#Funnily enough I actually wear glasses IRL

[thatguywhodoesstuff]

Hmm…

[risrielthron]

Who We Were

This took a good long while because there was a retcon in November of 2015 that kinda forced Risri into hiatus. When I brought her back for the paper in 2016, some details changed but still this was an eye-opening exercise of how I’ve grown as both an RPer and a writer. Anything that does not have brackets is the same.

Take a trip down memory lane, pull up the oldest ‘about’ post you can find for your character, and annotate what has changed and what has stayed the same in {Curly brackets}. 

(I borrowed this from @alyssa-ward​​ because what a cool exercise)

Originally posted October 4, 2015

Character’s full name: Risri Elthron Reason or meaning of name:  combination of Mother's best friend's name (still alive) and her mother's sister who died - Rislana (best friend) and Kiari (sister). The Elthron family have mostly played a back seat in the history of the Kaldorei. {Both of these origins have kind of changed. Risri’s name became a place that her parents named her after, something that was important to her father’s family in an RP with her aunt. The last name Elthron was chosen by Risri during her exile her original family name is Kal’serrar.} Character’s nickname:  Ris Reason for nickname: just a short form of Risri

Physical appearance

Age: 403 {she has aged 1 rl year each year since 2015 she is currently 408 years old} How old does he/she appear: to a human about 20ish {I actually think now she probably seems a little older to people) Weight: We don't ask ladies this! Though she looks healthy and toned. {I figure she’s whatever the average weight is for female elves} Height: Average for a Kaldorei {This has changed a bit. I have her just a tad shorter than Dragaur in human form so she’s 6’2” which apparently is short for an elf} Body build: She's not a body builder but her activities keep her in shape. Shape of face: Typical Kaldorei {She did not have a face claim at the time nor did she have art.  Her face looks like this art the most.}

Eye color: White {I list it as silver now} Glasses or contacts: none Skin tone: light purplish Distinguishing marks: Claw tattoo (gained during her Druid initiation ceremony) Hair color: Purple Type of hair: Long Hairstyle: up in a ponytail or straight down her back {when I first made Risri I had her in the pigtail hair style. I quickly didnt like how it looks and changed it to the long style she sports now. It has not changed since} Voice: typically soft {I imagine her voice and accent a bit like Gal Gadot’s natural voice} Overall attractiveness: again not really caught up in her appearance so someone may need to tell her and even then she will more than likely blush and stammer a thank you. {This has changed so so much from when I first created her.  She knows she is lovely and she will probably think you want something from her if you flatter her appearance.} Physical disabilities: none Usual fashion of dress: For events: dresses...she has discovered she likes pretty pretty dresses.  For class: simple black pants and a simple shirt  {So this too has changed from when I first created her.  She aims for comfort and style. She most often will be found in one of these} Favorite outfit: Dresses, she found a lovely gold and white dress that has become her favorite {I dont even know what dress this was but Im sure it was something from my early days on wra-I would say her favorite outfit is probably one of the ones above} Jewelry or accessories: She wears a button on a string around her neck. She fondles it every so often. {The button on a string has actually moved to her bag, she now sports a ruby necklace from Dragaur, her bracelet with several charms on it, and always has her camera}

