#like legitimately i took me a couple eps to realize that they were not in fact a couple for real

[cipher26]

It’s also really funny to me that this is the second campaign in a row that Marisha specifically designed a character that wasn’t supposed to be romantic and failed epically and immediately.

[shellyb04]

After watching kdramas on the streaming services I had, I kept seeing recommendations for weightlifting fairy, Kim Bok Joo.  So I found Viki.  Where I have been trapped, falling in love with a new show after new show ever since.

Shows and my ratings are below the cut.

Weightlifting Fairy, Kim Bok Joo Kim Bok Joo is a weightlifter who is finally realizing there’s more to life than just sports.  This features crushes, sweet sweet boys, wholesome ladies, and fluffiness. 10/10  This was SO GOOD!  IT still gives me the happiest of feels to even think about it.  I just fell head first into this drama.  If I had one, teeny tiny nitpick, it would be that I think the 2nd lead is a bit wooden in his acting.  I could never get a good read on him. Marriage not dating Fake dating-Plastic surgeon wants his mom off his back and to stay single.  He falls into real feelings.   10/10  I straight up love this one.  There's drama (the hair pulling in the mall made me shout with happiness).  I love fake relationship dramas and that is what this is, until it's not.  I just seriously adore this one. Princess Hours AU History, Girl finds out she’s engaged to crown prince in an arranged marriage.  She marries him and DRAMA ensues. 3/10  I liked parts of this one a lot, but I just felt like it dragged way too long and kept repeating itself.  Plus the 2nd leads Mom was horrible and I felt no pity for her ever.  The kiss in the middle between the leads was extra good though.

Goblin First supernatural kdrama.  An immortal can only die when his “bride” comes along to pull the sword from his chest.  He meets his bride and the Grim Reaper moves in with him. 9/10  It took me a bit to get use to this one as it was my first supernatural drama.  I had to look up some history for it, which I love doing so that was cool.  Once I was in though, the main couple HAD ME!  The Grim Reaper was also fantastic and I wanted more of his friendship with the leads. Super big BROMANCE in this one. I liked all the supporting cast members as well and the last few episodes had me legitimately sobbing.

What's Wrong With secretary Kim Secretary Kim is the perfect secretary until she quits and her boss will do anything to keep her (cause he loves her, but shh, don’t tell him that.) 10/10  The chemistry is on fire, the leads are amazing and I like the secondary and tertiary stories that are going on all around.  This just lit me up from within.  The only problem was I felt like the reveal of the flashback plot took a bit too long toward the end.

Full House (2004 version) Girls house is accidentally sold to famous actor.  Contract marriage ensues.  MORE FAKE DATING!! 9/10  I'm a SUCKER for fake married, so they had an easy lead. (Also a sucker for couples who fight to cover their feelings so add another check mark there) Once again, it took me a few eps to get into it, but once I did, the Main Couple were my jam.  Fighting to cover feelings is something that I understand and these characters do it in spades.  The family dynamic made me super happy as well.  My only complaint is I HATE HATE HATE the female leads “best friends.”

Fated to Love You Accidental pregnancy becomes marriage of convenience becomes so much more. 7/10  While a bunch of the side plots in this are super cringey, I bump it massive points for the middle to the end of the show.  Now do I think some of the stupidity went on a bit too long? Yes.  Just tell the woman you bought her painting and why!  Could have cut most of an episode out.  But the scenes with the Main Character talking to the baby…just ugh!!! And when I realized he had taken the baby furniture into his room….and eating cake with the baby!!  I was a mess for a few of those eps. Also the main guys laugh freaked me out. But be prepared to CRY in a few places.  

All I want for Love is You Follows a couple who go to school together and she follows him to medical school (even though she is scared of blood).  She’s a dumb jock, he’s a smart sweetie and both are crushing on each other, but hiding it. (He had REASONS, but bleh) 9.5/10  I love almost everything about this Cdrama except the last episode.  They cram months and years of stuff into like 5 seconds.  We don't have time to process that the lead character may be dead before oops nope he's back.  Now kiss and run off camera…what?? But everything leading up to that episode was so good.  The horrible were horrible, but ultimately slightly redeemable.  The main guys stole my heart.   It was everything, (just wish the last ep stuck the landing)

1% of Anything  Girl saves an old man, not knowing who he is.  The old man without her knowing makes her a condition of his will.  His grandson has to marry her to inherit.   9/10  Fake RELATIONSHIPS GIVE ME LIFE!  But seriously this one is pretty sweet, once again it does bog down in a couple of places, but overall, super sweet experience

Oh My Venus Girl who was super hot in high school gains weight and then gets dumped by her bf (of like 15 years).  She decides to lose weight.  Her trainer and she fall for each other in the process. 7/10-the Main relationship was great once it got going, but I struggled with the family/company drama.  I got slightly annoyed at the very end of the show when she was bigger again because of her pregnancy and the man wasn't cool with it.

Fight My Way Four best friends (2 girls, 2 boys) live in a apartment block.  Main leads are stuck in dead in jobs, missing out on their dreams.  But not for long.  Also they realize they are stupid in love with each other along the way. 10/10  A bit of a slower start, but after the like second episode I was in love with it.  I wish the girl's plot had been moved a bit faster earlier on, but overall, SO SO GOOD.  Although the ex-girlfriend in this one serves little purpose.  

The World Owes Me a First Love CDrama, Mobile gaming company CEO and his first employee fall in love while dealing with a new dungeon release for their game. 8/10  Perfectly lovely story with sweet people.  I was pleasantly diverted

Love in the Moonlight Historical Drama-Woman poses as man for plot reasons and accidentally becomes a eunich in the palace.  The Crown Prince falls for her anyway. 8/10  Apparently I really struggle with the historical dramas.  I liked most of this one, until the end when it got bogged down in its own plot.

Coffee Prince Girl poses as a guy to get a job.  The boss is super confused, but falling in love anyway. 9/10  A ton of sweet moments with some fake relationship and gender misunderstandings.  I really liked this one over all.  The moment that the main guy kisses the main girl (thinking she's a guy) is one of my favorite moments. Also a later kissing scene is in my top five favorite kdrama kisses.

You're Beautiful Once again, Girl poses as boy, this time as her twin brother, to help him get into a kpop group.  And while there...falls for one of the members.  The boys do figure it out fairly quickly and decide to help her.  6/10  Okay, but nothing special.  The main girl is good, but probably good she never played the brother.  But that was part of what made it weird.  We heard about the brother for the whole series, but we never saw any personality from him, just sort of heard about it.  And the 2nd female was super evil!

Drunken to love you My first Taiwanese drama.  Leads get drunk and married. They stay that way for the plot. 8/10  Stupid in all the best way.  It did drag a bit and the introduction of the character Daniel felt super forced.  Seriously just super campy and I loved it.

Master Devil Do Not Kiss Me Season 1  Cdrama. Poor girl moves into rich house and Rich boy falls for her (with mother rooting for it all)   1/10  The dubbing was bad, the music was bad, the acting was atrocious and I barely made it though and could not do the second season.

My Princess 9/10 Normal girl finds out she's the Princess of Korea. Love the main couple. A few confusing plot bits in the middle and the two politicians add very little to the story. Ending was a bit confusing, is she still the princess or not? Mask 7/10 Woman is forced to take the place of her doppelganger and falls in love with her new husband. melodrama Main couple is too precious for words. Their romance is wonderful. The 2nd leads (and villain couple) are delicious. The sister is layered and understandable while the man takes moustache twirling to a new meaning. Suspicious Partner 10/10 Law student accused of murdering exbf, works with Prosecutor who loses his job over her case. They fall in love and solve murders. Also Super Adorable and ridiculously attractive. A few slow moments made up for by some really intense ones. Could have probably been tightened up into fewer eps, but all bad points made up for by supporting office characters (Investigator Bang and the CEO are the BESTEST)  Bromance!

And that’s what I’ve seen so far.  Currently watching Touch your heart.  Will let you know how it goes!

[davalynbaker]

Thirsty as F*ck [Season 1, Ep. 4]

Congratulations, you made it to the end of 2020. And in doing that, you’ve accomplished something that took a lot of willpower and strength to get through—Pat yourselves on the back. And get into this episode.

Now realizing that this entire decade seems to be strife with chaos, ignore that first paragraph. I was so ignorant. And oh, so naive.

This episode is written by Laura Kittrell and directed by Kevin Bray.

The episode opens with Lawrence jogging to “Conflict of a Man” by Erimaj. We get some great scenic shots of South LA that are beyond stunning. As he finishes his jog and heads back home, he passes the stained couch from the previous episode sitting on the curb. Surprisingly, no one has picked it up yet, and it’s there as a harsh but real reminder that their relationship has so much work that they have to accomplish. I’m not sure why they threw out the couch before they purchased another one, but he goes in, and there’s a broken lawn chair in its place. Inside, Issa is taking a shower, but she gets a glimpse of sweaty Lawrence from his jog that initiates awkward shower sex. Shout out to one of the many appearances of Jay Ellis’ little booty.

Whoever tried to sell us on the appeal of shower sex needs to atone for their sins.

Giving in, Issa and Lawrence go shopping for a new couch. You can see from their interactions - compared to the first episode. They are very much revisiting their honeymoon phase. While they are in post-let’s-work-it-out bliss, they watch a married couple fight about lotion dispensers.

Best line of the episode, a disgruntled wife says dryly to her husband: “I hate you.”

Later that day, Molly is on her date with super hot doc, Brandon Bell [Troy Fairbanks, if you watch Dear White People], and they’re having typical date conversations. It gets weird when Molly tells him that he needs to be considerate and let her know where he’s headed via text. We later learn that this is date three so there hasn’t been anything explicitly hinting at them being legitimate. They were still having a “get to know you” conversation, so needing to know someone’s whereabouts is strange, but Dr. Hottie definitely could have made that vocal, too. Anyway, Molly is just going through the dating process. It’s not that deep. Hot men come and go.

The next day she walks past a loud-ass Da Da, noting that “black people stay loud.”

It’s me. I’m black people.

On Issa’s end, she gets a surprise visit from Daniel at work. He is consistently overstepping his boundaries. Literal Kill Bill sirens go off in my head at the very notion of someone showing up at my job without announcement. He apologizes for what happened that night in the car. If you need me to refresh your memories, Issa kissed Daniel after “breaking up” with Lawrence, and she told Daniel she wasn’t sure if she was ready to pursue anything serious. Daniel immediately shuts that down and says that she would be nothing more than a booty call.

It was awkward. It was sad. You know the story.

Issa takes this moment to tell him that she’s back with Lawrence now, and they shuffle through the rest of their conversation in a series of strange little moments. Molly rightfully criticizes her for even entertaining the idea of flirting with Daniel, and Issa agrees, saying that she is now “Bloop-bloop”-ing with Lawrence. ***Bloop-blooping is signifying the elevation of them trying to work through their relationship.

Lawrence goes to work and gets assigned to a section he has no experience in by his boss. Also, something that was very triggering to hear, “You’re smart. You’ll catch on.” Being forced to take on other jobs you lack training on is so common that I knew there was a collective sigh when Lawrence’s boss said that to him. Of course, Lawrence can’t quit the job out of frustration because he needs the money! He’s been depending on Issa for too long. Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and become a corporate servant. And for Lawrence, who has spent well over a year being jobless because pride would not let him give in to a job, it’s pretty damn ironic that he’s now at a job doing every single thing he said he never would do. Welcome to adulthood.

As Freida and Issa bond after work, she suggests that Issa use Daniel for their kids’ career day. Issa texts Daniel instead of telling Freida that she isn’t comfortable doing that? Before I knew what was going to happen in the show, I knew what was going to happen in the show.

Does that make sense?

Molly is now on a date with Jidenna, and they bond over microaggressions and white folks at work. He cheers her up with a round of “black tax” jokes, then the two dance to “Girl,” and the romance begins to bloom between them.

After Issa’s after-work session and bonding with Freida (and her text to Daniel), she comes home to Lawrence, who asks her about work, but she casually forgets to mention that Daniel is coming to the career day they’ve planned for the kids. Alright, so Issa actively possesses guilt about Daniel. She hasn’t told Lawrence about the kiss, and now she’s purposely keeping secrets about Daniel from him. It is fascinating to witness Issa plant these seeds of being a dishonest spouse. What is the point of telling Lawrence you want to make it work when you’re still going to lie to him? Even worse, the next day, Lawrence is not telling Issa about Tasha. Is it common for couples to keep things like this from each other? I feel as though if it’s harmless, then mentioning them should not be an issue.

