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unless I say otherwise. Sorry about this.

Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers!
Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers!

I meant to mention it but got sidetracked by everything else! Red Skull coming back got a gasp out of me—it's been, what, eleven years since we last saw him? It makes me almost hope he and Cap run into each other in the future, though I can't really see what storytelling purpose it might serve...

Ooh! Another thing! Star Lord and Thor getting into a tough-guy showdown. That was some A+ comedy acting on their parts.

If I had to guess—Loki and Gamora are going to stay dead, because they weren't killed by the power of the Infinity Gauntlet. Team Free Will—I mean, the survivors'—main priority will be to undo that damage, which is why I think those two deaths are going to stick.

Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers!
Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers! Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers!

Was that excessive? I would have used the gif, but I couldn't figure out how to paste it in, so... ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway! Thoughts! I have lots of thoughts about this movie, hence why this won't be a proper review and more of a ramble.

First off, Thanos is the best Marvel villain ever. Period, end of story. I would have given Loki that title, but he dies a good guy, so it doesn't really count. About Loki dying, by the way, I really hope it is for good, because it was the perfect end for the character. It had him doing what he always did best: being a trickster, and even though it didn't work out, it wholly redeemed him (at least, that's what I think).

I love how the designated dwarf was actually really big.

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Ebony Maw was the absolute standout of this movie. I loved every single scene he was in. He was just so deliciously sneering and condescending without ever being over the top. The opening of the movie, when it's basically just him delivering a monologue, was the absolute best opening it could have. It perfectly set the Wagnerian, and (dare I say) poetic tone of the movie. Also, that Wilhelm scream when he dies made me snicker.

Gamora's death was a total wtf moment. I think I might have actually said just that in the theater when it happened. :P I... kind of hope she stays dead, honestly. I mean, I love Gamora as much as anybody, but after the emotion of that scene it would just be cheap to bring her back.

Speaking of wtf moments: Red Skull's return. That was completely unexpected. I mean, to be fair, when I first watched Captain America: The First Avenger I knew he'd be back eventually, considering that he was just transported across space by the Tesseract, but I just... didn't expect it here, I don't know why. Anyway, that was cool.

The actress for young Gamora was amazing and looked eerily like Zoe Saldana as a small child.

I have mixed feelings about the Iron Spider suit in this movie. It's really cool, but it also makes Spider-Man less Spider-Man and more smol!Iron Man.

I wish Hawkeye had been in this movie. I have no idea where he'd have fit in, but I just really love Hawkeye.

Shuri did not get half the screen time she deserved. This is a fact.

I absolutely loved this movie, even though it may not seem like it!

Not trading lives for victory (a.k.a. the opposite of the many before the few) is an amazing theme, in my opinion, and one that's all too sorely lacking these days. The means matter just as much as the end goal, and Captain America's refusal to sacrifice Vision (and the ultimate pointlessness of it when Scarlet Witch actually does it) embodies that perfectly.

On a much more shallow topic: so many hot guys in the movie, like... testosterone, my God.

The title dissolving at the end really hit me in the feelnuts. After everything else, it was just too much, but in the very best way. The entire ending sequence was incredible. I did not expect it, I was not prepared, it was devastating, I loved every bit of it while sobbing my eyes out. My immediate reaction after the last scene was "what did I just watch? What was that?" And I'm pretty sure that's exactly how it's supposed to feel. Did anyone else get serious Deathly Hallows Part 1 vibes at the end?

Do any of you suppose it's on purpose that 'Thanos' sounds similar to 'Thanatos,' the Ancient Greek word for death?

Last thought, only tangentially related: we hear that Xandar was devastated by Thanos while he was getting the Power Stone. The destruction of the Nova Corps is the origin story for arguably my favorite superhero of all time: Nova. Does this mean that he'll make an appearance in the upcoming GotG Vol. 3? I really, really hope so. Plus, the Nova Corps member who recruited him from Earth, Rhomann Dey, is actually part of the MCU, as played by John C. Reilly in GotG. I think there's a very high chance of Nova appearing soon, and I am ridiculously excited for it.

Right, that's it (for now)! Just... go watch this movie, all ye mortals who haven't. You will not regret it.

I'm free almost all weekend—afternoons EST would be your best bet to catch me.

