#tf: deus ex machina

[that--unusual-person]

What do your Skywarp and Thundercracker look like?

they look like stealth jets

but they’re the loudest

[gentlemean]

Episode 136 spoilers:

Grug???????????

[rei-ismyname]

Uncanny X-Men #12 review

Out of all the issues in From The Ashes I found this one most challenging to review. Yes, even more than Chuck Hunt: Omega. My relationship with this book has been an odd one. I really want it to be something it's not, and I'm not pointing any fingers for that, but it's difficult to analyse something based on what it is rather than what I hope it could be. I want to enjoy it too, and I can't help but think that I'm letting perfect be the enemy of okay. Above all, I don't want to be putting out negativity every time an issue drops. As a reviewer, I need to be truthful and hopefully entertaining. So there's the tension for me. I didn't rush to get this done - I wanted to breathe and look past what doesn't work to identify what does - to be a bit more even handed while trying to make people laugh or even smile. 

Jitter took the explosion seriously

Uncanny X-Men #12 is a Gambit focus issue, and so far I feel like Gambit has just been there. Along for the ride with the Deus Ex Machina he stole off a dragon, mostly reacting to Rogue the main character. Characters being married is a dynamic with a lot of potential. They're committed to each other and can be greater than the sum of their parts. So far that hasn't really been the case. Rogue is the centre of the narrative and Gambit supports her without really wanting anything himself. He's not alone in that, but it gets in the way of sincerity and depth that I think are necessary components of character work. If Gambit has been an extension of Rogue, why should I care about him? I'll get to that - first we have to check in on the Outliers as the rest of the issue is Gambit's solo adventure.

Last issue Rogue had a bit of a moment - the kids were doing danger room training and she asked Remy to blow Jitter up. He did it without question and supported the decision with trite justification, supporting his wife when everyone else was like 'TF was that about, Cyclops?' Logan backed the decision too, as expected, which sounds like a good recipe for conflict. 

The Outliers seem to be doing okay by themselves tbh. Jitter is working herself to death and is a bit scared of Rogue, but it's satisfying for Rogue to admit she was wrong. It's not exactly an apology, but yes, blowing up a traumatized child who'd just proved herself vs sentinels was messed up. I'm just happy to have the previous issue acknowledged, though acknowledging the one before that would be even better. The one where the X-Men dropped the ball and left the kids to be mauled by the Wolfpack.

The solidarity among the Outliers is wonderful to see and it does feel earned. These kids have been through hell together, worked together and have formed their own family unit. We know Calico's deal and a little of Ransom's, hopefully we get to know Jitter and Deathdream's story. How did they end up here? What do they want and how do they feel about their new lives? Deathdream wants to learn how to box, which is cool, and Ransom training him is even better. I feel like Simone would rather be writing about these four, and that they'd almost be better off without the X-Men, but here we are.

Narrative 101 is setting up and foreshadowing significant beats. Uncanny spent so much time on the now absent Chuck in its first arc, neglecting the main characters, that flashbacks have become a common way to introduce a plot point or character moment. It's not a very satisfying way of telling stories, though I'm sympathetic to the information vacuum creators work in.  It also means we spend less time in the present exploring the group dynamic, so growth can feel unearned. Hell, focusing a whole issue on Gambit feels awkward because we don't know the kids that well. We don't have a thesis. No thesis is a thesis in itself, though it's a shaky identity to build on.

Gambit receives an ominous letter from The Vig - a new character - so we spend half the issue in flashback to find out what the deal is. It comes out of nowhere and isn't especially linked to any previous issues. I'd prefer to get to know the kids better and deal with their problems, but here we are learning about the young Prince of Thieves and the parasite he's been paying his whole life.

A gang of kids from a rival guild are picking on him for all manner of reasons. His adopted daddy said he's not allowed to fight, but he doesn't really have a choice when it's 4 on 1. He did pick all their pockets while getting beat down, Gambit style, and he's caught the eye of this ... crocodile dude. Alligator dude, I suppose.

The Vig facilitates youthful rebellion and revenge, a young Remy leans into it and beats them up. I confess I know very little about inter-guild politics and this issue doesn't really elaborate. That works for a self contained story, though it is a little cliché.

Okay, we learn a little more here. These kids have mobster parents in the Assassin's Guild, which is a little redundant but it doesn't really matter. Marvel has so many organised crime outfits and they're all a bit ridiculous. These guys kill people for money and they're here for Remy and his new alligator man friend. The Vig shrugs off bullets and fucks them up.

Remy is terrified and runs away from everything apparently, showing up at Haven where he's welcomed in. He reads about a gangland slaying in the paper and gets a call from The Vig - in exchange for the help he demands 25% of all future earnings. As he tells Rogue in the present, he's been paying this parasite ever since. He stopped doing that, or something, and now he insists. Rogue wants to go with him, which seems really sensible, but Remy refuses. The Vig knows where he, the kids and his wife/friends live. The choice to go it alone works for a pulp crime story, but this is an X-Men story - one where rushing into danger alone has been a mistake every time.

The Vig wants more than just money, he wants one of the Outliers. These kids are popular. Everyone wants them. Gambit of course says no, and they fight. Unsurprisingly, he's tougher than when he was a child.

It's Gambit - he blows the dude up and takes the wind out of him. At his mercy, he explains that he's figured his bullshit out. The whole thing was a setup on a ten year old, but the Assassin's Guild hate this jerk too. Thanks to Gambit, they know where he is and I assume they kill him. Good times.

Remy returns to Haven with Crawfish and they have a cookup. A happy ending, and a bit of self contained fun. I don't have a lot to say about this one, tbh. It's a very paint-by-numbers issue and isn't trying to be more than that. I don't expect anything from this three act adventure to affect future issues, and I think it's a bit of a waste to have the characters apart for so much of it. For what it is it's neither terrible nor amazing - not the kind of story you revisit, but it introduces a conflict then solves it with a little main character interaction as garnish.

