#gonna watch reviews of this to motivate me to save money

[boneless-mika]

Let me obsess for a little bit

A beast!

Yes... haha... yess.... I love cooling (my current laptop overheats like all the time. Bad enough to shut off) and somehow more quiet anyway?? (I mean compared to right this moment I'd hope so, I'm wearing ANC headphones and it's too loud)

The touchpad is glass?? Truly the cadillac of the laptop world. I'd be scared to even touch this computer (especially bc my current laptop is so dirty you'd probably judge me not fit to care for a laptop...)

[nanachingu]

Drama Review: In Family We Trust (2018) (Thai Drama)

My first Thai drama review is coming from In Family We Trust (2018). First, let me tell you how I found this drama and decided to binge-watching it. I often see this title when I scroll Netflix but never trying to watch it till someone attach me. My whole reason to start this drama is Thanapob Lee or we can called him Tor. He’s one of the main actor in this drama and I love him in his next drama Hua Jai Sila (2019). I think his acting in that drama is really good, he’s perfect potraying his character so I want to find out his another project. To be honest, before this drama I already see him in several movie like Ghost Lab and May Who? and shockingly he’s cameo in the end of The Stranded (Netflix series) but I don’t have any idea that it’s him all this time. Really Hua Jai Sila make me open my eyes and make me found this worth-watching drama.

So here I am ready to review this family drama with a touch of mystery and plot twist story that you can find it in Netflix. When I see the title, I already familiar with that name like I think I see this a lot when I scroll Netflix and just need like 3 days to finish this!!! This is one of my favorite genre, I’m weak with family drama and really love with plot twist story. Because this is a family drama, of course there are so many character in this drama. They’re of course a big family, Jiraanan family. Grandpa or called A-goong and Grandma we called A-ma have 5 children (but we only see 4 children in this drama) and of course their children have their family too.

So in the beginning of the story, we’ll be seen that each of Jiranaan family are get along with each other well and prepared to celebrate their A-goong birthday. A-goong and A-ma eldest son is Prasoet, followed by another son called Mate, and they have a daughter called Phatson, and the youngest son is Konkan. I think they have another child that already passed away because we can see one grandson that live together with A-goong and A-ma. Of course their sons and daughter have child too, so the family become much bigger. Let’s see the family tree first so we didn’t confused.

From the left, the son is Prasoet (Songsit Rungnopakunsi) and right beside him are his wifes. The one in the right is Cris (Sopitnapa Chumpanee) and their son is Pete (JAYLERR). This is the family that he brought into Jiraanan family.

Little does his family know, he had another son with another women who claimed to be his girlfriend in college. His another wife is Nipha (Apasiri Nitiphon) and his son Chi (Ice Paris). From the picture below, we can see Prasoet really love his second family eventhough they’re not officially Jiraanan’s family. This drama will revolve around Prasoet so finally in the end all know that Prasoet has another family beside his family with Cris and Pete.

Next, is Mate( Saksit Tangthong) and his daughter Meimei (Sawanya Paisarnpayak). Mate always pick up Meimei at school. This is quite a little family, but Mate really love his daughter and vice versa. The only daughter left in Jiraanan family is Phatson (Kathaleeya McIntosh). Phatson married with a police and automatically her last name changed into Suriyapairoj. They have 4 sons, the eldest is Yi (Thanapob Lee), 2nd is Ern (Captain Chonlathorn), 3rd is Tao (Third Lapat) , and youngest is Toei (Jackie Jackrin) who in the same age with Meimei. To be honest I love this family the most. So lucky that Phatson has 4 son that love and protect her. Next, they didn’t introduce the parents but A-goong and A-ma has grandson that live together with them called Kuaitiao (Porsche). Last, youngest son is Konkan (Lift Supoj). If we can choose which one is the most chill family, we could say that Konkan family is very chill~ They have 2 son, Vegas (JamyJames) and Macao (Ryu Vachirawich). (The parents like casino very much🤣).

So enough with the introduction, and I will tell a little bit of the story before doing an overall review.

This suspense drama revolves around the Jiraanans, a wealthy Thai-Chinese family that operates its own hotels in Bangkok and Pattaya. The drama follows the members of the family, which seem to enjoy a strong and unbreakable bond. But things are not what they seem. One day, the eldest member from the second generation mysteriously turns up dead in the family estate. His nephew Yi, the oldest son of the victim’s sister and the prime suspect in the case, desperately tries to find out the truth. Source: MyDramaList

Before an incident happen in Jiraanan’s family, all of them just celebrate A-goong birthday together. It is so warm to see a big family gather together, it must be a happy day for A-goong and A-ma that they live till now to see their son and daughter with their little family and have a handsome and beautiful grandchilds. We also can see that the grandchilds really love their A-goong and A-ma. It’s like their family are in happiest moment. Even they took a family picture together.

But who knows, that it’ll be A-goong last birthday. A few days after they gather together, A-goong passed away. This is the real beginning of the story about dark secret that Jiraanan’s family have but no one knows anything about it even the family itself. After A-goong death, it just going worse because of the tradition and old generation believe about differences between son and daughter in the family and honestly A-goong make it worse with his last will that shocking all the family because only his daughter that didn’t accept anything related to their business eventhough she work hard build their family business from scratch. All she got only his father savings; money. Instead, the eldest grandson from eldest son got 1/4 share of the family business. All of it, ended up we’ll see Prasoet the eldest son lying still on the floor.

Yes, the eldest son of Jiraanan family was shot dead. He was found first by his sister Phatson who came over to his house talking about their father’s will and end up screaming when saw his brother was dead. Another family at that time in their house hear someone screaming and rush to get out to see Phatson panicked and said that Prasoet was shot in his home so they ran and as we can see in the picture A-ma, Kuaitiao, and Meimei saw that Prasoet lying still on the floor in his bedroom. After that this murder case became the talk of the town, get into the news, so police tried to find the motive why the murderer killed him. Honestly, this event create a most damage for Phatson family. As people know, Prasoet rarely confront someone and had enemy but the last thing he argue with someone, it’s Phatson. But I said in this drama, it’s not over till it’s over. We can’t be sure that the killer is his sister itself because as we go through this we could see that Prasoet had a few secret that we didn’t knew before and it could be a motive to someone done a murder. We just need to see it clearly and evaluate it carefully. I’m not gonna give a spoiler in this review, but I think you guys will guess it right like I am.

My first thought about this drama is I like how the story always give us a new plot twist in almost every near-end episode and make us wanna watch the next episode as soon as possible. This is one way to make us never bored by the story and they can wrap it successfully. Although honestly I can guess the biggest plot twist of this story but still it’s interesting because this drama get some details that we can’t get pass and that’s also give us some plot twist. You can’t guess it throughly, like you can guess this overall plot but still you’ll miss the little part of plot twist that make this story much better. Because it’s a story related to family, it’s really deep even when we already know the real murderer and all we need to see is just see the person in trial, in another drama we usually feel relieved and happy finally the killer is captured. But I think this drama makes me feel more sad and broken?? When we all see the truth, I think the circumstances are not getting better. The story really revolves only between Jiraanan family and the story behind it give us more pain than the murder itself. It’s not easy left by people who we loved especially it is a family, but it is more painful when we know that the one who doing it also our family. But I can say that all of this happens because of karma from their all bad action that happened in the past. When we know literally all the truth we finally realized why all of this happen to them, because every each of them are deserved it. But it’s all in the past, so eventually we must move on. In the end, life goes on. They’re still our family. We just need to let go of the past, and open a new chapter because only family is the place that we can lean on again. I can really feel it how every character in this drama just doing everything that they could to save their family. They’re not bad people, they’re just doing everything to protect their family. Lesson learned from this drama;

Family is the most important thing in our life because in the end it’s only family that we can go back into, and only family that will stay on our side and tried the best to support, protect, and defend if we get into problems. They’ll do anything. But without us knowing, the closest person that standing with us that can hurt us the most, is family too. But in the end, because the name of ‘family’ that will lead us back together and family is the only place that we can still lean on. Mistake happens all the time.

For each family, if I have to choose whose family I love and attached the most, I would say that I really like Phatson family. I can feel their warm family and all of their sons are really get along well. They always root for each other, trying to protect the only woman in the house, their mother Phatson, and the eldest son Yi will do anything to protect and support his family.

One of my favorite scene is when Tao the 3rd son is a celebrity and when he feel he can’t hold back anymore he burst out to his brothers because only them that can give him comfort and feel protected. It’s also my best scene when they give us this brother scene gather together in one room and talking about anything and end up sleeping together on the floor. I can see from that scene, how they think that family is everything and they’ll never let them down because they have each other.

For the character, I have a few character that I like and attached my attention:

My favorite character; I got 2 character that I love, but first the character that I love the most is (of course) Yi. Despite in this drama his character more leaning to the bold action, like doing anything in a rush, bluntly, and doing a few illegal action but I think he did his best for his family. I don’t understand why he must critized by society in the drama because of his action? I think what he did was right because he already doing everything right and ask everyone that connected but no one helping him instead they just block him away. We can see that he never intented to hurt anyone else too so I’m pro to Yi side. I love his scene with his youngest brother, Toei. If I’m Toei, I’ll cherish Yi all of my life till I die. Because when everything is too hard for him, only Yi that confidently always stand on his side. (okay enough it’s a little spoiler). From this drama, I think I know why Thanapob Lee finally got casted in Hua Jai Sila. I noticed him because his acting in that drama was really really good, I can feel all his emotions there. It turned out here we could see him potray Yi perfectly, and it’ll really help him to get his next drama. He’s not only smart and catch the little detail in his family, but his action is always on point eventhough not all of that is always a right thing. But sometimes to get what you want, you need to do a little more dramatic so the thing you want will show up.

My favorite character; The next character that I like is Pete. Unexpectedly, for sure. To be honest I don’t think that his personality is thaaat nice. It’s about his first impression. When I his first scene with his mother, my first impression of him is he’s a boy who like to spent their parents money for fun and study abroad so he can get away from his parents to have fun🤣🤣 in my opinion; he loves money. TURNS OUT I’m 100% wrong. Pete is the most responsible person in this drama. His responsibility and his fair judgement is the best. He didn’t judge people by his relationship, if he know that this person is wrong then it’s wrong. I love how his attitude to his father’s another family. I just thought he’ll upset and didn’t accept them, turns out he accept them, and he cares them just like his father would do if he’s alive. You deserve happiness, Pete!

Ice Pariss as Chi. He doesn’t have much screentime but still his character ini this drama really shocked me. Kinda same with Pete. Look the picture above. Both of them looks like they have a personality that have anger issue but actually not. I watched his drama and movie like Bad Genius The Series and Ghost Lab, and I didn’t like his character but I admit that his face suited the most for that kind of personality. Being a jerk, brave action without thinking, not a literally bad person but not really a good personality too. So I thought he’ll become a jerk too since his dad didn’t bring their family to Jiraanan family and only went to their house 1 time/week. So what did he expect? But he has good attitude even to his step brother, he’s really polite and when he know that his family didn’t get single penny from his father’s will he accept it. He didn’t get mad eventhough in the end of his dad ‘s life, his mother was the legal wife. HE ACCEPT IT WHOLEHEARTEDLY. Okay, respect Chi!

From Pete and Chi, I learned that Prasoet maybe not the best brother, best son, best husband, and best father. But he did really well raising both of his sons to the point that his sons really have a good attitude and personality. I adore their personality so much!

(This is one of the difference between this drama and another drama. It is usually the first son didn’t accept that father has another family and another son demand his part from father’s will and clashed BAM!)

My appreciate for Jackie Jackrin for his acting as Toei. I just know him from this drama ( I think) and he’s potraying Toei really good. I can’t tell too much since it’ll become a spoiler but he can pour his soul and heart so well in this drama. I can see how much he adore his brother Yi so much and wanna say that you did it, you made it to survive with your consistency. You didn’t loose yourself just to make you free when your mother told you to do something. I think Yi had a big part that made Toei become a better person and learn from his mistakes.

The most disappointing character of this drama is *give an applause to* Vegas!!! This is the opposite of Pete. I put a lot of hope for him in this drama that he’ll become one of the rightest people but turns out a big nope. At the very beginning he shows us that he’s honest, fair, doesn’t like act wrong and even brave to tell his father lies. He’s the right person. But as the drama continues, we reach a point that Vegas just an ordinary boy who still has heart. His love is bigger than his principle. The only thing that I hope will be released in this drama, turns out it’ll hidden forever till end because of him. It’s the only proof that clearly helping this case but he choose to hide it forever. Another lesson learned I took from Vegas;

Sometimes we just know that human is not perfect. A person who always doing the right thing, eventually will become a bad person if someone we really love and cherish got a problem. They can ruin their life principle as long they can save their loved one. And often happens that the loved ones is Family.

In this family drama we learned that culture and tradition are taking a big part in our family. When a son and a daughter have a big gap in it, when a daughter didn’t considered as part of family just because she married a man and took his last name. Like having a daughter didn’t as good as if having a son. But actually if I think about it, the one who give birth to is a woman????? Why then a son is more valuable descent. They also differentiate their grandson status into a primary grandchild (son and daughter of the son’s family) and secondary grandchild (son and daughter from daughter’s family). But still we couldn’t get rid of the culture and tradition entirely. We just need to adapt well to the good culture and sort the not-so-good culture better.

Overall, I’m really happy that I found this Thai drama. I watch several dramas from Thailand but never found this kind of genre. A family drama that really warms heart but with a touch of mystery and dark secrets in it. But not like another drama that compete for power and will doing everything evil things between family and make things chaos and ruin their relationship as a family because their greedy and selfish will. In this drama we’ll have a dark secret but it’s not always about money, and I still feel their deep kinship, how this problems solved legally but a touch of their kinship because of their dark past. They need to let it go and open the new chapter because life still goes on for the living one.

Since I really love this drama, I’ll give 4.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨. Thank you Tor for making me found this drama!

“Family is not always about getting along well everytime, but for sure Family is the place that we can always go back in the end no matter what happen.”

[amphtaminedreams]

Spring/Summer & Haute Couture Week 2021: Whoops, I’ve Missed a Loooot (Part 2)

Hey to anyone reading,

I’m so sorry for the gap between the last fashion week review post and this one! Argh. I had no idea I posted it as long ago as the beginning of March but I think we can all agree that lockdown has fucked with our perceptions of time completely. I wish I could say the delay in posting was as simple as me being busy but I’ve also started to reflect on whether or not I want to carry on this format of posts for the time being; on the scale of problems, this one is wayyy down there in the very lower quartile of the first world region, but my motivation to carry on this kind of content in the form of long-winded text posts is...meh...not so much there anymore. At first I was thinking the issue was that working on these was my last priority on my daily to-do lists but as I’ve got back into writing fiction, it’s kind of occurred to me that the fact I was putting these posts on my to-do lists in the first place along with things like doing the ironing and contacting student finance speaks volumes. When I’m back from work or winding down, opening up Tumblr and coming back to this draft isn’t something that I think of as a fun stress reliever in the way drafting stories is. It doesn’t feel like I’m using my imagination or my creativity or expressing myself in any way and it’s not much of an escape from day to day life in the way that writing dialogue or exploring characters is. Maybe it’s because I’ve done quite a few of these posts now but I just tend to feel like I’m repeating myself, you know kinda like when you’re writing an essay and trying to fill up a word count; of course there are collections that I do have a lot of opinions on but by and large, sometimes it boils down to THESE CLOTHES ARE JUST FUCKING PRETTY, OKAY?! There’s only so many things you can say about a tulle skirt or an exaggerated collar before you want to strangle yourself with said tulle. I used to think iF VoGUe RuNwaY wRitErs CaN dO iT WhAT's MY exCusE until I realised that 1). Vogue Runway writers actually get paid and 2). for the most part all they do is explain the designer's intentions behind the collections verbatim without giving a critical opinion anyway.

I think a lot of the pressure I feel to justify what are in reality quite simple observations and opinions goes back to some of the feelings I explained in my first ever fashion week review where people who know more about fashion and have a formal education in the subject tend to be kind of gatekeep-y and elitist. It can never be that you appreciate different things about a collection but rather than one of you has taste and the other doesn’t and if it wasn’t obvious, the taste level assigned to you by the powers that be tend to positively correlate with the amount of money you have available to spend on a degree that has a reputation for failing to provide a steady income, which for most makes it an unrealistic avenue to pursue. I know, I know, the pressure is totally self-inflicted and wholly imagined seeing as I have under 500 followers on here and those who do interact with these posts most likely do so for the pictures but I still feel it, and given that I’m going to have enough external pressure to write essays when I return to uni in September, why on earth am I wasting time putting it on myself? When just posting photosets of my favourite looks is not only actually enjoyable for me but is also what other people WANT to see too? Nobody wants to read a self-indulgent paragraph like this when they’re here for the clothes and to be honest, for the most part I don’t want to write them anyway unless it’s something I have strong feelings about or if a collection can only be properly appreciated with analysis. I think I’ve made pretty clear which designers I’m a fan of, do you really need to hear me raving about Gucci or Zimmerman or Miu Miu or Balenciaga again? Is there gonna be anything revolutionary in yet another rant about Maria Grazia? Course not. I mean, if you are reading, you might have to witness those things one last time because I do intend to finish off this season’s review in this format for consistency purposes and because I’ve already got all the notes now but on the whole, I doubt anyone will miss my rambles.

So, with all that in mind, I think after I finish my S/S21 posts I am gonna start just uploading these posts without the written part. I mean, for one, the simplicity of doing this means I’m much less likely to procrastinate making them which in turn means I’ll be able to get them out right after the shows as a kind of summary as opposed to months later when they’re no longer as relevant. This will also give me more time to work on the writing I actually enjoy. Right now I’m going through and editing my 17 year old self’s “grown-up” take on the Pretty Little Liars blackmail murder mystery style plot line which I wrote back when I was completely and utterly obsessed with the show and bitterly disappointed by the last couple of seasons. The writing is pretty mediocre and often hugely cringey to read back now but I am still a fan of the basic plot and I’m genuinely motivated to see if I can make it something actually worth reading, and to get onto that ASAP; this feels especially important right now given that the HBO version of the series’ apparent upcoming release has sent that ever-present writer’s fear of seeing-your-same-storyline-done-better-by-somebody-else-thus-forever-relegating-your-version-to-being-the-poor-imitation-so-you-gotta-get-there-first into overdrive (or maybe that’s just me and my neuroses). Again, it’s a totally unfounded fear based on the fact that the HBO show will probs get millions of viewers whilst I will be doing little more than shouting into the void but anybody who’s used Turnitin to submit an essay that ultimately counts for little more than like 1% of your grade or degree will know that no matter how irrelevant your work is, the concept of failing a plagiarism check, be it via a computer algorithm or one random stranger on the internet’s assessment, is enough to conjure visions of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse galloping towards you screaming “START THE WHOLE THING AGAIN” before releasing a hoarde of 2015 Chanel vs. Walmart style comparison memes.

Now, speaking of Chanel, I should probably get back into the reviewing. 

So for the last time for a little while, here’s Christian Siriano:

Siriano’s designs are a great example of work I feel guilty enjoying. I know that when it comes to quality, the high fashion community have a lot of (negative) things to say and I really can’t speak to that because quite honestly, I know very little about textile manufacturing. Solely from my own point of view though, I do like his work a lot. I wouldn’t claim for a minute that he’s a pioneer in terms of his creations but I would 100% love to wear them and I DO hugely admire his commitment to putting women of all sizes on the runway and designing pieces that don’t simply cater to straight up and down types which is more than can be said for most brands. I get that his collections are pretty formulaic, taking what has worked for the likes of Chanel and Alessandra Rich, De La Renta and Carolina Herrera, Michael Kors too (who is kind of guilty of the same thing himself), but that’s not to say his work is bad. Let’s be real, we’ve been on this planet thousands of years, we’re all taking inspiration from someone, and maybe figures like Kors and Siriano could wait a *little* longer before taking said inspiration but their aim at the end of the day is to sell clothes, not break barriers, a task which although often left to the big name brands, they too often fail at. I’m not going to lie, I’m feeling this whimsical mid-century tea party vibe, it’s elegant and it’s cutesy and My Fair Lady-esque, and you bet your arse I would be absolutely thrilled to wear one of these looks on a summer red carpet. I just can’t say no to anything tulle-maybe it’s that I was on Toddlers & Tiaras in a past life or maybe it’s that I watched too many Barbie Princess films growing up, but I like pretty much everything going on here, especially Siriano is giving us matching fedoras too. Plus, can we take a moment to praise Siriano for his COVID relief efforts? Near the beginning of the pandemic, he turned his studio into a mask manufacturing factory in order to send them out as donations, and I think that is very cool.

Then there’s Christopher Kane who once again came through with the most insanely gorgeous prints:

I mean, paint splattering is hardly a new technique but I haven’t seen it done as a print so tastefully before-it eats the Moschino biro scribble print (which apparently was copied too speaking of the tendencies of designers to “borrow” inspiration) for breakfast. It’s shit because there weren’t many looks in this collection and they weren’t really shot in a way that does them any justice but I thought I’d include the few I saved.

