#oh i hate when adaptions make her father famous oh i hate it i hate it
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Hii!! I saw u were doing smut so i had to askk,
Could u do a Neteyam x Metkayina!Reader(aged up, obvi) where during a festival they’re getting drunk and stuff, shes talking to her girl friends about neteyam and she doesnt realise neteyam is heard her, she says out loud, “I taught him how to ride Ilu, He better let me ride his dick.” And they burst out laughing.
Soon after, its just them alone (AND SOBER) and he does end up teaching her how to ride. Well not really teach, he just lets her ride.
oh my god. yes.
how to ride
neteyam x fem!metkayina!reader
summary: neteyam overhears you sharing some private thoughts to your friends. he lets those thoughts become reality.
warnings: smut!! riding, oral (m receiving), dirty talk, dom!neteyam, fluff, swearing, mentions of dirty thoughts, praise kink, creampie
aged up!neteyam (around 20), aged up!loak (around 18)
“you’re coming to the welcoming party, right?” you walked up to neteyam, hip popped out as you carried a basket on your other hip.
“ooh! a party!” tuk said excitedly.
“sorry, tuk. grown ups only.” neteyam ruffled the child’s hair causing her to groan in frustration.
neteyam beamed up at you, your curly hair falling behind your back with a shell placed on top of your head. you had a tribal tattoo that went from your elbow to your neck, the tattoo swirling around your left breast, and a bright smile. you were gorgeous, one of the prettiest girls in the village.
the prettiest to neteyam.
being the older sister of tsireya and ao’nung, your father had instructed you to help the sully kids adapt.
but when the teenagers and kids slept, the adults wanted to have their own adapting.
so you organized a party that would have the metkayina famous root, a root that would get the drinker drunk within a few sips.
“i’ll be there, y/n.” neteyam nodded at you. you grinned, waving bye to tuk as you walked away, neteyam watching your hips sway.
that night, there were around 20-30 villagers who heard about the party and wanted to come.
you had dove down to where the root was planted, a sacred place by the cove of ancestors.
a flower was in your hair as you spoke to your friends, zeswa, syon, sìla, and niyi. your smile was bright as you peeked over at neteyam, the boy standing awkwardly with his brother.
you left your friends, neteyam silently thanking you as he felt outcasted with lo’ak.
“you need to try this.” you gave him a cup of the root, the scent strong as neteyam’s eyes narrowed.
“is it poison?” he asked, a joking tone in his voice.
“no,” you laughed. neteyam smiled.
“it does get you drunk, however.” you warned him, not wanting the strength to surprise him.
neteyam eyed you curiously.
“watch,” you grabbed your own drink. raising the glass to your lips, neteyam suddenly became very hot at you swallowing the drink down your throat.
within seconds, your pupils dilated and you became more giggly.
“c’mon… ‘teyam…” you slurred your words. lo’ak looked at his brother, shrugging in response as he took a couple sips. his ears went straight up as he coughed on the liquid. the site made neteyam’s curiosity get the best of him, and he took a single sip rather than a few.
he was tipsy, on the verge of drunk but still aware of what was going on. he’d never been buzzed before, and the way his body tingled felt strange to him.
“let’s go dance, yeah?” you dragged the boy over to where some villagers were making music with bongos and shells.
you almost tripped on the sand, neteyam grabbing you to keep you from falling.
“whoops,” you shrugged. you began to sway your hips, letting the island music take over your body as your friends came to join you.
the girls smiled at neteyam, the boy giving them a nod in return. lo’ak began to wander off, neteyam following him so he didn’t lose his wasted brother.
you, however, were giggling loudly with your friend group.
“he is so dreamy…” zeswa awed as neteyam walked away.
“i hate seeing him go, but i love to watch him leave.” sìla joked, seeing the way his braids swayed behind him as he walked.
your friends continued their awing and comments about neteyam, the root making it so none of you realized that he had soon returned with his sibling.
“i mean, i taught neteyam how to ride an ilu properly. i think i should be able to ride his dick, y’know?” you smirked, giggling drunkly to your friends.
neteyam’s face grew warm as he heard you speaking about him in such a manner. his ears fell flat and his tail wagged quickly.
the processing thought that you, the chief's eldest daughter, wanted to have intercourse with him, made neteyam's blush deepen. his body was very hot, a prideful grin creeping onto his face.
➽─────────────────❥
one of the better effects of the root was the lack of hangover. you were up bright and early once more, helping tuk feed the ilus.
neteyam suddenly became very aware of the way your beaded shell top showed the curve of your breasts. water dripped down your body, your hair being the main cause.
you had apparently redone your hair that morning. you put your hair in a half up-half down ponytail, twists leading to the band that held it together. shells and little flowers were scattered in your hair, and neteyam swore you couldn't get any prettier.
you had bent over a bit, the loincloth showing the curve of your ass. neteyam didn't realize he was staring so intently until lo'ak patted his shoulders.
"you should get in on that, big bro."
neteyam scoffed, pushing his brother off of him.
the man began to walk over to you and his youngest sister, his heart swelling at tuk's happiness.
"i love her so much!" tuk petted the animal's slimy head as you grinned.
"rewon (morning), neteyam." you bowed your head to him, your innocent eyes causing neteyam to feel nervous.
did you mean what you said last night?
he wanted to ask so badly, but he knew it wasn't the time or the place. he bowed his head back, mutual respect as he moved to stand next to you.
"want to go for a ride later?" he asked suddenly, the subtle comment making your ears snap up. neteyam noticed the way you flustered up and he wondered if he ruined it.
"i would love to, neteyam." you agreed, beginning to overthink the question. had he heard you last night?
you were beyond embarrassed, even though there was a chance he had no hidden intent behind his question. but the way he had a hint of perversity in his eyes, you couldn't help but let your mind wander.
when you finally had a chance to sneak off, neteyam followed you as you ventured off inside the reef. his ilu chased yours as you laughed underwater, sticking your tongue out at him as he couldn't quite keep up.
you lead your ilus to a secluded little island, a place you liked to go when things became too much.
neteyam sat next to you on the sand, watching the way the sun almost met the moon.
there was a comfortable silence, yet a tension neither of you could explain. neteyam let his eyes roam your long legs, the material of your loincloth bunched up at your hips so he could see the dip of your thighs.
you could feel neteyam's eyes on you. your pussy began to react, a slight throb in your clit as you pushed your hair back off your shoulders.
"did you mean what you said last night?" neteyam's bold question threw you off.
"about....?"
you wanted to play it off, scared that he thought disgustingly of you.
"about riding me."
you swallowed nervously as he watched you with starving eyes. you peered up at him, the normal bright color now dark with dilated pupils.
"yes." you mumbled lowly, he almost didn't hear it.
neteyam's hand went to your jaw, his breath fanning over your face.
"is this okay?" he breathed out, his chest rising and falling with every deep breath he took. you nodded, connecting your lips to his in a heated kiss.
neteyam purred as you pushed him back on the sand, your lips still connected. you hovered over him, your clit throbbing from the kissing.
neteyam was resting on his elbow, his other hand still holding your face against him as he slipped his tongue in your mouth.
within seconds, you were kissing your way down his toned body. he continued to purr like a forest cat, his hand sneaking its way into your hair.
"you're so beautiful, y/n." he hummed out. you blushed, sucking a hicky on his v-line.
you untied his loincloth, his throbbing dick springing up. you marveled at the sight, noticing the way you began to salivate.
"y/n-" neteyam whimpered as you sucked his tip. he threw his head back as you jerked him off, swirling your tongue around the head.
he was panting, the hair on his tail tickling against your cunt as he moved his tail.
the noises he was making was unlike anything you imagined. knowing he was whimpering for you only made you hornier.
"honey," you watched the way his stomach fell. he unknowingly bucked his hips into your throat, gripping your ponytail as you gagged around him.
"doing so good for me."
his praise caused you to moan around him, the vibration almost making him cum. your long nails raked along his striped thighs as he used your throat, chasing his orgasm.
"oh, fuck," he moaned as he came. eyes squeezed shut, head thrown back as he shot thick cum down your throat.
you smirked against him, pulling your mouth off him as he came back from eywa.
"you're so cute, 'teyam." you kissed him once more, untying your own loincloth as you moved to hover above him.
you grinded your soaked cunt against his hard cock, patting his head at your clit. you both moaned into each other's mouths as you put him inside of you.
neteyam placed one hand on your hip, the other on your breast. he rolled your hard nipple in between his fingers, you breaking the kiss to moan out.
"so big, 'teyam."
your comment made neteyam's ego burst. seeing you sitting on his cock on an island on the edge of the reef, knowing that at any moment someone could look for you both made him only harder.
you moved your hips, beginning to twerk on his cock. his tip brushed at your g-spot and you mewled as he rubbed your clit.
"good girl," neteyam slapped your ass.
"this is what you wanted, yeah? to ride my big cock?" neteyam began to lose himself as you used his cock to get off.
you nodded quickly, eyes rolling back from the pleasure.
"feels so good," you moaned.
the erotic sense that the chief's daughter was fucking herself dumb on his cock made his stomach tighten. his father would surely kill him if he were to find out about this, but neteyam didn't care.
for once, he was thinking about himself. he wanted you, needed you. he knew you were to be his mate, and he was going to allow himself to be selfish in this moment.
neteyam grabbed your waist, pulling you down as he held you against him. he rutted his hips roughly into yours, his balls hitting your ass as you screamed out in pleasure.
"take it, baby."
he sucked on your nipple as you dug your nails into his shoulder. your curls were bouncing as his braids swung against his neck and shoulders, the harshness of his hips causing his body to shake.
"fuck, neteyam!" you squealed.
"who's this pussy belong to?" neteyam asked.
"you! my pussy belongs to you, neteyam!"
you were seeing stars as his cock drove itself into your cervix. you were becoming lightheaded from the pleasure, your stomach tightening as you clenched around his cock.
"come on, ma y/n. cum on this dick."
you pushed your hips back onto his as your pussy clenched around him, your body shaking as you came.
"oh, fuck me." you cried out as he kept going.
neteyam loosened his hold on you as he helped you bounce on his cock, wanting to cum. he was close with the way you tightened on him.
"you gonna take my cum, baby?" he asked you.
you nodded feverishly, so lost in the overstimulation of pleasure. you never got to recover from your orgasm, and neteyam began rubbing on your clit again.
you were soon about to hit your second as neteyam grabbed your hips, holding you down on his cock as he came inside of you. hot spurts of cum painted itself on your walls, the feeling causing you to come again.
you fell on top of him, legs weak as he held you against his chest.
"so good to me, so good," neteyam kissed your forehead as you recovered.
"that was better than i imagined." you joked, cuddling yourself into him as his cock slipped out of you. cum began to leave your cunt, but he pushed it back inside of you.
neteyam grinned.
"oel ngati kameie (i see you). i see inside of you, into your mind, heart, body, and soul." neteyam brushed your messy hair out of your face.
tears welled in your eyes as you caressed his check, your finned hand going down to his jaw.
"i see you, ma neteyam. i always have, ever since you came to my island, and i always will."
neteyam's smile was so wide as he kissed you once more.
——-
tags: @mayhemories @useryourbut
#simpforboys#neteyam sully smut#neteyam x reader#neteyam#neteyam fluff#best boy neteyam#neteyam x y/n#neteyam sully#neteyam angst#neteyam x you#neteyam sully x reader#avatar 2#avatar 2022#avatar way of water#avatar neteyam
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Because of Changfengdu, i feel like i need to make a list or introductions of the author's novel (墨书白)
The ML's usually crazily devoted and the FL is crazily competent. I will write some of her historical ones first. (English is not my 1st language, so sorry if there's some mistake)
I'll tag @dangermousie and @mercipourleslivres, maybe you guys can enjoy some of this!
长公主 (The Grand Princess)
This one is a double rebirth story of a princess and her estranged husband. They both died (at age 50's) thinking they killed each other. They born in a time before they married. In their new life they started as friends.
Our FL is Li Rong, is a prideful princess and in the 1 st life married our ML Pei Wen Xuan because he's the most handsome XD. The emotional part of this novel feels so delicate and raw. The longings, remorse, regret, especially from the ML really hook me up. The bloody drama also not only come from the main couple but basically everyone. There's no such a thing as npc chara, everyone have their own purpose. I know many people said Li Rong don't deserve Pei Wen Xuan ( nahh do we read the same novel?) Both are at faults. This one is not for the faint heart. Last time i heard they will adapt this into a drama with Zhao Jinmai and Wang Anyu, i don't want them to touch this.
山河枕 (Mountain river pillow aka the eldest wife is my wife)
This one is a rebirth story. Our FL Chuyu already married the 2nd ML in her 1st life. But her love was wasted and her husband didn't treat her right. After being reborn, she choose to married her supposed to be husband, Wei Jun (the eldest son of a border general). You know what happened to the generals who lives in the border right? Right, scapegoat of the politics in the capital.
Short story, the wei general and his 6 son died (including Chu Yu husband) as a traitor in battlefield leaving the youngest son Wei Yun bring his father and brothers coffin. The real story begin here as Chu yu keep helping Wei Yun to keep the Wei family legacy.
Poor Wei Yun, is all that i can say :p.
From the news i see Song Qian and Ding Yuxi name, please just no :(.
论撩世家子的技巧 (the trick to teasing a noble family son)
This is not the famous one but WORTH READING. Oh and this a crossdressing novel. Our FL Wei Lan is a reborn, but not from your usual world. She came from a matriarcal world, when women is the leader in society and men task is in the backyard. When she came to the her new world, the 1st thing she do is change identity with his brother. Yes you hear me right, Wei lan become the brother and her brother Wei Hua become the sister. Our ML is Xie Zichen, also a reborn. He died being betrayed by the prince that he supported.
This novel is hilarious in the beginning as Wei Lan feels like douchebag,and feels that women is far superior than men. She FLIRT a lot. Because her thoughtfulness, all of these men of course being tempted. Our ML too think like that but reverse. But don't worry there's chara development from everyone, i cried a lot and too be honest my fav chara is one of the FL suitor who end up died.
I change my mind, i'll write her Xianxia and modern too here XD.
琢玉 (Carven Jade)
One of my fav danmei together with Yuwu. Our Gong is Fu ChangLing and Shou is Qin Yan (ma babies). This is a rebirth story. In the 1st life Fu Changling killed Qin Yan out of revenge and hate thinking that he is the one who killed his family and bring demise to the cultuvation world, little did he know that Qin Yan did all of that for him.
After being reborn Fcl did everything to keep Qin Yan safe and sound. I love how devoted they are to each other. All the support characters also great. I really love the parents story too.
剑寻千山 (sword of searching mountain)
This is a broken reunion story. Our FL Qin wanwan and our ML Xie Changji were married. The FL didn't know that our ML cultivated the heart of sword way ( the way of being indifferent, throw away feelings and other desires), she think the ML doesn't love her.
Our ML lives with sadness and trauma for hundred years. Our FL sects also meet a demise around this time and it so so sad. This novels feels emotionally heavy.
Xie ChangJi is up there for me for Crazyily masochist obsessed devoted ML. This one is not my fav but have some really good part. All the support chara also awesome.
余生有涯 (rest of my life)
TW : R&pe, Suicid*
This is a modern setting novel but being the heaviest of the bunch. Definitely not for everyone. This is a realistic novel about our FL Ye Sibei who is getting r*pe after office drinking party. Usually her husband pick her up, but he didn't do it on that day.
This is very hard to read for me, only 39 chapters with knife in it. Felt very real, the one that didn't felt real was her husband Qin Nan (definitely doesn't exist). Do not recomend ro read this when you're feeling down. But very uplifting.
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Long fun episode featuring my brother!
Transcript below the break
Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane, and this is the podcast where I count down my top 40 most frequently rewatched movies in a 20-year period. Today I will be discussing number 20 on my list: Miramax, Jane Starz Productions, and Blessington Films Productions’ 2004 fantasy comedy Ella Enchanted, directed by Tommy O’Haver, written by Laurie Craig, Karen McCullah, Kirsten Smith, Jennifer Heath, and Michele J. Wolff, based on the book by Gail Carson Levine, and starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy.
Cursed with the “gift” of obedience in infancy, Ella (Anne Hathaway) becomes increasingly desperate to break free when her father remarries, and her step-mother and step-sisters (played by Joanna Lumley, Lucy Punch, and Jennifer Higham) take advantage of her forced compliance. Finally she runs away to find and confront the fairy who cursed her, and makes several friends along the way, including an elf named Slannen (Aiden McArdle), and, of course, a prince named Charmont (Hugh Dancy).
I didn’t see this movie in theaters, but I did see it the year it came out. I watched it once in 2004, seven times in 2005, once in 2006, once in 2008, once in 2009, once in 2012, once in 2013, twice in 2014, once in 2015, once in 2016, twice in 2019, and once in 2021. The vast majority of those viewings were with my brother Quinn, so I asked him to join me and help explain why we love this movie so much. We had a very long, very fun conversation that I hope you will enjoy.
Hi, Quinn!
Quinn
Hello!
Jane
Welcome to the Rewatch Rewind.
Quinn
How exciting to be here! I feel famous.
Jane
Yes, you've definitely been mentioned in many previous episodes.
Quinn
It's very fun for me as your sibling, having grown up with you and been in the background of a lot of these watches, I'm guessing, to hear some of your takes as as a grown person on on these movies. And just kind of revisiting, you know, it takes me back to a time and place as well hearing you talk about them. So this podcast is personally very fun for me.
Jane
Have there been any movies that you hadn’t seen?
Quinn
You know none that immediately come to mind. There's definitely movies I didn't watch nearly as much as you did. Like, I think there's a couple movies that I've heard your, your… you explaining on the podcast, your affinity for them is kind of the first time I've heard, like, your insights, and like all the, the nuances that you notice about each of the movies. But no, I'm pretty sure I've been familiar with all of the movies that you've talked about. Like Adam's Rib, like I maybe never watched it all the way from start to finish, but I've certainly seen the “like a sound part” and the the highlight parts of the movie that you noted in the podcast.
Jane
Yeah, cause I think Rosemary's told me there's a couple that she was not sure that she'd seen.
Quinn
OK, it was news to me that everyone hated Bringing up Baby. I think I probably did at some point know that, and then just like forgot overtime but…
Jane
Yeah, I feel like the rest of the family would never watch it with us.
Quinn
Well, no and I didn't… I I completely didn't realize that that I… it always stuck out to me as one of my favorite movies of that time and era, and I don't think that I was ever old enough when I watched it to really question the like logistics of it, or like the premise. So, but I always loved Bringing up Baby. I thought it was funny. And I think that it's funny that people were so irritated with Katharine Hepburn because I think she's hilarious in the whole thing.
Jane
Yeah, yeah, so I did remember, like I almost was like, oh, yeah, everyone I know hates this movie, I was like, oh no, Quinn likes this movie!
Quinn
Well, I'm glad to get the shout out. I really didn't realize it was a controversial stance that I had.
Jane
Yes, well, I know a lot of like old movie fans that I've met online were telling me, like, “Oh yeah, I love Bringing up Baby!” So it's not just us, but...
Quinn
Yeah, definitely. You talked about its reputation as being kind of like a standout screwball comedy. I think that definitely makes sense. I think that it doesn't get screwier than Bringing Up Baby.
Jane
Yeah, it is, it is THE screwball comedy. Yeah, so as far as the movie we're talking about today though, I think…
Quinn
Made many decades later.
Jane
Yes! I think that that's one that we definitely fell in love with together, that like a lot of the movies I've talked about so far are like specific to me watching and then you would kind of watch them with me. But I think with Ella Enchanted, we watched it together and grew to love it together, so that's why I wanted to have you on for this episode.
Quinn
Well, yeah, I definitely think that like looking at your list and like thinking about like oh what are some of the reasons why they ended up here? Like Ella Enchanted, I feel responsible for in ways that I might not feel responsible for other movies on this list.
Jane
Yes. Well, I think what's important for our listeners to understand is that when you were younger, like you're quite a bit younger than me. And when you were little, you really liked to, like, pick a movie and watch it a bunch, like, really close together. Is that fair?
Quinn
Oh yes, I had phase movies for sure. Like it was, I can think of particular movies that I would watch all the time and I could never tell you the reason why I stopped watching any of these movies. But there would be a period of time that I would just get really hot with a certain movie and that would be all I wanted to watch and then… I guess I would just get over it.
Jane
And I think that Ella Enchanted is the only one of those that has made it onto my list.
Quinn
Yes, I would say that's fair. And I, Ella Enchanted was for sure one of those movies, and I would actually say one of the things I for sure wanted to talk about today was the soundtrack for Ella Enchanted, I would say is has been a pillar of my music appreciation over the years and like that soundtrack is actually very good…
Jane
It's very good.
Quinn
…and I think introduced me to a lot of like older songs like classic songs that I otherwise wouldn't have known that I think was important in my developing a music taste as well.
Jane
Yeah, yeah. There's definitely a lot of covers of really famous songs. It's kind of weird that they chose to go that direction with, like, this fairy tale story like that they did more like rock songs. But it works really well. It was just kind of an odd choice when you, like, read the book, you don't necessarily think like, oh, this would be perfect to have like a Queen song.
Quinn
Well, yeah. And I was actually thinking about, you had mentioned fans of the book Ella Enchanted that the movie is adapted from tend to be pretty disappointed with this adaptation. And I agree that it's a pretty poor representation of the book, and I guess I've sort of reimagined the movie as more just like another like retelling of Cinderella and, and I guess, like kind of with Ella Enchanted flavor to it. Like there's a lot of the plot points that like kind of the core characterizations of some of the characters are borrowed from Ella Enchanted. But yeah, I mean, I think there's so many adaptations of fairy tales out there, and like I think that it's a very fun and ultimately like kind of visionary choice that they went with like sort of this like 70's rock theme for the soundtrack that sort of like didn't really have any other connection to the story, but just those were the songs that they went with. And I do know that like specifically with Somebody to Love, which I think is kind of the key musical moment in the movie that was really sort of driven from like, I guess Tommy O'Haver was working with Anne Hathaway on some kind of like more traditional, like folksy fairy tale song. And it didn't suit her voice as well as Somebody to Love. So I feel like it was also very driven by like who were the people making the movie and what their tastes were, which is, I also think probably why it works because it was driven from an organic place.
Jane
Yeah definitely. And I think that casting Anne Hathaway and then like using her, because like, at that point, she was mostly known for Princess Diaries, which I guess she still is known for Princess Diaries, but, like, kind of taking that sort of flavor of princess of, like, I guess it's not really like a modern story, Ella Enchanted, because it's sort of set in this…made-up fairy tale-ish place, but like definitely has, like modern sensibilities that I think that like putting… I mean, Anne Hathaway has also done period work that's been good. I mean, she won an Oscar, but like, I think that taking her like personality and more modern sensibilities and putting it into this fairy tale thing worked really well. And I think that if they had tried too hard, like again, like, recognizing that that song didn't fit her voice and tried too hard to push her in a different direction. I don't think the movie would have worked.
Quinn
Oh yes, Anne Hathaway is very much allowed to be Anne Hathaway in this movie and it's fantastic. I think one of my biggest takeaways from this movie in watching it relatively recently in preparation for this conversation was just how essential I feel it is in the Anne Hathaway story. Because, I mean, you see her, I think debuting in a lot of people's eyes, I think she was in a movie or two before Princess Diaries. Or was that her debut?
Jane
I think it might have been her debut.
Quinn
And I feel like you have definitely a star is born moment with Princess Diaries and she really I think emerged as someone to watch and as a a star that could like hold their own with Julie Andrews and and sort of have this kind of fun, relatable charm. Like I do see sort of like the Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrences that come after really sort of taking something from the Anne Hathaway School of being a young it girl actress. And I feel like it was Ella Enchanted that really I think the singing particularly introduced this new layer to her talent, you know, circle and now all of a sudden, Anne Hathaway can be in musicals and she's very good at singing. And I just think that it was a very important stepping stone to her becoming a superstar. And I mean, she won the Oscar for a musical. So I think you know I can see, you know, maybe she would have ended up in Les Mis regardless of Ella Enchanted, but I do think this movie really put her on the map. And it's funny because I don't think it's a like particularly well regarded movie in any sort of circles, but I have to think that it had some really important impacts on Anne Hathaway's career following.
Jane
Oh yeah, definitely. So had you read the book before seeing the movie, do you remember?
Quinn
I actually I don't remember, but if I had to guess, I would say I saw the movie first, and I think you knew the book and so were able to like give some context when I would see it early. And then I did eventually read the book and like it. It has been a long time since I've read the book though, so I cannot really recall what is different about the movie in the books now.
Jane
Yeah, I haven't read the book in a long time. I had read the book definitely before I saw the movie, and it was kind of like, I feel like the book was different than this. But like the, I mean the basic premise is the same, but it's different to the point that I, like you said, I kind of consider them two different things, and I can definitely see why fans of the book would think that the movie was a bad adaptation, but at the same time it's like, it's fun. They did their own thing with it and…
Quinn
Well, and Ella Enchanted is an adaptation too, which I think it for me is what makes it work.
Jane
Right.
