#i saw a gif closeup of his face and it actually looked good!!

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#11: The One & Only  (1.02)

gif cred: @rcsitastark

IMO there’s just no better way to start these episode 2 revelings than by saying - ladies and gentlemen…her. 👑🙌🏽

Michonne Grimes is back and better than ever in The Ones Who Live. I love the attention and thoughtful exploration she got in this miniseries. 🥰

With ep 1, I was so excited to have Rick Grimes back after six long years and to finally learn what happened to him after he was carted away on a helicopter. And now ep 2 was going to give us the highly anticipated return of Michonne and finally learn what happened to her after she (and I) left TWD.

I was so stoked to have her on-screen again. I remember in Michonne's final TWD episode when she was walking to that mysterious caravan with those two travelers I was so sad knowing we weren’t going to get to go with her right away. But now the time had come for us to see her journey continue. And within seconds she reminded us all that Michonne still is and always will be the baddest chick in the game. 💯

So "Gone" opens with a gasman walker making his way through a horde. The gasman wears a shirt that says “Let me help you” and in a way, he does actually end up helping. Because the way he complicates things leads events to play out in a manner that ultimately leads Michonne to Rick. Once again this walker is proof that sometimes things have to burn to bring these back.

gif cred: @taiturner

It’s a quick ambiguous teaser and we can hear those signature weapon sounds before cutting to that beautiful theme song. And I like how every time you hear the missile sound you just know Michonne is near. 

So then we go to six years after the bridge and I like how “after the bridge” is sorta there bc/ad time marker. It was that impactful.

We get a closeup of the beautiful Michonne and it's a nice contrast from how episode one started with Rick facing away. I feel like the contrast helps illustrate the way Rick's circumstances have held him back while Michonne has had to keep marching forward.

Also, I love how TOWL knows how good-looking Michonne and Rick are so they stay giving them ultra close-ups. And as they give us this closeup of Michonne straight away the show was saying 'I know it’s been some years since you’ve seen Michonne so the first order of business is making sure y’all remember that the face card never declines.' 💁🏽‍♀️

gif cred: @chaoticroad

She says “My name is Michonne.” The one and only. And then she says “I lost someone years ago.” Then they cut to Rick just before he pulls the trigger and blows up the bridge and then again we hear Michonne scream his name. TOWL also said it's going to remind everyone of that painful tragic bridge moment several times no matter how much it hurts to see it. It’s an effective reminder of how much both Rick and Michonne hurt from having to live with the memory of that day. 

Then I love the part when Michonne says “But I just found out that he might…I just found out that he’s alive.” as we see clips from her final ep when she found Rick's boots, the phone, and some indication of Rick’s potential location. I love that she corrects herself that he is alive.

She’s choosing to believe in that feeling she’s carried all these years of thinking he was alive, and now that she’s got some evidence she’s declaring he’s alive outright. She knows it. As his soulmate, she knows he’s alive out there. And I love how Michonne always understands the power of words and of belief so she’s choosing to speak it out loud as a statement that he is alive. 

Michonne explains that she saw two people who needed her and she helped them because they needed help, no other reason, and no agenda. That's my Michonne. 🥰 Loyal and helpful and with a heart of gold. 👌🏽

Michonne says she sees what this group has and she still has a long way to go so she needs to ask for some help. But she says she also understands and will just be on her way if they aren’t in a position to give the help she needs.

See how Michonne is so understanding?…And yet when she wanted to keep the communities more separate for their protection and because she’d been severely traumatized, the people who were supposed to be her friends and family couldn’t offer her this same understanding. 😒 (Yes I know that whole s9 arc was several years ago but I just had to bring it up real quick cuz when people disrespect Michonne they have beef with me...

So then the leader Elle starts off by thanking Michonne and Michonne says, “I appreciate that. Could I have a horse?” You can tell she’s not interested in any pomp and circumstance and just wants to be on her way to find Rick and get home to their babies.

Then Elle is taking up Michonne’s time and acting like Michonne is here for a job interview or something as she says she wants to get to know more about her and tell her about the community.

Michonne is kind saying thank you and that she’s impressed with what they have and then she says “But that ‘someone’ - I’m eager to go because I just found out that he’s…” I love this because while Dream Michonne teased that she’s not eager, Real Michonne has no qualms saying she's eager to get to Rick. 😊

She’s honestly being so patient, having just recently got the major news that her true love is alive. I know she’s itching to go but this Elle lady is like girl let’s just gab some more.

Elle at least is a little keen because she immediately knows Michonne is a gem saying, “You could be an asset to this place if you don’t find this person…” I like how in TOWL everyone Michonne comes across knows she’s something special. As they should.😋

gif cred: @perryabbott

And so then Elle is cut off by King Bach who tells her to just give Michonne a horse and like exactly because Michonne has places to be and Elle was nawt getting it.

Michonne gets up saying she could just go because she’s getting to Rick, horse or no horse. Elle gives Michonne credit for saving her sister's boyfriend and her sister and is again told by her sister to just give Michonne a horse.

Elle says, “I meant to say if you do find him you could be part of this community. Both of you.” Michonne says, “We have a community. We have kids” and y’all, when I tell you I let out a yelp of joy hearing her say that the first time. 🤩

Like even despite knowing for several years now that Rick and Michonne have kids, hearing her say "we have kids" just made me so happy lol. Their parents fr. Something about it just felt like she knows she and Rick will be raising these kids together soon enough. 

Michonne continues showing that Mama Michonne is in the building when she says, “Kids who need to see their father. Kids who I need to see. So I have to find him and I have to go now.”

Michonne is on this mission both as a wife and as a mother and she is not returning to her kids empty-handed. And that emphasis she puts on “now”... Michonne was trying to be patient with Elle but you could tell she was ready to get into her “step back” energy if this lady kept delaying her. Also, it's sweet how she says "I have to find him" because it's like she knows it has to be her. She knows Rick needs her specifically.  

Elle asks, “Go where?” And Michonne says Bridgers Terminal. (Side note: I always love seeing the ring prominently displayed on Michonne's necklace.) The caravan folks explain that there are a lot of walkers in the direction Michonne is heading and Elle again not reading the room is all cavalier like just stay awhile and get to know us. Which um, Elle, can you not tell this woman very eagerly wants to find her husband and get home to her kids?? Like ma'am plz...

Michonne lets Elle know she already knows enough about their group to read them a little bit as she notes how this group doesn’t stop for anyone ever, not even Elle’s own sister. Elle defends the community’s rules of not stopping for anyone and Michonne says, “That doesn’t sound like a community.”

Elle gets a little defensive saying, “Well this is how we survived” and Michonne, still as quick on her feet and unafraid to set the record straight as we remember, says, “But not everyone right?” Period. And Elle knows Michonne has a point as she finally doesn’t have words to respond back.

gif cred: @perryabbott

Michonne is over it as she says, “If you don’t want to give me a horse, I’m good” and prepares to leave. But just as she’s gonna go, the best bestie Michonne has had since Carl arrives - Nat. 👏🏽

Nat comes in hot and he’s also over this place for leaving Bailey and Aiden behind. Nat says he keeps this place going and he knows their community is strong enough to stop and save people and he questions what’s the point if they don’t do that. This quickly shows he has a similar mentality to Michonne.

Then Nat sees that his friends are in fact okay and it’s sweet to see the joy on his face as he hugs them. It’s also so sweet to see Michonne smile as she takes all of this in. They explain that Michonne saved them and Nat turns to Michonne as she just looks regal and says, “Hi.”

gif cred: @perryabbott

Nat says, “And you just…brought them back?” And Michonne, knowing that’s just who she is, simply answers, “They asked for my help so I helped them.” She’s just the best. 😊 And Nat knows it because he then offers Michonne her own VIP wagon.

I love that Nat is an instant Michonne fan. Same, Nat. And I love hearing Michonne’s laugh as she then says, “Thanks but, even if I didn’t have somewhere to be, I don’t leave people behind.”

gif cred: @perryabbott

Nat says he doesn’t either and again Michonne “Never Afraid To Tell You About Yourself” Grimes says “But you’re here.” And it’s a valid point yet again. Because by staying with this group it does make you a bit compliant with their ways of leaving people behind. I’m telling you the “Michonne is always right” streak continues. 💯

gif cred: @perryabbott

Nat asks where she’s headed and when she answers he too thinks it’s a bad idea because of the walker migration. But as Rick knows, Michonne is stubborn. 😋 Wonderfully stubborn. So she says, “I’m going” as she’s done hearing anyone else try to stop her.

Nat knows she’s serious so he says, “Looks like you are” and tells her he’ll give her a horse and she can have her pick. Elle tries to stop him but Nat becomes an instant fav as he cuts Elle off and makes it clear his decision is final and that Michonne can have her pick.

And then I so love Michonne’s silent but super-expressive response to that whole moment. The beginning of her and Nat's bond was born in this moment and it’s great to see. 😊

gif cred: @riickgrimes

So Michonne takes her walkie and finally gets out of that room with the group. She follows Nat outside as he asks if she’s waiting for a call. A true mother Michonne says, “Just trying to be home some way until I can.”

I love how she’s so determined to maintain contact with her babies while retrieving her other baby from his CRM misery. And you can tell her determined mindset believes she’ll be home ASAP.

gif cred: @perryabbott

It's so clear that Michonne misses Judith and RJ every second she’s away. Especially when we then see her on the walkie-talkie trying to speak to Shoto but getting no response. When Judith doesn’t answer she says, “Love you. I love you both.” And it’s just precious. 🥲

Any slander toward Michonne as a mother could never be tolerated around these parts. The sacrifice of being away from them right now is so clearly painful for her but, being the devoted mom she is, she's willing to do whatever she can to bring her kids' father back to them,.

Also thinking about Michonne and Judith both trying to speak to each other on those walkie-talkies even tho they can't reach each other...cue my internal tears. 🥺

gif cred: @perryabbott

So then Nat comes back as Michonne lets him know she’s ready to get out of here pronto and wonders where the horse is because it’s been an hour. Nat pitches the idea of Michonne staying with them one night before she embarks on what he deems “a suicide mission” But after he says this, Bailey and Aiden walk up to bring Michonne a top-tier horse and Michonne looks very happy to finally be able to get her horse and go.

Nat is sad and disappointed as he says, “There you go Michonne. You can bounce right now. But if you give us a night. Give us a chance to equip you, tell you how some said equipment works well, maybe you’ll survive 30 more seconds of your trip once you hit the Delaware border.”

Michonne has this sweet big smile as she lets them convince her to stay one night. She charmingly says, “One night. And I’m leaving at dawn.” And I love the way Nat and them then respond like mom just agreed to let them have a sleepover. 😊

Nat excitedly gives Aiden and Bailey orders and wants Michonne to have the best and “something custom” which Nat is a king among men for wanting to give Michonne the best of the best.

Michonne is all looking at Nat confused and amused and she asks, “Measure what? And what are scream sticks?” I know Nat saw Michonne and was immediately like 'now this is a fashion muse that I just have to dress.' 😋

gif cred: @nerd4music

Michonne is told that she’ll find out what it all means and she’s just like “Really?” Which was cute. And then next we see her slaying in the corseted armor. Nat (and the actual wardrobe department) ate with the armor. 🔥

gif cred: @perryabbott

As Michonne rides her horse alongside her new friends, she thanks them for the armor, horse, and everything else. Then Aiden says, “Michonne, you’re gonna find him. I know it.” I love seeing them encourage her. I was super glad that Michonne got to experience some sincere supportive friends in TOWL after it had become a rather rare occurrence in the latter seasons of the main show.

Then Nat wants to get some things straight saying, “Rick blew up on a bridge and it’s been years?” You can tell he’s thinking 'Sis, your man might be gone onto glory by now.' 😬

But Bailey reminds Nat to tread lightly and Michonne co-signs saying, “What he said.” That golden rule of don’t try Rick in front of Michonne still holds true. 👌🏽

Nat admits he likes Michonne and doesn’t like many people so he doesn’t exactly want to lose her company. Michonne smiles and then gives the group something to think about as she questions why they stay with a group that leaves people to die. She says she thinks they’re smart enough to find another way and Nat says, “I guess we’re surprisingly stupid Michonne.” And Bailey says, “or afraid” which is the truer reason.

Michonne says she’s glad she met those three and then wishes them good luck. They wish her good luck too and the way Aiden looks at Michonne as they walk away on the horse, it seems part of her worries that Michonne won’t be so lucky on her travels. 

gif cred: @richardgrimes

Michonne immediately turns on her walkie trying to reach her kids again. Nat notices and says, “You said your kids were in Virginia right?” I like that this shows she clearly opened up to Nat more the night before, telling him about Rick and his name and where her kids are.

Nat says the walkie-talkie will be out of range soon and then hands her the notebook we saw her using to write letters to Judith in the TWD series finale.

In a sweet gesture, Nat says, “You can still talk to them. Then you can show it to them when you get back” as he gives Michonne an encouraging smile. Michonne says, “I thought this was suicide” and Nat’s face falls as he says, “It is. I was just being nice.” Hearing that has me like dang he really was just trying to have them land on a nice note before she went off to what he believes is certain death. 😅 But baby, this is Michonne the one and only so if anyone can make it it’s her.

gif cred: @perryabbott

Also, it’s interesting how Rick was dealing with a more internal threat of suicide while Michonne was confronting a more external risk of ‘suicide’ according to Nat. And I love how writing letters to loved ones is something both Rick and Michonne found solace in while dealing with inward and outward trials and tribulations.

Michonne and Nat go their separate ways as Michonne again tries to reach her baby girl on the walkie to no avail, and you just know she longs to hear her kids’ voices on the other end.

And while Michonne is going her separate ways from Nat and co now, it won’t be the last of them in her story, as Nat is destined to play a very impactful role in Michonne’s life. 😌👌🏽

[dokifluffs]

Booping His Nose | Aone, Ushijima

Pairings: Aone X Reader (gender neutral), Ushijima X Reader (female)

Genre: soft 🥺 sweet fluff

Author’s Nose: im absolutely and utterly soft for Aone and his turt 🥺 

Aran, Kenma, Atsumu // Nishinoya, Sachiro, Kuroo // Sakusa, Iwaizumi // Suna, Kageyama, Matsukawa // Tendo, Hinata, Bokuto // Yamaguchi, Osamu

gif from @rivaillerose​

Aone: 

A cool, early summer breeze blew by, making the plastic bags in your guys’ hands rustle as the two of you walked side by side, on the way toward his house

“‘Nobu, what are you gonna show me?” You asked for the nth time, though you knew you weren’t going to get an answer

“We went grocery shopping for these veggies…” you mumbled to yourself, taking a peek to refresh your memory

He held the bag with the heavier snacks that you guys would eat and share and you help the lighter bag of veggies, specifically spinach, carrots, and even a few kiwis

Was he going to make you something to eat?

He was only silent as he looked down to you, giving you a soft, silent smile as you guys turned onto the block, approaching his home

The only plans you were sure of was that you two were going to watch a movie or two tonight while and snack a bit, eat pizza

But oh well

You opened your mind, just going with the flow, not worrying much about anything as long as you spent some time with Aone

Stepping inside, you were greeted warmly by his parents before they left very shortly to head out to relative’s house

This time, he took care of the veggies and produce bag while you helped yourself to some snacks, sorting the others that you weren’t too interested in, away

You snacked, standing beside him as he washed the fruits, occasionally feeding him before he had to focus, cutting the fruits diligently but also into very small, small cube shapes

He plated them neatly, alongside the greens and that was when he took your hand

“I want you to meet someone very special.” He spoke matter of factly before he brought you to the sun room, setting the plate of veggies and fruits down before disappearing once again

But when he returned, it was like there was a sparkle in his eye, his hands holding something, though you couldn’t really see what

“Who is it?” You asked as he knelt down right beside you

“This is berry, my tortoise.” He opened his hands, revealing a small tortoise walking from his cupped hands, right toward the plate of deliciousness as fast as she could

“Oh my gosh, she’s so precious, Nobu,” you gasped as you laid lower, closer to the floor, as close as you could without startling her or anything

Aone smiled happily, seeing his two favorite beings together, finally meeting

He went through the story of how he adopted her, how he bonded with her, learned to take care of her

And now that you had gotten the chance to meet her, the three of you could grow and see her grow

Though she would be living far much longer than the two of you

You two knelt low in the sun room, watching her bite the small-cut fruit, taking mighty but tiny chops into the spinach leaves

She was just so cute but made a perfect acquaintance for him

You couldn’t even think about a movie as the two of you were much more entertained just by watching Berry eat her meal

Looking beside you to Aone, he watched her like anyone would want to be looked at by their loved on - almost like he was looking at her just like he was looking at you

With his chin resting in his hands while the two of you laid on your bellies, elbows propping yourselves up, you leaned over and pressed your finger to his nose

“Boop.”

