#he seems like a kid who would have liked the matrix

[sea-jello]

the squip probably ruined keanu reeves for jeremy forever huh

[ooppo]

Btw for anyone who needs to hear it: thinking that people are reading your mind/your thoughts are being heard by everyone is not normal. It's a symptom of psychosis and could be linked to a psychiatric disorder. This, too, goes with hallucinations.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but to teens who don't know what symptoms look like, they may jog it off for a number of reasons. I did, too, when I was in highschool! As a freshman I was having delusions/hallucinations and I didn't tell anyone because I thought they were cringe and weird. I chalked up my hallucinations to me being "tired". People who have psychosis often don't realize that what they're experiencing IS psychosis. This goes the same with other classmates/friends/loved ones. If someone comes to you with concerning behavior (even if they are joking about it) you should take note of it.

In highschool I remember a kid talking about how he could go into the matrix and he had a whole other world to protect/do missions in. He would also go still for long periods of time randomly. I thought he was weird and didn't think much of it, but those are symptoms of schizophrenia (delusions/catatonia).

I would appreciate it if this got a reblog so it could potentially help those recognize these symptoms in either themselves or others!

I wish I could have seen a post like this when I was younger. Then I could have avoided a lot of hardships and would have gotten treatment a lot sooner

[charmedreincarnation]

Hey, guys! I've been receiving a ton of messages in response to my last post. It's reminding me of how I first discovered shifting. I feel like doing a little story time since Ive just passed the three-year mark of my discovery, and I've been reminiscing with friends about it.

I remember being in a very dark place when I stumbled upon shifting. I was depressed, and very suicidal. Yet, there was this unshakeable optimism inside me that I was meant for an extraordinary life. Despite my mental state, I had a lot of knowledge of subliminals and the law of attraction (-_-). These gave me hope, but they weren't enough tbh. I didn't want to attract my dream life through practicing gratitude or becoming a magnet for my desires or whatever. Nor did I want to have to listen to subliminals for years on end to achieve my goals. My list of desires was so long, and I needed everything to change that going step by step and waiting years for each one to manifest just wasn't feasible.

But I refused to give up. One day, after a particularly hard day of being sad per usual, I searched on Quora for something like "fastest most powerful subliminals on YouTube ever" (Y’all 😭😭). Among the recommended sub creators, I found a video called "Desired Life: Reality Shifting". The description promised everything I had ever wanted: waking up with all your desires fulfilled permanently in short. It piqued my curiosity so much. Could I really just wake up with my dream life, family, house, wealth, all based on my scripts and imagination?

Growing up, I was a heavy maladaptive daydreamer. From ages 10-17, I created alternate lives in my head, telling myself I would go there someday. I was always doing SATs (State Akin to Sleep), and I think that's what kept me from ending it all. I was constantly in the wish fulfilled state, even though I didn't know what that was at the time.

Back to my story, I went into the comments of that video and came across a guy who claimed that after a week of using this subliminal, he woke up with a new life as a multi-millionaire living in his dream penthouse. I messaged him, and he gave me his Instagram which showcased his luxurious life. He had what seemed like a perfect relationship, he was very attractive, had so many cars, and travelled 24/7 while having a six figures amount of followers. He was living proof that this wasn't just scripting. Also the law of attraction community is known for their mad expensive coaching.. like hundreds of dollars per hour for questions and he was answering it all for free something I didn’t see the law of attraction community. And I talked to him for hours! He never got mad, he had proof, and he was kind, proof and the behavior of someone who really had mastered the art of life.

After our conversation, I spent the next couple of months doing research. I found numerous stories about glitches in the matrix, accidental shifting, people entering parallel realities, and eventually, shifting communities on platforms like Amino and Reddit. It was stuff I already believed in and did in my imagination; I just didn’t know there was a term for it.

Then I got reminded of a memory that I had seriously repressed bc it was so fucking weird. When I was 6 and my brother was 3, we were absolutely obsessed with dodo birds. One day, we were outside playing, and on god time seemed to stop. Out of nowhere, a dodo bird appeared. I know you’re probably like “maya be so fr rn you were a kid” but no, This wasn't just our young imaginations running wild - there was a bird that was huge, dinosaur-like, exactly how dodos are described in books and pictures we had.

Then things got weirder. Suddenly it started raining eggs. Big, large eggs everywhere it was so gross and my brother and I were a mess. We were young, sure, but not stupid. We knew this wasn't normal. My brother and I rushed inside to tell our dad. When I managed to drag him outside, he was furious, accusing me of throwing eggs everywhere. To this day, he tells the story of the time I "trashed the backyard with eggs." And every time, I'm like, "Dad, where would I get that many eggs?" We didn’t have eggs but so he assumed I stole them and we went inside for hours and it was magically cleaned. So he also tells the story of how responsible I am and how I took accountability for my actions even as a child. I didn’t clean that shit bro and I tell him that too and he just laughs it makes me so mad.

My brother, who knows I'm into reality shifting (though he doesn’t really believe in it), can't explain that day either. He often shrugs it off as a "glitch in the matrix," which honestly, well no duh it is a shift dummie. He does believe in manifesting but only bc he has seen me use it and he experiences the good things I manifest as well. They’re the same thing anyways but that isn’t the point

The reason I'm bringing up this bizarre childhood memory is because during my months of research into shifting, I found countless stories of accidental shifts, people entering the void, entering parallel universes, time glitches, examples of the Mandela effect first hand, glitches in the matrix and etc. It was like uncovering a myriad of experiences that confirmed what I already believed: we can change and choose our reality. I just didn’t know the phenomena had a name. Obviously in the future I came across other things like the law of assumption, the void state, etc etc but this was where it started.

I wish I had saved all those fascinating stories, posts, and blogs. I might go back and compile everything I found because they were so real and enlightening. It will probably take forever tho if I do choose to do that, but I think it's worth sharing.

In the meantime, check out this accounts of accidental shifts that my friend shared with me this account https://instagram.com/tessicavision?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== based off the Glitch in the Matrix subreddit which is also a goldmine of people experiencing similar phenomena. It helped me make sense of my own experiences and might do the same for you.

I don’t want this to be too long and I already got to the point I think! but regardless stay curious and realize you’re really not that special. I mean ofc you are, i mean this is not some tumblr thing teens girls discovered or created and isn’t even limited to “spiritually/manifesting inclined people” I think at the beginning of my journey people talking about accidental shifts and such, inspired me more than purposeful success stories because they really have no reason to lie and they were looking for answers just like I was.

[blueikeproductions]

Zeta Prime as the 13th Prime is admittedly unusual.

Conceptually, the 13 were initially meant to be an intentionally vague group shrouded in mystery. It wasn’t until the Bay Fallen that the Primes began being fleshed out as a group more, with The Fallen, Alpha Trion, Liege Maximo, Vector Prime, Prima and Maccadam chosen to properly be members of the group. To fill in the gaps and explain other series concepts Onyx, Solus, Nexus, Micronus, Amalgamous and Quintus were created.

That left one unaccounted for.

Aligned tried to be cute about, by dubbing them “The Arisen”, another Prime like The Fallen whose name was stricken from history, but unlike Megatronus, The Arisen was highly regarded.

In actuality, the 13th was Optimus.

Perhaps a decades late overreaction to 80’s kids horrified at Optimus dying, and Rodimus as such not being embraced, Aligned opted to make Optimus so special, so meant to be a Prime, he WAS one of the 13.

This … isn’t exactly a popular idea among fans, as it greatly lessens the appeal that Optimus EARNED his position, rather than he simply already WAS Prime. This probably is meant to tie into the Dynasty of Primes concept from the movies that was fleshed out more in the IDW movie comics. I think it worked better there because it was just a one off thing, and Optimus didn’t even believe he was Prime, and was too humble to accept it.

Aligned would explain it as Optimus sacrificing himself on ancient Cybertron and being reborn into Orion Pax, minus his memories. TFP and RiD15 would mimic this… multiple times, having Optimus live up to being the Arisen, but that this specific cycle keeps happening makes me think the Arisen has a thinly disguised fetish.

Other media like Forged to Fight, Cyberverse and IDW would also use this concept to some extent, the simplified version being the 13th Prime is the one that was destined to truly bare the Matrix. Everyone else was just keeping it warm for him.

This typically means Optimus, except for Prime Wars where Rodimus, Optimus and finally Optimus Primal bore the Matrix, with the Boss Monkey being Optimus Prime’s true successor while Hot Rod was in a coma after being overshadowed by Unicron.

IDW saw Optimus use the religious colonists’ belief in The Arisen as a political tool to ensure Cybertron, Earth and related planets stay United. The Arisen was also one of the ancient tribal Primes, though we never got a proper look at him. Shockwave, having gone back to the past, would say Optimus truly is the Arisen, but the matter was intentionally left vague and never addressed.

Forged to Fight leaned more in the original Aligned concept, where The Fallen immediately recognized Optimus as the 13th, but Optimus has no clue what he was on about.

Cyberverse tries to split the difference. Optimus is marked as the 13th Prime when he dies in the Robo-Robotnik universe, and joins the Matrix. In the main universe, Zeta Prime is implied to be among the 13 Primes, as a power mad Starscream names several Scraplets after them.

Because of TFONE looking to greatly simplify things, the somewhat complex idea of the Arisen was tossed aside in favor of sticking Zeta Prime in the role instead. Not to mention Orion being preordained to be Optimus doesn’t fit at all for the story the movie is trying to tell.

But who is Zeta?

Well…

He’s more a concept than a character. He doesn’t really have a preexisting counterpart from Marvel or Dreamwave to give us an idea of what he’s like.

His origins seem to lie in the WFC game.

