#Nothing is described baby's happen offscreen

[cinnatwo]

They may not have been there then, but they try to make up for it.

Wanted to write about Mud and Rosys first meeting since these guys in my brain canon meet and are briefly a something and also Rosy canonically has babens this was always in her brain lore but with the moth squad now becoming a thing I was really intrigued by how that'd affect the original canon. Maple belongs to @cinnatwo I know they're not as present but credit where credit is due

Stormy night panic

Rain heavily thumped and rattled outside splattering against leaves and stones as the weather raged on outside, the wind howling and whipping through the trees causing creaks and haunting whistles.

Alone in a makeshift nest a distressed mew struggled for her breath, her claws scratches into the scattered leaves underneath her scraping on the cold stone as another wave of pain shot through her body.

"HNK", She whimpered loudly curling her toes, 'not here,' she thought, 'not now, please babies please just wait a few more days, I need to get to the other-' "AH-" Her thoughts interrupted by her own short pained yell as discomfort ripped through her.

Her leg throbbed in agony blood oozing from the claw marks that were left deeply inflicted upon her, she couldn't help the trembling, it hurt so much, her tail curled on itself as another pain shot through her, the stress and pain of the attack had sent her body into a panic and now she was giving birth all alone, cold and wet in a strange forest she was unfamiliar with in a nest that wasn't even hers and she hoped was abandoned. She was in too much of a state to even attempt to send out a psychic message to her friends, let alone heal herself, she could feel the warm blood uncomfortably running down her leg no doubt staining her fur. She hoped to any gods listening that nothing could smell her past the heavy rain.

She flinched at a rumble of thunder her shoulders tensing trying to pull herself small as her ears flattened in terror, she was never normally scared of thunder but right now everything was a potential threat, the rumbling could be the returning Tyranitar coming to finish the job, or a landslide that'd trap her in the cave she'd found in the side of this cliff wall. Cave wasn't the right word, it was more like a outcrop with thick vines hanging over the entrance to conceal it.

She wished the others were with her, she wished she was with them. Maple would shove her head under her own chin stubbornly and press close, wrapping her arm over her to hold her tail wrapping around them like a blanket making her feel warm and safe, Moth would lay down nearby and talk to her and tell her everything would be fine. She wiped a little at the tears falling from her eyes from the pain and from missing them she'd really wanted them to be with her for this, she didn't want to be alone.

A flash of lightning outside and Rosys body froze in sheer terror as the flash illuminated a silhouette right outside the vines.

She couldn't breathe her eyes locked forward as a snout pushed between some of the hanging plants parting them and pushing through slowly, another flash, she could make out horns and the skeletal like structure of their face as they slowly came into the outcrop. She couldn't flee in this state even if she wanted to she could've ignored the pain of her leg but all her energy was being redirected into birth leaving her trapped and defenseless as the strange being finally fully entered the space, drops of water dripping off of them as they stared at her with deep blue eyes.

Rosy tried to prickle the fur on her back, to puff up and look bigger but she couldn't, the defiant threatening hiss in her throat turning into breathless whimpers and pained cries as she hiccuped to herself, she didn't want to die here she didn't want her kits to be born just to die either. She wanted her friends.

She didn't hear them move but felt their paw touch her upper leg above her wounds, green warm energy flowed from their touch over her body, she could feel her leg tingling with energy as her wound was healed with the flecks of glittery light illuminating faintly the dark purple muddied fur of the other and the undeniable skull. Their eye shifted from watching her wound to glance at her face before they quickly averted their gaze back to her healing wound.

She watched them flinch as she whimpered again as another labor pain caused her to shake, looking at her in confusion as she trembled. They seemed to scan over her as though trying to find the source of her pain, holding their own paws anxiously as they looked at her, seeming considerably less scary than before.

They seemed to realize though what was causing such issues and she watches them step away.

"W-wait!...wait..please don't leave me…im..im scared." Rosy called out before her voice went quiet and timid. She knew she didn't know this Pokemon. She couldn't even tell what they were but she didn't want to be alone, they showed her kindness and she desperately needed support. They turned their head to regard her as they took a leaf from a vine holding it out into the rain before they came back, she noticed they didn't walk but floated.

They knelt carefully beside her holding the leaf which was now holding water from the rain like a makeshift cup to her offering her a drink. Rosy hadn't even registered her thirst around pain as they carefully held the leaf to help her drink, they left and repeated until Rosy seemed satisfied, choosing to sit, if awkwardly, near her. As the labor got worse they offered their paws out to her and she grasped onto them with one paw squeezing onto them, through the flashes of lightning still raging outside she was starting to make out what they looked like and was starting to suspect what they were.

——————————————————————

In hindsight Mud realized the way he approached the situation may have scared the living daylights out of the birthing mother he found in his nest and had she not already been in labor he might have unintentionally sent her into it. Of course there's probably no right way to go about coming home in the middle of a storm to find a random Pokemon, of your own kind no less, injured and giving birth in your living space so to speak.

He hadn't even intended to come to this nest of his, it was one of many and when the storm hit he was much closer to some others but, he'd felt a pull as though something was off and needed him. He figured subconsciously this other Mew must have been reaching, calling out to anyone close enough to hear, though by the state he found her in, he doubted her message got further than the forest.

She'd passed out not long after the third kitten was born and he was genuinely scared she may have passed on from exhaustion or some unseen wound draining her strength, he was thankful she was still breathing though he was still watching her like a Braviary just to be sure. He'd groomed the gunk off of the last kitten as their mother was unable to and, it was probably the correct thing to do? He wasn't sure he'd not been around others before but back home the Kangaskhan mothers would help one another so he was probably doing something right.

He'd put the last one, who was the runt with a slight kink in their tail that made his heart twinge by their siblings to nurse, his paw rested on their back gently as he felt a level of protectiveness over them before he checked on the mother. She had very lovely fur. It was curled bouncy looking and the yellow highlighting around her cheeks and ears were very charming. She seemed to be doing okay, just tired. The kittens were occupied as well having their first meals. Part of him wanted to go out searching for berries, when she awoke she'd probably be hungry but someone also needed to watch the newborns and protect the nest. The last thing he wanted was some Fearow trying to make off with one of them. He bared his teeth quietly to himself.

For now all he could do was supervise until mom woke up. He slowly took off his protective mask and quietly began to lick the moisture out of his fur. He hated being soaking wet; it made him feel unnecessarily heavy and sluggish, making sure to keep an eye on the triplets.

——————————————————————

Maples tail bristled as she paused mid-flight, her ears twitched to the sides flicking forward and back as her tail fluffed up to its maximum volume and the fur spiked along her spine. Something had happened, and this wasn't like the time Moth set one of his tails alight, this felt, it felt more, not necessarily worse but definitely more.

As she sped onwards to the location they'd agreed upon for their meetup she hoped to god it was just Moth being a fool and that nothing bad had actually happened to either of them, especially not Rosy.

Stretching out her psychic energy she could sense Moth, he was rather far away but slowly approaching as he always did, he was always late to these things even though she KNEW he could fly faster. She scoffed to herself as she searched with her psychic energy for Rosy.

Her signature wasn't moving, off somewhere but from what Maple could gather she was fine, if a bit tired, she assumed it meant Rosy was at the time sleeping to recover from a days flight and judging by the location of her she was in a place where the time zone would be night.

Maple sighed to herself, she must've just sensed something else, maybe a natural disaster that wasn't her problem if Groudon and Kyogure can't sort out their differences well it's Rayquaza's job to stop them isn't it? Not her fault if a few people drown or something.

[ty-bayonet-betteridge]

tell me literally anything about parahumans (it can also be a lie I literally wouldn't know better)

im gonna do one of these things:

[pleasantspark]

Forever & Ever - Chapter Two (Always and Forever) Frieza x Fem! Frieza Race OC Genre: Horror/Romance(?) Tropes: Yandere Part of The F&E Series Warnings: Possessiveness, Frieza (Because he's a whole ass warning in of itself), Sexism, Forced Gender Roles, Misogyny, Internalized Misogyny, Stalking, Implied Offscreen Death, Death, Yandere Behavior, Canon Divergent, Impossible Logic, DBZ Logic, Pregnancy, Abusive Relationships, Gaslighting, Toxicity, Manipulation AUs Utilized: Frieza Redemption Arc AU (Separate Arc, a COMPLETE different whatif) Frieza Race Overhaul Doc Used! Please check for it here: x

It's been exactly weeks.

Or months...

She couldn't know, she's been here for awhile, long enough to know she's now pregnant. Fear coursed through her body... And a feeling of... Repulsion.

Repulsed about the pregnancy...

Repulsed about the person who got her here.

Repulsed about everything.

She had tried to find ways to escape the ship but Frieza had thought ahead and kept her captive. She was locked in a room that could only be described as a cell. No windows, the door had a little sliding slit where her food would be sent, no one came to visit. Not even Frieza, who got her in this situation in the first place.

She pushed away the tray with the food that was sent to her. She wanted to leave. She knew she was never going to escape. Nor was she going to raise this baby in a safe spot. She was lonely.

God the loneliness was unbearable.

She longed and craved for the attention. She felt like she was trapped. It was a small place too. She was locked in a room with no space. She wanted to scream.

Perhaps was this Frieza's attempt at controlling her... Or even isolating her to... Try and get her to be more obedient. She didn't like this at all. She won't give in to Frieza's demands at all.

She thought she can play the long game and stop eating. That went well as you expected. Frieza's temper is as strong as his will. He wanted healthy offspring. And if you don't comply... She found out later what he would do.

So that stint of hunger strikes stopped the moment he showed her what happens if you want to starve a future tyrant of the universe...

Then that brought her to her next point...

If she's carrying the child, the future, the legacy of the Frieza Race inside her incubation chamber. Then Frieza would try and corrupt it.

No. There's no fucking way in HFIL she would let the incarnation of Dabura corrupt the one good thing she was about to have since arriving here. She would never let Frieza hurt their child, And she knew damn well he would try.

And... Well, if he tried to fight for it. She can always play the Mother Card.

Which, will require some effort.

Some of which she did not have the patience to uphold nor put the time into.

Talking to Frieza was like arguing with a stubborn toddler who doesn't want to eat their vegetables.

It's best to let them wear themselves out.

But Frieza never wears out.

Padding down the halls to the cell where he kept his beloved was Frieza. In his hands held the tray of food that his... Well, not prisoner, his wife. Yes wife, he got so used to referring to the many beings in this sector as prisoners that he automatically called his wife a prisoner.

Frieza was not... A particularly affectionate person.

Have been surrounded and spoiled by his father for years starting from the moment he exited his little egg. Frieza was used to being handed everything so when his wife and soon to be mother of his children defied him. That made him believe that she was...

She was... Insulting his authority.

Whatever he wants, he got.

Which is partially the reason why he and Cooler never talked. Cooler was his older brother. But compared to Frieza, he was nothing. His mother clearly treated them equally, but their father. Clearly favored Cooler, but when their dearest mom was still alive pretended to show the equality that she showed to their sons.

Cooler knew.

Cooler knew that Frieza was daddy's boy and that Cooler was Mommy's Boy. Even after their mothers death, Frieza was treated with more charity then Cooler.

Frieza knew he and Cooler never got along.

But he knew Cooler will have one thing he can't.

A family.

Albeit one that didn't want to be here against their will.

BUT still existed anyhow.

Whatever, in due time, he would get her.

Because whatever Frieza wants.

Frieza gets.

<Last Chapter >Next Chapter

[shrapnelstars]

Book spoilers

"We heard how much you loved Mangle and Ennard. Now, to ease you further into the concept of the Mimic, get ready for Mangle/Ennard...2!!"

This freaking thing better do this in the games. I'm sick of all the interesting stuff happening offscreen.

Mimic spidering around with eyes all over it reminds me of a theory that I direly held onto during the early days of Sister Location, which is that Ennard was a completely separate character who was absorbing and mimicking the Funtimes each night in order to build a full sized body for itself with a bunch of features, and it had taken Baby before the game even began.

____

"There was a leg where its mouth should have been."

We Cronenberg now?

____

Book: "THE MIMIC IS MAKING THE EXACT SOUND FROM THE SB WEBSITE. A SOUND THAT WE WILL DESCRIBE IN LOVING AND EXACT DETAIL RIGHT NOW. HE MADE THE EXACT SOUND. STOP DENYING OUR NEW CHARACTER. THANK YOU."

____

The body on Burntrap is apparently a woman's, and she was a victim, not a killer. They want this thing as far away from William as possible now.

This is part of what I mean when I say it's impossible to tell whether or not this thing was a retcon. It's cleaner than their usual retcons. It's like they had the ideas for both William and the Mimic, and the story that they enacted was entirely dependent on fan reception to the mere image of Burntrap that they presented. If nobody said anything, it's entirely possible that they would have gone on ahead with more William stories. The evidence pieces they gave in the game were all vague enough that they could mean whatever you want them to mean, moreso than usual for FNaF.

I...don't dislike this. And I'm sure I've said this before, but I'm used to being repetitive. I don't do it on purpose, it's just the way I think.

I think I enjoy the storytelling in this new arc more, since there's no obsession over dates and toes and all that bullshit. Just trying to figure out events. It's more fun to figure out what happened as opposed to when it happened.

I don't like that the new meta is to make a game with nothing, and then sell a bunch of books and extra games to piecemeal tell you what happened in your original game purchase. That's awful.

I do like that there is now more room for fun events, characters, and kills without really having to worry about what location it happened at, and in what year. I'm so damned done with that. It has actually led to fans basically telling the writers, "No, you can't have this interesting event happen because it interferes with MY timeline."

But yeah, it's wild to me that there are now piracy and leak circles around the books because the series has become too expensive and labyrinthine to keep up with. This is now the best way to stay current with the story without spending all your money on a bunch of uninteresting filler stories that might have a single sentence explaining what happened in that game you bought a few years ago.

