#i'm sure it does in most american restaurants

[vashti-lives]

🔥

(topic: drink, or food, or both!)

oh boy. i have a big one! oof people aren't gonna like this.

right now american cooking is way too dependent on garlic. especially restaurants. i know all you garlic lovers out there are currently outraged but look! i do not actually think it is to your benefit! i am allergic to garlic and the amount of restaurants where i cannot eat anything on the menu but steak with no fixings unless someone alters the way they prepare food is ridiculous. and like, when it's an Indian place or something i get it! but when i go to a basic pub food style restaurant and cannot have a cheeseburger because the ground beef has a seasoning with garlic powder in it there is something wrong.

at very minimum their flavor palate is too narrow and frankly, when they've got garlic in the hamburger and garlic in the butter and mayo and garlic in all the dipping sauces and in all the salad dressings and the in the seasoning they put on the french fries i start to wonder... is it really that garlic is enhancing every one of these things? or is it that... they're trying to disguise lower quality ingredients with a strongly flavored additive so they can charge more?

and if you're not allergic to garlic you're never going to notice this but it's there! the amount of times i have asked if a cheeseburger has garlic, had a waiter look at me like i'm crazy and then come back five minutes later to tell me in a very baffled tone of voice that yes there is garlic in the cheeseburger is WILD. a cheeseburger is my baseline ask because 1) i like them and 2) if there's garlic in the burger there will be garlic in basically every other item on the menu except maybe like, sweet breakfast for dinner options like french toast.

it's notable that NEVER ONCE have i been told, oh there's garlic seasoning in the ground beef but we can just make it without. it's never happened. because these resturants are all buying pre-seasoned beef patties, probably because it's cheaper. if they weren't it would be super easy to make me a cheeseburger without garlic!

so yeah, i think A LOT of restaurants are tricking people into paying too much for cheap food by adding garlic where garlic doesn't need to be.

[jmdbjk]

All things Walmart, poo, ticks and inspiration...

Spoiler alert but to hell with it, I know y'all have watched it all already.

Things I cannot relate to and will never happen to me:

• Pushing my cart down the snack aisle at Walmart and running into Jungkook searching for Tostitos and a sponge.

• Going out to the mailbox to gather the day's junk mail and two guys on a Harley drive by and wave at me and me not know it was Jimin and Jungkook.

• Hiking through the forest and not realizing that guy way up ahead swatting at mosquitoes is Jimin.

• Enjoying my lobster mac & cheese at a restaurant and not know Jungkook is discreetly (not so discreetly) staring at my food trying to decide if he wants to order what I'm having.

I didn't have time today to spend on this like I wanted to and I feel like everyone has already talked about the finer points they're most interested in so I'm going to just drop a few things that made ME laugh, smile and cherish the fact they even started this thing, this show. Episode 3 will be here tomorrow night (for me) so I don't want to delay this anymore so I'll be brief for Ep. 2.

Saturday, July 15:

They left the campsite and Jungkook got to ride the motorcycle. Jimin said he looked like a proper American.

They stopped at a park and hiked a trail. Jimin fought mosquitoes. It was brutal. I've seen people worried about ticks. And snakes. Jimin pointed out a spider on a tree. Jungkook fantasized about alligators. Tick inspections occurred all around later on I hope.

We didn't see the transition from woods to marina. Maybe they had to make a bathroom stop for Jimin. Or urgent care to get him some meds. Who knows. Poor thing was suffering.

On the yacht, Jimin was still feeling puny but he tried. He ate though he knew he was risking it all.

He horsed around with Jungkook with the beast still rolling around in his guts.

I really wasn't expecting so much poop talk during Are You Sure but here we are.

I think this summed up the yacht trip. Especially after how it all started with the excursion being leaked by the boat captain himself. Perhaps the editors did this on purpose.

FYI those concentric ripples in the images are my camera trying to capture the screen in a different frequency than the monitor refreshes or some tech mumbo jumbo. Apologies and please ignore. It's Disney's fault for not letting us screen cap using an app.

I think Jungkook was looking for ticks. He would take something like that seriously, don't you think?

But Jimin mostly slept on the yacht. He had a rough night before. They still salvaged what they could and they still seemed to enjoy the experience.

A trip to Walmart. On the way they have one of those rambling conversations where Jungkook, who is not the most talkative type, decides to talk Jimin's ear off. They talked about making music and what drives them personally in their choices about their work.

We'll visit that thought again in a minute....

The whole Walmart visit is surreal to me. I go to Walmart at least once a week so to see Jimin and Jungkook browsing the aisles just blows my mind. NEVER did I EVER dream I'd see them looking for bacon at WALMART.

They look just like anyone else pushing their shopping cart going down the cereal aisle past the boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Sugar Pops.

Jimin was a tad testy when JK disappeared. He even cussed him out. HAHAHAHAHAAA. BEEN THERE DONE THAT!!!

I know Jimin-ssi, why are men like that? I swear to god...

I saw someone say this sums up their dynamic perfectly: Jimin calculating in his mind how to work the self-check out while Jungkook does the helicopter cam above him.

You gotta give it to Walmart though, they do know their customer. The self check out is pretty self-explanatory.

The content of their cart:

TWO boxes of Twinkies???? And both Prego AND Ragu...

Getting to the AirBnb accommodations. Cooking. Chilling out before bedtime and Jimin lets Jungkook hear Who.

Horsing around in bed. You know, all these years, I've wondered how they keep the toothpaste spit inside their mouths while brushing their teeth? We've seen them brushing their teeth backstage, in the bathroom, walking around the green room, outside practicing choreo... HOW DO THEY NOT DROOL ALL OVER THEIR CUSTOM MADE OUTFITS? And now wrestling on the bed...

Waking up, JK and his frosted flakes. Jokes about abandoning Jimin...more horsing around on the bed. And then they doze off again. I know they did. Hard to tell but Jungkook is glued to Jimin's back.

Jimin gets to ride on the back of the Harley with JK. It starts to rain. I guess they were bringing it back to the rental place.

Going back to the store for a sponge.

I think Jimin was feeling much better. Looked like he slept better.

We see the Army who said they met Jimin and Jungkook last year. When I first heard about it I thought how lucky and random and what kind of stars need to align for that to happen??? What a great experience!!! When will it be our turn???

And then the next idea for Run BTS (the show)... hide and seek while shopping for specific ingredients to cook with and the twist is they're in a foreign country. WORLD TOUR RUN BTS!!! BIGHIT I HAVE IDEAS!!!! LISTEN TO ME!!!!

Its raining, dancing in the rain as they exit the store. They leave in the Jeep and head back to the house to eat their pizza.

Army in Connecticut won in life.

Then they start their journey back to NYC (I'm assuming) so Jungkook can go on to London and Jimin can head back to Korea. They stop one more time for lobster rolls and lobster mac & cheese.

That's when we see Jungkook contradict himself...

In the Jeep just a little while ago you said nothing inspired you. Was it the rain or the beer that was inspiring you? Or was it the head full of new memories and ideas about the next trip that were swirling around in there?

By the end of this trip, they are back in sync.

Their closing interview: JK wants to keep doing this until they're 50, 12 more seasons! JK said "practice being better variety show entertainers so the two of us can continue doing this" as motivation to continue doing this type of thing way into the future. Jimin found humor in that. And that's where we fade to black.

And during the credits, Jimin is eating again, spicy ramen, possibly the next day. Apparently his stomach is back in order as he readies to fly back home.

What a trip.

Deeper thoughts:

Jimin and Jungkook wanted to spend time together. We knew that. It didn't seem to happen when it could have. They even said so in the Jeep. But JK concluded the discussion succinctly:

Finally.

Finally they were spending quality time together. Though their talk was brief, we have no idea if there was more to it before or after what we saw of it. The editors showed us that much enough to explain the situation and why it had not happened. The end result of it all was: finally.

Finally, after wanting this. Finally, after saying we would. Finally... doing something together that we loved doing before and we've wanted to do again. Finally.

Jimin pushed for it. He knew. He made it happen. Finally.

They are two distinct personalities and their journeys through this solo era leading up to their enlistment were different.

Jimin is a leader and doer. He is the initiator. Jimin said if he hadn't pushed for this show to happen it would not have gotten done.

There were a few moments in these first two episodes where Jimin brought up MS. Jungkook didn't seem thrilled to talk about it.

They truly didn't know what they were going to film for this show. They got in the car and started to make it up as they went. I can see how that would be awkward.

They don't understand that just them being themselves is what we want to see. They don't have to try to make something happen. Its the spontaneous moments that make the best content (see kayak dump and Walmart trip). Maybe Jimin was more in tune with this than Jungkook was but he is the one who turns on a live and sits there and watches Netflix while eating chicken. They had to get back in sync and they did.

So the first episode was a little slow, a little cautious, a little quiet. Reserved. That first day they were finding their groove, getting 're-acquainted' if you will, finding the slots and spaces in each other that fit and feel the most comfortable to them. You could see them relax as the day wore on.

But, they still had challenges. JK's head cold. Jimin's stomach bug. You want some TMI's? Watch Jimin run to the bathroom for the fifth time.

We may see a little bit of this quiet re-acquainting when BTS does its first group live next year. And yes, I am 100% confident we will see this first live shortly after Jimin and Jungkook are discharged. We will see them in a way we've never seen before.

After both episodes... my conclusion is we saw about 2 hours out of the roughly 3 or three and a half days Jimin and Jungkook were together. Thursday evening, July 13 through Sunday evening, July 16. I'm not exactly sure when JK left for London but Jimin went back to Korea on July 17.

I wonder if the plan was to create hour long episodes or if there was so much they wanted to show the episodes just ended up being that long. They could have easily hidden Jimin's stomach issues from us. They could have edited a lot of it down. But in making the episodes this long, they showed more and more of their dynamic in play.

