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bunnymcbunnister · 5 years ago

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SPN Season 15 Spoiler Sheet, update 11/4

There were a few nice tidbits from DCCon about the latest filmed episodes (9-10). These have been a busy few weeks for me, so if I have missed anything or messed it up, let me know! I had a detail from ep 10 listed as 9, which is fixed now. Remember- this is for fun and somethings will be wrong! Enjoy the episode this week after a week off.

DISCLAIMER: This is gathered info from various sources. This is not confirmed information. Stuff in this WILL be wrong. Don’t take this too seriously. This is for fun.

General Info (oldest to newest)

There is likely to be 20 episodes

They are filming the 4th episode 1st, which Jensen is directing

Returning this year are: Rowena, Ketch, Eileen, Amara, Adam, and Kevin

Jared and Jensen know the ending. Jensen struggled with it at first. Misha does not know the ending as of SDCC

Matt Cohen and Richard Speight Jr. will direct

Sam, Dean, and Cas will struggle with the concept of free will and if they ever really had it

The focus will be more on Hell than Heaven

There is hope to wrap up some Wayward Daughters storylines in the back half of the season

They are adding a whole extra day to filming to do the final scene (Implies logistics- lots of returning people?)

Brad Bucker used the word “romance” when asked about Sam and Dean’s arcs. Did not specify who.

Chuck will be more of an absent protagonist in the 1st half of the season (but he in in ep 4)

At the beginning of the season Dean and Cas will still have a rift. They will reconcile “at some point”. Jensen claims as of script 4 they still have friction. This has been repeated several times, from Misha as well. He indicated Dean is still mad at Cas, but Cas doesn’t feel to blame for Mary’s death.

In an interview, Kripe indicated that the series ending would have “peace” for Sam and Dean

Not much new at the TCA’s, but it was said it is “unlikely” Jeffery Dean Morgan will be back since his last appearance was such a good end note. There were some jokes about a Castiel spin off. Hell, I’d watch.

There will be a special tribute ep, not clear if its one of the 20 or additional

Misha will be in 15 out of 20 episodes this season

According to Dabb, Sam and Dean are going to start to lose people who, in past seasons, we would’ve never lost — and lose them in a very real way. Our guys are going to realize there’s a certain finality, and some of the things they’ve relied on to get through the day — people, talents, things like that — they are no longer going to be able to roll out. And that’s going to throw them for a loop (Unfortunately, my guess in Rowena)

Also according to Dabb, Jack is still in the empty and “he’s not coming back in the near future”

Cas’ deal with the Empty may come up later in the season.

Kevin will return.

Season 15 promo: https://youtu.be/V232RpcCdTY

Christan Kane (Leverage/Angel) will star as “Leo” an “old friend” of Deans.

Dabb intimated that Chuck was inherently responsible for killing Mary when asked how the boys would respond to Jack.

Adam Rose, who played Aaron Bass from the golem episode vauge-tweeted about working a show with two badass leads. Could be Supernatural, but I think the timing is off- he indicated he was filming late Friday night.

General season 15 promo- more of a retrospective: https://youtu.be/_hlkNQL5Ecg

Dabb compared Chuck and John Winchester, claiming that Dean would have to break free of “conditioning.” Also, for Jack “there have been cosmic forces fighting for his attention since he was in the womb — and that will continue. As much as this season is about Sam and Dean finding agency, it’s also about Castiel finding agency, and it’s about Jack finding agency. As always, death is never the end. It’s just part of the journey and that’s certainly true with Jack.”

Per Variety: At the outset of the season, the “Supernatural” foursome of Dean, Sam, Castiel and Jack are split up, but Dabb notes they won’t be for long because “ultimately this is a found family, and they have deep emotional bonds” that make up the most important part of the show.

Sam’s wound from the equalizer gives his powers/an advantage of some kind (per TVGuide)

Jack will be a critical part of the ending of the show

The cage/Adam is looking like it will be coming up for midseason

Shaving People, Punting Things: https://youtu.be/azTwku2uosA

The shaving promo, punting things promo shows glimpses or Lucifer!Sam and MOC!Dean, as well as bearded Dean in tactical equipment. Recent interviews by Dabb seem to indicate that these are glimpses into other universes, a la Apocalypse World, and other endings from Sam and Dean.

According to the MarySue and other interviews, Sam’s bullet hole will give him a connection and insight to god- like a tin can telephone string.

In the cage, Micheal and Adam have formed a working relationship (MarySue)

Dean and Amara’s connection will be explored

There will be a bunker themed episode (MarySue)

According to Misha (Cinablend) Dean and Cas will have discord up to ep 8- which is the mid-season finale.

At a convention, Jake Abel was asked to share two lies about Adam’s return and a truth. The said 1. Adam is not upset about hell 2. Adam kills someone 3. Adam bring someone back. I am assuming its the bring someone back (Micheal?)

Episode 15x04 (filmed out of order)

Title: Atomic Monsters

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: JENSEN ACKLES DIRECTS – Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) investigate the mysterious death of a girl and the disappearance of another. Jensen Ackles directed the episode written by Davy Perez (#1501). Original Airdate 11/7/2019.

Written by: Davy Perez

Director: Jensen Ackles

Filming Dates: 7/18-7/29

Airdate: 11/7

Photos: http://www.ksitetv.com/supernatural/supernatural-spoilers-atomic-monsters-description-photos/197700/

Promo: https://youtu.be/YjEHDwocD9M

Sneak Peak:

Castiel? Probably not Jack? Probably not

Guest stars: Rob Benedict

Other Spoilers/info:

Jensen mentioned a guest star “fan favorite” that hasn’t been seen since season 7 that is no longer in the business. Guesses include Becky, who hasn’t acted in a while but isn't exactly a fan favorite, Meg, who hasn't acted but she was in season 8, and Balthazar or Frank or Jo or Rufus, but all act frequently. Jensen doesn't always have the most accurate season memory, so he could be off on the season. Since this seems like a Chuck episode, my guess is Becky but I hope for Meg. SOURCE UNCONFIRMED- I haven’t seen this in a reliable source, so take it with a grain of salt. UPDATE- it sounds like Becky’s voice in the Shaving People, Punting things trailer. UPDATE- Jensen talked about a returning character in an interview with Variety in a completely contradictory way to this- a favorite male character of his that is busy working. Another guest? Or was he wrong the first time?

There was a beaver mascot on set… it looks like they are filming at a school called Beaverdale

Jensen and Jared filed outside in fed suits

Chuck will be in this one. Jensen directed him first alone with his beard unshaved (so maybe a solo Chuck scene or him interacting with others/not the boys). There are also theories of a time jump in this ep.

