#and I was constantly going back and forth wondering if that's the same actor from andor

[thedirtiwalkoniswet]

If you have this type of face your fate in hollywood is doomed. You will be cast as the loser

[animeyanderelover]

hope the tea you drank was stuff you liked at least! i mostly only drink green + peppermint but i imagine even if its flavors you enjoy having to drink them nonstop would get old lol;; and because i have gender envy over this man im once again asking for chae yul with confession from the valentines day prompt list!

I constantly switched back and forth between black tea, peppermint tea and orange-ginger tea with a spoon of honey to mix the flavors at least a bit.

Tw: Yandere themes, possessive behavior, obsession, delusional behavior, clinginess, manipulation, stalking, bullying, blackmailing, guilt-tripping

Tags: @iloveeyanderes

Valentine’s Day Special: Confession Prompt

“…”

How could silence be so loud? How could you stay quiet right now? Would you be convinced if he would go down on his knees for you? Why were you hesitating? Was there someone else that you liked? Was there another boy on your mind? No, that couldn’t be possible? He had spent weeks stalking, threatening and secretly bullying every men who had gotten too close to you. Then why were you still-

“Are you serious?”

Oh, at the sound of your sweet voice Chae Yul immediately reacted, his heart increasing its already racing speed. He could pick up the hesitation within your mind, the doubt that was visible within your eyes as you analysed him. You didn’t believe him, didn’t trust him and that… That broke his heart. Obviously your recent experiences hadn’t been the best as all of your friends and acquaintances in college had started avoiding you without naming any specific reason but you should never have to direct such mistrust at him.

One of his hands reached up, his fingers trembling as they touched your warm skin. There was a shudder going through his body as he gently pried your hand away from the strap of the bag that you had been clutching so tightly, noticing how your palm was slightly sweaty? He wondered if you were feeling the same emotions that he was feeling at the moment, if your heart was going as crazy as his was in this moment.

“Does this feel like I’m not being serious?

You hadn’t expected for him to press your palm against his chest, one of his slender hands covering yours as he held it pressed there. His own heartbeat was jumping violently against your palm, the organ seemingly trying to break free from his rib cage.

“You feel it, right?”

Your gaze darted from his chest to his face, taking in the red blush on his face and his dilated pupils. If all of this was just a mere act then Chae Yul was a damn good actor yet you doubted that this was only a play.

“You promise you won’t leave?” You asked quietly, the words sounding pathetic even in your own ears yet the last semester had given you some serious abandonment issues. Chae Yul had been your only steady pillar, the only one who hadn’t suddenly started to ignore you.

“No, no, no. I would never. I’m not like them.”

He was rubbing salt in the wound by using that last sentence but he needed you to understand that he was the only person in your life you would ever need. After all if he would have been threatened to never see you again he would have murdered whoever would have spoken those words. Your so called ‘friends’ on the other hand had just caved so easily so you couldn’t have meant that much to them to begin with.

The way the corners of your mouth dropped immediately when he reminded you of everyone else told him that he had hit the mark he had intended to hit. Of course it pained him to see you so sad but he knew that as soon as you would accept him, he would shower you in love and happiness. All you had to do now I was to just say “yes.”

Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-

“I…well- I wouldn’t mind you being my boyfriend.”

Instantly you berated yourself for your awkward choice of words as a simple confirmation would have done the job. For Chae Yul that was enough though as his mind instantly interpreted your words in a way that he desired.

“I love you.”

“I want you.”

Your air got quite literally knocked out of your lungs when he suddenly pressed himself flush against your front, his free hand seizing your upper arm to keep you from stumbling back or moving away from him. His chest was rapidly rising and falling, quick pants escaping his lips as you felt his heart only beating faster.

“I can’t believe you feel the same way! I’ve loved you from so far, watched for you so long… I’ve done so much for this moment to happen!”

[eisforeidolon]

I am not sure how long you have been in the SPN fandom (I have only been in it for 3 years) but I was wondering has the infighting about which J is actually the better one always been a thing? I sometimes see some fans really hating on them for what seems like very petty reasons and projecting all kinds of jealously, codependence, and envious behavior especially onto Jensen. I love Jared but the way some Jared fans act like Jensen has or had some creepy obsession with him makes me wonder if this is something that has always been around or manifested more after the prequel situation.

It's been around 11 years for me, being properly in the fandom. I binged the series just in time to catch the start of season 8 airing real-time, and came to tumblr when I realized fanfic was not going to scratch the itch of sharing speculation about what would happen next. So far as I'm aware, from personal observation and seeing people who've been around longer talking about the what the fandom was like? It's always been a thing to some extent, but the extent has varied a lot depending on when and what part of the fandom you're in.

The extreme Jensen stans - generally called Ackles Army (AAs) - have always been upfront and loud about hating Jared over anything and everything - almost literally to the point of insisting he's breathing wrong. They overlap a lot with hellers because of a generally shared desire to get Jared off SPN and away from Jensen, convinced he was in the way/holding Jensen back/throwing jealous tantrums to control Jensen and the show/whatthefuckever.

While some extreme Jared stans didn't bother to hide, a lot of them insisted they were totally fans of both prior to prequelgate and maybe some were - to an extent. For the most part they could blend in, because most of the time? Jensen and Jared were in pretty synchronous agreement - doing publicity together, agreeing the brother bond was the center of the show, not really doing a lot of other projects, etc. But over time, long before prequelgate, well it just always so happened that if either J got solo attention or there was some perceived difference? According to these supposed bibros, Jared was not capable of even considering making a bad decision ever, while nearly everything Jensen did alone was somehow embarrassing or suspect and supposedly reflected badly on him. They didn't necessarily want Jensen to go away, just know his place as the cheerleading subordinate. Of course now that Jensen and Jared are doing separate projects and attention for Jensen does not automatically mean attention to Jared, with the handy kickoff of prequelgate to claim extra totes legit justification over that misunderstanding they sorted out in a single phone call ... well, here we are.

By and large the AAs/hellers have always been more extreme - in terms of sheer quantity of assholes openly wishing not just failure but actual harm on Jared and sending death threats to him and other fans. But in terms of petty back and forth bullshit dragging the actors, these days they openly do a lot of the exact same nonsense: J is ugly! J is an alcoholic/druggie! J is a complete failure post-SPN! J is abusive to fave!J! J is obviously jealous of fave!J/trying to sabotage fave!J! J only did X because fave!J did Y so much better! Only fave!J was essential to the show, it was his character's story!

Both sides are constantly justifying themselves with the ol' OMG THEY STARTED IT! nonsense. Sure, the self-serving justifications differ just a little where the Jensen stans pretend to be amnesiac and blind to the really gross and reprehensible shit sent directly to Jared and basically everything the real Jensen says, while the Jared stans insist no one should object to anything they say because at least it's not wishing death on anybody (despite how much they lose their shit over even the petty nonsense when it's being directed at Jared). As if it's not obviously a constant back and forth of copycat stupid that has everything to do with each side trying to "prove" their personal superiority in being fans of The Better J by talking shit on the internet.

[destinyc1020]

Honestly, I have to give Tom and Z big credit for maintaining such a strong relationship despite being in LDR. It helps that they have similar careers, but its not easy to have so much distance from the person you love. It helps enormously that they have the resources/finances to travel to meet each other considering they are the most famous actors of their young peers.

I follow this fashion influencer whos in her mid 20s living in the UK, who also in an LDR with her boyfriend who resides in Australia, and they go back and forth, staying months at each others countries and also going on vacations together. And she makes it work and is very much my man, my man sorta girl lol.

Tom and Z are very lucky they both value love and exclusivity cause it's so rare, especially nowadays. Dating ain't it in this generation lol, but that's for another day.

Sometimes, I feel the love of my life is probably a country away, lol. I think it's romantic. I do wonder how ppl without phones and Internet did it in the past...

Yea girl....I always say that you REALLY REALLY have to love someone to pieces to be able to do a long distance rlshp with someone for YEARS like TZ have. 😅😏

Also add on top of that they're actors, so they're constantly traveling, and working away from home for months on end?

Whew! You have to be secure asl, and also have the utmost love for somebody in order to carry on a rlshp with them long distance.

That's why each of their respective rebound rlshps with other ppl didn't even last a year, and those ppl were living in their same city (Nadia was living in Tom's same freaking HOUSE! LOL 😆 😆).

It's the PERSON, not the proximity. 🤷🏾‍♀️

TZ are very much in love with each other, and it SHOWS. ���� I actually think the distance only deepened their love for each other imo.

[alarrytale]

Hi Marte! I might be wrong ofc but I can't see Niall queerbaiting. He's always been a big lgbt+ ally and has many queer friends, wouldn't they look down on him for it? Obviously during 1D there was a lot of pressure put on them to be straight due to having a female audience. I'm wondering if as time went on Niall realized he wasn't straight. I think that Harry, Louis, Zayn and Liam knew from the beginning. Maybe it took Niall longer to figure it out. Although I remember years ago, I don't follow him as closely now, he would often post instastories with men and I got queer vibes rather than platonic. I'm super curious about his recent queer coding and that people are now taking notice and questioning his sexuality. It seems really intentional. I'm excited to see where it will lead to and will be really disappointed if he returns to pushing heterosexuality. The constant back and forth celebrities do is so irritating. I understand why they do it but it would be great for the lgbtq+ representation if more celebrities actually came out. The conservatives always bleat on about how homophobia doesn't exist anymore and that there is gay privilege but in the same breath they are always targeting lgbtq+ people, like especially Sam Sm*th, and they're still crying over Harry's vogue photoshoot and constantly bringing it up. More out celebrities would normalize queer musicians, actors etc. I wish for that one day. Btw I noticed that Shawn is back in the studio so we'll probably have new music soon. Pretty interesting because twitter music prediction accs have been saying that Shawn, Harry, Justin B*eber are releasing music this year, and now Shawn posted a pic in the studio. Makes it more probable that they're right and we'll have Harry music too! Do you think Shawn will go deeper into the closet? I worry for his mental health and I get the feeling there is a lot of inner struggling going on. Do you think he'll give in?

Hi, anon!

I think you're on to something. It might be that it took Niall a bit to come to terms with his sexuality. Hate to disappoint you, but Ameli* was at his show last night and he sang to her (all captured on film and posted on twitter of course...) so the back and forth is already happening. If he is queer and his relationship with A is fake, maybe he's allowed to push the queer as long as he balances it out with stunting. Like both H and L have to balance the straight and the gay?

One reason for Niall to queerbait is if he's not selling out his shows. He needs the extra attention that comes with queerbaiting to draw larries and other fans to his shows. Having Shawn on stage and flinging his hanky about sure looks like queerbaiting when he's serenading his gf the next show...

I don't know about Shawn. I know to little, but i'm expecting a stunt when his album comes out (single in april and album in june is what the insider accounts are saying). I hope he comes out because i think it would benefit him immensely, in many ways. I don't think his label is on board with that though. We'll have to see.

[jo-words]

Playing Dolls

I never stopped wanting to play with dolls. My mom said I’d grow out of it, but my Instagram feed is full of Littlest Pet Shop toys, with ponies and Bratz dolls. I always wonder if the collectors give personalities to their toys like I used to do. Are they collecting for the plastic, the memories, or because they want to use them, to play with them? My little sister has all of our childhood toys on shelves, drawers, or baskets in the closet. Seeing them reminds me of when we used to play with them. When the Celestia we drew sunglasses on was the serious military type, or when the one-winged pegasus was the disabled one. Now they’re just pieces of plastic. I wish they were still things to be used, not to sit and stare.

