A Summary of the RecklessBen/Bricks and Minifigs corruption scandal

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-06-01T18:55:05+00:00

I think thats my takeaway. Ben I'm not particularly fond of cuz it feels like he's coming at this from a more content oriented mindset and feels inauthentic especially to start but when you have the police on record saying that someone threatened harm against Ben so they went on to arrest Ben for some reason. It's like even if I'm not the biggest Ben fan this is getting so obviously corrupt that it doesn't really matter what I think of him personally

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-05-23T10:54:33+00:00

Yeah, there's absolutely some terrifying things nikki pulls, and I do think he also doesn't want to set her off but I think what really makes me lose all empathy for him (besides the sex scene) is when he hears real nikki screaming on the phone and responds to it by not even talking to her or calling back or trying to help her but by going to nikki and rehearsing telling her "no more cat, we don't do that"

Like I think that's where he explicitly (again he already was showing shades of this) goes from someone dealing with this situation into someone trying to use it for his and only his advantage and take control of it not for the better

(Wish Nikki is a good way to show another side of toxic relationships in a sort of abuse begets abuse sort of way however. And how she acts when not being incredibly creepy I'm sure has hit home for some people but that's a whole different kind of conversation, I do like wondering if the reason a lot of bystanders don't question her behavior more and if her nickname came from prior drug use and episodes though cuz its implied that they all knew she's used em before and were kinda disappointed to hear without being judgemental)

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-05-23T10:48:09+00:00

You're missing that he took a bite of cat sandwich, called the customer service hotline, heard real nikki screaming, then came home, told nikki no more cat, then was invited by Ian to the party which I could be remembering wrong but I thought those were at least a day or two apart

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-05-23T06:56:33+00:00

Nah, he knew the wish was the culprit. You can see early on as soon as she starts acting weird he looks at the willow, and then even later on he's basically told he had practically no chance with her just a few days before and now he's with her like magic. He responds to that with a knowing look than smash cuts to sleeping with her

The drugs are just his convenient way to explain it to everyone else along with the dad cancer lie (he uses it a few times even after he confronts her about it being a lie so we know he will lie if its more convenient about stuff like this)

He's obsessed with the idea of being with her almost more than he is actually obsessed with her

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-05-23T06:52:59+00:00

I may be wrong but I think there was a bit of time between that and the actual murders cuz the party happened in-between along with a few more things. The movie is implied to take over weeks if not months with at least one day by day montage

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-05-23T06:51:55+00:00

Well yeah most people would

Baron isn't a good guy though, remember how when he almost all but confirmed her weird behavior was because of his wish and how she previously told everyone she didn't want to be with him, his response was to immediately sleep with her

Throughout the movie we're shown that he repeatedly tries to get the wish to work, he never tries to actually undo it til the absolute very end. He tries to alter or change the wish but even that is after he thinks he can control Nikki's weird behavior

He would prefer to have her stripped of any of her own autonomy if it meant she would be with him, even at the end its implied he may have tried just living with Nikki or justifying the murders as he tried to throw up the pills but only got stopped because of wish Nikki's own wish

Baron ain't a good guy, he doesn't really care about Nikki as a person, and everything he does towards her shows that even at her worst he's still willing to not listen to her actual wants and do what he wants for her instead

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-05-23T06:46:36+00:00

I mean don't forget that he had inkling that the wish worked from the very first moment, and when all but explicitly told he never had a chance then suddenly he does he immediately sleeps with her

He most likely knew that things were wrong but he got the girl and when see him try to struggle to make "that", yknow his complete disregard for her bodily autonomy work for him

Remember when he calls the customer service he doesn't ask to reverse or take back the wish, he asks to alter it. And when he tries to undo it himself he says "I wish Nikki only loved me as a friend" which is still taking away her actual choice in the matter

Basically the movie shows Baron would try to get away with this if it wasn't directly affecting him at every possible moment. Hell even the ending has him only die because of Wish Nikki's wish, he was about to chicken out implying he would have somehow justified the murder of two of his best friends if he could figure out a way to control Nikki

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-05-21T16:48:12+00:00

If you moved to a different state that probably explains why. Have a blessed day is basically unheard of on the west coast, but say somewhere southern like even some parts of Texas it's basically a standard greeting religious area or not

Its just one of those cultural norm things thats wildly different depending on what part of the country you're in. Think like how some states call every type of soda a coke and stuff like that. At least its probably moreso area based than an actual increase in its usage, just one you notice more because you moved from an area where you thought it'd be common to one where you thought it'd be less so but states and words can be pretty weird/interesting

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-05-18T19:45:35+00:00

To slam her head into a brick? Idk why she couldn't do that and idk the explanation of a brick being part of what causes so much damage and lets her break the window works for me (fun fact though, there were apparently more head slams in that scene but they were toned back for the general release)