Do not say I didn't warn you about spoilers!







Okay. Okay, wow. Where do I begin with this?

I guess I'll start with the pacing. I was very worried going into this movie that with so many characters to juggle, there would be massive pacing issues. Not once did I feel like that was a problem; though there were obviously some characters who got pushed to the sidelines, there was enough of switching around between the different subplots to give the major players enough screen time to feel like what they were doing mattered. The fact that the writers and editors were able to make a nearly three hour movie feel like an hour and a half is a testament to how well they were able to pull this off.

The villain, Thanos, was also surprisingly well-developed for a Marvel villain. His motive is simple: He wants to eradicate half of all life in the universe so the remaining life can flourish without fear of extinction. He doesn't just want to kill to conquer, or for s--ts and giggles—he does, I believe, feel actual remorse for what he has to do to accomplish what he believes to be a noble goal. A villain believes he is the hero of his own story, and Thanos definitely sees himself as the hero. But when he manages to do just that—wiping out half of all life in the universe—he isn't triumphant, or gloating. He sits down and watches the sunrise, and thinks about what he had to do to accomplish his goals. His expression wasn't one of a conquerer triumphant, but of a tired guy who was just glad it was finally over.

Which brings me to the HOLY F--KING S--T moments of the movie.

Everyone dies.

Wait, scratch that. Not quite everyone.

But the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, everyone we've met in the MCU so far—there aren't a whole lot of good guys left standing. It's probably easier to say who didn't die than it would be to say who did. Of those left standing, we have...

Captain America
Iron Man
Black Widow
Hulk
War Machine
Rocket Raccoon
Thor
Shuri
Okoye
Wong
Nebula



Seriously. That's it.

Spider-Man is dead. Doctor Strange is dead. Scarlet Witch is dead. Loki, Vision, Falcon, Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Mantis, Groot, Black Panther, Bucky Barnes, Nick Fury, dead, dead, dead.

It's a very, very ballsy move by Marvel, and one I'm incredibly excited to see how they resolve it—because let's face it, these are characters for a multibillion dollar franchise, and based on comic books to boot, so I don't expect them to stay dead for long. But with the reality warpers Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch out of the picture, it'll be interesting to see how they plan on bringing everyone back.

Even with this 99% certainty the deaths won't be final, it was still an emotional gut punch. There was no dramatic death monologues, just confusion before disintegrating into dust. The closest we got to a parting speech was Peter Parker begging for Stark to save him, that he didn't want to die, and then he simply faded away in Tony's arms. He was a kid who Tony had tried to send home at the beginning of the movie, and he was just gone.

The credits were set to very sad and somber music, and the simple title screen in turn disintegrated to dust when it was over. It was a very heavy, very final sort of feel for the ending. And though we got a bittersweet moment of hope where Nick Fury uses his last moments to send a distress call to Captain Marvel... the fact is, for the time being, Earth's Mightiest Heroes are dead as, well, dust.

Things are looking very bleak indeed, and I admire the guts it took to take the franchise in that direction.

Some other, scattered thoughts:

Loki's death and the destruction of the Asgard refugee ship right at the very beginning did an excellent job of setting up the tone for the rest of the movie. Though there was some wisecracking from Thor and Loki before s--t went to hell, Loki's death—for good, this time—made it apparent that this was not going to be a movie where everyone comes out triumphant at the end of the day.

Thor has a new weapon! It's... kind of disappointing? Especially after the awesome moment of development he had in Ragnarok: "What are you? Thor, God of Hammers?" But he's been fighting with a weapon for 1500 years now, and going up against Thanos with unpracticed new powers prooobably isn't the best idea. So while I'm not a fan, I can understand why.

Rocket pestering Bucky to sell him his arm was perfect and just about everything I could have asked for. Also, Bruce Banner piloting the Hulkbuster suit (since he was having trouble with summoning the Hulk) was 10/10 squee-y goodness.

Star Lord. Dammit. The plan to defeat Thanos would have gone off perfectly if it wasn't for you getting angry and screwing the entire universe over. *sigh*

Gamora. Oh man... we got to see how Thanos chose her from among the refugees he was planning to slaughter, and how he really did view her as a daughter—and then he murdered her, because in order to access the Soul Stone, he had to sacrifice the thing he loved most. Her disbelief that he loved her enough to consider her the sacrifice was painful, especially after she reminded him of the abuse he subjected her to. And her broken body lying at the base of the cliff... ouch.

