#not too invested in the cinema world

[the-blossica-fan]

Hi ^-^

Actors AU: A question; how are Anecdotes produced? Are they made by the actors with help, or something else entirely, do you think? ^-^

Hmmm, anecdotes were made by other people, actually. In the beginning, when people got curious about characters and such, they made fanmade anecdotes (like fanfics or comics about characters)

The actors and producers got interested in the idea and made a separate team for that. It's not a film or something of the sort, it's most likely a couple short films uploaded on YouTube separately.

They might be different from the anecdotes we know, a 20-40 minute (depends on what it is about and what's there to tell) film that shows more about the character in questions.

Almost like indie films, but of course they do get backed up with a selected budget for each movie and the contribution of the real actors and actresses.

[peachiyyy]

it’s annoying that people think that im a kpop stan because i like bts but i actually am not interested in kpop at all other than bts. Hung out with a guy once and he was like, “so you’re like really into kdrama and stuff, right? Since you like bts” and I almost went feral because I know how to consume media normally. It’s impossible for me to be invested in a culture that I’m not apart of

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Hedy Lamarr (Samson and Delilah, Ziegfeld Girl)—Look. I'm sure someone has already submitted Hedy Lamarr because she was spectacularly beautiful, and a very strong lady too: she fled both an abusive marriage AND nazi persecution at a very young age and rebuilt a life for herself pursuing her love for acting all on her own!! Her career as an actress was stellar; while she began acting outside of Hollywood (her very first movie, Ecstasy, won a prize at the Venice Film Festival), she conquered American hearts very quickly with her first movie in the US, Algiers, and then just kept getting better and better. If all this isn't enough, she was also an inventor: her invention of the frequency-hopping spread spectrum radio transmission technique forms the base of bluetooth and has a lot of applications in all kinds of communication technologies. I think that deserves a prize, don't you?

Anna May Wong (The Thief of Bagdad, Shanghai Express)—Wong was the first Chinese American movie star, arguably the first Asian woman to make it big in American films. Though the racism of the time often forced her into stereotypical roles, awarded Asian leading roles to white actors in yellowface, and prohibited on-screen romance between actors of different races, she delivered powerful and memorable performances. When Hollywood bigotry got to be too much, she made movies in Europe. Wong was intellectually curious, a fashion icon, and a strong advocate for authentic Asian representation in cinema. And, notably for the purposes of this tournament, absolutely gorgeous.

We are in the quarterfinals of the Hot & Vintage Movie Women Tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Propaganda is not my own and is on a submission basis. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Hedy Lamarr:

The only person you can find both on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in the Inventor's Hall of Fame--her radio-frequency-hopping technology forms the basis for cordless phones, wi-fi, and a dozen other aspects of modern life. She was also passionate in her efforts to aid the Allies in WWII (unsurprising for a Jewish-Austrian Emigree to America), and her name served as the backbone for one of the best running jokes in what is possibly Mel Brooks' best movie. Look, Louis B. Mayer apparently believed he could plausibly promote her as "The world's most beautiful woman". Is an entire website full of people going to be less audacious than one Louis B. Mayer? I didn't think so!

Described as "Hedy has the most incredible personal sophistication. She knows the peculiarly European art of being womanly; she knows what men want in a beautiful woman, what attracts them, and she forces herself to be these things. She has magnetism with warmth, something that neither Dietrich nor Garbo has managed to achieve" by Howard Sharpe, she managed to escape her controlling husband (and Nazi Germany) by a) Disguising as her maid and fleeing to Paris or b) Convincing the husband to let her wear all of her jewelry to a dinner, only to disappear afterwards. Also she was particularly clever and helped develop Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum (I can't really explain it but anyway...)

Her depiction of Delilah and Samson and Delilah just lives rent free in my head. The woman was gorgeous.

One of the most beautiful women ever in film, spoken by many critics and fans. Beautiful shapely figure, deeper seductive voice, and often played femme fatale roles. She was also brilliant and an inventor. Mainly self-taught, she invested her spare time, including on set between takes, in designing and drafting inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a flavored carbonated drink, and much more.

Gorgeous and brilliant pioneer of modern technology and the middle part.

Anna May Wong propaganda:

"She so so gorgeous!! Due to Hollywood racism she was pretty limited in the roles she got to play but even despite that she’s so captivating and deserves to be known as a leading lady in her own right!! When she’s on screen in Shanghai Express I can’t look away, which is saying something because Marlene Dietrich is also in that film."

"SHE IS ON THE BACK OF QUARTERS also she was very smart and able to speak multiple languages and is a fashion icon on top of the acting/singing"

"Paved the way for Asian American actresses AND TOTAL HOTTIE!!! She broke boundaries and made it her mission to smash stereotypes of Asian women in western film (at the time, they were either protrayed them as delicate and demure or scheming and evil). In 1951, she made history with her television show The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first-ever U.S. television show starring an Asian-American series lead (paraphrased from Wikipedia). Also, never married and rumor has it that she had an affair with Marlene Dietrich. We love a Controversial Queen!"

"She's got that Silent Era smoulder™ that I think transcends the very stereotypical roles in which she was typically cast. Also looks very hot smouldering opposite Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express"; there's kiss energy there."

"Hot as hell and chronically overlooked in her time, she's truly phenomenal and absolutely stunning"

"A story of stardom unavoidably marred by Hollywood racism; Wong's early-career hype was significantly derailed by the higher-up's reluctance to have an Asian lead, and things only got worse when the Hayes code came down and she suddenly *couldn't* be shown kissing a white man--even if that white man was in yellowface. After being shoved into the Dragon Lady role one too many times, she took her career to other continents for many years. Still, she came back to America eventually, being more selective in her roles, speaking out against Asian stereotypes, and in the midst of all of this finding the time to be awarded both the title of "World's Best Dressed Woman" by Mayfair Mannequin Society of New York and an honorary doctorate by Peking University."

"Incredible beauty, incredible actress, incredible story."

"-flapper fashion ICON. look up her fits please <3 -rumors of lesbianism due to her Close Friendships with marlene dietrich & cecil cunningham, among others -leveraged her star power to criticize the racist depictions of Chinese and Asian characters in Hollywood, as well as raise money and popular support for China & Chinese refugees in the 1930s and 40s. -face card REFUSED to decline"

[sgiandubh]

Imagine

Imagine you are offered an exciting, well-paid job with an up and coming spirits business, whose owner you happened to sympathize with at a work event. Imagine you really invest yourself in that job and you are so enthusiastic about it, that you even put your own business network to service. Imagine you start seeing the first results of your efforts.

Then imagine that the owner you happened to sympathize with (and who probably recruited you) has a teeny-tiny problem, the amplitude of which was absolutely impossible for you to grasp. He is also an actor and, as many actors who are actively involved in successful cinema/TV productions, he has a fandom. Some things may have been mentioned to you, such as the abusive behavior of 'some' fans - but you really had no idea and you were way too excited to make this new job opportunity work for you. You definitely didn't take any warnings too seriously: you know that series has some sort of cult-ish status and that actor is many ageing women's secret fantasy, all around the world. You probably even think it's definitely corny, but overall these ladies seem harmless enough - plus they seem to show up in droves and buy in bulk, everywhere he goes. You are way too focused on your job to notice any misconduct: you dismiss it with a laugh.

And then, someone, somewhere decides it is your turn. You have excitedly posted a snapshot of a rugby match you have been invited to by the owner of the up and coming spirits company, who happens to have an excellent relationship with the local, prestigious club and is a rugby fan himself. You are over the moon to be a part of an event that allows you to better discern the new type of customers the business hopes to attract, in the foreseeable future. You enjoy the wonderful camaraderie in the galleries: you had no idea about what rugby means to so many different people, wow!

You are, therefore, very surprised to find out some women already started to claim on the Internet you and your boss are an item. This is completely nuts: courtship seldom involves attending a rugby match, in Europe - that much you know. You begin to receive nasty, insinuating DMs on your Instagram page. You perhaps remember one of your boss's friends, a young disabled artist, has very recently been harassed by his fans and had to call the police, in order to make it stop. You decide the best thing you could do is to erase the rugby match pic: too late, it has already been screen capped, shared and discussed. This is how you also find out that some of those women think you have an agenda, that you plan to seduce your boss and that you are, at any rate, a lousy wannabe in the business world and a highly functioning alcoholic, to boot. The ones claiming so are either pretending to be experts or to have SOURCES, based on FACTS. This is beyond your understanding. You may even have a mild panic attack and you definitely feel all of this is: a) ridiculous; b) unfair and c) potentially dangerous.

