#a first kiss hollywood worthy

[alienoresimagines]

ALIIIIII, they are all so exciting 👀👀👀. Could you tell us a bit about "Have a break, have a threesome"? 😊

Thank you, Ame 🥹❤️

It's about time I answer your, @coastiewife465 and the *reads scribbled writing on hand* three anons that are definitely not Ginia

So this WIP started out as me giving Ginia a random line I had written from a Clegan WIP that goes like this "Like Benny sees him in a way he isn’t used to by anyone who isn’t Bucky." and since I didn't give any context, @amiserableseriesofevents thought I was writing a Benny x Buck piece. As it often happens, we joked around about Benny and Brady (established relationship) giving Gale a handjob to help him relax since he works himself to the bone to help his boys in the Stalag, just friends helping friends, y'know

But... well, me and Ginia now have 800+ messages related to that WIP which has turned into a 23 chapters outline of basically, Benny and Brady taking care of Gale while they wait for Bucky to arrive in the Stalag and then for him to be transferred to their compound. Gale and Bucky aren't in a relationship yet, they're pining really hard but lots of things come between them, especially during the Stalag where Bucky has a Lot of Feelings about Gale and Benny and Brady being so close, on top of his general misery at being stuck in Sagan.

Gale and Benny and Brady do fall in a relationship (after a lot of talking because in Gale's logic, giving hj and bj is just friends behavior right?), Gale will get his world turned upside down multiple times and of course, John will reconcile with all of them, repair his relationships with all of them, fall in love with Brady and Benny too, and confess to Gale and they will have a Fantastic Foursome (and a fantastic polyamory relationship), leaving in their Farmhouse with Meatball 🥹

Buck will be hurt (a lot) but there will be a lot of comfort and protective boyfriends too, and he'll have the time of his life with a nice little bit of DP. Also he'll cry, but he'll feel really good, don't worry

I'm really excited about this WIP, and explore these characters and their different dynamics with each other 🥹❤️

And yeah, Gale's the Stalag princess in this, I don't make the rules

I just think Benny x Brady x Buck x Bucky is really neat. Me and Ginia have grown really attached 😩❤️

If you have any questions about this I'd love to talk about it 🫶🏻

[renthony]

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.

[p0orbaby]

All This Money, Darling, What Else Is Left to Do?

summary: you’ve moved to barca for work, you meet alexia

warnings: SMUT 18+, strap use, bathroom sex, how original

a/n: based on this request !

word count: 1.1k

-

You’ve never been good with Spanish, which is unfortunate considering you’ve just moved to Barcelona to film a series that’s supposed to be your “dark, gritty” transition from Hollywood darling to Oscar-worthy actress. A role that will, in your words, “finally earn me that little golden bastard.” The director had only sighed in response, muttering something about Brits and their insatiable thirst for awards, before handing you a script written entirely in Spanish.

You’ve got all the superficial things down: tousled hair that looks like you just rolled out of bed in a sultry way (when in reality, it took your stylist an hour to perfect), designer sunglasses that scream “I’m too famous to be bothered,” and a wardrobe carefully curated to say, “I’m an artist, but I could still outdress you at a red carpet event.”

The language, though, remains your Everest.

Which is how you find yourself at a party hosted by some up-and-coming director who might actually be a waiter – it’s hard to tell when everyone here looks like they stepped out of an indie film. The only reason you’re here is because your agent insists you need to “immerse yourself in the culture.” Apparently, the key to embodying a brooding Spanish detective is to drink sangria and eat patatas bravas at a rooftop party with people who don’t recognise you. Or worse, pretend not to recognise you.

You’ve been nursing the same glass of wine for an hour, half-watching as a group of women discuss something with intense, dramatic flair. You’re only half-listening until one of them catches your eye.

You don’t know her name. Not yet. But you know she’s trouble from the way she moves. She’s all sharp edges and grace, the kind of woman who makes every hair on your body stand on end before you’ve even exchanged a word. When she looks at you, it’s like she already knows you – all of you – even the parts you try to keep hidden behind layers of well-crafted mystique.

You make a mental note to stay away from her. Which, naturally, means you’ll be making out in the bathroom with her within the hour.

And that’s exactly how it happens. One moment, you’re trying to figure out what the hell “Tarjeta amarilla” means, and the next, she’s pressed up against you, lips smashing into yours like she’s been waiting her entire life to taste you. It’s heady, intoxicating, the way she devours you like you’re something she plans to enjoy slowly – but not yet.

The bathroom is one of those annoyingly chic setups with a waterfall tap and hand towels that look like they should be in a palace. It’s also incredibly small, which is fine because she’s pressed up against you, and suddenly there’s no need for space.

You don’t know who makes the first move. It’s all a blur of hands and lips, and somewhere between her tongue tracing the line of your jaw and your fingers digging into her hips, you figure out you don’t actually care.

Her name’s Alexia. You learned that somewhere between her pushing you against the wall and slipping her hand under your bra. Alexia, whispered like a prayer. Or maybe it was a curse. She’s too good at this. Too good at the way she takes control, the way she knows exactly where to touch you to make you gasp, arch, and cling to her like she’s your lifeline.

And then she’s guiding you to the sink, bending you over like it’s the most natural thing in the world. It probably is for her – something about the way she holds you down with one massive hand and undoes her jeans with the other tells you this is far from her first time.

You glance up at the mirror, and there you are – tousled hair now a genuine mess, eyes blown wide, lips kiss-swollen and desperate. You look every bit the part of a woman who’s about to get absolutely wrecked.

Which is exactly what happens.

Alexia’s behind you, and then something cool and smooth is pressing against your entrance – a strap, because of course, she’d have one at the ready. You bite your lip, half to stifle a moan and half because you don’t want to give her the satisfaction of hearing you already coming undone. You’re an actress, after all, and the best performances are always the ones where you keep the audience guessing.

Not that it matters. The second she pushes in, you’re a mess, nails scraping against the sink’s surface as you try – and fail – to keep yourself together. She’s ruthless, setting a pace that leaves no room for pretense. It’s rough, raw, the kind of fucking that makes you forget your name and what you’re supposed to be doing here in Spain in the first place.

“Te gusta, ¿verdad?” she murmurs in your ear, voice low and teasing. And by her tone you just about make out she’s asked you a question.

“Fuck, yes,” you gasp, any attempt at playing it cool flying out the window as she thrusts harder, deeper. The sound of skin against skin fills the small bathroom, along with your increasingly loud moans. There’s no point in being quiet now – everyone out there either knows what’s happening or will by the time she’s done with you.

It’s filthy, the way she fucks you – no pretense, no gentleness, just pure, unbridled lust. You’re half-certain you’ll have bruises tomorrow, and the thought only turns you on more.

“Mírate,” she breathes, voice laced with dark amusement. “Miss Hollywood, siendo follada como una vulgar zorra"

You whimper in response, because you don’t know what else to do. You don’t understand a word she’s saying. Yet you’re still reduced to nothing but pure pleasure, body trembling as she drives you closer and closer to the precipice.

