Hihihihihihi this is my first request in tumblr☺️
Could I ask for wanderer x reader as pucca and garu (pls don't feel too pressured to write its jst a silly request)
☁︎ Chasing Clouds☁︎
A/n: ofc anon! I'm really sorry for the late reply I didn't notice because there were so many people that kept liking/reblogging my other posts, plus I was very busy with school work too (school is so stressing I might just jump off somewhere ngl)
Genre: Canon! Verse (?), Garu! Wanderer x Pucca! Reader, G!n Reader!, Fluff, Flustered Wanderer, Tall! Reader, Sunshine x Grumpy Trope, Reader is a few inches taller than Wanderer, Scara is called Wanderer, Second Person, Proofread
Summary: You're head over heels for Wanderer, constantly chasing him around Sumeru with boundless energy and affection. Despite his attempts to escape and his grumpy attitude, you never back down, determined to win him over. After catching up to him, you give him a tight hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, leaving him flustered and speechless—much to your delight.
Sumeru’s busy streets were no obstacle for you. Ducking and weaving through the crowd, you had one target in sight, your grin widening as the person ahead of you quickened their pace. Wanderer might’ve been faster, but you always enjoyed the thrill of the chase.
"Wanderer!" you called, a teasing lilt in your voice.
The sound of your voice cut through the din, and you caught a glimpse of him tensing, his head snapping forward like he hadn’t heard you. He picked up speed, and you bit your lip to stifle a laugh. This little game of his never got old.
Determined, you matched his pace, slipping past confused merchants and scholars who stared after you with wide eyes. You couldn’t blame them—there was something ridiculous about watching someone so desperate to escape you.
"You’re not getting away that easily!" you called out, amusement ringing in your tone.
Wanderer glanced over his shoulder, his glare sharp as ever. "Why do you keep following me?" he snapped, though the frustration in his voice only made you more amused.
You kept your eyes trained on him, enjoying the slight challenge as he darted down an alleyway. For a moment, he disappeared from view. But you knew him well enough by now. With a grin, you took a shortcut, climbing up a stack of crates and bounding onto a nearby rooftop with ease. The familiar weight of your vision glowed faintly as you leaped down and landed smoothly in front of him, cutting off his escape.
He came to an abrupt stop, nearly colliding with you as you stood tall in his path. His eyes widened for a split second before narrowing again, irritation flaring in his expression. "You again?" he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in that characteristic way that made him look more like he was pouting than actually angry.
"Missed me?" you asked playfully, leaning in just enough to see his frown deepen.
Wanderer’s eye twitched. "Do you ever get tired?" he muttered, his gaze flicking up toward the sky as if asking for patience from whatever higher power might be listening.
You shrugged, completely unbothered by his tone. "Not when it comes to you."
He groaned, the sound low and drawn out, like he was truly suffering through some kind of endless torment. "Why do you insist on bothering me? Haven’t you got anything better to do?"
"Maybe." You beamed at him, rocking on your heels. "But this is much more fun."
His response was a scowl. You’d grown used to that look by now. His arms stayed crossed, his body tensed, clearly prepared to dodge or bolt if you tried anything. Not that it mattered. He could never outrun you, and you both knew it.
With a quick step forward, you closed the gap between you two and, without warning, wrapped your arms around his waist in a tight, affectionate hug.
"W-What are you—?!" he stammered, going rigid in your arms. You could practically feel his soul leaving his body in sheer disbelief.
"Just showing some love!" you said brightly, completely ignoring the look of horror on his face. "You should get used to it by now."
"Let go!" he hissed, trying to pry your arms off with little success. His attempts only made you hug him tighter, grinning into his chest.
"Nope!" you replied, savoring the warmth of being so close to him, even if he looked like he was ready to burst into flames from sheer embarrassment.
"You're impossible," he muttered, though the heat in his voice had ebbed into something more resigned. Wanderer’s hand twitched, as if debating whether to push you off more forcefully, but you could tell he wouldn’t.
"And you're wonderful," you chimed, leaning your head on his shoulder for a moment, letting the affection settle between you.
He stiffened again, his gaze averting from yours as if he could pretend this wasn’t happening. "You’re insane," he muttered under his breath, though the usual sharpness of his tone was gone, replaced with a quiet, defeated sigh.
You just smiled, not minding his comments at all. With a playful hum, you decided it was time to pull away—at least for now. Wanderer looked visibly relieved when you finally let go of him, though the slight flush on his face was unmistakable.
You leaned forward before he could react, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. It was so fast he barely had time to process it, his body freezing up the moment your lips made contact.
The look of pure, unfiltered shock on his face was priceless. His eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing as if trying to form words but failing completely. The tips of his ears turned red, and you had to stifle a laugh.