This will be a one off, classic monster hunting episode with some ties to ongoing storylines. Sam and Dean will leave the bunker to keep their skills sharp

Jensen directed

Misha will not be in this ep

SD Comic Con was during filming

Dean will be in the bunker in tactical equipment with a BEARD- fighting someone

Episode 15x05

Title: Proverbs 17:3

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: RICHARD SPEIGHT, JR. DIRECTS – Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean’s (Jensen Ackles) routine case turns out to be anything but. Richard Speight, Jr. directed the episode written by Steve Yockey (#1505). Original Airdate 11/14/2019.

Written by: Yockey

Director: Speight

Filming Dates: 9/4-9/13

Airdate: 11/14

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel? No Jack? doubtful

Guest stars:

Other Spoilers/info::

This will most likely be Yockey’s last episode.

Matt Cohen was around, but I imagine he is following directors to prep for his own debut directing.

Scenes were filmed in the bunker and in a wooded area. A woman could be heard screaming in the outside scene.

The bible verse referenced is: “The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: But the LORD trieth the hearts.”

Episode 15x06

Title: Golden Time

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: OUT OF DIFFICULTIES GROW MIRACLES – Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) are visited by an old friend. Castiel (Misha Collins) investigates the disappearance of a local teen. John Showalter directed the episode written by Meredith Glynn (#1506). Original Airdate 11/21/2019.

Written by: Meredith Glynn

Director: Steve Boyum

Filming Dates: 9/16-9/25

Airdate: 11/21

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel? Yes Jack? Not sure

Guest stars:

Other Spoilers/info:

Misha tweeted from set in costume, so Cas.

Misha also tweeted a pic in blood spatter with two bullet holes in his shirt

At least Jensen and Jared filmed in Rowena’s apartment

This will be a witch episode- Witches will invade Rowena’s apartment looking for books. They are very powerful. Dean gets thrown into a wall and Sam uses magic to stop them (from TVGuide)

Episode 15x07

Title: Last Call

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Written by: Jeremy Adams

Director: Amyn Kaderali

Filming Dates: 9/26- 10/7

Airdate: Dec 7th is what Christian Kane tweeted…. But that is a Saturday. Dec 5th maybe?

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? Yes Jack ?

Guest stars:

Other Spoilers/info :

Misha posted from set in new shoes- very shiny with well tailored pants. (The next day he posted in full Cas costume, so are the shoes a one off? Another outfit with new shoes?)

Misha and Jensen made a video from set. I feel like if Jared was around he would have been in it since it was about money raised? Maybe a Dean Cas scene?

There will be a battle scene in this that Jensen mentioned he was looking forward to and we would enjoy.

After NJ Con, it appeared that Jensen returned to work, Jared and Misha stayed an extra day and then Misha went home.

Jensen and Christian filmed at a bar called Swazey’s. This was the fight scene Jensen was referring to.

At some point, Sam might be shirtless or we can see part of his chest- Jared had his anti-possession tattoo at the weekend convention.

Per TVGuide, Leo and Dean will have a wild night out in an effort for Dean to recapture his mojo. Dean will become the lead of a band called Dean and the Impalas, which is made up of Supernatural crew.

Osric Chau popped over to set, but he is filming on Legends of Tomorrow in the same studio. Sebastin Roche also indicated he would come by, he is filming on Batgirl. Unfortunately, neither Kevin or Balthazar will appear in this one.

Episode 15x08

Title: Our Father Who Aren’t in Heaven

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Written by: Buckleming

Director: Speight

Filming Dates: 10/8- 10/18 (no filming 10/14 for Canadian Thanksgiving)

Airdate:

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? yes Jack ?

Guest stars: Jake Abel, Shoshannah Stern

Other Spoilers/info:

Jake Abel posted a script with the caption “hell hath no fury like a brother scorned”

Shoshannah Stern was spotted on set- Eileen!

This will be the midseason finale

At BurCon, Misha mentioned Dean is still acting like “a dick” in the ep they were filming- which is this one.

Episode 15x09

Title:

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Written by: Berens

Director: Singer

Filming Dates: 10/21-10/30

Airdate:

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? I can’t tell but maybe not Jack ? maybe

Guest stars: Rob Benedict, Kim Rhodes, Jim Beaver

Other Spoilers/info (newest to oldest):

Midseason premier episode

Misha was at home for the first week of filming

Alex and Rob were hanging out- Chuck and JACK?

Kim Rhodes posted in front of the SPN set and with her trailer- Jody looks very likely. She also had dyed hair and she has been rockin the grey for the past few Jody eps. Maybe a flashback/AU?

Jim Beaver posted from set- Bobby!

Jensen shared that in this episode, Dean will pray to Cas to “confess” why he has been treating Cas the way he has.

Episode 15x10

Title:

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Written by: Dabb

Director: Showalter

Filming Dates:

Airdate: 10/31- 11/11

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? Jack ?

Guest stars:

Other Spoilers/info (newest to oldest):

Misha texted some local fans from set in costume about an WA election, but after the convention was in NYC for a couple of days.

The story will be about Sam and Dean as heroes from the good and bad side (from MarySue)

At DCCon, Jensen shared that this a bit of a wacky episode- Sam and Dean lose their abilities to fight, Dean gets cavities and Sam gets a cold.

#supernatural #spn spoilers #spn season 15 #spoiler sheet

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so-caffeinated · 7 years ago

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Writing ramblings....

I find I’m at a bit of a crossroads with my writing and I’m very much torn about how to move forward. The only clear thing is that I am moving forward. The question that remains is how.

I haven’t written in nearly the past two weeks, mostly due to the first actual family vacation we’ve ever taken but also because I’ve spent a great deal of time reading and brainstorming. While everyone told me I needed a break after years of doing this non-stop, I know myself and I’m a person who thrives entirely on habit. Being without it is unsettling and going back to it is a lot like restarting a diet or exercise routine. It isn’t easy.

On one hand, I have a tremendous amount left of the FiCoN verse to write. I have story after story already plotted out in my head, decades of their lives sorted out. On the other, I have re-imagined these characters in so many original settings that would be publishable and Arrow-free that it’s nearly too much.

There’s no question that I need to be writing original work and publishing it. The income is necessary. Enough has happened here in Ohio that we’ve decided we’re not comfortable raising our kids in such a sexist, racist, homophobic environment and we’re moving back with my parents in Portland until we’re able to afford to buy our own place there. Thus... yeah, I need income. Badly.

So, the question becomes one of balance.

Right now, my hope is to start working on original work Monday-Friday as a full time ‘job’ and keep writing FiCoN verse as a weekend ‘hobby.’ I don’t yet know if I truly can. I’ve never done well at writing more than one story at a time, though I’ve tried in the past, but maybe I’ve learned and grown enough these last few years to manage it. But in addition to that, I’ll have my hands full with packing and readying the house to sell and all the things that go along with moving cross-country for the next few months. Writing time will be scarce for a while.