[jadelotusflower]

March 2021 Roundup

Reading

Benevolence by Julie Janson - One of those books that caught my eye at the library (I’m a sucker for the “top picks” shelf) and I’m glad I picked up. The story of Muraging, given over in 1813 to the Parramatta Native School, but always trying to find a way back to her family and culture in the brutal early days of colonisation - resilient in the face of so much hardship. Janson is a Burruberongal woman of the Durag Aboriginal Nation, and Muraging is based on her great-great grandmother and Durag oral histories. An engrossing but often difficult read, about a period of history not often told from this perspective.

One Day by David Nicholls - A book that has been sitting on my bookshelf for so long I don’t even remember buying it. I vaguely recall seeing the movie adaptation on a plane once so must have enjoyed it, but can’t say I would recommend this book. Depicting St Swithin’s Day every year in the lives of two absolute character cliches, from one night stand, to friendship, romance and marriage. The concept is neat and the writing has wit, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care about Dex (insufferable twat) and Emma (not like other girls) or their love story. Okay, it’s not that bad. It kind of grew on me by the end.

Watching

Superman and Lois (episodes 1-5) - I’ve had reservations about this show because of this but am giving it a shot. I have not followed the Arrowverse/Crisis but a friend did her best to explain it to me, although honestly I found it this show works just as well as a standalone. The premise is simple - Lois and Clark return to Smallville with their twin sons for teen superhero angst part two. To be honest, it feels so much like a Smallville revival that...I kind of wish it was?  

Tyler Hoechlin makes a good Clark, but that padded Superman suit is an embarrassment - get rid of those fake muscles and show us some super collarbones! Elizabeth Tulloch is growing on me as Lois - she’s very...subdued, but imo lacking that spark Kidder, Hatcher, and Durance had. Honestly, subdued it how I would describe the show overall. Also the colour palette is sooo drab because gritty realism I guess.

I enjoy the family drama aspect of it, although I wish one of the kids was a girl. I mean, I understand why they’re twin boys - the son becomes the father and the father the son and all that - complete with both sons being named after both of Clark’s fathers (is there a name for the trope of the hero’s kids being named after his dead family/mentors as if the mother had no input??). The Captain Luthor/Morgan Edge plots are still in the setup stage so hard to comment on them. 

I sound harsh, I don’t dislike the show overall (and there’s some really good elements there). We’ll see, I guess.

Man of Steel/Batman v Superman/Zack Snyder’s Justice League - I’ve never really been a huge fan of the Snyderverse, and have been trying my best to avoid the Discourse about the Snyder cut over the past few years (from both sides). I have however been following what Ray Fisher has had to say, and can’t deny my interest was piqued by the idea that there was an entirely different film out there that did right by its characters. So I went back and revisited MoS/BvS before embarking on JL to give the franchise another shot.

While I still don’t really vibe with Snyder’s aesthetic (it’s just a bit bleak and muddy for me) I think these films are actually better when viewed together as one long story. I can appreciate that he made an effort to step away from the Donner nostalgia, and tell this epic modern myth of gods among men, and can enjoy it for what it is. The Snyder cut was entertaining enough, and I quite enjoyed aspects of it - Cyborg is indeed the heart of the film (but I honestly wish it had been explored in his own movie), and Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Flash break up the dreary tone.

It was nice to see the Amazons again (and I loved “Amazon’s, show your fear”/“we have no fear”). I like this take on Clark and Lois, even if most of the relationship happens offscreen, and there’s certainly more in the Snyder cut - even if I wish there was greater depth to Clark’s arc in particular, less of the god and more of the man.

I did however notice a pattern in these films in that I was interested/compelled by the first world building/character half, and having my eyes glaze over in the endless action cgi-fest of the second half (I have this issue with Marvel too). And the Snyder cut is indeed endless - it rivals Return of the King for number of endings but is much less cohesive, like Snyder was throwing everything at the wall since this might be his last chance. There’s a nice montage at the end with a bit of hope, and I was thinking well this is a nice uplifting note to end on, thank you! But nope, twenty more minutes of grimdark prophecising (in isolation, an interesting scene, but felt so out of place to show the team torn apart again immediately after we’ve just seen them come back together).

I also lol’d at David Thewlis getting a front credit for what amounted to his cgi face behind a massive helmet. Collect that paycheck, my man!

Coming 2 America - I watched the original as a teenager more times than I can count, truly iconic. Look, I dislike the sequel/reboot/remake merry go round when it dominates the scene, but to be honest I am a sucker for a sequel that’s lovingly made and really just an excuse to get the band back together and have fun. Worth it for the costumes and dance sequences alone (especially the En Vogue/Salt n Pepper/Gladys Knight mashup), but I really enjoyed this overall. There’s nothing groundbreaking and it doesn’t try to be. Was it necessary? No. But did I enjoy it? Absolutely.

Actually, scratch that. The costumes and hair are absolutely necessary.

The Prom (dir. Ryan Murphy) - Now I love a movie musical and this was...fine. It’s sweet and I enjoyed Meryl Streep doing her best Patti Lupone, and Nicole Kidman clearly having fun (even if she can’t Fosse to save her life) although I can’t say I found any of the songs memorable. James Corden, however, is pure cringe for reasons outlined here. But overall it’s light and fluffy, and not a terrible way to spend two hours of your life.

Superstore (seasons 1-6) - I’ve been binging on this for a while, and it’s a fun little show about the employees of a big box store - it’s nice to see America Ferrera back on screen (with producer credit). A great, diverse cast, but MVPs for me are Lauren Ash as Dina (you may recognise her voice as Scorpia from She-Ra), and Kaliko Kauahi as Sandra. While it did touch on some real-world issues - corporation malfeasance, unionisation, etc - ultimately it’s lighthearted and pleasant, especially the series finale that just goes full happy ending with a nice break from grim reality.

Allen v Farrow (dir. Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering) - I’ve never watched a Woody Allen film, and the clips I’ve seen of Woody Allen films haven’t changed my mind on this point. But what struck me seeing the clips of Manhattan in this documentary is just how young Muriel Hemingway was - this is not the Hollywood standard 22 year old playing 17 (which is problematic in other ways) but an actual teenager with a baby face and childlike voice, in bed with a 40+ year old man and I am baffled that this film is so highly regarded - if nothing else it’s right up there on the screen.

But of course there is so much else, which makes this documentary hard to watch at times. To those who have followed these events there’s not much new here, but it does an excellent job of compiling the sources together and giving a timeline of events, as well as refuting many of the pro-Allen arguments, and giving Dylan a chance to speak for herself. There’s also a companion podcast which is worth a listen for added perspective.

Writing

I actually finished something, finally! Posted Debrief, a Smallville one-shot (3920 words). 1670 words done on my other Smallville wip.

Posted chapter 41 of Turn Your Face to the Sun (1865 words). Now that the Obi-Wan show is actually happening, I need to get this finished before it all becomes moot.

Total: 7455 words this month, making 23,962 for the year.

[ducktracy]

180. the lyin’ mouse (1937)

release date: october 16th, 1937

series: merrie melodies

director: friz freleng

starring: mel blanc (cat), billy bletcher (lion), berneice hansell (mice)

this cartoon debuts a REALLY helpful bonus (that you can’t see on account of the blue ribbon re-issue): the story man is finally credited! no more guessing games as to who wrote what! of course, some valuable details are still omitted (backgrounds, layouts) which can sometimes be deciphered with a bit of sleuthing, but this is a nice start. i’ll start crediting the story, animation, music, layouts/backgrounds, etc. once the title cards move to the three part formula (that is: title, credits, director’s credit), which is sometime in the mid ‘40’s. for now, a little mouse retells the fable of the lion in the mouse (with some loony touches, of course) to a hungry cat in an attempt to satiate the cat’s appetite for the rodent.

berneice hansell’s shrieks accompany a still of the basement where our tale takes place. fade and zoom into a poor little mouse caught in a mouse trap, trying and failing to free its tail from the iron bar. the mouse’s cries of “helphelphelphelphelphelpHELP!” do nothing but attract unwanted attention--a quick, speedy pan that recalls the techniques of frank tashlin’s reveal a hungry cat licking its chops in anticipation. i personally love the cat’s design, the coloring on the eyes especially is really unique and stands out. the mouse, on the other hand, looks like all of the previous freleng mice that have dominated his cartoons, especially around the 1936 season. 

the mouse begs for the cat to spare him. i love the purposeful indifference on the cat’s part--humming nonchalantly (the humming provided by billy bletcher as opposed to mel blanc) as he ties a napkin around his neck and places the mouse between two slices of bread, even salting him. tugging at the heart strings isn’t enough to quench this kitty’s appetite. the mouse’s attempts at bargaining are soon replaced with giggles as he’s slathered with mustard (gotta go the whole nine yards!), soon silent as the cat prepares to take a bite of his mouse-wich. thankfully for the mouse, its tail is still caught in the trap, and he’s yanked forcefully out from the sandwich just as the cat prepares to take a bite.

like always, berneice hansell’s deliveries are all too amusing to listen to as he proposes a deal with the cat. if the cat spares him, he’ll do a good deed in return. the cat doesn’t buy it (”ha! dat’s rich. a mouse help a cat. ha!”), prompting the mouse to ask if he’s ever heard of the story about the lion and the mouse. hansell’s deliveries are in tip top form as she eagerly exposes the plot, her voice reaching frequencies that even dogs would strain to hear. the gaspy breaths of excitement are another plus. tex avery would usually be the one to use her vocals as a punchline, pushing the audience’s limits on how long they can stomach her squealing (and i use that affectionately!), but you can certainly see friz also taking that approach here. likewise, the mouse’s voice reaches an opposite extreme, thundering in a low bellow as he describes the great, big, bad lion. i could be wrong, but the dimensional acting on the mouse, particularly the close-ups, feel like the work of bob mckimson to me.

though amusing, the opening portion of the cartoon does teeter on the sweet and sentimental side more than it does funny and witty. thankfully, we get more of the good stuff during the actual retelling of the story. the lion makes his grand debut, marching through a line of trees that bend to allow his threatening physique through. facing the audience, billy bletcher does his classic, bellowing voice as the lion introduces himself as the rip-snortin’-est lion in the whole world, going on an entire tangent all ending in -”est”, a mannerism that would be adopted by friz’s own yosemite sam years later. the animation of the lion is a bit distracting and clumsy, and i can’t help but wonder if that’s on the fault of the ink and paint department rather than the animator (or both). his mane in particular feels rather floaty and too geometrical. nevertheless, bletcher’s vocals are keen. to demonstrate just how large and in charge he is, the lion takes a deep inhale and exhale, causing an entire wind burst to blow the trees to and fro--even the grass rolls and unrolls like a carpet.

transition to a baby ostrich happily strutting along, the same ostrich reused from freleng’s plenty of money and you just a few years prior. the lion bellows its roar from offscreen, prompting the terrified ostrich to jab its head in the ground, lifting its head up (and a clump of dirt consequently hanging from its neck) and dashing off into the hills after the next roar. the scene does feel slightly out of place, transitions between scenes noticeable, but ken harris’ animation is always nice to see. the timing, at least, is very well done. the next scene, however, has more clumsy and conservative animation, featuring animals running away and back again to their water hole after being scared off by the lion. it beckons memories of past cartoon eras.

nevertheless, another hansell-voiced mouse (the eponymous mouse, that is) appears and is ready for some mischief making. he blows into a horn that is, to the animals, all to reminiscent of the lion’s roar. the animals of the jungle take off, including a turtle couple who jump in the same shell to escape, slightly comparable to another turtle couple in tex avery’s don’t look now just a year prior. 

of course, the mouse gets his just desserts when the mean ol’ rip-snortin’-est lion himself is right behind the mouse, watching him double over in squeaky hysterics. once the mouse realizes he’s about to become dinner (doing a nice little stretch take), he’s quick to drop his games, now whistling anxiously, a big, cheesy grin plastered on his face, taking a few cautious steps backwards. gorgeous personality animation. 

as the mouse pleas for his life, giving the ol’ “i have a wife and kids at home!” excuse, the lion is distracted by a smell radiating from off screen. a rotisserie chicken is conveniently placed in a bear trap, the trap labeled as the FRANK CLUCK EXPEDITION (a take on famed hunter frank buck). thankfully for the mouse, the lion lets him go, preoccupied with his plentiful poultry meal. the mouse zips away thankfully, only to zip right back at equal speeds and thank the lion before zipping away again. this gag would be used verbatim only 3 years later with freleng’s you ought to be in pictures, with porky in place of the mouse. coincidentally, both are animated by cal dalton, too. (thanks, devon!) the mouse DOES drop by one extra time to reassure the lion that if he ever needs help, he’ll return the favor.

thus cues the lion’s endeavors to pilfer the poultry. realizing all too quickly that simply reaching for the chicken will result in unwarranted decapitation of the arm thanks to the bear trap, he has to come up with something crafty. so, he opts to take the nonchalant approach, whistling and rocking back and forth unassumingly. the timing is very well executed as he pounces in a flash, reduced to a mere blur as he snags the chicken out from the clutches of the trap just in time. if you look closely, you can even spot some airbrush being used in conjunction with the speed lines.

unfortunately for the lion, what he fails to realize is that the chicken is rigged--the friendly folks behind the frank cluck expedition put a mouse trap inside the hollow chicken that clamps to the lions nose as soon as he gets a whiff of his not-so-future meal. however, an innocent lamb calls to the attention of the lion, distracting him from his pain.

the lamb is tied to a box that reads “FRANK CLUCK EXPEDITION -- lion trap no. 5″, pointing to a sign that encourages the lion to take it home free. the lion is enticed, but just as he goes to reach for the lamb’s neck, he recognizes the lion trap sign. instantly, he taps his foot, deep in thought, the whole scene rather reminiscent of freleng’s life with feathers in which sylvester does the same thing, pondering whether or not he should swallow a suicidal bird. the timing is much faster then, but the joke still lands even here. finally, the lion decides to dismiss the act all together, waving his hand away as he leaves. the pantomiming is excellent--no words are necessary to convey the dialogue happening in this scene. regardless, the lamb urges the lion to return, advertising signs about the health benefits of mutton. even the lush orchestration of “too marvelous for words” reaches its climax at the punchline--the lamb seductively displays its leg, the sign exclaiming “EAT LEG OF LAMB SAYS DR. KNOWIT���.

finally, the lion is convinced, and he grabs the lamb. as he does, the box advertising the frank cluck expedition opens, and a boxing glove socks the lion right in the face. great timing on friz’s part as a hunter wastes no time swooping in to tie the lion by the legs, posing triumphantly as a crowd takes photos and videotape the event for all to see. it all happens in a flash and unfolds quite well--the only downside is that the lion and hunter are subject to some DVNR (digital video noise reduction).

segue back to the present day, where the hungry mouse eager for the mouse to continue, invested in the story despite his harsh resistance against it prior. the detail of him sitting with his elbows on his knees like an eager little kid listening to a story is priceless, especially juxtaposted with the grating tones of mel’s voice as he urges “yeah? yeah? go on, go on! ‘den what happened?” 

