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f444wning · 1 month

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The Plug (1/?)

Summary: Wanting to make a name for yourself, you find yourself in modern day King's Landing. Dealing with the weight of expectations, you find an unlikely connection.

Warnings: Drug/alcohol use (underaged and not), eventual smut, curse words. 18+

Note: Okay it took me a little longer than expected but here it is!

WC: 4.2k

"Virtue has a veil, vice a mask." - Victor Hugo

You always had big dreams, desiring an independent life. One that left you free to do whatever you wanted. While your parents were well-off and influential, you didn’t want to use their money to get you anywhere because you wanted to work for it yourself. “Stubborn girl,” they’d lovingly call you; they wanted to help you and see you succeed. While they knew you were smart and felt you were capable of anything, they believed it wouldn’t hurt to use their privilege to give you a hand. You always refused but understood their stance. You felt they did enough for you growing up—putting you in the best schools in the city, supporting whatever extracurricular activities you took interest in (mostly volleyball), and generally spoiling you whenever they could. Rumor had it they even paid the school to overlook any trouble you got into throughout high school.

You weren’t the biggest troublemaker, but you weren’t a goody-two-shoes either. You got good grades when you tried, but occasionally cheated on tests when you got too high on edibles or drunk on whisky that you’d stolen out of your dad’s cabinet that week to be bothered with studying. A bit of a party girl, one time taking a random pill given to you by a classmate that turned out to be Xanax. Afterward, you felt stupid for doing such a thing and vowed never to do it again. You knew how dangerously close you came to beginning a downward spiral. Your parents didn’t suspect your habits as you kept them well hidden, not wanting to ruin the idea of their perfect only child.

Well, to a degree. When the teachers busted you for cheating, they kept silent after contacting your parents, and it never escalated. Deep down, you knew what happened and felt guilty that it was most likely your parents’ money that kept you in that school; not everyone was so lucky. It was never enough to completely stop the habits, however. As an adult, while you were slightly more responsible, you still gripped to your vices as a baby grips their bottle. It wasn’t that you had a particularly hard life; you just found yourself wanting to escape from the pressures that came with expectations.

Having such supportive family and friends, you got through school and decided to jump into the working field, excited to move on to the next chapter of your life, wanting to prove to yourself that you weren’t a lost cause. Unfortunately for the past few years since then, the search was unfruitful. As you sat on the end of your bed, laptop in front of you, you clicked on the icon for your email to see if any jobs that you’d applied to had written you back. It seemed like a dud until you scrolled down a bit further, noticing you missed one from the large fashion magazine Gevives.

You had applied for a paid internship because you were always interested in the fashion industry and daydreamed about working your way up as a big-time writer. In slight disbelief, you opened the email to see that they were interested in you working for them and would like you to come by for an interview. Your mind raced in excitement for a few moments as you read the email until your stomach dropped when you saw at the bottom of the page that the location they wanted you to intern for was King’s Landing.

It was 5 hours away from Riverrun, your home. It had been your home since you were a child. It’s where you were born and raised, spending your childhood weekends at the country club your parents attended where you first acquired your love for volleyball. It held so many memories, like your first kiss, drunk in the closet playing 7 minutes in heaven with a boy from your grade after sneaking out to a friend’s house on a weekday, knowing your parents would kill you if they found out.

This was where you were comfortable; you didn’t know anyone in King’s Landing, you’d never even visited. You only ever heard things about it from acquaintances. Nothing too substantial, just that it was bigger with more shops and things to do. While that sounded wonderful, you knew you’d miss the nature and serenity that came with your smaller town. You loved it, and all the friends you grew up with as well as your family lived there. However, you knew jobs weren’t as easy to come by here as in the bigger cities, it was hard to make a good living. Your parents had driven at least an hour away for their jobs. You sat there staring at the screen for a few minutes, turning over the thoughts in your head before coming to a conclusion.

This was it. Deciding you couldn’t let fear get in the way of such a big opportunity, you sighed, hitting “reply,” and wrote back that you were still interested and would love to have the interview. While you knew they’d be sad that you were leaving, you also knew everyone would ultimately understand. Besides, it couldn’t be so bad, right? You’d finally have the opportunity to meet new people, experience new things. You’d finally get the chance to do something you’d only dreamed of. You figured you’d be a fool to pass it up. Besides, you heard they had better weed there. Closing your laptop, you lay down and texted your best friend, Abby Tully.

Y: Abbs, guess what!

A: What???

Y: I might have an interview with Gevives magazine

A: Omggg no freaking way, the internship?

Let’s talk about it over some cocktails on me this Friday, be there or be square

Y: Would rather die than miss it, babe

You set your phone down and snuggled under the covers, the soft fabric against your skin providing some comfort as your mind swirled with conflicting thoughts and emotions before sleep finally took over your body.

The next day you woke up to your alarm clock going off. 8 a.m. You groaned as your eyes adjusted to the sun beaming through your window, getting up to prepare for your day. Standing in front of the mirror in your room, you thought about how you were going to tell your parents, but you knew deep down they’d be proud of you. The day went by uneventfully, besides breaking the news to them, and they reacted just how you’d expected.

What you hadn’t expected, though, was your mother crying as you sat at the dinner table that evening. It was obviously a mix of both happy and sad tears. My little girl is growing up so fast, she thought. They knew the day would come, but it wasn’t going to lessen the impact of empty nest syndrome and having no siblings to soften the blow. Your dad offered to pay the first few months rent for a flat while you got on your feet, which you begrudgingly accepted. You truly didn’t want to, but you had no other choice. It’s not like you had any money to pay for a place to stay yourself. Not yet, and you couldn’t wait to change that.

The weekend rolled around, and you met up with Abby and her twin, Oscar, at the local pub. You were close with Oscar as well, the three of you being the same age and growing up on the playgrounds together, followed by the parties you’d all sneaked out to in teenage adventures that ensured you stayed glued to one another. You sat across from them, a cocktail in hand as you explained the email you’d gotten and how you’d be moving away.

“Girl, I’m so happy for you! But you better not forget about us.” Abby warned, jokingly pointing a finger at you.

Oscar nodded, “Yeah, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do while you’re there. We can’t chaperone you from here.” He laughed.

“Of course not,” you said with a cheeky smile, “and if you’re really worried, you guys are welcome to come babysit me whenever you like. I’ll have my own flat.” You winked at them.

Oscar and Abby groaned in unison, “Even worse!” Abby said with a grin.

“Look, I’m not the one who puked in the Lannister’s yard on summer break for drinking too much.” You said, raising your eyebrow and shooting a pointed look at Oscar.

He raised his hands in feigned offense, “Not everyone could make it past the driveway like you!” You all laughed. The conversation continued until late into the night as you three reminisced about all the memories you’ve had with each other. You all ended up getting decently tipsy by the end of it, and you decided to call it a night. Oscar called their older brother Kermit to drive you all home, dropping you off first. The twins got out of the car to hug you and wish you well, and even Kermit, who you had hardly spoken to despite being close with his siblings, wished you good luck before they drove off. You tried to quietly stumble your way up to your room. You could tell they were trying to hide their sadness, so you vowed you’d see them again as soon as possible.

Monday rolled around, and you knew you were going to have a busy day. Your interview was today, and you also had to go flat shopping with your parents. You got up at 4 a.m. to make sure you had enough time to make yourself look put together and get an Uber to King’s Landing before the interview. As the car began to drive through the city, you couldn’t help but stare out the window as the scenery changed. There were tall buildings and lots of people walking on the street, the city buzzing with activity. You noticed it was noisier as well. As the driver pulled up to the building located at the address you were given, it stood as possibly one of the tallest ones you’d seen. You looked up at it with slight awe. With a shake of your head to gather your courage, you headed up to the front desk to let them know you had arrived.

You feel like the interview went well enough as you watch the elevator buttons light up as it takes you back down to the bottom floor with a quiet “ding.” You’re not sure you’ll ever get used to living here, though. It feels so foreign compared to what you’re used to, and you feel a bit out of place. Chalking it up to bad nerves as you’re greeted with the bustle of the city, you walked away feeling a mix of relief and optimism. The energy of King’s Landing seemed to pulse with new possibilities.

Later, as you and your parents wandered through the vibrant neighborhoods, each corner of the city revealed something new: sleek cafés, trendy boutiques, and busy market streets. The search for a flat was exhausting, the sheer number of choices overwhelming. But amidst the confusion, a spark of excitement kept you moving forward. When you finally settled on a flat—a cozy space with large windows that overlooked a quaint park—you couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the start of something significant.

The property manager told you that you could move in the next day, which ended up working out perfectly as you got a call back a few hours after your interview to let you know you’d been accepted. They asked you to start next Monday and you agreed. Once you were back in Riverrun, you texted Abby and Oscar with updates on the interview and the flat-hunting adventure. They promised once summer break hits, they’d come and visit you.

