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renthony · 1 year ago

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Nimona: a Story of Trans Rights, Queer Solidarity, and the Battle Against Censorship

by Ren Basel renbasel.com

The 2023 film Nimona, released on Netflix after a tumultuous development, is a triumph of queer art. While the basic plot follows a mischievous shapeshifter befriending a knight framed for murder, at its heart Nimona is a tale of queer survival in the face of bigotry and censorship. Though the word “transgender” is never spoken, the film is a deeply political narrative of trans empowerment.

The film is based on a comic of the same name, created by Eisner-winning artist N.D. Stevenson. (1) Originally a webcomic, Nimona stars the disgraced ex-knight Ballister Blackheart and his titular sidekick, teaming up to topple an oppressive regime known as the Institution. The webcomic was compiled into a graphic novel published by Harper Collins on May 12, 2015. (2)

On June 11, 2015, the Hollywood Reporter broke the news Fox Animation had acquired rights to the story. (3) A film adaptation would be directed by Patrick Osborne, written by Marc Haimes, and produced by Adam Stone. Two years later, on February 9, 2017, Osborne confirmed the film was being produced with the Fox-owned studio Blue Sky Animation, and on June 30 of that same year, he claimed the film would be released Valentine’s Day 2020. (4)

Then the Walt Disney Company made a huge mess.

On December 14, 2017, Disney announced the acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (5) Industry publications began speculating the same day about Blue Sky’s fate, though nothing would be confirmed until after the deal’s completion on March 19, 2019. (6) At first it seemed the studio would continue producing films under Disney’s governance, similar to Disney-owned Pixar Animation. (7)

The fate of the studio—and Nimona’s film adaptation—remained in purgatory for two years. During that time, Patrick Osborne left over reported creative differences, and directorial duties were taken over by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane. (8) Bruno and Quane continued production on the film despite Blue Sky’s uncertain future.

The killing blow came on February 9, 2021. Disney shut down Blue Sky and canceled Nimona, the result of economic hardship caused by COVID-19. (9) Nimona was seventy-five percent completed at the time, set to star Chloë Grace Moretz and Riz Ahmed. (10)

While COVID-19 caused undeniable financial upheaval for the working class, wealthy Americans fared better. (11) Disney itself scraped together enough to pay CEO Bob Iger twenty-one million dollars in 2020 alone. (12) Additionally, demand for animation spiked during the pandemic’s early waves, and Nimona could have been the perfect solution to the studio’s supposed financial woes. (13) Why waste the opportunity to profit from Blue Sky’s hard work?

It didn’t take long for the answer to surface. Speaking anonymously to the press, Blue Sky workers revealed the awful truth: Disney may have killed Nimona for being too queer. The titular character was gender-nonconforming, the leading men were supposed to kiss, and Disney didn’t like it. (14) While Disney may claim COVID-19 as the cause, it is noteworthy that Disney representatives saw footage of two men declaring their love, and not long after, the studio responsible was dead. (15) Further damning evidence came in February of 2024, when the Hollywood Reporter published an article quoting co-director Nick Bruno, who named names: Disney’s chief creative officer at the time, Alan Horn, was adamantly opposed to the film’s “gay stuff.” (16)

Disney didn’t think queer art was worthy of their brand, and it isn’t the first time. “Not fitting the Disney brand” was the justification for canceling Dana Terrace’s 2020 animated series The Owl House, which featured multiple queer characters. (17) Though Terrace was reluctant to assume queerphobia caused the cancellation, Disney’s anti-queer bias has been cited as a hurdle by multiple showrunners, including Terrace herself. (18) The company’s resistance to queer art is a documented phenomenon.

While Nimona’s film cancellation could never take N.D. Stevenson’s comic from the world, it was a sting to lose such a powerful queer narrative on the silver screen. American film has a long history of censoring queerness. The Motion Picture Production Code (commonly called the Hays Code) censored queer stories for decades, including them under the umbrella of “sex perversion.” (19) Though the Code was eventually repealed, systemic bigotry turns even modern queer representation milestones into battles. In 2018, when Rebecca Sugar, creator of the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe, succeeded in portraying the first-ever same-sex marriage proposal in American children’s animation, the network canceled the show in retaliation. (20)

When queer art has to fight so hard just to exist, each loss is a bitter heartbreak. N.D. Stevenson himself expressed sorrow that the world would never see what Nimona’s crew worked so hard to achieve. (21)

Nimona, however, is hard to kill.

While fans mourned, progress continued behind the scenes. Instead of disappearing into the void as a tax write-off, the film was quietly scooped up by Megan Ellison of Annapurna Pictures. (22) Ellison received a call days before Disney’s death blow to Blue Sky, and after looking over storyboard reels, she decided to champion the film. With Ellison’s support, former Blue Sky heads Robert Baird and Andrew Millstein did their damnedest to find Nimona a home. (23)

Good news arrived on April 11, 2022, when N.D. Stevenson made a formal announcement on Twitter (now X): Nimona was gloriously alive, and would release on Netflix in 2023. (24) Netflix confirmed the news in its own press release, where it also provided details about the film’s updated cast and crew, including Eugene Lee Yang as Ambrosius Goldenloin alongside Riz Ahmed’s Ballister Boldheart (changed from the name Blackheart in the comic) and Chloë Grace Moretz as Nimona. (25) The film was no longer in purgatory, and grief over its death became anticipation for its release.

Nimona made her film debut in France, premiering at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14, 2023 to positive reviews. (26) Netflix released the film to streaming on June 30, finally completing the story’s arduous journey from page to screen. (27)

When the film begins, the audience is introduced to the world through a series of illustrated scrolls, evoking the storybook intros of Disney princess films such as 1959’s Sleeping Beauty. The storybook framing device has been used to parody Disney in the past, perhaps most famously in the 2001 Dreamworks film Shrek. Just as Shrek contains parodies of the Disney brand created by a Disney alumnus, so, too, does Nimona riff on the studio that snubbed it. (28)

Nimona’s storybook intro tells the story of Gloreth, a noble warrior woman clad in gold and white, who defended her people from a terrible monster. After slaying the beast, Gloreth established an order of knights called the Institute (changed from the Institution in the comic) to wall off the city and protect her people.

Right away, the film introduces a Christian dichotomy of good versus evil. Gloreth is presented as a Christlike figure, with the Institute’s knights standing in as her saints. (29) Her name is invoked like the Christian god, with characters uttering phrases such as “oh my Gloreth” and “Gloreth guide you.” The film’s design borrows heavily from Medieval Christian art and architecture, bolstering the metaphor.

Nimona takes place a thousand years after Gloreth’s victory. Following the opening narration, the audience is dropped into a setting combining Medieval aesthetics with futuristic science fiction, creating a sensory delight of neon splashed across knights in shining armor. It’s in this swords-and-cyborgs city that a new knight is set to join the illustrious ranks of Gloreth’s Institute, now under the control of a woman known only as the Director (voiced by Frances Conroy). That new knight is our protagonist, Ballister Boldheart.

The film changes several things from the original. The comic stars Lord Ballister Blackheart, notorious former knight, long after his fall from grace. He has battled the Institution for years, making a name for himself as a supervillain. The film introduces a younger Ballister Boldheart who is still loyal to the Institute, who believes in his dream of becoming a knight and overcomes great odds to prove himself worthy. In the comic, Blackheart’s greatest rival is Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin, with whom he has a messy past. The film shows more of that past, when Goldenloin and Boldheart were young lovers eager to become knights by each other’s side.

There is another notable change: in the comic, Goldenloin is white, and Blackheart is light-skinned. In the film, both characters are men of color—specifically, Boldheart is of Pakistani descent, and Goldenloin is of Korean descent, matching the ethnicity of their respective voice actors. This change adds new themes of institutional racism, colorism, and the “model minority” stereotype. (30)

The lighter-skinned Goldenloin is, as his name suggests, the Institute’s golden boy. He descends from the noble lineage of Gloreth herself, and his face is emblazoned on posters and news screens across the city. He is referred to as “the most anticipated knight of a generation.” In contrast, the darker-skinned Boldheart experiences prejudice and hazing due to his lower-class background. His social status is openly discussed in the news. He is called a “street kid” and “controversial,” despite being the top student in his class. The newscasters make sure everyone knows he was only given the chance to prove himself in the Institute because the queen, a Black woman with established social influence, gave him her personal patronage. Despite this patronage, when the news interviews citizens on the street, public opinion is firmly against Boldheart.

To preserve the comic’s commentary on white privilege, some of Goldenloin’s traits were written into a new, white character created for the film, Sir Thoddeus Sureblade (voiced by Beck Bennett). Sureblade’s vitriol against both Boldheart and Goldenloin allowed Goldenloin to become a more sympathetic character, trapped in the system just as much as Boldheart. (31) This is emphasized at other points in the film when the audience sees Sureblade interact with Goldenloin without Boldheart present, berating the only person of color left in the absence of the darker-skinned man.

The day Boldheart is to be knighted, everything goes wrong. As Queen Valerin (voiced by Lorraine Toussaint) performs the much-anticipated knighting ceremony, a device embedded in Boldheart’s sword explodes, killing her instantly. Though Boldheart is not to blame, he is dubbed an assassin instead of a knight. In an instant, he becomes the most wanted man in the kingdom, and Queen Valerin’s hopes for progress and social equality seem dead with her. Boldheart is gravely injured in the explosion and forced to flee, unable to clear his name.

Enter Nimona.

The audience meets the titular character in the act of vandalizing a poster of Gloreth, only to get distracted by an urgent broadcast on a nearby screen. As she approaches, a bystander yells that she’s a “freak,” in a manner reminiscent of slurs screamed by passing bigots. Nimona has no time for bigots, spraying this one in the face with paint before tuning in to the news.

“Everyone is scared,” declare the newscasters, because queen-killer Ballister Boldheart is on the run. The media paints him as a monster, a filthy commoner who never deserved the chances he was given, and announce that, “never since Gloreth’s monster has anything been so hated.” This characterization pleases Nimona, and she declares him “perfect” before scampering off to find his hiding place.

It takes the span of a title screen for her to track him down, sequestered in a makeshift junkyard shelter. Just before Nimona bursts into the lair, the audience sees Boldheart’s injuries have resulted in the amputation of his arm, and he is building a homemade prosthetic. This is another way he’s been othered from his peers in an instant, forced to adapt to life-changing circumstances with no support. Where he was so recently an aspiring knight with a partner and a dream, he is now homeless, disabled, and isolated.

A wall in the hideout shows a collection of news clippings, suspects, and sticky notes where Boldheart is trying to solve the murder and clear his name. His own photo looks down from the wall, captioned with a damning headline: “He was never one of us—knights reveal shocking details of killer’s past.” It evokes real-world racial bias in crime reporting, where suspects of color are treated as more violent, unstable, and prone to crime than white suspects. A 2021 report by the Equal Justice Initiative and the Global Strategy Group compiled data on this phenomenon, focusing on the stark disparity between coverage of white and Black suspects. (32)

Nimona is not put off by Boldheart’s sinister media reputation. It’s why she tracked him down in the first place. She’s arrived to present her official application as Boldheart’s villain sidekick and help him take down the Institute. Boldheart brushes her off, insisting he isn’t a villain. He has faith in his innocence and in the system, and leaves Nimona behind to clear his name.

When he is immediately arrested, stripped of his prosthetic, and jailed, Nimona doesn’t abandon him. She springs a prison break, and conveys a piece of bitter wisdom to the fallen knight: “[O]nce everyone sees you as a villain, that’s what you are. They only see you one way, no matter how hard you try.”

Nimona and Boldheart are both outcasts, but they are at different stages of processing the pain. Boldheart is deep in the grief of someone who tried to adhere to the demands of a biased system but finally failed. He is the newly cast-out, who gave his entire life to the system but still couldn’t escape dehumanization. His pain is a fresh, raw wound, where Nimona has old scars. She embodies the deep anger of those who have existed on the margins for years. Where Boldheart wants to prove his innocence so he can be re-accepted into the fold, Nimona’s goal is to tear the entire system apart. She finds instant solidarity with Boldheart based solely on their mutual status as outsiders, but Boldheart resists that solidarity because he still craves the system’s familiar structure.

In the comic, Blackheart’s stance is not one of fresh grief, since, just like Nimona, he has been an outsider for some time. Instead, Blackheart’s position is one of slow reform. He believes the system can be changed and improved, while Nimona urges him to demolish it entirely. In both versions, Ballister thinks the system can be fixed by removing specific corrupt influences, where Nimona believes the government is rotten to its foundations and should be dismantled. Despite their ideological differences, Nimona and Ballister ally to survive the Institute’s hostility.

