#expect more closeup gifs

[veronicaphoenix]

[scoobydoomistakes]

...I was gonna format these bumped cel gifs into normal, linear "wide shot, then closeup" format.

But then I just dragged 'em all in.

And the orders scrambled.

...and gosh darn it, now I kinda like the chaotic collage look.

this brady bunch reboot is more avent garde than i was expecting

UPDATE: ok, apparently Tumblr randomly chose to permanently change the formatting to the standard linear order, so the 9x9 grid is gone and the joke no longer makes sense. 

Just... just pretend they’re laid out like that.

[canmom]

Ping-Pong The Animation: eps 1-3

So Masaaki Yuasa [AN12, AN28, AN150] can do no wrong, right? OK, well, I'll admit Ride Your Wave was kinda mid, and Devilman Crybaby goes hard as hell at the beginning and end but sorta treads water in the middle, but... generally speaking! No-one does it like Yuasa.

For reasons I don't really remember, I didn't get very far watching Ping-Pong The Animation some years ago. It should be entirely my shit: Yuasa pulling in a gang of wildly creative animators to put their unique spin on something. However, the first episode didn't entirely hook me, and I never got round to trying the second before something else punted 'watching Ping Pong' out of my brain. ADHD, y'know.

This is a shame because even the very next episode seriously goes, as does the one after that. But also this anime isn't entirely what I was expecting (crazy sakugafest full of Yuasa weirdness). Not to say it doesn't do a lot of really unique stuff with its cinematography and animation, but these first episodes at least are more about like... dissociation! ennui!

But more on that in a mo. First I wanna continue the thread of 'how do you animate sports'.

So, ping-pong, or table tennis. Not a sport I know much about, I'll be honest. (To be fair I don't know a lot about sports in general outside of some very specific niches. The sports I've pursued so far are rather eclectic: swimming, fencing, tai chi chuan, and roller derby; I never got particularly far in any and it's been years since I've done them.)

I'll inevitably be drawing a lot of comparisons to The First Slam Dunk, the other sports anime I've watched recently. I do think it's a productive comparison though! Both of them bring something of the visual language of manga into their presentation in unique ways. I have not yet read the Ping Pong manga, but it's by Taiyō Matsumoto, otherwise known for scifi manga like Tekkonkinkreet (god tier movie, still need to read the manga) and Number Five. So that's a pretty impressive track record!

If you go take a look at some scans of Ping Pong, what will immediately jump out is the shaky, rough line style and unusual camera angles and compositions.

The stylisation is also very different from a lot of manga. Noses are fully drawn, eyes are realistically small, and in contrast, lips and mouths tend to get the emphasis - as well as hands.

Knowing this makes a lot of the creative choices in the anime make sense! It also adopts a shaky lineart style, and makes use of heavy line weights and spotting blacks to add definition. It also has a lot of crazy closeups and layouts, and it loves a visual metaphor. But most of all, the most striking element of this anime is how often it loves to split the picture up into little panels...

...which [eli]'s subs do a really good job of typesetting, incidentally, moving the dialogue to fit naturally into the split composition. And while this shot with 7 smaller shots is perhaps on the extreme end, splits of three or more are pretty frequent. It's a really interesting way to evoke the effect of seeing a whole page of manga

So, as you proooobably know, ping-pong is a game of bouncing balls off a little table and directing them into places the opponent will find it hard to hit them back. From watching this anime I picked up that there are a number of styles of holding the racket (e.g. 'penhold grip' and 'shakehand') and approaches to hitting the ball (e.g. 'chopping'). A lot of this pretty much went over my head, but honestly it didn't matter, since the narrative significance was pretty much always evident.

Compared to basketball, though, ping-pong is a pretty tricky sport to make visually interesting! Sure, you have the players running to and fro, and that can lead to some interesting poses, but how do you get the drama and tension into this?

Ping-pong additionally is all 2D, it doesn't have the sort of resources that Toei could throw at making the best looking 3DCG basketball game ever. It is limited to a TV-feasible drawing count. So it has to make use of clever limited-animation tricks to get the most impact out of fewest drawings.

Let's take an example sequence from episode 3. A minor character is about to get his ass kicked by Tsukimoto. Tsukimoto is something of a pingpong prodigy, and yet he is very emotionally closed-off and even standoffish; he doesn't particularly seem to like the game very much, and doesn't particularly feel inclined to flex on other players and get into the status games. But other players, like Wenge, have heard about him and want to see what he's got.

First we have the setup. Other characters are observing and discussing the game. Since ping-pong tends to involve very rapid exchanges, it can follow the classic shōnen model where there's a lot of talking, flashy fight sequence, more talking...

The cut happens in two steps, maintaining the vertical dividing line. This approach to cutting is used a lot in Ping-Pong, and it's quite a creative way to keep visual interest when it's using a lot of largely static shots. The panel on the right is more animated than the panel on the left, a naturalistic depiction of bouncing the ball off the table.

Things start moving faster here. A rapid pan on the image on the left disguises the fact that this anticipation pose is actually not moving at all. This then goes into a rapid, explosive moment as this guy serves.

The final pose is held for a couple of seconds while the voiceover line discussing his intended move finishes. This sort of elasticity of time is a very Osamu Dezaki type of move - it's something that Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata actually really disliked.

A sound effect hits as Tsukimoto appears on the right in silhouette, anticipating his reaction, and setting up the next shot which leaves the split picture and hides the background for just a moment, as if to put us in Tsukimoto's shoes: he only sees the ball.

Tsukimoto follows through and holds this pose - the ball is the only thing moving here. The ball moves mainly on 2s while Tsukimoto moves on 3s and 2s, and he and the ball move on alternating frames. He holds the pose as the ball zips off to the right (bouncing off the corner of the table), with a speed lines-like effect. At the end of the shot, the ball freezes in the air for the moment while the sound echoes.

The actual table-tennis round lasts just seconds, and the drawing count involved is pretty minimal, but it does a lot with those drawings.

We go back to voiceovers and reactions in the next few shots, returning to the split video as Tsukimoto's opponent thinks about how he'd really rather be at the beach...

Often, these comic-like compositions will change one panel at a time, and while one panel is animated another panel will be still, naturally moving your eyes across the screen. It is an approach similar to some experiments I've seen in 'animated comics' viewed in a web browser, where the panels do not appear all at once, but enter with some animation.

So this is the sort of animation technique that Ping Pong uses. It's effective! Elsewhere the cuts are used in a less direct, continuity-editing way and more in a juxtaposition/montage way. For example, Wenge's desire to return to China is symbolised by match cutting/fading to shots of an aeroplane.

And there is a recurring image, which I'm sure will be expanded on, of Tsukimoto hiding in a cupboard and wishing for a tokusatsu hero to come save him from his isolation. As Tsukimoto's feelings about himself change, the toku hero is replaced by a robot. At this points it starts to feel like an outright Ikuhara anime.

There is occasionally a little bit of CG, mainly when Tsukimoto uses a different type of racket surface, and the way the ball and racket make contact is the crucial thing that the shot is trying to convey...

It gets the job done, but I'm glad they stuck with 2D for most of it.

So I went in the first time expecting like, crazy elaborate sakuga - and to be fair, the OP, animated by none other than Shinya Ohira, delivers on that front - but if anything what I've seen so far in Ping-Pong is actually a triumph of storyboarding and limited animation techniques. I think back then I didn't have the eyes to appreciate it in the same way.

OK, that's the film nerd stuff, but what about the story? Ping Pong follows two school friends, Makoto Tsukimoto aka "Smile" (right), and Yutaka Hoshino aka "Peco" (left). Smile is defined by a flat affect and a standoffish persona. He's just going through the motions. He's very good at ping-pong, but to him it's just a way to pass time, and he's scornful about the idea of caring all that much about it. Much like Shinji with his casette player, Tsukimoto is pretty much always staring at a handheld games console rather than make eye contact with anyone.

Peco on the other hand is the more childish one - playful, kinda arrogant, very much an 'emotions on his sleeve' kinda guy. He sulks when he loses and gloats when he wins, and is constantly seen with bubblegum or other kinds of candy. He provides a lot of our commentary when he chats with the other players.

日本語上手 readers probably noticed the tsuki (moon) vs hoshi (star) symbolism thing they've got going on here!

High-school table tennis in this story seems to be a rather 'tough love' kinda world. Most of these players tend to look down on those who can't meet their level. Going easy on someone is seen as weakness, or cultivating bad habits, by almost everyone. Tsukimoto doesn't play at his full potential because he isn't as invested in winning as all these weirdos, but it seems that might be starting to change...

The coach is interesting. He's an old man and fairly disdainful of the club at large, and prone to speaking English randomly with a heavy accent. But he gets excited at the prospect of getting Tsukimoto to unleash his full potential, in terms that are repeatedly metaphorically compared to romance/marriage.

And when Tsukimoto gets sick of it, he challenges him to a game, with the stakes as...

Cue Makima/Beatrice images here I guess.

Tsukimoto de facto wins when the coach collapses, but this episode marks a change of heart. He starts to think of himself as a robot - the affect of a robot replacing the affect of the toku hero in his fantasy. And in this way he does what people seem to want and plays ping pong with mechanical precision, expressed once again in visual metaphor (shot here from a cool transformation sequence)...

What if I just dissociate harder? This is gonna end well.

So it really is one of those kind of like 'ennui of being a teenager' kind of stories - c.f. say FLCL. 'Boy with complicated emotional landscape' is Yuasa bread and butter, but the particular variant here seems a little unusual for him - they tend to be a little more earnest. I'm curious to see how Tsukimoto develops.

I am definitely enjoying the arrogant Chinese player Kong Wenge. Dude's got a lot of screen presence, and while I'm sure he'll get shown up sooner or later, he makes for a very fun antagonist of sorts.

In comparison to Slam Dunk... one thing that's significantly different about table tennis is that it's an individual rather than a team sport, which means it's harder to have an ensemble cast all contributing to the protagonists' eventual victory - instead it's about a lot of individual arcs interweaving with each other, individual duels. Besides that, it does seem like it will be following a similar arc of a character in an emotional hole (grief for Ryota, depression for Tsukimoto) finding new meaning and purpose through sports - though I can't be sure how things are gonna go for Tsukimoto here!

The tone however is quite different. Even when it's silly, I feel like Slam Dunk is a very sincere story. There's little detachment or irony, or false consciousness - with perhaps the major exception of Ryota's mother, who lets her own grief and trauma get in the way of understanding her son. But ultimately 'why would you care this much about basketball' is not a question that anyone would ask in Slam Dunk. Even the judo guy in the manga who's trying to recruit Sakuragi is just as hot-blooded about his own sport of choice.

There's a difference in like, general affect about the players as well, which has something to do with the sport itself. Yeah, Sakuragi's superpower is his 'genius' ability to predict rebounds, and there is plenty of strategising in Slam Dunk - but basketball is still a sport that very much emphasises physical power, and as much as Slam Dunk will work hard to sell you on a clever trick pass, the visuals are also emphasising the speed that players are dashing, the height they're jumping, their physique. Table tennis by contrast seems to be a sport that's more about prediction and mind games.

That said it is equally just like Matsumoto's style being different from Inoue's. Now I know it's by the guy who wrote Tekkonkinkreet, a lot about this series falls into place! There's a sense of tension here, of being fundamentally at odds with the world. The autismfeels. This is reflected also in the drawings - the characters don't entirely seem comfortable in their embodiment.

So if that's what I'm getting from just three eps, I'm very excited to see what the remaining 8 have to offer. This series is probably too long to cram into Animation Night format, but we'll see...

[actual-changeling]

(im slow what was the intentionally cruel part.?)

I will gladly elaborate!

This turned into a bit of a long answer, so welcome to an unplanned episode of Alex's (today hinged) meta corner!

While he was being unintentionally cruel several times throughout their argument, the only time he actively chose to say the most hurtful thing was right at the end:

I forgive you.

To them, that phrase has an uncomfortable history, especially for Crowley, and out of all the responses Aziraphale could have given him, he chose this one. Every other time he has used this, is was never about 'forgiveness' as such—it is Aziraphale trying to recreate the dynamic he has with heaven with Crowley.

It's Aziraphale looking at Crowley and telling him that the way he is is wrong, that he needs heaven's forgiveness, that he needs to change. All of that was made all the more clear by Aziraphale literally asking him to go back to heaven.

Crowley responds with distress to any of his 'forgiveness' phrases, which should technically be enough to make Aziraphale stop saying it, because who likes to intentionally distress someone you care about?

Aziraphale, apparently, but that's a topic for another time.

Now, I have combed through the final fifteen so many times I can probably recognize most of the frames and their time stamp with one look, and Aziraphale has two responses to the kiss:

His initial reaction, the one that is true to his emotions, is the aborted sentence. I interpret what he was going to say as "I love you" simply because the sounds and mouth shapes match very well (I have also written a whole meta post about that at some point).

Then he changes his mind though, and you can see that shift on his face, the angry slant of his mouth.

This is said out of anger, it is spoken with the intention to hurt Crowley by saying it—and he does. Not only did Crowley see it coming, it was also the last nail in the coffin of their relationship.

Enough is enough.

To be thorough (because I do enjoy being thorough), here are some closeups of the progression he goes to. First the gif, which is slowed down for convenience like the one above, and Michael Sheen really is a master of micro-expressions, every single moved muscle has an intention behind it.

At first, he is genuinely upset & sad, but then his expression settles and changes into something angry and almost cold. He knows exactly

a) what he is going to say

b) what the words mean in the context of their relationship and

c) that Crowley will be upset.

For some reason, he did not expect Crowley to leave; I think his intention was to make Crowley angry, to rile him up again.

Why?

Because Aziraphale does not like it when Crowley refuses to do exactly what he wants, and anger means you are still in a conversation, you're still emotionally attached—and emotions can be manipulated.

In reality, Crowley is already past his breaking point. He reached that the second Aziraphale responded to "tell me you said no" with "If I'm in charge".

Everything that comes after is heartbroken desperation and that stupid little voice telling him to keep trying because you rather leave knowing that you tried everything instead of forever wondering if saying or doing x might have changed something.

As always, feel free to ask any questions that might pop up!

[animehouse-moe]

The Weakest Tamer Began A Journey To Pick Up Trash Episode 1: On A Journey Alone

Now, if I didn't already know about studio Massket's history, I wouldn't have batted an eye at this series. I'd think it's well done, somewhere towards the top end of the midrange for anime in a season. It's got pretty art, fun designs, and good-slash-consistent animation. But I do know about Massket's history, and I know that this is their first ever anime. And they did a better job than a lot of established studios out there, so I have a lot to chat about!

I think the strongest and most consistent aspect of this first episode is certainly the art direction and backgrounds. It's a lovely style and it really pulls the most out of the fantasy genre. Really bright, rich colors that fill the screen to the brim give the world a wonderous feeling.

Conversely, I think the closeups in the episode also really help sell the level of detail, which is very high, that Massket is gunning for with this series.

They really pulled out all the stops in the art department, and that includes character designs too. Ivy's design is really solid, and animates impressively well despite the level of detail in it. I mean, she carries around 4 different bags and they still find a way to include sequences of her running, or falling down a hill, or even just putting those bags on. The consistency of these animations is one thing, but their quality is totally different. This is the kind of work that you expect from an experienced studio, not a first timer.

And even then, there's really not much inconsistencies in the character designs. Of course there's a few moments that have slipped through the cracks, but the largest moments with her character remain intact, as evident by the number of close up shots on her in the episode.

And funny enough, these closeups are a pretty good segue into my only complaints within the episode- simple inexperience. The boards for the episode are pretty great, amazing even in some sequences like the one below. But at times they can be awkward to follow and give off the feeling that you're missing something in between. It's not anything terrible in terms of quality of the studio, but does speak to some of the inexperience of the staff.

And the only other real area that I can point my finger towards is composition. Yeah, a little odd considering how good it is in the majority of the episode, but it's more about the consistency of low level aspects within. Shadows not appearing in certain scenes, colors remaining flat or out of sync with the environments, feeling the presence of layers in a scene. Just little things here and there that feel more like lapses than they do failures. And truthfully, the vast majority of these struggles manifest exclusively in brighter environments. When there's less light and more shade in a scene, the composition always does considerably better.

So all in all? I'm deeply impressed if this remains the quality for Massket's first anime. This is a level of polish that some studios aim for. Sure, there's dips in quality and other issues like I just pointed out, but almost all of them come from a place of inexperience rather than an inability. We've been shown what good and great look like from Massket, so I'm not too worried about lesser areas that will certainly see improvement.

[ranchthoughts]

The Eighth Sense has this way of filming where the background of shots are SO hazy and out of focus, and I love it

It increases the tension in the scenes because you don’t know if someone is lurking out there. There have been moments where the focus has gone in and out and revealed something hidden in the blur, so we know that the technique doesn’t always mean there is nothing of note in the background; in fact, it seems to be more often used when there is something important back there. @asianmade​ talks in this post about the sense of impending doom in the show as we (and Jihyun) know there is so much backstory for Jaewon we are just getting glimpses of. This filming style is like the visual representation of that: there’s so many shots where we can’t see what is going on in the background; or times where we just get glimpses, enough to tell us there is something with nothing there, but we don’t get to see it in its entirety/in focus; or moments when we the audience knows who’s there but the characters do not, cannot seem to see what’s right in front (or rather, behind) them.