What does that mean for you? I’m not sure yet. I’m not even entirely sure what it means for me. Tempest will go on as planned, surely, and the four one-shots following it are already drafted as well. But I have to imagine that regardless of what path I go down here, at some point this summer or maybe in the fall, updates will become less regular. I think they have to. I’m struggling with that because it feels like failing myself, but at the same time that’s somewhat contradictory because working toward publication is in no way a failure. I have never (and will never) consider published works superior to fanfic - fanfic is not a stepping stone; it’s an achievement in its own right - but it’s a different sort of challenge and one I would never attempt without having the experience in fanfic that I do.

So, I guess the TL;DR is updates will slow after Tempest. I do not - at this point - think they will stop entirely. I still have plans... so many plans for Will and Amelia, for Nate and Penny, for Ellie and for Sara and for Eric and for Bethany. But I think I need to stop making promises about when and even if these things will happen. I think they will. I doubt I’ll find satisfaction in telling their stories anew in different settings as original works. But it is possible. And if that happens, I don’t want it to take you guys by surprise.

Anyhow, this is just me trying to put my thoughts down. Feel free to chime in with yours, either through reply or asks.

#writing #The Writing Life #FiCoN #my head is everywhere

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shidoukanae · 7 years ago

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VRAINS Mystery Masterpost 2.19

Full list: Here

Previous Post: Here

Okay, so, this episode. I know we got some questions answered (and I’ll need to go update my previous masterposts that got their answers finally) but it looks like we cracked open Pandora’s Box a little further in the process.

-Starting off, we have the whole spiel in which the AI is criticized as not acting like an AI while the human is criticized as not acting like a human. The constant forcing of this (I think this is either the second or 3rd time we’ve heard this little “banter” go between them both regarding how the other doesn’t fit up to their “specie’s” expectations) makes me think that the fandom is right in that there is something rather fishy about these exchanges. Why constantly remind the audience that Ai is an AI who doesn’t act like an AI and that Yusaku is a human who doesn’t act like a human? It’s blatantly obvious the show wants to make a point of it but is it for humor purposes, to give both of them “common ground” in the expectations they deny of their “species”? I wonder, honestly...

-Not to mention, but when Playmaker tells Ai to act like an A.I., I’m not sure if it’s because he’s messing around or what but he seems reaaaaallly uncomfortable with playing the part of an A.I. His movements become...slower? Stiffer? Stiffer seems like a good word for it. He’s making fun of normal A.I.’s, true, but his expression seems like he’s uneasy about making such gestures. It almost reminds me of the way Yusaku tried interacting with Aoi and the Duel Club (other humans). Yusaku was obviously uncomfortable trying to act like a normal human being around others of his kind (...that feels rather weird to say) while Ai, while trying to mimic his supposed brethren, went about it in a way that said more “awkward” than it did “haha, look, A.I.’s are dumb!”.

-Akira. Soooo, I might be reading too much into this but there might be a chance that there’s more to Akira’s past than we realize. When he does his philosophical spiel to Playmaker, it honestly sounds like Akira was once on the same path that Playmaker was but, eventually, gave up:

...I know there’s certain things about him that haven’t been clarified (namely, how he met and knows Ema to the point they’re on a close name basis) but now I’m kind of wondering if, at one point, Akira suspected his parent’s weren’t truly killed and investigated into their deaths but ended up with dead leads and wasted time. Danball Senki might have affected me a little too much there but, the point is, I kind of think Akira’s words don’t add up.

What we know of his past so far: He’s a hacker, he worked hard for his sister to have a future, neglecting said sister in doing so. He met Ema somewhere along the road, got into SOL to further his own career...yadda, yadda.

The problem is, he’s saying he regrets chasing the past. Yet, from what we know of him, he’s always been chasing the future. He spent his whole life building up his life and career in order to give Aoi hope in her oncoming years, when she’s older and will finally have the stability he thinks she needs. He’s always seemed to look forward, to looking for hope in the future and not hope in the past where he knows he’ll get no help. Even in last episode’s flashback, when he recounts the past, he frames it in a way that he’s always moving forward, never truly stuck in the past but moving away from it, moving from poverty and dirty work and into a new era of prosperity and stability. Therefore, his words here are almost weird because, if anything, he should’ve been trying to do this appeal last episode instead of the “If my sister got kidnapped my spirit would break” routine because it sounds at least a little bit more effective as a speech.

Regardless, I feel like Akira’s words here might mean that he’s hiding more to his past than we realize. We’ve only ever seen him focused on Aoi, focused on helping her and sacrificing everything in his life for her without batting an eye...but only now are we seeing that he actually seems to regret doing all that. Which...isn’t that contradictory? He’s so obsessed with helping his sister that now, all of a sudden, he seems to have regrets about them?

I dunno, his words just seem a little off to me here.

-Moving on, the magical data bank thingy-majig. I think it’s rather interesting at what’s being said here:

...so, basically, in order to find the identities of the other six children, they need to go to some other data bank, some other place. Does that place mean Hanoi where I assume the “mastermind” (*cough* Dr. Kogami probably *cough*) of the Hanoi Project is? Or, is it in SOL’s hands in a headquarters/base/area that’s near secret to everyone but maybe the five chess pieces themselves? And, we didn’t really get information on SOL either. We’re back to pointing fingers at Hanoi but let’s not forget that SOL has the information regarding this incident either. It almost seems like everyone in-show has just ignored the fact that SOL was somehow involved, moving on from explaining the incident to talking about Hanoi...which, um, guys, you also realize that SOL is still suuuuper suspicious right? Aren’t you going to question where to find the information of the identities of the others or even bother to seem concerned to find the other children???

I mean, I guess they were running out of time during the episode because they needed to do Yusaku’s backstory and still mention the Hanoi Project thing but I would have thought the train of thought would at least sit there for even a second before moving on.

-Okay, this probably is a stupid question because I feel like I already know the answer but, was the duelist we see silhouetted here a real duelist who was behind the “experiment” or, was it an A.I. one (like I’m suspecting)?

We only ever see a gray figure and it looks more cardboard cutout than it does an actual living person. Still, the camera never lingers on the duel arena so we don’t really get to see how the duels worked in the VR world. We don’t know how Yusaku’s opponent reacted (if he reacted at all), how many times he battled said opponent, etc, etc. We also don’t know if he was provided a deck virtually or not, if the Cyverses he has now are the same cards he had back then (which would make sense, honestly), or if his opponent used the same deck (doubt it) or switched out decks every time they dueled.

-Kusanagi’s brother. It seems like, unless VRAINS does a Keeper of the Lost Cities on us and has Kusanagi’s brother pretend to be in shock while secretly working as Revolver, he’s out-of-commission. It seems his brother was so deeply traumatized that he’s been locked away somewhere, probably unable to respond to his brother or anyone else. What’s interesting to note is that Kusanagi’s brother is almost definitely one of the six children. Yusaku implied this when he mentioned how “some still haven’t recovered from the shock” (the camera looking at the brother we’ve seen in the past so many times) and mentioned how he would “learn the truth for them and their families” (with an obvious camera change to look at Shoichi’s face afterwards as the “family” involved).

