#a different pace

[chainsawmochi]

Art I made for "A Different Pace" by Jessko of AO3 (Jess if you see this I'm not sure I know your Tumblr handle forgive meeeee). Flint found human Graham in the snow. Save him.

[pinupac87]

Okay, so I’m currently in the Deep Roads of Dragon Age: Origins. I was in the Aeducan Thaig with my Warden, Lelianna, Ohgren, and Wynne (the only spirit healer in my party so far). I was having a hell of a time trying to kill some baddies that would TPK my party every single time. After trying to not rage quit a few times, I decided to just move around them and deal with them later. I had already used up a bunch of potions and didn’t want to waste more.

So after killing some deepstalkers, I figured out that if I just have my party hold and let the baddies come to me, I could live easier. A glyph of paralysis and some ice spells later, it was no sweat. I go to a dead end to see if there’s any loot and that’s when I see them.

The same baddies that kept TPK’ing my party on the other side of the wall. 

Now, I was not gonna deal with another wipeout. So I decided to try a little experiment. Using my mage, I used ice blast to see if I could just kill them off remotely. I honestly didn’t think it was going to work. But what happened was that one they were attacked, the baddie would come to you, one by one. 

So, I used my tactics from the deepstalkers on these. And holy shit, did it work!

Not only did I get to pick them off one by one, I could save precious items and mana while doing so.

Why the hell didn’t I think of this sooner. And I wish I took screen shots.

Now I’m in the Deep Roads proper and I’m milking it for all it’s worth. I’m not being cocky, but damn does it help my nerves.

[adifferentpace]

Making it Up as I Go: Cleaning Hair Brushes

Okay, so I am currently growing out my hair so it goes to mid-thigh (I want to either donate or sell it. Whichever is the best option.). I have done some research on no-poo regimens and hair care that would work with my hair type. I have long curly hair that is on the thick side and I needed to try to keep it hydrated from root to tip. 

No biggie, if my hair wasn’t so long. And I mean down to my tailbone long at the time of writing this. 

So I saw a post on how Victorian women took care of their hair here on Tumblr. That got me interested. I did more research.

Going on a few websites on pre-modern hair care gave me a few ideas. One of which I found interesting. Keeping your hair brushes clean.

I’ve done this with my makeup brushes and used a tutorial from YouTube to clean them. But I never thought to do this with my hair brushes. But it made sense: when you brush your hair, you are distributing the natural oils throughout your hair. And if your brush is dirty, guess what happens? 

With that in mind, I decided to take the comb and brushes I use (comb for de-tangling, brushes for shine and making my hair look nicer) to task. 

Things I Used:

Dawn dish soap (the extra strength kind, but you can also use T-Gel dandruff shampoo in a pinch)

Boiling hot water

Big giant Pyrex glass bowl 

Small comb to take out the hair and nasty gunk

Q-tips to spot clean and get into the hard to reach places.

Olive or Coconut Oil (Optional for natural bristle brushes to condition them)

What I Did:  

Get the the bowl out and put some dish soap in it. (You can use dandruff shampoos like T-Gel to a good clean)

Take the brushes after removing as much hair and gunk out of them and put soap right in there. Put them in the bowl and let them sit.

Boil some water. I recommend boiling it from a kettle since it makes pouring it so much easier. As it boils, do the step above to save on time.

Once water is to a boil, turn off the heat and carefully bring the kettle to the bowl to pour. Be careful: Splashed hot water will burn you. (I know I’m being Captain Obvious here, but pour slowly over the brushes!)

When the bowl is full, carefully jostle the brushes to loosen the gunk from the brushes. Leave it in the bowl for a few hours. Overnight if you really want to get them clean.

When you’re ready to rinse them out, take them out of the bowl and use cold water to clean them out. Use the small comb to pry out the extra gunk. 

Repeat cleaning process if needed with a clean bowl and new batch of water.

Let the clean brushes dry overnight. 

