#they're blessed

[eyes-of-nine]

pls assume i'm thinking about this moment 24/7 all week every week

[mielplante]

omgg his hair is down (!!!) - hua cheng, probably

[crimsonrain-spirits]

xianle trio,,,,,,i love them dearly,,,,

[muzsmoux]

Xie Lian: I'm so sorry I violated your hospitality, you were nothing but kind and generous towards me but I ended up burning the-

Hua Cheng, on the verge of tears: My beloved, I HURT you! Struck you with my scimitar, injured your devine form, and you still have the grace to offer a smile and apologise to ME??

XL: I'm okay, it wasn't that b-

E-ming:

[demaparbat-hp]

Oh, Aang, you're really in it now...

This is Zu—I mean, Jian Li and Katara's second meeting in the Kyoshi Warriors AU. The first proper one, anyway.

Once they get through a minor difference of opinion or two (“I can carry my own basket!” “Never said you—” “I'm not weak!” “I didn't—” “Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean—” “Would you listen for once, woman?!” ) they'll become nearly inseparable.

For now Jian Li will carry Katara's basket all the way to the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo and, once there, they'll mercilessly tease Sokka when they see him in uniform.

[itzitxou]

Local god loves his ghost very much.

[aestariiwilderness]

[hualianschild]

the jade of lan clan and white lotus of xianle seems to have a type

I've been waiting to see how long it takes for others to talk abt the sqq erasure 💀

[captainswhore]

you see price sitting like this when you walk into a room post mission- and you know exactly what it is he needs.

he's licking at you and holding your thighs open with his rough palms- and you can't take it. his calluses and his beard and the fabric of his sleeves are rubbing at your legs just right- but not enough for you to lose focus on his hot tongue rubbing on you and in you and you've never been wetter in your LIFE.

his only problem? you're still moving too much. he can't reach where he wants to inside of you because you keep wiggling out of his way. his hands want to touch you everywhere- not just hold your thighs still. this is when he begins to squeeze at you everywhere, and tell you to rest your thighs on his shoulders.

"b-but price- hhnngh ohmygod- i c-can't. they're too big. thighs are too big"

you whine at the loss of contact, but then you look down and see him staring at you with massive pupils and a wet face. "lovie- my shoulders are broad for a reason. rest your thighs on em and i swear they'll have enough room"

and you listen, and you're crushing his ears with your thighs, and he's never been happier. the next time you look down? he's rutting into the mattress and you see his hips stutter when he groans into you and your vision goes white

(@chamomiletealeaf and i had SUCH A HORNY discussion about this and she told me to post it so here i am- and also omg photo creds to her. we've gotta reign it in lmfao)

[cuddlytogas]

So I accidentally almost got into an argument on Twitter, and now I'm thinking about bad historical costuming tropes. Specifically, Action Hero Leather Pants.

See, I was light-heartedly pointing out the inaccuracies of the costumes in Black Sails, and someone came out of the woodwork to defend the show. The misunderstanding was that they thought I was dismissing the show just for its costumes, which I wasn't - I was simply pointing out that it can't entirely care about material history (meaning specifically physical objects/culture) if it treats its clothes like that.

But this person was slightly offended on behalf of their show - especially, quote, "And from a fan of OFMD, no less!" Which got me thinking - it's true! I can abide a lot more historical costuming inaccuracy from Our Flag than I can Black Sails or Vikings. And I don't think it's just because one has my blorbos in it. But really, when it comes down to it...

What is the difference between this and this?

Here's the thing. Leather pants in period dramas isn't new. You've got your Vikings, Tudors, Outlander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Once Upon a Time, Will, The Musketeers, even Shakespeare in Love - they love to shove people in leather and call it a day. But where does this come from?

Obviously we have the modern connotations. Modern leather clothes developed in a few subcultures: cowboys drew on Native American clothing. (Allegedly. This is a little beyond my purview, I haven't seen any solid evidence, and it sounds like the kind of fact that people repeat a lot but is based on an assumption. I wouldn't know, though.) Leather was used in some WWI and II uniforms.

But the big boom came in the mid-C20th in motorcycle, punk/goth, and gay subcultures, all intertwined with each other and the above. Motorcyclists wear leather as practical protective gear, and it gets picked up by rock and punk artists as a symbol of counterculture, and transferred to movie designs. It gets wrapped up in gay and kink communities, with even more countercultural and taboo meanings. By the late C20th, leather has entered mainstream fashion, but it still carries those references to goths, punks, BDSM, and motorbike gangs, to James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Mick Jagger. This is whence we get our Spikes and Dave Listers in 1980s/90s media, bad boys and working-class punks.

