#i salute all y'all who use lots of layers

[sunsetno4]

Some days you just gotta drop everything and doodle pre!hb chargestep make-outs in some dingy club restroom, I guess.

And some close-ups because I like them~

Nanosurge + Cult of the Green Sky doodles. Idk why they're here in some club restroom, but I had the most fun with them. And (ex??) boyfriends blowing up blackberries~

'We were friends, that's as far as it went'. I was listening to a lot of Disco 2000 while coloring this, and fitting lyrics are fitting~~~. And just 'don't'. Because of course. c: <3

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 22 part one

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Not Quite Like Old Times

We ended the previous episode in daylight, with Lan Wangji putting Wei Wuxian and swordpoint and declaring his undying love lecturing him about his lack of sword skills.

We start this episode in full night, with the two of them sitting on a roof together. Presumably they spent the missing scenes getting dinner in the mess hall, doing some laundry, and definitely not making out. Fic writers, do your thing.

Finally, FINALLY, Lan Wangji has chilled out enough to actually sit and listen to Wei Wuxian, instead of yelling at and/or physically attacking him. The Zoloft is really helping!

Wei Wuxian is indulging in romantic recollections of their first rooftop encounter. Lan Wangji, who has loved him since he first laid eyes on him and who wrote a whole song with an entire music video about their love, featuring that very same rooftop encounter, shuts him down so completely he might as well have whipped out Bichen again.

First he corrects his description of events by pointing out they were fighting, not talking, back then. Then when Wei Wuxian continues in his charming, smiley reminiscing vein, Lan Wangji says "things change, how could they stay the same" with a deep, sad, weariness.

He seems like an old man in this moment, and I feel for him, really, I do. But he's not the one who's carrying the actual essence of death around inside him. Wei Wuxian is being much more generous in this interaction than Lan Wangji is.

Wei Wuxian thanks him for not narkng to Jiang Yanli about the whole talisman/forced suicide/ghost hummer/ghost flaying thing he did back in Yiling. Like there is any way Lan Wangji would ever tell Jiang Yanli, of all people, something like that about Wei Wuxian.  He's lying to his own brother to cover for Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian totally doesn't get it.

(more after the cut)

Unfortunately, there's no reason Wei Wuxian SHOULD get it, at this point; Lan Wangji has not communicated anything but disapproval to him since his return, and Wei Wuxian, despite their (apparently temporary) mental linkup in the Turtle cave, is not a mind reader.

Lan Wangji is so hurt here, and Wei Wuxian appears to ignore that, continuing to smile and laugh; he’s still sunny, still happy. Seriously, they are so tonally out of step with each other in this conversation, it's excruciating.

Lan Wangji: I’m feeling good about my tear-holding-back ability Wei Wuxian: do I look more fuckable sitting up? Or leaning back?  

But every one of these smiles is an absolute lie. This is Wei Wuxian appeasing an authority figure; baffling with bullshit and skating by on charm. This is not a young man confiding in his soulmate.

Even when the conversation shifts, and they talk seriously about what is going on with him, Wei Wuxian is barely confiding anything. He briefly acknowledges that he was in the Burial Mounds for three months, and shudders at the memory, but Lan Wangji doesn't respond to that other than to look away from his face.

This is almost the last thing Wei Wuxian will ever say to anyone about that experience.  He only alludes to it again when Jiang Cheng visits the settlement and talks smack about their corpse turnips. Lan Wangji says he wants to know why Wei Wuxian’s cultivation changed, but he really doesn’t; he just wants to convince him to change it back.

Wei Wuxian explains about using Lan clan techniques to protect his temperament, as well as the flute and talismans, to control the resentful energy. This is a good reminder that Wei Wuxian was never a bad student. He was an outstanding cultivator within the Jiang Clan, and he learned a hell of a lot during his time in Gusu, despite getting expelled for fighting.

