#honestly things could be so much worse but also its. eh

[mxwhore]

I'm sorry that things are so raw boss, that sucks

thamk u for the support my duders :(

[cherries-in-wine]

SPOILER WARNING FOR AOT JUST SOME OF MY RAMBLES

English is not my first language please don't be mean okay thank you <3

honestly I didn't hate eremika as much as I thought I would- both of them are emotionally immature idiots who feel a lot but have no idea how to deal with said feelings. their relationship is definitely a lot of wasted potential but idk they are cute in their own imperfect and somewhat uneasy way. was that ending scene weird definetly but like eh gothic romance fan I've read and seen much worse things and called it peak romance so it's like weird but like okay also im very drunk slightly tipsy and I just finished aot just cuz I wanted to feel something and man I feel a lot of things also I think there might be a cultural difference too because in the west it's all like gulululu sloppy kiss gulululu fucking and like I grew up with old Bollywood romance where mfs don't even kiss so stolen glances and flushed cheeks and "ill always wrap your scarf over and over again" means wayyyy more than an infinite number of kisses. I get why people don't like it but yea I like them they are so fucking embarrassing and stupid. Eren's randi rona (hindi phrase exact translation is whore crying but semantics is probably bitch whining) was so funny and pathetic i've never laughed so hard but it is embarrassing in a way that makes so much sense for this suicidal maniac. I thought I would hate mikasa because I linger in the subreddits because social media kalesh and lafda is something I feed off of like a vampire sucking blood after escaping the coffin that held them for centuries (kalesh/lafda is hindi for fights) anyways so silly goofy fun idk what y'all are on about she's so kool not really a Mary Sue because she sucks at emotional intelligence and as a leader like definitely too driven by feelings but tbh I love that about her and her bond with other characters is so precious to me. I get why she's unlikable she is so flawed but idk I love her. the fanfic writers are so mean to her like oh my god why is she always this weird obsessed stalker that gets in the way of eren and y/n and historia is always someone y/n is insanely jealous of like please why can't we all be best friends and braid each other's hair

A little something about erehisu too- tbh I don't think its obsessive desperate fan behaviour like it's a very good ship imo. I have mixed feelings about it but idk lowkey makes sense. not in a "these people are great for each other and will be so cute as more than friends" way but more like a "oh wow they have a lot going on, they are good friends and the people they love are people they can't be with so it would make sense if they both are emotionally vulnerable enough that they end up doing something" kinda way. would've definitely made it more interesting because I thought sidelining a character like historia who had so much potential would hopefully have a bigger meaning and some greater part of Eren's plan but no bro is an idiot who has no idea what he is doing.

Mixed feelings about historia too- I liked her arc but the amount of plot armour that surrounds her kinda pisses me off. also the irl jaegerists and incels on reddit are so annoying they've made her into chaderen loser's trad wife who sits at home with the baby and shakes her head with a disapproving pout when he returns home after genocide like I know for a fact canon historia would be disgusted by this narrative. also oh my god the lengths these people go to prove that her relationship with Ymir was just a one sided obsession and not a lesbian romance is insane. like yea historia doesn't have to be lesbian she could be bi but that relationship was definitely mutual and romantic

I have sooo much more to say maybe when im sober ill organise everything and make it pretty but im in my senior year of high school with like no time on my hands so idk will see please stick with me but always thank u for reading meri jaan have a lovely day/night :))

[lovelynim]

TickleTober2023/Day 20 - Curse

Jujutsu Kaisen - Suguru Geto x Satoru Gojo

Satoru was, by far, the best companion Suguru had at the Jujutsu High. Not that he disliked any of his colleagues, but there was something different in their relationship. That being said, Satoru could also be a huge and annoying pain sometimes.

And this was one of these times.

“Come ooooon,” Satoru whined, poking Suguru’s cheek over and over. “You collect a ton of them, why can’t you spare one for me to play with?”

Suguru sighed, looking at the white-haired guy with the corner of his eyes. “Don’t you have anywhere else to be? It’s better if you practiced against another pers-”

“I don’t want to practice,” Satoru whined loudly, looking like a kid throwing a tantrum. Heavens, he was really testing out Suguru’s patience this time. “I want to play, it’s different!” A cheeky smile took place in his face. However, when the curse’s master paid attention to his partner, he could see through Satoru’s dark glasses, spotting the malice in his eyes. “You know what I mean, don’t you?”

“Fine,” Suguru said, remembering a particular curse that would be useful to entertain the mighty Satoru. “But I have one condition,” he said, looking at the other guy with a grin. “You can’t fight it.”

“Haaah?! How is that any fun?”

“Just take its attacks like a man, or are you scared it might end up killing you? I want to test your endurance,” Suguru said with a twisted intention, but he also knew how effective it was to taunt Satoru into these kinds of things.

“Whatever,” Satoru huffed, getting back into his feet and taking a few steps forward. “Bring it, I’ll show you who’s scared of who.”

“I’m sure you will,” Suguru muttered, making a gesture with his hands to summon the said curse. Materializing its body in front of them, the octopus-like creature began to crawl towards Satoru. Suguru leaned back into his seat, waiting for the scene that was about to unfold.

Satoru decided to stick to the rules. If anything, he could just use his technique and blast that thing away. As the curse got closer, he prepared himself, watching as it shot one of its tentacles and… grabbed his hand?

“Remember: no attacking it, just bear it,” he repeated himself, watching as the curse pulled himself towards Satoru.