And some of the above "historical" design choices clearly build on these meanings. William Shakespeare is dressed in a black leather doublet to evoke the swaggering bad boy artist heartthrob, probably down on his luck. So is Kit Marlowe.

But the associations get a little fuzzier after that. Hook, with his eyeliner and jewellery, sure. King Henry, yeah, I see it. It's hideously ahistorical, but sure. But what about Jamie and Will and Ragnar, in their browns and shabby, battle-ready chic? Well, here we get the other strain of Bad Period Drama Leather.

See, designers like to point to history, but it's just not true. Leather armour, especially in the western/European world, is very, very rare, and not just because it decays faster than metal. (Yes, even in ancient Greece/Rome, despite many articles claiming that as the start of the leather armour trend!) It simply wasn't used a lot, because it's frankly useless at defending the body compared to metal. Leather was used as a backing for some splint armour pieces, and for belts, sheathes, and buckles, but it simply wasn't worn like the costumes above. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to repair - it's simply not practical for a garment when you have perfectly comfortable, insulating, and widely available linen, wool, and cotton!

As far as I can see, the real influence on leather in period dramas is fantasy. Fantasy media has proliferated the idea of leather armour as the lightweight choice for rangers, elves, and rogues, a natural, quiet, flexible material, less flashy or restrictive than metal. And it is cheaper for a costume department to make, and easier for an actor to wear on set. It's in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Runescape, and World of Warcraft.

And I think this is how we get to characters like Ragnar and Vane. This idea of leather as practical gear and light armour, it's fantasy, but it has this lineage, behind which sits cowboy chaps and bomber/flight jackets. It's usually brown compared to the punk bad boy's black, less shiny, and more often piecemeal or decorated. In fact, there's a great distinction between the two Period Leather Modes within the same piece of media: Robin Hood (2006)! Compare the brooding, fascist-coded villain Guy of Gisborne with the shabby, bow-wielding, forest-dwelling Robin:

So, back to the original question: What's the difference between Charles Vane in Black Sails, and Edward Teach in Our Flag Means Death?

Simply put, it's intention. There is nothing intentional about Vane's leather in Black Sails. It's not the only leather in the show, and it only says what all shabby period leather says, relying on the same tropes as fantasy armour: he's a bad boy and a fighter in workaday leather, poor, flexible, and practical. None of these connotations are based in reality or history, and they've been done countless times before. It's boring design, neither historically accurate nor particularly creative, but much the same as all the other shabby chic fighters on our screens. He has a broad lineage in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean and such, but that's it.

In Our Flag, however, the lineage is much, much more intentional. Ed is a direct homage to Mad Max, the costuming in which is both practical (Max is an ex-cop and road warrior), and draws on punk and kink designs to evoke a counterculture gone mad to the point of social breakdown, exploiting the thrill of the taboo to frighten and titillate the audience.

In particular, Ed is styled after Max in the second movie, having lost his family, been badly injured, and watched the world turn into an apocalypse. He's a broken man, withdrawn, violent, and deliberately cutting himself off from others to avoid getting hurt again. The plot of Mad Max 2 is him learning to open up and help others, making himself vulnerable to more loss, but more human in the process.

This ties directly into the themes of Our Flag - it's a deliberate intertext. Ed's emotional journey is also one from isolation and pain to vulnerability, community, and love. Mad Max (intentionally and unintentionally) explores themes of masculinity, violence, and power, while Max has become simplified in the popular imagination as a stoic, badass action hero rather than the more complex character he is, struggling with loss and humanity. Similarly, Our Flag explores masculinity, both textually (Stede is trying to build a less abusive pirate culture) and metatextually (the show champions complex, banal, and tender masculinities, especially when we're used to only seeing pirates in either gritty action movies or childish comedies).

Our Flag also draws on the specific countercultures of motorcycles, rockers, and gay/BDSM culture in its design and themes. Naturally, in such a queer show, one can't help but make the connection between leather pirates and leather daddies, and the design certainly nods at this, with its vests and studs. I always think about this guy, with his flat cap so reminiscient of gay leather fashions.

More overtly, though, Blackbeard and his crew are styled as both violent gangsters and countercultural rockstars. They rove the seas like a bikie gang, free and violent, and are seen as icons, bad boys and celebrities. Other pirates revere Blackbeard and wish they could be on his crew, while civilians are awed by his reputation, desperate for juicy, gory details.

This isn't all of why I like the costuming in Our Flag Means Death (especially season 1). Stede's outfits are by no means accurate, but they're a lot more accurate than most pirate media, and they're bright and colourful, with accurate and delightful silks, lace, velvets, and brocades, and lovely, puffy skirts on his jackets. Many of the Revenge crew wear recognisable sailor's trousers, and practical but bright, varied gear that easily conveys personality and flair. There is a surprising dedication to little details, like changing Ed's trousers to fall-fronts for a historical feel, Izzy's puffy sleeves, the handmade fringe on Lucius's red jacket, or the increasing absurdity of navy uniform cuffs between Nigel and Chauncey.

