 Since when the fuck was I in love with Pope?

That was the only thing in your mind. To be honest, you thought you would fall for JJ, that exquisite, blond boy who desperately needed a therapist. But Pope happened.

You remembered the exact day it happened. Maybe you’ve liked him for a long time but that particular day was when you realised. 

It was at a Kegger. Pope was talking enthusiastically to a touron, his hands flying everywhere. The touron nodded, too drunk to actually realise that Pope was talking about dead bodies. You were too far away to hear the conversation but you knew it was about dead bodies. And you were watching, it would’ve been creepy but he was your friend so you just ignored that thought and observed.

Then he looked at you. 

He smiled, the glimmer in his eyes made your heart stutter. You loved his eyes. You hated eye contact but with Pope, you couldn’t get enough of it. They were always soft, safe, understanding and that’s when you fell.

That whole day you thought about Pope. Ok that was a lie, that whole week you thought about Pope and it got worse and worse. You began to notice the small things. Like how he managed to roll his eyes and smile at the same time when you made a stupid joke. And the celebration dance he would do when he got a hard question right. And the way he would scrunch up his face when JJ was smoking weed.

 And you loved how he remembered everything. Every little fact he read or anything you guys said. Like how he remembered any fact about turtles that Kiara would tell him and how he remembered your favourite songs and started singing along with you. Every single little thing he did, made you fall harder and harder.

Maybe you were overthinking but you noticed how close he was with JJ. 

You came out as pansexual two years ago to the pogues. A month after that, Pope came out as bisexual. Both of you used to talk about your sexualities and you felt the most comfortable with him. Maybe you started liking him because of the amount of time you spent with him?

JJ wasn’t really comfortable talking about his sexuality but he was slowly bringing his walls down, especially with Pope. And you knew JJ was 100% not straight, that was a fact. 

You weren’t going to admit it, but you were jealous of him. He was almost always with Pope and you noticed their glances and the way JJ always playful kisses Pope’s cheek. The way they would talk to each other in really soft voices and when someone walks in, they both go awkward.You terribly wished you could be happy for them, but you were too jealous.

You had to talk to Pope.

Everyone was lounging on John B’s pretty disgusting couch and somehow there was enough space for y’all. You kept glancing at Pope, nervously playing with your rings and Pope noticed, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion and worry.

‘You ok, y/n?’ he asked, his hand on your shoulder. You didn’t want him to touch you, that will only make you focus on how warm and soft his hand was on your skin.

‘Uh yea I’m good but... I need to talk to you?’ It came out as more of a question than a statement.

‘Yea sure’, he followed you out to the porch and literally for 5 minutes none of you said anything.You knew Pope. He was waiting patiently for you to start speaking and watched you, a comforting smile on his face.

I’m going to find a flaw in this man before I die, you thought.

‘I’m sorry’, you sighed.

‘For what? Did you pour water on my papers again?’He asked, standing like a mother who caught her kid doing something bad.

‘I-, I got a question.’

‘What is it?’

‘Do you like someone? Like do you have a crush?’ you asked cautiously. Pope’s face softened. 

‘Why are you asking?’ he smirked. 

‘Because I can’.

‘You need to give me a better expla-’.

‘Pope please answer the question. I am begging you’.

‘Yes I do. Do you?’ Pope replied a little too fast.

Your heart was literally breaking. You were expecting this. Pope probably fell for JJ, which wasn’t a surprise.

Your head was down, desperately trying to avoid eye contact as you slowly walked back into the house.

‘I’m kinda hungry and I think John B might finish the pizza so-’

‘Wait. Aren’t you going to tell me your crush?’

‘I don’t have one, Pope’. 

‘Well, I know that’s a lie, but aren’t you at least going to ask me who I like?’

‘I know who you like’, you almost yelled. You were starting to feel irritated, not at him but at yourself. You thought you could get over him, but it almost seemed impossible.

‘Who is it then?’, Pope huffed, offended by your sudden attitude.

‘JJ,’ You mumbled.

‘I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear-’.

‘JJ!’

‘What’s up y’all?’ JJ strutted to the porch after hearing his name, beer in one hand, blunt in another.