I didn't put everything into this post that I wanted to but we've got six more episodes coming and I still haven't had time to watch Run Jin.

Hashtags arent working... I'll add them later.

[slavic-roots-western-mind]

My top Russian Tv-Shows

Despite this being mainly a mandarinblr, I still try to practise my other languages so here are some of the most interesting tv-shows in russian for my fellow russian-learners and speakers and anyone interested.

Kitchen - Кухня This show has several spin-offs including Hotel Eleon and Grand which I will not mention as by the end of the last spin-off there are literally no characters from the original cast and the plot slightly goes of the rails. The actual show is set a french restaurant in Moscow where Max Lavrov, who just finished his military service decided to work at. The show follows the various challenges that Max faces at his new workplace, including the foul-tempered but very talented Chef Viktor Barinov who has a drinking problem and other interesting characters. It's quite funny and heart-warming, and it's a must-watch imo.

Youth - Молодёжка A pretty standard sports series tv plot. The hockey-team "Bears" are a meh team at best, but that all changes when a former National Hockey League player turned coach shows up to make a proper team out of them. I only watched the first season because after that the plot got a tad boring for me, but as far as sports series go, pretty good.

Law of the Lawless (Not the 1964 film!) - Бригада A cult-classic staple of only 15 episodes. The plot is a bit over the place at the beginning, as opening episodes sequence is a flashback to the start of the final episode but after that it's chronological, with the first episode w english subtitles here. 4 best friends start out as youths from early 1990s to 2000s, with one returning home after finishing his army service with plans for uni and the others just starting their lives. However, the Perestroika had significantly changed their lives, so eventually the gang turns from racketeering and petty crime to slowly becoming the mafia. The opening theme is worth watching alone, but then again I'm biased.

How I became Russian - Как я стал русским This comedy show is quite dear to me, as it follows an American journalist with russian and slavic roots navigating life and work in Russia as he works on a story about life in Russia for a major newspaper back home. He's back in his homeland but as a foreigner who finds his heritage utterly confusing. This series resonates with me, as despite having a good grasp of my cultures languages and customs, I still feel disconnected from my heritage at times, and this show has been a reassuring reminder that not being 100% attuned with your heritage is okay, and that there are many different ways of re-connecting with your culture.

Closed school - Закрытая Школа I was slightly tramuatized by this show when I first watched it 4ish years ago, in part due to how unhinged and off the rails the plot slowly but surely becomes. A descent into madness. Andrei and his sister are sent to study at the Logos boarding school, but are then informed that their parents have perished. Andrei doesn't believe this, so he sets off to investigate with his new friends and investigate he does. There are also some other background shenanigans going on, but the unraveling of the schools mystery remains the main interest, including its odd passageways and deeply disturbing history. As a thriller series, it honestly deserves that title.

Here are some shows that came out more recently that I think deserve a mention.

The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt- Слова пацана кровь на осфальте I've only seen a few episodes out of the 8, but it's very Brigada-esque so far. During the mid-late 1980s when Perestroika is going on and the USSR is soon to be no more, 14 year old Andrei is trying to survive as he's constantly bullied at school and by gang-members. He makes friends with one of said gang members Marat, as he slowly descends into the world of street life. I'll finish watching this series sometime probably.

The new guy - Новенький 16-year old Max moves from his glamorous life in Moscow to a small-town Yurovsk due to his parents constant arguing, where he immediately doesn't get along with his clasmmates who think him stuck-up and start bullying him. One day Max goes missing and his classmates are the obvious suspects, as slowly but surely secrets start to emerge revealing everyone's lies. A pretty good suspense/thriller show, which covers the topics of bullying, coming of age and what it means to be an adult pretty well, despite the 4th and final season being kind of lackluster.

Central Russia's Vampires - Вампиры средней полосы Where to even begin with this show. I don't know whether I should introduce the trailer or the opening theme song mv. Basically the life of a small and unconventional vampire family living in Smolensk, presumably in central Russia, who get disturbed when bodies with distinct bite marks are found nearby. This results in the Guardians (aka the guys keeping vampires a secret and ensuring that no one acts out) taking over and investigating with the vampire leader Svyatoslav Vernidubovich given a week to find and punish the culprit. My odd plot description aside, the cast is why I adore this show. The recently turned Gen-Z wannabe blogger Zhenyok, the thousand year old grandpa Svyatoslav, the constantly annoyed Dr. Zhan Ivanovich (who is actually french and decided to hang around after Napoleon was defeated) and his ex-wife The Countess who honestly should have a spin-off show and many more characters.

Doomsday - Конец Света Satan decides to come back to Earth and start the apocalypse, for which he needs his son Dimyan who should become the Antichrist but to his dismay, Dimyan doesn't really care about world domination and money, he just wants to get married to his fiancee Galya and live happily ever after. Chaos ensues as satan tries to persuade Dimyan to join him, whilst Angel vs Demon shenanigans occur in the background. I honestly had no idea that this type of show could even be produced due to the censors and yet it was. It's kind of slightly similar to Good Omens with all the apocalypse stuff and the Angels and Demons eventually teaming up? Good Omens adjacent. Except more gritty with much darker humour. The actor who plays satan is Yuri Kolokolnikov who actually starred in game of thrones so if you're a fan of his acting, do try this show.

Alisa can't wait - Алиса не может ждать Alisa is a 15-16 (don't remember her exact age) year old girl who is going blind and she decides to do something really drastic to ensure that her life will be comfortable after she loses all sight. There's a noticeable build-up to what she's actually planning during the episodes, as her homelife is less than ideal, with her older sister stuck in an unhappy marriage and a turbulent relationship with her parents. This is one of the few shows that really left a deep impression on me but it deals with some very sensitive and potentially upsetting topics so be aware if you're giving it a go.

This list may be updated in the future, so if there are any other shows that I may have missed do share them!

[thechekhov]

Drinking Anon here.

This is what I was talking about, the Nomiai: https://www.nomunication.jp/japans-business-drinking-culture/

I knew it was more of a Japanese business 'ideal' tradition. I was just wondering if it extended to school teachers. The idea that you "HAVE" to go drinking if invited otherwise its an affront to someone's honor.

....alright, having looked at the website, here is my critical analysis of this:

This guy, Whiskey Richard, who 'has been exploring the Tokyo cocktail scene since 2008' may have a basis for what he's saying but please keep in mind the following:

He's in Tokyo, where the drinking scene AND business is larger comparably, and it's easier to find drinking buddies and older colleagues who may want to pressure you to go

He has clearly made a business of explaining 'Japanese drinking culture'. His main site is about advertising distilleries and reviewing them. He didn't write this article only because he wanted to Share The Deep Japanese Lore with foreigners. He's angling for a specific type of feeling. A feeling that helps buy what he's selling.

With all that in mind and our reasonably angled Skeptic hat cocked (a hat you should always have on, btw, so long as it is not glued to your head) let's review the rest of it.

Does Japan have a culture of drinking with coworkers? Yes.

Are nomikai a unique event that has a specific structure different to a standard 'out with the lads for a few beers' type scenario? Yes, absolutely. It's a more structural event.

Do Japanese businessmen take advantage of a more casual environment like a bar or izakaya to suss out who is a genuine person and who might be a pain to work with?

I believe yes. This is not a far stone to throw.

Are you going to be affronting someone's 'honor' by refusing to go drinking with them?

Absolutely fucking not. And if they think so, they're a shitnugget.

It also should be noted that the author correctly writes that this is specifically a salaryman business thing rather than something that affects all areas of the workplace. He does start with 'If you're in Tokyo on business...' after all.

Sure, your business partner may invite you to go drinking with them to try to get an idea for your non-professional side. That's no different than someone inviting you to a business lunch. I think the business side of things is more important here than the alcohol element, though. The point is that if you're in a foreign country and someone invites you to join them in a social event that takes place in a traditional restaurant, turning down the invite may indicate that you're not really that invested in the relationship.

And most people will reasonably understand if you have a real excuse, or don't really drink. Especially these days. Hell, I work in a Japanese office and I get invited to nomikai and often turn the invitation down because I have an hour drive back home and no way of getting back if I'm drunk. And I've never gotten flack for it, nor has anyone ever suggested I've dishonored them for it. If I was seeking new employment and was invited out for drinks, I might try to make that happen, if only to satisfy the social request to meet up. ...I also enjoy a drink every now and then.

Like I said, the article in question isn't necessarily wrong... but I think it goes a little too hard, digesting every single detail and milking it for all the 'mysticism' it's got instead of presenting it through a reasonably comparable lens of Western drinking culture.

All I'm saying is... look if I had a potluck catering company and I needed to sell my stuff to Japanese people in the US, you bet your ass I'd make a site about how Sacred the potluck is to the Americans and how important it is to bring The Correct Thing. So I respect the hustle. But I think anything about The Complete and Utter Uniqueness of Japan should be taken with a grain of salt.

[bvclee]

thing for mean girls

30. chicken

an/ sorry im not really good at making long chapters 😭

it has been four months since yunjin decided to win y/n's heart, sending her flowers now and then, taking her to cute dates, really getting to know each other.

it was now time for her to ask her to finally be her girlfriend, but she was beyond scared. y/n never did anything more than hold hands and cheek kisses, how could she be sure that y/n would be okay to kiss her for real.

"she's already in love with you!" eunchae groaned, her eyes gazing the present she got for her beloved.

"but what if she says no? what if she still doesn't trust me?" yunjin replied, her fingers tugging the rope of her sweat nervously.

chaewon let her body collapsed onto the blonde's bed next to kazuha, also groaning in annoyance, earning a giggled from the japanese.

although her friends praised her about the gift she brought, and their reassurance, yunjin was still nervous as ever. she may even say terrified of the idea that y/n could not love her back and rejected her.

"bitch, i have abandonment issues."

"girl, what does that even have to do with the situation?" sakura frowned, crossing her arms on her chest.