Personality

Alignment: Good {I think I would classify Risri now as more neutral these days} Good personality traits: Loves animals, children, books, meeting new people (even though she can be shy, she enjoys it), giving, loyal  {This is all true except for the shyness, I don’t actually rp Risri as shy. She may be standoffish but thats cause IRL I am shy but Risri most definitely has no fear of talking to people} Bad personality traits: shyness can sometimes stop her from joining in, when she is caught up in research she may ignore others not to be hurtful she just gets caught up  {I think this one goes with the other, as for bad traits today, I usually say she can be stuck in her ways at times and can be over protective} Mood character is most often in: happy {I would say this is still true but she’s had her share of pain} Sense of humor:  silly things make her laugh {Not so much silly things but she definitely has a more snarky is funny sense of humor} Character’s greatest joy in life: running in the forest as a cat {Taking pictures and being a druid are equal} Character’s greatest fear: the death of her mother {This has actually come out in RP as a fear of mind control.  She would fear the death of her mother but mind control tops it.} Why?  Her mother and her are very close (unusual for Kaldorei, as they grow up communally typically), travelling with her mother in her formative years they relied upon each other What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil? Ris would be devastated if something happened to her mother  {I think the death of Latilda, and then when she thought Dragaur was dead, and subsequently the death of Suzi in the office are three of the most profound things that made Risri change some. Her fel contamination would come a close fourth Currently, if something was to really happen to Dragaur, Sky, or Selise it would mess up Risri for a while} Character is most at ease when: Researching {Funnily enough this might still be true, but I would say taking pictures is probably more} Most ill at ease when: at war {This is true, but as she found out both at Darkshore and recently when there are forsaken involved she has no hesitation in killing.} Enraged when: witnessing senseless destruction of sacred places or artifacts {I completely forgot that I chose that, but I would say it has not changed. She also does not stand for people she cares about being hurt, this one is tricky though and I often have to tame it down because of interactions with others.} Depressed or sad when:  she is a pretty positive individual, depression and sadness are fleeting if they happen at all. {This has matured over time. She gets very introspective at times and definitely will seek alone time when she is sad.} Priorities: Learn about as many cultures as she can, current focus is Treants. {So long ago… Her priorities currently are her studio, Dragaur, and helping the Kaldorei still homeless.} Life philosophy: Learn, Learn, Learn then share it all!  {This was definitely written back in my Stormwind University days. Her philosophy “Be kind. It’s worthwhile to make an effort to learn about other people and figure out what you might have in common with them.”} Character’s soft spot: her Sprite Darter "Flutter" {Also a certain worgen} Is this soft spot obvious to others? Sometimes {while I dont play it up too much she is very attached to Flutter. As for the worgen, yes when they are together it is clear she has a soft spot for the gruff one} Greatest strength: Passion for learning {This is probably still true but I would say she also is a pretty good photographer and a loyal friend.} Greatest vulnerability or weakness:  Naivety of how the world really works even though she has travelled the two main continents extensively she has been sheltered by her mother. {This was one of the things I retconned out of her when I brought her back for the paper. Risri may be unknowing of some human interactions but she is far from naive in most cases.} Biggest regret: That one time at band camp...seriously she is young so right now she doesn't have one but this may play into her development and story later. {HUGE change here... in fleshing her out in RP the biggest regret is and always will be the incident that forced her out of the Sentinels but not the results because it let her become a druid so its a double edged regret} Minor regret: she forgot to tell her mom about the time she ...oh that might not be appropriate for here {Again a change that came about from RP, that she threatened Dragaur with turning him in. She would never do that and she said it in a moment of frustration with him during a fight. It hurt them both too much.} Biggest accomplishment: coming soon  {Running the paper. Opening her studio. either} Minor accomplishment: joining the University! {so many things, her writings, some of her photographs, saving people at Teldrassil, helping the Kaldorei in Stormwind.} Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about: she was almost not able to become a druid...story for another time {This also changed with the retcon, but I would say the time she spent before coming to Stormwind would be something she would not want others to know about and will probably not talk about to anyone.} Why?  She loves being a druid so not being one… {I have thoughts about what she was doing but its not fleshed out. Maybe someday and I can revisit this.} Character’s darkest secret: She is a pretty open book. Maybe later she will have a "dark" secret.  {So this dark secret is the fact that she killed 10 Sentinels. That also came with the revamp.} Does anyone else know?  {Several people.}

Goals

Drives and motivations: Curiosity unusual for a Kaldorei and need to have answers to questions  { I would say this is somewhat still there and aided her when she was a reporter, but her drives and motivations are deeper now and the result of RP. She wants to make amends and sees her work with the Kaldorei refugees as part of that.} Immediate goals: Make friends with the treant she met at the Grove of Ancients {Keep her business running, aid the Kaldorei} Long term goals: Become an expert in as many cultures as she can {Live} How the character plans to accomplish these goals: Locate writings and interviewing others, spending time with treants ((her contact will be sending her around Azeroth and Draenor to meet with others)) {So her plan for her immediate goals are tied together. She takes a good portion of her profits from the studio and the two books she’s published to fund her relief efforts} How other characters will be affected: may be pestered for any little detail they have about treants  {Most of the people she interacts with in RP would not be impacted.}

Past

Hometown: Darnassus  {God I was such a noob.  Feralas is her home.} Type of childhood: travelled both continents with her mother {so noob. She spent her youth in Feralas, Ashenvale, and Darkshore.} Pets: Sprite Darter named Flutter and a curious little white kitten {I retconned the kitten. Its only Flutter} First memory: Leaves above her (could be why she is fascinated with the treants...) {I think I’ll leave this one.} Most important childhood memory: Her and her mother on a ship talking into the night {This can stay too} Why?  The closeness she felt to her mother {Because of this reason}

Present

Current location: Elwynn Forest, Jazimina Amberstill's "Ranch" {Stormwind City, either Dragaur’s apartment or her studio} Currently living with: Jazimina Amberstill and Ritti {Dragaur} Pets: Sprite Darter "Flutter" Religion: Follower of Elune {no change, add wild gods} Occupation: Researcher {Photographer} Finances: moderate {no change though she has more wealth than she lets on}