“As if this thing can bea- ack!” He grunted once the curse tackled him down to the ground. Was that the best it could do, Satoru thought, but a different feeling went up to his mind before he could continue with his snark. “Whahahat?!”

“Is something wrong? Too much for you?” Suguru smiled, hearing the first giggles come out from his cocky classmate.

“T-tihihihickling? Whahat arehehe yohou, a kihi- ahAHa, shihihit!!” Satoru laughed, trying to free his hands from the curse’s grip, battling the urge to laugh as that thing wiggled its free limbs into his sides, ribs, armpits and, honestly, anywhere within its reach.

“It’s called strategic thinking, Satoru,” he spoke in a lecture-like tone, cocking his head to the side, “but if this little curse too much for you, I can dismi-”

“ShuHUhut up!” Satoru laughed, kicking his feet in the air as he felt tickling getting worse. “Ihihit’s nohohot too m-much!”

“So you certainly can take it some more, no?” Suguru teased, even forgetting what he was doing earlier to watch Satoru’s struggling, just waiting for the moment when the white-haired would give up… so he could tease him some more.

A/N: Do this make sense? Probably not. Do I care? No. Did I enjoy writing it? Yeah, pretty much, ehe

[postive-rainworld-anarchy-conf]

i’ve been waiting for people to realize azriel was a terrible person since last december. he reblogged a callout post (full of false accusations about zoophillia and stuff, as per usual) and then just DUMPED this huge rant about how incest fanfiction made him think it was okay to kiss his brother when he was 14.

no i’m not joking. obviously i can’t put a link here but: tumblr dot com / azrielfiend / 737002511661187072/tws-for-a-much-of-stuff-im-reblogging-again-but

just remove the dots and spaces and it’ll take you to the post, but in case you don’t want to, a DIRECT QUOTE from it is: “proshipping influenced me SO much that i almost (romantically and unconsensually) kissed my brother on the lips before my dad stopped me. speaking of my dad, i had intrusive thoughts about him and having crushes on him too.”

it just goes to show that this guy is fr not okay. even at 14, all the incest fanfiction in the WORLD could make me EVER make me think that incest is okay?? you couldn’t waterboard that info out of me either idk why he just randomly decided to dump that shit on some post like that (probably for pity points and to get attention…)

looking at it, and btw for anyone that doesn't know, you HAVE TO make your stuff screenreader accessible, not just because someone else might need it, but because if you ever need it for whatever reason, even for a bit (like after an eye surgery) it sucks to not be able to read what you've written.

especially when in tags, it makes it worse since people who wish to avoid those things can't when you do stuff like put zeros instead of an O, or a 4 instead of an r.

this is just a massive pet peeve of mine, but I read stuff like this and wonder why they are even censoring it like that?

read it and uh.

no yeah, no. ok no what I see what you mean, holy fuck. I mean way to sacrifice yourself to make a point there but damn.

"that sentence is also ableist because it assumes everyone can just tell it apart easily and youre dumb for not being able to."

uh, eh, ah. ok, I mean like. ok???? in that case, don't read it??? what

"i cant rest easy knowing proshippers would influenced kids like how they influeneced me in the past. its haunting, if you say this isnt harmful. then youre surely mistaken. im done. do not argue me on this im just so upset people are defending moonstone."

I think this just you, honestly???

I'm sorry but what the fuck did I just read

huh. that sure was a take & the half

I don't think this was developed because you were in the proshipping community, I just think you had incestuous thoughts about your brother and father? and then tried rationalizing why you did that as being convinced to do so because of proshipping. (even though most proshippers, not all, but most will tell you to not fuck your family, and instead read stuff about it instead or something) instead of realizing that maybe you just wanted to kiss your brother and were looking for an excuse.

this is all on you probably?

like you don't just get thoughts like that from outside sources. that comes from you.

but also at the same time, I don't know the situation, so who knows.

like it's fine to have incestuous thoughts and all, alot of people do. but the problem is acting on them... especially when it's non-consensual...

you have to work through them, not work for them.

well that was interesting

[ins4nebxtch]