Staying up late to pack your things, you struggled to get up the next morning. Still, you got up and freshened up before taking your luggage out to your dad’s car. He shook his head, smiling at you struggling to carry your bags and grabbed them from you, placing them in the trunk and closing it. As he drove you to your new home, you two talked about your future and he expressed how much everyone was going to miss you, but that he was proud of you. He reassured you that they’d be alright and made you promise him that you’d stay safe and give them a call if you ever needed anything.

When you got to your new home, he helped you carry your bags up to your flat and you couldn’t help but look around it in disbelief. This was really yours. Your little corner in the city, home away from home. You beamed up at him as you thanked him, he hugged you in response before planting a kiss on your forehead and saying his goodbyes before heading back to Riverrun. You’d have to remember to call your parents soon to keep them from worrying themselves to death, you figure.

You unpack your bags the rest of the day. Thankfully some movers had brought furniture up to your flat earlier that day, so it was fully furnished and before you knew it you were finally settled in. The stress of the day hit you, and you felt the need to use something to relax. Reaching into your kitchen cabinet you thanked yourself for remembering to bring a few bottles of wine with you and you drank them as your music filled the air and you danced around your new living room before passing out on the couch.

The sun streamed through the large windows of your new flat as you slowly woke up on your first full day in King’s Landing. The faint hum of city life below was a stark contrast to the quiet of Riverrun. Stretching and yawning, you reluctantly got up from the couch, where you’d spent the night amidst a mess of packing materials and empty wine bottles. Head slightly hurting, you popped a few pills.

After a quick shower and a hasty breakfast of cereal, you cleaned up before deciding to take a walk and explore your new neighborhood. You wandered through tree-lined streets and bustling avenues, taking in the lively atmosphere and the mix of modern and historic architecture. As you strolled, you marveled at the array of shops, restaurants, and cafés. The sheer diversity of the city was exhilarating, but you still felt a pang of homesickness.

You found yourself at a charming little café with an outdoor seating area. The scent of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods wafted through the air, tempting you to step inside. You ordered a latte and a croissant, settling into a corner table with a view of the street. The café was quaint, with potted plants hanging from the walls and soft indie music playing in the background. It seemed like the perfect place to meet new people.

As you sipped your latte and skimmed through a local magazine, a young woman sat down at the table next to you. She was absorbed in her phone but glanced over at you occasionally, seemingly intrigued. After a few minutes, she put her phone down and gave you a friendly smile.

“Hi there,” she said, her voice warm. “I’m Sara. I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new here?”

You returned her smile, feeling a bit relieved to meet someone so approachable. “I’m Y/N. Yeah, I just moved here a couple of days ago. I’m starting an internship at Gevives magazine.”

Sara’s eyes lit up. “Gevives? That’s so cool! I actually know a few people who work there. What’s your position?”

“Intern,” you replied. “It’s my first big opportunity, so I’m really excited, but also a bit overwhelmed. This city is so different from what I’m used to.”

“Yeah, King’s Landing can be a bit intense at first,” Sara agreed sympathetically, nodding. “But you’ll get the hang of it. If you need any tips or just someone to show you around, I’d be happy to help. I’m a graphic designer here and I know a few great spots.”

“That would be amazing, actually,” you said, feeling grateful. “I’ve been feeling a bit out of place.”

“Great!” Sara said, finishing her coffee. “How about we meet up this weekend? I can take you to some cool places and we can grab lunch.”

“I’d love that,” you said, feeling a genuine sense of relief. “Thanks so much.”

As you both finished your coffee, Sara started talking about some of her favorite places in the city. You found yourself genuinely enjoying the conversation, feeling more at ease. Before you knew it, she had to leave for an appointment, but not before giving you her number.

“Here’s my number,” she said, writing it down on a napkin. “Text me and we’ll set something up for the weekend. Oh, and if you’re looking for a recommendation for some good weed—I’ve got a guy. His name’s Aegon. He’s reliable and knows his stuff. Just let me know if you need his number.”

You were taken aback by the sudden offer but quickly appreciated her candor. “Thanks, I might take you up on that.” You smiled.

Sara laughed. “No problem! I’ll text you his number later today. Enjoy the rest of your day exploring the city!”

As she left, you felt a renewed sense of optimism. The move still felt overwhelming, but meeting someone so friendly and open was a huge boost. You spent the rest of the day wandering around, taking in the sights and sounds of King’s Landing with a bit more confidence.

Later that evening, as you sat on the couch in your flat watching TV, your phone buzzed with a text from Sara. Attached was a number with a brief message:

S: “Hey! Here’s Aegon’s number: 555-789-1234. He’s great—let him know I sent you. Hope the city’s treating you well!”

You saved the number, feeling a mix of curiosity and anticipation. With a smile, you picked up a wine bottle you had left out, poured yourself a glass, and sat back on the couch, already feeling a little more at home. Deciding to waste no time, you pull your phone out and shoot a text to Aegon.

Y: Heyy I’m y/n, Sara gave me your number

A: can I call?

Y: Uhhh yeah sure

Almost as soon as you responded your phone rang, “the plug” lighting up the screen. You giggled to yourself at the name you assigned him and picked up. You could hear people talking and music playing in the background before he spoke.

“Why hello. What can I do for ya sweetie?” His raspy voice rang. Oh great, a flirt.

“Hi, I just moved to King’s Landing and I’m looking for something to help me chill out. Sara mentioned you might be able to help with that.”

“Well, aren’t you lucky you got my number?” You could tell he was smirking, even over the phone. “I’ve got just the thing you need. What’s your vibe—something to mellow out after a long day or something to keep you buzzing?”

“I’m looking for something to help me unwind,” you said, honestly starting to feel a bit flustered by his tone. “It’s been a bit overwhelming with the move.”

“Ah, gotcha. I’ve got the perfect strain for that,” Aegon said smoothly. “How about we meet up around 8? I can make sure you’re well taken care of. My place isn’t anything fancy, but it’s got a cozy vibe. It’ll be a lot of fun.”

“That sounds good,” you said, trying to keep your voice steady. “Where should I meet you?”

“I’ll text you the address in a minute. It’s at my place,” Aegon said with a chuckle. “And just so you know, I’ve got a pretty good setup. You might even say I’ve got a knack for making new friends feel right at home.”

A few hours later, you felt a flutter of excitement mixed with nervousness as you made your way to his place. You arrived at the address Aegon had sent, a slightly worn but lively building with other frat-type houses nearby. The bass from inside thumped so loudly you could feel it through the floor. When you buzzed the door, it swung open to reveal Aegon, his white hair a tousled mess and a grin on his face. He gave you a quick glance up and down before speaking.

“Hey there! You made it!” Aegon greeted you with an exaggerated enthusiasm that made you smile. “Come on in, gorgeous. Let me show you around.”

You stepped inside, greeted by the lively energy of the party. The flat was decorated with posters, random string lights, and a collection of beer bottles that had taken on a life of their own. Aegon led you through the living room, where people were lounging and chatting. Smoke and music filled the air as you looked around, trying to ease your nerves.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Aegon said, guiding you to a spot on the couch. “I’ll get us something to drink.”

As he grabbed a beer for you from the fridge, you took in his appearance, noting that despite being a bit disheveled looking, you find he’s actually quite attractive. He returned with the beer and a small bag of weed, sitting down next to you as he began to roll with practiced ease.

“So, you’re new in town, huh?” Aegon said, flashing you a cheeky grin as he worked. “I have to say, it’s nice meeting a pretty little thing like you. Y’know, I could show you around and help you find the best spots in the city.”

You laughed, the beer you started drinking you started feeling more at ease. “I’m looking forward to it. This is actually my first time hanging out with someone from here.”

“Well, I’m glad to be your first,” Aegon said with a wink. “Here’s to new adventures and new friends. And who knows, maybe this is the start of something even more exciting.”

He finished rolling the joint and handed it to you with a mischievous smile, his violet eyes watching you intensely. “Let’s make sure your time here is one to remember. Sara has great taste, and I have a feeling you’re going to enjoy yourself.”

You feel your cheeks warm. You wonder if it’s just the alcohol starting to make you feel flustered.

“I sure hope so. I left a lot behind to be here, I might as well enjoy it.” You replied, taking the joint from him and taking a long inhale from it, feeling your lungs burn a little.

He raised an eyebrow as you passed it back to him, “Don’t tell me you have a husband and 5 kids back at home?”

You laughed as you felt the joint making you a little lightheaded. It’s been a few weeks since you’ve partaken and the rumors seem to be true, this weed is definitely better.

“Hell no! Just my parents. Some friends. Riverrun is all I really know.” You said, absentmindedly running your fingers over your beer bottle in your hand. You didn’t expect to be here, in a drug dealer’s flat beginning to tell him your life story on your first day in the city but here you are.

“That was a close one.” He said in feigned relief, taking another drag from the joint and handing it back to you, eyes twinkling with a mix of curiosity and amusement. “Sounds like you’re a long way from home,” he said, leaning back against the armrest and observing you with a relaxed demeanor. “So why did you come here? If I may ask.”