His original golden core was stronger than Jiang Cheng's, even though he apparently started cultivating later. Yes, he fell asleep during meditation that one time in Episode 43, but that's not because he's bad at meditating, it's because he was tired from getting railed all night by his boyfriend stabbed in the gut by his nephew.

Lan Wangji eventually manages to ask him a question like an interested fellow human being sharing knowledge, instead of like an authoritarian dick calling him to account.  

Side note: I still am flopping around trying to find good-sounding English terms for Chinese philosophical concepts. I kind of like "ghost path" vs "sword path" for the two styles of cultivation - I don't know where I saw that, apologies to the translator. I like "necromancy" for the part where the dead are reanimated and controlled, because we definitely have that in English. But there are many layers of nuance in these conversations that English is not equipped to render in a natural-sounding way.

Lan Wangji tells him, again, that it's dangerous, but this time he does it in a gentler and more poetic way, saying it's like taking grain from a burning fire, and says he's in danger of becoming the novel version of Wei Wuxian a demonic cultivator.  Wei Wuxian, also gently and seriously, says he knows.

Then he immediately goes back to his lightest tone and promises, with his three-fingers gesture, that he will not fall into demonic cultivation. This gesture is basically the Wei Wuxian "I am totally fucking lying" salute.

He is totally fucking lying, and he MUST know it. He's baking the Yin tiger amulet every day during his meditation, getting ready to use it against Wen Ruohan, getting ready to take over his army of the dead.

He has the audacity to ask Lan Wangji, "do you believe me?" and Lan Wangji, also totally fucking lying, nods.  Their relationship is just as broken right now as it was before their courtyard sparring session.

You can tell it's broken, because after they've reached this apparent place of peace, Wei Wuxian just hops down off the roof and LEAVES Lan Wangji sitting by himself. When has Wei Wuxian ever been like "gotta go!" with Lan Wangji? The last time they were here, he spent the night sleeping on the roof tiles just so he could be near him.

As he leaves, Lan Wanji stands up and says "let me help you." Wei Wuxian is not a fan of that idea, at all, if his expression is any guide.

He agrees, though, and leaves smiling, apparently for real, but maybe just practicing for all the fake smiles in his future.

Hooray for War

In the morning, Nie Mingjue makes an angry speech to the 2 dozen cultivators who apparently make up the army. Extras are expensive, y'all.

The senior cultivators are standing to the right or left of him, with the Lan brothers bracketing the Yunmeng sibs. Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng are both staking their claim to Wei Wuxian, while Lan Xichen is standing in the spot closest to Nie Mingjue; Nie Huaisang is on the opposite side with the Jins.

All of the random cultivators yell a war chant in response to Nie Mingjue's speech, while the senior cultivators are like, we don't have to do that yelling stuff, thank goodness.

Nie Mingjue's war outfit includes metal (ish) epaulets on his shoulders and a totally not-kinky belt featuring multiple rings with nothing attached to them (yet) and an angry demon face right above his junk.

Nie Mingjue says we're going to storm into Nightless city and I'm going to chop off Wen Ruohan's head! By which he means, I'm going to get captured and get my ass beat, and then my murder-babie ex-boyfriend who had this belt specially made for me is going to stab Wen Ruohan in the back while he's distracted. They do say no plan survives contact with the enemy.

Side note: Baxia makes a loud metallic "shnk" noise when NMJ takes it off his back during this speech, even though Baxia does not have a scabbard. You do you, Baxia.

All the senior cultivators file out down the center while everyone else parts to let them pass. Then everybody does the Electric Slide.

Jiang Cheng tells Wei Wuxian they should go ahead of the main force to get some killing in early, but Wei Wuxian just pulls a face and looks down, staying with Lan Wangji. 

Jiang Cheng is disappointed, and no doubt takes this as a sign of WWX choosing LWJ over him. But actually, WWX can't fight side-by-side with Jiang Cheng without showing his weakness.