The allyship is an uneasy truce. During the prison break, Nimona reveals that she’s a shapeshifter, able to change into whatever form she pleases. Boldheart reflexively reaches for his sword, horrified that she isn’t human. She is the exact sort of monster he has been taught to fear by the Institute, and it’s only because he needs her help that he overcomes his reflex and sticks with her.

Nimona’s shapeshifting functions as a transgender allegory. The comic’s author, N.D. Stevenson, is transgender, and Nimona’s story developed alongside his own queer journey. (33) The trans themes from the comic are emphasized in the film, with various pride flags included in backgrounds and showcased in the art book. (34) Directors Bruno and Quane described the film as “a story about acceptance. A movie about being seen for who you truly are and a love letter to all those who’ve ever shared that universal feeling of being misunderstood or like an outsider trying to fit in.” (35)

When Boldheart asks Nimona what she is, she responds with only “Nimona.” When he calls her a girl, she retorts that she’s “a lot of things.” When she transforms into another species, she specifies in that moment that she’s “not a girl, I’m a shark.” Later, when she takes the form of a young boy and Boldheart comments on it, saying “now you’re a boy,” her response is, “I am today.” She defies easy categorization, and she likes it that way.

About her shapeshifting, Nimona says “it feels worse if I don’t do it” and “I shapeshift, then I’m free.” When asked what happens if she doesn’t shapeshift, she responds, “I wouldn’t die-die, I just sure wouldn’t be living.” Every time she discusses her transformations, it carries echoes of transgender experience—and, as it happens, Nimona is not N.D. Stevenson’s only shapeshifting transgender character. During his tenure as showrunner for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix/Dreamworks, 2018-2020), Stevenson introduced the character Double Trouble. Double Trouble previously existed at the margins of She-Ra lore, but Stevenson’s version was a nonbinary shapeshifter using they/them pronouns. (36) While Nimona uses she/her pronouns throughout both comic and film, just like Double Trouble her gender presentation is as fluid as her physical form.

Boldheart, like many cisgender people reacting to transgender people, is uncomfortable with Nimona. He declares her way of doing things “too much,” and insists they try to be “inconspicuous” and “discreet.” He worries whether others saw her, and, when she is casually in a nonhuman form, he asks if she can “be normal for a second.” He claims to support her, but says it would be “easier if she was a girl” because “other people aren’t as accepting.” His discomfort evokes fumbled allyship by cisgender people, and Nimona emphasizes the allegory by calling Boldheart out for his “small-minded questions.” While the alliance is uneasy, Boldheart continues working with Nimona to clear his name. They are the only allies each other has, and their individual survival is dependent on them working together.

When the duo gain video proof of Boldheart’s innocence, they learn the bomb that killed Queen Valerin was planted by the Director. Threatened by a Black woman using her influence to elevate a poor, queer man of color, the white Director chose to preserve the status quo through violence.

Nimona is eager to get the video on every screen in the city, but Boldheart wants to deal with the issue internally, out of the public eye. He insists “the Institute isn’t the problem, the Director is.” This belief is what also leads the comic’s Blackheart to reject Nimona’s idea that he should crown himself king. He is focused on reforming the existing power structure, neither removing it entirely nor taking it over himself.

Inside the Institute, the Director has been doing her best to set Goldenloin against his former partner. Despite his internal misgivings and fear of betraying someone he loves, Goldenloin does his best to adhere to his prescribed role. As the Director reminds the knights, they are literally born to defend the kingdom, and it’s their sacred duty to do so—especially Goldenloin, who carries Gloreth’s holy blood. This blood connection is repeated throughout the film, and used by the Director to exploit Goldenloin. He’s the Institute’s token minority, put on a gilded pedestal and treated as a symbol instead of a human being.

Goldenloin is a pretty face for propaganda posters, and those posters can be seen throughout the film. They proclaim Gloreth’s majesty, the power of the knights, and remind civilians that the Institute is necessary to “protect our way of life.” A subway PSA urges citizens, “if you see something, slay something,” in a direct parody of the real-world “if you see something, say something” campaign by the United States Department of Homeland Security. (37)

The film is not subtle in its political messaging. When Boldheart attempts to prove his innocence to Goldenloin and the assembled knights, he reaches towards his pocket for a phone. The Director cries that Boldheart has a weapon, and Sureblade opens fire. Though the shot hits the phone and not Boldheart, it carries echoes of real-world police brutality against people of color. Specifically, the use of a phone evokes cases such as the 2018 murder of Stephon Clark, a young Black man who was shot and killed by California police claiming Clark’s cell phone was a firearm. (38) The film does not toy with vague, depoliticized themes of coexistence and tolerance; it is a direct and pointed allegory for contemporary oppression in the United States of America.

Forced to choose between love for Boldheart and loyalty to the Institute, Goldenloin chooses the Institute. He calls for Boldheart’s arrest, and this is the moment Boldheart finally agrees to fight back and raise hell alongside Nimona. When Goldenloin calls Nimona a monster during the ensuing battle, Boldheart doesn’t hesitate to refute it. He expresses his trust in her, and it’s clear he means it. He’s been betrayed by someone he cared about and thought he could depend on, and this puts him in true solidarity with Nimona for the first time.

During the fight, Nimona stops a car from crashing into a small child. She shapeshifts into a young girl to appear less threatening, but it doesn’t work. The child picks up a sword, pointing it at Nimona until an adult pulls them away to hide. When Nimona sees this hatred imprinted in the heart of a child, it horrifies her.

After fleeing to their hideout, Nimona makes a confession to Boldheart: she has suicidal ideations. So many people have directed so much hatred toward her that sometimes she wants to give in and let them kill her. In the real world, a month after the film’s release, a study from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law compiled data about suicidality in American transgender adults. (39) Researchers found that eighty-one percent have thought about suicide, compared to just thirty-five percent of cisgender adults. Forty-two percent have attempted suicide, compared to eleven percent of cisgender adults. Fifty-six percent have engaged in self-harm, compared to twelve percent of cisgender adults.

When Boldheart offers to flee with her and find somewhere safe together, Nimona declares they shouldn’t have to run. She makes the decision every trans person living in a hostile place must make: do I leave and save myself, or do I stay to fight for my community? The year the film was released, the Trans Legislation Tracker reported a record-breaking amount of anti-trans legislation in the United States, with six hundred and two bills introduced throughout twenty-four states. (40) In February 2024, the National Center for Transgender Equality published data on their 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey, revealing that forty-seven percent of respondents thought about moving to another area due to discrimination, with ten percent actually doing so. (41)

Despite the danger, Nimona and Boldheart work diligently against the Institute. When they gain fresh footage proving the Director’s guilt, they don’t hesitate to upload it online, where it garners rapid attention across social and news media. Newscasters begin asking who the real villain is, anti-Institute sentiment builds, and citizens protest in the streets, demanding answers. The power that social media adds to social justice activism is true in the real world as it is in the film, seen in campaigns such as the viral #MeToo hashtag and the Black Lives Matter movement. (42) In 2020, polls conducted by the Pew Research Center showed eight in ten Americans viewed social media platforms as either very or somewhat effective in raising awareness about political and social topics. In the same survey, seventy-seven percent of respondents believed social media is at least somewhat effective in organizing social movements. (43)

In reaction to the media firestorm, the Director issues a statement. She outs Nimona as a shapeshifter, and claims the evidence against the Institute is a hoax. Believing the Director, Goldenloin contacts Boldheart for a rendezvous, sans Nimona. From Goldenloin’s perspective, Boldheart is a good man who has been deceived by the real villain, Nimona. He tells Boldheart about a scroll the Director found, with evidence that Nimona is Gloreth’s original monster, still alive and terrorizing the city. Goldenloin wants to bring Boldheart back into the knighthood and resume their relationship, and though that’s what Boldheart wanted before, his solidarity with Nimona causes him to reject the offer.

Though he leaves Goldenloin behind, Boldheart’s suspicion of Nimona returns. Despite their solidarity, he doesn’t really know her, so he returns home to interrogate her. In the ensuing argument, he reverts to calling her a monster, but only through implication—he won’t say the word. Like a slur, he knows he shouldn’t say it anymore, but that doesn’t keep him from believing it.

Boldheart’s actions prove to Nimona that nowhere is safe. There is no haven. Her community will always turn on her. She flees, and in her ensuing breakdown, the audience learns her backstory. She was alone for an unspecified length of time, never able to fit in until meeting Gloreth as a little girl. Nimona presents herself to Gloreth as another little girl, and Gloreth becomes Nimona’s very first friend. Even when Nimona shapeshifts, Gloreth treats her with kindness and love.

Then the adults of Gloreth’s village see Nimona shapeshift, and the word “monster” is hurled. Torches and pitchforks come out. At the adults’ panic, Gloreth takes up a sword against Nimona, and the cycle of bigotry is transferred to the next generation. The friendship shatters, and Nimona must flee before she can be killed.

After losing Boldheart, seemingly Nimona’s only ally since Gloreth’s betrayal, Nimona’s grief becomes insurmountable. She knows in her heart that nothing will ever change. She’s been hurt too much, by too many, cutting too deeply. To Nimona, the world will only ever bring her pain, so she gives in. She transforms into the giant, ferocious monster everyone has always told her she is, and she begins moving through the city as the Institute opens fire.

When Ballister sees Nimona’s giant, shadowy form, he realizes the horrific pain he caused her. He intuits that Nimona isn’t causing destruction for fun, she’s on a suicide march. She’s given up, and her decision is the result of endless, systemic bigotry and betrayal of trust. Her rampage wouldn’t be happening if she’d been treated with love, support, and care.

Nimona’s previous admission of suicidal ideation repeats in voiceover as she prepares to impale herself on a sword pointed by a massive statue of Gloreth. Her suicide is only prevented because Ballister steps in, calling to her, apologizing, saying he sees her and she isn’t alone. She collapses into his arms, once again in human form, sobbing. Boldheart has finally accepted her truth, and she is safe with him.

But she isn’t safe from the Director.

In a genocidal bid she knows will take out countless civilian lives, the Director orders canons fired on Nimona. Goldenloin tries to stop her, finally standing up against the system, but it’s too late. The Director fires the canons, Nimona throws herself at the blast to protect the civilians, and Nimona falls.

When the dust settles, the Director is deposed and the city rebuilds. Boldheart and Goldenloin reconnect and resume their relationship. The walls around the city come down, reforms take hold in the Institute, and a memorial goes up to honor Nimona, the hero who sacrificed her life to reveal the Director’s corruption.

Nimona, however, is hard to kill.

Nimona originally had a tragic ending, born of N.D. Stevenson’s own depression, but that hopelessness didn’t last forever. (44) Though Nimona is defeated, she doesn’t stay dead. Through the outpouring of love and support N.D. Stevenson received while creating the original webcomic, he gained the community and support he needed to create a more hopeful ending for Nimona’s story—and himself.

The comic’s ending is bittersweet. Nimona can’t truly die, and eventually restores herself. She allows Blackheart to glimpse her, so he knows she survived, but she doesn’t stay. She still doesn’t feel safe, and is assumed to move on somewhere new. Blackheart never sees Nimona again.

The film’s ending is more hopeful. There is a shimmer of pink magic as Nimona announces her survival, and the film ends with Boldheart’s elated exclamation. Even death couldn’t keep her down. She survived Gloreth, and she survived the Director. Though this chapter of the story is over, there is hope on the horizon, and she has allies on her side.

In both incarnations, Nimona is a story of queer survival in a cruel world. The original ending was one of despair, that said there was little hope of true solidarity and allyship. The revised ending said there was hope, but still so far to go. The film’s ending says there is hope, there is solidarity, and there are people who will stand with transgender people until the bitter end—but, more importantly, there are people in the world who want trans people to live, to thrive, and to find joy.

