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wildlyminiaturesandwich · 5 years

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The Sims 4 Moschino Stuff - Early Access Build/Buy Review

Huge thank you to the EA Game Changer Program for providing me with the opportunity to play Moschino Stuff early!

Ever since I saw the trailer for Moschino Stuff, I knew the Build/Buy content was going to be the part of this pack that I was the most excited for and interested in and for the most part I absolutely love a lot of it. But, like CAS, Build/Buy is not without it’s issues.

As always, if you have any questions about the pack, feel free to send me an ask!

See a preview of all the new Build/Buy items here

👗The Buy

I pretty much love all of the Buy Mode objects. The couches come in some very cool patterns as well as solids, the funky pop art mirror is fun, and I love that the end table is much lower than most end tables we have so it sits nice and flush at the same height as the couches and coffee table.

But my favourite things are probably, as always, the decorative stuff. More specifically the LiBEARian (the books with the bear book ends, get it!), the Simsational Style Stack (the magazine pile) and the Amp Stack (they’re all in the pics above). Even though the Amp Stack is purely decorative, it looks very cool sitting next to a guitar and adds a lot of character to any musician’s house!

I also really like the Repurposed Gear Chest (the trunk with stickers on it) that’s essentially a coffee table and looks very cool and retro, and the Tastefully Empty Bookcase which... is not empty at all? lol I do wish the bookcase came in different heights and widths as well, but at least this time it’s a short one, unlike the bookcases that came with Seasons and StrangerVille that I love but never get to use because they’re too tall for short walls.

Something that’s bothered me pretty much since base game released is that there’s no consistent colour palette for all build/buy objects. I get that each pack has specific themes and there might be colours that fit that theme better than others but I would love to see a consistent palette used throughout every pack — say like black and white obviously, 5 different wood tones, 5 solid neutrals and 5 solid “standard” colours (blue, red, yellow etc) — and have every single item that gets added to the game made in those colours, then if a new pack has specific colours for it’s theme they can be added on top of the standard palette. I like the colour palette that was chosen for the items in this pack but I found it really hard to find anything from other packs that matched it. It bothers me so much that nothing ever matches from pack to pack, half the time objects in the same pack don’t even match! And even now that the 350 new swatches were added to base game doors... they still don’t match anything else!

Sorry, I know I’m ranting and this has very little to do with Moschino Stuff but it just really bothers me that nothing ever matches because whenever I build I spend hours trying to find a floor to match the trim around the bottom of the wall I’ve chosen, then none of the doors match the floor and trim so I have to change it all, then none of the windows match the doors, floor and trim, and on and on until I’ve completely forgotten what I originally wanted the build to look like!

I really like the new frames we got for photos too, and the fact that they can now be placed on tables BUT I’ve had a couple of issues with them. First of all, it’s not possible to turn the frames placed on tables using the alt key, so you can only turn them in 45 degree increments and I hate that. I like to have all my photo frames slightly askew at different angles and it bothers me that these ones can only be places either facing straight forwards or angled by 45 degrees.

The second issue I have with the frames is actually more of a technical one but I’m not entirely sure if it’s the frames themselves, the photos, or the photography skill; I haven’t been able to work that out yet. When I have a sim take photos using the new tripod and camera everything is fine, but the second I exit out of the photography UI my FPS drops drastically.

I thought it was just my computer being stupid at first, until other Game Changers started reporting the same issue. I suspect it might be the photos and frames — specifically the new collage frame — because as soon as I remove the frames from the lot, the FPS goes back to normal. My game normally runs at a steady 60 FPS at all times but as you can see here, it drops down to 8-12 whenever there are framed photos on the lot and shoots back up when I delete them.

NOTE: This was with my game 100% CC and Mod free.

All of the new photography gear is so cool too! The fact that most of the items (like the tripod, camera, and tape markers) can be picked up in your sims inventory is so handy; your sim can just grab their equipment and head out into the world to take photos of other sims, landscapes, pets, and themselves literally anywhere they can plop the tripod down! And the backdrops have some really cool backgrounds for you to take photos in front of... or maybe... some other... uses 😈

👗The Build

I think the thing most people were looking forward to in this pack were the beautiful windows and doors; I’m definitely one of those people lol They are definitely gorgeous but as seems to happen every single time we get new windows and doors, the selection is limit in many different ways.

Every single colourway for both the windows and the doors is either white, black, red, or some combination of those colours. There are no colourways that match any of the other colours used on the furniture for the set (like blue, pink and yellow) and absolutely zero wood or neutral tones.

There are also no other heights for both the door and window other than for the shortest wall height, which absolutely baffles me because they’re clearly a set made to be used in lofts and converted warehouse type builds... builds that are generally made with either the medium or tallest wall height. They also didn’t bother to make single tile versions of any of the windows and doors, or even a closed version for the smaller window!

But what’s even more baffling (at least to me) is the way the door was made. I literally spent a full 30 minutes just sitting here in front of my computer, staring at this door, trying to figure out what could possibly have been going through the head of whoever made it when they decided that not only would it be shorter on one side, therefore also shorter than the windows, but also that it wouldn’t take up the full two tiles it was allocated and therefore wouldn’t sit flush up against the windows it was made to go with!

I saw a tweet by one of the Gurus that basically said “It’s the right height on the outside, just flip it around” but... that still leaves you with one side shorter than the windows, it’s just now on the other side, and there’s still gaps at the side! Why you would go to all the trouble to make the windows fit beautifully together like that and then not make the door exactly the same height and width! It bothers me way more than it probably should but I just don’t understand!

On the plus side, there are some base game doors that fit in with the windows (kind of) that I will probably use instead of the Moschino door... at least until someone makes a build add-on for them anyway lol

👗The Verdict

Overall, while I have issues with some of the build/buy stuff, this is where this pack makes up for the lack of CAS stuff in my opinion and what would make me want to fork over the $10 for the pack. To be completely honest, I’d pay $10 just for the LiBEARian though 🤣

All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. I am not paid by EA to “hype” their games; I am given the opportunity to review their games early in exchange for an honest review.

Click here for my Create-A-Sim Review

Gameplay Review coming soon

#The Sims 4 #Sims 4 #TS4 #EAGameChangers #TS4MoschinoStuff

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quell-tea-salon · 7 years

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Yumeiro Cast Dream Show 2017 event report!

In my short time in Japan I’ve attended quite a few concerts and seiyuu events, and this concert is honestly one of the best that I’ve experienced. I know this blog is mostly for QUELL, but I don’t have anywhere else to share this from... Feel free to scroll past if this isn’t for you.

I’ll also be rambling a lot about Hatanaka Tasuku and Hayashi Yuu ;w;

I recall regretting applying for tickets at some point, because having to travel from Kyoto to Tokyo (or rather, Chiba, since the venue was Makuhari Messe) just for the concert was a huge pain, and very expensive. Boy, am I glad I did though. To begin with, getting tickets to ANY popular event is a tough process. You have to enter a draw to have a shot at getting a ticket, and if you miss out on that, you’ll have to buy the tickets when they go on sale later, and they usually sell out in under ten seconds. I’m not kidding. I’ve experienced this pain. On multiple occasions. Anyway, the first draw was opened to players only (the URL link was a banner in the game’s home screen), which is a really nice gesture. I managed to get a ticket in this draw :)

I arrived at the venue about 30 minutes before the show and bypassed the merchandise corner, as the queue looked scary and I didn’t have much time. Jumped in the queue to take a photograph of the standees (pictured above; and yes, there was a queue for this too), which took about 15 minutes, and then rushed over to join a queue for one of the bathrooms (all of them had long queues /pukes blood). I started chatting with a lady in a cute dress in line behind me and found out that we both have Kaito as our fav (plus Subaru for me). She was happy to find another Kaito fan and whipped out a couple of beautifully packaged small prints from her bag and handed them to me *_* Turns out she’s an artists and draws a lot of Kaito!! I was so surprised but flattered and felt bad about not having anything on hand to give her in return... I just gave her the kiwi bird badge from my backpack that I picked up while traveling in New Zealand, sweats...

Minutes till starting time and we were still caught in the queue, though getting very close to the bathroom. We debated giving up and leaving to find our seats so we wouldn’t miss the opening act, but decided to stay since having to leave halfway through the show for the bathroom would be worse. A few minutes later we heard screams coming from the arena and thought that the show had started, but the girl behind us assured us that they were just playing some promotional videos on the big screen and that nothing was happening on stage. We passed the message on to the group of girls in front of us as we heard them fretting about the same thing. Community spirit!

I parted ways with my new friend after leaving the bathroom and went to find my seat; inside the arena the lights had already been dimmed and clearly something was about to start. I was still stumbling around in the dark when all seven members of Yumeiro Company burst onto stage to the tune of CALL HEAVEN!! and by the time I found my spot they were probably halfway through the song;;;;

My seat was on the third floor, but quite close to the left side of the stage, so in a way it was a good spot as I could just barely make out the faces of the performers standing on my side of the stage. Their formation, from right to left: Subaru, Kaito, Sousei, Kyouya, Hinata, Iori, and Jin. I was still shaky from scrambling to find my seat and honestly don’t remember much, but I know that they were all dressed sharply in formal suits, and that the chorus had a dance routine that was fun and cheerful, fitting of a musical show. As we all know, the cast of YumeCast has a lot of strong singers, so I could relax and appreciate the vocals. I managed to find my pen light too and was ready to finally join the party :3

After the opening act I thought they would break for an introductory talk, but they launched straight into the next song. Everyone except Kyoya left the stage as the intro for Kyoya’s solo, Kimi ni Chikatta Monogatari started playing, and we all scrambled to change our pen lights to pink. Tbh I think Ohsaka Ryota’s one of the less experienced singers in the group, but I was pleasantly surprised by his solid performance. He definitely leveled up a lot since the start of YumeCast, and each of his graceful, princely gestures was very much Kyoya.

Hinata jumped onto stage next to perform Glass no Shoes ha Niawanai (I should mention that these solos were game-sized length and played back to back like a medley). We all melted at how cute he was, and he even slipped in a few lines directed at “oneesan! ;)” *Audience screams and dies* Uemura Yuuto’s usually a good singer but he went off-pitch a few times, probably due to nerves...