The elephant in the room is the events of X-Manhunt, but I look to adjectiveless for follow up on that. Maybe it'll come up later here, maybe not. My expectations are tempered and that's okay. If you're not already sold on Uncanny I don't see issue #12 changing that.

[islib]

a few bullet point thoughts on Cinderella's Castle that I'd love to essay around but I'll never have the drive to finish (mostly spoiler-free, but some of these things may hint towards what happens so proceed at your own risk):

the Elizabethan vibes of the Bog's Hollow Players

the associated Puck vibes of the Narrator

the potential for propaganda themes of the framing device ("are they true or are they tall" "the queen is coming down" come tf on you're telling me this is all true? none of it is the image the queen's trying to portray? mhm.)

a true underdog story! "oh but it relies on deus ex machina" no nonono, it relies on reminding you that the villains sow the seeds of their own destruction (goes for both Ella v Trolls and Tadius v Monarchy)

YOU CAN'T FIX HIM, GIRL. thankfully he's a dumbass, will think someone else's you and they'll kill him. (there's a working metaphor in there somewhere, I'm sure)

how tf Tadius got (and kept) his job AND what this might mean about his background (and also why he's conducting the wedding aside from meta reasons)

troll magic causes hair to go poofy?

lawyers existing in a feudalistic nation with fae folk is interesting. I feel like they're definitely more useful dealing with the fae than with the ruling class.

this show would also work fucking fantastic as a full puppet show with the only person-actor being the Narrator. I can see it in my head. I will dream it for weeks. (brb gotta see if the puppetry museum near my residence might be able to help me)

the word trappings

the way Castle on the Hill feels like it's just the Players' usual opening number and they just switch a few words around to fit whatever the play is (THE NARRATOR HAS A CATCHPHRASE AND I'M NORMAL ABOUT IT)

something about the religion. nine gods of a religion that are likely not real-real, just believed in; while there are other god-like beings that may be mostly forgotten? as a person obsessed with the number three I must know what kind of domains there are among the nine!

[punkspacepirate]

Doctor Who e8 ops

LIKES:

Bone beasts

Reality doesn't function without trans people fuck you jkr

Anita!!!!

Conrad was pathetic as he should be

Return of 13 to be an icon

The glimpse of the chess smackdown with 11 in the hotel

15th doctor says if I wear enough blue pinstripe I can implode fascist wishverse

Kate hating tweed

Rani remembered mel

The implication that everything was orange just bc conrad didn't have the brain power to remember a more complicated set of bins

Rani reminds us eugenics are evil

DISLIKES:

Entire poppy plotline

Omega's design

Reality randomly retconning a child into Belinda's life

Underused rani, Mrs flood didn't need to be there why tf did the bigeneration happen and why did Mrs flood completely defer to the rani

Mel didn't get to talk enough shit to the rani tf u mean we meet again

They had him say "joy to the world" again. Was hammy enough first time.

More action film than doctor who put those gun turrets away or so help me

The fact that Belinda's response to finding out that she'd been Conrad'd into having a daughter wasn't sheer horror to the point she was ok w the doctor doing a suicide run to unearth this child

No explanation on the visions of Susan

They left Rogue in greenscreen superhell

Anita pregnancy adds nothing

Plot was too convoluted

Belinda got way too mad at Ruby for asking if she had a daughter shed forgotten

Explanation not clear enough on time lord fertility + too much talking about time lord fertility. Do they mean that time Lords are sterilised as part of the academy process, bc that I could buy and it would be pretty interesting? But it sounds like they were saying gallifreyans are a sterile species which isn't true. Then it sounded like one of the two major time lord Extinction events sterilised them across time in the aftermath, which I could also buy but then that would mean the doctor shouldn't be so confident in that knowledge

Conrad got happy ending :/ and didn't get punched even though Ruby specifically stated her intent to do so

No explanation of why Ruby could remember what she could even though that ended up being significant twice over and led to the re-Poppying

Too many wishes, there's a reason genies put a cap on this stuff

Yaz mention yet no mention of getting Ruby into her support group

The fact he regenerated. Even though the writing has been patchy across 15s run I really liked him as a doctor and he deserved way more (both character and actor) than the 18 (?) And a bit episodes he got, I wanted more it's not a good decision it feels like they're scrambling

The way he regenerated???? Effectively suicide??? To possibly save a child he accidentally wished up in conservative wes andersons wet dream that is only questionably real?? Even if he did need to blow up reality they could've used the vindicator for that and not the Omega shit. Or said there was enough power in it for another go. Or have him drive his tardis rly fast. Or use the power of friendship. There's so many deus ex machinas to use in that moment that it seems the weakest justification and a real insult to the character to have that happen in the way it did

Billie piper next doctor. Girl I love you but no.

(My most surprising takeaway at end of season is that initially I like belinda a lot more than Ruby, and then by the end I had completely switched up bc of these past episodes)

(This is no hate to any actors involved I think they've done a great job, and I also don't think that doctor who being cheesy, campy, complicated, political, full of macguffins, and nonsensical is bad. I love this nonsense show I just think the writers are doing a disservice to the actors, characters, story, and show. )

[fanfiction-artist-prototype]

I'm always a slag for character A time travels and when returning to the present accidentally gets mistaken as their own child by the people they knew in the past (if you know which of my projects I'm referring to ya know probably where this is going), anyway. This concept with your simple Rook time travels fic concept. Except they time travel to DA2 time rather than say Inquisition.

Just. Rook ending up in Kirkwall just a bit before or after Hawke, a so called refugee in lowtown working odd jobs to get by bc Rook figured out they're in Kirkwall around the same time as the fifth blight and going off of varrics stories if anyone can figure out thr weird magic that totally is not a random elven deus ex machina it'll be Daisy aka Merril. But their best bet at getting her help is through being friends with Hawke and the group. So that's what they do.