"everything!?" yunjin exhaled.

her eyes laid on the clock and her eyes widened. she was late for their date, the whole conversation made her forgot her actual goal.

"shit! i have to go! please, pray for me!" she almost yelled, running outside to her car.

-

yunjin entered the quiet restaurant y/n always talked about, it was pretty chill and the atmosphere calming. the american felt a waves of panic when she saw her sitting here.

y/n looked absolutely stunning in this dress and yunjin wondered why she haven't seen it before.

"y/n, you're so... pretty." she let out almost out of breathe, sitting quickly in front of the girl.

"you're late." her angelic voice enveloping yunjin into a warm embrace, it felt like ocean waves.

"i know i'm sorry, eunchae just couldn't stop talking." it wasn't technically a lie though.

they ordered what they wanted to eat, enjoying their time together. yunjin fell hardly for her, her heart almost skipping beats when y/n giggled at her dorky attitude.

their night together was perfect, eating excellent food and talking about everything and nothing. most of the time it was yunjin speaking, but not because she was hogging everything here, because y/n was a listener.

she preferred listening people talk, and yunjin loved talking, it was a perfect match.

soon, they were out the restaurant, walking in the cold streets hand in hand. besides the fact that yunjin was almost sweating from stress, her hand gripped y/n's the second they exited the place.

"you're car is that far?" y/n whined in a whisper, her heels starting to hurt her feet.

yunjin chucked, giving a teasing look as she bumped onto her slightly.

"oh i almost forgot!" she stopped walking, letting go of her date's hand, looking into her pocket.

"here, for you." a mini box.

y/n eyes widened as she examined the present.

"are you proposing me–."

"what! no! wait do you want me to?" y/n rolled her eyes, she felt yunjin's nervousness.

her eyes looking at her like she was expecting something, fingers playing with her clothes and her lip stuck between her teeth.

y/n opened the little white box calmly, her heart softening at the sight of a cute necklace. it was a gold star necklace, not to shiny and not to big.

y/n love stars, it's probably something she told yunjin about one time a little bit to passionately.

"yunjin... this is..." y/n lost her words, completely and sure now that she was in love with the blonde.

it wasn't for the expensive gift, but the fact that yunjin remembered the only time she talked about stars months ago.

"you don't like it? it's okay you can say it." yunjin panicked, hee hands trying to reach the box.

"no! i love it, thank you." she wrapped her arms around the american, pulling her into a warm embrace.

yunjin loved her, and she needed to tell her.

"y/n, i know i hurt you in the past, and i'm so sorry for that. but now, i want to truly love you. i want you to be my girlfriend, to finally be mine. so, y/n, do you wanna be my girlfriend?" she asked hopefully.

y/n's fingers tapped on her chin, faking the fact that she was thinking about it.

"of course i will."

yunjin smiled, pulling her into another hug. this time it felt different, she was holding her girlfriend.

"can i kiss you?"

"moving fast, are we?" y/n teased as she put an hand on the blonde's cheek leaning in.

and finally, after months of running after her and trying to make her fall in love with her. y/n was kissing her.

the kiss wasn't like in movies when they feel electricity wash over them, no, it felt like she was on a cloud and her stomach was a cage of butterflies.

the kiss slow and yet passionate. it felt great, almost like they were meant.

what am i saying? they were meant to be.

y/n broke the kiss, grinning.

"i love you too, jen."

yunjin smiled as she leaned into a second kiss.

previous | masterlist

[cadybear420]

Cadybear's MC Wardrobes: Alan Parke, OG HSS Book 3. Featuring some edits by me!

How this series goes: With each book, for a MC I'm invested in, I'll assess each of their in-game outfits. How much do I like or dislike the outfit? Is this something that suits my MC's style, or does it make me go "My MC would NOT wear/own this"? And for the outfits that my MC would not wear or own, how would I alter or replace them? I'm not going to use screenshots from the actual game because I can't be arsed. Also I want to use the different sprite expressions to express how my MC would feel about each outfit.

I like to think this is a good opportunity to elaborate on my MCs' dress styles, and show off some edits :D

Now let's finish off the trilogy for Alan Parke!

Directory for the other parts will be included in the reblogs after I've completed the posts for all books!

Ch 1: "All-American Boy" and "Spring Fever" Premium Starter Outfits

They're alright, but they both look so plain in comparison to the f!MC options. Especially the first one. The second one I think Alan would kind of like, but mainly if the shorts were shorter.

Verdict: Only the second outfit is in Alan's wardrobe, and only partly. Alter by making the shorts shorter. But also replace entirely, and use a different outfit as his official spring casual outfit.

Here's the outfit more in his style, plus him in the f!MC options "Not-So-Cold Shoulder" and "Spring Fling" respectively. I feel like he'd prefer the "Not-So-Cold Shoulder" one as his casual outfit.

Though I do also think he'd like the pink "Party On" outfit from Payton's party as a spring casual outfit. So that will probably be his official one. IDK for sure, honestly.

Ch 1/2: "Tour Guide Extraordinaire" Premium Outfit

Bruhhhhhh this does not look like a tour guide outfit!!! The "Spring Fever" outfit looks more like a tour guide outfit tbh, it even has a similar color scheme to the f!MC's outfit!

And even that aside, the outfit itself is just... not visually appealing. It looks too busy. Though I do like that the blazer and pants match Emma's spring outfit color scheme... but that's about it, and even then I don't think it's really worth it.

Verdict: Alan would NOT own this. Replace entirely. Maybe keep the blazer and pants for a different outfit.

Alan would much prefer the altered version of the "Spring Fever" outfit for being a tour guide.

BONUS ROUND: Ch 3: Baseball Uniform

Not his favorite style, but he'd work the look.

Verdict: Technically not in Alan's wardrobe because you have to return uniforms, but he'd enjoy wearing it. Keep it as is.

Ch 4: "Beach Bro" Premium Outfit for the Mitchell's Beach Party

Not bad, I think he’d really like the colors and pattern of the shirt. I also kind of prefer this as the casual outfit for him to wear during the playthrough, than the Spring Fever outfit (but not as his official spring casual outfit, of course).

But obviously, he'd far prefer the f!MC's outfit. This outfit isn’t near the levels of bland as a lot of these other m!MC special outfits, but I still don’t think it’s really something that would grab people’s attention at a party. At the very most, it just fits the beach vibe and has a nice pattern, and that's it.

Verdict: Alan would only partly own this. Keep the shirt for future potential outfits, but ditch the shorts, and replace entirely for the beach party.

Here's what he'd prefer to wear.

Ch 7: "Tight Knit" Premium Outfit for Open Mic Night at the restaurant

It's not bad... the cardigan is actually kind of cute, and the overall color scheme does look nice on him. But it doesn't really stand out that much otherwise, and it's definitely not Alan's taste.

Verdict: Alan would only partially own this. Keep the cardigan, possibly for future outfits, but ditch the rest, and replace entirely for the event.

I feel like he might wear the "Spring Fling" outfit for this event. It's a neat-looking outfit. I'm not fully sure though... might have to return to this later.

BONUS ROUND: Ch 11: Band Concert Outfit

Looks pretty good, but I think he'd far prefer the shorter sleeve one that the ladies wear.

Verdict: Only partly in Alan's wardrobe. Alter by shortening the sleeves.

Here's what he'd prefer to wear.

I should also mention that while I do have a band!Evie AU, I don't think I'll have a band!Alan or jock!Alan AU. Or I might have a band!Alan AU, but it probably would only take place over Book 1 because he’d only really do colorguard, unless they have room for some singing roles in concert band but IDK. I don't think Alan would have a lot of skill in playing any musical instruments. I'll put him in the colorguard in the bonus rounds.

Ch 12: "Blackout", "Flower Power", and "True Blue" Prom Outfits

Clearly the flower-pattern suit is meant to be the more "fem" option for male MC, as the tux was the more masc option for f!MC. I like it, but I don't see why they couldn't have had a dress option. Or better yet, why PB doesn't have dress options for m!characters more often. HWU had a dress option for male characters. Y'all could have expanded from that.

That being said, Alan would still adore that flower suit, especially if he wore it with some glittery spindly red high heels because that would be such a cunty power look.

Verdict: Only the second one would be in Alan’s wardrobe. Keep that one as it is.

Of course, Alan would still love a dress. And he’d definitely love the premium dress from the f!MC’s options, especially with the single shoulder strap and ESPECIALLY with the leg slit. So here’s him in the dress, plus a red one to more closely follow the suits colors.

And now I can't decide which one I like best as his prom outfit. Yaaayyyy

Ch 16: "Always a Tiger" Premium Finale Outfit (and carries over to HSS:CA as MC's default outfit for that trilogy if purchased)

Not bad, he’d definitely love that jacket. But preferably over his cheer uniform, rather than cargo pants.

Verdict: Only partly in Alan's wardrobe. Ditch the cargo pants, and replace with cheer uniform underneath.

Here's how it would actually look. I think Alan would likely wear this as a casual outfit for HSS:CA. But honestly I'm still figuring out what his storyline in the CA timeline would be like. I haven't even fully figured out Evie's HSS:CA rewrite/storyline. But as I do, I will be coming up with a new set of outfits for Alan in that timeline. We'll see.

[syrena-del-mar]

"Foliage, Flowers, and Feelings, Oh My!" in Step By Step Ep. 8.

The flower motifs were rampant throughout all of episode eight, more so than the majority of any of the previous episodes. Maybe I was made aware because Jeng brought attention to them while he was preparing for his date, ahem, market research with Pat this time around, but man, everywhere I looked on screen, I could only focus on the flowers.

Since a lot of the shots that had the flowers were blurred, take my analysis with a heavy amount of skepticism. Not to mention, my discussion of the flowers and their meanings are deriving from a Western point of view; flowers and their significance can differ greatly between cultures. [Specifically my understanding derives from my Latin-American and American upbringing with the meanings behind certain flowers and any research I came upon, so if you have any better cultural understanding that is more applicable, feel free to sound off].