And you knew for a long time that he never really was one to show emotions, but you had never seen his cheeks turn pink so fast while Berry walked in between the two of you

gif from @rivaillerose​

Ushijima: 

“Mm, this team was good,” Wakatoshi spoke stoically as ever as you leaned back into him, his arm draped over the back of the couch

Dinner had already been eaten and the night was very young

Though you did feel a little lethargic from how you were positioned

His abdomen providing you the perfect pillow, but his lap was even better as you laid yourself across from him

“What team?” You asked, turning to glance at the tv, suddenly seeing a closeup of hinata and kageyama

“Argentina,” he spoke stoically and that was when you remembered the game the two of you were watching

It was the pre-olympic qualifiers with the Japan team and the Argentina team, of course with Oikawa Tooru as their setter, a setter Wakatoshi highly approved of

You did your best to stifle a yawn, only for it to grow into an even bigger yawn

“Tired?” He looked down to you, resting his hand on your baby bump

“Mmhm,” you blinked slowly, bringing your hand to his, feeling his warmth

“Do you want to go upstairs? I can carry you.”

“Oh, no, no Toshi. I’m far too heavy for that but I just wanna stay here with you.” You adjusted, turning to your other side that faced the back of the couch, facing in to his stomach

It was so perfect

The couch supported your heavy belly, letting your back rest for the first time in awhile

You were right there besides your husband, able to smell his fresh body wash his hand now resting on your arm, stroking it as he continued to look down at you

“It would be no problem. I can carry you at any weight, so don’t worry,” his lips curled up a little, the tickling feeling of his thumb now on your cheek

“I wanna stay here with you,” you looked up to him, wrapping your fingers around the bottom edge of his shirt

“Alright, then.” He continued watching his game, rewatching the footage to prepare for the actual olympic games

When you first met him, Wakatoshi was even quieter, not really talking much unless asked to, and.. not slow per se, but he would have to ask about jokes as well as online trends

He was very focused on himself, doing things he knew would be the best for him and here he was

He was a lot more open with you, mostly because you two had been married and you were pregnant with your guys’ first kid

Things were for sure changing, life was changing and

You got to spend it with Wakatoshi

You further nuzzled your face into his abdomen, liking how warm it was, despite his strange it would sort of look to others if they just walked in and saw you rubbing your face into your husband’s stomach but you couldn’t help it but touch and feel him before he would be gone again and you would be alone and needy for him

He smelled so good, he was so warm

You could’ve, you wanted to fall asleep right then and there in his lap but there was something else that just didn’t want you to inside

Looking up to him, your eyes practically half open, he was so focused on the game, he had that face on, which was basically his everyday face, that you couldn’t tell what he was really thinking

But you just knew it was about the game

Reaching up, your rest your hand on his pec and shoulder, getting his attention

“Hm? Do you want to go upstairs?”

Giving him no answer, you simply reached over and pressed your finger to his nose, booping it

A look of confusion spread on his face for a moment before he did the same, slowly reaching over and awkwardly booping your nose too

You hummed, content for some reason that he had done it

“I’ll stay here with you,” you spoke softly, snaking your hand under the hem of his shirt, resting it on his lower back, a feeling he was very much used to at this point

Every touch from you, he was used to

“Alright then. Let me know when you would like to go upstairs and I will carry you, Y/N.” He ever so carefully pulled you closer, leaning to the side to pull the folded, light blanket to throw it over, draping it over your body

“M’kay,” you hummed, before finally reaching for his hand that rest on your arm, bringing it to your face so you could hold his hand, feeling him as you let yourself doze off completely

~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Masterlist for more! Please do not repost anywhere else!

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[anime-onlys]

Spring '21 anime list: What I tried, what I'm watching, and first impressions!

Shaman King (2021)

I hadn't heard about this show until the reboot was announced, and it seems neat so I'll give it a shot! Hesitation isn't quite the right word, but I am watching cautiously because there's a lot about early 2000's anime that should stay in the early 2000's. I'm prepared to take a certain amount of product-of-its-time-ness, but only so much.

I really like its unique visual style. It feels like it's got a similar vibe to Soul Eater and TWEWY with its chunky proportions and face design, and the squash-and-stretch animation really lends itself to comedic moments. I feel like there are some eminently cosplayable designs in my future.

Character-wise, it's only been one episode but I'm taking a liking to Yoh. Based on the OP I hope that Ryuu will be an early-antagonist-turned-loudmouth-friend like JJBA's Okuyasu or Sk8's Shadow. That's one of my favorite character tropes.

The World Ends With You the Animation

My friend is a huge TWEWY fan, so our group was really looking forward to this anime. I saw a little of the gameplay when the Switch version was released, up to the end of episode 1's plot. I know it's going to be excellent story wise, and I already may be planning on making cosplay of that Reaper with the skeleton hoodie.

I love a unique visual style and an awesome soundtrack, of course TWEWY already had that coming in. The CGI Noise are a little clunky, but allow for some really great fight sequences. The characters' CGI models are nearly seamless with the 2D. It feels like the plot is moving fast, but according to my friend they just skipped some fetch quests and puzzle solving that wouldn't have been interesting to animate.

I'm really looking forward to this one each week!

Dragon Goes House-Hunting

One of those "eh, we'll give it a shot" shows. A bunch of us have been eyeing real estate lately, so at the very least it's topical. If done right, the concept could be fun!

We spent most of the episode HATING the dragon's character design. Its proportions are just...awkward in every way. The neck is extremely short and thick and leads into a human-muscled torso, the arms are tiny twigs, and the legs are a little too human and a little too thick to be anything but unnerving. It's bad.

Oddly, except for the dragon, the rest of the creature designs are pretty great! In contrast to a lot of anime, they let them be really non-human and had a good design sense. The humor was solid, the Monster Hunter references were on point, and the character interactions were fun. The OP is GREAT, too!

We'll be continuing this one! If you can make your eyes stop hating you for forcing them to look at the Monster Factory reject of a dragon, I'd say give it a shot.

You Can Make A Mug Too

Now that Yuru Camp is over, we wanted another lighthearted anime that might teach us something while it's at it. You Can Make A Mug Too was one of our picks to sample because one member of anime night has recently acquired a kiln.

My impression is an approving but unenthusiastic "Fine, really." You can definitely tell it's an anime made to bring in tourism to the town it's based in. The characters don't really grab me, but they set up a solid emotional backbone for the story. The production quality isn't stunning, I was hoping for some nice pottery wheel animation but didn't get any.

It's probably a decent show, but we won't watch any more because of the next one on the list.

Supercub

Going straight from You Can Make A Mug to Supercub was like going from store-brand ice pops to fresh gelato. I can already tell this is my favorite anime of the season, hands down.

First, the production quality is excellent. The backgrounds are beautiful, the score is understated but well done to the point that Debussey's Clair de Lune felt like it had been made for the scene it was used for.

More than the production quality alone, this anime's direction is exceptional. It takes 'show don't tell' and uses it perfectly, using body language and soundtrack and shot composition to communicate as much or more than the sparse dialogue. Like, they made my heart skip a beat with nothing but color grading. THAT kind of exceptional.

I haven't spoken much about the plot because I really have no idea where it's going to go. Will we fill in why Koguma is so alone, or will we only move forward to seeing her connect? Will the past of that Supercub come back to haunt her? This feels like an anime that can and will absolutely wreck me, but at the starting line all I can say is I'm READY.

If you only watch one thing this season, watch Supercub.

Continuing anime:

My Hero Academia Season 5:

This season is interesting because for the first time, I think I'm going into it with almost zero spoilers (Dabi's real name is the only one I have). The only plot spoiler I thought I had, that Hawks was somehow working with the League of Villains, was revealed at the end of episode 1. I really enjoy going into things blind so I'm looking forward to this season!

