#anyways! thank you so so much jas <3 this was incredibly fun

[celticwoman]

20-25 for ur current fav!!!!

ADELINE & TEDDY

20. If they disagree, who's usually the one to compromise? I feel like they rarely do, they're both very chill people so most of the time they can come to an agreement together without much trouble, but on the off chance that things get a bit more... heated, I guess, I'd say Teddy is most likely the first of the two to kind of give in, or step back and try to calm the situation down so that they can find some common ground.

21. If they live together, how do they split household responsibilities? They just agree to do the things the other doesn't really enjoy doing. For example, he will take out the trash for her while she might cook for both of them whenever she can, or she tidies the apartment while he does the dishes, things like that. If there's something neither of them likes doing, they just take turns.

22. What's different about their backgrounds? Do those differences affect the relationship? Their backgrounds are, in a way, pretty similar, I'd say. They're both basically nepo babies, they didn't grow up in the same circles and their families are very different, but they share a lot of similar experiences. Whenever they do find differences, I don't think they're relevant enough to affect their relationship.

23. What was their first impression of each other? They met at a fancy ski resort, he was taking some time off with his brothers while Adeline was vacationing with her mom, and at some point of their trip they got stuck on the ski lift together. Teddy was smitten from the moment he met her. It was, of course, a very superficial attraction at first, but as time went on, they realised they might be there for a while and started getting to know each other, he became fascinated by her. She was quite irritated with the situation, which made her act a little mean at the beginning, but their conversation was able to calm her down. In the end, they didn't really notice how much time they had spent stuck because of how at ease and comfortable they had felt with each other. She thought he was a sweet guy although a little intense. He was already super into her and thought she was very cool and also nice (by that point he already had heart eyes for her so she could have done literally anything and he would've been be like 'wow what an angel 🤩'). Anyways, the funny thing is he didn't have a clue who she was until he mentioned her to his brothers and they made fun of him for not knowing. It made things way easier once he realised she was quite famous, and he decided to reach out to her after their trips ended.

24. How did they fall for each other? I think Teddy actually fell for her once he got to know her better. Adeline wasn't really interested in dating but for some reason she really enjoyed spending time with him, so it was hard for her to say no to him whenever he suggested they spend time together. Her genuine laugh is what really got him, he began to notice how she was letting herself be her real self around him, that she was comfortable enough around him to not hold back, and he felt so honoured and it was such a precious thing for him. Teddy realised then that he wanted to hear and be the reason for that laugh every single day for the rest of his life. For her it was a much slower process, she was against catching feelings and she kicked herself whenever she agreed to see him, but she couldn't help herself, he was cute and sweet, and so, so nice to her... She had never been in love before so she was quite scared too, he just made her feel so happy and safe that she sometimes forgot all about it while they were together. It wasn't until he told her how he felt that she started contemplating the fact that, even if she didn't want to, maybe she had started to fall in love with him.

25. Who said "I love you" first? Even though he confessed his feelings first, he didn't dare say it yet, I mean, he knew for sure he was in love with her, but he also knew she was very apprehensive and it might scare her off, so he held back and kind of gave her some space so that she didn't feel pressured or uncomfortable. Adeline was the one who said it first. After she opened up about her feelings with him, she started feeling more confident and took charge of the situation most of the time. She said it quietly one evening while they were laying in bed together, hugging each other in silence. Neither of them made a big deal out of it, he said it back, and they both felt relieved that everything was finally out in the open.

send some numbers and the names of the couple! (+ you can find my oc directory here)

[skeelly]

name your top 5 mutals and tell me why you love them

hi anon. ty i've been wanting to do this but this is hard ah

im excluding @moonlightt444 again cause ik her irl

@mqstermindswift you are literally the best person ever. i love you very mucchhh!! thank you for literally existing. i can't imagine tumblr without you, infact i can't imagine life with you. I'm proud of you in everything you do. ilyy. and omg quason, literally, if you feel that no one in the world is proud of you, always remember i am. i support you in everything (especially your delusions :3) you do as long as you lead with passion and kindness. i love you quason. im so happy to have you in my life

@reminiscentreader hi jas!! ilysmm! youre so cool and such an honest, kind and comforting person. i genuinely appreciate all your nice words and thank you for being so understanding lol. plus, the way we can talk about taylor and i know i won't be am imposition (or am i?) makes me feel appreciated. ily jasss!! #theworldneedsmorepeoplelikejas

@nqds NADS. ilyy! you're so funny, you make my day a little brighter everytime. thank you so much for being a lovely friend and mutual. i love everything you say lol. you're so funny. girl please never stop saying jokes and being you. and im genuinely so lucky to have you as my friend. oh and you're so incredibly talented wkjdowjs. i wanna be more like you. ilyy

@urbanflorals emmmmm! first of all, literally thank you for making me your maid of honor. omg. i love you. walker is so lucky to have youu. you're such an understanding person and you're so fun to talk to. thank you for being you. your stories make me happy lol. and can we talk about how absolutely talented you are?!?! omg. you're good at everything. i look up to you lol. ily!!

@sophiesonlinediary SOPHIEEE. hi sophieee. walker is also extremely lucky to have you like- i can't. i really hope you move on from walkers-look-alike cause.. walkers better. anyways, thank you for everything sophie! your kind words, trust in me, and literally just the fact that you understand me makes me feel so amazing and a little better whenever im feeling down oh and thank you for being honest. honest friends is a must and I'm glad you're my honest friend. LOVE YOU TO BITS and i need to get you a nickname

HONORABLE MENTION

@myster3y I LOVE YOU SM. please remember i always have your back no matter what and you can ABSOLUTELY talk to me about anything. thank you for being comfortable around me. i appreciate it! you're such a nice friend btw and those "bully's" know nothing. don't let them affect you and your well being. ily!! <3

[clonecumber]

Vau for the character asks : )

I’m laughing, that’s mean 🤣

Thank you very much <3

under a cut because, like...abuse and a rambling attempt to articulate a difficult concept

First impression : BAD (but slightly uncomfortable because I was still a kid and didn’t like hastily shoving people into black-and-white boxes, and I was already very used to making excuses for likable abusers, so). Impression now : *adult me, significantly more comfortable jamming people into boxes*: VERY BAD

But also, a fascinating and powerful mirror. Vau’s narrative role as Skirata’s mirror, as someone who - again and again - has his damaging behaviors spelled out for him and continues refusing to actually own up to them or better himself in any way, and how he gets away with it because he manages to be charming, is actually kind of amazing. Literally Vau and Skirata both go through the exact same arc with the exact same beats where they are continuously made to face their incredibly toxic actions, even have each other point out the others’ problems, and neither of them ever actually get to the point of admitting the damage they’ve done. They’re both abusers who never actually learn any better, but more than that they’re written deliberately to be as sympathetic as it’s possible for them to be while still routinely showing the damage from the POV of the people they abused to show that this isn’t supposed to make it better or more forgivable, and seeing the differences and similarities in how characters in-universe and people in fandom respond to that is...pretty interesting? Even when KT makes it incredibly obvious that Vau has not actually gotten any better. See as one example: The scene late in the series where he hurts that line trooper while “training” him and makes Scorch feel sick. This is not a man who has learned shit; he just became more comfortable with his excuses, which is a mindset partially reflected in the narrative by Skirata softening his stance on him, even though he’s done nothing to make amends and it’s not Skirata’s place, anyway.

If KT were playing the long game, then her using Vau’s arc and role as the more conventional abuser as a hint to the reader to pay attention to Skirata’s less conventionally obvious abuse and where he was at regarding his awareness of his own shit would have been absolute genius, and Skirata softening on Vau should have been a blaring warning sign than his character arc was about to hit rock bottom, since he’s not supposed to be accepting the unrepentant personification of all his own worst failings. That and Ordo’s increasing impatience with him seems like it should have been heading to some sort of character-significant confrontation.

But the whole thing got knocked over in 501st, so oh well, I guess. (A moment of silence for Atin, please.)

Favorite moment : When they rescue Vau from the ice ball and Skirata wants to send Ordo after Etain because...pregnancy hormones or whatever? Who else could possibly go? And Vau goes, “I actually got along quite well with the young woman,” for no other reason than to be a shit, apparently, and Skirata can’t even respond, he just stares at him in unimpressed disgust while Vau makes an innocent face.

...It was funny.

Idea for a story : Vau’s inability to overcome his shitty behavior gets turned on Sev after he’s rescued, and Scorch straight up kills the man in the heat of the moment. RIP Vau. Unpopular opinion : (I don’t think this series really has popular opinions, but we’ll work with what we have:) where the hecks did Vau’s relationship with Jaing come from that he felt comfortable leaving Mird to him how did that even make sense-

I mean, I love Jaing having a soft spot for Mird, but it came out of total left field-

Favorite relationship : The one he has with Skirata, that I...kind of already rambled about, whoops. They have a fun dynamic otherwise too, though. Sure wish they could have dragged each other out of the muck instead of reinforcing each others’ shit, though, Skirata, over there with your, “Of course he knew you cared,” bullshit after Sev gets lost on Kashyyyk. No, he didn’t, Skirata. Favorite headcanon : ...Okay, so my story idea is fulfilling multiple roles in this ask game, I guess. It is really carrying this team. (If not Scorch, I have money on Laseema.)