In a world that’s so hostile to transgender people, it’s no wonder a radically trans-positive film had to fight so hard to exist. Unfortunately, the battle must continue. As of June 2024, Netflix hasn’t announced any intent to produce physical copies of the film, meaning it exists solely on streaming and is only accessible via a monthly paid subscription. Should Netflix ever take down its original animation, as HBO Max did in 2022 despite massive backlash, the film could easily become lost media. (45) Though it saved Nimona from Disney, Netflix has its own nasty history of under-marketing and canceling queer programs. (46)

The film’s art book is already gone. The multimedia tome was posted online on October 12, 2023, hosted at ArtofNimona.com. (47) Per the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, the site became a Netflix redirect at some point between 10:26 PM on March 9, 2024 and 9:35 PM on March 20, 2024. (48) On the archived site, some multimedia elements are non-functional, potentially making them lost media. The art book is not available through any legal source, and though production designer Aidan Sugano desperately wants a physical copy made, there seem to be no such plans. (49)

Perhaps Netflix will eventually release physical copies of both film and art book. Perhaps not. Time will tell. In the meantime, Nimona stands as a triumph of queer media in a queerphobic world. That it exists at all is a miracle, and that its accessibility is so precarious a year after release is a travesty. Contemporary political commentary is woven into every aspect of the film, and it exists thanks to the passion, talent, and bravery of an incredible crew who endured despite blatant corporate queerphobia.

Long live Nimona, and long live the transgender community she represents.

_ This piece was commissioned using the prompt "the Nimona movie."

Updated 6/16/24 to revise an inaccurate statement regarding the original comic.

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Notes:

1. “Past Recipients 2010s.” n.d. Comic-Con International. Accessed June 10, 2024. https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipenties-2010s/.

2. Stevenson, ND. 2015. Nimona. New York, NY: Harperteen.

3. Kit, Borys. 2015. “Fox Animation Nabs ‘Nimona’ Adaptation with ‘Feast’ Director (Exclusive).” The Hollywood Reporter. June 11, 2015. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/fox-animation-nabs-nimona-adaptation-801920/.

4. Riley, Jenelle. 2017. “Oscar Winner Patrick Osborne Returns with First-Ever vr Nominee ‘Pearl.’” Variety. February 9, 2017. https://variety.com/2017/film/in-contention/patrick-osborne-returns-to-race-with-first-vr-nominee-pearl-1201983466/; Osborne, Patrick (@PatrickTOsborne). 2017. "Hey world, the NIMONA feature film has a release date! @Gingerhazing February 14th 2020 !!" Twitter/X, June 30, 2017, 3:16 PM. https://x.com/PatrickTOsborne/status/880867591094272000. ‌

5. “The Walt Disney Company to Acquire Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., after Spinoff of Certain Businesses, for $52.4 Billion in Stock.” 2017. The Walt Disney Company. December 14, 2017. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/walt-disney-company-acquire-twenty-first-century-fox-inc-spinoff-certain-businesses-52-4-billion-stock-2/.

6. Amidi, Amid. 2017. “Disney Buys Fox for $52.4 Billion: Here Are the Key Points of the Deal.” Cartoon Brew. December 14, 2017. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/disney-buys-fox-key-points-deal-155390.html; Giardina, Carolyn. 2017. “Disney Deal Could Redraw Fox’s Animation Business.” The Hollywood Reporter. December 14, 2017. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/disney-deal-could-redraw-foxs-animation-business-1068040/; Szalai, Georg, and Paul Bond. 2019. “Disney Closes $71.3 Billion Fox Deal, Creating Global Content Powerhouse.” The Hollywood Reporter. March 19, 2019. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/disney-closes-fox-deal-creating-global-content-powerhouse-1174498/.

7. Hipes, Patrick. 2019. “After Trying Day, Disney Sets Film Leadership Lineup.” Deadline. March 22, 2019. https://deadline.com/2019/03/disney-film-executives-post-merger-team-set-1202580586/.

8. Jones, Rendy. 2023. “‘Nimona’: Netflix’s Remarkable Trans-Rights Animated Movie Is Here.” Rolling Stone. July 3, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/nimona-netflix-trans-rights-animated-movie-lgbtq-riz-ahmed-chloe-grace-moretz-1234782583/.

9. D’Alessandro, Anthony. 2021. “Disney Closing Blue Sky Studios, Fox’s Once-Dominant Animation House behind ‘Ice Age’ Franchise.” Deadline. February 9, 2021. https://deadline.com/2021/02/blue-sky-studios-closing-disney-ice-age-franchise-animation-1234690310/.

10. “Disney’s Blue Sky Shut down Leaves Nimona Film 75% Completed.” 2021. CBR. February 10, 2021. https://www.cbr.com/nimona-film-abandoned-disney-blue-sky-shut-down/; Sneider, Jeff. 2021. “Exclusive: Disney’s LGBTQ-Themed ‘Nimona’ Would’ve Featured the Voices of Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed.” Collider. March 4, 2021. https://collider.com/nimona-movie-cast-cancelled-disney-blue-sky/.

11. Horowitz, Juliana Menasce, Anna Brown, and Rachel Minkin. 2021. “The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Long-Term Financial Impact.” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project. March 5, 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2021/03/05/a-year-into-the-pandemic-long-term-financial-impact-weighs-heavily-on-many-americans/.

12. Lang, Brent. 2022. “Disney CEO Bob Iger’s Rich Compensation Package Revealed, Company Says Bob Chapek Fired ‘without Cause.’” Variety. November 21, 2022. https://variety.com/2022/film/finance/bob-iger-compensation-package-salary-bob-chapek-fired-1235439151/.

13. Romano, Nick. 2020. “The Pandemic Animation Boom: How Cartoons Became King in the Time of COVID.” EW.com. November 2, 2020. https://ew.com/movies/animation-boom-coronavirus-pandemic/.

14. Strapagiel, Lauren. 2021. “The Future of Disney’s First Animated Feature Film with Queer Leads, ‘Nimona,’ Is in Doubt.” BuzzFeed News. February 24, 2021. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/laurenstrapagiel/disney-nimona-movie-lgbtq-characters.

15. Clark, Travis. 2022. “Disney Raised Concerns about a Same-Sex Kiss in the Unreleased Animated Movie ‘Nimona,’ Former Blue Sky Staffers Say.” Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-disapproved-same-sex-kiss-nimona-movie-former-staffers-say-2022-3.

16. Keegan, Rebecca. 2024. “Why Megan Ellison Saved ‘Nimona’: ‘I Needed This Movie.’” The Hollywood Reporter. February 22, 2024. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/megan-ellison-saved-nimona-1235832043/.

17. St. James, Emily. 2023. “Mourning the Loss of the Owl House, TV’s Best Queer Kids Show.” Vanity Fair. April 6, 2023. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/04/loss-of-the-owl-house-tvs-best-queer-kids-show.

18. AntagonistDana. 2021. “AMA (except by ‘Anything’ I Mean These Questions Only).” Reddit. October 5, 2021. https://www.reddit.com/r/TheOwlHouse/comments/q1x1uh/ama_except_by_anything_i_mean_these_questions_only/; de Wit, Alex Dudok. 2020. “Disney Executive Tried to Block Queer Characters in ‘the Owl House,’ Says Creator.” 2020. Cartoon Brew. August 14, 2020. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disney-executives-tried-to-block-queer-characters-in-the-owl-house-says-creator-195413.html.

19. Doherty, Thomas. 1999. Pre-Code Hollywood : Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934. New York: Columbia University Press. 363.

20. Henderson, Taylor. 2018. “‘Steven Universe’s’ Latest Episode Just Made LGBTQ History.” Pride. July 5, 2018. https://www.pride.com/stevenuniverse/2018/7/05/steven-universes-latest-episode-just-made-lgbtq-history; McDonnell, Chris. 2020. Steven Universe: End of an Era. New York: Abrams. 102.

21. Stevenson, ND. (@Gingerhazing). 2021. "Sad day. Thanks for the well wishes, and sending so much love to everyone at Blue Sky. Forever grateful for all the care and joy you poured into Nimona." Twitter/X, February 9, 2021, 3:32 PM. https://x.com/Gingerhazing/status/1359238823935283200

22. Jones, Rendy. 2023. “‘Nimona’: Netflix’s Remarkable Trans-Rights Animated Movie Is Here.” Rolling Stone. July 3, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/nimona-netflix-trans-rights-animated-movie-lgbtq-riz-ahmed-chloe-grace-moretz-1234782583/.

23. Keegan, Rebecca. 2024. “Why Megan Ellison Saved ‘Nimona’: ‘I Needed This Movie.’” The Hollywood Reporter. February 22, 2024. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/megan-ellison-saved-nimona-1235832043/.

24. Stevenson, ND. (@Gingerhazing). 2022. "Nimona’s always been a spunky little story that just wouldn’t stop. She’s a fighter...but she’s also got some really awesome people fighting for her. I am excited out of my mind to announce that THE NIMONA MOVIE IS ALIVE...coming at you in 2023 from Annapurna and Netflix." Twitter/X, April 11, 2022, 10:00 AM. https://x.com/Gingerhazing/status/1513517319841935363.

25. “‘Nimona’ Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed & Eugene Lee Yang Coming to Netflix in 2023.” About Netflix. April 11, 2022. https://about.netflix.com/en/news/nimona-starring-chloe-grace-moretz-riz-ahmed-and-eugene-lee-yang-coming-to-netflix.

26. “’Nimona’ Rates 100% on Rotten Tomatoes after Annecy Premiere.” Animation Magazine. June 15, 2023. https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/06/nimona-rates-100-on-rotten-tomatoes-after-annecy-premiere/

27. Dilillo, John. 2023. “’Nimona’: Everything You Need to Know About the New Animated Adventure.” Tudum by Netflix. June 30, 2023. https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/nimona-release-date-news-photos

28. Reese, Lori. 2001. “Is ‘“Shrek”’ the Anti- Disney Fairy Tale?” Entertainment Weekly. May 29, 2001. https://ew.com/article/2001/05/29/shrek-anti-disney-fairy-tale/.

29. Sugano, Aidan. 2023. Nimona: the Digital Art Book. Netflix. 255. https://web.archive.org/web/20240309222607/https://artofnimona.com/.

30. White, Abbey. 2023. “How ‘Nimona’ Explores the Model Minority Stereotype through Its Queer API Love Story.” The Hollywood Reporter. July 1, 2023. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/nimona-eugene-lee-yang-directors-race-love-story-netflix-1235526714/.

31. White, Abbey. 2023. “How ‘Nimona’ Explores the Model Minority Stereotype through Its Queer API Love Story.” The Hollywood Reporter. July 1, 2023. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/nimona-eugene-lee-yang-directors-race-love-story-netflix-1235526714/.

32. Equal Justice Initiative. 2021. “Report Documents Racial Bias in Coverage of Crime by Media.” Equal Justice Initiative. December 16, 2021. https://eji.org/news/report-documents-racial-bias-in-coverage-of-crime-by-media/.

33. Stevenson, N. D. 2023. “Nimona (the Comic): A Deep Dive.” I’m Fine I’m Fine Just Understand. July 13, 2023. https://www.imfineimfine.com/p/nimona-the-comic-a-deep-dive.

34. Sugano, Aidan. 2023. Nimona: the Digital Art Book. Netflix. 259-260. https://web.archive.org/web/20240309222607/https://artofnimona.com/.

35. Sugano, Aidan. 2023. Nimona: the Digital Art Book. Netflix. 7. https://web.archive.org/web/20240309222607/https://artofnimona.com/.

36. Brown, Tracy. 2019. “In Netflix’s ‘She-Ra,’ Even Villains Respect Nonbinary Pronouns.” Los Angeles Times. November 6, 2019. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2019-11-05/netflix-she-ra-princesses-power-nonbinary-double-trouble.

37. Department of Homeland Security. 2019. “If You See Something, Say Something®.” Department of Homeland Security. May 10, 2019. https://www.dhs.gov/see-something-say-something.

38. University of Stanford. n.d. “Stephon Clark.” Say Their Names - Spotlight at Stanford. https://exhibits.stanford.edu/saytheirnames/feature/stephon-clark.

39. Kidd, Jeremy D., Tettamanti, Nicky A., Kaczmarkiewicz, Roma, Corbeil, Thomas E., Dworkin, Jordan D., Jackman, Kasey B., Hughes, Tonda L., Bockting, Walter O., & Meyer, Ilan H. 2023. “Prevalence of Substance Use and Mental Health Problems among Transgender and Cisgender US Adults.” Williams Institute. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/transpop-substance-use/.

40. “2023 Anti-Trans Bills: Trans Legislation Tracker.” n.d. Trans Legislation Tracker. https://translegislation.com/bills/2023.

41. James, S.E., Herman, J.L., Durso, L.E., & Heng-Lehtinen, R. 2024. “Early Insights: A Report of the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey.” National Center for Transgender Equality, Washington, DC.

