#((bleh I'm not 100% on some parts of this but I need to get it out of the way aslkfehsldh))

[ordinaryschmuck]

*Sighs*...Okay, yeah, Wish really IS bad

And I didn't want to go in thinking that. I went in with the most optimistic view possible. Because with EVERYONE treating this movie as the worst thing possible, a POX upon the house of mouse itself, I went in thinking that there's no WAY it's THAT bad. So when I finally watched, I decided...I was right. It's NOT that bad. But...Well...Let's get into it.

This is the part where I'd say "Positives First," to show off what worked before picking apart what didn't. Except that, aside from a few little moments and easter eggs that made me go, "Aw, that's cute," I'm coming up EMPTY. Every single thing--And I do mean EVERY SINGLE THING in this movie, from the animation, songs, characters, story, themes, ideas, and even EXECUTIONS...is ALMOST good. Every single aspect of this film ALMOST worked. The pieces are there and I can see just how this film could have been the masterpiece that was a CENTURY in the making. The problem is that there's ONE THING holding it back: Not enough time. And I don't just mean that the movie should have been longer. No, I mean that this movie needed another YEAR of production to tighten up EVERYTHING. Why's that? Well, let's go in order of the things I mentioned.

The animation is clearly trying to go for this mixed-medium style that movies like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish or Spider-Verse popularized. Those movies mixed hand-drawn animation with 3D models, making storybook illustrations or comic book art feel ALIVE. That's sort of Wish is going for. I hear people say that Disney's 100 year celebration should have been completely hand drawn to call back to their early years, but I tend to disagree. I think Disney making a movie that's mixed-medium is a better way to honor its one hundred years, taking the animation that made Disney huge and mixing it with modern CGI as a way to make it feel like a celebration of the old AND new. EXCEPT that it doesn't really look good, aside from certain screenshots. There are SOME still images where if you paused the movie at the right time you can get something that looks like a 2D image with CG touch-ups. For the rest of the movie, it looks like a modern CGI Disney film with a storybook filter slapped on it. It doesn't look TOO BAD when your eyes get used to it, but it doesn't stop the movie from feeling like it ALMOST hit the right mark. The only times it REALLY works is with Star.

Wha--No. No, not that one. That's the wrong Disney character named Star.

There he is. There's my little guy.

But look at him. He's a 3D character with hand-drawn touch-ups that really makes him feel like a 2D character brought to life. If the whole movie looked like HIM, then it would have been a revolutionary achievement for Disney. But it doesn't. Instead, it feels like a missed opportunity that would have worked better if they had more time to animate this film instead of leaving their animators scattered to the winds to make half-assed sequels or forcing out one to two projects every year.

There should have also been more attention given to the songs because...Oh my gosh, they're bad. They SOUND nice, I love the instrumentals and the POWER these people put into the vocals. "This Wish" and its reprise successfully gives me chills through how well they're sang and how epic the instruments make them. But the LYRICS...are messy. When you sit down and actually LISTEN to what's sung, it all just...BLEH. That's the best way I can describe it, I'm sorry! It's BLEH!

Why would a king in a fairytale kingdom in the distant past sing, "You're sure you're not the prob?"

"Throwing caution into every warning sign" doesn't come across as a person freeing herself from her insane king's vague warnings but ADHERING to them.

The way that Asha and King Magnifico sing about protecting wishes makes it sound like they're singing to EACH OTHER.

And "You're A Star." OH BOY! The song that's meant to explain how these animals can magically talk is just filled with allegories and allusions that think they explain EVERYTHING only to explain NOTHING. It's just vague nonsense that, again, SOUNDS nice, but offers no real substance. On its own, I guess I can get into it, but to tell a story, it falls apart. Because that's the difference when it comes to writing a regular song and writing a musical: You're not just making a good song, you're telling a story through MUSIC. Wish's soundtrack is one that's filled with catchy songs, but not ones that properly move the story forward. Not to mention how they're so jarringly out of character in cases like "This is the Thanks I Get." When Disney released the soundtrack, that was my favorite song because I felt like it perfectly fit this smug, egotistical prick who thought he was the best person alive. Turns out that's not what Wish was going for...Not entirely.

Magnifico feels like he's meant to be a mix between Gaston and Maleficent. A character that has a huge ego and loves himself more than anything, but has an incredible amount of power to make himself a threat. If done right, a villain like that could stand up to be with some of Disney's best. And, yeah, like everything else in this movie, he ALMOST works. When he's finally a villain, he's campy and over the top, making him entertaining...But notice how I said "When he's finally a villain." That's because Magnifico doesn't really become what he's meant to be until halfway through the movie. He starts off as a King with good intentions but paranoid ideals that doesn't make him evil, it makes him feel like a guy who needed evidence to prove that other magic isn't a threat. By the time he finally acts more like a Disney villain, it was such a jarring left turn that his sudden switch-up made me feel like it was somehow a nightmare sequence from Asha. He's NOTHING like the guy he starts out as, and it's not a natural change that flows well throughout the film. That's mainly because the story has a pacing problem worse than any movie I've seen. If King Magnifico's path to the dark side was slow and gradual, showing signs of his worst qualities first and make them more apparent as the film goes on, he would have worked INCREDIBLY. Instead, it comes across as his villainy was activated like someone flipped a switch in his brain that says, "Be evil now." It's the absolute REVERSE of a bad redemption story, mixed with a lazy explanation that it was dark magic that made him more corrupt when he should have been evil since minute one. And you want to know the worst part? He's probably the best character in this.

Asha...isn't bad. She's your standard quirky nice girl protagonist that Disney just LOVES to use, especially lately. It's just that Asha doesn't have that "Gets stuff done" attitude like Moana or Mulan, nor does she have the infectious charm like Maribel or Anna. Asha, instead, is a lot like her breakout song: Nice and enjoyably, but doesn't stand out from the biggest hits. As for her animal sidekick Valentino...He's not annoying, but he's not funny either. Honestly, his comedy peaked when it was revealed that this cute baby goat sounded like Clayface from that Harley Quinn cartoon. A joke, by the way, that got spoiled by the trailers, so it's not really AS funny in the movie. Honestly, Asha's SEVEN FRIENDS are funnier at times. Speaking of, those characters are very clearly meant to be the Seven Dwarfs. And it is VERY distracting because not only does it feel like only two or three of them are necessary to the plot, but they're the ONLY major reference that the movie shines a light on when it comes to Disney's history.

Would I have wanted this entire movie to be nothing but references of past Disney movies? Of course not. That's not how movies work. But Wish seems to have this problem where it doesn't really COMMIT to honoring Disney's legacy. The most it does is give the Seven Dwarfs human OCs, make them supporting characters, and throws in tiny little easter eggs here and there. Again, some of them are cute, but it's not enough. The same goes for when Wish tries to honor some of the tropes and cliches that Disney popularized. It's an animated musical with talking animals, a campy villain, an objectively pretty protagonist, and goofy sidekicks. But it takes more than ADDING that stuff to your movie in order to honor them. You need to look at what made those tropes and cliches work in the first place and make something that calls back to those classic films while still having something new to say. And Wish almost--ALMOST--has something new to say.

