#clapper the seal

[thattscherry]

PART 2!! Donkey Kong Country 2 animal buddies, Sonic-ified!

[dixieforsmash]

And that's how the very first Snowmad came to be. #DixieKongFacts

[meowww-ffxiv]

Urianger had Liios's help in developing his water-walking spell, although Liios had expressly told him at the time that he didn't think it was going to work on liquid surfaces.

Liios came from a hunter-gatherer clan in the tundra, so they had a traditional spell that would let them traverse snowy terrains very quickly without sinking in, and being able to cross frozen lakes with a much lower risk of cracking the ice/falling in.

How did Liios know it wasn't going to work on water? He tried already.

Dumbass who said "watch this" then nearly drowned in a chest-deep pond where his dad was teaching him how to walk over ice.

[jellysmosh]

A Gentleman's Agreement

Summary: When you and Spencer were scheduled to film a Trivial Pursuit: Try Not To Laugh video together, you never stood a chance. To win the video, that is.

Pairing: Spencer Agnew x M!Reader

Tags: Fluff, sexual innuendos and references as is the standard for a gentlemen video

Word count: 1.9k

Note: Based on this request from anon for gentleman Spencer and male reader! Utilising this chance to say happy pride month to my fellow LGBTQ-ers, love y’all!

☆

Participating in a gentleman shoot was not for the faint of heart. You had to think quick, the back and forth between the cast was razor sharp and fast enough to cause whiplash. On top of all that, you had to layer on a thick, old-timey English accent, as posh as they come.

You took a deep breath and placed the fake cigarette between your lips. This video was going to be a bit different. The gentlemen videos had grown in size as of late, the number of top hats purchased by the company increasing. The Smosh Games team had decided to change it up a bit and, apparently pitched by Spencer, they had you sit across from him for a Trivial Pursuit: Try Not To Laugh style video, just the two of you. Spencer asking that you join him for this video didn’t do much to stop both your ego and your secret little crush on him from growing. You couldn't help but let a smile take over your whole face when you saw the call sheet that morning.

You couldn’t deny you were a bit nervous. Usually you were more excited for games videos but with the gentleman suit and hat on, Spencer sat right by you, and mind racing to get into character, the pressure was on.

Spencer finished off his discussion with Alex and turned to you, adjusting the top hat perched on his curly head of hair. “You ready?”

When his eyes caught yours, the contact held longer than necessary, you weren’t sure if you imagined the spark in the air between you. Probably just pre-shoot jitters. You barely had enough time to nod before the clapper sounded, and you were rolling.

“I say”, you took a fake puff of your prop cigarette, accent nice and crispy after your impromptu vocal warmups seconds before coming to set. “It appears Sir Scotty Pippin has joined me yet again for a late night rendezvous, although we are significantly more clothed this time, wouldn’t you say, Pippin?”

Spencer kept his lips sealed, hand holding his cigarette paused halfway to his mouth. You could just see the whisper of a smile threaten to push its way out. His eyes were trained on yours, as if to say ‘really?’

“Well, yes, of course, my good sir”, he replied in his rough gentleman accent, “though, I cannot guarantee it will remain this modest for long. I hear homosexuality is the new frontier.”

You couldn’t help but burst into laughter at that. You already knew you were screwed from the moment you sat in the chair, hell, probably from the moment you were told this video was going to happen really. But that was probably a Trivial Pursuit TNTL record for fastest laugh.

You two fell into a rhythm relatively fast, you felt like it was a pretty even game. Every time he got you, you got him back soon after. Whenever you donned the gentleman costume, you loved to scandalise the other gentlemen in an effort to make them laugh so hard they were gasping.

“Pink me, Pippin”, you winked, tipping your hat at him by the brim.

Spencer dramatically raised his brows at you, grabbing the cigarette from his mouth, “perhaps when the cameras are done rolling, sir. I’m afraid my boner is a tad camera shy.”

You managed to push down the laugh that almost spilled out of you, ignoring the warmth creeping up your neck from your chest. Eyeing him expectantly as he drew a question card, you prepared yourself to answer him quickly.

“Pete Best was the original drummer of which band?” He placed his cigarette back in his mouth as he flipped the card over to read the answer.

“Well, that would be this ass, sir”, you quipped, both hands gesturing down to your nether regions.

Spencer almost spat out his cigarette as he abruptly laughed, caught off guard. You could have sworn his cheeks were dusted with a hint of pink as well.

“Just… smacking away like a wildebeest”, you grinned smugly as he tried to compose himself. For a second, you saw Spencer as himself laughing before he got back into character as Scotty Pippin.

Both of you bantered back and forth, and you had to admit you felt a satisfied flip in your stomach every time you made Spencer lose his composure, the laughs from the rest of the room were just cherries on top.

“Blue me, my good sir”, Spencer used his cigarette to point at you before putting it back in his mouth.

“Indeed, I did”, you nodded, your own cigarette wobbling around as you grabbed a card. Spencer laughed again, and you swore he was not so easily broken in other TNTL videos. “And I do believe you left me a glowing review.”

“Well, of course”, he turned his attention to the crew members in the room, “I assure you all, his fellatio skills are unmatched!”

That got you, and you were holding your sides as you laughed along with the other people in the room. You tried to catch your breath as you retrieved your prop cigarette from where it had fallen on the table.

You took a breath and read out the blue question on the card, “which was built first: The Eiffel Tower or the Panama Canal?”

You braced yourself for whatever bullshit Spencer was about to spew.

“You and I participated in an Eiffel Tower, I do recall”, he immediately shot back, “yes, yes, with that lovely call girl, and we passionately made out with each other as well if my memory serves me… with tongue!” While you had expected him to say something wild, as was par for the course for Scotty Pippin, you were still left giggling like an idiot, face in hands to cover your reddened cheeks.

When you retracted your hands, you caught Spencer’s gaze lingering on you a bit too long. His smile was not as smug as it usually would be, much softer, more himself. You felt your smile falter, there was no chance the cameras weren’t picking up how red your face had become, and that combined with the way he was looking at you, it all made your heart beat ten times faster.

“Guys? Hello?” Alex’s confused voice rang out over the set, which you only just realised had gone oddly silent. “Why’d you stop?”

You and Spencer blinked at each other, seeming to snap out of it. Neither of you had realised that you were wordlessly staring at each other for way too long while the cameras were rolling.

“I say, we are simply just two gentlemen enjoying the warmth of each other’s company”, Spencer swooped in to save the day, back in character. Meanwhile, you did your best to look indignant as well.