"See you later!" you chirped, turning on your heel and taking off before he could recover.
Wanderer stood frozen for a long moment, his hand slowly rising to touch his cheek where you’d kissed him. His face remained flushed, his expression torn between disbelief and frustration. But deep down, somewhere behind the layers of annoyance, there was a flicker of something softer.
Not that he would ever admit it.
A/n: Requests are closed now again, I only did this one bc I didn't really notice it plus it's prolly stuck in my inbox for a long time now
© ²⁰²⁴ ɪᴏᴍᴏʀᴜ
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An Infinite Kind of Love - A 300 follower celebration fic - Matthew Tkachuk x ofc
Photo from Pinterest
Title: An Infinite Kind of Love
Author: Tory / @tkwrites
Relationship: Pre-established: Matthew Tkachuk x Sophie (ofc)
Warnings: Other than mentions of a not great biological father, it’s all fluff.
Summary: Matthew and Sophie get married!
Word count: 3,800
Comments: I hit 300 followers way back on July 12 and set up this poll to determine the fic I would write in celebration. We’d just passed the 4th of July, and I had a very specific idea for Matthew and Sophies wedding because of it.
This fic has actually been finished for about 3 weeks, but I was worried people would be upset if I posted it before the latest Quinn and Sarah Snapshot went up. So, here it is.
I hope you enjoy seeing Matthew and Sophie get married! If you did, please consider commenting, reblogging, or sending in an ask. I love hearing your thoughts about my writing!
Also we're just going to pretend the suit in this photo is navy because I couldn't find a photo of Matthew in a navy suit other than last years NHL Awards suit, which is not a suit for a wedding.
An Infinite Kind of Love
A Matthew and Sophie Fic
“Can someone get Matthew?” Sophie asked.
“Of course.” Taryn darted out to run across the courtyard.
When she got back to the suite, Matthew was running in after her.
Gwen was naked to the waist and yelped.
He slapped a hand over his eyes. “Sorry! Sorry! Soph?”
She rushed to him, pulling him out onto the balcony. “It's safe,” she said, nudging his hand down.
The late afternoon sun turned her into nothing more than a silhouette. He had to blink a few times before she came into focus. She'd changed from the short ivory colored dress she'd worn to brunch into a set of loose satin pajamas. Her hair was in rollers, and even with brows that looked too heavy without the rest of her makeup done, she still looked beautiful.
“What's wrong?” he asked, his hands automatically going to her arms, rubbing up and down. He didn't think it would actually happen, but thoughts of her calling off the wedding had still weaseled their way into the back of his mind when Taryn raced into the groom's room telling him Sophie wanted to see him.
“Nothings wrong,” she said, looking into his face. Despite only wearing a t-shirt and shorts, he looked fresh faced, and handsome. He and the boys had gone to the barber shop after brunch, and they'd done his hair so his curls were perfectly set and defined. It took all her willpower to not run her fingers through them. They’d also given him a straight edge shave, and she could tell how soft his cheeks would be without even touching them.
She preferred a bit of scruff on him, but he'd insisted he'd rather be clean shaven, saying he didn't want to look like a Muppet on their wedding day.
“Plus,” he'd said with a mischievous glint in his eye, “don't want to give you any beard burn,” before rubbing her cheek with his stubbled jaw.
She’d laughed and told him she didn’t mind.
“What's up?” he asked now, looking relieved.
“I just wanted to see you,” she said, stepping into him and wrapping her arms around his chest.
As his arms enclosed around her, she felt his chuckle at the same time she heard it.
“I missed you, too,” he said. With the rollers, he couldn’t tuck his face into her hair the way he liked to. He settled for resting his lips on her forehead.
“For being our wedding day, we don't see very much of each other,” she said.
While they’d had a brunch with many of their wedding guests before coming to the ceremony venue to get ready, they’d slept apart the night before and spent much of the morning away from each other. Then, they were supposed to be apart until the first look and the ceremony. It felt incongruous. This was a celebration of their union. Shouldn't they be together?
“I know. It's bullshit,” he whispered.
“What aftershave did they use?” she asked. He smelled fresh like cut grass and mountain air.
“I'm not sure. I picked it because I thought you'd like it.”
The simpleness of the act and of his thoughtfulness made her a little weak in the knees. “It smells really nice.”
Matthew closed his eyes, drinking in the feel of her body pressed to his, her breath on his neck and her nose in the soft spot under his jaw. Knowing that he'd picked right made pride swell in his chest.
“I'll ask them and get some,” he said.
Pulling back, she leaned up to kiss him.