42. Myers, Catherine. 2023. “Protests in the Age of Social Media.” The Nonviolence Project. February 11, 2023. https://thenonviolenceproject.wisc.edu/2023/02/11/protests-in-the-age-of-social-media/.

43. Auxier, Brooke, and Colleen McClain. 2020. “Americans Think Social Media Can Help Build Movements, but Can Also Be a Distraction.” Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center. September 9, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/09/09/americans-think-social-media-can-help-build-movements-but-can-also-be-a-distraction/.

44. Stevenson, N. D. 2023. “Nimona (the Comic): A Deep Dive.” I’m Fine I’m Fine Just Understand. July 13, 2023. https://www.imfineimfine.com/p/nimona-the-comic-a-deep-dive.

45. Chapman, Wilson. 2022. “HBO Max to Remove 36 Titles, Including 20 Originals, from Streaming.” Variety. August 18, 2022. https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/hbo-max-originals-removed-1235344286/.

46. Iftikhar, Asyia. 2023. “Netflix CEO Slammed by LGBTQ+ Fans over Cancellation Comments: ‘They Are NOT Allies.’” PinkNews. January 24, 2023. https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/01/24/netflix-ceo-ted-sarandos-cancelled-shows-lgbtq-fans-reactions/.

47. Lang, Jamie. 2023. “Netflix Has Released a 358-Page Multimedia Art of Book for ‘Nimona’ - Exclusive.” Cartoon Brew. October 12, 2023. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/books/nimona-art-of-book-aidan-sugano-netflix-233636.html.

48. “Wayback Machine.” n.d. The Internet Archive. Accessed June 10, 2024. https://wayback-api.archive.org/web/20240000000000.

49. Lang, Jamie. 2023. “Netflix Has Released a 358-Page Multimedia Art of Book for ‘Nimona’ - Exclusive.” Cartoon Brew. October 12, 2023. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/books/nimona-art-of-book-aidan-sugano-netflix-233636.html.

#original essays #original post #nimona #nimona movie #nimona 2023 #nimona film

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captain-huggy-bear · 6 months ago

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To Fight a Ten Year Old

Pairing: Quinn Hughes x Fem!Reader

Warnings: N/A

Summary: In which Quinn is prepared to time travel to whoop some ten year old butt because you tell him a story from your childhood and he takes it personally.

Notes: Alas, I did in fact experience this as a child, but I can laugh about it now :) Also writing soccer instead of football actually hurt me.

Very silly + short idea to be honest but hope it brings a smile to some faces!

Totally happy to take requests/ideas/prompts at the moment in my ask box :)

Writing Masterlist

It's a stupid little back and forth the two of you have going as you get ready for bed, silly little questions like 'tell me about your first broken bone' and 'why is your favourite animal your favourite?'. It's something Quinn and you have been doing since you first started dating. It started as a way to get to know each other better and ended up a habit, a ritual of sorts.

Each year the questions get harder to think of as your lives become more intertwined, most of your stories featuring the other, but it still raises interesting moments from your childhoods and silly little stories that explain a lot about you or him. Things you probably wouldn't find out about each other unless you asked these random questions or a family member brought it up at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Today is no different. You're going through your night routine, taking off your make up and moisturising your skin, while Quinn brushes his teeth in the adjoining bathroom, door open so you can talk.

"Okay..." He's thinking hard, even as he talks around his toothbrush leaning his head out of the bathroom to watch you as you wipe away your eyeliner, "How about first heartbreak?" His voice is muffled around the toothbrush and almost sounds like he's underwater, despite this he never seems to want to wait until he's done.

"Like first heartbreak? Or first proper heartbreak?" You're running a cloth over the rest of your face as you ask, wiping away concealer and blush, an array of colours smearing the fabric. Your skin being revealed bit by bit.

"What's the difference?" He briefly disappears back into the bathroom to spit out his toothpaste and put his toothbrush away, but you know he's still listening as you explain.

"Well, first heartbreak is that time as a little kid that you thought you were in love and got hurt by it but it wasn't serious. You were probably over it by the next week, and first proper heartbreak is when you're older and it actually is heartbreak and you can't get over it for at least 3 months."

He hums as he comes back to lean against the doorframe, shoulders looking delicious without a shirt on, "First heartbreak, probably less depressing for a Monday night."

You take a moment, reaching for your moisturiser as you think back. There are many moments you could think of where you thought you were in love as a litte kid and had your heart broken as a result, but one stands out the most.

"Okay, um...When I was 10 years old I really liked like this boy in class called Cameron but Cameron really liked Emily, a girl 2 years older than us." You can still remember it now, the way he used to sit with her whenever he had the chance, how she clearly did not want a kid 2 years younger than her hanging around, how lovesick he was...how lovesick you were.

"Okay, so Cameron likes a cougar?" You glare over at him as you rub moisturiser into your skin, disapproving as he grins at you, straight teeth peeking out from behind his lips.

"2 years apart at the age of 10 and 12 does not make someone a cougar, Quinn!"

"I don't know, baby, seems pretty cougar-ish to me." You roll your eyes at him as he strolls closer to you, taking your comb in hand and tilting your head forward gently. He's careful as he starts to detangle your hair, careful not to pull too harshly on your scalp, much kinder than your mother used to be when you were a child. Quinn's always careful not to hurt you, apologetic if a tangle pulls too roughly.

"You're ridiculous. Anyway, where was I?" You reach for the detangler handing it back to him as he works, closing your eyes gently.

"You liked a spotty kid called Cameron." There's a hint of dislike riding his voice, even as his fingers are careful as they pull strands of your hair apart, teasing out knots.

Your eyes flash open and meet his in the vanity mirror, lips pursed at the way he insults a ten year old he's never met, "I liked a tall, cute kid called Cameron who was into soccer."

"Yeah, like I said, spotty." The dislike turns to a jealous sort of mumble, matched only by the sour look on his face that has you huffing out a laugh.

"Are you jealous of a ten year old?"

"He's not ten anymore..."

"Do I need to remind you this is a story of heartbreak?"

"Still, should've been me." His hands slide from your hair, comb having been put back on the side, and down to the base of your neck. Long fingers working at the tension there, you lean back into his fingers even as you call him out for his ridiculousness.

"We didn't even know each other! You're absurd, anyway, so I was certain Cameron was my future husband and I decided to be very brave one Valentine's day and get him a card and a gift." You lean a little to the right as Quinn hits a knot on the left side of your shoulder, you sway back into him.

"I'm proud of little you, that's gutsy." He can almost imagine it, little you bravely handing over a glittery red and pink monstrosity, little bows in your hair and chubby cheeks.

"I know, braver than I am now." You're not sure you'd have been brave enough to do something like that now, it had been Quinn after all who'd made the first move, Quinn who'd set the pace of your relationship at the start, "So I get him some chocolates, those stupid cheap heart shaped ones, and I make a stupid card covered in glitter and all sorts. I take my time and I write a heartfelt confession inside and then decided to give it to him in front of the entire class."

"No..." His voice drops, horror filling it as he looks at you through the mirror, mouth slightly open, eyes wide. You nod at him, confirming his worst fears, he knows how this is about to go down.

"Yeah, rookie move. I do it though, I hand it over and then he proceeds to not even read the card and um, rip it up in front of me and the entire class while telling me that he was going to marry Emily."

His fingers still in their massage. In fact, Quinn completely stills, his entire body rigid as he frowns at you through the mirror, there's a silence, long and heavy before he speaks.

"Where does Cameron live?"

"Quinn." You turn in your seat to look up at him, lips pursed together.

"I'm serious where does he live I'm going to go have some words with him," He crosses his arms and there's a brief moment where you're distracted by the strength and definition in his forearms before you really process that he's considering having words with a guy who broke your heart when you were ten.

"About his choices when he was ten?"

"Yeah! Who does that to someone, not only did he reject you, which is an insane decision by the way, he embarrasses my baby in front of the entire class!" Quinn reaches for your hands as he rants, pulling you to your feet, as his fingers twist and twine with yours. You'd think he's just joking but his tone is completely serious and it makes your heart warm, no matter how silly he's being. He's genuinely personally offended on your behalf about something that happened when you were a child, before you knew each other. It's sweet. Silly and absurd, but sweet.

"You can't fight a guy who broke my heart at the age of ten."

"Sure, I can or I can get Millsy to do it." He cracks a smile at that, even though he's serious about wanting words with this Cameron, he's also aware he's being absurd. He tugs you closer by the hands even as you glare up at him like a disappointed parent.

"You are not setting Miller on my childhood crush!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's ridiculous! It was over a decade ago!" Even as you protest you're smiling, arms reaching up to rest over his shoulders and around the back of his neck. Fingers twisting the strands of brunet hair that rest there.

"And, he broke your heart and that's not acceptable, baby, i'm sorry, I have to defend your honour." Quinn palms rest on each of your hips, pulling you in as his fingers curl into your pajama bottoms.

"But, it was a good thing."

"How is that a good thing?"

"Because if he hadn't done that, I might have married him and been stuck in a loveless marriage and then never met you or met you but not been able to be with you." You look at him with a little smirk like you've beat him at his own game, like you've outplayed him in a game of chess.

"So you're saying that I actually should be thanking that spotty kid for breaking your heart?"

"Yes."

There's a moment of silence as he draws you ever closer, leaning down to brush his nose against yours, all soft lidded eyes and warmth. Pliant like a docile house cat.

"I'm not thanking him, I will, however, not get Millsy to fight him." It's mumbled so close to your lips that they're brushing his, an almost kiss that speaks volumes about where his mind is now.

"Good, because I'm not breaking you or Miller out of prison."

"You don't love me enough?" He doesn't even have the decency to pretend to be offended or care as his eyes are heavy, focus on your lips, not your eyes and certainly not on the ten year old he was threatening to set Miller on 5 seconds ago.

"Oh, I love you enough, but I do not have that skill set, honey."

"I don't know, think you could probably charm the officers into letting me out, baby." Quinn brushes the tip of his nose purposefully with yours and you know he's seconds from breaking and just kissing you, he has his tells, his little gestures that have consistently given him away.

"You suggesting I seduce the police now?" You pull back just enough to get his attention, to force a pout from him at the distance, his fingers scrambling at your back to pull you back in.

"...Nawwh, only me."

"You're an idiot." He pulls in you in with enough force that your chests bump with a soft smack, rubbing his cheek against yours just because he knows the stratch of his beard will get a giggle from you as you shy away from the sensation.

"I'm your idiot though."

"Mmm, my idiot." You mumble it against his lips as he finally breaks, self control being ditched in favour of the way you sigh against his mouth. He tastes like spearmint toothpaste, minty and sweet as his lips part beneath yours with a hum.

Maybe heartbreak at ten sucked, but you can't help but be thankful for it when you ended up winning the jackpot when you scored Quinn. So much better than spotty ten year old Cameron.

#huggy bear writes #quinn hughes x reader #quinn hughes/reader #quinn hughes #nhl imagine

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 3 months ago

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SHE CONNECTED THE DOTS BEFORE THE REST OF US EVEN FOUND THE PENCIL

Heather Cox Richardson just handed us the clearest, most unflinching blueprint of how the U.S. government is being dismantled under the second Trump administration—and she backed every word with receipts. Her March 27, 2025 dispatch isn’t analysis. It’s evidence. It’s a field report from the front lines of a soft coup.

The scale of what she wrote felt too outrageous to be real.

Venmo payments with eggplant emojis tied to a Signal chat about bombing the Houthis?

A Department of Government Efficiency that’s already cost the U.S. $500 billion?

The IRS gutted. HHS torched. Social Security collapsing?

Surely this was speculative—some dystopian metaphor.

It wasn’t. Every detail she cited came from real reporting by real journalists in Wired, The Washington Post, Reuters, NBC News, The New York Times, and more.

Richardson didn’t theorize—she documented. And the result is devastating.

Here’s just a fraction of what she laid out:

• DOGE, Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” has cost $500 billion—10% of all IRS revenue from last year.

• 20,000 IRS employees fired, especially in enforcement. Billionaire audits? Gone.

• HHS cut $12 billion in mental health and disease tracking grants, then laid off 10,000 more workers, including 3,500 from the FDA and 2,400 from the CDC.

• Social Security’s website crashed 4 times in 10 days. New rules require in-person ID checks for people without internet.

• A Tufts student was detained by ICE after writing a pro-Palestinian op-ed.

• The Department of Education is being shut down.

• FEMA is next.

• Columbia University had $400 million withheld until it complied with Trump’s cultural directives.

• Mike Johnson is openly floating the idea of eliminating federal courts.

