#i’ve rewatched it so many times but it never stops being good and the characters never stop being interesting to dissect

[simcardiac-arrested]

Im jus looking at u w big eyes. Tell me what you're autistic about. Infodump get out of jail free card. Any size

oh boy there are. many things. there are so so so many things……. all rattling around my little brain……………….

[stormyoceans]

There's a comment on youtube which said along the lines, 'puen read tun's diary, he must've known about tun's unrequited love for tess, so by saying puen is gonna live tun's life to the fullest could also mean that he is indirectly fulfilling tun's wishes of been with tess too' how come this never crossed mind! Even though puentalay didn't explicitly state to others in that universe they had feelings for each other, pretty sure their friendgroups understood the signs. So to think when Tun comes back and find out that the people in their bodies had loved each other and were happy he must've felt a sort of happiness. Because even though tesstun's situationship related to the first switch between universes, their comeback had very little to do with each other. They switched back solely because of puentalay and them realising they are each other's portkeys. Thoughts monica?

MY THOUGHTS ARE THAT THIS SHOW NEEDS TO STOP BEING SO GOOD IT HAS LITERALLY RUINED ME FOR ANY OTHER SERIES LIKE HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MOVE ON WHEN NOTHING EVEN COMES CLOSE TO IT AND INSTEAD OF GETTING TIRED OF REWATCHING IT I KEEP FINDING NEW DETAILS THAT MAKE ME GENUINELY FERAL AND IN DESPERATE NEED TO CHAIN MYSELF TO A FENCE LIKE A WEREWOLF DURING A FULL MOON ✋😭

honestly i’ve never thought about puen fulfilling tun’s wish of being with tess specifically (WHICH. SCREAMING BTW), but i did think a lot about puen and talay trying to live tun’s and tess’ life to the fullest and being able to achieve all of their dreams while doing so. it’s hard to say if this was necessary to make them switch back, because im convinced that ultimately that’s due to puen and talay learning the lesson the universe thought they needed, but it’s also not a coincidence that they were given those specific bodies to inhabit, so i feel like they wouldn’t have gotten to that lesson without living those lives to the best of their abilities

idk how to explain this in a quick and coherent way because i have way too many opinions about portkeys and fate and choices and identity, but. like, everyone agrees that talay and tess switching back to their respective universe is all thanks to talay’s efforts (because tess literally did NOTHING), but i’ve seen a lot of people wondering if puen and tun switching back is due to one or the other. to me it’s clearly due to puen, not only because it happens at the culmination of his character’s journey (accepting himself and being finally ready to tell his name to talay), but also because tun, while obviously not ruining puen’s life LIKE SOMEONE ELSE DID WITH TALAY’S [SIDE EYES TESS], did not make it better either. when he comes back, puen is still alone. when he goes back, tun has achieved his dream of becoming a famous screenwriter and is in a relationship with tess. by using a stratagem like the travelling between universe, i think the show actually did a great job in showing the different attitudes someone may have towards life, not just your own, but other people’s too: you can live selfishly (tess), you can just survive (tun), or you can live life as best as you can (puen and talay). this is also why i get very annoyed when people watch vice versa and say stuff like ‘the concept was interesting but why they were making a movie rather than explore the fantasy part’, because THE FANTASY PART IS NOT THE POINT!!!!!!!! THE POINT IS WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO DO WITH THE LIFE AND THE TIME YOU’RE GIVEN!!!!!!!!! THAT’S THE MESSAGE OF THE SHOW AND THE GENERAL LESSON THEY ALL HAD TO LEARN BUT THAT ONLY PUEN AND TALAY REALLY UNDERSTOOD!!!!!!!!!!

anyway. not sure where i was going with this or if this makes sense but yeah i have way too many thoughts about this and all of them boils down to VICE VERSA SERIES OF ALL TIME PUEN AND TALAY CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME PUENTALAY RELATIONSHIP OF ALL TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[forgottenghosty]

Dang I miss Immortal/Undead Male Whump with possible wholesome romance as tv shows...

I just got done rewatching FOREVER (2014) and Moonlight (2008) and want to watch more shows and even movies of the similar tastes and it’s hard to find.

(Forever 2014)

(Moonlight 2008) (Fun facts, the character Joseph from the show voices Terra in the Kingdom Hearts games. A book was published years after the show that inspired the series called “Angel of Vengeance” by  Trevor O’ Munson. The show went on hiatus due to the writers strikes and received 4 new episodes before ending, being cancelled, and not being picked up again.) 

I miss seeing shows where the male lead has to keep the secret or deal with someone knowing their secret and trying to live with it. All of it based more in a realistic reality of the actual world, while still be fictitious enough to have things that could never happen in reality as well.

I know there are some show or movies out there similar, but they don’t fit my tastes or I did watch them for a time and then stopped cause they started getting crazy or boring for me.

I’m not one for watching something with sex in it, nor a lot of demonic things in it either. Some exceptions have been Angel and Buffy, but those are more supernatural fiction. I tried watch Vampire Diaries and did enjoy it for a time, same with the Teen Wolf series, but they both got to a point I couldn’t stand them and just stopped watching and couldn’t get myself to watch them again. I’ve tried with Teen Wolf, but just got bored.

I did try watching some of True Blood to see what it was like and only came out enjoying the theme song and left that quick. I don’t think I made it past the first episode.

Tried watching Penny Dreadful and same thing happened. The Sabrina remake as well. One ep and then I ditched it. I hated the the demonic stuff and just dipped. Made me miss the 90s show I grew up all the more.

I used to watch Forever Knight as a kid, She Wolf, and Beauty and the Beast as well, but not really into watching the super older shows of late 80s early 90s right now.

Also sucks how I can’t get season 2 of Invisible Man (2000) in the US. UK is lucky and got the second season of Invisible Man, we only got Season 1, which I bought up so fast. Though based more in science, Invisible Man was another good one. Poor guy couldn’t catch a break. Miss it so much.

(The Invisible Man (2000) (Thankfully, though only 2 seasons, the series got to end with an actually ending.)

Thankful we keep getting Psych movies every few years or so, though movie 2 and 3 haven’t been available to buy yet, which is frustrating since they only show it on peacock, though 2 was on USA recently and 4 is in the works.

(Psych (2006-2014, Movies ongoing)

Enjoyed watching Dracula, the NBC, not the BBC one. That one I hated. I enjoyed Jekyll and Sherlock, but Dracula was horrible.

Dracula NBC ended too soon.

(Dracula (2013))

One I didn’t see until after it aired, that for a time was free to watch on old Hulu, was The Crow: Stairway to Heaven. Very 90′s, but enjoyable all the same.

(The Crow: Stairway to Heaven (1998) and yes that is Mark Dacascos probably known by many as The Chairman of Iron Cheif.)

Which I recently found out they finally have made a remake of the 90′s movie with Bill Skarsgard that I hope will be good. Just leaves adding any vfx and so on they need to before release.

Many will know him more as Pennywise the Clown and leads into why I sat through watching all of Hemlock Grove.

Only good reason to watch that show on Netflix. 

It has Vampires and Werewolves and more, but man, it isn’t worth it in the end with the plot they give.

So, yeah, really wish we got more immortal / undead whump with possible wholesome romances.

[know-the-way]

Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears Discourse(?)(maybe idk?)

So… at this point I’ve watched the entire 3 series and film. Twice. I was going to post episode reactions for series 2 and 3, but I really need to skip ahead to Crypt of Tears because I have… questions. If anyone knows the answer or potential answer to any of them, please weigh in because I am just… struggling to understand some of the narrative decisions they made here.