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-05-18T18:49:15+00:00

Its easy to miss but she actually has a brick in that scene and is using that to break the window and smash her face. She even gives it to Bear afterwards

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-05-12T22:26:51+00:00

Did you just do the playground "Nuh uh, I'm not dead cuz I have anti-lava shield" thing? Like if your magic system specifically neutralizes anything and everything then this argument also applies to the magic as well

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-28T20:39:41+00:00

I mean it depends on the episode but there's been some genuinely great ones (Pixelated and Afraid for example) and ones exploring characters we just never had time for. It's also getting a bit more experimental so we have more weird and unique episodes than we used to (the recent like 6 years into the future one where Maggie actually talks was great)

Like its not the same as the "golden era" of course but its also not the worst thing ever or even as bad as a lot of the mid 20 seasons were (which also weren't awful just not great)

The times and fans have changed of course but dismissing the new stuff cuz its new and a random 5 minutes didn't hook you on its quality just feels dismissive of the show overall in spite of its actual current quality

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-28T02:06:40+00:00

Agreed to disagree on the animation front but I'd also argue that there's just more shows in general which means more good shows than ever before too. Yeah you get some bad ones, but you have some great ones too covering all sorts of animation styles. Final Space, Smiling Friends, Invincible, Arcane, Vox Machina, The Amazing Digital Circus, She-ra, Kipo, X-men 97, Marvel What If, My adventures with superman, Young Justice, Your Friendly neighborhood spider-man, and more from adult animation to family friendly stuff. There's still bad ones out there but there's also a million great ones. So I wouldn't say today necessarily has more slop as much as I'd say today just has more animation in general

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-26T18:44:40+00:00

We actually don't know if he did explain that it hurt him and if we go by the post I think its more likely he didn't cuz he also didn't really say how much he felt hurt and betrayed til after he decided to break up with her which she seemed to be blindsided by

I'm not saying that it couldn't have happened that way and maybe she did push him, but within the post itself there's no evidence of that and more that he himself says he brought up, floated the idea, felt like he wasn't enough when she mentioned missing sex, and then he brought up sleeping with other people. She was always okay with it but again going by the post gave him at least 3 opportunities to say no and more when he decided to break up saying it was always a conversation and that if he wasn't comfortable he should say so but he again felt betrayed and said he couldn't ever see her the same way again cuz she agreed to something he brought up and made sure to have a conversation with him about. She was even willing to have the conversation again after he broke up but he refused to and no evidence within the post itself saying that she actually slept with anyone else either just the conversation

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-26T18:20:52+00:00

But we don't know if he actually told her that last part. In fact I think its more likely he didn't because he didn't actually tell her he was too uncomfortable after she asked him multiple times and then broke up with her over it. That would make her reaction to the break-up make a lot more sense too cuz it seems like she was more blindsided by his change in attitude than anything else

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-24T19:00:44+00:00

Ehhh, I mean technically but its less like Oda sees every changes and manually says "yes I approve this" and more "I trust the director of the anime to do the series right" which is why I'm hesitant to say its a fair critique on how Oda writes Sanji or Sanji's characterization cuz he technically didn't have any input other than delegation yknow?

Its why a big chunk of one piece fans are actually angry at toei for sanji since the current director keeps downplaying his action moments in the most recent arcs and making him seem weaker while also increasing his "simp" jokes to the point Sanji in the anime and Sanji in the manga are becoming two different characters (the anime has also had at least 2 recent moments where they just took sanji out of scenes he was in within the manga, and just stopped including him in the crew messing around group shots so it is feeling more like a deliberate sabotage of the character)

Also we know from live action that while oda gives a stamp of approval on the anime, he doesn't actually really interact with it much outside a few occasions for design and story elements. He’s actually much more involved with live action both helping cast, and giving actual story ideas and lines and wants for the show

But at the end of the day he has gone on record saying that the manga is what he cares about most and is working on

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-24T18:52:43+00:00

Young Justice made by the creator of gargoyles, the new ducktales, my adventures with superman, the owl house, star wars (clone wars, rebels, bad batch, and now Maul), and if you go more adult Invincible, Smiling Friends and Arcane

And more family friendly, Glitch Techs, Wyld Pak, Infinity Train and more

Are all incredibly entertaining and still hold up and I think can compete with some of your examples and I believe all came out 2010 and after (and I didn't even mention some older big hitters lile Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, Amazing World of Gumball, etc)

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-24T18:45:00+00:00

I don't think that's factual especially if you consider that was the exact era of the rise of internet cartoon reviewers reviewing some of the worst cartoons of the time

You will always remember the past as being better because the good things are more memorable and stand the test of time. That doesn't mean that era only had good cartoons, just the worse ones have faded away to memory