Family

Mother:  Kahrysta Elthron  {Oh wow I totally changed her mother’s name.. Its Alistra Kal’serrar } Relationship with her: good {excellent} Father: Brezlin Elthron Relationship with him: vague memories, he died when she was still a child Siblings: none Relationship with them: Spouse: none Relationship with him/her: Children: none {though she briefly adopted Ritti before they found the gnome’s family} Relationship with them: Other important family members: Mother's best friend Rislana is like an aunt  {her aunt Tara, cousins, and another aunt I dont have a name for.}

Favorites

Color: Green and Purple {blues could be added} Least favorite color: Orange {sorry Drag, but I dont think its true anymore} Music: any Food: Chocolate Cookies {See answer here} Literature: Any Form of entertainment: stories {plays, dances could be added} Expressions: "Indeed!" {Its not often I get to use it but I do like it} Mode of transportation: Winterspring Frostsaber, given to her by her mother when she hit adulthood (about 50 years ago) or flight form  {Flight form.  The frostsaber went away in the retcon} Most prized possession: her journal {Camera}

Habits

Hobbies: Dabbles in alchemy {more than dabbles now} Plays a musical instrument? No Plays a sport: no How he/she would spend a rainy day: reading a book, any book {taking pictures} Spending habits: thrifty {for herself this is probably true, for others she can be extravagant} Smokes: no  Drinks: not normally  {no change, but she will drink} Other drugs: no What does he/she do too much of? Read  {Take pictures} What does he/she do too little of?  Socialize just for fun {This is probably more true now since giving up the paper} Extremely skilled at:  Keeping a team alive when faced with challenges when exploring  {Photography, writing could be added} Extremely unskilled at:  a lot of things but she does hate cooking {LIES...I retconned this. She loves to cook. I don’t know...but I am sure there is something. It would probably be something she doesn’t do and has no desire to do.} Nervous tics: not sure someone may need to point that out to her  {She plays with the bracelet on her wrist when she’s nervous. } Usual body posture: relaxed and happy Mannerisms: polite {extremely so} Peculiarities: …  {hmm, I am sure there are some that have manifested over the five years I’ve been RPing her. Perhaps how she will always address a human as their full name unless she has been asked not to and will still use Ms. Mrs. Miss. Mr. with that name unless she feels close to you.}

Traits

Optimist or pessimist: Optimist Introvert or extrovert: Introvert until she gets to know you then she might not be quiet {I would say shes more mixed now.} Daredevil or cautious?: A little of both Logical or emotional: Emotional  {probably more mixed now though she can be emotional she just normally doesn’t let it show unless she is very comfortable with you} Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat: somewhere in between, depends on how wrapped up she is in her research but she does have a habit of cleaning up if there is a mess  { I would say she is very neat. Sky drives her crazy.} Prefers working or relaxing:  working {definitely would say this is still true} Confident or unsure of himself/herself: unsure internally, others probably see her as confident  {a little of this still lingers but unless you are close to her you wont see it} Animal lover: indeed

Self-Perception

How he/she feels about himself/herself: an introvert who is more bookish than social  {This is still kinda true.} One word the character would use to describe self: shy  {Quiet} One paragraph description of how the character would describe self: A passionate learner and studier of peoples, loves animals, enjoys outdoors, and exploring is exciting.  {A memory keeper, lover of animals and the outdoors, her passion for photography as a way to preserve memories is high.} What does the character consider his/her best personality trait? her passion for learning  {her compassion for others} What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait? her shyness ((its all in her head too, she really can be quite un-shy when meeting new races or investigating something though in social entertainment type situations she is at a loss)) {so retconned, she would say her possessiveness when it comes to the people she cares about.} What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic? She is unaware of her appearance most of the time  {She likes her hair.} What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic? She hates her feet...not really  {I’ll keep this if only cause I dont know} How does the character think others perceive him/her: She sometimes thinks too much about this and sometimes it doesn't bother her at all  {She is very conscious of being a Kaldorei business woman in a human society. She strives to show that her people are trustworthy and kind.} What would the character most like to change about himself/herself: her shyness  {Since I retconned the shyness...I don’t know...Risri believes she can be a better person but its something that you work on each day.} 