(Btw, overall I enjoyed it, so I don’t want it to seem like I’m coming from a solely negative perspective - obviously, the last 5 minutes in particular… talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, etc etc. I may do a separate ‘things I enjoyed’ post. I just needed to talk this out. lol)

****Full warning, this is a very long post, I am so sorry in advance.****

1. Alright, first things first - wtf do you mean it’s been a YEAR since she left Melbourne?! What was she doing that whole time? Like obviously, you could infer that she got caught up in local shenanigans and hadn’t seen everything to a satisfactory end yet, but I feel it would’ve taken maybe 1-2 minutes to just briefly explain that for the audience’s sake.

I also totally understand that they were attempting to make a stand alone project that could be independent of the series, so referencing where the series left off would be antithetical to that. HOWEVER, I think at the point where fans of the series invested $1 million… that should have maybe made tying up loose ends from the series a bit more of a priority?

I also saw that they hoped to garner new audiences from the film. And maybe it’s just me, idk, but - I’m a new audience and the only thing that brought me to the film was the knowledge that I had 3 seasons worth of backstory to immerse myself in beforehand. There are very few scenarios in my mind that would’ve had me watching just the film and nothing else. So… help.

2. Similar to question 1 - SIX WEEKS?! Where was she for six whole weeks? How did she escape the train? Was it like a Bear Grylls situation out in the desert for a while or did she have to barter with local villages or something? Just again… 1-2 lines of dialogue and I’d be good. Instead, I’m just sitting here confused like, “okay cool, I’m super glad you’re alive and stuff, but um… HOW?!”**

(**acutely aware that this is how Jack must feel all the time) (and he deserves a pint from the pub for his troubles ‘cause omg)

3. SPEAKING OF JACK - *r2d2 screech* This poor man. Jesus. How many times does he have to grieve the love of his life? It’s kinda rude at this point.

I’ve read articles with the writers where they talked about wanting Phryne to be strong and independent without emasculating Jack as a character. And I remember thinking, “Yes! They do such an excellent job of finding that balance in the show and it’s really satisfying. It’s one of the things I love most about their dynamic - the freedom to be themselves while still having this very strong collaborative connection.”

^These scenes, though? Whaaaatttt happened? 🫠 I don’t think it emasculated him, but Phryne’s almost non-reaction to him being there… grieving her... it comes off kind of insensitive and perplexing at its bare bones, to me.

Upon a few rewatches of that scene, I’ve been able to slowly formulate potential justifications for her behavior - i.e. she did tell him to come after her and he didn’t, so maybe she lost hope on her end and dove into the first perilous mystery she could find to help herself get over him. Thus, when she finds out he’s there for her memorial service, I could see her inwardly going, “Okay wow, it took me dying for you to make any moves whatsoever. Cool. Good to know I’m only worth the trip if I’m not here anymore. (Hence, the ‘And I’m very sorry that I’m not dead!’ line later.)”

Which would be a fair point, imo, and they do have a track record of just… infuriating miscommunication, but ultimately… it’s all still hypothetical. We aren’t given any actual, spoken insight into her motivations or feelings in regards to Jack (the smallest glimpse we get is her teary eyes outside the door at his guesthouse along with the “damn it, Jack” line). So, without any further follow-up clarification in the film - at face value, that scene is harsh and almost callous imo. And, despite their many conflicts in the show, there was never once where I felt they weren’t at least making an effort to understand each other. Like there is never a point in the film where they take a moment to acknowledge the time lost between them. They don’t get to have that (necessary) release of emotion and mutual understanding (there’s no nightcap moment), so it just feels incomplete.

4. I promise not to make all of these redundant, but the quicksand scene. Obviously, I love it ~*for reasons*~, but I found myself once again choosing a side (Jack’s)???? Which, throughout the entirety of the tv series, I never chose a side between them ‘cause I could always understand both of their perspectives. In this scene and the reunion scene, I’m left confused both times about Phryne’s perspective. Maybe because Mac isn’t there to pull the full truth out of her just afterwards? That’s probably it.

But her lumping Jack in with “any other man” she doesn’t need to explain herself to - either that was a fear response or a flat out dishonest one. Girl quit playin’… we all know he’s not just any other man and we all know he has never tried to change you or take charge of you. Please, the bottom-leaning switch vibes that come off that man… he LIVES for you telling him what to do. He doesn’t want to control you, he just wANTS TO BE BESIDE YOU. GOD.

I so didn’t want to be frustrated with Phryne (I love her**) and I was honestly upset that I was, but there was just something… missing in both these instances for me (vulnerability maybe? idk) and I can’t quite get it to add up. It really probably was a lack of Mac, though.

(**again, Me 🤝 Jack, complicated feelings for a complex modern woman, we’ll both be at the bar if you need us)

5. Last one - “Is this your idea of sweet nothings?” “I thought they were out of the question?” “They are. Continue.”

Did I miss a scene where they laid ground rules for their partnership going forward in Shirin’s case? Or was that something that was cut/not included? Because… if there was a scene of them discussing that before Jack agreed to stay… that would have taken care of most of what I said above in and of itself.

(But no fr… did I miss a scene? Is my copy broken? Help?)

Gonna Leave on a Positive Note, because if you asked me if the below scene made it all worth it, I’d have to say yes:

[azazelsazaleas]

I finished watching through DS9 a few weeks ago and I’ve been meaning to do a rundown of my thoughts on it. Here goes:

- Oh my god that was fantastic. I really wish it’s given it a fair shake back when it was on the air; I was a dumb teenager who resented it for not being TNG and was going through a weird self-loathing phase where I didn’t want to admit to myself that I was the massive nerd that I am. This seriously lived up to the hype. I may have to do a TNG rewatch because this might just have upstaged it as my favorite 90s Trek.

- Andrew Robinson should’ve been made a full cast member. Ditto Max Grodenchik and Aaron Eisenberg.

- Damar’s transmission at the end of The Changing Face of Evil lives rent-free in my head. I cheered out loud at that.

- One thing the show did fantastically that a lot of other SF/fantasy properties don’t quite get right is that it lands a pitch-perfect balance of “these characters are major, important figures in the larger multinational conflict” and “this conflict is absolutely massive and not everything revolves around the same small group of people.” The fact that Sisko, Worf, Kira, Odo, et al are so important is entirely plausible and it never feels like the writers are trying to gratuitously bring everything back to them.

- That said, I kind of love that Admiral Ross’s leadership approach during the Dominion War eventually consists of doing whatever the hell Sisko tells him to do.

- God, the acting was incredible. Andrew Robinson, Armin Shimerman, Nana Visitor, Marc Alaimo, and Louise Fletcher were real standouts, but everyone was just so damned good.

- Actually, I really need to give special mention to Shimerman. The man went above and beyond to make Quark be something more than a joke character, despite how obvious it was that basically the entire production team wanted him to just be cartoonish comic relief. He worked harder to flesh out his character and show his race as a race of *people* (not just caricatures) than just about any actor playing an alien on Star Trek before him except for maybe Nimoy. Give the man a goddamn Emmy. Don’t believe me? Go rewatch the iconic root beer scene from The Way of the Warrior.

That said: I do have a few criticisms:

- Pretty much all of the (canon) romantic subplots were just…yikes. The only major exception I can think of Sisko/Yates, where they actually seemed to have a healthy dynamic, fall legitimately in love with each other, and generally treat each other like adults in a serious relationship, not bickering teenagers.

- Seriously, Worf/Jadzia got so hard to watch and then the fallout with Ezri was just ugggghhhhhhhhh stop please for the love of god

- Why did the writers need to try to romantically pair off all the female characters? Just, why?

- Kira had more sexual tension with that Romulan lady in half an episode than she did with any of her bucket-of-paint boyfriends over the course of seven years.

