Caine, the Circus, and the Brain Scanner (Episode 9 Spoiler Below)
Ever since Scratch's backstory was revealed in episode 8, along with the detail of him having a brain tumor, the most prevalent speculation was that Scratch had helmed the creation of the Digital Circus – or at the very least, some sort of virtual world – as a way to digitally immortalize himself before he lost his battle with the cancer. It was brought up in the same conversation as Caine's origin, so it made sense theory crafters were pulled in that direction.
However, after episode 9, I think it became abundantly clear:
C&A's creative AI initiative and Scratch's brain scanner had nothing to do with each other.
The way Kinger talked about the brain scanner in episode 9 implied it was a personal project of Scratch's that never really got off the ground. While the motivations for its creation could very much remain unchanged, it was unlikely it was ever a serious C&A venture. The scanner technically worked, but once the minds of the C&A employees were copied and put onto the computer... No one was really sure what to do with them. They were tiny heaps of data.
Then Caine, having broken containment, got his hands on them. Through pure happenstance, he found a use for those mind files. He had – presumably – already created the Circus as his own digital space, and now, he was able to populate it with characters FAR more advanced than his typical NPCs.
I can't help but wonder if there was a gap between the C&A employees scanning their brains and Caine creating their digital bodies.
Scratch, Kinger, Queenie and the rest of the C&A employees wake up in the Circus, believing they had just put on the headset, but in reality, weeks, or even months had passed since then.
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My pitch for a TADC Continuation (EP 9 spoilers below)
It's a live action feature film starring Leeroy Mateo finding connection, discovering queerness, and grappling with his traumatic upbringing. I'm envisioning a series of character-driven vignettes, more anthology than traditional feature. But that's probably because I'm not in the right headspace to quickly throw together a proper logline.
A transfem take on Punch Drunk Love (mostly in terms of aesthetics and tone, very little in terms of actual plot). A romcom in every sense of the word, lighthearted and sweet, but grappling with themes of vulnerability, self-loathing and learned helplessness. Shot and lit incredibly well, with tasteful film grain.
Essentially, the self-discovery journey Jax never got to have, but desperately needed.
I'm not the only one who sees the dissonance with the TADC Fortnite collab, right?
Glitch Productions, a company known for its progressive image, LGBTQ+ representation, and anti-AI stance
Collaborating with
Fortnite, a multi-billion dollar conglomerate that proudly featured Harry Potter skins from anti-trans legislation funder JK Rowling, a literal Tesla Cybertruck, and a Darth Vader NPC that spoke via generative AI voice cloning.
I'm not the only one seeing the disconnect, right? I'm not crazy. Something ain't adding up.
Was "It" Rushed? – TADC Episode 9 Spoilers (and CW for discussions of suicide)
I saw the TADC finale last night and I really loved it, a few pretentious "screenwriting student" qualms aside.
I think for what Goose was trying to achieve with this series as a whole, she achieved it and achieved it well.
Which leads me into these rambling thoughts:
(FINAL SPOILER WARNING)
Jax's abstraction happened off-screen, sudden and abrupt, with the only bridge being Pomni's reflective narration.
I've seen people call this decision rushed or lazy, but to me, it registered as something... true-to-life, if that makes any sense.
You look at a person, you know something is off but you can't quite put your finger on it... and yet, in the moment, you keep your distance, shrugging off that gut feeling and reassuring yourself it will be fine. Not out of apathy or malice: the worst case scenario just never crosses your mind.
("You think I'm capable of abstracting? You worry too much.")
And then, the next day, that person is gone.
There were never any blaring sirens. You never witnessed that final dramatic spiral. You had no opportunity to make the save.
They're just gone. Forever. Perhaps you don't even find out until weeks later because, again, the worst case scenario never crosses your mind.
Sometimes, that's how the song goes.
And I can't help but wonder if this was an experience shared by Goose within her own community. For as much of herself she put into Jax (a textual trans woman, let's be real), I can also see Jax's abstraction mirroring the sudden loss of a close friend, or maybe it doesn't have to be a personal loss: just an empathetic pain for the people who never found a sense of community or support.
Of course, I don't know that. I have no way of knowing any of that.
This is a hypothetical read into a creator I do not and never will personally know, and I'm very privileged to have never had a personal experience with the suicide of a friend. This is literary analysis of a piece of media I thoroughly enjoyed and found compelling.