[drivingsideways]

k-drama rec list

Prior to 2020 I’d maybe watched 2 k-dramas in my entire life, but this year I got sucked in, thanks to some great recs, and y’know, *gestures * everything.  

I think I’d held off watching kdramas because my impression of them was limited to romances that I didn’t enjoy at all. But this was the year I discovered the equivalent of “gen fic” kdrama- dramas that had wonderful ensemble casts, strong story lines that weren’t entirely romance focused and also a variety in terms of themes and styles. A big plus was that I found so many of these dramas had women leading the writers’ room, and seeing the effect of that in the story telling. (Notable exceptions: a certain “star” writer who should please stop inflicting her badly written, formulaic crap on the world, yes Kim Eun-Sook, I mean you, and whoever wrote that trashfire Flower of Evil)

So here I am with my own rec list! Caveat- these are mostly not the dramas released in 2020, I’m still playing catch up! :)

Under the cut for length

My Mister/ My Ahjussi  (2018, Written by Park Hae-Young, Directed by Kim Won-Seok, starring Lee Sun-kyun and Lee Ji-eun aka IU) 

This was definitely my absolute favourite of the shows I watched this year across western/ asian media. It’s a story about the thread that binds us all and the ineffability of human connection. It’s also a story that deconstructs ideas of masculinity and honour and shame in a non-western context, but with an extremely compassionate touch.  It’s a story that doesn’t shy away from showing the consequences of material and spiritual poverty; and how one can so easily feed into the other. It’s a love story that isn’t a romance, except that it’s a Romance. It’s about finding salvation in one another and in the kindness of strangers.  It’s about choosing life, and picking yourself up off the floor to take that one last step and then the next and then the next. The one quibble I have with the series is that it could have been better paced, it does get extremely slow after the half way mark. But god, do they land the ending. Both Lee Sun-kyun and IU turn in absolutely heartbreaking performances, and fair warning, be prepared to go through an entire box of tissues watching this series. 

Life  (2018,  written by Lee Soo-yeon  and directed by Hong Jong-chan, starring Lee Dong-wook, Cho Seung-woo, Won Jin-ah, Lee Kyu-hyung, Yoo Jae-myung and Moon So-ri.)

Medical dramas are very much not my thing, and I wouldn’t have taken a chance on it except that @michyeosseo said I should, and she was right! It’s a medical drama in the sense that it’s set in a hospital, but rather than a “case-fic” format, this is actually a sharp commentary on the corporatization of health care, and the business of mixing, well, money and what should be a fundamental human right. Writer Lee Soo-yeon was coming off the global success of Stranger/Secret Forest S1 when this aired, so I understand that expectations were probably sky-high, and people were disappointed when this show didn’t give them the adrenaline rush that they wanted. On the other hand, I thought that this outing was really much more nuanced in terms of the politics and also how the ending doesn’t allow you the luxury of easy-fixes. This show has a great ensemble cast, and while it took me a while to get used to Lee Dong-wook’s woodenness (i ended up calling him mr.cadaver after watching this and was surprised to learn that he’s very popular?), in the end I was quite sold on his version of angry angst-bucket elder-sibling Dr.Ye Jin-woo. His best scenes were with Lee Kyu-hyung who turns in a lovely, achy performance as the paraplegic Dr. Ye Seon-woo who just wants to live a normal life. The love story between the two brothers is actually the emotional backbone of the story, and I think they landed that perfectly. 

My one quibble with writer-nim is that she ended up writing in a forgettable and somewhat (for me at least) uncomfortable romance between the characters played by Won Jin-ah and Cho Seung-Woo. I think part of my uncomfortable-feeling was that I got the strong sense that the writer herself didn’t want to write this romance, it was as if she was being made to shoe-horn it in for Studio Reasons, and she basically grit her teeth and did the worst possible job of it.  I do wish we could have absolutely had the OT3 of my dreams: Moon So-ri/Cho Seung-woo/Yoo Jae-myung like, c’mon TV gods MAKE IT HAPPEN, just...look at them!!!! 

Anyway, that apart, I think this was a very engaging series, and by engaging, I also mean thirst-enabling, see below. 

 Stranger (aka Secret Forest  or Forest of Secrets) S1 & 2 : (2017-, Written by Lee Soo-yeon, directed by 

2017′s smash hit aired a much anticipated second season in 2020, and I managed to catch up just in time to watch that live, so that was thrilling :D . Writer Lee Soo-yeon  mixes up thriller/office comedy/political commentary in an ambitious series. I think S1 is more “exciting” than S2 in terms of the mystery and pacing,  but S2 is far more dense and interesting in terms of political commentary because it takes a long hard look at institutional corruption and in true writer-nim fashion doesn’t prescribe any easy solutions. Anyway, please enjoy public prosecutor Cho Seung-woo and police officer Bae Doona as partners/soulmates kicking ass and taking names in pursuit of Truth, Justice and just a goddamn peaceful meal, along with a stunningly competent ensemble cast. Also yes, Han Yeo Jin is a lesbian, sorry, I don’t make the rules. 

Search: WWW  (2019, Written by Kwon Do-Eun, directed by Jung Ji-hyun & Kwon Young-il, starring  Im Soo-jung, Lee Da-hee, Jeon Hye-jin)

GOD. Where do I start? +1000 for writer Kwon Do-Eun saying “fuck the patriarchy” in the most grandiose way possible, i.e. absolutely refusing to acknowledge that it exists. Yes, this is that power fantasy, and it’s also a fun, slice-of-life  tale about three women navigating their way through work, romance, national politics and everything in between. It’s true that I wasn’t entirely sold on the amount of time spent on the romance, and I really wish they’d actually had a textual wlw romance, though the subtext through the entire series is PRACTICALLY TEXT. But still, it maintains that veneer of plausible deniability and I think queer fans who are sick of that kind of treatment in media have a very valid grouse against the show. On the other hand, personally I felt that the queer-platonic vibe of the show is very wonderful and true to real life, and it was only reinforced by the ending. This is a show written by a woman for women (like me), and it shows. 

Hyena  (2020, Written by Kim Roo-Ri, directed by Jang Tae-yoo & Lee Chang Woo, starring  Kim Hye-soo and Ju Ji-hoon )

Those of you who’ve been watching hit zombie epic Kingdom are probably familiar with Ju Ji-hoon’s brand of sexiness already. I had not watched Kingdom and got hit in the face by Mr.Sexy McSexyPants’ turn as a brash, privileged-by-birth, up and coming lawyer who gets completely runover by the smoking hot and incredibly dangerous fellow lawyer/competitor from the other side of the tracks in the person of Kim Hye-Soo. When I say they set the room on fire, I mean it, ok. Every single scene between these two is an actual bonfire of sexual attraction and emotional hand grenades, and they’re both absolutely riveting to watch. “Flower of Evil” wishes they had what this show has- an actual grown up romance as opposed to a thirteen year old twilight fan’s idea of an adult romance. 

The “lawyer” shenanigans and the “cases” are hit or miss, and I think the occasional comedy fell flat for me. But that’s not why I mainlined like 6 episodes of this series overnight like a coke addict, and that’s not why you’re going to do it either. It’s so RARE, even in these enlightened days to find a female character like Jung Geum-ja: hard as nails, unapologetic about it, and not punished by the narrative for it. The best part for me is that she feels like a woman’s woman, not a man’s idea of what a Strong Female Character should be. Anyways, when I grow up I want to have what Kim Hye-soo has ok?

Other dramas that I watched this year, quickly rated:

The King: Eternal Monarch (3/10 and those 3 points are only for the combined goodness of second leads who deserved better- Jung Eun Chae, Woo Do Hwan and Kim Kyung Nam. Please head over to my AO3 and read my attempts to fix this garbage fire and rescue their characters from canon)

Flower of Evil (-10/100, dont @ me)

Tale of the Nine Tailed (5/10, I think it succeeds at what it set out to do, which is a light hearted, sweet fantasy-romance-melodrama, plus “second lead” Kim Beom will make you cry as the hot mess of a half human/ half fox spirit ALL TEARS character. I think if you’re into kdrama romances as a genre, this is probably a good bet?)

Signal  (7/10,  This was the first full kdrama I watched this year and would definitely recommend. It’s a police procedural with time travel shenanigans and has an engaging plot, good pacing, texture and compelling performances. My one disappointment with it was the way they wrote Kim Hye-soo’s character. As literally the only female character to survive in any way, she was given short shrift, and toward the end it really began to grate on me.)

Six Flying Dragons - (7/10, also would recommend if you’re interested in Korean historicals. It definitely already feels a bit dated in terms of styling and production values, and even scripting and acting choices. But it has a good balance of fantasy and history and political commentary. I was not a fan of Yoo In-Ah’s performance in this series, but it’s not anything that would make you want to nope out of the series. It’s GoT , if GoT was thoughtful about politics and characters and not the misogynist, racist trashfire that it became.)

My Country: The New Age - (3.5/10, and that’s 3 points to Jang Hyuk’s fan and 0.5.points to Woo Do Hwan’s heaving bosom. If you like your historical drama/fantasy with very pretty men, very gay subtext -seriously RIP to show makers who thought they could hetero it but didn’t account for Woo Do Hwan’s Tragic Face- lots of blood and tears and very nonsense plot, this is right up your alley. I probably would have enjoyed it more in other circumstances, I think? But this one just annoyed me too much at the time! 