fr ending it all tonight cuz nothing seems worth it anymore like okay if im gonna be very honest i dont even get the point of trying anymore like it really really isnt worth it, the year started out kinda rough but i thought eh itll be fine but then like it went on and on and then it kept going downhill and see atp i still had hope that i could turn things around right but then i really don't think i can fix this like ive been trying for an entire year man idt anything is going to be any different. and before ik i was sorta depressed and shit but atleast i had some sort of energy to keep going but honestly I'm so fucking drained like idt im going to keep going. this anxiety ocd whatever the fuck it is im not self diagnosing cuz thats yucky like these fucking voices are genuinely getting too much, like bro wym smth very bad will happen if i dont leave the door hanging or keep my shoes exactly in a certain way or sit there and recite the number of fucking likes comments and shares on every reel 3 times. not victimizing here or anything but this is like -2 points for me no since i have to go through all this also and niggas who ain't gone thru shit in their life like the worst thing they've "been through" is getting scolded by parents for bad marks or sum get to sit here, fuck me over, laugh about it, spread it around to their friends who haven't gone through shit either js so they can sit here and judge me?? and then judge the way i cope w it too cuz they know whats better for me more than i do?? and dont even give me that oh ydk what others have been through like nigga even if they have 1. they should understand how it is and not pull ts and 2. if theyre going thru smth and this is their coping mechanism or whatever, just because your lire is fucking shitty doesnt give you the right to fuck up mine and laugh ab it. you cant outrun shit in this fucking city everyone knows everyone and apparently they love to make it so well known they dont like me cuz I'm some #1 alcoholic slut who apparently doesnt have a single nice bone in her body. i admit i was shitty like a while back but legit everyone who's sitting here and saying ts about me has done the same and some of these people have done even worse shit yet they face no consequencs and get to judge me?? its absolute bullshit. I've done nothing but sit here and fucking pray for things to get better and actually try to become a better person but im not gonna waste my time anymore if everything remains like this. you have absolutely no idea how much I've prayed to god, literally begging to fix atleast one aspect of my life but to no fucking avail and it's got nun to do w me being a bitch or whatever or oh it's js karma cuz i see niggas who've fucked me over 10 times worse having the time of their fucking life so god has no excuses. it's not even for character development anymore like okay bro ive actually been trying 2 change what more do i need to develop?? all these niggas do is judge judge judge like oh she drinks ew like nigga maybe the reason i do is cuz you or your friends dumbass fucked me over so hard that i wanted to kill myself?? would you rather me write yall fucking names in my suicide note and kms so the whole gang goes to prison?? fucking hell im doing these idiots a favour and they have issue w that also like bro atp id buy a fuck b4 i gave one (in reality i care a lot or i wouldnt be yapping this much) anw im done trying cuz if i suggest trying again im genyinely gonna waste 3 lakhs that my parents spent and theyll probably kill me themselves so i dont think i have any other fucking option anymore cuz im not dealing w all of this again. i swear to god bro if i actually die ive got a few niggas who i want paying the price for whatever bs they pulled or istg im gonna haunt them and pull one conjuring scene. oh and another thing ik they say iF yOu DoNt LiKe YouR LifE tHeN dO sMtH tO FiX iT like nigga past full year what do you think ive been doing like if god has this big issue w me then im also pulling one scene w him im going up there to see what his problem is

[thenationaltreasuregazette]

t do you thinknof them replacing The Wibberlys with a different writer after they wrote both films and the series?

Hey Emmi!

Thanks for your question.

Alright, this might be an unpopular opinion but...I think that was the right choice.

As explored in my initial breakdown of the 2003 script, National Treasure was the result of many creative voices, with the Wibberlys being the final writing team who took the story over the finish line into production. Their voice was an important addition to the project...but it is not the project.

For example, we've also explored just how fundamentally the casting of Nicolas Cage and Diane Kruger affected the tone of the story.

And honestly? I know you don't agree, but to me Book of Secrets and Edge of History are both fundamentally flawed stories, both as sequels to National Treasure and as narratives in their own right. They are missing something, missing some of the quintessential oomph that makes National Treasure special.

After BoS it could have been argued that the sequel was made on too quick a turnaround to fully develop the story--this is incredibly common when movies are popular enough for the studio to want a sequel in short order. The story is, in my opinion, woefully underbaked, but like, I get it. That happens.

It's EoH that confirmed my suspicions that they were not the right team for these later projects. It's clunky. It fails to explore the world in a meaningful way. I want to like Jess. I want to care about the hunt but the story is just not all there for me.

Again, the Wibberlys had a major disadvantage. This was only the second TV show they've created. The other was a USA original that ran for 12 episodes...in 2012 when USA was still in its blue sky era and ran popular shows for as many 22 episodes as they could. Their other show, Common Law, was not the kind of Netflix miniseries 1-season darling we're used to now. It simply flopped.

So the Wibberlys aren't good at writing TV shows. That's, again, fine. It's a different skill set, and I have rarely seen treasure hunts work in ongoing narratives like that anyway? The genre excels as tight one-off narratives. It's hard to keep the excitement going without dragging things out in between clues...something with EoH is incredibly guilty of.

That in of itself does not mean they shouldn't write another NatTreas film.

But they are also not that good at writing National Treasures, because 2/3 of the National Treasure franchise is not that good.

I don't think just because they made the other one means they should get to make every property going forward. Sometimes new voices make stories stronger and bring in new ideas. Yes, sometimes they also make them worse and miss the mark of what was beloved about the original. But again, I think the Wibberlys' followups are already missing that mark so might as well try something different.

That's one of my favorite things about Scooby-Doo, btw. Like Sherlock Holmes and certain other long-running properties, there's just so damn much of it that if you don't like one creative team's take, you can just wait for the next one.

However, while I adore the first Pirates of the Carribean--Can an action-adventure movie be more perfect than Curse of the Black Pearl? Probably not--Ted Elliot was also one of the story-by credits on BoS.

So if you're worried, the franchise is still very much "in the family."

If you wanted more fresh voices, eh, we'll see.

On the plus side, this one seems to be getting plenty of development space, which at least avoids any rushed-to-production problems faced by BoS

God can you imagine Jerry Bruckheimer liking your shit enough to just...wait for it?

So, there you go. That's my take.

Your thoughts?

[seerofmike]

Mike's Media Medley--Jan 2025

this one should be quick and easy...because february will NOT be quick and easy for me, as i plan to watch all the oscar nominees (except emilia perez lmfao) this month + some other new movies that have come out like Companion and Love Hurts. i've got a free ticket as part of my movie rewards so im gonna take one for the team and see Heart Eyes or Brave New World when it comes, whichever one looks worse, because i like to torture myself

but enough about february--what did i watch/play for the very first time this january 2025?

Movies-- The Substance (2024), One of them Days (2025)

Games-- Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered (2022), Ballionaire (2024)

One of them Days (2025)

I LOVE YOU KEKE PALMER

just. some good straight up fun. some of the humor wasn't for me (particularly a scene involving lots of blood i hate anything to do with IVs) but for every joke that did not work for me there were 2 more that did. its honestly kind of hard to review it because its just straight up a lot of fun and i dont wanna spoil the gags

that being said....