It wasn't anything extravagant. It wasn't a kiss that made him break into a hot sweat or one that brought him to his knees. It was loving and soft. There was tongue, because with Sophie, there was always a little tongue.
They kissed a few more times before she pulled away to find a look of adoration on his handsome face as he smiled down at her.
Caught in the moment, they stayed that way for a few beats longer, just staring at each other until someone cleared their throat.
In the back of her mind, Sophie knew they were all in the room, but it was still a bit shocking when they looked over to find all her bridesmaids, both of their moms and the wedding photographer all gathered around the balcony door.
“You guys are so cute,” Gwen gushed.
There wasn't much about their wedding that was traditional. Instead of the usual noon, 2 or 5 o'clock ceremonies, their ceremony was set to begin at 8:30 so it would be dark enough by the time they kissed. They served a cocktail hour with food before the ceremony, at which the bridal party, minus the bride, mingled. After the vows, they were headed to a late-night reception with food trucks, cocktails, and partying.
With 20 minutes to go before the ceremony, they all snuck off to a more secluded part of the garden. The groomsmen insisted they wanted to do a first look with Sophie. It turned into a whole thing: groomsmen along with Keith and her stepdad Greg. Then Matthew would come in and join them to get his own first look.
Sophie was hidden behind a trellis in another part of the garden with both of their moms and her bridesmaids.
Her mom grabbed her hand to stop her from nervously pulling at her dress, and Sophie felt butterflies attack her stomach.
Before the bridesmaids went out to join the guys, Taryn wrapped her in a tight hug. When they parted, she held Sophie at arms length to look her over. “Matthew’s gonna shit himself,” she said, tone full of a kind of teasing approval Sophie never experienced until she’d met Matthew. Their family teased, but mostly, it was all in good fun. It was rarely the kind of needling teasing she got from her dad as a child.
Once she’d tried it on for the first time, Sophie couldn’t stop thinking about Matthew seeing her in this dress. She’d had it custom-made, pieces of a few dresses stolen and sewn together to make exactly what she’d wanted. The bodice had a plunging neckline that narrowed between her breasts, so it wasn’t all that scandalous and floral embroidery that cascaded down onto the A-line skirt. It was simple and understated, just left of center enough to make it unique and just off white enough to be flattering. If the color were a little darker, it might be called blush.
She knew Matthew would love it because she loved it. That was just the kind of guy he was. But Taryn’s reaction still made her insides fizz like champagne.
Upon a prompt from their wedding planner, Sophie walked out.
The groomsmen were lined up, facing away from her.
They turned around when the photographer, who was standing off to the side with full view of everyones reactions, gave the signal.
As Sophie watched, a broad grin spread over every face. Greg and Keith both started crying, which she hadn’t expected. Keith pulled his glasses off so he could wipe his eyes.
Greg rushed forward to gather her into a hug. His chest shook with sobs as he whispered, “thank you for letting me be here.”
“You’re the best dad, Greg. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Matthew’s one lucky son of a bitch,” he said, wiping his eyes. “I’m so proud of you.”
She hugged him again, squeezing extra tight.
Her brother followed. “You're so pretty, Soph,” he said.
“You look really handsome in your suit,” she said, wiping at her own tears that had finally spilled over.
He worked his thumbs under his suspenders and puffed out his chest.
Their laughter was loud and raucous as she struck a pose of her own.
When it was his turn, Keith gathered her into his barrel chest and lifted her off the ground in a bear hug.
She let out a surprised little squeak and giggled as her feet kicked out behind her.
“I don’t know —” Keith had to stop to wipe his eyes again after he set her back down, “I don’t know what Matthew did to get on your good side, but I’m sure glad he did.”
“You raised a good man,” she said, patting him on the chest as they parted, “that’s what he did.”
He gave her a watery smile and went back to Chantal and Taryn, slinging an arm around each of them.
“Matthew’s gonna lose his mind,” Sam whispered in her ear as they hugged.
She giggled, hoping he was right.
And finally (finally, finally!), Matthew was walking down the garden path next to Brady, looking as nervous and excited as she felt and so handsome in his navy blue suit. He had his Louis Vuitton belt on. Even though she thought it was a little distracting to wear to a wedding, he insisted it was his signature piece and couldn’t go without it. She found an indulgent smile on her face, glad he was wearing something he loved so much. At least she’d convinced him to wear real dress shoes and not those ridiculous mules he’d been sporting to the arena all season.
Sophie came into view, and all at once, Matthew felt tears sting his eyes. He’d known he would cry. He knew there was no hope of stopping it. He loved her so much, and this whole day had him all discombobulated. This wasn’t even the first time he’d cried, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last.
