#game getting annoyed with me wasting good processing power on in-game camera stuff I guess :p

[victorluvsalice]

With the fishing competition officially over, it was time to head home so everyone could satisfy their needs! Some in more, uh, unique ways than others...look, Alice being a werewolf means "marking her territory" outside and then licking herself clean at the sink are totally reasonable activities and get her XP for new powers. :P And also allows Victor first shot at the only bathroom in the house, which I'm sure he appreciated. XD

Anyway -- around this time, I decided, "Hey, I had Smiler bring along their new drone on this vacation -- I should have them record a video now, while it's nice! Maybe of them building a sand sculpture?" So I had them get it out so I could do just that -- l

But, unfortunately, while they were doing that, I got distracted by having to live-drag the pizza floatie I'd provided for the trio into deeper water so the still-kinda-tired Victor could nap on it. And when I looked back to start the video, I could not, for the life of me, find the drone. O.o I have NO idea what happened there -- it wasn't in Smiler's inventory, but it also wasn't anywhere on the lot that I could see. Frustrated, but certain it would pop up later (if only because I was sure the game would put it back into their inventory the next time I changed lots, like with their laptop), I instead had Smiler play with their quadcopter for a bit while Alice started dinner -- a lovely fish feast using the tuna Victor had caught, wrapped in banana leaves and left to roast on the island BBQ pit. She then swam out to join him in his napping, taking over the rainbow whale floatie. Look, they had a long day and needed their beauty rest, okay? :p

With them both snoozing away (just so they'd have enough energy to get through dinner), I was left with just Smiler to entertain -- and fortunately, I already had a good idea of what I wanted to do. Namely, get a few more pictures. XD So when Smiler finished flying their quadcopter around, I had them whip out their phone and take a few shots of the surrounding scenery in the sunset glow, along with shots of Victor and Alice sleeping on their floaties. XD I mean, you have to admit, the place looked REALLY pretty at sunset -- nothing wrong with getting a few landscape snaps too!

However, it seems The Sims 4 was as done with me taking in-game pictures as you all probably are -- once Smiler put their phone away, my game just started freaking CHUGGING for some reason. I tried to fix it by going into the main menu, which often resets things if they get kind of "oof," but for whatever reason it wouldn't stick this time. I tried to tough it out, sending Smiler out into the water to clean up some trash and back-float with their partner and metamour, but in the end I had to drop a save and reload the game. Happily, once I returned to the lot, everything was running smoothly again...

#sims 4 #the lazy save #victor van dort #alice liddell #smiler always #Alice has those werewolfy ways to satisfy her needs and I'm going to use them damn it #though I do wonder if I should have at least had her change into her werewolf form #she would have at least avoided the hygiene hit then #things to consider in the future #and yeah NO idea what happened with the drone there #definitely not in Smiler's inventory but I could NOT figure out where it was supposed to be on the lot #it does come back as you will see in the very next update though #but it was still a glitchy little fucker #actually this whole last bit of the day was a little glitchy #dunno what happened #game getting annoyed with me wasting good processing power on in-game camera stuff I guess :p #oh and yes the pizza floatie is a Hawaiian pizza #because it's Sulani and because Smiler would like you all to know it is NOT horrible thank you #queued

[honeyedmilks]

a love to kill - the tumbly review

so here is the first of ???? kdrama reviews i’ll be doing on my blog! these are literally just my thoughts and in depth analysis on kdramas i’ve watched, and probably enjoyed! this is mostly just for myself to be honest.

to try my best to be tidy and not messy, i’ll be splitting things up in little sections in my review- because let’s face it there’s so much to talk about when you watch a kdrama.

i’ll be putting these under cuts because i ramble and i don’t want to wreck your dash with my long ass talking! may contain spoilers! but i’ll try be as vague as possible so i don’t ruin anything for those who might watch! but if you’ve seen this then you may just get what i’m talking about. 

what i’ll be talking about today:

 A Love To Kill (2005) 

an introduction to the premise of this wild adventure, by me: 

Kang Bokgu (played by idol star bi rain- think of full house here) is set on revenge; hours after being reunited with his estranged older brother, he watches his brother Kang Min Gu fall to his near end and after being admitted to hosptial, Bok Gu finds his brother to still be alive- but barely. Kang Min Gu is now in a vegetative state with nearly no hope of full recovery.