- I totally get the behind-the-seasons reasons why things panned out the way they did, but (hot take) I think Dax’s whole arc would’ve worked better if they had killed Jadzia off after the first season or two and brought in Ezri earlier. Jadzia was fun, but she was just too perfect to get many interesting stories and her relationship with Worf felt too much like manufactured drama. Having a trill who didn’t want to be joined, agreed to in a life or death emergency situation, and now has to reckon not only with taking on this symbiotic relationship with no preparation whatsoever but also succeeding this beloved person in the eyes of her loved ones is such a better setup for a character and it’s a pity we didn’t get to see that play out properly.

- Sisko deserved a better conclusion to his story. Give the man his damned house on Bajor and let him raise his kid with Kasidy. He’s more than earned it.

- Next time I rewatch the series, I’m skipping the mirror universe episodes and the ones with the genetically enhanced walking-90s-neurodivergent-stereotypes.

Other random thoughts:

- Dukat’s storyline should’ve ended with him getting killed at the end of Waltz. Either by Sisko, or by deluding himself so thoroughly that he does something suicidal. The pah-wraiths subplot felt like a lazy afterthought (except for the episode where he pretends to be Bajoran and starts fucking Kai Winn) and as much as I liked watching Marc Alaimo act, his story arc was basically over at the end of Sacrifice of Angels….which, incidentally is when Damar actually starts to get interesting.

- I loved the O’Brien must suffer episodes but I thought Hard Time was kind of overrated. Mostly for the plot line with the cellmate; I think I’m a little burned out on seeing stories that have a moral of “deep inside us is a line between humanity and savagery and when pushed to the limit, even the best of us would turn to murder.” It’s been done to death, and it’s really not truthful, at least for many people.

- I think I may have a little bit of a crush on Major Kira. It would never work out if I met someone like that in real life, though. I’m a laid-back, atheist, creative type; she’s a deeply devout former insurgent. Given certain real-life crushes I’ve had recently; maybe I’m just into strong women with big, expressive eyes who wear their hearts on their sleeve and have a spine made of fuckin’ steel. I have no idea what this says about me.

- MORN

- Favorite Episodes: In the Pale Moonlight, The Visitor, Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast, In Purgatory’s Shadow/By Inferno’s Light, In the Cards, Duet, The Wire, Civil Defense, The Magnificent Ferengi, basically the entire Dominion War arc.

[journeytalkzsp]

The Super Mario Bros. Movie: From the POV of a fangirl (Spoilers. Duh.)

So my friends asked for this and I adore that they actually care so I made it!

I needed at least a day to relax and collect my thoughts. I don’t normally do movie reviews as South Park is the only thing I talk about on here but Mario has taken over my life this year and it’s somewhat thanks to this movie! Again beware of spoilers! I have a lot to say, some good, some bad. But just know I warned you.

Just to give a little background, I’ve played Mario games since I was a kid, with my main two being Mario Kart Wii and New Super Mario Bros. on the DS. I’ve always enjoyed the games and I became an even bigger fan after playing Mario Odyssey (which to this day is my favorite Mario game… actually my favorite game of all time right behind Bully). I’ll admit I was worried the first time I heard about a movie, especially considering it was being made by Illumination. But after seeing the trailer I was HOOKED LIKE A FISH and reeled into the fanbase! I knew the promos and trailers would spoil a lot of the movie but there was nothing stopping me at that point.

And unlike most movies, I really enjoyed the months of hype leading up to it! I had so much fun over-analyzing the promos and discovering new fan artists… and read some incredible fanfics imma be honest. And of course catching up on all the games I missed out on as a kid! All this to say that as much as I enjoyed the movie, the outside effect of it was even better.

Now for the movie itself! Let me start off saying that it was clearly made with love. This wasn’t something made to market more games or advertise Nintendo. This was a thank you gift to the fans, new and old. They also went HARD with the promo! Being able to actually call Super Mario Bros. Plumbing? Genius.

The animation was beautiful. The attention to detail—like Bowser’s scales, the decor on Peach's crown and the highlights in the characters' eyes. So pretty. I also really loved how expressive every character was! It was so easy to tell what emotions they were feeling without the dialogue needed to express it. When y’all rewatch it, please pay attention to the beginning of the movie when Luigi finally gets his plate of food. His reaction is so freaking adorable and I wanna draw it. The action scenes were so fluid and Mario and Luigi’s bond was shown through touch alone. I loved that!

Don’t even get me started on the soundtrack. They really put their all into it and I recognized so many subtle melodies and themes that took me right back to playing the games! The end credits music legit made my friend cry, hehe yeah I’m calling you out. Even the few pop culture songs that were added were very well timed and not overused! Also the Plummer Rap from “Super Mario Brothers Super Show” was a brilliant start, even if I already listened to it a thousand times after it was released in the promo. That song even got me to check out the show itself. Only episode one though. Watching ghosts lick Bowser’s feet wasn’t it for me. Speaking of Bowser, his ballad to Peach was absolutely amazing. Wonderful performance from Jack Black and he even wrote it too! Please watch the end credits if you haven't, there’s MORE!

But I’d say my favorite part of the movie was the characterization. I know Miyamoto oversaw the whole thing but I’m still impressed with how accurate the characters’ personalities were. Luigi was perfectly anxious, Mario was protective and charismatic, Peach was agreeable and assertive and Bowser was tough yet insecure. The dynamics were also great! I loved how genuine Luigi and Mario’s bond was. I also enjoyed Mario and Peach's subtle flirting that never gets addressed in the end (which is exactly like the games, I seriously love it!). I’m also super glad that it showed a bit of Bowser and Kamek interaction. Although I would’ve loved them to explore their “father and son” bond. GIMME FOUND FAMILY DAMN IT. Oh yeah and Toad wasn’t annoying! He was definitely the comedic relief but they didn’t overdo it! Him and his huge kart was my favorite thing. He’s just a silly little guy.

They definitely made it their mission to absolutely fill the movie with references and it was much appreciated! My personal favorites being the game cube ringtone, blue shell, cheep cheeps and the environments as a whole. I enjoyed the appearances of side characters like Kamek, Spike and Pauline. But I was honestly hoping for a few more like Daisy, Rosalina, Toadette and JUNIOR AND KOOPALINGS, DANG IT! You’re telling me they put so much emphasis on Bowser's sentimental side but didn’t include him being a father??? (Yes I know the koopalings aren’t technically his kids but Junior is and I was really disappointed at the lack of his presence).

But that brings me to the few problems I did have with this movie. And they all stem from the runtime length. It was WAY too short. And not in the way of “omg I loved it so much I need more!” No. It actually needed to be longer. I even heard it was supposed to be but things were cut? The pacing was too fast and there wasn’t enough time for individual character arcs. Don’t get me wrong there were conflicts, but they were resolved almost as soon as they began.

I’m also disappointed in the lack of Luigi content once they left Brooklyn. He really was just put in a cage for most of it, which is what everyone was worried about. It was cool to see him confront his fears to save his brother in the end but it would’ve felt more emotional and deserved if we got to see his internal struggles during his capture. I really loved that hot air balloon scene where he recalls a childhood memory of him and Mario. That! That’s what I wanted more of! I know there wasn’t much he could do in a cage but I was really hoping he’d be involved in attempting to convince Bowser to not go through with his plans. Or maybe even a scene where he tries to encourage the others that were captured to work as a team to escape or something. Idk man, I’m sure they could’ve come up with something good if they were just GIVEN A LONGER RUN TIME. They could’ve done a lot with an extra 20 minutes. I promise for the animators sake I would’ve waited months longer for this movie. Or they could’ve cut the dog and eel scenes honestly.

