#if i went over my self imposed sentence limit in any of these... oh well lol

[wickymicky]

my top 10 favorite kpop singles of the first half of 2021

i did one of these at the end of march, for the first quarter of the year, and this is my update for the second quarter, which obviously is also the first half of the year lol. so like, that’s kind of a big deal, we already know half of all the kpop that will be released this year, and im starting to have strong favorites that all the stuff from the second half of the year will have to struggle to beat, haha. 

rather than do a big thing like my year-end list that i did at the end of 2020, i’m gonna limit myself to just three sentences per song for songs 10-6, and five sentences for the top 5 songs haha. if these songs are good enough, and they stay high on my list all the way through to the end of the year, then i’ll post big full-size reviews of them then, i guess. or if you want to know more of what i think about something, or why i put something where i did, feel free to ask me about it lol, i love having discussions about this kind of stuff

anyway here’s the list

10: Lunarsolar - DADADA This is kind of a surprise pick for me lol, and I’d be lying if I said that at least half of the reason I wanted to include it here wasn’t just because I want more people to know about this song, and also to surprise people with an interesting pick haha. But genuinely, I think this song is really solid, there aren’t many flaws with it that I can even think of, and I’ve listened to it a ton since it came out. It’s such a fun song, and if you like girl groups and you don’t know this song, then I highly recommend it haha

9: Rocket Punch - Ring Ring When I saw the teaser images, I thought this would be a disco concept, and like it kind of is... but only in the visuals lmao, the song seems pure 80s synthwavey stuff, more like Everglow La Di Da than GFriend Mago (and I’m into that, personally haha). This was a really cool comeback for this group, and I’m continuing to get more and more into them with each new thing they do! I don’t really have a lot to say about it, but it’s just fun and catchy and bright and loud and good, and yeah, it’s a song I’ve really enjoyed listening to a lot, which is really all that you need in order to make it on this list, you know?

8: Cherry Bullet - Love So Sweet This song feels really simple to me, but in a good way! It really feels like the songwriter(s) had a really good idea one day, and wrote a song for it immediately, rather than trying to start a song and come up with ideas as they went haha. It feels like everything in the song is in service to that underlying idea, and everything helps bring it to life more

7: Itzy - In the Morning (or Mafia in the Morning, whichever you prefer. I just tend to call it “Mafia” and nothing else, lol) Okay this one might be kind of a hot take, cause I’ve seen people be prettttty divided on this song, but I personally love it haha. Sure, the lyrics are corny as hell, but that’s nothing new for kpop, and I do think the use of the mafia game as a song motif is kind of interesting, I suppose. But honestly the biggest reason why I love it is the production haha, cause damn this song hits hard and the instrumental just sounds so cool (as do the bsides! their Guess Who mini album is my album of the year so far for sure, no question)

6: Fromis 9 - We Go I’m so glad Fromis came back with this song, and I feel like it’ll be a really meaningful song for me in time. This period of time right now, when we’re starting to feel like progress is being made in the fight against this virus that’s been dominating our lives for a year and a half... I think this song captures that feeling perfectly, possibly without even necessarily trying to. It sounds like a sigh of relief, meeting friends who you haven’t seen in a long time, or just the reassurance that even though many people are still very much in quarantine and taking things very seriously, this won’t be forever and there is still good in the world... that’s what it sounds like to me 

5: TRI.BE - Rub-a-Dum This one was kind of a surprise for me lol, cause I wasn’t expecting to like a song with this title this much. I like Doom Doom Ta, and I would have put it relatively high on this list if Rub-a-Dum hadn’t come out afterwards, but I feel like this song does everything that Doom Doom Ta did but better, and in a bit more of an interesting way. It was written by Shinsadong Tiger and LE from EXID (just as Doom Doom Ta was) and I think this song has LE’s touch all over it, in the best way. I love that this song is kind of experimental, cause like it only has one verse... it goes Intro > Verse > Prechorus > Chorus > Bridge > Final Chorus haha, and i think that’s mostly so that you can luxuriate in that chorus drop as much as possible. The song just really works for me overall, it’s super solid and I just couldn’t deny that it’s in my top 5 favorite songs of the year so far. 

4: Dreamcatcher - Odd Eye As soon as this song came out, it was another moment of “Wow, Dreamcatcher just put out the song of the year right at the beginning”, just like they did in 2020 lol. But as the year has gone on, I think I’m not as into this song as I was into Scream and Boca (the other two from Dreamcatcher’s Dystopia trilogy, with Scream being my SOTY last year). But like... a Dreamcatcher comeback that I feel is just fairly decent and not one of my most favorites... still gets it to 4th place overall haha. That’s just Dreamcatcher’s power, even the songs I’m not as obsessed with are ones that I still get pretty obsessed with. I love this vibe, it’s a really different take on a cyberpunk-y genre from other kpop songs that have dabbled in it, and overall I think every member slayed this (especially Handong who made her triumphant return this comeback!)

3: Weeekly - After School Okay, I’ve been pretty conflicted on this song, because even though initially I wasn’t sure how much I would get into it, it nevertheless is my single most-listened-to song of 2021 so far. Part of that is how much I love Weeekly, part of that is how fun the performances were to watch (and I’m counting watching those as listens to the song lol), but also I think it really did grow on me quite a bit, and I was even considering it to be my favorite of the year for a while. It’s a lot of fun, it’s really catchy, and it’ll probably go down as one of their most iconic and fan-favorite comebacks. It’s the kind of song that’ll get stuck in your head for weeks. It’s just very very very very... Weeekly, haha. 

