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trash-tan · 4 years ago

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Haikyuu Skincare Routines

I know most of these hoes would actually just use the bar soap they just used on their pubes on their faces but I’m a skincare whore and that’s unacceptable. This is mainly going to reference kbeauty bc that’s what I’m most familiar with. This is unedited brain heartburn please be wary

Kuroo would come across that one™ heavily quoted vit c research paper (15% ascorbic acid, 0.5% ferulic acid and 1% vit e in alpha tocopherol form) and literally only use that serum (he uses the wishtrend 15% with ferulic acid bc fuck skinceuticals and their $150+ serum) in his routine in combination with the Good Morning cleanser from Cosrx bc it’s cheap and the first thing that popped up when he searched for low acidity cleansers. Uses a combo spf moisturizer from clean and clear bc he hasn’t ‘gotten that far’ into skincare

Hanamaki would be the anti-skincare guru and only believe in cetaphil and whatever prescription his derm gave him but still wonder why his skin isn’t getting better. Uses Elta md sunscreen which is good but there’s so many better options out there honey (get out of your asshole we know you can see the results on your friends)

Mattsun would take a page out of makkis book but prob would opt for curology instead bc he doesn’t have the spare money to see a whole ass derm+/saw the ad somewhere and it worked for him so he kept the subscription. Doesn’t use spf like a heathen

Akaashi would have a solid three or four step routine depending on his mood for the day consisting of: 1. a cream to foam cleanser (bc he doesn’t like the way his face feels tight after super stripping cleansers) 2. probably that galactomyces toner from cosrx except he sprays it onto a cotton pad, tones his face, and then sprays it directly for a good pat down 3. (Optional) a lululun facemask or serum sample he got when he bought his toner 4. A thin layer of a rather dense cream but opts for a lighter cream in the summer or daytime but sometimes whatever bokuto got bc he basically shares akaashis stuff. Spf when he’s going to be out and about that day, but not to school bc he considers that indoors even with the windows flooding uv rays into the room but ok

Bokuto would use whatever akaashis using bc it looked cool to have a routine but then realized after following it for a while that he likes the super clean feeling after washing his face and would probably buy perfect whip by senka bc the foam is super satisfying to play with and it leaves him feeling super clean. He would feel bad about using akaashis products all the time and replace them every now and then with whatever he saw on a commercial or with whatever he got suckered into buying from the super convincing attendants at the beauty counter. One time bokuto used all his savings and bought the flagship pitera cream from skii bc if it’s the most expensive and best it’s gotta be good right? Akaashi sighed and tried using it but the fragrance broke him out and he couldn’t muster up the heart to tell bokuto so he just replaced the insides of the jar with the snail cream from cosrx and the placebo affect made bokutos skin shine like he belonged on the face of Elle. Doesn’t know spf exists unless it’s on a beach

Tendou would fall into any skincare fad and try it once. Has a billion products he’s tried once and thrown away bc it ‘didn’t work out’. Has definitely fucked up the pH balance of his skin, over exfoliated more than once, destroyed his skin barrier, and sometimes combined all of these in one sitting. Needless to say his skin is screaming all the time because it’s so damn sensitive from the torture he puts it through but he thinks the stinging is the product ‘working’, When he ‘tries’ a product he goes straight in without patch tests and applies w a y too much. Gets intoxicated with the feeling of slippy slidy on his face which makes him feel like the product is sinking into his skin better. Definitely makes faces and contorts his face while doing so. Does not actually have a semblance of an actual skincare routine other than doing it for fun. For some reason he always uses spf and remembers to reapply.

Ushijima would be the king of spot treatments and moisturization. Knows more than basics, and definitely incorporates skincare into his routine because he just likes the word routine jk he just gets frustrated from the occasional spot that typically comes up on his chin, otherwise he has immaculate skin. Moisturizes with a gel cream (probably the water bank cream from laneige) because he likes the feel of the oil/water balance on his face. Definitely tries the occasional fad with Tendou but in moderation and picks up whatever he likes/whatever tendou wants to throw away. Favorite products would probably be benzoyl peroxide spot treatments and would only use acne patches overnight. Uses spf occasionally but forgets most of the time unless tendou reminds him.

Kenma would accidentally click an ad for a gimmicky all in one skincare product but then whirlpool himself into the world of skincare and pick up a thing here and there and use it most of the time. If he’s on a gaming binge he won’t wash his dusty face until his eyes water and the crap his long eyelashes have so desperately kept away for the last 18 hours get mixed into his eyeballs and then he’ll finally wash his face. Probably uses good morning cosrx cleanser like kuroo (they get 1+1 deals together) and then the anti stress carrot pads by bellamonster bc he liked the flip top and the big pads bc it’s faster to finish his skincare with more wiping surface area. Finishes with dr jarts cicapair cream bc he’s got somewhat sensitive skin and it doesn’t bother him for his long wear hours. Knows that he should wear sunscreen but still opts out bc he rationalizes it by saying that he prob doesn’t even get enough sun to get his vit d requirement so he doesn’t really need it and to that I say touché

Hinata watched a hadalabo commercial on tv when he was young so he has a firm! belief that your skin should be sticky enough so that the van der waals forces between your palms and cheeks feel like peeling tape after you’re done with your skincare routine. An absolute hyaluronic acid whore, started off with hadalabo but the paraben scare ultimately made him switch to isntrees hyaluronic acid toner plus, not to be confused with the normal one because the more diverse the molecule sizes, the better, no? He doesn’t really understand but he understands that it sinks in better than the original and he likes the dark blue color of the toner on his counter because it makes him feel 0.00001% more manly. Also uses the sleeping mask from the same line before tournaments to mentally(?) prepare himself. Doesn’t use spf unless playing outside because hyaluronic acid is all he knows about actual skincare

Asahi would probably try to find an oil that’s good for his beard and his face. A true connoisseur of cleansing oils as well because he got sucked into it after overhearing from the girls in class that it helps with clogged pores. He always needed something to help with that because he had been getting ingrowns ever since he started getting facial hair. It took a lot to muster up the courage to ask for recommendations and even though he started off with the kose speedy cleansing oil hes made his way all the way up to shu uemuras anti pollution cleansing oil. He doesn’t keep it in the open because he doesn’t want anybody to mistake it for hand soap (ahem nishinoya) and it’s kind of his little secret because he treats it as a mini stress reliever at the end of his day. Doesn’t use spf because he thinks it’ll make him tan unevenly

Osamu looooves using apothecary themed skincare or skincare with essential oils. Probably a whore for the klairs supple preparation toner and innisfree as a brand. The type to cup his hands around his nose after using a product on his skin and breathe it in. Solid skincare routine (that he actually makes a routine) equipped with regular sheet mask sessions every week. His skin is positively glowing and glorious and it makes atsumu mega jealous but he really just doesn’t put in the same effort as osamu does and it shows. Thinks if the packaging says ~derived from natural ingredients~ it’ll have less chemicals or something. If he ever went on a trip to Korea he probably went to jeju as well to experience the innisfree green tea/osulloc luxury tea shop (2 birds with one stone, ya know?). When he was younger he probably liked skinfood (I’m sorry I had to) or tonymoly bc it was cheap, gimmicky, and fun to play around with with atsumu. Hates it when atsumu steals his sheet masks, especially if they’re the mediheal ones he keeps at the back of his drawer. Uses spf at the end of his routine always but forgets to reapply sometimes.

Atsumu really likes fragranced skincare bc he thinks it makes the product more luxurious. Forgets to wash his hands between hair care products and skincare products which makes him break out from time to time. He thinks he has a routine but in reality it’s just the normal 2-3 step he puts on occasionally for the ~vibes~ but is still worried about that line or two starting to form around his eyes. Loves sheet masks, especially the cellulose ones where it feels like agar jelly on your skin. Honestly just likes masks in general (eye masks, wash off masks, sleeping masks, modeling packs) but he likes getting them done at the spa (he takes osamu with him when he steals one too many of his mediheal masks). Washes his face regularly with whatever osamus using because he’s too lazy to bother getting his own but too invested in looking good to ignore the pretty bottle of face wash just begging to be used. Uses spf when he remembers that uva=wrinkles

#kuroo tetsuro #hanamaki takahiro #matsukawa issei #akaashi keiji #bokuto kotarou #tendou satori #ushijima wakatoshi #kozume kenma #asahi azumane #hinata shoyo #miya osamu #miya atsumu #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu

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theherblifeblog · 5 years ago

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33 Stimulating & Satisfying Activities to Do During Social Distancing

By Leighana Martindale

It’s an absolute bonkers time right now! Many of us are feeling anxious, fearful, depressed, and so many other intense feelings from the Coronavirus and hysteria surrounding it. Most of the world is currently partaking in social distancing, a lockdown, or quarantine. Either way, that’s a lot of free time at home!

Instead of falling into a negative pattern we can choose to do things differently, instead of scrolling on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or binge watching Netflix we’ve brainstormed 33 stimulatory and satisfying activates you can do at your house. Don’t drag yourself down by consuming so much social media, news, and junk content. Fear lowers your immune system and now is the time to be building it up.

We all have the chance to use this as a learning opportunity, to focus on the projects we never have time for, to nurture our creative sides, and allow our inner child to come play! We have the ability to use this time to connect and grow.

33 Stimulating & Satisfying Activities to do During Social Distancing

*Safety Tip: Please keep in mind that some of these items only apply if you are not sick or experiencing symptoms. Not spreading germs is key right now so please don’t partake in activities that could jeopardize your health or other people’s health.

1. Breathing Exercises Breathing exercises are so good for calming and centering us. This can help combat the stress and anxiety you may experience. Corvid-19 has been nothing but stressful and if you haven’t been stressed once then you’re insanely amazing and I need to know what kind of goddess witch you are!

2. Yoga & Stretching This is another amazing way to connect with the body and ground yourself. When you are stretching or doing your poses, try to go slow and take your time. Mix these with your breathing exercises and really let gravity help relax and stretch your muscles. Especially your hips if you sit a lot.

3. Dancing This is such a great mood booster and something that may sound silly but will make you feel great! Make a playlist of your favorite jamz and get jiggy with it!

4. Exercise Helping combat stress again, breaking a sweat will you give you the happy endorphins which we all could use a little more right now. Plus we should be getting healthy and taking care of our bodies regardless!

5. Meditate Meditation is a great technique but one hard to master, give it a try and if you find you need help, Youtube has a lot of amazing guided meditations all varying to what you are looking for/need!

6. Collage Find some old magazines, newspapers, photos, or anything with pictures and make a collage! This can be time-consuming depending on how deep you get into but something really fun and satisfying when you finish.

7. Learn more about using CBD in your workout routines.

Give it try when/if you do any of the physical activities above.

8. Do a puzzle

Puzzles are so fun, especially ones that take you a while to figure out. Create a little corner in your home and start puzzling away. This is a great activity for keeping the brain sharp.

9. Deep clean your house Oh yeah, this one isn’t the most fun but damn is it satisfying! What better way to come out of a lockdown than with a squeaky clean house that you can get the fuck out of!

10. Organize your house Go through that junk drawer, fold all that laundry, match those socks, all the annoying organizational stuff we tend to put off is the perfect thing to cross of the list.

11. Create a donate bin

Definitely DO NOT do this one if you are sick, but if you are not - start a donate pile to take to Goodwill once we’re allowed to socialize again.

12. Upload items to Depop and/or Poshmark If there were items in your donate that you want to sell now is the perfect time to upload them to resale apps. Why not try and make some extra cash if you can?

13. Learn more about the birthplace of medical cannabis

Taking this time to expand your knowledge is a great way to spend your time so why not learn about the place that changed it all for legalizing cannabis.

14. Read some books Books are always are favorite and there are so many great ones! Check out our recommended reads here.

15. Watch Abstract on Netflix Definitely not the mind-numbing type of TV you might normally be attracted to, Abstract is a really amazing documentary on various artists who do a lot of nature like and perception based abstract art.

16. Watch Our Planet on Netflix Another great one, Our Planet is perfect to watch while stoned yet you still learn a lot about nature therefore making it okay.

17. Watch The Universe on Netflix Like Our Planet is The Universe which is a similar concept expect about space and one we would recommend.