And then she does something with her hips – some angle that has you seeing stars, and you’re gone, crying out her name as you come harder than you’ve ever come in your life. The kind of orgasm that leaves you breathless, boneless, clinging to the sink like it’s the only thing keeping you upright.

But she doesn’t stop. Not until you’re shaking, overstimulated and begging her to – not until she’s milked every last bit of pleasure from you, until you’re nothing but a panting, sweaty mess in her extremely toned arms.

When she finally pulls out, you collapse against the sink, legs barely holding you up. Alexia’s still behind you, hands sliding up your sides in a way that’s almost affectionate. Almost.

“That was…” You try to find words, but they’re lost somewhere between the haze of lust and the aftershocks of your orgasm.

“Sí,” she agrees, smirking as she steps back, giving you just enough space to turn around and face her.

There’s something in her eyes, something that says she’s not done with you yet. And despite the fact that you should probably get back to the party, should probably straighten yourself up and pretend like you haven’t just been fucked within an inch of your life, you can’t bring yourself to care.

[perfectfangirl]

notes after rewatching fallout s1 ep3

• almost certain that is sugarfoot cooper is dismounting in the scene from the movie he is filming 🥲 • the film cooper was filming here is called "the man from deadhorse", a clear play on the concept of "beating a dead horse" • just realized he [presumably] shot the bad guy character twice • i also noticed that the duster the bad guy character is wearing looks an awful lot like the duster cooper wears as the character he “plays” in the wasteland to cope. is... cooper playing a bad guy character based off one of his movies?? • saw a couple of different variations of "feo, fuerte, y formal" [all saying mostly the same thing] cooper says "he was ugly, strong, and had dignity" wikitionary says it denotes a conception of masculinity. very curious about this these words and the scene because cooper is obviously viewed as a concept of masculinity in hollywood, to the point where he's being asked to essentially engage in statecraft via propaganda as this movie scene is making his character do something completely antithetical--- killing the bad guy instead of solving another way, he basically says a line about "commies" then shoots the him in the head

• what's more is that some are viewing the three concepts of "ugly, strong, dignity" to mean either a variation of cooper, lucy, and maximus or of cooper himself, didn't even think of this and it's a particular interesting trichotomy of cooper pre and post war • "well, joey, i'll give you two out of three on that front" and now i don't know which two out of three • cooper goes out of his way to thank the actor jorge for playing the bad guy in his film • cooper presumably read the script, probably had a table read, rehearsal, and still didn't want to film his good guy character killing the bad guy [perhaps after cadillac bob got fired, there were rewrites and cooper was not told until then] out of context, this is charming, he values his characters so much that they mirror his own values [walton has argued with writers, directors, actors about his characters too!] but in context, it is either the beginning or yet another chapter is cooper's conflicting and morally challenging struggle of "right" and "wrong" in this show • need to know more about cadillac bob! he was doing the moral good type of writing on cooper's programs and i am curious if the firing was an ousting [as being labeled a communist is career over here] because the wiki says he was fired for refusing to write this storyline for the "new america" and then they wrote this character change for cooper to have a firmer anticommunist stance to influence the public. cooper wants to change the scene so bad, he asks for a writer and i find it amusing the director thinks doing a 180° on his character would be good because "the audience knows you're a good man. they want to see that even a good man as yourself can be driven too far sometimes" idk but this is about all the horseshit i can take • [this is precisely post war cooper's arc and character if that wasn't obvious enough] • enter barb. i love the sensual "married couple flirting like strangers" energy behind this scene • lavender flowers are supposed to represent purity, silence, grace, devotion, serenity, calmness--- just a little something for you romance girlies to think about with this scene • "tastes like someone touching you for the first time" and they make it a point to show cooper and barb's hands and cooper purposefully touching barb's fingers as they exchange the candy • hands and fingers seem to be important motifs here and it also seems like hands and fingers are particularly worthy of note for cooper • they kiss each other and they're like "sorry, makeup" and "sorry, lipstick" 😭 • looks like barb secured cooper some vault tec contracts • cooper winds up on siggi's headless body and i can almost see the algebra and trigonometry floating around his brain trying to make heads or tails of this shit • from my understanding, there's no chems that keep a ghoul from going feral within the game universe but there are chems that can and have turned people into ghouls, i see speculation that cooper may have a chem addiction and what we see are withdrawal symptoms, as when lucy finds him outside the super duper mart, he's still on the ground and not acting much feral but [of course coughing, drooling, etc could be the show's symptoms for ferality] i digress • almost think because it's dry and arid af out there, that's why he need a chem

• literally howling because of how lucy was handling siggi's head, she got over the shock and disgust quick 😭 • lucy is crazy for lighting another [camp]fire at night like that • lucy putting a tracker on siggi's head was smart though • lmao did the brotherhood of steel not know lord titus' regular speaking voice or • maximus lying to the brotherhood of steel, maximus selling his teeth for caps instead of literally anything else, maximus thinking he can leave his power suit uncovered and unattended without it being pulled for scrap--- like lord, maximus, please make a sensible step 😫 • the voice modulator mechanic person was very sci fi though • took me a second watch to realize maximus' tooth extraction resulted in a bit of a lisp glfgd • not maximus getting bullied again 😭 • maximus getting a wrench and toilet seat and beating the shit out of them wastelanders with them rotf • crushed that man's head like a watermelon❤️ • thaddeus being sent to inadvertently squire for someone he helped bully is his karma lol • "remnant from the old world" directly implying the enclave is a continuation of the us government • lucy arriving on the serene scene of a fawn near a lake where hollywood boulevard once stood [lucy being a parallel of the innocent doe, doe eyed, and this is bambi ok 🥲] • an undamaged, normal appearing fawn representing beauty and purity can grow in the wasteland and then it being snatched by a gulper likewise demonstrating that it can all be taken away in a blink of an eye • lucy once again being crazy for walking around with the barely contained rotting head, like of course the abomination snatched that too 😭 • cooper conveniently appearing with a cocked gun in her face and she just smiles and says "hello again" like excuse me?? 😭 • cooper's head tilt gets me every time, oof • he ain't have to lightly pistol whip her like that 😭 • lmao poor chet • betty to some degree i keep wondering if she knows extensively about the vaults of 31, 32, 33 or if she is just doing what she is told • norm using the word "escape" instead of perhaps "leave" when describing lucy's departure from vault 33 is intriguing, i think • it took me a minute, and i don't think i've seen much talk about this but i legitimately think norm's lack of enthusiasm and drive for life in the vault is directly connected to his mother's death but i have seen no clear age for him--- they don't show his memories like they do lucy's and i would want an explanation or exploration on his lore here because... he already uncovered vault 31's secret but i don't think he knows what hank has done and him finding out will be huge as well like for lucy • norm is rightfully angry at the raiders for what they did but i am almost willing to bet he might be implicated in their poisonings as a diversion tactic by someone like betty but it's all just a theory [a film theory gldfgldfl] • because someone in the fucking kitchen and handling the food poisoned them raiders... • ghoul prejudice being loud and clear and amongst the brotherhood of steel 😭 • ghouls leaving radiation trails is insane • lmao maximus and thaddeus coming upon siggi's headless body and then trying to compare his mugshot • maximus thinking it was the ghoul who beheaded siggi when it was lucy at siggi's request lol • dogmeat barking up a storm because she wanted cooper's foolishness upon lucy to cease • "you know, they use to do these things called "studies"" like lucy doesn't know what a study is? she's a teacher! 😭 • rads going up because of the water or cooper or both? • ok so i now get why when lucy told cooper torture was wrong that he went into a whole spiel--- not only was cooper in the military but for thirty years post war, dom pedro kept him in a coffin confined on an iv drip to keep him alive but would dig him up and slice pieces of him off and then put him back. cooper's behaviour using her as bait [but not torture] is of course not excusable but cooper is coming from a deep place of hurt and bitterness, this monster was whittled