Iori was next with Tsumetai Yozora wo Terasu no ha. This is the third time I’ve seen Hanae Natsuki live, and you can tell he’s a seasoned performer by how comfortable he is on stage, and how his vocals are always clear and steady. His lines as Iori made a lot of people in the audience scream, but honestly whenever I see Hanae his joker character is all I register and I couldn’t really appreciate Iori LOL.

Kaito appeared on stage, rocking along to PASSION LASER BEAM, and this is where I died. Hayashi Yuu is phenomenal to watch live, he’s arguably one of the best singers of the group and is amazing at working the crowd, which isn’t surprising considering he’s the vocalist of Screen Mode. Hayashu brought a living, breathing Kaito onto stage in all his haughty glory T_____T It’s my dream to one day catch Screen Mode live as well...

Jin’s Kokoro no (ry was up next. I have to admit that I’m not a fan of Jin’s singing, I think it forces Ono Yuuki to fake a lower register which stifles his singing and it sounds unnatural, which is a shame when Onoyuu has such a lovely smooth voice. Onoyuu kept his fooling around to a minimum at this point, but he couldn’t stop his sunny trademark grin ww

SUBARU! WITH BACKDANCERS!!! Performing You & Me... de, Wave!!! If I had to pick a fav moment in the show, this would be it. Hatanaka Tasuku is SUCH a skilled singer, there’s so much energy in his voice, and his solo even included an intense dance routine which was amazing to watch. This is my fav solo charasong from YumeCast and Subaru completely smashed it... I’m buying the DVD later so I can watch it again ;____; I was so blown-away by the performance that I didn’t even notice what he was wearing >< I also noticed that one of the security staff near my block, who, up till then, was doing a good job of checking on the audience, couldn’t help but look at the stage once Subaru started singing. He watched up till the 2nd chorus lol before turning back to his job.

[OOT: This is my second time meeting Tasuku and each time I see him I feel like a proud mother watching her son grow by leaps and bounds >< The first time I met him was at the 5th fan meeting for Nariyuki Night, hosted by Tasuku and Yonaga Tsubasa. It was a small, cosy event of maybe 200 people, and it blew my mind that we got to see them at such a close distance. The coolest part was that they implemented a bunch of interactive activities to get the audience involved, one of which was a game where they had to guess an item based on clues shown on screen and borrow it from the audience.... Which meant that they had to run up and down the aisles of the seats, and at one point Yonaga grabbed a girl’s hand and escorted her down to the stage *_* Tasuku came by my seat and stopped to think about clues, so I literally had him standing next to me for like half a minute ahjghadllkjad. Also they were dressed in school uniform as one of the many suggestions for the “summer theme”; Yonaga in a beige vest, short sleeves, and colourful hairclips in his hair (he really looked like Nagisa from Free!), and Tasuku with a loose red tie and long shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Cute af. Prior to that I’d only seen Tasuku on livestreams and heard him on radio, and I’m glad to report that he’s every bit as earnest and clumsy in person as he is on air, like an awkward oversized puppy still learning how to walk but excited for someone to throw him a ball ;w;]

The last solo was Sousei’s Dare mo ga Ashi(ry. I was looking forward to this as I’ve been a fan of Toyonaga Toshiyuki since his Tenimyu days, and I love his singing voice. He wasn’t as smooth as in the recorded version, but still a delight to hear live.

Without giving us time to catch our breath, the show moved on to the next song. Hinata appeared on stage in a dark suit and a cape, accompanied by dancers dressed in ghoulish outfits. It was Mysterious Mission! This was a super fun song with a cute zombie dance, and at one point Hinata was hoisted up onto the shoulders of the backdancers in a sort of ALL HAIL YOUR CUTE MONSTER LORD routine. An oh, all the songs from this point on were performed in full :3

Next, Subaru and Jin appeared in santa outfits for Holy Melody Night. This is probably one of my least favourite songs in YumeCast, imo it’s the wrong key for both singers and doesn’t really showcase their voices. They were both so cute on stage though! Running from one end of the stage to the other and waving at us with huge smiles. The concert hall was enveloped in a warm, sparkly atmosphere ;w;

Next was the moment I had been waiting for - Kaito’s Kamigami no Senen (still not sure about the reading for the last 2 kanji tbh). I was hoping that this song would be included in the set list T_______T Kaito caused a stir when he appeared on the stage at the back of the arena, which I wasn’t even aware of. Dressed in graceful white robes and enveloped in mist, he was so beautiful to watch, I forgot to breathe... This song is a Big Deal for me because it’s an unseen side of both Kaito and Hayashu; before Kamigami neither have ever performed with such delicate vocals afaik. Even Screen Mode’s ballads have a completely different feel. When the song ended, the audience quietly broke into applause, instead of the cheering or screaming that happened with other songs...

Kyoya appeared back on the main stage with Sand Mirage, dressed in an Arabian Nights-esque costume and matching dancers. I’m very fond of this song, it’s so catchy and seems to fit Kyoya’s vocal range the most! And it definitely showed off his singing skills. Beautiful vibrato on the notes at the end of the chorus ;3;

Sousei and Iori gracefully descended upon the second stage in butler outfits. The yandere Tapestry song! They started off with a short skit, probably lines from the musical, and when Hanae fumbled one of his lines Tosshi teased him about it ww This is one of my favourite duets but sadly the vocals were rather shaky, with both singing off-key at many instances. A+ for the skit, the bedroom lines directed at “ojousama”, and Sousei’s psychotic laugh at the end.

I should love Final Approach since it features my two favs Subaru and Kaito, but unfortunately it’s one of the most boring songs for me... It didn’t stop me from appreciating the singing though. And the beautiful harmonies in the chorus. And the two boys in pilot outfits. And the high-five halfway through the song!! This was also the moment I understood the reason why some people bring two or more pen lights as I couldn’t decide whose colour to use...

Jin and Kyoya rose up from platforms under the stage in shinsengumi robes for Hi ha Noboru(ry. The katanas holstered on their hips were drawn for a fight scene vs the back dancers! The stage was bathed in violet and blue to match the moody atmosphere.

Then Iori and Kaito hopped onto stage and we all bobbed along to Sekai ha Koi to SWEETS! AND! KISS! *waves pen light frantically* This is such a cute song and both Iori and Kaito were super cute, throwing saccharine lines at the audience and getting everyone to join in the fun ;w; Iirc both of them even threw us some flying kisses....

Next, Stronger Than Medicine with Hina and Sousei. In white doctor’s coats and supported by a big group of dancers, Hina played the experienced head doctor while Sousei tagged along like a clueless junior lol. Parts of the dance were very cute and funny for comedic effect, and though for the most part it wasn’t an intense dance routine Tosshi still managed to show off his dancer background >< I kinda wished that we got to see him dance in a more high-tempo song, but Sousei gets all the ballads...

Around this time I noticed that a group of staff were busy setting up some sort of elevated platform-trolley thing at the end of the corridor between the 2nd and 3rd floor; I’d seen something similar happen at the Yuri on Stage event and my heartbeat jumped as I guessed what would happen next...

When the lights turned back on, the rest of the crew had joined Hina and Sousei on stage, and everyone was in their blue and white sailor outifts for Sunshine World Tour! This was the FIRST break in the show, can you believe it? The cast FINALLY introduced themselves (still in-character), and then Sousei announced that the show was about to come to and end, which came as a surprise because it honestly didn’t feel like the show started that long ago, even though we had actually sat through a LOT of songs. The audience began to whine “Ehhhhhhh?” Then the music for Sunshine World Tour started and the cast split into 2 groups, making the audience scream when they headed into the crowd, climbed up the stairs to the 3rd floor, and boarded one of the two trolleys on either end of the corridor. The audience went crazy when they realised what was happening! On the trolley that started from my end of the hall were Kyoya, Jin-san, and Hina, singing and waving enthusiastically at the audience as they traveled around the U-shaped concert hall. I couldn’t believe my eyes when they passed right in front of me... From my seat in the 2nd row they were SO CLOSE, and even at eye level! I honestly could’ve hi-fived them if I stretched out my arm. When the 2nd trolley came by I had my pen light set to orange and hoped Kaito would wave at me, but he was busy engaging the upper floors. Iori met my eyes though and gave me the sweetest smile ;w; They were meant to sing Sunshine World Tour, but very little singing was done as everyone was busy greeting and waving at the audience wwwwwwww It was a real treat for everyone on the 2nd and 3rd floors...

After the trolleys reached the opposite ends of the hall, the cast made their way back to the main stage and we were asked to sing along to the the chorus for a while as lyrics popped up on the screen :D After the song ended, the cast said their thanks and waved goodbye before disappearing backstage. The lights dimmed again and the audience began to chant “Encore~! Encore~!”

We were probably in the dark for about 5 minutes before the cast came back onto stage, dressed in Dream Show 2017 t-shirts. The cast could finally introduce themselves lol. “We can finally speak! As ourselves!!” “It is okay? Can I really start talking? OKAY I’M DOING IT :DDD” Onoyu let loose and chaos descended upon the stage wwwwww There was no outline for this talk segment so they pretty much did whatever they wanted www

What I can recall, in dot points:

Thanked us for all the love and support which allowed YumeCast to reach it’s 2nd anniversary

Ohsaka was super nervous as it’s his first concert, and Tosshi said that he kept muttering “I’m so nervous” up till the moment before their first appearance on stage, yet once he stepped onto stage he slipped right into character and looked so calm and confident

Tosshi and Onoyu admitted that they sing with their faces (their facial expressions are “noisy”)

Tosshi praised Ohsaka for bringing the rowdy team together like a real Kyoya, and Ohsaka lamented the fact that nobody listens to him while the rest of the team surrounded him and danced and hooted like gorillas www

Tosshi thanked the crew and staff for all their hard work behind the scenes, from dance choreography to costumes. Staff were always on standby backstage, ready to help them change into their next outfits, and as he watched the staff work frantically to keep the show running he truly felt like he was part of a real life Yumeiro Company troupe.

