#i know everyone nuts about the artwork in this book and it is very lovely esp the colors but like. leaving the last page this ambiguous

[blorb-el]

spoilery research question for people who have read supergirl woman of tomorrow. I have read tom king's answer on this/the intended interpretation, but my read of the artwork was the opposite and now I'm wondering if other people thought the same way.

Page in question for reference under the cut

(the yellow panels are NOT describing what is happening, they're part of the meta-narrative which is revealed to be a falsified account. I'm talking about the interpretation PURELY of the artwork. also in the preceding panel he looks like he's... 80+ years old)

[skvaderarts]

Devil May Cry OC Week Day 4!

I’m actually really excited for @dmc-oc-week day for because it gives me the opportunity to talk about Sirrus without delving into spoilers! Yay loopholes!

This contains slight spoilers, but nothing super important. Just keep that in mind. it won’t effect anything, but if you want to go in totally blind, tread carefully.

Dislikes:

Note: if your wondering why I did dislikes first, it’s because that’s just how Sirrus is lol! He’s not a downer, but he likes to think of himself as a realist, but he’s slightly closer to being a pragmatic nihilist, and that lack of optimism lingers in his day to day life because he’s naturally going to have his guard up at all times. He can’t be disappointed if his expectations are nonexistent. Big mood, Sirrus.

1. His father. As previously mentioned, Sirrus is not on good terms with his father. At all. In fact, he’s actively waiting for his father’s hubris to catch up to him along with some of the enemies he’s made along the way so that he himself doesn’t have to confront him and possible end him because he knows he has it coming, but he doesn’t have it in him to do it himself. He’s probably powerful enough, but he just doesn’t have the heart. Despite everything, he’s still got a small ounce of compassion in his heart towards his father that he can’t let go of, something that he loathes about himself. It’s pretty unhealthy.

2. People that abuse power, authority, or social standing. This is actually a large issue in his own immediate family, and that’s part of why his dislike for it is so powerful. He genuinely believes that you should positively contribute to the lives of others if you have the means to, and if nothing else, that you should not detract from them. As a result, he’s developed a dislike of a large portion of people in power because, I mean, fair enough. But his family does not escape this designation, and that’s a large part of why he does what he does. Not because he believes he has superior judgement or standing over others, but because he cannot solve a problem that he does not understand. So as a result, he has to go out into the field and learn from those his work effects. Assuming that he knows what’s best for everyone while simultaneously never having met those people is literally what he hates most about most people in positions of power, and he strives to not do the same. Being powerful doesn’t mean that your smart, and he knows that first hand. I feel like Sirrus would be into the “eat the rich” thing if it was a thing in the DMC universe. Very into it.

3. His mother. I feel like this one may come as a bit of a surprise to some of you who know more about him from the fic since he’s literally only mentioned her once, and doesn’t speak of her in any broad sense, but Sirrus isn’t on the best of terms with his mother, either. He doesn’t harbor any negativity towards them for splitting up when he was young. In fact, he considers it the best thing that either of them has probably ever done. But he has his reasons for not being on good terms with him mom. Day 6 will cover family and background, so I’ll get to go in depth on that day! For now, lets just put it under the broad but totally accurate category of “extremely toxic and codependent relationship” and go from there. Maybe I’ll make a family tree you you can see how messed up everything is! Yea, that would be fun! Would you like to see that?

4. Extreme heat and sun. In truth, while he does in fact become more powerful in bright sunlight, he still hates it. Why? Simple. It gives him migraines due to one of his existing (but not yet disclosed) abilities. And he just hates to be hot. He’s on the pale side (Ok, he almost makes V look like he has a tan.) so he gets sun burned. And because he’s used to a cooler climate, hot places drive him NUTS. I suppose you could say that “Discomfort” is a dislike of his, too.

5. Desk work. This one probably seems pretty random, but as an adjudicator, he actually has to occasionally file reports, and he ABSOLUTELY HATES EVERY SECOND OF IT. He’s good at what he does, no question there, but it’s kind of like being good at sending corporate emails when you hate the fake corporate politeness that you have to maintain, and you basically despise half of the company you work for. Why does he keep the job? Simple. Because no one can abuse the power of the position he’s in if he does it himself. And for him, that’s worth hating a large aspect of his job,

Likes:

1. V. Yup you read that right. Sirrus absolutely adores V, something that he himself is not used to. At this point, he’s not entirely sure what he feels towards him since they haven’t known one another for very long, but he does realize that he means quite a bit to him. After V saved his life in the fic, he really started to pay more attention to him. Before, they were friendly and he had to admit that he actually did find both V and Nero (and Nico, for that matter) really cute, but that was about it. And then as they started spending more time around one another, Sirrus realized that perhaps he liked being around V for a reason. He’s still working on understanding what he feels, but with everything going on in the fic, for now he’s just there to help and figure out what’s going on so that everything turns out alright. Then he can worry about everything else. But for now, he’s just working it out as he goes and trying to distract V from everything going on in the fic. He realizes that he’s got a lot going on, and he genuinely just wants him to be happy for a few damn minuets.

2. Being around equally strange people. Sirrus feels like an outcast most of the time, so as a general rule, he tries to associate with people as little as possible. That being said, the DMC crew makes him feel right at home, and the supreme otherness that he feels much of the time dissipates when he’s with them. It’s a welcome feeling to be sure.

3. Wine. Sirrus actually enjoys wine quite a bit! It’s something he likes the taste of, and due to his biological inability to drink, it’s something he can basically enjoy without consequence. That being said, his favorite wine is absolutely disgusting to basically everyone who’s ever tasted it (aside form V, much to his surprise) and that may be because of a certain added ingredient that was put into it for flavor. What can I say, he has unorthodox tastes!

4. Cooking good food. Sirrus doesn’t actually need to eat, but he does like to entertain those around him. If he likes you, he will cook for you. It’s that simple. It’s something from his own culture that’s been instilled in him; the idea of taking care of those that show kindness to you. And believe me, that doesn’t happen to him very often. He’s largely ostracized in most social interactions despite the fact that he says and does nothing to cause this. Its a key reason as to why he doesn't talk about what he is. It makes people... uncomfortable. And to add to that, he has a sort of aura to him that unnerves people. The way he tends to look at people at though he’s looking through them instead of at them doesn’t help.

5. Fine arts. Something that doesn’t come up much in the books is that Sirrus has hobbies. And a love for the fine arts. All of them. The more unorthodox, the better. Sirrus is that person who is dead inside and will stare at a piece of artwork for ridiculous amounts of time, pondering it’s meaning. Not in a pretensions way, but in a “what the hell am I doing with my life” sort of way. He’s a walking essential crisis, but he’s nothing if not self aware. But in regards to the arts, if it’s a form of expression, then he’s all for it. And he will probably ask you to teach it to him or become a financial patron to your work. He thinks that art and the people that make it are under appreciated, and the idea of art dying out genuinely scares him to death. He doesn’t think a world without art is worth living in. As an extension to this, he loves history. He considered much of it distasteful, but he recognizes it’s importance.

Bonus: Sirrus likes to send extravagant gifts. This is partially due to the fact that he has a very large sum of money and nothing to spend it on. It’s a regular occurrence that you will mention liking something in passing and then end up having it sent to your house out of nowhere. Sirrus did this to V with basically an entire house of furniture, and V is still trying to process it. But this isn’t the only time he’s going to do something like that. Not by a long shot.

Let me know if you have any questions! I love answering them :D And if you have any input, I’ve love to hear that, too!

[jjyusmile]

finders keepers | lee jaehyun

hyunjae (lee jaehyun) | finders keepers

pairing: hyunjae x {female} reader!

word count: 2,293

note: so i was literally lying with my dog and immediately thought of hyunjae and dogs bc my mind often wanders to hyunjae,,, so enjoy!

_____________________________________________________________________

“Present! Here boy! Bring it back, come on… bring back the tennis ball!”

You noticed a guy attempting to get the attention of his dog, and failing. His dusty hair was perfectly styled, so much so that it didn’t move an inch when his head whipped around to follow the movements of his golden. He must’ve still been in his puppy years, taunting the guy in a lunge whilst holding the tennis ball in his mouth, ready to pounce. This was park not too far from your house – a haven for multiple humans and four-legged friends in the evenings.

You turned your attention to Luna who laid with her head on your feet. Near the bench under the sycamore tree was her favourite spot to park under on a warm summers evening. The lilac blanket creased underneath as you wriggled to get comfortable; over an hour of playing with your four-legged friend made you both tired and desperate for relaxation. You shifted your weight onto your left elbow to flick the page of your latest novel and Luna’s head popped up as if she thought it was time to play again.

The way her pointed ears perked up with joy made you smile. Your one year old corgi had listened to you complain about everything with those ears, and yet, they still perked up with interest every time. You threw the toy that she had rested by your hip just moments before she conked out at your feet; her little legs ran quickly as she snapped up the toy like it was her lifeline. So dramatic, you chuckled.

“Why are you so cute!” She excitedly bounced around you and you took her small head between you palms giving her all the pats she deserves.

But quickly her attention was stolen by bounding golden fur coming toward you, knocking you down onto your blanket as the intruder chased at Luna tangling you in a mess with her leash. As they continued to chase one another, you looked around for the dog’s human.

Much to your annoyance, you spotted the same tall, dark haired boy who stood a few meters away in a prime filming position; the phone in one hand and a deep red leash dangling from the other. A boisterous laugh burst from him as he slapped his ripped denim knee with joy – that was a sound that you’d never heard before, and wanted to hear more of. But at this precise moment, you wanted nothing but to drag him by the ear to calm his dog down.

But it all ended quicker than you thought, when he lowly whistled and the excitable golden retriever left both you and Luna sat in shock as he bounded over to the boy in denim. It happened so quickly you didn’t even have a moment to call him out before they left the park.

With a huff, you packed up your blanket and picked up the end of Luna’s leash, that you managed to untangle yourself from, and headed home.

***

Perched under the sycamore week later, your cube speaker played soft jazz as you relaxed from the intense week at work. You were laid on your front with your legs fluttering to the sound of the beat; your coral dress was complimented by the golden sunlight that glimmered when you shuffled into a new position. In front of you were the chocolate covered strawberries and the crossword puzzle you had been saving for this very moment.

Luna had laid not too far from you on the grass, chewing on the cut-up strawberries you prepared especially for her. It was peaceful this evening, the numerous sounds around you mingling together against the melody: children laughing in the playground a short distance away, maintenance finishing up the rounds on a lawn mower nearby, the subtle sounds of metal clanging from the piped artwork dangling from the tree above you. The smell of the freshly cut grass put you at ease.

After breathing in the addicting scent a few more times, you focused on the pocket-sized book beneath you.

8. Six letters: the incorrect use of a comma.

You pondered for a moment. Gosh, you should’ve paid more attention in your literature classes at school. Six letters. You tried every literature technique you could think of…

“Splice”, a voice said from beside you. You jumped in shock as you looked up to find a familiar face - the proximity of the familiar figure you hadn’t noticed until he spoke. But your shock washed away when you saw that said figure held one of your chocolate covered strawberries in his hand and ready to place in his mouth.

“Do you often invade someone’s personal space?” you snapped, annoyed at him for ruining your peaceful moments, but more so at yourself for letting him get the reaction he wanted. How did he reach for the delicious treat without you noticing?

Beside you, a familiar flash of gold mixed with Luna’s black and fawn fur. Her yelps of excitement joined with low barks from the stranger’s dog.

“Number twelve, twenty letters. Look up.”

Your eyes shot down to the page that he had pointed to, a confused expression morphed your previously irritated one. Yet, you saw his eyes glimmer with a knowing look – know it all.

Looking down back, you matched it to the instructions written in cursive.

12. Twenty letters: also, known as ‘platanus occidentalis’

“No, that’s six letters”, you huffed, wiping your fringe out of your eyes that blew with the wind that had picked up.

He grinned down at you and crouched to meet your eye level. Slightly mesmerized, you wondered what on earth he was about to do. His hand stirred in your peripheral vision, coming into view with a finger pointing upwards. You focused a little too long on the rings that clad his finger, making them appear slender but strong. It took you a few moments to realise what he meant. So, you looked up and sighed.

Sycamore.

Losing your train of thought, you hadn’t noticed that same finger that had pointed you to the prize start to brush your fringe out of your face and behind your ear, lingering for a few moments until your wide eyes snapped back to him.

But, the wink that followed was the last thing you saw as he quickly stood from his squat and turned to walk away, calling his dog in the process.

The pink that stained your cheeks got deeper as your face flushed.

Who is he?

***

You sat under the familiar tree with the intention of bumping into the stranger a few days later. His actions irritated you to no end, but something stirred within you that left you more excited than irritated to be in his presence again.

You had finished the chocolate covered strawberries already – this time, keeping a close eye on the pleasant treat.

You weren’t relaxed as you watched Luna gnaw at a stick she had found in the bushes. Your eyes darting from her to any stranger that came a little too close. This stranger had too much of an impact on you for only having met him twice – once with minimal conversation.

It wasn’t long before you notice him enter the park with Present, a smile on his face as the golden dragged him leash first to the ice cream cone that a child had dropped moments ago. Eyeing the interaction, the action made your smile match his and your gaze lingered on him for longer than you had anticipated.

He was lean. He wasn’t hugely muscly, but his body filled out in all the places you found attractive. The white t-shirt he was wore complimented the melanin in his skin and his smile lit up his entire face – the way his eyes crinkled as he threw back his head in laughter.

Your smile faltered as a blush came over your face. Luckily he noticed you after your gawking session. But it didn’t stop him from making a beeline from the park gate to the exact spot that you and Luna laid each visit. You averted your gaze quickly and opened the novel that was placed beside you, ready as a disguise from your look-out position.

As he came closer you noticed the slight sweat that dripped down the side of his face as you peered over the book, the ends of his auburn hair slicked to his face. That moment you noticed the grey sweatpants that accompanied the t-shirt that clung to his skin with a red bandana tied around his wrist that matched Present’s leash. He must have been for a jog.

Stop staring, you’re being weird!

You focused back on the book that happened to be upside down. A subtle rotation of the book didn’t go unnoticed to the man that approached you, he chuckled as he neared.

“Have you read Ulysses so many times that you could literally read it upside down? I don’t think even James Joyce himself could do that…” he questioned, whipping his forehead with the bottom of his shirt. The slight definition of his stomach didn’t go unnoticed by you either. But your preparation of his moment followed you to focus back on his question before you embarrassed yourself completely.

“No. I was… uh- distracted by Luna! She must’ve found a worm and she started barking really loudly!” Your tone was nervous, as was your forced laughter.

“Luna. So, that’s your name.”