While his colors evoke Marvel and Animated Sentinel, it appears there was conflicting ideas on what his name was. The game studio declared he was Zeta Prime, while Hasbro insisted he was Sentinel Prime, with ultimately the character becoming “Sentinel Zeta Prime”. The game still calls him Zeta nonetheless, with ancillary media describing him as a former, fiery military officer who lost touch with the robots he represented. He was responsible for chasing off the Quints and ushering in the Golden Age with the various Colony Worlds until the Rust Plague happened, forcing the Space Bridges to be shut down. That seemed to mark the downfall of Zeta going forward, as he was also the Prime that retained the Quints’ oppressive caste system that Megatron (and Orion Pax) rose up against.

Hasbro’s insistence he was Sentinel persisted in the Covenant of Primus, where his younger self resembled TFA Sentinel Prime, along with having an association with the Elite Guard.

This connection to Sentinel is semi referenced in TFONE, as Zeta was the first Matrix barer, with a power hungry Sentinel shooting him dead and eagerly tearing into his chest to claim the Matrix. Perhaps this was meant to be a meta gag on the writers’ part, with Sentinel going “I’m the guy before Optimus, not you, ya pompous poser!”

The only other Zeta that we know of is from IDW, a significant Prime that like Nova Prime, influenced a lot of the lore.

Initially he looked like this.

Your typical IDW “OC”, with him eventually donning on armor that became his standard look.

I swear someone on staff at the time clearly liked Digimon, because that is straight up Seraphimon.

It even had the loin cloth sash thing.

Other artists would Roboticize the design, making the Seraphimon influence less obvious though.

What this version of Zeta Transforms into is never specified, but with IDW original villains tending to favor flying machines, I’m going with a jet.

Zeta and Orion Pax were former students of Shockwave (pre-emotionless cyclops), both being seen in having greatness to being a Prime. Zeta became Prime after Sentinel’s “death”, fulfilling Shockwave’s desires. Zeta would become Orion‘s teacher and friend, but like Megatron, Orion would notice Zeta increasingly slip into megalomania, the stress of the early Great War against the Decepticons growing, feeding Zeta’s own lust for power. The mask finally having slipped, Zeta Prime used a “Vamparc Ribbon” in an attempt to wipe out the Decepticons or any form of rabble rousers, nor particularly caring who or what the ribbon sucked the Energon out of in the process. Orion and Megatron saw fit to team up against a mutual enemy and destroyed him, though the Great War waged on regardless.

TFONE Zeta Prime visually draws inspiration from his WFC counterpart, though simplified and a bit more ancient looking. While the character model is clearly blue and gold, the in movie model looks more dark gray-ish to me, somewhat evoking Liege and Prima.

We know very little about him, though as he is worthy of carrying the Matrix, clearly he wasn’t at all like his psychotic IDW counterpart. Perhaps the stand out thing is Zeta is the first Prime to carry the Matrix here, as that usually goes to Prima. Presumably this is a vestigial nod to the old “the 13th is the true Matrix barer”, as Optimus later is the only other Prime to carry it, completing the reference. Despite this, the Primes wax on about Orion’s bravery and self sacrifice to protect his friends and expose Sentinel, dodging the preordained Optimus thing.

A notable fan theory states that Optimus’ axe on the finale might be donated from Zeta thru the Matrix, as he too carries an axe as his signature weapon.

This seems to suggest that on top of needing to simply the Prime concept, perhaps Hasbro is moving away from the concept of “The Arisen” altogether. It also implies, with the use of Zeta, the 13th can be anyone a particular story needs it to be, referencing the original concept of the Arisen being a “mystery” anyway.

I think what bugs me more is The Arisen feels like a reinterpretation of Hot Rod’s chosen one role from the original movie and Marvel comics. Modern material is pretty dead set that the Prime lineage ends with Optimus, another instance of ignoring Rodimus.

But Hot Rod & Rodimus Prime fit this Arisen role so much better, due to the Marvel Comics better emphasizing Rodimus’ connections to Primus.

As Primus in his original form more heavily resembles Rodimus.

I would like to think that if the 13th Prime is free to be anyone, that some writers will take advantage of that and stick Rodimus in the role, where he reincarnates in the modern era as Hot Rod and arises once more as Rodimus Prime. It’d be nice to give Rodimus some respect for once, rather than being the whipping boy of angry nerds ala the IDW Deviations comic or, to some extent, MTMTE/LL. We got a better outcome in ReGen One, hopefully that can be replicated in a future cartoon or the Energon Universe somehow since Hot Rod is a major character in Void Rivals. Incidentally, Hot Rod exists in the One universe also, so if the story continues, maybe we could see TFONE Rodimus at some point.

As for Zeta, we’ll have to wait and see if future material keeps him as the 13th and if so, if they try fleshing him out more. Maaaaybe leave the IDW interpretation in the past tho’, or at least reinterpret the Vamparc Ribbon as both a Solus invention and a weapon of last resort Zeta doesn’t like using if we want to let him as the good guy.

[in1-nutshell]

Since there’s Rapidfire and Ophelia, what about Maxima in IDW?

I understood this as Maxima meeting the Lost Light, not the IDW version of Maxima.

(though I wouldn't mind writing her in the future...)

Hope you enjoy!

Maxima on the Lost Light

SFW, Platonic, Slight Angst, Cybertronian reader

MTMTE/TFP

Rodimus had been feeling strange lately.

The matrix seemed to be acting up, something that never happened before.

Drift suggested that the Matrix was trying to tell him something and to contact Optimus or anyone who had held the matrix before to help.

The only problem was that besides him and Optimus, Rodimus didn’t know anyone online who had held the Matrix.

That’s where the science department came in.

Well, mainly Brainstorm.

Brainstorm had created a device that would amplify a type of SOS to any bot who had held or was worthy of holding the Matrix to help.

What he had forgotten to tell the crew was that when he meant any bot, he meant any bot in the multiverse.

Brainstorm, Perceptor, and Rodimus stare at the portal forming. Rodimus: “Is this all normal?” Brainstorm: “Yes… theoretically.” Rodimus: “Excuse me what?” Ratchet and Drift enter the lab. Drift: “Rodimus, Magnus and Megatron are—what in the Allspark is that!” Ratchet turning to Rodimus and Brainstorm: “Who’s idea—" Maxima comes through the portal doing a backflip and doing a superhero pose with blasters out. Drift immediately gets in front of Ratchet with his swords out read to slice and dice. Rodimus: “Woah! Woah! Woah! Love the entrance but maybe we can put all the weapons down.” Maxima: “You first wannabe ninja.” Drift scoffs a bit at the nickname but eventually puts his swords away. Maxima slowly puts away her blasters. Maxima looks at their insignias: “… You’re all Autobots. Where are we? Wait! Are we in space!? Primus, Ratchet is going to skin me! I was just supposed to check if Bee and Smokescreen were okay and now I’m in space rambling on and—Ratchet?!” Maxima walks closer to Ratchet. Drift stands right in front of him not knowing what to make of this situation. Ratchet: “Relax Drift. What I think the better question is to our resident scientist and Co-Captain.”

After a brief explanation from Brainstorm about the multiverse and her reason for being here, Maxima seemed ready to help.

Rodimus gave her a brief explanation on what was happening to the Matrix.

Maxima looked uncomfortable at the mention of the Matrix, but agreed to help in however way she could.

But the sound of her tanks rumbling put a stop to that.

A quick stop to the med bay and Swerve’s was mandated.

Maxima quickly got along with this version of Ratchet, Rodimus and Drift.

Brainstorm would have gone, but he needed to put out some literal fires in his lab.

At the med bay… Ratchet: “Okay kid, I’m just going to scan you and then we’ll figure out if you can consume this universes energon.” Maxima gives him a thumbs up while gently swaying her pedes back and forth. Rodimus: “You mentioned Smokescreen and Bumblebee, they your friends?” Maxima: “Yeah, more like little brothers actually. I’m the oldest of the youngest group on the team.” Drift raises his optic: “The oldest? But you’re—” Maxima: “I’m a bit young but not by much!” First Aid from the main computer: “SWEET PRIMUS THOSE ARE HER LEVELS!” THWACK! Ratchet slaps the upside of his helm before marching right back to Maxima pointing at a data pad. Ratchet: “Care to explain why your running close to no fuel kid?” Maxima a bit annouyed: “First Ratchet, its Maxima. Second, I skip a few—” Ratchet gives her a ‘don’t you dare lie to the doctor’ look. Maxima: “—dozen rations. But that’s what you do when your at war. You guys get it with the war going on.” Silence… Maxima: “… Are we still at war?” Ratchet putting a servo on her shoulder: “Our war is over, we won.” Maxima blinks several times before smiling. Drift: “We take it that yours isn’t.” Maxima’s silence only reaffirms their thoughts. Rodimus: “Well, lets get those energon levels up then! To Swerve’s” Maxima welcoming the distraction immediately gets up and follows the Co-Captain: “Lets go!” Ratchet: “Drift get your Amica under control!” Drift was already out the door, ready to join the two. First Aid: “That’s your Conjunx.” Ratchet: “Sadly…”

Maxima looked in wonder and awe around the ship, not shying away from asking questions.

This thoroughly stroked Rodimus’s ego, especially the look on her face when he mentioned to be the Co-captain of the ship.

He was a bit confused why Maxima was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of bots on board.

Rodimus gently took her servo and helped guide her through the crowd.

Drift went ahead to get their seats at the bar and some energon ready.

Maxima had never seen anything like this before, but she liked it.

It didn’t take long before bots started seeing the new bot holding the Co-captains servo.

Maxima started downing the regular energon in seconds. Rodimus patting her back: “Slow down there. Its going to go down a wrong pipe.” Maxima: “Sorry! Its just been long since…” Drift: “We know, hey Swerve you mind getting us another cube?” Swerve: “Absolutely!” Swerve watches her drink: “Shh! You weren’t kidding about her needing a drink. Heard you came from a whole other universe, what’s the occasion?” Rodimus: “Maxi here is going to help with our little ‘Matrix problem’. Wait, I never did ask, were you a Prime? Or a former one?” Maxima tenses up a bit: “No and no.” Drift: “That must mean that your worthy of it then.” Maxima grimances a bit. She looks around: “I haven’t seen Optimus around, how else am I gonna see that Matrix?” Rodimus: “Oh no, its right here.” Maxima stops sipping and gives him a look of disbielf: “What?” Rodimus: “See, right here!” Rodimus opens his chassis and right there was the Matrix. Maxima was up on her pedes backing away from the light with a scared expression. Her back meets someone’s chassis. Maxima backs away: “I’m sorry—” Megatron just gives her a confused look. Maxima: “Megatron…”

Maxima was shaking not knowing where to go.