I have a couple of more dramas to watch on my list, that’ll probably carry me over into 2021, so see ya on the other side! :D

[hwaberrykiwi]

name 3 things you love about your moots

Thank you for this ask anon!! Im happy to spread around some love for my moots ☺

@closer-stars: stars always has the best ideas and I just like the way her brain works! Stars also makes me feel v comfy! I also love how chill she is, like she just always has an excellent vibe!!

@lovely-ptg: Q also makes me feel v comfortable and she's very easy to talk to! I love that we share a lot of common interests so our convos can range from sea creatures to movies to books and its great!! Q also is just very warm and kind and supportive!

@moongaera: yale is a precious friend to me who I had an instant connection with!! I love how she sends me random messages about her day or what she's doing! I also love how hard she works, she's a very determined person!!

@sansbun: bun is very very sweet and always kind to everyone and I love that about her!! I also love how she genuinely listens to me (or others) if they need to vent/rant! I also love her determination, she has a dream in mind and I know she's working hard to achieve it (which I'm rooting for her every step of the way - but I also want her to take breaks/not overwork herself!!)

@yunhofingers: mari is also a very kind and chill person!! I love the asks she sends me with funny photos, they always make me laugh! I love how she's easy to talk with and just have chill convos with! I also love her drive to do things she enjoys, like dancing! It's just nice to hear about her having fun and doing something she likes!!

@jenojam: okay, this is gonna be a massively greasy message so be warned! Anyway, it's nearly impossible for me to list only 3 things i love about Vina because I love so many things about her (the list is infinite!) But I'll do my best to pick 3 things. Firstly I love how kind vina is, she is always looking after and caring about other people and it warms my heart! I also love her resilience, vina is incredibly strong and deals with so much, yet she still remains kind and thoughtful and caring towards others and I admire her a lot for that!! Lastly, vina is very funny and sends me so many cute/funny memes or tells me funny stories that make me laugh and always brighten up my day!! Honestly, I could lost many many many more things that I love about my sunflower, but ill stop here as to not overload everyone with cheesiness haha

@ateez-little-star: jas is also a dear friend to me!! I love her passion that she has for planes, hearing her talk about what she's learning or working on is just really cool and you can def tell that she enjoys it!!! I also love her positivity towards others, she's always made an effort to give love to underrated authors and that's so amazing! She's also just a very kind person in general! Lastly, I love how jas has such a welcoming and friendly vibe, like she just gives off very warm and welcoming feelings~

@atiny-ahgase: gabby is another friend I love and admire a lot!! I love how kind gabby is, she's always spreading love and being nice to others!! I also love how easy it is to converse with her, I just feel like I could message her about anything! And lastly, I love how supportive she is!! Gabby reminds of like a cool older sister who is always cheering you on hehe

@little-precious-baby: mei is like a little sister to me! She's very kind and also looking out for others a lot~ I love how she feels comfortable enough to come talk to me/or ask for advice about stuff cuz that's what I'm here for! I also love how mei will send me asks and then we have a whole convo cuz its just fun to do haha. Lastly, I really love how interesting my convos with mei are cuz we can talk about anything from cartoons to school stuff and more and it's always just fun to talk to her

[tomorrowsdrama]

Updated Drama Finished/Drop/Watch list

So even though I haven’t been posting as much, I’ve still been watching quite a few dramas.  To be honest, I think I might have burnt out on binging. When every other day is spent watching a drama for long periods of time, it kind of becomes monotonous.  That’s probably the quarantine talking though.

Finished since my last drama update

Psychopath Diary - Love, love, love.  What a fun drama to watch.  The characters were so beyond dumb but that was the joke.  Yoon Shi Yoon and Park Sung Hoon had amazing chemistry and their serial killer/amnesiac-confused-wannabe-killer-but-not-really romance was hilarious to watch.

Hot Stove League - Loved this drama.  Didn’t really go in expecting much but was pleasantly surprised.  It’s written in a way where even if you’re not into baseball, it’s still interesting.  More than a sports drama, it’s an underdog/rag tag team kind of story.  Each week it was fun to see how Nam Goong Min would outmaneuver the bad guys with his brains.  There was no romance (even though they totally could have!) but still enjoyable.  Nam Goong Min continues his streak of picking good projects.

Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 1/2 - I finished both seasons and I’m not entirely sure why lol.  This drama was nice enough and had some cute moments but didn’t leave much of an impression otherwise.  But somehow there was also something about it that compelled me to keep watching until I finished.  I guess that’s why both seasons had such high ratings.  If I had to pick which series to recommend, I’d probably pick the first season.  If you hate annoying hospital politics and unrealistic violations of proper medical procedures, stay away.  

Live Up to Your Name - Very cute and romantic with a side of sageuk.  Kim Nam Gil is hot.  Kim Ah Joong is hot.  Together they save people and have hot make outs.  I think this was the drama that kind of lightened up Kim Nam Gil’s image.  Before that he specialized in angsty characters who were usually set on revenge and/or died.  I kind of wish he’d go back to those roles from time to time.  Haha, predictable, I know.

Tell Me What You Saw - Watched this solely for Jang Hyuk.  It’s the first serial killer/procedural I’ve watch from OCN but from what I can tell, it follows the usual pattern of other OCN dramas of the like.  I’d describe this drama as just fine.  If gory scenes aren’t your thing, probably stay away from this drama.  Some of the murders in this drama were truly disturbing.

Hyena - First drama I ever recapped.  I was interested in this drama purely because of the Ju Ji Hoon/Kim Hye Soo pairing and I was not disappointed by their chemistry.  The story could have been improved and I would have liked more time spent on the relationship but overall, the flaws were not enough to detract from the good.  I need JJH and KHS to do a romantic drama on a cable network like TVN so we can get all the makeouts we deserve.  If you’re looking for a fast-paced fun drama and don’t care too much for plot, this is worth a watch.  Some people may find Geum Ja incredibly unlikable in the first four episodes but it gets better after that I promise!

Story of Minglan - Omg, where do I even begin about how good this drama is?  This was actually my second time watching this drama.  I think I finished all 73 episodes in 4-5 days (kids, don’t try this at home).  I can go on and on gushing about this drama.  Actually, I think I might have to do a separate post to properly talk about how much I loved this drama.  Anyway, if you like strong and smart heroines, period dramas, fully-fleshed out characters, and an otp completely devoted to each other with brains and brawn, this is for you.  It’s 73 episodes at 45 minutes each but I swear it still doesn’t feel like enough.

99.9 keiji senmon bengoshi - my first jdrama in yeaaaaaars and probably a decade since I’ve seen one starring matsujun. Fun, easy to watch, legal procedural with matsujun playing against type as a oddball attorney. Also, reunion of matsujun and eikura nana who last starred together in a movie about twins falling in love (wow the early 2000s were a wild time). I think I finished this in two days. If Japanese humor or recurring wacky side characters/gags isn’t your thing, probably skip this.

Dropped

Diary of a Prosecutor - This was fine but a bit too slice of life for my current tastes.  If humorous slice of life without much drama is your kind of thing, I’d recommend this.

Meow the Secret Boy - Dropped after episode 10.  Yes, I know what you’re thinking.  Why not just finish watching the last two episodes?  I didn’t drop this drama because I disliked it or anything.  I just felt like I didn’t need to continue watching.  When I first heard about the premise it squicked me out to be honest.  Cat?  As lover? Buh? I had no intentions of watching but then gifs for the first episode looked promising so I ended up watching it after all.  And it was cute and fluffy, with a touch of magical whimsy, which was what I needed at the time.  But as the episodes continued, it really didn’t go anywhere.  The characters were one-dimensional and story was as paint-by-the-numbers as you can get.  I hear that the webtoon it was based on was even less developed which...I don’t know how that could be possible.  Anyway, I peeked at the last 10 minutes of the final episode and well, that ending was a choice hahaha.  Still, I think this drama is harmless and dumb fun.  It’s not something you should take too seriously.  I mean, the cat literally turns into Kim Myungsoo.  

World of the Married - Oh boy.  Wow.  This drama.  Another drama I initially had no interest in after I read about the premise.  Another dark drama about cheating and divorce?  No thank you.  The world is grim enough as it is right now.  But then I saw posts about the drama on tumblr and it looked more makjang than grim.  Hey, sometimes makjang can be really fun to watch.  And the ratings were pretty high so I thought, there must be something entertaining about it?  So I watched the first 3 episodes fully and I admit, it was pretty addicting if not infuriating.  After episode 3, they really ramped up the infuriating parts of the cheating husband and his mistress so I watched a lot of episodes 4-7 on fast forward.  The over the top makjang was indeed fun.  But then it was at episode 7 that I realized the female lead was kind of a terrible character too.  She was just as obsessed with the husband as he was with her.  I read up on Doctor Foster, which is what the drama is based on, and seems like the husband and wife are just going to continue being terrible to each other.  Watch two terrible people obsessively try to ruin each other’s lives?  No thank you, I’ll save myself the heartburn.  It doesn’t help that every other post about this drama seems to be people being pissed at the characters hahaha.

Good Casting - I’m going to have to quit this after 4 episodes.  I tried since it seemed like a fun premise but I just couldn’t.  This is the third drama with Choi Kang Hee that I’ve had to quit and I think I just can’t gel with her acting style.  I know the tone is supposed to be hokey/comedic and they’re supposed to be bumbling on purpose.  However, my problem is that they’re just really, really, bad spies even when I think they’re not supposed to be.

