#swallows 50 most beautiful
Nursey is low-key the best at breaking gender norms.
Shitty’s super vocal about it and that’s great, like he helped educate some of the hausmates who weren’t totally aware of the imperialist and arbitrary notions of gender but Nursey. Nursey, I’m-a-chill-guy Nursey, has known this shit since he was twelve, and has been doing it since he was able to walk.
He’s a cis guy, maybe; if anyone actually asked him what his gender was, that’s the answer he’d give. He’s not actually totally sure that he identifies with a gender in particular, has thought that maybe he might be genderfluid or agender, but since he’s comfortable with his pronouns for the most part and is questioning he doesn’t tend to mention it to people.
So he throws comments into conversations when necessary, raises his eyebrows at any comments he thinks border on ignorant, and generally acts like a chill, educated guy who’s spent a lot of his time in the Village.
When he lived in the Haus, Shitty wore a lot of florals. Some really pretty stuff that Nursey could appreciate, objectively, but also some garish shirts that were offensive to the eye. Nursey doesn’t really do florals. He likes flowers, though, spent days in his teenage years carefully lacing his curls with daisies, tucking daffodils into his shirt pockets in the spring and roses in the summer. He owns a couple of cute skirts that he generally only wears in his room, lounging on his bed with his bare legs crossed and comfortable. He shaves them, sometimes, if only to enjoy the feeling of smooth skin rubbing together.
One thing he always does is paint his nails. Most people don’t notice since he uses clear polish more often than not. He carries a nail file in his bag wherever he goes, and has perfected the ‘sitting back casually whilst filing nails and looking unimpressed’ look. After he becomes relaxed enough about the team being accepting, he starts to do it in the Haus. When Ransom gets a look at Nursey’s perfectly self-manicured nails he asks Nursey to do his. By the time they get to the playoffs, all of the SMH have beautiful nails painted an array of different colors. (Holster might have a small freak-out when he notices Ransom’s are painted for bi-pride. Ransom might have a small freak-out when he sees that Holster’s are too.)
Nursey takes care of his appearance even if he doesn’t think it hugely important. He likes to maintain his musculature, enjoys smirking every time he catches Dex staring at his arms in a sleeveless top. His skin care routine could rival Lardo’s, and he barely goes more than two days without shaving before and after playoffs. He owns several lip balms and a couple of really nice lipsticks that he likes to wear in New York on occasion. After a couple of years at Samwell he decides he’d like to wear them there, too.
His choices always make him look gentle and warm, devastatingly handsome and soft around the edges. In winter he wears his navy peacoat with a pale blue scarf bundled around his neck, bright gold nails hidden beneath gloves. One day Dex gives him a lily broach, and he pins it on his slouchy beanie where it catches the pale light under cloud cover. He and Bitty have long discussions about the benefits of short-shorts and crop tops, and when the weather’s warmer they can be seen strolling across the quad and turning every head as they go.
Nursey’s the only one who knows about Bitty’s secret Louboutin collection after Nursey lets slip he has a couple of pairs in his room in the brownstone. They sit on Bitty’s bed with hot chocolate and pie, appreciating the several pairs Bitty takes out and shows off proudly, comparing their taste. Bitty’s a pro with his heels, can dance and strut in them like nobody’s business (he’s practiced), but Nursey gives him tips about posture and matching clothes with each particular shoe.
(When Jack and Bitty come out to their friends, Nursey sends a wink Jack’s way and compliments him on his shoes. For a moment he just looks confused, glancing down at his worn sneakers in bemusement, but when Bitty giggles comprehension crosses his face and he goes bright red before grinning fondly.)
Just, Nursey being a non-binary pansexual hockey playing poet who wears skirts and make up and makes The Swallow’s ’50 Most Beautiful’ list four years running.
