#sh reviews

[mwagneto]

sherlock & co. review from an insane person (me) coz this is like. the 25th? sherlock adaptation i've checked out so ofc i have opinions on everything ever. and ik ppl who work on indie podcasts browse tumblr sometimes so just in case you work on this DON'T click keep reading, this post is not for youuu shoo. thanks x

ok so far it's like. fine? which is lowkey sad coz i wish it was smtg i really liked but it hasn't gripped me yet which is a shame but yknow. early days. i'm giving it time since it's only 15 episodes so far

my main issue is like. i really wish it wasn't so obviously influenced by bbc but it just so clearly is which is a shaaame like it's better than bbc in every aspect but yknow. not a high bar to clear. like it kinda feels like they liked a lot of things abt bbc and set out to fix the bad parts (h&w friendship being nonexistent, the mysteries being shit) but just kept the rest? in some places keeping things that were invented by bbc which is. baffling tbh

i'm not really picky when it comes to h&w personalities like i think it's fine to just do whatever you want w them, i think it's really fun when an adaptation gives them different personalities than what you're used to but, and this is where it feels far too bbc-ish for comfort, i just don't like it when sherlock is a cunt for no reason? like. he's not a mean person he's only mean in bbc coz moffat thought house md was cool and ripped it off. can we stop making him mean pleeeease 😭 he's just some guy..................

h&w relationship wise it's like... ok so i tend to go into adaptations with a fully clean slate so like i never let my general attachment to them influence how i view them in specific adaptations, the work itself needs to sell me on both the characters and the relationship and like... here neither of those really happened yet which makes me sad coz i think by now it should've but i'm giving it time. at least they're friends and i like that watson is useful for cases/knows things holmes doesn't sometimes coz thats like. such an essential element to sh stories for me and a loooottt of adaptations tend to just completely forget it so that's a win but idk if anything they're too tame? like i dont expect a romance but they can't just be casual friends they need to be bat shit crazy about each other. to me. but like maybe that'll develop over the rest of the podcast we'll see

kinda related to that point but case-wise i think holmes is a bit too ahead of everyone else sometimes which isn't inherently a problem but it does once again smell of bbc which like. noone should ever emulate moffat writing don't do that 🙏 god bles. but i've been able to solve every case along with/before the mcs which is like. thee point of mystery stories for me so yea i really like the stories themselves so far, especially the way they manage to make them solvable even without visuals or narration. OH and i almost forgot but i rly like the soundtrack, i love it when sh soundtracks have a heavy emphasis on violins coz. yknow

howeverr i am on my hands and knees begging them not to give watson a girlfriend tho like please oh myfffucking god . obvs watsonlock doesn't usually factor into my enjoyment of adaptations given that like. y'know. out of the hundreds out there theres only two where either of them is even gay so it's not something i expect nor require but like. to me it is essential that these two ppl are insane abt each other and don't really have anyone else, definitely noone important. like even the rdj movies got this despite ritchie's obsession w the 2 men 1 woman dynamic so idk why i'm constantly having to wage a war against random unnecessary romances for either watson or, god forbid, holmes. when the only interesting relationship either of these men have is with each other. that one granada holmes quote about them choosing not to include mary coz holmes and watson dont need anyone else etc etc. like i seriously dislike it when they introduce anyone else like cmonnnnnn thog dont care

anyway tldr. i guess if asked to pick a short description i'd say. promising? i hope it's gonna be good in the long run. the way they do mysteries is already something i like so. i hope they keep that up and i hope the h&w relationship evolves into something i enjoy coz so far i'm like. i can see the bones of smtg i'll potentially like but it's not there yet. but also like. this is an indie production i'm listening to for free so ion wanna rip into it these are mainly just what i liked/disliked based on the preferences i developed with this one quick trick (grow up completely insane abt sherlock holmes -> consume every adaptation that you can get your paws on -> no profit)

[modularmedia]

Knowing Your Worth as a Creator Feat. @vangeluscentral - Modular Components Episode One Hundred & Five

The Gang are joined by one of the OG YouTube Toy Reviewers to discuss the evolutions of being a online content creator, a Transformers fan & a Tokusatsu fan in the west.

