#didn’t mean to turn this into a film review oops

[valentronic]

“The real game will begin momentarily… Stay tuned :)”

Costas Mandylor as The Warden in Death Count(2022)

[cblgblog]

Sorry I’m advance but one of my other favorite accounts just reblogged a Tony scene and people are talking about Civil War and how it made them Stan Tony, and how when they watch that movie they hate team cap👀 Then someone was all about how he was sleep deprived and how much pressure he was under and couldn’t understand how people didn’t like Tony because. Someone literally said that when someone says they don’t like Tony in Civil War they say “did you watch the same movie as me.” I’m baffled. Oddly enough someone else said, “he just wants to help everyone.” Sorry for the rant but I think people forget about what the accords are and what it would mean for people. Side note, I hope you’re having a great day/night 😀

No sorry needed!

I feel you man, I do. Honestly, I’ve unfollowed people based on similar posts when I was in especially Done moods, so.

Look on the one hand, the movie would’ve been a narrative failure if everyone was in favor of one side or the other, right? The whole point of the damn thing—besides giving the Mouse overlords more money—was to spark discussion, debate. Which, yeah, we’ll call that the tame description for what actually happened. But just, the thing was meant to split the fanbase so in that regard…winning? Thanks, I guess?

Film is also very obviously subjective, different strokes for different folks, so yeah, ten people can watch a movie and none of them are gonna see the exact same film. Let’s try to remember that this is, in theory anyway, a good thing. I just read a professional film review yesterday where I had the same reaction. What film were you watching, dude? Incidentally his reviewing partner said the same thing.

So honestly, no, they weren’t watching the same film as you or I or anyone else, because everyone brings their own biases and experiences and knowledge and interests into a thing, and that’s always going to flavor how it’s viewed. Again, let’s try to remember that this is good. In theory. Heavy on the theory.

That out of the way? Let’s get into Tony specifically so his uber stans can find this and scream at me on anon as though I just shot RDJ with a nuke.

Oh yeah, he was stressed. Oh, he was sleep deprived. Yeah, I’ve heard that. And that it’s Pepper’s fault, if she hadn’t left the poor baby, if she was there to rein him in, he’d be fine dammit, leave the baby alone!

Here’s the thing. You know who gets a pass on their shit behavior when they’re upset or tired? Actual babies. Actual babies and toddlers, and children, up to a point. Because they actually cannot always help themselves. Their bodies and brains are different, they have not learned better.

When you’re a 50-year-old man who’s supposedly the world’s bestest superhero, who wants, wants to be in charge of protecting the whole world? You need a little more self-control than that. The sleep deprived excuse works if you snap at someone before you’ve had your coffee, not for this. Roseanne Barr didn’t get to blame Ambien for her racism, Tony doesn’t get to handwave CW away because oops, I was tired.

Really? You’re a superhero, dude. Most of your teammates are tired too, that’s part of the gig. If you crash and burn this badly without your afternoon nap, fucking hang up the armor and go back to your billionaire playboy lifestyle.

Speaking of that, sure, right. It’s Pepper’s fault because she left him. Put aside the argument on whether that was justified or not (cough, it was and she should’ve stayed away even though they are adorable together). It’s not Pepper’s job to keep Tony sane. It’s not any partner’s job to do that for anyone. If she wants out, she has a right to that, without Tony going off the rails and blaming it on her. Seriously, he says part of the reason he backed the Accords was to “split the difference” with Pepper.

Dude. You were an asshole and you lost your girl. You destroyed all your suits, turned an emotional and mental corner in IM 3…and then relapsed 4 minutes later I guess because Whedon. Either way, Tony admits himself that he does not want to stop. So instead of doing that, or finding another partner who can accept that, you back an unjust international law that pits you against your team, your supposed friends? Go to therapy, have a pint of ice cream, cry into your pillow, send her more of those strawberries you sent her in IM 2 that she’s allergic to. You don’t go trying to change international law in ways that could ultimately affect millions of people because your girl left you.

Honestly—and thank God they didn’t do this but—the only way the Pepper excuse works in excusing his behavior in any way is if she’d died. Or been severely injured like Happy in IM 3. Still wouldn’t be okay, but, like Quill messing up their chance to stop Thanos because Gamora died, it would’ve been more understandable. Understandable, not excusable, and the way the MCU treats their women as manpain fodder, we’re probably legit lucky we didn’t get this.

As for him wanting to help everyone. He does in fact want that, I think. The problem is that his need to feel like he’s doing that is stronger than his rational mind, or his want to actually help in a constructive way.

Tony is too smart. He’s dumb as hell in many instances, mostly involving people and relationships, but he’s also too smart, and he’s been told for too long that he’s smart, and he’s bought into it. Ultron. Suit of armor around the world, protects the world, no more alien threats. It’s a simple concept on paper that fails in execution. So there are people with dangerous powers. Okay, we’ll make a set of laws to keep them from being dangerous, problem solved. But again, it isn’t.

Tony is not used to problems he cannot solve. He’s a genius, right? He can fix anything. He should be able to fix anything. That’s how he feels. But not everything is zeros and ones and circuits, things that can be fixed mechanically like his armors can. The people he wants to protect are not built that way. But he needs to feel like he’s doing something, because he’s terrified of what happens to the world if he doesn’t. So he creates these simple solutions to complex problems. The suit of armor, the Accords. They sound good in theory, but the problems they’re trying to solve are bigger than they are. And Tony, way back in IM 1, he sat back for years, clueless that his weapons were being used for bad things. He says it to Cap in CW. When he found out what his weapons were being used for, he went in and stopped it. Whether or not he should’ve known that already is a separate issue here. The point here is that when he found out, too late or not, he went in and did something about it.

Tony needs to do something about it. Again, go back to Cap in AoU, Tony’s nightmare sequence. Steve asks Tony why he didn’t save them. Tony’s ultimate nightmare is that he sits back and does nothing, and his inaction causes everyone to die. Which is where you get Ultron. Something he came up with because of what he saw in space in Avengers 1, then doubled down on in AoU. It’s where you get the Accords. Oops, he caused someone to die, he killed Charles Spencer. Must do something about that right now so it doesn’t happen again, and he won’t have to feel this guilt. He should be collaborating with others to come up with solutions (no Bruce in AoU doesn’t count because Bruce was dumb there), or at the very least, taking more time to think through the repercussions of the things he puts out there. But he doesn’t, because he’s got his savior complex that tells him that he alone can and must fix this, and because he’s too dumb to realize how not-smart he is in certain areas.

“We need to be put in check. Whatever form that takes, I’m game.”

Isn’t that what he says in CW, or something very close to it? Whatever form that takes. That’s the issue, right there, whatever form that takes. Realistically, yes, there should be laws regarding people with powers, the same way there are special laws pertaining to people who carry guns, or people who are licensed to fly planes. You have a thing/can do a thing that not everyone else does, so there are regulations pertaining to that thing. Laws change with the times, they always have. Some new technology comes up, eventually there will be laws that regulate it. As there should be, honestly. The issue with the Accords, Steve’s issue with the Accords, was not the basic idea. He says as much. He says that it could work, but there would have to be safeguards. Safeguards that are not in the Accords that Tony wants him to sign.

It's not a matter of oh, fuck the law, there should be no law governing these people, they’re above it. The problem is that the law as it’s presented here is unjust. There’s what, a month between Lagos and Ross coming by to tell them about the Accords? A month is not enough time to properly analyze such a big issue, Especially when you’re reacting out of fear, which is what happened with Lagos. People died because of an Enhanced person, an Avenger, in this case. Lawmakers don’t want that to happen again, they especially don’t want the political shit storm that comes with it. Damn, we look like we were asleep at the switch here, not having anything to throw at this problem earlier. Quick, let’s throw together this thing so no one can say we’re not addressing the problem.

Patriot Act of 2001, anyone? 9/11 happened, the public were rightfully terrified, the US said oh man, these are unprecedented circumstances, we’ve never had this before. Don’t worry though, we’re on this, we’re protecting you. The reality being that that bill simply gave the government too much power, most of it being used against people who were not actually threats, and it’s debatable, to say the very least, whether or not that law helped more than it hurt.

No law is perfect. No law ever will be. It’s not possible. We still have to strive for perfection though, have to aim there so that the laws we get are as close to fair as possible. Tony’s a big deal. If not for his “whatever form that takes” attitude, he might’ve been able to use his influence to pressure lawmakers into coming up with a fairer bill. Hey, I’m me, the public loves me, I will endorse this bill publicly and work on getting the rest of the team to sign, but you need to change this and this and this first, or no deal. Instead, he took the easy way out, the quickest, easiest way for him to feel like he’s atoned for his sins without actually doing anything. Whatever form that takes.

Tony’s not wrong because he backs the creation of a law that addresses these things. He’s wrong because he says himself that he does not care what that law does, specifically, so long as it exists. He’s wrong because he violates said law upteen times during the movie, while preaching to team Cap about what assholes they are for not backing it. He’s wrong because he cares more about feeling as though he’s tackled a problem than he does about taking the time to make sure that the thing he’s proposing is actually a good idea. He’s wrong because of what he does with Bucky, though that’s honestly a separate issue, for the purposes of this discussion.

Anyway, that was longer than I ever wanted it to be. Damn. Next time you see a comment about CW being the reason people stan Tony, just remember there are other people out there who stopped stanning Tony because of that movie. Everyone’s entitled to see a piece of media however they see it, and although the Tony stans are often the loudest, there are plenty of like-minded people out there who share your take on events. Block who you need to, unfollow who you need to, blacklist what you need to, and don’t let them get you down.

Hang in there, and have an awesome day :)

[ihassheepquake]

DC's Stargirl 2.06 "Summer School: Chapter Six" has aired on the CW, and I'm here to talk about it

We know from last week, as well as the description for this episode, that Cindy's new ISA and the JSA are gonna have a showdown this episode, which is super cool. And because we're about halfway through the season now, we should encounter the midpoint probably next episode but we might get some work on it in this one too (for instance, season one's midpoint was spread over episodes 7 & 8, but we also build into that with the first full assembly of the JSA in episode 6). So this is obviously an action-packed episode and it should probably have some pretty big story beats.

Is this the first time that we've seen that Yolanda is left-handed? The kid who plays Isaac is really good at this angsty, angry teen role. It looks like Beth might be still dealing with some aftereffects of the Eclipso mind-fucking from the last episode.

I can't tell if it's just because of my laptop or not, but is this episode physically darker? Like, it's less lit or has some grey tone over the whole thing? Because it looks darker to me, especially here with Artemis attacking Beth. And if that's an intentional thing, I love it. A bit of a tonal shift post-Eclipso encounter makes a lot of sense and this is a good way to show it if it's not just my laptop being weird. Also I keep hearing characters repeating themselves. The guy who owns the dump while talking to Mike, I think Beth's dad did too. Let me know if that actually happened or if my laptop was being weird.

Courtney and Pat, on the same page, leading the team. The whole group kinda slowly pulling together. I love this kind of buildup in my superhero stories.

Oop, Cindy gonna kill Mike. Rip.

A concussive blast with the Fiddle, fun. I don't think we saw Isaac's mum do that. We love new abilities. And Artemis looks actually kind of scary.

Barbara's getting desperate, trying to call Shade. And then he just shows up. Love a creepy villain. Shade teaming up with the JSA to get the diamond?

BETH! That was so cool and creative! I love her distracting Artemis with her parent's mugshots. And we're getting some real teamwork wins for Dr Midnite and Hourman already. The JSA has really come a long way from their first team-up in last seasons episode 6. This fight choreography and cinematography is just stunning. It's so much fun to watch and the cuts are clean & dynamic. This is possibly the most entertaining fight of the show so far. And the two teams really feel like they're on par with each other. Last season, with the older and much more experienced ISA, a lot of the fights felt a lot more one-sided but now it's a lot less clear.

Artemis seems clearly enhanced to me. She's what, 16, 17? I don't know if I believe that any of these characters just can smash a person through a sink like that with the strength a person that young can have built up. Admittedly, I've never tried and don't know anyone who has so maybe it's totally possible, but it feels like she's stronger and more agile than a person can be. I mean, she launched herself up from her back several feet in the air to flip and land on her feet, and we didn't see her propel herself at all. Totally badass, and totally enhanced. And we see Rick do similar things. He just punched through the toilet, launched himself backwards several feet, smashed Artemis through the urinal. All things I absolutely don't believe a person (at least not a teenager) could do without being enhanced and we know he's enhanced. It seems like they made Artemis enhanced specifically to combat Rick.

I like how the dynamic between the JSA and the two different ISA's has changed. Against the new ISA, it's clear that the JSA is the better, more experienced team just as it was with the old ISA. Like I said earlier, the two teams are clearly a lot more on par in terms of what they can do, but the fact that the JSA knows how to work as a team and has several months of experience on the ISA is really putting them over the edge. Whenever one of them takes a serious hit, another is able to swoop in long enough to let the first breathe. It's awesome to see how they've grown since their first fight together. And Cindy, knowing she's losing, attempts to gain the upper hand with the diamond, only for the Shade to show up and even things out again.

WHAT DID I SAY IN MY LAST REVIEW! I knew it, it's the midpoint baby, and just like I predicted, Cindy has officially lost the diamond. Courtney destroyed it. Obviously, we knew that Eclipso would get out eventually, but I'm taking pride in the fact that I called it being in this fight. Now, this is absolutely a terrible thing. Eclipso is now free to roam the world and the tone of the show has changed for the rest of the season. Eclipso just ripped out one of Cindy's blades. And used it to kill Isaac, omg. And then ripped his soul out, disintegrating his body in the process. Goddamn, this took a dark turn and I am loving it. And did he just kill Cindy too, or has she been locked in his own prison? Unclear but I'm guessing the latter. According to Eclipso, as he's almost murdering Shade, Shade's powers come from Eclipso's "home" and what we just watched eat Cindy looks a lot more like the hand that grabbed the original Dr Midnite in the series premier than any of Shades powers have so far. So I'm guessing that Cindy was just pulled into the same weird shadow world pocket dimension that og Midnite is in.

The Staff going dark has to be how Starman is getting pulled in. We haven't seen him since episode 1 or 2 maybe, and we know Joel McHale filmed a fair amount. Sylvester is going to show up because of this.

Y'all I think this might have been the best episode how this show overall. It truly had everything. I am so beyond excited for what's next. And we'll talk about what's next, next week with the release of DC's Stargirl 2.07 "Summer School: Chapter Seven"

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction || You’re  A Youtuber [Request]

A/N: Small warning, Hoseok’s is suggestive

Seokjin:

You'd been a Youtuber for years and nothing changed when you met Jin and began dating. You continued to make more content for fans but it just meant more were coming in because Army wanted to see Jin. It also meant that most of your comments were about him and him alone but you didn't mind, Youtube for you was about the fun behind making videos.

"Are you sure about this?" Jin asked as you set up the camera in the kitchen, he knew how unsure you were about putting him in videos before but you wanted to create content with him for you and your fans.

"Positive." You said as you climbed down from the side, you'd set up on a tripod in one of the cupboards to get a good view of what you and Jin were doing. Another one was set up to capture your faces and another at the back of the kitchen to capture everything else.

"Then let's do this." You smiled and nodded, turning to the cameras and then suddenly feeling nervous, you'd never filmed in front of Jin before. You'd always waited until he was gone for the day or when you did have to film in front of him, it was vlogging with no talking.

"You know you have to talk right?" You stared up at him with a blush on your cheeks and you nodded,

"You make me nervous." You told him, giggling as he playfully rolled his eyes at you.

"I'll do your intro," He pulled you out of the way of the main camera and smiled, you stood at the side arms folded across your chest as he spoke into the cameras.

"Hi! Welcome back to my channel! Today we're going to be doing something different to what we normally do, we're going to be cooking." You stared at him with an eyebrow raised as he continued, turning to you and smiling at you as you shook your head at home.

"She never cooks for me, ever!" He said dramatically as you pushed him out of the way of the camera and did your real intro.

"I have a special pain in the ass-Oop I mean I have a special guest." You joked pulling him back in front of the camera and letting him introduce himself while you got the ingredients ready.