She didn’t even realize she had ran out of the bar and hid in one of the empty rooms in the ship.

Everything was just too loud, too bright…

She just squeezed her optics shut and curled up in a little corner in the room.

Primus, it was happening again.

The last time she was this bad was with…

Light pedesteps come closer to her. Maxima just squeezes her optics tighter, her servos curling around her helm. A pair of servos gently take hers. There was a whisper. Then the whisper grew a bit louder. It was encouraging her to open her optics. It was a nice voice. Maxima slowly opens her optics. In front of her was an orange bot with glasses. He gave her a kind smile. Rung: “There we go, take it easy, no one is rushing you dear.” Maxima doesn’t know why, but she trust the smaller mech. Little by little her frame starts to relax. Maxima vents out: “Thank you…” Rung: “Rung. Like later.” Maxima gives him a smile: “Thank you Rung.” Rung nods: “Do you mind telling me why you ran into the room with half of the Lost Light worried for you?” Maxima feels a pang of guilt. Maxima: “All of this… its comes from a long story, you would want to hear it.” Rung takes off his glasses and sits next to her. Rung: “I love long stories.” Maxima gives him a watery smile.

Maxima started spilling everything to Rung.

She half expected him to go, or at least look bored.

But he didn’t, Rung stayed by her side listening to every word.

After a while Maxima felt better and wanted to go out.

She gave Rung a sheepish look and asked him to accompany her.

Rung gently took her servo and the pair went out.

Turns out, privacy isn’t something you can get easily on the ship because more than half of the crew was already outside, eavesdropping.

Maxima, while understandably angry that her private conversation was not so private anymore, was also glad she didn’t have to repeat it.

Rodimus was the first to offer an apology for ‘sicing’ the Matrix on her.

Maxima just hugged him tightly.

Rodimus wasn’t expecting the hug but did hug back.

Which lead to more bots joining the hug…

Maxima looking at Megatron. Megatron: “…You’re Prime’s—” Maxima: “I’m his daughter, yes. And you’re the infamous Megatron who defected, am I correct?” Megatron nods. Maxima looks at the insignia and gives him a sad smile. Maxima: “My Optimus would have been so proud to hear the news.” Megatron gives her a small smile. Maxima turning to Rodimus: “Now, lets see what we can do about that Matrix of yours.”

It takes a while for Maxima and Rodimus to figure out what’s going on with Matrix which prolongs her stay.

Maxima adapted quickly to the crew as she was made a temporary member.

She was not shy to act and tell her adventures on Earth with the kids and her team.

There was a bit of a limit in stories predating the war.

She became close to many of the crew members, but Rodimus held a close spot.

Rodimus, besides sharing their share of experiences with their Prime’s, he had become the older brother figure she never knew she wanted.

Magnus thought that this child of Optimus Prime could rub some good on him.

But sadly, to his and Megatron’s dismay, the pair got along faster than a house fire… a fire that would cost some braincells and lead to shenanigans on the ship.

Rewind, Swerve and Tailgate were walking down the halls when they felt the thunder of stomping pedes. Maxima and Rodimus, in their vehicle forms were speeding through the halls. Maxima and Rodimus: “Heads up!” They both transform midair and flip over the screaming minibots before transforming back and speeding once again. Swerve was trying to calm down himself and a panicky Tailgate meanwhile Rewind was buzzing with excitement. It was times like these he was glad to have a camera bolted to his helm. Rewind: “What do you think they were running from?” Swerve: “Who knows?” Magnus and Megatron with little pink doodles on their faces: “WHERE ARE THEY?!” Rewind, Swerve and Tailgate: “AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Maxima at some point on the Lost Light after introducing them to monster truck rallies.

[wrathofresistantx]

Bastian Bosse’s LiveJournal Activity (Part One)

On September 2nd, 2004, Bastian Bosse created his LiveJournal account. He posted to this account between September 2004 and August 2005, with his first entry being on September 2nd, 2004, and his last being on August 15th, 2005.

He posted his first entry on September 2nd, writing:

“So first, I have to try out how this works ...”

His entries during this time were about his airsoft guns and problems he was having at school, with him writing on September 8th:

“Well first of all, I got to class late, and they wrote me up. That’s especially good, when it happens on the first class with a new teacher! Well, it was only Religion ... the subject where they tell you such garbage that you like to go to class because it is so funny ... Our new topic: (for the third time) “Satanism / Occultism.” Oh man!

Then I rushed home after school and had to find out that my mom snooped around my stuff again a little ... Well, maybe they are just worried ...”

On March 7th 2005, he began posting again on his LiveJournal account, which he hadn’t posted to since September 15th, 2004. His post on this day mentioned being teased by his classmates, as he wrote:

“Other than that, really nothing spectacular happened during the week. I had to listen to the usual crap, like “Hey look! There is the Matrix-Man!” Looooooool, nitwits!”

On April 3rd, he wrote about ordering an MP5-SD6 airsoft machine gun online and not receiving the money on time:

“Then I ordered an MP5-SD6 AEG during break and told them that I would transfer the money on April 2nd . .. and what’s happening? The guy who is supposed to buy my old G36c is not coming, and now I don’t have the money .. . great!”

On May 15th, he wrote two entries, with one talking about his attitude to life:

“The longer I think about life, the more I realize how senseless it actually is ... Somebody is born, has a good life for 6 years, but then gets enrolled in school. Then unconsciously, he has to make a decision; do I stay the way I am or do I conform to the others? To be more precise, do I remain strong or do I become my own traitor?”

And the other mentioned a girl called Nadine:

“There is no progress with Nadine . . . I blame this sick HipHop Music that all the kids listen to . . . you have to go crazy and only talk shit. I HATE EVERYTHING!!! What’s up with all that shit??? Did I come to this damn world to be the idiot next door, my whole life? What should I do here? What are all of us supposed to do here?”

He wrote on May 16th:

“I am thinking about just dropping out of school next year, so I don’t have to see their faces anymore, so I don’t have to hear their voices anymore. No idea, if I should do that . . .”

He also responded to an online friend of his that commented:

“is it really that bad at your school? mhm, yeah, I was also glad when I was allowed to leave...”

“Indirectly. The fact that I am older than those in my class makes things significantly easier, in other words, it is not like it was in my old class, in which I was humiliated. But those people are all such complete morons; either over the top clowns or blowhard potheads, who consider themselves the greatest.”

His entries throughout May discussed his growing collection of airsoft guns. However in this period he also bought a Colt pistol, which he was able to test on May 18th:

"Then I was finally able to test my Colt, was a little lame, but nice ;) Other than that, nothing happened."

On May 23rd he wrote:

“Tomorrow is the 24th, Tuesday .. . and what will happen? NOTHING!!! I hate it, I hate to always be everybody’s dimwit. I hate to always be portrayed as a dork. I hate to always be the individual who seems unnecessary, but I hate it even more when people try to betray me . .. LH !!! Who do you think you are? What do you think you can get away with? Who gives you the right to breathe my air?”

“I am done with the world, I feel outcasted by it and hope for change. But how do we define such change? Or even more important: What am I doing here?”

His entries from this point forward would become a lot longer and discussed his thoughts on life, his guns, and his views on people at his school.

[End of Part One]

I'm doing this in two parts, otherwise this post would get stupidly long and a bit boring, both for me to write and for everyone else to read.

[olvitier]

Sorry its so late buf i am in an Edling mood tonight and I will never stop thinking about the idea of how theyre the epitome of right person wrong time.

(obviously in a context of like fandom shenannigans where canon events arent 100% set in stone like edling arent canon but also idc !! they are to me! im ignoring it let me be insane) ANYWAY

Even if they wanted to be together post promised day Ling has all the responsibilities of Xing and his clan and Edward would never hold him back from that for a second. Im of the opinion that brotherhood Edward feels a lot of guilt for wanting love from the people around him particularly those he sees as good (winry, alphonse, etc) especially if hes done things hes perceived as hurting them (maes’ death, the transmutation, etc etc). Which is why I think Edward connects with Ling so well cayse he doesnt carry the weight of a lot if his past mistakes, and then when the stone happens its like goddamn it i roped this guy into my shit again. Like i dont know Edward doesnt really dedicate himself so fully to people outside of winry and ed a lot so its interesting like!!

He cares about a lot of people like the majority of the allied cast and we see him be openly affectionate towards Nina and Hughes pre their deaths but I think Ling is the only person hes ever decided to stick with WITHOUT alphonse? I may be wrong but the whole sure Ill stay with you and trust my brother and Winry to stay safe and follow you around the outskirts of the east for a week till the promised day to protect my new friend is so??? what?? huh???

But anyone my point is post promised day Edward cant really ever see a future with Ling because of all the responsibility Ling holds outside of him and its veyr tragic imo like especially because in a different scenario if Ling didnt have those responsibilities and Edward wasn’t so dedicated to the people around him to a fault of never thinking about his own desires I think they could have the possibility of a future.

Like I have read a lot of fanfiction abiut Ed traveling to Xing and living with him there but?? I realistically cant see him ever doing that just solely because Edward is not the type of person to settle down! like its my one and only criticism of the fma manga is that I cannot see Edward ever being satisfied with a simple life? Like even in Fma 03 which is my favourite interpretation of Edwards character once he gets stranded in our world he learns?? Rocket Science?? For the chance to get back to Amestris but he doesnt really seem to take that goal all that seriously especially considered Alfons ends up getting involved in a lot more aircraft projects than Edward like Edwsrd genuinely enjoys learning!!