“soooooooo...!”, we spot the lion caged up at the circus, a lion tamer cracking his whip and performing tricks for the audience. i always love looking at the crowd shots in the ‘30s and ‘40s cartoons, they’re so amusing and can sometimes even border ghastliness. in a callback to rudolf ising’s i love a parade back in 1932, ken harris does some excellent animation of the lion tamer placing his head in the lion’s open mouth, and, consequently, the lion placing his own head in the tamer’s mouth. the animation of both shaking their hands in triumph (and the hilarious drawing of the lion tamer opening his mouth wide) is great. ya gotta love the harris smears. 

“and ‘den, one night...” we get a shot of the mouse telling the story in the present as a means to transition scenes, a move that could have easily been achieved with just hansell’s narration and no animation. regardless, the lion sulks tearfully in his cage. however, as promised, the little brown mouse lives up to his word by surprising the lion at the cage, shushing him to keep quiet. carl stalling’s score of “old king cole” is lush and beautiful as the mouse chews his way through the wooden door of the cage, only stopping to begrudgingly spit out a nail. a lion sized hole is perfectly gnawed through the wood, and both the lion and mouse retreat away into the night, fleeing the circus once and for all.

“and that’s how the mouse saved the lion. now, won’t you let me go?” the brash, bold, grumpy cat from before is reduced to a tearful, sniveling sentimentalist as he frees the mouse, whimpering a pathetically hilarious “okay... i’m awfully sorry...” he’s even so kind as to give the mouse the piece of cheese that was used as bait.

the mouse displays the growth of warner bros. cartoons and their developing sense of identity as he zips away with the cheese, yelling “SUCKER!” and darting into the mouse hole. surprisingly, berneice hansell gives the line instead of your typical mel blanc shriek. the lip sync doesn’t align with the audio at all, however--the animation feels much more extreme than hansell’s delivery. i wonder if mel said the line originally, and they made a last minute change? who knows. nevertheless, the cat rams into the wall, failing to catch the mouse. instead, he turns to the audience and growls “can ya imagine that?” in an ode to tex avery’s porky the rain-maker. iris out.

while far from friz’s best, it’s far from his worse. it’s certainly much more enjoyable than his previous entry, dog daze. the actual retelling of the story is the best part, yet despite their nostalgic nature the cat and mouse scenes do hold up, especially the personality of the cat and the “SUCKER!” ending. that ending and the leg of lamb gag display the growing disenfranchisement with the disney roots of warner bros. cartoons. ever so slowly, the cartoons are finally making a name for themselves, and will continue to do so for years to come. 

some aspects of the short drag--the opening is particular slow--but they’re padded with amusing vocals, and i’m enamored with the cat’s design. it isn’t the most substantial in terms of story or momentum, but there’s plenty to be amused by. it does have its lively moments. carl stalling’s musical arrangements are gorgeous as always and a delight to listen to. overall, you could go either way, but i lean more towards the “give it a watch” side, especially if you’ve been keeping up with this journey and are acquainted with the cartoons of the past. friz has dozens and dozens of cartoons better than this one, but he also has dozens of cartoons worse than this. i say give it a leisurely watch!

the short is beautifully restored on HBOmax, where i got the screenshots from, but you can also settle for this print as well.

[roswelldetails]

Episode 203:  Good Mother

Sorry so late this week!! I had a deadline for work that kept me away from this early in the week, and Tumblr has been mean tonight. Kudos to @tasyfa for helping me with some of the transcripts while I was stuck working!!

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Determined to regain control of her life in the aftermath of Noah’s death, Isobel (Lily Cowles) makes a risky choice despite its potential consequences.  Meanwhile, Alex (Tyler Blackburn) and Michael (Michael Vlamis) work together to unravel the mystery surrounding the night Nora’s (guest star Kayla Ewell) spaceship crashed in 1947. Elsewhere, Liz (Jeanine Mason) makes a surprising confession when Cameron (guest star Riley Voelkel) shows up looking for answers about Max (Nathan Dean).  Heather Hemmens, Amber Midthunder and Trevor St. John also star. Jeffrey Hunt directed the episode written by Deirdre Mangan & Carina Adly MacKenzie (#203.) Original airdate 3/30/2020.

DETAILS:

Aliens in the crash are always portrayed as wearing all white.  

There's also a silvery gleam on the faces of Nora and Louise following the crash.

Harlan Manes (first introduced in the alien autopsy scene in 1x07) and Hector Valenti (first mentioned in the pilot by Jesse Manes, but visually introduced here) are shown as having both a partnership and a difference in perspective, with Hector being more sympathetic to the aliens from the start - it mirrors what we know about Jim and Jesse's relationship.

Mysterious alien figure in white hood (probably played by Nathan Parsons, but unlikely to actually be Max (see @latessitrice meta) touches Nora's shoulder and she looks pained, then attacks and burns Hector alive, before disappearing into thin air.

Nora is shot in her shoulder.

Liz sent Alex to find Michael at the cave. 

The pods "regenerate cells at the same rate as they degrade" keeping them in stasis.  The theory of the electrical current is that it will speed up the regeneration so instead of stasis, Max might improve.

Searching for info about Nora led Alex to a sophisticated firewall, which meant that someone was trying to hide information about her.

Jenna's fake energy drinks are called "Speed Demon"

Mimi DeLuca says she was "nowhere" (and then she looks up at the stars). She was wearing the same nightgown and robe as when she disappeared (white...like the aliens in 1947), but instead of bare feet, she had on a pair of elaborate blue and white cowboy boots 

Jenna told Sheriff Valenti that Mimi recited the plot from the film Starship Troopers during the car ride into town "like she lived it", with all the voices, but did not provide any information about where she’d been.  Sheriff Valenti implies that this is typical behavior from Mimi.

Michael says he's been parked at the pony for a few weeks.  Maria says that Mimi was gone for a month. That means that another 2 weeks have passed. (I.e., Max has been dead for 6 weeks now.)

Maria says that they found her mom on I-40 (by the Roswell sign).  Also in 2x01 Rosa indicated that she and Liz were on I-40 when they saw Flint - Rosa put together that it was the most direct route to Area 51...however, I-40 does not go through Roswell.  In fact, it is over 100 miles from Roswell to I-40 (north on 285).  However, it is the most direct route to Area 51 from Roswell.

Isobel points out that Mimi DeLuca waking up in the desert with no memory is similar to what happened to her when Noah took over her body.  Michael doesn't believe that they are the same situation though.

Rosa is about to drink spiked coffee when Liz brings her the art supplies.  After Liz leaves, she pours it out without drinking it.

Isobel is packing up all of the photos of her and Noah (most look like vacation photos).  She hesitates on the photo of them with Max at the wedding that we previously saw in 2x01 at Noah's funeral.

Isobel's baby is now 7 weeks (consistent with the other time frames) and is now the size of a blueberry.

Isobel drinks the rest of the alien death serum and immediately gets cramps/pain in her womb.  And then Max's hallucination appears.

Isobel tells not!Max that she has been microdosing with the serum for weeks (2 weeks, based on the timeline) and it hasn't worked.

Not!Max does tell her to call Kyle (i.e, her subconscious knows she should, but she's not listening).

Michael tells Jenna that Max is in Mexico (at first).

Mimi is "hydrated and healthy" and she never felt unsafe.

She thinks she was only gone for a night, coming to see Maria when Jenna found her.

Maria asked Mimi whether Jenna lent the boots to her and Mimi declared they were hers

Liz is surrounded by monitors with alienesque symbols on them (or maybe just The Science!) See photo:

When the alarm sounds Liz looks at her computer screen and reacts - likely a security camera.

When Alex arrives at the Bunker and sees the binder left for him, the computers are on and there is a map showing.  See photo: 

I tried to figure out what city it is on his computer screen, but no luck. If anyone figures it out, send me an ask & let me know & I'll blast it out!

The 3-ring binder left for Alex, which looked approx. ¾ full with paper documents, was marked on the front:

CAULFIELD * A4N

352-6553 NMG

The text was white on a dark green background that appeared to be a printed label that had been affixed to the front of the binder. The body of the binder was light grey, with a partially shaded circular diagram in the lower center of the front that appeared to be part of the binder itself rather than a later addition like the label.

The Post-It note left on the binder for Alex said, "What side of history do you want to be on?"

There was also a marking on the spine of the binder: CF-143-3453-C78. This is probably a file or record reference, with CF standing for Caulfield. The reference would be visible when the binder was housed on a shelf, allowing easy identification.

When Alex flipped open the binder, the visible portion of the top page read as follows:

HEADQUARTERS

509th BOMB GP (NH)

ROSWELL ARMY AIR FIELD

ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Forwarded.

A07-06 (95)                                8 JULY 1947

AFTER ACTION REPORT

Serial

[blacked out text with underscoring] [TOP SECRET stamp]

From:        Lt. Colonel Payne Jennings, Roswell Army Air Field

Subject:    Engagement with enemy combatants, recovery of unidentified craft, night of 14-15 June, 1947, twelve casualties.

[offscreen] is a fine that concerns the events and

[offscreen] following the discovery of a flying saucer,

To:        Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force

[offscreen] dentified rancher notified

[offscreen] [blacked out text] that he found the instrument on

[offscreen] operations were coordinated with

[offscreen] with the intent of detaining or

[offscreen] while assisting in the inves-

[offscreen] reached the crash site

[offscreen] ing object’s entan-

[offscreen] balloon. Ship

[offscreen] of foreign

[offscreen] place

Liz explains The Science to Jenna:

"3 years ago I hypothesized that if I introduced a rare protein to destroyed stem cells they'd regenerate.  And I was right. My team in Denver brought dead cells back to life. Rat cells, but, I mean, still, the applications are immeasurable… until our study got shut down.  They said it's for ethics reasons, but I think it's because it threatened big pharma. Then a few weeks ago, Kyle found that the pods contain a sort of alien cousin to my regenerative protein.  When Max healed Rosa, his electric charge amplified the process. If we can replicate that, then, we can accelerate his recovery, so, I am testing out pig hearts to see…" discussion about pig hearts/human hearts/different kinds of smart…

Liz says she has a few hours before she has to "record the electromagnetic charge interval"

Jenna says that Liz reminds her of Charlie.

Charlie used to rant about gene therapy

Jesse says he requested no visitors until "his brain starts to follow his orders".

He keeps periodically hitting the morphine drip with Alex in the room, though he was ignoring it before Alex got there.

Jesse describes the opening scene of the episode. And then tells Alex "Tripp was never the same".

Rosa's art:

Among the quotes on her collage are:

Body drie up from ...

What did she say

You're no listening

Control her Take her power

I am the Mesa the mighty

Nothing but a muddy trickle

You can't hold us

Sandia

Between them... Damn... One day she'll…

East

Rosa hears Max call out to her (while awake) "Rosa! Help! You're the only one!"

Jenna says that her dad brought her and Charlie to Roswell when they were kids.  That they were obsessed with the crash and aliens and the X-Files and it was the perfect trip.  It's why she came to Roswell after leaving the military.   "It was like trying to go back in time, somehow."

"Time Travel really messed with you.  I am eight years older than my older sister.  She used to be my hero. She was kinetic, disruptive, cool.  Now that I'm an adult I'm pretty sure she's bipolar, and she needs help.  And if I try to save Max I'm letting Rosa twist in the wind, so, hence the wine ready in my drawer."

Maria is going through a box labeled "Mom's Stuff" in the Pony when she sees Rosa.

"I'm turning into my mom.  I lost time at the gala...Michael's hand...I'm seeing things!"

What Valenti says about Noah's death:

"The M.E., Dr. Holden, listed Noah's cause of death as cardiac arrest due to lightning strike. (note: cardiac arrest = heart attack.  Same way Max died.). No other abnormalities were listed. But that's not consistent with the crime scene photos. You see these ligature marks on his wrists and ankles. …. These marks are consistent with zip ties.  And these with struggling against police-issue handcuffs. Like Max's.".

Isobel blames it on their sex toys.

What Max said to the grocery clerk "¿Tienes carne sin preservativos?" (Meat without a condom).

About Max's nightmare:

"You remember when I used to come in and sleep on your floor?"

"You used to have a nightmare.  You were alone in a cold, dark room and there was something… You couldn't get up.  You were…"

"Chained to the floor.  I'd wake up all freaked out and run to your room."

Rosa's nightmare:

"I need your help, Rosa."

"Look, I'm not gonna help you die.  I have been drinking so that I don't dream."

"I know that."

"It's like you're getting stronger. I hear you now when I'm awake."

"You're right.  Something is making me stronger. I feel things. That's why I'm calling for you.  Something is wrong with Isobel. Even in the pod I sense it. She's dying. Please."

Liz thinks that Max was able to reach out to save Isobel because the electricity is making him stronger in the pod.

Maria confessed to her mother that she had thought she might be getting sick too, Mimi said Maria would not get lost because she was protected, and reached for the resin pendant with the anti-alien pollen flower that Maria was wearing as usual. When Mimi seemed to go to sleep, Maria removed the necklace and placed it on her mother. 