There was so much imagery with flowers in this episode that I'm going to attempt to organize this analysis with specific scenes where I, personally, could not help but immediately notice the flowers and become hyper-aware of them.

Love Blooms Best at a Restaurant

While we see flowers and plants in the first quarter of the episode, they're typically at the very corners of the foreground, heavily blurred, or rather small, where it's presence is easily forgotten (i.e., the tiny plant on Put's living room table.) The plants and flowers really start to become a greater motif after Jeng requests the first restaurant to fill the empty space that he rented out with bouquets.

Now there are so many different flowers that make up the several bouquets that are brought in by the restaurant staff, so I'll briefly mention the most commercially known and their significance, while delving a little deeper into the flowers that were a bit harder to identify but that I strongly believe are in the bouquets.

First, the most obvious of the flowers were the red and pink roses that make a portion of the vase that is put at the table where Jeng and Pat sit. Pink roses typically take on the significance of admiration and gratitude, while red roses are generally used to signify love and passion. Hidden behind those, which we are only able to catch a glimpse at in far-away shots before the vase gets turned, are yellow snapdragons. There is a longstanding belief that when you hide a snapdragon, it's going to make you appear to be enchanting and amiable; this often results with the snapdragon being correlated with good-luck and deception.

Meanwhile behind Jeng, there is a huge bouquet that is made up of pink lilies, and what I believe to be, but not 100% sure, pink orchids. Pink lilies are generally used to depict new love, friendship, and admiration, while pink orchids are generally for thoughtfulness, refinement, and mature charm.

The flowers here seem to be very representative of both Jeng's mentality and the current state of relationship that Pat and Jeng have. Prior to this, Pat had gone from cancelling their meeting (destroying any hope that Jeng had) to asking if he was still up to going out (restoring it slightly, thank you Ae and Beam.) Jeng has made it apparent that he admires Pat for his talent and work ethic, praising Pat when he does a job well done, but this admiration has gone far beyond "you're a great worker", which Pat is completely unaware of. For Pat, this is just another work event that he is doing as a favor to his boss, without knowing that Jeng wishes is more than just work and how much effort he put into making this "not-date" "date-like". While deception has an incredibly negative connotation, in a way this is applicable here, this is Jeng's pretense to spend more time with Pat outside of work.

Jeng has been treading the line of boss and loverboy lightly, because he is more than aware of the consequences that could occur due to his attraction and feeling towards Pat. So he does what he does best, delve into work and find a way to incorporate it so he can spend some quality time with Pat, even if Pat isn't fully aware of his intentions, which is why it catches Jeng off-guard when Pat points out how much this outing resembles a date. This is a new chapter that Jeng is trying to navigate and breach, even without fully knowing the way to get there. He's learning how Pat ticks, when Pat is silent and what it likely means, and how much pain and burden Pat carries, even when its unnecessary. He's seen Pat at some of his worst moments, at his tactless moments, and he's falling for all sides of him, even if Pat is fully oblivious at this point. And Jeng is so proud of himself, when he gets the restaurant to look just right for when Pat arrives.

Running Leads the Heart to the Silver Trumpet Tree

The second full shot of flowers in this episode was after Pat and Jeng narrowly made it out from running into Chot, specifically after they finally came to a stop after sneakily running away from him, in order to not be caught fraternizing outside of the workplace. When they finally come to a stop, Silver [Yellow] Trumpet Tree [Tabebuia Aurea], also known as Lueang India (Yellow India) in Thai, cover the background when Pat and Jeng have finally come to a halt. While it can be easily mistaken with the Golden Shower Trees, which I believe is the national flower of Thailand, the Yellow Trumpet trees are as common but are distinct in the clusters that they form.

While the there is no distinct meaning or symbolism behind Silver Trumpet Tree, the Trumpet flowers, generally, have a more positive interpretation on its symbolism. Yellow Trumpet flowers tend to be referred to the Angel's Trumpet, which really leads to the auspicious significance that is attached. Depending on the culture that is interpreting the flower, the significance of the trumpet flower can range from prosperity and good luck to new beginnings.

Here, we find ourselves with Pat and Jeng running off in an attempt to avoid being seen by Chot. Jeng had just gone through the effort of making renting out the prior restaurant and decorating with as many bouquets as possible in attempt to make the non-date, date-adjacent. Yet, while this plan seems to be partially ruined, I think Jeng should be thanking Chot. For the first time, they held hands and weren't letting go. While Put and Pat may have been balanced physically, Pat was always being left behind by Put, even if it was unintentional. Put was the one leading their relationship, taking the first steps to enter and exit out of Pat's life, yet in comparison with Jeng, while Jeng may tower over Pat, he has always been the one to push Pat rather than pull, this was the first time that he was pulling Pat with him. And let me just say, Jeng was not the first one to let go. Their relationship is evolving.

Pat had cancelled meeting with Jeng, after not feeling well about breaking up with Put. Put was his first love, he was the one that had been abandoned, but it's still difficult to come to terms that the love and man you had idealized prior was no longer the man that you were in love with, no matter how hard you attempt to fix together the pieces that had remained. Yet, instead of wallowing in the pain, Pat reached out again to Jeng and asked him if they could still go out, even though he was the one the previously opted out. If Pat being proactive, even when clueless, isn't a step into a new beginning, I don't what is—

Barriers made visible with Peonies and Peperomia

After running away from Chot, they found themselves in a new restaurant, one that partakes in the tradition of plate smashing. Throughout this who sequence, we have the the ornate bouquet in the background that is creating a visual barrier, dividing the restaurant in two sides. In doing so, we're also seeing a rather physical divide between Jeng and Pat. Now I'm sure there are color theories that play into this, with the hues of purple at play, but we don't get a closer, albeit still blurred, look of the flowers until Pat gets up to smash his own plate.

There are two plants that I'm almost certain that are making up the parts of the bouquet. First, what I believe to be red peonies, specifically closed darker red peonies, not yet fully bloomed. Second, it seems that the foliage that is being used to fill the bouquet is watermelon peperomia.

Now Peonies are one of the flowers that have a huge variety of origin stories, so I'm going to stick with the Greek origin story of the Red Peonies since they were in a Greek-themed restaurant (where they're smashing plates to throw away their bad luck). In a water-downed version of the origin story, the red peony is tied to a nymph named Paeonia. Paeonia was incredibly beautiful and attracted the attention of Apollo, resulting in a lot of flirtatious exchanges between the two of them. As they were flirting, Paeonia becomes aware of Aphrodite's presence and turns deep red. Out of spite, Aphrodite turns Paeonia into a red peony. As a result, red peonies are typically understood as a sign of bashfulness, passion, and love.

On the other hand, watermelon peperomia, or more generally, peperomia tends to take on the significance of hope and in certain areas of Latin America, are given as gifts to say that 'Everything will be alright.'

First off, this whole sequence of scenes took me incredibly long to get through just because it felt so intimate both due to Jeng's dilemma in confessing and Pat's own internal fight against his misery.

This whole portion was filled with different points where Pat unintentionally gave Jeng openings. From ordering the Lovers' Special to Pat telling Jeng directly, "I prefer the time that we were nothing like a boss and subordinate." The frankness that Pat was giving Jeng, even if he was a bit tipsy, renewed Jeng's hope that just maybe Pat shares some of the same feelings that he does. As @respectthepetty mentioned here Jeng keeps having an internal battle with his love for Pat this whole episode, so the frankness that Pat is gifting Jeng is like a crumb trail that Jeng is more than happy to swallow up. Giving him a semblance of hope, that just maybe, they could go back to who they were before they met as boss and employee.

Which is what leads into the scene of Jeng's imaginary confession to Pat. This whole series of scenes we're given a glimpse into Jeng's internal monologue, and as @shouldiusemyname stated here, so much of Jeng's internal conflict deals with the uncertainty of where he stands with Pat, because even though he's doing everything to subtly show his interest, Pat is rather oblivious. Throughout this whole dinner, Jeng was sending smoke signals that Pat kept putting out. It's palpable that this is out of Jeng's comfort zone, but he is still trying. Yet, he sees the glimpses of pain that Pat has on his shoulder, and instead of wishing for his own happiness or for Pat's love, instead he wishes that everything will get better for Pat. He, very literally, smashes away Pat's sadness.

Moss my heart and hope to die

If I thought Pat and Jeng were surround by plants and flowers before, when they made their way to the speakeasy, they were not only in a presumed queer bar that Jeng frequents [@chicademartinica reaction really mirrored mine here], but they were surrounded by foliage in every room of this bar. The main distinction between the plants here and in other scenes is that the vast majority of the plants in the bar seemed to be non-flowering. Yet, the greenery was always present, either in an actual planter or even as a mural on the walls and beams of this bar.

Now there were so many leafy greens here, that it would be rather difficult to even attempt to pinpoint what plants are where during what time, but I will say the Spanish Moss, that was adorning the exterior of the speakeasy entrance and framing the right side of the shot, was very apparent.

There's a couple legends that come with the significance of Spanish Moss, but the most popular one derives from Spanish legend. According to Spanish lore, a Spanish explorer [some times told to be a pirate] had attempted to 'buy' a beautiful native woman. Obviously, she feared him and ended up running away, attempting to flee his grasp. He pursued her and in a final attempt to escape, she climbed high up into a tree. In his attempt to capture her he follows her up the tree, but becomes entangled in the tree and dies there, the only thing that remained was his 'grey beard' that continued to grow and spread throughout the tree.

Spanish moss, when used spiritually, is typically used to promote protection for the home, as a sign of security, and a general promise of protection. While some may have a preconceived notion of the plant being parasitic, they are also known for the healing qualities that they are able to provide.