Peter Dinklage shows up playing a dwarf. Typecasting? Not when this dwarf is something like fifteen feet tall.

Doctor Strange saw exactly one timeline where they defeated Thanos. Was his decision to hand over the Time Stone influenced by this? Did he set some sort of master plan in motion, or was this an instance of the writers handing him the Idiot Ball as well?

So, to say I was fangirling hard over this movie would be putting it mildly. Marvel wasn't kidding when they said Infinity War was ambitious—and it certainly delivered.

It was a pretty one-sided match.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7doublesou-739279649

It could have been an innocent question. So I answered it in a relevant thread he'd started on the Board. Dunno if he actually saw it or not, though, since Thoth was the only one who replied.

It does rather smack of a boss demanding to know why his employee has not delivered that report to his desk as of four pm sharp, though. {= /

CFF/CH, let me explain the problem you're having: At the moment, you have zero social currency with any of us. Social currency is complex, but in simple terms, it's the unstated rule that, if you want someone to do something for you, you have to do something of equivalent value for them, too. In this case, you want us to write missions that would please you. Writing a mission is a fairly hefty investment of time and energy, so we're not going to do it unless we can count on getting something out of it. If we do a thing for you, what, exactly, are you going to do for us? Are you going to give us some enthusiastic conversation about shows we like? Are you going to give comments and concrit on our stories? If you tell someone you're interested in playing a game, are you actually going to engage with them when they start it?

'Cause you haven't done any of that so far, and the more output you demand without giving us any of the type of input we value, the more irritated we are going to get about it. And, because I feel like I have to say this, a one-line token effort isn't enough when you're asking for dozens of hours and thousands of words in return. You're only going get the equivalent of what you give.

~Neshomeh

Watch it here:
https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/battle-gen7doublesou-739279649

You took the PPC postcode or whatever and flipped it upside down and spun it all around and squished and squashed it and it came out with sif-10 or something like that. Nerd stuff.

And, errr, I've definitely not read it. I can guarantee that with absolute certainty.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm



Oh, man, it had better not be Homestuck.

Once to Skarmory, once to Sergio Turbo, once to Neshomeh, and most recently to me.

I don't know the amount of requests to stop, but I think right now blocking on the wiki should be held off, unless this happens once more.

Classic, please do not excessively post on the board. Before you post something, please ask yourself: Do I need to put this on the board? And, as your last adoption post was not replied to at all, think about what you want your post to do. If you're asking a question which you think won't get answered/responded to, and isn't a very serious one, should you be posting it here on the board? Just be mindful, and respect other boarder's wishes.

Admittedly, it might have just been me being later than expected, but were you on? If so, sorry about that. Got an open time this weekend?

Looks like I will be free most Saturday.

First things first: the whole thing is read counterclockwise. In the name specifically, it reads from the point shown at the top, down the left chord, across the base, and back up on the right.

The name actually starts outside the circle: the last word of the spell leading to it is 'James'. This acts as a sort of label, meaning the spell can refer back to it later. I don't think it'll be needed here, but it's best practice.

On to the name circle proper. I should note that lots of the things I included are based on the parts of High Wizardry where Dairine is giving her computer-Manual Spot all sorts of random information.

Working down the Past chord, we can read:

-Mid. Ie, 'Middle class'. Dairine actually provides her dad's income; I've pretty much parsed this as 'how privileged are you?'
-A symbol resembling the Space Needle. This is a birthplace marker, indicating Seattle (I guessed); Dairine gives birthplace.
-'Natural', ie natural-born. This could also be what Kaitlyn insisted I list as 'untimely' (ie, ripped untimely), or I guess adoption. This is here to fill space, honestly.
-The big tree-between-claws thing has father's name on the right claw, mother's on the left. Well... technically this just says 'father' and 'mother'. ^_^ The tree gives the Julian Day of your birth to 1dp. In theory the relative heights of the claws say something about your relationship with your parents, but I didn't use that. Dairine needed both parents' names, plus date and time of birth; the JD system has been used in recent books.
-'Reader'. All wizards are likely to have this; it means what it says.
-A single peak for 'male'; 'female' has a loop on the top. Notably absent is an internal loop, the size and angularity of which indicates how different you are from the stereotypical version of your sex; 'James' is in pretty strong denial, so insists 'he' is 100% male in every way. (Whether this marker indicates sex or gender, and what that even means, is very much open to debate among wizards.)
-Finally, a subsidiary childhood interest. I've put 'code' here, based on my knowledge of you.