• cooper goes on to say "it made sense. i mean a man hurts me, i wouldn't want to do him any favours. and yet the practice of torture failed to vanish from the earth. in fact, as time marched on, i've personally noticed a decided uptick in the amount of torture being doled out across the board." oh, cooper 😞 • he says this as he picks what looks like giant leeches off lucy [didn't have to do that] • "well, i ain't torturing you, sweetheart" here go the first instance of familiarity with a patronising pet name in the style of cowboyism and southerness gldgldlf • almost looked like lucy started cooperating when cooper told her he was using her as bait gldgldl • ok so it looks like cooper cut the rope? so lucy could get free i guess idk but then the gulper got ahold of the anchor so he couldn't reel it back? [not sure, anyways, he botched this lmao] • he starts striking at the gulper with what looks like a harpoon i guess when it catches lucy's leg [could've definitely let her get ate but didn't] • lucy basically saves herself with dogmeat biting the gulper and scaring it off • cooper empties lucy's bag and destroys her stuff so it's only right cooper's karma is his vials getting smashed in the process of using lucy for bait lol • cooper getting mad and taking out his gun and cocking it at lucy like it was her fault his shit got smashed 😭 • "oh, i'm sorry, i should just let you use me as bait in the poison river!?" the way she says it always almost brings a tear to my eyes like get his ass 😭 • for the first time in the show, cooper realises he was wrong and/or messed up [and to his detriment] • lucy protests her treatment, "do unto others as you would have done unto you" and cooper starts mumbling to himself "those gulpers digest real slow. you got time." because he already going through withdrawals, help • so he ties her up like a dog and says the wasteland got its own rule and it's "thou shalt get distracted by bullshit every goddamn time" 😭 this is so a reference to gameplay and how they themselves are going on a fucking side quest lmao • lucy asking about dogmeat 😢 dogmeat staying because that gulper has siggi's head ☹️

• lmao maximus masquerading as lord titus asking thaddeus to say something about him • you know? it's good writing to me to explain why a [secondary] character would bully or behave as thaddeus has to maximus--- he's not merely a side character and wanted to say nothing but nice things about maximus when he thought he died, i'll give him that • "we can judge a person and a society by how they treat their enemy" goes boom because of the game lore and also because somebody kills all those raider prisoners lol • this disconnect between the vault dwellers and wastelanders--- they're talking about teaching these people shakespeare when some of them eat people for survival • norm wants the raiders to die and they keep showing steph and this might be a red herring but i think she poisoned them mfs, personally • hmm why does steph know what hank would do in this situation like that flgdlgdl • maximus trying to protect thaddeus from danger • thaddeus calling cooper an abomination because he's a ghoul 😭🖐️ • the little scream thaddeus makes as the gulper gets him ❤️ • dogmeat really loved siggi ☹️ • cooper and lucy walking near an incinerated hollywood tour bus is so lmao why cooper walk past that • at first i thought cooper was displaying cruelty by not letting lucy drink his water but then it occurred to me it might be irradiated, the next scene with water like this, she gets sick from radiation from drinking water • lmao when he emptied the last drops of water in his canteen out in the sand in front of her 😭 • "ain't much stays clean up here, vaulty" he is talking about himself • lucy gazing at a billboard of vault boy, cooper shooting the face, then they cut to vault boy's origins being cooper--- • symbolism and parallels like this can kill a man but i did want to just say there's so many layers to this. to be short he has such contempt, shame for what he thinks he's done, people hundreds of years later worship this thing that represents the end of civilization and he feels responsibility because he was deceived as well. lucy none the wiser. she just thinks he's crazy and horrible for no reason. if only she knew. • the road to hell is paved with good intentions

[siremasterlawrence]

Breaking In To Hollywood: Henry Cavill

Breaking In To Hollywood studios is having a massive sale so I decide to take a long shot to see if they have anybody available for me as I arrive and the doors swing open as I walk in. The red carpet roles out me the youngest new star enter the compound as the lights blow up shining as I make my way down the red carpet and the owner of gallery greets me. In the door way he offers his hands at me as we shook hands tightly in excitement as I squeeze him hard and I let go as he points for me to sit carrying this massive apple red packet to me.

I grab it feeling something unraveling inside when I open it a golden color emits letting me now it is all about to go topsy turvey for me and a pen appears in my hand at the same minute. The time spins about as I realize my hand is writing on the paper my name turns to gold as it vanishes from my hand and I am completely in awe of it all and next thing the room spinning out of control. Once it stops rotating I soon come to noticing that I am in a entirely different room painted in a array of color schemes forcing me to see it as a door appears and a keys floats down in to my head.

Rising as I make it to the threshold of the door way placing face key in the key hole turning it as the door blows up in brightly lit room fill to the broom in red ink but I am not about to and or could not not make it out. I am swooping in as the door slamming right behind him as the air swirls in cooling up the room wrapping around me, the next thing I know I see the name Henry Cavill written in red paint. A flat screen television flips on switch to a video proof playing of Henry introducing himself to a perspective buyer because he has agreed to see his life for a lifetime.

“Did you buy that little act of mine? “

“Yeah I know!”

“Oscar worthy!”

“Don’t flatter yourself “

“Ok then! Magnificent “

“So you a contract to fill and the lifetime retainer.”

“All settled here you go”

“Excellent! Quiet the thrill ride “

“What is your story?”

“Well one day I found I myself despising the wealthy.”

“So you sought revenge by making them in to meat suits?”

“Precisely! You are lucky to make this deal with me dude.”

“If you can produce the magic.”

“Well step inside, let’s make the magic happen.”

“The machine is rolling on”

“The door closes behind me”

“We have a narrator here”

“Commence it already “

“I’ll see you soon Mr. Cavill”

“Alright! Here we go!”

“Wait for the light?”

“Then what?”

“Hello?”

“Anybody there?”

“Shit”

“Oh well!”

“Please walk to the center “

“Is that a scanner”

“Say cheese “

“This before “

The lights flips on revealing Mr. Cavill is lock in a glass connected to the walls the glass is shiny, clean and such a sight to behold as his eyes are closed and he is everywhere bit swoon worthy as I thought. I approach the class case placing my hand on the frame as I oogle his beautiful body from the front of the glass as it begins to change color and explode on my touch as the body falls forward. It tumbles on top of me so heavy, strong and so admirable before clumps up in to a hefty explosion it’s self drowning me a liquid sea of gold and attaching its self to my body rightly so before I collapse.

