#so Chi's shadow IS exaggerating

[mrstsung]

Honeys. If liu kang really cared about his friend in this new game. He wouldn't have made raiden reggie the farmer champion.

Idc kung lao is not a reincarnation. He is a decedent given that name by a prideful and vain family who only wants it in for themselves. Holy shit.

This happens unfortunately in families. Unfortunately in asian families specifically but that aside. Kung lao doesn't seem to have a very good family if they are homophobic to kung jin,his nephew.

So yeah,kung lao disowning his family (besides jin,because he loves his nephew) makes sense. And he wants to bring honor to his ancestor not his immediate family

The great lao died in mortal kombat. However was shamed by his descendants family for perversion of his legacy and what he stood for. Plus he died by goros hands. All four of em. Tho this happens in a tournament,he didn't know anything about goro. So he wasn't prepared. So it was an unfair fight. So that added to it.

Sure the great lao didn't want to do this whole mortal kombat thing. Nobody does in mortal kombat,duh. That's been stated. I dont really see anyone besides shao kahn and shinnok really loving mortal kombat.

Quan chi is a hit or miss. He loves it but hates it because rules.

Shang tsung doesn't truly love it but he's fucking good at it. That's why he's tournament master.

But back to kung lao(jr)

So many people miss the point.

Mk11 and mk12/mk1 did such a disservice to the character. And if you disagree you're looking at kung lao thru tinted glasses. And not understanding the whole fucking picture.

There's nothing good about kung lao from those games.

Mk9 was great till they bodied people for shock value and not actual purpose.

Mk9 is also where they grossly exaggerated his "pride" . I feel some people not be playing the same games because i remember fucking mk9-mk11 waaaaay differently.

Sure living in lius shadow would piss anyone off. But liu kang not really stopping anyone is also a problem. If his character cares so much he'd defend his friend always. Not just when it's convenient.

It feels like "no no kung laos great. Anyways..." so passive aggressive. To me

So i dunno what y'all be watching or playing but kung lao hasn't been good for a long time storywise.

Gameplay wise he kicks ass just as much as he did back then. So that hasn't changed much.

Just storymode wise. They dunno what to do with him besides making his 2nd banana for no reason.

Liu kang is the one who didn't want to be champion or a god and stated this. But they made him it anyways. Kung lao was fucking ready. But nobody gives him a chance....why?.....because you put this false fake ass persona trope on him because you don't want him to be champion or something?! Why? Why do y'all hate lao that much?

Liu hasn't earned shit it was always handed to him by the narrative.

Kung lao has earned shit. Even when they wrote him shitty.

I love liu but lao i love more. Simply because his character is way more impactful.

I dunno man. People on here i feel just don't get it. And wont.

I've been a kung lao main for years. And he's been my boy since day one. I was 10-12 yrs old when i got into mortal kombat. Sitting in front of my tv playing mk shaolin monks and the demo for mk2 religiously. Do not speak of me how kung lao is. I was there.

He's my First videogame crush too.

So yeah i take dissing him very personally. My feels aside,It's unnecessary too narratively it makes no sense.

Kung lao deserves better. Been deserving better.

Like this is no diss to liu kang,i love him too. I just wish people weren't weird and gross about him. And nrs wasn't jackasses to him and sucked his boots that much.

Kung lao is ready. And it's about time y'all make him actually fucking champion,chosen,and loved properly.

AND GIVE HIM HIS OLD PERSONALITY BACK! that cool,quiet,chill,snarky,badass,demeanor. Serious when needed,funny and loving when also needed. Like damn man.

Look at mk shaolin monks for the proper kung lao. And look at the mk95 movie for the proper liu kang.

Only kung lao is related to the great kung lao. And he doesn't need to be a reincarnation to be special.

And liu kang doesn't need ties to be special either.

Sometimes people just happen to cross paths and "destinies" which is never set in stone.

Liu kang and kung Laos are friends. But y'all dunno how to write best friends without rivalry,romance,etc.

Friendly competition between friends is not the same as rivalry and fueds.

By all means kung lao and liu kang grew up together and obviously had brotherhood trained together, and in some cases even "died" together. So there shouldn't be any bad blood in any iteration.

Im just sick of kung lao being treated wrongly by fans and canon.

😔

[ox-priincess]

long

ChiChi awoke to find herself surrounded by......fog? Picking herself up off the ground, she finds it hard to breath in the atmosphere.

“What.....is this......”

“Well hello there”

Her head whips around, and what she sees is a form heading toward her. She can’t quite make out the details......but as the form comes closer, it looks very familiar

“I’ve been waitin’ fer ya” Finally the form’s face is in view, and......

It’s like looking in a mirror. Save for the eyes, which are a golden yellow. The lookalike also has a wicked grin on her face, one that is very unlike her usual expession.

“Who.....who are.....”

“Kentcha tell?” The face twists into a gross expression. “I’m you, yer true self”

“Y’....ya aint.....”

“Poor ChiChi,” The lookalike takes on a tone that is anything but sympathetic. “No one understands you, do they. But I do. I know all about you. I also know why yer husband ain’t comin’ back."

ChiChi stiffened. “You shut yer--”

"It’s you. Of course. Y’ don’t let him train his son, you kick him out of the house for hours when yer angry, an’ let’s not ferget how ya treated him in the hospital. He’s finally sick of it, sick of you an’ yer shit.”

ChiChi charged at the visage of herself. “You don’t know nothin’!”

The lookalike dodged her attack easily. “Oh, but I do.” ChiChi began attacking the strange lookalike, dealing blow after blow. But the lookalike blocked them all with ease.

Another attack, another block. “Oh, give it up honey. Y’ can’t beat yerself.”

“I--” She was beginning to feel worn out....why was she worn out already? It was hard to breathe......whatever this place was that they were in, it wasn’t easy on the body.

“I know you, an’ I know how you think. Quit denyin’ it. You know why Goku refused t’ come back. An’ he ain’t comin’ back. You already knew exactly why, didn’tcha. I didn’t even need to tell ya.”

“You shut up, shut up shut up!” ChiChi punched the ground.

“Yer son is probably sick of yer shit, too. That’s why he left you to go to Namek. He only came back because he had no choice. I bet he’ll leave the next good chance he gets, too.”

“Shut! Up!” A few tears now found their way down her cheeks, and her whole body felt like it was jerking and shuddering.

“But of course yer family wants t’ get away from you. Yer a cranky, uptight bitch who yells at her husband fer no good reason an’ who is too strict with her son.”

“I’m not--”

“It’s a wonder y’ ever got Goku t’ marry an’ have a child of all things with you. He coulda ended up with someone who wasn’t such a fuckin’ fusspot. But you had t’ go an’ insist that he stick to the promise he made. He’d be way happier without you. I know these things, I am you, after all.”

“No!" She fought back desperately. “I ain’t.....I ain’t any of those thin’s! I... I ain’t a bitch, I ain’t uptight, and you--YOU AIN’T ME!!”

“That,” The shadow grinned, taking on an offensive stance before she came flying at the other woman in a finishing blow. “is exactly what I wanted to hear!”

[lin-kuei-scout]

"Several bad choices have led me to this moment" + Kung Jin

buzzfeed unsolved drabble prompts

The Netherrealm… It wasn't like the place was hard to describe. You could map out its landscape,  warn about the infernal dryness and lack of moisture, underline the nauseating stench of death and decay and charred flesh that permeates the topmost layers of it, mention the perverse whispering and screaming and pleading you hear all around you, long after you leave it…

What you couldn't explain was the way it sunk into your mind, clawed at your soul, whisked away your resolve and burned at your consciousness, threatening to entrap you if you stayed too long. It was something that had to be felt to be truly understood.

And that's why Kung Jin took the dive, alone.

Part stubborn pride, part selflessness, the young kombatant researched all he could on the subject, looking for a means to get in and out undiscovered -- between dealing with Netherrealm's demons, and getting yelled at by General Sonya Blade, he could hardly imagine which one would be worse.

… Actually, he was pretty sure dealing with Raiden would be the worst of all.

But Kung Jin knew they wouldn't understand, and didn't want to understand. 

Ever since Scorpion -- Hanzo, Takeda's voice scolds him -- ever since Hanzo killed Quan Chi, everyone seemingly just gave up on the prospect of bringing the revenants back. In earnest, Kung Jin wondered if they hadn't given up far longer back than they'd ever admit.

Jackson Briggs was a fine living example of the mental torment they'd be forcing the revenants through, and he was dead for a fraction of the time the others were.

But did that mean they had to give up on saving their souls?

Jin didn't think so.

But it wasn't hard to see that outside of hope and prayer, of stubbornly trying to take back what the Netherrealm had stolen from him, he didn't have a solid plan in mind. He was just there, time and time again, observing from a distance, waiting for the time to do… something.

And maybe that's why the serrated edge of a hat's brim stops a hair's width away from the front of his foot, a masked face looking at him with a curious tilt of a head, the distorted voice that spoke to him proud and mocking, contrasting the expression of guilt cast in iron that the revenant wore.

"For a supposed thief, you don't seem to be very good at hiding."

"Uncle Lao, looking as fresh as always -- not that that's saying much." He was fifty-fifty on sticking to being cordial, and just venting his frustrations through his bitter snark as always, so he'd just sit somewhere in the middle for now. "Who said I was hiding?"

"What else would you call these dangerous games you're playing?" Lao reaches out his hand, and the hat flickers, materializing back in his hand just so that he could put it back on, fingertips running over the razor sharp edges in an obvious threat. "Not many come to the Netherrealm for recreational purposes, I'll have to say."

"Yeah, well, I'm not here for the sights." A tense swallow, and Jin offers a shallow bow of his head, not quite taking his eyes off the other for his own sake. "I wanted to talk to you, Kung Lao, without attracting the other's attention."

This does give the revenant pause, and Jin desperately wishes he could actually see the emotions hiding behind that mask, but when his elder runs his thumb over a sharp sawtooth of his hat before ultimately dropping his hand and instead crossing his arms, leaning slightly forward, he hoped he could take that as a sign of intrigue.

"Well, you've got what you wanted. Now what, exactly? Are you looking to question me? See if I'll turn on Liu Kang, as Raiden did? Share earthrealm news, maybe gossip? Genuinely hope you have brought something worth my time, young man."

"... Actually," Jin starts, but then stops, lips pursing as if he was tasting something sour, watching the other behave as he was, but at the exaggerated, arrogant huff that Kung Lao offers, Jin takes a breath and starts over. "... I was hoping I could train with you, even if just once." That halts the smugness in the other's posture, for a brief moment, and it gives Jin the mental fortitude to keep going. "It would be a great honor, Uncle Lao. Both as a follower of the White Lotus, and as your kin."

Even the constant, mad whisperings that muffled every thought in the Netherrealm seemingly quieted in that moment, and all that Kung Jin could hear was his own hesitant heartbeat -- but his face stayed honest and determined. If this one request failed, then he would have to leave, and try to think of another approach.

The question that surged, then, was would he ever get another chance to speak to Kung Lao?

"... You're actually serious, aren't you? I know everyone in this bloodline is stubborn, but this is a whole new level." Lao then takes the liberty to approach his nephew, circle him with a fighter's apprehension, and Jin does his best to not twitch. "Who goes to the Netherrealm for a spar? Willingly? Alone? Does anyone else know you're here? Would anyone miss you, if I killed you here?"

"When you put it that way, it does sound like a bad idea, huh. Who would've known?" Jin thinks of testing how far he can stretch his snarky attitude, but ultimately drops it when Lao comes to a full stop in front of him, still silent, and anxiety spurs him to keep talking. "Look, several bad choices have led me to this moment, Kung Lao, but I don't regret a single one of them. I am here under my own volition. If anyone else knew I was doing this, well… it wouldn't be the first time they'd berate me."

Bitterness sneaks into his tone, and Jin clenches his fists. He knows they mean well, but he can't deny that he only acts out as he does because no one trusts him to begin with. You'd think talking down the Emperor of Outworld would show you were more than a hot-headed punk, and yet --

"Now you're just trying to make me feel bad. Have to say, that's a new approach."

Jin huffs, rolling his eyes at the revenant. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad, I'm just saying. I came here alone because I respect you, and I wanted to see if there was any chance you could train me. If you're not interested, I can leave you alone."

"Who said I wasn't interested?" The hard poke to Jin's chest, forcing him to stumble half a step back as the meaning of that reply hit him. He was hoping for it, yes, but admittedly he didn't think he'd be actually hearing it. "If you actually respected me, you'd stop assuming things on my part."

"... Sorry, didn't mean to imply anything either way. Does that mean --"

"It's not like I have anything better to do, being stuck in Hell and all." The voice means to be scathing, Jin is sure, but he can hear genuine entertainment ring through it, a small sense of pride at being sought out. And Jin could understand why. While he himself was stuck in Kung Lao's shadow in life, he could hardly imagine what it would be like to be stuck in Liu Kang's shadow even in death.

"Thank you, Uncle Lao. You won't regret this."

"Oh, I know. You might, however."

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 2: Street Business

Narrated by Helz.

Landlord: I’ll take the building back next week. Pack your bags. You lose less money if you shut it down soon.

Narrator: The landlord finally leaves with his megaphone, and I fall, exhausted, onto the sofa.

Helz: 10,000 diamonds for three months... Can you really get that within a week?

Narrator: The clothing store is quiet, as usual, with no customers.

Narrator: The window is clean with the sun shining in. Even from the outside you see the beautiful goods through it.

Narrator: Because I clean the store every day.

Narrator: Woolen plaid overcoat, cat-printed T-shirt... designer collaborations are all neatly displayed in the store.

Narrator: I had placed as many different styles of clothing as possible in the limited space.

Narrator: Walking up the stairs, I see the slim dress twinkle like stars in the light. The jewelry is worn elegantly on the mannequin.