2: Everglow - First This song is a fucking whirlwind, and it really beat the shit out of me just like the members do to the camera in the music video lmao. It’s pretty different from La Di Da, which has become one of my favorite kpop songs ever, but I really really like it too. I feel like First is what Everglow were going for with Adios and Dun Dun, but fully realized, in a more complete form. I love how high their budget seems to be now, and I love how they seem to be really coming into their own as a group, I feel like this is the Everglow they were always meant to be. Honestly, I could see this maybe becoming my SOTY by the end of the year, and it’s very close (within 10 or so) to being my most-listened song of the year, but I do still think it’s too soon to say for sure haha

1: STAYC - ASAP This was such a hard decision to make, because honestly the top 4 on this list were all really strong contenders for first place, but after a lot of thought, I’ve decided that ASAP is the one I feel like I’m the least likely to change my mind on. I’ve listened to this song every single day since it came out, except for like 4 or so, which means that even though I’ve listened to it less than the three songs below it on this list, I’ve listened to it more consistently than any of them... I just have not gotten tired of it. It’s such a breath of fresh air for kpop. It’s kind of minimalist because it really doesn’t have any extra stuff, it’s very streamlined and it knows exactly what it is and that’s all it needs to be, and that makes for a very satisfying listen, in my opinion. This song sounds like what heart-shaped things look like. ASAP ❤︎

[sohmariku]

JAPAN EXPO - MUSICAL TOUKEN RANBU

As I’m writing this, I’m still on the train, somewhere near the border of Belgium and the Netherlands. Since I don’t have much to do, or much I can do, I decided to use the last bit of my laptop battery too just write down some more of my impression of the last two days, specifically the Toumyu performances.

Obviously, I’m home right now (despite what some mid-report sentences will suggest) and I did some editing to the original text I wrote on the train. The second half of the report was completely written after I came home... btw. excuse me for the possible but-load of spelling mistakes. (or even any memory mistakes) It’s midnight, and I just want to sleep by now!

FRIDAY

While the show only started at 17:00, I think we entered the hall somewhere around 15:30 with a whole group of fans. Searching for nice places to sit, we realized the whole front section of the room was still crowded with people. So, we just stood around, wondering what to do. Until someone (I don’t know who anymore) realized we were completely blocking the view of the people watching the fashion show that was on stage at that time. Oops! We quickly scurried away! While some people tried for some good spots right away after that, a lot of just sat down somewhere and relocated after the fashion show ended and a lot of people left.

I ended up on the right side of the stage, just in front of the main stage. Which meant I had a great view of everything going on there. As soon as they headed up on the runway and substage though, it was mostly their backs and butts I got to look at. xD Thankfully a lot of the show happened on the main stage, so I had nothing to complain about.

The show started with the announcement that taking video and photos wasn’t allowed… Although this was only stated in French and if not for my friend, who knows French, I wouldn’t have known. (I could’ve guessed it though.) But seriously, who even planned to record the show. No one, right!? That was a huge disappointment. The good girl I am, I obviously obeyed that rule I couldn’t understand, and didn’t record anything? I mean, WHO WOULD EVEN CONSIDER GOING AGAINST THE RULES!? ^^;;

The show started with a little video introducing the game and the musical (all in French), and after about 6 minutes of video footage the guys actually entered the stage. Let’s say, they got a lot of cheers. Really, there were so much more fans in the room than I had thought. The funny thing though, people from all over Europe had gathered, but none of them seemed to be from France. (Excuse me if I’m wrong. It really just seemed that way. Anyway, it was really lovely to meet all these wonderful fans!)

The boys launched themselves straight into the first song: “Touken Ranbu”. Which made it immediately clear that Ryo’s mic was faulty. (Poor him.) And Daichi had some trouble to follow up with his line because of that, but he recovered really fast. The fact that Mikazuki was missing was solved by having Ryuji take over Mario’s first solo line. While the second solo line was taken by Tsubasa. Although instead of singing the Atsukashiyama Ibun line, he actually sang his own Mihotose no Komori-uta line. Then Ryuji just continued with his from Atsukashiyama Ibun.

For their introductions, to me it felt like they completely forget the interpreter was there. So, they just wanted to blabber on. It took them a moment to adjust to the fact everything needed to be translated. Not that it meant anything to the existing pool of fans in the audience. We answered/cheered straight through the translation. (My honest apologies to anyone who wanted to hear that interpretation and couldn’t because of us.) But I think it was really nice for the boys to get instant replies, instead of delayed replies.  

(Oh yay, I’m actually back in the Netherlands now, crossed the border. Only 2 hours to go until I’m home…)  

After that came a talk segment, where they answered some self-imposed questions.  

What place in Paris would you like to visit? 

What places should you visit in Japan? 

What’s your character’s “focus point”? 

I’m not going to go into all the answers for now. (I’ll get to that some other day.) I’m just going to mention a couple highlights. Like Imanotsurugi doing an adorable impression of the Eiffel Tower by raising his arms above his head and making a triangle. (his answer to the first question) And Iwatoshi coming back on that later in his answer to question two, when mentioned he’d recommend the Tokyo Sky Tree, which was so “beautifully envisioned by Imanotsurugi earlier”. Kashu recommended Kyoto, because yeah, Shinsengumi. For the question three answers the highlight probably goes to Kogitsunemaru, for commenting how the off-the-shoulder look of his (yellow) 'kimono' is sexy. And Iwatoshi “focus point” being his too-long naginata, and… his cute hood. ^^;;

Along the talk segment, we got more proof Ryo’s mic wasn’t behaving properly. As he tried to answer the second question screechy sounds were sent thought the hall. He waved it away like he was bothered by a buzzing fly and tried to move on. And then it happened again, but a lot worse! I think Daichi was the only one keeping some sort of straight face. Tsubasa gave a mild reaction. Ryuji showed obvious discomfort getting a screechy beep sent straight into his ears and Shunya just pretended to fall backward. And Ryo, he just smiled, silently apologized to the guys and tried to make the best of it.  

With all questions answered the boys were cut off in their talk by a horn announcing it was time to move out into the field (unfortunately, no actually enemies appeared. For a moment I thought they would) and we launched into the next song: “Shouri no Hata”. Holy shit, this song had some beautiful fighting choreography, which was unfortunately for me mostly performed on the runway and substage, so  while I could see it, I couldn’t really see it. Yes, yes, this was the moment I realized I should relocate to a seat further back (in a different block) the next day. Aside from the fighting we got an adorable dance of Imanotsurugi and Kashu.  