Your eyes darted to JJ but Pope’s were on you. He knew you were incredible smart but sometimes you could be pretty dumb, like this time.

‘Y/n, I don’t have a crush on JJ’, he slowly said, observing you.

‘Uh, the vibe here is pretty heavy so I’m just gonna dip-’

‘No! Wait’, Pope replied, grabbing JJ by his arm.

You were confused. They looked like the picture perfect couple already but Pope words were still bouncing around in your head. He didn’t like JJ? 

‘Tell her’, This time Pope was talking to JJ.

‘Man I’m not really-’

‘JJ you’re ready. And this is Y/n, there’s nothing to be afraid’.

‘Fine’, JJ sighed. There was a long pause before JJ began.

‘Y/n… I- I’m gay.’

‘Yes I knew that JJ’. 

‘Wha-. How?’JJ nervously laughed, a mild panic in his eyes.

‘Homosexuals can identify other homosexuals and that’s a talent’.

 You smiled and walked over to him, arms stretched and JJ fell into the hug. You grasped him, the smell of weed and mint hit you. You felt a few tears on your neck and gently played with his hair until he calmed down and stepped away. 

Pope was watching his two best friends and to be honest, he was about to cry. This was his family and he was extremely happy for JJ, he knew how hard it was for him.

‘I get it now,’ you broke the comfortable silence.

‘You don’t have a crush on JJ because y’all are dating so technically you can’t have a crush on him’.

‘Y/n-’. 

‘Which is why you guys keep whispering and always hanging out secretly because you guys didn’t want us to find out’. 

‘Y/n stop-’.

‘And it’s ok guys, I think y’all look really cute together, like I ship it. I’m happy for you, wait no, I’m ecstatic for you’.

‘Y/n shut up’. Pope grabbed your face which immediately made you shut up. Your full focus on how close his face was to you and the warmth of his hands on your cheeks.

‘JJ and I are not dating’, Pope emphasised every word. 

‘Yea dude, I mean Pope is pretty and all but did you see the new kid at the kegger. EXQUISITE. I was only close to Pope because he was the first one to figure out my crush on the kid so he helped me. Oh, and by the way I know who he’s in love with’, JJ winked and went back inside, leaving you and Pope alone.

He still had his hands on your face and your face was definitely starting to heat up.

‘Now guess who I like,’ Pope said softly. 

‘Kiara’, you whispered. 

‘No’, he dragged the word out, he knew you were playing with him.

‘It’s John B. I know it is.’ 

Pope rolled his eyes and you giggled, a comfortable silence taking over. 

He slowly leaned in and you watched as his lips got closer. And when his lips finally brushed yours ever so softly, you closed the gap. 

Your lips were moving in sync and the only thing in your mind was how beautiful this moment was. You ass was jealous of nothing. After seconds (which felt like hours), he pulled away, a new glimmer in his eyes.

‘I have a crush on the girl that’s really bad at guessing games’.

[agentnico]

Netflix’s Hollywood (2020) Review

It may be set in the same day and age as Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but it’s nothing alike. This is a different kind of Hollywood...

Plot: In post-World War II Hollywood, aspiring actors and filmmakers will do almost anything to make their showbiz dreams come true.

The racism was indeed a serious issue back in the Golden era of Hollywood, with not just people of colour being mistreated and disregarded. Recently I’ve been re-watching Bruce Lee films and the guy is such a talent, yet it took him a long while to get properly recognised in Hollywood. Yes, he was helping out in stunt-work and was training actors to be able to perform certain fight sequences, but it took him a lot of time and work to become beloved and popular by himself that Hollywood studio Warner Bros. had no choice but to finally allow him to make his own picture with a decent budget, and that was 1973′s Enter the Dragon, which unfortunately was his final completed film before his untimely passing, but even so, after such a long fight against the discriminating and racist nature of the film industry, he actually managed to achieve his dream. No wonder that in 2004 Enter the Dragon was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural significance. Again, that’s why I was upset with how Quentin Tarantino presented Bruce Lee as a narcissistic a-hole in last year’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, as its such mistreatment and disrespect to an icon that helped progress and shape Hollywood in a better direction. Now, Netflix’s new series, conveniently titled Hollywood, is also about the Golden Age of Hollywood where non-white people had no rights or proper opportunities to get themselves out there, due to the expectations of the audience and fear of the likes of the Ku Klux Klan bringing their terror regimes, and the series presents an alternate time-line where these group of individuals succeed in making a movie that at that time would have been impossible to make. So, is the series as good as its potential-filled premise?