Nevertheless, Lawrence sits with Tasha and enjoys the praises she gives him up which. At this point, Issa is trying her best to help with his confidence, so I don’t know why he feels like he still needs to hold on to Tasha for this. Because let’s be honest, that’s the only reason he’s holding on to Tasha.

After Molly’s date with Jidenna, she tells her boss that she doesn’t feel comfortable talking to Da Da about her behavior. So the boss decides to do it. Molly later sees all the partners ganging up on Da Da in the conference room, and it’s not looking good. Molly’s conversation with Da Da earlier about assimilating to fit in with the white people has come full circle, but Molly feels more sympathetic than vindicated. Da Da is learning about corporate white folks the hard way. We’ve all been there.

It’s career day, and Daniel is sharing his garbage-ass beats with the kids. After some fun and conversations about his job, he tells the kids how amazing Issa is, and they joke that he has a crush on her. Kids have the best intuition, so they are picking up on the chemistry stirring between the two. After the successful career day, Daniel extends an invitation to a studio session, and Issa doesn’t say yes or no. Because why? She likes making bad decisions.

Now that her head is rightly all messed up about Daniel, she fantasizes about him in the staff mirror. As we all know, it’s her subconscious telling her about her lingering feelings for Daniel. They never really left, and she’s starting to lean in too closely to the chaos. Daniel mentioned earlier that he worked on some beats for Ty Dolla $ign, so of course, Ty Dolla $ign makes an appearance in this fantasy. Lawrence interjects, asking her what she’s doing, but it’s revealed to actually be Molly.

Being the voice of reason.

Again.

Her attempts to keep Issa grounded are not going well.

And to the surprise of no one, the kids at school find Issa’s “Broken Pussy” video and laugh about it. Millennials. I think the most realistic thing about this show is the many L’s Millennials take. Nothing has felt more relatable.

[drunklander]

Drunj!Der Yells About Outlander

Thoughts on Ep. 509

So this episode had some all-to-brief moments I really liked, a moment where I was definitely laughing at it and not with it, and a whole lot of Jamie being an ableist douchecanoe with a side of toxic masculinity.

The scene where Marsali calls Claire her Ma is the sweetest fucking thing. I have diabetes now. Their relationship is literally like my favorite thing about this season. (What little we’ve actually gotten of it...)

Also thank fuck she’s not gonna be preggo anymore. I swear, she’s gonna pop out a walking, talking toddler.

Also it took me longer to type that than the scene took. Can we please get more good character stuff that lasts more than fucking 0.5 seconds? Is that really too much to ask?

Hard pass on the Bree and Roger stuff, but I am 1000% here for babies swearing so Jem can stay.

Did they cast a blonde baby though so it could pass as Bonnet’s? Or did they not actually put any thought into that?

Jamie shading Roger when he asks Bree to go hunting is like the only time he’s not a douchenozzle this episode.

I know we’re supposed to be like fully on board with Roger by this point, since Jamie is by the end of the episode, but nah. I’m cool with still not liking or caring about him.

There is so much grunting and groaning in this episode it’s like the opposite of an ASMR video.

The noises in this episode are like the equivalent of someone saying “moist” over and over.

Oh hey, my favorite color! DYE ALL THE THINGS!

Seriously though, Lizzie is like that weird kid in high school that never actually has a glow up. “It’s a good day for dyeing.” I’m sorry the writers hate you so much, Lizzie.

Omfg, finally, a Claire and Bree scene that is [mostly] not about men! More of these, please. And more of Claire and Marsali. And more of Bree and Marsali. Can we please have an episode of just the ladies where the men are never mentioned?

But gee, I wonder if Bree’s engineering is gonna come back at some point this episode. Hmmm...

Ok they’ve talked about going back like almost every episode. Can Bree and fam please just go back in the finale and get it over with?

Irrationally angry at Roger for how much time he wastes just dicking around the woods because he has no idea where anything is.

Also like, buddy, if you shoot off your gun and then immediately peace out, folks are gonna come looking for you in the wrong spot...

Omfg, Jamie is like literally dying and the priority is to tell someone to go do some murder. Yes, Bonnet is straight garbage. Def won’t be sad when he’s dead, and given how he has everyone who’s anyone in his pocket, murder’s probs the only way to get rid of him. But like, take the testosterone down a notch, bro.

Jamie went from “stay and take care of the Ridge” to “all y’all gotta get the fuck outta here” *rull* quick.

Aaand is this the start of Roger wanting to be a minster? Jamie talked about his father the soldier, but he wants to follow in his other father’s footsteps? Def would be a better fucking reason than “I wanna get close and friendly with the ladies in a way that’s mildly creepy and don’t want people to think I’m cheating.”

“Dinna tell me ye don’t have snakes in yer time.” Ok but like Marsali is right there. Are we supposed to assume she knows? I swear to fuck if we got cheated out of her and Fergus finding out about Claire...

Nurse!Marsali is legit my favorite and my favorite adaptive choice the show made in a long fucking time.

Claire telling Jamie she doesn’t need to inject the penicillin into his bum is the fucking cutest.

Glad they did the “you’re not yelling at me so I must be dying” scene, it’s adorable. One good thing before Jamie turns into a twat.

Like seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you, buddy. He’s obsessed with being “whole”. Always has been. It’s lowkey a bit gross, tbh.

Ableism is never a good look, bro.

Like oh hey, Claire, you left everything and traveled through time to come be with me, but if I can’t have my leg, then sorry, that’s just a sacrifice I’m not willing to make. Fuck you, dude. Fuuuck you.

“Well people of this time see the child as proof that... That you were a willing participant, because God wouldna allow a child to be conceived through... Rape.” IT’S NOT JUST THAT TIME, ROGER. WE STILL LIVE IN THE BAD PLACE.

“It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Mr. Akin said of pregnancies from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Friendly reminder that the Republican Party is evil and if you support them you are a garbage person or an idiot. :)

I said what I said, @ me and get blocked.

Literalol at Bree getting punted by a fucking buffalo. Like that is the most unintentionally hilarious fucking thing ever.

Like seriously, that bit was dumb af in the book and it’s dumber af here because the CGI or whatever the fuck composite it was is so fucking terrible.

I fucking love that Claire and Bree talk to each other like equals. The mutual love and respect there is great. More of them together, please and thank you.

But also like, fuck Jamie for making Claire thing she’d lose his love if she saves his life by taking his leg. Fuck him, selfish asshat. What a fucking bastard.

She’d risk losing his love to save him. She loves him that much. And he’s willing to make her feel this pain because he doesn’t want to be crippled.

CLAIRE FUCKING ELIZABETH FUCKING BEAUCHAMP FUCKING DESERVES FUCKING BETTER. FUCK.

Young Ian calling Jamie on his complete and utter offensive bullshit is my fucking everything.

FUCKING PREACH, YOUNG IAN. FUCKING PREACH.

Put some respect on Ian Murray’s name, James Fraser. And show some fucking respect for your fucking son.

YOUNG IAN AND FERGUS, MY BROTP RIDES AGAIN!

I love this scene between the them. I really hope we get more with the two of them. GIVE ME ALL THE FRASER KIDDO BONDING, YOU COWARDS.

Marsali and Fraser are literally my favorite couple on the whole damn show. Can Young Ian move in with them and then the whole show can just be about that squad? Because ngl, I’d watch the fuck out of it.

Gah, I want to feel what they want me to feel with this scene between Jamie and Claire. This should be my brand of angst. But they made Jamie be such a twat that all I feel is sorry for Claire that she’s going through this.

I WANNA GIVE CLAIRE A HUG OK.

LOOOOOOL THE RESUSCITATIVE HANDJOB!

(Named such by Bonnie.)

Fuck you that it took a deathbed handy to realize that you should fucking live, Jamie.

Yes, I know it’s Claire that made him live, but she was literally there all day begging to save him and he fucking blew her off. Fuck that guy.

Fergus is a fucking adorable father. Fergus is fucking adorable in general. I just fucking love Fergus a lot.

His face when Marsali goes into labor is fucking hilariously precious.

Oh hey, Jamie realizes he was a dick! I can’t remember the last time that happened. Notice how he doesn’t actually say he’s sorry though. He never, ever does that. That’s just asking too much of our oh so glorious king of men. *vomits onto keyboard*

MIT to the rescue! (Did they ever say Bree transferred in the show? Or are they still pretending like women went to Harvard at that time?)

Claire talking to babies is my kink.

Aaand just like that, the toxic masculinity is back in full force. Le sigh.

I’m so tired of men, tbh.

Except Adso. And Fergus. And Jem. And Germain. And Young Ian.

Ok so Jamie resigned himself to die after Culloden. And I get that. I fucking 100% get that. He thought Claire was gone. Him being alive was a risk to Jenny and Ian’s family. But here? He resigned himself to die? Instead of fighting like hell to survive? To stay with his wife? His daughter? His son? His nephew? His grandkids? Fuck you, Jamie Fraser. Fuck you that fighting for them wasn’t your first choice.

I came back because I have to fight in a war. God says so. Ugh.

Like yes, there is a war coming. And as we’ve been beaten over the head with for years, ThE pAsT iS dAnGeRoUs FoR tHe LaDiEs so he needs to be there to protect them. But like come on, dude. That can be a secondary reason. I know he’s like oh I don’t need to say I came back because I love you because you know I’ll always love you. But like, maybe fucking prioritize it here, bro. Just a thought.

Ugh, men.

#EternalMood

[retiquotidianbliss]

why i liked tae eul’s confession scene (+ the drama’s problem and romantic relationship between tae eul and lee gon) | the king: eternal monarch ep.8

well, it didn’t receive the most positive acclaim... 

I will start this note by getting slightly off topic. The King: Eternal Monarch is this kind of drama where you need to rewatch every single episode at least once to fully enjoy it and understand it. Connecting the dots drawn by the writer and director, analysing everything and creating/reading theories are probably my biggest hobbies, thus The King has become my current obsession. 

Moving on to the issue, the confession scene was faintly off for me while watching it for the first time. Little rewatch session the day after has helped me realize why. I find the plot of The King really thick and quite generous; even if you know what’s going on, frankly saying you do not know what’s going on... There’re loads of stimulants. The want to know what will happen next makes me inattentive and I am missing a lot of details. I am sure it’s not only my problem, though. Also, I noticed it is most likely why a lot of people find the whole story messy, while (imo) it’s not. Maybe I am a little bit too Kim Eun Sook biased, but in my view her story-building is logical and well-organized. At the end, nothing is left. And subjectively, that elaborate plot is one of the drama’s biggest problems. It’s loaded and you always, always need to pay attention. I read this opinion not a long ago: “it’s not the creator’s business that someone isn’t catching up” and I must say this is also my conclusion. Furthermore, the story might be just too big and “fatty” to convey it as a sixteen episodes television drama, but it’s none of your or my concern. That’s why I started this post with an intro like that. Details are essential here.

Let’s get to the main topic. As I wrote previously, seeing this scene for the first time left me with mixed feelings, even when I had understood the character before. Rewatching throw some light on it and helped me in getting the (what I think is) overall message. You see, Tae Eul is slightly different than the other heroines we are used to see. Her and Lee Gon’s roles are reversed. Further, she’s a person who stands on the ground very stably. I deduce that her personality traits are interrelated to her job and Taekwondo skills. All of that lead to her “being a flat earther”. In order to believe, her eyesight comes first. People are confused because of her inconsistent behaviour towards Lee Gon and that’s a completely different subject, or should I say, a theory? The fate and their story might have been repeating, but I won’t continue this thought here as it’s not a thesis of mine and I don’t want to get more off topic. Having this in mind and watching her expressions makes me believe in her feelings. Kim Go Eun does great job here. Everything is written all over her face. The scene with confession is predated by Lee Gon’s call. He hadn’t been serious at all, but she got nervous/scared/uncertain and decided to meet him. And when he finally came (in slow-mo, to add), she probably found this moment crucial. Despite knowing how difficult situation she’s facing, she still stood stably on the ground. She took matters into her own hands as much as she could. Tae Eul tried to be concrete and cool. She didn’t beat around the bush and asked Lee Gon about what was on her mind. The answers she received were necessary to make her sure she has a good perception of what’s going on in her life and to take a chance. That was eye-opening for her. At that time and in future, when she’s saying this:

❝ It took me a long time to realize this. When it’s fate, there are no coincidences. Your fate is determined by the choices you make, but there are times when your fate chooses you. Things that are bound to happen are taking place even at this moment. I was struck with a sad premonition that this will be short-lived, but I decided to love my fate that chose me.❞

I believe that she has a great intuition since the beginning.