Jeng had a specific purpose when he took Pat along to the bar that he frequents with Jaab and Pat goes along because, as @wen-kexing-apologist stated, he's being self-destructive and wants to forget all the pain from his second break-up with Put. Jeng was more than aware that Pat, even though he was shooting him smiles and having a generally good time for the most part, was struggling, hence why he insisted on one more outing before sending him home alone where he knew that Pat would be suffering alone.

Instead, he brings him to the one spot that, very likely, only his inner-circle would know about. This isn't just about the market research they're conducting, it wasn't even on the list that Pat had drawn up so that they could examine and consider applying to Jeng's own restaurant. A line was being crossed, a literal physical barrier in the shape of hidden bookshelf door, because this is Jeng bringing Pat into his personal life. Jeng has some degree of notoriety, which we haven't explicitly been show to what degree except for very select few moments, but everyone keeps mentioning [@respectthepetty has a great post collecting all these moments.] This speakeasy is likely a safe-haven for Jeng, a reprieve from the insane work-life balance that he lacks. This is Jeng inviting Pat into his "home"; this is where Jeng brings Pat to distract him from the pain that he is carrying.

The Spanish Moss adorning the entrance to Jeng's hidden reprieve, while can seem ominous at first glance, is actually an invitation of where Jeng can offer more to Pat. Yet, while Jeng is so love-stricken by Pat that his brain keeps short-circuiting, he knows that his love isn't what Pat needs at the moment. No matter how much he wants to confess, he instead offers to be Pat's safe-haven, much like this bar has been to him. A place, a person, where Pat can be candid of his emotions, where he can drop the false smiles, really simmer in his feelings and really have someone to depend on rather than running away to another country, because of the pain that he is carrying. A restorative and therapeutic location that Pat can run to, which he didn't have before.

Final Thoughts

Now do I think that the producers and set directors put this much deep thought into every, single, specific flowers that were present in all the scenes in Episode 8? I would be honestly shocked if they did. But, plants and flowers are inserted in the arts to symbolize something. Whether it be new beginnings or blooming love or anything in between, so even if they weren't being so intentional with the specific symbolisms, I do think they were utilizing the botanical references to develop subtle understandings of where Pat and Jeng are in their relationship at the moment.

Anyways, if you made your way through all my senseless rambling, first off, thank you, and secondly, I'll leave you with this:

[purplesurveys]

1902

If you had $10,000 dollars right now what would you do with it? I'd give my parents a portion of it, then keep the rest tucked away in my savings. I'm planning to hunt for a condo by year-end anyway so that amount would honestly take me super super far.

When was the last time you consumed alcohol? Two weeks ago at Angela and Hans' engagement party.

Have you ever broken a bone? No. Sprains were the worst I've had; fortunately never broke a bone.

What type of perfume do you use the most? I don't really like perfume as I find them too strong.

What book are you reading, currently? I haven't read anything in a while.

Are you interested in creative writing of any sort? No. I dabbled in it in my younger years but quickly learned that it wasn't and would never be my forte. I couldn't even think of creative plots so there was barely anything that translated to writing either. I've always enjoyed writing non-fiction stuff much more – and am miles miles miles away better at it too.

Would you introduce the last person you kissed to your parents? They knew her.

Can a boy and girl be friends without having feeling for one another? Yes? Why is this even a question haha.

Can you ever see yourself and your ex back together? No.

Are any of your friends virgins? There may be a couple but I'm really just guessing. Sex isn't ever something that comes up except with close friends.

Who did you last go out to eat with? Family – we were at a Japanese restaurant a week ago.

Is your ex a complete loser? I'd rather not call them such names at this point. Of course, they suck for many things but let's keep it at that haha.

What does the shirt you’re wearing look like? Where did you get it from? It's an olive green shirt that's turtleneck-ish but not really? I don't really know how to explains it haha but it kind of bunches up at the neck area. Shopee.

Who is the funniest person you know? Hans.

Do you say sorry first? If I know I should.

What do you look like right now? Pretty decent, tbh. We spent the entire evening hosting dinner for our extended family who've flown in from the States, so I wanted to make sure I looked nice even if we were just having the gathering at home. They came complete too for the very first time – it's usually just the immediate family who comes but they've brought in husbands and boyfriends too, who were all American.

It was a lot of fun! This might sound weird to those who live in countries with more diversity in cultures, but coming from a homogenous country it was so fascinating to meet Americans for the first time!! They were so nice and easy to talk to! And very chatty so it really helped me come out of my shell.

Who’s bed were you on last? Mine.

Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night? Elijah, I think.

Do you like to cuddle? Yeah it's nice but I haven't done it in years.

Is sex on your mind more than 3 times a day? Not usually.

What were you doing an hour ago? Washing the dishes.

Do you like it up against the wall? Sure.

Do you prefer girlfriend / boyfriend or friends with benefits? Continued from last night. A relationship.

Are you smiling? No.

When did you last eat pizza? Last night. The dinner-hosting was super impromptu and my mom only had time to make simple pasta, so I rushed to get follow-up pizza + mojos so that everyone was fed well.

Honestly, are things going the way you planned? I don't really plan to begin with....? I know that sounds bad, but I generally just try to do my best out of what life hands. The only things I try not to do are fuck up at work and lose relationships; and so far that has been going well.

Is the last person of the opposite sex you texted single? No.

Who did you spend your summer with last year? For the most part, with my family; but I also had a reasonable portion of it with my closest group of friends.

Did you wear what you are wearing today for a specific reason? I chose to wear it for a reason last night, yeah. I just haven't changed out of it since then because I was exhausssssted and just wanted to sleep.

What was the last thing you ate? A slice of pizza + god knows how many mojos.

Are you taking this survey in a place other than your home? No, I am at home.

Did you get ice cream from the ice cream truck when you were little? Do they still have an ice cream truck where you live? Every once in a while, yeah. We just were rarely allowed to – and to this day, I rarely entertain them – because the markup is bonkers. One came over during the pandemic and a popsicle that would go for ₱15-₱20 pesos cost like ₱50. So ever since then I've been wary about going out to meet them and only do when I have a very particular craving for ice cream.

*We also don't have ice cream trucks. They travel on bikes with a little extension on the side for their coolers.

What has been the most traumatic experience of your life? Does it still bother you? My breakup, because it sent me into a downward spiral in ways I had never reached before and have never reached since. If you look at my camera roll today, it literally jumps from August to October 2020 (it happened in September) as I barely ate and only stayed in my room at the time. Traumatic, but also the most emotionally exhausting thing I've ever been through.

No, I hardly think about it these days; and if anything, I only think about it when I want to be reminded to be grateful for the life I have now and the nice things I have been able to experience since. If I had let my sadness win, I never would have found BTS, witnessed my best friend get engaged, be able to travel to other countries, etc.

What would happen if you had a baby with the last person you kissed? I mean it would be a scientific breakthrough more than anything because we are both girls, so I'd worry about that part first lol.

Don’t you hate it when your cell phone dies in the middle of a convo? Sure, but I always run to plug it in so that it doesn't happen.

If you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today? No.

Would you run down the street naked if it meant earning $15,000? Sure.

Where was the last place you got completely wasted? 2017? 2018? idk that was the last time it went horrible, and since then I've managed how much I drink.

Have you ever changed the prices of items at a store? Wow, no.

Would your parents disown you if you got pregnant? At this point no. They'll get SUPER disappointed if I got pregnant without a legal partner (aka married lol) and will probably take it out on me but I'm sure they will be excited at least for the going-to-be-grandparents part.

When was the last time you drank alcohol? What was it? Two weeks ago. Just a couple bottles of apple-flavored beer.

Do you like where you live? Yes. It's okay, it's quiet, but I'm also looking for a change in pace.

Are you going to any concerts or festivals this summer? Nothing planned out.

Have you had sex with someone you weren’t married to? Someone you weren’t even dating? Not married to, yes. Not dating, no.

Are you under the age of 18? No.

Do you have a job? I do.

Are you going to school still? Do you plan on going to college? No more school. I graduated in 2020 and have no plans on getting any higher degrees.

Are you overweight? No. My last medical exam was very clear in stating underweight.

Would you get married at 18? Well, I didn't.

Have you ever been so wasted, you couldn’t walk? Just a handful of times.

What is the last thing that you got really excited over? Meeting my extended cousins after 8 years, and for the first time their husband/boyfriend too.

Any baby names you think you might name your future kids? I have a few favorites. Not that I'll ever have to use them.

When was the last time you had sex? A few years back.

Who did you last hang out with other then family? Co-workers.

Do you remember the last boy you texted? What was it about? Probably Hans, and I think we were just talking about proposal plans. I don't text much.

If you could go back in time and change things, would you? Nope.

Has anyone had their hand in your pants today? Uh, nope.

Do you like your dad? How about your mom? Sure. My dad's great; my mom's okay for the most part but she also has her psychopath/sociopath moments that make me question her...entire person, essentially.

Have you had a good day today or was yesterday better? I feel yesterday would be better because I know we have no plans today.

Do you have anything that belongs to your boyfriend/girlfriend? I don't have one.

Think back to your most important relationship, was it all your fault it’s over? It was both of us.

Was your last kiss drunk or sober? Sober.

What’s your favorite color? Purple.

Do you drink? Socially.

Do you smoke? Kind of.

Ever had a black eye? I have not.

When was the last time you slept in bed with a member of the opposite sex? Who was it? I don't think that's ever happened.

Did your most recent kiss take place in/on a bed? No.

Has anyone seen you naked in the last 6 months? Nope.

How would you describe your current relationship status? I'm single and voluntarily avoiding relationships.

Have you ever shared food/drink off the same plate/glass as someone you like? Not just with someone I like, but with friends or family too.

Have you ever had a valentine? Sure.

Have your lips ever gone numb from kissing? I don't think so.

Last person to cuddle with? The person I was with years ago.