After today, he would be her husband. Her husband. He would be her husband, and she would be his wife. And —
She was wearing the most beautiful dress he’d ever seen. Simple and elegant and completely Sophie. A strong pang of longing, love, and nostalgia pulled through him when he realized her lips were even painted the same pink they had been on their first date.
She was perfect.
“Oh my god,” he said, awestruck as they joined the group.
She knew he would probably do that no matter what she was wearing, but it still felt good.
Brady stepped forward and gathered her into a hug. “You look beautiful, Soph,” he said before going to stand with Emma, wiping a few tears from his eyes as he leaned down to whisper to her about how much this reminded him of their own wedding.
Finally standing in front of her, Matthew was at a loss for words. Eventually, he just said the thing that kept running through his mind. “Holy Shit.”
Everyone around them laughed.
Matthew continued to stare silently as everyone else headed back to start ushering the guests into the ceremony seats.
“I don’t…” he paused, trying to articulate the words. He wasn’t sure there were words for what he was feeling. “Fuck.”
She burst into laughter. “Is that good? Or bad?”
“Good,” he said, half of his mouth tipping up in a smile. “You’re –” he blinked a few times, “you’re so pretty, Sophie.”
Heat flushed into her cheeks. “Thank you. I think you look really handsome.”
“You don’t mind the belt?” he asked, tone and eyes teasing as he hooked his thumbs behind it.
“Nope,” she stepped forward and threw her arms around his neck. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said into her hair, getting a mouth full of hairspray. He turned to lay his cheek against it instead.
“I can’t believe it’s finally here.”
“I know,” she whispered.
His phone buzzed in his pocket at the same time he saw her mom walking down the path that led from the ceremony.
“It’s time for me to go,” he whispered.
Tightening her arms around him, she resisted nuzzling into his shirt, knowing she’d get makeup all over the starched white material.
“I’ll see you in a minute,” she said, pulling back to look into his face.
He dipped down to drop a quick kiss to her lips. “See you in a minute, my betrothed.”
He’d started calling her that after some venue asked him if he and “his betrothed” would be attending a catering tasting together.
“Soon not to be,” she said with a wink.
He laughed, stole another quick kiss, and hugged her mom before jogging to meet Brady, who was waiting at the end of the path.
Sophie asked her mom to walk her down the aisle. She thought the idea of a man giving a woman away was archaic anyway, but especially after her dad left, she vowed never to have a man walk her down the aisle at her wedding.
So when the music started to play for their bridal party, an instrumental version of Here Comes the Sun — requested by Matthew because he called Sophie his ray of sunshine and they were heralding her entrance — she and her mom walked to the end of the pathway that was serving as their aisle.
Everything looked beautiful. Matthew was standing with their officiant — someone he grew up with who was now a pastor — under a large trellis, covered in a vine of blooming jasmine. The small white flowers (another reason her dress couldn’t be white) stood out against the mens dark suits and the lilac of the bridesmaids' dresses. Everything was bathed in the gentle golden glow of the candles, lanterns, and fairy lights strewn throughout the garden. It was like walking into a dream.
The song she would walk down the aisle to began, it’s jazzy, guitar playing softly from the speakers hidden around their guests.
The officiant instructed everyone to stand, and they did, turning to look at her, as she and her mom stopped at the end of the sidewalk.
While everyone looked at her, she looked at Matthew. Watching his smile and his breathless excitement as she made her way to him. He was even bouncing on the balls of his feet. Her own heart ticked in her ears, and she concentrated on the song lyrics in an effort to keep herself from running to him.
When we were strangers
I watched you from afar
When we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart
But now it's getting late
And the moon is climbing high
I wanna celebrate
See it shining in your eyes
Because I'm still in love with you
I wanna see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon
Watching Sophie walk down the aisle, her lips painted the same color pink they were on their first date, it felt a little like watching her walk through their history. He was outrageously glad to be on this side of it, having won her trust and love and finding himself in a situation where he had the chance to be with her forever.
Her mom hugged her and went to sit with Greg.
Sophie took the last three steps to stand in front of Matthew by herself. She was ready to take this last leap, eager to no longer do this life on her own.
The officiant invited everyone to sit and began talking about matrimony. She missed most of the speech, too busy thinking about the vows she’d written and watching Matthew. The navy suit made his eyes a deeper shade of blue than usual.
Finally, after what felt to Matthew like forty minutes, though it couldn’t have been more than five, they were invited to read the vows they’d written.
“When we agreed to write our own vows, I made Soph promise to let me go first so I didn’t have the pressure of trying to follow her.”
Sophie and the crowd laughed. Matthew noticed his mom wipe a tear from her cheek. His dad put an arm around her.
Taking in a deep breath, Matthew closed his eyes for a moment before looking back to the printed piece of paper Brady had handed him.