A really big one is the fact that they don't shy away from historical footwear! In almost every example above, we see the period drama's obsession with putting men in skinny jeans and bucket-top boots, but not only does Stede wear his little red-heeled shoes with stockings, but most of his crew, and the ordinary people of Barbados, wear low boots or pumps, and even rough, masculine characters like Pete wear knee breeches and bright colours. It's inaccurate, but at least it's a new kind of inaccuracy, that builds much more on actual historical fashions, and eschews the shortcuts of other, grittier period dramas in favour of colour and personality.

But also. At least it fucking says something with its leather.

[eyes-of-nine]

minimum wage coded scrunkly and his very good pupper

[yudidoodles]

Based on this post that has been stuck in my head for ages- the three straightest guys lmao

And also their husbands having a similar conversation

Guys I'm so normal about all of these books don't @ me lol

[unpersoniverse]

I saw a tweet that said Korra's only a softie around Asami and one thing led to another...

[dilfmobius]

Kneel.

[apassingbird]

Buck loves a lot of things with Tommy; his kindness, his deadpan sense of humor, the way he throws himself into his work with equal parts passion and almost reckless abandon. The way he listens to Buck's rants with genuine interest, the way he counters with interesting facts of his own. The way he says Buck's name, almost like it's something precious, something holy. But right now, in this very moment, the one thing he loves the most with Tommy, is the fact that he has a bathtub.

Buck lets out a groan as he sinks into the warm water, his muscles tense and aching from hours of hard work. A hot shower had always been the go-to after a long shift, but this right here, this was something Buck could definitely get used to. He closes his eyes and lets himself relax into it completely, his whole body breathing a sigh of relief and his mind, for once, not racing a mile a minute.

"You know, I'm starting to think you're only with me for my bathtub."

Buck opens his eyes again and lets his head loll to the side as he squints at Tommy, where he's leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and an amused look on his face.

"I plead the fifth," Buck says with a wink and a smirk, then holds out his hand towards Tommy, asks quietly, "join me?"

Tommy tilts his head in consideration, the corners of his mouth pulling upwards in a soft smile, says, "I'm not sure we'll both fit."

He moves, nonetheless, pushes himself off the doorframe and starts to undress, his movements far from rushed as he removes one layer of clothing at a time. Buck watches him, his eyes following the journey one of his own shirts makes as it's pulled up and over Tommy's head, and then dropped unceremoniously onto the floor. His eyes moves back to Tommy's chest, the dusting of soft hair that covers it, tantalizing in the way it beckons his gaze to follow its trail down, down, down, to where it disappears beneath well-worn denim. Then, Tommy's hands block his view, as deft fingers works first the button and then zipper, before slowly peeling off the material.

Buck swallows, feels that familiar heat pooling low in his belly, just from the sight before him. And god, what a sight it is; Tommy, all long lines of naked skin, a slight flush on his cheeks, as he moves closer until he's standing right beside the bathub. Buck stretches his fingers, the tips of them touching the bare skin just above Tommy's knee. This, he knows, he'll never get used to.

There are a lot of things Buck loves about Tommy. His big heart, yes, but also the way his body feels pressed against Buck's own. The way his muscles shift beneath his skin when he presses Buck up against a wall or into the mattress, the broad expanse of his chest and shoulders and back. The way he, most nights, envelopes Buck wholly, covering him from where his lips press against the nape of his neck all the way down to where he lets Buck tuck his cold toes between his feet. He loves how it makes him feel, how Tommy makes him feel - tethered, secure, safe.

Like now, as he leans back into Tommy's open arms; his back pressed against his chest, his hips and legs bracketed by Tommy's strong thighs and Tommy's equally strong arms holding him securely in place. Buck can't help but let out a sound, then, something caught between a sigh and a moan. Beneath him, he can feel Tommy's heartbeat, a slow and steady thing.

Distantly, Buck thinks he could get used to this, too. Having someone to come home to, that is. He spends most nights at Tommy's, but they haven't really had that particular conversation yet. They probably should, though, because as far as Buck's concerned, there's nowhere else he'd rather be. No one else he'd rather come home to, bathtub or not.

[murasaki-cha]

Almost a year ago I made a stupid tiktok in less than 5 min about how gay this ORV webtoon cover was. It's now my most liked post.

Since than, you would not believe how many people have commented asking me "Wait this isn't gay?? This isn't a bl???"

Honoraray mentions: