#its all from kims perspective and he also has skills that tell him things

[spunchthegoblin]

Literally the greatest fanfiction I've ever read bro this is a full length novel and I've read it twice now. Besides some minor nitpicks this is the closest thing to a disco elysium sequel I think I'll ever see. It adds so much to the world of elysium while still keeping it completely within the original games setting, the author literally comes up with original elysium-y terms and events for every little thing. Like "oh the term 'lesbian' wouldn't exist in elysium because the island of lesbos doesn't exist so I'm gonna make up a communist lesbian named 'violetta' who was executed by the coalition and now all lesbians on the isola call themselves 'violets' after her" WHAT

#kim and harry are also great in this #its all from kims perspective and he also has skills that tell him things #do not get me started on the themes and motifs ill cry #disco elysium #fanfiction

[mcd-ms-rants]

I wrote the whole post and TUMBLR DECIDED TO DELETE THE WHOLE THING

anyways it’s finally here

take

STUFF I DIDNT LIKE ABOUT MYSTREET SEASON 4:

• ok but the animations here are great. actually tho they're so fluid and clear. Credits to whoever made them!!

• and now let’s do the real thing

• ok so first off this is where the actual plot starts. I know that some people were getting bored of the monotony of the slice of life episodes so they liked it. Again there’s nothing inherently wrong with having it but you have to remember that these characters most likely weren’t written to be in a plot and I say this because their personalities are funny and lighthearted. Their clearly meant for comedy. This also makes them redundant for plot since most of them a few characters barely have any development which is probably why like half the cast was dropped. im not sure how far back jess had planned the plot but needless to say most of the characters wouldn‘t be able to fit there. Travis, Katelyn, KC and the sk’s just dipped for the whole season and even when kc, Travis and Katelyn do show up in s5 their personalities really took a beating

• WHERE DID LAURANCE AND DANTE GO?? We never see them after s3. its probably because their personalities were too funny for plot but laurance was a shadow knight in mcd and since the whole of mys is so hyped up on the whole ‘mcd and mys are connected’ thing by all means he should’ve been there too

• it makes sense that since the lodge is jointly owned by the Ro’meaves and the Lycans, Garroth, Zane and Aaron- and by extension, Aphmau- would come along. it make sense that they would ask Lucinda for help- she’s a skilled witch and has been their friend since high school. theyre literally neighbors. it makes NO SENSE to being Kim- a girl whom they’ve barely ever interacted with and whom they barely know- to a place meant for close family to go to. Ok from a plot perspective yes Kim needed to be there but Aphmau logically doesnt know that yet.

• how does ghost/emmalyn even exist?? We’ve seen emmalyn and kenmur in s1 and they’re ok. not dead or anything. Yes I know that this is mcd emmalyn and she is directly referencing mcd Zane when she says that’s the only name she remembers from when she was alive but that raises two questions- first, how can both mcd and mys versions of her exist at the same time?? and second, what exactly happened between her and mcd zane?? It sounds like she either hates him way more than she loves kenmur (or she’d remember him too) that it’s the only name she remembers or its Stockholm Syndrome.

• I feel that since the plot demanded a ghost vessel thing that was the only reason Aphmau brought Kim. it’s pretty clear that Dante and laurance wouldn’t fit the role because of their personalities so she just remade an older character and changed her completely right down to her skin to fit the plot. her whole personality changes with it- look at her I mean she even becomes more open when she talks. Again this only happened because none of the existing characters could fill that role because IT WASNT MEANT TO HAVE PLOT

• no one likes you michi girl take the hint

• seeing liochant brings back meMoriEs

• what was that potion that lucinda made and which Garroth threw on Zane?? its clear that it cured him from the effects of the forever potion but the bigger question is WHY DONT THEY USE THIS IN S6?? Ok yes in s4 Aphmau gets freed by the power of love(TM) but that doesn’t mean you do that for everyone

• as someone who liked Laurance’s character I miss him :(

• ok there’s WAY TOO MANY PROBLEMS with Ein and his villain shtick. Ein is basically some obsessive werewolf yandere boy who has an unhealthy obsession with aphmau and hates Aaron. and the cherry on top is that Aphmau is his HALF SISTER. THATS INC*ST. That’s GROSS. What is it with Aphmau antagonists and not having a clear motive or backstory?? mcd Zane and Ein both suffer from this and it shows. there were definitely better motives to give him- he doesn’t have to be centered around Aphmau all the time!! And even if you don’t want to go to all the trouble of rewriting the plot you could at least make it so that Ein knows that he and Aphmau are related. Maybe he wants a perfect sister instead and he’s willing to go to any lengths to get her there. it would still be dark and serious but it would be SO MUCH BETTER than the current plotline. Also showing the contrast between his pdh and s4 self and then not giving any semblance of an explanation really makes it difficult to imagine where it all went wrong. yes Michael definitely had something to do with it but to what extent?? How much is Ein actually in control of?? Is he under the influence of a forever potion when he turns Zane, Lucinda and Aphmau to his side?? Is he still under its influence when he fights Aaron?? look I get that they can’t reveal everything but leaving out THIS MUCH and not even revealing it in s6 makes it very difficult to accurately nail Ein’s character.

• how is Aaron even revived?? is that Irene?? how is she here and what is she doing here?? Can we have answers pls. also it makes no sense that she saves Aaron TWICE- once in s4 and second in s6. How does death even work here if Irene can just swoop in and bring them back to life. i feel like none of the villains ever count as threats then because you know that a cryptic mysterious goddess who somehow looks just like your girlfriend will revive you.

• how did Aaron even survive?? No seriously how?? We know that there’s no service or wifi up there at the lodge so using their phones is out of the question. i don’t think Lucinda would be able to conjure up a whole medical team for Aaron. and they're on a MOUNTAIN. It takes precious time to get down from it. for context, even if they sent Garroth (since he’s the fastest) down to get help they’d have to wait for him to reach the village area at the base of the mountain, get a phone, call for help, wait for said help to arrive and get Aaron to a hospital. meanwhile Aaron is bleeding out from multiple gashes on his chest made at like point black range that are critical at best and fatal at worst. (his only saving grace is the snow he’s on which would help to numb the wound because its cold but he has like FIVE deep chest wounds and the snow isn’t even on his wounds.) Ya sorry I don’t see how he manages to survive.

• did I mention that I miss Laurance?? • Why is Aaron not at a hospital I don’t even see a ventilator or oxygen mask near him. Listen I’m not a medical expert but those gashes landed straight on his chest which means straight on his lungs and dangerously close to his heart. how is he alive. how is he not choking on blood right now. we know he’s bleeding out- I’m pretty sure one of the doctors even says “Mrs Lycan, we need to draw more blood for your son.” yes he’s bleeding out why is no one trying to idk stop the wound through pressure with a cloth or something?? (Note: it’s been a while since I’ve watched s4, so if I do get anything wrong thats why!!) also why are the werewolf doctors so chill about Aaron’s ultima eyes? like yes they’re doctors they could’ve been sworn to secrecy or maybe they work for the Lycans but Derek is shown to be really paranoid about anyone finding out about Aaron being the ultima. how does he know they won’t tell it to someone else??

k imma head out now-

thanks for reading!! <3 <3

#zane ro'meave #garroth ro'meave #aphmau #aaron lycan #lucinda #aphmau kim #mystreet #s4 rant #ya this one is longer than the others but I feel like the more the plot the more the inconsistencies

[ladymelisande]

Lee Gon’s Actual Establishing Character Moment or What the Hell is TV Tropes Doing

I have a lot problems with the TV Tropes page of The King: Eternal Monarch, a lot of the tropes are just downright wrong and the YMMV page has always that stupid arse entry that basically implies that Jeong Tae Eul was a gold digger, which keeps coming back and then being deleted.

But I think the worse offender of that page and basically why I believe that whoever edited it, either didn’t like the damn show or just didn’t get jack about its themes and characters; it’s the Establishing Character Moment entry on regards to Lee Gon’s character.

Establishing Character Moment: We first meet Jung Tae Eul working a case, easily besting a group of mooks and holding her own using both her smarts and Action Girl skills. We first meet Lee Gon riding Maximus and refusing to take the concerns of his court - like the need to find him a wife - seriously. He also easily dismisses the Prime Minister's faux-romantic advances. (source)

I just... hate this entry so much, maybe even more than the gold digger thing because that’s obviously some rabid Kim Go Eun hater going around editing wiki pages to shit on Jeong Tae Eul’s character and the show. But this one is such a wilful misinterpretation of Lee Gon’s character that, as my friend @ainomica​ said when she showed it to me, whoever edited it didn’t even try to understand the protagonist character. They just threw the scene where they saw the main actor appear for the first time.

So according to whoever edited this, these three scenes are Lee Gon’s establishing character moment:

“riDING mAXImUS”

(Because this surely tell us a lot about his character and motivations... Like that he likes to ride and has a cool horse).

“reFRUSING tO tAKE tHE cOncerNS oF hIS cOUrt sEriousLY”

(Never mind that this scene is played as comedic because Lady Noh is basically Lee Gon’s grandma and she is in the “I want grandchildren” phase).

“eASSIly disMISSIES tHE pRIMe mINISTER’S fAux rOmantic aDvanCES”

(Never mind that this is Koo Seo Ryeong’s establishing character moment because it’s a) the first scene we see her, b) actually tells us quite about her, like she is an unprofessional creep that just wants to be queen regardless Lee Gon’s boundaries and manipulates the media to gain support).

These scenes are not Lee Gon’s establishing character moments at all. One is a scene to establish how his relationship with Lady Noh and Yeong is still warm even as an adult. And the other is Koo’s establishing character moment. The other on riding Maximus is... Nothing, just show us that he can ride so we know he will do it later. Whoever wrote that entry watched the show with their eyes upside down, I swear.

But wait, does this mean that Lee Gon doesn’t have an Establishing Character Moment?

No, of course he has one, because KES is not dumb, but they aren’t any of those scenes.

Is this one:

So, a fucking eight-year-old child sees his father gutted in front of his eyes, and even then, the boy manages to gain enough composure to tell the freaking adults around him to arrest the criminal, and also order as his position of power dictates. Lee Gon is a child and yet he pulls himself together quicker than an adult would. This, TV Tropes fucking page, this is a character moment that tells us about the personality of the main.

This is Lee Gon, like... Did this troper sleep over the first twenty minutes of the freaking first episode? How do they miss this scene?

How do they miss what follows this scene regarding the character? Lee Gon has to still put a brave face for the situation because it’s his duty to do so. He has to lead a ceremony for twenty-six-fucking days, he is the king now and he can’t cry like a normal little boy until all the mess is over.

And he doesn’t, he keeps that stone dignity until everything is over and then lets himself crumble.

So let’s see it from an actual character perspective, what do these scenes establish about Lee Gon’s character more than the ones mentioned in the entry?

Well, a lot more than the ones in the entry, just to be begin with.

They establish how Lee Gon is bound to his duty forever, and how someone who, in a child’s perspective, should have protected him, hurt him the most. That’s why he has so little people that he trusts when he is an adult and why he is filled with so much survivor’s guilt. This is why he is so “normal” with Jeong Tae Eul, he can’t be normal with anyone else.

These scenes are not only rich establishment but also parallel and foreshadow what happens after Prince Buyeong’s murder. Basically the same thing that happens when Lee Gon is a child, except that sadder because he is alone:

And we wouldn’t notice this, this way of hiding his feelings because he has been raised for it and because he has too. If we don’t freaking pay attention to the opening of the drama. If we don’t arrange our braincells to see the handsome and confident man and that little boy that broke down because his father was murdered as the same person, then of course we won’t understand jack about his character and the only verdict is gonna be “oh, he is rich and entitled and is played by Lee Min Ho, so therefore, he is an arsehole or something.”

But the thing that I hate the most about that entry is not only that is wrong, but that is seems deliberately written for people to get a negative impression of Lee Gon as a person.

The entry goes around pointing out superficial things like him riding his horse and then goes on him not wanting to marry as a sign of irresponsibility. Despite the previous scenes giving us plenty valid reasons on why he would have it hard on trusting people and forming a relationship.  And casually mentions him rejecting Koo’s faux... “romantic” advances as if that ties to him not wanting to marry and not Koo being a creep.

It feels just... So deliberately mean spirited against the character itself. So focused in making Lee Gon flat and arrogant “rich boy” and not a person with feelings and a journey that starts in the moment that he is just a small boy that picks up a sword despite the pain around him.

KES wrote a magnificent character establishing moment for Lee Gon, but people just seem to not see it because they just don’t give his character a chance at all.

#the king eternal monarch #tkem meta #lee gon #tv tropes disappointing me in regards to this show as always

[vivalavi-daa]

Fav 2019 K-Dramas

2019 blessed us with many intriguing kdramas with unique stories, don’t you think? I’m bored during quarantine and decided to post this. Anyways, here are my favs:

1. Vagabond

There, this picture says it all: this drama is fast paced, SO intense, and on fire. I love every minute of it! Vagabond is different than another k-dramas. I’m not lying when I say this drama literally makes me cry and scream. Sometimes I even had to pause in the middle of episode just to catch my breath lol. The plot is so well written and full of unpredictable storylines (which is what I love the most about Vagabond–that every episode always has a way to surprises me). Although, many viewers disappointed with how they ended Vagabond with a cliffhanger. I, too, really hope they consider making the second season to satisfy our curiosities. But either way, I don’t regret watching this drama. Not at all. Because this drama is too amazing

2. When the Camellia Blooms

Unlike majority of romance k-dramas, this drama’s love story is centered around a young woman who raises her child on her own. I gotta say, this is one high quality k-drama. I could even judge it from its lovely opening video. Every episode always has meaningful messages behind it. The storylines are rich and presented in such a way that makes viewers immersed in the stories and emphatize with the characters. First, they make us understand Dongbaek’s dark past and her struggle as a single parent, then they make us emphatize with Dongbaek’s son who grow up without a dad figure. We also get to see the perspectives of her mom & Yong Sik (the lead guy)’s mom as mothers,  the issues faced by side characters, and conflicts that arise from triangle love story. In addition, they also involved mistery of murderer in the stories! Can you believe how many of these can we swallow in one drama? One time this drama is heartbreaking, then it’s heartwarming, another time it gets super dark. 

Also, what I find many viewers love from this drama is how Yong Sik cherishes Dongbaek and love her for what she is, which is why I concluded this drama is perfect for woman who feels insecure. Why? Because with the way Yong Sik endlessly convinces Dongbaek, he reminds us that every woman is good enough, deserves to feel loved and receive happiness. And I love him for that.

3. Her Private Life

There is a reason why people said this is the perfect kdrama for fangirl, since the story is told from the perspective of a die hard fan (Sung Deok Mi). Those who have experienced being fangirls know how well this drama represent fangirls’ life: what fangirls do, and how fangirling affects our lives. It’s all displayed in such fun atmosphere that it’d give you good feelings while watching it. Personally, I am attracted to its opening video. It’s really catchy and reflect the fun vibes of Her Private Life. I really recommend this drama if you want to lift your mood.

But on top of that, Sung Deok Mi’s relationship with Ryan Gold is the major part of why I highly appreciate this drama!! Their relationship is unlike any relationship I’ve ever seen before. They’re very mature, respect each others’ dreams and what each other loves, always resolve conflicts through discussion. They portray the definition of a healthy relationship and I really admire that.

4.  Extraordinary You

The word extraordinary isn’t used in the title for no reasons. The storylines are, indeed, extraordinary. It is a mix of comedy, high school romance, star crossed soulmates, fantasy, mistery, comedy and a glimpse of stories in historical settings at the same time. Thus, it’s not exaggerating when fans said “you don’t have to look for specific dramas, you can get it all here”.

The actors & actresses’ acting skills are superb and we can find so many funny & relatable lines here. But one of the best things about Extraordinary You is they place the second leads in the center of spotlight! Finally nice second leads get the justice they deserve. They portrayed how lead guy who’s rude and feels entitled to have his crush doesn’t have the slightest chance of capturing the woman’s heart. Instead, the nice second leads who show respects and always put the woman’s desire before his own are what woman find attractive. I highly praise this drama for that.

5. Crash Landing on You

In 2019, we encounter many dramas with unique synopsis, including this one: a relationship between a North guy and a South woman. I have no doubt in Son Ye Jin and Hyun Bin’s chemistry since the beginning. Their incredible chemisty makes every romance scenes look even more sweet and pure and sometimes cute. Although I wasn’t really engaged with the first two episodes, the next episodes gets more appealing and satisfying. It’s nice to see the progress of both lead characters’ development and how they help each other overcome their issues. Aside from Se Ri (Son Ye Jin)’s relationship with Jeong Hyeok (Hyun Bin), her relationship with the North soldiers and neighboors at millitary village are pretty adorable. Their interaction always give me warm fuzzy feelings and they’re what I miss the most from this drama honestly.

6. One Spring Night

If you love Something in the Rain, I’m sure you’ll love this one too since both are the works from the same director. It has similiar atmospheres and similiar soundtracks vibes (both have really beautiful soundtracks by the way). Like Dongbaek from When the Camellia Blooms, the lead guy in this drama (Yoo Ji Ho) is also a single parent. I agree with fans saying this isn’t the kind of drama for everyone. This is more like slice of life and they aren’t in a rush to throw in conflicts as well as its resolution and I love it that way. Through this, they made it possible for us to process our emotions while the conflicts are presented.

The stories are also realistic: the issue experienced by the lead guy as a single parent, issue that’s arised from triangle love story, how pride and status mean for men, also a glimpse of abusive relationship, and the heartwarming sisterhood. And if we look closely, we could see how they tried to portray the influence of culture in the family and in the way they resolve a conflict. 

7. Catch the Ghost

I thought the ghost from the title refers to an actual ghost but thank god it’s not. Here, ghost is a nickname for a criminal–the villain of the drama. Even when the story centered around the same villain from the firat until the last eps, but I wasn’t bored at all watching this. In fact, it is what made me engage with the stories and made me continue watching the next eps although I had assignments to do 😅. It’s just so, so exciting to watch. The stories are dark, sad, but funny at times. However, some viewers (including me) found the lead woman (Yoo Reung) annoying at first because of her selfishness. But I promise it’s still worth to watch because in the later eps, you’ll understand why she is the way she is which makes it easier to tolerate and even emphatize with her. She’s actually lovable, and her relationship with the lead guy (Ko Ji Seok) is really cute! In fact, Ko Ji Seok is one of my fav characters in kdrama land!

8. Class of Lies

You know, I always love kdramas with unpredictable storylines. Just like what this drama has. I know the settings are set in high school but it is waaay too dark for a high school story. You can even see it from the picture that it has gloomy vibes. I thought it’s the typical high school kdrama about bullies or corruption but it’s truly exceeds my expectation. From the first episode, I already saw the potential of this drama and already hooked with the misteries. I felt so tense throughout watching the entire drama. I kept clicking the next eps to find out if things are getting better and if there is any clue to the misteries here. But I swear everytime I thought I figure something out, this drama always has surprises to give. So brilliant. I stan.

9. At Eighteen

We could tell from the title that this drama must be related to the dynamic life of 18 years old teenagers. Considering this is the age where we explore ourselves, this drama portrayed how different teens could have different issues to face: trying to fit in at school, stand up against bullies, trying to be in top tier at school, trying to get good grades whether it’s to get into reputable colleges or to meet parents’ high expectation, trying to experience romance, AND exploring sexual orientation (actually this is the first kdrama i’ve watched that portrayed gay issues so I was like wow??). So, the stories aren’t only focused on the main characters, but the side characters too. Though I really adore the main guy in this drama: Choi Jun Woo. I even made an essay about why I think he’s an ideal guy lol. If you’re interested, here you go

Not only does this drama describe the issues faced by 18 yo students, but also the struggles faced by the teacher. It shows us how teachers can feel nervous too whenever he’s about to teach or deal with the students, how certain teachers care about the wellbeings of their students, not just care about their grades. I appreciate that from the drama, really, I do. This drama is calm, heartwarming, and meaningful.

10.  Love Alarm

Tried to watch it because of Kim So Hyun, and I quickly got invested in the stories. I like the futuristic theme in this drama. The idea of a Love Alarm app itself is already interesting. Moreover, So Hyun has good chemistry with both guys. Though I don’t find both lead and second lead guys as my best type of guys, but I couldn’t stop watching it and I don’t regret watching it. Their lovestories are bittersweet which kept me looking forward for more. The last episode ended in cliffhanger though, typical Netflix series. If you don’t like uncertainty and want to watch this drama, I suggest you to wait until season 2 is released (yes, they announced there will be a season 2).

k-drama recommendation: 2/?

#fav kdramas #fav 2019 kdramas #kdrama recommendations #vagabond #when the camellia blooms #her private life #extraordinary you #july found by chance #crash landing on you #catch the ghost #at eighteen #moments at eighteen #class of lies #love alarm #kdramas #korean drama #k-drama #touch your heart #one spring night

[justimajin]

Catching a Case of the Doctor Blues ⌠Part 13⌡

⇢ Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

⇢ Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Angst

↳ (2.3k) Doctor/Surgeon AU, Enemies to Lovers AU

⇢ Summary: When asked about Dr. Kim, a string of beautifully aligned words are ready spew from your lips. You could possibly go on and on about how his wonderful stubbornness wasn’t similar to talking to a brick wall, or how his observation skills were especially great in preparing your blood vessels for a drastic rupture or even how one gracious stare of his nearly had you on the verge of ripping your essential documents in half. But it seems that, perhaps, there was a lot more to Dr. Kim then what meets the eye…

⇢ Warnings: Dr. L/N and Dr. Kim actually having a decent conversation 

⇢  Moodboard Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

⇢ Next Update: Tuesday, June 4

A patient in distress? 

You can comfort them.

Reports needing to be filed?

It’ll take you only five minutes.

Conducting an intensive operation? 

Save for a long string of hours, but otherwise a task that can be completed.

Inviting Dr. Kim to go get coffee with you?

A huge error sign is ringing inside your head, screaming at you for even trying to do this and screeching that there was no way a positive outcome could actually happen.

But you ignore that sign, acknowledging the advice that had been given to you these past couple of days and trying to make use of it. After all, you were even getting chance to go out somewhere that was other than work and this leads to the hope that perhaps the change of environment will allow your evening to run by smoothly and pleasantly.

However, that reassurance doesn’t do any wonders to solve the multitude of problems you keep facing.

What should you wear? What time should you get there by? What are you even going to talk about?

These questions aren’t very easily ignored and one of them roughly get an answer when you just opt out to wearing a pair of jeans combined with a simple black dress shirt. Though, as you take one glance in the mirror at your attire, you get the strange urge to just rip it all off and change back into your comfortable pajama’s; completely away from the impending interaction you had inevitably set up for yourself.

The constant glances at the clock are also taking their own toll on you when you have absolutely no clue if you should be early for polite reasons, exactly on time so you don’t appear to be waiting too long or late to show you don’t care for the meeting as much even though you clearly asked for it.

Taking one final glimpse in the mirror, you deeply inhale and try to calm your fleeting mess of emotions.

Stop freaking out Y/N, it’s just coffee with a colleague, you’ll have a nice time and strike some conversation, then you can come home and bury yourself for eternity for having this idea.

With one final stare, you crack the door open and hope to yourself that you hadn’t made a huge mistake.

You arrive exactly on time and grimace a bit on the inside when you find yourself alone standing outside the shop. But of course, you can’t expect that he’ll be there on time like you and now you begin wondering if coming late was the better optio-

“Dr. L/N?”

The voice shuts down your trail of thoughts and you’re pleasantly greeted to Dr. Kim, but taking in his appearance leaves you a bit perplexed.

It’s strange to say you’ve only seen Dr. Kim in normal clothing briefly when you were considerably sick, but even in that instance it was hard getting a glance at the doctor when you were spiking up at high temperatures and struggling to breathe from all the congestion.

However now, you can properly see him and he appears to dress similar to that specific day – a tucked in colourful shirt with elegant swirls printed on combined with a dark trench coat hanging off of him. Based on just observing him, you could tell that he was interested in high branded clothing when not adorning the white coloured coat. It’s a nice change, causing even you to admit that the man knows how to look proper even when meeting you like this.

“Shall we go inside?” He asks and you nod, slowly trailing behind him.

But then again as you reflect on the absence of the coat, it keeps dawning on you more that this encounter was definitely stepping outside of the usual day to day basis you were comfortably associated with.

The interior isn’t too bad, with freshly warm coffee being brewed in the background and the endless chitter chatter of others flowing into your ears. You’re extremely grateful for it, as it’s the only thing holding together the dead-panned silence resting within the air you share when somehow both of you have already managed to sit down and order, yet your gazes are firmly locked on your drinks.

Of course its awkward; it was something you had expected when this truly was out of the blue. Yet from all the instances you had with the man to the pieces of perspectives you have plucked out from your co-workers, you are certain that something has changed.

However, there is still a layer of built up confusion inside you on how to take the next step.

You quickly glance at him and widen your eyes when in fact, he wasn’t relaxed either with the situation just like you. His eyes occasionally drift off to the window outside and he lifts his hand ever so often to place on the side of his cheek, tapping his fingers mindlessly.

Although it was easy to tell he was nervous by the way it was radiating off his stance, your eyes drift over to the full cup of coffee before him.

“You…don’t like coffee?” You ask and his continued silence is the only indication of a response for you when he uncomfortably shifts.

Your eyes widen and with a sigh, you repress the abundant urge to kick yourself. You had asked him to come all the way here with you and yet failed to grasp that what you had in mind wouldn’t be to his liking.

But then…he could have refused…right?

You discard that thought, knowing what you needed to do now.

“Do you want to go outside?”

Although the shop was comfy with its appearance, the built up awkward tension and his natural dislike for the substance isn’t going to help you much. Your reasoning also dips into the fact that that he’s directly planted in front of you and with absolute certainty you can declare that talking like this isn’t going to be especially great for you in particular.

Heading out of the shop proves to be an idea you wished had before as the light breeze actually sooths down the inner turmoil brewing inside of you. You even acknowledge that it was doing Dr. Kim good as well when the two of you weren’t trapped and confined to a single space.

“Why don’t you like coffee?”

“Too bitter.” He explains, “It’s the same for alcohol, it’s too bitter for me.”

“Then why did you agree to get coffee?” If Dr. Kim didn’t like the idea, he could have easily expressed his dislike for it.

“Because you asked me to come.”

You widen your eyes, opening and closing your mouth several times.

“I see…” It’s all you can muster up to say.

“So you grew up in Daegu?” He makes eye contact with you and the sudden curiosity leaves you puzzled.

But you decide that there was no harm in telling him, “I lived there with my mother for a while before I was taken in by my aunt and moved here.”

“How...was your aunt?” He sounds deeply contorted in thought.

“My aunt…” Truth be told, you aren’t a huge fan of the woman, who was only borderline obsessed with the notion that she finally had someone to take care of. But it can simply be thrown away; all the love and support she had given to you when you had ultimately decided that becoming a doctor was the pursuit of your life. “Is a kind lady, she took me in when I was really young and had supported my dreams. But she could be overbearing at times.”

“Do you miss Daegu?”

You contemplate, turning to him, “Sometimes? I have a career here but I left a lot behind.” A distant look remerges in your eyes, “I think more than Daegu, I miss my childhood friend the most.”

“Friend?”

You nod, “I had moved into the house next door to his and my health wasn’t the best, but he would always come over and try to lift my spirits.” A nostalgic sigh escapes from you, “I don’t know where he is now, but I hope he’s doing well.”

You turn to Dr. Kim with a smile at the memories, but you only find his gaze locked onto you. It isn’t stern and direct as it usually was but is contorted with something more, causing you grimace at the abrupt load of sheer pain filling his eyes.

“Cherry blossoms?”

He flinches, snapping back instantly when you point behind him at the petals fluttering down. “They’re finally blooming.” You say in astonishment and an entire roster of emotions are swirling around in his eyes, from grief to utter regret. You walk closer to observe them more as they slowly dance down and one rests itself in your palm.

“Didn’t Daegu have festivals for the cherry blossoms when they bloomed?” You turn to him when you recall that he had too said he originated from there.

He hums, “Every year. And everyone would gather to see them.”

You let out a sigh, “I wish I got to see it before I left.” You shake your head, “My aunt was in such a hurry to leave.”

She was.

Because I wanted to go with you.

“I never got to see them either.” He says instead and curiously you turn to him.

“What about you? Why did you leave?”

He pauses, eyes void of anything when his lips set into a repressed line, “I couldn’t stay there anymore.” His voice comes out harsher, a darker undertone lacing it. But he notices you staring at him and he lightens it up, “I left someone behind as well.”

You hum, “Who was this person?”

“Just someone...I had a crush on.” Your eyes widen dramatically and you stare at Dr. Kim bewildered to which a small smile tugs on his lips.

“A crush on?” Your mind is going on rapid whirlwinds at the new information being thrown out when you can’t even consider associating the concept of love with Dr. Kim. However, it makes you think in a different way, that perhaps there was more to the doctor that you simply hadn’t seen of.

He nods and the smile doesn’t fade off from his features. He almost looks like a young boy who was experiencing the feelings for the first time and not the established doctor you know so well.

“I unfortunately never got to confess. Like your friend, I hope she is doing well too.” You smile at the idea and there’s a warm, mutual feeling between you two, like there’s actual air you can breathe from and it isn’t considered horrific to be within the same proximity as him.

The rest of your evening actually passes by well, from you and Dr. Kim conversing about matters in the hospital with the recent surgery you had conducted together to then shifting completely to personal topics in which he seem invested about knowing from how you grew up in your time in Daegu. Its something you simply brush off considering that it was not only your hometown but his own as well and you welcome expressing thoughts from the past that you never imagined talking about alongside the doctor.

He eventually ends up taking you to your apartment and there is an immense load of tension getting uplifted from your shoulders that the time spent wasn’t entirely awkward as you had initially wondered. Instead, it was so much more interesting to talk to him outside of your professional workplace and just to simply understand Dr. Kim on an actual personal basis.

But the one spark that brings this evening to its close, is the question that had been hanging by a mere thread for majority of the time and you assume now is potentially the best time to bring it up.

“Dr. Kim?”

You’re stationed right in front of your apartment’s door and from extreme lengths, the recollection of you dragging him inside flashes through when you had gotten sick. You decide to caste that cringing thought away completely however. For your own sanity.

He hums, his gaze not feeling like it was attempting to judge you in anyway or as if it was infuriated with your simple existence. It’s instead a comfortable gaze, eyes that are relaxed and gleaming with a tint of playfulness as they draw curiously onto you.

“I know...” You begin, wanting to word this properly, “We’ve had our differences in the past, especially at work. But I do believe something had changed.” Carefully observing him while speaking, you notice that he just nods and doesn’t attempt to inject with anything you are saying.

“So what I wanted to ask was,” You pause, scoffing slightly in the back of your mind when words Yoongi had once spoken emerge, “Can we…”

“Personally, I think the two of you could be good friends.”

“Can we possibly be friends Dr. Kim?”

#taehyung fanfic #taehyung fluff #taehyung doctor au #taehyung e2l au #bts taehyung fanfic #bts v fanfic #kim taehyung fanfic #bts kim taehyung fanfic #bts v fluff #bts taehyung fluff #bts taehyung doctor au #bts v e2l au #bts v doctor au #bts doctor au #bts e2l au

[hollenius]

What are the things you think people tend to overlook with Howard Hamlin?

Ooh, great question! For me, the issue with Howard is that some folks take a rather reductive view of him. Prior to the big reveal in “Pimento”, there was a TON of Howard hate floating around the internet (some of which is even still visible, e.g. in older tumblr posts), which got completely transferred to Chuck after that. The thing is, Howard was always sort of a “designated villain” in those early episodes, rather than a genuinely bad person. He’s hateable because he’s an overdressed rich guy, and he’s hateable because Jimmy hates him, but he isn’t actually seen doing anything particularly nefarious within the show. (Since he was originally intended to be an antagonist, it’s possible the writers had been planning on revealing something more damning about him at some later point that wound up getting scrapped.)

After all the fan loathing found a new target, things started to go a little too far in the other direction, with some people saying that Howard is/was essentially blameless, and is the most decent person on the show. Howard isn’t a bad guy, but he’s got flaws just like anyone else–I bring them up not because I dislike him as a character, but because I think they tend to get overlooked or whitewashed. The biggest problem I have with Howard is his treatment of Kim, which always seems completely disproportionate to what she has actually done. This is present to a certain extent in season 1, when he saddles her with the blame for losing the delusional/incompetent Kettlemans (who would be an impossible client for even the most diplomatically talented lawyer to handle), and is really rude/snippy to her on other occasions (“next time you want to come in here and tell me what I’m doing wrong, you are welcome to keep it to yourself, because I don’t care!”). I think his behavior toward her gets worse in seasons 2 and 3, though. (Season 4 Hamlin is a different animal altogether, and probably merits a separate post.)

Kim’s biggest recurring fault, which Chuck correctly pegs in season 2, is the extent to which she allows her fondness for Jimmy to cloud her judgement. If Kim had known that Jimmy hadn’t cleared the commercial with Cliff and had concealed that knowledge from HHM, then she absolutely would be in the wrong, and Howard would be right to punish her. The fact that Jimmy misrepresented the situation to her complicates matters; she’s still lying (or at least not telling the full truth) to cover up for him, but she’s not as complicit in all parts of the situation as Howard and Chuck believe, and Howard goes on the warpath to a degree that even Chuck finds excessive. (And when Chuck, of all people, thinks you’re being overzealous in punishing somebody, hoo boy…) Kim is fully cognizant of her wrongdoing, and lands Mesa Verde for HHM as a penitential gesture, and Howard is still unmoved. I’ve seen some people argue that Howard is hard on Kim because he sees potential in her, and this is true to a certain extent, but this is a dangerous line of reasoning, as it can veer pretty close to condoning abusive behavior. I still am not sure, in-universe, why he seems to have it in for her in particular. (Does he treat other employees like this? We’re not given enough information to be able to tell. Is she treated like this because HHM financed her education and thus has greater expectations of loyalty from her?) From a storytelling perspective, I suppose his harshness towards her gives Kim an analogue to Jimmy’s adversarial relationship with Chuck, but the problem with that is that it’s never going to match the intensity of the McGill brothers’ feud. Kim and Howard have known each other for, at most, a decade or so, and purely in a professional context. It’s not the same as having 40 years or so of emotional baggage and familial dysfunction. Regardless, Howard doesn’t seem to appreciate his own role in driving Kim away from HHM. His behavior with her in the restaurant in season 3 over her remaining law school debt is another example of him being petulant and bitchy towards her–while having the gall to accuse her of ruining his firm’s reputation!

Speaking of Howard-Kim being an analogue to Chuck-Jimmy, I think there are some mild echoes of the Kim-Jimmy relationship in terms of Howard’s dealings with Chuck, in that loyalty to a McGill brother is always going to wind up hurting you. Kim suffers constantly because of her feelings for Jimmy, but Howard also has to suffer a lot because of his feelings about Chuck, which leads to his unwillingness to confront him or push him about anything until it’s too late. I don’t blame Howard for deferring to Chuck on the Jimmy issue, because he probably assumed a man’s brother would be a better judge of his character than a stranger, but the handling of everything else related to Chuck’s condition and the operations of HHM seemed questionable. Howard, like Jimmy, was completely willing to be an enabler, and was willing to play along with everything until his firm’s reputation started suffering and its financial situation started getting affected, when he dropped Chuck like a hot potato. (A baked potato?) All sorts of damage could’ve been caused to the firm’s clients in the meantime. I can see not wanting to upset your mentor–Howard seems to have a great deal more affection towards Chuck than he has towards his actual father (why WAS Chuck the one tutoring Howard for the bar exam? Daddy too busy?)–but at some point, you’d think he would have to admit that his partner wasn’t really recovering in any meaningful sense, and in some ways was actually getting worse. On the one hand, you could argue that Howard didn’t really realize how bad Chuck was, but on the other hand, we know Howard visits him at his house sometimes (even delivering him groceries at least once!), so he’d have seen the bizarre living conditions. Unfortunately, it’s hard to know what Howard could’ve done better, because Chuck likely would’ve objected to everything, and the end situation would’ve wound up the same. At some point, he would have needed to confront Chuck about something in a more forceful manner (“I am not paying for this private detective to sit around the house so you can scheme against your ne’er-do-well brother”,“I am not letting you appear at the bar hearing”, etc.), and he would’ve needed to be prepared for the fallout.

In terms of Howard’s dealings with Jimmy, I do think he’s pretty blameless there. He treats Jimmy fairly when he’s allowed to, and is rightfully angry when Jimmy abuses the faith he placed in him. Arguably he could’ve done a little more to reassure Jimmy after he was turned down from HHM, but since Jimmy would hardly have been receptive to that, there was probably little he could do.

One minor thing that bugs me about Howard is that he doesn’t seem to be particularly talented as a lawyer. Jimmy says as much in season 4, but even before then, we never get the sense that Howard actually does much lawyering. He’s a pretty face with a very expensive suit, but that just makes me think of him as a parallel universe GOB Bluth, garbed in Hamlindigo Blue. A better analogy might be Roger Sterling from Mad Men, who is not the original Sterling of Sterling Cooper, similar to how Howard is the second Hamlin of Hamlin Hamlin McGill. Another poor little rich boy, who seems to mostly coast by on his family’s name, his company’s reputation, and his ability to schmooze among the upper classes while the other employees do the actual work. Of course, being a schmoozy member of the elite is a skill in its own right, and it’s certainly not a role one could imagine Chuck taking on within HHM, but it’s not exactly the same thing as being good at your profession. Howard tells Kim he wanted to work as a solo practitioner before his dad talked him into becoming the second “H” in his firm, but it’d be interesting to see where that would’ve got him after a decade or two.

(This is all very disorganized, sorry. I was trying to write it during downtime at work.)

#asks #better call saul #howard hamlin #meta

[jordm]

Heartland 12x02 - Hearts Run Free review

Previously on Heartland:

Mitch: I’m dating again

Me: I know. You’re in two hallmark movies in the span of a month (Winter Castle & Winter Love Story - btw)

OK, jokes aside, I’ve already seen Winter Castle but if anyone is actually interested in me recapping Winter Love Story, out later this month, I can try to do a live blog type thing.

ANYWAYS, onto the episode!

Tim

Anyone else kind of upset there was no ‘we know something they don’t?” thing where we see the whole convo that went down and then him coming to the house to move in, even though the family doesn't? That way we can truly appreciate why each party is acting said way. Gosh, for such an important event we don’t even SEE Casey.

Anyways, Team Jack. He def should have consulted Jack first - plus  begs the question - how temporary is temporary in Heartland world?

So in the end Tim tells Lou the truth BUT ASDJHASJDKH we don’t hear it!!!! what the heck Heartland?! All we really get is that timing is a funny thing. And here’s the funny thing, Timing is a funny thing. Especially when Music overlaps with what the speaking.

Amy & Ty

Amy & Ty are starting to work together - and it’s coming together thanks to Dean’s approval and pleasant surprise over Amy’s work with Bandit - and after hearing that they are now starting to work together as the ‘dream team.’ 

Anyways when said mare and foal (currently unnamed) escape again, Amy and Ty find them in another situation (when will they learn?!), but this time it’s the mare whose in trouble. long story short, this is when they come to the conclusion that Will’s herd at Pike River is the perfect place for them - and I agree. it really does seem pretty perfect. 

Speaking of reminiscing:

“The wedding that never happened” - Ty

“And thank goodness it never happened; could you imagine Lou?” - Amy

Jack

I honestly just feel bad for Jack the entire episode. First Lisa ditches her husband on their romantic long awaited weekend for Aunt Evelyn, then Tim without warning moves in. I mean, i’m still a lil upset it ruined Amy/Ty’s weekend alone time but ehhhh I guess it’s okay. ANYWAYS, Pike River.

Pike River (Amy, Jack & Ty)

So I know that it was billed as - or in my head as a romantic weekend but... as I watch it play out, even if it was just the two of them, I am coming to terms that it probably wouldn’t be very romantic as the head of the herd seems to be causing problems and having trouble accepting the mare and foal. Plus, they did get plenty of alone time when Will was with Jack.

“And now we’re married. Have our own beautiful baby girl. I’d say we’re doing pretty good” - Ty

Amy and her horse whisperer sense talks to the head of the herd and gets through - convinces the head to accept the mare/foal. Seems like the solution - although it probably took a few days - was somewhat straight forward. True in miracle girl fashion, Will now has two more mouths to feed and Amy has solved another horse issue (PS I’d LOVE to see a horse issue last more than a few episodes - a la Phoenix or Spartan. It would really show Amy testing her skills)

“You’re a cowboy Jack. You always have been, always gonna be and Lisa loves you for that and don’t go changing into someone else- especially when that someone else sounds like the idiot I used to be” - Will

God bless Will for cheering up Jack about Lisa - for suggesting a guys day fishing trip. I'm a little... skeptical because we see Lisa crying in stills with Jack later on in the season right? So I’m guessing that either something major happens during this fishing trip or it never even happens. And I just don’t want to think about that. Please let this fishing trip happen because I want to hear more stories from the past!

Lisa

So here’s a timeline of my thoughts:

7:19 - So Evelyn’s emergency is that she wants Lisa to... be her travel companion? Because... she’s lonely and her boyfriend isn’t the greatest? Call me skeptical but early on i’m Team Jack - she’s about to forgo a long awaiting trip with Jack to be with her aunt - a grown woman with her own friends and who can travel herself. So we’ll see how this plays out.

13:36 - So apparently Evelyn is sick? Lisa seems to believe it but Jack is skeptical. Maybe a compromise that she leaves after said romantic weekend? Did they even discuss how long she’d be going for because Jack seemed against her going all together when we don’t even know for how long or the finite details.

27:15 - Gotta love Will for talking Jack off the ledge and kind of seeing things from a different perspective. Advice once given to Will by Jack himself.

36:58 - So Lisa has decided to go... (boooo) but is also going to be Amy/Ty’s first full time clients? So bittersweet I guess. I’m looking forward to seeing Amy and Ty working together more and more at Fairfield but also sad because Lisa won’t be there. Or in this season at all.

40:04 - okay stop breaking my heart Jisa and please come back soon. please. pretty please? Jack needs you with Tim around.

Georgie

She heard about an opening for a high level training coach - Kim Price. She feels that she should give it a shot since Amy always feels bad for not spending enough time with Georgie. I’m with Georgie - plus this is waaay better for Amy and frees up her time to work on her new business venture. 

Turns out (as we all probably expected) Amy only wants whats best for Georgie, even if Georgie insists that “Amy is best.” (she isn’t) It is nice to see Amy kind of upset that Georgie “fired her” even if she knows she is absolutely in the right and it’s for the best - I truly believe that just because you know something is right, doesn’t mean it can’t hurt; if you really cared in the first place then it SHOULD upset you a little even if you know its right.

Looks like Kim is down to train Georgie, with a caveat - she has to ride of horse of choosing. AKA not Phoenix, but Georgie refuses - she’s a loyal one and something tells me movie magic will make her make the time of 0:56. (alas i am proven right - i mean in the sense Kim agrees even though she was 1 second over)

Lou

Lou’s calling her father, asking how things went with Casey. I get Tim is all cagey and shit but give him some time to tell the family. She doesn’t even know if it went well! And it seems evident that... something went haywire because now he’s moving into the house since he sold Big River (a lil prematurely no?)

It’s nice to see her stepping up to take care of Lyndy after so many seasons of being away so often. It’s also nice to see Lou step up to help Georgie with her training and spending time with her daughter - even giving her valid advice. And to see Lou on a horse. Here’s to more of this Lou please.

Because Lou is fine. She’s fine. How often can she say fine before someone believes it? How much can she talk before she talks herself off the ledge? Because they’re totally “friends”, friends in quotes - because that conversation between her and Mitch was... something. A little combative, with both of them trying to pretend they’re 100% over each other when clearly theres still something there.

(I may have said because a little too much in the latter paragraph. Oops)

End Notes

- I managed to type the majority of this during the commercials... which is actually pretty impressive in itself. 

- Gotta love Lou’s line of “Given the new living circumstances, I’ll move into the loft” - I’m thinking she’s kind of grateful to be away from this mess and the inevitable Jack/Tim arguments. Did anyone else wish we saw Lou actually take care of Lyndy?

- Ty’s “Why?” is all of us; i bet he thought he was coming as a chaperone - when it really is long not necessary. If only they knew the entire story - actually “if only they knew the entire story” seems to be the theme:

x if only they knew why Tim was really acting that way after whatever went down with Casey

x if only they knew what Jack was going through with Lisa and Tim all at once

- I just LOVE all the faces Lyndy makes during this episode.

Songs In This Episode ( @heartlandians )

Game Called Love - Evan Olson

Here With Me - Joe Alexander Ediekn

Remember - Joey Landreth

#heartland #review #12x01 #season 12 #hearts run free

[shutupkimjongdae]

[TRANS/MAGAZINE] Popteen Magazine - EXO-CBX for July Issue 2017 To view as HQ scans, click here and zoom in!

source: x translator: dianne + fai please do not repost without permission!

To read as text only, keep reading!

If EXO-CBX were your classmates... ♡

EXO's first unit finally at Popteen!! Known not only in Korea and Japan, globally-renowned super group EXO forms its first unit!!! Female students in Japan can't stop adoring them! ♥ EXO's first unit, EXO-CBX, releases its mini album 「GIRLS」 for their Japanese debut!! If the three members were your classmates...? Let's know more about that dream-like world ♥

PROFILE

EXO's members, Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin, comprise of the first unit. The group had its debut with their mini album Hey Mama! released last October 2016 in Korea. With a fresh appeal, they're finally ready for their Japanese debut! CHEN • Born on September 21, 1992. Mainly known for his singing prowess, especially the range he can cover for high notes. Has sung popular drama soundtracks for his solo activities and has previously participated in a musical. BAEKHYUN • Born on May 6th, 1992. The unit’s mood-maker with his bright personality and outstanding talking skills. His colorful and sweet singing voice is his specialty. Showing a charming yet sexy performance on stage, that gap is the charm point! XIUMIN • Born on March 26th, 1990. Alongside his cute and loveable outer impression are outstanding reflexes. He also has a manly side that allows the members to rely on him. Achieved his first acting role this year in 『Kim Seondal: The Man Who Sold the River』.