Comme Des Garcons is a fave of the high fashion community and one I look forward to seeing at fashion week but can never quite get behind. I appreciate the what-the-fuckery of it all with this show totally being able to pass as a run-through of some kind of nuclear waste themed scare house at one of Thorpe Park’s fright nights. I assume given that and the plastic Mickey Mouse print it’s supposed to be some kind of reference to the part late-stage capitalism has played in the hellish landscape we find ourselves in today? Or something all intellectual? In which case I made my interpretation with farrrr too much confidence. But Anyway! Who knows! I’ll leave the analysis to the fashion students, and give it one word: trippy.

Onto Dion Lee, a brand I truly do get excited to talk about because it’s rare that I don’t LOVE his work.

Without fail, Lee manages to be confidently ahead of the curve without going out of his way to announce it and his genius to everyone with flamboyant shows and exaggerated designs and extortionate prices. He is very much an underdog in the fashion world in terms of big names but you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t love his collections. His S/S21 collection is one of my favourites of the bunch. I love seeing something I’ve never seen before and the palm leaf breast plate is so odd but so cool and so perfectly Dion Lee at the same time; we’ve seen jungle/tropical inspired collections sooo many times *cough cough D&G cough cough* and THIS is how you make them fresh and unique. I mean, never in a million years did I think I’d get behind the resurgence of the gladiator sandal trend but Lee has me changing my mind. This is one of the very rare times you will ever see me using this meme to praise a man but:

I mean, he has Fernanda Ly modelling for him, that the man has taste goes without saying.

Now for a bit of a full circle moment, given that I did actually praise Dior’s haute couture collection in my first ever post; Maria Grazia did GOOD. Well, with haute couture at least.

She’s always pretty hamfisted with her references, there’s no denying, with that Grecian Goddess style RTW collection typifying that statement completely, but luckily she struck gold this time round; as someone who studied the Tudors for A-level history, seeing a modern take on the exaggeratedly feminine renaissance silhouettes with the baroque prints and the deep jewell tones got me super excited especially when you throw in the dreamy tarot theming and the nods to the mystical and arcane. Seeing as the Heavenly Bodies Met Gala (I know, I know, I need to move on) was some time ago now and Cersei Lannister’s *SPOILER* been crushed by a rock (could also be seen as a metaphor for the irrelevancy David Benioff and D.B Wise condemned GoT to when they aired that shitty ending tehe) and so probably won’t be getting a collection based on her costumes any time soon, this is the only fashion take on this kind of period dress I’m going to get…and you know what? I’m okay with that. Thanks Maria, I guess?

Her RTW collection wasn’t absolutely awful either, and slightly better than the past few collections at least. Put a monkey in a room with a typewriter (or show it enough similar well-received collections) and it will eventually write something that makes sense, don’t they say? I like the nomadic feel of a lot of the looks and there’s beautiful layering going on but the aura of exotic opulence unsurprisingly didn’t stick around for long and I found that there was a decline in quality in the midsection of the show that landed a lot of the outfits in either awkward mother of the bride at a beach wedding or The Only Way is Essex Ocean Beach PLT sponsored poolside party territory. The looks picked back up a bit towards the end stretch of the show but I wasn’t a fan of the Gucci style oversized glasses which were so out of place with the rest of the theming that if anything they seemed like a cheap grab at relevancy. So yeah, a middling, subpar Etro-esque collection which is better than usual for Dior I suppose.

Next, Elie Saab, whose S/S21 collection was kinda disappointing, tbh. Oh how the turns have tabled given that positive Dior review and my usual love of Saab’s collections.

I know his dresses lose some of their appeal when we can’t see them in motion but even ON the runway I can’t see myself being dazzled by any of these pieces the way I usually am. They’re lacking the level of detail and craftsmanship I associate with the brand seemingly in favour of block colours and suits and the issue is that the whole Disney Princess fantasy has always been the appeal for me because the silhouettes aren’t interesting enough on their own. They’re not ugly pieces, they’re nice, but does nice really have a place in high fashion when the pieces are so basic in both their design and presentation that the shots could pass as ripped from a catalogue? The strongest parts of the collection were when it did go down the more delicate route with the muted blue suits and the white feather trimmed dresses, the small, ornamental gold details reminding me of a very toned down nod to Schiaparelli’s hardware, but with regards to the bright coloured pieces, I can’t lie-they did look like something you could find in the M&S Per Una holiday section. Then you’ve got the weakest parts, which were just flat out ugly: sheer giraffe print, sweat band style elasticated waits, and long chiffon shirts that I hate to admit read as frumpy. There are times where I’ve not been particularly excited by an Elie Saab collection in the past, but I do think this is the first time I’ve actively disliked parts of it.

Conversely, Erdem’s S/S21 collection was super strong, and solidified the brand’s place in my mind as a dependable source of kooky maximalism, this time round giving us  Anya Taylor Joy’s Emma wardrobe on speed. You could tell me Erdem Moralıoğlu had just raided the Bridgerton set’s fitting rooms and put it on a runway and I would 100% believe you and I mean that in a positive way because to give my unpopular opinion, the clothes were the only good thing about that show. The endearingly florid details of exaggerated bows and clashing florals were still there but this time in a way that felt more subtle and self-assured, as if the calming influence of the wooded set’d had a direct hand in the designs, giving the rugged, ethereal feel to the collection I associate with brands like Brock and Simone Rocha, all whilst keeping the parts of Erdem I’m so fond of.

Is it really much of a shock that I included pretty much every look from the Etro S/S21 show?  Like, you know that Christian idea of God, like, (the voice in my head is very much taking on the dumb valley girl voice that anybody who reads this is most probably getting too) knowing our souls? I think Veronica Etro knows mine. So no, no surprise. Though there were a few unconventional touches thrown into these looks (the campier prints and nautical theming we see with the 80s beach towel print, for example, reminded me a bit of Versace) the mystical bohemian it girl that Etro designs for would still be highly satisfied. Sure, it might be a wardrobe fit for a holiday less adventurous than backpacking but if she wanted a tropical poolside holiday, this collection is the one, the paisley print chiffon mini and maxi dresses especially. I’m just gonna pretend I don’t see the monstrosity that is leggings worn as trousers-it’s a fashion rule I refuse to abandon-because they are the only stain on an otherwise expectedly gorgeous collection.

Next, an unusually reserved RTW collection from Fendi:

More in line with the wardrobe of a European fashion editor than the glamorous trophy wife (who let’s say uses that facade as a guise to ruthlessly run her husband’s whole business empire from behind the scenes because in this house we do complex female characters only), these pieces are lot “smarter” and more professional looking than Fendi’s typical offerings; where I feel Fendi usually designs for the society girl who wouldn’t mind a front page scandal, these are the kind of outfits a young member of Monaco’s royal family would wear for a positively received but business-as-usual press tour. I know, Fendi is an Italian brand, but this is more Southern France to me. We’re talking some 2nd page shots of a Kate Middleton type on a yacht on the Riviera smiling and waving as her PR team’s ideal scenario. Still, whilst fewer exaggerated silhouettes, animal prints and overtly luxurious fabrics (real leathers, silks and furs for example) mean that the drama’s a little toned down, it’s all still very expensive looking and combines the classically feminine glamour of the past and the minimalism of modernity in the artful manner that we’re used to. Maybe it’s me being a basic bitch but I always love seeing Ashley Graham on the runway too, even if brands to tend to use her as their single token plus size model.

Kim Jones’ debut haute couture collection for Fendi, however, wasn’t a very well received one. I don’t hate it personally but I can see where the criticisms are coming from. Whilst it’s closer to the version of Fendi I’ve come to expect and there were some stunning pieces which completely encapsulated that distinctive aura of luxe and glamour, there were quite a few lazy pieces which could’ve been from any designer. I also felt the collection was a bit upstaged by what seemed to be a who’s who of the modelling world; having Bella, Cara, Kate and Naomi ALL walk in one show was a bit distracting and took the focus off the clothes completely.

Giambattista Valli’s RTW collection was gorgeous as ever; the man has undeniably mastered the art of delivering classic, objective elegance, the kind of designs I feel would make you light on your feet and smell like strawberries and cream the minute you put one on. Whilst as a brand his RTW shows are rarely trendsetting, they reliably produce a plethora of unfailingly graceful and demure pieces, as appealing to your mum and your grandma as they are to young women and little girls, and this collection is another victory lap for Valli when it comes to upholding his signature tea party and artisan cupcake making and rose garden strolling and bottomless rosé brunch appropriate aesthetic. There were a lot of outfits that were bordering on overly juvenile, with structures a little too basic to justify the amount of sequins thrown on, but when it’s good, it’s so sweet that regardless of how to formula it is, I can’t help but fall in love.

Valli’s haute couture collection was stunning too and for sure a more exciting offering than the RTW. There was of course a lot of the signature tulle but it was head-turning, over the top in a way that leant far more towards the experimental than I expected. The photos themselves are 100% believable as a some kind of Vogue behind the scenes editorial shoot on the set of live action Disney princess movie (in between takes of the climactic ball scene if you wanna get specific with the vision); if you are looking for a prettier alternative to the primary colours and disruptive shapes of a Molly Goddard collection, this is the one. It’s giving the themes of excess and abundance I associate with that of the Hunger Games Capitol but through the softer lens of a Sofia Coppola movie, and being the typical cinema loving white girl I am, I’m obviously on board with that vibe.

I did SUCH a 180 on Givency’s S/S21 collection from when I first saw it to writing a review. My initial reaction was one of disappointment, I guess simply because Givenchy has given us so many bold pieces and presentations over the last few years whereas this is more low-key. After properly considering it though as I would any other brand, I came to the conclusion that I do actually really like it. It’s still got the strange, androgynous silhouettes popping up throughout and the futuristic space-age details but with a more down-to-earth, streetwear feel, albeit a very slick, glossy spin on the trends of the rabble (that’s us guys) of course before we go believing it’s achievable. On the one hand, the devil horn accents are a touch Claire’s accessories halloween range but at the same time, done with confidence they’re kind of cool and bring something new and fun to the table in line with the dark theatre of Givenchy’s last few shows.

Now for Gucci, which for the first time I have to say, if I'm attempting objectivity, is not a standout. 

Like, can I just start by saying though the format it’s presented in is cute, it’s not ideal as a way of actually showing the collection. I get that the vintage shop bin vibe is a huge part of Gucci’s brand but polaroids make it SO hard to actually see the clothes, and that’s what we’re here for right? I don’t want to give the impression that I don’t like what I see here-the clothes are gorgeous, an idyllic ode to the off-duty wardrobes of Studio 54-ers, bohemian style icons like Charlotte Rampling and young Olivia Newton-John, psychedelic rock guitarists and the inhabitants of San Fransisco’s Haight during the late 60s and early 70s, Alessandro Michele’s favourite period of reference. I can’t pretend otherwise, or act like I wouldn’t want to wear the shit out of this collection. Buut, for Gucci? It’s a little underwhelming. These are the kind of filler looks we get in a typical Gucci show to go alongside the more statement pieces, which this collection is lacking. It’s just that these are designs which usually gets people talking and these pieces don’t do that. It sucks because for most other brands this would be a stand out collection, an immersive, luscious vignette of what people tend to think of as a cultural golden era, but when you’ve had a show that involved models carrying replicas of their own decapitated heads down the runway in the last 5 years, of course something more toned down like this is gonna generate a lot of “is that it?”s.

I owe Hermes an apology. Looking back, I have disliked all their previous collections for the same reason that I now really like this one; maybe it’s in part down to the frustration of still having to whack out the winter coat on occasion in May (fuck British weather and climate change), but suddenly I really appreciate the value of some good quality, versatile outerwear. Hermes is giving us that in spades here and for that, I bow down to them. The pieces on offer are clearly well-made and genuinely practical, and through the minimalist approach manage to retain both an air of timeless sophistication whilst also being youthful and on trend. The leather tactical vest co-ord I can easily see edged up and taking centre stage on one of those insane Seoul street style slow-mo TikToks that were big a couple of months ago and there are several pieces that could tie together a grunge influenced k-style look just as well as they could exist for years on end as the wardrobe staple of a high-powered businesswoman. Designer Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski’s strengths really come through with the simpler looks and it’s the patterned pieces that drag down an otherwise flawless collection; I guess because the aesthetic is very minimalist, the patterns can’t be anything overly decorative but unfortunately this has a bit of a dowdy effect when you pair it with such modest silhouettes. Disregarding those elements of the collection though, it was super good.

It goes without saying that Iris Van Herpen’s haute couture collection was breathtaking; if the fashion community can agree on anything, it’s that this woman’s work is consistently awe-inspiring. She captures the wonder of the universe, the biological structures and kaleidoscopic colours we don’t even register, through fashion in a way that others can only imitate, to mesmerising, truly transcendent effect; I can only assume Van Herpen has mother nature whispering into her ear because how the hell else do you explain her ability to take the kind of microscopic organisms they show you images of in an outdated GCSE science powerpoint and make a dress that resembles one so stunning? Care to explain, Iris? Because if there is some kind of line of communication between the two of you can you please tell the bitch I’m over this weather and that I have cute summer outfits I’m waiting to wear so can she pack this torrential rain shit in? K, thanks xoxo

See it seems shady as fuck to go from IVH to Isabel Marant like this because we are talking 2 designers with totallyyyy different approaches to fashion; Iris Van Herpen is haute couture for starters whereas Marant is commercial, and that’s her thing, but unfair comparisons aside this collection is still a bit of a let down. This is considering I do usually really like Isabel Marant collections based on whether or not I’d wear the pieces, which seems a more appropriate barometer to use to come to a quality verdict. Whilst there were a few of the elegant bohemian pieces my mind goes to when it comes to her brand, the steps outside of that comfort zone didn’t pay off; graffiti print (can be cool if done with some subtlety which apart from a few exceptions was not the case here), cheap looking reflective fabric, and MC Hammer style dungarees, it seems to be an attempt to merge 80s trends with modern urban culture, and an attempt that at times verged on the disastrous. It’s good for a brand to experiment, of course, and appeal to a wider client base than usual, but when it’s bad the unfortunate take away is that the design team don’t have the chops to pull off straying from familiar territory; designers wouldn’t be showing at fashion week if this was truly the case because disregarding the influence of nepotism, fashion is an area you need real talent, perseverance and business smarts to excel in, and so it doesn’t do a team justice when they do fail.

J.W Anderson, on the other hand, really put his best foot forward this season and presented this work in a really cool way too which only added to the positives; whilst the way the shots were edited was funky af, it didn’t detract from the actual outfits, and if we are to see the same limitations when it comes to the F/W collections being released, this is something a lot of designers and editing teams should take note of. The idiosyncratic exaggerated shapes that we see as a recurring feature of Anderon’s collections were still on show but this time round with added femininity, billowing skirts and trailing jewellery that channel the stage looks of Stevie Nicks in a way that’s modern and functional and maybe even fit for the office if you were to work in a more creative industry with a chill boss. Could also work for a coven of witches who practice meditation by bonfires in the moonlight and burn the letters of men who wronged them in some Arizonian desert, so like I said, functional! Who doesn’t like versatility? The only thing I’m not too keen on is the shoes but they’re not so bad that it affects my opinion of the collection and they look comfy I guess.

Lastly, we’ve got to talk about Jacquemus, one of the most influential names in fashion at the moment. And yes, this time round, I’m doing it: I’m buying into the hype.

This collection is gorgeousss! I can see already that a lot of the recurring elements of the show are going to be big summer trends for this year (the cut outs and strappy details on the blouses are everywhere already) even though it isn’t hot enough to have collectively decided the time to start dressing for heat is upon us yet, and that’s always a good indicator of how successful the designer was in their vision and attempts to assess the needs and wants of fashion enthusiasts; whether I’m as big a fan of his work as everyone else seems to be, there’s no denying Simon Porte Jacquemus has always excelled at this practice if the buzz around him is anything to go by. It makes sense given the last year of us all being stuck in and suppressed that a lot of us are already romanticising the summer ahead, anticipating picnics and beach days and general Theresa May running through wheat fields type shenanigans galore, in spite of how dubious an assumption it is to make that British weather will allow for this; Porte Jacquemus has very much catered to this wishful thinking and the popularity of the whole escapist “cottage core” aesthetic, sexing it up a little bit with pieces that hug the body in ways only Mugler knows how whilst being lightweight and relaxed enough to look good with windswept, sandy hair and a little dose of sunburn. I’m talking enough to give you some cutesy freckles and rosy cheeks not PSA on the importance of suncream territory, guys, what is it with those of us on the gen Z/millennial cusp not taking sun damage seriously!? Why do I have to beg so many of my friends to wear it!? Does nobody else remember those photos they’d show you in PSHE in English primary schools of burnt people’s skin under UV lights? Or is that just me being weird and only having such a vivid memory of the images because teachers told us we had to wait until year 6 to see them due they to their “graphic” nature only for my gore-loving self to be extremely underwhelmed when we finally did get that lesson? They showed us a woman giving birth in year 4 for fuck’s sake. THAT was traumatising.

Back to the actual point anyway, with just a couple of negatives, the first of which being that the pieces are very similar to those feminine looks we saw dotted about the Jacquemus menswear collection from last year that were all over fashion Twitter. In Simon Porte Jacquemus’ defence though, it makes sense that those tones and silhouettes would be revisited in a full womenswear collection for that very reason; considering they went down so well and that lockdown gave us a bit of a half-baked summer in 2020, expanding on those elements enough for a whole new collection makes good business sense. We did get some cool additions too, mainly in the form of accessories, with the hardware details on the belts similar to those included in the Givenchy collection and the abstract hair slides being standouts for me. It was all exquisite-the shoes, the jewellery, the styling, everything 10/10. My other nitpick, and I say nitpick not because it’s not important but because it’s an issue that’s hardly restricted to Jacquemus (this casting team are far from the worst offenders, Saint Laurent I’m looking at you), is that I WISH we’d see more diversity with the models. Despite what my body dysmorphia yells at me, I am small, and yet seeing all those fucking minuscule waists made me die a little inside; it’s crazy to me that in 2020 the lack of variety in body types on the runway is still such a problem.

I must have said this a million times but I don’t want to end on a negative note so let me reiterate: this collection was STUN. NING. Plus there were some others I’ve talked about in this post that I’m sure will make it into my top 20 in the final part, Jacquemus, Dion Lee and Etro for sure; we even got some gorgeous pieces from Maria Grazia which I thought was a sentence I’d never type out. Have I said enough to not leave a bad taste in the mouth of anyone who read to the end of this post? I hope so, lol! TBH, it’s impressive given everything that’s going on that the majority of designers did roll out collections in September as usual so serious respect to them and their design teams for that.

In the next post, I’ll fingers crossed be able to include everything from Kim Shui (exciting!) through to at least Off-White (actually pretty good this time?!) and make this whole thing a 4 parter before getting straight on top of the photo posts I’m thinking about doing for the time being for the F/W21 shows. So as usual, if you did read to the end thank you so much and I respect the perseverance you must have to get through all my rambling, lmao. Hope everyone is well and coping okay and again, my inbox is always open for any post suggestions, constructive criticism, or just a chat for anyone who needs a listening ear.

Big love and thank you again!

Lauren x

[lorrynha]

So there was this thread I wanted to write since I saw bnha288 leaks, and I told myself I wouldn't get back to social media until I finished writing it...

Turns out I'm really really slow at writing, and could manage just to get half of it done 💔

Anyway, I thought it'd be better to post half of it than nothing, since the chapter will come out this week anyway 😅

So here's the half I got done, I hope you like it 🤗

I can't talk enough about how much I loved bnha288. Not just because it gave us some badass Ochako moments we've been waiting since this arc began, and the fact that part of it is her rematch with Toga Himiko is absolutely perfect, but also how this very fight can help develop how Uraraka sees hero society and, more importantly, how this will develop her character even more.

But first, let's discuss what might happen on #bnha289:

IMO there are basically three ways this fight is gonna go down:

• Someone is gonna interrupt them;

• Toga wins;

• Ochako wins.

First of all, I do not like the first one. This is the rematch most of us have been waiting for the most (yes, more than a Deku x Bakugou rematch). It's their moment, with no one to be in their way.

About the last two, first thing to say is that I had a feeling that Mr Compress' marble was totally a chekhov's gun as soon as I saw it, and I'm completely sure that the winner is gonna use it to capture the loser.

Now the second one (Toga wins) is... complicated, to say the least.

Someone might say "I wanna Toga to capture Ochako so she'll have another great rescue arc like Bakugou had". Well... yes, but actually no.

You see, the LOV captured Bakugou for a very specific reason. They wanted that very arrogant and explosive boy, with in their eyes very much potential to become a villian, to turn sides an joint them. But that wasn't what happened. In fact, that arc, and his spare against Midoriya that came after that just how much he wants to be a hero, despite of this very flawed personality.

That rescuing arc not only showed us how the other characters felt about that, but most importantly it showed us how Bakugou really is: he will never become a villian. He had always been a power hunger person, always aiming for being stronger, but he wants to do it all while being a hero. He's not willing to change sides just for power.

Now getting back to Ochako, I ask you: if she lost and was captured by Toga, what would this tell us about both of them?