(X)

"Jin! If you even think about throwing that over my head, you'll sleep on the sofa!" You warned him as he picked up a handful of flour, you could have sworn it was like dating the youngest member instead of the oldest, he continued walking towards you.

"Kim Seokjin!" You warned again but he smirked at you, holding his palm upwards and blowing the flour over you.

"You said not to throw it." You stared at him and then looked at the side, deciding on your choice of weapon. The cake was in the oven so you were both cleaning up,

"Don't." He said as he saw you eyeing up the eggs, you smiled at him as innocent as you could manage and then picked up an egg.

"Jin, that's the difference between me and you, I'm too mature for that." You lied but he kept his eyes on you, watching as you threw the egg into the air and caught it with your other hand.

"I'm putting them away, move." You giggled moving to the fridge and putting the rest of the eggs away, he started loading the dishwasher and you cracked the egg over his recently dyed hair, giggling as it rolled off his head and hit the floor.

"Oh, it's on!" He yelled grabbing an egg and cracking it over your head, making you let out a squeal as you ran away to the other side of the kitchen to get away from him.

"Jin! The cakes are almost done, we should stop." You tried to make him stop but he smirked at you, picking up more flour and throwing it at you.

"I hate you!" You giggled moving over to him and rubbing your floured face on his shoulder.

"We have to cut the main cake in half," You told him, looking up at the camera and smiling. You knew it was going to be a mess to edit but you'd had fun with him all day.

"We've got to look sharp." You heard the kitchen drawer open and your back straightened, you stared at the camera with a blank expression.

"Jin. If I turn around and you're holding a knife I'm leaving you." He stayed silent and you slowly turned around to see him standing there and holding the kitchen knife.

"I'm done." You mumbled shaking your head at him and then going to leave the kitchen but he picked you up from behind, putting you on the floor to make sure you wouldn't leave.

"This is your channel, don't leave it with me." You groaned at him and he kissed the top of your head, coughing as he could taste the mixture of raw egg and flour.

"You're a mess." He told you as he patted the top of your head, you smirked.

"I'm your mess." He scoffed and kissed your lips, making you smile against his and then pull away.

"We have to decorate the cake, let's go."

Editing the video was a mess like you predicted but everyone adored it, your fans and Army all confirming that you and Jin were the cutest couple on Youtube and that you had to do more videos together, especially if it ended up with more food fights and puns.

Yoongi:

You weren't sure that Yoongi was going to want to be in a video with you at first, he knew you made Youtube videos and they were covers but he'd never expressed an interest in it. Sure he was proud of you, you were quite big on youtube but he never came out to collab with you until fans started asking for it. They knew you were dating and wanted to see more of you together, the only thing you could think of was singing/rapping together on your channel and you had no idea how you were going to ask Yoongi about it. That was until he asked you about it, he said he'd seen the comments on your videos asking for a collab and he had an idea. You both spent time in his studio, mashing up Ddaeng and 7 Rings by Ariana grande for you both to do together. Using the backtrack to have Hoseok and Namjoon's part there for it.

(X)

You smiled at him in awe as he started his rap, you were on the fifth attempt of filming because whenever you would start you'd get nervous in front of him. He'd heard you sing plenty of times but this was different, you'd never sung together or sang one of his songs. He smirked back at you as he continued rapping, looking from the camera to you as he did so.

"My new addiction." You harmonized as it got to your turn to sing, he couldn't help but stare as you did the small verse, then it was his time again. The rap for 7 rings was coming up and he'd sped it up when you were editing the songs together and he watched as you started rapping along to it, you began with Namjoon's rap and transitioned into the 7 rings one, smirking as he stared at you with his mouth hanging open, he didn't know you knew the whole rap to Ddaeng.

The video went live and it blew up almost instantly, hitting one million views in one day which was impressive for your channel and Yoongi couldn't be more proud. Fans were going insane for the way that he was looking at you in the video, Tumblr blowing up with Gif sets ''Get someone who looks at you like this.'' Every day was something different on your timeline, making you giggle and sent it to Yoongi who enjoyed them just as much. You both agreed it would be a good idea to do a video together once a month or whenever he felt like doing something with you, and he agreed. But in reality, he just wanted to see how much you could rap, and if you could do Agust D just like he could, and he was going to have to come up with some way to see without being obvious.

Hoseok:

The whole reason you met Hoseok was because you were a dancer on youtube, BigHit had come to you to talk about having you as a dancer in one of the videos and of course, you said yes because who in their right mind wouldn't? The moment Hoseok saw you he fell in love with you, he'd never believed in love at first sight until that moment and then when he saw you could dance it only made him fall harder for you. After shooting with you he asked you out, he didn't want to never see you again, he wanted you in his life even if it was just as friends but you accepted and you'd been dating ever since.

"I know the moves Hobi." You told him as you stood in the dance studio, the cameras set up to capture you both. You were doing a dance cover to 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. Your fans had been wanting you to do something together for a while and this seemed like a good dance. You'd spent weeks coming up with a choreography together and it was finally perfect, for the cameras and now you were getting ready to cover it in the studio but he was convinced that it wasn't right.

"Hoseok, let's just do this." You told him but he was reviewing everything you'd filmed previously on his phone and you took it away from him.

"We've got this, we're both professionals." You told him as he looked up from his hand and stared at you.

"I could kill you right now." He joked watching as you walked over to the speakers and got the music ready,

"Kill me after I've uploaded then." You giggled turning on the music and staring at him, he nodded at you and you rushed over to him and got into your starting position.

(X)

"See I told you everything would be fine." You told him as you sat in his studio, reading through the comments on your video together. It had gone up yesterday and had reached 3 million views already, you were gaining more and more subscribers as Army's joined your fandom. People asking when the next dance cover would be and when Hoseok would be joining you again, you smiled as you read through the comments.

"HA!" You screamed making Hobi jump in his seat and you smirked even more at him,

"What?" He questioned moving away from his chair to join you on the sofa, looking at what you were giggling at.

"Hoseok messed up here." He clicked the timestamp and it was a part where he'd missed one step and you'd hit it.

"We're professionals, it was meant to be like that." He grumbled looking at you, you were still laughing only softer as you noticed how it was annoying him.

"Baby, they know how hard you work, it's a joke." But he got up from the sofa and sat back down on his chair, you locked your phone and walked over to him, rubbing his shoulders as he stared at the screen in front of him you knew this was going to play on his mind so you walked over to his door and locked it. His eyes didn't tear away from the screen as he worked, and you walked over to him again, pulling his chair out and dropping down in front of him.

"I'm going to take care of you, okay?" He smiled down at you and you giggled, kissing his hands.

Namjoon:

Namjoon knew you made Youtube videos and he supported you making them, whenever you would put out a new one he would share it on Weeverse for the fans to go and see which meant 75% of your comments were asking when he was going to be in a video and you'd been wanting to film with him for a while but it was hard. Your videos were mostly vlogs because you liked to show what you'd done that week, or when you went away on holiday so whenever you went away with Namjoon you didn't film. You wanted to spend every moment with him and not get caught up in worrying about camera angles or if you'd caught something for the footage. 

"You know you can shoot around me right?" Namjoon asked when you landed in Amsterdam together. He'd decided to take you and him on a small holiday together since he was on a break. You looked up from the camera in your hand to meet his eyes, he was looking at you. 

"I know...I just don't know if-"

"If I'm comfortable with you filming me?" You nodded as he read your mind. You never wanted to get him on film, you didn't want him or anyone else to think you were only together for the sake of views because it wasn't true. You'd love Namjoon from the moment you met him and there was nothing that would change that. 

"I love you, just film whatever you want." He said as he grabbed both of your bags, taking you through the airport. 

"Whatever I want?" You smirked at him and he bent down to whisper in your ear,

"That's just for us," He growled to you and you giggled shaking your head as you walked over to a taxi bay, going to catch a ride to the hotel.

(X)

The vlog was up and Namjoon was sat in his studio watching it, you'd gotten home a month ago but it had taken you a long time to edit it. You wanted it to be perfect since it was the first time he would be featured in a video of yours and there was a lot you'd managed to film. Mostly aesthetically pleasing shots of him in a museum, riding a bike or doing anything. Because Namjoon was one of the most aesthetically pleasing people you'd ever met. There was one clip that everyone was going insane for. 

The camera was sitting on the table on the balcony, you were trying to get a time-lapse of the view from your hotel room. 

"Namjoon, come look!" You yelled as you ran in front of the camera, looking at the couples all riding down by the river together,

"Have you seen my...Nevermind, it looks better on you anyway." He said as he came to the door, spotting you standing in his red sleeveless flannel shirt and some shorts, he slipped a random shirt on and he came out to you, his hand resting on your waist as you watched all of the couples together, planning to do it together when he had the time.

There was fanart of the clip already, people wanting more clips of you both and you made a promise to release some of the clips you'd cut over time but you wanted to give them what you had for now. Namjoon couldn't stop watching the scene, skipping back over it and thinking about how perfect you looked in his shirt and planning his next trip in his mind.

Jimin:

"I don't think Jimin will be home soon, but when he does I'll ask him." You said to your phone, you were sitting on Instagram live answering fan questions. You'd uploaded a video that morning and wanted to see what people were thinking of it. It was something different to what you would normally post on your channel but they seemed to have a positive view on it.

"I'm home!" Jimin screamed as he walked through the front door, eyes landing on you as you sat on the floor in front of your phone, he came over to your side and waved at the camera. You watched as the counter began to jump as more people came to view it now he was by your side.

"Ask him? Ask me what?" He questioned looking at the screen and then to your face, you kissed the tip of his nose.

"They want you to be in a video with me," You told him as the comments started flooding with messages for him and suggestions for what you could do together in a video and he chuckled.

"I don't want to take over her channel guys." He said to the camera and you poked his cheek, he'd always said that to you whenever you brought up the subject. He told you he didn't want people to expect it from your channel all of the time and for it to turn into a BTS-fest but it already was. No matter what you posted there were always comments about the boys or just Jimin and you understood why. They didn't get much content from the boys and they wanted more and as a fan, you understood it more.

"I'll just ask Jin to do an EatJin with me." You giggled turning to the phone and seeing all of the Yes's coming in and Jimin shook his head.

"I'm way more entertaining than him, what do you guys want to see?" He questioned turning to the phone and scrolling through everything, getting you to write some of the ideas down he had when he saw a comment that caught his eye.

"Q&A?" You looked up from the piece of paper and nodded,

"Could do one now if you really wanted?" You asked the fans which meant the chat was exploding with Yes's yet again. You looked through the internet for a quiz while Jimin run off to have a shower. He'd been at the studio all day and wanted to look fresh for the camera.

Taehyung:

"Tae it's not that big a deal." You said to him as he came out wearing a full aesthetically pleasing outfit for the camera. You told him you were going to film a video trying to do a Bob Ross painting and he insisted on being in the video as well.

"You have to look the part." He told you as he walked in front of the camera which was already recording. You made a mental note not to cut it out because he was walking around as though he was on a runway.

"You look like an idiot." You joked and he came over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your cheek.

"I will make sure the Bob Ross theory is real, kill you and paint where I buried you." You giggled and pushed him away, he stood in front of his canvas and you introduced the video, explaining what was going to happen and why Taehyung was there. Though your fans had been asking for it a while and you knew they were going to be over the moon with your choice in the video, especially since Taehyung loved painting just like you did.

(X)

Tae finished and stepped back from his canvas, happy with his work and then you did the same.

"I want to throw it into the bin and burn it." You grumbled, Taehyung stood behind you as you both stared at your painting. While Tae's was pretty spot on, yours looked as though a child had gotten hold of paints and started trying to paint on a canvas.

"This video will never see the light of day." You groaned laying your head back against Tae's chest and he chuckled, trying to think of something to make you laugh,

"Let's paint a smile on that face." Before you registered what he'd said he took some of the paint and draw a smile across your face and you screamed.

"TAE!" He laughed as paint dropped onto the floor and you looked up to him.

"I'll do a Bob Ross and kill you then." You laughed taking some of the paint from your palette and flicking it in his direction missing and hitting the wall behind him and making him laugh.

"That was your fault." You giggled turning away from him thinking it was over but he came over to you after dipping his fingers into the paint.

"Let's call it even?" You nodded and stuck out your hand to shake his hand but he wiped it across your face and you stared at him in silence, turning to the camera and shaking your head.

"I will not rise to his childish antics." He was laughing in the corner of the room so while he was distracted you got up the rest of your white paint and silently made your way over to him, squirting it onto his hair and making a run for it, grabbing the camera to vlog the actions.

"TAE! I'LLL TELL YOUR MUM!" You screamed as he chased you into the bedroom holding a red and yellow tube of paint, you stared up at him.

"You wouldn't." You were sitting on the white sheets and he took the lids off the paints.

"We both know I will." You stared at him and shook your head,

"Tae it won't come out." You warned him but it didn't stop him because less than four seconds later he was squirting the tubes all over you and the bedsheets, jumping so he was above you and pouring it over you.

"Why am I in love with you again?!" You groaned as you stared up at him and he chuckled, sitting on your legs and kissing you.

"I hate you." You mumbled against his lips, turning off the camera and wrapping your arms around him.

Jungkook:

Jungkook had convinced you it would be a good idea to play video games on your channel. You only played when you were alone with him and it wasn't something competitive but somehow he'd managed to talk you into an Overwatch gaming match.

"I hate everything about this." You said to the camera before the game started, Jungkook telling you what to do and how to do it.

"Why am I dating someone who sucks at this game?" He questioned once the video was over.

"You love me." You pouted as he turned off the console and stared at you as if he was contemplating that he did or didn't love you.

"You're right, someone's got to right?" You threw a pillow at him and he ran away letting you end the video on your own. That was all it took, you decided you were going to get better at the game, practise as much as you could when he wasn't around and beat him at the camera, getting it all on camera as well.

(X)

"Jungkook please, just one more game and then I'll stop." You told him as you got into another match. The last video went up and everyone loved it, telling you exactly what you were thinking, to get better on your own and kick his ass. The night had come and you were bluffing him, you'd been failing at the game on purpose now and he was starting to get annoyed with you.

"Just one," He told you as he sat down next to you again and loaded up another game getting ready to help you, you turned to the camera and winked knowing it was time to kick his ass.

"You need to go over-" He stopped as you killed someone right in front of him and the moved on to keep doing what you had to do.

"Wait-" You killed another one and he stared at you, making him die in the process and you continued the game. Winning and getting the winning kill, turning to Jungkook and smile.

"Did I do good?" You giggled and he shook his head at you, pinning you down onto the sofa and attacking your face with kisses,

"I can't believe you were faking to be bad all night." You giggled and wriggled from his grasp, turning off the camera and coming back over to him.

"It was their idea." He grumbled something and took you onto his lap, kissing you and making you blush.  

tagline: 

@yoongisdumplingcheeks @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo @yourguessisasgoodasminemate @btsiguess-kpop @lyoongx​ @mitzwinchester​ @rjsmochii​ @kpopfanfictionhoes​

[ae0nx]

SUPERPOST: DIGIMON ADVENTURE: LAST EVOLUTION (KIZUNA) RECAP/REVIEW SPOILERSSSSSS

SPOILER ALERT I WILL BE GOING INTO DETAIL. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER.

I’m not gonna do a blacktober/drawtober today, but I willlll rant about Digimon, because nothing ever really changes. Ok, I’m tipsy and I feel like everyone and their mum has watched Kizuna now so I wanna finally express my feelfeels on it. Let’s goooo

-------------------------------------------------------

Ok, so I love how this movie opens especially as an old school fan.

It’s perfect. I love the solid feeling of ‘finality’ to the series that we never got to see in Tri... (I’ll try not talk shit about Tri in this recap but it’s gonna be difficult, I’m sorry)

- We got that call back to the original soundtrack! The only time in life I will tear up at hearing Bolero.