I FEEL LIKE THE MOVIE COULDVE GONE HARDER !!! i LOVE absurdist comedies and this movie HAS absurdist comedy like the villain is named smth like. Big Booty Bully Bitch Berneice. there is a loaning agency that hunts people who default on their loans for sport. theres some wacky stuff that happens in here but as a lover of movies like bottoms and scott pilgrim i wish it had gone a teensy bit harder on the absurdism because sometimes it almost felt out of place whenever it did happen becuz the rest of the movie isnt as absurdist

also sza did good but her character was soooo in the wrong and it annoyed me a bit but otherwise. solid good time.

75/100

The Substance (2024)

so i have this weird thing where i fucking loved the substance but also i had to cover my eyes for 25% of the movie lmfao

ignoring what i said abt the IVs earlier (idk veins just bother me) im usually prettyyyyy good at handling gore . or so i thought. i made the mistake of eating while watching this movie and i thought i was gonna be sick and honestly the stuff that did me worse wasnt even the hardcore gore the fucking stabilizer stuff got me the most 🤮

GROSSNESS aside. this movie had shit to say and it did so without any pussyfooting about it and honestly i appreciate that. and even more than that i appreciate the way this movie was MADE. it had style, so many shots / scenes in this movie were clearly inspired by other movies like the Shining and the soundtrack was going hard and the COLOR GRADING rahhhhhhhhhhh i kind of wish i saved watching this for next month because i was gonna rank all my best picture noms but i cant do that with the substance rn since i have seen none of the others (except wicked) but man. i already kind of hopes it wins. we need more of this kind of angry almost borderline unappealing to mainstream audiences film making.

i have NOT been unable to stop thinking abt it. monstro elisa sue deserved everything.

90/100

games

Ballionaire (2024)

this is like a. pachinko roguelite? and i see the vision. and i want to like the vision. however like. theres a billion items and as far as i know the game never explains what it does. like. im making some shit up but it'll, give you, lets say, a single pair of tits. and the pair of tits' item description will be "Dispenses Milk. Can be sucked unless Drained or Carcinogized. 2x multiplier if there is a Piggy Bank nearby but not if the Piggy Bank is stoned. Ride to the maternity ward when triggered after cooldown." you only understand what 25% of that means. and you have to choose between THREE things like that so it gets kind of reptitive if ur trying to optimize and ur trying to pick stuff that u dont understand the function of.

i could be stupid and theres a guide in the game that tells u all the status effects but for now. eh

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered

i am only 4 hours in so i dont think i can say much except for WOW I FUCKING LOVE BEING SPIDER-MAN

[rambles-on-dragon-age]

I have so many thoughts about this game and how they handled everything. Honestly, it feels a lot like this was meant to be a final game. All the larger machinations and secrets that have been working through millennia and the last 3 games (and books and comics) have mostly been learned and exposed. It feels like from here, the DA world will have to focus on rebuilding. That and it seems like they're bringing the Executioners and Qunari plot lines front and center for if there's a next game.

The aftermath of what the corruption of extreme greed will bring to the world; the number of power hungry people willing to sell everything out for more power to remake their city or nation into what THEY want it to be. Never mind what it'll mean for the WORLD. The number of factions working together just to get their hands on more power; a base of people that were easy to work up over perceived differences and problems and put on a path of fanaticism.

But to save the world and work through these machinations, you have to help your contact in each city/order work through the fruits of these long running plans. This game feels so much more personal than the previous three. We got a more involved backstory and all the interactions made it feel like we were PART of this world, not just dropped in from bumfuck nowhere to suddenly lead everyone. We have a past, others have heard of us.

I understand people are mad about the world states but honestly? All of those choices are 10-20 years old in a different part of the continent. You're demanding bloat at this point. You got closure for each character in the next game; you know your canon and the devs tried to leave it open enough not to change it. Please be normal about this. Also the people angry that Rook is a specific way "and I can't be mean"?? It's like DA2 with Hawke; you are in the role of a specific character. You are a specific person. The story has to shoehorn you into a specific type of person so you can reach the end of the story. Rook being likeable and getting everyone to work along is a necessity at this point. Could they have paced and written it better? Yeah. But EA butchered their time, budget, and writing teams multiple times. We were lucky to even get a game and y'all are to caught up in it being a PERFECT game to appreciate it for what it is.

Honestly it sounds like y'all just wanted a BG3 style game in the Dragon Age setting and are pissed y'all didn't get it ;;

For the ending, I wish it could have been slightly different. But I understand why the "true ending" is the way it is. And my Lavellan would have done it before now if she could have. I do wish the epilogue cards were better/more detailed like other ones were in the past, but eh. That's what fan creations are for.

That said, I'll put this part under a cut just in case.

Getting Solas to understand that what he thought was the way to fix it wouldn't fix it? That he doesn't HAVE to do this. That yes, it was a mistake. But this is the world now, with all its faults and differences from the world he knew. To "fix" it, he would cause untold damage and death. But that won't "fix it", that he's chasing a deep feeling of regret to undo what he did but that won't make it better. You can't make it better. That'll make things worse and it can't absolve him of his guilt.

So he accepts it. And will spend the rest of his eternal life making sure the veil stays in place. That he can't get rid of the blight but he can soothe the Titan's rage while he's in the blight. That this is what he can do to protect the world he inadvertently made. He can't fix this, but he can help them build a better world. The veil is stable and the threat of the blight can be lessened.