Narrator: Priced at 8,999 diamonds, designed a year after I returned here from Lodden, this is to show my taste as the store owner.

Narrator: Everything looks perfect.

Helz: What went wrong?

Unknown Voice: Helz! What are you doing? Have you sold my clothes?

Narrator: I look back and see Chi Xiaoyu, my good friend, selling her clothes on consignment in the clothing store for free.

Helz: ...There’s no one here. Who do I sell them to...

Chi Xiaoyu: I knew it.

Helz: Why? What went wrong?

Chi Xiaoyu: Everything okay?

Chi Xiaoyu: Insufficient funds, limited clothing styles, high rent, low customer interest, the quick passing of seasons...

Helz: Hold on! I’m to be blamed for the changing of seasons?

Chi Xiaoyu: Of course! It’s almost fall and you still have summer clothes in the store.

Narrator: I am even more discouraged by what Chi Xiaoyu said.

Choose either “Just shut down the store” or “So your clothing store is that bad...”

If “shut down,” ...

You: It does sound like a lot of problems, so let’s just shut it down.

Narrator: NO!!!

If “that bad,” ...

You: I didn’t expect your clothing store would be this bad...

Narrator: I didn’t expect it either...

--

Helz: So what am I supposed to do now?

Narrator: I sit down frustrated and begin to think about a plan after the store closes.

Chi Xiaoyu: I know what to do.

Narrator: Chi Xiaoyu holds her head high, showing a determined look.

Helz: What shall I do?

Narrator: She shakes her head and does not answer.

Helz: ...O great new designer of Cloud Empire, what should I do now?

Chi Xiaoyu: Now you’re talking. I have experience promoting and improving traditional Cloud-style clothing. I’m sure that I can help.

Narrator: Shadow Square afternoon.

Helz: Chi Xiaoyu, are we really doing this?

Chi Xiaoyu: Of course!

Narrator: We brought our unsold clothes to Shadow Square. Chi Xiaoyu taught me an exaggerated dance.

Chi Xiaoyu: Here we go. One! Two! Three! Go!

Narrator: ...For the sake of Apple Federation Apparel Group!

Helz: Come and see! Apple Federation’s largest clothing shop! The largest! We’re having a sale!

Chi Xiaoyu: Any style, any clothing, only 100 diamonds!

Helz: You can’t waste money on this! It won’t happen again!

Narrator: I shout and I dance as hard as I could.

Narrator: When I opened a clothing store, I fantasized about my successful career countless times.

Narrator: I sat in such a large office, the French window reflecting the city.

Narrator: I picked up the phone and smiled helplessly.

Helz: Sorry, the Apple Federation Apparel Group doesn’t need someone like you.

Narrator: But now, I”m dancing with an overly energetic girl in the square, shouting slogans and setting up a stall.

Narrator: Is this so-called cruel reality?

Unknown Voice: What is this? A big sale?

Narrator: It already has gotten us in trouble rather than bring in customers. A gangster-looking teenager stands in front of our stall.

Chi Xiaoyu: If you don’t buy anything, please don’t block us.

Scornful Youth: Pshh! Why don’t I see any customers here?

Scornful Youth: There’s no such thing as success for stupid people. If you work more, you lose more.

Helz: You!

Scornful Youth: Me? What about me?

Narrator: What do you mean by work more, lose more?!

Narrator: The landlord and this gangster said the same thing... I won’t let it happen!

Narrator: I was so angry that I punched him.

Scornful Youth: You hit me! How dare you!

Narrator: We wrestle with each other, and Chi Xiaoyu cheers for me.

Chi Xiaoyu: Here at Apple Federation’s largest clothing group! A fight!

Chi Xiaoyu: Cheer for the store owner, and get 100 diamonds!

Narrator: It wasn’t long before the three of us were arrested together by the manager of Shadow Square.

Woman Manager: How can you guys fight in public?

Woman Manager: And Master Shawn! Can you make less trouble for the CEO We can’t explain this to him.

Narrator: Chi Xiaoyu and I look at each other, then look at the gangster.

Shawn: They got in my way... There’s nothing I hate more than stupid people.

Chi Xiaoyu: Shadow Square does belong to his family...

Helz: We can’t set up a stall there after this.

Narrator: I felt frustrated as if I had seen the sad closing of the store.

Narrator: I looked around blankly until I saw a poster in the office.

Poster: Shadow Shares looking for fashion business partners! Naming priority, free clothing promotion, 10,000 diamonds to purchase prize copyright!

Narrator: ...10,000 diamonds. That’s three months worth of rent...

Narrator: And exactly what I need!

Helz: I want to do this. I want to be a business partner of Shadow Shares!

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

[supertvngames]

What are the Sonic and Dragon Ball comparisons you agree with? What are the ones you feel that are a miss hit?

Ones I agree with:

Sonic and Goku: Because, they’re the main heroes who yearn for excitement and challenges, both fulfill an ancient prophecy of becoming Super, they hunt down magical jewelries, they even get carried away at times.

Amy and Chi-Chi: They were in love with the main hero after getting to know to them after a brief time, they have skills in cooking, they have troubles with the first once-threatening redeemed partner (that’s the best way to describe Knuckles and Piccolo), and even have short tempers.

Tails and Gohan: Because, they’re family to the main heroes, they are often seen with the main hero, hero’s love interest, and the first once-threatening redeemed partner. Not to mention they got screwed over... A LOT.

Knuckles and Piccolo: They were once threatening enemies to the main heroes until later on, they learn to become fully bond with their team, more specifically the main hero and the prodigal young hero. They also are the comically serious type in comedies.

Shadow and Vegeta: Once villains become anti-heroes, they did attempt to destroy the Earth especially with a suicide solution, they turn their backs on the conquest-seeking villains (Eggman and Frieza), they interact with the macguffin hunter characters after their revival (Rouge and Bulma), they later on appreciate those around them (Team Dark & other heroes, and family & Z-Fighters). They even have low tolerance for the main heroes’ behaviors. Not to mention they gotten exaggerated writing even after their heel-turn.

Rouge and Bulma: They are quite resourceful, they flirt with people, they even search for mystical items at times. They became close and caring to the 2nd once-threatening ally after their revival, they even treat them to heal and invite them to their house, and fully bond with them.

Silver and Trunks: I think it’s obvious since they’re characters came from the future to prevent an apocalyptic disaster. They fought the main hero and 2nd once-threatening ally. They lost their first friend to the threat of their timeline. They rather get the job than sit around.

Missed ones:

Eggman and Frieza: They seek conquest, they even use the mystical items for their benefits. They are recurring villains to the main heroes, even hate their guts. They even cause the said heroes to go Super in the first place. As well as they’re the villains with a losing streak, their plans have been foiled time to time. And have awesome laughs: OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!

Mighty and Krillin: They’re a year older than the main heroes and their close best friends, they have a sense of protection to the ones they care and value a lot. They can be daring when time has come, they get carried away once someone they care gets hurt or are in danger, so pissing them off is not a good idea. As well as they have shiny heads.

Mephiles/Iblis/Solaris and Goku Black/Zamasu: They’re deities that have the power to travel different timelines, have god complex, have hatred for mortals, and even became reality itself. They’re personal villains to the first Super trio. They result with fusion to get the job. They no longer exist.

Eggman Nega and Frost: Recolor and edit different dimension beings of the infamous villains we loved, except no charm at all.

[shockapella-sweet]

I know that sounds a bit silly, but can you write a happy drabble about Sindel. I'm sad about what they've done to her recently.

It’s not silly at all, Nonny. :) I was delighted to get the request (because I’m still mad about how Sindel was handled in MK11, and I needed to get some feels out of my system).

Sorry it took a while to write, but here it finally is, with Kitana for good measure (and a happier timeline because we all deserve one). Thanks for waiting for it, and I hope it helps in cheering you up.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“Darling, please keep your head still.”

The small, dark-haired head beneath the older woman’s fingertips refused to obey. Bobbing her chin and swinging her legs in time to a rhythm of her own making, the little girl to whom the head belonged let out an indignant mewl as the bristles of a hairbrush scraped against her scalp. Tilting her neck back, she looked up at the woman from under long, dark lashes; her eyes – large, and a soft, citrine shade of brown – were watery with discomfort.

“That hurt, Mummy,” she whined, an exaggerated sniff following after.

Sindel resisted the urge to smile at this display of dramatics.

“If you keep your head still, Kitana, then it won’t hurt at all,” she replied, almost curt. “Brushing your hair would be much easier if you just don’t move at all.”

“But you and Papa are always telling me that moving is good,” her daughter argued, pouting. “You and Papa get cross at me when I’m not moving, but then you both get cross at me for moving anyway. Why can’t grown-ups make up their minds?”

“Well, I cannot speak for your father,” murmured Sindel, “but I can tell you, darling, that whatever words I say to you at any given time, I say them only because I care about you.”

“If you really, really care, then please leave my hair alone. It hurts when you brush it.”

Sindel raised an elegant eyebrow. “Don’t you trust your mother?”

Kitana said nothing; instead, she shook her head, before shyly tucking her chin into her chest with an audible yet slightly nervous giggle.

The corners of Sindel’s lips lifted upwards. Gently, she threaded her slender fingers through the child’s hair, the black strands looping around the pale digits like fine threads wound around needles.

“I do not ever want to hurt you … you know that, hmm?” she said.

“I know, Mummy,” was the almost muffled response.

“So will you let me finish brushing your hair? Please, Kitana?”

Several seconds passed before the girl did what her mother asked. Lifting her chin, she straightened herself in her seat, looking right ahead with those large eyes at a spot on the wall of her chambers, trying her best not to wince as the bristles threatened to brush closely against her skin. For one so small, there was a regal air about her that would befit a fully-fledged queen.

Indeed, as Sindel brushed out her hair, she thought that her daughter – who was dressed in a fine frock of blue satin, her petite and delicate hands encased in white lace gloves, and her silk-enshrouded feet covered by dainty black slippers – looked every bit like a queen should be tonight.

And what is a queen without her crowning glory? Sindel thought as she fashioned the hair into a bun atop her head. Securing it with a hair-tie, as well as a stick the colour of sapphire, she tucked an escaping lock behind her left ear.

“It is done, Kitana,” she declared, pressing a kiss to the child’s temple. “No more brushing for you tonight.”

Kitana beamed. Jumping out of her seat, and standing at the height of her mother’s knees, she looked up at the taller woman with eyes that now twinkled like gems embedded in earth.

“That didn’t hurt much this time,” she replied, grinning. “I didn’t cry out or anything!”

“What a brave girl you were,” Sindel cooed, returning her grin with one of her own. “Thank you for trusting in me.”

“I trusted you lots and lots and lots. Do you trust Papa lots, too, when he brushes your hair?”

“Not as much as I should,” her mother admitted, running a hand through her own magnificent mane. If not at all. My hair, I leave in no one’s hands but my own. “Speaking of your father, we do not want to keep him waiting. The gala is about to begin in a few minutes. He will want to see how you look before then.”

“I hope he thinks I’m beautiful,” said Kitana, practically bouncing up and down on the spot.

Taking one of those gloved hands into her own, Sindel responded:

“Trust your mother, darling – you are beautiful to us always.”

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Somewhere in the palace of a faraway realm, two women were alone together.

One was dressed in plush purple finery from her neck down to her feet, with her hair trailing down in an endless waterfall of black and grey; regality radiated from her upstanding form, but her perfectly sculpted face bore an expression that exuded a befuddling combination of warmth and concern.

She stood behind the other woman, who sat before a vanity table and was swathed in the soft, cerulean glow of a satin gown. Her thick black tresses were bound together in a neat high bun, which was secured in place with a decadent hair stick. Her features – not unlike that of the standing woman – were both round and sharp at the edges, but the sense of serenity that crossed it gave her countenance a smooth appearance. The eyes, lined with dark lashes, were as brown and lustrous as smoky quartz that had just been unearthed.

Sindel smiled, albeit unsurely.

“Are you ready, Kitana?” she asked.

Her daughter lifted her chin. Her eyes locked with Sindel’s reflection in the mirror.

“You know what the answer to that question is, Mother,” she replied, her velvety tone low.

Do I really?

The shadow of a smirk made itself known on Kitana’s lips, as if she heard the thought.

“I am more than ready,” she declared.

Sindel gently twirled an elusive strand around her finger before tucking it behind Kitana’s right ear. Her chest rose with a quiet sigh. Kitana chuckled lightly.

“Mother, you worry me when you are worried. Tell me, what else can I say to make you calm? Tell me, and I shall say them.”

Sindel tried to appear relaxed.

“Tell me that I can still brush your hair after you have wedded,” she answered.

Another chuckle, but louder.

“Oh please! Don’t you trust me, your own daughter – the reigning queen of Edenia, mind – to brush my own hair?”

The former Edenian monarch laughed with her, but soon took on a sober disposition. Staring into her daughter’s reflected eyes, she made her solemn reply:

“Darling, I trusted you when you fought to set us free from the influence of Quan Chi’s dark magic, and when you helped to liberate us from the Netherrealm. I had complete faith in you when you contested Kotal Kahn’s rule and assumed Outword’s throne. I trusted your judgement when you seceded the realms that made up Outworld’s empire, leaving them to be ruled by others – Kotal Kahn included.”

A pause. “When you took your place as Edenia’s queen – when you promised to lead and serve its people, a vow that myself, your father and many others before you swore to honour – I readily stepped aside, because my faith in you was so strong.”

Another pause, but longer than the first. Then, Sindel spoke again, her voice thick: “When Raiden’s champion asked for your hand, and you obliged him … well, what is a mother to do but trust her child? It would be a slight against the Elder Gods themselves to clip the wings of a swan, and so I abide your decision to wed this day.”

Kitana’s countenance faltered. Her eyes creased as they narrowed, taking on a damp shine.

“Oh, Mother … this marriage worries you so much?”

Sindel tilted her head, a sad smile painted upon her lips.