LWJ and WWX exchange one of their unspoken "let's go" eye touches and get ready to ride out together with the main force. 

Lan Wangji is still super, super sad. Wei Wuxian is still fake. But something is starting to knit together between them, and once they can hit a battlefield together, it will get a lot stronger.

On A Horse With No Name

Everyone rides out on horses, which will presumably get eaten somewhere along the way, because they appear to travel on foot after this. While Wei Wuxian practices his horseback-flute-twirling, Lan Wangji asks why Wei Wuxian didn't go with the forward force to fight.

Wei Wuxian says that he has a case of the don'wannas, and Lan Wangji snarkily points out that he used to like fighting. Wei Wuxian reacts, just as he did at the end of their sword fight, with embarrassment, and doesn't answer.

Lan Wangji, sweetie. You are really not helping. 

At this point, despite their ongoing fighting, Wangxian are clearly together again. Lan Wangji isn't riding with his brother; he's RIGHT next to Wei Wuxian, and will stay close to him through the rest of the campaign.

Nie Huaisang hollers "Wei-Xiong" from the top of the battlements and tells him to take care. Wei-Xiong lifts his flute in acknowledgement while Nie Huaisang looks worried. He doesn't tell Nie Mingjue or Lan Wangji to take care, just Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian is his particular friend, more than Lan Wangji is, but he may also be concerned because he can tell that Wei Wuxian isn't well.

Nie Huaisang hasn't yet developed the deep cynicism that he calls upon in his quest to avenge his brother, but he has always been a voracious collector of information, and he is keenly observant.

Side note: what the fuck is going on with this sculpture? Kudos to the artist. This has beautiful forms, and is weird and disturbing. The main head is wearing a horned skull on its forehead, small ungulates that I hesitate to call “deer” chilling on its horns, and...snakes? biting its ears? 

Boring Wen Interlude

Wen Ruohan is waving his hands around. Sigh. This is one of the more boring villain performances ever, and it's not the actor’s fault. They could have given him a sidekick to yell at or something, so we could get more than just hand waving. I’ve given up screen capping any of this; there are more interesting things to look at. 

Battle Moves

Jin Zixuan and Jiang Cheng and their forces have an extended fight scene with a bunch of puppet dudes and stuntmen in harnesses. 

It's pretty fun to watch. (Fanvid with more over here)

The gist of the fighting scenes is that Wen Ruohan is getting stronger, and Klingons are hard to beat.

Battle Planning

Finally we see a sidekick with Wen Ruohan, although he's blurry so it's hard to tell that he is totally Meng Yao.

The Sunshotters have set up a Battle Camp Playset. It's got chunks of gates and walls that don't connect to anything, like a Duplo set. It's just randomly open for most of the back area so that anyone can walk in. 

They've got a cage of hilarious definitely-not-zombies set up, and the rest of the wounded cultivators are lying on the ground. 

The main battle trio go chill in Nie Mingjue's incredibly fancy tent. They talk it over and say it's impossible to kill unkillable enemies, "even when we have millions of troops." And by “millions” they mean “dozens.”  

Nie Mingjue decides the way to handle it is to kill the leader and everyone else will collapse, because he has watched vampire movies and the last season of Game of Thrones and that's how it works. Watching the last season of Game of Thrones is why he is so angry all the time  He says he's going to sneak into Nightless City and assassinate Wen Ruohan.

Okay, first of all, Nie Mingjue can sneak? I don't believe it.  Second of all, if that was possible, why didn't he do it as soon as Wen Ruohan attacked his clan?

Nie Mingjue wants to take the biggest risk because he's the commander in chief, which is not how commanding is supposed to work, but okay.

He says if he dies, Zewu Jun will take over. Jiang Cheng starts to protest but Zewu Jun appears as if conjured, and shows them a map that will...dear GOD his hands are beautiful.

