#that's the saddest flashback but he has so much STYLE look at those clothes they suit him so wellll

[whos-hotter-jjba]

Hottest JJBA Outfit Bracket - Johnny Joestar Preliminary Poll

[thanksjro]

More Than Meets the Eye #22- If You Don’t Love Thunderclash, Get Better Soon I Guess

One last issue before we reach Comic Event Hell.

Time to use a dead man to set up the rest of the nonsense that’s got to happen, because apparently 14 issues of setup, including six issues of literal prelude, wasn’t enough.

The first bit of information we’re presented with is the fact that Chromedome and Swerve are on the opposite sides of the camera-shy scale. I guess that’s bound to happen when your spouse has had his video-cam literally connected to his brain for at least several thousand years.

The art may look really gritty and hardcore here, but this is actually due to a filter Rewind has over all his footage that he’s neglected to take off, because it made all the wartime propaganda he would stuff into people’s heads all the more brutal-looking.

No, this is the style of our artist for this issue, James Raiz, who we’ll be seeing a fair bit of over the next several issues. Raiz has worked on the Transformers franchise over the course of multiple license-holders, as well as contributed to both Marvel and DC comics. He also works in special effects, including matte painting and VFX. That’s just neat.

Anyway, the reason Swerve’s completely frozen in place isn’t because Rewind  switched out his head-mounted camera for a gun that goes off if it hears you make a self-deprecating joke, but rather because he’s conducting interviews with everyone in the main cast. We get all their introductions, Cyclonus makes a statement about his political stances, Drift sounds like he’s high as a kite, First Aid strikes a sassy pose while not being bitter in the slightest, and Ultra Magnus makes a move that would get him murdered on any given film set in the universe.

You do NOT use your bare fucking hand to clean a camera lens, mister. Go get a microfiber cloth and try the fuck again, you complete and utter duffel bag of a creature.

We get a quick cut of the speech Rodimus made back in issue #1, with an angle that implies that Rewind was in the front row of the front row, then cut over to Rodimus asking Rewind to document their Capital-Q Quest. This is where we establish that this film doesn’t only contain footage from Rewind’s personal camera, but also that of the Lost Light’s security system.

Which feels like the sort of access you maybe wouldn’t want to give some nosy little film buff, especially when you have a secret giant serial killing sadist living in your basement like a disappointing adult child.

See? He was given the job to record the adventures of the Lost Light not five minutes ago, and he’s already using his powers for evil. Eavesdropping evil. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, Rodimus, and you just handed it to the guy with a massive Dominus Ambus-shaped chip on his shoulder.

So Rewind’s got permission to film just about whatever he wants, and Rodimus figures it’ll be nonstop action from here to the finish line! Fights! Intrigue! Mild hijinks and peril! Explosions aplomb! Oh man, I can’t wait to see what kinds of crazy shit will happen on this absolute roller coaster of a Quest!

Smashcut to Swerve literally falling asleep in the middle of a conversation. Yeah, as it turns out, no quest, capital Q or not, is nonstop action. Which is good, honestly, because that kind of seems like it would be exhausting after the first week or so.

Swerve, Tailgate, and Rewind are discussing cool alt-modes, which seems like an odd topic, seeing as Tailgate and Swerve have basically the same situation going on there, leaving Rewind alone in the camp of “does not have wheels”.

I worry about you sometimes, Rewind. Internalized Functionism is a very real problem. Uh, well, in your universe anyway. Us humans have to deal with regular ol’ classism and racism.

Rung gets brought up, and it’s revealed that the wheel on his back is almost purely cosmetic; it doesn’t even actually attach to his body. The lads decide that they’ve got nothing better to do, and set up a gentlemen’s wager- first one to figure out Rung’s whole deal gets 100 space-dollars.

Throwing shit at people’s heads will be a major plot point in the climax of this comic series.

Swerve’s go at trying to win the bet involved tossing a grenade at Rung to hit him in the neural cluster, which is rumored to be able to force an involuntary mode change if done correctly. Obviously, it didn’t work this go around. Then our narrative focus switches over to the crew’s hobbies.

You were listening to Prince, weren’t you, Magnus? Not even deep space is safe from the Cease and Desist.