- I adoreee the animation and designs in this movie. It feels so much more diverse (in terms of facial features) than Tri did without even trying really. The facial expressions are so much characteristic and there’s less awkward spacey moments. It’s nice! (Ooops, mentioned Tri: Count 2 haha)

- While I was a bit disappointed with the digidestined outfits when they were first released as still images, they do look a lot better in action and they fit in well with the world that is built. But Taichi swapping sneakers for sandals? Seems false lol

Taichi’s anxiety about the destruction. Nice to see continuation and character development. We love him~~~

- The Parrotmon vs Greymon + Angemon + Angewomon fight looked dope and was a nice call back/development. The electricity and fire looked amazing and honestly had me hyped. A lot of fight scenes in this movie did.

Haha, of course Yamato had to come in looking unnecessarily cool on his fancy new bike only to talk shit about Taichi. We love him too, goddammit lol

- It totally makes sense that the two pairs of siblings and Koushirou would be the most actively involved out of all of the digidestined tbh

The movie opening theme being set to the original ‘Butterfly’ was great, and in a weird way reminded me a little of the Cowboy Bebop Movie opening theme - except very much in the style and world of Digimon Adventure

- The digidestined are public superheroes now? Makes sense, I don’t hate it~~~

- I love the montage of Taichi and Yamato going about their lives as people in their early 20s. Taichi mostly dealing with the pressures of adulthood. Yamato feeling nostalgic about the things he left behind in childhood (playing harmonica, being in a band)

Ahhh, they can drink now! So weird, yet so fun haha

- It’s also really nice for my shipper heart to see Taichi and Yamato sit down and have a meal together without totally biting each other’s heads off. Shows how much they’ve matured!

- Yolei straight up was like ‘I don’t have time for this shit, Koushirou you deal with it’ 😂Mimi has taught you well, young padawan

I was really hoping these two would be a better addition than Maki and Daigo (RIP) and they were! It’s almost like the writers saw Tri and was like... let’s do better. (Ooops mentioned Tri: Count 3)

- I reallyyyyy really sadistically like the concept of the Digimon and Digidestined’s connection to each other dying slowly the older they get and with the less necessary the Digimon become in the human partner’s life. Yeahhhhh, it doesn’t match up with the 02 ending but I’m personally not too attached to that ending so I don’t mind. A) it’s actually a plot point that makes me give a shit and B) it’s very much a reflection of life which Digimon Adventure has always been and C) it makes sense of the reason as to why Digimon gravitate to children

DAISUKE! We stan a kinggg, with his dope sunglasses. I’m so happy the 02 kids are involved in this, even if it is kinda minimal.

- I love that they included the fact that the digital gates are basically like a free airplane ticket to anywhere in the world with a computer. It’s such a useful and cool concept

- ‘Burger Queen’ ahaha

AHHHHHHHHH HAHAAHHAHA I can’t. It feel so wrong yet so... correct? Hahaha

I’m sorry, my love for Gennai died with Tri. If it was old Gennai from Adventure maybe I would’ve felt a bit more nostalgic and loving. (Oops mentioned Tri: Count 4)

- I love the 02 kids basically being a smaller detective team that Chief Detective Yamato sent forth to do some investigating. It makes so much sense and we shoulda got this in triiiiii (I just wish we got this movie instead of Tri, I’m sorry Oops mentioned Tri: Count 5)

Spy movie? I don’t hate it~~~~

OK, DETECTIVE ISHIDA! (enter theme music which is most likely very dark and edgy and gothic with a hint of pop punk)

- Sora staying at home when Mimi is in the hospital seems... off... very off... but ok... ... ... I hate how they sidelined Sora in this movie. Why does every Digimon writer since Adventure hate Sora?!?!

- The act of Taichi literally shunning his future by switching off his phone to once again reach for his old goggles and old digivice is... poetic cinema

Saw the switch coming but whoa 😳

- You know the whole concept of her creating an eternal Digital world was a cool concept until she called it Neverland

- While I really like Menoa and her being the villain, this isn’t exactly a new motivation. How many times have we seen human partners turn into villains after losing their Digimon, man?!?! Just more motivation into making me think this film is just fixing the mistakes of Tri (Oops mentioned Tri: Count 6)

I really like this design! It might make my top 3 Digimon designs.

- You know... only in the Digimon fandom would a goddamn whistle make us all emotional 😭😂

This movie is so pretty!!!!

- Wait... did Biyomon vanish and that’s why Sora wasn’t involved? 😢

Wow. WOW. That goodbye... between Taichi and Agumon... and Yamato and Gabumon... was... ALL I WANTED/DIDN’T WANT. Seriously. As I said before, I really like the fact that this movie feels... final. Honestly, I don’t want grown up adventures with the Digimon - regardless of how mean that sounds. What’s unique about Digimon is how childlike it is and the separation between the Digimon’s childlike nature and the Digidestined was growing the older the humans got and it wouldn’t make full sense for the relationship between the two to go from friends and almost equals to parent and child. 

I guess I would’ve been more accepting of the Digimon staying a constant in the Digidestined lives if the writers touched on the theme of the Digimon being adult or baby whenever they like (or whenever they eat) and relating it to humans still looking after their inner child of curiosity and creativity as they get older. But that’s a pretty difficult concept, I’m still working my head around that haha

Also, Digimon has always specifically been a metaphor/real example for the joys and hardships of childhood. While it’s super sad, I’m glad we got such a nice send off!

[ks-caster]

Beth Liveblogs Black Widow

Bought that premium access on Disney+ so I can have the privilege of pausing for snacks and using subtitles as needed - so let’s go! 

Beth’s Spoiler-Free Review: Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the movie - the plot was compelling, the characters were likable, and the stunts were really excellent. I felt like hair and makeup dropped the ball on realism multiple times which I was sad about, because how she looks seems to be pretty important to Nat so I expected it to be done well in her movie. 

I did not like the way they framed the tail end (denouement - obviously because this movie is mid-series we know how it ends to an extent) - I felt like the connect-up to Infinity War was lackluster, especially compared to how enjoyable and dynamic the rest of the film was.

Spoilery live-reactions are under the cut. Click at own risk! Feel free to rebagel with your own impressions, thoughts, jokes and rebuttals!

The movie begins with a young Nat with blue dyed hair and visible roots, showing her natural red. Do you know how hard it is to get natural red out of hair, enough to make it blue and not green? And I’m supposed to believe that a middle-school age girl in 1995 Ohio had access to these chemicals? I’ll give her the white hair in IW/Endgame because she’s an adult with a lot of experience as a spy altering her appearance. But as a child? In the 90s? While her family is apparently in hiding? Sus.

The scene with Alexei laying on the on the wing while Nat learns to fly? AMAZING stunts. Amazing. AND someone in an action movie is finally smart enough to shoot the tires.

Nice skills on young Nat, getting the gun. Since we know from Endgame that Nat’s father is named Ivan, we know that Alexei isn’t really her dad. She also refers to presumably the red room as going “back.” Was she lent out to these agents to legitimize their family?

-0-

Nice knife moves, Yelena - I love the hand switch.

Ooooh so she was being mind controlled and the red stuff freed her? Interesting.

-0-

Nat is in Norway - visit Thor! He’d love to have you. (I’m mixing up my timeline, aren’t I?)

Supplies Dude whose name I didn’t catch refers to the Avengers breakup as a divorce - I kinda love it. It’s accurate!

BUDAPEST omg are we finally going to get the story?? Are we??

Box dye? I’m supposed to believe she got all that red out of her hair with flippin’ Loreal? Really? And that toner isn’t even the color she ultimately went - it’s too yellow. Sus.

-0-

Oop, looks like Nat got caught up in Yelena’s desertion.

Do not give Nat your metal frisbee, robocop - she’s been around Steve long enough that she knows how to use it.

I laughed out loud when she did the string him up thing with the cables - literal spider move, I love it!

Mystery box is empty - classic bait and switch.

-0-

BUDAPEST - WE ARE IN BUDAPEST - IT’S HAPPENING PEOPLE

Nat closing the door behind her is a small thing but I appreciate it - no sneaking up behind her.

When Yelena throws Nat in the kitchen and her feet hit the door and she spins before she hits the ground? That was a helluva stunt.

Oooooh honey. No body left to check is ALWAYS movie code for they lived.

Dreykov’s daughter? Another hint from Avengers 2012? C’mon, movie.

Riding the chimney down? Another incredible stunt. 

Dreykov can scan his soldiers’ bodies and terminate them if they’re too damaged to keep fighting? Big yikes. With Nat where she is character development wise, the stakes are now much higher because if she injures an opponent they may be killed remotely.

“Do you want me to chase him down and un-steal it?”

The car door under the bike was an excellent stunt - as was the car going into the subway. Though I’ve never seen a subway entrance big enough to admit a car.

Who hasn’t wanted to slide down the middle to avoid the crowded escalators lol.

Yelena making fun of Nat’s sexy poses I am LIVING omg.

Running water for wounds. RUNNING WATER. NOT ALCOHOL. The vodka goes on the INSIDE for the pain - the running water cleans the OUTSIDE. If there’s a convenience store then there’s a bathroom, with running water. Cleansing with something like alcohol is a LAST RESORT and you do not look like you’re at that point resource-wise. I thought these ladies were supposed to be highly trained in all of the things?

“Could be fun though.” “I saw where he put the keys” “Top drawer green cabinet.” I love their chaos.

Yelena’s vest and its pockets and the resulting conversation are positively majestic.

“You are sensitive.” “You’re a very annoying person.”

-0-

Do! Not! Move! Around! Like! That! While! Getting! A! Tattoo!!!! That poor artist was trying his best and Alexei just...

Ooooh was Red Guardian like Captain Russia? Interesting.

“Just don’t make a scene.” “You made a scene didn’t you.”

David Harbor running up that wall and then wiping out after the guard shocks him... I really loved that stunt, especially since they don’t show him being all super cut - he’s a big guy! He’s allowed to have fat over his muscles and still be a strong dude! I love it.

“Such a poser.” Girl, you need to meet Loki - he does a lot of hair flips too lol.

The sibling energy between the girls during the rescue!!!

“Whooooooa... this would be a cool way to die.” Yelena, I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you but get your head in the game girl.

Poor Alexei - he never gets to do the dramatic escape from *inside* of the aircraft.

Hang on, no ovaries? So all of these women are now in immediate, surgically-induced menopause? The uterus part makes sense if the intent was to prevent them from getting pregnant if they have sex during a mission, but, what, they gotta be on estrogen supplements for the rest of their lives? That’s just really poor planning. Like it was hilarious the way Yelena went into the biology of it to make Alexei uncomfortable, but that really doesn’t make sense to do to your superhero kids. It’s just bad science.

Love that Yelena keeps her vest even after she changes into her matching white flight suit. That vest better make it to the end of the movie.

-0-

“Honey, we’re home.” I 100% expected her to shoot him on sight tbh. it would have been funny.

Alexei squeezing into the uniform is such a post-pandemic feel. Also all of the fancy braids at that table; I see where Natasha got her propensity for them.

Animal cruelty warning, ugh. Poor piggy Alexei.

Oooh the photo album and Natasha remembered staging the pictures; they’re emotional for her but in a different way.

I wonder if robocop’s shield is actually Alexei’s.

The singing between Alexei and Yelena was a really beautiful moment because it was neither auto-tuned-good nor hilariously bad - it felt really real, especially the way Yelena’s so choked up she can barely make sounds come out.

Uh-oh, mama has one of those monitor your vitals and kill your ass suits. The suits I understand - the eyeliner though... when and why did she do her makeup?? That’s not really the thing that comes to mind for me when I’m getting ready to do something athletic, like say kidnapping my supersoldier fake family.

“This is a much less cool way to die.” Also WTF why would they do that. Wouldn’t it be easier to get the information out of her while her brain is still attached to, y’know, her mouth??

CLEVER CLEVER CLEVER they switched outfits and faces ooooooh like mother like daughter.

The door opening as Alexei is leaning against it dramatically bahahahaha

I love the plan. I’m thoroughly weirded out that Melina has a red wig just lying around that perfectly immitates Natasha though. 

“Yelena, it’s mama. You have a two-inch blade in your belt.”

Oh. My. God.

Antonia.

A pheromone lock preventing them from hurting them if they’re close enough to smell him - I like it. It’s clever and new.

Bahahaha poser! You posed I saw you! Still love the vest.

Natasha is really good at manipulating people’s emotions to get what she wants - I mean, scary good. So if she’s provoking Dreykov into beating her up, there’s a reason. 

“Using the only resource the world has too much of - girls.” Kill him. 

-0-

When I say I whooped out loud... SEVERING THE NERVE. Thank you for your cooperation. YAAAAAAS QUEEN.

-0-

“Slight change of plans - we are going into a controlled crash.” The way she said that was just so mom-like omg!

-0-

The grenade as a delivery system was super smart - but yikes what if she’d mistimed it and blew Natasha up? Also, after the beating she took and how hard she had to wack her own face into the desk to sever her olfactory nerve and the amout of blood we saw her leave behind from doing that, her face should be a LOT more messed up, come on makeup department.

“Get as far away from here as possible.” And then keep going because General I-Collect-Supersoldiers-Like-Stamps Ross is about to turn up at your location looking for trouble and he’d snap you ladies up like there’s a fire sale and you’re going out of stock.

This crash doesn’t look all that controlled, Melina. I’m starting to suspect that most of the widows won’t live long enough to make their own decisions...

All of the aerial stunts were amaaaaaazing - the way Nat slowed herself by sliding down the panels so Antonia could catch up with her and she could deploy her parachute... 

The vest survived the movie!!!

Fuuuuuck Ross is showing up and he sucks and I hate him and I’m super worried that he’s gonna take the vest from Nat if he takes her into custody. Please don’t let her lose the vest. 

Okay, there is now zero reason for Nat to stay behind. They have an aircraft. She had plenty of time to just board it and leave?

-0-

Okay okay okay Ross did not get her and did not take the vest. But am I supposed to believe she bleached her hair, toned it blonde, and then re-bleached and re-toned it to silver? Who does that? That would be terrible for her hair. Her scalp would be burned all to hell from the amount of chemicals needed to not only get all that red out but THEN get the blonde toner out. Y’know what color silver toner is? Blue/purple. Y’know what happens when you mix that with yellow? Green. And not a nice green either (I speak from experience). No. Her hair at the end of the movie? Cancelled. 

-0-

SHE GOT THE DOG!!!

Oh, ouch. Big ouch. I hurt like a lot now. This is so not an okay way to end the -

...

Countess I-Forgot-Your-Name-Already?

Oh no. Oh no. That’s worse. That’s a lot worse. We are now setting up the Hawkeye series and I while I’m horrified that this was how they ended the film, I gotta say that’s going to make for some wonderful angst in that series on both Clint and Yelena’s parts and I am here for it!

OVERALL IMPRESSION

I really, really enjoyed this movie, I thought the story was compelling, the stunts were really excellent, and I liked the character dynamics and the twist

I did not like the ending - it just sort of fell off quickly and didn’t feel satisfying after an otherwise really fun movie. I also take issue with the hair and makeup as shown among the characters, as seen in my several rants to that effect.

I would have liked to have seen a few more childhood/training flashbacks, and absolutely would have loved a cameo from Jeremy Renner (not just his voice) and to see him and Nat meeting and him giving her the whole dad speech that he does so well - bonus points if she could have then quoted him to Yelena or Antonia, showing the way that multiple people had a formative effect on her (an answer to the “The Avengers aren’t really your family either” comment).

[lizacstuff]

Hi, I have just started watching SCK and I am already obsessed with it! I hope you don't mind me asking you a few questions. The episodes are 2 hours 20 mins approx compared to US and UK shows, how do they manage to do that every week, it must be insane hours for them. Is this normal running time for Turkish dramas? Any idea when the season will close, I saw it mentioned that Saturdays episode will be the last for a month, how many episodes are there in a season?

Sorry another query. The American shows normally run for approx 8 months (with small breaks in between) then are on hiatus for 4 months, is it the same with Turkish TV industry What was the relevance of Efe collapsing the roof on his friends house, was it to bring out the Eda story of her parents into the public, is this something that will be playing out later, when Grandma arrives. The arrival of the new woman is so cliche, Blindspot bombed when they did that, I guess it's the format!

Hello there. I also enjoy Blindspot! But I still haven’t watched the final season, I need to get on that, maybe over the holidays. 