You pause and take what you deicide is your last hit, feeling the effects rush through you as you move to hand it back and he shakes his head. You put it out in the ash tray and grab the baggie to put it in, dropping it in your purse. “To prove myself. My parents worked hard to have as much as they do, and all I did was fuck off. I’m here to pave my own way.” You say, laying your head back on the back of couch and looking up at the ceiling. You smiled to yourself in amusement at the fact this was starting to feel like a fucked up therapy session.

You heard him laugh in a way that reminded you of a hyena before responding, “I can relate. Cheers to that.” He says as he lifts his beer up and you do the same, tapping it with your own.

As the night wore on, you found yourself opening up to Aegon, feeling surprisingly comfortable despite the circumstances. He listened with genuine interest, his violet eyes reflecting curiosity and amusement.

Figuring it’s about time you head home and enjoy your high in peace, you pull out your phone to order an uber. “I’m about to head home, thanks for the weed. You really helped a girl out.” You say as you turn your head to him. He’s still looking at you with those soft violet eyes as he’s leaning back against the couch, and you wonder if he ever stopped.

He smirks. “Of course, and don’t worry about payment this time.” As you prepared to head home, Aegon handed you another baggie of weed with a wink. “Consider it a welcome gift.”

Tag list: @p45510n4f4shi0n, @lysenni, @malfoycassimalfoy

#aegon ii targaryen #aegon smut #aegon targaryen #aegon targaryen x reader #aegon x reader #hotd aegon #king aegon #modern aegon

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lonesomedreamer · 11 months

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LEONARD NIMOY as Lestat de Lioncourt

Paramount acquired the film rights to Anne Rice’s debut novel Interview with the Vampire in 1976. Leonard Nimoy was lobbying to be cast as the story’s charismatic antagonist, Lestat, by the following year. He told the New York Times that he “could create interest” in the film and that “I want that role. I am right for that vampire.” Nimoy went on to star in a Paramount production shortly afterwards when he brought his iconic character Spock back to the screen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). An Interview with the Vampire adaptation, meanwhile, wouldn’t arrive in theatres until 1994. (source)

#leonard nimoy #lestat #interview with the vampire #iwtv #i know that visually he wasn't right for the role (like even with a blonde wig he probably wouldn't have been right for it)#but ever since I read this months ago I've been imagining a universe in which we got nimoy!lestat #I picture him as being a lot like david bowie's jareth. in my head.#but we'll never know. and for good or ill...tom cruise did nail the assignment.#i still like to wonder 'what if' though!

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randomfoggytiger · 3 months

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The X-Files Inspiration: The Avengers's Mr. Steed and Mrs. Peel

Found this while hunting up quotes for my "CC Planned MSR From the Beginning" miniseries.

CC's First Interview While Advertising the Pilot:

“David and Gillian are very bright,” Carter said. “They truly are the characters. Their relationship is cerebral and subtly sexy. Fox and Dana remind me of John Steed and Emma Peel in ‘The Avengers.’ ”

So, who were John Steed and Emma Peel?

JOHN STEED

During the first season Steed's character was a more rough-and-tumble operative than the suave, sophisticated gentleman he became during the Gale and Peel eras. His most common style of dress as Dr. Keel's sidekick was a trenchcoat and suit.... (Note: By the second season, Steed had dispensed with the trenchcoat and was found wearing the familiar three-piece suits with which he is afterward identified.)

Out of all his partners, he was closest to Mrs Peel; while their interaction was often laced with dry, sardonic wit on both sides, he respected her as an equal, and owed her his life on more than a few occasions.

-Wikipedia

EMMA PEEL

Regarded as a 1960s fashion icon and sex symbol, the character is often remembered for the leather catsuit sometimes worn by [Diana] Rigg in her early episodes.

Peel is a strong heroine; she is rarely defeated in fights and is capable of rescuing Steed if he is in trouble. She is a master of martial arts and a formidable fencer. A certified genius, she specialises in chemistry and other sciences.

-Wikipedia

AND WHAT WAS THEIR DYNAMIC?

As described by Wikipedia (and this article):

Peel's verbal interactions with Steed range from witty banter to thinly disguised innuendo. Regarding the constant question of whether they had a sexual relationship at any time, Patrick Macnee thought the characters went to bed on a very regular basis (just not in view of the camera). However, Rigg thought they were most likely engaging in an enjoyable extended flirtation that ultimately went nowhere. Writer/producer Brian Clemens said he wrote them with the idea that they had an affair before Emma's first appearance in the series,[6] and they certainly appear to already know each other very well when Emma is first introduced.

Further:

But most of all I love the relationship between Steed and Emma. While they clearly adore one another, they also treat each other with great respect. Theirs is "one of those glorious, deeply intimate flirtations that spin off into infinity," to use Diana Rigg's [Emma Peel] words.

In other words: the eternal "will they, won't they?"

#txf #CC #Mulder #Scully #DD #GA #The Avengers #Mr. Steed #Mrs. Peel #xfiles #x files #x-files #xf meta #quotes #catchn up on old news #The X-Files Inspiration: The Avengers's Mr. Steed and Mrs. Peel #1993

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fnich-enthusiast · 2 months

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Racetrack Higgins the man that you are

So Race is a skateboarder and the definition of idgaf and we love that for him

He didn't even know he could go to the Olympics until him and Finch were watching it together in 2021 and Finch got to watch in real time as Race realised that skateboarding was a new olympic sport

Honestly it was olympic tiktok that made Race want to actually go to the games himself, but also the idea of being able to go with his best friend, so he sets his mind on training his ass off and qualifying (he was already a very invested skateboarder so it's not like he was learning from scratch, he just had to do some research and take the steps needed to qualify)

So yeah three years later he finds himself making his olympic (and olympic tiktok) debut in the city of love, age 19

A hot new bombshell enters the villa and all that

To be honest I think he'd enjoy the experience, but would ultimately decide that he prefers not to be skateboarding under that level of international pressure, partially because I think it would be iconic for him to win gold and give an interview afterwards saying "it was pretty sick to win, but I don't love the vibes"

Anyway, shoutout to Jack and Davey for paving the way for queer olympians <3 Race and his Olympic Villa Experience thank you <3

Other posts:

AU Overview

The Javey Cut

Finch <3

#newsies #racetrack higgins

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princessanneftw · 11 months

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The Princess Royal interview: ‘I’m not sure that rewilding at scale is necessarily a good idea’

With conservation close to her heart, HRH explains what’s needed to save animals under threat and how the monarchy plays its part

By Jessamy Calkin for The Telegraph

Inside St James’s Palace there is a bit of a flutter about the weather. Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal has several engagements today, and things are not looking good; due to wind, the helicopter might not be able to land at the designated sites, which will make travelling times to and from events longer.

The staff are waiting to be informed by the police, who are in touch with the helicopter pilot. HRH, as everyone seems to call her, has not yet been told.

She has a lot to fit in: directly after our interview, she is off to a meeting about Gordonstoun school, in London, by car, then by helicopter to give a speech at an English Rural Housing Association conference in Bedfordshire, followed by a visit to the Aircraft Research Association, where she will unveil a plaque, then back to St James’s Palace to change for evensong at The King’s Chapel of the Savoy, where she will be reading the lesson for the Royal Victorian Order.

Her day will finish at about nine, when she will be able to eat. Quite often she has a dinner engagement as well. Next week she is going to Mumbai for four days.

Not for nothing is she known as the hardest-working royal. She is involved with more than 300 charities, organisations and military regiments, and last year carried out 200-plus engagements – more than any other member of the Royal family.

Her first official engagement was at the age of 18; shortly afterwards, in 1970, she became president of Save the Children – a position that led to her being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize – and her work with that charity continues to this day.

Early on, her father, the Duke of Edinburgh, advised her to pick the charities she was interested in – and her interests have multiplied.

But one charity that is particularly close to her heart is the Whitley Fund for Nature, which is why I’m here. Started by Edward Whitley OBE as the Whitley Awards, WFN is now celebrating its 30th anniversary, and the Princess has been a patron for 24 years.

The annual ceremony takes place at the Royal Geographical Society in London and is colloquially known as the Green Oscars; WFN distributes grants totalling around £500,000 to worthy international winners.

So far, £20 million has been awarded to 200 conservationists across 80 countries. And the Princess has never missed a single ceremony, presenting the awards and delivering heartfelt speeches.

HRH is quite probably the most respected member of the Royal family. Her lack of pomp and ceremony and the low-key dedication with which she carries out her duties is much admired. There is no whingeing. She refused titles for her children, Peter and Zara.

She is well known for her dry sense of humour. She is an exceptionally accomplished horsewoman and in 1976 became the first member of the Royal family to compete in the Olympics; she had won Sports Personality of the Year five years earlier. She famously resisted an attempted kidnap in 1974.

She has also become an inadvertent style icon, often rewearing outfits she first wore decades ago, which is both charmingly thrifty and impressive in that she can still fit into them, and she seldom buys anything that is not made in the UK.