Relationships with others

Opinion of other people in general: opportunity to learn  {She is still curious about others and likes people watching. She thinks most people are good at heart.} Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others: hmm, I think this will depend upon the relationship and situation  {Oh most definitely, this was honed during her time as a reporter where she hid a lot of her thoughts about things.} Person character most hates: no one (yet)  {Elyza Morrowbranch} Best friend(s): her mother / Jazi  {Sky Stoneseat} Love interest(s): none (yet)  {Dragaur} Person character goes to for advice: her mother / Dean Crowelley  { Dragaur, Sky, Selise} Person character feels responsible for or takes care of: Ritti  {Dragaur, Sky } Person character feels shy or awkward around: cute boys...oh ok anyone in an entertainment social situation, when she is meeting others for what she calls "research" she emulates her mother's ambassador ways as much as possible  {So such a noob.  She really doesn’t except older Kaldorei...she worries what they know of her past.} Person character openly admires: her mother and Rislana Silverwind  {Who is Rislana Silverwind omg I totally forgot this was a thing. Will have to think of someone else as Rislana is a Draenei now.  As for who she admires?  Her mother, Selise, Sky, Eilithe, Feyawen, Anegorn, and a few others.} Person character secretly admires: Dean Crowelley {I don’t think there is anyone she secretly admires, if she likes you, you know.} Most important person in character’s life before story starts: her mother  After story starts:  Ritti, Jazi, and the university faculty  {Dragaur, Sky, Selise}

If you made it here thanks for looking at the changes of Risri over the course of the last five years.  Its been a long, strange, crazy trip but I wouldn’t change much about it. If you want to do this, I encourage you to! And tag me cause I wanna read!

[guerins]

a little summary of fehr and mo’s insta live

HEAT WAVE RE-WATCH - April 20th (2020)

It took Brendan a minute to figure out how to add Majandra to the live feed.

She was wearing a sickass robe. Said robe was discussed like halfway the feed.

They were both drinking. Brendan: red wine and vodka. Majanda: who knows (I think it was also wine. I don’t remember if she said it, though)

Did they toast each other you ask? They sure did. Glasses clinked the screens; I shit you not

Majandra said she wanted to watch the episode beforehand, to prepare herself.

She did. But only the beginning because she could not get through the first scene due to embarrassment.

On the live feed we saw her embarrassment fist hand. Brendan was also feeling weird about it.

She kept looking away, talking to distract herself.

He said the reason why he kept talking while the scene was on, was so he could distract himself from what was happening on the screen as well.

They discussed Majandra’s sweeping abilities -or lack thereof- and Brendan’s mom being on set while they filmed that make-out scene at the crashdown.

They were dating while they filmed that ep. They were on the early stages of ‘courting’ as Majandra put it, so Brendan’s mom being on set did make her nervous.

Brendan said they should not have been making out on the floor of the diner. He said something along the lines of ‘That place if full of cooking grease!’

He shared a little anecdote about how he was on his trailer one day, someone knocks on his door, he opens and ‘oh, majandra delfino is there’

She went to him to rehearse their first kiss. They barely knew each other. Hated each other (she more than him, apparently). And she went and said she needed to see what he kissed llike to prepare herself for the actual scene. So, they would rehearse the kiss scenes. They would make out on his trailer and then film the scenes. Yes, SCENES. As in, MORE THAN ONE. I repeat, this happened MORE THAN ONCE. Majandra claimed she wanted to know what it would be like, so it’d look/ feel good on screen.

Majandra said she now realizes how unprofessional that was, but at the time she didn’t think it was weird. Brendan, on the other hand, thought it was a weird thing to do and still does. Not that she refused to kiss her back then tho…

The hair was a big topic of discussion.

Majandra kept apologizing about hers.

Although they both praised Brendan’s hair.

Brendan said he still has that red shirt from when they’re making out at the eraser room. He said one of his daughters wears it all the time.

Hey, did you guys know the girl playing Vicky Delaney (Kyle’s date at the soap factory) was actually a 40 year-old woman?! Huh. Go figure.

Majandra saying to Brendan that they are now the age the actress is and they don’t look nearly as good. Brendan agreeing.

Majandra said she loved Liz’s voice. That she loved how Shiri would sound different when she played Liz.

The love they got for Diane (Amy Deluca)!!!! Majandra said she was too young to be playing her mom.

Brendan saying how he can now appreciate the grownups scenes and how cool it was that Bill Sadler (Valenti) got to have that storyline with Diane. How he didn’t care about the adult scenes back then because he was kind of a dick and whenever he saw the scenes with the grown-up actors, he’d ask why those scenes were even necessary.

Majandra agreeging. She said that whenever she watched ‘My so-called life’ she would hate the adults scenes because they were boring in her eyes.

They now realize those scenes were actually very important.

THE LOVE FOR COLIN! ♥

Majandra: He looks like a baby! Look at his clothes.