Skids’ hobby is meeting new people, because he suffers from the terrible curse of being so fucking good at everything he tries, he always ends up dropping whatever he picked up, because what’s the point? This acts as a segue into another flashback, to even MORE bullshit that the fellas got roped into on Hedonia.

These are the Stentarians. They’re like the Cybertronians, if they were better in every way.

And by “better”, I, of course, mean “more bloodthirsty, warmongering, and driven enough to make their civil war last about as long as the Jurassic Period”. Also, they’re all combiners by default, and Whirl seems a little TOO into their whole situation. So much so, in fact, that when the Imperial Guard of their race show up to kill them, he decides to do them a solid by single-handedly ending their entire war.

You know, in most cases you’re supposed to show and not tell for visual media. This is way funnier, though, so it can be excused.

We jump back into the interviews, and Rewind’s just asked everyone if they’re happy. This might seem like an odd question, until you remember that everyone on-board this ship has crippling depression and PTSD, and Rewind’s married to one of the saddest motherfuckers to ever exist, so he probably has this question loaded into the proverbial chamber at any given moment. We won’t cover all of the answers here, because they’ll be more poignant to reflect back on later in the comic run, but let’s take a gander at the characters who’ve completed the first leg of their character arcs this season.

Drift, is that perhaps… an honest expression of your inner thought processes happening right there? Has Rewind broken through your carefully crafted persona, if even for just a moment, with his question? Perish the thought!

Because Tailgate outed himself as being baby in issue #21, I have zero doubt he’s not exaggerating here. He was a janitor, then he fell in a hole and became Dirt-Nap Supreme for six million years; even the most boring day on the Lost Light’s got to be better than that.

And it’s nice to see Chromedome on a good day for once. Hopefully he reveled in it while he had the chance, because this interview takes place maybe a couple weeks before he fucks everything up big time and has to blow up his husband with a missile strike.

Getting back to the Mystery of the Rungian Alt-Mode plotline, we see Rung using his backpack as a wheelbarrow- no idea what he’s actually pushing in the damned thing- and wearing the most disgruntled face I’ve seen him pull in a hot minute. Someone yells for him to come down the eerily unlit and sinister-looking hallway, which he does. Rung would not do well in a horror film.

He winds up at Swerve’s, where Tailgate, Swerve, Brainstorm, and someone who is most likely Trailcutter, given the colors, are hanging out in their alt-modes. Tailgate’s ploy to find out Rung’s deal is to do what he does best- lie! They’re having an alt-mode party, and wouldn’t Rung like to join in? There are, of course, logistical issues with being a car in a bar, especially when your drink is on the table and your head is tucked up somewhere in your torso, but never mind all that! Let’s get crazy!

This doesn’t work either. Maybe we should cut out the middle man here and just get Rung drunk enough to agree to a wet alt-mode contest.

No, I don’t have any idea how that would work.

In our next vignette, Rodimus comes into the comms room, Rewind trailing behind him like a grim shadow of death, to see what the hell Blaster wants, other than just the hugest glass of water.

Raiz’s work is very detailed, and you really feel the weight of these giant metal space robots, but everyone looks like they’ve been put through a food dehydrator.

We get a lot of build up to the character who’s about to be introduced, with a common opinion being shared amongst everyone- even Tailgate, who hates successful people like his life depends on it.

Lovely readers, put your hands together for the ideal male partner for Autobots, Decepticons, and Neutrals alike:

A man with so much charisma and charm that only Rodimus could hate him, Thuderclash brings to IDW what everyone wishes Optimus Prime would, making our disappointing space dad even more mediocre by comparison. He fights for justice, and freedom, and the good of the universe- and he does it all while having a chronic medical condition that forces him to stay within a certain distance of his ship that is also a life-support machine, otherwise he will die. Despite his handicaps, Thunderclash seemingly brings to others what they need most, even if they don’t even realize that they needed it in the first place.

He also, in this one scene, appeals to Drift’s religious sensibilities, does a secret best-friend dance with Ratchet (who he helped to pass his medical exams- yes, Ratchet), and congratulates Rodimus on his questing so far.