Most of the women who called you out have no idea about what happens at a rugby match. They are that kind of older people who still think geishas are prostitutes, for example, because they lack proper education. They have no direct experience of the business world, let alone the spirits business world. No real facts and no logical arguments are ever presented to seriously discuss your efforts, but many smearing accusations are being written down, with full confidence. All they know is that they don't like you, because you somehow failed to comply with their own, twisted version of reality. In their books, your boss is either a closeted gay man or a lewd womanizer, with a dirty penchant for whores. This would normally make you grin, but today you're just not in that mood.

Today's your turn.

[meraki-yao]

Watching Agatha All Along again after giving up on Marvel for three years made me think about why I gave it up in the first place.

I was so deep in the MCU. I cried so much during Infinity War that I struggled to walk out of the cinema. I watched Endgame on the first day that it was released. My diary was a CACW notebook. Part of the reason I took up STEM subjects was because of Marvel.

And then after watching MoM in theatres, I stopped.

I'm trying to phrase and figure out what made me give up something I was so invested in, something I loved so much. I think I know why.

The MCU period I was active in gave me characters that I ended up loving, and the later period took them away.

My two favourite characters were ruined. Their character arcs and core characters undone. I'm worried about my favourite too.

I hate it when the sequel undermines the previous works.

When I think of Steve Rogers, I don't think of the guy who chose to either fuck up the entire timeline of the MCU or sat quietly and watch the world in turmoil, his allies die tragically, and his best friend left to a fate worst than dead to get with a girl he wasn't even dating, a woman who had a life of her own and moved on.

I think of Steve from CATWS, the guy from Brooklyn who still does the right thing in a time when morals are blurred. The Steve who is kind, compassionate and brave. The Steve who inspired the base-level employees of SHEILD to follow his example and not bow down in the face of tyranny. The Steve who just had one mission, and that was standing up to bullies.

When I think of Wanda, I don't think of the insane, manic witch/evil goddess who killed thousands mercilessly even though there was a harmless solution, who after all she lost, somehow only wanted her children who she had for three days instead of also her love and her twin.

I think of Wanda, the girl who lost it all, who's family was all killed, who was denied a burial for Vision, who was left alone and abandoned in the world, with so much love in her heart that no longer had a place, a person to go to. The girl who feels so much so deeply that it bended reality. The girl who had to learn, who had to give up her dream, but did so, because at the end of the day, she is a kind person, who doesn't want to hurt people. She was wrong, she takes time to understand and accept the harm she's caused (as we all do), and then makes it right. She tries to be good. Despite everything, she tries.

The later stages of MCU took these two characters that mean so much to me personally, and ruined them.

And I'm fucking mad at them, because it disrespected all the work that made me love them in the first place, and it was preventable. (The original script for MoM where Wanda helps Strange but repeatedly gets tempted by the Darkhold is a much more convincing narrative.)

And I'd say the same applies to others: Natasha, Thor, Bruce, even Strange (although I feel like they never really figured out what they wanted to do with Strange's character)

I miss my characters, I miss my MCU.

[gravity-what]

The more I think about it, the more brilliant your decision to have Jack decide "screw both this Heylin stuff and the Xiaolin stuff" and focus more on his tech skills and also become a movie star is! Good for Jack! 🍿🍿🍿

🤔 Jack did mention that he still held onto his dream of having his own reality show with adoring fans in The Demon Seed. 🎬📣 And he was happily writing and directing and filming for the entirety of Dreamscape. 💻 And he was excited to hear that he was being discussed on web forums. 🤩 And Jack does love attention and theatrics!

Silver screen fame would totally get Jack the things he longs for (recognition, attention, people being impressed with him, bragging rights, showing off his smarts and skills, getting his name up in lights, getting to kick up drama for fun, riches, etc), probably better than world domination would. And he gets to continue being both a theater kid and utilizing his tech genius skills in creative ways! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Plus, there's something about Jack ultimately going True Neutral after all the flip flopping between good and evil that just works! Well, I know he's still on the Heylin side currently in this story, but I remember your post where you showed us future Jack Spicer, Famous Producer and Genius of the Cinematic Screen who uses chameleon bot actors and does all his own practical and special effects! 🤩🏆

I'm super duper excited to see Jack getting to fulfill this dream of his and lean more into that side of him this time! I'm invested in his journey to movie stardom! 🎥🍿 🎬🎫🎞️📽️

(Plus, this means Guan ended up helping prevent that awful future! Master Monk Guan's not a legendary Xiaolin warrior for nothing~ 💪 Everybody say "Thank you Guan"!)

After everything it just feels like Jack deserves a happy ending and this felt like a good way of giving it to him! You pointed out all the key parts of the series that put me on this track (along with his whole ‘good always triumphs over evil’ thing) so I didn’t feel too out of character to inch him in that direction (especially after how traumatized he seemed to be coming back from the other universe). He’s got a few big steps still before he is ‘officially’ on this path, but season 6 is essentially all about him solidifying his move to a ‘neutral’ party…a chaotic one. But still neutral.

Plus: with this ‘career’ move he gets to keep his chaotic ‘monkey king’ energy that I love about his character! No becoming serious or refined or anything like that. This man is Chaos and will continue to be since that’s what makes good cinema~

As for that last part, well:

Guan @the kids: you can thank me later.

Chase: don’t thank him for something he very obviously did for money!

🤣

[writing-whump]

I'm in the fluffiest mood lately, so how about a no stakes sickfic. Movie night and the trip (Matt, Sel/Zaya) are home and decide to put on something like spiderverse or smth else, point being, either Isaiah or Matt gets super motion sick from it

Something fluffy it is. Thank you for the ask, Soup!!💙

Cinema sickness

The middle position was the best.

Matthew didn't notice when exactly they started to fight for it like that, but it was increasingly a place one of them got as special treat.

Like of course, when Isaiah was having his not so heart episodes that Seline still didn't know the cause of or when he was emotional. Then it wad Seline herself with a fever. She also usurped the spot most openly when she was well.

Matthew was a little too embarrassed to be that forward. Not when he was feeling fine.

They bought a camera projector they have been saving for a few months. Seline dreamed about the home cinema early on and Isaiah was such a movie buff, it was only to be expected.

Matthew found the cinema experience tiresome because of all the people, so their own private living room cinema because of the projector? Sounded fun. Though the cinema made for good people training.

"You guys didn't watch the second Spiderverse movie yet, right?" Seline said, taking control of the chromcast with her phone to put it on.

"I didn't see the first one either," Matthew grumbled as she climbed up between him and Isaiah who was scrolling through IMDb. He had a thing for ratings, while Seline loved comments and spoilers.

Matthew considered himself the only sane and commonly invested movie person. He liked to get surprised.

"The animation is out of this world. The first movie got an Oscar for it too, but they went overboard and beyond with the second. Each universe has a different animation style! It's the perfect movie for a cinema." Seline waved her phone in front of Matthew enthusiastically.

"Isn't animation for children?"

Isaiah and Seline both gave him scandalised looks. "In what hole did you live until now for such an outdated opinion?" Isaiah asked teasingly.

Matthew rolled his eyes. Didn't look like he would have a say today.

"I don't think you need the first one to understand," Seline said thoughtfully as she put the movie on. "They explain it pretty well, plus I can always explain things to you if you need it."

"You are still more of a fan of the first one, aren't you?" Isaiah said, bumping against her. They were sitting shoulder to shoulder, all three of them.

"I think the character development is simply better there? Also the relationships. The focus on bad mentor and a confused kid and different father figures...this one goes more into the romance storyline-"

"The focus just shifts from him to her's all-"

Matthew shook his head. "Alright, quit it. I want to see for myself."

The movie looked like a very expensive video game. The animation really was something else. Matthew understood quickly they would not be able to film stuff like this for real.

So many colours and so much quick movement. Their living room wall was basically flickering, going from one side of the colour spectrum to the next at rapid speed that had his head spinning.

How could there be so much happening on the screen? It was downright impossible to catch it all.

His eyes felt tired from it. It was all so fast and coupled with the music it was downright aggressive.

Matthew didn't notice when, but the left side of his head felt like someone held it in a vice grip. The more he watched and tried to make sense of what was happening, the more his left temple pounded in unison with his heart.

He found himself shaking his head to clear his vision, rubbing at the side of his face. He even tried closing one eye and then the other. But the images just kept coming and there was some kind of dramatic scene with spidermen all over the screen and damn, his head really hurt.

Seline was leaning her head against Isaiah's shoulder, her legs stretched out and touching them both. Her lap seemed very inviting.

Matt leaned to the side experimentally. He wanted to go slow and see how that would be taken, but the possibility of getting some cover from the screen was getting more irresistible by the second.