Up till the last rehearsal, Hayashu got one of the hand gestures for CALL HEAVEN!! wrong (he made a fox shape instead of a “W” for “welcome”)

Tasuku and Yuuto put in a lot of practice for their dances. Yuuto practiced his zombie shuffle even while out walking in public and got stared at. “My favourite part of the dance is when they lift me up! :D”

Hanae said it was unfair that Hinata could capture everyone’s hearts just with his “Onee~san♥”, so someone suggested everyone do their own version of “oneesan“ and put them to a vote.

Tasuku was up first... and promptly tripped over his first line, in typical Tasuku fashion wwwww I love him, he’s so clumsy and uncoordinated ;3; They gave him a second chance and this time he said something along the lines of “Thank you for your support this past two years!” and ended on a very cute and energetic “oneesan!!!!” Ughhh PUPPYYYYY

Kaito’s embarrassed tsundere “O.. onee...san...”

Sousei’s calm, somewhat sly “Oneesan :)”

The audience cracked up at Kyoya’s “Oneesan, jiken desu.” (Oneesan, there’s been an accident.) I had to look this up but it’s apparently a famous line from an old TV drama called HOTEL, lol

Kyoya’s take 2. A heartfelt message to all the scriptwriters in the audience, followed by the sweetest “...oneesan”.

Hanae did a skit where Iori was surprised but ecstatic about receiving a present from the MC in the form of a limited edition shoebill merch. “Thank you, oneesan!!”

Zun-san..... was Zun-san. “How about we spend the night together? My one and only oneesan♥”

Finally, the last boss. Hinata started to speak in that saccharine-sweet voice, “Boku,” and already half of the audience were screaming from that first word... “I’ll keep on working hard, so keep your eyes on me, okay? Oneesan♥“ *dying whale sounds from audience*

“Why did we even have this competition, we already knew who the winner would be.”

“You had them at “Boku”...”

Tosshi pointed out that they shouldn’t leave out the handful of guys in the audience, so everyone banded together and yelled “Thank you, oniisan!” and the guys responded with “Yeaaaaaaah!!!” haha

Farewell messages, final thoughts, and thank you’s

Ohsaka admitted that in his first year of playing Kyoya he had regrets about accepting the role, but after some time he found ways to connect with Kyoya and he’s very happy to be part of YumeCast. (I had a feeling that he wasn’t enjoying himself when I watched him on YumeCast livestream... turns out my hunch was correct :0 I’m glad that he’s found his place now!)

Next they showed a video announcing upcoming projects (live action musicals, new CD’s, drama CD’s) and the release of the DVD/BD of Dream Show 2017. Everyone else perched on the staircase to watch the video but Tasuku made himself small and sat on the floor with his knees folded primly. Smol puppy....

Lastly, the crew performed NEVER END STORIES as confetti cannons shot glitter over the arena. Then the dancers joined the cast on stage for the final farewell. Everyone took their turn bowing and saying thanks. Kyoya was last to leave the stage, and he lingered for a few moments to thank the audience. Sousei, who was near Kyoya, came up to him and said “Kyoya, let’s go :)” and Kyoya nodded before retreating from the stage. *Audience dies again*

After the show, I remember feeling so happy and satisfied. Of course, every event I’ve attended has been fun, but none of them made me feel as loved and appreciated as YumeCast Dream Show 2017. They knew what we wanted, and they delivered. I rate it 10/10 for being jam-packed with content (honestly, nobody expected them to perform this many songs), and it was very impressive that every song had its own set of costumes and choreography. It really felt like watching a musical show. The concert felt like it ended too soon because everything moved so quickly, but it had actually run for just over 2 hours. I do wish that they had given the cast more talk time, but i guess that was sacrificed to make space for more songs. I can live with that.

I’ve been playing YumeCast for almost a year now and have considered quitting several times since the gameplay gets pretty repetitive after a while (plus new games coming into my life), but after this concert I have fallen in love all over again and will continue to support YumeCast ;3; Honestly, just from watching the monthly livestreams you can tell how hard they try to keep us happy.

#yumeiro cast #hatanaka tasuku #hanae natsuki #ohsaka ryota #ono yuuki #toyonaga toshiyuki #uemura yuuto #hayashi yuu #yumecast #event report

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drakorn · 7 years

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Tanz der Vampire St. Gallen - Act 1 Spoiler Review

Following my little commentary about the St. Gallen production, I have decided that I would actually like to make a full review. Now, back in April, @kahorifutunaka and I watched the St. Gallen production of Tanz der Vampire, directed by Ulrich Wiggers. At first, our opinions were quite mixed. Now we are closer to an agreement: The St. Gallen production does have some great solid directing and the cast is EXCELLENT, but the modern concept is wasted potential. But...why leave it here? You saw the title, right? Let’s get into full spoiler territory! To those who would like to still see the St. Gallen production without being spoiled too much, turn away right now. Everyone else, let’s go :D

Overtüre: Ok, here we can get a first positive: The Orchestra is actually full live in St. Gallen. You WILL get your goosebumps here...in the first few seconds. Remember how magnificent the animations in the original Tanz are? Well...here we get a forest graveyard first and most, followed by a gigantic castle that looks a bit like Bran Castle in Transylvania. The castle actually looks quite nice, but one would wonder “Why is the castle being shown now?” Well, this question is going to be answered in a few minutes. We then see...a much MUCH younger Professor Abronsius running onstage into the fog. We now see two gigantic rat statues with red eyes standing onstage. I am still unsure why they chose RATS of all things. I can imagine this famous Harry Potter meme being inserted here. “Let’s put rats in front of Krolock’s castle!” “But why rats?” “What other creature would you put there to be associated with vampires then?” “Oh, I don’t know...maybe a bat?” Anyway...Abronsius proceeds to examine those rats when he is suddenly...stuck in one of them? Yeah, I still don’t know what that was about...

He, ho, he: Only then does Alfred enter the stage. He is pretty much the same age as in the original version, just dressed entirely differently. He proceeds to sing his song until he discovers Abronsius in the grasp of one of the big bad rats! He frees him and together they proceed to walk...into the castle? Huh...weird...

Knoblauch: Ok, here is where things might get a little confusing at first glance. There are no more signs of a warm and cosy inn where the villagers hide from vampires. No, no, no...they are WITH the vampires already. Yeah, the inn and the castle have been merged into the same place. On the walls, you can see “Sanatorium K” written in fancy gothic letters. So...Krolock owns a Sanatorium...this version of Tanz is, therefore, taking place in an asylum? Jeesh, am I glad they mean the resort kind of asylum. If they would have shown Krolock and his cohorts merely THINKING that they are vampires because they are all cuckoo in their heads...I wouldn’t even know how to react tbh XD Anyway, the thing that ultimately takes the cake in this scene is the gigantic Garlic head in the middle of the room, with taps attached to it...wait...does it mean that the humans ACTUALLY drink garlic juice in this version? Holy moly, THEY are the crazy ones here! But anyway...there is actually something I like in this scene and that’s the costumes of Chagal and Rebecca. They don’t look like stereotypical jews anymore. Rebecca actually looks like a normal person here. Yeah, she’s a bit big, but she dresses nicely, has red hair, glasses and doesn’t look like a cartoon. Chagal looks like a hotel manager here, so...he’s in charge of the asylum? Does it mean, he is in direct communication with Krolock? Uh, this might make for some interesting change! Anyway, let’s see how this goes. So, Alfred and Abronsius stumble in and are taken care of. It is to note that Magda looks more like a nurse rather than a maid in this one. So...it IS an asylum for the mentally ill? I am SO confused. Anyway, Abronsius is woken up by something that looks like a very steaming liquid. And it must smell nice since he actively stretches out his nose. We also see some dark figure lurking in the upper floow...looks like a hotel page...uniform...strangely emo hair...and a hunchback? Is that Koukol? Yes, Koukol already features in Knoblauch here, where he is upstairs and runs away as soon as the two travellers arrive. Does it mean, he is already informing Krolock? That should be interesting. And then the dialogue happens...Abronsius asks “Is there a castle nearby?” Uuuuhm...you kinda JUST walked into the castle! Or perhaps he didn’t notice that this was the castle as it was dark and foggy...but I don’t know. And then Chagal says “No, no castle, nope, what are you talking about? We’re clearly in a castle but naaah, never heard of a CASTLE nearby, lol.” (He didn’t actually say that XD) Then we have the ONLY text change in the ENTIRE musical. The Dorftrottel says “But this place used to be a castle once.” Aaaaah, so Krolock renovated at least parts of his castle in order to build an asylum. Actually, the more you look into the scene, you can actually see vampires amongst the humans. You can point them out by their evil grins and white contact lenses, which I admit does look pretty good.

Bitte, meine Herren: Chagal leads them into their rooms. Ok, STOP! Is this a HOLIDAY asylum, therefore a hotel, or a MENTAL asylum? The word Sanatorium can be used in quite a few variations! Or is it a combination of both? I am SO confused! PLEASE EXPLAIN YOURSELF, MUSICAL! You already changed ONE LINE, it can’t be that hard to include some extra dialogue to match the modern setting! Anyway, Alfred and Abronsius get TWO beds now (wow, how nice of Chagal!) And this time, they sleep stage right, while Sarah’s bedroom is stage left. Ok, let us talk about Sarah’s bedroom, because there is quite a few things to mention. First of all, she has Marilyn Manson posters, along with things from (I think) Twilight and Vampire Diaries. And Sarah has considerably darker hair in this version...OH. MY. GOD. They have given Sarah the Bella Swan treatment! She KNOWS about the vampires and WANTS to be bitten by them! THAT IS...actually really smart. I mean, think about it! Krolock is using the vampire romance hype of the 21st century to get his victims. This makes it all the more easier for him! And it also perfectly parodies the whole “immortal love” aspect. But then there is the other aesthetic thing...WHY are the rooms so dirty? Seriously, the colour is coming off the walls, it looks like a toilet XD Maybe that’s the intention, but I remember the cosy wooden inn...yeah...that was nice.

Eine schöne Tochter: This one is actually pretty entertaining and is one of the best modern transitions of this version. Chagal not only uses a hammer to lock Sarah’s door, no, he also uses a drill! I really like that idea! Perfect inclusion of modern elements.

