#earl/kate

[baubeautyandthegeek]

Save A Horse, Ride An Undead Cowboy - Kate Riley/Earl Bassett

A/N: Day 10 for @yeehawgust , GIF taken from Tenor, I assume it's from @thetremorssaga

At first it had been hard to deny that Earl was… different. He was still very much gentle and caring but something felt different… and then Kate understood. He was in essence an undead cowboy. She knew, deep down, that should be a problem… but it wasn’t, not really. The man cared for her, loved her enough to ensure she was always safe. Anything else they could manage. Earl’s new found ability to confuse El Blanco came in handy too, allowing Kate to get up close footage to study. The two would work together and let Kate get way more research done on the creatures.

[evertomorrowart]

Best of YouTube 2023

Yes, I did spend the first week and change of January on this. I wish I could have had it done for New Years, but too many people came out with incredible work in December, so waiting turned out for the best.

What these creators do are a huge influence on my life, I would honestly have difficulty doing what I do without them. That isn't to say that my favorites of the year are *only* on this image--It was almost impossible to narrow down my favorites. Many creators I wanted to include couldn't fit on a single page, and too many of them made more than one video I wished I could draw too!

But, to all of you, thank you for what you do. You're an inspiration.

For those who don't know, further is an explanation.

At the bottom center is an artistic masterpiece by Defunctland: "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History." Over the last several years, Defunctland has risen from delightfully-entertaining commentary on decommissioned theme park attractions to occasionally dropping profound statements on the creation of art itself. "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History" is worth treating like the cinematic experience it is: No second screen, you sit your ass down in front of a TV, set down the phone, and then you *watch it.* Any Disney, theme park, or independent film fan needs to pay attention to this one.

Bottom left is Caelan Conrad with their piece "Drop the T - The Deadly Consequences of Gay Respectability Politics." While I do think they've done more visually or artistically-daring pieces before, "Drop the T" is one of the most important videos released on YouTube in today's current climate of hate. We as queer folk (and our allies) need to understand how integral every identity of the queer experience has been since the start of the Civil Rights movement (and before!). While we are not identical, we *are* inseparable, and we deserve having our real history easily accessible.

TERFs and other conservative mouthpieces need not reply. Your opinions are trash. 😘

I cannot stop watching and rewatching this video by @patricia-taxxon, "On the Ethics of Boinking Animal People." It's not just a defense of furry fandom and its eccentricities, it's a thoughtful and passionate analysis of what the artform achieves that purely human representation can't. Patricia goes outside of her usual essay format to directly speak to the viewer about the elements that define furry media (the most succinct definition I've ever heard) and just how *human* an act loving animal cartoons really is.

As an artist who can draw furry characters, but never really got into erotic furry art, this video is a treasure. Why did I choose to have her drawn as a Ghibli character, hanging out with one of the tanukis from "Pom Poko?" Guess you'll have to watch, bruh.

Philosophy Tube continuously puts out videos that I would put on this list--I'm not even sure that "A Man Plagiarised my Work: Women, Money, and the Nation" is the best work she released in 2023. However, this video got many conversations going between myself and my partner, and the twist on the tail end of the video shocked us both to such a degree that I had no choice.

At the very tail end of the year, Big Joel released "Fear of Death." On his Little Joel channel, he described it as the singularly best video he's ever done, and I'm inclined to agree. However, for this illustration, I ended up repeatedly going back to a mini-series he did earlier in the year: "Three Stories at the End of the World." All three videos are deeply moving and haunting, and I was brought to tears by "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot." While it may be relatively-common knowledge that the original Gojira (Godzilla) film is horror grappling with the devastation America's rush to atomic dominance inflicted on Japan, Big Joel still manages to bring new words to the discussion. Please watch all three of the videos, but if, for some reason, you must have only one, let it be "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot."

Y'all. Let me confess something. I hate football. I hate watching it, I associate seeing it from the stadiums with some of my worst childhood experiences, I despise collegiate and professional football (as institutions that destroy bodies and offer up children at the feet of its alter as a pillar of American culture)--

I. L o a t h e. Football.

But.

F.D. Signifier could get me to watch an entire hour-plus essay on why I should at least give a passing care. AND HE DID IT. I might think "F*ck the Police," the two-parter on Black conservatism, or his essay on Black men's connection to anime might be "better" videos, but this writer did the impossible and held my limited attention span towards football long enough to make a sincere case for NFL players--and reminds us that millionaires can *in fact* be workers. That alone is testament to his skill.

