#plus the cities are so well crafted its worth exploring them

[taxreturnslut]

Everything about the city of Junon is so wonderful!!! I have had the biggest dumbest smile on my face the entire time I've been exploring the city.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

The worst thing you can say about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is that it occasionally spends more time sowing seeds than dealing with its current story. That's not so bad considering its emotional weight, visuals/special effects, performances (let’s remind ourselves again of how much of what we see had to be imagined by the actors when they were shooting) and the conclusion.

Many generations after War for the Planet of the Apes, humans have become feral and apes have formed multiple independent societies. An encounter with a human scavenger (played by Freya Allan) forces a chimpanzee named Noa (Owen Teague) to wander outside his village, where he encounters a group of armed apes headed towards his home. He rushes back, but arrives too late. His father has been killed and everyone else taken captive. As Noa tracks his clan in hopes of rescuing them, “Nova” (they call all the human females Nova) follows him.

Kingdom lasts 145 minutes. Even with that ample running time, it doesn't feel like everything introduced is fully explored by the end. The villain, for instance. Bonobo Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand) is the self-proclaimed king of the apes and is forcibly assembling them under his rule. We get a good feel for what sort of ape he is, but not enough for us to hate him… even though I think we're supposed to. This new Caesar wants to open this huge, armored door on the side of a cliff. He’s convinced that inside are weapons and knowledge that will allow apes to forever maintain the hold they've gained on the world. Conveniently, getting this knowledge will allow him to continue ruling. Is he power-hungry? Maybe, but there's something about him that's oddly compelling. He’s weirdly charismatic, but it's also that the rightful owners of that vault - humans - are less entitled to it now. Cities are almost completely overgrown. Skyscrapers have been transformed into unusually tall, rectangular mountains covered in vegetation. You see remnants of our civilization here and there, but can’t imagine how it could come back. You wonder if it even should. Apes and other animals have had to endure mankind’s wild ambitions for generations. If it’s so wrong for Proximus - whether he’s good or evil - to have the contents of that vault, then why were humans allowed to create it?

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes feels like two movies that bleed into each other. The first is Noa's quest. The second is a more philosophical story about how we - as partial outsiders - should feel about the world. While searching for his “people”, Noa gains a greater understanding of what role humans played in the planet’s past. Some of the questions that arise have a big impact on him and Nova, but an even bigger impact on us. 

This 10th Planet of the Apes (all of which I think are worth seeing a minimum of one time) ends on a more optimistic note than most of the chapters in this franchise, but I wouldn’t say that it’s a happy ending. It’s uncertain. I’m also going to call it inconclusive, which is a bit frustrating. Then again, the film is well-made, so you don’t feel like it’s just stringing you along. There’s a bigger story being told here, too big for just one movie. I'm willing to wait to see what it is. Am I being generous because of past experiences? Partially, yes, but the fact is, writer Josh Friedman and director Wes Ball want us to sit back and think. There aren’t a lot of big-budget, special-effects-heavy films that do that anymore and I’d like to see it happen more often. Plus, there’s the technical craft on display. I have no idea how much of this film was done on the computer, and how much was done in-camera. Well, the apes, obviously, but when it comes to the backgrounds/environments, I have no idea.

I also continue to admire this series for the way that it manages to make non-human characters so easy to relate to. Before Kingdom, I saw a trailer for Mufasa and was reminded of the live-action Disney Lion King remake from a few years ago. The animals we saw there were these brick walls spouting human-like dialogue. Despite top-notch computer imagery, the whole thing felt fake. The apes we meet in this film feel real.

When Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes shows off its lush forests growing out of decaying cities, you’re happy to let your eyes wander. When it explores the ape civilizations, you’re eager to see more so you can understand how it all works. It propels you through the locations with a relatable story whose conclusion is not what you’d expect (not entirely) by asking surprisingly thoughtful questions about whose planet this is, and who it belongs to. Combined with the performances and special effects that just keep getting better and better, it may not be the best of the new Apes films, but it doesn't feel like a continuation without a purpose. I foresee myself revisiting Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in the future, particularly when the next chapter comes around. (Theatrical version on the big screen, May 20, 2024)

[jewelryrepairkaty]

Discovering Hidden Gems: A Guide To The Best Jewelry Boutiques And Stores In Katy

Jewelry is a timeless and classic accessory to any outfit. It can reflect the personality of an individual and make them stand out from the crowd. For those looking for unique pieces that are not found in mass-produced chain stores, discovering hidden gems among jewelry boutiques and stores is essential. This article will provide a guide to finding some of the best jewelry boutiques and stores in Katy, Texas.

Katy has many local businesses dedicated to bringing their customers quality products at reasonable prices. From vintage designs to handcrafted items, these boutique shops offer something special that cannot be found elsewhere. The selection available ranges from casual everyday wear to statement pieces perfect for special occasions or celebrations. With careful consideration, shoppers can find the right piece of jewelry without breaking the bank.

The article aims to give readers insight into what each store offers as well as tips on how they can discover hidden gem jewelry boutiques and stores in Katy themselves. By providing specific information such as location, hours of operation, customer reviews, product descriptions and more, this article seeks to help readers easily navigate their way through the process of locating the perfect item for their style needs.

Custom Creations: Celebrating The Artistry Of Katy's Independent Jewelry Designers

Katy is a veritable treasure trove of unique, custom-made jewelry creations. From one-of-a-kind earrings to bold statement necklaces and beyond, the city's independent jewelry designers are offering an unparalleled selection of handmade pieces that will make any outfit shine. With their innovative designs that capture the essence of Katy’s eclectic style, these artists have something for everyone – from delicate diamond rings to eye-catching bracelets made with precious stones.

For those searching for truly special pieces to add to their collection, there are several renowned jewelry boutiques in Katy worth visiting. Whether you’re looking for timeless classics or avant-garde looks, each boutique offers its own distinct style that celebrates the artistry of local craftsmen. Plus, many offer personalized services such as repairs and engraving so customers can customize their purchase exactly how they want it. No matter what kind of jewelery piece you're looking for, the shops in this Texas town promise to provide quality and craftsmanship without breaking the bank.

Vintage Finds And Antique Treasures: Exploring Katy's Must-Visit Jewelry Resale Shops

Katy, Texas is home to numerous jewelry boutiques and stores offering a variety of styles for any taste. For those looking for something more unique or special, there are several resale shops in the city that provide an array of vintage finds and antique treasures. Monica's Jewelry Repair Center is one such store, offering customers access to rare pieces from around the world. Here you will find everything from estate items to fine art jewelry crafted by master jewelers. Whether you're searching for a timeless classic or a stylish new piece, this shop has it all.

For those who prefer shopping locally, Katy also boasts many consignment stores featuring stunning rings, necklaces, bracelets and watches at unbeatable prices. These establishments offer customers the chance to purchase quality pre-owned items without breaking the bank. You can find anything from statement earrings to exquisite diamonds among these collections – perfect for anyone wanting special gifts with a personal touch. With so many options available in Katy’s resale market, shoppers are sure to find something they love!

Ethical And Sustainable Jewelry Shopping: Katy's Eco-Friendly And Socially Conscious Boutiques

As the trend of ethical and sustainable shopping continues to grow, businesses throughout Katy have adapted accordingly. From resale shops to boutiques offering handmade pieces crafted from recycled materials, there is no shortage of options for those seeking jewelry with a sense of greater purpose. But where can shoppers find these gems? To answer this question, we’ll explore some of the best eco-friendly and socially conscious boutique stores in town.

The first stop on our journey is Atocha Jewelry Designs & Gallery. Located at 961 South Mason Road Suite #130A, Atocha offers an extensive selection of ethically sourced diamonds and conflict-free jewels set into stunning one-of-a-kind designs handcrafted by master jewelers. Their collection also includes sustainably produced metals such as recycled gold and platinum that are certified through their own Responsible Gold program. For shoppers looking for something truly special, Atocha also provides custom design services to bring your vision to fruition.

Next up is Earthwerks Fine Jewelry Design Studio located at 619 Pin Oak Rd., Suite 200B in Katy Mills Mall. This family owned business has been providing customers with high quality yet affordable jewelry since 1989 and is dedicated to preserving both natural resources and human rights within their supply chain. They specialize in sourcing conflict free gemstones from around the world – all backed by independent laboratory reports – as well as creating beautiful custom designs made from recycled metals like sterling silver or 14k white gold. Whether you’re searching for a unique engagement ring or just hoping to add a little sparkle to your wardrobe, Earthwerks should be your go-to source for ethical jewelry that looks great without compromising anyone’s moral values or standards of excellence.

Navigating The World Of Bridal Jewelry: Top Destinations For Engagement Rings And Wedding Bands In Katy

When looking for bridal jewelry, the search can be overwhelming in Katy. With so many options available and a wide variety of styles to choose from, it is important to find the perfect place that caters specifically to your needs. Fortunately, there are some great boutiques and stores in Katy offering exquisite engagement rings and wedding bands.

One of the top places for bridal jewelry in Katy is Jewelry by Jennifer. This boutique specializes in diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires set into beautiful gold or platinum settings. They also offer custom pieces crafted with individualized designs that make each piece unique and special. The store offers a wide selection of rings including solitaire settings as well as intricate vintage-inspired ones that feature multiple stones combined together. Their knowledgeable staff will help you find the right style and setting to fit your budget while providing helpful tips on choosing the best diamond cut or gemstone type for your ring. Additionally, they provide expert repair services to ensure years of enjoyment with your purchase.

With its vast selection of stylish engagement rings and wedding bands at competitive prices, Jewelry by Jennifer should definitely be high on any list when searching for bridal jewelry in Katy. Whether you’re seeking an elegant antique design or a modern twist on timeless tradition, this store has something perfect for everyone who wants to capture their dream look without breaking the bank.

Conclusion

The city of Katy, Texas is a veritable treasure trove for jewelry shopping. From Custom Creations celebrating the artistry of independent designers to vintage finds and antique treasures in resale shops, as well as ethical and sustainable boutiques offering eco-friendly alternatives, shoppers are spoiled for choice. Bridal jewelry can also be found with ease at some of the top destinations for engagement rings and wedding bands in town. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that uncovering hidden gems when exploring the best jewelry stores in Katy has become something of an obsession amongst passionate jewelry connoisseurs from all over the state.

The selection available across these establishments covers a wide range of styles, tastes and budgets; ranging from minimalist pieces to ornate items dripping with gemstones. The atmosphere within each store provides customers with a unique experience - whether they're simply browsing or looking for something special to mark an important occasion. Every visit offers a kaleidoscope of experiences that leave one feeling like they have unearthed their very own buried treasure.

Ultimately, discovering hidden gems in Katy's jewelry scene is akin to taking a journey through time; where exquisite designs come alive before one's eyes and memories linger long after leaving each shop behind. With so much on offer, this vibrant region promises many more stunning surprises just waiting to be discovered by eager explorers everywhere!

Monica's Jewelry Repair Center

5000 Katy Mills Cir #442a, Katy, TX 77494

Phone: (832) 301-4103

[carpetcleaning143]

Best Places to Eat in Baltimore

Introduction

Baltimore, MD is a city of neighborhoods, and no one neighborhood has it all. But each neighborhood has its own distinct vibe, and those vibes are best explored through food. I've found the following places to be some of the best for eating in Baltimore—I've tried them all, and would recommend them if you find yourself in town!

Woodberry Kitchen

Woodberry Kitchen is a neighborhood restaurant that serves farm-to-table food. It's located in the Woodberry neighborhood of Baltimore, so you can expect to find all sorts of local produce on the menu here. The seasonal menu changes regularly and features dishes like braised pork belly with buttermilk biscuits and sorghum butter; wood-roasted quail with root vegetables; or butter-poached lobster with ramp mayonnaise and potato chips.

Woodberry Kitchen has been named one of America's best new restaurants by Food & Wine magazine, so you know it will be worth your time!

The Helmand

Helmand is a great place to get your Afghan food fixed. Located in the heart of Hampden, this restaurant serves up some of the best Middle Eastern cuisines in Baltimore. The Helmand also has a full bar and craft beer selection, so you can grab drinks with friends while you wait for your table or order takeout from their extensive menu options.

The Helmand offers several lunch specials daily. You can find everything from falafel sandwiches to kebabs on their lunch menu from 11:30 am-3 pm Monday through Friday! If you're looking for something more hearty than soup after work or school, try one of their kabobs; they come served with rice pilaf and salad greens for only $16 during happy hour every day between 4 pm-6 pm (regular price is around $19).

Bo Brooks Bar-B-Q

Bo Brooks is a great place to eat if you're looking for some good Southern food. It's located in South Baltimore, so it's not super close to any other attractions but the food makes up for it. When you walk into this restaurant, it feels like you're stepping back in time and entering someone's home kitchen. The service is quick and friendly, and their specialty dishes are delicious! I recommend getting the fried chicken wings or ribs with beans and rice--you won't regret it!

Birroteca

Birroteca is a modern Italian restaurant in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood, serving traditional Italian food in a casual atmosphere. It's owned by the same people who own Birroteca DC and Birroteca Halethorpe.

Birroteca has an open kitchen where you can watch your meal come together, plus plenty of seating at long tables or bar seats that face out onto the street. The menu includes pizzas (with toppings like prosciutto, mushrooms, figs, and arugula) as well as pasta made from scratch daily--you'll find dishes such as linguine with clams or rigatoni with pork sausage ragu on offer here too. The wine list includes over 200 bottles available by the glass or bottle; if beer's more your thing then there are 10 drafts available too!

La Cuchara

La Cuchara is a Spanish restaurant that serves authentic and delicious food. It's located in the heart of Hampden, so you know it's going to be good! The service is great and the waitstaff is friendly, too. The atmosphere at La Cuchara is warm and welcoming; you'll feel right at home here!

Dooby's

Dooby's is a great place to get a burger and fries. Their breakfast sandwiches are also delicious, as are their sandwiches. The atmosphere is nice and the service is good, so it's a place you can take your family or friends when they come into town.

Glen Oaks

Glen Oaks is a restaurant in Baltimore. They serve brunch on the weekends, and they're known for their crab cakes. Their outdoor patio is great for summertime dining, and they have a great brunch menu with inventive dishes like crab Benedict and kimchi pancakes.

New Northwood

Located in the Canton neighborhood, New Northwood is a great place to eat if you're looking for something new. The menu features American food with an international twist, including dishes like Korean fried chicken wings and Hawaiian poke.

The restaurant has received positive reviews from customers who appreciate its atmosphere and friendly service. It's also very affordable: most entrees cost less than $20!

Conclusion

I hope you've enjoyed this list of some of the best places to eat in Baltimore. If you have any favorites that I didn't mention, please leave them in the comments below!

Carpet Cleaning

Carpet cleaning is an essential part of home maintenance. It can help keep your home looking great and smelling fresh. But it’s not something that everyone knows how to do themselves! Even if you have the best carpet cleaner in Baltimore at your disposal, there are still a few things you should know before hiring them (or trying them yourself). Carpet cleaning in Baltimore is a great place to spend some time. We know that you want to make sure that your room looks as good as it can be, so we’ve put together this list of the best bed and breakfast spots in Baltimore. Priority Carpet Cleaning has been providing the best carpet cleaning in Baltimore for over 20 years. We’ve seen a lot of changes in that time, but one thing has remained the same — our customers love us! They offer carpet cleaning, steam cleaning, and deodorizing services. They are a locally-owned company, and its number one priority is customer satisfaction. Priority Carpet Cleaning has been providing the best carpet cleaning in Baltimore for over 20 years. They offer carpet cleaning, steam cleaning, and deodorizing services. They are a locally-owned company, and its number one priority is customer satisfaction. You may find us online using these keywords carpet cleaning, carpet cleaning Baltimore, steam cleaning, tile and grout cleaning, steam cleaning Baltimore, tile and grout cleaning Baltimore, and carpet cleaning near me.

