"Brotherhood of the Wolf": Two gay-subtext romances in 18th Century France, with sleaze, blood, Satanism, Catholics, and c*cks

Link to the n*de photos

For movie night this week we saw The Brotherhood of the Wolf, which actually came out in 2000, but it resembles the sleazy second-features they used to show at the drive in, when you were falling asleep and couldn't pay much attention to the plot, or try to distinguish the charaters.  These movies have an unnaturally bright color pallette and unnervingly loud noises to keep you awake, impenetrable dialogue because no one's really listening, lots of fake blood, and lots of bedroom stuff, with women who act like they're in a Hai Karate commercial

Hai Karate was an old cologne advertised as making you so attractive that you have to use karate to fight off the hoardes of clawing, screaming women desperate to get ahold of your goods - and this was a good thing?  I got a bottle for Christmas one year, but was afraid to use it. 

I was wide awake (for most of it, anyway), but I still didn't get the plot.  I know that it's the 1750s, and a wolf is terrorizing the people of Gévaudan, France, the modern department of Lozère, a thinly populated, mountainous region about 250 km from Marseilles.  

Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel le Bihan, top photo and left, and n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends), the king's naturalist, and his Iroquois "companion" Mani (Mark Dascascos, below) are dispatched to track down and kill the wolf.  They have a gay-subtext relationship:

Host: "Let me show your servant to his quarters."

Fronsac: "He's not my servant.  He'll be staying in the room with me."

Host: "But there's only one bed...never mind."

 A gay-coded young Marquis (Jérémie Renier, right) is also interested in Fronsac: "Tell me about Paris.  What are the latest fashions?  What's going on in the theater season?"

There are 200 wikipedia pages devoted to 18th century French playwrights, but the only ones I recognize are Dennis Diderot, Voltaire, and Pierre Beaumarchais, who wrote operas later in the century.  

After examining some victims, Fronsac declares that the Beast is much too big to be a wolf, but they don't believe him, and go on a wolf hunt (corpses piled high).  He insists, and is fired and sent home.  But the Marquis believes him, so they go on their own Beast-hunt.

Meanwhile Fronsac gets three girlfriends: the winsome daughter of his host; a middle-aged lady at the adult emporium, who reads Tarot cards; and a young woman in male drag who participates in the hunts.  But Bob said that it was just two; the male drag lady is also either the daughter of the host or the Tarot card lady.  He didn't know which.   

The beast turns out to be an African creature in a stegasaurus suit. It appears to be controlled by an evil guy (Vincent Cassell) who has a shriveled arm with long fingernails, making him look like half a drag queen.  He may be the brother of Fronsac's first girlfriend, but also wants to do stuff with her. 

More after the break

Which Ben R. has the monster? The gay German singer, the short guy from Seattle, the n*de ikigai guy, the golf pro..

 This will be fun.  A guy named Ben R. is showing us his monster equipment (last name censored because he's not an actor).  There are at least 30 Ben R.'s with Instagram, Facebook, or Linkedin pages. Your job is to figure out which one has the third leg, based on the visual cues and biographical data.

Link to the n*de photos

Here are the ten Bens to choose from:

1. A gay singer from Freiburg, Germany.

I'm not into skinny guys, but I heard that they tend to be oversized.

2. Right: An ambassador for Christ in Christchurch, New Zealand, originally from Iowa.  

Nice look, buddy, but do ambassadors for Christ usually post adult pics?

3. Far right:A student at the University of Arizona, originally from Colorado, in the Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

You don't need to be gifted beneath the belt if you've got muscle.

4. A student at Mansfield University in Ohio, on the basketball team.  

The goggle glasses give him a cute teen-nerd vibe. I'll bet he's got a lot going on down there.

5. A graduate of Indiana University who now works as a rates trader in New York.

I don't know what a rates trader is, but he looks good in a suit.