Sit down and watch "The REAL Reason NFL Running Backs Aren't Getting Paid." Any good anti-capitalist owes it to themselves.

CJ the X continuously puts out stunning, emotional videos, and can do it with the most seemingly-inconsequential starting points. A 30 second song? An incestuous commercial? Five minutes of Tangled? Sure, why not. Go destroy yourself emotionally by watching them. I'm serious. Do it.

Their video Stranger Things and the Meaning of Life manages to to remind us all why the way we react to media does, in fact, matter. Yes, even nostalgia-driven, mass-media schlock. Yes, how we interact with media matters, what it says about us matters, and we all deserve to seek out the whys.

Folding Ideas has spent the last few years articulating exactly why so much of our modern world feels broken, and because of that his voice continuously lives rent-free in my brain. While the tricks that scam artists and grifters use to try to swindle us are never new, the advancement of technology changes the aesthetics of their performances. Portions of Folding Ideas' explanations might seem dry when going into detail of how stocks work in This is Financial Advice, but every bit of it is necessary to peel back the layers of techno-babble and jargon and make sense of the results of "Meme Stocks."

Jessie Gender puts out nothing but bangers, her absolute unit of a video about Star Wars might be my new favorite thing ever, but none of her work hit so profoundly in 2023 than the two-parter "The Myth of 'Male Socialization'" and "The Trauma of Masculinity." There's so much about modern life that isolates and traumatizes us, and so much of it is just shrugged off as "normal." We owe it to ourselves to see the world in more vivid a color palette than we're initially given.

Panels drawn after Kate Beaton and "Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands."

"This is Not a Video Essay" is one of the most intense and beautiful pieces of art I've ever put into my eyeballs. Why do we create? What drives us to connect?

I don't even know what else to say about the Leftist Cooks' work, it repeatedly transcends the medium and platform. Watch every single one of their videos, but especially this one.

The likelihood you are terminally online and yet haven't heard of Hbomberguy's yearly forrays into destroying the careers of awful people is pretty slim. Just because it has millions of views doesn't mean that Hbomberguy's "Plagiarism and You(Tube)" isn't worth the hype. Too long? Shut up, it has chapters and YouTube holds your place, anyway. You think a deep dive into a handful of creators is only meaningless drama? Well, you're wrong, you wrong-opinion-haver. Plagiarism is an *everyone* problem because of the actual harm it creates--the history it erases, the labor it devalues, the art it marginalizes--which you would know if you watched "Plagiarism and You(Tube)".

Watch. The damn. Video.

In fact, watch all of them!

Thanks for reading this if you did.

[leonisandmurex]

The Windsors + Spring

[world-of-wales]

The Princess of Wales June 2024 Photo Challenge ♔

❥ Day 11 - Favourite photo(s) of Catherine with the British royal family Catherine's relationship with the Windsor family is quite possibly one of my favorite things ever. She's the daughter Charles always wanted, is Camilla and Sophie's best friend, Anne and Tim adore her, and she's the ride-or-die for William's siblings Zara and Mike and their families. Edward is like the dorky uncle who’s almost a best friend. Even though we don't get to see her interact with the younger Edinburghs as much, the short time we do see them together only proves that she's like an older sister to them. And even I, with my complicated relationship with the Yorks, can admit that, despite what everyone would have us believe, the girl squad of Bea, Cat, and Genie proves everyone wrong with their friendship.

[catherinetheprincessofwales]

Earl Spencers words after his nephew The Prince of Wales’ wife, The Princess of Wales announcement of her cancer diagnosis.

[daydreamer-in-reverie]

On an anonymous ask:

Hi, interesting perspective on S3 and I agree. I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts on Francesca character assassination and deviation from the books. The Michael/Michaela is very controversial and I prefered to reach out anonymous but I couldn't in your asks. That would be great if you could make a post, if you feel like doing so. Thanks!

HUGE BRIDGERTON SPOILERS

Francesca’s and Michael’s love story is one of my favorites from the books and I absolutely hate how much it has changed and NOT because Michael is now Michaela. I want to preface this by saying that I am an ally of the community and have always adored LGBTQIA+ representation on the screen.

That said, I don’t think I’ll enjoy Francesca and Michaela and not because Michaela’s a woman.