He leaned down to give her a pet on the top of her head, which caused her to jump up as her paws rested on his squatted knees. His lips pulled up into a toothy smile as his attention focused on the way her ears perked up to his attention. “Cute.”

You rolled your eyes – everyone found Luna cute, it was nothing special.

“And the name of her lovely human?” You didn’t miss the way his eyes sparkled in a teasing way.

After contemplating for a few moments, you told him your name, to which he replied, “Jaehyun” with his hand stuck out awaiting a handshake.

It didn’t take long for the conversation to shift from an awkward first {third time lucky} encounter to a flowing discussion between lifelong friends. You sat a short distance apart on your blanket, snacking on the mixed nuts you had stashed in your picnic bag. It dawned on you after an hour or so how easy Jaehyun was to talk to.

“So… let me get this straight. Your name is Jaehyun, but your friends call you Hyunjae? What’s the point?”, you quizzed. You liked both names, but would rather call him by his preference.

“A friend I grew up with is also called Jaehyun, but he was born in February 1997, whereas I’m September. So, he got first dibs on the name and we flipped mine to stop the confusion. You can call me either, I don’t mind.” There’s that mischievous grin again.

You smiled back and became distracted by Luna’s attention to the movement of Jaehyun’s fingers along the blanket; both you and your four-legged friend mesmerised by this man. You pondered your next few words, concerned that he might take it the wrong way. Worth a shot.

“I think I’ll call you… Hyun!” 

He beamed at your nickname for him, directing his attention to the way your hand rubbed your arms from the chill of the breeze. He cursed himself for not bringing a warmer jacket just so he could give it to you.

“Present, cuddles!” Jaehyun pointed in your direction and before long the fluffy golden had parked his bum on your lap and the warmth spread through you.

Your joyous reaction made Jaehyun’s insides melt, an overwhelming heart-warming feeling. You couldn’t tell but behind his composed demeanour laid a slightly nervous one; Jaehyun fiddled with his rings contemplating how to continue the conversation you were both so invested in.

In the process, a single ring flew off his pinky finger and rolled across your blanket, landing in front of you.

Leaning around Present, you picked it up with a sly smirk, you looked Jaehyun in the eye and muttered, more flirtatious than you had hoped… “Finders keepers.”

His glimmering eyes matched the cheeky grin that made its way across his features as placed the ring meant for his pinky on your index finger. His eyes lingered for a moment at the way your skin glowed a desirable shade of orange under the evening sun.

To both of your dismay, the night was looming over your conversation and you decided it was best if you and Luna headed home. The disappointment soon disappeared when Jaehyun spoke up.

“So, I guess I’ll see you again? – Uh, I mean, I-I think Present would like that…” His ears tinged a shade of deep pink and his hands flew up to pat them a bit in humiliation. You smiled, nodding enthusiastically at his question.

As you stood up and rolled up your blanket into your bag, you realised in the process you had managed to swap fluffy friends during your hours of conversation. As you picked up Present’s leash to give to Jaehyun, he was already doing the same with Luna.

He took hold of the end quickly as you went to reach for Luna, but was startled by his alternative intention.

Reaching his hand toward yours, his pinky confidently wrapped through the leash handle and around your own, holding it firmly. The action brought a mixture of a blush and shock in a wave across your features as you looked up at him.

Your gaze lingered on each other for a moment before Jaehyun spoke up with a content grin.

“Finders keepers.”

[yeahwellyourface]

MOVIE REVIEW TIME!! A Little Chaos and Far From The Madding Crowd

I had a Matthias Schoenaerts weekend cause the boy can get it. Both of these movies were already on my list, but when I realized he was in them, they jumped to the top. So, here we go.

A Little Chaos

Available on Netflix. Directed by Alan Rickman. Stars: Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci, Helen McCrory, and Jennifer Ehle

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2639254/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

This one has been on my list for awhile but I really wasn’t in the mood for a depressing period piece. FYI, it is not a depressing period piece. In fact, the word I think works best for describing it is “cute.” It is not a great film, but it is very enjoyable. I smiled through most of it and then when I turned it off, I realized I was still smiling.

The basic plot is that French king Louis XIV is building Versailles and his head gardener, Andre Le Notre, is hiring different gardeners to do different parts of the whole since it is a whole lotta shit. Against his original idea, he hires Madame Sabine de Barra to create a section of the garden that will basically be an outdoor ballroom. She doesn’t do well at court, but some people still like her, some don’t. Given that there is an actual outdoor ballroom at Versailles, I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying that she eventually builds it (although in actuality, it was not built by a woman…unfortunately). But that’s it. It is a very simple little movie. It is full of tropes and could be quite stupid but the amazing cast makes it charming instead.

So, the fantastic cast…everyone is basically doing exactly what you want them to do. Kate Winslet as Sabine de Barra plays a woman who has been through some shit but is gonna get things done her way and it is no use to try and stop her. She is better than you. Just accept it. Matthias Schoenaerts as Andre Le Notre is mainly there to look pretty (difficult with that horrible hair, but he can do it) and worship de Barra as she deserves. Alan Rickman plays Louis XIV because why the fuck not. Stanley Tucci plays the king’s outlandish bisexual brother who adores both his wife and his young lover. He was in the movie for like 10 minutes and was the best thing ever. Seriously, we need to protect Stanley Tucci at all costs. Helen McCrory is Madame Le Notre and is a bad bitch as only she can be. I bow down to her. Jennifer Ehle plays against type as the flighty mistress to the king. I thought I was going to hate her because the character was supposed to be annoying at first, but I ended up loving her too.

So, yeah. Not a movie to go nuts over, but if you are curled up on the couch one afternoon and want something light and sweet, this will do the trick.

Far From The Madding Crowd

Available on Amazon (but you have to pay for it, even with prime). Based on the novel by Thomas Hardy. Directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Stars: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge, Juno Temple.

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2935476/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

This is another one I’ve been considering for awhile. See that bit above where it says “Based on the novel by Thomas Hardy?” Yeah….that’s why I was putting it off. Now, it’s not that I dislike Thomas Hardy. I actually enjoyed Return of the Native…kinda. But his stuff is very much overdramatic, windswept English countryside. And damn, if that is not something that I am always willing to go for. But I’d do it for Matthias Schoenaerts. So I did.

So, here is the basic plot if you’ve never read the book (and I actually haven’t, but I’ve read about it…does that count?)…young woman, Bathsheba Everdene, with a middle-to-upper class education lives with family on a farm because her parents died. She meets a young man, Gabriel Oak, and then enjoy hanging out and working on the farm together. He has land that is almost paid off and a bunch of sheep. Her aunt owns the land that they live on and work. He falls in love and asks her to marry him. She says no, she doesn’t want to get married and be tied down to a husband. Immediately after, their fortunes reverse. He loses all his sheep (and it’s kinda horrible and depressing, so if you need to look away, I understand) and his land. She inherits a pretty nice farm and is no longer dependent on family. He’s wandering looking for work and accidentally stumbles on her new farm and gets a job as a shepherd there.

Now that she is moving among the landed class, she meets the next door neighbor, Mr. Boldwood, who falls in love with her (the way that happens is she plays a prank on him and is generally an asshole and hurts him and damn, woman, wtf, that was mean…but she does apologize). He asks her to marry him. She says she’ll think about it.

Mixed in with this, we see a side story about an army sergeant and his pretty sweetheart, who used to work at the Everdene farm but ran away to be with the guy…never a good move. They were supposed to get married, but she went to the wrong church. By the time she gets to the right church, he thinks she stood him up and has left. She is now destitute since she left her friends and family. This was another scene where I couldn’t bear to watch. I knew what was going to happen and seeing them both so happy getting ready for the wedding just broke my heart, so I fast forwarded. Sue me.

Anyway, army sergeant Frank Troy is now wandering drunk around the countryside brokenhearted and literally runs into Miss Everdene. She thinks he’s cute and decides to meet up with him. He shows off flashy sword moves and then kisses her and pulls a trump and then runs off. Because we do stupid things sometimes, she is completely charmed by him and runs away to marry him.

Now, through all of this, Mr. Oak has worked for her and been there for her and tried to help her and give advice. He points out that she was an asshole to Mr. Boldwood and she gets pissed at him for telling her because she knows she was and she doesn’t want to be told. He knows that Sergeant Troy is an asshole and tries to convince Miss Everdene to stay away from him but she doesn’t.

Literally at her wedding dinner with Sergeant Troy, Miss Everdene (Mrs. Troy now) realizes that she married and asshole. But she’s stuck with him.

If you really want me to tell you the rest in detail, I will. But basically, she has to deal with an asshole husband, a rich neighbor who is still in love with her (and kinda off his rocker about it), and the shepherd who has loved her for years and been there to support her even when she was an asshole to him. I wonder who she will end up with?!?!Okay, now for the movie. It was just okay. Like, I’ve read the first couple chapters of the book and there is SO MUCH INFORMATION that cannot be put into a movie. There is just not enough time. This is the problem with turning a book into a movie. They have to skip so much that they can end up leaving a lot of it flat. We see Miss Everdene be a good person several times. But we also see her be an asshole. I wish we had been able to see her more indepth. But there wasn’t time. I never felt fully connected to her. When she was being good, I liked her. When she was being an asshole, I disliked her. There was no continuity between those feelings. The movie never gave me a chance to feel conflicted over her. It was all surface feelings. Carey Mulligan does a good enough job for what she is given. But the best relationship is between her and her companion. That’s the only string that carries through with that character.

Matthias Schoenaerts is beautiful, of course. He is the solid character that all the others are whirling around. He is a big man, much bigger and taller than Carey Mulligan and Michael Sheen, but you can see how he curls his shoulders down to give the two of them more power as he is lower class than they are. There is a scene between him and Michael Sheen near the end where he straightens Sheen’s tie, and I think that is the only moment between those two where Schoenaerts stands up straight, as for a moment, they are almost equals. However, by the end of the scene, he is curled in again. It’s really interesting on the choices made there. Because when he is not in a position where he is “under” them, when he is working and being damn good at his job, he is standing up straight. It’s fascinating to see the difference between the two sides of this character.

Michael Sheen. Oh goodness, Michael Sheen. He did so much better for this character than this movie deserved. I love this man and he is so good as an actor, but this character is a bit out there. I wonder how much of his bipolarness is in the book. Cause the character is all over the place in the movie. He goes from one extreme to the next. And yes, some of the plot points are definitely from the book, but the in between stuff….is he really like that? So, Sheen does a great job with what he is given, again. But the character is just so weird and again, very little continuity throughout.

Tom Sturridge plays Sergeant Troy. This character is a huge asshole and Tom Sturridge plays him perfectly. If I met Tom Sturridge on the street, I would want to slap him because I hate him. That is a good sign for an actor.

Juno Temple…another one I love. She is slowly becoming a bigger name, but deserves so much more. In this, she plays Fannie, Sergeant Troy’s first sweetheart. He didn’t deserve her. And I love Juno Temple, so she can do no wrong.

Overall, it’s an okay movie. I won’t pay for it again. I rented it and I’m glad I didn’t buy it. But if it comes on tv, I’ll watch it. If you want to watch it, you won’t hate it. But I don’t recommend running out and grabbing it any which way. The cinematography was BEAUTIFUL. The way they used light was lovely.

So, since I mentioned Matthias Schoenaerts as my reason for going ahead and watching these, lemme talk about my feelings for him in these. He is very strange. Watching interviews with him and seeing his artwork, he seems to be a ball of chaotic energy, but in both of these movies, he is the calm figure that the others bounce around. I watched the beginning of Rust and Bone, but then my internet went out and I wasn’t able to finish it without paying for it again (which I intend to do). And of course, I ADORE The Old Guard. That’s another one where he plays against what seems to be his personality type. I also love The Drop (seriously, one of my all-time favorite movies and if you haven’t seen it, go watch it NOW). That character seems to be a bit more on his level with the chaos, but I hope not with the assholeishness.

Either way, he was stunningly beautiful in these movies. Kate Winslet adored working with him and says that he was so sweet about their sex scene because she was pregnant and felt like shit. His hair is awful in A Little Chaos, but I’ll forgive him, this time.

Anyway, watch A Little Chaos at some point. And I guess you should watch Far From The Madding Crowd at some point too, but don’t pay for it if you don’t have to. Go watch The Old Guard and The Drop RIGHT NOW. Those are much better movies of his. Go watch Rust and Bone and I will watch the rest of it soon.

In A Little Chaos.  Seriously....why would they do this with his hair.

And in Far From The Madding Crowd.  See....much better. And I see you, dude in the background looking at him. I agree, he is definitely a snack.

[revasserium]

nekoma #1 - morning

kuroo. 

when he first told you that he was a morning person, you looked him dead in the eye and called him liar. it would not be the last time you call him on his bullshit, but ever since then his smiles have gotten just a little bit wider. and sometimes you find him leaning against the doorway to your class, casually scrolling through his phone, a bit too posed, hair a bit too ruffled, shoulders tense as a tightrope, insisting that he’d not been waiting for you, that he’d just happened to be hanging around and oh, would you look at that, you’d come walking down the hallway. it’s a misty, wednesday morning when he reaches out to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, a thoughtless gesture, almost like second nature before he catches himself and realizes what he’s done. his eyes go wide and his cheeks go red and his usual low drawl of a voice hikes up four pitches as he fumbles for words and explanations. you reach up to tug on a lock of his hair too as you shrug and say, “there, now we’re even, though you could probably use a bit less gel. how do you even wash that shit out?” to which he’d sputtered indignantly, insisting that his hair was nothing short of artwork. it takes him another week to buck up enough courage to ask you out, but when he does, it’s the first time you don’t call his bluff. you say yes, you say only if you quit using so much damn hairgel; to which he grins, and turns with a melodramatic sigh and tells you that he’ll finally have time to sleep in in the mornings. 

kenma. 

there is nothing good about mornings, so he insists, and so you agree. but waking up next to you just might count as a good thing -- no, it definitely does. see, kenma is not known for being particularly active, or fond of physical movement (the contradictions therein about him being on the volleyball team shall be addressed at a later date, when he’s got more energy), and thus the transitioning from static to not so static as is ritual most mornings just isn’t on his list of favorite things. but you -- somehow, when he opens his eyes to find you there, curled up next to him just as you’d been the night before, he can’t find it in himself to be upset, not even at the foggy chill that had settled against his window overnight, or the cool, bleak sun peaking over the horizon-line, signaling the start to another doubtlessly tiresome day. you turn, lashes fluttering as you open your eyes, a sleepy smile stretching your lips and kenma can’t help the way his chest fills with butterflies. “g’morning”, you say, your voice still thick with the honey of dreams, and he just sighs, crinkling his nose as he snuggles in against you, grumbling through his chest, “yeah, i guess so.” you laugh, the sound ringing like bluebells along his skin, “i thought you hated mornings.” kenma huffs, his breath warm against your forehead as he pulls you close, “i do, but... you’re here. so, this one’s not that bad, i guess.” 