And maybe Rook steals some artifact Merril finds for them or they die or the Veilguard find a way to reverse the deus ex machina and they return home but with thr last effects of their involvement with the champion of Kirkwall there are now people who assume when they meet rook that they're their own kid.

Like. I just think itd be so funny for Rook to immediately clock that blood magic varric is not real varric bc Solas has misinterpreted/has memories of varric talking about this friend from kirkwall/showing the inner circle a mini portrait of the Kirkwall crew with Rook there and assumed that present mid veilguard Rook was Varrics carefully concealed niece/nephew and acts accordingly whereas Rook is like I'm sorry tf is happening rn.

[umaia3aurart]

What are your thoughts over the Japanese dub of the transformer prime series? Or any tf series!

I kinda love the second opening song of the primverse

OH! This is gonna be a long post! Let me talk a lot PLSSS!! 🥺👉👈

I love the original TFP dub but I also dig the Japanese version! I often enjoy comparing the differences between them!

A lot of popular voice actors in Japan participate in the show. Some of them even did voices in the “BEAST WARS” series, which had a big fanbase in my country.

The biggest difference between the original and the Japanese version is that the latter makes a few adjustments to the characters to make them more distinctive and child-friendly. They even added some comical lines that weren’t in the original to make it more mild and relatable for children. Because the original had some pretty serious moments. So in the Japanese version, Starscream and Airachnid turned out to be the funniest characters…

Similarly, “BEAST WARS” also underwent some comical changes for similar reasons. And because of that, the show was a hit with Japanese kids back in the day. So in TFP, I'd say they also gave a nod to fans who grew up watching it.

But as you can imagine, these changes have divided opinions among fans in Japan. Tbh, I understand how both of them feel about it because I love the original vibes! That being said, the Japanese dub has a lot of adorable moments that don’t exist in the original version! Let me pick up MY BOY BREAKDOWN as an example!!!!

He has a funny childish demeanor and talks more than in the original dub. His favorite phrase is “壊すの大好き!(I love breaking things!)”

In “Deus Ex Machina,” the episode of his first appearance, he says, “あーーーごめーーーーん！！(AAAHHH I’M SOOOORYYYYYY!!!)” to Knock Out when he accidentally hits his partner's face with his hammer!

In the next episode, “Speed Metal,” when Starscream scratches Knock Out’s paint as a punishment, Breakdown breaks the fourth wall and speaks to kids in front of the TV, saying “みんなぁ！ いじめはダメだぞぉ！(HEY YOU GUYS!! BULLYING IS WRONG!!)” AWW IT'S SO ADORABLE!! HES 100% A NICE GUY lmao

And surprisingly, he even sings a song sometimes... If you don't believe me, please check out “T.M.I” and “Operation Bumblebee part 2” 🥺

And Our Knock Out is even more of a narcissist than in the original. He always praises himself for how beautiful he is. He usually uses polite Japanese when talking to others, but sometimes he talks to Breakdown casually! I love how the difference in his behavior signifies that Breakdown is special to him as a friend! ( ꈍᴗꈍ) <3

In addition, the voices of Optimus and Megatron both sound younger than in the original! On the other hand, Bulkhead sounds older than in the English version. That's interesting! Oh, and did you know? Wheeljack speaks just like a samurai! This change is probably due to his two-sword style.

I especially love Japanese Ratchet. The voice actor is Nobuo Tobita, who has played many TF characters until now. His voice is really soft and gentle! Besides, he also voiced Scourge in Rise of the Beasts! Wow, he has a wide range of acting! I’m a long-time fan of his!

Oh, speaking of ROTB, let me mention Japanese Mirage’s voice actor, Shingo Fujimori! He’s a famous comedian, and his comedy style is acting like a player and a party person (or someone like that… it’s difficult to explain). He shouts things like “YOOO! GIRL, YOU’RE SO PURDYYY!” So he really fits the character of Mirage!

Oh! And you listened to “TRANSFORMERZ” by M-flo? I like the song too! The original opening theme of TFP is magnificent, so you all might be surprised at the gap between them, but such an anime style is not bad, right? It's interesting how we find different styles in different countries!Unfortunately, the show was only broadcast in Japan up to seasons 2. I wish I could have seen the entire series dubbed in Japanese...😭

I really talked for quite a while, sorry! Thank you for the question, and for taking the time to read!

[that--unusual-person]

So…… Starscream and Soundwave are together, Whirl is flirting with Shockwave? Or are Starscream Soundwave and Shockwave in a poly relationship?

Are there romances in your AU or was those posts unrelated lols

mostly for the lol’s. but they are, in a way, close

[autistic-crypt1d]

Stargate SG-1 Live Blogging:

Season 9

I can't believe I'm already on 9, I swear 5-7 went by so fast

Seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Updates:

- Avalon: Part 1

- how and why did they make the gate intro worse. It was so good and now it looks so animated

- I don't really understand why Mitchell was treated so differently than all the other people who were in that battle

- Vala!

- how did she even know how to find them?

- Daniel is so fed up

- "Let's make babies!" bruh XD

- ok I admit it, this group is really funny together

- Avalon: Part 2

- "give me a minute" *reaches* "not a minute" *reaches again* "still not a minute" XD

- "bullets bounce!" *makes lines in the air* Cam is so fucking goofy help

- "how much worse can it get?!" *ceiling starts to collapse* "it was a mistake the moment I said it. The moment."

- I'm sorry the fact that they added fucking mardi gras beads in the treasure is so funny

- oh god the device

- here we go

- oh god here it comes :(

- 😭

- oh god, the way he holds her body 😭

- Origin

- the ruins in the water is so cool

- lost some notes here

- god the Ori are so annoying

- the possession scene was cool, I'll give it that

- LET'S GO TEAM!!!