[kdramacrybaby]

My favorite drama couples

In no particular order and some minor SPOILER warning!) → Feel free to add your own favorite couples to the post, so we can share the love.

Sh**ting Stars (Oh Han-byul / Gong Tae-sung):

They are one of my absolute favorite couples in any drama I’ve watched so far. I don’t know what it is about them, but they are just so good together! (And it doesn’t hurt that the actors have an amazing chemistry). Enemies to lovers is a guilty pleasure trope for me, and this does it perfectly – they bicker so much in the beginning, but slowly realize that they actually make a great team, and they come to rely on each other a lot. They actually communicate properly, sharing their worries without being judged, and the drama never relies on something as silly as miscommunication as a point of drama for them. It’s not often a drama makes me actually smile like a complete lovesick idiot when watching, but this just goes straight to my heart. The drama might not be my fave overall, as it has its own issues, but I’ll watch it 100 times over for them.

Hidden Love (Sang Zhi / Duan Jiaxu):

At first, I didn’t think I was going to like this drama too much as I was unsure about the whole age gap thing, but oh my word. This drama had me giggling like a teenager with a crush, and I was unable to stop smiling for most of it. They are so stinking cute together, and the fact that they actually communicate their thoughts and feelings with each other throughout it all is so important – especially with how their relationship started. I feel like I’m just repeating myself from what I said about Sh**ting Stars, but both of these couples just make me happy to watch. This relationship in particular has raised my standards so high, I’m probably going to end up single for the rest of my life. This drama really is all it’s hyped up to be and more.  

Happiness (Yoon Sae-bom / Jung Yi-hyun):

A fake marriage of convenience between two best friends, who both secretly have feelings for each other ?- sign me the fuck up. Two strong people who support each other through everything (in this case, an outbreak of zombies in their complex) – what more could you ask for? They just get each other, and both are willing to walk through hell and back for the other. We sadly don’t actually get to see them together all that much after they’ve finally confessed, but they acted like a couple anyway, so I’m not too sad about it. 

Fight For My Way (Ko Dong-man / Choi Ae-ra):

They have known each other for so long and, though they bicker, they are always the first to defend the other no matter what. They support each other’s dreams the best they can (though Ae-ra does have a problem with the fighting, and she tries to make him quit by making him choose between her and fighting, which I am not about, but I do get she’s just scared he’ll get hurt again). Either way, there is just something so pure about their love and the way they both slowly realize just what their feelings have evolved into as they grew up together.   

Doom at your service (Doom / Tak Dong-kyung):

These two had a rocky start, but I also feel like it only made them work better as a couple. The iconic lines: “So my plan is to love you, then I'll be able to live without losing anything.” / “Then let's do it right, love me to the point that you want to destroy the world for me.” are forever ingrained in my mind. It’s about both of them learning what life could actually be if you let yourself feel and live for yourself instead of living for everyone else. They help each other through it all until they both realize they deserve love, and I find that really beautiful.

[magpieddd]

When you've been wanting an EC sigil your whole life and when you finally get it you just want to carve it out of your skin. Sad!

[nubbims]

Dear Ladies and Germs

Miss Laura Elizabeth S Sunderland

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

in a sherlock holmes mood and man..... everyone pour one out for my losleep sherlock holmes fic idea that never properly saw the light of day . you wouldve been great

[everythingroyalty]

2022 IN REVIEW ↳ Crown Princess Mary of Denmark ✨

[simeonscott]

Opening SHFs and Celebrating the Creators that got me into Toku! - Vacstream 8/29/2023

Gonna be streaming on Tuesday night, come join if ya can!

[welcometoteyvat]

@apologems here, some shenhe & baizhu for you [random character pairs asks] thanks for your patience because this is really late and enjoy <3

———

The light fragrance of qingxin emanates from the little brown pills in Shenhe's palm. It will not change how the pills taste, though, so she downs them all at once.

… They're not as bitter as she expected. The taste is like… like regret softened with honey, a tinge of sweetness lingering in her throat. Something indescribable dislodges itself from Shenhe’s chest, escapes in a barely perceptible sigh. When she looks back up, two pairs of eyes—gold, crimson—human, snake—are gazing intently at her.