And as much as I appreciated them showing Bowser’s sentimental side (seriously it was one of the things I was hoping for the most). I really wish they could’ve done something with it other than just comedy. Don’t get me wrong, Bowser was so cute trying to woo Peach. He made me smile till my face hurt. But it’s clear he’s really lonely and rejected, and they could’ve done something a little deeper with that. When he told Mario that he ruined his chance to “finally be happy” the whole theater went “awww”. In the end he could’ve learned love from his subjects or his FAMILY. Sorry I’m still pretty peeved about that. Even something as simple as him befriending Luigi would’ve been a really nice touch but I guess I ask for too much. But nope they just shrunk him, put him in a jar and left him like that. Even main antagonists deserve good endings at times. I was kinda hoping they’d pull a “Lego Batman Movie” and force him to see that he’s hurting his kingdom in the process of his pursuit and he’d need to help in order to get everyone back home. Kinda corny I know but Lego Batman managed to do it with Joker in a way that wasn’t OOC. I was just missing the complexity. Still, I can’t complain about Bowser getting the shit beaten out of him and the classic tail spin move. I’ll admit I’ve always found Bowser’s defeats hilarious in the games. Please look up the ending of Bowsers Fury if you haven’t played it. I laughed for hours. I’m sorry Bowser but your pain is my gain at times. Also the large group of people who sat behind us had the exact same opinions, which felt validating. THEY ALSO WANTED JUNIOR DAMN IT!

The merging between the two worlds at the end was pretty unexpected. I honestly think they added that in there so that Mario and Luigi could see their family again. But the concept of them being thrown into a magical world and not knowing how to get back home brings so much mystery and excitement. Kind of like how it felt watching The Owl House and Amphibia. But I appreciate that it’s implied they now live in the mushroom kingdom and can probably visit their family from time to time. Now that I think of it… going back to Luigi… why on earth would he want to stay?? He was sent straight to hell the moment he got there and was put in a cage for the rest of the movie and almost died a gruesome death. If Luigi had more screen time where he befriended someone, ANYONE, it would’ve given him an incentive to actually stay, other than just sticking with Mario.

Overall I’d say the movie did what it was set out to do. Which was to give fans a fun, nostalgic adventure. I’m not too sure if one would enjoy it if they’ve never played a single Mario game. It went hard on the animation and soundtrack, the voice actors did a good job (especially Jack Black and Charlie Day. Hell, even Chris Pratt did a good job). It wasn’t perfect. It was definitely too rushed for my taste and I would’ve appreciated it if they had slowed things down a bit. Luigi is currently my favorite character, so naturally I’m disappointed we couldn’t get more of him. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it more on the rewatch.

I suppose I should format this like my South Park reviews for the sake of consistency.

So that means it’s time for the ratings!

Things I liked:

• Bowser. Every moment he was on screen made me happy. I love him so much.

• The characters' personalities were spot on!

• The facial expressions and character designs. Very pretty movie to look at fr!

Things I disliked:

• Too fast paced. Needed room to breathe.

• Kept asking “where’s Luigi?”

• A general lack of my favorite trope “found family” when they easily could’ve used it with Bowser

Should I do ship of the day too? Eh, may as well. Congratulations Bowuigi! That damn trailer spawned a bunch of y’all even though the ship is a decade old. Hope y’all didn’t go into the movie expecting too much. It’s alright, we’ll get ‘em next time boys.

Final rating:

8/10

A good movie that was loyal to the games but the wait for it was better. I’m gonna go play Mario Galaxy now.

…peaches, peaches, peaches peaches peaches 🎶

[citrus-cactus]

CITRUS, YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO TALK ABOUT YOUR POOR LITTLE MEOW MEOWS

DR. CRINGEFAIL: 2 4 14 21

SAD SCOTTISH MAN: 2 7 20 22

Enjoy!

BLESSINGS BE UPON YE, YOU KIND, HANDSOME, OBSERVANT STRANGER, YOU. MY CROPS ARE WATERED, MY FIELDS ARE THRIVING!!

Ask game here.

Under! The! Cut! Cuz! I’m! Embarrassed!

The one, the only, Noodle-In Chief:

2. When I think I truly started to like them (or dislike them, if you've sent me a character I don't like)

It's not 100% clear to me, but it was definitely around the September timeframe of the novel (the first time I read it, in ‘22). I don't think it was OFFICIALLY too late for me until he met the Harkers at the end of September and Mina was like "Hey Jack. JACK. You keep your diary on all these wax cylinders, and they're not even LABELED?!" And Jack was like "...Um. Yeah, actually... that never even occurred to me." gOD, you IDIOT <3 (I may be paraphrasing). But it was this and several of his earlier blunders paired with his dogged determination to remain genre-blind and skeptical of everything that he was witnessing that ultimately endeared him to me. There Is Most Definitely Something Wrong With Him (derogatory) (affectionate).

He’s truly a problematic fave, but he’s my favorite character in the novel nonetheless!

4. How many people I ship them with

Um, the entire vampire-hunting polycule? THIS MAN DESERVES ALL THE KISSES where canonically he has none, and he deserved to be one of Lucy’s three husbands, fr fr :(

14. Best storyline they had

The incredibly tragic story, told in his own words, of how John “Jack” Seward, MD had to watch the woman he loved waste away and die of a mysterious ailment, interspersed with personal asides regarding how full of vigorous manhood all of his friends are, and how his former professor is so incredibly hot good at everything and spry for his age, but who also may be (in Jack's professional opinion) a touch crazy. Peak sopping wet noodle time, it’s amazing <3

21. When do you think they were at their happiest?

September 30: "I got home at five o'clock, and found that Godalming and Morris had not only arrived, but had already studied the transcript of the various diaries and letters which Harker and his wonderful wife had made and arranged. Harker had not yet returned from his visit to the carriers' men, of whom Dr. Hennessey had written to me. Mrs. Harker gave us a cup of tea, and I can honestly say that, for the first time since I have lived in it, this old house seemed like home."

BUDDY!!!! T^T

"JUST SOME GUY(tm)”:

2. When I think I truly started to like them (or dislike them, if you've sent me a character I don't like)

I mean, I’ve always liked him quite a bit (that voice, that tragic backstory, that Shakespearean flavor). But for whatever reason I didn't become obsessed until my rewatch last summer. CanNOT stop thinking about this man, the former king who has really just been a pawn his entire life; what he thinks, what he feels, how he's been going through the motions while searching for the one who betrayed him, yearning for a death that will not come for as long as he has. HE’S JUST SO SAD, YOU GUYS!!!!!

7. A quote of them that you remember

Every word that comes out of John Rhys-Davies’ mouth is SO GOOD, but the quote that sticks out the most is (of course) "KNOW her? I NAMED her." GODDDDDDD it's infinity good and I never get tired of hearing it, not even once (and since they use it in every relevant "Previously On," you hear it A LOT). It's ok though, because they 5000% knew what they were doing with that one.

Some other choice one-liners:

"I'm just… so... tired" is also top-tier delivery, and does a really great job of summarizing his entire existence since 1057.

"And I know how to read them" is such a sassy retort (and a GREAT callback to “Lighthouse in the Sea of Time”).

“For that matter… WHY ARE WE WORKING TOGETHER?” is sooooo *chef’s kiss.* Enjoy being a walking, talking meat puppet with your worstie for several more months, my guy!

