#he also just wouldn't like. get enjoyment from them. if he wants romance he'll live it alright he doesnt need the blueball

[thevindicativevordan]

Comics this week ?

Action Comics #1069 - Enjoyable enough finale. Dug this arc, besides the Ali homages mentioned already, I saw a lot of similarities to the boxing issue from Up in the Sky! Superman up against a foe who seemingly can't be beat, that he defeats by being able to endure everything the other guy throws at him. Simone has a good handle on who Superman is. When his opponent Hux trash talks him, he immediately tells the guy to bring it. Simone even is willing to say that a part of Superman enjoys fighting which most writers wouldn't be comfortable admitting. He’s not Goku such that he loves fighting, but I don’t connect with takes where he’s a pacifist who can’t stand any kind of violence. Superman enjoying a scrap but never to the point he’d prioritize a fight over saving lives is the perfect medium. Rowell’s backup ended underwhelmingly though. She has a good handle on the characterization of the two, but while Clark and Lois talking their problems out is the natural thing to do, it’s not exciting or engaging. Maybe it was just USM doing something similar that made this come across as underwhelming for me. Also I’m left wondering if that Atomic Skull plot thread is setting up something for Williamson or Waid to deal with. We get no answers as to why he's a villain again despite Rowell explicitly portraying it as out of character.

Zatanna: BDTH #4 - I love the Zatanna/Constantine romance. Yes he's a complete toxic bastard who is terrible for her, and that's what makes it so much fun to read. Everyone else at DC has a positive LI, even Batman and Catwoman who are flawed as hell bring out the best in each other. But these two are so messed up and that makes reading them fun!

Ultimate Spider-Man #9 - Great issue. Favorite part was Peter and Harry arguing over whether lethal force should be something they use. While Peter was unhappy about Harry resorting to what could’ve been a lethal blow, he also didn’t blow up their partnership for it. Peter stood his ground, and Harry stood his in response, but Peter allowed that maybe Harry had a point without backing down. Amazing how you can resolve arguments and maintain tension without writing everyone like they’re high schoolers. MJ gets a moment with Ben and Jonah to show off how she's contributing as the marketer, Otto debuts the Iron Spider which feels like the first step on the road to Otto becoming Doc Ock, and I think I know what the purpose of AI Peter is. Obviously it is the Ultimate version of Venom, but I think what's going to happen is one of the Six will target Peter's family and AI Peter is going to kill to defend the Parkers. That will upset Peter because he doesn't want to think he's capable of doing that, especially after lecturing Harry, and it will alienate him from the AI leading to Venom being born. Venom will thus act as a dark mirror to Peter, showing how Peter could go down the same road Harry seems to be walking, which will let Harry stay sympathetic for us the readers and maybe even Peter. He wouldn't be able to feel morally superior to Harry because he'll have a foe who forces him to acknowledge his own capacity for violence.

[coffincanary]

So, Chuck. Technically a dad. Did he fuck angels and do Sam and Dean count in this category