Quinn
And like I have been thinking in a lot of like media that I've seen recently with elements of the Cinderella story in it of like, what are some of the things I like about each retelling? And like I I texted you out of the blue when I was watching Into the Wood randomly and I was like, I think the Cinderella in Into the Woods is my favorite all time Cinderella. So like I did also, when I watched it recently was kind of thinking about like what are my favorite interpretations of the Cinderella story like in Ella Enchanted and what are some of the things that I think work better in other retellings? It's a story that is just very familiar at this point.
Jane
Yeah, it's been told and retold time and time again, and I I know you haven't listened to the Enchanted episode yet, but we talked about Cinderella quite a bit in that episode, too, because it's sort of like the fairy tale. And I think it's so interesting in Ella Enchanted that they added this layer of her being cursed. And it's not just that she has a really mean stepmother and step sisters. But it's like, literally they could order her not to leave and she would not be able to leave.
Quinn
Yeah, the curse is awful. And I do think Cinderella in all tellings of the story is someone who is abused,
Jane
Right.
Quinn
and I think that that is a very important facet of the story, and I think you and I've talked a lot about how there's a lot of like dismissal of Cinderella as a character in many iterations of just like being this damsel, like this bad representation of, you know, femininity and you know, just waiting around for a man. But I think that the curse really illuminates just some of the cruelty that I think Cinderella in all versions of the story experiences. But it's they almost don't really emphasize the chores, and like the the working and the cinder part of Cinderella, and they even dropped that from her name. It's it's less about the labor that she's expected to do and more just that this curse really defines all aspects of her life and turns even people that are trying to help her against her. And yeah, it's a terrible, terrible curse. And I think that it's a very lighthearted movie, but it's very dark what she has to go through.
Jane
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that it also… they do a good job of showing her sort of fighting the curse. And again, like you said, there's this perception that Cinderella is sort of a weaker, more passive character, but she really has always been, you know, very strong in being able to break away from her horrible situation. And I think they show Ella really doing everything she can to fight the curse and be like, OK, I'm gonna do what you told me, but I'm gonna do like, my own version of it. Like I'm gonna try and find loopholes in these orders so that I don't have to actually be under your thumb. And yeah, I I just, I think that's very well done.
Quinn
From a narrative perspective, it's a really powerful way to empower the character of of Ella and make her, I think, have people see more of themselves in her too, by giving her something to really fight against and be subversive against. And I think that that, I mean, it drives the plot of the movie. It's it's a good a good narrative tool.
Jane
Yeah and then there's the whole thing about that she's trying to fight for the rights of like elves and giants and other types of mystical beings who have been subjugated by the government. And I think that there's a little bit of an element of like sort of a savior complex in some of what she does, but I think that ultimately she feels a kinship with these people that are being forced to do things against their will because she's literally being forced to do things against her will all the time when people tell her to do stuff, she has to do it. And I think that that gives her a lot of empathy for, like giants being forced to do farm labor, and elves being forced to sing and dance. And I think they do a good job of showing that in the story. That like she feels like she kind of understands some of what they're going through and that's part of why she feels so strongly about trying to help them.
Quinn
Yeah, yeah, I think that it's also, I would love to see sort of the same premise of this story exist now and kind of retold now that we know a little bit more about how to be maybe a better ally or to sort of be a little bit more inclusive and less performative. Because I do think you know, in watching it recently, there were some things Ella said and did that I was like, ooh I don't know about that as you know, good activism. Like thinking specifically about how, when her and Prince Char returned to Lamia, which is where the palace is, you know where the Prince is there. He clearly has some kind of status and they're with an elf companion, their elf friend Slannen, and like they just he gets thrown out of the the palace and they stand there and don't seem to like, do anything to try to stop it. It's like, OK, well, we need to, like, act upon our convictions. So yeah, there's little things like that. And also like when Slannen the elf is trying to talk to Prince Charmont about working with his uncle to maybe allow elves to have other careers than being performers or entertainers cause he wants to be a lawyer and he's saying, “Well, can you petition your uncle the literal king for me to be a lawyer?” And he's just like, “I can't do that! That would be weird. It simply isn't done!” And so those are the types of things where the movie does let me down a little bit because I want to see, you know, some real advocacy and allyship. But I do think that you make such a good point about Ella feeling a kindred spirit to these marginalized peoples and really having that empathy and speaking up and saying something. I think that that is very clear throughout the movie and that is what allows her to be successful ultimately, is these relationships that she's built that she has built through empathy and through, you know, walking in people's shoes and hearing their stories and listening to them. So I think that there is a really beautiful message of of caring for the marginalized and advocating throughout the movie.
Jane
Yeah and I do think that there's they show that Prince Char, at least they show him as very like privileged and ignorant initially and that he, like again, he definitely could do more, but I'm thinking about like the scene when he listens to the giant leader and like, he's actually like, oh, wow, I didn't realize how bad things were. I'm going to try and make things better, and again, I don't know what he actually does, but he does become king, presumably at the end after his uncle dies. So hopefully he does….
Quinn
He does sing Elton John. That we do know.
Jane
Yes, so I mean obviously there's only one step between sing Elton John and free the marginalized people, so…
Quinn
He's on the right path.
Jane
Yeah, yes. So again, yes, you're right, it definitely could do more, but I also think that they have some good points. There's some almost there moments, I think.
Quinn
Oh yeah, and in in thinking about the times, like, I think that those some of those interactions and conversations were like stepping stones to, I think more fruitful ways to interact in those spaces and in those conversations, but it definitely, you know I I think that's a very presentist mindset to even look at some of those conversations critically, because you know, at that time those were conversations that were the most tolerant things got. So, you know, it's definitely have to make allowances for differences in in time. And I do have to say, I think talking about Prince Charmont as a character, I think he is one of the better, more developed Prince characters that you get in one of these Ella Enchanted Cinderella retellings, and I think Hugh Dancy really played like, I think, all of the acting in this movie is really phenomenal. I think that's a headline for me is that it's a very well acted movie, even though it's probably objectively pretty bad.
Jane
The script left something to be desired, but the actors did the best they could with it.
Quinn
Well, yeah, OK, let's just dive into it because I think that there is no better argument for “there are no small parts” than this movie because every single one of the actors in this movie like nails - and I don't mean like this in a casual like - nails their role. Like every performance I can think of, like one of my favorites to just like think about is Minnie Driver and like as Mandy who is like the fairy kind of governess of Ella and like she's not a very powerful fairy, so she's not that helpful in terms of her magical skill abilities, but like, she's kind of an ally to Ella in her abusive home and like, plays a role throughout the story. Very minimal and like the character of Mandy, I think I remember being pretty important in the Ella Enchanted book, and like they really, I think the writers really stripped this character of, like any kind of, like, notable personality. But Minnie Driver was just like, “Nuh-uh! Not my part!” And she just like, finds these like perfect comedic moments, and it's like she has like one line in a scene, and just like is so in character the whole time and is just like hysterical., completely matches like the attitude of just being like a little, like, sassy, and over it. And I'm like, that's just like one of the very bit parts. Like you've got like the the, I don't remember her name, but the actress who plays Olive, who's just like deranged and like all the, like, kleptomaniac stuff. And she's just like, “Ooh hoo hoo!” like, the whole time completely in character. Joanna Lumley is there, like, serving evil stepmother. Like she is not letting a moment go by without just like commanding the scene. Vivica A. Fox like comes in and does her like flashy, sassy little, like unhelpful cutaway scenes that are, like, again, all of these roles are pretty insignificant, don't have a lot of screen time, don't have much to work with, terrible script and like these actresses are just like, “This is the best role I've ever played in my life!” It's so much fun. It's like you talked a couple of podcasts ago about your favorite movies to watch being like ones where the actors are clearly having a good time. And like, I just feel like, you know, Anne Hathaway gives a fantastic performance and is committed and plays all the emotional highs and lows. She has the most terrible lines to say and she just like, gets through it like a professional. Hugh Dancy is like also having a good time, and it's like appropriately, like, kind of like charming and aloof. And like Slannen is memorable. Like he's got that, like, you know, conviction. And he has some very, like, silly, like, physical comedy moments as well. And then you've got like Jim, who's on Downton Abbey? Like playing this like ogre, who like has these dramatic cutaways while he's trying to eat people like just great performances all around.
Jane
Yeah, I agree. I think that you're right. That is a big part of why I enjoy this movie is that it's very apparent that everybody was just having fun. And you get that, especially with the big dance number at the end, which is just kind of random and like, why are they singing Don't Go Breaking My Heart at a wedding? Like…
Quinn
Ohh my gosh, it's so. It's fun though.
Jane
It's just, yes.
Quinn
Like I I've never questioned… Like it's a weird song choice, but I'm just, that is one of the most joyful, perfect finales to a movie that I've ever seen, like where everyone gets a little bit of something to do. You like, get that fun, like end credits. Here's everyone's final bow, and it's just like a ton of fun.
Jane
Yeah, it's just unfortunate that Lucy Punch. Is that her name?
Quinn
Oh yes.
Jane
She doesn't get to be in it because-
Quinn
Well, and I just realized I didn't mention her performance, but I feel like it deserves its own subsection. So Lucy Punch, who plays Hattie, the step sister of Ella, the mean stepsister, I…. that is my all time favorite interpretation of the evil stepsister character, because Hattie is just like, very impetuous, but she is dangerous and she, like, serves a role in the story that actually, you know, like her ratting out Ella is what leads to some of the highest stakes in the story eventually, s I do feel like so often the step sisters are really just like bit characters that don't really have much to do other than like be mean to Cinderella in like one or two scenes. And I feel like she both took that sort of like superfluous, frivolous quality that the step sisters have and like, did that, but also, like, they did find a way to work her way into the plot. She had a bit of menace and a bit of intelligence that she was able to use to try to achieve her own goals. And then I think has a great, like, humiliating downfall. And this is made all the better by the fact that Lucy Punch is like this was her dream role to play a step sister. And be this character and like she is a step sister in Into the Woods and in something else, I'm pretty sure.
Jane
I feel like she's played Cinderella's step sister at least four times.
Quinn
Yes. And like that was her dream role and this actress is just like having the best time being this character. Like it totally shows and I think that Hattie is like a standout character and performance throughout the entire thing as well. And it is a shame that she is not in the finale, but it's because of a deleted scene. And you can see the deleted scene if you get the DVD.
Jane
Yes, which I think is a good way to transition into why we have seen this movie so many times because yes, it is fun. And yes, we would watch it a bunch probably normally anyway, but the reason that we have watched it quite this many times is because we had the DVD and we discovered how delightful the audio commentary is. And I didn't keep track of how many times I watched it with or without commentary. But I would say that more than half of the times I watched it were with commentary.
Quinn
Yes, I mean, I think it became… you could have almost kept track of this movie two different ways, like watching it in its original form and watching it with commentary, because I think you we went to either at different times when we were looking for different things in a viewing experience.
Jane
Yeah, but I would, I think that…that even if I counted them separately, the commentary watching would be enough to be in my Top 40.
Quinn
You know, I I was gonna say I Jane mentioned this episode. You mentioned it to me. And I kept thinking you were going to schedule it and schedule it. And I'm like, wow, Ella Enchanted really made it far up this list because it's been several weeks now. It's pretty deep in the ranking.
Jane
Yeah, it's #20 so it's in the top half.
Quinn
Yeah. Top half. I'm stunned.
Jane
Yes, but yeah, so I don't remember how many times I'd seen it just normally before we discovered the commentary. But the commentary is just… it just adds a whole other level and like one of the things that you said earlier that made me think of it was when you were talking about Vivica A Fox being fabulous. And like, Anne Hathaway mentions in the commentary the scene when she's tied up to a tree and Lucinda shows up and she's like, oh, I'm going to help rescue you. And she's like, no, I want to be chained to this tree so I don't have to kill Char. And in the commentary, Anne Hathaway says that, like Vivica A Fox was so excited to do that scene. And she, Anne, was kind of like, “I don't know. I don't really like the lines” and Vivica’s like, “Oh, I'm not gonna say the lines. But we're gonna have fun!”
Quinn
Yes, one of an Ella Enchanted moment that I think about probably most of any other, although there's so many, is like right after she sets her free, Vivica A. Fox, is just standing in this, like, fabulous pose and she's like, “Well, aren't I fabulous?” while Ella is just like, “This is terrible! This is not what I wanted!” It's just like a fabulous moment of just, like, completely not taking in any of your surroundings. You're the main character, the story is you, forget about everybody else, forget whose movie it. It's, it's Vivica A Fox. It's just, it's fabulous. But yes, the commentary which it features, Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy. So the two romantic leads of the movie and Tommy O’Haver, who is the director, he's like maybe the one you don't know, but if you don't know him you should. They just narrate the whole movie and it is absolutely hysterical, like the tone that these three have together is great. It's as if they're the best friends. They probably haven't spoken to each other in a decade now, which makes me sad because in my mind they hang out every day and commentate on things. Like they just have great chemistry. You can tell all three of them had a lot of fun making the movie and they're just like having a good time, and you can really you feel like you were there with them, like making this ridiculous movie that really wasn't that good, but damn it, they worked hard.
Jane
Yeah and it's like it's exactly what you would want from audio commentary, I think, which is like behind the scenes trivia because they have quite a bit of that. And then just like some like tea, like a little bit, not a lot of tea, but just like sort of like, oh, this didn't work very well or like, I was actually really miserable this day or something like that.
Quinn
Well, they talk about like, little like spats they had with each other, but it's like, “Oh yeah, we got in a fight about that that day. I felt very this way” like it's it's all like it clearly happened like over a year ago.
Jane
Yeah, so there's that. But then just also like. Each one of them has a different thing that they kind of focus on more, which is nice that like they're not just kind of saying the same thing because like Hugh Dancy talks a lot about, like the stunt people. And like he was friends with them. And then Anne Hathaway- This is another thing, too, is like the commentary, like, really shows you how and how Anne Hathaway was like, set up to be super successful in Hollywood because she, like, remembers everybody's name, everybody who worked on this, like even like all the like, minor crew people and she's just like, yeah, this person did a great job and she, like, seems very like gracious. And like she actually cares, but is also very good at networking. And I think that that's exactly what you have to be to be like successful and someone that people like.
Quinn
Well, and you really get a sense of Anne Hathaway's work ethic, too.
Jane
Oh yeah.
Quinn
Which I think very much it comes through in the commentary where you just, like, get a sense of, like, all the things that she's thinking about. You hear a lot of the things that she's insecure about, and just like all of the the dynamics of being the Anne Hathaway of of this movie, being a movie star, being the the center of attention, both like in the internal world of the movie and in the external world of making the movie and in the even more external world of like marketing the movie and being the star.
Jane
Right.
Quinn
Like it's a very actually like I think nuanced character study of Anne Hathaway listening to the commentary while being very fun.
Jane
Yeah, yeah. And it's just like she never comes across as like, “Yes, I'm the star and I'm super famous and everyone should love me!” It's kind of like, “Yes, I'm putting in the work and I like really thought about this character and I really wanted to do a good job in this movie and I think everyone else worked really hard on it too.” And like definitely giving credit where credit is due and not really being super like... I mean obviously she talks about her own experiences, but not being super self-centered and like like everyone should be talking about me right now.
Quinn
And I think all three of the commentators really had that posture because Anne Hathaway does a great job of like mentioning like the lighting in this scene is beautiful and done by this person, that tailor was a tailor who works in Ireland. But I also think that like Hugh Dancy talks a lot about the stuntmen and like it's clear that he was like, legitimately really good friends with them, like during filming and would hang out with them. And like I think Tommy O’Haver also really like spotlights you know, actors and other people that worked on the movie. Like, I think you listen to it and it's like not like just them listing the credits, but it's like interesting seeing all of the different people that they each had to work with and spent time with. And like, how interesting it is just to put all these different people with all these different specialties in the same project together and just like stunt men interacting with movie stars and interacting with directors, interacting with lighting designers, interacting with other actors, it's all just very interesting to hear about the interactions that went into making the movie.
Jane
Yeah, it really highlights which I think I mean is probably true of pretty much every movie is that, like, just how interactive making a movie is, and just like what a collaborative effort it is. And it's not just like, oh, there's a few people involved and then there's, like, the background people that kind of help a little bit. It's like everybody really has to work together and like that's probably obvious to people who have made movies before. But I think when you're in the audience, you might not necessarily realize, I mean you see the long credits at the end, but just like how many people are involved in bringing this together and just how much they have to work together and trust each other to do their jobs. And I think that the Ella Enchanted commentary was kind of one of my first glimpses into just exactly what that looked like. And I think that that's part of what has like led me to be further interested in like, I'm not saying like I'm a filmmaker, but just sort of finding out a little bit more of the behind the scenes filmmaker stuff was really interesting to me without it feeling like, OK, now you're sitting down to a Filmmaking 101 class it it's all very fun the way they present it, but just like it gets you thinking of like, wow, there's so many people who work on movies that you never see who are really crucial to the process, and I really like that aspect of it and that they're definitely sure to give people as much credit as they can and not like you said, not listing the credits, just saying like, oh, this scene was really this person, like, really made it by doing their job kind of thing. And yeah, I really like that.
Quinn
Yeah, and I think lots of DVD features have commentary on them, and so we've talked a lot about this commentary and it kind of leads to the question like what do you get from this commentary that like maybe you don't get in other movies with commentary? Cause I can't imagine there's another one on your list that like truly, you couldn't think of without the commentary which Ella Enchanted, I mean, it's inextricable from why you've watched this movie so many times. You wouldn't have watched this movie so many times without this commentary. I think it has all of these great things we've been talking about how deep it is, but it's also very funny.
Jane
Yes.
Quinn
And I feel like, you know, we quote and we've Mandela effected quotes from this commentary where like they don't actually say what we have ended up quoting years later, but like we quote this commentary so much to each other. Like probably the most quotable moment is like there's a point where Ella is supposed to in the movie like end up stopped in the middle of the road and there's like a horse drawn carriage that’s going to come and roll her over and she can't move because she's been ordered to stay because the Prince is going back to get the purse that she was carrying with her. And like they just describe how the line was originally, “MY SATCHEL!!!” when she realizes that she doesn't have it, and then the Prince is like, “Wait right there. I'll go get it.” And they're like, we had to cut that because we couldn't say it without laughing and they were like, then we I think we said, well, where's my satchel? We changed mine to where's my satchel and we still couldn't do it. S then in the movie is like, “Where's my purse?” is what she ends up saying. But like the “MY SATCHEL!” quote like, it's just the whole commentary is stuff like that. My other one of my other favorites, I can't even say things are above the other because it's all amazing. It's like, I guess all the sets had these different like almonds for Prince Char?
Jane
Yeah, all the, the castle sets had these dishes of candied almonds.
Quinn
Yeah, and it was just like this weird character study. And they're like, we want everyone in the Kingdom to enjoy my almonds! Like that Prince Char has his, like, favorite almonds. It's like this random detail that, like, you never would notice. There's just so many quotable moments, and like by all of them, all three of them really have great, hysterical little one liners.
Jane
Yeah, I was struggling to come up with a quote to use at the end of last episode because I was like all the good quotes are in the commentary. Yeah, cause the my satchel thing in particular, I feel like, I can't hear the word satchel without thinking of that, and sometimes I just think of it randomly. Just like “MY SATCHEL!!!”
Quinn
Yeah and I also think one of the things that we have not yet talked about that I think the commentary does a good job of highlighting too, is that I love the costuming for that movie. I think that the costuming is perfect and they do a great job of talking about the different costumes, and you notice that characters have like signature colors, which I'm always, I don't know. I always really like that in movies when characters have signature colors. I think it's fun. And I I like that what that does visually is kind of like builds like a recognition for a certain character and seeing what color they're wearing, but like, I think it's cool. Like the characters have signature colors. I think the costumes are beautiful and well done, and the commentary does a good job of pointing out when that's the case. I think that Ella Enchanted is such a weird world and like you hear about all the different weird ways that this weird world was created together. But I do think it works surprisingly well like all told. You know, having these like kind of 70s-80s musical influences with kind of this like modern sensibility and the humor with like, costume, that kind of blended old and new with the signature colors, like something whimsical that pops like it all kind of like doesn't make sense in a way that makes sense.
Jane
Yeah, I think that the world is kind of similar to the world of Shrek in a way? Like, I think Shrek has a lot of those like… it's like sort of a medieval world, but also there's a lot of modern jokes. And I think that Hercules kind of does that too, of like being like set in the past, but also with these very modern jokes. And I think that was just like a really big thing in like the late 90s/early 2000s to kind of make that sort of world? And they really ran with it and Ella Enchanted. I think they really just leaned into, like, we're going to make this weird. And yeah, it works so much better than you would think it would on paper, if just like, yeah so it's like kind of medieval castle fairy tale but also modern, but also like from a few decades ago, and we're just going to throw all those things together. And yeah, it just really works. And I do agree that the costuming really helps with that because the costumes are, like sort of whimsical, but also like very focused on like the characters and like Ella’s are a lot more practical than like the step-sisters have, like the most ridiculous costumes, especially at the end.
Quinn
Shout out to Hattie’s ring in the ball scene.
Jane
It is like…her ring is like as big as her hand.
Quinn
It is so ridiculous and so it's just perfect.
Jane
Giant orange.
Quinn
And I mean, I love the the fairies, like, especially like Lucinda, like has a very, I would say modern, like it's a very costumey, like think like, sexy fairy at Halloween outfit, but it's like Nope, it works. Let's go for it. And I think also having Heidi Klum in the movie helps with its fashion appeal.
Jane
Oh yeah.
Quinn
Heidi Klum is a giant.
Jane
I wonder if they consulted her, if like, she was a costume consultant too.
Quinn
I also have to say that we have not talked at all about Cary Elwes yet.
Jane
Oh yeah!
Quinn
And I love his performance, talking about performances, he is clearly having a marvelous time. And I also love kind of the meta connection to Princess Bride because I do also think that there are some elements of, like it's like almost like a more modern frenetic world than Princess Bride is, but there's like, I think they serve as like similar kinds of movies, at least on paper.
Jane
Yeah, it does have kind of a similar tone to that. It doesn't have nearly as witty of dialogue as Princess Bride, but it definitely has like, a similar like world feel. Yeah, I definitely see what you’re saying.
Quinn
Like you could imagine, some of the characters interacting, so I think it's very… there's a fun parallel that like he's sort of in the story as more the Humperdinck character than, you know, being the romantic lead ultimately that he is in Princess Bride.
Jane
And he he was like just… He's so good, like, especially because like, as his character progresses. Like earlier in the movie, he's just sort of, like, vaguely menacing. And by the end, he's, like, completely like… maniacal laughing, just like going completely overboard with, like, I've just completely lost my mind! And he does that so well, like-
Quinn
And that's you can tell that's a choice that he made as an actor because you could have very easily played all of that very flat and probably not gotten the effect like you get that from his performance is what really gives you that story.
Jane
Yes. Oh my gosh I love the scene when he, after Hattie, has told him that Ella has to do whatever she's told, and he's, like, making her do the hokey pokey and all this stuff. But he's doing the most ridiculous dance in the background and it's like you're trying to make her look silly, but you look way sillier and it's so good.
Quinn
Yeah, like just the the gleeful evil of of it all. Yeah, it's it's really, it's fantastic acting. I'm telling- like, up, up, down, anywhere you look in this movie: well acted.
Jane
Yeah, 100% of the time. And then he has a snake sidekick. Which is very like reminiscent of a lot of Disney villains - which is part of why I always think this movie is Disney, but it's not Disney - but I think that they did a really good job with that snake. I guess originally they were going to have like an animatronic puppet and they just couldn't get it to work so they ended up-
Quinn
Can you imagine how silly that would have looked? Like, I think them talking about their pathway to arriving at the conclusion that this snake had to be CGI is very funny in the commentary.
Jane
Yes, yes. Because it's like, um yeah, no, that wouldn't have worked. So they ended up with a CGI snake. And I think it looks good.
Quinn
It's very well done. It's fantastic and I think the the actor, I mean it's mostly a voice performance, but the acting is very good with Heston as well.
Jane
Yeah! Yeah , so I think that and that really adds to carry out was his character. What is his name? Edgar?
Quinn
Edgar, who is the evil uncle. Sorry if we haven't said that. Yes, he is the king, who is the uncle of Prince Charmont, who is Hugh Dancy.
Jane
And I think like the uncle killed the father?
Quinn
Yes.
Jane
It's like a little, little Hamlet moment.
Quinn
It’s kind of – a criticism: It's kind of thrown together. It's like, OK, I guess he killed the father. Like I want to see him killing the father. I wanna see the blood on his hands!
Jane
And then he's trying to kill Char also, I'm not exactly sure why…
Quinn
It's kind of Lion King action like…
Jane
Because Char was going to be coronated. Yes!
Quinn
So I guess he was like kind of a Regent ruler because the dad had been killed and and the dad was much more, the king was much more tolerant of other life groups like ogres and elves, and then Edgar becoming the king, he made a lot of these like species segregationist policies so...
Jane
Yeah
Quinn
It's presumed that with Ella next to the throne and with Char being a much more morally upright person that with Edgar's passing and his coronation, things went right in Frell or Lamia or whatever the kingdom's name is, because Ella’s from Frell and Lamias where the castle is. I don't know what the whole common is called. Andalasia.
Jane
[laughs] Probably. It's also really interesting how they decided that, like the people from Lamia would have English accents, and the people from Frell would have American accents, and then they cast like mainly American people to be the Lamia people and mainly British people to be the Frell people.