First, it'd establish that Toga is a sadistic sociopath that wants to keep Ochako for herself because she's obsessed with her. And, well, we already know that. And if that happened, I don't believe Toga would tell the LOV she has Ochako literally in her hands, becuase unlike what happened with Bakugou, they have no intention on turning Ochako to their side, and Toga knows that keeping a hero as a hostage just for fun would cause trouble to the League. I'd be a rather meaningless capture, just to traumatise Ochako to hating Toga and the LOV even more.

Second, it'd establish that Ochako is weak and unskilled, wich is not true. Ochako has been a hero in training for almost a year, and Toga is just a regular girl that joined the LOV few months ago. And think about it: On their first fight, even when Toga was pinned down, she was able to destabilize Ochako just buy calling out her crush and telling her they were alike. Now at the very last page of chapter 288 we have the exact opposite thing happening: Toga is pinning Ochako down, and Ochako's is completly ignoring what Toga is saying so she can focus on her mission. Wouldn't it be very disappointing if Ochako lost again, showing us that she didn't actually made that much progress in her physical, mental and emotional skills since their last fight?

Now I think it's gonna be way more interesting if Ochako wins. Because despite defeating the villain, she won't feel happy nor proud about it. Instead, she might feel confused, wondering if the hero's side is in fact the "good side" of this war.

No, this is not a "Ochako becomes a traitor" theory. She still wants to be a hero, she still wants to go to UA, but now something is bothering her.

That's how I picture chapter 289 in my head:

They're gonna fight, and it's gonna be so badass.

Toga will get to hurt Ochako, scratching her face, her arm or something, but then Ochako manages to steal away Toga's knife and pin her down. Toga is totally trapped, there's nothing more she can do, and Ochako is holding that knife, pointing it at her...

Toga: so, heroine... Are you going to kill me? Are you going to kill me, just like you "heros" did with Jin?

Ochako: Jin? Who's Jin?

Toga: See??? You don't even know his name! So he wasn't a real person to you, right? So you could save him too? Why did you have to kill him!?

Ochako is devastated. She knows they are the villains, she knows they are just getting what they deserve. But here is Toga... not just that random villian that had attacked her, but a girl like her, a girl just her age, crying over the death of a dear friend...

Toga: You call us the villains, but you are even worse!

Toga is very good at disguising her self for deceiving others, just like she did with her a very few minutes ago. She needs to be great at acting and lying to succeed. But right now... Ochako knows she's not faking it. She's genuinely sad.

Ochako: No... I'm not gonna kill you...

She drops the knife in the ground beside them and reveals she has a tiny shiny green ball in her hands.

Ochako: But I can't let you go either.

She then uses that marble to trap Toga.

Ochako watches the girl vanishing in front of her eyes in mere seconds.

"Toga-chan... I'm... I'm sorry... I can't save you right now..." Ochako can see a very little version of Toga inside the marble. She hugs it with her hands and cries quietly.

She spends very few seconds crying. She knows she must get back to their mission. Ochako puts it in her uniform and... her pocket is already filled with something.

Oh, right, that little All Might keychain she was gifted on their Christmass party.

She looks at both of them: the keychain in one hand and the marble in the other one. The hero and the villain, the good and the evil...

Ochako is way too confused right now. But she cannot think about all of that right now. She wipes away her tears and run back to Tsuyu. End of the chapter.

I know I'm probably wrong on my headcanons because I'm not a good writer like Horikoshi is, and I know he and his team already wrote a very great chapter, that I'm for sure gonna love and brag about. But, even so, I do really like this headcanon of mine.

What's the core of Ochako's character? She wants to be a hero because she always wanted to help people. She's also happy and lively girl that likes to cheer everyone up, especially their friends.

We can see how she and Iida literally adopted little introverted Izuku and they became a best friends trio. We see she also became Tsuyu best friend, a girl that's also a little reserved.

At first, she wanted to be a hero basically for the job. And yet, not just for the money, but for helping her parents to have a easier life.

She also realised that helping people also includes not getting in anyones way. She thought a relationship would only disturb hers and Deku's focus on being heroes. So she ignored her crush on him, while using these same feelings as a thrust to keeping moving forward.

(and even if my shipper side felt sad when I first watched this, I have to admit this was a great mature decision of her, and the story wouldn't be as good as it is if she had confessed to him that time. It's great that Kohei is giving time for both their relationship and for their character development)

On the Overhaul arc, right after Sir. Night Eye died in her hands, her motivation developed to "I want to help people" to "I want to save people". Now she was 100% sure about what kind of hero she wanted to be: she wanted to be a rescue hero.

When she saved Deku from Black Whip, she asked herself: "of heroes save others, than who's gonna save them when they need it?". This is a very important moment, because while we know who she's talking about right now, she is still subconsciously thinking furtherly: "who's gonna save the people we usually forget to save?"

And now we're watching her making probably one of the most important steps of her development: "Who's gonna save the villains? If we are heroes, why are we killing them, defeating them, when they're just humans like us that need to be saved?"

Ochako is not the traitor and she never will be. She's still mad at Toga and at the villains. She knows that this danm war is their fault. She just wants it to end as soon as possible, and to everyone to be safe and sound. She's sure that the villains side is the worst thing ever, just as bad as it ever could be. But the point is: why isn't the heroes side as good and perfect as it should be?

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

I wanted to make a part two talking about how Ochako will eventually help Izuku realize that the hero society is not as perfect as he think it is, and how this would be great character development for him. Maybe I'll finish writing it someday 😆😌

Thank you so much for reading this tread. I really hope you like it. Please feel free to comment sharing your opinions on what you agree and disagree about all of this, I'm highly open for your reviews on my thoughts 💗

[onceuponakdrama]

100 Days My Prince: Drama Review

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Bingo Card For 100 Days My Prince

Synopsis: Lee Yul is the Crown Prince of Joseon, a perfectionist who disregards the majority of those in the royal palace and appears cold and demanding when in reality, he is just lonely. One day, he passes a law stating that all Korean citizens of marriageable age must do so before they reach the age of 28. Hong Shim is a strong, intelligent woman who takes on multiple jobs to support herself and her father. She is also the oldest unmarried woman in her village and is in need of a husband in order to avoid punishment from law officials.In an attempted assassination, Lee Yul finds himself severely injured and under Hong Shim and Hong Sim's father's care. Due to his injuries, Lee Yul develops temporary amnesia and wanders around aimlessly as a commoner with no name or identity. Because of the law passed by Lee Yul, he and Hong Shim are forced to marry each other in order to save Hong Shim from punishment as well as her village from the drought. What follows is the love story of Hong Shim, 'Joseon's oldest unmarried woman,' and Lee Yul, the amnesiac Crown Prince.

Overall Main Plot: Rating - 7 out of 10

This is a drama that sets everything up for you, so the viewer doesn’t really have any surprises unless it happens during that time. I was overall satisfied with the way they tied in all the usual tropes (childhood lovers, rebellion from the court, amnesia, etc.) together. It’s a typical historical kdrama: the Crown Prince and attempted assassinations, rebellion against the crown, etc. However, there are three major reasons I docked off points: 

The Beginning - it felt like the beginning was rather slowed down. This goes for the plot and the romance, in which there was a weird still that happened in the plot. I literally stopped watching after episode 4 because I wasn’t feeling it and then things picked back up again in episode 5 and 6. 

The Ending - I did not like that the Vice Premier didn’t get what was coming to him. The “revenge” of the plot felt too  anticlimactic. He should’ve just rotted in prison, but they decided to kill him and it felt like too little. 

The Break-Up Sequence - I’m gonna go into this a bit more for the romance, but overall, I hated that, in the last episode, they had to insert a time skip where they would met again and it just, did not hit. I thought it was unnecessary, especially since her brother had already paid for his sins so, yeah. 

Characters: Rating - 8 out of 10

↣ Lee Yul/Na Won Deuk [played by Do Kyungsoo] - I’m gonna be honest. I love Do Kyungsoo, but it took me a while to like his character. I pitied him because he had to go through so much as a child, but, as a grown man, it took me a while to like him. When he started to open up is when I started to like him as a male lead. Since I watched Shopping King Louis before this, I was less favorable towards him than compared to Louis. I really liked his development though, especially as Won Deuk and his desire to live a normal life with Hong Shim. 

↣ Yeon Yi Suh/Hong Shim [played by Nam Jihyun] - I really loved her character as a whole. There were a couple of times I was annoyed with her, but I remember that she’s an active character and she’s bound to get into unfavorable situations that’ll get her into trouble. One thing I really liked about her is that she took action rather than waiting for someone to help her; I really liked her development and how she learned that she can depend on people for some things. I am personally so fond of her relationship with her adopted father; they were absolutely adorable. But yeah, throughout the drama, I felt bad about her and really rooted for her and her happiness. 

↣ Jung Jae Yoon [played by Kim Seonho] - I tend to have second lead syndrome, but this time it was rather weak. I think it’s just because I felt like I didn’t know what side he was working for until near the end and I realized he was a really good guy. So, the SLS doesn’t hurt that much. Overall, I really liked his development in which he is still a good politician and he became really close friends with Yul. 

Personal Notes: I was weirdly attached to Do Jihan’s character (he played Dongjo, the Crown Prince’s personal guard), so when he was killed, I cried on the inside. On the other hand, Kim Jaeyoung’s character (Moonyeon/Seon Ha), I had a feeling he was going to die, but I didn’t realize he would just be killed off near the end. I felt bad for him, but he did try to kill the Prince so... 

Romance: Rating - 8 out of 10 

I actually really liked the romance; I think it’s only because they set up the whole child-lovers thing, so I was motivated to root for them. Again, the beginning was rather slow, but they had a reason to be. I thought it was nice to watch their romance blossom, but I didn’t really like Yul in the beginning since he kind of made Hong Shim’s life harder (getting money from a loan shark, not being able to do labor, etc.). It took me a bit to warm up to his character, but overall, they had a good romance and I’m glad they had a happy ending. I’m just lowkey upset that the last episode wasn’t as cathartic as it should have been. The last episode contained the break-up/time gap sequence and it felt really unnecessary. Her brother was already dead at that point, so like what was the point of separating them? And while it was romantic for him to propose again (have events repeat themselves), I just thought it would have been better to have the whole thing happen at once after the whole war thing broke out. The overall romance was nice, but, again, it was kind of slow to begin and, towards the end, it was unnecessary to have them break up and get back together when they were kind of yearning for each other all of their lives and such. 

Second Plot/B-Plot and Secondary Characters: Rating - 9 out of 10

I was actually kind of fond of the side characters. I really liked the villagers specifically and how close their community was. I really felt bad for Hong Shim’s friend (KKeut Nyeo) because I really liked her, but her husband was stupid. But, again, I loved how close their community was and how much they liked Hong Shim. As for the more antagonistic side characters, I think that they were really well done. I really did not like them and when they were met with their end, it was very satisfying. Even for the Crown Princess, I felt bad for her because of her family, but it’s not like she didn’t deserve it. The only reason it’s a nine instead of a ten is because some of the side characters felt unnecessary, but they were given interesting backstories and it made the plot progress further. 

Additional Notes: 

Genre - I’m not a fan of historical dramas, primarily because they’re all centered on the royal family, keeping the throne, and rebels. Everyone dies so quickly too and, at that point, I’m not surprised, just disappointed. But, I did think this one had a nicer touch because there was a strong female lead, especially in this time period. 

Tropes - the childhood first love trope was actually nice because it wasn’t thrown in last minute and actually used to drive the plot and character development. 

The last episode kind of missed the mark. I was kind of upset at how they built it up throughout the drama, but they missed so many opportunities in the last episode. I think the only trope I didn’t like was the time skip because it was really unnecessary to have that break-up too. So, the ending was kind of... bad (in my opinion). 

Overall Rating: 8 out of 10 

Recommended? 

↣ Yes: if you don’t like surprises in a drama, this is for you. This drama sets up everything for the viewer and the viewer watches it unfold. This is also a different type of historical drama; while they do focus on the Crown Prince and such, they also show a glimpse of non-royal life, which is something you don’t really get in historical dramas. Another reason to watch this is that there is more romance into it. The main couple has a lot of moments that are cute and you definitely end up rooting for them. 

↣ No: royal battles for the crown is the main plot, other than the romance, if you aren’t interested, it isn’t for you. This is also a drawn out drama with a lot of tropes (as claimed on my bingo card), so if you don’t have patience, it’s not for you. It does have the basic kdrama tropes, along with the basic historical kdrama tropes, but then again, it’s not a kdrama without it. 

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I thought about the MCU (Phase Three Part Two)

And here’s part two! Or, as I like to call it, my reviews of the best movies of the MCU.

Click here for part one.

5th place: Spider-Man: Far From Home (9/10)

This is probably one of the most dividing Spider-Man movies we're ever going to have. Ask someone who claims they're a hardcore Spider-Man fan, and odds are they either really hate this movie or consider it the best one yet. For me, I enjoyed Spider-Man: Far From Home, but I do have some complaints. In some ways, the movie improves upon the original. MJ is a much better love interest than Liz ever will be, the action is top-notch (note to self, do a full scene breakdown on why the fight on Tower Bridge is the best fight scene in a Spider-Man movie), and this movie better understands the struggles of being Spider-Man. There are so many times when it's clear that Peter just wants to take a break and enjoy his vacation, but because he's him, he can't just stand by when people are in danger. Because it's not in his DNA. However, despite some improvements, I still think there are other elements that Spider-Man: Homecoming does better. As that movie has better comedy, a more tightly paced story, and especially a better villain.

Don't get me wrong, I do like Mysterio (it's not a spoiler if he's one of the most popular Spider-Man villains). The writers found a great way of adapting his character into something that fits this universe while also giving a scene that is everything Spider-Man fans would and should expect when they hear, "Mysterio is the villain." The problem is that not only does Vulture have better drive his plans and a more devious personality, but the "big reveal" this movie has with Mysterio is handled very poorly. I still like Far From Home, and I highly recommend it, but I'd be lying if I'd say that there's a reason why other people are less forgiving than me when it comes to this movie.

4th place: Spider-Man: Homecoming (9.5/10)

This is my favorite Spider-Man movie. And because Spider-Man is my favorite superhero, I couldn’t just save how much I love it into one to two paragraphs. So, here’s a more complex review instead.

3rd place: Thor: Ragnarok (9.5/10)

...WHERE! THE F**K! WAS THIS THOR MOVIE?! Seriously, we had boring stories, dull love interests, forgettable villains, and subpar action and comedy in the first two Thor movies. When this entire time we could have gotten an exciting story, a strong female character, two incredible villains, and one of the funniest films in the MCU with the third most epic final fight in the franchise?

...

No. That will not stand.

WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?! I demand to speak with the person who failed to give us an exciting trilogy whilst having the third movie shows us what we SHOULD HAVE gotten!

Joking aside, I really love this movie. Not only for the reasons I mentioned earlier but also because this film made me like Thor as a character. I didn't care about the guy we got in the first two movies. But the Thor in Thor: Ragnarok? This guy, I like. I would love to hang out with the guy, talk with him, get to know him...maybe even date him--The point is that Thor is ten times more interesting in this movie than he was in others.

Now, does that mean it's perfect? Pretty damn close, if you ask me. Sure, the fun comes to a grinding halt whenever we cut back to Asgard, the most boring planet in the universe. But you still get Cate Blanchett hamming it up as Hella, so what is there to complain about. It's so good that, you know what, I'm gonna do a full review of this movie. And not like a quick thoughts review like I did for Spider-Man: Homecoming. I mean a full-on analytical review, discussing everything this movie does right and wrong. And that will be coming...whenever the hell I have the time for it. Spring semester is coming up, after all.

But it will happen, and it will hopefully make it clear why Thor: Ragnarok is the best Thor movie. Period.

2nd place: Black Panther (9.5/10)

...I will never fully grasp how important this movie is. I'll come close and try as hard as I can, but by the end of the day, Black Panther wasn't made for me. It's made for a group of people that I will never be a part of, people who deal with so many more issues than me, and all I can do I feel empathy for them. And even though I'll never be the target audience for this film, I will always admit how good it is. The action is incredible, the message is more prominent now than it was back in 2018, and Killmonger is one of the best villains in the MCU, one that at times gives Thanos a run for his money. Not just because Killmonger has an understandable motive, or because he has a plan that's worthy of debate, or even because he's a great character in general. My reasoning is because Killmonger represents a perfect mirror for what T'Challa could have been if he let vengeance consume him in Captain America: Civil War. I'm not a fan of when these movies make the villain have the exact same powers as the hero because it's just a lame excuse to give both characters even ground. Here, making the hero and villain the same shows that this is what T'Challa could be if things went a little different, as they both have similar ideals and motivations but have divergent methods that their impulses drive.

There is so much this movie does right, which is why for every complaint (read: nitpick) this movie gets, I can't help but respond with, "Who cares?" Why does Killmonger getaway so effortlessly in a scene that comes immediately after the one that shows how unstoppable T'Challa can be? Who cares. Why does a movie called Black Panther barely focus on its titular character for a good chunk of the story? Who cares. Why is the CGI so butt ugly? Who...Actually, no. That I've got to give it to you. The CGI looks unfinished at times, and it becomes extra noticeable in the final fight between Black Panther and Killmonger. But still, that is nothing compared to the many, MANY, things that make this movie a damn near-masterpiece. And seeing how this might be the last great story we'll get with this character, then I'll take a damn near-masterpiece (Rest in power, Chadwick Boseman. Wherever you might be.)

1st Place: Avengers: Infinity War/Avengers: Endgame (10/10)

Yeah...both of these movies are the best, in my opinion. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame is the perfect conclusion to the Infinity Saga. These movies tie up almost every loose ends in past films with a story that has been ten years in the making. Plus, ignoring that fact alone, these are both fantastic movies that balance tragedy with great comedy and character moments, a score that's music to the ears, and by far the best villain any of these flms had. While Killmonger is pretty damn good, there is no beating Thanos. Not only are his lines/monologues quotable, but he is the first villain who is close to having a point. That doesn't mean his evil plan is right like so many psychopaths claim. You see, he has reasoning that you can fully understand, but it's still a radical idea that is far from the right decision. And in Avengers: Endgame, you really see how much of a mad Titan he really is when he decides to go further with his plan. And that's barely scratching the surface of what makes him an awesome villain.

As for our heroes, both movies focus on a ton of them, each getting proper attention, with only a handful receiving the short end of the stick. This doesn't matter as the final battle has an army of superheroes--Let me repeat that: An army of superheroes going against one guy. And trust me when I say, where the battle of New York is worth watching The Avengers, the battle for the Universe is worth investing time into the MCU. Every minute is satisfying, making it all the easier to forget the valid complaints these movies have. Because despite the imperfections, everything Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame does incredibly well makes them both the best films in the MCU. Past, present, and future.

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

And that’s all for now. See you soon when I rank each of these movies from worst to best. And don’t worry. I’ll keep it brief.

[wack-ashimself]

Hey you guys want to see the email I wrote to my boss's boss because they will not give me the official job title or pay for the job I've been doing basically for 4 years? Enjoy it now it might get me fired...

I have been wanting to write this email for a long time. But I was afraid it would go 1 of 2 ways.

1-I am too blunt, like last time, and burn any bridges I had to cross.

2-I beg you like a slave for a job I have rightfully been doing for 4 years and earned, and come off as weak.

So I am gonna try to find a middle ground and not waste your time.

So I will start with hard, undeniable, provable, verifiable FACTS.

 

1-I have been there 4 years, and in which time, I have been doing the furniture manger's position not only longer than any single furniture manger you picked out (which is what, SIX at this point?) but more than all of those furniture managers combined. I do put on my resumes I am the furniture manager, and when I explain the long detailed history of how I do the job, but didn't get the job (when I was originally promised it twice) I get only empathy, and usually laughs at the insanity of my mistreatment.

 

2-The only reason I have not left is I love the people I work with, overall (cuz it is not the pay or the job, for sure). I can easily find the same job/pay ANYWHERE, but I am honest with myself-I have not liked most people at most jobs I worked at. I love the people I work with cuz they are hardworking, honest, direct, and won't coddle you for your own ego's safety. But I can tell you if and when I leave, being the second longest working non manager there, when people come to me, confine in me, look for inspiration/help from me (more than once on suicidal thoughts) it will be felt, and a ripple effect. Only person y has been working there longer than me. And she already quit once too.

 

3-I am the highest complimented person in that store's entire history of being open. I took pics before you guys erased the 'overall compliment cards' and went to yearly, and NO ONE was even close. Add in my solid yearly reviews, mystery shops, online reviews, etc, I am one of the if not THE STRONGEST ASSET that store has. Period.

 

4-This should be the single only thing I should have to write. I have overall been the store furniture manager for 4 years, and this year, the first year EVER: my store made over 1 million dollars in furniture sales (SO FAR). And if I am being EXTREMELY conservative, that means I, ALONE, made the store 100k a year on average (and that is me being polite. I would say closer to 200k). I get paid less than 13k a year. I am one of the few that MADE your store (you should hear the stories <monthly> of how many people leave the other branch store and come to ours because we treat them better). I am the only single thing with the hours consistently in furniture. No furniture manager or any other manager has the time and hours devoted to furniture like me. So I can make this claim.