Thank you for the ask maggie! :) (Also sorry for the length ) CW for emotional abuse, manipulation and non-con He 100% hooked up with angels, especially the archangels. Initially, it'd be due to a genuine need to connect with his creation. But that gets boring quickly, just that pure love and adoration. So Chuck would decide to bring in some drama. He would absolutely pick favorites and he'd make no attempt at hiding it and actively withdraw love at a whim, only to show his adoration in the next moment to keeping the archangels on their toes. They begin infighting, verbally and physically. In some universes, their need for Chuck's approval causes a whole civil war among the angels, sometimes leading to certain archangels taking over heaven and sometimes effectively eradicating every angel in existence. In some, the archangels kill each other quietly. It always ends in death and Chuck always abandonds them at that point. The regular angels don't really interest Chuck too much. They're like undeveloped NPCs, just there to fill up space. The only angel he takes an interest in is Castiel. I once saw the theory (unfortunately can't remember where) that Castiel is the first angel created after the archangels which is why he isn't like the others and has emotions, and I like that so much so I'll run with it. There are universes where Chuck fucks Cas, usually to squash that spark of rebellion and independence inside the angel, because it'd interfere with the story Chuck would tell. He makes Cas fall in love with him instead of Dean and watches as Cas sacrifices everything to make him happy. He sometimes lets the romance play out only to steal Cas away from Dean to watch Dean crumble. Dean and Sam would also absolutely be included in that. I know you've written a very good fanfic about Chuck's interactions with Dean in different universes (and I hope it's okay to link it here), which definitely inspired my take on Chuck's relationship to them. Chuck would fuck both of them, Sam and Dean are his favorite little toys. Alternate versions like Samifer or Michael!Dean would get him going, because hey, he's fucking two sons in one and the drama of that is just beautiful to him. Sometimes he'll seek out the soft, domestic things, the fluffy stories, where he comes into Sam's life while Dean is in purgatory or where he takes Lisa's role, but those bore him rather quickly. Sometimes he just comes into their lives as an anonymous hook-up, getting off on the fact that they don't know who he is. He loves apocalypse settings because those tend to be interesting (he'd have absolutely been sleeping with 2014alt Dean). But the stuff he most enjoys would be the most cruel things. He has done every horrible thing imaginable to the Winchester boys, just to see how his favorite toys would handle them, and that includes sexual things. They're his favorite creations, so he gets to play around with them as much as he wants to create interesting stories with them, and the most interesting stories come out of traumatizing them. However, he usually doesn't do the worst himself, he just likes to watch. Azazel!John doing unspeakable things to Dean in front of Sam while Chuck is the only one to hear John's mental screams? Demon!Dean taking years out of repressed feelings out on Sam and Cas before killing both of them? It's like a good movie to Chuck, one he maybe wouldn't watch again but quite enjoyable for the time being. It's his own special, satiating kind of voyeurism.

[thecorruptedquietone]

Thank you for that rec, I’ll definitely read that book! There was a Hebrew and Arabic (queer) film that I watched and the synopsis reminded me if it, however, I cannot remember the name atm. Also, Kyle’s definitely not too reluctant on expressing his disdain or low expectations on romance novels so he’d never develop a friendly committee of book-readers cus lol “heavily forced attraction for the sake of representation.”

Kyle would find a problem with anything like it’s his job. Even books he really likes he typically says how the romance was the worst part. The most he’ll give it is that it was needed for the plot or it had some kind of greater meaning.

Most of this is because Kyle’s a romantic in his own right but he must be incredibly critical of all other romantics especially those he once trusted who led him astray. 

[mocacheezy]

Things that made watching Transformers (2007) easier and even enjoyable:

[note: B'verse gets the treatment that it gets by fandom for good reasons. There are tons of posts that dissect the bullshit of these movies far better than my second-language-english-non-american self could ever tackle, so I am not doing that, or plan on doing that. But if I decide that I'll get through every continuity of the franchise I will find a way to make it fun for myself. And so, this is my search for golden nuggets in these movies, because they did bring in new fans to the franchise and that's why we have other continuities that we might not have otherwise. Credit where it's due, and some positivity for those that did find B'verse at least amusing if nothing else. ]

🍴🥄🔪🍴🥄🔪🍴🥄🔪🍴🥄🔪🥄🔪🍴🥄🔪

Frenzy

Anytime Frenzy was on screen made me smile because his movements and personality were hilarious, he is just so expressive despite looking like someone super glued a bunch of knifes together. I wouldn't know it was Frenzy if I didn't go to the Wiki, but no matter that, he was funny and that's what matters.

The original Cybertronian robot modes

We don't see them for long, but the glimpses were glorious. Just look at Optimus

Gorgeous. What I wouldn't give to see the details up close. Maybe I'll go looking eventually, but this is just so nice.

We also get a "sexily rises from the pool" scene with Ironhide (probably unintentional and I am biased due to being a robofucker. In any case, very very nice and Cybertronians look so good as aliens)

"Excuse me, are you the Tooth Fairy?"

You see this kid?