She recently made a good-natured appearance on her son-in-law Mike Tindall’s podcast The Good, the Bad & the Rugby and she seems like an all-round good egg.

She has both gravitas and spirit – there was some very moving footage of her accompanying her mother’s coffin on the long journey from Balmoral to Westminster Abbey.

Back in St James’s Palace, Charles, her private secretary, is arranging the chairs, anticipating where she might like to sit. HRH arrives in a striking bright-green suit over a striped silky shirt and heads smartly for a different chair than the one offered.

How did she first get involved with Whitley? ‘That’s entirely Edward’s fault,’ she says in her crisp voice. ‘But the common denominator is Gerald Durrell.’

The Princess grew up reading Durrell’s books and became patron of his zoo in Jersey, part of what is now the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, in 1972. ‘He very kindly asked me to become involved in the zoo – as it was then – in Jersey, and Edward [later became] one of Durrell’s trustees.

‘He and I had similar beliefs in what Gerald was doing. Apart from the fact that Gerald wrote very good books, during his travels he seemed to understand better than most the impact on the populations in which animals lived and the relationship between them and their animals.

‘Being told you have to save this, that and the other is all very well but have you been there? Have you ever tried living in that environment to find out what that means to them? Because the fundamental point is that unless the conservation comes from the local area, it won’t be sustained.’

No one is going to save an animal just because they’re told to. ‘You’ve got to work out how the animals are going to survive with the people who live there, who will be the ones who make sure that it works.’

What was Durrell like? ‘Every bit as entertaining as you would think. His humour but also his understanding of the relative importance of things in other people’s lives was absolutely fascinating – and he was spot on.’

Durrell said he felt ‘sympathy for the small and ugly; since I’m big and ugly I try to preserve the little ones’. He was an expert on captive breeding, with a view to releasing into the wild, and he tended to select animals that were close to extinction, or those that could best be helped, or just ones that were not very charismatic.

‘Yes, not the sexy ones,’ says the Princess. ‘Or the obvious ones. His approach was very holistic. He understood the impact of habitat – not just on one species but how all of the things that lived in that habitat related to each other and that you couldn’t replicate that instantly somewhere else – it was very specific to an area.’

Gerald Durrell died in January 1995, of septicaemia. He was an alcoholic and had successfully received a liver transplant but died of complications it gave rise to. ‘He told me that there was no point doing a transplant because his old liver had got used to being fed all the things he’d been given to eat and drink in order to make deals as he went round the world,’ the Princess says, smiling.

Durrell’s legacy is long. One of his innovations was to establish training for conservationists from around the world. The first trainee went on to become the first director of the National Parks and Conservation Service in Mauritius, and thousands of students from 151 countries have since attended the centre, whose graduates became known as Gerald Durrell’s Army.

This became the title of a book by Edward Whitley, who travelled round the world to assess the progress of some of the trainees and the animals they were conserving – such as the largest eagle in the world in the Philippines and Alaotran gentle lemurs in Madagascar.

To launch the book in 1992, Whitley was invited to give a talk at the Royal Geographical Society, and he asked the Princess to come along. It was at the book launch that he decided to set up the charity.

‘I sat down with Nigel Winser, who was the deputy director of the RGS and a long-time friend, and we designed what became the Whitley Awards on the back of a napkin,’ he tells me. In 1999, Whitley asked the Princess to become a patron. By then, ‘Attenborough was already on board, which encouraged her to think it wasn’t a fly-by-night organisation which would crash and burn’.

The awards focus on community-based conservation projects around the world. In order to qualify, each project has to be up and running – it cannot be a pipe dream. Initially there was only one award; this year there were six – of £40,000 each in project funding – plus a Gold Award of £100,000, given each year to a past winner in recognition of their outstanding contribution to conservation.

‘The reason WFN is so effective,’ says Alastair Fothergill, whose company Silverback made the acclaimed TV nature series Wild Isles, and who like Attenborough is a WFN ambassador, ‘is because its grants are awarded at the very cutting edge of conservation, where relatively modest funds can go a long way. Over the years, the fund has kickstarted the careers of many pioneers who have become leading lights in conservation.’

This year’s projects included safeguarding seabird nesting sites in Mexico; establishing ‘lion guards’ promoting coexistence in Cameroon; and protecting pangolins in Nepal, lemurs in Madagascar, freshwater fish in Lake Victoria and saiga antelope in west Kazakhstan. Each one heavily involves local communities.

In addition, WFN provides continuation funding for award-winners. To mark the 25th anniversary of Whitley, Kate Humble, also an ambassador, and Attenborough hosted an event at the Natural History Museum to help raise £1 million for continuation funding.

‘It was the first really big fundraiser we had,’ says Humble. ‘And one of the donors underwrote the entire cost of the event – so everything raised went into the continuation fund.’

The RGS ceremonies are joyous events. In addition to being presented with their award by the Princess Royal, each winner has a short film made of their work, narrated by Attenborough, screened at the event. ‘I’ve been going for 20 years,’ says Humble, ‘and every year I’m blown away by the winners – what they’ve overcome, what they’ve achieved.

‘You hear so much bad news, and you think, you know what? The world can be OK because people out there are doing this stuff – it’s demonstrable, it’s scientifically rigorous and it’s working. [It’s] an incredibly uplifting and inspiring evening.

‘And every year I watch Princess Anne speak and she never sounds like she’s reading someone else’s words. She cares deeply about what this charity does and what these people who win the awards have achieved – she is not a figurehead just trotting out nice words and providing a photo op. She could run the charity, she knows it so well and cares about it so deeply.

‘I’m not anti-royal,’ says Humble, ‘but neither am I someone who would go and wave a Union Jack. But when I see her I think, frankly you’re worth whatever it is we pay.’

HRH talks with fluency and knowledge on every subject. ‘She’s like a sponge – it’s unbelievable the information that’s stored in her brain,’ said her daughter Zara in an interview for ITV’s Anne: The Princess Royal at 70. ‘It’s quite annoying as well.’

She needs to know a lot because she works with a diverse range of charities, taking in early years, healthcare, microfinance and animal welfare. Promoting collaboration between charities is key. ‘I do a lot of that,’ she says now. ‘I have meetings bringing them together which they all seem to enjoy, though sometimes it’s a bit illogical.

‘Knitting together all the international NGOs is important, but we need to look slightly outside the box – can we do this better, are there ways of helping people to be more sustainable?’

The Princess does occasionally discuss conservation with the King, she says, but she won’t say if they always agree. And her grandchildren? How does she teach them about conservation? (She has five, four girls and a boy.)

‘I don’t see so much of them but making the point that they live in an area which they shouldn’t take for granted is important I think; both my children are aware of that.’

Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire, where the Princess and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, live in an 18th-century manor with 730 acres of parkland, has some beautiful trees – ‘the ones that survive – quite a lot don’t, we live on Cotswold brash which is not popular with plants; but having said that we have beeches.

‘You’ve just got to live with what’s there and make sure it doesn’t get overwhelmed. I’m not sure that rewilding at scale is necessarily a good idea – it probably is in corners, but if you’re not careful you rewild all the wrong things because they are just the things that are more successful at growing.

‘My biggest row at home is ragwort. Lots of people think that ragwort is absolutely brilliant because butterflies love it, but it’s not good for the horses [it is toxic]. I would say don’t take all the ragwort out, just where the horses are – but it’s quite a delicate balance.’

There are, she says, ‘quite a lot of horses at home, but they’re other people’s as well’. She rides whenever she can. ‘It’s a very good place to observe nature from.’

The Princess supports several horse-related charities, and became patron of Riding for the Disabled in 1971, and president in 1985. ‘It was just becoming a national body when I was invited to become a patron – at that stage I knew nothing about disability but the concept that ponies or horses could make a difference was obviously interesting and I knew about them. No matter what the disability was, the answer was, if they’d like to ride, we’ll give it a go. The commonality of the experience was important.’

Essential things for running a charity, she says, are evaluation and thinking of the long term. She cites the influence of Eglantyne Jebb, founder of Save the Children, ‘who constantly evaluated programmes to see if they were making a difference, whether they were doing the right things and whether people were invested’.

And it’s important to keep projects focused and manageable. ‘I’ve come to the conclusion that scale is the thing that defeats any good idea, because it can get to a size where people can’t cope.’

She has spoken in the past about the huge value of long-term commitment, in terms of the constitutional monarchy as well as in charity work. ‘Seeing things in the long term is a challenge,’ she says now, ‘but maybe part of our [value] – as a family – is long-term continuity, because the long-term view is quite hard to come by. And I think we can do that.’

May I ask what she might have done as a profession in another life? HRH laughs and looks vaguely impatient. ‘You can ask but I’ve no idea.’ Does she ever think about that?

‘Not really, and it’s way too late to have those concerns – in a way the fortunate part of my life has been the broad spectrum, to see so much. Not having a very specific interest has been a bonus, I suppose. We all have ways of doing things and with Whitley it is the practical aspects of what they do, and how to support them [that has been my focus].’