Priority Carpet Cleaning

5109 York Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212, United States

410-210-4580

[goldiers1]

Discover the Wonders of Sightseeing in London, UK

  London, UK is one of the best-known cities in the world. The city is diverse and full of history that you can experience firsthand. From ancient Roman walls to modern attractions like The Shard, there are plenty of sites to explore in London. Locals and tourists alike can take in a show at the West End Theatre or marvel at Big Ben and St. Paul's Cathedral. Shopping on Oxford Street or Covent Garden Market will provide endless opportunities for souvenirs, while traditional pubs offer a taste of British culture with their delicious food and drinks. Enjoy an afternoon tea or simply sit back and admire the beauty that London has to offer. It is impossible to really appreciate London in one visit as there is just so much to do and discover. Planning out the best use of time has long been a challenge for everyone.  

Sightseeing in London

London, UK has been a hotspot for sightseeing since Tudor times. The city started to become a key tourist destination in the late 18th century and it has continued to draw in people keen to take in its landmarks and ancient streets ever since. London is full of history, with such well-known sights as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Greenwich and Trafalgar Square. Many of these have now become popular attractions for tourists from all around the world. London's rich past means that nearly every corner you turn presents another historically significant viewpoint, making it perfect for those looking for an informative yet entertaining tour. London boasts many hidden gems tucked away within its bustling cityscape but provides no shortage of exciting attractions for visitors of all ages and interests. From national art galleries to royal parks, theatres, and markets, London is truly a sightseer’s paradise!  

The big bus tours on London Bridge. Photo by Martin Arrand. Flickr.   Guided Tours by Bus London is a vast city with many attractions and landmarks, but it can be hard to see them all without a guide. A guided tour by bus gives visitors the opportunity to explore London’s famous sights in comfort while learning more about its history. The buses used for these tours are classic double-deckers, giving participants an authentic experience of travelling around the capital as locals do. Tour guides provide commentary along the way and share interesting stories from London’s past - perfect for those looking to understand more about this vibrant city. These tours take in some of London’s best known monuments such as the Tower of London and Big Ben, plus other hidden gems that you might have missed if visiting independently.  

Trafalgar Square, London, UK. Photo by John Weiss. Flickr.   Trafalgar Square One of London's best known landmarks, Trafalgar Square, is a vibrant public space found in the heart of the city. It has been used for numerous events throughout history, and holds an important place in British culture. Located just a few minutes' walk from the National Gallery and other popular attractions, it's worth visiting to experience its unique atmosphere for yourself. The square was named after Admiral Horatio Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Its centrepiece is Nelson’s Column – a monument to Admiral Nelson which stands 55m tall and is guarded by four lion statues crafted from granite. The Square also boasts two fountains, as well as plinths dedicated to Charlie Chaplin and Abraham Lincoln.   The London Underground For millions of commuters and visitors alike, the London Underground is an important part of British life. The fastest and easiest way to get around such a large city. However, what many people do not know is that the history of this transport network stretches back over 150 years. The world’s first underground railway opened in 1863 between Paddington Station and Farringdon Street - now known as the Metropolitan Line. This was soon followed by lines stretching to Bank, Charing Cross and Moorgate. By 1884, most of the famous ‘Circle’ line had been constructed, and by 1890 it ran a full circuit around Central London – marking a major milestone in railway engineering and urban planning. Since then, new lines have been added throughout London including some modern adoptions such as the Jubilee line in 1979 and three additional lines running through East London.  

Shakespear's Globe Theatre on the the south bank of the River Thames. Photo by Paulo O. Flickr.  

Ancient Sites

London's River Thames is home to some of history's greatest sites. From the Roman walls on the south bank, dating back as far as 200 AD and once protecting the entire city, to the famous Globe Theatre where some of William Shakespeare's most remarkable plays were performed in the 16th century, there is no shortage of majestic sights. Finally, stepping into the Tower of London transports you back centuries. Approaching 1,000 years old, this castle has been variously used as a royal residence due to its legendary walls but also served archival and treasury duties until 1828 when it was converted into a museum. Today these ancient sites, only meters from each other on the Londons River Thames, are must-see places and provide a unique glimpse into how far this city's legacy has come.  

Modern Attractions

  The London Eye A popular modern attraction for visitors and tourists alike is the London Eye. Situated right on the banks of the River Thames, the structure stands a mighty 443 feet tall and is the largest cantilevered observation wheel in the world. It offers stunning views over the city that have been enjoyed by an estimated 3.5 million people since its opening back in 2000. Featuring 32 capsules, each containing 25 guests, the London Eye makes for a breathtaking experience that is not to be missed when visiting London!  

The Shard, Boiler Suit. Photo by Gordon Joly. Flickr.   The Shard One of its most recent additions, The Shard, has quickly become one of London's most popular tourist destinations. Standing 306 meters tall, it is currently the tallest building in London and one of the tallest in Europe. The Shard was designed by award-winning Italian architect Renzo Piano and opened its doors to visitors in 2013. Its unique design includes 11000 panels of glass which gives panoramic views across London from the viewing platform on level 72. It also houses offices, restaurant floors, a hotel as well as an open-air sky deck on level 69 with breathtaking views over some of London's most famous landmarks such as Tower Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral.   Tate Modern The Tate Modern is an incredibly popular destination that is full of recent visual arts. It houses an impressive variety of artwork ranging from painting and sculpture to photography, film, and performance art. The building opened its doors in 2000 as a renovated power station, befittingly making it the perfect setting to showcase modern works of art by both renowned and up-and-coming artists. There is always something new to see at the gallery, with close to 5 million tourists per year visiting, it's no surprise that the Tate Modern continues to leave an indelible mark on tourists, art lovers, and locals alike.  

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Photo by David Blaikie. Flickr.  

West End Theatres

The theater scene in the West End is lively and invigorating, making for an exciting and memorable destination. From old-style musicals to contemporary shows, theater venues in the neighborhood consistently offer an exciting and entertaining experience. Whether it’s ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ or ‘Les Miserables’ you can always find something new and entertaining to watch in the West End. If you want to get up close and personal with your favorite stars many shows also offer meet-and-greets after performances!  

Shopping Destinations

Oxford Street is one of the most visited shopping destinations in London, UK, and for good reason. Stretching from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Street offers a myriad of stores ranging from high-street fashion to designer labels. Stop by Covent Garden Market for unique crafts and handmade items; this covered market has over 60 stalls offering art, jewelry, comics, and antiques. Whether you’re looking to spot celebrity shoppers in Knightsbridge or pick up a special souvenir from the Covent Garden Market vendors, shopping in London has no shortage of options.  

Harrods, Knightsbridge in London UK. Photo by Rohan Travellin. Flickr.   Harrods Harrods is one of the best known department stores in the world. Established in 1834, this London-based store has been a cornerstone of high-end shopping for nearly two centuries. Known for its opulence and grandiose displays of luxury items, it has become an international symbol of class and style. The origin story of Harrods began with Charles Henry Harrod, a young entrepreneur from Kent who opened his first “East India Merchant” shop near London Bridge in 1834. By 1880, the business had grown substantially and moved to its current location on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge. From there, it quickly established itself as the go-to destination for those seeking luxury goods, catering to members of Britain’s royal family and even foreign dignitaries like Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.   Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols is one of the most well-known luxury department stores in the world. Founded in London in 1831, it has been an established source of high-end fashion, beauty and lifestyle products for almost two centuries. The brand was started by Benjamin Harvey who opened his first store on London’s fashionable Knightsbridge Street with a focus on selling quality items such as ribbons, hosiery and other accessories to the affluent people of 19th century England. Over time, this evolved into what we now know as Harvey Nichols – a premier destination for cutting edge fashion trends, exclusive beauty products and gourmet food items from around the globe.   John Lewis & Partners John Lewis & Partners is a British department store, renowned for providing quality and stylish products. Established in 1864 by John Spedan Lewis, this beloved retail institution has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the most recognizable names in the UK. John Spedan Lewis opened his first shop on Oxford Street in London, selling an array of goods ranging from haberdashery to furniture. Throughout the years, he continued to expand both his product range and customer base, eventually establishing a successful business which was passed down through generations of the Lewis family. In 2009, John Lewis & Partners adopted its current name as a nod to its heritage and founder’s vision. Today, John Lewis & Partners serves customers across the nation with more than 50 stores ranging from fashion boutiques to state-of-the-art home furnishing showrooms.  

Selfridges, London, UK. Photo by Loz Pycock. Flickr.   Selfridges Selfridges has been a staple of the London shopping scene since its opening in 1909. Founded by American entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge, the store was one of the first to offer customers an innovative shopping experience, with a focus on customer service and marketing. Selfridge used his wealth and experience to modernise traditional British retailing, introducing attractive window displays and interactive areas for shoppers. He also revolutionised the way goods were sold, offering customers competitive prices and allowing them to view merchandise before purchasing it. His pioneering approach helped establish Selfridges as a leader in retailing at the time, setting it apart from other stores selling similar wares. Today, Selfridges is still regarded as one of London's top shopping destinations for fashion-lovers and trendsetters alike.   Hamleys Hamleys is a name synonymous with toys and fun. Established in 1760, it is one of the oldest toy shops in the world, with a rich history spanning over 250 years. Its story began when William Hamley opened his first shop on High Holborn Street in London, which soon became renowned for its large selection of toys. Through its long tenure, Hamleys has made many contributions to both the world of toys and entertainment as well as British culture. During the 1800s, Prince Albert visited the store to purchase gifts for his children; Queen Victoria even sent her royal warrant to Hamleys for it to become a royal purveyor of toys. Even today, it remains one of the most famous toy stores in Britain and beyond – attracting more than 5 million visitors each year from around the world.  

St Paul's Cathedral, London. Photo by Garry Knight. Flickr.  

Architectural Wonders

London, UK is home to some of the world's most beautiful architectural wonders. Big Ben and St. Paul's Cathedral are two of them, both situated in central London. Big Ben is a tall historical clock tower that has roots reaching back to 1858. The 276-foot tower houses a working four-faced clock as well as a bell that is over 17 tons in weight and can be heard from up to three miles away. Similarly, St. Paul's Cathedral is considered one of London’s symbolic landmarks after it survived the German bombing during World War Two. The cathedral was built approx 300 years ago by the English architect Sir Christopher Wren. It is located close to the Bank of England. The cathedral is full of history and has an opulent interior with bronze doors, leather carvings, and marble walls. The whispering gallery is a must-see experience.  

Food & Drinks

London has a long and proud history of traditional pubs and afternoon tea. For centuries, the two have been enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, adding to the city's vibrant culture. Whether you're looking for an evening of drinks with friends or an afternoon snack in a quaint setting, London has plenty of options when it comes to food and drinks. Traditional pubs are a staple in London culture, offering delicious pub grub along with a wide selection of beers, wines, and spirits. With some having been around since the 16th century, these pubs provide an authentic atmosphere where guests can take part in longstanding traditions such as darts tournaments or karaoke nights. On the other hand, afternoons spent at one of many quaint tearooms provide visitors with a warm welcome as well as scones, finger sandwiches, and plenty of refreshing teas.   Fortnum and Mason Fortnum & Mason is a world-renowned luxury department store located in the heart of London. Founded in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason, it has been providing its customers with a unique shopping experience for over 300 years. The store originally opened as a grocery shop, but quickly expanded to include other items such as artworks, antiques and fine foods. Fortnum & Mason has become renowned throughout the world for its luxurious products and exceptional service standards. It boasts an extensive range of food and drink, fashion, homeware and accessories including exclusive fine wines and premium teas - making it one of London’s most celebrated stores. On top of the traditional retailing activities, Fortnum & Mason hosts afternoon tea sets as well as special events such as live music performances that attract visitors from around the world.  

Ritz-Carlton cupcake tea. Photo by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Flickr.   Tea at the Ritz The Ritz: the name alone is synonymous with luxury and elegance. This London institution has been serving up afternoon tea since 1906, making it one of the longest-running traditions in history. The British love affair with tea dates back to the 17th century when it was first imported from China. By the 18th century, taking tea had evolved into an essential part of social life for aristocrats who would often gather in genteel parlors to enjoy this fashionable beverage. Fast forward to 1906 and The Ritz opened its doors, introducing a new type of Afternoon Tea experience that has gone on to become a timeless classic.  

Conclusion: Enjoy the Magic of London

London is a city full of wonders, from its architectural marvels to the traditional pubs and afternoon tea. Tourists can experience something new each time they visit this vibrant destination. Whether it’s strolling down Oxford Street for some shopping or admiring the breathtaking beauty of Big Ben and St Paul's Cathedral, London is a cultural experience like no other. London is also up-to-date with modern marvels like The London Eye, The Shard and Tate Modern. so if you're looking for history, art and entertainment, this vibrant city will not disappoint!   Sources: THX News, Timeout & Visit London. Read the full article

[scapegrace74-blog]

Ginger Snap, Chapter 6

A/N  Well, here it is.  The last chapter of Ginger Snap.   As an unplanned fic inspired by a vanity license plate, I’m happy with how it turned out.   There will be a short epilogue posted in the next week or so.  In the meantime,  thank you so much for coming on this unexpected ride with me!   This chapter’s themed title is Fire in the Belly.

Previous chapters are best enjoyed on my AO3 page, because I have a bad habit of going back and editing them after they’ve been posted.

The next five months were some of the most difficult of my life.  

After our talk, Frank and I agreed that it would be best that we parted ways.  The Southside flat was close to the university, plus I’d never truly felt at home there, so it made sense for him to keep it.  Fortunately, we’d never combined our savings and I still had money tucked away from my time as a medical resident in Boston.

Geillis wanted me to move into her sprawling Murrayfield home, at least temporarily, but I knew that I needed a place of my own.  To stand on my own two feet, as it were.   Which was how I found myself moving my few belongings into a modest Morningside walk-up as the rest of Edinburgh celebrated Hogmanay with fireworks and drunken revelry.

I scheduled the written component of my medical licensing exam for February.  This was likely foolhardy, but I’d already wasted enough time.  As a result, almost every waking hour was dedicated to studying.  The flat remained an empty box whose naked beige walls bore witness to my rudimentary existence.

Geillis called regularly, reminding me to eat and to occasionally step outside for a breath of fresh air.  Returning up the high street from one of our weekly coffee dates, a bright flash in a shop window caught my eye.

I stopped and stared as the afternoon sun lit the vase like a shard of stained glass.  It was a profound shade of blue: the colour of a field of indigo, of the night sky in a Byzantine icon, of Jamie’s eyes when he laughed.  It sat on my windowsill, filled with the season’s first daffodils, as I pored over practice exams.

***

“Geillis, I passed!  I fucking passed!”  An elderly woman seated across from me on the bus muttered under her breath about vulgar Sassenachs, but I was too elated to care.

“Of course ye did, ye brilliant disaster.  Now I can brag tae the neighbours I have my own personal physician.”