“No … I am more worried about who will brush your hair now. You are hopeless at it.”

Kitana blinked, before issuing a short bark of laughter. Small teardrops formed like pearls at the edges of her gaze.

“I am not so hopeless at it now, not when I had you to teach me,” she whispered.

Sindel said nothing, but the glimmer in her iridescent globes said it all.

As Kitana dabbed at her eyes, her mother turned her attention to a small, velvet pillow that lay on the table beside the hairbrush. Lying atop the pillow, looking resplendent in the light, was a circlet of platinum. With careful hands, she lifted it up, regarding it at all angles for a few moments. Then, when Kitana’s eyes were finally dry, she slowly set the circlet upon her daughter’s dark head.

Kitana started. “You don’t have to –”

“Keep your head still at once.”

The queen stopped and obeyed, staring ahead.

A queen you may be, but you are still my child.

Straightening the circlet, Sindel appraised her daughter’s reflection and nodded.

“Now you are ready,” she proclaimed. “Truly a queen and her crowning glory – Edenia has never seen a finer ruler.”

In one swift, languid movement, Kitana got up from her seat and stood before her realm’s former sovereign, matching her in height. Nary a ripple was seen as she moved, for her gown hugged every inch of her lithe figure. Dipping her head, she looked up at Sindel from under her lashes.

“Liu Kang and I will make sure to stand by the ideals that you and father had set,” she intoned. “All that I do, I do so to honour you and … and Papa.”

The hesitation was not lost on Sindel, who took hold of Kitana’s wrists, pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her forehead. When she pulled back, her face shone with pride and fondness.

“I know, Kitana. Jerrod knows you do, too, and wherever his soul resides, he remains proud of you. But whatever the path you choose to take from this day forth, be assured that you are doing right by us, doing right by your people, and most importantly, doing right by yourself, no matter what.”

Kitana dipped her head again, the elusive strand brushing against her jawline.

“Thank you, Mother.”

Sindel reached out towards the strand, but at the last second let her hand fall to her side. She grinned.

“My beautiful queen. Your father would have dropped to his knees and thanked the Elder Gods for giving him a wonderful daughter if he were here to see you now on this special day.”

Kitana giggled. “You think so?”

Sindel nodded.

“Trust your mother, darling.”

With that, she took Kitana’s hand into her own, gave it a gentle squeeze, and led her out of the chambers towards a future free of uncertainty, full of promise, and as everlasting as the light of a thousand burning suns.

And for their child, a mother could not ask for anything more.

[mingi-bubu]

I’m Slowly Diving, I Can’t Let You Go

Lian Huaiwei x Reader

angst, unrequited pining (but is it really?), friends to friends? to lovers, directly interacts with Junjie and Hanyu’s scenarios

qcynario masterlist ^-^

part i | part ii | part iii

Huaiwei clears his throat and takes a step back, allowing you room to breathe.  He lets go of your wrist and asks, “Are you okay, YN?”

You let out an awkward laugh, grimacing at the sound.  “I’m fine, Xi-,” you cut yourself off, “Huaiwei.  I’m just not feeling well.”

He doesn’t reply, just looks at you, and you feel like a sample under a microscope.

“You still have it,” he says quietly, frowning slightly in confusion.

You tilt your head, mimicking his expression, wondering what he means.  You know you should go, but God, talking to him after so long... You feel your teeth ache with longing to go into his arms like before, to look next to you and have his shadow resting by yours.

“My hoodie,” he says, gesturing at the green hoodie you were wearing.

“Oh,” you say.  The both of you stand there in silence awkwardly before you continue, “Do... Do you want it back or...?”  You pull the front of it out a little bit for lack of anything better to do with your hands.  Two students pass you, eyeing the exchange oddly.

You see Huaiwei’s ears turn red in embarrassment as he shakes his head and hands, “No!  Uh, I mean, no, it’s, um, yours.  You look better in it.”

You roll your lips into your mouth wishing you were literally anywhere else.  “Well, um, I just,” you gesture to the now empty hall behind you.  You take a few steps back, willing the conversation to end there.

“No, yeah, of course, if you aren’t feeling well,” he says, letting you take the obvious out.  You give him a jerky nod before turning and continuing your walk down the hall.  Maybe going back to the apartment was a better idea.  The tension there cannot be worse than whatever is happening here.  You make it maybe halfway to your escape, or um rather, to the door to the steps outside when you hear him call your name again.

You don’t turn around to face him, instead just stand in the middle of the hallway.  His voice is still far from you as he says, “Why... Why didn’t you ever text me back after that day?”  You pull on your backpack straps and walk away, leaving the silence ringing in both of your ears.

--

“I don’t like looking next to me and not seeing you with me,” he admits quietly, staring at the cracks in the sidewalk.

“It’s only been a few days, Huaiwei,” you chide gently, a fond smile accompanying laughter.

He slings an arm around your shoulder, pulling you in close.  You soak in the warmth of his smile and wrap your arm around his waist.  “A few days too many, YN.  A few days too many.”

“So how were those ‘few days too many’ without me while I was visiting my parents?”  You ask, trying to match your steps with his, fingers tightening in the fabric of his coat unconsciously when you messed up.

He whines about only having Yao Chi to hang out with, which you know was a lie; you saw Hanyu’s social media updates. The four of them, Hanyu, Yao Chi, Junjie, and Huaiwei, had spent the time together gaming and then getting dragged around by Yao Chi so he could practice his photography skills for his cousin’s wedding at the end of the month.  You roll your eyes jokingly when he starts dramatically monologing about the feeling of being abandoned.

“Oh my God, you’re so dramatic, Wei,” you pull away from him and push him gently to sit on one of the park benches.  He propped his chin on his hands, staring at you in amusement as you adopted a haughty and, arguably much more dramatic, posture.  “This,” you say in an exaggerated tone, “is how you do drama!”

You recite a few lines from the drama you were watching with your roommates and in the middle of your speech, Huaiwei mumbles something.  You lean towards him, stepping closer, and hold a hand to your ear.  “What did you say, Xiao Lian?”  You singsong with a smile, your eyes crinkling as well, but it slowly falls away when you see his serious expression.

He takes your wrist, pulls you into his lap, and buries his head between your shoulder blades. “Why is it so hard to be friends with you?”  He repeats, clearly this time.  Your heart stops at his next words, “I can’t just be friends with you!”

Your hands cover his that were wrapped around your waist.  Your voice comes out shaky as you say, “What are you talking about?”  You pray to any gods listening that you are wrong.  “What do you mean?”

You feel him lift his head and he tries to catch your hand in his.  “What if I want something more?”

You close your eyes as visions of what could be flash through your mind.  To say you had never looked at Huaiwei in a romantic way would be a lie.  He’s handsome and respectful and caring and funny.  Of course you had thought about him like that, of what kissing him would be like.  Of what holding his hand and having it mean something would be like.  Your hands tighten around his.  But your old fears creep in, turning comforting thoughts into a twisted farce.  You curse Dejun as you tell Huaiwei no.  You don’t think he heard you the first time so you repeat it again.  “No...No...”  Your voice is weak, your throat tightening with emotion.

You pull at Huaiwei’s arms, trying to escape his embrace.  What was once a safe haven is now a rocky shore, and you were the boat helpless against the oncoming storm.

“What are you so afraid of!?”  He asks, letting you go.  You quickly scramble to your feet and take a few steps away from him, turning away slightly.  You feel the bite of the winter’s air more strongly now that you were out of Huaiwei’s embrace.

Taking a deep, quivering breath you say, “What if I loose you, Wei?”  You watch the cloud of your breath dissipate in the cold afternoon.  “What do I do then!?”  Your question comes out louder than you intended, startling you.

Huaiwei stands up and walks slowly towards you, taking your cold hand in his again when he gets close enough.  His tone is gentle, eyes soft, as he says, “You aren’t going to lose me, YN.”  He laughs helplessly at the end of his sentence, as if the thought hadn’t even occurred to him.

You want so badly to believe him, every single bone in your body crying out to just relax into his hold, to let him catch you when you fall.  To let him love you the way that you want to be, the way that you deserve to be, loved.  But you remember how you had thought you wouldn’t lose Dejun either.  The cold stare of his dark eyes, the anger in his tone... You barely made it through that with Dejun.  You can’t imagine how much worse it would be with Huaiwei.  You don’t know how much it would break you.  “You don’t know that, Huaiwei,” you say.  You can feel the tears starting to form, your vision growing more blurry by the second.

He takes your other hand and pulls them to his heart, the warmth of his body radiating from under his hoodie, his coat open to the winter cold.  His hands are cold but they feel like you are being burned.  He brings your hands to his lips and murmurs against them, “Yes, YN, I do.”  His eyes are so earnest, his entire being radiating love and hope.

And you, God, you were going to kill his smile with one fell swoop.  “No.”  You reply, and even to your own ears you sound unsure.  Clearing your throat, you take a step back, your hands slipping from his, his fingers lingering as long as they could against yours.  “I can’t do this.  I’m sorry.”  You feel the tears slip down your face, the wind biting at the trail they leave behind.  You start walking away, still facing him, and repeat yourself.  “Huaiwei, I’m sorry.”

After all, what can you say when you extinguish the sun?

--

Instead of going to the library, you decide on just going back to your apartment instead.  That interaction with Huaiwei jarred you and you just wanted to curl up into a ball under your blankets and maybe stare blankly at the wall for a few hours.  But, you decide, I don’t need to head back immediately...

You wander around campus for a while, stopping briefly for a small lunch at the sushi place on campus with the hanging fish sign.  Eventually you stop procrastinating the inevitable and start for your apartment.  On your way back, though, you make a detour at a corner convenience shop and grab some of Baatjih’s favorite foods.  And then thinking about how you had treated Xiao Yang, you grab a few of their favorite snacks as well.  After paying, you leave and find yourself waiting at the corner, waiting for the crosswalk sign to turn, with an elderly woman.  She has a bundle in her arms and seems to be shying away from the cold.

“Grandma, are you alright?  Do you need help crossing the street?”  You ask, already shifting your bags to one hand to assist her.

She turns to you, a smile on her face.  “Thank you, dear, but I believe I’ll be fine.”

You open your mouth to respond but fall short at the sight of the bundle in her arms.  It was...An iguana?  Wrapped in a tan little blanket?

“Um, yes, of course, okay,” you sputter, still in confusion.

“This is Liè Xī,” she tells you, tilting her head down towards the iguana.

She... She named her iguana “Iguana”?  What kind of Zhang Yixing nonsense- “Ah,” you say, giving her a confused smile.  “Nice to meet you, Liè Xī.”

The iguana stared at you, its eyes unblinking.  You were saved from having to make more small talk with the lizard when the light changed.  Despite the old woman’s rejection of your offer, you still walk with her across the street, just in case.  She parts with you at the opposite corner, thanking you, before turning to the right to continue on her own path.  You stare after her for a few seconds, still trying to wrap your head around the iguana thing, but shake it off and continue forward.

You can’t wait to tell your roommates what you just saw.

--

Walking into the apartment was akin to that of walking in on a date.  The smell of food danced in the air as piano jazz music played softly in the background.  You heard voices laughing and chatting and you wonder if you were in the right apartment for a moment.  Glancing down at the shoes scattered by the door assures you that you are.  Frowning in confusion, you take off your shoes and slowly make your way to the kitchen with the intent to put the groceries away.  You pause when you hear a familiar laugh coming from the dining area followed by Baatjih’s voice.

“I’m going to get some more wine, does anyone else want anything?”  A chorus of no’s ring out and you scurry towards the kitchen, trying to keep the bags from rustling too much.

You make it to the kitchen before Baatjih and are in the process of setting the groceries down when they enter.  They look happy, a drastic difference from that morning.  Their eyes are glowing and the apples of their cheeks seem to be pulled up in a permanent smile.  It’s almost like a weight has been lifted from their shoulders.  You smile reflexively, seeing your roommate and friend look so happy, before you remember how the morning had gone.  Your smile falls and your eyes drift to your hands, still holding the bags.

Baatjih watched you as you opened your mouth a few times to say something, anything, to apologize.  “I got you some more apples and more of that grass jelly drink you like and-”  You stop rambling when Baatjih’s warm hand covers your cold ones.

“YN,” they say, tilting their head to catch your eye, “I forgive you.”

The weight that had been crushing your ribs the entire day lifted and you look at them, hopeful.  “You’re positive?“

Baatjih laughs, wrapping their arms around you, pulling you in for a hug.  “Absolutely.  Now, hurry up and help me bring more drinks to the table.  We’ve just started eating dinner.”

You laugh too, accepting the hug gratefully.  “Who’s ‘we’?”  You ask, quickly unpacking the groceries while Baatjih searches for the wine.

“Me, Xiao Miemie, Hanyu, and Junjie.”

You nod, placing the grass jelly drinks in the fridge.  “Wait, what?”  You say into the fridge, the sentence finally registering in your mind.

“Aha!”  You turn around to see Baatjih holding a wine bottle aloft in victory.  Refocusing on you, they say, “I told Junjie how I felt.”

You felt like that blinking white guy gif, trying to absorb the information.  Baatjih watches you, amused.  “Oh my God!”  You run up to them, giving Baatjih a strong hug.  “I am so happy for you.”  When you pull back from the hug, you can see that Baatjih’s eyes are a little wet.  You sure that you look the same, so incredibly pleased for your friend.  As you walk back with them to the dining room, however, you can’t help but feel an ache in your heart.

You don’t think about it further; you already know who it’s for.  You press your tongue to the back of your teeth, pushing the feeling down.  You were not going to ruin tonight.

“Look who showed up!”  A loud welcome from the other three people at the table and a glass of wine with amazing food (courtesy of Xiao Yang and Hanyu) had comfort settling in your bones.

You ignore the feeling of loneliness as you sit there, bracketed on either side by the couples.

It is enough in this moment to be surrounded by your friends.