Tae Eul started to believe in Lee Gon and the signs that had chosen her. In their relationship, there’s no room for being insincere to themselves and each other, there’s no time to waste. The little something they have may end in a moment, with no return. Their tomorrow seems to be nearly impossible. Everything had to be rushed, for the sake of future. The decision to love her fate (i.e. Lee Gon) was for the sake of future, to not regret anything. Tae Eul is a realist. That was her destiny and she couldn’t ignore that. 

Coming back to the overall process of the scene. In between the monologue (which is Tae Eul’s perspective and comes from future) she admitted that they had skipped too many things, necessary when developing a relationship naturally. A lot of viewers have been complaining about bad writing because of the stepped-up and “unromantic” climate of this part. It’s not a bad writing, per se. Characters know about that hastiness too. We, as a watchers, are used to objectively slow development of the romantic plot in dramas. The pair usually has to overcome a lot of obstacles in their relationships. The issue is mostly in their personalities and behaviour. Protagonists tend to create problems by themselves. An individual has to cope with his or her own mind or surroundings in order to be with the other half. They become happy (or not) at the end of the drama and that’s it. Is it often believable? It depends. Of course, there are a lot of exceptions and I’m sorry for generalizing. All of you probably know that ordinary life might be unappealing at times. It made me watch dramas and for sure I’m not alone. Why am I saying all of that? Lee Gon and Tae Eul have no luxury to be ordinary or slow. Ordinariness may be an enemy of every fresh romantic relationship, but in their case… It’s a real release. The moment chosen by Tae Eul was just suitable to them. Of course, she’s not a romantic and we all know that. Yet, her realizing she wants to  express her feelings by word, acting like she’s completely cool and unshakable by confessing her love while holding tears was so raw and moving for me. Lee Gon was tender too. They don’t need to legitimate their affection by kissing in the surrounding of cherry blossoms in order to make me believe in them. I love how sincere they are with each other from the very beginning, how they try to just make it work with good partnership, as well as how subtle and mature they are. For me, they’re this kind of couple who might go through a real shit together and still grow even stronger. They’re a team from the start. 

I am sure we will receive an explanation to things we don’t understand yet. This scene is one of them. Everything will be justified, in future or past... We are only in a half-way of the story. 

It might have been a silence before lightning.

[theparaminds]

For Yuki, this is the shifting moment. This is the moment where the gear teeth align in his favor. It comes after the passing wave of his 18th birthday, a time of solidified adulthood, as well as after an enlighting collaborative experience. In many ways, you could say he’s beaten the final boss to the video game that was his adolescence. But then again, most successful games have a sequel. 

Being a New Zealand based producer, it was quite the culture shock to be called towards Los Angeles to work with Jaden on his new album ERYS. He admits it being a slight drowning sensation, one where he could’ve gone under at any moment. His few moments with his head above water were life-altering, no doubt, but it was still a deep end without an eventual bottom. 

But he survived. He swam. He succeeded. 

And thus he stands now 18 and fearless. If someone else’s deep end cannot swallow him, then his own never will. He stands upon the horizon of a new album, one that explores the sinking sensation, but also the beauty within our head emerging periodically to smell the air of enlightenment. 

And while he would’ve never told himself to do so, he is encouraging all to jump into their own deep ends, whatever it may be. He only does so because he knows that we will learn to swim before we drown. He knows we can break our environmental and mental shackles. He knows we can all be free. 

                                                        -

Our first question as always, how’s your day going and how have you been lately?

My day today has been uneventful in a good way. Right now I’m very busy but very stagnant. There's a lot going on in preparation for big things but I feel like I’m not moving at all. It’s the busiest I've ever been while simultaneously having the most free time in my life.

And what does stagnation mean to you and what does it mean in your life currently?

The things I’m working towards aren’t within reach yet. I’m working towards a visa and it's a very slow process, I feel like all this crazy stuff is happening but it's not affecting my life directly right now. The great things aren't able to materialize yet.

What do you think, right now, is your most overwhelming and intense feeling within daily life? The one that hits most constantly.

If there was a couple, I’d say the feeling of being disconnected because I left LA and I feel left out from what's going on there. And a nervous excitement, a positive anxious feeling.

Do you feel emotionally whole within yourself or is there something you feel you're still looking for?

I think I'm pretty content with myself but I’m trying to be better at being me. I want to be able to learn to let things go and grow up. I’m in the last quarter of growing up. I feel I grew up very early and now I'm just learning all the little things, hence the album title. I honestly think once that’s done a lot will fall into place.

Well, let's talk about that album while you mention it. You’ve been working on it for a good minute now, but when did you realize you needed to start upon it and when did you feel it important to put yourself towards the turbulent process of an album?

When I went to LA I started working on an EP. I put a lot of my time into that over a few months and it didn't really stick with me so I scrapped it. I felt I hadn’t made a project in a long time so I was more excited to make music than ever. And especially working on ERYS was a whole other break of not being able to fully just do my work. So, I was bursting at the seams to express what I felt. It was the right time to focus on this project as I had so much to say. It is so draining to start an album because once you're in you can't stop unless you give up, which I hate doing.

Through the work what is that you needed to express and say and even currently what are you trying to externalize?

I think perspective is a big thing. I feel like all though this crazy stuff is happening a lot of it doesn't matter. I feel like a lot of artists feel very hopeless. Growing up is obviously a huge theme. Letting go of things and moving on from mistakes. Figuring out who you are. The album is pretty much just growing up, I think.

Let's compare honesty then, how much more honest do you feel is in this project more so than your last and do you think that's something you've gotten better at?

I think I'm definitely more honest in this project just due to being older. I got thrown in the deep end a bit with the whole LA thing. I think I was forced to adapt very quickly because I dropped out of school at 17 and then started living on my own in a whole new city with a new way of life. People drove on different sides of the road. People talked differently. I had to grow up to mentally survive. I feel like I’ve been the same mentally from 14 to 17, I’ve been the same since I became a teenager. But since becoming 18m and being an adult, it's the right time to express something completely new on this album.

Did you feel like 18 was a number that resonated with you as a sort of shifting moment in realizing this is the beginning of something more legitimate?

Definitely, I always used to say I wanted to be 17 forever because then if I kept getting better at music, I can be the gimmick artist who’s young and talented. But there's so much I don't know about life that I actually now want to grow up and learn about it. 18 was the moment that I can stop giving myself excuses about being immature and I can finally force myself to grow up. After years of finding yourself, 18 is a year where you can finally start to implement it to make your life the best it can be.

Well what does that implementation look like for you and what are the ways you've done so?

I think to make mistakes and coming back from them. Trying to move on and focus on myself more. I'm trying to take time out of my day to make me happy more and to not be focused on negative energy. I've learned that while music makes me so happy, I have to give myself the time to do nothing or watch a movie, collect magazines or buy some stupidly expensive candle.

Then is happiness what matters to you above all right now? Or is there another goal and milestone to grab as well?

Happiness and being sane through the ups and downs, no matter what’s thrown my way.

In your project right now, what are the technical changes you've made and the developments you’ve made into your sound and actual technical ability?

Going into the professional aspect of music with Jaden seriously opened my eyes up to new techniques and work ethics. I think I can flesh out my ideas ten times more than I could before. The production is better and my song ideas are better. This album is experimental, I fit so much into a song without making it feel crowded and it feels much longer as a song than the actual runtime. Pushing things sonically to where I'm overloaded but then refining it later. I feel I looked at this project like my Cherry Bomb, which is my favorite project, and asked myself how could I do my own “Cherry Bomb” album, relative to my discography. Taking the idea of going wherever I wanted but making it easy to listen to.

Well, the interesting thing with Cherry Bomb is that it’s an album where if you took all of Tyler's discography and laid it out in a line you can point at that as the shifting moment. So how do you feel you want everything to look after this shifting moment for you and what do you want it to lead towards?

I think there's a lot of music that sounds the same in the whole DIY bedroom artist scene and I feel like there's a stigma that comes with that. There’s the assumption that nobody has the resources to execute anything “professional” sounding or cleanly executed. so there's a stigma where it’s ok if it sounds like shit because it’s an independently released “bedroom pop” song. I want to make the cheapest but also the most luxurious album. I’m taking care to set up my mics and instruments properly, organize my files better and plan more. I’m also not mixing the album myself. Even just outsourcing work is something that a lot of independent musicians won’t do because they want to rep the “I did it all myself” title, shout outs to James Rim, my mentor, and engineer for this album, he’s so talented and amazing at overseeing things and being a huge enabler for me. . I want this to be a shift for me and others where we don't have to have a label budget but we can still push it to another level of musical expression. I want it to be a point where I’m serious about making the best music possible from my bedroom without the limitations.

You've been talking about growing up and youth but that's very familiar in the subgenres you're saying you want to break out of. Do you feel there are themes beyond those you want to touch on but maybe haven’t fully experienced yet?

I think I don't even know yet. I tend to talk about what's happened lately and it's an album about recent ideas like my stress from LA and social anxiety, but that I'll grow out of. I guess we'll just have to see. Every six months for me is a new phase.

Do you break your life into eras and phases?

100 percent, yes.

What’s this era called then?

The ‘be free’ era. All my friends are working towards their own projects and are stressed and happy and sad but we’re all very focused.

So what does it mean to be free to you, you've also called it in the past ‘being free like Paris Hilton’. What is that concept in your mind?

The ‘be free’ side is being the most stressed you've ever been and getting to the point of breakdown but then releasing something beautiful or having something happen in your life and to just move forward. And the Paris Hilton side of it comes from the second version of Nikes off Blonde where this rapper raps in Japanese and says be free like Paris Hilton. I interpreted it is that she's this figure that embodies Hollywood and has embraced it and loves the red carpet, but she talks about feeling lonely and lost and not having a purpose and that she's missing out.

It's almost like Jim Carey said he wants everyone to be rich and famous so they can learn it’s not the answer to their problems.

Exactly and that's the Hollywood thing where there's dark Hollywood and the glamourous Hollywood coexisting.

You did spend a good amount of time in LA and for anyone who didn't know you worked closely with Jaden and worked heavily on ERYS, and you said it opened your eyes to the technical side and that it was a turbulent time, but what was the biggest lesson from the time working on the project as a whole?

I think the biggest lesson I learned was, as corny as it sounds, to believe in yourself. It's about telling yourself that you're special and knowing it and being proud of ourselves. I went into the studio as an underdog with these amazing producers, I had to use that energy to perform and succeed.

Does that mean to you that this journey in music is not about self-validation but more about fulfillment and building yourself and finding personal answers?

I think the thing for me is to achieve my goals and its above all being able to be in a happy state and constantly create.

Of the last year as a whole, what memory means the most to you and is one that stands out the most?

I was going to go on a tourist visa to LA to meet people but on the way, I went to Vancouver and I met Seungjin, the best human being on planet earth. I was so happy and I had shit going before I left but it really cleaned my whole palette. When I got back to LA I was feeling pretty hopeless and I was so close to giving up, but last minute I met Jaden and it all just steamrolled from there. Shit gets bad in life but how bad is it actually? I have a roof over my head, friends, supportive parents, clothes and food and water. Once you break it down and realize all the small stressful shit in your life means nothing, you start to appreciate the stuff that matters

So it was happiness instead in the mundane in life and the simplicities of daily existence?

Exactly, it was realizing that shit sucks in the moment but we always get over it. It always moves on.

On top of Seungjin and that friendship, this ERYS project was a lot of collaboration and you also work with a lot of other talented artists in your scenes, but what does it mean to you to be collaborative and how did you put yourself into that space?

I think it's about removing the selfish side of it, we all want to make something sick and be successful, but realizing we’re not here to just make a beat and then have our name on it but instead to help someone else shine, to help Jaden shine in this case.