Im pretty sure he was the one who dragged Alphonse into Hoenhiems office when they were kids after he left, probably to Al’s reluctance of if they were allowed in there, and started ripping through all of his old books just to learn. Edward never stops and it gets so bad that he never stops to even consider himself constantly worrying about getting his brother back or improving the states of others lives especially when! ya know! the whole country is at stake!!

So in a circumstance post promised day where Ed decides what he wants to do (my personal favourite interpretation is either an alchemical researcher outside of directly performing alchemy, ie revolutionizing the circle matrixes and discovering nee combinations or becoming a professor of some kind) I dont think he would give that up to settle again. And obviously Ling cant exactly up and leave being Emperor unless he decides he doesnt want to, im not the most knowledgable on Lings characterization so I wont speak there but!

They have so much fun together and compliment each other and genuinely care about each other so much but their happiness and fulfillment as people to themselves and others make it so its nearly impossible they would ever realistically end up together and its really doomed and tragic!! idk i think about it a lot.

[lets-try-some-writing]

I need a full fucking post about the children to sparklings au, I need tears of the families reunion. And that includes bee and smokescreen fucking booking it to that location. I need Optimus being a proud dad about Jack becoming a doctor. I need him intimidating Miko's partner. And I need him being silently ecstatic about one of his kids FINALLY BECOMING AN ARCHIVST

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECIEVE!!! I giveth YET ANOTHER addition to this AU at your behest. Enjoy :)

Previous part here.

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When Optimus gave himself to the Well, he knew what he was doing was going to hurt his sparklings. There had been no other option, but once he rejoined the Allspark and integrated with it enough to have a voice, he made his opinions as clear as day. He was forced into a dormant state off and on, as was customary for those who returned to their maker. However, whenever he was roused from his rest, he was highly vocal about his desire to return to the living realm so that he might be with those he left behind. He spent vorns upon vorns bitterly attempting to speak to his fellow Primes to convince them to give him new life. Thankfully, as soon as the threat of the Fallen came into play, they were willing to let him return to life at the cost of him doing their bidding whenever they required it.

To Optimus it felt like an absolute scam, but who was he to reject? Primus would only let him live again if he agreed to give up his memory. His fellows were the only ones who could pull strings to let him return largely unscathed. So if he had to be their lapdog in exchange for the right to life, then he would do what he had to. Besides, in the worst case, he was not against throwing himself back into the Well to avoid being turned into a tool to be used. As such, Optimus's spark was taken from the Well along with the Matrix of leadership and he was given a new frame to inhabit before promptly being thrown to Earth to fight for his life.

Cybertronians and humans present at the battle site took countless videos and pictures as Optimus and the Fallen fought one another with vicious brutality. Even as the battle raged, recordings were being uploaded to Cybertron and consequently the datanet at rapid fire speed. So when Optimus finally hauled himself out of the crater formed from his battle with the Fallen, word was already spreading. The team were on Cybertron reminiscing, but those who were once bound to Optimus sensed that connection stirring. They largely shrugged it off a mere oddity, but the closer Optimus came to arriving on Cybertron, the stronger that pull became. Out of all the sparklings, it was Jack, or rather Sirius who seemed to understand what was happening first.

The eldest of the former humans broke into a mad sprint and fell on his face in his hurry to get to where his spark felt compelled to see to. Bumblebee and Smokescreen were next to pick up the flare from Optimus's end of the bond and promptly began booking it toward where they felt the call was coming from. Rafael, or rather Alnair was similarly quick to get moving and attached himself to his sister as she hurried to take to the skies. Miko, or Tari flew through the skies faster than she ever had before, quickly surpassing her ground bound brethren in her haste. Alnair, from within her cockpit, hurriedly ran scans, desperately reciprocating love and affection and trying to work through tears. None of the sparklings could believe it, not after so long. But they could not deny it, there was no denying the adoration and love that sung in their sparks.

Optimus hardly had a chance to land on the ground before Tari transformed, flinging her brother off in her haste to get to her Sire. She promptly threw herself into Optimus's arms, not doubting for even a moment that it was him. Optimus merely dropped to a knee so that she could reach him better, and he cupped her face, running his digits along her cheeks as he sang softly. Tari wept but leaned into the touch that had long become but a memory. Optimus was back, her Sire was there, touching her face and looking at her with all the love and care in the world. All of her sparkling vorns were spent lost, without guidance. There was always something missing in her life, and she filled that void with aggression and then the family she found with the Wreckers. Now though? She could feel everything coming back together, as if a piece of her spark was being put into its proper place. She clung to Optimus's plating as Alnair stepped forward hesitantly.

The minicon was no fool. He knew that the mech before him was his Sire. But he had been so young when Optimus died. He hardly remembered his Sire even though his spark pulsed in recognition. To him, seeing Optimus was almost like meeting a long dead historical figure. He knew the stories, he knew Optimus's reasoning and choices. Alnair worked in the archives after all. And yet here he was, standing and venting as if he hadn't been dead for vorns. Optimus extending a servo toward him was all that it took to break Alnair from his desperate logical reasoning. He stepped forward slowly, but as soon as he neared the Prime, Optimus drew him in for a hug alongside his sister. He could not stop himself from shedding a few silent tears as his spark cried out, old scars aching now that what was thought lost was returned to him.

Sirius arrived third and skidded to a stop wheezing from exertion. He did not cry, he did not wail. No, he watched Optimus hold his siblings close, and only once Optimus smiled down at him did Sirius step forward and join the hug wordlessly. There was no need for communication between them at the moment. Sirius knew his Sire and had enough of his memories from his youth to feel relief over confliction. Optimus's passing damaged him deeply, but he was old enough to move on and know what his Sire did was worth it. He was willing and able to fill the void as best as he was able. But now that Optimus was back, sheer relief flooded his processors as at last, he no longer needed to remain the firm foundation for his siblings.

Smokescreen was not nearly as composed as Sirius when he arrived. So much stress and having to practically raise his younger siblings alone had him bawling the moment he crashed into Optimus and fit into the rather snug hug. Bumblebee did not cry, but he did squeeze Optimus tightly when he squeezed his way into the hug circle. Optimus for his part sang lovingly for what could have been nanokliks or up to a groon. However when at last all of his sparklings released him, he remained on his knees so that they could refamiliarize themselves with him. In any other situation it would be seen as uncalled for or even intrusive. But as Sirius touched Optimus's servos and mapped them with his digits, not a spark spoke a word. Tari examined Optimus's jetpack, lifting the wings and doing her best to be gentle as memories of flying with her Sire returned to her. Alnair focused on Optimus's windshield, touching the glass and leaning against the Prime to feel his spark. Smokescreen and Bumblebee merely touched Optimus's shoulders, neither needing much more to reaffirm the most basic part of their bond to him.

It was such a small thing, but Optimus did not stop his song as the rest of the team arrived and watched in total shock and awe as the Prime's sparklings acted on instinct to inspect and confirm that he was who their sparks proclaimed him to be. Only once they all settled did he speak.

"You have all grown so much during my absence. I lament that I could not be here to watch you develop, but if you would allow me, I would like to be part of your lives once more."

There was not any hesitation in the sparklings' answers. The team were shaken by their Prime's sudden return and Cybertron was thrown into absolute uproar as Optimus Prime quickly made himself known. Not a single mech on Cybertron was able to do a thing as Optimus took up a position as Head Archivist in the newly established government and then proceeded to go spend time with his sparklings while blowing all of his starting leave. The planet hardly had time to process that he was in fact alive again before Optimus appeared on national TV praising Sirius for achieving his doctorate in neuroscience, remarking fondly on Tari's perfect combat record, and hailing Alnair for becoming his apprentice.

Behind the scenes Optimus made a deal with all of his sparklings, one where he would spend a stellar cycle with each to begin to make up for lost time. He began with Tari simply because she was the most frantic. All of that time was spent with Tari showing Optimus her life and all her work. She had him watch her training, observe her skills in flight, and read through her records just to see her success amongst the records. Throughout it all Optimus showered her in affection, giving her hugs and singing to her on instinct whenever he was pleased. Tari did not care at all that Optimus was reacting to her actions as if she were still a sparkling. She loved it all and had no qualms against bringing her courting partner to meet her Sire. She was too happy about the situation to know when Optimus took her partner aside, putting a servo on their shoulder and smiling a little too wide to be comfortable.

"Treat her well, or you too may learn of the peace found within the Allspark"

The poor bot was terrified and went to Tari shaking. Tari assumed that it was simple nervousness and laughed it off, but Optimus kept smiling and made a point of showing that Tari was his sparkling whenever he could. He was not upset with her courting partner, but to Optimus, Tari was a tiny sparkling last he checked. Letting her go off to do whatever with a bot he did not know was something he needed time to handle.

Bumblebee and Smokscreen were next on his visit list, and the entirety of their gathering was comprised of the two brothers lamenting raising the trio alone. Optimus listened dutifully, offering hugs, cuddles, field comfort, and whatever else was required. He treated them as if they were young, making them energon and letting them unwind after vorns of stress. It was a month filled with tears on Smokescreen's end and centuries worth of stress finally being released from Bee's shoulders. Whenever Optimus wasn't playing therapist, his eldest sparklings took him everywhere and anywhere, showing him Cybertron and doing their best to make a show of their efforts to ensure his vision became reality. It was humorous to the Prime to watch his two eldest bicker over meaningless things before promptly becoming dead serious over different topics in record time. No matter how old they were, Optimus saw them as the two younglings he took under his care.

Chaotic as they were, they did not argue when Optimus went to Sirius next. Sirius for his part was far less excitable than Tari. All he wanted from Optimus was the chance to talk and catch up. And so that was what they did. A whole stellar cycle went by with Sirius sitting with his Sire, drinking diluted and flavored energon while discussing everything and anything in the local garden. Optimus practically beamed as he listened to all Sirius had to say about his life and the happenings on Cybertron. More than once he reached out to hold his sparkling's servos as Sirius spoke. The Prime did grow momentarily bitter over hearing of Sirius's habit of going to June's grave, but he did not let it show. Sirius was his sparkling, and he showed nothing but joy as the eldest of the former humans showed Optimus all his medical tools with glee, bringing back memories of when Sirius was far younger.