It has to be.

[ducktracy]

140. porky’s poultry plant (1936)

release date: august 22nd, 1936

series: looney tunes

director: frank tashlin

starring: joe dougherty (porky), tedd pierce (rooster)

a cartoon with a number of important firsts! starting with the most obvious: this is frank tashlin’s first cartoon! he was only 23 at the time. he worked at schlesinger’s as an animator from 1933-1934, but got fired after leon schlesinger wanted a cut of tashlin’s comic (titled van boring, a play on his former boss van beuren) and tashlin told him to go to hell. after floating around from ub iwerks and hal roach’s studios, tashlin returned to schlesinger’s in 1936 to replace jack king. tashlin would leave once more in 1938 after an argument with executive henry binder, working at disney and returning once more to schlesinger’s in 1942, leaving in 1944 (his cartoons running from 1943-1946) to head into the movie business. one of my favorite directors for sure with his sharp eye for cinematography and liberal use of line of action and dynamics.

another important first is that this is carl stalling’s first cartoon at warner bros! to label stalling as a genius would be an understatement. composing for over 600 cartoons and staying all the way until 1958, his scores greatly enhanced the impact of so many cartoons. his biggest shtick was accompanying scenes with literal, appropriate scores—if a character strikes it rich, “we’re in the money” would play. any scene involving a tree was usually accompanied by “in the shade of the old apple tree”. a character is hunting, you can count on an underscore of “a-hunting we will go”. it seems simple, but stalling pulled it off amazingly well and his music is an absolute delight to listen to.

in regards to the synopsis: porky’s been struggling with a declining population of chickens thanks to some hungry hawks. when another hawk snatches a chick, porky is determined to reunite the baby with its mother by any means necessary.

15 seconds in and frank tashlin already works his cinematography magic with this amazing pan. pan across an aerial view of a big farm, focusing on a line of chicken coops. we hone in on a flag that triumphantly reads “porky’s poultry plant”, a wonderful pan sliding down the pole and to the coops themselves as a leisurely rooster make his way out of the coop, yawning and stretching. he wanders over to a crate situated behind a microphone and a music stand, stepping on the crate and flipping the music open to reveille. a few clears of the throat and hearty slaps to the sides later, the rooster clucks reveille over the PA system.

one by one the hatch doors are opened from the coops, all sorts of birds streaming out. chickens, ducks, geese, you name it. elsewhere, porky himself steps out onto his porch and revels in the freshness of a new day. he stretches and announces (stutters) “boy, what a day!” the animation is truly hilarious as porky beats his chest repeatedly, so hard that he ends up in the midst of a coughing fit. he grins sheepishly at the audience and jogs away offscreen—a great first impression by tashlin.

porky pours some fresh seed into a tin pan from a chute, scattering it along the ground, calling for the animals to come and get it. all the chi-chi-chicks and du-du-ducks and gee-gee-geese come running, followed by a poor little chick who keeps getting swept up in the stampede. the animation of all of the animals running towards the feed is very smooth and satisfying to watch.

the birds move in droves, zigzagging in one giant pecking pack as porky tosses the seed back and forth on the ground. again, great animation. very frenzied with a lot going on. i’d hate to be the one animating it! the poor chick tries its damnest to get some food, but continues to get run over by the starving stampede. porky notices and frowns at the gaggle, but an idea hatches. he scoops a heaping handful of seed into his hand and fakes the birds out by pretending to throw it. the birds fall for it, running away, and porky pours the handful of food down just for the chick, who inhales it immediately and swells up like a tiny balloon.

more barnyard gags ensue. a duck scrapes corn off the cob with its beak in rows, porky feeds a gaggle of geese who get their long necks tied together in the midst of the rush (including a neat shot of porky tossing feed directly at the audience), and so on. a few chicks follow some worms who dive in their holes, and porky, grabbing a funnel, plays it like a pipe and acts like a snake charmer (porky the worm charmer!), the worms writhing out of the ground and getting sucked into the chicks’ mouths. this gag would be traced over in clampett’s chicken jitters, including a slightly incongruous large porky body with his smaller, more refined 1939 head.

transition to a much more somber mood. we see a poster with the profile of a hen on it reading “OLGA—STOLEN BY HAWK APRIL 6, 1936”. another hawknapped hen by the name of dorothy. we zoom out to see a teary eyed porky mourning the loss of his precious hens (one of them named petunia, sharing the name of porky’s girlfriend also created by tashlin in porky’s romance.) porky’s remorse fades to vengeance as he now confronts a giant poster with a menacing hawk on it (looks more like a vulture to me), hilariously labeled “PUBLIC CHICKEN ENEMY No. 1”. porky vows to exact revenge: “i’ll get you yet, you old buzzard!”

just the time to fade to a hawk floating around in the sky, searching for its next victim. it looks down at the ground and is immediately pleased, licking its chops in anticipation. it circles around an oblivious hen, who’s minding her business, pecking at the ground with her children nearby. clever staging as she spots the shadow of the overhead hawk and panics, attempting to wrangle her children as the hawk settles into a nosedive. porky spots the hawk and immediately runs to turn the crank on the “hawk alarm” (a siren.) panic and crisis ensues as all of the birds scramble to take shelter as the hawk zooms overhead. the speed isn’t as exaggerated as it could be (a small nitpick), but the sense of urgency is very much present.

the hawk has a particular chick cornered, dashing back and forth between the fence as the hawk’s shadow follows. now we have some nice exaggeration and speed as porky repeatedly fires a rifle, the impact so tremendous that he’s sent whirring backwards through a pond like a speedboat and sent crashing into an apple tree. tentatively, all of the birds poke their heads out of their respective hiding places to see if the coast is clear. it appears so. the mother hen is relieved... until she isn’t. she panics, hurriedly counting how many of her children are present. one appears to be missing. we see that the hawk overhead now has her missing chick in the safety of its talons.

now in a hysteric frenzy, the hen rushes up to porky, clucking like mad. a very clever decision to have her clucks briefly morph into decipherable english: “oh, my baby! oooooh, porky! look! look look look!” she points upwards, and porky does a take. he immediately rushes inside the barn to get something.

what follows is a sequence with nonstop great animation. we start with a straight in view as an airplane barrels towards the screen, the plane flying upward and curving slightly towards the camera before settling, porky inside. the plane feels very volumetric and three dimensional, and the animation is just mesmerizing. the hawk recognizes he has someone on its tail and panics—excessive bullets fired from porky don’t fare well either. we have some more stunningly beautiful camera angles as porky follows the hawk, shooting the tail feathers off of the hawk. the scene is urgent, fun, captivating, and exhilarating.

desperate, the hawk calls for help. a nearby flock of hawks overhear and follow, all taking off like airplanes and using a cliff as a runway. now porky is outnumbered. if the population of his foes wasn’t enough of a reminder that he’s being hunted, pulling his tail repeatedly serves as another suitable reminder. the hawks taunt porky, each plucking at his tail before dropping him back in the plane. another beautiful angle (this time an undershot) as we view the hawks bombing porky with a barrage of eggs.

more creative (and unseen) animation as porky ushers the hawks into a cloud, firing his gun. the camera jolts back and forth, back and forth, our only context clues being gunfire, crowing, and a chorus of “ow!”s. with that, porky comes out of the clouds the way he came, the hawks trailing HIM and now armed with his gun. the bullets spray the propeller, reducing it to nothing. some dizzying angles as porky is plummeting straight to the ground. a great number of shots one after the other, not even a second long. the chickens, porky, the laughing hawks, and then an upshot of a windmill. porky crashes straight into the windmill, which proves to be a worthy substitute for a propeller, the windmill blades situated right where the propeller used to be. porky is now back on track.

a scene that reminds me of many of tex avery’s “interlude” gags (like the train sequence in porky the wrestler, though to a much lesser extent), the hawks now form a huddle and converse. thus sparks a game of football, the rooster at the PA system from before (vocals by tedd pierce) providing the riveting commentary. hilarious animation as two hawks play monkey in the middle with porky, using the defenseless, unmoving chick as a ball. unfortunately for the hawks, one of them misses the throw (“and he fumbles!”). the chicken is now plummeting straight towards the ground.

porky immediately swoops in, the nervous hen from below passing out from the excitement. porky recovers the little chick, victoriously cradling it in his hands. but the chase isn’t over yet: the hawks are gaining furiously on porky. to retaliate, porky smothers them in a thick cloud of exhaust. sure enough it works: all of the hawks plummet to the ground, the chickens below even digging a giant hole for them to pile up in. once everyone is settled, the chickens cover the dirt up and you have yourself a grave. the cherry on top is the tedd pierce rooster forlornly placing a flower on top of the dirt mound.

finally, all is well. porky comes to a not so smooth landing, the plane rocking back and forth a few times before settling. he hands the chick back to the hen, reassuring “here’s your baby, henrietta. all safe and sound.” henrietta smothers her baby in reunion kisses and hugs. she clucks terms of endearment as she struts along, but the all too familiar shadow of a hawk stops her dead in her tracks. now in a frenzy, she rushes back to porky and alarms him, who wastes no time retrieving his rifle. porky aims, preparing to fire... and we zoom out to reveal the source of the shadow: a weather vane. iris out as porky points and laughs at his mistake.

i forgot how dynamic of a cartoon this was! i knew the opening shot of the flagpole was great, but i completely forgot how exhilarating the entire hawk chase scene was with all those wild angles. the exposition of the cartoon ran a little long in my opinion, but the snappy pace of the hawk scenes definitely make up for it. tashlin’s first cartoon and he’s already showing how great of a director he is! those angles can’t be beat and you need to see them for yourself. as heavy as tashlin’s vendetta against porky was (complaining there was nothing to do with him and that he took too long to talk), he characterizes him well. tashlin’s porky is certainly the most endearing out of the avery-tashlin-king trio. quite a few scenes of this cartoon were reused in clampett cartoons such as chicken jitters and wise quacks (though it’s my understanding clampett and tashlin were pretty good buds)—i can definitely see this cartoon’s influence in a lot of clampett’s barnyard cartoons. with that said, you should watch it! the hawk scenes especially. this cartoon is chock full of interesting angles and dynamics. very carefully crafted and fun to watch. and it’s tashlin’s first cartoon! give it a go!

link!

[daeliariddle]

My opinion About Cassie Cage.

First of all, I write from my humblest ignorance having not read the Comics of Mortal Kombat. When I can finally read them I hope my opinion will change, or in any case, have more support.  Again, I don’t want to read myself as Cassie’s hypocritical Hater. And it’s just my personal opinion, we can discuss it, agree or disagree. Forgive my bad English. I try to learn slowly. 

I like Johnny and Cassie, but I can’t stand most of their fans, especially those who hate Sonya because "she’s mean to Johnny," "she’s boring," "she needs to be replaced by Cassie." And Cassie is a character fucking fanservice and Mary Sue lately, level with Kitana. And worse, those ridiculous arguments, usually created by men: “whose is the most beautiful, Sonya or Cassie?” Totally unnecessary and even machist Besides having her, Sonya (which is my favorite character but I hate to have her classic moves taken away, it seems that one plays with Ronda Rousey and not with Sonya Blade), I am bored by the Special Forces! Takeda and Kung Jin gave more diversity (a Shirai-Ryu with telepathic powers and a shaolin monk). I’m sick of drones and turrets for Sonya, that better be for Cassie and Jacqui. Something that I do not like is that they have (and people also think) that Sonya took hers out and will take her classic moves to give to her daughter. That would make me less like Cassie. And honestly, it wouldn’t help Cassie’s character. She already has her father’s power and personality. Her mother’s appearance and her own work, also her classical movements, which distinguish Sonya from other female characters? Oh, please don’t. That doesn’t even happen between Sindel and Kitana. Cassie seems like a mixed character of Johnny and Sonya, a mere recycling who desperately tries to grasp the trends to get attention.Something even Jacqui and the others don’t need so badly.  It’s kind of understandable because they’re her parents, but what NRS does with Cassie making her an exaggerated mix of Johnny and Sonya... It’s like seeing Kira at Deception! Who was a Black Dragon with the movements of Sonya and Kano.

Cassie is the easy way out of having a female character who’s nice to fans. And they’re wasting the genuine power that she has independently of her parents all the time remembering who they are. We know how inheritance and genetics work, we don’t need to keep mentioning it in the game, and worse fans. The obvious is not said.

Which is a shame, because for me, a more progressive evolution would have been better for Cassie. I felt very abrupt that her MKX debut was the one that defeats Shinnok, because the chance is incredible! She has the power of her father. Arguational convenience, where? I miss Kung Jin as the friend who annoys you, as the friend who puts your feet on the ground. sarcastic. Loose mouth. Sincere to the point of cynicism. (Although I don’t see people hating her character as they do Sonya when she’s not so cruel, either, but many will understand me.) That friend who will insult you in front but will defend you behind your back.  Like antithesis and some rivalry with Cassie worked great. Because I think he was helping to show more fluently and naturally Cassie’s flaws and insecurities, who’s trying to get away from her parents' shadows and make her way. But unfortunately they do not stop doing it. Kung Jin was like Jax to Sonya. And for me, he needed it. Jacqui is great, but she also had her own drama with her father.

{ And That’s Cassie, that hairstyle for her is a thousand times better than MK11’s sappy ponytail. Cassie is the cute, cool girl. Blonde with blue eyes. Centennial, modern. Fresh personality. witty, irreverent. A female Johnny with the physical appearance of her mother. Addicted to the phone, addicted to bubblegum, making the Dab. We just need to be told that he plays Fortnite in her spare time. And I’m not saying it’s wrong. It’s obvious that Cassie was created to be popular, but why not make her brown like the father, make her serious like the mother? But I don’t like the way I do it, to feel like I’m reading Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince.