Quinn
It was chaotic what was going on with the accents.
Jane
Yeah so people had to do different accents. I mean not entirely, cause like Hugh Dancy is actually English and had his normal accent. Anne Hathaway had her normal accent, but like, just like Minnie Driver had to do an American accent.
Quinn
And that one notable fairy who has that bit part does like a New York accent in in Lamia, but she was like Irish.
Jane
Yeah, well, yeah. And the person who plays Ella's mom was actually British or Irish or something, and…
Quinn
[New York accent] Finding her would be something terrible.
Jane
[laughs] Yeah.
Quinn
So many good lines!
Jane
There's some, there's some very strange accents going on, but it's fine. It works.
Quinn
Also Parminder Nagra is there.
Jane
Oh yeah.
Quinn
And she is honestly not one of the more memorable performances, but she does a really good job!
Jane
It's really upsetting, like, that's like one criticism that I have: I would really like to have seen another scene with Parminder Nagra's character at the end like…
Quinn
It's really stuck in there, like the resolution of that storyline with like like it- you can tell they like there was probably some scheduling problem of like her filming ER or something because like, it is weird. Like Areida is Ella's best friend. And and like they set up their characters and Ella actually like, really like screws her over because of the curse.
Jane
Yeah, it's a heartbreaking scene.
Quinn
It's a really sad scene and then I think that for whatever reason, they couldn't film any better resolution to that story other than like she just comes to the wedding and like, there's a cutaway scene where she's waving to the carriage and just goes, “Good luck, Ella!”
Jane
And you know she was waving at nothing.
Quinn
And yeah, like, there's no way those women were in the same room when that happened.
Jane
Yeah, I mean, she is in the room at the wedding, like with her, and they cause she's part of the Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Quinn
Yeah, but like I that could have been filmed in post too, that cutaway shot.
Jane
That is true. Um, yeah so I think they really needed a scene where Ella explained what had happened.
Quinn
And like you assume that they were, you know, they healed the friendship, and they were in a good place. But like, they never said that.
Jane
Yeah, it's like, I mean, I get that they put that in there to show just like how bad, because that kind of was what pushed Ella over the edge of like, I guess I just have to live with this curse to being like, no, I need to get rid of this because her stepmother made her tell her best friend, like, “I could never be friends with you, and you suck, go away” basically.
Quinn
And yeah, I really, I think if it was a better script or like a better story, like the movie version, I don't really remember like how it happened in the book, but for the movie world that was created, I think involving Areida in some of the machinations at the end to, like take down Edgar would have, really fixed a lot of the, like narrative hole that is left with that storyline, like just to have Areida like give her some marginal role even where like she's for some reason there and can like help them do one thing like in the sequence to take down Edgar. Like just plug her in somewhere. And I think that would have been really nice to like have like her helping the cause and like reestablishing their relationship and then like then maybe you don't really need a final scene between them. You can just kind of use what you have at the end and be like, yeah, they figured it out.
Jane
Yeah, I agree that definitely would have been a really good way to do it, but…
Quinn
I mean, they have Heidi Klum in the end part like...
Jane
Yeah, yeah. Because she and Slannen have a thing.
Quinn
Yeah, they get together, which is there's a lot of questions I have, but it's fine.
Jane
Yeah, but I think that that's really, I mean, no offense to the writers, but I think there were like 5 writers on this movie, and like I don't know that they had a cohesive idea of what they were going to do with it. I think it was kind of like, OK, there's this really popular book and this really popular actress that we can write a thing for.
Quinn
And doing movies like this is very popular.
Jane
Yeah, exactly. So yeah, this is the time to do this sort of modernized but not fairy tale type thing. And we're just going to throw it together and hope for the best. And I think that it does work a lot better than it had any right to on paper, based on the dialogue and the script. And they talk about that a little bit in the commentary. They're like, very gracious about it, but there's certain moments where they're like, “Yeah, I never really liked this line,” or, like, “I never really felt like I said this right.”
Quinn
I think they're pretty upfront with saying the lines that they had issues with saying.
Jane
Yeah, but they're not, they're not gonna, say like, “Oh this whole script was trash.”
Quinn
Yeah, yeah. And I mean, in fairness, there's a couple funny, like “My tongue itches” is funny.
Jane
That is true. Yeah, there's some good lines in the actual script, but I think overall that's really the weak point. And just like the fact that they were able to get these amazing actors and some of them are like super famous, others I like, haven't really seen in anything else.
Quinn
Eric Idle is in the movie also.
Jane
Oh, I forgot about him!
Quinn
See, like you just keep thinking of people. There's a lot of performances.
Jane
And I think that they all just showed up and were like, “We're gonna have fun. We're gonna make this movie.” And it just really comes together in a very entertaining way.
Quinn
I do think also what helps is that the characters they're playing are all kind of archetypes. What talented actors are able to do, they're able to take these archetypal characters and sort of have an interpretation of them kind of ready to go. And so I'm, I'm also kind of thinking like, that's these are just good professional actors that like these are not like tough characters. They're just like they're ones that you can really like sink into and, like, get- they're, they're like, really meaty roles that like a good actor, will know what to do with.
Jane
Yeah, yeah, I agree with that, that's a good way of putting it. So yeah, so it's just it's just fun entertainment, but again, it just becomes like so much more fun and entertaining when you have the commentary on and you just hear them chatting with each other about their memories of making this movie and the good and the bad and the ugly.
Quinn
And if you like podcasts, I imagine you'll like the commentary because it it really does, I think feel like you're just sitting around the table with friends or sitting on the couch watching the movie with, you know, the friends or like people that were making the movie. Like it's a a really good aura that the commentary has. I feel like and again and thinking about like what does the commentary have that other commentaries don't? Like I think a lot of other commentaries are very cold and very like stale almost and like they come in for these very like discrete parts and they'll say, I did want to mention when we were watching this that this blah blah blah. And then they'll stop and they'll go back to the movie. Like, this is just this continual conversation that goes throughout the movie pretty much.
Jane
Yeah, I think a lot of times, especially when the commentary just has the director, they can get very technical with like just saying, like explaining how each shot was set up. And just like, I mean some of that is very interesting, but I think it almost feels like you're like going to film school or something or like you're sitting in a lecture and I definitely tend to prefer the ones that have multiple people and especially like, I mean, I don't want to say like we only care about the actors, but I think actors know how to perform better than directors do a lot of the time, and so they know how to be entertaining. I would say Ella Enchanted is like far and away my favorite, but there's a few others, like I talked about the Mary Poppins one. And I think that one is really fun for different reasons, because they're looking back with like 40 years of distance. But it's the same sort of thing of like they're interacting with each other and reminiscing together. And I think that's a lot more interesting than just hearing one person sort of give you a lecture about how this movie came together.
Quinn
Well, yeah, and what the actors do, and I mean that's what they are when you're watching the movie, they are the audiences perspective, like into the world of the movie and, and so I think that you you feel like, you know, actors in a way that you don't feel like you know directors or people that are not on camera. And so, yeah, I think they're very practiced at bringing that perspective to an audience and sort of serving as that messenger or the gateway that an audience has to a story. And then I think to Tommy O’Haver’s credit. I think he's very charismatic. And so you feel like you know him or you like, get to know him through the course of the commentary. There's many directors whose commentary I've seen that I didn't really get a sense of who they were as people, but I feel like you get to know Tommy O’Haver and you like him.
Jane
Yeah, I think that he, like, definitely takes his work seriously, but I think he doesn't think too highly of himself. I think a lot of directors have really big egos, which I think to a certain extent you have to for that job because you have to be in charge and you have to like get people to listen to you and so you have to think relatively highly of yourself. Otherwise you're gonna be like, “Well or- or not or whatever.” And you can't do that when you're a director. But I think that with Tommy O'Haver, he's like, he wants people to have fun on his sets, I think. And he's like, very proud of his work on this movie, clearly. But he's also, like, very gracious to the stars that he's talking to and like, very quick to point out when they did a good job, which I think they're more hesitant to do, like they don't want to toot their own horns as much. And so he's like, very much like, saying, “Wow, you guys were really great to work with and you did such a good job too.” And like that, they were exactly what he wanted for this movie. And I think that really helps make the commentary just seem a lot more fun, too, is that he's not being like, “I made this movie and I was so great.” It was like, “Thank you guys for doing such a good job.” and all of that, so I really like that.
Quinn
Yeah, he's he seems like- I would, I would be an actor or, like, work on a movie that he was the director for. I feel like he would be a good person to work with. And yeah, I do, it's interesting that you note that they the actors do I feel like have a hard time like tooting their own horn and like one of the main things that I feel like Anne Hathaway is comfortable like talking about is like her physical appearance. And like, she'll be like, “Oh, my extensions look so good at that point.” And I do feel like that's something that, like you think about, like the Harvey Weinstein of it all and like just a lot of some of the really, like, dark things about Hollywood and like, how sad that is that like, that's what she felt like, you know, those were some of the ways that she could, like, step into her own and, like, talk positively about herself. And then you think about like all other things that were going on like in the industry at large. I also think it's really great to hear like, a man complementing like the female star of the movie, who was like indisputably the star of the movie. And again, another good example of like female led projects like they're this idea that they're not as successful. It’s like here is another like- that's something I love about this movie, that it is a female led movie, that it's like, yeah, Anne Hathaway is perfectly capable of carrying a movie on her own shoulders.
Jane
Yeah, and it's interesting too that like the director doesn't at any point that I recall in the commentary. Maybe, he says, like… Because I do think like Anne Hathaway does complement her own appearance, she all is also very critical of it.
Quinn
Well, and and that's also true too. I mean just I think that's sort of where I was going, too and tying in like some of the larger cultural things, she is very critical of her appearance at times too.
Jane
One of my favorite parts though, is when she's like watching herself perform and she's, like, cringing. And they're like, “What are you..? And she's like, “Oh, it’s just a tooth thing.”
Quinn
Well, they're in the middle of complementing the lighting in the scene, and they're just like, “Oh, this lighting is so beautiful” and it is really beautiful. It's like flickering flames that of course, were, like, done digitally, but it looks very real and they're complimenting it and then and and Hathaway just goes, “Eugh!” And then then she's just like, “Sorry, it was a tooth thing.”
Jane
Yeah, but I think that what I was gonna say is I don't remember at any point, I don't think he ever really talks about her appearance other than to say, like, “Oh you look fine” when she's criticizing herself. I think that he's way more focused on her work and her her performance and like how dedicated she was and like she was in basically every scene and that she had to work really hard and he really gives her a lot of credit for that. And I think that's, like you were saying, a big problem in Hollywood is that a lot of actresses like you focus more on their appearance and what they're wearing and all this stuff. And I think it’s really great to see a male director recognizing that his female star really put in a lot of work and did a lot of stuff besides, just like looking pretty in this movie. And that's yeah, it's really great to hear that, especially on a movie that was produced by Harvey Weinstein.
Quinn
Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's very true. And I just, I think. We've already spoken a little bit about this, but like, Anne Hathaway is just such a treasure, I think, like, and it's been very interesting, and like I I mentioned her in the same sentence with like Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone earlier in this conversation. And like, just thinking about, like, what Anne Hathaway's trajectory has been, and then what those actresses’ trajectories have been where I think there there was, you know, generally good favor around Anne Hathaway for a long time. And then, like all of a sudden kind of around the time of her Oscar win, people kind of soured on her and felt that she really was sort of distasteful. And then just like having her image kind of come back around from there and now I think she has a very like, you know, people have a lot of, like, nostalgic affection for her being in all these beloved classics like Princess Diaries and Devil Wears Prada and Ella Enchanted. But then she's also, you know, an Oscar winner and like, taken very seriously, like, I think she's kind of reached that, like, you know, prime part of her career where she's been through all of these things. And we've seen actresses like Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence kind of on a delayed timeline, go through some of these same things like, I just think that Anne Hathaway, I really have a lot of respect and appreciation for all of the things that she's weathered. Being a young woman in Hollywood and having to kind of- that she was in these beloved projects. She's had periods of being very well loved, periods of being kind of hated and has sort of weathered the storms and has continued to to work and deliver really phenomenal performances, I just- I think she's such a gift and I'm glad that she's still out there kicking ass and making amazing movies. Like I love Ocean's 8, that's fairly recent, and I think that she still has some very exciting career moves left. I'm- I can't wait to see her as she continues.
Jane
Yeah, and I think it's really interesting because she was getting a lot of hate for a while, for like no really good reason. Like, I don't feel like anyone could point to like something horrible that she said or did. Like maybe she like said something that was maybe a little bit questionable, but like, I think now people are coming around to being more like, you know, she was never actually terrible. People were just mad at her for being a successful woman like, cause, I mean, some people like they said something super racist or something or like that was interpreted in a bad way. But I don't even know that anyone's been able to point to something like that.
Quinn
I think probably the thing that I heard or that that's been on in the news cycle was the Witches movie that she was in and sort of depicting people with limb differences as like witches and, there was some backlash to the way that the witches were portrayed and how that looked similarly to people with limb differences and sort of othered people with limb differences, or at least this was some criticism of that movie. And I thought that Anne Hathaway had a really, um… I was impressed with the apology that she offered and she made, I thought, a really powerful, well thought out statement that just said, “I didn't really do my homework fully here and this is upsetting because I upset people that I did not want to upset” and it owned the mistake, and just you know, said that she would be more careful moving forward and you know, like, I just think that's something that I appreciate someone that can stand up and apologize when they did something not fully thought out.
Jane
Yeah. Well, and I don't remember hearing anything about that, but like the Witches was based on a novel by Raold Dahl, whose prejudices are well known at this point.
Quinn
Yeah, so I I think it's… I don't think that Anne Hathaway should be held accountable for like production decisions that were probably outside of her control, but she still did take accountability. And I thought in a way that- I appreciated the thoughtfulness of the statement I ended up reading.
Jane
Yeah, I think that she's always been very good about responding to things which, like, maybe she just has a really good PR team. But like, she definitely always knows how to, like, stand up for herself when she needs to, but then also, you know, not just double down when she makes mistakes. And I think that's really great. I know she was like a really big advocate for legalizing gay marriage and things like that. Like, she's really been somewhat of an activist in terms of issues that she really cares about, which I think is great. She's just a really… seems like a really good role model to be a movie star. I mean, obviously she's not perfect. I don't think that anyone has a right to expect her to be perfect, but I did really appreciate that, like when Ocean's 8 came out and everybody was like, “Wow, Anne Hathaway is like, the best part of this movie that is a great movie and has a lot of great parts.” And then some people were like, “Yeah, she's the best part of every movie she's in. Why has it taken you this long to notice?” Like people kind of coming back around to being like, “Yeah, she's always been good. Why did we hate her?”
Quinn
Well, and I think it's fabulous because in that movie she plays an actress who you kind of think is going to be like, obnoxious and not really that great. And then she ends up being, like, essential to the con and…
Jane
Yes, I love that. And like I kind of wish that they had done something like that in Ella Enchanted with Parminder Nagra's character.
Quinn
Right.
Jane
Like, that's what they needed to do is like bring her back and have her be like, “Yeah, OK, you really hurt me. But now I'm gonna help you” kind of thing. Yeah.
Quinn
Well, yeah. And I mean, I guess I do feel like you tend to have things for actors and actresses that are older. You know, I think of a lot of your actor obsessions being, you know, people from a bygone era that were dead before you were born. I feel like Anne Hathaway has been an actress that sort of we've grown up with that we've sort of seen come of age - we remember a time before Anne Hathaway and saw her rise - that you've really enjoyed. And I think have looked at as like I would say, I think you're a particular fan of Anne Hathaway. And like I I think that that's that's interesting, and I'm curious if… you've probably already described many of the things that maybe have drawn you to her more so than like other actors of her generation.
Jane
Yeah, I would definitely… I mean, I'm sure there's bigger Anne Hathaway fans than me, I'm not like her number one fan or anything, but definitely she's one of the actors that I've been more of a fan of. And like, she's less than 10 years older than me, so she’s like pretty close to my generation and I think that a lot of it is that, like, she's an Old Hollywood fan, like she has a lot of those sensibilities of, like, the Old Hollywood actors. And I think that that is something that I've picked up on even without like that consciously being why I like her. But I do think that that has helped. That like she is definitely very modern, but in a way that takes things I liked about the older Hollywood style. Like I think she probably would say that she's more of a method actor and a lot of the actors I like are kind of before that became the norm. But like, I think she's still very much the like, get up there, say the lines and think about that rather than just being like, “I'm going to fully embody this character!” which is something that kind of irritates me about actors sometimes as being like, “I'm just becoming this person now.” It's like, I think she she's got that sort of line between herself and her characters that a lot of the like, more like modern stars… I mean, I'm, I know there's modern actors who are great, but I think the like movie star leading role people kind of rub me the wrong way sometimes. But like I think that she has similarities to like the old Hollywood stars that I'm a fan of, and sort of bridges that gap into the modern era, if that makes any sense? I truly don't know if I’m explaining this-
Quinn
I think that's all really interesting and I think makes a lot of sense. I think that's a cool observation and I'm just thinking tying it back to Ella Enchanted, I was thinking the last time I watched it specifically, I was like, what is different about Ella from Princess Mia? Like where… where are the lines there? And in truth, I think that there's a lot that's similar about Princess Mia and about Ella. And like I think that, yeah, that makes a lot of sense because I know that you really love like Cary Grant, for example, who I think Cary Grant has range and has performances that it's very transformative between roles, but he does have a brand and he has a style and like a lot of movies, it's like here's like a specific character, like this one's a scientist, this one's a teacher, this one's a, a that and we're just going to do the Cary Grant version of like that profession or like that. Like we're going to give him a few boundaries to work with that are like character defining traits, but then he's going to bring the Cary Grant brand to it. And they feel like that's almost what the transition from Princess Mia to Ella Enchanted is, is it's like, we're going to change the the formation of these characters in a little bit of different ways, and like I I notice like the Princess Mia, Lily friendship is kind of flipped in Ella Enchanted, and like Arieda is much more like Mia, and Ella is much more like Lily in that dynamic and like that, the fact that they're activists and like going to, like protests and stuff, I feel like kind of mirrors each other. But it's very much Anne Hathaway bringing the Anne Hathaway brand to each of those characters, and like they're both very Anne Hathaway. Like, you get her as a star, you get the brand of her, you get the identity of her while she's in kind of just these different formations of like, that protagonist character that leads the movie one way or the other.
Jane
Yeah, I think it's like there's certain movie stars who, just like, always play the same character. And it's like, OK, that's that actor, that's that actor, that's that actor, and it gets a little bit redundant. And then there's other actors who are like very much blend into their roles, which if it's done well, I think that that's really good and I really appreciate that. Like, I like Meryl Streep, and like those kind of like… really good. But I think there's some actors who are like, “I'm just going to be completely different in this movie!” and it just, like, doesn't quite… gel with me, I guess? I don't know. But like, I think my favorite kind of actors tend to be the ones where, like you can always tell it's them, but they're doing different things and like they're very versatile within their wheelhouse, like it's not they're doing the same thing every time, but at the same time they they bring themselves to it. And I think that that that Anne Hathaway is very much like that. Because obviously like playing Fantine in Les Mis is very different from playing Ella in Ella Enchanted like they're completely different characters. And I'm not saying like, “Ohh yeah, but it was just Anne Hathaway doing that.” Like, she's a good actress. But I guess I just, I feel like I get her persona a little bit more and like I… I don't want to say it like I'm trying to like insult any actors, but I just think that I tend to resonate with the ones that are more in the style of the Old Hollywood people who were like themselves, like you were saying bringing Cary Grant brand to different characters and I think Anne Hathaway has a very strong star personality and I think that that really comes out in the Ella Enchanted commentary and I think that it's very telling that that was like so early in her career because it was only a few years after Princess Diaries. But she was already like, “This is me. This is who I am. I'm a fully formed person and I'm not going to let Hollywood mess me up too much,” I think, because I think a lot of people fame can really go to their head. And I think that, I mean, there's no way for it not to a little bit, but I feel like… at least the way she comes across, I'm not claiming to know her, but I feel like Anne Hathaway has- seems to have kept her integrity throughout the fame. And I really respect that and it's been really fun to see that like through the ups and downs of her career so far, and I'm sure there's much more to come from her, she's not that old, so I'm sure she'll be-
Quinn
Right. No, we're it's not… this is not a memorial of Anne Hathaway. But yeah, I think that makes sense. It's interesting to hear what's really attractive about her from your perspective. Because I I, I think that does make a lot of sense, and I really do kind of see her as someone in that that just kind of feels right, you know, in thinking about Anne Hathaway as someone who's sort of… is in the older school of, you know, being that type of star, and I really do think that that's some of her best strengths as an actor and that she's she's immediately someone familiar. Like she, we've grown up with her on screen in various roles and like I think that that is something that a lot of those older actors really bring to like a sense of familiarity, and that allows you to really get into the story because they have such potent brands and their brands are not necessarily like “I'm a completely different person in everything I'm in.” Like I'm almost like Meryl Streep is an actress who people talk about as being very transformative. I almost think like Nicole Kidman is kind of that actress. I'm just like, “Satine is the same person as Virginia Woolf?!” Like she's someone to me that I'm like, Nicole Kidman could be anybody, like…
Jane
Yeah, or like Daniel Day-Lewis.
Quinn
Yeah. Yeah, like additional people.
Jane
And like, no offense to them like, I think they're amazingly talented and I-
Quinn
I think what you're describing is like actors that maybe don't have the ability to be that transformed or just like are overcommitted to the process, to the point where it's just like an excuse to be mean to people. Like Jared Leno.
Jane
Oh yeah, everybody who's played the Joker has been like, “I'm going to use this to be mean to people.” So yeah, there are definitely actors who do that really well and like, all power to them, tons of respect. But I think that there's some actors that just try to do stuff throughout their career that I'm just sort of like, that's fine, but I don't really like love that as much. And I think that in the Princess Diaries 2 commentary Anne Hathaway talks quite a bit about old movies that she likes. And I think that that is sort of what has given me the impression of, like, oh, that's why I like her. Because she also is taking from these old movies. And I think that a lot of the more modern actors who I like have something in common with the Old Hollywood style of acting.
Quinn
Is this the first Anne Hathaway movie on the podcast?
Jane
I think so.
Quinn
Oh!
Jane
I think it's only this and Princess Diaries.
Quinn
OK. That makes sense that I haven't really heard your thoughts about Anne Hathaway on the podcast yet. Another comment that I wanted to make about Anne Hathaway's performance style: I actually see a lot of similarities to Ginger Rogers and like how you were describing Ginger Rogers was like, at least perceived by Katharine Hepburn at like the time of Stage Door. I can see some similarities in like how they came across, and I think Anne Hathaway is less known for her dancing, but just the, you know, the really like competent professional model that can deliver really versatile performances and kind of has a few like tricks. And it's not just the acting, it's also the singing, or also the dancing or both. I I see, I see there being something sort of similar between the two of them.
Jane
Yeah. And just like that, people wanted to work with them. Because I think that was part of Katherine Hepburn's issues earlier in her career is that she was very difficult to work with, which like I understand like-
Quinn
[laughing] I can't imagine Katharine Hepburn being difficult.
Jane
I know, right?
Quinn
That's why she's the perfect Susan Vance!
Jane
She was like like, I mean, obviously I feel like even now women are not treated very well in Hollywood. And back then, it was very bad in a lot of ways. And so, like, I can't really fault her for like, standing up for herself, and that got you labeled as difficult, so I think some of it was that, but I think also just like I think Ginger Rogers would have been willing to be friends with her, and she was very much like, “No. We are not friends.” Based on Anne Hathaway’s commentary, like, it seems like she’s very gracious towards everybody she was working with and like, I mean, maybe there's people out there who've worked with Anne Hathaway who were like, “Oh, no, she was horrible.” But I don't think I've heard any stories about her actually being hard to work with, whereas like some stars like I just off the top of my head, Christian Bale comes to mind of like crew members being like, “He just always yells at us” and stuff like that, and I think that like easy to work with for actresses can be code for just like very compliant and never standing up for themselves. And I don't think that that's what Anne Hathaway is like. But I do think that, yeah, she's more of a Ginger Rogers than a Katharine Hepburn in terms of like people want to work with her. So yeah, I think that's a good, that's a good analogy to draw. We’ve talked a lot about Anne Hathaway, but I think she deserves it.
Quinn
Yeah, well, I'm… knowing that this is her debut on your countdown, I I feel like she's somebody that I think of as a modern interest of yours. Someone who's still alive that you like and follow to some extent.
Jane
Yeah, well, there's- when I keep track of the movies I watch, there are certain actors who I update every year when I update my spreadsheet of like how many movies I've seen of theirs and how many times, and like list out like which movies I've seen which number of times for each of them, and most of the actors I track are from Old Hollywood. There's a few more modern ones. Yeah, Anne Hathaway is definitely one of those. And I think that also like being introduced to her along with Julie Andrews, like I wasn't a huge Julie Andrews fan before Princess Diaries. And so I think that like that movie, which I will talk about later, but that really made me really like both of them. And so I kind of think of like, me being a fan of Anne, starting at the same time as Julie Andrews. And so they kind of, like, go together in my mind. And I think having this other movie that's kind of similar to Princess Diaries in that she's playing sort of a princessy type character, but different soon after that really helped fuel my interest in like, keep my interest in Anne Hathaway after Princess Diaries.