Flashing back to the night of the crash, Nora seems to be tying down the tarp on the back of the truck when Tripp approaches her.  He feigns an offer to assist her and then grabs her and orders his men to move in so that they can take her and the truck back to base.  Louise appears and black-canary-screams to push them away (sound waves, I presume). She is shot in the stomach/chest. Nora pulls her into the truck and drives them away.

The newspaper clip Michael found is dated October 12, 1948, two days before Nora was captured. 

Newspaper transcript:

Last scene - Nora is clearly driving the truck with her powers, as she has both her arms around Louise. They approach a cabin and we're introduced to Roy Bronson, who offers to help.

Roswell Town Fair Charms Locals and Tourists

Photo caption: Smiles abound demonstrate a good time had by all.

Saturday Festivities Drew Healthy Crowds

Second column under photo:

...well as celebrated hometown war heroes, and, of course, Mrs. Benjamin Booker (Carol) whose strawberry Chile pie has won the Roswell Pie Contest four seasons in a row.

Children delighted in activities such as sack races.......

Top of 3rd column:

...ice creams.

Meanwhile the annual pumpkin chunking contest was the main attraction as expected! Pumpkin chunkers arrived from far and wide with their pumpkins and their pumpkin-lurching apparatuses. The prize for best pumpkin chunked went to the Long Family. Their farm foreman Roy Bronson credited his friend and neighbor, a young woman who declined to be named, for the Long's pumpkin chunking victory.

When asked what he'd do with the prize money, Bronson declared that he would "purchase ingredients (for his lady friend) to cook up a nice pumpkin pie".

MUSIC:

Dame - Holy Moly

Tommee Profitt feat. Fleurie - Hurricane

[severalspoons]

Liveblog: Rewatching Trigun, Episode 17 part 2

Ugh, I just want to talk about Episode 18 already.

We pick up with Rem and the Captain talking. 

-- Rem has a very breathy voice.

-- Rem: “Because they’re angels...maybe we should pay attention to them...they may even guide us through our dream.” If only it turned out that way. I wonder how literally she believes that?

-- This scene with Vash and Knives in the zero-gravity room is so touching. 

Knives sounds genuinely concerned about Vash.

“Are you crying again?” Apparently Vash cries a lot. Color me not surprised. Knives cares anyway.

Steve has been telling Vash he’s not human, and probably that he’s a monster who shouldn’t even be here. What if everyone else feels that way about him and Knives, too? he worries. Worst of all, what if Rem feels that way?

I don’t know if Steve deliberately mistreated them differently, but they certainly reacted differently. He hit Vash where it hurt by telling him he didn’t belong. He beat up on Knives, which Knives could tolerate better. I think putting up with Steve’s abuse is the sort of “small sacrifice” Knives is talking about. :(

-- It fascinates me that Vash is the one who’s afraid and suspicious of humans, even though he desperately wants to belong. Knives is the one encouraging him that it will be possible to get along with people. He even empathizes with their perspective: “to these people we’re just uninvited guests. We only need to be patient a while.”

-- Vash asks whether Rem feels the same way as Steve. Baby, nothing could be further from the truth. You’re Rem’s favorite. Can’t you feel how much she loves you? 

-- Knives starts a conversation about the tree they’re lying under, but not really. He’s speaking in metaphors. I do this myself when I want to get across a complicated set of ideas and emotions quickly. It’s a great way to compact your message and add sensory examples so the listener can feel what you’re saying. And it’s perfect for bridging the gap between his train of thought and Vash’s feelings. Knives does the same thing in the more famous conversation about spiders and butterflies. 

“Rem said it’s because they’re strong...they concentrate all their energy on growing.” 

This is dreamy, mythological, fairy tale thinking. Rem, instead of giving them information about the world, is describing it poetically and helping them see it with wonder. I think Vash will return to this perspective on days when he wonders why he’s bothering trying to save people. (The way I go to Pinterest and look at photos of nature and the sky and people doing kind things until I feel like it’s worth living again). 

-- “Rem said...according to Rem...” I bet this conversation is frustrating for Knives. Knives is asking Vash what he thinks, and all he gets is secondhand Rem.

-- “Plants are strong, but we eat their fruit.” “We need to in order to live.” Does Vash know what sort of plant Knives is really talking about?

-- “Do you think I’ll be eaten some day?” ::heart breaks: 

Will they be drained for power the way the bulb plants are? Or experimented on? It’s a reasonable question.

It’s interesting. Although Vash is the one being told he’s not human, Knives is the one aligning his identity with plants. Or at least, trying it out during this conversation.

-- “So then, why am I here?” 

Knives is having a huge (and perfectly understandable) existential crisis. And no one seems to have good answers for him. Even Vash doesn’t seem to get it.

I don’t think telling him he’s an angel sent to Earth to help the crew would help him much. Either it’ll sound like more fluffy poetic nonsense to him, or it will feel like a huge burden. I mean, just listen to former “Indigo children,” whose parents may have legitimately believed their kids were sent to save the world. Instead, they became a hot mess.

-- They had umbilical cords? Don’t plants reproduce by budding? Weren’t Vash and Knives found after they dropped off and fell to the ground? IDK, plant biology is confusing to begin with and the anime certainly doesn’t help.

-- Cut to a bunch of scary looking men with laser guns. Rem throws herself between them and the babies and you see the lasers all over her torso. They could have shot her. She could have died trying to save the plant babies. Holy ****. (And she wasn’t even feeling guilty about Tessla in the anime. She was just a good person). 

-- That fucking apple. I’m sorry, but I hate this kind of symbolism. It never says much, it feels like an exercise or a treasure hunt, and it reminds me of high school English class.

Smooth transition to the other side of the tree where Rem is giving Vash a haircut. Of course Vash goes first. Rem gives Vash his iconic sticking-up haircut for the first time. 

-- Um, it’s kind of weird to give your kid the same haircut as a man you loved. (What sort of relationship did they have in the anime, anyway?) 

Also, you never noticed he was handsome before because he’s a kid. He looks like the equivalent of an 8 or 9 year old here. 

-- “He was my emotional support. Thanks to him, I was able to face my mistakes without judgment. I learned to make them right again. Then I lost him and realized I would have to do it alone. But I wasn’t afraid to make mistakes any more. I believed I could point myself in the right direction without looking back.”

I just got run over by a truck of feels. Because Vash takes the same journey. 

And I’m pretty sure Wolfwood does for Vash what Alex did for Rem. 

It all begins next episode.

-- Knives’ haircut looks curved like butterfly wings. (And he’s way better at cutting hair than a kid with no experience should be).

-- Knives’ voice sounds villainous. “Just a little change of heart, that’s all.”

-- There already was individuality, even without the haircut. I guess Knives has just accepted it. “A philosopher and a mama’s boy.” That about sums it up, unfortunately.

-- Love how Knives tells Steve off, even though he makes a supervillain face immediately after.

-- Static. There’s that sound you hear every time Legato appears. The static of evil.

-- The famous spider & butterfly scene. Vash has both hands up, probably considering removing both of spider and butterfly from the web and moving them to separate places. Not sure what he’s waiting for.

They first have the argument they keep playing out for the next 150 years.

“Unless the spider caught the butterfly, it would die of starvation anyway.” Knives is right -- about butterflies and spiders. About the natural order. (That’s one reason I, personally, have an existential crisis every time I watch a nature documentary. For some reason, there’s always organisms eating other organisms alive on those channels. ::shudders::) The best argument I can give is that the metaphor doesn’t apply to people and plants, or doesn’t have to. The only reason a situation even resembling that happens on Gunsmoke is because Knives crashes all the ships onto a planet without resources.

Rem: “it’s not right to make that choice so easily.” Honestly? I think that’s a less convincing argument. Especially to someone who’s agnostic or atheist. Because who should choose? Or are you just leaving it up to random chance?

-- “What would you rather have us do, just stand there and think about it?”

Vash attacks Knives for the first time. 

Rem finally realizes there’s something wrong. She looks troubled.

-- WTF happened to Rowan’s mind? What’s broken? Is Knives controlling his mind or body somehow?

-- Rem models self-sacrifice. I still don’t understand why, but she seemed to truly believe that Rowan, who was willing to kill a crew member he actually loved, wouldn’t do the same to her. The Captain models the sensible choice given the information he had, and throws Rowan out the airlock. Well, maybe not so sensible, because Rem could have been flung out into space to die, too.

Wonder how Rem would feel if she knew that Vash spent his life doing the same thing, getting increasingly scarred in the process?

-- “Vash, take care of Knives.” 

This breaks my heart because so far ... he hasn’t.  First he follows Knives around. Then abandons him. Then attacks him.

 Doesn’t that bother him, given how faithfully he follows Rem in everything else?

I think Rem says nothing to Knives, because she has nothing good to say to him then.

-- It still bothers me that Knives got so flat out cruel down to the maniacal laugh so quickly and offscreen. It’s still a big jump from the last time we saw him talk. Seriously, look at this:

Everything he does in the anime would have made sense if they had just added a little bit more from the manga.

-- So Knives, is Rem’s self sacrifice still stupid if she corrected the course of all the ships and saved so many lives? After all, she took action quickly, and did the greatest good for the greatest number--the rational thing. You should have understood what she was doing.

-- No, Vash, Rem didn’t mean “take care of him” as in “Kill him.” You know that.

...You know I’m getting way too invested in a series when I start talking to the characters as if they can hear me. It’s about as sensible as yelling at the horror movie character not to go into that dark room alone.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 234: Tomura Flashbacks and Giganto ex Machia

Previously on BnHA: Re-Destro lost his temper and hulked the fuck out and started breaking off Tomura’s fingers like a goddamn Kit-Kat bar. Elsewhere, (1) Twice cloned Toga in order to give her a blood transfusion, unaware that Skeptic was heading their way; (2) Spinner’s quirk of being a Gecko Man was revealed and he attempted to wall-crawl his way over to Hanabata only to be assailed by a bunch of redshirts fired up by Hanabata’s Trumpet quirk; (3) Dabi continued to battle Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine offscreen (I assume); (4) Compress was also probably doing something but who can be sure; (5) Giran was running off to safety with one of the clone Twices, and finally, (6) Gigantomachia Goron-rolled his way towards the action while Slidin’ Go stood there nervously, probably sensing that his number is coming up on the great cosmic roulette wheel. All of this happened two whole weeks ago because the manga was on break last week! But it’s finally back now, so leeeEET’S geeet ready to rrrruuuuUUUUUUUUMMMMMBLE.

Today on BnHA: RD continues to get handsy with Tomura until Tomura starts to disintegrate one of RD’s own fingers to see how he likes it. He does not, in fact, like it, so he flings Tomura away and starts thinking all of these shocked antagonist thoughts about how Tomura is stronger than he expected and his powers are ~awakening~ and blah blah blah. Meanwhile Tomura hops back onto the Flashback Train to Feels City and recalls how AFO gave him his family’s severed hands to make sure he stayed good and pissed!! And he also remembers more about his sister and how much she loved him! And his mom and grandparents who were also super nice and are now fucking dead and it’s a lot! Horikoshi is pretty fucking ruthless! Anyway so RD decides he’d better go all out and wrap this up, but before he can deliver a killing blow, Gigantomachia finally makes his entrance. At the same moment, Tomura finally remembers “everything” (?? ???!?!?), which, holy fucking shit you guys.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, and added one or two ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

okay so let’s see what gruesome things are in store for our intrepid villains this week

“destroyed memories” oh? come again? you don’t say?? fancy that?? goodness me???

so is this referring to Tomura? or Dabi? if it’s referring to Re-Destro or one of his gang, I swear to god...! nobody cares about your memories RD. you’re a jerk and you suck

lol what the

aww. is this a “real” in-universe children’s book, is that what this is. did all the lil U.A. dumplings read this when they were small. and was there also a similar book called “don’t judge people by their lack of quirks” and if so why did no one read it to lil baby Kacchan hmm

anyway now we’re cutting right back to this unpleasant image! and not only that, but in the two weeks we’ve been gone things have even escalated!

we’re up to two hands being grabbed now! um. he’s really going to need at least one of those? probably?? please don’t Overhaul my deranged villain son fffff

reminder that Tomura needs to touch something with all five fingers in order for his quirk to activate (or he did before at least), so even though he still has... two...? fingers remaining on his left hand, that hand is still effectively useless as far as quirking goes. so if he suffers even the smallest amount of damage to his right hand as well, it’s basically all over for him. unless he actually was using his quirk with his feet in the previous chapter. I’m assuming not because he presumably would have decayed his way all the way down to the center of the earth if that was the case. I think @khorale mentioned this in a comment on my last recap, but yeah, seeing as the ground’s not disintegrating underneath him, it’s safe to say it’s Hands Only here

anyway I got so caught up in being calmly horrified over the current situation that I didn’t even read the dialogue. so RD’s saying that superpowers are linked to personality, and so that “don’t judge people by their quirks” stuff is in fact bullshit

um, source? are you a psychologist? in general I try to take things with a grain of salt when they’re said by pieces of shit, so yeah

fffffffff noooooo Tomura’s face sob Horikoshi you bastard

he looks so freaking young here. okay, shit. I’m starting to think I need to make plans to unwind after I finish reading this chapter. maybe get an Enya playlist in the works. diffuse some essential oils. find some cute baby animal videos

but on the plus side, it’s looking ever more likely that his are indeed the Destroyed Memories in question omg. so I will continue to get hype while also feeling very guilty and stressed

you guys I’m actually really glad RD is feeling like he has the upper hand now, because he’s starting to waste some valuable time monologuing, and with every second he babbles on, Machia is getting closer and closer to whooping some ass

so he’s asking Tomura what he’s trying to create

and well, actually, he’s not really that far off

I mean. does it count as nothing if he wants to destroy the whole world? one could argue that would be “creating” a new world in which everyone is fucking dead. idk. I might have to give RD this one; his whole point of “quirks are linked to personality and you have a quirk that destroys everything you touch so you probably just want to destroy shit” is holding up surprisingly well to scrutiny thus far

yeah so now he’s yelling “YOU ONLY LUST FOR DESTRUCTION! AM I WRONG?!” and nope. but even a broken clock, twice a day, etc.