Individual Q&A

Q: What kind of character were you when you were in high school? C: I was the type who often listened to the teacher. I was the model student of some sort, I think. It’s common to encounter these kinds of boys in class, right? During high school, I was quite enthusiastic about skipping classes (laughs). Because I was just then starting with music-related activities, I loved listening to songs. B: Firstly, students in the entire school knew about me (laughs). I was pleasant, and very fun (to be around), also I’m a little strange, which is rare, and I think that’s why a lot of students knew about me. When I was in school, I was known as the kid who talked a lot and had a lot of interesting stories and the kid who could sing well (laughs). X: When I was in high school, I was quite an ordinary student. Talking about myself like this might be too much, but I was somewhat of a model student. I strictly kept to the rules, and I attended school without missing one day. I was quite ordinary, but after that, I was like a child who always played with his friends. Q: What kind of girls were popular when you were in high school? C: In my opinion, the most popular girl was a girl with long hair and an innocent image. Looking at Popteen, there seems to be a lot with innocent and mature appearances. Each person has her own charm, and I would like to convey these words of admiration to each of them. I think we are successful in terms of getting in touch with teenagers through this photoshoot. Please look forward to EXO-CBX’s activities, and I hope to communicate with everyone. B: Cute girls. There are girls who looked cute no matter what they were doing, right? Girls who make you smile whenever you look at them. I think these kinds of girls were popular. Japanese high school girls have this impression of being pure, don’t you think so? Their teenage years are the times when they have the most overflowing confidence, and I think even their facial expressions are very beautiful. Since we also have a teenaged appearance (laughs), we want to be an existence that is like your friends. So don’t hesitate and please come closer to us! X: When I was in high school, I didn’t pay any attention to girls. I really liked soccer, so compared to girls, I liked playing soccer with my male friends more. From the point of view of someone like me (who did nothing but soccer), the readers of Popteen don’t look like high school students, but more like dolls! And to let us EXO-CBX be part of (your teenage years) is an honor. Also, since all of us look like teenagers, I think we can blend well in the magazine (laughs). We are also working hard to get closer to our teenage audience, so please watch over EXO-CBX. Q: Honestly, were you popular in high school? C: Moderately, fairly... I was average (laughs). B: The girls didn’t view me as a man; rather, I feel like they viewed me more like a friend. I don’t know the reason for that, but it’s probably because I had a mischievous image. X: I was a member of the soccer club, and I really did nothing but soccer, so I don’t even know if there was anyone who liked me nor do I know if I was popular. In fact, if I had popularity, it’s probably among my male friends (laughs). Q: When you were in high school, what subjects did you like and what subjects were you bad at? C: My most favorite was music. I wasn't good at math. B: The subject I liked was music, and the subject I was bad at was math. X: I liked math, and I was bad at Korean. Q: What would you want to do if you could go back to being a high school student? C: If I could go back to my high school days now, I think I'd practice singing more. It’s because the me back then used to skip singing practices. Looking back, it could have been better if I diligently practiced then. The current me is actually bad in singing (laughs). B: Firstly, I want to drink lots of milk because I want to become taller (laughs). And then, weren’t there a lot of adults who said 「The time when I went to school was the best time」? The me now probably thinks the same, and I feel envious towards high schoolers. The reason is that you’re by your parents’ side, you can receive pocket money from your parents, and you can go about your daily life without worrying about anything. That’s why if I go back to being a high schooler, I think I would play a lot more (laughs). X: If I could go back to my high school days, I probably would want to study a lot harder. I really didn’t realize it back then, but now, whenever I look back, I have the feeling of 「Ah, I wish I had studied more」. I want to do my best in studies and then get number 1 in tests. I want to be number one in the whole school.

GROUP INTERVIEW

While commuting to school or after classes, I want to feel excitement with EXO-CBX's songs! Q: Tell us your thoughts on your Japanese debut! X: I was very very happy with the idea of meeting the Japanese fans outside EXO's group activities through EXO-CBX. We are grateful for this. C: With various types of music included, we had a good opportunity to meet everyone. With this chance given by our Japanese debut, we want to exert our very best to be able to meet more Japanese EXO-Ls. B: Until now, it's rare to meet the Japanese fans, so the thought of meeting them is strong. That's why it is exciting to know that even with the slightest chance, we can meet the fans. Q: What triggered the unit’s formation? B: First of all, the three of us get along well. We have the same mindset when it comes to the desire to perform. Also, since we live in one place, we act natural around each other most of the time. A conversation just went, "Let's try this". Q: What kind of group is EXO-CBX? C: A different side apart when we’re with EXO shall be seen and I think an example could be our hard work. I’m sure with the music and performance, a carefree vibe can be felt. Q: When your debut was finalized, were there any reactions from the other members? X: The prominent comment was “Ooh~ Fighting” kind-of-feel (laughs). C: We already had activities for , but after the promotions, a lot of members said “I want to do it with you too!” Q: Who, for example? CBX: D.O. (laughs)! B: Because D.O. is an actor with movies to shoot, he was busy with filming. If D.O. were to be included in EXO-CBX, he might fail to attend the debut (laughs). Q: What is the concept of your Japanese mini album ? B: It’s a mini album about some of women’s thoughts presented from a man’s perspective. If women would watch this, there are relatable moments summarized into the song. We wanted to convey to women that “money is not everything” and I think a lot of situations are presented as we sing this song. Q: What song do you recommend to teenaged girls? B: The lead song “Ka-CHING!” Because of its exciting and rhythmical sound, it fits perfectly with the current season and you can relax your shoulders while listening to it. X: On the commute to school or home, I think you’ll feel good while listening to it. Q: What to look forward to in the dance performance? B: To be honest, there are a lot of keypoints in the song’s dance. And if you dance with us, your feet will feel lighter. Q: Is there a trick on how to sing EXO-CBX’s songs well in karaoke? B: Since the readers are female, raising the key two or three notches (laughs). Also, remember the dance steps on the chorus part. Inside the karaoke box, march while singing. C: It’s easy to follow so try it out together with your friends. After that, your stress will fly out of the window. Q: When the three of you have promotions, does each member have a role? B: There are no specific roles assigned, but for example, watch out for the gear when we drive (t/n: dance step included in “Ka-CHING!” during the bridge part). Xiumin is the neutral N, Chen is the drive D, and I am reverse R. As to why is because Xiumin maintains as a neutral person. Chen has the “Let’s do that! Let’s do this!” kind of enthusiasm with regards to group activities. I’m the “Eh~ We need to do something to that extent?”, looking at things a step backwards (laughs). X: Ahaha (laughs)! That’s right! To add to that, Baekhyun reassesses things at times, but there are moments when he betrays that mindset. That’s why it’s not always the case that he looks at things a step backwards. Q: Lastly, please tell us your thoughts on your Japanese activities. B: Firstly, we are really looking forward to the upcoming free event. We're not only meeting the fans but also a general audience who can watch us, and this makes me feel excited. X: From now on, every time an album is released, we’ll aim to have a concert tour along with that. C: The Japanese debut and free showcase are big challenges to us. To get good results, I want to show my best to everyone. B: Please look forward to it and we’ll be happy to receive lots of love from everyone!

QUOTES

C: Let's dance KA-CHING! together and release some stress! B: I'll meet the Japanese fans and it makes me excited! X: My goal is for EXO and CBX to have their concert tour at the same time.

#chen #baekhyun #xiumin #cbx #exo cbx #exo #translations #t: magazine #popteen #trans: japanese #shutupkjdsubs #scanlation

[nimzv]

Douglas Webster: Artist. Choreographer. Director.

Posted by Team IDC | Sep 26, 2019

by Anne Calder | Photos by Daphne Backman

Douglas Webster created Ice Dance International in 2014 and is the Executive Artistic Director. IDI showcases and promotes ice dancing as an internationally recognized performing art untethered by the technical rules of competitive ice dance.

Douglas Webster has choreographed for many major skating companies including Disney on Ice, Holiday on Ice, Stars on Ice, and the Sun Valley Ice Show. His choreography has been in television shows all over the world including Disson Skating, Winter Solstice on Ice, Skating with the Stars for ABC TV, and Sterren Dansen of Het Ijs [Dancing on Ice] in the Netherlands.

He recently shared his thoughts about ice dance and skating in general with IDC.

Growing up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, what was it like skating outdoors on ponds? My family would go skating together on lakes and ponds around North Conway, New Hampshire. Though not a pond per se, I did skate on an outdoor rink in front of the old train station. It was a makeshift type rink with a hose and scraper for an ice cleaner. My time at that early rink has become a key to building our Get Out and Skate programs with the New Hampshire and Maine public schools with the hope to inspire everyone to enjoy skating outdoors in the winter.

It’s a gift to skate outdoors breathing fresh air with the natural world flying by. It’s a feeling that still resonates with me today. There’s a little pond down the street from where I live now in Kittery, ME that I like to skate on in winter. It’s so nice to walk down the street and hop on the ice for a spin.

Tell us how your early skating experiences eventually led to becoming a professional? I began skating in the 70’s. When I became a more devoted skater at the “old” age of 12-13, every couple of weeks my dad would take me to the Skating Club of Boston for one lesson. [A five-hour round trip drive]. In the summer we went to Lake Placid, New York, and Augusta, Maine, where John Millier & Amy Webster introduced me to ice dancing.

When my family moved to Fairfax, Virginia I met Audrey Weisiger and a wonderful team who guided me through my tests at a rapid rate. I competed in Novice at the 1985 US Nationals and in Junior Men at Easterns the following year. After that, I quit skating and went to college. At the end of my sophomore year, I got a soloist job at a Willy Bietak ice show at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, which introduced me to the awesome world of professional skating.

Who were some of your fellow performers in your early days of show skating? My best friends in the ice shows remain my best friends today. Cindy Stuart and Jamie Isley were my closest friends in the early days, and we share a unique bond today. In 1988/89 we performed together in Willy Bietak’s Festival on Ice and the first rendition of Broadway on Ice in Miami with John Curry and then at Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe with Scott Hamilton. Judy Blumberg & Michael Seibert, Tai Babilonia & Randy Gardner also performed. [He also did Carmen on Ice in Spain before returning to college.]

Share some of your memories of John Curry. It was a gift to not only know John and work with him in the 80’s, but I saw his John Curry Skating Company in 1985 at the Kennedy Center when I was a senior in high school. I was lucky that my family took me to the theatre and ballet; John’s company added wonderful skating to the combination. Seeing John’s company has inspired every bit of my life and career…and Ice Dance International.

Tell us about working with the Ice Theatre of New York. (ITNY) Share some memories. I arrived in New York City in January 1991 just after graduating from William and Mary College. Valerie Levine, who had also done Carmen on Ice, encouraged me to skate with the Ice Theatre of New York. I stayed on with ITNY until October 2014 as a performer, choreographer, ensemble director, associate artistic director and finally as artistic director.

I have many fond memories of my time with Ice Theatre of New York.

Skating and performing with Judy Blumberg in Appalachia Waltz.

Choreographing Departures for ITNY as a tribute to those lost at the World Trade Center.

Choreographing Unforgettable, a repertory piece created for Richard Dwyer as an homage to the classic era of ice show.

What were your greatest challenges when you began choreographing? Back in the day with no Facebook, Instagram or even personal computers, things were just a little different. There were so few opportunities for choreographers in production skating – and there aren’t that many today, which is why social media is such a wonderful gift to not only young choreographers, but for anyone who wants to share their passion for movement on ice.

Getting paid is another thing – and outside having your work seen – is the next major obstacle for a new choreographer or videographer like Jordan Cowan / On Ice Perspectives. For years, getting paid was secondary to creating…and then understanding ownership of your work.

I basically did everything and anything I could for experience. I asked Brian Wright, one of skating’s great choreographers, who passed from AIDS in 2003, how to become a working choreographer. He said, “Just show up to everything.” And I did.

I think my whole life as a skating choreographer has been a struggle between the creation of the work, getting it seen, and then feeling confident to find value in the work.

What has been the most memorable choreography you created and for whom? It’s difficult to imagine one that is most memorable as there have been so many different types of choreographic opportunities between productions, competitive skating and the decades throughout.

Competitive skaters: Choreographing Lucinda Ruh’s Chopin piece for the World Pro and Keegan Messing’s “Always Look at the Bright Side of Life”; Elena Leonova & Andrei Khvalko’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”

Production: I’m so glad I got to choreograph and direct the Wizard of Oz at the Autostadt in Germany, work on High School Musical for Disney, and, of course, Shall We Dance on Ice with Disson Skating.

ITNY: Dare Greatly, Departures, and Roots

IDI: After the Rain and Into the Light!

I can fall into a video hole watching opening numbers I created from Sterrne Dansen op Het Ijs. Each one brings a memory and a smile.

If you were asked to choreograph a competitive ice-dance program for a current couple, whom would you choose and why? I would ask to choreograph the entire Montreal School in one ice ballet. The Montreal School should have a professional company for the skaters to mature into.

Every ice dance school should have its company school…like SAB [School of American Ballet]…and they should be creating work together. These pieces would be non-competitive, but company pieces of repertory building to the professional company. These companies could co-exist and help build all the current competitive programming and help provide alternatives to one competitive path that ice dancers thrive on. This would be an hour a day, along with a company edge class.

Is there any retired ice dance team that you didn’t choreograph, but wish you did? What kind of program would you give them? The Duchesnays! They were so unique and interesting. I would love to collaborate with them at their prime. Also, Rahkamo and Kokko. All are influencers in our art.

Again, I would love for these folks to take part in an ice dance company – one that takes these couples out of the traditional partnership and places them in an ensemble dance that utilizes their individual skills to full effect to create company works.

Your Shall We Dance on Ice in 2014 brought Anissina & Peizerat and Dubreuil & Lauzon out of retirement plus added other Olympic ice dancers and Dancing with the Stars cast members. Tell us how you chose that format and how it all blended together so successfully. I had already been thinking of creating a dance company with a trained company of ice dancers as its core. Meryl and Charlie had just won the Olympics and were on Dancing with the Stars at the time we thought about doing the show. Finding a vehicle for them was key to Steve Disson (the producer) and me.

I was working with Edward Villella, the founder of the Miami City Ballet [MCB]. He had just created The Three Smokers men’s trio. He and I were discussing a piece that was a segment from an MCB dance called Neighborhood Ballroom, and how it went through different eras of dance. I think all these swirling conversations got us to Shall We Dance on Ice. Then I created the idea of the ballroom segments and genres [danced by couples in small groups].

Regarding the dancers coming out of retirement…I think everyone saw the rise of ice dance at the time. To be part of a large-scale production that celebrated the joy of it all was exciting. It was an incredible cast…wow! [Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon, Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat, Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto, Naomi Lang & Peter Tchernyshev, Kim Navarro & Brent Bommente, Isabelle Tobias & Ilya Tkachenko, Sinead & John Kerr, Meryl Davis & Charlie White + Dancing with the Stars cast members + TV Hosts Ryan Bradley and Kristi Yamaguchi.]