“Not so fast, Duncan.  I still need to pass the clinical exam, and that’s no small thing.”  My gut twisted just thinking about it, but unlike the written exam, there was little I could do to prepare.  Either I knew how to perform as a doctor or I did not.  The long months since I’d last treated a patient loomed like a large shadow over that question.

“Och, yer bum’s oot the window Claire,” my friend dismissed blithely.  “Ye’re gonna do great.  When do ye head down tae yer homeland, then?”

“May first.”  The practical examination took place in Manchester and needed to be scheduled three months in advance.

“Sounds like ye’ve got some time on yer hands.  Whate’er are ye going tae do with yerself?” Geillis asked in a singsong voice.

Fortunately for me, spring was Edinburgh’s most pleasant season.  Its many gardens and laneways erupted in carpets of buds and blooms.  The air smelled fresh and green, like biting into a tart apple.  I took long walks and fell in love with the city I now called home.  There were secondhand bookstores to explore and a weekly craft market where I gradually amassed an assortment of items that made my flat feel like a home.  With each passing day, my existence felt more and more like a life; one I defined for myself.

I also started to explore my options for employment, hoping for a job offer from one of the city’s hospitals that was conditional upon my successful completion of the licensing process.  It was to that end that I found myself walking down the corridor of The Royal Edinburgh hospital after what I hoped had been a rather successful interview with the deputy director of surgery.

“Claire?”

I recognized her voice immediately.  Before turning around I closed my eyes and sent out a fervent appeal to the universe.

“Jenny, hi.  How are you?”

She looked just the same, her straight black hair such a contrast to her brother.  Next to her stood a man, but not the man I had conjured the moment I heard her voice.  I was unclear whether that meant my prayer had been answered or not.  Seeing my gaze stray, Jenny jumped to introductions.

“This is my husband, Ian.  We’re here fer treatment on his leg.”

“Nothing serious, I hope.”  

“Jes a fitting fer a new prosthetic.  Jenny keeps beatin’ me o’er the head with the old one, ye see.”  I laughed, instantly liking his easy-going manner, so in contrast with Jenny’s intensity.

“Ye must be the Claire I hear sae much about,” he went on, and I wondered what had been said about me in the Fraser household.

“Nothing bad, I hope.”

Ian smiled warmly.  “Only good things, I promise ye.”

“What brings ye tae the hospital, Claire?” Jenny interjected.

I explained how I was in the process of qualifying to practice medicine in Scotland, provided I could pass my exams.  Jenny and Ian were both delighted, congratulating me as though I’d already accomplished my goal.  As we spoke about Wee Jamie’s latest exploits and the ongoing growth of Ginger Snap, I couldn’t help notice that Jenny was staring at my hands.  At my left hand in particular.  Finally, I couldn’t resist temptation any longer.

“And, how is Jamie doing?”  I tried to sound casual, but I was certain my faltering voice betrayed me.

“Very well,” Jenny replied.  “Busy, as ye can imagine, but he thrives on chaos.”

I nodded, trying to be satisfied with the news that he was well.  It was the most I could hope for, really.  Jenny eyed me shrewdly before continuing.

“He’s a good man, my brother.  Any lass would be verra lucky tae have him.  I’d like tae see him settled, but he refuses tae be rushed.  Says the right woman is worth the wait.”  She paused before adding,  “I reckon ye ken wha’ he means.”

“Yes,” I breathed.  “I know exactly what he means.”

***

I took the overnight train from Edinburgh to Manchester.  It meant I was likely to arrive at the testing centre deprived of sleep, but I rationalized that most of my residency could be characterized as one long evaluation under similar conditions, and I hadn’t killed anyone yet.  Still, as the velvety darkness slipped by outside my window, studded by the lights of passing farms, my doubts got the better of me.

I texted Geillis, looking for moral support.  For once she didn’t reply immediately.  There was one other name on my laughably short list of contacts.  I deliberated for all of a minute, but the late hour and creeping panic made me impulsive.

Hello.

Best to start with something innocuous, rather than the slightly more revealing “I miss you.  I think about you every day.”  A reply bubble appeared immediately after I hit send.  At least I hadn’t woken him up.  A small tempest stirred in my gut.

Arsonist.  Hello.  How are you?

I tried to picture him.  Was he at home?  Working late?  Or, in a scenario that played out far too often in my mind, on a date?

I’m alright.  Well, to be honest, I feel like I’m going to puke and cry.  Not necessarily in that order.

Och, lass.  Do you need me to come over?

Damn it, this man.  I had done nothing to deserve his unswerving loyalty but mislead him and then disappear for months on end.  And yet here he was, willing to come to my aid on the flimsy pretext of a late night text.  Guilt and tenderness warred for possession of my heart.

That may prove a bit difficult, Jamie.  I’m on a train to England.

There was a long pause, and then a two letter reply.

Oh.

I realized at once that he’d leapt to the wrong conclusion: that I had left Edinburgh for good.  I rushed to correct the error.

I’m taking the second stage of my examination to practice as a NHS doctor tomorrow.   It’s all hands-on situations, and the licensing facility is in Manchester.

Arsonist, that’s wonderful news!  I’m so proud of you.

I blushed, then leaned my heated cheek against the chilled pane of glass.  It had been a rash impulse, but this conversation was exactly what I needed.  I wasn’t alone in this.  Geillis and Jamie were in my corner.

What has your stomach in a twist, then?

What if I’ve forgotten what to do?!  It’s been almost a year since I’ve so much as used a stethoscope, Jamie.  The exam is eighteen real-life situations and you’re given eight minutes to respond to each one.  Not a second longer.  I’m just...  what if I fail?

And there it was.  The kernel of fear that lived at the heart of everything I did.  What if I failed?   What if my best wasn’t good enough?

Claire, listen to me.  You’re a doctor, just as I am a chef.  It wouldn’t matter if I had not set foot in a kitchen in ten years, I would still remember how to cook, and I know that it’s the same for you.  I believe it with everything in me.

On some level, I knew that he was right.  But it still comforted me tremendously to hear it from someone I trusted.

Alright.  That helps.  I should let you get to bed.  Thank you for talking me off my ledge, Jamie.

Anytime, Arsonist.

As I got ready sign off, another text bubble appeared.

Oh, and Claire?  Don’t burn down their wee laboratory, okay? ;-)

I laughed out loud, muting my phone and reclining my seat.  Outside, the stars shone brightly, tiny fires in the firmament to guide me on my way.

***

It was a lovely late spring day, and the retractable doors to the fire station were open to the warm breeze.  I could hear Angus’ voice as he led a cooking demonstration for a group of young women; a bridal shower by the look of their ridiculous costumes.

“Mind the coriander, lass.  Tis a verra powerful aphrodisiac, ken?  I willna be held responsible if ye canna resist my considerable charms after ye eat yon soup.”

There was an outburst of giggles as I rounded the corner and entered the reception area.  Jenny was on the phone.  She halted mid-sentence when she saw me walk in.  I rubbed my hands down the front of my jeans, trying to stay calm.

“He’s in the storeroom, in the back,” Jenny prompted before I could even offer a greeting.  I smiled gratefully, relieved I didn’t have to make small talk.  I had only so much courage stored in reserve, and I didn’t want to use it all up before reaching my destination.

The storeroom was long and narrow, lit by a single naked bulb and girded with shelves.  Jamie stood with his broad back to the door, his curls absorbing the light like amber.  He had a clipboard in one hand, performing some kind of inventory.

“Jes how many lentils dae ye reckon we need, Janet?  There’s nine cans of them here already, and ye have us ordering ten more.”

I’d almost forgotten how much I loved his voice, the undulating grit and silk of it.  I had to remaster the art of speech before I could reply.

“It’s not Jenny.  It’s me.  Claire.”

He froze, and if it weren’t for the sudden rapid flow of his breath I would have assumed he hadn’t heard me.  My nerves got the better of me and I blurted out, “I like lentils.  You should listen to your sister.”

“Claire.”  More sigh than word.  He slowly turned.  It was when our eyes met that I knew nothing had changed for him.  It was still there, after all these months.  That look that told me I was the map to his journey, the focus to his vision, the reason to his why.  

Hopefully he could read that same certainty on my face.

“I passed my exams,” I began.  “I’m a doctor again.”

“Ye never stopped bein’ a doctor.  This jus’ makes it official.”

“I’m still a disaster in the kitchen,” I continued.  “Last week I ruined two saucepans.”

“Tha’s only a tragedy if ye dinna have someone willin’ tae cook fer ye,” he replied with a strange squinting motion I understood was meant to be a wink.

“I’m still learning who I am.  How to be true to the person on the inside,” I confessed.  This is what had kept me away for so long, worried that I would escape from Frank’s orbit just to be caught up in another.  Jamie never once expected my submission, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t offer it out of habit.

“I’ll let ye in on a secret.  Sae is everyone else,” he replied.

Without realizing it, we’d both been moving until we were crowded together amongst the dried herbs and canned goods.  My hand rested against the solid metronome of his heart.  Just one more confession to go.

“I burn for you in a way I’ve never burned for anything before.”

There.  It was said.  A thousand wings of rapture beat against the cage of my ribs, clamoring to break free.  Jamie carefully pushed a loose curl behind my ear before cupping my jaw.

“Wee arsonist.  Come, set my life on fire.”

[dumbfinntales]

After a small break I went back into Kingdoms of Amalur Re-reckoning and beat its last two DLC’s. So how did it fare?

Kingdoms of Amalur is a fine action RPG marred with some annoying quirks, but also has a lot of potential. Y’know this game had the potential to be one of my favorite games of all time but it didn’t quite reach that status. I do have enjoyed flawed games quite a bit in the past (for example Dragons Dogma), but this games flaws really hinder my enjoyment of it.

But first let me sing its praises. The build variety in this game is surprisingly big and you can make any kind of build you desire by mixing the three main stats. There’s even a “build” for a jack of all trades character. These builds come in the form of destinies that give you certain benefits based on your stats. Imagine like a build, when you have 10 might you can become a warrior and being a warrior comes with its own perks. I was a hybrid class in finesse and magic, so my end destiny was called shadowcaster. A really cool name for a destiny I’d say. My favorite perk from going this route was that my dodge move turned into a short range teleport instead.

The games lore is very extensive and quite fascinating. When I started this game it felt like they just bombarded me with generic fantasy names, but eventually after playing the game for a while I go really into the lore. I especially liked the Gnomes in this game as their society is based on ancient Roman culture and they’re people of science. Plus they’re a breath of fresh air as most fantasy games use dwarves instead.

But beyond that the game tumbles quite a bit in my eyes. The combat especially just doesn’t feel good or responsive. Your character has massive stun animations making multi hit attacks stunlock you, there’s no i-frames so you often roll into enemy attacks and enemies also have stupid tracking. Their attacks home in on you. The team behind this game couldn’t design a good boss fight even if they tried. The Gnome boss and the giant demon thing were alright I guess, but most bosses were just underwhelming. Especially the final boss of the story. DLC bosses were no better either. I also felt that the reckoning mode was really unbalanced. It’s cool in practice and a neat gameplay addition for extra XP, but it felt like an auto win button. Especially on bosses, they can’t do anything to you.

The dungeons were really bad. Most of them were big corridors with nothing interesting in them. I’d only explore dungeons if it was related to a quest. I’d rather explore the dungeons in Oblivion than here. I also learned just how much I fucking hate randomized loot. I find a hidden chest that has a very hard lock on it, and what do I find inside? A fucking leaf for crafting potions. Then I walk to a pile of rubbish and I find the legendary sword of nut slapping, what the fuck? I can’t count the amount of times when I explore entire dungeons and find fuck all, but then I kill a random wolf outside of the dungeon and find a legendary armor piece. Randomized loot is fucking awful, but even more so in this game.

As for the DLC’s I thought they were fine. Gravehal in the Dead Kel expansion was really fun to rebuild and manage. The story of Dead Kel was interesting, but not mind blowing. Took me about a days worth to do everything. Teeth of Naros was a lot better. It felt fresh with entirely new enemy types, a new race called the Kolossae and a neat floating city. The lore of the Kolossae was interesting and I loved how their society was based on ancient Greece. There were some neat side quests as well, but my favorite in the whole game was the debate club. Ahh, I remember when the greatest philosophers of Greece would beat the shit out of each other to figure out who is right or wrong. It was great.

Kingdoms of Amalur has potential, but this first outing felt like it fell flat on its face. I don’t outright hate the game, I had fun with it. But I wish they did some things better. But it’d be a shame if all this lore and the world they created went to waste, and there’s the potential. If they somehow managed to make a sequel to this game with better combat and dungeon design it could be beyond fantastic. I’m sure there’s a lot left to explore when it comes to this world extensive lore. So yeah. Kingdoms of Amalur gets a randomized loot out of stop stunlocking me!

[viranlly]

What To Expect When You’re Not Expecting The Outdoors in Vancouver

in partnership with Tourism Vancouver

It’s no doubt that Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Some even named them one of the best cities to live in. Yes, I absolutely agree (I’ve been here 11 years now, somehow). I mean... what’s not to like? Fresh air, the mountains, oceans, and of course, the great outdoors that put Vancouver on the map as a global tourist destination.

But what if, you’re not even remotely interested in the outdoors? *I have to admit, I’m probably the least outdoorsy person out there (don’t @ me!)* Will Vancouver still be enjoyable if one is not planning to go to Capilano bridge or doing the Grouse Grind? 

The answer is yes.

Vancouver is also home to some of the most talented, hard-working and innovative chefs, bartenders, and restauranteurs in the game. Making it a city that’s filled with delicious eats, drinks, and exceptional coffee culture - don’t believe me? Ask Chris Morocco from Bon Appetit Magazine ;) Plus, we are blessed with the bountiful amount of fresh ingredients, whether it’s fruits, veggies, seafood particularly, and even meat.

Every January, the city also hosts the annual Dine Out Vancouver Festival, a culinary festival that invites both locals and visitors to explore and experience what Vancouver has to offer. For the 18th edition of Dine Out Vancouver this year, there will be 318 restaurants participating in this two-week-long festivity. If you’re local, this time of the year is also a fun time to play tourist in your own city - which, I do, occasionally.

While I might not know where Garibaldi lake is on the map, and I definitely don’t know where to go for the best three-day camping trip (not that I want to do that ever), I do know exactly where you should be sipping your martini and eat your world-renowned aburi sushi. You can trust me on that.

Without trying to sound like a know-it-all, here’s how, in my ideal world, I would spend a typical 48 hours in Vancouver. 

8:30 a.m - Ride Cycle Club.

Nothing like starting your morning with a loud, steamy and sweaty spin class. The playlist is always on-point; the instructors, typically with a sexy, raspy voice, definitely gets you going first thing in the morning. There’s so much joy in watching everyone move to the beat, all together. It’s an experience for sure.

10:30 a.m - #dailycortado at Revolver.

If you know me at all, Revolver is practically my morning home base. The rustic, charming, long hallway is usually filled with highly (or soon to be highly) caffeinated individuals, chatting, working, or geeking out about coffee and other stuff (anything from cameras to vintage Rolexes). The menu is simple and straight forward, with beans selection rotating daily -- hence, Revolver. Solid pour-over bar, well-executed, picture-perfect espresso-based bevies too. But this is not the place to order a skinny, two pumps vanilla, one pump hazelnut, caramel macchiato - if that’s even a thing lolz. 

11:30 a.m - Snack and fresh flowers at The Birds & The Beets.