 

Summary? Give me the furniture manager position, and rightful pay. Please. I am saying this as I grind my teeth, knowing you probably have never done what I have done for 4 years, yet you control my fate. Not forever. Cause either you give me this position, or I will take any job I can find come spring. And there is absolutely no way, give you a 2 weeks notice or not, I will ever be able to train someone in everything I know and how to do it. So they will flounder. Remember-I took the job two weeks into working there cuz the furniture manager quit, and I rocked it. You think that was easy and anyone can do it? They have not yet.

 

Just know...I am doing this job, right now, cuz NO ONE ELSE wants it. You just had one guy quit, not giving his two weeks, and the only other (internal) interested party said no cuz they want to have a family life. I had fixed countless mistakes NO ONE will ever know of, took it upon myself to help customers that no one else was taking care of, and I go above and beyond every day. Why? Cause I take pride in making people happy. I genuinely do. I do not care how much money you save hiring some schmoe off the streets cuz you can pay them less than me; it will never pay off. Clearly, cuz I was the one to take you to a million dollars.

 

So, please reflect on these FACTS, make the right call, or so help me, I will watch that store proudly never reach 3/4 of a million working at taco bell across the street this time next year.

Quit mistreating your employees just cause you legally can. It is still immoral, ya know?

 

Sincerely

Me (easier to not get fired if no names or business name)

 

ps-You guys have no idea how to motivate employees. Employee of the monthly winner $5 gift card? $60 per store per year? HA! And now these check in, mid check in, and exiting check ins? Just like your useless hour long manager calls (which could easily be put into an email) which takes away our managers usually when we need them most, understaffing us, then doing a potluck on black friday (instead of buying us the whole meal) shows you do not care, but you want to look like you do. Everyone notices it; I am the only one who will be honest with you. You should hear the stories from stores (in and out of your reach) who constantly lie to keep up appearances (like, but not limited to, using a known phone number to keep up rewards numbers, lying about getting something for free/cheaper, like extended warranty, by scanning a coupon the customer did not know of, etc) . It's funny to know what corporate wants to hear, what is told, and what actually happened. There's tons of online threads talking about our store (none of which is me) and none of it is good. I will read about people across the country, far away, having the exact same issues....and none of you learn. And wonder why you have people quitting so regularly. It isn't a mystery...I am not saying any of this to attack you personally; I want the company to get better. The employees to be happy, treated right, not understaffed, and the company gets your fair work out of them. Only way you will get there is someone telling you the truth, and it seems no one is.

[moonlightgirl-05]

Ray Bad Ending Story 1 walkthrough + Bad Relationship 1 walktrough

Bad Ending Story 1 (5-6 days)

1. Get into Ray’s route from 1 - 4 days in Another story 

Day 5:

00:21 

*  I can’t go to sleep. There’s something bothering me….

*  Hmm… I’m sure he has an important thing planned.

*  Whoa, whoa… Let’s take it easy, Jumin.

*  Does your father have a new girlfriend…. ?

*  Did you eat them all? I bet you’ve been pumped up lol

*  Talk about his scale… Your father’s the best!

*  Does that mean we’d get to see a cat tower in the company????

*  … You actually have the time to make this print?

*  I think motivation works best when it comes from pressure.

*  I don’t think you have to worry about me

*  No, nothing.

*  You mean becoming a cool-headed businessman?

*  Because then more people would get to see it?

*  Jumin, when do you plan to get to bed?

*  ….

*  Do we really have to identify who the hacker is?

*  Even if Seven gives his all, he’ll never be able to beat this hacker lol

*  V…is this really the best?

*  …You’re trying to keep your secret, not lighten his load.

*  But I think you’re already good enough!

*  …At least I appreciate that you’re working so hard.

*  You’re not up to something with Seven, are you?

*  I’ll see you again – !

*  Well, I only wish everyone’s paradise will come soon

*  I wish you wouldn’t underestimate that hacker.

* I  agree…. V seems to have a very strong sense of responsibility.

*  I should settle down now and go to sleep.

02:44

*  It’s just that this hacker is a bit frustrating

*  It’s just that….I feel frustrated for some reason.

*  Because he told you not to chase the hacker?

*  Sure…

*  Guardian? Yeah right… I think he’s just busy cleaning up the mess.

* But you gotta admit you’re not as good as that hacker…

*  You should be ashamed of yourself. And admit that the hacker is better than you.

*  Are you sure we can trust V?

*  Hmmm…I don’t think you should trust him too much.

*  If you’re good to work, why not recommend a guest? LoL

*  I wish she could write this complicated situation into poems… Sure, let’s invite her…. or I don’t know…. She doesn’t sound like a good guest. (If you don’t want the email)

*  …Still, you won’t be able to defeat this hacker.

*  Bye –

06:03

*  Seven won’t be after you anymore… What do you think about that?

*  I was surprised, actually. You’re weaker than I thought

*  Arrogance results in misfortunes.

*  Hmm…are you sure I’ll be safe here?

*  I think you should work harder if you have time to chat like this.

*  You should stop chatting and get to work now.

09:12

*  Hey Yoosung

*  That’s because your digestive system is failing.

*  Huh…..

*  You’re rude to your mother!

*  You should do something about him…

*  Yoosung, you should keep a regular lifestyle.

*  They’re both bad. Both of you need special treatment for your health

*  Who knows…? Maybe your face will turn all shiny and pretty like a sunflower!

*  Your mother called?

* Your efforts will all return in the end.

*  You should try it. You”d see in the end that your mother is right.

*  Don’t you think you’re being obsessive…by keeping your questions, Yoosung?

*  Even if you are disappointed, I think it’s because she’s your mother. Try to be a little more understanding.

*  But V could almost be your family in the past.

*  You should obey your mother. Your family might ask unreasonable things but they provide you a place to be

*  But then again…you wouldn’t know the duty of a mother, Zen. Bond with a mother is indestructible…

*  One more game?

*  We can all have our own ways with life – !

*  You’re being unreasonable.

*  Goodbye.

*  He’s so immature. I think it’s because he’s not with his parents.

*  He’s being immature. Someone’s gotta teach him how cruel the world is.

*  If I were you, I’ll try calling them. Don’t you think it’s such a tragedy to stay disconnected from your family?

* Goodbye.

12:21

*  Hello.

*  Not yet…

*  Why were you so busy?

*  You should work on things that got delayed while standing by.

*  What meaning would that have? You’ve joined the company recently, it’ll be better if you think about […]

*  Here’s your boss.

*  Don’t you think you’re slacking off too much?

* Don’t tell me… Jumin… Do you have a new business in mind…?

*  Caps.

*  I don’t think anyone can beat this hacker.

*  That’s not gonna happen…because no one’s as good as this hacker. ^^

* That’s nice…We can bring both of them to this…

*  I feel like having the unit’s info for dinner…

*  Though I’m sure you’d need more than that to defeat this hacker.

*  Perhaps the department doesn’t exist at all…

*  Good luck.

*  I’m not sure…

*  Could you fix my computer, Jaehee?

*  Congrats – !!! Haha.

*  You’re so generous.

*  This is your chance. I look forward to your performance.

*  You can’t beat this guy anyways. So don’t work too hard.

*  There might be a difference of thoughts at work here. I understand.

14:37

*  What are you doing, Seven?

*  It’s the only way for him to stay.

*  I’m okay. I got loads of time.

*  I wanna see who would win this war.

*  Save is good…! DB is more than welcome! or It sounds too tricky. I don’t know about DB…. (If you want the email)

*  Your hand is so pretty….

* I wanna know what your hand looks like Zen lol

*  Are you feeling better? You had an argument with Yoosung.

*  There’s this term to call a person who talks like you…

*  …In his personal Zen Report ver. 06.

*  Dying-to-brag-about-something’ mood!

*  So that means your practice begins now.

* That must be a lot of pressure… You should work a lot.

*  You should know when to celebrate and not.

*  You should be grateful for your present day!

*  This is boring! I’m outta here!

* You should get to work. Now.

*  You should stop making excuses and get to work.

*  You’re not slacking off, are you?

*  You still won’t be able to beat the hacker…

* He’s working without even sleeping. You think you can beat him?

* Is this woman your girlfriend?

*  You’re feeling down because you should.

*  Good luck.

*  He should deal with it. It’s his job.

*  Shouldn’t you practice right now?

*  Have a good day.

16:13

*  All his hard work is finally paying off. Now he has to work even harder.

*  Why don’t you say that after you’re done with your duty?

*  I wonder if he can really do it….

*  Is musical that popular among the public?

*  This is a person, right?

*  I don’t know. An AI…? Sounds too difficult. or Okay! Let’s send an invitation. I’d like to learn a thing or two about ticketing. (If you want the email)

*  I thought you have something more important than tickets.

*  So long

17:45

*  Hey Yoosung…

*  LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

*  Wow… I wonder what it tasts like. Let me know after you try a sip, Yoosung!

*  Speak of the devil. LOLOL

*  Oh GOD7… Is it not too late to buy stocks?

*  Stocks come in 1+1? Smells fishy here…

*  Seven, didn’t you say your’re busy? Do you have time to do pranks like this?

*  He’s got a point lol

*  I’m not interested in your hobby, Yoosung.

*  Cooking?

*  LOL

*  Why don’t we now talk about GOD7’s dynamic business hobby? Give it up for Sevenstar Drink!

*  You’re too fishy…. Whatever you’re selling, I’m not buying it.

*  …Police won���t be good enough to stop him. I should report his agency…

*  Sounds like an excuse to me.

*  You should first do what you have to do with classes and work… You don’t deserve to rest if you don’t.

*  Don’t waste your money on something like that.

*  It’s too late for you. Forget it.

*  That’s what the world wants us to do.

* I wish I could live without worrying about anything…

*  Dream is nothing but a mirage.

*  Since you’re giving advice…I assume you did your job well, Seven.

* Go back to work now.

*  Bye…

* You should think about what to do in the future and plan accordingly

*  He’s just…a different type of person from you.

*  You should find ESL tutoring class instead of whining.

*  Goodbye.

19:23

*  What was that? You screw up just now, didn’t you?

*  Looks like you’re full of faults.

*  Work harder. So that I can see you’re useful.

*  Okay. I’ll tell you, so first make sure you take care.

*  Are you sure the savoir trusts you?

*  I expect you to be better.

*  I’ll see what I can do and let you know whether I like it or not.

*  I also think that was a huge mistake.

*  Do your best

*  What is it?

*  I’m not going to get in trouble because of you, am I?

*  When does the elixir start to take effect?

*  Don’t tell me what to do.

* I don’t like the menu.

*  I’ll never leave you it you’re good enough.

* It’s a little cold.

*  Keep up the good work.

21:13

*  Welcome, Jumin.

*  This is rather depressing, since I’m stuck in between…

*  The hacker will win.

*  I think it’s a waste of time…

* Patience is the key…

* Don’t you think you might prick your finger if you do it in your car?

* I think it’s better for you to review documents than stitching.

* What you lost in time never comes back. You should always focus on your every second.

*  How did you get to know this person?

*  Why don’t we invite Pillow Love? or Is that what you’re going to use the unit for…? Oh dear…Jaehee… (If you want the email)

* Why don’t you start with cats?

*  That’s a simple naming…

*  Sayonara…

23:09

*  Are you still practicing, Zen?

*  His hobby is his to choose –

*  What’s your hobby, Zen?

*  Job = hobby for you…?

*  I think you should make a plan and practice accordingly.

*  Shouldn’t you just do it until you make it?

*  Why not ask Seven for help?

*  Yoosung looks so immature. Why don’t you lecture him a bit?

* I think he shouldn’t waste his time like that.

*  He’s living in a world where he has to be a hypocrite like others. I think I’d get mad if I were him.

* Whatever happens, I hope a person who hurts other will pay in the end.

* You should get to work!

* See you.

________________________________________________________________

Day 6:

00:55

*  I’ve been waiting!

*  That’s because you’re not working hard enough.

*  Isn’t tomrrow the rehersal? Are you sure you’ll be fine?

*  You’re nervous because you haven’t worked hard enough.

*  LOLOL!

*  You’re distracting Zen. Out!

*  Lolol Zen I think you’re distracted.

*  You didn’t even start your life outside of school. You already think life is pointless?

*  You should always watch your behavoirs and obey the rules.

*  The world is a dark place! Hopeless! With no light!

*  I think he still has a long way to go until he matures.

*  Oh, so this is the infamous…

*  Lololololol

*  What a repetition… It must have been boring.

*  So…is that darkness of yours…still there in your heart?

*  Think about how frustrated your parents will be with you.

*  …..

*  It’s bedtime for you.

*  Back to practice you go, Zen

* I think you’re better off alone.

*  Enjoy –

*  You’re not making excuses because you’re tired of practicing, are you…?

*  Have a good one.

03:17

*  I had something to do.

*  She said you need to do better than that.

*  I have a feeling I’ll get along with her well.

*  You’re not thinking anything funny, are you?

*  That’s a bit creepy.

*  I can drink it if I have to.

*  I think you’re weak.

*  Don’t make me hear such weak thoughts. I’m tired of them.

*  You’re pathetic…

*  Run along now.

* If you have time to show me this, you should work more on proving yourself.

*  You should go. Now.

07:40

*  I’m feeling gloomy…

*  Situation?

* Do we have a trouble or something?

*  Let’s hear it – !

*  Don’t you think it’s so alarmingly sudden?

*  V’s work must be awesome!

*  I think you should first contact V about this.

*  Maybe he wanted to get in touch with the prime minister for his grand personal plan…?

* What?

*  He seems to be rather in a hurry….

* I think you’re all being overdramatic here

* What a joy, but I think V wouldn’t even bat an eye at the news.

*  But he’s too high in the authorities. I’m getting nervous…

*  I wish we could bring the prime minister to the RFA. That will be… so fantastic

*  You do know you have less than a day till the rehersal, don’t you?

*  See you.

*  Maybe you should keep trying to reach him.

*  It’s no wonder. They’re childhood friends.

*  Congrats! The prime minister wants to buy your pictures

*  Well, I am getting a bit frustrated. Isn’t it about time…?

*  You should set the appointment now. Why don’t we bring him to the RFA?

*  I hope the prime minister could be one of us.

*  That’s just my opinion.

* I hope you consider bringing him to the RFA

* Yes…?

*  Who?

10:23

* Jumin – ! You’re seeing the prime minister today, aren’t you?

*  What a waste of few seconds of your life.

*  Do you think there’ any meaning in temporary leisure…?

*  But we can’t deny that social recognition comes before leisure. That’s unfortunate…

*  I think break and hobby are the same… They prove how lazy a person is.

*  I salute you, o wielder of life oh-so-empty…

*  The pure essence of darkness… Oh, the might power of puberty…

*  Don’t you think it’d be more lit…if the prime minister joins us?

*  You must be nervous!

*  You two shouldn’t get too involved in your hobbies and instead focus on your duties, with classes and work.

*  Does it matter whether if you tell them apart? It’s just another way of wasting your time.

*  …Anyways, I think slacking off is lazy and bad.

*  Don’t ask me something like that.

*  It’s a break when you do something without any thought. It’s a hobby when you use your head as you slack off.

*  His world is different from ours. No need to understand him.

*  That’s why we gotta choose our hobbies wisely.

*  I don’t know. I’m not really interested in his philosophy… or I’m curious about him. Why don’t we invite him to the part and hear more from him? (If you want the email)

*  I think hobbies are something out of our league. We should just balance work and break.

* Hmm…..

*  I think that’s possible because her job is still her No. 1 priority.

*  I don’t think parents are every wrong…

*  Jumin, you actually know what ‘fangirling’ means?

*  lololololololol

*  I hope you make yourself useful.

*  Do ask him about joining us…

*  I think you need to get a grip on yourself.

*  I don’t think this is the time for you to procrastinate.

*  I’m gonna finish what I’m doing!

13:10

* I’m skipping today –

* How was it?

*  The difference between talents isn’t something that can be overcome.

*  Tell me about it…. I wish his pictures would see at high prices.

*  How did your meeting go?

*  You mean V lost this golden opportunity?

*  I’m sure it’s related to that secret of his. Just what could it be?

*  He just can’t tell apart his personal life from his business life, can he?

*  Was the prime minster understanding?

*  I think V is ill. Both his body and mind seem weak.

*  I wouldn’t have let that opportunity slip away.

*  He could have had a new recruit!

*  Did you have a feel that V’s hiding something?

*  Then that would mean we can trust him…!

*  I wonder what he liked about V’s photos.

*  I don’t think discussions on politicians’ looks have any particular meaning.

*  I don’t know. I’ll side with the majority.

* I don’t think giant corporations will always assume the bad role in the economy, as long as there are good.

*  I’m not really interested in politics.

*  I didn’t know you were interesed in politics.

*  I’ll see you again, Jumin.

*  I think I’m close to conservative.

*  Hmm, not really interested. or Good idea. I’d like to learn couple things from him too. (If you want the email)

*  I’ll see you.

14:50

*  Hey hey hey Yoosung

*  You’ve barely done anything so far. I don’t think going to class will do any difference….

* I thought the only thing you do at night is playing games….

*  You said you’d do it. Now there’s no point if you’re not the best.

*  I thought you had a lot of thoughts the other day…..thinking about your dark, pointless life….

*  Why don’t we change the subject? ^^

*  Same here lol

*  He’s got looks, good social standing, authority…. I think he has everything.

*  V’s reason was kind of unreasonable….

*  I think you lost your concentration here.

*  Tomorrow’s the d-day for the rehersal.

* Don’t fall for such waste of time…..

*  Welcome, Seven.

*  Is there something wrong? It’s not related to the hacker, is it?

*  You’re not relatives with the prime minister, are you? lololol

*  I will…!

*  I’m sure he’ll manage.

*  I don’t think you have time to chat right now….

*  ….I don’t think it’ll be really helpful even if Yoosung goes to help you.

*  I’m not sure if this is a good idea….

*  Focus on your class. Now.

*  Now, back to your practices.

* A job is meant to be painful

*  I want you to think about how to improve your acting before you come back.

16:37

*  Why did you decline the offer for purchase?

*  ….I think it’s fishy that you declined.

*  Has anyone ever told you that the guilty tends to be talkative?

*  V, why didn’t you invite the prime minister to join the RFA?

*  Jumin, don’t you think that V and Seven…are really suspicious?

*  Considering the weight of the secret burdening V, I think it’s amazing that he’s performing this much as the head

*  Of course you feel complicated. You have too many secrets.

*  …It looks kind of dark.

*  At least there’s no doubt that flower doesn’t belong there…

*  ...I think you should plant the daffodil somewhere else for the sake of the small flowers. They will suffer

*  I think you’re being obsessive, V. I think the daffodil has reached a stage you can’t do anything about it….

* You should give up the daffodil. It will just ruin your garden.

*  No. Rather than throwing away a problem, I think you should try to fix it until the end.

*  Don’t you think we’d get to expect tomorrow because it can’t be predicted?

*  You should give up if you can’t solve it.

*  Come on, they don’t look alike at all.

*  Explain to me later on.

*  Do you honestly think….he really deserves the seat at the top of the RFA?

*  Does he…still miss Rika?

*  Tell him the solid truth!

*  I don’t know.

18:52

* I think he’s trying to run away from reality… It’s kind of irresponsible of him.

*  We should consider our audience’s state even when discussing truth, shouldn’t we….?

*  Uhm….I tend to say truth indirectly, so that I won’t hurt anyone….

*  Don’t you think you’re losing focus? I knew it….

*  Don’t you think you’ll get disappointed in yourself if you ruin this?

* I don’t think being good is always right.

*  Hello!

*  What kind of wine are you drinking?

*  I’ll say. I thought it’s easy.

*  You shouldn’t do that to your family.

*  I think everyone has evil within. You should awaken it, Zen.

*  But Zen would be the master of potrayting good Dr. Zekyll. That’s his area of expertise….

* You’re good-looking. I’m sure you’ll look good with whatever expression.

*  Nope he’s not.

*  lolololol

*  Is it your chief bodyguard?

*  I knew it. You so smart, Jumin.

*  Then tell him to send me an email! I’ll ask him. or I think he’ll just be busy working even if he attends the party…. Let’s just keep him working. (If you want the email)

*  Hard work matters.

*  Jumin, you’re leaving now?

*  Bye –

*  You sure are interested in Jumin a lot.

*  Go practice now.

*  Do your best.

20:49

*  Are you whining to me?

*  Aren’t you gonna work?

*  You don’t even desreve to get excited.

*  Do you even realize what the best really means?

* I wish you’d be different. I think you’re being a parrot here.

*  You’re such a freak.

*  You’re growing more pathetic the more I stay with you.

*  I was talking to be nice to you. But since you say no, I can’t help it.

*  You disappoint me every time….

*  Really? Anything?

*  So you’ll do whatever I tell you to do?

*  Again with the please… I’m getting tired of this.

*  You’re such an airhead. You’re so stupid.

*  Just go away. You’re annoying.

21:21

*  Welcome, Yoosung. Are you done with your classes?

* I don’t think that’s a dream…

*  A bad dream!

*  There’s barely a difference between love and hate.

*  This world is dominated by capitalists… This world is a chose where sentiments cannot last!

*  LOLOLOLOL

*  The sun will rise again tomorrow. As if nothing happened. Proving how small our troubles are….

*  Zen…are you sure you’ll find Yoosung helpful?

*  White is your responsibility. I don’t understand why you’d ask for help.