It also works so well for the characters - Jihyun and especially Jaewon are so wrapped up in each other and themselves that everything else in the world is reduced to a blur. A couple of people ( @asianmade​ again with that post and @talistheintrovert with this post ) have talked about how queer and meaningful the very close-up, shaky camera work is and I think the blurred background filming style has the same effect. Paired with the extreme closeups, the world is reduced to one or maybe two subjects, just like the world is for Jihyun and Jaewon.

I am thinking of the scene at the end of ep. 9, when Jaewon is approaching Jihyun’s dorm and he moves out of the blur into focus as he comes closer - that is what Jihyun is seeing: a big world that doesn’t matter focusing and coalescing on one singular point of importance (Jaewon, emerging from the murky, indistinct surroundings).

And the scene in the library where we realize Jihyun is sitting across the library behind Jaewon’s shoulder and as he realizes too the focus of the camera switches and it’s like we are Jaewon: the rest of the world is blurry because the only thing that matters and catches his attention is Jihyun. Or the scene at the beach, where Eunji is talking to Jaewon but he sees Jihyun and immediately all his attention is there.

I think it works especially well for Jaewon because it reflects his mental state. He is depressed, masking all the time and unable to show his real self and concerns to anyone (except Jihyun), and the camera reflects that. The world is blurry, out of focus, claustrophobic almost in the way it films tightly and we don’t know what is lurking out of focus or out of shot. The world to Jaewon is a haze. There are so many things he wants to keep hidden, to keep pushed down and repressed, that of course to him his surroundings would be reduced to a shallow depth of field, mostly obscured in mist-like blur. Everything except Jihyun.

The visuals of the show feel soft and close, reduced to the space between two people who love each other, but also dense and maybe threatening. What aren’t they showing? What lingers out of shot? What do they want to keep unclear?

They also feel so queer, like @talistheintrovert says - fragments, glimpses, glances. Montages, flashes, close-ups, shots that linger on eyes and shoulders and cut parts of the subject out, those omnipresent blurred backgrounds... The tension of existing and flirting and being out and visible in a homophobic society as a queer person (expectations, homophobia, judgement filling your surroundings like a cloud). The dream-like quality of being in love and finding a safe place in a world that has given so much pain. And the other type of tension, between you and someone else, as you try to figure out if they are also queer, if they are also interested in you. The fear to linger, to look too long or too closely or too clearly because what if the other person isn’t queer?

Emotions and people that can’t be summed up in one crystal clear picture but instead can only be shown shakily, fractured, half in focus, obscured, just out of frame.

[aquabuggy]

Ok

Let’s get to it

I’ll start attempting to open the tank after I post this, expect subsequent updates.

I often edit my photos just a bit to clean them up and make them pop more but you know what? You guys are getting the raw images of this thing.

So here’s the game!

Posted listing photos of this guy before, funnily enough in the Questionable Aqua tag for its funny name of ��Dolphin” Ring Toss. Boy did I not have any idea just how questionable this thing would be.

So it looks bad right? Some of you may think it doesn’t look that bad though. So allow me to demonstrate something. Who here likes magic tricks?

Well…watch as my finger…..DISAPPEARS!

Here are the stills too for comparison.

The acrylic tank, although a bit grody, is not the problem here friends. Here, I even took a pic of it upsidedown. It is just the water doing this.

Here’s a closeup.

And the back of the tank! There’s your source for the paint chips. Water and time alone has caused paint to flake off the swordfish pegs, I have no idea how I’m going to sanitize this thing gently enough if water’s enough to corrode it.

Well! Time to pop this thing open and attempt to clean it then. Fret not! I’ll be wearing gloves and a mask the whole time and thoroughly washing my hands afterwards.

[psychiccatpanda]

WI Rec List - for the new year!

(With an image from @feignedsobriquet!  :D )  These are just a few things I’ve enjoyed.  We were playing a game yesterday (?? What is time?...) and these were a few of the things I had squirreled away.  :)  Hope y’all enjoy them as much as I do!

Carry Your Baggage Up My Street by Reioka. Mature. 

All Tony wants is to groom Bucky's wings, but he can't bring himself to ask, not after what the press has dubbed their civil war. But then Bucky asks him for help grooming. Tony is ecstatic. That is, until Bucky asks him to stop before he can even really get started. He wonders what he did wrong. Bucky has a hard time explaining that he did nothing wrong at all.

Anima by Arboreal. General. 

Bucky had always been able to hear the voices of the things around him.

Did you give me a tail? by Monobuu. General. Art.

Soft Things by rebelmeg. General. (This one is just Bucky, but I love it!)  

 Bucky has a secret. Just a little one.

Homemaker Bucky and His Husband by @gayspacesprinkles. General. Art. 

Soft sketch of Bucky handing Tony his lunch.

Not the Expected Confession by @riotwritesthings. Mature. (in my opinion, this is more General to Teen, but I’m respecting and using their rating here).

“This one is for Athenasbubo on AO3, who sent me this FANTASTIC prompt: 'Tony and Bucky get captured and given truth serum. They confess their feelings, driving the captors crazy because the pair ignore them in their excitement.'”

Sketch of Tony, Bucky, and Alpine resting together by @scottxlogan. General. Art.

A greyscale sketch of the 3 of them just chillaxin’.  🥰

Awesome WinterIron Stained Glass projects by @floweringglass. General. Art.

Seriously, they’re so talented!  😍

Codename I.R.O.N. by @unstable-river. General. Art.  

Comic/art series of a WinterIron Codename U.N.C.L.E. enemies to lovers AU.  “ Enemies to lovers, Agent Stark and Agent Winter have to work together for a mission. Stark relying on his handy tech gadgets, while Winter uses brute force to kick down doors and attackers....”

Just a brush of a hand by @saganarojanaolt​. General. Art.

Closeup of just their hands. Tony reaches one finger over to touch Bucky’s hand.

Distract and Sedate by languishinglizard. Teen+. 

Due to some small but very significant differences, Ultron ends up in a Roomba. He is somehow collectively adopted by the Avengers as their little murder robot.

[pancake-breakfast]

Running a bit late on the last chapters for this week, but that was expected. Let's finish up Volume 2!

Archive

Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10

Trigun Volume 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 1 Supplemental Research, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Volume 1: Covers + 1-2, 2 DT, 3-4, 3 DT, 5-6

TriMax Volume 2: Covers + 1, 2-4, 5

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 2, Chapters 6-7 below.

Chapter 6: Home Sweet Home

Is this Wolfwood or Midvalley? Someone else? I'm thinking Wolfwood 'cause the hair and the build look more WW, but the white suit makes me think Midvalley. Whoever he is, he looks so smol in the closeup of his crying face.

Scruffy hair plus cut to WW reinforces WW belief.

I like how a chunk of Nightow's aesthetic for civilization is, "What if small, mundane thing, but the size of a house?" Also, tiny Vash!

Drowning in sand sounds... unpleasant.

Hahahahaha, Wolfwood's love language is punching.

It's very trusting of Vash to take "I Know Too Much About Knives And Won't Tell You Why" Wolfwood to a place he'd dare call home.

Here's Wolfwood tactfully pointing out the differences between the two of them instead of throwing it in Vash's face that Vash isn't human.

Ugh, Vash is so worried about this place....

But it's ok. There's not so much to worry about, after all.

Gosh, the contrast between these two panels, one before he knows what's happened, and one when he realizes that, for now, everything's ok.

WELL NEVERMIND THEN. A THOUSAND YEARS TRAUMA FOR EVERYONE.

Fuck this guy.

Chapter 7: Darkness

I'm just gonna make a small note here that, on the title page, the shot of Vash from a lower angle behind him makes it so his hair looks almost completely black.

Wolfwood <3

I know enough to understand why Puppetmaster's saying Wolfwood's method's twisted, but... I also know enough about Wolfwood to know it's not nearly that simple.

Oh, no.... Not Unica.... /s :|

Welp. Definitely reading a seinen. They wouldn't get away with that kind of anatomy in a shonen.

Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope

This Vash is pretty much bristling right now. He's got both guns out, and the only parts of his body that aren't drowning in the bristles are his hands (which need to be steady for holding his guns) and his hips (suggesting his feet are firmly planted where they need to be).

Wolfwood looks concerned.

Actually, Puppetmaster looks a bit concerned, which is kinda dumb of him because he's the one who caused all this. Or... maybe he's just sweating because he's wearing so much black in a freaking desert.

Oh, Vash....

Shoot, there's another Gung-Ho Gun here.

That's a REALLY big hand.

I wish I knew what the heck was happening in that explosion panel.

You know... I'm actually kinda glad I was so late on getting to these two chapters. Now I can start on the next volume without getting too far ahead of the game.

Author Bonus Chapter: Anime Talk

All evolution eventually leads to crabs. Apparently, Nightow is not immune to this.