If I think about it, I never gave up playing dolls. I spend hours dressing up my Sims before letting them roam in an equally stylized home. I write about my silly characters because I can’t draw them for the life of me. In my head it feels like I’m puppeteering little people, like I’m playing dolls again. It’s not the exact same, nothing beats the click clack of plastic paws, but I like to think my Spore creations have relationships, life drama, life trauma, and all of the things I used to assign to my dolls.

And it’s not like I still don't buy dolls. I have Funko Pops, a few Star Trek figures, and my micromachines count in some capacity. But I don’t use them. They’re trapped behind plastic and cardboard packaging because I’m too afraid to damage them. I used to style my dolls’ hair, take sharpies to their skin, wear out their tails by making them wag back and forth. The dolls I buy as an Adult are there to stare and be stared at. I want to play with these too.

I won’t though, because I refuse to be any more embarrassing than I already am. Sometimes I can’t tell if we’re all secretly wishing to play dolls again, or if I’m just autistic. I’m too afraid to ask my friends, they already think I’m childish for my age, and I’m too scared a Google search will confirm what I already suspect: that this is an uncommon feeling, one that so few people have, one that will alienate me just as much as the rest of my feelings do.

Maybe one day I’ll let myself play dolls. I won’t have to worry about how it looks if no one is watching. However, when you grow up with social trauma (with friends who weren’t really friends, just bullies you shared hobbies with), you feel like you’re constantly being watched. That someone will burst through your door, catch you doing the embarrassing thing, and tell the rest of your group about the new and fun way to make you cry.

If you think about it, storytelling is nothing but playing dolls. Authors create little characters in their heads and put them in situations. Actors use their bodies as the dolls, and pretend their doll is part of a village of dolls. Tyler, the Creator’s alter egos are musical dolls (albeit strange and violent ones, but who hasn’t lined up their Barbies for a sacrificial ritual of some kind). When we read in our heads, is the little voice pronouncing all the words you, or is it really a little character you chose to narrate your life? I don’t know, I didn’t speak out loud when I was playing on my own. My pony’s voices were all in my head, it was their level of sass and attitude that kept the voices from blending together in my mind.

I wonder if religion is yet another version of playing with dolls (this essay will end at some point I promise). If people’s gods create our environment, control our movements, and put us in situations, we are simply dolls they have yet to grow out of. I wonder what happens when they grow up, when us dolls are left to our own devices. I don’t see a lot of sitting and staring going on, and it’s not like I believe in a higher power anyway, but it does feel like we’re still being played with—we’re still being used. If I need a break from being someone’s doll, then maybe my childhood toys do too. Who knows, I can always get my toys from storage (I’m still too fond of them to send them to donations) and maybe they’ll be happier being used instead of stored.

[12minuteairquoteactressairquote]

There’s def discourse about acting for the other avengers lol.

You need to go outside tumblr and LSA.

RDJ gets the most hype but honestly I feel he’s extremely overrated because he virtually plays himself in everything and as his most famous role, Tony Stark. There’s no range with him and there was discourse when he won his Oscar too. There’s discourse on whether his performance was Oscar worthy and as someone who watched Oppenheimer, I don’t think he was. Again, an opinion but he compared to CE in the MCU - Chris had to do 100 times the work when it came to disappearing into a role, the physical transformation, and the upkeep of maintaining. He deserves more credit and he doesn’t because people are constantly up RDJ’s ass. This is a fact.

Moving on, Scarlett and ruffalo do have acclaim on their own but people argue ruffalo is okay but not great and I agree as well. I never found him to be particularly exciting to watch and I do think Scarlett is more compelling. But is she the best actress either? Also, no. There’s tons of discourse on whether she’s overrated or whether she is a bankable star and I think she’s struggled heavily outside the MCU as well in terms of box office lately. However, she’s had multiple awards recognition and she continues to get work so I think overall, I get the hype with her but I wouldn’t put her in any of my top ten lists when it comes to acting.

Hemsworth I’ve always believed was famous for his looks and not much else. He capitalizes on that so it works for him. Though people were saying they felt he deserved recognition and should have been nominated for an Oscar for furiosa. I didn’t see furiosa so can’t confirm but a few of my friends who saw the movie said he was okay but more of the same. I think he sort of gets pigeonholed into he’s Thor all the time even if he’s trying to break out of that. Maybe in the future he can but he definitely struggles to be taken seriously and also at the box office nowadays.

Jeremy renner did also get recognition for The Hurt Locker (I think this pissed off Anthony Mackie a lot) and I think he deserved it. I watched the movie and I’ve personally always felt Renner was a good actor and I definitely think he was better than Anthony in it. However, outside of that and the MCU I wouldn’t say he’s done too many things worth mentioning, and is he one of the greats? Also debatable. But between him and RDJ, I’d argue he’s the more compelling actor but RDJ gets loved for being himself. Renner is a bit of an in between. Good but not great. Solid but not a superstar.

As for CE, outside of tumblr I’m agreeing with that last anon. He’s actually constantly mentioned as underrated and people bring up his other performances. Some are shocked he was in a Bong Joon Ho movie before it was cool. If you go to Reddit or YT or IG or TikTok you’ll see tons of people supporting his talent and saying they want to see him in better films, and some who say it’s okay for him to do just goofy and fun stuff. I think his time as Cap earned him enough respect from those who love the character and his portrayal. Reddit has people daily wishing he would come back, and that he played the role so perfectly people have rejected anything else trying to come close to it.

Again, CE’s own fandom looks down on him so the bubble here is downplaying his talents and claiming no one outside tumblr cares. But I promise you, outside tumblr barely anyone cares about him getting married and people do care about his acting. They just don’t always take him seriously and cinephiles love to shit on MCU actors like him.

There is discourse with all the actors who joined the MCU and especially the core six avengers. People go back and forth on taking them seriously but CE’s probably one of the only ones who’s hailed highest by MCU/comic fans in his marvel role. Meaning people wouldn’t change that he played the characters he did and uphold his performance. I would say joining the MCU did wonders for his career because he was made to be a comic book character come to life. That’s where his strengths lie.

Outside of the MCU he struggles more than the others because people can’t see him as other than Marvel actor. That’s where I agree with you that there’s heavy discourse and why it doesn’t seem like the Cinephiles take him seriously. He hasn’t really given them reason to. If that changes then maybe it’ll be a good thing. If it doesn’t, that’s okay too. To each their own.

Listen if yall wanna defend this man's average acting skills, I'm not the person to do it with. At this point I said what I said. That being said imo, the strongest actors on the original avengers were Jeremy and Mark. RDJ and scarlet are absolutely overrated. Like she was getting dragged years ago for taking a role where the character was Asian. RDJ career was dunso before Disney took a chance on him. Like I mentioned yesterday, certain words are hyperbole. If course there is discourse about all of the originals acting abilities; that's a given. Don't presume to think I'm only on here and LSA and you only reference reddit. I actually read critic reviews. There are some critics who think he's a good actor and some who are like meh. And this line "Reddit has people daily wishing he would come back, and that he played the role so perfectly people have rejected anything else trying to come close to it." Yeah Anthony Mackie is Captain America and people will deal. I believe a good chunk of those people don't like change and nothing to do with Chris's acting abilities. Again a good chunk, not all😑. I remember sitting at the end of endgame and an employee had to come in and tell people there was no end credit. Like why were they expecting one? It's the last movie. People are so used to things and don't like when things aren't the way they are used to.

Ending on this and the "cinephiles" you keep referencing. I fully support Martin Scorcese and his comments on superhero films and what they have done to cinema. IMO, they helped usher in the decline of Hollywood.

ETA: just read back that you mentioned instagram, tiktok and YouTube. Just wanted to add that in.

[amysgiantbees]

Something in My Room

Thoughts as I go, spoilers...

Nut Supanut Lourhaphanich is a really great actor. I'm loving him in this and Pit Babe. He is so good at being sad especially. His crying when he can't get the design right, HEARTBREAKING.

Love the relationship between Phat and his mum. It's really the whole backbone of the show I feel.

*Women* Dream and Chris are so pretty!

Dream is AMAZING! I love her art! Love that she clearly uses her art to process. I was surprised to see that her passion is cartoon work. She said she was dabbling in it again. I wonder if it's easier for her to process the supernatural things she's seen through paintings rather than sketches? Although I'm not sure why that would be the case. She could just be into both. I LOVE her hair! Love that she has magical powers! I was a little confused if the ritual didn't work as well as she wanted because Nuan took some of her hair or for another reason though.

I could have a whole show about Dream. I'd love to get into her Jim Jones sounding father and their relationship. Love to see her have someone positive in her life who could teach her about spirits unlike her dad and Nuan. Plus Luck feels like he's from a whole other show with his aliens. Maybe they could even develop Luck and Dream's relationship so they seem like a proper couple and not, what I initially thought, the local cool girl and her incel stalker.

I feel like the themes are really well thought through in this. Like grief and letting go. Nuan and Chris are two different ends of the spectrum. Nuan can't let go of anything. Stalking the house of a man who she never dated and who isn't even living there any more. Then Chris is the other end of the spectrum, letting go aggressively. Phob is scared to get caught even looking at his father's stuff. She wants his things gone so bad. Then by the end they've all found a bit more balance. Phat especially, being the middle ground. Able to hold on to the memory of Phob while still living his life.

The ghost uncle is a delight.

The spotlight on Phob in the audience at the play! Incredible! It foreshadows the farcical nature of the play and how it's going to put a spotlight on Phob. Love it, it's the whole reason why I made this post.

The way memory, dream and reality all blend together is so interesting. Nothing is either one or the other. When Phat actively dreams he physically moves. The real play blurs to have the same aesthetic as the dream world. Phob even describes Ben's play as (paraphrasing) "his love life mixed with dreams and hopes..." I like how due to the lighting, the script isn't noticeable in Phob's hand when he's playing his part "right." Ben lying and performing in real life, trying to play a part constantly. The NOVA competition branding itself on making dreams into realities but being in reality killing them by being too influenced by tradition and money.

LOVE the interpretive dancing in Ben's play. It's very intense and stops any doubling up of information.

The long pauses between sentences drive me a little nuts. Especially when it's emphasised by an overdrawn out dramatic back and forth of the actor's faces with music. I get that it's just a particular style but it frustrates me personally. It's not just impatience but it gives a false sense of gravitas or importance to the moment. I keep waiting for something dramatic to happen but almost nothing ever does. It also makes the conversation seem a little less natural.

Similarity, I am not a fan of, I don't know if this is a trope, but when people refuse to explain themselves. Characters will say hear me out, hear me out a million times instead of actually just starting to explain. It feels like an off branch of the poor communication trope. I otherwise love getting to see the flashback of Phob with his mother but don't like that she just doesn't properly explain why she cares about the magazines. Especially since baby Phob kept asking why. It's just frustrating to me.

Haunting isn't straightforward in this which I like. Phob isn't just haunting Chris and Phat's house. Nuan is also haunting their house, an ever present eye as she secretly watches them. Phob is haunted by his own ghost, his mother. Dream is haunted by all the ghosts but also haunted by her father. His impact on society as well as her mother keeping his picture at the table. Uncle is being forced to haunt by his daughter. It's a form of grief and never letting go.

Phob's mother's message is devastating. I'm not surprised she doesn't want to move on. I can't imagine she could with that much hate in her heart. Heartbreaking that Phat's ending prayer/message to Phob starts off like her video did.

