As some of you may already know, uni has eaten my life lately. I'm actually not complaining, even if I am at the library every day from early morning until evening, at least I enjoy what I'm doing. Between that, and materials for my dissertation my mum is sending to me (which is going to be about Polish history, and I have no illusions I will have to get everything from home - at the university library the few shelves that are marked 'history of Poland' are in 99% about Solidarity, and are also placed in the HISTORY OF RUSSIA catalogue, which will never cease to both amuse and irritate me), I truly have my hands full, not over-exaggerating even a bit here.

Because of that, I haven't really been around lately, for which I'm sorry. But I've been struggling even to find free hours to watch dramas, which pains me greatly. And is one of the reasons I haven't been following IRIS. It failed to completely grab me in the first two episodes, so I took it as a good sign, and decided to treat myself with all the aired episodes after I'm done with my essays.

Yeah. About that.

After waking up, I decided to let myself watch the first half of episode three, and then work.

...

Three guesses as to where my day went.









PRETTY PEOPLE WITH GUNS AND CONSPIRACIES.

I AM HELPLESS OKAY.

1. Still no internet! I'm suspiciously happy without it, which may have something to do with the fact that every morning I get up, get dressed, eat my breakfast and then go to the library, where I spend a nice few hours writing emails and downloading stuff.

2. However, do not appreciate the fact that 90% of the library computers allow the whole floor to see what I'm currently doing - most of the time it's alright, but MEGAUPLOAD ADS YOU'RE ON NOTICE.

3. I think I might be going into autumn hibernation mode as in the past week I seem to have abandoned the dramas of crazy crack for quieter ones. I finally watched Katagoshi no Koibito (Yonekura Ryoko! ♥ And even though the ending could've been better, I liked that it managed to stay true to the message of the drama). When I wasn't watching KnK - Bara no nai Hanaya was on the other part of the schedule (on the other hand, ending here - beautiful and PERFECT). And now I'm making my way through Haikei, Chichiue-sama - I'm on episode 4, but if it wasn't for the limited internet, I would be much further. There is just something completely endearing about this calm, quiet, slice-of-life story and I can't wait to watch more.

4. Finally, western TV! I think I'm gonna continue Bones, as I still have ridiculous love for that show (despite not having finished last season) and one hour of happiness a week is a good thing. I'll check out Dexter - I'm extremely wary after the disaster that was season 3, but the first two are some of my favourite TV ever, so I'll give the show a few episodes before deciding whether to drop it or not. How I Met Your Mother will probably also stay with me if it gives me more good episodes and less filler. Maybe I'll pick up something else, but I don't know, I actually need some time for the real life this year! Or is it just horribly overrated and I shouldn't bother?

There were a few dramas on my broken external drive that I've barely started, so obviously yesterday I didn't feel like any of the currently watched – but rather like finishing one of the jdramas I was stuck on before. Regrettably, it's not happening any time soon. My only alternative was something new.

A quick look at the download folders told me what my choice was. I thought for a while and made my decision.

And just like that, I spent the whole last evening watching this:



YES, YES. THE DEER MAN. And guess what. I didn't have to wait be kinda wary of it because it's SO PERFECTLY RIGHT UP MY ALLEY and I'm absolutely LOVING IT.

( Pictures! Ans some rambling )

So I finished The Outsiders. I was planning to do that when I was writing about it the last time, but then BOSS finale came out and after this delightful dose of crazy hijinks and pretty people (terrorism only looked better when Gary Oldman was doing it!) I couldn't physically bring myself to go back to heavy angst. Until now, that is! The plan for today was completely different but had to be changed after I accidentally poured boiling water all over my hand, so I thought to myself "HEY, EMOTIONAL TORMENT is actually the perfect way to distract myself from physical pain!" and finished the rest in one sitting.

WELL AT LEAST I REALLY DIDN'T PAY THAT MUCH ATTENTION TO MY HAND WHEN I WAS SOBBING SLIGHTLY HYSTERICALLY AND SHIELDING MY EYES FROM THE THINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING ON THE SCREEN.

Don't get me wrong, I though it was amazing until the very end and definitely one of better dramas I've seen, but now I'm gonna spend the next few weeks curing myself with happy crack and adorable romance and fanservice for which I don't have to pay with my tears.