due to evidence Bokgu soon discovers… he believes it’s a woman’s fault his beloved brother fell off a fu***ng building. our mess of a hero Bokgu deduces that the woman who caused his brother so much pain is the famous actress, and his brother’s estranged lover, Cha Eun Sook (played by the lovely shin min ah). 

from then on, bokgu vows to avenge his brother and unleash suffering upon this woman who broke his brother’s heart and just about killed him.

got me so far? fabulous! now let’s just add love and loyalty and annoying second lead chaebols, meddling families and lovers into this holy mess and we get… a love to kill. 

a general statement and warning if you’re thinking of picking up this show: 

this drama is a melodrama- made in 2005. there are things that are going to grate at someone. like you could play a drinking game counting how many times shin min ah falls to the ground or limps sadly. but she makes it work to be honest.

some people said it was a waste of time by the time they finished it. some said it made them cry and that they loved it. it’s up to you to make your mind about what you thought of this show. i went in with this thought: it’s going to be bad… but in a good way. and for me, it worked. don’t take this drama too seriously but go in knowing that you can still totally enjoy it for so many reasons, even though its a little bit of a mess.

i certainly enjoyed it, not totally ironically. there are character’s who make your eyes bug, some that have you swinging from some sympathy to dislike, and you have characters who just muddle with your heart and your brain as you try understand them. 

just go in knowing that you can enjoy it with it’s flaws. it’s a melodrama but it’s also strangely grounded. you can take it seriously but still laugh at the same time. that’s how simply i can put it.

the production:

this drama is well shot. the camera shots leave your head spinning sometimes. it’s artistically done, close up shots pull you in and beautiful landscape shots make you feel things. 

you feel distance and closeness and the cold and warmth in a scene. it’s like an indie movie. 

i honestly love the watching this show unfold visually, especially at the start.

the soundtrack is emotive. it makes you feel things, even when you don’t know if you’re rooting for Bokgu and Eun Sook’s romance, or wither you feel sorry for Bokgu and the mess he’s made, you still feel so much. 

i’m being serious, this show has got a powerful bopping soundtrack- i shed a few soul tears listening to it.

not only is the soundtrack something that makes you truly feel… the performances from our two leads, Shin Min Ah and Rain, are so well done that sometimes you want to cry with Eun Sook, and cry at how up and down Bokgu can be. 

the supporting cast are okay, good enough to watch. except from the second lead chaebol who just… i hate him and i don’t know if casting a more charismatic actor would’ve helped his pathetic case but… well… his character still sucks ass. he looks like an anime character, but then again so does Bokgu.

the costumes are… interesting, and i like the use of them in the story. costume matters a lot.

Bokgu, when he’s not dressed in his faux bodyguard attire, looks like a bloody hobo. and the most powerful thing that had me convinced that Eun Sook really loved Bokgu for who he really was- not the hot and cold bodyguard in his black tie and white shirt- is the fact that she didn’t bat an eyelid at his hobo clothes when he was out of his stylish suit. truly powerful stuff. ah now this makes me want to talk about the romance so here we go.

the romance: 

honestly i wanted to watch this for the love that CANNOT BE!!!! which is the love between Bokgu and Eun Sook- the woman he planned revenge on but also the same women his brother was head over heels in love with.

i wanted angst and love so powerful it wounded souls. and as i was watching, i kept watching out for the romance but instead… as it seems to be very common with me these days.. i didn’t feel a complete attachment with the relationship, especially within the first half of the show. but i guess that’s the point, as you’ll see when you reach the very end. instead i watched for the characters, i rooted for romances for the characters and finally could i see the otp in Bokgu and Eun Sook when every single misunderstanding about the other was cleared. 

from the start you wonder; when did he fall for her? at the same time as hating her? when did he start to feel love? you wonder, is Bokgu really caring for her or is he not for violence against women, even if he wants to hurt that women emotionally? is this caring and love or is it a show of his character? WHAT DOES THIS CONFLICT MEAN? Bokgu if you hate her then why not let her die? why not let terrible things happen to her? (one of these terrible things that Bokgu prevented involved the suck ass chaebol and i refuse to learn his name) 