“Sophie,” he began. His voice wobbled a little. The way she was looking at him made him feel light-headed. The culmination of the day coming together and seeing her looking so beautiful in her dress was too much. Truth be told, he was a bit shocked he was even still standing.
She took his free hand, and the grounding in her touch centered his breathing.
He looked at her and began again.
“Sophie, if I tried to articulate all the ways I love you, I’m pretty sure we’d be here for several days because I don’t think I could ever find the right words.”
The audience awed.
“So instead of that, I wrote down some of the things I love about you, and what I’ll try to be for you, and you’ll just have to put up with the words I’ve got.”
She snorted, and he heard Brady laugh behind him.
“So here goes. I love that you make me quiet.”
Tears pressed behind her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to go for the jugular right off the bat.
“Most people know I have a pretty hard time shutting up,” he paused, listening to his dad laugh, “but you taught me the value in quiet moments, and I love that I fell in love with you in them. I love that I get a side of you no one else does, and I love that you trust me enough to show it to me.”
A few tears leaked out and slid down her cheeks. Gwen slipped a tissue into her hand, and Sophie smiled gratefully, pressing it to her lashes to stop her mascara from running.
“I love that you love my family and that I feel like I could be with you forever, and we would never get bored. I love that we’ve created our own little ecosystem and that it thrives because we’re both invested and working on it.”
His mom was crying into a handkerchief.
“I can’t promise that I’ll always be this good looking.”
The suddenness of the joke made Sophie bark out a sudden laugh, much too loud over the amplification system. Her hand slapped over her mouth to quiet the sound, and he laughed indulgently, as if that was the exact reaction he’d been going for.
“But what I can promise is this: that I’ll always try to protect you, except when it comes to spiders.” He paused for the laughter to die down, “That I’ll always do my best to be present when I’m home, and that I’ll always listen to and help you achieve your dreams. Most of all, I promise that I won’t ever stop trying to earn and deserve your trust and love.”
He folded the paper up. His mom was crying, as was Emma. He was pretty certain Taryn would be tearing up, too, but he couldn’t see her with the way the bridal party was standing. He wanted to end it in some fancy way like he knew she would, but he didn’t know how, other than to say, “I love you and I can’t wait to start this new chapter with you.”
Sophie wiped her nose and dabbed at the tears in her eyes. “I love you, too.”
She sniffed and swallowed, trying to get her bearings.
“Matthew always tries to tell me he isn’t good with words,” Sophie said, giving him a wry look as her fingers squeezed around his, “but I think you all can be the judge of that.”
He laughed.
She coughed gently to get some of the tears out of her voice. “When I started writing my vows, I couldn’t think of anything but love. I’ve been trying to understand it my whole life. When I was a kid, I thought I had to parcel out my love to make sure it didn’t run out, and other people had to do the same. Matthew, although you didn’t teach me that there’s an infinite amount of love in the world, you did prove that infinite love exists in a way I had never experienced before with a man.”
Now he was crying.
“I’ve always felt a little on my own,” she explained, “a little too quirky to be loved in that big infinite way.”
The audience was listening, wrapt. This was exactly why he didn’t want to go after her. Not only would he be a mess, there would be no way he could possibly follow her words.
“The last thing I expected in life was for this muscle-bound, curly-haired, rough and tumble hockey player to not only understand my quirks but to embrace and encourage them.” Her voice trembled. “I’m forever grateful I can take down my walls with you, Matthew.”
He took the tissue Brady handed him, unashamed, and wiped the tears from his eyes.
“And for your patience and consistency, even when I can be skittish and uptight.” She paused, listening to her half of the audience twitter.
“I promise I’ll kill the spiders,” she said, and he laughed along with the rest of their guests. “And I promise to never be unreasonably jealous of your job. But most of all, I promise to always be honest and to love you in the infinite way you showed me was possible.”
He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to lean in and just lay one on her. Tradition be damned. He pressed his mouth to hers, mumbling how much he loved her against her lips. When he pulled back, her eyes told him how much she loved him in return.
The officiant led them through the traditional “til death do us part” stuff, and they exchanged rings. It was a strange thing to feel the weight of the band on his finger, but Matthew had never been so glad to have something tying him down. It felt like he might just float away without it.
“You may now kiss the bride,” the officiant said with a wide smile.
Matthew’s hand slipped up to cradle her jaw, and he looked into her eyes as the fingers on her left hand tapped out five beats on the back of his arm.
And just like they rehearsed, just like they planned, just like Ryan said it would happen, the moment their lips touched, fireworks screeched to life behind them, screaming into the sky and exploding in a fan of sparks and color and sound.
It was perfect.