Nie geseh’n: This is where the entirety of the stage gets used. I actually quite like this scene as well. Chagal finds Magda on a sort of balcony, smoking a cigarette. Her “sewing” remark is treated as sarcasm here. That’s a nice creative way of getting around without changing the lyrics. Also, instead of a Salami, Rebecca uses her walking stick (yeah, she has one here) to beat the shit out of Abronsius and Chagal. What I also enjoy is that the Orchestra pit is incorporated, as in, the actors actually walk through it in order to get to some parts. But here is something I don’t enjoy: Ok, Rebecca has been given red hair in this production...WHY would you change Sarah’s hair then? Come on, you had THE opportunity to create more resemblance and you tossed it out of the window. Shame....Shame....Shame....ok, that’s enough Game of Thrones. Look at the Finnish version, they did it better with the resemblance!

Gott ist tot: Ok...where do I begin to describe how Krolock looks like in this one? He dramatically appears on the rooftop over Sarah’s bedroom and begins walking around on it...dressed in a very thick fur coat. Also, this Krolock looks much older than the one in the original version. But I actually quite like his hairstyle. It is not as wild, it is more civilised. He looks like you would expect a contemporary aristocrat to look like. However...the fur coat and the song make him look like an (and many people have said this before me) undead sugar daddy. And his seductive cat-like movements on the rooftop, followed by a 30-second creepy as fuck stare into Sarah’s window, watching her sleep (ehehe, Twilight, ehehe), don’t really help the case XD Overall, I think Krolock’s first appearance in this version is a bit underwhelming. Remember how in the original version, he glides through the audience, spends the first part of the song in darkness and casts a giant shadow over the entire stage? All of that is unfortunately missing and nothing really makes up for it. The Finnish version had dying couples singing the “Sei bereit...” around him while he was still covered in darkness, THAT is a way of making up for it. But here...no, I didn’t really feel it tbh.

Alles ist hell: One of the biggest changes so far. It takes place in a gym hall (huh, so it IS a hotel then, because I don’t see why a mental asylum should have such a fancy looking gym). Again, we have vampires as well as humans in the gym. Sarah is also allowed outside in this one...well, I hope she is only allowed outside inside the building where her parents can see her, otherwise Draußen ist Freiheit would loose a bit of its impact. And here we have the now second appearance of Koukol. I don’t know, I really hate his hairstyle here. He looks like an emo. But I like that the entire bargain for candles gets a bit more obscure with the modern setting. Why would someone order so many candles when they have electric lights? This leads to the belief that Krolock has only refurbished a certain part of the castle and himself dwells in an older one. Quite an interesting idea here.

Wahrheit: I actually really enjoyed this scene. Abronsius is younger here and they take full advantage of that. A lot of this song is sung on the stationary bicycles of the gym, with Abronsius drinking water, and also breathing into an inhalator...huh, I...guess, he has asthma here? But I appreciate the hard work the actors put in here. It can’t be easy to sing a song like this on bicycles! Also, I like that instead of the wood falling down, a lamp explodes when Abronsius does his high note here. But again, some of the script (”Und dabei schlüpft meine Säge durch Zieder”) would have been up for a change. But at least the Nobel prize makes sense in this context, I guess.

Du bist wirklich sehr nett: I can’t really say that much about this version because it nearly plays out the exact same way. The only difference is that Sarah walks through the orchestra pit to get to Alfred. But yeah, this isn’t one of the scenes where you can change that much.

Einladung zum Ball: Holy moly, THIS scene, however, is a totally different story! First of all, Krolock’s teleportation is grander here. He has two doubles this time, one high up stage left and one further lower stage right. The light shines on them without revealing Krolock’s face, which makes it really believable. However, we also have the stage direction where Sarah gets out of the bath, goes behind the set, in order to sit in a bigger bath in order for the scene to play out. Krolock appears and delivers his invitation. The difference here is that Sarah isn’t frightened or shocked at all...she is happy. This Sarah REALLY wants to get bitten by Krolock. Also, she is actually naked in this one, and she even stands up, with her back facing the audience of course. Krolock quickly takes his fur coat and wraps it around Sarah, which looks quite hilarious actually. It looks like he’s saying “Sarah! This is not a PG15 show, and you are 17 for crying out loud! Here, have my coat and cover yourself!” He then walks away, leaving a magnificent impression on Sarah. We don’t actually see Chagal spanking her in this one, we just hear it. Oh, so we can have naked Sarah, but we can’t see her getting spanked? This show must have had a weeeird risk assessment XD

Draußen ist Freiheit: This version is totally different to the original What I find interesting is that Koukol actually opens the door so that Sarah can get out, which actually makes sense rather than her randomly being able to exit her house in the original version. But the real interesting thing is that Sarah in this version really seems to be annoyed with Alfred. It is so obvious that she wants to get away from him here.

Die roten Stiefel: This time it’s not just red boots but also a red corset. This is...interesting, but ok. And here is the part where I don’t like the look of the new vampires. In the original version, we had this magnificent dream sequence with red curtains and dance pairs. Here it is a bunch of people in leather clothes, pretty reminiscent of the Finale II vampires, which makes it look more dangerous, I’ll give them that, but also less dream-like. But there IS actually a good, even a great addition! This version has a Dream!Chagal coming out to fight Dream!Krolock over Dream!Sarah, which ensues in a battle with the two figures pulling her back and forth. THIS is something I would legitimately like to see in the original version!

Das Gebet: This scene, however...I did not like. In the original version, we have this entire inn, everyone holding candles, a moon shining, the Count standing on the rooftop, Sarah getting all emotional at the front. This version, however, looks like they were thinking “Well...we can’t cut it, so we need to have it somehow.” Everyone is praying in the centre, with Sarah further back and the Count is not even in it.

Trauer um Chagal: What is quite amusing here is that Chagal doesn’t really look that worried when he finds out that his daughter ran off. It actually looks like he’s being like “Oh come on! Seriously? Alright, let’s get her back.” He even drinks a bit of Vodka instead of eating Garlic, like he’s saying “Oh boy, will I have a chat with my boss now.” What follows next is the animation of a long and dark staircase...uhm...whooooooooo...gruuuuuhuhuuuuselig! And then we have one of the most unintentionally funny scenes in the show. Remember how I said that they didn’t change the lyrics? Well, okay, so all of the action, therefore, happens in a single building here. So WHY ON EARTH WOULD THE VILLAGE PEOPLE STILL INSIST THAT WOLVES WERE THE CULPRITS??? Is this a thing in Transylvania? Is it normal to find WOLVES strolling around INSIDE the building? Come on, this is a direct insult to Abronsius’ intelligence here. Also, the vampires among the people really act out their diabolical nature here as they really smirk and smile at the dead Chagal. Then we have this other thing...Chagal seemingly serves Krolock here...so why would Krolock kill him if he wants to bring back his daughter? I mean, I guess he could have found a replacement...but oh well, I’m getting too deep into this. Next scene!

Tot zu sein ist komisch: This is where Magda’s dark side is shown. Why? Because she LAUGHS when she sees Chagal’s dead body. Wow, that woman must have REALLY hated him. I mean, understandably so, but JESUS! And she doesn’t really seem that terrified when she’s bitten. I guess her working for a vampire Count makes her mentally prepared for what is to come eventually. She uses a bible instead of a cross against Chagal. And then...the next best unintentionally funny scene happens. And to this day I STILL don’t know what the creative decision behind that was. Okay, so we have Abronsius and Alfred wanting to impale Chagal, which leads to the chase sequence...only here it is accompanied by disco party lights. WHAT was that for? XD WHY did they do that? XD It’s so hilarious XD “UUuuh, yeaaaah, da vamp’s in da houseeeee, yeessssss!”

Durch die Wildnis zum Schloss: Right, cancel the “Wildnis” part, because nobody is going outside here. And again...”Bestimmt entdecken wir durch ihn das Schloss von diesem Grafen!” YOU ARE IN THE CASTLE, FOR GOD’S SAKE! Jesus Christ, they really should have changed the lyrics because this makes them look like absolute idiots now XD And then the travel sequence comes. I don’t know why, but I had a desire to burst out laughing during this. It shows empty rooms that clearly belong in a mental asylum (SO WHAT IS IT NOW, A HOTEL OR AN ASYLUM??? MAKE UP YOUR MIND, SHOW!) The funny thing is that it has a slow-motion sequence of a black figure running into the distance. I don’t know why, but this really made me laugh so much XD

Vor dem Schloss: Or in this case “In an older part of the castle”. We obviously get the vampires in the audience. They just don’t seem as creepy because of their leather clothes. Then Krolock comes in, wearing a shiny grey suit. Krolock and the amazing shining grey suit! XD Actually, I do admit that this scene is pretty well done. Krolock clearly is annoyed by Abronsius and CONSTANTLY stares at Alfred. When they have their moment together at the end, Krolock grabs his shoulders and stares him right into the soul. Overall, the contact between Krolock and Alfred is done much better here than in the original version, so props to them for this one. But again...please change the script occasionally. Königsberg is no longer the name of the city Abronsius comes from. It’s Kaliningrad now. Yeah... And Herbert...wow, Herbert looks great XD He has this purple suit and long open hair, which make him look like Legolas visiting a gay bar. And then we finally get to see Krolock’s shadow! Hooraaay! He walks up the stairs before the curtain comes down, stretches out his arms, and a giant shadow comes up, opening all of the castle windows. That was quite neat as well. Also, I love how he gets a short moment where he opens Abronsius’ back, sees what’s inside it and nods like he’s saying “I have work to do.”

So, overall, Act 1 wasn’t bad but it wasn’t that overwhelmingly great either. I will see you all in Act 2 which will follow soon enough :D

#Tanz der Vampire #St. Gallen #Musical #Review #Spoilers!#Holy moly #That is long

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thekintsukuroikid · 7 years

Photo

November 12th 2017 4:11am

Tofino is never worrying about running out of battery life, or the gas tank. Or atm service charges.