The series is brought to us by Ryan Murphy who most will know from his work on TV shows Glee and American Horror Story, and whilst I myself am not that well acquainted with those, I have seen his last year’s Netflix show The Politician, which I enjoyed for its blend of the campy whimsy intertwined with the political reality of the United States, and am very much looking forward to its next season, whenever that may be. With Hollywood, Murphy tries to take the present and put in the past, by seeing how today’s inspirational movements would have worked back then. He brings his distinct slick, sensational style to the Golden Age of showbiz. Bawdy and transgressive, it starts with a flair and energy that’s hard to look away from, tremendously watchable from minute one. And there is a lot going on in these 7 episodes, one can even say too much. Here’s the thing, Hollywood, tries to correct, well, Hollywood, by rewriting the well-worn dream big story, but one starring people who weren’t allowed to be a part of it, and one where they win. It’s also about the idea of a ‘Dreamland’, where big-name stars had hookups arranged by fixers that conducted business out of a gas station front and secretly gay and bisexual actors and producers threw exclusive parties where they could be secrets no longer. Hollywood is shown for its ugliness - the homophobia, racism, and sexism that shut out marginalised talent for decades. Thus there are lots of characters and plot-lines in this series, and because of all the stuff going on, the entire thing does come of a bit all over-the-place. In fact, the show doesn’t really find it’s proper footing until episode four, where our characters finally come together to make this fictional film called Meg, and when this kicks off, then the show does arise to the occasion and becomes humongously enjoyable and interesting to watch.

There’s a lot to truly enjoy in this series. From the immaculate production design to some truly juicy pieces of dialogue, which is good, since the series is about making a movie and every movie should have juicy dialogue! Also, this thing is really well cast, with a mix of newcomers and stars that you might have seen in other films/shows previously. Whether its Jim Parsons like you’ve never seen him before, being impressively nasty and slimy as a Harvey Weinstein-type of that era, or Samara Weaving continuing her foray by dashing us on the screen with her glamour and talent (though I should point out she was heavily under-used), or Dylan McDermott bringing his usual cool voguish persona however also exemplifying some surprising emotional levels, or Jeremy Pope bringing dramatic gravitas to every scene that he is in, or Joe Mantello as a studio producer with more to him than meets the eye.....I can go on. There isn’t a weak link in the cast, everyone is bringing their A-game and some even deliver career-best performances! Because of the cast, you fall for these characters so much that you truly do want to see them all succeed, so when the final episode, appropriately titled Hollywood Ending, arrives, even though its overly glossy by being just too good to be true (and may even present this thing as a bit of a puff piece), typical to an actual Hollywood ending, it feels garnered.

Hollywood at times takes on a bit more than it can chew, and it can come off overly preachy, even for its own good, but there is a lot to enjoy in this thing. I would say, I was surprised by the amount of sex/nude scenes and would have preferred less, but that’s a personal gripe more than anything. That being said, I get why it was done, as it was made to be uncomfortable to underline the darker side of show business. Then again, for all of its attempts at being dark, Hollywood also lacks conflict. All the problems that the characters face are dealt with ease in a matter of minutes. For example, at the end of one of the episodes we are left at a cliffhanger when the entire Meg film-tape is burned by a bunch of stereotypically-evil lawyers. However, in the opening minutes of the following episode its revealed that someone secretly made another copy of that film-tape beforehand, so that little tiny problem comes and goes as if it was nothing. That goes for the show as a whole. There are a lot of barriers that our characters come across, but they jump over them with but a scratch if that and thus diminish any kind of threat, stake or element of urgency. That being said, I really enjoyed Hollywood, and though it is not perfect, it’s definitely the best thing Netflix has released so far this year!

Overall score: 7/10