#i am SO excited to take him to mcm in may

[lazylittledragon]

As someone who read the second half of the Drizzt series as it came out (yes I'm that old lol), I just know you have thoughts about him/the books so PLEASE share! So glad there are so many younger DND players getting into it and keeping our lovely boy alive <3

YOU'RE SO RIGHT ANON I DO HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT HIM

i just!!!! love him!!! so much!!!! he's such a treasure

idk if this is me just overthinking things but the fact that he's THE dnd hero but he's also like. a petite little guy and his defining character trait is being KIND and he loves his friends and he's very physically affectionate (which feels kind of crazy to me that the early books came out so long ago and he was always like that??) and his best friend is his cat and he likes to have FUN and he treats swordfighting like dancing and he STILL sought the approval of his family even after years of abuse aND HE JUST LOVES EVERYONE SO MUCH

he's truly the fantasy protagonist of all time i love him i need to kiss him on the forehead

[grestuff-homedecor]

1970’S Orange Kitchenette

Today we are going to talk about this 1970’s orange kitchenette. This is the space that it’s at the very back of my warehouse. I wanted this space to have a lot of color, a lot of impact, and that was reflective of the mid-century modern period and also of my personal style. And wow do I believe that we achieved that!

Let me take you back to the beginning for a moment, so you understand the process and how we developed this space.

In the first before picture, you will see the space empty just before I received it when I leased it. As you may have noticed it has an odd shape because it accommodates an oil tank on the right corner and a bump in that makes it narrower than the rest of the space. I knew I wanted to add the large shelves in there and I knew my work area was going to end up being there as well. 

First, it was just a dumping ground for tools and my personal collection of vintage small kitchen appliances. Then I started organizing it and the design started taking shape in my head but I still didn’t have the right shelves I wanted to use. I had been scrolling through Facebook Marketplace, eBay, etc. looking for something that would fit in the space and the design. I had been doing sketches on my book with different vintage furniture layouts and playing with color combinations but nothing seem to make me entirely happy.

I struggled for a few days scrolling through hundreds of listings of shelves, I was thinking about getting something from Ikea but then I convinced myself that I would find something I would like.

Normally, even though I explore several layouts for a space, it is not so hard for me to arrive at one that I really like. The reason why this was hard, was because I needed it to function as a kitchen, a workspace and I wanted it to look period MCM. So I knew the layout had to be perfect in order not to choose between function and form. 

It was about 11:30 pm when a listing pop up on my marketplace screen and I saw the perfect pair of shelves. I quickly message the owner and he said he could meet me the next morning for me to pick them up. (I know, I was that annoying person who messaged him in the middle of the night) but in my defense, I thought he was going to get back to me the next morning. 

So, he was super nice, met me the very next morning,  had them ready to go, and helped me load them in my vehicle. So I had the shelves but I still hadn’t settled on the color combination. It was that night, after I brought the shelves to the warehouse that I was obsessively thinking about the space. I went to bed after I did the final layout in my sketchbook and fell asleep. 

All of a sudden, it was 2:45 am when I saw the space in my head with the color combination the way I wanted it. I turn the light on, grabbed my sketchbook and coloring pencils, and started coloring the sketch I had done before bed. My hands flew switching from color to color in order not to lose my idea. When I was happy with the result I looked at it and my body felt expansive and excited. Ahhhh, happy place!

The next day the process of finding the right fabrics, cabinet paint colors, and buying materials started. I went to the hardware store and bought the materials to build the lower cabinet that would house the microwave and fridge. 

In this picture, you will see another cabinet I had thought about using for the wall above the counter. And while I like the idea of a tall and narrow cabinet there I felt this particular one was better used on top of the other shelves, to house my collection of appliances. So after I built part of the lower cabinet I went home and like every evening, I took my dog for a walk. It was a few streets away from home when I went by a house that had put out a bunch of furniture out on the curb. Most of it was of no interest to me but there was a headboard that had potential. An idea started to form in my head, so I went back after my walk and picked it up.

After doing some carpentry to modify and reinforce the piece, I proceeded to prime and paint it orange to fit my design. A few days later I was hanging it up on the wall and loading it with all the dry goods I had. 

If you looked at my sketch I had originally thought about doing a striped rug in the kitchen, but quickly my dogs and my work brought me to the reality that I needed something that I could mop and clean better. So I decided to purchase a sheet of linoleum and after I installed it the entire space just looked soooo much better and larger.

And to give the final touch to this space my beautiful sister, who knows me so well and is such a beautiful soul sent me a box full of candles in the perfect colors to fit into my kitchenette. These candles are not vintage but the original design is, she found in a vintage magazine from 1961. You should have heard the screech I did when I opened the box. 

And that is all friends! That is the story of how I designed and adapted this space to fit my style and my functionality needs.

[amwritingmeta]

MCM Comic Con London

Heyyyy, my loves!

I went to my first ever Comic Con on Sunday. I know! First ever?? How could this be? What did you make of it? Did you hug a Storm Trooper? Did you get lost in this huge enormous vast building with huge enormous vast rooms filled with huge enormous vast groups of people? Did you pet the TARDIS? Did you meet RAPUNZEL? DID YOU SEE DEADPOOL?? DARTH VADER?? Did you make a friend? Did you dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?? Do tell!!

Alrighty, then! (I’m afraid I’m going to prove a huuuuuge disappointment) (but there’s Misha panel commentary further down m’kay?)

So, here’s what I learned about myself from visiting Comic Con: I like small, intimate spaces with assigned seating.

Yeah. I know. Told you that you’d be disappointed. 

It’s basically why I haven’t been to Comic Con before tbh. I knew I’d enjoy milling about and looking at merchandise and graphic novels and oh the fan art and seeing the TARDIS (I did see her but I did not pet her) and R2D2 (he moved around and talked to people and everything) *feelings* and passing Darth Vader in the hallway (true story) and just being in a space filled with people nerding out together like YES. My heart was very full. 

But.

(oh here it comes)

My nerdy heart is pretty much sequestered by SPN. While I enjoy the original Star Wars very, very much because epic (obviously) and have enjoyed Doctor Who (on and off) and while I’m a big GoT fan (yes I shall remain so thanks to the books never mind what they did on those final two episodes of the show but also do not get me starts on what they fucking even DID) and I fucking love Disney and anime and animation of any kind, and have a huge respect and interest for the artistry of graphic noveling, that’s just not my world. 

(I do want to start reading graphic novels though and I’ve been so close to ordering the BtVS ones but... anyone have solid suggestions or advice on where to start, hit me up in DM) (I’ve read a few where the art has been unspeakably gorgeous and just mh!)

But because I’m not deep in anything even approaching a multi-fandom attitude, they just don’t grab at me, you know?

So though I’m so fucking happy that I went - truly am (and nope I did not dress up and though I know I’d enjoy it because who wouldn’t enjoy dressing up as Kahlan from Legend of the Seeker? End of the day, the dressing up is more fun when going with a group of people...) (anyway) - it’s not quite my cuppa. That being said, if Misha comes again next year *dirty* then I’m there. I mean, it’s one tube ride from my place. How the fuck could I not? 

Okay, before those three sentences make me say things I’ll regret in the morning, let’s talk about The Panel!

I’m actually going to open with something that Misha kind of threw out there in the middle of the panel because it made me so excited: he may direct in S15! Ahahahah yes please! I really hope he gets to!

Now, what else?

Highlights for me were:

Him talking about the fandom in his warmest tones, which is something he does on the regular, but he spoke of the positivity of the intensity of our community and how he thinks it’s been really cool to be a part of it and to do charitable work together (hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours and millions of dollars into worthy causes over the years, so kudos, guys, kudos) It’s a wonderful, surreal phenomenon. *his words* *and so very true* (and we all know this is how he feels, but it’s always lovely for him to restate it)

Ruth sending a video message and prompting Misha to talk about when Amara carved the I Am Coming message into Cas’ chest (and Misha thinking Lucifer carved the message and promptly dismissing us correcting him) *snortlaugh* Has everyone heard this story? Because I actually hadn’t. That Misha was making corresponding noises and facial expression to really convey the message and the only thing was that the top brass at the CW were conducting their yearly set visit and were, in fact, standing at the monitor watching him. *MCM audience laugh track* *aw Misha*

Talking about how close the cast is and how much they enjoy JiB, and how they laugh themselves into shape in the Green Room every year. Admittedly the six pack is a lie, but the aching stomach muscles are a truth. *not jealous because the rest of us are having Just As Much Fun In Our Corner* >.>

When asked what he’ll miss most about the show: the fun they have on set and the people, including the crew, since they all know each other so well and have grown up together. But also he’ll miss the Supernatural community. He knows it won’t go away immediately, but, as these things go, it will dwindle. He’ll miss the fire and intensity that is there when the show is on the air. 

Which is fair, because there will be a dropping off, there will be a slowing down, it’s inevitable, but I honestly can’t see this family ever just dispersing entirely. And I almost wanted to get up there and suggest to him that they consider keeping the JiB torch burning, because giving this community of ours a few set points of warmth each year where people (if they so choose) get to interact with them while also getting to reunite with people we don’t otherwise get to see often and to have those points of warmth to aim for and gather around is a sure-fire way to keep the flame alive. Right? I’m not expecting them to continue doing the con circuit because omfg no, but to have one or two points a year...

Anyway.