This little girl was the only human I cared about in the movie until I saw just how badass Mikaela is, and how cool the military dude is. I don't like kids, but I would lay down my life for this girl.

This one scene just makes me think of what would happen if her parents showed up way earlier. Ironhide would be her guardian and it would be both adorable and hilarious because "Honey, you have to drive in a sentient alien that looks just like our car because the goverment men said so or there will be consequences and potential alien threats."

There are so many joke potentials there; the cultural barrier, the "I am the ine that is supposed to keep her safe" glaring contests, there is just so much shenanigans that could happen.

Also, tea party with the kid. Tea party with the kid.

Sam Witwicky actually reacts like an average human would when faced with the situations he finds himself in

Do I like Sam Witwicky? No, he is the kind of character that I would want to punch irl because of his personality and actions. He is disgusting. But watching him scamper and scream and stutter when faced with giant metal robot aliens that can squish him like a bug? Good, that was a beliavable reaction and I enjoyed it a great deal.

Megatron. Just, ✨Megatron✨

(the best screenshot of the few I could take while watching, no, I am not going back for a better one, he looks perfect like this)

I also laughted at how they kept him frozen like a popsicle. And not even well, like, they COULD'VE made an actual freezer and pop him in instead of using those couple of tubes just so he was displayed for all personell to gawk at. HE CRASHED IN THE ANTARCTIC!

The design looks so good, because it looks ALIEN and POINTY and AGH!!! The colors? There are no colors that would make him stand out, he looks like someone opened a cutlery drawer, mixed up what's inside, threw in some extra knifes for a good measure and then shook the whole thing until this guy materialized from the pile. It is both incredibly annoying and satisfying.

🔪

Mr. Welker did an amazing job with his voice, I don't know what the directions were, but oh man it sure sent shivers down my spine. That is the kind of voice that spells "You are going to die" and I already have my coffin picked out.

EDIT: SO APPARENTLY! IT WAS NOT WELKER THAT VOICED MEGATRON.

It was Hugo Weaving, and yes the man did am amazing job, but I apologize a million times, I was CERTAIN that THE OG VA OF MEGATRON WOULD ALSO HAVE VOICED MEGATRON. LIKE, OKAY BAY, OKAY!

🔪

LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF ICE! With how quick he came back fully online once Frenzy turned off the freeze liquid tubes, I bet he was half awake through the whole thing. Systems just below idling or something, in any case, AGENTS YOU ARE SO DUMB! WHO WAS GIVING SUBPAR FUNDING TO THEM, THEY BETTER BE FIRED!

I also was glad that Sam refused to call him by the name the sector asigned to him, despite Megatron being in stasis. And that he insisted they use the correct name. Good job Sam, acknowledge the threat by the actual name and show respect to a fellow sentient lifeform. Even though said lifeform is hellbent on destruction of the universe and your world.

ALSO, AND I CANNOT STRESS THE LAUGHTER AND AMUSEMENT HERE; the sheer DISRESPECT! They don't disassemble Megatron's corpse. No, these idiots, these absolute morons decide to dump him into the ocean, letting him sink to the lowest possible point (not sure if they did say it was the M' Trench or not), where there are proper freezing temperatures - good! You're learning, good job!! - just... In full. Full corpse. What's left of him. Just blup! Down with the fishies he goes!

I understand that they probably didn't know how to approach Optimus about it, but... At least behead the guy. He came back ONCE, who is to say he won't come back again?! Safety precautions my dears.

They also completely disregard what a giant extraterrestrial metal alien rusting away on the bottom of the ocean could do to the ecosystem at large. Like, I find this incredibly amusing, because this ISN'T something most folks think about when watching a movie but we have giant squids down there. We have so much weird things down there, the ocean isn't even fully explored AND YOU WANT TO CHUCK AN ALIEN CORPSE DOWN THERE?!

Now the real question: is he a looker? *looks at the pictures* hmmmm, depends on if you like knifes. Like, really like knifes. Like really, really REALLY want to get it on with a fine assembly of kitchen knifes that were exposed to the elements but somehow haven't rusted away completely.