“Yes!” You backed him up, puffing out your chest.

“And if something happens, then something happens!”

“Ye- what?” You looked at him, puzzled, as laughter erupted in the room again.

“So be it!”

“Now, wait a moment”, you held a hand up in playful bewilderment, holding in your laughter, but he wasn’t done.

“What’s a bit of loving between two men? I believe that’s the manliest thing one can do”, he winked at you and this time you couldn’t hold in your laughter. You've known him for quite a while now and he still surprised you with how easily he could make you laugh. Maybe he chose you for this video because he knew he would win.

The rest of the video continued without a break in banter. You believed this may be the video you had laughed the most in, and probably the video your heart was beating the fastest throughout. You had no idea how other cast members managed to do videos alone with him. He was so charming, so hilarious, so Spencer, even when he was playing a crude gentleman. It came as no surprise when it was announced that Spencer won.

Once filming was done, Alex was giving some very brief notes before dismissing you.

“You guys laugh a little too easily at each other’s jokes”, he narrowed his eyes at you for a second. You sheepishly took off your top hat to ruffle your hair to get back to normal, hoping it also covered the fact that you were blushing.

“I knew we would make a good pair”, Spencer leaned over to nudge your arm as Alex walked away. Your heart jumped into your throat as you glanced over, he was smiling mischievously, like you were kids sharing a secret.

“Yeah”, you almost whispered before clearing your throat and speaking up, “yeah, that was a lot of fun, man.”

You quickly left the set after that, mumbling something about preparing for the next video. Your heart hammered in your chest and you felt like you were going to be sick. Maybe this was more than a little crush.

☆

You left wardrobe in your normal clothes, sighing in relief to no longer have the stuffy collar of the white gentleman shirt choking you. You realised your T-shirt was not pulled down all the way properly and you heard someone clear their throat behind you as you yanked it down. You spun around to see Spencer, still in his Scotty Pippin costume, clearly heading into wardrobe as you were leaving.

“Y/N, hey!”, he grinned at you crookedly, tucking his top hat under his arm.

“Hello again”, you tried not to feel shy, he had such a weird effect on you no other person did.

“So, uh, did you enjoy the shoot?” Spencer looked around, seemingly avoiding eye contact, “as you know, I was the one that pitched it, so I would really appreciate your, like, feedback.”

“Yeah!” You replied a little too fast and a little too loud, you rubbed the back of your neck, embarrassed, “yeah, it was a lot of fun.”

He glanced back at you and there it was again, the little spark between you as you stood there, eyes locked without saying a word.

“I agree, by the way”, you had lowered your voice, not wanting anyone else to hear, wanting this moment to be just for you two, “that we make a good pair.”

He chuckled, his cheeks flushing a similar shade of pink as yours.

“We do”, he put one hand in his jeans pocket, hiding his restlessness, “that’s why I wanted to ask if you wanted to get dinner sometime, with me, with just me, I mean. Like, as a date, not as bros. Obviously. I don’t know why I said that.”

You chuckled as well when he stumbled over his words.

“I’m fucking this up”, he groaned, turning his body away from you as he tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling. You could see his ears reddening quickly.

“No, you’re not”, you gently rested your hand on his shoulder to turn him back toward you. You felt your breath hitch a bit when you saw his expression, cheeks red and eyes vulnerable in a way that made you want to hug him tight. “I would love to.”

You leaned in and pressed an apprehensive kiss to his cheek. You heard him sigh, content, and his hand came out of his pocket to wrap an arm around you. That made you smile, heart thumping and chest warm. Your hand came up to hold his face as you kissed his cheek again for a half-beat longer. You pulled back to look at him, a big dumb grin on your face.

“Best video idea I ever pitched”, he murmured for only you to hear as he pulled you in again.

☆

Note: This was an attempt at a shorter fic, since I want to take more requests! I hope you guys still like it, please tell me what you think. <3

♡ masterlist

[transgenderer]

"timbre" in french means the same thing it does in english, timbre or tone, but it ALSO means stamp. the timbre or tone meaning is generally agreed to come from tympanum, drum. but the stamp meaning is very strange then, right? random blog post claims

“drum” evolved to refer to a bell and then to the part of the hammer that strikes a bell. It’s this last step that informs the modern timbre since the hammer then became the handheld stamps used to seal envelopes with wax, leading logically to the modern stamp.

this feels like a totally nonsensical line of logic to me. like...i guess? they used the clapper of a stamp? seems dubious! especailly becuase it doesnt currently mean the clapper, it just means bell. very odd

[1americanconservative]

@StephenM

President Trump pledged to seal the border — and he did.

President Trump pledged to end DEI — and he did.

President Trump pledged to dismantle trans ideology — and he did.

He pledged to get men out of women’s sports — and he did.

He pledged to get woke out of the military — and he did.

He pledged to take on our corrupt colleges — and he did.

He pledged to stop inflation and unload American energy — and he did.

He pledged to take our jobs back from China and foreign nations — and he did.

He pledged to end weaponized government — and he did.

He pledged to reassert control over the rogue bureaucracy — and he did.

He pledged to seek peace and security in the world — and he did.

He pledged to restore democracy — and he did.

One vow brought to life after another, day after day after day.

For ten years, the communist left tried to stop him at any cost. They tried to frame him, defame him, bankrupt and jail him. Tory went after his family, friends and closest allies. He survived not one but two assassination attempts on his life.

He endured one wicked witch hunt, hoax, persecution and campaign of fraud and destruction after another. Comey and Clapper and Brennan and Mueller and Schiff and Garland and Smith.

Never for one second did he bend, buckle or bow. He was unyielding, unwavering and unstoppable as he led the nation to a stratospheric victory and electoral landslide in November.

The man in the arena.

We are living through destiny fulfilled.

And now, we stand on the verge of enacting his agenda — America’s agenda — into law.

To every Republican in Congress: honor destiny’s call. Honor the mandate. Honor the moment. Stand with Trump. Bring it home. Deliver the win.

[riddles-n-games]

Saw a cute blonde kid today and thought of little Grayson; here are some wholesome things to know about our favorite gray-eyed grump from when he was just starting school.

He used to wear glasses a lot because his eyesight was really not that good as a child and Nash fondly remembers little Gray looking very cute and wide-eyed whenever he gifted him new books to read.

No surprise, he was a little book nerd that loved more stimulating things but he was fond of picture books, comics, graphic novels (one of his first was the Amulet series) and sometimes tried drawing out his own.