Happy to answer your questions as best I can. This is my first Turkish dizi, so I’ve been learning along the way, all to say I’m by no means an expert. 

The episodes are 2 hours 20 mins approx compared to US and UK shows, how do they manage to do that every week,

They shoot at a breakneck pace. The cast and crew post a ton on social and if you follow any of that on instagram and twitter you’ll see that they’re constantly shooting until 2 or 3 in the morning.  Kerem and Hande recently answered an ask in an IGLive about how long it takes to film one episode. They said 4-6 days. Kerem was a bit tetchy about it towards TPTB, so they obviously feel the strain on how much they’re working and producing. In the US, a standard network hour-long drama takes 8+1 days to shoot (meaning 8 full days and 1 of second unit shooting usually done while they’re shooting another episode) and that’s for about 44 minutes of content. 

So how do they do it? Just from watching the show I’ve observed a few things. First, while the episodes are almost 3 times as long, the scenes are also much longer than you’d find in a US produced show.  So for instance a scene in a US show might take 2 minutes of screentime, in SCK that same scene might be 6-8 minutes. But it doesn’t take 3-4x longer to shoot to get those 6-8 minutes because it’s all one set up and all one scene.  

Additionally, from what I can tell, everything is shot on location, no sound stages, and they have a finite number of locations per episode. So they’ll go in and shoot all the scenes at ArtLife for that ep in one set up, all at Serkan’s house in one set up, all at Eda’s house in one set up, all at Aydan’s house in one set up, and then all at the speciality location(s) for that episode in one set up. So they’re not doing huge set ups to get one shot or one scene like you see on uber high-production value US shows. Also everything is mostly dialogue based, very little action, no effects, so it’s pretty straight forward. No time consuming stunts.

Also I don’t think the actors get near as many takes as they do on US-based shows. I think they get the scene and move on, no re-dos to improve one emotional reaction and the like. Thankfully the actors are great. Usually the production value is pretty decent despite this, there have been a few locations where I’ve noticed bad lighting or cramped camera angles, where they are obviously just making due, and that would not fly on a US network show.

 it must be insane hours for them. Is this normal running time for Turkish dramas?

 Yes, that seems to be the standard timing format for shows in Turkey. What’s crazy to me is that they are shooting episodes only like a week out from the air date.  That is next level pressure. 

Any idea when the season will close, I saw it mentioned that Saturdays episode will be the last for a month, how many episodes are there in a season?

I’d seen speculation about that, but then I heard they were only breaking for a week. I haven’t seen anything official. The latest news I’ve seen is that they are trying to shoot episode 24 before the break. In Turkey, the big holiday is New Years, so I think episode 24 may air on December 26, then no episode on Jan 2nd, then back on Jan 9th. As a note, I’d also heard there would be no ep on Dec 26th and then ep 24 airing on Jan 2nd, so we’ll see how it turns out. In this scenario the cast/crew will only get like 4 days off.That sucks for them, I was hoping they were actually going to get at least two weeks off before coming back. However, we’ll see, it all seems oddly speculative. 

Sorry another query. The American shows normally run for approx 8 months (with small breaks in between) then are on hiatus for 4 months, is it the same with Turkish TV industry 

It seems to vary.  I talked a little bit about it in this post. 

What was the relevance of Efe collapsing the roof on his friends house, was it to bring out the Eda story of her parents into the public, is this something that will be playing out later, when Grandma arrives. 

Efe did not mean to cause that level of destruction. He was so panicked after it happened, because that wasn’t his intention. As for his motives, remember earlier that episode he had told Serkan he wanted to review Serkan’s drawings of the house and Serkan was like, “HARD PASS.” Efe was pissed, so I think he was trying to teach Serkan a lesson, that he’s not infallible and that if he had consulted with his partner and let his partner see the drawings it probably wouldn’t have happened (you know second set of eyes.)  I think Efe hoped it would make Serkan lose confidence and as a by product Efe would gain trust and be let deeper into ArtLife and the holding to further Grandma’s plan. However, it blew up in Efe’s face because he ironically didn’t know what he was doing, made a change too extreme and the roof fully collapsed, instead of just causing a smaller issue. Eda’s unwavering belief in her man led her to uncovering that it wasn’t Serkan’s fault and Efe wound up losing his reputation all over Europe. Oops. 

The arrival of the new woman is so cliche, Blindspot bombed when they did that, I guess it's the format!

Some might describe most things about this show as cliche, it’s unapologetically about the tropes. I love that about it, it’s like a giant AU fanfic come to life. This woman is another device to push Serkan and Eda towards each other and to give us some fiery Eda jealousy. Serkan only has eyes for Eda, there is no “triangle” or third-party love interest.  Just a lady with some psychological issues zeroing in on our hero, she will be dealt with soon enough. 

I’m glad you’re enjoying the show!

[hockeytrashgoblin]

Just One Date? ~ Part 2

A/N: hi loves! Here’s part 2! not much to say about it. It’s really dialogue heavy compared to the last one. Not nearly as long as the last one but I guess it’s kinda close. lol oops enjoy!

“Hi gorgeous.” the low voice said walking past me quickly. I turned to look up and saw him wink at me as he left the room following my boss. I was doing some editing stuff while Tuch was in the studio doing an interview. Most likely one that I would be editing the next day. I tried my best to focus on my work but it was really distracting knowing that he was just one room away and that in less than an hour I would be leaving with him to go on date number two. It had been about a week since the first one and I was once again nervous. Not that surprising to anyone really. We had been talking pretty much non-stop though since the date which was really nice but I couldn’t help but still feel a little bit nervous to see him like that again. I’d seen him since but it wasn’t as big of a deal as another date was.

Again he decided not to tell me where he was taking me on this date which was annoying but kind of fun too. All he told me was to dress comfy in pants and not too loose clothes with boots. Some weird instructions let me tell you what but I did as I was told and just wore it to work. He didn’t want to wait for me to go home and get changed because it would be ‘burning daylight’ so we were just going to leave from here. I was completely wrapped in my thoughts when my boss and Alex came back into the room breaking me from them.

“Alright (y/n), I’m out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Lindsay have a good one. I’ll make sure to lock everything up before I go.”

“Okay cool. Alex are you ready to go?”

“Actually I’m giving (y/n) a ride home so I’m just going to wait for her if that’s alright?”

“Yeah of course. I’ll see you guys later.” she sounded kind of bitter about it and I scoffed when she left.

“What was that?” he asked laughing.

“My boss has a thing for you.” I said turning to him half laughing too.

“Oh really? Maybe I can get her number.” he said with a playful look in his eye. I rolled mine and spun my chair to face away from him again.

“Rude ass.”

“Beautiful, no. I was just kidding.” he said coming up behind me and hugging around my shoulders. “Your number is the only girl’s number I care to have. Besides my mom and sister of course.”

“Sure, sure Tuchy whatever you say.” I said with a sarcastic smile.

“Hey.” he pulled my chair around to face him again and we were definitely face to face. “That was a bad joke. I shouldn’t have said it and I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“I mean it gorgeous.” he leaned forward and gave me a chaste kiss. “Are you ready to go yet?”

“Just about. Just let me do this one last thing and then I’ll send it to Lindsay for feedback then we can get out of here.”

“Okay sounds good.”

“But you have to stop distracting me first.” I said kissing him again before spinning my chair back to the desk. I worked pretty quickly and got everything done. Alex slowed down the process by asking me a million questions about what I was doing and how to do it but eventually I finished and sent it to Lindsay for review.

“You’re so smart and talented. It’s so interesting watching you work.” he said as we left the building.

“Alex it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yes it is.”

“Maybe sometime we could make a video and I could edit it together and teach you a bit of stuff.” I paused for a second thinking about what I had just said before continuing. “Okay I just realized it sounded like I was offering to make a sex tape with you and I just want to clarify that that is not at all what I was trying to suggest.”

“Do you need something for when I’m on the road?” he asked laughing at me.

“Noooo.”

“You could’ve just asked.”

“Noooo.” I said covering my face this time.

“Who knew quiet little (y/n) wanted to star in a sex tape with yours truly.”

“Alex shut up.” I groaned smacking his arm while still trying to hide my blushing face behind one hand.

“Didn’t want to have sex on a boat but wants to make a sex tape. Who knew you were like this? Little bit kinky don’t you think?” he asked with laughter still dancing in his eyes.

“You don’t even know yet.” I exclaimed before my face went even redder, my brain catching up to what I said. I slouched down in the seat of his car to try and disappear while Alex died of laughter. “Fuck off Tuch.”

“Babe, come on. How am I supposed to just leave that alone?” he asked still laughing.

“I’m sorry just please stop.” I begged. He looked at me and his face softened when he saw my face.

“I’m sorry for laughing and making jokes (y/n). I just wasn’t expecting you to say any of that. Didn’t think I’d ever get any kind of information like that, let alone find out that I don’t even know yet how kinky you are. I was just surprised. Forgive me?” he asked taking my hand and kissing the back of it while he continued driving.

“Yeah, yeah I forgive you.” I said rolling my eyes at him. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised though. I’m a grown woman and I know what I like.”

“I think I just forget since you’re just a little baby.”

“Alex I’m literally only 2 years younger than you.”

“Yes. A baby.”

“This baby’s gonna fight you if you’re not careful.”

“Are we gonna film it?” he asked with a smirk winking at me. I groaned loudly.

“You’re the worst.” I yelled out into the car making him laugh.

“You love it.”

“Yeah well if someone could help me find out why that would be greatly appreciated.”

“Gotta get some scans done for sure.”

“See a brain specialist. ‘Dr. why do I subject myself to and enjoy the company of Alex Tuch?’”

“He’d probably say because I’m fantastic company to keep.” he said with a dopey smile.

“This doctor has not been in your company like I have then.”

“Ouch! You wound me.” he said grabbing his chest.

“Someone has to.” I said laughing. “Can’t let that ego get too big.”

“I did always need some help keeping that in check. Good thing I’ve got you to do it now huh?”

“I guess it is.” I said smiling softly at my hands. “Do I get to know what we’re doing today or what?”

“Or what.” he said smirking.

“Come on Alex please?” I begged, giving him my best puppy dog pout.

“Come on don’t give me that shit. (y/n) stop you’re so cute.”

“I will not.”

“Fine you little pain in the ass. I’m taking you horseback riding.”

“Yay! Wait really? We’re going to ride horses?” I asked getting excited and grabbing his arm which made him smile big too.

“Yes we’re going to ride horses. I thought it would be fun and I’ve heard you mention a few times that you like horses so..”

“I only mentioned that like once or twice, how did you remember that?”

“Oh uh it doesn’t matter really. I just remember a lot of things when it comes to you.” he said rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, his cheeks blushing a light shade of pink at the confession. I reached over and gave him a kiss on the cheek which had him blushing more.

“That’s so fucking cute.”

“Yeah well..”

“You’re so fucking cute. Look at that, I’ve got you blushing now.”

“You could stop any time.”

“Nope.”

“Why?”

“Don’t wanna.”

“Brat.” he said with a big grin.

“What are you gonna do about it Tuch?”

“You better watch it or you’ll find out.”

“Pfft no I won’t.”

“You’re not the only one who’s kinkier than originally expected (y/n).” he said in a low voice that had me swallowing whatever snappy remark I had waiting.

“Oh?” 

“You’d probably be just as surprised as I will be.”

“Bold of you to assume we’ll get past this second date to find out.”

“Hey, we had that really good first date and if I remember correctly you’ve been blowing up my phone ever since so I’m pretty confident I’ll get a third one and maybe a fourth.” he said smirking.

“You’re so cocky. And I’d like to point up you blow up my phone just as much if not more than I do. I just have a lot of random things to say and no one to send them to.” I said looking at my hands.

“Hey no, don’t get all quiet on me.”

“I’ll stop if you want?”

“No (y/n) I don’t want you to stop. I was just joking around. I love hearing from you out of nowhere that someone is doing something weird on the bus or that you saw something cool to show me later. I think it’s really sweet that whenever things happen to you and around you, you want to tell someone. And the fact that the someone is me? Amazing. Don’t stop doing it.”

“I’m at a loss for words.” I said quietly.

“Well finally.” he said sarcastically making me hit his arm with a smile.

“You’re the worst.”

“You right. But come on we’re here so I can be the worst on a horse now.”

“Great.” I said jumping out of his truck.

“At least when you say yeehaw it’ll make sense here.” he said coming around to my side and taking my hand.

“Hey, yeehaw is an appropriate thing to say in any situation I’ll have you know.”

“Yeah sure, if you say so.”

“I do say so.”

We walked up to the registration building and signed in. The man working was super nice and very helpful pairing us with the perfect horses. I had a beautiful light brown horse with a black tail and mane. Her name was Sunny and she was gorgeous. She kind of looked like the horse from the movie Spirit. Tuch had a black one that was equally as beautiful. Alex took a couple pictures of me with Sunny before we left on the trail because in his words ‘this is just too cute not to capture’. He wouldn’t show me the pictures though which was annoying but oh well. It was so nice and relaxing to spend time with a horse again. It had been so long since I had ridden a horse but it was still awesome. I guess it was also nice to spend time with Alex too but. Horse.

Alex had a little more difficulty with riding his horse. She was a little more energetic than my horse, for lack of a better word. She just wanted to go fast but the guy who was leading the way held her by a leash so she wouldn’t run away. It was kind of funny.

We went uphill for quite a while through a really nice forest trail. I couldn’t believe the sights that we saw on the trip. Once we got to the top there was a beautiful mountain on the other side of a canyon with a small river running right through the middle of the land. It was like looking at a painting, something someone created in their mind, instead of real life scenery in front of me. We were back at the beginning way too soon for my liking. I pet the horse some more while Alex was signing out and fed her some treats.

“Come on beautiful, we gotta go.”

“Do we have to? I don’t wanna.” I said pouting slightly but still smiling.

“Yes (y/n) we do. We can come back again if you want to, I had fun.” he said grabbing my hand and leading me out.

“Even though you were a shit cowboy?”

“Excuse me? I was not a shit cowboy!” he exclaimed loudly.

“You had to be held on a leash Tuch! I was the better cowboy.”

“I will never admit that in my life.”

“You don’t have to. I know it’s true. The boys will believe me. It’s all good.”

“You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?” he asked when we got to the car. I leaned against the door of the truck and just smiled at him sweetly.

“Yes, yes I do.”

“Don’t you smile all sweet at me. Cute-ass bitch.” he said, making me let out a burst of laughter.

“You.” I said smiling more. He surged forward and connected his lips to mine in a way that left me breathless when he broke away.

“Sorry..” he said, pulling away. “I couldn’t help it.”

“Pfft okay. It’s fine.”

“Get in the car you little pain.” he said smirking giving me another quick kiss.

“Can’t get in the car if you keep kissing me.”

“Smart-ass.” he laughed and went to his side of the car getting in. I got in too and we started the drive back to my place. “Do you want to stop and get some food somewhere before I bring you back home?”

“Yeah sure. Where were you thinking?”

“I don’t know, it’s a cheat day so I thought maybe fast food if you don’t mind that?”

“Alex look at us. We’re full of hay and smell like horse. I don’t think any fancy places will be itching to let us come in. Besides I don’t want you to spend a lot of money on me.” I said getting quiet.

“I don’t mind spending money on you, (y/n).” he said snorting. “I have enough to spare.”

“I know I just..sorry nevermind I don’t know..”

“Hey, no tell me. You do know.”

“I just don’t want you to think that I’m going on dates with you because you’re spending a lot of money on me or something.. I’m not like that and I don’t want it to come across as that or anything.”

“I know that you aren’t like that, gorgeous. Don’t worry about that at all. I just want to have fun with you and maybe spoil you sometimes. You deserve that.”

“Just don’t go too crazy Tuch, I don’t need expensive things or dates.”

“I know I just wanted to.”

“Okay. The next date I’m planning.”

“See I told you I was confident about getting a third date out of you.” he said with a wink.

“Oh fuck off. As if anyone is surprised by this information.” I said rolling my eyes. “Well hopefully after the one I plan you’ll want a fourth.”

“I definitely will.”

“Wow the confidence you have in me is amazing.”