18. Watch Unacknowledged on Netflix Finally, learn more about extraterrestrials and how they are peaceful from my hero Dr. Steven Greer. This is honestly the #1, absolute best and most credible documentary on aliens I have ever seen. Definite must watch!

19. Learn more about growing your own weed indoors Nothing like a time like this to make you think about growing your own, and I’m not talking about just vegetables but weed too. Self-sustainability is the true goal.

20. Learn more about Cannabis and the ancient science of Ayurveda

The word Ayurveda can be translated to ‘the science of life’ or the ‘the are of longevity’,

21. Practice learning another language There are tons of free courses on Spotify and Youtube. Give it a try!

22. Journal Check-in with yourself. Read previous journal entries and just connect with your deeper self. Sometimes it’s crazy what can surface when we just start writing.

23. Learn a new skill by watching Youtube channels There are SO MANY YouTube videos out there and on pretty much everything there is. So pick something that you’ve always been interested in and start learning!

24. Clean your computer files and desktop Oh yeah, not fun but SO necessary.

25. Delete photos from your phone Again, you’ve got a lot of time and when are you ever going to actually do it if you don’t do it now?

26. Delete old conversations from your phone

Yup, keep going. You’re going to be clutter-free!

27. Clear your email storage

Go through your inbox and delete any spam/promotions/ trash Definitely the most intimidating task but one that many of us need to do. Did you know all your emails take us physical storage on the server? So that means there are islands of servers out there taking up space and energy that hold your spam.

28. Call and catch up/check in with your family, friends, and any elders in your life.

Especially now, just do it. Even if you don’t get along that well, a little kindness can go a very long way.

29. Read up on local politics and prep for the election *Trigger warning: This may add wayyy more stress and anxiety but also it’s really important and the elections coming no matter way, so are the primaries. Be prepared.

30. Contact your mayor to ask for their plan on handling meals for children when the schools shut down

Many schools are shutting down, some school districts have made it a priority to provide meals for the children still because for many that is their only meal. So please ensure your community is feeding people who don’t have food.

31. Find out what efforts to feed people are going on in your community and see how you can contribute

Again, this is so important, if you think this is scary for you, just imagine someone who can’t eat now, has no home, is looking at getting evicted, etc.

32. Spread love not germs and practice your daily positive affirmations Positive affirmations, love, positive affirmations, love. Spread it, spread it, spread it! [not germs though].

33. Digital Detox Connect and share love. But also this can be overwhelming so do a digital detox one day. The amount of negativity in the air is inescapable if we are constantly feeding it to ourselves.

No matter what you do, just remember to stay safe, boost your immune system, and wash your hands!

#coronavirus #leighannalynn #covid 19 #diy #self isolation #craft #mental health

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reelgalsofglasgow-blog · 6 years ago

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The Golden Gals: The Reel Gals Academy Awards

The time has come. The envelopes have been sealed (with the right cards in each - we hope). We’ve been sewn into our best outfits. In lieu of an exuberant opening musical number featuring the ubiquitous James Corden, please enjoy a short clip of the best Oscars moment ever:

youtube

Honestly, if this year’s ceremony doesn’t open with just those fourteen seconds on a loop for a solid seven minutes, we’ll be sorely disappointed.

...

We know that all you’ll be thinking about now is that clip and basking in how gloriously weird it is… so maybe take a few minutes, watch that clip another eight or so times just to be sure; grab yourself a cuppa and settle in - because it’s time to announce our own Reel Gals Academy Award winners! The ‘Osc-hers’, if you will.

Ask any professional in TV - and they’ll tell you that the best entertainment always starts not with an idea or any spark of passion… but with a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are the equivalent of Amino Acid for British TV programmes. Boring, but true. So we put together a spreadsheet listing each category and, depending on how many nominees, numbered them 1-5 (or 1-8 in Best Picture’s case) where 5 = favourite nominee. Then the magic spreadsheet worked out the average for us because damn, we’re not NASA.

With all our votes cast (unfortunately four of the categories had to drop as we just couldn’t get viewing copies in time - sorry Documentaries, Short Docs, Live Action Shorts and Foreign Language films!) our WhatsApp group chock full of planning for hectic last-minute trips to the cinema, trailer breakdowns, Spotify playlists, Adam Driver spam [Sorrrrry ~ Jen] and late night Netflix binges - we’re ready to present our own personal winners of each category - JUST in time for the ceremony itself.

Will we be as off-the-mark as the Academy not putting Emily Blunt up for a Lead Actress nomination for her stellar work in A Quiet Place? Or will it turn out that we are actually a collective of omniscient New Age Mystics, ordained by the gods of Hollywood themselves - imparting our sage wisdom and knowledge of the Future? Who can tell? Not us. (Or can we??)

So, get Red Carpet ready and join us for our 2019 Oscars picks and their close-fought runners-up, as voted for by us!

LEAD ACTOR

1. Christian Bale - Not gonna lie, it’s difficult to completely lavish Bale with praise considering that a major part of the prep in his transformation into the illusive Dick Cheney was “eating a LOT of pies”. If I was paid on the premise of my pie eating abilities, I’m pretty sure I would be up for an award too, just sayin’. Anyway, he does a pretty good damn job of depicting someone that no one really knows a great deal about in the first place, especially viewers outside the UK (I had to google him twice). His flair for delivering an all consuming, intense and seminal performance is as apparent as ever despite the layers of latex and make up to contend with. Particularly during the heart attack scene in which I found myself worryingly questioning how much red meat and cream I’d had in the last month. It worth saying that his performance owes a great deal to the aforementioned hair and makeup team, whose work is nothing short of astonishing. It’s literally the only Christian Bale film in which I’ve never been attracted to Christian Bale, for real. Considering that his last Oscar win was in 2011 for The Fighter, another dramatic, transformative role then he might be in with a chance. The voters have shown time and time again that they award convincing portrayals of famous figures so I reckon It’s a toss up between Malek and Bale this year, although with utmost respect to Malek, I hope it’s the latter. [~Marie]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Viggo Mortensen

3. Rami Malek

LEAD ACTRESS

1. Olivia Colman - So, I always hear “Olivia Colman can do no wrong” and I have to admit that The Favourite is absolutely no exception. I first stumbled across her while heavily invested in Peep Show during my late teens, but it was really in Broadchurch that I fell in love with her as an actor (and while watching her acceptance speech for her recent BAFTA win, I fell in love with her as a person). I know that us Reel Gals were definitely a little divided regarding The Favourite as an overall film, but I don’t think any of us will have any major qualms if she picks up the Oscar this weekend. Her performance and portrayal of Queen Anne more than deserve it, and I stumbled around looking for the perfect phrase to express this embodiment, and her ability to make us empathize with this rather “brutish” historical figure. In the end what sums it up is Colman’s lack of fear to exhibit ‘grotesque charm’ balanced with her open vulnerability in the role of Queen Anne that (along with the other female-lead performances) kept the film afloat for me. [~ Kayleigh]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Yalitza Aparicio

3. Lady Gaga

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Mahershala Ali - Ali, to me is one of those faces (handsome faces) that, when you see, you can't quite put your finger on and when you IMDb search him you find yourself saying “Oh yeah, that's what he's in”, and to me that includes the fact that I forget about his Academy Award winning performance in Moonlight. After Green Book I don't think I'll be forgetting him again and us Gals believe he should be receiving his second Oscar tonight to join his BAFTA and Golden Globe for the performance. His portrayal of Classical and Jazz pianist Dr Don Shirley is the perfect accompaniment and antithesis to the uncouth Tony Lip portrayed by Viggo Mortensen. I don't know enough about Dr Don Shirley to say that Mahershala embodies him, but I don't think that matters as much as the feeling watching his performance gives the viewer. You can feel his frustration with Tony during their road trip, you can feel his loneliness in the hotels at night, you can feel his passion for music and playing the piano, you can feel his anger at how he is treated by the ignorant white southerners purely based on the colour of his skin and you can feel his love in the tear inducing final scene. Any performance that can make me empathise with the emotions of an American male, mid-30s, black, upper-class, talented performer trying to overcome racism and ignorance in the American Deep South in the 60s (and if you hadn't guessed I fit none of those categories), is a powerful performance indeed. Good luck Mahershala! [~Robyn]

JOINT RUNNERS UP:

2. Richard E Grant / Adam Driver

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Regina King - This may well have been the easiest category for me to vote on. (Even though I actually felt that this year showcased a whole lot of strongly-delivered performances, by so many talented women.) Regina King - wow - what a badass lady right there. I thought that the acting from all parties in If Beale Street Could Talk was so incredibly sincere, but especially that of King's. Together with the colour palette, soundtrack and cinematography, I was honestly so moved by the whole film (and am *entirely gutted* that it's been overshadowed by its competitors). I have only one complaint about IBSCT and that is that Regina King should have got more screen time. Everything I've seen King in I've loved and I have to admit that I was just happy to see this nomination, let alone think that her performance in IBSCT was flawless and even although she has some tough competition, that she fully deserves to win the Oscar. If Beale Street Could Talk represents love, passion, strength and power, whilst addressing themes such as race and equality - everything this film stands for, Regina King embodies in herself as a person and channels in her character, Sharon Rivers. It was refreshing to watch King and just believe her, believe in her character and believe in her as woman and a mother. You will forever be one of my heroes Regina, thank-you for sharing your talent. [~Katie]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Rachel Weisz

3. Emma Stone

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Spike Lee - I’m almost pained to admit that my first experience of a Spike Lee film only came about during my 3rd year of studying film at uni (for shame). The module was ‘The Importance of Soundtrack’ and in particular, the inclusion of pop, hip-hop & R&B music to accentuate social commentary and help establish mood, setting and underlying tension that any director worth their salt can’t express through dialogue alone. I remember leaving the tiny Gilmore cinema on a Tuesday afternoon having watched Do the Right Thing and feeling unusually energised, awake and slightly angry - but in a good way. Cut to roughly 7 years later, I’m leaving Cineworld, on my 29th birthday, no less, after a screening of BlacKkKlansman, still vibrating with anger and frustration 5 minutes after the film ended. It’s the most powerful last 10 minutes of a film, but it’s not Spike Lee’s best. Nor do I think it’s the best film of the year (although I’m possibly in the minority of my Reel Gals peers in saying that). However, in light of a barrage of recent injustices in the US - social and political - it cannot be considered anything less than a vital and timely film which (despite its shortcomings) deserves all the Oscar attention it gets. Lee is a complete master in his unique ability to inject comedy and style into a hard-hitting subject matter such as blind, racial hatred. Since next year will mark the 30th year since Lee’s first infamous Oscar snub, I feel like it’s only right that the academy should Do the Right Thing (heh, you see what I did there..?) and honour him for managing to stay angry (or #woke, if you prefer) and keeping us angry - in a good way. [~Marie]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Alfonso Cuarón

3. Yorgos Lanthimos

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - If you were to pause this film on any frame, you could print it and hang it on your wall. Every single frame is a work of art. The Best Animated Feature category was extremely strong this year with the usual gorgeous Pixar and Disney outings that ordinarily would have snatched the title as they have done in previous years. Such is the power and unique brilliance of this film to take on the two Animation behemoths at their best and come out on top. Boasting twice the normal number of animators (177!!) to bring to life Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s vision for Miles Morales’ colourful and diverse world, it utilises a glorious twist of new and old forms of animation as well as ideas from print - halftones, hatching and overprinting as well as inserting comic cells and onomatopoeic graphics (“THWIP!” and “BAGEL!” are particular favourites). Not only have we mixtures of frame-rates for characters within the same frame (Whaaaaat?!) to denote Miles’ initial clumsiness versus the other Spider-People’s practised grace; but we’re treated to mixtures of graphic styles with Manga, Noir and classic American cartoon for each of the Multi-Verse Spiders - which shouldn’t work, but does here so, SO well. It’s easy to understand how 10 seconds of final cut content took an entire year for 177 people to create. Lovely little touches like characters stepping into Noir’s space being affected by his immediate ‘windy’ environment and the hand-drawn overlays and inserted comic style frames make this the most exciting, innovative and beautiful-looking animated film not only of 2018 but we believe also of the last decade. It is a true cinematic experience and one that not only deserves the Oscar, but also deserves recognition for changing the landscape of what’s possible for film animation. Also, not going to lie - a lot of us came out of the film inexplicably attracted to Peter B Parker and wish he was real. We would buy that man as many bagels as he wants, for sure. [~Jen]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Isle of Dogs