Thunderclash is one of those characters that everyone in-universe is supposed to love, and I completely buy it- because he’s completely genuine and humble about all of this the entire time.

Compare this to the last time Roberts wrote Thunderclash, in Eugenesis.

Where he was an ex-Decepticon.

And kind of an abrasive asshole.

And then he died.

Y’know, now that I think of it, Eugenesis Thunderclash and MTMTE Ambulon being basically the same character makes a whole lot of sense, even without the horrors of Roberts’ Twitter getting involved.

Thunderclash reveals that he, too, is on a quest to find the Knights of Cybertron, much to Rodimus’ chagrin. But first he needs the Lost Light to break out the jumper cables, and then for his second in command to stop threatening his life.

Turns out, not everyone is as obvious as the Cybertronians with their naming conventions. Whirl assassinated the wrong folks; I’m sure the Galactic Council is utterly thrilled. Paddox wants to steal the quantum engine technology for the good of his people, so they can kick the ass of the up-and-coming Terradore leader.

Completely unaware of the situation unfolding here in the lab, Swerve is directing Rung towards the warm, loving aura of Thunderclash for another go at winning the gentlemen’s wager- through the power of lying about having friends, Swerve’s “agreed” to get Rung Thunderclash’s autograph, in exchange for getting to check that Rung’s transformation cog is still working. Then they bump into the nightmare currently unfolding. My, whoever will save us from this dreaded menace, who holds a gun to the head of the Autobots’ greatest warrior, confidant, friend, and perhaps even lover?

How about a bartender and a giant vape pen?

Okay, so Rung doesn’t actually turn into a vape. It turns out that the Mystery of the Rungian Alt-Mode is also a mystery to the man himself. Because Rung is old as shit, the Functionists got to see this bullshit for themselves, and ended up testing him over and over and over trying to figure it out, lest he prove to be a flaw in their fascist ideologies. Fun fact: fascists HATE it when people they’re trying to oppress don’t play to their expectations.

The Functionists were the ones who gave Rung his little wheelie backpack, to make him at least appear useful. This sort of treatment tends to warp one’s head a bit, which would explain why he’s bothered to keep it for so long- internalized functionism’s a real bitch.

At least he’s not giving teenagers nicotine addictions under the guise of being somewhat better than cigarettes.

Back with Rodimus and Cybertron’s Autobot of the Year for 40,000 consecutive years, we get the unfortunate news that jump-starting Thunderclash’s ship is going to make the Quest go a bit slower for the Lost Light, much to Rodimus’ horror, though he does his best to put on a brave face; after all, that’s what heroes do, isn’t it?

It’s at this point that it’s revealed that “Little Victories” was being screened to all the Circle of Light members who didn’t get murdered or turned into Legislators on Luna 1, and man are these guys pissy. What was meant to be a recruitment video turned out to do just the opposite, because none of these guys want anything to do with what the Lost Light’s got going on.

Too bad Rewind didn’t have time for a cleaner cut for showing. Maybe they could have at least snagged a couple of these guys to tag along.

As all of the Circle of Light leave the theatre to go call everyone’s favorite Autobot to see if he needs a more crew members, the film plays on behind Skids, back to the interviews, as everyone promises more adventures just waiting on the horizon.

You’re not even on this trip anymore, you dork.

Chromedome gives us the title drop for the movie and issue, and we cut to Rewind organizing a group photo of all the interviewees.

And then Rewind died horribly like a week later. Thus ends season one of More Than Meets the Eye!

While I’m here, I’d like to take the time to cover a little bit of cut content from this issue, a scene between Drift and Ratchet.

Drift, during his interview, recalls the time that Ratchet called him into his office for a very serious discussion about his/Pharma’s hands.

Yeah, turns out they’re haunted.

Well, no, not really, because this is a prank. But Drift doesn’t know that yet.

Ratchet demonstrates this hand-haunting by punching Drift in the face, as he screams damnation at Pharma’s ghost. Drift, because he is a spiritual man, knows exactly what to do to deal with this possession; he draws his sword and chops Ratchet’s hands off, then throws them out the airlock.

This, too, is a prank, not that Ratchet knows it right away, yelling at Drift that he’s crippled him.

Clearly, these two belong together.

This bit of cut script was lucky enough to have gotten drawn by the colorist for MTMTE Season 1, Josh Burcham. Burcham’s line art is iconic- you won’t mistake him for anyone else. It’s rough and angular, and honestly just very charming. I’m a sucker for this sort of style. If you want to see his adaptation of this chunk of script- and trust me, you do- the link’s right here:

https://dcjosh.tumblr.com/post/107665292031/its-done-the-mtmte-22-deleted-scene-in-all-its

[blaithnne]

Ever Growing Long ass Mary Poppins Returns Shitpost

Spoilers!!!

Mr. Fry is such a god damn sweetheart I can’t eve-

BERT’S NOT DEAD HE’S JUST EXPLORING

“Well then you’ll just have to AVOID them at all costs”

OK BUT THE BADGER LITERALLY SAID HE AND THE OTHER TWO WATCH KIDS WTF-

Lin Manuel Miranda was fucking fantastic

Topsy and Mary’s relationship just makes Mary seem so much more human it’s great

You can see Mary’s personality showing a lot more in this movie, she interacts with the kids so much more and she’s even playful at times, I like her a lot more here than in the original movie

Emily Blunt is an absaloute goddess

Jane is such a brilliant and funny character, I fucking love her

JaneXJack is now on my list of OTPs

I will protect those penguins at all costs

THE COVER IS NOT THE BOOK TURNED OUT TO BE SUCH AN IMPORTANT SONG

I loved watching the kids transitioning from tiny little adults to actually acting like regular children

MARY LOOKS SO SAD WHEN SHE AND THE KIDS ARE GETTING LECTURED I DONT THINK THIS WAS PART OF HER PLAN-

Ok but Mary and Ellen gossiping about Jack and Jane is so sweet

Can we talk about Ellen? I freaking love Ellen

Mary deadass steals Micheal’s bag so she and the kids can take it to the bank and I love it

JANE TAKING MARY IN BECAUSE SHE THINKS SHE HAS NO WHERE ELSE TO GO IS THE SWEETEST THING MY GOD-

The Parrot is more of a character in this and it’s funny seeing him start talking at really inconvenient times

I’m pretty sure that Mary just leaves whenever she feels her job is done, she’s not tied to the wind like it was made out to be in the first movie and pretty sure she’s not controlled by the Banks’ front door either

That being said the scene where the door opens and the cherry blossoms fly around and then Mary’s balloon flies away and then Micheal and Jane realise she’s gone it’s just so dynamic I can’t-

OK BUT THERE WAS THIS OLD WOMAN SITTING IN FRONT OF ME AND I JUST HEARD HER GASP AND GO “THERE SHE IS” REALLY QUIETLY WHEN MARY FLIES IN ON THE KITE IT WAS SO SWEET

The penguins tho

Ok but during the Big Ben scene I would have killed for one of the Leerys to yell “SHE COULD HAVE JUST DONE THAT THE WHOLE TIME!!???”

I loved the relatshionship between Jack and Mary, it’s so cute

Right but where did the Banks’ get those clothes in the scene at the fair? I mean I love them but when????

JANE BANKS

The admiral being in a wheelchair and everyone writing him off as a crazy old man killed me a little

Also him being so happy that Big Ben is “on time” was such a brilliant moment

And him giving the Banks a boat in a bottle when they were leaving was just the sweetest thing

It’s not Mary Poppins without a pampered dog

TRIP A LITTLE LIGHT FANTASTIC

Mary on the bike tho

Dick Van Dyke was amazing

Angela Lansbury is probably my favourite person ever I love her

The face Mary makes after John asks her how much she weighs had me laughing my ass off

They kept drawing attention to the toffees in the bank and it was really weird? Like I was expecting it to have some significance but it didn’t??? It was kind of awkward, was it a reference to the books or the first movie that I’m just forgetting?????