kai. 

for the most part, he’s quite ambivalent about mornings, just as he’s ambivalent about friday afternoons and sunday nights. they’re just mere times of day and he cannot, for the love of all that’s holy, figure out the obsession (or counter-obsession in the form of disgust) with mornings. a day has to begin somewhere, hasn’t it? and the morning’s done nothing wrong except to mark that; so, he accepts the morning, and goes about his usual morning routine of a well-balanced breakfast, before stretches and a subway ride to morning practice. it’s here that he meets you for the first time, the new manager, still a little shy then, but with eyes bright enough to light up an entire gymnasium, he’s sure. and suddenly, mornings are no longer just a time of day, but the times of days he looks forward to the most, because it means he’ll get to see you at school, cheeks flushed from the cold outside, bangs sometimes sticking to your forehead if you’re working on tossing for them, lips sometimes parted, your tongue peaking through the side if you’re concentrating on jotting down notes for their next training regime. and suddenly, he understands the mass attraction and aversions to times of day, because they could mean so much more than just the markings of time he’d taken them to be -- they could be earned towards and looked forward to, for the possibilities they contain, or the inevitability of their endings. and he finally understands that morning is no longer simply a pocket of time between a and b, but a measure of what might happen, if he just took one step closer, reached out and grabbed your hand, if he squeezed it, and never let it go -- what would you do? so he decides that maybe, just maybe, one of these mornings, he’s going to reach out, and try it. 

yaku. 

he’s always up at the first ring of his alarm, because there are always so many things to do -- brush his teeth, wash his face, iron his uniform, make sure his hair doesn’t look too nuts, text you good morning and ask how you slept, and mornings are just the perfect time for all those things, like the great start to a long race, it’s when he sets the tone for the rest of the day. you once teased you could publish a book with all the good morning texts he’d sent you over the years -- “how’d you think of so many? do you google them or something?” to which he’d squawked and said that he’d never plagiarize his morning texts... although sometimes, he does take a peak on the internet for some good inspiration. but he insists that the words are his own, and you believe him. “good morning! today’s gonna be a great day, i can just feel it in the air!” “morning sunshine! it’s chilly out so don’t forget to bring a jacket!” “good morning! did you have good dreams last night? tell me about them.” “morning~ i missed you.” “morning sunshine, let’s get coffee on the way to school. the vending machine on the corner restocked!” “gmorning, couldn’t sleep last night but i hope you did.” “gmorning. remember to put on sunscreen!” “gmorning! smile!” “gmorning. i love you.” “morning, i love you.” “good morning! i love you!” and just “hey, i love you.” 

tora. 

you’d asked him if he collected alarm clocks; he’d said they’re just to make sure he gets out of bed on time. you’d wondered what kind of sleeper he might be to need eight alarm clocks to get him out of bed every single morning -- the answer is a deep one. when he jogs by your front door for the third time that week, you ask him on the way to school what he’s doing, to which he answers “training, there’s a really good team in miyagi we gotta beat! and i can’t let myself go, yknow?” you wonder if it’s possible for anyone to let themselves go any more than he usually does (restraint is not one of his defining characteristics), but decide against bringing it to his attention. the fifth time he jogs by, you ask him why you’re house -- surely there are better streets suited for jogging? ones that aren’t next to a major intersection, a good 30 minutes away from his house, perhaps not in the opposite direction of school. he goes red and his usual loud, declaratives falter until they’re half-formed thoughts, cut off and tangled as he tries to iron out his tongue enough to force a proper sentence out. you decide to drop the issue, but from then on, he jogs by your house every morning, and on his way back, he finds you waiting for him, a bottle of water in hand, and a smile on your face. it takes him a solid half-year to ask you out. but when you say yes, he decides that the only way to celebrate is to take a dozen laps around your house. 

inuoka.  

he’s always up at the crack of dawn, somehow, someway -- sometimes you wonder if he’s solar-powered for all the endless energy he has, because photosynthesis is the only explanation left. he chatters during morning homeroom, filling you (and everyone within earshot) about his previous night, how the homework sucked, because they’d had practice till super late, and then on the way home, he got sidetracked by this litter of stray kittens that he just had to take to the shelter first, so by the time he got home, it was already hella late (which, mind you, is an exact measure of time in his world), so doing 14 pages of traditional literature reading and then having to write a short answer to be turned in by midnight was really really not the business. “what would have been the business then?” you ask one day, out of sheer curiousity as to how he’d answer. he blinks, quirking his head in a movement not unlike a slightly confused puppy dog, before grinning wide and saying, “well, that’s easy! not having homework, eating a ton of whatever i wanted for dinner, and spending all the rest of my time with you!” you let out a laugh and remind him that you literally have very single class together, to which he says, without missing a single beat, “yeah, but that’s not enough time. i wanna be with you from the second i wake up, to the second i fall asleep, and not a moment less!” 

lev. 

they see his eyes and call him lion, but none of them knows how much more cub he is lion than in the spare light of a dawning morning. curled up beneath his sheets, his usually giant body looks almost normal-sized, small even, spine bent like if he just tried hard enough, he could bend himself into a question, or perhaps an answer -- the answer to every question he’s ever asked of himself only to find that he can’t find a satisfactory answer lying in his own body. but that doesn’t stop him from trying. he tells you about the nightmares, and you promise him that they’re nothing more than the shadows of dreams, and don’t we all have shadows that follow us? even when the day is in full bloom? he holds you to him at night, his entire body wrapping around you, as if he were trying to soak you in, tether himself to something so as to make sure he’ll still have somewhere to wake up in the morning and find his own reflection; you shake him awake with a gentle smile, a kiss, a reminder that he’s going to miss breakfast again if he keeps on sleeping but he just whines and buries his face deeper into the crook of your neck. “not yet. it’s not light outside yet.” you smile, “but you don’t even like the dark.” “i don’t, but you’re always here, so i like that.” “i’ll still be here once we get up, lev.” “i know, but what it’s this is a dream? all dreams end when you get up.” you pause, stroking a palm down his spine, “maybe not this one,” you say, and somehow convince him to get up out of bed and cart him towards the bathroom. “maybe this one, you get to keep on dreaming forever.” he grins as he hop up onto the counter to watch him groggily brush his teeth and wash his face. after a moment, he looks up, seemingly much more awake than before. and then he smiles, “well if that’s the case, then maybe morning never, ever come again.” 

[silentauroriamthereal]

A Meme

bold the statements that apply to you, italicize your aspirations, then tag nine people

tagged by: @totallysilvergirl; therefore I consider it a command! Also, because you all know how verbose I am, I’m adding my own commentary at the bottom of each paragraph/section thingy. 

i have small hands / i love the night sky / i watch small animals and birds when i pass them by / i drink herbal tea / i wake to see dawn (not willingly, but since I have to get up then, anyway, one might as well enjoy it!)/ the smell of dust is comforting / i’m valued for being wise / i prefer books to music / i meditate / i find joy in learning new truths from the world around me

No, I have big, strong hands with tiny, child-sized nails, and that’s fine. Lol. They’ve gotten very tendon-y and vein-y since I took up weight lifting and lost a lot of weight and I love that. I love the sky at any time of day. I drink all the teas, except for rooibus, which isn’t even tea, and can go to hell. Sorry, sorry. If you like it, good. Who likes the smell of dust???? Seriously. Wise? I’m not completely sure about that one. Intelligent, yes. Wise? I do strive for wisdom, and sometimes I think I achieve it. I prefer silence, honestly. Being a classical musician definitely gives one a love for having not-music on. Hence my name. I don’t really meditate, but I did briefly take up tai chi again during the three months of my shutdown. It’s over for me personally, since I had to go back to physical work a month ago. Barf. I’d rather be at home. 

fire.

i don’t have straight hair / i like to wear ripped jeans and overalls / i play an organized sport / i love dogs / i am not afraid of adventure / i love to talk to strangers / i always try new foods / i enjoy road trips / summer is my favorite season / my radio is always playing

I have ridiculous hair. It’s very fine and would curl on a humid day if it’s behaving nicely, but if it doesn’t, it’s just frizz. In winter I typically dry it and straighten it, or it’s just lank and frizzy at the same time. Awful. I wore ripped things as a teen, but now I attempt to pass as an adult most of the time. I despise team sports but like doing sport-adjacent things on my own, like working out and swimming and such. I would love to learn to kiteboard, but it’s too expensive and I don’t have a way to get to a beach (no car, no money: classic). Dogs are Good. Unless they’re brainless morons (but really, even then!) I do like adventures, sometimes. I *can* talk to strangers and do it all the time. Professionally, even. About genocide. Lol. I don’t always want to, but I certainly can do it. New foods are fun. Road trips are pretty good, though I prefer planes and boats (but not cruises, gross). Fall is my favourite, especially in places that have maples. I don’t have a radio and loathe the sound of them. I haven’t heard a radio in ages, since, again, no car. 

water.

i wear bracelets on my wrists / i love the bustle of the city / i have more than one set of piercings / i read poetry / i love the sound of a thunderstorm / i want to travel the world / i sleep past midday most days / i love dimly lit diners and fluorescent signs / i rewatch kids’ shows out of nostalgia / i see emotions in colors not words

I almost never wear bracelets, but if I do, I guess the wrist is the normal place to put them. I do love cities. I’m very much a city person. That said, I’m also quite happy to escape to a lake/ocean/wilderness now and then. I have two holes in each earlobe, a piercing in my upper left ear cartilage, and used to have an eyebrow piercing until it was pointed out that it would almost certainly be detrimental for my then-opera career (fledging though it was...) I don’t often read poetry, but I do sometimes. Thunderstorms are fantastic. I love travel, though maybe not just now. Plus, again, no money. I am naturally nocturnal, but the world doesn’t accommodate that. If I don’t set alarms, within 48 hours my sleep cycle shifts to 5am-12pm. Like clockwork. However, I get up at 6:30am for work, so... I aim for midnight. I’m constantly overtired because of this. I loathe “nostalgic” Americana with a passion. I also hate children’s TV shows, and they’re not nostalgic because I wasn’t allowed to watch any of those shows. Nothing that wasn’t deemed educational. I don’t even know what this last one means. (Too pragmatic, I guess...) 

earth.

i wear glasses or contacts / i enjoy doing the laundry / i am a vegetarian or vegan / i have an excellent sense of time / my humor is very cheerful / i am a valued advisor to my friends / i believe in true love / i love the chill of mountain air / i’m always listening to music / i am highly trusted by the people in my life

I wear glasses. I used to wear contacts, but one day - spring of 2009, specifically - my eyes very abruptly decided that they were not having contacts anymore, ever, period. So: glasses. I do actually like keeping my little apartment clean, but laundry is not my fave. I’m almost the opposite of a vegetarian/vegan: I’m keto/almost carnivore, lol. It’s what I need for my particular health/lifestyle goals. I eat mostly vegetables, meat, dairy, nuts/seeds, etc. Time? I’m half-German. Yeah: I’m punctual, and consider it highly rude not to be. My humour is sarcastic, silly, dry, dark - but not really “cheerful”, per se. People do come to me for advice. (”Dump his ass, girl!” Always. Lol.) I do believe in true love, though mostly for fictional characters. Lol. Mountain air: yes. Very good. I listen to music when I need to for music-themed work, or to walk or work out to. For me, listening to music is an active activity, not a background activity, ditto for podcasts, so I rarely do either, because it’s the only thing I can do. I work at being trustworthy, meanwhile. 

aether.

i go without makeup in my daily life / i make my own artwork / i keep on track of my tasks and time / i always know true north / i see beauty in everything / i can always smell flowers / i smile at everyone i pass by / i always fear history repeating itself / i can love unconditionally

I don’t wear much make-up, but I do wear some. Nothing on my face itself, just a bit of light eyeshadow and mascara. I’m pretty organized. Where I live, if I smiled at everyone, I’d get meth addicts following me home. History DOES repeat itself and not enough people fear that nearly enough. I think I do love unconditionally, but to love selflessly is always something we can work at doing more and better. 

Tagging: @chained-to-the-mirror, @yaycoffee, @flannelsaurus, @inevitably-johnlocked, @cathykell, @bakingsherlycakes, @atisenia, @88thparallel, and @shiplocks-of-love. Just if you want to! 

[kristallioness]

2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

*arrives a month late*... Happy 2021 to all of you, my dear followers! *raises a glass* It seems that my tendency to finish my artwork or personal posts on time has only gotten worse over time (I blame work *lol*). Oh well, better late than never, since there are things I would still like to take with me from this extraordinary year of 2020.

It is cringeworthy that I have two huge red X-s this year. But after I'd put these puzzle pieces together, I remembered far too well what was going on in my (work) life at the time, so it's completely understandable why I didn't have the time nor the energy to draw at all during those two months.

What were those typical statistics that I wrote about again to compare the years? *goes to read last year's post*.. Oh, right! In 2020, I managed to finish 3 full digital drawings (from the months of April, July and December) as well as work on several sketches. I wrote 28,154 words worth of fanfiction (oohh, that's a lot better than previous year), plus 3,126 words in English (I dare say I wrote an equal amount in Estonian) for the prompts I got during UYLD (making the total 31,280 words, which is quite impressive!).

I finished reading the 1st Kyoshi novel in the evening of the 20th and slightly past midnight on the 21st December (barely before the holidays, but I set this goal for myself and I did it!). Am already looking forward to starting with the 2nd part some time this year. Besides that, I ordered and received all the other new Avatar books that came out (3rd part of "Ruins of the Empire", "Katara and the Pirate's Silver", "Legacy of the Fire Nation") as well as BOTH Avatar series DVD sets (I still can't believe I found these on sale on some random online store in Estonia, but these are now among my most prized possessions!).

I finally started my Avatar rewatch last January, but merely got to the Ba Sing Se episodes in Book 2 (I need to continue with "The Earth King") and now it's been 5 YEARS since I last saw Korra. Reading through my journal personal posts from last year, I know far too well that it's not about rushing through it as fast as possible. Instead, I should enjoy the ride and continue watching the episodes when I'm well rested and in the right mood. That way I'll end up feeling much more at peace.

As for the entire year as a whole? I don't think anyone in this world of ours was prepared for the way this decade would begin - with an uncontrollable pandemic, the virus of which is randomly attacking and threatening to wipe out the weakest amongst us. If any of you (or even if you know someone who) have lost a loved one to this plague, there is not much else I can offer but my sincerest condolences! Me, my family, friends and colleagues seem to have managed to avoid catching it so far. *spits 3 x over her shoulder*

I had such high hopes for this year in so many ways. Event-wise I was looking forward to watching the Eurovision Song Contest in May (where Uku Suviste was supposed to represent Estonia for the 1st time ever after so many unfortunate failures to get selected as the winner of our local competition), the European Football Championships in June (asking my colleagues which countries they support, perhaps make fun bets / guesses with them to see whose team would win the matches), the Tokyo Olympic Games in July-August, the President of Estonia (Mrs. Kersti Kaljulaid) coming to visit my hometown to celebrate our Victory Day by taking part in the parade together with the Defence Forces (after 15 years *sigh*)...