3. Ralph Breaks the Internet

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

1. Bao - Pixar shorts. They are great. One of the Reel gooduns is, Bao. It’s kinda silly, it’s a bit weird, but ultimately it does what Pixar does best. It taps into very touching, emotional aspects of the human condition. Bao is a 2018 computer-animated short film written and directed by Domee Shi and produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was released with Incredibles 2 on June 15, 2018. It’s the shortest film of the shorts-lineup. Focusing on a middle aged mother is a wonderful perspective to choose. The film is about an ageing Chinese-Canadian mother, suffering from empty nest syndrome. She receives a rather unusual second chance at motherhood when she makes a baozi dumpling that comes to life as a boy. The film takes you by surprise at several points, after being lulled into a place of “OK, maybe this human baozi is something I can get on board with”, but it ends on a beautiful note. So, as Danny Devito once put it: “I like it, I love it, I want more of it”. [~ Caroline]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Late Afternoon

3. One Small Step

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. BlacKkKlansman - Last year Get Out won the award for best original screenplay for its haunting, hilarious, terrifying, and almost ridiculously scary tale. Some thought this tale of fiction was too simple in its over-the-topness, but the message it wanted to pass was far from it. This year, the equally unbelievable and extremely important story of racism and bigotry comes in an adapted script form based on the true reports of police officer and KKK infiltrator Ron Stallworth. Released as a memoir in 2014 by Stallworth, screenwriters David Rabinowitz and Charlie Wachtel were shocked to find out that no studios even bothered buying the rights to this unbelievable tale and independently adapted the work. It’s not just a brilliant story cause of what happened. It’s not just an amazing comedy cause of the clever dialogue. Its ingenuity, lies on how contemporary this ‘period’ piece reads. From dialogue that feel as if you’re reading the latest Trump supporter’s tweets, to the unbelievable and unapologetic beliefs some have and march for even today. And in case quotes from the Grand Duke of the KKK like ‘I just want to make America great’ didn’t give the film a terrifying enough case of the ‘history is repeating itself’, the brilliant end scene sure does. Thank you for your public service, one day *hopefully* we’ll learn from past mistakes. [~ Lia]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Can You Ever Forgive Me?

3. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Green Book - Well, I can genuinely say that Green Book is one of the most beautifully written and delivered films I have been blessed with watching at the cinema in a long time. Based on a true story, it invites the audience to join a world class African-American pianist and his Italian-American driver from the Bronx, on a concert tour of the Deep South in the 60′s - a difficult storyline, fraught with potential pitfalls, executed in a gentle and respectful way. Named after a legitimate travel guide that listed businesses that would accept African-American custom, Green Book confronts infuriating themes such as racism, segregation, class and sexuality – all of which are still issues today. The story encapsulates the growth of an unlikely partnership between the musician Dr Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) – quick note to talk about how outstanding, heart-warming and believable their performances were – as with time, the begin to respect, understand and care for each other. [Obviously there are questions about why Green Book would frame a story about racism in the Deep South around a white man’s experience - and have the man of colour take a back seat. Literally. My takeaway from the film was mostly that people aren’t defined by their class as much as they aren’t by their colour - just because Dr Shirley is black does not mean he ought to fall into tired old stereotypes - just because Tony is poor (by comparison) and working class, doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy the ‘perceived spoils of the upper classes’ - classical music or any of the rest of it. Dr Shirley expands Tony’s experience and understanding with regards race - while Tony expands Dr Shirley’s in class. In a post-Brexit and Trump world, where working class people are feeling increasingly marginalised and are partaking in scapegoating of people of colour as a result, perhaps Green Book (however problematic it may still be) presents a message that might get through to those people in today’s political climate? But of course, all of this is my opinion as a lower middle-class white lassie from the UK. ~Jen]

As such, Peter Farrelly, Brian Currie and Nick Vallelonga (notably Tony Lip’s son) presents us with a rather Hollywood (in other words: soft) version of this story, resulting in a mixed response for this film (not from us down at Reel Gals HQ, we loved it), however, he tries to carefully balance out the hard-hitting, dark scenarios that our duo face on the road with the cleverly written dialogue and characterisation running into some really special, incredibly warm moments of character-driven humour.

All in all, I would say Green Book is a cinematically stunning piece of work as well as a story of growth and respect; a feel good film that deserves the Oscar (I'm going to give Roma a quick S/O, as I do believe that it it too would be a worthy winner). I can also say that Farrelly really surprised me after some of the (in my opinion) trash that he’s previously had his name on (Dumb and Dumber, I’m looking at you). You will leave the film feeling warm, with faith in cinema and the inability to stop thinking about how much you want to fold up an entire pizza and eat it like a sandwich – I know I did. [~ Katie]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Roma

3. Vice

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Roma - Rumour has it that the revolution will not be televised, and up until recently, the category for Cinematography was almost relegated to the ad-breaks. Why John Bailey, why? Thankfully, after a public ballyhoo, we will be able to see the award presented via live stream (as well as Editing, Live-Action Short, and Makeup and Hairstyling). So why is Cinematography so vital to us?

Let’s go back forty-eight years for a moment. Director, Norman Jewison once talked about how he created the warm, earthy haze of Fiddler on the Roof (1971) with the director of photography, Oswald Morris. They lined a lens with a pair of brown nylons seen on a woman on set (hello, 1970’s Hollywood!). Though Jewison shrugged this story off as a lucky spur-of-the-moment decision, it was made and carried out to stunning effect. Watch it and see. Almost half-a century later, and cinematography has continued to thrive in ingenuity and style.

The Reel Gals have come together to appreciate Alfonso Cuarón’s, cinematographic mastery in Roma. Originally, Emmanuel Lubezki was set to take on this task, but there was an availability clash. Cuarón took over as well as writing the screenplay and directing the film. Lubezki remained an influence to Cuarón who said in an interview with Variety that Lubezki’s voice was in the back of his mind as he worked.

Roma is a semi-autobiographical take on Cuarón's upbringing in the Colonia Roma neighbourhood of Mexico City. Cuarón said of his stylistic choices:

“I would say it’s the ghost of the present that is visiting the past, without getting involved, just observing, not trying to make a judgment or commentary.”

With this in mind, I can see why he shot it in black and white. Actually, he shot it in colour with the Alexa 65, then paired it back to black-and-white, like a photo-realistic painter. The effect of this is that the film is crisp, and each scene seems almost 3D. When you take the colour away, other senses become heightened. The sounds in Roma, for example, are so much more present. The less you see, the more you fill in with your mind. Strangely, things seem more vivid in black and white.

I recommend this article as it gives much more information about the visual decisions which were made. All I can say at this point is that as viewers, we intuitively respond to what has been crafted for us, and this craft should be celebrated. Alfonso Cuarón has given us an incredible film which (like Fidder) will be talked about by new generations of Reel Gals in another fifty years. [~ Caroline]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Never Look Away

3. A Star is Born / The Favourite

BEST FILM EDITING

1.Vice - Of all of the films shortlisted for the Oscars, one has stood out as being one with as many ideas laid out in the edit as it was in the writing and shooting of the piece. Hank Corwin makes use of syncopation like the greatest of musicians - very frequently going places creatively you would never expect… cuts to black; use of archive; the visuals quite often were at odds with the sound, but in the best possible ways. It is frantic, meta, fourth-wall busting, juxtaposition-filled mania with a persistent overarching feeling of extreme unease and increasing dread - perfectly fitting for Cheney’s journey into Power.[~ Jen]

RUNNERS UP:

2. BlacKkKlansman

3. Bohemian Rhapsody

BEST SOUND MIXING

1. Bohemian Rhapsody - So quickly, for those of you (like myself before casting my votes) who didn't know the difference between Sound Editing and Sound Mixing, Sound Editing is the creation and use of sound effects, Sound Mixing is the overall use of soundtrack including music, dialogue, sound effects, the whole shebang really. Overall, although I thoroughly enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody, I'm not sure I agree with the amount of award attention this movie is getting. Maybe being a big Queen fan the movie left me feeling like it was mostly a celebration of them as a band and lacked any profound revelation. However what can be truly marvelled at in this movie is the recreation of Freddie Mercury's performances; credit where it's due, Rami Malek did a great job of becoming him on screen; but the reproduction of that incredible voice and Queen’s Greatest Hits is what really makes the film what I would call “The Queen Experience”. After seeing the movie and rediscovering an old love by listening to the soundtrack on repeat I noticed that it included live tracks and demos, and doing a bit of digging I discovered that for the concert scenes they used the real live sound from the concerts being recreated, in fact these sequences were chosen around the choice of recording (although don't quote me on that, my sources are from the internet, could be fake news). Also, to make the Freddie Mercury voice perfect some of the recordings were mixed with Canadian Christian Rock artist Marc Martel whose voice is so similar you can barely tell the difference. All of this attention to detail along with the cinematic surround sound effects means that for millennials like us, unfortunately too young to have seen Freddie perform live ourselves, can feel like we were actually at Live Aid (sorry Adam Lambert, you don't quite cut it). That sounds award worthy to me. [~Robyn]

RUNNERS UP:

2. A Star is Born

3. First Man

BEST SOUND EDITING

1. First Man - As I mentioned above, for those of you who don't know, the Sound Editing category celebrates the creation and use of Sound Effects. There are certain members of the Reel Gals that would disagree with me on my analysis of First Man - I found it boring and too long and to be 90% Ryan Gosling not really acting and mostly just being mopey (and this is coming from someone who loves Ry-Go as much as the next girl). However I can appreciate that creating the illusion of space travel relies heavily on sound effects, on this I cannot fault the film. Any scene that features people in the cockpit of a space rocket or bouncing about the face of the moon (spoiler - Neil Armstrong is the “first man” to take one small step for man and one… blah blah blah you know the rest), is beautifully soundtracked with what I imagine since I have never been to the moon, realistic sound effects. [Like Pavlov’s Dog - if I ever hear that intense rattling from this version of the cockpit of Apollo 11 again, I will take a serious whitey. ~Jen] There are no dodgy Wilhelm Screams during the upsetting cockpit fire scene or Star Trek-like door “wooshes” here. Now maybe if these types of sounds had been included I would have been more entertained, but the sound effects were so realistic and in the moon landing scene almost beautiful. So well done to the sound team for keeping me too firmly in reality with this film. [~Robyn]

RUNNERS UP:

2. A Quiet Place

3. Bohemian Rhapsody

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. Mary Poppins Returns - I thought it was impossible to make a new Mary Poppins film and that attempting to remake a classic was just Hollywood proving it had run out of ideas but in the case of Mary Poppins Returns’ production designer John Myhre strikes a fine balance of appealing to the old eyes who watched the original and the fresh new ones experiencing this story for the first time. If you’re the one wearing the nostalgia glasses then each and every set in this film will make you feel like the kid you were all those years ago - from the cobbled streets of the reimagined 1930s London to the whimsical wonder that is the upside down house. This is where Myhre’s talent shines as he pays homage to the old while never quite replicating it. The house of 17 Cherry Tree Lane still looks and feels as if it has been lifted from Emile Kuri’s original designs but feels reimagined, the fingerprints of Michael Banks life as an adult are prevalent in every room - especially in the attic. Taking a trip up there feels like throwing yourself back in time filled with a clutter of old easter eggs that would thrill any fan of the first film - you don’t have to look far to spot the blocks used by Julie Andrews in ‘Spoonful of Sugar’ or the sash worn by Jane’s mum and of course the most notable throwback of all - the kite. In the end, this is a real house for a real man, in real depression who has lived a very real life but then cue Mary Poppins. The drab, brown and grey colour palette across the set bursts into colour as her mere presence turns this gritty reality into a magical fantasy. The mix of fantasy and reality blends seamlessly together so much so that even the expertly recreated scenes like Big Ben’s tower have a flare of magic to them.