My body lifts upward in to the air lower then the ceiling as I begin encircling the upper area of the room going round and round as my body shook like crazy letting the goop sip in to my skin. I fall forward to the ground as I melt into the floor slowly my body took shape rebuilding in to what I thought it is my body fully forming in to a human shape taking a deep breath. Ilove the feeling standing up as I go for awalk towards the mirror happily, instead I see another man’s reflection as I see himHenry Cavill staring back at me with utter love.

I watch with smirk placing my hand under my masculine chin, blowing my self a sweet soft kiss as I feel my masculine body roll under my finger and I feel like God for the first time. My new body shiver at a quake when I check myself out he is ravish in all the ways letting me fingers slide down the cloth and gropes my ass tight knowing that everyone wants to worship this. The door swings open on both sides as he steadily makes his way to stand next to me with pride in his eyes and on his face he is definitely cocky and I plan on using it against.

“This is after “

“You were not kidding “

“Duh! want to try it out “

“Hell yeah!”

“At your service”

“Actually!”

“Don’t do it! Please “

“Ignore Henry! He will become non existent soon.”

“Give me back my body “

“What was that? Connection is bad”

“Asshole! Zip it “

“So static zzzzzz”

“Damn it! You bitch”

“Or what? What can you do?”

“I’ll usurp…”

“You will do no such thing and in fact you will see it my way now.”

“Mwahahahahaha”

“Oh My Goodness! I want to be “

“To be what?”

“Ffffrrrreeeee!”

“Go silent? Good Riddance”

“Where was I? Oh yes! Time to seal the deal bitch.”

The end

[snickerdoodlles]

📚

please?

❣.

so you know the tiktok hiding guy? this guy;

so picture Chay as this guy. he loves to hide things, but has nothing to hide (well. he kinda does, he hides some of the more sentimental things from loan sharks and uncle Arthee, but besides that). but he keeps hollowing out books and making sneaky can hideaways and picking up hide-a-keys from dumpsters and thriftstores, because enrichment. Porsche enables this 200%, because Porsche enables and encourages Chay in anything he does.

so picture if you will, Kim's first visit to snoop. even before Chay rushes to lock his door, Kim notices a few...odd things about Chay's home. a book with the wrong edges worn. a too thick picture frame. a can that rattles wrong. he is all very calm and patient and Not Thinking About It Too Hard while he and Chay play guitar, then he sends Chay off to go get noodles and starts tearing through the house as quick as he can. the locked landing door is calling him, but first a quick stop by that picture frame that's been bugging him. it opens easily and Kim finds...an old song notebook? what??? grabs a nearby can that's out of place and unscrews it to find...tylenol? Kim's used to hiding pills, but???? tylenol????? checks one of the books that was bothering him and four come away to reveal a hollowed core hiding...a candle??????

Kim is. so confused. so intrigued. starts tearing through the living room to uncover more and more hideaways hiding completely innocuous stuff. every time he thinks "wait, what about that door?" he gets distracted by something that isn't quite right and he jumps to dig into that. what the fuck does any of this MEAN.

Chay comes back to Kim wearing guilt like a coat and surrounded by trails of the random shit he's hidden over the years. he stares at Kim, stares at the mess, then bursts out laughing and asks if Kim's found the hidden safe or key yet. !!!!! goes Kim's brain and he's off to the races. they definitely forget about their noodles while Kim has a blast going on a seemingly never-ending scavenger hunt and Chay eggs him on.

this eventually carries on to when they get together. think Chay's hidden polaroids move but dialed up to 20, nothing is safe. forget clearing out half his closet, Kim clears out a wall safe for Chay and gets kissed against the wall right next to it. eventually they install a closet with hidden compartments worthy of a hollywood blockbuster. Chay is still hollowing out books and converting cans into hideaways even with the fancy stuff. Kim is on an eternal scavenger hunt. they are having so much fun.

[[ ask me about fics im not writing ]]

[girltalkcollectives]

Your Love Story Doesn’t Need to Be a Fairytale

Let’s talk about love. Not the Hollywood version with perfectly timed rain kisses and dramatic airport chases. Not the TikTok version with carefully curated couple challenges and matching outfits. Let’s talk about real love — the kind that doesn’t always make for a good movie but makes for a good life.

Here’s the truth we need to stop running from: The Notebook lied to us. So did Pretty Woman, Twilight, and every other romance that made us think love needs to be extraordinary to be worthwhile.

Your love story doesn’t need a dramatic beginning. You don’t need to hate each other first. No one needs to climb a Ferris wheel or write 365 letters. You don’t need to be star-crossed, torn apart by fate, or reunited after years of pining. Sometimes, love is just two people who met on a dating app getting coffee, liked each other enough to get a second coffee, and kept choosing each other, day after day.

We’ve been sold this idea that if love isn’t painful, it’s not deep enough. If it’s not complicated, it’s not real enough. If it doesn’t hurt, it’s not strong enough.

What a load of nonsense.

Your partner doesn’t need to be the most interesting person in every room. They don’t need to have a tragic backstory or be mysteriously broken in a way that only your love can fix. They don’t need to write you poetry or plan elaborate surprises or fight their entire family to be with you.

Sometimes, real love looks like:

Someone remembering how you like your coffee

Netflix nights where you both fall asleep fifteen minutes in

Grocery shopping together on a Sunday afternoon

Taking care of each other during stomach flu

Sharing leftovers and splitting bills

Supporting each other’s small wins

Being boring together and completely okay with it

No one’s making movies about couples who spend their Saturday nights doing laundry together. You won’t see viral TikToks about partners who respect each other’s sleep schedules. Instagram isn’t interested in the couple who communicates clearly and resolves conflicts calmly.

But guess what? Those are the relationships that last.

The most beautiful love stories I know aren’t beautiful because they’re extraordinary. They’re beautiful because they’re real. Because both people show up, day after day, choosing each other even when it’s not exciting. Even when it’s not post-worthy. Even when it’s just ordinary life with an ordinary person who makes that ordinary life better.

Your relationship doesn’t need:

A dramatic “how we met” story

Constant butterflies

Grand gestures

Overwhelming passion

Life-changing moments

Picture-perfect dates

Epic declarations of love

What it needs is:

Mutual respect

Open communication

Shared values

Genuine care

Consistent effort

Trust

Growth

Peace

Stop waiting for someone to love you in a way that would make a good movie. Start appreciating someone who loves you in a way that makes a good life.

Because here’s what they don’t show in romantic movies: the real love, the kind that lasts, happens in the quiet moments. In the mundane. In everyday choices to be kind, to be present, to be understanding.

The most romantic thing isn’t someone chasing you through an airport. It’s someone making space for you in their life, consistently and without drama. It’s someone choosing to work through problems instead of creating them for the sake of passion. It’s someone who makes you feel safe instead of excited.

Your love story is valid even if no one would want to watch it in theaters.

Your relationship is real even if it wouldn’t get a million likes on social media.

Your connection matters even if it wouldn’t fill a journal with intense emotions.

So let go of the fairytale.

Let go of The Notebook.

Let go of the idea that epic means better.