And now that I've said that - wait a few days and you'll probably be able to catch me watching another ultra-angst and complaining that I never, ever learn :D

Do you know what's the newest fantastic thing that happened to me? BROKEN PHONE. I won't have it for the next week and a half, don't have a replacement one and I really hope they will be able to fix it because, you know. No money for a new one. I'm not even gonna mention lack of contact with the world. Unfortunately, not everything can be done through internet :/ Ugh. ANNOYED.

But. ( I finished Triple! )

I am also up to episode 9 of The Outsiders and HOLY CRAP ASDSADKHJFHDJF SO GOOD. I'm still in the region more or less covered by darkeyedwolf in her pimp post, but it's infinitely better in action, when despite knowing I SHOULDN'T I let myself get attached to the characters, care for them - and then can only watch this trainwreck while not being able to look away. So, this is the happier part, right? :D

I love how I always declare I don't like angst, only to go away and DIVE in it. I'm still trying to argue that the plot needs to be good for me to accept it, but it's entirely possible that my stance on angst has to be revised.

I sat down today and finished Last Scandal (the chaos caused by moving stopped me for a few days, otherwise I would've already be done with it ages ago) and the last episode asadjshfdjsfhsdj made me SO HAPPY. I loved this drama - even though it was quite traditional variation of the Cinderella story, it had superb writing and acting, and enough charm so that the very drama-ish moments didn't exhaust me. Also, it was refreshing to see a Secondary Woman that didn't drive me crazy even though she kept most of the usual traits - in craziness Na Yoon doesn't even come close to the classic examples and when the writers inevitably tried to make her more sympathetic at the end it didn't feel as grating as usual. (My only big complaint about the drama: WHY WHY WHY didn't the husband die THE MOST PAINFUL DEATH IMAGINABLE OMG I HAVE SO MUCH HATE FOR HIM. I spent the whole thing hoping he would meet some friendly neighbourhood serial killer on his journeys around Seoul. SUCH A BEAUTIFUL VISION.)

And with that, after I finish Triple (I'm waiting for the last two subs to come out and will have a wonderful four episodes long feast :D), I'm free on the k-drama front. Will have to decide on a new one.

I started most of this season j-dramas I was interested in: so far, Buzzer Beat is the winner - even though it's noting special, it's a fun summer drama and I have fun watching it and in the end that's what counts. Plus, it's Yamapi, and for this guy I watched Code Blue in which I hated every single main character except for the bitchy nurse (♥), so my tolerance level is quite high when it comes to him. I might be dropping Orthros no Inu when this internet runs out - depends on how I feel about it when I rewatch first episode with subs and have a look at the second one. Armed and dangerous Mizukawa Asami may have to wait for me until the end of September. I still haven't checked out Nagase's new drama - probably will wait as well. On the other hand, I'm really excited about Otomen, so hopefully this one will stay with me and in the worst case scenario I'll be able to follow it through streaming.

Now I can't decide what to watch! Something light, something angsty, or maybe delicious crack? Life is hard when your hard drive is too big.

ETA: Once I announced that last thing, I suddenly came to the decision. AS ALWAYS. The Outsiders, episode 1!

Okay, so I follow the crowd. Instead of packing up my things today (I don't like doing it in advance, I always end up absolutely needing something that's at the bottom of the biggest box) I've watched the first four episodes of Last Scandal of My Life. I turned on ep 1 to have something to watch while eating lunch. An now IT'S SUDDENLY THE END OF EP 4 WTF. I really have no self-control ;__;

ANYWAY. For some reason, Last Scandal made me think of one truly godawful film I saw last year. Which is weird, because they don't have anything in common other than that both of their heroines are 40-ish women whose life sucked at some point. But somehow it reminded me of possibly the biggest problem I had with this film (others were: bad acting, even worse dialogues, embarrassingly not funny for a comedy - so THERE WAS BIG COMPETITION), which was it's premise. It started with the heroine and her perfect life: good job, lovely daughter, her second husband head over heels in love with her. The only regret she had was that she was married for a few years to an asshole who cheated on her - so, when she accidentally travelled back in time (you see, there was a TWIST *facepalm*) she decided to ditch the guy earlier and look for her future husband a few years before they met. AND THAT WAS IT. The main character already had everything, there was no real danger of losing things dear to her, no one had to change or work towards anything, we knew that if she just waited things would work themselves out. I was so frustrated with everything there I WISHED someone would take out a machine gun and off all of the characters in one go. BAD EXPERIENCE.