However, the OP is the most disappointing thing out there. Nothing about the song, animation or composition is memorable or even noteworthy. Bones and MHA have access to all the money and talent in the industry and they best they can do is "Fine, I guess".

Yuukoku no Moriarty season 2 (Split cour):

I really enjoyed Moriarty's first season, but the second part of a split-cour always has the risk of running off the rails. What I enjoyed most about the first cour was the reverse-whodunit formula: Here's a terrible noble and the people they hurt, how does Moriarty get rid of them while making it look like an accident? The end of cour 1 started to focus heavily on Sherlock and I don't want the show's namesake to end up sidelined.

Knowing Irene was coming, I was really hoping for a Scandal in Belgravia that follows the books...at all, where the end of the story is that Irene escapes with the photo (except this time aided by the Moriarty brothers). Few or no Sherlock adaptations actually want to engage with the sexism of the era or today's, and just want to paint her as a blackmailer or temptress instead of a woman holding onto the power to protect herself. The beginning was extremely promising, but that went off the rails pretty quick. I still haven't yet seen an adaptation of Irene Adler that I like.

Zombieland Saga: Revenge

I watch this show because it's fun and ridiculous, and I get to hear Mamoru Miyano having the time of his life in the recording booth. I love this show because it always ends up surprising me with its solid emotional backbone. It looks like this season is shaping up to be more of the same!

What blew me away was this episode was the first time I saw a CGI dance sequence that I LIKED. Ever. The characters used different mocap so they weren't eerily in sync, the song and dance itself was well made and supported by excellent camera direction and shot composition, there were 2D cuts to closeups of the dancers as well as audience, and they actually pushed facial expression!

It's a good time. Give it a shot.

[movienotesbyzawmer]

April 10: Rocky II

(previous notes: Rocky)

When this movie came out I was a little kid living in Northern California, and we used to go to huge drive-in movie complexes that had like six screens. No matter what movie you were watching, you could see other movies from your lot. I don't remember which movie we were watching at the time, but I remember being distracted by a nearby screen showing Rocky II. I totally watched the ending in suspense. It was eventually on cable a lot so I was able to see it for real, but still like 40 years ago.

Anyway, I wonder if this movie will have the effect of dulling the charm of how the first movie ended, so climactically and with appealing suddenness.

Also, is this the only one of the first four movies that doesn't have a rollicking hit song emerging from its soundtrack?

Stallone famously wrote each of these movies all by himself, and starting with this one he is the director of a bunch of them as well.

Same kind of intro with the fanfare, except the music sounds very clearly, to me at least, to not be playing on real horns. I think it's synths. "Modern".

We're now just watching the end of the first movie. We get to relive the intense experience of seeing Adrian's face in closeup closing her eyes for one and a half seconds. The drama.

The whole first five minutes is the whole last five minutes of the first movie. That's weak. Cheap.

Then the whole opening credits follows, and it's following the ambulance that's taking Rocky to the hospital because of all the punchplay. Not a good use of this time. But more importantly: are they going to address the eyelid situation.

Rocky and Apollo confront each other in wheelchairs in front of the press at the hospital. They're still fired up.

After Rocky gets out of the hospital he rambles a lot and it's like an amateur improv scene where he's figuring out on the spot some things to say about where they are. He gets the idea to have Rocky propose to Adrian, then when she accepts he does a Tarzan wail. What a cheeky clown that Rocky is.

His eye seems fine now.

0:18:20 - the a cappela street musicians are still at it, still not very complex with the harmonies. Isn't Sylvester Stallone's brother a singer named Frank, and does he look like the guy in this scene? I bet it's him.

I'm pretty bored of this movie so far. It's like the people were clamoring for an answer to the question, "what happened after the fight", and Stallone's enthusiastic answer was "just regular stuff like you'd guess!!!!!"

Oh my. It's their wedding night and they talk like dumb, uninspired newlyweds and then kiss, and it's like the director, who remember is Stallone, directed the two of them, one of whom is also Stallone, to perform slow, exotic lip dancing and no one told him that's a thing called kissing which is normal and common.

Rocky has some money now so he and Adrian are looking at buying a house. The realtor is all "this whole place is supported by solid steel" and Rocky is all "yo Adrian that would be a great spot for a radio". It's like porn stars that have been told to ad lib for a few minutes in the beginning of the scene. Except that we aren't about to be rewarded with porno.

0:28:05 - Adrian is pregnant! They talk about it. They talk about it in small talk. "What if it's a girl" "Oh a girl I didn't think about that can you imagine".

So one of the adventures of post-the-first-movie Rocky is that he gets to do a commercial. They show the filming of that and that it doesn't go well because of his Rocky personality. And the next scene he has realized that he needs a white collar job so he's at an employment agency office and asks for a job where he gets to sit. But he's not a good fit there. So he goes and gets a job at a butcher place. He promised Adrian he was done with boxing so now we have this boring part of the movie which isn't short enough.

Okay it's definitely going in a direction of not-boxing-is-sucky-for-Rocky, because he lost the butcher job and had to sell his car to Paulie. He said "it's a great car, buckle up for safety!" Do you think Stallone actually scripted that line or did he improvise it and the director, who you may recall is also Mr. Stallone, thought it was really good and kept it in

0:46:30 - He goes to visit Burgess Meredith at the gym. BM is not helping Rocky's morale, tells him he's washed up POI-manently. He begs for a job doing menial tasks at the gym and BM tells him everyone will think he's a loser but okay. Stallone does okay looking humble about that.

When he comes in to the gym everyone is laughing at a very stupid editorial cartoon in the local news publication, it shows Apollo doing harm upon Rocky-as-a-chicken with the ingenious caption "APOLLO CREED VS THE STALLION CHICKEN". It was clearly "STALLION CHICKEN". That does not make any sense.

BM was easily persuaded by Apollo's cockiness and so he then shows up at Rocky's nad easily persuades him to accept the rematch deal. Feels like movie formula but at least it's about to be less boring.

I like BM's voice.

They're doing a thing going back and forth between Rocky training and Apollo training. Apollo's is going better, partially because his facility is kind of luxuriously spacious. Then they stuck a scene in the middle of that of Adrian working at the pet store all preggo, but having trouble lugging a weighty thing and listen my friends, I think Talia Shire acting is not good acting.

We're in a long sequence that's about how Adrian had the baby prematurely and she slipped into a coma or something, and it's made clear that she had health problems because she was stressed out and overworked because of the heavy things at the pet shop and the husband who went back to boxing. Big old guilt trip taking up a lot of the middle of the movie. Adrian is in a coma. They don't show the baby. It's all just sadness about comatosity of Adrian.

But! She eventually wakes up! And after the first ever conversation they've ever had about what to name their newborn son, Adrian inexplicably changes her tune and tells Rocky she wants him to win. "Win!" That's what she tells him. Then she says it again. Stallone writing, Shire acting, what more could you want.

Now an upbeat training montage that's more hopeful and he's obviously high energy. He must be hitting the punching bags better because just look at how confident he looks.

1:29:35 - It is the sequel to the famous running montage from the first movie. The inspired updates include a new recording of that same song but with children singing "flying strong now" or whatever, and also children following him on his majestic dash to the steps of that municipal facility. Someone probably said "do the running scene again just exactly like in the first movie", but no. Stallone was not satisfied. "We will change it a little," he proclaimed. And lo.

Oh I hope there will be a sequel to the shot of Adrian closing her eyes for considerably longer than a blink. Do you think when people stop her on the street they're like "do the eye close thing do the eye close thing! My friends will all ask if you did the eye close thing and I need to tell them yes she did I saw it and it was even better in person"

We're at the fight now. It's about to start. It's all going as expected. I truly believe that everything will be okay.

Before it starts, Apollo tells Rocky, "you're going DOWN". So maybe it will NOT be okay after all…

Seems like the shots of this fight are not as varied or interesting this time, and they're relying more on the announcer commentary telling us what to think compared to the first movie.

Now the obligatory montage to show us the rounds moving forward and them still going at it. Not the same style as the first movie, but whatever it's working fine. I'd maybe watch a boxing match if it were shot and edited like this so that it's just ten minutes.

I swear I remember seeing this imagery from across the drive-in way back in the 70s, I don't care if you believe me or not it's the truth.