He slumped down into Seline's lap, twisting so his face was against her stomach. The lights were all over the living room, reaching even to the windows and the kitchen. No hiding from them.

Matthew closed his eyes, face buried in Seline's belly. He secured her from squirming with his arm over her torso, stretched out all the way to Isaiah's tight. If the other wolf wanted to protest or made any move of displeasure, Matt would quickly notice from that position.

His head hurt. Why just the left side of his face? It was tingling.

Everything was moving too much. The dizzying spinning sensation didn't quite go away, although he had his eyes squeezed shut and wasn't looking.

Not to mention he was starting to feel vaguely queasy, his dinner sloshing in his stomach angrily.

"Mattie, you aren't watching," Seline admonished softly. Her hand went into his hair though, petting it softly. He melted under her touch, grateful for a pleasant feeling to focus on.

Suddenly there was the incredible sound of the movie stopping.

"Matt? You tired?" Isaiah asked, shifting somewhere behind his head.

"Mhhhhhhhhmmmm." Was he that obvious? Suspicious? He wanted to stay huddled there in the softness, thanks.

Isaiah's hand landed on his arm. The older wolf reserved his touches for when Matthew felt sick. But they were so physically close these days, because of Seline of course, no other reason, Matthew kind of craved it, even when he didn't need it.

Or maybe it would count now. But he didn't want to ruin the celebratory mood by being a baby. It was a stupid children's movie, for God's sake.

"We can just call it a night, I think. Continuation tomorrow," Isaiah suggested, ever the peace keeper trying to accommodate everyone.

It sounded nice to not continue the movie in any case. But going to bed created a new set of problems.

Matthew would have to move.

Seline wiggled under his head. "You are heavy," she said playfully. She seemed more open to the gesture than Matthew expected. For no reason at all.

Matthew hummed non-committalally not sure how to explain or escape his predicament without losing his dinner. His stomach was churning angrily and his head was still pounding, sound or not.

Isaiah chucked. "You can sleep here for all I care, but at least let the lady get her PJs."

Matthew huffed at that, but opening his mouth wasn't a good idea. A little burp escaped, muffled against Seline's ribcage.

Seline's fingers in his hair stilled. "Mattie? You feeling alright?"

Did she notice that he got burpy when he was about to spew? He could just be full. Damn it all, the risks of living with people so closely.

Another burp, this time a little louder and wetter. Matthew pressed his face closer into Seline's shirt. It smelled of rain and ozone and grapefruit.

He felt both of their gazes on him without looking. They were probably mouthing something to each other at this point. He could picture it vividly.

The pain in his left temple spiked and he moaned quietly.

Seline's cold hand cupped his nape, stroking his neck up to his cheek where she could reach.

"...If I move, I'll hurl," he admitted finally, figuring he should inform her of the danger she was currently in.

The sigh came from Isaiah though, as the raven haired man moved gently away from the sofa into the direction of the kitchen.

"What's wrong? Is your belly upset?"

Jesus, that sounded childish when she said it like that. Not to mention that weird new Mattie nickname.

"Headhurtss," he manged to get through his gritted teeth, still entirely muffled against her stomach. It was quiet, churning only gently, like a purring cat.

"Has it been hurting for long?" She sounded amazingly calm considering he was lying across her lap. "You seemed fine to me," she said with puzzlement. He could imagine the way her forehead creased, a little wrinkle between her eyebrows as she thought back about the evening.

He opened his mouth the respond, but another burp rushed out instead. Pocket of air against her stomach. Saliva was flooding his mouth.

Matthew loosed his hold on her reluctantly, turning so he would be lying on her knees. He covered his eyes with his hands. "Ow."

Seline placed her hands on both sides of his face. "Where?" Her voice was impossibly soft.

He pushed her cool hand - how was it so cool? - against the left side of his forehead.

He felt more than saw two of her fingertips on his temple, making tiny circular movements against it. She bowled over him, her lips hovering over his ear. "How is this? Should I stop?"

"No, that's nice," he said, relaxing a little. The gentle pressure felt good against the pain, though his stomach was still roiling.

Isaiah came back then, the sofa dipping under his weight as he knelt on Matthew's other side. "I got a bowl if you need it."

"Not the nice popcorn bowl, come on," Seline complained, lifting her head.

"It's big and deep," Isaiah protested, sounding amused.

Matthew groaned at the banter. The headache was giving away a bit at the message, but the nausea rose steadily no matter what he did. He felt air in his throat and spit flooding his mouth. He didn't want to move away from Seline's fingers or the attention, but his stomach cramped angrily then.

It had him shooting up into general direction of up. Except he felt dizzy right away, swaying and moaning.

Isaiah grabbed his shoulder to steady him.

Matthew held his eyes shut against the spinning of the room, trusting him to have the bowl at the right place, cause he couldn't aim. His head exploded on his left side with the sensation and puke rocketed into his mouth.

He was right to trust him. The vomit made a splashing sound against the bowl without him even looking, Isaiah holding it under hid chin.

Seline's hands came to cup his forehead from behind. "You are okay, you are okay. Just get it up."

Matthew gave in to his body completely then, a little more voluntarily at the support. His senses were all over the place. He couldn't tell which was was up and down and his left side of the face as pounding and burning from warmth.

More waves of vomit came, easier to bring up now that he wasn't fighting it. When he thought he would catch a break, a loud burp brought in one more splash and then two more. His back arched, only Isaiah's hold on his shoulder keeping him upright. The sofa was moving like a water bed.

When he was finished, he spat the rest of the foul taste and slumped blindly back into Seline's lap. He wanted her nice scent and her cool hands and the little message against his temple that had a drilling machine against it.

"Better now?" she asked, her hands on his face just like he wanted, stroking his cheek and forehead.

"Mhhhhhhhhhmmmm." There was a relief from the nausea, but he was still afraid to open his eyes.

He could vaguely sense Isaiah's movements as he got rid of the bowl, returned to position it next to Matthew. Then circled around, fitting himself into the opening between Matthew's side and the sofa.

Matthew wasn't sure when vomiting because a group activity, or if he shouldn't apologise or feel embarrassed for making a fool of himself.

He sighed contendly as Seline went back to massaging his temple. Isaiah was rubbing his arm gently, as if to remind him he was there.

And who was Matthew to refuse the middle spot?

[reggies-eyeliner]

THE CLASSIC MATCHUP - @astrolupin

THE "SMALL THINGS YOU DO" COUPLE<3

#now playing ... BEWITCHED by laufey!

peter b parker is gentle hugs around the waist in the mornings, cups of tea (or coffee !!) given before you've even fully rubbed the sleep out of your eyes, buying takeout for your weekly movie marathons, being way too invested in national geographic documentaries (or the food network/great british baking show) at hotels, he's the calloused hands that still tend to your wounds and the unapologetic embodiment of safety and laughter.

visual art?? oh yeah, he's asking you all about it! he has an appreciation for the little things you do when you are creating art (from the way you jam out to to music to how concentrated you look while working) and absolutely loves it when he leans over your shoulder to find yet another masterpiece. while he can't say that he's an artist himself, he'll always be there to support you and give you a new lens on things when it's time to take a break.

when it comes to stress and anxiety, peter knows how to handle it right away. while he'll occasionally add a joke or two to ease the mood, sometimes the tension needs to be eased in a more natural way. he'll hug you gently if that's what you need, offer to bring you a blanket or a cup of water, and let you talk about what's on your mind for as long as you'd like to. there is zero judgement in his eyes when he's talking, and if anything, he wants you to talk more.

considering his love for connection and community, he'll definitely never stop asking you out on dates like a stereotypical teen would in an old 90s movie. whether it be dates to the cinema, the art museum, or aquariums, he knows that he wants every moment with you to be special.

peter b also knows that as spiderman, things aren't going to be easy for either of you-- but regardless, he wants to spend as much time with you as possible. nothing makes him feel more at home than laughing until his stomach hurts with you after a long day.

contrary to what a lot of the spider society tends to say, peter b parker has a lot of things on his mind that he doesn't always verbalize. with you, however, words come out so easily-- he finds them like they've been in front of him the whole time with clarity, and he's always there to have deep and meaningful conversations around you. he loves being able to be versatile with you, from laughing about a stupid inside joke from years ago to intently watching you while you talk about whatever's on your mind.