More after the break

Airport Chaplain: Rebel cop...er, chaplain, job squabbles, personal angst, and eight gay guys, some with d*cks (Max has two)

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Link to the n*de dudes

When Airport Chaplain (2026) popped up on my Netflix recommendations, I was curious: I didn't even know that airport chaplain was a job.  Who needs pastoral counseling when they're awaiting their flight to San Diego?  So we'll check out the first episode.

 

We open with establishing shots of an an airport.  A hoodied person runs fast past Security Guard Ziv, who yells "Oi!  Stop, mate!"  I'm guessing this is England.  (Update: It's actually Australia) 

Gay Guy #1: Elias Anton (Ziv), backside on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends, starred with Thom Green (below) in the queer romance Of an Age (2022). 

Cute guy in the security station is monitoring the sitch. As the Chaplain gives money to a homeless person, he is notified of the runner and heads toward the International Terminal. 

He grabs the runner -- it's just a kid -- and calls off security.  The kid talks to him in Spanish -- which doesn't appear on the subtitles, darn it -- so the Chaplain runs off  to the the cleaner's trolley outside the Prayer Room, grabs a plush toy, and rushes back past Border Control without getting it scanned.  Border Control Johnny is hesitant, but Chaplain says it's an emergency.    

Gay Guy #2: Thomas Weatherall (Johnny), top photo, played a gay high schooler on Heartbreak High.

Gay Guy #3: Hugo Weaving (the Chaplain) is best known as the drag queen Tick in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and Elrond in the Lord of the Rings movies.

The Chaplain gets the kid to his Buenos Aires flight (the toy actually belongs to his baby sister).   Problem solved.  So that's what airport chaplains do.  I figured they would, you know, pray with people.

I checked online: most large airports, even in the U.S., have full-time or volunteer chaplains. The fliers and their loved ones aren't just grumbling over the long lines and cancelled flights; they are often going through emotional crises, and need someone to talk to -- or pray with.  

Cut to the Chaplain in his office, with a real snake, stuffed birds, and drawings from kids saying thank you for retrieving their teddy bears. He's handling the case of Nino, who needs his flight re-booked because he wasn't allowed on the plane with his pet dog.  Maybe the Chaplain or his wife can look after him while he's away?  (Heterosexual identity established at Minute 5).

The terminal manager comes in to complain that he was canned for poor reviews.  He's old, but he doesn't want to stay home, with a wife who's always either "hot or angry." (Heterosexual identity established immediately.)

"By the way, the new Terminal Manager won't approve of rebel cops...um, I mean chaplains...who have unconventional methods and ignore the rule book."

Next, the Chaplain is called to the case of Alex Zhang, an Australian citizen returning from Shanghai.  His father died on the the flight, so the passengers are understandably upset.  The Chaplain calls Border Control Johnny to ensure that he gets through customs quickly, and Head Baggage Handler Lex to ensure that the body is taken to the holding area..  

Gay Guy #4:  Queer actor Erroll Shand (Lex) played a closeted lawyer in Outrageous Fortunes, and a gay prince in Our Flag Means Death and 

The Chaplain goes down to the holding area to comfort Alex, who is on an "I'm very important!" business call.  Not grieving much, are you , buddy?

He explains the procedure: get an ok from the coroner, then transport the body to a funeral home.  Alex hadn't thought of that.  Not on your ten-hour flight from Shanghai to Melbourne?

"So...um...were you and your father close?"

"Not really.  Pardon -- work call."

"Would you like me to...um...pray for him?"  

"We're Buddhist."  Chaplain takes that as an invitation, and says a Buddhist prayer over the coffin.

Back to the office, where Border Security Johnny is hanging out with -- and flirting with -- Nino the Dog Guy.

Gay Guy #5: Queer actor Nicholas Denton (Nino) played gay or gay-vague characters in Dangerous Liaisons and the vampire drama Talamasca. 

Chaplain has a solution to the dog problem: Crate him and transport him in the hold.  It will cost an extra $2,400 ($1,700 U.S.).