By snack, I mean, a freshly sliced of pillowy yet perfectly crusty sourdough with butter and sea salt - as simple as that. Or do the one with their house-made preserves if you’re fancy. Should you need another jolt of caffeine, their coffee is pretty damn good too. Pick up some fresh flowers on your way out too. ALSO, come back later at night when this cute coffee shop turns into Juicebar,  a natural wine bar where all the cool kids hang out and drink magnums of pet-nat all night.

12:30 p.m - Deep-fried everything tacos at Tacofino Gastown.

It’s problematic how addicting the crispy chicken tacos at Tacofino can be. I’ve had my days when all I ate was variations of this crispy chicken taco: as a burrito, as a ‘salad’ bowl, as a taco again, and repeat. Juicy tender chicken,  pickled veggies, epazote chimichurri, drizzled with buttermilk chili crema - mouthwatering. Their fish tacos are also delicious, it’s, as a matter of fact, their claim to fame, nuff said. You can’t also say no to their nachos, with a glass (or pitcher) of margs, obvs.

2 p.m - Stroll and shop through Gastown.

Drooling over luscious house-plants and Japanese cookware at Old Faithful Shop, selecting new fragrances at Le Labo, I also might as well pick up body balm at Aesop. Oh, and of course, stopping by Roden Gray to see some Thom Browne.

4 p.m - Spritz o’clock at Di Beppe.

Get a table at the cafe to people-watch while drinking bottled, branded Aperol Spritz. It’s an afternoon well spent, you gotta wait til’ 5:30 for happy hour anyways ;)

5:30 p.m - Happy Hour at L’abattoir.

L’abattoir, hands down, has one of the most beautiful bars in the city, with one of the strongest beverage programs too. The cocktails, both original and classic, are always crafted with such passion and precision. The Avocado Gimlet particularly is now a L’abattoir and a Vancouver classic: bright, boozy and herbaceous. Their wine list is a fun one to explore. Whether you’re feeling playful and adventurous, or classic and familiar, the team will find the wine for you. Their happy hour is probably my favorite one in the city: short but sweet. Make sure you make it there 5:30 on the dot to score the highly coveted bar seat (find me in the corner of the bar). You MUST order their iconic baked Pacific oysters, covered in a mountain of foamy truffle-garlic butter. Oh! and the pan-fried sweetbreads on toast is unforgettably delicious. L’abbatoir Dine Out menu can be found here.

7 p.m - Dinner at PiDGin.

One of a few restaurants in Vancouver that figured out how to perfectly marry the east and the west. An Asian-inspired menu, by the way of French cooking, using the freshest ingredients from the Pacific North West. Every dish is always a burst of flavours: rich and indulging without being pretentious. The umami-filled Foie Gras rice bowl is one of the most drool-worthy dishes. So uniquely, and iconically Pidgin. It’s a dish that has stood the test of time and has been there since the restaurant opened its’ doors six years ago now. Their beverage program is also focused on showcasing Asian spirits and flavours: numerous Japanese whisky, craft cocktails, and an impressive sake library. Explore Pidgin six-course Dine Out menu here.

10:30 p.m - Nightcap at Botanist.

I’ve talked about Botanist a lot, and I mean, a lot. While they’re still relatively new, they managed to sky-rocket their way to the top of the restaurant scene. With their award-winning bar team and innovative bar menu, it’s no surprise that Botanist is one of the best bars in the country. Sitting at the bar, sipping Botanist martini, while geeking out about cocktails and spirits is always a fun way to end the night. Botanist martini is an ideal nightcap: boozy, velvety, and obviously tasty. It’s like a vesper that gets an elegant Fairmont makeover, with a Pacific North West influence. This year, Botanist is hosting a Punch Brunch as part of Dine Out Vancouver AND to kick off Vancouver Cocktail Week next year. So exciting!

Day 2

10 a.m - Breakfast at Nemesis.

A hip and happening coffee shop with an impressive brunch menu and delectable baked goods. Of course, the coffee is stellar, and the space is beautiful with bright lights streaming through the windows. Their brunch and pastries, however, have been stealing the show for quite some time now. If you’re in Gastown, the cauliflower hash and the steak and egg are essential. If you happen to be across the bridge, the burrata and scrambled eggs on croissant loaf and is to-die-for. Not to forget their dreamy, kinda fancy croissants (think about Reuben sandwich, strawberry cheesecake in the form of croissant kind of fancy). Oh, and both of their cookies: the insanely luscious classic chocolate chip and the updated ferrero-esque cookie sandwich are worth crossing the bridge for.

12.30 p.m - Aburi lunch at Miku.

If there’s that one place I usually take visitors for the sake of impressing them, it’s Miku. It’s probably one of the most well-known Vancouver restaurants that even Beyonce was spotted dining there. The menu is unique. The world-famous aburi sushi is iconic. And the seafood? It doesn’t get any fresher than what Miku offers. Let’s not forget the multi-million dollar waterfront view, overlooking the harbour and North Vancouver. Their sister restaurant Minami is doing a Dine Out Lunch special too, by the way.

2:30 p.m - Nap.

It’s absolutely necessary.

5:30 p.m - Dinner at Como Taperia.

Oh what an exciting time when Como finally opened its’ doors in Mount Pleasant last year! The premise? A no-fuss-no-muss Spanish tapas restaurant with vibrant food, fabulous Gin and Tonics, and unbeatable conservas list. The room has been buzzing with people since day one - until recently they placed second on Enroute Magazine Best new restaurant. Even more people are now trying to get in to Como. The foie burger is simply a must, and so is the crispy eggplant, drizzled with honey. The oxtail, pepper and frites is so tenderly delicious. They’re also doing fun happy hour starting at 4, offering free tapas- just like they do in Spain. Drink the El Bandarra vermut on tap while munching on the tapa, or make sure to check out their daily tortilla feature.

8 p.m - Cocktails at Hawksworth’s Bar.

Hawksworth is probably as swanky as a Vancouver restaurant can get. While the dining room is very much upscale and can be intimidating, the cocktail bar is lively and chic. Again, get a spot at the bar and start with the Hotel Georgia Cocktail: bright, juicy and refreshing, inspired by the historic hotel itself. If you’re feeling extra fancy, they have a ‘from the vault’ menu that features classic cocktails made with vintage, extremely rare spirits.

10:30 p.m - A burger and nightcap at Pourhouse.

Located in the charming water street, Pourhouse is a cocktail bar nestled in one of Gastown’s historic buildings. The room itself is very old-school America in the prohibition era - luxurious, charming and welcoming. The menu is fairly simple but everything is well-executed. The Pourhouse burger is particularly memorable. I’ve vouched for this burger as the best one in town over and over again - no, I don’t want to argue with anyone on this. Classic cocktails are always crafted so meticulously here: Manhattan, Boulevardier, or a cognac Sazerac. You can’t go wrong with any (or all) of them. Their Dine Out menu this year is outstanding and really showcase what the team can do in the kitchen.

Well, that’s one hell of a list for y’all. I surely hope this helps with planning your delicious next trip to Vancouver! 

Discover the full list of restaurants participating in this year’s Dine Out Vancouver Festival here!

See y’all in the 604 soon!

instagram @viranlly

food | lifestyle | restaurant

[softandtired]

Headcanon for how RFA+Saeran support an MC in their weightloss journey

This is my first attempt at making a mystic messenger headcanon post, so please forgive me if it's not the best! No one asked for this prompt but oh well...

Yoosung:

"You want to lose weight? Why?" After you explain that you need to for health reasons, yoosung's round puppy eyes flash to a determined expression. He would get really excited about helping you figure out your new meal plans; insisting to make half of them for you himself. It gives him cooking practice he wants, but mostly it's an excuse to be more domestic with you.

It's so fun to experiment with all the different healthy options he can think of… When things get stressful and you cheat(skipping a workout or binge eating cake) you know hes there with you to make sure you don't beat yourself up. You feel so comfortable talking about the whole ordeal with him, that it hypes you up even more to work harder and show him how much healthier you have become through your guyses work together. While Yoosung is a gamer and not exactly a gym rat, he will go with you to the gym sometimes… "I got us matching gym shirts MC! That's not to cheesy is it?!" Give this little boy some cuddles, he's so loyal and supportive through it all he deserves it!

Zen:

When you explain about your trip to the doctors and how they said you needed to lose weight for your health...Hyun was instantly concerned about how you were taking it. "You know you're gorgeous, babe, right? In fact it's hard for me too keep my hands off you…" You laugh and reassure him with a kiss. Zen has never let you feel bad about your body, and you've really gotten to a place where you have loved yourself. But your body has been in a lot if pain lately and your longterm health was definitely worth this healthy lifestyle change.

Lucky for you, Zen knows ALL about that healthy lifestyle. You start with him taking you to the gym and teaching you to lift weights… with him there, the process was much more fun then you ever thought it could be(plus Zen at the gym… panting and covered in sweat… urging you to push through your exercises… ahem*cough*). You're not exactly a fan of only ever eating salads like he does, so you guys eventually work out healthy meals that you both enjoy. Who knew you were so good at seasoning chicken? And Zen made hella tasty veggie salads! Honestly the experience brings you guys even closer together as a couple and when the doctor weighs you two months later, you end up crying happy tears. You've felt lighter and stronger than you had in a very long time. The next time you see Zen you surprise tackle him with kisses. Expect a very romantic date to celebrate.

Jumin:

This rich boy. He's got nutritionists, personal coaches…. He would have bought a whole chain of gyms if it made you happy. When you first bring up your weight loss goals he's instantly on the phone, arranging all the help you could possibly need to reach your goals. "Whatever you need MC, I will arrange it". In fact, all this "help" overwhelms you a lot at first. You ask him if it was alright if the two of you workout together, and his face turns into one of his beautifully soft smiles. "Of course, my love."

Jumin. Spandex gym shirt. LIFE.

Not gonna lie, several of your guyses gym days end with you tugging him away from the coach and the elliptical so you can examine his body up close and personal… Workout Jumin is a side you are not used to seeing, and its… stimulating.

Boy uses this to his advantage on days your groaning and not willing to get out of bed to do push ups.

Jaehee:

When you came home from your doctor's appointment rambling on about terms like "prediabetic" and your needed life change, she was worried. Was your health really that bad? Was there anything she could do to help? When you explained that your weight loss would mostly be preventative she let out a sigh of relief. You meant so much to her, but she wasn't the most knowledgeable when it came to health and such. Sure she knew about portions sizes and things but she hadn't exactly been raised to take care of herself.

So, of course she uses her amazing research skills to help you craft a scientifically proven meal and exercise plan that would actually be realistically manageable for you. She even saved up a bit of money from the cafe to buy you guys a home elliptical machine. "I know you find it difficult to go to the gym sometimes after being exhausted from work… so I just wanted to make it a little easier for you."

An angel. This woman is an angel.

You thank her with a thousand kisses and an intimate bubble bath😘

Saeyoung:

"This is your fault Saeyoung. I told you all those honey buddha chips would make me prediabetic." When you get back from the doctor's and tell Saeyoung about your need to live healthier and lose weight, he takes it surprisingly serious at first. You dont even ask him to help support you, hes already on board with an exercise plan. But again this is Saeyoung. "Saeyoung, where did all my clothes go?" They are in a lock box, attached to a strange eliptical??? Machine that saw cooked up. "It will only unlock after ten minutes of activity MC!"

Honestly, the boy has so much fun thinking of unconventional ways to get you to exercise. Who needs a gym, when he can send you on quests/scavenger hunts through the neighborhood, leaving little notes and things up trees. He gets you a pretty bike, and the two of you make a habit of biking together. It's hard for Saeyoung to schedule it sometimes, but he will do anything to make sure you are healthy and stay with him as long as possible~ He even goes so far as to make you a special Stationary bike that gives compliments to you as you workout! "Keep up the hard work! Your booty's lookin' fiiiiiiiine."(seven why? Omg). He never let's you feel alone in all this. He can't completely give up his chips and dr Pepper but he's managed to curb it a bit… sorta. You still find crumbs and empty bags stashed in odd places but he always apologizes and gives you hugs. "You know meow I'm getting awful jealous of that bike…" He snuggles into your neck and wraps his arms tight around you. "Maybe you should spend more time riding me hmm?" OMG SAEYOUNG WHY-

Saeran:

Saerans reaction is a little less enthusiastic than the rest of the RFA. He doesn't exactly know how to be healthy much, and is really quite worried for your health at first. "I dont think you need to lose weight but if the doctor says it will help…" Hes more hands off with his support of you. Like yoosung, he relishes the opportunity to cook new foods for you, and when you fall off the wagon or get discouraged, he takes your hands in his and softly kisses your forehead. " I know this is hard. It's amazing you've gotten this far. It's okay of you mess up from time to time, but it doesnt define you. You will get to your goal eventually, okay?" SWEET MARSHMELLOW BABY HES PRECIOUS IM DEAD.

You and him go on walks more regularly now and he really loves it. More time to explore around your guyses neighborhood/city, and just experience new things together… it makes his heart melt. You've always tried to help him take care of himself but to do little things for eachothers health like this really means a lot for the both of you. When you meet your weight goal, you are so ecstatic, you tackle hug him. The boys so happy he bakes you a cake!(And it's okay to have some because health is about healthy portioning, not quitting everything you love and enjoy!)

[redroseinsanity]

Grounded

Late for Daichi’s birthday and Daisuga Day and inspired by passengers stranded in Taiwan on NYE. 

This is possibly the worst way I can spend my birthday, Sawamura Daichi thinks to himself, wedged into a middle seat with a baby bawling its eyes out two rows back on a plane that’s been stuck on the tarmac for two hours.

He knew he’d start his birthday in the air when he booked a flight that left at 8pm, but he’d also hoped that he would be able to spend the rest of the day after he landed exploring the city before his business meetings started on the 3rd of January.

Sadly, fate seemed to decree that he was to turn twenty four feeling like a wretched and squashed marshmallow, a bit too dried out from the aeroplane air and desperately wanting to go to sleep but feeling painfully uncomfortable in the too small chair and with the dig of his seatmate’s elbow in his side. He glanced over at the owner of the offending joint and found a flabby middle-aged man fast asleep in his aisle seat.

With a sigh, Daichi shifted a smidgen over, just enough to escape the jabbing elbow and enough so that he was looking out past the person in the window seat to gaze out at the lights of the airport runway. At least that was beautiful in a way and mildly remedied the fact that Daichi was likely to start his birthday contorted into an unspeakably tiny aeroplane chair with a very sad selection of entertainment available and no water.

“Holy cheeseballs, this plane doesn’t take off soon, I’m going to charge into the cockpit and fly this thing myself,” the window seat passenger muttered, fingers drumming on the cover of his book which lay, rather abandoned, in his lap.

Catching Daichi’s sharp, surprised (and slightly amused look) his way, the window seat passenger offered a wry smile.

“Sorry, I don’t really like being in enclosed spaces, two hours is three hours too long on the tarmac.”

Daichi chuckled as he tamped down rising butterflies in his stomach when he took in porcelain skin and bright eyes framed by soft, tousled silver hair and the most perfect beauty mark.

How had he not noticed this absolute stunner sitting right next to him the entire time? Probably because I was too busy wallowing in self-pity for having to start my twenty fourth year on earth in a flying tin can that refuses to fly.

“Yeah, I wish they would just tell us what’s going on so that I would at least know why I have to spend my birthday in absolute agony in an airplane that’s going nowhere,” Daichi smiled crookedly, rubbing the back of his neck in the manner of a truly resigned man.