RANDOMIZED TROPE:

" domestic fluff "

it's late fall-- the world is pitch black even though it's only eight o'lock at night, rain is pattering against the window, soft music is playing as peter starts plating dinner onto the counter. you both sit down as you talk about your day, what's been on your mind. laughter fills your ears as a smile makes its way to your face, both of you aren't doing anything the world sees as "grand" or "special," but it feels right. it feels like home and it feels like safety, and peter b parker is there, so it feels like love, too.

a/n: thank you so so much for the request!! i'm so sorry again that this took me so long! but aahjcachs i had SUCH a blast writing your matchup, thank you again for sending one! take care of yourself and have a good day :D!

[echowithpain]

Alright, it's been a bit since 911 has a done an episode following one storyline (with a few flashbacks) and holy shit they deliver every time.

The first 10/10 episode of the season!!!! 🥳🥳🥳

Seeing Bobby's backstory with how he grew up/what his family was like... I... genuinely have no words.

I do, however, have words about the main story with Bobby trying to talk to Amir.

One of those words being "incredible". I was so invested in the absolute cinema that, you guys saw, I was barely commenting I was so engrossed. Just taking it all in.

(Again, fuck the promo for making it seem like Amir was gonna go psycho crazy on Bobby with repressed anger. I know the promos are made to get you excited about the next episode, but they could've just had Amir's speech at the AA meeting and Bobby going out to the desert and asking about Amir. But whatever, I'm not on the promo team)

One thing I can point out that I absolutely loved was when Amir told Bobby the reason he spoke up was because he was sizing him up, trying to see how someone who was responsible for so much loss and pain was able to carry on. "Pretty damn easy it seems." Bobby says "that's not actually true" but as Amir goes on about how Bobby was talking about how blessed he's been and how he doesn't want Bobby's apologies or any of his ways to make amends, Bobby doesn't jump in at any time and try to correct him about his own struggles.

He doesn't bring up how he lost his family, how he went even deeper into alcoholism, or how he had a book where he would write down the names of 148 people he saved as a way to make up for the 148 ones who died because of the fire he caused, and that once the book was filled he was gonna kill himself.

People are allowed to be angry. If you screwed up something in someone's life, intentionally or not, and they are angry at you for that, trying to put your perspective in how things went or trying to tell them how you've changed as a person since then is a fucking terrible thing to do because then you'd be invalidating their feelings and making it about you.

None of that.

He let Amir speak his mind and tell him his pain, even if he didn't know the whole story. If Bobby tried to correct him or interject about the fact that he actually suffered greatly, it would've felt like he was trying to make what Amir was saying seem almost irrelevant because "you're wrong, I was hurt by my actions too and I'm still trying to get over it just like you".

There are some people in this world who will never forgive you for some of the things you've done, whether it's genuine wrongdoings or petty bullshit. If you try to insert yourself into their life, just to bring up how wrong they are about you because you've changed/they don't have the full story or how they're being childish and need to just forgive you already, you're being an asshole.

Even when Bobby and Amir are in the hospital after everything's said and done and Bobby talks to him one more time, Amir even says "Please tell me you're not gonna keep coming back here until I forgive you because that's not-" before he gets cut off by Bobby saying he doesn't expect his forgiveness. Thank fuck.

Bobby just lets him know that he's heard him and he acknowledges the pain he's caused him. And while he does bring up he didn't just walk away from the fire, instead of taking that time to express his own loss and pain, Bobby just tells him that he's carried it with him every day and night since and that he knows there's nothing he can do to erase all the pain he's caused to Amir and the other families. He even proves that he's carried it with him by giving Amir his wife's info, including which number she was on the list of people who died in the fire. He doesn't make it about him, he keeps focus on the feelings of Amir and the others he's hurt, and I'm so thankful for that. Amir may never want to see Bobby again after this, and that's okay!

That is one thing I've gotten sick of seeing in cartoons/movies/tv shows/etc. The whole forcing forgiveness trope thing is so overdone and unnecessary. The amount of times I've seen people or characters doing the most horrendous stuff only to be forgiven by the people they've hurt because of "forgive and forget" and "letting go of the anger in their hearts so they can move on" is absolute bullshit. Or someone would've done something in their past and as a different person in the present, they go out of their way to track down the people they've hurt and won't leave them alone until they can see just how much they've changed as a person and eventually decide to forgive them.

Fuck off.

I was a bit worried at the beginning that that's where 911 was taking the story, but they didn't and I'm so fucking glad. They had their talk and while he didn't have to say anything, Amir tells Bobby that he became a nurse so he can do for others what he couldn't do the night of the fire and that's saving his wife. That's the last thing we hear from him. He could later tell Bobby he never wants to see him again, to get out of his life, or even to go fuck himself. We don't get full confirmation if he actually forgives him or not after their second talk, and you know what? I didn't mind that one bit.

If you've wronged someone and try to make amends for what you've done, no matter how big or small, but they never want to see you again, leave them be. If you've wronged someone and try to make amends, but they don't want to listen to you and instead decide to spend their life constantly reminding you of what you did and harassing you about it to make you feel bad, block them on social media and get a restraining order.

It's that simple.

(btw if we go into the next episode and Bobby is constantly checking up on Amir but Amir didn't forgive him or it turns out Amir is the one who set the grill(?) on fire outside of Bobby and Athena's place as a way to "get back at him" then I'm disregarding everything I'm saying about this episode and the score will plummet from a 10/10 to a 2/10. 911 I've got my eye on you.)

[frozen10fanzine]

Frozen Through the Years

Yearly Spotlight: 2019

Written by @toriofthetrees

After six long years, 2019 saw the release of the long-anticipated sequel, Frozen II.

The lead-up up to the release was intense to say the least.

The first teaser trailer premiered in February, opening with Elsa on a black-sand beach stripped down to her bare essentials, barefoot, ready to take on a raging sea. She attempted twice to cross the torrential waters before the trailer turned to Anna’s shock of hundreds of diamond-shaped glass covered in strange symbols, taking over Arendelle. Following closely behind were several moments of Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff, and Anna taking on dangerous challenges, and a show of strange, foreign magic. All of this was centered around this new, mysterious setting known only at the time as an autumnal forest.

It gave just enough of a preview to hook millions.

The trailer was viewed and downloaded several million times on Twitter and YouTube within a short amount of time. In the fandom, a storm of news, posts, speculation, and discussions broke out over several platforms, too chaotic to keep track of. The months that followed the teaser were absolutely brimming with excitement! Across cinemas, television, and the internet—both in the US and internationally—came many trailers, sneak peaks, and posters about the upcoming movie. Alongside this came leaks as well, all of it sparking speculation in the fandom over what the plot of the movie could be.

Countless books about Frozen II came onto the market before the film was even released, notably without the end of the film printed within their pages. This lead to fans in many locations to protest the shops selling these books, wanting their money back.

Most of these protests lead to no results.

Success for Disney Studios, specifically. contributed to the exposure for Frozen II. ~In March, Disney invested billions of US dollars in company acquisitions across the film and TV industry, creating the most powerful media company in the world in the USA. ~This was the year of the 6th Disney D23 Expo, the biggest Disney fan event of the year! It was held on August 23–25 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, showcasing news and pictures around all the new Disney parks, resorts—and movies! Including Frozen II! ~On November 12, 2019, Disney launched its streaming platform Disney+ in several countries ~2019 ultimately proved to be Disney's most successful cinema year to date, regardless of which new film was released!

All of this led up to the release of Frozen II on November 20, 2019 in most countries (unfortunately some countries had to wait until the beginning of January).

This new installment to Elsa and Anna’s story saw the sisters and their found family making a long trek away from Arendelle… in order to save it. Mysterious magics send them up north to the Enchanted Forest, that is covered in an impenetrable mist. Yet, it parts for them. The deeper they go into the forest, the more they discover about themselves, their family, the spirits, Arendelle… so that only one thing can be said for certain: Nothing will ever be the same again.

This film was polarizing.

In the cultural zeitgeist, it was a massive success like its predecessor, exceeding Frozen as the highest grossing animated film of all time. It received mostly positive reviews and it would go on to be nominated for multiple awards, including an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. The Disney merchandising machinery was running at full speed and earned the company many more millions within a short amount of time. The limited edition dolls were sold out on the same day as release! However, it notably did not have the same cultural reach that its predecessor had. “Into the Unknown,” to many, was not comparable to “Let it Go.” And the film was nominated aplenty, but never actually received any awards.

However, it was within the fandom that this polarization was seen the clearest.

Frozen II made good on its promise that nothing would ever be the same for these characters. The sisters, though still as close as ever, no longer lived under the same roof by the end of the film. Elsa abdicated her crown for her duties as the Fifth Spirit and Guardian of the Enchanted Forest, while Anna took over as Queen of Arendelle. This separation, whilst to some was a step-up for the sisters, others saw as a step back. This debate rages in the fandom to this day, and many, many fans on Tumblr, Reddit, and other social media prefer Frozen to its sequel.