I hadn’t realised until the credits started to roll that somewhere along the way I had taken my nostalgia glasses off and started to view this film as its own entity. Through beautifully crafted sets that meld seamlessly into the classic stylings of the animations, meticulous in detail, it captures the spirit of its predecessor but has an identity very much of its own. So, now I am prepared to eat my earlier retort and believe in the words of Mary Poppins herself - “everything is possible, even the impossible.” [~Isla]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Black Panther

3. The Favourite

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1. Shallow - A Star is Born - I have to admit, I’m rather gutted that All The Stars missed out on our number one spot (thanks Gals) but Shallow undoubtedly is a bit of a banger. “Is there somethin’ else you’re searching for” - Shallow poetically (when I say poetically, I mean pretty darn obviously) offers the audience an insight to both Ali and Jackson’s character growth throughout the film: Ali, looking to get more out of her life than it was offering her and Jackson, his deterioration in light of his dying career (is that a spoiler? Surely not!). Don’t get me wrong, I loved A Star is Born and genuinely think Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper *pauses for Bradley Cooper’s voice* have an undeniable connection, the way they perform together - both in this song and the film as a whole - left me with chills (an opinion shared by fewer than half of the Reel Gals) [I may have hated the film, but that won’t stop me beltin’ this mother out at the karaoke ~ Jen] - Shallow will live on and I am sure will be leaving with Academy award, however in my opinion, it’s not particularly inspiring or lyrically imaginative. Still love you, Gaga. [~ Katie]

RUNNERS UP:

2. All The Stars - Black Panther

3. The Place Where Lost Things Go - Mary Poppins Returns

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. BlacKkKlansman by Terence Blanchard - BlacKkKlansman marks the 19th project and 30th year of a Spike Lee/Terence Blanchard partnership and wowzers! Blanchard has composed a score that beautifully enhances the exquisite direction of Lee, capturing a sound that really drives the audience’s emotion throughout the film. Although I found it almost impossible to choose between all the nominations for Best Score, Blanchard has stolen top spot at the Reel Gals’ Academy Awards and to be honest, rightfully so! Terence Blanchard uses “his passion and desire to serve the story” when it comes to anything he composes, which is just one of the reasons he is fully deserved of the Oscar when it comes to the BlacKkKlansman score. He pulls in influences of Hendrix with the electric guitar (which in my opinion really captures Ron Stallworth’s character as a whole) and couples it with the power of brass, a combination that successfully delivers both chilling and comedic moments – alluding to what the audience should be feeling, rather than being on the nose. Terence Blanchard had the responsibility of composing for an unbelievable and haunting TRUE story and respectfully does so, joining Spike Lee in telling the a story of hate from the 70s and leaving the audience with the hard-hitting truths that we still deal with similar hate, even now. [~ Katie]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Mary Poppins Returns by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman

3. Black Panther by Ludwig Goransson

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR

1. Vice - Makeup and hair are such a crucial part of building the characters we see on screen - they help the actors embody the person they’re playing (literally!). The outcry when the Academy dared to suggest that they might bump this and other critical categories (Cinematography and Editing to name a couple for gawd’s sake - HOW DO YOU MAKE A FILM WITHOUT THOSE??!) to being hidden in the ad breaks was so vehement - and rightly so. I don’t know how many times I walked past the poster and ad screens for Vice and had next to no recognition at all for any of the main cast. When I eventually read the names under the pictures, I remember very loudly going “WHAT?! WHAAAAAAT?! all the way down the escalator in our local Cineworld (my partner can attest to his embarrassment at my outburst)… Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Amy Adams… and then we have Christian “So Method” Bale.

Some people might argue that his transformation was mostly down to, as Marie suggests in our Lead Actor category, his increased pie intake and his unmatched ability to give himself over completely to the character. But without the design and hard work every day of Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney, he would have just been “Thicc, Evil Christian Bale” - not an almost-indistinguishable-from-the-real-thing embodiment of political monster Dick Cheney.

There is an absolutely excellent article I found in which Cannom talks website Vox through his design and daily process and it’s frankly incredible. < find it here > More incredible still, once he had a cast of Bale’s head (whom he says was wary of the process of SFX makeup and prosthetics as he hadn’t done it before) he only had two weeks to design and build the various ages of Cheney onto Bale’s very differently-shaped head. The quality of the skin (given a sweaty shine by an application of KY Jelly as a final step to the process, hilariously) is impeccable; the build of the silicone to completely change the shape of Bale’s face is grotesquely gorgeous. Across the board this is one of the most impressive examples of practical makeup and hair SFX I’ve ever seen - and in an age of CGId top lips to remove stubborn moustaches and digital de-ageing processes getting more and more advanced, this film proves the practical way is as strong and vital as ever and fully deserving of taking centre stage - on air - at the Oscars. [~Jen]

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. Black Panther - I couldn’t possibly pretend to be an expert on costume design or on the numerous African Tribal influences that have given these costumes their heart and soul. But, I can say that while watching Black Panther I was utterly blown away with the attention to detail, combined with the bold bursts of colour and creativity. I also can’t explain my sheer relief and empowerment of watching fierce female characters kick ass without the carbon copy, over sexualized outfit with matching heels. Now I don’t want my first blog post to cause too much of a divide, but I’m definitely referring to my eye roll during Wonder Woman right after I spotted those raised golden beauties... and just for the record, I actually loved Wonder Woman (and I love heels) but it was just so refreshing, and practical, without losing any of the superhero escapism we all long for. The head costume designer Ruth E. Carter absolutely fulfilled all my ‘tribal-warrior-female-fantasy’ dreams (is that a category from RuPaul’s Drag Race?) and I left the cinema envious of her talent. Some of the costumes were literally pieces of wearable art and will no doubt be celebrated as such. [~ Kayleigh]

JOINT RUNNERS UP:

2. The Favourite / Mary Poppins Returns

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. Ready Player One - This was one of the most difficult categories to vote for. All five films brought amazing innovations in the art of cinema and definitely deserve to be recognised for them and you know what, Reel Gals will! First Man combined a mixture of diverse sources for its aesthetic; visual effects, special effects, and even archival footage of the NASA launch. Solo gave us the perfect visual effect adaptation of the legend that Star Wars fans everywhere know as the 12 parsecs run. Christopher Robin created a photoreality mixed with shot on location footage so good, that its parody Trainspotting mashup video attests to its VFX perfection. Avengers: Infinity War had two different effects teams (TWO!) building the most realistic performance from Brolin’s onset one and could possibly land Marvel with their first ever effects Oscar. However, Ready Player One, created an entire virtual world that immersed characters and viewers alike by combining effects with animation. Remember The Overlook Hotel part from The Shining in the film? The blood? The scary twins and old lady turned into a zombie? That’s right, hand them that award now and then in true Mean Girls fashion, break it up and share with the rest. You’re all VFX queens. [~Lia]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Avengers: Infinity War

3. First Man

Which leaves us with just one more award to lay out… it’s the big’un. Can you guess what it might be, from our voting habits above?

BEST PICTURE

1. BlacKkKlansman - Winning our Best Picture vote - based on a true story, BlacKkKlansman is a spectacularly timely look at institutional and societal racism and bigotry - holding a mirror up squarely in the face of modern audiences. Set against the backdrop of the Ku Klux Klan’s ‘organised hate’ in 1970’s Colorado, it is equal parts horrifying and hilarious; poignant and relevant. The performances are compelling and perfectly balanced - most notably, the relationship between buddy cops John David Washington’s ‘Ron Stallworth’ and Adam Driver’s ‘Flip Zimmerman’ is nuanced and brimming with mutual respect, both for one another in character and as actors. The two have spectacular comic timing - but they both also boast the finely-honed acting chops to carry the Singularity-strength gravity of the themes presented by Ron Stallworth’s incredible true story. The beautifully-composed shots and off-kilter score compliment Spike Lee’s characteristically brave and politically-biting choices as director, exemplified particularly in the closing scene of his latest Joint, which (after a moment of levity and possibly the biggest laugh of the film) is affecting, desperately sad and deeply terrifying - and will stay with you for a long time. [~ Jen]

RUNNERS UP:

2. Green Book

3. Roma

And that’s that. The audience’s sugar levels are low… The ‘get off the stage’ music has started playing… and the awards organisers are threatening to cut to an ad break. But before they can send the heavies onto the stage to forcibly remove us - it’s NOT OVER YET - *grabs microphone* here are some nominations we would have added:

BEST PICTURE: First Man [Genuinely thought this was a shoe-in! ~Jen]

BEST SONG: Sunflower by Post Malone & Swae Lee for Spider-Verse [Honestly, the entire score for Spider-Verse was spectacular and I'm gutted it didn't get a nomination either, although it was tough enough as it is for best original score, as all nominations are stunning - BUT BEST SONG, where is this nomination? And WHY, GOD WHHHY is ‘I'll Fight’ on there? It genuinely made me want to pull out my eyeballs ~ Katie] [Couldn’t agree more. Ruth Bader Ginsberg deserves more than this old-fashioned early 2000s-style credit-roller ballad. You’re better than this, J-Hud. ~ Jen]

LEAD ACTRESS: Emily Blunt for A Quiet Place

LEAD ACTRESS: Viola Davis for Widows

LEAD ACTOR: John David Washington for BlacKkKlansman [This omission I think has slightly tarnished Driver’s well-deserved nomination for Best Supporting; with a lot of people asking why the ‘white guy is the only one to receive an acting nom from a film about a black man’s struggles with the KKK’. I would suggest that Driver’s character Flip, as DJW’s character Ron states: “Also has skin in the game”, being Jewish - it’s hardly him doing a ‘Scarlet Johansson’, given the point of the story is that he’s Ron’s proxy and crucial to his takedown of the chapter. But then it *is* difficult to argue that the intentions of the Academy were (whether subconsciously or not) entirely well-intentioned on the matter of not including Washington in the nominations. ~ Jen]

LEAD ACTOR: Steve Carell for Beautiful Boy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Steve Carell (again - what a year he’s had!) for Vice

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Timotheé Chalamet for Beautiful Boy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Danai Gurira for Black Panther

VISUAL EFFECTS: Welcome to Marwen [This!! ~ Kayleigh]

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Whitney [I would also say the editing of this was fantastic, if it's good enough for the Edinburgh Film Festival then it’s good enough for an Oscar consideration ~Robyn]

And despite the outwardly more-diverse-than-usual (which still isn’t saying much) nominee list this year thanks to an extremely influential #OscarsSoWhite campaign and hopefully the beginnings of a turning of the tide for Hollywood (we hope - it's about bloody time something improved) - it seems the Academy aren’t quite there with equality and representation yet...

BEST DIRECTOR: A woman. Any women, for goodness’ sake. It’s 2019! A nod to Glasgow-born Lynne Ramsay for You Were Never Really Here, Marielle Heller for Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Debra Granik for Leave No Trace. Just in case the Academy didn’t think they had enough choice! [~Marie]

At time of writing, the other main awards events for the year have been and gone - and the differences in nominations and winners laid out by the Oscars, BAFTAs, Globes and Critics’ Choice nominees lists vs the reality of women’s film work in 2018 are still quite stark - specifically in contrast with events like the Independent Spirit Awards - (admittedly films like Green Book and blockbusters etc wouldn’t qualify) - who lavished their awards last night on films like If Beale Street Could Talk; You Were Never Really Here, Leave No Trace and Sorry to Bother You - notably with many of the winners crying out for more female representation in the nominations for Directing and other categories in film in general.

2018 was the strongest year for representation of women in film yet - with places like the BFI Film Festival presenting more female-led films than ever before in its history and how vociferous the support is getting for equal opportunity and recognition - importantly not only from women - in calling out these omissions-by-gender, here’s hoping the Academy will catch on. Eventually.

But until that time… thanks for joining us for our little pre-Oscars ceremony and our first proper blog! Cheers for reading, sharing and any hits of the like button are greatly appreciated… Thank you to the Academy… we’d also like to thank our parents, everyone who believed in us, Adele Dazeem, dogs (all of them) for being excellent...

*Rugby-tackled by security guards and dragged off-stage*

Xx ~ The Reel Gals

(Find us on instagram: reel_gals_of_glasgow | twitter: ReelGalsGlasgow)

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iliketoeatmyself · 6 years ago

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ED BOOKS

I stole this from mpa (because I wanted to save it) but I’m going to highlight those I’VE READ... also I might add some others as time goes...

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (it was a good read!)

Solitaire by Aimee Liu * (Considered first anorexia memoir. Thus, there are points when EDs aren't completely understood, but still totally worth the read. Available through KU.)

Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia de Rossi (it was really good and real tbh)* (One of my faves! A memoir that really captivated me)

Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia * (Really is what it says on the tin and so much more. This memoir captures the darkest parts of EDs and is done very logically, stabilizing itself with facts that are intermixed by the chaos of EDs).

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (Romance)

Thin by Lauren Greenfield (Nonfiction elements. Like the TV documentary of the same name, but of course, the book has more details.)

The Best Little Girl in the World by Steven Levenkron (NOT like the movie. Based on research of EDs in figure skating and gymnastics.)

Perfect by Natasha Friend

Purge: Rehab Diaries by Nicole J. Johns

Skinny by Ibi Kasliky

Loud Girl in the House of Myself: A Memoir of a Strange Girl by Stacy Pershall

Gaining: The Truth about Life After EDs by Aimee Liu (same author as Solitaire)

Identical by Ellen Hopkins * (Written in same manner as her other books, which is basically more like a poem than traditional novel format. LOVE this book and recommend the authors other, non ED books)

Letting Ana Go by Anonymous

Massive by Julia Bell

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen (Romance)

Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Thin by Grace Bowman (memoir)

The Disappearing Girl by Heather Topham Wood (Romance, KU)

After the Strawberry by Adrienne Maria Vrettos

Purge by Sarah Darer Littman

Beautiful Me by Natasha Jennings

Hunger Point by Jillian Medoff (it was okay, the sister of mc has an ed)

Pointe by Brandy Colbert (Very dramatic. Deals with sexual abuse and also kidnapping in addition to an ED. Still not sure how I feel about this book, but a read that is very interesting, especially for those who like reading all things ballet. Also, this is nice because a black girl is not only a ballet dancer, but also has an ED, which is not portrayed enough!)

Looks by Madeleine George

Kessa by Steven Levenkron (I'd say this is probably for younger readers, but hey, you're never too old to read any book in my mind!)

My Sister's Bones by Cathi Hanauer * (Really liked this book and it isn't necessarily because of the ED part of it. I just like the whole feel and author's style)

Parperweight by Meg Haston

You Remind Me of You: A Poetry Memoir by Eireann Corrigan

Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders and Elusive Olympic Dreams by Jennifer Sey (Wow, that's a mouth full!)

Believarexic by J.J. Johnson

Feeling For Bones by Bethany Pierce

More Than You Can Chew by Marnelle Tokio

A Dance of Sisters by Tracey Porter

Gravity Journal by Gail Sobat

Elena Vanishing by Elena Dunkle (A memoir written with her mother)

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (Haven't read this in a long time, but I remember liking it)

A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger * (One of my favourites! About a male with an ED.)

Starved by Michael Somers (Another good male ED novel)

Reckoning Daze by Michael Beaulieu (Currently free kindle edition is available)

Thin (Sharing Spaces Book 3) by Alicia Michaels (This is part of a romance series and is the third book. This one focuses on the ED character, but there are hints to the ED in other books. You don't necessarily need to read the other books in the series and can figure things out without reading them first. I actually read this book before the others)

Cake Dreams: A Memoir of Survival by Hoyt Phillips * (Another male ED book. Great multi-faceted portrayal of EDs and general metal illness. Available on KU)

Not My Father's Son: A Memoir by Alan Cumming * (It's been a while since I've read it, but I recall there being an ED. The book does not focus on the ED, but it is thrown in there, adding to an already fascinating, interesting read.)

Nothing by Robin Friedman (Another male ED book)

Lighter and Weightless (books 1 and 2 of Begin Again Duet series) by Gia Riley (Romance and available on KU)

...And All Shall Fade to Black by Layla Dorine (Gay Romance, male with ED, available on KU).

Still Water: A Boys of Bellamy Novel by Ruthie Luhnow (Gay romance, male with ED, available on KU)

Four Weeks, Five people by Jennifer Yu * (A male wannabe rock star with an ED. He is 1/5th of the main characters who all have other mental disorders and have been sent away to camp to help with their various mental illnesses).

Phat (Escape From Reality series) by Taylor Henderson (Part of a series. KU)

Life-size (no, not like the Lindsey Lohan movie) by Jenefer Shute (Available through Kindle unlimited)

Love Struck (Star Struck Series) by Amber Garza (Romance series. KU).

Fake Perfect Me by Cari Kamm (KU)

Out of Breath (Exposed Series) by Hazel Kelly (KU).

The Kaitlyn Chronicles series by Elaine Babich (Series, for younger readers. KU).

Please Don't Go by Elizabeth Benning (A bulimic sent to a residence to recover and teams up with anorexic former enemy in hopes of escaping)

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen * (very great!! I loved this one, it’s not only about the ed, but human nature and emotions) (A classic novel that everyone interested in metal health should read).

Do or Die (Fight or Flight Series #4) by Jamie Canosa (Romance series. KU).

Hungry: One Woman's Battle and Victory over Anorexia and Bulima by Jessica Skinner (The title pretty much says all you need to know. KU).

My Perfect Little Secret by Rebecca Coppage (KU).

Anorexic: The True Story of An Anorexia Survivor Who Found Love by Anna Paterson (This is romantic, but I wouldn't call it romance. KU).

Balance of Control by Stephanie Nance

Running in Silence: My Drive for Perfection and the Eating Disorder that Fed it by Rachael Rose Steil

My Not-So Secret by B.P. Morrison (KU).

26 Beats per Minute by Dez Wilder (Male with ED. Memoir. KU).

Summer Fades by Amanda Bews (KU).

It's Never Enough (Book 1 in Never Series) by Susan Soares (Series. KU).

Restricted: A Novel of Half-truths by Jennifer Kinsel * (KU).

Chrysalis by L.A. Field, Gary Thaller * (KU).

A Slow Fade by Brooke Melius (KU).

All We Ever Wanted: Unmasking the Silent Battle by Alexandra Wnuk (KU).

Life Hurts: A Doctor's Personal Journey Through Anorexia by Dr. Eliabeth Mcnaught *

A Fork in the Road by Rebekah Wilson (KU).

Skin Deep (Stolen Breaths series) by Pamela Sparkman (Romance Series. KU).

Feeding the Heart (Heart Series) by Marion Myles (Romance Series. KU).

Anorexic Annie by Sarah Burleton * (KU).

The Downside of Being Charlie by Jenny Torres Sanchez * (Male with ED, the ED is not a huge part of the book, but also deals with family dysfunction, which I always find interesting).

The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller * (This is very interesting. Male with ED. Deals with super powers! Though, it could just be the ED causing the protagonist to think he has powers, but I'll let you be the judge!)

Skinny Boy: A Young Man's Battle and Triumph Over Anorexia by Gary A. Grahl

It Was Me All Along: A Memoir by Andie Mitchell * (about binge eater who lost weight)

Safety in Numbers by Brittany Burgunder *

Skinny: She was starving to fit in... (False reflections book 1) by Laura L. Smith (Currently free kindle edition is available).

When You Fall by Alex Karola * (through Wattpad. Not finished yet, but is a great read!)

Inner Hunger: A Young Woman's Struggle Through Anorexia and Bulimia by Marianne Apostolides

Empty: A Story of Anorexia by Christie Pettit

Inside Out: Portrait of an Eating Disorder by Nadia Shivack

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz *

All Good Things Die in LA by Anhoni Patel *

Jane in Bloom by Deborah A. Lytton (Another one for younger readers. Still, a nice read)

Gravity Journal by Gail Sidonie Sobat

What I Lost by Alexandra Ballard *

This Impossible Light by Lily Myers (told in verse)

Sad Perfect by Stephanie Elliot (the girl has avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder)

Beautiful Bodies by Kimberly Rae Miller * (this is a KU book and is a fairly new release as of 7/28/17. It is about disordered eating and chronic dieting, not a full blown ED; however, I still enjoyed it and recommend it).

Shattered Image: My Triumph over Body Dysmorphic Disorder by Brian Cuban * (KU, male memoir detailing ED struggle and primarily his struggle with BDD)

Sugar by Deirdre Riordan Hall (KU)

Empty Net (Scoring Chances Book 4) by Avon Gale * (gay romance about bulimic hockey player)

Heavyweight by MB Mulhall (Male protagonist)

Just Jack by Shaun Powell (KU, male protagonist)

Don't Call Me Kit Kat by K.J. Farnham (for younger audience definitely)

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxanne Gay (BED)

Skin and Bones by Sherry Shahan (Male protagonist)

Skinny Me by Charlene Carr

Wrists by Jay Broderick (male protagonist)

Unicorns and Rainbow Poop by Sam Kadence (male, gay, romance)

Bare Roots by Molly S. Hillery (KU)

Grip by Adex Garza (KU, male. Deals with morbid obesity)

Rita Just Wants to be Thin by Mary W. Walters (KU)

Taint by Jude Nicholas (KU)

Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa by Joan Jacobs Brumberg

13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad

Hunger Pains: The Modern Woman's tragic Quest for Thinness by Mary Pipher

The Stone Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Pretend We are Lovely by Noley Reid

Stick Figure by Lori Gottilieb

Diary of an Exercise Addict by Peach Friedman

The Anorexia Diaries by Linda Rio

Feed Me!: Writers Dish about Food, Eating, Weight, and Body Image by Harriet Brown

Insatiable: A Young Mother's Struggle with Anorexia by Erica Rivera

How I Got Skinny, Famous, and Fell Madly in Love by Ken Baker (about a girl who goes on a reality TV show to lose weight. Fun read)

Inside Out: Portrait of an Eating Disorder by Nadia Shivack

Perfect: Anorexia and Me by Emily Halban

Losing it by Sandy McKay

Fragile by Nikki Grahame

My Big Fat Disaster by Beth Fehlbaum

Thin Ice by Niki Settimo (romance)

Unfiltered by Lily Collins (not solely a book about ED, but the topic is mentioned throughout)

Good Luck with That by Kristan Higgins (coming out on August 7, 2018)

Staving in the Search of Me by Marissa LaRocca

Feast (True Love In and Out of the Kitchen) by Hannah Howard

The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano (the mc is anorexic but it’s not focused on it only. This book is about two outcasts who connect to each other and its effect of it in the course of their lives)

The Vegetarian by Han Kang (it’s very good and wild. It also tackles on feminism and societal issues as well)

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami (it’s a great book. The ed is not the main point but there is a character suffering from one)

#eating disorders #eating disorder #book #books #anorexia #bulimia #ednos #list

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starryvioletnight · 7 years ago

Text

Not Fair

Summary: When you live in an already dead body, really nothing kills you anymore. And in usual stories, nothing kills the host either. It’s not surprising then that Dark and the Host are the only two egos standing after so many years. Still, it’s not fair. Enjoy~

The grounds surrounding the house where the egos lived… had lived, was vast. There was more than enough room for running about, having fun, playing games… They had been so reckless, why had he let them be so reckless? At them time, none of them had thought it was possible, honestly. Dark hadn’t, and even the Host had been surprised.

It had been a game. It had been a game, and Wilford had accidentally shot Silver Shepherd. The ego had died the next morning, and Dark still remembered how scared everyone was. Wilford was the only one acting like everything was normal- convinced Silver would wake up and come back one day. Dark had to convince Wilford not to play with guns anymore, not wanting a repeat of incident.

Dark remembered clearly the fear in their eyes the days following Silver’s death. Dark was the strong one, the confident one, so of course Bim would ask him that question that honestly, Dark didn’t have an answer to anymore.

“We can’t die, right?” Bim asked quietly. “Not really I mean, we’re characters! Unless Mark kills us in our canons, then… but we can’t… we aren’t…” He had been trembling. Dark could still vividly see the fear rattling in his eyes. “Silver was just… that was just a fluke, right?”

Dark did the only thing that made since in the moment. He smiled, patted Bim’s head and said, “Of course we can’t die. Don’t worry about it.”

It was a lie. He’d known it was a lie then, and looking back now… now he wished he’d done something differently.

Tears brimmed at the corner’s of Dark’s eyes as he made his way to the… the… He couldn’t think it. He couldn’t think the word. No, it… it wasn’t fair.

After Silver, Ed went because of a heart attack that they caught too late. Google and Bing’s systems became too outdated to upgrade shortly after, and the two had powered down one last time, full of glitches and bugs that made it nearly impossible to describe.