Because sometimes the best love stories aren’t the ones that make your heart race — they’re the ones that make your heart feel at home.

And that’s not settling. That’s growing up.

[shehungthemoon]

peter x neal; in which i break my record for level of schmoop 🤍

Their first kiss is something epic, Hollywood worthy, rain pouring down and air ringing with angry, desperate words said before the inevitable crashing of lips. When Neal remembers it, he remembers it in wide, swooping camera shots and blue-toned filters.

They were epic, Neal thinks, in a subtle, quiet way that is so perfect and constant and understated that it really isn’t epic at all. 

So maybe they aren’t always epic, then, but they’re right , in the easy and simple way that Neal feels every time Peter brushes his fingers against his as they walk, or that he sees every time Peter smiles at him from across a room, unabashed and bright. It’s calmer, softer than anything Neal has ever known, and he loves it more than all of the fine wines and grand heists in the world.

[voulezloux]

hello ! this is the landing post for all my fics ! below the cut are my fics in chronological order with links to their fic posts and series if they are in one! enjoy.

xx. oliver

lips so good i forget my name (2.3k) (mature, larry) (part 1 of camboy au)

omega camboy louis’ got a request that he needs alpha friend harry to help with

ride it, my pony (2.0k) (mature, larry) (part 2 of camboy au)

louis’ audience wants an encore

i’m still breathing (i’m alive) (9.5k) (teen, larry) (part 1 of alive)

the downward spiral of louis tomlinson (or the alcoholism fic nobody asked for)

you took it all (but i’m still breathing) (1.3k) (not rated, larry) (part 2 of alive)

louis almost has a relapse. harry’s there to save him 

you’re the feeling i can’t put down (2.8k) (not rated, larry)

i literally can’t sleep alone anymore so i’ve shown up at your door in my pajamas can we have one more nap together, please?

higher than the empire state (2.0k) (teen, larry)

harry and louis get high together

broken like me (1.4k) (general, larry)

we were only supposed to be friends

from the cradle to the grave (5.4k) (teen, larry)

love is only for the brave

and just forget the world (3.9k) (not rated, larry)

harry’s in a car crash. louis won’t leave his side.

emotions won’t grow (1.7k) (general, larry)

so, you’re the unfortunate soul stuck with me

a big. bright, beautiful world (0.6k) (not rated, larry)

louis asked who harry’d be

it’s hard for me to go home (4.8k) (not rated, larry)

don’t call me baby again

you know i spent some time (in hollywood) (2.2k) (not rated, larry)

harry’s an actor. louis’ the man he left behind.

calling out for someone to hold tonight (3.8k) (not rated, larry)

harry’s straight. louis isn’t. they still manage to fall in love

i couldn’t spend this night alone (2.9k) (not rated, larry)

it’s their first christmas together, and harry wants it to be the best christmas ever.

baby be with me (so happily) (10.4k) (mature, larry)

pop punk band owls on the avenue just signed to their first label, powered by soup, harry is assigned to do their hair. louis has a few problems with that.

this love’s a luxury (5.2k) (mature, larry)

omega louis is a hairdresser. alpha harry just wants his hands on him.

your blueberry eyes (6.1k) (mature, larry)

famous/not famous au where louis tattoos and harry falls for blues

and i’m putting my heart out on display (6k) (not rated, larry)

harry gets cheated on. so does louis. they find comfort in each other.

last christmas (i gave you my heart) (4.4k) (general, larry)

louis and harry are broken up. cue scheming friends to make one christmas wish come true

good enough (for you) (8.2k) (general, larry)

omega louis is next in line to rule the pack. in spite of the rule saying he needs an alpha to rule, he creates an impossible olympics to find a worthy mate. harry somehow wins the gold.

take it day by day (10.1k) (mature, larry)

“enemies” to lovers au where harry and louis secretly date and harry just wants to smell like his baby.

i’m still standing (after all this time) (22.5k) (mature, larry)

dubbed the modern elton john, harry is the biggest thing to come to pop music. topping the charts, there isn’t anyone who can dethrone him. until pop punk trio funeral for fire emerges on the scene.

a face of a lover with a fire in his heart (2.6k) (general, larry)

it’s christmas time and whamageddon is upon us. with all of their friends out, harry and louis make a bet to see who can not listen to the wham! song longer.

one chance (kiss him you fool) (5.5k) (mature, larry)

the five times louis tries (and fails) to ask harry out. and the one time harry finally gets the balls to ask louis out.

nights like these (3.7k) (general, larry)

you smile at me and say “it’s time to go.” but i don’t feel like going home.

your right now, your forever, your last call, your whatever (6.3k) (mature, larry)

“we should kiss.” so they kiss.

defying stars (9.2k) (teen, larry)

the marching band au that one person (and that was me) asked for

always had that heart of mine (7.8k) (mature, larry)

louis is nesting, though he won’t admit to it. between being ill, the stress of uni, and near drops, the only thing keeping him afloat is harry’s scent. the fact they don’t get along is neither here nor there.

part time soulmates (full time problem) (12.0k) (mature, larry)

sworn enemies harry and louis are soulmates. everything is going smoothly until the pain hits.

it's the summer of our love (3.0k) (general, louis/ryan ross)

ryan is in love with his best friend and gym bro, louis. the problem? ryan is straight.

if it feels like love (then it must be love) (1.9k) (general, shiall)

niall and shawn are in love. if they could both realize this, that would be lovely.

make my wish come true (2.4k) (not rated, larry)

the one where all harry wants for christmas is lou

powerless (and i don’t care) (4.0k) (explicit, larry)

everyone on tour calls each other daddy, don’t ask why. and louis is so used to calling everyone “daddy” that, when he finally comes home, naturally he calls harry that. alternatively titled "the daddy fic."

for the rest of my life (for the rest of yours) (1.5k) (mature, zouis)

zayn and louis are exes. they still sleep together.

don’t be afraid to love (and love again) (83.2k) (teen, larry) (part 1 of trans louis verse)

the one where louis is trans and afraid, harry is cis and brave, and being 100% yourself is easier said than done.

the past might be painful, but i’m in love with our future (10.3k) (teen, larry) (part 2 of trans louis verse)

it takes a lot of convincing for louis to let harry take him to his first pride. harry understands his worries and fears. really, he does. he just wants to show his boyfriend that he doesn’t have to be alone anymore. a don’t be afraid to love (and love again) time stamp.

frightened by the bite, no harsher than the bark (21.6k) (teen, larry)

louis loves going to the barricade during his shows. if it’s because he’s got a bit (lot) of touch deprivation and is using it as an excuse to have his big alpha bodyguard, harry, touch him, well, that’s a secret he doesn’t need to tell.

last updated: 6 july, 2024

[mywifeleftme]

360: Dusty Springfield // Dusty Springfield's Golden Hits

Dusty Springfield's Golden Hits Dusty Springfield 1966, Philips

These early Dusty Springfield singles really get the “Wall of Sound” production treatment, despite Mr. Spector’s absence from the credits: mixed loud as hell like the kids liked it, screaming string charts, backing vocals en regalia, and a big beat knocking around underneath. Folks love to cite her as the second artist of the British Invasion to hit the U.S. charts, and for cultural reasons that may be significant, but her early sound was indistinguishable from American acts like Lesley Gore and the Shirelles. I don’t know many of the details about her career, but it seems like whoever was managing her was hell-bent on breaking her in the States. Call it a credit to English ingenuity (and specifically arranger Ivor Raymonde) that they were able to give Springfield a knock-out sound that passes for the contemporary Hollywood (or Detroit) product.