I mean... you're not missing much by skipping Titanic. I'd sooner rewatch Starship Troopers myself. At least that was hilarious.

(Also, I just realized he kinda called it "Starshit Troopers." Honestly... fair.

The other day I was at an anime con and a mangaka whose story is now an anime basically said the same thing. It's very much a dream come true for them.

This is the cutest thing Nightow has drawn. Except for sleepy Vash.

I mean, might as well shoot for the stars. I've long had a bit of a soft spot for Madhouse myself.

Yeah, my brain would pop out of my head at that kind of news, too.

Aaaaand I would promptly explode upon hearing they were gonna move forward with it.

Ohhh, this is sooooo indicative of the shows that were popular at that time. It was absolutely a ton of mecha, magical girls (this was pre-Madoka), harem, and guy-oriented romances where a crazy amazing weird girl just dropped in the life of some loser-boy.

Lucky for us all, Madhouse hasn't exactly built a reputation for themsevls as being "normal."

No wonder Nightow is thrilled about Stampede. He's getting to see his story adapted to an anime not once, but twice. And it's making people fall in love with the older versions of it all over again.

LOL, "Yoshimura Something-san"

That meeting was too long. No meetings should go for 13 hours.

LOL, Nightow being so excited about action figures. POSABLE action figures.

[lesser-mook]

GARO: The Animation (anime recommendation) - Action, Dark Fantasy (Shonen Elements done right)

(light spoilers)

I saw this once a few years ago, didn't leave much impression at the time.

After a re-watch (Autumn 2023); Surprisingly character driven, character development was well paced (so well paced for some, It left room for a lot of remaining exploration for others)

The show technically has more than one mc, and it works because instead of NPC's hijacking the story from the mains, the mc's are given focus, thus time isn't wasted or robbed from the characters that should have priority. And the extras serve to world-build, & some filler I found myself enjoying.

Well executed action. (Not a fan of some of the CGI)

Music production is from Monaca, Keiichi Okabe's studio (NIER Game series).

Story isn't deep, it's simple.

The setting fits the tone well. (Dark fantasy, Medieval)

Sub is better, Dub is satisfactory. Both good.

Likable core cast, Ema is the Goat. Alfonso the Legend, Leon the beast. Germán the OG Playa.

Again, the side characters fit appropriately to give some world building, everyone isn't contrived to have the same level of importance despite being NPC's.

No, when it's the extras time to shine, they shine, then they bow down as they should. And the main characters are the main characters.

The fanservice didn't overstay it's welcome, didn't annoy me:

(Translation: Not a lot of stock jailbait/schoolgirls getting bent over, ya know, for the "kids"*), majorly it's played casual, it's just women that look sexy for the most part.

Not like a *Camera ZOOMS in on cleavage with bounce animation, sparkle filter, with Anime "WOW" sfx** (holds shot for 5 seconds+)

[Look look! Breasts! You like those right?! Give us a 10/10 please!] Shonen schtick.

As for GARO:

It has gags, comedy, but overall it's executed where it works, and when it's go time, it's go time. I was waiting for Ema's turn for the obligatory lingering, 5-8sec crotch shot while she's talking mid-sentence, followed by goofy sfx.

Just a 2 frame closeup you could miss if you blinked, Fanservice that flows with what's going on organically... Imagine my disappointment.

The situation doesn’t STOP________ To make sure you fully absorb the artistic significance of her crotch in the camera.

There was an occasion where the crew would've been stuck in an illusionary world if it weren't for Ema and her skills, so how she played into the events was unexpectedly not typical.

I didn't expect her to pop off the way she did at times. Heavy Femme Fatale energy. A professional. The only one in the show that can do what she does.

(I prefer her over Gina *Garo: Vanishing Line*)

Her (Spider-Woman) wire swinging scenes is some of the best content in the series.

So this anime is one of those weird series that for the most part treats their characters seriously while having sexy, but not oversexualized characters. (Again: Imagine my disappointment)

The characters read like characters with a stake & purpose, a story; Not caricatures with lines and a weekly scheduled cliche.

The movie, is decent, the plot wasn't the best but it was also well paced, doesn't drag or waste time, served as nice sendoff.

Recommended, I didn't get to see it the first time around, so watching it after the series served the anime to be more of a full package story.

Similar to (Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Drive & Gaim: Movie Wars Full Throttle) technically being the sequel, true ending to Gaim.

My gripes would be the CGI look of the Knights themselves, that aesthetic is almost exclusive to them, almost. Clunky at first but they actually look surreal with how flexible and masterful they fight.

A lot of the monsters are 2D, but the Knights themselves are almost if not always CGI, this is my headcanon but I see it as an artistic choice to maintain the illusion of them being an interdimensional force. So they stand out the most in a sense.

It grows on you, eventually.

The villain, for me, was not interesting at all. I did like his stake in everything, the man was a menace, he just wasn't interesting (to me).

German's decision to not save Anna, when he had to power to do so? (In one scene it's shown she's alive when he retrieves the baby, so unless she was technically dead & her looking at him was just an aesthetic decision, I don't see why he doesn't try to take her too). Never understood that. Not a lore breaking gripe, obviously she was as good as dead but still, smells off to me.

Grandpa and those goddamn seeds (If you know, you know), the needless outcome of that situation drove me nuts the most.

---------------------------------

Overall, well produced, decent writing, no masterpiece, naturally; Better than I remember. Underrated.

Medieval Kamen Rider-esque but with Wolf Armor, my favorite of the GARO series trilogy.

The other 2 were OK (Vanishing Line could've been so much more if they focused on the better characters instead of Sophie) but the first, "The Animation" had a better execution about it.

[hcnayun]

— characters: hana & khalil — setting: hana's loft, downtown — partner: @khalilhassan

Ever since Flynn had reared his ugly head showing his presence in Providence Peak, effectively breaking the restraining order Hana had on him she'd been living a guarded half-life. Even during the stunning wedding of her best friend the yogi was still looking over her shoulder. While the escalation she'd been expecting hadn't exactly happened yet, every part of the New Yorker was braced for it.

The anxiety was damn near crippling.

Most days the former model with jet black hair stayed after hours at Humming Bee, not only to keep herself busy and keep up on business but mostly to avoid going home alone. Where she felt vulnerable and watched.

The photographer that had begin stalking her with his wild obsession more than a decade ago, had slowly reintroduced himself into Hana's life. It had started with a postcard that had no postmark. Then she'd received flowers from an anonymous admirer at her business. A text message was what had convinced herself and Khalil, who'd surprisingly been just up the block when she's received the message, that Flynn was close enough to have eyes on her.

That had been enough to scare them both. To the point that her ex had asked her to stay with him while he dug further into Flynn, with the want to assure her safety. Only, it hadn't worked out. It was uncomfortable for all parties involved.

In hindsight, it had been dumb for Hana to go it alone. Even if her feelings were a mixed bag.

The Renaissance Faire had been some drunken fun until she thought she'd spotted Flynn in the crowd. The part of Hana that had been in denial had convinced herself that it was her paranoia playing tricks on her. It freaked her out, scared her, regardless, and from then on the former model was always looking over her shoulder.

It was after ten when she'd unlocked all three locks to her loft apartment and passed the threshold into her living space. A false sense of security compelled Hana to go through her usual routines of setting her things down and moving about the kitchen and living room. When Hana entered her bedroom, however, the yogi gasped and froze just past the door— on the foot of her bed a photo laid in wait for her.

With a racing heart and panic swarming every part of her, the instructor slowly stepped closer. Worried eyes darted all over the room, even took a few sharp glanced behind over her shoulder, but always landed back on the photograph she slowly made her way to.

HANA: a picture from the doorway showing her bed and something on it at the foot HANA: a closer picture of the bed and photograph on it HANA: a closeup picture of the photograph that appeared to have been taken of her and Khalil while inside his apartment weeks ago HANA: just came home to this. i haven't touched it. none of my locks were messed up and all of my windows are shut and locked.

Once she'd taken photos and sent the text to Khalil she left the room and went to sit on her couch with her head in her hands. A tremble moved through her body and tears fell down her cheeks. Hana knew she needed to pack a bag and get out of there but she also felt frozen and defeated.

[moviewarfare]

A Review of “All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)”

What interested me most about watching this film was that it was WWI, which we don't see as much in films compared to WWII, and the fact it was from the German side instead.

What stands out the most is the amazing production value. The set design, the costumes and the setpieces are all phenomenal. They perfectly portray the horrific, dirty and brutal nature of the war. The actors are all great in their roles as well. Felix Kammerer plays the main character, Paul Bäumer, and he gives a terrific performance in showing Paul's gradual loss of idealism throughout the movie. The cinematography by James Friend is oddly beautiful with some gorgeous wide shots that contrast the closeup shots of the War with its grimness. The music score by Volker Bertelmann is quite odd as well with its sudden thumping horns but they work in elevating the tension by foreboding what's coming.