It’s is an odd place. Living on the mainland you get hit with the same cold and rain and you learn pretty early on how to shelter yourself in the rat race, to keep busy until the clouds roll through. Tofino is this weird anomalous places where people travel here for the express reason of running headlong into the rainy cold. Duh, the waves are better for surfing and storm watching. It’s weird being this close to the ocean. You’re surrounded by it here, you can hear it from the dead middle of town. It’s dark, cold and can swallow you up, and yet here we are grabbing neon coloured boards and wearing goofy rubber suits and paddling away from shore. Standing up, riding it. There’s a metaphor there somewhere I think. A really lame one. Suffice to say Tofino is the setting where I’ve always been most comfortable with entertaining feelings of optimism, they linger in my mind a little bit longer here, there aren’t a lot of things here that can take them away. And yet standing here alone on this beach I still wonder what it would be like to walk into the water and let the water I love so much fill up my lungs. To finally feel the tension unclench and release.

A girl bought me a drink and told me how happy she was that everything about this place wasn’t like home.

I agreed.

this trip was really about running away.

The band getting to create beautiful music for people to enjoy on a Saturday night, Thats pretty amazing right?

I remember how hard learning 3 chords was and thinking how weird it must be to be able to do so much more but the peak of your musical ambition is playing for my drunk ass.

—

I met a girl at the merch table. She was kind and she was pretty and in our conversation about the logistics of fitting a surfboard on a motorcycle I noticed her biting her lip…and looking at mine…and exhibiting every universal sign I could think of to express a “shut the fuck up and let’s make out already” sentiment–

“All I could do was wonder how much she’d have to know about me, to hate me as much as I do.”

This isn’t me. I’m so tired of this

I’ve been diagnosed with clinical major depression.

atleast I think thats what its called, I kinda zoned out when I hear it.

I’ve known that somethings been wrong forever but I’ve never had it named by someone else before. I’ve never been in a position where I could go out and really do that. I’ve been getting help for months but this weekend was the first time I’ve been able to process it all. 2 doctor’s a therapist and a councillor. 4 different opinions. The same mdi-10 depression index score. How it works is, 20 is dysthemia or mild depression and 25+ is no bueno moderate depression. 30+ is major depression. I figured I’d be around 18-19 with my shiny psych degree and my practicing of mindfullness and understanding of CBT and readings of Dr. Marsha Linehan and Brené Brown.–-

I got a fucking 38.

Of all the fucking tests to ace I sure know how to pick em lol.

Talk therapy’s helped narrowed it down, where In reality I’ve likely been dealing with this for over a decade. I could have and likely should have gotten help when I was in early highschool/late middle school. The fact that I’ve never been on medication pretty deeply concerns my therapist. I still don’t know if I want the pills, I stare at the prescription sometimes and wonder what the sweet fuck I’m going to do. It’s hard to plan things in a pros and con’s type of scenario with brain altering chemicals, like its not like theres a frame of reference or anything. I’ve always been getting by with habits and discipline. Reading ahead, doing homework early in case I sleep through my classes again. Never letting anyone get close enough to be in a position to judge you. Never be vulnerable. You’re not cool enough to have baggage.

It’s not like I’m like this all of the time. I have good days, mostly when I’m around other people, even strangers. It’s when I’m by myself for too long that it starts to creep into my mind, a little voice getting progressively louder and more persuasive. I Have fun by remembering what it’s supposed to feel like and selling it to everyone who can see me. This isn’t the stereotypical 3am negative thoughts, I mean those happen too but its more like 3pm, in the middle of my group of friends laughing, just getting hit with this whole body feeling of dread and trying to crack a joke anyway. I then follow this with sullen, silent car rides home or 45 minutes sitting on the shower floor wondering if I’ll always feel this numb?

That’s the worst part…the numbness of it all. Losing hours in the day to this thing that I can’t even really describe. I never get mad or sad or happy just attenuated, dulled versions of these emotions. I’m scared of heights, like really fucking scared of heights but I learned to rock climb because fear hits me in such a meaningless way now. This is such a weirdly strong biological component. I feel like I can never move forward to create myself because I’m always looking back, trying to get back to how I used to feel. That’s the one thing I know is missing, that sense of self that guides my decision making. I’ve never been able to go with my gut, the kind of spontaneity and passion and creativity that comes with that, Instead Its always minimize the damage, lower the risk. I feel inadequate in every measurable and measurable way, to the point of it being physically crippling.

I’ve been really fucking good at hiding this. Its the thing I’m honestly the most proud of, which is a bit counterintuitive. It’s allowed me to flip something that feels so intrinsically selfish and allowed me to keep focus on the people that are important to me. It’s allowed me to learn some really important lessons about friendships and relationships, coping and empathy, all without the vulnerability of facing those things head on. Depression to me, at least the way that i’m doing it (which I know is the wrong way to think about it) is this selfishness I don’t want to indulge.

There is massive guilt with this. I have so much. I have taken so much time, love, energy, money from the people in my life and I feel like I am and I have so little to show for it. That I am a highlight in every worst way, of the differences between what is good and what is just nice. but the thing is I’m starting to realize that this thing, this depression thing it couldn’t give less of a shit about how you rationalize it, its taken better people than me, I’ve seen it first hand.

For me this thing hits two-fold. Its the physicality of these symptoms I can no longer ignore or fight through. Messed up eating schedules, sleeping too much or too little, missing classes, being late to events or appointments and just constantly feeling zoned out, in a daze.

On the mental side of it, its been management. I’ve been in a dark place for a long time and my diminishing ability for me to manage these mental health symptoms means that I feel increasingly less equipped to take on this complete feeling of stagnation. This shit takes work. It’s like im trying to carry a weight with broken arms and no cast. It’s a feeling that even if I had an opportunity, job or otherwise, I lack the tools and the self belief to actually be and do what I want. It is such a weird sensation to feel the slide from wondering how to make it by 30…to wondering about making it to 30.

I Try to work hard to be grateful and find the joy in things. I spend my days trying to bridge the gap between the humility of recognizing this reality, with the ego of thinking I deserve better. I mean maybe this is as good as it gets? Maybe some people just spiral. I hope that isn’t me, I don’t want to see how far this rabbit hole goes, I don’t want to become what its trying to make me become, I think thats why I work so hard to keep being extraverted. I try to be around my friends, especially if I know that they have it a lot worse or are facing a difficulty. Being empathetic to what they’re dealing with makes you feel like a bit of a daft jerk for dwelling your own bullshit. That used to keep things quiet long enough. Then again you don’t win a fight by closing your eyes.

—

I went to the bar in Tofino where I bought my first legal drink and I thought about all the drinks I’ve had since then. I got hit with this really intense feeling of dread. Not that I had wasted all that time in those 5 years, Worse still, That I’ve never truly had the ability to truly appreciate all the amazing things that have happened since then.

Even if I couldn’t feel it I wanted to do the logical work towards getting out of this. I learned really early on to focus not on building a resume but on building a eulogy. To live a life well lived. To do things not for the spoils but for the man I’d become in the pursuit.

In the 5 year since I’ve been back to Tofino, I’ve hated that man. I still hate him. I am so much of what I told myself I’d never be: alone, weak, and of little consequence. I’ve tried everything to fix that man and I still can’t explain where that process went wrong. I’ve tried to surround myself with people who I love. But never letting them get close enough love me because of a combination of never feeling like I deserved it and never wanting to be burned or betrayed for being vulnerable.

I don’t know if I can really get better I don’t really know what better is. But trying has to be better than this. Thats the funniest bit about this, I don’t even think I can really imagine what better would be like, what the absence of all this would feel like.

I just know that there is more than this…that maybe I can be more than this.

I was always ashamed to take. So I gave. It was not a virtue. It was a disguise.— Anaïs Nin, The Diary Of Anais Nin,

I want to make all of this mean something. Maybe it doesn’t mean anything. I just know that I could set myself on fire to keep others warm. If I couldn’t feel wanted, or that I deserved to be wanted I could at least make people comfortable. I never knew there was a difference between happiness and the distraction from sadness. I would just connect to benevolence. I’d try volunteering, donating time and money partly because I enjoy those things, but deep down in a small way it was also an attempt to try reconciling the diminishing potential I felt. If I kept doing the right things, things would turn around, that I could out work this thing I was fighting. It was all just heading to nowhere, I realized I could get hit by a car tomorrow and nobody would know this truth about me, the uphill clawing. I think now I want to turn this pain into something tangible for myself and others.If this is rock bottom I want to look around, I want to carve my name in the rock beneath my feet and remember what this feels like. I never want to know it first hand again. Maybe this is that first step. Who the hell can see forever but maybe I can just win tomorrow.

— This is the most I’ve ever written about myself and it’s a hell of a lot more than I’ve ever wanted to. Hell it’s the most I’ve ever thought of myself and part of me feels like this sounds really self obsessed. But I think, at least I hope, it’s just a self awareness that comes from no longer seeing the contrasts in life.

If you are reading this it means that 1) you’ve found this randomly, and in which case… “sup?” or 2) you are one of the maybe 4 people I genuinely trust to tell this too without fear of being treated differently after doing it. If it is option 2…Surprise? I’ve worked extremely hard to make sure you couldn’t have seen this coming. It also means that you’ve shown me love implicitly in such a way that removes so much doubt, I hope you know how powerful and beautiful that is.

I don’t know man I think this is all really just about wanting to feel that oneness with myself again, to finally find peace one day. I don’t have to live, I get to, and I want too. The world is abhorrently beautiful man. daunting, ridiculous, backbreaking and gorgeous. I want to feel all of it, I want to find my place in it and I can’t do it alone. Not anymore.

Happy Birthday to me. ayeee.