And Lavellan has the chance to go with him; to join the dinan'shiral with him as she wanted in Tresspasser. I was as happy as I was devastated. I know the Fade is what you make of it so while they're together in there it will be what they want. Frankly he can live out the rest of his days as the apostate Solas that he met Lavellan as. They have eternity together.

[ridiasfangirlings]

I know you have been in this fandom for 10 years long. I must say I'm curious about your thought on this series. What does the series have that makes you stay with it for such a long time? Is there anything you find unsatisfied abt the series? Does this series have any effect on your life?... etc

I know this kind of ask is kinda personal, so you can refuse to answer if it makes you uncomfortable. Anyway, tysm for what you did for the fandom!

Honestly it’s mostly just the neurodivergence :P Well, basically I get really attached to things I like and will stay attached like a limpet until something else comes along to catch my fancy, and nothing’s made me really fall madly in love since K so here I (still) am. There are a lot of things that attracted me to the series in the first place, in order: Fushimi, Fushimi, and also Fushimi. He’s the first thing that attracted me anyway, his character type is just the kind I like a hot mess. I wasn’t really into him much when I first started watching, I’ve mentioned before but I was kinda eh on the series until after S1 ended and I listened to the drama CDs. The Sarumi interview and especially the Private Hero drama really hooked me with just the general complexity of Fushimi’s issues beyond the standard yandere that we saw in the series. I could really go on about how good Private Hero is, giving such a great glimpse into Fushimi’s feelings without outright saying it, and the bitterness that Mamoru Miyano infuses into Fushimi’s tone is fantastic. 

Beyond that I’ve since really gotten attached to just about everyone in the series, one of the things that always appeals to me with fictional characters in general is when a character appears to be a specific stereotype but then has some additional quirk going on. For example, how Fushimi seemed a flat ‘crazy obsessed’ character but really is just a messed up kid at heart, or Munakata seeming like a dignified manipulative megane character but he’s also a sparkly nerd, or Yata being a baseball bat wearing thug who is also a ball of sunshine and cries sometimes. K’s big cast means there’s something for everyone, and even some of the weaknesses in the writing turn into strengths — there’s enough canon there to get attached to but so many little cracks and corners waiting to be filled in by the fans and I love that sort of thing. 

That said there are definitely some things about the series I’m dissatisfied about, like I think I��ve mentioned a few times that I dislike how it feels like the narrative tends to be kinda biased against S4 even when they’re objectively right and in general I feel like S4 gets a lot more shit than Homra that they don’t deserve. I also found ROK in general to be rather underwhelming, Gora put a lot of great pieces in place and then kinda just tossed the board away in the end there (I went on about my feelings around ROK here way back if you want a deeper analysis). When I rewatched the series a couple years ago I was struck by how much better S1 was than I remembered and how much worse ROK was, the pacing issues are really prevalent in ROK and unfortunately I think the series didn’t deliver on its potential as much as it could have. That said it wasn’t bad enough to turn me off the show (which is something that has absolutely happened to me with past series I liked, that something happened near the end which disappointed me so much it kinda killed all my love for the series), it just didn’t change my opinion that the anime is, unfortunately, the weakest part of K and what makes it so hard to recommend, because all the best stuff involves a little more legwork than just watching the easily-streamable show. Also smaller disappointments, I wish they wouldn’t have put LSW in 7 Stories and just given us a proper movie, and I still want that last stage play because it will forever annoy me that ROK stage only got through half the narrative. 

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Prescription: Murder

Yeah so here's something different. Very directly as a consequence of me mostly watching anime I don't enjoy recently, but then neither wanting to rewatch anything and being apprehensive about starting something new for a variety of reasons, I felt I needed a change of pace. Just launch myself into something completely different, that I could hopefully be invested in. And Columbo is what I ended up with. It's been implanted into my mind with its somewhat recent resurgance on tumblr, randomly getting recommended the blog Columbophile, seeing the very nice looking DVD boxset for sale in hmv, and the final nail in the coffin being some even more recent twitter memes regarding the series. "Let's watch Columbo" I decided. And here we are.

So, this is my first introduction to Columbo, with its pilot episode. And I liked it! Quite a bit! This is a very different type of media in general for me, so I don't know how much I'll have to say about any given episodes just because they're completely not what I'm used to, but certainly I like where we're at right now.

There's a lot of time well spent on merely setting up the murder - I believe this is what's famous about the series anyway but it's entirely not a whodunnit - we see exactly how the murder happens, exactly who does it, pretty much every part of why they did it, and even a lot of time spent on clean-up. Honestly at the beginning of the episode, Flemming is so meticulous that you begin to wonder how he's even gonna be caught. And throughout the episode they answer that very well, and very very gradually.

It turns into this clash of personalities really, two bright minds up against one another, one intentionally demeaning himself and the other so prideful that he basically admits to everything. But the pair have a read on one another as well - Columbo knows Flemming did it and Flemming basically explains Columbo's entire shtick to us anyway. Undermine himself, present as small, unkempt, distracting, downright annoying most of the time. Flemming gets the read on him but even then Columbo is so persistent and annoying that the man cracks.