Misha trying to do a Scottish accent makes him sound like a leprechaun with a lisp. *ehehe*

Misha telling us that the writers gave them the option to draw out the story for another two-three seasons, or land it in one kick-ass final season, and they all chose one kick-ass final season, which makes me so happy for them, that they get to finish strong and on their terms. It’s so well-deserved.

(I think I’m just going through the panel moment-by-moment at this point) (the panel was apparently the highlight)

Him talking about The Adventurous Eaters Club - the cookbook he’s writing with Vicki that I cannot wait to read, tbh, because I do believe kids often say no at the dinner table because they’re trying to stay in control of the situation, rather than them not really wanting to eat, and as a grown-up, recognising this and relenting control and allowing them free reign to be a part of building their dinner from the ground up and getting them excited about food and understanding the process of actually creating a meal is so damn healthy. Well, if that’s the objective of the cookbook! Just what I’m taking from the premise, but, hands against heart, I adore them both.

Talking about his favourite vehicles for Cas and saying that he’d love for Cas to get a smart car and squeeze Sam into the passenger seat and omfg PLEASE yes. *the imagery is so  e n t i c i n g*

Going full-meta and talking about Cas’ travails going to get the fruit of life without his wings in S13, looking up a flight on Expedia, sitting squished into the middle seat, saying no thank you to food, getting through customs with that bag of fruit, probably getting held up. (quite impressive actually because this happened more than a season ago and clearly he’s given the story gap some thought) (and he remembers) (astonishing) 

*^^^ sarcasm, guys* *sarcasm* :)

If Cas gets to be happy, he will die (my addition: unless he’s, you know, human) :P

Cas’ wings are rainbow (and I’m immediately thinking of them almost like peacock *shhhh don’t even start* feathers that shift tone in the light so that they shimmer rather than are divided up into single colour feathers in a rainbow pattern) (wow I took that seriously af) (but mh gorgeous wings!)

Maison is a goddamn rockstar. *not literally but internally* :)

Okay, so that’s the panel done. And dusted. *sparkly*

And then I met up with a friend of a friend who I’d actually met briefly at JiB - her name is Katie - and I stood in line with her as she waited for Misha autos and I met the loveliest Scottish bloke named Oliver, mostly because I desperately needed to charge my mobile and just said out loud “Does anyone have a mobile charger” and the blessed man turned around and said “Yes, I have one”, so he lent me his mobile charger and was gushing over his photo-op with Misha (it really is the most adorable photo ever) and Oliver was entirely flustered with happiness and just *my heart strings* and then he fucked off and didn’t come back for his charger! 

He just disappeared! Without as much as a by-your-leave!

So we waited. And waited. It was terrible. Having to stand there. Not knowing. Okay, kidding, but we did wait and wait and tried to look for him, but he just didn’t come back.

But just now, ten minutes ago, he followed me on Twitter!! I just accosted him going OMG IT IS YOU IS IT NOT! Do I have your charger?? And it is he and now I don’t have to have a guilty conscience anymore, though I did ease it by thinking that he was the one who literally effed the fuck off and didn’t return. Anyway. What drama, huh? Guess that’s Comic Con, for you. And I got to add the resolution! *sweet*

It was a grand old indoor day and then we went down to the river for food and lots of alcoholic really-really-tasty beverages and good company. 

The End.

[basicshadowhuntersstuff]

This week in Shadowhunters news, updates, sneak peeks, and behind the scenes. All the stuff you need to stay up to date.

Official Promotion

Freeform (article): Meet The New Faces Coming To Shadowhunters In 2019

ShadowhuntersTV: A day made just for Jace. #WorldCatDay #Shadowhunters

ShadowhuntersTV shared a photo: Clary behind the scenes of #ShadowhuntersSeason3.

ShadowhuntersTV:  Impeccable intuition, Izzy. #Shadowhunters

ShadowhuntersTV shared a photo:  Our beautiful Em at last night’s #TeenChoice Awards. #Shadowhunters

ShadowhuntersTV shared a video:  “You never know how much you can really affect someone.” Share how you are volunteering this summer using #FreeformSummerOfService. // @arosende #Shadowhunters #SummerOfService

Freeform (quiz): Do You Remember Who Fought In These Shadowhunters Scenes?

Shadowhunters In The News

Express (article): Shadowhunters cancelled: How you can save Shadowhunters

Film Daily (article): ‘Shadowhunters’ on-set photos: Why we’re getting hyped for a Malec wedding

Terroir Magazine (interview): Interview with Anna Hopkins

ShumDario News (interview): Matthew Daddario “Ideally, I would make a movie every year till I die on a variety of subjects.”

TVGuide (interviews): Shadowhunters Cast Reacts to #SaveShadowhunters Campaign

PureFandom (article): ‘Shadowhunters’ News: Constantin Film announcement released (and fans aren’t happy)

Hypable (article): Report: ‘Shadowhunters’ fails to find new home per production company

Digital Spy (article): Shadowhunters producers thank fans for #SaveShadowhunters campaign but announce show "must come to an end"

The Series Regulars (article): Constantin Films appears to bring bad news to ‘Shadowhunters’ fans

CBC News (article and video):  Endless devotion: How passionate fans are resurrecting lesser-known genre shows

Digital Spy (article): Shadowhunters cast react to "beautiful" and "humbling" #SaveShadowhunters campaign

The Series Regulars (article): TSR Week of Ships | Malec Monday: Exploring the Highs and Lows of Season One

Entertainment Tonight (video): 'Shadowhunters' Cast Teases Upcoming Final Season (Exclusive)

Digital Spy (article):  Shadowhunters stars say the final episodes are "heartbreaking and joyful"

Matt Carter (article): Shadowhunters star finds subway station ad; season 3 finale tease

US Weekly (article):  Emeraude Toubia on Shadowhunters’ ‘Unexpected’ Series Finale: ‘I Was Crying and Crying’

ScienceFiction.com (article):  ‘Shadowhunters’ Cast Addresses #saveshadowhunters And The Show’s Conclusion

Events: Teen Choice Awards

Shadowhunters was nominated for four awards (with two of those awards having two Shadowhunters nominees each) at the 2018 Teen Choice Awards. They took home the Teen Choice Award for Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show and Matthew Daddario earned himself a surfboard for Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor! Matthew Daddario, Kat McNamara, Harry Shum Jr., Alberto Rosende, Dominic Sherwood, Emeraude Toubia, Anna Hopkins, and Tessa Mosey were in attendance. Here are some highlights from the night. 

Teen Choice Awards shared a video of the win:  @ShadowhuntersTV came out of the shadows with a WIN!  #TeenChoice

ShadowhuntersTV:

A huge thanks to the best fans in the world. We won the #TeenChoice Award for #ChoiceSciFiFantasyTVShow because of you.  #Shadowhunters

Incredibly proud of our @MatthewDaddario for winning the #TeenChoice Award for #ChoiceSciFiFantasyTVActor. Join us in wishing him congratulations below! #Shadowhunters

Freeform:

YAAAAS! Huge congrats to all our winners tonight.  #TeenChoice

#TeenChoice with this @ShadowhuntersTV crew.

#TeenChoice with @EmeraudeToubia from @ShadowhuntersTV.

#TeenChoice with @Kat_McNamara from @ShadowhuntersTV.

Cast and Crew Reactions

Emeraude (Izzy) shared a photo with a message: #ChoiceSciFiTVShow  This one’s for you! Thank you!! #Shadowhunters fandom! #ShadowhuntersLegacy #TeenChoiceAwards

Alan Van Sprang (Valentine) congratulated the show:  So proud of my #Shadowhunters family for winning the @TeenChoiceFOX award. Thank you @Kat_McNamara @DomSherwood1 @MatthewDaddario @EmeraudeToubia @HarryShumJr @arosende @AnnaBananaHops for representing. Congrats!!!

Sydney Meyer (Helen Blackthorn): YAAAAYYY!!!! Congratulations @ShadowhuntersTV fam!!! #ChoiceScifiTvShow #TeenChoiceAwards  so proud of everyone.  

Jade Hassoune (Meliorn) celebrated all the way from South Korea.

Darren Swimmer (showrunner) congratulated the entire cast and crew and Matt on their wins.

Todd Slavkin thanks the fans after the Teen Choice win.

Nicola Correia-Damude (Maryse) cheers for Shadowhunters Forever.

Alisha (Maia) congratulates her castmates and the show.

Kat (Clary):  Thank you, Angels! Tonight was magical and largely because of you! I’m still processing! By the angel, we have the most amazing fandom!  #TeenChoiceAwards @TeenChoiceFOX

Isaiah (Luke) posted his congratulations on Instagram:  Congrats to @shadowhunterstv, @freeform, @Netflix, all the cast, and crew, and of course The FAMdom!!! Thank you for being the best fandom online and everywhere!!! #saveshadowhunters #dontgiveupthehunt 💚🐺

Harry (Magnus) thanks the fandom in celebrating the win, y’all.

Matt Hastings (director):  You did it!  #ShadowhubtersTakeTCA We are nothing without our fans. Thank you for believing in us! #ChoiceSciFiFantasyTVShow 12moretogo

Twitter & Social Media Stuff

Dom (Jace) posted his feelings about being able to portray Jace on Shadowhunters and his thanks to everyone involved on Instagram. [1]

Stefanie Terzo (Hair Stylist) shared a photo: Badass. #Aleclightwood #shadowhunters #bts

Sydney Meyer (Helen Blackthorn) shared a photo: #HelenBlackthorn is coming folks thanks @FreeformTV for the welcome! [2]

Anna (Lilith) shared a photo: Even though we just shot the finale and it feels like goodbye, at least we still have something to look forward to, 3b next year with the wonderful cast, and this exceptional guy @lukebaines, proof that Lilith achieved her hellish goal! #shadowhunters

Brian Hui (makeup artist) shared a photo:  @APStansfield and I getting @meyers48 ready for camera!