With everything surrounding King Magnifico and how he got more power with people's wishes, I almost thought Wish was going to be a film that called out modern Disney. At least, modern CORPORATE Disney, a company that takes ideas and thoughts created by dozens of talented people, twists them into something unrecognizable, and refuses to give those ideas back when choosing to do NOTHING with this great idea leaves them free of competition. And to stop something evil like that, you must make something of your own and work hard to make your idea yours instead of letting someone more powerful take it from you. I thought that would have been a GREAT message...But of course DISNEY wouldn't want a movie calling them OUT for their one hundred year victory lap. So, instead, we have a message that tries to get the same idea across, but in a simplified way where the wishes are taken LITERALLY and that the only way to get what you want is to wish hard enough for it. That is...NOT the message I want kids to learn from this as it often leads to bad expectations. If this movie tried an ironically anti-Disney message in ANY OTHER year, it would have a better chance of getting away with it. But for a hundred year celebration, there was no chance in hell.

Wish is NOT Disney's worst movie, but it's nowhere near the best. I love SO MANY of the ideas and what it TRIES to do, but there's a difference between good ideas and good executions. It was ALMOST good, but Wish was not the movie anybody was really wishing for...

[angelhummel]

not to be a hater i was just thinking about this recently. the biphobia in Glee is so inconsistent with how its addressed.

like i’m pretty sure the ONLY person who ever gets called out for saying anything remotely biphobic is Kurt (which like im glad bc it was a shitty thing to say. tho i think kurt antis use it to frequently paint this rhetoric that kurt is a bad person bc of one (1) shitty thing he said)

meanwhile santana can say shitty things about bisexuality bc shes mad that brittany is dating sam and thats apparently fine???? she really has the idea that brittany is betraying her for penis which is bizarre. also i feel like she enabled dani’s biphobia as well.

i love santana, but i feel like this issue is heavily glossed over by fans while kurt’s comment is apparently bad enough to crucify him :/

I know we've talked about it before but I also just thought of it again recently. Bc there was a poll with Here Comes The Sun and someone in the tags was like "I'll vote for anything over Dani's biphobic ass" and it's like well baby girl Santana's biphobic ass is literally standing right next to her. And people sure don't have a problem voting for Santana's songs despite how blatantly biphobic she also is

And also transphobic, we can throw that in there, bc it's always about Penis and Boys hand in hand like there's no other option. Never mind Unique has been on the show for over a season, let's keep equating dick with gross boys and pussy with beautiful lesbian 100% pure sapphic goddesses 😍😍 Bleh it's like they tried to cram in every last shred of offensive sexual language they could think of into one two minute scene

BUT it's not like I'm judging that specific tagger, or anyone else who dislikes Dani. Bc at least Santana is a character with a million other things going for her besides the worst things she's said (exactly like Kurt hi) whereas Dani had like ten lines in her time on the show and half of them were "sapphic goddess" and "i love lady parts" barf

"She enabled Dani's biphobia as well" yeah literally. She could've just said "I was dating a girl and it didn't work out and we broke up" but she specifically threw "and she was bi" into the middle of it like that's part of the reason they broke up lmao. Santana, who tells Brittany that it's okay for her to date someone new, boy or girl, just to throw a fit when Brittany ends up dating Sam and makes it into some weird thing about her need for dick and how she's Less Than bc she's bi. And telling that to a potential new partner so she can reinforce her shitty stereotypes by also being gross about bi people (: Amazing

And anyway bringing it back to Kurt and double standards but like. That's pretty much the only offensive thing Kurt ever said lmao. Like yeah he said some dumb or thoughtless things here and there but if you take out that one glaring fuck up, you're not really left with anything that bad. Whereas if you extract Santana's biphobia from the equation, you're still left with six seasons of racism, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, fatphobia...

So yeah :) Double standards, anon, double standards x

[beatheprincess]

My weekend was bleh -_- i was just annoyed at everything , living with 5 people sucks and constantly having to wait on everything because its already in use and my mom act like ima get a job on the spot tmrw like literally these ppl gotta look over my application !! I'm a teen girl w no experience and I'm hoping at least some professional place can give me experience (training) to get better 😭 whenever my mom tells me things I already know what to do it pisses me off because I take it as control and pressure instead of help and support. Being nitpicked at everything makes me feel like burden >:(

Another thing I have been thinking about is my bio parent, When someone you havent seen in years reach out to you at legal age it definitely impacts your life this shit is not normal and is so common in the black community; I dont think anyone truly realizes how important it is to have both bio parents in your life, I cannot call this person a man cus they aren't and I do not trust them the things they said/did they jus expect me to forget :/ and I dont want nothing to do w them ever again and it's truly ashame I can't have a good relationship w them and I'm in the process of accepting not having them in my life and moving forward, I also hold my mom accountable for her part as well and I talked to my grandma about it and she's on my side 100% and I feel like in the future this is gna be an ongoing topic , I've gone thru alot in 3 months n felt so lonely from it but I'll be okayy.(authentic segment over)

Good things that happened ! I have cute new unicorn jacket imma wear alot till I get tired of it (I love unicorns 💟) i was also able to get into littlespace and feel v comfortable about my soft aesthetics and dressing cutely ♡♡♡ I was also able to buy things I needed this weekend and wash clothes n my sunday self care routine so yay ! I hope this week is a good one and I dont feel like crap, this is my last week of fall classes for this semester so thank GOD ! >.< I hope you guys had a great weeknd and thanks to the ppl checking on me. 💜💜💜 wuv chu

[fountainpenguin]

If you were given the opportunity to reboot FOP from the ground up, what would you change, shake up, or put your own spin on?

I'll have to give this a short answer, I no joke spent over 2 hours replying to this, then added a Read More and Tumblr told me that my post was too out of this world and it broke the editor. It kicked me out in a split second without any opportunity to save. Sorry to everyone who has to scroll past my stuff in the future, but I'm not living through this again. Read Mores have no place on my blog.

I'm furious because 1) I tried to copy-paste out of this editor like I always do and save in an external place, but the new editor is busted and only copies one paragraph when you do CTRL-A so I gave up, and 2) literally the last sentence I wrote before typing that was "Before my hiatus, Read Mores broke stuff, but I'm willing to give this another try." It's not even the same error it used to be. I can't. I can't.

At least we're friends and I think you know a lot of my thoughts anyway. Sorry it took so long to write an answer to this message, but I've already let it sit for so long that I HAVE to get it out of my inbox now or I'll never go back to it after losing everything :/ I can't believe that just happened. How ironic that one of the main reasons I went on hiatus was because stuff kept breaking and then it's worse when I return. Bleh.

So... Here's the short version of things I can remember talking about:

Update world lore, especially regarding Anti-Fairies. Anti-Fairies debuted in Season 2 and didn't reappear until Season 5; Anti-Fairy World itself made its first appearance in Season 6 because the Anti-Fairies were only seen in jail before that. Anti-Fairy World is kind of barren and stereotypical, and the general vibe of Anti-Fairies is that they are all evil because their magic revolves around bad luck. I'd prefer some gray area. I also feel like the characterizations for Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda were rushed and we should say it.