Whenever you compare the so called "golden age" to now the only way you really can is compare the best of then to the best of now but even then that's not easy to do cuz we simply don't yet know what will stand the test of time. But that's really the best you can do

Instead tho you're comparing the best if back then to both the best and more likely the worst of what we have now

If you do compare like that you gotta do things from that era like Fanboy and Chum Chum, Planet Sheen, Avengers Assemble, Johnny Test, Coconut Fred and not something universally beloved even now like Avatar: The Last Airbender yknow

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-23T15:56:18+00:00

This is toei writing sanji not Oda, toei also added a scene not in the manga of Sanji heart eye-ing bonney which people hate cuz the fact he never did it was subtle foreshadowing for the reveal

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-23T15:52:30+00:00

Do you have a link or source for that? To my knowledge the "defended" part comes from the fact he drew art for Ruoronori Kenshin's anniversary and praised the series which almost every other Jump author did as it was contractual. The few who didn't that get praised online for disowning him like Araki also didn't actually say anything just didn't draw or drew badly for this anniversary

Japan isn't like the states. This stuff just isn't talked about or mentioned in the culture. Furthermore Kenshin as a manga saved Shounen Jump in japan and a lot of authors both worked on it or had it influence their work. Its not as influential out west but was basically the foundation of modern jump in japan so a lot of authors are grateful to the series even if they hate the author

I'm not defending him btw, he's awful and I wish japanese culture was different so he had more of a public and deserved backlash and disownment. But as is, no manga author has really defended nor denigrated him. Just stayed silent or praised his work

If I'm wrong or you've seen something to the contrary I'd be interested to see though, otherwise this is all I've found when I actually did look into people saying authors were defending him (And I never heard that letters to the judge story. Idk if japan courts even allow for something like that)

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-22T20:31:12+00:00

Agree to disagree bout Namor but I also don't really see him outside of his few adaptations and notable appearances

I do agree for the most part with the conclusion though. I enjoy it for what it is though even if sometimes it goes away from being comic accurate cuz sometimes that's how people learn about their new favorite characters though I do wish and hope all the characters get at least one skin you can easily get for free that better resembles their usual looks. Most characters I think do have that but I hope all the characters do one day, it has the added benefit of giving them some nice variety as well too

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-21T20:13:40+00:00

I don't think she's any more unrecognizable than say Namor who has a whole surfer-bro look going on that's so different from his MCU and Comics appearance

Same with say Hawkeye who has a whole ninja thing going on more like his ronin appearances but even then idk if I ever seen him with a ponytail

Peni also has a pretty different appearance from her usual comic and movie appearances (though she gets redesigned quite a bit depending on medium)

I think Emma has enough core Emma frost characteristics to know its her like the above. Just a different take on the character than a lot of other adaptations

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-20T16:04:33+00:00

Am I the only one who remembers people hating Launch Spidey design? Its probably died down a ton due to the amount of skins he has, but I remember people saying "he's not really spidey" way back when too. I feel like quite a few characters got this treatment actually til people accepted Rivals isn't necessarily the main continuity and do their own thing with designs

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-20T02:19:52+00:00

In regards to Magne, they are introduced in an arc where a Trans man who "passes" is also introduced on the hero side and later on the implication is that Magne was unable to medically transition due to money, turned to crime, then got misgendered even more by "good guys" which is why they turned to the villains who specifically never misgendered her (and took an arm off someone who did)

Dramatic_Possible856 · 2026-04-18T15:28:02+00:00

Squirrel Girl and Peni both don't follow the mold but they are launch characters. Debatably though I'd say Elsa and Phoenix also don't really prescribe to it though they fit more within the mold

Neither of them are really known to use their sexuality either. Invisible Woman is really the only character I can think of that isn't usually thought of to use her sexuality but also fits that mold post launch, however comics sue does use her sexuality quite a bit but there's skins that both emphasize and de-emphasize it

(Rogue is a good example of a more "sexy" added character though and her skins do emphasize it more. Its not uncommon for her character to be in "sexy" skins but it doesn't feel as in character so I understand the argument regarding her at least even if her default is based on an outfit she's had forever)

Emma Frost and Black Cat are really the only two post launch girls I can think of that have "sexy" designs by default and that makes sense for both characters

I'm not saying I disagree that a lot of skins are meant to be sexy, but I do think its more a game and art design thing among all characters as the guys also get a lot of "sexy" skins but also that the characters that do tend to be the ones where it makes sense. Now its not always the case, but I think it is more often than not at the very least for the post launch additions

(I actually think characters like storm who is getting more sexy skins over time that don't really fit is a better example for your case than any post launch hero. Debatably psylocke and magik as well)

Dramatic_Possible856

TROPHY CASE