My only complaint is that the film is quite predictable. It goes through every trope you would expect from a 'War is bad" movie and nothing in the plot surprised me whatsoever. It's also a little difficult to care for the characters as we barely spend enough time with them apart from the main character and an older soldier called "Kat".

Apart from that, it is quite a stellar war movie that still delivers on the cruelty of World War I.

For more reviews like this visit:

https://moviewarfarereviews.blogspot.com/

[cantsayidont]

December 1933. One of Greta Garbo's best talkies, and indeed one of the best American films of the 1930s, QUEEN CHRISTINA is not particularly historically accurate, but Garbo's portrayal of the bisexual, cross-dressing 17th century Swedish monarch is surprisingly witty, deeply moving, and more gay than you would expect even for a pre-Code movie. It's much, much better than the clunky 2015 biopic THE GIRL QUEEN with Malin Buska as Christina.

[Image ID: Three animated GIFs from QUEEN CHRISTINA (1933). The first is a long shot of Christina (Garbo) striding away through an ornately appointed room as one of her chancellors says from off-screen, "But, Your Majesty, you cannot die an old maid." The second and third GIFs are closeups of Christina as she retorts, "— I have no intention to, Chancellor. I shall die a bachelor."]

Queen Christina, 1933 dir. Rouben Mamoulian

[animehouse-moe]

Undead Unluck Episode 2: Union

Oh, you thought Yase's direction in the first episode was SHAFT-like? Well, episode two has rolled around and appears with a storyboarder with no previous credits (almost certainly a penname) that builds upon Yase and UU's style and adds a healthy helping of classic David Pro into the mix.

Seriously, let's go through the points.

Intense shading/lighting? Well, that's more a series thing, but it's still comfortably apparent in this episode.

What about the closeups on eyes? Yup, that's here in full force too.

But then, there's more. The favorites styles of shaft, with things like the sharp and fast cuts appear in this episode as well. In fact, the two images of Fuuko's eyes here get stringed together for form a similar cut.

The icing on the cake though has to be the SHAFT neck tilt. They even style Fuuko's hair like Araragi's. It's a visual feast paying homage to shaft, and I love it.

Of course, the David Pro side of this marriage is represented here, as we get a healthy dose of things like the ultra-bass boosted sound design, and the lovely explosions we've come to expect from the studio.

I think most impressive in this episode though is the choreography (and animation). Three dimensional movement can be a real pain to work with sometimes, but the team behind this episode nailed it perfectly with this indoor sequence following Andy.

Similarly, the hand to hand combat looks really great. It's not super fast or anything, but the quality in the movements and how deliberate they feel is really great.

Truthfully, if it weren't for the sexual humor that was in incredibly poor taste, I'd be all over this anime. I still really, really like it, but it's just one of those things where I get all excited, and then one of the sexual moments comes along and kills the vibe for me. Still, easily 90% of this anime is doing wonders in my eyes, so I'm very very happy. Looking forward to seeing what comes next!

[seitmai]

He'd already planned out not only a first date but a second date as well. He could wait you out. Unless you outright shut him down, he would take his time, making sure you were comfortable. 

🥺🥺🥺

He looked through the other ones, quickly making the assumption that the one with flames and dragon scales had been drawn by Oliver. The one with purple outlining was most likely from Violet. Something was telling him the one with a dog piloting the jet was drawn by Jayden.

I would love to see those drawings, especially Jayden's haha

Rooster, I need you to make better choices regarding your girlfriends, okay? I took care of it, but it wasn't pretty. Her pink monstrosity of a water bottle was in your kitchen cabinet, and then she tried to have a conversation with me. Sorry, but I called her a flaming bitch who never appreciated my best friend and said she needed to leave your house before I made her. Everything is locked up tight again to keep the rats out. When you get home, there's a new restaurant you can treat me to on Rendova Road. -Nat

Hahaha Nat is truly the best, get that expensive dinner!! 😂

At 10:11, you set your phone on your nightstand and walked out into your living room without it. That was when you realized that the lighter-than-air tingling sensation you'd been enjoying all day was gone, replaced with something uncomfortable.

🥺😬🥺😬

The lighter-than-air tingling sensation was back as soon as you heard him say two whole words, and you slid slowly down until you were laying on your back on the floor like a boneless mess. "Hi," you sighed, pressing your free hand to your belly to try to calm the butterflies.

He cleared his throat once more before he, "Any chance you could say my name again?"

Ahh thats so cute 🥰

"Oh, hell," he laughed, his voice taking on a self deprecating tone. "I knew I shouldn't have sent that sunset selfie. I was kind of hoping you wouldn't be able to see them in the photos or the video. I have a lot." You scrambled to your knees and then your feet. The last thing you'd meant to do was make him feel badly about himself. "They just make you look hotter," you blurted out. "I've thought about kissing them."

God those two 😍

"Shit," he grunted. "Baby, I'll tell you anything you want to know. My social security number? My bank account information?"

That man is down so bad 🤭🥰

"Yeah, Gorgeous. About thirty minutes away from your school. I mean, there's always traffic, so maybe forty minutes," he told you nervously. "I hope that's not too far for you to deal with?" "That's nothing, Bradley," you said with a sigh. "That's... absolutely not too far. I thought you potentially lived thousands of miles away, and I was trying to figure out what to do about my feelings. I was so scared to ask you sooner."

Alexa play "I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)"😉

Vanessa wouldn't even drive the extra ten minutes to the restaurant he liked, meanwhile you were putting yourself out there for him. He cleared his throat and said, "I already have our first date planned out."

Of course he has, I wouldn't expect anything less 😌

The beat of silence was satisfying before you asked, "You're going to wait until after dinner to do that?" He could practically hear your pout which made him get to his feet again. He only had five more minutes with you right now, and he was going to have to make this count. "You want me to kiss you before that?" he asked, his fingers wrapping around the edge of the counter as your soft laughter met his ears. "Tell me. In an abundance of detail." "I want you to kiss me as soon as you see me."

You squeaked softly. "Will you email me a gym selfie or two? With a nice closeup of your face?" He couldn't get over you and the way you made him feel. "Yeah. I'll hit the gym tomorrow for you."

I might add some preference for the gym Pic, preferably no shirt and a sheen of sweat, no big deal 😌

Yours Truly, Bradley Bradshaw Part 6 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: When Bradley asks you for your number, you can't believe he wants to spend his phone call on you. Even though you're nervous about asking, you realize you need answers to some of your questions. The promise of getting to hear your voice is enough to get Bradley through the week, but is he going to be enough for you?

Warnings: Fluff, language, Bradley being sexy

Length: 4300 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female teacher!Reader

Check out my masterlist for more! Yours Truly, Bradley Bradshaw masterlist

When you woke up for work and checked your phone, there was a new email waiting for you from Bradley, and you couldn't decide what to do about it. As soon as you'd hit send on that selfie of you in bed, you felt like an idiot. Was he expecting something more than a random picture of you after you'd removed your makeup for the day? Was he going to eventually give up responding at all when he realized that one date with you was ultimately just a waste of his time on his stop back in San Diego?

But he had written back yet again, and you were nervous to see what he had on his mind. You dropped your phone into your purse, making a deal with yourself: you could read his response once you were at work. That would give you enough time to process your thoughts on the matter. You were being silly for wanting more and expecting more with every interaction. This man owed you nothing. You were probably in over your head with the mutual daydreaming and flirtation.

What were you going to do when it was easy for him to say that talking to you had been fun, but he needed to get back to his real life? What were you going to do when you weren't able to do the same?

Once you were settled at your desk looking at your Natural History notes in those last few minutes of solitude before your eighteen students arrived for the day, you let yourself indulge in Bradley's words. 

Hey, Gorgeous,

You're the only woman I'm going to let email me regularly. And I was right. You do look adorable snuggled up in your bed. That photo is going to keep me up at night wondering how cute you'd look in mine...

It looks like I'll have the opportunity to make a phone call soon, and I'd love to hear your voice. If you want to talk. I can't guarantee I won't sound like an idiot, tripping over my words the whole time, but hey, a guy can dream. Will you let me have your phone number?

Yours Truly,

Bradley

"Oh my god." You forced yourself to read it slower the second time around. He was thinking about you in his bed! He wanted your phone number! "What are you doing to me?" you groaned. 

He wanted to call you. This man wanted to use his phone call allowance on you. He wanted to let you hear his deep, raspy voice over the phone while he spoke sentences that were tailor made for you. He expected you to be able to respond to him in real time? You were embarrassed to admit that it often took you hours or days to figure out how to reply to one of his emails after he set the butterflies off in your belly.