Logically I know that Anti-Wanda can be said to parallel Wanda's high-class mafia upbringing, but I doubt that was planned since Wanda's family only showed up in Season 5. In another universe, we could have had a classy evil queen. I love the grubby gal, but there are so many cool aesthetics she could have had instead. The Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda vibe doesn't bring anything to the table that Cosmo and Wanda didn't already have unless you take creative liberties.

Maps. Maps would have been great.

Designs. Cosmo, Crocker, and Dad really don't need the same shirt. Wanda's outfit is pretty bland too, and it's honestly a shame that Anti-Cosmo got a unique outfit but Anti-Wanda's is just a recolor of Wanda's. See also, classy queen.

Also I've never liked Timmy's Channel Chasers adult design; I just don't think it's in character. I feel like his body type would be much closer to his parents, and the existing one is just too extreme for my preferences. Doesn't say "Timmy the average kid" to me.

"Fairly Odd Baby" - As much as I enjoy the idea of Fairies placing a ban on babies because they're destructive and Fairy World likes to push away its problems, I'd have introduced Poof as part of an announcement that Cosmo and Wanda had been expecting a baby for 100 to 1000 years. Their lifespans are so long, it wouldn't be out of the question. A reveal episode could have been fun.

I also don't think I would have chosen to leave Poof a baby who can't speak for that long; I think he has a fun personality (Sasses Foop, deliberately puts Foop in harm's way, but also he's super chill and nice and likes sports) and I would have liked to see more episodes where he talks. I don't love how he was shipped to boarding school as soon as he was able to talk and dialogue was needed.

Vicky takes Mark back onscreen. She canonically decided she wanted to start dating him again, after she found out he was an alien and she broke up with him. She made the choice to take back her alien boyfriend and she loves him and we should talk about it. I'm obsessed with them and will forever treasure the deleted "Foul Balled" scene of them holding hands at the senior home while Mark is in his squid form. I support Vicky becoming the shapeshifting queen of a violent planet and being extremely in love with her squid husband.

Chloe / A.J. friendship. A.J. ended world hunger in Season 2 and he built a time machine a few seasons later, I feel like those two would have really hit it off.

More episodes of Timmy playing soccer. I will not re-elaborate.

More of side characters I love, like Molly and Kevin. I love them. I love Kevin falling farther and farther behind his uncle when they walk together, I love Timmy introducing himself to Molly's fairy by shaking her hand... They might be side characters but I feel like they add a lot more to the world and character dynamics in their few scenes than many of the characters do.

Sharing fairies. Timmy sharing fairies with Chloe (or Kevin) as part of a temporary program (like she was just here for one school year before her parents moved again). I think one of the issues people have with Chloe is that it feels like she's here for the rest of Timmy's fairy-related life, and I think a few months of hanging out with her would have been plenty and then there would have been a reason for her to leave the canon afterwards.

Make Chloe Dinkleberg's niece. My favorite headcanon. Also a perfect explanation for why Chloe's family would move to Timmy's street. Also a hilarious parallel of Timmy seething with frustration at his "perfect" neighbor despite spending the entire series making fun of his dad for doing the same thing.

More Timmy/Chloe "step-sibling" interactions. I support Timmy "I will sit with you while you have an hour-long panic attack" Turner in "The Booby Trap" but I cannot emphasize enough that I equally support Timmy "Will take a call from Chloe, listen to her explain that she vaporized a juice box, then hang up and go to bed" Turner. They are step-siblings...

Timmy, Chloe, and Kevin. I support Timmy - Chloe - Kevin trio interactions in general. They're a comedic trio and I want them to support each other.

Gary and Betty. Unironically, we need to talk more about Gary and Betty canonically being aware of the magical world. Or at least they adjusted really fast to being teleported from California to Florida and back again. Also we should talk about that time Gary rang Sanderson on his cell phone, which gets funnier the longer you think about it. Also I love them and we should talk about the deleted "Totally Spaced Out" scene where they tried to flee to Mexico together.

Ending the series with a proper send-off. I'm not a fan of Timmy keeping his magical memories after losing Cosmo and Wanda. Being the protagonist doesn't make him immune. I feel like there are so many ways this could have been done in a sentimental way that people would have loved... I'm sad we didn't get a proper send-off.

On the list of things we don't need to change - Imaginary Gary, Norm, Mark, Molly, Jorgen, the Pixies, Flappy Bob, Foop, and Ed Leadly. They are flawless, 10 of 10. We also do not need to change Chloe casually swearing, but meanwhile Timmy will call you out for saying "Moron" on the radio, and we definitely don't need to change "This isn't a fancy French restaurant- this is a black hole!"

I love the Pixies. If they didn't exist, I would have come along and prepped some worldbuilding about characters who maintain magical paperwork. I love my snarky monotone wasp boys.

Also I just want to shout-out Chloe and Kevin and their personalities being hilarious. I think there are several Chloe-centric episodes that have flawed storytelling, but I do genuinely enjoy the character you're left with after brushing off some of her exaggerated perfectionism.

Kevin has some of the best dialogue in the entire series, and those two just seem to write themselves when you pit them together. I like the mental image of Chloe venting to Timmy about how unfair it is that Crocker shows him favoritism and then it slowly dawns on her that she also has a history of getting a lot of favoritism.

Thanks for the ask! I'm sad I lost the full responses, but I think I've learned my lesson and will draft in an external doc first. Please learn from my mistakes, I will not take back my venting >:(

Even if I lost it, it's nice to take some time and think about some answers to these things. I'm also pretty satisfied that I was able to make this post long enough to feel like a good answer. Yay.

[ota-division]

Taria's Thoughts on Shinagawa Division

Ritsuko Okada

"Bleh, and the government wonders why nobody likes them. I mean, what the hell do you expect when you have this woman working for them? And she's a scientist too. $100 says she's into some mad-scientist shit. I'll tell you what, she comes within an inch of me with a syringe, a saw, or anything that looks intimidating, and she's dead!"

Miho Kobayashi

"Ugh, I see this woman on the news all the time. Apparently, she's some big, important CEO. Would it surprise you to know that I actually broke into her building once? One of my clients needed some info on a new drug they were developing and wanted some notes, blueprints, anything I could get my hands on."

"I'll admit, it was a pretty challenging job! But, the most challenging jobs are usually the most pleasing! Needless to say, I got the guy what he wanted and I had a nice, hefty sum in my bank account the next day. I'm sure they'll be trouble for that guy down the line when this woman's company finds out that he has their stuff. But, that's not my problem!"

Sumire Shinomiya

"Sumire! Or should I say 'Venefica?'" Taria laughs. "I tell you, I've met a lot of crazy people in my life, but Sumire and her group really take the cake! How do I know her and them, you ask? You have her friend, Trickster, to thank for that! I was hired to steal some priceless artifact from a museum. No big deal, and barely worthy to be called a job. But I'll get to that part in a bit. Anyway, when I got to the museum, I saw someone getting away with my prize! Naturally, I wasn't about to let that happen."

"I chased the guy down, got a few hits in, and took back my prize. That was how Trickster and I first met. I didn't think much of it until I got an email a couple of hours later asking me to meet someone at an undisclosed location. I was obviously suspicious. Anyone with a brain could tell this was a trap. But still, I've never run away from a challenge or a fight, and I wasn't about to start then! I went to the place and waited for a good five minutes until I started getting bored. Just as I was about to leave, he arrived, along with some other masked weirdos."