Edward Whitley, a member of the wealthy Greenall Whitley brewing family, set up Whitley Asset Management in 2002, alongside its finance director Louise Rettie, to serve a small number of clients. But there had always been animals in his life – his great-grandfather founded a small charity called the Whitley Animal Protection Trust; his great-great-uncle Herbert was an eccentric animal breeder who started Paignton Zoo.

In Edward’s office is a stuffed cockatoo that belonged to Herbert and a photograph of Mary, his favourite chimpanzee. Mary was famous for riding around on her tricycle and walking the dogs, or taking visitors by the hand and leading them round the zoo.

Edward studied English at Oxford then went into banking, joining NM Rothschild & Sons in 1983. He left in 1990 to write: Gerald Durrell’s Army came out in 1992 and he also co-wrote Rogue Trader, the autobiography of disgraced banker Nick Leeson, and worked with Richard Branson on his memoir.

Whitley is a tall, gentle man who doesn’t like talking about himself but is full of unbridled enthusiasm for WFN, and in particular its royal patron. ‘She transformed the charity – we never would have had the success we’ve had without her involvement. She saw what was possible and really helped us to achieve it, and she inspires the winners to do more. The winners are always pretty amazed at how she cross-examines them and cuts to the chase so quickly when she meets them.

‘She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the world, and a phenomenal memory, and she is also very funny… And think of her father and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – she’s seen what a lifetime of work can achieve.’

In her speech at the Whitley Awards earlier this year, the Princess Royal cited her father, Gerald Durrell and Edward Whitley as the inspirations for her work with WFN. Among winners and their communities, she said, ‘it’s the global ambition to truly make a difference that has been astonishing’.

The awards, she continued, are for ‘the people on the ground, they’re the sharp end… It’s all very well to be here and understand what we think are the challenges, and want to make a difference, but when you meet the people who are actually out front and can turn that into a reality, it’s a real inspiration.’

Over the years, she has visited some of the winners’ projects, when her charity work takes her to those countries, ‘but not as many as I would like’, she says. In Uganda, for example, she met Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, who was working on improving hygiene in local communities after viruses had spread to gorillas she was managing in Bwindi national park. And in 1997, before she became a WFN patron, she travelled in a boat up the Amazon to see pink dolphins.

‘She was in Colombia for Save the Children and she asked the British embassy to include a visit to the Amazon in her trip – she was very interested in the dolphins,’ says Dr Fernando Trujillo, who went on to win an award in 2007.

‘The British embassy contacted me as an expert on rivers and dolphins. I was a little bit intimidated, and it was raining and I was worried we wouldn’t see any dolphins, but in the end we counted 32 – and she was so excited, every time she saw one she would jump up and down with excitement, and then rein herself in as if she suddenly remembered she was a princess. I could see her love for the environment was very genuine. From that day she was my favourite royal person.’

Another winner, Pablo Bordino, whose picture with HRH had been in the paper in Buenos Aires was flying back to Argentina. One of the flight attendants recognised him and when he arrived at the airport there was a television crew waiting to meet him. It raised the profile of his NGO - which protected marine life and habitats in Argentina - enormously and enabled him to generate further funding. ‘That’s the effect HRH has,’ says Whitley. ‘You can’t quantify it.’

Several award-winners went to the Princess’s 60th-birthday celebrations, including Claudio Padua, a successful businessman from Rio who gave it all up to pursue conservation, training at Durrell in Jersey and moving to a forest in Brazil with his wife, Suzana, and three children.

HRH had been to see them at their headquarters outside São Paulo and had taken an interest in their efforts to conserve the black lion tamarin, a monkey. They had no idea her visit would be such an ordeal, with all the security arrangements. ‘We had a call to ask what kind of security we had,’ says Claudio. ‘I said, “I have an old dog, that’s all.”’

‘She turned up with a security detail and entourage,’ Suzana adds. ‘They wanted to go into the forest to see the monkeys in our Land Rover and her security team asked, “Has this car been checked?” I said it hadn’t and they became very nervous but she ignored them and just got in anyway.’

Years later, the Paduas were invited to Buckingham Palace for her 60th. ‘It was a beautiful opportunity for us,’ says Suzana, ‘and as she came down the stairs she spotted us and said, “Oh how nice to see you. How are the monkeys?”’

The Whitley Fund for Nature is hosting a #PeopleforPlanet biodiversity summit on 6 and 7 November at London’s Royal Institution, where members of the public can hear live from Whitley Gold Award-winning conservationists from Africa, Central and South America, and Asia

#a new anneterview!#I love that she seems to remember everything and everyone #the part about her jumping up and down when she saw the dolphins #what a mood #princess anne #princess royal #british royal family #brf #newspapers #anned i quote

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jennarations · 10 months

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A comprehensive summary of the chaos that was the Netflix Cup:

- as the drivers/golfers walk onto the course a woman and a man are apprehended (by one of the hosts(?)) as they are waving posters and screaming something. lando was unbothered by this.

- everyone was introduced except alex for some reason

- the “speed” hole

- mark wahlberg is there. his daughter is interviewed and she reveals her favorite driver is lando. lando is once again unbothered by this.

- lando picking up his ball and being disqualified from the hole

- the golfers BOOKING IT and the hosts having shocked reactions to this feat (“who says golfers aren’t athletic!”)

- justin thomas to carlos “what did [host] say?” carlos “he said i’m pretty”

- random cuts to prerecorded nonsense

- the sphere being referred to solely as the egg

- the hosts making fun of the golfers and the golfers making fun back (very interesting i would not expect this level of sass from golf)

- pierre reveals he is a passenger princess “I don’t actually drive on the roads. i don’t like it.”

- shots of lando and carlos playing but pierre and alex are hot-mic’ed ???

- asmr whispering from one of the hosts telling zak brown she has to pee

- no one can hear each other

- zak brown can’t figure out his mic and it’s making so much noise you can’t hear anything else

- “mr. maximus homa this is joel damon, can you hear me?” “unfortunately, i can yes, joel.”

- max homa making fun of joel damon for a solid minute and then saying about alex “yo my partner is dialed, that’s the money” unhinged behavior

- host (same bodyguard from before - burt kreischer(?)) cannot express how excited he is to have steve aoki ask for his #

- not one host can pronounce sainz correctly

- “that’s sniffing my ball speed there” “ok joel”

- marshawn lynch “these golfers boutta get they happy gilmore on”

- squid game CHALLENGE HOLE(???) burt kreischer “are they gonna kill me or break out into dance? who knows but they are creepy as shit”

- burt yet again “i will piss myself on live television for $4.56 million. i’ve done it for less”

- the mystical steve aoki has appeared

- the (infamous) Albon Tumble™

- pierre aiming directly into the crowd and alex and max applauding him (kudos to finau for reassuring pierre afterwards that everyone is fine)

- a conversation: “smooth operator, is that your nickname?” “yes that’s what they call me” “how’d that happen?” “i sang it once after a race”

- marshawn lynch “i met the squid game people. you got triangle face, square cuz and circle head”

- alex announcing that the squid game doll looks like Lily. alex i will hunt you down (endearing)

- patrick mahomes phoned in to tell pierre the exact amount of coors lights’ he must drink to play golf effectively (i am not kidding)

- joel objectifying tony finau by commenting (in detail) about his arms and hands (i know what you are joel)

- “a sexy street circuit here in vegas” ma’am it looks like a pig what are you talking about

- carlos and justin won. burt wants to party like it’s new year’s eve. i would pay to see this

and thus wraps the (somewhat) comprehensive review ! maybe next year netflix will make it less of a shit show but honestly, iconic.

#netflix cup #formula one #f1 #pga tour #lando norris #carlos sainz #pierre gasly #alex albon #las vegas gp 2023

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gyll-yee-haw · 6 months

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Why is it Jake gyllenhaal doesn’t get a lot of attention on here? Like I’ll sit on your page all day for fics of his

I don't mean to be dramatic, but I think he's one of the most underrated people out there and the world hasn't been fair to him.

Like, professionally... he's an actor everyone recognizes as extremely, insanely talented. You see his face everywhere when we talk about iconic movies/characters. He isn't getting awards from it, though.

People don't talk enough about how brave of him was to be in Brokeback Mountain in 2005. Nowadays every actor is getting praised for playing a gay character, but back in 2005 it could ruin your career, cause "you would never be seen as manly again" so who would hire you afterwards? Well, him and Heath showed up to the interviews to be disgustingly attacked for it, and they never allowed anyone to make fun of it and call it less than a love story. I can't imagine how hard it was for him to lose Heath right after all they've been through together.

And after all the attacks he got from it, now he has to keep his comments limited on social media because a bunch of brainwashed white girls will give him and his loved ones hell because of a 3 months relationship that happened over a decade ago (absolutely nothing against Taylor, what I don't understand is people going to war for her, when she doesn't need that).