Straight after, we moved on to “Kimi no Uta”, where Ryo’s mic finally gave out. You could clearly hear his microphone wasn’t responding well as the song progressed. It was like all guys were singing at volume level 10, and his was at volume level 2 at some point. Just before his last solo line the mic gave out completely. You could see him desperately trying to make himself heard, but we were like deaf people doing lipreading. Despite all his efforts, he wasn’t a match against the loud music. Because he was standing quite close to the place I was sitting, I do think I heard him, very faintly, but I’m sure most of the people couldn’t. Props to him thought for trying and keeping up the show!

After that the show ended, the guys said their thanks. (Ryo’s was a silent one. Although he did speak, you still couldn’t hear him.) Then they left the stage and that was it. Since I’d been up since pretty early in the morning, I just went straight back to my hotel after that… Unfortunately the station was so damn crowded, I think it took us at least 30 minutes to actually get on the platform, because they only allowed a limited amount of new people in, after a train had left. Meanwhile, we were all melting in the station and being a perfect target for a terrorist attack.  

SATURDAY

Holy shit, Saturday was crazy! I wrote a bit about it already, but let’s go over it again. Pretty much immediately after entering Japan Expo, people started gathering near the entrance of the Ichigo stage. This was at 8:30, while the performance wasn’t to start until 12:45! With nothing better to do, me and my friend joined the little group of fans we met the other day. (Sorry, I have no clue who exactly all of you are. I just know a lot of you are precious followers of mine!) Slowly more people started lining up, and it was quite peaceful. It stayed that way until it was time the doors would open and we stood up, getting ready to enter. (way too early) It suddenly felt like a war had started between the “foreign” fans and the “Japanese” fans. Holy shit, those girls behind us where trying to push themselves past us! Don’t do that! It’s only on hindsight I think that maybe we started the war. After all, we were sitting at the front of the line with maybe 8 people at the start, but more and more foreign people just started “skipping” the line to join our little gathering. Maybe, just maybe, we pissed off the Japanese fans doing that. And the result... 

As soon as the door opened it became a full out war! People were running, very, very fast! Inside the building the war was temporarily put on hold, because we were stuck behind another fence, but once they opened that one… The staff tried really hard, by yelling, to make people stop running, but it was all in vain. I heard various Japanese girls actually tripped over their own feet and skirts. Although I didn't notice that happening myself.

I personally didn’t run much at first, but eventually it looked like all goods seats were going to disappear, so I decided to jog after everyone after all. Until the moment I noticed everyone was going for the middle block, right in front of the sub stage, while I wanted to sit on the side block, which was fortunately still nearly completely free.  

Good, with all of that done, we first had to sit through a Sailor Moon cosplay skit (of about 15 minutes)  before the actual show started. I also think they had to tell a lot of people they weren’t allowed to shoot videos and take videos the previous day, because suddenly we had staff walking around with English signs saying it wasn’t allowed to take videos or photos. So obviously, I obeyed again. ^^;;

Like yesterday the show started with the 6 minute introduction video. The guys came on stage and launched into “Touken Ranbu”. First thing I noticed, they fixed Ryo’s mic! No screechy noised, just pure amazing vocals!

(and this is where my laptop died on the train as I was typing)

Something else that took my attention was the background video they used. I couldn't remember it being so flashy the day before. No, it wasn't just me. They actually changed it! (I like this one better.)

After the song went on to the introductions and talk segment. And they did the best they could do! Whereas Friday they stayed on main stage for the duration of the talk segment, they actually ran up to the sub stage this time. Which meant that even though I moved further back into the hall, they were actually closer than they’d been the day before! Lucky! Not so lucky for the people in the front section, because they couldn’t see any of it anymore.

So, introductions were the same, let's move on to the talk segment. Fortunately they changed their questions, so today we had:

1) When you think of France you think of...? 2) What Japanese dish would you recommend everyone tries?

Highlight for the first question: Ryuij (or rather, Kashu) telling how the boys and girls in France are really beautiful. Then after the interpreter is done: "But not as beautiful as I am." xD Guess I can't disagree with that.

Second question I probably liked Shunya's best, who seemed really intent on poisoning us foreigners by recommending Natto and Umeboshi (fermented soy beans & pickled, sour plums) to try as breakfast. Although I suppose Ryuji's answer was pretty cute too. Telling how all Touken Danshi love Dango, and thus recommending we all try them.  

And that was the end for this talk section. So, we moved on to "Shouri no Hata" and "Kimi no Uta." Still loved the choreography! They danced well, sang well, it was just perfectness ^^ I don't think I have much more to say about it. There are no words to describe it!

With the song over, they thanked the audience and said goodbye. And that was the end of one of the most amazing experiences I've had in my life.

AFTERTHOUGHTS

If you’d ask me what I enjoyed more, watching a full musical in Japan or these two concerts. Honestly, I couldn't give you an answer, because I don't think it something I can compare. Both were an absolutely amazing experience! I have absolutely no regrets I went to Paris. They were absolutely awesome in anything they did! They were adorable! (And in truth, in the end I think Ryo's failing mic incident on the first day was pretty funny. He probably doesn't agree with me though.) I could keep going on forever like this, but I guess I'd better shut up by now. I can only hope the boys enjoyed doing these performances in France as much as we enjoyed watching them. Because we did! And the shows were way too short!

IMPORTANT!! PLEASE READ!!

At the very end of this very long talk, there is one more thing I need to say. I would like to implore everyone who did record the show (or parts of it) to NOT upload any of the material to any kind of streaming service, or make any download links publicly available. Also, please don't share any photos you took yourself publicly or scream around you have those recordings. If those videos you shot (or the existence of them) are going to leak onto the net, chances are the boys will never come to Europe again! Actually, chances are they'll never perform on a stage outside Japan again in a non-musical setting! Not because they don't want to, but because of the management. If you were there, I'm sure you could tell that Japan Expo had had to step up their game on the second day, because the first day they found too many people recording the show. (Possibly because they only announced in French that it wasn't allowed.) If the videos leak on the net, Japan Expo's management will receive a bad reputation and it's unlike these boys (or any other 2.5D groups) ever come again! Please remember that when you share your recordings around! Please be discrete about it! (And if you already uploaded them onto a streaming services, please take them down as soon as possible!) Thank you. ^o^//

[thewomenofthedas]

When Fantasy Becomes Reality

Chapter 7: The War Room

This story is chock full of canon divergence.. just so everyone knows. 