"I thought they were here for a fight, but he just put his hands up in a peace offering. He started fumbling over his words until some kid pushed him aside and asked if she wanted to join us. I was a little skeptical, but after she showed me evidence that my client had been two-timing me and Trickster, I decided to hang with them for a bit." Taria ends her story, and chuckles, shaking her head.

"Who would have thought my first few days there would have me joining up with Scorpion Den? They're a cool bunch of people! ...And not half bad-looking either. Dove and I have been hitting it off. I've been trying to get her to bed with me, but she always refuses, which is a mystery. Oh well, I'll still keep trying! She's too cute to not lay with a least once!"

CodeX

"Yeah, I don't really have much to say about this team. I have to wonder why Sumire is even a part of it. I mean, I already know she hates Chuohku, which Ms. Science over there is a part of. And from what I hear, she doesn't exactly have a good relationship with her aunt (That was a major shocker, by the way!). She claims she joined as a favor to Ms. Science, though she isn't exactly invested in this tournament. That makes two of us, really. If it weren't for the fact that my sisters are involved, I wouldn't be in this tournament either. But we both agreed that if our teams faced each other, we'd give it our all and there would be no hard feelings. ...Truthfully, I'm kinda looking forward to seeing what raps she can come up with. It should be an awesome show!"

[retphienix]

Okay!

So second credits additional thoughts since my first credits wrap up:

Orb quest not so bad, kinda neat, but also fails to impress in some ways and that's okay.

I assumed the orb quest would suck entirely and be the grindiest slowest most annoying thing around because everything I had heard was how you HAVE to seek out a True Sage in order to unlock fast travel or else the grind is annoying.

The thing is, that sentiment, is correct!

But!

If you just want to "beat it" that's okay!

What those sentiments are referring to would be the immense amount of backtracking, pointless dungeons, and RNG you must endure if you're trying to max out your caravan by recruiting True caravan members (such as the aforementioned Sage).

That part SUCKS!

It's SO many layers of RNG and requires SO much backtracking that doing so without a True Sage to teleport you to every town every single time you finish a color orb dungeon is MADNESS!

So mad, that I didn't remotely bother lol

What that sentiment is NOT referring to, in my opinion, is the actual orb quest itself which is FAR more reasonable than I thought it would be.

You really do get a ton of orbs every "rotation", with a rotation being "Grab the orbs, do a dungeon (you have to spend at least 1 orb to do that) then grab the orbs again by exploring the world again".

A rotation actually isn't that bad at all. You get Seers and mappers through the main quest and that's all you need to know where the orbs are located. A that point getting around the world to grab them really isn't that bad with the Wings at your disposal.

Now. Doing this without them would suck and if I recall is 100% possible.

But, on my playthrough I got 3 of the wings (didn't get the buff dungeon illusion's until I was already finished) and it made things a complete breeze. A touch annoying using the ports all the time, but it's really not so bad getting to big blinking dots on the map compared to visiting EVERY SINGLE TOWN for SHEER RNG HELL like the caravan grind would have been lol

The orbs themselves are not that bad! And you get so many that you don't have to do too many rotations to completely finish the quest! Assuming you use 4 of the same color etc which I don't recall finding any NPC mentioning that specifically, but hey, I'm telling you- if you use 4 of the same color you guarantee a spirit dungeon which is what you're going for, there ya go.

The spirit fights were reasonable too, literally no complaints there, I really enjoyed going through their little dungeons and fighting them.

The big bad was a little rough but that was mostly my investment slipping away- I can already tell by the fact I could beat him with save states, 1 more breeding session and he was toast, which is honestly reasonable to have considered- after saving the illusions it would make sense to breed for one last team- I just didn't :P

But altogether my thoughts on the color orb quest are "It's WAY better than I thought it would be, I thought it would be garbage though so that's not high praise so much as moderate praise" and "It's still a failure in terms of letting the caravan shine".

As I said in a prior post, the base game doesn't let you play with the caravan recruits worth a damn to the point that it feels like a poorly implemented feature. This second quest is LITERALLY where you get to play with them- it's where new stronger variants spawn and you can farm out a perfect caravan team. And it's ruined by RNG and backtracking lol

Without a true sage it's unreasonably tedious, and even with one the RNG layers involved are OBSCENE, it's just.... stupid.

Why revolve so much focus around this new feature, then skimp on letting the player enjoy it in the base game, and then shyly hide away the potentially rewarding gameplay of actually playing with it in the post game by putting 10 tons of "grind forever" RNG on it?

Bleh.

But yeah.

Orb quest, actually kinda fun. The parts I thought would be tedious were either "Not as bad as I expected" (orbs) or "Were so bad that I stopped trying" (caravan) so my experience was actually mostly orb dungeons and I liked that. Not bad.

My overall opinions on Caravan Hearts remain the same as the first credits.

It's "Mid". It's, as of typing, my least favorite DQM game that I've played, but it's not "dumpster fire" bad.

It's interesting, it's different as all hell, and in my opinion it's heavily flawed and fails to have Fun with the caravan aspect- instead making it a burden.

It's a burden in the early game.

It's pointless in the mid game.

And it's turned into a tedious grind in the post game for no reason.

It's never once allowed to be "fun" when it's the entire Heart of this Caravan Heart title lol

Game is Okay. I would personally recommend pretty much any other DQM title instead to people :)

I am now going to go see if I can access the Dragonlord castle to look at him. I had heard he's far easier than the final boss was, but IDK, after having abused 'time powers' to beat the last guy, I think the 'ol Dragon Quest DL might be allowed to live this time around lol

[sunrisedriven]

6/21

Yeah, I definitely did not study for that test.

I reached a full circle, though. I don't know how to explain it, but it feels surreal. Closure. Letting go of what I lost, what I missed out on. It may have taken eight years, but I still got what I wanted. The door is wide open. There's so much more now. I didn't have to stop dreaming. I've got a lot more going for me.

It's all within reach. New York called my name and I turned her down. I'm still getting that high rise, though. It's just a matter of time. I'm no longer heartbroken over what-ifs. It's possible.

Principles. It's not like it will keep me full and happy and content throughout the night, but I'm glad I chose it over five-minute recognitions. I can go further. Coast to coast, I'm going to make my mark on both.

I persisted. This quarter was awful. I came up with all sorts of conclusions that broke my heart and never have I ever felt so disappointed by people. I wanted to give up, but it would've been so lame to repeat the same mistakes. I just - there has to be a way for me to show how ridiculous ya'll be acting sometimes. Embarrassing. Some of these people need to know how embarrassing they are. It's for their good. It's that part of my job description? No, but it's torture watching it all unfold and having to stop myself from laughing at the nonsense. Like, am I supposed to feel bad for you? Are you serious?

I dug a grave for all the mistakes I made and planted flowers around it. Paid my respects. It's time to move on.

No straight A's, unfortunately. There's a B- in there, but I'll live. I still passed. I finished it. I'm proud of it. It was a tough quarter.

This was time well spent. I wouldn't have had it any other way. I still missed graduation. It's just not meant to be, I guess, but I'm really glad I stuck it through. I might not reap the rewards sometime soon, but I will someday. I have something planted for the next season.