Brendan: He was great. I love this relationship he had with Liz. Maria was the best friend but he was also there…

Majandra: Yeah, it was like a trio.

Brendan: (or was it Majandra who said this?) He was the third sister.

Majandra: But Maria was number one. [laughs]

They discussed the turtle neck. Or, as Brendan put it, the ball of yarn Majandra was wearing.

This was a good hair day for Brendan btw, just in case you were wondering. He confirmed it.

The Stargazer relationship was talked about. They had nothing but love for those two.

Brendan addresses Katie’s PJs

Brendan: Katie was really great.

Majandra made the observation of what a sweet guy Alex was to be having this kind of dream about Isabel, and not something entirely different.

Brendan: He even got a tuxedo.

Majandra: Look at the boombox. Like ‘Say Anything.’

Once again, back to the clothes. Brendan’s t-shirt in the bathroom when he and Max talk about how ‘it has gotten complicated’ (Brendan actually said that line twice when this scene came on), he said he still has that shirt and he had to fight to let them wear it on the episode. Apparently, everyone was against it, he had to convince them. The t-shirt has some horses on it.

Brendan also stole a bunch of clothes and memorabilia, Majandra was not so lucky. She went to get some of Maria’s clothes only to find out it was all given to some producer’s daughter. So, when the show was over, she parked her car, opened the trunk and got whatever she could in there. Ended up getting the clothes the adult actors wore.

The way Jason looks at Liz when they’re dealing with the ‘mating ritual’. Majandra said ‘look at Jasons eyes! Ahhhhh’

The golden top maria wears at the soap factory? Majandra didn’t remember it. BRENDAN DID.

What Majandra remembers is that at this point in time in real life, they were sort of on the outs. Mimicking fiction. As they usually did. They were on and off during the entire series and funnily enough, when the characters were fighting, so were they irl. She said that she believed there was a scene in this ep she remembers which means they were sort of fighting.

They talked about how it was also difficult filming when they were on a fight irl but Maria and Michael were doing great. Those were hard days filming. They would come to set and everyone would have to figure out and read the vibe to see how they were doing. Lol.

Majandra saying how it was kind of unbelievable that Isabel would go for a guy like Alex. That she was so beautiful, she looked like she could be dating a college guy. Also, she praised that Isabel chose Alex, she gave the good guy a chance instead of going for a different type.

When they got to the ‘maybe we should have never started this’ Majandra confirmed that they were definitely on the outs irl at this point of the series. She again apologizes for her hair.

Brendan says he was worried about the humidity in this scene because of his hair. He was very protective of his hair. He wouldn’t let anyone touch it. Even today he gets nervous when he goes to get a haircut.

They talked about Valenti’s phone when he’s on a date with Amy. Well, it wasn’t Valenti’s phone, it was the restaurant’s phone but they thought it was Valenti’s cellphone and that he carried it around on his pocked or something. They had a good laugh about it because the phone was huge.

They talked about Majandra’s old phone back in the day. Which was both a cellphone and a walkie. (A nokia, I think they said. It was yellow? I don’t remember the color.)

They could not get through the jail scene. Kept saying ‘when is this gonna end? This jail scene is so long.’ Lol

To be fair, they were right.

They praised Alex for standing up to Valenti. Talked about Liz making the index finger signal as she tells Alex about Max, Michael and Isabel.

Brendan mentions Liz’s crazy eyes in this scene and why Michael was clearly right no to trust her.

Brendan: Look at her, she’s telling him the secret. Knew I couldn’t trust her.

Majandra: Yeah, she’s telling everybody.

Brendan: The bars in the jail. Are they real?

Majandra: What if they started to bend?

[laughs]

[more laughs]

Liz’s roof? All fake. The ladder was short. Not that short though.

Brendan: Yeah, Jason wasn’t on his knees climbing up that ladder.

Majandra: Can you imagine if he was though?

[laughs]

Brendan: Is this their first kiss?

Majandra: It is. I think.

Brendan: He even lifts up her shirt a little! That’s ballsy.

END OF EPISODE.

 For the little Q&A

They said they would do the live feed again. Next episode to re-watch would be 285 South (maybe) because that got a lot of votes and they love that episode. Brendan said they should probably do one ep from each season. They talked about B&T. They have a second trailer. They filmed it. (We already knew this. Well…we assumed, but now we know for sure it’s out there.) They are very protective of this new project and getting it done so that’s why they haven’t released the trailer. They are sort of saving it for reasons. They have talked to networks, and continue to work to bring the show to life. There are things they want to keep, easter eggs, like the tobasco bottle, among others, so they are fighting to get those things to stay in the story.