Both girls decided that it was a good idea to have dinner and then retire early for the evening; they had both had far too much excitement for today.

Cassandra had come to see them both and requested their presence in the War Room early the next day. Apparently there was much to discuss.

Blaire was already up when Aurora woke, she rubbed her eyes. “B, what time is it? Is the sun up?” she asked sleepily.

“Barely, you should get dressed though, they’ve already brought our breakfast” she responded, she looked out the window, clearly lost in thought.

“Are you thinking about that egg head elf?” Aurora asked, while getting dressed.

“Huh? What was that?” Blaire finally turned around.

Aurora chuckled to herself as she bent down to wash her face, there was only a small mirror but she could see that she had a facial tattoo under her right eye, it was kind of in the shape of half a sun and a small Celtic design over the first part of her left eyebrow. Her eyes were now a brighter blue than in real life with a slightly purple centre. That was about it for the changes apart from her nose being straighter and her chin being thinner.

She stopped staring at herself and looked for the breakfast, she was starving.

“Do you know anything about this war room then?” She asked Blaire, “What are we going to discuss? Who will be there?”

Blaire looked at her sister, “Well I don’t know much but I’m guessing that we need to discuss the future of the Inquisition, our roles and I guess our next move. Cassandra said she would be there, I’ll guess Cullen too but anyone else, I’m not sure”

Aurora’s heart pounded at the sound of Cullen’s name, “So… err… you think he’ll be there”

Blaire rolled her eyes, “You’re like a love struck puppy, of course he will be there, he’s in charge of the Inquisitions forces and organises their movements and he has to be involved in strategic planning”

A smile spread across Auroras face. Just the thought of seeing him again, that scar, that smirk the way he filled his armour.

Blaire clicked her fingers in front of Auroras face, “C’mon space cadet we gotta go see lover boy…” sarcasm dripped from her voice.

The sisters made their way through the small village to the chantry at the top, it wasn’t a building that you could miss.

Cassandra met them at the door. She nodded at them both and walked in the middle of the two sisters. As they walked down the imposing corridor Blaire glanced at her hand, the green glow was still there.

“Does it trouble you” asked Cassandra, referring to the Anchor.

“It didn’t close the breach” replied Blaire sadly; all she could really think about was how many more people would die because of this thing, this rip, this breach.

“You both did everything we asked of you” Cassandra stated.

“And it still didn’t work” replied Aurora, she was angry that it hadn’t worked, she, like Blaire, didn’t want any more deaths to be on their conscience.

“What’s important is that your mark is now stable, as is the Breach. You’ve given us time; Solas believes that a second attempt might succeed – provided the mark has more power. The same level of power used to open the Breach in the first place. That is not easy to come by” Cassandra mused.

“Clearly you have something in mind” Aurora said raising an eyebrow at the seeker.

“We do” Cassandra replied while opening the heavy war room doors.

There stood Cullen, Leliana and another lady that they had let to be introduced to. She was dressed in finery, had a clipboard, which somehow had a candle and ink well balanced on it.

Cassandra stated to introduce the advisors, “You’ve both met Commander Cullen, leader of the Inquisition’s forces, I believe that one of you knows him better than the other” she quipped at the end of her statement.

Aurora blushed; Cullen coughed and ignored that last comment by Cassandra, “It was only for a moment on the field. I’m pleased you” his eyes went to Aurora, “I… I mean both of you survived”

“This is Lady Josephine Montilyet, out ambassador and chief diplomat” Cassandra introduced the stranger in the room.

“I’ve heard much about you both. A pleasure to meet you at last” the Heralds smiled at the ambassador.

“And of course you know Sister Leliana” Cassandra gestured to the red head who ever seemed to take her hood down.

Leliana started to describe her role, “my position here involves a degree of…”

“She is our spymaster” interrupted Cassandra.

“Hmmm yes, tactfully put Cassandra” Leliana made a disapproving face.

Blaire started talking first “well we’re pleased to meet you all”

“I mentioned to the Heralds that the make needs more power to close the Breach for good” Cassandra said.

Before the girls had chance to answer Leliana responded “Which mean we must approach the rebel mages for help”

“And I still disagree. The Tempars could serve just as well” Cullen fired back, he had a sneer on his face like mage was a dirty word, Aurora didn’t like that. Why would he be against once race in particular?

“We need power, Commander. Enough magic poured into that mark…” Cassandra didn’t get chance to finish her sentence.

“Might destroy is all. Templars could suppress the breach, weaken it so…” Cullen spat back until he was interrupted also.

“Pure speculation” stated Leliana flatly.

“I was a Templar. I know what they’re capable of” argued Cullen.

Josephine stepped in to calm the argument “Unfortunately, neither group will even speak to us yet. The Chantry as denounced the Inquisition and you two specifically”

“Well that didn’t take long” said Aurora sadly.

“Shouldn’t they be busy arguing over who’s going to become Devine?” Cullen asked. He didn’t like seeing Aurora upset. Maker’s breath, she was getting under his skin.

“Some people are calling you the ‘Heralds of Andraste” and that frightens the Chantry” Josephine said.

“So that explains why you keep calling us the ‘Heralds’” Blaire stated, she did wonder where that term had come from.

“The remaining Clerics have declared it blasphemy and we heretics for harbouring you” Josephine explained further.

“That’ll be Chancellor Roderick’s doing no doubt” Cassandra stated the obvious.

Josephine raised an eyebrow, “it limits our options. Approaching the Mages or Templars for help is currently out of the question”

“So if we weren’t with the Inquisition…” started Blaire, she was interrupted by Cullen.