The beautiful stranger’s hazel eyes widened as he inhaled sharply.

“It’s your birthday?” he hissed, looking far more aghast on Daichi’s behalf than Daichi had felt in the past two hours.

“Not yet!” Daichi assured him and then checked his watch, “But in two hours.” He sagged into his seat.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time, landing in a gorgeous city on the morning of my birthday and taking the time to wander around,” Daichi explained, shaking his head at himself, “Obviously in hindsight, not such a good plan.”

“This is a travesty,” the gorgeous seatmate pounded a fist on his book, his voice turning into an angry whisper, “We shouldn’t be stuck here with no sign of moving and you shouldn’t be trapped here on your birthday!”

Opening his mouth to assure him that now that he had dug his grave, he was quite prepared to lie in it, Daichi was cut off by an overhead announcement.

“Good evening, everyone. This is your captain speaking. As you all are aware, we’ve been trying to remedy an electrical fault before taking off. However, I’ve just been notified that we require a new part to fly safely and so, we invite all passengers to disembark and we hope to fly within the next three hours as we wait for the new part to arrive and be swapped in,” there was a collective groan that reverberated around the cabin and immediately, people began murmuring among themselves. Daichi strained to hear the rest of the announcement.

“We sincerely apologise for this delay and will be offering complimentary dining and entertainment vouchers for you to use while waiting. Thank you and we ask for your understanding.”

Half an hour later, Daichi found himself back in the brightly lit walkway filled with shops and eateries, backpack slung over one shoulder and clutching several vouchers.

“Hey!” A familiar silver head bounced over, “Y’know, I’m kind of glad just to be out of there,” Daichi’s flying partner beamed up at him, smile rivaling the brilliant lights from above.

“Any longer and I may have lost it and started climbing the walls,” he grinned cheekily, a smile so contagious that Daichi involuntarily smiled back.

“Plus! They gave so many vouchers, you know what that means?” Daichi shook his head, “It’s a sign,” the silver haired angel stage whispered and Daichi stifled a laugh, “You weren’t meant to start your birthday in that torture device disguised as a mode of transport,” he cast a narrow eyed glare back at the plane, “You were meant to eat copious amounts of food and milk their PR team for all their worth!”

With a handful of vouchers being waved gleefully in his face, Daichi couldn’t control the laughter that escaped him.

“Of course,” he held up his own set, a smile colouring his voice, “Would you do me the honours of spending a ridiculous amount of money that isn’t ours with me?”

Linking a fairly toned arm with Daichi’s own muscled one, the fair stranger peeked up under lowered lashes.

“Why,” he purred, setting Daichi aflame with a single word, “I thought you’d never ask.”

“My name is Daichi, by the way,” Daichi said suddenly, when they’d finished two bowls of ramen each and were digging into ice cream, “I forgot that we never really…”

“Try this, Daichi, it tastes like it was made by the gods themselves,” A spoonful of creamy goodness was held up to his lips by a slim hand, “I’m Sugawara, but you can call me Suga.”

It did taste like it was crafted by divine hands and Daichi told him so. He didn’t tell Suga that he was the most insane and fun person he had ever met in his life, he just drank in the other man’s enthusiasm and excited gestures as he told hilarious stories and kept eating his rum and raisin.

“Obviously, when put in that situation, you’ll have to take your shirt off and then run screaming into the traffic!” Suga exclaimed, waving face cream around as he told Daichi about his colleagues who honestly sounded like lunatics.

“Absolutely,” Daichi replied with as straight a face as possible, “In fact, in those kinds of extreme circumstances, I would also recommend dousing oneself with luminescent paint and then running around the neighbourhood banging on a bucket or some kind of crockery.”

“Without question,” Suga nodded gravely, setting the cream down. There was a moment’s pause before they succumbed to a bout of hysterical giggles and Suga moved on to another moisturizer. Suga was devastatingly handsome and with his eyes crinkled at the corners, clear laughter pealing from deep in his belly, Daichi wondered if it was too soon to be falling for someone. He definitely had a crush, but laughing in duty-free at god knows what time with this shining being was messing with his head and heart far more than he had anticipated.

“You can’t say that if you’ve never tried it!” Suga gasped, sitting upright in the cushy armchair that he’d settled into with his loot of creams and a cup of juice.

“I don’t need to try it! I have smelled it and I know that I never need to even lick it ever in my life,” Daichi stated, feeling a little sleepy even though it wasn’t yet midnight. He usually slept relatively early so anything past eleven was technically past his bedtime. His friends teased him for being an old man, but Daichi liked his sleep and woke up early to run so he didn’t mind the good humoured jibes.

“No way,” Suga leaned into Daichi’s chair, adjacent to his, “This is life changing, I swear. You have to have tried it at least once in your life before you say no.” Shifting a little, he folded his legs into the chair, curling in on himself a little. Suga rested his chin on the arm of Daichi’s chair, peering up in so adorable a manner, Daichi nearly had an aneurysm.

“Nope, you can’t trick me into this, I know it’s a trap,” he retorted, taking another sip of his own smoothie and trying to steady his heartbeat. Easy, Sawamura, you hardly know this guy, he warned himself.

I think I know enough to know I want to know more.

Suga let out a shriek that cascaded into laughter as he tore down the hallway perched on a trolley that Daichi was pushing. Daichi’s lungs were protesting and he could feel the two bowls of ramen slopping around in his stomach but he kept going, chasing the honeyed chimes of Suga’s delight.

It was addictive, really. He had no business being so greedy but here he was, hoping that they’d never get called back to the plane so that he could keep spending time in this limbo with the most unreal person he’d ever met. It seemed like a dream, an impossible and far-fetched fantasy set in a space that didn’t exist where time slipped into darkness and all that mattered was this man, burning brighter than the sun.

When the call for them to re-board came, Daichi was sorely disappointed and it may have been his imagination but Suga might have looked a tad upset as well. They trekked over to the boarding gate until Suga turned abruptly, Daichi nearly walking into him before pulling up short.

He halted inches away from ploughing Suga down and stayed there, staring down at the brilliant light in the other man’s eyes as he smiled gently.

“Happy birthday, Daichi,” Suga tilted his head, “I hope you had fun! Better than being stuck on an airplane anyway, no?” Startled, Daichi checked his watch and found the numbers 2.37am flashing back at him.

“Suga,” he started, one hand reaching out to brush the other man’s arm. Suga who had turned to go wheeled back, eyes expectant, expression soft.

“That was the best birthday I’ve had in a long time. Thank you for spending it with me,” he grinned bashfully, earnestly and Suga’s expression turned softer and triumphant all at once.

They’d certainly exhausted themselves in the airport because the moment they’d gotten on the flight, the pair of them had conked out before the plane even managed to pull up off the runway and into the air.

The next thing Daichi knew, he awoke to a fluffy argon hair pressed against the side of his face and a warm weight on his arm. He looked down and realised that Suga looked even more ethereal in morning light. The clear gold glinted off eyelashes and bathed a face that looked even sweeter when asleep.

There was a sudden pang in his gut when Daichi realised that he’d never see Suga again once they got off this flight. With a sudden fervor, Daichi cast his gaze back down and tried to memorize the planes of Suga’s face.

“Well then, this is me,” Daichi said quietly, hauling his luggage off the conveyor belt.

“Well then,” Suga echoed, eyes fixed on his shoes, eyebrows vaguely knitted.

“If you-”

“I was-”

They spoke at the same time and then both tried to gesture each other to go first. Suga cleared his throat.

“I was just gonna say,” Suga hesitated and then seemed to decide to steel himself with the words coming out in a rush, “I’m free today if you’d like to spend the rest of your birthday together.”

Daichi stared at him, the words ringing in his ears but barely processing. Then it hit him, a smile blooming on his face as ecstasy exploded within him.

“Yes,” he heard himself say, and then again just in case he dreamed it, “Yes! I’d love to. It’s already been the best birthday, and it’s all been thanks to you.”

Suga turned a faint pink, then held out his phone.

“Exchange numbers so we can fix a place to meet after dropping off our luggage?”

They parted ways at the taxi stand and just before Suga dashed off to load up his taxi, he turned breathlessly to Daichi, face alight just like it had been hours ago in the airport.

Stretching up on his toes, he pressed a tender kiss on Daichi’s cheek.

“Happy birthday, Daichi,” he breathed, “See you in a bit.”

Daichi watched him go with the sense of being hit by a boulder of some sort, a silly grin plastered on his face and a glow lighting him up from within.

[rainykittymilkshake]

TOP 13 THINGS TO DO IN  JODHPUR

ARTICLE:-  Jodhpur, the second largest city in RAJASTHAN , has a fascinating past. In case you were wondering, yes, it is where jodhpurs got their name from! These unusual pants were designed by the Maharaja of Jodhpur's son, Pratap Singh, and worn by his polo team when visiting the Queen of England in 1897. Jodhpur is famous for its blue buildings, which were originally painted to signify that they were occupied by Brahmins, the highest caste in India.

 1) EXPLORE MEHRANGARH FORT

Imposing Mehrangarh Fort, which rises above the "Blue City", is one of the largest and most famous forts in India. As impressive as it is, as a well-preserved heritage structure, there's so much more to discover inside. The fort has been privately restored and its museum has an outstanding display of royal memorabilia, including about 15,000 items from Maharaja Gaj Singh II's personal collection. It also has the only professional museum shop in India. The cultural performances that happen daily at various places inside the fort, as part of the special focus on folk art and music, are another highlight. Plan your visit with this complete guide to Mehrangarh Fort.

2) RIDING THE JODHPUR FLYING FOX

Adventure lovers can't pass up the unique opportunity to go zip-lining with Mehrangarh Fort as the backdrop. The circuit has six zip lines and takes around 90 minutes to complete. Groups of up to 12 people depart at appointed times. It's located on the north side of the Mehrangarh Fort.

3) RELAX AT JASWANT THADA

This intricately crafted cenotaph (empty commemorative tomb) was built in 1899, in honor of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II. It features white marble lattice screens and whimsical domes, while the inside is adorned with portraits of Rathore rulers. It's a peaceful place to relax and enjoy stunning views of the Fort and city. Many tired tourists sprawled on the front lawn to recuperate after sightseeing.

4) WANDER THROUGH RAO JODHA DESERT ROCK PARK 

The Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park was developed in 2006, with the aim of restoring the natural ecology of a large rocky wasteland area next to the Fort. Neglected for many years, an invasive thorny shrub overran the park. After the bush was eradicated, more than 80 native species of rock-loving plants from the Thar desert were grown there. The Park extends across 70 hectares (around 200 acres) of rehabilitated land and has a walking trail. It's interesting to explore at different times of the year, as its foliage changes with the seasons.

5) CHECK OUT THE CLOCK TOWER AND OLD CITY MARKET

A trip to Jodhpur wouldn't be complete without visiting the bustling Old City. Many people choose to stay in this area too, as some of the best budget hotels in Jodhpur are located there and have fabulous Fort views. The Old City's famous landmark, the clock tower, stands at the heart of it—and it's still working! Next to it, Sadar Market retains a traditional village bazaar feel. It's chaotic and colorful and sells almost everything, including handicrafts, spices, saris and fabric. If you feel uncomfortable in crowds, you might prefer to take a walking tour rather than explore the market area yourself, as the congestion can be overwhelming. These walking tours offered by Jodhpur Magic and Virasat Experiences are two recommended options.

6) DINE OVERLOOKING THE STEP WELL  

An exciting Urban Regeneration Project is being undertaken to transform the Old City back to its former glory, but with a vibrant and hip spin. As a result, Jodhpur has a newly restored yet ancient step well, located just north of the clock tower. Built in the 1740s and called Toorji ka Jhalra, it sat stagnant for years, until the owners of the new heritage boutique RAAS hotel purified the pool and sandblasted the steps. The area around it has been turned into a contemporary square with cool cafes and shops, including a Good Earth home decor store and a branch of Jaipur-based Gem Palace. A private door at the RAAS hotel will take you directly to the Step Well Square. Step Well Cafe has the same owners as RAAS and provides the best view over the step well. It serves Continental and Indian cuisine, plus alcohol. However, its menu is quite limited.

7) STROLL ALONG THE STREET OF THE BLUE CITY

Unlike the crowded clock tower area, the blue part of Jodhpur behind the fort, known as Navchokiya, is refreshingly quiet and devoid of tourists. Don't miss spending some time leisurely strolling along its streets. It's also possible to go on a guided walking tour of the area to learn more about it. You can even stay amid the blue houses: Some of the top options in the area are Singhvi's Haveli, Jewel Palace Haveli, Rani Mahal, and Jaswant Bhawan Homestay

8) TOUR THE AREA AROUND GULAB SAGAR 

About 10 minutes walk north of Toorji ka Jhalra step well is Gulab Sagar. This 18th century lake played an important role in Jodhpur's traditional water management system. Not only does it provide a superb spot for photographing Mehrangarh Fort in the background, there are many interesting step wells and temples hidden in the lanes around it. They include Mahila Bagh Ka Jhalra step well and Kunjabihari Temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. You can discover them on this Step Wells and Temples walking tour.

9) MARVEL AT UMAID BHAWAN PALACE

Magnificent Umaid Bhawan Palace, completed in 1944, was one of the last grand palaces to be built in India. The royal family of Jodhpur still occupies a section of it. Most of the remainder has been converted into a luxurious palace hotel and unfortunately, it's off-limits to anyone who's not staying there. If you can't afford $600 or more per night for a room, you can still get a glimpse inside the palace by having a pricey dinner at one of its restaurants or visiting the museum. The museum mostly displays old photos of the Maharaja and his family. There's a vintage watch and car collection as well. If you're into that kind of thing, it's worthwhile going there. Otherwise, you may be disappointed as you'll get to see very little of the palace.

10) TAKE A COOKING CLASS AT SPICE PARADISE 

Spice Paradise is a spice shop that's run by a kindhearted husband and wife team (their special masala chai blend has been refined and perfected over the years, and is highly recommended). They also conduct Indian cooking classes, which are hugely popular with foreigners, in their humble kitchen. Along with delicious recipes, you'll get to meet a lovely family and gain priceless insight into Indian culture. If you don't have a lot of time in Jodhpur, do book in advance as classes are often full.

11) SAMPLE SOME INDIAN SWEET  

If you love not just Indian sweets but all kinds of Indian snacks, you'll want to visit the iconic Janta Sweet Home, renowned for making some of the best treats in Jodhpur. They're fresh and delicious, and the range is vast. Try the Mawa Kachori, a prestigious dish that originated from Jodhpur.​

 12) VISIT MANDORE AND MANDORE GARDEN

Mandore was the capital of the Marwar region before Jodhpur was founded, but now it's in a neglected state. There's an old fort, an eclectic collection of temples and cenotaphs, and a small museum in the Mandore Gardens. The gardens are beautiful, albeit unkempt in places and used as a local picnic spot. They're worth visiting for the fantastic architecture and history of a bygone era. The best time to go is during the week when it's quietest. If you love monkeys, you'll find plenty there! But be careful that they don't snatch your food!​

[suzu-kun22]

My Top 10 Favorite Video Games

This is basically gonna be the same as my ranking of the V3 characters. I’m going to list my top 10 favorite video games and then write a small paragraph on why I love them so much. 

Spoilers for the games mentioned.