Although per the episode's own calling attention to it, Joan was the real weak link in the entire ordeal - frankly she was just less invested than Flemming was, tripped him up because of it. I do think the final scene that plays out to get the confession was maybe a little contrived - wasn't really a conclusion to the bouncing pride and intelligence of Columbo and Flemming, rather just a scenario that came up to end the story, but like, eh. I appreciate that Joan... doesn't quite get off scot-free or anything but she could've had it worse, I think Flemming would rather she had it worse. This ending ends up working the best narratively for pretty much everyone involved. Like if she died it'd be unfair that she had the worst fate even though she was hesitant, you know? This was good.

That's pretty much the main things I've got to say about the episode. Fascinating as a more general statement to go back to a live action show from this long ago - honestly there are devices I don't even recognise, an aesthetic so far removed from my life but recent enough to feel real, or something. It's neat. I don't usually watch anything this old or anything live action to begin with, so like, yeah.

As two other quick little notes - I don't actually know if every episode has a neat title card like this one does, but I would like the format for these posts to be the episode title as the tumblr post title, followed by the episode title card. I hope the show lets me keep to that. Also, I've not got a schedule for this or anything. I've got 68 episodes still to watch which would be a lot even if they were 24 minutes long a la the anime I spend all my time watching. Instead, they're all 70-90 minutes long. I cannot even pretend to promise a consistent "yeah I'll watch it this week" or something. Next post on Columbo will be when I watch the next episode. I will watch the next episode whenever I watch it. You know how it is. But yeah, swag.

[insane-mane]

what is your favorite and LEAST favorite element of each era? (OG, UAF, OV, and the reboot). if you don't care to do them all, feel free to just choose a specific era.

Favorite:

OS- Of course the vast alien/creature designs made by Dave Johnson and Tom Perkins. The eerie, weird vibe the show has with odd things always going on in the background, something that makes you feel like the world is more expanded. Always something bubbling under the surface. Fun villains, arcs, and finale that just blew me away as a kid.

UAF- Pretty strong start, wanting to introduce "darker" elements to the world around (both figuratively and literally) and inject different perspectives both on the characters and the story as a whole, asking what would happen to these characters when they're older and how they've changed (for better or worse). Very neat work done by Glenn Murakami and Glen Wong. Undeniably gave the franchise as a whole its mark.

OV- A fun return to form that also isn't afraid to go weird, both in terms of writing and art. Genuinely funny at times. Lots of great character designs from Derrick J. Wyatt. Appreciative of bringing back tons of old characters/aliens when they were allowed to. really great Voice Acting as well!

Reboot- More tolerable version of Ben and Gwen. Neat design choices here and there. Honestly has a really great interpretation of Vilgax! Honestly happy that a younger generation got to experience anything Ben 10 related despite it not being the version I grew up with.

Least Favorite:

OS- Needless bickering between Ben and Gwen. Small things that don't exactly add up story-wise unless you look into pop up trivia that are partially just lost to time or crew statements after the fact. Very dated dialogue/insults.

UAF- Setting is WAY too dark or way too bland. Too many humanoid aliens that should DEFINIETLY be clothed to some degree. Completely bizarre character rewrites or "expansions" that either didn't need them or were just presented poorly for arcs that abruptly end. Weird, wooden acting and odd voice direction. Some lien abilities that are just total ass-pulls. Clunky gimmick that they don't even use that much. Fluctuating regression of the main protagonist awful to deal with at best or borderlines character assassination at worst.

OV- Too reliant on comedy that either runs too long, undercuts emotional moments, or just isn't that funny. Attempts to rectify their past mistakes from previous show but unfortunately makes a larger mess than need be. Certain character designs sacrifice too many original details in favor of references to other media, which can be fun but almost too distracting at times. Much like the other shows, introduces neat concepts that could be very deep and earnest but either don't follow through or just aren't executed well.

Reboot- Shorter runtime makes it feel too rushed and makes their overarching stories suffer. Toy mandates making needless gimmicks part of the story to sell action figures makes for boring character designs and less engaging stories (not blaming the crew itself for that). Attempts to separate itself from old continuity yet still tries to satiate older fans by loosely putting in references/specific characters for making a crossover special that the younger generation wouldn't know about. Inconsistent character design choices by ripping from old model sheets rather than making new designs that fit within the show's style. Not the best take on Grandpa Max. Overall just not my cup of tea, but hey it's not meant for me so Eh

[linabirb]

Now I need to know what you think of Kaisagi, Kainess, Bachira x Nagi, Shidou x Rin and Shidou x Sae :)

OHHHH OK OK

okay so about kaisagi it's like. i mean. LIKE ITS THERE. I SEE IT. I SAW SOME SCENES AND WAS LIKE OH DAMN OKAY I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE but also. ig i don't really like their. uh. canon dynamic ig?? like i like the fanart and all, but if you ask me if i actually ship them, i will just go "eh...." it's like good for you boys continue making each other's lives worse and worse but when it comes to seeing them romantically.. idk it's not really my thing.