“Let’s be honest: They would have censured us no matter what”

“And you two not being here isn’t an option” Cassandra added.

“There is something you can do,” interjected Leliana, “A Chantry Cleric by the name Mother Giselle has asked to speak to you. She is not far, and knows those involved far better than I. Her assistance could be invaluable”

“I’ll see what she has to say” stated Blaire; she was itching to get out of Haven. Although it was a cute little base, she wanted to see the rest of this world.

Leliana nodded, “You’ll find Mother Giselle tending to the wounded in the Hinterlands near Redcliffe”

Aurora looked at Blaire; there was no sense in both of them going out on the road. “I’ll stay here, make plans, train with our forces” she looked towards Blaire, “you send word if you need something and I’ll try to get it to you”

Cullen smiled to himself when he heard she was staying. He could spend more time with her, he could get to know her, he could…. “Let’s not get ahead of yourself Cullen” he self-scolded.

Blaire and Aurora nodded at each other and headed out of the war room. “Who are you taking with you” Aurora asked.

“Oh… I hadn’t given it much thought… Solas I guess, he’s a mage good at healing. Cassandra, she knows how to fight and then Varric, he might be small but he seems useful” Blaire responded.

Aurora nodded, “just stay safe, I can’t do this without you” she hugged her sister tight.

“Don’t worry sis, you won’t get rid of me that easy” Blaire tried to lighten the mood while still holding onto her sister.

The rest of the morning was spent packing Blaire off with essentials for her trip. When the time finally came Aurora couldn’t bring herself to say anything. She simply watched her sister go.

Head down, Aurora kicked a stone at her feet. She missed her already. Noticing this, Cullen put a bracing arm around her shoulder. “She will come back you know” he said in her ear.

Aurora shuddered at the contact and the sudden warm feeling of his breath on her neck. “I know” she said softly, “let’s take my mind off this, want to train?” she asked the Commander.

He smirked, “after last time though I think we should find somewhere a little more private” he watched the blush rise in Auroras cheeks, she nodded in agreement and followed the Commander to a clearing in the trees.

He handed her the same sword and shield as before, “Now that I know you’re not completely helpless I won’t hold back” stated Cullen landing the first blow. Aurora successfully blocked his sword, spun behind him and managed to act as if she were stabbing him in the side.

“You need to be warier Commander,” she cooed from behind him, “I could have easily killed you”

Cullen grabbed her wrist, twisted it behind her back and pulled her to his chest. This movement caused her to drop the sword and shield, “Yes, but now you are disarmed, you really shouldn’t let yourself get distracted” he spoke directly into her ear his lips close to her neck,  he could so easily… no… best not.

She wiggled out of his grasp. “Cullen, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he responded, “What do you need to know?”

“You seem to be… well, a little bias towards the Templars, why is that?” she questioned.

“Ah, well, as a Templar you are taught that mages are not to be trusted, and as a Templar I saw cities destroyed, families torn apart because of these beings that could control magic.” He explained.

“Circles were formed to keep mages safe from possession. It’s best that they are kept from the general population! Templar tracking wasn’t good enough; the chantry was attacked by an apostate in Kirkwall that sparked this entire rebellion.” He explained further, not even looking at Aurora.

Auroras blood boiled, “so because a few bad ones went rogue you decided to hate the entire race?!” while he was talking she had re-armed herself with the sword, she was so angry that she took a swing at him.

Cullen dodged the swing, “it wasn’t like that, I didn’t do it myself I was following orders!”

“Oh… I was following orders, did you not think that this was at all wrong at any point. Innocent people locked away and treated like criminals when they haven’t set a foot wrong?” she swung at him again, tears clouding her vision, not that she was sad just so angry she couldn’t hold them back.

The swing, of course, completely missed him, he took her by the shoulders and pushed her against the rock that was behind them, “Can’t you see?” he practically shouted at her, “I was doing my job!”

“Cullen you’re scaring me!” she retreated from him as much as possible and turned her head away.

He realised what he had done, it must be the reaction of the Lyrium, he was trying to use it less and less but this was becoming an issue. He mumbled an apology and released her from his grasp.

Aurora ran back into Haven, eyes streaming, she managed to get back to her cabin and close the door before body wracking sobs went through her.

Leliana had seen the entire thing; no-one should ever put anything past the Spy Master, especially when it comes to watching the Heralds. She knew that there was clearly something between Aurora and Cullen. She decided to discretely watch how this would unfold. She saw Cullen heading towards the cabin where Aurora was, she raced to stop him, she stood in front of him stopping him from reaching the door.

“Cullen, this is not a wise idea, take it from another woman, you need to leave her now. If you have feelings for her and care for her as I suspect you do, think of some way to say sorry” she advised the Commander.

Cullen looked at her, red tinged the edges of his eyes, he was clearly angry at himself. He nodded and walked away.

He made his way back to the troops, found a Great sword and swung it with some aggression and cleanly took the head off a training dummy.

After a few deep breaths and a few funny looks from the soldiers, Cullen suddenly had an idea, he smiled to himself. He went to the blacksmith to discuss it.

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

Shahid Kapoor's depth is mined for a horrific, harrowing ode to misogyny- Leisure Information, Firstpost