I love that art is an ever present part of everyone's lives. Everyone values art. Phat and his dad love film. Chris plays piano, and expresses her love for her son through it. Phob has fashion. Dream has art, which she uses to understand and share the supernatural things she's seen that she can't outright talk about. Nuan is very proud of her cooking. Phob's mother loved modeling so much that she hated her family forever for being part of the reason why she couldn't do it professionally any more. Ben is obsessed with his art so much he struggles to stop performing.

[johnny-coxville]

Hi there! Can I ask you a Johnny Knoxville x reader in which the reader is an actress on a set of a new movie Johnny's filming? Not involved with jackass but I think it could be nice having him while he is studing a serious part with a partner that really appreciates him as an actor an not only as a prankster. He is so talented in my opinion and he deserves some credit u.u I also believe that he is the kind of guys that tries to prank his friend also out of the jackass set, btw aahah

Sorry this is real short :( I wasn't sure exactly where to go with it.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Johnny Knoxville x gn!reader fluff

♡

And Cut!

Being a young actress in Hollywood was an extremely stressful ordeal. Especially being on the younger side in the industry. You were working on a new movie. Diamond Eyes. A more serious toned film. You had caught wind that one of your favorite actors had been starring in it. 

Johnny Knoxville. The legendary Jackass star. Presumably long retired from his Jackass days, he was working on new movies. This one being one of his most serious films. 

You had the wonderful chance of starring alongside him. Seeing him across the set, your face immediately lit up. You somehow landed the main role alongside him. You both speed walk towards one and another

“Heyyy! I’m PJ! Pleasure to meet ya doll.” He exclaimed, reaching his hand out for a polite handshake. It was like meeting your childhood hero. “Pleasure to meet you as well PJ. I’m Y/N. I’m a huge fan of your work.” You gushed. He immediately smiled with his signature toothy grin.

“Oh really? Well it’s great working with you then. Always love the chemistry I receive from someone who understands and enjoys my work.” He said heading towards the movie set. You and Knoxville practiced lines for hours

Having a blast with him. You questioned him about his entire career, not just Jackass, but about the acting classes he had taken for a short amount of time. His previous movies, Rosy, Dukes of Hazzard. As well as his upcoming film Action Point.

PJ was constantly goofing around on the set. Whether it was bunny ears over your head during a shot, or messing up a line with a small laugh.Even through it all. He was a very serious actor. 

At some point it came time for the two main characters to have a romantic moment. A moment in the film to turn a major plot point. The two main characters had previously had a heated argument. Making up, and sealing it was a passionate kiss. Both you and PJ being a bit nervous. You and him had really been hitting it off. Reciting one and anothers line back and forth. 

When it came time to film the scene that you guys both discussed, it was just very tense. The two of you sitting on a soft bed. Inches away from each other. He glared at you with a look of hatred and passion. It was amazing how well he could convey emotions. Your eyes watery from the crying you had just put on. 

When the camera began to film, he turned his head away. Then back towards your direction. You locked eyes with him. A stone cold glare. He slowly inched his face towards yours, and you did the same. Not breaking eye contact. The camera zoomed into the two of your stern faces. 

No more space left between your two faces, his soft lifts press into yours. Holding them in place. Both of you fluttering your eyes shut. It shouldn't have felt so amazing, but it did. Basking in the moment. The camera continued to film, as he deepened the kiss slowly. His hand comes up to your cheek to caress it. The camera still rolling. You pulled away from the kiss, turning your face away.

“I-I can’t do this. I’m sorry. It’s never going to work.” You said standing up from the bed. “Sweetie. Wait!” He yelled getting up to walk after you. Grabbing a hold of your wrist. You turned around, a terrified look on your face. 

The director yelled “Cut!” And PJ let go of your hand with a huge smile. You were honestly blushing. His incredible emotions could be felt just by his touch and expression. “Gosh PJ. Your acting is just beyond amazing.” You gushed for probably the tenth time on set. He threw a hand out. “Aw shucks. You're not half bad yourself.” He said with an enormous toothy smile.

“I hope we get to work on more movies together. I feel like we go really well together.” He exclaimed, heading towards a table of drinks. You almost fell to the floor and screamed. Such compliments from him, made you absolutely crumble. “Me too! It’s such a pleasure acting with you Mr.Clapp.” You said taking a sip of one of the small cups of water

You had only been acting for around a year and a half, and was getting complimented by your biggest inspiration. Filming the rest of the movie was going to be a real treat. Absolutely butterfly inducing.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

[wolfstar-in-color]

July Colorful Column: Remus is a Crip, and We Can Write Him Better.

There is one thing that can get me to close a fic so voraciously I don’t even make sure I’m not closing other essential tabs in the process. It doesn’t matter how much I’m loving the fic, how well written I think it is, or how desperately I want to know how it ends. Once I read this sentence, I am done.

It’s written in a variety of different ways, but it always goes something like this: “You don’t want me,” Remus said, “I am too sick/broken/poor/old/[insert chosen self-demeaning adjective here].”

You’re familiar with the trope. The trope is canonical. And if you’ve been around the wolfstar fandom for longer than a few minutes, you’ve read the trope. Maybe you love the trope! Maybe you’ve written the trope! Maybe you’re about to stop reading this column, because the trope rings true to you and you feel a little attacked!

Now, let’s get one thing out of the way right now: I am not saying the trope is wrong. I am not saying it’s bad. I am not saying we should stop writing it. We all have things we don’t like to see in our chosen fics. Maybe you can’t stand Leather Jacket Motorbike Sirius? Maybe you think Elbow Patch Remus is overdone? Or maybe your pet peeves are based in something a little deeper - maybe you think Poor Latino Remus is an irresponsible depiction, or that PWPs are too reductive? Whatever it is, we all have our things.

Let me tell you about my thing. When I first became very ill several years ago, there were various low points in which I felt I had become inherently unlovable. This is, more or less, a normal reaction. When your body stops doing things it used to be able to do - or starts doing things you were quite alright without, thank you very much - it changes the way you relate to your body. You don’t want to hear my whole disability history, so yada yada yada, most people eventually come to accept their limitations. It’s a very painful existence, one in which you constantly tell yourself your disability has transformed you into a burdensome, unworthy member of society, and if nothing else, it’s not terribly sustainable. Being disabled takes grit! It takes power! It takes a truly absurd amount of medical self-advocacy! Hating yourself? Thinking yourself unworthy of love? No one has time for that. 

Of course, I’m being hyperbolic. Plenty of disabled people struggle with these feelings many years into their disabilities, and never really get over them. But here’s the thing. We experience those stories ALL THE TIME. Remember Rain Man? Or Million Dollar Baby? Or that one with the actress from Game of Thrones and that British actor who seemed like he was going to have a promising career but then didn't? Those are all stories about sad, bitter disabled people and their sad, bitter lives, two out of three of which end in the character completing suicide because they simply couldn’t imagine having to live as a disabled person. (I mean, come on media, I get that we're less likely to enjoy a leisurely Saturday hike, but our parking is SUBLIME.) When was the last time you engaged with media that depicted a happy disabled person? A complex disabled person? A disabled person who has sex? No really, these aren’t hypothetical questions, can you please drop a rec in the notes?? Because I am desperate.

There are lots of problems with this trope, and they’ve been discussed ad nauseam by people with PhDs. I’m not actually interested in talking about how this trope leads to a more prevalent societal idea that disabled people are unworthy of love, or contributes to the kind of political thought processes that keep disabled people purposefully disenfranchised. I’m just a bitch on Tumblr, and I have a bone to pick: the thing I really hate about the trope? It’s boring. I’m bored. You know how, like, halfway through Grey’s Anatomy you realized they were just recycling the same plot points over and over again and there was just no WAY anyone working at a hospital prone to THAT MANY disasters would stay on staff? It's like that. I love a recycled trope as much as the next person (There Was Only One Bed, anyone?). But I need. Something. Else.

Remus is disabled. BOLD claim. WILD speculation. Except, not really. You simply - no matter how you flip it, slice it, puree it, or deconstruct it - cannot tell me Remus Lupin is not disabled. Most of us, by this point, are probably familiar with the way that One Canonical Author intended One Dashing Werewolf to be “a metaphor for those illnesses that carry stigma, like HIV and AIDS” [I’m sorry to link you to an outside source quoting She Who Must Not Be Named, but we’re professionals here]. Which is... a thing. It’s been discussed. And, listen, there’s no denying that this parallel is a problematic interpretation of people who have HIV/AIDS and all such similar “those illnesses” (though I’ll admit that I, too, am perennially apt to turn into a raging beast liable to harm anything that crosses my path, but that’s more linked to the at-least-once-monthly recollection that One Day At A Time got cancelled). Critiques aside, Remus Lupin is a character who - due to a condition that affects him physically, mentally, emotionally, and intellectually - is repeatedly marginalized, oppressed, denied political and social power, and ostracized due to unfounded fear that he is infectious to others. Does that sound familiar?

We’re not going to argue about whether or not “Remus is canonically disabled as fuck” is a fair reading. And the reason we’re not going to argue about whether or not it’s a fair reading is because I haven’t read canon in 10-plus years and you will win the argument. Canon is only marginally relevant here. The icon of this blog is brown, curly haired Remus Lupin kissing his trans boyfriend, Sirius Black. We are obviously not too terribly invested in canon. The wolfstar fandom is now a community with over 25,000 AO3 fics, entire careers launched from drawing or writing or cosplaying this non-canonical pairing. We love to play around here with storylines and universes and races and genders and sexualities and all kinds of things, but most of the time? Remus is still disabled. He’s disabled as a werewolf in canon-compliant works, he’s disabled in the AUs where he was injured or abused or kidnapped or harmed as a child, he’s disabled in the stories that read him as chronically ill or bipolar or traumatized or blind or Deaf. I’d go so far as to say that he is one of very few characters in the Wide Wonderful World of media who is, in as close to his essence as one can be, always disabled. And that means? Don’t shoot the messenger... but we could stand to be a tiny bit more responsible with how we portray him. 

Disabled people are complicated. As much as I’d like to pretend we are always level-headed, confident, and ready to assert our inherent worth, we are still just humans. We have bad days. We doubt our worth. We sometimes go out with guys who complain about our steroid-induced weight gain (it was a long time ago, Tumblr, okay??). But, we also have joy and fun and good days and sex and happiness and families and so many other things. 

Remus is a disabled character, and as such, it’s only fair that he’d have those unworthy moments. But - I propose - Remus is also a crip. What is a crip? A crip - like a queer - is someone who eschews the limited boundaries placed on their bodies, who rejects a hierarchy of oppression in favor of an intersectional analysis of lived experience, who isn’t interested in being the tragic figure responsible for helping people with dominant identities realize how good they have it. Crips interpret their disabilities however they want, rethinking bodies and medicine and pleasure and pain and even time itself. Crips are political, community-minded, and in search of liberation. 

Remus is a character who struggles with his disability, sure. But he’s also a character who leverages his physical condition to attempt to shift communities towards his political leanings, advocates for the rights of those who share his physical condition, and has super hot sex with his wrongfully convicted boyfriend ultimately goes on to build community and family. Having a condition that quite literally cripples you, over which you have no control, and through which you are often read as a social pariah? That’s disability. But using said condition as a means through which to build advocacy and community? Now that’s some crip shit. 