10. Pokémon: Alpha Sapphire

The characters of Alpha Sapphire are very fun to hang out with and very endearing (since I chose the female protagonist, I found Brendan particularly likable). Plus its endgame content is some of the best of any Pokémon game I’ve played to completion. The Delta episode is just incredibly fun and rewarding to complete, and it ends with a very nice ship moment for my biggest ship in the game. It was nice to revisit a region I love so much with such beautiful graphics and likable characters.

9. Minecraft: Story Mode

I honestly don’t know why I like this game so much. I know it’s dumb and that most of the choices don’t really change the story that much, but I find the characters so endearing and the story so weirdly compelling that I’m willing to ignore most of that and just enjoy the game for what it is. And what it is is a fun ride with really likable characters who actually have well crafted and well-explored dynamics. A lot of it feels like watching a TV show where I have some input, and that isn’t a bad thing.

8. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Most of the first three games on this list’s appeal chalks up to characters for me. However, THH has the added bonus of an intriguing plot and satisfying twists sprinkled on top. The characters all have standout personalities and designs as well as phenomenally developed dynamics and personal histories. The twists are mostly unexpected, and you can tell that a lot of love went into crafting it, even if the actual art is probably the worst of the series.

7. Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

The main thing that pulls UDG ahead of THH is the fact that I prefer UDG’s protagonist. Komaru is just more relatable for me and her dynamic with Toko is utterly adorable. I always found that Toko never got enough focus in the main game and this game remedied that with ease. Yuta Asahina was also an added bonus, even if he only lasted about five minutes. The only reason this game isn’t higher is that the 3D graphics can look really awkward some(all)times.

6. Doki Doki Literature Club

The Gakkougurashi of video games. Need I say more? Yes? Even with its fake-out cuteness and actually evil characters, the game still manages to get you to love them and become invested in their fates. Of course, the darker second act of the game wouldn’t work so well without the relationship you build with the characters early on. It also wouldn’t work without the game’s amazing art and unsettling music. A game that is almost perfectly designed on both a technical level and a story-level.

5. Pokémon Black Version

I must admit that this one is mostly here because of nostalgia. It was the first Pokémon game I ever completed (and I think the first video game I ever completed) and thus will always have a special place in my heart. The Gym Leaders are cool and interesting, the Pokémon are cute, and the endgame content is on par with that of Alpha Sapphire (A whole other side of the map to explore and battle through!! That’s pretty awesome!!). There’s even a cameo from my favorite champion (Cynthia my girl!!)! For a 2D Pokémon game, you can’t get much better than this.

4. Pokémon X

This is my favorite Pokémon game. The difficulty level is just right. The characters are fun and vibrant, and the world itself is laid out in a very cool way. The Pokémon themselves are all cool and cute, and the endgame content (while not as good as Alpha Sapphire or Black Version), is pretty cool. Working with Looker to get rid of crime in Lumoise city was really fun, and all the restaurants and other areas that become available once you beat the champion are interesting to explore. A truly well-designed and fun-to-play Pokémon game!

3. Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

This one all comes down to characters. The characters all have even more personality than those in THH or UDG. The twist is much more compelling and surprising and even more meta. The murders are more interesting to solve and appear better planned out (though you can still guess the killer most of the time, but there were a few times where the killer legitimately caught me off guard). Chapter 5 on its own was better than the entirety of THH, even if the reveal of the mastermind wasn’t nearly as satisfying because we all knew who it was from the start. However, the Izuru Kamukura and Ultimate Impostor twists were easily enough to make up for that. Just a well-made, well-written, clever game all around. Loved it to death.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Link.

Okay obviously that’s not enough.

Breath of the Wild strikes a perfect balance between being challenging enough to be rewarding to complete, but not so much that it’s impossible to figure out how to do it. Games like Borderlands, while very fun to play, often miss this crucial balance for me. While those games may be fun to play and very rewarding if you actually manage to complete them, they are so challenging that actually completing them is often not worth the rage, pain, and time I know it will take. Breath of the Wild hits this balance perfectly with a difficulty curve that doesn’t actually exist, but really feels like it does just from how the game goes about getting better gear into your hands. The characters are slightly lacking (Sidon and even Link are well-characterized), but that’s part of the point. The game creates a beautiful feeling of melancholy in the player, which I’ve talked about in more depth in a short analysis I wrote on the emotional impact of the game.

1. New Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

I think the characters pull this one ahead (no surprise). The characters in this game certainly act the most human of any character in any Danganronpa game. They cry when something happens to their friends, they get angry when someone insults them or betrays them, and they’re suspicious of pretty much everyone. Pretty much all of them are completely fleshed out and interesting to watch. The twists are fun and unexpected (even if there are hints towards them early into the game), and there’s even more to do than ever before, with events between trials that aren’t only about getting the characters into a location to find a body. Chapter 5 is yet again the best chapter with the most entertaining and compelling trial in the entire series, culminating in one of the most effectively emotional executions in the entire series (the first one of this game may have this one beat, I’m still not sure). Kokichi Oma specifically is probably one of the most interesting characters in a series filled to the brim with interesting and unique characters and I legitimately missed him once his role in the game was over. This game has so many layers beneath its surface that one could probably spend all day collecting hints to determine if the ending was real or not. The cases of this game are also a lot more complex, with one trial that even goes for THREE HOURS BEFORE THE KILLER IS FOUND OUT!! This is when the focus really shifted from ‘okay we gotta figure out who could have done this’ to ‘okay we have to figure out HOW the killer did this and then figure out who in our group is capable of both coming up with a plan like that and carrying it out without getting caught.’ And the killers themselves are never characters you would expect to kill someone (chapter five is sort of an exception but meh). All of this, plus the detailed art of the characters and environments, (and excellent voice acting if I do say so myself), make this my favorite game that I have ever played to completion.

[mollieprattmultiverseparallel]

Marketing strategies

Dover street market pop up shop

Streetwear creative Avi Gold’s new design imprint Better™ has launched its latest pop-up gift shop in the form of a hot dog stand  at New York’s Dover Street Market. The Better Gift Shop hot dog stand offers a host of exclusive DSMNY merchandise inspired by NYC souvenir shops and bodega goods. I think pop up shops are a very effective way to sell clothing, especially rare or collectable items which are hard to buy or can be resold at high prices. I think it works especially well for brands such as Better or off white, brands that are seen as hypebeast style clothing because the rarity of their clothing brings more people to their shops. Dover street market have created a very creative ebay of doing the pop up shops especially this one as it is a hot dog stand and this creativity brings people together because they are interested in the clothing and seeing the stand and this is a very effective ebay of promoting their stand because more and more people will take photos and post it on their social medias which will spread the word because of how interesting the pop up shop really is.

H&M fall fashion 2020 collection

Inspired by beautifully crafted lace dresses from the 1930s, cherished wardrobe heroes are the mainstay of H&M Fall Fashion 2020. There are eight pieces, all with vintage details such as mutton sleeves and ruffles plus modern, voluminous cuts. In a colour palette of off-white and strong black as a contrast, the lace, jacquard and wool in the collection are made from more sustainably sourced materials, reflecting H&M’s continuing commitment to a more sustainable fashion future. The H&M Fall Fashion 2020 collection is an exploration of the beauty and innovation behind recycled materials and is yet another step towards H&M´s goal to only use recycled and sustainably sourced materials by 2030. Even though most fashion shows/ runways walk clothes which are seen as unwearable, the H&M fashion shows promote clothing which is sold instores but also items which have collaborations such as  moschino which is seen as high end fashion. The benefits of runways and fashion shows is that the clothing is walked in front of hundreds of people and many paparazzi who capture the show and the clothing and then the clothing is posted over social media or then used in campaign work and the imagery is then shown on the websites and this can help inspire people with fashion outfits and keep them updated with the new fashion styles and trends as brand are always first to get to the new looks. Fashion shows are also walked by models who have a ig name such as kendall jenner so people become more interested as they can have large following and also the style of the runway can interest people to watch because many fashion designers like alexander wang thin of the most crazy and interesting ways to have a runway as he once used the streets of new york as is runway which gained a lot of publicity which then promotes the clothing and brand in more extreme ways.

Louis Vuitton Virgil Abloh‘s S/S 2019

For the launch of Virgil Abloh‘s S/S 2019 debut collection at Louis Vuitton (inspired by the classic film The Wizard of Oz). They installed a psychedelic, rainbow colored giant guy in their windows at the New York 5th Avenue and Los Angeles Rodeo Drive boutique, as well as soon to be installed in Paris and Tokyo Flagships.

Louis Vuitton said in a statement:

“In the spirit of the collection, the windows consist of technicolor skies, fields of flowers and the yellow brick road. Additionally, an oversized, colorful figure stands inside the store creating an optical illusion that extends onto the street and throughout the store,”

This is a very creative marketing strategy which is called Guerrilla marketing because this type of marketing is a great alternative to traditional marketing. It thrives on original thinking and creativity, where imagination and ingenuity beat out big budgets. However this example may have been more expensive due to the size of the art work but because of the size this means it'll be more noticable and because of the rainbow colour scheme itll stand out alot more to the typical colours of new york city which is usually grey with a hint of yellow from the cabs. So this strategy will draw attention to the building because its advertisement can be seen for miles. It is also effective because it is art and is art for a very popular fashion designer who is known for his clothing for louis vuitton, off white and his close friendship to kanye west so he is a very popular man and this will encourage people to take photos and post this on their social medias which will intrigue more people to visit this street and see the art themselves which could also lead to people visiting the store which could up their sales.

Supreme Stickers

So supremes stickers retail price is worth $7 however with clothing orders you will most likely receive a free supreme sticker or possibly two. Many people collect these stickers as you get different types and styles of the stickers however the original box logo supreme sticker is what they usually give for free. This is a marketing strategy which is very common because people tend to use these stickers and stick them on their laptops, walls, skateboards, phones or books. This is a way of advertising a brand without them doing it themselves because with this technique it's the customers who promote it for them. Because for example you could be in a coffee shop or walking down the street holding your skateboard people can take a short glimpse at this sticker and be interested in what it is or it could remind them of a clothing drop that ids about to happen because supreme csn be labeled as a hypebeast brand because they drop their clothing on  friday and the c,othng sells out almost instantly and can be resold for extreme prices depending on the item. So supreme has a large following and they can develop this by giving out free stickers and everybody loves a freebie which is another plus.

Urban Outfitters Tote bags

“We are passionate about eliminating single-use items, especially those that pose a threat to the environment like plastic. Our Urban Outfitters stores use lightweight, fabric shopping bags that customers can reuse for many purposes beyond retail. Made of polypropylene fabric that does not tear, the bags can be washed and used for many years. We love seeing our customers using them for grocery shopping, a book bag or even an overnight tote!” This can be found on the urban outfitters website. They use these reusable bags because it is a lot more environmentally friendly but it is also a way of using the customers as promoters because they bags are simple and basic and can go with a lot of outfit choices making them a go to bag for everyday tasks and events and because of this many people can be seen wearing them which means they are in the public eye and can then influence others to look up what urban outfitters have to offer which can up their sales and up their following all because they have extended their ways of promotion further than social media.

Initial ideas

My initial ideas for marketing strategies is the tote bag idea because i find it a sustainable but also fashionable because it allows people to keep their footprint low as they'll be using less plastic for shopping or stop them buying more bags which consists of producing the product and shipping whereas with this bag you can continue to use it for all situations. I think this could allow me to involve my creativity and imagination and put it into a fashion item for the brand parallel.

[sburbian-denizens]

Land of Storms and Isles

A Land for @thricequeen, a Mage of Breath

A Land of a thousand isles and a vast ocean. The planet is best described as a massive ocean world with a few notable archipelagos scattered upon its surface, clusters of a few hundred islands each. These archipelagos (known as Enclaves to the Consorts) are divided by large stretches of ocean, though the islands they contain are packed tight. So tight that many of the islands are connected by bridges. Each island is unique in their own way, with some harboring a unique species of animal or plant, others being home to strange formations of natural rock, and still more hide the remains of lost civilizations within themselves, waiting for someone to find them.

The Consorts are a diverse bunch, with each Enclave the settle having a completely different social code, hierarchy, and traditions, though all Consorts within all Enclaves have one thing in common (besides their species anyway). They are all completely loyal to their homes and cultures, with each and every one of them willing to die for their homeland and traditions. This complete loyalty, combined with the inevitable cultural differences between each Enclave, make it so that the various groups of Consorts do not get along with one another for the most part. A few notable Enclaves have been known to get along, either at the demands of their traditions or because of their similarities, though such cases are. Thankfully enough most of non-friendly Enclaves have avoided coming to blows, with the few exceptions being notable outliers, though this happens mostly because those Enclaves are isolationist in nature. The massive distances that happen to divide each of the archipelagos help with this isolation.

Then the Denizen was hired by Derse, and he did as was requested because Skaia told him to.

The Denizen has unleashed a large number of wind elementals within the Land’s atmosphere. The very presences of these beings are increasing the wind activity within the Land, causing the gales to blow harder and inciting an increase in storm activity. This results in the planet becoming plagued with deadly storms and cyclones. Most of the Enclaves have been hit by at least one such storm and suffered grave damages as a result. And the winds promise to become worse by the day.

Gale Force Winds

The Denizen has created a large number of wind elementals, releasing all of them into the open sky. As literal ‘physical’ incarnations of Breath itself, the elementals incite a surge in their Aspect with their very presence, usually in the forms of strong gales and violent windstorms. Especially when a lot of them gather in one place. Despite this, the elementals are actually quite friendly, with the increased wind activity being an unintentional (and, to them, unnoticed) side effect of their existence.

The good news is, the increase in wind activity is basically just the Breeze ‘balancing it’s pressure’. As pure Breath acts like actual air (which is to say, it wants to go wherever it pleases but it is easier to go to places where there are less than itself from a place where more of itself resides than vice versa) it has simply been flooding from the elementals (which are basically large concentrations of Breath stuffed in a living container) into the planet (which possesses relatively little Breath) causing the storms. Which is actually one of the least damaging ways Breath could have manifested. This means that, eventually, the pressures of the planet and elementals would reach an equilibrium and the Land would go back to normal, albeit with a slightly windier atmosphere.

The bad news is that that may well take ages to happen. And the Consorts are still in danger in the present timeframe. The elementals can’t be killed, as even without the moral implications of such an action the elementals are nigh impossible to harm and/or kill permanently. Plus that might just release all the Breath they contain into the planet, which would probably make things worse. Killing the Denizen would also solve little, as even with his death the elementals (and all the pure Breath they contain and have already released) would still remain.

The best course of action would be to move the Consorts to a safe location to wait for the storms to blow over and hope things turn out well. In this case, such a safe location would probably be somewhere beneath the seas or ground, as the storms obviously can’t reach all the way down there.

Such a change of location may not bode well with the traditionalist Consorts.

Evacuation Commences

Convincing the Consorts to go underground would be… difficult to say the least. Even the most adventurous among them would be hesitant to leave their homes, especially in this time of crisis. They would be reluctant to leave behind their homes to be devastated by storms, as they are all loyal to their cultures to the end. They would want to stay until the very last moment because… because leaving behind everything that you are familiar with is hard. It’s turning your back on everything in your past, on everything you’ve done, on everything you and your friends and family have built.

Someone would simply need to ask them if their culture is really worth dying for, would it not be worth living for.