It was this video, first showing their faces as they looked adoringly at each other and then cutting back to catch the fireworks igniting the moment they kissed, that Matthew shared on his Instagram.
It’s been fireworks from the first kiss, and we’re still going strong.
To read all my fics, check out the Fanfiction Masterlist
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In Praise of Sally Ann Howes
As I've made it one of the purposes of my blog to share photos and songs and general positivity about the wonderful English actress Sally Ann Howes, I thought I'd make a post to talk in much more detail about all the great things about her and why I adore her so much!
This classy English beauty possessed a highly expressive face and eyes, an astonishingly powerful soprano, a great sense of humor, and the world's most charming laugh. One thing I cannot stop saying about Sally Ann is that she did not and does not get nearly enough credit and recognition for her immense talent and prolific career, and it's precisely for that reason that I'm here to do my part in giving it to her!
This overlong rambling post is a combination of biographical information and my personal fawning over her performances... whatever I felt I most wanted to put out there in the world and what I'd like people less familiar with her to know.
Click on Keep Reading and I'll take you on a journey!
As she preferred to work on the stage and didn't really pursue a film career, the catalog of Sally Ann's work that can still be viewed today is unfortunately small - though you can find almost all of her early films on the internet if you look hard! In her early film days, mostly made before she was able to pursue her true passion of musical theatre, her extraordinary singing talents weren't utilized by the producers at all.
However, we were fortunately blessed with exactly one musical film role from her, and it's an iconic one: the aptly-named role of Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), the golden-haired, golden-hearted candy heiress who falls in love with and eventually marries Dick van Dyke's character Caractacus Potts after joining him and his children on a madcap adventure. She's a sweet, intelligent ingenue with hidden depths and one of my favorite sorts of character arcs - the uptight, lonely woman who becomes more and more warm and open as she discovers newfound freedom and joy in life and falls in love.
There is something about Sally Ann that just glows in every scene of Chitty, and it's not only that bright blonde hair! The way she widens her eyes sometimes, the way she raises her eyebrows, her gentle and soft presence in the happiest scenes, and the particular airy lilt she has to her speaking voice are all so distinctive and appealing, and I can't take my eyes off her. And her smile! When I say she glows it's barely even a metaphor, the woman just emits light.
(Funnily enough, I started to realize that many of the laudatory quotes I've found about her also refer to her in this way, like this quote from a 1965 TV Guide article, from playwright Sidney Kingsley: "She's luminous as an actress. I mean that literally. In Brigadoon she really lit up the stage.")
For me, I'm weak for any actress who can do the defrosted-ice-queen trope so incredibly well. Truly starts out as closed-off and prim, and nearly reverts to that state when she and Caractacus have a Big Misunderstanding near the end, but in the scenes where she's happy and carefree, the warmth just radiates off of her.
She also has the most adorable chemistry with Dick van Dyke in an annoyances-to-friends-to-lovers relationship that absolutely shaped my young brain. Whenever Sally Ann and Dick glance at each other, whether with irritation and frustration early in the film or with warmth and affection later on, their chemistry is obvious and natural, and there's so much expressed in each one of those glances. One has no difficulty believing that these characters are going to be very happily married.
(Here's a cute on-set interview where she talks about, among other things, how easily she and van Dyke clicked.)
While I acknowledge that the character of Caractacus Potts was absolutely originally planned to be an actual Englishman, Dick van Dyke played him with an American accent, and to me they will always be an adorable English-American couple. It's a whole part of the charm of this pairing to me!
Sally Ann also had a great relationship with child actors Adrian Hall and Heather Ripley who played Jeremy and Jemima Potts, and did her best to help make them more comfortable and happy during the many very long days on set. Having been a child film star herself, she knew a great deal about how difficult and alienating it could be. The genuine affection the three of them shared is obvious in their scenes together, especially in the extremely adorable "Truly Scrumptious" number, and it really makes the developing mother-child relationship between the characters so believable.
The beach scene, where so much of the relationship between Truly and Caractacus and the Potts children is developed, is incredibly cute and heartwarming, and a lot of that rides on Sally Ann's performance and how her previously prim-and-proper character shows herself to be warm and loving, once she (literally) lets her hair down. We've already seen how happy the Potts family is together; now we see how Truly fits in perfectly and makes them all even happier.
Look at her! Literally glowing!
(One thing I should mention: I think both the plot and the love story of CCBB are greatly improved if one just treats the "dream sequence" as real events, which was possibly the original intention anyway, so just note that is always the perspective I'm coming from here. It's the only way to make some things make sense and for the characters and their relationships to fully develop.)
