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Image description: A four page black and white comic of my tortoiseshell cat, Bunny, complaining that I won’t let her in from the screen porch.

Page 1 

Panel 1: A small tortoiseshell cat sits on the other side of a glass door, looking up sadly, saying, “Mama! Mama, help! I’m in the screen porch!” 

Panel 2: She scratches at the door. “Mama! Mama I’m trapped! I’m trapped in the screen porch! Mama!” she cries. 

Panel 3: She looks through the glass with her sad, innocent expression. “I see you, Mama! Can’t you hear me? Why won’t you let me in? What have I done, Mama!”

Panel 4: The left corner is dominated by a close up of her face, as she reminisces about the cat tree in the screen porch. We see her perched on the very top, looking out over the backyard.

She says, “Was I not grateful enough, Mama? You gave me a throne, here in the screen porch! A place where I could look down upon the world as a god!”

Page 2

Panel 1: While she’s perched atop her cat tree, it begins to rain outside. Bunny looks askance at it from behind the screen. 

“But I couldn’t touch it, Mama!” she narrates, now in boxes instead of word balloons, “I could see the rain lavish the earth, but never feel its cool caress!”

Panel 2: A paw rests on the screen. On the other side, two birds chirp, unbothered by the presence of Bunny.

 “I could smell the blood of the song birds, but never taste its warmth! I lived as Tantalus in this screen porch, Mama!”

Panel 3: Sitting on a cushioned chair, bunny looks out over the yard, barred from her by the porch screen. 

“Tormented by what I could never reach!” 

Page 3

Panel 1 : Another reminiscence, this time of Bunny running through the open door to the screen porch earlier that day while I was taking out the garbage. 

“And yet I returned, again and again and again! Was that my sin, Mama? Is this my punishment? To be condemned forever to a hell of my own choosing?” 

Panel 2: Returning to the present, Bunny looks up from the otherside of the door, her eyes wide.

“Is this what you call justice, Mama?” She says. “Is this what you call love?” 

Panel 3: From Bunny’s perspective we see me; I am ignoring her, going about my business. She calls out to me, “Answer me, Mama! Mama!”

Panel 4:I glance back at her, unmoved by her cries. “Mama!” she yells. 

Page 4

Panel 1: Pulling out we finally see more of the wall which has the door to the screen porch. Directly beside it is a cat door that goes through the wall, out into the screen porch. Another cat, Bunny’s sister Maggie, is coming through the cat flap with no issue.

 I say, “ Bunny, I know you know how to use the cat door.”

Clawing at the window, tears in her eyes, Bunny screams “MAMA!!”

End ID.

[pointofvee]

A whole bunch of adorable veggie friends for you! Don’t worry about not being able to eat healthy anymore, my Grunlings aren’t actual food!

They are gentle spirits of nature and if someone is lucky enough to see or even befriend a Grunling, they can become incredibly supportive with gardening. ;) 🌱

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y’all want some cool, muslim-made, modest fashion ideas?

absolutely nobody asked but here, have them anyway (all via the Islamic Fashion Institute):

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And when we finally kill the gods neither hell nor heaven will be waiting for them because they created those to imprison us

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Missing: The Other Side - Rant/Review

I picked up this show on a whim, just cause I liked how spooky everything looked. And of course, we're in October so some ghosts are necessary. But since I'm the biggest wimp I know, I picked very pleasant ghosts.

With that intro let us dive into the premise of this kdrama. Kim Wook is a professional swindler (with a particular hate for capitalism and people who profit off of it). When one such heist draws him into a near death experience, he finds himself spiraling head first into a village full of ghosts (quite literally) -- who he learns are spirits of missing dead people on the live side of the veil. He also realises that he's one of the few rare people who can see this village while the rest of the living, keep living. Despite initial hesitance Wook finds himself helping solve the mysteries of the villagers' deaths so they can be found and hence move on but little does he expect to be challenged with bigger mysteries than his ability to see ghosts.

TW: Mentions of death, grief, loss, depression

As usual we're going to list all the things we liked first:

I. CONCEPT:

First of all the story has the haunting tone following it through every episode. But it’s grounded in kindness. I like how the dead can liven up a desolated place with all the memories they’ve made in this life — showing how important it is to cherish things in your life. Even how pain and trauma - exception to the moment you pass away - you bring it into the next stage, how it doesn’t dissipate just because one does not have a body now. We see how places the spirits exist in are completely repressed of light the moment they pass on from their middling form (one waiting to be discovered). Also how a person's grief can be so strong, their eyes can see the other side. The very physical embodiment is portrayed, of what it's like, to lose someone, what it takes to move past that and how it literally takes a village to move some boulders of your chest.