It's a helpful map, painted in multiple colors with careful writing on it, so if anyone were to show it to Nie Huaisang he would probably go "oh cool Meng Yao painted that" because anyone who could paint that well probably spent a fair amount of time at it on a regular basis. But, Nie Huaisang isn't here so, nope.

It’s always nice to see Jiang Cheng smile.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Waniji examine some of the puppets to see what's up. It's transmitted by touch, and Lan Wangji says that curing one dude takes three months of spiritual power. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Writing Prompt: Missing scene! How did they get from the fight in the courtyard to the talk on the roof? 

Soundtrack: 1. Shine on You Crazy Diamond, by Pink Floyd 2. Electric Boogie, by Marcia Griffiths

[praphit]

MI6: if you're not peeling off your face and eating waffle ice cream... you're not living.

　

We have gotten some great action this year, haven't we??!

First we got Liam Neeson, literally jumping from train car to train car. One train car simply didn't contain enough bad guys to beat up. Seriously, picture Liam Neeson getting bored on the train, (due to already beating everyone up), crawling out the window, climbing up top of the train car, so he could jump to another car to beat asses - that's how this year started!

Then, we got Thanos - who beat up an entire universe; let that soak in. Not only did he beat up a universe, but a universe full of superheroes. He beat them in humiliating fashion, and then made them disappear. I don't know if anyone in history has ever known such defeat.

We had Black Panther, fighting for all black people. I could have sworn I saw someone walking through the mall wearing a BP outfit; that's accepted as normal now. Black Panther is now part of our culture/heritage.

And of course we had about five movies with The Rock in them (prob five more to come). He has been beating up anyone he can find: gangs, giant gorillas, wanna-be super villains - the last movie I saw him in he jumped from one building to another building (on fire, mind you... the building was on fire... though it wouldn't have surprised me if The Rock had also been casually on fire as well) - he had a prostetic leg, which was coming off - so a one-legged Rock jumped from one tall building to another, through a window, so he could beat up this burning building.

That's a whole lot of action! - and I love it!

But, my man Tom Cruise says - "Pssh, you call that action? - All of that CG, all of those "super powers", all of those fake explosions and stunt men. I do it phorealz! Let me remind y'all how it's really done."

- Though we may say "But, Tom, you're 55 years old!"

TC: "55 years young, baby... 55 years young."

BOOM! All in yo face with the action in "MI6: Fallout"

Here we find Ethan Hunt (TC) once again accepting a mission. But, this time, he seems sad about it. This time he's battling inner demons. He's thinking to himself, "Man, I'm tired. I've been making these movies for so long. I've lost count on how many bones I've broken trying to entertain you fools who won't go to see my Oscar worthy performances anymore. Plus, how many loved ones have I put in danger by choosing to accept these impossible missions?"

All of this doubting and self loathing is "falling out" and compiled on top of failing a mission, and BOOM! - we're on our way!

I'm not gonna waste time here - I LOVED THIS MOVIE! TC knows what I love! Not just what I LIKE, but what I LOVE!

I like Burger King (double whopper, are you kidding me?? Onion Rings... and those french toast sticks... lip smacking good), but I LOVE this new place I discovered in Hampden (Baltimore), MD. It's called "Waffie" (if you care about enjoying life you'll google it and go) - Waffle/Desserts, and even ice cream action. I'd go there every day and every night if I could. I may get a job there... I'm going to own that place one day.

Oh my goodness... each bite takes me to Heaven.

Gonna get married in that place. My wife will give birth in that place. And yes, I will be buried in that place too... with a ice cream waffle in my mouth....

But, anyway.... people may say, "John Praphit, that sounds like obsession to me." To that I say, "You don't know what love is!" If it's not border line insane, it's not love!

LOVE, people! TC gives it to me with these MI movies. You never get tired of what you love:

　

Masks - Why aren't more movie makers putting face-peel-offs in their films?

They make any movie better!