Look, I know I don't know nothin' 'bout boxin' but it seems like you're supposed to use your forearms as shields kind of, and Rocky doesn't do that like at all.

The dialogue is telling us that Rocky is maybe losing going into the final round. I wouldn't have thought so… thanks dialogue!

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN" repeats Creed. Such writing I tell you. Rocky II - A Film By Sylvester Stallone.

I will never forget the carefully choreographed climax of the movie. They both crumble onto the floor and the one-to-ten countdown all slow-like as they maybe try to get back up and Apollo doesn't and Rocky barely does so he is the new world champion. Then the last couple minutes of the movie is the same basic energy as the first movie. It's like the first movie's ending was a template and they just replaced a couple of things.

They kept making more of these movies! I'm going to keep watching them! I'm going to do this notes-about-them thing!

(next: Rocky III)

[ducktracy]

168. porky’s super service (1937)

release date: july 3rd, 1937

series: looney tunes

director: ub iwerks

starring: mel blanc (porky), elvia allman (woman)

though ub iwerks gets the director’s credit, bob clampett and chuck jones both tackled the directing duties on this one. this is ub’s last credit at warner bros, touting an interminable stint of 2 (technically 3 if you count his early involvement in porky’s badtime story) cartoons. bob clampett would be the one to inherit his unit—according to bob, when he came into work one monday morning, he found iwerks’ director’s chair empty and was told that he was the director. this will be touched on more when covering porky’s badtime story.

slapstick is galore in this final iwerks credit—porky runs a service station, but runs into trouble when he has to fix up a car and keep an eye out on a sadistic, violent baby at the same time. with chuck jones’ frustration comedy and bob clampett’s sadistic antics, both combine to make quite an amusing effort for the time period.

already, the title card greets us with some ambiance as the sounds of car horns and motors preface a jazzy rendition of “i’m hatin’ this waitin’ around”, the cartoon’s motif. already, a wise decision to preserve money as the opening of the cartoon is reduced to a few layouts and pans: an overhead view of the titular service station trucks into a vertical pan of gas prices. 

“GAS 3 ¢” is emblazoned proudly on the sign at the service station, but as the pan goes down, the audience (and customer) is taxed for much more than they bargained for:

STATE TAX 6 ¢

CITY TAX 4 ¢

COUNTRY TAX 7 ¢

UNEMPLOYMENT TAX 3 ¢

SOCIAL SECURITY TAX 5 ¢

FARM RELIEF TAX 2 ¢

LUXURY TAX 8 ¢

CARPET TACKS 5 ¢ 

TOTAL 43 ¢

as much of a groaner and an eye-roller the punchline is, my pun-loving self can’t get too angry about this. this was actually one of the first looney tunes cartoons i checked out on my own, and it gave me a good laugh the first time i saw it.

the titular pig himself is busy at work filling up gas, befuddled at the placement (or lack thereof) of a car’s gas valve. a question mark pops above his head to convey his plight, an iwerks staple--iwerks would even animate a scene in the oswald cartoon oh teacher (1927), where a cat uses its own question mark as a tripwire in order to steal oswald’s girlfriend from him. porky, however, isn’t that sadistic (at least, not yet)--instead, he asks the car owner where the gas goes. the car owner responds back in a german accent, “you vant to know?” “ye-ye-yes, i veh-vant to know.” the owner then addresses the audience: “hmmph. should i tell him?” this is certainly a radio catchphrase of some kind, but which it belongs to, i haven’t found. i can confirm that it’s bubbled up in a few other cartoons, at the very least.

nevertheless, the car owner/dog lifts up the entire top of the car, where a gas valve is situated inside. porky heads over to pump the gas, a closeup on the gas take reflecting an iwerks “shiver take” as the arrow eventually approaches the 10 galloon mark. when the arrow approaches 9, a little cuckoo bird pops out of the gas tank, quipping “at the sound of the gong, it will be exactly 10 gallons”--a reference to time tones being played on the radio. the bird listens, and when the “clock” strikes 10, it retreats back into its rightful place. while perhaps not the funniest gag today, it does have some clever and smooth animation.

a nice bit of character animation as porky happily flips his shiny new coin, interrupted by the sound of an approaching customer. porky fills the customer’s car with oil as per request (”oka-okeh-okeh-ok-oka-ok-ok--alright!”), thus sparking a variety of odd job gags—alerting a flat tire to a rather angry patron, who literally goes through the (car) roof in anger before tying a knot in the rubbery tire himself to fix the issue (complete with some rubbery animation, ever so common in the iwerks cartoons), and hitting the dents in another car, including a spontaneous dent in the window, causing a broken window in the aftermath via hammer. the gags aren’t gut-busting, yet they have some nice animation to them, especially character animation with porky. however, the start of the opening is slow in comparison to the second half—a part of me wonders if iwerks had more influence on the first half before clampett and jones really sunk their toes in with the rest of the cartoon.

the second half of the cartoon is marked by the sound of an angry horn—that is, an angry woman honking her horn. elvia allman lends her voice to the persnickety customer as she rather bluntly asks (demands, really) porky to fix her flat tire. porky obliges, but is caught in a caveat—don’t wake the baby.

bob clampett is responsible for our introduction to the little dickens, animating porky popping his head in the car to remark “cute little fella.” and so, we see for ourselves just how cute this little fella is as he breaks his “slumber” to stick his tongue out at our protagonist. a nice sense of comedic timing and foreboding—we already know that nothing good is going to come out of this ordeal.

as porky dutifully busies himself with the tire, junior confirms the audience’s suspicions by whacking porky over the head with his bottle. porky, rightfully disgruntled, whips his head around to find the culprit before resuming his work. as he rotates the tire, junior assets his aggression even more by putting the car in drive.

and, predictably yet amusingly so, porky is sent whirling around the back tire. he, along with the tire itself, are let loose from the car as they both catapult right into a metal pole. iwerks’ dizziness lines as porky collects himself coupled with the perfect pig-shaped dent in the pole definitely make porky’s plight more amusing than painful. carl stalling’s gentle yet sardonic rendition of “my little buckaroo” adds another layer of sweet, incongruous irony to the entire cake.

porky’s suffering has only just begun—a suspended part of the pole gives way from the impact and gives porky another good konk on the noggin. as porky once more attempts to collect himself, he realizes that he’s stuck inside the tire. thus sparks a montage of him repeatedly straining to free himself, but to no avail--the timing itself at times is a little floaty and awkward (mainly when porky’s crawling around on all fours), and the sound effects don’t feel as natural as they could be, but the facial expressions are rather appealing, and the movement is fun and rubbery. at one point, trying to free himself, porky grabs the back of his overalls and accidentally pinches himself--certainly a bob clampett gag, as porky turns defensive and looks around to see who snubbed him. 

while porky struggles, the demon baby slings his bottle at porky, hitting him square in the arse and effectively freeing him from the tire (much to porky’s vocal discomfort). the timing of porky identifying the projectile and throwing it at the ground, shooting a glare at the baby, is absolutely priceless. he finally heads over to the car to confront the little dickens, but junior is peacefully sleeping, much to our hero’s head-scratching befuddlement. as he turns his back, junior once more shoots an angry glare, signaling that the fight has only just begun.

the frustration of porky becomes much more visible (and hilarious) with this next scene as he prepares to work on the engine. just as he lifts the lid of the car, junior, rife with sadistic energy, smacks the lid right over porky’s head, trapping him inside. junior’s gleeful expression coupled with porky’s visible temperament really add a lot of flavor and feeling--as the charade continues, porky finally allows himself to rip the hood of the car off its hinges and throw it off screen. timing is succinct and snappy and allow for the jokes to hit quite well, even if it is a tad predictable.

however, the timing of the next sequence is not as snappy, and feels a bit like an odd transition between scenes, with an overall more whimsical mood as porky listens to the engine for any problems. nevertheless, junior’s attitude hasn’t changed in the slightest: he turns the ignition on, causing porky to be electrocuted (with a rather ill-fitting scream not by blanc). junior gives porky enough time to recover, honking the horn just when porky’s listening to it, sparking some rather awkward animation of porky getting punchy from the impact. while this scene doesn’t flow as well as others, it’s still rather amusing and creative--the iwerks shiver takes and inverted colors during the electrocution sequence add a nice touch of individuality.