So why do this? Well, like the makeup brushes you don’t want to put all of the dead skin and gunk back into your clean hair. And after doing this, I’ve noticed a difference in my hair. Nothing big or groundbreaking, but a difference nonetheless. Since cleaning the brushes, they have a longer life and I don’t have to shell out the money to buy a new one as of yet; which is a good thing when you’re on a super tight budget!

Let me know what you think. I would love to hear from the beauty side of Tumblr and what they think of this. And if you try it, I would love to hear what you do!

[adifferentpace]

Crimson Peak Movie Review

Rating: R

Paid full price

           I love gothic horror. I love romance. Put the two together, and you have a very happy girl. When the trailer for Crimson Peak came online, I was eager to go see it.

           The hype was strong online. I would see ads on my dash constantly. Fan art contests, tribute blogs, and so much more. With Guillermo Del Toro at the director’s helm, I hoped that it would be scary. I’ve seen Pan’s Labyrinth; the dark horror that was intertwined with fantasy kept me fascinated and scared as all get out. Hellboy was a delight to watch with the elements of the original comic and the style that Del Toro is known for. I’ve even watched Let’s Plays of P.T. that left me scared out of my wits (and I mourn the fact that we may never get to see what might have been if Silent Hills hadn’t been cancelled.). Del Toro, like Alfonso Curran, have a way with their directing that I love so much. With that in mind, how does Crimson Peak hold up? Does it live up to the hype?

The Nitty Gritty

           In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds - and remembers.1

           Story wise, there is an interesting concept going on. It’s familiar, but somewhat refreshing. Young ingénue meets mysterious stranger, falls for him and marries him. Then spooky things happen when she moves in. Sir Thomas Sharpe (played by Tom Hiddleson) fits that trope quite well. Well spoken, charming, and full of secrets. He is a dreamer; he loves to invent and is passionate about it. Our ingénue is instantly charmed by him. Edith (Mia Wasikowska) is young, bright, innocent, and also a dreamer. She aspires to be a writer. There are times that you can see that she is smart and observant in the beginning of the film. Lucille Sharp (Jessica Chastain) likes to keep her cards close and works her machinations from behind the scenes.

           The set design and the costumes made me drool. Period clothing and beautiful architecture? Yes, please! The choices that were made definitely set the tone of the film. The ambience gave it a creepy feel that could leave anyone unsettled.

           For all of the charm that this could have, I honestly wished that they started out not instantly falling for each other. Or at the very least fix the pacing that plagued this film. The first part seemed to just steamroll through the romance. It felt rushed; there really was no tension, romantic or otherwise, from the two main characters. I found myself sitting in the theatre redoing the plot in my head on how I would have done the scenes. The whole thing seemed to be banking more on the “haunted house” part that it forgot to work on the build up for the romance. Even then, there were times that I had a hard time believing the romance. The times that I did were very few.

           As for the horror? Meh. I didn’t get all that scared by the ghosts when they appeared. With the exception of a few scenes(Please see the warnings at the end of this review for clarifications), I just didn’t feel like it was all that spooky. I think it would have been better to not show the ghosts; let the theatre of the mind take care of that. For a film that wants to write a love letter to the classic haunted house movies, I wish that they showed more of the house. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED the set design. Old gothic house that is settled and groans is creepy as all hell to me. For such a big house I only got to see just a little. I get that the house is falling apart, but just a little bit more would have been nice.

           The dialogue seemed a bit forced at times. The script didn’t feel very strong to me.  Hence, I was reimagining what I would have done. For example, the tension that Edith had with other characters just wasn’t there. There were some scenes that made me smile and laugh at her wit and I wished that there were more of that. The rest seemed lackluster because of the script.

           Because of the “meh” script and dialogue, it showed with some the performances. The groundwork was there but it just didn’t seem enough to give these characters life. Case in point, Tom Hiddleson does give a good performance as Sharpe. You can see that he is showing the conflicting loyalties he has, but it doesn’t seem too believable to me. The charm you see in the first part of the film seems to dissipate when they go to the spooky house. Mia’s performance was okay, I guess. This is neither actor’s best performance, nor their worst.