If Optimus quietly pulled some strings to ensure Sirius worked at the clinic closest to the archives, not a spark said a word. Sirius was a doctor and Optimus couldn't have been prouder.

Alnair though... he was a different situation. The youngest of the trio did not know Optimus as his elder siblings did. He was too young when Optimus died to know much. And so his time with Optimus amounted to working together in the Archives. Optimus was once an apprentice to Alpha Trion, and so despite the initial awkwardness, Optimus taught Alnair all he knew. The minicon was dead set on trying to leave as soon as possible and get a new line of work, but as Optimus weaved his tales of pre-war Cybertron and dutifully worked to teach Alnair, the youngest of the former humans warmed up to his Sire quickly. By the end of the stellar cycle, Alnair was just as excitable as Tari and bound himself to Optimus as his assistant minicon. Optimus did not object to having his sparkling with him all the time. How could he when FINALLY one of his line saw fit to appreciate his previous occupation prior to the war.

Optimus may or may not have commissioned a few private archival tools for Alnair, but again, that was something none would confirm. Optimus wanted to pamper his sparklings. Not even the Matrix could stand in his way. He was finally home and the sparklings finally had their Sire back. Cybertron was restored, peace achieved, and the people flourishing. What more could Optimus want?

Well family drama was certainly new, and adapting to a brand new era certainly had its downsides, but it couldn't be that bad, right?

Right?

[justanotherperson1]

Imagine the kids scrambling to handle this mess. Jack handles Prime, Raf goes for Ratchet and Miko deals with Bay. Someone needs to remind the bots that not everyone is against them.

Miko thinks the only way to get Bay's mind out of this unhealthy slump is to remind about the good side. Throughout all his adventures, he had key help from humans who still believed in him despite everything. Bay died to protect Sam who later almost dies bringing the Matrix of Leadership to bring him back.

Cade still repaired the Autobot Leader despite knowing his identity and kept faith in him. It's okay to not fully trust others but he can't group an entire race in the same category when there were humans who helped the Autobots until the end. Plus Cybertronians are in the safe boat. Both species have their good/bad sides.

Raf and Jack remind everyone that if Fowler really wasn't on their side than everyone would already be in hiding already. He may be rough at times but the agent is like Lennox. Still loyal to his companions.

A liaison doing the best he can to keep the peace despite the Autobots absolutely sucking at staying incognito. You want to prepare or be cautious? Okay but don't throw someone whose clearly still has faith and trust into the possible enemy bin.

There's also issues with the Matrix of Leadership. Both Optimus have gone through a personality change and Ratchet doesn't trust the relic one bit. Orion Pax incident already showed what Prime was like before becoming the person he is today.

It will mark any potential threat to Cybertron as a danger despite the circumstances. A onesided piece of scrap metal that cannot be trusted. Everyone has to work together or sink by the inner turmoil than just Decepticons.

I feel like Bay! Optimus would find the most wisdom from Arcee in this moment. Though Miko’s words would be kind, Arcee’s experience would be a inadvertant comfort.

After the reveal of what the humans did to his Ratchet he would retreat to the roof where Arcee would find him.

She wouldn’t scold him or try to lure him back with the others but istead, under the low light of a setting sun, they would sit and look over the world just beyond Cliffjuper’s memoral in a certain solidaridy.

They are the most alike and therefore, Arcee would be the most likley to understand him. Unlike Prime! Optimus who is the ‘figurehead’ and the ‘ideal’, I feel she would be more likley and more willing to hear Bay!. Does that exuse his actions? His brashness? What could Arcee say? She’s been where he was and is still activly trying to tame the rage she sure as the pit feels.

That’s not to say none of the others in the team don’t experience loss, but Arcee and Bay! Prime seem to deal with loss and the feeling of failure the same way.

She wouldn’t try to defend humaninty as a whole, but tell stories of Jack and how he helped her after the death of Cliffjumper, and maybe…. Just maybe, Bay! Would recall the young boy he once knew that the first human he ever talked to. Who was there when few others would stand with him.

But your last line couple of lines raises an iteresting thought.

Bay!’s matrix has been stained long before him and found a kindered spirit in a Crucader become Prime. In the very first movie he said that Cybertron was an Empire, and later we learn that he and other knights like him traveled the stars in a PRISON ship Lockdown later comindeared from him. Do you guys remember what it looked like? What was in it?

“Bone grinders, brain blinders, flesh peelers, chromazonal inverters, catatonic slug, black hole trap doors and, of course, radiation.” - Crosshairs, Age of Extinction.

What the hell is he doing with a ship like that?!

Even then, everything the Bay! Allspark touches turns into a rage-filled, blood thirsty vile creature who’s only initiative is to destroy everything around it. We see this again and again in the years we Optimus is on Earth. The more and more electronics accidently get turned into Cybertronian creatures- so then what rules does the Matrix follow when heralding and protecting such a naturally violent race? What morals would it really have.

What was he doing? Before and after the matrix?

And what was the Matrix truly instilling in him?

Do you think, in Prime! Optimus seeing himself he saw something not like him? a being who was already a conqueror before the fall of their race? Something who, in theory shared his ideas, but in action truly was brutish? A Cybertronian more like Unicron than that of Primus?

Did Bay! Optimus really change after the Matrix?

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 38 part one

(Masterpost) (Pinboard)  (whole thing on AO3)  

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!  

OK But Why?

This tale-within-a-tale is excruciating, yeah? So let's start off by considering why it even exists. Yi City feels like, if not a fully separate story, a pretty complete arc that can play as its own little movie. And it's incredibly sad, in every direction. While it may have begun life, in its originally-written form, as a different story exploring some of the same themes, MXTX placed it in the novel deliberately, and the producers of CQL included it deliberately. Why? Other than the, you know, catharsis of a well-wrought tragedy?

I think the answer is that it tells a set of parallel stories, alternate versions of the stories our main characters inhabit, with different outcomes driven by the character's choices. There's an obvious parallel between Lan Wangji's grief and Song Lan's, and another clear one between Wei Wuxian's core donation and Xiao Xingchen's eyeball donation. 

And there's an important comparison to be made between Xue Yang and Wei Wuxian, two demonic cultivators. They share some formative experiences, but have followed radically different paths, shaped, at a key moment, by another person's choice. 

Overall, the Yi City story illustrates how choices made in a moment affect not just an individual life, but ripple outward into other lives. So be prepared for me to point out parallels even more than usual, as we go through these episodes.

Empathy

We start off learning about Empathy and how it’s sooper dangerous, which means of course Wei Wuxian is totally down for it and probably invented it.  He gathers the kids around and assigns Jin Ling to be the person in charge of supervising and deciding when to pull him out of the matrix link. 

Jin Ling is surprised and reluctant so teacher’s pet Sizhui jumps forward and volunteers. 

Wei Wuxian asks Jin Ling for his Jiang clarity bell, which is on a tassel that used to be Jiang Yanli’s. 

(more behind the cut!)

Once the bell/tassel is out of Jin Ling’s hand, however, he changes his mind and snatches it, and the responsibility, back. 

It seems like Sizhui might recognize this tassel? 

It’s like the one Jiang Yanli gave Wei Wuxian when they met up before her wedding, which means Wei Wuxian would have had it with him during their year in the burial mounds. 

Jingyi disapproves of Jin Ling’s mind-changing, which is a little unfair since JL didn’t actually say “no” prior to Sizhui putting in his oar. (Sizhui is entirely loveable, but he is also a pushy brown-noser just like Lan Wangji was at his age. He just does it so sweetly that nobody minds.)

Sizhui, also like his Lan dad, has made it his life’s mission to manage a loudmouth hothead’s temper for him. 

Heading into empathy with A-Qing, we get flashes of bits of the story that we're about to see in depth. Then we jump to "ten years ago" which, given the way this series does math, probably means seven years ago.

Side note: A-Qing has managed to keep her hair looking pretty cute despite being 90% dead. 

Splish Splash

This particular section of the Wuxia River of Sadness is reserved for people who are contemplating the total mess they have made of their lives (gifset here), but A-Qing didn't get that memo, so she's having a nice time splashing joyfully without a care in the world.

A-Qing isn't about drama or being depressed, even when things are pretty difficult. She has found a big rock to sit on and is having a nice day hanging out on it.  

Then she goes skipping along singing "la la la la" (which is the same sound in Chinese as we make in English when we're singing and don't know the words, incidentally). Ok, show, we get it, she's happy and carefree. I sure hope she doesn't get involved in any weird relationships.

Grifting

She sees a couple of women walking on the path and she starts pretending to be blind. In the book, this pretense was facilitated by her having completely white eyes, but in the show she has normal brown eyes, until she actually is blinded by Xue Yang. So her entire pretense of being blind is to unfocus her eyes a bit and wave her hands around...

...with frequent intervals where she thinks no-one is watching her, and she acts 100% like she can see. Somehow she is almost never busted for this. 

The ladies give her a steamed bun and whisper loudly to each other about how pitiful she is. 

Then she heads into town for a little grifting, picking a wealthy douchebag as a mark. She bumps into him and steals his money bag, which he doesn't notice because he's too busy creeping on her. 

She's annoyed and disappointed that he doesn't have a lot of money.

Hey Pretty, Don’t You Want To Take a Ride With Me

Next she bumps into (and robs) Xiao Xingchen, who is actually blind, so he doesn’t notice her noticing how extremely pretty he is. 

He does notice that she has robbed him, however. 

Did you know if you have your eyes removed or even just damaged so you can't see any more, your eye sockets and/or tear ducts will bleed pretty much forever? Yeah, me neither. 

Xiao Xingchen immediately takes charge of A-Qing, telling her to walk more slowly and then telling her - kindly - to return his money purse. Before she can answer him, the rich douchebag comes back to yell at her and try to hit her. Xiao Xingchen stops him and smooths over the situation, and then lectures Ah Qing about stealing and how it's bad. But he tells her to keep his money, so - mixed messages, bro. 