• Words like “climate crisis,” “diversity,” “segregation,” and even “peanut allergies” are being purged from federal communications.

• And J.D. Vance is now in charge of purging the Smithsonian of what the administration calls “anti-American ideology.”

This isn’t dysfunction. It’s doctrine.

It’s Project 2025, written by Russell Vought, now head of the Office of Management and Budget, and championed by Vance, who once said:

“Unless we overthrow [the current ruling class]… we’re going to keep losing."

and

“We really need to be really ruthless when it comes to the exercise of power.”

Heather Cox Richardson took that ruthlessness seriously. She traced it from the eggplant emoji to the ICE van. From the IRS to the Smithsonian. From the layoffs to the list of banned words.

She didn’t write a warning.

She wrote the truth.

And she deserves our full attention.

[Closer to the Edge]

[Link to the post referred]

#Heather Cox Richardson #Letters From An American #Closer to the Edge #fanatics #Russell Vought #Vance #from the eggplant emoji to the IE van #from the IRS to the Smithsonian #list of banned words

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spdrwdw · 2 years ago

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♡ Childhood Bestfriend Miguel Headcanons ♡

6 year old Miguel who was your next door neighbor and would walk with you to the bus stop every morning

7 year old Miguel who would play with you outside during the summer, going to the neighborhood playground with you and the other kids

8 year old Miguel who you would be paired up with in class with for a project, and you would go to each other's houses to work. Your mom's would make you both snacks, and if you were at Miguel's house, you two would take a break and play Mario Cart together, along with Gabriel

9 year old Miguel who invited you to his birthday party at his house, and you would bring him the best gift out of all his friends and he wouldn't stop talking about it for days

10 year old Miguel who you would go trick-or-treating with. He would be dressed as Spider-Man, cuz they were his favorite superhero

11 year old Miguel who gave you a big box of chocolates for Valentine's Day, along with a teddy bear and flowers while looking away in embarrassment, stating that it was his mom's idea

12 year old Miguel who went to your birthday party, despite it being only girls there and it being Barbie themed. Everyone called him Ken that day. He didn’t mind it, cuz that meant he was your Ken for the whole day and got most of your attention

13 year old Miguel who shared his first kiss with you while you two were seated at the back of the school bus

14 year old Miguel who would play video games with you well into the night on a school night and you both had to be quiet as to not wake anyone up

15 year old Miguel who would be in your biology class and you would both always partner up and do science experiments together. One day, the class was dissecting frogs and you hid your face being a notebook while Miguel dissected it

16 year old Miguel who punched the guy you were dating for cheating on you with another girl

17 year old Miguel who took your virginity, and vise versa, during a mutual friend’s birthday party. You two had snuck to an empty room and did it. There was no condom used so you ended up freaking out, but, after taking a couple pregnancy tests, you two were relieved you weren’t pregnant, and Miguel decided to stock up on condoms after that

18 year old Miguel asking you out to prom with a whole mariachi band outside your door (it was Gabriel’s idea). Miguel was very flustered as he held up a sign that read “would you go to prom with me?” Of course, you said yes.

Bonus: 18 year old Miguel confessing his true feelings for you during your high school graduation ceremony. However, you both were heading to different universities so contact would end up being long-distant and as result, you two would end up dating other people

#miguel o'hara #spiderman 2099 #miguel x reader #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel ohara fanfiction #miguel ohara #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel ohara x reader #miguel o'hara fanfiction #miguel ohara smut #miguel o’hara headcanon #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara smut #miguel o’hara smut

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chenlesfavorite · 1 year ago

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GOT MY ION YOU, mark lee

you’ve failed yet another chemistry exam, high chances are you’re gonna have to retake the entire class next year and miss out on almost all school breaks due to studying and fixing your bad grades, and that is until your trusty friend suggests a tutor to you.

══════════════════

— pairing: tutor!mark x fem!reader

— faceclaim: y/n’s faceclaim is minnie from gidle (for picture purposes) but no actual visual descriptions/details of y/n will be given so you can imagine her however you’d like!

— genres: social media au (smau), half written, friends to lovers, fluff

— extra: y/n likes taeyong, mark likes y/n, mark is down bad for y/n

— warnings: lots of death jokes.. that’s about it

— authors note: my first fic on tumblr.. and also idk how to use tumblr, excuse me for any mistakes i may make on here 😭 ignore the times/dates on the tweets.. can’t be bothered to fix them sorry ☹️

— status: completed

— taglist: closed

divider credit to enchanthings !!

profiles 1 | profiles 2

1. uh oh

2. number

3. private

4. first tutoring session! (half smau/half written)

5. hang out plan

6. seriously? (half smau/half written)

7. inside the haunted house (fully written)

8. just a friend!

9. awkward…

10. personal hangout

11. fun times

12. truth revealed

13. team who?

14. facetime

15. a shared trip

16. cute… sometimes!

17. who is it about?

18. ice cream (half smau/half written)

19. heart hand emoji

20. new crush alert

21. results and gifts

22. plane ride

23. matching!

24. he’s admiring your beauty

25. lipgloss or lipstick? (fully written)

26. mark’s what? girl?!

27. shenanigans before meeting up

28. happy new year’s! (fully written)

29. official launch

30. the end (fully written)

— END —

══════════════════

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dandelionsresilience · 2 months ago

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Dandelion News - April 15-21

Based on the results of this poll, for the next few weeks I’m gonna test out doing 5 articles a week instead of 10, as part of an effort to maintain my own mental health. If these half-sized posts get markedly fewer notes, I’ll try to figure out a different compromise.

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles!

1. Chicago Teachers Union ratifies groundbreaking contract cementing LGBTQ+ protections

“The agreement includes meaningful raises, smaller class sizes, and more classroom resources, but it also codifies some of the most comprehensive LGBTQ+ protections ever included in a public school labor deal. Among the new provisions are gender-affirming health care for staff, a trained Gender Support Coordinator in every school, codified protections for chosen names and pronouns, and a mandate that every school upholds inclusive curriculum standards and supports student-led Gender and Sexuality Alliances.”

2. Clean energy from rain? Scientists generate electricity from falling droplets

“Researchers from the National University of Singapore have used rain-like droplets moving through a tube to generate enough energy to light up 12 LEDs. […] They say that plug flow energy could be simpler to set up and maintain than hydroelectric power plants, and it could be convenient for urban spaces like rooftops.”

3. Utah Remains Rich in Bee Diversity

“Researchers set out to document Utah’s bee species to determine the best way to conserve them. […] In total, the researchers documented 1,167 bee species in the state.”

4. Endangered sea turtle populations show signs of recovery in more than half the world, survey finds

“Endangered sea turtles show signs of recovery in a majority of places where they're found worldwide[….] In more than half of the areas studied, threats are declining overall, the study found. [… G]reen turtles are still considered endangered globally, but their populations show signs of recovery in many regions of the world, researchers found.”

5. Florida Creek Restoration Benefits Fish and People in Jacksonville

“The restoration of McCoys Creek with NOAA funds is creating fish habitat and recreational space for community members. It also takes 150 homes out of the flood zone. […] This work is part of a larger plan to establish the Emerald Trail, a 30-mile walking and cycling path connecting 14 downtown neighborhoods to multiple parks and greenways.”

April 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

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forzarma · 1 year ago

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world’s best teacher

lewis hamilton x fem! Reader x students

A/N: i couldn’t stop thinking about this so i had to do it😭(not proofread)

10 years ago, you found out you were pregnant. You were buzzing, but your happiness unfortunately didn’t last long as you discovered you had a miscarriage. Your life was miserable, but thank God, Lewis was with you through your ups and downs. After 12 years of marriage, you’re still together, stronger than ever.

After 3 years of your miscarriage, you decided to go back to work as a school teacher. After you got pregnant with twins in 2017, it lightened up your life.

You can’t say being a teacher is an easy thing, if you’re being honest, but you love your students to the moon and back. You even treat them as your kids.

Of course, they know that their teacher is married to one of the best F1 drivers in history, if not the best, and they love it. They don’t go a day without mentioning how you are their favorite.

They even met your kids multiple times before, during school events where you brought them with you.

“Good morning, everyone,” you say as you enter the classroom.

“Good morning, Ms.,” they say back.

You greet them as you wait for the others to enter the class.

“So, I want to discuss something with you guys,” you’ve said.

“As we all know, last exam, you guys really disappointed me with the results,” you continued.

“Hmm,” they hummed.

“And we all know the next exam is in one month, so I want you to prepare as best as you can. And I have a surprise for you: if you score above 90, you can pick any reward you want. It could be anything, for example, a concert ticket of your favorite artist, a paddock pass that comes with meeting the drivers, etc. Which means you’re going with me, or a football game ticket to watch your favorite team.”

Your students buzz with excitement.

“Really, miss?”

The room erupts with chatter, feeling their energy and determination.

A month later, you’ve already graded the exams. You stand in front of the class with a stack of papers.

“I’m really proud of all of you,” you begin. “You’ve worked really hard, and you guys did not disappoint this time, so let’s see the results.”

“First, Livvy, you’ve got a 92. What would you like as your reward?”

Livvy beams. “I want to go to a Raye concert.”

“Done,” you replied, making a note. “Jason, you’ve got a 95. What about you?”

Jason grins. “I want the paddock pass.”

“Excellent choice,” you wink at him. You always knew he was a die-hard F1 fan.

You continued down the list. “Olivia, 89, so close but still great job.”

Olivia nods, smiling. “Thank you, miss.”

“Finally, Nick, 91. What’s your pick?”

Nick thinks for a moment. “I think I’d pick the football match.”

“Alright,” you agree. “We’ll make it happen.”

After everyone has chosen their rewards, you gather them together.

“I want you all to know how proud I am of each one of you. You’ve worked incredibly hard, and you deserve these rewards. Remember, this is just the beginning. Keep striving for excellence, and you’ll achieve great things.”

After saying goodbye to your students, you head home, still feeling excited. When you walk in, you see Lewis, and you can't wait to tell him about your day.

You give him a big hug and say, "Lewis, today was amazing!"

Lewis smiles and asks, "What happened?"

You tell him all about it, from the rewards you gave to the happy faces of your students. Lewis listens carefully, proud of you the whole time.

"Wow, that's awesome!" Lewis says, giving you a kiss on the forehead. "I'm really proud of you."

You feel warm inside, knowing he's there for you. You spend the evening talking and enjoying each other's company. As you go to bed, you feel grateful for your life together with Lewis and the twins.

theycallmelivvy has posted

Liked by yn,lewishamilton and 3,268 others.

theycallmelivvy: MS y/n appreciation post🙏🏼

See 350 comments

jasonthecoolest: hail my glorious queen

whatthesigma: oh how i love her

yn: i love you guys🥹💕

f1.wags has posted

liked by f1.paddock,ynupdates and 350,679 others

f1.wags: apparently yn hamilton. Lewis Hamiltons wife has made some incredible promises to her students sources say she said if they got above 90 she’d reward them with whatever they like and some of her students chose the f1 race choice what an incredible teacher💕

view 78,572 comments

ibelieveinlestappen: oh my teacher could never

ilovelewishamilton: how i love her omgg

F1updates: god bless my queen

theylovejackey: THATS MY FREAKING TEACHER EVERYBODY

f1fantasy: that’s why there were some people we’ve never seen makes sense now!

#lewis hamilton x reader #lewis hamilton imagines #lewis hamilton one shot #lewis hamilton #lh44 #Dad lewis hamilton #Lewis Hamilton imagine #lewis hamilton x you #f1 x reader #f1 imagine

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odmpublicschool · 1 month ago

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CBSE 10th and 12th Board Result 2025 Declared: State Topper Emerges from ODM Public School

The CBSE 10th and 12th Board Result 2025 has been officially declared, and once again, ODM Public School has etched its name in Odisha’s academic history. Upholding a legacy of educational brilliance and unwavering commitment to student success, the school has recorded exceptional board results and proudly celebrates the emergence of the Odisha State Topper in the CBSE 12th result, 2025. This milestone is a reflection of hard work, dedication, and the academic ethos fostered at ODM.

Triumph and Talent: Odisha State Topper in CBSE 12th Board, 2025

Among the thousands of students who appeared for the CBSE 12th board exam, one name stood out–Sandeep Sahoo. Our talented ODMian Sandeep brought immense pride to the state and our school by becoming the Odisha State Topper in the CBSE 12th (Science) Board Exams with a phenomenal 99%.