That’s the problem. The difference between making a good character, and a character that likes. When you can do both, it results in a great character! But when you can’t. It’s very easy to resort to the popular, to the comfortable. Not to put too many defects on a character for fear that he/she might be hated. Which I didn’t feel with Cassie. And personally, I love when a character is not perfect. When he/she shows flaws. When that character is afraid, he/she may fall ill to others for his actions. He/she can be cowardly, liar, irrational, .When he/she’s vain, hypocrite. He/she does not want to listen. And yet it’s believable. It’s real. And that’s why I love Sonya on MKX, because she was real. She was believable. She wasn’t a good mother, and I have already expressed that in my previous post. And not only is Cassie the problem, the daughter’s first debut of an attractive martial arts celebrity and a beautiful Special Forces blonde woman? Defeat an Elder Fallen God: Shinnok? Let’s see, Cassie is about twenty and so many years old. She has gone through a teaching and military life as her mother, but with her father at her side, being her support. While her mother was away, Sonya spent more time on her mission, according to Johnny she used to devote more to family than to work. Surely in Cassie’s early years of life, and bearing in mind that Jacqui also came to Sonya for his father. That was the breakup, I must think, in marriage and family CageBlade. But the problem is not the characters, Cassie is great, D'vorah the same, the problem is, ironically, for me the time. The problem is the Time. And it makes the evolution, the progress of the character Cassie lacks something. I even found the evolution of Jacqui more realistic. Even though Jacqui’s character is the same as Cassie’s. It’s a female version of Jax. And at the same time it’s compared to her best friend. Which is highlighted by its physical appeal, to be like her father and to have defeated Shinnok. It’s a problem. If you are going to extol a character then what happens to others? They are "unbridled". It is not equitable. Especially since Jacqui and Cassie have lived together, among them is a bit of harmless rivalry/friendship. And fandom exaggerates this (and so does Cetrion when she says that Jacqui is jealous of Cassie). The same thing happens to Sonya because of fandom and Cassie, in a way. They have a complicated relationship of mother and daughter, and fandom ends up hating Sonya. On the other hand, I think Johnny is more natural about evolution, perhaps because of the years you’ve known the character since the '90s. And his adulthood. The opposite of Cassie’s evolution in the same game (MKX). Even he realizes how annoying and, to a certain extent, machist he was with Sonya, and his younger version. 

It’s ironic that Cassie could have (at least in the game, I remember I didn’t read the Comics yet) finally had a talk with her mother. A mother who could be her sister. Although she would have wanted this sister to have her leg grab, arc kick, air drop, rising bicycle kick, kiss of death, so that they would have differentiated better, showing what Sonya was before technology, when she used her legs and brains to fight (which she tells Jax on MKDOTR) Cassie instead in John Wick mode with infinite ammo weapons, drones and turrets. It would be a better way to show the past and present among them. Not with crude comments.

If a character will do something or have a big change, why not show it better? Even I felt that Scorpion/Hanzo missed more. Because in MKX at times I found two different characters, two different bodies even though we know Scorpion is Hanzo Hasashi’s manipulated spectrum at the hands of Quan Chi. We know it’s been decades, I personally don’t feel that weight of time. Especially with Cassie. Both she and D'vorah to my view must first "pay your dues" (or “pagar derecho de piso” as we say in Argentina). Or do hazing with the new characters: KombatKids, D'vorah, Kotal Kahn, Erron Black, etc. Otherwise, it’s very shocking to see new characters from nowhere taking so much prominence in such a short time against classic characters. Especially when they don’t measure up, their story falls short, their skills. Or quite the opposite, they end up devouring too much prominence in an unreal way. 

Although well, Erron Black is not hated because everyone loves that he flirts with almost all female characters, that he has JUST killed those characters that not even the creators wanted (Kobra and Hsu Shao), the design that he has, his voice, his movements. She also sins from the same thing as Cassie (created to be popular) although in history mode she is relegated to be Kotal Kahn’s bitch and then Kano’s.

Instead, D’vorah has an unattractive design (although for me original and it was time to have more characters who do not look like humans), treacherous, seeking (just like Tanya) their own survival. It has been involved OF THE SAME WAY that Cassie in the story (taking on MKX until her chapter), many things does in one game. To be loyal to Kotal and then betray him. And even, for many, take the courage to kill Baraka, Mileena, and for worse in the next game, kill Hanzo. 

And also, where does the relationship between Jade and Kotal Kahn come from? A classic character like Jade, linked to Kitana, Sindel, Shao Kahn and other edenians. Kotal Kahn who has his story tied to Shao Kahn although he is a new character, at what point in the story have they met? Because if I’m being honest, I don’t remember anything in MK9 or MKX.

Classic characters and loved by the fandom. I don’t dislike that he killed them (although I love those three characters) but it’s definitely surprising, a completely new character, in two appearances causing so much havoc. Cassie the same, but she just “killed” a not so dear but an ELDER GOD.

For me, it was missing that one knew Cassie and the other KombatKids, like the other debutante characters of MKX (and a little Skarlet if I’m honest), more development time to adapt to them, if they are going to replace classical characters (in theory) not to give him the debut of just giving us data of his story and finally they are protagonists; he also hoped to see more Kenshi who is of the few characters of the third era that give him his space. It is not pleasant that, characters with whom one lives for decades are abruptly replaced by others (and I remove from here to Liu Kang because we go, he is the main protagonist and was present in almost all the games, and has been the Chosen One) But the others have not been so lucky. Especially since I never know in the end what canon is or not, a pity. And now, with MK11 developing every character, every change has gone to waste.

So in short. To my eyes MKX must have been mainly about how Mileena tries to be Kanhum, fighting Kotal. Sonya, Jax, SF and Johnny versus Shinnok as it happened in the beginning. And, the flashbacks of the KombatKids must have been the present. And get to know D'vorah better, Erron Black. Make a second part with a more mature Cassie but at the same time reflecting on herself. And there defeating Shinnok. And then the plot of MK11. With some changes. Timelines are a good excuse to do fanservice, do, remake and undo. And then press reset and go back to the comfort zone. But, you know, if I have a great reason to love Cassie, it’s because, after all, what got her to beat Shinnok was love for her father. And at the same time, the endings of the CageBlade family are, are seen and will be a beautiful family. And that’s the most important thing of all, that they love each other.

[heylinlord-blog]

Full About.

Disclaimer: This about page depicts the mun’s view of the muse. 

Origin/Background

Name: Chase Young

Alias: Jun Hu-Shun

Nickname: Tolerates “Chasey” depending on who calls him it.

Titles: “The Dragon of the Vermilion Sea”.  (To express his ability to get angry quickly). After his Heylin Acceptance, those who knew called him “The Serpent That Crept Among Sweet Flowers” (To express how they felt Chase was Xiaolin only to betray them in the end.)

Birthday: December 12th, 629

Zodiac Sign: ⛎ Ophiuchus/Serpentarius, “The Serpent Bearer”

Chinese Zodiac: Snake (element: fire) [Chinese Zodiac is an approximation.]

Non 13th Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius.

Age: Human Age of 23; existed for over 1500+ years.

Gender: Cisgendered Male.

Place of birth: Xi’an, China.

Places Lived Since: Xi’an, China (From birth to childhood); Xiaolin Temple, China (Entered at the age of 15 until his shift to the Heylin Side at the age of 20); His own domain “The Land of Nowhere” (Current. He was in the Heylin side as a mortal for three years, despite drinking the Lao Mein Long Soup that Hannibal gave him, due to an inability to control it, before he ended up locking Hannibal away in the Yin-Yang World once he was able to control his Draconic/Serpent form, leaving him at the human age of 23).

Parent’s Names, Occupations and Backgrounds

Chase knows nothing of his parents, nor if he even had any siblings. He presumably came from a poor family. Perhaps because he could not be taken care of up until age 10, Chase was thrown out, not remembering who or what his parents looked like. He was left to wander the streets and try to survive until Dashi found him when he was 15. When he entered the Xiaolin Temple, he had the first real meal he’d ever had in 5 years, actual clothing and was able to clean himself. He considered Dashi and Guan (who he met after Dashi) his real “family”. Chase didn’t know what Dashi saw in him, but he was thankful for it.

Having grew up with Dashi and Guan, Chase slowly had to relearn how to have trust for another after being thrown away at a young age. He was cold at first, and kept to himself, but eventually became friends with the both of them. Once he did, his powers awakened, and he was revealed as The Dragon of Fire.

Chase has the trauma of being thrown out when he was a child; almost killed on the street by another person who was on said streets because he appeared to have coins; being caught for trying to steal coins and being beaten severely; (tw// pedophilia) his “feminine” appearance made dirty men mistake him for a girl on the streets, and he barely escaped harassment, but it traumatizes him greatly that he would detest such a thing.

At the Xiaolin Temple, he developed low self-esteem after he was revealed as the Dragon of Fire because of constant expectations he couldn’t meet just yet and being compared to Guan, specifically. He was also compared to Dashi, but not as exaggerated.

(tw//sexual harrassment) He suffered a very traumatic experience via a person (an important figure of sorts), that frequently donated to the Temple, just one year before he turned to the Heylin side. Chase begged Dashi and Guan to believe him: that the man was out for him and was both looking and touching him in a way that made him feel uncomfortable, but they did not.

Children of Their Own: Shadow/Willow Young. [1]

Relationship(s): None. [2]

Physical

Height: 5’9

Weight: 130

Build: Strong build with defined muscles, but not too brawny.

Nationality: Chinese.

Disabilities: None.

Complexion: Clear.

Face Shape: Very defined, angular.

Distinguishing Facial Features: Defined but light eyebrows, nose is small.

Hair Color: Black with a green tint.

Eye Color: Gold.

Glasses/Contacts: None.

Style of Dress: Silk black robes on a casual day, with turquoise to show his status, or gold. Armor when he is ready to battle.

Grooming: Chase will shower multiple times per day, even in the same hour. He strives to have perfect cleanliness and takes good care of himself.

Jewelry, Tattoos, Piercings: Wears a sash that has gold coins on it on occasion; a green jade ring on his right index finger; two piercings on each side of his ear, but on his right ear, he has an extra piercing at the upper cartilage of the ear; tattoo of two inclined snakes on his back.

Accent: Chinese

Physical Habits: Running hand through his hair; cracking his fingers.

Intellect

Level of Education: All of his schooling was done at the Xiaolin Temple, mostly by Dashi.

Level of Self-Esteem: Very low during his Xiaolin days, now healthy and average as Heylin.

Talents: Martial Arts, Pyromancy, Taromancy, Lucid Dreaming, Sword fighting.

Shortcomings: Prideful, greedy, vengeful, materialistic.

Style of Speech: Refined. He will only throw an insult or curse if he’s really annoyed.

Artistic/Mathematical: Artistic.

Makes decisions on Emotion Or Logic: Logic only. He does not allow his feelings to get in the way unless necessary.

Life Philosophy: “Do not let the world rule over you. You rule over it.”

Religious Stance: Atheist.

Cautious/Daring: More cautious given the situation, sometimes daring.

Extrovert/Introvert: Introvert.

Level of Comfort With Technology: Comfortable, to an extent, but not very knowledgable on every aspect of it.

Relationships

Relationship Status: None.

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Biromantic.

Past Relationships: None.

Primary Reason For Being Broken Up With: N/A.

Primary Reason For Breaking Up With People: N/A

Level of Sexual Experience: Interested in the idea of sex, but as for having experience with it, none, however, he could definitely lead a night’s activities if he wanted to.

Story of Loss of Virginity: See “Childhood Trauma.”

Most Comfortable Around Who: None.

Oldest Friend: Guan and Dashi on his Xiaolin days, none now Heylin wise.

How Do They Think Others Perceive Them: Someone who has to be stripped of everything (Monks); Someone who has to die (Hannibal, Wuya); Someone to use (Jack Spicer).

How Do Others Actually Perceive Them: The monks understand that he is vital as a primary representative of the Heylin side and cannot kill nor do anything to cause his death, however they must make sure he is subdued from time to time to make sure he doesn’t end up disrupting the balance; Hannibal and Wuya just wish to strip him of everything and have him bow at their feet, not necessarily kill him. Chase mistakes Jack’s admiration as a means to use him, but Jack’s admiration is innocent in that aspect. He does have a genuine admiration for Chase.

Vocation

Profession: Heylin Emperor.

Past/Current Occupation(s): Former Xiaolin Dragon of Wind. Used to dawdle in medicine during his Xiaolin days.

Passions: Martial arts, Tai Chi, Potion making, dark magic.

Attitude Towards Current Job: He loves being the center of attention and having his own domain. Loves being feared as he once was fearful.

Attitude Towards Current Coworkers/Bosses/Employees: He hates them all.

Salary: The riches he has stolen or gained as well as the money he gets in as a casino owner.

Secrets (Every Character Should Have Secrets):

Life Goals: To enslave everything and everyone and rule over all.

Dreams: As above ^

Greatest Fears: Becoming mortal again. Dying.

Most Ashamed Of: Being tricked by Hannibal to join the Heylin side.

Compulsions: Hurt any unsuspecting person. He often has violent fantasies.

Obsessions: Gaining knowledge. He has an entire library in his Citadel.

Secret Skills: Healing.

Crimes Committed: Murder, theft, torture, arson.

What They Most Want to Change About Their Current Life: He wants someone at his side. He’d love if Wuya and Hannibal were dead by someone else’s hands (not his own, it’d be too obvious). He wants to peg down the Xiaolin (especially Raimundo) a bit.

What Do They Most Want To Change About Their Physical Appearance: Nothing. He believes he is fine as he is now.

Details

Daily Routine: Wakes up at 5:00 AM sharp, cleans himself, and proceeds to meditate. Performs Tai Chi as a warmup for sparring practice with his warriors. Spies on the Xiaolin and the other Heylin Belligerents shortly afterward.  If there is a Wu activation, he’ll just serve as a bystande unless it’s important. When night approaches, he donnes his disguise as Jun Hu-Shun and makes his way to his casino. When it’s closed, he returns home, then proceeds to clean himself again, and prepare to retire to his bed.