*  But beauty is something you’re born with…

*  That’s right… No one can dare to match your beauty, Zen.

*  But you should prepare for your future.

*  Zen, admit that you’re not good enough!

*  Narcissism doesn’t work with Yoosung the Sentimental.

*  Nope you can’t help him.

*  …This is tricky. Group project is another name for a little hell….

*  You’re doomed…

*  Are you gonna take this opportunity to master math?

*  Then I think he’ll know a lot of math tricks useful in real life lol

*  Oh! That’s good!

*  Sure. I think I want to ask him something about math. or I don’t know. I think he’ll be busy trying to hunt for clients at the party… (If you want the email)

*  Are you sure you enrolled in ones absolutely necessary?

*  You’re a perfect husband material…!

*  I think it’s because he didn’t get enough practice.

*  Zen do you think you can count on Yoosung’s advice…?

*  Make sure you don’t waste time…

*  You think that can chance anything…?

*  So there goes your sleep for the night.

Visual Novel #1:

* Who is it?

* (Open the door and check what’s outside)

* This is creepy. I hate someone like you

* I don’t need this. You should work If you have time to do this

* Why are you crying?

* Where are you going!?

23:19

*  Are you done with work?

*  Great work!!

*  Zen and Yoosung would be practicing, so other than those two… Probably…?

*  I think it’s better for him to do it alone…

*  You’re here? Don’t tell me the hacker’s loafing around…

*  So the fight isn’t over yet… I wish it’d be over quickly.

*  I think the hacker is being lazy.

*  I’m sorry I confused you a little here.

*  If this is something illegal, I’m reporting it.

*  And that hacker couldn’t beat you…? I think he’s no big deal.

*  Do you like cars that much?

*  …I knew it. You’re always up to something fishy.

*  You’re kind of weird. Seven, but since you’re talented…I’ll give you a pass.

*  I don’t think you have time to collect cars if you want to keep breathing.

*  …But having a suspicious job isn’t a good thing. I think you shouldn’t let others know.

*  I don’t know. That depends on how hard the hacker works…

*  A true love’s kiss?

*  You just won’t stop, will you…?

*  Seven…

*  This is reality…Don’t get your hopes too high.

*  I’d like to know who’d win!

*  Peace will only come after endless work.

*  Goodbye.

Visual Novel #2:

* (Go outside)

* My savior... Weren’t you going somewhere?

* I don’t like that face of yours

* This is boring now

>> BAD ENDING STORY 1 <<

________________________________________________________________

Ray Bad Relationship Ending 1:

1. Get into Ray’s route from 1 - 4 days in Another story

2. Don’t participate in the chatrooms from 5 - 6 days

Visual Novel #1 - Day 6 after chatroom at 21 : 21

* (Opens the door)

* Come in, Ray

* Thank you, Ray

* Ray

* Where are you going!?

Don’t participate in the last chatroom at 23 : 19 and unlock the branch.

Visual Novel #2:

* (Go outside)

* Who is it?

* Where is Ray?

>> BAD RELATIONSHIP STORY 1 <<

[amnewsfeed]

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[artificialqueens]

Sharp Nails And A Sharper Tongue (Biadore) - Albatross

AN: An idle comment leads Adore to becoming a regular at Alaska’s favorite salon and very quickly Adore comes to understand exactly Alaska returns to the same technician every month.

So I know I talk a lot about what I’m planning with future works and as of late it seems (to me) like what I post doesn’t always match what I announced previously…A lot of that quite honestly has to do with various stressors from my job sapping away my motivation to work on certain stories. I have a lot of ideas that I want to create (some old, some new) but right now I’m struggling with having very little motivation to do so. And it seems like I create a fair amount of extra stress for myself by trying to stick to a writing schedule…So I’m gonna try something a little different; even though I want to work on some of my older ideas first since they’d been on my to-do list for awhile, I think I’m just gonna follow where my inspiration takes me at the moment. So the Trixya date is going to take a bit more time to be posted but I am starting to work on it and as for the next piece I’ll be actively working on, I’m pretty sure its gonna be the magical girl AU (which will have chapters dedicated to Ravjila, Shalaska, Witney, probably Biadore, and definitely hints of Dela x Jinkx but maybe not a whole chapter unless I can come up with more ideas for them). Rajalaskam is also one that I’m thinking of picking up again in the very near future because I have almost everything mapped out just not written down yet. I’m hoping that writing that one goes quickly since I’ve spent so much time prepping the plot points already. Thanks to everyone being so patient and supportive while I figure things out!

It started with a simple lazy comment, “I should get my nails done.”

Adore was just coming off her buzz from smoking earlier that afternoon and chanced a look down at said nails. There was embarrassingly little left to be seen of the previous polish she used; just a few patches of a hideous pastel green that had been all that she could find the last time she felt the urge to paint them. It was just an idle thought, one she wasn’t even sure why she vocalized but it instantly sparked the interest of her last remaining companion from that day’s smoke session.

Most everyone else had left over an hour ago at this point, save for Alaska. Part of their routine was that once they were alone, one of them would supply an extra joint of whatever new strain caught their eye that week. Then they’d enjoy the blunt in peace, chatting the day away while they decided on additional plans for that night, mostly revolving around food options. It was a good routine since they hardly got a chance to spend one-on-one time anymore.

But that one single sentence brought Alaska back to life and immediately she was recommending the salon where she gets her own nails done at. Adore hadn’t really planned to actually move forward with her idea but seeing the sudden burst of enthusiasm on her friend’s face was slowly convincing her…and if she didn’t go at least once Alaska probably would give her no rest until she finally made an appointment…or if Adore dared to tell that she wasn’t being entirely serious in her statement that could produce one of Alaska’s trademark pouts. It was fine when said pout was directed at another person but Alaska had no problem turning it on Adore if there was something she wanted the younger woman to do with or for her.

The blonde was an expert at getting her way after all. It usually meant a good time for everyone involved but she was becoming just a little too skilled with the emotional manipulation for Adore’s liking…especially since it often times meant that she was to be forced out of lazy afternoon or a chance to sleep in as of late. Alaska liked to be active and loved to drag her friends along for the ride, no matter how much they just wanted to veg out on the couch and watch bad TV.

Pushing those thoughts out of her head, Adore refocused herself on Alaska’s fervent reviews of all of the nail technicians at her salon of choice. Though she listed each one’s areas of strengths and drawbacks, Adore couldn’t help but noticed she had yet to mention one particular worker she was fond of.

“What about the one that does your nails?” she asked with her brow arching ever so slightly.

“Bianca?” Alaska questioned in shock. “Well, yeah, she’s there, too. But…”

“‘But?’” Adore inquired, now fully intrigued by Alaska’s reluctance to recommend her favorite technician.

“She’s good, great even. God, she’s probably one of the best I’ve ever had-”

Again Adore repeated, “But?”

“But she’s not always the most…friendly. Like after awhile when she starts talking, she’s really funny but she can also be just…really fucking rude sometimes,” the blonde stated in entirely blunt manner.

Alaska’s honest review had certainly piqued Adore’s curiosity and immediately she was prodding her friend for more information. Nervously scratching the back of her head, Alaska admitted, “It took a couple months before she was okay with me. She never really said much, always just quiet and professional but once she’s comfortable with you and starts talking back…her comments can get really pointed and harsh. A lot of it is just directed at random things at the salon but sometimes…she does talk about other people.”

It was no surprise to Adore’s mind that Alaska would be uncomfortable if the topic flipped to real people, possibly even ones she knows. She never really was one to want to listen to gossip. Adore however, loved to hear it all, even if she never repeated it…at least while sober. Drunk or tipsy Adore could not always be trusted with such information. But at a salon there was little chance of getting a drink any stronger than cheap coffee.

Continuing on, Alaska twiddled with a lock of her hair as she admitted, “She might not be the best choice for your first time there…Maybe start with Alyssa or Latrice, they love to talk! You’d really like them.”

Unconvinced, Adore plastered a teasing smirk on her lips and assured her friend, “I think I can handle Bianca if you can. The appointment’s only what? Like half an hour? I’ll be fine.”

******

Approximately 40 minutes after her arrival at the shop, Adore was forced to admit to herself that she was not fine…far from it. Alaska’s warnings had been right on the money but the brunette felt like she still hadn’t been adequately prepared for what Bianca was actually like. Quiet for the most part, yes. However, Alaska conveniently seemed to forget to mention the constant look of silent judging that had begun from practically the moment she first saw Adore.

The technician seemed to be expecting someone older, more put together as Adore was led to Bianca’s station by the receptionist. The look on Bianca’s face did nothing to hide her near disappointment with her new client. She almost looked completely fed up or exasperated by the young millennial that had specifically asked for her. And then the second she got a look at Adore’s nails?

The young brunette could have sworn she heard the older woman muttering a short prayer. Something along the lines of ‘Lord, give me patience.’

Adore wasn’t sure at the time what issue Bianca could have had with her nails. She removed the old polish after all. Wasn’t that what she was supposed to do?

It was only after confiding in Alaska about the judgemental stare that she was provided some insight. The blonde’s eyes darted to Adore’s newly manicured nails and instantly a knowing smirk found its way to her lips. In a plain, sympathetic voice she informed the younger woman, “It’s because you bite your nails. Bianca hates that.”

But all that knowledge would be revealed much later. For now Adore was shifting uncomfortably in her seat, something Bianca certainly did not appreciate. The young woman felt torn between constantly apologizing and wanting to yell at the technician for making her feel so inadequate. In the end she was able to relieve some of the stress by biting her lip as she focused on Bianca’s work.

It was fascinating, she had to admit. Alaska hadn’t been joking when she said Bianca was one of the best and not just within the shop. Her movements were so precise, so well-practiced. There wasn’t a mistake to be seen and of course, she was much faster than Adore expected someone so concerned with quality to be. She made it all look so effortless though Adore could easily recognize how much care and detail went into the finished result.

Bianca’s behavior aside, she loved the work the technician had put in and she had to confess; her nails never looked better. Bianca had more than earned Alaska’s praise and the hefty tip Adore was intending to leave. Once the final coat of paint was dried Adore couldn’t help but to grin down at her nails. She absolutely loved what she saw, from the filed tips right to the glossy shade of violet she chose. Turning her eyes up to the technician as she began to clean up, Adore shot off a bright smile and murmured a sincere, “Thanks!”

Bianca looked stunned for about half a second, blinking in something almost akin to confusion before quickly regaining her composure. She returned a small grin of her own and muttered, “Anytime,” before swiftly returning to preparing her station for the next client.

Something about the behavior warmed Adore’s heart and she couldn’t help but think that maybe Bianca wasn’t as much of a hard-ass as she first thought. But reality soon set in and she knew she shouldn’t dawdle any longer than necessary unless she truly wanted to annoy Bianca again. So she simply left her tip at the corner of Bianca’s table and took her leave to the receptionist’s desk to pay for the rest of the service.

That night as she showed off her newly painted nails to Alaska, the blonde asked her a surprising question; one she hadn’t really considered yet that day.

“You gonna go back?”

“Yeah,” she mused with a lazy grin as she admired her nails, “I think I will.”

*******

About a month passed between appointments until the gaps between the edge of the polish and Adore’s nail beds were quite visible. Hardly a second thought ran through her mind as she called the salon to book her next visit. After answering the usual questions of ‘Have you been here before?’, 'What day and time were you thinking of coming in?’, and 'What are you looking to get done?’, the receiptist asked one final question that left Adore’s heart racing just a bit too much for her taste; “Who would you like to see?”

There was a slight pause before Adore affirmed, “Bianca.”

Less than a minute later she was on the books for an appointment on Thursday afternoon with the salon’s premier temperamental technician. The day of she was left anxiously fiddling with her hair in the waiting area until the receptionist was ready to guide her back to the work stations. She hadn’t really expected Bianca to remember her, not when she was still just a newcomer and Bianca already had so many other clients, but the look of mild surprise once she saw Adore did please her more than she would have suspected. There was just a tinge of relief in her voice as she noted in a somewhat abrupt manner, “You’re back.”

“You do good work,” Adore replied politely as she took her seat.

The small proud smile Bianca wore confirmed that that was probably the best answer Adore could have given. The technician nodded her head as thanks and instructed the young brunette to pick out her next shade. Settling on a deep red, Adore handed over the bottle of polish and the two quickly fell back into their new routine. This time around Adore felt more at ease with Bianca, enough that her fidgeting had died down considerably. She didn’t quite dare to try to make small talk but the silence was still comfortable enough for her. Watching Bianca work was its own form of entertainment and if the technician didn’t feel comfortable speaking just yet she wouldn’t force it.

However by the next appointment Adore’s curiosity couldn’t be withheld any longer and she made the first of a few cautious inquiries to the older woman. She began with a simple, “How long have you been doing this?”

“Eight years next month,” came the blunt reply.

That was probably the most they had spoken thus far but it wouldn’t be the last.

With every new visit Adore would ask one more question than she had during her previous appointment. Each time Bianca would answer with an unexpected amount of patience but after Adore had worked her way up to five inquires in one day, the technician finally relented and began asking questions of her own as well.

After only two more visits, they left the standard small talk aside and began discussing things of actual interest to them. By this time Adore could see that Alaska’s assessment of Bianca was right on the money; she could be quite sarcastic, pretty much to the point of being rude but it was in a manner that was usually quite hilarious. Her deadpan or off-color comments typically left Adore cracking up until the older woman was silently glaring at her so she’d sit still. It was too bad that the glares eventually stopped working on the brunette all together. After awhile she would shoot back a baiting smirk almost as if she was daring the older woman with the old classic of 'Make me.’

More than once Bianca would arch her brow at the challenge but within seconds Adore would give in and allow Bianca to continue her work uninterrupted. She had to admit, she liked the fact that Bianca wasn’t inclined to go easy on her; if Adore was acting like a brat, Bianca had no problem letting her know. She would however, make it a point to follow up her teasing with a small smile just to reassure the young woman that she was only joking.

Over time Adore found herself admitting that she’d never thought she’d like Bianca as much as she did. Her now scheduled monthly visits soon became the highlight of her week, especially since the technician had actually taken to coming out to get her from the waiting room in person. It was quite a shock the first time it happened but Adore didn’t dare to comment on it, either to Bianca nor even to Alaska. In all the time she had been coming to the salon, she never saw any of the technicians escorting their clients to their work station; it was always the receptionist that would lead them there. But then again Bianca always did seem to be one to march to the beat of her own drum, as evidenced by the fact that she never really seemed inclined to act overly friendly like the other employees of the shop. She was talented and she knew it. She had more than enough returning customers that the managers of shop seemed content to simply let her do as she pleased so long as she continued to turn them a profit.

But still that extra effort made Adore feel special and even sharing it with Alaska would almost taint that so for now she left as her own little secret. Try as she might though, she often couldn’t stop herself from gushing over how her latest appointment went. For her part the older blonde listened patiently with an amused smile and a knowing glint in her eyes. The most she would usually say on the matter was a pleased, “I’m glad you like her.”

And like her, Adore certainly did. She wouldn’t trade her appointments for anything.

Things continued on this way until about midway through one of their usual chats Bianca suddenly asked, “What made you decide to come here in the first place?”

Of course even after knowing her for only a few months now, Adore knew she meant 'Why did you pick me?’

A considering smile grew across her lips as she recalled the smoke session and careless comment that led to her becoming a regular at the salon until she finally answered with a simple statement of, “You came highly recommended.”

Bianca let out a scoff of disbelief as she continued her work and waited silently until Adore was willing to provide further elaboration. In true Adore fashion, her secretiveness only lasted about 40 seconds before she followed up with, “Seriously though, you did come recommended…kind of. Alaska always raves your work whenever she-”

“Alaska?” Bianca interrupted in confusion. It wasn’t often that she could remember her client’s names but she felt certain a unique one like that would have stuck out more.

“Tall?” Adore described, “Really toned but kinda clumsy sometimes? Smiles and laughs a lot and…um, long blonde-”

“Wait…” Bianca mused as she paused in her work for a second. The name and description was starting to ring a bell until finally a hazy image began to form in her mind. A brief look of exasperation and defeat passed across the technician’s face as she questioned, “Was she the one that always had me gluing random shit to her nails?”

“That’s her!” the brunette confirmed with a proud smile.

“Oh, my god!” Bianca muttered with an eye roll. “I can’t tell you how relieved I was when she finally stopped asking for that bullshit…I ran out ideas one time and just used leftovers from the other kits we had lying around…And she still loved it!”

“No accounting for taste,” Adore agreed with an affectionate smile despite the light jab at her friend.

Grumbling, Bianca added in as she resumed her work, “I don’t know how she managed to do anything with all that shit hanging off her nails. I’ve seen her once or twice with her hair tangled in everything before she was even out the door! My god, I don’t even want to imagine what those nails would feel like running across your skin.”

A shiver passed through the technician as she remembered all of the times her clients had accidentally scratched her as she worked on their manicures even when they weren’t stiletto-sized like Alaska’s. It wasn’t usually a pleasant experience but still one that happened all too frequently with her job. Just another occupational hazard.

“Yeah,” Adore drawled out with a reminiscent grin as all of Alaska’s mishaps with her nails played on a loop in her mind. Remembering a past conversation with Alaska’s girlfriend, she threw in a careless comment of “Well, lucky for her, she’s a bit of a pillow princess in bed…But at least she’s up to try pretty much anything so long as it won’t mess her nails though.”

There was immediate pause on Bianca’s part as the words fell from Adore’s lips. Her fingers wrapped around Adore’s hand were trembling noticeably for a few seconds until Bianca was able to get a hold of herself. Casting her eyes back to her work, she let out a near emotionless utterance of “Oh.”

Following that comment a clear wave of tension filled the room and neither woman dared to speak much for the remainder of the appointment. Not that Adore didn’t try but after a few attempts to restart the conversation were met with blunt and even borderline harsh responses, she soon gave up and felt a growing cloud of misery hanging over her. She wasn’t sure what caused the sudden change in Bianca’s behavior nor how she should apologize for it so she just kept quiet. It was the first time in months that they had spent more than ten minutes without exchanging some kind of conversation with one another.

In an unceremoniously abrupt ending, Bianca finished her work and instantly began cleaning her station for the next customer. Over the last few visits she had made it a point to wait until Adore had left so they they might talk for a few additional minutes but today she seemed to have no interest in encouraging the brunette to stay any longer than necessary. The actions hurt Adore more than she thought it should have but she couldn’t bring herself to try and speak to Bianca again, apart from thanking her for another job well done.

As usual she left her tip at the corner of Bianca’s station and slunk out to the front of the shop to pay for the remainder of the service. When asked if she wanted to set up her next appointment awhile, she faltered for just a moment before ultimately deciding to schedule ahead as she would normally. Perhaps by her next visit Bianca would be back to her usual self and this whole thing would blow over like nothing had ever happened…

*******

For the first time since Adore had begun visiting the shop, she hadn’t gossiped about her appointment with Alaska once she got home. She didn’t want to dwell on the awkward end to her visit and Alaska seemed to sense that something had not gone quite right between Adore and her technician. Though the brunette could tell Alaska wanted to try to help, Adore just wasn’t sure how to even explain what had happened or why it left her feeling so miserable. But to her gratitude, Alaska didn’t push the subject, she simply reassured Adore that if she wanted to vent, she’d be there to listen.

Adore thanked her as she always would have but deep down she knew she had no intention of discussing the visit’s events with anyone…at least not until Alaska came back from her latest appointment with a worried look on her face. When she showed up unexpectedly at Adore’s apartment, it was easy to see that she was upset by how her appointment had progressed but mostly she was just incredibly confused by everything. Adore had known well ahead of time about Alaska’s upcoming visit and debated giving her some kind of warning but ultimately she had decided against it. Part of her reasoned that Bianca was a professional and whatever issue was happening between the two of them wouldn’t carry over to another client…seems she was quite mistaken with that thought.

Completely ignoring all sense of tact and subtlety, Alaska asked point blank what had happened between the pair the last time they saw each other. Adore was somewhat coy with her answer, still not fully understanding why there was a sudden 180 to Bianca’s behavior but she still remained convinced that whatever it was had pretty much been entirely her fault…and no trace of her wanted to admit that to Alaska nor did she want to repeat the comment she had made that had probably caused this whole mess. All the same she still felt awful that her stupid mistake was now affecting Bianca and Alaska’s working relationship.

Very cautiously, Adore inquired if Bianca had said anything directly to Alaska that might provide some kind of insight as to why she suddenly became so irritated with both of them rather than just Adore. To her disappointment, Alaska only gave a distressed reply of “No, she…she just seemed angry and cold and quiet the whole time…she hasn’t been like that with me for years. I don’t what changed or why.”

Whatever it was, Adore knew she had to apologize, at least for Alaska’s sake. If she wanted to, she could always find another technician or even another shop for her manicure but Alaska loved that salon and their employees far more than Adore did. The very last thing the brunette wanted to do was make Alaska’s presence in the shop awkward or uncomfortable because she had done something careless that offended one of the technicians.

Almost immediately after Alaska left her apartment to mull over her troubling visit, Adore called the salon to reschedule her appointment. It had barely been two weeks since she was last there but she needed some excuse to see Bianca and speak with her. The fact that she was a regular did help the rescheduling process. Normally the receptionist probably would have been less accommodating but upon seeing the familiar name pop up, she was quite willing to move the appointment to the next available time slot. Granted it was much earlier in the day than Adore usually liked to wake up but if she could fix things for Alaska and maybe even herself, it’d be more than worth it.