http://tinyurl.com/y5bjlkev Language: Hindi and English with (unsubtitled) Punjabi Ranking: 1 (out of 5 stars) It takes nearly 50 minutes for the heroine of Kabir Singh to utter her first sentence. “Kabir, what do you want in me?” says this fragile-looking child-woman who was a mute puppet in his palms till then. “I like the way in which you breathe,” he replies. Ooh, keh diya na dil ko contact kar jaane waali baat! Shahid Kapoor in and as Kabir Singh Okay, my apologies for the flippant tone, however please excuse it as a defence mechanism in opposition to some of the horrific, harrowing, horrendous odes to misogyny and patriarchy ever created by Indian cinema in any language – humourised and romanticised for our viewing pleasure. Kabir Singh is the Bollywood remake of the 2017 Tollywood blockbuster Arjun Reddy starring Vijay Sai Deverakonda and Shalini Pandey within the roles performed on this Hindi model by Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani. To name each problematic is an understatement. As I watched Kabir Singh, I may already hear in my head the drained clichés which might be rolled out as rebuttals to criticism of such movies and are prone to be regurgitated for this one. “C’mon ya, males like that do exist.” “Are you saying movies shouldn’t depict actuality?” “If damaging characters may affect individuals to develop into dangerous then how come optimistic characters don’t instantly reform society?” Or, as Kapoor himself pre-emptively stated earlier this week in a newspaper interview: “If we begin judging characters, we will not make motion pictures which might be actual.” Oh brother, cease. Please cease. That is exhausting, however for the zillionth time: it’s not the depiction of actuality that’s objectionable right here, it’s exactly as a result of violent, damaging misogynists do exist and girls for hundreds of years have suffered at their palms that it’s deeply troubling when a movie portrays such an individual as cool, humorous, and, as Kapoor places it, a person with “a superb coronary heart” who “loves purely” and “wears his feelings on his sleeve”. Once more brother, cease. Cease with the euphemisms, please. Name the Kabir Singhs of the world what they’re and present them up for what they’re: obnoxious, ugly sociopaths. Kapoor performs Kabir Rajdhir Singh, an ill-tempered, aggressive albeit academically sensible medical faculty scholar who sooner or later sees a fairly lady on campus and decides she is his. Her title is Preeti Sikka (Kiara Advani) however he doesn’t know that then. They’ve but to also have a dialog, however like a canine urinating to mark his territory, Kabir goes to an all-men junior class, broadcasts to the scholars that they’ll have their decide of the opposite ladies within the faculty however this one is his lady, and calls for that they unfold the phrase on his behalf. Thoughts you, all this and every thing that comes thereafter (he’s a chain-smoking alcoholic and drug taker who loses himself additional in a spiral of substance abuse and intercourse habit when he’s forcefully separated from Preeti) is depicted in a comical tone and projected as depth, ardour and profound emotion. Each one of many despicable Kabir’s actions is portrayed because the handiwork of a loveable, mad genius. In addition to, the heroine who appears initially intimidated by him quickly falls in love with him, he treats one other lady like meat and he or she too promptly tells him she loves him, his mates – female and male – adore him, he’s well-liked with the nurses in his hospital on whom he threatens to vent his horniness… I imply, c’mon ya, if that’s the case many individuals are obsessed with him he should be having “a superb coronary heart”, no? Choose for your self the guts so good that Kabir kisses Preeti for the primary time whereas she stands statue-like, having not expressed any curiosity in him until then, he bodily imposes himself on her subsequently too, he orders her round like one may a pet animal that one is keen on, after they’ve intercourse for the primary time he instructs her in a proprietorial method to cowl up in public, after she falls for him he roughs her up, treats her like shit, repeatedly hits her and tells her she was a no person in faculty whose id rested totally on her being often known as his lady, and worse. As if none of this was sufficient, a music titled Tera Ban Jaunga has lyrics that go thus: Meri raahein tere tak hain  Tujhpe hello toh mera haq hai    (Translation: my path, each path I take, results in you / I’ve a proper over simply you.) The purpose about a “proper” over a lover is re-asserted within the music ‘Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage‘, wherein the phrases go, “Tere ishq pe haan haq mera hello toh hai” (I alone have a proper over your love). Kiara Advani and Shahid Kapoor in Kabir Singh. Picture through Twitter From the 1990s, Hindi cinema steadily bade goodbye to the portrayal of violence, molestation and stalking as professional types of courtship. It by no means went away totally, however for essentially the most half, if a number one man was a stalker, he was categorically slotted because the villain of the piece as he was in Yash Chopra’s Darr. The romanticisation of stalking and the mistreatment of ladies whereas wooing them has made a giant comeback this decade, epitomised by Raanjhanaa (2013) and numerous Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar starrers. Kabir Singh is in the identical league: harmful to the core as a result of it’s such a slick manufacturing. For one, it’s well-acted, particularly by Kapoor, Advani (recognized to date for M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Lust Tales, Bharat Ane Nenu), Arjan Bajwa enjoying Kabir’s brother and Soham Majumdar within the position of the hero’s greatest buddy Shiva. Kapoor, in reality, is so good right here that it’s heart-breaking to see him use his reward thus, to see the spectacular star of Vishal Bhardwaj’s spectacular Haider (2014) descend to this cinematic abomination. The forged is one in all Kabir Singh‘s many pluses. The cinematography by Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran is plush, the modifying by Aarif Sheikh and Vanga himself is really slick, and the songs are engaging. That stated, these numbers are ruined by the way wherein they’re used within the narrative together with the overbearing, ear-splitting background rating. The songs are nice when heard individually, however they’re slammed into the movie’s soundscape like whiplashes akin to the screechy results utilized in dangerous Bollywood thrillers to startle the viewers. Most insidious is the writing of Kabir Singh, which makes use of humour to lull us into an acceptance of its horrible, terrifying hero’s obnoxiousness. As offensive as his patriarchal, misogynistic angle in direction of the heroine and different ladies is the truth that in direction of the top writer-director-editor Sandeep Vanga appears to be attempting to evoke sympathy for him by getting him to tearfully confess that he’s an alcoholic. Clearly with this objective in thoughts, just a few bars from the nursery rhyme Twinkle Twinkle Little Star are additionally woven into the background rating – in a foolish and cheesy vogue, it should be stated – when Kabir is coping with the dying of a beloved one. In direction of the top, Vanga even appears to be trying a press release concerning the limits that supposed democracy locations on us when a lawyer says of Kabir that such free-spiritedness in a democracy isn’t okay. Ah, so being a creep is “free-spiritedness”. Obtained it. That line is one in all many dialogues in Kabir Singh which might be written to sound deep and mental, however imply little to nothing particularly contemplating the context wherein they’re spoken. The naming of the hero in Vanga’s Hindi remake appears to be a bow to poet-saint Kabir, and to underline the purpose, in a voiceover within the opening scene the man’s grandmother (Kamini Kaushal) recites one in all Kabir’s dohas. I have no idea whether or not to chortle or cry at this desecration of the nice man’s writing. Kabir Singh and its Telugu forebear Arjun Reddy should rank among the many most annoying examples of the obsessive stalker hero being glamourised by Indian cinema. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function() {n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)} ; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '259288058299626'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9&appId=1117108234997285"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Source link

[jovitainvancouver-blog]

Hello, Vancouver

After almost 24 hours spent either in airports or on planes, I have finally arrived in Vancouver! No one is more thrilled to be typing that sentence than I am - 13+ hour flights and I do not go well together.