What could our current competitors learn from skaters you worked with in the past? Sustained edges and a commitment to glide.

Is Ice dance a sport or should it be dropped from the Olympic? Ice dance is an extreme athletic endeavor, but fares poorly in criteria alongside any sport where getting a goal or going the distance is the base for a win. My personal feeling is ice dance is the best thing to watch in the Olympics, so I’d hate for it to be stripped from the world stage, but I also see it as glorious entertainment.

IDI strives to build a bridge from sport to art and develop the awareness of ice dancing as a performing art form.

Tell us about your two specials and cast that are currently showing on PBS. I created The World of Ice Dance International and Flight: The Art of Ice Dance International to showcase the company and document some of the history of dance on ice as an art form. The specials provide a platform to promote a unique way of creating dance on ice with the top ice dance talent in the world.

I’ve been developing the cast for eight years. Pasquale Camerlengo has been important in the belief of IDI and encouraging some of his skaters to take part if possible along with top choreographers with ice dance backgrounds like Benoit Richard whose work is featured in Flight, the second special.

We’ve been fortunate to have top ice dancers like Naomi Lang, Kim Navarro, Brent Bommente, Todd Gilles, Joel Dear, Beata Handra, Anastasia Olson, Ian Lorello, Jordan Cowan, Carly Donowick, Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker along with other terrific skaters like Ryan Bradley, Erin Reed, Adam Kaplan, Mauro Bruni, Lauren Farr, Natalia Zaitseva, Jonathan Hunt and Neill Shelton.

You have seen many changes in ice dancing over the years. What do you like the best and the least? Twizzles…the worst…not so much for competitive skating, but how they’ve found their way into performance skating – like watching the ice dancers in Stars on Ice…I think the fear of screwing up a side-by-side twizzle is more difficult than the feat itself. Then the theatrical full face and shazam moment when they’re done always makes me laugh. Side-by-side twizzles are completely uninteresting to me. The same as how competitive skaters do leveled footwork in their exhibition programs. Break free people!! Think outside of the box!

The best is the seamless interaction and use of the full body. I teach a class for US Dance Camp and our own IDI clinics called Skate 360. The class is about how to use (and discover) the full body while skating in a 360 sphere of energy…using all different levels and planes of motion. This is currently happening, and I see it in all parts of figure skating, singles, pairs, etc. To me, the dance of skating is the full use of the body while staying in the push. Gabriella [Papadakis] & Guillaume [Cizeron], the French World Champions, totally get it.

The other thing they get is the loss of the self in their skating. Their expression is inherent in the skating and the dance…not forced. Expression comes through the whole body…not just the face. This is a big step away from ballroom and pushes skating into a deep artful place…the loss of ego in the dance. Doing that in competitive skating gets big bonus points.

What lessons did you learn from the many famous people you have collaborated with over the years? I think I learned the most from my partnership with [choreographer] Cindy Stuart. She is so thorough in her preparations and understanding of how to build a large-scale production, which led to saving time and lots of money – to great effect.

The most important lesson I have learned is life doesn’t get any easier when you’re famous. Often, it’s just more complicated. Otherwise, I’ve learned to trust my instincts and follow my heart. The best creative energies come from your core and not by trying to imitate others.

https://www.ice-dance.com/site/douglas-webster-artist-choreographer-director/

#interview #article #ice dance #figure skating #Douglas Webster #pc #hmm

[thewritermuses]

Call of Duty - The TV Series

Strike Back - Chris Ryan - Season 1 - 5 7/10 In a post 9/11 world Section 20 strikes foreign targets in a bid to stop threats to the UK and its allies. It's just a bit sad that it took them three seasons to really hit their stride. Season four was the best, a mix of action and comedy. Great characters and interesting plot. Section 20 are a deniable military force run out of the home office in the UK. This story follows their fight against threats to the UK and the world. This is a really interesting and unexplored idea for me. I feel that we generally see this story told from the point of view of the brass back in Whitehall and rarely get to see the it play out from the soldier's perspective. Great Episodic Narrative The storytelling is generally fantastic on at the meta level. Each season follows an overall plot, generally perpetrated by a main villain. Each episode follows a single part of the story but fits neatly into the meta plot. This allows us to get to know all the characters on a deeper level as less time needs to be spent focusing on the plot in each episode. In turn it doesn't detract from the narrative because it is all part of the seasons meta plot The investment in the characters is also true for the story. They are interesting and thought provoking. Each season poses what if scenarios that are allowed to play out. Playing in this space is very fun for writers and you can tell this as it shines through on the screen. Buddy Series After the first season the show changes quite dramatically. For the first season it has been a one man show. John Porter, Richard Armitage (The Hobbit & Spooks), carries the season on his ample shoulders.

From then onwards it becomes a buddy series. Sgt. Michael Stonebridge, Phillip Winchester (Crusoe & Chicago Justice), plays a straight laced SAS officer who plays by-the-book. Sgt. Damien Scott, Sullivan Stapleton (Animal Kingdom & 300: Rise of an Empire), plays a wise-cracking, philandering Yank. They make a great team, each playing off each other's strengths. The tension between the two is also very good. They have their differences but also have each other's back when it matters. Big Names in the Supporting Roles There are some big names throughout this series. Because of the structure of the narrative they are given a lot of opportunity to really sink their teeth into their roles. Conrad Knox, Charles Dance (Game of Thrones & The Imitation Game), is the main villain in season three - Vengeance. He plays the charismatic South African billionaire who is trying to change the face of the political landscape in Africa. Li-Na, Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon & Star Trek: Discovery), is the lead of North Korea's Section 39. She is a ruthless and effective killer. Michelle nails this role. Unfortunately I gave up on the show before the end of her season. Some Bad Parts There were many mistakes and issues with the series so I'll just list some of them here. S2 E1 - There is a gunfight at the start of the episode. It takes place in a street and the kid running away from Section 20 goes down before they fire. S3 E1 - Up until this point Stonebridge has been the stoic reliable part of the combo. He flies completely off the rails and puts a bullet in Jake Hanson's head after Jake himself loses his mind and murders his squad. Then Stonebridge runs to his side to check his vitals. Come on, you know he's dead.

Photo by Lucas Fonseca from Pexels S4 E2 - Rebecca is shot in the head and yet is still able to move and talk. The scene is quite good apart from the particular injury that would have made her continued role in it impossible. Perhaps the issue is a lack of understanding of how debilitating head wounds are. Some Worse Parts S3 E3 - There is a fight in a hotel and three grenades go off. There is a market happening outside and everyone here would have clearly heard the explosions, but they go about their business as if nothing has happened. In season two there is part of the meta plot of a secretive operation called Trojan Horse which is the main villain's motivation. We only start seeing reference to this towards the end of the season. It is buried too deep for us to understand it. Essentially the entire last episode is one big reveal which we couldn't have see coming. Season two ends with the death of the section chief. We are supposed to care and feel for her sacrifice. But this is just not possible. First, she has been utterly unbearable for the leads the entire season. Fine, but you cannot expect us to take a complete one-eighty. Second, the reason that she sacrificed herself was to stop Operation Trojan leaking - an operation that we had no idea about until moments before. Glaring Plot Holes S2 E6 - A doctor working with Doctors Without borders, or another similar group, is treating people at a hospital under guard of the UN. As night approaches they are told they have to leave. This appears to be a daily routine and she must have some understanding of the threat that she puts everyone in by refusing to leave when an injured lady arrives. Her naivety gets everyone killed. It was also key for her to be captured - but that doesn't excuse the terrible writing. S2 E8 - People working as organ harvesters see their boss murdered and continue working. Everyone up to this point has been a captive working at gun point. Why don't they immediately try to escape? Perhaps the perks are just really good as an organ harvester in eastern Europe? We made it to Season 5. We don't have to worry about the Plot now right? In the first episode Section 20 get a tracking device onto their target's car - the idea to follow him to where he is holding a kidnap victim and perhaps whomever is running him. But they don't pull back at this point - they keep following. It proves important for them to be there so why did they need the tracker at all? In the third episode it gets even more ludicrous. After an attack on their new safe house Julia learns the surname of one of the attackers and finds out the city he is from. From this information she determines that he is Yakuza AND that the Yakuza are working with Section 39. Seems a little farfetched to me but it gets better.

Photo by Cristian Benavides from Pexels Stonebridge then walks into the room and says that they think we killed their boss. Presumably he learnt this from the Yakuza he was just fighting. Surely it would have been good to show us this part of the fight rather than cutting away right before it happened. Also isn't this contradictory to what Julia has just discovered? It would be a huge coincidence if the Yakuza were after vengeance as well as being in league with Section 39. And that is exactly what happens, even if the target of their vengeance is misguided in this instance. The End of the Show for Me The problems and plot flaws above were wearing a bit thin for me but there were also some great bits which we will talk about in a moment. The end of the show for me, and literally where I stopped watching, was S5 E4. They have tracked a truck of metal to a Yakuza stronghold. The metal was going to allow North Korea to have a nuclear weapon. They also know that Li-Na, head of Section 39 is here. They begin the assault on the stronghold, as normal outnumbered at least three to one. The head of Section 20 says: "The only thing that matters is the metal." So they fight their way until they are in sight of the truck and it is heavily defended. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Photo by Chandler Cruttenden on Unsplash At this point the section head orders Julia and Kim to take down the truck as he and Stonebridge go after Li-Na. So in a couple of minutes North Korea getting nuclear weapons switches from priority one two somewhere else down the list. He has to pay a heavy price for this decision but it feels completely unbelievable that he made it in the first place. Why did I watch Five seasons? There is some really great stuff in this show. I think if it had just been episodic I would have been done long before season five. The meta plot spanning a season was really engaging. The way subtitles are done in this show are awesome. With a lot of the show taking place in non-English speaking locations it was great to see them try something new and it worked. The subtitles were huge and felt more like speech bubbles from a comic. It's really fun. There is a great scene in S2 E2 where Section 20 storm a hotel that has been rigged with explosives. A bomb has been suspended above the centre of the floor. As it falls and everyone dives for cover. Stonebridge pelts towards it, catching it at the last second. Other things that they did really well The title music, Short Change Hero by The Heavy, is a banger. It sets up every episode perfectly. You cannot be anything but pumped up for them to storm in, guns-a-blazing, after hearing this track. Generally the editing and pacing are both good. A great example of this is S3 E10. Various teams have been separated as they travel back to base from Nigerian HQ. This thoughtful editing is so fantastically handled. S4 E9 has a portion of the episode where Stonebridge and Scott are assaulting a base while wearing night vision. They transition between first and third person. It works extremely well and lets us experience what the characters are experiencing. Good use of Plot Devices Using Hugh as the villain in S1 E1 and then as a red herring was brilliant. This makes us think that he is always the bad guy, even when he isn't. Great misdirection. Season two sees a double cross of Pakistani intelligence. This aspect of the story is well told and its unfolding is handled with nuance and skill. The show is great at toying with our expectations. It shows us time and time again that it has no qualms killing main characters. It then uses this to setup characters to appear to die or look like they are going to die. As an audience we feel that their death is almost certain and then they escape. They also do the reverse when they kill main characters. They meet our expectations in ways we don't expect which is a hallmark of great storytelling.

Photo by Quentin Kemmel on Unsplash A Missed Opportunity to Use Hatred Well In S3 E1 Stonebridge's wife miscarries. She takes her anger out on him saying that he is happy because he never wanted the child. Stonebridge has been struggling with the decision about the child for a while. He left Section 20 to return to a desk job all so that he could be around. Her reaction is important because we have to hate her. We have to hate her otherwise we will hate Stonebridge when he rejoins Section 20. If they had left this there it would have been great and Stonebridge could have tottered off to kill some bad guys and we would have been on his side. But no - they had to have someone kill her as well. This is supposed to make Stonebridge go on a mad rampage now whenever he sees the perpetrator. This makes little sense. Why setup the hatred of the wife and then make us kind of upset about her death. This makes Stonebridge's decisions from here on appear wishy-washy. He kind of just chooses the motivation that fits best for the situation he is in. Which just takes away from his character. Read the full article

#tv #tvreview #callofduty

[sevensity]

RFA + theme(?) park day

The reason why there’s a question mark is because I don’t know if all of these count as a theme park... I’m so sorry but I just couldn’t think of anything for Jahee!! ;__;

-Sevensity 

YOOᔕᑌᑎG:

ofc y’all are gonna end up going to a zoo

but not one where the animals are treated like shit

it’s more of an animal conservatory than anything, so they help endangered species and provide a habitat necessary for them to live (honestly some zoos are so atrocious it makes me want to claw my eyes out)

spends hours petting alpacas

“Can we take one home?”

 Yoosung as much as I agree with the idea I think kidnapping an alpaca counts as a felony

You guys have a really wonderful little train ride around the different habitats. There’s a pleasant breeze, which rustles through Yoosung’s hair as he gazes far out across the land. There is no noise other than wind, the rattle of the train on its tracks, and the sound of your own heartbeat, which grows stronger when glance at the man you love

 Yoosung’s face is brighter than the fucking sun he’s such a happy marshmallow

he’ll often start talking all animal anatomy to you and sometimes he just blinks and stops himself because whoops? you probably have no idea what I’m talking about?

but then you tell him he’s really cute when he becomes so passionate about a topic, and he sorta just blushes a little a giggles and says he can teach you more so you guys can have discussions about this sort of stuff

 hoo hoo private lessons with Mr. Kim I’m sure he’s a great tutor wink wonk

Favorite Attraction:

The more peaceful stuff, like carousels and trains

Attraction to keep him away from: 

Roller-coasters (because baby bean is actually a bit afraid of heights) though he will join you if you promise to hold his hand the entire time 

ᘔEᑎ:

he’ll 100% want to bring you to a festival

and people there will 100% try to hire him a a last minute performer so make sure you keep him close to you,  unless you want to see him dress up and parade around in a sparkly outfit that sounds really nice tbh

He’s going to buy a couple of those masquerade masks and make you both wear one but lord are they so extra

He looks like a prince from the medieval ages

Zen is all too eager to show off his strength using the hammer at the strength meter. Finds it adorable when you try to beat his score bonus points if you actually manage to

Is impressed by your skills at Whack-a-Mole, and is kind of embarassed when his own skills are sup-par

You guys share an enormous ball of cotton candy. Usually he doesn’t like sweets because it’s bad for his skin, but now he loves it since it makes your kisses all the more sweet

You ride the Ferris Wheel at night, and Zen makes a point to kiss you when you get to the very top also bonus points if there are fireworks going on

Favorite Attraction:

House of Mirrors (for obvious reasons) can probably smell mirrors from miles away so don’t even try to hide this place from him

Attraction to keep him away from:

House of Mirrors (for equally obvious reasons) yeah so good luck getting him out

ᒍᑌᗰIᑎ:

You guys would probably also go to an amusement park

but good luck getting him to change out of his normal formal attire

“Jumin casual wear. Casual wear.”

“Yes, this is what I wear during a casual day. Is there a problem with my outfit? Is the colour not appropriate?”

“Jumin the colour is the least of my worries. You’ll actually get a heat stroke if you go like that.”