********

Only three days later, Adore arrived at the shop for one of the very first appointments of the day. As she waited for her turn she held a small hope that Bianca would come out to greet her like she’d done in the past but unfortunately it was the receptionist that led her to Bianca’s station. Adore tried to not let her expression show just how unhappy she was at the small gesture, or rather lack of on Bianca’s part, and quietly took her seat across from the technician.

Instead of their usual warm exchange of greetings, Bianca coldly asked her to pick her shade from the selection of polish. It hardly mattered to Adore what color she’d wear for the next month so merely chose whichever caught her eye first. Wordlessly, Bianca began her work and the only sound filling the room for the longest time was the light pop music playing across the speakers and the dull chatter from other technicians as they waited for their own clients to arrive.

Despite how much she ached inside to apologize, Adore just couldn’t bring herself to vocalize any actual words. It all felt so clumsy and insincere whenever she tried to think of a segue into the discussion she longed to start. She wished she had prepared herself more for this because now it felt like she had just made everything worse somehow. She was all but biting her lip as she searched her mind for something, just anything to say.

Every so often Bianca’s eyes would drift from her work and up to meet Adore’s own worried ones. The contact would barely last a second but there was a growing look of guilt on Bianca’s face with each new glance. A near silent sigh escaped her, as she mentioned in defeat, “You stopped biting your nails.”

Absently Adore nodded her head, thankful that some kind of conversation had begun, and confirmed in a small voice, “Yeah…Alaska said that you hated when people do that.”

At once Bianca’s hardened expression returned and very clearly she was biting the interior of her lip to keep herself from spitting out some scathing remark. She quickly huddled in on herself in a mock attempt at looking as though she were concentrating on her task but it was obvious that the last place she wanted to be right now was across from Adore.

The brunette’s throat constricted as she realized almost immediately that even mentioning Alaska’s name was probably one of the worst things she could have done at that point. She had to actively fight against her instincts of pulling back her hand and just ending the appointment then and there. A familiar burning sensation was beginning to prick at the corner of her eyes but she forced herself to stay put. She needed to do this, she reasserted to herself. If she chickened out now, she’d probably never be able to face Bianca again…and even if she failed, at least she would know she tried…

Her voice came out weak and hesitant in a manner almost unknown to her as she called out, “Um…hey…Bianca?”

With a stony expression, Bianca stopped her work and looked up at the young woman with something just short of a glare in her eyes. Adore’s tongue felt heavy and dry as she pushed herself to apologize, “Listen, I’m really sorry for what I said last time…That had really crossed a line…”

Bianca let out a sarcastic noise of agreement and returned to finish her job but immediately her hands paused once again as she heard Adore’s shameful confession of, “I was trying to be funny and repeated what her girlfriend told me but-”

“Girlfriend?” she interrupted in an abrupt and unexpected state of confusion. Her brows furrowed together as she said reproachfully, “I thought you were her-”

“What? No!” Adore squeaked out as her eyes grew wide and shocked in response to Bianca’s assumptions. She could feel her face beginning to heat up even as she declared firmly, “We’re just friends, we-you!”

A moment of pure clarity finally struck Adore and even more so she felt her cheeks beginning to burn. A smile that seemed caught somewhere between ecstatic and relieved stretched across her lips as she almost shouted in realization, “That’s why you were acting so bitchy, wasn’t it? You were-”

For the first time Adore could recall, a blush rose to Bianca’s cheeks as she hastily denied, “No, I wasn’t.”

Entirely unconvinced, Adore allowed herself to be consumed by a sense of overwhelming joy as she argued excitedly with the technician, “You were! You were totally jealous!”

“Fuck off, I was not,” Bianca rebutted defensively as all sense of professionalism and decorum seemed to be thrown out the window. She couldn’t even pretend that she could look Adore in the eye at the moment and instead ordered her client, “Shut up and let me finish your nails.”

Settling down somewhat, Adore didn’t even try to hide the victorious smirk that had overtaken her face as she remarked with sense of pride and finality, “You were jealous.”

Bianca spent the remainder of the appointment annoyed and practically grumbling as she tried to will away the unwanted color that had spread across her cheeks. Adore herself sat smug but thankfully silent as Bianca sped through the remainder of her work as though her life depended on it. Every time Bianca dared to look up, she found Adore already watching her with a disgustingly satisfied and overly confident glint in her eyes.

Once her client’s nails were finally dried, Bianca immediately recused herself to the employee break room. The other technicians’ eyes wandered closely after her but none dared to actually follow her beyond the doorway. Adore for one was far from offended, she actually found it somewhat adorable that a woman who typically seemed so composed and in control of herself had to rush off in embarrassment while her face cooled down. There was something charmingly vulnerable about the behavior, particularly now that she finally understood why Bianca had acted so moodily during Adore and Alaska’s last visits.

Snatching up one of Bianca’s pens and business cards from her station, Adore wrote a short note on the back of the card and left it laying in a painfully obvious position on top of her tip. She still wore a smirk as she paid for the service at the front desk and scheduled her next appointment for the following month. As much as she wanted to proudly shout it from the rooftop she bit back any vocalization indicating that she was sure she’d be seeing the technician again much sooner than that.

Almost as if to prove her point, nearly the second she entered her car, she felt her phone vibrating with a new alert. The message was blank and originated from a number not yet saved in her phone but Adore had little doubt as to who just contacted her. A wide grin that she couldn’t even try to contain broke out across her lips as she typed back, 'Hey, B.’

A mere 5 seconds passed before a second alert popped up on her screen, 'You said to text to you.’

Adore rolled her eyes as she quickly replied, 'Yeah, but it looks like you forgot the text part in that first message.’

'Cocky little brat,’ swiftly populated in the newest text bubble but only a second after Adore began chuckling at the light jab, a fourth message came through; one that erased any sort of smart-ass remark she was inclined to type back, 'My shift ends at 6…Want to get something to eat after that?’

Adore’s confirmation was sent back almost immediately and as she waited for further details from the temperamental technician, Adore found herself thinking that more than any other appointment she had with Bianca in the past; this upcoming one was undoubtedly the one she was looking forward to the most.

[douxreviews]

American Gods - ‘Muninn' Review

"Burn, baby, burn."

American Gods mostly gets its groove back after last week's misfire, Wednesday and Laura go on a literal trip down memory lane, and New Media finally makes an appearance.

Billie is not going to be OK with what happens to the library, however.

Interestingly, after my complaint last week about missing the Bryan Fuller signature soundscapes and dreamscape imagery, we open with exactly that. To be fair, that was probably largely due to avoiding the cost and logistics of actually showing a train derail after hitting a car on the tracks. Disorienting yet suggestive imagery combined with an off putting soundscape tell the story of a train v. car collision just as well and are much, much cheaper.

Whatever the reason, it was nice to have them back. It's interesting however, to note that there were several instances where the stylized camera work made it difficult to follow what was actually happening. For example, it wasn't entirely clear what was going on when Betty the Car reformed herself post accident. Were they reversing the footage of the car being crushed as a way to indicate the fractured way one of the characters present experienced that moment of the accident? Was it a visual metaphor? A dream someone involved in the crash was having? No, apparently the car was literally reforming itself, as it was sitting there good as new a few shots later. Another instance was when the scene transitioned from Shadow looking out of it in the wreckage to Shadow walking through some trees in daylight. All of the visual language of television was indicating that we'd transitioned to a dream Shadow was having, but we weren't, we'd just cut to later in the day when he'd gotten out of the wreckage and that hadn't been communicated to the viewer in a clear way.

Honestly, the whole immediate aftermath of the crash sequence just made you realize how good Fuller is at that sort of thing, because I can't think of a single occasion where he's used that same distorted imagery technique and it resulted in the action being unclear. At least, not in a way that didn't feel one hundred percent deliberate.

So, after last week's absolutely delightful pairing of Sweeney and Laura, this week we get Laura paired with Wednesday which worked much better than I was expecting it to do. It seemed odd at first that Laura would reject Sweeney and choose to go with Wednesday instead, particularly as she knows that Wednesday basically destroyed her entire life just to get her out of the way. She and Sweeney clearly were really connecting last episode, so turning on him for picking up her body parts off the road seemed like a forced way for the show to separate them. Then I thought about it for a minute and remembered that sabotaging her relationships with people that care about her is pretty much Laura's entire character description. Viewed with that in mind, the whole sequence of events makes perfect sense. It would have been nice if the show had made that point a little clearer. I hate to criticize a show for giving the viewers too much credit for figuring things out on their own, but in this case they could have stood to underline her motivations a little more.

Ah, Mad Sweeney. Pablo Schreiber continues to be the show's standout, and is more so every week. Thank god(s) that they kept both him and Laura around past their appearances in the novel and that they continue to give both of them so much to do. Hypocritically, I also feel like they probably should have cut Sweeney out of this episode after they left the funeral home, as all we really got of him were comic relief bits showing his bad luck road trip to New Orleans. But then, if they'd cut him out we'd never have seen the look on his face when he realizes that he's been 'rescued' by a Christian rock band, and nothing is worth that.

The thing that this episode felt like more than anything was a series of videogame side quests. Now, I'm not a gamer myself. I have an inherited tremor which makes trying to use a game controller kind of a pain in the ass. But my understanding of the whole side quest thing is that at various points in the game you have to stop working toward the main goal of the game, whatever that may be, and instead fulfill a little side mission, or earn some money, or solve a puzzle or something. That's what this episode felt like to me.

Taking the side quests in order, Laura and Wednesday head off to find another old god that has allowed himself to be co-opted by the new gods because Wednesday wants to kill him and somehow doing that will 'recharge' the coin in Laura's chest that's keeping her alive and making her superstrong. Again we continue this episode's theme of not explaining things properly, as it's never really made clear why killing Argus will do that, plus we're all pretty sure that Wednesday is lying to Laura the whole time anyway, which it turns out he is but the coin recharge thing still works anyway because reasons. Having accomplished that, Wednesday immediately betrays Laura and leaves her stuck in whatever Argus' realm is supposed to be. It might possibly be a TARDIS, there were some very distinctive roundels in that last hallway.

Great job with the design of Argus, by the way. This is our first god that we've seen who doesn't look like a standard human to us as his standard desktop theme and they did a great job making all of the eyes look real and disturbing. The fiber optic cable bundles that writhed like serpents were also a nice look. I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like it.

Technical Boy and New Media are also on their way to see Argus, because Mr. World wants them to... um... scold him for not updating his Norton Antivirus or something, possibly? Again, it's not entirely clear what they're there to do. You might be seeing a theme here. Similarly vague are New Media's actions with Argus. Was she actually betraying Mr. World to join an alliance with Argus? It would make sense, as he represents watching and she represents being watched, but if that's the case shouldn't Technical Boy have reacted in some way to that development? Instead he just politely stands back and doesn't stop Laura from killing Argus, then he and New Media leave without even mentioning it. And I've been remiss in mentioning it, but Bruce Langley really deserves a lot of praise for his work on this show. It's hard to play a character that irritating in a way that isn't irritating to the people watching at home, and he pulls it off.

Then we have Ifrit and Salim, who head to the corn palace to pick up a magic spear, as you do. Instead of the corn palace, they end up at a strip club called the Porn Palace, whose neon sign has a faulty first 'P,' making it appear to be a 'C' at first glance. That was a cute reveal. There they pick up the spear with no incident from a Lakota trickster god named Iktomi, who was played by the always wonderful Julian Richings, who many will remember as being the definitive Death over on Supernatural. This plotline felt the most perfunctory, and probably could have been replaced with a line of dialog later on down the line, but it's always nice to see Mr. Richings.

Lastly we have Shadow and his new friend Sam Black Crow, who gives him a lift to the storyline's next destination. Again, not a lot happens here and Sam feels very much like a mouthpiece for the writing staff to muse about things philosophically, but it works. Mostly because Devery Jacobs has an indefinable charm about her, but also because it opens up the concept of Two Spirit gender identification, which more people should know more about.

Quotes:

Wednesday: "Ah, Mrs. Moon. Did we sit on a wall?"

Mad Sweeney: "You just gonna lie there, let nature have her way with you?"

Laura: "Are you eating me?"

Sweeney: "Coward? I saved you." Laura: "I’m dead, coward." Sweeney: "Well, you’re welcome for picking up all your gory little f**king pieces up off the road."

Ibis: "The advantage of love at first sight is it doesn’t require a second look."

Technical Boy: "How the f**k is that an upgrade?" This felt like the writers pre-empting complaints about New Media. It probably was intended as such.

Wednesday: "So, you’re working on faith, huh?" Laura: "I definitely wouldn’t use that word."

Sam: "You ever hear of the Crow nation warrior named ‘Finds Them and Kills Them’?" Shadow: "No, but he sounds very efficient."

Laura: "Please. Tell me more about what I want."

Wednesday: "What’s the worst thing you can do to a book?" Laura: "Um.. Ignore it..?"

There are not words for how much I love the Hello Kitty collar on this shirt.

Bits and Pieces:

-- It's awfully convenient that Laura was literally blown to pieces in the train crash and Shadow only got a little bruised. But then, her body is actively decaying, so I supposed she'd be more explodable.

-- I know I'm fighting a losing battle here, but I have to say it again. A lit cigarette will not ignite fuel, no matter how many TV shows and movies show it happening. It will either be smothered by the liquid before it gets anywhere near generating enough heat for combustion, which doesn't happen in the liquid but happens in the off-gasses, or it will smolder until it burns out unless by some miracle the off-gassing reaches LEL (Lowest Explosive Level) before that happens. Please stop.

-- You could, however, use a lit cigarette to start a fire in a library full of parchment. It would take a little effort, but you could do it. But despite having a lit cigarette on hand at the time, Laura takes the easy route and uses a match.

-- It seems that Sweeney's bad luck only hits him when he's not around Laura, which sort of makes sense since he's also near his coin at those times.

-- It's interesting that Sweeney is still heading to New Orleans to see someone who I presume is Baron Samedi, since he was only going there to help Laura and she's not with him anymore. That's sweet. I hope he's the one who rescues her from Argus' domain.

-- Sweeney seemed genuinely hurt when Laura chose to go with Wednesday instead of him. I'm 'shipping those two so hard.

-- Argus isn't in the book, nor are any of the Greek Gods. Neil stated that he decided against featuring any of them since they get used so much more often in popular culture.

-- New Media just isn't working for me yet, although I know it's way too early to judge. I miss Gillian Anderson's celebrity impressions.

-- Laura's dad was a drunk. Now we know why he wasn't at the wedding. No word on if he's dead or alive.

-- I wonder what Wednesday is going to need the seedling for?

I know I'm sounding like I didn't enjoy much about this episode, but that's really not true. There was a lot of good stuff here, and many, many little details that show that someone was really putting their heart into it. I just wish that some of the storytelling had been a little clearer.

Three out of four creepy eyeballs.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water

[etudaire]

A big bang of “how to” stuff

There I was again tonight forcing laughter faking smiles so I made up this long ass post for y'all!

So you a potato. Me a potato. World conquered by we potatoes. But potato need survival tips. So your brotato (get it? Bro potato?) help you out. Yay potato. Go go potato.

Study related stuff :

1. Get good grades

Catch concepts, not chapters. Your portion is most likely gonna be super vast, so it’s helpful to know a little something from every chapter rather than knowing just 50% of your syllabus.

Figure out which concepts are important and master them.

Keep all assignments completed at least 1 day before submission date. This isn’t always possible but trust me if you do this you’re guaranteeing marks for proper submission. Job done early? Proof check and add touches to enhance that essay!

Let the teachers know that you’re working hard. I actually passed math because my math teacher knew I was working super hard on my math skills. Participate in the class, gather a bunch of doubts and then dump them on your teacher when the chapter ends.

Try not to miss lectures because chances are you’ll remember that silly mnemonic your friend made up in class and get the answer correct.

Analysis of your exam type is super important. Want me to make a long ass post about it?

2. Be more productive

Having a stuydjo/bujo by your side helps hella lot.

Plan plan plan. Lists, organise lists and colour code them. Basically become Monica Geller Bing and you’re set for life.

Motivational quotes from pinterest almost make me guilty for not being productive and force me to do something.

Before starting your study session, dance around to upbeat music for like 5 minutes. You’ll see the difference I promise.

Seek out inspiration from your smart friends /tumblr friends /people you look up to by constantly reminding yourself about them. I always think of hermione granger because even randomly picturing her with books in my mind ignites that badass boss feeling complying me to study tf up.

3. Manage your time

Studyjo/bujo saves your life.

Wear a watch all the damn time, it will remind you of how much time you’re spending doing nothing. You’ll end up saving several extra minutes!

List out what you’re gonna do every hour of the day on a sticky note and refer to it when you feel lazy.

Get a super nice friend /parent /sibling who will constantly remind you to utilise your time.

Think of time as currency and pretend that it’s all a game where you need to save up as much money as you can to become a billionaire. Save up your time and become rich af.

4. Avoid procrastinating

Stduyjo/bujo again. You know the drill now.

A little bit of exercise before starting work generally works you up and sets the correct mood.

Knowing how ahead your friends are from you often makes you wanna catch up so try getting that motivation.

Set goals + rewards that actually matter to you. Maybe a face care spa day isn’t your thing but munching on a snickers bar is. Treat yo self.

Tell someone a detailed plan of what you are going to accomplish the next day. Now whenever you see that person you’ll want to prove to them that you’re doing what you promised. Or the guilt may drive you too.

Appearance related stuff :

1. Look more put together

Try the lipstick trick. There are days when you do not have the time /want to put on makeup, so just put on a lipstick that matches your outfit and you’ll automatically create an illusion of being more put together, boss af and fabulous.

Try out cheap (potato can’t afford sorry) but elegant accessories. If it’s a necklace try tucking it under the collar of your shirt and see the magic. Stick to one staple accessory that’s gonna be your trademark.

Tame that mane potato. Your hair isn’t gonna detangle itself. You gotta do it. I mean, don’t you love your hair?

Minimalistic colours rock. Some outfits never go old like flannels or white shirts or black dresses.

2. Feel beautiful

The lipstick does the trick for me.

Putting my hair in a sky high ponytail makes me feel like I’m a queen or something.

Save little compliments for yourself as reminders and when you get them you’ll feel 10x more beautiful than before.

Mind related stuff :

1. Deal with burnout/slump

Try to accomplish super tiny stuff. Break down every task into micromolecular basics.

Give yourself a ted talk. It works.

Sometimes the best way of dealing with burnout is by detoxing from the thing that caused burnout. Stay away form books and after some time you’ll actually want to study.

2. Study with slumps/mental illness

Step one is to finish homework /assignments. If you can concentrate on them, you’re good to go.

Do not take up a lot of load, just skimming through textbooks, reviewing notes, going over flashcards should do the trick.

If you desperately need to get shit done, just ignore the fact that you do not want to do it. It’s harsh on your mind but desperate times require desperate measures.

Avoid forcing yourself to study because you’ll not retain info like that.

Take it easy. But consistently. Maybe just one topic a day. But do not miss a day. A steady everyday practice goes long way in the future.

3. Strengthen self control

There are several apps that can help you with this, like forest. My top pick is the Tide app which has a gorgeous interface and super aesthetic timers with new pictures everyday. I shit you not every time I quit my pomodoro I feel the guilt of having killed 1000 puppies its worse and I avoid doing that at all costs.

If you study in your room, keep your phone in the kitchen for some time. Your lazy ass is less likely to get up and use the phone.

Switching the phone off before starting a study session works because I care for my phone like a baby and it feels horrible to switch it on and off and on and off.

Practice 30 minutes of digital detox everyday. You don’t have to study at that time, just stay away from everything that is technology. Read and book, eat a fruit, make a sandwich, paint, sing, dance, exercise. Study if you want. Just no gadgets.

4. Deal with stress

Yoga works. Potato body ain’t that flexible so just breathing exercises for a start is also enough.

Highly recommended : brain dump every night before sleeping can ensure that you’ll not stay up too late pondering over the meaning of your existence and world politics.

Having a hearty talk with someone you trust will also lift weight off your chest.

Pin point the cause of your stress and annihilate the problem. Slay it.

Life related stuff :

1. Drink more water

Carry a cool ass bottle of water with you every frigging where.

Make it a rule to have a drink everytime you go to the loo or you take a bath /shower.

Replace one of your daily caffeines /sugars with water. You don’t have to get rid of coffee because that’s just non potato ish, but maybe that third cup could be replaced with water.

Try a game thingy. Maybe everytime the word ‘procrastination’ pops in your mind take a drink. Wow, I’m so creative *sighs for eternities*.

2. Be more healthy

5 minute stretches right after getting up works you up.

Try one of those YouTube videos of 15 minute workouts. You can have 3 such workouts through the day and call yourself a fit potato.

Replacing one packet of junk food with nuts/fruits also works.

Everytime you hear someone say something related to money, have a banana. Random much? Nope, bananas are known to increase hormones that make you happy in your body, meaning you’ll feel full and happy. Maybe offer the person a banana too.

3. Be more happy

Eat bananas!