20. A weird headcanon

Ummmmm soooooo I designed a gargoyle form for Mac as my headcanon for what he would've looked like in "The Mirror" (of course I did). My Watsonian explanation for why we didn't get to see him that night is he was way too busy getting drunk off his ass and crying over his long-dead wife (yet again) :C

22. When do you think they were at their lowest?

990-some-odd years is a looooong time to find your lowest point. Even though moments like Gruoch’s marriage to Gillecomgain, his first “death”, and the endings of “City of Stone” and “Sanctuary” were pretty low moments for him, I’m quite sure his lowest point was never actually seen on the show (centuries-long depression isn’t exactly Disney Afternoon-friendly). The day(s) he found out about Luach and Gruoch’s deaths were obviously waaaaay up there. I imagine he had a really rough time of it during the Black Plague, so I’ll say his lowest point was somewhere in there :C :C :C

I do hope he was able to enjoy the Renaissance a little, tho. I’ll bet he commissioned a lot of art.

If you’ve read this far, THANK YOU FOR PUTTING UP WITH MY RAMBLING ABOUT THESE SAD, SAD FICTIONAL MEN!

[antigonewinchester]

Oppenheimer thoughts.

I’m neutral-to-slightly-positive on Nolan’s filmography but I loved Dunkirk when I saw it back in 2017 so I was delighted that Oppenheimer took many of its stylistic flourishes and dialed them up x100.

the timeline and perspective divisions between 1. Fission and 2. Fusion and how the two intermixed with each other & occasionally overlapping

the unrelenting pace, never stopping or slowing down, with the music almost constantly going except for key moments of quiet

just the sound mixing!! my favorite moment in Dunkirk is the last 30 seconds where the sound finally goes quiet (after having been near constant the entire film) and we get a similar moment twice in Oppenheimer -- once w/ the bomb test, where the bomb silences everything except for Oppenheimer’s breathing, and then when he’s giving his speech to the crowd after the real bomb has been dropped -- that are so so good, and made all the more compelling that the movie keeps going each of them, unlike Dunkirk

I’ve seen people talk about Nolan’s obsession with time, but seen less on his returning to 1) technology & its intersection with war & warfare, and 2) knowledge / uncertainty / action, all 3 of which are super prominent (and were also key to Dunkirk)

there’s a lot to say about the timelines but one thing that stood out what how it contrasted Oppenheimer and Strauss as two sides of the same powerful, horrible coin. I was a little put off by how the film seemed to take some glee in Strauss’s comeuppance at the end, even if Strauss going after & destroying Oppenheimer’s career & reputation was a real shit move, but the final scene was just a devastating undercutting of Oppenheimer & his choices & guilt. the image of Oppenheimer watching the bomb test with eyes wide open vs closing them against his visions of the world destroyed by nuclear catastrophe, huh. men chasing after dreams, men chasing after power, these impulses are both very similar, and it’s very often other people who pay the price (at least at first).

people crap on Nolan for not have good characters or character-driven movies, but that’s bothered me less esp as he’s embraced more technical elements within his style (the focus on how he structures his films, the sound design, editing, etc.) and I thought it was perfect how Nolan focused on the technical and allowed his actors to bring their humanity to their characters, particularly w/ Cillian Murphy delivering such an internal character performance. all those close ups of Murphy where you could tell there was so much going on underneath, in a way that can only be conveyed by an actor, as compared in something in the script, and that not many actors can pull in such a deep way. AND it also worked when Oppenheimer being a cypher was itself a thematic part of the film, in the question of “what did Oppenheimer really think / feel?” being so prominent thru it. it’s probably easy to miss the nuances but that’s not something bad, that just means the film was super dense and needs rewatching to get all of it.

not particularly related to the film but I have to say, people metaphorically comparing eyes to gem stones in writing is super common but never quite worked for me except wow do Murphy’s eyes look like actual blue gemstones at points in this film. he has such a beautiful face, altho in an aesthetic way for me. like a beautiful painting.

[dramatothethirdpower]

A River Runs Through It

How Much I Loved It: ★ ★ ★ ★

Rewatchability: ★ ★

Bingeworthy: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

How Many Times I’ve watched it:  ★ ⋆ (I started and dropped once and I honestly don’t remember where I stopped)

OTP: Xiao Ju and Shi Yu

Some of my favorite things:

This was the cutest coming age of story; I love how we follow them as they grow

The banter! This is top tier banter and I loved it

The angst. It hurt so good, I almost called out of work so I could get past the angst because it was making me so sad

The plot moves along nicely I didn’t ever really have time to be bored! I thought no way can I finish 36 episodes and by around episode 30 I was thinking god I wish it were 40

The friendships! Yes there’s a lot of focus on relationships but there were so many sweet friendships

The side couples were great and I as nice to have some romance happening while the main couples were flailing around being idiots

The symmetry of Xiao Ju hurting and longing and doing everything she can to help Cheng Lang whether he’d ever be with her or not and then Shiyi doing the same for her. It was perfection

Things I hated

That ending was so incredibly unsatisfying. We got zero resolution. Why did Shen Dou answer the phone? Did Shi Yu literally never visit? How did either of them reach out for YEARS?! I wanted to scream

No cute now we’re together scenes! Why?! I guess this is the same as above but I desperately wanted an episode of happy and in love!

Speaking of no resolution plots that make no sense, how did Bao Bao run under the radar for so long?? Are Xiao Ju and Qiu Le Tao even actually friends?

Towards the end Xiao Ju got major I’m the main character syndrome and it made it a lot harder to like her

Why couldn’t we have a tiny moment where Xiao Ju had to pick between the boys?! It would’ve been so good and I feel robbed

Basically I guess I wanted more

Overall I think I’m going to end up rewatching this one… and possibly seeking out fanfiction for a better ending. But if you like wholesome coming of age stories with friendship and love then look no further!

[justmeinatree]

i love talking about my writing so i do not mind all the questions 😂 i've been part of too many fandoms to name here but some of the ones i was the most involved in include Supernatural (still love the show, just don't engage with the fandom much anymore), the MCU (stopped watching the movies after Endgame, went to see Eternals because Harry was in the post credits scene and then fell asleep halfway through and missed him), Star Wars (was more into this when i was younger, these days the only Star Wars media i really care for is Rogue One and nobody else seemed to like that movie lol), Star Trek (mostly TOS), Doctor Who (same thing as Supernatural, still love it just not in the fandom anymore, and the 12th Doctor is my favorite <3), Community (still love the show, probably going to be getting back into the fandom when the movie drops), Les Miserables (i've read the book, seen the Hugh Jackman movie too many times to count, and saw a performance of it a few years back! still love the musical but the fandom feels like it's mostly dead now), Harry Potter (for obvious reasons, I have distanced myself from this one as much as possible but I was a Ravenclaw if anyone was wondering), the Throne of Glass books by Sarah J Maas (actually planning to reread this over the summer! may get back into the fandom, we'll see) and I've been active in the fandom for just about every mainstream horror franchise (and plenty of the more obscure ones too lol). I could probably spend hours creating a comprehensive list of fandoms but i think this is enough for now, unless you're just dying to know more 😂 i started writing in first grade, so around 6 years old. i've known i want to be a writer almost my entire life. i think the first bit of fanfic i ever wrote was for Harry Potter actually, but i don't remember anything about it. and i don't actually know what got me into reading fanfic...i just kind of always remember it being my go-to form of entertainment when i was bored. i am SO sorry for putting a whole novel in your askbox...apparently we're both in very chatty moods today lol

dialogue is the hardest thing for me to write because i always have to rewrite the conversation ten times before i feel like it sounds the way two people would actually speak. i'm much better at giving overly flowery descriptions of the space, and of character's appearances, emotions, etc. i tend to try and limit dialogue as much as i can when possible. my other writing crutch is semi-colons...i simply cannot go a paragraph without including one.

now the pressure is on to keep the fic good for the two of you 😂 i think this is the first time i've been told that two of my readers were talking about my fic beyond the comments section.

i think she's 3 years old? but i always forget. i'll have to ask my mom next time i call her, she's the one that keeps track 😂

-🤘

wow, i cannot comment on any of the fandoms 🫣 don’t rip me apart or anything but i’ve literally never watched a single movie or episode related to any of them 😅 to be fair though, i rewatch the same like 10 tv shows on repeat and i’m not much one for movies 😬 but still that’s so impressive ! HOW did you find so many things that you enjoyed enough to join a fandom ? honestly love all of that for you, and apparently i need to broaden my horizons 😅

that’s crazy how it’s so opposite for us ! conversation is so easy for me to imagine. i wouldn’t even know how to avoid it 😅 semi colons !! never use those bad boys but i’m told i use too many commas. love me a good comma 😂

SHE’S SO CUTE !! i’ve seen the photos you sent and omggg she’s seriously adorable. i don’t know what i was picturing but honestly she’s surpassed the image ! such a fkn cutie 😍😍

[borreloadsavagedragon]

11, 16, and 20

oh god, I’ll do my best!!!