I MEAN. I MEAN... LIKE YEAH IF YOU LOOK AT MY OCS AND MY FAV SHIPS I THINK ITS OBVIOUS THAT I LOVE DYNAMICS LIKE THAT SJSKSKSKSK (i didn't choose codependent for them bc i don't think kaiser actually needs or likes ness that much?.. like he's just here. he's just his silly little fan. his silly little follower. his biggest stan. but kaiser would do fine without him. i could be wrong tho, please tell me if i am, i haven't been keeping up with bllk after i finished reading all (or most) the chapters that came out last year ><) i'm not sure if i actually ship them romantically but i do love the themes! i love the dynamic! stay insane boys <3

I JUST REALLY LIKE NAGI AND BACHIRA AS A SILLY LITTLE DUO!! idk i like their interactions a lot they're so cute.. i actually was going to ship them at some point while reading but then i was like "OHHHHH so they're closer with other guys.. i see i see you two are simply besties then" and i've said before that i like dynamics that are like 😆😐 so!! yeah!!

i actually forgot everything about shidou and rin's interactions... sorry... (i forget that rin exists too sometimes SORRY 😭😭 ITS ME NOT CARING ABOUT THE BRRODING DARK-HAIRED GUYS AGAIN) but like. yeah i can imagine the chaos ig snsjskskks

UHHHH honestly i don't see shidou with anyone?? like he's just a little freak. he simply exists. that's all. (again. if only i remembered more about rin and sae) but it's a funny ship!! very silly. just not really my thing dkdkdldl

[system-of-a-feather]

An interesting thing about recovery and the dual diagnosis of ASD and DID is that as I process trauma and lower dissociative barriers and understand the parts in my system better - the "worse" my autism gets and the less I can mask it and the less I can ignore it.

At least, that is how it appears as a social protector now turned host. Cause before really getting into therapy, I was a little off but nothing that couldn't be explained by 1) growing up in an autistic family and 2) trauma - I didn't have any outstanding sensory issues from the sounds of it, I didn't have any obvious lack of socializing / interpersonal interactions, I didn't seem to have any notable issues speaking or really any notable "autistic meltdowns" or anything. I was mildly symptomatic on all of them, but barely enough to acknowledge it. For many years I went with the line "eh I'm undiagnosable (differential diagnosis could not be made) but thats fine cause tbh I don't think thinking of myself or approaching therapy with me being autistic in mind would help me much."

But I dunno how much of it is the realization and deprogramming of our sister's crap (and specifically the related fucked up way of teaching of "how to survive in the world as an autistic person" that became one of the foundations of my existence as a part) and how much of it is coming to know and understand parts and honestly the majority of the system that have less socially acceptable and passable symptoms - but the past year or two its just been SUCH a thing we've had to accommodate our life around.

Be it sensory, sensory processing issues, communication, talking, and our general social approach and environment - a lot of our modern changes have been to leave space for our symptoms of our autism as much as they have been for our DID / PTSD.

We've straight up been unsuited for a job solely because in the long run it was too damn taxing and literally have retreated into work that literally has us in an underground basement where I literally only see 2-5 people a day and only regularly interact with like 2.

And its just wild cause I used to be this hyper social, hyper extrovert, people juggling, socially motivated individual - and I honestly still am, but the way that it is expressed is So So So much more different

It's really wild honestly but at this point I'm glad I have an autism specialist who is also trained and aware of dissociative and complex trauma stuff cause tbh, navigating the autism stuff without the shitty framework our sister trained me in is a lot more of a territory I am less familiar in than dissociation and trauma at this point.

[cat-of-starlight]

A lot of the Philip hate tends to be filtered through having to sit through his boss fight, and the pacing and general fluff in canto 4 did not help many people (including myself, honest) fully understand Dongrang's character, and given as him being generally evil is the most memorable and memeable part about him, its a lot of the conversation about him. About Kromer and Alphonso tho - evil characters are just fun. The City is a horrible place full of horrible people and seeing those people thriving in their atrocities is genuinely one of the settings most enjoyable parts

Hmm.

I get that evil can be fun, my main annoyance (which directs HARD to the two of them because of this) is the fact the kind characters have a Much Worse reputation

As for the Philip boss fight, it honestly never occurred to me, since by that point, I'd already beaten all of Lobotomy Corp, was halfway through Runia, and had just fully accepted to myself that bosses being ABSURDLY hard was just part of the experience-

Plus, I've always been more of a "Story > Gameplay" kinda person when it comes to how I feel about characters, so the thought of "This boss fight is annoying, so I hate this character" never connected to me, especially in a franchise as brutally hard as this-

As for Dongrang- I think part of me was initially biased because he was genuinely pleasant at the start, but it was the flashback sequence that REALLY solidified my opinion into what it is now- the mix of not condoning what happened, but also coming to terms and sympathizing with the fact of "Damn. this could have been a good guy, if it weren't for The Horrors™"

And for the final part, I respect the opinion, but I do not agree with it in the way I interact with this franchise.

I think the MOST enjoyable part is seeing what COULD have been- There are the atrocities, yes, but SO MANY of the protag groups try to find their homes with the family they've found, and all want to try to learn to be nice to each other DISPITE the horrors-

If anything, I think the sheer amount of atrocities makes the little glimmers of occasional kindness shine just that much more-

At least for me, if the games were just packed to the brim with mainly evil people doing evil things for the sake of being evil, it wouldn't be fun. not at all. I certainly wouldn't have played all 3 games if the only appeal was "evil characters are fun ehe"

Not that I'm condoning how any particular person decides to enjoy their time in the franchise, its just the double standard of "A kind character can do one horrific act and be scorned forever, but we'll love this evil character forever regardless of what they do"

I don't personally love the hypocrisy in it-

Yea, evil characters are fun sometimes, but I like the evil characters WHEN they make the kind ones shine more in comparison-

[dragontamer05]

Thoughts / sort of rating of the Yugioh dubs;

DM- Look for all it's flaws, weird edits and censorship over all it's fairly decent. Most of the voices are good, generally speaking the tone and story are still relatively in tact. No episodes were skipped or out right cut, although changes were made.

Are somethings handles better/ make more sense in the orignal form for sure but during a time among a sea of very mixed dubs (and even compared to some of the other series 4kids/4K tried) It's honestly pretty good.