 Now that I've slept off the jet lag and have spent just over 24 hours in this beautiful, currently-super-hot city, I am finally ready to share my initial thoughts and observations. Brace yourselves: I'm feeling ramble-y.

1. Note to self: pack lightly.

 Here's a unsolicited tip for you: the day before you leave on your international adventure, go through every single item you have decided to pack. If at any point you find yourself staring at an object and going 'what is this?', that is your cue to leave the item behind. Absolutely, unequivocally, you will not need it. This is coming from a girl who's had a few 'what is this?' moments after landing with her overstuffed suitcase in a foreign land, so you're going to want to trust me on this one. (I packed a boxed set of dangly earrings that I absolutely, unequivocally do not need.)

 Aside from causing you to be faced with the aforementioned 'what is this?' moments, over-packing your bags has serious mental and physical ramifications that you in your jet-lagged, sleep-deprived state, do not want to deal with.

 First instance of regret: I arrive at the airport with my parents approximately two hours before my departure time; giant suitcases in hand (trolley), ready to go. I head to the relatively clear check in counter, expecting to breeze through with no problems. I’d already weighed my bags at home and came in a good fifteen kilos under my weight limit. As it turns out, my lack of reading comprehension skills (!) caused me to miss the fact that each suitcase I packed was allowed to be a maximum of 23kg. As it turns out, one of my suitcases was over by 8kg. So I sheepishly push my trolley on over to a clear area and begin to reshuffle.

 Friends, if for no other reason, you want to avoid over-packing so that you don't have to encounter your parents' horrified expressions when they realised they've raised a pack rat. 'How many things did you pack?' asks my mum, holding up dress #6 of 22. 'I thought you were going to re-use the clothes!' On the other side of the suitcase my dad's frown is deepening as he fishes out my giant floral mug. 'You need to take this to Vancouver?' (In my defence, that mug is one of the top 20 things ever to happen to me and the UBC packing list did say to bring your favourite mug.) Despite their obvious concern over my life choices, my parents temper their disapproval and instead focus on helping me achieve the lofty goal of reducing my suitcase weight by 8kg.

 After a few minutes, we think we've achieved our goal and take our efforts up to the check-in counter and place them onto the weighing scale, hoping we've done it. No such luck; we were only halfway there.

 The second time around calls for cuts to be made. My beloved pink blanket that I was hoping I could get away with bringing doesn't make the cut; nor do several dresses. After reaching what we think is the right weight, we weigh the bags ourselves before taking them up to the counter. This time: success.

 I gratefully hand my oversized bags to the lady at the counter, tuck my boarding pass into my passport and walk away.

 My parents, obviously still disquieted by the pack rat discovery, say nothing about this and instead choose to dwell on the fact that the flight agent didn’t explicitly disclose that each suitcase could only be 23kg, completely missing the fact that I was responsible for this reading  error.

 Bless. I love them and am going to miss them.

 Second instance of regret: I land at Vancouver airport, clear border control and customs and breeze through the doors with my luggage trolley, ready to face the city. Or, more accurately, almost ready to face the city.

 First, I have to get my backpack down to a weight that I can actually carry. I go through round one of reshuffling again, only to almost topple over backwards when placing the bag on my back. No deal - I go back for round two. After a few more minutes of revealing the contents of my luggage to the entire arrival lounge, I gingerly place my second attempt on my back and discover that this time, as long as the waist strap is secured tightly, I only have approximately a thirty percent chance of toppling over.

 Good enough, I think, and headed towards the train.

 Third (and by far the worst) instance of regret: see below.

2. You are not the weirdest sight on the street.     (Or how to deal with it if you are)

 If I thought getting on the train was hard (and it was), it was nothing compared to the ensuing trek to the hostel.

 Google maps told me that it was a fourteen minute walk to my hostel from my station. 'Piece of cake,' said New Zealand Jovita, sitting at her desk with unburdened arms and well-rested legs.

 'Oh dear,' said sleep-deprived, newly-arrived-in-Vancouver Jovita, with her heavy-laden arms, staring at the street she needs to walk on, which is on an upwards incline.

 I wasn't going to back out of it after having navigated the train system, so I braced myself and began the trek upwards, inch by painful inch.

 I wish I was exaggerating when I said this, but I literally stopped every 20 metres - sometimes less. I would stop, stretch my back, and change the arm that was hauling my behemoth of a suitcase before resuming my snail-paced climb.

 Though downtown was relatively deserted when I began the trek (I made a mental note that Vancouver-ites are not early risers), there were enough people on the street to make the city not seem like a ghost town and, unfortunately, enough people to notice my mortifying predicament.

 On a positive note, my sympathisers were many and included (but were not limited to): a curly-haired proprietress who came out of her store to ask me with a concerned smile if I was lost; a petite brunette woman in an enviably pretty dress who smiled/winced for me as I walked past her; a motherly-looking dog walker who exclaimed 'Your bag is bigger than you are!' when she first saw me and told me with an apologetic grimace that my destination was still seven blocks away. The best of Vancouver's early risers offered their commiseration over my situation.

 On a less positive note, there were many more Vancouver-ites who were not so excellent at commiserating and even worse at hiding their smirks and laughter as they passed. With every malicious grin of a neighbouring car and fast-paced stride of a fellow pedestrian, my humiliation grew.

 Just as I was on the verge of bursting into tears with physical exhaustion and the burden of my utter humiliation, a smiling woman came up to me and asked if I was going to the hostel. Having heard me say yes, she asked if she could help me with my bag.