Anyways it takes about a solid hour for you to convince him to downgrade to a dress shirt and jeans

but oh is is worth it because he looks fkn H O T

however, he will not tolerate standing in line for a ticket, to he uses his rich boy powers to be the first one in the park 

Has never been to an amusement park before, and although he does understand their purpose from a business perspective, cannot comprehend why people bother going to them

ok Jumin I’ll show you why commoners come to these places

You don’t even start with the tamer rides to ease him into it, instead, you grab his hand and precipitate yourself towards the biggest, craziest ride there is. 

We’re talking about loops, twists, massive drops...oh, and it goes backwards too

Jumin keeps mumbling to himself as the ride slowly started climbing higher and higher.  You know what to expect, but Jumin doesn’t. You know that the ride hasn’t actually started yet, but Jumin doesn’t.

He grumbles about how useless this is, what a terrible way to pass time, are commoners so desperate for amusement they consider this to be adequate entertainment???

But then you get to the peak, and the only thing keeping you guys from falling straight down are the safety straps

Jumin’s eyes widen just a bit, and he lets out the smallest “Oh” as he realizes his impending doom

You don’t have time to react before you’re both launched into the abyss

Also you’re 128% sure Jumin screamed the whole time while you half laughed at him, half also screamed, though he will deny such a fact for as long as he lives

When you both get out, Jumin’s hair is a complete mess and his cheeks are flushed a delicate pink

move over Zen, there’s a new god in town

You still giggle occasionally at the memory of the ride, so Jumin, wanting some revenge, wraps an arm around your waist, and pulls you closer.

“My, I never knew you could be that loud,” he whispersd in your ear, making you shiver,  “tonight, how about I make you scream like that for me?”

Daddy yes

Favorite Attraction:

Surprisingly enough, he is very fond of water rides - especially those with water guns where you can shoot others with - as well as bumper cars. 

Attraction to keep him away from:

The food court. This man will complain about everything from prices to the quality of food and services, he will go on for hours.  Make sure you go buy your food by yourself. 

ᔕᗩEYOᑌᑎG:

Is an actual ten year old

probably more excited than you are, and you have to keep him from running around in circles while you wait in line to buy tickets (he also wanted to hack into the system earlier so you two could get in before opening hours but you said no)

letting him eat all those chips and soda for breakfast was probably not the best call, since now his energy levels have increased threefold

he’s such a high maintenance boyfriend jfc

at first you think it’s normal because let’s admit it, he’ll always be a kid, and who doesn’t love a good old amusement park outing?

as soon as you get inside, Saeyoung, eyes sparkling with all the mischievious ideas of someone half his actual age, begs you to let him choose the first ride

you agree, because his excitement is getting to you too and honestly you know you’ll have fun together no matter what you do

wow what a terrible idea

of course this tomato choose the water ride, where all the passengers get s o a k e d

now you understand why Saeyoung was so excited, and insisted that you both wear a white tank top that day

but it’s too late to back out now

you have to admit, it’s pretty refreshing after waiting under the scorching heat of the sun for such a long time

you also have to admit the white tank tops weren’t such a bad idea cuz damn this boy has a nice body

though on the other hand, he was hoping to be able to see more

better luck next time ya loser

Favorite Attraction:

Roller-coasters or haunted houses, whichever one it is, he will make a point to scream as loudly as possible, and as obnoxiously as possible. 

Attraction to keep him away from:

Literally any ride during which screaming is not considered appropriate.  He will not hesitate so scream his heart out during a carousel ride, pretending to clutch onto a horse for dear life someone save this boy from himself

#mysme #mystic messenger seven #mystic messenger 707 #mystic messenger saeyoung #mm seven #mm 707 #mm saeyoung #mysme 707 #mysme saeyoung #mysme seven #mysme yoosung #luciel choi #saeyoung choi #mm yoosung #yoosung kim #mystic messenge yoosung #mm luciel #mysme luciel #mm zen #mysme zen #mystic messenger zen #hyun ryu #jumin han #mm jumin #mysme jumin #mystic messenger jumin #mm hc #mysme headcanon #mystic messenger #mine

[oranges8hands]

It's Morphin Time! (Power Rangers review)

spoilers for Power Rangers (2017)

side note: I only watched a few episodes as a kid so I’m not going to pick up on inside jokes/won’t be pointing out comparisons. // I’m white and not autistic so when taking about representation keep that in mind  // cw (lite): rape culture, suicide

much more enjoyable than the original breakfast club.

property damage

that was... a lot

and I’m not even referring to the big battle at the end; arguably they could have played it differently (and I mean that on both a watsonian and a doylist perspective) but Big Boss Battle, I give those passes, (superhero) movies tend to think they need them. (and are only so-so wrong.) But before that (and superpowers in general) we have: a damaged school/cow, a car chase at the school, a car accident, a mine blasting, a car chase at the mine, and a car-meets-train accident.

and while we see, yanno, happy survivors at the end, I’m wondering if they are going to address the major damage done to the town.

good thing they have masks. and knew to ditch out of there while still in celebration mode.

this was small town america, dependent on mining and fishing. (which - interesting choice of location because it made the movie very compacted, and it also stressed a lot of the push-pull of teenagers and their struggles. this should definitely become a theme as the franchise goes on - the desire to leave with the duty to stay and protect)  

I know! use all that fucking spent gold Rita left behind!

I mean the jewelry store can at least provide receipts but what’s the mine gonna say? “yeah, that chunk of arm definitely came from Shaft 37″

speaking of - they are so damn reckless!

so reckless!

and I mean it’s kind of great because a) how fitting for teenagers in general, like this movie is 95% of the time going “they are teenagers!” (with all the middle finger to mortality and boneheadedness and earnestness and finding your place/friends/family that comes with it), and b) because it comes in various forms to fit the specific characters well, and c) its great tactic for skipping over the whole “wtf superpower freakout”

but also - thank bob they got some magic healing stones cause they all almost die a few times before the whole superhero gig even kicks in. that car chase at the mine (both the recklessness and the loyalty of helping each other) is an excellent establishing intro to them cause wtf power rangers

like arguably the least reckless is Billy, who is introduced as bribing a kid to drive him over so he can blow up a mine in the growing dark that almost kills another kid (how did Trini survive that fall with barely a bruise? magic). and he’s the LEAST reckless. 

the real question - did he just happen to learn how to disable the tracker before this, has he actually done this before, or did he learn how before Jason came over that night?

but I say least reckless because the majority of his recklessness comes from love/loyalty - the mine visits originally for his dad, everything else for his friends

but we have Zack - taking care of a terminal ill parent and so his things are about pushing limits, that more, more, more (or out, out, out) feeling, being wild, flirting with that “death wish” - because that’s a way to act out his fear, that’s a way to be out of control in a controlled way (he can’t control that, but he can control this), that’s a way to say fuck you to death, that’s just part of his personality of ‘I’m gonna touch it’

100% he is the person who presses the red button that says ‘do not press’

also its funny that he just hangs around the mine; full assumption on my part but it fits if his mom got sick from the mine, and he - to avoid finding out if she dies during the night, if the last of his family is gone - visits the root of it

Jason: I think there’s arguably a few ways of looking at it:

the growing pressure of familial/town obligations of being the golden boy are too much, and he‘s acting out to blow off steam

how he touches his knee made me wonder if he was getting an injury, and (sub)consciously wanted to get out of playing more football, either because he’s afraid of damaging it more or because he thinks it’s better to get kicked off on purpose than have it fail him/have to leave for something he can’t control

small town football stars are the weirdest mix of celebrity/adoration* and teenager, and some people don’t handle that well and turn to other means to get that attention, and adrenaline

* adoration that is temporary and/or dependent on their skills

some combo of the above

but anyway he’s “dumb stunts” reckless, and brings other people (and cows) into it, and his arc as leader means figuring out a balance for that, bringing them to necessary danger but not getting them killed

Trini is “outsider” - and the movie supplemented that with actual queerness (more on that below); like she runs from the group, she questions whats really bringing them together (are we friends?), Rita pinpoints that as her weakness, her character arc/turning point is when she immediately tells the others. and her recklessness is towards the self, esp her body - like she trespasses into the mine to practice stretches/meditation, the train run (IIRC she’s the one whose like “eh, hope we make it”), she uses her powers to get away (did she know she could make that jump before she did it because her powers became apparent in less the ‘destructive of an item’ way and more like Zack’s in which it was pushing physics?)

I think its arguable she’s had issues with drugs. like the movie stresses three years for her (her growing distance/quiet coming with her sexuality questioning), and her mom just happens to have a pee cup on standby? that’s a long time period to keep testing a kid who never shows up as positive. I mean maybe her mom’s just reacting in more and more extreme measures and this is the latest version... also the way her dad intercedes with her mom’s questions, I wonder if that’s his natural role in the family or if that came out of therapy.

I really don’t think she’s presented as suicidal in the film, but I think there’s an underlining implication that can be read where AU this superpower thing didn’t happen she goes in that direction (she is isolated by her “other” status within her family, by being the new kid at school, and so on)

Kimberly is self-destructive; its thoughtlessness and impulsiveness (and meanness) coming out to swallow her and take who she can with her. cutting her hair, diving at night at the quarry, her “revenge porn” (and way more on that below), even breaking into Jason’s room to tell him about why she was in detention  

there’s no “is it superpowers??????” which I immensely appreciate; it’s “something weird is happening and we need to figure out what.” 

they killed Billy. and yeah, happy they bought him back, but they still killed him.

and since I hadn’t actually watched the trailer all the way through, and I feel like a Power Ranger died in the original series (no clue if that’s accurate), and Billy’s Black and on the spectrum, yeah, I thought it was going to last. 

his death was used for Zordon, Jason, and Kim’s character arc

I understand it was so each of the other four could carry him together, but the Jesus pose is still in way too many superhero and/or teenage protagonist movies

yeah yeah he was the heart of the team I get it; still could have done it without his death. or frankly Jason works, since he’s the leader (and its interesting that the heart of the group and the leader of the group are two different people) and everyone pulls together for the leader. but again, no death works

it made no sense that she killed him and left the other four alive. also I’m assuming she was powering the ropes to keep them in place but did it completely drain them of power? cause as we saw earlier, they can breathe underwater

David Christopher Bell pointed out that since The Dark Knight, villains need to a) not just kill the heroes but break their spirits and b) get caught as part of the master plan. and while the latter is the “reason” behind the scene - she needs to find the location, she somehow knows Billy knows (like she somehow knew Trini felt like an outsider) - the former ended up feeling like the motive for the scene. 

actually she hits a couple more on the list - we don’t actually know her motive for turning (beyond “feeling like an outsider”) and the narrative treats her like she’s “unhinged” for no reason.  

weirdly Zordon is not part of her motive? like him being “alive” is barely a sidenote to her

representation

well done Black Autistic Hero! like Billy uses the actual term (which is already more than a lot of characters do), he exhibits behaviors of it (speech patterns, special interests, joke recognition, touching, stimming, etc), and he’s a friggin hero (and no one questions his capability to be one)

so Jason is the main; he has more screen time, his emotional arc is devoted the most space, he & his are the the inciting incident - a. his introduction into detention is the opening change that starts the story and b. his dad brings Rita out of the water (though maybe she could only be brought out after the gems are found?) - and he’s the leader of the team. however, Billy serves as the heart of the team, and the movie (usually through Jason, non-negatively) points out several times that he is behind finding the gems, and he’s the one who brings Jason to the mine. so Jason is the main but if they had tweaked the script a little Billy would have been.

Zack is not stereotypical/usual. (first off he’s played by an actual Asian actor, ba dum tss). but he’s poor, small family, while he wasn’t given a romance he didn’t come across as desexualized, he exchanged just pure slugging it out punches with Jason (instead of the “all (East) Asian (men) know martial arts” trope), he’s not nerdy or an airhead (the two extremes for school tropes), he loves his mom and outside of caretaking we also see them enjoy each other (high five over their chess game), he’s super f-ing reckless (let me just jump on this speeding car wtf Zack you didn’t know you had powers at that point), when established they speak Chinese together they don’t suddenly switch to (accented) English because that’s too many subtitles for an American audience

Trini: queer Mexican girl. like, I’ve seen the arguments for both sides of this - on the one end: she’s questioning (and feels so alone in it) so it fits she doesn’t have a label for herself, and on the other there’s been a growing trend of movies getting points for the tiniest overt queerness. because this is an introduction into a franchise and she’s a main character and the crew/cast are vocal about it and while she didn’t have a label it was connected to her arc (outsider status/isolation -> group friendship), I felt more on the ok end of it, though I would have definitely liked at least a little more vocalization. And this is definitely dependent on how they deal with it going forward, and I also agree with people who think it was not enough, especially since they chose to have her character in the early stages of questioning her identity and while that’s a legitimate storyline it’s not the only one. 

a really good solution would have been to have Zack say he’s pan or bi.

more queer rep always

like, did you watch him? (flirting mode towards everyone: activated)

it means we see someone with a labeled identity and someone questioning, and it enriches the scene between them, and it gives more weight/overtness to her sexuality (aka the movie itself isn’t shying away from labels, this specific character is cause she’s still figuring it out) 

the start of queering them all. all of them.

Kim is played by a biracial (Indian & white) actress. I can’t really speak to how that fits into the romance trope - she’s not white (the “Girlfriend Role” works differently for WOC), but Asian women are hypersexualized (the gratuitous bra shot, with Jason looking on without her knowledge)... basically I’m not familiar with how Indian women specifically fit into this conversation and it’s really not my place to say. I personally felt they erred too much on the romance for her, because the scenes with her and Jason together felt much more tied to Jason‘s arc* than hers or both of theirs, and she felt sexualized in the movie in a way the rest of them didn’t, so overall I wish they kept it a little more subtle than they did. but again not my judgement to make in terms of representation.

* the hallway walk, the quarry scenes... those feel like the Manic Pixie Girl/Girlfriend Role (”let’s run, right now”) and since her arc was a little less clear than the others it feels like the problem with that stems from the romance, even if it didn’t necessarily.

However let’s talk about her backstory, the biggest twist in a movie I’ve seen in years.

raise your hand if you thought she was getting the ‘sexually assaulted and fought him off and former friends/mean girls attack her for being a slut’ story. *raises hand* and instead she leaked her friend’s nude to a dude with a sex-shaming comment (who spread it to the whole school and/or besides to the dude Kim sent it to the school). PLOT TWIST.

except lemme say - this is a huge violation. HUGE. leaking nudes is not just a mistake or a bad choice, its a violation and it affects the leaked person for the rest of their life and its a well deserved criminal offense. (at least Jason’s ankle monitor suggests there’s some kind of police punishment that came with the huge amounts of damage he did - though talk about a light sentence good thing you’re a football player/white dude - but her punishment is just detention?) and I definitely need a lot more on the redemption arc beyond ‘stops being a mean girl who doesn’t recognize her actions for as damaging as they are until the consequences are shoved into her face’, esp because she’s only partly sorry. She’s sorry about what she did, yes, I believe that, but there’s also several instances (like when their cafeteria dishes melt, or the car gets smashed) where she smirks when they get in trouble. (That she’s the victim in this situation.) And with that, the narrative smirks at them too, because they’re mean girls and they cut her out; except she’s in the wrong! she completely violated Elizabeth! they’re allowed to be petty/mean back to her! It’s implied she basically leaked the nude because ‘why not,’ she deserves to get some shitty treatment back at her!

one of the main rules was “don’t use your powers for personal gain.” IDK if this is going to come up in the franchise, but if it does I’m assuming - if it’s not the whole group -  it’s going to be either her or Zack. Zack because of his sick mom (external force), her because of her personality (internal force).

eta: in a convo with clari-clyde she pointed out that Jason tells her she’s not a bad person when yeah, she was a bad person. ("i would‘ve liked it better if jason said, you chose to be a bad person, but you can also choose to be a good person. you can make poor bad choices, building on that bad choice. or you can start making good choices, and start transforming yourself.”) and I agree.   Kim didn’t do a mean thing, she is a mean person (the photos just being the latest and a REALLY BIG DEAL), and the narrative both understands that weight (her self-hatred/angst is about it) while treating it as less damaging than it is (how it somewhat tries to victimize her, and by virtue of getting the stone/superpowers.) once we learn Kim’s backstory her power walk (after cutting her hair) back into detention takes on new meaning, and not in a good way; she’s apologetic in the scene with Jason, but we don’t really see evidence of that in her treatment of her actual victims. (its the common redemption arc of tv white dudes - the idea that feeling bad is enough to redeem them, as opposed to them actually doing something to redeem themselves.) and one of the reasons her arc fell a little flat to me is because her backstory (leaked nude) and her end result (being a power ranger) are really not connected, both in context and through the group. everyone else’s arc was interwoven into them becoming a group, while her arc was interwoven with Jason only.

and in addition to that, Jason “forgiving her” gets tied back into their romantic undertones (removed kiss or not), so that it comes across more as “I like you, therefore you are not a bad person,” instead of acknowledging she was actually a bad person, but she can make actual steps into changing that.    