I'm sorry for being abrupt. I'm running on 4 hours of sleep....for the past three days, yessir, yes ma'am, I only had four hours of good sleep. LOL. Maybe that's why I sound silly right now.

But yeah, full circle. I have grown so much the past two years. I'm proud of my decision. I'm glad I came back.

One thing that's on my mind is that once I go back to the city, I will probably run into one of them. That's something I have to deal with, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. All the engagements I'm seeing on insta is bugging me. I mean, I'm happy for them, 100%, but I'm slowly realizing that I'm in that phase of my life and I hate to say it, but I don't see myself getting married in this lifetime. God forbid.

bleh.

Time to lose weight.

[shapeshifting-wildcard]

The atmosphere of Leblanc was tense. Ryuji, Makoto, Ann, and Haru all occupied one booth, with Futaba draping herself over the back of the seat behind the former two from the next booth over. Jou and Yusuke leaned against the seats, Jou with his hands in his pockets, Yusuke with his hands held in front of him. They had commandeered a seat from the counter and pulled up next to Jou, where Morgana sat. Kotone commandeered another seat at the counter, turning it around to face the star of today's show: one Goro Akechi, leaning against the counter in the now freed up space. Akechi was the only one who seemed even remotely relaxed, maybe even amused by the wary stares he was getting from the assembled Thieves.

"The police are more than willing to turn a blind eye to fabricated evidence, as long as it leads to an arrest. They're more concerned with bringing things to a conclusion than they are in uncovering the truth."

"The entire police force can't be that corrupt, right?" Kotone piped up. "I mean... I know where I live there was that one officer who helped us out by selling us weapons to fight Shadows."

Silence fell, all eyes turned to Kotone. There was a lot to unpack there.

"That's—" Akechi and Makoto exchanged a glance before Akechi gestured for Makoto to go ahead.

"That's blatantly illegal, though," Makoto pointed out.

"Well, what was he supposed to do? Let us just use random weapons off the street?" Kotone retorted, folding her arms over her chest defensively.

"That's beside the point—wait, do you mean to say this person knew about the Shadows?" Akechi frowned towards her.

"He knew about them," Kotone admitted, "but he didn't have access to a Persona, so this was the best he could do."

"I'm... not sure that makes his actions better." Makoto sighed and shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"Kotone's weirdness aside," Futaba said, drawing a pointed glare from the girl in question, "do you really think this is going to change anything about the investigation?"

"Sae is the one spearheading it," Akechi noted. "Even if we can't get her to call it off entirely, we might slow the investigation down, or redirect its course towards the true culprit."

"Is that your true objective?" Makoto asked pointedly. Akechi either didn't pick up on her tone or chose not to acknowledge it.

"Of course. I assume that's the case for all of you too."

"Makoto, what's your take on all this?" Ryuji asked.

"Yeah," Kotone said, giving Makoto a worried frown, "this is your sister we're talking about."

Makoto sat back in her seat, folding her arms over her chest and glaring at the table in front of her. "I'll be honest, I've known about my sister's Palace for a while. And I'd been meaning to bring her up again as a potential future target, but I never expected..."

"Are you in, then?" Akechi asked.

Makoto hesitated, her grimace deepening. Jou wouldn't be surprised if she resented the fact that Akechi was the one finally helping her realize her original goal.

"Why are you willing to do all this, Akechi-kun?" Haru chimed in. "Why do you seek justice?"

Akechi grimaced as he averted his gaze.

"Because of sickening human beings. Yes, my contempt for such people drives my sense of justice." He waved a hand dismissively as he spoke. "It isn't some grand reason like society's sake or some lofty ideal. It's simply an absurd grudge... and extremely personal."

Silence fell over the group again as his words sank in. Jou's gaze wandered towards Ann, who looked contemplative. When she noticed him looking at her, she spoke up.

"You know, doesn't he remind you of us? Like how some disgusting adult pissed him off."

Jou nodded. Akechi blinked, looking surprised.

"We're similar, hm? Maybe that's why I thought I could ask this of you all." Akechi stood up, turning his attention to Jou. "Won't you cooperate with me on the mission to change Sae-san's heart?"

Jou looked over his Thieves, who each showed their (somewhat begrudging) approval with a nod. When he turned his attention to Kotone, though, he realized her focus was elsewhere. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, and she had that same... contemplative expression on her face. Jou frowned and slipped out his phone, typing a quick message before holding it in front of her.

"Something on your mind?"

Kotone jumped and blinked at the phone as she processed the message. She lifted her head, fixing him with a sheepish grin and a self-conscious chuckle.

"Oh, uh, it's... it's nothing, don't mind me."

"Are you sure?" Ann asked. Jou glanced towards her, picking up on her doubtful tone. She and Haru wore similar expressions of doubt and concern for their friend.

"If you have any reservations about this plan, best to voice them now while we can still address them," Yusuke said.

"It has nothing to do with the plan." Kotone absentmindedly brushed some hair behind her ear as her gaze wandered towards the floor again. "There's... something else on my mind."

"Is it related to the situation at hand?" Akechi asked.

"No, not really. It's fine, really! The plan sounds solid enough to me."

"What, no insights from your own vast experience?" Futaba chimed in.

Akechi raised an eyebrow, glancing from Futaba to Kotone as Makoto joined in. "Yes, that's a good point. You've been handling Shadows for longer than any of the rest of us have. Can you think of any potential complications?"

The color drained from Kotone's face at those words. Softly, barely loud enough for Jou to hear, she murmured, "Oh shit, I'm the senpai here."

She regained her composure quickly, sitting back and folding her arms over her chest. She shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, her entire demeanor seemed to change instantly. Her gaze was sharper, more focused. Her posture was straighter. She looked like a leader addressing her comrades.

"I'm not as experienced in dealing with the Metaverse as all of you are," she explained. "So in that respect, I'm afraid I can't provide much more insight."

"Aw man, really?" Ryuji groaned. "What use are you, then?"

She crossed her legs, tapping one arm with her finger as she thought. "Let's go over what we know so far. First, there is a third party active in the Metaverse, whose exact goals we do not know for sure at this point in time. But we know that they run counter to our own goals, enough to cause a conflict. Second, there is a police investigation intent on securing our arrest, spearheaded by Akechi's proposed target, Niijima Sae. We have reason to believe the police are corrupt enough to accept even blatantly doctored evidence, and that Niijima-san is willing to go that far. In the long term, if we don't change her heart, the potential repercussions are... not good."

"Huh?" Ann looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"If she's willing to doctor evidence to secure an arrest, even a conviction," Kotone explained, "then she'll do it again. And she'll undoubtedly keep doing it."

"Are you implying my sister's corrupt?" Makoto snapped, sounding defensive.

"That Palace had to come from somewhere," Kotone replied, calmly meeting Makoto's gaze. It was chilling how composed Kotone was. "If she isn't now, then she's well on her way."

"So you're interested in making sure that future justice is served," Akechi commented, glancing at her as he leaned against the counter.

Kotone waved a hand dismissively. "I'm interested in reducing the amount of harm she can cause to others. Whether that's 'justice' is besides the point."