They zoom with Nick and Jason very – and I mean VERY-often. Apparently the four of them are really good friends. They said maybe they could do a live feed with them. And they would also love to have them on B&T, obviously. Actually, they’d love to get as many actors as possible that were on Roswell to join B&T.

They were asked to describe each other in one word. Brendan said the word for Majandra back then wouldn’t be the same as now. They were asked to choose two words to describe each other, one for back then, one for now. Brendan went with ‘Passionate’ and ‘Loyal.’ Majadra said of Brendan he was ‘Blunt’ and now he is ‘LOUD.’ “Crazy, frustrating, agitated, stubborn” were other words to describe each other they used. Majandra said she thought Brendan had a condition, that that was the reason why he talks so loud nowadays. Brendan made sure we all knew that he does not. That’s just the way he talks.

Gags: When Brendan connected for the second video, he had trouble adding Majandra to the live feed (AGAIN) so he grabbed the ipad/tablet/or whatever from where he had it set, to try and work it out. And when Majandra finally appeared on screen, he dropped the ipad/tablet/or whatever to the floor. More specifically to the back of his desk. When he was setting it back on the table, he nearly dropped his glass of wine or flask (?) of vodka. Majandra laughed, he made a panicky funny face.

If I forgot something, I apologize. If remembered something incorrectly (like, who said what) please forgive me, I’m only human. Also, I wrote this down on Monday night after the live feed. Well, it was like, 4 am so… it was actually Tuesday. I was worried if I waited longer, I would forget more details. Anyway, I hope this was helpful somehow. Love you all♥

[hannobehrens]

i was tagged by @leivangel​ my polish angel,  read it if you wanna know more about me i guess, don’t have much to do anyway

Rules: Answer these 85 statements and tag 20 people

THE LAST 1. drink: hot chocolate 2. phone call: mom 3. text message: yasmin!!! i’m counting down till the day she comes back but well. we cannot not talk @oblaks i mean i have your account but come back pls 4. song you listened to: lmao a song sung by JJ Lin (a Taiwanese guy) 5. time you cried: this week but i forgot which day 6. dated someone twice: no lah who wants me anyway 7. kissed someone and regretted it: ... 8. been cheated on: no 9. lost someone special: yeah?? ofc.. this year’s been v hard lmao 10. been depressed: i don’t think so lmao 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: no

3 FAVOURITE COLOURS 12. royal blue 13. green 14. black/purple (i can’t choose)

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU

15. made new friends: (what do you mean last year... 2017 or 2016) if you count tumblr... yes lmao; real life no 16. fallen out of love: no 17. laughed until you cried: i don’t really know, but probably yeah 18. found out someone was talking about you: not this year 19. met someone who changed you: people on here? idek 20. found out who your friends are: maybe 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: 2017 no

GENERAL: 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: i have no idea and i’m too lazy to check it 23. do you have any pets: not now 24. do you want to change your name: yeah sometimes i want to (especially my chinese name); my friends irl will know why 25. what did you do for your last birthday: exam 26. what time did you wake up: 7 something am lmao... 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: talking to ‘german anon’ jfdlkagjldksajflk, i forgot 28. name something you can’t wait for: this week to be over 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: yesterday 31. what are you listening to right now: some Cantonese singer singing? 32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: MY UNCLE 33. something that is getting on your nerves: leon goretzka to b*yern rumors 34. most visited website: tumblr/youtube 35. hair colour: black 36. long or short hair: i’ve always wanted to try short but i’m afraid lmao 37. do you have a crush on someone: idk anymore 38. what do you like about yourself: handwriting? lmao... 39. piercings: none 40. blood type: i actually don’t know, i think it’s O (sadly) 41. nickname: char/chip/orange 42. relationship status: kinda in a relationship with @johannesgeis​ 43. zodiac: gemini 44. pronouns: she/they (i don’t really mind..) 45. favourite tv show: ...... 46. tattoos: none rn i’m too young (illegal rn) for that but who knows; also my parents will probably kill me if i get one 47. right or left handed: fun fact: i was left handed until my mom forced me to write with my right (i HATE) 48. surgery: i can’t think of any 50. sport: volleyball, swimming, badminton, etc etc. not tennis. usually anything using arms/wrists. i mean funnily enough i can kinda throw the javelin and discus 51. vacation: i’ve been to quite a lot of places tbh! Canada (mainly the route from Vancouver to Calgary + Edmonton lmao, i mainly stay at Calgary) for 6 times? (relatives and all that), Australia (route from Sydney to Melbourne?), South Korea (Seoul x3), Japan (Osaka, and places in which i forgot their names), Philippines (Bohol, Manila), Thailand (Bangkok, Chiangmai), Singapore/Malaysia, China (Beijing, Shanghai, and places in the Guangdong province), Taiwan (Taipei, Kaohsiung)... yeah that’s probably the places i’ve been to 52. pair of trainers: a few pairs probably but i mainly wear a Puma one which is generally black in colour... it’s actually broken(??) though