next, porky is dutifully oiling the engine, sparking junior to press the starter. the engine mechanics kick up, porky’s snout getting stuck to the rising and falling pillars. he finally frees his snout (the scene reminding me of of w.c. squeals’ snout sticking on the ice in tashlin’s cracked ice a mere year later), only to get thrown around by the rapidly pushing pillars of the engine. rather creative as we see multiples of porky bobbing around in a blur. misfortune is still high, however, for the top of the engine closes on top of him, and all we see is bumps rising and falling in the metal above. finally, porky is shot out of the exhaust pipe, his body covered in soot, landing against the gas pump/clock hybrid from before, the cuckoo bird adding insult to injury as it gives a call after the impact. 

a rather abrupt transition as porky, now unfazed, arrives back at the car to confront his foe once more playing possum. the facial expressions and overall timing give this away as a bob clampett scene as porky shoots repeated scowls at the baby, who returns the favor with some rather snide, mocking expressions of his own behind the pig’s back. porky finally believes he’s caught junior, who’s currently stretching his face out at porky--yet, sure enough, junior goes right back to “sleep” when porky turns around, causing the pig to give a frustrated snap of resignation. that doesn’t stop our protagonist from hatching a plan--he zips around to the other end of the car, right behind junior. surely enough, junior prepares to make a face, but realizes he’s been duped. wonderfully smooth animation of junior looking around in befuddlement, you can practically see those little gears turning. finally, he whips around, spots porky, gasps, and goes right back to sleep.

regardless, they both know that junior’s been caught as they make eye contact once more. finally, junior literally rolls away and heads to the window crank, sliding the window up and getting porky’s snout caught in the process. porky spits out a stream of threats and exclamations of pain (”OWW! ouch! o-oh, leh-leh-let go! i’ll fix you! eh-eh-eh-eh-don’t do that! s-s-stop! s-stop, ya hear me!?”) while junior sneaks out of the car, shutting the door and letting the pig dangle around helpless. in the midst of porky’s rant, junior heads off and arrives back with a hose, placing it matter of factly in porky’s overalls.

suddenly, we see that the hose is connected to an air pump. junior gives the wheel a few good turn, and air shoots through the tube and right into porky’s pants. porky is finally freed from the window, but is now rocketing around in the air, laughing hysterically. mel blanc’s performance of porky’s hysterical laughter, sounding eerily similar to daffy’s trademark HOOHOO! laugh is nothing less than contagious and commendable. 

while porky flies around in the air, junior makes matters worse by donning an oil gun and shooting spurts of oil right at the pig. and they said pig’s couldn’t fly! unfortunately for junior, porky’s movements are too erratic to make for a proper target, but no matter: a simple shut off of the air will do the trick. 

porky flops to the ground, having little time to grasp his bearings as junior shoots his face full of oil. the physics of the oil are nice and rubbery, very malleable, thick, and stretchy--certainly remniscent of the mud puddles in iwerks’ previous effort, porky and gabby. as i said before, i’ve always admired the physics in iwerks’ cartoons: you feel like you could grab everything for yourself. very soft, stretchy, rubbery, easy to manipulate. 

despite porky’s demands for junior to give up the gun, the little baby from hell only squirts porky with another helping of oil, this time covering his entire body. once more, the animation and physics of the oil are to be commended. porky slips around helplessly in the now fully formed oil slick, which sends him catapulting down a rather random set of stairs in the ground (though, upon further inspection, the stairs were present in the opening layout, so it’s not as spontaneous as it could be).

junior once more attempts to target porky, but no more oil comes out of the pump. predictably yet amusingly so, the little dickens turns the gun to his own face. as he pulls the lever, a nice, hearty gush of oil covers his entire face. sweet, slippery karma. 

now, junior is just as covered as porky is, and begins to wail. porky’s nods of satisfaction are a hilarious detail--as is his surprise when he notices the persnickety mother approaching. junior points at porky, who doesn’t appear all that blameless as he now holds the oil gun, attempting to hide it behind his back coyly.

the mother gives porky a good lecture about how he ought to be ashamed of himself, all the while disposing of her child like a rag doll and putting him in the back seat of the car. elvia allman’s speech is drowned out by the wails of junior, however, prompting the mother to give an eerily polite “quiet, junior, when mother’s talking.” the timing of the next joke is spot on: as junior continues to bawl, the mother smacks him right in the face. the way the smack sound effect even cuts off and the total silence of junior combine to make a great payoff, though the joke IS rather dark and not the most ethical. still, wonderful timing and execution on that one.

comedic timing is still rife as the mother, now oddly subdued, ponders “now... where was i? oh yes. I’M GOING TO REPORT THIS TO THE AUTHORITIES!” in the midst of her “it’s getting so that you can’t trust anybody anymore” ranting and raving, junior, who’s seldom learned his lesson, reaches for a nearby gas hose and ties it around the car tire. 

porky is left to his own devices as the mother and her hell child roll off into the distance. however, junior leaves one final impact: all three gas pumps are sucked out of their respective places and dragged behind the car. even more insult to injury, the entire service station collapses on top of the unlucky pig. a VERY creative close as the “PORKY’S SUPER SERVICE” sign lands right on top of porky, his disgruntled, oily self popping out right in the middle. who needs a drum when you have a wooden sign?

and thus wraps up ub iwerks’ directorial reign at warner bros. while his cartoons aren’t my favorite, i’ve certainly come to appreciate them much more, for their individuality (such as the shiver takes, visible reactions such as question marks and dizziness lines, and so forth) and rubbery animation. i definitely feel that this is his stronger effort out of his 2 pieces--it has a lovely score, the animation is fun and rubbery, and again, bob clampett’s sadistic energy coupled with chuck jones’ frustration comedy make for a delightful combination. porky is SUPER appealing in the iwerks cartoons as well in the design compartment--lots of really great expressions to freeze frame on. this cartoon is a winner for me--i say watch it! it’s not the most exciting porky cartoon by any means, and it still has its weaknesses: the beginning half is rather slow, there are a few timing issues, etc, but it’s still rather enjoyable overall. i almost wish iwerks had stayed longer, just to see what his other cartoons would have been like. thankfully, though, bob clampett took his place, sparking the reign of my personal favorite director.

so, overall, give it a watch!

link!

[annakie]

An Annotated Mass Effect Playthrough, Part Eight

List of Posts: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

I accidentally messed up the numbering on part Seven’s link to post six, so if you missed post six (or yesterday’s part seven), the numbering up there is correct.

Wherein we get back out into the galaxy, explore, help some people, and kill some others!

So now that we have Liara, it’s time to really dig into the galaxy.  We have a few people we talked to on the CItadel who need help, and maybe we’ll stumble into a few more things along the way.

First of all, let’s check out the galaxy map...

Hey wait a sec, what’s this?

Petra Nebula!?  Oh hey, another new addition by the ME1 Recalibrated mod.

Gorgeous map, only one system available.

Heeeey we recognize this place, we’ll get to go there in.... two games!

Can’t land there (or anywhere in the system) but it’s cool that it exists! There are a couple of other neat little things in the system I didn’t screenshot so that you can have a cool new experience yourself if you decide to use the mod on your next playthrough.

What I really miss from ME3, by the way, is the % markers which note when you’ve fully explored a system or if there’s more stuff to find there.

Anyway, my PLAN had been to take a screenshot of each planet or spacecraft before I entered it to help orient the playthrough better, and then the non-screenshotting couple of hours happened, so we lost some of that along the way, sorry.  

Still, let’s see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into.

I love this planet.  The lava juuuuust below the surface, peeking out.  Just some of the coolest terrain in the game.

What a great view, let’s get a little clo--

OOPS.

I meant to do that.

Wide open spaces with no fears of a thresher maw living in the lava! ...I hope?

Ah, here’s our objective, a distress signal being sent from this location, let’s see if we can help...

FUCKING GETH AMBUSH.

Aw yeah, jumping over those explosives like a pro!

...most of the time.

Well this planet was a bust.  Let’s see if we can actually help someone.

Another planet, scanned a few things, not sure what we’re doing here but hey, I found a lone building!

Ah yes, a prefab which is totally different from all the prefabs we’ll enter because the creates are stacked in a different configuration.

Honestly they should have put one of these prefabs in ME3 for Old Times Sake. (The ones that actually look like homes/labs/whatever make so much more sense.)