“I like you, why wouldn’t I be confident that I’d want to see you again?”

“I dunno.”

“Give yourself a little credit cutie.” he said putting his hand on my thigh and squeezing in a comforting way. “Is Mcdonald’s okay?”

“Uh yeah that works for me.”

“Okay cool.” he said pulling into the drive thru. “What do you want?”

“Large fry and a small M&M mcflurry.”

“Are you sure that’s all you want?”

“Yes.”

“And not because you’re worried about me spending money?”

“No that’s just all I want.”

“Okay if you’re sure.”

“I am Alex.” He ordered the food and sat it all in my lap as we drove out. “Why do I have everything?”

“I don’t want to drop it.”

“Do you want to come back and eat it at my place?”

“Yeah sure we can do that if you want.”

“I’m asking what you want Tuch.”

“Okay fine then yeah let’s go back to your place.” we drove back in pretty much silence since I was eating my mcflurry. When we got there I unlocked the door and let him lead the way in. He dropped the food on the table and laid across my whole couch making me roll my eyes.

“Just make yourself right at home.”

“I will thanks.” he said, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes again getting my food out of the bag and pushing his legs back so I could sit. “Hey this was my comfy spot.”

“Bite me.” I told him with my mouth full of french fries.

“I will if that’s what you’re into.” he said raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“Calm your hormones Tuchy.”

“They’re calm.” he said wrapping an arm around my waist pulling me closer to him. He reached past me and grabbed his food but kept one hand around me.

“You’d probably have more luck if you just let go of me for a second.” I said as he struggled with the takeout containers.

“I don’t want to though.” he said squeezing my waist. “Just help me?”

“Stop pouting you baby.” I said opening his food for him. “Happy you ween?”

“Um I am not a ween but yes I’m happy.” 

We ate pretty much in silence, just a random episode of spongebob on in the background. Once we were done I went and threw out the garbage before coming back in and sitting back against him.

“Come here.” he said quietly.

“Why?”

“I want to cuddle you duh.” he said rolling his eyes making me blush. 

“Fine.”

“Come here cutie.” he pulled me down to him so we were spooning but he had his head lifted a little bit so we could both still watch cartoons. “There that’s better.”

“Good I’m glad you big baby.” I said pulling his arm across my chest and laced my fingers with his.

[starringemiliaclarke]

Press: Emilia Clarke interview: the Game of Thrones star on leaving Westeros behind to tackle the West End

Emilia Clarke interview: the Game of Thrones star on leaving Westeros behind to tackle the West End

Clarke, who now stars in Chekhov’s The Seagull, tells Louis Wise that the HBO fantasy series made her feel like a ‘small cog in a big machine’

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PHOTOSHOOTS & OUTTAKES > 2020 > 2020 The Sunday Times

MAGAZINES > 2020 > 2020 The Sunday Times Culture Magazine – March 15

  The Times: Emilia Clarke says she views herself primarily as a stage actress, which is a little weird when you consider that she has only appeared in one play professionally before, and it was an absolute turkey. Or, as the 33-year-old star of Game of Thrones says, in her jolly British way, it was “terrible, awful, awful! Bad! That was a bad show!” The piece was Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Broadway in 2013, and it’s safe to say Clarke’s Holly Golightly did not enchant. “I’ll never forget, someone said to me after press night the only thing they liked was the cat.”

If Clarke relays this with surprising good humour, this is part temperament, part experience. For one thing, in person she is relentlessly chipper and pukka. Whereas on HBO’s mega-fantasy series Game of Thrones, she grew in stature as Daenerys Targaryen, a still, dignified stateswoman (until that end), in real life she is a goofy motormouth chatterbox, always eager to catch the joke at her expense. And she is no stranger to what we shall politely call “the mixed review”. She has known some drubbings, whether for that Broadway show, or films such as Last Christmas or Terminator Genisys, or indeed the final series of GoT, which — euphemism alert! — didn’t quite turn out the way everybody wanted.

Luckily she never reads reviews. “Because if it’s really, really good, someone will tell you. And if it’s really, really bad — some f***** will tell you.”

We are meeting today, though, at a rehearsal space in south London, because she is chucking herself back into the fray. For only her second stage appearance, Clarke is going straight into the West End, in Chekhov’s The Seagull, and taking on the prestigious role of Nina. If she is nervous, she’s handling it in the usual way, which is to say with huge blasts of good cheer.

Two clichés about meeting starsis that they are a) smaller than you thought, but b) their features are stronger than expected. Both are true of Clarke. She is tiny, proper Kylie-tiny, nicely decked out in a gauzy beige-cream knit, some fashionably frayed jeans and pointy, well-worn white cowboy boots. Yet her eyes and grin look extra big: if she stays still, she’s a dainty doll, but as soon as she moves it’s Looney Tunes. To be clear, she never stays still.

This energy feels helpful, as we have a lot to pack in. After all, Clarke’s past decade has been particularly wild. Not only did she rocket suddenly to fame in GoT (until then, her only screen credit was an episode of Doctors), she also lost her father to cancer in 2016 and, as she revealed in 2019, had suffered a sequence of brain haemorrhages in her early twenties, just as the madness of GoT was kicking off.

In private, she experienced various exhausting surgeries at the same time as becoming one of pop culture’s favourite mascots, scrutinised relentlessly on a moral, artistic and very physical level. She recalls being in hospital recovering from an operation and picking up a newspaper. “I was, like, ‘I’m going to see if I can read it,’” she says. “And I was, like, ‘Oh my God, there’s a review of the show. And, oh God, they are just talking about how fat my arse is.’”(Which is the last review she read.)

All of which brings us to the elephant, or dragon, in the room. Over seven seasons, Daenerys, aka Khaleesi, Mother of Dragons, had one hell of an arc, going from weak dynastic pawnto all-conquering queen, a kind of Catherine the Great with sub-Barbarella hair. And then, oops! Daenerys, thrilled at almost achieving her goal of ruling the Seven Kingdoms, lost the plot, turned into a psychotic dead-eyed tyrant, massacring a whole city and essentially going the full Pol Pot. She was then abruptly bumped off by her lover-cum-nephew, Jon Snow, and a worldwide fanbase stopped and went: what?

For Clarke, it had been a hard secret to keep — she had known the ending long in advance. She admits she is still processing it all.

“When the show did end, it was like coming out of a bunker. Everything felt really strange. Then obviously for it to have the backlash it did …” Did she expect it? She slows down, a rare occurrence. “I knew how I felt when I first read it, and I tried, at every turn, not to consider too much what other people might say, but I did always consider what the fans might think — because we did it for them, and they were the ones who made us successful, so … it’s just polite, isn’t it?”

It’s clear Clarke is caught between her close friendship with the series’ creators, David Benioff and DB Weiss, and her deep awareness of what most fans wanted. In fact, she first suggests that it’s the news wot done it.

“I do think that the global temperature, how much horrific news there is consistently, goes a way to explain the enormity of the fans’ outrage,” she argues. “Because people are going, finally, here’s something I can actually see and understand and get some control back over … and then when that turns, and you don’t like what they’ve done …”

Hmm. It’s a nice theory, but with Daenerys we were just denied a happy ending, right? She nods quietly. “Yeah.” So did not getting that also make her sad? She tries to explain that “as an actor” it was actually all “a gift”, but eventually the tornado of diplomacy peters out. “Yeah, I felt for her. I really felt for her. And yeah, was I annoyed that Jon Snow didn’t have to deal with something?” She lets us out an exasperated laugh. “He got away with murder — literally.”

She also eventually agrees with the critique that the final season condensed far too much in far too little time (“We could have spun it out for a little longer”) and that it could simply have had more dialogue. “It was all about the set pieces,” she agrees. “I think the sensational nature of the show was, possibly, given a huge amount of airtime because that’s what makes sense.”

Is she at least happy it ended when it did? “I mean, ‘happy’ is a funny word. It’s a strong word. Again, the show was so big. I was a small cog in a very, very, very big machine …”

What she means, though, is that she actually liked this. The show provided a routine, a family, something to fall back on every year; it also gave her experience. “I very much feel my career is something that’s happened to me, as opposed to the other way around,” she says. But she can see that being a cog has its limits, as doesforever having to cater to fans and, yes, to the press. “Doing a show so many people had opinions about doesn’t serve your creativity on any level.”

All of which explains why she is doing this Seagull with Jamie Lloyd, the director who just landed raves for his Cyrano with James McAvoy. And, yes, although she knows it’s “hilarious”, she somehow does “identify closer with theatre”. This is mostly to do with her dad, who was a theatre engineer; her mother is a vice-president in marketing for a management consultancy firm. Clarke and her brother had an idyllic-sounding childhood in Oxfordshire. Inspired by her father’s job, she always wanted to be an actress, apparently from the age of three. “I think of him whenever I’m walking through the West End,” she says. “My dad is everywhere in the theatre, 100%.”

She says this happily; I get the impression she hasn’t finished grieving, she’s just moved on to a better, celebratory phase. How would he feel about her playing Nina? “I think he would be nervous for me,” she says with a chuckle. It is, she knows, a big role: Nina, the aspiring actress whose dreams of fame are dashed, but who plugs away regardless. “I was never your Nina at drama school, that’s for sure,” says Clarke. “I wasn’t really a favourite [there], at all.”

Instead, she got parts like Jewish grannies, or “a down-and-out, pissed-off, washed-up prostitute”. But did she always want to be Nina or Juliet? “Well, of course I did. Oh my God, yeah. So I’m in no doubt there’s still some of that in me where I’m like: ‘Oh my God, guys, check it out! Finally she got there.’”

Clarke does like to cast herself as an underdog, although, thankfully, she does seem mostly to be aware that she is coming from a place of privilege. By the end of GoT she was reportedly paid $500,000 an episode. Is money a concern any more? “I am careful,” she says. “I’m a lot more careful now than I was.” She has a lovely house in north London with a bar in the garden. She can pick jobs for their artistic content first and foremost (“I want to work with an auteur!”). So yes, she knows she has it good, which is why she waited several years before revealing her brain trauma.

“I didn’t want to turn it into this celebrity sob story. I didn’t want people’s pity or ‘Oh, poor little rich girl, your successful life ain’t good enough?’” She is now happy she did it. “It’s done a huge amount of healing for me, being able to open up about it.” Her health status is “beautiful” now. “I was match-fit six weeks after the second surgery [in 2013],” she clarifies. “But mentally …”

On the other end of the spectrum, her fame has made something else hard: dating. “I am single right now …” She says with a smile. “Dating in this industry is interesting. I have a lot of funny anecdotes, a lot of stuff I can say at a fun dinner.” She was last seen in 2018 with a film director, and before that she was linked to Seth MacFarlane and James Franco. Does she mostly date fellow actors, because that’s how the industry works? “I was, and now I’m not,” she says — more smiles.

“I mean, I wouldn’t say I’ve completely sworn off them, but I do think actor relationships that are successful are few and far between, and you have to have a ton of trust.” Now and then her friends tell her to try Raya, the dating app that is supposedly for more exclusive celeb types. When she looks at it, though, “it’s just models. What am I going to do there?”

In short, everything about Clarke’s life is still monumentally weird, but she is doing a good job of pretending it’s not. After the play, she has “any one of nine projects that could go at the end of this year, and I have no idea which one will win”. A lot, she announces, are “dark”. Would she do fantasy again? “I think, if I did, it would be me having a giggle,” she says. I take this to mean her doing a send-up, a kind of Extras take on GoT, but no: “I want to do something absolutely stupid and silly, like, you know, The Avengers or whatever. Something where I got to have a giggle with mates.”

I’ve never thought of the Marvel mega-franchise as a downtime laff with pals, but that’s the level Clarke is operating on. I suppose it’s a pretty good happy ending.

The Seagull, Playhouse, London WC2, until May 30

Press: Emilia Clarke interview: the Game of Thrones star on leaving Westeros behind to tackle the West End was originally published on Enchanting Emilia Clarke | Est 2012

[runesrule]

Chevy reviews 2019 Charlie’s Angels because she has Emotions about lady spies.

You know how most of the reviews of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ (2019) can be basically summarised as ‘other than Kirstin Stewart, it sucked’? 

I went and saw it last weekend with my younger brother, having already mentally dismissed it as a waste of twenty bucks. Imagine my surprise when, not only did it not actually suck, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable 120 minutes? 

Look, in no way is this movie literary brilliance. The plot’s basic, the acting is kind of trite, the explosions are over the top and the stunts have the kind of eye-roll-worthy exaggerated dramatization made famous by Mission Impossible and Fast and Furious. 

And here was me really freaking hoping that maybe the critics weren’t bombing this film just because it’s got strong, somewhat intersectional female representation, powerful feminist themes and a cliché soundtrack. 

Admittedly, some of the reviews really just read like they could have been about the last twenty-five or twenty-six Fast and Furious movies (is anyone even counting anymore?). However, some of them make this movie sound like an affront to the entire film industry, when in fact it’s just a dumb, feel-good action flick. It was fun as hell. The plot is simple, sure, which leaves plenty of room for the car chases, the explosions, the gun fights and the revenge subplot. Djimon Hounsou turns up for exactly three and a half seconds, type-cast to perfection as the forgettable Black Guy Number One. 

Unfortunately, killing off the black guy and the way everyone’s accepted that the short-haired chick is obviously a lesbian don’t seem to be the reasons that people actually have issues with this film. It’s described as everything from ‘bland’ to ‘brainless’ and ‘unfunny’ which is harsh considering it’s bedfellows in the action genre. 

On a more positive note, I did see some reviews along the lines of ‘might not offer a wholly satisfying experience, its still a ton of fun to watch!’ (www.syfy.com), which more or less summarises my feelings on the whole deal. What I didn’t see a lot of the negative reviews point out in any way was the obliteration of that pesky male-gaze camera pans, the celebration of female friendships, and Strong Female Characters™ that is allowed to be emotional. We don’t often get to see the stoic ex-MI6 hard-ass cry, and I mean really cry without it pointing to some kind of mental breakdown, and that scene is really one of the highlights for me. 

I felt excited leaving the cinema, exhilarated and seen and represented. And really fucking sorry for Elizabeth Banks, to be honest, because this movie was really fucking cool and deserves recognition for being exactly what it is. It’s nothing more and nothing less than a Dumb Feel Good Action flick. I’m sick of feeling the need to defend female-led films that are less than perfect, when this movie would have gotten eight sequels if it starred Zac Efron, a Hemsworth brother and one of the Chris’. Oh, and the Rock. And Margot Robbie as the love interest. Who probably dies in the sequel, only to come back from the dead brain washed by an enemy, played by Charlise Theron. 

Oops, did that sound bitter?

[hippychick006]

1.01 - Pilot Recap/Review

Original Air Date: 13 September 2005

Episode 1 of a 327 Episode Watch

Lawrence, Kansas, 22 years ago…

…Nope, more like 37 now… sobs

Love this episode, so many iconic brother moments and the start of the epic love story of Sam and Dean (creators words, not mine).  Where do we even start?

Intro is a little difficult to watch now, with so much changed with Mary from this original episode over the years –with her a) being a hunter, b) making the deal and c) the family not actually being as happy as they are portrayed in this episode which kind of screws up John’s story for me, but this is my only negative, and it certainly wasn’t an issue at the time the pilot aired.  

Weechesters!  First words from Dean to Sam: “Night, Sam” and if these are the last words (and both are alive), I will be a very happy bunny!

John (handing baby Sam to Dean): Take your brother outside as fast as you can and don't look back! Now, Dean, go!

Wee!Dean telling Wee!Sam it will be okay.

I love how John picks them both up as he runs.  Also love that shot of John and his two boys on the hood of the Impala at the end of the intro.

Now, Stanford University...

Nope, almost 15 years ago – add a few decades for each brother for their hell experiences

Our first glimpse of Baby!Sam as he peeks around the door, reluctant to go out for Halloween: “Do I have to… you know how I feel about Halloween?” Boops nose, he’s so gosh darned cute! Ignores the later canon that he doesn’t like Halloween because he puked in front of a girl (or similar story as I can’t remember it fully).  Also forever bitter we don’t get the deleted scene where it’s suggested that Sam dress up in something slutty. “Slutty Dorothy, Slutty Alice…” 

Jess is rightfully proud of her boyfriend for scoring a 174 on the LSAT which is “scary good.”  I’ll take her word for it as I have absolutely no idea what an LSAT is.