- this scene between Jack and Daniel is filmed really weirdly, it seems like they're not actually in the same room and they used stunt doubles for some reason. The way they keep flipping with only a single shot of both at the end is so odd

- The Ties That Bind

- god Daniel and Cam are such a silly ass team

- THE BOTTLES

- ew ew ew ew ew

- ah yes, the Lucian Alliance

- bro ROASTED O'Neill

- The Powers That Be

- THE PLAY

- "it was a whopper" XD

- smacks the cage XD

- I forgot Cam gets infected here

- her reaction 😭

- Beachead

- the team is so cute is love them

- UGH not this Goa'uld, he's so annoying 😭

- Sam!!!

- nuke free career, yeeeaaaaah should've thought about that before joining SG-1 my guy

- tha arm grab XD

- "yo" good lord Cam

- I'm sorry but with how smart Sam is, how tf did she not figure this out sooner

- the supergate is literally the only cool thing that the Ori do

- Ex Deus Machina

- woah I do not remember this at all

- I'm sorry Jaffa in an office building is so goofy

- 'I'll follow your laws but uh I put a bomb somewhere just in case that's not enough for you' BRUH

- the patch rip XD

- god, the Ba'al clones

- Babylon

- ahhh yes this one, the prelude to one of my favorite episodes of these seasons, the one with those mutant things

- it's so hard not to see him as Ben from Grey's Anatomy, I always forget he plays this guy until I see this episode again

- bruh I completely forgot that this prior is played by the same dude that plays Cancer Man on X-Files

- Prototype

- "I thought it was always our fault" XD

- OH IT'S THIS EPISODE

- mini anubis

- I'm sorry but mini anubis is so cringe and un-scary

- ascend-o-meter, really

- I get where Woolsey is coming from tbh. The priors are put there, right now, wreaking havoc in the galaxy and this mini Anubis is the closest thing they have to capturing one for study in order to fight them. Is it a good idea? No, but they don't have any better ones right now

- well that tracks

- ah yes, stand in front of the door, smart

- Daniel and Cam walking up the ramp shooting is pretty damn cool gotta say

- "sounds to me like you might find out in yourself too forgive me" "no" ouch

- The Fourth Horseman (Part 1)

- hell yeah Cam, men need to call eachother out on that shit

- PFFFFT the fucking Dark Pariah music XD

- omfg I forgot this is the other Orlin episode

- AHHHH AWKWARD AWKWARD AWKWARD

- The Fourth Horseman (Part 2)

- the scene in the lab where Orlin is talking about his memory loss is so sad :(

- " and what is the measure of a god Garak? Is it the scope of their power, or how they choose to wield that power." TELL HIM TEAL'C

- ow, the final Orlin scene 😭

- Collateral Damage

- oh boy this one

- god I'm sorry but this team is so boring without Vala. Cam doesn't have enough to his character to make up for the loss of Jack, Vala made up that difference

- I recognize the scientist woman from somewhere

- :(

- Ripple Effect

- oh boy is this the alternate reality teams one??

- IT IS!!!

- they didn't notice that they came back in different uniforms???

- good lord Mitchel

- Dr Frasier 😭

- PFFFT the Martouf and Sam(s) scene XD

- "What were you expecting?" "Well, pants for one" XD

- KVASIR APPEARING BETWEEN THEM LIKE A CHILD IS SO FUNNY

- Kvasir's speech and immediate beam out is so funny

- this Teal'c is so mean :(

- I like to think that the fact that he never has to cut a wire to diffuse something was intentional, that the other Mitchel was just fucking with him

- Janet 😭

- I miss her so much

- Stronghold

- I mean, she's right. The women need to be able to vote before democracy can actually work, you can't ignore a huge chunk of the population. Sucks that she did it for bad reasons though.

- "Teal'c is family, I don't like people screwing with my family" DAMN RIGHT

- YAY!!! JAFFA DEMOCRACY!!!

- :(

- Ethon

- ugh these people again, I skipped their first episode, Icon

- MCNAB?!?!?!

- stop this is so sad 😭

- I forgot this is how the Prometheus goes down 😭

- I hate this dude so much

- :(

- Off the Grid

- why do they all look so good in those outfits

- Ba'al having to hike up his robe and step through the door is so funny

- Teal'c is so cool

- "we are indeed suitably employed" XD

- The Scourge

- the bug one! For some reason I always thought this one had Jack in it

- oh gross this part

- bro glasses guy is so fucking annoying

- hell yeah Woolsey

- the fact they do movie nights is so cute

- Arthur's Mantel

- finally back to the Arthurian stuff

- THIS ONE!!

- the shoves XD

- let's go Daniel!!!

- their high-five was so cute

- I forgot how spooky dude looked

- damn it Bill

- their little shrugs XD

- "did ya even think about that" "I did not"

- shoves part 2 XD

- Crusade

- Vala!!!

- god this shit is sad 😭

- Camelot

- Cam, you're such a show off

- THE EASTER BUNNY

- "I was Kel-no-reeming" uhuh, sure Cam

- "good thing or bad thing?" *screaming in the distance "bad thing" XD

- HELL YEAH GIRL

- GET HIM MITCHELL

- the beam out bit in this show will never stop being funny to me

- the supergate is so cool

- also the Human, Jaffa, Lucian Alliance, and Asgard all battling these things is awesome

- :(

Season 10

[fictional-love-is-my-life]

If I ma not wrong there's critic for bay matrix leadership.

I mean in all media except bay, matrix leadership while is pure energy it can't bring someone back. After all if matrix can doing it rodimua prime will it exist.

So while matrix can doing something it can't bring Cybertron peoples back. Sure in tfprime optimus using matrix to revive Cybertron but he also must die with it.