What does it have to do with Last Scandal? It's just, while watching it, I got a sudden urge to chase down the film's director and force him to watch LS over and over again until he realized what he did wrong and how you make your viewer invested in the characters. You see, Sun Hee's life SUCKS. Her husband ran away, she has no job, no money, no place to live, the further you look the worse. An yet, even though I know that everything is going to end well, and she's gonna end up with her film star first love - I like that her hardship is not downplayed by her knowing she will be all right. And I'm assuming there is going to be a journey: people will have to change, obstacles will have to be removed. I like being able to root for the characters, I'm funny like that!

Basically, the point of this post: even my fluffy romcoms have to give me something to care about. Otherwise, it just goes horribly wrong. That, and I needed to share my trauma.

Do you know how easy it is to fill my new shiny 300 gig hard drive? Apparently, VERY EASY. It's mostly caused by the panic before NO INTERNET AT HOME but I'm still amazed.

Some new problems with the moving emerged, ones that I have no control over, so I'm throwing myself info the vortex of rain scenes, pretty faces and pointless fanservice to escape thinking about what the hell am I gonna do about the TV that's heavier than me while my housemate who got me into this trouble doesn't seem to care. BLEH.

Subs for the second episode of Buzzer Beat came out and finally gave me the pretext to rewatch it (I ALWAYS want to do that with currently airing happy things - especially when I'm feeling down, which seems to be my default state lately). My newest deep thought is that Kitagawa Keiko is so adorable I wish I could stuff her into my pocket and carry around with me all day long. A few more episodes and I'm sure I'm going to start live action Sailor Moon for her.



( Say you blame me )

With S2 decided to go the route of complete and utter surprise and released Triple episode 11 subs five seconds after the last batch.

( Can't say I complain )

I'm moving at the end of the month and I'm going to be without internet for quite a while. I'm not sure whether I want to go through the trouble of getting it at the new place for a month and a half, especially as I don't have a job and could use any kind of cut in spending. I'm not going completely offline - with no internet in the house, I'm sure I'll be a frequent guest at the uni library with their wireless - but it's still going to be a hard period, as I'm kinda addicted.

It also means - I'm panicked and downloading loads of dramas I wanted to see for a while already but something was getting in the way. I need LOADS because I have this feeling I'm going to watch everything in the first two weeks and then live on one new episode per one library visit. OH THE PAIN.

I finally bought some blank DVDs only to discover that I forgot to install Nero when I was at home. It's serious. I DON'T REMEMBER MY LIFE BEFORE NERO. I don't know how to use other programs, THEY CONFUSE ME AND TRY TO MAKE ME DO THINGS I DON'T WANT. Dear flist, are there any good, preferably free, ones out there that will let me easily burn DVDs? Please help!

(EXCITED FOR TODAY'S TRIPLE OH YES. I thought for a moment that I calmed down, but then yesterday came, with new episodes, new subs, soundtrack, excitement all around and now I know my priorities once again!)

1. My new baby! (The model seems to be only on the Polish pages, sorry.) It's still so shiny and pretty I'm kind of afraid to touch it as I want it to stay that way forever. It's weird to part with my old one - as I was expecting to have it for at least a few more years - but hey, still a nice surprise!

2. TRIPLE THOUGHTS. Because with my current level of obsession it would be weird without them here.

Okay, that writer's comment? It SURELY must have been toying with us. Because there is suggesting some fakecest just for fun, and then there is THAT. It's not even some fannish wishful thinking, with the way the story is going the whole thing just doesn't make any sense without Hwal/Haru as the OTP. A piece of advice: if you're not planning on going there, DON'T make a whole episode with Haru being all angsty and jealous after she finds out about the marriage. Just don't.

And give us some real shipping alternatives. As cute as the skater boy is, we are still to see any sign of Haru's interest in him - right now he's about as significant as Phillip from Spring Waltz (where 'not at all' would actually elevate his status as a threat to the OTP). And don't even get me started on Hwal/Su In - if they end up together, I'm gonna have to kick a puppy off a cliff or something.

Okay, I'm off to obsessively refresh the subbers' Triple page. Fun!!! :D

I was determined not to go into the spam-happy mode, but then Triple episode 3 gave me puppies and piggyback rides and I can no longer recall why spamming was supposedly so bad.