Stefanie Terzo (makeup artist) shared a video of a Seelie Queen transformation:  @ksuemurray 1/3 of my seelie queen! 💙 #shadowhunters #seeliequeen #ittakesanarmy

Matt Hastings (director) shared some thoughts on 3x20: Just saw some of the early #320 VFX from our friends @folksvfx.  I am gobsmacked by their talent.  They take ideas and make them AMAZING! #ShadowhuntersSeason3

Brian Hui (makeup artist) shared a BTS photo from set: Just a little something to cheer everyone up!  There’s still 12 episodes for us to share with you! [3]

Deana Sumanac (CBC reporter) shared some photos from the Shadowhunters set: Just had the most incredible visit of the set of #Shadowhunters-what a world Toronto crew built!

Javier Munoz (Lorenzo Rey) shared a Lightwood family photo

Brian Hui (makeup artist) shared a definitely not doctored photo of Luke Baines.

Emeraude (Izzy) shared her Teen Choice Awards pink carpet look.

Matt (Alec) thanks the fans for his win and the show’s win, and thanks everyone who has helped create Shadowhunters over the years on Instagram.

Kat (Clary) shared a video of her practicing her fight moves in the Shadowhunters Dojo.

Jade Hassoune (Meliorn) shares his excitement over #SaveShadowhunters in Seoul: I FOUND IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BY ACCIDENT!!!!!!!!! #SAVESHADOWHUNTERS #NOTOURLASTHUNT AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! #Shadowhunters [4]

MCM Comic Con announced that Kat, Emeraude, Jade and Alberto are attending their London convention!

#SaveShadowhunters (continued)

On June 4th, it was announced that Freeform wouldn’t be continuing on with a fourth season of Shadowhunters. Here are a few major highlights. (Our full roundup for #SaveShadowhunters can be found here.)

Articles

Film Daily (article): Malec forever: How this queer storyline became the battle cry for ‘Shadowhunters’ fans

Digital Spy (article): Here's what the Save Shadowhunters fan campaign is planning next

Hidden Remote (article): Did Shadowhunters set photos reveal a Malec wedding?

talky! media (article: Shadowhunters 3: Kimberly-Sue Murray sarà la nuova regina della corte Seelie

Matt Carter (article): Save Shadowhunters update: Analyzing recent statements + more

Just Jared Jr (article): Dominic Sherwood Shares Touching Tribute To 'Shadowhunters' After Wrapping Filming on Possible Series Finale

Express (article): Shadowhunters cancelled: How you can save Shadowhunters

Matt Carter (article): Save Shadowhunters: How Teen Choice Awards may be biggest stage to date

Constantin Film (press release): Shadowhunters wraps principal photography

Matt Carter (article): Shadowhunters fails to find new home, per production company; what’s next? and video reaction

Film Daily (article):  The fight isn’t over: Fans explain why ‘Shadowhunters’ is more than just a TV show

Other News

PopSugar (article): Please Enjoy These 25 Insanely Sexy Pictures of Harry Shum Jr.

PopSugar (article): Harry Shum Jr.'s Sweet Pictures With His Wife Will Make You Love Him Even More

PopSugar (article): Prepare to Drool Over Harry Shum Jr.'s Sexy Shirtless Snaps in 3, 2, 1 . . .

PopSugar (article): 14 Times Harry Shum Jr.'s Dancing Skills Made Our Hearts Beat a Little Faster

TV Insider (article):  10 Stars Who Appeared on TV Before 'Crazy Rich Asians' (PHOTOS)

Harry (Magnus) attended the premiere of Crazy Rich Asians, in which he plays Charlie Wu: 

Harry via Twitter: This night. @crazyrichasians premiere was amazing. The movie blew me away. So proud of all involved. Styled by: @warrenalfiebaker Suit: @brunellocucinelli WATCH IN THEATERS 8/15

LA Times Entertainment shared a video: “Crazy Rich Asians” actor @HarryShumJr opens up about the challenge of avoiding stereotypical roles in Hollywood

Kat (Clary) supported Harry at the Crazy Rich Asians premiere: Emerald dreams  #CrazyRichAsians Premiere... SUCH a lovely film. @CrazyRichMovie

Digital Spy (article): Shadowhunters star Harry Shum Jr says movies like Crazy Rich Asians are "truly important" for Asians in Hollywood

InStyle (article): Kat (Clary) was named a Look of the Day for her Crazy Rich Asians premiere look

Alex Gervasi shared photos of Harry and his Crazy Rich Asians co-stars:  Right after these guys found out their movie #CrazyRichAsians got a 100 score on Rotten Tomatoes! SEE THE MOVIE! Hollywood needs to tell more stories like this! Congrats, you guys! ✨ #CrazyRichAsians

Just Jared Jr. (article): Katherine McNamara Shares Meaning Behind Her Tiny New Gingko Tattoo

[amaliaonly]

Introspeksi One: Iman 2015

1. MCMS

So the first Introspeksi (jeng jeng jengggg). How did Introspeksi all started? Let’s start with MCMS. So every University have its own student clubs and activities. MCMS is one of the student clubs in SIM that is catered to the Malay Muslim student body/community in SIM. Back then (2014) MCMS niche or the so called popular events was either FBC, Islamic Gift Economy (IGE), Cultural Day or Dikir Performance. We didn’t have any theatre production for one of its events since MCMS was formed. So one of my seniors who was in the 8th Executive Committee, Brother Yoda (not his real name) has proposed to the school and initiated the idea for MCMS to have its own theatre production under it. Looking at other Malay Cultural groups from other universities (NUS, NTU/NIE, SMU) they have their very own theatre production. Our strongest cultural activity back then was Dikir Barat where we performed every time the school has Open House or when we have outside events that we participated or other events that needs a Dikir performance. Through Dikir we found that there is a pool of our MCMS members that is interested in Cultural events.

 2. Why Introspeksi came about?

Thus after much proposals/discussions/suggestions/voting’s and workings among the 8th Executive Exco and members of MCMS during that term we thought that maybe having a theatre production can be used as one of its medium events that can use to attract more members to join our club. So firstly Introspeksi was formed/raised or brought up because there was an interest back then from a Dikir Performance to have another niche Cultural Event.  Also another reason why Introspeksi was formed was because we used to have a Dikir Instructor Mr X (not his real name and nope this is not Abang Mok either). So Mr X is (to me) a theatre activist/arts educator who has made works in the Malay media/arts industry. He has made involvement in the Malay theatre scene. He and Brother Yoda thus has discussions about having another event under Cultural programmes besides Dikir and he is willing to contribute in helping build its foundation. I am not really sure what other real discussions/issues among the both of them but the thought and idea of Introspeksi and how Introspeksi should be came from both their ideas. Thus due to the discussion both of them have Introspeksi was formed. I may missed out some other reasons or some things on how Introspeksi was brought up but these two reasons are the reasons that I know off. If you want to find out more DM me to find out who Mr X and Brother Yoda is so you can contact them and ask them more information about it.

3. The foundation and works leading to the building of Introspeksi. (Feb-May)

Having a theatre production with most of the students having no prior experience or knowledge to organise was one of the things that we all were but most of us are a risk taker in which the term we always use back then was “Go je”. So Brother Yoda along with his partner built their committee. The sub-committee was made up of Ex-excos from the 8th Executive Committee, other senior members from other subcomms events, our Dikir Barat members, friends of Brother Yoda and also new faces that joined MCMS. (Okay sorry side track abit) Okay so each event is usually under the term of an Exco Group. So the first Introspeksi was an event under the 9th Executive Committee in which I was part of the excos as Honorary Secretary (just to be clear even if it’s under the 9th, the idea of Intro was formed since the 8th term. It’s just that it was only able to be executed under the 9th term). So every Exco term during our first meeting we have this thing call Calendar of Events where we plot events that we plan to organise throughout our Exco term and who should oversee those events. So Introspeksi was plotted in September and overseeing that event was the Cultural Department and my VP Cultural back then who was the APD of Intro. So yes guys, we have a VP and an Exco herself that leads Intro and I am not sure why now NO EXCO can lead Intro in the future or even be part of it. Eh wait.. Chey kidding actually I know why let me elaborate if I have the chance later on. But heyy even my APD during Ziarah was exco lehh. Ok sorry let’s move on.

So Brother Yoda and our VP Cultural back then thus set out to officially kick-start Introspeksi in February 2015. Okay so one of the things we planned out and should start doing having no experience is to go out and learn from others, take part and also attend and watch a lot of plays. I was so excited that MCMS will have its own theatre production and I was all out in helping the two of them. So the first thing I remember that came knocking on my door was an audition from NUS Pentas. Somebody from NUS texted me to join NUS’s production and I was super excited and kanchiong of course. So I am not sure why but I remembered texting Brother Yoda asking permission if I can join Pentas while doing Intro at the same time. Then he replied me this one message that I will always remember. It goes something like “Rumah sendiri boleh sapu kenapa kena sapu rumah orang lain? Sapu rumah sendiri dulu kasi bersih” something like that. He told me to be patient first as there are plans for us Intro team to join a bigger production.