You did not know what you should do here, but you knew exactly what you were going to do. It was going to be impossible to pull yourself back out of this mess when the time came.

---------------------------

Before Bradley got a response to his email asking for your phone number, he got a box from your class. He could certainly get used to waiting in line when the mail arrived to find himself smiling with satisfaction instead of feeling disappointment. When he got back to his bunk and opened it, he rooted through all of the drawings of F/A-18s in search of the note from you. He smiled at the more businesslike greeting, knowing how many personal topics you and he had covered through email.

Dear Lt Bradshaw,

It seems as though we can't get enough of you. We're back, hoping for a little more of your time. Here's a batch of drawings for you to judge in any manner you see fit, but please be kind... I drew one of them. 

Whether it's a handwritten note or an email, I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon. 

Just looking at your tidy penmanship had Bradley antsy to check his email again. He had put himself out there as far as he could at the moment when he asked you for your phone number, but now he was nervous as hell. What was he supposed to do if you told him no? He'd already planned out not only a first date but a second date as well. He could wait you out. Unless you outright shut him down, he would take his time, making sure you were comfortable. 

Upon inspection of the Super Hornet drawings, it was easy enough to determine which one was yours. It was clearly crafted with a steadier hand than the others, and even the block printing on the side of the aircraft where you'd written 'BRADLEY ROOSTER BRADSHAW' looked like your penmanship. He looked through the other ones, quickly making the assumption that the one with flames and dragon scales had been drawn by Oliver. The one with purple outlining was most likely from Violet. Something was telling him the one with a dog piloting the jet was drawn by Jayden.

He smiled at how connected to these kids he felt, but ultimately he tossed everything back into the box and started heading for the lounge. If you had responded to him with your phone number, he could get himself on the call schedule. His heart was racing, and his skin felt too warm as he logged into his email account. He had three new messages.

"Come on," he groaned when he was met with two names above yours in his inbox. Nat and Vanessa. He almost forgot about the fucking water bottle. 

He tapped on the email from his best friend first. 

Rooster, I need you to make better choices regarding your girlfriends, okay? I took care of it, but it wasn't pretty. Her pink monstrosity of a water bottle was in your kitchen cabinet, and then she tried to have a conversation with me. Sorry, but I called her a flaming bitch who never appreciated my best friend and said she needed to leave your house before I made her. Everything is locked up tight again to keep the rats out. When you get home, there's a new restaurant you can treat me to on Rendova Road. -Nat

He smiled as he tapped on the email from Vanessa which was exactly one sentence long.

I got my water bottle from your house.

"God bless Natasha Trace," he muttered, deleting Vanessa's email. Then he went ahead and deleted every email he had ever received from her. He shouldn't have been surprised that you and he had already exchanged more emails than he ever had with a woman he'd dated for several months. It didn't take long before they were all gone, and then he was left with the newest one you'd sent to him last night sitting at the top of his inbox. 

"Here we go," he whispered, wiping his palm nervously on his pants before opening up your message to see what you had to say in response to his bold request for your phone number.

Bradley,

I read your last email an embarrassing number of times, trying to be sure I understood it properly. You want to use your phone call allotment on ME? And you were thinking about ME snuggled up in your bed? There's no possible way you could sound like an idiot. Not with that voice that I think about when I'm trying to fall asleep at night. 

You know what, I don't even care if I misinterpreted something. Of course I'll let you have my phone number. Of course I'll let you call me.

Your giddy pen pal

Right there below your parting words was your full phone number complete with San Diego area code. Bradley smiled as he grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from the shelves behind him and wrote it down. He double and triple checked that he had it correct, knowing his next mission would be to get approved for a specific time slot and hope it wasn't going to be at a horrible time of day for you in California. Then he wrote back to your email.

Gorgeous,

You shouldn't sound so surprised. This thing we've got going on isn't open to interpretation on my end. I told you I have a thing for you. I believed you when you said you were interested in getting to know me. There's nobody else I'd rather spend my twenty minute phone call on than you. In fact, you're the only one. 

I already memorized your number. I'll email you back when I know which day I can call you and at what time. I can't wait to hear your voice saying my name.

Yours Truly,

Bradley

He logged out and did some quick math to take into account the difference between time zones, and then he was all smiles as he signed up for the opportunity to finally talk to you in real time.

------------------------------

You read his email again as the hours slowly ticked away on Saturday afternoon. Your friends were asking why you kept checking your phone while you were out to dinner. Well, they would be doing the same thing if Bradley Bradshaw was in their email inboxes sounding sweeter than any man had the right to.

Hey, Gorgeous,

How does 10:00 on Saturday night sound to you? I know it's a little late, but I didn't want to potentially interfere with your work week. And I don't know if I can wait until next week anyway. I'm feeling greedy right now when it comes to you. I can't wait to make a fool of myself on the phone.

Yours Truly,

Bradley

When you let him know in the calmest fashion you could muster that Saturday night was just fine for a phone call, he wrote back one additional sentence.

Talk to you then, Gorgeous Girl.

You received that email on Friday morning, and in an effort to seem less desperate for this man than you were, you didn't write back. It was better to let his anticipation grow to match your own. But once you'd parted ways with your friends and headed home for the night, your nerves settled in. You were going to have to ask Bradley where he lived, and that would be that. You'd know all the facts soon enough, and that would pretty much become the determining factor on how long the two of you could really keep this up.

It was almost time. You made sure your phone was fully charged, and you had your ringtone volume turned way up. Barring some sort of disaster, your phone should be ringing in exactly fifteen minutes. 

"Chill out," you whispered as you walked a few laps around your apartment in your favorite underwear and an oversized sweatshirt. At 9:56 you paused in your bedroom doorway, convinced Bradley wasn't even going to call. And at 10:02, you sat on the edge of your bed with your phone in your hand, wondering how you managed to get yourself in this deep.

He was in the Navy. Things ran on precision. It was 10:04, and your phone was sitting there on your palm like a dead brick. "It's okay," you told yourself. "Maybe he'll still call." For a few minutes, you thought that being hopeful was the way to go. Perhaps he dialed the wrong number the first time and was just regrouping. Or perhaps not.

At 10:11, you set your phone on your nightstand and walked out into your living room without it. That was when you realized that the lighter-than-air tingling sensation you'd been enjoying all day was gone, replaced with something uncomfortable.

"Don't even think about crying," you whispered as you pulled the hem of your sweatshirt a little further down your legs. You'd normally be drinking a cup of tea and getting settled in to try to go to sleep. A few months ago, you might have even been scrolling through a dating app right now. But you didn't want to do either of those things when you'd essentially been promised something as exciting as Bradley Bradshaw's voice for twenty minutes straight. "Fuck."

Just as you dragged your toe along the kitchen tile, trying to decide what to do now, you heard your ringtone. The clock on your microwave told you it was 10:16 as you turned and ran for your bedroom. Your fingers were shaking as you snatched up your phone and read RESTRICTED CALLER on the screen. You weren't sure what you'd been expecting, but it had to be him.

You took a deep breath and sank down onto the floor with your back against the side of your bed, and without any further hesitation, you answered the call as your heart hammered hard in your chest.

"Bradley?"

There was just a short pause, and it sounded like he was smiling when he said, "Hey, Gorgeous." 

The lighter-than-air tingling sensation was back as soon as you heard him say two whole words, and you slid slowly down until you were laying on your back on the floor like a boneless mess. "Hi," you sighed, pressing your free hand to your belly to try to calm the butterflies.

You heard him clear his throat softly before he said, "I'm really sorry I'm late calling you. I've been waiting for this all damn weekend." There was an edge to his voice that gave you goosebumps on your legs, and you smiled before you immediately frowned.

"Does this mean we only have four minutes to talk instead of twenty?" you asked him.

"No, I made sure of that," he replied in his deep rasp. "I even got a little bitchy with the guy before me who wouldn't end his call on time. I told him the most gorgeous teacher from Mira Mesa Elementary was waiting for me to call and that I'd be lucky if she still wanted to talk to me now."

You couldn't help but laugh as the tingling sensation made its way to your fingers and toes. "You didn't tell him that!"

"I swear I did," he insisted, his voice on the verge of laughter. "He sends his apologies." He cleared his throat once more before he asked, "Any chance you could say my name again?"

You thought you detected some nervous energy in his voice which was somehow the most flattering thing you'd ever encountered. You closed your eyes and licked your lips, picturing his handsome face as you said, "Bradley."

Now his voice was as breathless as you knew yours was. "Yeah. I really like the way that sounds."

"Bradley," you repeated with a laugh as you rolled up into a little ball on your side with your phone held to your ear.

"Hey, if you want to just say my name for the next eighteen minutes, I'm not going to complain. I was dying to hear your voice, and now I just want more of it."