Also matrix can bring tf back, get many critics because well why optimus not using it to bring his fallen soldiers? While I believe there's limitations but still it's questionable

So yeah many fans kind angry bay make matrix can bring tf back.

Bayverse definitely just went their own way with lore. There's not a lot of similarities with Bay and other TF continuities. It's just kind of it's own thing. In Bay the Matrix of leadership was used as this one time super powerful thing, that then suddenly disappeared. I mean the way I think Bay had it planned was he wanted the audience to be sad Prime died, and to feel like it was the end of everything. But he couldn't keep him dead forever so what could he do, well he used the Matrix as a way to bring him back. As a way to make the story. He pretty much made the Matrix his own thing. But hey the Bay movies are their own thing, they are very different to everything else.

They could have used it for multiple things but I think Bay had a vision of what he wanted and just decided to get rid of it.

It's been a while since I've seen the movie, but if I recall. The fallen stole the Matrix out of Optimus's chest (once he was alive again) and used it to fuel the machine that eats suns. But then when the machine was destroyed it looked like it destroyed the Matrix. Or that's what I thought.

Unless Optimus grabbed it and stuck it back in his chest. But then it was never mentioned again so I assumed it was just gone. And I think that is why they didn't use to bring back all the other dead soldiers. They also probably didn't use it to bring back anyone else because that would have been too much and/or Bay wanted to keep those bots dead to keep fans sad.

I think Bay pretty much used it as a deus ex machina type of thing. Just to have an excuse to kill Prime then bring him back.

[official-sonic-team]

tf rollback i am definitely naming one of the episodes “deus ex machina”. also “instruments of destruction”

[goldenfox3]

Yeah I was also thinking about what deus ex machina thing I could have someone pull to yoink Andy from the finale and to another world to save him at the cost of leaving his world behind and I was like "damn what other series am I going to have to do a crossover with what do I even know well enough that'd fit the criteria" but. Game Falcon is literally right there. I've already written him reaching across the universes to save Andy before. It wouldn't be set in TF or ATFS verse bc I'd want to do a separate thing but post GX Falcon feeling a ripple in his soul...? or something and instinctively reaching out to this resonant feeling and suddenly an alternate universe Falcon comes tumbling out on him lmao. And he lets Andy stay with him bc he kind of is responsible for dumping the man in a foreign world with nothing and no one familiar when that man was fully embracing death. I think I could even pull a very slow burn Falcon/Falcon out of it as they learn to live together and about each others' quirks, hopes, dreams, regrets, the things they show to no one else, the things no one else has ever understood so well...but it wouldn't necessarily have to be shippy lmao I just think it would be very funny as a ship or queerplatonic or situationship or weird alternate universe bffs.

Andy probably doesn't go out a lot initially especially if he's recovering from getting blown up again and probably putters around Doug's house curled up with a book or drawing or cooking and cleaning and welcoming him home. Very domestic. Weirdly domestic for Doug and it takes him a while to get used to having home cooked food that someone else prepared waiting for him and the chores done and the evidence of someone else's presence seeping throughout his living space. I think one of the ultimate signs of Doug coming to trust him and accept him in his life would be letting him drive his Blue Falcon just to see the depth of emotion that's been missing from Andy ever since they met show itself if only for a few fleeting moments. Exhilaration, wild joy, all things that he never knew if the muted, melancholy adriftness hanging around Andy would ever let him experience again.

For Andy's part he's very caring and emotionally perceptive as we know so to have that kind of personality right up in Doug's personal space...I feel like he'd pick up on a lot of the insecurities and buried desires that Doug represses even from himself. He knows intimately well that Falcon is a performance, an ideal, even as a part of yourself. And caring for someone again would give him a sense of purpose after the uncertainty of being dragged back from death after giving his life to fulfill his life's purpose. I think at some point the question could finally be raised of what Andy actually wants to do with his life when he isn't tied to being Falcon anymore, when he isn't tied to anyone or anything and is just thinking about himself.

[bxriles]

Fuck it. If Gege pulls a deus ex machina to kill Sukuna and keeps on with the bs about how ‘he wasn’t even giving it his all’ in the fight with Gojo, we can validly say JJK has gone down the toilet. It won’t be reaching, it won’t be delusional or biased, it will be legit criticism.

Am i nuts for thinking that at this point JJK needs to end tragically for it to be a satisfactory ending? Because good stories set expectations for how they will go. Sure, there can be some good twists, but there’s still a basic understanding of what kind of story it’ll be. Like Naruto and Avatar: The Last Airbender were set up so that the audience could tell that they would end with the protagonist saving the world and having a mostly happy ending, and that didn’t take away the quality of the writing.

But JJK isn’t set up for a happy ending anymore. People who valued kindness and/or had no ill intent are dead - Nanami, Haibara, Yaga, Riko, etc. Or there was Geto, whose kindness turned into something ugly and hateful. The most powerful character who was the cornerstone of the Good Guys’ movement was killed. And even worse is that Gojo makes his grand declaration to Ijichi that he’s going to change society and make things better, but in the end he didn’t accomplish that. He ended up killing the higher-ups anyway, told Gakuganji to continue the very same system just with different people, and he doesn’t beat the strongest force of evil that he was foreshadowed to defeat. That’s not a good twist, it’s disappointing.

If there’s a ~bittersweet~ conclusion it is going to come across as poor writing. The Good Guys have been steadily losing and losing and losing, jujutsu society hasn’t been changed, and a lot of interesting/good characters are dead.

At this point let Sukuna win. Uraume can cook all the surviving humans for him and then Sukuna can save his beloved chef for last to cannibalize.