Dusty Springfield’s Golden Hits, her first major compilation, is Brill Building / girl group-style music par excellence, with a murderer’s row of hitwriters from both sides of the pond (Bacharach/David, Goffin/King, Beatrice Verdi/Buddy Kaye, etc.). Practically anyone could’ve had chart success with these songs and this packaging (and a number of these were subsequently hits for others), but Springfield had a cannon of a voice on her that makes the best of these numbers undeniable. Those who place her voice with the Arethas and Dionne Warwicks wish she’d been guided towards soul or sophisticated torch songs from the start, but I personally love it when someone vocally overqualified for bubblegum is made to tear into a good bop. “I Only Want to Be With You” is buffeted along by the force of her voice, the violins shrieking like a 33rpm record dragged up to 45; “Little By Little” could’ve been written for a Motown powerhouse like Darlene Love (but scarcely improved on by her); “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself” moves from the sound of a girl sadly combing her hair before her vanity to Sampson bringing down the temple.

There’s plenty of treacle here, and “Wishin’ and Hopin’” probably set feminism further back than “He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss),” but this is a worthy addition to any ‘60s pop library.

360/365

[hillzhqs]

🎥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬, 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚, 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!!

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚖 𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝 // 𝚏𝚎𝚋 𝟷𝚜𝚝 - 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑 𝟷𝚜𝚝

the venice film festival is a yearly film festival that takes place on the island of lido in venice, showcasing the newest and hottest films of the season that may just be on the oscar ballots later in the year. from elaborate red carpets to wild after parties, having all of hollywood in one place at the same time is simply a recipe for chaos and chaos is a dish best served cold. the venice film festival event will take place for the entire month of february and will be broken up into three parts - the welcome yacht party, the venice film festival + the castelbrando.

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟎𝟎𝟏 : 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢

TIMELINE : taking place over one day in rp time (will technically be february 3rd) but players will be able to write this out from february 1st-february 8th DETAILS : as the stars land in venice, check into the hotel cipriani and get ready for a week of interviews, red carpets, screenings and parties, what better way to kick it off then on a yacht party? starting in the day time, this yacht will sail throughout venice as the stars eat, drink and dance the day away under the venice sun. DRESS CODE : daytime cocktail (think mid-length/short dresses or trousers and crisp button ups and tailored pants)

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟎𝟎𝟐 : 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚖 𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕

TIMELINE : the movie premiers will be taking place over a week in rp time (will technically be from february 4th-14th) but players will be able to write this out from february 8th-february 15th DETAILS : it's time to show the world what you've been working on. blood, sweat and tears went into a lot of these movies and now, it's up to the critics to judge whether or not it's oscar buzz worthy. there are channels for each movie premiere where you can write out the red carpet/screenings of the movies, interviews, as well as the coveted after party where everyone can sigh a breath of relief and party the night away. DRESS CODE : for the red carpet, it's time for you to bring your absolute a-game, couture pieces only (think met gala, cannes and venice film festival red carpet vibes)! for the after party, think the oscar's vanity fair party vibes.

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟎𝟎𝟏 & 𝟎𝟎𝟐 : 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚜

TIMELINE : while the welcome yacht party and the film festival will be limited to their above timelines, the 'around venice' section will be open for the first two weeks of the event (february 1st-february 15th) DETAILS: for all of your in between 'main event' interactions - from chats at the hotel or dinners in venice in between interviews, it would be a shame for the stars to be in such a beautiful place and not have the chance to get out a bit, right? VALENTINE'S DAY MINI EVENT : taking a break from the glitz and glam of the film festival, of course the celebs have to celebrate valentine's day and what better way to do so than with a classic, debaucherous hollywood party? the 'kiss on the lips' party will take place in an old venice church that was converted into a club and will be y2k themed - meaning that everyone must dress in their favorite early 2000's looks. from spin the bottle to beer pong, it'll be the perfect event to live out the good old days, and maybe kiss someone you're not supposed to.

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟎𝟎𝟑 : 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘

TIMELINE : the celebrities weekend at the castelbrando will take place over the weekend of february 15th-february 18th rp time. however, players will have from february 15th-march first to write out this weekend. DETAILS : after making it through the week of endless press and hours upon hours in heels, the stars deserve a little treat, don't they? the academy is treating all of the attendees to a weekend at castelbrando - an hour outside of venice in the italian countryside. there will be an extravagant and lavish ball celebration in the castle, as well. while the ball event will take place over one night in rp time, the rest of the rooms and areas in the castle can take place over the span of the entire weekend. all will seem well, but there's a catch... DISH OR DARE? : secrets secrets are no fun, unless they're shared with everyone! uh oh, looks like gossip girl got a hold on some dirt on your characters. upon arriving to their bedroom at the castle, there will be a note on their pillow with two secrets about your character - one is true and one is a rumor. and on the back of that note, there will be a dare that your character has to complete in order to keep gossip girl's mouth shut about them. this dare must be completed throughout the weekend at the castle and if not? one of their secrets will be revealed when the clock strikes midnight at the ball. HOW TO PARTICIPATE : the dish or dare secrets challenge is completely optional. if you'd like to participate please submit two of your character's secrets to the main - one secret should be true, and the other should be a completely made up rumor. gossip girl will give you your character's challenge that they have to complete. once your character has completed their assigned dare, please write CHARACTER NAME has completed their dare in the dish or dare channel. if your character is choosing to not complete their dare, please write CHARACTER NAME will not be completing their dare. please note that you will NOT know which secret the gossip blog will release - whether it will be the true one or the fake one will be based on whatever silly lil mood i'm in.

DRESS CODE : for the ball, bring your most glamorous a-game

[sleepymarmot]

Ocean's Eleven (2001) & Ocean's Twelve (2004)

Ocean's Eleven

This is basically the gold standard of modern masculine coolness, right?

I definitely saw this at some point, but that was so long ago that I remembered nothing of the specifics. I do remember Ocean’s Eight well enough to compare, though, and what I found out today is that Debbie wasn’t the only Ocean sibling to have a surprising amount of gay chemistry with their blond(e) right hand (wo)man. Good for all of them!

Danny/Tess made a valiant effort to keep up, but unfortunately, Tess’s entire character is the weakest part of the film. The story is male-centric to the extreme, and the only woman is a trophy for the protagonist to steal from the antagonist.

None of these people measure up in hotness to Cate Blanchett in Ocean’s Eight, but they did look nice. A special shout out to the bad guy, who suddenly acquired a dark brooding gothic demeanor when he realized his defeat.