In the Commerce stream, another beacon of excellence shines radiantly. ODMian Sidharth Mahapatra, ODM Educational Group’s topper for the CBSE 12th Boards, has set the bar sky-high with an astounding 99.4%. These stellar CBSE 12th results of our students reflect how ODM’s holistic academic approach prepares students for the challenges of competitive environments and future careers.

Overall Class 12th Performance Highlights:

59 students scored above 95%

220 students scored above 90%

The school average for Class 12 stands at an impressive 81.30%

These numbers showcase more than academic scores, they reflect our commitment to personalised attention, conceptual clarity, and balanced academic rigour that ODM passionately delivers every single day.

CBSE 10th Board Result 2025: Where Consistency Meets Brilliance

The CBSE results 2025 for the 10th Board also brought pride in abundance for our school, as three students jointly secured the highest score within the group—Dayasankara Sahoo, Aryam Kumar Hota, and Biswajeet Nayak, each with a remarkable 99.2%.

This feat mirrors our school’s commitment to foundational learning, exam preparedness, and emotional support systems that empower young learners to perform consistently under pressure.

Overall Class 10th Performance Highlights:

73 students scored above 95%

167 students scored above 90%

The school average for Class 10 reached an impressive 85.50%

With these scores, ODM Public School not only leads in Odisha but also stands as one of the top-performing CBSE schools nationally.

Why ODM Continues to Excel: The Secret Behind the Success

At the heart of this extraordinary performance lies a dynamic and future-forward learning ecosystem curated by the ODM Educational Group. The school’s strategy combines academic rigour with 21st-century learning techniques and holistic student support.

Key Differentiators Include:

Experienced Educators: Teachers at ODM are not just subject matter experts but also mentors who foster curiosity, clarity, and confidence.

Individual Attention: Regular feedback, academic counselling, and customised support ensure that every student gets the help they need.

Modern Learning Tools: Smart classrooms, regular mock tests, and tech-enabled assessments prepare students for real-time challenges.

Value-Based Education: Equal emphasis is given to moral education, mental well-being, and co-curricular excellence.

A Culture of Academic Excellence Across the ODM Educational Group

The CBSE Result 2025 has been a moment of collective pride for ODM Educational Group, as students across all the campuses performed spectacularly. The consistency in high-performance outcomes underlines the effectiveness of ODM’s pedagogical model, built on the pillars of experiential learning, personal mentorship, and a values-based educational framework. From early foundation years to senior secondary boards, ODMians are trained to aim high—not just in terms of grades but also in developing confidence, resilience, and a love for learning.

Conclusion

As the CBSE Class 10 and 12 results roll in, ODM Public School stands tall, resonating with pride, progress, and purpose. These results aren’t just achievements; they are promises fulfilled and futures ignited. As the school continues to set new records, one thing is clear—ODM Public School isn’t just preparing students to pass exams. It is shaping leaders of tomorrow who are academically accomplished, emotionally intelligent, and socially conscious.

Blog Resource: https://www.odmps.org/blog/cbse-class-10-and-12-results/

#odm public school #CBSE 12th result #CBSE Result 2025 #CBSE 10th 12th result #CBSE Class 10 and 12 results

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absolutebl · 2 months ago

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This Week in BL - Happy Songkran!

Not sure, but a few of the Thai shows may be impacted by New Year this next week.

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

April 2025 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT) ep 24 end - Can you believe we made it through 24 episodes (like this is 2014 or something)? Anygay...

The single brain cell committee trying to put together The Proposal was kind of funny. I do think that of all the couples to get married this is the one that shouldn’t. They are the least healthy, but what can we do?

I knew from the get-go that I was going to struggle to figure out how to rate this show. Twice as long as most other BL’s and with 3 fully represented main couples, played by pairs that I have mixed feelings for. Thus I have to go straight down the middle. I would’ve given our first story a 7/10, our second one an 8/10, and our final a 9/10, which brings us in at a solid 8/10. Frankly, that feels like that’s what this show was, about 80% of a good BL.

Conclusion

This was workmanlike Thai BL in a university setting in which nothing happened to some very nice boys in fun friendship groups. The most noted thing about the show was its source, GMMTV punched down and phoned it in with this one. The kissing was good, the pairs were decent, and the directing was... well it was there. Each of the three main couples turned in solid performances to the best of their respective comedic abilities. Your enjoyment will wholly depend on which pair/story is most to your taste and how much you managed to tolerate the others (and the sides) as a result. I highly doubt this will ever be anyone's favorite BL. 8/10 is a fine rating for something this mediocre. Puts the B in BL.

Top Form (Thurs WeTV) ep 4 of 10 - Drunken shenanigans and their consequences. Especially when the boy is obsessed with you. (Meanwhile, the hair in the eyes is driving me batshit.) I'm still enjoying this. It’s sort of old-school BL in a very odd way. I like that. Especially with nothing out of Japan right now. The 21 day courting was cute. And of course I loved the linguistic negotiation. But he’s definitely gonna catch that cold.

Oh the HONEY.

I forgot this part was coming. ARGH NO too sticky!!! The carnage. The clean up. Twas sexy tho.

Sweet Tooth Good Dentist (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - Whipping boy trope is a go. But also this dentist is so gone on this broken sunshine with self worth issues. The dorky earnest friend is good too. Enjoying.

My Golden Blood (Weds iQIYI) Ep 5 of 12 - I just can't. It's too awful. I did try. DNF.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Heesu in Class 2 (Korea Fri Viki) eps 5-6 of 10 - I love this show. Love. It. The catastrophic trip. Heesu being an utter frenetic basket case. The PINING from Seungwon and the fact that we all know he isn't ever gonna do anything (unless some one forces his hand lips). It's fantastically maddening.

Secret Relationships (Korea iQIYI) ep 7 of 8 - Ooo truly unhinged. Excellent. Honestly, I just feel sorry for Da-on with all these boys obsessed, even our puppy. And now the "kidnapping for love" trope. Very old-school. China used to adore this one. It's nto my favorite but it suits this show.

Business as Usual (Korea Thurs Viki) Ep 2 of 7 - Mostly back story not a whole lot happened. Looks like we are in for a meaty confrontation next week tho. Good.

Fight for You (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 12 - I don't mind a fake dating trope, even if I'm not sure how we got here. Actually, this has gotten oddly cute. I like them more as they fall in love and flirt and drink than I do as solo characters.

Exclusive Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - more death. Not enough of blondie. And none of my beloved sides? Bah.

It's airing but......

Sashes and Hearts (Pinoy YT) 13 eps - Philippines is doing Drop Dead Gorgeous only all gay boys queening their asses off. Doesn't interest me, not sure if it's BL.

Last Meal Universe (Thai ????) 8 eps - An alien who has come to destroy earth instead falls in love with Thai food and then the Thai boy who cooks it - realistic, actually. I got a link to watch but it still wouldn't work for me, so I guess I'm waiting to see what happens.

Lost in the Woods (Weds Gaga) 7 eps - Not my thing, dropped at ep 2.

Boy Next World special - only available paid, so I didn’t bother.

Your Sky of Us - Normally, I don’t really report on the specials or the extras or even the spinoffs or season twos, but I gotta say in episode 2 Lee’s claiming sendoff was one of my favorite things to happen in BL this year. That silent "back off" was so perfectly executed. Most of the rest of this special has been just fluff, but it might be worth watching the whole thing just for that 30 seconds. (Sorry couldn't find a gif of it, but TRUST ME. Chef's kiss!)

In case you missed it

Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island (China YouTube) - This one unexpectedly dropped and there are still a few follow up snippets/adverts continuing with this couple.

Summary

This was an interesting, beautifully atmospheric but plotless BL about a boy who falls in love with his older brother‘s best friend in an idyllic countryside jungle setting. The boy is quite femme and open about his identity but his lover is... not. This dynamic ads an element of queer authenticity that's often missing from all BL, let alone something from China! I don’t know what it actually wanted to be, but it felt like a BL had a love child with one of those weird Chinese relaxation farm propaganda channels. The kisses are great, the chemistry is lovely, and the setting stunning. It’s odd but charming in a very weird, very queer, way. I have to say, I quite enjoyed it.

As a BL it gets an 8/10 from me, but as a piece of queer cinema I actually think it's worth more than that. You should all watch it. Who knows how long it will be allowed to stay up on YT.

Next Week Looks Like This:

COMING IN APRIL

4/16 Something Is Not Right (Korea Weds Viki) - trailer Blueming spin off. Ba U and Hun have been friends since they were kids – but Ba U has harbored unrequited feelings for Hun for years. Eventually, Ba U tries to cut off his entire relationship with Hun, much to Hun's confusion. In a last-ditch attempt to get over his feelings, Ba U takes his friend's advice and asks Hun to date for a single week. Hun accepts.

4/19 Secret Ghost (Thai Sat Viu) ?? eps - The trailer dropped and it looks particularly awful.

4/20 Boys in Love (Thai Sun YouTube? ) 10 eps - Our only true high school BL from GMMTV this year and it's fresh faces for the youths and old favs for the teachers. It's milk teeth Make it Right and fine with me. I like lotte milk. Also DIMPLES! Yay! I suspect they are using this one to test pairs for future shows. Like a Project 101 Thai BL. (Honestly I just invented an amazing reality TV for you GMMTV, you're welcome.) Like My School President in 2023, this could be a major sleeper hit for me.

4/20 My Stubborn (Thai Sun ????) ?? eps - trailer Mflow's next high heat office romance involving best friend's younger brother, boss meets intern, bit of a love triangle, GL crumbs, and few other tropes.

4/25 My Sweetheart Jom (Thai Fri YouTube) 12 eps - trailer Saint is back in a BL, but this is what he chose? When he gets int rouble, Yothin needs to find a safe place. Instead of sending him overseas, his father sends him to the countryside. There, he is under the watchful eye of the village headman Jomkhwan.

4/26 The BangkokBoy AKA Bangkok Boys AKA The Bangkok Boy (Thai Sat ????) ?? eps trailer - Action, crime and revenge meets gangs, mafia, and more. Oh my.

2025 Line Up

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 1

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 2

20 BLs Announced for 2025 That I'm Really Excited About

GMMTV 2025 Line Up - My Totally Biased and Wildly Flawed Feels

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENT

Well that bit from Your Sky of Us with Lee's nonverbal MINE of course.

Yes I liked it more than the honey, honey.

(last week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

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shem-fatale · 1 year ago

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Dragon Age Inquisition: "Canon" Choices Survey Results!

Tell us about your personal "canon" Inquisitor who will make an appearance in The Veilguard? What were their choices? Answers to this short survey were collected via a tumblr post between June 11th and June 22nd 2024. I have since found out which of the choices mentioned will and will not affect DA:TV but I will include all questions anyway. Text version and tags under the cut!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1. Who is your "canon" Inquisitor and are/were they in a relationship with another DAI character? Female Adaar/Blackwall - 1% Female Lavellan/Blackwall - 1% Male Lavellan/Josephine- 1% Male Lavellan/The Iron Bull- 1% Male Trevelyan/Cassandra - 1%

Female Lavellan/Josephine - 2% Female Trevelyan/Josephine- 2% Male Lavellan - no romance - 2%

Female Adaar/The Iron Bull - 3% Male Adaar/Dorian - 3%

Female Trevelyan/Blackwall - 4%

Female Adaar/Josephine - 6% Male Trevelyan/Dorian - 6%

Female Lavellan/Cullen - 7%

Male Lavellan/Dorian - 12%

Female Trevelyan/Cullen - 13%

Female Lavellan/Solas - 33% Added headcanon comment from @spiders-scribbles: Male Adaar/The Iron Bull "Kas is played with the female model cause I hate how bulky the male Qunari body is and also trans reasons" <3 And another one from @doves-wing: Female Cadash/Josephine "i think they have an open relationship and so my quizzy has dated iron bull though that relationship ends before trespasser. she is still with josie though." <3 2. What combat class and specialisation apply to your "canon" Inquisitor?

Warrior/Two-Handed/Templar - 0% Warrior/Weapon and Shield/Templar - 0%

Rogue/Daggers/Artificer - 1% Warrior/Two-Handed/Champion - 1% Warrior/Weapon and Shield/Reaver - 1%

Warrior/Two-Handed/Reaver - 3% Rogue/Archer/Tempest - 3% Warrior/Weapon and Shield/Champion - 3%

Mage/Necromancer - 4%

Rogue/Archer/Artificer - 5% Rogue/Archer/Assassin - 5% Rogue/Daggers/Tempest - 5%

Rogue/Daggers/Assassin - 8%

Mage/Rift Mage - 30%

Mage/Knight-Enchanter - 32% 3. Did the Inquisition form an alliance with the Mages or with the Templars?