The fandom did gain some new content, including the addition of multiple ships. There were two that were rather popular. The first was Agduna (Agnarr/Iduna), which came about because of the major focus Frozen II had on them, the sisters’ parents. The second was Elsamaren (Elsa/Honeymaren), which came about because Honeymaren had a minor, but important interaction with Elsa in the film that sent her on the right path to Ahtohallan.

Just as Frozen II’s main theme—change—impacted the sisters, so to it did the fandom. The polarizing effect of the film lead to quite passionate arguments over its content. However, the fandom did not get any smaller or lose any passion. People continued to create, debate, discuss, and post about Frozen and Frozen II. In interviews, the cast and crew said that Frozen II was made to grow up with the audience who were there when the first film was released in theaters. With that in mind, the fandom no longer looked like it did when Frozen first came out.

Things change.

But we can still all agree on one thing: We love Frozen 💕

Stay Tuned For More

👆🏻 Click above if you want to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Frozen. The due date is April 12, 2024.

We look forward to seeing your memories ❄️

[edwin-paynes-bowtie]

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

For Matthew, Thomas, Alastair, James, and Cordelia

Gonna start chipping away at these asks now! Thanks for this one, Mimsy, I promise I wasn't ignoring you (and THANK YOU because I REALLY was hoping I'd get these guys.)

Matthew -> No one's going to be surprised by this, but I will DIE on the hill of Bipolar!Matthew. I will KILL on that hill. A lot of his traits really mirror my bipolar experience to the point that he helped me feel more comfortable with the diagnosis after CLS came out in 2015. That. Man. Is. Bipolar.

Thomas -> This one's probably gotta go out to my chronic illness headcanons for him. I definitely think that he has a lot of trauma from his illness-riddled upbringing and the fact that he basically had no privacy for years. One of the best things about being with Alastair is probably that Alastair treats him as a fully capable human and doesn't henpeck him.

Alastair -> FILM JUNKIE ALASTAIR I will die on this hill. He's 1000% Invested in cinema and spent his life running around both the UK and the world with Thomas seeing interesting movies. This feels like such a natural outcome after his childlike giddiness about Le Voyage Dans La Lune. You can pry this from my cold, dead hands.

James -> This man just imbibes tea by the ton. To quote, he REALLY LOVES TEA! And probably drinks like, 20 cups of it per day. Per Cassie, his favourite tea is lapsang souchang, but I think he's like me and drinks it (and other black teas) exclusively in the morning. Then green teas and oolongs until dinner and herbal deliciousness in the evening. He and Cordelia try their hand at making their own tea blends too, which they both find a ton of fun!

Cordelia -> You'll see this in my fics if you read a lot of them, but Cordelia has a little stuffed Persian cat named Gorbe. (This means cat in Persian). Alastair gave it to her when she was a little kid and she's slept with it ever since. Now, when she falls asleep at night on her back holding James's hand, Gorbe sits underneath her other arm or up by her head.

[loisfreakinglane]

what are your top five stories (books, movies, tv shows, etc) from the first half of 2024 and why! gush about it ❤️

omg that is SO HARD to narrow down!!!!!! THERE'S BEEN SO MUCH EXCITING CONTENT THIS YEAR! i'm gonna go with anything i've watched for the first time this year, whether it was a 2024 release or not

interview with the vampire season 2~ such a perfect, beautiful, incredible, amazing story. i had very limited faith that season 2 would rise to the heights of season 1 but BY GOD IT DID. and delainey brought so fucking much to the part, assad was genuinely astounding as armand, jacob continued to enthrall with even MORE sides to louis, sam did sooooooo much with such a limited role- we had such an embarrassment of riches with every fucking step. praying season 3 keeps up this level of quality but even if it doesn't, the story told here was so complete.

CHALLENGERS!!!!!!!!!! MOVIE OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!! tackling multiple eras at once, three distinct characters with three distinct dynamics between them, laying out plainly how these people function and why they need each other so deeply. SUCH A LESSON IN STORYTELLING JFC. enthralling cinema. soundtrack of all time.

suits............. LMAO. in searching for television that my father would like to watch that wasn't just another goddamn procedural, i stumbled facefirst into suits and my brain melted for 2 months. something about this show gripped me by the throat and didn't let go til i dragged @tchallaas into watching the whole goddamn nine seasons too. i don't know! i was just so invested and GRIPPED WHOLLY for 9 seasons straight. and then i turned around and watched all nine seasons again. FUCKIN LAWYERS AM I RIGHT.

the book of clarence~ i laughed, i cried, i yelled. this movie! this story told parallel to the biblical one smacked me right in the face. lakeith is fucking amazing. this covered so many genres? and yet it always flowed so well to me? it's funny to watch this movie dismissed either for being sacrilegious or preachy, but i guess i don't have a dog in that fight. i just felt touched, i felt moved. and i also laughed a fuckton.

the acolyte ~~~ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!! IS WHAT I'VE NEEDED FROM WAR STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!! i haven't felt so engaged in this universe since i watched the last jedi. and that was kind of the first time i felt THAT ENGAGED in this universe since i was a child with all my padme barbies. kind of a big deal for me!!!!!!! my baby twin sisters, that dichotomy of dark and light twins (i see u og star wars novels), whose roles aren't nearly so set in stone, some complex depictions of jedi masters, seeing a lot more of the world outside jedi shenanigans, REVENGE QUEST, fully canon dark side seduction, MANNY JACINTOS ARMS

so so so many honorable mentions, but i'll limit it to: shogun, lisa frankenstein, pokemon concierge, argylle, maxton hall, thelma, mary and george....... AND BAD BOYS RIDE OR DIE I SAID WHAT I SAID GOODBYE

[starstruck-flames]

Please can we go see the Barbie movie?? - Villains headcanons (+ Hawks)

Dabi:

“What the fuck- why?!” “Because I want to.”

He thinks on it for a few days, he probably doesn’t want to go but… you want to, and it’s not a luxury you often have.

“I’m not wearing fucking pink.” “Okay but I am.” “Whatever. …Make sure it at least looks hot.”

You’ve got on the 90s flames somewhere on that outfit of yours. Probably showing off a bit of skin too, a nice piece of eyecandy for him while you enjoy your snacks and movie.

…Okay this is very bright.

“Do you guys ever think about death” 100% catches him off guard but he secretly loved that line.

He’s a little invested in the plot.

Mostly in your outfit tho-

He has fun! Even if it’s mostly bugging you while you’re enthralled in the movie.

Favourite character? Sasha.

Shigaraki:

He’s a liiiittle more immediately willing to see the movie. It looks funny and he’s more than willing to use “awe man my PARTNER really wanted to go” as an excuse.

You’re not getting him to match you though.

Okay fine he’ll wear ONE (1) pink accessory. Probably a pin but it’s for you, and he’s a fan of you and making you happy.

You on the other hand went FULL out, full pink, holding the gloved hand of your emo ass partner. “✨ Two tickets to the Barbie movie please! 🥰” while the poor cashier is getting death stares from your man.

It’s very bright and happy huh. Some of the jokes are lost on this man, he’s just enjoying the calmness of being at a cinema with you!

Haha Ken’s pretty funny, what a loser-

Wait.

He glances between Ken and you. Oh god.

Is he Ken?!

Though, that’s more of a paranoid thought. While you’re simply perfect and part of his life, it’s obvious he has much more of a life than just pleasing you.

He can’t help but kiss your hand during the movie, smiling towards you fondly. It’s a rare soft moment, one you don’t understand but this stupid movie and this sticky floored cinema means everything to him right now because it’s a calm with you.

(He loves Allen.)

Twice:

“BARBIE?! FUCK YEAH” “FUCK NO!”

He would be… so into this idea. He’s 100% wearing something pink. Earlier seasons? He can’t wear much due to needing to keep his head covered but he’ll work with the accessories. Later seasons? FULL PINK. Man found the cowboy hat he refuses to not wear the cowboy hat.

Unironically he loves Barbie land. Why can’t he be a sentient doll that never needs to eat or sleep and can have girls night every night?

“Wouldn’t you be a Ken?” “Nah, definitely a Barbie.” He’s your Barbie ❤️

Actively boos at the real world in the movie. Barbie is the only redeeming quality of the real world.

At first the themes of the movie go over his head completely, he’s just here for the shenanigans/snacks.

Halfway through the movie he seems to get a bit more invested. Wait- the Barbie movie has a message?!

Oh it has a message.

He’s 100% bawling at the Barbie movie.

He’s changed his mind, he loves being human and holding your hand and feeling these intense emotions towards the stupid doll movie. He loves this stupid doll movie, he won’t stop crying.