MORE GENERAL 53. eating: i’ve eaten a bread today lmao i have no idea what i like the most 54. drinking: i can drink most things, trying to cut down on coke 55. I’m about to: see if there are any new youtube vids (Real Nimrod be PROUD) 56. waiting for: not bayern to win the bundesliga, freiburg (mad respect!!) to win the europa league qualifying round :) 57. want: a lot of things 58. get married: @johannesgeis when? 59. career: something to deal with sports, not much idea tho. mom wants me to work in the financial sector

WHICH IS BETTER: 60. hugs or kisses: hugs 61. lips or eyes: idk 62. shorter or taller: i don’t know, i just hate it when people (boys) taller than me tell me how short i am 63. older or younger: usually older 64. nice arms or nice stomach: arms? 65. hookup or relationship: relationship 66. troublemaker or hesitant: hesitant

HAVE YOU EVER: 67. kissed a stranger: no 68. drank hard liquor: yes 69. lost glasses/contact lenses: yes  70. turned someone down: lmao 71. sex on the first date: no 73. had your heart broken: ??? 74. been arrested: no 75. cried when someone died: yeah 76. fallen for a friend: who are my friends

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 77. yourself: not really, sometimes yeah 78. miracles: sometimes 79. love at first sight: i still don’t know 80. santa claus: no 81. kiss on the first date: i’m asian 82. angels: devils

OTHER: 84. eye colour: very deep brown, black, idk 85. favourite movie: ......

i tag @mjhummels @johannesgeis @pre-season @hectorbaberin i’m just randomly tagging you don’t have to do it

[booksteaopera]

Gretel & Hansel by Osgood Perkins, 2020

I just finished watching this movie and I am so in love with the aesthetics, the architecture, the coloured lighting that appears from time to time, and the not so traditional costumes, that I can’t quite move on to something else just yet (although I really must get back to my translation of Lascia ch’io pianga, due tomorrow morning). But it’s too late to start writing a proper review, so I’ll just let you know what I thought about it, and get back to my actual review later.

If you know me well, you know that I’m a former art history major with a slight obsession for folklore, the history of fashion, and matching colour palettes (among other weird / random obsessions). I guess that after studying art for so many years, literally every day, for hours on end, before, during and after school, I ended up seeing “art” in the littlest things IRL. Thus, I am even more sensitive to it when it is "done on purpose”, so to speak, namely for cinematic purposes (but not just: it’s what makes me especially attracted to certain opera stagings and contemporary art performances). 

Everything about this movie looks and sounds like something I’d have wanted to write or film, if I had to make an adaptation of a folk tale. Even more troubling, parts of this film look exactly like a very disturbing nightmare I had just two days ago. My nightmare’s setting was 1900′s Romania, granted, and this is 1800-something Ireland, but the reason why the two are so similar, and why this speaks to me on a personal level isn’t because I’m so vain I see my life in other people’s more talented works, or because this style is so overdone that I even dream about it. It’s because Osgood Perkins is extremely well-read on the source material of Hansel and Gretel, the history of witchcraft in Western Europe, and masters the aesthetics of Romantic painting and Gothic literature. 

The artistic direction of this film is simply stunning. It is set in Fall, with the beautiful contrast of red leaves against ash-coloured fog. The costumes are reminiscent of Norwegian and Swedish folk costumes, with some German and Welsh hats here and there that make you wonder: where does this take place, really? There are no traditional headdresses or intricate embroideries that might give an additional hint, in fact, the costumes are very, very plain but made in a way that tells you “once upon a time, in a faraway land...” This doesn’t have to be precise, as it is a fairy tale, but it is still precise enough to hint at real places, real cultures, and all kinds of stories. Likewise, it is difficult to pin point an actual era during which this took place; the lord of the local manor seems to be dressed in late 18th century knee breeches and certainly wears the makeup of the nobility of the time, but later, we see a huntsman with a late 14th century German houppelande. Meanwhile, most of the people in the witch’s backstory flashbacks, as well as the two children, seem to wear folk clothing of the 18th-20th centuries, which keeps things even more vague.  The architecture is very reminiscent of what can be seen in Midsommar. On the one hand, there is traditional, local 18th century architecture you’d see in Ireland, Brittany and possibly elsewhere in the British Isles or beyond, but on the other hand, there is angular, geometric, wooden architecture reminiscent of the “temple” in Midsomar. Are we in Scandinavia or the British Isles? Who knows. There’s an interesting play on windows, especially their colour and the shape of the glass; you might notice that contrarily to the architecture, they almost never have angles, there are no triangles or rectangles, only rounded shapes. Most of them are coloured too, which adds different kinds of atmospheres to different scenes, of course. 