It is cool and trendy to hate him now and I believe he lost opportunities because of it, like, fuck your talent, we're not gonna make money out of you now, we're gonna be canceled.

And to focus on your question, I truly believe this happens to creators/writers too. Back when Spiderman far from home came out, this place was crowded... but nowadays we just don't get as many notes and I believe some people are afraid of being attacked for being a Jake stan, like I've seen it happen A LOT on tiktok.

And all of this happening to someone who has absolutely ZERO polemics on his name, he's been on the spotlight since he was a kid and he's never been accused of being anything but sweet, funny, kind and humble.

So yeah, there's Hollywood for you, I guess.

#sorry for the long ramble #but I've had it in me for a while omfg #thanks for the ask #I needed to get it out and I COULD GO ON

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correlance · 6 months

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Theory: Valentino was the famous 1920s actor Rudolph Valentino, the "Latin Lover".

Who was Rudolph Valentino?

Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed the "Latin Lover", was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred in several well-known silent films from 1921 to 1926, including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle, and The Son of the Sheik.

Valentino was a sex symbol of the 1920s, known in Hollywood as the "Latin Lover" (a title invented for him by Hollywood moguls), the "Great Lover", or simply "Valentino". His early death at the age of 31 caused mass hysteria among his fans, further cementing his place in early cinematic history as a cultural film icon.

Valentino was born in Castellaneta, Apulia, Italy…unable to secure employment in Italy, he departed for the United States in 1913. He was processed at Ellis Island at age 18 on December 23, 1913. Valentino never applied for American citizenship, and retained his Italian citizenship.

Arriving in New York City, he supported himself with odd jobs such as busing tables in restaurants and gardening. Around 1914, restaurateur Joe Pani who owned Castles-by-the-Sea, the Colony, and the Woodmansten Inn was the first to hire Rudolph to dance the tango with Joan Sawyer for $50 per week.

Eventually, he found work as a taxi dancer at Maxim's Restaurant-Cabaret. Among the other dancers at Maxim's were several displaced members of European nobility, for whom a premium demand existed…Valentino left town [in 1917], and joined a traveling musical that led him to the West Coast.

[…] With his dancing success, Valentino found a room of his own on Sunset Boulevard, and began actively seeking screen roles. His first part was as an extra in the film Alimony, moving on to small parts in several films. Despite his best efforts, he was typically cast as a "heavy" (villain) or gangster. At the time, the archetypal major male star was Wallace Reid, with a fair complexion, light eyes, and an All-American look, with Valentino the opposite; he eventually supplanted Sessue Hayakawa as Hollywood's most popular "exotic" male lead.

[…] With the Douglas Fairbanks type being the supposed epitome of manhood, Valentino was sometimes portrayed as a threat to the "All American" man. One man, asked in a street interview in 1922 what he thought of Valentino, replied, "Many other men [say they] desire to be another Douglas Fairbanks. But Valentino? I wonder…"

Women in the same interview found Valentino, quote, "Triumphantly seductive. He puts the love-making of the average husband or sweetheart into discard as tame, flat, and unimpassioned."

Some journalists were still calling [Valentino's] "masculinity" into question, going on at length about his pomaded hair, his dandyish clothing, his treatment of women, his views on women, and whether he was "effeminate" or not. Valentino hated these stories, and was known to carry clippings of the newspaper articles around with him and criticize them.

In July 1926, the Chicago Tribune reported that a vending machine dispensing pink talcum powder (face powder) had appeared in an upscale hotel's men's washroom. An editorial that followed used the story to protest the supposed feminization of American men, and blamed the talcum powder on Valentino and his films. The piece infuriated Valentino, and he challenged the writer to his choice of a boxing or wrestling match, since dueling was illegal. Neither challenge was answered.

Shortly afterward, Valentino met with journalist H. L. Mencken for advice on how best to deal with the incident. Mencken advised Valentino to "let the dreadful farce roll along to exhaustion" (i.e. "do nothing"), but Valentino insisted the editorial was "infamous", [and must be answered for in a one-on-one fight].

After Valentino challenged the Tribune's anonymous writer to a boxing match, the New York Evening Journal boxing writer, Frank O'Neill, volunteered to fight in his place. Valentino won the bout, which took place on the roof of New York's Ambassador Hotel.

Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, who trained Valentino and other Hollywood notables of the era in boxing, said of him: "He was the most virile and masculine of men. The women were like flies to a honeypot. He could never shake them off, anywhere he went. What a lovely, lucky guy."

Mencken found Valentino to be likable and gentlemanly, and wrote sympathetically of him in an article published in The Baltimore Sun a week after Valentino's death:

"It was not that trifling Chicago episode that was riding him; it was the whole grotesque futility of his life. Had he achieved, out of nothing, a vast and dizzy success? Then that success was hollow as well as vast—a colossal and preposterous nothing. Was he acclaimed by yelling multitudes? Then every time the multitudes yelled, he felt himself blushing inside…the thing, at the start, must have only bewildered him, but in those last days, unless I am a worse psychologist than even the professors of psychology, it was revolting him. Worse, it was making him afraid…here was a young man who was living daily the dream of millions of other men. Here was one who was catnip to women. Here was one who had wealth and fame, and here was one who was very unhappy [in spite of that wealth and fame]."

[…] Valentino was also the "sex symbol" of his time in the 1920s. The sheet music cover for "Rodolph Valentino Blues" written in 1922, to quote the lyrics, "Oh Mister Rodolph Valentino / I know I've got the Valentino blues / And when you come up on the screen / Oh! You're so romantic, I go frantic at the views!

[…] [Prior to his death], Valentino was fascinated with every part of movie-making. During production on a Mae Murray film, he spent time studying the director's plans. He craved authenticity and wished to shoot on location, finally forming his own production company, Rudolph Valentino Productions, in 1925. Valentino, George Ullman, and Beatrice Ullman were the incorporators.

[…] Valentino once told gossip columnist Louella Parsons that: "The women I love don't love me. The others don't matter." He claims that despite his success as a sex symbol, in his personal love life, he never achieved happiness.

[…] In 1919—just before the rise of his career—Valentino impulsively married actress Jean Acker, who was also [romantically] involved with actresses Grace Darmond and Alla Nazimova.

Acker became involved with Valentino in part to remove herself from the lesbian love triangle, quickly regretted the marriage, and locked Valentino out of their room on their wedding night. The couple separated soon after, and the marriage was never consummated [on account of Acker being a lesbian].

The couple remained legally married until 1921, when Acker sued Valentino for divorce, citing desertion. The divorce was granted, with Acker receiving alimony. She and Valentino eventually renewed their friendship, and remained friends until his death.

[His second marriage to actress Winifred Shaughnessy, known by her stage name, Natacha Rambova—an American silent film costume and set designer, art director, and protégée of Alla Nazimova, his ex-wife's lesbian lover—ended far more poorly.

The two married in 1922, remarried in 1923, and divorced in 1925. Towards the end of their marriage, Rambova was banned from his sets by contract. The end of the marriage was bitter, with Valentino bequeathing Rambova one dollar in his will.]

[…] From the time he died in 1926 until the 1960s, Valentino's sexuality was not generally questioned in print. At least four books, including the notoriously libelous Hollywood Babylon, suggested that [Valentino] may have been gay, despite his marriage to Rambova. For some, the marriages to Acker and Rambova, as well as the relationship with Pola Negri, added to the suspicion that Valentino was gay, and that these were "lavender marriages".

Some claim that Valentino had a relationship with Ramón Novarro, despite Novarro stating they barely knew each other. Hollywood Babylon recounts a story that Valentino had given Novarro an art deco dildo as a gift, which was found stuffed in his throat at the time of his murder. It is believed that no such gift existed.

There were also claims that he may have had relationships with both roommates Paul Ivano and Douglas Gerrad, as well as Norman Kerry, and openly gay French theatre director and poet Jacques Hébertot. However, Ivano maintained that it was untrue, and both he and Valentino were heterosexual. Biographers Emily Leider and Allan Ellenberger generally agree that [Valentino] was most likely straight, [though others have disputed this].

There was further supposed evidence that Valentino was gay; documents in the estate of the late author Samuel Steward indicated that Valentino and Steward were sexual partners. However, evidence found in Steward's claim was subsequently found to be false, as Valentino was in New York on the date Steward claimed a sexual encounter occurred in Ohio.

[Valentino died on 23 August 1926, at the age of 31, due to complications from perforated ulcer surgery, resulting in sepsis (bacterial poisoning), a collapsed lung, and other fatal conditions.]