She calls him gege and says that since he's blind and she's blind, she's going to follow him forever. He’s like, okey dokey, and they walk off together. Is she really the first person (since Song Lan) who’s had this idea about him? He is *very* pretty, after all.

It's unclear to me if she's calling him gege in the sense of “orphan girl who wants a family,” or in the sense of “mostly-grown-up woman who would like to Hit That.” Xiao Xingchen appears to take it as the former; he is too gay virtuous for the other option.

Two seconds after they decide to stay together, they encounter Xue Yang lying injured by the side of the road. A-Qing pretends she didn’t see him, and almost successfully wangles a piggyback ride out of Xiao Xingchen. 

But then he hears Xue Yang and immediately decides to rescue him, like the do-gooder Xue Yang despises him for being.

Xue Yang gets the romance-tropey piggyback ride that A-Qing was hoping for. Girl, the time to stop trying to seduce your gay male friend is 5 minutes before you started, ok?  

So...why was Xue Yang lying by the side of the road with a stab wound? Who gave it to him? If Jin Guangyao was sick of him, he would have stabbed him 100% fatally, and he wouldn't have let him hang on to Tiger Seal 2.0. And presumably Xue Yang wouldn’t think of him as a friend any more. It’s a mystery.

The new throuple decide to go to the creepiest abandoned walled city that has ever existed, and head past all the regular houses to set up camp in the morgue, for some reason. Not even inside one of the buildings; just out in the courtyard with a bunch of possibly-occupied coffins. Xiao Xingchen is so fucking weird. 

Each Unhappy Family is Unhappy in its Own Way

Xiao Xingchen gets to work patching Xue Yang up, and Xue Yang wakes up and recognizes him. A-Qing explains that they are blind and tells him not to be rude about it.

Xue Yang takes a second to process the situation, and then decided he’s going to hide his identity and make nice with Xiao Xingchen. Proving that found family can also have hideous toxic dynamics.

Xue Yang is very careful to keep XXC from touching his hand, since that would give away his identity. He has a...prosthetic finger? He wears a black glove and keeps his pinky finger straight so we know it's a replacement, or injured, or something. 

I think this is a concession to Wang Haoxuan having ten functional fingers and the show having a limited CGI budget. In a real sword-based society, missing a finger is probably not particularly uncommon, and he would probably just rock the nine-fingered look without having a special glove.

At this point, the complex interactions of the trio get rolling. Xiao Xingchen is honestly kind, Xue Yang is fake-kind, A-Qing is fake-unaware with Xue Yang and is unable to make Xiao Xingchen understand the problem, and Xiao Xingchen is genuinely unaware of everything. 

We spend a fairly large amount of time with Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen playing happy families. As part of his false persona, Xue Yang adopts a coy and whiny tone when talking to his pet white-clad cultivator, remarkably like another demonic cultivator we know.

I’m pretty sure Wei Wuxian has never managed to cop a feel while his sweetie climbs up a ladder, however. 

Then again, neither Lan Wangji nor Wei Wuxian has ever needed a ladder to get onto a roof, so maybe it’s just a lack of opportunity. 

This relationship, on the surface, is cute and sweet, which just makes the reality of it more disturbing. It’s super uncomfortable to watch, but there’s more than manipulation happening in these interactions. As Xue Yang flits around doing domestic tasks like patching the roof of the crappy outdoor shelter that they absolutely do not need to be using, he tells Xiao Xingchen various true things about his early life, and we begin to see what shaped him. 

Xue Yang (like OP) is obsessed with candy. In Xue Yang’s case, he was a hungry street kid who loved candy but couldn’t usually have it because of poverty. We learn that he has skills in patching up inadequate housing because he did it growing up. 

And we learn that he was beaten a lot. 

So he and Wei Wuxian have these things in common - except now Wei Wuxian gets his sugar from alcohol, not from candy. And Wei Wuxian’s handyman skills are used to make a home for his former enemies in the burial grounds, while Xue Yang’s are used - also in a cemetery, of sorts - to manipulate and trap his enemy. 

I Want Candy

In classic predator form, Xue Yang uses candy to lure A-Qing into coming within stabbing range, because he thinks she’s faking her blindness and wants to test her.  

I find him super attractive right here in spite of his evilness. I’m pretty sure it’s because he’s offering candy. (OP goes and gets a jolly rancher out of her purse). 

After calling her over, he draws his sword with a super-loud "sshshk" noise that she inexplicably doesn't notice, and she bravely walks up to, and nearly on to, the point of the sword. 

This shocks him and convinces him that she's really blind. He sits her down with apparently sincere gentleness, and gives her candy, while quizzing her about her hot gege.

A-Qing tries to warn Xiao Xingchen about Xue Yang being a bad guy, pointing out that he's a cultivator and won't tell them his name. (She can’t say “also he tried to stab me” because she’d have to come clean about being able to see.) Xiao Xingchen, because he is a condescending prick--albeit a very sweet one--pats her on the fucking head and laughs off her extremely useful warning. 

Xiao Xingchen came out into the wider world with a set of ideals that he lives by, apparently without examining them. He’s humble, kind, frugal, and wants to eradicate evil. He also believes that the majority of people are good like him, and that detecting evil is simple--as simple as following his sword toward it. He doesn’t allow A-Qing, who is experienced in the wider world, to teach him anything, preferring to keep his ideals untarnished.

Contrast this with Lan Wangji, who also starts his journey into the wider world with a set of ideals (codified as rules), but does not make the mistake of assuming that other people shares his beliefs. Once he’s away from the Cloud Recesses, he follows Wei Wuxian’s lead when dealing with new people, rather than insisting on doing things the way he did back home. In general, he is open to having his beliefs challenged, even when it makes him upset or uncomfortable. As a result, he grows into a righteous man, not a naïve one, and he’s fully capable of identifying enemies even when they appear to be friends.

Bonus: 

In this brief long-distance shot we learn that A-Qing sleeps in a coffin, which is some next level goth girl shit. 

Soundtrack: 1. Hey Pretty by Poe 2. I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow 3. Cheap Thrills by Sia

[saxandviolins77]

IIRC in your review of TF One you said it was a "good movie" but a lot of what you described made it sound focus-tested into oblivion and generic? And I know I thought the movie was pretty nonsensical and hypocritical and had many issues with how it handled the characters, so I'm really curious about in more detail what led to your ultimate take? I know you described how it was very focused and stuff but like, a movie that has a focus but is focused on something that doesn't make any sense isn't necessarily good, especially if the theme has problems. I'm curious since your review you named a lot of specifics and I feel like my opinion that it was a bad kids' movie seems really rare! -arceespinkgun

Hey! Thanks for the ask! I'll try to make my stance more clear on the TF: ONE topic.

Well, focused on telling a riveting story with the characters and universe it certainly was not.

Focused on making revenue? Definitely, but every movie is like that, I'm more interested in the hows.

You see, this movie was written backward. As in, they already knew where the characters needed to be and who they needed to turn into.

Why was Orion considered worthy of the Matrix? Because he needs to be.

Why did D-16 go from a meek rule-abiding guy to a violent "kill everyone tyrant" in the span of a day? Because he needs to be.

The "high-guard" stuff? Just a very weak excuse for them to shove the already-built Decepticon army into a fight scene.

It's a good movie for two reasons and neither of them really has to do with the story or characters as they appear!

It knows its audience: as in, the general audience of TF fans, the TF fans who go into the cinema expecting the tried and true story of "cherik but robots" will have a grand time! And will go to the cinema 26 times to make sure this movie has revenue (see Twitter, it's embarrassing). AND, it's also great franchise bait! Tell me, how many people have you seen that are new to the franchise BECAUSE of ROTB? Now, TF: ONE? I assume your answer will be a little different. It's a movie that dangles a carrot for the audience, if you already like the carrot, sweet! If you never tasted the carrot, you may enjoy it without thinking.

Focus-tested: great use of the word, I'm stealing it. I would say this movie is a calculated risk, but it isn't a risk at all. I appreciate the motives behind this movie a ton! Because it wasn't just something Hasbro green-lighted to ignite the Bayverse flame back, it's calculated and the time it was left in the oven means this is pure aligned sauce, and it works. This movie sexes so much with core concepts from the Aligned continuity that it was bound to never be its own thing, and even better! All the "new" concepts this movie has to offer are either animated movie jerking off (Comedic-relief character that adds nothing, Girlboss...) or smoothing out Aligned things that would not fly in deeper examination (Op and Megs are both miners, Sentinel, no "alternative mode racism").

It's a good movie, in comparison to what came before (that I felt the need to point out in my review). It's cohesive, unlike ROTB, AND more importantly, it's approachable (not only for newcomers but also for the fandom at large). It's an above-average kids' movie (which aside from a few surprising offers, has been on the slop side of things for YEARS now, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Blockbuster schmuck).

It's a good movie because it was calculated, the only factors that may intervene are Paramount's shitty distribution AND toy sales, but that doesn't change the fact that it is critically acclaimed already.

Now you might be asking:

Do I support this?

Who am I to support anything? Just a small account on a near-dead site. However, I cannot deny I find it quite ingenious of the Hasbro team (who has been wanting to amalgamize TF for YEARS) and the fandom reaction to it has been great to watch.

Does this kill artistic integrity?

LMAO YEAH! I don't thing anyone watching a big studio movie would be really surprised by that, better luck with animated series and/or comics. Tho, I sure the people working on this movie did put their hearts into it, it just happened to be a really strategic place to put it.

Wow, I wasn't expecting this.

Yeah, it is what it is. At the end of the day TF:ONE is a very great marketing scheme, I'd be more worried about it seeping into other things (beware of what's to come after the failure of the GI:JOE/TF movie and after they finish killing off ES).