-Now, the numbers on the thin wall that leads up to a hatch of some sort. They change. If you look below, you’ll notice a peculiar change in formation of the black numbers listed:

...One, in the beginning, is all “99999999....”. The next, with some numbers cut off, is approx: “8821000″. It’s possible that this number represents the exact time each child wins a duel, with each win resulting in one number less shown on this giant column of numbers. If you want to be cruel, you can also suggest that each child had to battle “9999999...″ duels instead of all six working consecutively (and maybe unknowingly?) together to bring down the “countdown” on the column to zero. I’m certainly feeling like this is what allowed them to be freed, that the amount of duels they faced and won together were what lead to their eventual release. This’s because it doesn’t seem like they were freed by humans (if they were indeed humans who were watching over this “incident”) purposely. Rather, it seems like someone (something) only allowed the safety workers to be led to the shelter only after a certain criteria was met.

-And, now, for the most Pandora’s Box aspect of this show...the creepy eye thingy that seemed to be in some sort of network...system...organism...??? I mean, it looks like the eye is in some virtual face or something but it’s kind of hard to tell because it’s so weird.

Obviously, it was watching Yusaku the whole time he was doing his thing. It’s rather creepy and its origins are unknown. It’s prooobably not human. Likely, it’s an A.I. But, what’s interesting about it is that, when Yusaku’s special person starts speaking, it has the same voice as the one the eyeball speaks with in an earlier scene (if we can indeed assume that the eyeball is the one speaking). Not to mention, but it’s almost funny how Yusaku asks the voice along the lines of: “are you captured here too?” it completely ignores the question. This almost outright confirms that Yusaku’s “savior” was an A.I. and, in a way, it might also be the one who put him through so much torment. We don’t really know for sure if the eye was malevolent or not (it was suggested since it was creepily watching over Yusaku) but it’s possible it’s an A.I. who, like the Ignises, gained free will while watching Yusaku suffer and...sympathized with him, maybe??? But maybe it couldn’t bail him out on its own so it encouraged him to keep going until that so-called countdown I mentioned earlier was met???? I’m questioning a lot of things here, honestly!

(also, now that I look at it, if you look at the eye it looks like it’s embedded in a face with eyelashes too O.o)

#vrains #yugioh vrains #mysteries #yusaku fujiki #aoi zaizen #akira zaizen #Shoichi Kusanagi #Kusanagi's brother #six children #Sol Technology #Knights of Hanoi #Ai #wow this episode tho #my heart goes out to poor Yusaku #and to the other five children too #that eye though #im wondering so hard about it

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cutiecrates · 7 years ago

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♥ Cutie Reviews ♥ NMNL 6 July 2017

Hi! Welcome Cuties to another NMNL crate :3

This months theme: I wouldn’t know! They didn’t put one (ﾟヘﾟ)？

However, this box appears to be face maintenance themed in my opinion...

Oh well, let’s get into the review!

First up, here are the monthly prizes you can win. The grand prize was this rinren remedial sakura shampoo & treatment, along with makanai cosmetics cherry blossom signature hand cream and a 3 month subscription to nmnl.

5 runner-ups could receive this Shiseido magolica majorca twinkle body jelly and 1 free nmnl box.

(This would have been a perfect spring prize~)

This first item comes from an Australian brand making it’s way into the Japanese beauty scene, Browtician Tweezers. It was available in 2 styles, including slant tip (the one I got) or point tip.

The cool thing about these is that they come in this cute little carrying case with a mirror included! You really can take this anywhere and whip them out at the first sign of a foreign hair or splinter!

(if you can’t use your nails anyway- sometimes I can just pull with my nails.)

I really like this item~ I admit, I’m not someone who would pluck in public, but if I ever really had to this would be a life saver! Plus look at that pretty sparkly rainbow shine, I would be happy just playing with that （⌒▽⌒ゞ 5 out of 5.

This neat little item comes from the sister brand of popular drugstore brand canmake. Sweets-Sweets Air Moisturizing CC Cream is a high performing cream that can be used for color correcting, pore concealing, moisturizing, and a sunscreen with the aid from spf 50+ and pa++++ (๑°o°๑)

You see that color swatch up there on top of the box, that says 03 Peach? Yeah. My skin is not that color. I kinda worried it would make me look like a blotchy mess XD I’m still getting used to using things like this though- so I’m learning a lot as I get more.

(One of the things I learned is that my phone hates my skin tone, apparently. I have having to bring this up so much, but I don’t want certain things I say to sound hypocritical/contradictory you know?)

Anyway yes, the cream does come out the color present on top of the box. However, when I rubbed it in it mostly blends, in the sense that the area it was applied in, I could still see it. But when I rubbed it on my finger tips it blended in a lot better, while on my face it blended in perfectly fine. I’ll give it a perfect 5, I think it’s a good quality cream and with it’s multiple purposes makes it very handy to carry around.

Before moving on I thought I would do a small comparison with the my melody themed bb cream I got from a past Kira Kira Crate. Between the two, I feel like the CC cream is closer to most skin tones, while the bb cream appears to be an off-colored version of pale skin tones. However, they both rub in exactly the same and I couldn’t really tell any sort of difference between the two. They’re not kidding when they say it’s a moisturizer, because when I tried to rub them off I got nothing!

Go ahead and guess what this is used for! Take a moment, I can wait.

.....

......

ready?

It’s a BODY MASK.

The Profael Massage Jelly Body Mask is a product best used during bath time. It contains worm-word extract and 30 other Japanese plants dedicated to giving you well-nourished and soft skin.

To use it, the booklet explains: after washing body apply 2 grape-sized amounts and spread and massage into wet skin. Then, wait 2-3 minutes before washing off with a hot shower.

Now to be frank I didn’t do that. I’m kinda under the weather again so when I was testing these out, I actually washed off my arm, applied the product, waited, then washed it off with hot water and got amazing results. My skin is generally soft, but when I compared the arm I used it on to the arm I didn’t, OH BOY was there a difference! It was suddenly as soft as a super soft mochi squishy, a cats belly, pudding ✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡

The effect lasted a good while too I noticed, and not only that, but the product has a pleasant (and strong) herbal scent. If you ever need a pick me up you should seriously consider finding this! 5 out of 5.

The facial pampering continues with the Peelinggood Peeling Gel Kit, a fancy little kit with a heavenly lemon scent. This kit contains papain, hydrolyzed collagen, and lemon fruit extract.

And look how cool the contents are! You know you’re getting a cool product when the stuff inside looks really fun!

The directions here are a bit more detailed than the previous item, but just as easy to understand:

1. Wash face, then towel dry.

2. Soak cotton swab in gel until thoroughly covered.

3. Spread gel over face while gently massaging it into the skin.

4. Wash off with water, then finish with a toner for better effect.

I gotta say, this is definitely the coolest beauty product I probably got so far. Not only does it look really neat and come with swabs that seem to be reusable, but it smells wonderful and feels really nice as you apply it onto the skin.