Quinn
Yeah, it's honestly beautiful in many ways to think about that pairing for Princess Diaries cause I think I'm sure you're not alone in some way in that story of being introduced to both of them at the same time, or reintroduced, I think a lot of people probably know the Sound of Music and Mary Poppins at least. But yeah, I mean, I think that it's very cool that like, what a great, you know, way to burst onto the Hollywood scene than with the Julie Andrews movie and yeah, I think it's cool to think of how a lot of people must have become fans of both of them at the same time and must kind of attach these two very talented women who have both dominated the entertainment industry for quite some time. I think it's, yeah, it's, it's cool to think about that that's where Anne Hathaway started in a lot of homes.
Jane
Yeah, you know, and Julie Andrews continues to have a career, but also is more known for being sort of at the end of the classic Hollywood era, and that she similarly burst onto the scene with a big role that made her an instant star because-
Quinn
And that was sort of a kids’ movie too.
Jane
Yeah, yeah, exactly. It was a Disney movie. And so like to start as the star of a Disney movie and then just kind of go from there. And Julie Andrews has also had many ups and downs in her career with people loving her and then not liking her that much and like that has happened to her as well, which I think it happens to anybody if you're around long enough. But yeah. So I think that having that connection to Old Hollywood directly also seems more of my jam. And it was fun for me to see somebody closer to my age also talking about liking old movies and things like that. I'm like, OK, cool. I'm not alone in being interested in Old Hollywood, as a younger person who's still alive. And I'm sure that there's a lot of other actors who feel similarly also, like I think you kind of have to if you know your craft, you're going to have seen older movies. But yeah, I think she's been open about like, “Yeah, I I like Audrey Hepburn” and things like that, so…
Quinn
I was going to say she does give me a very Audrey Hepburn type vibe, but like almost like spunkier than Audrey Hepburn but Audrey Hepburn was pretty spunky too, so I wouldn't. I wouldn't take that away from her.
Jane
Yeah.
Quinn
To completely change the subject: amatonormativity. This movie is a love story. How do you feel about that?
[both laugh]
Jane
Yeah, it is definitely a love story. I do think that it's interesting that like, Ella does not at any point set out to find love. She does fall in love with Char definitely, but that's not her objective. Like it's an important part of this story, but ultimately like, that's not what the story's about. Like, I think it's much more about her curse and trying to break away from her having to be obedient.
Quinn
And really, her learning to use love as a tool to be the, you know, the most, like, actualized curse-liberated version of herself. I think that that's like important, too. Like she she realizes that love is something that she wants in her life, like a romantic love is something that she she wants and that that is sort of how she learns to use love as a way to break the curve.
Jane
Yeah and I feel like it's never really been an option for her up until that point, because I think that one of two things would happen. Either she would marry someone who would then, like, completely take advantage of her curse and just-
Quinn
Yes, that would be very scary for her.
Jane
Or she would end up really hurting her partner by having to do stuff because someone else told her to, and that kind of almost happens the second one. Because Char is very kind and understanding and like even there's certain moments in the movie when he like says something and she starts to do it and he's like “That wasn't an order. Like, I'm not trying to make you do stuff you don't want to do.”
Quinn
He's very taken aback by her in all ways because he's used to women throwing themselves at him and so he's very taken aback that Ella doesn't do that at the beginning. And then he's taken aback when she's like overly compliant on things that he meant as more like suggestions and just like interpersonal interactions.
Jane
Yeah.
Quinn
There's a lot of commands and casual conversation we learn through Ella Enchanted.
Jane
And I think they do a really good job with that and there's this great moment when he says, “You have to stay,” and she's like, “OK, I'll stay.” And he's like, “Well, no, you don't HAVE to stay.” And she's like, “OK” and she, like starts to leave. He's like, “But I would like you to stay.” And then she does. And I think that she really appreciates that he wants to give her her own agency when she's never been able to have that. But then of course, Edgar manipulates it and tries to get her to kill Char, and I think that that is part of why she was like, “it's not good that I'm in love with him” cause she knew something that could happen. I don't think she anticipated it happening quite like that or quite that soon. So I think it's very strong of her to allow herself to fall in love with Char and then to be able to overcome the curse, fully break it, rather than killing him, and… side note: another of my favorite parts of the commentary is when she says “I do love you, Char,” and then she raises the knife cause she's like being forced to. And in the commentary, the director goes, “I'm just not in love with you.” It's like, that's what you do. You kill them when you say that!
Quinn
It's iconic.
Jane
It's great. But anyway, she is in love with him and so I think that again a lot of what I'm learning through this project is a lot of my favorite love stories are the ones where like falling in love is not the path that they were supposed to go on. Like with Sound of Music like she wants to be a nun. She's not supposed to fall in love with anyone. And then she does. And I think that often with amatonormativity the path is like you are going to fall in love and get married and have kids. And for Ella that's not her path at all initially. And so I think I really enjoy stories where people are forging their own path and not doing what society or other people around them tell them to do. Which is especially poignant in this movie because she literally has to do what everybody tells her to do for most of the story. And so I think that like, because there are all these things about like why, not only should she not end up with Char, she shouldn't end up with anybody. And so I think seeing like, but she wants to and she makes that happen for herself is more powerful than a lot of the like, typical romantic stories where it's like, maybe these two people are pulled apart by various forces, but like, they're going to find someone and marry someone. That's less interesting to me than stories like this.
Quinn
That's interesting.
Jane
But again, it's like there is the romantic element of it, but there's so much more going on and it's so much more about Ella finding herself and finding her own voice when she's being constantly talked over and drowned out. And I think that that's…that's what I like about this story. And like the love story is incidental. But I do think that it's good that Char is so much kinder to her than most of the other people she encounters besides Slannen I guess.
Quinn
Other than the romantic relationship, what are your favorite relationships in Ella Enchanted?
Jane
Ooh, that's a good question… ha, Edgar and his snake?
Quinn
You know that's a good one. I honestly think I might like the Ella and Mandy relationship.
Jane
Oh, yeah.
Quinn
I know it's not emphasized much, but you can just tell that they have a good rapport. I I guess I like Minnie Driver and Anne Hathaway in scenes together, they seem to really have a good chemistry, but yeah, I I like, I like that bond. I think that the step sister bond is funny and interesting. One of my least favorite relationships is the relationship between the father and Ella? Like he is so weird, like because he does- you get the sense he cares about her, and is like mildly intelligent. He's just, like, distant, like, absent, like always on on the road. So he can't be involved in the home situation, but like he's kind of a little weird.
Jane
Yeah, he- Well, he's very underdeveloped. And I also think it's very interesting how like, it takes him a really long time to notice that she's gone and you just see, like, this one random scene where he's, like, talking to the stepmother and “Where's Ella?” And she's just like, “Oh, she's off with Hattie and Olive, it's fine.” And it's like she's been gone for many days at this point. Like, did you just notice that she left?
Quinn
[stepmother impression] “She’s taking a tour of the castle.”
Jane
[continues stepmother impression] “With Hattie and Olive.” I mean, Joanna Lumley just is very, very funny.
Quinn
It's honestly the main performance of hers that I think of. I feel like this is very embarrassing. I know she's in lots of other things, but I mainly think of Joanna Lumley as an Ella Enchanted actress.
Jane
I mean, I feel like most of the people in this movie, there's like two different levels of people. It's like either, “Oh yeah, from Ella Enchanted!” or like, “They were in Ella Enchanted?!”
Quinn
Yeah, there are two choices.
Jane
Yeah, except for like Anne Hathaway, obviously it’s like, I know she's in Ella Enchanted, but I don't automatically think of Ella Enchanted. But like Hugh Dancy…
Quinn
He’s Prince Char!
Jane
He's just so ingrained in Ella Enchanted for me and I think that like, obviously, Anne Hathaway is the main star of this movie, but Hugh Dancy does a great job and I think he does a good job also of like stepping back and letting her be the lead of the movie.
Quinn
Yeah, he's really fantastic and I like the character of Char and it's all a yes for me on the Prince Char front. And I think like their relationship feels very earned throughout the movie. And I agree, you know, I think that it's like, ugh does every movie have to have a romance? Like there is a a quality of like, this probably didn't need to be there, but it is, but I think it's an earned relationship. I think you can see how they're both willing to be supportive of each other. I think you can see how they're helping each other grow. I think that Ella really does challenge Char’s complacency in his privilege. And I think that, I don't know what does Char really do for Ella? Um...
Jane
He saves her!
Quinn
Oh yes, he does save her from the ogres. I think that she does view the world in a really adversarial terms because she has to, to, like, protect herself, and I think that he kind of helps her bring down her walls a little bit. I think you see that throughout the course of the movie. So, yeah, I think they're both, like, really enriching each other's lives in a way that is nice, and they have good chemistry. I feel like I would watch the Hugh Dancy/Anne Hathaway rom com in the future, like I would see them paired up in another movie.
Jane
Yeah, I think that that one objection that I tend to have for a lot of especially rom coms, but romantic movies in general is that a lot of times I feel like the relationship between the leads is actually kind of toxic if you think about it and, like…
Quinn
Yes, it's true.
Jane
…one of them is stalking the other, like something really creepy is happening that you're supposed to think is cute, and I don't feel like we get that with the Ella Enchanted one. I feel like they have a really good organic falling in love. And also like with a lot of Cinderella adaptations, I feel like the Prince is usually very underdeveloped as a character.
Quinn
And it's we talked about this when we watched all the Disney movies. Like it's probably one of the biggest flaws in the Disney Cinderella, which is sort of a standard classic interpretation of Cinderella. I think there's other versions of Cinderella that improve on it a little bit, but there's frankly many that follow in the same footsteps of having kind of an anonymous prince.
Jane
Yeah. And like on the one hand, that's fine, cause it's Cinderella's story. But on the other hand, I'm like, this is very much Ella’s story, but I feel like we understand who Char is and he's very well developed and their relationship is very well developed. Like we have many scenes together. At first, like she really doesn't like him. It's a trope that happens in many romantic films of like initially one of them is like, “Ugh, I hate you,” and then they get together eventually. But I think it's very gradual and just feels very organic and it makes sense. And so yeah, I I am in favor of their romance. Like I-
Quinn
Well, and he's also, not looking at Ella as a conquest, even though it's very clearly established when they meet that like she's not into him and he is sort of like allured by that because he's very used to like running from a screaming horde of fans. And so, like, you can tell that he's both like this is of interest to him that Ella has resistance to him because it's unusual, but it's not like- There's a very easy way to make that character very toxic then, and to say, like, oh, I'm going to conquest this, and I don't think that that's how he feels about her. And it's really they don't cross paths again until he's saving her life from the ogre. So there's like a very good, like, high stakes reason for him to intervene in her life at that time. Like, there's not, like, a creepy, like, I'm gonna get that girl who resisted me.
Jane
Well, and he doesn't know the full story of what she's doing because she's not allowed to tell anyone about the curse. But like he's willing to help her find her fairy godmother, like, basically no questions asked. And you don't ever get the impression that he's, like, doing it to like, because there's, you know, the whole friend zone of, like, “I was nice to her, and now she's not sleeping with me.” Like you don't get the impression that he's helping her to get in her pants or anything. Like he really wants to help her.
Quinn
Yeah, there's not really any like subversive stuff that you feel like subversive motivation that he has that you sense he has ever.
Jane
Yeah, yeah, I think they do a really good job of that of like, I think he would be OK with being her friend and advocate.
Quinn
Well, yeah, and you get the sense that he wants a peer to, like, talk to because he can't talk to any other young women because they're too busy, like screaming about him.
Jane
Yeah.
Quinn
Like, I don't… I can't imagine he's having, like, really deep conversations with a lot of the other people that are in the fan club that are just like, “Char’s naked in the shower?!” and like, just like screaming. Like literally screaming and like chasing him down. Like I think if there's anything that Ella Enchanted is a cutting analysis on stan culture because they really put the stans out there and say “You're blowing your shot by acting this way. It's not cute!”
Jane
Yeah, and I I think he also he's like tired of being overly sexualized. And so the fact that she sees him as a person is really like not just to turn on for him. Like obviously that's part of it. And like he falls in love with her partly because she is not screaming at him. But I think, like, just they're able to get to know each other, person to person, and that's really what you feel like their falling in love is is like now that I know you as a person, I really have this deep connection with you, and I think they have some great scenes together that really show that. So again, I like that the romance isn't the main part, but I also really like the way they do the romance in this movie. So I think it gets a pass from me of being like this is a good romance movie.
Quinn
The Jane Ace star.
Jane
Yes, exactly! You could be aroace and still appreciate the relationship that they have.
Quinn
The aroace sealed romance.
Jane
There you go. And, yeah, I do think that there's other good relationships. I really wish that the Ella/Areida relationship was better developed because I would really like to have that strong female friendship because again there’s… it is a female driven story, but the secondary characters that are more developed tend to be male characters like Slannen and the ogre Nish…
Quinn
Edgar.
Jane
Edgar, yeah. Whereas like you have, like, the stepmother and the step sisters who are great. And then...
Quinn
And and Minnie driver, you have Mandy.
Jane
Mandy, yeah, but I would love to see more from them.
Quinn
And Lucinda.
Jane
Yeah, but Lucinda is, I think every moment she has great.
Quinn
And there could be more diversity in the cast, too. That's also a critique.
Jane
Yeah, always. But at least they're not all white.
Quinn
It's true there is some diversity.
Jane
Minimal diversity, but yeah, yeah, absolutely. More diversity, would love to see a… like because everybody kind of, not everybody, but some of the other characters get paired up because you have that random like Slannen and Heidi Klum thing. It was like he could have found a man to be with. Like we could have some, queer pairings here. I mean it’s fine. I think that like I do enjoy this movie on its own. I don't feel like it would have made it into the Top 40 without the commentary.
Quinn
Well, yeah. And I think I think it's probably like a less polished version of, like, Mamma Mia in the sense of like, I imagine, like, you would watch this movie for similar reasons that you would watch something like Mamma, Mia and maybe Mamma Mia is just like a little bit sharper of a movie. Although it is also, I think in the same like it's kind of stupid at times and like embraces being stupid and yeah, it's like it's a random musical for no real reason. It's fun and so I feel like that's why it's also easy to watch the commentary because that just like makes it more fun.
Jane
Right, yeah.
Quinn
And so, you know, I think I agree, I don't know that this is like the best movie on its own. But I think the combination of it being a lot of fun, having fun commentary, sort of striking some of the same balance of like Mamma Mia and other movies that have ended up high in your countdown. That could be what it is. It's just it's just the right cocktail of all of those things.
Jane
Yeah. Well, I think it's very chaotic and eclectic, but ultimately, like everybody was making the same movie. And I think that really helps that like, yes, there's all these different pieces and all these different things going on. Which I guess is kind of what makes it feel a bit more old movie-ish that there's like this very convoluted plot of several different characters doing things. But yeah, everybody, I feel like everybody was on the same page. Everybody knew what movie they were making. They knew it was kind of silly and not really that amazing. And they were all just OK with that. And I think that really makes it work a lot better than it would have if people were like, yeah, this is whatever a trashy movie, we're just gonna get paid. And I feel like everybody was just like, we're gonna show up, we're gonna have a good time. And yeah, I think that that really comes across to the audience and that's what makes it an enjoyable movie, despite not being a great movie.
Quinn
Yeah. Sounds like the right recipe to end up on your countdown.
Jane
Yes, exactly. So thank you so much for being here with me and talking for a very long time about this movie that we both love.
Quinn
Thank you so much for having me. This was a lot of fun. I love discussing anything related to Ella Enchanted.
Jane
Yes, and I'm so glad that you were here to discuss it with me.
Thank you to Quinn for all of your insights and questions, and thank you listeners for sticking through my longest episode yet. I hope it was still fun and interesting for you – it certainly was for me. Now that we’re in the top half of the list, I feel like I’m going to have more to say about each movie, so they will probably start trending a bit longer, although I’m sure my solo episodes will still be much shorter than this. But before we get back to just me talking I have one more special guest episode lined up, so stay tuned for another long one next week, about a very different type of film. As always, I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “She may be risking her life, but when it comes to being a lady, she doesn’t hold a candle to your wife, sir, sitting in Washington, playing bridge with three other ladies of great honor and virtue.”
#ella enchanted#anne hathaway#the rewatch rewind#sorry i've been posting these late#special guest episodes take a long time to transcribe#i should get caught up soon
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Dracula (1931) movie review by someone who's been reading Dracula Daily
So, a few days ago I watched the 1931 Dracula film. The one with Bela Legosi. I had actually seen the movie before several years ago, but I didn't remember very much of it, and of course I hadn't read the book back then. Now that I've been doing Dracula Daily, let me give my thoughts on the film. SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE AND IF YOU'RE NOT CAUGHT UP ON DRACULA DAILY
The thing that made me the most mad about this adaptation is that Lucy's storyline is just glossed over. Like, she appeared in literally one scene, and then in the next the doctors are over her body and declare her dead. That's it! No emotional impact whatsoever! Lucy has maybe two minutes of screentime at most, and her death does not effect the other characters at all. It's like she was an afterthought on the writers' part. Like they're making the script and someone was like 'oh wasn't there like that one girl that Dracula kills? Maybe we should mention that somewhere.' 'Ok, Joe we'll get a girl off the street to do the scene before lunch.' It was so infuriating! In the book, Lucy's death was the driving force that lead the main characters to hunt Dracula down. She was so beloved by all the characters, but here??? She's just another nameless victim of the vampire.
Ok, now that I got the factor I hated the most out of the way, I'll bring up my second most hated. Mina's entire character has been reduced to the typical damsel-in-distress archetype. She's no longer the courageous, intelligent, gender nonconforming woman she is in the original story. Instead they made her the same helpless, screaming woman that they show in every horror film in the 30's. Just about every scene she's in, she's crying or screaming her husband's name or being under the complete control of Dracula. She has no agency, and she doesn't do anything to drive the plot forward. My point is the female characters were done dirty this movie.
Arthur and Quincey are completely omitted. No fun cowboy or rich some guy shenanigans to be found here.
Jack Seward is an old man, and about the same age as Van Helsing, which completely changes the dynamic between the two. Instead of having a teacher-mentor relationship with a very strong familial bond, instead they just sorta act like business partners??? Like, if I hadn't read the book I wouldn't have any idea that these two were supposed to have a close friendship. Also they made him Mina's father for some reason???
Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Dwight Frye as Renfield were by far the most entertaining aspects of the movie. Lugosi does a legitimatly good job portraying such a creepy and otherworldly character, and I can see why this is his most famous film role. And Frye's performance as Renfield, I'd argue is even creepier. He makes a very good madman. But as good as these actors were, my biggest gripe is that their characters got WAY too much screentime. The filmmakers decided to give all the spotlight to the villains when they should've focused more on Jonathan and Mina. Or, ya know, LUCY!!!
As for Jonathan, his character was fine I guess. They kinda watered him down to just the concerned husband who has to save his screaming helpless wife. At least he actually cares about Mina, and they didn't make him a heartless douche like in some adaptations. Still, he's pretty bland, which is sad because he had such a rich character in the book.
Van Helsing was also fine. He was basically the only character who moved the plot forward. His interactions with Dracula were also pretty cool, and the two had the sort of nemesis chemistry that became iconic in later adaptations of Dracula. Still wish they had given that same kind of chemistry with the other characters.
The sets in this movie were great! The castle at the start of the film is like something out of a nightmare, and it sets the mood for the whole film. There's also the lack of a music score, which makes the film all the more unsettling. I'll give the filmmakers props for that.
I did not care for how they did Renfield's death in this movie. They still had him betray Dracula to protect Mina, but they had him die begging for mercy and pledging his loyalty to Dracula. They made him die a coward instead of fighting the bat bitch himself like a Chad. RIP Renfield, you did not deserve to be disrespected like this.
The pacing of this movie was really weird?? The runtime is under 80 minutes, which is no where near enough to cover all the plot points from the OG story. So they just kinda move from one plot point to the next w/o much of a transition. Like the whole thing with Lucy. And even Dracula's attack on Mina happened offscreen and was only mentioned by the characters later. I really wish they had made this a series of movies instead of compiling everything into an hour.
Overall, its a fine movie on its own. But as an adaptation of Dracula? Awful. At least there's no Dracmina romance subplot in this version. But they basically watered down every character to fit a horror film archetype, and put way too much focus on the villains instead of the main characters. 4/10
#dracula daily#dracula#dracula spoilers#movie review#dracula daily spoilers#bela lugosi#jonathan harker#mina harker#lucy westenra#abraham van helsing#jack seward#rm renfield#dracula adaptations
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complicated enid blyton feelings
now that the second season of the cbbc malory towers adaptation is out i have just been lounging about Thinking about blyton and how formative she was in molding my personality.
it was wild to me when I heard that in the west, librarians would refuse to stock her books stating that they had no literary merit but like. they’re STILL being read by millions of children in the commonwealth countries that britain exploited in the first place almost a whole century later and that Has to count for something. There’s something about them in a fundamental sense that captures their imaginations and makes them revel in the world.
i remember my father being really disappointed in me as a child for not reading as much indian authors. but what i was looking for wasn’t the bleakness of the everyday life i was already living but the novelty of rolling moors and islands and treasures and in a world where children seemingly had agency and power.
This is a lofty comparison to make but the reverence with which the characters take delight in simple food, nature, animals etc. feels almost ghibli-esque. I had a conversation with a friend the other day about how publishing trends lately especially for fantasy always come with the baggage of war and epic conflict and heavy plot that must keep going. Gone are the days of say Tamora Pierce books where you got to soak in the atmosphere and really feel a slice of life within that world.
I think the malory towers adaptation did a Great job at translating the books to television. I was surprised but pleased that they didn’t modernise it and kept it set in the 30s/40s just after war. And there is actual mention of war and rationing and financial trouble that add depth to the story. Darrell is exactly as I imagined her. Gwendolyn’s actress did an amazing job especially in season 2. And those lush Cornwall seaside pools and the towers themselves look just as gorgeous as I’d imagined if not more like seriously the location is bonkers. The cast is quite diverse as well- and much more accurately representative of what these boarding schools were like more than what blyton ever wrote lol. My one production gripe is I wish they made the school look more populated lol. Only the ten girls in the form were shown at all times so it all felt a bit emptier than I remember from the books.
They had to tweak a lot of the plots from the books to pad out runtime. Interestingly they cut out Mamzelle Dupont and sort of merged her with Matron. I found the plot of Pamela becoming a debutante especially jarring. But otherwise I think the show did a great job at capturing the friendship dramas and the childlike innocence and wonder of this world. Oh! And they gave Darrell dyslexia which I thought was an interesting choice.
Also. These girls are gay fr fr. Mary Lou has a crush on Darrell. Darrell has a crush on Alicia and Alicia knows it but only takes advantage of it sometimes. Alison from St Claires is also the gayest person i’ve ever read. And of course Miss Peters lesbian. Bill and Clarissa literally go live at a stable together after graduating. I found the lack of heterosexual romance in both these and all of blyton’s work SO refreshing.
Another thing I would grow up to find uncommon that blyton did right is an all girls cast or equally coed cast. There is little I hate more than the Smurfette syndrome trope. Also!! While there might be a bit of internalised misogyny in the way George from famous five is written but god!!! the way she’s written is transgressive and amazing even by today’s standards. I sought so much comfort in her whenever I felt like i didn’t fit womanhood and wanted to do things outside my prescribed gender roles.
However books have this very queer and nebulous sense of moral up-righteousness about them. You can see it the most clearly in the school series I think where you’re supposed to be rich but not too rich, be clever but not too clever at your talent, be a schoolgirl first, be sensible, play games, get tan, have good parents not silly ones, you can’t be a crybaby when processing trauma etc.
And ofc her racism towards Romani people, black people.... I can’t remember if she’d mentioned indians but yeah. I was listening to Third Year at Mallory Towers recently and was a bit blown away about just how little Blyton thinks of America and American girls’ values. And towards make up and grooming. It was a bit funny to read actually. And idk what she’s got against kids who like poetry because I can think of 3 characters rn who are supposed to read as silly for liking poetry. Cyril from Six Cousins at Misltletoe farm, that one girl from St Clairs with the dark eyebrows and light hair, and Ernie from Five FindOuters.
Anyway yeah... I reread two books recently and cried at one of them.
Six Cousins at Mistletoe farm was just as weird as I remembered. That scene of Jack being ashamed of his dirty sister when his friend came to visit was so weird sjdhfsjf why was that boy so interested in Melisande lmfao.
Family at Red Roofs was special to me even as a child. It was less meaty than I remembered but it still hit me and hurt when tragedy suddenly strikes and the children try to grow up and have each other to lean on. That scene where Jenny Wren says if u don’t want me just say so... i’ll stay here and help u out in a fix because fair is fair. Man... and when the younger two ate to cheer up the older two and the older two ate to cheer up the younger two. I remember being very fond of Mike as a kid and his business venture.
I think as a kid I used a lot of my imagination to fill in the sparse spaces between the description that blyton offered. Now that I look at work in a more of a mise en scene kind of way it’s different i think
Anyway. Here’s a cookie if u read all that there was no thesis statement to all this.