#depression.#happy birthday #35mm #nikon #photography #photoessay #technicially #ironandwinereferences #lost in my mind

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eeveesanddragons · 7 years

Note

1 - 150

Bitch I see you (I love you - please keep getting me to do these because it’s fun)

1. Who was the last person you held hands with? Either the same person who is the anon that asked this or someone at the NaNoWriMo event today (I actually really like holding other peoples hands it’s fun, cute and platonic)2. Are you outgoing or shy? A bit of both - shy when I’m around people I don’t know/aren’t comfortable with and outgoing with people I know. It also depends on my mood3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? MY NANO FRIENDS BECAUSE I DON’T GET TO SEE MOST OF THEM EXCEPT IN NOVEMBER I LOVE THEM4. Are you easy to get along with? I would hope so5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? I like a lot of people (platonically, not romantically) so I would hope so6. What kind of people are you attracted to? I actually can’t pinpoint a specific thing about people I’m attracted to, but they’re all generally attractive to me and decent human beings7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? I don’t think so but a girl can hope, right?8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? The male character whose intro short story I’m writing at the moment9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Yeah (sometimes)10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Oh god, I have deep conversations with people every five minutes - probably a family friend last night about sexuality (I’ve come out to four people in as many days and it feels so good)11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? “Bacon, Croissants, Hash Browns, Ice Cream, 2x Apple Danishes, Marshmallows” - I was sending a shopping list to my Mum from my brother12. What are your 5 favourite songs right now? ‘Yet Another Dig’ by Bob the Drag Queen ft. Alaska - ‘Candy Store’ from Heathers - ‘Animus Vox’ by The Glitch Mob - I can’t think of two more13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? I would say yes14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? Sometimes15. What good thing happened this summer? Man we’re just coming out of Winter. Going into Summer I can already pinpoint one thing that’ll be good - taking my dog down to the beach and seeing Jinkx Monsoon live16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? I haven’t kissed anyone17. Do you think there is life on other planets? Abso-bloody-lutely18. Do you still talk to your first crush? Lol no he’s a dweeb19. Do you like bubble baths? HELL YEAH20. Do you like your neighbours? I guess? I don’t talk to them much but they’re nice people21. What are you bad habits? I chew on the skin around my fingers, I sometimes sleep until 3pm, and I drink too much soft drink22. Where would you like to travel? Fucking everywhere I can (Russia, UK, New Zealand -again- Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, everywhere I can)23. Do you have trust issues? I don’t think so24. Favorite part of your daily routine? Getting into bed after a long day OR using micellar water on my face before bed25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? my chin?26. What do you do when you wake up? Lay in bed for a while thinking about things I should do that day then feed my dog27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? Less pink - I’m pale as shit and my skin goes pink so easily. I wouldn’t change the complexion but if I could stop myself from burning or turning pink I’d be great28. Who are you most comfortable around? My sister and my mum probably29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? Nope30. Do you ever want to get married? I think so31. If your hair long enough for a ponytail? YES and I often accidentally hit myself in the face with it32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? I wouldn’t (have a conversation with two people though? Cate Blanchett and Chris Hemsworth33. Spell your name with your chin. M easghahn34. Do you play sports? What sports? I don’t do sports anymore (I really want to get back into some though) BUT I used to play Netball, Softball, Basketball (for like six months), I did swimming, dancing, callisthenics, athletics. I’m generally pretty good at most sports35. Would you rather live without TV or music? TV. I could survive with just music so long as I still had books36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? Oh yeah37. What do you say during awkward silences? Nothing or I change the topic or put on music38. Describe your dream girl/guy? Challenges and encourages me to do things and pushes me to keep working towards goals, has a dog, is cute, will let me hold their hand for as long as I want, recognises the signs for when I need me time, is good at doing hair and makeup39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? I would say bookstores but lately I really really shoe and makeup shopping40. What do you want to do after high school? Did* travel or go to uni and do a teaching course. I travelled and I realised I didn’t want to go straight to Uni (I do want to do it later on though)41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? That’s a bit of a trick question. Second chance to be a better human/fix mistakes? YES. A second chance but use it to be the same shitty abusive human? FUCK NO42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? Either I’m thinking, listening, or have nothing to say, or I’m just trying to keep it together until I can be alone for a bit and recoup43. Do you smile at strangers? I do 44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? SPACE BITCH I fucking love space I want to meet aliens45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? My dog usually46. What are you paranoid about? Most things47. Have you ever been high? No (sometimes I wish I was less hung up about it though and would actually do it once)48. Have you ever been drunk? Nope - I’ve had a lot to drink at points but I’ve never actually been drunk49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? No and if I did I wouldn’t post it here?50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? Grey51. Ever wished you were someone else? Sometimes - but a more put together, productive, less anxious version of me52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? My productiveness53. Favourite makeup brand? I’ll say MAC because my favourite lipstick is a MAC lipstick54. Favourite store? Any store I don’t work at55. Favourite blog? PaperFury56. Favourite colour? Green and Purple57. Favourite food? Nutella and Strawberries58. Last thing you ate? Pizza (and Nutella and Strawberries for dessert)59. First thing you ate this morning? Hashbrowns and croissants60. Ever won a competition? For what? A few - I won a footy jersey, a netball comp, a writing competition61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? Nope62. Been arrested? For what? Nope63. Ever been in love? Nah64. Tell us the story of your first kiss? I mentioned (at 17) that I’d never been kissed and I was at a public pool with friends and a friend said “well we should do something about that” and grabbed me and kissed me - it was pretty cool65. Are you hungry right now? No66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? The only people I interact with regularly on Tumblr are people I’m friends with IRL so !?!!??67. Facebook or Twitter? RIght now? Twitter - because people on my facebook are shitty and I keep seeing stuff related to the fucking postal survey68. Twitter or Tumblr? Both69. Are you watching tv right now? Rupauls Drag Race AS2 finale (I put the marathon on pause for NaNoWriMo)70. Names of your bestfriends? Sammy, Katrina, Hannah, Joanne (I hardly seem them because we’re all super busy but I could message any of them and they’d usually be down with doing something fun and we’re supportive of each other)71. Craving something? What? Nothing atm72. What colour are your towels? Purple72. How many pillows do you sleep with? One but sometimes I use smaller pillows/cushions for my wrists if my tendonitis is flaring up73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? I used to74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? Maybe three75. Favourite animal? My dog, but also horses and foxes76. What colour is your underwear? Black77. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate78. Favourite ice cream flavour? GOLDEN GAYTIME79. What colour shirt are you wearing? Grey80. What colour pants? Blue81. Favourite tv show? I don’t know?!?!?82. Favourite movie? Legally Blonde hands down but also Thor Ragnarok83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? Mean Girls 184. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? Mean Girls85. Favourite character from Mean Girls? Janice86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? DORY87. First person you talked to today? My brother about getting him to feed my dog (but I talked to my dog first because she slept on my bed)88. Last person you talked to today? NaNo people89. Name a person you hate? Tr*mp90. Name a person you love? My Mum91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? Not really92. In a fight with someone? If I am I’m unaware of it93. How many sweatpants do you have? Uhhh maybe one pair that doesn’t fit because they’ve been in my drawers since I was 13 and haven’t thrown them out for whatever goddamn reason?94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? Like 20 (more like 10)95. Last movie you watched? Thor Ragnarok 96. Favourite actress? Right now it’s Tessa Thompson97. Favourite actor? Why are these gendered GDI use Actor for everyone. But right now it’s Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Kaitlyn Alexander98. Do you tan a lot? I don’t tan even a little I’m pale af99. Have any pets? A DOG AND I LOVE HER SO DAMN MUCH SHE’S SO CUTE (follow her on instagram @ziva_the_lamington) 100. How are you feeling? Tired, a little socially drained after today, but good101. Do you type fast? Most of the time102. Do you regret anything from your past? All the times I was being a shitty kid doing dumb shit103. Can you spell well? Yaeh maet 104. Do you miss anyone from your past? No105. Ever been to a bonfire party? Yes106. Ever broken someone’s heart? I don’t think so107. Have you ever been on a horse? Yes! I did horse riding for a year108. What should you be doing? Writing my novel because I’m behind in my NaNo word count (someone prod me to write)109. Is something irritating you right now? Yeah - me not being as productive as I should be and not going to see various doctors about my shoulder/eyes/mental health110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? Once111. Do you have trust issues? Already asked this, no112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? Mum113. What was your childhood nickname? Megslegs114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? All the time and whenever I can115. Do you play the Wii? I used to have one but it’s super old so not anymore116. Are you listening to music right now? I’m listening to movie soundtracks117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? I do118. Do you like Chinese food? Yes119. Favourite book? Gentlemans Guide to Vice and Virtue or Gathering of Shadows120. Are you afraid of the dark? No121. Are you mean? I hope not122. Is cheating ever okay? “act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage” NO123. Can you keep white shoes clean? Not for long, but I try to124. Do you believe in love at first sight? No? I guess I think love develops as you form a bond with a person125. Do you believe in true love? Yes126. Are you currently bored? Bored? No, tired of the state of non-productiveness? Yes127. What makes you happy? Hiking, my dog, friends, family128. Would you change your name? No, i like it129. What your zodiac sign? Virgo130. Do you like subway? I guess so131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? Cool, lets date and see where we go132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? Family friend133. Favourite lyrics right now? “Never going to give you up” (If you’re still reading this I commend you)134. Can you count to one million? Lol who has the time135. Dumbest lie you ever told? I’m straight (I’m obviously not)136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? Closed137. How tall are you? Like 5″11/6″0138. Curly or Straight hair? Curly139. Brunette or Blonde? Brunette140. Summer or Winter? Autumn/Spring 141. Night or Day? Daytime/evenings142. Favourite month? August or March143. Are you a vegetarian? No but I have thought about going veg144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? Milk and dark145. Tea or Coffee? Tea146. Was today a good day? It really was147. Mars or Snickers? Mars148. What’s your favourite quote? “Per Aspera Ad Astra” “As Travars” “Nevertheles, She Persisted”149. Do you believe in ghosts? Sure why not150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page? “Aled said nothing, he just started to grin” - Radio Silence

#asks #about me

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nikiforoov · 8 years

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QUICK TUTORIAL: lineart gifs & watercolours

i’ve received a few asks about how i made this gifset, so here’s a quick guide! i’m skipping right to the interesting parts, so you need to have basic knowledge of how to use photoshop to make gifs or you’re not going to get much out of this tutorial. the basic idea is very simple but the process can be extremely frustrating, as usual. proceed at your own risk.

things you’ll find behind the cut:

how i get from this:

to this:

and to this:

still with me? great! let’s begin!

i use photoshop cc in this tutorial! all features should be available in other versions too, but they might be called something else. in that case please consult google.