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The gameoverse rules are incredibly scuffed. Let’s take In Stars And Time for example. Siffrin went through hell and back, killing themselves over and over to protect and save their friends. Losing their sanity as they are trapped in a time loop forced to do things they wouldn’t do. But with help from their friends and being open about their issues they finally are able to break the loop and save Vaugarde. But by Gameoverse logic, doing so met the win condition. the world ends anyway, and all that suffering and torture Siffrin went through was all for nothing. Not to mention the other game worlds where protagonists have even worse fates than Siffrin.
Yeah, I'm sure there's plenty of other examples out there of games that delve into meta aspects of gameplay that would hit hard against Gameoverse's premise! Again, probably something best explored in fanfic where you'd decide how the rules applied, but still fun to think on!
Honestly, in the context of the Gameoverse and how Wish Craft functions, I think Siffrin and the gang have a good chance of surviving.
Yes, Siffrin breaks the loops when they're comforted by their friends. When everyone assures him they're not going anywhere and that they'll always be friends, that satisfies Siffrin's wish.
But the moment the world starts falling apart, all that progress is undone. Perhaps they're not fast enough to Kit's ship, and Siffrin witnesses the death of one of their friends. Maybe it's Isabeau, maybe it's Mirabelle, maybe it's Odile, or maybe it's Bonnie again.
They loop, undoing the win condition.
And with Kit and Kaboodle also remembering the loops (they exist outside ISAT's game world, I'd imagine that would be the case), Siffrin is more willing to trust in the Farcade.
The challenge would be convincing the rest of his friends to abandon Vaugarde.
Overall, I think this is Glitch's strongest pilot behind Knights of Guinevere. The characters are really fun, the humor is on point, the animation was fantastic, all the voice performances were great... It's hard to complain about what we were given, and I'm really looking forward to seeing more from this series.
All that said, if there's one concern I have, it's with Kit as the protagonist. It really felt like series already played its entire hand when it came to her survivor's guilt: established, escalated, and paid off all within a single episode. Granted, I quite like how it paid off, but it has me asking what's in store for her in future episode. The pacing was too fast and the serious dialogue was too "on the nose" for its own good.
What is Kit's story beyond her duties with the Farcade?
But hey, maybe we don't need to know immediately. I'm really looking forward to episode 2 either way, and that's the goal of any great pilot.
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Jax: (standing up in front of everyone else) BORING!
Pomni: Jax, we can't see the series finale!
Jax: I can't believe we're paying to see something we can watch on YouTube for free. If you ask me, everybody in this theater is a giant sucker! Especially (points at the audience) YOU!
Jax: "You're shushing ME? (points at Ragatha) This girl is on her cellphone! (points at Gangle) She's texting! (points at Zooble) They're sexting! (points at Caine) AND THAT GUY BROUGHT A BABY TO A NINE O'CLOCK MOVIE!"
Tsundere this, yandere that. I'm a wandere. You took your eyes off me for two seconds and I've already fucked off. Saw something cool glint on the other side of the continent and I'm on my way to check it out.
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I'm rewatching Digimon Tamers, this time subbed. I remember liking it a lot when I watched it dubbed as a kid/early teen... Terriermon was always my fave – picked him as my starter in Cyber Sleuth for a reason :3
I remember liking Guilmon a lot, but wasn't as attached to him.
But now, being re-introduced to this goober in Japanese?
Ohhhhh my GOD, Masako Nozawa as Guilmon is consistently melting my damn heart. She plays him with such earnest, heartfelt innocence and whimsy. Guilmon is a loving creature, a sweetheart, VERY friend-shaped and adorable, and Nozawa's interpretation hits it out of the park.
I think he's now my favorite character in all of Digimon thus far thanks to her performance.
I'm rewatching Digimon Tamers, this time subbed. I remember liking it a lot when I watched it dubbed as a kid/early teen... Terriermon was always my fave – picked him as my starter in Cyber Sleuth for a reason :3
I remember liking Guilmon a lot, but wasn't as attached to him.
But now, being re-introduced to this goober in Japanese?
Ohhhhh my GOD, Masako Nozawa as Guilmon is consistently melting my damn heart. She plays him with such earnest, heartfelt innocence and whimsy. Guilmon is a loving creature, a sweetheart, VERY friend-shaped and adorable, and Nozawa's interpretation hits it out of the park.
I think he's now my favorite character in all of Digimon thus far thanks to her performance.