In the books, Francesca and Michael loved each other, albeit differently. Francesca loved Michael like one would love a brother while Michael was actually in love with Francesca. Michael longed and loved her in secret, yearning for any small moment they could share yet hating himself for falling for the one woman his cousin, John, the man he practically called brother, loved. It was his inner turmoil, the foil in his characterization that makes him so complex and the reason why it works so well is because Francesca doesn’t feel the same way at the start because Francesca loved John.

Francesca loved John will all her heart. Theirs was a true love match and it absolutely delighted Violet in the books that Francesca made a match so quickly and was so in love even if she had to move away. Francesca in the books never would have looked at Michael in the same way she looked at John until John’s death. It was John’s death that served as a catalyst to their love story because Francesca and Michael’s love story is finding love after grief.

Their story centered on themes of grief. How much they grieved John’s death together and how John’s death affected them both differently. Michael’s inner struggles of taking over the title of Earl of Kilmartin and moving into John’s old home made Michael feel like a usurper especially because he was in love with Francesca. Francesca’s grief over John’s death and losing their unborn child is what propels her to want to marry again because she didn’t just lose the husband she loved, she lost their child.

Grief is the only way their story can be told convincingly.

And yet, in a single stroke, we lose all sense of it with Francesca experiencing love at first sight upon meeting Michaela.

Because Francesca’s grief over John’s eventual death feels unconvincing and cheap because of how she looked at Michaela. How can she truly mourn the man that stands in the way of the woman she’s fallen in love with?

My gripe over Francesca/John/Michael/a is that essentially, their story has changed. And this changed wasn’t brought about because Michael is now Michaela but because Francesca loved Michaela before she ever truly loved John.

And don’t even get me started on Francesca not wanting children.

Francesca wanted kids point blank. She may have been the black sheep of her family (being firmly sequestered in the middle of the birth order) but she wanted kids. She wanted her own children to love and it’s what ultimately spurns her to once again trying her luck on the marriage mart. No sane widow of the time would marry again unless there was a need to. Francesca didn’t need to. She was extremely close with both John and Michael as well as their respective parents. They all adored her and even if Michael married a different woman, he would never have turned her out on the street. He even said he’d willingly provide her an allowance and a house with her own retinue of servants if that’s what she so wanted but it was Francesca who refused because she wanted children and wanted to give the marriage mart a try once again in the hopes she would find another man to love and marry. Francesca’s yearning for children is another catalyst to Francesca’s and Michael’s love story because Francesca never would have wanted to love again without it.

I truly believe an interesting story on Francesca’s struggles with infertility and grief could be told by her and Michaela’s relationship. I truly believe that with Michael now Michaela, Francesca’s want for children vs the reality of her situation could be told in a different way. In the books, Francesca eventually gets the children she wants (2) but it took her years of trying. With Michael now Michaela, her fertility journey could end with her not having children at all, and her learning to accept this fact. We so rarely see this struggle rightfully represented in media. Whenever couples struggle with infertility, they hit bump after bump after bump but eventually they’re granted children for their efforts in way or another (either through IVF or adoption). In reality, this isn’t always the case and so Francesca never having kids despite her desire for them would make for an interesting storyline. For a character to want, and struggle, and yearn for something yet ultimately fail at it is a story that will always have its audience. And in this context of a gay couple struggling to have children and ultimately not being able to, is something many LGBT couples will relate to. Not to mention the women as well, who project themselves onto Francesca’s struggle with infertility.

Essentially Francesca’s characterization was assassinated. Even Michael’s too, to an extent. Michael can’t struggle with feeling like he took everything from his cousin if he’s a woman because women at that time never inherited and so any feeling Michaela has about “taking” what’s rightfully John’s feels cheap. It’s not a true struggle if it’s impossible to have in the first place.

I’ll still watch Bridgerton because I firmly believe Benedict (who is my favorite character in both the books and the series) is next. But I’m losing hope that they’ll be able to tell his story and his struggles well if Francesca and Polin’s story is of any indication.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have two "perfect" role models in the shape of two unlikely royals - who are themselves "spares to the spare."

The young royals, who could be considered the "spares" to future King, Prince George, the first born child of Prince Wiliam and Catherine, Princess of Wales, should look to Prince Edward, the new Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, for how to go about their life as working royals.

Edward and Sophie have been hailed as the perfect role models for Charlotte and Louis due to their successful roles within the Royal Family.

The couple recently carried out a historic ceremony on behalf of King Charles III, marking 120 years of friendly relations between Britain and France.

Their rise to prominence has been a long time coming, according to former BBC Royal correspondent Jennie Bond.