[iantimony]

sick and weak shabbosposting

thankfully that is a woe-is-me exaggeration. my therapist last week said she was getting over a cold but was no longer contagious and i, like a fool, believed her!!! woe!!! agony!!! struck down by seasonal cold!!! and yet i persist

listening: about halfway through episode 5 of partizan! so far i have laughed a lot more than i thought i would, the most recent bit that had me cackling was about "donating" their "extra mech" to midnite as "charity". really really good. am keeping up with SSHG episodes, i am very excited for them to watch the first hunger games movie at some point.

reading: we're back on the academic papers. i'm giving a general-audience presentation on my research on monday to other graduate students and needed to make sure that i actually understood the fundamental assumptions that we made about the topic. the good news is i think i do! the bad news is uh oh, gotta make a presentation... some articles i read this week: against access, john lee clark: this was a really really cool article. definitely has made me re-think the way i should be doing captions on images. the poetry of the tactile descriptions of people involved with protactile made me a little emotional. vanishing words, grazia rutherford-swan: i'm not sure how to articulate how i felt about reading this. it's raw and it's good. content warnings for abuse and assault. crying in luke's lobster, byran woods: i am not a public crier and i do not think i will ever be but i am working on being more vulnerable and allowing myself to cry in therapy right now. i think if i were to be a public crier, train station restaurants in NYC are probably the ideal choice, followed closely by airport food courts and library stacks (does this count as public still?)

watching: last weekend i watched the cowboy bebop movie with the boyf!

COMPLETELY unrelated but at this point in writing this post a car driving down the main street my apartment is absolutely BLASTING you're out of touch i'm out of time. incredible. no notes.

anyways i enjoyed the bebop movie! once again they are soooo weird about native americans. it is a little funny to see the like...the way western media others the "far east", but it's japanese media doing that but about native americans? there's something to talk about there that someone more articulate than i can take care of. some of the timeline of this movie didn't quite track to me but it's fairly easy to hand-wave (vincent would have had to have been made immune to the nanomachines BEFORE having ~relations~ with elektra and then lost his memory in some separate incident i guess? or lost it just as time went on? who knows, also the implication of the Sexually Transmitted Nanomachine Vaccine is sooo funny). i really liked the comedy relief old guys getting a job to do!! good movie overall, 9/10.

making: i gave up on intarsia for my stupid vertically striped scarf and instead have cast on [drumroll] three hundred and sixty nine stitches!!! give it up for three hundred and sixty nine stitches!!!! my main worry now is that one 50g skein of each color will not be enough and i'll have to order more and risk the dye lots being crazy different...

anyways, ceramics! last saturday i took a day trip to an art museum and nearby ceramics supply store and got a bunch of underglazes, so i'm excited to try out some of those!

did a carving of an illuminated manuscript-style dragon inspired by this beastie on a mug! obviously he is difficult to photograph because curved object, and also isn't colored in yet so it's a bit difficult to pick out, but i'm hoping some fun and creative glaze application will make this guy really really fun

misc: very thankful that i have a work-from-home friendly schedule right now! wednesday suuuuucked, thursday was a little better, and i feel a little better again today, so hopefully with the weekend to recuperate i'll be good for my presentation on monday!

[love-geeky-fangirl]

Hello there! Totally random but I've been watching Dawson's Creek and had a hot take and needed to share, and you have some of the best hot takes about these shows so I'd though I'd bother you with it lol sorry.

Granted, I haven't finished the show yet, I've seen til the season 3 finale, so this might be proven wrong by later seasons, but I've been thinking this for 3 seasons straight - Is it just me or is it completely and visibly Gail and Mitch's fault Dawson is Like That? Like, yeah, there are a lot of scenes of just Dawson complaining about his parents' relationship, but honestly? He's kind of justified! Their relationship is a mess, and they always put their son in the middle, and the drama was so needless and repetitive that by their S3 wedding they were even more boring a relationship than Dawson and Joey. And whenever he tries to bring it up with them, it's framed like he's just in the way of them being happy (whether that means being together or apart, whichever they're feeling like that week). It's not really any wonder that he has such a messed up relationship with Joey, because watching his parents, sure, why wouldn't he think he can treat her any way he wants and she'll still want him and they'll be "meant to be"? Works for Mitch and Gail! Not to mention, all their parenting consists of is telling him what a special and perfect boy he is (correct me if I'm wrong but I think the only time they "discipline" him is having him work at their family restaurant?). Once again, no wonder he gets such a protagonist complex and thinks he should always get his way and whines when he doesn't.

Dam, this show is just a mess... Every character either starts great and is completely assassinated or forgotten about (Joey, Andie, Jen, ...) or starts badly and is given a redemption arc bc the writers realized the actor can act (Pacey, Jack) or is barely even a character, just a plot device at the whims of the writers (Dawson). Anyways, this is all just because I've heard for years before watching the show about how Dawson is the worst and actually watching the show has me thinking Mitch and Gail might really be the worst. Sorry for the rant! But I needed to share this with someone. What do you think? Am I totally off base here or does this actually make sense?

Hi! No worries, you don't bother me, I love hot takes (unless they're extremely stupid lol).

My hot take is that Dawson is not the antichrist as most of the fandom tried to paint him. Is he annoying and whiny? Sure, but what teenager isn't. Now that I think about it, maybe the reason the fandom hates him so much is because they see themselves in him and they don't like it? Just a thought.

You are so right about his parents though! People like to say: "Dawson has nothing to complain about, all other characters have it worse". Sure, Dawson's parents are not dead (at the beginning), in jail, physically abusive, mentally ill or didn't ship him off to live with his grandma, but that doesn't mean they are perfect. They put him in the middle of their messed up marriage and fighting. No 15-year-old should know about their parents' sex life and that his mother is having an affair. I also think they were too chill and let him get away with too much, like you said. But that's in almost every American show. I can't imagine talking to my parents the way teenagers on tv talk to theirs, that's not just a Dawson thing. It might have something to do with how the actor plays Dawson perhaps?

As for the character assassinations, I feel like the problem is that the writers mold the characters to whatever they need in the moment rather than having consistent characterization and letting conflict naturally arise from that. That's why the characters contradict each other a lot and seem to change so much (I still maintain that Andie cheating on Pacey was completely ooc). Also what bothers me is that the writers rewrite history a lot in order to be able to recycle old plot lines. The best example of this is how Pacey underwent such a great character development while he was with Andie only for it to be erased so he can undergo it again with Joey. When he told Joey: "I have never gotten an A before" I rolled my eyes because he literally had the same storyline with Andie like two seasons before! It's like in season 2 the writers wanted us to root for Pacey and Andie, but in season 3 and 4 they changed their minds so they ruined Andie's character to make room for Pacey and Joey. But then in season 5 they decided: "scratch that, Joey and Dawson it is" so they erased all Pacey's development again and had Joey pine for Dawson again.

A bit off topic but I thought it related to what you said about the characters. I don't think Dawson is the worst. He was annoying but I feel like he got progressively less and less annoying as the show went on. Joey is a different story. I could rant more about that but it's a very unpopular opinion since everyone on here loves Joey.

[backedagainstthewall]

basics.

general information.

full name James Andrew Martin

nicknames He's picked up a few here and there, but nothing has really stuck with many people long-term

preferred name James

age Late-20s to early 30s by default

date of birth November 4

place of birth Mobile, AL

zodiac Don't care enough to look it up

gender Male

nationality American

religion Christian, Methodist

orientation Straight

physical attributes.

face claim Milo Ventimiglia

voice claim Not sure I've ever thought about it

height 5'11"

weight 181 lbs.

build Thin, a little muscle tone

exercise habits Does some basic weightlifting and cardio, martial arts/self defense, works out when he can

allergies Mild allergy to some soaps

hair color Black

hairstyle Straight, usually short, or a little thicker if he hasn't been able to get it cut recently

eye color Brown

glasses/contacts No

dominant hand Right

tattoos One on his chest forced on him by some criminals, pretty small

piercings None

outfit/clothing style Favors casual clothes, tends towards darker colors. T-shirt, jeans, jacket. Will dress up when he needs to.

jewelry/accessories Watch, not usually anything else.

background information.

hometown Bayou La Batre, AL (2-6 years, Mobile before that) and Pensacola, FL (6-11 years)

current residence Transient in most verses

spoken languages English, some Spanish and Russian (reads Spanish better than he speaks it, speaks Russian better than he reads it)

driver's license Not a legal one...except in later verses

occupation Does "odd jobs" that may or may not be legal in his main verse, co-owns a self-defense gym in his later ones

familial information.

relationship status Single

mother Vanessa (Maiden: Silvestri)

father David

siblings None

children None

pets None, maybe a dog or a couple of cats in later verse.

personality.

positive traits Helpful, protective

negative traits Distant, vengeful (sometimes)

likes Sports (baseball and football mainly), exercise, having a quiet day

dislikes Pretentious fancy restaurants, bullies,

moral alignment Chaotic good, probably (I'm not taking a test to find out), maybe chaotic neutral

mbti IS...after that, I'm not sure. I'd lean ISTJ.

[smallerplaces]

It's the most wonderful time of the Playmobil Christkindlesmarkt

When Dad said "oh, we have to keep and use the Playmobil Christmas figures," he probably believed the box contained a Santa's house, a sleigh, and maybe a couple other things.

He was so, so wrong. Last year's diorama required three shelves in the dining room. This year, I found the 1980s medieval houses and decided to go for the gusto with an entire Christmas fair, which takes four shelves.

Santa's house is alone on the upper top shelf because he lives at the North Pole.

Digging through Playmobil boxes as I was sorting to sell or give away excess found me an extra rocker, so now both Clauses can sit by the fire. It also yielded a red desk, so the Clauses have somewhere to work on the naughty-nice list. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Mrs. Claus is stress-baking.

On the main level, at far left, is the ski and sledding slope and enchanted forest. Get up too much momentum on your sled, and you may end up stolen by the fae!

The elves clearly have the day off. Judging from how the guy in the green vest and red tuke is being treated by his elf, he's Tamlin.