I didn't really like it, but for reasons I already don't like Aligned. The forced godhood of Orion (which makes the Autobot/Decepticon conflict into a religious war!! Why?), the fact that D-16 is the fucking anti-christ that was dictated by THE ALREADY MENTIONED NARRATIVE into villainy (even though, he was in the right! Orion's only plan towards Sentinel was... 'the people will know'... Then...?), the High-guard was completely fodder for the main four (notice how I never mentioned them in my original review), and Arachnid... LOL MOMENT FOR THAT BLUNDER AMIRITE?!

But that ⬆️ was not the point of this movie's existence.

Sorry if this reads a little too hateful or cynical, I am genuinely neutral about this movie, but I just wanted to make my stance clear. My account is not made to dwell on or endorse parts of the franchise that I do not like, I prefer talking and uplifting what I enjoy... And maybe reblogging a hateful post every once a week.

[ellestra]

Going in circles

There has been a lot of talk about how Gen V is about social media and stage parents but the underlying theme of this season is the cycle of violence that leads to abuse and revenge cycles. It's a positive feedback loop that makes .

Since Gen V is inspired by The Boys comic arc that was a parody of X-Men this is something that was, of course, always staple of X-Men comics/movies/shows. But X-Men stories in their core tend to be optimistic/aspirational. The Boys universe is much more cynical than that. In the end bad guys win or they at least spin their loses their way so they can hold on to power.

Marie, Jordan, Andre and Emma really believed in the ideas sold to them by the marketing team. But the humans they were trying to save were exactly the ones who never treated them to people. Ones who perpetuated the cycles f abuse - from the moment they were given Compound V to all the stages of deciding who is and isn't valuable. They aren't the ones who lead Vought when it all started but they do the same thing again and again because it's profitable. And when it comes to bite them they try to weasel their way out of any responsibility by appealing to the better nature of those who they abused. And so, so many real life abuses seem to use this to escape culpability. Using the "be better than those who wrong you" as the most cynical way to save their own asses.

It doesn't mean that the rest of the non-powered humans don't have a reason to blame supes. Both the Boys and Shetty are not wrong in the assessment that supes always will a leave a trail of blood behind them - both intentional and accidental. From powers manifesting in the disastrous way, through accidents while using them to abuses of power to avoid consequences and finally malice. Supes are human and do exactly the same things but their impact is so much greater and so is their body count. It's gets horrifying because she's not blaming Vought who created this whole problem. Instead she's uses Vought's own torture factory to try her hand at genocide. It's hard to really feel bad about Cardosa and Shetty's death when we just saw them killing some kids in even more horrible way.

Cate was betrayed by every human she trusted. And the worst was that even though Shetty loved her she still drugged her to dampen her powers (those blue pills reference even more clear after latest Matrix movie) and then used her to help with genocide of her own kind. So she gathers all other abused supes and they all go on a rampage because how you can ever trust any one of them if they even corrupt love like that. Being one of "the good ones" didn't really work out. And because this is the time where the ultimate power of Vought propaganda machine lies with a supe it's all swept under the rug by Homelander.

He's done appealing to mudnon-powered people . The one place X-Men doesn't really go in stories like that is the people who go against their own interests because the ideology allows them to feel superior to another group. And they think they'd be spared. It's the voting for Leopards Eating People's Faces Party all over again. Homelander knows now that there are humans who still will follow him (steeped in American exceptionalism and dreams of ubermensch as he is - BTW I don't think it's a coincidence that both Cate and Sam are the kind of Guardians of Godolkin Stormfront would approve of unlike original versions). He just needs supes who think the same as him instead of believing things like non-powered humans are human too. Someone who is not going to bulk at thing he wants to do.

And the boys would do anything to stop him. I'm pretty sure the virus is not out of the picture yet. Between Neumann container and Butcher finding the infected bodies there still might be attempt to use it. After all it's still in pre fully genocidal form. And Marie surviving Homelander's blast may have taught Neumann she might have enough time to pop Homelander's head - especially if he's a bit sick.

In this cycle people who try to stop it are also part of the problem. It too often leads to letting those in power stay in power so the injustices can carry on. Marie uses the system that was designed against her to stop the massacre and it hurts her too. Andre risks brain damage saving helicopter coming to rescue Vought Board. Jordan almost gets overwhelmed and mind controlled protecting them. And Vought will continue doing what they did to babies and any supe they deem faulty product. Believing the heroes will come and save them gets them locked in a doorless room.

We see how appealing to their opponents better nature doesn't work. Maverick cannot break mind control. Sam chose it over conscience. All Emma gets for trying is being made to feel small.

In the end all trying to be heroic got them is being labelled as traitor and scapegoated. And I don't think it's an accident that of this group only Emma is white (although it's nice that the only couple that survived this in neither includes white people nor is straight).

And so the cycle goes. Non-powered humans abuse supes and supes abuse those humans and each sides has a list of atrocities perpetrated on them they use to justify to atrocities they commit. While the people who caused and profit from it this stay in power.

This is even made even more relevant by real life events reminding us about the real, horrible human toll of such cycles hatred. The real excuses that are used to justify violence against innocents by feeding populations a revenge fantasy dressed as justice aren't all that different. And so isn't using it to keep power and gather more assets. But in stories we can hope good guys will eventually win. History teaches us that, in real life, it always ends with those having power behind them getting all the spoils. Everyone can count themselves lucky if they get a half-assed apology too late to count for anything.

[smokescreenimusprime]

still reading through your aus and i am in pain wtf--- that depticon spy au??? THE REVEAL IS SO. OW. BECAUSE SMOKESCREEN WOULDNT EVEN HAVE A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN HIMSELF--- like I. HEAD IN HANDS.

NYEHEHEHEHEH >:33333

that's part of the fun tbh <3

and of course the Autobots are angry. Livid if we're being honest. They feel stupid for not seeing it earlier, after all Smokescreen arrived in a Decepticon pod, he'd supposedly managed to escape a prision ship himself and survive the fall of Iacon, he'd been captured again by the Cons and escaped functionally unharmed, he was always weirdly anxious and flighty around them, and they really just feel like they're been played for fools at what seems to be obvious tells in hindsight

admittedly the humans are a bit more hesitant to believe this sudden change, especially whichever human was the one who was traded for Smokescreen. After all, Smokescreen honestly bonded more with the humans than with his "fellow" Autobots. With the Autobots there was always this lingering anxiety and fear that they would uncover his secret, a feeling he hadn't felt since his early days of undercover work

but with the humans...... there wasn't as much fear. The kids were..... well, kids. They didn't know what signs to look out for in spies, they didn't know what he should and shouldn't know about Cybertron, they trusted him completely, so this apparent betreyal....... it hurts them a lot but they're also somewhat hesiatnt to believe it

but yeah, they don't exactly have too much time to deal with all these emotions regarding Smokescreen's betreyal before all of them get a single message from the guy

Run

then they end up finding out that the Decepticon's new base is Literally Right Outside Their Door and they evacuate

(also, since all five humans were kidnapped, this also means that Fowler and June get to join the Autobots on then run :) June is either going to go with Raf (since he's the youngest) or with Ratchet, but I'm admittedly not super sure about Fowler, either Ratchet or he manages to stay behind with Optimus somehow)

now....... this of course raises the question of what happens to Optimus. After all, Smokescreen isn't there to save him, right?

Wellllllllll

what if he was :)

what if after his "return" to the Decepticons, Megatron sorta...... lets him float around. Sure he's angry about his defection, but right now he's more than aware of how much more pain giving Smokescreen some amount of freedom would give him than simply locking him up. If he's in a cell, he's being trapped, but if he's "free"....... well, then that makes it all the more easier for the guilt to eat him alive :)))

(besides there..... really isn't a whole lot a spy with a blown cover can do right now)

unfortunatly, while the guilt part of the plan does work out, it also accidentally results in Optimus's survival and Smokey stealing the Phase Shifter and Forge and giving it to the Autobots

now...... Optimus admittedly doesn't have the best memory of what happened after the base came down ontop of him. The details aren't super great on account of the whole dying thing

However, there are a handful of things he is sure of with the utmost certainty

The Matrix of Leadership wanted to pick Smokescreen had he died

Smokescreen had a chance to take the Matrix of Leadership

Smokescreen didn't

Smokescreen stole the Forge and Phase Shifter from the Decepticons

Smokescreen saved his life

and suddenly Optimus is realizing the whole puzzle surround their newest recruit has become that much more complicated

[whattraintracks]

Okay, so we’re doing this 

Intro: 

I’m sorry with the rain and trench coats all I can think about is “The Maltese Hamster”

oop that’s Karai’s voice 

Present Timeline: 

chatting about the latest adventure with the bestie 

and looking at matrices. Donny is STEM goals 

Time Scepter: so whatchu thinking about?

Donatello’s Brain: indecipherable matrix assault

Time Scepter: oh my gosh, please send him anywhere but here quick quick quickquickquick 

hence he was sent to the future of a near timeline as opposed to an entirely alternate reality 

kidding 

hmm so he’s looking into time travel and alternate dimension related calculations

interesting that this got him sent to the future instead of the past like he and April were talking about 

I’ve seen this scene three times now and it is never not funny how Raph arrives just in time to deliver a sick burn 

Lair Ruins: 

the obvious Chekov's gun of the Tunneler is sending me 

largely because I would not have noticed it if I didn’t already know so much about this episode 

also this has video game vibes 

your character just woke up and starts spouting ominous observations about the environment 

Mike sighting! 

ooh spiky nunchaku 

oh my gosh I am so ready for extremely competent adult mutant ninja turtle fight scenes you have no idea 

ahhhhhhh angry Mike hurts so much 

Montage Across the City: 

the music does not have to go this hard but I am in love with it (p.s. still feeling this way post episode, that soundtrack was phenomenal) 

with Mike’s “We were a team! Without you it just didn’t work.” I can see the back and forth of ‘SAINW happened because it was Donny specifically that disappeared’ and ‘actually this would have happened if any of them had disappeared’ 

Rebel HQ: 

Angel name drop! she has commandos!?! get it girl 

Splinter and Casey both believed Don would come back /sobs/ 

I’m sorry is that Baxter Stockman? in the resistance?? 