Every review describes Ocean’s Eleven with adjectives such as “smooth”, “fun”, and “charming”, which is true, but in addition to that, an essential factor that makes it work as a “feel-good movie” for me is how non-violent it is, despite the hypermasculinity. The target of robbery is utterly unsympathetic, there’s little to no collateral damage, guns only enter the picture as a two second long fakeout. The viewers don’t have the reason to feel bad for anyone and can just bask in the good vibes. (Though personally, I still managed to get nervous a few times during the heist, even though I knew perfectly well that the job would end in success. I’m really not built for any kind of suspense, huh.) It’s extremely shallow, but instead of the common and annoying “pretends to be deep but fails” way, it’s shallow in the “our only goal is to make this as fun as possible” way, and that gets no objections from me.

Ocean's Twelve

I genuinely can’t tell if I’ve watched Ocean’s Twelve before in full or not. I remember the laser dancing sequence, and the Bruce Willis-Julia Roberts stuff feels familiar, but everything else feels totally new to my present self.

They Garak’d Brad Pitt so hard! Literally the first scene of the movie grabs the viewer by the shoulders and shouts “Oh you thought he seemed kinda gay? Here, look, he’s definitely attracted to women!” Also, God, Hollywood kissing close-ups are so obnoxious.

The thief/cop romance is not bad in theory, but felt forced in practice; now that Danny and Tess are back together, we need another obligatory white heterosexual will they/won’t they (that doubles as a no homo, see above). The “reveal” that the legendary thief who might or might not be dead, and the thief father who allegedly died around the same time, are in fact the same person, can be seen from miles away; the real surprise is that Isabel herself didn’t figure it out somehow.

Linus was only slightly annoying in the first one, but here he’s given prolonged scenes that are painfully awkward to watch. What was the point of making him the “immature SJW” if that didn’t even go anywhere?

Vincent Cassel is not as good of an antagonist as Andy García. Watching Terry Benedict threaten the crew at the beginning of the film was actually pretty fun, and the Night Fox just doesn’t have anything to be a worthy successor to that classic villain charisma.

Overall I have to say I was pretty bored. Perhaps it’s my fault for watching the second movie the day after the first, motivated more by curiosity than “I’m really missing the heist movie vibe right now”. Several times I thought “this can’t possibly be the real heist, it’s not good enough”. The final twist was decent if a bit predictable, but it wasn’t enough to justify the whole thing.

I considered completing the marathon with Ocean’s Thirteen (which I have no memory of, either), but perhaps it would be wise to leave it for later. I suspect movies like these work better as palate cleansers or light entertainment, and trying to be completionist with them like with typical series would be counterproductive. For now, it might be better to take a break from action movies starring white American men — I feel testosterone-poisoned already!

[muse-legion]

Will knew exactly what she meant. He’d seen quite some things that would be Hollywood worthy story wise. “Too bad we can’t talk about it. Otherwise I could write books about the most incredible stories of an ER. Or Diaries of an ER. Based on true stories.” He mimicked the voice of a news reporter before he added in a more serious manner. “Some of which are hard to believe.” But then again it was one of the reasons he loved his job; at least there was no such thing like a boring routine. “As if. But yeah it’s the same for surgery patients. They rate you by the time it takes for the pain killers to kick in. Apparently that’s the only way to determine whether or not you’re a good doctor.” At least that was what it seemed like most of the time although there was obviously so much more to it; from the right diagnose and treatment to making sure they didn’t give them any meds they were allergic to and so forth. He laughed at her statement about the insults. “I trust you on that. Not to brag or anything but I’ve learned to swear in about twenty languages by now but that’s literally the only words I know of each of them. Shame on me but at least I can say it comes with the job.” It wasn’t even a joke; however his thoughts were cut short at her new nickname for him. “Can you just please not call me that?” Besides the fact he wasn’t one for those in general, this particular nickname really wasn’t his favorite. “I don’t blame you. I’ve done it a few times before — a long, long time ago, I must add. And it never ended well but… like my mom used to say: sometimes you have to kiss many frogs before one turns into a prince or princess.” William chuckled and winked at her teasingly. “That being said, at least we’ve learned from past mistakes and know how to do better this time. So, coffee tomorrow at about two? That should give us enough time to sober up first.”

"I don't know if I could do that. There is no way I'd be able to keep a straight face after finding out someone was in the ER for doing something incredibly stupid." Sure she had heard the stories, whenever something was overly amusing it tended to make it's way around the hospital and Lance had been told numerous times to fix her face before going to see any of her patients afterwards. "I'd argue that all I do is pump the drugs but I know a lot of mothers believe that to be the best part. The most invaluable part." And Lance got to have some kind of routine whilst also never knowing what to expect from her day. It was nice in that way, part of why she loved what she did so much. No days were ever boring. "That's because labouring women are terrifying. You have no idea how many new insults I've learned in my time doing this job." And some women were incredibly creative with what they managed to come up with-- she had to give people credit for that. "Okay good. Then we're definitely on the same page, Sparkle." Yeah that was a nickname that was probably going to stick. He didn't usually go out with colleagues and everything in Lance was telling her she shouldn't do it again. But she wanted to. "I have done it once before and it didn't end well." Lance paused, "That said, yeah I'd love to go out with you."

[pavedsecrets]

✦ DARREN BARNET, CIS MAN, HE/HIM✦ CONNOR STOKES the TWENTY-EIGHT year old has been in Hidehill for HIS ENTIRE LIFE and was a ACQUANTAINCE to Miyeon Kang, the murder victim. Whispers on the streets are that the ACTOR who lives in HARLOW ESTATES are said to be CAPTIVATING and INDULGENT I guess we’ll find out for ourselves.

ABOUT CONNOR: Thrills don’t come for free, the price you pay for dreams.

CHARACTER BASICS

FULL NAME: Connor Flynn Stokes

NICKNAME(S): Con, Stokes

AGE: Twenty-Eight

GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cis Man, He/Him

FACE CLAIM: Darren Barnet

EYE COLOR: Brown

HAIR COLOR: Brown

HEIGHT: 5′10

DATE OF BIRTH: December 18th, 1994

ZODIAC SIGN: Sagittarius

LEVEL OF EDUCATION: High School Diploma with some Acting Classes on the side

LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English

HOGWARTS HOUSE: Slytherin

OCCUPATION: Actor

HOBBIES: Guitar, Singing, Pool, Smoking, Acting, Snowboarding, Motorcycling, Songwriting.

RESIDENCE: Harlow Estates

TIME IN TOWN: His entire life, though he’s been known to leave months at a time to film various projects.

CHARACTER HISTORY

Connor was born surrounded by opportunity, his parents wouldn’t allow anything less. They strived for perfection as a couple, his mother Reina chasing her dream of being a lawyer while his father Luis climbed the ranks of a motorcycle club’s hierarchy. Once Connor was born their plans shifted slightly, only until he was 7 and old enough to have some independence. It wasn’t too bad, he began flying through different sports to try and find the right fit — he was talented but the true talent was trying to get him to commit. Nothing stuck but he was busy so his parents were pleased, they didn’t even mind the occasional skip of class to smoke behind the bleachers.