11. number of fandom-related words you've filtered

3! And they are all names for the same one ship bc this community loves to make new names out of nowhere for everything omg

I’ve mentioned this one in particular before vaguely in character ask games but I don’t wanna always bring it up, the tag and filtering system does all it has to for me and ygo is one of the few communities that actually does tag accordingly usually, Twitter is the raging exception but Twitter rewards witty captions versus tags and I love obstacle courses 

I’ve gotten vagued about and subtweeted enough for sharing the ships I do like, I’d hate to be someone who bashes something of value to someone else and make them feel insecure about their favorite things by subtweeting them because I do know many who do love the pair 

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

I had to think on this one bc the only things I could honest to god think of were a handful of ships and I really don’t wanna go that route dbshhsjs

I will literally read anything that isn’t like… too much into dead dove territory 

BUT

Some Fanon inside jokes can be annoying once they’re super overdone, ygo jokes I come across aren’t too bad outside of the TCG (ygo players reading jokes and draw good card memes are so bad, stop making them 733627472738 times) but like… even in our small franchise corner, some of them are overplayed

Like Yusei drank milk once and now his figure has to have a glass of milk, we did that

NSFW for literally ten seconds but

(also stop making the stereotypical rival characters into domineering or nasty tops, it’s weird)

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

oh my god ok, here it is, the one question I can go full hater on

Ok so I LOVE protags usually, I'm rarely a protag hater, but I hate when shows go out of their way to make protags solve EVERYTHING even when it’s really not appropriately theirs, like shows that need to find reasons to keep protagonists in the episode or in the frame, or to remind us that it’s the protag’s world and the cast is just all living in it

Like it’s definitely my fault being so involved with Shonen shows that I don’t get to see the latter happen a lot since Shonen is like the BIGGEST offender of this trope but I still wanna complain!!!!!!

God I lowkey wanna talk abt Arc V for this but we’re just gonna… *brushes show off of desk into a lock drawer* 

That’s a can I cannot open

So let's talk Zexal II, aka the part where I get to talk about the worst duel in the entire franchise because I can’t even rewatch these episodes for my analysis without wanting to slap my computer shut, it makes me that angry 

Uh

Some Spoilers since I know you're still watching

😭😭😭

Like this comes from a place of someone who fights off Yuma hate in the TCG community regularly

But in my whole ass I feel like Heartland and Kaito’s duel is an actual disaster

It's also honestly a little bit of character assassination as a treat for no reason but we'll touch that in detail in the paper

And letting Yuma and Astral take this duel over is just an egregious slap in the face lmfao

Especially how the show chooses to handle Kaito passing out and everything following when he finally returns to consciousness that just makes him essentially a step up from background character

Yet people deadass have the nerve to say Kaito has the most favoritism, bitch where lol

Extremely unsatisfying to watch someone who's been an established threat for the ENTIRE show not be able to dismantle the last standing figure in their life who’s been a source of great pain to them and someone who has never dueled up until this point at that! And not only does he NOT get to take the dub, it's literally his second last duel in the entire show and while the last duel is INCREDIBLE, making this a moment of glory for the protags is weird!

Idk, I stand firmly that this part is unwatchable, just a very badly done way to backseat Kaito to shift the focus onto the original duo, and that in theory is cool, but there are so many better ways to do it

But shonen isn't shonen without some dramatic hero comeback

Shonen is such a love/hate relationship

[spideycents]

I’m legit so stressed out after today’s episode. Like why did all the cute relationship stuff have to be bookended by so much crap? I am overwhelmed 🙈 but I guess here are my takeaways as a viewer on the spectrum:

- Jun Ho really needs to stop beating people up when they say shit about Young Woo, that’s not productive. He needs to take a page from Attorneys Jung and Choi and verbally call people out and clearly communicate why what they’re doing and saying is bad and ableist. Like I love him, he’s everything to me, he needs to stop being a pushover.

- I am genuinely confused by this case. I can’t tell if the girl legit doesn’t understand the difference between consent and assault and is blinded by her excitement over being in a relationship OR if she was under so much pressure from her mom and the people in the disability organization and was too anxious about speaking up about her story. Her mom was really scary and not chill and so she made me question everything. And then with the guys’ past history with another girl was so hard to follow. Like Young Woo, I wanted to trust him and now I don’t know how to feel cause other people’s reactions that I’ve read, no one that I’ve seen seems to think that he genuinely liked her so I don’t know.

- I’m really conflicted with all of the parents so far in the show. I didn’t like the parents in episode 3. They were terrible to Young Woo and invalidated everything their son had to say. Like his initial responses felt genuine but his mom asked him too many questions and muddled it and I didn’t like that. I really don’t like Young Who’s dad or mom now. Her dad has been off for me from the beginning cause he’s so determined for her to mask so society will be more accepting of her and he goes and warns people about her autism. I’m still not over the scene that was played for laughs where he lied about her being his daughter to that customer or him begging Tae Su Mi to have their child. I don’t like people saying her mom abandoned her, because like it was okay that she didn’t want a kid. That’s her choice. Now that she knows about Young Woo though, that ending scene with her wanting to send her to the states for treatment was bullshit. Officially skipping everything with the parents on rewatches.

Ultimately, I get what the writer is doing with shoving ableism down our throats so that most of the audience understands how shitty it is, but some of the character arcs aren’t progressing as I’d hoped so far. Still plenty of time for them to shape up, but people like the parents and Min Woo will never be in my good books. I really need Jun Ho to start talking back and challenging people verbally. Like I’m really concerned for his safety with these fights. I don’t want him to get into trouble. The bar fight scene today was very unsettling and not a slay.

[stormyoceans]

Thoughts on talay's character arc? Thoughts on Puen's character arc? Thoughts on the development of their relationship? Thoughts on any part of this wonderful gift of a show??