“Swallowed it without even a sip of water! You must have taken a lot of bitter medicine before.” The snake draped around the doctor’s neck speaks in a sing-song voice, blinking owlishly up at her. Shenhe stares back at it—and although she is not good at reading humans, and snakes even less, she thinks it seems a bit surprised that she hasn’t yet looked away. When it lowers its head a moment later, suddenly timid, Shenhe feels an inexplicable bubble of satisfaction pressing against the bindings of her red ropes.

The corners of Baizhu’s serpent eyes turn down unhappily, and he frowns a little. “Changsheng. Manners.” And then, to her, in a gentler voice, "Here. Take this dried goji and haw; it’ll wash out any of the remaining bitterness.” He takes out a burlap satchel from one of the many little cabinets behind the front desk, and places it carefully in her still outstretched hands.

“Thank you… Mr. Baizhu— Doctor.” She can’t quite remember what the person before her had said before leaving, but… any parting phrase should suffice, right? None of the other adepti chide Master when she leaves their gatherings without any goodbyes, after all.

“No need; this is simply part of my job.” Shenhe must have said the right thing, because Baizhu is smiling graciously, waving away her thanks. Shenhe follows the crescent-moon curve of his pale lips all the way to the premature crow’s feet crinkling at the corners of his eyes, and wonders if the years have been unkind to him. As she studies Baizhu’s amber irises and vertical pupils, her thoughts wander to the tomes of adeptal transformation arts squirreled away in a corner of her master’s abode. She wonders how long it has taken him to reach this form, for it almost rivals her master’s in its beauty.

“Ah—on another note, I don’t recall filling a prescription for you in Bubu Pharmacy before? Is it your first time coming here?” Baizhu peers at her carefully over his oval glasses, eyes like yellow jade and Hulao amber. Shenhe holds his eye contact, and then—slowly, slowly, like the boiling of medicine and the flow of ages past, Baizhu’s gaze becomes something… vaster, something… boundless—and suddenly, Shenhe’s falling, rushing past the sights and sounds of Liyue as experienced by generation after generation of disciples and masters and masters and disciples and the ever-present white snake wound around their necks. And then, just as suddenly she is back in the pharmacy, and Baizhu’s eyes are simply circular drops of molten gold, and he has a concerned expression on his face.

“Shenhe, are you alright? Apologies if my question was too prying; I was merely curious.”

“No. I have never been here.”

“Well, in that case, welcome to Bubu Pharmacy. May your coming days be full of good health.”

———

A/N: these two are an absolutely slept on character pair thanks for opening my eyes. sorry that nothing consequential happens in this fic i wanted to squeeze in something about not listening to fate and baizhu looking up her name for connections to the adepti etc. but that didn't happen and ive been stuck on it for 2 weeks so i threw in the towel and said to myself that i'll put it in a more-inspired sequel. sorry if this is again confusing. if there's only 1 take home message you get from this I hope it's that baizhu is A SICKLY ASS MAN (please take care of yourself)

and ofc, if ooc let me know, i heart feedback etc etc. open call for shenhe and baizhu likers to give me their theses on either character because i need to Understand them and study them under a microscope

crossposted to ao3 too ig

[aijzeni]

I really got and reviewed all three main from the dark trio in one year. I'm proud of myself. link to my channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCteLbT3xc_ZmC04JZrwOn1g

[ionozoned]

can you help me fix my email, internet girl

"omg TOTALLY!!! helping out sad geezers always gets like sooooo many views. and old people not understanding technology is a SWEET bonus. er anyway, ok, so first thing you wanna do is delete your old ass yahoo email, NO ONE uses yahoo anymore, capiche????" // @turnecoat

[mwagneto]

Just saw your post about the many sherlock holmes adaptations and their problems and wanted to ask, what do you think are the worst and best adaptations + your opinion on the bbc show vs guy ritchie’s adaptation