Annnd we’re being attacked.  Not sure why, but here we go!

Awww yeah, Throw!  And Ash and Kaidan managing to be useful I think?

Except they let a guy slip by us, but luckily there’s a convenient explosive nearby.  That got ‘em.

OK back to facing forward OH FUCK A KROGAN.

Kaidan’s biotics and my shotgun, a favorite combination.  Now stay down!

Sweet, level up!

And that fight’s over, time to explore this pla...

Whew, thanks Kaidan.

This guy thought he could sneak past me.  Well me, my shotgun and my 20 shield strength sure showed him.

ME1 combat is so... messy though.  I mean, I honestly still enjoy it, but I’m in the camp that agrees combat gets better every game, Andromeda included.  Of course, I just REALLY LOVE Vanguarding in ME3... charging into a group of enemies, hitting Nova, spamming charge again praying that I’ll find a good target to charge to in time.  ME1 combat is basically all just... spam abilities from cover and hope your companions are doing something useful.  Being a Vanguard is more about style over substance in ME here.  I mean you do get some really useful abilities, but your shotgun isn’t that much use unless things get too close.

Which, you know, they do pretty often.

Anyway, remember... I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!

FUCK I hadn’t been back to the Citadel to pick up Nassana Dantius’ quest yet.  Let’s just reload the quicksave from outside and we’ll... come back and do this the right way later and see the entire quest.

I do this more often than I care to admit.

Also no screenshot for this but... I also found Wrex’s personal quest planet and recognized it only when I saw the building, since it’s in a pretty memorable location.  Still, grabbed everything else off the planet so it’ll be quick when it’s time to go back and do that quest.

Well let’s go back to poking around the galaxy.

Message coming in.  Patching it through.

Ah, yeah, hey Hackett.  What’s that?  You’ve got some dirty work you need me to do for you?  Cool, be right there.

Before the ME2 DLC Arrival came out, Hackett was one of Mass Effect’s biggest mysteries.  Who is this guy?  Why is he telling us to do things?  Does he have some secret agenda?  Why is he so sketchy?  Our Shepards seemed to trust him but WOW he sure did send us on some touchy missions.  Speculation was all over the place on what he looked like and what he was really doing.

Turns out, he’s just a pretty cool guy who wants you to take on all the secret spy missions the Alliance doesn’t want to take credit for.

I wish I’d saved it, but just a week or two ago I saw a pretty great post circulating about Hackett.  He IS the guy that’s going to make sure a job gets done, even if he’s not going to do it himself.  He’s the back-room Admiral with the squeaky clean image up front.  He’s the Gus Fring of the Alliance.

Also getting Lance Riddick to voice him was great.  Just a real authoritative, steady guy who you actually want to trust.  

And it turns out he looks basically exactly like most people thought, but maybe with a few more scars. (I mean, he really looks a lot like Lance Riddick, tbh)  But we don’t know that yet.  For now, let the mystery be.

Time to actually go help someone.

Ah yeah, Chairman Burns, we do negotiate with terrorists, in this case.  But they needed negotiating with.

Maxing out the Paragon-meter is worth it for moments like this.  These guys have probably suffered and it’s no surprise that no one has really listened.  Sounds like a lot about the galaxy hasn’t changed since we got out there.

This is also an excellent moment for Kaidan.

Being able to let Kaidan reason with them is fantastic.  Although he probably ultimately doesn’t make a difference mechanics wise, it’d be nice if maybe the check is easier if he’s here.  I don’t know.  But Kaidan knows, even if he’s one of the “lucky” ones who “only” gets migraines.  

One of the grossest posts I’ve seen about Kaidan are people who argue she shouldn’t be on the team because of his implants and since he has a “disability”.  Or that it’s “kinder” to sacrifice him on Virmire.  That’s some real gross ablism you’ve got there.  

Anyway, I love being able to keep this situation under control. Burns actually comes through if you do, even if those guys probably go to prison for awhile for terrorism.  Better than being dead.

Time for... another planet!

Again, didn’t take a screencap of this one but... there’s a missing survey team? I must have picked this quest up in the elevators, because normally you get it on Noveria.  Anyway,  Let’s go find them on Trebin, I’m sure they just can’t broadcast anymore or something.  It’s cool

FUCK. SHIT SHIT SHIT.  FUCK!!!

I probably could have actually used Warp or Throw or even Barrier there but... too late now!  We lived!

I was all ready to blame this on Cerberus, but creepily, there’s no explanation for who huskified them or why.   I’m still going to blame Cerberus, seems like something they’d do.

Well, time to move on.

Honestly, I can’t believe anyone who says ME1 isn’t beautiful.

And driving the Mako is FUN in places like this!

Oh there’s a camp up ahead, we’re here to find the remaining crew of a crashed ship for our new friend in the Citadel Tower.  

Again, no footage/screenshot but eventually you find where the mercenaries tracked down Willem (the brother) and killed them.  Shit.  We were too late.  I actually tear up sometimes telling Garoth that his brother died.  They held out for awhile, too, but we were too late.

It would have been nice if, say, if the very first thing we did after leaving the Citadel was to come here, we could have saved him, but I guess this quest is another way of Bioware telling us that sometimes, there’s just nothing you can do to change things.

One more quest this update, then we’re stopping back off at the Citadel next.

Presrop, one of the most well-known of the sidequest planets. (OKok, technically it’s a moon.)

One of my favorite landing sequences, just because the stars make it so... dramatic.

I mean DAMN.

Klendagon's most striking feature is, of course, the Great Rift valley that stretches across the southern hemisphere. What is most fascinating about the Rift is that it does not appear to be natural. The geological record suggests it is the result of a "glancing blow" by a mass accelerator round of unimaginable destructive power. This occurred some thirty-seven million years ago.

It took a solid three minutes of Flycam flying to get that closeup shot, btw.  I actually flew all the way in the first time I came here, and didn’t take screenshots.  Took about six minutes.  The updated texture is impressive.

Well, Hackett sent us here, let’s deal with Major Kyle.

Being nice and non-threatening gets you into places.

I’ll admit, before I came in here, I decided to cheat in enough paragon points to max out Paragon already.  For me personally, I’m trying to make sure this is an “ultimate” playthrough, a save file I can just use over and over from here on out.  I want everything to import into ME3 the first time around with all the plot flags set how I want them without messing with Gibbed’s Savegame Editor, so making sure I can convince everyone how I want them to is important.  So hey, Major Kyle, stand down.

I don’t think I’ve ever played as a Ruthless Shepard in ME1, or if I have, it’s been so long I’ve forgotten how it goes.  But he was the commanding officer at the battle of Torfan, and your CO if you’re Ruthless.  He’s also a reminder of how serious PTSD can be, and what it can do to a person.  

I also love this tidbit from the Wiki, which I didn’t know since I’d never done these particular choices before:

(In Mass Effect 2)  If Martin Burns was not saved in 2183, a news report on the Citadel will announce that Kyle is trying to form an all-biotic community as the reparations were not given to L2 biotics and they have become even more alienated from galactic society.

I really liked that if you reason with him, he doesn’t give you any trouble and turns himself in like he says.

Hey, this negotiation thing is easy when you’re the best person in the galaxy at it!!