"Geez," Ann said, leaning back in her seat with a wince, "you make it sound like she's some sort of monster."

"You make it sound like she's the same as the other adults we've faced," Makoto said, tone sharp and glaring daggers at Kotone.

Kotone paused and blinked as if something just occurred to her. She glanced away again. "Ah... Sorry. I guess for a moment I started thinking of her like the Shadows I used to face."

"What kinda Shadows were you tanglin' with?" Ryuji quipped.

Futaba sat up and raised a hand. "Are you talking about those 'big Shadows' you mentioned a while back?"

Kotone nodded.

"Big... Shadows? How're those different from normal Shadows?"

"They were fragments of a larger Shadow. They didn't really have any goal other than getting back together. But they could do a lot of damage if left alone, so we dealt with them."

"So, you're thinking of her in terms of a Shadow that's threatening people, rather than a person who's threatening people," Morgana chimed in. Kotone nodded.

"At the moment, I'd say there isn't a functional difference between the two," Yusuke noted. "Just like those large Shadows, if we don't do something she will cause untold damage to our lives as well as the lives of countless others."

"So we're agreed, then?" Jou spoke up, gaze sweeping over all of his Thieves. There were murmurs and nods of agreement. Turning his attention back to Akechi, he gave the boy a nod. "Then it's settled. We'll cooperate with you for now, detective."

"I'm happy to hear that," Akechi replied, smiling back. Jou was almost certain Futaba was rolling her eyes behind him. "I do have one more question, however." Akechi turned his attention to Kotone. "You have experience fighting Shadows, but not with the Metaverse. Would I be correct in assuming there was a different catalyst for your awakening than ours?"

Kotone's eyes widened before she averted her gaze. Her hands moved to rest on her lap. "You would be."

"Mind if I ask what that was?"

A few Thieves shot glares in Akechi's direction. It was maybe a bit too prying a question, Jou had to admit. But he was also a little curious about Kotone's history as well.

She made a little noise, picking at her skirt absentmindedly for a moment. "...It wasn't like any of yours. I wasn't pushed to my breaking point by a terrible adult. It was just... me, the first big Shadow, and a girl I'd only met a couple days before. And an object that looked for all the world like a gun."

"Did you shoot a Shadow?" Futaba blurted out. Kotone laughed.

"No, but that probably would have been the smarter thing to try!" That got a few strange looks from the Thieves. "Just know that that 'gun'—which I later found out was an Evoker—was what allowed me to summon my Persona. Back then, my friends and I didn't use masks. Hell, we didn't even know that Personas and Shadows were the same thing."

"Wait, you didn't?"

"I wasn't really concerned with stuff like 'justice' or 'doing the right thing.' There was a girl in danger, and I didn't want her to die. That's all I thought about."

In the back of Jou's mind, he could feel Isis shifting awkwardly. I'm the girl she was protecting. It was my job to protect her, but...

"It doesn't sound too drastically different from the rest of ours, at least," Makoto commented. "Even if you weren't rebelling against a terrible adult, it still sounds like you were backed into a corner and forced to fight back."

"I guess that's true, huh," Kotone said.

"Actually, she sounds like Akechi," Ryuji pointed out. "That whole 'I don't wanna die here' thing, I mean."

That's not what she said, Isis pointed out. A chill went down Jou's spine at the implication, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Survival rather than seeking justice or vengeance, huh?" Akechi mused.

"Someone else on my team was in it for vengeance," Kotone said, before getting a look on her face that said she did not mean to blurt that out. "Th-That's another story, though! And not mine to tell, anyway, so let's just forget it."

"Man, you sure have a hard time keeping your mouth shut sometimes, huh?" Futaba quipped. Kotone huffed and folded her arms.

"I-It's been a long day!"

"Uh-huh, right."

[blehblarghblah]

As someone who just found your blog, I see you're in a LOT of fandoms! i'm curious, which one has your comfort ship?

Sorry for just getting to this now but: thanks! I am indeed a part of a LOT of fandoms (some more heavily than others) but if I had to choose a comfort ship from one?

Diakko, easily.

These two witches are my favourite type of characters and it's honestly a mix of so much. Studio Trigger's animation, the Japanese VAs Yōko Hikasa and Megumi Han, and just the overall friendship. But the real why? The fanfic writers my friends, the fanfic writers in this fandom have some TOP TIER content. It's actually my 2nd most bookmarked ship on Ao3 (1st is Lumity) with over 100 fics.

I re-read them so much whenever I'm down or need fluff serotonin. The stories concocted with these two girls are so true to character and simultaneously made with such fan love it's endearing and empowering to read. At the end of the day, these two will always have a place in my heart as an OTP. And of course, I'll link some of my faves!

My personal faves of @kayr0ss' works are:

Dancing Queen, Misplaced, & Facts all good oneshots. First one's my all time favourite of their work.

Appointments (very slow burn and ongoing, but love the interactions. Also a Small Town AU).

Of course there's also @toasty-coconut's works:

A Simple Request, Dazed and Confused, and Me, My Wife, and Alcor. The last one is my favourite ( ¬‿¬).

Navigating Parenthood is an ongoing beautiful future fic. And Proposing a Proposal is a well emotionally charged and fun story I enjoyed.

Then there's @platinumsupa or SilverSupa on Ao3 who is also an all time fave of mine. Not to say the others aren't great, but this was my first Diakko fic. And it was a good one:

Trivia Time has such a well written, well immersed, story that I just always re-read it whenever I'm on my Diakko fixs.

Seasons Greetings, Family Meetings is another wholesome Christmas story that just warms my heart. Meeting Akko's parents too, dialogue and interaction just makes me gleam with joy. And A Few Fractured Traditions is a long running story that I just fell in love with. Lotta depth, lotta passion and love poured into it and you can tell.

Also of course gotta shout out @akkordianswift and Fall of the CEO. A lot of sexual themes with that one so discretion on that viewership is most advised. But I just love it for its Lesbian Disaster Slowburns. Oh and it is the slowest of burns. Their other Ao3 works.

Also I would've done a "Read More" but I want all of this to be SEEN. Sorry ( ^‿^). (Literally just learned some of these amazing authors had Tumblrs so I needed to show 'em full on!) And like, this is the prime reason WHY it's my comfort ship! I practically re-read all of these! If ya want more, my Diakko bookmarks on my Ao3 have more.

Until next ask,

- Bleh

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

I’m Not the original anon but I want to hear your thoughts on the movie

Bless. (And if you were the original anon, that would've been great, too!)

Okay, so basically, I went in expecting to hate it, and I did not! Did it dethrone LEGO Batman? Not even close. Was I glad I saw it? Yep! Will I ever watch it again? Doubtful (but not impossible.)

There were things I LOVED and things I hated and things I loved for what they were but wished that they were different, but those will all be discussed under the cut, because spoilers.

Okay, so, I was surprised by how much Battinson delighted me. I still maintain that I would have preferred a BatDad and not the early 20s emo loner Bruce, but if we must have that era Bruce, Battinson was a good choice. (I don't write a lot of that time period for a reason, but they did it well.) He was very awkward and weird and dramatic and I liked him a lot. His children are going to tease him mercilessly someday.