Personally, I love disabled!Remus Lupin. But I love crip!Remus Lupin even more. I’d love to see more of a Remus who owns his disability, who covets what makes him unique, and who never ever again tells a potential romantic partner they are too good for him because of his disability. This trope - unlike There Was Only One Bed! - sometimes actually hurts to read. Where’s Remus who thinks a potential romantic partner isn’t good enough for him? Where’s Remus who insists his partners learn more about his condition in order to treat him properly? Where’s sexy wheelchair user Remus? Where’s Remus who uses his werewolf transformations as an excuse to travel the world? Where’s crip Remus??

We don’t have to put “you don’t want me” Remus entirely to bed. It is but one of many repeated tropes that are - in the words of The Hot Priest from Fleabag - morally a bit dubious. And let’s face it - we don’t always come to fandom for its moral superiority (as much as we sometimes like to think we do). 

This is not a condemnation - it is an invitation. Able-bodied folks are all but an injury, illness, or couple decades away from being disabled. And when you get here, I sincerely hope you don’t waste your time on “you don’t want me”ing back and forth with the people you love. I’m inviting you to come to the crip side now. We have snacks, and without all the “you don’t want me” talk, we get to the juicy parts much faster. 

Colorfully,

Mod Theo

[miss-multifandom-mess]

One thing I don't quite get about She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: why wasn't Cowell and Broom there? And why the change of Madame Razz?

Growing up I watched great classics: Chronological Donald, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Thundercats and such. But one of my favorites was She-Ra: Princess of Power. And one of my favorite characters is Kowl.

Kowl is a recurring character in the series as a companion to the members of the Great Rebellion. He is a sensible character who has a sarcastic side to him, normally used to serve as comedic relief as he points out observations of unfolding events, and tends to crack a few jokes throughout. Nonetheless, he is loyal to his friends and always there to help however he can. He is a big part of She-Ra and all that the show is. This is why he is one of my top favorites.

But why isn't he in the reboot? I pondered this question for the last week, and even took to the internet. But to my dismay I couldn't find anything.

Then one of my sisters had pointed out that Kowl had a cameo as a stuffed animal:

Which I don't get.

I then asked my dad if money depended on how many characters were used in television. His response (roughly to my memory of our conversation) was that it mostly depended on how much the directors (or whoever) are willing to pay the actors. I tried to do more research on the matter, but none of the results appeared to be useful.

It wouldn't have hurt to put Kowl in, would it?

Next we have Broom!

Broom has been another one of my favorite characters from the classic She-Ra, and still is. Broom is a broom-like character who has the ability to fly. He is a companion and best friend to Madame Razz, and plays a part in the Great Rebellion.

But when we see "him" in the new She-Ra series, he is only a mere inanimate object that Madame Razz occasionally talks to and calls "friend" despite its inability to respond. Additionally, she uses it to walk, all the while being very agile when she climbs Crystal Castle (I could not provide any gif or photo for this scene).

It makes me wonder how the new show would have turned out to be if they had just put in these characters. Not as inanimate objects, but as the living beings that they were originally.

I get that they had different plans, but it's just not the same without them.

Lastly, I'd like to talk about Madame Razz.

Look at these two photos of both classic and new--big difference, right?

Both Classic and New!Razz are witches that live in the Whispering Woods. Their magic is powerful, and they can cast great spells. Both are sweet, but can also be forgetful at times--at times it can play useful. They don't hold much similarities as a lot has changed in the new She-Ra: they had mostly intended to strengthen the storyline, but changed characters in the meantime to fit.

In the original, Razz is apart of The Great Rebellion. With the help of her friend Broom, she can fly. Often times she forgets/mispronounces spells, mostly due to her advanced age--usually, they turn out for the best in a lot of situations. Despite being comic relief, Razz is good-hearted and caring of her friends.

Unlike New!Razz, she wears a witch's hat that covers her eyes, and a cape over a pinkish-red, buttoned-up long sleeve. I think it's very classy, yet also fitting for her.

In the new She-Ra, Madame Razz does not have an official part in The Great Rebellion, but is allies and friends with namely Mara, Loo Key, Adora, and Swift Wind throughout the series. Like Classic!Razz she's often forgetful, but not in the same sense--for her, she is constantly going back and forth between memories. In addition, she has a strong connection with Etheria, to which her magic and power comes from the planet itself. The director went a little more into detail on her character.

As for appearance, Razz wears large, round glasses that make her eyes look big and bubbly, and a green collar that wraps around her neck, over a purple robe. She also wears a few accessories of bracelets and rings. In summary, she's a soft elderly woman that loves to bake pies and has powerful magic. (She even reminds me a little bit of Mama Odie from Princess and the Frog.)

All I just wanted to say is that I wish that they didn't have left out Kowl and Broom--they were such great and loveable characters, and not just because they're there for comic relief. And I know not all reboots/remakes are going to be the same as the original, but sometimes I just feel it degrades.

Though I prefer classic over remakes, I am still neutral; I respect everyone else's opinions and likes. All I wanted was to sound off what was at the top of my head for the past week.

And if you have/found anything as to why they left out namely these two characters, I would love to know. Or if you just want to leave an opinion or response, go ahead! But please, no hate.

I hope you all have a nice evening!

[letterboxd]

Love Thy Neighbor.

With her nineteenth-century American romance, The World to Come—starring Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby—screening now, director Mona Fastvold talks to Ella Kemp about the need to create images, striving for ASMR storytelling, and just how much we owe Terrence Malick.

“We’ve seen a lot of movies during this time period in America about what the husbands were out doing… but they had wives who are at home, living their completely separate lives. What were they up to?” —Mona Fastvold

In the American Northeast in the nineteenth century, life for farmers’ wives is physical, lonely, subject to both the extremes of weather and their husbands’ moods. When Abigail (Katherine Waterston) and Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) become neighbors in The World To Come, their lives become infinitely more bearable.

What unfolds is a careful study of the ways affection and understanding can bloom in the most unlikely places. Based on Jim Shepard’s short story of the same name, Mona Fastvold’s desperately romantic film starts where Abigail’s diary also begins: with a new year, and new neighbors. Through lyrical voice-over and closely drawn scenes, Abigail tells of how, in the wake of unimaginable loss, her life is cracked wide open by the arrival of effervescent, free-spirited Tallie. She speaks of grief and exhaustion, but also of astonishment and joy.

Katherine Waterston as Abigail and Vanessa Kirby as Tallie in ‘The World to Come’. / Photo by Vlad Cioplea

It’s a story felt through whispers as much as kisses, framed by the blustery winds of the East-Coast frontier—and by the spectre of their husbands (Casey Affleck as the downcast Dyer, Christopher Abbott as the jealous, disturbing Finney) finding out about their new love. Fastvold gives each character just enough attention to let the relationships that matter most rise up all on their own. She does so with words, poetry that somehow feels alive, and with music—specifically, a stunningly passionate clarinet soundtrack.

The World to Come won the Queer Lion at Venice last August (where it miraculously had an in-person premiere), and won many more hearts at Sundance in January. It’s Fastvold’s second film as director, after 2014’s The Sleepwalker, which also starred Christopher Abbott, and was co-written by Fastvold’s partner (and Vox Lux director) Brady Corbet.

What did you feel when reading Jim’s story for the first time? Mona Fastvold: It was a home I wanted to move into. It was this feeling of thinking, ‘This belongs in my universe, and I belong in this universe.’ And I all of a sudden had a few images that I felt a very strong need to create. The first thing that I felt really compelled to do was creating this physical expression of joy after the first kiss. I had this image of Katherine in this wide shot, completely open and just exposed. And I was really compelled to shoot her in the snow by the grave as well.

I also wanted to frame her being tied to the house with a rope, working her way through the snowstorm. There was a lot of amazing text and maybe fewer images in the script, because it’s written by these two really wonderful writers and authors of novels, not so much screenplays. So it’s not a very technical screenplay, and there were a lot of things left to me to work out, which I enjoyed. But the foundation was this really good text.

Mona Fastvold on the set of ‘The World to Come’. / Photo by Toni Salabasev

The text is so striking, in the way it’s so verbose but never feels stiff. How did you keep the words intact while bringing these emotions to life? I cast some really good actors, so that helps! Then when you’re working with this kind of text, it’s not really a text that you can improvise or play around as much, you really just need to honor it. For me it’s really about finding the movement that will support the beats of the text. I like the edit to be motivated by a gesture, something that says, “I want you to look at this”. I’m trying to make the rhythm more exciting. Ping-ponging back and forth is less exciting to me.

When rehearsing, we’d create movement either physically, or find changes through long pauses already in the text, and then upon finding those organic beats I’d figure out with my DP how we can stay in one take for as long as possible, until we find that moment which motivates a change. I never like there to be a camera movement just for there to be something cool visually. And there’s all this subtext in the text, all these messages Abigail and Tallie are trying to send to each other. When are you being direct? When are you being understood? When are you not?

Particularly in recent years, we’ve been fortunate to have a number of films that reframe period pieces about forbidden lesbian romances. Why do you think we keep coming back to this kind of story? A lot of people feel compelled to say these stories have always been there, and to claim that part of history. It’s not modern, it’s not a new thing, but it’s just that these stories have not been told much. Especially a love story that takes place among farmers. We know a little bit about upper-class stories from some literature, but not that much from that time period. So part of the appeal for me was to say: this is a part of history. Even though it’s not a story about Napoleon, this story about these two quiet, introverted women is still worth exploring. And we’ve seen a lot of movies during this time period in America about what the husbands were out doing. I’ve grown up watching these movies, but they had wives who are at home, living their completely separate lives. What were they up to?

Finney (Christopher Abbott) reads Tallie’s mail. / Photo by Vlad Cioplea

You mention the husbands—I felt watching this film that it was set in a very different world to the likes of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which a lot of people loved precisely because of how few men were in the film. But here the husbands play a really important part within the story about these two women, helping to convey their frustration and limitations, without taking over. All characters in a story deserve equal counts of love and attention from the writers, directors and actors. It was incredibly important to portray the men with as much nuance as Abigail and Tallie. It makes for a more interesting story for them, that their relationships with their partners are complex—they’re not just these male archetypes who are terrible and awful. Dyer was an interesting character, in that he’s striving to understand even though he doesn’t quite. And he had different ambitions as well, but this is the situation he’s in, and he’s chosen a practical partner who he respects, and I guess loves and cares for. But they’re running a farm together, they’re business partners as well and depend on each other for survival. When he says “I’ll die without you” it’s quite literal, in a way. I wanted to break these characters open and make them more difficult to deal with, for themselves and for the women as well.

Your picture includes a beautiful, and really unexpected score by Daniel Blumberg—particularly in the use of the clarinet, which feels like its own kind of narrative. Can you talk me through the process of weaving that into the story? I brought in Daniel even when I was developing the script and working on casting early on. I kept listening to ‘Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet’ by Igor Stravinsky, and somehow the instrument felt really connected to Katherine’s voice-over. It was important that the voice-over was not slammed on top at the end. It’s there, I hope, to have a bit of an ASMR effect where you feel it draws you really close to Abigail in a hypnotic way. That you feel like you get this intimate experience of that character by having access to her life even if it doesn’t explain things too much.

So we wanted to have the score speaking to the voice-over, which we recorded long before we started shooting as well. We would play it on set and Daniel would come in and play music there. So constantly being in dialogue between the text being read and the music being played was an important part of the process.

It’s time for some Life in Film questions. What is your favorite ‘forbidden love’ story? A film I really love, which inspired The World to Come, is Olivia. It’s from 1951 and it’s directed by Jacqueline Audry, and it was one of the first lesbian on-screen kisses ever captured. It’s a great movie directed by a female director when that wasn’t so much of a thing. It was an important trailblazer for this film.