Sorry this ask was long oops you don’t have to read all that

tl,dr - Gege is on the precipice of ending JJK quite poorly and Sukuna should win

YES!!! Literally yes to ALL of this!!! This sums everything up so perfectly. You said everything that needed to be said and took the words right out of my mouth. More unhinged ranting below the cut:

You are SPOT ON with the Naruto and ATLA comparison. I am not kidding when I say I am now Team Sukuna. Why wouldn't I be? With the way the narrative is right now, I would feel so cheated if he didn't win. Does Gege really expect us to believe that the remaining Good Guys can beat Sukuna when the singular character who has been set up to defeat Sukuna since chapter 2 couldn't do it? Does he really expect us to be satisfied with Yuji (ily bby but wtf can you actually do rn?) killing Sukuna when Gojo Satoru, the strongest, could not?

I saw a post the other week that compared JJK to Naruto. The whole point of the post was that with other shonen manga (Naruto, OP, DBZ, etc.), we KNOW the protagonist is always going to win, even if it feels like a cop out. So when Kid Naruto beats tf out of a very powerful Orochimaru, we're all like "yeah okay, makes sense." But JJK has done the opposite. JJK has told us that just because someone is the protagonist does not mean they're going to automatically win. I mean, we've seen Yuji get the shit beat out of him so many times because of this. So JJK set up this pretty legit power dynamic and told us that the only person who can defeat the big baddie is Gojo Satoru and we have been given no reason to think otherwise. So when Gojo dies and Yuji somehow defeats Sukuna with an ass-pull, we're all going to be pissed because we were promised otherwise. If we saw Yuji beating special-grades left and right from the first few chapters, then it would probably be fine. But that is not what Gege wrote!! He wrote the opposite of this ffs.

And your whole point about all the people who valued kindness being gone is another thing that makes me even more frustrated. If we're going for a straight up tragedy, FAIR ENOUGH. But if Gege wants to turn this into a bittersweet ending or if he wants Yuji to beat Sukuna, it'll feel cheap.

Let Sukuna and Uraume kill everyone and everything. Any other ending will be bullshit.

[littlealeta]

Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina Review

Oh boy, where do I start?

So, this random movie from my childhood that nobody talks about just popped in my head one day and to be fair, I always thought this film was a mixed bag. I was a little too old for it at the time and I knew it had some charm to it and it was entertaining in some spots, but a lot of parts were just frustrating and easy to make fun of. But I never understood why it rubbed me the wrong way besides the animation. So, let's take a deep dive into this obscure movie, shall we? But, before I talk about the negatives, I do want to say one wholly positive thing about the film. The voice acting is the real highlight. That's it, I guess.

Story

I'm tired of running....

All I can say is... it left a lot to be desired. Lazy, rushed, and undercooked. It has potential, don't get me wrong. It's a refreshing take to have Thumbelina being abused and taken advantage of for her size, but they don't do anything with that concept after the beginning. I also don't understand why they had her be born in a little people village instead of just having her be born in the flower like in the story and then kidnapped. It just feels pointless. Hell, a lot of scenes in this movie is pointless.

Look, I'm not a scientist or expert on physics or whatever but I don't think that boat should be going backwards after it spent all that time going forwards.

I would've liked to see Thumbelina run into similar obstacles she has had her whole life throughout the story of being taken advantage of, studied, experimented on, and abused. Instead we just get human trafficking, like you might as well just go all ham if you're gonna have shit like that in there. It would've at least made the emotional core more powerful.

The action scenes are anticlimatic and full of deus ex machinas and surpise motherfuckers and conveniently shaped lamps. It's like the story doesn't know what it wants to be. One moment it's dark and disturbing as shit and then the next, it's more diabetic than many Disney films.

And Tom Thumb's story is just... I got nothing. I will explain more in the character section, but there's literally nothing interesting about his story because he's more of the deuteragonist to Thumbelina's protagonist, which is not an excuse but whatever.

As a couple, these two have little chemistry. They are the generic enemies to lovers trope and are only drawn together due to their similar lives, except Tom Thumb mostly grew up happy. The reason for their conflict in the first place made no fucking sense. The movie just wanted an excuse to have conflict and that's it. And then all of a sudden, they are now everything to each other, despite fighting 5 minutes ago. There's so many inconsistencies to this movie, it's insane, and I will explain more in the character section. If you really wanted to have conflict between them, maybe develop their (at least Tom Thumb's) personalities more? Maybe his optimism, cheerfulness and naivete clashes with Thumbelina's cynicism, pessimism, and depression. And through their journey, they learn and grow together and learn to help each other overcome their weaknesses. Because the film really doesn't have much character development and whatever little development they do have is pretty rushed.

And wtf was wrong with the script in this film? It looks like it didn't even get past the first or second drafts. There's wording in there like "you irrigate me" that sound like typos, it has all the things a script shouldn't have while also having the skeletons of a good movie. They even broke the show don't tell rule near the end where Thumbelina starts monologuing about how hellish her life was and that she gets to make her own decisions and then points out the whole mother like daughter bs like stfu. WE ALREADY KNOW THIS MOVIE! And WHO TF IS GOING TO CARE THAT A YOUNG ADULT WANTS TO MAKE HER OWN DECISIONS? And then the movie starts convoluting itself by revealing that Tom Thumb was arranged to marry Thumbelina all along (I thought this was a simple kids film?). Of all the writing mistakes this movie has, I thought it would have the decency to avoid those shits.

Most of the jokes are more contrived than funny, even one involves a poop joke.

Characters

None of them are anything special, to be honest. But I will start with Thumbelina.

She has all the makings of a great character. She’s strong and compelling, but she’s also a very flawed character with a lot of vulnerability. If you know me, you would know that these kind of characters are right up my alley. Spike Spiegel, Rick Sanchez, Shadow the Hedgehog, the There is No Game guy, those are all characters that have trust issues and hate people at first but their hatred belies a sense of loneliness and sadness which they all overcome once you break down their barriers. So, what went wrong here? Well, it’s the fact that Thumbelina doesn’t really have any significant growth regarding that. She doesn’t even seem to go through any trials that tests those weaknesses in order for her to grow. She meets Tom Thumb literally 30 minutes into the film, they fight a bit but a minute later, they fall in love. I also don’t think that they handled the depth of her character well.