Dark hated to admit it, but Bing’s goodbye hurt the most between the two. Google, cold, calculating Google had simply written out the best he could, as his speech was undecipherable at that point, that he would miss them. That being with them was the way he could imagine spending his time of activation. Then he’d simply sat down and let his battery drain.

Bing wept. Wept as much as an android could, and kept shouting out that he and Google could be upgraded. They could be fixed, they could! These were lies, and Bing knew it too, he just wanted to pretend. His voice was so distorted it hurt even Dark’s ears to hear him speak. The last thing Bing spoke was a nervously stated promise that once he was just taking a nap, and that he’d wake up soon.

At this point, Dark had more than convinced Wilford that death was real, and the pink ego went into mourning for his long lost friends for a month after, as well as grieving the deaths of Google and Bing. The house never got another android to take their place. Google and Bing, outdated, outmoded, were gone.

Dark felt something sharp in his gut and had to sit down on a bench on his way there. He took deep breaths as the tears slid down his face. No, no he couldn’t cry yet. He knew he was going to cry when he got to the- when he got there, so he didn’t need to cry now.

Dr. Iplier had been on his way to the store when he got into a wreck. He’d flat-lined a week later. The Host had locked himself in his room for a month after, unable to cope. Wilford had panicked as well, wringing his hands and not sure what to make of it all. Bim spent his life in mostly panic at that point. Dark didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know how to handle it either.

He noticed that they were all aging. He’d noticed every gray hair, every wrinkle, especially on the main egos. There weren’t anymore violent deaths, thankfully. Just egos passing of natural causes. Bim, thankfully, went in his sleep. No room for panic or pain. They hadn’t ever found a cause.

The Host and Dark didn’t age. They’d noticed that shortly after Dr. Iplier’s passing, but after Bim’s, it was definitely obvious. It was enough that Wilford had felt he had to talk to Dark about it.

“Dark?” Wilford’s voice had had a tremor. Remembering it made Dark’s chest hurt all over again. “Uh… wh-why aren’t you… aging?”

Dark remembered the bags under Wil’s eyes. Gray hairs mixed with dark brown and dyed pink hairs twitching as Wilford shook. “It’s because my body is already dead…”

Oh explaining that one had taken time. Later that night, Wilford had fallen asleep in Dark’s bed beside him.

Dark let himself begin to sob quietly. Yeah, his bed. His soft, queen sized bed, where Wilford had spent a lot of his days as he got older. Where Wilford slept, clutching onto Dark, scared of dying. Wilford outlived the others by so long. He’d almost reached one hundred when he went, and when he did…

The memory came back faster than Dark could stop it and it hurt so much-

“Dark?” Wilford’s coughing had gotten out of hand, he’d been hacking for at least five minutes in the dead of night before speaking. “Dark… are you there?”

“Wilford? What’s wrong?” Dark he’d asked. He was ready to do anything. He knew where all the medicines were, and was more than willing to get him a cup of water.

“Damien…?” Wilford’s eyebrows were knit together. “Did I wake you Damien? I hadn’t meant to, you rapscallion.”

“No, no you didn’t wake me.” Dark lied, his heart, his chest, everything, hurting him. “What is it that you need?”

“I-I don’t know… I just need you… Damien…” Wilford coughed again. “I feel cold.”

Dark had sat up and held Wilford in his arms as gently as he could. The frail old man still had deep indigo bruises from bumping against the wall the other day. “I’m here… I’m here Wil.” He said quietly. “I’ll keep you warm.”

“I… I’m gonna go back to sleep now…” Wilford mumbled sleepily. “Stay with me until I go?”

Dark hadn’t cried then. He didn’t want to believe what Wilford was saying. What he was implying. “Of course I will. I’ll always be here for you.”

“Thank you… Damien? Damien…”

“Yes, Wil?” Dark had breathed into his gray hair.

“I’ll see you soon, right?”

Dark had closed his eyes. He didn’t cry. It was a joke. It was a joke, like Wilford had always said. What a little monster, pulling such morbid jokes like this… Dark had only nodded.

“Of course you will. Don’t worry now, just… go to sleep.”

Dark remembered the feeling of Wilford’s pulse leaving his body. He remembered the absence of warmth breath. He remembered how Wil’s body went limp in his arms and he couldn’t do anything but hold onto him, pleading with the corpse to please, please let this be another joke. Another gag. Dark’s shell had cracked and tore and left him feeling shattered in ways he’d never felt before.

The Host had found him the next morning, clutching the body still, crying finally crying.

Crying like he was now, on that bench. No, no it wasn’t fair. He didn’t deserve to die. None of them did. He couldn’t… he couldn’t do it he just couldn’t no, no-

“Would you like company?”

Dark looked up to see the Host, dressed in all black. Neither of them wore any other colors these days. He nodded and offered his hand to the blind man, who, ironically enough, began to lead him along.

“I-I can’t do this…” Dark hissed. “I can’t I can’t, Host. I can’t do it.”

“You haven’t visited since Wilford was buried.” The Host murmured. “That was almost a year ago now. I’m sure he misses you.”

“You can’t actually believe they… they hear or see us when we go there.” Dark felt his eyes sting with more tears. “They’re just… gone.”

“Perhaps so.” The Host agreed, still speaking quietly. “But it’s nicer to believe they can hear us and see us… It’s why I bring Dr. Iplier tea every Sunday… we used to enjoy our Sunday afternoons together… a lot. I don’t want him to lose that.”

Dark stopped outside of the gates to the- the….

“Dark?” The Host asked. “What’s wrong?”

Dark shook his head. He wasn’t going to say the word. He wasn’t.

“… Cemetery, Dark.” The Host said quietly. “You need to say it. It’s a cemetery.”

“N-no. I don’t… it’s not…” Dark felt his shell crack. “I don’t want to go in there. They’re all dead. I don’t… I want them back, Host. They can’t all just be trapped behind these-these iron gates on this land I just….”

The Host took a deep breath, and with a small tug, pulled Dark into the cemetery.

Rows and rows of headstones. Names. Egos that were gone.

Wilford and Dr. Iplier were buried near each other. The Host had arranged that on purpose, knowing that Dark would need help to visit. He’d made it easier on himself to also visit the good doctor while helping Dark. When they approached the two stones, Dark held back. His shell cracked and cried and broke and his ringing was two octaves higher.

The Host paid him no mind and sat down between Wilford and Dr. Iplier’s stones. “Hello… we came to visit.” He said quietly, smiling. “Wilford, I finally got Dark to come out too. Isn’t that nice?”

Dark felt like screaming. Why, why did he feel this broken? It’s not fair!

“I hate this.” He hissed at the Host. “You… You can bend reality with your stories. Bring them back. Write a different ending. Do it, Host, please bring them all back!” Dark ended up shouting.

The Host tilted his head towards him. “Is that what you want? Really? I can’t bring them back. The most I could do would be starting this all over, going back to the beginning. Do you want that though? Just to end up where we are right now, again?”

“I’d love to see him again, just once again, I don’t…” Dark’s knees trembled, and he fell forward on them. “I don’t know Host I…” And he buried his face in his hands. “I don’t understand why I’m so weak I hate this.”

“My theory is that you are not just one man weeping for the loss of someone he cared about,” The Host said softly. “But three entities mourning the death of a man who meant more than words could say.”

Dark ran a hand through his hair. When his shell cracked again, the Mayor and the Seer’s forms were visible through it all. He choked a little before saying, “Take us back Host… Let’s…. let’s do it all again, please. One more time.” He said quietly. “I know you miss Dr. Iplier. Let’s just… one more time.”

The Host swallowed down. “Dark… it’s not going to change anything. You and I will still remember this grave yard. We’ll still be the ones left to bury the others. It’s not… Its not worth it.”

“By that logic, it’s not worth reading the same books over and over again, is it? Yet you still do it anyway.” Dark countered, desperate to see Wilford again.

The Host hugged himself. “I… I suppose… Come sit beside me?”

Dark hesitated before moving to sit beside the Host, between the two graves. There was silence, then, for just a moment, there was nothing.

Dark woke to see the Colonel in front of him once again. The Colonel, with that cane in his hand. They were back at the Manor. My, the Host had really taken them all the way back, hadn’t he? Seeing him there, alive and well… Dark didn’t listen to his shouts of surprise or mad ramblings about how he wasn’t dead. The words went in one ear and out the other, as he just watched the Colonel.

Alive.

Well.

With their entire future ahead of them still.

He resisted pulling the man into his arms and keeping him there. No, he couldn’t do that. The Colonel… Wilford, would only be panicked even further by such a move. Dark let the events play out as he remembered, the only difference being when left alone in front of that mirror, after shoving out the district attorney and cracking it, he let himself smile. Only for a moment, before history repeated itself.

Dr. Iplier answered the door with a smile. In front of him stood a man with notebooks tucked under his left arm, a laptop in a case in his left hand, and a baseball bat in his right hand, resting back against his right shoulder.

“I’m Dr. Iplier. I’m sorry, you’re dying.” Dr. Iplier said, a habit he’d never break. “Who are you?”

“I’m the Author. I’m the new ego.” The Author grinned, just as he had the first time.

“Well… usually Dark goes and gets the new egos.” Dr. Iplier sounded suspicious. “I guess you could come in… I’ll show you to Dark.”

Dr. Iplier led the Author to the conference room, where a meeting was going on. Dr. Iplier explained to Dark what had happened, about the Author just showing up out of the blue, and the Author and Dark met eyes.

They shared a single moment of silence. The first time it had happened, it had been anger and confusion and maybe trying to size each other up, trying to figure out who was more powerful, a fight they never did settle.

Not this time. It was understanding. Understanding that within a year, maybe two, the Author would lose his eyes and become the Host. Understanding that all the things that had happened the first time would happen again. Understanding that this time, though, at least they knew they were going to be there for each other, until the very end.

“Pleasure to meet you, Author.”

“All the same to you, Dark.”

#nancy's writings #dark #darkiplier #the host #the author #angst

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geminimoonbeamx · 7 years ago

Text

Wait a life time/ Chris Beck x Plus size reader

A/N: Alright ya’ll so I’m feeling veeeery fall today an I needed to get my fix. And what better better way to get my fix then to write a little College!Chris Beck one shot?

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Drug use(they’re smoking a joint ya’ll! Hide your kids, hide your wife) An overwhelming amount of fluff. Maybe some making out? You know aint no one can resist them lips. Oh and a few little spoilers from the new season of Stranger Things!

Summary: You make the ultimate sacrifice and wait for Chris before starting the second season of you guys’ favorite show.

💫💫💫💫💫

It’s Friday night- and you feel like you’d been waiting for this moment your whole life. Your lectures had felt extra long today, you’d listened to the Professors drone on with an antsy mind. Your sixty minute classes felt like they’d lasted ages. You cautiously avoided any of your social media accounts, knowing that the internet was no doubt a buzz with spoilers. It didn’t help that everyone seemed to be heckling you.

“You haven’t started it yet? I figured you would have started binging last night right at midnig-” Cassie, your best friend addresses you, her voice shocked as you two had taken a caffeine break at the Starbucks on campus.

“No, not yet” You’d shushed her as you sipped on your Venti iced white chocolate mocha.

“Waiting for Beck?” She guessed, her eyes knowing as she gazed at you over the top of her open laptop.

“Yup” You popped the p.

The next harassment came from your second best friend, Erin.

“What do you mean you haven’t started season two yet” She’d hissed at you as the two of you sat in the library and you rolled your eyes.

“Obviously I mean exactly what I said- I haven’t started it”

“Oh my god, it’s so good already. I’ve been watching it all day on my phone. You’re not going to believe what crazy shits going dow-” You cut the curly haired girl off with a glare.

“Stop! You treacherous cow” you shoot at her and she responds with just a cackle

“Whatever, you keep waiting on Dr. Dork…tell me when you get to episode five, I need some one to express all of my feeeeels to!” She’d always been extremely immature…and she was studying to be a Neurosurgeon one day!

When you’d finally gotten to your little apartment, you’d quickly kicked off your clothes, letting yourself loose from the imprisonment of society, and pulled a pair of stretchy black leggings over your wide hips before Shrugging into your shirt that reads ‘Yeezus is a Gemini’ in bold lettering.