I swear I almost cried when the Banks’ were being kicked out

And their friends coming out at midnight to see them off was great

Mary deciding to help the kids turn back time and then them saying something along the lines of “and if it doesn’t make sense it can’t be true” with these big grins and Micheal and Jane being really confused was so funny and uplifting and so many other things all at the same time

The animation in the royal doulton bowl was incredible, it was clearly 2D but it almost felt 3D at the same time

There’s this scene during The royal doulton music hall when they’re riding the carriage and the camera sort of flips upside down and it was really disorienting a loved it

Can we talk about Jane Banks tho

I’M 90% CERTAIN THAT HORSE CALLED MARY A DOG

“But you’re-” “Yes I know I’m Irish”

Micheal yelling at the kids when they were telling him about their adventure have me major flashbacks to when the kids, Ellen and Cook were all singing supercalifragisticexpialidocous in the original movie

I loved the paintings at the start

The text during the opening credits being the old orange style was giving me so much deja vu and I love how that’s all Disney has to do to make me smile

“Lost, are we Mary Poppins?” “Hopelessly” THEIR FACES WHEN THEY SAY THIS THO

“DON’T YOU LOSE HER SON”

That first scene when the kitchen starts flooding it’s just such a great way to introduce the characters

SPRUCE

Jane storming right up to Mr. Wilkins’ office while Micheal chases after her is just so badass I love her

Have I mentioned that Jane Banks is fucking supercalifragalisticexpialidocious

The balcony scene just made me smile so much

Jack immediately running to help when he see’s Georgie in trouble, he fucking throws his bike down what a hero

“SIDE BY SIDE IS THE BEST WAY TO FLY”

A conversation was the saddest song ever I just want to give him a hug

So apparently Angela Lansbury was considered for the role of Mary Poppins in the original movie and that’s all I’ve been able to think about for almost a week now

“Where is it your from?” “Well that’s a very interesting stor-“ “We have no idea”

Mary’s lullaby was so sweet I loved it

I love how when Jack, Mary and the kids first get going on the bicycle you can see Mary join in with the laughter and it just makes her seem much more real

Also her splashing the kids with water in can you imagine that

Jack and Jane riding the bike together was so adorable

Also Mary just watching them cycle away together for like ten seconds before going “Right that’s enough” and walking off was so fucking hilarious

“You can ride in the basket!”

Mary splashing the kids with water in can you imagine that

The wolf’s smile after the kids went into the tent was so fucking creepy I was actually scared

I love when Mr. Wilkin’s see’s that the time on his pocket watch is different to the time on Big Ben he doesn’t think that his tiny little pocket watch is wrong, no, he naturally assumes that someone found a way to climb all the way up to one of the biggest buildings in the city and change it. I mean that’s exactly what happened but still

“Stay off the sea grass”

Jack rapping in a cover is not the book

I feel the need to mention that I freaking love Jane Banks

[ryouverua]

Love Key #1 - Kirumi Tojo

First up is......

winner winner chicken dinner

and a back massage

and laundry folded and bed made

and clothes steamed and pressed and -

Is it bad I was hoping for a guy first 8′D I wasn’t sure who I was gonna get. I knew it was random, but I guess the rule is as long as they’re alive it’s free game so other than Rantaro and Kaede I had my pick of the bunch.

awkward i think she heard me

I know this is standard introductory text that’ll probably appear every time but I can’t help but think Shuichi has already been sneaking off here when I wasn’t around controlling him 8′/ shouldn’t have won that man’s passion gun or w/e it was called I suppose

SHE IS ALWAYS WEARING A FRENCH MAID-STYLE OUTFIT HINT HINT HINT SHUICHI

Master already? oh my

Shuichi I am incredibly concerned about how, um, tall your ahoge got after she called you ‘master’.

“Oh boy this is both weirder than I thought it would be and not as weird as I was worried it would be. I am incredibly conflicted right now.”

I mean all things considered wouldn’t she feel more terrible if she found out later that she was basically sleep-fantasizing in front of you??? Or has Monokuma set up some trippy brain-signal thing ala whatever headset machine we’ve seen flash through those ‘flashback light’ segments to make them completely fall apart?