Zordon & Alpha 5 downloaded the English matrix and can converse fine but “teenagers” is the one word to throw them off. which a) suggests Zordon and his group/people don’t distinguish that grouping - which makes sense, the term is only like a 100yrs old, but more importantly b) is beautiful shot at Marvel. I mean, I don’t know if that’s why they did it, but after that Civil War nonsense I’m reading it as one anyway. feel free to join me. 

music - a little uneven. like for the majority of the film it was unobtrusive, with “HandClap” during the training montage brought into the narrative with Billy and Alpha 5 clapping, and then at the end there was the tv theme song (fair enough) but it cut off quick, as did the other (loud) song during those scenes too, and the one after the other nature of it was abrupt sounding.

I liked the training montage.

ok, so Jason can fight, we see that (dodge the bully’s fist), plus he’s an athlete. and Kim is an ex-cheerleader (and apparently recreational diver), aka an athlete. (athletes in football and cheerleading tend to have: body strength, quick pattern recognition, inclined towards multitasking & teamwork, can take a damn hit, etc.) we see Trini doing a stretch routine and taking out Zack in the pit and both she and Zack are suggested to have some parkouring. Billy is probably the least experienced, esp when it comes to fighting (and notable he’s the one that gets the basic boxing/punching routine), but he runs around a mine and like the others seems to be a good swimmer. so it comes across as less unbelievable that they can pick this up, esp because for the most part their fighting strategy is to hit the dirt monsters until they fall apart and we see them practicing (over and over again) the specific move that took Rita down. (also I was literally thinking ‘what, they can suddenly move as one with no training’ and then the final evolution of their robot trips. I’ll give the movie some leeway on how they can control the dino bots so well - plus handwavy they’re plugged in and figured it out - because of that trip.)   

they also show injuries.

ok except for Kim and Jason’s shirtless scene, the camera (and clothing department) treated them like teenagers, like they shouldn’t be needlessly sexualized for (adult) audiences. it’s fucked up that this is special enough to note, but its definitely special enough to note. (and they still did the ‘guy looks at half-naked woman without her permission’ thing, which is not ok, yes not even to the same girl who leaked the nudes.) there was Rita - she shows more skin the “prettier” she gets, her outfit at the jewelry store was esp “where did she get this?” - but at least she wasn’t playing a teenager. (and I don’t remember her actions towards them being sexualized, but I may just not be remembering it. eta: she definitely does have the sexualized vibe going with her adult victims though.

it was a fair job with the product placement and shoutouts (like Bumblebee and Ironman/Spiderman - those are franchises it can be assumed their audiences know).

like Jason, you fucked over your football scholarship/college options, your family probably has to pay for the school damages, you have a police (though possibly just juvenile) record... they’re allowed to question your decisions. and your dad still ends up giving you a chance to have a car again. (after you smashed two in less than a month.)

this was a mix of parental awareness and not. like Billy’s mom* is there greeting (and noticing the school social group differences) at the door, but not that the missing (smashed up) van may be his fault. Trini’s parents are aware if ineffectual/ridiculous. we just get a glimpse of Jason’s mom and sister but we spend time on his relationship with his dad (whose paying attention to his kid and tries to rescue him), but he still sneaks out of his house (with ankle bracelet) and is gone past his curfew at least twice, if not every day of training. Zack’s mom is trying to keep track (checking if he’s going to school) but (assumed) doesn’t know he sometimes spends nights away from home (assumed after giving her her pills.) unless I’m totally blanking, we don’t know about Kim’s family, though she goes swimming at the quarry at night and cuts her hair etc without recognition. and they all spend at least one night (though is bonfire night and them meeting at the bleachers the same night?) away from home. and they all spend almost two weeks coming home with bruises/etc. 

* ok I thought he said both parents died in the car accident when he first tells Jason but then later he just talks about his dead dad so was that his mom or his guardian? (I’m trying to remember if he shouted ‘her name’s Trini’ with a relationship term at the end.)

they had some really great moments but: Trini and Kim fighting over the last bite. Jason slapping the bully (that was so fucking cutting.) Billy on the spaceship. Zack and his mom hanging out over chess. Trini with her brothers. etc etc.

so the time jumps - the gems keep them alive and put them to bed, but they don’t do things like fix the van.

I’m so glad Trini immediately tells the group about Rita’s deal, and the narrative doesn’t even try to have some possible betrayal shit, and Jason’s speech (we suck, but we should do this anyways) was a good choice

all the death and injuries are close up, within the group. even with big battle the ‘helpless citizen’ was shown through Jason’s dad. the group itself receives extensive (if sometimes recklessly self-inflicted) damage.

boob armor. (Trini’s brothers could have guessed Yellow was a girl considering that.)  

the actors did a good job, esp Billy’s

??? I always forget obvious stuff when I do these.

overall, I liked the movie more than I thought I would (ok not saying too much), and it had some great moments, but Billy’s death esp was cheap, there was some incongruent scenes that affected the rest/tone of the film, and the final fighting battles - esp in the dino bots (though let’s be real: I want one) - was a little ridiculous. but the movie did a good introduction, and it felt like it recognized teenagers in all their stupidity and grace, and I’ll definitely give the next one in the franchise a try.

#power rangers #power rangers 2017 #cross the street #spandex walking by #[though this doesn't exactly fit into the comics tag it feels like it does] #suicide cw #rape culture cw #3.8k of opinion in bullet format

[biofunmy]

The New Spiritual Consumerism – The New York Times

How did you spend your summer vacation? I spent mine in a dissociative fugue of materialist excess, lying prone on my couch and watching all four seasons of “Queer Eye,” the Netflix makeover show reboot. Once an hour, I briefly regained consciousness to feverishly click the “next episode” button so that I wouldn’t have to wait five seconds for it to play automatically. Even when I closed my laptop, the theme song played on endless loop as Jonathan Van Ness vogued through my subconscious. The show is a triumph of consumer spectacle, and now it has consumed me, too.

Every episode is the same. Five queer experts in various aesthetic practices conspire to make over some helpless individual. Tan France (fashion) teaches him to tuck the front of his shirt into his pants; Bobby Berk (design) paints his walls black and plants a fiddle-leaf fig; Antoni Porowski (food) shows him how to cut an avocado; Jonathan Van Ness (grooming) shouts personal affirmations while shaping his beard; and Karamo Brown (“culture”) stages some kind of trust-building exercise that doubles as an amateur therapy session. Then, they retreat to a chic loft, pass around celebratory cocktails and watch a video of their subject attempting to maintain his new and superior lifestyle. The makeover squad cries, and if you are human, you cry too.

Because “Queer Eye” is not just a makeover. As its gurus lead the men (and occasionally, women) in dabbing on eye cream, selecting West Elm furniture, preparing squid-ink risotto and acquiring gym memberships, they are building the metaphorical framework for an internal transformation. Their salves penetrate the skin barrier to soothe loneliness, anxiety, depression, grief, low self-esteem, absentee parenting and hoarding tendencies. The makeover is styled as an almost spiritual conversion. It’s the meaning of life as divined through upgraded consumer choices.

Just a few years ago, American culture was embracing its surface delights with a nihilistic zeal. Its reality queens were the Kardashians, a family that became rich and famous through branding its own wealth and fame. “Generation Wealth,” Lauren Greenfield’s 2018 documentary on American excess, captured portraits of people who crave luxury, beauty and cash as ends in and of themselves. Donald Trump, the king of 1980s extravagance, was elected president.

But lately American materialism is debuting a new look. Shopping, decorating, grooming and sculpting are now jumping with meaning. And a purchase need not have any explicit social byproduct — the materials eco-friendly, or the proceeds donated to charity — to be weighted with significance. Pampering itself has taken on a spiritual urgency.

Practitioners of this new style often locate its intellectual underpinnings in the work of Audre Lorde. But when Lorde wrote, in her 1988 essay “A Burst of Light,” that “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare,” she was speaking in the context of managing her liver cancer — and doing it as a black lesbian whose health and well-being were not prioritized in America.

Now the ethos of “self-care” has infiltrated every consumer category. The logic of GOOP, Gwyneth Paltrow’s luxury brand that sells skin serums infused with the branding of intuition, karma and healing, is being reproduced on an enormous scale.

Women’s shoes, bras, razors, tampons and exclusive private clubs are stamped with the language of empowerment. SoulCycle and Equinox conceive of exercise as not just a lifestyle but a closely held identity, which backfired when some members were aggrieved by the news that the chairman of the brands’ parent company is a financial supporter of President Trump. Therapy memes imagine mental health professionals prescribing consumerist fixes, which are then repurposed by beauty brands. Even Kim Kardashian West is pivoting to the soul: Her latest project is launching a celebrity church with her husband, Kanye West.

And through the cleaning guru Marie Kondo, who also became a Netflix personality this year, even tidying objects can be considered a spiritual calling. Her work suggests that objects don’t just make us feel good — objects feel things, too. She writes of old books that must be woken up with a brush of the fingertips and socks that sigh with relief at being properly folded.

“Queer Eye” has further elevated material comforts into an almost political stance. When the reboot of the original — which ran on Bravo from 2003 to 2007, as “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” — debuted last year, Netflix announced that it intended to “make America fabulous again” by sending its crew deep into the red states to “turn them pink.” By preaching self-care to the men of Middle America — it has so far plucked its makeover subjects from Georgia, Missouri and Kansas — the show would heal the nation itself through the power of stuff.

Is “Queer Eye” a political show? In a sense, yes. Van Ness, the show’s profoundly magnetic grooming expert, rocks a signature look of a Jesus beard, mermaid hair, painted nails and high-heeled booties. His fashion and grooming choices have an obvious political valence; he recently came out as non-binary. When he makes over some straight dude, it is as if he is imbuing the process with his own transgressive identity, even if he’s grooming the guy into a standard-issue cool dad.

Anyway, it’s wonderful to watch. In contrast, the original “Queer Eye” no longer goes down so easy. The show’s exclusive focus on providing men with physical upgrades now plays as cynical. The Fab Five ridicule their marks as much as they help them. More than a decade before same-sex marriage would be legalized across the United States, these five out gay men were quite obviously punching up.

But in the new version, the power dynamic has flipped. The difference between the Fab Five and their charges is no longer chiefly one of sexual orientation or gender identity. (This “Queer Eye” also provides makeovers to gay men and to women.) The clear but unspoken distinction is a class one.

The “Queer Eye” cast may come from humble beginnings, but they now reside in coastal cultural centers and hold fulfilling and lucrative jobs. Their makeover subjects are lower- and middle-class people who are, though it is rarely put this way, struggling financially. This “Queer Eye” handles them gently. As Van Ness puts it in one episode: “We’re nonjudgmental queens.”

It’s a little bit curious that as our political discourse is concerned with economic inequality — and the soaring costs of health care, education and homes — the cultural conversation is fixated on the healing powers of luxury items. What does it mean, that materialism is now so meaningful? “Generation Wealth” posits that extreme spending is a symptom of a civilization in decline. Americans may not have what they need, but at least they can get what they want, even if it’s on credit.

The writer and performer Amanda-Faye Jimenez recently posted a meme to Instagram of a child swinging blithely on the playground as a fire rages in the forest behind him. The forest is tagged: “My personal life and career.” The child: “The skincare routine.”

Material comforts are comforting: cooking a nice and interesting meal; living in a tidy and beautiful space; soothing tired eyes with a cool mask. And money helps you get money: The subjects of “Queer Eye” are typically made over in a standard professional style, as if they are being retrofitted for the work force. Surreptitiously, “Queer Eye” provides vacation time, too: Its subjects somehow receive a week off from work to focus on themselves.

The trouble is that when “Queer Eye” offers these comforts, the show implies that its subjects have previously lacked them because of some personal failure. They have been insufficiently confident, skilled, self-aware, dedicated or emotionally vulnerable. The spiritual conversion of the show occurs when the subject pledges a personal commitment to maintaining a new lifestyle going forward. But what these people need is not a new perspective. They need money, and they need time, which is money.

“Queer Eye” offers a kind of simulation of wealth redistribution. But every time the Fab Five retreats from the scene, I imagine the freshly-painted homes slowly falling into disrepair, the beards growing shaggy again, the refrigerators emptying.

In the fourth season, which dropped last month, the team makes over a single dad from Kansas City who is known as “the cat suit guy” because he wears feline print onesies to local sporting events. By the end, he gets a new corporate casual wardrobe, and a pop-up support network for his depression — he struggled to discuss it with anyone until the cast of “Queer Eye” broke through his shell.

As they prepare to leave, he tells them that he really needs them to stay in touch. “You’ve got to check on me,” he says. Absolutely, one of them says: “On Instagram.”

Sahred From Source link Arts

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[oldguardaudio]

Rush Limbaugh Explains How Trump Nailed the ChiCom Negotiations

Rush USA Flag at HoaxAndChange.com

Rush Limbaugh Combat the Drive-By Media at HoaxandChange.com

rush limbaugh cut spending lower taxes at HoaxAndChange.com

Nov 15, 2017

  RUSH: Now, this is funny. Trump sprung the three UCLA basketball players from the ChiCom jail. They were in there for shoplifting. UCLA basketball team was in China, and these three guys got pinched for shoplifting, and Trump, as part of his diplomatic efforts there, got them released. And apparently, they haven’t said thank you.

And so Trump is publicly saying, “Are these UCLA players gonna thank me for getting them out?” And people are saying, “That’s so unpresidential. He should be above it. He shouldn’t be requiring young children to have the knowledge that the — And maybe they’re not Trump supporters anyway, so why should they thank him?” The Drive-Bys are all over this as though it’s some kind of controversy that Trump is asking whether or not these three basketball players will thank him for springing them out of jail.

Now, yesterday in the first hour of the program, I purposely talked about Trump’s trip to Asia. It was my belief yesterday — it is today, too — that Trump’s trip was a profound success. And it was a resounding success on many levels. And I focused on the skill that President Trump brought to the negotiating table with the ChiComs. And I’m not gonna rehash it all.