The writers could have easily slipped into making the show trauma porn but they've managed to achieve a delicate balance and sensitivity (I see you My Name)

II. ACTING:

If a drama is written to process grief, it most definitely makes you cry. This was not unexpected when I got to watching Missing. Everybody on the show does their best to embody their roles and do the script justice. For me it wasn't even Go Soo as Kim Wook that stood out, it was Heo Joon Ho. A part of me predicted that if he ever focused that quite intensity he often fills into his antagonist roles (Come and Hug Me for example) into portraying grief he’s perfectly capable of breaking my heart on screen. As Jang Pan Sook in the series, he did just that. His character’s isolation and deep resentment and relentless pursuit for peace of mind managed to make a lasting impression on me — I wanted to reach out through the screen to give him a hug. It lightened my heart every time there are moments of levity for him, every time he allows himself comfort from the people around him, every time he works hard to look past the anger festering inside. He builds this odd kind of courage inside me.

You also see how Mr. Jang carries his grief with him, looking for his missing daughter, stagnant in a permanent state of remorse to his wife for still not being able to join her in death cause he couldn’t find their daughter. Never letting even a single detail of his daughter’s face fade away from his memory by surrounding himself with her missing posters at home and deeply aggrieved towards the higher power that brought all the dead people to that town. Conflicted about wanting to see his daughter alive and so exhausting all options but also running to the veil every single time the bell at the village rang with hope cause he can finally fully grieve for the loss. We see how not knowing is a whole other way of torment besides knowing we've lost someone. Even if you don't watch it for any other reason, I would recommend you to watch this show just to see Mr. Jang.

III. COMPLEXITY AND COHERENCY:

Initially I thought the show was going to treat each missing person's case as a story in itself and hence the format is going to be episodic like the kdrama Tomorrow while we have each character's arc progressing in the backend. But what I thought were individual cases were tied so beautifully together to draw attention to a bigger mystery. They've managed to keep the mystery, provided the jaw drops but did it while the story was not written in a breakneck pace. I appreciate that the story was kept to 12 episodes instead of trying to stretch it further just to accommodate 16 episodes, as is the usual pattern for kdramas. The ending is left ambiguous to give possibility for another season, so we shall see. Some shows are good to be kept at a single season and for me this season has covered all of its tracks so I don't necessarily look forward to a sequel unless they can take a completely new direction and still keep the wonderful lulling tone and heart. [ I did hear rumors that Lee Jung Eun is going to be cast in Season 2, and if that's true I will faithfully watch the seq cause she's had my heart since When The Camellia Blooms]

IV. CINEMATOGRAPHY:

The set design is amazing, they had few working pieces and they made good use of it and the shots were very whimsical. The CGI never looked off-putting or awkwardly stuffed into a scene and most specifically it was not overdone.

List of things that work against the drama. (Disclaimer that these are things that I've picked up on a macro level)

I. When one adapts such a strong concept they want to make sure that the actors are never having a single lax moment. There were moments in the show where you’re conflicted cause you feel your heart ache cause of the incident that just took place, but your attention is distracted cause of the acting. Only few moments of course, but these moments either felt very caricaturistic or the nuance was lost and it came off too strong (not from Heo Joon Ho though, he was phenomenal).

II. Moon Yoo Kang as Kim Nam Gook (remember that guy who gets slapped by Yi Seo in Itaewon Class because he was a class A entitled douchebag? Yes, that one) was a surprise casting for me and he was severely underused for his part. His character is a very crucial piece of the puzzle but he doesn't have enough screen time and when his arc is done, you don't feel a lot of attachment to him despite the show trying to convince you through peripheral characters that you do.

Oh wow, I was trying to dig up more points from my memory about any other minor downfalls but I couldn't come up with any. Maybe it's cause of when I watched it, I'd probably be more aware of the shows flaws with time, or might gain more appreciation for it.

That's a wrap. I have more films and shows listed on my "to-watch and review" list and I'm excited to go through them as well! Hope you're having a good day wherever you are🍀

[pointofvee]

"I did not like to be touched, but it was a strange dislike. I did not like to be touched because I craved it too much. I wanted to be held very tight so I would not break."

-Marya Hornbacher, Wasted

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Say nothing. Just look into the night. 

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I Remember You/Hello Monster - Rant/Review

When it comes to crime/mystery kdramas - it's almost impossible to write a spoiler free rant. So I go and scream into my notes app with heavy duty paragraphs. But I will try my best here.

To give a short summary - The story follows Lee Hyun, a crime profiler's son and his brother Lee Min after Lee Hyun accidentally meets Lee Joon Young - a serial killer - as a kid. We get to see the after-effects of what happens when a serial killer finds profound sense in a child who barely knows himself.

There are a few main points that I'd really like to highlight which make this show a worthwhile watch, albeit it might not be up to everyone's taste:

The whole story is tightly paced, and takes an unconventional approach to the usual style of detective-based crime dramas that SK usually produces. The real suspense in terms of plot direction does not lie within the revealing of incidents, or identities for that matter (cause that was very easily predictable) but within the kind of choices each character arrives to despite their situation. You have all the cards on the table and it always feels like a ticking time bomb to wait for the decisions because you know what the person is capable of. And as someone who loves tightly paced mystery I initially assumed 1/3rd way through the show that I would lose interest by predicting everything. But as each episode progressed I found myself watching without feeling the impatience to hit the fast forward button. That's not an easy feat to achieve.