[ducktracy]

113. a cartoonist’s nightmare (1935)

release date: september 14th, 1935

series: looney tunes

director: jack king

starring: billy bletcher (beast, villains, pianist), tommy bond (beans)

so beans doesn’t actually have a voice credit—it seems he’s unknown for this cartoon. to me he sounds like tommy bond (who would provide his voice), but i’m no expert. regardless! beans’ first solo cartoon!

this is an interesting case to note. beans (and of course porky) would be the first star to debut in a merrie melodies cartoon as opposed to a looney tunes cartoon. there was a rule that merrie melodies couldn’t feature reoccurring characters—i hesitate to say that with confidence, since peter rabbit was used in country boy and my green fedora, and a buddy facsimile was used in mr. and mrs. is the name, but generally characters weren’t reused, much less brought over into other divisions (bosko was never in any merrie melodies, buddy wasn’t 100% established to be in a merrie melodies). so, beans is the first to be brought over! tex avery would also break the rule with daffy duck in egghead in 1938, bringing daffy over from looney tunes to merrie melodies and also reusing egghead from egghead rides again.

in terms of synopsis: a cartoonist is dutifully working on a beans cartoon, but falls asleep. the villain in his project comes to life and kidnaps the cartoonist, and it’s up to beans to save the day.

a precursor to termite terrace? animators bustle to and fro in a cartoon studio that looks like it was spawned from a love affair between dr. seuss and tim burton. a highly prestigious studio, as indicated by the sign out front: animated cartoon studio. a rather bored, anthropomorphic whistle (jack king’s disney roots seep into its design, animated by bob mckimson) nonchalantly checks it’s stopwatch and gives a tired bellow to indicate the day’s end.

the distance shot of the studio is impressive as all of the animators leave, lights switching off and even an animator jumping off the roof and traveling via umbrella. various workers bids the elderly groundskeeper goodnight as he locks up for the night.

a lone cartoonist diligently pumps out more work, adding to a towering stack of frames. the groundskeeper pokes his head in, asking “ya gonna work all night, son?” the cartoonist shrugs. “i gotta finish tonight.” with a bid of good luck, the groundskeeper leaves the animator to his work.

we then spot the fruits of his labor as a close up of the animator’s work is shown. he’s working on a beans cartoon, drawing a ferocious monster and painting him in. the monster comes to life and gives a terrorizing grunt, cornering a terrified beans. a fun choice to make the animator analyze his work, chuck jones providing the animation of the animator commentating “well, beans, i guess i’ll have to save ya from the villain again!” he sticks his hand into frame and pulls the monster off of beans. furious, the beast turns his attention to the animator instead. the animator uses this as an opportunity to paint some protective iron bars in front of beans, essentially jailing him. delighted, beans teases the beast by blowing a party streamer in his face.

eventually, the animator tires himself out and falls asleep. time marches on, and his drawings remain sentient. trouble arises as the villain reaches out of the frame and drags the animator inside, jack king providing one of his great perspective shots (above). i’ve come to really appreciate how he plays around with different perspectives and closeups, it brings a lot of liveliness and interest. obviously, the animator is wide awake by now, struggling as the villain takes him away. beans speaks his first lines (that isn’t limited to billy bletcher going NYEEEH in i haven’t got a hat)— “hey! let go of him!”

the beast drags the poor animator through the dungeons of the animated world—not far off from some working conditions at certain studios. as the beast drags his victim down a set of rickety stairs, a loose piece of board flies up and clobbers the villain on the head. the beast, assuming it was the work of the cartoonist, punches the sheepish animator in the face.

past the gag department, story department, and music department they go, each department barred behind an intimidating iron door. there’s some sort of weird lawn mower weapon—like a barbed mower. essentially, a painful prop. the animator accidentally prompts the handle to thwack the beast in the head, who gives him another pounding.

finally, the beast arrives at his destination: the cartoon villains chamber. sound effects are jarring and unfitting (yet almost humorously so) as a laser sound effect accompanies the monster punching the cartoonist, sending him flying. he bumps into a portrait of a kangaroo labeled “battling barney”. barney’s joey leaps out of its pouch and sends the cartoonist hurtling once more towards the main villain.

one by one the animator receives a plethora of beatings, from the beast to the octopus from mr. and mrs. is the name. thus sparks a musical segment from the villains, the villains lamenting about how they’ve been mistreated and now the cartoon will finally get his, the song a parody of “the teddy bear’s picnic”. i find it interesting that jack king included musical numbers in his cartoons. from the beginning, those working on the merrie melodies complained about how a nice story would be rolling along and then an arbitrary song would disrupt momentum. it seems as though king had the opposite gripe—he wanted to insert more music into his cartoons. an interesting choice. the lyrics are amusing and dark, the chorus going “the tables are turned and now you are in our clutches!” bletcher also reprises his role as the mad pianist from buddy the detective.

the villains reveal their motive: they want to force the animator down a bottomless pit, making him draw his demise. the poor cartoonist has no choice but to obey. he hesitantly draws a giant circle on the ground, preparing for his demise.

elsewhere, beans is still behind bars, sulking. someone dressed in a woman’s disguise sneaks beans a loaf of bread (the scene animated by bob clampett), much to beans’ delight as he exclaims “food!” he takes a big bite out of the bread, but recoils. inside the bread is a handsaw, perfect to cut the bars with. beans saws his way through the metal as we cut back to the kidnapped animator, peering into a bottomless pit.

after some stalling, the animator is thrown down the pit. it seems there IS a bottom, inhabited by a hungry alligator. narrowly does the cartoonist escape being eaten, a branch catching him by the pants. regardless, the cartoonist momentarily dives into the alligator’s mouth, the gator’s dentures dangling off his head. paul smith animates a closeup of the toothless and tearful alligator. not to fear—the cartoonist returns the alligator’s dentures, who thanks him with a snap of the jaws.

beans manages to saw his way out and make his escape. he runs ACROSS the stairs, floating on air instead of descending—a cartoon staple. sliding down a giant pole, beans skids along the ground and knocks into a barrel, the metal rings constricting around beans. a crash to the wall sends the rings flying back into their respective place on the barrel.

curious, beans pokes his head in to watch the torture. all of the villains are gathered around the pit, having a hearty laugh. concocting a plan, beans places two boots at the doorway of the chamber. don williams animates the two boots who come to life, matching forward towards the hairy beast and giving him a swift kick in the ass.

undoubtedly, the villain takes notice and spots beans teasing the villains at the door. beans dashes away and a chase breaks out as the villains follow. they all pass by the barrel from before... which is inhabited by a proud beans. the coast clear, beans darts back into the chamber and analyzes the pit, scratching his head as he thinks of a way to help the cartoonist. the cartoonist cries for help, the hungry jaws of the alligator nearing him as he perches on the branch that saved him.

with some quick thinking, beans yells “hey, catch this pencil!”, tossing down the pencil the cartoonist used in his suicide mission. the cartoonist catches it, beaming as he acknowledges his power. he draws an extendable ladder, turning the crank and scaling to safety.

never a peaceful moment in the cartooning business as the main beast pokes his head inside the chamber, growling at beans. they have a mini chase sequence as the animator scales to safety. the beast momentarily loses beans, who notices the animator and shushes him. an abrupt jump cut to beans holding a grease gun, lubricating the floor. he whistles to summon the attention of the villains, and his plan unfolds swimmingly. all of the villains slide straight into the bottomless pit. the cartoonist gives the hairy beast an extra punch for good luck, the beast struggling to stay on the ground. once all of the nuisances are in the pit, the animator enlists in the help of an eraser and erases the pit in the floor. beans and the cartoonist slap and shake hands together, beaming at their teamwork.

bob mckimson animates the scene of the elderly watchman shaking the animator awake as we fade back to the present. the cartoonist ogles at the audience, exclaiming “wotta dream!” a very literal title to the cartoon. he resumes his work, back to where he left off: the beast terrorizing beans, who’s cowering behind bars. in the style of bosko, the talk-ink kid, the cartoonist sucks the beast back into his pen, as well as the iron bars.

but his work isn’t done yet. as a reward, he sketches out a heaping plate of jello that has beans’ name written all over it. he calls “come and get it!” beans doesn’t have to be told twice—he gorges himself gleefully, eventually disregarding the spoon and licking it straight from the source. iris out.

this was a very creative and fun cartoon! a good choice for beans’ first solo act. it felt like a mashup of bosko, the talk-ink kid and duck amuck. i like beans—probably just the relief at the newness of a character and knowing things are starting to gain traction, but he’s cute. not as bland as buddy, but still maybe not as dimensional as bosko. the animation was intriguing and fun in the cartoon, and the underscore of the teddy bear’s picnic was an odd yet amusing choice. i certainly think this is king’s best entry yet. i haven’t seen all of king’s cartoons, but out of the ones i have, this is my favorite. a fun premise and lots of personality. the story doesn’t feel too dragged out or redundant, a nice balance between the cartoonist, the villains, and beans. jack king and tex avery would split the difference making the beans cartoons: jack king 7, tex 2, and friz freleng 2 (i haven’t got a hat and his cameo in country mouse). overall, a fun, high energy cartoon that’s worth a watch. though it doesn’t have many gags, the story and premise are interesting enough, as is the historical significance of it being beans’ first solo debut.

link!