Aside from just being a quiet kid, Grayson was actually quite shy at first and took a while to warm up to people. At events or when there were important meetings at Hawthorne House, he would hide behind Nash until his big brother had to give him a nudge. At school, he didn't want to socialize, so he sat in a corner, caught in the books during playtime.

He had a lisp for a while where he couldn't pronounce s and z without trouble but then his grandfather sent him to a specialist to help him out with that. Although, Tobias did find himself endeared that when his grandson got excited it came out more often and he sounded very sweet but also looked adorable as he tried speaking.

Also, like every kid, he had a special toy. Except, of course, it wasn't a teddy; it was a seal. What's more, this seal had a sound box and it had some interesting sound effects. One of Grayson's favorites was the clapping sound, hence the name Clapper. Tobias was kind of annoyed with it but he couldn't get rid of it because that was the first toy Gray latched onto when he was a year old. And so it stayed. For many years to come until it was shoved in the closet because no respectable young man needs toys anymore (jokes; he still sleeps with it sometimes).

[cwgames]

Crocodile Cauldron: Lava Lagoon

The water here inside the ship is red. That mean the water is to boiling to swim or touch. The only way to cool the water down is to keep bouncing on one of the animal friends. His name is "Clapper the Seals." But it will last only a little while so you have to hurry.

[shesamonkey]

Kalypso's Kreatures

Kalypso the beast tamer from Kremling's Karnibal Kollection

https://sta.sh/2jydiiyyq08?edit=1

[kpop]

K-Pop Spotlight: Stray Kids

Masks off everyone—Stray Kids’ newest mini-album ODDINARY is finally out and it’s time to embrace the maniac within. To celebrate the new release and their upcoming fourth anniversary, we caught up with the group to talk about their new album and single, MANIAC, and the challenges and fulfillment that come with accepting your most authentic self. As a little bonus, we also asked the members to design their own Tumblr blogs (just in case you needed some inspiration). Check out our full interview below!

Tell us about your new mini-album ODDINARY in three words or less, but there’s a catch—you can’t use the words odd or ordinary. 

Bang Chan: MANIACS ARE BACK!

Lee Know: Cool.

Changbin: Inner side, volcano, control.

Hyunjin: Super Power song.

HAN: Abnormal, freaky, potential are the three words that I think describe it best. We tried to describe the energy that explodes from our music in a different way this time, by slowly showing control over this energy. 

Felix: Maniac, unique, and dark.

Seungmin: Interesting, fascinating, capturing hearts.

I.N: Mania, abnormal, conceptual. 

Stray Kids’ music and concepts often encourage young people to be their most authentic selves regardless of other people’s opinions. How does ODDINARY fit into that narrative, and what do you hope your fans take away from it? 

Bang Chan: This might not apply to everyone, but I feel like many people have experienced moments where they’re told to act normal (yep, I’ve been through that). We wanted to emphasize that “standards” don’t matter and that you have the authority to let out the “oddness” that’s been sealed inside you all this time.

Changbin: ODDINARY is a compound word that combines “ordinary” and “odd,” meaning that everyone has a normal and slightly weird side. Listeners will be able to experience the everlasting honesty and truthfulness that Stray Kids’ music has always displayed, with the more crazy side that Stray Kids have. 

HAN: I hope that STAY and all listeners will be able to follow their hearts, rather than being confined by the judgment of others. I hope everyone also looks forward to the upgraded version of us. 

Seungmin: Whatever situation may come, I hope that everyone is able to live in their most honest, unique way with versatility while never forgetting who they truly are. I hope our music can become a small strength. 

Lightning round! You’re customizing your own Tumblr blog. Pick an aesthetic and a personal tag!

Bang Chan: Ooft... it’s hard to pick just one because my preferred aesthetics change depending on my mood. But if I had to pick one, it would be cyberpunk. The lights got me, and I’m a fanatic for futuristic stuff.

Lee Know: I want to decorate it using a clean, white tone.

Changbin: I want to use the tags #straykids, #stay, #stage, #music, which all mean a lot to Stray Kids.

Hyunjin: Vintage Tumblr, with #lovestay

HAN: I would like to decorate it like #black #chic to show a lot of calm yet cool atmosphere! I want to use the tags #black #chic #skz #loveyou #STAY.

Felix: #행복이 #felix 🐈‍⬛💛

Seungmin: #Seungtage. I really like vintage furniture and aesthetics, so I would like to decorate it using an organized brown tone.

I.N: I’m into vintage aesthetics these days, so I think I’ll go with vintage.

What was it like to meet your fans face-to-face at your SKZ’S CHOCOLATE FACTORY fanmeet after all this time? What was your favorite part? 

Lee Know: I remember watching STAY clapping for us.

Hyunjin: I was so happy I could dance when I saw STAY from onstage for the first time in such a long time. Everyone was holding paper clappers. It was so cute.

Felix: Since it has been two years since we’ve had a fan meeting, seeing our STAY upfront was a very memorable and enjoyable day. We hope to see our fans again soon.

I.N: All fan meeting stages were fun, but the role-playing games we played with STAY were really fun!

What’s the meaning behind the album version titles “FRANKENSTEIN,” “MASK OFF,” and “SCANNING,” and why was it important for you to highlight them in this release? 

Bang Chan: Based on the concept of the title song and the album, we thought it would be cool to use those keywords to make various versions. Based on the keywords, we can show different vibes of this album without breaking the overall vibe of the whole concept.

Changbin: We expressed the inner side that everyone has, the one that we are busy hiding. 

Felix: These keywords express our emotions and lyrics about our odd sides in a world framed as ordinary. We express that it’s okay to have our own sides. We don’t have to hide when we take our masks off. 

How would you say your relationships with each other have evolved over the years, especially after switching dorms and housemates? 

Lee Know: I don’t feel as though a lot has changed, but I like that we have separate rooms now.

Hyunjin: I also don’t think a lot has changed because I go to the other dorms often.

HAN: After going through all the ups and downs during the past few years, we really have become inseparable. As we now have separate rooms, we’re able to have some personal time, allowing us to think more and be more relaxed by ourselves. I don’t think shared dorms affected our relationship too much because we still hit each other up whenever we’re bored and eat together.

As you approach your fourth anniversary as a group, are there moments you look back on as major instances of growth?

Seungmin: I think I was able to continuously break my personal challenges through the program Kingdom: Legendary War. While at the time I felt a lot of pressure, looking back on it, it was a precious experience that allowed me to grow.