GX- Look while I admit to having some nostalgia for it's just.. not great. The joke meter got turned farther up and while some areas they did manage to keep the tone/ emotion- particularly there's a few good lines of Jaden/Judai from the dub when desperately going after Jesse/Johan

BUt oh boy is it sure just a product of its time with just some of the dialogue feeling very peak 2000s energy. And also a lot more questionable voice choices for characters (some is decent tho)

I'll sooner recommend someone watch the sub first if genuinely interested in the series. But if you've got a bit of nostalgia or just want to have some fun riffing on something it can be a fun watch.

Other majour problem is due to the desire of wanting to get on the next series fast as possible it never got completed and never got s4

5Ds- A mess.

Once again for a lot of the main cast voices are okay but definitely getting worse/more extreme in their attempts to try and hide death / censor or alter things. Whole chunks of it simply was not dubbed at all which I'm sure made pacing weird.

Never actually watched it all but oof. Even if everything else was great just the fact that there is a good chunk that got cut / not translated makes it hard to recommend watching it.

Might be a fun curious watch I guess but probably the dub series with some of the most issues (maybe)

Zexal- Well at least it got completed, like DM did so that's something. Personally kind eh about some of the voices. Astral's is great love it, Yuma is okay but I can understand how it may get annoying for some.

Another one with pretty bad censorship problems that I think even some who's only watched dub could probably figure seem off.

Probably could have ended up a lot worse truth be told but even looking at how DM was handled probably could have been better in places.

Still suggest subs over dub generally but if knowing of the changes doesn't bother you / okay with the voices I mean there's worse out there.

Arc V-

Decent. A clear sign of things to change and improvements. Complete series, still some expected censorship and changes here and there but otherwise fairly faithful to the source. No egregious changes even any allusions to death if altered it's in away that still makes sense / doesn't totally negate it just perhaps stated less overtly or something.

Serious moments often able to be kept serious (compared to some from what I recall just the usage of jokes didn't feel as egregious / bad)

Voicing pretty good over all with only a few characters that make me question the voice direction.

Overall, for sure worth watching it's fun (also there are just some great very quotable lines that got me laughing)

Likely helped in part by being owned by Konami thus I'd assume giving them some control/input on how things go

Vrains-

So good. Voice acting great and just everything was handled well I think.

Once again Complete series, some of the typical changes that are just usual stuff at this point but for a series that can get as dark and serious as it does they handled it pretty well. I think honestly they even have a few lines that just wow.

Like as much as it would be great to have them do a dub where nothing gets changed (say for anything that is typically might happen for any localization- i.e like changing a joke that doesn't work in translation or whatever) I'd say it's pretty darn close and over solid job.

I know some people we kinda eh on that ending/scene in the last episode and I get it, wasn't what was expected or hoped for maybe but I thought it was fine. Far from the worst thing they could have done and it still felt at least fitting/ pretty in character. And if your someone watching only dub I think they still manage to hit and keep the emotion of that scene just doing it in a different way.

Sevens-

As it is, Sevens is a pretty goofy show with big Saturday morning cartoons energy. From the get go it had the makings of what would be a fun dub and they nailed.

Voice choices are so good, continuing on the track of completing series and whatever changes might have been made be it dialogue or what have was nothing that I ever noticed or affected the plot/story in anyway.

Like obviously the script can't/won't be word for word exact but I'm pretty sure more often then not whatever was used or said was pretty close to/equivalent there of whatever was in the original anyway.

It's good, it's fun and silly and I can promise that despite what you may think I'd argue the vast majority of jokes come straight from the Sub itself or at the very least it keeps within the general tone /feeling of something the character would say. Never came across any moment where a joke was used that did feel quite right.

As said as it is Sevens is a pretty silly and fun show even in its original form and the Dub does a great job of keeping the spirit alive and story intact

Sub or dub I strongly recommend watching it anyway. Yes it's animated by a different group- no longer done by Studio Gallop. But honestly it fits and works. I have no idea how much was already planned out before the switch was made or any of the behind the scenes but regardless the art/animation style really fits well the tone of the series - and you can still look at it and go 'that's a yugioh'

Plus after the plot of Vrains ngl kinda nice n fun to have what Sevens brought.

Also look it's time to accept that for as much as it is a series that anyone can enjoy the target demographic IS technically kids / a younger audience (and trying to use this as a means to attract more of that younger audience get them interested)

Go Rush doesn't have a dub yet but I'm hyped and am sure it'll be a blast to.

[nerves-nebula]

I saw myself doing t rex hands in a passing window on our wall over here and i felt so stupid i immediately stopped. Unrelated but I hid in the bathroom for a while and my breathing keeps being irregular.

I don't know if you think you shouldn't do it because it's a problem or weird, or even someone bothered you that much about it and now you hide it but...

Hey it's rad and completely cool, if you only see a problem when you do it hey... Look abit, it's prob a sign your body is relaxed and not stressed about something.

Also probably something stupid, breathing exercises may help on that stressed cases or even a healthy distraction.

I don't know moments of not noticed tension because it's already subconscious on public maybe-

On a end way without excess shit, it's rad and you're rad too

honestly i think its just internalized ableism cause i dont care when other people do it. and i LIKE being weird. so why is this one thing so hard to just let myself do?? EH. ive been getting worse lately anyway.

I cant tell if it only happens more when im in public because I'm anxious and dont like being seen, or if I just NOTICE myself doing it more cause I'm aware i COULD be seen. its whateverrrrrr.