No matter what happens, no matter if they leave or stay, the storms would destroy the Enclaves, with the strongest of them even sinking the islands in their entirety. And if that happens, they would simply be another lost civilization, another Enclave whose Consorts were too stubborn to leave.

It would be better if they were to live, to remember all that they have done, all that they have accomplished. To rebuild all that they have lost, and have it continue to survive for years to come.

Once the storms have blown over, the Consorts would have a lot ahead of them, fixing everything that’s been broken. Rebuilding all that is lost. But in the end, the Consorts would find themselves better for it.

But before all of that, the Mage would have to meet up with their Denizen within the sky. They would have to make a Choice. A Choice that would reverberate far into the Consorts future.

Locations

The Vagrant - A small ship the Mage would find upon the shores of their island. It's designed clearly marks it as being created by the Ancient Enclaves, perhaps as part of some sort of prophecy. They didn’t seem to finish on time if the schematics of it found in the ruins are any indication. Its insides, though quite barren, are about large enough to function as a mobile home for the Mage throughout their journey. As the Mage explores their Land they would be able to upgrade the Vagrant more and more, both with the Consorts help and with artifacts salvaged from the Sunken Cities. Most additions to the craft have to do with travel and movement, mostly along the lines of speed boosts, resisting environmental effects, and transformations into other modes of travel. Though other types of upgrades, such as turret emplacements and increased cargo space, also exist. Some of these things appear to have been features of the vessel that the Ancients had no time to implement, and had thus sealed away for the Mage to install by themselves. Others are improvements some of the various Consorts can give to the vessel, what these improvements are and what they look like largely depends on the Clade and Enclave that this Consort came from.

Cultured Enclaves - The homelands of the Consorts. The Enclaves the Consorts live is many and varied, with most having quite a few similarities with the various cultures within the Mage’s homeworld and many stranger cultures besides. Some of them mimic eastern or western cultures, still more share resemblances to ancient civilizations (be they respected or feared), some even mimic the structures of fictional civilizations, or create a whole new culture from a patchwork of all of them. All of them stand proudly with whole cities (or villages) made as a homage to various parts of their traditions. Though unfortunately, some of these majestic settlements have been destroyed by the rampant storm winds, and every other seems to have taken minor amounts of damage as well. Each of these Enclaves could provide an upgrade for the Vagrant, with some even offering several. These upgrades are inevitably themed towards the cultures of the Consorts who live there, and taking too many of them would make for a strange vessel indeed. Still, it’s quite a bit easier than scouring whole cities for an upgrade, and certain Enclaves even offer unique improvements only they can provide

Tornado Alley - The broken remains of the cities the Consorts have lost. All of them are now home to intense gusts of wind and the occasional miniature tornado. Oh, and also Underlings. Can’t forget the Underlings. For some reason the Underlings are all themed after various monsters and demons within the culture of the Enclave they are located in, granting an eclectic mix of enemies from all manner of civilizations. The Alleys are a sad sight, with all the structures that the Consorts were once so proud of now nothing more than a ruin. Some parts of the Alleys are just ruins, or others are flooded over, still, more have been scorched by several lightning strikes. The Mage would most likely be entering these ‘alleys’ as soon as a storm has finished ravaging it, to search for survivors and to salvage all that they can.

Sunken Cities - Ancient cities of Consort societies now long gone, their Enclaves having sunk along with them. These cities are often found underwater, within the stretches of ocean between the still existent Enclaves, though some of their islands can rise back up from time to time, either permanently or temporarily, placing these ruins in subterranean areas, upon mysterious deserted islands, or islands that surface for only a specific day of the week. The underground Cities, in particular, would serve well as a bunker to wait out the storms. There are signs that these Ancient Enclaves were a lot more connected to one another, indicated by identical artifacts found in most of them, perhaps proof that once upon a time, the islands were one continent. Most of these cities hide hoards of ancient-yet-somehow-advanced-technologies and are often infested with Underlings. They are a great place to locate obscure and advanced upgrades for the Vagrant. The upgrades such ruins have to offer are usually quite advanced, and much better than any the modern Consorts can provide, though much rarer as a consequence.

Cloud Palace - The place upon which the Denizen rests. He has used his mastery over the winds to create a whole palace in the skies, a mighty castle made of storms clouds and lightning. Locating it is quite simple, as it is always above the eye of the largest lightning storm within the Land, a consequence of most of the wind elementals preferring to stay at their ‘birthplace’ or returning there after a while. The storm the palace is located above is crackling with lightning and the presence of a large number of wind elementals have spawned massive cyclones that wander near the eye. The Mage would have to modify the Vagrant to fly, withstand gale force winds, and to protect them from lightning strikes to actually enter this palace. Once inside the palace, the Mage would be protected from anymore lighting strikes by the Denizen’s will, and would be able to interact with the clouds the place is made of as if they are solid matter. The Denizen is awaiting the Mage’s arrival within the inner sanctum of the palace.

Denizen

Notus, the South Wind - Anemoi of Summer Storms. Notus has unleashed hundreds of wind elementals upon the land, causing an imbalance within the planet’s Breeze that is the cause of the storms. Notus is as furious and temperamental as the storms he has caused within the Land, and dealing with can prove to be quite tiring. Still, he is willing to aid the Mage in their Quest, should they Choose to ask for it. While he cannot simply force the Breath he has released to simply return to the elementals (as Breath is notoriously impossible to coerce or control) he can ‘convince’ it to calm the fuck down for a bit, allowing the equilibrium to be regained faster and for some of the storms on the planet to calm or even die out entirely. Still, Breath is one to simply do as it pleases, who knows how long Notus’ influence would last.

[ethanalter]

Secrets of 'Maze Runner: The Death Cure' revealed, from that heartbreaking scene to Dylan O'Brien's injury (spoilers!)

Dylan O’Brien and Thomas Brodie-Sangster in Maze Runner: The Death Cure (Photo: Joe Alblas/20th Century Fox Film Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Warning: This post contains big spoilers for Maze Runner: The Death Cure.

For the past four years, a special effects artist-turned-feature filmmaker Wes Ball has been trapped in a maze of his own making. In 2014, the first-time director called “Action” on The Maze Runner, a relatively low-budget adaptation of a popular dystopian YA novel featuring a mostly untested cast of up-and-coming actors, including Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, and Will Poulter. Released to little fanfare in September of that year, The Maze Runner — which follows Thomas (O’Brien) and his allies as they battle a sinister corporation called WCKD on a future Earth ravaged by solar flares and a zombie-creating virus — quickly rocketed to the top of the box-office charts on the backs of young moviegoers. A new franchise was born and after initially flirting with moving on to new projects, Ball returned to adapt the next two books in the series, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure, back-to-back.

Released exactly one year later in September 2015, The Scorch Trials repeated the original’s success. But plans for an equally quick turnaround on The Death Cure derailed when O’Brien was badly injured in an on-set stunt gone wrong early on in production. The film shut down for a year while the star recovered, and finally opens in theaters today. Speaking with Yahoo Entertainment recently, O’Brien remarked, “It’s something I’m so proud that I ended up getting through. It really meant a lot to me to still finish the film and get through it with everybody.”

For his part, Ball is also happy to have seen the Maze Runner franchise through to its happy conclusion, with the finale topping the box office in its opening weekend. In our wide-ranging exit interview, the director dives into Death Cure spoilers, reveals how O’Brien’s accident forever changed his approach to action sequences and discusses why he hopes the dreaded YA label ends with The Death Cure.

Yahoo Entertainment: Having reached the end of the Maze Runner series, how do you feel the three films reflect your interests as a filmmaker? Wes Ball: I have no idea, honestly. It’s hard to self-analyze. I imagine you would see a growth in terms of craft: how I’d shoot scenes, do camera-blocking, stuff like that. If nothing else, hopefully because the same team made all these movies together, there’s some consistency even though each movie is its own little animal. I grew up on Indiana Jones and Back to the Future, so I imagine those elements are in these movies because they are a part of who I am. Movies that are big on adventure, but hopefully have some real stuff to chew on.

Watching all three films back to back, one running theme I noticed is an interest in depicting male camaraderie and affection. These guys care about each other and act on those feelings instead of bottling them up. Yeah, it’s a brotherhood. We set that up in the very first movie, that idea of this family unit. I think that was important to us, because we weren’t gonna do a love story; there’s elements of it, but we never did a full-on romance. When the books came out and the first movie came out, the YA thing was really big, and it was usually about female protagonists with some element of a love triangle [between two guys]. I always felt it was cool that we didn’t have to go there; we could focus more on the brotherhood taking care of each other and being selfless.

Wes Ball on the set of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (Photo: Richard Foreman Jr./20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett Collection

That’s baked into the plot of The Death Cure as well: the whole movie is built around Thomas’s attempts to rescue his friend Minho (played by Ki Hong Lee), which isn’t really the story that’s told in the novel, but plays into your idea of a band of brothers who won’t leave each other behind. Right, plus it’s a great carrot to dangle in front of those characters. In the book, they go to the city, and then they leave the city, you know what I mean? If we had done that, we would have just been going place to place without a real strong throughline. As a movie experience, it just felt right to center it around one of their own that they’re gonna have to go rescue. Then, of course, the act of doing that brings them face-to-face with their past and with different characters they have to meet again, including Teresa, the betrayer. And along the way, Thomas’s perspectives would be challenged: is WCKD really bad? What are they really doing? Rescuing Minho was a cool narrative device to let us bump against these things that we wanted to explore.

As you mentioned, the love triangle is a staple of YA fiction. The studio never pressured you to add a love triangle involving Thomas, Teresa (Scodelario), and Brenda (Rosa Salazar) to the proceedings? No, honestly the studio’s always been really great. I feel like I’ve been spoiled, because they let me make the movies and they were rarely on set. We’d obviously talk about how to make the movie better, but it was never “Hey, can you reshoot this?” at the final hour. We haven’t done any reshoots on these movies, ever. I would love to! I would love to do reshoots, but it’s not worth the expense. But yeah, they’ve been nothing but supportive. Maybe part of it is because we all knew very early on exactly what we were making, and maybe it’s also because the cost of these movies is relatively cheap for what they are. The combined cost of all three movies is what most single tentpole movies cost [the reported production budget for the trilogy is $157 million], so there’s not a lot of risk necessarily. So because of that, maybe we didn’t have to use some of the usual YA things and do things a little differently in places.

Fans of The Maze Runner books haven’t necessarily been thrilled with some of the changes that you’ve made to the story, particular with The Scorch Trials. How did you navigate their responses as you made each film? The truth is, two-thirds of our audience of movie fans haven’t read the books. With that said, I do focus heavily on the book fans, because they are the people I made the movies for, really. They’re the reason we have this franchise. So I hear them and I get it. [For book fans] there’s an element where you feel like you have a secret because you know what’s going to happen and you have a sense of ownership over it in a way. So when things aren’t lining up the way you’re expecting, it can be shocking and almost disappointing.

But if people were to look back on The Scorch Trials with fresh eyes, I think they would see the broad strokes of the book are there. I just don’t have them walking down a dark tunnel for 30 minutes or the metal balls that eat people’s heads — stuff like that. But the general sense of a group of people finding out that they’re still with WCKD and venturing out into Scorch where they meet Jorge and Brenda and are exposed to the Cranks, that all still happens. It’s the same story, just some of the details are changed.

I can only make what I feel is right as a movie experience. If I can’t pull something [from the book] off, I just can’t do it. For example, there’s that Crank party scene in the second movie, where they drink something and go crazy. That was in the books, and I was like, “OK, we’ve got to try and get this scene in the movie.” In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I put it in there for book fans and they didn’t care for it! Hopefully they’ll go into The Death Cure with an open mind. Even though it’s not exactly like the book, I think we’re very true to the spirit of the book.

Let’s dive into some Death Cure spoilers: in the book, we never see what the “safe haven,” where Thomas and the surviving Immune population settle, looks like. In the film, you depict it as a kind of oceanside camp. Why did you decide to visualize it that way? That was pretty simple for me: it was all about the safe haven being the Glade 2.0 and the story coming full circle. It even has the naming wall that we had in the first movie. That’s an idea that wasn’t in the book, by the way — the names-on-a-wall thing. That was something I put in because it felt right; it was a visual cue for these groups of people living in this place. So we brought it back at the end of The Death Cure, because it’s a shrine to the people they’ve lost. I did choose for the safe haven to be much cleaner than the Glade, because they actually came with supplies. But hopefully it feels like the first 10 minutes of the first movie that people fell in love with. I like the idea that it’s a wide-open world in front of them, with the horizon as far as you can see. That’s a hopeful ending to the series. There might not be any more movies, but you can imagine in your own mind how the story might continue.

Kaya Scodelario as Teresa and Patricia Clarkson as Ava Paige in Maze Runner: The Death Cure (Photo: 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection)

You also made the choice to depict the death of WCKD head scientist Ava Paige (Patricia Clarkson) onscreen. Since she’s not a physical character in the book, I imagine that was to provide her with some definitive closure for the movie series? Yeah, that’s obviously a callback to the second movie where Thomas said, “I’m going to kill Ava Paige.” We pretty much knew that we were going to have him be in a position where he could kill her, and then he doesn’t. Our big goal in this movie was to show the world of WCKD and reveal that it wasn’t quite what you expected. You think, “Oh, Ava Paige is this cliché evil scientist,” but we get to show that she’s not — she’s just a doctor trying to do what she can, and what feels right. I’ve always seen these movies as a metaphor for growing up: the first movie is about high school, the second is college and this one is about journeying into adulthood and finding out the world isn’t black and white, but grey and complicated. Of course, we do have our true villain, Janson [Aiden Gillen], and he gets to kill Ava and relish in that. But otherwise, it was about challenging some of the perspectives we knew from previous movies.

Obviously, one of the most important scenes in the movie is the death of Thomas’s best friend, Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), which plays out very differently from the book. It does. In fact, Newt’s story in general is incredibly different from the book. A third of the way through, Newt disappears and later writes a letter. Then, almost by chance, Thomas finds him on the side of the road and shoots him in the head. In our movie, that wouldn’t work — it just wouldn’t. You want to say with Newt for as long as possible and show his slow demise [from his infection]. Ultimately, it’s the catalyst for Thomas to change as a character, in much the same way that Teresa in the second movie tells the story of her mother who got infected and went crazy. This is a story for Thomas where he’s been personally affected by the virus, and he now knows that there’s a way this will never happen to anyone else again if he goes back.

I was also interested in seeing Newt struggle with the monster inside taking over slowly and consuming him, essentially. Every time I went to that visual from the book of Thomas shooting Newt, I felt like it would just be too harsh. So we went this route, where Thomas stabs him after Newt begs him to kill him. Some people will be made about it, but I think it was the right thing to do for the movie. With our versions of the characters, there’s no question in my mind that Thomas would never willingly kill Newt, ever. It doesn’t matter if he was Cranking out and going crazy — he would do everything in his power to not do that. I could never figure out how to put him in a position where he would willingly pull a trigger and shoot his friend in the head.

You confronted every director’s nightmare when Dylan O’Brien was badly injured on set while shooting the opening train heist. What do you remember about that day? It’s probably one of the worst days of my life. Dylan is one of my best friends; we’ve been together for quite a long time now, and I hurt him. I can’t help but feel responsible. I told him that I felt this was going to be safe, and then a strange circumstances of things went wrong that we didn’t account for and Dylan got hurt, and it’s because of me, really. So I take that very personally. I was the first person to get to him, and I remember that feeling. It’s pretty much scarred in my brain now for the rest of my life.