What artists right now do you think you would be able to accentuate the best?

Lil Uzi Vert because when he gets a producer that makes him shine it's not even fair how good it is. I want to get on some K-Pop shit as well.

In your career and most of all through creation as a whole, what is that you’re trying to achieve as an overarching mantra?

I want to inspire people like I was inspired by people like Tyler and Earl and Mac Miller. I want to be the next generation' inspiration so I can create hope, even if it’s small.

So is part of it trying to create a wave?

Not even a wave, even just one kid stuck in their hometown having my songs give them the confidence is all I want. I want their lives to be lived to the fullest. There's a generation of genius kids stuck in the grinder, I want someone to make the decision about what they want to be and not what their parents want.

In your eyes, what does it mean then to be a hero or is that a concept that is overdone in art and music?

No, I think it can exist through both of those, I think as long as it’s positive. If you try to be a hero, super hard, you'll never be one. If your motives are pure and authentic you can harness that and you can teach and inspire others. Tyler’s focus was never to change LA, he was just being himself and the rest came. People will come when they come, the money will come when it comes.

How do you feel that right now your music is impacting others and how do you notice it daily?

It's crazy because looking back I’d never thought anything would ever happen. It's back to that sense of hope, even when things are slow, realizing that what you're doing means something to someone out there whether you know it or not. It's so crazy to even think about.

Going into the rest of this year and beyond, what’s your biggest goal and necessary milestones?

To release my album, and on top of that, my goals are literal such as getting my visa and living in LA. But above all I want to be free, that’s what it’s all about.

Do you have anyone to shoutout or promote? The floor is yours.

All of my friends: Maxwell, Luke, Tom. James Thorington, he’s crazy. And Seungjin. Seungjin is the man. The amazing producer, engineer, and mentor: James Rim.

                                                         -

Follow Yuki on Instagram and Twitter

Listen on Spotify and Apple Music

                                                         -

Words and interview by Guy Mizrahi

[v-le]

Kdrama: Tomorrow With You Review

Forewarning: There are moments within this review in which I sort of abandon any sense of professionalism, oops. Enjoy! *images to be added soon.

The OTP

Same age in real life omg I've never seen a pair so perfect.

NO SECOND LEADS. I absolutely love it when the focus is only on the mains, with no pointless distractions or love triangles that go no where. I love it. i rly do

cute cute cute cute times a million

They honestly looked like a legitimate couple, I feel like I could spot several moments when they even broke through their actual characters and ad-libbed it out or something

Many people were also complaining about how slow (I assume they meant relationship progression???) it was, and got annoyed over their "back-and-forth-ness"?? honest to god, yes they were so beautiful that I barely noticed it. But also, it was so logical to me, the process they went through in which they lied to each other & then failed to communicate until later. Like, it didn’t piss me off because it made sense...? I didn’t see anything wrong with it? It went a little like: 

Yoo So-joon hits on her because he knows how they’re connected by death.

He tries to shake her off, but realizes who she really is (a fellow survivor).

He becomes interested again.

THEY FCKING GET MARRIED in FCKING EP 4 IF THAT IS SLOW TO U, THEN STFU AND GTFO

He obvi don’t love her fully, but she’s already heads over heels

She feels suspicious af and he doesn’t tell her stuff (that even his friends know). And he gets angry easily while he tries to protect his ppl, but keeps his secret hidden.

She got sick and he pulls off his romantic but materialistic resolution.

He opens up to her a little bit more and they cry it out.

He makes a wrong move again and then is basically forced to reveal his secret.

She’s like what the actual fuck is wrong with you, but comes to terms with it.

They get closer, but she feels empty because she rly don’t know much about him and he is as careless as ever.

Her heart breaks over the reality of him disappearing so easily.

So-joon is slowly realizing the future that’s in store for them.

Tries to call it quits and play noble idiot, but she won’t take his fake, snarky ass.

So they make up and he really really really realizes that he must change the future, no matter what. He has nothing left for her him but her.

He tries hard. but doesn’t try hard enough.

By the time he disappears & she waits for two years, they are basically one heart.

By the time they reunite they are the cutest couple in the world.

I think a big issue people had with So-joon’s character was that "he didn’t love her" when they got married, but I think that wording is extremely misleading and not entirely accurate. Yes, I don’t think that at that point he could say "I love you" to her with sincerity, but it’s not like he flat out was disgusted by her or hated her…?? It was more like, he was not fully aware of what he was getting himself into, by getting married. Not just to her, but the concept of marriage and the commitments that come with it in the first place. That was what he was not on board with, which is how he may have come off as indifferent. But we all knew that Song Ma-rin would change him for the better because the ones with flawed intuition always get taught a good lesson or two from their loved ones.

DO U KNOW how MaNY times he was shirtless WITh HEr?????

I swear I think I counted properly, but they kissed like 9+ times and probably hugged like 15+ times like omfg I’m pretty sure that is a record

Can I also just mention that for me, when a couple wipes each other's tears, like when one of them actually takes their fingers and smushes the falling teardrops, that is just game set. To me, that solidifies their relationship as one where 1) they aren’t embarrassed to cry in front of each other 2) they care enough to show tender affection for each other 3) they sympathize together. And that is exactly what they did. MORE THAN ONCE excuse me.

The Plot

A lot of people complained about the various flaws within the actions of the characters and the mechanics of time-travelling. Honestly… like I mentioned earlier, since the OTP was so convincing to me, the holes in logic kinda flew past my head. Like, I didn’t dissect them too deeply because I was so distracted, or I just didn’t bother

Don’t you see that their progression only felt natural?? You start out with one side that is overconfident about the commitment as if he’s strolling through a park while the other is lovestruck, but always smart enough to know when bullshit is going on, and is never afraid to call the other out for it. It only took a matter of time for them to find real and genuine appreciation for each other, and it was worth it.

"WTF were you thinking moments" & justification:

So-joon letting Song Ma-rin go home by herself while Kim Young-jin was still lurking. Ok I have no solution to this like you honestly....DID YOU NOT LEARN FROM AHJUSSHI THAT YOU BASICALLY GOTTA STICK TO THE PERSON LIKE GUM IF YOU WANT THEM TO BE SAFE?? U HAVE TO HAVE THEM IN UR SIGHTS AT ALL TIMES.

So-joon getting onto subway and ultimately getting stabbed. Ok, he even said himself that he wanted to catch him with his own hands because if he doesn’t now, he'll get away and who knows how much more havoc he could wreak? The police would do no good being there blatantly, and so he had to hold out since he was the bait anyway. He just should’ve been smarter with defense, like c’mon man let’s not get cocky with your fighting skills now.

So-joon letting her run onto the street. Ok yes, he def should’ve reacted faster and realized what kinda danger she would be in after being aware of it for like 2 years aiya. But I assume it was a spur-of-the-moment, blinded happiness kinda thing. They were cute af and they were happy and like who really thinks that hard y’know???

So-joon just bracing himself and Ma-rin for the car crash. He was facing their deaths, I assume. Yes, they could’ve just jumped out of the way, but at the same time, he had already mentioned that he just wanted to enjoy the small moments they have together, instead of always trying to cheat and change fate. If they were meant to die in that moment, he was going to take it as is. (which is lightweight greedy bc wb marin???? but whateves lol).

I really do think that the story-line was extremely tightly woven to begin with. Even up until episode 16, we saw scenes from episode 1, and vice versa; everything fell into place perfectly and the details were down to each minute of their lives. Everything was very clearly thought out and i felt like they picked and pulled at certain pieces at the proper times and revealed others at the most crucial of times, too. Props to the writing team for creating such a complex & dynamic web of characters and events that spanned nearly 3 decades.

The Cinematography

Stunnnningggggg. Especially that iconic moment in episode 1 when he pulled her out of the path of an oncoming truck and talked to her for the first time, like the way the sunlight was hitting the camera, it was just something else I swear.

Overall, the colors were warm and fluffy, but the future def always looked more bleak and dry and dark.  Beautiful dualism with a strong impact.

Also can I just mention that when So-joon disappears, it’s also very mystifying, the fast wisps are quite a touch.

Also ngl the couple themself was extremely aesthetic; like they are both very attractive people & when attractive people cuddle a part of you kinda just dies inside, y’know??

The Emotions

Ok I admit that my reactions were probably overboard because I was so attached

but straight up this is the kind of drama my heart was searching for.

I always love it so so so so much, (although realistically speaking, it’s only fantasy ones that can pull this off w/o it being some noble idiocy shit) when the force that is keeping a couple apart is a force that is greater than themselves. It’s more than them just choosing to not be together. It’s them wanting so desperately to be together, but circumstances, in the best kind, life and death ones, prevent them from doing so. The reason I like these kind of situations so much is seriously because that’s where all the love comes out. The pain of love.

It was so so so soooooo excruciatingly painful to watch So-joon and Ma-rin's future unfold the exact way he saw it would. It tore me to pieces because I could feel Ki-doong's hopelessness from losing his best friend to a murderer, Ma-rin's deathly painful heartbreak from simply NOT knowing what in the world is going on or what will happen (and for her dad to tell her to move on), but just having to wait, and So-joon's very own inability to fix it all. Oh dear lord watching him visit her grave in the future where she no longer exists, that shattered my sanity because it hurt so much.

I literally cried in the smallest of moments. When he disappeared in front of her eyes, I burst into tears along with her because her crying was so beautiful (yes, actually tho), but at the same time, I felt it deep down inside. It felt trivial, to cry over that one moment, but it also meant so much more than that. It represented a real fear of losing your loved one, and o dear lord i can’t.

Like I said, the heartbreak was everything I’ve been wanting. It felt so raw. In those moments where even he cried because he was so scared for the future (after eating in the tent with ahjusshi, calling ahjusshi on the phone in the cafe, reading her letters sent to him from her past self), knowing how much was on the line, and how much he just wanted it to be okay, it hurt so much because I had so much hope along with him. I honestly didn’t expect them to allow their future to play out the exact way he saw it; I rly thought that they’d pull some plot twists because that’s what dramas do......... and so when everything really did unfold painfully, my heart was unprepared and it tore apart. Even though I knew that they would be together in the end no matter what, I didn’t know how, and everything still hurt like fking crazy.

I know a drama does it right when I can feel the pain physically in my own chest. When it suddenly feels so heavy and ache-y that I kinda wanna give up in life a little bit. That's when a drama pulled the right strings & carved a good-sized void in my heart.

The Special Connections

I, tbh only decided to watch this because I found out that Kim Feel, my eternally favorite musician, sang an OST for it, and I was feeling extra down from his military enlistment. What a beautiful gem he brought me to. When his voice played at the still frames in the ends of some episodes, my heart filled with this indescribable sort of happiness and longing.

The "seoul station" that So-joon refers to is actually called Si-cheong station, one I manage to catch a geofilter for back when I was in Korea!!!!!!!!!!! It was an exciting discovery, to find out that the exact route So-joon takes back and forth is one that I have traveled on myself.

Idk if this really has to do with anything, but the director also directed Oh My Ghostess and King of High School, so everyone kept saying that this drama would be a rom com BUT BOY WAS THAT SHIT DARK AS F*CK IDK WHAT Y’ALL HAD IN MIND BUT like, no no, no, that was nowhere close to the other 2 dramas he made. It was a beautiful change of atmosphere nonetheless.

The Message

The fact that Ma-rin is a photographer speaks volumes. For a man who is infatuated with the future and has lost focus of the present, just one photograph can speak volumes. A photograph captures the present and instills a moment in time. For Marin, this is what her life's work depended on; this is what she lived by. Capturing the present and cherishing individual seconds in time. And for So-joon, this is exactly the kind of person he needed to save him from himself and his future selves. So so so beautifully laid out.

Even just the ending line: "today". Like akjfkjdagkahkgdhlanjak, if you don’t get the message from this then you are just... idk wtf you’ve been watching LOL. Granted, the drama is called "Tomorrow With You", but clearly that is not what they are tryna get at. That was the theme throughout the entirety of the drama with So-joon being an apprehensive wuss, but the reality of it is to face the present, and live for a today with you. Love love love <3

Favorite Moments

When he asks "So... do you like me?" and she replies "Was there ever a time when I didn't????" LIKE IDK something about the trivial-ness of both statements yet how deep they hit home.... like obviously, they like each other or else they wouldn’t have gotten so far. But the fact that he had a need to reiterate that, and the fact that she was like "dude have I not made myself clear how much I like u" like that is just so adorably cute and squishy goals to me omggg.