oh shit OH FUCKING --

um, okay, (1) NO IT’S NOT, SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL, NONE OF YOUR HANDS BELONGED TO A CHILD YOU GULLIBLE RUBE

and (2) MY FUCKING FEELS. why am I even surprised. what the fuck. I knew more angst was coming and yet it still...

just, god. okay fine Horikoshi I’m a glutton for punishment, please continue then

HAHA SOB IT’S A WHOLE FUCKING FLASHBACK OKAY SURE LAY IT ON ME!!

this really is the wildest shit though you guys. I still can’t get over it. “hello little boy I’m sorry your family is dead but don’t worry I’m adopting you and here are all of their severed hands. with little plugs on the end too or some shit. just, you know. souvenir”

I can’t fucking believe AFO played this so straight. maybe that’s why it worked. it was just so fucking out there that Tenko wound up buying it hook line and sinker. “hmm, seems a bit shady, but then again why else would a strange man I met only yesterday just randomly up and give me a dozen severed hands”

I don’t know if any of this shit is important, but it’s probably good practice to just post every mysterious thing that AFO says

yes you really did a great job healing this guy’s wounded fucking heart, Dr. Phil

oh wow, never fucking mind, even

I see, so that wasn’t meant to be a reassuring “in time you’ll get over it” speech; it was meant to be a cautionary “you’d better surround yourself with reminders of your terrible pain at all times or else you might actually stop feeling fucking miserable and WE CAN’T FUCKING HAVE THAT” speech. holy shit

I’m seriously having trouble wrapping my mind around just how terrible this is. like, it’s nearly impossible to fathom that level of cruelty. this is a four(?)-year-old child. he tracked him down, gave him a quirk that would kill his family*, sat back and watched it happen, and then let him stew in the horror of it all alone until he finally swooped in and claimed him and then raised him with the express purpose of keeping him sad and scared and angry and depressed at all times, all so he would eventually grow up and, with any luck, murder the man that his grandmother thought of as a son!

(*this is just conjecture right now, admittedly, but until I’m proven wrong I’m basically operating under the assumption that it’s true)

just. “fucked up” doesn’t even begin to describe it. god

anyways, let’s continue to read more about young Tenko’s extreme emotional abuse at the hands of the final villain I guess

OMG HANA

okay so I can’t remember where we left off on this last time, but a bunch of people said they suspected that the young Tenko wanted to be a hero when he was a little boy, and that’s why he was always clashing with his dad, because his dad’s own experience with heroes was pretty sour on account of the whole his-mom-gave-him-up-when-he-was-little-and-then-later-died-horribly thing

so yeah, I assume that’s what Hana is referring to here with the whole “I just tell Dad...” bit. so they both wanted to be heroes! how perfectly fucking tragic! great!

Tomuraaaaaa

KEEP IT UP TOMURA YOU CAN DO IT!! YOU CAN REMEMBER! YOU’RE DOING GREAT. aside from the whole “this really big man is killing you slowly” thing

yeah, this whole deal

but aside from that. doing great

!!

OOOOOOOOOH SHIT, THIS MUMMIFIED LITTLE PUNK’S STILL GOT SOME FIGHT LEFT IN HIM YOU GUYS

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

he got him to fling him away! YESSSS TAKE THAT YOU ASSHOLE. FOOL HIM ONCE, FUCKING OUCH, BUT FOOL HIM TWICE, AND LET’S SEE HOW YOU FUCKING LIKE IT YOU BIG WAD

so now Re-Destro is belatedly realizing that Tomura is going through a very weird leveling-up process and taking advantage of the fact that he’s temporarily become the main character of the series and thus possesses all of the narrative powers that come with that venerable distinction

...that he’s the main character? yes

anyways lol there’s some real good crazyface action going on here guys

did Horikoshi take the extra time just so he could devote a little longer to nailing down panels like this because if yes, A+++

SDSKJSODIFHOIESJ

it’s mom!! wow!!

DSLKFAJSLDK ARE WE GETTING BACKSTORY ON THE FUCKING SCARS OMFG I CAN’T THIS IS TOO MUCH

SOB YOU GUYS I’M CAUGHT UP IN THIS WEIRD CROSS BETWEEN BEING HYPED AF AND ALSO CRACKING THE FUCK UP NOW THOUGH, BECAUSE:

ALL OF THIS WAS SO FUCKING BADASS, AND THEN THAT LAST FUCKING PANEL, THOUGH. LMAO WELL HE’S ON THE BRINK OF SOMETHING, BUT WHO CAN EVEN FUCKING SAY WHAT

ANYWAY HE’S ZOOMING TOWARDS RD AND RD’S THINKING “HE’S FAST!” AND YEAH, BITCH, YOU SCARED??

WHAT ARE YOU THE PRESIDENT OF HIS FANCLUB NOW OR WHAT

you guys this is the most I’ve ever liked Re-Destro. there’s something about evil nemesis characters being begrudgingly impressed by their enemies that just pleases me, idk

LJSDFIJWEOF

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO HIS FACE HE LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THE SCARY TREES FROM SNOW WHITE

OH SHIT YOU GUYS WE’RE BREAKING OUT THE TROPES

so do we get 100% when he goes up against Machia, then? smdh, fucking power levels. well I guess Deku technically uses them too. but still, it’s not something we see in this series too often aside from that

holy shit you guys

honestly, I guess this should be really intimidating or whatever, but all I can think is that it’s about time this guy finally started taking this “pitiable gang of thugs” seriously. even if that does mean Tomura is probably about to fucking die, barring some Giganto ex Machia. that guy really needs to get a move on

oh hey

[RAISES EYEBROW AT GIGANTOMACHIA AND JABS FINGER TOWARDS WRISTWATCH] cut it a little closer next time why don’t you??

(ETA: also I didn’t notice all of Tomura’s other hands being flung away from him by the impact, but whoa. so now he’s just got the Papa Hand left in his pocket, along with whichever hand is grabbing the back of his head. and that’s it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his dad is the only remaining family member whose face we still haven’t seen yet. some big reveal coming up with that soon, I bet.)

oh and also guys here’s some more flashbacks. this time with loving grandparents. because Horikoshi just really wants to make sure our emotions are good and churned about

okay guys, Tenko’s very dead flashback!grandma and grandpa telling him not to cry and giving him yummy food so he won’t be sad is pretty much close to the limits of what I can take, angst-wise. I don’t know why this is hitting me so hard! this is hardly my first anime flashback! I should be a pro at this by this point, the fuck is wrong with me

but on the other hand, I think a big part of it is that I’m not just sad about Tomura’s past, but also angry. because none of this is just coincidence; all of it is actually stuff that was done to him very deliberately, and the worst part is he doesn’t even realize it. and so in addition to the usual rush of protective feelings, there’s also this sense of outrage about it all too. and I think that’s the harder part to deal with. here I am, a grown adult, getting really mad over the staggering cruelty of what was done to this fictional character when he was a child. it’s possible there’s some real-life anger and frustration over certain real-life horrific cruelties and injustices that may be bleeding over into this, idk. just, the world is a fucked up place, and my emotional support manga is currently being less than supportive and it’s a struggle sob

anyways sorry about that. meanwhile while I was having a mini breakdown, possibly the most pivotal character development in Tomura’s history was happening and HOLY SHIT THOUGH WAIT UP GUYS

sdfkdsfjwoilkkj BOY!!!!!!!

SOB HOW ARE THERE ONLY TWO PAGES LEFT I’M GONNA CRY THIS CHAPTER WENT BY SO FAST

-- HORIKOSHI WHY ARE YOU CUTTING AWAY FROM THE FLASHBACK OH MY GOD I’M GONNA!!!

FUCK ME, THIS IS WHAT I WAS WAITING FOR SO IMPATIENTLY, SO OF COURSE HORIKOSHI JUST HAD TO FINALLY MAKE IT HAPPEN RIGHT WHEN I WOULD HAVE GIVEN ANYTHING TO NOT CUT AWAY FROM THAT SCENE WE WERE JUST ON. THIS SADISTIC SON OF A...

...hee. but it’s hard to stay mad, though

... :)

:D :D :D

lol what. recall, if you may, that you guys are the ones who basically forced them to come down to your mountain city and kick your asses you dickasaurs

HAHAHAHAHAAA

SDLFKJLSDKFJ AND ALSO OH NOOOOOOOO

OH MY FUCKING GOD. AND THAT’S IT. THAT’S THE FUCKING CHAPTER. WHYYYYY

EAT IT YOU PRICKS, I HOPE GIGANTOMACHIA FLATTENS YOU ALL INTO NEXT WEEK

Tomura looks so freaking sad, you guys. he’s just standing there completely still and he looks like he’s just completely destroyed emotionally

and he said he remembered everything!?! so what the shit am I supposed to do, Horikoshi?? my boy is just standing there with seven fucking fingers and one shoe and so caught up in his sad reverie that he’s seemingly oblivious to the fact that the long-awaited cavalry has finally arrived. kid is maybe 2-3 chapters away from finally triumphing over this bald Disney tree man who talks too much. and not only that, but he’s more than likely going to finally win Gigantomachia’s loyalty in the process. which in turn means he’ll have access to Ujiko and all of his resources

so in short, this boy is minutes away from becoming one of the deadliest and most powerful forces on earth... and I’m pretty sure that right now, at this moment, none of that matters to him one iota

you guys. so what does this mean for future developments?? I’m really going to need him to define “everything” ASAP, for starters. that’s a very vague statement, and its implications could mean the difference between us just having a sadder-than-usual Tomura from this point out, or a Tomura that’s sad but also realizing for the first time that there’s a lot about his past that doesn’t quite add up, or hell, even a Tomura that’s actually out for fucking vengeance against AFO. that last one seems like too big of a jump to happen right away, but dare I at least hope for the second option though? god that would just be the icing on the cake for this fucking perfect arc

now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go do some yoga or chant some mantras or something holy shit. this fucking manga

[bollywoodconfessions]

sanjay dutt?

Why I like them: This is a bit tough, not because there are no reasons to like him lol, but because there are multiple reasons to like him. Actually, what I feel for this guy is immense love, the kind of love that I cannot explain, just something that I feel very strongly, but anyway let me put this into words.

Sanjay Dutt is someone who has a very endearing inner core. He basically seems like a child underneath a big 6 feet body, and this much I can decipher just by watching him perform or watching him offscreen. His eyes are the windows to his soul, and they reflect nothing but beauty, his smile is one of the most cute, genuine and childlike smile I have ever seen.

God bless this laughter!

Another trait that I admire about him is his honesty, he is not afraid of judgement, he says it like it is, and says it like a boss. Openly confessing to doing all the drugs in the book or confessing to sleeping with 308 women are not at all easy things to confess.

And might I add that most people I know are forgiving towards all these confessions, because at the end of the day he is Sanjay Dutt, and he will be loved, regardless of what he says, he has a hypnotising charm, once you love him you cannot stop.  

Sanjay Dutt is not politically correct, he never has been, and he never can be, that is why his interviews are intriguing and fun. We are all like Anushka’s character in Sanju, intrigued with the honesty and impressed with the personality.

Sanjay Dutt is someone who has amazing amount of mental strength. If anyone else was in his position he would probably be in deep post-traumatic stress. However this guy is made out of steel, in spite of it all he managed to have a good career and a good life. Kudos to the resilience. Kudos to the person.

Instead of crying about all the trauma, he bounced back, he forgave people, and continued to be the loving and jovial person he is. There is nothing that can ever stop his zest for life.

He is a brilliant actor! And I love the kind of cinema he stands for! I cannot stress this point enough! I don’t know if my words will be able to do justice to his talent! But hey let me give it a shot!

Sanjay Dutt is truly a natural actor, he feels his character, nothing about his acting is ever “put on” that is exactly why all his characters, whether good or bad, are so impactful to the audience, like Hrithik once rightfully said:

“There are a very few actors who seem like they are feeling their character, and Sanjay Dutt is one of them. He scared me while we were shooting for Agneepath. I was like do you actually really hate me?”

I think Sanjay Dutt is the kind of actor who puts his soul in the character he plays, that is exactly why people like me are able to form a great connect with all his characters, you are able to feel for them deeply, because it is portrayed with a lot of soul. Like the great Nasseerudin Shah once said:

“Sanjay’s eyes can reflect real pain, unlike any other young actor. This is because Sanjay has already gone through so many experiences in life, experiences which have contributed to him being a good actor already. A good actor is one who can add to his range as he goes through various personal experiences in life. This look of pain endows Sanjay with both vulnerability and raw power on the screen.’‘

Some of his fans also do a rather amazing job at describing the vulnerability that Sanjay brings to all his roles. Exhibit this:

“The more I watch Saajan the more I am struck by how deep an insight into his soul Sanju gives us in his (at times heartbreaking) portrait of a sensitive poet. How much suffering, despair and loneliness can be seen in his eyes when he is overcome by mental anguish! In my opinion, for the understanding of Sanjay Dutt as a human being, Saajan is as important as Naam.”

I don’t think any amount of quotes can do full justice to the talent this man has, but let me just put it this way, I honestly feel every emotion he goes through in almost every performance of his, he is able to communicate so much even without saying a word, he is one of those very rare actors who does not have to overdo their performance to be effective. I think he is damn underrated, and so are some of his movies, some of them are legit masterpieces. Although, a lot of his characters do have a cult following, especially the characters Raghu (Vaastav) and Munna Bhai.

However my favourite performance of his is quite underrated, and that would be of Inayat Khan from Mission Kashmir.