You take a peek at the clock on the stove. It’s only 5:30, Chris wont even be out of class for even an hour so you decide you might as well make dinner to try and pass the time…

Would he even know if you started it? You could just watch the first episode. Then you’d wait for him. What would that hurt?

No! Your brain instantly cuts you off, recalling the time you’d went on in Game of Thrones without him and the huge fight that had ensued. That’s what happens when two total TV nerds get together. Fights about “how could you watch it without me, I trusted you!”

So you sigh and start cutting up chicken breast instead.

Tick- tock.

When the front door handle finally jiggles, you cant help but grin happily, not only because you were going to get to watch your show, but because your boy was home. You guys were still very much in that honeymoon stage, and being without him for 12 hours, both of you full time students with gruelingly long work days, killed you.

“Hey” Chris beams at you as he enters. He looks tired, med-school really is a ball buster. His crisp white lab jacket is a stark contrast to his tired eyes, droopy eyes and fluffy tawny hair.

“Hi, baby” You give the rainbow vegetables a final toss in the pan before turning off the burner and making your way across the short distance to reach him, you reach up, pressing a kiss to his ever rosy, plump lips.

It’s lame, super lame, but you crave them all the time. The taste of his breath, the way his hand always cups the side of your neck; his thumb rubbing little circles in its wake. “'missed you”

He chuckles into the kiss “I missed you too” he’ll never get over how receptive you are to him. He’d never really been a lady killer so to say, and yet you always treated him like he was something liken to Brad Pitt or something. You really knew how to boost a mans ego, make him feel special.

Even when he had been elbow deep in cadavers all day.

“It smells good” Chris notes when the two of you separate. You know he’s always starving when he get home- hadn’t really eaten in hours.

“I made that fajita stir fry you like…and I may or may not be baking slutty brownies” you give him a wink as you walk back to the kitchen, an extra sway in your step and he groans.

How?

How the fuck had he scored so immensely?

“I love you”

It’s dead serious and it makes you throw your head back and laugh. He was sooo easy to please.

“Yeah, yeah you big sap I love you too. Go get changed so we can start our show! I’ve been dying all day!” You urge him, pointing the spatula at him.

“Yes ma'am” he agrees, before he slips into your room. He’s talking to you about his day through the open door as he changes. About how the internship he was sure he was going to get and about how his dick wad of a roommate had left all of his mail under a laundry basket so he was going to have to resend his credentials.

You gnaw at your lip at that. You and Chris had only been together for five or so months- but it had been the most intense five months of your life. He was your first real, serious relation ship and you couldn’t deny the fact that you were totally Gaga about the man. Plus- even though you’d only been dating, offically, for five months you’d known him since freshman year.

And you’d been thinking about asking him to move in with you for weeks- months. He practically already lived with you, he was almost constantly at your place. Most of his clothes were here, all of his text books. His NASA magazines… All that was left was for you to ask him.

You didn’t know why it was so daunting.

He looks lighter when he comes back out in a pair off loose, low hanging sweats and a sweater that had Rick and Morty printed infront of a galaxy on it. His hair, if possible, is even more mused: sticking up in all directions. He’s deftly pinching a nearly completed spliff in his fingers, rolling it with surgical precision.

He really did roll the BEST joints. And was one of the biggest pot heads you’d ever met, as most college students are.

He raved and ranted about the vast medical advantages of marijuana- not as much as he did about the wonders of space, but still. He walks out on the porch because unfortunately your building managers were hard asses and you couldn’t get caught hot boxing the place.

You dish up two piping hot, steaming plates and place them on the coffee table before joining him.

It’s late October in Connecticut and the evening air has a bitter bite to it. The smoke billows out of Chris mouth as he exhales and it’s almost hypnotic to watch.

He notices your staring and passes you the joint, thinking that was what you wanted. You take it without correcting him and inhale then fragrant smoke.

“How was your day?” His big blue eyes gaze down at you and you shrug.

“Eh. Non-eventful. I mean other then the fact that I’ve been dodging spoilers from all angles and dying to see Eleven with hair” you crack and he chuckles.

“Thanks for waiting for me. I owe you one”

“No, it’s our show. I wouldn’t start without you…especially after last time” you poke at him about his little Game of Thrones break down and he shakes his head at your consistent teasing. It would be mean, except for it always comes with you winding your arms around his middle. That and the fact that he so happens to be a total smart ass himself.

You pull away from him and glance upwards when he doesn’t reply “What?”

He just puts the joint on the rail and cups your face with both of his hands, squeezing at your round cheeks as he presses his forehead against yours wordlessly.

Beck gets affectionate when he’s stoned.

The moment is broken soon after by the beeping of the oven: signaling that your brownies are done.

“The brownies” you wiggle out of his grasp and he watches your back with a dazed look, putting out the spliff and going to the couch to flip on Netflix and get your show ready.

The rest of the night is spent with the two of you cuddled under fluffy blankets with full stomachs; yelling, laughing and crying as you binge the entire second season of Steanger Things in one sitting.

——————

Okay you guys this is pure fluff. I’m maybe thinking about doing a series of little Beck one shots like this? Would you guys be into that? Lemme know if you guys need more of this soft space boi in your lives😂💘

#Chris beck #chris beck x reader #plus size reader #bucky barnesxreader #sebastian stan #my whole heart #belongs to this man #stranger things #netflix and chill

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avelera · 7 years ago

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Some next day thoughts about Thor 3: Ragnarok:

(cut for spoilers)

- At first I was a little jarred by the ending’s abruptness. But then I thought about it a bit more. Yes, as a movie ending, I still think it’s a bit too abrupt, I would have liked 5-10 more minutes to cover some of the dangling plotlines I’ll discuss further down. But then I realized that with all the Marvel movies out there, they’re likely going to be binge watched. So this format makes sense when you realize that this movie is only going to end there for about 1 year in its lifecycle. For the rest of its existence, viewers are just going to immediately go to or cue up either Black Panther or Infinity War, so it’s actually more like a very long TV or Netflix episode than a standalone movie in the traditional sense.

Nevertheless, some things I would like to have seen more resolution are:

- Bruce - They made a pretty big deal of the fact that if he ever switched back to the Hulk again, Bruce Banner may never come back. Now, most likely it’s not a dark enough movie series for that to be true. But still, the fact it was never brought up again after he transformed nags at me, I would have liked to see some concern from Thor & his crew over whether Banner is ok. Though I suppose some of that could be explained by Valkyrie knowing Hulk better, Thor “preferring” Hulk, and the fact that Hulk has now had enough time out in the world to actually be quite stable. It almost implies that Hulk was an infant, or an overly-caged animal so his unmanageability was purely because he wasn’t getting enough time to grow up or exercise. That being said, you’d think Loki would be a little more freaked out. And dammit, I’m worried for Bruce.

- Loki - Has shown a pathological inability to play well with others, pretty much since he learned he was adopted and from the stories of Thor 3 even before that. He is the ultimate little shit. The fact that he was shown peacefully going along with the good guys for even 5 minutes without stabbing Thor again or just causing mischief or fucking off from there gave me a weird feeling of cognitive dissonance. Like, this status quo has already lasted 5 minutes without someone actively trying to kill them, no way Loki is this patient. Then again, this was somewhat resolved by the post-credit scene of the other big ship appearing, since Loki will sometimes go along with things if a team up is required for survival, at least until he figures out how to join the other side.

Some other thoughts:

- Apparently Asgard has fewer people in it than your average shopping mall? Also none of them have the same superpowers as their royal or valkyrie elites? Apparently it is an anime land where if you don’t have a cool character design you don’t have powers, sorry guys, you’re all cannon fodder with as little ability to defend yourself as the average human and maybe less considering you have advanced magic and science sometimes but most of the time you don’t even have guns.

- Hela looks hella like Loki. I’m beginning to wonder if Thor is the adopted one here. Also wondering if, in a more serious moment, what impact Hela having once been Odin’s favorite child would have on Loki given their similarities? Some reflection by him on that point would be interesting.

- Also, wtf, are they gods, are they random aliens with delusions of grandeur, how do they embody concepts...? Thor’s lighting powers were SICK AS HELL AND I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF THAT FIGHT AND HOLY SHIT HE LOOKS AMAZING WITH THE ONE EYE GODDAMN but I’m just really confused from a lore/cosmology angle of what the fuck Asgardians are in the larger cosmos and as relates to Earth.

Some other good/GREAT things about the movie:

- Seeing that level of diversity was such a fucking relief like I didn’t need to brace myself or roll my eyes whenever anyone who wasn’t the Designated POC was shown as always white and usually male, it was actually wonderfully diverse and awesome wow thank you Taika.

- (A little mad though that we didn’t get to see the Valkyrie bisexual scene, Disney is still really bad with dealing with LGBTQA+ stuff and this is another reason I fear the consolidation of all IP under The Mouse)

- Anyway, just in general, the directing, holy shit Taika Waititi is a master.

- Like, the movie was 95% laughs and it’s really hard to transition an audience that was just laughing its asses off to a serious moment but every single serious moment hit like a punch in the gut. Like immediately. Holy shit. Odin’s death, Valkyrie’s flashback, the tiny micro-expressions of Loki and Thor dancing around what they really mean to each other these days, Banner’s identity crisis... my only complaint about any of those is that they didn’t last a little longer, but they were so efficiently done that I can’t really be mad about that. Their brevity matched the pacing of the film, and it’s only my fangirl heart that would have loved some long lingering over all the horrible Feels everyone is going through. Ah well, that’s what fanfic is for.

- That being said, it did feel like there was a couple moments and themes that could have used a little more attention, though the complaint here is minor. There is some serious fridge horror in Banner losing 2 years of his life. What about the people he killed under Hulk’s influence? What about the feeling he’s going to lose himself forever if he ever changes again, and him doing it anyway to help his friends? That was one theme that felt a little under served to me given the seriousness of the implications.

- Hela was amazing omg. Like, it is hard to introduce a new villain that’s just magically better than everyone at everything and is also a stone cold badass woman. Somehow, somehow they managed it most likely through the immortal talent of Cate Blanchett. She was genuinely terrifying and genuinely felt like a member of their family, unlike some missing family member villains who just feel tacked on.

- Though I will say I was a little surprised by the reluctant villainy of Karl Urban’s character. I expected him to be a more willing ally of Hela, his story was interesting in how he was basically just an opportunistic but otherwise loyal Asgardian trying to survive and I could have used a few more minutes of focus on him just to sort of pull his story together as more than just someone for Hela to talk to while shit is going down.

- Btw, SPEAKING OF HELA I’ve been saying for AGES that we should be reexamining what Thor being “worthy” is all about because it’s not necessarily the modern concept of good vs. evil. Given that Odin slaughtered his way across 9 realms then turned on the child who helped gain it for him, being “worthy” could literally just mean “able to kill the largest number of people efficiently” according to Odin.

- Uh, do any of our heroes have their powers anymore if they drew them from Asgard which is now a pile of rubble?

- But OMG WE’RE GETTING ASGARD ON EARTH YEEEESSSSSSS. Ok so one of my number one writerly influences, J. Michael Straczynski who also wrote Babylon 5 and Sense8, wrote a Thor comic about Asgard being reestablished on Earth and IT IS HILARIOUS AND WONDERFUL GUYS I am SO EXCITED to see Asgard planted in the middle of the goddamn MIDWEST this is going to be GREAT. Also Dr. Strange must be losing his shit right now HE ASKED THEM TO PLEASE LEAVE NOT BRING THEIR WHOLE PLANET HERE

- Oh, and on a total badwrong side note, I still ship the fuck out of Thor and Loki and I am sorry. I hate incest in general, blech, as a plot device but Loki definitely does not see Thor as a brother also they’re kinda not even human so for some reason that sneaks by my radar. But I’d dearly love to see some Thorki where they’re as snarky and antagonistic and sort of tragically doomed to always be messing with one another as was in Thor 3, and not like... wide-eyed tragic uke Loki or some such (not that that isn’t valid for writers to explore, I just DESPERATELY want some obnoxious-conniving-little-shit Loki and exasperated but actually able to keep the upper hand and occasionally tragically upset and annoyed that Loki just can’t stop being such a conniving little shit for five minutes and sit at the dinner table like a normal person goddamnit why can’t i quit you Thor... just saying).