I love how Sam is instantly alert at the noise in the apartment. Hunter instincts.

Urgh, the first ever broment. I mean they’re fighting, but it’s still a broment!  I love the whole fight scene and how it was shot.  Instant chemistry.  Excuse me while I watch it several times.  Will never be tired of the “Woah, Easy Tiger!” from Dean.  Question though, why was Dean fighting Sam?  He broke into his brother’s apartment and he didn’t think to go “Wait, Sammy, it’s me, stop trying to punch me!”  Also, Jensen is gorgeous, these are my favourite Dean years.

Dean, stop hitting on Sam’s girlfriend!

Call to action that starts the whole thing: Dad’s on a Hunting Trip.  And he hasn’t been home in a few days.

Exposition Kripke!!  Though we do find out a lot, Sam was chucked out, wouldn’t pick up the phone if Dean had called, and they were “raised like warriors”. Dysfunctional family?  Hello, yes, I’d like to watch 327 episodes of this show, please!

Brother feels!

Dean: I can’t do this alone

Sam: Yes, you can

Dean: Yeah, Well, I don’t want to

What the hell is a gold wave?  Was that made up?  That sounds made up.  Me as a writer.

Dean: “You know, in almost two years I've never bothered you, never asked you for a thing.”  This is so sad their relationship got to this point and they hadn’t seen each other or spoken. 

Dean telling his brother to skip the job interview.  He really wants his Sammy back.

Before the end of the show, I want to see Sam using that lethal looking knife he packs in his duffel in this episode. Just once.

I like the MOTW in this one, Lady in White was a good starting point for the show.  Troy is the first victim we see with her and since he’s a cheating scumbag, I don’t feel sorry that his guts are now splattered all over his car.

Dean asking Sam if he wants breakfast.   Lawyer boy is concerned about how Dean paid for it – “You and dad still running credit card scams?” Sam is also concerned about Dean’s music collection

Sam: I swear, man, you've gotta update your cassette tape collection.

Dean: Why?

Sam: Well, for one, they're cassette tapes. And two… Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica?... It's the greatest hits of mullet rock. (*cough* Vince Vincente Sammy *cough*).

DEAN: Well, house rules, Sammy, Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.

Sam protests Dean’s use of Sammy, but as we know, Dean’s the only one who gets to call him that (except later seasons where everyone seems to call him that).

I love Sam’s face when Dean is searching through the box of fake ID’s.  He’s horrified.  He can’t believe Dean is going to use a fake badge.  Oh Sam.

So much brotherly bickering in this episode:

Sam stomping on Dean’s foot and Dean whacking Sam on the head.

Dean smacking Sam’s hand and Sam wheeling Dean’s chair out of the way so he can take over control of the computer in the library when they look up the case.  Dean smacks Sam on the shoulder in return. (first ever scene they filmed according to Jared).

Also First Ever Winsync!  When they interview Troy’s girlfriend and say at exactly the same time: “What do they talk about?”  

Also, in this same scene, someone needs to remind Jensen he’s playing Sam’s brother, not his boyfriend.

Love the whole scene on the bridge at night, Dean slamming Sam up against the side just because he talked about their mom.  You. Are. Brothers!  

Sam may not be happy about using fake credit cards, but he’s more than at home with a lock picking kit.  I like how Sam yanks Dean inside the room.

Sam tries to apologise for talking about their mom.  

Dean: No chick-flick moments

Sam: Jerk…

Dean: …Bitch

Dean leaving the motel, spotting the police then calling his brother to warn he’s been made and telling him to take off.  

Sam placing a false 911 call to allow Dean to escape and Dean being resourceful in getting out of the cuffs.

Sam demonstrating exactly why you shouldn’t talk and drive.  Luckily he runs over a ghost and not a real person.  

Uh, That Constance bitch is in the car with Sam demanding to be taken home. Sam refuses and she takes over controls, locking the car and mentally driving it home.  Constance: “I can never go home.”

Sam: You’re scared to go home.

Constance, you get your hands off Sammy. Sam: You can’t kill me.  I’m not unfaithful.  I’ve never been!  Constance: You will be.  Uh no, he said he wouldn’t, stop cheating Constance and go after the real douchbags!

Hurt!Sam – Constance is digging into his chest, going for his heart.

Big Brother Dean to the rescue – he shoots her in the face, but she keeps reappearing.

Sam’s had enough, “I’m taking you home.” To Dean’s shock, Sam drives his baby straight into her house.  

Dean helps Sam out of the car, while Constance looks at a photo of her and her children.  She’s not happy with Sam and Dean, tking the sideboard to slam right into them and pin them against the car.  Luckily, before she can do any more damage, her ghost kids turn up and they all melt into the floor.

Sam gets the kill count on this one. Sam: 1, Dean: 0.  Dean’s proud as he slaps Sam on the chest right where Sam had been injured. Dean: You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy.

Sam: Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?

Dean: Hey. Saved your ass…. I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car?... I’ll kill you

Oops, the car is damaged, one of the headlights is out.  Sam seems okay though, he checks co-ordinates their dad left earlier while Dean drives.

Dean just wants to hunt with his brother and Sam just wants to be safe, but at least Sam wants a relationship with Dean: “And maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?”

Dean: You know, we made a hell of a team back there.

Sam: Yeah.

Jess made Sam cookies ☹

Sam’s tired and flops down on the bed, it’s such a peaceful moment and he’s happy and then blood drips on his forehead and it’s just…

Big brother Dean to the rescue again (though I don’t think they should have cut what brought Dean back). Dean literally has to drag Sam out of the room and I’m always here for Dean manhandling Sam.

The scene at the end, Dean looking at Sam, worried about his brother, Sam looking at him, sighs and nods, tossing the shotgun he’s been checking into the trunk.

Sam: We got work to do

Yes Sam, 326 more episodes of work to do!  I really miss these early boys so much, they’re both so dragged down with constant crap over the last few years to the point of being almost unrecognisable.  

[nottryingtobepretentious]

MARY POPPINS RETURNS — SHE SHOULDN’T HAVE

Rating: 1/5 (for Emily Blunt and Emily Blunt only)

On Tuesday, January 1, I paid $12 to have my ears bleed; in other words, I saw Mary Poppins Returns. Here is a limited list of its main issues, though there are many more:

Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hear me out, he’s extremely talented...at writing. If you’ve listened to Hamilton or any of his other musicals, you’d know that. Nonetheless, he's a horrible, truly awful singer—hence my ears’ bleeding. If you’ve listened to Hamilton or any of his other musicals, you’d know that. So you can imagine how difficult it was to sit through two hours of his squawking—oops, singing—and his ungodly, macabre Cockney accent. I don’t think he’s ever heard a British person speak. And he spent five months shooting with Emily Blunt, native Brit, and the rest of the ensemble. I was truly astonished. I guess I should’ve known to expect a subpar performance. Aside from his flaws as a performer, his character was so odd. I was so ready for the poppin’ chimney sweep song and dance from the original, but, again, my low expectations were too optimistic. Miranda plays not a chimney sweep, but a lamp-lighter. Meaning his entire job is to turn a dial on a gas lamp. I don’t know much about maintenance jobs of the British Industrial Revolution, but this can't be comparable to chimney-cleaning. It can’t.

The movie didn’t include any of the original bops like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” I realized after seeing the movie that this has been advertised in the press, but I, not having kept tabs on the film’s publicity, was unaware of this. A half hour into the movie, the only thing keeping me going was the possibility of hearing Blunt sing an excerpt from “A Spoonful of Sugar.” Realizing it was never going to happen, I sat in agony for the remainder. (The movie is two hours and ten minutes long. That’s 130 minutes, or 7,800 seconds, of agony.) Also, don't get me started on Miranda’s song “(Underneath the) Lovely London Sky.” Blasphemous. Odious. Harrowing.

I’m a big Meryl Streep fan; I have a Meryl prayer candle. Plus, she’s amazing in Mamma Mia, so I was exhilarated upon hearing of her role in this movie-musical extravaganza (hi, Julie Walters and Colin Firth). I feel so wronged. She has five bewilderingly unmemorable minutes of screen time, during which she, perhaps the most obscure character, sings her rushed song in an undistinguishable accent, which was a bit confusing. It seems like the filmmakers just wanted a Meryl cameo—who doesn’t—and decided to put her acting chops to the test by making her sing frantically an accent, all whilst upside down. Don’t ask. Anyway, unrealistically, I was hoping she’d sing “Money, Money, Money.” Was that really too much to ask? The members of ABBA seem nice—they’re Swedish, after all, if you like prescribing stereotypes; I’m sure they’d be fine with her doing an encore. It actually would’ve fit perfectly, considering the film centers on the Banks’ family’s financial struggles. On the same subject, Angela Lansbury was there handing out balloons for some reason, probably because they couldn’t get the original Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews, so they picked The Other Old White Woman. She deserved better.

This last point isn’t really a critique. It’s just something strange. Dick Van Dyke—the original Sir Chimney Sweep—makes a cameo, in which he tap dances on a desk. He’s, like, 90, so this isn’t his fault, but my man just stood on the desk and wiggled a bit while tap dance sound effects played.

I originally ended my review with the image of a white, nonagenarian man with a bad spray tan struggling to regain feeling in his numb legs, but I think I should clarify some things this time. My shock and disgust weren’t borne from a sense of betrayal, or anger at the filmmakers for ruining a beloved childhood film. I liked Mary Poppins when I was young, but it was never a formative film. It doesn’t mean that much to me. I wasn’t even planning on seeing this remake. Sure, I was excited to do an awkward shimmy in my seat to “Chim Chim Cheree,” but that was really it.

Essentially, I’m disgusted.

[nautiscarader]

Okay, so I’ve seen Crimes of Grindelwald (spoilers)

And boy, is this movie disappointing. 

Now, the first instance of Fantastic beasts was already hit-and-miss, but the plot to this movie was just freaking bizarre. And it pulled a few weird moves that even a hardcore Potterhead like myself consider out of place.

Let’s start with the positives: The movie does look amazing, and several scenes were really breath-taking, including the opening chase, and the final battle. Whether they made sense is a different thing, but they looked awesome.

I did like the ultimate reveal of Grindelwald’s plot. He wants wizards to take over muggles’ world because of a prophecy, or rather a vision of the future. Most notably, World War II. 

That scene in the Lestrange’s family vault, where Grindelwald breathed the... uh, skull fumes... which in turn showed the vision of London Blitz, concentration camps and a freaking nuclear bomb was absolutely chilling. And Jacob’s reaction to it was blood-freezing, given he was a veteran of WWI already.

so, that makes Grindelwald’s “greater good” plan actually competent and multi-dimensional. He’s evil, he wants to treat muggles as a cattle and workforce, but you can see the original skewed thinking of the young Gellert there. That, i think was executed really well.

This is something I wanted to see for a long, long time. We know from Pottermore (and first movie, I think) that wizards did participate in WWI, and I wanted to see how that will be integrated into the HP universe. We only got a glimpse of it, but it was a powerful one.

Queenie’s plot was, for the most part, very interesting. She seems on plan with subduing muggles into obedience, though of course, she draws a conclusion that it’s okay, even though she is doing it on a man who already is in love with her. But that shows how twisted her perspective is.

The beasts were kinda cool! Newt has a flat in London, which, again, is bigger on the inside than outside, and he’s still pulling off Matt Smith’s performance as The Doctor. And he keeps a freaking Kelpie in a pool in basement. Which may be a library 

Also he has a maid that is totally in love with him.

Zouwu, a.k.a. not manticore, a.k.a. big magical Chinese lion that could breathe fire and jump a hundred feet but when you jingle some bells he enters his big fluffy cat mode, was freaking amazing.  

Jude Law as Dumbledore is phenomenal. He really encapsulates all the charm, and wisdom, as well as ability to manipulate as his older incarnations.

And now onto the bad stuff.

So, here’s the thing. FB movies seems to be in-canon only with the HP movies. I think. I honestly don’t know. And the problem with that is as follow: Harry Potter movies sucked. Even the best ones had massive cuts, the plot had to be twisted or crammed. I have always wondered how does it feel to watch HP movie without reading HP book.

Well, now I know.

Every freaking second you think that this minute-long scene in the movie would be at least three pages long in the book, and all the magical shit that is pulled off would have been explained previously in tiniest details. EXCEPT THERE IS NO BOOK NOW.

And this is a genuine problem. There is a lot of magic pulled from nowhere. Like, for example, Newt and Jacob arrive in France looking for Queenie and Tina. And then Newt takes off some gold powder thing, scatters it around and ... it just shows the past?! Like, echoes of what happened, and it shows Tina walking, meeting with a black guy, etc. 

Now, we know seeing the past of *spells* is possible - Priori Incantatem can do that, but if we can just rewind the whole scene, then... why don’t Aurors do it all the time?! Where was that powder in Goblet of Fire when Ministry of Magic were investigating who conjured the Dark Mark?!

Secondly, future-seeing. In HP, it is quite heavily established that even wizards think that predicting the future is rubbish and only powerful seers can really do it. 

in CoG, we see two examples: Nicholas Flamel (admittedly, a powerful wizard) uses crystal ball to see what will happen at the graveyard, and Grindelwald himself uses... the skull-thingy. 

Okay, that needs explaining. So, Deppy-Depp here has the skull and it has some sort of pipe attached to it, and he smokes through it, and breathes out smog, and that smog shows the future.

I’d say you need to be high to invent this, but that is exactly what it looks like. 

There is a skull-bong in Harry Potter universe now.

And again, it seems to be working 100% time correctly. So yeah, ditch the seers, use this instead. Whatever it is. 

The movie shows Grindelwald and Dumbledore’s past, to an extent, and we also see some weird blood-pact-amulet thing. Again, very poorly explained. I guess it prevents them from hurting each other, hence they both use others (Dumbledore newt and Grindelwald Credence).

Also, Dumbledore is teaching Defense Against Dark Arts in Hogwarts. In the books, he was a transfiguration professor in his youth. Also, professor McGonnagal seems to be teaching in his years.

in 1927.

EIGHT YEARS BEFORE SHE WAS BORN.

OOPS.

And, honestly, she is only for a brief comedic moment. She could be substituted with a freaking Mickey Mouse, and it would have had no change on the plot whatsoever. 

Ah, well, that leads us to Credence. So, there is whole subplot about him apparently being a lost Lestrange. That coincides with the fact that both Theseus and Newt are in love with Credence’s supposed sister, Leta, so now we have two people looking for him. Oh, wait, we have a third one: a new French-African dude who is supposed to be a third Lestrange. This subplot honestly kinda goes nowhere. Turns out that the third lestrange was killed by Leta by accident, and Credence is...

Dumbledore’s brother.

yeah, this makes no fucking sense. 

I watched a review from a die-hard potter fan, and even she calls that move “like taken from worst fanfic”. And there is a reason for it.

See, when I finished watching FB1, I immediately joined the idea of Obscurus - a powerful, magical parasite that manifests in a particularly powerful wizard or witch, and can ultimately destroy them - with Ariana Dumbledore - Albus’ sister. This was a big, big, big deal in Deathly Hallows. So I was overjoyed when I learned that Dumbledore would be in the movie. Maybe the reason he takes interest in finding Credence was to see if there is a way to bring Ariana back, or whether she suffered in her death, or, hell, if he can help another child.

And, I guess it can still happen. But... where the bloody hell does that brother thing come from?! Now, it’s not confirmed, I think, and it is only told to credence by Grindelwald, but he also reveals that the bird Credence was taking care of is in fact, a phoenix, a bird that is tied to Dumbledore’s family. 

So... is he a Dumbledore? Really? How... How does that work?

And there are a lot of weirder problems in this movie. Like, at some point, Tina and Newt go to French Ministry of Magic to pull Leta’s family tree, and it is stored in the least practical fucking room with revolving pillars or something. 

Also, they go the evil mean librarian, and Tina simply says “I’m Lestrange”, and she is like “okay”.