Jennie told OK!: "They thoroughly deserve the recognition they are now getting."

She added that despite their work often being overshadowed by other royals, they have remained devoted to their causes.

As they take on more prominent roles, they are proving themselves up to the task and serving as excellent examples to their great nephews and niece.

xxx

It is a position which has notoriously come with question marks attached as the Royal struggles to carve out a life for themselves in the shadow of the crown.

Jennie added:

"They [Edward and Sophie] have always been quietly devoted to their various causes, but their work has been overshadowed by other royals.

I suppose every cloud has a silver lining... and as the King calls on them to take a more prominent role, Edward and Sophie are showing they are very much up to the task.

"They are also serving as excellent role models to their great nephews and niece - showing that you can be a 'spare' or even a 'spare to the spare' and make a real success of working as a valued member of the Royal Family."

But among the many benefits of the Prince and Princess of Wales ' preference for gentle parenting directed by what Catherine has learned from her studies of early years education, it is clear that the couple will be striving to normalise their younger children's lives with the hope that they never feel like working as royals is their only option.

"William and Catherine must be acutely aware of the problems for a royal spare," Jennie explains.

"They have already shown that they have a different and modern attitude to bringing up royal children.

I'm sure they will do everything to make Charlotte and Louis feel every bit as special, loved and valued as George.

I imagine they will encourage Louis to explore life outside the royal fold... it could be the military, but it could also be working in the charity world or whatever he finds appealing after his education is finished.

I'm sure they will encourage him to go to University, which they both enjoyed and where, of course, they found love.

"And from there they will want him to find a life that is meaningful to him as well as appropriate for the son of a future King.

They will try to ensure that he feels he is living a life of value, irrespective of his place in the line of succession.

And that will probably involve service of some kind as they have emphasised from the start that they want their children to understand that having empathy with others is not only a kindness but is rewarding as well."

Edward and Sophie have seen their popularity and recognition within the Royal Family soar over the past 13 months, since being given new titles.

The pair are increasingly front and centre at crucial events, stepping in for the King while he prioritises his health recovery.

Prince Edward is a trusted supporter of the arts sector, taking up his late father's Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme mantle.

Meanwhile, Sophie champions gender equality tirelessly, raising critical awareness around issues like female genital mutilation (FGM) and avoidable blindness prevention.

Away from participating in Royal duties or representational roles on behalf of the King, Edward and Sophie, along with their two children — Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex, 20 and 16 respectively — reside at Bagshot Park close to the Windsor Estate, whenever they're not away studying at university or school.

NOTE: Edited (xxx)

[royal-confessions]

“Can’t help but think that Louise and James are the family favourites. They are very protected by their older family members. But Kate especially seems to adore them.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[debreuil]

the dowager countess de winter, though she loathes being referred to as a dowager; she prefers anne, countess de winter or simply lady de winter as forms of address (it's still correct to address her as such, since her son is a child and thus has not married).

of french origin, though very reticent about her past and her upbringing, and much of her time in france in general. she sees through madame delacroix in a matter of days upon joining mayfair society.

big fan of high collars, chemisettes, ruffs, elaborate necklaces, etc. not terribly fashionable for a woman who is otherwise in vogue, but she gets away with it because of her widowhood + her being french + her friends in high places. for similar reasons (i.e. to hide her scars), she stays away from sleeveless gowns, and even cap sleeves.

twenty eight as of season one, though she married at twenty, and bore her first and only child (a boy, john francis) at twenty two. her husband died shortly thereafter of ~ unknown causes ~. her son is the spitting image of her in every sense of the word, and he is a massive mama's boy. the two are, especially unusually for the time period, joined at the hip.

she is considered to be a friend of some of the most notable men in english society; namely, robert jenkinson (the prime minister), the duke of wellington, and the prince regent. no-one is quite sure why or how she has friendships with these men who are between one and two decades her senior.

her son is the current earl de winter, but due to his being ... well, six years old, she is his guardian. her late husband's younger brother contested this at the time, but the late earl's will specified that his widow was to run the estate and the family affairs until their son came of age, and given anne's friends in high places, he quickly gave up his objections.

[burtlancster]

james earl jones and burt got very close on the set of field of dreams and he has some of my favorite insights into who burt was

[baubeautyandthegeek]

The Gang Comes Together - Burt Gummer/Heather Gummer, Kate Riley/Earl Bassett, Rhonda LeBeck/Val McKee, Nancy Sterngood.