PHEW okay big question. so in my personal opinion my favourite adaptation is the ritchie one and my least favourite is bbc. objectively speaking the worst ones are ... well there's a lot I'm ngl I'm very picky but probably Holmes & Watson, the absolute trainwreck that some cruel force allowed to be made and released in 2018 which is awful in every single way like it's genuinely unwatchable. Granada/the Jeremy Brett one is probably the most faithful, but i think Murder by decree and Without a clue are great takes on it, and of course The private life of SH is iconic and Russian Holmes is close to my heart because the locations and architecture etc look really similar to where i live so it's really special that way. (i actually have a tierlist of almost every adaptation I've seen, there's been more since but I've been too lazy to update it lmao)

putting this under a cut because it got LONG

i think there's several layers to what makes an adaptation great, like to ME the most important thing is that they nail the h&w dynamic, either by using the one in the books or by making it clear that they understood what the dynamic was and chose to put a different spin on it but like. if they're not obviously "can't live without each other" friends and (at least) a little bit gay then what's the point. also with modern adaptations there's smtg I've literally only seen done right ONE time, which is Holmes's drug use where everyone adapting it to the 21st century insists on keeping it cocaine or smtg similar? which, like, no????? like ppl don't seem to realise that when he was written, cocaine was like. perfectly acceptable. and Watson still worries about it because he's a doctor but that's in no way equivalent to someone NOW using cocaine and their doctor friend worrying. there's that super old post that's like "modern holmes should be addicted to energy drinks" and well yeah. absolutely that, or the way House md solved it by having him be addicted to painkillers that he gets in a kinda shady way sometimes.

n then obviously there's the cases. again this is an opinion but i think it's good when they're straight up adapted, and i think it's good when they invent a brand new mystery, but i absolutely cannot Stand when they take an existing case from the books but put their own ~special smart boy~ spin on it cough cough MOFFAT like the worst examples of this are probably the way he butchered Baskerville and ASIB because he thought he was sooo much smarter than everyone and couldn't just adapt these extremely iconic stories straight up, nonono let's make them a billion times worse.

as for Ritchie vs BBC, i don't really think i can compare them, simply because I can't be objective? like the rdj holmes movies are easily among my favourite movies of all time, not because they're so outstandingly good but simply because I'm so attached to them, while even a mention of BBC can send me into feral dog mode. not to mention my history w them is 1. complicated 2. inherently tied to each other so yeah i don't think an objective comparison from me is really possible, at least if i want to avoid making this response a 10 hour read. but umm if i wanna go by key points:

1. i think rdj absolutely nails the h&w dynamic while bbc completely butchers it

2. rdj kinda expands his drug use but i think it works rly well with the kinda person his holmes is, i fucking hate the way bbc treats his drug use and the only slightly nice moment about it was in the unaired pilot that. well. didn't air

3. i haaaaate the way rdj handles irene and i fucking. despise beyond words the way bbc handles irene. i dont think i have ever seen irene adapted well it's fucking miserable

4. i think the cases in rdj are... fine? they're not good tbh as in like if i was here for a mystery I wouldn't really like it BUT they're original and written in a way where they give you, the viewer, all the clues that Holmes has, so you have the ability to figure out the solutions along with him, which is crucial to any sh adaptation (and mystery in general). it's also camp and fun and ridiculous which i really like so yea no complaints from me. bbc on the other hand. god. jesus. well i mentioned this before but i fucking hate the way they adapt every story to be almost the same but way way worse because they think they're so much smarter than the books AND the viewers. and this segways into

5. aka their treatment of watson. i fawking love rdj watson i think he's one of the best watsons out there and i like him coz of his whole attitude and personality but i also think he's written extremely well in that so often adaptations fall into the trap i mentioned in the other post where they think holmes is the smartest specialest boy ever and they're just like him fr and he doesn't need anyone so watson is either just some useless guy trying and failing to keep up with holmes or a straight up punching bag. but here they actually make Watson not just competent but absolutely indispensable to both Holmes and the story, it's clear that Holmes both relies on him in things he doesn't know as well as Watson does (crucial!!!!!) and trusts him (watson) to figure things out almost as well as he (holmes) can which i think are incredibly good and important things to put in an adaptation because at the end of the day it's holmes and watson not holmes and some guy who's sometimes there to be talked at and not understand things. which of course brings me to bbc where . literally the only thing john does is get kidnapped like he's barely even there for the cases let alone HELP in any way. so yeah.

this could go on to be incredibly long because i am. absolutely insane about sherlock holmes but I'm gonna end it here, if you have any questions feel free to ask, i (evidently) really love talking about them so

[daily-chonny-jash]

what

[ebsite]