Then why are you smiling?

She’s actually kind of a bitch, she bitches about losing some grass game despite her being too small and weak to win whatever the fuck it was, she yells at a frog, she yells at the lady bugs who ask her who she is and Tom Thumb, who she just met and has done nothing to her and she runs away from him, and then suddenly attacks and insults his height. So, does Thumbelina want to find another tiny person like her or not? Now, I do think these kind of interactions could be written well, but something is missing here. It feels out of left field. I could probably buy this a bit more if Thumbelina was abused by everyone all her life, but she had friends, so why was she so hostile to these characters for no reason?

Then stop looking at him funny!

She's also a victim of the constant pointlessness and inconsistences of the film so one minute, she Princess Peaches the mole and then the next, she's calling Tom Thumb a thing despite him being the EXACT same species SHE is and ALSO yells at the ladybugs about it earlier in the film.

All in all, she’s alright, she’s definitely the most developed and best character here, but I think they could’ve done better to make her more likeable and consistent.

Tom Thumb

Two-dimensional. The fact that he has no backstory to explain his personality unlike Thumbelina tells you right then and there how shallow he is. The movie mentions that he somehow escapes the circus, but we don't know how. If that's the case, then why did Thumbelina stay there all this time? Again, you could've had the exact same problem even with her escaping because all her life, she has encountered many different people bullying her and taking advantage of her, which would make the story and her character much more powerful. Considering how headstrong she is, I thought she would've taken that route a long time ago anyway and not just because someone told her where her village is. Also, if you're not going to develop his time in trafficking, then why not just go with the original story and just have him be adopted. He also feels out of place in his world, but in contrast to Thumbelina who was gaslit all her life, his caring role models can tell him that there are others like him somewhere in the 7.8 billion people in the world. He also has a bit of an emotional scene with his adoptive father where he has to leave him, but this is never elaborated on at all. Nor do we see Tom Thumb struggle with this. It's just another excuse for the movie to get the plot going.

Mole King

Disturbing af. Blud gets told about some pretty girl in the forest and then hits on her, point, blank, and a period. No conflict about her age, looks, personality, nothing. Take into account that Thumbelina is probably like no older than 19, it's so uncomfortable to watch this old ass incel obsessing over someone who's barely of legal age at best, complete with all tickling, touching, rubbing, and feet fetishes, too. And even going full on Bowser when she is taken away from him. And for no reason either.

In the third act of the film, he does explain that it's because they're both rejects, but how is Thumbelina supposed to be a reject in any way? She was just someone who was easily abused and felt out of place, but she was never ostracized by anyone. I take it that the mole is just an incel who wants any pretty young thing considering this one lady mouse also dated him. His song is good, but still, it's all about him hitting on Thumbelina and it makes no sense regardless.

Mole King's Minions (cuz I don't remember their names and don't care)

Mostly unfunny. They get their out of character moment when they refuse to capture Tom Thumb as the Mole King says so, despite him being their fascist. They make one stupid decision involving two split paths and they both decide to go down one path at the same time and I was like "BRO HOW ABOUT YOU TWO FUCKING SPLIT UP!" and they get reasonably cockblocked.

Three Ladybugs (cuz I don't remember their names and don't care)

These little fucking shits are annoying as all get out. Their entire existence is to make fun of and bully Thumbelina for no reason yet somehow treat Tom Thumb like a prince? What? Is this supposed to contrast things or something? It's so weird.

What do you think you are, hypocrites?

Clingy Bird (cuz I don't remember her name and don't care)

Can't fly for some stupid reason. Apparently, she was captured right after she hatched, but she's clearly an adult, so why she still can't fly, I don't understand. Like literally, a 4 year old can come up with a better fucking reason for a bird not flying than this. And then she starts crying because she thinks Thumbelina isn't her friend when, gurl, you only met her for 2 fucking minutes and you're already worrying over whether or not she's your friend?

Roman

The first villain of the film who came and went. Kind of a cartoonish villain who gaslights Thumbelina into thinking she's the only one of her kind. He captures two babies who happen to be the titular characters in a village where there are plenty of other babies around, what makes Tom Thumb and Thumbelina conveniently special? Oh yeah, because movie. Also, why does every Russian/Portuguese animated character have to be a ball of fat? I mean Gru from Despicable Me and whatshisface from Coraline...Mr. Bobinsky was it?

Dexter

Another villain who came and went. Some science kid whose parents are so ignorant he messes with ether. He's another cartoonish villain who wants to kill his captives because... he's evil, I guess.

Ben

Seemingly a nice guy, but then shows off his inner boomerism by making Tom Thumb fly the coop just because he's of age and he's apparently going to die soon. We don't know if he suffers from any illness or what, the story just wanted to take a sudden turn, I guess.

Thumbelina's Parents

Wish they got a little more attention if they were going to bring them back. Shouldn't they have been working hard to try and get their kid back all these years instead of just standing around doing jackshit? Like go gather up a search group or something.

Animation

I think it will appeal to kids. It's colorful, expressive, and fluid, but it also feels sloppy and unfinished. Like one scene had the characters talking without their mouths moving. It also just looks like a 2005 Newgrounds Flash game, I don't really have a problem with this on paper, but it just goes to show how sloppy and aged the animation is.

Music

I think the music sounds nice and catchy. But the music also falls flat because either the story writing is bad (Welcome to My Hole), the lyrics sound bizarre and tune unfitting for the context of the scene (One Two Cha Cha Cha) or it just sounded kinda bland (I'm All Alone).

Overall

As a kids film, I think this film will do a good job at charming little kids. It's dumb fun (not in a good way, tho) and bright and colorful. But I don't think kids over the age of 9 (around the age I was when I watched the film) would give a fuck. You're better off watching the Mario Movie if you want a fun simple animated kids film about a young girl being forced to marry an ugly bastard and it also has a song about it too.