Marie-Claire Olivia and Simone Simon in Jacqueline Audry’s ‘Olivia’ (1951).

What’s your favourite “Dear Diary” movie, the one that best uses a confessional voice-over? Terrence Malick pretty much cornered that market with some beautiful, beautiful attempts at that. We definitely have to pay our respects! Particularly Days of Heaven is pretty amazing. The voice-over work there is extraordinary.

What is your go-to comfort movie? It’s funny because I was asked that a while ago and normally I would just be like, “Anything Nancy Meyers makes is just so lovely”. She makes these films that are just like candy. But during the pandemic, it’s just too hard to watch these cozy movies, because it just makes you feel depressed. So right now, the film I’ve watched the most in my lifetime is Eyes Wide Shut. I also find it to be a Christmas movie… If it’s on anywhere, I’ll always leave it on, or just watch a little piece of it.

What should Letterboxd members watch after The World to Come? First of all they should watch Olivia if they haven’t seen it, and then the other day I watched Martin Eden—it’s an incredible movie. So beautifully made.

What is the one film that first made you want to be a filmmaker? I grew up watching a lot of movies. My family are cinephiles and I’ve always loved films. I grew up on a steady diet of Ingmar Bergman’s films during my teenage years, and Tarkovsky too. Seeing those films made a really big impression me. But what really inspired me in many ways was seeing Claire Denis’ films. The way she approaches storytelling is so intuitive. It’s so exciting. That resonated with me, and later on I recognized some of that in Lucrecia Martel as well. I just love how she handles time and logic and character.

Related content

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Films Directed by Women

Follow Bleecker Street on Letterboxd

Follow Ella on Letterboxd

‘The World to Come’ is currently in select US theaters, and will be available on demand from March 2, via Bleecker Street.

[emilycollins00]

hi hope your having a good day! could i request a banri scenario thats just some domestic fluff w/ maybe some banter back and forth and banri being soft for his s/o (he claims hes not a simp but we see you boy) maybe some light teasing from other troupe members sorry if this is a lot to ask for feel free to use these as insp not requirements!!! love your work

I’m doing wonderful! Thank you for asking sweetie 💕  My, do I love fluff with characters like Banri. It was so cute and fun to write! Hope you like it too. Please enjoy it!

Title: Bickering and fluff

Pairing: Banri Settsu x Reader

Theme: Lovers/Fluff

 Whether Banri liked it to admit it or not, he had fallen for you. Hard.

Everyone at Mankai saw how his eyes followed you when you visited, even though the autumn member would would say he was nailing his cool and chill attitude.

His behavior started changing whenever you were around and he couldn’t help but love the way you fitted inside his arms, while laying on the couch. How your lips brushed his, softly and tenderly. Your touch. Your voice.

He loved when you pointed excitedly at him when you finally beat him in a game -had you really- or when you tried to conceal a smile when you were absorbed in some reading.

Anyway, he just finds it too cute, so he makes fun of you.

That evening had been closing night at Mankai for the Autumn troupe. Everyone was chatting happily in the living room, having some snacks as dinner was being finished, when Banri heard the doorbell ringing. He raised both of his eyebrows in surprise when he opened the entrance to the dorm and saw you there, a ball of pure glee.

“What are you doin’ here? Didn’t you go on vacation to visit your family until next week or somethin’?”

You laughed and approached him to kiss him “I did, thank you for remembering…  but I came back earlier! And guess who made it to see your play?” you lifted both of your thumbs, pointing at yourself.

“Your grandma?”

“Almost!” you snapped your fingers, following his banter. You took both of his hands and shook them up and down cheerily “It was amazing, Banri. Seriously, I loved it!”

What the hell, he could feel his chest expanding from just those words and your touch.

“Yeah well, we are the best troupe so no surprises there.” he stepped to the side so you could enter. You rolled your eyes as you took off your shoes, distinguishing now the noise coming from the living room.

“Can’t you take a compliment and say thank you like a normal person?”

“Thank you...” he smirked “…like a normal person”

You got up from putting your inside shoes with a confused look. A second later, after understanding his answer, you squeezed your eyes at him, hands moving to your hips “I was right. You DID get more annoying while I was away.”

A few new steps came across the hallway, Mankai precious director arriving to check why the autumn leader was taking so long.

“Banri-kun? Who is-? Oh, Y/N! I thought you had left for a few weeks, welcome back!”

You smiled, happy to see the young woman “I decided to stop by after seeing the play. It was great!”

Banri glanced your way, following you and Izumi from behind until you three reached the already full and noisy living room. Well, it had been the last performance of the play, no wonder everyone was there.

“Isn’t that Y/N-san?”

“Y/N!”

Misumi came to you in a flash “Ah, Y/N, Y/N! Did you remember to bring me a triangular souvenir?”

You chuckled, nodding at the boy’s excited face. You promised him you would bring it next time.

“Y/N? Weren’t you arriving next week?” your classmate and leader of the spring troupe approached you happily.

“Hi, Sakuya! Yes, well…”

Itaru stared at you entertained, watching you greet the rest of the dorm. “Surprised event unblocked, uh? Good, good. Now Banri will stop sulking about Y/N and actually help me with the quests.”

Sakyo snorted next to him “I wish they would have contacted him, it was a pain in the ass working with the brat the first days they left”

“The hell s'that supposed to mean” Banri sat on the sofa, frowning at them, but watching you from the corner of his eyes- not that he himself noted.

Azuma patted the teen softly on the shoulder, seating next to him with two glasses of wine on his other hand  “Now, now, don’t get angry. We just love seeing you happy with them here before time” he handled the other glass “Here Sakyo-kun”

Banri rolled his eyes at the comments.

                                             -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Of course, you stayed for dinner, missing dinners with Banri and the rest of the actors. Honestly, you always had such a good time whenever you went.

After eating you decided to help Omi cleaning the dishes along Tsumugi and Muku.

“You don’t have to do it Y/N, we have enough hands” tried to persuade you Omi, his hands carrying now empty plates “I’m sure you must be tired from the trip.”

“You must be tired too, Omi-san” you tried to keep the hair out of your face as you washed a few glasses, not really being successful “Why don’t you-”

“Stop for a sec” a familiar voice reached your ears at the same time two pairs of hands started playing with your hair. Confused, you tried to turn around, without being successful.

“I said stop movin', you can’t clean like that” he kept you in your place annoyed. After a few seconds, your field of vision got rid of any meddlesome hair “There. Now you don’t eat hair and I’m free from your tie. Better right?”

You thanked him, failing to notice the thrilled and overly dreamy look you two got from Muku.

“Banri always comes like a knight whenever Y/N-san needs something!”

Tsumugi and Omi smiled too at the exchange, happy to see how the new caring side of Banri was showing up more and more.

“Yeah, you sure you don’t want to become Y/N’s assistant rather than a boyfriend?” Yuki called from the couches.

The autumn member just gave him a death stare as you and the rest laughed. He sighed “Anyway, just came to tell you I’ll take you home when we are done” he ruffled your hair gently as he turned to help Taichi move the chairs back to their place with the others.

"See what I mean?"

"Yeah, whatever."

                                          -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

You glanced up at your boyfriend, his body leaning onto yours as you two walked down the street holding hands. It had become a custom for him to walk you back home, even though you didn’t live that far.

“Banri?”

The blue-eyed boy was focused on a game on his mobile so he merely hummed, not bothering to look at you. He was almost going to break his own record there.

“Nothing just…” you couldn’t help but smile “You really love me, don’t you?” 

The autumn actor stopped leaning on you and instead drew himself away slightly, causing you to straight up from your position.

Of course he loved you. And it was more than that. It was the way you made him feel loved with himself, with his choices. Most of his life he remembered it as a blank canvas, constantly confronted with long, dull faces.

But then he found you. The way you talked, how you accepted his flaws… The warm you gave off as you smiled and called to him like at this moment.

Hell, he had even stopped skipping classes just to be with you even if school bored him to death.

He stared at you for a second before returning his eyes onto the game again “Wow, you sure are full of yourself” he declared.

“Nah-ah! You love me a lot! It’s really cute how you pay me so much attention, I just wanted to thank you!”

“Well, it’s true I tolerate you more than most people” he smiled at you “But don’t get too cocky.”

"Look who's talking” Banri shrugged and bobbed his head, returning to his mobile. “Oh come on, just say you love me so much it hurts!” you pinched his cheek.

“Hey, stop! I’m playing here.”

 “You are annoying” you said as you took his hand again and resumed your walking position, this time you resting on him which caressing his hand tenderly.

You missed the fondly look the boy gave you. However, you definitely felt how he turned his face and planted a kiss on the top of your head, making you smile again.

What did you expect? Banri was head over heels in love with you. That was clear… but there was no way this boy would fully admit it. 

Yet.

_____________________________________________________

Have a wonderful day! 💕

[lexa-kom-skaikru]

I am gonna rant: I really like aria! And I feel bad for him because he is written just bad! It could be way better and I get that he has to take a lot of shit for that!

Second thought though: I love Danielle and kaylee separately and together. But I dont understand why all of the sudden you won’t hear them talking hosie at all anymore since a year or so. Maybe it’s because hosie actually happens and they can’t spoiler, or it’s because it won’t happen and the won’t queerbait!

I for myself feel queerbaited by the show and not at all by the actresses! What the fuck?! I mean at this point Handon is not cute or making sense anymore at all!!! And I don’t say that because of hosie or of hating on Handon! But them as a couple is even worse than Landons storyline itself rn. And Handon being all fairytale kissing without consent just fucks up legacies in itself :D sorrynotsorry!

I for myself put a lot of thought in this and decided to only watch episodes where people tell me that there is a hope/ josie interaction. You know why? I won’t fall for this anymore! And I also want Julie plec to not string us along anymore! I hate it. I want her to actually see it in her own rating that we want hosie! And I also want aria having a good story for his character on his own! I love Danielle and kaylee and I want them to have their career and all but legacies once was a show of potential and rn it sucks with the forth and back.

I love lizzies and hopes friendship do I may tune in if it’s an episode of them as well but I won’t watch it up until anything hope/ Lizzie / hosie or even hope/ josie friendshipwise happens! The show is called legacies you guys:D and the twins and hope are the legacies:D whether hosie happens at this point I can’t see it... Handon is again seasons‘ 3 story and it sucks big time because we already know that it’s not working out for them:D they showed that in season 1, more of it in season 2 and just started it again(!!!!!!) in the begining of this seaso :D it’s just stupid and frustrating and a Waking kiss of them is just shitty shitty writing!

Julie plec is not getting my views on this writing style. Lizzie/ hope or josie/ hope or best wise hosie but this is not it! And it’s depressing that everyone single person showing plec the deep love that they have for this three characters doenst get any support by her storytelling at all!

That really is the thing tho... most people don’t get that Anti-Handon’s aren’t Anti-Aria, and not even Anti-Landon. Three different things at play here.

Aria is a good actor and he seems like an all around good guy. Landon, same thing - he is a good guy BUT his storylines have been shit and most times get more focus than they actually should. Most of his storylines are B and C plot worthy, while they write them as A plots.

Handon started out cute in season 1 and now it’s just annoying as all fuck. Talk about something being shoved down our throats. Like... food for thought, but your main ship shouldn’t be the least liked ship on the show. Most straights don’t even like it, that’s how bad it’s gotten. 