Night Owl or Early Bird: Early bird.

Light or Heavy Sleeper: Light sleeper. He has to sleep light so he can wake up instantly in case of an intruder.

Favorite Food: Cupcakes. He’ll gourge on the things.

Least Favorite Food: Beans.

Favorite Movies: Horror.

Least Favorite Movies: Romance, comedy.

Favorite Music: Traditional Chinese songs and instrumentals.

Least Favorite Music: Metal, Rock, Gothic. This is entirely Jack Spicer’s fault.

Coffee or Tea: Make Chase drink coffee, and he will kill you. Tea all of the way.

Crunchy or Smooth Peanut Butter: None. Chase detests peanut butter.

Lefty or Righty: Righty.

Favorite Color: In his Xiaolin Days, Chase preferred the color blue. Heylin Days he prefers green, vermillion, red and black.

Cusser: On certain situations. He’ll allow himself to curse to express pleasure should he engage in sexual activity.

Smoker/Drinker/Drug User: Hates normal cigarette smoking. He is a normal drinker, only preferring wines. (tw//drugs) Dawdled with smoking opium.

Biggest Regret: To an extent, Hannibal.

Pets: His warriors that he has enslaved over the times.

Notes:

[1] For the puposes of keeping this page without AU’s, Shadw is only labeled as his daughter here.

[2] For the purposes of keeping this page without AU’s, this is the default status of Chase in a relationship.

[aion-rsa]

Archer Producers Discuss Season 12’s Kingsman-esque Opener

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This article contains spoilers for Archer season 12 episode 1.

After eleven seasons, over 100 episodes, and four radical reinventions, Archer has become one of the most ambitious and respected animated series of its generation. The show has elevated itself to something greater than a (hilarious) parody of the spy genre and has slowly allowed both itself and its characters to evolve in fascinating ways. Around these massive changes, Archer has never lost sight of itself. Its core sensibility and acerbic characters never falter.

Twelve seasons in, Archer has returned to a relative place of normalcy. Season 11 brought Sterling Archer back to reality from his coma, but season 12 is where the harsh ways of the world really begin to set back in. Archer himself may have his groove back, but his team is still in a highly unstable place and this season presents a version of them that are more vulnerable than ever before. Archer’s executive producer Casey Willis and producer Pierre Cerrato get candid about season twelve’s direction, the new enemies that The Agency face, the glorious return of the Tacti-Cane, and more. 

Note: Casey Willis and Pierre Cerrato jointly provided answers under their production tag “Floyd County Productions.”

Archer Season 12 Episode 1 – “Identity Crisis” 

Written by Shane Kosakowski “Archer and the gang just saved the world from a nuclear catastrophe and their reward is five nights in a rat-infested Moldovan hotel.” 

DEN OF GEEK: This premiere picks up right after season 11’s finale and really functions as the continuation of that story. Was it always the decision to immediately continue from the events of the finale or was there consideration to give more of a breather and push the clock forward with this premiere?

FLOYD COUNTY PRODUCTIONS: We really wanted to explore the ramifications of Archer and the gang saving the world. How could they capitalize on this achievement? That’s why we set the events just a few weeks after the end of the season 11 finale. That’s also why we brought in the Cloudbeam folks as “Malory” is getting desperate and needs to make some money. Additionally, we knew we still wanted Archer to have the Tacti-cane, so having this season start only a couple weeks after the events in #1108 felt natural.

Was this season approached any differently than previous seasons or was any kind of mission statement that you guys wanted to make with this premiere?

This season we approached the story in a similar way to season 11. We had story goals and character goals and we plotted out the season and tried to show growth in the characters along the way. 

To talk about the creation of the show for a bit, the first thing on our mind this season was the safety of our cast and crew. This is the first season that we started and will complete in a work-from-home scenario. To facilitate that, we had to make a lot of adjustments to our workflow. We have such amazing cast members, writers, artists, animators and production staff, and everyone really stepped up to not only make one of the funniest and best looking seasons of Archer, but to do it safely. We are so proud of everyone and can’t wait for you all to see this incredible season.

Last season was the first year that had Adam Reed in a reduced capacity and no longer steering the ship. What was his level of involvement this season?

We worked with Adam in a similar way to season 11. Casey Willis and Adam worked together to create a framework and some episode ideas. Then Casey, Matt Thompson, and Mark Ganek fleshed out the season even further and we assigned writers to individual episodes. It’s really the best of both worlds because we get to work on a thousand-foot view of the season with Adam, and then get to hear new and exciting voices from our writers. We are very proud of the writers who came onboard this season and we look forward to working with them again in the future.

Is Fabian Kingsworth, the head of the International Intelligence Agency supposed to be a riff on the Kingsman movies? There are definitely parallels going on there.

It wasn’t intentionally Kingsman specific; it was more about the whole concept of the gentleman spy. We felt it would be a great foil for Archer and something that might remind him of his pre-coma physical prowess. When we got Kayvan Novak (What We Do in the Shadows) in the booth, he had a lot of great ideas and affectations that gave life to Fabian.

Why did the IIA feel like the right sort of antagonist to be Archer and company’s major source of frustration this season?

We wanted to play with the idea of small business versus a giant company. The Agency is the boutique mom-and-absent-pop spy shop, while IIA is the big-box retailer of the spy world. We wanted Archer to have a villain to play against this season in Fabian, but he represents something larger that the whole gang can get behind and try to fight. It also is a bit of a throwback to earlier seasons of Archer when our characters were concerned with the difficulties in running a small business. Now those concerns are amplified with the threat of a giant corporation like IIA taking all the business.

There are some excellent action setpieces at the end of the episode that involve a helicopter, truck, and eventually a fist fight between Archer and Fabian. Talk a little of the construction of those sequences and if they’re inspired by any movies or anything in particular?

​​We’d like to praise our Art Director, Justin Wagner, and our Associate Art Director, Chi Duong Sato, for bringing that sequence to life. They worked with the storyboard team to create all the action and we worked with our editor, Ted Murphy, to put it all together. Unfortunately, there was a lot we had to cut for time including a mini-gun shredding another vehicle! 

Initially we drew some inspiration from Mad Max: Fury Road, but it’s nothing compared to a San Diego Comic-Con piece we did in 2015. In that piece, we had Pam dressed as “Immortan Joe” and Krieger as the “Doof Warrior!” Pretty sure you can still see it online!

In this premiere there’s great use of a helicopter, which at a point may have seemed grand for the show, as well as some really effective 3D CG stuff. Talk a little on some of those more exaggerated elements and how work on the other seasons, like Danger Island, helped prepare for larger setpieces and the growing sophistication of animation.

We feel the show evolves every season as we learn new techniques and refine others. If you look back to the episode “Jeu Monegasque” in season two, you can see some of our first attempts are integrating 3D animation. It may have also been the first 3D helicopter on the show. From that point to now, we feel we have had an incredible evolution. In season nine, for example, Cyril’s mech suit was a combination of all of our departments working together to make the suit look incredible and move in an imposing way. Archer owes a lot to the teams that keep improving the look of the show year after year.

This premiere forces The Agency to work outside of their comfort zones a little because they don’t have any money, but this largely gets resolved by the end of the episode. Was there ever a version of the season where The Agency was destitute for longer? 

Malory is a master of misdirection, so things might not be as stable as they seem. You are just going to have to keep watching.

This premiere teases that the IIA could poach certain Agency employees. Was that ever under deliberation, even if it just went on for a temporary period during this season?

Again, you need to keep watching because it may be more than just a tease!

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Our writers’ room walkthrough for Archer’s 12th season will continue with this season’s fifth episode. Previous writers’ room walkthroughs that break down Archer’s earlier seasons can be be found here

The post Archer Producers Discuss Season 12’s Kingsman-esque Opener appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[sytycdrankings]

Top 8 Rankings

Probably the best show yet. Mostly due to the contestants finally dancing with each other.

12. Bodak Yellow (Robert/Taylor hip-hop), Luther Brown

This was awful. There is no way around this. This was actually, completely, and totally terrible. I was embarrassed watching this. Taylor’s ponytail was a mistake. Everything Robert did was a mistake. I’m more bitter that the judges passed this off as a good routine than anything. Because it wasn’t. 

11. Respect (Cyrus/Kaylee cha-cha), Val Chmerkovskiy

Alright, so Cyrus wasn’t good, but we’re gonna ignore him. Kaylee surprised me. I didn’t expect her to have a feel for this at all, but I really thought she did. Val is also very good at choregraphing things that will look good on whoever, so they lucked out in that respect. It was super basic, but at least it was danced pretty well (by Kaylee). Dem hips.

10. Handclap (Marko/Koine jazz), Mandy Moore

The best part about this routine was the look Koine gave to the camera at 30 seconds. I also felt terrible for her dancing in those heels. With all that turning and jumping and leaning, it looked really painful. So, this was good. I feel bad putting it this low, but there was nothing that made it super amazing, I guess? As always, these two have perfect chemistry and they’re good at their own style, but maybe the choreography could have been more interesting? It makes me worry for Koine since she was already in the bottom last week. 

9. Pop HD (Jenna/Kiki jazz), Travis Wall

This was almost really cool. I loved the outfits and makeup, and the concept was at least unique. I like when Travis does mildly creative stuff as I’ve said before. But again...Kiki doesn’t really do much. At least he did more than last week by having an actual turn and the bit where he held himself up on the couch, but besides that, he was mostly carting Jenna around the stage yet again. I also didn’t find their chemistry super amazing in this routine. Also, why was Jenna barefoot? I hate when one person is barefoot and one isn’t. Also also, the judges need to stfu and actually talk about Kiki during critiques instead of tongue bathing Jenna. It’s getting really fucking old.

8. Shadows (Kaylee/Logan contemporary), Travis Wall

I wanted to like this more, but for some reason, it didn’t completely click with me. The idea was cool, and I liked the choreography, but I don’t think it did Kaylee any favors tbh. Up against Logan, you can see where her technique is somewhat lacking, not to mention she was painted and dressed in dark colors, so it was hard to even pay attention to her. As always, Logan was great in his own style, and I did think they had good chemistry. It was just the kind of routine I see and go “huh, that was really cool” and then I never watch again.

7. Tilted (Dassy/Mark hip-hop), Christopher Scott

Imagine being Chis Scott, seeing that you have Dassy and Mark, and giving them this routine to do. Not only did he give them unnecessary props, but he forced them to dance with them for the entire routine. It was at least a real hip-hop routine, but I don’t think it individually showed off Dassy and Mark at all. Anyone in the cast probably could have done this routine. (Alright, an exaggeration, but still.) The only reason it still ranks this high is because Dassy and Mark are adorable and completely sold it. It was just so cute. When I got over how bitter I was, it made me smile so big. Chris Scott always does this when he gets specialists and I need him to stop.

6. Say You Won’t Let Go (Allison/Logan hip-hip), Christopher Scott

This was also cute. I guess Chris Scott was just in a cute mood last week. It also looks almost exactly like the routine he did for Jess and Clarice in season 8. Like almost exactly. I think there was even a mirror prop there, too. I guess it’s hard to come up with lyrical hip-hop routines that are supposed to look different from each other, though, so I’ll let it slide. I’m not surprised at all that Logan is good at hip-hop and I’m glad we saw him show off his breaking somewhat. I wish there was a little more, but I’ll take what I can get. Of course Allison is good at hip-hop considering who her husband is. Speaking of which, this definitely didn’t feel like a routine about married people at all, so I’m just gonna act like it was about Allison and her little brother.

5. Breathe (Fik-shun/Dassy contemporary), Jaci Royal

Okay, so this is more like it. That routine with Sydney during week 2 was just a fluke. This was really cool. The visuals created made the entire routine, like that spin lift where Dassy turned her body and when he held her up on his legs at the very beginning. I’m so glad we saw Dassy in a serious routine before she left to prove that she wasn’t one note, and their chemistry didn’t suffer at all. My one complaint is that I feel like there wasn’t a ton of dancing going on here. Just a lot of lifts and poses. Also, #JusticeForDassy.

4. Work Song (Gaby/Lex contemporary), Mandy Moore

I wanted this to be amazing and transcendent. Instead it was just...really good. Not entirely sure why. Maybe it was the choreography? At times it seemed a little too busy, and I think I wanted them to breathe with the music a little more. But Good lord, Lex. I wish that leap had been shown at a different angle because he looked like he got 20 feet off the ground. For once, I feel like he got to outshine Gaby. I didn’t really feel much of anything from Gaby during this dance, which is a first. It made the chemistry a little unbelievable, which is probably another reason this wasn’t amazing and transcendent. (That and when they got slightly out of sync during the only moment they were separated.) But this was the show off moment I wanted for Lex. Now all he needs is hip-hop.

3. Criminal (Comfort/Mark Broadway), Spencer Liff

I almost put them at #1 anyway because I think they’re amazing and deserve it, but my honest opinion puts this routine right here. If I had just watched this with no context, I wouldn’t have a clue that either of them are hip-hop dancers. Especially Mark! I love when Spencer doesn’t hold back because those leaps! Those turns! Those lines! Bboy where? Bboy who?? And of course, their chemistry is amazing as always. It was actually an entertaining, sexy routine like it was meant to be, and I hope Spencer was pleased af. Mark for the finale. (Also lmao at Comfort breaking the handcuffs and just holding her hands together for the rest of the routine.)

2. An American in Paris (Taylor/Lex jazz), Spencer Liff

I wanted them to dance together, but I wasn’t expecting them to actually get to do it. Also, I’m not sure if the showed actually admitted that they were dating or not. It sounded more like “oh we know each other and are super close, so this routine about being in love will be sooooo hard!” it was a little weird. Why not just say it? But anyway. Nigel exaggerated the fuck out of this, but I did actually think this was a great routine. They looked so happy to be dancing together, which made the chemistry perfect, which made me forget that it was supposed to be about two actual birds, because really, Spencer? Birds? And the dancing was really amazing. (All that control!) Not a surprise since this is their style, but when Taylor is choreographed to her strengths, she’s something else. I know it’ll keep her safe this week, which I really don’t want, but whatever. This was awesome. 