This movie is amazing and deserves a lot more credit then it gets. Sanjay Dutt’s acting in it is terrific, his performance in this movie always moves me to tears. Not once does Sanjay Dutt’s acting  gets “dramatic” but it is still so impactful. He doesn’t say much yet his eyes have so much to say. His random outbursts of sadness, anger and anguish is something that is to watch out for. And like his every performance he puts a lot of himself in the character. Inayat Khan is not perfect, but he has a good soul, a heart that is in the right place. Inayat Khan is most of the time full of strength and is the protector, however that does not mean he is not capable of crying like a baby when it hurts way too much. Honestly I see a lot of Sanjay Dutt in this character, it is a character that was meant to be played by him. Sanjay Dutt is a potent mixture of vulnerability and strength and so is Inayat Khan, and that is exactly why the character comes alive, the character feels very real and it moves you at every moment. The character is portrayed brilliantly, and even though Sanjay Dutt did win some awards for it, I do not think this movie and his acting in it got it’s credit. This movie is ahead of it’s time and is an underrated gem. It makes for a splendid watch. Too bad it came at a time when romances and comedies were the “in thing.”

He is extremely Humble and Passionate:

Sanjay Dutt was no.1 in Bollywood when he got arrested in a very controversial case, just when everything was finally looking up for him it all went completely downhill. After showing support, many producers and directors decided against casting Sanjay Dutt in their movies. From being no.1 and to having all the success that he deserved, his career went to a minus due to a huge controversy.

Not only this, but for 1.5 years he stayed locked up in terrible conditions. If this happened to any other actor they would have collapsed, nothing is more important to a Bollywood actor than success and their ego, this sudden rejection after massive success is not an easy pill to swallow, especially not for a narcissist. Thankfully Sanjay Dutt is not one. He came out, did whatever work he got and made his way up again.

And he did not work hard or work in a zillion movies afterwards to prove a point, but just because he believed in doing his work with love and dedication, nothing less and nothing more. He did his karma and didn’t care for the results, and that is the kind of passion for work  and humbleness that everyone should aspire to have.

as Mahesh Bhatt once said:“One of the things I loved about working with him was the relief of finding an actor who is not narcissistic. I remember thinking during Naam: This guy doesn’t give a damn about how he looks on screen, he leaves it to the cameraman and just goes and does what he’s supposed to. And this in an industry where men (and macho men, not just the pretty boys) go to huge lengths to control how they look on screen — lighting, best profile, best angle — spend hours, like women, in front of their mirrors before they give a shot. Not Sanju. It was a relief to find a male who was not in awe of his own physical form. I don’t think I’ve found an actor who fits that bill in all my life.”

Why I don’t:  He doesn’t know how to sell himself.

Favorite film/scene:

If I have to choose one scene, it would be the scene in Mission Kashmir in which Inayat khan gets furious with his wife. Inayat Khan is a person who has always been extremely supportive towards his wife and clearly loves her a lot. Hence the anger that he has towards his wife in that scene is more about the hurt he feels, as he feels betrayed by someone who is very close to him. I think after suffering so much in life, this angry outburst sums up the hurt and despair he has been going through for so many years. Even though he may be in the wrong here, the outburst seems so straight from the heart, and is so raw that you cannot help but feel bad for him. I think that is a mark of a great performance. Sanjay Dutt’s characters are never politically correct, but because his emotions are so raw and are so honest, you cannot help but just root for him, and see things from his perspective. I mean he even made one feel bad for his character in Khalnayak, even though he was completely in the wrong throughout, again I empathised the most with his character in that film when he has an angry outburst regarding his Mother. Sanjay Dutt’s angry outburst in most movies are about him portraying an explicable amount of sadness and frustration, and I look forward to such scenes of his. His anger displays his vulnerability, and that makes for a great watch.

Favourite line: “Mujhe jo iys desh se mohabbat hai, woh kisi IS officer ki mothaj nahin” (Mission Kashmir). I also love the song he has sung for his movie ZINDA. The song is called “Kabhi Muskurake” and that song kind of sums up his life.

Favourite outfit: He looks hot in everything he wears, I am quite a fan of his late 80s and 90s fashion though, the beautiful long hair, a nice white shirt, and a nice pair of jeans on his tall legs is always a winner!

OTP:Non-romantic definitely him and Govinda. They are a laugh riot, they have created some of the most epic comedies together!

OTP: Sanju has shared great chemistry with everyone, but I think I will only ship him with me! LOL

Unpopular opinion: Sanju is mainly known for his intense action dramas or comedies, however I feel he is extremely underrated as a romantic hero. I think Sanjay Dutt always shares amazing chemistry with his female costars. I think his height and big broad shoulders make him look very attractive, and to add to that he has this cute child like innocent face to go with it. He is like every woman’s dream man. I think he is very underused as a romantic hero. Great love stories could be made with the intensity he has. I love when he hugs his heroines, he always closes his eyes while doing so, it is very cute.

A wish for them: Do more great movies

An oh-god-please-don’t-ever-happen for them: Don’t get caught in any controversy again. Please stay safe and happy. I cannot see you suffer anymore.

5 words to best describe them: Honest, Passionate, Innocent, Sexy and Beautiful.

My nickname for them: Sanju

[shoutdontwhisper]

In the past 6 months i’ve gone from thinking there is no way Robert is the father of Rebecca’s baby, to resigned to the fact he is but hating it and now i’m back at the baby isn’t Rob’s + the ONS never happened.

I’ve done the one thing i was trying so hard not to do and that is get my hopes up of an ending to this storyline that i’d love/accept. I can’t ignore what my gut told me back in April and what it is telling me now.

I’m not trying to convince anyone or get anyone’s hopes up so they can be dashed later.  I just wanted to articulate the main reasons i’m on board team Theory™ (copyright Theory queen @itwasjustmisplaced).  Something may happen next week or in 3 weeks that makes me change my mind again but for now these are the signs i’ve seen.

This became a bit of an essay so read after the break.

The weirdness of the ONS and the morning after

Lets start with the simple fact that Robert was drunk the night of the one night stand.  I don’t think it matters if Ryan didn’t act ‘drunk enough’  for you in this scene. You can compare it to others where he was stumbling or slurring his words but that’s not the point. Rebecca herself says multiple times that night that he has had too much to drink. When he admitted the ons to Chas he said “I got really, really drunk. And …i slept with Rebecca”. When Aaron asks him what he was thinking that night, he said “I wasn’t, I was drunk”. The writers have established multiple times he was drunk that night. I don’t think we are suppose to argue this.

What else do we know about that night? Not much was shown. There was no morning after scene and we learn later on that Robert had passed out, Rebeca left and he woke up alone.

The next morning Rebecca leaves this voice message

“Hey its me. Hope your head is ok this morning, you’d had a few. Things got a bit intense last night. I hope your not um…i just hope you’re alright this morning. Breaking up with Aaron can’t be easy. I’m here if you need me, anyway i’ll call again later.”

OK, this message will probably haunt many people. Honestly it seemed a lot weirder to me BEFORE we learnt that she left that night (but why would she leave him passed out?). Again, she points out he was drunk but the rest is so vague. The consistent and only interpretation of the ONS we have ever gotten from Rebecca was that she was a victim and Robert used her.

For the most part she’s showed no hesitation in saying her and Robert slept together - you could easily argue that the odd looks and pauses or the “i can’t…it’s yours” are all signs she’s lying and whilst they do contribute to the weirdness of the whole storyline i don’t want to focus on that too much.

Robert himself seemed to show no hesitation in saying they slept together when he admitted it to Chas. He even described the sex as “empty”  to Aaron which suggests he remembers something/it.  So why would he admit to it if it never happened?

Thinking you’ve had sex when you haven’t

Since the ONS the show has shown 3 instances of characters thinking they had sex with someone when they didn’t. In June Marlon thought he slept with Lydia, he even confesses to Laurel before Lydia corrects him. In August Faith also wasn’t sure what happened when she spent the night with Rodney. He had to tell her they only kissed and literally says “i didn’t take advantage of you”. Marlon and Faith was mostly played for laughs & there was nothing onscreen except the morning after when we saw them trying to sneak out.

This brings us to what Robert did to Lawrence. When I first watched this episode I was so angry but after re-watching i’m convinced it was foreshadowing or highlighting what happened that night in March. This was a turning point for me…A drugged Lawrence is confused but easily convinced that he and Robert had sex. Robert immediately plays the victim and tells Lawrence he took advantage of him “I was barely awake. You knew I was upset about Aaron. You should never had let me go along with it”. Once the confusion fades Lawrence apologises multiple times to Robert for what he “did”. 

Sound familiar?  

3 similar instances in 6 months feels like more than a coincidence to me. I can’t remember any in 2016 (please tell me if i’m wrong).

Rebecca’s missing pregnancy POV

Rebecca’s pov throughout the pregnancy has been almost non-existent. Before the ons reveal she did have a little but it’s a joke compared to other characters. I wrote about this more here.

It is actually ridiculous that we have not been shown one scene of Rebecca with a medical professional throughout this storyline. Either at her abortion appointment, during her miscarriage scare or at any of her scans.

Not only has Rebecca’s pov been missing but the details around the dates of the pregnancy are also vague. I wrote about this here.  

After the ons reveal her pov regarding the baby has gone from minimal to non-existent. The pregnancy has been told from the pov of Robert, Aaron and Victoria.

Everyone is taking her word for it that Robert is the father. THERE HAS BEEN NO DNA TEST. Again please, can someone tell me of another time on a soap when a character slept with 2 men and one was claimed to be the father without any dna test or twist?  

Rebecca’s naivety around Robert’s scheming

If you think Rebecca was a horribly written character before then it *seems* to have gotten worse since Robert started scheming the Whites.

After everything Robert did she was so quick to trust him and believe he wanted to be there for her and the baby. I struggle to believe Emmerdale would write her character like this unless for a reason. Her role has been reduced to nothing more than talking about the baby and worrying about her dad. She never gets any focus in a scene, no closeups etc. And the longer Emmerdale continue to write her as naive and insignificant the more suspicious i become. 

Just like I was suspicious when Moira was offscreen for long periods of time after sleeping with both Cain and Pete. It reminds me of a thriller/horror film. Always look out for the inconspicuous character.

Also, since the scheming what little dialogue Rebecca does have feels like she’s testing Robert. She always wanted the family he promised her years ago and she doesn’t want to push him too far too soon but she is testing his intentions and needing constant reassurance from him and he keeps giving it to her as part of his scheming. Some recent examples:

After Liv confronts them

Rebecca: Because i can do this on my own. If you think you can sort things out with Aaron then do it. I won’t stop you from seeing the baby.         Robert: No it’s a non starter with Aaron. Besides you and the baby are my priority right now.

Booking birth class

Rebecca: Well you want to come don’t you? You’ve been so supportive recently and i know it’s not very you but i don’t really wanna go on my own Robert: Try keeping me away. You know you’re not on your own for any of this

After birth class

Rebecca: Even though everyone thinks you’re my boyfriend are we cool?Robert: Ah yeah, yeah it’s no big deal

If she is lying then her lies are now paying off. This is a woman who thinks she is getting everything she’s always wanted- raising a baby with the love of her life.  

Ok so those are the main reasons/signs. But here are some more details:

Rebecca to Liv “The thing about secrets is, you have to be comfortable keeping them.”

Aaron’s extreme reaction to the baby meant the show has no intention of a Robron/Rebecca co-parenting situation

Rebecca claimed she wanted to raise the baby on her own, but was quick to drag Robert into it

It would literally be the most boring pregnancy and baby sl on Emmerdale if there was no twist

The Whites are the characters leaving and yet they are currently writing them as victims to big bad Robert (who is staying). Why? Maybe because ultimately we will learn the things they have done to him are far worse than what he has done i.e. destroying his marriage, lying about becoming a father

Rebecca has tried to split Robron up multiple times. Before the ons and after. “Can you handle this Aaron…Leave him…this is what he does to people” 

“Oh, he’s not the…”

[mariocki]

The Hard Way (1979)

“You tell him from me - this is the last.”

There isn’t a lot of information out there about The Hard Way, making it a bit of a mystery. It was produced by ITC in 1979 - that much is fact - and appears to have been intended for theatrical release. ITC had been moving steadily from TV to film production throughout the 1970s, although their films had always been licensed to other companies for release. 1979 was the year this changed, as ITC partnered with Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment (itself a conglomerate of the seperate Thorn and EMI entities, also a 1979 baby) to produce Associated Film Distribution. AFD would distribute films made by both ITC and Thorn EMI, as well as any other films the companies could pick up and sell.

AFD would be a short lived disaster, producing two of the biggest flops of 1980 before being unceremoniously wound down (prompting the retirement of ITC head honcho Lew Grade into the bargain). Those two films, incidentally, were Can’t Stop The Music (a musical-comedy faux biopic of The Village People, released just as disco was going out of style, and which inspired the Razzie awards) and Raise The Titanic (an overly long, incredibly expensive adaptation of a Clive Cussler novel that was absolutely trashed by Cussler himself). These were two hugely costly mistakes that lost millions of dollars. So why had the cheap, safe The Hard Way not made it into cinemas the year before?

I don’t have the answer, I’m afraid. Like I said, details are sparse. A little digging around, however, does hint at a troubled production. The script was written by Kevin Grogan and Richard F. Tombleson (actually Richard Ryan), with Tombleson to direct, Michael Dryhurst to produce and John Boorman to act as executive producer. How exactly a director of Boorman’s stature got involved with this minor production is also shrouded in mystery, though its worth noting that the film was made almost entirely in Ireland (where Boorman had long been based) and that the director was fresh from his own cinematic disaster (1977’s absolute mess Exorcist II: The Heretic, once described by Mark Kermode as “demonstrably the worst film ever made”). Whatever happened next, Tombleson was soon dropped as director and replaced by producer Dryhurst - anecdotal legend has it that either Tombleson found the ‘hard living’ nature of his cast too much to deal with, or that he clashed (personally or professionally) with star Patrick McGoohan.

Dryhurst had experience as an associate producer and as an assistant director, but this was to be his first project in the senior positions (his only credit as director, in fact). Whether or not ITC lost confidence in an inexperienced crew, or doubted the financial return of such a quiet, maudlin film, is pure speculation. I just don’t know (sorry, I never promised to have answers). Whatever the case, the film never got a theatrical release and instead became a TV movie and, in a few years, an early home video release. There it seems to have picked up a (very) small but devoted following.