"Lovely, Lonely Man" is Truly's big solo moment, and was probably the least comprehensible part of the movie to me as a kid (lol), but is now indisputably one of the very best parts to me as an adult. It's an exquisitely beautiful love song, especially the bridge, and I somehow love it more and more every time I rewatch it. Sally Ann's dreamy, graceful movements and the way the whole scene is shot make her look like a princess, and the slow build of the song is masterfully done. She has this distinctive crisp way of articulating her words while singing, especially the closing consonants like N and M, that I just love to listen to. The string section and the building countermelodies are so beautiful it makes me want to weep. Everyone involved in creating this scene and song deserved an award, I'm being so serious. While it's not the highest of soprano songs and doesn't fully show off Sally Ann's astonishing range, she shows an incredible amount of vocal control here through the many diminuendos and crescendos, and she's mesmerizing to watch and listen to. One of her "glowiest" scenes, for sure!
While I've seen people call this song irrelevant to the plot, I strongly disagree - the romance is part of the plot, of course, and while I didn't fully understand the meaning as a kid, this song establishes how much Truly's outlook on life and hopes for the future have already changed since meeting Caractacus, and how much happier she is with the poor Potts family than she's ever been in her life of luxury. Plus, now we know for certain that she's head over heels for Caractacus, but he doesn't know... increasing the dramatic irony of the pining and yearning to follow!
In the reprise of "Hushabye Mountain", which was sung in a much earlier scene by Dick van Dyke alone, Caractacus loses the will to continue the song because he's overwhelmed with emotion thinking of his children being held captive. Truly comes in to aid him with the final verse - another pivotal moment in the developing romance - and Sally Ann's singing here is nothing short of breathtaking.
And of course, I can't neglect to mention the "Doll on a Music Box" number, where Sally Ann, who was not a trained dancer and in fact considered herself to be "appalling" at it, performs an incredibly precise, incredibly impressive clockwork song-and-dance number while on a spinning turntable! She practiced it so well that she managed to successfully complete the shot in a single take, prompting the stage full of extras to burst into applause.
This is another important character moment for Truly, though it's disguised in a diegetic performance: though it's another thing that went over my head as a child who only got to see the movie once, the lyrics about being trapped up on a music box and longing to be freed by love pretty clearly symbolize how trapped the real Truly's high-society life makes her feel, and how she yearns to break free from class restrictions and live happily-ever-after with Caractacus, as it's only with him and his family that she really feels free.
Then there's that incredibly warm romantic look that Truly and Caractacus share at the end of the song when she silently acknowledges the love confession he's just made while singing in counterpoint with her, though they're still in a dangerous situation and can't give themselves away by appearing too human and breaking their disguises... sadly this vital moment is cut off on all the Youtube videos of the scene I can find, because none of the people who clipped it understand that that's the whole point of it all, apparently. But here's a gif!
The character of Truly doesn't exist at all in the original (quite different) book by James Bond author Ian Fleming - surprising, I know, given her name! - and, honestly, the fact that Truly and the romantic subplot of this movie exist are why it had such a strong impact on me as a child, and very much why I fell in love with it again as an adult. Even though the score is wonderful anyway and the story is charming and magical, I can confidently say that I would not have become as completely enchanted or had such a strong desire to revisit it again and again if there'd been no Truly and no love story. The fact that Sally Ann's performance makes Truly so loveable is, obviously, a pretty crucial factor there.
Sally Ann's delivery of "Well, Mr. Potts... now you'll have to marry me!" after Caractacus kisses Truly... that slide from prim mock-outrage to the playful, warm, you-can-hear-the-smile-in her-voice conclusion is flawless. Not even exaggerating when I say that this was the moment that made me into a hopeless romantic as a 9-year-old child. Sure, this wasn't the first movie I'd seen where two people fall in love and live happily ever after, but I distinctly remember that this was the first romance story that had me in a giggling, kicking-my-feet, "I ship it so hard" state of mind. And after revisiting it as an adult for the first time last year, I have confirmed that yes, child me already had great taste in fictional romances!
Oh, I could say so much about the difference in her body language between the two scenes where Caractacus carries Truly out of her car that's become stuck in a pond. The first time, Truly is affronted and extremely embarrassed by the situation, holding herself so stiffly and awkwardly to avoid an accidental embrace that she causes him to nearly lose his balance and drop her. The second time, when they're in love and they know it, she snuggles right up into his arms without hesitation and it's the cutest thing ever. Sally Ann was 5'6" but looks so tiny in that scene!
(And that kiss! Maybe I'm getting off-topic here in terms of strictly focusing on Sally Ann's contributions, because Dick van Dyke deserves tons of credit for making this kiss so good... but wow, the kiss. Several times I have called it "the Most Kiss they could have gotten away with in a children's movie." Again, giggling, kicking my feet etc.)