Ok wait..this is it GENTARASA 2015, a national production. Okay so I think why our team was involved in Gentarasa was because Mr X was one of the directors taking over Gentarasa that year so thus while some of the Intro comm joined the Gentarasa Committee as SMs, sponsorships and marketing, I took part as Cast. Thus we were part of the Gentarasa 2015 team from Feb till May. Long story short while doing Gentarasa I remember we have to do fundraising selling flowers and me juggling exco, exams on top of having back to back rehearsal during that May period was really kerja gila. And also because of Gentarasa that is where I met and reconnected back with ABANG MOK (woohooo!) So AbangMok was part of Gentarasa 2015 as Cast also. I didn’t know he was part of cast as he came pretty late I think in late April. So we were preparing for a press release for Berita (the 8pm news at Suria) at Goodman Arts Centre. I was backstage (mind you we have to dance in front of a lot of important people and I was also dancer guys) feeling nervous and want to cry cos it was close during exam period and I was super stress out. Then I saw a familiar face. This tall man came in the back stage sitting and boy I came up running to him and I say ABANG MOK!! Then I hug him and we catch up a bit and I was surprise to hear that he will be acting also then I told him that I want to cry and I was super stress then he hug me and boosted my confidence. Hais Abangmok ;’) This is fate guys I tell you cos the next few years is history ;’) Abang Mok has been my Instructor since MI days and to see him again after years and then do great things after Gentarasa really is fate that it’s meant to be.

4. Introspeksi 2015: IMAN (after May)

So after Gentarasa was over we held our first audition during puasa period in June. I auditioned along with 5 others. Then came Aishah baby along with 2 more guys. Thus in total including myself we had 8 cast members for the 1st Introspeksi. 1 guy from cast had to drop out of cast due to commitment (I was super sad lah. Nasrul if you’re reading this I hope you’re doing good Brother. It’s been a long time.) For Introspeksi we had Mr X and Mr Y, the best duo partners that came in as both our Directors and Scriptwriters. A lot of challenges came while doing Intro. The same script problem every year, low commitment, MIAs, lack of funding and sponsorships. I wasn’t sure of how the play will turn out because firstly we know there is our usual devise play that we will performed then suddenly we will have a group of dancers that will come on board that will perform with us as well. This is where in the dance group there was Nana, Dinie, Tutik and not forgetting Amalina! While doing Iman, we had Pesta Raya and also FBC to do. Was yup crazy busy. So while my time in Iman I observed how my seniors did their work. I thought to myself if this event have a good turnout and the outcome is good it needs to be continued to next year and Introspeksi shouldn’t be let off as a one-time thing. Thus that spark my interest during my rehearsals days in Iman to continue Introspeksi and being the PD next year. I didn’t really share this with people and all I did was just to continue observing the works, how things are being done and just help Iman in every way possible.

For Iman, I had a great time with my casts and most of my scenes was with Brother Qayyum, a very talented person indeed (go check out his works guys at Qayyumrocks, amayyzingg). I was his Boss in the play and he was the Main cast. There was a scene where both of us was supposed to shake hands hahaha and then he told me nicely with respect can I not hold your hands (this I respect you Brother). So apart from being his Boss I had another role that I had to play which is colleague to Aishahbaby. So in order for people to not be confuse with the roles I played, the other role I had to be an Indonesian and speak in Bahasa Indo.

One of the challenges I know we faced for Iman is that we wanted to postpone and pushed it back because there was some problems with the higher ups and there were talks about bringing AbangMok in. We have never had any combine trainings also and did our first combine rehearsals the week before bump in ;’). Thus you can see that Nana, Dinie and Amalina and I we have never talked or acknowledge each other during Iman. Tutik and I have cos we have known each other since FBC Camp. That was how segregated we all are and awkward to each other even till show day but look at us now hehe.

Some of my memorable memories from Iman besides Gentarasa was during Raya meeting that’s where we all see people coming together and of course bump in. Okaylah to be honest there was not much because of a series of things that had happened but let it be I and those involved and Him who shall know what had happened in Iman let it stay in Iman. Oh and Nizam was part of Crew too! Iman was the only Intro that had a full guys team as Crew and really like Abang2 (berg berg and tall and big haha) and I remember one of them smoke (okaylah I think this was ecigg) at the back stage and I was like ok Bro you do you! For food sponsorship during Bump in with got Kawkaw Burger yawww!! Sedap gilzzz.

All in all there were both good and bad moments during Iman. While I enjoyed my time in Iman with my cast mates, with some of the subcomss and of course my fellowship of the 9th there were some things that I disagree with the workings of Iman. There were A LOT of restrictions by some groups and ya lah some things I disagree that I just have to bury it deep down cos I was still learning back then. Oh do you know I was being kicked out of the PAT during bump in hahaha ;’) Okaylah I was just being told off to get out of the PAT by the higher ups (my fault my fault you correct I wrong chey. Okay I know I’m sometimes a nuisance too heh). Introspeksi Iman would not have happened without Brother Yoda and his team. They are the ones who make Introspeksi possible and making it happen with A LOT of uncertainties and risk to overcome. I hope Brother Yoda and the VP Cultural back then is doing great now. I will never forget the work and dedication you guys have put in to Intro 1.

Thus that was how Introspeksi 1 was formed.

Stay tuned to what happens next after Introspeksi 1……………….(jeng jeng jeng)

Dream, Believe and Make it Happen People!

Fitri Amalia.

[sakurai09]

I need to rethink my friends...

Don’t fret, my gorgeous, beautiful, fucking amazing online friends @dreamychick, @talaraleya, and everyone else who I speak to (I just talk to these two more regularly,)

I mean my only real life ‘in my face’ friend. Heurgh…

MCM Comicon will never be the same for me. And though I might be petty, I’ll let you decide (if you want to read)

Okay, so let me explain.

So MCM Comicon was this Saturday. And yes, it was fantastic and I had a blast and I bought soooo many things (many that I can’t show because about half of them are for a certain parabatai of mine) so I’ll just write about it instead.

Yeah, there’s a legit reason why I don’t have (any fucking) pictures.

Now, I woke up that morning, ecstatic, put on my Kageyama Tobio (Haikyuu) cosplay, and styled my hair (well, Kageyama had dark red hair instead of black….work with me here, I don’t do well with wigs), did my make up to look like him, and had pretty much everything down pat.

Got on the train and met a(n extremely tall) dude dressed as Ash Ketchum (Pokemon) and we were talking about the places we were going to hit when we got there.

He took a picture of me on the train platform, and I of him (which when I asked him if I could post it, he said no, so I’m going to go with his wishes – just imagine a tall dark haired European dressed in the blue jacket and the red hat – got it? Good.)

Got off the first train and Ketchum (no names will be stated, I will be using their character/cosplay names) finds his friends at Euston, and says that if we meet again at the convention, to hang out.

Meh, sure. Why not. He seemed pretty cool.

Anywhoo, I had to take 4 trains to get to the convention. One overground from my home town to London Euston, then the underground to Bank, then the DLR to Cannon Street, then the DLR again to Price Regent.

Not bad, because I met a child Kaneki Ken on the Underground, he was having some difficulty with the amount of people on the train and his tentacle things (which OMG looked amazing!) and his dad was kind of shielding him, and I was standing behind them, to help them out as well (because I know what that feels like, with and without the cosplay).

We all got off at Cannon Street, and that’s where I met Rin from Love Live, and Levi from Attack on Titan, and apparently, they had just started talking to me the entire way to the convention (they came with their parents, because they were hella young, and their mother was happy that there was another “responsible adult” taking care of them, and her other kid who didn’t cosplay was exitedly talking random theories with me. More like, my teacher instincts came and I was just looking out for them, without looking creepy)

So we got into the convention, and I saw the most adorable Yuuri and Victor (Yuri on Ice) I have ever seen, they were dressed in their final outfits, and had pretty flower crowns on. (my phone won’t allow me to post their picture, so I’ll try it later when I’m at a pc or laptop…fate doesn’t want me to post any pictures…its a sign!)

Waiting in line to check my bags, spoke to a Vaporeon, Sam and Dean, Ace Ventura and his crew, many more AOT characters, a Storm Trooper (in which I was saved by saying “I am not the droid you’re looking for”) and many others whom I don’t know their characters, but they were extremely nice, and we sang the entirety of Bohemian Rhapsody and then the Pokemon theme song.

Unfortunately, my phone was in my bag, because my cosplay didn’t have any pockets, and the ones that were there on my jacket were small so my phone poked out, and I really didn’t want my focus to be on just my phone the entire time.

I really wished I had taken it out to take pictures, because some people were dressed so freakin amazing, cosplay up the wazzoo, and they were all so pretty.

I was entranced by a woman dressed as Mikazuki Munechika, and she was so precious. And then again by a man dressed up as Tony Stark (so Ironman without the entire suit) he had the arc reactor and everything!

‘But sakurai-ai,’ I hear you say, ‘this all seems like a lot of fun, why are you rethinking of your friends?’

Well, dear, it all went downhill after I met my friend.

The person I was supposed to meet to do the comicon together was odd throughout the entire ordeal. Let’s call him Lucifer (legit, that’s his name saved on my phone). And he hadn’t even bothered to cosplay, or wear a fan shirt – I mean, sure…whatever.

So the convention centre was planned out with a centre hallway that had all the restaurants and tables, confectioneries, etc, and there were two immense hallways on either side with the convention stalls. (like a butterfly, where the body is the restaurants and entrance exits, and the wings are the stalls). Got it? Good…

Our plan, go through everything on one side, take a break, get some lunch, and go through the other side and then double back if we wanted something.