No wand-checking?! No protective spells?! What?!

And, mind you, they are on the chase; Newt drinks polyjuice potion to look like Theseus, and it only works for maybe five minutes, as opposed to an hour, and there are posters of Newt all over French MoM. So, how the bloody hell didn’t the mean librarian notice him and raise an alarm. Or better - WHY DOESN’T SHE FUCKING STUN HIM?!

Eventually she does bring back her army of CGI multiplying cats, but that happens after Tina and Newt kinda find what they were looking for.

Edit: Oh, yeah, and one wizard can WALK THROUGH FUCKING WALLS.

Like, he has a noclip cheat turned on. WAHT.

Eh, I’m not gonna lie, this film was bad on several different levels. It had lots of good elements in it, but the bad ones do overweight them for me. And with “Cursed Child” and all of that, I really feel bummed to see one of my favourite franchises gets kinda destroyed and distorted.

I guess this is how Star Wars fan felt when the prequels came out...? Except we have three more.

[taykhhsins]

The Vibe

Previously on...        Masterlist

Chapter IV

It has been two weeks since the concert, and my name and face were plastered all over the media. The overwhelmingly positive reviews of the song and my performance with Sik-k has been the biggest energy boost for me. I have too much inspiration for songs now, I've run throw my notebook.  When I’m not writing songs in the studio or making videos for my channel, Jay and Cha Cha have been running me all over Seoul to prepare for the music video and meeting important people in the industry. When I do go to my hotel I'm sleeping within minutes.

Jon and I are playing phone tag right now, we never catch it other at the right time. I hope this doesn’t become a trend in our relationship. Of course, I could be a Higher music artist in the states, like most of my future label mates, but seeing how beautiful Korea makes me not wanna go back. Yeah, I miss Jon and my family but… Korea has been so welcoming to me musically. I don't know what I’m gonna do.

But I can't think about that stuff right now. I need to focus on filming this music video. Being a Youtuber I’m comfortable in front of the camera, but I’m not usually acting in my videos. When we were tossing video ideas around I suggested they hire a model to play the main girl. The song is a very flirty chill song, so I know the video would have to match. I didn’t want to be in a position that would make Jon jealous, but they insisted I be the main girl. So here I am on set cuddled up with Kwon on this small ass coach. We were shooting in this cute little house in Busan, right on the beach. We shot our solo shots earlier the morning to take advantage of the natural light. They want the romantic sunset to be the background of our couple shots.

“Alright Sik-k, for this next shot, your gonna rap this part as you look into her eyes.” The director says a handheld camera in his left hand.

“Like this” Sik asks his thumb lifting up my chin just like the director said. When our eyes met I crossed my eyes and stuck my tongue out, since we weren’t filming at the moment I could afford to be goofy. Sik-k laughs and pushes my face away.

“Yeah something like that” The director chuckles out “maybe will do another take with that ugly face, it'll be cute” he adds before backing up to get in position.

“all of her takes have that ugly face, she can’t help it” Sik-k jokes earning an elbow to his ribs.

“oops just trying to get in position… my bad.” I mumble dismissing his yelp of pain. He plucks my chin just as they yell action. We look into each other's eyes as he raps his part. We did a couple of shots like that so the editor had options for the final video.

“okay for this next one, Vibe, you’ll sing to him, but towards the end of the chorus grab Sik Hand and you'll both walk off to the left and out the door. Got it?” Asks the director, I nodded along as I pictured what he wanted in my head.

“so as I say ‘Wanna spend all my time with you, come to explore life with me babe’, I lead Sik out of the house?”

“Right!” He confirmed moving to where he’d film us. “start the track” he calls out when everything is in position. When the music started, I did as he asked. But as I go to pull Sik-k up, he was like dead weight. His stupid smirk settled on his face, I could tell he was trying to hold his laugh in.

“Min Sik Kwon!” I exclaimed, letting a few giggles slip through my lip. His face cracks into the stupid laugh he was holding in. “you're so annoying” I mumble popping his hand.

“Reset! Let's do this again, c’mon Sik” the director calls.

I sat back down and cuddle up close to him again. They play the track again and I do my part. This time everything goes as planned. We shoot a couple more clips before cutting for a break.

“ I'm happy you did this shoot with me… it can be really awkward doing that intimate stuff with a model” Sik confessed as he relaxes into the coach. “I was really worried when you were arguing for us to hire one.”

“I wasn’t so sure about doing it… like you said it's kind of intimate, so I was worried about my boyfriend.” I say letting a deep sigh escape my lips. I pull my legs up to my chest and wrap my arms tight around them. “I have gotten a chance to explain the concept to him, so I still a little meh about it,” I confess. I don’t wanna argue with him over bull shit, but at the same time it would be worse if I don't tell him at all and he finds out like the rest of the world.

“Do you think he’ll really get upset about it?” He chucks a little, but I can't help but think back to that day, Jon, got mad about them feeding me fucking food. If he could get mad about something so innocent who’s to say he won't about this. Anytime I bring up the guys he gets so salty and annoying that I don't wanna talk to him anymore. I pretty much hate talking to him now

“He got upset when I told him that y'all were feeding me food when we went out to eat a while back.”

“Is that why you slap are hand away now?”  Sik-k’s annoyance was evident on his face and it only deepens when I nodded my head.

“Think about this way, wouldn’t you been on edge if your girl was in another country surrounded by men all the time?”

“I don’t know…I guess I wouldn't be too thrilled that another man was putting food in my girl's mouth.” He says with a sigh. “But this is work, it's how we get known and start making that money. He is gonna have to get over that if he wants to date an Idol.” He adds gesturing around to all of the cameras and people.

Everything he said was right… doing music videos like this is part of the job description. Being on set shooting has been so fun, and I’m not gonna give it up because he is a little insecure. As much as I don’t wanna piss him off, I wanna enjoy my time here. These experiences I'm having are once in a lifetime, I can spend my time tiptoeing around trying not overstep boundaries I don't even know are there

“Hey, tell your boyfriend that your gonna be my Platonic date to this award show coming up.” Sik demands putting emphasis on the word “Platonic”.

“Why I gotta be your date, hmm? Got turned down by that girl from the club?” I tease. He pushes at my shoulder and I fall over on my side, still laughing. Hanging around Sik can have just as many serious moments as funny ones. He knows how to cut the tense in the air. Being around Sik was just relaxing to me

“It’s so we can promote the song, besides we are performing there anyway”

That revelation made me stop laughing immediately as I sat up to look at him.

“What's with that look? They didn’t tell you?”

“No, they ain’t said shit to me! When is it?” Just as my questions slip through my lips the two CEOs stroll on to set. “Hey! When were you gonna tell me we were performing at an awards show?” My question catching them by surprise.

“We were just asked like two days ago,” Jay says

“We actually came to tell you now… though Min Sik could keep that mouth shut.” Chase says smacking min Sik in the back of his head. He yelped loudly grabbing at the back of his head

“I didn’t know it was a secret” He hisses    

“Well, when is it… I didn’t really pack for an award show.”

“It's this Friday, and your look has already been taken care of,” Chase says leaning over the couch in-between Min Sik and me

“We have a styles getting a couple of looks for you to choose from when the day comes” Jay adds his two cents. “How's the music video coming along?”

While Sik filled them in on the progress of the video I checked my phone. I had a few texts from Autumn, Marcus, and Jon. I quickly texted the first two back and let Jonathan's text sit for a little longer. He asked what I was up too and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell him exactly what yet. Before coming out to Korea I wouldn’t have hesitated to tell him, and I can’t say I know exactly how we got here in these short two weeks. If our love is to work we have to be completely upfront right? I mean he has been honest with his feelings and so should I.

I typed out several variations of a text, but they all mean the same thing. It was a simple thing to say so why couldn't I just say it? “I'm shooting a music video with Sik-k. Oh, and I’m going with him to an award show.” It doesn’t matter how I say it, I know the reaction was gonna be the same.  Just as the Director called for the end of the break, I hit send and turned off my phone. I’ll deal with the reaction later.

I didn’t get a reply until on the day of the award show, two days later.

“Ok.” was all it said and I after being ignored for two days I wasn’t exactly in the mood to reply back to him. It helped that really didn’t have time to text him back anyway with preparing for my performance.

Higher Music and AMOG rented the penthouse of this fancy hotel not far from the venue. We all slept here last night because we had a long day of rehearsal and Jay didn’t want us to be late or anything. Jay Park “the professional” was on the clock now and everything had to be perfect. He made us run through the song ten times until it was how he liked it. I couldn’t hate on him

At the moment we were chilling eating Dinner before we had to get dressed up… Well, the guys where. I was standing in front of a rack full of clothes. I needed to decide what I would wear on the red carpet. I run my fingers across the soft fabrics. This was my first red carpet appearance and I needed to make a great impression. Debuting to an entire country on national Tv is different than debuting at an underground hip-hop club, this was more damning. H1gher Music could decide not to sign me based off this and that would be the single most devastating thing in my life right now

“Put on a runway for us.” Hoody suggests before taking another sip of her sujo. All the boys nod in agreement. I agree, having their opinion would help me make a choice. The stylist and I wheel the rack into my room and she puts me in the first outfit. It was a light pink pants suit with a black low cut bodysuit. I slipped on the white pumps she picked out.

Checking myself out in the full-length mirror, I didn’t hate the look. It was perfectly tailored to me, but it didn’t feel like something id wears.

“Shall we show them?” The stylist asks already headed for the door. I follow after her out to the rowdy crowd. Grey gestures for me to do a spin and I do, Showing them all sides of the outfit. I even took the suit jacket off to show them the bodysuit more.

“Next,” they all say, and with a sigh of relief I go and change. It was like that for the next two outfits, but the next one… damn. It was a white off the shoulders dress. stopping at the middle of my thigh and the sleeves pooled nicely at my wrist.

“This is the one” I mumble to myself as I look in the mirror. Slipping on some pumps that matched my skin tone, I walked out to see the reaction of the peanut gallery. They dropped silently when their eyes landed on me. I did a spin like the other times, but when I turned around they still hadn’t said anything. I looked down at it because maybe it really wasn't the one. Maybe it looked way uglier than I thought

“so?” I ask a little put off by their quietness

“This is the one. We don’t need to see more.” Min Sik said walking over to me.

“You look stunning.” Hoody says clapping  

“You aren't allowed to stand by me… fucking steal my shine” Jay says jokingly

“Are you sure it isn’t cause I’m even taller in heels?” I say trying not to laugh in his face, but hearing everyone else dying got me.

“Ha ha Ha our Erin thinks she’s so damn funny” He mumbles walking into his own room to get dressed.

The van ride was filled with laughter, so I didn’t have a chance to feel nervous, but once we pulled up to the venue It all came rushing in on me. Seeing the red carpet, the fans, and all the Cameraman has me running through all the ways I could fuck up. What if I trip over in front of all these peoples? Or my dress falls apart?

“Stop shaking, you’ll be fine.”Min Sik whispered in my ear. I didn’t realize that my leg was shaking until Sik-k rested his hand on my knee. “I’ll be right there with you. Just breath”

I took a deep breath and exhaled just as the doors to the van slide open. Cameras flashed rapidly and the sounds of fans filled my ears. Jay and Chase got out first then the rest followed before it was just me and Min Sik.  

“I'm not gonna let you fall,” He says before getting out. He takes off his suit jacket and blocked me from the cameras as I climbed out. When I stood next to him I helped him put his jacket back on. His hand resting on my back and guiding me down the carpet.

We stop every couple of feet to take photos; sometimes with the entire group, or just me and him, or just one of us. When we finally get inside the venue, I let out a breath, I didn’t know I was holding, out. We followed staff to our seats. They put us on the left of the main stage up in the balcony. I looked around at the venue, It was quickly filling up with Idols and fans. The coaches next to us were empty, but not for long. I watched as a staffer collected the name tags off the seats before I could see who would be sitting next to us.

“Oh my fucking God” I let slip as the seven men walked in, It was BTS. Sik pinched my sides before laughing. He knew just how much of an ARMY I was. Honestly, anyone who watches my videos knows I am the biggest ARMY. I make dance covers and lookbooks inspired by them. This moment is like getting that DM from Jay all over again.

I stood up with everyone else and greeted them, before taking our seats again.

Jay leaned down next to my ear “Don’t start fangirling” He teases.

“Leave me alone,” I say pushing his face back. But I can still hear his stupid laugh. “I really want their autograph” I mumble to Sik hoping he would keep it between us. I clear forgot who I was talking to and who I was surrounded by.

“Well let go get it,” Jay says standing up.

“what- wait-“ before I could stop him he had already gotten their attention. I slowly turned around in my seat to see them looking at us.

“Hey my friend is … what do you call your fans again?” He asks

“ARMY.” they say and my little heart damn near explodes.

“Yeah she's a huge ARMY, always listening to your music” Chase chimes, and Sik pushes me to stand up. BTS eyes landed on me and I wanted to go hide somewhere.

“Sorry to bother you” I mumble. “But would it be okay to get a photo… and you guys Autograph” I ask playing with the sleeves of my dress.  They looked at each other before nodding.

“Yeah, we’d look to take a picture for an ARMY.” Namjoon says with his signature smile. Sik took my phone and told me to sit in between Jungkook and Jimin.

“Its uh… Nice to meet you guys” I try to say but out of nervousness my Korean pronunciation was shaky. Jimin and Jungkook looked at me confused. I repeat it again but clearly and they smile nodding saying it back.

“Our Erin is so nervous she’s forgetting how to talk, So cute” Sik jokes

“You wanna die? Just take the picture” I grumble making BTS laugh loudly. He sucks his teeth at me before snapping photos. He hands my phone back to me and I look over the photos quickly.  

“You watch Anime ?” Jungkook asked pointing at my Spirited away phone case.

“Yeah… Spirited away is my favorite Movie”  I say starting a conversation that I didn’t think would end. All the members got in on the conversation… except for Suga or Yoongi. He didn’t say much and didn’t seem that interested in what we were talking about. I didn’t get a bad vibe from him, and I know it was in his nature to be a little more reserved around new people. I gave Jungkook my number so we could play each other in Fortnite, I told him I was gonna kick his ass. Jonathan and I would play each other and I've gotten pretty damn good at the game. I've even bet Sik and Chase when we play during our downtime.

“So do you work for Jay Park?” Jin asks leaning in closer. I notice Yoongi, who was sitting beside him perk up a little.

“I'm on trial for a recording contract with H1gher Music.”

“So are you a rapper?” Yoongi asks quickly

“I can rap a little, but I’m mostly here to sing. Singing is what got be discovered so that what I’m sticking with” I laugh nervously. Knowing that I had Yoongi’s attention mad my fingers rub quickly against my phone case. Yoongi was just as handsome in person as I thought he’d be… well, all of BTS was really.

“That’s really cool, Good luck on your debut.” Taehyung chimes in with his big boxes smile.

“I should get back to my people, It was really nice to meet you guys. I’ve been in ARMY since your debut, keep up the good work.” I say flashing a bright smile before heading back to my seat. Just as I sat down the show started and a Camera was pointed at us. I saw that we were on the big screen and I shyly wave at the camera with Sik-k laughing beside me waving too. We got to watch most of the show, and I had to fight myself from sneaking looks over at BTS throughout the whole show. About halfway through the show Sik-k and I got escorted backstage to get ready for our performance

I quickly change out of my dress and to my performance outfit. Long silk pants and a black bralette. My stylist helps me into a black silk jacket and to put on the chokers she picked out. With one last look in the mirror, I’m out the door. Sik-k and I both walk out of our dressing rooms at the same time.

“Ready E?” he asks as we follow the staff to the side stage

“As Ready as I’ll ever be” I whisper. I feel like I've drunk three cups of espresso and a red bull; I'm a jittery mess all over again. He pats my shoulder in attempts to reassure me, but the thought of performing in front of industry professionals and my favorite Kpop group was making me want to run away. If I fuck up in front of all these peoples I will be the embarrassment of H1gher Music and I just know Jay and Chase won't sign me then.

“When you hit that stage all them nervous are gonna go away.”

“How do you know that.”

“Because you're like me. We get nervous before every performance but when we hear the music we totally forget we were even scared.”