Take pictures of things you love, not things your followers love.

Puppies are a source of eternal joy.

Reading goofy/cheesy/romance books make you giggle and feel good in general.

Watching cheesy films or good ass romcoms works just well.

Friends was created for a reason.

Writing down what you accomplished today gives a sense of pride and satisfaction. Take that shit.

Tumblr has shitposts made basically to make you happy.

4. Find your true calling /figuring tf out what you wanna do with your life

Lists lists lists. Subjects you love, you hate, you’re good at, you suck at.

Consulting your teachers, family etc and find out what they think you’re good at. Sometimes other people can see traits of yours better than you.

Career tests rock.

You’ll figure it out in the end somehow.

And that’s about it for now folks, hope this helps. See y'all laterz~

Etudaire ♥

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

The First Purge review

The Purge is such a fascinating series to me in that it goes through the reverse of what you might expect a series to go through. The first film had an interesting concept - a night of legalized crime in which society indulges in its most base desires and goes about murdering - but instead of exploring or even SHOWING us this, instead we get a s0-so home invasion film where a rich white couple fights off masked intruders. Yawn.

But then came the sequels, and with them the director seemed to realize all of the social and political commentary that could be mined from such a subject as the Purge, and by god did they run with it. This is a series that ascended in quality, with the sequels just getting better and better, and while you can debate which film is the best in the series, no one will ever say it’s the first one.

Because of all this, I think I can safely say at this point I love The Purge series. Its lack of subtlety in its social commentary and political criticisms combined with its over-the-top violence and sinister government conspiracies makes me incredibly endeared to it; I think we all too often forget subtlety is not always the best, and in the current political climate I think The Purge series is kinda the hot cup of tea we need to be served. And out of all the movies in the series, The First Purge may be the hottest cup of tea of all.

So you know that criticism the films get, where “Oh, everyone goes out to kill? That’s so unrealistic, people would probably just vandalize or do drugs or whatever, why is it murder?” Well, this movie, in showing the test run for what became the Purge, shows us… exactly that. Despite the government offering money to poor, disenfranchised, and struggling people on Staten Island, the testing grounds for this new system… they record one murder done by a man named Skeletor, who was an insane, frothing-at-the-mouth violent lunatic before any of this. Everyone else? They’re having block parties, fucking in public, or just messing with people. The worst crimes in the early hours are the murders Skeletor commits and some robberies committed by people who were already drug-dealing gangsters. There’s also a creepy guy wearing a crying baby doll on his face who set up a trap so he can grab women and drag them into the sewer so he can grab their pussies, but that’s neither here nor there; the point is, the Purge isn’t doing what the evil political party the New Founding Fathers want. So what do they do? They decide to fudge the results of this test by flying in mercenaries, Klansmen, just real fucking evil and violent people, to massacre the poor so that they can get the numbers up. This isn’t really a spoiler - this is all stuff proudly displayed in the sequels - but seeing how even early on the government twisted a social experiment so they could sell legalized murder of the poor to the public is truly disturbing.

Our heroes are gangster Dmitri, his ex girlfriend and anti-Purge protestor Nya, and her little brother Isaiah who has decided to go out so he can kill Skeletor. Can they survive this night? I mean, we know the Purge is gonna be going on for another couple of decades at least, but will these guys be ok?

So the film is about as subtle as a brick to the face, as I’m sure you can tell from what I described, but I think that’s what makes me say this is the smartest film in the series. Our country NEEDS a lack of subtlety right now. And I think we forget that sometimes a lack of subtlety helps make a compelling narrative; look at American History X, for example. That movie is entirely unsubtle, but it is effective and well done. Now, I’m not saying this film is as good as American History X, but I do think this movie’s lack of subtlety helps it along. Every major character in the film is a minority of some kind - our main characters are all black, and we see Asians, Latinos, even an older gay couple. Pretty much everyone in this film is struggling or poverty-stricken. And the villains? An evil group of sadistic government assholes who think slaughtering the poor is the best way to help the public, and when people don’t wanna buy into it, they create a false flag operation to sell the idea of legalized killing. There’s really no good white people in this movie, save for, interestingly enough, the woman who came up with the idea of the Purge in the first place. While at first she seems as evil and politically motivated as any other person working for the NFFA, as soon as she notices things getting ultra violent she becomes suspicious and finds out her test’s data is being fudged by mercs being flown in to kill the poor. She gets shipped off to Staten Island and killed for her trouble. Like I said, UNSUBTLE. But it is pretty effective.

The most fascinating character in this film is probably Skeletor, an absolutely insane black man who signed up for this night so he could get paid for indiscriminately killing people. He’s the kind of utterly fanatical murderer you’d expect from this series, and his actor Rotimi Paul steals every single scene he’s in. It makes it all the more of a letdown when he doesn’t get the honor of a final fight with the protagonists, despite being set up as a major villain, but even his anti-climactic ending is pretty cool as he manages to sneak up on and kill armed soldiers while being nearly naked.

And of course it wouldn’t be a Purge film without a bunch of creeps in masks. We have the baby-doll pussy grabber, we have a creepy rag face guy who just walks down a hallway creepily, we have this insane butcher guy in what looks like a welding mask, and best of all, in the final battle, we have what I can only describe as… a Gimp Nazi. For some more general mooks we also have truckloads of Klansmen as well as some masked cops who beat down a black man in… well do I REALLY need to explain what they’re going for there? Unsubtle, remember. Of course, with all these nasty folk out and about, it becomes extremely cathartic to watch them get stabbed, neck snapped, and gunned down by our heroes. Let me tell you, seeing Klansmen murdered is always a good time.

Honestly, this movie is an excellent example of a modern Blaxploitation film; it has pretty much all the trappings of the genre, as it’s set in a poor neighborhood, has a majority black cast, features the protagonists fighting against The Man and the oppression of evil white folk… all that’s missing is some kung-fu and some more funk in the soundtrack. And that just makes me love the film all the more, because boy do I love me some blaxploitation.

I highly recommend this movie. It’s really great; unsubtle, yes, definitely, but great. Sadly, I think this movie is not going to do quite as well as I think it deserves to. The way our society is right now, people get really hostile at any sort of indictment of modern politics; any criticism of our dumbass president is met with angry people getting offended that someone dares to criticize a soulless politician (a redundant phrase, I know). We just live in a time and place where people are just really hostile towards any sort of social or political commentary, and I sadly think this movie will be a victim of it due to its indictment of conservative ideology, racism, and Trump-era politics. It’s not a shock to me that most of the reviews of this on IMDB are all colored with some sort of anger that this film has the AUDACITY to try and be intelligent, with a good chunk of reviews calling it “biased” and “political propaganda”… oh well. I pray this movie finds its audience, either now or in the future. Because boy oh boy do I believe it deserves it.

Long live The Purge.

BUT WAIT! Just to prove my point… take a look at some of these excerpts from a few absolutely ridiculous IMDB user reviews! We’ve got it all here folks!

Accusations of being written by children combined with whining about how this film is made to “Divide” while also throwing in potshots at Star Wars and Get Out? CHECK!

Accusations of race baiting? CHECK!

Complaining about criticisms of Trump? CHECK! As an added bonus, this guy cancelled his ticket - hey buddy, how’d you review this film opening day if you didn’t go?

Crying about how the film is propaganda? Cheeeeeeeeeeeck!

Whining about BLM? Oh boy do we got a big old check!

And hey let’s just have one more whiny little bitch before we go:

[topweeklyupdate]

TØP Weekly Update #62: They’re *Really* Back (9/14/18)

We knew going into this week that there was a real storm coming, and that was an understatement. Though the complete Trench album is still waiting to be released, it really feels like the band is back more than ever. 

This update is a novel-sized doozy. Grab your new merch, and let’s dive into it.

This Week’s TØPics:

A Complete Diversion in London Brings Trench (and a Flaming Car) to the Stage

The Boys Speak to the Press: Rock Sound and Alt Press Announce Special TØP Issues, and the Boys Hop Back Onto Radio

First Details Emerge About “Neon Gravestones”, “Pet Cheetah”, Clancy, Nico, and More As the Press Hear the Album for the First Time

Major News and Announcements:

The big one finally hit: after over a year, Twenty One Pilots returned to their home on the stage. They started making flex moves before the show even started. They arrived in London two days in advance, rehearsing and playing soundchecks into the night that die-hard campers could hear from outside the venue. They arranged for folks in Bandito uniforms to dispense 150 tickets to those that showed up at the box office.  The venue delivered food to the queue, and the Clique in turn donated their blankets and duvets to a local soup kitchen. Pretty darn sweet.

The real event was even sweeter. 

Twenty One Pilots did not quite pull out all of the stops for their first performance in over a year. The set was just over an hour, did not debut any never-before-heard songs, did not include any special guests, and mainly stuck to the skeleton of the Blurryface Era setlist. And you know what? There was absolutely nothing wrong with that. If anything, Tyler and Josh keeping things focused on dusting off the old gears and introducing a few new elements for the Trench era resulted in a tight and emotional return for today’s greatest band. (Shout out to Ohio Clique for editing fifteen different Periscope and Instagram Live streams together to make a cohesive concert movie.)

Highlights of the show include:

There were no screens present in the smaller venue, but the production crew did make sure to bust out a ton of other great production elements, including tons of lights and, most notably, the car from the  “Heavydirtysoul” video that bursts into flames at key points during certain songs- including, at one point, when Tyler was standing on it.

The Clique brought the production value in the crowd, too: beyond all the folks dressed up as Banditos and Bishops, you also had plenty of people bring in yellow screens for their flashlights and yellow flowers and petals to offer Tyler.

The setlist was pretty sensible, with the four new Trench singles plus all of the songs that you would have expected them to play at an old festival show (minus “Guns for Hands” and “Tear In My Heart”, no I’m not sweating, why?). It is interesting that “WDBWOTV” and “The Judge” were played, but I suspect that it was mainly to justify bringing out the ukulele for “Nico”; if there are more uke tracks on Trench, I would not be surprised to see one or both of these songs dip out of the regular rotation.

Tyler had to stop the show twice to help people out of the pit- it was that kind of show.

The show opened with Josh coming out on stage in full Bandito regalia, torch in hand, looking like a badass. After sitting down at the drums and playing a few simple sequences, a masked man with a bass guitar walked out on the stage, started playing “Jumpsuit”’s gnarly riff, and yelled for the crowd to “GET UP!” Awesome. Twenty One Pilots is back, mate.

Tyler stumbled over a few lyrics in “Jumpsuit” and “Levitate”, but he successfully played it off- only the most diehard fans would have caught that he wasn’t just pausing for breath or to hear the crowd.

Tyler actually yelled “Why’d you come, you know you should have stayed?” at the end of “Heathens”, and it sounded damn good. Hope it sticks for future shows.

Tyler’s “WDBWOTV” pre-speech was a pretty good inaugural address for the Trench Era. He let the rabid audience know that he had been watching them since before the concert (both literally and metaphorically), joked about needing to get back in “show shape”, and thanked London for being a home away from home for them. In gratitude for hosting them, Tyler even announced that they were adding a third arena show at Wembley and joked that Mark should tweet it or something (he did).

Prior to playing “Nico”, Tyler adorned a bright yellow jacket over his usual uke kimono; Josh helpfully banged the drums dramatically for every successful button.

Tyler and Josh did the handshake during “Nico”, because of course they did.

For “My Blood”, Tyler drew from the old playbook and attempted to direct the two halves of the audience to sing harmonies. It worked even better than it used to with “Doubt”, much to Tyler’s evident glee- his smile and little dance to everyone singing his new song back at him was probably the best moment of the whole show.

The Trees Speech was short and sweet, with Tyler promising that he’s written “pages and pages” of things he wants to say, but for now all he can say is that they’ll be coming back on the new tour with “things we’ve never seen before” and that the fans look so good.

#YellowConfettiConfirmed

In the last bit of major news: new merch (that Josh stitched himself, be nice) and a new yellow Trench vinyl that I’m sure won’t immediately sell out. Have fun spending your life savings, kids!

Other Shenanigans:

The band was active in other spaces this week, of course. After Zane Lowe broke open the floodgates last week, both Rock Sound and Alternative Press announced that they would release some exclusive Trench Era Content (tm). Rock Sound’s came in the form of a thirty-page mag featuring a lengthy 22-page feature comprised of the first interview the two bands gave together since before the hiatus, Tyler and Josh’s first full photoshoot in over a year, and tons of awesome posters and Clique art. It definitely is not available in any form on the Internet that I’m afraid to link to lest I get pegged for copyright and sent to jail. Highlights of this interview that I certainly haven’t read include:

Lots of typical Rock Sound purple prose, in which the writer goes off on more tangential metaphors than even Tyler Robert Joseph.

The reporter describes Tyler’s house as “quite stunning” (yeah, with that Blurryface money combined with Columbus real estate values, I should hope so).

Josh laughs at the memory of some of their old costumes. “Those suits were so hot,” he says, as if those heavy coats aren’t a billion degrees inside.

Tyler: “There’s something healthy about realizing that the world keeps turning. Sometimes it can feel like the whole world is revolving around you- I think we all selfishly get to that point. When you have those moments, when you stop and realize that even if you weren’t there those other people would be, it lifts a weight that can feel very heavy. It motivates you to want to come up with a reason why you’re here.”

Tyler says they cut out social media during the hiatus in part because “removing the ability to run straight to it was important. For me, writing music is the thing I want to run to when I feel compelled or inspired. Whether it’s frustration or anger or compassion, whatever it is that I wanted to express, I wanted it to live somewhere new. I didn’t want one drop of meaningful expression to live anywhere else.” Additionally, they did want to test whether the Clique would stick around, and even kinda hint that they wanted to shrink how crowded some of the rooms they entered were becoming.

We are assured, however, that the next “hiatus” will not be the exact same as this. Tyler: “Going away broke my heart. It hurt that we weren’t able to tell people why we had gone, but I’m an advocate of showing people what I’ve been working on rather than telling them how hard I’m working. [...] That said, though we don’t know what the timeframe will be or if we’ll take another break, the manner in which we left... we’ll never do that again.”

I’m just gonna leave this here: “He tells us also of the beautiful relationship he has with his wife, Jenna, and the role that she played in helping him unlock the words and the sounds that would form the basis of this new chapter; of the times he would hand her the phone while behind the wheel of his car to allow her to record anything from melodies to simple poems.” Yeah, will someone sweep up all the pieces of my heart that are just lying on the floor, that’d be great.

Tyler has long had the idea to tell a geographic story, much longer than since the end of the last cycle, and he didn’t always intend to tell it through music. “I feel like in our mind there are places we learn we shouldn’t go.”

Tyler says that there are lots of songs that he writes that never see the light of day because he has moved past the season he wrote them in by the time it comes to record them.

Rock Sound is positively glowing in its brief advance review of the album, saying it is undoubtedly the best project of 2018, “a labor of love”, “a varied, often spectacular collection” with some of the band’s all-time greatest moments. It will be even more sonically diverse than we’ve come to expect: “Morph” is described as “old-school R&B”, “The Hype” “anthemic indie-rock”, “Pet Cheetah” has “stomping beats and a fiery rap verse.” The highlight, though, is apparently “Neon Gravestones”, “a piano-laden spoken word masterpiece” with lyrical content that “will save at least one person’s life”. Damn.

Alt Press will also be releasing a 24-page cover feature on the band and were even nice enough to include a fun video ad from the boys. They’re so cute, and I’ve missed them so much. (Also, Tyler’s checkered pants are a quality meme.)

After the Complete Diversion, Tyler and Josh performed a mini-press tour. First, they gave five-minute interview with Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 and an Instagram Stories AMA on the station’s account. Highlights of this quickie include:

Josh and Tyler joke that specifying the exact number of months they’ve been away sounds like a mother saying their kid is “14 months” instead of a year old.

Tyler notes that this was the first performance in a long time that they’ve felt truly nervous, as they could no longer rely on muscle memory to carry them through after the long break, particularly with the new songs.

Annie references her last interview with Josh, where he confessed to be nervous about whether the fans would return. When asked if the first show helped them overcome those nerves, Tyler replied honestly, “To an extent, yes.” They chuckle about it, but the implication remains thick: the dedicated fanbase certainly turned up, but there is no assurance that they’ll have long-term mainstream success in the future. They seem cool with that.

Tyler states that they chose London specifically to make their return because, besides Columbus, it’s the only city where they have played in every size of venue, from the Barfly club to the Ally Pally and everything in-between over the course of fifteen shows. That type of home atmosphere made it feel right to start the new era there.

Josh says they played a bowling alley in London once. He did not wear bowling shoes in the set nor when he bowled afterward, which, as Tyler points out, is very punk rock.

Tyler reflects on how this show represents years of preparation and practice teaching them how to “trim the fat” and master the tempo and flow of the concert to appear as confident as possible and bring the audience along for a well-planned journey.

“My Blood” is one of the most challenging songs for both artists to play, particularly Tyler, as he has to balance the difficult falsetto with keeping that bassline groovy and consistent.

The IG answers were mostly just the dudes trying and failing to answer basic questions like “Are you happy to be back?” and “What’s it like to be famous?” in as few words as possible without giggling, hugging, and tickling each other. Best Q/A: Why did they watch the Grammys in their underwear? “We didn’t have air-conditioning.”

South African DJ Rob Forbes from Radio 5FM also conducted a truly fascinating interview with the band, the first that dives into the lore and one that gives us even more of a glimpse into some of the future songs. Additionally, Mr. Forbes briefly posted the tracklist w/ time-codes, revealing that both “Chlorine” and “Bandito” go over five minutes- get hyped, kids. Highlights from this interview include:

When asked about Clancy, Tyler responds with a pregnant silence before asking how the the interviewer knew about him. DJ Forbes stutters an answer about having listened to the record, but Tyler replies that Clancy’s not on the record. All he does say about Clancy is “I’ve heard about him, and I know we’re from the same place.” What is up with your cryptic nonsense, Tyler Robert Joseph?

The band intentionally left the Trench Trilogy open-ended to be able to continue it in the future. Tyler did not mean to make the timeline confusing, but did note that its cyclical nature left it open for the Clique to pursue that interpretation.

Tyler is careful with choosing his words to describe Nico. He admits the whole thing is pretty confusing (his grandma asked him once, “What’s a Nico?”), but that was his intention: he wanted to give the Clique a lot to think about and discuss as a reward for waiting so long. He does seem to confirm that Nico is Blurryface, or at least an aspect of him that represents how much more familiar Tyler has become with the nature of his own insecurities as he writes about it.

Tyler denies that the final verse of “Neon Gravestones” has a specifically political bend and actually sounds a little offended that something so important to him could be cast in that light. No idea what that means, I need to hear this song.

The interviewer says that Tyler calls his “Pet Cheetah” “Jason Statham” within the song itself in a fun rap verse. Tyler laughs and says that came from an inside joke between him and Josh that he was excited to bring to life. I am SO confused, you have no idea.

Tyler says that they had plans at one point to come to South Africa for a show that fell through at the last second, but that they’re still interested in going at some point in the future.

Additionally, the music production interest site Mix did a small spotlight on the producers behind Trench. We already knew that Paul Meany was handling main production duty; Darrell Thorpe, whose credits include Radiohead, OutKast, Paul McCartney, and Foster the People, joined him as an engineer while the band captured the album’s drum tracks at United Recording Studios in LA, the only studio they used outside of the one in Tyler’s home. It’s always cool to see the dudes who bring the band’s music to life, but, to be honest, the best part of this short little article is Tyler’s dad socks in the photo.

Oh, and music video director Andrew Donoho told Billboard that he can’t spoil the album or Tyler will burn down his house. So... yeah, okay, moving on.

Chart Performance:

After its first full week of sales and streaming, “My Blood” secured a debut at #16 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart ranking the songs that have yet to reach the Hot 100. The song gains at all metrics, and according to some industry sources like Headline Planet, it is receiving a concentrated marketing push to pop and adult contemporary markets that its predecessors have not. “Jumpsuit” continues to fade, but its run was respectable, and I remain optimistic about Trench’s commercial prospects going forward, especially in the midst of this hype wave.

Whew. That was a long run. Congrats to everyone who made it all the way to the end. We’re so close to Trench, you guys. Keep powering through. Stay alive. And power to the local dreamer.

|-/

[5thinvictus]

A Fan Review of Stan Lee’s Lucky Man

or ... A Gift That Should Have Never Been Given

I’ve had a ton of fun promoting this terrible show and now that it’s over, I thought I’ve give a quick review on what I thought of it overall. 

So, TL;DR:  Overall Score: D+

Character Consistency: C-

Narrative Strength: F

Acting: B

Re-watchability: Minimal.

For some reason, people think that if a show/movie is based on a comic book, that excuses it from the same scrutiny that other fictional works receive.  Sorry, but this is actually very far from the case.  In fact, comic readers are often used to dramatically higher standards for plot, narrative, character development than most of the subpar movies and TV shows that find their way into production these days.

In Short: Lucky Man, just because you were based on a comic, does not excuse you from the most basic plot holes which abounded within your meagerly meandering narrative.

Click below for my detailed review:

The Good:

Elizabeth Gray (Neve McIntosh):

I enjoyed this actress and her character’s arc.  At first, you’re not sure what to make of her, but she proves that she’s a human being and not just a caricature of a strong female or a beautiful female.  She makes mistakes and then she seeks to correct them.  I liked this character a lot.  She grew and it was consistent and believable.