New this year are non-white characters! Playmobil is a German brand, so they were slow-ish to expand characters into other skin tones, plus my parents' collection went back to the 1980s, so it reflects eras that were stingy with non-white rep. We had Native Americans in my original collection, but I sold that 20 years ago (if I hadn't, there'd probably be a buffalo menacing the reindeer).

During the big clean-out, I discovered Black adults and kids. I moved winter gear to every single one of them (except one, who you'll meet later), so that the Christmas Market is less out of line with modern Germany.

But what is Rufus, the Black parent in the white sweater and red cap, looking at so warily?

It's Russian Orthodox Santa! He's being pulled by a magical small horse, which the foxes in the background have chosen not to pursue.

Beyond St. Nicholas, something pagan appears to be afoot. I'm honestly not sure what, or even why the dead tree with the animals is kept with Christmas items.

The center section of shelves is one side of the town green, where a brass band of Santas is performing.

Santa has sprung for rent on a garage and workshop. Mrs. Claus is relieved to have this part of the home business out of the home. (That's his sports sleigh parked in the garage, while the big family sleigh is upstairs by the house. Santa had a bit of a midlife crisis a few years back.)

The Santa Band plays swing.

The right-hand Tudor house is a vet's office, convenient for when Santa's reindeer get a cough.

The final section of shelf is the rest of the town square and Christmas market.

Some of the vendors and shoppers are a little weird.

The porta-potty is the entire reason why the town square scene expanded this year. I found it in a box and had to use it.

The pizza restaurant equipment was also a must-use. Poor Santa has nobody to take his order! Meanwhile, small angels are panhandling outside.

The toy shop is delightful for those who don't want to wait for Santa.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the pizzeria's eating area, an indie band does sound check. (Or at least we hope it's sound check, since no one is upstairs to listen.)

[acommonloon]

I'm pretty good at drinking beer, as the lyrics to a country song go. Once I got too old to shag a fly ball without pulling a hammy I had to find interests other than sports so.

One of my favorite things is trying beers I've never had. Even better is revisiting old favorites I've not had in a long while. With the help of a FB feed filled with posts from bars, breweries, and restaurants, I'm often spoiled for choice.

Lately I've had some lovely sessions including properly conditioned Guinness, Spaten, as well as very rare German and Belgium imports, but I’ve also had a few beers that weren’t right.

On Friday I ordered an old friend from Lazy Magnolia Brewing called Southern Pecan, a brown ale. I knew instantly, the beer Mary delivered to me didn’t taste like that beer should. I first drank this beer in Mississippi and mostly I’ve drank it there and Louisiana where it’s on most menus, often the only craft option available except when Abita makes an appearance. This beer is distributed in the Kentuckiana area though and I bought a sixer a few months ago when a friend from Biloxi was in to visit. Yeah no. The beer in front of me was brown but it tasted like what might happen if you mixed it with a sour beer.

I’d noted before selecting this beer, the tap list was heavy on American domestics and sour beer! What an odd combination. I suspected the tap lines had not been properly flushed when the brown ale was put on. I guessed I was drinking half brown ale diluted with whatever sour was previously on that tap. I doubted if anyone had ordered this beer after it was tapped or if they did, they would know what it was suppose to taste like. I had many choices in this circumstance. I could insist there was something wrong with the beer, I’ve done this on a few occasions. I knew I’d get a new beer but the bartender wouldn’t believe there was anything wrong with the beer. I could explain I was someone who would know but it’s a difficult thing to do without coming off as a…man.

Lol I didn’t hate the beer and Mary, the bartender, had treated me well so I decided to just drink it. Then a young woman walked up to the bar and sat down about four seats away. I noticed of course, as we were the only two at the bar, but I assumed she was waiting on someone else to show up. It was when she asked the bartender if they had a red ale on, that I really took notice. Asking for a particular beer style was unusual for many reasons but Mary’s response was exactly what I expected. Ummmmm?

The young woman turned to me and asked, “What are you drinking.”

I grinned and replied, “Not really sure. It’s supposed to be Lazy Magnolia Pecan brown but it doesn’t taste right to me. Do you know the beer?” I asked

It was her turn to grin. “I should, I just moved here from Baton Rouge and I’m a bartender.”

Mary poured her a bit. She smelled it, gave it a quick taste and said, “No that’s not right.”

Mary said she’d let her manager know. Honestly I didn’t care, by that time I’d nearly finished the beer so never mind.

Yesterday, after a lot of consideration, I decided to watch a basketball game at a sports bar in Louisville. I was reconsidering my options about a minute after I sat down. Again, a large beer list made up primarily of domestics that mostly taste like water used to wash out a beer glass to me. There were also a half dozen sours. I settled on a local brewery option described as a pale ale. Dejavu all over again! I was given a sourish beer. I quickly looked up the beer on the brewery website and sure enough it wasn’t supposed to be sour. I drank the beer and asked for different one that tasted like “it” was supposed to taste.

So what’s “beer” supposed to taste like? A nonsensical question like what is wine suppose to taste like or what does soda taste like. Of course when it’s made, a specific beer is supposed to taste like whatever the brewer intended. If it does, like it or not, it tastes like beer.

After the game, I was in Total Wine and as I walked through the beer aisle I passed two employees talking to each other. One said, some people just want a beer that tastes like beer. My mind stuttered and I walked over to the Belgian imports next to where they stood. I put a sixer of Leffe Blonde ale and a four pack of Duvel triple hop in my cart. Both are beers I’ve drank for years. They taste like beer. I started to push my cart away then stopped. I looked at the employee who’d made the comment.

Beer that tastes like beer? What does that even mean? I asked

He looked unsure but didn’t say anything so I walked away.

After I’d drank the Southern Pecan, that didn’t taste like that beer was supposed to taste, I told Mary I’d have an Old Style. I said I’d never had one but it was a well known staple and I was curious.

After my first drink Baton Rouge asked me how it was.

I laughed and said it tastes like water with a bit of alcohol in it. She said, “In Baton Rouge we call those fishin beers!” I said we call them lawnmower beers. But I could drink gallons of it. She smiled, held up her glass of Taxman Belgian double ale and said, “Many do.”

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I feel like I’ve really been struggling to find books that I enjoy/am super excited to read. Can you recommend any books that you love or that have helped you get out of a reading slump? Contemporary/historical/paranormal are all great! Thank you!

Yeah, for sure! I haven't been in a true slump for a while. I have been through a bit of a book hangover these past few days just because I keep wanting to reread what I read before versus committing to new stuff, but that's different. I will say that I think combining audiobooks and standard reading has helped me avoid slumps. But audiobooks aren't for everyone, obviously!

Anyway, here's a lot of books with more info than you needed.

Okay, so.... I've been trying to lay off ranting about them too much because I still have friends who need to read them, and I'm working on a powerpoint/intro thing about them, but it's hard because Mila Finelli's Kings of Italy series is like. The best shit I've read in a while. Easily the most a series has consumed me since the next series I'll mention, which I read around October of last year--and it's a lot shorter, so it's easier to read through. I literally just ran through these books like a madwoman. I read through the wee hours of the morning; I read on a bus with a weird individual reading over my shoulder; I read on the subway; I read waiting for the subway; I read on a bench; I read in a restaurant while doing a solo bottomless brunch which was one of the most transcendentally peaceful experiences of my life. And now I've just been reading again, and trying to convince myself not to get the audiobooks because that would be RIDICULOUS but IS IT??? IS IT THO???

The series should be read in order, imo, and the first two books are a full duet, so not standalones. What I think makes this series stand out, aside from the emotionality combined with eroticism (these are.... definitely among the very hottest books I've ever read) is the choice to focus on the mafia in Italy, versus the mafia in America, which is what a lot of mafia books do (from what I'm told). So you get like, actually Italian characters and culture, versus Eyetalian (the Americans that love chicken parm and have their own unique culture that is nonetheless *nothing* like Italy Italians, who to be fair have many different cultural nuances due to the regionality of Italy, dialectal differences, economic--). I'm not Italian, but I have lived in a couple different parts of Italy and make it a priority to travel there whenever it's possible (which isn't often because money, but if I can I do it). The dudes in these books feel like Italian men, albeit with obligatory romance novel exaggeration. In most romances, they feel Eyetalian.

Mafia Mistress and Mafia Darling are about Fausto Ravazzani and Frankie Mancini; he is a don in Siderno, her dad is a part of a Toronto branch of the organization who runs afoul of him, Frankie is basically given to Fausto's son and heir Giulio in marriage. But before Giulio and Frankie can marry (she is not happy about this arranged marriage thing, and tbh neither is Giulio) Fausto decides "fuck it, she and I are vibing, she's not a virgin anyway, she's gonna be my new mistress" because Fausto is That Guy. It is age gap, it is very daddy, it has a heroine who's like defiant but is she really? Because she really does love the daddy thing. There is spanking and some light degradation and rough sex and a loooot of spoiling. And also DRAMA. If you have ever wanted to try an age gap romance.... this shit nails everything I personally love about it. Fausto is classy and old school and will also cut a man up into a million pieces and feed him to dogs, probably.