Now we're onto the Present line.

-'Spring'. This is nominally the fAvourite colour space (Dairine again), but is also a marker of what sort of environment you prefer. I based this on the story.
-A symbol for a primary interest, with a clarifying word. I've gone for 'tree' here based on the story, though it would be equally valid to have something tech related.
-'Friendly'. How outgoing you are. Both Dairine and Nita actually list best friends, but I've generalised.
-The big spiral is common to all wizards, and it's about reading. The first curve gives ths number of books you read weekly, or daily if you're a big reader. BAsed on your age, I put one a week.
--The inner spiral gives subjects. Handily, you told us one of these, so I was able to use 'adventure', plus 'science'. (I think Dair gives the last book she read.) Theoretically the exact shape of the spiral says something, but... nah.
-'Bookstore'. This is 'where do you like to spend time'.
-The little snowglobe is how smart you are. It's a number out of ten, but doesn't match up with either IQ or test scores. It's all a bit holistic. (I think Dair has to say what her last grade completed was, something like that.)
-Finally, a secondary interest, and you get 'tech'. Yeah.

On to the future! Nearly done.

-The first half of the line is your sensible, rational life goal. It says 'career - technology', which seemed about right.
-The little clawed circle near the centre is for sexuality (ie, Dairine's 'what she thought of boys'). Gay points in the direction of reading; straight points against it. You get to show your relative levels of both, and can leave them low to indicate lack of interest. 'James' is insisting on being straight, but the relatively small spike indicates a lack of real conviction.
-Finally, we have the secret desire: if you could throw out common sense and do what you really want, what would it be? Once more based on the story, you get 'outdoors - nature'; Julia really wanted to be in the arboretum, despite ostensibly being a techie.

And that's a wrap! I figure the name includes more or less information depending on the complexity of the spell, but... well, I don't have infinite space, so I'm sticking with the standard version throughout. ;)

I don't believe Diane has ever written a name out, but I figure this would read something like:

"James, born well of Seattle, natural-born son of (father) and (mother) on (6-digit JD); reader of books, coder of code, spring-lover and tree-lover and friend to many; weekly reader of science and adventure, wise lingerer in bookstores, wielder of tech; worker in technology, appreciator of womanhood, and seeker of nature's peace."

... but probably a bit less corny!

hS

It's good to meet you! The fair wishes are reciprocated.

Either way, one request should have been enough, and this is now getting into "violation of the constitution" territory. See Article 4 - Harassment; specifically, the part about pestering.

Also, wasn't classicfilmfan/CourtleyHades just recently unblocked on the wiki? Sure enough, they asked to be unblocked on April 2nd, less than a month ago.

So, taking all of this into account, I propose that CourtleyHades/classicfilmfan be reblocked on the wiki for some amount of time. This should give them time to consider listening when someone asks them repeatedly not to do something. If they persist in their pestering on the Board or in the Discord, it will be in the public eye, and should be accordingly called out and dealt with.

Does anyone else have thoughts on the matter?

-Phobos

I joined this great order after your time here. I bid you well.

Well, at least something good has come of That Series, after all. :P I shall hoard the Bleepolate for the next time morbid curiosity provokes me to look it up again.

Sorry that you came back to this corner of the Internet because That Series exists. Have some Bleepolate, since Thoth already offered you caffeine of some sort.

Hey, congratulations yourself! I can do math, but it just doesn't come easily to me, so good on you!

I'm sure I will, and thanks for the two cents. But does this mean that I can offer people a penny for their thoughts twice?

Thanks! *returns high-five*

Congratulations on the graduating! (I finished up the requirements for a computer science degree (and a math one) a few weeks ago).

I hope you have a good time here again.

Have two cents, so you can put them in during discussions.

- Tomash