And having this reaction from fans, I wonder how they actually thought that having Handon as the central storyline of 3A was a good idea.

I still have hopes for Hosie tho because it’s pretty clear that Handon is breaking up this season. It’s not a matter of if it will happen, just a matter of when and if they remain broken up. 

They have been saying that Handon will be the focus just as much as they have been saying that that dynamic is gonna shift and that Hope will explore new relationships, so albeit annoying the fact that we will have a lot of Handon in 3A, it’s not a death sentence for Hosie (yet).

I genuinely don’t think that Danielle and Kaylee not talking about Hosie is any indication of Hosie actually being canon this season. They have only shot up until episode 7 or 8 this season and considering that 3A is Handon focused and that Josie is getting a new love interest, I really doubt we are getting Hosie in 3A BUT no one is saying that we won’t get it in 3B, or most likely 4A.

Having said that, Legacies has really been queerbaiting us, and they aren’t even being subtle about it. Outside of all the romantic looks they have constantly, and scenes that thread heavily on subtext, we actually have canon confirmation of Hope and Josie having had crushes on each other at around the same time AND multiple confirmations from Julie Plec that Hosie could definitely be a thing (mention of a Hosie kiss having been discussed for 2x16).

Even if they actually go for Hosie, nothing denies that, up until now, it’s been queerbait.

So I don’t blame you for only watching episodes where Hope, Josie and Lizzie interact with each other. 

They need to realize that WE, the fans, are the ones who give them views, WE are the ones who give them free publicity, WE are the reason that that show keeps airing. If they aren’t writing a show for the fans, than we aren’t watching the show. Simple as that. 

I am not at that point yet, but I don’t give them views because I don’t live in the US, so it’s fine. The episodes only come out here 2 days after it airs there, and I will only be rewatching the eps in a way that gives them views in episodes where I actually think they deserve the views.

[starshine583]

Le Paon Part 12

(Hey guys! Here’s chapter 12 of the Le Paon AU. I hope you all enjoy!)

Part 1 / Part 11 / Part 13

Felix stumbled through the storage door, still reeling from shock. Adrien..his little brother.. The perfect ray of sunshine between them.. was Chat Noir. When did this happen? How did this happen? How long had they been on opposing sides and he had no idea?

He absently climbed the mansion stairs and walked to his and Adrien’s bedroom door. Talking could be heard on the other side, mostly Adrien, but also a voice that Felix didn’t recognize.

Felix pushed open the bedroom door, and a blur of black flicked across the room, the same blur he’d seen a few weeks ago. It makes more sense now.

“Oh, Felix, you’re back. I was wondering where you went.” Adrien said casually, leaning back in his rolling chair with a smile.

Felix only stared at first. A part of him still didn’t want to believe- didn’t want to accept -that Adrien could be Chat Noir. The universe couldn’t possibly be that cruel.

And yet, Adrien looked all too nervous as Felix asked, “Did you see that?”

“See what?” Adrien replied, shifting ever so slightly in his seat.

“That black blur.” Felix muttered, idly glancing around the room despite knowing- deep down -what it really was.

“O-Oh, um-” Adrien fumbled for words, the same way he’d occasionally faltered for the last few months. Felix never thought much of it. Why hadn’t he thought much of it?

“I-I didn’t see anything.” Adrien finally said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe it was just a trick of the mind? You know, you think the lights black out for a second, but really it’s your eyes?”

Again, Felix could only stare. How long had Adrien been hiding this? How long had he been lying straight to Felix’s face? Granted, Felix wasn’t guiltless either, but he thought he knew his little brother better than this. He should have seen the signs, should have known something was up.

“Yes, you’re probably right.” Felix mumbled, turning to the TV simply because he couldn’t look at Adrien anymore. What would Mother say if she could see them now?

What was Father going to say?

Felix sucked in a breath.

Adrien was Chat Noir, one of the two people keeping their Father- keeping Hawk Moth -away from the wish, the wish that they needed to get Mother back. 

This whole ordeal was supposed to be about bringing their family back together, but now, family was the very thing standing in the way. 

So, Felix supposed as he got ready for bed that night, the new revelation of Adrien’s alternate identity left one, major question: Exactly how far was Father willing to go to get that wish?

~~~~~~

Felix felt his breath hitch as he stopped in front of their Father’s office doors. After a restless night of worrying and thinking and internal screaming, he’d decided to tell the truth about Adrien’s secret identity. Father had to know, right? Everything needed to be out in the open if they were going to get Mother back.

“Felix, are you coming? School’s going to start soon.” 

Felix glanced at Adrien, who was staring at him expectantly from the front door. 

“...you go on ahead. I’ll be out in a moment.”

Adrien shrugged and continued outside to the awaiting car, while Felix turned back to the office door.

It’s now or never.

Tentatively, he knocked on the door. When a faint hum came from the other side, Felix lightly pushed open the door and walked inside. 

Gabriel stood at his computer as usual, completely disinterested in everything around him. He didn’t even pause his work until Felix cleared his throat.

“Yes, what is it?” Gabriel asked impatiently, not bothering to look up.

Felix faltered. “I.. Well.. It has come to my attention that..”

Gabriel rose a brow at him.

Felix swallowed.

"Never mind." He said, shifting his gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry for interrupting."

Telling Father about Adrien would only cause more unnecessary conflict amongst them. First he’ll get Ladybug’s miraculous, then he’ll try to convince Adrien to give up his.

~~~~~~

Marinette fiddled with her jacket nervously as she glanced at Alya, who was hiding with her in a corner of the hall. “Alya, I’m not sure about this.”

Alya merely waved a hand at her as she scanned the halls. “Oh, stop worrying. It’ll be fine.”

“But I still need to work on my dress for homecoming next week.” Marinette countered.

“You can work on it later. It’s practically finished anyway.” Alya replied, still staring at the other students. “Oh, there he is!”

“Alya-” Marinette yelped as Alya grabbed her wrist and dragged her across the hall. Felix and Adrien had just arrived, and her best friend seemed adamant about putting her “matchmaking plan” into action, so Marinette did her best to give a casual smile as they intercepted the Agreste brothers.

“Felix! Just the guy I wanted to see.” Alya greets, tugging Marinette to her side as they come to a stop.

Annoyance flicked across Felix’s expression, until his eyes landed on Marinette. She felt her heart skip a bit as the annoyance on his face immediately faded, replaced with something softer, and something else she couldn’t quite catch. 

“Marinette and I are going to the movies tonight with some friends.” Alya continued, slinging her arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “Would you like to join us? Adrien’s invited too, of course.”

Heat bloomed across Marinette’s cheeks. She’d actually forgotten that Adrien was standing there.

“Sounds like fun! What do you think, Fe?” Adrien asked, slinging his arm around Felix’s shoulders.

Felix’s gaze flicked between them with suspicion, before pausing on Marinette. She felt her breath hitch, her insides curling with anticipation. 

“I think we can find time in our schedule.” He answered.

Adrien and Alya both grinned.

“Great!” Alya cheered. “Meet us at Le Brady, seven o’clock sharp.” 

“We’ll be there.” Adrien assured.

Marinette gave a small, shy smile, suddenly much more excited about the movies.

~~~~~~

Adrien stared at his brother’s reflection in the car window with a smug smirk. Felix looked a bit stiffer than usual, or even- dare he say it -nervous. His older brother never got nervous. Then again, he’d probably never fallen in love before. (And Felix was definitely in love with Marinette, of that Adrien was sure.)

“So, how did you get Father to agree to the movies?” Adrien asked, turning to face Felix fully. “I thought he said that Marinette was a bad influence.”

“He did. That’s why we’re going to the movies with Allegra. Father can’t refuse us an evening with the diplomat’s daughter.” Felix replied coolly.

Adrien hummed. “Lying to Father now, huh? That’s a pretty desperate attempt to see Marinette, Fe.” 

Felix scoffed and shot him a look. “I’ve lied to him for you before.”

“Yeah, but not for anyone else.” Adrien countered.

“I’ve never had to lie for anyone else.”

“But would you?”

Felix narrowed his eyes. 

Adrien smirked. “Case in point.” 

The car rolled to a stop in front of the movie theater, and Adrien hopped out before Felix could retort anything. Whatever movie they were going to see, Adrien knew it wouldn’t be half as entertaining as watching Felix hang out with Marinette that evening.

~~~~~~

Marinette fixed the light pink flower pin that had been clipped into the left side of her hair for the third time since they entered the movie theater. She’d told Alya that dressing up wasn’t necessary, but all of the girls insisted that she looked nice for her “date”.

“It’s not a date!” Marinette had argued.

“Well, it might as well be.” Alya had retorted. “He obviously likes you.”

Marinette was still blushing from that comment. Especially now, when the boy in question was sitting right beside her. Alya fought tooth and nail to have them sit together (to no one’s surprise). She even went so far as to separate the rest of the group’s seats so that Felix and Marinette were on the other side of the theater, alone.

She stole a small glance at Felix, who was calmly watching the previews ahead of them. He had to know what Alya was trying to do at this point, right? Was he okay with the relentless matchmaking, or did it make him uncomfortable? How does he feel about it all?

How does she feel about it all? 

“This is my first time in a movie theater.” 

Marinette blinked, her flurry of thoughts dissipating at Felix’s comment. This was his first time in a movie theater? For some reason, that didn’t shock her as much as it probably should have.

“Oh really? Why’s that?” She asked politely.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he shrugged. “It was always too much of a hassle. By the time we got to the theater room, Adrien would be crowded with fans.”

Marinette nodded. That made sense. “How did you escape the paparazzi tonight?”

A mischievous gleam came to his silver eyes. “Adrien posted a picture of himself at a cafe half way across Paris. No one will be bothering us for a while.”

Marinette chuckled, wondering how they were able to pull that off. It sounded like quite a feat. “Well, I’m glad you guys were able to make it.”

“So am I.” 

The previews finally subsided about five minutes later, and the movie started playing on the big screen. Marinette watched it for the first twenty minutes, but the more she watched, the more she disliked. The actors were constantly staring straight at the camera, and the plot was a mess. How do movies like these make it to theaters?

“Who authorized the release for this?” Felix mumbled next to her, causing Marinette to perk up.

“I know right? It’s like they picked a few people off the street and threw them into a shaky storyline.” She whispered, slumping into her seat slightly. Was Alya watching the movie too, or was she too focused on Nino?

Felix sat up slightly and glanced towards the back of the theater, where the rest of the group was. “Why don’t we skip? Surely, there’s something more entertaining we can do.”

Marinette’s eyes widened with surprise. She’d always assumed that Felix would be a stickler for the rules. “What would we do?”

Felix tilted his head back and forth in thought. “We could go get ice cream? I didn’t get to accompany you and the others yesterday.”

A bashful smile found its way onto her lips. The fact that he was inviting her to go get ice cream despite not liking sweets warmed her from the inside out. “Are you sure you don’t want to get something else?”

“I’ll be fine.” He said with a slight wave of his hand. “Are we going then?”

Marinette’s gaze flicked to the back where Alya and the others were sitting. They were all engrossed in the movie, except for Adrien, who seemed to be looking in their direction with some sort of smile. (Though it could be the lighting.)

“Yeah. Let’s go.” She decided, quietly slipping her purse back on.

Felix nodded, and they carefully crept out of the auditorium together, both hoping their respective “chaperones” didn’t notice their disappearance.

Thankfully, no one did- to their knowledge -and Felix and Marinette got to stroll right out of the movie theater.