I give The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina 5.2 bells out of 10

I was considering giving it 4.9 bells because of how bad everything was, but I just have to give it a little more credit because there's clearly effort put into this. It had the skeletons to be a powerful movie. On paper, the female lead is compelling and relatable, the theme is emotional and heartwarming, the crossover premise was always interesting, the music sounds catchy, the animation is charming, there's a bit of comedy in there... but they all fell flat due to the execution. I really do feel bad for the makers as it seems like the movie had a really hard time. From what I gathered on research, the movie has been in the making since early 1999 at latest and was completed by the end of the year. It had legal issues with Disney. I can tell how small the budget is just by looking at the writing and animation, and I think Disney, who distributed the film, didn't finance the project enough. That, and they were probably crunched for time. It's really painful how underwhelming this film was.

[cresvalkyrie]

general thoughts on karma files/favorite route?

...Well, damn, this is going to be a long answer. Putting everything under readmore in case it veers off into spoiler territory.

So I prefer the paragon route, generally speaking, but I can see why you guys might like the renegade route more.

What I know is from watching playthroughs of the renegade route on youtube, but the way the plot that route is leading towards does lowkey intrigue me. Especially how the two route exclusive(-ish?) characters are connected (from what I understood, after M2 attacked the MC's host in the Plane of Dissonance, she was spirited away by Karma and placed into the body of the renegade route's Melia while the paragon post-PM Melia somehow ended up in M2's original body where she wandered around for a bit with the MC's host until she was given the chance to return to the point where she left off. Not to mention that the paragon and renegade MCs seem to be in cahoots with each other, with the End of Night spell and the Red Chain trade).

.Karma files on the other hand? I absolutely adore it. I love how in the paragon route we get the chance to bond with the main cast, either through the main story or through sidequests like the Xenogene movie. And we finally get some well-needed Crescent lore! Before v13.5 I didn't really care much for her since she felt more like a plot device and deus ex machina to bail the MC out of tight spots than an actual character, but in the current version she feels more human and def way more involved (the part where she intervenes in Helojak was fucking awesome, have I ever mentioned that? And then there's also where you talk to her after the Valor Summit incident, which feels more... I don't know, real? At least it got me more invested in her than v13 did and maybe a smidgen of guilt).

Can I just say that Crescent is adorkable? She's now one of my top fav rejuv characters, right behind Erin.

And then there's the Renegade stuff. I don't really have much to say about the main story stuff, but the events leading to the final boss was... interesting, to say the least. Spacea and Tiempa were Interceptors from the era of the Old Earth, who later became Overseers of the System by merging with Palkia and Dialga respectively? So it does imply that they're either something like a prototype for the Interceptor MC, or they're only "Interceptors" in the sense that they were beings summoned from foreign worlds to serve as wildcards to give them an edge. The final part of the Missing Children sidequest does seem to give the second possibility some credence with V, who claimed to be an "Interceptor" by virtue of being from another world but since they weren't chosen by the System like the MC and Crescent did they had no real power beyond the ability to interfere with another's fate.

On an unrelated note, the space hags are fucking cheaters in both the Paragon and Renegade versions of their battle. It's a neat concept in theory, but in gameplay it makes me want to throttle them. Spacea steals your Pokemon and Tiempa (perhaps the most bs mechanic in rejuv imo) would fucking reset your team like how a player would spam f12 to get the rng in their favour. Maybe it's payback for us abusing tf out of the game's quicksave function, but it sure doesn't feel nice (in a humourous "Only I can heal in battle, not the NPC Bosses" kind of way).

tl;dr I think .Karma Files is awesome, and my fav route is the Paragon Route (Renegade is great too, and in some areas more fascinating that Paragon, but I just don't have the heart to do all that effed up stuff lmao)

[bugsbenefit]

tfs current spoiler thougsh under the cut. repeat. SPOILER talk, be warned <3

thought dumping with everything we know as of right now: it really feels like they crammed a Lot in there (to be fair with a 3+ hour runtime it probably doesn't feel overcrowded lmao). it's a LOT though. lore wise. which is cool for the play, but i'm not sure was a smart move for the show as a whole from a writing pov

all the parents backstories are fun to explore are fine and good, no issues there (that's also probably what most of the audience going to the plays wants to see tbh, i don't know how many supernatural lore die hards are out there tonight)

but there apparently being a considerable amount of lore about not only Henry, but also Brenner and Especially dimension X? is a bit concerning to me. because s5 will eventually have to speedrun some of that. how Henry got his powers Does seem like something a general viewer of the show would want to know. they'll have to go over that again in some way or shape. i'm just worried that it's going to be a 10+ minute flashback that's going to interrupt the current day plot to something like Henry originally going to dimension X, which, i'm not sure is something i super want but we'll see

my biggest concern right now is the whole Patty thing. with how big she was in the play AND her survival being a big plot point, she almost has to come back in s5. there's no way you bring an entirely new character into a play with only established cast without her coming back later on. and... i don't like that. that screams like story/pacing/writing problems for s5. most of the audience will not have seen the play so them introducing a new character after saying s5 wouldn't have any (which they technically scooted around by introducing her in the play) will feel weird to most people. especially with her character coming out of nowhere (to most of the s5 audience) and conveniently having super strong positive ties to the main villain? that's extremely deus ex machina and will feel contrived

and i don't really see a way for them to do including her well. unless she's like, a minor character at one point, plays no role in the main plot, and is more of an easter egg to catch for people who saw the play. but i honestly can't really see them go that direction

just. hm. not feeling very confident about where they want to go with Patty specifically. i feel like introducing such a major character in Henry's backstory in a side piece media that most of the audience won't see is a bit of a mistake