Currently Watching

Ever Night - I have the last 11 episodes to finish and I’m kind of sad about it.  I know there’s a second season but it just doesn’t seem like the same drama.

When My Love Blooms - A lovely drama about second chance at love with the always great Lee Bo Young and my hot tall ahjussi crush Yoo Ji Tae.  It feels kind of like an old school jdrama in how quiet it is.  Might be too slow for some people though.  I can’t believe I dropped one drama about adultery just to unknowingly pick up another one hahaha.

Six Flying Dragons - I haven’t started yet but I will definitely start it soon!  Bang Won came to me in my dream so I think it’s time I finally watched this drama after putting it off for so long.

Will Probably Binge Later

The King: Eternal Monarch - Although I like the week to week excitement of watching an airing drama, I think I will probably enjoy this best by binging it.  People seem pretty divided about this drama but you know what?  Lee Min Ho’s hotness helped me make it through The Heirs so I have faith that it will help get me through this as well.  Some dramas you watch just so you can stare at hot people doing romantic things, ok?

Born Again -  The plot seems pretty convoluted so I think this will benefit from binging and fast forwarding.  @dangermousie seems to be enjoying it and our tastes align for the most part.  Plus, have you seen how hot Jang Ki Yong looks?  Unless the ending is completely horrible, I’ll probably binge this once it’s done.

The Untamed - I mean, gay epic wuxia love?  Count me in!  I’m trying to limit the number of dramas I watch so this will have to wait until I at least finish Ever Night.  

[hitchell-mope]

(Second film. At cotillion. Part three. After Mal’s been pulled into the water by huma)

Ben: where is she I can’t see her?

Carlos: how long can she hold her breath

Jay: I. I don’t know

Ben: not long.

Evie: what?

Ben: our first date. She thought I drowned. Went in after me and

Jay: you saved her. I remember. Now we gotta save her again.

Ben: I know to oh boy

(Just then the water bubbles furiously and Uma rises from the surface the lower half of her body octopoid and at least the same height as Ursula was during her final battle, perched on her should is Harry. And bound in a tentacle, barely conscious is...)

Ben: MAL!

Doug: Uma stop this now! You’re acting crazy!

Uma (voice booming): oh no dear. Spiteful vindictive

Harry (having the absolute best time of his life): INCREDIBLY LARGE!

Huma: but never crazy!

Uma: now on to business

(She drops Mal into the ocean and begins trying to capsize the boat)

Elsa: time to put that rusty old wand of yours to work headmistress. Children! Jay Evie Jane Ben. With me

Jane: what’re we doing

Elsa: we’re going to stop this boat from becoming the second titanic. On three. 1...2...3!!!!

(They’re eyes all glow and the boat steadies)

Evie: how the

Elsa: the beauty of a crisis. Now Ben. I assume you’re about to do something heroic and foolhardy

Ben: probably

Elsa: try and make sure that nobody gets hurt.

Ben: of course. I might have a plan. Doug is Agrabahn silk shrinkable

Evie (sternly) and Doug: yes

Ben: ah. Ok then how about this

(A flick of his wrist and he’s back in his vk outfit with a few small differences)

Evie: what happened to the jacket

Doug (tired dad mode): and the undershirt

Ben: they’d weigh me down. Jay could you hold this please?

(He hands Jay the crown)

Jay: sure but oh jeez (Ben’s jogging to the railing) wait wait wait

Ben: yes yes yes?

Jay: first of all stop that. Second of all. Here (he summons Maleficent’s sceptre our of thin air and hands it to Ben). Take this. It should help her

Ben: thank you so much woah head rush. Ahem woozy. Hm. All better now

Jay: yeah that’s because it recognises your magic but not you

Ben: I love being a hybrid

Adam: a WHAT?!?!?!

(Ben uses telekinesis to shove his father out of the way into the corridor)

Ben: blow it out your ass dad. Wish us luck. Imma coming honey!

(He launches himself over the side and into the water. Just barely missing Uma’s tentacles)

Doug: his magic will protect him right

Jay: possibly. If not. Hope you like the throne

Carlos (hitting his arm): not funny.

Jay: sorry

Doug: genies can breathe underwater right?

Jay: yes

Doug: Ben has five minutes. Then you’re going in after them

Jay (phoney British accent): as you command. My liege

(Under the water Ben’s swimming to Mal who’s sinking fast. He keeps dodging Uma’s tentacles. Finally he reaches Mal and put her mothers sceptre within arms reach. The moment it touches her hand her eyes open)

(Back on the ship)

Elsa: can anyone see them and Dizzy please stop throwing canapés at Uma

Dizzy (conspicuously giving Merida the food): it was Merida (innocent giggle)

Elsa: remember that I have a younger sister.

Doug: Hook seems to be having some sort of religious experience up there

Evie: yeah. He sorta reminds of someone

Devie (looking at each other in recognition): Troy McClure

(The waters bubbling again)

Jay: come on guys. Come on. Don’t let her win. Not like this

(Ben and Mal come shooting out of water. Mal’s now a dragon. Ben’s perched on her back laughing and shrieking his head off)

Ben (at the top of his lungs): WAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!! MY GIRLFRIEND’S A DRAGON!!!!

Devie: donkey from shrek

(Mal climbs further up into the sky. Ben slips. And falls off her).

Harry: He not gonna make is he?

(Ben plummets through the clouds but pulls up out of it just barely skimming the water)

Harry (fed up): of course he did

(Ben shoots up into the sky. His clothes melt away. From blue and gold to green. He lands on the railing still sopping wet. Now clad in green skelton leaf)

Ben (at the top of his lungs): COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!!!! (He strikes a power pose, fists on hips and turns to the others on the boat) that was amazing!

Jay (laughing): wow. You look

Carlos: like Pan.

Evie: HAHA! Harry’s in the drink. Again. (She cackles)

(Harry’s fainted dead away off Uma’s shoulder and crashed into the waves below)

Evie: lets boil him

Jay and Doug: no

Evie, Carlos and Dizzy: aww man

Ben: alrighty then. Anyway.

(He flies up to the girls and puts himself between them)

Ben: This isn’t the way. Both of you know that letting whatever happened years ago influence your actions today won’t solve anything. The best thing to do is to keep moving forward and

Uma: back off flyboy

(She swats Ben away and he gets knocked into a pole)

Uma: c’mon Mal let’s finish this once and for all

(Cecealia vs dragon fight begins)

Evie: and that only took twenty minutes to happen

Carlos: yeah. I woulda thought it’d happen the moment ma turned up not dead

Devie, Jay and Dizzy: yeah

Lonnie: we have to help him

Evie: right. Jay get a ladder. I’ll climb up

Lonnie: no. Not Ben. He’s fine. Look

(Ben’s currently trying to help Mal. Setting up shield after shield against Uma’s tentacles)

Lonnie: I meant the other one

Evie: no.

Jane: we should at least try. It’s the right thing to do

Doug: usually is be inclined to agree but you’ve not seen him in action

Carlos: I say we let it drown

Devie: ditto.

Jay: we’ve gotta fish it-him-out.

Carlos: why?

Jay: because if we wanna get Uma on side then the mollusk has to live. No matter how much he deserves to be lost to the depth

Carlos: I hate it when you’re right

Gil (Boyce quivering): please. Please don’t let him die. Please?

(Carlos looks at Gil stony faced. And relents)

Carlos: have it on record that I WILL stab him at the first opportunity. No matter how much the human golden retriever begs

Jay: so you’re not against Evie and I fishing him out

Carlos: against as in anti harry? Yes. Against you doing what’s gotta be done. Reluctantly no

Jay: love ya C

Carlos (giggling): you are now officially out of the doghouse.

Jay: Melody could you?

Melody (now in a lovely ice blue crystalline dress courtesy of Elsa): yes?

Jay: wow nice threads. Anyway. I have it on good authority that you carry around a certain family heirloom?

Melody: Ja

Jay: don’t know what that means. I’m not danish.

Melody: yes I’ve got my grandfathers trident. So I can help you however you want

Adam: miss Boisen I absolutely forbid you help them

Melody: I do not take orders from you Adam. Never have. Never will. Because I am not part of your staff. I am a student teacher. I am my sisters assistant until such time she graduates. But I am not your employee. So yeah. I’m helping my students. Jay. What do you need

Jay (massive grin on his face): we’re going squid fishing

Melody: where do I aim?

(She juts our her hand and the trident spears)

(At the buffet table)

Vision!Harry: sup losers

V!Ben: oh fuck off you no handed blunder

V!Harry: two hands. Numbnuts

V!Ben: keep talking. See what happens. I would love to dismantle you like a Lego Death Star and immolate your bones with you skin still on them

V!Harry: and the bitch says Uma means nothing to her

V!Ben: no. It’s the island Mal doesn’t care about. If Uma meant nothing to Mal. I’d still be jay.

V!Lonnie: ok I’m completely lost

V!Doug: we change when the closest person to our one changed. I used to be Evie. Tall ghostly pale and terrifying used to be Gil. And our “esteemed” leader. Used to be jay.

V!Carlos (smugly): I’ve always been like this

The other soul guides (sans Lonnie): yippee for you

(V!Carlos smiles indulgently)

(Back to the action at the railing)

Jay: so you’re sure you know how to do this without killing Uma?

Melody: oh my friend. With a fun and grin it works fine

Jay: what

Melody: yes. Yes I do know how to do this without hurting my second cousin

Jay: I’m sorry. Did you say second cousin?