I mean, of course he’s alive, cockroach man that he is, but in the resistance??? 

and Hun!?!? 

oh my gosh Hun you’re so melodramatic please 

wild to me that Donny shows up, checks the place out, and just says imma fix this and everyone goes along with it 

I have to wonder 

how long have they been waiting for him to do this exact thing that despite three decades of fear and pain and grief and betrayal and anger and everything else they don’t even question him, they just act? 

how long have they been waiting for Donatello to come back with hope and plan that they couldn’t say no? 

Shredder’s Palace: 

thinking about the cut taxidermy plot and Karai’s report is hilarious 

‘hi. yes, master, it’s me. you know that stuffed turtle you have? someone just saw him running around town. yeah he was attacking our men. killer makeover, doesn’t even look dead’ 

wait isn’t there a Leo centric episode in season four called prodigal son? 

and Shredder just called Don the prodigal son.

oh that comparison is going to ruin me 

Shredder's like nope. I've only made it this far with him gone. make him gone again. 

Some Building IDK: 

wow it is on sight between Leo and Raph 

have they been fighting about the same thing for 30 years? good golly. 

how many times has Donny had to separate these two by whacking them with his bo that was clearly well practiced 

ah I see they were saving the questions, concerns, and rising action for Leo and Raph 

newtrauma what nows? some kind of Utrom soldier? welp guess I'll find out (p.s. transcript says Utrominators so did Leo but the cc said neutromenators so I got lost) 

Shredder’s Palace Again: 

oh well done Donatello! very dramatic entrance! excellent presentation! nailed that cheesy heroic one-liner! 

April came! . . . and so did Hun+Baxter 

ouch that did not end well for them 

OH MY HECK WAIT REWIND THE BRAIN IS BRAINING 

Donny and April (normal timeline) were specifically thinking about UNCLE AUGGIE 

who DISAPPEARED 

so Donny got sent to a universe where HE disappeared 

I’ve connected the dots 

okay back to the show 

Mike seems to be taking the lead here and I like that very much 

wait I wanted the fight scenes but I didn’t want this part /sobs/ 

I’m sorry is Karai still trying to pull the old ‘I actually like you guys don’t make me do something I don’t wanna do’ like girl frickin commit already 

noooooooo—wait how did she slash through his shell? you know what, nevermind—oooooooooooooooo!!! 

gahhhhh Raph's death was so much worse. doesn't matter how prepared I was. I was not 

hooray April with the bazooka! but also girl where were you T^T 

“you are the last of your kind, Donatello” oh that’s particularly cruel 

it’s giving ‘alas, poor yorick’ 

holy crap April 

alone in the ruins of Shredder’s throne room surrounded by the bodies of all that’s left of her family and an entire ruined world to rebuild 

geez Don leave her the easy job 

[henrysglock]

It does actually upset me a fair amount that Henry's story is never about himself in fanon or canon.

TFS? Picked apart for byler parallels and willel content. Picked apart for Jopper content. Does Henry's story even register as anything more than background noise? Does it matter? Does he matter in his own story? Or is he only important as a support for someone else?

The VR game? Picked apart for byIer content, eImax content, wilIel content. Nothing to be said for Henry's childhood and time in the lab, which takes up more than a third of the game. Once again, Henry's ignored and sidelined.

For the majority of his life his story itself isn't even about him. Canon childhood? Revolves around Virginia and Brenner (and Patty, in TFS). Then he's just another dead kid in the obits. Even Patty seems to have forgotten him for whatever reason after he's taken by Brenner.

Canon teen-adulthood? Revolves around Brenner and El. He's a number, a caregiver for children who only exist because of him, but who will never be aware of that fact and the implications it carries, and a pet to Brenner...and maybe a coworker at best.

He doesn't exist as something actually lovable until El starts caring about him. His trauma as One doesn't exist until he gets his few minutes of "being quietly upset about 20+ years of mistreatment" time while he's surrounded by the corpses of children he was fond of, children that he more than likely didn't kill because they don't actually exist, given that they fucking move and blink out of existence altogether. (Even that is deemed too long by the fandom, who would really rather see cute, useless scenes of wiIlel. or byIer. or. or. or. Less than 15 minutes of words for 20+ years of abuse, and it's "too much". He's "joker-fied" for being upset at all. Really I guess he should just be grateful he got to tell his story before El blasted him into the ether (over something we can't actually prove he did), whether that ether be the darkness of NINA or the fires of Dimension X. Should he take a bow and leave gracefully? Would you like him to get down on his knees and thank the security cameras before he goes? Should he have pinned himself to the wall? Should the lamb get on the alter and tie its own legs for the sacrifice?)

He ceases to exist entirely outside of Brenner as soon as El's memories of him are wiped.

Henry only exists again in relation to crimes he's blamed for but there's only flimsy circumstantial proof linking him to.

Henry's blamed for the murder of children that often times blink out of reality altogether, children we only seem to see in a fucked up Matrix-like computer simulation. Children he sounded fond of, and who were fond of him in return, even if they didn't really know him.

Henry's accused of manipulating El, but there's no solid proof that he did so. In fact, there's more proof saying he didn't do that, and was genuinely trying to get her to leave out the tunnel...but we don't acknowledge that. We also don't acknowledge that he stuck El in a closet to keep her safe while he went out alone into only God knows what situation.

Henry's blamed for Will's disappearance, despite the fact that Vecna (whoever he is) makes no mention of Will at all in canon, and when he does make mention in the VR...Will's already in the UD/void Castle Byers. There's no actual evidence linking him to Will's kidnapping in the shed. Vecna notices Will, but as of yet we have no solid evidence that he stole him.

And if he were to come back for some kind of "redemption arc", which I hesitate to even call a redemption arc, since we have no solid proof that he's got a body count over [checks notes] two: Virginia, whose circumstances of death are muddled with TFS, and that one guard in 4.07. (Yes, only the one guard. He threw the other four. There's no confirmation that they were anything more than knocked out, especially in a scene where they make a point to clearly show who Henry killed.) We can't even say he killed Alice, since we haven't seen the circumstances of her death...in fact, it's more likely he didn't kill her, based on what we know about his powers. Henry has a reliable body count of two, and both of them arguably had it coming. One had just sold him and his best friend out to Brenner, two children as lambs to the slaughter on the alter of "give Virginia Creel her normal life back :((((", and the other was an imminent threat to his and El's safety.

So I hesitate to call his possible return a redemption arc, because what does Henry have to be redeemed for? And if he were to have this "redemption" arc, he'd likely be put on the chopping block for people who haven't given him a second glance since 1959 (El aside).

I mean...how fucking unfair.

An unloved child sold to a freak doctor, imprisoned and abused for 20 years, forgotten entirely for the next 7 years, and scapegoated to the nth fucking degree as soon as he's brought back into the picture not of his own volition but because Brenner and El and Nancy dug him up and decided he was definitely and unquestionably to-blame for everything.

And were he to be absolved of any association...he'd likely immediately be expected to sacrifice himself for the "greater good".

Like...this guy had better get a happy ending or so help me god.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

so i’m a bit confused, did they jake marco tobias and ax all end up dying at the end? like ax i’m pretty sure is dead but idk really and same with the others

Eh, I think it's deliberately up to the reader. I know I'm the only person on the planet who feels this way, but I love the structure of that ending — it leaves a lot of room for fans to come up with reads where they're alive, reads where they're dead, reads somewhere in between.

Evidence they might be alive:

As a different fan pointed out (@derinthescarletpescatarian was it you?), the series's line "ram the Blade ship" is clearly meant to parallel the moment in Andalite Chronicles where Elfangor literally tries to ram the Blade ship — BUT that earlier moment is a bluff, and results in no fatalities. So if there's that foreshadowing in Andalite Chronciles, then maybe Jake is bluffing as well and the Rachel is fine.

There's also the foreshadowing in Ellimist Chronicles. The specific way that prologue is phrased seems to imply that an Animorph (as in, just one) is about to die young. Rachel dies a lot younger than her friends regardless of how you take it, but you could also take that prologue to mean that she's the only one who will die unusually young.

Evidence they might be dead:

There are several hints in the second half of #54 that Jake views this whole thing as a kamikaze mission, and has no exit plan for anyone. Marco especially both assumes Jake's looking for an elaborate way to die redeeming himself, and that Jake is asking him and Tobias to try and get Ax out or die trying.

Related, there's the motif of Jake taking on Rachel's role any time she's gone. It's there in #16, #21, MM2, and #42, but it's a major thread throughout #53 and #54; Marco repeatedly describes Jake having "Rachel's smile." If Jake is trying desperately to follow in Rachel's footsteps, then arguably he succeeds.

Cassie describes herself and Marco as "the only two real survivors of the war" (#54). Given the overall bleak tone of the book — Visser Seventeen dies but it costs too much, Visser Three goes to prison but it doesn't really matter, Jara never lives to see his people freed, Arbron dies winning freedom for his, the Animorphs get their dream lives postwar and all those dreams prove hollow — an ending where everyone but Cassie dies would fit thematically.

Other options I like:

A Valhalla-like scenario where the Animorphs end this lifetime but in the process transition to fighting cosmic battles against deities like Crayak and Father and The One, serving as avatars for Toomin.

A sario rip on impact that sends the Animorphs elsewhere and/or elsewhen — they can't ever go home to their own reality, but they have other adventures afterward.

Deus Ex Time Matrix, or Elfangor-from-20-years-ago interrupting the crash because (among other things) he doesn't feel like dying in the war and doesn't want his kid or his brother to do so either.

Cassie's temporally grounded, so she just, like, uh, resets the timeline somehow.

The One barfs out the Blade ship after getting body-slammed by the Rachel, and in the process somehow or other barfs out Rachel and everyone else who ever died on board.

See? This is all so much more rich and interesting and interactive than a simple wrapped-up ending.