YOU WANT YOUR GIF TO HAVE AS FEW FRAMES AS POSSIBLE! get them ready and do your basic thing ie resize, remove excess frames and set the framerate. next, flatten the frames into layers and download this action (19 frames at most) or do the following manually:

duplicate your first layer

set the copy to divide

add gaussian blur (approximately radius 0.6px) to the copy

use smart sharpen on the original layer. play around with the setting until the lines look clear and smooth (my settings: amount 300%, radius 0.3px, reduce noise 10%, remove gaussian blur)

check that the blurred layer is on top of the sharpened one

merge layers

repeat with every single layer :))))

now your gif should look something like this:

as you can see, if you wanted you could just paint over the parts where the background is still visible, add some colour or overlays and tadaaah, a perfectly fine gif! but we don’t want that today. we want to make our lives hell.

NEXT, WE’LL DO SOME MASKING AND GET RID OF THE BACKGROUND. i use the quick selection tool because it’s quick (lol), i’m lazy and these kind of gifs have nice and clear lines so it works like a dream!

make sure you’ve selected everything, it can be difficult to tell what’s part of the background and what’s the selection as you can see.

all done? next you’ll need to click mask and select. i invert the selection at this point, so the following settings only work with that! i forgot to put it in the pic but in addition to these setting, i usually have the output set to “layer mask” so that saves me a few clicks. when you’re happy with what you’re seeing, click ok and go though any bits that didn’t mask properly by hand.

can you guess what the next step is? yeah. now do the same to all your layers...

... and you’ll end up with something like this!

you probably can’t notice much difference, because it doesn’t show up properly on my blog, but the background is transparent! i’ve also added two adjustment layers to clean up the lines a bit:

black & white

levels (my settings: shadow 60, midtone 1.00, highlight 230)

//EDIT: naturally, the settings i used for the tutorial don’t work for all scenes but in my experience they’re a pretty good place to start from! also, if the scene has a very busy background i usually mask it before resizing and applying the lineart effect to make sure it looks as good as possible (and it also gives you the option to use the same frames in other projects without having to do it all over again)! in those cases the blurred layer leaves a fuzzy border around the image when you merge the layers, so you need to select the sharpened layer’s pixels before merging and mask the resulting layer with the selection. oh and i usually convert the layers for the first frame into smart objects before sharpening or blurring so i can easily adjust the settings to be optimal for the scene.

again, you could stop here, walk away with a nice transparent lineart gif and call it a day.

no? then we’ll start adding the watercolour.

this is, of course, all done manually as well, frame by frame. don’t blame me, i told you this was going to be frustrating.

add a white layer to act as a background, and adjust the output levels of the levels layer you just added a few minutes ago! my setting are: shadow 0, highlight 238

THE NEXT STEP IS TO START PAINTING

the gif should give you the basic idea of what to do from here on. basically, it’s something like this:

create a new layer on top of everything, pick a brush, add colour to appropriate spots, don’t mind if you can’t stay inside the lines. it’s actually better if you don’t! i usually have the colouring layers set to linear burn.

check what frame you have selected! you want to find the corresponding lineart layer, right click it and pick select pixels.

create a mask for your coloring layer from that selection. now the outline should be rather nice and smooth, and all you need to do is mask the inner parts using either a selection tool or do it manually. in this case i prefer the latter.

if your gif doesn’t have much movement, you can get away with duplicating the colouring layer for the next frame instead of painting everything from scratch! just duplicate the layer, delete the old mask, move the layer a bit if needed and add the mask from the next lineart layer.

repeat these steps until you run out of frames.

keep or delete the white layer you’ve used as a background.

before you even notice, you have a super pretty lineart gif painted in watercolour style, ready to be posted on tumblr or edited more!

i edited mine a bit more and ended up with this baby! i kind of lied in the beginning, since i’m not telling you how i turned it into this lmao oops. basically i just added the bg image and a few gradients on top of everything? super easy!

//EDIT: i can’t not tell you guys i feel so guilty lmao. okay, we’re starting from the bottom up!

changed the white background colour to #e6e6e6

a picture of flowers on top of it, color burn 60%

levels adjustment: shadow 60, midtone 1.00, highlight 230 and output adjustments are shadow 0, highlight 220

linear gradient fill layer, 90angle, colours #f3bfa5 and #fbeebc set mode to soft light 100% jump to between the lineart adjustment layers and colourings

color fill layer in #f3bfa5, set mode to soft light 100% jump on top of everything

vibrance adjustment layer, +100 vibrance and +31 saturation

gradient map adjustment layer, colours #f3bfa5 and fbccbc set mode to overlay 30%

duplicate the adj layer you just made, chance mode to color burn look at your beautiful gif and cry tears of joy

and that’s about it! i hope this cleared up the process a little!

thank you for checking out my tutorial! if you have any more questions, my ask box is always open ♥

oh and feel free to tag me if you post something made with this tutorial! i’d love to see your creations! i track #nikiforoov so just tag your post with that :)

#yuri!!! on ice #chaoticresources #photoshop #fyyoi #yuuri katsuki #tutorial #my edits #please let me know if there are some clear errors #in my defense it's 5am here rn and i should've been asleep ages ago #but noooope #here i am #what can i say i really love playing around with photoshop lmao

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under-the-lake · 7 years

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Hallowe’en Cupcakes

Hallowe’en is a special day at Hogwarts and in all wizarding families. This year I decided to help Kreacher with the preparations and started on Hallowe’en themed cupcakes. I am using three different batters (basic, chocolate and coffee and almond) and a couple of basic toppings. What makes those cupcakes really different is the decoration.

I don’t usually like the cupcakes that have so huge an amount of cream on top that it gets yucky. I favour chocolate topping or cheesecream.

I nicked the batter recipe from the Women’s Institute book (WI), because it’s the best batter ever. The pumpkin batter is credit to my imagination and some checks online to see if I was going totally the wrong way.

The pictures are from a cooking camp I had with teens aged 14, who tried their skills at making and decorating cupcakes for the first time in their lives. Be indulgent, but as Kikimora said, that shows they can do pretty well for a first time, and they are kids!

Each recipe makes 12-16 regular-sized cupcakes or 20-30 smaller ones, 30-40 nano.

Preparation time: 15 minutes + cooling

Cooking time: 18-20 minutes (less for the smaller cupcakes)

Those recipes use self-raising flour. We don’t have that this side of the Channel so here’s how to make it: Just add 2 teaspoons of baking powder for each 150g/6oz/1 cup plain flour.

If, like me, you live in a country that doesn’t sell buttermilk, it’s bloody easy to make it: for 250 ml milk add 1-2 tbsp plain vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken. Ready! :)

This paper is built in four sections, so that you know:

A. The Batters

B. The Frostings

C. The Decoration

D. The Tools and Other Niceties Like Glitters and Colours

A. THE BATTERS

Rich chocolate cupcakes

75 g unsalted butter, softened

150 g caster sugar

2 eggs

50 g self-raising flour

100 g plain flour

½ tsp soda

40 g cocoa powder

150 ml buttermilk

50 g chocolate chips (optional)

Prepare your muffin cases. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

Whisk the butter and sugar together until the mixture is pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one by one, whisking each time until just combined. Then add the dry ing and buttermilk (and chocolate chips if you’re using any), whisking ceaselessly until well combined.

Fill the cases to about the two thirds, bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes and then transfer onto a rack to cool completely.

So if you summarise, the stages of cupcake making are clear:

1. Sugar + butter, light and fluffy

2. Eggs one by one, just combined

3. Dry ing + whatever you want to add

4. Wets

5. Bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes (14-16 minutes for the small ones, 12-14 minutes for nano)

2. Now here are the ing for the almond and coffee cupcakes:

2 tbsp instant coffee, mixed in 50 ml warm milk

175 g unsalted butter, softened

150 g self-raising flour

175 g light brown soft sugar

3 eggs

½ tsp baking powder

100 g ground almonds

Use the same recipe as above :)

3. Buttermilk Sponge

175 g unsalted butter, softened

200 g caster sugar

2 eggs + one yolk, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

225 g flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp soda

125 ml buttermilk

Use the same recipe as above :)

4. Pumpkin

This recipe differs from the other ones, because it’s made from oil rather than butter. I haven’t tried replacing oil with butter yet, but I will try one day because I love butter :)

220 g flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (blend 1/5 teaspoon each of ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice; I usually put more than the 1 tsp but it’s very much depending on how spicy you want it and what kind of squash or pumpkin you use for the purée.)

130 g dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

225g pumpkin purée (making it is easy. Just cook the pumpkin and mash it lol )

120ml vegetable oil

80ml milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Same recipe as above :)

B. THE FROSTINGS

Each of the topping recipes enables you to cover the amount of cupcakes you baked following one of the above batter recipes.

Remember that if you want to prepare chocolate figures and colour them to decorate your cupcakes, you should start with them. You need the toppings to be freshly put on your cupcakes to be able to stick or place your stuff on them.

One of the easiest toppings you can use is basic chocolate ganache, again right from the WI, and the other one I don’t remember. It makes the cupcakes much easier to store because the chocolate is solid on the top, and the stuff you stick on it are less likely to fall down while you carry the cupcakes. And chocolate is just GOOD.

1. Chocolate Ganache

Preparation time: 15 minutes

75 g double cream (or thick runny cream, whatever the name it is in the part of the world you are; in Switzerland if you say double cream then your cream is so thick the spoon stands in it).

25 g unsalted butter

200 g dark chocolate, finely chopped

100 g white chocolate, finely chopped

Gently heat the whole lot of ing in a bain-marie until the chocolate and butter have melted. Stir from time to time. When the mixture is runny and homogenous, you’re ready to use the ganache.

2. Rich Chocolate Ganache

300 g dark chocolate (70%), finely chopped

125 g unsalted butter, chopped

6 tbsp double cream

Same recipe as above :)

3a. Cream cheese topping, fat version

200 g icing sugar

200 g full fat cream cheese (like Philadelphia), or 150 g cheese and 50 g quark (full fat too)

50 g unsalted butter, chopped

Combine in a bowl until you have a smooth icing. There you are.

Variations: use colours (gels are the best), use flavours (the zest of a lime or lemon or orange, or artificial flavours if you like, or the seeds of a vanilla pod).