I will always remember my last big event, which took place when life used to be "normal", so to say. It was the 102nd anniversary of Estonia on the 24th of February, when I took part of all the most important celebrations in Tallinn on our Independence Day, FULL-TIME (whenever I scroll through my Facebook timeline, I see the photos I uploaded of that day, my heart melts and I smile fondly). But the day after that.. utter hell broke loose. We had our first infected person in the country.

I will also remember the last day I went to work in "normal" conditions. Friday, the 13th of March (typically my lucky day-number combination): I missed the tram I wanted to get on in the morning, at work my team received great news that one of our colleague's family had grown bigger by a new tiny member the day before, we had our last team lunch together, we discussed the safety measures that we should take and joked about what might happen next week, I took the bus home instead of the tram (as the tram's route came from the airport and that place was considered to be more dangerous and with a higher risk of catching this virus).. It was another 2.5 weeks later by then (since the 25th of February) - Estonia (along with the rest of Europe) went into full lockdown.

The beginning was frightening and people were on edge, nobody really knew what to do nor what was gonna happen next. But in time, things began to shake into place and everybody developed a comfortable routine for remote work, including figuring out how to get everyday things done (such as grocery shopping). I found solace in taking photographs of various beautiful bird species, who began to fly around and serenaded me during spring, visiting the trees around my "nest" i.e. rented apartment (with a pair of them ACTUALLY building a nest in the chestnut tree right beside my window, thus turning me into a protective godmother of their chicks).

To be honest, I was awestruck by the positive / surprising aftermath of this lockdown: how the world / environment began to heal itself from the pollution that was normally caused by humans. I was taken aback by how dead silent our usually loud capital became in my neighbourhood (I could only hear trams passing by my house according to their schedules, practically no cars whatsoever, streets were empty of people.. absolute silence).

By May-June, things started to look up in Estonia (as well as the rest of Europe) and people were allowed to start travelling / moving around more freely. During my vacation in July, I managed to go to my last (open air) event (for the rest of the year) under these new "corona" conditions and ended up having a blast at the Open Farm Days in my home county for the first time.

Our country's shining moment came during the first week of September, when we hosted the first ever Rally Estonia of the World Rally Championship (WRC), where our very own Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won. The event was so well organized and successful that nobody caught the virus nor did the spectators / participants spread it to others, which surely must've helped in ensuring us a spot in the WRC calendar for 2021 as well.

The remainder of the year was rather dull, with the exception of the US Presidential elections in November, when we were all holding our breaths that Joe Biden would win (congratulations, my American friends!). This eventually led to the painful downfall of THE WORST government the Republic of Estonia has ever had, and to the rise of our first female Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas (both happening in January 2021, I couldn't believe it all spiralled so soon, ha-ha!).

Anyways, during the last 4 months, work was very stressful and driving me nuts, so badly that when I eventually went on vacation before Christmas, I had a slight anxiety disorder that wouldn't let me relax for several days (luckily it went away just as quickly once I began to take it easy and managed to get some proper rest / sleep).

In hindsight, I kind of get this weird feeling as if I saw this whole thing coming, given how actively I was living my life throughout 2019. My final year of the 2010's was so full of important events and personal achievements. It's almost as if something mysterious inside was driving me, telling me to visit all the places and do all the things I wanted to do, cause I wouldn't have this sort of a chance again for a very long time.

This must be the main reason why I am thankful for 2020 for going the way it did. Sure, I'm disappointed that a lot of events were cancelled, that so many people have had to leave this world so soon due to this unpredictable disease.. But I think there are so many lessons to take from what came out of all of this. I believe the world needed some sort of a restart or break, given in what direction we were headed (politically, economically, environmentally, socially etc.). I'm just sorry it's had to come with such a high price of innocent lives.

I have even higher hopes for 2021, given how amazingly January has already passed for me and my country, and what is to come in my hometown in February. Let's take the lessons learned from 2020 with us and keep on heading back towards the "normal" lifestyle we used to know. Except this time, let's improve our ways, put all the hatred behind us, be more considerate, keep a distance, stay safe, but still try to make the world a better place for everyone. Thank you so much for reading, for remaining by my side, and for your support and love throughout the years, my friends! I hope to see you all alive and healthy at the end of the white metal ox year of 2021! *virtual hugs*

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 182

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 34 - “The Knight on a White Horse! Karen Protects Milk″ Date watched: 29 April 2020 Original air date: 30 September 2007 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/8mj9Wl3 Transformation Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/6k6SzS0 Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Where there is light, shadows lurk and fear reigns. Yet by the blade of knights, mankind was given hope.

Every so often there comes an episode of Precure that is absolutely iconic. This is one such episode. Milk gets sick and Karen has to joust Hadenya on horseback to protect her, putting her up there with other female action icons like Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley in my book. Let’s explore!

The Plot

Karen is showing off her equestrian skills for her friends, and invites Milk up to have a ride, but when Milk collapses in her arms, Karen realizes she has a fever. They take her inside the mansion to assess her, and Nuts informs them that the only way to cure a resident of the Palmier Kingdom is with a special Pinky known as Cappy, which is not one that they’ve caught yet. Karen opts to stay behind and tend to Milk while the others go out to find the elusive pinky.

We’re treated to a brief scene in Nightmare where Bunbee is also sick and everyone else dismissively tells him to go home, they won’t miss him anyway. Hadenya volunteers to go fight the Precures and retrieve the Dream Collet this time.

Back at Karen’s residence, Milk is still suffering in bed and Karen flashes back to when she was sick as a child and Jiiya cared for her, so she goes to ask him for advice. He provides her with towels, ice water, and apples and instructs her how to tend to someone. He doesn’t ask many questions but it’s implied he knows more than he’s admitting about Karen’s patient. Karen goes back upstairs to attend to Milk, keeping her temperature regulated and feeding her porridge and apple slices, and she seems to be doing better.

Over in a nearby park, Coco, Nuts, Nozomi, Urara, Rin, and Komachi split into two groups to go look for the pinky. Coco and Nuts separately flash back to all the nice things Milk has done for them since arriving on Earth, and the girls encourage them to stay cheerful in their search, and they soon find Cappy. However, the fairies soon detect an evil presence back at the Mizuno estate...

After her horse makes a fuss, Karen looks out the window and sees Hadenya strolling across the pasture towards her house! Karen heads outside to confront her, vowing to protect Milk, so the vibrant villainess tosses a Kowaina mask all the way into the stable, where it lands on a saddle, flying out and turning into a demon horse. I include all that information because usually the kowaina sprouts from wherever the possessed object is, so the fact that it came flying out before mutating is unusual. Anyway. Karen transforms into Cure Aqua but Hadenya and her devil steed resist her kicks and thrash her about. Karen tries to stand, resolute on protecting Milk, but she’s visibly weakened and Hadnya knocks her back down, mocking her ability to protect anything. At that moment, the other four girls arrive and transform to face off against her, but even their combined might isn’t enough to overpower the general as she makes a lance out of a nearby signpost. From inside the stable, Karen’s horse Charlie is able to tell his owner is in danger and he breaks out to go help her. Aqua mounts her steed and summons the Aqua Ribbon, turning it into a sword (a feature that is not possible with the toy #falseadvertising). She squares off with Hadenya and they charge at each other, jousting back and forth for a few rounds before Aqua summons all of her strength to knock Hadenya’s lance out of her hand in a crushing blow. She dismounts and performs Aqua Tornado on the Kowaina, with Hadenya admitting that Karen surprised her before she flees.

Later, in Milk’s room, the girls all surround her bed as Karen explains that she protected her because she loves Milk’s smile. Cappy works his Pinky magic, healing her, and she seems a little confused about the day’s events. Coco and Nuts thank her for all her hard work for them, which makes her smile, then everybody but Karen leaves the room to go have tea. Milk thanks Karen sincerely for looking after her and protecting her, and the episode closes on a still of them embracing.

The Analysis

Starting in episode 26, and seen again in episode 30, Milk and Karen have been developing a closer bond with each other than what Milk has with any of the other members of the team. Karen is very patient with and supportive of Milk, and having been fairly high-strung herself at one time, she knows how to get through to her and explain things in a way she’ll understand. Now we get to see Karen’s compassion and protectiveness when Milk is at her most vulnerable. She does everything in her power to help, and even when she’s overwhelmed, she just stands right back up and keeps pushing forward and fighting the good fight. Would Karen do this for Coco or Nuts if they were in the same situation? Of course, but because Milk is more vulnerable, it’s more meaningful to their relationship that she does this. And the ending of the episode really shows the closeness of their bond as Milk thanks Karen very personally and sincerely for treating her and protecting her from Nightmare. The music during this scene is a slow violin and piano piece which accentuates the mood. It’s very tender and heartwarming.

Karen’s determination to help Milk is really inspiring, but one aspect I appreciate is that she doesn’t automatically know HOW to help. Instead, she thinks back to a time when she was in a similar situation and turns around to ask her own caretaker for advice. She actively seeks help, which fits her attribute of intelligence, and she works hard to help Milk. She tries her best to tend to the fairy, but we see her mess up a little bit. She cuts her finger when peeling the apple, and when feeding the porridge to Milk, Milk chokes a little bit and coughs it out. No harm is done, but these are both representative of Karen’s novice at this task, as well as her persistence in never giving up. You see this again during the battle with Hadenya. Aqua doesn’t know how she can beat the monster on horseback, but she knows she has to try. She isn’t explicitly able to ask for help, but Charlie comes to her aid anyway, showing her the way forward.

Persistence also applies to the other girls, Coco, and Nuts, who are out looking for Cappy. Everyone is doing this for Milk’s sake, and they know they can’t give up until they find the Pinky and save her, but while we see them searching for a while (It’s mid afternoon when they get to the park, and sunset when they find Cappy and return to the Minazuki estate) the emphasis isn’t on them, this is Karen’s episode. I do like the cutaways where Coco and Nuts are remembering the fun they’ve had with Milk, good times and bad. Coco in particular remembers a time when Milk scolded him for eating too many cream puffs... which actually is going to be topical in a few more episodes, so look forward to that.

I’ve said before that twilight scenes can enhance the drama, and that’s in full effect here. The entire battle sequence takes place at sunset, and the liberal use of secondary colors goes a long way to increase the intensity of the fight.

The kowaina is a deep purple, the sky is orange, the grass and trees are brown. Even Hadenya’s red and yellow appearance fits in with this, Aqua’s cool blue and cream clothes are the only thing breaking this up, helping to paint the picture that it’s her against the world. When her pure white horse arrives, it’s like a beacon of light, and she becomes Milk’s knight.

The idea of knights on horses protecting fair maidens is actually set up earlier in the episode, when Nozomi sees Karen practicing she daydreams about Coco riding in on a horse to rescue her as a princess.

However, it is of course Karen who ultimately takes the charge, becoming the knight on horseback, sworn to protect Milk from evildoers. It’s a powerful image and a powerful fight. Using the Aqua Ribbon as a sword is about ten times cooler than what the toy actually does, but Precure has an ongoing policy of no physical weapons, so this is about as good as it gets.

There is one flaw that permeates almost the entire episode, and that is the art style. Awkward facial expressions abound here, mostly involving wide mouths and half-lidded stares or just vacant expressions. Aside from this being mid-30s filler before they start to ramp up the plot in the late 30s and 40s, I have no idea why this is so ugly. The animation director for this episode is Kawano Hiroyuki, an animator at Toei with a long track record, who has been involved with the franchise as an animator, key animator, and animation director since the beginning all the way through to Maho Girls. For this series, he was the animation director on episodes 2, 10, 18, 26, 34, 41, and 49, as well as key animator on all of those episodes as well as 8, 33, and 35. I looked back at a bunch of these I could see a few similar instances of this kind of sloppiness, but his work is generally decent. Maybe they just rushed this episode out. The artwork in this show is usually solid, so maybe that’s why it stands out to me more when it’s bad, but half the episode looking like this sets off alarm bells in my head.

The last thing I want to touch on is Hadenya. She lost her previous outing, the episode right after the girls demonstrated that they’re exponentially stronger as a team than they are when even one of them is missing. And yet, here she is, kicking Karen’s ass and then the asses of the other four, only to be bested by Karen again in one-on-one combat. It’s effective at showing how strong she is, much more so than her previous appearance, but by the same token it shows just how determined Karen is to protect Milk, as she keeps standing up even after getting beaten into the ground repeatedly. I hope we get more battles with this level of intensity.

In summary, it’s a great episode, a beautiful focus on Karen and Milk’s growing relationship, and it was marred only by some ugly faces.

Next time, Bloody finally enters the scene. Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 kettei. Don’t worry, we’ll have some next time!

[mywildloves]

I wanna talk about Harley Quinn for a sec...

Harley Quinn is a character that I identify with very closely. I've been a fan of hers for at least a decade or so. I have a signed copy of my hardcover limited edition version of Mad Love. I was going to name my daughter either Harley or Quinn if I had had a daughter.

One of the traits of Borderline Personality Disorder is a severely lost sense of identity. We dont know who we are. That's why even though I can sing really well, I could never find my own voice. I always sound like whoever sings the song I'm singing. Even though I can draw, I never found my own style. I just draw comic book covers and the octopuses... I guess that's my own thing except it isn't because I started drawing them when I had an obsession with a person who had an octopus tattoo. You all know who he is and he drew me in when I was at the brink of insanity, before I got my diagnosis. I saw Chiara Bautista's artwork and fell in love with it and I used pieces of her artwork in my own. I'm no one and everyone at the same time.

Harley Quinn embodied almost everything that I *could* identify about myself and it kept on even in adulthood. I was a research technician who went crazy and lost my job. I ended up in the psych hospital twice when I found out that Jared was talking to other girls. I've been wearing pigtails since high school. I develop obsessions with men to the point where I'm always daydreaming about them, about a perfect life with them. Thats one of the reasons why I've been with Jared for over 18 years now even though I've felt like his doormat at times. I cant live without him. Hes my Joker. Even now. I've always loved blunt objects, I have three baseball bats hidden in strategic places in my apartment. I had one in my car that Jared had to take away from me because I constantly threatened to beat people up who pissed me off. I behave recklessly, but, like Harley I have a conscience. Shes not heartless. There are many examples of her helping others and even being hero.