But just to refresh your memory, I highlighted the technique necessary to successfully negotiate with ChiComs. They are not like us. Western civilization, Western culture is not theirs. This is not a criticism; it’s an acknowledgment. Whereas we, in negotiating with ourselves or with other foreign countries, we have a belief system of mutual agreement even if both sides remain unhappy when the deal’s over, and it’s often said, in fact, that a really good deal is when both sides are unhappy. Which means that both sides got something the other side wasn’t prepared to give, and that means it’s good, it’s good when you don’t get everything you want. That would be selfish and unfair.

This has been an established negotiating tactic. It’s part of our culture. I’m not putting it down. I am not praising it. I’m just pointing it out. The Chinese are totally different. They don’t have anything like that attitudinally. They don’t go into negotiations, whatever it is, negotiating human rights, civil rights abuses, foreign trade deals, if it doesn’t benefit China, they’re not gonna do it. If it’s not something that they can claim is a victory, they’re not gonna do it.

You can chalk it up to the need for self-esteem and respect. Whatever the psychological reasoning behind it, the Chinese literally do not have in their thinking vocabulary the idea that a deal is good if both sides are unhappy with it. In the Chinese world of negotiating, you don’t do it if you’re gonna be unhappy with it when it’s over. So you have to know that going in when you’re gonna start doing deals with the ChiComs.

And remember during the campaign, Trump did nothing but beat them up. So for two years the ChiComs listened to Trump beat ’em up, talk to them about how they are unfair, how they are cheaters, how they’re currency manipulators. And so two years of that, and the ChiComs think they are ready for what’s coming from Trump.

When in fact, Trump, if he thought that he was gonna be elected president, was already beginning his negotiations by starting out with the outrageous — his technique is, ask for three times what you’ll settle for. Ask for three times what you really want. It’s the only way to get what you really want. You have to be able to appear to be coming down.

You have to appear to be able to be throwing things out, things that you want, in order to get what you want. So you start three times higher. But Trump also knew that whatever it was, the Chinese when it was over, had to think they won. The Chinese had to think that, on balance, it was a good deal for them. And here is how I explained it on the program yesterday.

RUSH ARCHIVE: North Korea is the elephant in the room. Trump wants help from Xi Jinping on neutralizing Kim Jong-un. But Xi Jinping’s got no interest in doing that for the sake of humanity, for the betterment of the world. If getting rid of the North Koreans doesn’t benefit the Chinese, to hell with it. He doesn’t care about the instability of the world except as it might affect China. So that’s the key. So you have to appeal to the Chinese on the basis that, “Look, I want to make a new trade deal with you.”

Now, remember, Trump started out on the campaign trail telling us he’s gonna be tough. The ChiComs have been getting away with murder ’cause Americans are so stupid, but those days are over. The free ride of the Chinese is over. So they’ve been hearing that for two years. So they’re expecting Trump to come in and strip everything away, take away all the benefits they have, all the advantages. He didn’t do that. He gave ’em favorable trade deals but they have to help us with Kim Jong-un. So neutralizing Kim Jong-un then equals a benefit for the ChiComs.

RUSH: Right. Remember, now, the Chinese, to them the North Koreans, in doing something that might neutralize the North Koreans or mitigate them, it’s not about making the world safer, it’s not about humanity, it’s not about right and wrong. For the Chinese it’s all about when this is all over, do we benefit, do we win? And Trump realized that the Chinese are not going to make the North Koreans more important than themselves.

What Trump wanted was more favorable trade deals with them. They were afraid Trump was gonna start from scratch and be really tough. That was not Trump’s starting position. Trump gave them very favorable deals that they could claim were a win for them. But the price was weighing in on the North Koreans.

So this morning on CNN’s New Day, the cohost was Fredo Cuomo, and he’s talking to the former NSA Director, Michael Hayden. I think Hayden was also at CIA. But regardless, he’s not a Trump fan. Hayden has never been a big Trumpist. More like a Never Trumper.

So Fredo says to Michael Hayden, “China is sending a special envoy to North Korea this week. The president has repeatedly called on China to put more pressure on North Korea over its nuke program. Mr. Hayden, is this proof of progress? Should we see this development as a reflection of Trump’s effectiveness?”

HAYDEN: I think the timing suggests that’s true. So you’ve got a bit of a ray of light, maybe a breath of fresh air here, the Chinese trying to amp up their pressure on the North Koreans. I think we can rely on them to amp up the pressure a bit to have Kim, the youngest, tone down the rhetoric. Maybe stop testing for a while. This is pass/fail for Kim Jong-un. This is about his and his regime’s survival.

RUSH: Well, bingo! Did I not lay it all out for you yesterday? Not to be braggadocios, don’t misunderstand, but I spent the first hour on this, the first half hour on this, essentially, and this is why. ‘Cause this is a huge deal. And you’re not gonna see Trump credited. You’re not gonna see anything of the sort.

All you’re gonna see is Trump’s unfit. Trump has no business being president. Trump doesn’t even know who these people are. Trump has no business talking to ChiComs. Trump has no business in North Korea. All he does is insult the North Korean guy as short and fat, we can’t have that. That’s unpresidential.

When in truth Trump succeeded in getting Xi Jinping to tell the short, fat, little-potbellied dictator in North Korea to dial it back. Now, we’ll see if it actually happens. But it’s in China’s benefit to do it. China is not going to allow North Korean interests to supersede its own.

Now, if Trump had gone over there and in a very bellicose manner demanded that Xi Jinping tone down that guy or else, it would have been an abysmal failure. The Chinese reaction: “You don’t come over here and tell us what to do. That’s our ally. Screw you!” in diplomatic language.

But that isn’t what Trump did. Trump gave them something that they didn’t think they were gonna get, trade-wise, that, B, constituted in their way of thinking a win, to now it’s in their best interests to dial back North Korea in order to maintain this newfound good relationship that China has with the Trump administration.

It was really, really, you have to say, well done. And as I say, I doubt you’re gonna hear this perspective. I mean, even Hayden here, in his answer, was very begrudging (imitating Hayden), “Well, I think the timing suggests, yes, that’s true. The president was effective. So you have a bit of a ray of light.” He had to admit it because it is true. So that’s that.

Now we’ll take a break here, come back with — well, we’re either gonna get back to the phones or we’re gonna return to the fertile ground of sexual perversion and harassment and abuse in the world of politics and entertainment.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Okay. Those three UCLA players have now thanked President Trump for getting them out of jail. He wondered where the thank-you was. I know, they thanked the ChiComs too. The ChiComs probably insisted on that. “Your president told us to let you out, but we’re the ones that unlock the cells, and so when you get back you better express gratitude to us because we know where you are.” And so the three UCLA players not only thanked Trump, but they thanked the ChiComs

Trump gave them something that they didn’t think they were gonna get, trade-wise, Rush Limbaugh Explains How Trump Nailed the ChiCom Negotiations Nov 15, 2017 RUSH: Now, this is funny.

[onewhodresses-blog]

Week In Review

The Week In Review is a roundup of interesting, inspiring or thought-provoking things I've read this week. "How are you to imagine anything if the images are always provided for you? To defend ourselves...we must learn to read. To stimulate our own imagination, to cultivate our own consciousness, our own belief system. We all need these skills to defend, to preserve, our own minds." -- Adrien Brody  

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I'm so sorry things have been quiet around here! There's a bit [ok, a lot] of change in the air in my life and I'm eager to tell you about it in the days to come...until then, here's the week in review.

  Fashion

Hypernormalisation and the Cult of Prada | Olivia Singer, AnOther Magazine

“I didn’t want to do the 70s… but it came out naturally,” [Miuccia Prada] said backstage. “It was an important moment for protest, for humanity. Now, protest is very necessary.” It would be too easy for Prada’s current sentiment to refer simply to the right-wing bent of contemporary politics. In fact, the liberal left finds itself, presently, in a particularly strange situation, fractured by competing discourses and isolated within digital echo chambers...

Here, Mrs Prada seemed to be reminding us of those activists who once determined the personal to be political and sought revolution through action rather than Facebook status; of the importance of authentic, human reality during a time when detachment is bearing particularly frightening consequences.

 Trump is obsessed with what his staff wears. Don’t let their costumes distract you. | Robin Givhan, The Washington Post

Appearance matters, particularly at the White House. In some small way, the unruly, inartful, messy nature of politics is tempered by the dignity and solemnity of the place. There is something laudable about dressing in a manner that shows respect for everything that the White House represents. President George W. Bush understood that when he decreed jackets and ties for men entering the Oval Office. And in 2009, when President Obama loosened those rules, it caused a stir in official Washington. It also makes sense that if one wants to be taken seriously by a wildly diverse populace, it helps to embrace the universal style markers of professionalism, seriousness and authority. People also tend to stand up straighter and be more focused when their attire is more formal and elegant...But image is always secondary to substance. It may briefly distract from a narrative or add to it. But surely, it can’t change it.

 As Trump pushes for U.S. manufacturing, 'Made in America' is losing its luster in the fashion world | David Pierson, Los Angeles Times

Long before Trump campaigned on the promise of reviving domestic manufacturing, time-tested labels such as Gitman Bros., Filson and Red Wing Shoes were touting their “Made in USA” roots and encouraging customers to buy American menswear at a time when competitors had long fled to cheaper countries. They rode a wave of popularity in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis as trendsetters began rejecting fast-fashion brands like H&M and embracing traditionally stodgy ones like Brooks Bros. — an acknowledgment that it was better to buy pieces that lasted than support wasteful fads...

Now, some of those same companies, as well as more recently established ones, are wondering what the “Made in USA” label will mean under the new administration. Will it continue to stand for craftsmanship and style, or amount to an endorsement of Trump’s policies — or even the president himself?...“Is ‘Made in USA’ in danger of becoming ‘Make Made in USA Great Again’?” said Jonathan Wilde, editor of GQ.com...

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Politics

Donald Trump, the refugee ban, and the triumph of cruelty | Dylan Matthews, Vox

...what is uniquely repulsive about Trump’s travel restrictions and refugee ban. It’s not just that they’re dumb, or wrong-headed, or unjustified. They’re cruel...Public cruelty, the cruelty of governments and the men and women who run them, has an end; it is meant to achieve something, whether that be racial purity and national rebirth, or a classless industrialized society, or more modest goals, like satisfying nativist urges to preserve the racial and religious character of the nation, or at least not let it change too much. And this kind of goal-oriented cruelty is enabled by the unique and vast ability of governments to instill fear in those over which they wield power.

It is easier to be cruel as a public official, because it is easier to see one’s victims as an abstraction.

 All the times Republicans expressed moral outrage at Donald Trump’s threats to bar Muslims from the US | Dan Kopf, Quartz

Republican leaders vehemently condemned the suggestion from the billionaire upstart who was then leading in the GOP primary race. “Offensive and unconstitutional,” were the words of Mike Pence—before he joined Trump’s ticket as his vice president. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said it was “not conservatism.” Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell called it “completely inconsistent” with American values. Even former vice president Dick Cheney said it “goes against everything we stand for and believe in.”

...Still, since Trump signed yesterday’s executive order, no major Republican leader has yet spoken out against Trump’s order. 

 The Economist’ Just Downgraded the US From a ‘Full Democracy’ to a ‘Flawed Democracy’ | John Nichols, The Nation

A country must maintain an 8.00 rating (on measures of the electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation and political culture). The US rating was 8.05 last year. It is now 7.98; and index ranking for the US has fallen to number 21—just behind Japan, just ahead of the Republic of Cabo Verde. The United States is not ranked with the world’s authoritarian states; it’s in the company of Bulgaria, France, India, and Mongolia. But the US is no longer ranked in the “full democracy” category with Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom. And it is ranked well below social democracies such as Norway (#1 on the 2016 Democracy Index), Iceland (#2), and Sweden (#3).

For small-d democrats who are worried about Trump and Trumpism, the latest Democracy Index provides vital perspective. The new president is a bad player. He disrespects and disregards democratic values, encourages distrust of democratic infrastructure, and expresses disdain for the essential source of information in a democracy: a free and skeptical and questioning press that is willing to speak truth to power.

But even before Trump entered the presidential race, the crisis was real, and it was metastasizing...the combination of big-money politics; lobbying abuses that tip the balance of power to corporate interests; underfunded and dysfunctional media; assaults on labor rights; the gutting of voting rights; and the manipulation of election systems by partisans was undermining the infrastructure of democracy.

 West Africa - from dictators' club to upholder of democracy | BBC News

And as one democracy stumbles, others rise.

For a long time, [the political situation in West Africa] was an all-male club and members called each other "my brother president". Indeed they still do, even though there have been two female interlopers in the past decade. Members did not care very much how "the brothers" came to be heads of state. You could be elected to the position in dodgy elections, or in fairly conducted elections and then change the rules, you could assume the position through a coup d'etat. For as long as you could show you had firm control over your country, you were a "brother president"...It is difficult to determine exactly when things began to change but gradually fortunes changed for the personalities who had appeared to be perpetual opposition figures.

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Environment & Humanity

How A Hollywood Prop Artist Could Help Stop Poaching At Its Source | Jason G. Goldman, Good Magazine

Though the nation’s indigenous cultures have eaten sea turtle eggs for centuries, illegal poaching has drastically reduced populations...Yet a poacher is just one cog in a massive criminal enterprise: Arrest one and he or she will quickly be replaced. Addressing the problem means identifying middlemen who transfer eggs into the global marketplace, as well as their transportation routes and storage facilities. To stop this crime before sea turtles and their eggs disappear forever, wildlife rangers will need to trick thieves into revealing their networks. 

Biologist Kim Williams-Guillén, who directs scientific research for conservation group Paso Pacífico, is working with Hollywood prop stylist Lauren Wilde to test a creative solution: a handcrafted decoy called the “InvestEGGator.” A poacher who swipes one will unwittingly help map out a vast criminal system via GPS and a trail leading authorities and conservationists to a potential bust.   

 How Bucking the Climate Change Accord Would Hinder the Fight Against HIV/AIDS | Brian King via Truthout

While there have been remarkable improvements in combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Global South, managed HIV faces other challenges beyond accessing lifesaving drugs. Food production and food security, which are tied to shifting climate dynamics, place additional burdens upon social and natural environments in resource-scarce settings.

Managed HIV is survival, and this survival depends not just on access to antiretroviral drugs but also on a gamut of social and environmental resources that have become necessary to meet health needs in the era of global climate change.

 Our New Age of Contempt | Karen Stohr, The New York Times 

It may seem as though the best response to Trump’s contempt is to return it in kind, treating him the same way he treats others. The trouble, though, is that contempt toward Trump does not function in the same way that his contempt toward others functions. Even if we grant that Trump deserves contempt for his attitudes and behaviors, his powerful social position insulates him from the worst of contempt’s effects. It is simply not possible to disregard or diminish the agency of the president of the United States. This means that contempt is not a particularly useful weapon in the battle against bigotry or misogyny. The socially vulnerable cannot wield it effectively precisely because of their social vulnerability.

The better strategy for those who are already disempowered is to reject contempt on its face. Returning contempt for contempt legitimizes its presence in the public sphere. The only ones who benefit from this legitimacy are the people powerful enough to use contempt to draw the boundaries of the political community as they see fit. Socially vulnerable people cannot win the battle for respect by using contempt as a way to demand it.

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What did you read this week?

 Feature image: A family of immigrants arrive at Ellis Island, courtesy the National Park Service, Statue of Liberty National Museum

#Week in Review