#enid blyton#malory towers#bbc malory towers#darrell rivers#six cousins at mistletoe farm#family at red roofs#my writing#texties
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Marinette The Perfect Daughter In Law: A Prompt
[ I've seen a few ‘everyone loves Marinette AU’s’ and a couple Marvel DC ‘all the mentors want THEIR kid to end up with Marinette AU’s’ and well frankly! I felt inspired! So I present to you my new prompt / AU thing! In which all the most powerful / rich / popular people in Paris decide to play matchmaker… ]
It starts when Adrien and Kagami have a less than AMICABLE break up according to their parents and the media anyway in reality it was a really REALLY dull break up. The pair have been ‘dating’ (using each other as an excuse to go out and experience normal teenage stuff) since they were 15. Now at 17 soon to be 18 the pair decided to publicly break up in order to pursue other people and interests. The problem is they never told their parents the truth so both Gabriel and Kagami’s mother Tomeo feel protective and concerned about what must surely be an upsetting first heartbreak for their child. And okay maybe both parents take that out on each other and both get a bit defensive and protective. And MAYBE it ends with Tomeo vowing to get revenge for her daughter. Enter, Marinette. Up and coming fashion designer for the rich and famous! She’s single, talented, and as far as Tomeo knows Gabriel is interested in the girl for her talent. So what better revenge could exist but having Marinette take an interest in Kagami!
Kagami has no idea why her mother suddenly has an interest in Marinette but she wont complain about having more time with her very cute designer friend. And all the outfits Tomeo is paying Marinette to make for Kagami is giving the young fencer plenty of up-close and personal moments with Marinette. And okay Marinette is VERY cute and Kagami wont question why she suddenly has all this tine with Marinette, eating ice cream with the girl and having brunch. But she knows shes absolutely head over heels when Marinette shows up at her fencing tournament gives her a luck charm and cheers her on wearing HER colors. Obviously Kagami wiped the floor with all the competition she cant be seen hesitating in front of Marinette!
On Tomeo’s side of things she makes sure that the paparazzi still lurking around after Kagami and Adrien’s breakup catch photos of what could easily be interpreted as dates between the girls. After all this is a revenge ploy but also Marinette is fantastic so Tomeo is 300% down with Kagami ‘bringing her into the family’ something she tells Kagami after the first paparazzi ‘date photos’ leak into the news. Kagami still has no idea this was an orchestrated affair and just thinks her mothers caught on to her feelings and is overjoyed that Marinette is approved of because after the cheek kiss Marinette gave her for winning the fencing tournament Kagami was preparing to fight her mother for the right to pursue the young designer seriously. After all she never hesitates!
But Tomeo never realized Gabriel isnt the only one interested in Marinette. Audrey Bourgeouis has been keeping an eye on Marinette trying to find a way to get Marinette on to her side and away from Gabriel. So when she sees the photos of Kagami and Marinette she sees an opportunity. After all if Marinette isnt exclusively into men (and those photos of her flushed cheeks as Kagami cleans ice cream off her bottom lip are a clear indication shes not) then Audrey smells opportunity. After all Marinette was Chloe’s first crush! How cute would that be! The next day Marinette is being offered yet another opportunity to intern under Audrey this time with much looser restrictions. When Marinette accepts she suddenly finds herself working with Chloe… A LOT. The pair are modeling together, often paired together for shoots in perfect complementary clothes that screams ‘opposites attract’. Chloe is also helping manage Marinette’s brand and the two start to get along very well. The model photos and their business lunches are soon plastered alongside the Kagami and Marinette outings with parisian gossip blogs finding their interest picked by this potential love triangle.
Chloe for one, was confused at first. Sure she knew her mom was interested in Marinette but she never thought SHE would be working so closely with her first crush. And Chloe tries to ignore it, after all those are dead feelings! And Marinette woud never forgive her anyway so why even- Wait. Is that Marinette in a downright gorgeous golden dress? A-and she will be posing right next to Chloe for their shared shoot? Well… Chloe always thought herself deserving of royalty and damn if Marinette aint the princess of her dreams. Sorry Adriken’s you had your chance to get the girl, but now its winner keeps all and Marinette is the only prize shes interested in. For the record Alya is freaked out by Chloe being nice, but shes more weirded out by Chloe being protective and handsy and downright shamelessly flirty with Marinette. Audrey is pleased when she hears the news and is quick to give her daughter encouragement acting as if none of this was premeditated at ALL.
Oh but they have no idea that this is just the beginning. Because guess who's moved back into town. Adrien’s favorite cousin and aunty. And Felix’s mom is quite the busybody and dammit Felix needs friends! And maybe a cute girlfriend! And oh whos that pretty girl on the magazine cover? Marinette? The one her celebrity connections have nothing but praise for? Perfect! Shes invited to lunch with Felix and herself on friday to discuss movie costumes! And oh Audrey dear dont you think Marinette would look fabulous sandwiched between TWO blondes! Felix hasnt modeled in a while but come now. So suddenly Marinette is being spotted with Felix guiding him about paris and modeling with him AND Chloe under AUDREY’s brand NOT Gabriels.
Felix thought hed really hate Marinette; he tried to ignore her he really did. But shes funny, witty and sweet. Not to mention trustworthy, so a good candidate for a business partner. And thats it, but then he has to admit hes impressed when he rolls up to a photoshoot and Chloe! The definition of brat personified is acting… Bearable. Yes, somehow Marinette has done the impossible! She has tamed the beast known as Chloe. And yes fine he will admit shes drop dead gorgeous and how intelligent of her to learn all sides of the fashion industry and boost her rep with modelling! Soon hes spending more time with her, he tries to argue he needs a guide, that shes the most bearable person to be with! That she is just a friend- Oh god. No it cant be! He sounds like-! Like ADRIEN! And Chloe already told him about THAT mess! No! Absolutely not! He will not lead on Marinette like his idiot cousin! Marinette is a rare and beautiful woman! She could be his queen! And god he has to admit it much as he loathes too Marinette’s smile is enough to make him thank every non-existent god. He will win her heart, show her that she deserves better than his brain dead cousin! Felix is sure mother will approve of his decision to pursue the girl, now he just needs to do more shoots with Marinette...
And that's what finally gets Gabriel to snap. Because REALLY Felix!? Is there no loyalty to FAMILY. Not to mention he was totally drafting a potential contract for Marinette when Audrey snapped her up the witch! But its fine! Marinette has always been interested in Adrien! Surely she still is? Surely she's not been swayed by any of her new suitors! Right? Gabriel knows he can't mess with Audrey’s contract so he goes through Adrien, freeing up his sons schedule and telling him to spend time with Marinette to help her ‘adapt’ to the harsh world of fashion and modeling. He uses Adrien’s heroic nature to make it sound like hed be saving her from Chloe and Felix. And sure enough Adrien bites, using his friendship with Chloe to worm into fittings, meetings, and photo shoots. At first hes just there to make sure Chloe and Felix arent hurting sweet Marinette. But when he sees the blondes fighting for her attention, flirting with her, posing with her in some rather romantic settings. Suddenly hes less worried and more… Jealous? No! Not him! Hes concerned, confused, suspicious! Obviously he needs to spend more time with Mari- Wait! When did Kagami get here to take Marinette to lunch! And why are they all ignoring him!!!
Now Marinette is fully in the public's eye. Gossip blogs are being fed bits of info writing up each ‘candidates’ appeal as THE romantic partner to the Marinette Dupain-Cheng paris new darling, the girl with a heart of gold too oblivious to see the trail of hearts following her around! But there is still another contender yet to enter the game! Jaggeds been away on tour teaching Luka his up and coming protege all the tricks. And lets not lie Luka has his own fans now, enough to rival all the others. Jagged sees Luka as his own son, even calling him as much! Hell hes even adopted Luka and Juleka and when I say adopted I mean Jagged literally got shared custody of the kids when their real dad tried to start trouble once Luka started gaining fame. Luka and Juleka for one love their adopted father and his wonderful fiance Penny. But back to Jagged, being Jagged.
The moment Jagged is back in Paris he's checking up on his favorite designer and hopefully future daughter in law! When… WHAT'S THIS?! All the other ritchies in Paris are playing his game! Trying to get Marinette married into THEIR families! Not rock and roll at all! He was here first! And so being Jagged he decides to make Luka’s stake in the race for Marinette’s heart clear! By spamming social media with photos of Marinette being cute with Luka, taking his measurements, going out with him, the pair babying Fang, the two passed out against each other after a long concert. And he has photos going back at least a year or two! Soon Luka’s fans pick up the hype starting a trending hashtag finding the pair cute! Jagged feels confident that hes won! When Audrey retaliates, and from there its a complete train wreck. Before long each pair has a hashtag filled with cute moments and arguing over whos dating the model / fashion designer!
Meanwhile Adrien is drowning in denial as he goes through each hashtag seething about how many MORE photos everyone else has with Marinette, when HE is her very good friend and was here first! Felix, Chloe and Kagami on the other hand have declared open war after they tried to talk to each other about the hashtags reasonably only for it to devolve into “so you agree Marinette is best with me!” - “WHAT! No! Thats not what I said! Besides she clearly is best with me!” - “Ridiculous!” And so on. Poor Luka is having an entirely different reaction hiding in shame unsure how to face Marinette because he WAS going to ask her on a proper date now that she seems over Adrien, because even with everything she's the melody playing in his heart and he had a plan! But now his mom and sister are texting him and teasing him and apparently he has MORE competition! Who do these people think they are to deserve Marinette! No! Luka won't lose Jagged has been teaching him to be bold and confident! And Marinette is worth all of his efforts! Jagged REGRETS NOTHING even if Penny confiscated the tv remote!
Marinette meanwhile has no idea what's going on because the whole class made a dumb bet on when the designer would notice with one of the bet conditions being that no one could tip Marinette off and that they have to keep her away from Paparazzi so they dont spoil it either. And sense Alya is helping manage Marinette’s social media Marinette hasn't looked at it yet so she has NO idea what's happening. But her birthday is coming up next week and Chloe definitely didn't get dibs on planning a surprise party for her all so she could spoil the girl and RUB her GREAT relationship with Marinette into her competitions FACES! The competition however (and Adrien JustAfriend Agreste) have decided that they really aren't going down without a fight!
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#my fic#kagaminette#lukanette#adrienette#chlonette#chloenette#miraculous ladybug#marinette dupain cheng#everyone loves marinette#kagami tsurugi#adrien agreste#felinette#felix graham de vanily#chloe sugar#chloe bourgeois#ml prompt
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Spoiler warning
TL;DR horrible adaptation, but very enjoyable on it’s own
(Also just wanted to say I was so sure I was going to hate this bc of what’s different but they changed so much the cartoon and the live action are barely connected in my head)
Okay my review will be split up into two parts: fate: the winx saga as an adaptation and as a standalone work
As an adaptation:
0/10. Maybe 0.5 if I’m being generous.
The things that were unchanged from winx club:
There are characters named Bloom, Stella, Musa, Aisha, Sky and Riven
Aisha, Bloom, Stella and Sky resemble their cartoon counterparts
Riven is an asshole
Bloom is a dumbass
Magic exists
The specialists exist
Main characters go to schools for magic and specialists respectively
The dragon flame is a thing
Witches exist
Other than that it’s a completely different show. The plot vaguely resembles season 1 of winx club only in that Bloom is trying to discover her true heritage. Musa, who is supposed to of East Asian descent is not, Flora was not included and in her place is a different character with similar powers, Tecna was excluded entirely ( I believe this was to distance the show from the futuristic elements of winx club and focus only on fantasy, which doesn’t make sense since they changed Musa’s powers ).
The magic system was changed. Fairies don’t on the regular transform since in the show the know-how to do so was lost, though Bloom does unlock the ability in the finale. Instead of each being a fairy of an individual concept, everyone’s powers ale element based, with Musa’s powers being changed to her being an empath. While this does feel more generic, it makes more sense from a world building perspective and I can see why they changed it.
The fashion is horrible. You will never be able to convince me teenagers dress like that. One of the reasons the original cartoon was enjoyable was all the colourful, fun clothing. The clothes feel dated and too mature for the characters, like I can see a twenty-something person in 2013 wear some of those outfits. It especially feels like a missed opportunity since 2000’s fashion is coming back into style.
The characterization of some of the characters compared to winx club was hit and miss. Riven was an ass and Bloom was impulsive and naive, which is accurate, but Stella, oh Stella was a disappointment. Stella was a jealous, manipulative bitch, which in context of her character backstory makes sense, but is so far from her original portrayal. Cartoon Stella was spoiled and at times self centered, but she was also genuinely kind, helpful and bubbly. To see her character take a 180 and become the all too familiar jealous ex archetype was upsetting.
Now, aaaaall that being said, I don’t believe we should judge this as an adaptation. They changed so much that it is quite literally a new story. So let’s see how it stands up on it’s own.
Summary, taken from the wiki
The series tells the story of Alfea, a fictional boarding school where teenagers study. The world inside this universe is not only magical and full of monsters, but it is also a world of real teenagers who do the most common things: make friends and enemies, go out and of course... fall in love. They are eager to find their place in this world. This universe is different from the one we have all known for a long time.
The attention is focused on a group of proud teens, also well-designed female characters. Sometimes they are heroines, sometimes weak girls. Sometimes they are friends, sometimes rivals. Of course, they are not perfect, but they are real. A group of girls who did not know each other until they are included in the same team inside a school that is strange to them. They will meet forces that are beyond their control and things they do not understand. But, throughout the series, they will find themselves, form an indestructible bond, and transform into powerful and strong girls, ready to change not only the supernatural world, but also ours.
Character summary:
Bloom is a newly discovered fairy from the human world who is attending Alfea college in the otherworld. There she meets her new roommates: chatty Terra, athletic Aisha, uptight Stella and stand-offish Musa. She also meets Sky, Stella’s ex, who is training as a specialist.Shortly before coming to Alfea, Bloom discovers she has magic powers by almost burning her house down and killing her parents. She is distraught over this and it is why she is eager to gain control of her powers.It is discovered that Bloom is a changeling, a barbaric practice where a fairy baby is exchanged with a human one. This leads Bloom on a quest to discover her true heritage.
Musa is an empath, she can feel the feelings of everyone around her. To shut them out and escape she listens to music through her headphones. This leads to her initially coming off as uncaring when Terra tries to get to know her better.
Terra is an earth fairy with a particular talent for making plants grow. She is very nice and chatty, eager to make friends, but not afraid to stand up for herself. She struggles with finding someone to like her and compares herself to “cool girl” Beatrix who has boys following after her.
Aisha is a water fairy who swims twice a day every day. She comes off a a good person who wants to make friends and do the right thing. She also tries to do everything in her power to protect her friends.
Stella is a light fairy and princess of Solaria, the realm in which Alfea resides. She is repeating her first year due to an event prior to season one where she lost control of her powers and blinded her best friend. She is very uptight due to her perfectionist mother and tries to exert control in every other area of her life, when this doesn’t work, e.g. when someone flirts with her on-again-off-again boyfriend she gets jealous and causes trouble. She is also generally rude to the people around her.
Sky is a specialist legacy and Stella’s on-again-off-again boyfriend who has an interest in Bloom. His father was a famous specialist and he was raised by his father’s best friend.
Riven is Sky’s roommate, best friend and a genuine asshole. He insults and antagonizes everyone around him and gets involved with Beatrix. He seems dissatisfied with the life of a specialist.
Beatrix is an air fairy with a lightning powers. She seems mysterious and looks to be the villain of the season. She has enlisted the help of Riven and Dane.
Dane is a first year specialist who first seems to be friendly with Terra but gets sidetracked after spending time with Riven and Beatrix.
What I didn’t like:
The world building is sparse and the magic system is generic. I feel like things could have been better expanded upon. Throughout the show they bring up archaic fairy magic but it’s never really explained how that’s different from current fairy magic.
The interactions between Riven and Dane come off as a bit queerbait-y although they could be setting things up for a second season.
Everyone is constantly so rude towards Terra. Even her supposed friends are mean to her. What gives?
Stella was constantly rude to everyone but by the end they are all the best of friends when she really hasn’t changed much. Also Stella being the jealous controlling ex archetype and not enough people calling her out on her bullshit.
What I did like:
For a Netflix teen drama there is surprisingly little sex between the teenagers. This might be subjective but it was refreshing for me.
Again subjective but I could definitely relate to Bloom’s antisocial teen flashbacks
Beatrix was a fun villain
Though the story might be a little generic, I felt it was compelling throughout. I genuinely wanted to know what happened next.
The story was well paced. It never felt like anything was dragging along
Overall:
The show was definitely enjoyable to watch. There is a lot of room for improvement. It sometimes felt like different plot lines were unconnected and the costume choices leave a lot to be desired. Aside from that they set up a solid story and likable characters (some of whom I love love and love to hate) which I very much want to see further developed in the future. As a stand-alone work 6/10
#fate the winx saga#winx club#winx stella#winx bloom#winx sky#winx#winx riven#winx musa#winx terra#bad adaptation#good show#fate the winx saga review#winx review#fate the winx saga spoilers#winx spoilers
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Peter Parker - I’ll find my way to you(1)
Did I watch Far From Home and decided to write about it instead of doing responsable things? Of course. This will be a little different to what you’re used to do, becuase I’ll follow the movie and dialogues mostly, only that reader is the romantic interest instead of MJ. Hope you enjoy it, I’m really excited for this series!
If Tumblr fucks this fic up and doesn’t show the tags I’m suing them
Plot: Peter Parker couldn’t be more excited for the trip. It wasn’t only the best vacation he could dream of - I mean, Europe? Cool - but they also gave him the chance to spend more time with you, his new found crush that makes him stutter and blush. He should have known that something would get in the way.
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Spider Man far from home featuring Peter Parker as a clueless, cute baby and reader, who is Bucky Barnes’ daughter and as badass as her father.
Warnings: far from home spoilers - but come on, you’ve seen it.
“I have a plan”
Peter all but fell on the chair, dropping his bag on the ground and making a few classmates look his way. He had just ran through the hallways, nearly colliding with a few people in his way. But if he wanted to talk to Ned before the class started, and the rest of the students came in, he had to be quick. Flash was talking about how the teacher had to grab some books from the library before starting the lesson, and he had took his chance; because lately, finding Ned alone was something weird.
Said boy looked at his friend with raised eyebrows, and put his notebook away. He had been making a list about the best ways to impress an European girl, something he didn’t want to forget. Ned was determinated to meet some pretty girl and impress them with his American accent; Peter had a hard time believing that, but he didn’t dare to break his hopes.
Before talking, he made sure there was no one around who could listen to their conversation.
“Okay, first. I’m gonna sit next to Y/N on the flight” Peter rushed his words out, and Ned hummed. “Second, I’m gonna buy a duple headphone adapter and watch movies with her, the whole time”
“Right” Ned nodded, his eyebrows furrowing as Peter kept talking.
“Three, when we go to Venice – Venice is super famous for making stuff out of glass, right?”
“True”
“So I’m gonna buy her a bright read star necklace, cause her favourite colour is red” Peter shrugged, moving his hands around. “And because of, well”
“It reminds her of her father, a worldwide recognised assassin but also the man who lives five blocks away from your apartment” Ned completed. “Didn’t he drive you to the last decathlon competition?”
“Yeah, her father” Peter nodded, not even blinking at Ned’s words. “Four. When we get to Paris, I’m gonna get her to the top of the Eiffel tower, give her the necklace, and then five, I’m gonna tell her how I feel. And then six hopefully she tells me… she feels the same way”
“Oh, don’t forget step seven” Ned crossed his arms in front of his chest, and Peter missed the sarcastic remark as he reached again for his notebook, where he had written down all the steps. “Don’t do any of that”
Brown, tired eyes met Ned, and the boy felt bad for about a second. It was obvious that Peter had been having a hard time in the last months; Tony’s death, the feeling of being on borrowed time because of the ‘blip’, and the pressure of being Spiderman in a world who needed superheroes more than ever. He could count with the fingers of one hand how many hours of good sleep he had gotten that week, and they were on Wednesday. Besides, he was also stressing with the stupid plan with the steps, and the final trip to Europe.
May had had the idea of writing down the steps. He had come to her – after Ned proved to be useless for it and Happy refused to talk about girls – when he had realized he had feelings for someone. Not just someone, but one of his new friends who shared with him more than just a friendship. Y/N Barnes, friend and work-colleague, talking about avengers. And of course, crush.
“Why” he sighed, not even asking. He thought of himself as a balloon that had just been poked with a sharp needle, and was slowly deflating.
“Because we’re gonna be bachelors in Europe, Peter!” Ned said, his voice too similar to a whine.
“Ned…”
“Look, I may not know much, but I do know this” he nodded at his friend to make sure he was still listening. “Europeans love Americans”
“Really?��� Peter tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, knowing that probably Europeans didn’t really care about them. If he was European, he would sure not give a damn about America.
“And more than half of them are women!”
“Okay, sure. But… I really like Y/N” he gave him a tight smile. “She’s awesome. She’s super funny in a kind of a dark way. And sometimes I catch her looking at me and I feel like I’m – She’s coming – don’t say anything!”
Ned looked to his right, and indeed, another person walked in class. Betty waved from the door at you and you gave her a small smile, still not used to her and having so many teenage attention to yourself. Still, you made an effort and contributed to some of her conversations, although most of them were monologues. Again, that feeling that Ned had had about being wrong just moments ago came back when you looked at them and lighted up at the sight of Peter.
Not a lot of people noticed, but you were nothing like your father. The stereotype of a bad mean soldier died when someone talked with you for a few minutes. You were shy, liked puppies and colour pink, and even if your jokes sometimes crossed the line of personal baggage and were a little too dark, you were funny.
You clutched the big sketchbook to your chest and skipped towards your friends. Peter kicked Ned softly under the desk to avoid him saying anything about the plan, and Ned just chuckled awkwardly.
“Hi” you smiled at them, dimples on your cheeks that made Peter mess with the pen on the desk. “Excited about the trip?
“Hey. Uh, yeah” Peter tried not to make it too obvious that he was staring at you, so he looked at Ned. “We’re just – talking about the trip”
“Yeah, and Peter’s plan”
“You have a plan?” you raised your eyebrows, and Peter felt himself stopping breathing for a moment.
“I-I don’t… I d-don’t have plan”
“He’s just gonna collect tiny spoons while we’re traveling through all the countries”
The wink that he sent his friend wasn’t at all discreet, because to do so Ned moved all his face along with his left eye. Peter didn’t feel any better with the answer, if anything it made him feel a small pressure on his chest. He turned the pen around his fingers as he looked at you again, who thankfully, looked unsuspicious. In times like that he was grateful that you still hadn’t caught everything about the sarcasm and indirect intentions.
But even you, who spent more than half of your life locked in a cell and used as leverage for the winter soldier, knew that it was something weird to do. So you hummed and made a small grimace.
“Like a – like a grandmother?”
“I’m not collecting tiny spoons” he scoffed, pointing with the pen at Ned. “He’s collecting tiny spoons”
“Oh. Okay. Well… that was… a real rollercoaster”
Peter’s eyes drifted to your wrist as you moved your hands around, and his previous mood fell like a ton of bricks. He knew he should be thankful that you were allowed to come with them to Europe, since your father wasn’t welcomed in at least half of the countries. Thick, black bracelets fell on your wrist, a huge contrast to your delicate skin. They had a small red light that was always on, unless you broke one of the rules Thaddeus Ross had set.
He had been there when the secretary forbid you to leave the country, using words as ‘freak’ and ‘danger’. Between your father, Sam and a little bit of help of Pepper Potts, he had agreed as long as you carried the bracelets. Peter himself had threatened to go and talk to him too, rambling and speeding across the walls and ceilings as he traumatised May. But then, you had asked him to stay put, and he could never say no to you.
Peter bit his lip and tried to hide his discomfort at seeing your wrists. You had to endure enough from the rest of the classmates, and he would hate himself if you dropped that smile.
“By the way, my dad gave me some stuff for you” you changed the topic, digging into your backpack for something. A metal, clanking noise came from inside. “Told me you should have it since I’m not even allowed to cut an apple if I want to stay out of jail. In case something happen”
“What – don’t!”
Peter jumped out of his seat and pushed your hand back into the bag, careful of the sharp edges. He was too busy pushing the knives back into the bag to notice how your hands touched for more than one second, or to admire how your cheeks turned pink and you eyes went wide. You were so close that he could smell your vanilla scent, and you could see the wrinkles of his sweater’s neck.
The whole class seemed to disappear around as he finally noticed what he had done. Peter was always careful of not being too close to you, in case you could get overwhelmed – like in your first day of highschool – or feel uncomfortable. His own cheeks went red, and the tips of his ears started to burn. He pulled his hand out of your bag so quick that he got a scratch on his palm; not that he cared, as he jumped back to his seat and almost fell out of the chair.
“Did you bring knives to class?” Ned squealed out. A girl nearby had noticed, but she chose to turn away.
“Well, not knives” you tried to explain. “They are like – uh – daggers? Throwing daggers. Dad got them from internet, and some of them have dents so that when you stab someone –“
“Okay, class! I’m here!” the teacher cut your conversation, and a flow of students filled the class.