Think about The Titantic! Remember when Leo asks Kate Winslet to kindly strip down so he may wholesomely paint her? What if after she undresses... BAM! - face peel off! Maybe she's an elderly black lady under there!

It'll even work for a cartoon. Remember "Inside Out"? - the character "Joy". As we get to know Joy and how joy works in our lives. The other emotions start cheering Joy, the camera zooms in and... BOOM! - face peel off! Now, she's not an emotion at all, but a cocaine addiction. YES! - see that?? - layers!

Action -

There is a bathroom scene in here that has one of the best action sequences of all time! In fact, this changes the game. Everybody is going to do their action in the bathroom from now on. The Rock's next movie, on his way to fight some sorcerer, he'll prob jump out of a plane, through a ceiling, into a bathroom for an epic battle.

There's also a helicopter scene in here (TC actually flying) - it's kickass, and somehow while it's all so amazing with the action, the shots of the scernery are equally as amazing. This director was able to entertain me with more than bullets and karate, but with a beautiful sunrise.

It was like - "Damn, your face is ALL effed up! But, that part of the mountain is so vivid... it's a shame someone is about to blow it up."

Lastly (with the action), there's a scene where Tom sprints for like 15 minutes straight. TC is a good bit older than me... I have never ran that well in all of my life, and I used to run track & field. TC should be running in the Olympics.

　

Espionage (& music) - I was once again hyped that I can accomplish anything in life as long as I assemble the right team. And that music! You can tell whether the mission is going to fail or succeed by the music. You know that MI tune :) I wish life were that way. Let's all start praying that God adds some cool music to our personal lives; when it cranks up we know we're on the right track.

This movie is really all about the team, not just TC! - that's prob why it works so well. Everyone has their chance to shine. That's the prob with peepz like Denzel and The Rock; they never have the right team assembled... they usually never have a team at all. Tom doesn't really have to carry these movies (though he's a great actor) - it's all about the mission, the friends, the suspense, and the face peel offs, baby! Denzel and The Rock ain't got none of that (though I love them both).

I recently saw Denzel's "The Equalizer 2" - decent action flick, but it was only good when Denzel was on camera (by himself, cuz other people just dragged him down). Learn from MI movies! It's about the team!

You may say, "But, Praphit, what about The Avengers?" Aaaah, they've got the team, but they don't have TC's tenacity; his utter craziness to keep doing his own stunts. Captain America and Iron Man and Thor and all of them play it too safe; that's why Thanos won. If TC were leading them, they would have beaten Thanos to an awesome soundtrack, and someone would have ripped off their face! Maybe Black Widow... to reveal she has been Stan Lee the whole time.

Grade: A

I'm sure they'll make another one. TC doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Are there any young action heroes anymore? - apparently it doesn't matter, but I can't think of any (Vin, The Rock, Liam, Charlize, Denzel, Will, Keanu, Gal, Scarlett, Sly) - not that these peepz are... you know... OLD (well some are), but no twenty somethings. Action heroing is an old persons game! It takes time to develope kick ass moves, to find ridiculous scripts, and piss bad guys/gals off.

Tom Cruise (and others still putting your bodies through this madness at an older age), I salute you. May your craziness and dedication never waver in making these silly movies for us.

I want to see MI10, with Tom in his 70's, still sprinting and peeling off his face.

[dansweekendgourmet-blog]

January 21 - 22, 2017

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Greetings & Salutations My Foodie Friends!

I've got some delectable dishes in store for y'all this weekend.  We start off with something savory and finish with something sweet.  Both recipes are easy yet look fancy and both are healthfully diet friendly too.