Mages - 86%

Templars - 14% 4. Who was left behind in the Fade?

Alistair - 5%

Loghain - 9%

Hawke - 29%

Stroud - 57% 5. Did the Inquisition give the Wardens a second chance?

Yes - 89%

No - 11% 6. Who rules Orlais?

Gaspard - 1%

Celene - 10%

Gaspard as Briala's puppet - 14%

Truce between all parties - 32%

Celene and Briala - 43% 7. Who drank from the Well of Sorrows?

Morrigan - 48%

The Inquisitor - 52% 8. Who becomes Divine Victoria at the end of DA:I?

Vivienne - 7%

Cassandra - 18%

Leliana - 75% 9. What happened to the Inquisition at the end of Trespasser?

The Inquisition continues in the service of Divine Victoria - 17%

The Inquisition was disbanded - 83%

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A big thank you to:

@themightynej

@rotaryshakes

@slothsoep

@ladyotakukiut

@ellie-shy

@spaaace-ace

@infinitediversities

@missrosequeen

@re-venge

@tokyopewpew

@ennayeliah

@alesdaer

@what-ever-this-is-man

@maintitle

@doves-wing

@filbert-weevil

@robinthewarden

@flashyxtemplar

@0rzammar

@bonniemikaelson

@darthbootchie

@gugle1980

@hawkgirlriot

@huneybumble7

@onelessvenatori

@stillpanicking

@stuckyonbucky

@wildefiction

@animusrisunovatur

@anulindale

@azinareens

@cullens-babe

@energeticbasilisk

@fadejumper

@humonster

@joyfulpolicehologram

@krampus236

@maleficarmage

@mortalitasdeeznuts

@soft4sana

@themagnusbane

@thereiswarathand

@touchofweave

@tyralily

@witch-light

@witchybullshit

@littleballofanxiety

@precious-gem-of-a-cat @onlypartiallystars

@spiders-scribbles @titanwolfackerman @nervousparsnip @sowrongbutsowrite @argonian-at-heart @too-caught-up-in-moves @yjannu @lilywasx and also to everyone who didn't want to be tagged, plus everyone who spelled their user names wrong! I figured out some of the typos but some of you left me some crazy riddles hehe. <3

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lurkingshan · 2 months ago

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Heesu in Class 2: A Lovely Queer Kdrama

This wonderful little show has come to an end, and I want to talk a bit about why I enjoyed it so very much, because it has been one of my absolute favorites of the year. Let's break it down!

Before I jump in, let me address the elephant in the room: this series is loosely based on a manhwa of the same title--and I do mean it when I say "loosely"--which has been the source of much consternation among manhwa fans who were hoping it would be closer to its source material. It's not, and it's not trying to be. The show took a fairly simple BL manhwa and gave it the full kdrama treatment, building out the world around Heesu and altering much of the story as a result. The show is entirely its own thing, and I am reading and judging it based only on what it set out to achieve with its narrative, not on how it compares to the manhwa.

The Narrative Structure

The most crucial thing to understand about this show from a narrative perspective is that despite being labeled as a kbl, it's really structured like a kdrama. Most kbls are two to four hours total and laser focused on the romance, with little time spent on other characters or the wider world. And that's understandable given the constraints they are typically under on both time and budget. Heesu is different. With 10 50-minute episodes, its officially the longest kbl ever made, if still shortish for a mainstream kdrama (those are usually 12-16 hours). And the creators took advantage of that extra time to make what is basically a kdrama/kbl hybrid that largely mimics structures and tropes from mainstream kdrama.

Specifically, the show deploys a really classic kdrama romance trope that I refer to as the love rhombus, where four characters get into messy lines of attraction that start out mostly one-sided and mismatched before eventually settling into two pairs by the end of the story. It also includes heavy emphasis on friendship and family relationships, and uses all its side characters to parallel and mirror the main story. If you watch kdramas regularly (as I do), you've seen this structure in lots of shows and have a good sense of how the story is going to play out. If you don't, and come to this show expecting it to behave like a typical kbl, you may end up confused. This show cares about a lot more than the main romance.

The Lead

Heesu is our lead, and I find him to be such an endearing character. He feels like an actual teenager in the way he's a huge mess of contradictions. Sweet and kind, but also frequently selfish and short-sighted. Generous and committed to helping others, but also kinda mean and quick to jump to wrong conclusions if someone gets on his bad side. He is the core driver of the narrative, as ultimately this is his queer coming of age story. When we begin the show, he is hiding himself from all of his loved ones, nursing an obviously doomed crush on his best friend, and badly misreading many of the people around him because he's so caught up in his own struggles.

The Friendships

There are multiple important friendships in this show, but the rift between Heesu and Chanyoung is at the heart of the story. They are longtime best friends who have started to become distant from each other as Heesu pulled back and began hiding himself upon realizing he has romantic feelings for his friend. Heesu's feelings, and the fear he has about Chanyoung finding out about them, has come between them and started to weaken the trust they have in each other, and Chanyoung begun pulling back in response. We follow as Heesu meddles in Chanyoung's relationships and struggles with whether and how to tell Chanyoung how he feels, and Chanyoung in turn tries to get Heesu to tell him what is going on with him. They are also joined by their mutual friend Hosik, a delightful character who brings so much fun to every scene he's in and has his own little love story.

The other important friendship, and one of my favorite relationships in the show, is between Seungwon and Jiyu, another pair of longtime best friends. Seungwon ends up dragging Jiyu into his mess when he pretends to like her as a cover for asking Heesu for help, and ends up coming out to her to explain himself. I love their friendship and the way Jiyu balances calling him on his lies with covering for him with others until he works up the courage to come clean. She's a real one.

The Families

I also love that this drama gives us a sense of Heesu, Seungwon, and Chanyoung's home lives. Heesu lives with his three older sisters, and his close relationships with them, and the way they've clearly influenced him to be more in tune with his emotions, is delightful. Seungwon, in contrast, has a much more solitary home life. His parents are divorced and his mom now has a female partner and travels frequently for work, so he's often alone. Chanyoung struggles with his father, who compares him unfavorably to his older brother and threatens to disown him for following his passions. These family relationships give the boys more shading and help us understand their motivations and the choices they make, and also set up some important parallels in the narrative, with Chanyoung's struggle with his father mirroring Heesu's fears about coming out. And in the end we get to see Heesu slowly work toward coming out to his sisters and Seungwon talk to his mom about her same sex relationship and how it affects him, both of which I found so lovely and rewarding.

The Romances

Like all love rhombus kdramas, this show has two primary pairs, with Heesu and Seungwon's queer romance at the center of the story and Chanyoung and Jiyu's romance serving as a thematic foil. Seungwon is pining after Heesu the entire time but hiding it, while Heesu is working through his feelings for Chanyoung and getting increasingly confused as his feelings for the two boys begin to shift. Jiyu and Chanyoung connect and get together fairly early on in the show as Heesu and Seungwon struggle much longer to get on the same page and sort out the various untruths they've told each other. And that is entirely the point! The queer characters in this story have a lot more obstacles to overcome and a lot of legitimate fears about revealing themselves; for them it's not as easy as just confessing and moving on if it doesn't work out. I loved the contrast of these two romances and also found both couples so easy to root for, especially given how generous they all were to each other as they sorted out their mess.

The Themes

This show is entirely rooted in the queer experience, with Heesu using his love of space and astronomy to draw thematic ties to his experience of life as a gay teenager in a non-bubble world. The astronomy metaphors the show deploys work so well to make the story feel coherent and connected, not to mention inspire the gorgeous visuals used to highlight these themes. This story is all about Heesu's journey to tell his loved ones his truth, to sort out what he wants from the people around him, and to find the courage to reach for his own happiness. All of the side characters are beautifully fleshed out into real and whole people, and their stories all mirror Heesu's own struggles and inform his emotional landscape. In the end, we get to watch Heesu mature, fall in love, sort his relationships, and achieve comfort and happiness with who he is. It's a great ride, and I highly recommend it for anyone who cares about queer stories.

#heesu in class 2 #korean bl #kdrama #shan recommends #shan shouts into the void

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admirationandromantics · 2 months ago

Text

Guilt and Grudges, Prologue

The awaited time is done! 52 000 words later, aka 88 pages, plus a couple of months and you get results! I'm finally posting the first chapter of the Chris x reader game based story. Thank you all to those who have supported me through this time! Anyways, I'll be making a taglist for this one (didn't do it on the Josh one), so please send me a message or comment if you're interested in being on it.

There'll be a total of 12 chapters. 1-10, as in the game, but also a prologue and epilogue included. There'll be one chapter posted each day. Please keep in mind that I'm not a professional writer, and there will be mistakes here and there. This story will also feature less smut than the Josh one, as to complement the characters correctly (Don't worry, there will be some, and it will be hot and heavy. Bear with me!)

The night was icy and cold, but the fire in the lodge kept us all warm inside. The annual winter getaway to the washington lodge was upon us, and the dark snowstorm outside made the mood much cooler and mysterious. I loved it. I think we all did.

The party was barely beginning, everyone drinking and having the time of their lives. Sam was sitting with her drawing pad, Ashley and Matt were joking around, and Mike and Emily were going out in the hall every now and then to make out, Jess interrupting them regularly to steal Em away. They did that many times throughout the night, sly smiles on their lips as they came back into their room. I don’t know what they were planning, but considering the girl, it was going to be nasty.

I sat on the couch with Sam, Chris, and Josh, everyone joking around and laughing. Chris has had a few too many beers, making him stutter and slur his words. Josh was even worse, sentences being completely backwards and laughing at every little thing that was said.

I look over at Sam, giving her a tight smile. These guys were going to drink until they laid flat on the floor. She nods over to Chris, signalling for me to talk to him. She knows about my crush, how I yearn for his attention and presence. But I was never brave enough to tell him that. He’s a jokester, a smart and funny guy. He’s incredibly pretty, his eyes sparkly and vibrant. I feel completely hopeless when imagining him. She knows all this, and has several times tried to make me confess, but I refuse. Worst case scenario, he doesn’t feel the same, and everything will change. We have a good, friendly dynamic, and I don’t want to ruin that.

I signal back to her with my eyes, saying “No way, never gonna happen”. She smiles kindly, as if she’s trying to say that it’ll be okay. I shake my head in response.

“Is this that type of girl-language us men can’t understand?” Chris asks, looking back and forth between us.

“I would say it’s an exaggeration to call you two men” Sam responds, a smirk playing on her face.

“Oof, hard one. And why would you say that?”

“Because you need a brain”

“Hey, I get the best grades in my class” Chris defends, and I laugh at their banter. Josh is paying close attention, well, as much as he can in his state.

“Well, maybe there’s other things you should be smart about” She says, looking over at me. Panic rises in my chest at her boldness. Shit, shit, shit. Chris looks over to me, confused by her statement.

“Do you get what she means?”

“No idea” I answer, killing her in my mind. God, was she going to get yelled at later. Maybe I would sneak in while she took a bath, stealing her clothes and hiding them somewhere in the lodge.

Josh shifts his gaze between me and Chris, thoughts battling in his mind. I look at him weakly, unsure about what he’s thinking about. Suddenly, he gets a realization.

“Omg, Chris, she has a crush-”

Sam quickly covers his mouth with her hand before leaning in and whispering in his ear. My heart falls by the words, the panic rising once again. This can’t be. Why can’t this man keep his mouth shut? He turns her head, whispering back, and she laughs. Chris furrows his brows, not understanding what’s happening. Finally, Josh turns to us again, taking a deep breath.

“Well, didn’t you hear me, Chris?”

“You just said she has a crush? On who? What is happening?”

“Dude, chill. I just said that this girl has a crushing need for more alcohol” he raises his hand. “Look at her, almost sober. Serve the lady, Chris, be a gentleman” he continues, smiling at his own cleverness.

“Jesus Christ, well the lady can ask me herself, can she not?”

I laugh, the saving being a tad funnier than anticipated. Chris rises, taking my glass in his hand.

“Does anyone else want something?”

“Six shots!” Sam shouts, and he sighs loudly while walking back to the kitchen. When he’s out of earshot, I focus my attention back on them.

“Are you guys insane???”

“Not only you Sam, but you too Josh? You almost made me friendless!”

Both of them laugh, not taking me seriously. I give them a smack on each knee before leaning back on the couch again. These people were monsters. And Josh almost ruined me.