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel theory #hazbin hotel headcanon #hazbin hotel fan thory #valentino #hazbin valentino #hazbin hotel valentino #the vees #the vs

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gay-disabled-characters-showdown · 6 months

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LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 1, Wave 5, Poll 14

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Snake-Zero Escape

Qualifications:

Canonically disabled! He's blind and has a prosthetic arm! He's only semi-canonically gay, but the creator did acknowledge the possibility when people spam asked him if Snake is gay and he put up a twitter poll about it: https://twitter.com/Uchikoshi_Eng/status/1360856115450241027 so take that as you will

Canonically blind and implied to be gay, later confirmed by the creator

Propaganda:

Snake is so funny, he's a bit of a confident know it all but in a charming way. He can and will destroy you if you hurt his sister. He's EVERYTHING <3

He was declared gay via a poll on the creator's Twitter page which is just iconic of him. First ever character to have his sexuality democratically elected

Anything Else?:

He's more commonly called "Snake" as his real name (Light) is only revealed near the end of the game, and his last name technically comes from interviews outside canon. So "Light" is a bit of a "light" (haha) spoiler! (Submitter 1)

Melanie King-The Magnus Archives

Qualifications:

Bisexual and blind

Gay and blind and amazing

Melanie ends up being blinded by herself in the fourth season of the Magnus Archives, and ends up in a romantic relationship with another woman in the same season

She is blind and has a girlfriend. Canon disabled and canon wlw win 👍

she has a girlfriend and is blind

She is blind and sapphic (I'm not sure if anything exactly is ever confirmed in canon, but most people refer to her as a lesbian)

Propaganda:

she’s iconic

I love her

Oh I love my horrible woman who did many things wrong but in a way I sympathize with and also enjoy because she deserves to be a hater. Anyways so Melanie's very first appearance involved her arguing with Jon and and dismissing the way the Magnus Institute takes statements, which is a very good introduction for her in my opinion because she will continue to be a hater in regards to John. Melanie got stabbed by a ghost prior to her next appearance and briefly became a meme because turns out, when you get stabbed by a ghost, you'll want to tell people about the ghost, and she did this as she was being dragged away from where this happened. Her professional credit went downhill after this. She ends up being the catalyst of a big plot point in season 2 after this statement, because she's the only one who recognizes that Not-Sasha is, in fact, not Sasha. Then it turns out she cannot catch a break because she gets shot by a ghost later, and the ghost bullet turns out to not be a good thing later on. Melanie starts working for the Magnus Institute after Elias, her to-be horrible boss, proposes the role, since her credit has gone down so much that the job opportunity is very much needed. Then she realizes that she does not like her horrible murder boss and that she is bound to the institute, she keeps trying to kill him, which honestly I think she deserved to do because he sucks and she deserves a kill count. Though he shoves the knowledge that her father, who she thought died peacefully, actually died an agonizing, drawn out death in her brain so she stops doing that afterwards. She does help to get him arrested though, even if she really wanted to murder him. After this it is noted that she, at one point, fended off horrible flesh monsters with a knife single-handedly. John ends up realizing that the ghost bullet from earlier is still in her leg, and is more over making her far more murder hungry than she would be without it. So naturally the next step is DIY, non-consentual surgery, which she, after waking up shortly after the incident with her leg frozen and her friends committing medical malpractice, naturally objects to, which leads to her scarring John and overall not trusting him or Basira nearly as much as she might have before. Then she decides to actually prioritize her mental health a bit after going through every horror imaginable by going to therapy and insisting that, due to how the way tapes work in the archives, that none of her sessions be recorded, all while being just a bit paranoid about her therapist. Then it turned out that the only way to sever herself from the eye was to simply not have sight, and she's the one character who chooses this, getting rid of her eyesight very painfully and then moving in with Georgie, who ends up being her girlfriend. She's a little less hostile towards John after this, though she does not want to be in any archives business considering everything she went through there. Then, during the Eyepocalypse, she and her girlfriend, due to her not having sight and Georgie not having fear, are unaffected, and they sort of accidentally start a cult while trying to keep other people protected. Though it does not help that Melanie lied about having a vision that the whole thing would end, since the truth is really hopeless and bleak. She meets up with John and Martin again, is involved with the discussion of how the world can be maybe saved and is ultimately one of the three main characters to make it to the end of the finale, the others being Georgie and Basira. This is just me highlighting all of the wild things she's been up to and this would have gotten even longer if I had more propaganda.

She's so cool she tries to poison her evil boss she kicks ass she was a ghost hunter and she's also managed to escape her shitty situation by blinding herself to be able to quit her evil eldritch horror archiving job and just chill w/ her gf georgie and their cat (until the evil boss she tried to poison fucks everything up for everyone but in the end she and georgie still live and are presumably as fine as they cam be after all the shit that happened)

Only Melanie can accidentally become the Blind Prophet of the Apocalypse with her literally fearless girlfriend after trying to distance herself from the Beholding. She also had a ghost bullet infected with with The Slaughter in her leg which she got because she was a ghost hunting YouTuber/paranormal investigator.

Sometimes you gotta take your eyes out to escape your shitty job. And then you and your girlfriend live as prophets (and basically accidental cult-leaders) in the apocalypse

#polls #poll #disabled characters #lgbtq characters #disability #lgbtq #lgbtq dcs round 1 #lgbtq dcs wave 5 #snake zero escape #snake #zero escape #melanie king #the magnus archives #tma podcast #id in alt text

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playingforever · 2 months

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'Togetherness'...

The sound work and composition of Little Nightmares is really wonderful. I love how often the pieces are paired with an equally atmospheric name; something that packs an extra punch when you dwell on it.

When I learned that the (main, standard) iteration of the music box's melody is called Togetherness, this really ruined me! What a sweet name... As a result, I'm vividly forced to think of the music box as a symbol of Mono and Six's relationship. Representative of the state of being together; togetherness... The track also bleeds into this lovely ambience that plays when Six and Mono are having their first key moments in the Hunter's cabin. Mono offering his hand... Six beckoning him towards her... all of this, is interconnected with the music box, its tune...

The music box is a leitmotif present in so much of the game. In the very title screen! It's also in Teeth & Leaves, which plays once Mono wakes up at the start. The sound is eerie, as if carried through the wind, whistling through the trees... Makes me really feel as though Mono wakes up with an imperative urge, pull, towards the cabin. The memory of the music box ringing in his ears...~

What I also love, is how the emotional weight of Togetherness then recontextualizes Six's Theme from the first game. Six's Theme now evokes her music box, and subsequently, her relationship with Mono.

Obviously, chronologically, the music box's melody was made to take after Six's theme — likely drawing inspirations from the second part specifically, with its twinkly, childish feeling celesta and rhodes — but I still love the power of association it creates retroactively. I'd say LN2 in general was Tarsier reverse engineering more fleshed out answers to questions presented by LN1. Subsequently, I like reflecting on what the devs were going for with their choices, knowing they were going to be fleshing out Six with them.

We knew we had a cool character in Six, but we weren't prepared for how iconic she would become for people who liked the game. Because Little Nightmares was about the world and the kids that go there, not one kid. […] It just felt very natural that this then took place before the first game. Like, "well, where's Six been before? And how was it for her? Was there anyone she met along this journey to the Maw?"

— from an interview with lead writer Dave Mervik.

I like knowing these were the questions they had at the start of making LN2... There wasn't a solid resolution for 'who Six was', yet. I imagine when they made her theme initially, it was as simple as trying to encapsulate something cute yet creepy. Childish humming. That suits her character at the time of inception.

... it's sweet though, to walk it back and make it a tune Six found comfort in. A melody she would sing to herself even when reduced, warped. Something from a cherished object– one that she'd cling desperately to, bringing her a sense of escapism from the terrible world outside the tower.

Knowing Monster Six's room is enshrined in toys and present boxes, knowing the Thin Man gave her all this, is the music box not simply a gift from Mono...? Doesn't the very sound of it make her think of him?? Isn't that, emblematic of Togetherness-!?!!?!?

Really, it only makes sense that Mono destroying this wounds her so terribly, and that it's the catalyst for their separation afterwards. T-T (I'd have to make a different post about Mono's motivation towards breaking it (though just know it's driven by ignorance and self-hatred. And perhaps a wildcard incel jealously.)) But ultimately I like that Six remains perpetually haunted by it now. She can't escape the music box; it's an integral part of her psyche. As much as Mono is feeling its presence all throughout his journey, drawing him towards her again and again.

Anyways this was just me celebrating how much I love the fact that LN2 envelops LN1's narrative into itself... even on this granular of a level. I feel like Mono is a metatextual inescapable force that has left his handprints all throughout Six's being. She can't be freed from him... But, it's sweet, because without her, he wouldn't exist. :'3

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100gayicons · 2 years

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GAY ICONS: ROBBIE ROGERS

During his first year playing college soccer, Robbie Rogers was spotted by a scout for Sportclub Heerenveen, of the Dutch Premiere League. The team invited Rogers to attend a three-week trial, and afterwards they signed him to a two-year international contract.

Rogers later said that walking away from college was "the toughest (decision) of his life… (but it was) an opportunity I could not pass up".