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THIS WEEKEND'S MENU:

Main Dish: Pork Scallopini with Mushrooms

Dessert: Strawberries & Cream Angel Food Cake

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Lately, I've been trying to adjust my diet a bit and have been really paying close attention to my carb & salt intake.  For many people, a low-carb low-salt diet usually means subsisting on foods that taste like cardboard & drinking lots of water.  Thankfully with my background in nutrition and culinary arts, this kind of dismal diet outlook doesn't inherently mean "tasteless".  Quite the contrary in fact.  This new recipe for Pork Scallopini with Mushrooms is not only savory, flavorful, and satisfying -- it is low-salt and is virtually carb-free!

PORK SCALLOPINI WITH MUSHROOMS:

2 TBSP Olive Oil 8 Thin Cut Boneless Pork Chops Pinch of Salt Ground Black Pepper McCormick Season All 4 large Portobello Mushroom Caps (sliced) Onion Salt* 1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce 1/2 cup Red Wine 3 TBSP Unsalted Butter

Drizzle about 1 TBSP of olive oil into a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Place porch chops in the skillet in a single layer and lightly sprinkle with a single pinch of salt.  Season to your liking with a few dashes of pepper and season all.  Fry for 5 - 7 minutes per side or until golden brown & cooked throughout.  You may need to repeat this step to cook all of the pork chops in 2 batches.  When the pork chops are done,  transfer them to a plate & cover with foil. Drizzle 1 TBSP olive oil into a large non-stick skillet.  Slice the portobello mushroom caps into 1/4 inch thick slices and add them to the prepared skillet.  Season the mushrooms to your liking with onion salt, toss to coat.  Cook over medium/high heat until the mushrooms are tender and most of the moisture has cooked out of them.  Add the Worcestershire sauce and wine.  Continue stirring and cooking until most of the wine has cooked off.  Add the butter and continue cooking until the mushrooms are nicely browned. Add the pork chops to the mushrooms and toss together.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until the pork chops are heated through.  

NOTE:  *Be sure to use Onion Salt and NOT Onion Powder.  Using onion salt adds both onion flavor and the needed salt to wick moisture out of the mushrooms without adding extra salt.

Serves: 4 Serving Size = 2 pork chops with about 1/2 cup of mushrooms

GET THE RECIPE:  http://WWW.dansweekendgourmet.tumblr.Com

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Who doesn't enjoy a dessert that's fun & fruity?  This recipe for angel food cake filled with strawberry cream takes ordinary Hun-drum angel food cake to a whole new level of YUM!  The best part of this dessert is that you can enjoy a great big piece without spoiling your diet because this dessert is very low in sugar, low in carbs, low sodium, and fat-free yet your taste buds will be rejoicing because it certainly doesn't taste like it's good for you!

STRAWBERRIES & CREAM ANGEL FOOD CAKE:

1 (0.3 oz box) Sugar-free Strawberry Gelatin 1 (8 oz tub) Fat-free/Lite Cool Whip Whipped Topping (thawed) 1 - 2 pints Fresh Strawberries (hulled & sliced) 1 (10 - 12 inch) Angel Food Cake

Prepare the gelatin as directed on the package in a large mixing bowl.  Chill for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until it is just beginning to set.  Add the thawed Cool Whip and whip with a mixer until smooth & fluffy.  Fold in the sliced strawberries. Using a large serrated knife, slice a 1-inch thick slice off the top of the cake.  Transfer the slice to a plate.  Working about 1-inch from the outside or the cake & staying about 1-inch inside the cake from the center hole, slice down through the cake to create inner & outer walls.  Pull out the inside ring of the cake to form a trench inside the cake being sure not to go all the way to the bottom.  Fill the trench with the strawberry cream mixture until almost overflowing.  Replace the top slice to cover the cream filling.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until the filling is set.

Serves: 8 Serving Size: 1 wedge

GET THE RECIPE:  http://WWW.dansweekendgourmet.tumblr.Com  

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Questions?  Comments?  Feedback?

Contact/Email Dan's Weekend Gourmet: Dan W. at danwigle@hughes.net I always love to hear from my readers!!

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See you next week & bon appetit!

Dan W. - Dan's Weekend Gourmet