Favourite character? The Mattel board members, especially Will Ferrel’s character.

Toga:

“REALLY?? REALLY WE CAN GO? YEAAHHH BARBIE MOVIE IM STEALING THE CUTEST CLOTHES!!”

You’re perfectly matched. It’s the most coordinated set of outfits of all time.

She’s 100% snuggled into your arm regardless of relationship. She’s always wanted to go to the movies with the people she loves!

Barbie is so pretty…

Though, Toga is particularly interested in Ken and Barbie having this odd dynamic of Ken being interested and Barbie being… not so interested.

She worries that maybe her love for others is eclipsing her personality but…

Toga had learned a lot from the LOV, she’s her own person. Always growing. Being with everyone is just a bonus, a huge one.

She LIVES for all the music. I personally believe she’s a CharlieXCX fan-

Favourite character? Gloria. She’s a good, tired mom. Toga would have loved to have a mom like her!

Hawks:

He’s surprisingly agreeable to the idea of seeing it “once it comes out.”

What the dick doesn’t tell you is that he was invited to the premier, and so are you now.

He’s such a show off. He’d paid for you both to have accurate Barbie and Ken fits. It’s a complete surprise to you as you whisper into his ear that if he ever does this again? You’re stealing his credit card and fleeing the country.

Though, for now? The very fancy popcorn (in its biggest serving size) will be enough for your forgiveness.

Past the awkward encounter of dealing with the *pink* carpet, it’s a pretty regular movie date. You get a good spot, in a mostly empty cinema with plenty of snacks.

He’s not the most into this movie, but he mostly enjoys glancing over to you to see how you’re reacting to it.

That and he bought a big hot dog. Normally he’s not supposed to indulge in lower quality foods but lord, it hits a spot.

Ken’s plight is very funny to him.

He also highly appreciates the props, they just look neat.

Admittedly he’s looking at the Mattel higher ups in the movie, he knows it’s meant to be exaggerated but they remind him of the commission.

After the movie? He’s taking you home to really… really appreciate that barbie outfit he got you.

Favourite character? Weird Barbie. I won’t elaborate.

[aghostrandom]

W.I.T.C.H., interview with the creators

Some time ago, I made a post about "the original Elyon being a guardian," and since everyone was confused, I thought I'd translate the interview from which I read this information.

I don't know if someone else has already done it, but since I didn't find anything online, I decided to do it myself. I will translate the entire interview with the help of an online translator and a friend of mine.

Just remember that this interview was published in April 2021, marking 20 years since the release of the first volume.

Enjoy!

Here the original link in italian: https://heroica.it/w-i-t-c-h-20-anni-barbucci-canepa-intervista/

It is April 3, 2001 when Italian newsstands are hit by a small earthquake, which will soon transform into a hurricane...

The first issue of W.I.T.C.H. is released, a comic magazine that will shatter every sales record in a matter of months, embarking on a quest to conquer the world.

It all begins in Milan, at the headquarters of Walt Disney Company Italy, with an intuition of the then-director of the company's women's periodicals, Elisabetta Gnone, and the talent of two young artists, Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa, whom I have interviewed for you.

Interview with Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa

Let's start from the origins: How was W.I.T.C.H. born?

Alessandro Barbucci: It was 1997, Sailor Moon was still fresh in everyone's memory [the last series had been broadcast in Italy between March and May of that year, editor's note]. And then there were the Spice Girls...

"Sailor Moon was ironic, arrived at the right moment; the Spice Girls were five purely pop characters, worthy of a cartoon - during that period, we were big fans, we even went to see the movie in the cinema!" Alessandro revealed to me.

Elisabetta Gnone, who was then in charge of the women's periodicals at Walt Disney Company Italy, had a great intuition: she realized that there was a missing product for teenage girls, an audience segment that had never been considered by the major company before. When thinking about teenagers, one couldn't ignore what was happening in pop culture at that moment...

Barbara Canepa: During that period, a passionate fanbase for manga was beginning to take shape. it was clear how this new language was able to respond to the tastes and needs of teenagers - not just boys, but girls as well!

In fact, up until that moment, it was believed that girls didn't read comics. It was precisely with shoujo manga (like Sailor Moon, but not only) that this belief began to falter.

Canepa: Exactly. I had already been an avid manga reader since the days of Candy Candy: we're talking about 1986 when Mondadori released the first monthly editions at newsstands. I started reading my first manga at the age of 12, and at 16, I saw Akira (1988) for the first time in theaters. In fact, I was the one who got Alessandro passionate about this style, even though he already had some knowledge of it. We felt that the language of manga was the best way to visually "tell" this story.

Barbucci: Initially, I proposed girls in a steampunk, military style. I was a big fan of Tank Girl by Hewlett and Martin.

In my mind, Hay Lin had already existed for a long time: I had been drawing her since high school, but she was a punk with military boots," Alessandro revealed to me.

Elisabetta Gnone told me that the concept was considered too "masculine," so she proposed the idea of the five witches, which directly connected us to manga. Some people at Disney Italy were afraid that, given the theme, it would veer into Satanism, but their greatest fear was the manga-style big eyes!

Canepa: For them, it was inconceivable to publish a comic even vaguely inspired by manga, which at that time were their direct competitors in the market.

Barbucci: At one point, they considered investing in the relaunch of Daisy Duck by introducing our five characters as anthropomorphic animals. It was an attempt to somehow connect with the Disney universe.

Canepa: Yes, exactly. The project was called Daisy D. and it was intended for the monthly magazine Minnie Mag. The story featured Daisy Duck as a private investigator, accompanied by our W.I.T.C.H. characters, who in this version would have had snouts and gloves, just like Minnie and Mickey! I still have the first page done in watercolors, as we wanted to make it like the pages of Paperinik's Trip...

The scriptwriter, Ilaria Isaia, revealed to me that the inspiration for Daisy D. came from the success of "Minnie and the Magnificent Five," a story published in Minnie & Company in 1993. It featured Minnie in the role of an investigator, solving a mystery connected to five girls. Daisy D. wouldn't have been very different: "It revolved around Daisy Duck as an investigator, called by her friend to investigate mysterious events happening in a college attended by five students with magical powers," explains Ilaria.

Barbucci: Fortunately, nothing came of it.

Canepa: We were well aware that a story starring Daisy Duck wouldn't resonate with teenagers. We needed five normal girls that the readers could identify with...

Barbucci: So, the W.I.T.C.H. characters returned to being human.

For Will's design, Alessandro Barbucci Alessandro Barbucci was also inspired by "Alita" (1990) by Yukito Kishiro.

The graphic style of W.I.T.C.H., while drawing inspiration from manga, remains a hybrid of the West and the East. It doesn't stray too far from certain Disney characters, starting with Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" (1989).

Barbucci: I can tell a funny anecdote about this! As we mentioned, Disney Italy opposed W.I.T.C.H. in every way possible: they particularly disliked those manga-style big eyes. Together with Elisabetta Gnone, we came up with a game, a kind of bet with the top executives of Disney Italy. I drew a series of eyes, including manga characters, Disney characters, and our W.I.T.C.H. characters. Only the eyes were visible, nothing else. "Since you have so much to say about these manga eyes, guess which ones belong to the W.I.T.C.H. characters!" That was the bet: they could no longer complain. Well, they were wrong: they chose the eyes of Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" (1989), the protagonist of the Italian magazine of the same name, directed by Elisabetta herself, and successfully published by them for years. They didn't take it well...

Indeed, Ariel broke the Disney graphic conventions with the proportions of her face.

Barbucci: It was a "graphic shock," something that had never been seen in Disney until that moment. It was certainly a step towards manga aesthetics, with these very large eyes that we later found in the design of many subsequent characters, from Belle and Jasmine to Anna and Elsa.

We remember that you and Barbara worked on the magazine "The Little Mermaid" in the 1990s, just before W.I.T.C.H. started. In the covers drawn and colored by Barbara, I can already perceive some hints of manga style. Was it intentional?

Canepa: Absolutely yes! At that time, I bought Japanese magazines like Newtype and Animage to get inspiration. In one of the illustrations I made, there's Ariel with a straw hat: I think I took inspiration from an image of Nadia from "The Secret of Blue Water" (1990-91), or maybe from some other cover. The close-up of the face, as well as the fluttering leaves [like flowers in shoujo manga, editor's note], the pose of a model on the cover of a fashion magazine... it was all too innovative and "manga" for Disney Italy at that time, which often had something to say about my work! Even before W.I.T.C.H...

The scan on the left is taken from the website www.onlyshojo.com.