Honestly, that movie was just so much fucking fun, I need to see it again.

#thor 3 #maggie watches thor 3 #thor ragnarok #thor spoilers #spoilers #thor ragnarok spoilers

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kibahinatas · 7 years ago

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DRV3 Liveblog [BLIND]: Ch. 2 Daily Life

A THIN LINE DIVIDES HEAVEN AND HELL...

Okay, I’ve played chapter two up until the discovery of the body, just like last time.

Remember, if you want to skip the summary just look for Thoughts under Story.

STORY

The chapter opened on a shot of two rows of those Japanese style “death portraits.” (I’m sorry I don’t know the proper name.) But the only one with a photo in it contained a portrait of Kaede. Just, Kaede too, not Amami who is also dead...Anyway, there were some people talking off screen about how they wished “they” had lived. And stuff like that. Then the scene ends.

Next, there’s a scene of Gonta outside and he thinks he might have spotted a tiny bug in the grass. But when he goes to look at it, he finds a flat, square stone on the ground with the words “horse a” written there. He later discusses this briefly with the others in the dining hall, and then it’s never brought up again. Hm.

Finally, we wake up the day after Kaede’s trial as Shuichi. His room is almost identical to hers, except for the shelf of my Monokuma collection next to his bed. Kaito rings the doorbell and comes to fetch us for breakfast. Shuichi pauses before he leaves, but then says he doesn’t need that anymore.

When we arrive in the dining hall, everyone seems surprised by my appearance. Surprise, surprise (except not) Shuichi is no longer wearing his hat, and was hiding a cute ahoge under there! After a quick discussion about the mysterious “horse a,” Monokuma and the four Monokubs show up with gifts for us - some random trash.

Turns out the random trash actually helps us to uncover new areas that were hidden behind false walls (including the 3rd floor), overgrown ivy, and to unlock that weird castle wall place. We find several new research labs for Himiko, Kirumi, Gonta, Ryoma, and Maki (although she won’t let us inside.) There’s also an indoor pool, and inside the “castle walls” are a large casino and a hotel that seems to have no function yet - the Kumasutra..lol.

In one of the hallways we come across something that stands out above all the rest, though. A massive treasure chest containing a single item that appears to be a flashlight of sorts. We all gather to inspect it in the gym, and Monokuma appears to inform us that it is a special light which will restore some of our memories! After some debate, we decide to try it out. Suddenly, Shuichi, and everyone else, remembers the Ultimate Hunt! They remember being hunted because of their ultimate talents, and eventually deciding to use a device which would repress their memories of being ultimates, causing them to believe they were just normal high school students, much like when we began the game. We got to see a shot of Shuichi hooked up to this device, and it turns out it is the same one we had gotten a glimpse of Kaede in during the prologue.

Later, during the night, the Monokubs sneak into our room to drop something off, but since they can’t see in the dark, they worry they might get things mixed up. The next morning, we find a colorful Kubs Pad on our coffee table, similar to the Monopad. But this one contains a single video. Monokuma announces he’s bringing back “an old favorite:” personal motive videos of loved ones! However, the Monokubs did indeed mix things up as Shuichi receives Kaito’s video of his grandparents instead of his own.

Shuichi rushes around trying to find Kaito, and ends up meeting everyone in the dining hall. They soon decide it would be best to not exchange videos, so no one will have a motive to kill. Although, not everyone feels this way.

Kokichi strongly believes we should show each other our motives. He ends up roping the gullible Gonta into a scheme to achieve this, but it doesn’t quite go as planned. (Also at some point in between all this we do push-ups with Kaito one night, lol.) Kokichi gets Gonta all fired up to retrieve everyone who hates bugs, so they can come meet all the bugs in Gonta’s lab. Once we are all there (Shuichi, Tenko, Himiko, Angie, Kiyo, and Kibo, I believe), Kokichi leaves us with Gonta while he goes to fetch our Kubs Pads. Gonta releases an ungodly amount of bugs, while everyone is flipping their shit. Oblivious to how we’re all feeling Gonta seems pleased with how the Insect Meet and Greet is going.

When Kokichi finally returns with the Kubs Pads, before he can force us to start binge watching, we decide to let Gonta know he’s being used for Kokichi’s scheme. Kibo reveals that he has an audio tape recording function, which he rewinds to play Kokichi’s words for Gonta. Upset upon hearing this, Gonta makes Kokichi stay with him and the bugs while the rest of us leave, hearing Kokichi screaming in the distance, lol.

Meanwhile, Angie, and her new religious convert Himiko (much to the dismay of Tenko), have been planning a magic show. It’s planned to go on the morning after the whole Insect Meet and Greet fiasco. We gather in the gym, to see an elaborate setup for the show, although not everyone is present. Kokichi, Ryoma, Maki, and Kaito are nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, the show must go on! Angie and Himiko explain how the trick will work. Himiko will jump into a tank of water, and escape in one minute. Once the time is up, a suspended tank of piranhas will be dumped into the tank below. Seems simple enough, especially since it will all take place behind a curtain, and Himiko is not restrained in anyway.

The trick begins, and as seconds tick by on the timer, Himiko does not emerge. We all begin to worry, while Angie assures us all is well. But Gonta can’t wait any longer and leaps up on to the tank. He peers down into the water, with a surprised look on his face, and then time is up. The curtain is pulled back just before the piranha tanks is released, and floating inside the lower tank is...Ryoma! Handcuffed and unconscious or even dead. But the mystery of whether or not he is dead doesn’t last long, as the piranhas are dropped in, consuming his entire body down to the bones.

THOUGHTS: ‘Noooo!’ Was my reaction to seeing Ryoma’s body in the tank. I actually liked him a lot, so seeing him die so early was a disappointment.

Anyway, setting aside the “death portraits” for now, what is up with that “horse a” thing? Is it relevant? I feel like it’s got to be later, but it got brushed off so quickly. And what does it mean? I feel like there’s a secret meaning. Perhaps related to those random letters on the castley gate? Hm.

When Shuichi alluded to leaving his hat behind, I remember saying to my boyfriend how I bet it’s his hat and that he’s got a secret protagonist ahoge he’s been hiding this whole time! To my amusement, but not my surprise, I was right lol. What’s a Dangan Ronpa protagonist without an ahoge after all? Even our “secret protagonist” Shuichi, and “false protagonist” Kibo (in reference to the early promos) have one!

The way they did the new areas was interesting. How they were all spread out across the campus and not just one big central area. I enjoyed that. I also liked that we are getting to see most everyone’s research labs, slowly. (Thinking back I never tried going inside Miu’s though, I’ll have to do that later.) Except for Maki, who won’t let us inside for some strange reason...I almost wonder if she’s hiding something. No, I don’t wonder, I pretty much know she has to be hiding something. Like I mentioned back in my prologue post, I have a suspicion she may be lying about her talent. If her research lab is for a completely different talent she doesn’t want us knowing about, it would make sense she wouldn’t let anyone inside!

It was interesting to see a repeat motive, but of course in typical DR fashion, Monokuma made sure to point out that he was doing so, lol. However having everyone (or most everyone, we don’t know who received which video yet) receive someone else’s video was an interesting twist!

There seemed to be a lot of focus on Kaito this chapter too. Having his motive video, him inviting Shuichi to work out that one night, etc. The one line about Shuichi not realizing at that point how “horrific it is to trust someone” was very interesting. It would seem that this is in reference to Kaito, but we can’t be certain yet. My boyfriend suspects that all the Kaito business may be a red herring, but I’m not ruling him out as suspicious just yet.

But my favorite part of the chapter had to be the Insect Meet and Greet. Oh man, what a great scene. It was really funny, but I think will still be important to this next case in some ways. Gonta is a gift.

As for the murder, I can’t say a lot at this point! For whatever reason my gut reaction was again to suspect Tenko. I guess she’s my Souda of this game, although I actually liked him and hated suspecting him every time - Tenko I’m not super fond of lol. Also Kirumi, since we spent a lot of time on how much the other students are relying on her I feel like she might break soon. Also it’s just a hunch. And then Angie, who was involved in the magic show and also bonded with Himiko. If I’ve learned anything from Dangan Ronpa, it’s don’t get too close to anyone, it will just assure that only one of you will make it out alive lol. Not to mention the chapter title is suspicious given her religious enthusiasm...

But no idea how the killer did it and/or got Ryoma’s body in the tank! With little to go on I’m super excited to start investigating next time. I did make a joke though, how it’s like the show Bones - because all we have is his skeleton. And we have an anthropologist with us (Kiyo/Bones), someone who solves mysteries/crimes (Shuichi/Booth), a bug and nature guy (Gonta/Hodgins), and an artist (Angie/Angela) haha.

GAMEPLAY

Aside from free time, there’s really only one other thing I want to talk about here. Everything else is pretty much the same as before.

A new element that’s been added this chapter is the casino! We can exchange our monocoind for special casino coins and play games to win more special coins, which we can then use to exchange for prizes. Sounds confusing but it’s actually quite simple. I was able to get a decent of amount of coins for a low amount, and used those to play the slot machine and salmon fishing, the only two available games as of now.

I won a few hundred coins on the slot machine, but only made a couple salmon fishing. The salmon fishing works in a similar way to the hangman’s gambit of this game, with the things you need to select being hidden in shadow and then illuminated briefly. I think if I remember where the fish are without waiting for the light, I can win more coins. So I’ll have to try that again later.

Then for Free Time, I got 5 events, and I think it would have been 6 if I didn’t do an optional scene, which I’ll get to at the end. I spent Free Time with Himiko, Kirumi x2, Kibo, and Kokichi. Something I found interesting though, was that all the characters I talked to as Kaede didn’t carry over. Meaning, I no longer had a hope fragment for them or the information I learned there. As Amami and Ryoma are no longer with us, this was kind of a bummer since I won’t get to look back on that now. At least I have the memory I guess, lol.

Now it’s been about a week between playing and writing this section of my post, so I can’t quite remember what all I talked about with them. I do remember that Kirumi still wasn’t really saying much about herself, even in two FTEs. She mostly talked about places she’d worked and whatnot. I spent time with her twice because I really wanted to get to know who she was as a person, and not just as a maid. Hopefully she’s not the culprit this time, so I can still get a chance to do so lol. I also vaguely remember talking to Kokichi about his organization, and how he has powerful connections or something like that. But that’s about it.

But, on to the bonus scene. So before breakfast, on the day before the magic show, I happened to go talk to Miu in the courtyard, and she invited me to join her in the casino later that day. Of course, I chose yes. So when free time rolled around, I automatically travelled to the casino, where I was joined by Miu, Ryoma, Kaito, and Kokichi. We then got a light, fun scene where we all played casino games, and watched as Kaito continually lost to Ryoma, lol. I enjoyed it a lot.

One last thing I wanted to note is that I haven’t seen any more hidden Monokumas around! Just how hidden are these things? The two I found last chapter were impossible to miss. So I wonder where they’re at. I feel like I haven’t overlooked anything so I don’t know!

CHARACTERS

Like I said before it’s been a while since I played, so I’m having trouble remembering what all I wanted to say about the characters. I have a note that I wanted to talk about Kokichi, Kaito, Ryoma, Kirumi, Maki, and Kibo, but I can't remember what I had to say about them. I know I wanted to mention Ryoma sadly looking out over the tennis court in his lab, and Maki being a mysterious shit for no reason. (What are you hiding!) And maybe comment some more on Kaito and his grandparents and just him in general. But oh well, I’m sorry guys! I’ll try to be better about this with chapter 3 instead of putting it off so long, lol.

PREDICTIONS

Okay, so a final prediction to close with.

Another one of my reaching predictions, but the scene at the very beginning of the chapter got me thinking. I wonder if this is going to be like the sequel to my fanstory that I had planned, in which the twist is that all the characters are actually “dead” and the people who have been participating in the killing game are clones of those people who have been implanted with their memories.

Now, I actually hope this is not the case as I really want to use this idea for said fanstory, lol, but it would be interesting nonetheless. I don’t have any other evidence supporting this right now though, so I’ll have to see how things progress before saying more!

#JessDoesV3 #DRV3 #dangan ronpa #danganronpa

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