Since Harley became so popular it's been driving me nuts. Shes MINE. MINE!!! They cant have her, but they stole her from me. All of the Halloween costumes, the Suicide Squad movie, and now... Birds of Prey. Its bound to suck and that sucks. Shes everywhere to the point where being into her, dressing like her, dyeing your hair like hers... it's almost cliche and like 🙄🙄🙄. I wanna wear her tee shirts, I wanna put my hair in pigtails, all kinds of stuff but the fact that like shes everywhere... she's not mine anymore.

I hate that shes become popular. Its ruining her image. They dont understand her like I do and she is NOT the Harley I know in the Suicide Squad movie. People didnt even know she existed until Suicide Squad came out. I dont know, I just hate it. I felt like I *was* her in so many ways. The first time I read Mad Love I fell in love with her character. I love the complexity of her relationship with the Joker. I love her. They cant have her.

I wont be seeing Birds of Prey.

[queen-of-hearts92]

Revue Starlight Theory: The Tower of Venus.

My theorizing normally goes in my write ups, and I have talked about this a bit in my episode 10 one but I. I gotta post this separately. I gotta let everyone know, that I think I know where the stage came from. Cause I think the show has been hinting at it and the proof is mounting up. I’m about to lose my fucking mind in the best way possible so just gotta share this theory!

We’ve seeing these Venus De Milo statues every time we are on campus and while yes they are used to represent Maya, there can be more than one meaning to an object or symbol. So, there is one Venus De Milo placement I’ve thought was very weird. In episode 7, during the after party for the Starlight play, we see a Venus De Milo right in front of the Star Tower prop.

But, this statue isn’t featured in the Starlight play at all. Nor is said love goddess present. So, why the fuck is it grouped with the other two props? I was stumped on this for quite awhile until episode 9 when we see the book Starlight is based on, the passage below caught my eye.

It says here that the Star Tower is on another planet. After learning this, I slowly realized why that Venus De Milo was there. Hell why they are here in the first place. And theres so much that points to this conclusion that I must share it! This is gonna sound kinda nuts but, here it goes.

Theory: The underground stage, and in turn the giraffe, is from outer space. Specifically the planet Venus, and the show has been foreshadowing that it’s from Venus this the entire time.

I know! I know! That sounds wild, like a space giraffe? Really? But ohh boy there is just so much shit related to Venus in this show I can’t help but think that this theory is fucking possible! So, all my proof has been gathered here in this post!

Note: If you have read any of my meta before then you’ll probably see repeated information (or just wholeass taking my info from my previous posts) but I gotta put it in here for clarity sake. Plus it’s a good reminder anyways. 

Let’s take a look!

>The stage’s connection to Starlight

-First off we know that the stage is closely connected with the Starlight play. The stage is connected to it due to the constant presence of the Star Tower. The tower that holds the star is in the London stage even though the Starlight play isn’t being performed at that school so we can assume that it’s present in all the auditions that happen here. And the tower in the Starlight play itself and it looks the same as the one in the underground stage. Therefore the Starlight story probably really happened and now the Star Tower is here in this stage.

Note: I’m very positive the stage is alive so I will be treating it like it is a living creature with wants and desires, just to let you know.

>Aphrodite’s symbols

I swear I’ve went over these several times, but! I shall do it again. Let’s go over all of Aphrodite’s symbols that appear in the show one more time so we all know what they are. And of course this involves Maya and a reason why she has this connection with the goddess in the first place.

-Aphrodite/Venus is the greek/roman goddess of love, passion, and beauty. Of course she’s associated with the planet named after her. The biggest show of her symbolism is during Maya and Karen’s duel in episode 3. Most of her symbols have been heavily associated with Maya in particular. Maya’s stage is covered in greek/roman architecture for starters, and also birds. Particularly swans, the swan are one of Aphrodite’s symbols. Maya descends from the ceiling riding a fucking swan, and there is ancient art of Aphrodite doing just that. Maya chucks Karen into a huge swan at the bottom of the stairs, there's also a curled up swan right here before Maya opens up the stage. The smaller birds on the stairs and one as a gold statue could indicate two different bird symbols, either sparrows or doves. I’m leaning towards doves since we see white birds earlier in Maya’s room. Doves are also one of Aphrodite’s symbols.

-Another symbol is the white myrtle flower, Maya has a white flower in her hair during the flashback. While its not the same type of flower the fact that it’s a white one indicates to me that it was meant to represent the myrtle flower. The statue(s) we’ve seen all around the school is Venus de Milo, and in episode 3 Maya stands right next to in the similar pose increasing her connection with the goddess. Additionally we have seen the statue more when an episode more heavily involves Maya in some way, we see that in episode 7. Funny we don’t see the statue in episode 10 yeah? I’ll get to why in a bit.

-Aphrodite/Venus is also associated with water since she was born rising out of the sea, there is water all over the stage and the series in general. On Maya’s stage, there is a fountain by the golden dove during the duel. Speaking of gold, Ode to Aphrodite is the only full poem that Sappho wrote that survives to this day. The word “chryse” in Greek means golden and it’s used in the poem to describe the goddess. The dove on the stage is golden, also Sappho is a very famous lesbian so there is that.

-So, why does Maya have all of these symbols? Maya has the Aphrodite symbolism because she herself was a symbol for the stage. She’s everything the stage could want for a Top Star including accepting the loneliness that comes with the position. But, we all know by now that she isn’t really ok with that. Maya very much doesn’t want to be alone at the top, especially since she has fallen in love with Claudine. 

When Maya made the choice in episode 10 to not be alone at the top, she lost favor with the stage and it dropped her as a symbol since she no longer fits what it wants. Hence we see less of Aphrodite’s symbols around her. Hell in the 2 vs 2 duel the only prop that belongs to Maya that appears is the stairs, nothing else. 

-Also it’s not just Maya that has an Aphrodite symbol around her, Nana has one too! Frogs! The Greeks and Romans associated frogs with fertility and harmony. And with Aphrodite because frogs were associated with licentiousness aka being promiscuous. Uh, yeah it’s not a perfect fit but the presence of frogs I think is still notable.

Let’s go on to the next goddess shall we?

>Inanna’s symbols

-Inanna has her symbolism all over the place too and she shares some things with Aphrodite/Venus. Both of them are associated with doves and of course love and passion. Inanna is also a goddess of the sky, war, and combat. The connection to Inanna and Aphrodite/Venus is pretty intense, which is because Aphrodite/Venus is a descendant of sorts of Inanna. The planet Inanna is associated with is Venus, and this association leads to a primary symbol of Inanna. It’s an eight pointed star called the Star of Ishtar/Inanna, also called the Star of Venus. The star is in the show itself! It’s in Karen’s gem on the hilt of her sword. This gives her and Karen a connection.

-The most they have in common besides the star is a parallel with Inanna’s famous decent into the underworld. In the myth, Inanna goes to the underworld to rescue her husband. She has to strip off her clothing to get through the seven gates of the underworld but gains her clothes back when she leaves much later. Inanna’s trip ended up being a failure though, her older sister is the queen of the underworld and she said no fuck you and skinned her and hung her body on a wall. Yup. Luckily her sister in law bailed her and her husband out so it’s fine. 

In Karen’s story, she descended into an underground theater and falls below to rescue her love Hikari, and she also loses her clothes and gets new clothes. And as of episode 11 Karen is doing it again but going up instead of down this time. Also, in the Starlight play. Claire and Flora also have to pass through seven gates to get to their goal, just like Inanna did.

>Hikari and the Morning Star

-Hikari’s gem symbol in her weapon is the Morning Star, which is another name for the planet Venus. I say this because in artwork (if you can’t see it, look at the top by his arm) the Morning Star is portrayed like the symbol in her knife, usually in paintings regarding the greek god Phosphorus. He is the god of the Morning Star. And yes I know Lucifer is the other name for the Morning Star, Phosphorus also has that as one of his names. The Morning Star here resembles the greek/roman version of Lucifer, not the christian one. Mmmkay? Anyways, Hikari’s name even has a connection here! Hikari’s name means light and Phosphorus/Lucifer means light bringer. What are the odds eh?

-Karen and Hikari have the Star of Inanna and the Morning Star respectively because I think thats the stage’s way of marking them as the couple to act out the tragedy it wants. The stage does provide them with their weapons after all. Hikari’s weapon didn’t have the star there during her first audition and none of the other girls have clear symbols in their weapons like they do (trust me, I checked a lot gdi). And yes Karen and Hikari are the main pairing in the show but I don’t think thats why they have them. These two have these symbols that are the same star, and that is very significant in a show where a couple wants to be stars together and share the same stage.

So we have not one, not two, but three gods that are associated with the planet Venus that have their symbols in the show. That many references to this fucking planet indicates to me that the planet Venus is important here. And, it’s not just mythos that are indicated here.

>The planet Venus in real life.

Aspects that the real planet Venus has ties in with shit we’ve seen in the show too! 

-Venus is extremely hot temperature wise, so much so that we can’t land anything on the planet for very long if at all cause it will melt. It’s covered with volcanos and boy does it have a lot of fire there. In Rev Star, the scenes with the literal giant stage hands in episode 8 were very much on fire. Kirins are also associated with fire, and would you look at that theres a Kirin being a spokes animal of sorts for the stage. And ofc there is the golden bird statue in episode 3, it shot fire out of its back to invoke the image of a phoenix. Which is another being associated with fire.

-The reason why Venus is pretty much on fire all the time is due to the greenhouse effect. The gas that surrounds the planet is so damn thick that heat can’t escape into space, just like how greenhouses trap in warmth for plants to grow. In Rev Star we’ve seen plant life growing indoors and underground, so you could say it’s like a greenhouse housing plants to grow.

-Venus wasn’t always a fiery hell scape, it used to be a water planet. Lots of oceans and shit like that. That would match up to all the water we’ve been seeing in the show, maybe the stage took the water with it lol.

-You know that symbol on Claire and Flora’s outfits and on the giraffe logo? I think I finally figured it out! It’s a phase of Venus, but flipped so it isn’t on it’s side. And it’s orange in the play because the planet itself (and its surface) is colored orange.

-The Star Tower has a strong association with the color pink, Venus does too in terms of its planetary symbol being one that also is used to mean a female person and pink is very strongly associated with those who consider themselves female.

-Venus is the brightest star in the sky, its why theres so many mythos surrounding it. The star in the tower is also extremely bright and brilliance/shining has been a consistent theme in this show. Shine bright like the planet Venus!

>Space theme is already there.

Rev Star involving things like stars and starlight gives it an automatic association with space so we do already have a space theme. Here are two examples of it’s space theme meaning the stage is from the planet Venus.

-Looking at the giraffe logo you can see that the giraffe’s neck has stars on it. If this is the logo for all the revues then this could indicate that this is a space giraffe. Yup.

-The ending theme is Fly me to the Star, note how star is not plural. That’s a little weird isn’t it? Specially since in the Starlight play there are two stars not one. But! There is only one star in the Star Tower. So, the star that we are really flying to is the Morning Star aka the planet Venus. WE GOING TO SPACE MOTHERFUCKERS!

>IN CONCLUSION!

As you can see, theres a TON of things associated with the planet Venus in this series. Hence I think this is all foreshadowing to where the Star Tower and the stage is from, motherfucking outer space! But there is still the question of how it got here and why it ended up here in the first place. I’m very curious to learn more. In the meantime, I gotta say if I’m right, I hope we fight the giraffe in space. Thanks for reading! Let’s see if I’m right or not! \ouo/

[tsunamijenn]

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 9.2

Day 4 continued...again...

PSA: PICTURES OF THE SP/FS AND STAMMI VICINO (BOTH SOLO AND DUET) OUTFITS WERE NOT TAKEN BY ME!

They were posted on Twitter here.

I did not have the balls to try and sneak pictures of things that were explicitly labeled with No Photography signs. I definitely did NOT wanna risk getting caught and kicked out.

All 8 outfits were on spinning platforms, so you could see all the details, front and back. You had Phichit’s SP, Otabek’s FS, both of Yuuri’s outfits, both of Yurio’s outfits, JJ’s SP, and Chris’ SP. The screen behind was sometimes one big screen, sometimes split into several, but always showing different clips from the routines associated with the outfits on display. On the other 3 walls, there were pictures GALORE of screenshots from the show.

You passed through a curtain, and to your left was Victor’s Stammi Vicino outfit...and the bag of nuts ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

There was another TV on the wall, and this one played different flashbacks. When Victor promises to choreograph a routine for Yurio, young Yuuri watching in admiration as it shows him growing up, Victor throwing a flower to young Chris, etc. The wall surrounding the TV had pictures of posters and news clippings of Victor, so essentially Yuuri’s bedroom wall.

You passed through another curtain, and you were at the first picture spot, with the Victor and Yuuri statues, Yuuri’s latest outfit, and the acrylic standee of Victor.

Teeeeechnically, the sign said no touching, and none of us did...we all just...sat. Which I suppose is still touching because our butts touched the bench, but we all just ignored that...

There were also more pictures of stills from the show

Past that was the Stammi Vicino duet outfits (WITH RINGS)!

Pass through one more curtain, and you were at the kiss and cry bench where you could again take pictures with the different plushies. Being the Victor/Victor run, I had no logical choice but to wear the glasses.

And in case it’s hard to see, your options were:

Yuuri’s Onigiri

Yuuri’s Egg Sushi

Yuuri’s Meat on the Bone

Yurio’s Cat

Otabek’s Bear

Phichit’s Hamster and Hamster Hat

Victor’s Watery Eyes (as glasses)

Chris’ Cow/Bull/whatever

A donut

A deep fried shrimp

Do I remember who had the last two in the kiss and cry? Nope. If you recall, please let me know.

And on the wall opposite of where you sat, there were more pictures of stills (to be honest, pretty much every wall had stills unless it was specifically occupied with something else, or was a background, etc etc).

Then as you got ready to leave the museum proper and enter the museum store, you were gifted with this picture, large and taking up the entire wall.

As for the content of the Victor/Victor audio, both Victor’s are really appreciative that you’ve gone 6 times and joke that they can see everything on your mind, ooh and ahh over the outfits, talk about love, bark at each other pretending to be Makkachin, and then tell you that they see a little bit of the other characters in you.

“You must be thinking only about me.” “A part of your mind has already been ‘Yuri-fied’.”

Whenever you become emotional, the Yurio in your mind points the middle finger at you.”

“There’s always a Georgi in anyone’s mind.”

“If your Georgi starts going out of control, create Yakov in your mind. Your Yakov surely will guide you through.”

“And if your Georgi becomes more like Georgi, to the point where you can’t stop him?” “Think about me.” “Think only about me.” “I can make you forget anything.”

The Victor’s close it out by thanking you once again for coming, and telling you they want to make history with you. History Maker starts to play, and both Victor’s together tell you “See You Next Level!”