Easy, and it worked until after lunch.

There were so many amazing stalls, all with so many cool and pretty things, and there were things there that I had never seen before, and I wish I had a chance to go back and go through them all again and really appreciate what they were. But thankfully I got all the business cards from each of the stalls I liked and will definitely go back to them later.

So, after lunch – in which I got noodles that did not taste like I had wanted them too, but then again the line was immensely long and I didn’t expect it to be fine dining. I was mellow. And saw a group of Harley Quins, who all looked amazing!!

Anywhoo, I am an avid Yaoi/BL lover (as you may have noticed) and I really was interested in the section that said ‘yaoi’, so I kind of beelined for that place, but it turns out I did not get a chance to look, let alone peruse, because Lucifer decided he wanted to check out the other section with his favourite things on it, and he didn’t want to leave me alone, because we “may get lost” – yeah, if I got lost, I’d call you.

So…thinking I’d get another chance to go back to that section, I followed Lucifer to the section he wanted to look at (which honestly, I have no interest in, he likes Transformers, and yeah, I like Mecha too, but not Transformers, never have, never will – I’m sorry for those who do, I understand the appeal, but I’d rather a Guymelef or a Gundam than a Transformer…don’t hate…) but I trudged along as he talked about Transformers to the counter dude, and he seemed excited for it. Who am I to stop him having a good time.

In that time I found a lot of other people who were dressed as Haikyuu characters, and we took a few pictures. I saw an Oikawa (yes, she looked hot…) and we took a few pictures. Then I met a legit amazing looking Kogetsunemaru and was like ‘Mikazuki is around here somewhere’, to which they were pretty excited about.

I saw a few Batmans, a few Darryls and their Lucille’s, and many, many, many other amazing cosplayers. And I rued that my phone was in my bag, because I really wanted to take pictures of them all.

After a half hour of that, where people took pictures of me (dude, if you’re out there and reading this, please tag me, I want to see you all again in your amazing cosplay glory!!) and I just was bedazzled by the greatness of these people and their commitments to their cosplays.

I scrounged the area around where I was, and honestly, I’m not a graphic novel reading person (as you may know) I do enjoy reading Grayson and Constantine, which my parabatai @dreamychick got me into. But other than that, I’m anime and manga all around. So not only did I not know who half of the characters were (other than the obvious ones, i.e. Batman, Superman, etc etc) I wasn’t interested in buying them.

Don’t get your pitchforks out just yet.

We all like different things, and that’s all okay!

Half hour passed, and Lucifer finally emerged from the depths of Transformers and we continued.

Here’s the kicker, whenever I was at a stall, perusing figurines and other things that I really wanted to get, he’d be like the devil on my shoulder, telling me that we wouldn’t have time to see everything else if we stayed in one place too long.

Ironic, since the guy spent the last half hour at a stall talking about Transformers, and then buying the smallest, dinkiest little thing from them. And yet, when I want to spent a few minutes looking at a figurine of Levi, or something, to make sure it looks cool and is cheap enough for me to consider buying, he pulls on my arm and drags me out.

Heurgh…

I need to take a moment to get my anger down…just a sec….

…

…

…okay, I think I’m okay.

I did, however, find the beautiful Mikazuki Munechika and Kogitsunemaru nendoroids and bought them, because they are the most adorable and cutest looking figures ever.

And I saw a Sugawara Koushi nendroid…people, I saw him, and he was rather cheap…much more so than I had seen online.

I went to tell the clerk I wanted him, I had him in my hand, really, I did…but then Lucifer dragged me off somewhere else and I had to put him down. I even told him I was thinking of buying it, and he said ‘we can come back to it later’.

Bad idea…

But I looked at the clerk and was like ‘please save it, I’ll be back’, but he was a business man, though he said he’d keep it to the side, I knew he’d sell it if someone asked.

Bye bye Sugawara Koushi nendoroid….

But look…graphic novels…yay…

Again, I’m not saying they are bad, they aren’t. Some of the covers I saw were damn hell amazing. And if I knew anything about them, I’d be all up in there.

But alas, I am not literate in graphic novels, so I really couldn’t enjoy it like it was supposed to be. 

And, I’m not used to reading comics from left to right, I’ve been programmed from right to left, sorry. And I didn’t learn kanji, hira and kata just so I could read English comics…

I’m sorry, I have nothing against them, I just don’t like them. (Mainly because they have too many interlocking story lines, many inside jokes and starting from the beginning will cost me my yearly salary for the next 10 years).

Back to the story.

‘Still,’ I hear you cry, ‘Lucifer just wanted to have fun too, he came to the convention centre to have fun too. He should get a chance to look!’

Sure, I agree, that was why I made sure he got a chance to see every single stall he wanted to for however long he wanted. Because I know he only wanted one thing, or one series of things, and he wanted to look at every single stall that would have semblance of that thing.

But, he would not let me get to see much of what I wanted to see.

I did, however, go back to the yaoi section, and literally just had a chance to go ‘oh look, Haikyuu doujinshi let me see–’ before I was pulled away again.

I had to push him back and tell him that I was going to buy something and he should either look somewhere else or just stand there and let me look.

Ever heard a grown man whine?

I have…it was rather pathetic. So I literally picked up what was already in my hand and said I’d get this.

So…so far, I had a Levi figurine, Mikazuki Munechika, Kogistunemaru nendoroids, a hell of a lot of business cards from the stalls I wasn’t able to look properly at, and a sad heart because when I went back for Sugawara…the guy had sold him.

Yup…

Also, Lucifer pees, like a lot. So I had a lot of time to sit outside the toilets (seven times in total….yeah….) and contemplate my new game plan.

Quick scan, see what I like, and impulse buy.

So we went on the other side and this side seemed to be for gamers and graphic novel lovers. But there was a comic village, which had a lot of manga – but no yaoi, and honestly, at the stalls they were all priced the same as they would be if I bought them from Waterstones back home, so I didn’t see the point. I perused while Lucifer went around the other way of the massive stall and saw the books he wanted.

I couldn’t stray too far, because the asshat would get lost.

We saw the TofuCute stall, and it was so adorable, but again, I was dragged through it pretty quickly, because it seemed that looking at plush and trinkets and cute things and snack items which I wanted to get!!! was something that was not ‘manly’ enough for Lucifer.

I did stop at a cute badge stall and told Lucifer to ‘fucking wait,’ or ‘go over to that stall, i think I see a Transformer there, do you have that one?’ and that gave me time to look at the badges, gush on how cute they were to the creator, and buy the ones that I liked enough – still an impulse buy, because I didn’t really get a chance to see much else on her stall.

What am I going to do with badges?

I did get a chance to look at the stall next to it and see small figurines, they were like an inch tall, so I got my OTP - Tsukkiyama (Haikyuu) and Rei and Nagisa (Free), and was looking at the other figurines, deciding which ones to buy. I came across a cheap Sawamura Daichi (Haikyuu) because the box was dented some, so the price came down drastically.

The dude let me do a quick check inside, and I saw the figurine was immaculate. And though I understand the need of the boxes (I adore having them. I know that they will be safe in their boxes in case I need to put my figurines away). So I quickly purchased him (still forlorn over Sugawara nendoroid…)

Lucifer came back with a fucking huge box in a bag, that must have cost over £100, and it was a Transformer – it looked cool, and the look on the guys face was happy.

So yeah, can’t dent on that.

We then spent the next 3 ½ hours going through the rest of the stalls, many of which I had no clue of – because honestly, I don’t have a PS4 or an XBox One (gasp, I know) so half of the characters on the games was something that went way over my head.

There were retro games and consoles being sold too, but what was the point if I didn’t have those, or didn’t want any of the games?

But Lucifer wanted to look, so I let him (after what seemed like the millionth bathroom break).

It was getting closer to closing time, and I had had fun, sure I didn’t get to see many of the things I wanted to see, the yaoi section was something we never visited again, because ‘yeah, I like Transformers and you like the boys love stuff. but I don’t like that kind of stuff, it makes me uncomfortable’

(Which is why I never speak of it in front of you, or mention it in conversations ever, and the fact that I told you constantly from three months prior to the convention that ‘if I see something related to yaoi or bl, please know that I’m going to want to see it, and if you’re in anyway uncomfortable, you can go look at something else while I look’. to which he had stated ‘sure’ on every occasion)

And even though I went to, and waited for you without complaint to every stall you went to, the fact that I wanted to stop at a (NON-YAOI/BL) stall was suddenly me taking up valuable time.

So, sure….that was one reason why I was rethinking my friendship with him, but it wasn’t something that would tip me to ‘no-friends’ territory.

I am an aphenphosmphobic, to all those who know and follow me, to those who do not, or just don’t know. That means I do not like people touching me. I get panic attacks, and on many occasions, have scratched my skin off wherever the person had (even accidentally) touched me, and bled out because of it.

And Lucifer knows that, and the fact that I am asexual and not looking for a relationship with someone where sex is the main factor (sure it can be a part of it, but its not the sole thing).

And sure, I know people can be affectionate, and all touchy feely, and I get that. I’d probably be the same if I didn’t have aphen.