The plot is nothing much new; McGoohan is John Connor, an aging hitman who works for hire, usually for a mercernary organization headed by McNeal (Lee Van Cleef). Connor has retired, but McNeal needs him for one last job and eventually pressures him to come out of retirement by threatening Connor’s estranged wife. Connor doesn’t go through with it, McNeal loses face and orders him killed; the scene is set for a suitably dramatic showdown. This isn’t groundbreaking, or even particularly special. But the final product is, just a little, special. Something went right, somewhere along the line, and The Hard Way turns out to be a surprisingly memorable film. I’m not saying ITC would have made a fortune, had they distributed the film to cinemas, but they certainly wouldn’t have lost millions and I’m sure it would have at least broken even…

The best word I can use to describe this film is sparse. Everything is just a little bleak, a little grey. Country landscapes are autumnal, grubby and wet. City shots seem especially grimy and gaunt. Dryhurst - who actually equips himself pretty well as a first time director - eschews closeups and keeps everyone at a middle distance, where its difficult to properly read their faces. Even the script is sparse. The whole film revolves around Connor and he’s not often offscreen for any length of time, yet he has only a handful of lines in the entire thing. Dryhurst didn’t even use an original score, instead using two ready-made pieces from Brian Eno’s 1978 experimental album, Music For Films.

The cast (Van Cleef and McGoohan aside) are mostly semi-familiar faces from British and Irish television - Donal McCann, Joe Lynch, Kevin Flood. The notable exception is Connor’s wife, Kathleen. Played by celebrated Irish novelist Edna O'Brien - in her only credited screen role - Kathleen spends most of the film isolated from the other characters. She provides much of the background and insight on Connor, delivering melancholy monologues directly to camera in what looks like a cave. Its disconcerting at first, having such a particular tone and presence for just one character (the context of her one sided conversation and its setting is not revealed until the very end of the film) but it ends up working. As the very human side of an inhumane business (Kathleen is the only truly sympathetic character in the film) she anchors everything in a state of reality and consequence. Its what prevents the film from becoming just another generic action film, or an overly grim mood Piece; the idea that though Connor is A Bad Man, and not really suited to any other life, there was a time that he was capable of love, when he was a husband and a father and not just a man with a gun.

Really though, the film belongs to the two stars - it was always going to. Van Cleef is Van Cleef; an actor who, although typecast early on as villains and murderers, was always elegant and subtle in his performances. As McNeal he is the other face of the coin to McGoohan’s Connor. Both men are getting old and getting tired, but where Connor is determined to quit, McNeal is more than ever obsessed with carrying on. His demand that Connor perform the fateful hit feels less about ‘hiring the best’ and more about preventing someone from taking the easy way out. “Men like us don’t stop”, he tells Connor when they first confront one another. In that line is his major misunderstanding of the situation, the idea that he and Connor are the same, with the same goals, drive, needs. He offers more money, but its clear from the very beginning that Connor has never been overly interested in the pay - he takes enough for himself and sends the rest to his family. “I have enough”.

McNeal is proved right in the end, in that both men find themselves unable to stop once the wheels are in motion. The final showdown - Connor entering a certain trap, McNeal rigging the house with tripwire and microphones - is a minor masterpiece of its kind. Connor is wounded early in the scene and spends the rest of it prowling around, using one arm to fire his shotgun at anything and everything that spooks him. Its a paranoid moment but you never feel like Connor has lost control - rather that he’s beyond caring, or has made peace with whatever outcome he expects.

McGoohan is incredible in these scenes, as he is throughout. As I said, he gets precious little dialogue, but it works to his advantage. Always a very physical actor, McGoohan hunches his shoulders and stalks his way slowly through the film conveying his feelings and reactions with a tilt of the head or a movement of his hand. There is a moment where Connor recieves a letter from his daughters, emigrated to America, and begins a reply. Its a simple enough scene, but as Edna O'Brien speaks in voice-over, about how he was a good father, but distant too, McGoohan holds the letter from him; he wanders to the window, stares out as if considering his reply; goes to put the letter down and apparantly move away; has second thoughts, sits and looks at the letter again; slowly, hesitantly pulls a piece of paper towards himself and picks up a pen; holds the pen as though he doesn’t know what to do next and finally, almost resigned, begins to write. Its a fantastic piece of theatre which is a lot more subtle played out than it is described here - the quiet, controlled, fastidious killer faced with the one aspect of his life which visibly makes him uncertain, which he can’t entirely control, which could be exploited as his weakness (as Kathleen is). It’s never really explained why the kids are in America, but watching the film you can’t help but feel its at least partly because Connor had no idea what to say to them.

[petty-crush]

“Who Killed Teddy Bear”

-an incredible, masterpiece of sleaze, perfectly capturing the mid 60’s disillusionment with life and society +if this isn’t a film loved by John Waters, I would be shocked

-title song of course sang in the beginning, but over a naked back in the midst of intimacy

-a scream as two film holes; one on a body on the stairs, another on a teddy bear

-several minutes of lush, dreamlike like photography on a male torso as he calls (phone and face offscreen) someone and makes lurid statements

-the lady at the other end listens at first, bit soon has enough “look, I don’t have time for this. Now sober up!”

-the lady is the heroine, Norah, who plays records at nightclubs, occasionally fighting off old drunks at the bar

-Norah is played by Juliet Prowse, who has a open, expressive face and eyes; she is a good visual choice for sympathy in the sordid work she travels through

-the black and white photography is incredible

-there are several extended scenes of dancers in club doing their thing, as the vibe grows more and more trippy

- the drunk is thrown out, and comes back onto camera glistening pocket knife first

-while filling out a statement about the aftermath at the police station, Norah runs into detective Dave Maddin,

-I really like the dialogue in this film. It is terse, smart-ass, and playful

-like the following, where Norah’s boss, tells the send officer to quit bugging her “Manners from a cop I don’t expect, but you abuse the privilege!”

- Maddin keeps an interest in Norah, perhaps unnervingly so, and offers to drive her home.

-she tells him no, but then is seen in his car in a funny jump cut

-a second, longer call lurid call to Norah; but this time the creep says her name, startling her

-Norah spends more time with Madden; who is a fascinating character; he seems largely obsessed with the habits of (his words) “sex perverts”, including checking out tons and tons of black market books, and listening to recordings of women asked by police to describe in detail their illicit phone calls

-there is a startling moment where Maddin sends his ten year old daughter to bed, he listens to more female testimony, then the camera reveals his daughter can hear every word in her room, with wide eyes +knucklehead can’t afford headphones?

-several times in fact Norah not unreasonably suspects Maddin of being the phone creep, given his obsessions and “what I would do if” statements

-Norah confides in manager, Marian, while keeping in contact with Maddin

-wonderful walk though of Norah’s life as she goes to get s hamburger, goes for a stroll, check out records; it’s a great little capsule of 60’s New York

-she refuses a offer to stay somewhere else and comes into her apartment to find a mangled teddy bear

-one of the cops checking the door is Bruce Glover (father of actor Crispin Glover) and this is the closest I’m seen him look like his son, cleft chin and all

-here it is revealed (to the audience) that the stalker is Lawrence, who is a co worker of Norah’s at the club

-Lawrence is played by Sal Mineo, who commits to this character with horrifying details, such as his fetishization of his own body, and particularly that of women

-it is revealed that the teddy bear (both of the apartment and the title shot) belongs to his younger sister, Edie

-information is further peeled out to reveal that Lawrence, taking care of his sister when they were both young, was having sex and Edie walked in on them, then ran away and fell down the stairs, damaging/stunting her brain. Lawrence wanted to go help her, but was lured back to bed. +This has attached a sense of shame/horror to sex that leaves him unable to have healthy relationships

-now some other people and the theatre thought that the woman Lawrence was having sex with when Edie walked in was their mom, but I thought it was inferred that both parents died young, hence someone else. It’s rather unclear

-Norah is getting increasingly worried, and wonders what she must do

-she blows up at Maddin after another one of his abrasive comments, asking why she shouldn’t suspect him, and he coldly reveals that his obsession stemmed from his wife being killed and raped (possibly not in that order) and that he can’t forgive himself or (as he sees it) ever let himself be that naive again, hence traveling up to his neck in all that filth

-we witness Lawrence growing alarmed at seeing his sister Edie wear make up and high heels; his guilt over wrecking her brain and its connection to sex leads him to self loathe himself with increasing fury. +he screams at her to not be like that but we see in his quiet moment he is mad for who he is

-Maddin warns Norah it might be someone she knows

-Norah hangs out with Marian who reveals more personal comments such as almost never wearing a bra (“ten minutes once when I was 28”) and how she loves fur (“ I have a weakness for soft things”), and dropping the term “baby” towards her

-Norah firmly but repeatedly tells Marian to leave after she feels she is being pushed towards a unwanted lesbian hook up; the manager leaves and is then strangled to death by Lawrence

-now here is an interesting aside; Marian ranted to Norah before she left “I think there is s bit of that creep in all men! That’s why the police ‘can’t find him’! They sympathize with him!” Now, is that true, or is the push towards seduction by a woman integralizing self hatred for a time when her partner preference was considered a mental illness? Both? +few people in this film have no hang ups about sex

-the murder of Marian is in shadows, with silhouette of bodies wrangling. Very Hitchcock like, and very effective

-Norah feels responsible for Marian’s death, and goes with Maddin and his daughter to the zoo

-are gerbils really considered zoo material?

-Norah bumps into Lawrence and Edie, and Maddin’s daughter gives Edie her ball, Maddin and Norah eye Edie with incredulity

-Lawrence goes to peep shows and magazine stands; once again an incredible snapshot of certain era of New York

-Lawrence is still raging, and we see him work out

-wonderful little internal made external shot as we see a weight pin thrust out and in then Lawrence sweating under the strain

-Lawrence goes swimming and sees Norah; she compliments his body and grows attracted to him; he has increasingly fragmented visions and Is unable to follow or listen to her

-after a slow night, Norah decides to teach Lawrence how to dance. The touch of her body sends his visions into overdrive

-while in his study, Maddin’s daughter tells him she sees him via a mirror. Maddin slaps his head and leaves the house

-still more fragmented visions from Lawrence

-Maddin finds Lawrence’s apartment, then Edie in the closest, and tries to get her to say where her bother is

-Lawrence snaps and attacks Norah

-beautiful visual of the mirror reflections of Norah as she moves away from him

-in one of more disturbing scenes I have ever seen, Lawrence pins Norah on the ground and finishes the rape

-there was no cutaway, no stopping by the police, nothing. Although both are fully clothed, it cannot be inferred anything other then a violent attack that robs the victim of their autonomy

-Lawrence goes to lean up against the wall, Norah stares cationic. Both are still in the frame with each other, both are speechless

-still in the same shot, Maddin bursts in, sees Lawrence against the wall, and slaps the shit out of him

-Maddin stops, then his face and shoulder falls. He has failed

-all are in the same shot, silence except for Norah whispering “where are my shoes”

-Lawrence stumbles out, Maddin too self hating to do anything +all the info, all the lack of naïveté didn’t stop the same thing from happening to another innocent

-Lawrence runs down the street, the visions in his head snapping (he sees Norah as a angel in the park) as he runs off screen, shots are fired

-this was one of the more gut wrenching films I have seen. I’m still in shock that the film had the male hero fail, show up too late, and had the rape finish

-it is a harrowing and incredible psychological exploitation film. Very well made, very unflinching, incredibly well acted, and one that will be in your head for a while to come

[mushroom-for-art]

OH THEM!!

I'd seen the Tyranitar on your time lapse!! Oh this I love this!! Yes Moth is absolutely a weirdo who pretzels and ough they all snuggle they're there for her now!! That's all that matters

Wanted to write about Mud and Rosys first meeting since these guys in my brain canon meet and are briefly a something and also Rosy canonically has babens this was always in her brain lore but with the moth squad now becoming a thing I was really intrigued by how that'd affect the original canon. Maple belongs to @cinnatwo I know they're not as present but credit where credit is due

Stormy night panic

Rain heavily thumped and rattled outside splattering against leaves and stones as the weather raged on outside, the wind howling and whipping through the trees causing creaks and haunting whistles.

Alone in a makeshift nest a distressed mew struggled for her breath, her claws scratches into the scattered leaves underneath her scraping on the cold stone as another wave of pain shot through her body.

"HNK", She whimpered loudly curling her toes, 'not here,' she thought, 'not now, please babies please just wait a few more days, I need to get to the other-' "AH-" Her thoughts interrupted by her own short pained yell as discomfort ripped through her.

Her leg throbbed in agony blood oozing from the claw marks that were left deeply inflicted upon her, she couldn't help the trembling, it hurt so much, her tail curled on itself as another pain shot through her, the stress and pain of the attack had sent her body into a panic and now she was giving birth all alone, cold and wet in a strange forest she was unfamiliar with in a nest that wasn't even hers and she hoped was abandoned. She was in too much of a state to even attempt to send out a psychic message to her friends, let alone heal herself, she could feel the warm blood uncomfortably running down her leg no doubt staining her fur. She hoped to any gods listening that nothing could smell her past the heavy rain.

She flinched at a rumble of thunder her shoulders tensing trying to pull herself small as her ears flattened in terror, she was never normally scared of thunder but right now everything was a potential threat, the rumbling could be the returning Tyranitar coming to finish the job, or a landslide that'd trap her in the cave she'd found in the side of this cliff wall. Cave wasn't the right word, it was more like a outcrop with thick vines hanging over the entrance to conceal it.

She wished the others were with her, she wished she was with them. Maple would shove her head under her own chin stubbornly and press close, wrapping her arm over her to hold her tail wrapping around them like a blanket making her feel warm and safe, Moth would lay down nearby and talk to her and tell her everything would be fine. She wiped a little at the tears falling from her eyes from the pain and from missing them she'd really wanted them to be with her for this, she didn't want to be alone.