"Nope, can't afford it.  Besides, it would be cruel to crate him for such a long flight.

More gay guys after the break

"Dolly Parton's Heartstrings": The Gay Couple Two Doors Down

 

Dolly Parton, who died in August 2026, was a vocal gay ally, so it's not surprising that "Two Doors Down," an episode of her Netflix series, Dolly Parton's Heartstrings  featured a coming out story for Evangelical audiences.  It won a GLAAD Award in 2020, so let's take a look. 

Intro: Dolly explains that when she wrote the song "Two Doors Down" in 1977, she was on the road a lot, away from her family, but she found a new family with her crew, which was composed of "all kinds of people: different colors, gay, lesbian, transgender, different faiths, but we all loved each other.  Love is love."  

Scene 1: Singing "Two Doors Down," naturally, Ty (Broadway actor Andy Mientus) drives down country roads "to the place I belong" (sorry, wrong song). Switch to Mom busily micro-managing his sister Lee's upcoming wedding, and wondering why she looks so miserable. Could it be...Mom butting in?

Scene 2: They all arrive at the elegant hotel in the South.  I thought they would be hillbillies, but Mom is loaded!  Mom tells Ty that he's sure to get a lot of attention from the ladies at the wedding, because her Gay is buying his outfit: "that's the one thing gays are good for, right?  Fashion!"  

Estranged Dad (Ray McKinnon) arrives.  Now that's a hillbilly!  He looks like he just finished huntin' possums with Jed Clampett (there actually is a dead deer in the back of his truck).

Scene 3: Ty discusses his secret with his boyfriend, the uber-swishy Cole (Michael J. Willett), who coincidentally is the wedding planner.  "As you know, Dear, I'm not out to my family, due to Mom's homophobia.  When marriage equality arrived, she said it was the end of the world.  But I'm going to tell them all this weekend." During your sister's wedding? Wouldn't that be stealing the spotlight?

Back story: they are having a long-distance relationship problem. Cole lives in Atlanta, and Ty lives in Athens, 72 miles away.  

Ulp, Cole hides in the closet as Mom comes in.  She discusses the life-threatening Steel Magnolias disease that she had last year, which left her "a sentimental puddle," so she really wants Ty to find a girl.  

Scene 4:  In the absurdly elegant parlor, Sister and her fiance Digby are discussing their secret: "As you know, Sweetheart, after the wedding we are leaving small-town Atlanta for Los Angeles so I can pursue my acting career.  Don't tell Mom!"  Digby?

Scene 5: Mom and Estranged Dad discuss their secret: "As you know, Dumbbell, we hate each other.  I think you're a country bumpkin, and you think I'm a rich snob.  We're going to get a divorce.  But don' t tell the kids!" Uh-oh, dark secrets all the way down.

Scene 6: Ty comes out to Sister in the stupidest way possible: "Seeing you and Digby so happy has made me realize that I'm happy, too.  So happy that you might say I'm...gay."  

Sister is proud of him for having the courage to come out. Digby?  How did the poor guy survive middle school?  "You can tell Dad, but don't tell Mom.  She'll stick her head in the oven." 

Sister tells Ty her secret about moving.  Whoops, for a wedding present, Mom and Dad bought them a house in Atlanta, so how can they move to L.A.? 

Scene 7:  Sister trying on wedding dresses with Ty's boyfriend Cole and her gal pal, Mim Tinkelpaugh (and I thought Digby got bullied a lot!).  

Gal Pal Mim is trying to get with Ty.  Sister explains that he's...um...seeing someone, har har.

Mom comes in to complain about Cousin Renee (Aidan Langford) doing something weird "with her bridesmaid's dress."  Sister explains that they have come out as nonbinary, and prefer the name Ren.  Mom huffs: "More LGBT XYZ nonsense!  You give me one week with her, and I'll straighten her out!"

More after the break.