Shuichi you poor misguided fool

oooh unexpected world-building backstory for the throwaway fantasy

I’M INCREDIBLY EMOTIONALLY INVESTED IN OUR SHARED FANFIC

“i’m taking all the silverware with me and I left rotting fish in the vents. your father was an asshole, fuck’im”

Can we just take some time to note how invested Shuichi is getting in acting out the fantasy. Like, he is taking this gravely seriously right now. Goddamn.

ARE YOU ONLY NOW JUST COTTONING ONTO THE CONCEPT OF THE WHOLE PLACE

YOU LITERALLY USED A ‘LOVE KEY’ TO GET IN HERE

aaah honey you can’t excel at everything

PAUSE BUTTON

Are they the same age in her fantasy? They’re the same age in the real world - how old would that mean she was when she started the fantasy-maid job? 11? Younger? Was she just born into the job like Peko was in the last game?

Could she possibly be a little bit older? Not too much, but maybe a year or so? They gave her an older sounding voice but that’s just to fit in her type, right? So how was she supposed to nurture him when she was growing alongside him? What if she wasn’t naturally matronly when she was thrown into this job at a young age?How did Shuichi’s father expect this to work out? 

WHY AM I DEDICATING SO MUCH BRAINPOWER TO THIS CANON FANFICTION

okay, unpause now

Aw man this is a classic trope - maid/servant to master. One I don’t mind, though ~

i’m sorry I’m about to ruin a serious moment because I immediately thought of how Hercule Poirot was in the Orient Express film and I actually loved him and the way he talked to people, but I know the moment you click on this link looking at his face you will be distracted by his mustache

I just

I do love the gentleman detective character

With the last decade or so of asshole!detective (basically subset of the asshole genius trope lbh) especially popularized by House and Sherlock we don’t see much of it anymore and while there isn’t anything wrong with that type of character it’s.... nice to have a detective/smart character that isn’t an asshole/standoffish???

Kirigiri was good at heart in the end but was very much the quiet/cold girl for most of it and Komaeda is.... well, Komaeda...

Naegi and Hinata are the audience stand-ins and while they do investigating for the sake of us having interactive gameplay, they don’t really detect and have the same grand epiphanies detectives are known for.

Nanami may be the closest DR has gotten to a truly kind detective??? But tbh she ended up falling under ‘peace-loving robot’ trope instead which is its own thing.

THIS IS JUST A VERY LONG WAY OF ME SAYING SEEING THESE TWO LINES TOGETHER REMINDS ME OF WHY I WAS EXCITED ABOUT SHUICHI OFF THE BAT BEFORE HE EVEN BECAME THE PROTAG

anyway

So I’m not neglecting Kirumi in all of this, the fact that Kirumi is picking up on this aspect of Shuichi and appreciates it says a lot about her as well and what she finds admirable in other people

Shuichi is going to combust from the heat about to burst from his cheeks right now I don’t think the boy has been showered with so much praise in his life

KNOW YOUR PLACE

.... Now that I think about it, weren’t his parents famous actors or something in America? Maybe they could afford a maid. I wonder if they would be proud of him like his uncle is.

Aaaaand the sadder part of the trope... if you’re so taken by his generous smile to those in unfortunate situations, wouldn’t his ability to empathize with others in so-called lower positions be something to encourage? I guess when you get to the higher echelons of society there’s power that can be compromised if you start uh... well it’s an inelegant way to put it, but ‘slum it with the commoners’, but you would think being able to get along with everyone would be something to encourage.

Then again I’m a bleeding heart so what do I know

.... Shuichi I just wasted five minutes trying to put that into words, how dare you show me up in a single sentence

WHAT

OH NO

I CAN’T SCREENSHOT SOUND BUT SHE MADE THE SADDEST CRYING NOISES RIGHT NOW

goddamnit shuichi you broke her

AAAAAAAAW

GODDAMN SHUICHI YOU SMOOTH FUCKING GENTLEMAN

Gonta take notes

MAN you know it just occurred to me how much it would suck to get a title like “Ultimate Maid’ because just by having it, you’re already being put under people.

Like man, you’re still an ultimate. You should be able to command some respect, and be able to demand it for yourself too!

Okay if all of the hotel scenes go like this these are going to be great!

.... They’re totally not going to be, are they. I’m preemptively blaming Miu and Kokichi.