Normally, once you step out of the museum and into the store, you hand back the audio related items and you are able to pick one postcard of your liking. They had these and then ones of all the characters with their Sanrio counterparts. I chose these because I already have a bunch of Sanrio collab type stuff.

But for the final time, you hand back the audio stuff, pick a postcard, but kept the badge...for the moment. Once there’s room, you are given these massive glasses and step off to the side in this little roped off area. You stand on little paw print stickers on the floor, put on the glasses, and look at the pictures on the wall.

The next two pictures are also from the same Twitter as above.

There are 5 pictures on the wall. When you put on the glasses initially, a little plus sign appears in your vision, and you have to look above the first picture for it to calibrate. The glasses themselves were basically mini-projectors and speakers in one. Once it was calibrated, you looked at the pictures, a clip that the picture was from was played onto the glasses lens.

So:

Episode 1 naked Victor in onsen

Yuuri's breakdown in the parking garage

The ring exchange

Yuuri's quad flip in the GPF FS

Stammi Vicino duet/everyone in Saint Petersburg ending of Episode 12

Then after you've watched all 5, you return the glasses and Victor pass, and get either the Yuri!!! on Museum Masterpieces Collection Book -side Y- (you get side V as an added gift if you spend a lot of money on the other goods in the store), or a couple young Victor posters, including the one of him running in front of the Alexander Column with Makkachin. I chose the book, because I already had V, and it would bother the ever-living-crap out of me if I didn’t get the other half.

The books themselves contain pictures of stuff you aren’t allowed to take pictures of in the museum, and closeup shots of the details of all the the costumes (minus the new Yuuri one).

As you go to leave the store, you come up to a massive poster for Ice Adolescence. And as you turn to walk down the hall back towards the elevators, there’s a small projector playing the first clip they showed of the Ice Adolescence ‘trailor’ at the concert, where music plays and they basically pan up the poster. Next to that are the 3 new pieces of artwork done for the YOIxHowa Sportland Collaboration.

And once I passed all that, once I was walking towards the elevator again, I came across this very sad sight.

No more museum...

o(〒﹏〒)o

From pictures I’ve seen, the only real difference between the museum this year and the museum last year was that this time around they did not have the GPF medals display case. Which is sad, but we also got the new Yuuri statue, so...it’s an acceptable trade-out. Am I bummed I didn’t get to see the medals? Of course! But how they perfectly set up the two statues so that Victor was sitting, admiring Yuuri skate, and Yuuri was smiling back at Victor...well, it made it ok. The only other difference would be the layout...obviously...I mean, different building, different floorplan...

So yeah!

That was the YOI Museum in Roppongi and my last/final walk-through!

<-Previous Post - My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 9.1 - Day 4 continued (Detailed YOI Museum part 1)

Next Post -> My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 10 - Day 5

Master List of posts

[aion-rsa]

The Year of Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey

https://ift.tt/35jmN0t

Amanda Conner tells us all about the new Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey series coming from DC.

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It is Harley Quinn’s mad, mad, mad, mad world, and now the Birds of Prey are just living in it. Such is the case with Harley Quinn And The Birds of Prey, the four-issue DC miniseries launching in Feb. 2020 from the creative team of writer/artist Amanda Conner and writer Jimmy Palmiotti.

Announced last week at New York Comic Con, the upcoming title is a sequel to Conner/Palmiotti’s four-year bestselling run on the standalone Harley Quinn book, and coincides with the release of the live-action film Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). However, the book is not tied to the movie’s plot. Instead, it is a 32-page DC Black Label book for ages 17 and older, a “mature readers” approach that’s similar to the Harley Quinn animated series on the DC Universe, which debuts next month.

Conner and Palmiotti’s work has made the largest impact on Harley since she was first introduced in 1993’s Batman: The Animated Series (co-created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm). Over the years, she has evolved into an antihero who escaped the abusive relationship and emerged from the character shadow of the Joker.  Set in both Gotham City and Harley’s adopted home of Coney Island, the miniseries sees Harley moving on with her life when she learns her psychotic ex has placed a $10 million bounty on her head -- causing Gotham’s nastiest rogues to hunt her down. Enlisting the help of Black Canary, Cassandra Cain (aka Batgirl), Renee Montoya, and the Huntress, Harley and these Birds of Prey will flock together to find out why the Clown Prince of Crime is out to get Ms. Quinn.

“She's really gotten on the Joker's nerves,” Palmiotti told Den of Geek. “He's not in a place to take her down, and he does a lot of manipulating to get everyone in Arkham pretty much after her.” Although he adds the miniseries, which is still being written, will step “outside the outline.”

Following the NYCC announcement of the new book, Amanda Conner joined Den of Geek for a chat to discuss the joy of returning to the mad world of Harley Quinn.

Den of Geek: How has Harley evolved since you last wrote her?

Amanda Conner: What I'm glad about is that everybody has grasped the theme of Harley going out on her own, being a free girl, not being beholden to the Joker and other people of Gotham or Batman. They're still in her universe, but she's not being bossed around by them or being emotionally whipped by them. And this book is just going to be her discovering a new set of people to torment and torture and vex.

How did these characters that are already established, and independent in their own right, work with Harley? Is Harley the leader of the Birds of Prey now?

She's not so much a leader, but a black hole that pulls people into her gravitational well. People get sucked into her world, whether they like it or not. It is not so much a leader thing; she just sort of sucks you in, and you can't really help it. That's how she's going to be involved with the Birds of Prey.

What character is most interesting for Harley to bounce off of? When I was looking at this lineup, I couldn't decide who I was most excited to see -- probably Montoya, because of law and order versus chaos.

At first, I was thinking it was going to be Montoya, but now I'm starting to think that Cassandra is going to be a little bit more of an interesting foil for Harley. Usually Harley is the one that drives everybody nuts, but Cass is going to drive Harley a little bit nuts, so that'll be a nice shift. It is going to be interesting to see how the two of them work together -- or don't work together.

read more: What Tom King's Final Batman Issues Would Have Been About

Your artwork impacted the look of Harley so much, and introduced now-iconic looks. So have you made additional tweaks to the character designs?

We're going to do more of Harley changing up her costume. That's one of the things that we introduced we didn't realize was going to be so successful: Harley changing it up all the time. You could change her costume, and you can always reckon, "Oh, that's Harley and she's wearing this outfit." She's just instantly recognizable so she can get away with that. And, I always say this at panels, "What girl do you know that has one outfit in their closet?"

Can you say anything about those updates?

You know what, I can't because I haven't started drawing it yet! But Jimmy and I were just talking about it in a very, very long taxi ride (it was like the forever-to-go-one-mile taxi ride to the con).

Speaking of Jimmy, even though it hasn’t been that long since you stepped away from Harley in 2018, has it been easy to slip back into that world?

Yeah, it is. Because she's such a fun character. I thought it was going to be hard for me to change gears, but it's like a gear that I could just slip right into very easily. There's two DC characters that they're like comfortable slippers to me, and Harley is one of them.

How prominent of a role will Harley’s girlfriend Ivy be in the book?

We're not sure yet, but yeah, we're going to put her in.

When we have this new Harley limited series coming out, and we have the animated series, and then the live-action movie coming up -- and then we'll have another Suicide Squad movie down the road. How do you think this much Harley is going to impact pop culture as a whole?

It feels like it's going to be the year of Harley. I can't predict, but it certainly feels like it's going to be the year of Harley. People aren't going to not love that cartoon, that cartoon's great. It's really good. I think people are going to love the Birds of Prey movie.

read more: New DC Universe Timeline Revealed

But why does she translate so well across media?

She's a great character. You have movies that have superhero characters in them, and some of them are so iconic that they can't show their imperfections, or you can't take them out of their very strict personalities. But, with Harley, you can do that. You can pretty much do anything with her. I think it's going to free up superhero movies and all sorts of media in a way that it hasn't been done before, and I think it's going to be really good to see female characters. Usually we see them, they're sort of bunched in with a group, the superhero group. But with Harley Quinn now, she's still in a group, but it's with a bunch of female superheroes. Or semi-heroes.

Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

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Interview Aaron Sagers

Oct 9, 2019

DC Entertainment

Harley Quinn

Birds Of Prey

NYCC

NYCC 2019

from Books https://ift.tt/2AWF6e1

[woodlandelk]

Ships Tag!!!

I was tagged by @ilonavic :) But beware, regarding Ships I am super boring and narrow minded ;)

First Ship you ever read fic for: The first fanfic I read were the Diaries of the Fellowship, back 15 years ago. It was fabulous! But It wasn´t really about any ship... My first “real” ship was probably Dramione, and I read tonns of fics when I was about 16-17-18 years old. That´s also when I really got into writing again.

First Ship you ever wrote fic for: Draco and my OC Kaida!I Never wrote anything that could not be canon. So I tried to write “along” HP and the Halfbloodprince, not disturbing the actual story and just writing what other Hogwarts students were doing meanwhile ;) I posted in on my blog and it turned out quite ok but it´s in German, sorry peeps... I even had a little fan-crowd and one girl said she liked my fic better than the actual HP books :D :D :D She was nuts. But yeah, in the end I broke them up so Draco could marry Astoria... :/

Ship you write the most now: It´s a bit difficult, because they are not romancing right know... still “Just firends”. The romance is supposed to happen in the sequel (slow burn is being really slow) ;) But yeah, it would be Iorveth and my OC Yrdenne. It´s my first fic since Draco, and since I write my story novel-style (size wise) there is no time for anything else. This fic is my baby, you have no idea how much time I put into this... except of Iorveth and Isengrim, nearly all characters are OCs and I love them to bits. I love this story so much and there is even fanart!

Want to read it? https://yrdenne.deviantart.com/gallery/62288885/Defeating-the-Fire-Book-1

Look at the art! https://yrdenne.deviantart.com/favourites/72464573/Random-from-Defeating-the-Fire

Ship you read the most now: I don´t really read other fics... Since I involuntarily got into very, very disturbing things (several fandoms) I am not really into reading other fanfics lately. BUT I do read the witcher drabbles by @thewhiteroseofshaerrawedd so it would be Gerveth, woudln´t it? But since Iorv and Yrdie are my OTP, I don´t ship this elf with anyone else, sorry;)

Newest Ship: Yeah, boring me usually sticks to canon pairings pr pairings that are are close to canon... I like the Idea of Ciri and Eredin though. I did something for @elisacoyote

https://yrdenne.deviantart.com/art/Art-trade-Cirilla-and-Eredin-After-the-battle-676634362

Rare Ship you wanna read more of: As I said, and I don´t really read fics... So there is nothing I really look out for. Especially no rare ships. Yeah, boring me, again.

Your taboo Ship: Well, people can ship whatever they want as long as they don´t rub it into other peoples’ face.

But personally, there are some. GeraltxCiri, or worse, Ciri and Bonhart! Herminone and Snape... things that are really “out” of caracter, incest, or when a really abusive and nasty man is with a “nice girl”, huge age differences when one is underage ... Sorry, I am just not into that.

They never met in canon Ship: Well, my OC ships of course...  ;)

Your unexpected ship: Unexpected like it “I did not expect to like it?” Drarry! And PansyXHerminone! There are some wonderful artworks that really got me... not like I am totally shipping them, but I find the Idea quite cute :)

The ship you always forget to give love to: Triss and Eskel <3

Ship your OC with a canon character (if applicable): Iorveth and Yrdenne, forever and always. Get over it.

A ship you’re embarrassed to ship: Nah. not really.

Your most romantic Ship: Um... eh... Ciri and Cahir probably. It´s more romantic as in heartbreaking, because he is fcking dead. I REALLY wanted them to get together... And Iorv and Yrdie, just because... yeah, I am an egocentric brat. I love them together. I made it. geez, I am so vain...

Your sexiest ship: Geralt and Yen are just pure sex XD

Your most tragic ship:   Oh, that is difficult... I like tragic ships. Would be Ciri and Cahir again. WHY CAN`T THEY JUST BE HAPPY?

A ship you want more content for: um.. um... I would love to read a good Triss and Eskel fic.yeah, that one I would actually read.

im tagging: I think everyone is already tagged ?! ;)

[brigidandlydia]

Holidays & new beginnings.

Heya!

Thought I would write a new post as feels like its been ages! Seen you are away on your holidays at the moment -  looks great! You’re doing and seeing loads. And trying lots of yummy food! I do think that when I travel or visit somewhere new a big part of the experience is trying the food there.

I was in Valenica last weekend, a kind of last min break away! I only booked it about a month ago, I’d been thinking I’d like to get away for a few days and find it hard to organise friends to go with. Everyone has different commitments and things, also its been a bucket list thing – wanting to holiday on my own so I just went for it. I was away three nights, four days which was perfect. I’ve never been to Valenica before but my cousin has been a few times and he has great things to say. I did study Spanish at school up to AS level and I love the language, so I guess that gives you a bit more confidence when you go somewhere foreign.

Honestly I think it is one of the best trips I’ve been on!

I absolutely loved being there on my own. It was a real confidence boost just taking myself away and little things like finding my Airbnb, asking for directions or recommendations in Spanish and just planning my days all added to it. I love staying in Airbnbs – have you stayed in many? This one was lovely, pretty basic but just little things like the tiled floors and the little balcony off my room were beautiful. I think when you are creative person then you really buzz off things like that! I love shopping home wares and things – cannot wait to have my own little nest to decorate.

One of the things I loved about the city was the Turía gardens, they stretch quite a way down through the city and have paved areas, running routes, big grassy areas and lots of trees. I visited these nearly every day I was there, just walking through and sunbathing on the grass, reading my book, drinking Sangria! On the Sunday I was walking through and at one part there is this paved area with fountains in the middle and there was a traditional band playing and all these people in traditional dress and castanets performing these set dances, it was really cool to just come across it. There were lots of orange trees too, which were beautiful and I had proper freshly squeezed orange juice a few times – there is something so much better when it is that fresh, the taste and smell!

I walked loads just taking in all the buildings and enjoying the sun, it did rain a bit but it didn’t take away from it at all. I visited the beach on the Sunday as a lot of things were closed, it took me ages to find it and then when I finally did it started to pour with rain! I also went on an Airbnb experience one day – I think it’s a relatively new thing, when I booked the place to stay they came up with advertised things to do in the area. There are difference things like tours, cooking lessons, etc. all run by people in the area. I booked a bike ride with a host. It was only me and another couple; which was really good, you felt like you got chatting and the host was really great making sure everyone was getting on fine and enjoying it. I think it was about 30 kilometres we cycled! I haven’t ridden a bike in ages so I was a bit wobbly but it was a great way to see more of Valenica. We cycled along a few beaches that were further out of the city and more popular with locals, ending up at at Albufuera National Park. On the way back we went to an authentic café for lunch - this photo above was seafood in tempura batter and aioli - its like a garlic mayonnaise - so good! And paella! I found that even though I was only there a few days I just slotted into their way of bigger lunches and then a more tapas style dinner. I did get my shoulders pretty burnt that day as it was sunny.