You had to press your lips together to keep from making an embarrassing sound, but you did manage to say, "Yeah, that's not really going to work for me, Lieutenant Bradshaw. I'm going to need some back and forth, especially with how much I like your voice. And your face."

He groaned softly, and now you really did make an embarrassing noise before you could clap your free hand over your mouth. "My face is nothing special, Gorgeous," he said. "Yours on the other hand... that's the kind of thing that could get a guy through a long deployment."

You whimpered, and you were sure he could hear it. But you weren't even as embarrassed as you were needy for more. You wanted to know everything about him, and twenty minutes wasn't going to be enough to satisfy you when it came to Bradley. "Let's just say you've had my full attention for months now. And the photos you sent are enough to get a girl through a long school year. Will you tell me how you got your scars?" you asked him. It was something you'd been curious about since the first photo he sent where you could see his face. The one of him standing tall and sexy in front of his jet.

"Oh, hell," he laughed, his voice taking on a self deprecating tone. "I knew I shouldn't have sent that sunset selfie. I was kind of hoping you wouldn't be able to see them in the photos or the video. I have a lot."

You scrambled to your knees and then your feet. The last thing you'd meant to do was make him feel badly about himself. "They just make you look hotter," you blurted out. "I've thought about kissing them."

"Shit," he grunted. "Baby, I'll tell you anything you want to know. My social security number? My bank account information?" You laughed and had to bite down on your knuckle as he said, "I got my scars when I was a sophomore at the University of Virginia. Just typical nineteen year old guy bullshit. I was riding my bike back from a party late, and I skipped the curb. Just a lot of stitches."

"Oh," you gasped.

"It's okay," he said quickly. "More superficial than anything. I didn't even miss any of my classes. This is just why I don't usually send selfies like that. But you're already an exception, aren't you?"

He was so sweet, you were afraid the butterflies would never stop. But now you were picturing him going back to a beautiful house in Virginia, and it just made you sad. You paced the length of your room as you said, "I'd still really like to see your face in person."

"That's a done deal, Gorgeous."

You bit your lip, already knowing how you were going to react, but you just needed to have all the facts. "I know we could probably meet for a date or two while you're on leave in San Diego, but what happens after that?"

There was a brief pause before he asked, "What do you mean?"

You tipped your head back and looked at your ceiling as you finally said, "I don't even know where you live or where you're stationed. All I know is that if you're returning to Virginia or somewhere else far away... I'm going to have to brace myself for it."

But when you heard his next sentence, you let yourself drop down onto your bed with a smile on your face. "Gorgeous Girl, I live in San Diego."

-----------------------------

This was going well. Bradley's whole body was thrumming with anticipation, and your voice was already embedded in his mind. As soon as you mentioned just the thought of your lips on his scarred cheek, he had to stand up for a minute. And when you brought up meeting him when his deployment ended, he was afraid his heart rate might never return to normal.

"I'd still really like to see your face in person," you told him, and all he could think about was Thai food on the beach and kissing your lips.

"That's a done deal, Gorgeous," he replied, satisfied in knowing for sure that it was going to happen now, but your follow up question left him confused.

"I know we could probably meet for a date or two while you're on leave in San Diego, but what happens after that?"

After that? He sat back down in his seat and thought about what would happen after a date or two. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep his hands and lips off you, but somehow he didn't think that's what you were talking about. "What do you mean?"

Your voice took on a softer, maybe sadder quality as you told him,  "I don't even know where you live or where you're stationed. All I know is that if you're returning to Virginia or somewhere else far away... I'm going to have to brace myself for it."

He froze. He hadn't told you where he lived? Had he really never mentioned it once in all the times he wrote out the address to your school in Mira Mesa? His heart was beating erratically now as he pieced together the fact that he was making all of these plans while you were trying to protect yourself, but you kept emailing him and sending him letters anyway. You were showing that you had genuine interest in him while afraid he was going to leave you high and dry after one date? Hell no. Oh, he was falling hard.

"Gorgeous Girl, I live in San Diego." 

Your little surprised gasp had him holding his breath. "You do?" you whispered. 

"I do," he promised. "Shit, I can't believe I never mentioned it. My house is in Coronado, near the beach in the photo you sent me where you look more flawless than the sunset. I'm so sorry I got so carried away with our emails that I never put it together that you didn't know I'm stationed out of North Island."

You were quiet for a beat, and he wanted to crawl through the phone and reassure you that he had never meant to stress you out. "You live in Coronado?" you asked.

"Yeah, Gorgeous. About thirty minutes away from your school. I mean, there's always traffic, so maybe forty minutes," he told you nervously. "I hope that's not too far for you to deal with?"

"That's nothing, Bradley," you said with a sigh. "That's... absolutely not too far. I thought you potentially lived thousands of miles away, and I was trying to figure out what to do about my feelings. I was so scared to ask you sooner."

Vanessa wouldn't even drive the extra ten minutes to the restaurant he liked, meanwhile you were putting yourself out there for him. He cleared his throat and said, "I already have our first date planned out."

"Tell me. In an abundance of detail."

Bradley's skin tingled with desire as he divulged his daydreams. "I'll drive up and pick you up at your place. You already gave me permission to hold your hand, so that's happening on the ride back to the beach. There's a good Thai place not too far from the bay bridge where we'll stop to pick up dinner. Then when we get to the beach, you'll be surprised and charmed that I packed blankets and a cooler full of beer and a bottle of prosecco. And we can sit on the beach, talking and eating while the sun sets, unless you'd rather sit in the back of my vintage Bronco. And then, when the sky is just starting to turn purple, I'm going to kiss you."

The beat of silence was satisfying before you asked, "You're going to wait until after dinner to do that?" He could practically hear your pout which made him get to his feet again. He only had five more minutes with you right now, and he was going to have to make this count.

"You want me to kiss you before that?" he asked, his fingers wrapping around the edge of the counter as your soft laughter met his ears.

"I want you to kiss me as soon as you see me."

"Fuck," he panted. "Then consider that a done deal too, Gorgeous."

"Oh, I like that."

"Yeah?" he asked, watching time slip through his fingers. "You feel more confident now that you know where I live?"

"Yes," you replied softly.

"Good." He closed his eyes as he said, "We only have a little more time right now, Baby. Anything else you want from me?"

You squeaked softly. "Will you email me a gym selfie or two? With a nice closeup of your face?"

He couldn't get over you and the way you made him feel. "Yeah. I'll hit the gym tomorrow for you."

You hummed softly, and he sat down in his chair again, raking his fingers through his hair. God, he felt like a mixed up mess over you after this conversation. Your voice was so fucking sweet as you asked him, "Anything you want from me?"

His plentiful thoughts ranged the full spectrum from innocent to decidedly not as he tugged on his hair and tried to keep himself in check. "Yeah, actually," he said, gravel filling his voice. "You know that inactive dating profile you mentioned before?"

"Yes."

"You should delete the app. There's nothing I know about you that I don't like, and I feel like that trend is going to continue. If you feel the same way, then you don't need the app, Gorgeous."

After a brief pause, your beautiful voice told him, "Okay, Bradley. I'll delete it."

"Fucking aces," he said with a smile. "Where are you right now?"

You laughed softly as he realized he had less than a minute left on this call. "Curled up in my bed with the biggest smile on my face."

"Send me a selfie?"

"Consider it done, Lieutenant. It'll be there when you check your email next."

He leaned back in his chair. There was still so much he wanted to tell you and ask about, but it would have to wait. "Listen, I need to go. But I'm going to work on writing back to your class this week. And I'll get the selfies for you, too. I'll see you in our inboxes?"

That soft laughter was right there again, and he felt like his skin was on fire as you said, "I'll take you any way I can get you, Bradley."

You could have him as many ways as you wanted him. "I can't wait to get back to San Diego."

"I'll be ready when you do."

---------------------------

I'm sweating. He's too much. He's too powerful. Bradley Bradshaw, get home and get your girl some Thai food! Also, Natasha is the friend of the year for taking out the trash. Thanks @beyondthesefourwalls

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[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 31, part one

(Masterpost) (Pinboard)

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

The Mayor of Simpleton

We start off with an idyllic day in the Burial Mounds. Farmers are farming, mayor Wei is farting around in his lotus patch showing off his sexy leg hair, and Wen Ning is the only fierce corpse in the vicinity. 

Everyone is wearing new clothes and there's a general sense of, if not plenty, at least sustenance. A-Yuan tries to eat a lotus seed, but these are apparently not the edible type. Wei Wuxian explains that these seeds ward off evil because they grew in the burial mounds, and that A-Yuan can carry one with him for protection.

 A-Yuan tucks it away. This is either superstitious claptrap that Wei Wuxian made up to distract A-Yuan, or it's deep magic that is the reason A-Yuan survived being left alone here. 

Wen Ning comes into the clearing sporting his new goth sugar-baby look. He’s hot with his hair down like this.   