I.N: I think we have become much more relaxed on stage, and everyone’s unique colors stand out more.

Want more of Stray Kids? Check out their new mini-album ODDINARY and the music video for “MANIAC” here.

[queermediastudies]

Family Porn Night: A Movie Review

As the opening titles come on screen, we hear but don’t see the sound of water sloshing in a bucket, being wrung out of a rag, heavy breathing, scrubbing. The titles fade and we see a woman, on her hands and knees, cleaning the floor of what we eventually learn is the British Museum. We hear footsteps, the sharp bark of a man saying, “Move!” as he and several others, carrying a fossil on a stretcher, tramp across the floor she has just cleaned. On the fossil we see a handwritten tag that reads “Sea Lizard found by Miss Mary Anning Lyme Regis.” The man in charge harrumphs, pulls the tag off, and replaces it with a tag that says “ICHTHYOSAURUS LYME REGIS Presented by H. Hoste Henley Esquire.” He has written Mary Anning out of history. 

Ammonite is writer/director Francis Lee’s attempt to write Mary Anning, and queerness, back into the world of 1840s Britain. The plot is a simple romantic drama with an enigmatic ending. Simply put, Mary Anning falls in love with Charlotte Murchison but chooses to remain alone rather than give up her career by moving with Charlotte to London. The complex beauty of the movie comes from Lee’s subversion of audience expectations as well as some traditional film-making procedures. But how well he succeeded is still up for debate. The movie flopped at the box office, grossing under $1,000,000 world wide, failing to recoup the $3,000,000 distribution rights, let alone the $13.4 million in production costs. Carson Timar of “Clapper” wrote, “This is a bland and empty feature that feels like an ancient fossil void of any passion or substantial emotion” (Timar, 2020). With movie darling Kate Winslet in the lead and rising-star Saoirse Ronan playing opposite her, the lackluster reception is surprising. Does Ammonite, like Moonlight, prove that queer films need to be sexless to be successful (Lodge, 2017), or can we ascribe Ammonite’s box office bomb to other causes? I believe the erotic scenes are only part of the answer. While I disagree with the Rotten Tomatoes reviewer who said, “Simply out [sic], Ammonite commits that cardinal sin of being truly boring” (Andrew L., Ammonite, 2022), the slow pace likely contributed to Ammonite’s poor, reception sealing Ammonite’s fate as a “perfectly respectable, eminently professional slice of prestige arthouse” (Clarke, 2021) doomed to accrue financial losses. The other variable is not lesbian eroticism per se but rather lesbian eroticism scripted by women for the female gaze. In other words, two of the components that Lee uses to queer cinema are the very things that make it a failure in the public sphere.

In Ways of Seeing (1972), John Berger writes, “Seeing comes before words…It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world” (p. 7). Lee builds Mary Anning’s rocky world slowly, introducing the audience to her visually before any words are spoken. Although this is the well-trodden territory of a period romance, this is a romance that reimagines history. Mary Anning was a real person from Lyme Regis, UK, who sold fossils (called ‘relics’ in the movie) to the British Museum beginning at age 11. But there is no evidence of her having a love interest, gay or otherwise. Some of Anning’s descendants have questioned Lee’s manipulation of her story, which highlights the problems with “outing,” or ascribing queerness to public figures. Posthumously attributing identities to people may be a tempting way to queer the past by showing “the world that many widely admired and respected men and women are gay” (Duggan, 2006, p. 153), but it can be problematic to apply a modern understanding of queerness to people who cannot confirm or deny those identities and who may or may not have accepted our definitions. In other words, even if Anning had engaged in romantic liaisons with other women, she may not have seen those relationships as queer, either in the sense of their being gay or out of the ordinary. Lee attempts to “honor the complexity of [Anning’s] differences” (Duggan, 1991, p. 155) by building a rich and textured world that includes multiple ways of forming relationships. Even while I acknowledge that “outing” Anning may be problematic, I still find joy in the sapphic world Lee imagines.

Lee’s femme-centered world doesn’t limit gender expression. Mary is a complex character, outwardly mirroring the coldness of her Lyme Regis beach but with a depth of feeling we catch in glimpses, most often through Winslet’s uncanny ability to convey emotion without speaking. Mary plays with gender performance, but retains her essential womanness, subverting early Hollywood’s “gender-inversion stereotype” (Bernshoff & Griffin, 2004, p. 7). She smokes and swears frequently, has dirty fingernails and armpit hair (appropriate for the time but not for Hollywood). When engaged to take care of Charlotte, who has “melancholia,” Mary says, “There looks to be fuck all wrong with you to me” (0:28:30). She genuinely loves finding and cleaning fossils. When Charlotte, who has recently lost a baby, asks Mary if she has children, Mary replies, “I have my work. I don’t need children as well” (00:51:38). 

As the movie progresses, Lee reveals Mary’s tender (feminine) side, showing her caring for a sick Charlotte and, at one point, wearing a dress and perfume to attend a recital with Charlotte. After Charlotte returns to London, Mary receives a letter from her. Before opening it, Mary lifts it to her nose hoping to catch the perfume Charlotte wore.

Charlotte originally acts as a more traditionally feminine counterpoint to Mary’s masculinity. She wears bonnets and bows, black to show mourning, and delicate heeled shoes. She’s weak and pale from what her husband calls “melancholia” but which could more honestly be called depression, either from the loss of a baby or the pressure of passing as heterosexual. Her angst doesn’t last long. Within a few scenes, Charlotte sets aside her expensive clothing for rugged boots to better accompany Mary on her morning fossil huts. Color comes back into her cheeks, she laughs more frequently, and she fully engages in Mary's work. Charlotte’s awakening coincides with her temporary move from London to Lyme Regis while Mary simply is regardless of her location. This juxtaposition has been noted by Karl Schoonover and Rosalind Galt in Queer Cinema in the World (2016), “Some people have to travel to express their sexuality and/or gender, and others stay home” (p. 77). 

Lee contrasts elements in order to show how the women grow closer while retaining their core identity. While lying in bed together, Charlotte says, “Say it again.” Mary then recites a limerick:

There was a young woman named Sally

Who loved the occasional dally.

She sat on the lap

Of a well-endowed chap

And she said, ‘Oh, you’re right up my alley” (1:15:45).

Charlotte smiles, having let go of some of her feminine-coded sensibilities, while Mary, nude and vulnerable, curls trustingly next to her. 