After a year in Holland, Rogers returned to the US, where is signed with the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer. During his five seasons at Crew, he made 138 appearances and scored 17 times. Then after a stint playing for Leeds United in England, he decided to retire from soccer (March, 2013). Rogers, then 25, used the occasion to publicly announce that he was gay. He wrote:

"I'm a soccer player… and I'm gay. Those are things that people might say wouldn't go well together. But my family raised me to be an individual and to stand up for what I believe in."

A short time later, Rogers attended an LGBT Youth Event where he spoke to a crowd of 500. Afterwards he said in an interview with USA TODAY Sports:

“I seriously felt like a coward. These kids are standing up for themselves and changing the world, and I'm 25, I have a platform and a voice to be a role model. How much of a coward was I to not step up to the plate?"

This motivated him to contact Bruce Arena, Coach of the LA Galaxy. Arena offered Rogers the opportunity to train his his team. By May 2013, the Galaxy signed him. Rogers played his first match only 2 months after he retired. This made Rogers the first openly gay man to play in a top North American professional sports league.

Fashion is another of Rogers’ passions. Rogers studied at the London College of Fashion and is a co-owner of Halsey44 with William Halsey Johnson. He has designed, and modeled for the company.

Rogers began dating TV writer producer Greg Berlanti in 2013. They were married on December 2, 2017, in Malibu. The couple have two children via surrogacy.

#gay icons #Robbie Rogers #LA Galaxy #US Mens Soccer Team #greg berlanti #MLS #surrogacy

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bangtanhoneys · 1 year

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Bangtan Sonyeondan: Map of the Soul - 7

Release date: February 21 2020

Lead singles: Black Swan, ON

This would be the era where everything changed in a moment's notice. However, before that happened, this was to be an album that would set Grace on the map as a solo artist, a woman in her own right, and a dancer as well. Black Swan would be the video that proved that all in one fell swoop - her ballet history helped with the theme, she was put front in centre and in the middle of the boys in the opening with the iconic lines ‘Do your thang’ and her outfits throughout the whole video made it a masterpiece. She had to be slightly different to the rest of them - blonde hair still compared to the silver/black hair of the rest and her clothes were either black to their white or white to their black.

It was also during this time that future plans were starting to be put in motion, even though everything would be cancelled when the pandemic hit at it’s fullest in March 2020 and locked everything down.

ON was another song that showed Grace’s dancing history to its fullest and she had looked forward to working with one choreographer who had caught her attention on the internet - Sienna, who would be instrumental for Grace in the future. The music video was fun for her to do as it required little dancing especially after the first music video came out where it was full on dancing, in black/white clothes and in Los Angeles heat.

This album also saw another solo for Grace that would later feature of her mixtape - No Tears Left to Cry. It was a song that had fit the rest of the theme of the album. Though Grace always had an uncertainty to her, never quite sure if she was in the right place, the song reflected that no matter what she was going through she was resilient in the face of adversity and that she was willing to move on, no matter what happened. It is often said that this is where Grace, even for all her worries and doubts, simply settled in to the role that had been created for her: an idol.

There was no chance for rest, even in the pandemic, for Grace was working through her mixtape as well Yoongi who then released his in May 2020. Grace, however, kept working on hers and pushing the release off until she felt certain that the pandemic would not affect any music videos or any performances that she may decide to do.

Unfortunately, it was put on hold again as BTS’ career then began to shoot further than ever before with what was going to be two English singles. And with these two English singles, Grace was going to be pushed further into the spotlight.

FACTS:

Had an outfit specially designed for Black Swan but never got to wear it after it was stolen

Showed off her operatic skills with Taehyung during the make of Black Swan

Grace admitted during on V-LIVE that she does sometimes get fed up with performing certain songs over and over again, so she loves it when the older songs are put in. She also admitted that she heard ON thousands of time while regarding, during promo and afterwards.

Grace wrote No Tears Left to Cry before they travelled to New Zealand and had it confirmed on their last day there

During the comeback special, Grace followed Jimin’s photo-op move

Grace also took over at least half of the American/British interviews, giving Namjoon a break

#bts 8th member #bts scenarios #bts additional member #bts headcanons #bts fanfiction #bts reactions #bts eighth member #bts fic #bts female member #bts fanfic

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ncstalgics · 9 months

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( danielle campbell, cis woman, she/her ) — 🎬 just announced, carina westwood is casted as rosalie hale in upcoming twilight reboot. the twenty seven year old is trending as people are debating if the a half empty glass of peach flavored wine, designer sneakers placed in a perfect row, an unopened tiffany box tied with a white bow, stacks of self-care books, and silk pajamas that they are known for is enough to make them as good as original. a quick google search shows that their fans call them sleek, but internet trolls think they’re more catastrophic. i guess their newest interview for variety where they talk about growing up in a family with three generations of successful actors and athletes.

BASICS:

Name: Carina Eve Westwood Age: 27 Birthday: August 4th (Leo) Sexuality: Heterosexual Marital Status: Single Positive Traits: sleek, outgoing, agreeable, fun-loving, attentive Negative Traits: catastrophic, two-faced, envious, arrogant, emotionally distant Hobbies: Stirring the pot, playing tennis, brunch, people-watching

THE STORY (tw; abandonment, death):

Carina's grandmother was the legendary Elizabeth Westwood ( whom they fondly called "Grandma Bette" ), an icon of an actress from the old days of Hollywood. In fact, there are many Westwoods sprinkled throughout tinsel town's star-studded history. The stain of the Westwood name, however, was her father. He crumbled under his mother's shadow and became a good-for-nothing deadbeat. His wife abandoned him and the kids to save herself from his washed up life. The person who really raised Carina and her brother was Grandma Bette. She loved them as hard as she could and gave the very last years of her life setting up a bright future for them ( and a massive inheritance too ). When she passed of old age, her brother stepped up and continued to raise her. When Carina started to fall for the glitz and glamor of Grandma Bette's Hollywood Life, her brother became her fiercest protector. At 15 years old, Carina landed the role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games and the anticipation of the first movie brought her father home, by some miracle. It didn't take long for her to realize that he wasn't here because he loved her, he was here because he wanted to use her newfound fame to pull attention on to himself. That was when she knew she could never trust anyone. The tabloids even took pity on her. Her broken, angry heart couldn't take it. She never wanted to feel so powerless again. After years of hard work and determination, The Hunger Games ended with the fourth and final movie as a global phenomenon when she was 18. She immediately began a much slower-paced project afterwards; partnering with Nike to model their sneakers and became their primary spokesperson for four years. At 21 years old, she took on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina for two seasons on Netflix and that was when the world saw just how alluring and enticing she'd grown up to be. Whatever the opposite of a saint is, that is what Carina has become. She has made more messes than anyone would dare to count, and she's done it so gracefully under the radar. There was once a point in her life where she was sleeping with one guy, hitting on his brother, and toying with his best friend's desire for her. She has no limitations and doesn't really care whose heart she steps on. After all, she hasn't promised commitment to anyone and she's very straightforward about her endgame. It's not her fault they're just so obsessed with her.

TLDR; Carina's grandma was an old hollywood movie star. her mom left all of them because her dad sucks, which he does because he tried to mooch off of Carina's success as a teenager. It definitely wrecked her life and now she's messy af.

CHARACTER COMPARISONS: Rachel Green (Friends), Veronica Lodge (Riverdale), Kim Possible (Kim Possible), May (A League of Their Own), Rosa Diaz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Fallon Carrington (Dynasty).

WC'S:

Rumors (feat. Cardi B) by Lizzo. These are basically all of her old co. stars. At some point or another, there was a rumor that they were dating. There are even a couple tweets out there that are something like "why do all of Carina Westwood's co. stars look at her like this *insert heart eyes photo*". It's probably because they either did date or they slept together or they were just great friends and got along really well. It's kinda up to you!! Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games. Gale Hawthorne from The Hunger Games. Harvey Kinkle from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Nick Scratch from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Jack Chambers from Don't Worry Darling. Oliver Quick from Saltburn. ( Ziggy Thomas, etc ) Be Good to Me by Ashley Tisdale. I imagine there's probably one ex in there that almost went the distance with her but of course it all crashed and burned because Carina can't do commitment all that well. I Forgot That You Existed by Taylor Swift. A rival of hers that keeps popping up in her life at various turns. Carina thinks she's gotten to a point where she forgot that they existed and then something happens where the beef starts up all over again. Me Too by Meghan Trainor. Her housemates. Her entourage. Her girl gang. They entered into the industry at around the same time and they helped keep her sanity together while she was going through all of that mess with her dad. They moved in together a few years ago and got a huge house for all of them to live in. Karma by Taylor Swift. Anyone who likes spilling tea or making messes, she is more than happy to be nosy and include herself. ( Chandler MacQuoid, etc. ) Leavin by Jesse McCartney. Idk what this is but maybe a flirty friendship that doesn't really go anywhere, they just really enjoy being silly and having no consequences to it.

I can expand more than just these ideas, I'd also love to see where you guys want your characters to go and how Carina can help y'all get there. I can't wait to plot with everyone!!

#2000s.intro #muse: carina westwood

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