[絕對達令] Absolute Boyfriend Afterthoughts~

So I just finished watching Jue Dui Darling (after such a long time I know) and oh my, where do I start?

How about with this...

Mmmmm...so much fanservice and so so guilty of enjoying said fanservice. But enough about my not-so-secret flame for Jiro Wang.

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~~~HERE BE SPOILERS~~~

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I had an inkling that the story would turn tragic at some point (it's an idol drama, come on, how could there not be any tragedy?), given that it's essentially about the love between a human and a robot, but I underestimated just how heart-wrenching this could be. In the last episode alone, I cried enough to fill a water bottle - was very embarrassing too, since I was on a train and discreetly trying to hide the fact that I was a) watching an Asian drama and b) flooded with tears. Had to pause several times to hold the gates back.

I'm glad they didn't drag it out (any more than they already did) - by this point, I was ready to believe that I was watching the death of an actual person, that's how 'real' Night had become. It was all so bittersweet and painful, knowing that everyone was helpless and that this was the final countdown. The ending itself still makes my tears well up - no hint as to whether he does get revived... :'(

I haven't seen too much of Jiro's work, but out of everything I have seen him in, I think this is his best show by far. He did such a good job as Night, and I don't really have anything bad to say about his character at all.

Xiao Fei, on the other hand...her character got exceedingly annoying in the middle of the story - is passiveness a common trait of all girls in Asian dramas? She just lets herself get carried into all of these nasty situations, and is just tooooo naive for my liking that it really started to grate on me. But towards the end, I let that go when she finally stopped dilly-dallying around and faced up to her true feelings. I thought the emotional growth there was very touching (and about time too!). Pity they never got round to consummating their love... >_<:;

All I can say about Zhong Shi is this: poor guy. He had to put up with so much crap, yet he stayed by her side until the end. If I had a friend as good as Zhong Shi I would never let him go. Same with Night... ^^:;

And Lei Wu Wu came into his own towards the end too. I always liked him, even though he is so obviously there for comic relief but also such a funny character too (I don't usually find Chinese comic relief characters funny as the humour is too weird for me -_-)! He always used threats but never really carried them out and always seemed to be a good guy at heart, so I'm glad he tried to save Night and saw him as more than a simple robot.

I wish there could be a single episode set in the future, just to wrap everything up - we deserve that, at least! >__<

~~~END OF SPOILERS~~~

And on that note, here's the music video of the ending credits song for you to drool over~~

Now to find a new drama to watch...any recommendations?

Yishi xxx

Oblivion and Cass Art haul~

Hello!

It's been a while since I last updated. If you've been following UK weather, then you'll know that the last few days have been full of sunshine, which has made for a very happy me!

Today I left work early to go to Cass Art in Angel ~ they were having a 15% discount sale on everything in their store, including all of their already discounted stuff. A good friend of mine had raved about this store for a long time now, so I made sure to stock up on graphite, charcoal and coloured pencils.

Afterwards, we wandered about for a bit before coming to a Japanese restaurant called Tenshi. Having gone dry on sushi for a few weeks now, I knew I could not resist so we ordered a massive stack of very decently priced sushi and some skewers of grilled chicken. It's at this point that I usually order a main too, since sushi alone is not enough to fill me up on my current budget, but this time I had a mini brainwave and just ordered a bowl of rice, thinking - how have I only just figured this out?! T_T

Once we'd finished eating, we headed to the Vue which is just down the road - but far enough such that an "are we there yet?" was very much warranted - for an evening screening of Oblivion. My first thoughts were: oh, Tom Cruise, the crazy-scientologist-I-used-to-crush-on-back-in-the-day-before-I-realised-he-was-crazy, followed by WOW, cinematography! The visuals in this movie are absolutely breathtaking, and the orchestral music is very epic too. I really liked the sweeping camera-work, the wonderful shots of the planet, and all of the awesomely cool CGI tech.

I just wish the plot had been as strong as the visuals and had more substance. Don't get me wrong, the premise is pretty cool but I think the delivery could've been less of an info-dump and crafted in a less distracting way. There were quite a few things that did startle me i.e. plot hole - such as how the characters could function at such high altitudes without asphyxiating or freezing to death - there was one scene in particular that really got me - the obligatory strip scene.

I also thought that a lot of the intriguing concepts weren't developed enough or to my satisfaction, I really really wanted to know more about the sci-fi elements - can't say more for fear of spoilers - but I felt that that was the meat of the movie, and that was overlooked too much in favour of the personal journey approach. But oh well. I liked it nonetheless.

My friend said that he enjoyed the craftsmanship of The Host more so, and this is only surprising when I tell you that said friend is one hundred percent male...!

Anyways, it's getting late, so take care everyone~~

Yishi xxx

D.I.Y. Spa Evening~

Hellooo!!

I've always wanted to try to create my own spa experience at home, and with winter showing no sign of being vanquished, what better time to do so than now? After all, everyone has such busy schedules these days that we hardly ever have any time to ourselves - something we don't even think about doing all too often. But as my yoga teacher keeps on emphasizing, putting aside time to focus on yourself is so important for your mental well-being!

This is such a fun idea you can do for a girl's night in, or for something you can do with your significant other, all on a student budget~

So you've decided you want to have your own spa experience now?

The first thing to think about is where to hold the session. A lot of professional spa treatments involve lying down in a comfortable place, so a living room or a bedroom are good options. We chose a bedroom, and immediately set about cleaning it as there is definitely something to be said for the ancient art of feng shui, and given that some people believe that a person's room is a reflection of the state of their internal self, I do believe that an uncluttered space will make you feel more relaxed.

Next, you need to decide on what you are going to do:

Manicures/pedicures
Face masks
Massages
Steam treatments
Aromatherapy

And what you will need! We went to Chinatown and picked up some incense sticks for £1.50, and in MUJI we picked up a scented candle and a bottle of essential oil for ~£7 which turned out to be our only expenses for this night - not bad, given that I already had some massage oil lying around and a lavender scented comforter that was oh so soothing when it had been heated and was wrapped around my neck.

Recreating a luxury experience in your own home is all about the details - we wanted to feel like we were being treated so fluffy white towels and bathrobes were a must!

Other details included some preparation before we began - switching on the heating to warm up our space, and lighting an incense stick to infuse the room with a calm and relaxing scent. We also had a supply of green tea on tap, as well as a soothing soundtrack that was oh so kindly supplied to us by Youtube.

I wanted to try a face mask and prepared one by mashing a banana, some honey and a few drops of lemon juice, but never got round to trying it out that evening. In the morning, it ended up becoming a sticky black goo, something I will spare you from seeing!

As it was quite late in the night (half ten...eleven?) when we started, we only got round to massages and steam - for the steam, we had a bowl of hot water infused with a few drops of lemon essential oil that we used to unclog our pores. But next time, there will be more! :3

All in all, something a little out of the ordinary, and well worth the preparation!

Yishi xxx