I feel like I have a lot of explaining to do putting Kiki at #1. Bear with me.

[recluse-art]

momentum - 5

chapter 5

[ch 1][ch 2][ch 3][ch 4]

Stress permeated the campus air - it was finals week and students were frantically attempting to cram a semester's worth of information in the span of several days and complete presentations and papers and projects. More than a few were running on lethal amounts of caffeine and Adderall.

They were working on practice exams in the group study area of the library when one of the chairs at their table was pulled out and the intruder plopped into the seat as if they belonged there.

"Hey guys!" Naruto greeted and started unpacking his notes and textbooks. "So glad I found you two, I couldn't find a single open desk or table in this place."

"Hi Naruto," Hinata greeted warmly, perking up to the distraction from the monotonous problems.

Sasuke briefly acknowledged the blonde's presence before turning back to his work - they still had another physics practice exam left to complete.

"You'd think the library would be emptier at 2 AM on a Friday."

With an irritable tone, Sasuke stated, "It's finals week, dobe."

"Fuck dude, it sure is," he sighed and picked up a pencil.

The political science major rifled through his notes and textbooks but quickly became bored - there was so much to study and so little time to study with. It was all very daunting so he watched his quiet friends instead.

When Hinata turned to Sasuke to ask about a specific problem she was stuck on, Naruto was surprised to see him helping her without sass or impatience. While he was best friends with the Uchiha and cared for him dearly, he had to admit that Sasuke was not exactly known for being nice or even remotely helpful. In fact, he was kind of a bastard sometimes.

The blonde interjected, "What are you guys studying?"

Tired lavender eyes peeled away from the never ending practice sheet.

"Physics," she explained glumly.

"Well you're in good hands!" He said emphatically, with a wide grin.

She blinked at him in questioning.

"Yeah, this punk" - he pointed to Sasuke - "took AP Physics in high school and got a 5 on the exam! But he's crazy and wanted to retake physics in college," Naruto remarked with a perplexed expression.

Not registering the shadow that set over Sasuke's features, Naruto continued, "He's actually a physics whiz! He was a part of this nerdy science/math competition and he set a record score for the physics section - it made the news and everything."

Some of her fatigue ebbed and she raised a brow at him, amused. Sasuke schooled his expression to remain neutral and he could not meet her gaze. Instead he stared straight ahead at the rambling blonde, willing him to just stop talking please.

"He went to nationals after and took home the trophy, of course," he bragged about his best friend. "That thing is like, this tall!" He emulated the proportions with his hands, definitely exaggerating.

Before Sasuke could stop her, Hinata reached over to her laptop to Google his name. "U-chi-ha Sa-su-ke," she quietly mouthed the syllables as she typed.

He watched in horror as the trusty search engine pulled up results within 0.62 seconds and he was greeted with old photos from high school and headlines proclaiming of a physics prodigy.

'Hello darkness, my old friend…' played in his head as she clicked on the images tab and he was assaulted with even more embarrassing stills. Stones sank to the pit of his stomach, but she looked absolutely delighted to be perusing Sasuke's awful, awful high school pictures, eyes riveted to the screen.

"Your sense of style has improved," she offered, containing her laughter by pressing her lips together.

The arm warmers worn by the teen in the photos haunted him, as did the popped collar and partially unbuttoned shirt - good god who let him attend the competition like that? No, the better question was: who let him leave the house like that?

Naruto hoisted his body across the table to look at her computer and let out a hearty chuckle. "Our boy Sasuke had an edgy emo phase," he then glanced at the sullen man's outfit, a dark hoodie and similarly dark jeans. "Actually, he might still be in it."

Sasuke wanted to be anywhere else but here, in the library with his past exposed to the girl he was absolutely infatuated with.

Noticing his taciturn attitude, Hinata threaded her fingers into his bangs to brush them away from his eyes, "But I think your hair has gotten messier."

The lavender pools conveyed mirth and her lingering touch on his temple made his pulse race, face heating to an uncomfortable temperature. Any existing thoughts went up in smoke with her simple actions; if his brain was a computer, Sasuke.exe would have stopped working.

"Aww, Sasuke's embarrassed," Naruto teased in a belittling voice, snapping him out of his reverie.

As much as he wanted to lean into the warmth of her palm, he did the opposite and returned to his homework. Her hand dropped back to her side and he secretly mourned the loss.

Letting his bangs fall over his eyes and obscure his features, he did what he did best and tuned out his surroundings.

He was in the midst of solving problem 28 when he felt familiar fingers sweep his bangs away from his face once again. Caught off guard, he reflexively turned to the person playing with his hair.

"Ah, wait," Hinata was careful not to tug on his scalp with his sudden movement.

He held still, waiting patiently for her to finish.

Despite his best efforts, a shiver traveled down his spine at her ministrations. He almost sighed in pleasure at how good it felt to have her running her fingers through his tresses.

Thinking she accidentally pulled too hard, she apologized. "Sorry, did that hurt?"

"No." Quite the opposite, actually, but he wouldn't dare say it out loud. He would gladly let her play with his hair as much as her heart desired. Hell, he would let her touch him anytime she wanted - no questions asked.

A light snore drew his attention to a sleeping blonde on the other side of the table. That was quick. Though Naruto never had the focus to study for long periods of time anyways.

As she gathered his hair in a ponytail, she whispered to avoid waking their friend up. "Sorry for making fun of you," he could tell she was smiling, "I actually thought you were cute."

She just finished tying the upper half of it back, since the rest was too short, when he turned around in his seat to look at her. "Were?" he emphasized the past tense with a tilt of his head.

"Don't fret, you still are," she assured him with a grin and a pat on the cheek.

Grabbing her wrist before she could pull away, he pressed his lips to her soft palm. "What a relief," he replied wryly, a smirk gracing his features.

A blush bloomed on her face and her laughter was a little off - he could tell she was flustered.

Good. He wanted to be the one that threw off her composure.

Releasing her hand to let her return to her seat, he replayed the scene in his head and relished in the sensation of her fingers buried in his hair. Idly, he wondered what it would feel like to have her hands elsewhere...

Hinata's nerves were rattled; the ghost of his kiss seemed to be burned into her skin and she had trouble focusing on anything else.

They continued to do their homework, though physics was the last thing on either of their minds.

[boothanita]

6 Hours Zen Reiki Healing Music Sublime Useful Tips

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Reiki Music For Clearing Negative Energy

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Reiki Master Kolkata

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[rugbyquit5-blog]

In a funny but scattered episode, The Good Place and Bad Place frantically fight it out on Earth

D’Arcy Carden, Ted Danson

Photo: Justin Lubin (NBC)

“Is that bad?” “I don’t know, but it’s weird, man!”

The Good Place has been so consistently great at subverting our expectations that even calling “The Brainy Bunch” my least favorite episode of the series so far isn’t the warning flare it might be otherwise. Things are getting sweaty and desperate in this third episode (“Every part of my body is either too dry or too wet,” complains Michael to Janet), both for the Good Place and Bad Place teams. The thing is, it also feels a little uncharacteristically sweaty and desperate for The Good Place, too.

Restating the danger represented by Bad Place douchebag Trevor (Adam Scott, you were missed) as “a diabolical, sadistic agent of evil” sees Michael once more sneaking down to Earth. Thwarted by Trevor’s ability to disruptively blend with Chidi’s study group of the damned (since Michael is known to the group as Zack Pizzazz, Gordon Indigo, and the world’s most reassuring bartender and librarian, respectively), Michael enlists Janet to keep an eye on Trevor’s attempts to drive the group apart with bad advice, bottomless shots, incessant “dank memes,” and general try-hard Ned Flanders-esque chipper obnoxiousness. (Jason thinks Trevor is cool, which is a red flag.) But, since both Janet and Michael share Trevor’s earthbound powerlessness, they’re stuck trying to counter Trevor’s deviousness from the shadows. Or, in Janet’s case, from the beer-fetching cowgirl waitress persona she adopts at the garish Cowboy Skyscraper Buffet Trevor insists they go to. (“I will go physically pick those up I guess, and then walk them back there with my feet,” says the powerless Janet through clenched teeth after failing to make the group’s first round magically appear.)

Adam Scott as Trevor

Photo: Justin Lubin/NBC

There, Trevor plants seeds of ethical misgivings in Chidi for hanging out with the subjects of his study, drives Eleanor back to her motel room with personalized team sweatshirts and reprehensible Jamaican accents (Adam Scott channeling Michael Scott at his worst), and tries to hook up a drunk Tahani and Jason, thinking that the morning-after shame will send Tahani home on the first private jet. Meanwhile, the rattled Janet is stuck being unable to just manifest things, ranting to Michael about how so much of humans’ lives is spent “just waiting for things to be over.” (Draft beer takes forever.) While Michael proclaims his faith that Chidi, like he’s done every single time over 800 do-overs, will choose to help Eleanor, he—decked out in a trenchcoat and fedora, as is his Dick Tracy conception of cool and surreptitious—can’t help but betray his shaken confidence. So much so that he tries to reprise his avuncular librarian character on the fly to Chidi, introducing his much-less-natural advice by introducing himself as “the librarian, from the library.”

But Michael, soulless creature from the pits of DMV hell that he’s been for all eternity, does have faith. “These four humans are all I care about in the universe,” Michael snaps at the smug Trevor, and, as ever, this immortal weirdo’s transformation remains terribly affecting, even as “The Brainy Bunch” admits some doubts as to the season’s direction. To start, the earthly shenanigans this time out aren’t as fresh as they have been. The Aussie all-American restaurant gags feel forced, from Trevor admiring the “swamp stench” of the Florida table, to the Mount Rushmore of Hulk Hogan, Judge Judy, Paris Hilton, and David Hasselhoff, to the restaurant’s “manifest destiny special” where you can pay extra to kick anyone off of any table you want, it’s all clever enough, I suppose. But it comes off just the wrong side of wacky, like a—and I don’t say this lightly—a latter-season Simpsons conceit. (The same goes for Eleanor’s choice of Australian gossip mag, Aus Weekly.)

Manny Jacinto, Jameela Jamil

Photo: Justin Lubin/NBC

And yet . . .

When Michael and Janet (and the gloating Trevor) are summoned by Mike O’Malley’s Doorman (we find out his name’s Jeff) back to the Judge’s realm, Judge Gen explains how all these repeated incursions have, as Michael hinted last week, caused “ripple effects” on Earth’s reality. There’s a lot to unpack in Gen’s assertions that some of the inexplicable changes (the Jacksonville Jaguars being sort-of good, The World’s Greatest Showman being a hit, Brexit) are things that have actually happened on our Earth. But it’s also tantalizing how the Cowboy Skyscraper Cafe and its attendant food gags (including the drink special, The Fourth Of July, consisting of half a blended apple pie, Southern Comfort, and Coke, served in a Chevy hubcap) smack of Michael’s effortful fake Good Place. (Think last week’s muffin cart, “We Crumb From A Land Down Under,” too.) It’s like the old reality of Michael’s neighborhood is infecting our Earth. If it is, indeed, our Earth. Conspiracy theories in the comments, please.

Manny Jacinto, jameela Jamil, Adam Scott

Photo: Justin Lubin/NBC

And then there’s the Judge, played to loopy yet authoritative perfection by Maya Rudolph. Upon discovering that Michael and Janet have disobeyed the terms of their experiment, she—after a series of exaggerated vocal tics and hand gestures that suggest just how long Gen has been bored out of her mind in her NCIS-bingeing solitude—plans to summarily whisk them both back to the Bad Place. (She simply hurls suck-up Trevor into the void.) On one hand, that’s only fair. There was a deal, one that stretched the very rules of existence, and they violated it. Gen’s still willing to let their experiment play out sans interference (saying the humans “need to hit the regular point threshold” on their own), but is indifferent to the fact that her decision means Michael will be “retired” (a lot more painful than it sounds, as you recall), and Janet will be turned into an inert marble for all eternity. Again, fair enough, if fairness is indeed what the show’s universe, as presented, is truly built upon.

Gen is by far the fairest nigh-omniscient figure we’ve met, seemingly free from Shawn’s vindictive glee in tormenting others (goo-cocoons aren’t just for his enemies), or Michael’s muddled aspiration. When the four humans told her their plight, she listened, she empathized, and she sentenced them to hell, essentially, because rules are rules. There’s a gnawing unease about that aspect of The Good Place’s universe that’s a lot more existentially frightening than all the penis-flatteners and food that turns to spiders in your mouth that supposedly await the damned in the Bad Place. Rudolph makes Gen a figure of genial, even sentimental amorality in the service of supposed impartiality. Remember when the Judge teared up at the Facebook video she made of her brief time together with the four people she was about to send to hell? That chilling mix of personal mushiness with institutional coldness runs through the episode here, just as it’s lurked through every episode of The Good Place. If the so-called arbiters of good and evil can recognize, and even embody, human faults without sympathy for those struggling against them, then we have to ask again, what the fuck sort of moral system is this?

William Jackson Harper, Kirby Howell-Baptiste

Photo: Justin Lubin/NBC

And so we cheer on Michael and Janet’s decision to use Janet’s backlog of manifested items as distraction to make a break back to Earth. And we’re roused by the dour Doorman’s decision to betray his boss, tossing his sacred key to Michael with the tersely hilarious, “Good luck, frog man. I’m pulling for you.” Gen, hurling Janet’s heap of human wishes after Trevor into the void, is cast as the villain, not because anything she’s done is wrong, but because the system she’s enforcing appears rigged against anyone who steps out of line. (Remember, we have never received reliable information about a single person who’s racked up enough points to make it to the Good Place.) And so The Good Place blows itself up again, and, as it’s done repeatedly throughout, it does so by leaping through a door before we expect it.