Melody: yes. Ursula is my mother’s aunt. That makes Uma and my mother cousins. That makes her and I second cousins.

Jay: I am so sorry

Melody: why would you be sorry? So I’m related to a villain and her daughter. So is Ben. So are you and your little found family. Let’s help your friends.

(She throws the trident in Uma’s direction and it nicks the tentacle that was about to knock Ben out of the sky. Uma bellows in pain)

Uma: WHO DID THAT

Melody: hey! Hey you! Giant scary girl! Listen to. Ben. Or you know, me. Either one will do so

Jay (aside to her): not helping

Melody: yeah thought not

Jay: ok here’s what we’re going to do. Evie. Carlos. Fish the creature from the black lagoon out of the drink. I’m gonna help Ben.

(With that he flies up to where Ben is)

Jay: hey buddy. Need a little help?

Ben (still desperately dodging the tentacles): yes please

Jay: then grab a tentacle

Ben (scandalised): what?

Jay: you heard me. If we don’t do this then the student body will be a human interest story on the news tomorrow morning

Ben: ok

(They dive down and grab one of Uma’s tentacles. Below them in the water Harry’s screaming at them to let her go. Uma for her part does a good job of fighting them off. Mal just hovers there confused)

Jay: and lift

Ben: oh dear

(They fly upwards past Mal and drag Uma along for the ride. Harry grabs on to a tentacle and refuses to let go. But then he slips and lands painfully on the railing)

Carlos: finally. The Hook family line has ended

Harry: I HAVE TWO SISTERS

Carlos: who the fuck cares! Lonnie. Doug. Would you be dears and drags that on to the deck. I’ll get the carving knife

Doug: should we

Lonnie: quiet I don’t think we’re allowed to talk

(They deposit Harry in the deck and Carlos stands over him knife in hand)

Carlos: what do you want me to do Jay!

Jay: keep him there. And E! Keep those force fields up. Otherwise the first thirty rows WILL get wet

Evie: what are you gonna do?

Jay: this (to Ben) DROP HER

(The king and the genie let Uma fall into the water and the impart would’ve reflooded the deck if not for the shields. Unfortunately. This only serves to make Uma mad again. And she channels this anger by ensnaring Ben in her tentacles slowly choking the life out of the king. Jay’s had enough. His body assumes its golden lustre and he flies up into Uma’s face)

Jay: THAT. IS. ENOUGH. YOU KNOW THIS ISNT THE WAY. YOU KNOW THIS WILL ONLY SERVE TO FURTHET ALIENATE YOU. IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE YOU NEED TO STOP ACTING LIKE A PETULANT CHILD AND START PLAYING THE GAME RIGHT. OTHERWISE IT WILL BE JUST YOU AND THAT THING THAT IS SPEWING TWICE SWALLOWED SEA WATER ON EVIES MANOLOS LEFT ON THE ISLAND TO ROT

(On the deck Evie jumps out of Harry’s range)

Jay: SO WHAT IS IT GOING TO BE. A TANTRUM OR ARE YOU GOING TO USE THE BRAINS I KNOW YOU HAVE

(Uma’s face silently crumples. She (surprisingly gently) puts Ben back on deck, soaked to the bone and retching slightly from the choking but none the worse for wear, plucks up Harry and swiftly disappears beneath the waves leaving Ben’s ring behind)

Jay: well. That was surprisingly easily handled

(He flies down to the deck and hands Ben back his crown. Mal flaps back down, purple and green smoke surrounds her and she’s back in human form, except her hair’s undone, her dress is purple green and black and she’s holding the sceptre in her right hand. She smiles weakly at the crowd. The promptly spins around and vomits over the side. Loudly. For two full minutes. Jay rushes over to her)

Jay: hey you. Now. I got you a cap of mouth wash. And a breath mint. There you go. Now. (Loud whisper) a dragon. A giant fire breathing scaly ass mother fu

Mal (taking his face in her hands gently to shit him up): I know. I know.

Jay: how?

Mal: that I don’t know

Jay: oooh the sceptre.

Mal: that’s probably

Jay: now. The king awaits. Shall we?

Mal: we shall

(They walk down the stairs to where the series is. She and Ben smile at each other. Then he scoops get up and plants one on her. Carlos, not one to be outdone, scurries over to Jay, dips him and plants a longer one in him. Which gathers an even bigger cheer from the crowd. Especially Gil who can be heard over the others)

Doug: it’s about damn time.

Mal: hey jay. Stop by my room later. We gotta talk

Jay: well let’s see have you talked with Doug yet?

Doug: no. No she has not

Jay: you first then me. Capiche?

Mal: capiche

(On the chaperones platform Fairy Godmother is tight lipped)

Elsa: they’re teenagers headmistress. They will kiss.

Fairy Godmother: oh it’s not that your majesty. I can smell something unpleasant

Elsa (sniffing): you know what. I can too

Merida: it’s rotten skeleton leaves. What our dear little boy king is wearing.

Elsa: Oh. Queen Mother. Your turn

Belle: Ben?

(Ben doesn’t answer, he’s still looking at Mal in reverence, until Mal clears her throat and cocks her head to Belle’s location)

Mal: it seems that your clothes are rotting away dear.

Ben: is everything

Mal: oh yeah. But your shoulders are exposed

Ben: right. Ummmm. Wait right here

(He teleports to his mothers side. When the smoke clears he’s back in his vk outfit. Still without the beanie jacket or undershirt)

Ben: better?

Mal: ooooh so much better

Belle: the tuxedo was so much more

Evie: don’t worry Belle. The silk used is shrinkable. So this is preferable.

Belle: ah. Ok. Now Ben. I and the others adults are going to the yachts bar. Lumiere is going to be here as damage control. But you are in charge. Understand?

(Ben nods emphatically. The four women turn to go but Mal catches up with them before they leave)

Mal: Fairy Godmother. Do you think I could get my spell book back from the museum? Tomorrow I mean. Only that the last few days did a number on me and made me realise I can’t not use what I have. It’s not healthy and it’s not right. Is any of this making any sense to you at all?

Fairy Godmother: of course dear. It’s your property after all. Just say the word and it’s yours

Mal: please?

Fairy Godmother: where would you like it to be?

Mal: Jay’s room. Bedside cabinet. With a protection spell on it so only Ben and I can use it. Because. I have helluva lot to teach him

Ben: I very much look forward to learning from you

Mal: and. I’m sure Ben would agree. Magic classes. For those that want them. I know I would. No. I know that I need to learn more control WOAH!

(Ben’s scooped her up in a bear hug)

Mal: I take it you like that idea

Doug: when you were >ahem< out for the count Ben decided that it was time that magic be fully reinstated

Mal: I LOVE THIS BOY

Belle: I can see that the kingdom will be in very safe hands with you two and you are on his back

(Mal’s clambered onto Ben’s back and she’s stroking his hair away from his face)

Elsa: Queen Mother. I believe this is our exit cue

Merida: aw but I wanna dance

Elsa: the bar has Guinness whiskey

Merida: PEACE FECKERS

(She runs off)

Belle: that was easily handled

(As they’re leaving)

Belle: Verna could you get me the family lawyer please

Verna: of course ma’am. Uhhhh. Heh heh. What for?

Belle: I need to see mr Hartcourt about divorcing Adam and adopting that young man

Elsa: Gil? You want to adopt Gil?

Belle: yes. Problem?

Elsa: none whatsoever. In fact I’ve got an idea I’d like to run through with Ben. When the cotillion is over tomorrow of course

Belle: I assure you your majesty you shall have the full unwavering support of my son and I

Elsa: god save the king and his mother then

Belle: indeed

(Back at the cotillion)

Carlos: alright. ALRIGHT! Everyone. The ones of the hour. My parents! King Ben. Lady Mal. Take it away old man

Ben (laughing): I’m only two years older than you C

Carlos (a “I’m cute so I can get away with it” look on his face): still older

Mal (chuckles as she tilts Ben’s crown): I think what Carlos is trying to is: let’s party

(She uses magic to levitate the electronic equipment above the deck and they all start dancing)

(This is when “it’s time” happens)

[zareleonis]

My Star Wars Top 10 of 2018

This year I fell massively in love with Star Wars, learned more about a galaxy far, far away that I ever expected and started this blog, first to liveblog Star Wars Rebels, and later to share my thoughts on whatever new (and old!) Star Wars media I came across. In honor of what, in my mind, was a really fun year for Star Wars, I wanted to share my top 10 list of my favorite Star Wars things that came out this year, across different kinds of media. Read more because it’s really long :P

Honorable Mention: Flight of the Falcon multimedia series (by multiple authors and artists)

Okay, if I’m honest, this gets honorable mention spot, mostly because I felt like putting it in top 10 when it’s really a BUNCH of comics and books would be totally cheating :P One of the more fun things to come out of Solo: A Star Wars Story, this series of loosely connected books and comics whose main connecting factor is the Millennium Falcon (and Bazine Netal’s hunt for it!) is an absolute joy. Cavan Scott knocks it out of the park with the ridiculously fun Choose Your Destiny: A Luke and Leia Adventure. IDW Comics does what’s it does best by bringing together some exciting and unexpected pairs of characters for the last couple months of Star Wars Adventures. In Lando’s Luck Justina Ireland gave us the coolest darn Princess in Star Wars since Leia, Rinetta Gan. And they’re not even done yet, with 2 more comics and Pirate’s Price left to go!

10. Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy’s Most Notorious by Pablo Hidalgo

What an awesome and fun book! So much great art, and Pablo Hidalgo always gives 100% with his work. It’s such a creative concept, following Tan Divo and and his descendants, as they report on the criminals and rebels of their day. I completely geeked out over how it gave soooo much neat new information about characters and organizations from ALL OVER the Star Wars universe. It’s an absolute blast!

9. Solo: A Star Wars Story: Tales from Vandor by Jason Fry

This book is AMAZING. Even among the “replica journal” style books that Studio Fun puts out, it stands out as super unique, written from the point of view of the Midnight, the bartender at The Lodge on Vandor (where Han meets Lando), as if he is telling the story to a guest. It’s such a fun outsider’s point of view of Han and the other characters of Solo. The best part though, is the parts of the book that are just a shameless love letter to Star Wars Legends, with nods to stuff like The Wookiee Storybook, LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace and several novels. Jason Fry’s love for the franchise really shines through.

8. Star Wars: Poe Dameron by Charles Soule and penciller Angel Unzueta

This year we said a bittersweet goodbye to Marvel’s monthly Star Wars: Poe Dameron and goodness gracious it was good. Between the Legend Found arc that was to be the original ending and the final The Awakening arc, where Black Squadron is reunited after The Last Jedi, this comic really touched my heart. The last couple pages of issues 25 and 31 still make me cry. :’)

7. Solo: A Star Wars Story directed by Ron Howard and screenplay by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan

THIS MOVIE IS CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED AND I’M MAD AT EVERYONE WHO LET IT FLOP. I’ll admit I wasn’t exactly desperate for a Han Solo Backstory Movie, but Solo was just AWESOME. Just some good, raw, Star Wars-y fun that you can’t help but smile the whole way through. It might not be groundbreaking, but it introduced some super cool characters in L3-37, Qi’ra and Enfys Nest, gave us Maul’s grand triumphant return to the public at large and has INCREDIBLY charming performances by Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover as the Han and Lando we all come to love.

6. The Mighty Chewbacca in the Forest of Fear! by Tom Angleberger

If Solo, is good, this kid’s book written to accompany it is even better. I mean, Chewbacca meets K-2SO meets Tooka cats meets teenage bounty hunter/librarian?? On a planet with scary monsters and a spooky evil Force user? Also Cassian is there?? And the daughter of This Funny Hat Dude from Return of the Jedi? Hell yeah!!!!!

The book is hysterical, ridiculously fun and I can’t recommend it enough. I just have to say if you do get it, try and grab the audiobook it’s got a full cast of voices for the main characters including Marc Thompson giving his best Shyriiwook as Chewbacca. I laughed so hard I cried at the narration and a K-2SO’s lines done out loud. You won’t regret it!

5. Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy by Amy Ratcliffe and eighteen awesome artists!

THIS is one of the coolest Star Wars books out there and a celebration of all the women we know and love (and sometimes hate) in a galaxy far, far away. It’s such a wonderful collaboration, created by all women (& non-binary) artists and author. I love that it’s got characters from practically everything—movies, books, comics, video games, you name it! We even got to see characters like Jas Emari for the first time which makes me SO HAPPY. it’s one of the books I come back to all the time just to flip through it and enjoy the illustrations.

4. Star Wars Resistance created by Dave Filoni and executive produced by Athena Yvette Portillo, Justin Ridge, and Brandon Auman

I LOVE RESISTANCE SO MUCH!! I didn’t quiiite know what to expect with the new animated series, but was super excited and it hasn’t disappointed one bit. It’s such a fun show and really enjoyable to have a Star Wars show that is almost just ‘slice of life’ compared to the others. The animation is so cool to me and the characters really cute. I’m ridiculously charmed by all of them, especially our main man Kazuda Xiono and really hyped to see where these characters go. It’s more happy and fun than anything, but I know it will break my heart to pieces soon enough (KAZUDA XIONO. HOME PLANET: HOSNIAN PRIME). I hope more people give it a chance because it really is awesome!

3. Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle by Cavan Scott and various artists

LET THIS BE MY LOVE LETTER TO CAVAN SCOTT AND ALL THE COOL AND AWESOME STUFF HE’S DONE WITH THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE!! I was soooo excited when these came out because it’s such an AWESOME idea, I mean? Star Wars Horror story one-shots connected by a wider plot??? YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Doubly so when they star Lina Graf, of the Adventures in Wild Space series by Cavan Scott and Tom Huddleston. I was soooo excited to see her again and it’s amazing to see how she’s grown from a young kid to a brave and capable pilot and Commander in the Rebellion.

Then the individual stories are just awesome. It was a joy to see Kanan and Hera back together again after Rebels (or, well, pre-Rebels). The Dooku story was just amazing and such an enthusiastic tribute to Christopher Lee as Dracula. The Frozen inspired Han and Chewie story was also pretty great and I LOVE that it referenced the events of The Mighty Chewbacca in the Forest of Fear! And, my personal favorite story, the spooky ewok story featuring a young Chief Chirpa and Logray was brilliant and I enjoyed getting a closer first-hand look at ewoks (something we don’t have much of, at least in canon!). All in all just an absolute masterpiece in my book and a great reminder of why IDW Comics’ Star Wars stuff has been so freaking awesome.

2. Join the Resistance: Attack on Starkiller Base by Ben Blacker and Ben Acker and illustrated by Annie Wu

I’M BACK AT IT YELLING ABOUT WHY MORE PEOPLE NEED TO CARE ABOUT THESE WONDERFUL, CHARMING LITTLE KIDS’ BOOKS!! This was such a perfect end to the J-Squadron kids’ story. To me, this series is such a hidden gem and I really hope more people give it a chance. It was wonderful how all the characters’ stories closed out. I loved seeing Jo finally openly defy his parents, Mattis putting his faith in the Force and his friends, the return of Klimo, AG-90 and Dec fighting as brothers but growing stronger for it, and Lorica becoming the hero everybody thought she was. There’s so many fun cameos, from Rey, to Hux to Poe and Black Squadron, with the backdrop of the actual climactic battle in The Force Awakens.

And, one thing I really want to talk about that I love, is how the book (in tandem with the first two) give us the first gay character in a Star Wars kids book, with Dec Hansen. I wish they could’ve said it a bit more explicitly, but we actually got the kid and his friends talking about it in the books? And, with most of the LGBT characters falling more on the “scum and villainy” circles of the galaxy, it’s so refreshing to see a brave and unambiguously heroic gay teenage starfighter pilot trainee. Like, holy shit that actually happened!!!! ANYWAYS READ THIS SERIES I LOVE THEM AND YOU SHOULD TOO.

Oh, also, Annie Wu’s illustrations are AWESOME and I hope she does more Star Wars stuff (Pirate’s Price, out in a week!)

1. Star Wars Rebels created by Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg and Carrie Beck

I don’t think there’s way I could place anything but Rebels at #1. This show changed my life in so many ways and I’m just. ridiculously thankful it exists. without Rebels, I wouldn’t have this blog, I wouldn’t be up to my ears obsessed with Star Wars and I there’s so many friends I wouldn’t have either. It’s touched my heart in a way that.... gosh I don’t know if I can even think about anything that resonates with me quite in the way Star Wars Rebels has. Pretty sure most if not all of my followers have seen Rebels, haha, but if you haven’t. You won’t regret it. Well, you might. It hurts. I hate to say, but it does. But even if the end destination leaves you heartbroken and uh prone to randomly bursting into tears about it, you will never regret the journey. Everything I learned and experienced with Ezra, Kanan, Hera, Sabine, Zeb and Chopper is beyond precious to me and I’m thankful it exists because it made my year in so many ways.

[notnicky]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - SPOILER FREE Movie Review

So, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve written anything on here. I’d blame it on college but really I think it’s just because I’m so lazy. I’m working on that and hopefully, this summer will give me some time to get stuff done. Anyways, here I am, and I’m about to talk about the movie I have so patiently waited THREE years for - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Unfortunately, this movie isn’t out everywhere yet, so I’ll keep this review spoiler FREE, and maybe I’ll get myself to write a spoiler-filled review once this movie is out worldwide. Bear with me, this is long.

1. Cinematography

My absolute favorite thing about this film was the incredible cinematography thanks to Oscar Faura and JA Bayona. Almost all the shots in this film are ones I’d like to hang up on my wall. The scenes on the island are breathtaking, but the cinematography in the second half is on a whole different level. The brilliant use of light and shadows by Faura adds so much to the gothic/horror tone that the second half possesses. The visuals together with the score, courtesy of Michael Giacchino (which I will talk about later), create a striking effect that will be sure to scare the living shit out of you, and sometimes make you feel emotions you didn’t think you could feel in a Jurassic movie. The cinematography in this film is unlike any other Jurassic film, and I say that in the best way possible.

2. Music

Michael Giacchino’s score is absolutely gorgeous. At times, it was the reason why I couldn’t stop my heart from aching, and other times, it was the reason why I couldn’t stop my heart from beating uncontrollably. The music during emotional scenes would be the main factor in me sobbing out loud, and the music during tense scenes would be the reason why I would jump out of my seat. The power that Giacchino’s score has over this film is truly incredible, always being the reason as to why I felt specific emotions during different plot points throughout the movie.