           There was just too much in such little time that the film was trying to accomplish. The film seems to suffer from that. Unnecessary characters, plot elements, and a lack of heart are what kill this film. Pretty stuff doesn’t always hide the flaws underneath.

 Script/Story: 1.5 out of 5

Costume/Set Design: 4 out of 5(Cosplay heaven)

Acting: 2.5 out of 5(I love Tom Hiddleson, but this was not his best)

Spook Factor: Meh, but there are some moments that made me cover my eyes

 Things to be wary of: Blood, ghosts, gore (Do not see this if you are squeamish! Del Toro has a reputation for this for a reason.), sexy times, animal death

 Overall Score: 2.5 out of 5 (Wait until it comes out on Netflix. Save your money. If you do go see it, go with a group with a sick sense of humor)

[adifferentpace]

Solavellen Fanfic Teaser

“Would you be willing to meet up on Tuesday evening?” Solas asked. “I know of a wonderful restaurant that I hope you might like.”

Mariah thought for a moment Their first real date! This was what she was hoping for a couple of months. She was about to say yes-

Tuesday. Tuesday evening. Oh. Crap.

“I’m afraid I can’t do Tuesday evening, Solas.” She replied. “I have-” Creators, how was she supposed to explain what she does those nights? He liked fancy things and she knew of his disdain of her Dalish background; what would he think of her if he found out about this? “I have something else planned.”

She felt like a coward.

XX

It took a bit of digging to find out where she was going that prevented her from going out on a proper date with him. Mariah had assured her that it wasn’t that she didn’t; if her initial reaction was to be believed, she wanted to. Very much so. She just couldn’t do the only night he was able to have off.  She didn’t tag her profile where she was on Tuesday evenings nor did she allow anyone to tag her in photos. But after weeks of diligent research, he found out.

He found a photo with her in it tagged, Country Night at Mayhem! Live music feat. The Chargers! 

Line dancing?

XX

[adifferentpace]

Knitting, Spinning, and General Ravelry: Spinning and Soaking.

I’m currently taking care of some hand spun yarns that I’ve let build up so I can set the twist on them. The one batch I have is un-dyed yarn that I want to dye just to see what happens. 

Does anyone have any advice or tips on what I can use for merino wool? Can I use regular Kool-aid?

[adifferentpace]

Writing Exercises: Stories in under 140 characters.

He couldn't take it anymore. The man walked up to her. Grabbing her, he spun her around to face him and kissed her. Her friend was shocked.

[adifferentpace]

Adventures with Lexie: I Never Knew Baby Rabbits Could Squeak Like That...

In my neighborhood there’s been a resurgence of the rabbit population. Lexie loves to chase the fully grown ones. For a while she never to my knowledge was able to catch one. 

Yesterday my mom told me that she may have gotten a baby rabbit, but we weren’t sure. Today I saw it.

Lexie managed to get to the front yard. I went to check on her and let her in. She seemed to be really interested in something in the garden. And then I saw her pull something out that sounded like one of her squeak toys.

A baby rabbit.

I yelled at her to drop it, she did while tossing it up in the air, and pulled her inside of the house. I knew for a fact that the poor thing was dead; if not it was not going to live much longer. Well, it lived long enough to crawl its’ way back to the garden when I came back outside to do corpse disposal. Flies were hovering around it. It was dead.

After taking care of the body, I went back inside. Mom felt bad that it died, but I was more “meh” about it. It was going to happen sooner or later. I am more concerned about whether or not to call the vet about this.

Hopefully, this doesn’t happen again since I don’t want to have to bury the body of a rabbit (or throw it out to the trash) again.

Humorous side note: Baby rabbits do sound like squeaky toys. Messed up, but thought that should be mentioned.