I did notice something though- and I wasn’t sure if I did something wrong or if the product just dries really quickly. I was using this on someone else as a tester and a lot of the product remained on the swab, even though I wasn’t entirely coating it in the stuff- and there was no way the testers face was that dirty either. I’m not really sure what was going on there- but it felt like a little bit of a waste in product since it hardened to the swab. 4 out of 5.

This is the last item and no, I didn’t test it out. When you’re sic the last thing you want to do is poke and prod your face with anything, more or less anything scented that could make you feel worse.

This is a Hollywood Orchid Enzyme Mask. A quite fancy one too, I have to admit. It has a lot of specific instructions and you can’t apply it as-is, you need to mix it yourself, and it’s useful for both the face and body too.

The instructions include:

1. Tear package at the top.

2. Squeeze cream side into the powder end of the packet.

3. Separate into 2 parts and stir the mixture.

4. After washing, apply product and leave it on from 3-10 minutes depending on condition: 3-6 for dry or sensitive skin (which would have been mine), or 7-10 minutes for normal to oily skin.

5. Rinse with water.

6. Follow usual skin routine.

Once I’m feeling better and I get a chance to use this I will update this section, I apologize to anyone who wanted any sort of information on it.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Quality - 3.5 out of 5. I don’t hate anything in the crate, but I gave this a middle score simply for a lack of a listed theme and because I sorta wish they gave us something summery. These are fine products for use all-year round, but I feel like with so many other crates going with an apparent theme, they manage to sell themselves well.

Content - 3.5 out of 5. I generally enjoyed everything- but I only loved one thing earnestly. The stuff is good, high-quality and all, but I wasn’t really feeling it.

(practicality is a given, so there’s no need to include it)

Total Rank: 11.5 (or maybe 12?) out of 15 Cuties. Again, I liked the box, I didn’t have anything to complain about. But I didn’t fall in love with it compared to the previous one.

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Browtician Tweezers - As usual, the black and pink scheme win me over in the end ♥ not only that, but I find the container you keep it in kind of cute too.

2.PeelingGood Gel Kit - I love the popping lemon design on the package! Plus I think the contents are pretty cute too!

3. CC Cream - The pearl coloring on the tube and box make it pretty~

4. Body Mask - Fairly simple, but gentle to the eye.

5. Enzyme Mask - Nothing really all that special or cute package wise...

Okay cuties, that does it for another review! Now I’m off to eat some well-deserved late dinner and relax for a bit before I get to my next review, my most favorite of them all lately Tokyo Treat! Until next time, stay cute!

#nmnl #review #Monthly Review #monthly subscription #cutie reviews #massage jelly #sweets-sweets #peeling gel #browtician

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atamascolily · 8 years ago

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I wanted to write about things I enjoy about Adventures of Sinbad, since I'm not sure that always comes through in my episode reviews.

1) The setting

Even though the time period of the show is ill-defined (we could be anywhere between 800 - 1400 AD, or perhaps you could make a case for even earlier), one thing is clear: it's ostensibly set in the Middle East and Mediterranean during height of the Islamic Golden Age, which is a fascinating era I know very little about. What I do know, however, sounds tremendously exciting! Calligraphy! Music! Art! Poetry! Culture! Science! People reading Aristotle and Apollonius! Lots of trade and cultural mixing and melding and fusion!

Anyway, this is not a setting you see everyday in most media, and I really wish there were more because there are so many interesting elements to play with - especially when you combine them with magic and monsters to create a fantasy setting. There are so many European/medieval historical or inspired dramas or fantasies and while there's nothing wrong with that - the Matter of Britain's got a lot going for it, after all - it's just really nice to see something OUTSIDE of that particular genre.

(If anyone does know of fantasy or historical fiction from this time period, please let me know, because I'd like to know about it.)

Also, the show is filmed in South Africa, which I love, because it looks so much like California or the Mediterranean, but different. I love the white sand deserts, boulder-strewn beaches and rocky fynbos full of interesting plants. It's a varied, strange, and beautiful landscape and one I highly enjoy spending time vicariously in through the series.

2) The magic and monsters

Yeah, okay, so the CGI has not held up well, but I still love the harpies, the sea serpents, the rock monsters, the giant animals, the animated skeletons, all the same. I love that Firouz and Maeve each have their own contradictory but complementary skill sets, and everyone's realistic and pragmatic enough to use whatever solution works best in the moment.

3) The fight scenes

Yeah, okay, so these are not necessarily realistic fights AT ALL but they do look awesome, and so I'm totally on board. The bad guys usually don't seem to be very hurt, they just get knocked around a lot, and fall over or unconscious most of the time, or run away.

I normally don't enjoy watching violence, but at least in the first season, very few people actually die, and most of that is relatively ungraphic. There's more violence in your average crime/murder/police procedurals/gritty urban series than there is here. "Family-friendly" pops up a lot on the Internet in reference to the show; I guess that means there's no obvious sex and violence that won't traumatize kids.

I'll confess: I watched this series as a kid, and spent a lot of time outdoors, pretending to be Maeve, hacking and slashing at invisible opponents with a sword. It was awesome.

4) The main characters

One thing I think this show does really well is the characters - they're all relatively well-rounded (although Rongar definitely needs some more backstory!!). One of the joys of watching the show is seeing how they come to work well together, to understand each other, and just because a really competent fighting crew... and family. And I love watching them banter - typically witty and fun, without meanness.

Some of my favorite moments in the show are when the crew is just hanging out, bantering... usually something interrupts and starts a new adventures, but I enjoy those moments while they last. I'd probably watch entire episodes where nothing but bantering and routine sea-faring happens.

5) The hawk

Okay, yes, so Dermott was a BIG DRAW for me watching the show as a kid; I got super-into the idea of falconry and learned so much about birds of prey in hope of having a hawk just like Dermott. Didn't work out so far, but I learned a lot, and I think he's a great aspect of the show. Watching Sinbad come to appreciate Dermott as a person, rather than a mere pet, is another joy as the season develops.

6) The way Maeve and Rumina are treated in the show

This is a post in and of itself, but even as a kid, I appreciated the female antagonist, who was more than just a flat character. Rumina's a jerk and not a nice person at all, she's selfish and cruel and manipulative, but she's also confident and powerful and expects Sinbad to fall for her, and is genuinely pissed off when he rejects her. She also has a vulnerable side we see for a few minutes in "Trickster" - fear of aging and being alone. She's genuinely upset about her father's death, and conflicted in her feelings for Sinbad as a result.