It wasn’t a great experience, but I think the good thing here is that we got back on the horse. It took a while, but we finished this thing. I think it says a lot about Dylan, about how tough he is and how committed he is to these movies. The same thing for the studio; they could have pulled the plug and said, “No, let’s not do this. Let’s not wait a year to go back and reshoot this thing.” But they chose to stick with it — we all did — and I think that’s a nice story. As terrible as the event was, we saw it through to the end. That day did make me approach things differently, that’s for sure.

O’Brien and Ball on the set of the first Maze Runner in 2014 (Photo: Ben Rothstein/20th Century Fox Netherlands/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Has it changed the way you’ll direct action sequences? Yeah. We only shot for three days the first time around, so we had to go back and reshoot all of that material. I told Dylan, “I’m never going to put you on a moving vehicle. You’ll be static in a parking lot.” So during that entire sequence, Dylan is never on a moving car. It’s all CGI. That was a challenge to figure out how to shoot make look believable, but it was a fun challenge. My basic approach now is that I’ll never ask anyone to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself. Because Dylan is such a physically capable actor, it was easy for me to say before, “He’s got this, it’s easy and fun.” But then you don’t account for the outside forces that he has no control over. He didn’t do anything wrong — it was series of events that we didn’t foresee happening that caused the accident. I think we’ll all carry this for the rest of our lives and be affected by it in good and bad ways.

As I understand it, some of the shots from the day he was injured are in the finished film, correct? Was it a difficult choice to include them? Yes, there are shots from that day in the movie. No one would ever know, but there’s one shot in there that was from Vancouver. The rest are all reshoots basically. I talked about it with Dylan we both decided, “Let’s make it worth something.” He went through hell for that shot, so why would we not use It? It felt right that way. It was a touchy thing for sure, and I know if you talk with Dylan he doesn’t like talking about it very much. But it was what it was and we got through it.

What’s next on the horizon for you? It’s looking like Fox will become part of Walt Disney — are you interested in directing a Marvel movie or a Star Wars adventure? Or do you want to pursue your own material? I have no idea. It’s weird; I’ve been in the position of always knowing what my next film is, because whenever I finish one Maze Runner movie, I have the next one lined up to go. But I don’t have that in this case. I’m going to have a vacation in February; I haven’t taken on in the last five years! So I’m gonna reassess and figure out what the hell’s next. It’s certainly fun doing these big movies, and this last movie was the biggest one we’ve done so far. But there’s also something nice about doing a little movie, so I’ve been thinking about that a lot. It would be fun to go off and do something small, though it probably would still be in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. That’s one of the reasons I love the first Maze Runner; it’s this small $30 million movie on a big canvas. J.J. Abrams’s company [Bad Robot] does that really well, too — Cloverfield, for example. I miss those mid-range movies that we don’t really have anymore.

Watch Ball’s short film Ruin, which has been acquired by Fox as a potential feature film

A lot of the big YA franchises like The Hunger Games and Twilight have already ended. With The Maze Runner finishing up now, does it feel like the end of an era? I’ll tell you what I hope happens: I hope that the YA label is done, because I never saw these movies as YA. I just wanted to make a fun movie with young people in it. I never saw it as, “Oh, it’s YA so I have to do it a certain way. Granted, I know the books are considered YA, but I hope we can get away from that stuff and just talk about these as movies with young people in them. I imagine there will always be these kinds of movies, along with post-apocalyptic stories. They’ve endured for such a long time. But you’re right, there are always cycles to these things and right now it seems like we’re in the realm of superheroes and are getting more adaptations of video games. So it does feel like the end of a chapter, I guess.

If you could pick up one memory from your Maze Runner marathon that sums up the entire experience for you, what would it be? Oh man, that’s a tricky one! I guess it would probably be back on the first movie, honestly. There was something so nice about being in that Glade, and it being my first movie with this new cast. I felt so lucky. We had been shooting in the Glade for four weeks and were going to a soundstage to shoot the Maze stuff. So it was our last day in the Glade and we were saying goodbye to this crazy little universe we had created out there. The sun was setting, and I remember that Dylan, Kaya and I got in a golf cart and started riding around. There was a thunderstorm approaching, and we went through the woods on the side of the glade. We ended up getting the golf cart stuck in the river that ran right by there! There’s a picture out there somewhere of us stuck in this golf cart in the mud of the river. We had to lift the cart out as the storm rolled in. I’ll always remember that day. These movies haven’t only been an adventure onscreen, but off-screen as well. It’s sad to say goodbye to the cast, but we’ll always have these movies and who knows what the future holds?

There are the two prequel books, and with de-aging technology you can go back in 10 years and make everyone look like their younger selves! Not for me! I’m done — I’m moving on. [Laughs]

The Maze Runner: The Death Cure is currently playing in theaters.

Watch: Dylan O’Brien and cast mates discuss his ’emotional’ return from accident:

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: 

Wes Ball reveals his dramatically different original ending for ‘The Maze Runner’

Dylan O’Brien on ‘Death Cure’ return following injury: ‘It really meant a lot to me to finish the film

Dylan O’Brien back in action in ‘Death Cure’ trailer

[briangroth27]

Godzilla: King of the Monsters Review

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a significant step up from 2014's Godzilla, the first installment in Legendary's kaiju-focused Monsterverse. I thought the pacing of the first movie was too slow, that it had too much focus on the human characters and not nearly enough Godzilla, and I was disappointed in its monster battles where Godzilla and the Muto squared off...after stepping behind a skyscraper. This film fixed the monster problem in a big way and these humans felt like they fit into the plot better, even if there was still something off about them to me. There’s still some room for improvement, but King of the Monsters is a kaiju-sized step in the right direction and it’s absolutely worth seeing for your giant monster fix!

Full Spoilers...

I thought this movie walked the line between Godzilla the horror monster and Godzilla the hero fairly well. I haven't seen much of the original series, but I have seen the first film and the analysis of it I’ve seen from others framing Godzilla as the embodiment of residual radioactive horrors from the United States' bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (as well as later atomic testing) is a sobering take on the character (and my preferred one). There could absolutely be context I'm missing from the movies following that one, but Godzilla as a hero or an indifferent but ultimately positive force feels less important, definitely less relevant, and—especially in a remake made by Americans—could be construed as a whitewash (or at least a conveniently forgetful sidestep) of the atrocities we've committed (though I don’t believe that was the filmmakers’ intention at all). That said, this film does remind us that Godzilla was awakened by atomic testing and the Titans are returning in part because of what humanity has done to the planet. So, that culpability’s kind of still there, but it's not nearly as pointed or hard-hitting and it’s far more generalized into a “we’re all to blame for killing the planet” message instead of “we did something specifically evil and the effects are still wreaking havoc on innocent people.” Regardless, Godzilla's (TJ Storm) reemergence being a truly positive reaction to our negative impact on the planet doesn't entirely work for me: where it fell apart for me was when the movie agreed large numbers of people had to die to save the world. Yes, there is a line when the number of deaths becomes a bad thing to most of the characters, but Godzilla accidentally kills innocents too and the solution is to let more die? This is especially puzzling coming from Vera Farmiga's Dr. Emma Russell, who started her quest to understand the Titans because of the death of her son (Tyler Crumley)...so her resolution, the reason for her son’s death that she was looking for, is that more kids should die so everyone else can live? I can’t connect those dots and I just don’t buy that these huge creatures lumbering around and sometimes fighting is going to result in anything but more death (not every city can be evacuated like Boston was).

While the humans do affect the plot (waking the Titans, saving Godzilla, luring Ghidorah (Jason Liles, Alan Maxson, and Richard Dorton) and the others to Boston), it's weird that humanity has no part to play in the grand scheme of saving the planet, no redemption to earn, no way to out-think our extinction and create a better future for ourselves: we just have to sit back and let the kaiju remake the world. It's certainly daring to let the humans be so inconsequential, but I wonder if treating us like children whose toys are taken away while the "adults" fix everything is the best way forward. It certainly sets things up for a whole new world order that we’ve never seen though! It should definitely be interesting to explore this dynamic in future installments: what does the social structure of the planet look like with the Titans roaming around “in charge?” Unfortunately, the logistics of the Titans saving the Earth falter a bit for me: shouldn't the radiation they give off that rejuvenates the Earth also make those areas uninhabitable for a long time? And/or does it create new, potentially dangerous mutated creatures there? If they hadn't made a big deal out of the radiation in Godzilla's hollow Earth kingdom (which was a cool idea and very well-rendered; that was totally Atlantis, right??), the casual radiation they give off wouldn’t have bothered me since it would've just been part of the movie's pseudo-science. But since they made that level of radiation a thing, I would’ve liked at least a line or two explaining why the rest of it is safe. Godzilla’s atomic breath should also be a problem to anyone in the vicinity, right? Yet no one bothers to mention dangers potentially associated with the near-misses they all have. Oh well; it’s a movie about giant prehistoric monsters and while that’s not a free pass to forego internal consistency, fluctuating radiation levels are not enough to break my suspension of disbelief or my enjoyment.

Reimagining the kaiju in this movie as the ancient Titans is an absolutely clever idea! They definitely feel mythic and the movie does a great job of staging enormous creatures in beautiful surroundings with a lot of scope to craft iconic imagery. Their shared origin was a simple, easy way to tie all these creatures (plus semi-unrelated giant monsters like King Kong) together. The impact of the fights between monsters and the near-inescapable feel of their attacks on humans were visceral moments and these animals truly felt dangerous throughout the movie. The CGI was great and the creature choreography was solid too.  They found a wide variety of landscapes to plunder and spreading the Titans out around the planet was a cool way to truly make this a worldwide phenomenon and global event. While I would've preferred less shaky-cam, those kaiju battles were some seriously crowd-pleasing moments that made seeing this on the big screen worth it. The creatures’ disparate abilities also helped to keep each fight/attack fresh.

Like I said, I think they walk the line between Godzilla as a hero and as a monster pretty well—as reasons to fight the other monsters “to protect us” go, they gave Godzilla good ones—but I didn't need them to essentially make him Jesus, dying and resurrecting to save us all. I did like that they incorporated the way they killed Godzilla in the original movie—an "oxygen destroyer" deployed in the ocean—and Dr. Serizawa’s (Ken Watanabe) sacrifice to bring him back totally worked for that character's devotion and dedication in this version. However, the savior trope didn't land for me and the "Godzilla's gonna explode!" countdown also came off as a little less threatening than it was intended (and that's more radiation that apparently doesn't matter unless you're at ground zero), but it didn’t hurt the final battle for me. Mothra was very cool; she was my favorite kaiju in the movie. Her abilities were the most intriguing (and the ones that would seem to make the most sense to jumpstart the Earth's rebirth, since she also helps stabilize Godzilla) and I was sorry to see her die. I hope that the reports in the credits of another Mothra egg are true, but is it possible Godzilla laid that egg and it's the offspring of the two of them instead (Mothra did rain some sort of energy down on him at one point)? It’s probably a Mothra twin, though, to reflect that bit of the Mothra mythology that’s also represented here by the twin Monarch scientists played by Zhang Ziyi (Doctors Ilene and Ling Chen). Either way, I liked Godzilla and Mothra’s bond/relationship and thought it was totally believable. Ghidorah was suitably imposing and scary; he was a more than worthy opponent for Godzilla and the reveal that he was an alien instead of a native of Earth felt totally natural to the story, so the inclusion of aliens on top of everything else was easy to roll with. I don't need to see him again like the post-credits scene implies, but maybe he'll be rebuilt into a cyborg next time. Rodan (Jason Liles) was cool in short bursts, but ultimately his attacks were limited and I feel like we saw all we need to from him. I was disappointed he survived (it definitely looked like Mothra stabbing his heart killed him!) and Godzilla's glare at the end didn't feel like enough of a reaction to Rodan killing Mothra at all. I would've also liked the other kaiju that show up in Boston to do more than just walk around, even if they didn’t end up fighting Godzilla or Ghidorah, but ultimately their lack of action and involvement didn't hurt those sequences for me.

I wanted more from the humans script-wise and couldn't figure out what was missing at first. I've finally landed on the idea that a lot of them feel like they exist mainly as their plots ("must help Godzilla," "must kill Godzilla," “must save family,” etc.), but I wanted to know more about their lives, hopes, and interests outside of these goals (is there any hope for whatever they wanted to do with their lives in the worlds Emma and Monarch are trying to create?). Kyle Chandler (Dr. Mark Russell), Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe, and Millie Bobby Brown (Madison Russell) are all very strong actors and do good work with what they’re given here, but I thought the writing left them all with one big goal that overrode everything else about them (though we see a bit of Mark outside of Monarch). There also wasn’t much room in the writing to explore the character growth they did get as their opinions on the Titans evolved over the course of the film. Things like Emma accepting the death of more kids and (like my sister pointed out) Madison’s concern for her mom at the beginning vs. her going along with the “kidnapping” plan could’ve used more explanation in the script instead of feeling like we’d missed beats to set up plot twists. Perhaps the cool stuff Madison got to do, like going rogue and calming the Titans down via the Orca device while bringing them to a deserted city, could’ve been grounded in a third viewpoint on the “monsters will save us/kill us” discussion to further illuminate her character and tie the struggle to save the planet to real life a little bit more closely. They could’ve framed her as the embodiment of the younger generation, looking at the options offered by the adults and finding a new way forward that didn’t involve killing the Titans or handing the planet over to them; maybe they could’ve worked out a partnership of some kind so humans could have a hand in helping to save themselves (especially given the Orca was a communication device). Still, characters in a lot of movies lose detail in service of the plot, so at first I didn't know why it felt so odd here. I now think it’s because these humans are also so inconsequential on the grander scale of saving the Earth that their lack of personal lives left me with very little to connect with even on a “Yeah! Humanity can turn it around!” level. Doesn’t knowing what kind of life they’re fighting for make for a more compelling and complete struggle than simply fighting to survive? If we can’t save the world without relinquishing control to giant monsters, what does that say about our chances of dealing with the perils facing our real world? Regardless, all of these humans were more engaging and entertaining than the ones in the first movie, whom I can barely remember (and the returning ones seemed to fit this film’s more bombastic tone better). I hope the survivors get to come back in the next one!

While it feels like I’m being hard on this, I did enjoy it and it's very entertaining; a massive improvement from Legendary’s first Godzilla! They could still stand to give the humans more depth beyond what’s needed for the plot, but this cinematic universe seems to be evolving in the right direction even if I don't agree with the conclusions it's coming to about the fate of the world and who can save it. Ultimately, it seems they learned all the right lessons from Kong: Skull Island and this is a fun rapid-fire journey through the original Godzilla series in a modern (though not as pointed) context. I'll definitely watch King Kong vs. Godzilla—the original was one of my favorite movies as a kid—but I'm not sure how that will feel different from this one since the news reports during the credits indicate it's just another challenge between alphas. Will Kong be the hero in that one, as in the original (they do mention that Godzilla's on humanity’s side..."for now")? I can't see either of them dying; will their battle lead to Mecha-Godzilla instead? Will Mecha-Ghidorah appear to help fight Godzilla? Maybe adding human-created cybernetics to the story will be a good way for people to take a bigger role in saving the world, unless they want to knock us down again by having our technology distort the Titans and their natural function on the planet in some manner. Those are all questions for later though; in the meantime, if you're looking for a giant monster mash, Godzilla is king!

 Check out more of my reviews, opinions, and original short stories here!