On the last day I made sure to get in all the Spanish specialities in! I went to the Central Market – it really reminded me of the big market in Barcelona - La Boqueria. Just walking around and seeing all the fresh food, the fishmongers and butchers was so interesting. I’d been told to try this drink that they have in Valencia – it’s actually the only place in the world they have it! It’s called Horchata and its made from tiger nuts. It kinda reminded me of a nut milk – like almond milk. It was really good, usually they have it with these pastires called Fartons (lol)! I didn’t get one of those as I had a big croissant from the market for breakfast. I think that’s one of my favourite breakfasts – especially on holiday – croissants, coffee and fresh orange. So good!

I brought home some paella mix and paella rice – so will have to do that some night for my friends or the fam!

I also had paella for my last lunch – I love it, my favourite is seafood paella, traditionally Valencian paella is chicken and rabbit – I have been pescaterian for a few years but this time when I was away I let myself have some things with meat or chicken in them – as I said I do think it’s part of the experience.

I would recommend visiting Valencia if you ever get the chance, I’d probably go back!

I had a lend of a few books from a friend when I was away that I found easy reading as they were good stories. One was called ‘The Wife between Us’ by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. If you liked ‘Girl on a Train’ and ‘Gone Girl’ this would be up your street, plenty of twists! I also read ‘Lullaby’ by Leïla Slimani which was pretty short – it was originally written in French but has been translated. It was a bit dark but I read it really quick I was enjoying the story so much.

I found that I came back on a high from my break away, sometimes a change of scenery really does you good. Things are grand here, I can’t really believe that we are at the end of May. In some ways Christmas seems so long ago but then I feel I cant account for the last few months.

I have been applying for jobs – looking for part time ones to add to my part time hours at the salon or another job, full-time in creative or hospitality. On my last day on holidays I was sitting having gelato and got the call that I’d been offered a new job! It is in Derry and is a Restaurant Manager position! I was over the moon! I have worked in a few different cafes and I love being on my feet, keep busy and working with people. It’s an independent place, which really appeals to me as I think you can have more input and really make a difference to a place. I start next week, it’ll be a big change with a lot more hours and responsibility but I am ready for a new challenge and to take on a higher role. Of course I am nervous about starting and a bit apprehensive but looking forward to it! Wish me luck!!!

Also – one of my aims this year was to move out – something that I think would really benefit me mentally as well. I am in a very luck position that my parents are fine with me being at home and coming and going as I like but I don’t feel like it is my space and still feel a bit like there is always that parent – child relationship where I feel I’m a bit accountable to them all the time. So this new job will mean that I can hopefully move out – definitely an incentive and something to look forward to.

I do believe in the right thing happening at the right time and although part of me wonders about design and illustration I know that in this new job I will be able to be creative. Also I can always be creative outside of work too. I brought my film camera on holiday with me, but I didn’t take many photos on it, using my phone far more. I am currently talking to a girl about helping design t-shirts for her boutique, based in Derry. It’s that worry/struggle though of any kind of freelance work – keeping yourself organised and on track with projects and juggling this with more work. It is good to be keeping up with a creative project though.

I am hoping that this new job will help me with my time management a bit! Sometimes when you are busier you get more done. I have been trying and failing and trying and failing to get on track with regular gym and eating better. Why is it so hard sometimes?! I find that I can be better during the day with eating well but my downfall comes at evening and I just crave all the junk!

I have a wedding at the end of June which I am keeping in mind to try and encourage myself to stay on track.

Saying this I also believe in enjoying your food – when I was away it was the most relaxed I’d been about food for a while, and I didn’t overeat or over do it on the drinks. I think that I was just feeling in control of everything as I was on my own and when I am at home then my emotions and food become a bit wrapped up in each other :(

I’ve been watching ‘The Assassination of Versace’ on Netflix at the moment. I’m about half way through the series and I think it’s really good. I liked the other docu-series thing on Netflix about O.J. Simpson and I think that this programme was produced by the same people. I also watched ‘Top of the Lake’ recently – some episodes were a bit slow but over all I enjoyed it, I think that the actress Elisabeth Moss is great. She was in Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale too.

Have you watching the Beyonce documentary? I’m not a massive Beyonce fan to be honest, but I’m kinda interested in it. I haven’t been to the cinema in a while, but Rocketman is in now – the one about Elton John. I thought Bohemian Rhapsody was good and I like watching films where you learn about people through the story line. So I might give that a watch soon.

Music wise – I heard this track on Annie Mac’s show on Radio 1 one evening, he’s called Joesef and I think hails from Glasgow. Just thought it was something a bit different!

Did you see I posted on my Instagram stories I did some artwork for a musician in Derry – Bairie, for her latest release, ‘Rambling Boys’. Look it up on Spotify!

What do you think of Billie Eilish? I wasn’t so sure the first few times I heard her music but I now really like her stuff.

I am going to see SOAK play on Friday, she recently has brought a new album out, so much music talent that comes out of Derry! My favourite song off her new album is Déjà vu.

I cannot wait to hear about your big trip! I hope it’s got you feeling inspired – I think I seen your sketchbook out in one of your pics! Enjoy the rest of your time away & take care!

Brigid x

[pauldeckerus]

Guest Blog: Headshot Photographer Chris Gillett

He stared at me with a blank look on his face. It was a look of surprise and embarrassment that betrayed the fact that he had never considered this very fundamental question before. He was a marketer for a large international law firm, and the answer to this question should have informed many different decisions he made in marketing the firm. I wasn’t very surprised by his reaction.

I used to be a trial lawyer and I am accustomed to cross examining people. This felt exactly like that. “Why do you put pictures of the lawyers on your website?” He stared blankly for a moment and then stammered out, “So you know what they look like?” I promise I am not making this up.

This answer isn’t wrong, but it isn’t very good either. Perhaps a better way to say it is, “To put a name with a face.” When I am talking to or emailing Johnny Lawyer, I can picture his lovable mug. Considering how unpopular having your headshot made can be with some people, this does not seem like a fantastic answer.

Another answer I commonly get to that question is, “Well, you just have to. Most people do.” Again, while this isn’t a great answer, it definitely is not wrong. It is true that most people do it, and if you don’t it looks strange, like you are not serious. Have you ever received a friend request on social media such as Facebook or LinkedIn where the requester did not have a profile picture? It’s like that. It’s strange. You wonder if they’re even a real person.

For the clients that I market myself to, there is often a more important reason. That online headshot is going to be the first impression they make on many potential clients. First impressions and the common knowledge surrounding them are one of those things that everybody knows is true and actually is true. The research in this area is overwhelming. First impressions are formed almost instantaneously, visuals are far more important than text, they are very sticky, and first impressions formed online carry over into the real world. Since that is the case, it is a good idea to make that first impression a very strong one.

The majority of headshots I see do not make good first impressions. What really makes me mad about these shots is that it is not the subject’s fault at all. They don’t deserve it. They just have no idea what to do in front of the camera, and of course they should not. It is not their area of expertise. The expressions on their faces when they were being photographed should not have been left up to them.

Just so you don’t think I am beating up on other people, I will use myself as an example.

Ten years ago or so when I was still a lawyer, I received an email from the firm administrator that read, “We are taking headshots for the website. We need you in the auxiliary conference room next Tuesday at 10:20 AM. Wear a dark suit.” Like many people, I was not very excited about this. I felt like I was not photogenic. I generally did not like pictures of myself. There was a time in college that a friend took a picture of me at a party that I thought looked pretty cool, but that did not happen very often. Each headshot opened up my self acceptance gap a little farther.

That evening I stood in my bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror practicing different smiles. Nothing looked very good to me. I figured it was just because I was not photogenic, and I was not photogenic because frankly I was not good looking enough. If I looked like Harrison Ford, I would look good in pictures.

The next morning when I walked into the conference room, the headshot photographer sat me down at the conference table, got my head and my body in certain positions and then left the rest of it up to me. “One, two three; smile.” The result was that I looked insane. It is like the last face you’ll see when you wake up in the middle of the night being strangled to death. It certainly did not make me look like a confident litigator, like a person who you would trust your most important personal legal matters to. Unfortunately, this happens to a lot of people.

There is no magical combination of facial features that makes people photogenic. I have worked with extremely attractive people who were a mess in front of the camera, and I have worked with people who were not as genetically gifted who were amazing. Being photogenic is doing the right things in front of the camera.

Actors and some other folks have a wider range of acceptable expressions, but with my clients, my goal is always to make them look extremely confident. I want them to look like they are good at what they do, like they are experts in their field, and like they’re extremely successful. At the same time, I want them to look like they are nice people and are trustworthy. The resulting poised and pleasant look can (and this is the most important part of this post so far) increase their perceived level of expertise. Unsurprisingly, I photograph a ton of lawyers, and about all a lawyer has to market is a certain perceived level of expertise.

I cannot over emphasize this. I see it all the time. People who should know better, marketers, advertisers, website designers, firm administrators, human resource professionals, the owner’s spouse, or whoever is driving the decision to have headshots made, usually don’t seem to have a strong grasp on why they are doing it.

Here’s one example:

Website Guy: “Photograph their full torsos.”

Gillett: “Why would I do that?”

Website Guy: “So we have several cropping options.”

Gillett: “That really isn’t my question. Why would you show any of these people’s torsos? I am too skinny, and my torso doesn’t do me any good in a headshot. Some of these people look like heart attack candidates. Why would I start down a three year litigation path with someone who looks like he could check out in twelve months? That is one reason not to. The burden of proof, however, is on you. Give me one reason to show full torsos in these headshots.”

Website Guy: “Okay, just give me half torso.”

ANOTHER VIGNETTE:

Another Website Guy:”Photograph them standing behind a conference room chair and leaning on it with their arms like what is on the website now.”

Gillett: “You want me to make these litigators look like someone has them bent over a chair?!? Are you nuts? Have you thought about the message that sends? No one bends these people over a chair. If anything, they bend someone else over a chair.”

Another Website Guy: “…???”

A certain perceived level of expertise is often the only or the main thing that my clients have to market themselves with. Take lawyers for example. Their firms will acquire former Texas Supreme Court justices as partners, purchase expensive artwork for the conference rooms and waiting areas, and spend a ton of money on their offices in general to increase their perceived level of expertise. Despite all of these efforts, many organizations if not most will miss one of the most important and cost effective means of increasing their professionals’ perceived level of expertise, the well made headshot.

Having said all of that, here is a final caveat: not everyone needs to increase their perceived level of expertise. Some people just need a competent headshot. There are a lot of ways to shoot headshots. There isn’t a single right way to do it. This is just my approach.

I think that it is part of my job to be a consultant, a trusted advisor. I try to show them how to look good in headshots and how a good one can benefit them beyond just looking good. How is that accomplished? About three years ago when I had just started shooting headshots full time, I wrote a blog post here for Scott, wherein I heaped hearty approbation on Peter Hurley as he rules. I have learned a ton since then, and I thought it might be fun to mention a few things that have been helpful to me in my mission to make people look great.

ENERGY

When I was young, a woman who used to care for me from time to time would tell me, “Folks is crazy.” That phrase has stuck with me throughout my life. People are nuts, and it’s part of what is fun about headshots. Everybody has the same equipment, but it is all hooked up differently and everyone’s head is metaphorically in a different place. I generally know where I want to take them, but initially I have no idea how. That improvisational element is part of what I love about it.

Some people have an emotional inertia, a chronic stoicism that makes it difficult to get good expressions. They often end up looking miserable or disinterested in headshots. This is tough, because I want them to look magnificent. Have you ever seen Michelangelo’s statue of David in person? In pictures you can get the impression that it’s life sized, but in real life it is enormous and awesome.

I want people to be like that. I do not know a one-size-fits-all solution to people who practice conservation of emotional energy. Sometimes I will say mildly offensive things. Sometimes it is taboo language, sometimes it is extemporaneous humor based on the conversations we have had up until that point, and sometimes it is merely quiet direction. Obviously you have to exercise good judgment in deciding what will work and what you can get away with.

With most people, I find it is sufficient to be aggressively convivial. Thus, it is helpful to have good people skills, and I am always trying to improve mine. You could write a whole book on this topic as it touches on every aspect of your interaction with your client such as your initial impression, setting expectations, and problem-solving during the shoot in addition to the aforementioned verbal prodding. It is helpful to keep the energy in the room high when the client is in front of the camera. Up tempo music doesn’t hurt either.

The more I act like a confident expert in what I do, the more latitude I have. You can imagine if throughout my interaction with them, I supplicate myself, it will be very strange if I start acting super assertive out of the blue. Having said all that, that’s just the way I have dealt with it. I’m sure that there are other and perhaps even better ways to do it, and I am looking for them. In the meantime, I am going to try to be confident and in charge and lead them by the hand to headshot victory as best I can. 

SYNERGY

In the heat of battle, it is easy to miss small problems or to even let small problems that you notice go. In the last post I wrote, I talked about conceptualizing photographic style as a list of things you like and a list of things you don’t like in your work. I have found that there is a synergy in paying attention to as many elements from each list as possible.

For example, it might not seem like pulling a shirt collar up that has sunken down into a sports coat a centimeter or two is a big deal, but when you combine it with dozens of other things you are taking control over, they can all add up to something special. Good headshots don’t just fall out of the sky, and the less chance involved, the better. When you leave elements up to chance, you are essentially leaving it up to your client, and as we have already discussed, most of them have no idea what to do.

LET ‘EM SEE

Finally, I have learned that it is extremely important to review the headshots with my clients while I am working with them. There is not one right way to photograph a headshot. Most of the expression stuff and body language stuff is science, but everything else is a matter of aesthetic opinion upon which reasonable people can disagree. It’s even weirder for the client, because it’s their face, and they have a unique perspective on it and who knows what assorted hangups.

Let’s say that you take a perfect headshot of your client. You’re both agree that it is the platonic ideal of a headshot except… she doesn’t like her hair. You’re finished; she’s not going to like the shot. You have to figure that stuff out while she is there and you can do something about it. 

I hope that these lessons that I have learned don’t seem too prosaic to you. They have been extremely important to me. As a parting thought, I will mention that I try to stay really disciplined about my continuing headshot education. Headshots seem so simple, but I am continually learning new things. I see evidence that it helps me.

When I was reviewing images to include in this article, it didn’t take more than a few months in the past to get to work that made me cringe. Some folks have a hard time with criticism of their work. I think that it is the Dunning Kruger effect in action. If you are unfamiliar with that concept, look it up as I think it definitely applies to photography and can affect our ability to learn and improve. I make the most progress when people whose work I admire tell me what they don’t like about my work. It’s still sometimes hard to hear, but it is a powerful tool.