While Truly's costumes and hairstyling are rarely historically accurate (the film is set around 1910), the stylized nature of her fashion is iconic and memorable in itself. Sally Ann also completely pulls off playing a fresh-faced ingenue who is 12+ years younger than her actual age - and I do wonder if the aging-down of Sally Ann is at least part of the reason why Truly wears her hair loose throughout most of the movie! Either way, it works perfectly and I was shocked when I first learned how much older she was than her character. (If you watch her in The Admirable Crichton, where she is also in Edwardian costume and was closer to Truly's actual age, she really doesn't look all that much different. If anything, I think she looks even more glowingly beautiful in Chitty!)
Also, as for Truly wearing her hair down... it may just have been an intentionally anachronistic stylistic choice, but in-story, I think it actually contributes to her character by showing a willingness to flout convention and pursue whatever will make her happy instead of what's expected of her, which happens to be a key theme of her character arc.
Another thing that led me to adore Sally Ann as a person as I learned more about her over the last year: in the 1960s, she appeared as a panelist in quite a few episodes of the game show To Tell the Truth (as well as a few episodes of Password), and these can be found on Youtube. I really adore how her personality shines through - she's unfailingly bubbly, witty, self-deprecating, and a bit quirky. Just listening to her speak is a delight and she has one of the best laughs I've ever heard. Here is one of my favorite little moments that I clipped.
By all accounts, she was a delightful person to know and work with, witty and clever, very professional, and very serious about her craft. She also always maintained a great affection for and pride in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and her role as Truly, which is always a wonderful thing to know about an actor in a beloved role.
Another bonus: here is a super charming interview with her after a backstage disaster at What Makes Sammy Run? on Broadway.
She was also, along with Twiggy and Diahann Carroll (as Julia Baker), one of the first three celebrities to have her likeness made into a Barbie doll.
Two of her earlier films I recommend are the comedies Fools Rush In (1949) and The Admirable Crichton (1957), if you can find them (hint-hint, you can.) You may also be able to find the 1966 TV movie of her reprising her Tony-nominated role of Fiona in Brigadoon with Robert Goulet, and although I feel like the oddly close-up way the film was shot kinda does a disservice to the actors at times, it's still amazing to be able to see and hear her in a role she performed on Broadway.
Richard Rodgers once called Sally Ann "the greatest singer who ever sang on the American musical stage." Now, I don't quote this to claim this superlative as some kind of objective fact. If you know anything about me, I am very, very strongly opposed to pitting women against each other and all the Golden Age sopranos are absolute queens who deserve crowns, no matter how much mainstream success or present-day name-recognition they have/had. I just think it's phenomenal that she received such high praise from a man who worked with many of the best musical theatre singers who ever lived... and to think, many people today have never even heard her voice. Without her performance as Truly Scrumptious, it's possible almost nobody would in the future! I am so glad that Sally Ann's lasting legacy was ensured by such a beloved film role.
Sadly for us, many of the theatrical roles which she originated (and thus, for which cast albums featuring her exist) were in shows that either flopped quickly or at least did not enter the theatrical canon, so she never achieved the level of mainstream recognition she clearly deserves. But Sally Ann also played such legendary and challenging roles as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Fiona MacLaren in Brigadoon (for which she received a Tony nomination), Maria Rainer von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Anna Leonowens in The King and I, and, much later, Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music. She received great acclaim for all of these performances and, judging by what we know of her process on My Fair Lady, was excellent at making roles distinctly her own and never merely imitating another performer.
Even in her iconic original role of Truly Scrumptious, you don't get to hear the true full power of Sally Ann's extraordinary soprano. For that, I highly recommend listening to "Another Time, Another Place" from Kwamina (1961), and "Something to Live For" from What Makes Sammy Run? (1964). I'm always sad that we don't have any recordings of her in her "fiery" star turn as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, but you can at least hear her do a Cockney accent, be silly, and sing "With a Little Bit of Luck" with Bing Crosby here!
If it weren't for the enduring success of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, few people might have even heard of Sally Ann Howes today, and that would be a terrible loss. I cannot overstate that I am so grateful that we all know who she is because she played this role and we get to see her give this radiant performance of a character that's all her own. Maybe this sounds strange, but I think the fact that this was Sally Ann's only musical film role (and the ONLY role most people will ever see her in) makes it even more precious, and makes everything she brings to the character that much more distinctive and unique and special.
Both for all of the talent and charm she brings to the role itself, and everything else that I and many other fans have been able to learn of so much of her otherwise-obscure work because of it, the world is incredibly lucky to have the lovely Sally Ann Howes immortalized as our Truly Scrumptious, and I wouldn't have it any other way 💖
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