3. Story

I can’t delve too much into this because I don’t want to enter spoiler territory, but I really enjoyed the story. 

All I’ve heard over the past week was “why do people keep going back to save the dinosaurs, just let them die” and “why do we need another Jurassic film?”, and this really frustrates me. This might be because I’ve developed a specific emotional attachment to these animals, but I personally believe that every human being in this franchise is responsible for keeping these animals alive. They brought them back to life, despite none of the dinosaurs wanting to (at least I doubt it), and exploited them for their own gain, so I don’t believe that humans deserve an easy way out of the mess they created in the first place and the dinosaurs certainly don’t deserve to die when they didn’t ask for this shitshow in the first place. The core of Fallen Kingdom explores the ethics behind this choice, which is precisely why I love it so much. 

I know a lot of people think the plot is useless and repetitive, but along with what I previously said, there is so much left to explore about this ethical dilemma. It is incredibly nuanced, interesting, and relevant. Fallen Kingdom shows us the reason why we can’t just leave these animals to die. It explores guilt, empathy, and redemption. But then again, I have a strong personal opinion and I love ethical dilemmas, so I am heavily biased. 

in addition to the core of the movie, there is a plot twist later on that I really loved. I thought it seemed like a natural progression for the franchise, and it opened a lot of new doors for the story to continue through. Although I loved it, plenty thought it was stupid and unneeded, but to each their own.

Despite this, I understand the reasoning behind why some people think it’s a stupid idea to go back to the island in the first place, which I will discuss when I look at the pacing of the movie.

4. Characters

We know that in Jurassic World, Claire started out as cold and calculated and as the events of the movie unfold, she begins to change, as her actions started to become more in sync with her morals. In Fallen Kingdom, Claire has started her own foundation that is dedicated to protecting these dinosaurs she once exploited for money. Though I do wish that we got to see more of how this change developed during the time between Jurassic World and Fallen Kingdom, the way her character has changed for the better and how that change makes her the driving force of this movie is one of my favorite things about it. Seeing Claire having the passion that she lacked in Jurassic World was something that made me love her even more than I already did. Although we don’t see how this 180-degree change develops, we definitely get to see how it influences her actions and choices throughout the movie. Bryce Dallas Howard does a wonderful job at really showing us this profound change in Claire, making us feel for Claire and truly believe that she has a passion for saving these prehistoric creatures.

As for Owen, he is more or less unchanged by the events of Jurassic World, so his character development is much less, or maybe even non-existent, in comparison to Claire. The one thing I can point out is that perhaps his decision to go back to the island and save Blue is an indication of trying to face his problems, rather than simply running away from them.

For those who know me, I live for Claire and Owen’s relationship. Fallen Kingdom builds on their relationship and puts Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt’s natural chemistry to good use. I have always loved that these two characters are polar opposites but work very well as a team, and I was glad to see that dynamic again, although, I wish there could have been more time spent on further elaborating and developing this dynamic, but that’s mostly due to problems with the pacing of the movie.

Maisie, Maisie, Maisie. She is the heart of this film. All the Jurassic movies have had kids in them, but for the most part, they aren’t hugely significant. Maisie changes the game. No more can be said without entering spoiler territory, so I’ll stop there. BUT, Isabella Sermon is INCREDIBLE as Maisie, I am so surprised this was her first ever acting gig. 

As for the supporting characters, I really loved Zia and Franklin, played by the wonderful Daniella Pineda and Justice Smith. The brother-sister relationship the two have off-screen translates very well on-screen and makes for some really fun interactions between these characters. Franklin serves as comic relief in a lot of scenes, and I think the skills he brings to the team are underappreciated. Zia is a badass, however, Pineda’s performance is the reason why and not and so much the story that is written for her.

The villains are a little too “I’m evil!” but for the most part enjoyable. Toby Jones seems to be the villain in every movie I watch so he’s pretty good at doing that. I don’t want to specify certain actors since I’m not sure if its common knowledge that they are villains, but I think the performances by the villans are good, apart from, as I said earlier, sometimes being a bit too cartoonishly evil. 

For the cameos... Ian Malcolm is back, but not for a whole lot, which I think is a shame. Jeff Goldblum is excellent and shines in his scenes, despite not being in the film for very long. Dr. Wu appears yet again, and the one big problem that I have with this movie is how underused he is. His character understands that what he is doing is a whole other level of fucked up but he understands how these dinosaurs work as well as the consequences of what he does. I really wished that his character was more significant because his opinions reflect a big part of the ethical dilemma that the movie explores.

5. Dinosaurs

There are a lot of them and they look incredible. The animatronic Blue, Indoraptor, and T-Rex breathe a whole new life into these dinosaurs, making them feel more like characters rather than just animals for us to be in awe of. My favorite has got to be the Stygimoloch, as it plays quite a significant role in a couple parts of the movie, and also, it's so adorable. OH and I think dinosaurs are really smart, people are dumb, and so maybe people should be extinct, not the dinosaurs.

6. Pacing

Now, this is the biggest problem I have with the movie. From the very start of the movie, AFTER the beautiful opening sequence, that is, everything seemed to be moving at warp speed. There was always something going on and it was just non-stop, not giving the audience a chance to breathe and take in whatever they just watched. There are a lot of character building moments that are ruined by the lack of time the audience gets to process them, making them much less impactful than they could have been if the film had slowed down for just a few minutes. Whenever something significant would happen, it immediately became insignificant because something else would happen not long after. 

The part of the film that takes place on the island moves way too fast, and I really wish they stayed on the island a bit longer, especially considering this is supposed to be the last time we will ever see Isla Nublar. The lack of time we spend there takes away from what should be an extremely significant and emotional plot point not just for Fallen Kingdom, but for the entire Jurassic franchise.

As I mentioned in the “story” portion of this post, the movie explores the reasons as to why we can’t just let the dinosaurs die. Although the movie does look at empathy, guilt, and redemption, it does so through the characters, as if we should already know these characters well enough to know why they are motivated to go and save these dinosaurs. For someone like me who is familiar with these characters and previous characters in the franchise, it is easy for me to understand their motivations. However, the film doesn’t give enough time for the casual viewer to empathize with these dinosaurs and help them understand why these characters feel a responsibility for these creatures’ fates. Again, this has to do with pacing, since with a lot of things happening from the get-go, there aren’t enough opportunities for the story to build and give viewers this understanding. I think the lack of build-up toward the decision to go back to Isla Nublar to save the dinosaurs is the main reason why many people don’t understand why this movie had to happen at all. 

IN CONCLUSION, I really really did love this movie. I’ve seen it twice now and it was better the second time around because my over-excitement for the movie as a whole and for some specific aspects didn’t get in the way and I was able to focus on a lot more things, allowing me to enjoy it even more. To end things, I really need to send my biggest thanks to JA Bayona for his excellent addition to the Jurassic franchise. Whenever people talked about Jurassic Park, they’d always talk about how terrified they were when they saw the T-Rex on screen for the first time. The first time I saw Jurassic Park, I had already seen big scary monsters in the cinema, so the movie never really scared me the way it did some people. However, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom made me feel so terrified at times that I could finally understand where these people were coming from when they talk about being terrified by Jurassic. So thank you JA for scaring me into a true Jurassic experience. Despite major problems with pacing, the film is beautiful when it comes to the visuals and sound, has a really interesting plot, as well as characters that I really love. I know this movie has been met with mixed reviews, and that really bothers me, but I loved it and I hope you at least give it a shot because it certainly deserves a fighting chance. 

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom gets 4/5 baby Blue’s

[dillydedalus]

books i read in july

i stole this format from @berlincorpography and i’m doing it kinda early bc i just started a longer book that i won’t finish today - anyway here’s what i read in july

open city, teju cole (uni) i appreciate what this book is doing as a contemporary postcolonial immigrant take on the flâneur and i know the irritation i felt was all intentional  but it’s still annoying!!! also i don’t think the twist really works and the way it’s used just made me super uncomfortable. 3/5 

the complete stories, agnes owens i mentioned this one in my midyear wrap-up already but like it is just too dreary and bleak and eventually i couldn’t stand it anymore. i think a ‘selected stories’ would have been much better, because some of them are really good - horrible people, dark humour, sharp wit - ‘arabella’ is brilliant. 2/5

the city of brass, s.a. chakraborty (daevabad #1) this is a YA-ish fantasy novel set partly in ottoman cairo and partly in the city of the djinn (daevabad). the protag is a con-artist (!!!) in cairo who has some ~mysterious powers accidentally summons a mean hawt djinn and there’s djinn politics and court intrigue and all that fun stuff. i had fun but it has all the YA Fantasy Tropes Ever to a slightly ridiculous effect. plus the love story goes from Making Out With the Hot Magical Dude Who Kinda Maybe Abducted You, which is incredibly #valid, to ~doomed true love, which. whatever. 2.5/5 might continue the series

do not say we have nothing, madeleine thien a family history in 20th century china - it was interesting bc i haven’t read much lit set in china but i didn’t rly connect with the characters and it was just Too Damn Long. 3/5

wir sind ja nicht zum spaß hier, deniz yücel deniz yücel is a german journalist who was imprisoned under no/bogus charges for about a year in turkey and was only recently released. this is a collection of some of his best texts plus his prison writing. really like his writing & perspective and i would personally fistfight erdoğan and the whole entire afd for his honour so meet me in the pit i guess. 4/5 #deutschlandschaffdichab