In a similar contrasting scene, Mary wades into the white-cap waves, turns, and waits for Charlotte to join her. Charlotte slowly walks out, frightened. She reaches Mary, who grabs her around the waist and smiles. Charlotte clings to her, still afraid, but feeling safe in Mary’s arms. This scene is the only time we see Mary laugh, and her joy mirrors the bright sun and warm filter unusual in this movie. Here, Mary both protects and pushes Charlotte, never demanding Charlotte change but offering help if Charlotte chooses to take it.

Two intimate scenes in the movie show just how transformative Lee’s film-making is.  Rather than hire an intimacy choreographer, Lee, Winslet, and Ronan scripted each sex scene by themselves, relying on open communication and the trust they had in each other. These aren’t the “throw her up against the wall with no foreplay” scenes so common in heterosexual sex scenes, nor are they the “soapy shower and giggling college girls” lesbian scenes meant for the male gaze. Instead, Ammonite’s “staging of sexuality, gendered embodiment, and nonheteronormative sex” (Schoonover & Galt, 2016, p. 11) successfully disrupt heteronormative ideas about how sex happens, who enjoys sex, and how they enjoy it. 

“Don’t take no for an answer,” seems to be the mantra in many erotic heterosexual scenes, but the first erotic scene in Ammonite queers cinema by pausing the action mid-point. After Charlotte kisses her, Mary kneels in front of Charlotte. Before going further, she waits, staring up at Charlotte until Charlotte raises her own skirts in enthusiastic consent. 

The final erotic scene queers cinema by subverting audience expectations. The night before Charlotte is to return to London, they lovingly caress each other’s faces. Noses touching, they gently kiss. As the scene progresses, they each guide the other’s hand, sometimes moving the hand to their own pudendum and sometimes away. Lee uses close camera angles, focusing on how the women’s bodies move together. The camera stays on each woman’s face as she climaxes. These are women showing each other how they want to be touched. Each woman confidently directs the actions of the other while asserting her own right to pleasure.

Both erotic scenes are enigmas in the movie industry: female pleasure for a female gaze. Per Schoonover & Galt, cinema is “an apparatus of desire, endlessly reconstituting what Jacqueline Rose called sexuality in the field of vision” (2016, p. 11). Eroticism scripted by women, focusing on how women experience pleasure, queers film in a uniquely feminist way; it uses “the potential of the erotic to remake the cinematic desire machine” (Schoonover & Galt, 2016, p. 11) reflecting the sapphic world Lee has created. I argue that the initial sex scene with a focus on enthusiastic consent and cunnilingus is a “counterpublic logic of visibility” that queers media by “extending representation beyond mainstream fantasies about white femme lesbians” which is “achieved in and through sex acts” (Schoonover & Galt, 2016, p. 12). Both erotic scenes, as well as other hinted-at but not seen moments, occur in Mary's home or on Mary's beach, "locating lesbian desire in a domestic setting and turning to familial intimacies as a place where women might find fulfillment beyond the strictures of marriage" (Schoonover & Galt, 2016, p. 19). Once the women are in London, in Charlotte's male-owned home, the intimacy (physical and emotional) falters and dies.

Gender expansiveness and eager consent are not the only way Lee queers cinema. We learn that Mary had a relationship with another woman in her town, Elizabeth Philpot (played by Fiona Shaw), which ended when Mary’s father died. Elizabeth acts as an oracle, guiding Mary in her relationship with Charlotte and foreshadowing the end of that same relationship. When Mary’s mother, Molly (played by Gemma Jones), dies, Elizabeth visits Mary and says, speaking of their past romance, “I wasn’t sure I could live up to you. Or your expectations of me…You seemed to do everything you could to be distant…It seems your Mrs. Murchison has been able to unlock something in you I couldn’t…” (1:34:16). Here, Elizabeth references the softness Lee showed in the limerick and beach scenes. It’s also vital to note that neither woman seems to have faced ridicule because of their relationship, nor do they seem to have kept it particularly quiet. I appreciate seeing a lesbian relationship that doesn’t double as a morality play. 

Mary follows Elizabeth’s advice and accepts an invitation to visit Charlotte in London. From this point on, Lee relies more heavily on language and sound to convey how small and out-of-place Mary is. This sudden cinematic shift undermines the queer worlding I found so lovely in the first two-thirds of the movie.

At London port, bodies (all of them male except hers) are in constant motion. They press around her while they yell to and at each other. We’ve lost the cool tones of Lyme and found harsh sunlight. Lee’s feminism is not subtle. If "(queer) film theory is always a feminist project" (Schoonover & Galt, 2016, p. 11), Lee hits the brief, but he does so with a sledgehammer. 

At Charlotte’s house, Mary opens a curio cabinet containing fossils she helped Roderick Murchison (played by James McArdle) find. The tag on one of the fossils reads, “Cornu Ammonis. Dorset Coast. Miss Mary Anning.” Taking it out, Mary notices the last line has been pasted on top of the original line. Pulling it back, Mary reads, “Mr. Murchison Esq.” Lee doesn’t just allude to his correction of the historical record, he screams it.

The breakup scene between the two women is similarly heavy-handed. Charlotte shows Mary to a room she has decorated for her “so we can be together always.” Winslet does an excellent job conveying a parade of emotions, but the ensuing dialogue lacks finesse and undermines the acting prowess of both Winslet and Ronan. 

Mary doesn’t directly answer Charlotte, instead saying, “I really shouldn’t…I wanted to see my relic in the British Museum today….”

When Charlotte expresses dismay and repeats her offer to provide Mary with a new home, Mary says, “You presumed I’d just be fitted into your life here, like one of my relics in your fine glass case…Will you label me, too?” (1:47:45). Charlotte insists, “I want this to be different. Our different…I don’t want to go back to the life I had before you” (1:48:07). The unnatural, forced dialogue breaks Lee's “show, don’t tell” rule and makes it hard to access the emotion Lee wants us to feel. 

Mary rushes out of the house, and we next see her in front of her ‘relic’ at the British Museum. She notices the tag, the first time she’s seen it, and, looking up, sees Charlotte gazing at her across the glass-encased fossil. The camera pans out in one of the few long-shots of the film and we see the women, faces covered by bonnets, caged fossil in the middle. Men in top hats circulate around them. 

As if afraid that he wasn’t clear enough, in the last scene Lee reminds the viewer of his intentions. Mary walks through a portrait gallery showing the men who helped create and run the British Museum. The very last image is Mary, facing back toward the gallery, framed.