I am neutral on Serkis as Alfred. He was a nonentity for me. But I was going to fly out of my chair if they didn't hold hands in the hospital, so I'm very glad they did.

Am also neutral on Kravitz as Selina. I don't care. (Also? V uncomfy that Carmine was 100% hitting on his own daughter for the entirety of the movie without realizing it!)

I was surprised/impressed that even though they went with the same boring washed-out and dark color palette, I could actually? follow? the action?? Marvel, take notes.

I physically, literally rolled my eyes every time Riddler appeared. You're a disenfranchised pouty white boy who no one understaaaaaands, I get it, I'm bored. As the Riddler, I hated the character. Loathed. That said, I was totally down for the utter skewering of that specific brand of 4chan man. (I out loud under my breath muttered "Ooooh look at all them white boys" in the stadium scene.) I just wished they'd used someone else to make the point they were trying to make. The thumb drive was the only part that made me go "Oh hey, Eddie." Also could've done without the Zodiac stuff.

It was too long. It was way way too long. But it didn't feel like three hours the way a Marvel movie would, so I appreciated that as well.

I loved the journey from Battinson not being afraid to die at all to at least being afraid for other people, like Alfred. (The freakout in the car? AMAZING.) Now we just have to get him to care for himself for the sake of other people.

I. AM. SO. SICK. OF. THE. JOKER. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY I WILL ACCEPT THE JOKER ONSCREEN AGAIN AND I DON'T THINK THEY HAVE THE GUTS TO DO IT. TAKE AWAY THE CLOWN I DO NOT WANT HIM.

The realism of the acts were... hard. I do prefer my superhero blockbusters to be a little less grounded. As someone living in a city with a marked rise of violence against Asian-coded folks, the attack on the subway was hard. The natural disaster that likely killed many many people? Hard. The mass shooting in a stadium modeled off a center that I have been to before? Hard. Those were all very difficult to sit through.

I also understand that the director was going deliberately noir and that does come with specific tropes, but the way the movie treated women was... bleh.

I LOVED that they did what they needed to do to pay homage to the Nolanverse aesthetic but then by the end levered Batman/Bruce out and away from vengeance as a motivator. Batman! Is! About Hope!

Overall, I was mostly whelmed while watching and moved to slightly positive after thinking about it some more. Really, what gives the movie the biggest points in my book is its potential. I want to see Bruce continue his trajectory out of darkness! I want to see him embrace HOPE! I want to see him grow out of his mopey emo phase out of necessity because a small acrobat child needs him to. I want to see him build his family and his allies!! I want to see this franchise build Bruce into the Batman we know he can be!!!!

(But I am also leery of many of the potential pathways they set up with the Hush nod and the Venom nod and of course the Joker nod, so we'll see.)

[kedreeva]

you also got me watching Z Nation, im on 2x3 now, but I feel so awful for poor Cassandra, I hate the way Murphy is treating her now that shes changed. Considering everything she went through before with being forced into sex work, the outfit and her behavior with Murphy has made me feel weird. this is more of a critique on Murphy than anything tho, mans i know life sucks but you could bear to consider others feelings

Oh yes, it should make you feel weird! It's super skeezy behavior from him. My least favorite part of the show is all that happens with Cassandra wrt Murphy, I also feel very bad for her and I think you're supposed to, I think you're supposed to be mad about it, I think you're supposed to be reminded that Murphy isn't... good. Like I can see where it fits in, and I know why they did it for plot later on, but bleh.

Also re: criticizing Murphy (always a good action, he's terrible, like I love him overall but also he's the worst), I know he's traveling with the "good" guys but bear in mind that he's absolutely the main antagonist of the story. He's not even an antihero; he actively opposes the protagonist's (Warren) goals (getting him to Cali and making a cure) at every turn. He bolts, he escapes, he often abandons them. Later he'll out and out become The Opposition for a while and literally goes to war with Warren. You're definitely not supposed to see him as a good person. He's not evil, exactly, but he's not good either.

The thing is that Murphy's main character fault is that he's exceptionally selfish, which is actually a huge character arc for him. Like you nailed it! You're 100% right: he has no idea how to care about someone else unless it benefits him. He never learned to care about anyone else's feelings. He's gonna learn (at least a little), but he doesn't know yet, and part of the point of him is watching him learn this hard lesson in the worst way. I don't know that he'll ever be a good person, but he gets dragged up towards the level of the others at least, which is hilarious to me.

As well, I think part of the appeal might be that there's also a lot of gray area, morally speaking. Not just around Murphy, but for all of the characters there are actions taken both good and bad, no one is 100% good here. Even the group's puppy, 10K, literally defines himself by his kill count. Granted what he's killing is zombies, and you're supposed to think that that's good, but the longer the show goes on, the more that comes into question, in large part because of Murphy, and later Lucy. The zombies don't attack Murphy, he says he can hear them, their thoughts. Lucy tells us their names, and says they remember things and are just confused and angry and even scared. 10K continues to keep a head count. Murphy tries to get him to stop and be a person, not a kill count. That's not a point in Murphy's favor, mind you, he's being a dick at the time, but like. All of them commit some real shady acts along the way, usually in the name of "greater good" for whatever that's worth in a ruined world. The major difference is that Murphy doesn't consider his own actions to be heinous (usually), because they benefited him, rather than being like the others, who consider their actions bad but beneficial to the world.

I don't know what I'm trying to accomplish here with all this, except to say like yeah I totally feel you, and I think you're right. Murphy is an asshole that needs to get his shit together and be a decent person, particularly toward Cassandra. But also maybe don't hold your breath for that to happen quickly

[mowu-moment]

i feel controversial & i care too much, so here's my des rocs complete tierlist

ranked list & reasoning (ish) under the cut

1. WAYNE: hoholy shit wayne. can hardly put into words how explosive this one is to me. the intro sets a Whole Mood before swiftly (& cleanly) smacking it down into an Absolute Banger and i don't use the term lightly. very hard not to scream along with it. only detriment is that wayne the person is kinda an ass in the mmc video but that's no qualm

2. POS: basically the same thing as wayne (oh both have great lyrics btw, this one more so), only gets points knocked for being 2 minutes long and having 30 seconds of that being intro & outro. go danny give us nothing

3. WHY WHY WHY: there's a theme among my top picks--they're all hard-hitting w/ killer guitar. the lyrics are absolute batshit in a good way, but the chorus is a lil flat & i feel like in general it just needed a touch more spice to score the top spot. or maybe it's just seniority & it'll have a coup a few months out idk

4. DEAD RINGER: similar killer guitar & lyrics but this one is Groovy as Hell. don't particularly like his singing in this one & it's too repetitive if i'm feeling grumpy but there's something so magic about after the bridge. top 10 songs to twirl a flag to

5. NOTHING PERSONAL: the minute long outro irks me & it's a little bit empty but plays into that well. groovy, great lyrics, the Sexiest Guitar Solo of the lot, the screaming's a minus but it does have an emotion there. not entirely sure what one but it's there.