Then there's Maeve, who is occasionally teased, especially in the beginning, but earns the respect of the (entirely male) crew and is treated like an equal. Sinbad never talks down to her on account of her gender, and Doubar apologizes for his skepticism in "The Beast Within" when he realizes she was right all along. She fights well, doesn't take shit from people, flips a man to the ground one-handed while holding a hawk on the other fist, can do magic and talk to animals. When she gets kidnapped by Vikings, she fights, she resists, and she never stops trying to escape or appealing to her captors' humanity. She never stops talking about her choice, and why it matters.

Also, while she does have feelings for Sinbad, she's never presented as Rumina's romantic rival, and she and Rumina are not fighting each other because of their feelings for him. Their feud, although only hinted at in the series, is based on a larger conversation about power and agency. Rumina hurt Maeve's family and Maeve's village because she could and dared Maeve to do something about it. Maeve is taking action to do just that, at great cost to herself, traveling halfway around the world to do so. Even though Dermott is technically her brother, transformed into a hawk, I don't see Maeve doing this expressly because of a man - she would do the same thing if Dermott was her sister, for example. Even if Dermott hadn't been transformed, I could still see Maeve taking on this quest because Rumina committed great injustice and Maeve wants to pay her back for it.

I saw all this at a very young age, and I loved it, and I still haven't seen very many shows or series with a similar dynamic. It's not a coincidence that my favorite episodes, then and now - "The Ties that Bind," "Double Trouble" and "The Beast Within" - are the ones that deal with these unconventional power and gender dynamics.

Does this show have problems with women? Yes. Besides Maeve and Rumina, there are barely any other female characters who aren't victims (Princess Adeenah, Gaia, Queen Nadia, and Sudrah, who wasn't even real to begin with) or evil/ambiguously moraled (Talia, Sariya, Alanna) and both groups are poorly developed. And unfortunately, we don't get to spend a lot of time with the people who are more interesting - like Jiyal, who spends most of her episode tied up and screaming in a victim role, and the barkeeper in Episode 3 who Doubar is so fond of. Caipra and Serendib are the only female characters I can think of at the moment who seem like fully-rounded people, and it's probably not a coincidence that they're both magic-users. Magic is a code for power, agency and indepenence here, and I think that really helps.

The end result is that most episodes don't pass the Bechdel test because there aren't any women in major roles besides Maeve and Rumina, and when there are, the women don't always talk to each other. Furthermore, sometimes Maeve is talking to them about Sinbad or being aggressively jealous about her relationship with him. The few episodes that do pass the Bechdel test - again, the ones with Serendib and Cairpra in them - are again, the ones that deal with magic, agency and power.

As I've said, I'm not sure I would consider the show to be "feminist," and there are some gender elements that irritate me, but Maeve is a badass and a big role model for me growing up and I will never forget that.

7) Nostalgia

Yeah, nostalgia is definitely a big factor here. Were I to watch this show in 2017 for the first time, would I be so into it? Hard to say. But childhood loyalties are strong.

I was nervous the Suck Fairy would come to visit, but the most delightful part of the rewatch has been to discover that all the episodes I loved most as a kid are still actually pretty enjoyable for my adult self as well. So there's that.

Also, I have a thing for low-budget '80s and '90s fantasy and aesthetic, so this is all right up my ally, anyway. They literally do not make them like they used to, and I didn't know that I liked the old way more than the new way until the new way became the most common way.

8) The fandom

Okay, so the fandom is very small, and most of what I find on the internet hasn't been updated since 2000. Adventures of Sinbad had its big run just as the Internet was getting going, so most of the fansites look their age at this point. But still. I can find Tripod fansites with interviews and scripts. There's a whole site devoted to high-quality screencaps. One group of fans wrote three seasons of fanfic shows and 2 movies; I just found another alternate fan version of Season 2 on a different site. There are even a few things posted to FF.net or AO3 and tumblr, but for the most part, the fandom is very old-school. Still, it makes me really happy to see what's there for something that's 20 years old and relatively little-known.

I think a lot of people have good feelings about this show, they just don't necessarily remember or post about it. I usually missed out on cultural phenomena as a kid, and while this wasn't a big one, it's one I'm happy to be a part of.

#adventures of sinbad live action tv #agency and power #gender dynamics

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behindthespotlightfic · 8 years ago

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chapter 9

(Hello! I’m back with another chapter, and I’m really sorry it’s been so long between updates... I’ve been through kind of a writer’s block, and this chapter is again a bit of a filler... Hope you still like it though. Don’t forget the feedback, and see you in the next chapter!)

----

“Well, I got one foot on the platform, the other foot on the train... I'm goin' back to New Orleans to wear that ball and chain”

(House of the Rising Sun, The Animals)

The sun wakes up in New Orleans, and thus, I do wake up too. My eyes take their time to get used to the light, even though it’s not really intense, and even longer to recognise the room I’ve slept in. But eventually I remember it all; the suitcase I packed about twenty hours ago, the plane, the hotel… and the reason I’m here.

It’s January 10th, 2017, and a few days ago I embarked in another journey, otherwise known as the North American leg of the Getaway World Tour.

I’m not really anxious nor especially excited about it; at least, not more than the rest of the tour, that is. But it will be nice not only to be in my homeland, which I did on the 21st of December when we finished with the European leg, but to be travelling around and working here as well, doing what I love the most. Plus, we’ve already done some shows in San Antonio, Dallas and such, so the excitement of the first days is not as intense now.

I should give an update on some things that happened, though.

I spent Christmas with Steve and Lisa, in their home in Irvine, an hour from Downtown Los Angeles, along with their children. I got to be an aunt for some days, which I am really glad for, and I felt extremely welcome there. It was almost like not needing my real family, which is never an option… but we’ll come back to that in another moment.

And so when New Year’s Eve came, it was my turn to go to San Diego. Finn and I had the greatest NYE ever, complete with a late night throwback party in a club where everything they played was from the 70s to the 90s, especially the latter. We couldn’t help laughing out loud when a terrible remix of Californication started blasting, and we jumped and danced as if we didn’t know it, as if we didn’t hear it each and every night of our lives. And as we were singing along to Hit Me With Your Best Shot, by Pat Benatar, Finn, full of joy, took me in his arms and yelled into my ear: “I love you!”

That left me a bit struck. Suddenly, it was hard to keep up with the upbeat tempo of the song, be it for better or worse, and I couldn’t help but feel at peace. Finn’s energy (when he’s willing to be that lively, of course; he isn’t always like that, but it’s my favorite version of him) soothed me so much and made me feel at home, and at the same time, especially because of what he had just said, urged me to raise up and scream with jubile. I think it was that contradictory feeling, in that specific moment, that made me realize it; I could finally say I was in love with Finn. And I said it, I shouted it out loud at last. “I LOVE YOU TOO, FINN HUNTER!”

No one heard it but the two of us, but that was the point; we didn’t need anything else. So right now I feel better than ever, as far as my love life is concerned. (I also have to say that this has made me improve a bit regarding my self-esteem as well, which wasn’t alarmingly low or anything, but I still feel better about myself now.)