He was right. As soon as I heard the first note, the nervousness of earlier felt silly. My energy feed off the crowds loving reactions and I got lost in the moment. Just like the first time I performed, Sik-k and I played off each other. We danced around each other singing the lyrics like it was just us. Our on-stage chemistry is undeniable. When the sang the last note, I wanted the song to begin again.

The walk back to our seats was filled with compliments from Idols I have looked up too. I was riding on a high that I never want to come down. And the good Vibes didn't end there either, as soon as we entered our section everyone seating they broke out into a round of applause. My cheeks burned as I saw the look of amazement from BTS.

“That was really amazing” Namjoon spoke and his members nodded in agreement. I simply bow my head and say “thank you” because anything more would show just how much I'm freaking out inside. It's one thing to meet your Favorite group, it's another thing for them to compliment you on something. I was just a little flustered

“Now I’m really looking forward to your debut,” Jimin adds

“Fingers crossed that I get signed,” I say with a wink

“She’s too good not to get signed.” I hear Suga mumble and I can feel the burn from my cheeks rush to the tips of my ears. I can’t wipe the smile off my face when he smiles up at me. Before I could say anything I was called back to my seat. I quickly waved goodbye.

Tonight I can't fall asleep because all I can think about is everything that has happened today. A smile was a permitted fixture on my face and I can't say id ever get tired of it. This was the happiest I've ever been in my entire life. This moment right now, the post-performance high still lingering on me as I gaze out my hotel window. It is now that I feel like my dreams are tangible, I can feel it on my fingertips

...Continue

[theprocrastinatingalien]

Marvel Cinematic Universe - Ranking the first 18 movies.

We're nearly there, the movie event of the year is nearly upon us... AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR is out within the next week!

Like many, I'm ridiculously excited.  A little sad as I don't get to see it on opening day, I will have to wait until Monday 30th for my viewing... but seriously, the joygasms for this movie are pretty intense.

I've noticed many people/websites rating and ranking the existing MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies, and I couldn't help but do the same.  I'm not going to 'review' each film, although I will probably pass some sort of comment.

Whatever follows is, of course, purely my opinion.  Everyone has their own favourites, this list is just the order that'd I'd place these movies.  So let's get on with it.  The TOP 18 MCU MOVIES....

18. THE INCREDIBLE HULK

Whilst I'd rate the movie higher that Ang Lee's HULK outing, this movie doesn't quite live up to the rest of the shared universe in which it belongs.  The lasts act of the film devolves into what looks like a big budged computer game as CGI character bashes around CGI character.  It's not that I don't like the film, I just use it as the bench mark to compare all films in the franchise.  It doesn't help that I never believe that Edward Norton turns into Hulk in the same way that his successor Mark Ruffalo does. Plus that recasting really pushed the movie into being the forgotten member of the family.

17.  CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

It's very possible I'm being unfair to this movie, but I've just never really rated it that highly.  The cast are good, for me it easily trumps THE INCREDIBLE HULK, but I always felt it was a little dull in places.  It's got a good heart to it, and Chris Evans makes his mark of the title character.  The sequels overshadow it vastly though.

16.  ANT-MAN

Whereas a lot of the MCU entries feature humour, I'd never class them as a comedy... ANT-MAN, to me, is comedy first. Paul Rudd is good in the role, I was quite excited by his casting, but sadly the film sometimes feels to me as if it's a parody of the franchises rather than being a part of it.  I prefer Scott Lang in CIVIL WAR over a film about it. The knock on effect is that I can't muster up much excitement for the sequel... yet.

15.  THOR: THE DARK WORLD

When I first watched TDW, I thought it was better than the first, but upon rewatching the movie just doesn't quite appeal in the same way.  There are some nice moments, but I don't find the Dark Elves compelling enough, nor an I excited about Jane Foster's involvement.  Chris Hemsworth is good as the God of Thunder, naturally, but this film will always rank at the bottom end of the scale I think.

14.   THOR

I feel mean rating this film so low - I loved it when it came out, but other movies just tend to surpass it.  It introduced us to Asgard, Thor, Loki... it has a lot to offer.  Just not enough to be higher on this list!

13.   IRON MAN 3

On the slipside, I was extremely disappointed with IMIII on my first viewing, yet until THE DARK WORLD, this trilogy closer grows on me each time I see it.  Knowing what's coming actually works to this film's advantage (such as the 'Trevor Slattery twist', and director Shane Black offers some beautifully shot scenes.  Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if this is once film that risings up next time I do this list.

12.   IRON MAN 2

Controversial, I know.  Many would possibly rate this movie at the bottom of the pile, but I think it deserves more credit. It doesn't stand up to rewatching in the same way that the third part does but it deserves it's dues... it's the first sequel.  Every other film is sequel now, but IM2 was the first to bring back a cast (albeit with Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard).  It introduced us to Black Widow, Sam Rockwell is great as Justin Hammer, we get more Nick Fury (following on from a simple cameo in the first), we get more suits, the birth of War Machine, and whether you like Mickey Rourke's Whiplash of not, the Monaco scene is pretty cool.

11. SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

Oops... another controversial decision?  Expect this movie to be a lot higher?  Don't get me wrong, it's a good film.  I believe it cements Tom Holland as the best (or at least my favourite) Spider-Man.  The humour is great, Iron Man's role adds rather that detracts, the talking suit is a great addition, I'm on board with Marisa Tomei's younger, hotter Aunt May than we're used to... but for me something's missing.  It follows in some pretty big footsteps.  I'm still of the mind that Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN 3, whilst messy, wasn't a franchise killer and that the fourth movie should've gone again.  THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was unnecessary - it did gives us Andrew Garfield's Spidey (and I believe him to be superior) and Emma Stone is a great Gwen... but the sequel was terrible, a total misfire. HOMECOMING... feels a little small.  I guess that's the point, but towards the end I found it not that well directed, and Vulture, even with Michael Keaton playing him, a weak villain.   I AM looking forward to the sequel in 2019 though - I wonder which Avenger will appear?!

Oooh, okay, here we go... we're hitting the TOP TEN!

10.  DOCTOR STRANGE

Personally, I really enjoyed Marvel's venture into the other magical realms.  I get why some don't like it (I'm actually not a massive fan of Benedict Cumberbatch's American accent) but I thought it was a fun origin film. I'm eager to get more magical stories!  It has great visuals, and whilst I was annoyed with her casting at first, Tilda Swinton's Ancient One is a highlight.  In time, with more viewings, I might end up lowering the my position for it, but right now it makes my Top Ten.

9.  IRON MAN

Everyone needs to be thankful for IRON MAN.  If it hadn't been a great origin film for the character, then the MCU wouldn't have been built.  IRON MAN, with Robert Downey Jr's charisma and Jon Favreau's direction became the foundation for every movie that has followed.  I wish I could rate it higher as I don't ever want it to slip out of the Top Ten... but the MCU has offered us some awesome movies...

8.  THOR: RAGNAROK

Unlike the first couple, RAGNAROK finds the right balance for it's lead.  Chris Hemsworth as got comedy game, which was never utilised properly.  Under Taika Waititi's direction, Hemsworth gets to shine.  It also brings in an adaption of PLANET HULK, with Hemsworth and Ruffalo working well.  Karl Urban is welcome to any cast, as is Jeff Goldblum... but it also swaps bland Jane Foster for Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie.  A potential future female Thor?  Maybe!   Also, Cate Blanchet's Hela is probably one of the best and watchable villains in the MCU yet. Will we see her again?

7.  BLACK PANTHER

I'll admit, I have only seen this movie once... whereas I've managed a second viewing of all the others to solidify my views.  Based on one showing, BLACK PANTHER is a stand out, for an individual hero it is the only besides IRON MAN that doesn't misstep, It has all the advantages of the most up-to-date tech, and it does an amazing job of developing Wakanda, with all it's characters serviced well - Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Shuri (Letitia Wright) particular highlights. Considering the country and it's inhabitants will serve as a major part of INFINITY WAR, this film feeds towards excitement to see more.

6.  CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

This film changed the face of the MCU.  It destroyed SHIELD, a force that had been a thrust for the action since IRON MAN.  It's the first movie to be directed by the Russo Brothers, who are at the helm of INFINITY WAR, so it's important to see what they do here. What they do is make Chris Evans' Steve Rogers one of the most compelling and relatable heroes in the franchise.   He could've been pretty one dimensional, but this movie elevates him.  I believe until this movie came out, Robert Downey Jr/Iron Man was the symbol of the MCU, but THE WINTER SOLDIER puts Cap right up there. It also features more Scarlett Johansson, and introduces us to Falcon.  Those are good things to do.

5.  CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

Like IRON MAN 3, I was disappointed with this movie the first time I saw it.  I had expectations, and it didn't live up to them.  Oddly, those expectations concerned the death of a main character.  The fact everyone got out alive (Rhodes was badly injured, but sadly this was shown in promos) was jarring as it took away the jeopardy.  it made me question, for the first time, if Marvel were just too scared to let go of a potential cash cow.  Luckily, INFINITY WAR has been confirmed to have some pretty high consequences, and what the Russo brothers do here is prove they can handle a lot of characters.  The Airport scene features twelve important characters share the same frame as they battle each other in what, ends up being quite an emotionally draining film.  Cleverly, this movie could easily have been an 'Avengers' movie, but instead is a Captain America movie, as his friendship with Iron Man is pushed to the limits.  Like IRON MAN 3, I appreciate this movie the more I see it.  The fact it has such a large ensemble brings added excitement, and pushes the film higher in my list.

4.  GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2

VOL 2 deserved more praise than it got.  It follows on pretty closely to the Vol 1, and I think it is probably the perfect sequel to the first movie.  James Gunn expands on the relationships between the gang, deepening their friendships, love, and loyalty.  It adds great new characters (Mantis), whilst continuing to make you care about the existing ones... even the ones you may have dismissed in the first (Yondu and Nebula).  Also, I think Kurt Russell's Ego is great as Quill's father, and suitable massive for what is quite an intimate film.  It's a lot of fun, but riding on a lot of emotion.  And of course it has a kick-ass soundtrack.  Also... Baby Groot steals every scene.

Ooooh, look where we're at... the TOP THREE!!!!

3.  AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Another movie I feel is just undervalued.  I make no apologies for being a Joss Whedon fan.  BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL and FIREFLY earned me his respect, and here, following up to the first movie, I believe he manages to make another amazing outing for the super team.  It has killer robots (voiced by James Spader no less) and a city floating high in the sky, about to wipe out humanity.  It gives us Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, as well as Vision.  Sure, there are some missteps in there, I'm not going to say it's perfect, but it's damn near. There's so many things to enjoy, people should stop looking for the negatives and allow themselves to devour the humour, emotion and geekiness of the film.

2.  GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

When this film was first announced, I scoffed.  I didn't know about the Guardians, and I hated the idea of a talking raccoon and an Ent... but from the first trailer I was sold, and the movie didn't disappoint. The music, the action, the actors, the characters, it all comes together and works.  Director James Gunn is quickly elevating himself to Whedon status in my eyes. In many ways this movie was a risk for Marvel, they originally billed it as a stand-alone.  Two solo films featuring these characters, and now we're faced with the gang mixing with the Avengers... and really, is anyone NOT excited by that?  Thor hanging with Rocket & Groot, Star-Lord quipping with Iron Man and Spider-Man... This is the movie that made INFINITY WAR reach the scale it's going for...

And finally...

1.  THE AVENGERS

There's actually not a lot for me to say. It's my favourite movie.  It's my go-to happy place.  I've watched it more than any film.   It brings Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor together for the first time.  And it makes it work.  Joss Whedon's writing is typically electric, Loki is a great villain for the movie and it was our first introduction to a hellicarrier.

Where will INFINITY WAR fall in this list?  Every bit of me wants it to be the best.  Instantly.  No rewatching.  I think it has the potential to be.  I WILL miss Whedon's writing, but I'm glad James Gunn was on hand to help the Russo Brothers with the Guardians' scenes.   I'm predicting Top 3.  In just over a week, I'll be able to tell you. How exciting!

[2smart4uto-blog]

Best Heat Press machine reviews 2018

well hey everybody today I'm going to show you a demonstration uh we're going to do keep pressing with these rhinestone iron-on transfers.

 I just got brand new heat press machine today FedEx just brought it on a Saturday no less so as you can see I'm letting it heat up because the instructions.

 it should heat to 385 degrees medium to heavy pressure okay so looking like we're only about $2.99 so we got a ways to go but I have a piece of plain cotton fabric that I'm going to try first so this is my first time ever whit working with a heat press machine.

 I can honestly say I was not a hundred percent satisfied because when it came in the box there was a little bit of stuffing hanging out on the edge hopefully that's not important and I have it actually out here today in my workspace which is still unfinished and I know I haven't shown you guys yet 

 so we're gonna see how things go okay that beeping sound you hear means that I went ahead and I pre set the alarm to 385 which is a temperature that I want as you can see it did that and it's letting me know that so I'm gonna go ahead and press ok

 wouldn't hold the press okay okay press that little button on the side that's one opposed to do okay so go ahead and put my piece of artwork stuff on there and we'll see how it comes out okay so as you can see.

 I've got my canvas bag on there from another project and I've got it all nicely smooth and being real careful not to burn myself so I'm going to take apart the separation white plastic film from the stencil and I'm gonna go ahead and lay it face down onto the fabric and then we're gonna do our little heat pressing.

 so we're just gonna lay that on there hopefully this will work you're watching in real time just like me so then I'm finished reading my instructions then okay we're going to push pull this back around and we're going to pull this handle down and hopefully this works.

 it's supposed to go for 10 min 10 seconds and I press the timer and it's counting down and when it's done hopefully I've got enough pressure it will be perfect let's hope for the best that I didn't mess everything up so I'm gonna press the little button to turn that beeping noise off lift this up swing it around and see what we've got here now we're just gonna peel this up slowly yay.

 I hope you can see this I love my rhyme stones are sticking like they're supposed to yay as you can see the paper clink came off clear all my rhinestones are actually attached and that looks really groovy so I'm going to put it aside to cool and I'm going to go ahead and start to work on the next item okay as you know for the custom designs for my handmade handbags there's usually oops sorry there's usually an iron-on of something that's going to go in the middle a big piece of glitter a rhinestone art or fine art 

so I'm going to take my rhinestone iron-on and we're going to put it here and I just fill it 385 so we're going to go ahead and position this exactly where I want it to go right hopefully in the middle lay it down flat a little bit see the problem I was having with this before is trying to use just a regular iron was not working well so that was my main reason using a regular iron just was not working well so that was my main reason for getting a heat press.

 so let me go ahead and set this up set the timer and we're gonna hope for the best so far I'm pretty impressed okay so just going to swing this back around make sure it's all lined up on there and I think just press this down press the buzzer for 10 seconds and in 10 seconds hopefully we'll get a part free beautiful rhinestone image attached to this campus perfectly for my purses yeah there's a buzzer it's going on I'm gonna turn the alarm off push that back and swing this away cause it's hot hot hot hot.

 now we're going to just carefully queue up and see what we got here up some did not stick damn it probably a not enough pressure so what can you do I'll probably have to glue those back on individually no wait wait wait it's coming it's coming gonna be okay going to press these back down I will make this work by hook or by crook yeah okay just have to be careful slowly bringing it up making sure everybody's that man I don't want to press down again with the gecko heat press machine reviews .

because what happens last time I did that it really messed up the design so what looks like it's happening here as long as I go really slow because these are different type of rhinestones and this is hot illusion just push those back down and then I think if we let it cool and give it time it probably need it more time everything will be okay okay they're coming off it's gonna be okay it's gonna work out just fine.

 oh we're getting that down a little bit surely see things nothing is ever easy is my motto you know it just never is think something's going to start out easy and then in photos but I'm glad you get to kind of see this with me that way you'll know that if you make mistakes you know they won't it won't work out for that hey well actually this came out much better than the one before and see very few came off.

 I don't know if you can see that but very few rhinestones to not know so much that you would notice so here is my image all ready to be made into a purse now I'm going to let this cool so the glue will stick and we're going to try something else with this heat press