“Is there a specific ice cream parlor you’d like to visit?” Felix asked as they walked outside.

Marinette shook her head, taking in a deep breath as the night air hit her face. It was a warm evening, save for the occasional cool breezes that passed by. The sun had just dipped down into the horizon, so a bit of light remained in the sky, but that didn’t stop the Paris street lights from brightening the blocks as well. Marinette didn’t mind, though. She rather liked the soft glow that the street lights provided.

“I saw a post a while ago about Andre being around here. Maybe he’s still in the area?” She suggested, turning right.

Felix followed. “Who’s Andre?” 

Marinette gasped. “You don’t know who Andre is?” 

“..I don’t get out often.” Felix muttered, flicking his gaze to the road.

A small chuckled passed her lips. “It’s not a bad thing, I’m just surprised. But now we have to go see him.” She grabbed his hand with a grin and started tugging him along. “We might have to run, though.”

Felix didn’t respond, prompting Marinette to look back at him. He was staring at their joined hands, a deep blush shrouding his cheeks.

Marinette flushed at the sight. She had gotten excited and didn’t think about the fact that she was grabbing Felix Agreste’s hand. Now they were holding hands, and her heart was pounding in her chest, and worst- best? -of all, she didn’t want to let go. 

“I-If you want to, that is.” She added, forcing herself to loosen her grip on his hand.

Her stomach flipped when he squeezed her hand in retaliation.

“Uh- no. No, I don’t mind.” Felix finally said. “Lead the way.”

Marinette, not trusting herself to speak lest she fall into a stuttering mess, nodded and pulled out her phone with her free hand to find Andre’s current location. It was harder to find at night time, but as luck would have it, someone posted a picture with Andre near the Pontes De Arts. 

They wandered around the streets in that direction, and Marinette tried not to focus on Felix’s touch, or how electrifying it was. She’d held onto him like this before, once at the ice rink and once at the mansion, but this time was different somehow. Instead of nervousness or hesitance, she felt this giddy excitement that buzzed in her chest and coiled through her stomach. The way his hand shifted in hers to intertwine their fingers together gave her a rush of ecstasy, and Marinette found it positively addicting. She couldn’t help wondering how she would feel if they were just a little bit closer. How much would this strange ecstasy spread within her if Felix were to pull her against him, run his fingers through her hair, and-

“Is that him?” 

Marinette jumped, a harsh blush exploding across her cheeks as reality set back in again. “S-Sorry?”

“Andre.” Felix elaborated, pointing towards the end of the street. “Is that him?”

Marinette followed his finger to a man at the end of the block who was pushing along an ice cream cart and joyfully whistling to himself. “O-Oh, um, yes. That’s him.” 

Felix smiled. “Do we just walk up to him?” 

Marinette returned his smile. “Yep! He gives everyone special ice creams for free.”

“That’s not a very sound business practice.” Felix commented. “Wait, special? Special how?”

“Well..” Marinette twirled one of her pigtails on her finger. “He claims to hand out ice creams that represent your true love, and I have to admit, he’s accurate more often than not.”

Felix hummed. “That’s something I’d like to see.” 

Marinette chuckled, and they made their way over to Andre, catching him at the end of the block.

“Ah! Such a lovely couple on a nightly stroll! I shall fix you a tasty ice cream to enjoy while you’re out!” Andre beamed, moving to get some blue raspberry ice cream.

“Oh no-” Marinette sheepishly interrupted “-We’re- We’re not a couple.”

Andre paused, a slight frown tugging at the corner of his lips. “Not a couple? But I can see you two are bursting with love for each other! You’re even holding hands.” 

Felix and Marinette immediately pulled their hands away from each other, their cheeks flushing a deep scarlet.

“J-Just one ice cream please.” Marinette said, her voice anything but leveled.

Andre sighed, but gave her a cone of cotton candy and banana ice cream.

“Thank you.” She mumbled as she took the cone.

“Some for you as well?” Andre inquired, turning to Felix.

He shook his head. “No, thank you. I don’t fancy sweets. I’m only here for her.” 

For some reason, the comment resonated with Marinette, and she stared up at him, starstruck. Felix had come all this way just for her, and though it may seem like a small gesture, it was one of many. He’s taught her how to paint, given her support in her passions, and offered to help with school projects without ever asking for anything in return. 

And Marinette, as she’s watching Felix talk with Andre, was struck with a sudden, yet painfully obvious realization:

She liked Felix. She really, really liked him.

“Well, I’m off to spread more love and joy around Paris! Have a wonderful evening lovebirds!” Andre called as he walked off.

“We’re not..” Felix started to correct, before shaking his head and deciding it wasn’t worth it. He then turned back to Marinette. “How’s the ice cream?”

Marinette, being the eloquent girl she is, only stared at him. She was simply mesmerized. By his slight, contented smile, by the gentle sway of his bangs in the evening breeze, by the specks of blue she hadn’t noticed in his shining, silver eyes until the street lights hit them just right, by him. Just standing next to him was enough to take her breath away. How had she been so blind to him before? 

Marinette’s thoughts were interrupted by the abrupt realization that he’d asked her a question, and she scrambled to remember what it was. “Uh- s-sorry -the ice cream? It’s- um-”

“Oh, your flower.” Felix spoke up, graciously cutting her off.

“M-My flower?” Marinette echoed, absently reaching up to touch the hair piece.

He nodded. “Yes, it’s crooked. Here, let me..” 

Marinette’s breath hitched as he took a step towards her, but remained still. Felix unclipped the flower, causing some of her bangs to fall across her face, and clipped it again in a tighter position.

“There.” He murmured, brushing a bit of her bangs aside. “Good as new.”

Marinette opened her mouth to say “Thank you”, but of course, nothing came out. 

Everything in her froze as his eyes trailed down to meet hers. They were mere inches apart now, so close that she could smell the faint scent of books from his time in the library. 

Felix’s hand brushed against her cheek, and she leaned into his touch.

“Marinette.” His whisper sent shivers down her spine. She closed her eyes, reveling in everything that was him.

Felix leaned forward- she could feel his chest press closer against her -but before their lips met, a rumbling shook the ground beneath them. 

The two tensed, and Marinette’s eyes snapped open. 

“Any chance that’s just an earthquake tremor?” She mumbled, scanning the Parisian streets. 

“Probably not.” Felix replied, glancing around as well.

Another rumble shook the streets, this time larger. Then, an ear piercing roar split the sky.

Marinette sighed. “I didn’t think so.” 

Of course an akuma would come right now. When else would an akuma come? Surely not when she actually had time to fight it. That would be ridiculous.

“You should go.” She said, putting a hand on Felix’s shoulder. “Get to safety.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Felix replied firmly. 

Marinette held back a grimace. She had a feeling he’d say that. “Someone needs to go warn the others.”

Felix tisked and scanned the block again. “Alright, you go find shelter in there. I’ll go warn them.” 

Marinette wanted to argue, but splitting up was the best option if she was going to transform. “Be careful.”

His eyes settled on hers. “You too.”

Then they ran.

~~~~~~

Le Paon jumped across the rooftops towards the akuma, harshly cursing his luck. He’d gotten this close to kissing Marinette! Their lips were practically touching when that- that thing came onto the scene!

And what a thing it was. He’d honestly thought that the akuma was a building at first. It towered over the streets, breaking apart everything in its path. The deep purple tint of the creature even blended perfectly with the night sky. It’s beading, glowing blue eyes, however, did not.

How am I supposed to get the miraculous with this monstrosity? Le Paon thought, briefly pausing on a rooftop to catch his breath. Its ginormous claws could barely pick up a car let alone snatch a pair of earrings or a ring. 

He started running again, dearly wishing this rip-off Godzilla would start taking baby steps. It was clearing two to four blocks in one stride, and Le Paon just couldn’t keep pace. When was Father going to start thinking these akumas through?

In his haste to keep up with his impromptu partner, Le Paon didn’t notice the staff extending to the middle of his current rooftop. He hit the staff full force and cried out in pain as he skidded across the ground. 

“Oh~ that’s a nasty fall if ever I saw one.” Chat Noir mused behind him. “You might want to get some tweet-ment for that.” 

Le Paon groaned, but not from the pain. Throwing the hero’s looks and voice aside, Felix should have recognized Chat Noir as Adrien sooner simply because they shared the same, horrible sense of humor.

Le Paon pushed himself to his feet, holding back a wince, and flicked his wrists to have his fans slide into his hands. He didn’t want to fight Adrien, but if he didn’t keep up appearances, Father would become suspicious. Felix needed to keep Adrien’s miraculous a secret, or rather, keep the fact that Felix knew about Adrien’s miraculous a secret. Adrien seemed to be keeping the secret of his miraculous just fine.

“Let’s just get this over with fast.” Le Paon said, spreading out his fans.

Chat Noir shifted into a fighting stance. “My pleasure.”

So, to recap, Le Paon has to attempt to get Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous while also trying to communicate with the monster behind him to do so, and while trying to avoid hitting Chat Noir- the guard dog -as much as possible.

That should be easy.

~~~~~

Felix slumped against a building wall as the magic from his miraculous melted off of his body. That was officially the worst akuma attack he’d ever been involved in. The darn thing didn’t even serve its intended purpose. Felix spent more time avoiding the thing’s enormous, swinging arms than actually working with it. He didn’t even keep the heroes contained! Felix assumed that the monster would be able to help somehow, but it just kept hitting Ladybug and Chat Noir away from him! 

Needless to say, Ladybug’s identity was still a mystery. Perhaps if Father started choosing more subtle or precise akumas, they would actually start getting somewhere.

Felix begrudgingly moved from the building wall to poke his head out of the alleyway he’d landed in. if the Miraculous Cure did its job properly- and it always did -Marinette and the others should be back at the movie theater. Well, Marinette might still be running to the theaters, but Felix should get there right when she does. 

After seeing the empty street, Felix started his walk back to the theaters. He would have run, but his legs already burned from how much jumping he did as Le Paon. Nevertheless, he was determined to get back to Marinette and make sure she was alright.

That is, until he heard it.

The sound was faint at first, but as Felix neared the end of the block, it grew louder. A moaning, old and rattling, was coming from one of the other alleyways. 

His footsteps lulled a moment as he curiously glanced down the different alleyways on the street. One, in particular, stuck out to Felix.

It was hard to catch at first, due to the street lamps being his only source of light, but Felix saw a man lying face down in the alleyway. The man was reaching for something and groaning quiet pleas for help.

“Sir?” Felix called, cautiously approaching the man. “Are you alright?”

“H...Help..me..” The man groaned. “My.. my staff.. They threw it..”

Felix looked around the alleyway and found a cane near the entrance. He quickly scooped it up and brought it back to the old man.

“Who threw it?” He asked as he helped the man to his feet.

“The muggers.” The old man rasped, gripping Felix’s shirt tightly to pull himself up. “They took everything I have, and now I can’t get home.” 

The old man slipped and fell against Felix, but Felix managed to catch him in time.

“All right, where do you live? I’ll call my driver to take you there.”

The old man looked up at him. “You will?”

Felix nodded. So much for getting back to Marinette.

“Oh, thank you. I am forever in your debt.” The old man said.

Felix waved a hand. “Not at all. I’ll have to tell Father about this though. What’s your name?”

The old man smiled. “You can call me ‘Fu’.”