I think he's neat.

Needs a good long powerwash though. Preferrably with something to help the whole "I was frozen for more than 50 years and sprang back to action as soon as I woke up" thing that happened.

My man needs to take a moment and get his bearings, like dude. Please. You can conquer the world after some energon and slow system boot-up period. The strain on the systems my dude, you ain't young.

Also love that this "death" was probably reused in TFP because lord golly, do we love our faves ending up under the sea. (Though Megan took a much bigger fall, Bayverse WAS PLOPPED INTO THE WATER LIKE A NEWLY ACQUIRED FISH I CAN'T YOU GUYS I CAN'T!)

In short: I love the comedy of american military giving such disrespect to an Alien Warlord. These guys are really sealing their fate.

I loved the way they got the Witwicky family to be important to the plot

The whole "selling my great great grandpa's glasses on e-bay" thing gives us a very good self insert/OC/rewrite/movie AU potential. Don't like Sam and his disgustingness? Find a way to write a cousin or some far off relative or hell, even just someone who buys the glasses off e-bay and go wild with it!

Archibald was also clearly an inspiration for Isaac Sumdac as far as I can tell, what with both of them using Megatron as a means of helping technology advance.

Only difference being one of them lived and actually talked to Megatron after he came back online and the other got driven to madness and death due to the amount of information beamed into his brain. Isaac also acquired a space baby daughter, so the guy is absolutely luckier of the two.

Mikaela being fucking competent and badass throughout the movie, and not being just fanservice eyecandy

I could do without the fanservice, but her personality? I loved it. I loved that she wasn't crawling to Sam and wasn't being "hard to get". Which is also why I was very displeased at the very sudden "oh yeah, romance! She returns his feelings after he took her for a ride and let her vent her frustrations!". The movie is 2 hours long and they could throw in some moments where these two connect?

Welp, it is an action movie, boy gets girl no matter what, can't complain about the staple in the genre.

However, Mikaela x Optimus? Now THAT is something I considered as soon as the two locked eyes and interacted. Like, even taking my shipping goggles off, these two could have a very interesting dynamic and Mikaela could be a very good protagonist. I wonder what the movie would be like with her as the lead and Sam being the fucking moron she has to drag along with her.

BUT ALSO! Can we talk about the horrible, excruciating fact that her and Bumblebee drove around with Bee's damaged legs dragging over asphalt all the time he was shooting at 'Cons? There were sparks flying! SHE WAS DRIVING BACKWARDS! She took command of the situation and did what she could because Bee still wanted TO FIGHT!

Also, they way she beat up Frenzy? Gorgeous, I want to slap Sam's non-existent balls off for not atleast saying "thanks". The dude would be sliced thinner than cabbage if she wasn't there.

The millitary man we are supposed to care about because his wife gave birth while he was on duty and we see his baby three times in the whole movie, actually being a pretty awesome and well-written character

Look, personally, I was a little confused at the reason why we were seeing his wife and baby interacting/the scene where she thinks her husband is dead. Mostly because I don't like kids, so scenes like that, when I don't even know who the character is, have no impact at all. Him having a baby isn't going to make me like the guy more, unless I know his character. Him being absent because he's on duty doesn't mean he'll be a good dad (though he looks like the kind of man that will try his best, and I like that in a man). So seeing his wife and kid at the start of the movie seemed pointless to me.

BUT! FOCUSING ON THE POSITIVES HERE!

Lennox is a good character and whenever he was on screen I was invested in what is going to happen to him. He's the kind of action movie lead that would have me invested, despite my meh interest in mainly gun fight oriented action movies.

Essentially, loved the guy, would love to see more of him while also being able to tell what's happening on screen. Also the comedy scenes he was in were usually funny.

~

Okay so these are the things I like about the first movie! It was very long, had to watch it on 2,5x speed because it simultainously dragged while ALSO giving me too much information, but the moments like these and the way my imagination latched onto characters I liked made it watchable. It isn't a movie I'd use to introduce someone to the TF franchise, but it provided me with lots of material for my imagination to run wild.