Samuel Blake (Rupert Penry-Jones):

No, I’m not biased.  Rupert is an exceptional actor, otherwise he wouldn’t be one of my favorites and this role was no different.  Regardless of how terrible the writing was, he was splendid.  Charismatic and likeably sinister.  I started to root for the bad guy at some point mid-season, and no, not just because he’s Rupert (I never rooted for Clive reader ... not even once.  He was such a asshole.)

His sudden reversal in the last episode was more than disappointing though.  They’d set up the villain to be very, very principled.  In fact, that was his most important quality and then, in the final episode, they completely reversed that?  In the end though, Samuel Blake was one of the best things in this season.

The Cinematography:

The angles.  The shots.  The lighting.  The costumes.  They were all lovely.  Consistently so.  I enjoyed how good Lucky Man looked.  The crew is phenomenal.  They should have taken the writers’ salaries and divided it up to the cast & crew.  They deserved ALL of the success of Lucky Man.

The Locations:

They really made London look incredible, but something has been bothering me quite a bit.  Did they really need to fly to Hong Kong to film?  There were very few shots that even gave hints that they were there and honestly, they could have cgi’d in most of that stuff.  Clearly they were more focused on having fun filming than actually making a good show.

The Bad:

Suri Chohan (Amara Karan):

Good lord, this character was a brick.  I felt nothing for her and I usually relate quite a bit to spunky, nerdy little sidekicks.  She was dumb at every corner.  Everyone got the drop on her.  She was hyper emotional.  She tried to sleep with the tall detective ... randomly.

I’m sorry, but she didn’t seem like a real person at all to me.  She was a caricature of some ideal Mary Sue.  Everyone loves Chohan.  Chohan is morally and ethically perfect.  Yeah ... no.  I’ve better things to do than watch a character I cannot relate to in any way, shape, or form.

Harry Clayton (James Nesbitt):

James Nesbitt is an incredible actor, but Harry Clayton was such a miserable character that I didn’t care if he lived or died.  He killed so many people.  He was overly arrogant.  I didn’t care about this character at all.  In the later part of the season, I started to fast forward through most of his scenes.

The Narrative:

This was by far the worst aspect of the show.  Nothing ever really made sense.  Nothing.  It was a strange combination of scenes people wanted to shoot coupled together loosely with vague reasons and meandering dialogue and unbelievable character motivations.

The What-The-Fuck:

Eve Alexandri (Sienna Guillory):

I totally understand being pissed at Harry because he let you die.  I totally get that angle and they could have used that beautifully.  They could have built a narrative around her that reinforced her falling for Blake, but they didn’t.  They didn’t even bother.

She’d been brought up to protect the bracelets and it took Blake less than a day to tear her down?  Absolute bullshit.

Blake kidnaps her, after she said she would listen to him, and throws her off a bridge (which she nearly dies from), and she forgives him and not Harry?  Absolute bullshit.

So, she will forgive an hot stranger from trying to kill her, but she won’t forgive her best friend who did so to save another life?  Absolute bullshit.

And then, in a matter of days (or weeks?), Blake has turned her into a ruthless killer and she convinces him to kill his entire family in front of her?  Yeah, what?

She has no principles.  No loyalties.  No ethics.  She has a poorly fabricated fight with Harry and then runs to Blake.  After one fight.  One.  She can be turned away from her entire life’s goal because Blake winks at her?  And then, in the end, Blake says ONE mean thing to her and she tries to kill him.  And then, in the end, she turns on Blake suddenly.  “OH NO!  NOT THAT MUCH INNOCENT BLOOD!”

Absolute bullshit.

What a miserable and unbelievable character.

A scantly clad Samuel Blake:

Ok ok ok.  Yeah, this is absolutely a “what-the-fuck” topic.  As much as I enjoyed seeing him shirtless (and pants-less) ... over and over and over again, it was absolutely pointless and shouldn’t have been in the show.  EVEN THOUGH I FUCKING LOVED IT: That whole ... “I’m gonna walk through the morgue naked.” scene was unnecessary and it really did detract from the story.  Why didn’t he just take the doctor’s clothes?  Seriously.  He was heading out to meet Eve and he just happens across some pants ... he would have taken the Pathologist’s pants.  Anyone who argues otherwise is an idiot.

This was such blatant fan baiting / fan service.

A side rant here: As a fan of RPJ, this nudity really should have been fun, but the hardest part of it was the fact that there’s a small but very vocal minority of Rupert’s fan base which consider themselves his Morality Police.  It’s really just a handful of people using multiple accounts to fabricate dialogue, in an attempt to shame him (mind you, by directly tagging him on Twitter), on an almost daily basis, over his body.  They also shame fans for appreciating his body and no one better find him sexually attractive or you will be targeted.

Plot Holes:

I’m just gonna go over the holes in 3x08.  There are holes in EVERY episode, but I’ll focus on the last one because I want to push everything about this show out of my mind now.

Wasn’t Blake a drug addict?

At some point, I’m convinced the writers changed and they completely forgot about the most fundamental flaw that we’ve been given about Samuel.

In the last two episodes, that was just gone.  Since it was such an important aspect that they were setting up in the beginning, you’d think that it would come into play at some point in the finale.  Withdraw or making him entirely numb again (Like in Sam and Harry’s first fight).  It should have come full circle.  It should have played SOME part in his demise, but it didn’t.  In fact, there was no point to it at all.

It didn’t make him more or less evil.  It didn’t make him more or less relatable.  They didn’t use it in a way to explain anything.  Not his actions or his motivations.  It was complexity that was added as a superficial trait and then not used in the narrative at all.

Shameful writing.

ಠ_ಠ

Wasn’t Blake the head of a massive Chinese mafia?

At some point, they completely forgot about the Wu Chi.  His prison fight was fabricated ahead of time and the Snake Hands carried out his instructions, and then ... just vanished.  He is supposed to be the head of a massive Chinese mafia and yet, they all just vanished.

Any Wu Chi guards at his factory?  Nope.  Of course not, otherwise how would Harry just sneak in at the end.  Any Wu Chi guards helping him infiltrate Madame Cheng’s stronghold?  Nope.  I ... guess ... not?  Did they run out of money for asian extras?

Couldn’t they have scrubbed the unnecessary trip to Hong Kong to pay for more extras?

So, what was the point of him being a Dragon Head again? 

In the end, there was no point.

ಠ_ಠ

Blake was all about planning ahead and he didn’t steal the Uranium BEFORE he got himself purposefully arrested?

Don’t even get me started on the plot from 3x06.  Blake’s plan was to get arrested, fake his death, and break out?  Even the whole “waking up in the morgue” thing didn’t make sense.  Why didn’t Eve get his body out?  Why was she just waiting outside for him?!  Ugh, I digress ... focus on 3x08, focus on just 3x08 ...

So Blake’s been setting up this fission chamber for a while, right?  He brags about buying that factory years earlier in preparation.  In fact, he’s even got a handful of handy scientists to get it all up for him.  How clever, I guess?  But, he never bothered getting the Uranium before he purposefully got himself arrested?  His entire plan hinged on being able to get his hands on MOTHER FUCKING URANIUM ... and he didn’t plan ahead for that ... at all?  His entirely plan was to wait until his access was revoked and then find someone to torture the information out of?

That’s ... uh ... really, really weak.  This entire fission / nuclear thing seemed like an afterthought in the writing room when they realized they’d written themselves into a corner.

Writer 1:  Ah shit.  How is Blake even gonna destroy them?  It doesn’t make sense that the Torches would bring the forging weapons to London.  They had to have hidden them, right?

Writer 2: *having just watched The Strain*  I KNOW!  Let’s have him NUKE THEM!

ಠ_ಠ

Seriously, Harry basically killed that poor scientist.

This wasn’t a plot hole, but it seriously bothered me.  You know that man.  The one he strangely head butted.  The one messing with the fission machine.  Was the man even evil?  Did he know what he was hired to do?  Did he know that the controlled fission reaction was to destroy magical braclets and the chain reaction would melt down and likely kill him and thousands of people?  Doesn’t matter, he wasn’t useful to the plot, so Harry just ... killed him.

How did Harry know how to remove the Uranium?

He just walks over, reaching in to the machine, turns it and pulls it out.  He didn’t even know what it looked like.  I guess he was just ... lucky?  Pfffttt.  Whatever.  It’s just a little thing, but it’s still fucking lazy.

Why wasn’t Blake armed?  What the fuck was he doing?

There’s simply no way that Blake would have been walking around the factory without his gun.  He would have just shot Harry from above.  And before anyone says: He wouldn’t risk the fission machine!  He was wearing the bracelet.

This was so fabricated.  Was he pooping or something and that’s why he set his gun down on the desk?

And again, why didn’t he have Wu Chi guards ... or even a surveillance system set up?  There’s NO WAY that place didn’t have security if he had a fission machine INSTALLED in it.  And he already said he’d owned it from several years.

Seriously?  WTF Lucky Man.

ಠ_ಠ

Why didn’t Blake notice Eve had escaped?

She was tied to the fission machine and he didn’t even notice she was gone.  Ok then ... maybe it was because he was high?!  They didn’t even bother to address it at all.  Not to mention the fact that ... wasn’t it unlucky to Blake for Eve to have escaped?  Wasn’t he wearing the bracelet?

Also, wasn’t it unlucky for Eve to have put the other one on him?  Shouldn’t she have tripped or something?  Shouldn’t he have been able to stop her BECAUSE of the bracelet he was already wearing?!

Writers: Create the rules for your world and then stick to them.  Don’t change things because you want a scene to play out a specific way.  You make the rules, so stick to them.

ಠ_ಠ

Harry’s hiding in his brother’s flat.

The entire country is on the lookout for Harry and Blake.  He’s considered a domestic terrorist at this point and he’s hiding ... in his brother’s flat.

Where the fuck is Mi5?!  Seriously, no.  This is SO dumb.  FFS.

No one’s tracking his brother or his brother’s phone.  No one’s bothering with anything.  Harry keeps walking out into public.  He approaches the Security Guards in the URANIUM shipment (armed guards), and even tells them HIS NAME.  I find it unlikely that security professionals wouldn’t have been even MORE briefed on him than the general public (which already was).

ಠ_ಠ

Eve was pregnant.

I guess this was a poor attempt to explain away her sudden motivational shift, but it was so contrived.

So what?  Samuel forgot to wrap it?  Fucking unlikely, don’t you think?  Was he super, super high one night or something?  Because, you’ve shown us he’s incredibly pedantic and he plans everything TO A TEE.

I guess Eve forgot she wasn’t on birth control either?  Maybe she was super high too, I guess?

Maybe the condom broke and it just slipped Blake’s mind?  Given, unplanned pregnancies obviously occur, but I find it unbelievable that it would happen between these two characters as you’ve presented them to us.

Also, how long were they even together?  Was it days or was it weeks?

In the end, she was the character I felt should have gotten her just deserts MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE and yet, she lived.  She was inconsistent, without loyalty or morals or ethics, and she gets to live.  Thanks Lucky Man.

ಠ_ಠ

So ... To Summarize:

Lucky Man wasn’t a good show, but it was a hell of a guilty pleasure and I’m actually gutted it’s over, because I loved watching Rupert work again and hot damn, did Mr. Penry-Jones look smashing in it (as always).

Cheers.

[timeagainreviews]

Those are excellent nose hairs

Hello friends! It's been a long weekend for yours truly, as I was in Nottingham for a convention. My hooves are very tired. This review is going up a bit later than I would like as the hotel I was staying at's TV's volume only went up to fifteen, which made it hard for me to watch the episode properly. Now that I'm home and have watched the episode with the sound full blast, I can give it a proper review.

When we last left the Doctor and her crew, they were suspended in space. Of course, none of us were actually worried, after all, they showed the shot of them being picked up in the series trailer! Also, come on, they're not gonna kill our friends. In true Doctor Who fashion, the cliffhanger was resolved in seconds. Graham and Ryan find themselves aboard a spaceship with a standoffish captain named Angstrom. She doesn't trust them, despite saving their lives. Yaz awakens aboard a different ship in a sort of stasis capsule to the sound of the Doctor and the ship's captain Epzo bickering. Neither one of them can agree on the best way to crash-land Epzo's ship- "Cerebos."

Upon landing on the planet, Ryan, Graham, and Angstrom begin walking toward a still unknown destination. From above comes Cerebos, like a comet falling from the sky, directly at them. Having never seen a science fiction movie, the three of them run in the direction of the ship's trajectory, as opposed to, you know, left or right. The ship skids through a ravine and it's not until the Doctor yells "Brakes!" does the ship stop, due to previously unseen wheels.

Happy to see each other alive, the Doctor and her new friends take a moment to appreciate the fact that they're on their first alien planet. They also learn that Epzo and Angstrom are familiar with one another as competitors. Suddenly, an alarm sounds, beckoning them toward a mysterious destination, which turns out to be a tent in the middle of a desert where the hologram of a callous wealthy man named Ilin sits like a king. Opulence drips from him despite his shabby digs.

We learn that Ilin is the facilitator of the last "Rally of the 12 Galaxies," or as the Doctor put it, "Paris-Dakar in space.” The prize is an exorbitant amount of money, enough to set the winner for life. Out of 4,000 entrants, Epzo and Angstrom are the only two left. The name of the planet on which everyone has found themselves is most closely translated to "Desolation," and it's the final leg of the race.

The racers final task is to navigate Desolation, a planet "made cruel," toward the titular "Ghost Monument." The Doctor being who she is, asks to know the appearance of the Ghost Monument. Ilin, annoyed by the request, reluctantly presents a holographic image of the monument. The Ghost Monument, much to the Doctor's delight, is none other than her TARDIS, which has been phasing into existence every 1000 cycles. Due to the nature of the time machine, it appears to have been doing so for a very long time. It's a moment in the episode that feels genuinely gratifying, as the pieces for our new Doctor are beginning to fall into place.

Ilin and his tent disappear instantly, leaving everyone at the mercy of this cruel planet. Strewn about are what looks like the remnants of a society. Structures are tangled with strange gauzy strips of fabric. Buildings are in ruin. The Doctor can't make heads or tails what happened to this civilisation. The water is full of carnivorous bacteria, the air is poison, and there are sniper robots. In a scene that evoked strong "Keys of Marinus," vibes, they must travel across a deadly body of water, aboard an abandoned boat.

In these moments, we're given a further glimpse into the motivations of both Epzo and Angstrom. Angstrom wants to win the race so she can save what's left of her family from tyranny, while Epzo is simply a very lonely man with a painful past ripped straight out of the movie Wetlands (of all places). On the other hand, we don't get much more of a glimpse into the Doctor's new companions. We learn that Yaz's family is a bit irritating, and incomplete, as she doesn't mention a mother. Ryan and Graham are still basically where we left off- Ryan won't call Graham granddad, and Graham still doesn't know how to reach him. Ryan still struggles with ladder-related dyspraxia, but it seems to disappear when he takes out a group of sniper bots with one of their own weapons. There seems to be a sort of fluctuation in characterisation present in this, and last week's scripts.

The Doctor is presented in a way that is meant to illustrate not only her competence but also her philosophy. This is where Chris Chibnall's writing has continually stuck in my craw. As with last week, where the Doctor denounced knives, despite having travelled with two knife-wielding companions in the past, she goes on about guns once more. We all know the Doctor is against guns, but why is it not okay to kill lifeless sniper robots with a gun, but okay to kill all of them with an electromagnetic pulse? The Doctor does these kinds of things all the time, but Chibnall has brought our attention to it.

The Doctor helps the racers and her friends through what looks like a dilapidated parking garage filled with sniper bots into an underground network of tunnels and chambers. While underground, the Doctor learns that our baddies from last week, the Stenza, had forced the scientists of the world above to create weapons of death to the point that it killed their planet. We also learn that both Graham in Angstrom lost their wives to the Stenza.

After the race is over, only the Doctor and her new friends remain, stuck on the surface of Desolation. The Doctor is at one of her lowest points, as even she is beginning to doubt herself. In a very sweet show of camaraderie, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham reinforce their belief in the Doctor. It is at this moment when a glimmer of hope is heard in a familiar sound. Last week I voiced my concern that the Doctor might have to "earn," her TARDIS back. Much to my relief, this was not the case. Evidently, it was a case that the TARDIS saw the Doctor was now a woman, and her whole “bachelor pad,” with candle wax dribble and books on the stairs was suddenly unsuitable. “Out you go, while I spruce up!” And I’m glad for it. Not only would a Doctor without her TARDIS story have been tedious, it would have also been a rather incomplete feeling series. With a new Doctor, it's good to have a bit of the familiar around, even if it looks a bit different!

In a line that is probably now my new sexuality, the Doctor pleads with the TARDIS and says "Come to daddy... er mummy." Our trusty blue box finally manages to materialise, and like something out of a Lassie movie, or even a love story, the Doctor runs to it. It's a truly beautiful moment that left me in tears. In my review for "An Unearthly Child," I talked about the first TARDIS reveal. It's seldom, however, that we get to see the Doctor have the same reaction to seeing the inside of her TARDIS, which is why this one is so great. Having been apart from what is possibly her oldest friend, she gets to rediscover her new interior alongside her companions. And like that, the show feels like it can truly move forward.

Now then, let’s talk about what worked, and what didn't. First of all, how about that introduction? Yet another one of my fears was that Doctor Who had gone the way of many modern television series, and dumped the intro, which would have been a crime! Thankfully, this was not an issue. I mentioned earlier the "Keys to Marinus vibe," I got from this episode. That intro is pure Hartnell era, through and through. After getting a better listen to Segun Akinola's theme tune, I must say I like it. Though I feel that some of the effects placed upon the sound seem to cancel out certain notes. While it lacks the high energy of some of the previous themes of the "new Who" era, it gains a level of creepiness and danger we've not seen since the 70's.

The story itself is pretty simple, but that's not any kind of judgement on my behalf. Simple can be a welcome break after Moffat's long-winded, and often unfulfilling story arcs. Though the bit about "The Timeless Child," was so Easter eggy, that I thought Moffat may have snuck into the writing room with a Chris Chibnall mask and monkeyed with the script. I'll be honest, I have zero interest in that storyline. It's called Doctor Who, not Doctor Who was Once a Little Kid Known as the Timeless Child. IDGAF.

One of the interesting elements of these past two episodes has been Chibnall's characterisation of the Doctor. In some ways, it's evident how well he knows the character. Simply in the manner by which the Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver, do we see her character come out. The sonic is often criticised as a plot-convenient deus ex machina, but in many ways, it is the Doctor condensed into an object. It fixes things and opens the doors to new possibilities. The Doctor tries to teach her companions her philosophy, not with weapons, but with hope.

I said earlier how Chibnall has also, a somewhat muddied philosophy of the Doctor. His sophisticated ideas, don't really stand up to their own scrutiny. When the Doctor and her companions have their backs against the wall, it's suddenly ok to destroy the Remnants (killer strips of fabric now animated under the night sky), with a blaze of fire. What was different between these and the sniper robots? The Remnants could actually speak, yet it's less ok to shoot the mindless robots because...guns? These aren't massive sins, but they are worrisome. As I've said, Chris Chibnall is the one element of the new series that has worried me. Even his one-off jokes can serve as tiny red flags.

In the previous episode, we learn that the Doctor has empty pockets, something that had come up more than once in "The Woman Who Fell to Earth." However, in this episode, it turns out that she has filled her pockets. It would make sense if the object she pulls out of her coat were merely a simple pair of sunglasses. But these weren't just any sunglasses, these once belonged to either Pythagoras or Audrey Hepburn. Which is fine, it's cute, right? But where did they come from? Her coat from her days as a white haired Scotsman was empty, and her new coat came from a charity shop. With no TARDIS, how does she get a pair of sunglasses from one of two dead people? Perhaps it's as River says- the Doctor lies. Or perhaps Chibnall just wanted a cute joke. Either way, Graham looks fabulous in those shades.

Evidently, Chris Chibnall's true talent lies in being able to recognise talent. He's found a wonderful group of actors and directors. Jodie Whittaker is a genius pick for the Doctor. Segun Akinola is brilliant in his musical direction. Even his vision for what the series should look like is inspired. The retro vibe suits not only the Thirteenth Doctor but also the concept of the first female Doctor. Something I had hoped they wouldn't ignore. While some of the cinematography has been frustrating, with close-ups cropping off 20% of actor's faces, and points of focus not always being properly framed, it's also kinetic and gorgeous. The new TARDIS control room is beautiful. I'm hoping the little spinning crystal TARDIS serves a function of some sort, as well as the hourglass, which was perplexing in its function (as well the TARDIS should be). My favourite bit was the little custard cream biscuit dispenser. Pure cuteness, that.

This episode has been particularly hard to review, as I didn't hate it, not by far. But it was also disjointed and frustrating at points as well. I'm still giving a lot of leeway to everyone involved, as it's early days. Neither Stephen Moffat or Russell T. Davies wrote a homerun within their first two episodes. Chris Chibnall has managed to breathe new life into the series again, which is a feat unto itself. The TARDIS has done herself up, and so has the show. And as the Doctor said, "I really like it."