not that bad: dispatched from rape culture, various authors, edited by roxane gay a collection of essays on rape culture - most of them of a personal/testimonial nature. i think i expected (and would have preferred) a more analytical approach bc in my Personal SexTrauma Recovery i’m just at a point where reading about other people’s experiences over & over doesn’t do me much good. but that is obvi personal. no rating

love, hate and other filters, samira ahmed kind of cute and it gets better when it adresses islamophobia, but the romance is VERY cringe and gets way too much time devoted to it. plus the writing is often really awkward and i found the character kind of... unbelievable in how she reacts to things emotionally. eh. 2/5

spinning silver, naomi novik AAAAAAAAH. as i have mentioned before, i absolutely adore uprooted, so my hopes were high and overall i loved it & it filled that uprooted-shaped hole in my heart. it’s vaguely based on rumplestilskin, has winter fae with Weird Fae Logic (everything’s a transaction & u better know how to bargain) who are obsessed with gold, a fire demon, and gr8 characters. the protagonist, miryem, is the daughter of a money-lender who’s too kind for his job, and she’s exhausted and hungry and angry (so angry) so she decides fuck this antisemitic piece-of-shit village, and takes over from her father. and she’s really fucking good at collecting debts and at trading, so good that the king of the winter fae challenges her to turn silver into gold for him three times. she’s amazing and sharp and constantly furious and she out-bargains the King of Weird Transactional Fae Logic and i just love her!! (and yes her and her family are explicitly jewish so that’s cool). there are some other pov characters and they’re mostly good but pale in comparison to miryem and i think the plot is a bit overloaded (plus having read this and uprooted i feel like i have some very specific info about naomi novik’s kinks aka abduction seduction) but i enjoyed it a lot and will probably reread it in winter. 4/5 

there there, tommy orange definitely worth reading, important, impactful etc. for me, the multi-perspective structure (12 characters with 2-3 shortish chapters each) didn’t work out entirely; i kind of would have preferred fewer characters and more in-depth depictions of them instead, but this kind of structure is always difficult to pull of well, and i think for some characters it did work. but like, it’s def deserving of the hype and all that. 3.5/5

heißer sommer, uwe timm this is a german novel following a student who becomes involved in the ‘68 student protest movement. it’s an interesting setting & i enjoyed the depiction of the clash between the student’s generation and their parents’ generation - but the clashes within the movement are basically just leftie tumblr discourse but in ‘68. it’s really slow-paced and rambly & there’s a lot of sexism which i thiiiink was an intentional critique of ullrich and the movement but: ugh. 2/5

marat/sade, peter weiss if u like weirdo pomo meta-theatre you’ll probably like this play about a performance of the assassination of french revolutionary marat performed by inmates of an asylum under the direction of the marquis de sade. if you don’t like weirdo pomo meta-theatre you probably rly won’t! 3/5 (it’s also on youtube)

my brilliant friend, elena ferrante (neapolitan #1) complex, relatable & not always likable female characters? genuinely complicated & fraught female friendships that aren’t just ‘catty frenemies lol’? set amid the poverty and hopelessness and violence of post-war naples? good stuff! this one is pretty slow-moving (i’ve heard the later ones are faster-paced) but tbh if knausgaard can write a six-part autobiographical cycle called..... my struggle..... then ferrante should be able to write four novels about stuff that is actually interesting w/o being harrassed about her true identity but apparently not lmao! 3.5/5 (will continue with the series eventually)

assassin’s apprentice, robin hobb (farseer trilogy #1) this is a slow-paced coming-of-age/apprenticeship fantasy story with magical elements and court intrigue - in terms of plot and worldbuilding it’s fairly generic, but it’s well-executed and there are hints of more exciting and unusual things to come. what really won me over were the characters and their relationships and then the finale is really great; also i teared up at the last paragraph so thanks for that robin. i will continue with this trilogy asap (c’mon overdrive) and then maybe go on with the larger realm of the elderlings series (16 books total lol) after a while. 3/5

aaand that’s it for july. i’m currently reading rebecca by daphne du maurier but yeah i won’t finish it today (i will saw tho @ thenarrator look i’m a selfconscious awkward neurotic mess so i can relate but girl you need to chill)

[calumcest]

oh tumblr had a wonderful update and now asks aren't limited anymore and all the fun script stuff like this is possible but i don't think everybody has the update yet? i'm unsure. you can send pics in asks as well now but only off anon

oh don't tease me with a britpop update 🙈 i'll cry. i missed losing my mind over my dumbass lying boy.

helen i'll really cry that's so sweet and yes rereading your fics was me coping with your absence here 🙈 (also they just make me very happy)

dein deutsch ist gar nicht schlecht!! ICH WEIß!! (apropos wer hat sich den ß-scheiß ausgedacht) warum kann man nich einfach alles klein schreiben? funktioniert doch in so jeder anderen sprache auch super 🙄 oder? es is so seltsam aber jedes mal wenn ich hier was auf deutsch schreibe bin ich so :) nur helen versteht mich :) oh weil wir gerade beim thema deutsch sind, ich hab ne vielleicht etwas komische frage ich weiß nich mal wie ich drauf kam und zwar wann feiert ihr weihnachten? weil wir feiern ja hier eigentlich am 24. und in england is es doch am 25. (oder?) und ja ich hab mich gefragt wann genau du und deine familie dann feiert?

thank you so much 💕 you're truly already doing the most i really mean it when i say that it makes me incredibly happy to hear from you (though i would of course not say no to more wilde kerle au)

oh science of medicine sounds soooooo interesting! (technology not so much i'm sorry it's included) also i kinda like science or like theory of science? very interesting to me. but philosophy? nah. hurts my brain. but very happy for you that you found some nice people 😊 and i hope at least the subjects you're actually interested in are going well

ooh and actually can you explain to me what the fuck the tier system is. i have only seen memes and i can't even manage to sit through the entirety of our news here without going mad so like i've not had the mindset to just google it 😅

well i am glad you wrote more after that scene i might have murdered you otherwise.. i could not have lived with that cliffhanger being the end 🙈& that is perfectly fine you should also take some time off! get some rest!! -spoiler twin

HELLO thats so exciting...how do you access it my asks still only have the regular box am i going to have to start coding like some kind of stem student 

!!!!!!! ok listen. i know i have been shocking at responding i was unfortunately in a p bad mental situation over a large part of the christmas holidays but that has been largely solved now and your comments!!! your comments literally keep me fucking going i cant even Tell you how important they are to me GOD your comments as you were rereading britpop...i literally was refreshing my ao3 every few hours to see if you’d read any more and commented any more i cant even Explain how much serotonin they give me like the detailed comments you leave! the character analysis! the reactions to me mentioning noel writing songs :) ! the reactions to liam GOD i really do love that boy alongside you liam supremacy when . anyway i’m hoping to be able to write some more soon so!! we shall see but anyway i just want you to know How much of an impact your comments have and i’m genuinely very sorry i havent been in the right mental place to respond to them </3 

GENAU ich hab KEINE AHNUNG warum man nur auf deutsch die blöden nomen großschreiben muss smh sitz immer da so ‘der...die...das...ok kleinschreiben. der...die- ok großschreiben’ deutsch-war-meine-muttersprache-aber-ist-jetzt-ECHT-nicht-mehr probleme </3 omg genau irgendwie fühlt es sich so geheim hee hee nur spoiler twin weiß was ich hier sage :) obwohl es was so 100m deutschsprachler in der welt gibt skdfjwhebf ooh ja also wir feiern eigentlich richtig am 25. aber machen ein bisschen so ein hybrid-weihnachten also am 24. öffnen wir die geschenke von der oma, tante & onkel und am 25. dann die anderen aber wir machen auch nikolaus und advent usw. was man in gb nicht macht weil die alle LANGWEILIG sind 

kjwefnkwjenf honestly if i get around to rewatching the films and coming up with a plot that isnt just the memories of my 8 year old self fancying jimi blue...malum wilde kerle au is on the cards 

god i know i hate history of tech i cant lie history of science is also fairly boring ot me i just care about history of meidicne wkefbjwhebf but i’ve managed to swing it so this term i’m only going to be doing history of medicine so! lets hoep it goes well <3 although i have the same professor for both my modules this term so if he doesnt like me im FUCKED bout to start arselicking fr...

WKJEFBWKHEFBWE thats so funny i love that youre seeing memes in germany well back before lockdown 3 every region in england was classified into a tier originally there were 3 tiers so for areas with low covid infection rates they were in tier 1, which is like you can meet indoors as a group of 6 from different households, all the shops etc. are open basically as close to normality as we’ve got since the summer here, then tier 2 is the next one up which is you cant mix households indoors but you can meet in groups of 6 outdoors, and then tier 3 was meant to be the strictest one which was you can only meet one person from another household outdoors so pubs etc were shut, and then a few days before xmas the govt introduced tier 4 which was essentially lockdown except schools were still open so non-essential shops/hairdressers/gyms etc were shut and now we’re back in full lockdown schools are closed unis are closed everything is shut we’re only allowed to leave the house for certain reasons anyway i cant lie the tier memes are incredibly funny to me sometimes the british public has rights and their sense of humour is one of the only times 

how are you doing?? how was your holiday break? i hope you and your loved ones are all safe and healthy i know shits going down over there and you’re in lockdown too so i hope everythings okay and that youre holding up <3