THE ACTING - In all caps, cause all of our protagonists and antagonists delivered by the truckloads. Especially Bogum. I've never seen Bogum as an antagonist before so it was surprisingly refreshing to watch. The performances of the antagonists were especially layered because you do find yourself wanting to believe in their delusion, find yourself understanding why they can't understand the morally wrong implications of their crimes despite all the voices of dissent around them. There's a scene mid-season where you see Bogum playing a character who looks a little too genuine while faking empathy towards someone and when the camera isolates him from the surroundings, the drop in expression sent shivers down my spine. While I observed weak moments of acting from the rest of the cast here and there, Bogum delivered 110%. Not once do you see him react in a truly unusual way, there's no awkward stumbling of lines. There's also the deliberate distinction of reasons regarding why our antagonists feel no remorse for their actions. One comes from a place of feeling wronged, while one comes from a place of consideration towards wronged people. The show knew what it wanted to be so the actors delivered the nuance with an enviable ease.

The super adorable sibling dynamics - I MEAN, you should actually look at Lee Hyun and Lee Min to get a true sample of tooth-rotting fluff that's not overdone. My heart was all squishy with all sorts of warm feelings from these two :') It's a shame that one of them is a serial killer but it also makes the dynamic more delicious cause it brings into question about how much responsibility you can shoulder regarding a loved one's actions, whether or not you're the true cause of the problem and in turn the true monster, struggling with the knowledge that your brother has no true concept of consideration, and almost deluding yourself into believing that killing people is okay as long as it's done for the right reasons even though you're fundamentally not that kind of person. Can you really stick it out and not be pulled under the grey area of apathy when there's basically no space between you and a psychopath? Can someone have redemption when they don't think they need it?

Genuine friendship between our main female lead and Lee Hyun - there's a romance subplot too but it's just a tiny part of the drama. They start off on a misunderstood note but by the time the show ends I did believe they truly understood each other and even if they never became lovers, they'd always be precious to each other.

You're given a truly open ending regarding the paths the antagonists and protagonists can take in the future. So many possibilities!

Reasons you might be put off by the drama

There's the rude-smart-boy trope with which we're introduced to Lee Hyun and it can make you want to grind your teeth with cringe cause the boy has basically no respect for the law enforcement in SK and it also undermines the genuine police work that officers put in day-in and day out. (You know that similar scene where the police work day and night to gather the facts but can't put a coherent story together but one stranger walks in, no permission whatsoever, and inserts himself into the investigation - manages to solve it in 5 min?) As the story progresses, you do see this dynamic quiet down and eventually disappear but yes. I almost stopped watching half way through ep 1 because it got on my nerves.

The minute details - What kind of cop enters a crime scene with no gloves?? There are basics we'd expect to see nailed down despite how unrealistic the investigation can be in movies and shows but my eyes were hurting looking at their hands like "ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT DESTROYING EVIDENCE RIGHT NOW, COMING IN LIKE THAT?" And a civilian being able to walk into crime scenes all the time, never being taken into custody despite always being a suspect?

There's one episode of stalking that turns out helpful later on in the show but it was almost uncomfortable how it was portrayed so harmlessly. There was no malicious intention on behalf of the stalker but something like that can have very real implications and I wish the show didn't gloss over it just cause it turned out to be useful.

While I liked that the crime and identity part of it was all predictable it might not be everyone's cup of tea.

When you see truly strong performances interspersed with weak moments in between it can throw you off the loop a little bit. But Bogum and Choi Won Young kind of bodied so much of the action and Seo In-guk also did considerably well and they carry most of the show.

This got kind of long-winded but I'm working on writing more concise and well thought out reviews as that's the end goal of starting this blog so please look forward to more improvement. Thank you for reading!

[pointofvee]

i'm on day 3 of the game. something i'm enjoying immensely so far about disco elysium is the way Harry - who has almost completely lost all his memories, beliefs, and social 'identities' - keeps gathering these little tidbits of beliefs from other people and Immediately tries to construct his entire identity out of it. and every single time he tries this the dialogue options do hint about how it's certainly a.... bold move to make, and yet the choice to do so is provided to him repeatedly. Almost as if modern society itself expects/demands easy compartmentalization of complex and diverse human beings, and encourages us to reduce each other to a few known and acceptable traits.

"What's your belief system?" "What's your Copotype?""What's your political ideology?" - these questions aim to quickly compartmentalize him into neat little boxes and give his confused and disoriented brain some easy guidelines to follow, to give him the security of a 'side' to pick, and to know how to advance in the world. And what's amazing is that Harry is not the only one doing it. There are so many npcs i've met so far (Rene comes to mind most promptly) who cling to a belief system desperately, in order to avoid the messy and uncomfortable work of existing in this world. Alcohol and drugs used to serve the same purpose for Harry, but they are easier vices to spot.