He found a love for acting by accident, deciding to try out for a high school play on a dare. Connor didn’t expect to land a part let alone the lead, though he still remembers all of the season regulars being angry until he opened his mouth to speak. After that he was stuck, committed to the profession instead of needing to switch the following season. The winter play caught the attention of a director from Hollywood, something about the man being friends with the drama teacher from back home and he was tasked with a few months of online schooling to star in his first film — all he had to do was leave his girlfriend behind.

The dream was something he never imagined and with it dangling in front of his face Connor found it impossible to ignore. His father had never seen him so committed to something in his 17 years of life and told him he needed to focus all of his attention into this job to have the possibility to gain more. It was days of the same speech until he finally gave in, he ended his 6 month relationship with his girlfriend two weeks after sleeping with her for the first time, leaving her without a trace and no chance to give her a worthy explanation.

Two months working in Los Angeles and Connor was the lead in a romantic comedy, The Kissing Booth. He’s been back and forth between Hidehill and wherever his career takes him since graduation and hasn’t looked back.

HEADCANONS

His first real relationship was the brief one and he ended up really caring for her, but he left and completely ghosted her, still hasn’t explained himself to this day.

Lost his virginity to Heather Jones at 17 and took hers at a house party, didn’t tell her until months later that it was his first time too. They reconciled for a better experience together.

Starred as the love interest in a popular girl group’s music video when he was 25, he was the pizza delivery man and started dating one of the members. Their relationship lasted a year but ultimately ended after he went away to work on a project and she assumed the worst and made up that he was cheating on her — he didn’t. Still to this day she’s convinced he did thus resulting in numerous songs written by her about him.

Starring in a new upcoming film where he’s trying to protect his co-star and speak out on her behalf on all the sex scenes where she finds herself feeling uncomfortable.

His mom has been known to be chosen for a lot of tough cases, often pulling him further into the spotlight.

He plays around with music, wanted to learn in case some roles asked for it and has fun songwriting in his spare time.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

Partner in Crime

Ex he left behind

Roommate

Unlikely friends

Hookups

Good Influence

Party Friends

Exes

Co-stars, Ex Co-stars

Anyone he’s worked with behind the scenes, on shoots for other things, anyone in the entertainment industry with him.

Childhood friends

Neighbors

[isagisyoichi]

0X1=LOVE SONG (I KNOW I LOVE YOU)

SYNOPSIS: little things they do when they’re in love.

CHARACTERS INCLUDED: isagi, bachira, niko, chigiri, raichi, nagi, sae, reo.

WARNINGS: none i think

A/N: part 2839933 of me cleaning out my drafts

ISAGI YOICHI:

always remembers to grab some of your favorite candy whenever he’s at the gas station. still has the receipt from your first date together. unironically looks for his and your initials whenever he sees one of those “these initials are soulmates 😦” tiktoks that were obviously made by 12 year olds. i mean, isagi already believes you two are made for each other, but you know, extra reassurance never hurts.

BACHIRA MEGURU:

buys cringey couples clothes “ironically,” or so he says. tries makes you wear them with him in public. resist his puppy eyes for the sake of your dignity. talks to his mom about you often, with a permanent lovelorn lilt in his voice as he raves about you. his mom's been planning your guy's wedding in her head for months now. lets his guard down with you. puts away his happy-go-lucky persona for a while and lets himself cry in your arms about the things that hurt him in the past, because he knows he’ll be okay as long as he has you.

CHIGIRI HYOUMA:

lets you, and only you, touch his hair. will let you braid it, tie it up, whatever, as long as you're being careful, of course. likes to read to you while you rest your head in his lap. used to roll his eyes when he heard the cheesy love songs blasting from his sister’s room but now, chigiri finds himself smiling at the sound (even though he'd rather die than tell anyone that). it’s because he finally understands what they’re talking about, what love is about, and it’s what he has with you.

RAICHI JINGO:

gifts you a necklace with a little “j” on it, so you can have a little part of him everywhere you go. and because he loves the way the silver pendant glistens when you talk to another guy. never fails to hype you up in your instagram comments. does the absolute most to talk to you when his phone is taken. makes a google doc so you guys can talk on that, emails you on his school account, gets a backup phone LOL. raichi’s living proof of “if he wanted to, he would.”

NAGI SEISHIRO:

you’re the only person he answers when he receives a facetime call unannounced. the type to have four different conversations with you on four different messaging platforms. y’all are arguing on snap but playing 8ball on imessage 😭 puts you on to his music. nagi is a huge gatekeeper for no reason, but you’re the one person he deems worthy enough to share his musical knowledge with. it's his way of telling you that you're special to him in a way no one else is.

ITOSHI SAE:

has playful arguments with you all the time. he’s always liked how you’re one of the few people capable of keeping up with his neverending spiel of sarcasm. has no problem complaining to the chef when your order is wrong, even if you insist it’s okay, because to sae, it’s not. to him, you only deserve the best. lets his ice cold exterior melt when he’s alone with you. he smiles genuinely, lets out slight chuckles at your lame jokes, speaks without insulting someone after every other sentence, just softens up so much around you. you’re good for him, you know that?

KUNIGAMI RENSUKE:

doesn’t mind when you hog the blanket. in fact, he’ll let you have all of it, even if it means he’ll be freezing. keeps a picture of you in his wallet. blushes when people see and asks if that’s his significant other. never fails to make you breakfast whenever you spend the night with him. makes you daydream of a future where you can look forward to his cooking everyday.

MIKAGE REO:

pins your conversation with him on imessage. will happily make any and all corny couples tiktoks with you. y'all have even gone viral a couple of times which have earned comments from nagi about how you two have “gone hollywood” on him 😐. the type to chat your dad up about stocks and stuff to kiss up to him, but reo actually knows what he’s talking about. your dad had accepted reo’s position as his future son in law within ten minutes of meeting him.

NIKO IKKI:

seriously relies on those “wiki-how” articles for relationship advice because he doesn’t trust his friends but, he does want to know to make you happy. when he holds your hand, niko rubs his thumb against the back of your palm. lets you take him out of his comfort zone. even though he’s rather rigid with his limits, niko finds himself loosening up in your presence, allowing himself to experience more of what life has to offer. as long as you're by his side, of course.

[shehungthemoon]

fic game!

that i saw on @hobgoblinns (hi!💖) and I thought would be fun to try. rules: share the first line of your last 10 published fics and see if there’s a pattern!

Barry looked out at the sunset, pinks and golds glowing like molten liquids in the sky, and inhaled with a smile.

Hoshi asks T’Pol for tea a week after the incident with the symbiote.

Their first kiss is something epic, Hollywood worthy, rain pouring down and air ringing with angry, desperate words said before the inevitable crashing of lips. 

He shot awake with scratching sounds in his ears and the sickly sweet taste of iron in his throat.

He was gentle things that Nick didn’t allow himself, happy things that Nick couldn’t find on his own.

There was a rushing in his head that washed out the sounds of the waves breaking on the hull. 

Danny talked a lot. 

Thor knew it was nonsensical, but he could have sworn he could feel a permanent chill creeping through the ship as the winter months got closer.

It started like this:

babe

Ok so what I'm seeing is that I need to break away from "name"/"he"/"there" as my three choices. Hmmmmm.