Walt Disney Company Italy didn't want anything to do with W.I.T.C.H., as we mentioned. What made them change their minds?

Barbucci: We worked on it secretly for at least a year, even at night. Then, finally, a ray of light... At the time, the main headquarters of Disney would send representatives around to other offices to find out what was being done in the rest of the world. Elisabetta was lucky to come across an American manager who was a big fan of Wicca. [Secretly from the top management, editor's note], she presented W.I.T.C.H. to him: he fell in love with it and financed the project, ordering Walt Disney Company Italy to proceed with its production.

Concept art created by Barbucci and Canepa between 1998 and 1999. Notice the homage to Minnie in the first illustration!

Images provided by W.I.T.C.H. Italia.

The project then gets underway. How did you divide the work?

Canepa: It's hard to say. Officially, Elisabetta wrote the plot, Alessandro created the character design, and I took care of the color and atmosphere. In reality, the three of us worked together on the concept, characters, and the world they would inhabit. We drew inspiration from our personal lives when creating these five girls. The city of the W.I.T.C.H., Heatherfield, is a mix between our hometown of Genoa and San Francisco, which we had visited together. Will shares my birthdate, while Elyon shares Alessandro's. At the time, I was a big fan of frogs, just like Will! Cornelia's cat is named Napoleon, just like mine - I also gave the same name to Elisabeth's cat, the protagonist of the first volume of END, the comic I created with Anna Merli. For Hay Lin's restaurant, we were inspired by a small Chinese "hole in the wall" where we often ate near our apartment in Milan... In short, W.I.T.C.H. was built and conceived based on our personal experiences: friends, memories from adolescence, and more.

Based on these characterizations, I created the character profiles that you can find in the first five issues of the magazine, as well as some internal editorials.

The character of Irma is inspired by Barbara Canepa in terms of design and personality, while Will is inspired by Elisabetta Gnone: with her, she shares an introverted personality and the detail of touching his hair when she is embarrassed.

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Elisabetta chose the ethnicities and names of the girls, coming up with the acronym W.I.T.C.H., while Alessandro created the symbols of the Guardians. To draw the Heart of Kandrakar, Alessandro was inspired by a pendant, a unique piece that I was very attached to and still possess to this day!

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Lastly, I'll reveal something you may not know: I was the one who designed the Witch's transformed costumes! I remember when Elisabetta jokingly scolded Alessandro, telling him to draw them less provocatively... (laughs). As for their everyday costumes, Alessandro created them, often drawing inspiration from his and our friends.

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Another significant responsibility of ours was to form a team of artists who would work on W.I.T.C.H. alongside us. In fact, Alessandro and I couldn't have done it all by ourselves: W.I.T.C.H. was becoming a massive and important project, especially since it would be released on a monthly basis! Therefore, we conducted courses at the Disney Academy: Alessandro taught how to draw the Witch, while I taught manga techniques, coloring, and graphic design.

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Did you encounter any other issues with Disney Italy during the production?

Canepa: There were some controversies, but at that point, the project was already underway. There were several delays, actually: the first issue was supposed to be released on Halloween in 2000. I remember that they criticized the covers: they didn't like the white background, and in the first cover, they didn't like the difference in proportions between Will and the others, which is another typical graphic characteristic of manga.

Barbucci and Canepa created the first five covers of W.I.T.C.H. and the corresponding chapter opening pin-ups.

You create the comic of the first issue: On the third page, there's a very intense panel with Will partially nude (without nipples); she appears like that later during the Sailor Moon-style transformation as well. These are not erotic images, but they certainly deviate from the Disney style. Did you face any issues regarding this?

Barbucci: Strangely, no. Maybe they had already given up at that point...

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

You left the project after the sixth issue. What happened?

Barbucci: The back and forth with Disney to bring W.I.T.C.H. to newsstands was incredibly exhausting. By the year 2000, we were drained from the continuous meetings, discussions, and delays... Moreover, both Elisabetta and we had realized our potential as authors. She was the first to leave: she left the world of magazines to fulfill her dream of becoming a novelist. And she succeeded greatly, as a few years later, she created the Fairy Oak series of novels, which sold millions of copies worldwide! Barbara and I were already in contact with various French and American publishers. In France, they allowed us to express ourselves artistically in a completely free way. It felt like a dream! There were so many things we wanted to talk about, things that weren't even proposable in Disney: sex, religion, politics... Sky Doll was born during this period. Furthermore, there were legal disagreements with Disney regarding the moral rights of the Witch characters. In short, after a few years with the multinational company, it was time for us to move on to other things. We needed a change of scenery!

The story you had in mind for W.I.T.C.H. was different from what we later read in the issues after your departure?

Canepa: Yes, it was darker, introspective, and more complex. It was a glimpse into teenage life presented through five very different girls. The plot had different layers of interpretation, including ecological aspects. It was certainly closer to manga in terms of themes: there was more focus on the girls' personal lives, their adolescent struggles. There wasn't a clear division between good and evil: the girls would be drawn to the Metaworld and tempted to join, crossing over to the other side of the barricade. Elyon would be the first to succumb, but they would all do so to some extent, even fighting against themselves.

Moreover, the Metaworld was a fascinating place, a natural paradise that was quite different from the medieval setting that Disney eventually created. At the heart of it all was the concept of growth and transformation, which is so dear to adolescence: the girls would have had the ability to transform into fantastic animals! Like teenagers who find themselves caught between childhood and adulthood, the W.i.t.c.h. would have been caught between two worlds, remaining trapped in one or the other, by choice or against their will. It wasn't always clear...

The W.I.T.C.H. transform into adult versions of themselves, adhering to the main theme of many majokko ("magical girl") anime.

Even Elyon, who in the version you have read is the princess of Meridian, was a very different character in our story. She was the Guardian of the Metaworld and had powers related to time, wild nature, and death. She would have tried to bring the other girls to the dark side and then redeem herself: in the last issue, she would have sacrificed herself to save the lives of her friends.

In W.I.T.C.H. #2, you can perceive some traces of the original Elyon, who at a certain point addresses the girls repeating, "Come to me, come to me..." as if trying to lead them to the dark side.

I transferred her main power, the ability to "bestow" death, to the protagonist of END, Elizabeth: with this character, I have done and will do everything that I couldn't do with Elyon, who was initially supposed to have white hair like her.

Barbucci: What was actually realized was a harmless mythology, closer to fairy tales and therefore to the Disney style. There is no mention of witches anymore... We would have focused on a more New Age aesthetic, with references to Wicca, which was very popular in those years.

After leaving W.I.T.C.H., you left Italy for France, from where you embarked on various successful projects, with Sky Doll first. It can be said that you found your dimension and creative freedom. Now that 20 years have passed, what is your relationship with W.I.T.C.H.?

Canepa: It's needless to say that the bond has always been very strong and still is today. It was our own creation for a long time: seeing it succeed worldwide brought joy, but also suffering because we felt disconnected from it.

Barbucci: It was a love-hate relationship, but I must say that it gave me the greatest satisfaction of my life: seeing dolls of the characters I drew being sold in supermarkets!

Some sketches made by Alessandro Barbucci at the beginning of 2021, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of W.I.T.C.H.

Canepa: After twenty years, perhaps it can be said that we have made "peace" with what happened. The hardships we endured have now drifted away with the wind, and that's how it should be. Today, I can talk about W.I.T.C.H. with more tranquility, almost with tenderness. For many years, I didn't even want to face it. Initially, leaving Italy helped, but then W.I.T.C.H. reached France and the rest of the world. Over time, this forced me to look at it with more "serene" eyes, so to speak. If I hadn't left W.I.T.C.H., I would never have created Sky Doll and END, and perhaps I would have never become the director of a French series that, today, celebrates nearly 100 books 12 years after its creation. Destiny, then? I believe so. Fate wanted to take something away from me to give me something else. In hindsight, I truly believe there was a magical thread in all of this... or rather, a true witch's touch! There is a happy ending to it all: today, history reminds us that we are the true creators of W.I.T.C.H. The readers know it, and so do industry professionals. Even Disney, in the end, acknowledged us. Every now and then, Elisabetta, Alessandro, and I talk and, laughing, we say, "What if we got back together and remade W.I.T.C.H. in our own way?" In any case, this remains and will always be the most important project of my life. And to have touched so many hearts around the world... well, there's nothing more beautiful and satisfying. So, thank you all. I was happy to give you these five girls.

For Women's Day 2021, Barbucci drew again the famous pinup from the first issue, Halloween.

Current and Future Projects

Alessandro Barbucci His most recent work is "Le Sorelle Grémillet" where he returns to portraying teenage girls ("it's a bit like how I would have liked to create W.I.T.C.H. back then, but it wasn't possible"). Additionally, Alessandro continues to work on "EKHÖ" and other projects. Follow his Instagram and Facebook to stay updated!