However, the grabbing my shoulders, laying on my lap, pulling me close to them and expecting me to lay my head on their shoulders, holding onto my neck, trying to hold my hand (thankfully I had bags to hold, and did not put anything in my backpack, even though I knew I had enough space to do so). I did not give him permission to do so. And I had told him, countless of times I did not like it, even saying the words ‘please, don’t touch me, I don’t like it’ to him countless of times. i had even told him that my mother was getting me married off to someone (as a side thing when he asked how life was) and that I was happy with that (dreamychick, thank God for you and our pact)

The bugger didn’t listen, and just kept hugging me. I wasn’t giving off any vibe, or anything to state that I liked it, or that I was playing hard to get. I was stiff and uncomfortable every time he did so.

So much so, that even a large man who was dressed as some kind of viking or knight or something (I’m sorry, I don’t know your character, but THANK YOU) came up to me and took me away because he ‘wanted to get a picture with me because of my cosplay’.

He took me to the side and took a few selfies of us, but I knew he didn’t know my character. He even said ‘you looked like you needed help, don’t let him do things like that to you’.

Which again, thank you Mr. Shirtless Knight!

So ….favouring unfriendship-ness yet? No?

Well, how about this…

I met a really good looking Hinata. Remember, I’m dressed as Kageyama. And I really, really wanted to meet a Hinata and take a few Kagehina pictures. And this person comes out of the blue and kind of stumbles into me. (there are a lot of people, so it makes sense) so I turn, wanting to say sorry, but then I see what he’s wearing and I just can’t help myself.

So I say the famous line (note paraphrase!!) “There’s nothing scarier than hitting me in the back of my head, is there? In that case, you don’t have to be nervous because you’ve already done the scariest thing possible,”

The guy (who was tall for Hinata – but everyone is tall to me) gave me a ‘oh crap! Freaked out’ face, but then we started laughing.

And then he asked if we could take some pictures together. I gave Lucifer my phone and told him to take a few pictures too. And we did some cool moves and things like that. Then this other girl came and saw us (she was dressed in a really pretty maid outfit kind of dress) and she wanted to take some ‘kagehina’ pictures. So we did, it was so much fun, because I was shorter than he was, but we still had loads of fun doing it.

Then she asked us to try and do the ‘freak quick’, so we stood next to each other and I pretended to toss him the ball and he jumped up and pretended to hit it.

We had to do it a few times, and a small crowd of people had drawn in to watch, but then walked away just as quickly. Whatever.

We found a Nishinoya who stood behind us, and there was an Asahi who, even though we urged him to come into the picture, he came in for one and then left, because he had too many things in his hands.

And where was Lucifer??

Not taking pictures of this monumentally straight-out-of-fanfiction moment. Nope, the fucker had gone off to the comic village and was browsing through the comics there.

So for those people who took pictures, please, please, please send them to me! Because I am in desperate need of a reminder why comicon is the fucking best.

So the day did not stop there.

Oh no, Lucifer had one more ace up his sleeve.

If any of you live in London, or are familiar with London rail map, you’d know that London Euston and Kings Cross St. are like 2 minutes (aka one stop) away from one another. And that Prince Regent is three trains away from it.

But my mate Lucifer wanted to go to Westfield Centre for dinner, aka Stratford International. So me, being a complete loon, thought ‘sure, we can get something from a restaurant is Westfield, then we’ll both take the trains back to Euston and Kings Cross (respectfully) and then be on our merry ways home on either side of the country.

Easy right? We did this every time.

Woe is me, who forgot that Stratford International has SouthEastern trains as well. Which is he train that he takes to go home. I feel like such a fool.

So not only did I have to scrounge up the last parts of my saving for that weekend because the fucker bought the massive Transformer, which he had had to lug everywhere, and therein we were not able to fully appreciate all of the stalls we wanted to go back to, and that also meant we took twice as many breaks as before.

But his card stopped working, so I had to pay for his dinner. Which, thankfully he has still hasn’t paid me back. But I’m dealing.

I wasn’t even hungry, I had eaten a few snacks I had brought with me, downed the water and was eager to just get home, and eat my sandwich I had saved, on the train from Euston onwards, and get home to my mums cooking.

But, nah. I guess. I had Chicken Katsu Curry Don (I am the tastiest chicken cutlet bowl!) which was tasty, once you got over the whole ‘it’s burning my mouth and its not at all chilli’ thing.

Somewhere to take @dreamychick when she’s here!! Hint hint.

The dude got up, I got up too, still eating (because I eat slow….) and he said ‘today was fun, I’m going to head home now’ and then hugged me (when I had told him not to) and then just fucking up and walked off.

I felt like a cheap whore, who had given the guy a great time only to be thrown aside.

I felt ew…

THANKFULLY, I navigated my way from Westfield (which I had only ever been into once like 15 years ago, and had gotten there by car), I had to find the DLR get to Cannon, take the underground circular, then the underground northern, to get to Euston (that was an hour because of the rush), and then get the overground from Euston to MK – where I live.

Once I got out of underground, I saw all the amazing notifications my best friends @dreamychick and Masa gave me, wishing me a great day and things like that, or just telling me about their day, and that stopped me from crying.

I never cry…not really. But they honestly don’t understand just how meaningful they are in my life.

I came home, dead tired, my legs aching from all the walking. I showed my mother all the cool figurines I got, and my dad said he’d put up a new shelf for me to put them all on. (which is good because…kids come into my room and they break shit – my Levi and Eren nendoroids don’t even stand anymore… cry)

I was too tired, that I went to sleep early.

The next day, I kept my fast (month of Ramadan, so Ramadan Kareem to all those celebrating it!) and made all of my figurines.

No shelf yet.

But I spent the day doing nothing…went shopping for groceries and just had a ‘rest’ day.

Should I be rethinking my friendship with Lucifer after all that? Or is it all just me?

[mcmwallets16-blog]

How you can Make Fertilizer

My grandmother ran a greenhouse until eventually I used to be about 18, and i uncovered a lot about fashionable expanding procedures. Every summertime and following faculty the remainder of the 12 months, we spent time at her residence to make sure that my mother could help her. We acquired how you can make dirt, a phrase that proceeds to confuse my West Coast family members. They desired to learn why you'd want to make what presently existed. A great deal on the soil in Appalachia is clay like. However, these kinds of soil can pack all-around the roots of plants and forestall them from rising appropriately. In order to start off the seedlings, a far more porous soil was desired. Grandma would have fake ysl bag clay soil introduced in the yard spot, and blended it with equivalent areas steer manure, soil and peat moss. The end result was a pleasant, comfortable soil with the seedlings. Right before luggage of sterilized manure might be ordered, grandma had to sterilize it herself. The method employed was burning. The picked dung was piled up and established on hearth. The smell was terrible, but the manure was safe and sound to work with in gardens plus the greenhouse. Within the farm, we had plenty of experience with a variety of kinds of organic fertilizer. We'd make compost, another system of sterilization. By trial and mistake we learned several exciting points in regards to the manure of varied critters. Initially off, under no circumstances use hen manure. It could possibly and will melt away the vegetation. Horse manure is nice, but given that the grass is not always entirely digested it may leave lots of seeds, which suggests plenty of weeding later on. Cow manure could be the very best, mainly because it is usually additional thoroughly digested. That's not the one approach of getting ready fertilizer, however the subsequent process wasn't particularly sterile. Wonderful Aunt Ellen kept a rain barrel stuffed with manure and water. She'd dip out what she essential for the backyard, calling it "manure fake hermes bag tea." I am quite happy that procedure wasn't still remaining made use of once i was developing up. Ick. You can find a funny story about a distant cousin, Harry Truman. I observed this like a youngster inside the movie "Give 'em Hell, Harry." Another person arrived as many as his spouse and was extremely flustered. He said, "Could you receive him to halt declaring manure continuously?" She seemed at him in all seriousness and claimed "It took me all of these yrs to get him to say that in its place." To be truthful, I desire working with fertilizer that's not processed. It really is far better for that surroundings and so long as it's sterilized by some means, it is better for that individual taking in the produce. You will discover blogs and articles about many herbs as well as the situations they might assist. Subjects include anxiety, again suffering, the flu, gout and cholesterol. You could also obtain my cost-free report, the best Ten Herbs. The report discusses the uses, aspect consequences, safeguards and interactions of well-liked herbs. My eBooks, also found to the web-site, comprise details about foodstuff and herbs that may enable you to deal cheap mcm with the issues life throws our way. http://www.mcmbackpackoutletmall.com

[ichiban-no-jammu]

RULES: Repost and answer the questions, then tag at least 3 of your followers :)

I was tagged by: @the-damnedest-creature​​ !! thank you!! //;;w;//

I’m not gonna tag that many peeps because I’m not solely a J-rock blog and not many people that follow me are solely J-rock blogs either I think hehe but um mebbe @romanesque-moon​​ and @severemagazinementality​​ idk ignore this if you don’t want to do it of course but we’re mutuals so yeh !! ;u; go for it if you feel like it, sorry for taggin out of the blue ///v// I have hardly any J-rock fan followers to be honest I think /;;   ;))/

anywaaaaaays ヽ・ω・*/ﾉ

1. When and how did you get into j-rock?

jokesss it was animu as usual ahahahaa I was already listening to J-pop at the time like Arashi and Yuki Kajiura I also liked Perfume by that point too, around.. 2012..? somewhere around there ;w; I was 13 years old.