When I came back from San Diego, on January 2nd, I spent the last few days before starting work again in L.A., just relaxing and visiting people and places. I was at Clara’s, for instance, but this time with Flea, Loesha (Clara’s mother) and her family. They know about her breakup now, and we all have, more or less, talked to her about it in order for her to go through it as easier as possible. Things will work out, even if it takes time, I’m sure about it. But I won’t stop texting her whenever possible.

So. Back again to today. I dress up in comfortable clothes, and go out for breakfast. I’m used to waking up early; I got into the habit when I was a teen (it wasn’t easy, it’s true, but I eventually got the hang of it) so I could make the most of my day, and I still can’t wake up later than 8 am. Finn is not like me in that sense, so I leave him asleep in the hotel room, amid the dim light of the morning, toned down by the blinds.

I wander around the French Quarter of the city, which I don’t really know but have been eager to explore for some time now. The weather isn’t as sunny as it was in California, but again, there are few places in the United States which are warmer than California. Maybe Florida. Anyway, I walk down the worn streets of the oldest neighbourhood in the city, until I find a tiny cafeteria on the corner between two 18th-century-looking wide streets. I don’t know whether they are truly historical or if it’s a tourist attraction, but whatever, I don’t really mind either, so I sit on a comfy, padded chair and ask for black coffee and a sandwich.

It’s beautiful, being in New Orleans, knowing that it was here that jazz began. I’m a visual arts person, but given my love for music, I can’t help but admire the music culture tradition that has endured over the years. To think that Louis Armstrong or the guitarist Eddie Condon may have walked those same streets I just strolled down almost gives me chills. I’m not as acquainted with jazz as I’d like to, but I’ve come to have a huge interest in it, especially when I started playing the guitar. I looked for classic musicians to have as role models, and even though my style is probably more similar to rock than to anything else, I wanted to look up to as many different playing styles as possible. So now I’m as familiar with Melissa Etheridge or Jimi Hendrix as I am with Chuck Berry or Buddy Guy.

One thing leads to another, and the thought of jazz guitarists in New Orleans makes me think of how I started playing. I don’t think I started because of one single reason, but Josh Klinghoffer was definitely one of those motives. He had known the Chilis for a long time when he joined them as their lead guitarist, but in some kind of way he was the new guy, just like I was the new girl. And not only did we quickly become friends, as I’ve already explained, but I started paying attention to his way of playing as well. I think it was a month or so after meeting him that he got me curious and I dusted off the green electric guitar I had had for more than ten years hidden in a cupboard. But it wasn’t only Josh, of course, there was another important factor.

I had been working as a camera operator since I was twenty-seven, quite a long time if you stop and think about it. It’s my passion, it’s my vocation, and I couldn’t be happier about it. But there are some times when one feels like he’s always giving, never receiving. It’s like being behind the spotlight all the time, and it’s not that one wants to be in the spotlight, it’s just the feeling that sometimes you’re not that useful. That’s not true at all, but I still needed something which was only mine, something to do when I felt that way, something like having my own private tiny spotlight. So I picked up the guitar, just as an inside joke and convinced I would give up a week after starting, like lots of other hobbies I’ve tried in my life, but somehow, it got me hooked on, and here we are, six years after, still playing.

The origins of my guitar playing makes me think of Josh, and the thought of Josh leads me to another whole topic, which is John. John Frusciante, who was the most famous guitarist the Chilis have had (so far), a well-earned title if I’m not mistaken. I was too late to get to know him: I started working with the band some years after he left, so I only know him as a myth, a glorified legend who once was such a celebrity, he couldn’t stand it. I’ve never talked much about him with Chad, Anthony, Flea or even Josh, who once was a really close friend of his, so I probably know as much as the general public know about him, or even less, because I have never given him much thought. I suppose he’s doing alright, but once I started working with the Red Hot Chili Peppers I just focused on what was there, as I, although familiar with them, had never been a huge fan. The only thing I remember a bit more was the fact that, even that his departure from the band was peaceful and without the slightest argument, the band has never been as close to him as they had been. But everyone follows his own path, I guess.

I let my mind wander and think about guitar players while I finish my breakfast, and lots of names fly around my head: Hillel Slovak and Dave Navarro (the other two important guitarists who played with the Chilis) Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page… and the day unfolds again. I spend the morning walking down the streets of New Orleans, thinking about music and culture and what has shaped the world and myself as well, and with the song “House of the Rising Sun” as an imaginary soundtrack. Later on, I have lunch with Finn and meet Steve and Chad to go together to the arena in which we’re playing tonight. We have a great afternoon, despite the usual, almost boring routine of getting everything ready, doing sound checks and video rehearsals, and by nine (the show starts at ten), everyone’s at their respective dressing rooms, getting themselves ready.

Now, I know it’s a bit like cheating, and I would like to tell my story as a linear sequence of events, but I will allow myself to do something unusual for a second, which is turning myself into an omniscient narrator. I still don’t know it, but something’s about to happen, something really strange which will make the course of things to take an unexpected turn. But that something will have to wait. We have a show to play first.

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waiting-among-the-stars · 4 years ago

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Okay! I know I disappeared for quite a while here and there’s a lot I definitely owe you guys. Really sorry for that! But I promise, I am almost finished with a new update finally, so that will be posted very, very soon!

Again, sorry for my absence and all the delays. If anyone wants to know the whole story of why, it’s here below the cut. But if not, feel free to ignore. Anyway, love you guys, and I’m looking forward to getting back to regular updates!

As for my absences, I do feel I need to give you guys some explanation at least. I feel guilty for leaving you hanging as long as I did, so here goes.

So, at first, it was just some technical difficulties. My laptop, where I do all my writing, is several years old now and is honestly a piece of junk at this point. The back of it is held on by duct tape, no joke. So it was acting up and refusing to let me work in google docs for more than a few minutes before it would freeze up and save absolutely nothing. As a result, I was temporarily doing some of the writing on my phone instead, through the google docs app, and that was going well. Until...

I ended up for several days with what I thought was a very bad case of food poisoning. The timing worked out, since I had accidentally eaten spoiled food without realizing it was spoiled until too late. So maybe part of it was food poisoning, but.. Here’s the real kicker....

It wasn’t.

So, by day four of my ‘food poisoning’ not at all subsiding and only seeming to get worse, contradictory to my memory of the only other time I’d experienced food poisoning, I was in such misery and pain that I begged my sister to take me to the ER of our local hospital. Once there, the nurses and technicians were all super nice and calm, ran some routine tests and checked some things out. You know, making sure they had a proper diagnosis, and the whole time, I’m still thinking I had food poisoning and was just very anxious.

Now, I should have put two and two together when one of the nurses came back in after I’d been alone for about twenty minutes or so, and asked me ‘have you ever had surgery?’. I answered no, and somehow didn’t put it together, until the surgeon on duty who was in charge of the department dealing with abdominal problems and other such things came in, asked me the same question, to which I responded this time with, ‘should I be concerned?’. He told me no, but then proceeded to calmly tell me, ‘so you have appendicitis, and we will probably need to operate’.