Year In Review / My Top KDramas of ’22

Little Women

To My Star 2

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Military Prosecutor Doberman

Alchemy of Souls (1&2)

Blueming

Tomorrow

Semantic Error

Dear. M

Business Proposal

May I Help You

Honorable mentions:

Cafe Minamdong

Sh**ting Stars

Today’s Webtoon

Remarriage and Desires

LINK: Eat, Love, Kill

Under the Queens Umbrella 

Reborn Rich

Love All Play

Best web-series:

Choco Milk Shake

P.S. RIP to all the super cool looking shows I didn’t get to and wasn’t able to include on my list ( Deff feel free to drop me some recs if you don’t see your fav’s ) ♡

[glowingcowboy]

A Little Life: A Review by Me

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

It took me two years to read but i finally finished it.

As a depressed person who also loves depressed people it spoke to me in a way I think no other work has ever been able to articulate the complexity of emotions that those roles entail. The want to have them be better. The desperation to keep someone alive knowing that they desperately do not want to be. The sluggish exhaustion of living when one does not want to. The dilemma of knowing that you are suffering, that every single day is exhausting and brings you only more pain but knowing that if you were to leave it would only bring pain to those you love. The dilemma of knowing someone is suffering in ways you cannot fathom and wondering if you are doing the right thing by forcing them alive like a life support machine.

I think. It paints an understanding picture of trauma, self-harm, and suicide in a light that is rarely ever considered but I think sorely needed. Sort of the way Euphoria tried to do with Rue, but because we don’t know her, people didn’t get it. A Little Life forces us to love Jude and root for him the way his loved ones do and when he lashes out when he hurts himself, it is understood that he is doing these things not because he is a bad person, but because he is desperate. Desperate and trying to distance himself, we will not be caught in the explosion when he inevitably self-destructs. When you feel the way Jude does you feel like a cornered animal that has to fight and bite and tear to escape. I understand.

Everything in A Little Life comes down to love- our love for friends family and partners. Life is measured this way. A Little Life is a portrait of Jude St. Francis in all his glory and downfalls and his life ends the way everyone knew it would - it is really a little life. Just a little sliver of the world. His world and all the people he touched. What is left when you die and everyone you left behind has to learn how to live again. What happens to those who are left behind when the rest are gone. It let me hope that maybe there was a chance that me and my friends could continue being friends until our old age. But I know how unlikely that is.

It was refreshing and also extremely hard to read which is why it has taken me two years to get through it. I had to keep taking breaks for reading it for weeks or months. I could understand why some may view it as torture porn but I think they forget the point- to show the pain and the triumphs of a life in all their hideous beauty.

At times it felt improbable- how much tragedy could befall a person. I remember I sometimes wondered how it could get so bad. Then I remember that sometimes that is just how life is. But it also painted a depressing sort of outlook- that people do not change. That who you are remains constant throughout your life and to some extent that is true. In my psychology classes, we learn that our personalities don’t change over our lifetime- they’re a constant trait pretty much and this book delivers that message over and over again with a kick to the gut. It reminds me that the hero's journey is not reality- people do not go through it. We simply grow and then we die and that is what happened in this book. There was progress, there was change, there was hope and setbacks, but at the end of the day, everyone was who they had always been. Behaviours could change but behaviour is not who you are.

I can't articulate everything this book made me feel but I know that it will occupy a special place in my bookshelves no matter what. It made me feel seen and pitied and shameful and joyous. As someone with a history of s3lf-h!rm and su!c!de related issues I could understand Jude- I too do what he does and there is no logical explanation there is only rationalization. I hoped he would get better- because if he could then surely I could. But that's not life. Life is treacherous and malicious and yes full of joy, wonder, awe, and love but these things do not change the fact that life is a tragedy.

Most importantly the book ends where it began. A life cycle complete, which is all we can really hope for.

When I started reading I was younger than them- the same age. Still in university and reading about their youth. When it ended they were impossibly older, ancient and unthinkably old. In their fifties and sixties and eighties. Much like them I cannot imagine living to be that old- and maybe like them, I will grow old despite it all.

Maybe, I too will have a little life- not terribly important but meaningful all the same.

[lokh]

THATS where the sentinel guide shit is from????????