It isn’t just the shift to London or the sudden heavy-handed cinematography that jars the viewer. The final 20 minutes of the film tackles class issues but ignores broader themes of imperialism and racism. 

Classism is seen best in Mary’s interactions with Charlotte’s housekeeper. When the housekeeper answers Mary’s knock, she assumes from Mary’s rough clothing that she’s a hired worker. The housekeeper says, “Tradesman’s entrance is around the side. Go all the way back” (1:41:29). After explaining who she is, Mary is shown to the drawing room and Charlotte greets her with a passionate kiss. Mary glances at the housekeeper, but Charlotte says, “Oh, that’s just the maid,”(1:44:23) at which point the housekeeper side-eyes the women and shuts the drawing room door. Class bias goes unchallenged by any of the characters even in light of Charlotte’s relationship with poor, rural, crass Mary. Additionally, there are no Black, Indian, or Egyptian people. At the height of British imperialism, there should be several non-white people, especially once the action moves to London. 

Ammonite does not employ “an anti-imperialist stance that de-privileges the Western queer film canon” (Schoonover & Galt, 2016, p. 15) in part because it fails to address Britain’s imperialism and in part because it, too, uses Western imperialist structures to (unsuccessfully) promote itself. Originally available only in theaters and on Amazon, viewers can now access it through other streaming services such as Hulu and Vudu. All subscription based. All part of the cinema industrial complex. 

I enjoyed Ammonite. At least, I enjoyed it the second time. The first time, thinking it would be similar to the 2019 movie Wild Nights With Emily, I convinced my husband and my two daughters, aged 18 and 15, to watch it with me. As a heterosexual-passing pan woman who has been in love with Winslet since the 1995 remake of Sense and Sensibility, I had looked forward to seeing her in a role that more accurately represented me. However, sitting with two of my children I felt my face turn red. In a brilliant parenting moment /s I tried to cover up my embarrassment by saying, “This is important. People with vaginas experience sexual pleasure differently than the movies make it seem. As people with vaginas, we have to advocate for our own pleasure,” at which point my 15 year old ran out of the room, eyes closed, hands over her ears. The 18 year old stayed, but mostly to ridicule my parenting. Two years later, when my daughters feel particularly spicy, they’ll say, “Hey, mom! Remember when you made us watch lesbian porn?”

They echo criticism from the public. One reviewer said, “Serious concerns that a famous lady has been wronged by the Lesbian storyline. Proof/truth? As for the soft porn. Why? Nothing more than eroticism for a very small segment of the population” (Alastair G, Ammonite, 2022). Even though I disagree that the movie is soft porn, and I disagree that we're a "very small segment of the population," I think Alastair hits (unwittingly) on the reason the movie failed. A combination of the slow pace and sex by and for women, two of the aspects that queer the movie, result in an insurmountable barrier for a public that is trained to prefer action and rough-and-ready sex created for the male gaze.

References

Benshoff, H., & Griffin, S. (2010). In Queer Cinema the film reader (pp. 1–15). essay, Routledge. Taylor & Francis Group. 

Berger, J. BBC and Penguin. (1972). chapter 1. In Ways of seeing (pp. 7–34). 

Canning, I., Sherman, E., O’Reilly F.C. (Producers), & Lee, F. (Director). (2020). The Ammonite [Motion picture]. United Kingdom: Lionsgate.

Clarke, D. (2021, March 26). Ammonite: Even the saoirse ronan-kate winslet sex scenes are too respectable. The Irish Times. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/ammonite-even-the-saoirse-ronan-kate-winslet-sex-scenes-are-too-respectable-1.4517920 

Duggan, L., & Hunter, N. D. (2006). Chapter 12: Making it perfectly queer. In Sex wars: Sexual dissent and political culture (pp. 149–163). essay, Routledge. 

Lodge, G. (2017, January 5). Does Moonlight show gay cinema has to be sexless to succeed? The Guardian. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/05/does-moonlight-prove-that-gay-cinema-has-to-be-sexless-to-succeed 

Na. (n.d.). Ammonite. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ammonite 

Schoonover, K., & Galt, R. (2016). Introduction Queer, World, Cinema. In Queer Cinema in the world (pp. 1–34). Duke University Press. 

Schoonover, K., & Galt, R. (2016). Figures in the World: The Geopolitics of the Transcultural Queer. In Queer Cinema in the world (pp. 35-78).

Timar, C. (2020, December 6). Ammonite. CLAPPER. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://www.clapperltd.co.uk/home/ammonite 

by Bryn Brody

[insilverrolled]

Mood Indigo

By William Matthews [x]

From the porch; from the hayrick where her prickled brothers hid and chortled and slurped into their young pink lungs the ash-blond dusty air that lay above the bales

like low clouds; and from the squeak and suck of the well-pump and from the glove of rust it implied on her hand; from the dress parade of clothes

in her mothproofed closet; from her tiny Philco with its cracked speaker and Sunday litany (Nick Carter, The Shadow, The Green Hornet, Sky King);

from the loosening bud of her body; from hunger, as they say, and from reading; from the finger she used to dial her own number; from the dark

loam of the harrowed fields and from the very sky; it came from everywhere. Which is to say it was always there, and that it came from nowhere.

It evaporated with the dew, and at dusk when dark spread in the sky like water in a blotter, it spread, too, but it came back and curdled with milk and stung

with nettles. It was in the bleat of the lamb, the way a clapper is in a bell, and in the raucous, scratchy gossip of the crows. It walked with her to school and lay

with her to sleep and at least she was well pleased. If she were to sew, she would prick her finger with it. If she were to bake, it would linger in the kitchen

like an odor snarled in the deepest folds of childhood. It became her dead pet, her lost love, the baby sister blue and dead at birth, the chill headwaters of the river

that purled and meandered and ran and ran until it issued into her, as into a sea, and then she was its and it was wholly hers. She kept to her room, as we

learned to say, but now and then she’d come down and pass through the kitchen, and the screen door would close behind her with no more sound than

an envelope being sealed, and she’d walk for hours In the fields like a lithe blue rain, and end up In the barn, and one of us would go and bring her in.

[whereisnardo]

Hetalia Characters as infomercials

China: LifeAlert—we all know why.

America: George Foreman Grill—what’s better than burgers?

Other options:

Oxiclean—he has the gusto

Magic Bullet—emphasis on bullet

Shake Weight/Nutrisystem—he’s unhealthy and wants to change but with minimal effort.

Prussia: Shamwow—it’s a meme, Gil loves memes. And who else can match that energy?