Eun Sook, bless her i sympathised with her a lot and grew to love her so much, is easier to read. you see her fall for Bokgu and if you take a minute to look at him through her eyes, you see why she might fall for him. love is weird and often makes no sense. see, a lot of the time i was muttering to my screen about how she could do so much better than Bokgu, about how he’s a mess and how i don’t always understand what she sees in him. i didn’t know how she could love him when he’s… Bokgu. but instead i stuck with her and began to admire her for her capacity for love and her loyalty. she’s a good person. though at the start it might take you some time to warm up to her as she struggles through her various heartaches and nuisances, such as her family, a marriage announcement to a suck ass chaebol she never asked for and her heartache for Min Gu oppa. i grew to love her a lot. your view of her might be warped due to how we know Bokgu see’s her at the start, but it makes for such a fascinating watch. a lot of the time you’re saying to yourself that Eun Sook didn’t deserve any of this bullshit. at all.

and one of the things i realised at the end of the series is how loyalty plays such a huge part in the pull Bokgu and Eun Sook have for each other. both are so loyal? it’s part of their character’s and you see it so many different ways. and they see that in each other and value it, even if it causes hardships.

Bokgu can’t leave a girl who saved his life and got hurt in the process, out of his loyalty for her, despite not loving her. he loves his brother so much that he would go out of his way to avenge his pain and suffering- he can’t bear to see him suffer, knowing his brother is a good man and shouldn’t have to be living this horrible life. Bokgu can take any hits of his own- he wouldn’t care for himself but if someone’s hurts someone he cares for… you’re in trouble. he’s loyal to a fault. 

Eun Sook is loyal and brave and committed in her own way. and it’s such an integral part of her character. because the heartache that comes from the betrayal she suffers at the hands of people she deeply loved and fought for despite what anyone else said about them, feels so palpable and it honestly hurts. you see it from the very start, when she defends Min Gu oppa against her family who pretend to forget him. she lists every single wonderful thing about him and won’t allow the person she loves be reduced to rubble. it’s something that get’s me right in the heart (one of my grievances with moon lovers was the fact that hae soo never defended wang so and loved him like the audience did and it was so frustrating). Eun Sook doesn’t take shit from people who try put those she loves below her. she didn’t care if she was a rich famous beautiful super star- she loved and loved and loved. without any prejudice. and she herself came from very humble beginnings (another powerful similarity between her and Bokgu). 

where as Bokgu thinks that she and her family pushed Min Gu oppa away because of her social status etc it’s not like that at all. and it’s so cathartic watching every truth come to light by the middle of the drama. it’s so satisfying- because his love finally feels real because he now completely sees the Eun Sook we know and love. without the misunderstandings making things murky in the heart. the second half of the drama is when things get really sore in the heart at least for me. because as winter came, snow came and frost came, clearing and cleaning in it’s wake… and things where out in the open and it just felt… like the second phase of the drama. some people complained about the pacing- i never did- it felt perfect to me). you can finally breathe and nod and say, yes he loves her, he loves her a lot. and she still loves him.

loads of drama’s have holes in their relationships and the way things unfold- this isn’t one of them. every question eventually gets answered in the most organic way. you just have to keep watching- and it’s not hard. it’s an addictive watch. i said i would take breaks from it, might not even finish it, but i kept thinking about it… and there i was, back watching till the very end. and i’m so glad i did. there was no other option. 

the characters:

you know Bokgu (i’ll give you some more on him soon) and Mingu and Eun Sook. and you kind of know suck ass chaebol. but let’s talk more about the side characters. 

suck ass chaebol (and i had to google his name)  Kim Joon Sung is literally the worst. i didn’t like him. I began to just close my brain every time i had to see him on screen. some might find him redeemable but i don’t. coercing the girl you like into marrying her without her will, when she’s said LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE, and nearly raping her when she was drunk and passed out (Bokgu saved her, as was mentioned above) is not redeemable to me. i don’t like him. but i guess he’s important to the plot.