I actually can't remember who my first J-rock band I ever heard was ;;u ; I listened to a lot of anime intros and found a couple of artists from there....   the first J-rock song I ever heard was probably SID's Monochrome no Kissu huhuhu but I didn't actually listen to SID after that.....  ting is is that I was painfully weeby at the time, the typically cringey child that would more listen to ... random american pop songs that I found on amvs, and all the classics like cascada's everytime we touch and the 'numa numa song' ,,...... //////v/// and I listened to a LOT of Vocaloid, all of it, I was obcessed, it’s literally all I would listen to for a year or so ﾉω`*)ﾉ  I also found a finnish rock band called Indica through an amv and even bought one of their albums ;u; my music taste was a crazy mix of stuff I'd just found on Youtube really... I loved The Midnight Beast (reppin from uk) and I still do, Lemon Demon too.... and I downloaded official soundtracks from anime like Pandora Hearts and D.Gray Man and listened to those as well. I was also a big fan of Yugioh the abridged series and would listen to yugioh song parodies LittleKuriboh made ;; u ;

Only a small part of my music library was J-rock and J-pop at the time... but I think the first band that caught my attention was Buck-Tick, after I watched the anime xxxHolic somewhere in 2012. Then after watching Shiki a little later I recognised the same voice and looked kuchizuke up and was jammin, and for some reason I watched an interview with Aachan before getting distracted by that one video that everyone has seen of T.M singing dress with him, and listening to ABS instead because I knew them from the theme song to D.Gray man ///u// it was only until summer 2013 until I really found out who Buck-Tick actually was, I listened to as many singles as I could find and I fell in love with them in less than 24 hours hehe ´｡• ᵕ •｡` I actually didn't like rock music at all before then, b-t were the group that introduced me to being a rock music fan even though I still didn't like heavier sounds, like Gazette that my friend was into. Sometime later that year I listened to L'arc en Ciel for the first time too, I think I read about them in a magazine or something.. I can't remember //w// ((I bought the 'stay away' single at may mcm in 2014, my first J-rock cd :3c)) I still listened to a lot of J-pop during 2013 and Arashi had begun to dominate my life, so I didn't really get properly into J-rock and visual kei until early 2014 when I started listening to ancafe, because I'd heard of them from cosplayers on deviantart who had them in their ID section under music interests, and then subsequently finding out they were touring in europe :3c I was more partial to oshare and lighter pop-punk things around that time.. early days was LM.C and Alice Nine and Royz after that....

Kind of a long and patchy story (wow it’s really long why did I write so much I’m so sorry it’s so boring) but there isn't necessarily an exact moment I started listening to J-rock... only in the last year or so have I let Vkei fully consume my life so... back then it was only a side interest for me among all the other things ˊ꒳ˋ  from 2014 onwards I just found more and more bands as well as listening to a lot of johnny's and J-pop stuffs... >w> and the rest is historyyyy

2. List your current most favorite band(s).

bakuchikuuuuu forever and ever every moment of my waking life alwaysss till I dieeee //w/// and Dog in the PWO >:3 two very contrasting groups to say the leest but I have a wide breadth of faves hehe ;;w; I fell in love with Doggu super quickly and have been following them ever since, I've known them for a year now and they are 100% in my top 5 favourite bands ever ;u ; dems are my two main faves as it is right now but there are too many others to list that I have a lot of feelings for /;;w;//

Currently I also like listening to Hakujitsu no Yume... Pentagon are my children.... Piglow in Gloomy are really amazing also ;w;;

3. How many j-rock concerts have you been to? (If you haven’t been to any, which band would you like to see the most in the future?)

not many becos I am a baby and I have never travelled out of my home country to raibus ;;v; my first ever was Ancafe in 2014, when I was a weeby mess, and most recently Versailles in January 2017 :3c inbetween I’ve seen VAMPS (and alexandros) at a shared live @ ‘Japan Night’ which was a lil concert organised by HyperJapan, a convention here in uk ..can I count bands that I’ve seen at Hyper too..? ;;w; I’ll just count Vaniru because they were aight while Yuto and Leoniel lasted as a couple heheh >w>> and I also went to SuG’s raibu in 2015~

so that makes 6 i guess.. I am a bebe ;;

//come on Merry where u at with this europe tour??//

there are so so so many bands I wanna see live, and I would go to a couple more lives in London here and there but I always get attached to groups that are very Japan-based and that are very unlikely to make any overseas appearances ;v; and I don’t wanna spend a lot of monies on bands that I don’t know as well that occasionally visit //3///

4. Which j-rock band do you think is the most underrated?

Daizystripper o´ω｀o   They used to be a more popular with western peeps but I think a lot of people stopped listening to them a while ago an might not even realise that they're still active and tings ;; v; their debut with Victor might make it a little difficult for international fans though eheh but I wish they still had the support they seemed to have~ so many good jams ;  u ;

And everyone from Planet Child Music records needs more recognition and to be invited to more events ///u//

5. Which j-rock band do you think is the most overrated?

If I had to I'd say Vamps hhhhuu I thought that they were v good up until recently ;;w; I dunno I feel like the couple of newer songs have lost their power and originality... and no matter what I'll always think L'arc are infinitely better but some people think not //vv/// Vamps are always over here and in other countries too, whereas L'arc I feel are neglected a lot with world tours and overseas promotion and stuff when they deserve more love than vamps ;3; I mean.. 25 years going strong //u/ why dis Hyde come back to uk without vamps this time hhhh

6. Who is your ultimate bias in j-rock? Optionally: Post your most favorite picture(s) of them.

ahhhhh .. Aachan got me from the start ;; ﾉﾉ*ФωФ ;;ﾉﾉ ﾉﾉ                            

7. What is your most treasured j-rock related memory?

Um.. not that much has happened to me personally that I can really mention hehe >w>

Hizaki calling me cute at Hyper's meet & greet last year was probably the best thing that's acc happened to me ;;;;w;;;;;; It was the end of the day and I looked like a wreck, Hizaki saw me as I came up for cheki and said 'kawaii~' ////w// best memory heckk I mean Hizaki---- being called cute by Hizaki ;;;;;u; why dis I do not deserve (and obvs taking cheki with him was part of that good memory too >w>)

An Cafe was my first live, and I'll always remember that my one of my favourite singles is 'My heart leaps for 'C'' and when they played it after the encore I went insane hehe ;;; u ; that was a treasured moment for me because it was kind of surreal like 'oh wow a band that I love is playing one of my favourite songs is this real??' and ... since I was an hyperactive 15 year-old that moment just made me really excited ;v; I was singing along (horribly) to every lyric and bouncing up and down like crazy and I would not let that feeling go for a while //w/ ah to be young again ~~

But SuG is probably the best raibu memory ever ever. they played a very very small venue in London and it was literally the most intimate thing imaginable, you could touch everyone and Takecchi almost hit his head a few times on the lights above him ;;u; and even though I was in like, three rows of people away from the front, Chiyu's hand grazed mine for a second and that was the most special moment ;;w; Shinpei leaned into the audience for a group hug and Yuji and Chiyu were high-fiving and ruffling people's hair ///;w;/ it was such a long farewell with everyone touching hands and patting heads and it felt so nice and close, I thought we were really lucky to get such an intimate show ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄  

8. How do you support and enjoy j-rock the most? Buying CDs? Going to lives? Just full on going to Japan for it?

I buy Cd's if I can for bando that I really love and want to support, and at lives I buy at least one peice of merch every time too :3c and I'm trying to get into a habit of buying Cure if bands I like are featured >u> I accidentally end up following e v e r y o n e on twitter and just scroll thru liking posts if that counts as 'support' ? :'3

9. How does your family feel about this hobby of yours?  

My parents don't really mind, I end up showing my mama photos and videos and she understands my hype at everyone I think hehe, and I play cd's often so my parents hear J-rock a lot but don't complain~ we all have our own music collections now it’s so cute 〃▽〃 I talk about J-rock a lot like, I just ramble on mostly to myself because I have no-one else to talk to in the house so ;;u; my parents don't really listen that closely but ye, they don't mind and they're glad I'm into something different I guess :'3c

10.What is the craziest j-rock fandom story that you have?

idk what j-rock 'fandom' story means exactly,,, like, you heard the story from the fandom or the story is about the actual fandom itself..? ;;w; well actually I guess this is both haha this is the only story that I have worth telling and I only heard it a couple weeks ago but ;//u.//

A friend of a friend has connections with Mejibray’s MiA, and he messages her and lots of other peeps I’d imagine as MiA prob does~ and on one occasion MiA was sent a cute little (I say little but) Intimate Image that the 1 and only Yohio took of his peen and decided to share it around so other people could enjoy it obvs >>>ww.>> and he sent it to said friend, nice one >;3ccc thank u for showing me too I feel very privileged, too many bants I was dying ahh ..//www//// why dis MiA why dis......... poor Yohio ;; v; u don’t need to send dick pics to impress your senpai, kids ;;  /////; poor little child ;u;;

---yyyyeee I’m so boring das literally all I have apart from the most mediocre things like being jealous of people that get to go to meet&greets and have fun encounters and peeps that actually manage to catch picks at lives etc //u..../// 

Thank you for reading ♡

[laureviewer]

My Year in Pictures: 2016

Having realised I posted so little last year, it’s time to get back into it with a lovely little memory post - my year in pictures, once more!

So in January we had just got back from travelling and had Christmas back in England, so really very little happened as we were very tired and broke and searching for jobs. But we saw our lovely friends who we’d missed loads over the last four months - I will always be grateful for those who stick around for us to come back to. 

Gacy? Storge?