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[ducktracy]

184. the woods are full of cuckoos (1937)

release date: december 4th, 1937

series: merrie melodies

director: frank tashlin

starring: mel blanc (owlcott, walter finchell, milton squirrel, wendell howl, fox, raven mcquandry), tedd pierce (ben birdie, tizzie fish, andy bovine), sara berner (polly gillette, canary livingstone)

this cartoon gets the honorable award of possibly being the most dated warner bros. shorts in its vast repertoire of cartoons. not to worry! this will be a fun cartoon to unpack—i love delving into the shorts that involve extensive research. learning something new is something that‘s very rewarding to me, and i hope it is to you, too!

a giant ode to the short lived radio program community sing (lasting from 1936-1937), the short chronicles a woodland radio show hosted by a variety of caricatured animals putting on various acts.

iris in to the ringing of a bell. a pudgy, bespectacled owl rings it as he stands illuminated by the moonlight, preaching to all of the woodland critters, ready to start the show. he introduces himself as “owlcott”, a take on commentator alexander woollcott. he “blandly announces” (his words, not mine) the introduction of the master of ceremonies, ben birdie--a bird caricature of radio personality ben bernie, “the old maestro”.

birdie’s caricature is not new to audience’s eyes. the caricature, along with a handful of others, is reused from friz freleng’s the coocoo nut grove from 1936, a short that is very similar in vein to this one. tedd pierce provides birdie’s suave, velvety vocals as he introduces the program, only to be interrupted by the nasally cries of mel blanc. out pops walter finchell, a caricature of bernie’s faux-enemy walter winchell, both of whom carrying a notorious (and fake) feud in the radio-verse. it was common for winchell to interrupt the smooth-talking bernie, either throwing pranks or remarks his way, to which bernie dismissed every time. indeed, a signature tashlin upshot angle reveals finchell dropping an egg on top of birdie, who blocks it nonchalantly with a handy umbrella.

art loomer’s backgrounds for the cartoon are absolutely gorgeous. they’re vibrant in color, very lush and painterly, but remain playful and sophisticated at the same time. they certainly serve as a highlight to the short. and, as always, carl stalling’s scores are a blast to hear--his sardonic, wah-wah rendition of “cause my baby says it’s so” is a jolly juxtaposition to the prior score of “love is on the air tonight”, the latter being the song’s cartoon debut. it would be reused in cartoons such as the daffy doc, whereas “cause my baby says its so” was heard previously in rover’s rival.

birdie introduces a clever squirrel caricature of milton berle, whose routine gets interrupted by a little parrot named polly. polly is a take on eileen barton’s character, little jolly gillette, who was portrayed as the daughter of the show’s sponsor. polly and milton go through their act together, polly bluntly (yet innocently) announcing “my daddy says ya gotta let me sing ‘cause he’s a sponsor!” you can listen to real recordings of their banter here!

volney white’s animation of milton and polly is lively and jovial, constantly moving. milton energetically introduces us to our next star, pointing in the wrong direction and fixing it last second as he gestures towards a bird caricature of country singer wendell hall.

even if viewers don’t recognize the bird’s counterpart, they will most certainly recognize his voice--mel uses his foghorn leghorn voice for wendell “howl”. of course, foghorn wouldn’t debut for another 9 years, but that’s another story. the animation of the raucous bird is fun to watch as he extends his neck and wraps it around in coils around the microphone stand. random? yes, but fun nevertheless.

perhaps even more commendable is the staggering crowd shot that succeeds wendell’s scenes. the crowd is mirrored horizontally, but that doesn’t lessen the blow from how claustrophobic it is. wendell asks the audience to get out their songbooks and turn to page “22... no, page 44. uh, no, uh, page 28. uh, 42, uh, 36, uh, 45...” 

wendell is transformed from an entertainer to an auctioneer, spitting out numbers at rapid pace as his crowd frantically tears through their songbooks. finally, he concedes. “oh, never mind. we won’t use the books.” off screen, the crowd roars in unison: “OH YES WE WILL!” with that, wendell is generously showered with a barrage of books, buried in the pile of rejected papers. the timing of the scene is comedically sharp and energetic, one of the more entertaining acts of the cartoon.

now, for the real song number, lead by goat and bear caricatures of billy jones and ernie hare (would a rabbit caricature be too on the nose?) respectively, animated by volney white. they march out onto the stage--er, tree trunk--and open the curtains to reveal a sing-along to the eponymous song. thus, the camera pans into the lyrics as everybody bursts into the all-too-earworm-causing song number. 

as the crowd, ben birdie and walter finchell all lend their voices to the song, a fox caricature of fred allen sings “swanee river”, clashing with the unity of everybody else. in a nod to friz freleng’s toy town hall where the same routine was executed, a little bunny excitedly coos “ohhhh, mr. allen! you’re singing the wrong sooooong!” the fox bursts into everybody’s favorite Mel Blanc Yell as he repeats a frequent ‘30s catchphrase: “WHY DON’T SOMEBODY TELL ME THESE THINGS!?”

featured in the song is a seemingly interminable cast of celebrity caricatures, all introduced as the camera pans across the screen, each lending their voice to part of the song. some puns require more effort than others (dick powell as “dick fowl” rolls off the tongue better than al jolson as “al goatson”). caricatures include: 

eddie cantor as eddie gander, sophie tucker as sophie turkey, w.c. fields as w.c. fieldmouse, dick powell as dick fowl, fats waller as fats swallow, deanna durbin as deanna terrapin, irvin s. cobb as irvin s. frog, fred macmurray as fred mcfurry, bing crosby as bing crowsby, al jolson as al goatson, ruby keeler as ruby squealer, lanny ross as lanny hoss, grace moore as grace moose, and finally lily pons as lily swans.

speaking of grace and lily, they’re both highlighted as they fight to out-perform each other, seeing who can sing the highest note. tashlin pulls of a rather intriguing camera move: as the pan settles on the two of them, the background changes. it’s a subtle maneuver, but smart thinking nonetheless--especially since the camera extends into a vertical pan. as both women fight to sing the highest note, their necks extend, both of them scaling high into the night sky, harmonizing on one final shrill note. they both crumple back into the stands, exhausted by their efforts. some fun exaggerated animation for sure--one wonders how much further this would have been pushed had this been tashlin’s second stint at WB rather than his first. his speed often rivaled, if not out-performed, tex avery’s.

birdie and finchell have a brief interstitial together before making way for a raven caricature of haven macquarrie (raven mcquandry). his sequence is almost jarringly short, but full of fun drawings and poses--the pose of him standing curtly with his arms crossed is awfully reminiscent of izzy ellis’ work under tashlin and later bob clampett in the mid ‘40s. mcquandry asks “do YOU wanna be an actor?”, parotting the name of his real life counterpart’s show so do you want to be an actor? the audience shouts “NO!” in unison, causing mcquandry to do a take and shrug dubiously. though the scene is only a few short seconds, the animation brings forth some much needed vitality.

next is a penguin caricature of joe penner, singing a hilariously out-of-tune rendition of “my green fedora”. the animation is reused from the cartoon of the same name (notice how he doesn’t have penguin feet!), which was also used in toy town hall. not a complaint, but more an observation--this is by far the most humorous performance of the song yet, sung by blanc rather than tommy bond.

another fun scene with some vivacious animation is a sequence featuring a mule caricature of martha raye (dubbed moutha bray), singing a cover of “how could you?”, which has been featured as an underscore in cartoons such as porky’s badtime story and its later remake, tick tock tuckered. raye’s large mouth served as prime material for caricatures, as we see here. the animation is snappy, fun, and vivid--she finishes her song by “swallowing” the camera, an old trick that beckons memories of the harman and ising cartoons of animation past. 

an interesting trend in the ‘30s WB cartoons is the trend of playing with the iris, whether it was the closing iris out or an iris in between transitions. tex avery would consistently play with the final iris out on his cartoons, whereas directors such as friz freleng and bob clampett would use one as a transition between scenes. here, tashlin uses the “swallow the camera” technique as a segue for an iris in, tedd pierce’s falsetto squeaking “hello folksies!” as we’re introduced to a fish caricature of tizzie lish, a character played by bill comstock on al pearce and his gang.

though tizzie has long faded into obscurity (as has the entire community sing radio show), it’s still quite easy to appreciate pierce’s vocals and mannerisms as he portrays the character. it’s always a joy to hear him doing voices for cartoons--he’s never been my favorite writer on the crew, but he was an excellent talent as a voice actor. his squeaky deliveries, matter of fact deliveries “mix them up... are you mixing? my friends say i’m a good mixer. are you? or aren’t you?” as tizzie haphazardly dumps food items and their respective utensils into a bowl and prepares the meal are nothing short of hilarious. the timing is very well executed and can be appreciated regardless of background knowledge.

after humming a pitchy rendition of “the lady in red” while waiting for her concoction to bake in the waffle iron, tizzie removes the homemade waffle and discards it, instructing the audience “now take the ‘wiffle’ out and eat the iron. you must have iron in your system. or should you?” thus concludes tizzie’s act, certainly heightened in hilarity by pierce’s vocals and timing.

for the final act, ben birdie introduces a possum caricature of louella parsons, the host of the radio program hollywood hotel, which served as a way to advertise upcoming movies by featuring guest stars enacting some of the scenes. here, we have caricatures of jack benny (as jack bunny, the first of his many reoccurrences), mary livingstone (canary livingstone), and andy devine (andy bovine).

tedd pierce voices andy bovine, whose voice burlusqued not only in this cartoon, but to a greater extent in friz freleng’s my little buckeroo not even a year later. devine, a western star, was notorious for his scratchy, shrill voice which was rife for comedic opportunity. indeed, this scene here with pierce’s vocals is nothing short of hilarious: 

the trio chronicle the prodigal’s return, in which bunny and canary coo over their baby son. out of the bassinet pops incongruously large bovine, who shrieks “HOWDY MAAAA! HI PAAAA!”, the sheer volume of his voice enough to blow both of his parents away and out of the scene. and, with that, the scene ends, red curtains colorized from porky’s romance marking the sequence’s end. short, sweet, to the point, and hilarious.

ending right where the cartoon began, the owl caricature of alexander woollcott bids us farewell, the iris closing in on the bell he rings as he exclaims that all is well.

like so many other cartoons i’ve reviewed, this is one that i slowly warmed up to upon rewatching it and typing out the review for myself. i didn’t entirely dislike the cartoon upon my first watch, but it’s undeniably dated and deserves its title as possibly the most dated cartoon. without further research, some of the jokes and caricatures (if not all of them) are difficult to appreciate. the animation has bursts of energy throughout the short, the highlights being the scenes featuring raven mcquarry and moutha bray, but otherwise remains relatively simple and conservative. tashlin does incorporate a few intriguing camera angles throughout the cartoon, but many other entries of his are far more cinematic.

however, despite all of that, this cartoon is not without its bonuses: art loomer’s backgrounds are stunningly gorgeous and rich, and as someone who loves the lush, painterly backgrounds of the 1930s, this is heaven to me. and, as i mentioned previously, tedd pierce’s scenes are great--the tizzie fish and andy bovine sequences are undeniable comedic highlights.

so, if you’re willing to dedicate time to put in the research for this cartoon, you’ll find it’s quite fascinating! i’m certain this was a much bigger gut-buster in 1937 than it is in 2020, but even then, this is a good cartoon for people such as myself who love to learn more information and seek out facts. as a result, i’d recommend it to people who fall into that category. if you’re just someone who wants a good laugh and a leisurely watch, there are more interesting cartoons that lie ahead. you won’t miss much by skipping it.

with that said, here’s the link!