ANON YOU'RE PLAYING A VERY DANGEROUS GAME HERE I COULD LITERALLY WRITE A WHOLE DISSERTION ABOUT VICE VERSA YOU GOTTA GIVE ME SOME LIMITATION IF WE BOTH WANT TO GET OUT OF THIS WITH OUR SANITY INTACT. it's probably a good thing that it's been a constant 48 hours goat screaming up in my head since the show ended and that im still nowhere near coherent enough to articulate my thoughts properly........

talay's character journey is actually one of my favorite things about the show (and this says quite a lot, considering i adore pretty much everything about it) and i think it's also one of the best i've ever seen depicted in a BL. i do feel like im lacking the right english words to explain myself rn, but there's been something so.. charming and heartening about watching this boy who didn't believe in love, who has always prioritized his dream career to the point he never allowed himself to even consider a romantic relationship, slowly opening up to the possibility of it

the way they handled it was also incredibly refreshing to me, because talay’s choice of putting work before love is never shown in a negative light, it’s simply a part of his character that helps the viewers build a sense of who talay is: someone driven, meticulous, logical…. but talay is also warm and caring and kind. he doesn’t need to change or put his dream aside to love and be loved, he just needs to leave some space for it and let himself feel. if in the end puen is asked to choose between work and love (and in his case that choice feels like a blessing, because he never had an option before), talay’s journey is all about learning that he doesn’t necessarily have to pick one or the other, but that the two can coexist

another thing i really appreciated is that the writers never rushed talay into realizing and accepting his feelings for puen, but they made him experience all these new and different emotions (both good and bad) and then actually gave him have the time to figure out what they meant. it was a slow process, but it felt incredibly natural, and drawing a parallel with the color pink was such a clever way to show the progress in talay's feelings

puen’s character journey is probably less evident, compared to talay’s, but it’s honestly just as good. i feel like we focus a lot on how the alternate universe gave puen the chance to learn about all the different kinds of love and affection he never got to experience in his life (not only romance, but friendship and family too), however i think a big part of his journey is also rediscovering himself and letting himself be puen

it probably sounds a bit of a contradiction, since he spent most of the series going by ‘tun’, but i’ve rewatched some scenes from the first few episodes and it’s really startling how much more contrived puen feels compared to the second half of the show. this isn’t to say he was being fake or insincere, but you can see he used to hide a lot behind the cool actor persona he had to build for himself, and it made me realize that i didn’t fully understand just how true puen’s words are when he tells talay “not many people see this side of me. you’re one of them” and “i’m like this with you only. when i’m with you i don’t act.” being with talay and travelling to the alternate universe helped puen reconnect with who he is, and it’s beautiful to see his real self coming out more and more throughout the episodes and have him realize that maybe being puen is not that bad

i think im gonna stop here because this is already too long and if i start on all the reasons why puentalay is the best couple with the best development ever i will be on my deathbed and still not done with it, but i said it before and im gonna say it again: puen and talay's journey of going from strangers to friends to lovers felt believable and realistic in a way few others ever did, not only in BLs but in other shows too. it was about two very different people who didn't know what love was helping each other grow and choosing each other over and over again. they fell in love, and it felt real

[itsavgbltpta]

Should You Watch The Anime? (An Intro Post)

Should You Trust My Thoughts on Anime?

I figure if I’m going to be publishing my thoughts on anime, you may as well get to know some of my likes and dislikes to see if you vibe with said thoughts.  Or, I guess if you don’t vibe with me, you can use my reviews to avoid the shows I do like. XD

I’m still working on a definitive Top 10 Anime list, but I’ll be honest… I may never have that list done as new shows are coming out all the time.  So instead I’ll list out a few of my favorite anime in different genres to give you an idea of what I like.

Heads up that I’m a bit on the older side, plus I got into anime when I was fairly young.  That means there will be shows here from a good span of decades!

Magical Girl: Sailor Moon

It’s a nostalgic pick as this was my first real anime, but it still holds up even today.

Sports: Free!

I tend to like my sports anime 80% character interaction, 20% sports.

Mecha: Neon Genesis Evangelion

A classic for a reason.  I get something new from it on every rewatch.

Sci-Fi: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Deep psychological stuff mixed with cool technology in an amazingly put together show.

Isekai: Re: Zero

It’s a good and actually unique isekai with more depth than I expect from the genre.

Shoujo: Fruits Basket (2001)

Yes, I like the original better.  It’s got a great mix of funny moments and tragic angst.

Shounen: Jujutsu Kaisen

This show takes the best parts of other shounen shows and puts it all together in one package.

BL: World’s Greatest First Love

Is it problematic? Yes. But I’m invested in the couples and how they will end up.

Horny: Interspecies Reviewers

Surprisingly deep world building and well animated kinky stuff?  Sign me up.

???: Samurai Flamenco

I love everything about this anime.  It defies genre.

Do I Hate Any Anime?

There is a redeeming feature or lesson learned from every anime I’ve watched, so you won’t see me list any hated shows here.  There are certainly some anime I’ve watched that make me think I really could have spent my time better doing anything else, though. >.<

If I get bored or don’t love a show, I will not be afraid to mention that.  I’m not being sponsored by anyone, so there’s no need to curb my own opinion.

My History With Anime

I’m putting this part last because you may not care about when/how I got into anime.  And that’s A-Ok with me.  But if you are curious, here you go.

As a very small child I was exposed to shows like Voltron, but I didn’t know it was anime at the time.  Then Sailor Moon started airing on broadcast television (I didn’t have cable TV growing up), and I got absolutely obsessed.

In a perfect storm, the internet started becoming easily accessible around the same time, so I hopped online to get more Sailor Moon in my life.  In doing this, I started seeing links to other recommended “anime” - which I pronounced as Anne-Nyme at the time.  

Between Blockbuster, Suncoast Video, and the local comic shop (which no longer exists, sadly), I dove into the world of anime. I sank my teeth into things like the Dirty Pair movies, Ranma 1/2, Record of Lodoss War, and even pre-ordered each VHS of Neon Genesis Evangelion as it was coming out. $25.01 for each tape with 2 episodes on it (dubbed, since it was cheaper and I only had my allowance to work with). I was dedicated to the hobby.

I never stopped liking anime from that point on. I ended up leading two anime clubs (high school and college), and I still host a group of friends every week to come over and watch anime.

I'll post a link to my MAL, but it's not complete. I've seen too many shows and have forgotten some along the way. I'm concentrating more on shows I've actually completed on the MAL and probably won't mess with trying to find all the stuff I watched decades ago.

And that about wraps things up for the intro. I've been watching 10-15 shows a season lately (plus whatever we watch in anime club), so I have a lot to talk about. Let me help you figure out if you should watch the anime!

[cdmagic1408]

So I’ve just thought of some stuff I wanted to say during my time in hiatus…

Oh my god. OH MY GOD NO WAY. BOB CHAPEK HAS BEEN FIRED?!?! THIS IS AMAZING!!! I didn't think they'd actually do that but seriously tho GOOD RIDDANCE to that man I hate him so much....so here’s to hoping things will turn around at Disney finally 🎊🤞

I love this Pixar Thanksgiving art SO MUCH!! Like…Ian and Barley…they’re so adorable here 🥺

HAPPY 5 YEARS TO COCO! Arguably my second favorite Pixar film of all time! I can’t believe it's 5...like that’s crazy…I’ll never forget the first time I went to see it in theaters with my sister, my mom, my grandparents, my aunt and her best friend in Chicago, the whole thing was so amazing! And then like two weeks later I saw it for a second time in my childhood hometown…to this day I still love it so so much, the story, the characters, and the animation are all so beautiful...I really should rewatch it again sometime...

AHHHHHHH YOSHIS ARE IN THE MARIO MOVIE!!! YESSSSSSSS!!! They look just like I hoped they would be! I’m so much more excited for this movie now than I was back in October! Not only because my favorite adorable green dino could potentially be here, but the animation looks really awesome, and I'm genuinely curious to see where this story is going to take us...plus I've always loved Mario games and the world of Mario as a whole. I'm like Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at all the references there are so far!