So yeah. I didn’t have food poisoning. My appendix needed to come out and honestly, from what they told me, I was lucky it hadn’t burst yet. So I spent a couple days in the hospital after that, and then spent another week or so at home recovering. And then.. It was follow-up, after follow-up, after follow-up.. At first, one of my incisions wasn’t healing quite right. Then I had an infection on another one, then I was allergic to the antibiotic, then I had to do more follow-ups on those visits.

All in all, it was about a month and a half of being in and out of doctors’ offices, and then once I’d recovered, I’ve been busy helping my sister with various chores, doing job searches, cleaning my mother’s house as a way to make some extra cash. And then, I got my first vaccine for covid, and now, as of four days ago, I got the second one. So I am fully vaccinated. Recovered from all surgeries, vaccinated against the pandemic, and there you have it. That’s why I’ve been gone so long on here.

TL;DR :: I had a lot of technical difficulties, and doctor visits, and it was very complicated, but I’m okay now. Thanks for your patience.

Alright, folks! I may have found at least a temporary solution to my technical difficulties as of late, so I will finally be able to resume regular updates on the story!

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gordonwilliamsweb · 5 years ago

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Her Genetic Test Revealed A Microscopic Problem — And A Jumbo Price Tag

Michelle Kuppersmith, 32, feels great, works full time and exercises three to four times a week. So she was surprised when a routine blood test found that her body was making too many platelets, which help control bleeding. Kuppersmith’s doctor suspected she had a rare blood disorder called essential thrombocythemia, which can lead to blood clots, strokes and, in rare cases, leukemia.

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Her doctor suggested a bone marrow biopsy, in which a large needle is used to suck out a sample of the spongy tissue at the center of the patient’s hip bone. Doctors examine the bone marrow under a microscope and analyze the DNA. The procedure allows doctors to judge a patient’s prognosis and select treatment, if needed. Kuppersmith had heard the procedure can be intensely painful, so she put it off for months.

The biopsy — performed by a provider in her insurance network, at a hospital in her network ― lasted only a few minutes, and Kuppersmith received relatively good news. While a genetic analysis of her bone marrow confirmed her doctor’s suspicions, it showed that the only treatment she needs, for now, is a daily, low-dose aspirin. She will check in with her doctor every three to four months to make sure the disease isn’t getting worse.

All in all, Kuppersmith felt relieved.

Then she got a notice saying her insurer refused to pay for the genetic analysis, leaving her responsible for a $2,400 payment.

The Patient: New York resident Michelle Kuppersmith, 32, who is insured by Maryland-based CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield. She works as director of special projects at a Washington-based, nonpartisan watchdog group. Because she was treated in New York, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield — which covers that region ― handled part of her claim.

Total Amount Owed: $2,400 for out-of-network genetic profiling

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The Providers: Kuppersmith had her bone marrow removed at the Mount Sinai Ruttenberg Treatment Center in New York City, which sent her biopsy sample to a California lab, Genoptix, for testing.

Medical Services: Bone marrow biopsy and molecular profiling, which involves looking for genetic mutations

What Gives: The field of “molecular diagnostics,” which includes a variety of gene-based testing, is undergoing explosive growth, said Gillian Hooker, president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors and vice president of clinical development for Concert Genetics, a health IT company in Nashville, Tennessee.

A Concert Genetics report found there are more than 140,000 molecular diagnostic products on the market, with 10 to 15 added each day.

The field is growing so quickly that even doctors are struggling to develop a common vocabulary, Hooker said.

Kuppersmith underwent a type of testing known as molecular profiling, which looks for DNA biomarkers to predict whether patients will benefit from new, targeted therapies. These mutations aren’t inherited; they develop over the course of a patient’s life, Hooker said.

Medicare spending on molecular diagnostics more than doubled from 2016 to 2018, increasing from $493 million to $1.1 billion, according to Laboratory Economics, a lab industry newsletter.

Charges range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on how many genes are involved — and which billing codes insurers use, Hooker said.

Based on Medicare data, at least 1,500 independent labs perform molecular testing, along with more than 500 hospital-based labs, said Jondavid Klipp, the newsletter’s publisher.

In a fast-evolving field with lots of money at stake, tests that a doctor or lab may regard as state-of-the-art an insurer might view as experimental.

Worse still, many of the commercial labs that perform the novel tests are out-of-network, as was Genoptix.

After lining up an in-network provider at an in-network hospital, Kuppersmith pushed back when she got a $2,400 charge for an out-of-network lab. She appealed and won but says, “There are a lot of people who don’t have the time or wherewithal to do this kind of fighting.”(Shelby Knowles for KHN)

Stephanie Bywater, chief compliance officer at NeoGenomics Laboratories, which owns Genoptix, said that insurance policies governing approval have not kept up with the rapid pace of scientific advances. Kuppersmith’s doctor ordered a test that has been available since 2014 and was updated in 2017, Bywater said.

Although experts agree that molecular diagnostics is an essential part of care for patients like Kuppersmith, doctors and insurance companies may not agree on which specific test is best, said Dr. Gwen Nichols, chief medical officer of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Tests “can be performed a number of different ways by a number of different laboratories who charge different amounts,” Nichols said.

Insurance plans are much more likely to refuse to pay for molecular diagnostics than other lab tests. Laboratory Economics found Medicare contractors denied almost half of all molecular diagnostics claims over the past five years, compared with 5-10% of routine lab tests.

With so many insurance plans, so many new tests and so many new companies, it is difficult for a doctor to know which labs are in a patient’s network and which specific tests are covered, Nichols said.

“Different providers have contracts with different diagnostic companies,” which can affect a patient’s out-of-pocket costs, Nichols said. “It is incredibly complex and really difficult to determine the best, least expensive path.”

Kuppersmith said she has always been careful to check that her doctors accept her insurance. She made sure Mount Sinai was in her insurance network, too. But it never occurred to her that the biopsy would be sent to an outside lab ― or that it would undergo genetic analysis.

She added: “The looming threat of a $2,400 bill has caused me, in many ways, more anxiety than the illness ever has.”

Kuppersmith’s doctor recommended a bone marrow biopsy after suspecting she had a rare blood disorder. Though the biopsy was done by an in-network provider at an in-network hospital, Kuppersmith learned she was on the hook for $2,400 for out-of-network genetic profiling.(Shelby Knowles for KHN)

The Resolution: Despite making dozens of phone calls, Kuppersmith got nothing but confusing and contradictory answers when she tried to sort out the unexpected charge.

An agent for her insurer told her that her doctor hadn’t gotten preauthorization for the testing. But in an email to Kuppersmith, a Genoptix employee told her the insurance company had denied the claim because molecular profiling was viewed as experimental.