A/N: Day 1 of @yeehawgust​ , here’s some more simple little @thetremorssaga​ goodness. Totally G rated. 

Burt will never explain why he and Heather took in the two boys who helped out the first time the graboids came around. Nancy and Mindie had moved into their shared home soon after the first incident, the concrete boundaries newly laid helped a lot and even as Mindie slept Nancy settled with Heather and Burt, learning how to protect herself better. Val of course had been the first to come back, buying up an empty home and asking Burt’s help to settle the house and make it Graboid proof. He’d smiled when Burt walked him through the new finds, nodding and setting to work. Rhonda had settled in easily, working as both the local science tutor and a travelling scientist. Earl had returned later, Kate tucked quietly into his side, steady but clearly a little wary of meeting so many of his friends at once. Burt had smirked slightly at her, moving to wrap an arm around her shoulder when Earl and Val broke off to talk, steering her towards first Heather, who had come home only when she heard Nancy was homeless now, and Nancy, then Rhonda. Rhonda had smiled as she greeted Kate, discussing science easily with Kate, smiling when Kate relaxed a little, her laugh warm when Kate muttered about getting way too used to smelling like graboid guts. “That happens… just let it. You can always come shower when the day’s done.” “You guys have showers… that work?” “Yeah, Burt’s kinda smart like that.” Rhonda shrugs and Kate laughs. “Sounds good to me…” “You guys got a house yet?” “No…” “Get the feeling the reason Val got us such a big one is so you guys can move in…” “Is that okay with you?” “Sure, why not… at least I wouldn’t be just listening to Val pine for his best friend.” Kate had laughed again then shrugged. “At least now we can work together too, right?” “I’d love that.” Rhonda agrees with a smile. It's a fresh start, and one she sorely needs, thinks Kate. The ‘posse’ of friends Burt had mentioned turned out just right. Although she wonders if this is all she had to meet or if more might show up.

[hsmtmtsnet]

timfederle: Graduation dinner. Mid-2000s themed. Gina Porter busy in a Romeo & Juliet costume fitting (iykyk) ❤️🐾

[leonisandmurex]

Tickle fight! || William & Charlotte, Lilibet & Margot, Peter & James, Louise & Isla, Charles & William, Diana & William, William, George, Charlotte & Louis, Charles & Diana, Elizabeth & Charles, Catherine & Louis

[princessanneftw]

Royal Family engagements 2022

By Tim O’Donovan in The Times

[sashabeauty87]

With everything that has happened recently, to Harry and Meghan I just want to say that I will be entering a new stance on this page. This stance will be consisting of a “Fuck Everyone in the British Royal Family!”. I’m talking about the adults, the children, the dogs, and the damn horses. 

Since there are people who have been so cavalier about what happened to Harry, Meghan and Doria on May 16th and the fact that 3 people (Harry, Meghan, and Doria) could’ve lost their lives and that 2 babies (Archie and Lili) could’ve grown up without their parents and grandmother then I’m choosing to no longer play nice when it comes to those white bastards over in the U.K. 

I don’t know how others feel but I believe what happened to Harry, Meghan, and Doria in New York City and with the fact that an intruder was found and arrested at their Montecito home that this was a coordinated hit job ordered by the British Royal Family (Yes, I mean Charles, Camilla, William, Kate, Sophie, Edward, Anne, Andrew, Beatrice, Eugenie, etc.) and the British Media. 

From the Day of the Coordination and even before that has me questioning things, like why Count Mozzarella was so friendly towards Harry and what was the real true intentions behind Beatrice and Eugenie meeting up with Piers Morgan. 

So, having said that I don’t care about the safety and well-being of these people because quite frankly I’m out of fucks to give and that includes the children as well. 

So, Fuck the Adults and especially Fuck those Kids! (George, Charlotte, Louis, August, Sienna, Louise, James, Zara and Mike Tindall’s kids, and Peter Phillps kids) 

***Has anyone notice that every time it looks like things are going well for Harry and Meghan and or Meghan is about to hit her stride that some bullshit occurs. Like for instance Meghan’s cover for Variety, her possibly doing an appearance on Jimmy Fallon/Kimmel and the UN and then that old bat dies and now when she’s being honored and something that she was really proud of, or how about when Harry was about to launch travalyst .  It’s like someone or something is trying to stop and or shit over their/his/her success/ pivotal moments. I wonder who or what is the behind it, hmm?!?