Mafia Madman, my favorite in the series, comes next, and it is a VILLAIN ROMANCE. The villain of the previous duet, Enzo D'Agostino, kidnaps Frankie's sister Gia as a part of a REVENGE PLOT, because he is both very smart and incredibly cracked. Like, my dude is living on a VILLAINOUS YACHT. His plan is to keep Gia in a cage and break her will and then dot dot dot, he hasn't thought it COMPLETELY THROUGH, but then! Gia turns out to be the greatest weakness for a man such as he: a FUCKIN' BRAT. This bitch is doing naked yoga in her cage, she's telling him all the filthy things she'll do to him (not that she waaaants to ohhh nooooooo, she haaaates him especially when he DOES STUFF to her), she's driving him out of his mind which is already very tenuous! A new classic for me, I can't stop thinking about it, and again, even better if you read the first two books first (and they're absolute bangers so you should). 15/10, would stay in the cage. Enzo and Gia are a perfect match of wills, and watching them break and fall in love is gorgeous. A top tier grovel, too, if you see

Mafia Target, the most recent release, also incredible. This one follows Giulio, Fausto's oldest son, who's hot as fuck, and naturally a MAFIA TARGET. Someone, someone whose name perhaps rhymes with Schmenzo, has in fact taken out a hit on Giulio (and semi forgotten about it? Because Gia's pussy is God? Gia fucked that man so good he deadass forgot about a really important mafia hit he put out? I love them) and has hired the best assassin in the game, Alessio Ricci. Anyway, Giulio sees a guy in the club, he gets head from him, as he does, and then he's advised that Alessio Ricci is trying to kill him and realizes THE GUY IN THE CLUB WHO SUCKED HIM OFF WAS ALESSIO RICCI LMAO. Anyway, this one is a extremely hot, extremely emotional, and probably the most straightforwardly romantic book in the series? Because Giulio and Alessio are better at Feelings than Fausto and Enzo, if still very Bad At Feelings. Another top fuckin' tier grovel. (For the record, Fausto does a good grovel in his duet, but imo the subsequent books have better grovels.)

These books are pEAK. And if you're interested in an historical series by the same author with a different name to break you out of your slump--Mila Finelli is Joanna Shupe, and I'd recommend reading her Uptown Girls trilogy for slump breakage. I also love love LOVE her Fifth Avenue Rebels series, but Uptown Girls might be a bit more... compulsively readable? The similarities and differences between her historicals and her mafia books are fascinating (Clay Madden -> Enzo D'Agostino... there is a pipeline).

The other series (and I do feel like a good series is a great slump breaking tactic, because if the series is good you domino them) I find incredibly readable is, of course, Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark. There are like, 19 books in this series, I enjoyed all of them though some are stronger than others. They are probably best read in order. I just blazed through them, but you could always read a few, break, read a few, break.

Of course, Lisa Kleypas's Wallflowers is a great historical series. I also find her Gamblers of Craven's duology so so good from a duology POV, and I say this as someone who read Dreaming of You by itself and read Then Came You years later.

Lorraine Heath is obviously incredible. I'd read her Once Upon a Dukedom series for slump breakage; I adore the first book as one of my favorites of hers, and the second is a general fan favorite.

Tracey Livesay has an amazing contemporary called American Royalty, which is about a British prince falling in love with an American rapper. It's very "Harry and Meghan if Meghan was MEGAN (Thee Stallion)" and it's super hot and lovely. The sequel is out this summer, so you might wanna get a head start!

Heated Rivalry and The Long Game by Rachel Reid are two of my favorite contemporaries ever--and it's a duet! Focuses on Ilya Rozanov (cocky, charming, self-assured) and Shane Hollander (golden boy, uptight, anxious), hockey arch rivals who have been hooking up on the DL since their rookie season. Very much a FEEEEELINGS duet, but also very, very hot. I've read both a billion times.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb and The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes (in that order) by Cat Sebastian is a pair of queer historicals that can be read as standalones but read better together and in order. Kit is a retired highwayman who's approached by Percy, a nobleman. Percy and his stepmother, Marian, need Kit's help to rob Percy's father; in the process of training Percy to do it, Kit, of course, falls in love with him. Percy is one of the more relatable characters ever, he is a BITCH AND A HALF LOL.

Something Fabulous and Something Spectacular (out today!) are a pair of hilarious queer historical romcoms by Alexis Hall. Begins with Something Fabulous, which is about Valentine (a duke!) proposing horrifically to a woman he's been pledged to since childhood. She responds by running away, and Valentine goes on a cross country adventure to catch her, alongside her twin brother, Bonny--who he begins falling for.

Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez. Self-made lady billionaire wants a baby, and convinces a prince of an impoverished nation to marry and impregnate her in exchange for a financial bailout. HOT. ENEMIES TO LOVERS. INSANE.

Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, for an older contemporary. A fucking insane book wherein a genius scientist tricks an aging NFL star into knocking her up so that she can have a baby of middling intelligence, who's "normal". Her thought process is that she's super smart and he's super dumb, so they'll make an a average kid. Except oops, this motherfucker is actually QUITE smart, and when he figures out her deal he's like "nO KID OF MINE WILL BE A BASTARD" and forces her to marry him. Has a scene where he shows up at the class she's teaching, leans against the doorway, and menacingly goes "CLASS IS OVER" and honestly? It worked real hard.

Priest by Sierra Simone. Erotic romance about a Catholic priest who starts getting worked up by the woman telling him all this dirty shit during confessional, except they actually fall legit in love and there's some really gorgeous religious pondering throughout.

Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan. Childhood friends torn apart by circumstance meet again later and feel sparks, but she's a hardcore political fixer and he has a id and a baby's mother. Angsty drama and reconnection, I fuckin love it.

Ruby Dixon's Aspects and Anchors series, which is a cross-universe fantasy romance series in which the heroines get thrown through portals into this high fantasy world. They basically have to serve these gods as their tethers to the mortal realms, and obviously... the gods fall for them. Can be read a standalones but I'd read them in order. Hot, romantic, and fun in a way Ruby Dixon excels at.

Preferential Treatment by Heather Guerre is a romance about a woman who becomes her CEO billionaire boss's dom. It's hot, it debates whether or not a billionaire can be ethical, and he gets. on. his. kneeees.

[stuckinotherplaces]

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

Genre: Thriller/slasher/horror/satire

Pages: 399

Publication date: 1991

3/5 stars, (it was okay)

American Psycho is a first person satirical book following a rich wallstreet guy through his day to day life, from his boring monotonous meetings and dinners and reservations to his uncontrolled murderous rage and bloodlust. The book follows his mental deterioration and internal confusion as his murders get more and more frequent and gruesome while his everyday life gets more and more boring.

American Psycho is a gorey but kind of boring book. It starts slow and reading the beginning felt a little bit unbearable. There were times before things really started that I thought about adding to my DNF list, but I'm really glad that I stuck with it. The first few chapters are just boring. Nothing happens. Bateman goes to lunch and makes dinner reservations and has sex with different women and describes in painstaking detail all the different luxury clothing brands that everyone is wearing. All I could think was "does anyone actually care about any of this?".

The murders start to pick up in the first quarter or half of the book, but they're kind of boring in the beginning too. Stabs somebody, slits somebodies throat. Whatever.

Towards the later half of the book, the murders start getting more and more frequent and elaborate. There's a scene where he decapitates a woman and then fucks the decapitated head, written in detail. Which is one thing this book never lacks, is detail, usually mindnumbing monotonous details about what people are wearing or eating or random chapters about musicians that don't really feel like they belong in the same book. But the murders, gore and guts and all, are written with exactly the same amount of detail as all the boring stuff, and, the murders at least, are well written and interesting.

As the book progresses, and Bateman's drug use gets worse, you can really see his deterioration. Things that he was worried about in the beginning, things like getting caught or trying not to kill people that were close to him, start to not matter anymore. He shoots someone in broad daylight in front of a cop. He mixes up the names of the restaurant that he's currently in. His anxiety spirals. It's hard to tell what's real and what's only real to him. It's written surprisingly well and really reflects the way that it feels to spiral into a psychotic episode, to lose touch with reality.

The multi-way phone conversation chapter where they do nothing but talk about dinner reservations for what feels like years sucked. Probably my least favorite chapter in the entire book. It was un-fucking-bearable. But even that chapter, though meant to be confusing, shows exactly where his mind is at and how out of touch he is.

Most of the book was just boring. Nothing. Filler. Dinner reservations and conversations about how to style clothes and sex with women he doesn't care about and business meetings and renting and returning vhs tapes and weird tangents that seem both out of character and like they should be in a different book and the longest run-on sentences ever written. But it was okay, and worth it to get to the murders and panic attacks.

Not sure why he was obsessed with Trump, seems like a guy like that would think that he was stupid and ugly. Even if it was written before Trump was (openly at least) the raging bigoted cunt that he is today with an orange spray tan.

It ends completely unceremoniously with nothing happening. The guy doesn't die or get arrested or kill himself, he doesn't change. It just ends. I know that the point, I understand the deep themes and satire. I know why it was written the way that it was. I just think that maybe I didn't need 400 pages of nothing to tell me that rich people are bad. Has the vibes of like white men that do acid once and then learn that empathy is good.

I probably won't ever read it again, but I am glad I finished it.

3/5 stars

read from October 28 - November 26 2023

[zot3-flopped]

Sea is more and more delusional every day. Of course she's ignoring Louis' thoughts on one of the most known japanese dishes:

"I don't like posh restaurants so we're not going to a posh restaurant. If you're into your sushi, I'm sorry, we're not going for sushi. We're probably gonna go to a nice little burger place, somewhere that does burger, chips, beer, happy day."

He'll love japanese culture and cuisines? HA! He'll most likely JUDGE anyone in his crew who does.

She also said she's worried he won't have time to explore and enjoy local sceneries due to the tight itinerary. Even if he could stay a week in each city he wouldn't explore further than a couple clubs, please.

She wants him to be like Harry, who always makes the effort to learn and embrace each country's culture by practicing the language and local expressions; adding famous latin american songs to his pre-show playlists; preparing beautiful transitions to LNT that included cumbia, salsa, argentine rock, tango, favela funk and more; complimenting traditional dishes and drinks; visiting museums and happily taking recommendations from local fans.

“I went to Casa Luis Barragán, it was perfect. Thank you very much.” 💖

He even was aware of south american fans' unmatched passion for football and made sure we wouldn't miss a game! We all were very thankful for it.

100%. Louis spent two weeks in Cabo and didn't venture further than the tourist bars. He's incredibly limited and narrow minded.