A flash of lightning outside and Rosys body froze in sheer terror as the flash illuminated a silhouette right outside the vines.

She couldn't breathe her eyes locked forward as a snout pushed between some of the hanging plants parting them and pushing through slowly, another flash, she could make out horns and the skeletal like structure of their face as they slowly came into the outcrop. She couldn't flee in this state even if she wanted to she could've ignored the pain of her leg but all her energy was being redirected into birth leaving her trapped and defenseless as the strange being finally fully entered the space, drops of water dripping off of them as they stared at her with deep blue eyes.

Rosy tried to prickle the fur on her back, to puff up and look bigger but she couldn't, the defiant threatening hiss in her throat turning into breathless whimpers and pained cries as she hiccuped to herself, she didn't want to die here she didn't want her kits to be born just to die either. She wanted her friends.

She didn't hear them move but felt their paw touch her upper leg above her wounds, green warm energy flowed from their touch over her body, she could feel her leg tingling with energy as her wound was healed with the flecks of glittery light illuminating faintly the dark purple muddied fur of the other and the undeniable skull. Their eye shifted from watching her wound to glance at her face before they quickly averted their gaze back to her healing wound.

She watched them flinch as she whimpered again as another labor pain caused her to shake, looking at her in confusion as she trembled. They seemed to scan over her as though trying to find the source of her pain, holding their own paws anxiously as they looked at her, seeming considerably less scary than before.

They seemed to realize though what was causing such issues and she watches them step away.

"W-wait!...wait..please don't leave me…im..im scared." Rosy called out before her voice went quiet and timid. She knew she didn't know this Pokemon. She couldn't even tell what they were but she didn't want to be alone, they showed her kindness and she desperately needed support. They turned their head to regard her as they took a leaf from a vine holding it out into the rain before they came back, she noticed they didn't walk but floated.

They knelt carefully beside her holding the leaf which was now holding water from the rain like a makeshift cup to her offering her a drink. Rosy hadn't even registered her thirst around pain as they carefully held the leaf to help her drink, they left and repeated until Rosy seemed satisfied, choosing to sit, if awkwardly, near her. As the labor got worse they offered their paws out to her and she grasped onto them with one paw squeezing onto them, through the flashes of lightning still raging outside she was starting to make out what they looked like and was starting to suspect what they were.

——————————————————————

In hindsight Mud realized the way he approached the situation may have scared the living daylights out of the birthing mother he found in his nest and had she not already been in labor he might have unintentionally sent her into it. Of course there's probably no right way to go about coming home in the middle of a storm to find a random Pokemon, of your own kind no less, injured and giving birth in your living space so to speak.

He hadn't even intended to come to this nest of his, it was one of many and when the storm hit he was much closer to some others but, he'd felt a pull as though something was off and needed him. He figured subconsciously this other Mew must have been reaching, calling out to anyone close enough to hear, though by the state he found her in, he doubted her message got further than the forest.

She'd passed out not long after the third kitten was born and he was genuinely scared she may have passed on from exhaustion or some unseen wound draining her strength, he was thankful she was still breathing though he was still watching her like a Braviary just to be sure. He'd groomed the gunk off of the last kitten as their mother was unable to and, it was probably the correct thing to do? He wasn't sure he'd not been around others before but back home the Kangaskhan mothers would help one another so he was probably doing something right.

He'd put the last one, who was the runt with a slight kink in their tail that made his heart twinge by their siblings to nurse, his paw rested on their back gently as he felt a level of protectiveness over them before he checked on the mother. She had very lovely fur. It was curled bouncy looking and the yellow highlighting around her cheeks and ears were very charming. She seemed to be doing okay, just tired. The kittens were occupied as well having their first meals. Part of him wanted to go out searching for berries, when she awoke she'd probably be hungry but someone also needed to watch the newborns and protect the nest. The last thing he wanted was some Fearow trying to make off with one of them. He bared his teeth quietly to himself.

For now all he could do was supervise until mom woke up. He slowly took off his protective mask and quietly began to lick the moisture out of his fur. He hated being soaking wet; it made him feel unnecessarily heavy and sluggish, making sure to keep an eye on the triplets.

——————————————————————

Maples tail bristled as she paused mid-flight, her ears twitched to the sides flicking forward and back as her tail fluffed up to its maximum volume and the fur spiked along her spine. Something had happened, and this wasn't like the time Moth set one of his tails alight, this felt, it felt more, not necessarily worse but definitely more.

As she sped onwards to the location they'd agreed upon for their meetup she hoped to god it was just Moth being a fool and that nothing bad had actually happened to either of them, especially not Rosy.

Stretching out her psychic energy she could sense Moth, he was rather far away but slowly approaching as he always did, he was always late to these things even though she KNEW he could fly faster. She scoffed to herself as she searched with her psychic energy for Rosy.

Her signature wasn't moving, off somewhere but from what Maple could gather she was fine, if a bit tired, she assumed it meant Rosy was at the time sleeping to recover from a days flight and judging by the location of her she was in a place where the time zone would be night.

Maple sighed to herself, she must've just sensed something else, maybe a natural disaster that wasn't her problem if Groudon and Kyogure can't sort out their differences well it's Rayquaza's job to stop them isn't it? Not her fault if a few people drown or something.

[bollywoodconfessions]

Sanjay Dutt?

Why I like them: This is a bit tough, not because there are no reasons to like him lol, but because there are multiple reasons to like him. Actually, what I feel for this guy is immense love, the kind of love that I cannot explain, just something that I feel very strongly, but anyway let me put this into words.

Sanjay Dutt is someone who has a very endearing inner core. He basically seems like a child underneath a big 6 feet body, and this much I can decipher just by watching him perform or watching him offscreen. His eyes are the windows to his soul, and they reflect nothing but beauty, his smile is one of the most cute, genuine and childlike smile I have ever seen. 

God bless this laughter!

Another trait that I admire about him is his honesty, he is not afraid of judgement, he says it like it is, and says it like a boss. Openly confessing to doing all the drugs in the book or confessing to sleeping with 308 women are not at all easy things to confess. 

And might I add that most people I know are forgiving towards all these confessions, because at the end of the day he is Sanjay Dutt, and he will be loved, regardless of what he says, he has a hypnotising charm, once you love him you cannot stop.  

Sanjay Dutt is not politically correct, he never has been, and he never can be, that is why his interviews are intriguing and fun. We are all like Anushka’s character in Sanju, intrigued with the honesty and impressed with the personality.

Sanjay Dutt is someone who has amazing amount of mental strength. If anyone else was in his position he would probably be in deep post-traumatic stress. However this guy is made out of steel, in spite of it all he managed to have a good career and a good life. Kudos to the resilience. Kudos to the person. 

Instead of crying about all the trauma, he bounced back, he forgave people, and continued to be the loving and jovial person he is. There is nothing that can ever stop his zest for life. 

He is a brilliant actor! And I love the kind of cinema he stands for! I cannot stress this point enough! I don’t know if my words will be able to do justice to his talent! But hey let me give it a shot! 

Sanjay Dutt is truly a natural actor, he feels his character, nothing about his acting is ever “put on” that is exactly why all his characters, whether good or bad, are so impactful to the audience, like Hrithik once rightfully said:

“There are a very few actors who seem like they are feeling their character, and Sanjay Dutt is one of them. He scared me while we were shooting for Agneepath. I was like do you actually really hate me?” 

I think Sanjay Dutt is the kind of actor who puts his soul in the character he plays, that is exactly why people like me are able to form a great connect with all his characters, you are able to feel for them deeply, because it is portrayed with a lot of soul. Like the great Nasseerudin Shah once said:

“Sanjay’s eyes can reflect real pain, unlike any other young actor. This is because Sanjay has already gone through so many experiences in life, experiences which have contributed to him being a good actor already. A good actor is one who can add to his range as he goes through various personal experiences in life. This look of pain endows Sanjay with both vulnerability and raw power on the screen.’‘

Some of his fans also do a rather amazing job at describing the vulnerability that Sanjay brings to all his roles. Exhibit this:

“The more I watch Saajan the more I am struck by how deep an insight into his soul Sanju gives us in his (at times heartbreaking) portrait of a sensitive poet. How much suffering, despair and loneliness can be seen in his eyes when he is overcome by mental anguish! In my opinion, for the understanding of Sanjay Dutt as a human being, Saajan is as important as Naam.”

I don’t think any amount of quotes can do full justice to the talent this man has, but let me just put it this way, I honestly feel every emotion he goes through in almost every performance of his, he is able to communicate so much even without saying a word, he is one of those very rare actors who does not have to overdo their performance to be effective. I think he is damn underrated, and so are some of his movies, some of them are legit masterpieces. Although, a lot of his characters do have a cult following, especially the characters Raghu (Vaastav) and Munna Bhai. 

However my favourite performance of his is quite underrated, and that would be of Inayat Khan from Mission Kashmir. 

This movie is amazing and deserves a lot more credit then it gets. Sanjay Dutt’s acting in it is terrific, his performance in this movie always moves me to tears. Not once does Sanjay Dutt’s acting  gets “dramatic” but it is still so impactful. He doesn’t say much yet his eyes have so much to say. His random outbursts of sadness, anger and anguish is something that is to watch out for. And like his every performance he puts a lot of himself in the character. Inayat Khan is not perfect, but he has a good soul, a heart that is in the right place. Inayat Khan is most of the time full of strength and is the protector, however that does not mean he is not capable of crying like a baby when it hurts way too much. Honestly I see a lot of Sanjay Dutt in this character, it is a character that was meant to be played by him. Sanjay Dutt is a potent mixture of vulnerability and strength and so is Inayat Khan, and that is exactly why the character comes alive, the character feels very real and it moves you at every moment. The character is portrayed brilliantly, and even though Sanjay Dutt did win some awards for it, I do not think this movie and his acting in it got it’s credit. This movie is ahead of it’s time and is an underrated gem. It makes for a splendid watch. Too bad it came at a time when romances and comedies were the “in thing.”

He is extremely Humble and Passionate:

Sanjay Dutt was no.1 in Bollywood when he got arrested in a very controversial case, just when everything was finally looking up for him it all went completely downhill. After showing support, many producers and directors decided against casting Sanjay Dutt in their movies. From being no.1 and to having all the success that he deserved, his career went to a minus due to a huge controversy. 

Not only this, but for 1.5 years he stayed locked up in terrible conditions. If this happened to any other actor they would have collapsed, nothing is more important to a Bollywood actor than success and their ego, this sudden rejection after massive success is not an easy pill to swallow, especially not for a narcissist. Thankfully Sanjay Dutt is not one. He came out, did whatever work he got and made his way up again. 

And he did not work hard or work in a zillion movies afterwards to prove a point, but just because he believed in doing his work with love and dedication, nothing less and nothing more. He did his karma and didn’t care for the results, and that is the kind of passion for work  and humbleness that everyone should aspire to have. 

as Mahesh Bhatt once said:“One of the things I loved about working with him was the relief of finding an actor who is not narcissistic. I remember thinking during Naam: This guy doesn’t give a damn about how he looks on screen, he leaves it to the cameraman and just goes and does what he’s supposed to. And this in an industry where men (and macho men, not just the pretty boys) go to huge lengths to control how they look on screen — lighting, best profile, best angle — spend hours, like women, in front of their mirrors before they give a shot. Not Sanju. It was a relief to find a male who was not in awe of his own physical form. I don’t think I’ve found an actor who fits that bill in all my life.”

Why I don’t:  He doesn’t know how to sell himself. 

Favorite film/scene:

If I have to choose one scene, it would be the scene in Mission Kashmir in which Inayat khan gets furious with his wife. Inayat Khan is a person who has always been extremely supportive towards his wife and clearly loves her a lot. Hence the anger that he has towards his wife in that scene is more about the hurt he feels, as he feels betrayed by someone who is very close to him. I think after suffering so much in life, this angry outburst sums up the hurt and despair he has been going through for so many years. Even though he may be in the wrong here, the outburst seems so straight from the heart, and is so raw that you cannot help but feel bad for him. I think that is a mark of a great performance. Sanjay Dutt’s characters are never politically correct, but because his emotions are so raw and are so honest, you cannot help but just root for him, and see things from his perspective. I mean he even made one feel bad for his character in Khalnayak, even though he was completely in the wrong throughout, again I empathised the most with his character in that film when he has an angry outburst regarding his Mother. Sanjay Dutt’s angry outburst in most movies are about him portraying an explicable amount of sadness and frustration, and I look forward to such scenes of his. His anger displays his vulnerability, and that makes for a great watch.

Favourite line: “Mujhe jo iys desh se mohabbat hai, woh kisi IS officer ki mothaj nahin” (Mission Kashmir). I also love the song he has sung for his movie ZINDA. The song is called “Kabhi Muskurake” and that song kind of sums up his life. 

Favourite outfit: He looks hot in everything he wears, I am quite a fan of his late 80s and 90s fashion though, the beautiful long hair, a nice white shirt, and a nice pair of jeans on his tall legs is always a winner!

OTP:Non-romantic definitely him and Govinda. They are a laugh riot, they have created some of the most epic comedies together!

OTP: Sanju has shared great chemistry with everyone, but I think I will only ship him with me! LOL

Unpopular opinion: Sanju is mainly known for his intense action dramas or comedies, however I feel he is extremely underrated as a romantic hero. I think Sanjay Dutt always shares amazing chemistry with his female costars. I think his height and big broad shoulders make him look very attractive, and to add to that he has this cute child like innocent face to go with it. He is like every woman’s dream man. I think he is very underused as a romantic hero. Great love stories could be made with the intensity he has. I love when he hugs his heroines, he always closes his eyes while doing so, it is very cute. 

A wish for them: Do more great movies

An oh-god-please-don’t-ever-happen for them: Don’t get caught in any controversy again. Please stay safe and happy. I cannot see you suffer anymore.

5 words to best describe them: Honest, Passionate, Innocent, Sexy and Beautiful.

My nickname for them: Sanju