You quickly ran to your place at the back, besides another boy your age, and Peter tried to follow you as you moved. He could have sworn that you smiled when you passed his side, but he wanted it so bad to be true that he could have imagined it. Most of the times he thought you were looking at him in class, and when he looked at you, there was nothing to see. Sure, you liked to sit beside him at lunch time, and never turned down an awkward proposal for a “date” with Peter, although he was the only one calling them that, as nothing ever happened.
Still, he allowed himself a sweet second of happiness as he watched you greet your classmate and pull down your sketchbook.
“Dude” Ned chuckled behind him, and Peter stared with amused eyes. “I think that went really great”
-
“Yo, Parker”
Peter turned around and saw Flash calling him from the other side of the plane. He was sitting on the closest side of the window, but even from there he could see the boy’s smug smirk. So far, the whole ‘getting into the plane and not having any problem’ was going good. He had his headphone adapter on his right hand, and was preparing himself to tell Ned to change places with MJ and let him sit with you. The rest of the class seemed fine too, and he was enjoying the trip so far.
But of course not a lot of things in his life went right, and he felt his mood lower down a bit when Flash called him. He fidgeted with the adapter on his hands and nodded at him.
“This is called an airplane” Flash said, and to Peter utter mortification, you stopped right beside his seat to look at Flash. “It’s like the busses you’re used to, except they fly over the poor neighbours instead of driving through them”
“Madam?” a kind looking woman appeared beside Flash and looked at you, smiling. “He blipped, so technically he’s sixteen, not twenty one”
“I’ll take that”
“No – no she’s – s-she’s lying! I don’t even –“
Flash trailed behind the woman as he tried to take back the drink, giving you the nastiest look he could manage. Which wasn’t too big, as he was mostly embarrassed.
When you had first arrived to Midtown, two years ago after you father went to Wakanda and Tony – as a favour to Steve, who was like you uncle – let you stay with him and attend highschool, Flash thought you were pretty. He followed you everywhere you went, tried to win you over with the stupidest and most expensive details about his life and invited you to every party. Then, he noticed that you ignored him in favour of staying with Peter, who you had met in that airport fight. And from that moment, he liked to pretend he hadn’t liked you at all.
Once he was gone, you looked at Peter and gave him a small, shy smile. He smiled back, his face melting at the sight of you. He almost dropped the headphone adapter as he watched past by, if it wasn’t for Ned catching it in the last second.
“Classic of Y/N, right?” Brad Davis appeared out of thin air, following you into the airplane and making Peter drop his smile.
“Did you know Brad was coming?” he asked Ned once the boy was out; although he didn’t stop looking at him.
“It’s… so weird” Ned chuckled, looking at Brad too. “Like, one day he’s a little kid that cried and got nosebleeds all the time, and suddenly we blip back and he’s totally ripped and super nice. And all this girls are after him”
“Not all the girls are after him”
“No man, they’re all after him”
Peter felt a sudden weight on his chest that he couldn’t describe. Brad was helping you to put your handbag on the top part of the plane, apparently saying something funny; really funny, because you weren’t using that fake smile you put when you didn’t get what was funny or what people were talking about. The sound of your laugh usually made his stomach flutter, but that time it made him feel sick. He knew he was selfish for thinking that way – you were allowed to have friends, to be interested in someone, and to like Brad.
But he didn’t know all of that, it was just you laughing with Brad. He was so busy drowning in his own feelings that he missed how you looked at him once more before sitting beside MJ.
“Anyway” Ned went back to his bag, taking out his computer. “Onto more important things, it’s an nine hour flight. We play beast slayers the whole time”
“I need your help sitting next to Y/N” Peter blurted out, finally tearing his eyes away from Brad.
“Seriously?” Ned sighed. He left his computer on the desk and tried to look miserable to Peter, who was too busy already tearing his seatbelt away.
“Yes, seriously”
“What about our plan? American bachelors in Europe?”
“That’s your plan. That’s a solo plan. Come on, this is my plan” Peter tried to remember how May told him that he could get almost anything with those puppy eyes, so he put them on for Ned; who couldn’t be more unbothered by them. But Peter really, really wanted to sit with you. “Please”
Ned threw his head back and scoffed, leaving the computer back on the bag and tugging at his own seatbelt. Maybe the puppy eyes didn’t work with him, but Peter was glad to have such a good friend.
Want to read more? Check out my side blog @imaginesmaimasterlists, where I keep all the masterlists! Feedback is always appreciated
Tom Holland and Peter Parker Taglist
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#peter parker#peter parker imagine#peter parker one shot#peter parker x reader#peter parker fic#spider man imagine#spider man far from home#smffh#ffh#far from home#spider man x reader#spider man one shot#spider man fic#tom holland#tom holland imagine#tom holland x reader#tom holland one shot#tom holland fic#imaginesmai#imaginemai#i'll find my way to you
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Adrinette April Day 2: Rebellion
@adrinetteapril
Read on AO3
scene adapted from Chapter 9 of The Wall Between Us
Marinette let go of a long sigh as she reclined her back against the cool wood of the bench. She was at the park next to her house. It had been a long, long day at school and she was happy that it was finally behind her. Sketching for a few minutes, sitting under the cool shade of a tree always helped her shed the frustrations of the day; particularly one as taxing as this one. She made herself comfortable on the bench, took a deep breath, and gathered her creativity, focusing it at the tip of her pencil as she prepared to spill it into a design. As she did this, she lifted her sight to find the muse of the day, something that might be worth putting into paper.
Something like... Adrien sneaking out of fencing practice?
The girl observed him from a baffled distance, witnessing the way he sported an uncharacteristic devious smirk on his face as he hurriedly descended down the steps of the school, two at a time. He looked to each side of the street, as if looking for spies, and darted in Marinette’s direction; to the park.
The comical then happened: Stepping into the park, he shed his usual white overshirt and shoved it into his sports bag, produced an unassuming grey hoodie along with an insulting neon green cap, and quickly put them on. Merrily, he walked with a light spring towards the park kiosk to buy himself a soda and then proceeded to find a bench to sit on.
Witnessing Adrien being so evidently pleased at breaking the rules was like watching a cat walk on its hindlegs: bizarre, to say the least.
Marinette giggled at his confidence; at how sure he seemed that no one would be able to tell his identity under this poorly-thought disguise. She gathered the courage to go talk to him, just for a quick hello. Making the most of the fact he had not spotted her yet, she approached from behind him.
“FYI, you stick out like a sore thumb with that cap on,” she said, startling Adrien and prying a tiny gasp from him.
“Marinette!” he cried, tugging at his cap as if doing so might conceal his face better. “What are you doing here?”
“I, um... Designs,” she said lamely, lifting her sketchbook for Adrien to see. “But what are you doing here? Don’t you have fencing today?”
Adrien quirked an eyebrow. “How do you--”
Marinette’s face became red with embarrassment, quickly interrupting him hoping she hadn’t exposed the things she knew about him. “Just a lucky guess, heh, heh.”
“I’m sneaking out,” he said, scanning the surroundings.
“Why are you whispering?”
“Because you never know. Natalie always catches me. Sometimes I feel like she tapped my phone or something.”
Marinette pressed her lips into a sympathetic smile, with her courage quickly returning to her to poke fun at him a little more, “Well, one thing is for sure. You’re making it easy for her with that neon green thing on you.”
“It’s the only cap I could find in the morning! Is it really that bad?”
“Take it off. You call less attention without it,” Marinette said with a giggle. “You wouldn’t be able to hide your identity for the life of you.”
Adrien laughed. “I’ll have you know I have excellent camouflaging skills.”
“Right, right. And I’m Ladybug.”
Adrien grinned at her. His delighted heart missed a beat or two as he relished in the possibility.
“Anyway,” Marinette said, nervousness building up inside of her at the prospect of being alone with Adrien. “I should probably get going, good luck with the sneaking out.”
“Wait!” Adrien said, more disappointed than he wanted to sound. “I, um... Would you like to spend some time with me? We could find something to do. If you’re not busy, that is.”
Marinette ignored the warm blush that crept on her cheeks. “What-- yes. Co fourse! I mean of course! I mean--heh. Yeah, what--what did you have in mind?”
Adrien beamed at her, stood up, and then gave her a little devilish smirk. Marinette couldn’t help but be both a little worried and infinitely curious to know what sorts of trouble Adrien wanted to get into.
They headed back to the kiosk again, this time with the mission of filling Adrien’s backpack with as many snacks as they could fit. To the clerk’s satisfaction, that involved practically emptying the little hut out of the day’s stock.
Loot packed up and horrible neon green caps out of the way, Adrien led Marinette to stage two of his plan. They headed a few blocks away from the park, to a residential area where Adrien started testing for unlocked front doors in the apartment buildings.
“What are you doing?” Marinette asked, a bit bewildered.
“Looking for an open door,” Adrien explained, simultaneously finding what he was searching for. “Ah! Success!” he exclaimed, pushing the door open. “After you prin--After you.”
Marinette gave him a suspicious look but did his bidding, following him inside and then onto the building’s stairs.
“Adrien what are you doing?” Marinette asked again, more evidently worried. “We’re going to get in trouble!”
“No, we’re not,” he assured her as he consistently climbed up the staircase. “Trust me.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’ve done this before,” she said as she reached the very last floor, finding Adrien negotiating with the lock of the only door there.
He pulled what looked like a fancy, metal credit card from his wallet, and used to click the lock open. Marinette snorted at the sight.
“Why use a platinum credit card in the Champs Elysees when you can use it to perform a misdemeanor,” Marinette said.
“My thoughts exactly,” Adrien said with a wink, pushing the door to the roof open and seizing an indistinct brick that lay there to prevent the door from shutting close.
“You are an actual teenage vandal aren’t you,” Marinette said, absolutely bewildered at Adrien’s criminal tendencies. “So is this how you spend your free time? Breaking into people’s roofs?”
Adrien giggled as he found a spot to sit near the edge of the building. “In a way, I guess you could say that.”
Marinette shook her head, still in shock as she joined Adrien.
Worried at her silence, and that she might think less of him for this little escapade, Adrien hurried to look for her validation. “Are you mad? I swear I’ve only done it a couple of times and if it makes you really uncomfortable we can go down. I’m sorry.”
Marinette turned to see Adrien’s worried, expectant face. “What? No, no. I’m not mad! It’s okay. It’s just... I never thought you had it in you to be this...”
“Bad?” he asked, sadness staining his tone.
“Rebellious,” she offered instead. “It’s a bit odd. At school, you’re always so, so... perfect.”
Adrien scrunched up his nose. “I know, I hate it,” he confessed, pulling his legs to his chest responding to a subconscious need to hide.
Trying not to delve too much into the thought, he reached for the bag where the snacks were and emptied their little treasure between them. He gestured for Marinette to have the first pick, which she indulged by grabbing a bag of chips and a bottle of sparkling pink lemonade.
Adrien grabbed a pack of fruit gummies and plain sparkling water as he spoke again. “Most of the stuff I do, I do it for my father.” He sighed and then continued quietly. “But it doesn’t matter how hard I work, it always feels like it’s not good enough for him and I’m tired of pretending to be someone I am not.”
Marinette’s heart wrung at Adrien’s confession. A small part of her did wonder what brought him to trust her like this so out of the blue, but this and any of her other reservations flew out the window at the sight of him being so evidently upset. It pained Marinette to see him like that.
“I’m so sorry, Adrien,” she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Why? It’s not your fault.”
“I mean, I’m sorry that... that your father makes you feel that way.”
Adrien looked down, hugging his legs a little tighter.
“But you can always be yourself around me,” she offered, with her voice trembling.
Adrien’s saddened pout slowly melted into a warm smile. “I know,” he said. “That’s why I like spending time with you, Marinette. You’re the greatest friend I could possibly have asked for.”
She tried not to pay too much attention to the utter disappointment that washed over her at the idea of Adrien seeing her as just a friend. Instead, she focused on the part that mattered: That he could have someone with whom he didn’t feel the need to pretend or put up an act. As Ladybug, she knew the burden all too well and didn’t wish it on anyone, certainly not on Adrien.
“Yep,” she said. “That’s what friends are for! Heh, heh.”
“And um, you, too.”
“Me, too?”
“I mean, you don’t have to pretend around me...” he said, taken aback by the fact he was inexplicably blushing. “I notice that you always get, er... a little tongue-tied.”
“Oh!” Marinette piped, perking up with the dread that suddenly seized her. “That. Ha, ha. That’s nothing! I just... have... uh... you know me. I don’t-- I, why would you think that?”
“I don’t know,” Adrien said, shrugging. “It’s just, this is the first real conversation you and I have ever had. It’s... nice. I wish we could do it more often.”
Marinette laughed nervously, beyond herself with mortification and wondering whether Adrien actually knew the kind of influence he had on her. Maybe he did and he just enjoyed messing with her.
“I just... get a little nervous, that’s all,” she said sheepishly.
“Why? Is it because I’m famous?” Adrien said, adopting a smug flair. One that helped Marinette overcome her embarrassment faster than she could say ‘Lucky Charm’. She didn’t know exactly why, but Adrien’s smug, rebellious side--the side she had been witness to for the good part of the last few hours, helped her feel more at ease, more willing to use her own sass on him.
She rolled her eyes and playfully jabbed him with her arm. “You’re so full of yourself, aren’t you? And here I was, thinking you were a perfectly polite, quiet, well-behaved boy. How wrong I was.”
“I’m all of those things!” Adrien protested as he shoved an indiscriminate handful of gummies into his mouth and leaned back. “But, you know,” he added with a small wink. “What other people don’t know, won’t kill them.”
“Show-off,” Marinette teased.
“Only with the right audience,” Adrien said, defending himself.
Adrien was about to remark how Marinette was one to talk. How she convinced him of being the class sweetheart when in reality she was as sassy as they come. Unfortunately, he’d have to save that joke for later, because as they bantered, an Akuma rose in the distance.
Duty called.
#adrinetteapril2021#adrinetteapril#adrinette#day 2 - rebellion#marinette dupain cheng#adrien agreste#miraculous ladybug#ml fanfic
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Hey! I was scrolling through some of your older posts and i found the band au one. I was really interested about it so maybe if you haven’t done it, could you do a continuation of it through hcs?
AUHROENFOSHDJNDKD WAIT OHMYGOD ANON THANK YOU IVE BEEN MEANING TO POST MORE STUFF I ALREADY HAVE PLENTY MORE WRITTEN ABOUT EACH SO I HOPE YOURE OK WITH ME POSTING THE BASIC BIOS
HEARTSLAYBUL
A band of five boys looking to enjoy the rest of their highschool experience together before moving on to the real world as adults.
Riddle Rosehearts; A junior at Night Raven, and the young heir to his mother's company. He wishes to do the best he can to take on her business once he graduates, though feels pressured to do so.
Trey Clover; A senior at Night Raven, and Riddle's childhood friend. He looks forward to having enjoyable moments with Riddle and the others before graduating and moving on to college.
Cater Diamond; A senior at Night Raven, and a generally easy-going and "people's person" type of guy with a need to make others around him smile. He thought joining a band might be a good way to promote his social media, and an overall nice change of pace.
Deuce Spade; A sophomore at Night Raven, and a former "bad boy", Deuce is looking to redeem himself so that he can have a pleasant and worry-free highschool experience.
Ace Trappola; A sophomore at Night Raven, and a bonafide flirt as well as an active troublemaker/class clown. He thought joining a band might garner him more attention from girls.
SAVANACLAW
A band of three boys looking to make a change, and their voices heard in the world. Struggling with different issues, they decided to come together to form a band.
Leona Kingscholar; A "super" senior at Night Raven, and the second-born son of a recently-deceased millionaire. Feels as if he was cheated out of his "rightful" inheritance, he hopes to vent his frustrations via music.
Ruggie Bucchi; A junior at Night Raven, and a lower-class student who was lucky to make it to the prestigious school in the first place. He joined Leona's band in hopes of getting famous and being able to give back to the struggling community he grew up in.
Jack Howl; A sophomore at Night Raven, he looks up to his seniors and hopes to support their efforts as best he can, and joins Leona's band to put his drumming skills to good use.
OCTAVINELLE
A band formed by three childhood friends hoping to promote the Monstro Lounge, a restaurant gifted to Azul by his parents. Found out that they enjoy performing together as a band, and decide to continue even after the Lounge gains traction.
Azul Ashengrotto; A junior at Night Raven, and a young yet passionate restaurant owner. He hopes to make it in the restaurant business, and formed a "temporary" band with Floyd and Jade to promote the Lounge.
Jade Leech; A junior at Night Raven, and childhood friend of Azul. He wishes the best for his friend, even if it means joining his band and working at his restaurant.
Floyd Leech; A junior at Night Raven, and childhood friend of Azul. A bit of a loose cannon and rather unpredictable, it was a miracle that he agreed to joining Azul's "temporary" band.
SCARABIA
A duo focused on sharing their culture with others, Kalim's only real goal being to make others smile while Jamil tries his best to keep him out of trouble.
Kalim Al-Asim; A junior at Night Raven, and a wealthy foreign-exchange student sent to attend with his servant, Jamil. He thought it would be fun to perform music and pick up an instrument, hoping to spread the joy his culture brings him to others.
Jamil Viper; A junior at Night Raven, and a fellow foreign-exchange student sent to watch over Kalim while they're overseas attending school. He decided to perform with Kalim as to make sure he wouldn't get in any trouble or messy situations, picking up an instrument as well.
POMEFIORE
A band of three boys formed by an agency with the goal of spreading Vil's influence as a celebrity. Clashing opinions oftentimes cause concern for the stability of their band in the long run.
Vil Schoenheit; A senior at Night Raven, and a famous model/social media influencer hoping to dip his feet and test the waters of the music industry. He demanded that the agency only pick him the "fairest" musicians to choose for his band.
Rook Hunt; A senior at Night Raven, as well as a friend and admirer of Vil's. He decided to pick up the bass in the past but never got serious with it until he heard that Vil was looking to form a band, and asked to join.
Epel Felmier; A sophomore at Night Raven, and a candidate hand-picked by Vil's agency. He hates the thought of being seen as fragile and "pretty", and started learning how to play the drums by Jack. He oftentimes has opinions differing from Vil's, and gets irritated easily by arguing with him.
IGNIHYDE
A pair of siblings hiding anonymously behind the alias of "Ignihyde", they work together as a DJ duo.
Idia Shroud; A senior at Night Raven and a textbook shut-in, he has a talent when it comes to technology, and secretly enjoys making his own music in his free time. Prefers to keep to himself, and is viewed as "the strange student", or even as "mysterious".
Ortho Shroud; A child attending the local middle school, he oftentimes comes after school in hopes of Idia opening up more around others. He was involved in an incident that left him missing a leg and needing a prosthetic, oftentimes joking that he's like a robot because of how the prosthetic is modeled. Asks Idia if he can sing for some of his songs, or at least help him with the instrumentals, even if the answer is usually an embarrassed "no".
DIASOMNIA
A band of four who've known eachother for most of their lives and act as family, and are hoping to stay with eachother for many more. They have decided to create slightly altered "personas" to act as onstage.
Malleus Draconia; A college student attending the local university his grandmother works at, in hopes of taking up her place as a professor once she retires as a means of "continuing her legacy", as Lilia jokingly phrases it. His "onstage persona" is a powerful mage and dragon fae who rules over a civilization.
Lilia Vanrogue; An older college student who never had the chance previously to attend, becoming a father and caretaker by the time he was fresh out of highschool. He used to play the bass, but had to prioritize taking care of Silver and Malleus over his own personal hobbies. He thought it might be fun to start a band with Malleus and Silver. His "onstage persona" is a vampire fae who acts as an advisor to the powerful dragon fae in power.
Silver Vanrogue; A junior at Night Raven, he's a rather sleepy and quiet individual who suffers from narcolepsy, even if it isn't immediately obvious. He's rather indifferent to the idea of being in a band with his father (and Malleus, who he somewhat views as an adoptive brother), and his "onstage persona" is that of a knight training to protect and serve the powerful dragon fae ruling over the faerie civilization.
Sebek Zigvolt; A sophomore at Night Raven, he's actually a rather shy and skittish boy when not acting as his onstage persona, though he's taken to adapting it into his regular behavior to fit his tall and intimidating stature. He decided to join his childhood friend, Silver, in Malleus' band, hoping to grow less shy and to impress Malleus, seeing him as an older brother figure. His "onstage persona" is a rather boisterious yet serious knight-in-training, hoping to live up to his master's expectations and more.
EXTRA INFO
- Night Ravens is a group formed by all seven main vocalists to perform a song for homecoming week, as per the request of the oh-so-generous Principal Crowley.
- No magic exists in this AU. Think of it as a sort of "spin-off" BanG Dream! universe.
- The Diasomnia boys still go by their names onstage, though they act differently according to their onstage personas.
- Each dorm name is their band name. For example, Octavinelle would perform regularly at the Monstro Lounge.
- Any boy that might have "strange" or non-human features are human. If they get body modifications (such as the twins with their teeth, perhaps) then they keep it, but Malleus doesn't have horns offstage, the Savanaclaw boys don't have animalistic features, the Octavinelle boys cannot turn into mermen (sea creatures?), and both Idia and Ortho have normal hair, even if it may be dyed.
- Ortho is a normal human boy, though he lost his left leg in a currently unspecified incident that might be delved into at a later point in time. All that will be currently mentioned is that Idia feels immense guilt and like he was the one responsible for it happening.
- In this AU, it isn't specified whether Silver is adopted or if he's Lilia's biological son. Malleus was put into Lilia's care as his parents couldn't be bothered to raise him/make the time to care for him and his grandmother is busy as a well-known and highly-regarded university professor.
- The setting that this AU takes place in is a city based in a country similar to the United States, and works on the United States school system. This is moreso for convenience on my end, though as it is unspecified it can be adapted to other school systems as needed.
- The faculty are all teachers at the school, though Sam runs an on-campus convenience store. Yuu is the insert character, and Grim is an online friend of Yuu who very conveniently happens to attend Night Raven as well.
#twisted wonderland#twst#twst headcanons#twst au#band au#riddle rosehearts#trey clover#cater diamond#deuce spade#ace trappola#leona kingscholar#ruggie bucchi#jack howl#azul ashengrotto#jade leech#floyd leech#kalim al asim#jamil viper#vil schoenheit#rook hunt#epel felmier#idia shroud#ortho shroud#malleus draconia#lilia vanrouge#twst silver#sebek zigvolt
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SE Appreciation Week - Fic 1 (Karol route)
@sweeteliteweek Very late but I just barely ended this not so short fic.
This is Karol’s route imagining some moments like the airport goodbye and days later while they’re at home so Papa Scholar is also featuring. I couldn’t help but add a bit of Tegan too and I tried to put several ideas I had together on the same story. Hopefully the back and forth between present and past is not too confusing. I didn’t know how to name it so I just took a song I was listening to by Wilco that is really sweet if anyone wants to listen to it.
Jesus, Etc.
The familiar vibrant and noisy city was something Scholar hadn’t think she would miss during those months at Arlington’s. Especially not the noises from the neighbor from the floor above as she rowed with her husband for the third time tonight, the people pacing up and down the stairs, the kids playing, the pizza delivery guys and Misses Jones with her 5 dogs. She smirked thinking what Karolina would say if she heard all this noise and reminisced to when they met, smiling at the thought. She would be rich by now if she was given a dollar for each time she thought of Karolina since she got on the plane home.
--------------------------------------------------------------
“That’s my plane, people! Enjoy the journey home!”, announced Tyler as he picked up his heavy luggage. He hadn’t explained what the heck he was carrying on his bags but Scholar assumed it was something artistic.
“Hey Tyler, don’t forget about tomorrow’s match! There will be a 30% buff bonus”, said Tegan.
“Oh man, I told you I have that thing with my parents. I’ll make it up to you later, promise”, replied Tyler.
“… ok”, said Tegan as he gave him a weak smile, clearly disappointed.
“Cheers!”, shouted Tyler as he ran towards gate A27.
Only Scholar, Tegan and Karolina remained in the departure lounge. Neither Tegan or Karolina seemed particularly happy of going home, in fact Tegan was staring at the floor as if he had just been told Christmas had been cancelled this year.
“Hey, maybe I could join? I am not very good at videogames to be honest but you can teach me”, said Scholar putting a hand on Tegan’s shoulder.
Tegan looked up and smiled blushing.
“S-sure, I think you’d make a great cleric”, Scholar had no idea what that meant but she hated the sad aspect Tegan had.
She noticed Karolina was staring at her direction, a curious look on her face. In that moment, she heard her flight being called.
“Well, I guess I have to go now”, she said to both of them.
Tegan nodded.
“I’ll call you tomorrow to set your PC ready for the match”.
“Sounds like a plan!”, she answered before giving him a quick hug.
As she let go of Tegan, she looked at Karolina, unsure on how to approach her. Scholar took a step in her direction, asking for permission, they had barely talked since the night of the basement
“… I-I… goodbye, Karolina. Enjoy the holidays”, she said with slight nervousness, waiting for an answer.
Karolina was biting her lip and seemed uneasy, as if she was making up her mind about something. She leaped forward and put her arms around Scholar. The girl let go of the breath she had unknowingly kept as she felt Karolina’s warm embrace.