6. LET ME LIVE / LET ME DIE: his first time being all over the goddamn place, history was made. amazing guitar, a little worse lyrics than 1-4 i'll admit, the intro Slays me both in a good and bad way. must be a joy to play live where he can just drag out that intro & bridge as long as feels right. at least i liked it in the digital concert like that. would actually kill me in a physical concert, imagine how much stomping gets going to that beat. bonus points for presumable cowbell

7. PIECES: for once not this high for the guitar & lyrics, they're both kinda basic. idk what's about this one but it just takes me to a separate dimension & i love it so much for that. really fills those earholes. also a bit of personal meaning, heard it for the first time on the day we moved into the house i'm currently split-custody-living in (is that tmi?) & the first music video of his i saw. man i love some spaghetti on the wall

8. SLO: basically the same as dead ringer, but knocked points for a kinda lame outro & the subject matter being a little less interesting to me. still lovely.

9. HANGING BY A THREAD: not my normal fare really & the way that the ends of the verses don't really fit in the pacing of them is bleh, but it's just so reminiscent of the songs my brother puts on whenever we hang out together that it just makes me all warm & fuzzy. it's also nicely put together which is something i'll have to start saying for. the later list.

10. SUICIDE ROMANTICS: this is where i start griping about head voice & higher pitches in general. don't like em so the pre-chorus is a lil annoying. also not my normal fare but it's tender & the ending is awe-striking. imo better live where he's loud on that last line before the final chorus. not enough to bump it up though. shoutouts to love and a smoking gun, i still am dying to hear that one

11. THE PAST HAS PASSED AWAY: my favorite lyrics out of the first 2 ep's. only thing wrong with it really is the bridge getting kinda repetitive. love that last chorus heehoo. same schpeel as the Banger Category

12. MMC: this one's lower than the rest of the Bangers for being pop punk which is something the radio has made me dislike, i guess. that trope with the guitar in the second half of the chorus just kills me so much. improves greatly during & after the bridge, love that lil ragtime piano. generally the same bit as before but i do love him doing something un-romance-related. yeah fuck the establishment!

13. THE DEVIL INSIDE: reminds me A Lot of the electronic-ish cassettes i've got from the early 90's but that's just me. this one will probably move up as i get more used to it, but only a little bit. the first part of the second verse makes me like. genuinely uncomfy? but the second part of it's fantastic. ending's ass though what happened to the instrumence. bonus points for using 'reverie' that's an SAT word (maybe). good singing but returning to the gripe at higher pitches, just a little bit though

14. THIS IS OUR LIFE: feels shockingly generic for a des rocs song tbh but there's nothing really wrong with that. adore the bridge. singing's alright. kinda miffed that he doesn't pronounce the 'f' in the second 'life' in the chorus, but it makes sense here. that sort of thing won't later so i'm bringing it up now. guitar's nothing spectacular but fits nicely into the song, probably one of the most cohesive of his (especially in recent history).

15. OUTTA MY MIND: really lives in the same space as slo and dead ringer do in my head (most likely the 'songs to twirl a flag to' zone), but this is by far the worst of the three for when i'm grumpy. just. Very repetitive. back to great lyrics here but it's kinda hard to pick them out (i've heard the song at least 100 times by now & i'm still missing a few lines). still groovin'

16. RUBY WITH THE SHARPEST LIES: what the fuck actually goes on in this song by the way? not the premise or whatever it's just. so all over the place. the verses are incredible but bringing in another vocalist just for one line kills me. bridge is really cool but that one part i don't remember where it is, the one that alternates basically nothing & an Electronic Piano Chord blaring at ya? ruins it. partially anyhow. also can someone tell the people on genius that it's 'carved it in my skin' not 'crawled down in my skin'

17. GIVE ME THE NIGHT: same repetitive issue as outta my mind but it's not groovy enough to save it, shame. feels like a trial run of all the wackshit stuff he's been doing recently, with the additional vocal bits at the end & the kinda weird lyrics. it still has a place in my heart don't get me wrong but it's just fallen in favor of stuff that Commits to banger or batshit (or actually pulls off both strongly, yyy). oh yeah nice guitar alright singing etc etc

18. USED TO THE DARKNESS: similar story to give me the night. i love it i do, but it's just lackluster nowadays. also remember that under-pronunciation thing i brought up in this is our life? this is where that comes back. rampant i tell you! that second verse he just doesn't finish the words & i hate it!

19. DON'T HURT ME: i honestly don't know why this one isn't in D. the chorus bit where he just cuts it short is irksome. the lyrics aren't anything special. i don't know what i like about it. but i can tell it does exactly what it set out to do if that makes sense. respect, respect. and using missile in an analogy, he's getting creative with the vocab

20. LIVING PROOF: kinda got a vendetta against this one i think? i don't know why i hate this one but i do. it's just kinda, blah. like the perfect sort of thing to nightcore up. sentiment's lovely & i do love the lyrics even if they aren't impressive but like. it bores me to an extent

21. TICK (LIVE): separating the version i heard in the digital concert just to give it some credit, this one was actually kinda nice. another one with a nice sentiment & what he was going for is great. no clue what the second part of the second verse has to do with any of this though. and it also begins our final group, the songs that just feel empty. like there's not nearly enough going on. this one's alright though i was just hoping the studio version would add some flair. you can see where that one is though.

22. IMAGINARY FRIENDS: also got a vendetta against pop. kinda hate the sentiment here (contrast!), the chorus just falls short of what the verses prime me for, head voice is rampant, and yet i still swing along to it. it's infectious props to him. love the outro though, monkey laugh and all.

23. MAYBE, I: another empty one, like it's a four-note progression what is that. love his singing in it, and the chorus parts do round it out, but like. eh? it doesn't even give me much to say.

24. BORN TO LOSE: another flop on the chorus! too smooth i say! and i absolutely Despise the pitch-shifting thing going on. not something i was expecting him to express so points there, lyrics are nothing fancy to my Literary Mind though. initially good singing but the chorus he's just sloppy over it. the instrumental is lovely but the vocals just throw it so hard into the bin which is a right shame. fuck that outro too i hate that gimmick

25. I KNOW: here's where the bad batshit comes in. singing is some of his worst imo, does the other-vocalist thing for that bridge, genre i'm not fond of, just a soup of Stuff I Don't Like. not one i'd kill someone over putting as #1 like i can see where it comes from but. mmmmmhhhh bad. cover does NOT help his case.

26. HVY MTL DRMR: empirically i should put this one higher. but the chorus flops so goddamn hard it deserves to be in the bottom of the barrel. the verses are lovely for what he was doing back then! but then just... nothing!

27. RABBIT HOLE: i was so excited for this name but it's just sad boi hours playlist curated by some corporation you hate. probably the most nothing of them all, genuinely where are the instruments. what happened. was this one just shoehorned in as the final track just to pump numbers up. and i swear he had some autotune or something which only makes his voice worse it's fantastic naturally. also that's not what a rabbit hole is! that's not the idiom! a rabbit hole is when you go on a wikipedia spiral from jennifer lopez to group theory! not when you just have a shitty night's sleep or whatever this is! i'm not just miffed i'm downright annoyed

28. TICK (STUDIO): what the fuck happened des. how did you release this. it sounds like a 3rd grader singing for the school talent show it's so out of rhythm. singing's honestly kinda bad & the instrumental has the same problems i talked about in the live version. the last chorus is fine, i guess, but no i don't forgive him for what he did to tick.