Oooooh yes!! Spotify Wrapped! I’ve been looking forward to this! What's my number one? Ah yes, The Police is my top artist and their song "Spirits in the Material World" is my top song as it should be 🎶 🎶 🎶 I listened to their music so much this summer...they’re one of my favorite bands! Also Bebe Rexha and Taylor Swift made the cut, two more of my favorites and two more greats! Yay! And OMG I did it. I listened to "Anti-Hero" enough times for it to be my third most played song this year! YES!!! 🤘 😄

New Mario movie clip gets released during the 2022 Game Awards: OMG this score is sooooooo good! 😲 like I can hear the all the different recognizable themes from the mario games here but it also sounds like animated movie score! It’s such a perfect combo! And oh yeah, I see the way you’re running Mario…that IS your run cycle and I love it! That right there is from the games! 😏 Is it bad that I want more after this clip? I mean the more I see, the more I want it if you know what I mean... 👀

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio released on Netflix just last week on the 9th, and just last week on the 9th is when I watched it! I've heard so many great things about it and I'd never seen a del Toro film before so I thought I'd give it a try! Very charming but also quite dark, it's a really fascinating take on the Pinocchio story that's unlike what I've seen of it before! I think my favorite character ended up being Sebastian the Cricket, he was so fun to watch (and for the record, Ewan McGregor has such charisma in all the roles I've seen him play from Robots to Big Fish. He's great! And this was no exception!) All the voice-acting was very well done and the animation too! I have a huge soft spot for stop motion! I thought every movement made was really amazing. Anyway yeah, check it out if you can cause animation distributed by Netflix always deserves more recognition!

(cue Merrie Melodies closing theme)

That's all, Folks!

[sauvechouris]

Tagged by @demoiselledefortune, thank you ^^ I... may have started this last monday and procrastinated to the point i had to edit some of the answers, oops.

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fave colour: green, blue, and purple

currently reading: Si nous étions adultes / Even though we’re adults / Otona ni natte mo by Takako Shimura. I’ve just finished volume 4 (as of today-today not last monday), in time for volume 5 this month. It’s maybe not for everyone since the premise is about adultery, but i’m enjoying the way it shows many sides of a messy situation. (One of the protagonists got married pretty much just to not be unmarried anymore because christmas cake, she’s been ignoring/repressing her attraction to women since at least high school, and when suddenly, one evening where her husband isn’t there, a pretty lady chats her up at a bar, it unlocks some stuff for her. That’s valid, it’s sympathetic, but it’s also completely unfair to her husband and the lady who’s got it bad for her, and they all know it - including all her in-laws.) Plus, as the title says, the main characters are adults (35), which is not the most common thing in yuri, so i appreciate it.

Technically i’m also 3/4th of the way into a book about H.PI and hy.persensibility (that curiously makes very little mention of a.dh.d despite titling itself with and overusing the word “hyper”) but i paused it and now can’t make myself get back to it.

 ...and at the same time, i’ve slowly (because it’s mostly very short chapters, so it’s easy to pick up and put down) been reading S€x Education 120%, which sounds like a po/rn title (and being published by Taifu (/Ototo) doesn’t help), but is, in fact, about sex ed for girls, and pretty modern about it? constantly amused by that :D (wlw-inclusive too, + no chapter about it yet but they’ve namedropped asexuality, so i’m hoping for something in volume 3.) And i’ve been slowly getting Les c@rnets de l’apothicaire after reading a friend’s copies, so i’m rereading these as i buy them (and having a lot of fun with them, love the protag’s mix of being observant but mostly uninterested and unimpressed with her courtly environment, very down to earth, but a bit of a gremlin for poisonous stuff - even the slow setting up of the eventual m/f romance is fun, it’d been a while since that happened for me!), and i randomly picked up the last Fitz trilogy again, by the middle to reread specific bits of it, but i’ve reread them now and i keep going back to it anyway. j’arrête quand je veux etc

So, a bit all over the place. Plus some fic. Meanwhile, my actual to-read pile is staring in judgement from its undisturbed corner.

last song: (last monday:) Shin jidai wa kono mirai da sekaijuu zenbu kaeteshimaebaaaa 🎶 (thanks to @soveryanon who shared Ado’s songs in the latest OP movie, i’ve been stuck on them since because w o w (even though i know pretty much nothing about OP, it’s not even a “real” proxy fandom that i watch pass by and wave at when it does, stop making it sound appealing when i can’t stand the artstyle...))

As of today : the Keiko and Am@Lee covers of Synchronicity, thanks to this art yesterday.

last series: ...I’m. not very good at watching series. at all. But if the question means the last one i watched in its entirety, that’s the first cour of Spy family, if it means one i’m following it’s the current Pokémon anime (loosely), and if it means the last i watched an episode of, that’s Pokémon too but a different era of it. (I do want to watch the Man me a sand show, it’s just a matter of making myself believe there are enough hours in a day to watch one (1) episode and then executing the function.)

last movie: a rewatch of PMMM Rebellion story, i think? if rewatches don’t count, that’d be... the red panda movie...? i’m not a big movie watcher either

currently working on: making a character from a friend’s rp. I’ve never done that and have spent a good few days overthinking, even though, from what i understand, what we have to do is not complex by rp standards. ^^”” Finally found a name (last monday), now i need some more setting info from her, and to decide if i want to be practical or Mustang-on-a-rainy-day level of comically inefficient when it comes to abilities. (Still the case today.)

Also trying to see if i can trick google into letting me buy the FEH sparks, which is very frustrating both because i don’t like wanting to give money to the gacha, even if at least it’s for something guaranteed, and because it’s not working. (which is for the better, but ugh, unfair practices.)

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share 10 different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order, then tag 10 people 🎥🎬📺

1. Fitz 😔 (L’Assassin royal) - disaster, life ruiner, still the best example i’ve seen so far of how real first-person pov can feel and how saying that Literature is differencied from genre fiction by ‘having something to say about human nature’ is bullshit

2. Tohru (Fruba) - I can’t not pick her, and i can’t be objective about it. But in my heart i’m also picking Yuki and an armful of others (and nodding at you for Shigure).

3. Soren (FE) - He’s a very empathetic young man a bitch, he’s gay, he has a Fruba-level backstory that ripped my heart out even though i still don’t have the confirmation that what’s going on is going on, he’s a tactician who thought that spitting racist slurs at a giant (and very sweet) tiger unprovoked was a sound idea, I love him and want to read all the fic about him but first i have to actually finish his games

4. NHS (MDZS) - a bitch too, very pretty, and characters being more clever or capable than they appear works well on me. Plus i read mdzs fresh off of Berseria and he did a brother revenge, who else was i supposed to fixate on.

5. Homura (PMMM) - /*lies down* Rebellion... episode 10 too of course but Rebellion...........

6. Velvet (Tales.of Berseria) - /*points at the mess that is her handling of her grief, trauma and revenge* she has so many problems, and the story slaps her in the face with all of them (and sometimes it makes for the best moments /*puts on True will*). single-handedly responsible for my pick of mdzs fave because she’d given me many emotions about characters out for revenge for their family, while doing character work about it that mdzs didn’t have the space (or interest) to do with a last-chapter twist reveal. also i’m gay

7. Haruko Daichi (Shimanami Tasogare / Eclat(s) d’âmes) - many emotions: happy&wlw edition. One of the emotions is that time she punched a wall hard enough that it left a mark in it and her wife framed it. Also everything else with walls, walls are good for metaphors in this manga ;v;

8. Tomoyo (CCS) - I forget who called her the cutest little lesbian who ever did lesbian, but they were right, + positive unrequited crushes are a direct ticket to my heart. May we all have it together like she does when dealing with that and may we all have a fraction of her productivity, holy shit

9. i refuse to choose between members of the original (= pre-Tokyo) TRC family

10. not going to choose between Gilbert (blorbo, direct call-out for me) and Oz (very good character writing) either (Pandora Hearts)

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I never know who to tag either, but since this one mainly has questions where the answer must have changed even if one has done it before, it’s fine maybe : @autheane, @potahun, @sazandorable, @ezzoh, @runawaycarouselhorse, @littleragondin, and i already tagged Cass earlier - only if you want to, of course.