He tells Wen Qing that a Jin cultivator delivered an invitation. It's from Lan Wangji, and it's an invite to go to Jin Ling's party. The invite says 100-days celebration, which is the normal time to have a baby party, but the dialog keeps calling it his one-month celebration. That's ok, time is meaningless in this show anyway. 

(more after the cut!)

Wen Qing is worried about this, either sensing a trap, or sensing an opportunity for Jiang Cheng and others to convince Wei Wuxian to leave the Wens to their fate. 

She puts on a happy face and gives the invite to Wei Wuxian. 

Wei Wuxian is delighted that he’s going to get to see his sister and nephew and maybe also hook up with Lan Wangji. 

Wen Qing drops her happy expression once Wei Wuxian isn’t looking at her. 

Necromancy is Hard, Let’s Go Shopping

Later, Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning head to the gift shop, where townies are gossiping about the Jin clan right at this very moment. Because there's nothing else of interest in Yiling, apparently, than very specific news about the latest births and project plans of the not-local-to-Yiling Jin clan.

The interesting bit of news is that the Jin clan wants to build observation towers. These will enable faster communication. Faster than magic messenger butterflies?

The Random Guys Talking News Network is concerned that this might be the beginning of a Wen-style power grab, and they're right to be concerned. They say that it's Jin Guangyao's idea, and mention that Nie Mingjue is one who hasn't agreed to the plan.

They also talk about this sorta-Zhuazhou ritual, to determine a baby’s future career, where Jin Ling grabbed JIn Zixuan’s sword. The new parents are doing this super early, which is good since they won’t be around for the more traditional first-birthday version. 

The items that Jin Zixuan offers the baby are a brush, a book, a sword, and a tassel, giving Jin Ling the option of becoming a scribe, a scholar, a cultivator, or an interior decorator.

Meanwhile, an extremely unconvincing Wei Wuxian body double has come into the gift shop. We only see them from the back, and the producers apparently expect us to believe this is Xiao Zhan. 

No. 

Wei Wuxian is shopping for tassels, with loving closeup camera moves that make me wonder if this is a product placement for a tassel company. 

Let's Talk About The Jins Hour continues with the ladies at the table saying what a good life Jiang Yanli has now. They conclude by saying that nothing is as good as having a good birth background, just so their conversation can be personally insulting to Wei Wuxian. Then everyone chats about how Wei Wuxian is a jerk, because they don’t know he’s right next to them. 

Wei Wuxian hears them a little ruefully, but carries on with his shopping. Growing up in the Jiang household has made him accustomed to hearing people talk shit about him. 

After he finishes shopping, Wei Wuxian shows Wen Ning the gifts he’s giving to Jin Ling. First there’s a nice tassel with a carved bead; it looks to be a lotus, similar to the bead that hangs from Chenqing. It’s in no-one’s sect colors, although it’s a green that’s pretty close to Lan Wangji’s favored blue hue. 

Wei Wuxian pets the bead in a way that...is not at all distracting. 

The more important present is a special carved string of beads that Wei Wuxian made. I think they are made from the lotus seeds he was telling A-Yuan about earlier, that are extra potent because of growing in the Burial Mounds. Wei Wuxian stops Wen Ning from touching it since they are designed to protect against things like Wen Ning. 

As they chat, Wen Ning takes the opportunity to warn Wei Wuxian that he should resist the urge to punch Jin Zixuan in the spine, or words to that effect. This is called Dramatic Irony. Wei Wuxian responds that he's grateful to Jin Zixuan for inviting him, so he won't talk bad about him for a whole year. Or, you know, forever, as it happens.

Heading for a Showdown

They set off for the party at a comfortable stroll. Everything in cultivation-land is within a square mile of everything else, yah? So people just walk between sects in the course of a morning. Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning arrive at a valley that seems perfect for an ambush, because it is perfect for an ambush. 

It’s quiet...too quiet.

Wei Wuxian asks Wen Ning if he perceives anything strange and Wen Ning reaches out with his spidey sense corpsey sense and says it seems ok. Which shows that Wen Ning’s corpsey sense is not actually useful.

Then an arrow comes flying toward Wei Wuxian's face and Wen Ning catches it. Wei Wuxian has no startle reflex. and also no gag reflex

A bunch of Jins and LANS show up on the cliff above him, pointing things at him, with Jin Zixun in the lead. Why are the Lans in on this? God damn it, he’s RIGHT not to trust them, fuck these guys. 

Because Wei Wuxian enjoys being a dick, even when his life is on the line, his first words to Jin Zixun are "who are you?" which cracks me up. 

Jin Zixun is pretty much the only person he greets this way, so he has to be fucking with him.

Jin Zixun tells him to undo the curse he put on him, which is actually....not unreasonable, if he really believes Wei Wuxian is responsible. Like, this didn't start off as a whole-ass bloodbath. If Wei Wuxian clears off the curse, Jin Zixun won’t kill him and they can go to the party. Unfortunately, Wei Wuxian isn’t the perpetrator of the curse, so that's not going to work out.

Wei Wuxian points out, sexily, that when it comes to killing people he is out and proud, so he wouldn't do anything sneaky like curse a dude. 

Also he says that he doesn't bother to injure people; he's super good at actual killing, as he will be demonstrating in a couple of minutes.

Unleashing Wen Ning

Eventually the talking part is over and Jin Zixun is ready to rumble. Wei Wuxian agrees and Wen Ning promptly yanks off his orange necklace, that is apparently a restraining device. Then Wen Ning goes through a slightly hilarious and very long resentment boot-up sequence. 

During which nobody shoots him. 

So, Wei Wuxian is loveable and charming and frequently heroic, and it's impossible not to relate to him. I mean, unless you are just not into this show, in which case, reading all this is probably a hell of a chore for you.

But his use of Wen Ning is just wrong. The fact that Wen Ning doesn't mind is not the point. This guy is his friend, who is younger than him, and has a crush you can see from space.

Here, he's unleashing him deliberately to use as a weapon in this battle. He is not sheltering and protecting Wen Ning, who is what I'd call "medically complex" at this point. He's flinging him with maximum force at his enemies, which is not awesome of him.

That said, I do love me some angry ghost general. 

Wen Ning jumps up the cliff to bring the (literal) smoke to the Jin (and LAN, ugh, fuck those guys) cultivators. Jin Zixun jumps down to attack Wei Wuxian directly.

Wei Wuxian throws a talisman, made extra powerful through spinning. For some reason the camera focus is too tight to really appreciate the wire work here.

Jin Zixun successfully uses his sword to dispel the talisman attack, which looks exactly like a Despicable Me fart-gun blast.

During the fight, the gift box with the string of beads leaps out from where it is tucked in Wei Wuxian’s robe, and lands in Jin Zixun's hand. That was pretty sentient of it.

At this point Jin Zixuan arrives to find out what the fuck is going on. He yells at his cousin, who says he’ll apologize to Jiang Yanli later after he is done killing Wei Wuxian. Like...how does Jin ZIxun think that conversation would go, exactly? Does he think Jiang Yanli would stab him in the face 100 times with her hairpin? I do. 

Jin Zixun keeps arguing until he makes Zixuan mad; JZX tells him to shut up. This hurts Jin Zixun’s feelings, and he retaliates by crushing the carefully-grown-and-carved baby gift into dust. Because Wei Wuxian wasn’t angry enough already.

Wei Wuxian starts to attack with the power of flute pointing, but Jin Zixuan deflects him with the power of finger pointing.

Jin Zixuan tries really hard to talk Wei Wuxian into backing down, but Wei Wuxian reasonably points out that there is a large assassination squad just waiting to shoot arrows into him if he does. Why aren’t they trying to shoot arrows into him right now, incidentally? They can’t all be busy fighting Wen Ning. Maybe it’s because the Jins are all terrible at archery, judging by the position of these arrows. They've given up in despair.

Meanwhile, Wen Ning has suddenly grown extra irises on his eyeballs, in one of the particularly questionable special effects in this show. Later we learn that this apparently means there are two flutes controlling him. 

How does this work, exactly? 2 flutes, 2 command streams, and 1 Wen Ning. Wei Wuxian, with the Yin tiger seal, is sending the command "fuck up asshole cousin Jin Zixun" and Su She, without the Yin tiger seal (but with a golden core), is sending the command "fuck up sect heir Jin Zixuan." Why does Wen Ning follow the wrong command? Is it like a batch script where he follows each command sequentially, and Su She hit "enter" first? I'm gonna go with that.

Or maybe the idea of a second flute is ridiculous and Wei Wuxian was super mad at the Jin cousins and his own anger caused Wen Ning to act out? 

Ha ha, of course not, 2 flutes makes so much more sense. 

Soundtrack: Showdown by Electric Light Orchestra