3b. Cream cheese topping, less fat version

200 g full fat cream cheese like Philadelphia

50 g icing sugar

12 g melted butter

Mix the cheese and sugar together until firm, add the butter and mix for another five minutes.

You can add colours (a few drops), aromas (a few drops), spices (I LOVE adding cinnamon to that topping, it gives a nice warm feeling to the cupcake), lemon, lime, grapefruit or orange zest… Be imaginative!!

4. Marshmallow icing

I read that the USA version of Hallowe’en involved marshmallows. Here’s a marshmallow topping for your creepy Hallowe’en cupcakes!

1 large egg white

A pinch of cream of tartar

60 g caster sugar

75 g mini white marshmallows

Put the egg white and cream of tartar in a heat-proof bowl, and whisk until you get the usual soft peaks. Gradually whisk in the sugar until the mixture is a glossy meringue.

Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water to create a bain-marie, and add the marshmallows. Whisk ceaselessly until the sweets have nearly melted. This takes about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk for another 5 minutes until the marshmallows have completely melted and the mixture is thick enough.

Leave to cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meringue makes soft peaks.

To use the frosting, you’ll need a piping bag (disposable or not) and nozzles, which can be star-shaped, shell-shaped, leaf-shaped. They come in all sizes and you can choose whichever you want according to the pattern you are aiming for. If you don’t have a piping bag just use baking parchment to make one. Or you can also simply spread the topping on the cupcake to have a smooth layer on which you can add whatever eyes or spiders or ghosts you like.

C. THE DECORATION

The basic decoration tools are edible glitter, sprinkles, sweets or anything, as well as non-edible Dark Marks, Ghosts, Spiders, Bats or whatever.

The less basic ones are as follows (yet they are still really basic, the idea being that everyone can make them):

1. Chocolate figures

To do this you need chocolate lol. I tend to use dark one, namely over 60% cocoa ones. They melt nicely and are tasty plus they are easy to work with. Baking chocolate is good too, provided it tastes decent.

The second thing you need is moulds. You can use either silicone ones or plastic ones. I have a couple of silicone ones with mini figures, because they are flexible and very easy to use. You can find them online without a problem.

Easy enough, you just melt the chocolate either in a pan on low heat or on a bain-marie and you fill in the moulds and you wait. Don’t put them to cool in the fridge. They’d go white. Let the figures cool at room temperature, far from prying eyes and nicking fingers.

When the figures are cooled down completely, which can take anything from half an hour to a couple of hours, depending on the size of your figures, take them out and if you wish, use edible colours (pens, paint…) to colour them. Let them dry before you add them to your cupcakes. The result of our first try was the title pic of this paper. I got my moulds from well-known online retailers :P

2 Chocolate shapes

You can go easier if you don’t have moulds. It’s simply piping the melted chocolate on baking parchment, giving it the shape you like. Last year I did these shapes with teenagers:

I also used cats, pumpkin faces and skulls. You can either draw them yourself or just print a template out from the internet.

The process is easy enough:

-prepare your template sheets under the sheet of baking parchment you intend to pipe the chocolate on. Note that either you put both sheets on a baking tray or chopping board or whatever flat movable surface, or you don’t move the sheets until the chocolate is dry.

- melt the chocolate as before, either in a pan on low heat, or on a bain-marie.

- when the chocolate is melted, pour it into a piping bag with the smallest circular nozzle you have, or use one of those small piping bottles designed for chocolate.

- draw the figures on the parchment paper. If there’s something you need to be really thin, you can always uses a toothpick to drag the chocolate.

- let cool.

3. Let your hands do the job with sugar paste (YUK) or marzipan!

You can build any kind of shapes with marzipan. You can cover marshmallows and transform them into Frankenstein heads. You can roll it into tentacles and make the Giant Squid pop out of your cupcake (imagine that with a white chocolate ganache you’d have coloured that murky green of still waters). You can make it into tombstones and turn your cupcake party into a graveyard hide-and-seek, you can make it into a pumpkin, a vampire fang, a Jack Skellington head, into thin and creepy spider legs, whatever. Of course, as you know, marzipan is less ‘posh, clean and tidy’-looking than sugar paste. But it’s edible. Sugar paste is not, so it’s a waste (At least imo).

You can colour both the sugar paste and the marzipan with gels. The difficulty with marzipan is that it gets warm quickly and then it’s a tad more complicated to work with. Add the tip of a knife blade at a time, because those gels are very concentrated and you can mess up your coloration badly.

Then you can decorate the marzipan to add eyes, mouths, whatever you like, with either more marzipan, chocolate, edible balls or other shapes, whatever you need. The world of cake decorating is infinite!

D. THE TOOLS AND OTHER NICETIES LIKE GLITTERS AND COLOURS

Kikimora suggested I talk shortly about the tools I’m using.

1.Cupcake Size

Well, it’s rather easy. Cupcake moulds come in basically three sizes: regular, small, nano. The regular size is that of a muffin tin. Small makes the mini cupcakes and is about 3 cm (just above an inch) in diametre. Nano is half an inch, or about 1.5 cm in diametre. The nano ones are really cool because it’s just one bite, but hard to decorate. I use those with my pupils during the cooking camp to make ‘cupcake pictures’, using each cupcake like a pixel. The result is rather stunning. When I make cupcakes for a party I usually make the small ones. The paper tins or silicone ones are easily found in shops, while the nano ones aren’t. And the mini ones are still easy to decorate (the pumpkins I made out of marzipan - see pics - are on top of mini cupcakes), don’t require huge amounts of frosting (and thus aren’t too fat either), and have that huge advantage that you can eat many different ones instead of feeling full after just one regular-sized one.

2. Food colouring

Colouring food is fun. Many supermarkets will sell liquid food colours. They are great for some things, but definitely not for colouring toppings or marzipan or sugar paste. For those I use gels. Many brands sell them in all possible colours, including glittery ones like the usual gold, silver and copper or bronze. Some even sell glittery basic colours. When using gels, like when using liquid colours, the focus is on the amount you use. Of course, the more you use the more coloured your stuff will be. However, don’t forget that using a lot is also loosening the dough/paste. With gel colours, if you want to colour say 50 g marzipan, it’s about the tip of a knife blade you’ll be using. Better start with small amounts and add colour. Beware also, when using any paste, that handing warms it. Meaning it will get a bit more tricky to work with, and that is true especially for marzipan. This means that after colouring a batch of marzipan, you might want to put it in the fridge for a while to cool down so that you can use it without it being too sticky. When using marzipan, you might face the task of cutting edges or shapes if you don’t have a cutter that fits what you want to do. In that case use a sharp knife and rub the blade with a little butter or oil, to make the cutting clean. Repeat as often as needed.

The brands I use are Wilton and SugarFlair.

3. Flakes, glitters, powders, pens

Of course, to make your cupcakes a bit more shiny or bling or barbie or whatever your taste is, you can use many other tools. There are quite a lot of stuff you can use.

You can use edible glitter to give your creation a shiny touch (pic below). There are ‘plain’ glitters, that are just one colour, or sort of ‘holographic’ ones, that shine in different colours. Those glitter ‘flakes’ are big enough to be seen and don’t require much handling. You can spread them with your fingers, from the blade of a knife or from a q-tip.

You can use powders. That’s really powder. It’s called luster dust. You need to paint it on the actual thing. I use it on solid surfaces like marzipan. It gives a really nice finish.

If you don’t feel comfortable with painting or using those glitters as flakes, you can also get them in sprays. I have never tried it yet, because I like the painting version and the home-made look, but people get really amazing results. It looks more ‘professional’.

Pens are also an option, since there are edible inks. You can use them to colour and write and paint. Usually the pens have two brushes: a ‘writing’ one and a ‘painting’ one, so that you can choose. Those are also brilliant to colour cookies.

The brands I use are mainly Rainbow Dust and Scrap.Cooking. Those are the ones available in my country. Then of course, there are the faithful well-known online retailers :P

4. Rolling out the marzipan

Marzipan is a tricky little thing to handle because it gets warm and sticky easily. If you need to roll out marzipan I suggest you either put the bit you have to roll out between two sheets of baking parchment and then go with a rolling pin, or use flour on your working surface and on the pin. I like the first method better because flour on marzipan isn’t very sexy.

When using baking parchment to stop the paste from sticking to your pin and table, you will notice that the parchment gets folded in places. So you just want to remove the marzipan from it, and reposition it and go on again until you get the thickness you want.

However, when I’m making decos for cupcakes, I don’t necessarily use a rolling pin. I often flatten the paste in my hands. It’s a bit uneven that way, and I like it because it’s less ‘polished’, but that’s up to you. I usually roll out the marzipan only if I’m covering a cake like the Christmas cake.

If you handle the marzipan in your hands, as I said before, make sure it’s chilled. If it starts getting sticky, put it back in the fridge for a while and come back to it later. Sticky marzipan gives no good results.

5. Making stuff you put on your cupcakes stick together

If you are, like me, making jigsaws out of bits of coloured marzipan, then you might want to have them stick together if you move the cupcake. The easiest way to do that is to use a tad of jam to glue the bits together. That is also true if you want to stick the marzipan or chocolate figures on a chocolate ganache icing.

If you have used some kind of royal icing for your cake or cupcakes, you can use that too to help things stick together. It has the disadvantage of being very visible as it’s white.

Obviously, if you are sticking a single piece on frosting, there’s no need to add anything :P

Happy Baking!! :)

PS: I love the cupcakes without the frosting and all that, so usually when they come out of the oven it’s hard to resist their fluffiness…. And I eat them as muffins :P They are complete without any deco already!! :)

Sources of inspiration:

The Women’s Institute teatime collection, Simon & Schuster, 2013, 235 pp.

Bowers, Sharon, A Frightful Cookbook - Ghoulish Goodies, Storey Publishing, North Adams, MA, USA, 2009

Jones, Lily, Lily Vanilli in A Zombie Ate My Cupcake! - 25 Deliciously Weird Cupcake Recipes for Halloween and Other Spooky Occasions, Cico Books, London, 2016

#LouhisLusciousLarder #cupcakes #Halloween #decoration #treats #marzipan #harry potter

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