When she sniffs him as they walk home from dinner and giggles and says "Hehehe husband smell" OMG WHY R THEY SO FREAKING CUTE I JUST--.

When he disappeared right before her eyes, it shattered everything in me.

When he grabbed her and saved her from the accident, it was one 2-sec move that altered entire lifetimes, for better or for worse. It was beautifully shot, despite it being an extremely cliche move. It’s okay. It was gorgeous and it’s def my favorite wrist grab to date LOL.

When he started crying because he saw the car accident on the news and he legit was dropping tears, but she laughed it off and hugged him and her smile was so sweet and innocent but he’s legit in agony and it was just so cute and heartbreaking at the same time LIKE HONESTLY that phrase is what describes this drama in a nutshell. Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Despite its flaws, this drama was honestly what I’ve been looking for so so so long. It’s definitely not my number 1 because there were things it could’ve done better, and each episode did not stand out like a number 1 drama should have, but it definitely tore me to pieces, out of joy AND despair. I loved it to bits and I will never forget this gorgeous couple and their journey that transcended time.

[electricdazemag]

Muero: Interview

words by Tasha Bielaga, photos by Xander Marrow

A band of misfits, a boy band by definition-- Muero are newcomers to the Portland music scene. The band consists of members from Miami, Minnesota, Texas, New York, and one Oregonian, who now all call bridge city home. Vocalist and guitarist Alexander Ochoa, guitarist Francis Wilhelm, drummer Dilan Barajas, bassist Clark Newman, and keyboardist Colin Cauthorn spend most of their days jamming, writing, recording, and throwing shows (translate: All music, all the time). Springtime brought them an EP recorded at Revolver Studios, a name change, and some gigs. If all goes as planned, summer will bring them, in their own words, “ideas that bloom like flowers in the pavement”. As the sunny days roll in, we chatted about how Muero came to be, how their entrance to the DIY community is going, and the new EP.

Electric Daze: Tell us a little bit about yourselves? How did Muero become Muero?

Clark: I’m originally from Minneapolis, I’ve only been in Portland for about 2 years. Alex moved in with me because my roommates knew him.

Alex: I basically moved her from Miami with the purpose of starting a band. I was apprenticing at a studio called Miami Beach Studios and my old band Golden Arrow was close to getting signed, and it all kinda fell apart. So I left town and decided I wanted to do what I was doing there, somewhere else. Then I met Clark. Dilan was in another band called United Suns, I was going to record them but Dilan ended up getting kicked out, and we just decided to play together. Francis and Colin played in Alberta Paper Company together and they both got kicked out.

Dilan: We’re a band of misfits. It was kind of a stroke of luck that we ended up in the same room and realized we all played music.

Alex: We were originally called Hormones, then Swoon, but that name was used by a few acts and we didn’t want to confuse anyone. Muero means die, or the sensation of dying, in Spanish. It was originally a name I had came up with for a solo project before moving here. We’re also a boyband by definition, we all have our own personality and backstory but it’s cool because on a musical level we fit together right.

ED: Dilan’s in Mustrd, and I know you all jam a lot. How do you go about balancing other musical projects with Swoon?

Dilan: It’s difficult for me, because Muero just went into the studio and recorded our album, while Mustrd. is one step behind in the process. I just have to have patience and try to make myself available. Also with the fast-paced nature of Muero, when I work with Mustrd. I kind of already know how I want things, how I want my drums set up or what’s going to work best for me.

Alex: Muero is the main thing that I write for, I write other music and I have other ideas but a lot is just for me. I’m the initial song writer for Muero, but everyone’s also writing their own songs. Swoon is more of a collective of songwriters, and that was always my intention for the band.

 ED: How is throwing shows at your house?

Dilan: With the three that we’ve had, each one has been a little different. The first one was great, second show was on 4/20 and had a good turn out, but we had a bad house guest that upset a lot of people. With those two under our belt, we knew how to throw the third one and make it work. We got to facilitate a touring band as well as a local band that has a pretty good following. It took some trial and error, but we know how to do it now. It’s fun, it’s not the same experience as a venue show.

Alex: We do want to throw more house shows, but we’re trying to be very selective about it. It’s important to give time between each show to work out the kinks and plan better. Our next show is with a band from Seattle and we’re going to host them here, and when we tour they’re going to host us up there. There’s a couple other bands that I’d love to get on our bill.

Clark: I love playing house shows, but I’m awful around big crowds.

Francis: I love it, I love the diverse group of people and it’s fun. It’s very comfortable and carefree. Most people are very gracious and thankful for the house.

Alex: I get anxious with the people in our house. All of our stuff is here and it’s putting a lot of trust in others. We want to be able to provide a space for all kinds of bands, like On Drugs played here and they’re wild, but they didn’t get too crazy with our gear and they were really cool.

ED: How do you feel about playing house shows vs. shows at bars and clubs?

Francis: I prefer house shows, they’re more personal and down to earth. It can depend on the venue too.

Dilan: I’m on the other end of the spectrum.

Colin: There’s more chicks at the venues though.

Clark: I like house shows but with bars a lot of the work is done for you. They have a sound guy that does the soundchecks and they help point you in the right direction.

Alex: I handled the email, and that shit’s important. Working with the venue is a lot of backwork. But it’s awesome to play venues if you have a good venue. I was bummed that they charged five at the door instead of a free show. One thing about the venues here is that it’s a lot more business based and they want people to pay for every single thing. There’s a middle ground that we want to achieve where everyone can just come enjoy our music and have a good time.

ED: How do you feel about the Portland DIY community?

Dilan: We haven’t been a part of it for that long, we’ve only played with about 4 bands and we’re only homies with one really.

Alex: It’s very acquaintance based for us right now. There’s some microshade of people testing what you’re made of, but that’s just the world of music. Moving here from Miami, the scene there brought a lot of different styles of music together and they don’t do that here.

Clark: But we’ve yet to have a bad experience with a band so far, it’s all been really good.

Francis: I think it’s pretty inclusive, there’s just a lot of different pockets and genres. Everyone’s pretty friendly, it’s not super competitive.

Clark: I think Portland is kind of a clique-y city, but once we start playing more and networking it’ll be easier to break in.

ED: Let’s talk about the new EP! When did you start writing for it?

Alex: We're yet to set on a record concept yet, we’re considering a self-titled. I first started writing for it when I moved to Portland. I would make skeletons and give everyone the form of the song. Clark learned the roots of what I was doing and then made his bassline, and Francis knows the key and makes his guitar lines.

Francis: As far as writing for other people’s songs, I’m kind of an improv guitarist, I’m very routed in Jazz. I just listen and make it up as I go. I think we all kind of work that way when writing together.

Alex: We grind out the songs together and it’s exhausting and can be frustrating. But I’m very grateful that everyone here can work towards one goal. I love these guys and the music sounds great for our first go.

ED: What was the inspiration behind these songs?

Alex: I’ve written the lyrics over the past few months. Leaving Miami, I felt a really heavy loss and everything I’d come to known as my life was gone. When I first moved here I just had a bed, table, and chair. I cut my hair and had a bit of a mental breakdown in December, and shaved both my eyebrows. It was a bad time. We had a harsh winter, and I had never experienced coldness like that, and I had nothing. All the titles for songs are phrases and quotes. We have ideas and write them down. One is called Open Door Policy which is what our house is, we always welcome people over.

ED: What should people expect?

Dilan: Good vibes. I mean people always ask what kind of music I play and that question has always baffled me, I just end up telling them that my music feels good. They can expect good music.

Clark: I think they should take it for what it is.

ED: With recording, Alex and Colin are really well versed in that. Are you excited to record in studio instead of on your own?

Alex: We’re recording in Revolver Studios and it’s beautiful. We’re very lucky because they’re picky with who they want there. I engineered most of our demo recording and they turned out well. I’m so excited to work in a legitimate studio and have an outside opinion.

Dilan: And this is what we want to do with the rest of our EP’s, so it’s a good start.

 ED: This is the first interview you guys have done as a band, and the first ever for some of you as well! As your first interview, is there anything you want to say?

Francis: Try to love your fellow man, you know.

Alex: We want to let everyone know that we just want to throw good shows and have people enjoy our music. We want to be friends with everyone and for them to feel welcome.

Francis: Musicians are just people

Clark: We might be a little more sensitive than others, but we’re just people

Alex: But yeah! We’re here to bring it for Portland!

Connect with Muero on Facebook and Instagram.

This interview was conducted for the PDX Summer 2017 issue of the Call Your Mom zine presented by Electric Daze. Check back here to read the other interviews and view photos of Portland bands.

Find Xander’s work on Instagram at @xandermarrowphotography

View Tasha’s work for the magazine here. 

[thebachelordiaries]

‘Corinne’s Dad Needs His Own Show‘ The Bachelor Ep. 8 Recap

Monday night’s hometown dates apparently set a viewer record. I think a “thank you” to Raquel is in order. That woman deserves an appearance fee.

Each of Nick’s final four hometown dates brought something very different to the table. If we didn’t know Rachel was going home, I’d say it would be extremely difficult to guess who makes it to the fantasy suites.

Too freaking bad we already know what happens. One day I hope to be surprised again.

I remember Ben’s hometown dates had me thinking the show only casts upper class women who grew up living in mansions. Upon seeing the homes of the women on Nick’s season, maybe Ben just had a thing for future trophy wives.

Nick’s women came from more realistic homes. Well, Rachel’s house was pretty YUGE and Corinne’s family does live in a luxury condo….never mind. Let’s meet their families.

Hoxie, Arkansas

I drove through Arkansas once. Little Rock seemed normal but when I pulled off the interstate in the middle of nowhere, I felt like I was transported into an alternate universe. That’s probably how Nick felt when he arrived in Raven’s hometown.

Just in case you were wondering where the hell Hoxie is. (Little Rock is right by the “N” in Arkansas)

Raven whisks Nick away on an ATV and they arrive at a grain bin, which is where all the kids go to “make out” in Hoxie, which explains why half of America has an intolerance to gluten.

While they are climbing the grain bin, the police arrive on the scene. Leave it to a small redneck town to have a cop spoil all the fun. Actually, the cop turned out to be Raven’s big brother. If you don’t pull this prank on hometowns, is your brother even a cop? (the answer is no)

Nick and Raven go riding on ATVs and stop to frolic in a swamp area, which leads them to wrestling each other in the water. It felt…..dirty.

I believe you can watch an extended version of this scene on PornHub.

We later arrive at Raven’s childhood home. At this point my mind starts estimating how much her family must pay for their home. Probably next to nothing. I’m just going to cry silently for how much it costs to pay rent near me.

And we’re back, but my tears are here to stay because we get the announcement that Raven’s dad, who has been fighting lung cancer for the past 1.5 years, is now cancer free.

And now I’m legitimately sobbing because Raven said she would rather walk down the isle alone than walk down with anyone else.

When Nick told Danielle L. what kind of relationship he was looking for (raw, adventurous), I think it summed up what a life would be like with Raven. Just don’t cheat on her cause she will eff you up.

Dallas, Texas

Rachel took Nick to church. A predominantly black church that is.

Maybe if I grew up going to church like that (lively, upbeat) I would be religious, or at the very least enjoy going to church.

I think my favorite part of this episode was that Rachel’s dad Hon. Lindsay is too important to be on this show. The show said he had work obligations, but a People article said Nick later met the federal judge off camera.

Rachel’s home is so stately. Definitely a home that belongs to a judge.

Meeting the rest of Rachel’s family felt a bit tense, but that was mostly due to ABC just showing the conversation about how Rachel and Nick would deal with the racism of being an interracial couple. It was an important conversation, but I’m sure less tense conversations were not shown.

Overall, I thought it was adorable how nervous Nick was to meet her family. But that just makes me even more confused about the outcome. 

This was my favorite part of the episode. Their dinner time banter just felt so real. “Do you know what everything is?” Rachel’s sister questions Nick about his dinner plate, specifically the okra. “I’m not from Mars,” he replies.

I spent this entire hometown date looking for signs that would let us know Nick would be sending Rachel home. I found none. Without knowing Rachel will be the Bachelorette, I feel like her and Nick have the strongest connection.