Chris comes back, a couple of shot glasses, spirit, and a drink for me. He puts everything down on the table, and Sam is quick to sit up and start pouring the alcohol. I give a smile and thank him when he hands me the glass. Fingers brushing slightly against each other as I grab it. The small contact colours my cheeks, and I turn away in embarrassment, afraid that he’ll see.

“Drink up!” Sam shouts, handing everyone a small glass each. There are still two on the table, and give a look.

“The last ones?”

“Just drink”

We all clink glasses before gulping down the liquid quickly. Gosh, how horrid this night was about to be. The nasty aftertaste lingering in my throat. I grimage, unable to stop myself. I look up to Sam, who does the exact same thing. Josh is unphased, having drunk so much that he can’t feel the flavor anymore.

“And two more!” Sam urges again, filling the glasses and placing one to her lips and giving me the other. Just for the girls I guess.

“You’re going to be the death of me”

“I plan to”

The guys cheer as we drink down the liquid, letting it down our throats and further. A wave of nausea hits me, making me reach for the drink Chris brought and taking small sips. The drink tastes good, too good. I could drink this for breakfast.

“What is this?” I ask, turning around to face him.

“Orange juice and some other stuff”

“I can’t taste the booze”

“That means it’s working”

I take another sip, trying to feel the taste, but still can locate the strong contents.

“Fucking hell I’m going to throw up” Sam exclaims, pushing past Josh and running to the bathroom. All of us laugh, seeing her try to climb the stairs while holding herself. Poor girl.

“So” Josh starts, looking over at us again.

“When are you going to sleep with Mike?” I choke on the drink, starting to cough. Chris places his hand on my back, giving small pats to help me. I compose myself, looking up at a smirking Josh. Chris opens his mouth before I can.

“What kind of question is that?”

“Didn’t ask you Cochie”

I look back and forth between the two, Chris being tensed up, his hand still on my back. I try not to think about it, how his fingers grace over the hem of my bra.

“I agree with him, why would you ask that?”

Josh leans forward, his smirk still going strong.

“Nah, the man just gave me a vibe when he looked at you. How could you say no?” I shake my head in response, he knows who I like, why would he bring this nonsense up? Unless he's trying to unleash something, trying to make me confess on my own. What a sly move.

“Not only is he dating one of my friends, but he’s also not my type”

“Okay, then what is your type?”

“As if I’m gonna tell you”

“Oh, come on”

“Fine” I sigh, laying back on the couch. “Someone kind”

“Everyone can be kind”

“Well, I’m not fucking done am I? And we already know that you’re not on the list Josh”

Chris laughs, giving his buddy a nudge. God, what else am I going to say?

“Someone smart and caring, someone big, like body-wise, right?”

“Right”

“Um, I don’t know, someone funny who I can easily get along with. And can fuck me senseless of course”

Both of their eyes widen at my statement, surprised by how forward I can be.

“What? If we’re talking about a romantic partner, can’t I have sexual criterias?”

Josh laughs, shaking his head. Chris’s hand is still on my back, more tense than before. I hope I didn’t scare him away.

“Maybe Sam needs help in the bathroom” I stand up, taking the drink with me.

“Watch out, she might fuck you senseless” Josh shouts after me. I give a sarcastic laughter in reply, showing him the finger. God, what a long night this was gonna be.

***

I walk over to Beth, slightly struggling to keep myself up as I do. I sway from side to side, gripping chairs and the counter to stop myself from falling.

“Hey, too much for you?” Hannah laughs, hands coming around me. I lean on her, letting her take me to the kitchen counter and sitting me up.

“Never enough”

“When are you gonna stop drinking?”

I take up my cup, filled with whatever the other guys mixed. “Not until dawn”

Beth comes just as I gulp down the liquid, giving Hannah a side stare as she notices me.

“If you survive until then”

I give a snicker in reply. This wasn’t bad, and with Chris being passed out, I didn’t need to be careful. Before, I was terrified of getting drunk in front of him, scared that I’d say something I didn’t mean, but not now. I could lose control, and no matter what I said about him, he didn’t hear it.

“When was the last time you drank this much?” Hannah asks, hand coming to steady me yet again.

“That’s a good question, I don’t know”

“At least we get a good show” Beth comments, giving me a tap on my back. I smile in response, looking back to the living room. Jess and Emily are fidgeting with Chris, I don’t know what they’re doing. I try to make out what they’re holding, but my blurry vision fails me.

I’m blasted, I know that. Everything spins as I move my head, dizziness and heavy heartbeats overtaking me.

“You good?” Beth asks, suddenly worried. I try to form words as I feel something acidic in the back of my throat.

“Shit”

She runs over, grabbing hold of me and running through the bathroom. We make it to the hallway when I black out.

***

My body is slumped upon the bathroom floor. The cold and hard tiles make contact with my back and head. I try to open my eyes, groaning from the raging headache taking over. How long have I been here? Where’s Beth? A large shadowy figure is in the corner of my vision. “Chris?”

“Yeah, still alive” he answers, sitting against the wall. He gives a cheeky smile, looking me up and down. His face is full of scribbles and writing all over his face. He isn’t wearing his glasses, instead drawn on ones and a red heart. I smile at him, trying to hold my laugh.

“I’ve already seen it, you can laugh”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about” I giggle, unable to stop. He rolls his eyes, holding out a hand for me.

“I don’t think I should sit up”

“I think you should drink some water”

He helps me up, my back supported by the bathtub. He hands me a glass, and I grab it with both hands. He doesn’t let go, instead helping me pull it up to my face and letting me drink. The cold liquid makes it in my mouth, washing away the awful lingering taste which was there before. I signal for him to pull the glass away.

“Where’s Beth? What happened?”

He smiles, eyebrows rising as if surprised by my question. “You don’t remember what happened?”

“And why are you awake? You were passed out”

He only laughs in response, putting the glass up to my lips again. I drink up, and he puts it down beside the sink. His body falls down beside me, sitting and letting me lean on him.

“Beth helped you throw up”

“Oh no”

“And I woke up”

“Oh no”

“Oh yes”

I look up at him, my pleading eyes making contact with his orbs.

“Please tell me you didn’t see anything”

“I saw too much”

“Nooooo” I whine, burying my face in his big shoulder. I feel my cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

“Beth left like, five minutes ago to check on the others”

“So she left me on the floor, ready to choke on my own puke?”

“Hey, I’m here, I’ll make sure you don’t die”

“Oh? The big, brave, handsome Christopher will make sure I lean over the toilet it I must”

“Handsome huh?”

I hit him in the arm, not feeling how hard. Judging by his laughter, it wasn’t that hard.

“If it helps, she brushed your teeth before she went”

My tongue automatically feel around my mouth, maybe that was the slight taste of mint. I hum in response, head fully relaxing on him. His arm goes around my back, holding me tight. Maybe to stop me from falling? I don’t know, I just know that I like being in his embrace, benign close to him.

“Why aren’t you sick?”

“You know I never get hungover”

“Lucky”

“But I do pass out. If I didn’t then this wouldn’t be on my face” he points a finger to the scribbles and I laugh. I can’t help it, this warm and cozy feeling overcoming me. He’s kind, funny and smart. With or without his glasses he was handsome. And he’s much more attractive than he gives himself credit for. I’ve seen his arms, and I’ve seen him in tight shirts before. That thought alone gets me going.

“Want to wash it off?”

“Tried already”

“I’ve got some makeup remover in my bag”

I stand up, surprised when I don’t immediately fall down again. I look at him, and his arms are lifted around me, ready in case I fall.

“I’m fine”

“Just making sure”

I see my bag on the counter, and of course my toothbrush is on the top of it. She’s too kind. I must remember to thank her in the morning. I grab a couple of pads, drenching them in the liquid before making my way over to him. I sit myself on his lap, grabbing hold of his chin to move his face.

There’s a slight blush on his face, his mouth is slightly ajar and eyes blank. He grabs my thighs with both hands, letting me sink completely down on him. I start rubbing, first slowly, but it ends up rougher and rougher to get all the ink off.

“You’re gonna rip my skin off”

“Almost done”

I take the last line, and his face looks good as new. A little red maybe, but that’ll fade. I hold his cheeks with both hands, staring deeply into his eyes. He does the same, breathing heavily and looking down on my lips. I don’t know if it is the alcohol, the intimacy or just the surroundings of the cabin, but I lean in, carefully connecting his lips with mine. He responds, opening his mouth and letting me go deeper. He tastes like alcohol, but I’m not bothered by it. One of his hands goes to the back of my head, gripping my hair and pulling me closer. My arms go around his neck, fingers messing up his hair. The kiss gets wetter and sloppier as we keep going, breathing uneven and difficult. We both pull back, surprised by the encounter.

His cheeks are red, hair messy and eyes lustful. He looks magnificent, and I want to do something more about it. He looks me up and down, hand gracing my thigh up to my waist. He doesn’t know what to do now, and honestly, I don’t either.

“Maybe we should stop” he finally says. My heart falls, but I just nod in response. I take a deep breath, standing up, getting off him. Shit. I pushed the boundaries too hard. He didn’t want this, he was caught up in the moment and so was I.

“Um, yeah”

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that-” he starts, but is interrupted by a loud yell.

“Hannah!”

The yell roars through the night, like it’s being screamed outside. We take a look at each other before running through the hall and down the stairs. He’s right on my heels as I occasionally skip one or two steps. What’s going on? We arrive at the entrance of the lodge, everyone standing outside without their jackets.

“You know, I think you’re the last person she wants to see right now, Mike”

“What’s going on?” I ask, looking around confused. Everyone but Hannah and Beth are here.

“It was just a small prank, got a little out of hand” Mike replies. I still don’t get it, what prank?

“Where’s Hannah and Beth?”

“Hannah overreacted, just ran out into the forest, Beth ran after her” Emily comments dismissively. She walks inside again, pulling Mike with her.

“There’s a fucking storm outside!” I yell. Both of them can be in danger, and you could barely see a few meters in front of you because of the snow. I grab Sam’s arm hard, pulling her into me.

“Try to wake Josh, let’s just make sure they get back okay” I state, and she gives a nod, walking inside again. I look over at Matt and Ashley, both of their faces covered with guilt. I don’t need to talk to them right now. I turn on my heels and start running down the snowy trail.

“Wait!” I hear Chris yell after me, but I don’t wait. The faster we find them, the better. No one should be out in this weather alone. I run down the path in the freezing cold. I should’ve taken my jacket, but there's nothing to do about it now. The occasional animal sounds scare me, especially in the dark. The path has lights, but they’re far apart. I jog just to keep my warmth, arms going around myself for that extra bit of comfort. I look down, noticing some fresh foot marks. They must’ve gone this way. The snow is still heavy, and the footprints are getting less and less visible as I continue. Out of all the days to pull this prank, it had to be today? I jump over a couple of fallen branches, almost slipping on the snow-covered ice when I land. I take a right, hoping to find them around the corner.

“Hannah! Beth!”

I’m met with a flock of deer, some of them running away as they notice me. Shit. I put my hands up, carefully walking backwards to avoid agitating them. A loud inhumane scream is heard throughout the forest, making me stop in my tracks. What the hell. I keep walking slowly backwards, each step taken carefully. Please don’t let a bear come out. Maybe Hannah and Beth are already back at the lodge. I decide to think positively, and take one last step backwards before turning.

My chest immediately hits a large figure in front of me, and instinctively I scream. Chris’s hand goes over my mouth, muffling my yells.

“Shh, stop, it’s me”

I calm down, my heart raising so much I feel it in my throat. I feel tears threatening to fall in the corners of my eyes. I need to get a hold of myself.

“Have the others come back?”

“I don’t know, I came to get you first”

“They could still be out there”

His hand goes to my arms, feeling my cold skin. When he does, I realise how warm he is, or maybe how numb I am.

“Shit, you’re freezing”

“Chris, what if something happened?” He takes off his jacket and puts it on me, forcing my arms inside the soft sleeves. He’s still wearing a thick sweater underneath, not being too cold.

“They’ve basically grown up here, they’re probably back at the lodge right now”

I nod. That makes sense. They know these woods like they know their backyard, but why haven’t I heard them? And what was that horrid scream?

“Have you woken Josh?”

“I don’t know, come on, let’s get you back”

I look behind as we walk, the previous footsteps now being invisible to the eye.

Taglist:

@b3rryb3t @porcelainbluedove @z0mb1epuzzy @l0relaii

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