 I think we all know how this story ends, friends.

 That kind woman's name was Sharon and I may or may not name my firstborn child after her.

 With the help of the angel that is Sharon, my painful trek up the hill came to an end. I dropped my bags at the hostel and headed into the city to pass the time until I could check in.

 I took shelter in my favourite kind of refuge (the library) for a while and eventually began to recover.

 But the humiliation of the morning's misadventures still lingered. I wondered if people could see how out of place I was in this cool city; if I had been invisibly but permanently branded as a non-Vancouver-ite.

 All of this continued to plague me until, on my way back to the hostel, I went to cross a street and caught sight of a pram out of the corner of my eye. Never one to resist a peek at a cute baby, I turned, prepared to smile at the chubby-cheeked angel I was sure was going to greet me.

Instead, I came face to face with a large black cat.

 As I crossed the street I tried to glance discreetly at the pram-pusher, who turned out to be a sixty-something year old woman who wore an expression that clearly said she didn't give a d*mn what people thought of her pushing her portly cat around. More power to her, I thought,  and felt the embarrassment of this morning fade a little.

 This little incident did wonders for my self esteem and general thinking process.

 She's pushing a cat around in a 1970s baby stroller! That's weirder than hauling two bags bigger than you are up a steep street, right? Right?!

 As I reflected on that first day I realised I had also seen my first out-in-the-open cannabis store and not one, not two, but three elderly, pot-bellied gentlemen with no shirts on.

 I realised that I was probably not the strangest sight on the street.

 But, more importantly, I realised that it was okay even if I was.

 If the worst thing that happened that day was that Vancouver-ites had a good laugh at my expense - that I provided them with a daily dose of laughter or a silly story to tell around their dinner tables - that was okay.  

 An inappropriately dressed (long-sleeved dress and fleece-lined tights in full sunshine) Indian girl sweating and struggling with her gargantuan bags up a main street is a funny sight. One I might have laughed at had I seen it myself.

 We all have to take turns at living out humiliating moments in public - here's to hoping I don't have (m)any more.

 3. Be careful what you wish for.

 As I write this, sitting on a park bench, there is a man sitting on a neighbouring park bench not five metres from mine, casually smoking weed.

 As I continue writing this, a bespectacled elderly gentlemen with central-Asian roots sits on the park bench recently vacated by the weed smoker and cheerfully strikes up a conversation. 'You're getting some work done!' he begins. I smile and say, 'Yes'. He continues to engage with me for a few minutes, asking me where I'm from and what brings me to Vancouver.

 At some point I begin to pull away from the conversation, trying to get back to my writing. He senses this and says, 'I don't want to impose, but give me two minutes and then I'll leave you alone. I promise I'm not a crackpot.'

 I take him at his word and concede to this offer - he comes over to sit next to me. 'Hold up your hands,' he says, demonstrating. I reluctantly stretch them outwards and upwards, as if I'm going to give him a double hi-five. He stares intently at my palms for a moment, briefly mumbling something about beautiful hands before straightening up and instructing me to make a fist with my hands, with my pinky finger closest to him. He peers at the closed fist for a moment before sitting up and looking back directly at me.

 'You have a lot of wisdom,' he says, 'and your wisdom and your education are going to take you  places.' The encouraging flattering, statements in a similar vein continue for about a minute before he switches track and begins talking about my life partner. 'You need to find someone who's as interested in making people as happy as you are. Your qualities will help you to choose the right person.'

 I thank him for his words, telling him they're lovely, and return to my writing. Before three minutes have passed, he's returned to my bench, this time with his own laptop in hand. 'Look at this', he says, having opened up a folder of PDFs all under the heading of anthropology. 'One last thing and then I'll leave you alone.'

 I think to myself that he said the same thing last time, but push the thought back and allow him to continue. He begins to read aloud his latest piece on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with reference to similar situations in the far and Middle East (I'd mentioned that I was a political science major). I listen half-heartedly, genuinely interested in what he has to say, but also worried that he's trying to steal my wallet despite his promises to the contrary. I notice a few onlookers from various parts of the park, all staring at me with a mix of amusement and concern. Careful, hon, they say with their eyes.

 I turn my focus back to his paper; it's fascinating and well-thought out; a fact I could better appreciate were he not a complete stranger invading my personal space on a park bench. Eventually, I stem the tide of his words and extricate myself as gracefully as possible. He walks away a little disappointedly, but though I feel a little bad, concern for my personal safety trumped my genuine interest in talking to him.

 He's still sitting here as I write, staring at his own computer screen while I stare at mine. The silence between us isn't uncomfortable and the sun is still shining so this little encounter, though somewhat disquieting, has not in the least spoiled my day.

 -----------

 You probably noticed that I entitled this little section of my day-two ramblings 'be careful what you wish for.' This is really true, and perhaps an even more apt title would be 'be careful what you pray for.' It turns out that God really listens.

 Before leaving, I hoped and prayed that this time here would be a time unlike anything I had encountered before. I prayed to have opportunities to love people well. I hoped that the city would really be unique and push me outside of my comfort zone.

 It's day two and all of these prayers, whether uttered out loud or not, have already been answered.

 Park-bench palm readings, 'premium' cannabis stores, more tiny dogs in one park than I have ever seen in my life; Vancouver really is a whole new world.

 'You asked for it,' I can hear God saying. I did, and I'm thankful to have gotten it. There's a lot that's happened in the last twenty-four hours; a lot to take in, a lot to learn, a lot to process.

 I know that I'll navigate some (read: many) of the coming challenges imperfectly, so much so that I may have to categorise them as failures (see aforementioned packing example), but that is okay.  

 I didn't come all the way to the other side of the world to feel perpetually comfortable.

 I suspect that there will be much mental, emotional and physical discomfort waiting for me in the coming months and though I am daunted by it, I am also thankful for it. Struggle leads to growth and I am desperate to grow in every way possible while I am here.

 I'm thankful for a God who hears and answers my prayers in unexpected ways - I can't wait to see what the next five months have in store.