ABC continues to fuck with my cognitive thinking. At least they’re consistent. 

Miami, Florida

Corinne is a material girl living in a material world and doesn’t care who knows it. She takes us to a shopping center and we watch her blow my 6-month paycheck at a single store. 

I think Corinne likes to live an expensive lifestyle, but it was totally exaggerated on the show. Even though Nick was out of his element, you can tell he was having a ton of fun hanging out with Corinne; he couldn’t stop smiling!

Next we get to meet the famous Raquel. Raquel cares a lot about Corinne and vice versa. Yes, it’s a privilege to have a nanny, which is really just a more respectful term for housekeeper, as Corinne said, but that doesn’t make Corinne a bad person.

Despite all the Raquel hype, I personally felt that Mr. Olympios stole the show. 

Mr. Olympios: So, do you really like this guy?

Corinne: Absolutely.

Mr. Olympios: Do you have feelings for him?

Corinne: I told him today that I loved him.

Mr. Olympios: Wow. My god. REALLY?!

Corinne: *nods* We’ve been dating for a month and a half.

Mr Olympios: That’s only six weeks.

Mr. Olympios after Corinne says Nick will be able to make enough money to keep her happy. He’s so animated.

I’m not sure he’s convinced.

Firstly, I need to find me a man who looks at me the same way Corinne’s dad looks at his world famous marinated Greek olives. Secondly, this may be the first time where the show discusses post-show financial opportunities of the Bachelor as a bad thing. Yes, there are plenty of advertising opportunities, but it’s not a sustainable, longterm career. Corinne’s dad was like, “Corinne, what if he can’t afford you?” and Corinne replied that she would have no problem being the breadwinner. If you don’t love Corinne for that, you are just bitter. 

At the end, Mr. Olympios (Jim) said he ended up liking Nick more than he thought and he thinks Nick is the “lid to Corinne’s pot.”

Corrine thinks so too. Except there are three obstacles in her way.

“I love Nick. I’m in love with Nick. I just hate that he’s dating three other girls. Ew.”

Hey, at least she knows other women are involved, unlike that one Canadian.

Montreal, Canada

I find it strange that a family of die-hard Italians live in a French-Canadian city. Of all the places…

We visit Vanessa’s special needs students and get to see what she does every day. I really do admire her for her chosen career path.

Vanessa gets surprised by teachers and students while she and Nick were exiting a classroom. The edit made it seem like they were just entering the building. Fooled me the first time…interesting.

Vanessa’s family is like every stereotypical Italian family I know: dramatic AF. But I do have something in common with her. Our parents are divorced and we’re equally close with our mom and dad. Because of this, we get to visit two homes on this hometown visit.

I have to say Vanessa seems to act like she’s the only girl dating Nick. Her friend asked if they knew where they were going to live after the show. Her sister told Nick she would “never forgive” him if he broke her heart. Dude, you guys just met. Vanessa’s brother started getting emotional saying how he doesn’t want to see her get hurt again. Vanessa must really be dramatic if her entire family is scared for her to get her heart broken.

When it came to asking for a father’s blessing, Mr. Grimaldi questions Nick if he asked other fathers if he could marry their daughters. He said yes. It was so awkward, but I loved it.

Vanessa then finds out that Nick asked her dad about getting engaged and she just assumes her father is the only dad he asked. Her burst of happiness is soon put out as she finds out Nick asked the other fathers as well.

Vanessa, this is what you signed up for. You aren’t entitled to special treatment. Despite her inability to realize she is not the only woman in Nick’s life, I still think they have the strongest connection, especially since, ya know, the show already told us Rachel will not be chosen. (never getting over it.)

I just need ABC to rip the bandaid off and send Rachel home.

Which hometown date was your favorite? Mine was Corinne’s.

The rose ceremony is in New York so of course, because we all know who lives in New York, we get a cameo from Andi. I’m here for it. Nothing important is going to happen between them romantically. That ship has sailed farrrrrr away.

I just want to remind everyone what Andi said in her book about Nick real quick: he told her he would rather fuck the first few times and then make love. Despite saying he prefers to “fuck,” he then confronts Andi on After The Final Rose and asks "why did you make love to me if you weren't in love with me." 

Andi isn’t interested in him anymore. She’s too busy being a G. And the “G” stands for Gucci loafers.

Oh you fancy, huh? (Image via Andi’s IG)

Still excited to see her, though.

[mirroralchemist]

Untitled FEELS trash: The Fif

(you are totally awesome if you get the title ref)

Nevermind I never posted the third or fourth, I like this title too much.

Word Count: 1766 Notes: HOLY SHIT SPOILERS FOR EP.35 I loved the particular confrontation too much to not write about it. I feel that Mir would be more hostile about it since she’s been through something similar. I’ve been really struggling with the end and it kinda shows so sorry about that.

It was the moment of truth for us now. I hid underneath the stairs of the school. It was almost noon and soon our blackmailer was going to make her appearance. My heart was pounding, fists were clenching. My emotions were just begging to come out now. I needed this confrontation for Iris’ sake.

“Take deep breaths.” Nathaniel whispered.

I glanced up at him for a moment. He was oddly calm. I felt his hands push my hair out of my face. His small gestures were calming me down, little by little. I realized just then how much I was grateful to have him by my side in this. By now, I should be used to having his support.

It still amazes me how much I am supported for my actions. As impulsive they can be at times.

“Come on, lets go.”

I gave a nod as the two of us left our hiding spot to Iris’ locker. Hearing a locker door open only hastened our steps. We had to reach her, now. My daily runs and track background made me faster so I was the first to approach the scene. My eyes widened at the familiar figure.

Then they slowly lowered into a glare.

“So it was you.” I said.

Her face looked white as a sheet to my presence. I glared at her with all the hatred I could muster. She quickly covered it up with her usual emotionless look.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Gallade.” she spoke.

“Oh really?” I asked, making sure she clearly felt my sarcasm, “Then what are you doing at Iris’ locker?”

“This is my locker, I don’t know what you-”

Both of us were startled by a hand hitting the locker. I turned to look that Nathaniel had indeed caught up and held his hand at the locker door, preventing her from trying to close it.

“It says ‘Iris’ right on the door! Do you need reading classes Charlotte?”

I don’t think Charlotte was expecting for Nathaniel to be so blunt in his emotions now. He wasn’t the overly polite boy she first knew him as.

“You disgust me, truly.” he said.

I had to hold back a wince at his words. He was now displaying that cold side he has when he was legitimately angry.

I shook my head while digging out the earring I found last night. Once she saw that, Charlotte’s face paled. Her hand instinctively went to her other earring.

“I know you’ve been blackmailing Iris, Sweet-Queen. How dare you even threaten her? Even as going as far to ruin Iris’ reputation? Over a boy?”

“You have no proof.”

“Oh, but we do. We know about those little mysterious messages you’ve been sending to her. Armin has a copy of them on a usb drive and we have physical copies. You might as well just admit it.”

Seeing her face blanch made me grin.

Then she went into her reasoning. How she didn’t want to lose her boyfriend over a ‘loser’ like Iris. Like Iris intentionally was doing that to her. She explained she just saved those suggestive photos off her boyfriend’s computer and used it to get revenge on Iris.

I felt sick listening to her.

“That’s enough!” I screamed.

I punched the locker door, making both her and Nathaniel jump. I was breathing hard. Gone was the Ami who was cautious in not wanting to cause conflict.

“How fucking dare! How dare you think you’re justified in your actions? Iris knew nothing about your relationship. And even if she did, you have no right to take it as far as you did. If you want to blame someone, blame your dumb as shit boyfriend. He played both of you.”

I remembered how broken down Iris looked in the past few days. How she cried about getting a bad grade. Even how she completely lost herself when we went to her house. I couldn’t forget her sadness. In my moment of anger, I was a bit amazed that despite all of that Iris was still here.

Sad and betrayed, but she was still around.

My hands balled into a fist, ready to strike. I wanted Charlotte to feel physically what Iris felt emotionally. In Charlotte’s face, I saw the girls who threw me into the shower stalls and drenched me. Those same girls who pulled and yanked on my hair intending for it to come out in clumps. It was why Iris’ situation felt so personal to me. Once upon a time, I was the target because I got close to a boy that was apparently “off limits to a loser”.

And it wasn’t even my intention.

In much the same way, I wanted to be the one to defend Iris the way she should be defended. The small sadist in me reveled at the thought of breaking Charlotte’s face in with my hands. Feeling the bone give way to my blows. My left arm was poised and ready to strike.

Or it would have it wasn’t for Nathaniel holding me back.

“Ami, no. She’s not worth it.”

“But-!” I started.

“No,” he reaffirmed, “we’re not going to do it this way, okay?”

It took a minute to finally calm down. That part of my mind wanted to go fuck it all and just do it anyway. If I really wanted to, I could wrench myself away from Nathaniel and just do it. But seeing the disapproving, yet concerned look on his face was enough to calm those tendencies. I mentally chuckled to myself.

I must really be in love with Nathaniel for his words to calm me down just like that.

I nodded before turning my eyes over to Charlotte again. Just because I couldn’t physically hurt her, doesn’t mean I couldn’t intimidate her. I kept the facade up in me wanting to harm her.

“But Ami, this doesn’t mean we still can’t get police involved. I think we have enough of a reason to have them look into this right?”

Oh!

Oh...this man is devious.

“Y-you’re bluffing!”

I moved my hand away from Nathaniel to pull out my phone. I had already started to dial the non-emergency number to the police. Each beep of the numbers made Charlotte’s face pale more and more.

“Wait!” she shouted.

I was just a few digits off from completing the number and pressing send. For some reason, she started to smile. Like the past couple of minutes didn’t happen.

“You think I don’t notice how you two are when no one’s looking? The way you two cling to each other? I wonder what would happen if this relationship went public? I’m sure there would be quite a few people wanting you to break up if it did. Get rid of the evidence and I won’t go to Peggy.”

“Oh.” I spoke, “You think you’re in the position to hold that over our head?”

I looked to Nathaniel and he looked to me. In his eyes I could basically hear the conversation he was having with me. I cocked my head to the side, wondering if he was sure. His nod only seemed to reaffirm his decision.

It wasn’t ideal. But I guess it was about time.

In sheer defiance I placed my hand into Nathaniel’s. He held on to mines tightly. Charlotte realized what we had decided and her face went back to being shocked. My free hand was still on my phone.

“Tell her. We have nothing to hide anymore. I love him with all my heart and your petty threats will not make me hide away from that.”

I pressed one number.

Two.

Three.

“Okay!...okay, I’ll get rid of everything. Just don’t tell the police. God, if my parents found out...”

I studied her face to see if there was any hint of lying. There wasn’t so I cleared out my dial list.     I threw her earring back at her while sneering.

“See that you do. I hope this won’t require another meeting. Now get out, your presence disgusts me.”

I kept myself firm as she sped out of the hallways. Once she left, I knelt to the ground. The intimidating image I had to put up was more draining than I realized. I let out a deep breath. I stared at the floor silently. My mind was trying to process the past few minutes, mainly how I was.

I almost didn’t believe that I was capable of such a feat.

“Are you okay Ami?”

I looked up at Nathaniel. I noticed he still looked a bit concerned for me. I felt ashamed that he saw that side of me. I looked back down on the ground.

“Sorry...just that-Charlotte reminded me of something back then. How people of their ‘status’ think they are justified in doing whatever they want for retribution. They don’t care who they hurt, just as long as they get their revenge.”

I balled my fists up thinking about that again.

“It makes me mad.” I continued, “I hate people like that. It makes me want to just beat them up. See how it feels to be on the other end. Heh, I probably sound terrible to you. Your girlfriend sounds so sadistic.”

He didn’t say anything at first. He just helped me up from the floor. He then kissed me. It was passionate, like usual, but somehow different. When he released me finally he just smiled.

“You don’t sound like that at all. You’re perfect to me, flaws and all.”

I stared at him in pure shock. No one had ever told me that before. Ever. It took a moment for me to process his words. It was weird to have someone who loved me for who I am. Even with my shortcomings.

“Is something wrong Ami?” he asked.

“No! No...just that, I did something good in my past life or something to have someone like you in my life. No one has ever really told me that. Blessed be the woman who marries you.”

“Who’s to say that isn’t you?” he teased.

Then silence.