“Let me know when you arrive home”, Scholar heard Karolina whisper close to her ear, her breath sending shivers down her spine. She then felt something touching her cheek, she froze when she realized it was Karolina’s lips. The touch was so soft, so slight that it could had just been Scholar’s imagination. They let go of the embrace and Scholar felt her heart sink at the idea of being apart from her so many days.
“I will, you too, please”, she answered. Both Karolina and Tegan nodded and Scholar took her luggage before parting…
The following day, Scholar had to excuse to her father early because Tegan had opened an account for her in the game they were supposed to play, in fact he had even customized her character based on a number of questions he had asked, many of which Scholar wasn’t sure how to answer. As she started her PC and positioned on her seat, she could not help but feel excited, seeing Tegan through the webcam meant also, perhaps, seeing her as well. Tegan’s face as he logged in had a mixture of sadness, exhaustion and defeat, he didn’t have Karolina’s ability of putting on a straight face, Scholar didn’t want to push an answer out so she didn’t ask. They spent a couple of hours playing, Scholar died way too many times in pure noob style but Tegan didn’t mind, in fact he laughed each time as she panicked when the other players surrounded her with attacks.
“Thank you, Scholar. You made my day”, Tegan told her after the match was over.
“I’m glad, I had a great time even though I clearly suck for this…”, she answered giggling. Tegan laughed as well, he covered his mouth whenever he laughed and Scholar thought it was cute but sad at the same time how insecure he could be at times, even among his friends.
“… She’s busy talking to mom and dad, by the way”, Tegan added after a while, “in case you were wondering.”
“Oh… it’s ok. Is everything alright?”, Scholar asked concerned, to be honest their parents didn’t exactly sound like the kind that understood and supported their children.
“They didn’t take well all that happened in FAXION, I almost didn’t login for the game but she wanted me to let her handle it on her own”, answered Tegan, “she didn’t want me blowing up and them… “, he paused, “… doesn’t matter, I will take care of her now.”
“She’s a tough girl, she worries about you too”, said Scholar, “let me know if you need anything”
“Of course, thanks again. I will tell her you say ‘hi’ ”, said Tegan before closing the session.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scholar sighed as she wondered how things had gone back at the twins’ house, hoping they were ok. The days that had followed to gaming night not much had happened. Tyler spammed them with funny selfies from the Red Carpet of God knows which movie his parents had taken him to, Tadashi and Alistair sent photos with the Drews, especially the dogs at Axel’s request, and Claire and Neha exchanged recipes for Christmas season. But barely anything from Karolina, still the fact Tegan kept sending memes mocking how bad she was at gaming was oddly comforting.
“Honey, I’m home, can you give me a hand with the bags?”, called Papa Scholar’s voice.
“Sure, dad, coming!”, answered Scholar and she walked towards the kitchen.
The bags were full of materials for her father’s famous pasta recipe but this time with a twist: he had agreed on incorporating one of Claire's many recipes. Both of them prepared everything for their movie night. Afterwards, they settled in the living room as they picked a title. They decided on one of the old movies that Scholar’s father loved “Pride and Prejudice”. Scholar had tried to get his father to watch the newer adaptation of the story but it had been pointless, the 1995 version was the one her mother loved and in a way for him watching the movie again meant reliving the joyful moments they passed together. Scholar had seen it too a handful of times yet this time it felt different, she felt connected not only because it had been her mom’s favorite movie but because the situation was now all too familiar. The pride and prejudice dance.
“You keep looking at your cell phone, expecting someone’s message?”, Papa Scholar asked as he arched an eyebrow.
“N-no, just checking the hour”, Scholar tried to reply, unconvincingly.
“Hmm, don’t forget I was your age once and fell in love at your age too”, the kind man answered giving her a warm smile.
But before Scholar could reply, they heard the alert of a new message coming in. Scholar jumped at the sound and widened her eyes at the name that appeared on the screen: “Karolina”. She quickly unlocked the cell phone, almost dropping it due to the urgency. Not paying attention to her father’s laugh at her clumsy movements, she opened the message:
Karolina: Are you awake?
Scholar: Yes, hi…
Karolina: Can I call you?
Scholar’s heart drop at her message. Almost three days without a message from her and now here she was asking for a call. She really did take that “best way to win someone is to surprise them” to the bone.
“Sorry, dad. Could we drop it here? A friend from Arlington wants to talk to me”
“Don’t worry, girl. Go call your friend”, she really did have the best dad.
Scholar practically ran towards her room and texted her back.
Scholar: Sure.
Immediately her phone was vibrating and ringing. She answered almost as a reflex.
“Karolina?”, started Scholar, trying not to sound too excited.
“… Did I interrupt you?”, asked Karolina. Her voice on the phone was something Scholar couldn’t had foreseen would make her feel weak on the knees.
“No, uhm, I was just finishing watching a movie with my dad”
“Was it one of those cheesy old movies your dad likes?”, Karolina asked on a mocking tone. Wow, she had really paid attention…
“Ha, yeah. Pride and Prejudice… because you know how much I’m into the hate to love trope”, she blurted out surprising herself. Was it too bold to hint at ‘them’ like that? What was it about Karolina that it made her go rogue often.
Silence.
“… yes, I know”, Karolina answered. Scholar wondered, hoped, if Karolina was blushing.
“And what are you doing?”
“Our parents threw a party”
“Wow, sounds like fun.”
“It’s just the usual winter party they throw every year ”
“I’ve never been into a party like that”
“Of course not”, Karolina blurted out, “… I didn’t mean it to sound like that, I-I don’t think you’re missing anything”
“Karolina, not that I mind but why are you talking to me instead of enjoying yourself out there?”
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Karolina was standing in front of the wall mirror of her bedroom. Her new pine green dress matched perfectly the emerald earrings her father had bought her last year as well as the red lipstick. Everything fit together
“Miss, they are waiting for you downstairs”, the maid called after softly knocking the door.
Karolina took her purse and proceeded towards the lobby, across the dining room and into the garden. The surrounding people dressed in etiquette, the tables and the exquisite centerpieces seemed all surreal. She felt disconnected to this usual display of frivolity and superfluous social interactions, greeting people with a fake smile and pretending to care about the chit-chat. These people who if given the chance would rather see them in ruins.
At dinner, she sat with a couple of acquaintances, girls she had known since her childhood, the type her parents considered ‘appropriate’ but could never truly be friends. Her mind drifted elsewhere, back to the chalet, the sensation of safety, of being seen for the first time through the façade of her strong petty attitude, the possibility of being just ‘Karol’. She excused herself as the girls looked at her questioningly, stood up and walked behind a couple of bushes seeking some privacy.
“I heard she is going down her mother’s route”, she heard a voice say from behind the bushes.
“Her scandal at FAXION was disastrous, everyone has been talking about it”, followed another voice.
“Honestly, does it surprise anyone? It was a wonder she got this far”, said a third voice.
Karolina felt the anger and hurt built inside her, she was about to turn around and face whoever felt they had the right to talk behind her back in her own house when her cellphone vibrated. She took out her cellphone and noticed Scholar had sent a message to the group thanking Claire for the last recipe attaching also a photo of Scholar and her father cooking. She smiled at how happy they seemed and got lost in the sparkle of her eyes. She bit her lip debating on whether or not to message her… Screw it.
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“… Hmm, Karolina, is everything ok? Can you still hear me”, Scholar asked.
“Yes, I-I just … “, Karolina answered.
“You know you can tell me anything”, Scholar said, “how is everything with your parents?”
She heard Karolina sighed.
“Not good but I’d rather not talk about it”
“I’m sorry about that but it’s fine, what do you want to talk about then?”
“Nothing really, I was just bored, this party is obnoxious”, Scholar’s heart skipped a beat at her words, does she just miss me?
“I see…”, Scholar said. With her heart palpitating like crazy and the excitement of talking to Karolina she couldn’t hold back her emotions and she added, “… I miss you too.”
“I never said… you’re right, I do”, Scholar smirked. Karolina admitting her feelings was so refreshing; Scholar would need one of Neha’s teas to calm down the butterflies in her stomach.
“So dull party, huh? Should I be thankful I didn’t get invited?”, followed Scholar.
“I don’t find this type of parties endearing anymore”
“What? Hanging out with me is harming your social standards”
“Haha, you wished. I’ve never liked these parties but it was a good opportunity to meet important people”
“Oh, did you meet anyone interesting this time?”
“No, I found out that people are still talking about my FAXION fiasco”, Scholar felt her blood boil at that.
“They did? I wished I could beat some sense into that people”,
Karolina chuckled.
“Hey, I don’t mind. It’s better if they talk about me, free publicity. Besides we technically won.”
“That you did, you two were amazing, seriously no one could rival Neha’s designs. Also, you looked so beautiful and classy… even though you weren’t feeling well, you pulled that off despite everything. I can only imagine the big things you’ll do in the near future”
“You’re sweet. But remember I could steal your third place in the Gold Tier if you’re not careful”
“Oh Miss Novakova, we’ll see about that, we could bet to me beating you up in the finals”, were they flirting for real this time?, Scholar thought.
“You’re not taking me to the cafeteria again, are you?”, oh they definitely were.
“Hmm how about taking you to the gardens? Like a picnic?”, oh god, was she asking her on a date?!
“Hmmm… ok, deal”, Scholar heard Karolina answer. She did just ask Karolina on a date and she said yes!
“Deal”, wow. But this time she wouldn’t let Karolina say it wasn’t a date.
She heard Karolina laugh on the other end and it made her grin like an idiot, she wondered if Karolina was blushing furiously like she was.
“Thank you, by the way”, Karolina said after a brief silence.
“For what?”
“Helping my brother stay calm. You didn’t have to do that”
“I’m glad to help, he’s a dear friend and it killed me to see him so sad”
“He has been happier considering…”, Scholar assumed she meant with whatever was going on in their house. She wished she could do more.
“And you? Feeling better?”, Scholar asked.
“Much better”,
“I’m glad. I’m here for you, always”
“I know, I’m here for you too”, her voice sounded soft, to think about how much had happened for them to get to this point.
“I have to hang up now, we’ll talk soon”, Karolina added.
“Oh ok, of course, go back to the party”, she didn’t know what to say, she could had kept talking to her all holidays if she could.
“Good night… Oh, and watch out your door tomorrow”, Karolina said with a curious tone in her voice, almost nervous.
“Tomorrow? What happens tomorrow?”, Scholar asked confused.
“J-just pay attention, ugh. I have to go now.”
“Ok, ok, I will do. Good night, Karolina”, and with that she was left with the usual cellphone tone.
The following day was Christmas’ Eve. To say she had spent the morning ecstatic was an understatement. She kept circling around the call she had with Karolina, the fact she had asked her out on a date and whatever she meant by watching out for her door. Her dad was surprised that out of all the friends she had made at Arlington it was actually Karolina whom she had a crush on (she had to tell him since she couldn’t hide her joy).
“My first guess was that girl Claire who kindly gave us the recipes for Christmas dinner”, Papa Scholar said as he found out about the source of her daughter’s disturbance.
“Funny you guessed Claire, dad”, sighed Scholar remembering the fatal mistletoe incident.
“Why funny?”
“Oh dad, it’s just… a long story”, Scholar said.
“Well, I have to say that Karolina girl is drop dead gorgeous and if you say she is nicer to you, I believe you. When can you invite her here?”
“Dad! We’re not even… I mean, we almost … kissed b-but …”
They were interrupted by a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it”, said Papa Scholar.
“Actually dad, can you let me check who it is?”, jumped Scholar as she headed to the door.
She peaked from the door peephole. On the other side there was a guy looking like a delivery man.
“H-hello? Who is it?”, Scholar asked.
“Good afternoon, I have a delivery for a person named Scholar”, the guy answered from the other side.
Scholar opened the door, the man was carrying a golden plastic bag with a red bow on the outside.
“Hi, I’m Scholar”
“Oh great, I’m supposed to deliver this”, he handed her the bag, “please sign here… and here”
Scholar did as he requested and looked at the bag, it looked very elegant for a plastic bag.
“Thank you, merry Christmas, ma’am”
“Thank you too, merry Christmas!”
Scholar walked towards the living room holding the odd bag on her right hand. She took a seat on the couch and placed the bag on top of the table, slowly opening it. There was a card and a small black box on the inside. She took out the small box and opened it being startled by its content. It was an astonishing silver necklace with a sapphire pendant on the center, tiny diamonds seemed to surround the almost heart-shaped figure of the pendant. Papa Scholar couldn’t believe his eyes either, he got the card out and gasped.
“Honey, you need to read the card, look”, Papa Scholar said as he handed it out for her.
Scholar took the card in her shaky hands and opened it carefully:
“Hopefully this starts your way into the better fashion sense you desperately need… Merry Christmas, Karolina”
Scholar lost no time and rushed to get her cellphone. Please answer, please answer, she thought as she heard the dialing tone.
“Hi”, she heard Karolina’s voice answer.
“I-I-… Oh god, I-I can’t even… It’s so beautiful!”, Scholar tried to say forgetting how to speak.
“I am glad you like it.”
“I just… wow… thank you! How did you know where I live?”
“Uh-oh, guess who, Scholar”, she heard Tegan’s voice say.
“Y-you! From the time we played together… should had figured. “, Scholar said laughing.
“You got me, hehe. I’ll give Karol back her cell phone. Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas, Tegan!”
“I am sorry I had to ask him”
“Don’t be sorry, I love it”, Scholar said, almost as much as I love you, she thought, “I didn’t get you anything for Christmas, I feel awful, you went through all this and I-“
“I don’t need you to get me anything, just everything you’ve done for me and … how much I … I can’t tell you on the phone, ok?”, Karolina said.
“… s-sure. Thank you so much, Karol”, was it the first time she called her Karol out loud?
“Besides I already feel like I have my Christmas gift… Anyway, our father is calling us. Merry Christmas, Scholar”
“Merry Christmas, Karol”, Scholar replied and added, “I… you know I do too, for a while now if I’m honest.”
“I kind of knew but didn’t want to see it… Enjoy your night”
“Y-you too. Bye”.
This was definitely the best Christmas she could had ever imagined, she only wished she could had thanked her in person but soon, very soon they will be able to figure it out.
END
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Hope you guys like it! The ending was rushed because it’s super late here so sorry for that.
#sweet elite#karolina novakova#sweet elite week 2021#tegan novak#scholar#sweet elite fanfiction#karolina x scholar
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Trivia Tuesday: Sepulchre
Click To Read ~ NSFW ~ Read The Tags
Events leading up to and immediately after the birth of the Calypso Twins: a love story and a story about Leda and Typhon, though I wouldn't call it a love story about Leda and Typhon. Includes Leda backstory, Typhon backstory, ersatz Siren lore, a somewhat unsurprising OC and detailed explanation of "When we were born, our father had to cut him off of me."
Since I know someone who's reading it right now, behold some trivia. And spoilers.
CH1
I'm not 100% sure that's the first time Niven used the sentence that became the epigraph, but it was definitely the most famous. I see it as an epigraph for the whole series, which is why none of the other installments have them.
I linked the music at the start since the story, despite the genre shift, has such a consistent, melancholy mood I thought the playlist would enhance the experience even on random.
Leda's character design is based off of Ren from Pirates of Dark Water. Her eye-color is sampled from Troy's model.
Jean-Michel Sapphir was named after Edward Sapir and the fact I forgot good old Eddy and his linguistic relativism only had one P in a somewhat unsubtle nod to the fact the entire story was influenced by some very very relative linguistics above and beyond the conceits of "Tlon, Uqbar Orbis Tertius" that factor into the narrative.
Cygnus was originally a throwaway line in Satellite, but I figured later if I was going to be continuing the story, I might as well do something with it.
I actually got to like writing Typhon turning this story out and I hate it. More on this later.
The bit with Leda coming around the corner and seeing the poppies is one of my favorite things I've ever written. I have been paid for words not half that good.
A lot of the interpretive terminology Leda uses is from Camille Paglia. Sorry not sorry.
Holophagia is the first fake book referenced in Grimeverse. It comes up again.
I could rant for pages about why I made the decision to attenuate the seasons on Pandora, but LSS, you've seen my pacing. You know I like my everythings drawn out XD.
Literally the only reason there's anything Christian in Grimeverse is so I could talk about Gnosticism.
“ Eppur si muove! ” / “Yes, the sea moves! You got it, Baby!” = I should be hined for that.
Yes, Tyreen having the same musical taste as Typhon is on purpose. I imagine synth jazz is like an 80s Sade album crossed with Drum 'n' Bass.
The prayer in the temple is not just to take up space :X.
~*~
CH2
I had to do a sad Vault Monster. I just had to.
Leda & Typhon had five robots altogether starting out in this universe. I don't know what happened to the fifth one, only that it existed.
Yes, the splash image is Leda looking down at Ever-Flowing's remains.
Why do I keep calling her Ever-Flowing instead of The Leech? The same reason I say "eat" instead of "leech" for Tyreen. I'm getting a completely different reaction from the audience. AHAHAHA LINGUISTIC RELATIVISM AGAIN. Ahem.
Oh, and she looks like Tyreen, if it's not super obvious.
I specifically put all of the banter I could between her and Leda being as this was their only time to talk. Some of it I wrote in after the chapter was done too.
Because I really wasn't planning to have Ever-Flowing be the twin's sire. However, @wataredis talked me into it with so much joy, I just couldn't resist. She's also responsible for Ever-Flowing being the Aspect of Adaptation and a lot of lore in that regard that's come to permeate Grimeverse. She really made the story so much more beautiful with all the fact I can now use the tag 'ersatz Siren lore'. A round of applause, please!
But, yeah. It wasn't the genesis of the story, but a big part of engineering Sepulchre was making sure nothing the audience was told about Leda was true after all (and she's as much of an unreliable narrator as Typhon!): she's not an Atlas researcher, her team wasn't murdered by Bandits, she did not have two children with Typhon DeLeon and her name wasn't Leda. You can actually back hack what it was if you read around the series though.
~*~
CH3
Leda's routine with the blood is based off of a scene in The Book of the Beast by Tanith Lee.
A lot of this chapter was reverse engineered from things I wrote first that happened later: the crops at the homestead, how the twins were born, Leda calling them fish. The middle one was the weirdest to render from Leda's perspective since I originally described the twin's birth purely for shock value. Laying it out that it made contemporary sense... well, there's a reason that scene gets all wiggly. And they have plums because I was hungry for plums one day when I was writing.
The medical specifics are brought to you by @raidbossmadi's enthusiasm. I didn't actually do that much research. Mostly I verified what I knew off hand and hated myself for knowing any of that off hand.
I wasn't actually planning the conversation between Leda and Typhon about what to do with the twins to get so complicated and emotional. Like I said, I got to like writing for Typhon. It's almost later.
I'm not sure Ever-Flowing's daughter's name was Tyreen exactly, but that's what Leda heard. I'm not sure of the son's name, but I refer to her boyfriend/the one-eyed man as Atticus in notes and YES, he became the serpent. I forget who asked me that.
The twins still have the two pointer charms and you can see Troy's in Several Saturnine Lunchtimes At Doctor Black's.
~*~
CH4
This whole chapter is meant to be read to "Sunset Strip" by Veeshy, the song I picked for Typhon and his very particular variety of awful.
OK, so it's my sincerely held personal belief that even despicable characters deserve their 500 words about why they're despicable, so here's Typhon's. I tried to make his trauma commensurate with the crime he nearly commits, not a justification, but an explanation. And that's why it's really terrible. So terrible, it made me love him for a brief, shining instant. I then went back to hating him.
I also tried to shrink the sentences and vocab in this chapter to match with him not being as book smart as Leda, but I'm not sure how successful I was...
Dido's Siren power sounds familiar, maybe? This is comics continuity somewhere under the madness. Dido was awesome to write and I think I might need to show Maya watching a video of her at some point. Hell, maybe I'll throw Typhon in.
He's already been thrown in enough. Yeah, that thing about Sirens having men who die for them is real in Grimeverse. Real in the games too, far as I can see (so what happened to Maya is a cosmic fuckup of epic proportions) (or would be if I was writing that).
The scene with Typhon falling in love with Leda is foreshadowing for the entire series :X. Yes, I have kenning names for every Siren.
The scene that inspired the whole fic was Typhon finding the twins still alive above the bleached line down the valley.
The rock he left them on is the one Tyreen later uses as a lookout and I almost included a flashforward to her doing just that. Her ability to extend herself and Leech whole areas if she's near death is called 'poofing' in my notes because I am five.
~*~
CH5&6
You know, I estimated this fic would be about 5k. It's more than 30k. Umm. Oops.
If the scene with Typhon finding the twins still alive was the first scene I thought of, one of the earliest notes I added around that was Leda being enchanted with her little fish and I loved writing that so much.
I can see why people mitigate Tyreen's scars in their own fic, but that didn't work for me. And then I figured I'd do them all at once, hence the business with her face. (I admit, I also like the explanations that Typhon is somehow responsible or that she earned them herself by... being herself).
But yes, Tyreen did have issues eating from when she was born and none of you should be wondering if this comes up repeatedly.
And the first person she leeched was her mom. Cute?
Ugh, that was too much surgery. Too me forever to slog through that. Looping the story together with the last line was such a relief.
There was a lighter version of the twins coming around and getting their names that I wrote before I got this far for real, but it went in the trash.
Then I had to go and change my mind about the end. Like I said, I almost finished on a scene with toddler twins... that didn't seem like quite the right choice. So I let Ever-Flowing rant for a thousand words.
There you have it: the twins got in the state they were because Ever-Flowing looked at Leda's genes as a gift from Fate and wanted to play with them.
Oh, and the term "Ever-Flowing" is from "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius". It means "the ocean" in context. Subtle as a brick, I am.
#trivia tuesday#fanfic#fanfiction#borderlands#borderlands 3#tyreen calypso#troy calypso#leda calypso#typhon deleon#calypso twins#ersatz siren lore
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reading last chap of s2 after covering several chapters yesterday, also since it's end of the season, for once I put some bigger serious thoughts at the end
who the FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE???
OH MY GOD KARAKA IS TSUNDERE
there are OTHER slayers?? (except fucking ex white) if they mentioned it earlier i must’ve forgot
that’s not how to talk to your daddy greatest
-(no i don’t like jahad i’m here to bully karaka because i tend to bully my faves)
*punches table* rabbit boy. get out. i have not sighed so loud in my entire life
oh i see why people were calling them furries.
listen, you either give us catboys or leave.
please don’t say “creatures” if it’s like your furry way of talking
that guy: not to worry he has a permit
gustang: *pulls out paper* “i can get whatever i want”
i’ve read “gremlin” im dONE
you know what maybe i should just go to bed rn
also cat is destroying my door dear lord
ok so it’s the next day now
“ahahaha”
“I can’t read...”
SHIT I HAVEN’T NOTICED RACHEL GOT TELEPORTED
erh i’m dumb on this one, why have they made this parallels?
I don’t want to tell you this but he just reminded me of chara undertale...
wangan: onii-chan!?
wait what
ouch
soooo karaka believes wangan’s story even w/o ring then?
*spits tea* ow goddammit not the feels
anyhoo that’s the end of s2, siu put a note about break but yeah that was years ago, so pretty sure i’ll be starting s3 even now but i won’t be posting it rn
anyhoo well that was suprisingly long season? my usual knowledge of “Seasons” is usually from anime, and these tend to have seasons with usual 2 or 3 arcs but they usually don’t go in so many different directions
personally it feels like half of season 2 is a season on it’s own tbh, and maybe that’s how anime could adapt it, perhaps? although 12 episodes would work best with just setting on saving bam from fug.. either anime would make the seasons in parts like aot did with s3 or have lots and lots of seasons, since probability of anime getting 24 episodes has gotten awfully small those years
As for the opinions on season 2... I see first half and season on it’s own, so let’s start from this - Bam getting rescued, and first time they enter hell train. First of all, Bam as Viole is absolutely nailing this, and I wouldn’t mind having Viole as protagonist to be honest, although it would be indeed sad as Viole is not the happiest person, but damn is he a cutie. Is he a baby.
Wangan - oh dear I dunno if others saw the plot twist coming, but I did not - I have absolutely been viewing him as Bam’s counterpart to his Viole side, just a complete shounen protagonist who’s completely ordinary. Boy was I w ro n g. I only remember vaguely being sus about him when Viole has mentioned his ring, but that was about it, as it was never mentioned again, I forgot about it. And then it appeared Karaka has this ring. Boy was I shooketh.
I don’t think I exactly liked the further progression though until Wangan’s story was revealed - until then he kinda fell into background, and then soon again as said story was revealed. However I do know Siu has big plans with him, and at this point I know Siu’s writing enough, so I don’t have much worries about his further progression
Also sadly there was no Karaka-Wangan brother bonding
Next in mind I have Khun, naturally, as he’s my icy hot favourite. I don’t really know why even, when I saw him in anime I was quite indifferent about him. So if you want me to explain why do I like khun, I can’t really explain. Other than when he was becoming my favourite, I remember being dissappointed in myself and making a post to myself “Goddammit don’t fall for him just because he’s your type” and he’s not even really my type in terms of personality, but at that point I was jsut shrugging it off, maybe it was his childish over-dramatic posture contrasting his cold personality because I just hit that protect button
Also yes I may be basic just slap me already
And before I’ll start talking: girl’s scout outfit, really? I support my son and I can understand his edgy and k-pop fashion... But I’d be lying if I said I understood him for shit at that moment
So now that we’re past back... I was actually recently re-reading first chapters, and damn, the difference of Khun before Bam was rescued - was rather intriguing. He was laughing his ass off at silly things (his team being dressed silly) but oh sweetie did it feel weird.