Barbara Canepa For over 12 years, Barbara Canepa has been the editorial director of the Metamorphose series for the French publisher Group Delcourt, with over 100 published books. She has several projects in the works, including "MINA's Diary," where she will serve as the writer, while Isabella Mazzanti will handle the artwork and coloring. The work is a free interpretation of Stoker's Dracula, introducing a new way of conceiving vampires. For the past two years, she has been finishing the writing of 12 volumes of a new jeunesse series, "GREENWOOD," aimed at rediscovering and respecting nature to the fullest. Stay updated on her activities by following her on Instagram and Facebook!

[average-day-in-hawkins]

Pop culture/life in the 80s

Part a: musicians

1.Who is your characters favourite musician?

2.Who is a music artist your oc dislikes and why?

3.What era of music does your oc prefer listening to (i.e 40s 60s 80s)

4.Does your oc enjoy listening to music from their own time or do they prefer music from a different era?

5.Who is an artist your oc believes is overrated and who is an artist your character believes is underrated?

6.Do they have a specific genre of music they listen to or are they happy listening to whatever’s on the radio?

7.Has their taste in music been influenced by other characters such as friends,peers,family,love interest?

8.Has your character influenced another character/s taste in music?

9.Would your character listen to a song they dislike if it were a song that someone close to them adored, why or why not?

10.Has there ever been a song made by their favourite artist that they dislike?

11.Has your oc ever been to concert before?

12.How often does your oc go to concerts?

13.if your character could go to any concert in the world who would they go to and why?

14.If your ocs favourite musician has ever gotten into any controversy’s how did they feel about it and would it prevent them from enjoying said artists music?

15.Has your oc ever cried to a song and why? (i.e lyrics hits too close to home or they associate it with something bad that happened to them or a loved one)

Part b: film & movie characters

16.What was your characters favourite film growing up and has it changed since then?

17.Does your character have a comfort film?

18.How often does your character goes to the cinema?

19.Do they prefer going to the cinema alone or with friends?

20.If they go to the cinema do the buy snacks or bring their own?

21.Whats a film your character thought was going to be bad but ended up liking it more than they thought?

22.Whats a film your character was looking forward to but ended up disappointed by?

23.Whats a film that your oc believes that everyone should watch atleast once in their life times?

24.Whats a film your character dislikes and why?

25.Who’s your ocs favourite movie character and why?

26.Who’s your ocs least favourite movie character and why?

27.Has there ever been a film where your character disliked the protagonist?

28.Has your character ever deeply related to a film character and who was it?

29.there ever been a movie character who has deeply impacted your ocs outlook on life?

30.When your character is watching a movie do they pay attention to small details such as film techniques, costuming,actors body language?

31.Whats your characters favourite genre of film?

32.Does your oc prefer movie nights at home or going to the cinema?

33.Does your character have a favourite Disney film?

34.Whats a film your character considers a guilty pleasure?

35.In your characters opinion what’s a film that they considered peak cinema?

36.After getting involved with the upside down is there a film which they stopped watching because it reminded them bad memories.

37.if your character has a love interest what was the first film they ever watched together?

38.Whats a film which made your character cry?

39.Is your character a fan of horror or not?

40.How old was your character when they saw their first horror movie and what film was it?

Part c: literature

41.how often does your character read?

42.Who is their favourite author in general and who’s their favourite writer from the 80s

43.Do they have a favourite genre of novels or do they read basically anything?

44.If your character could read one book for the rest of their life what would they choose and why?

45.Whats a series they’re invested in and what it their favourite novel from that series?

46.Whats their favourite book of all time and why?

47.Do they prefer fiction or non fiction?

48.Are they more likely to dress up as a book or film character for Halloween?

49.who’s a book character they believe deserved better?

50.Have they ever crushed on a character from a novel?

51.has there ever been a character from a novel who deeply resonated with them?

52.if your oc is a writer who is their biggest inspiration?

53. What is their opinion on film adaptations of books?

54.Has their favourite novel ever been made into a film and what was their opinion on the film?

55.Does your gravitate towards novels written in first person perspective or third person perspective?

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Could you explain a bit better what you meant with this sentence about your thoughts on jikook?

"But I also wouldn't be totally surprised if what looks as obvious right now to actually not mean what a lot of us think simply because we're missing information."

What I meant was how can I be absolutely convinced that my perception and understanding of what I see is right when there's so much information that I don't know. Big puzzle pieces missing because I don't have access to them and I shouldn't anyway.

I too see what so many people who ship/support Jikook see. Of course I can say that I'm not blind, it's so obvious that both of them leave a certain impression that leads people to believe they are/might be in a relationship together. And we say that based on what we see and our own understanding of relationships. Wether we are in one ourselves or maybe we recognize the romance signs from those around us or from fiction. The point is, most of us are able to identity certain markers that can indicate that. I'm starting to sound way too technical by using this language, ugh. Anon, we all know what love is or what it looks like. The same with attraction. That's it. It's that simple. And we see it when we look at other people, be it on the street, in a cafe, at the cinema or on the screen.

But does this mean there are no chances of us being wrong? Of course there are. We show our social self to the world and we perform our own self and in connection to others. And it differs depending of where we find ourselves in private or public spheres.

In that case, Jimin and Jungkook have this entire life outside of what we see and most importantly what they want us to see and what not. They have friends and acquitances we have no idea about. Maybe they spend their day with those people on an almost daily basis and we wouldn't know because perhaps there are no photos. You see what I mean?

Nevertheless, shipping within common sense is fine. It's about having fun and getting giddy at seeing how they are together and thinking there is more to it. But of course it's not always like that. It's more of an ideal situation in which not many people find themselves in. The rest are invested. Which on a surface level would be easy to criticize or mock, but aren't all fans invested, regardless of their interests in BTS and their role in the fandom? There's that common understanding that the group showed up in people's lives when they needed it. And while it is true in a positive sense, it also showed up when people are having some unfulfilled emotional needs. That's not something to feel ashamed about. We humans can be so miserable and unhappy and depressed more and more and we see it everywhere. That's another facet of getting into the fandom and consequently going down the shipping/supporting road. Because whether we are sad or happy with our lives, we are still sappy and in love with the idea of love. And we go down the rabbit hole and it feels so nice. Until it doesn't and suddenly it's ugly and some people want out. They get miserable and instead of making their peace with it, they send anon asks that start with "I'm an ex-jikooker" and so on.

Anyway, bear with me, I'm close to having a conclusion to all this. So, what does this mean? Should we all have or always express some doubt because we have to be anchored in reality? So we don't find ourselves being called delusional or sick for believing something so simple as two people who might be in love? No. And you know why I don't feel guilty? Because I'm not the one doing it. I'm not the one behaving in a way that makes people believe I may be in love with my bandmate. I'm not the one ok with having that being made public or have flirty conversations on public platforms. And they are also not idiots. Let's be very clear about that. They are not. If we can draw conclusions so easily based on everything we see, rest assured they too are aware of how they come across. They are not some rookie idols six months into their debut at 15 years old. They are adults and this is the image they are fine with projecting. Be it real or not. Me or you and everyone else who is interested in them will see it. And if turns out we were wrong, two things to have in mind. Some people will feel shitty for various reasons. Some selfish and crazy, but a more common one would be having to accept that our beliefs are wrong, that we spent time and time again talking and thinking about something that made sense, based on logic and all of a sudden, it is not. But that's something each has to deal with.

What it is very important to note though, is that this is not a one way street. Opinions were made based on content and things those two people have said to each other and about each other. If one is delusional for drawing conclusions it's also because Jimin and Jungkook had their contribution to it. What we do with that is entirely our own responsibility. Some go bat shit crazy, like a group did when holding hands on the street of Paris was the rave for a few days and others will have other reactions. But let's not demonize fans completely and diminish the role of those who are actively offering the "material".

Seeing so many people in the fandom holding their breath waiting for "jikook to be debunked" is a lot more pathetic than those who ship them. I wonder if that same expectation is there for all the other ships that involve Jimin and Jungkook. My guess is not, which tells you a lot. It's a waiting game that is done through sending the same ill intentioned ask to bloggers to rile them up. It's making blogs or turning them into spaces for ex-jikookers. It's about making polls to have shippers and ex-shippers talk about how they would react when/if it ends. It's a game in which there is the need to win. Those who are not enjoying or aren't directly involved are not only eager to participate, but they are the ones who create the games, which says a lot more about how this one damn ship can really affect people from all corners of the fandom.