I think it sunk in this was the first time marriage was brought up. Even in a joking manner.

“Ami, I mean..”

I silenced him.

“I know, it’s too soon and who’s to say. I know I know.” I responded, “I would be severely concerned if you were serious. I don’t even want to think about it until after I graduate. Anyway, we should go tell Armin our results. I bet he’s dying to know.”

[buffyverse-rewind]

Buffy – S1 Ep 3 – The Witch

I don’t think I’ve ever truly understand the concept of cheerleading. I mean, understand the inherent concept of attractive women in dressed in short skirts, jumping around, but for starters, applying this premise to high school age students is creepy for anyone not in high school. Watching this episode, it helps knowing that most of these so-called high school students who are trying out for the Sunnydale High cheer team are probably pushing 30, but it’s still creepy if you think about it.

Sure, there are college cheerleading teams and of course the professional cheerleaders for football, I think basketball. Oddly enough, not baseball, which can be so boring, it could probably stand to be livened up a little; the occasional mascot jumping around notwithstanding. But on the whole, I just don’t get the core concept of “cheer leading” – pumping up spectators; and I guess I chalk that up to my complete indifference to any type of spectator sport. I can’t say I ever had much school spirit; like, I didn’t actively want them to lose (except when they went to state during a play I was directing and all of the students wanted to ditch rehearsal so they could go watch the game…). I’m otherwise happy to hear any “home team” won, but otherwise I don’t give a shit. Some sports I don’t mind so much, but more so playing them; like the occasional pick-up game or basketball or baseball; and generally when it’s more casual and the teams are lopsided and no one is paying close attention to the score. The more competitive it is, the less I enjoy it; and sitting watching someone else play is boring. Which I guess someone, somewhere must have realized, thus we have cheerleaders to distract people from how boring the game is to watch; and how uncomfortable bleachers are to sit on. Despite all of that, I do get that there are people for him this is important and they take it very seriously. I’m fairly certain the cheer team at my school didn’t take it as seriously as the students at Sunnydale High, but I know it’s not necessarily that far off from other schools, then or now. And don’t get me wrong, I also understand that cheerleaders can put in a lot of work and move in ways that if I ever managed to achieve would strictly because I fell and hurt myself and would probably need medical assistance afterwards. I just don’t get cheerleading as an institution and think the level of competitiveness can go over the top; which I could say about most athletics. Bahahah – how have I never noticed Buffy peaking in the box with the fertility statue and saying, “Jeepers,” ostensibly in response to it being anatomically correct? Also, and this wondered before, why does Joyce always have crates of stuff from the gallery at her house? Does the gallery not have any storage space for this stuff? And she’s opening stuff in her dinning room; doesn’t she then have to seal it back up to haul to the gallery? Are we sure Joyce wasn’t secretly a smuggler? It would explain how she managed to get the house fixed up any time it got trashed by a monster of the week. This is probably my ignorance, on account of my indifference to sports or cheerleading, but would being an alternate really be on par with not making the cut at all? If they’re back-ups, doesn’t that mean they still need to attend practice and learn the routines, so they can fill in at a moment’s notice? I mean, I’m more of a theatre nerd, so my main point of reference would be an understudy; and yeah, it can suck being an understudy by virtue of the fact that you can put in a good portion of work on a part you may never get to play. Which is why, as a director, I try to avoid casting understudies, because it seems like a raw deal. I even had to fill in for a person at rehearsals for two weeks, while the person actually in that role was on vacation; I sincerely doubt I’d ever agree to do that again, but not because it felt like the equivalent of not making the cut. Just the opposite. It was a tremendous pain in the ass, because not only did I have to worry about doing my part during rehearsals, but someone’s else part; and all of my scenes were with the guy I was filling in for, which meant I spent a great deal of those rehearsals talking to myself and not doing as good of job learning my own part as I normally would have. And there was a virtually zero chance that I might even take on that other role; and the role I had was pretty shitty, so I came away from that production kind of wishing I hadn’t been cast at all. I felt more productive backstage helping work a pulley to raise and lower a curtain for certain scenes. It’s been so long since the first time I watched this show; and most of the first couple of seasons I didn’t catch until I had already seen later episode, so I can’t recall if there was ever any doubt that it was “Amy” or who the witch was supposed to be the first time watching this. I’m fairly certain I had missed everything to do with Amy, so her story might be the only one I actually saw in chronological order. The ultimate switch of Amy and her mom is clever. I could see there being some brief suspicion on Cordelia, right up until the curse was cast on her; and that conjures the image, so to speak, of some alternate version of the show where it was Cordelia and she took up witchcraft – which might have been an interesting direction for her. Not that I have any issue (mostly) with how the character was actually developed; Cordelia and Angel’s romantic story aside. What was their ship even called? Congel? Andelia? I’m not saying Joyce is definitely a smuggler, and even if she were, she wouldn’t necessarily be a drug smuggler, but if she was, she would definitely be worried that Buffy got into one of her shipments when she came downstairs with so much energy and bounce. One of the things that bugs about this scene is Buffy casually mentioning then glossing over that she’s a vampire slayer, which Joyce partly acknowledges; and it’s not because it happens, but because it reminds me Normal Again and how incongruent the retcon was, where Buffy says she actually told her parents when she first found out she was the Slayer and they had her committed for a couple of weeks. This statement should have done more than just puzzle Joyce and have her ask if Buffy was feeling well; her response should be, “Oh no, it’s happening again.” You know, this is the first episode that demonstrates Giles’ understanding and practice of magic; he performs the reversal spell so deftly, as he does with other spells later. Yet, Eyghon aside, they kind of downplay this side of his character to where you kind of take it for granted that he’s kind of a sorcerer. Even though it’s not the first time paying attention to Joyce and Buffy’s discussion at the end of the episode, where Joyce says she can’t understand what it’s like for Buffy to be 16, because she’s not 16; and Buffy asks if she’d want to be 16 again – I know I’ve watched/listened to this scenes many times before, but this is the first time it’s made me think about the implications two years later, when the enchanted band candy does make Joyce a teenager again. And it’s one of those things where you can’t help but wonder, with Joss being Joss, if might have had some iteration of that story in mind at that time; or if it’s just a happy coincidence. Even if it was just a coincidence, it’s a happy one, since it did in fact remind Joyce what it was like being a teenager; and help her understand Buffy better. You know, I like Amy; and I even kind of like her as a periodic antagonist later in the series, but I kind of like her more in this episode as a friend and ally to the Scoobies. I also feel like her later practicing magic and having a vindictive streak is incongruent with the real Amy we see at the end of this episode. Granted, it’s not impossible for that Amy to make some bad decisions and turn out that way, but it arguably seems more like at some point her mom managed to swap bodies again and it was really Catherine, by season 6 for sure and quite possibly before that; perhaps even as far back as her return appearance in season 2 when Xander catches her using magic. Catherine had no problems faking being Amy and should she manage to switch places again, and if she were smart, she’d reign herself in, at least around Buffy and the others so as not to make them suspect or interfere. On the flip side of that, I kind of feel like throughout this episode they were trying to suggest that Amy was sometimes actually Amy; where she appears to be legitimately surprised and even horrified when some of the curses happen. But this is somewhat refuted by the way that Catherine, as Amy, knew when Buffy spilled the potion on her, outing her as a witch. But there’s also a sense of familiarity between the real Amy and Buffy at the end of the episode that almost seems like it’s meant to be an extension of their earlier interaction at the start of the episode; even though by all accounts it was Catherine. It’s plausible that the switch occurred somewhere in between when the episode started and when Catherine/Amy comes home and makes the real Amy do her homework, but we’re not really given any indication of this; and I’m probably reading too much into it. I would add that, I think they waited too long to de-rat Amy later on in the series. While it served the immediate purpose at the time of providing Willow with a magical playmate who could enable Willow’s abuse of magic, I feel like the Amy they brought back is a few deviations different from the Amy that turned herself into a rat in season 3. While powerful in season 3, she appears to be much more advanced for someone who hadn’t practiced magic in three years; and conveniently already has connections with someone like Rack. No doubt high school students with connections to shady drug dealers, but everything about Amy after she comes back, from the level of magic she uses by that point, Rack and the mentality, short of it really being Catherine in Amy’s body again, doesn’t seem like it meshes with the 17 or 18 year old we saw before that.

[howardlyontx]