If the squabbles and subterfuge taking place on Earth in this third episode paled in comparison to what we’re used to from The Good Place, the fact that The Good Place (episode written by Dan Schofield) rushes ahead of our expectations suggests that Michael Schur and company, as ever, have a grand design that will only come together in retrospect.

Stray observations

For all Trevor’s assholery , Chidi and Eleanor’s bond is tested most this episode by Chidi’s enthusiasm for his new study, leaving Eleanor feeling like she’s come all the way from Arizona only to be cast aside. As she explains, “I feel like last week I had my own personal ninja master and now I’m taking tai chi with a bunch of farting housewives.”

William Jackson Harper gets some fantastic physical Chidi comedy this time out, especially when his ethical quandary robs him of all but eight non-consecutive minutes of sleep. “It’s fine, you’re not even that blurry,” he assures Simone.

In the end, Chidi and Eleanor’s bond is reaffirmed, if only for a three-month trial period while Chidi tries to find a work-friendship balance. He also answers an imaginary door knock, and can’t remember how he got to Eleanor’s room, holding a socket wrench.

Tahani and Jason, too, show some promise in recapturing their former closeness, as Jason took the very drunk Tahani safely home, and then happily spent the night in a dumpster because he couldn’t remember where he was staying.

Tahani apologizes for the only semi-professional quality of her morning-after apology notes, explaining that she couldn’t find a decent 5 a.m. calligrapher.

Trevor is also like Adam Scott’s Ben Wyatt at his worst, Ben’s Star Wars fandom transformed into Trevor’s enthusiastic wish for a Spaceballs reboot.

Another issue is that I’m not sold on Trevor’s reasoning that Shawn isn’t just outing Michael to the Judge because messing with his friends is “more fun.”

Read into Janet’s pile of manifested junk what you will: easy chair, tortoise, nachos, tractor, army tank, piles of cash, lots of cardboard boxes, backpack, bicycle, 24-hour donut hut, barrel of radioactive waste, traffic cones, steamroller, shopping cart, giraffe, and billboard (in Michael’s Good Place font) reading “Trevor stinks!—Janet.”

Judge Gen, further explaining the chaos Michael has wrought: “Blake Bortles is kind of okay, maybe? I don’t know, it’s being debated among experts.”

Also: Gen: “Byron Allen owns the Weather Channel now!” Michael: “Is that bad?” Gen: “I don’t know, but it’s weird, man!”

Planning to go into the MRI machine for Chidi and Simone’s study, Tahani wonders if her bra will be a problem, since it is made of “very thin but very pure gold.” Also, Jason brings in a very bitey spider, hoping for superpowers.

The group winds up at the restaurant’s Montana table, featuring a picture of the Church Lady. Dana Carvey is, indeed, from Missoula, Montana.

Janet freaks out because, robbed of her powers, she can no longer determine if a man in South American finished the ham sandwich he was eating. “I have to go find him!,” she tells Michael frantically.

As ever, check out our annotated Good Place, complete with stuff you caught but we missed because you’re all so smart.

Source: https://tv.avclub.com/in-a-funny-but-scattered-episode-the-good-place-and-ba-1829530347

[recentnews18-blog]

New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/in-a-funny-but-scattered-episode-the-good-place-and-bad-place-frantically-fight-it-out-on-earth/

In a funny but scattered episode, The Good Place and Bad Place frantically fight it out on Earth

D’Arcy Carden, Ted DansonPhoto: Justin Lubin (NBC)

“Is that bad?” “I don’t know, but it’s weird, man!”

The Good Place has been so consistently great at subverting our expectations that even calling “The Brainy Bunch” my least favorite episode of the series so far isn’t the warning flare it might be otherwise. Things are getting sweaty and desperate in this third episode (“Every part of my body is either too dry or too wet,” complains Michael to Janet), both for the Good Place and Bad Place teams. The thing is, it also feels a little uncharacteristically sweaty and desperate for The Good Place, too.

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The Good PlaceSeason 3

Restating the danger represented by Bad Place douchebag Trevor (Adam Scott, you were missed) as “a diabolical, sadistic agent of evil” sees Michael once more sneaking down to Earth. Thwarted by Trevor’s ability to disruptively blend with Chidi’s study group of the damned (since Michael is known to the group as Zack Pizzazz, Gordon Indigo, and the world’s most reassuring bartender and librarian, respectively), Michael enlists Janet to keep an eye on Trevor’s attempts to drive the group apart with bad advice, bottomless shots, incessant “dank memes,” and general try-hard Ned Flanders-esque chipper obnoxiousness. (Jason thinks Trevor is cool, which is a red flag.) But, since both Janet and Michael share Trevor’s earthbound powerlessness, they’re stuck trying to counter Trevor’s deviousness from the shadows. Or, in Janet’s case, from the beer-fetching cowgirl waitress persona she adopts at the garish Cowboy Skyscraper Buffet Trevor insists they go to. (“I will go physically pick those up I guess, and then walk them back there with my feet,” says the powerless Janet through clenched teeth after failing to make the group’s first round magically appear.)

Adam Scott as TrevorPhoto: Justin Lubin/NBC

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There, Trevor plants seeds of ethical misgivings in Chidi for hanging out with the subjects of his study, drives Eleanor back to her motel room with personalized team sweatshirts and reprehensible Jamaican accents (Adam Scott channeling Michael Scott at his worst), and tries to hook up a drunk Tahani and Jason, thinking that the morning-after shame will send Tahani home on the first private jet. Meanwhile, the rattled Janet is stuck being unable to just manifest things, ranting to Michael about how so much of humans’ lives is spent “just waiting for things to be over.” (Draft beer takes forever.) While Michael proclaims his faith that Chidi, like he’s done every single time over 800 do-overs, will choose to help Eleanor, he—decked out in a trenchcoat and fedora, as is his Dick Tracy conception of cool and surreptitious—can’t help but betray his shaken confidence. So much so that he tries to reprise his avuncular librarian character on the fly to Chidi, introducing his much-less-natural advice by introducing himself as “the librarian, from the library.”

But Michael, soulless creature from the pits of DMV hell that he’s been for all eternity, does have faith. “These four humans are all I care about in the universe,” Michael snaps at the smug Trevor, and, as ever, this immortal weirdo’s transformation remains terribly affecting, even as “The Brainy Bunch” admits some doubts as to the season’s direction. To start, the earthly shenanigans this time out aren’t as fresh as they have been. The Aussie all-American restaurant gags feel forced, from Trevor admiring the “swamp stench” of the Florida table, to the Mount Rushmore of Hulk Hogan, Judge Judy, Paris Hilton, and David Hasselhoff, to the restaurant’s “manifest destiny special” where you can pay extra to kick anyone off of any table you want, it’s all clever enough, I suppose. But it comes off just the wrong side of wacky, like a—and I don’t say this lightly—a latter-season Simpsons conceit. (The same goes for Eleanor’s choice of Australian gossip mag, Aus Weekly.)

Manny Jacinto, Jameela JamilPhoto: Justin Lubin/NBC

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And yet . . .

When Michael and Janet (and the gloating Trevor) are summoned by Mike O’Malley’s Doorman (we find out his name’s Jeff) back to the Judge’s realm, Judge Gen explains how all these repeated incursions have, as Michael hinted last week, caused “ripple effects” on Earth’s reality. There’s a lot to unpack in Gen’s assertions that some of the inexplicable changes (the Jacksonville Jaguars being sort-of good, The World’s Greatest Showman being a hit, Brexit) are things that have actually happened on our Earth. But it’s also tantalizing how the Cowboy Skyscraper Cafe and its attendant food gags (including the drink special, The Fourth Of July, consisting of half a blended apple pie, Southern Comfort, and Coke, served in a Chevy hubcap) smack of Michael’s effortful fake Good Place. (Think last week’s muffin cart, “We Crumb From A Land Down Under,” too.) It’s like the old reality of Michael’s neighborhood is infecting our Earth. If it is, indeed, our Earth. Conspiracy theories in the comments, please.

Manny Jacinto, jameela Jamil, Adam ScottPhoto: Justin Lubin/NBC

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And then there’s the Judge, played to loopy yet authoritative perfection by Maya Rudolph. Upon discovering that Michael and Janet have disobeyed the terms of their experiment, she—after a series of exaggerated vocal tics and hand gestures that suggest just how long Gen has been bored out of her mind in her NCIS-bingeing solitude—plans to summarily whisk them both back to the Bad Place. (She simply hurls suck-up Trevor into the void.) On one hand, that’s only fair. There was a deal, one that stretched the very rules of existence, and they violated it. Gen’s still willing to let their experiment play out sans interference (saying the humans “need to hit the regular point threshold” on their own), but is indifferent to the fact that her decision means Michael will be “retired” (a lot more painful than it sounds, as you recall), and Janet will be turned into an inert marble for all eternity. Again, fair enough, if fairness is indeed what the show’s universe, as presented, is truly built upon.

Gen is by far the fairest nigh-omniscient figure we’ve met, seemingly free from Shawn’s vindictive glee in tormenting others (goo-cocoons aren’t just for his enemies), or Michael’s muddled aspiration. When the four humans told her their plight, she listened, she empathized, and she sentenced them to hell, essentially, because rules are rules. There’s a gnawing unease about that aspect of The Good Place’s universe that’s a lot more existentially frightening than all the penis-flatteners and food that turns to spiders in your mouth that supposedly await the damned in the Bad Place. Rudolph makes Gen a figure of genial, even sentimental amorality in the service of supposed impartiality. Remember when the Judge teared up at the Facebook video she made of her brief time together with the four people she was about to send to hell? That chilling mix of personal mushiness with institutional coldness runs through the episode here, just as it’s lurked through every episode of The Good Place. If the so-called arbiters of good and evil can recognize, and even embody, human faults without sympathy for those struggling against them, then we have to ask again, what the fuck sort of moral system is this?

William Jackson Harper, Kirby Howell-BaptistePhoto: Justin Lubin/NBC

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And so we cheer on Michael and Janet’s decision to use Janet’s backlog of manifested items as distraction to make a break back to Earth. And we’re roused by the dour Doorman’s decision to betray his boss, tossing his sacred key to Michael with the tersely hilarious, “Good luck, frog man. I’m pulling for you.” Gen, hurling Janet’s heap of human wishes after Trevor into the void, is cast as the villain, not because anything she’s done is wrong, but because the system she’s enforcing appears rigged against anyone who steps out of line. (Remember, we have never received reliable information about a single person who’s racked up enough points to make it to the Good Place.) And so The Good Place blows itself up again, and, as it’s done repeatedly throughout, it does so by leaping through a door before we expect it.

If the squabbles and subterfuge taking place on Earth in this third episode paled in comparison to what we’re used to from The Good Place, the fact that The Good Place (episode written by Dan Schofield) rushes ahead of our expectations suggests that Michael Schur and company, as ever, have a grand design that will only come together in retrospect.

Stray observations

For all Trevor’s assholery , Chidi and Eleanor’s bond is tested most this episode by Chidi’s enthusiasm for his new study, leaving Eleanor feeling like she’s come all the way from Arizona only to be cast aside. As she explains, “I feel like last week I had my own personal ninja master and now I’m taking tai chi with a bunch of farting housewives.”

William Jackson Harper gets some fantastic physical Chidi comedy this time out, especially when his ethical quandary robs him of all but eight non-consecutive minutes of sleep. “It’s fine, you’re not even that blurry,” he assures Simone.

In the end, Chidi and Eleanor’s bond is reaffirmed, if only for a three-month trial period while Chidi tries to find a work-friendship balance. He also answers an imaginary door knock, and can’t remember how he got to Eleanor’s room, holding a socket wrench.

Tahani and Jason, too, show some promise in recapturing their former closeness, as Jason took the very drunk Tahani safely home, and then happily spent the night in a dumpster because he couldn’t remember where he was staying.

Tahani apologizes for the only semi-professional quality of her morning-after apology notes, explaining that she couldn’t find a decent 5 a.m. calligrapher.

Trevor is also like Adam Scott’s Ben Wyatt at his worst, Ben’s Star Wars fandom transformed into Trevor’s enthusiastic wish for a Spaceballs reboot.

Another issue is that I’m not sold on Trevor’s reasoning that Shawn isn’t just outing Michael to the Judge because messing with his friends is “more fun.”

Read into Janet’s pile of manifested junk what you will: easy chair, tortoise, nachos, tractor, army tank, piles of cash, lots of cardboard boxes, backpack, bicycle, 24-hour donut hut, barrel of radioactive waste, traffic cones, steamroller, shopping cart, giraffe, and billboard (in Michael’s Good Place font) reading “Trevor stinks!—Janet.”

Judge Gen, further explaining the chaos Michael has wrought: “Blake Bortles is kind of okay, maybe? I don’t know, it’s being debated among experts.”

Also: Gen: “Byron Allen owns the Weather Channel now!” Michael: “Is that bad?” Gen: “I don’t know, but it’s weird, man!”

Planning to go into the MRI machine for Chidi and Simone’s study, Tahani wonders if her bra will be a problem, since it is made of “very thin but very pure gold.” Also, Jason brings in a very bitey spider, hoping for superpowers.

The group winds up at the restaurant’s Montana table, featuring a picture of the Church Lady. Dana Carvey is, indeed, from Missoula, Montana.

Janet freaks out because, robbed of her powers, she can no longer determine if a man in South American finished the ham sandwich he was eating. “I have to go find him!,” she tells Michael frantically.

As ever, check out our annotated Good Place, complete with stuff you caught but we missed because you’re all so smart.

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Source: https://tv.avclub.com/in-a-funny-but-scattered-episode-the-good-place-and-ba-1829530347