Sometime last year I had my buddy Rafal Wegiel critique my portfolio. By listening to his opinions and asking questions about how he came to them, I learned a ton. Those things are all little do’s and don’ts that I have added to my mental checklist to improve my work with my clients. His style is sufficiently different from mine that it was very likely that he would have many thoughts that would not have occurred to me.

There are a lot more than three lessons, but three is a magic number, and I could sort of rhyme these. Thanks for sticking with me. I love headshots, and if you shoot them, I hope you do too.

Chris Gillett is a Houston-based headshot and portrait photographer. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, but you can see more of Chris’ work at LikeTheRazor.com, and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Complaints can be directed to complaints@peterhurley.com.

The post Guest Blog: Headshot Photographer Chris Gillett appeared first on Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider.

from Photography News https://scottkelby.com/guest-blog-headshot-photographer-chris-gillett/

[pikespendragon67]

Late Birthday Present for writer-of-worlds!

Beginning Commentary: SO, my writing friend, @writer-of-worlds, had a birthday in April. I, however, was too caught up with schoolwork to do anything for them at that time. But now I have a few days off before summer school, I decided to make up for that. Happy late birthday~!

This is a modern AU I came up with a while ago…which was developed because I thought Kaze would look nice in a short-sleeved dress shirt and glasses. If this is interesting enough, I can elaborate more on this.

“You know, Kaze, you seem to be quite distracted today,” the older man with his teal hair in a messy ponytail commented, placing a pile of books down on the closest surface he could approach.

The younger man with the clean-cut yet still relatively long (for a man, that is) green hair, aged to be around his college years, blinked and freed himself from his daydreaming pose.

“Ah, my apologies, Sir,” Kaze quickly spoke, immediately snapping his attention to his boss. “I won’t let it happen again.”

“Come now, Kaze. I may be your employer, but I’ve also known you since you were a boy. If something troubles you, I’m open to chat with you. I’ve yet to reach the level of heartless CEO, after all.”

True, Yukimura’s book shop was still in its mom-and-pop phase of business; he only managed to open it around four years ago. How it was being slightly successful in the digital area is up to anyone’s guess, though.

“Very well,” Kaze sighed. “Corrin’s birthday is soon approaching and I still have no idea what to do for her. I tried buying tickets for one of her favorite bands, but they sold out the second they were released to the general public.”

“Ah, I see. Are there any other performances she might be interested in?”

“Unfortunately, no. …Unless she were somehow into polka music.”

Yukimura chuckled slightly before clearing his throat.

“And I’m certain you’re far past the phase of giving each other gift cards, correct?”

“If it were just a gift card, I feel she’d think I would break up with her. No, I want this to be special, Sir. We’ve been together for a few months now, with this being the first birthday of hers where we’re a couple.”

“In that case, don’t go too overboard so that you don’t scare her off. If you show too much dedication, she’ll think you’re obsessed with her. I’d say hold off on the very expensive gifts after a few years have passed, such as jewelry.”

“Well noted. Do you have any other suggestions?”

“Hm… How about a trip to the observatory run by Professor Izana? I’ve heard he’s quite a romantic, so a tale such as yours could easily get you in.”

Now it was Kaze’s turn to chuckle, a warm smile staying on his face afterward.

“That might actually work. Thank you so very much.”

“Not a problem. …Though, could you please return to work? I know this might be a slow day, but I still want us to be ready for customers.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Once work had finished, Kaze returned to his apartment complex building. Before he entered his own, though, a thought occurred to him.

Would the observatory be enough for her? I feel she should also get a material gift. …But what?

Kaze thinned his lips, but then decided to go three doors down to hear other opinions on the matter.

He gently knocked on the door, to which he was greeted by his four-year-old nephew Asugi.

“Hi, Uncle Kaze!” Asugi exclaimed.

Kaze smiled and got to the boy’s eye level, soon ruffling his black hair.

“Hello to you, too, Asugi.”

“Asugi, I told you not to open the door without asking who’s at it!” A woman with her long, black hair in a ponytail and bangs covering her face gently scolded him.

“I’m sorry, Mom…” Asugi pouted.

She sighed, but then paid attention to the man in question. “Oh, hello Kaze. Saizo won’t be home from the restaurant until later tonight.”

“Sorry to bother you, Kagero. I was actually hoping you could help me come up with a present for Corrin’s birthday.”

“Get her a bunch of candy!” Asugi exclaimed.

“Now now, we don’t want her to get cavities like you would,” Kagero smiled. “How about you go play in your room while I help your uncle?”

“Okay, but I hope I get candy for my birthday.”

With that, the boy closed the door, and Kagero offered Kaze a place to sit on the couch.

“Can I get you anything?” She asked in the small kitchen.

“No thank you, I’m fine,” Kaze replied.

And so, they sat opposite of each other.

“So, what do you need my help in?” Kagero asked.

“Has Corrin told you about anything she’s had her eye on? I assume Orochi must gossip about these sorts of things and you are her closest friend.”

“Then why not approach her?”

“She drains too much energy from me, if I’m being honest…”

“Yes, she does tend to do that. Let’s see… I believe last Tuesday she told me that she saw Corrin walk into Oboro’s boutique during her lunch break.”

“Interesting. …It’s not too expensive there, correct?”

Kagero held a laugh in.

“Fear not, Kaze. I’m sure you can afford her wares on your salary. After all, you don’t have to buy her a complete outfit.”

“Ah…yes. Good to know…”

“…You were planning on that, weren’t you?”

“N-no, of course not.”

He soon looked away from her to hide his embarrassment.

Kaze made note to thank his lucky stars, as the observatory was only fifteen minutes away from town. Professor Izana, although busy with his work, was surprisingly approachable and…quite eccentric.

He’s almost an exact clone of Orochi… Kaze remarked to himself.

As he told his story the good astronomer, Izana looked at him as if he were telling the juiciest gossip, and gasped at the end. He wholeheartedly agreed that Corrin should be treated to a night under the stars, and told Kaze he would clear everything up by next Saturday.

Kaze thanked him, but before he could leave, Izana asked him to go over whether he wanted a laser show or not.

At first, Kaze was confused as he entered the boutique. It was clearly made for women, and he had no idea which item Corrin solely focused on. What if he got her something she would think was ugly by accident? He was half tempted to call Kagero and ask her to go with him so she could give him her input, or to at least get Orochi’s number so he could talk with her about this.

The store’s owner, Oboro, herself eventually walked out to see what was wrong, and he explained his woes to the blue haired woman. She snickered, saying that men tended to be clueless about these sorts of things, but still offered her help. Oboro apparently recalled Corrin looking at a new black and white scarf, but told her that she couldn’t afford it yet.

Ah, now I see. This would match with her hair and favorite headband, Kaze thought.

Fortunately, Kaze actually had the money to purchase said scarf.

Corrin was the kind of girl who preferred sleeping in on the weekend, which made being a light sleeper sensitive to light and sound quite annoying. Such as the case when her phone buzzed on the nearby nightstand. She groaned and pulled her sheets over her head, further messing up her long, white hair, until she remembered:

OH, RIGHT! Today’s my birthday!

Birthday texts began flooding since last night at midnight, with the first sender being her mother of all people. With all the texts, though, Kaze had yet to message her. She was starting to get worried until she got a buzz.

you are free tonight yes?

Corrin squeaked. He was always so formal with her and she thought it was adorable.

yep~! ;3

Perfect. i’ll pick you up at 6. :-)

She had to remember that her cousin and roommate, Azura, was sleeping in the next room and to prevent screaming on the top of her lungs, she buried her head in her pillow and squealed. Corrin couldn’t really explain why she was as excitable as she was now. Normally, she felt more of a mature bond with her boyfriend of seven months, as she did her best to act her age around him, but today she felt like a high schooler all over again.

Azura had given Corrin an iTunes gift card for $50 along with a cute little card with an iguana on it before she had to head off for rehearsals. She received a Facetime chat with her “siblings” (family friend’s children) all the way in Nohr (in order: Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise) all wishing her a happy birthday before Xander had to leave for a business meeting. A few hours after breakfast and a quick shower, her stepsiblings of Hoshido (in order: Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura) had coerced her to eating lunch with them and spending most of the afternoon in the local square.

“We wanted to plan a surprise party, but our restaurant has another party planned tonight,” Corrin’s red-headed older sister Hinoka sighed.

“Yes, one of our shareholders Anna decided to have a family reunion,” the man with the long, spiky black hair named Ryoma added.

“Nothing wrong with that, I’m glad I can spend time with you at all!” Corrin smiled.

Ryoma gave Corrin a commissioned painting of flowers, saying that Kagero had quite an eye when she was serious about her artwork. Hinoka presented a model aircraft, which at first confused everyone until Corrin told them that the two of them bonded over flight shows. Takumi did his best to act like he didn’t care when he gave his older half-sister a copy of the fourth book in The Illusionary Mages saga, one of their favorite series. And Sakura timidly gave Corrin a little pink plush dragon.

After doing some window shopping, Corrin had returned home to relax and continue reading birthday messages as she snacked away on her hidden junk food stash. Azura was a complete health nut, so she had to make sure she wouldn’t get any crazy ideas.

…Speaking of crazy ideas…

babe are we going to a fancy restaurant tonight? Corrin typed.

After a few minutes, a response appeared.

oh no i’m sorry :-(

Whew, I can eat before we go, then.

dont worry i still love you <3 we can hang out after this?

i would like that very much :-)

Corrin laughed to herself, he started typing with emoticons not too long after the two started dating and even after all this time, he was still doing the basics. She couldn’t wait to see how he would react to emojis.

A knock on the door was soon to be heard, and after doing some last minute touch-ups, Corrin took a deep breath and opened the door.

“HEY!” She exclaimed, soon launching herself into her boyfriend’s arms. Fortunately, Kaze was grounded well enough to not fall backward in this surprise attack.

“Happy birthday, dear,” Kaze said after sharing a short kiss and pressing his forehead against hers. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yep, let me just lock the door behind me. So, what do you have planned for tonight, hm?”

“That’s a surprise.”

“Ooh, this is gonna be good.”

Corrin bounced a little, which Kaze found utterly adorable.

Kaze once again made note to thank his lucky stars, as his roommate Silas had agreed to let him borrow the car for this occasion. Silas was a pleasant guy in general, but he was serious about his car. One time, someone scratched it and it took all of Silas’ willpower not to yell at the one responsible.

“Saizo wanted me to tell you happy birthday as well, as he’s busy at the restaurant tonight,” Kaze said as he opened Corrin’s door for her.

“Ah, okay. For a second there I thought he disliked me,” Corrin joked. “After all, Kagero and Asugi actually sent me a video with him not there.”

“He’s never been one for celebrations, if I’m to be honest.”

Because it was her birthday, Kaze allowed Corrin to listen to her favorite station. However, he still preferred a quiet car so he could focus more and be able to speak clearly without talking over whatever music Corrin was listening to.

“We’re heading out of town?” Corrin asked. “Oh gosh, oh gosh.”

Kaze chuckled a bit.

“Don’t worry, dear, I’m not planning anything malicious.”

“Kaze, you’re too sweet to do anything malicious. I’m just getting excited is all.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Plus you have to remember I’ve been taking that self-defense class.”

“I remember, poor Jakob had his back out for nearly three days when you demonstrated your prowess to me.”

Kaze made sure to park a little distance away from the observatory, as he wanted to surprise Corrin as much as he could. He wanted to have her eyes closed until they approached it, but anyone could see the observatory nearly a mile away with how big it was.

“I haven’t seen this place before,” Corrin said. “Is it new?”

Whew, the surprise isn’t completely ruined.

“It is for you,” Kaze smiled, once again opening Corrin’s door for her and holding his hand out for her to hold onto.

They approached the normal-looking doorway and into a slightly dark hallway. Kaze made sure to help Corrin up a spiral staircase, and they soon approached Professor Izana standing in front of his desk and a telescope.

“Welcome, welcome! I’m Professor Izana, but please call me Izana!” He eagerly shook Corrin’s hand.

“Oh, hello. I’m Corrin,” she laughed awkwardly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Very lovely to meet you, as well. Your boyfriend here wanted to make tonight extra special, so you must be quite the special little lady.”

“Uh, thank you…”

Kaze cleared his throat.

“Oh, right! We’re in for a real treat tonight, so please, head back downstairs and follow the light filled hallway to find your seats.”

“He sure is spontaneous,” Corrin whispered.

“Indeed,” Kaze remarked quietly. “Still a nice fellow, though. I promise.”

The two found their seats, which Corrin remarked was like a movie theater, and the dome ceiling slowly opened itself up. Corrin gasped as the night sky revealed itself, a very nice shade of navy blue mixed with a few lighter shades, clear of any clouds, and thanks to the lack of city lights, the stars could actually be seen.

“There’s so many,” Corrin said under her breath.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Kaze grinned as he held onto Corrin’s hand.

“They’re incredible!”

Corrin gasped once more when she noticed a shooting star. The first shooting star of that night, as it were.

“A meteor shower?! I can’t believe that the sky decided to give me a meteor shower for my birthday!”

Kaze was stunned, he certainly hadn’t planned for that to happen. He looked over to the window above him and noticed Izana giving him a thumb’s up.

Is this a special effect, then? Kaze thought.

“Oh, Kaze, this is wonderful!” Corrin exclaimed, soon wrapping her arms around Kaze’s shoulders and kissing his cheek in rapid succession.

“Well, I actually had another gift that I found the other day…” Kaze said as he tried to reach for the gift. Corrin halted after he spoke, and he managed to give her a small pink box with a black ribbon tied on it.

Corrin once again gasped (this must be a new record) as the black and white scarf appeared.

“OH MY… HOW DID YOU KNOW!?” Corrin squeaked.

“Let’s just say I had a friend to help.” Kaze pressed a small kiss on Corrin’s cheek this time. “Happy birthday, my love.”

Corrin felt like her heart could burst right out of her chest with how sweet Kaze was being. She immediately stood out of her seat and sat right on Kaze’s lap to wrap her arms around his shoulders once more and kiss him this time on the lips. …And repeated that action for a few minutes or so.

“Well now I have to find a way to make your birthday as special as this one,” Corrin spoke as she attempted to catch her breath.

“Honestly, you don’t have to…” Kaze blushed.

“But babe, you’re always such a sweetheart to me! Can’t I be a sweetheart to you?”

She gave him a big pair of puppy dog eyes and an overdramatic quivering lip. Kaze couldn’t help himself from laughing softly.

“Alright, I’ll let you do that. But just to let you know, I’ve always thought you were a sweetheart.”