There’s a play on coloured lights too, as mentioned above, whether it’s moonlight during the nighttime scenes, or just plain coloured light emanating from an ominious place. Coloured smoke also comes into play at different times, especially during one specific flashback. The main colour palettes are cold, neutral colours: grey, blue, white, black for scenes meant to reflect a character’s depression, nighttime or a rainy day- perhaps the cold and loneliness of the abandoned children in the forest. Other times, the colours are red, orange, and mustard yellow against the grey of the fog and leafless trees. This is most of the time, and is highlighted by the children: they are wearing grey-blue clothing with some burgundy highlights, and Gretel’s short red hair is mirrored by Hansel’s red cap. The only striking exception of these very neutral, cold colour palettes is the “child with the pink cap”: she is wearing a pink and yellow ensemble, which looks completely out of place and almost painful in this scenery and among the people wearing colours that blend into the setting. But this, of course, is symbolic.  Likewise, the choice of lighting is key: many of the characters are shot in back-light, while many of the scenes that take place in nature have a low, white-coloured light-source at the horizon, respecting the 1/3 - 2/3 proportions rule. And as mentioned previously, the lighting of interior scenes is usually coloured, so as to reflect a specific character’s mood or influence on the scene taking place. 

The scenes’ composition were so carefully crafted that almost every shot could have been a 19th century painting. This is particularly true when it comes to the witch’s flashbacks, which seem to follow mostly what we call “bas-relief” composition in art history: when most of the characters and important elements (plants, objects, architecture) of the painting are lined up in a single vertical line composed of different grounds (the most important elements being in the foreground, and the least important elements being in the background). A variation of this is several horizontal lines. But when we look at Gretel, the protagonist, as a single character, the composition of the shot is often “pyramidal”, with Gretel being in the middle, and various elements (usually furniture, frescoes on the walls, stairs, etc) either above or beside her, on both sides, to frame her as the important character she is. In French, we call this trick a repoussoir: you are creating a setting that might seem insignificant, but that highlights the scene or character in the foreground, by “pushing” against them from the sides of the picture. This visual “trick” was very popular in 18th century painting, especially “historical” paintings with a historical, heroic and/or mythological setting.  The whole movie is sprinkled with references to art history: the witch’s flashbacks refer to Courbet’s Realist movement (long, horizontal paintings depicting peasants’ daily lives in very neutral colour palettes), many of the forest scenes seem straight out of a 17th century landscape painting or a 19th century Romantic painting, the windows have some Art Nouveau elements to them, and the coloured lights, folk costumes and eerie atmosphere are evocative of Norwegian Romantic painter Hans Dahl, whose works have been featured on several Black Metal album covers. Funnily enough, some reviewers actually noticed this resemblance and stated that the movie was “too long” and “should have just been a Heavy Metal music video”- which I strongly disagree with, but that’s beside the point. 

Talking about music: I will definitely have to re-watch this movie or listen to its score, because as someone mentioned elsewhere, the music isn’t, interestingly, your average Hollywoodian / Second Viennese School creepy strings and dissonances. Rather, it’s all smooth synthesizer, 80′s styled background melodies. I can’t really say more about the music, it didn’t catch my attention and I’d rather listen to it again before commenting on it. What really grabbed my attention was the visual aesthetics, of course, and the way the story was developed with some interesting interpretations of the myth and additional side-plots that eventually change the ending. 

Now many, many people disliked this film because they thought that it was “boring” and “too slow”. Let me set things straight: this movie is slow in the way that Robert Eggers’ “The Witch” was slow. So was Lorcan Finnegan’s “Vivarium”, and so was Night Shyamalan’s “The Visit”. But I loved it because it is a contemplative work of art that requires time to truly enjoy every side plot, every reference, and the sheer beauty of the shots. It would be just as absurd to dash through a museum exhibition without stopping to take in and enjoy every piece put on display, or to rush through a Byronic poem. That said, it is still well paced, in my opinion, and definitely not as slow as films like David Lowery’s “A Ghost Story”, for instance. It’s not an action-packed blockbuster, but it’s not slow either. It’s a beautiful indie movie with a powerful plot twist in the end, the best coming of age movie I’ve seen for a while, and definitely the best movie adaptation of “Hansel and Gretel” I’ve ever seen.  In other words: go watch it!