2016 Cadillac CTS-V vs. 2016 Lexus GS F – Head 2 Head Ep. 78

the third generation Cadillac cts-v is the American gun in the German knifefight you decide what’s more attractiveit’s 640 horsepower supercharged Corvette engine or it sexy good looks onthe other side of the spectrumsince the all new Lexus GS F it’s naturally aspirated engine is unique inthis heavily turbo and supercharged segmentspeaking of unique check out the GS F sheet metalholy polarizing Batman what a time we live in when American and Japanesesports sedans are legitimately challenging their German rivals but itwasn’t always this waywaking the dead yes pleasegive me all you gotcome onyou know if this thing was American it would have a diff setting for burnout doit I just wasn’t my first timecome onthisthe pointshowoffyou suckthis is amazingI’m glad we’re both still 12yeah well I found a place where Lexus can do a burnoutWow oh that is so pretty and I had no idea Florida looked like this rightI mean I heard about the bugs and humidity and oh thats not pretty your coy issick and its grown tires very lovely shade of putrid orange any way we canlook at the Cadillac that’s gorgeousI gotta say Jonny only you could come up with a head-to-head with twocars that have a hundred and seventy-three horsepower differencebetween the two of themwell that’s just horsepower have you thought about torque that’s why I can’tdo math over one digit that’s like 630 torques to 389 or somethingbig big difference big number so explain yourself please ah well number oneboth these sports sedans start at about 85 thousand dollars so they have that incommonnumber two have you thought about the competition right the kind of midsizeluxury performance caryou’ve got your e class you’ve got your five series you got your audi a6 andcurrently none of those drive all that well truethese drive incredible no matter what engines in them and these are the bigdog engines and then of course the third reason is the to these might literallyof the two worst navigation systems on sale todayand without question the two worst in the premium segmentyeah so far it’s a perfect Head 2 Head yeah yeah let’s see which is the actual worstnavigation system and also figure out which is the best drivers carit ok yeah and you have a lizard on our my footwhat is it with Florida I what what do I want to come back hereyeah what do I do I want to get a little little soy saucecome on yeahthis is a good road car and as he unleashes 640 horsepower down a hill itsalso a good missile couple gripes of right off the batyou know that’s my job that is it first firstcan I have the first gripe please go this friggin seat belt every time it’s likeit’s like having your neurotic Jewish grandmother in the car with youahh face slow down slow down its strangling anywayok your gripe sir oh you can’t decouple the steering weight from the modes otherwordsmaybe I want to be in sport mode and maybe I don’t want you don’t have tocurl 35 pounds every time I turn the wheel in regular modeit weights are really naturally the other modes feel like like your powersare out of power steering fluid right it againit’s just too heavy yeah unnecessarily so and I don’t know why they did it feelsportier because its heavier but that you know you don’t always have to do that you canthat’s like cars that ride crappy in sport modelike you don’t need to bounce off the road to feel like you’re a sportscar right in fact in fact staying on the road is very sporty I would say and that’s oneanother thing that this car does really well is that suspension tuning so it’s gotmagnetorheological dampers it rides well even in track mode and it’s a littlestiffer but it’s not it’s not sort of knock your teeth out stiffI don’t wanna again re-state and state the obvious but man this is just agreatsedan to drive just getting the nitpicking with it like okay it doesn’tput the power down as well as it couldwell it has so much right yeah but this is a problem shared with the z06 and Ithink you just when you get to a certain power threshold you run out of whatrear-wheel-drive cars are capable ofunless you go to like a viper ACR solution and have a wing the size of adining room table bolted to the trunk which would be hot right coolno the thing is unlike the z06 right so can put its power down but whenit steps out it does so smoothly predictably predictably I like I can’twrap my brain around the fact that this is the same engine from the z06 because inthat carit sounds well we decided best sounding v8 in production todayyeah and this is just sounds like fake in the car and the raspy outside yeah andnot in that musical sexy funny kind of saxophony way that the z06 didyeah but look that’s a constant problem when you take a luxury car and turn it intohot rod is that you still have the bones of the luxury car sitting there addsweight add insulation even outsidewell I say that any higher yeah yeah I can’t all right but even as MiniMouse you got to agree that it it so it sounds better outside than insidestrangely my only complaint about this car is it’s one of these superhero carsthat does everything so well that every time you look down you’re going 95right and I know what kind of sound like an old man here but there’s a certainamount of joy that’s missing when you can’t really exercise car on the roadwithout going to jailyeah you can’t the other thing I would say that there is a lack of involvementin this cardare I say it not thrilling it’s like wow yeah we’re just beating this road deathremember the old cts was just like the most hysterical like involving aamusingand you know what I think the real but why tho that one was so good becauseit had a thing that the stick and it would like to get and if I’m paidin large sums of money I can not hate an automatic transmissionalright sum it up in one word what is this transmission do lag sucks it’ssucks they sold 800,000 or whatever trucks in the USA year with thistransmissionI don’t need to shift quickly the CTS-V however does need a shift very quicklyand it don’tand it don’t and its annoying your always getting like shift deny and when youknow if you got this gorgeousheads up display at redline 6500 and if you actually pull the shift at6,500 forget about it you’ve already boggedokay well want to hit the limiter the transmission is like I’m offline for thenext three seconds right and it goessince the CTS has come out I said to everyone it’s a great car same with the ATSsure wonderful car don’t buy itwhat don’t buy it because Q oh yeahat the end of the day we could we can review these cars dynamically but peoplehave to live with them rightI know I would punch that screen so hard so fast so many times it’s dangerous itisyou’ve said it’s dangerous I’ve said it’s dangerous you know Cadillac theretheir whole thing that was dare greatlyI’m gonna say dare a little little less than greatly dare for knobsbecause what’s great about a novice I can be looking down the road and I cando this and the volume goes up and down and I can do this and I can tune theradio station just it worksyou don’t need to reinvent the wheel if your going to reinvent the wheelmake it round at least please the CTS-V anit the boomerang antenna crushed velvetbooze cruise cadillac you took to your junior prom but this isyes folks we track down an honest-to-goodness 1985 cadillacfleetwood brougham stretch limousine and a new chauffeurskeeves open the sucker up you got to check out this interior crushed velvet as faras the eye can seeoh yeah look at this we got an armrest we got a barwe got the wood we don’t have bacteria and viruses I wouldn’t recommend abacklight for anywhere here in heredon’t touch anything except for the phone look at thisexcuse to you can go ahead and punch it hold on seat belt you don’t need a seat beltits a limousine you did just pull up to a figure eight course you realize rightthat and we’re at a 40-degree angle that’s not good is that sky or how did your seat belt worknope no no they had different seat belt technology back then you know we were talking about luxury inthat other car this is luxuriousthis is very luxurious is that ball joint pops that just happens all weno that was like a case of whiskey in the truck coolJesus Christ where did we find this guy oh Jesus hey skeeves can you pickup the phonesit sit sit back in your seat get back in your seat don’t make me come back thereI mean not bad for a old birdoh Godyeah well you know listen your car’s that last start drinking nowall right I think we’re good nice nice audition don’t call us we’llcall youthat’s good driving that’s goodthank you sir and thanks skeeves twoLexus they’ve gone a different directionback to right into the wall all right we’ll start with this one and it’s alittle dirty because it’s got nine hundred and thirty six thousand miles onit currentlywhen this came out yeah I looked like the acura legend but like it’s agood-looking car look good then it looks good nowby the way 20 years from now it’s gonna look good 20 years nowI mean 20 years from now that car is not going to look good because it doesn’tlook good nowthat’s the problem I mean look this is nothing fancy right now in terms ofdesignit’s really good it’s got good proportions simple straight lines itstands the test of timethis has enough styling on it first six cars carsI don’t see anything car like this looks like when they used to give spiders LSDand then watch them weave those crazy webs and Lexus was like BAMthere’s the front I mean I just don’t understand what I’m looking atyeah I mean if Lexus is trying to say we used to make this type of vehicle and wedon’t make this type of vehicle anymorewe don’t do to date luxury we do sedate we do manic torque vectoring or drive sideways thatbut my big question is how does this front-end pass a five mile an hourbumper crash test how easy the government standards are very simplethey have to bash the car into a fixed barrier at five miles an hour and itcan’t look any uglier than it did beforeyeah styling and design of a personal thingI don’t think it’s very pretty yeah but but I mean the way it goes around thefigure eightI haven’t figure eight it yet come on dude in inI mean yeahisn’t this good around the figure eight really good right look justgreattry that old LS yeah right again we’re very hard about the way thiscar looks because it’s it’s it’s a tsunami of vomitbut like it drives brilliantly around the figure eightand the thing about the figure eight is it is it is one data point youwhat I love about this test is it’s not just steady state cornering is howwas the car come out of the corner like thathow old is the transition into the braking zone into cornering into steadystate and then back over and over again in both directionsit is the single best dynamic measureof a cars abilitiesthis thing nails it that was goodlook doing here in a closed environment is one thing but i’m really curious howthis thing actually drives on the roadwhy I don’tendless trip because they kick us out of here at the end of the day and roads arefreeyou can use whatever you want let’s go that waywhich way am I going can you set the navno why not you do itI’m not touching that thing I’m not touch either so there’s a stupidjoystick thing rightyou go to the main menu to try to pick you know between nine options and thetotal travel of this joystick is less than one inchthis was not developed for the GS F this was developed for like the ES which isbought by grandmother’s who have the pausyyou know like it its it’s no I look they’ve already gotten rid of it two orone of those horrible situations they put a track pad which is just as badbecause you’re like a squigglyit’s like a normal mouse I just figured out I figured out where thetexture in that grill came from a strut straight linebut okthe car interesting enough the cars bit kinky and I say that because it has absm light on it I’ve always thought it was BDSM and apparently Lexus has alack of discipline right there and it’s a light that never I don’t know how tomake it go awaythere’s no button that controls it don’t worry about there is however a buttoncalled ASC and that is like auto sound positioning conditioning and so talkabout euphemism rightbasically they should just call it making engine noises but interestingthe F againfirst of all the fact that you can turn it on and off at willis great right interestingly enough this is the loudest actual intake in theworld listen the thing thendid you try this car and think I want more let me hit the button I want more noisebecause this is a naturally aspirated five liter v8 you don’t real helpyeah wonderful sound it is really good big surprises this whole car is thatit’s so much better than the RC F right off the bat I mean I always not evencomfortable is bounces all over that poor thing that was a Frankensteinof a car right the front was off this car is off the GS the middle is fromthe old out of production convertible and the rear is out of production caryeah just go see ya know that was stupid this thing rides great knowing you couldactually rides better than the Cadillac shockingly it does land look what what ifLexus has a core competency better ride well that’s trueyeah but the steering it’s in terms of accuracyit’s almost as good as the Cadillac but it’s much lighter effort and it’s almostif thats Aston Martin steering this is Ferrari steering you know how it’s gotthat like ball bearing like light effort but so goodum this is one of those cars are they took we were talking about with with thethe Tesla like you can’t explain to people actually how quick a Tesla is ina straight line they just don’t believe youthey don’t believe you how well this lexus drives it is supple and all theright ways and the noisemy big issue is gearing again okaythis is an eight-speed automatic lexus always gears there eight speeds as ifthey were five so they had like 75 miles an hour and second and then this does105 miles an hour in third gearso here i am at 50 50 miles an hour I can’t really go into second is not muchleft and I’m going to nail itwaiting waiting right pulling pullingpullingpullingpulling pulling a limiter at 105 they put a torque vectoring diff in this that’s notshared with anything else they could have chosen a ratio that banks thru thegears why they do this fuel economyI’m sorry if you want a 5-liter v8 in your midsize sedan and you want to bitchabout fuel economy yourselfI mean really one gear it does go down the road pretty good good goodthat was pretty good everyone gets in this car is like got no torquethis motor got no torque this motor makes a huge amount of torqueit’s all neutered by long long long gears but the way this car puts powerdown and how stable it isyeah you think how much more power that CTS-V had and that that CTS-Van order of magnitude faster than this car on a straight road and it outbreaksthis car and it out grips this car both by a considerable margin sureand yet this was only a tenth behind on the figure eightthat is a seriously cohesive road car it isthe thing is as we always do want to Head 2 Head we know how these carsgoing down the road we know what they do on a test trackhow do you think they’re gonna do on a racetrack um I’m just gonna pretend I’mon a racetrack right herecan I do that I this is a good road carit’s so good and that tall skinny good we hang out with Randall he’s gonnalike driving this one betterthere he is do you think he just sits here all week and waits for us it’sreally weirdI did the bigger question is is does he own real clothes just wear this funny pajamanow I think he sleeps with that helmet to such a strange hey Randy how are yagood to see ya hello friends yeah you remember last year on an Ignitionepisode we had the CTS-V oh yeah I love the car so we think we have found a evenbetter driving sedanwhat a color right course we’re here for your professional race track opiniongreat that’s where I live he does live hereit’s my happy place I’m gonna wrap let’s gowell sirhello that’s a very different experience from the Lexusyeah it’s is way more powerful I mean like the difference between the size ofthe United States and the size Japanoh but the Cadillac is more like one piece all the way around the racetrackits organic if I ask for twenty percent steering I get twenty percent turningthe LexusI can feel and adjusting itself and I enjoy itthat back end I think it may be that diff turn in and then it just does alittle torque vector it does it just like that and I like itit’s great on the road and take skiing on mobile you know it’s like hoppingyeah its greatI think I think that’s why I actually I like that car better on the road thanthis one wow I like this one way better on track because of that directness andthe powerwell here’s the thing we knew it would be quicker but the Cadillac is almostthree seconds a lap quicker than the lexus which is I’m not surprisednot surprisedwe bounced guts I can hear the 14 year old trolls from here youyou two are fatyou’ll be fat to one day if you live long enough anywaymmm yeah we got to come to the conclusion about this Head 2 Head andbefore we get started I want to say it’s much closer than I think everybodyexpected you have certainly a lot closer than I thought it was going to bebecause both of us felt that on a winding back roadsthe orange Lexus over there was the better car to drive yeah that car wasreally fun when you were caning it more so than that and then on thehighway even though that road better that car feels special because it’salways in like psycho killer attack modethe problem with Lexus is if you’re not in sport or sport plus its kind ofasleep and you forget when you’re driving it that you’re in thisincredibly special performance carwhereas with one stab of your right foot you can pass every Prius in southernCalifornia driving that thingyeah and that’s a lot of Prius it’s a lot of fun a lot of fun yeah and then webring it to the track and make the Cadillac wipes the track with themLexus two and a half seconds a lot faster and we knew that going inbut I would I was surprised me was that Randy said he liked everything about theCadillac more than the Lexus right let’s not forget can you in good faith saythat a car which looks like that wins anythingum yeah it could win an ugly car contestit could also win a contest of 467 horsepower rear-wheel drive v8 poweredcars that refused to do burnouts and in fact it has the only infotainment systemin the world ever to make Cadillac Q look intuitive because if that much worseok so despite the fact that we both like the GS F quite a bit along winner of thisHead 2 Head is a black Cadillac CTS-V yep yepdance with melook we know you don’t have time to wait for the next episode of Head 2 Headthat’s why you need to head to Motor Trend On Demand . com that’s where thelatest episode always lives in the world of the full-size luxury sedan there’s anundisputed champion mercedes-benz s-classyeah but now there’s a new challenger for 2016 BMW has made the all-new 750iand I think it might just be able to give the s-class a run for its moneymaybe but do you think it’s actually better than the MercedesI’ve no idea yeah looks like we have a Head 2 Head that my coffeewatch the latest episode of Head 2 Head right now on Motor Trend On Demandhi welcome to a behind the scenes exclusive on the set up yetwe’ve been using these cars all day they’re filthy dustydirty and we can’t really shoot them that way so right now we got our man Ryanprepping both these vehicles for what we call in the industry a beauty package soon our sets a beauty package consists of exterior and interior shots of thevehiclesso let’s take a look at what the shots look likewhy don’t I have to race Randy Pobst this guy is in the freaking sec hall of famewhy can’t it be racing one of those like 14 year old kids on youtube who tells memean I can’t driveI’m not 14 Jonny what’s the matteryou alright I feel like I saw a ghostslow down slow down yeah come on you’re hallucinating just come on triple digitbaby

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