Next, I keep thinking about him on the train obliberating Rachel - despite popular opinion, his cockiness was actually getting on my nerves, and only thing saving it, was his reasons were Bam - so in other words, at least he wasn’t an asshat for his own sake.
I much liked his personality during second half of the season 2 - as much as there wasn’t much khunbam content - seems like Khun has grown as a person,as his cocky aura much disappeared as he became more understanding towards his own weaknesses. Now his “cockiness” became rather entertaining if you catch my drift, because despite his jerk nature, he *is* well aware of his flaws, and I just like that. Not that he *wasn’t* considerate of that already, but the hidden floor really did wonders on him.
And dear my, his relationship with Bam. I’ll be honest, at some point during reading first half of season 2, I felt like I was reading romance story between him and Bam. It was all the little things, like playing with Rachel just to know Bam’s past, Khun noticing Bam was uncomfortable with Viole wig, Khun being near Bam as he spoke he has no reasons to live, Khun standing up for Bam when strangers tried to use him and Isu asked for his help but skipped the asking part, Khun looking back to Bam telling him he’ll be back when going to catch the fish on train, Khun trying to talk to him when Bam locked himself up in his room on train, constantly checking and finally waiting in his room when he notices Bam is gone, Khun noticing lack of Bam’s presence before going to floor of death right *after* he just said he feels like world is ending if Bam isn’t here, and then beeming when Bam does in fact appears. And that’s just all the stuff I can remember right now, and I mean the *little* things. The big things are the ones we know well - “So that I can always chase” and the famous world one I don’t have to quote.
Second half didn’t have much scenes, but there were few that did stuck to me - Bam’s line to Kiseia how he understands why she hates him, but he’ll do everything he can to stop her if she plans to harm Khun *again*. Because it seemed like Bam kind of moved on from Khun getting stabbed by his sis, but that panel did show that not only it *did* stay with him, it also stayed with him that it was *Kiseia* who hurt him.
Another scene was the one I don’t think I need to talk about much, as we all pretty understand - moment of Khun and Eduan awkward father-son bonding. Khun tries to close himself off, but Bam reaches out, and forces him out of comfort zone
But what mostly stuck out to me, was his behaviour after Khun became kinda dead. It was the way he spoke to endorsi and rest, how *he’s* going to take khun and follow the *harder* path, and anyone who *don’t want to come*, can take the easier one. Basically, he was prepared to go the harder route completely alone because it meant taking Khun with him, and he was just, prepared to go without any help, he only optionally added that others can join if they *want* to.
Another interesting scene, was Hwaryun calling him out, when few of his teammates has been captured, due to them taking the different path from Bam - but if they are meant to escape with Khun, they have to leave them, and when Bam gets steamy about it, Hwaryun goes - “I didn’t choose the teams. You’ve chosen them based on who matters more.” It’s so subtle, so cruel, yet intriguing - one of the most worst way to tell someone he cares for someone else more - she’s only saying Khun mattered to him more, but in this context, it sounds accusing, making Bam’s decision selfish. And that’s something that’s absolutely in my mind - his care for Khun, called out in “accusing” matter - as something that stopped him from commiting other decision - as something he’s willing to priotize others over.
So I can’t stop thinking about that, and truthfully? That last “take care of Khun after me.” line.
But the other line from bam’s monolouge that gets me is “Wait a bit more Khun... I’ll wake you up again.” That “again” gets to me, but I can’t really explain it. Maybe it’s the way he looks at Khun longily.
So this covers their relationship, and I think I’m only gonna mention Bam now real quick and perhaps Eudan and Jahad, because the post’s getting long and I don’t want to make *this* post specifically long.
I don’t have much to say about Bam, as Bam himself doesn’t have much to say about him. He didn’t have much definying features or characteristics besides the time he was Viole, but you have to hand it to him for growing after meeting after she pushed him for the first time - it was still hard to say anything about him though. For several chapters later - as well, except he did manage to develop the traits of self-sacriface, and actual resolve to save everyone - because he talks about *always* and sure fights for his friends, but who doesn’t? Where his personality shines in this regard, is in the moment of Bam saving his enemies with no questions asked, and White by the way definetely helped Bam to develop his personality for sure.
But either way I’m here roasting Bam, while my goal was to say, that it was in the hidden floor where I’ve actually started recognizing him as his own character - it was in the moment of him having final confrontation with Viole, I finally saw what kind of person he was. And I liked it, he became a solid character in that moment, accompanied by proper flashbacks and exploration. And Bam continues to be then written quite consinstely as in one of later flashbacks, he indeed says, what he said to Viole a while ago - he’s afraid of being alone. Not only that, the internal conflict was added - is he a monster? is he not? It’s simple conflict but can do wonders, and it’s not something that Bam even thinks about, it’s more of a really subtle conflict within a character design itself, rather than Bam.
So basically now Bam indeed feels more of an actual character
And before I’ll end it for now, I want to mention the meeting of young Eudan, andyoung Jahad - truth to be told, I don’t have most unique feelings towards them as anyone sees the point - the adventures with pure intentions turned evil, aka how everyone can turn evil. What makes me more interested, is how Siu has used it for storytelling... Main characters having a big meeting with the younger versions of villians? Haven’t seen that one yet, so I’m interested what direction Siu will take with it, since this is my first time seeing it, so I’m really curious how exactly you can utilize such scenes in terms of long planned story, and not only how they affect story as a whole, but how they also affect just aspects of it as well.
So, that’d be it on my commentary and small “opinion” on season 2. It wasn’t like I exactly wanted to put it here, but I wanted the end of season 2 to have more meaning to myself. But not only to have a meaning to myself *just* for my own reasons, but because I didn’t want to leave the whole season with nothing but small comments there and there. I wanted my experience altogether to be something bigger - but not only experience, but my “legacy” as well.
So, that’d be about it x2, if you’re still reading, congratulations, I appreciate that, and you get an apple
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Adrienette: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: Kiss Forty-Six
Read it on AO3: Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses: ...out of envy or jealousy.
They were at a Gabriel charity event, and it had been twenty minutes since Adrien left Marinette talking to one of the lead designers at Chanel to allegedly go get her a drink.
Now, the conversation had ended with the exchange of business cards, and Marinette had no drink and no idea where her fiancé had gotten to.
At five feet, eight inches (ten in shoes, as Adrien always reminded defensively), Adrien was practically impossible to spot among the crowd of gracefully lithe models, tall businessmen, and women wearing ridiculously high heels.
She was just about to pull out her phone and call him when the crowd happened to part enough that the bar suddenly became visible, and she spotted him. She paused mid-step to squint in confusion as a tanned, thirty-something young man leaned into Adrien’s space and said something suavely flirty—Marinette could tell by the way the man’s eyes smoldered.
Adrien laughed, shaking his head as he replied.
The man smiled predatorially and inched in closer, casually placing his hand on top of Adrien’s resting on the bar. He ran his thumb back and forth over Adrien’s knuckle, leaning in some more and seemingly lowering his voice.
That was it.
No one hit on her man like that without getting a piece of Marinette’s mind.
She took a deep breath, composing herself and squaring her shoulders before, head held high, striding confidently over to the bar.
“Adrien!” she called in a factitiously cheery tone. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over.”
Adrien turned at the sound of her voice, opening his mouth to greet her only to be ambushed as she pulled his arm to her chest (nearly causing him to spill his drink all over the slimewad who had been flirting with him) and caught his lips in a territorial kiss.
Adrien blinked, stunned, as Marinette pulled back and grinned widely at Adrien’s equally startled companion.
“I’m so sorry,” she apologized with artificial sincerity. “I hate to be rude, but I need to steal my fiancé for a minute. His father, Gabriel Agreste, needs him.”
Adrien’s eyes flew even wider open, this time in terror. “What?!”
“Come along, Darling,” Marinette cooed, almost making Adrien trip as she practically dragged him away.
“Sorry, Kumar!” Adrien called back over his shoulder as Marinette hauled him over to the far corner of the ballroom.
“What does my father need me for?” Adrien inquired urgently when they came to a stop.
Marinette rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t need you for anything. I made that up to get you away from that creep.”
Adrien blinked uncomprehendingly. “Kumar’s not a creep. He was really nice. He recognized me from my modeling mainly, but he said he’d seen me in a couple of the productions I’ve done while in university too. He really liked me as Viola in Twelfth Night three years ago,” Adrien beamed with pride, and Marinette almost hated to crush the illusion.
Adrien always believed the best about others, always gave them the benefit of the doubt. It was something Marinette treasured about her partner, but sometimes it made Adrien too credulous, too trusting, and that had burned him in the past.
“He’s actually a director, and he wants to do a modern-day adaptation based on the Arsène Lupin books. He wanted me to audition,” Adrien informed with all the excitement of a puppy about to go for a walk. “He gave me his number.”
Marinette smiled patiently, her annoyance subsiding as she reached up and lovingly stroked Adrien’s face. “Oh, My Love…maybe he really is a director and he really does want you to audition, but I know one thing for sure, and that’s that Kumar was coming onto you.”
Adrien blinked, staring at her incredulously. “What? …N-No. No. He wasn’t. Yeah, I mean, he bought me a drink, but it wasn’t like that.”
Marinette pursed her lips but didn’t argue.
Adrien frowned. “Okay. Maybe he was being a little friendly, but he was kind of tipsy. You get super handsy when you’re tipsy. It’s not uncommon.”
Marinette didn’t fight back and, instead, let him put the pieces together himself.
“Though…” Adrien bit his lip. “I mean… He did…”
Mentally, he reviewed the exchange, cringing as he saw things in a new light.
“Okay,” he admitted with a sigh. “Maybe he was trying to pick me up a little bit, but he definitely wanted me to audition for his play too.”
“I’m sure he did, Chaton,” Marinette encouraged, giving Adrien’s arm a pat and leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. “He would be crazy not to want you in his play.”
“I know, right?” Adrien nodded, trying to convince himself of that fact in order to save face a little.
“Mmhm,” Marinette confirmed. “You’re an amazing actor, Adrien. You’re going to be famous all over again in your own right before you know it.”
“Yeah,” Adrien sighed, beginning to look glum.
“You okay?” She took his hand and gave it a bolstering squeeze.
He squeezed back. “Just feeling kind of foolish for not realizing I was being chatted up.”
She shook her head and waved the incident away. “It’s just because you’re so used to it. People hit on you all the time, so flirting doesn’t really register anymore.”
That got a glimmer of a smile out of him. “You’re not wrong. I am in rather high demand.”
“I’m going to have to put a collar and a bell on you so everyone knows without a doubt that you’re taken,” Marinette snorted teasingly, giving her fiancé an impish grin.
His smile widened into a full-fledged beam. “I’d be delighted if you’d make it official and put a collar on me, My Ladylove.”
She bopped his nose playfully, giving him her Ladybug smirk. “The wedding’s not until the summer, Chaton. You’ll have to wait.”
“I can’t wait,” Adrien hummed, pulling her in to rest his forehead against hers. “Seven whole months? It feels like a lifetime.”
“Patience,” Marinette chuckled, giving his shoulder a supportive squeeze. “We’ll get there when we get there.”
Adrien gave a soft grumble, making Marinette laugh harder.
“Come on,” she coaxed, stepping back but retaining his hands in her own. “Let’s work the room and rub it in everyone’s faces how obnoxiously happy we are together.”
Adrien chuckled as he shook his head and gazed lovingly at his future bride. “As my Princess wishes.”
#Adrinette#Adrienette#Marichat#Miraculous Ladybug#Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction#Marinette Dupain-Cheng#Adrien Agreste#Chat Noir#Kissing#Writing Prompts#Mikau's Writings#Serendipity: Fifty Marichat and Adrienette Kisses
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Episode 8 liveblog
Mary is leading the fucking church now?????? Mary what the hell??????
The eldritch gospel????
That church is bloody fully now. And it’s two days before Halloween
Too many teens necking it. This adult must look away.
And the scene with Nick is mimicking the one with Harvey and that was 2 days before her 16th and this is 2 days before her 17th. Hitting me right in the nostalgia feels haha.
And MORNINGSTAR IS HERE. Omg she’s dying in Spellman’s arms; it was too much coming through the mirror. She just made it in time to warn them. I’m so sad that I’m so glad we cut to blackwood’s head on a plate for some light relief
Ah the trinket guy is back. Who is this guy?
Ooh PANDORA’S BOX. And the box might suck the user inside along with the void. Fun.
BUT WHO IS THIS TRINKET MAN????
And Sabrina is writing letters to her loved ones. I called it that this was gonna all go very Buffy The Gift.
‘You really are a good boy, Salem’ excuse me while I cry some fucking more
The void looks like a room on crystal maze
No don’t drag her back while her plan seems to be working!!! No she’s nearly done!!! Don’t stop her!!! She’d nearly done it she’d nearly fucking done!!
And mary doing this story reading is such a parallel to Lilith doing the story in The Witching Hour ‘time for another story about Sabrina’
And Lilith is eavesdropping on Sabrina saying about her soul and the void. What is Lilith up too?
Mary fucking sewing Blackwood’s head back on???? The woman is adapting fucking quickly to this weird ass world of eldritch
Ah the alarm has disappeared and so obviously the void isn’t defeated. But is eating things slowly piece by piece
Lilith is really enjoying telling lucifer and caliban that Sabrina M is dead. Like yeah guess how it fucking feels. What is Lilith’s aim in telling him about the soul transference? Caliban wants to freaking kill Sabrina S. like what the hell? Sabrina m wouldn’t want that.
I think Lilith is playing a long con here because otherwise the information makes no sense at all. But having he ‘boon’ of knowing that her baby forgives her and calls her mama and lives on in the next life has given Lilith back all her strength and determination.
And now the famous scene of the cake disappearing and now a fucking army too. I mean lucifer and caliban are so full of shit; Sabrina M would have been so against that. She died trying to save everyone and they’re fucking trying to kill them.
Aaand Sabrina is part of the void
And Lilith revealing what her whole intent was all along. With that freaking blade! YES QUEEN!!!!
If you won’t give me what’s mine I’ll just have to take it
And so the more stressed Sabrina gets the more voidy she gets
‘Do you remember darling when we first met? Just like this’ Lilith is so powered by grief AND being empowered once more. AND SHE NOW HAS THE POWER TO BANISH LUCIFER AND MAKE HIM WANDER AS A FUCKING BEGGER. We don’t have a part 5 so I’m presuming, due to what we learned about celestial blood, that Lilith is back to her powerful self and possibly more besides? I mean she was powerful enough to banish a fucking celestial so that’s a definite yes I think.
I do wish she had kill lucifer rather than banish him. Even though it would torment him so much to be a powerless begger BUT I feel if they had a part 5 they’d use it as an opportunity to bring him back which would have been annoying
So Sabrina has banished herself to the mountains of madness.
Yeah you’re definitely outside the bounds of sanity, Blackwood
And now he’s becoming her tutor for TWO WEEKS?
SALEM IN AGATHA’s BAG and roz is officially part of team witch now it seems
Omfg the state of Sabrina. She’s falling apart with the void inside her
‘Father stop babbling and make sense’
And Blackwood hated Sabrina so much and now he’s having to serve her while he tries to find the void
But prudence and roz have figured shit out instantly
NO SHE DISAPPEARED ROZ AND PRUDENCE!!! I presume that isn’t permanent?
and now we’re all at the winter solstice????
Nick brought a frozen Sabrina back from the void??
Sabrina is on the altar table and they’ve all arrived just in time to stop Blackwood sacrificing her. And Sabrina and Blackwood both look a fucking wreck
And Blackwood don’t you dare call Zelda ‘wife’
It wasn’t Pandora’s box it was a regular box rigged with gunpowder and now he’s blind hahaha and Nick knocked him out marvellous
But Sabrina is saying they’ll still have to sacrifice her, and she’s asking Zelda to be the one to stab her. Like how you can ask her to do that? You’re her daughter. God Zelda and Lilith having to do horrible things to their children for the sake of a greater good or purpose. NOT FAIR
So let’s finish this the way we always do; together. I wish Lilith was here for that. An official ‘together’
‘Hecate will be watching over you’ I’m already hurting
Poor poor Zelda having to do that. And she’s bleeding white as the void seeps out of her and now the boys are going in with their magic rope to go all poltergeist
But now the ficking banshee is here and Hilda knows. She knows before Zelda wants to and weMte seeing all the birthdays and I’m sat here crying my eyes out as Sabrina says bye to everyone as she dies
And Zelda just saying Hecate over and over again and Hilda saying she knew that Sabrina knew what had to be done. I’m so upset by this entire scene!
And they’re burying both Sabrinas. And I have such a limp in my throat now and then so much more so when you see Lilith goes to the funeral. Like that means they let Lilith know she was dead and then she chose to go to the funereal. The one positive I’m taking from this scene is that this means Lilith is living as Queen finally AND she’s on good terms with the coven but that’s all I’m taking as good from this whole tragedy
And Hilda deciding she and dr cee should move to the mortuary to be spellmans together
Oh gosh zelda’s tears and saying it’s not right that she’s gone. OWWWWW. There’s been too much pain this season. I miss the good ole days of everything working out fine
And Blackwood has been chopped into pieces and mary is now leading the church????
And now Sabrina in the hereafter. And I’m not sure Nick is dead too and it’s not just Sabrina imagining him there as part of her hereafter. Because that would make more sense.
I think the ending would have been more powerful if we hadn’t ended on those two. I would have preferred it ended on the prudence and Blackwood scene.
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An Old Life Meets A New (Pt7)
Pairing: Jensen x Daughter, Danneel x Stepdaughter
Warnings: Slight Cussing, Angst, Fluff, Death Mentioned, Car Accident Mentioned, Anxiety/Depression, Arguing, Panic Attacks, Yelling, Fighting
Summary: After the recent death of her mother, Harper must adjust to her new life in the Ackles home, this includes a new stepmother, half-siblings, and reconnecting with her father.
A/N: No hate on Danneel or Jensen please. This chapter talks a bit into Harper’s anxiety. Feedback is greatly appreciated!
*ASK OPEN*
**COMMENT TO BE ADDED TO MY TAGLIST**
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Chapter 7
After a half hour of driving, Jensen pulled the truck into a parking spot at the mall. During their drive, Jensen and Harper continued down memory lane while Danneel sat quietly to herself.
Jensen put the truck in park and turned it off, "Are we ready?"
Harper smiled and nodded to her father, while Danneel just stepped out of the truck without a word. Jensen and Harper exchanged a look and shrugged to each other.
Jensen and Harper climbed out of the truck, shutting the doors behind them, and Jensen locked it. He walked over to Danneel and reached for her hand, giving it a tight squeeze as they walked towards the entrance of the mall. Harper was trailing behind them, her hands in her jacket pockets looking around.
Jensen turned around to Harper, "Any particular store you want to start with?"
Harper shrugged, "I guess we should start with paint. Is there a store in here for that?"
Jensen shook his head, "Sorry, kiddo. We can go by a hardware store after this though."
Harper nodded as they walked up to the entrance. Jensen held the door open for the girls as they walked inside. The three looked around the mall from where they stood, none having a clue where to start.
Jensen saw a map in front of them and walked up to it, reading it. He pointed at one store, "Let's just start here. JCPenney should have a few beddings you like."
He took Danneel's hand again and the three walked towards the other end of the mall to JCPenney. Harper was looking at the stores as they walked, seeing if there was anything she liked at a glance.
Suddenly two girls around Harper's age ran up to Jensen, screaming and giggling. They pushed paper and pens at him, getting him to autograph them. He took a couple pictures with them and waved goodbye.
Harper chuckled, "I guess I forgot that happens."
Jensen smiled at her, "It doesn't happen as much around here because people know me. If it happens again, I'll just tell them to wait for another time. I'm with my family at the moment."
Harper shuttered at the word "family". It was weird to hear it as hers was broken her entire life. Jensen only coming around a few times a year, her mother having boyfriend after boyfriend. But they both still tried to make it work for their daughter.
After a few minutes, the three were walking into JCPenney. Jensen and Danneel made their way to the bedding area, but Harper stood still at the entrance.
Danneel walked over to a purple and red patterned comforter, "This is pretty. I bet she'd like this."
Jensen made a face, "I don't know, Dee. Think more blue. That's her favorite remember."
Danneel mumbled, "How could I forget? The two of you just talked about it for the entire drive."
Jensen rolled his eyes, "Danneel, please. This isn't about you. Harper and I were just reminiscing about the past. It's the past for a reason. She's changed, and she's trying to adapt to this life."
"You're right Jay," Danneel said with a sigh, "I'm sorry. I need to be more open minded." She walked over to a plain purple comforter, "How about this one?"
Jensen thought for a moment, "Well, it should match a dark shade of blue. But that depends on what she wants to color her room," he turned around, "Harper?"
Jensen suddenly noticed Harper wasn't behind him. He looked around, stood on his toes even, but couldn't see her.
He walked back to the entrance and saw her standing there with tears on her face and her arms crossed. He slowly walked up to her and bent down to a knee.
There Harper stood, anxiety taking over her body and her frame shook and her nails dug into her skin. She raised her face at him before looking away.
Jensen laid a hand on her chin and raised her head up, "What's the matter?"
Harper shrugged, "I don't know. I thought I'd be okay today, but I just miss doing things like this with mom. We would go shopping, just the two of us, all the time. Now that she's not here..." A single tear fell from her face on to the floor.
Jensen pulled Harper into him and hugged her, "I know honey. Just say the word and we'll go."
She shook her head on his shoulder, "No. I want to do this. I need to do this. I can't hide from it forever."
Jensen held his daughter at arms length, "Not as fragile as you once where. Still the strong little girl from New York aren't ya?"
Harper chuckled and wiped her eyes, "Strong, yes. Fragile? For the time being, also yes."
Jensen stood up and held out his hand, "Would it make you feel better to hold my hand? Like when you were little?"
Harper smiled up at him and took his hand, "I'm pretty sure my hands were too small to hold yours so I just wrapped my hand around your finger."
Jensen and Harper started walking back to Danneel. Jensen gave Harper's hand a tight squeeze while she kept her eyes open for a bedding set that she liked.
Danneel saw the two walking back to her, picked up the purple bedding, and ran up to Harper, "Isn't this pretty, Harper? It's such a gorgeous shade of purple."
Harper made a face, "Um, no thanks. I'm not really a purple person."
Danneel sighed and put the comforter back, "Okay then."
Over the next 20 minutes, Jensen, Danneel, and Harper looked around for a bedding set Harper would like. She turned down every set she saw.
When she turned a corner, one bedding set caught her eyes. She sprinted over to it and pulled it off the shelf. She had a huge grin on her face and she stared at the pattern.
Harper yelled out, "Hey, Dad, I found one!"
Jensen and Danneel walked around the corner and saw Harper's lit up. Jensen immediately smiled at the sight of his little girl's face.
He walked up and looked at it, "Oh wow, this is beautiful. You're sure this is the one you want?"
Harper nodded and jumped around in a circle, hugging the set to her chest, "It's perfect!"
Danneel walked up and took it from Harper's hands. She made a face and asked, "What is it? A bunch of swirls?"
Harper yanked it back from Danneel and said in a low voice, "It's a famous painting, for your information. The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. It's my favorite painting of all time."
Danneel opened her mouth to speak, but Jensen stepped in, "If it's your favorite, then that's the one."
Harper's smile returned to her face, "Really? Thanks, Dad!" She dropped the bedding to her side and hugged Jensen around the neck.
Danneel crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Harper caught the gesture out of the corner of her eye. Harper suddenly let go and took a step back.
Jensen reached down and picked up the comforter, "Alright, that's one thing. Should we look around for sheets?"
Harper pointed at the bedding, "That's the best part. It comes with matching sheets!"
Jensen smiled and side hugged Harper, "Then you're right, it's perfect."
Jensen carried the bedding for Harper while they looked around the rest of the store. Danneel and Jensen held hands while they walked, following Harper around while they looked at wall art for her room.
Danneel looked up at Jensen and saw his smile. It was the first time he had that big, mega watt smile in over a week. He had been so nervous about Harper coming that he hardly smiled. But now in this moment, he was happy.
A week ago, Danneel was the opposite when she found out Harper was coming. She kept trying to tell Jensen there was nothing to worry about. She was so excited to see Harper again after 10 years. But once she got there, Danneel's world turned upside down.
She looked at Harper as she zoomed up and down every aisle, looking at paintings. What happened to the cute, shy little 5-year-old she met? And why wouldn't Harper just open up some around her? Was she doing everything wrong? Or was Harper just closing off any relationship with Danneel?
---------------------------
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#SPN#spn rpf#spn oc#supernatural#supernatural rpf#jensen#jensen ackles#jensen x daughter#jensen ackles x daughter#jensen and danneel#jared and jensen#danneel harris#danneel ackles#danneel x stepdaughter#danneel#jared#jared padalecki#jared x niece#jared and gen#OC#jj ackles#zeppelin ackles#arrow ackles
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