In February, we did what we do every year - make sure we don’t go out on Valentine’s Day because of the ridiculous prices and busy-ness, and went out for dinner for an anti-Valentine’s instead. 2 for 1 cocktails are fun when one of you has to drive ;) 

George, Stacey, James and I (AKA Universally Challenged) lost at the pub quiz in the Comrades Club, though we really won as coming dead last means you get FOOD.

Tash, Beth and I also met up for Beth’s birthday, when we went to Soton for the ultimate student night in Jester’s - that student club where you have to wear old shoes because God knows what crap you’re going to get from the sticky floors in there. 

In March, I took THE PLUNGE. One I had been wanting to take for years. I got a tattoo!! My little Mantine is on my left thigh, happily swimming around like the manta rays we swim with in Fiji on our round-the-world trip (though he is a little smaller than the ones we met). It was sore but not as bad as I thought… though doing it on your ribs like I thought I wanted originally might be a different story. This is a photo of it on the day: 

And how could George, Stacey, James and I pass up a Misugo’s and Creams? 

God knows what we did in April, other than watching Eurovision with Alec… where a face swap meant that a celebrity turned up out of the blue!

In fact, April (or really March 30th) saw me start my new job with the Haulfryn Group as a Marketing Executive, where I still am today. 

In May, Beth came up to see me, and we took a lovely summery walk around Virginia Water Lake. 

Then James and I made sure we went to Comicon in London, where we finally got to meet our idols, the Yogscast & Hat Films! They really were lovely, especially their man man Lewis, who made sure to talk to us for ages despite the hours-long queue behind us! 

In June, Stef and I showed our mutual love/obsession with sushi by having a sushi-making session (though I may have got a bit tipsy and got impatient with all the fiddly rolling!). 

For those of you who remember (or care) the Queen turned 90 in June, so at work we had a ‘dress like a royal’ day. I won and my fellow Marketer/graphic designer Hannah (AKA Kate Middleton) came second! 

July marks the second half of the year, and also when my year started to pick up. That always seems to be the case with me - I do so much more exciting things in the second half! Though nothing could top my 4 months travelling, I’m sure. 

James and I took advantage of my company being the owner of holiday parks throughout the UK and took a trip down to Paignton, Devon, to stay in a luxury lodge, relax, and see his lovely cousins who live down there. We even had a hot tub!! 

We also finally met his cousins’ hairless kitties, who are actually gorgeous and not weird like so many people think about hairless cats. They were so friendly, though it is a bit weird stroking something without any fur! The female with a little bit of fur is named Lumi, and the completely bald male is Kuro (photo credit to Elise Preston for the latter). 

Those eyes though.

James and I also took advantage of the lovely scenery around us and the hot Summery days to play Pokemon Go, as it had only just come out then! 

I was also reunited with my uni girls again in Shoredich (2 out of 3 of them) and we had a lovely time, eating delicious street food and catching up (dat oversized bag wow)!

My nephew also turned 1 on the 16th of July, so my sister had a birthday party for him. 

In August I saw the girls (and Freddy!) again at a Hong Kong Drinking Team gig in London; perfect location for all of us to meet up! 

I also took time off work to spend time with my little sister Harriet at the beach…

…had more sushi and plum wine with Stef at Mikado’s…

…and saw the girls (all of them this time) again in London!)

Also in August, James and I took a day trip into London to take advantage of Harriet’s Merlin pass! 

We had crocodile and ostrich burgers at Shaka Zulu (a cocktail, burger and chips for £10 in the middle of London, whaaaat?) and then went onto Maddam Toussards - somewhere I’d never been, but had wanted to ever since seeing loads of them dotted around countries you’d never even think they’d have them on our travelling adventures. 

We met loads of celebrities there too #blessed.

With that chaotic month over, September didn’t slow down that much, with our friends Rosie and Josh having a leaving party before they jetted off to South America to do some travelling. 

See my Facebook timeline for an amazing video of Josh’s dancing!

My sisters and I also took my dad out for a late Father’s Day trip into London to again take advantage of Harriet’s Merlin passes - we went to the London Dungeons and the Aquarium! The Dungeons were brilliant, having not been there for ages, - of course my dad pointed out every inaccuracy, and Amelia being pregnant meant she couldn’t go on the little rides they had in there, haha!

Beth also came down to go to one of James’ gigs…

…and I was sad to have to move offices in September, as my commute would be slightly longer and I’d miss reading by the beautiful Thames on my lunch breaks. 

October saw Stef turn 23, and we had a big house party over her’s, which was great fun! Sam debated heavily with her mum, we took some great photos, and I saw Laura again for the first time in nearly 2 years. ^-^ 

We also went back down to Devon to see James’ cousins again…

…went to MCM again and met Tomska, another of our Youtube heroes…

…and finally I went down to Soton to go with the girls to Oceana for Halloween! We had such a good time at predrinks together in our posh little hotel rooms.  

Sadly, James’ gran passed away at the end of September. However, she very lovingly left her home to James, and so we had spent the whole of October and November doing it up, so that we could finally live together after 7 whole years of being together. It took weeks of painting and sorting and carpets and quite a bit of our savings, but it was totally, completely worth it, just to be finally living together after so long.

In November, our lovely neighbour, Joe, installed our shower for us and put up the beautiful splashboards that we picked in a stunning slate colour. 

November marked our 7 year anniversary - can you believe it?! 

So, at the end of the month we went to the Ice Bar and Winter Wonderland, both of which we’d never been to before, so it was lovely and a completely new experience, going around one of the biggest Christmas markets in the UK. 

And what anniversary would be complete without sushi…

Weirdly, PM Theresa May came to our work on Friday to open our new Maidenhead offices, being the constituent for Maidenhead. She had her funky shoes on and looks suitably confused. This may be when one of our managers asked “Is Brexit actually going to happen?” 

December was SUCH a busy month. Not least because James and I FINALLY MOVED IN TOGETHER!! My cats tried to sabotage our efforts however by camping in my last pile of dirty laundry…

We moved in on the 2nd of December, and due to our efforts of the previous couple of months, it very quickly felt homely and cosy. We bought 2 sofas from the charity shop, put up the Christmas decorations, and - most importantly - made sure both our computers fit in the living room for optimal gaming time!

Despite being pretty ill the first week, it was great.

Our good friend Lynne even made us this lovely moving in present!

After all that excitement, I had a very early birthday party on the 10th of December, seeing all my friends in the local pub, The Squirrels. 

I also made sure to see the girls from uni one last time this year in London for dinner and drinks.

In the middle of December, Haulfryn had a Christmas party, which I could take James along to. It was really fun - it was a masquerade mall in Reading, with a three-course meal and wine, as well as acrobats and other acts to keep as all entertained, and a casino for James to try his luck! Having been at Haulfryn for almost a year now, it’s nice to be able to go to a big event like this. 

For my birthday this year, James really went all out. I had no idea what he had planned - only that we were going to London, and I had to wear my Pokemon dress! So I donned it and off we went.

First he took me to Sticks ‘n’ Sushi in Covent Garden for a late lunch - and as all I seem to eat is sushi you’ll know how incredible that must have been!

Mmmm big decanter of sake.

Then afterwards we got on the tube to Hammersmith, where the London Philharmonic Orchestra were playing… and what were they playing? Pokemon!

It was incredible - they played music from all of the games, telling the stories of the games throughout, and showing a lot of the game footage on their screen. It was incredibly nostalgic, amazingly well done, and even if you aren’t a fan of Pokemon, the Philharmonic are obviously incredible, and so the music was flawless. 

I couldn’t have asked for a better (or geekier) birthday. Thank you James. 

On the 23rd, Hong Kong Drinking Team had been asked to headline the ‘best of the year’ show in the Facebar, and so I went along - and they didn’t disappoint. While most of the acts were heavy, James and his band dressed up as Christmas characters (James: Santa; Jack: Jesus; Dave: sexy Christmas pudding,#; Luke: Bongle the Bear from Rainbow (he thought it was a reindeer in the fancy dress shop); and Charlie: sexy elf). And boy, was Charlie a sexy elf. They did Santa Baby and Charlie was especially camp. My favourite gig of theirs for the whole year!

Christmas was incredibly special this year, as for the first time James and I didn’t have to balance our days - we were just together. As cheesy as it sounds, it was magical! 

For Christmas Eve, we went to a onesie party up a the Squirrels to see in the big day.

Christmas Day saw us opening our stockings together, and then going to the Squirrels for Christmas drinks. 

Afterwards we had a lovely Christmas dinner with the Skinners and a chilled out evening.

On Boxing Day, after seeing my Mum and Amelia, James and I had my dad and Harriet over, as my dad hasn’t had a family Christmas in a few years. It was great - we played Cards Against Humanity (which my dad loved!), I cooked, and James’ parents came over late afternoon.

The last few days of the year were just as exciting. On the 30th, it was the Squirrels’ landlady’s birthday, and so we had an 80s night up the pub!

James also met Jess’ South African boyfriend Adrian, and now I’m worried about us staying together… they have a proper bromance going on!

Seeing in the New Year was just as great, with karaoke, dancing, and lots of booze. 

And lastly, as I put on a bit of weight travelling and got out of my fitness regime, I took up running this year rather than paying for the gym. It’s amazing how much more you want to exercise when you don’t have to travel as well! I smashed my distance goal for the year, and running has now become part of my lifestyle as well as an easy way to keep healthy. 

Thank you 2016, it’s been an incredible year. Here’s to the next - the first one of me being a ‘proper’ adult, responsible for a home. Gulp.