N. Italy: Chia Pet—cute and almost useless.

Belarus: One of those knife sharpeners—it’s very in her lane, and she has a use for it.

Germany: Flex Seal/Tape—he just wants to fix everything man, physical and emotional. He’s almost always the tape holding things together.

Romano: Total gym—he’s not buff, but he wants to be.

Russia: The clapper—he genuinely loves its concept and he’s innocent looking enough it endears people to buy it.

Spain: Scrub Daddy—it’s an effective tool and it has daddy in the name 😏

Canada: Snuggie—it’s cold up north, and it’s arguably one of the more practical on the list.

England: Magic Bullet—emphasis on magic.

Japan: Slap Chop—it can be handy, but it’s also a way to let out pent up aggression.

[gyuutahoe]

The Pen and Sword - Part 3

Summary: Newly recruited to the Demon Slayer Corps, you finally meet your designated swordsmith. He may be as much of a misanthrope as others had warned, but you were nothing if not determined to bring him out of his shell.

Warnings: None

a/n: female reader, eventual smut, penpals with the feral misanthrope, both reader and Haganezuka are seventeen at the start of the story, established backstory for reader.

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

Marketplaces were always your weakness.

The hypnotic, dizzying flux of city life was exhilarating, and you channeled that excitement into each step you took through the beautiful, colorful, noisy market of Osaka. Had it not been for the irascible young Pillar of Flame keeping you on track, you might have wandered off and lost yourself in kimono patterns and antique teacups. Your hands were itching for a needle and thread these days.

Rengoku’s grip on your sleeve was like a leash. It reminded you of your oldest brother, so stern and resolute. “Can you walk faster?” he grumbled, tugging you along. “You’re like a bird, getting distracted by shiny things.”

A retort was on the tip of your tongue, only … something shiny did catch your eye, a multitude of tinkling glass wind chimes dangling from wooden scaffolding and beckoning you closer with their paper ends, stretching out towards you like old friends as the wind rattled their clappers.

“Rengoku-san, will this market still be here after we find the demon?”

He looked at you as though you were a pesky child. “You win a few fights and you already think the world waits for you? We have another assignment after this.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” you lightly said, and the corner of your mouth quirked upward. “I thought I saw a pretty comb that Ruka might really like. It had a fox painted on it.” You blinked up at him. “Did you know that’s her favorite animal?”

Rengoku eyed you for a moment before turning away with a guarded expression. “Is it now …” he trailed off.

You smiled in victory and looked behind you, catching a fleeting glimpse of the wind chimes as your sword rested comfortably at your hip.

———————❖———————

Haganezuka was at a loss.

A package rested inconspicuously on his table as he knelt before it, examining it from all directions until curiosity finally won him over and urged him to pluck off the accompanying letter attached to the wrapping.

He did not request a shipment of supplies recently, and the box was far too small to be a customer’s blade. And when he saw your name written on the sealed letter, with penmanship far more beautiful than he had ever seen before, Haganezuka was still baffled. You said you would write to him, not send him anything. Were these the remnants of your sword? Did you stuff the broken pieces into a small box like some ungrateful heathen? The mere thought of it made his pulse race, and before he could calm himself, he was tearing the wrapping to shreds.

A wind chime.

His clawed hands paused immediately upon seeing the fragile glass, and his ire diffused instantly as he carefully brought it out to hold in his hands.

The glass had the barest hint of green tint pressed into it. Very different from his collection. Even the flowers were different, some sort of outrageous white shape he had never seen before. Haganezuka dangled the wind chime by its string to hear its sound - light, high-pitched, and quick. Not quite like the lower melody of his bells, but it pleased him all the same. It was a new sound to admire and focus on, with just the right amount of bite to its song to grab his attention. He played with the bell for a minute, swaying it to and fro as he listened. The sound did not calm him so much as it invigorated him. Like it had something important to say and demanded his audience.

He hadn’t received a gift so thoughtful in a long time. Why did you send him this?

The letter.

Haganezuka-san, I hope you do not mind me sending you a package so suddenly. I came across a marketplace where a glass blower sold handcrafted wind chimes, and I thought of you instantly. The flowers are sagisō. They mean ‘my thoughts will follow you into your dreams’. It is my way of hoping my good wishes reach you. Please accept this gift as thanks for your beautiful blade. It has served me well so far - I have slain three demons with ease. Take care of yourself.

———————❖———————

A few days passed before you received a response. Not that you expected one to begin with, so it was a lovely surprise to come back to after a long day of training with Kuwajima.

I received your wind chime and hung it at the door of my forge. Clean your blade daily. Don’t be lazy. Safe travels.

You imagined him hesitating at the last sentence, pen hovering over the paper as he thought of an adequate send-off. It made you giggle fondly as you hid your smile behind the letter, innocently ignoring the questioning glance of your mentor.

———————❖———————

The lingering chill of spring gave way to an undeniably relaxing summer breeze, prompting Haganezuka to wander out of his forge in search of a local villager’s food cart. He did not have the patience to cook for himself. Why waste precious time when he still needed to harden the edge of his clay-encrusted sword?

And that is how the postman found him, stuffing his face with a bowl of yakisoba while he walked back to work.

He glared at the cowering man and grabbed the proffered letter. Let’s see what jackass needs another replacement , he groused to himself as he tore it open, balancing the yakisoba in the crook of his arm.

Familiar handwriting. How could he forget this penmanship befitting of an aristocrat? It could only be you.

Haganezuka-san, I felt inspired to write to you once more. It relates to a mission I recently completed. A demon lured me into the forest in hopes of blinding me with darkness. But I had the company of the full moon to light my path, and by fortuitous chance, I happened upon a grassy clearing that was illuminated by fireflies!

Haganezuka pinched the edges of the paper so tightly that the veins in his fingers threatened to burst. If this was leading to a jibe about his name, he would make you pay.

I wanted to close my eyes and listen for the demon, as I always do, but for the first time I felt inclined to rely on my sight. The fireflies really captivated me. The weight of my blade kept me focused on the task at hand, but I could not help the sudden strike of realization that occured to me as I watched the fireflies. And that thought is as follows: could it be that you were named Hotaru because the bright sparks flying out from striking a heated blade reminded your father of fireflies? The idea made me smile. I sat and watched the fireflies for a while. There is much to learn from their movements. Anyway, I drew the forest when I had some time after the battle.

He blinked and stared at the sketch. Simple yet structured. Every pen stroke held an important detail. It was not a masterpiece, but it was lovely all the same.