Han Da-Jung is the girl that Bokgu can’t leave. she makes me really not like her but also kind of feel bad for her, episode after episode. i guess i would call her a grey character- she loves Bokgu, a lot. almost to the point of suffocation. but in the end… you understand her a little bit. she can be selfish and caring and brash and mean all at once. she’s done horrible things to hurt Eu Sook but in order to help Bokgu, but she was also quick to try be honest with her (another thing i’m glad about this drama is that it dealt with the lies and misunderstanding swiftly when it all started to spiral, and in a way that felt very good to get too). Da Jung can be unapologetic and sorry simultaneously. the women in this show can give my brain a bit of a stirring to be honest. even Eun Sook’s step mum, who she refers to simply as mum, can make you wonder if she’s all bad. 

though if you’ve seen my posts as i was binge watching… the men in this show give me a real headache. here’s a list of things i’ve said out loud while watching this show: 

right, Bokgu what the hell???!!

stop TALKING BOKGU 

oh ffs why are you back. i hate your anime lookin’ ass. (that’s me talking about suck ass)

you’re an idiot, Bokgu

my love, Eun Sook doesn’t deserve any of this!!!

i hate men.

what the fuck?? 

is she ok?

gurl just dump his stupid ass

why y’all gotta do my gal like this?

oh my god stop talking 

i need a fucking minute!!

i can’t believe you, Bokgu.

right okay so this is what we’re doing now

well i can’t say i feel sorry for him

i don’t understand a thing you do boi

dumbass.

also a lot of: wow mood. 

Bokgu is seriously a mess of a man. i may complain about him a lot, but in the end i guess i understood him and there are redeeming qualities in him. he can be warm and safe and kind. but then you think of all the things he’s been doing and you just sigh and rub your temples and decide you need a cup of tea to soothe this headache. but rain’s acting… it’s kind of electric. it’s really interesting to watch him. his tears, his facial expressions, the tone of his voice, his actions, the emotions in his eyes, on his lips. i love when he cries. (this may or may not be because i’m very pro Bokgu PAIN™ for the hurt he caused my gal Eun Sook). there’ one scene before shit goes down, and it’s just… lovely torment from then on. it’s great! 

the end:

i knew what the end was. i knew how it was gonna end. but by the time i got there… i was crying… my period might have something to do with that but we’ll never know. i thought the end was… fitting? it felt like there was almost no other way. i understand why things couldn’t have worked out the way we viewers would think it should. 

thing is; humans feel a lot. like a real lot. and a lot of the time you can’t control it. and if you have enough empathy and understanding in the characters, you just get it. 

plus there’s no point in thinking about in any other way- at least i don’t think so- it’s written in a way where it didn’t feel out of nowhere. it’s just part of the story. and it’s clear that the writers knew this was the way the wanted to end this, what they felt was right. 

i have lots of thoughts on the last episode and how it felt. but i don’t want to spoil anything. so i’ll just say that though it hurt, i didn’t feel angry about it or anything. it felt natural to me. things already felt out of hand, like the end anyways. i know how it feels to try move forward but you can’t see anything in front of you. sometimes life feels like it has it’s dead ends. 

in conclusion:

i would recommend this drama, a lot. especially since i watched this when everything else felt boring and rubbish. is it a perfect masterpiece? i don’t know. is everyone going to love it? i don’t know. i find it easier now to watch drama’s without expecting a complete heart eyes- something is always going to be annoying or cliche or imperfect. romcoms just don’t do it for me, sometimes i expect too much.

and i like it like that now. i like going into a drama like this and knowing i’m not going to like everyone and knowing that character’s are going to be complex and sometimes unforgivable. and i’ll dislike who i dislike and acknowledge things about them that aren’t all villainous. and i’ll love character’s especially female leads, who for dumb reasons might not be liked by audiences, but i like going in and finding a gem like Eun Sook. i look past the dumb shit people might not like and find things to really love about them. they’re totally human. and Eun Sook may seem week and tearful to some, but she’s got more strength than some others might have. and she turned out to be one of my favourite things about the show- just the person she was. 

but watch for anything- characters, grounded melodrama, something to moan at in an enjoyable way, pain… whatever floats your boat.

#tumbly reviews #kdramanetwork #kdrama review #a love to kill #tumbly talks: kdrama edition #sorry for any typos!!! #this is a mess