Heated sparks … like fireflies …

Perhaps his given name was not so embarrassing after all.

———————❖———————

Hello again! What I am about to say may seem silly, but I always dreamed of seeing the ocean, and that day has finally arrived! I cannot begin to explain the terrifying vastness of the water. Have you ever seen the ocean? Did it exhilarate and humble you like it did to me? I dared to walk barefoot along the coastline, even though it felt like I could be pulled in at any moment. The water was very cold and the salty air turned my hair into brittle kelp, but the sand felt so soft between my toes. I listened to the waves for a long time while I meditated with my sword in my lap. Ocean waves look very similar to the hamon on my blade. As per usual, I drew the landscape for you in case you have not seen the ocean.

Haganezuka treated himself to some dango as he read your letter. Later on, he would still taste the saltiness of the dango on his tongue as he folded burning steel. While he lost himself in thought during the methodical process, the wind chime at his door brought forth the memory of your light laughter. Did you laugh this freely as the water lapped at your feet? Did you taste the salty air on your tongue? Haganezuka somehow felt like he was there with you.

———————❖———————

I heard an interesting saying - the pen is mightier than the sword. Perhaps that might not resonate with you, but I wonder what you think about this phase.

———————❖———————

For the first time since the start of your one-sided correspondence, Haganezuka wrote you an actual, full-length letter. Or rather, he sent you pages upon pages of nothing other than his thoughts on how the pen was not, in fact, mightier than the sword, and that he nearly used your letter to wrap his steel wafers for smelting because it angered him so.

- dumbass would believe that bullshit. Did words allow the Edo bakufu to secure power? No, it was blood and steel. If I could meet the moron who thought of that saying, I would shove that pen right up his -

“What’s making you laugh so hard?”

You tittered as Ruka sat down beside you. “My swordsmith.” You passed the letter to your curious friend. “He has such a way with words, don’t you think?”

Seconds into reading the letter, her neutral demeanor turned into one of mild bemusement. “What a thing to send to a young woman,” Ruka drawled, handing the letter back to you.

“Not so different from Rengoku-san, though.”

She smiled fondly. “No. Not at all.” With the grace of one who hides the sudden spark of an idea, Ruka motioned you to turn around. “Let me braid your hair. The summer heat must be strangling your poor neck right now.”

You dutifully complied. Soft, gentle fingers brushed through your hair, making your scalp tingle pleasantly.

Why don’t you ever let me style your beautiful hair? Mother keeps telling me how unattentive I am with you -

“ - to me very soon.”

“I - I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” You sucked in a quick breath. “I got distracted by that pesky cicada.”

“I said Shinjuro will propose to me very soon.” Ruka weaved a ribbon through your hair as she spoke. “Perhaps at the end of summer, so that we will have time to prepare for a winter ceremony.”

“That is wonderful!” you gasped. “To think, only three months ago he was still figuring out how to give you that fox comb. You know I walked in on him practicing that, right?”

Her melodic laugh was infectious. “And then he handed it to me as though he were a general barking a command at his soldier,” she reminisced, carefully moving the finished braid over your shoulder. “That blush was as fierce as the red in his hair.”

“He tries his best, doesn’t he?” you snickered, and upon feeling her soft touch lingering on your shoulder blade, your smile dulled a little.

“Does the wound still hurt?” Ruka asked. “With the humidity - “

“Please don’t worry,” you hastily replied, angling yourself to the side until the touch fell away. “It’s been months, Ruka. The wound is fully healed.” She cocked a brow at you, and you placed a hand over hers as you softened your voice. “Really. I’m alright.”

She eyed you silently. “ … if you say so.”

You offered a placating smile to seal the deal. “So, how did you find out about the inevitable proposal?”

“Between Shinjuro’s loud mouth and the gossip that goes on among the Demon Slayers, it was inevitable that the old women of the safehouses would hear about this.” She shook her head. “My own grandmother ruined the surprise.”

“At least you can look forward to how painfully awkward Rengoku-san will be when the time comes.”

Ruka scoffed. “I am always prepared to handle that silly man.”

“I don’t doubt that,” you giggled. “Your stern looks trip him up sometimes. So cruel!”

Not even your newly acquired lightning-fast reflexes could dodge Ruka’s smack upside your head.

———————❖———————

Warm greetings, Haganezuka-san. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I will be visiting your village in four days. Would you mind looking over my blade to make sure it is in proper condition?

———————❖———————

You can come.

[suppermariobroth]

The credits for Donkey Kong Country 3 classify all of the game’s characters into categories. The spiders from the Springin’ Spiders level, called Nids, are in the “Terrorfirma Tuff Guys” section that contains all ground enemies. However, Nids are not able to harm the Kongs, and their purpose is to provide platforms for the Kongs to proceed in the level. Thus, it would be more correct to classify them as Animal Buddies, like Clapper the Seal from Donkey Kong Country 2, than as enemies.

Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Source: DKC3 (NA, SNES)

[illogicallyinclined]

When I laugh I tend to honk so when I read through your blog it just sounds like im fighting a goose

i adore the way that this is phrased. pls have some laughing boys for your time

Virgil tends to laugh in one of two ways: subdued snickering or helpless wheezing. it’s harder to get him to wheeze, but when he does, it’s hysterical. he’ll start a sentence and his voice will just go out half way through 

D tends to change his laugh up on purpose to mess with people– (he’s got the Villain Laughter down to an art)– but his actual , genuine laughter is a Good Old Fashioned Chuckle 

i’m pretty sure i’ve mentioned it before, but Patton snorts while he laughs which, in turn, only serves to make him laugh even harder

Remus has a full-on cackle, and although a small part of it is performative (because it’s fun to laugh like that), a large part of it is au naturale, babey

Roman’s laugh –funny enough – is a little more unpredictable.sometimes, it’s a deep laugh straight from the chest. other times, it’s a legitimate goose honk that he has No Chance of reigning in. 

Emile laughs in short bursts of giggling that slowly grow more frequent until he’s struggling to breathe. (he has laughed so hard that he cried on A Number of occasions.)

Remy is a laugh-clapper. when he’s well and truly amused, he’ll throw his head back and start smacking his hands together like a seal

every time Logan laughs, he manages to catch himself off guard. that said, it always starts as a soft, uncertain sound that swells into a deep, rich laughter that makes his teammates weak. (occasionally, the soft sound that he starts with is a high-pitched giggle, which is Roman’s absolute favorite)