LOOK AT HIM. SO SWEET. ( I ALMOST CAN'T TAKE THE CUTENESS. )

(I might have a bit too strong reaction to any kind of bullying, but the little brats got away too easily. Haru, honey - I'm pretty sure you'd be able to get them thrown out, and if not, at least give their parents some hard time. One-digit age does not excuse being evil.)

Tomorrow - the rest! I really hope nothing will happen with the fansubs the moment I catch up, because the thought of going through a withdrawal scares me and I'm already suffering because of the sudden lack of BOSS subs.

(On a completely unrelated note - was Brilliant Legacy extended to 28 episodes? I was thinking about checking it out after it's finished - and my main reason's name is Han Hyo Joo - but this really doesn't make me want to watch it, the length gets into the slightly scary territory...)

I was going to write a long entry about the end of Iljimae, with new picspam and everything, but then I realized I simply DON'T HAVE TIME. Because I'm completely disorganized and I HAD TO WATCH THE SECOND EPISODE OF TRIPLE IN THE MORNING INSTEAD OF DOING SOMETHING USEFUL LIKE CLEANING THE HOUSE WHEN A GUEST IS COMING. And tomorrow I should go through my laptop and delete unnecessary stuff before I go home to Poland and exchange it for my new one.

( Some thoughts I wrote down yesterday after finishing episode 20. SPOILERS, SPOILERS )


Also, as I said - started Triple. OMG SO ADORABLE. I want to hug this drama, it's just so warm and lovely ♥

I had a big laugh at the "I've never once thought of her as a sister" line. THE DEEPEST DARKEST LEVEL OF HELL OBVIOUSLY AWAITS THEM.

And the drunken lady's hair!



As if I was looking at mine. Only my fringe is never so straight and sleek, even if I spend forever with a hair straightener ;___;

(Okay, so it probably doesn't say good things about my eating habits when people from the nearby takeaway immediately remember that I don't like my chips with vinegar. But I could swear I don't go there THAT MUCH!)

Other than that, today I continued my amazing procrastination plan by spending my whole day watching Iljimae and the new Torchwood series on iPlayer when I wanted a short break from that. I might be ready for something slightly productive tomorrow, maybe even some cleaning!

( Some Iljimae reactions up to ep 11 - no caps this time as I'm too exhausted to go through my rapidly growing folder. Yes, procrastination is one of the most tiring activities out there. )

Finished episode 6, and oh my, how awesome is Iljimae? Anything that can effortlessly move between angst, general fun and hijinks, scheming politics and ninja assassins is more than welcome in my world!

( Some more reactions and OBVIOUSLY caps )

Just finished episode two and damn, how great is it already? And it can only get better from now on! I already LOVE it, and I can tell I'm going to love it even more! Right now I'm trying to decide whether I really need any sleep tonight.

First episode went out of sync halfway through, but luckily I never really cared for the childhood parts of kdramas. However, if something like that happens later on and stops me from fully enjoying the glory of Lee Jun Ki, THERE WILL BE BLOOD I PROMISE.

I also come bearing some caps of the childhood pretty! Might as well get this out of my system before my caps folder gets completely overtaken by a certain individual. ( Here we go! )

1. I'm in a very historical mood right now. I started reading the Thirty Years' War textbook and I can't wait for next year, this is going to be an exciting module. (I might whine about it once in a while, but overall, I LOVE my course and I'm very happy I decided to do it.)

Because of that, I'm feeling like watching a proper big historical epic movie, so I might brave Red Cliff tonight, though will probably have to cut it into small pieces, because lately my attention span got even shorter, if that's at all possible.

2. I also watched Black & White episodes 23/24, and well, completely awesome as always, even though it left quite a lot of things open for the movie. I also did appreciate the final display of girl power. ( Yes, ANOTHER one. Spoilers, be warned. )

3. And now off to the shop, as I don't have any chocolate at home and that kind of situation is something I can't deal with.

In today's menu we have Ayaka, one of my favourite Japanese singers. I've been listening to her a lot lately, but the thing that pushed me over the edge was a present from the Best Friend Ever (girlupnorth, thank you again!). Because more people need to know Ayaka. If I could, I'd just go from house to house, forcing people to listen to her and discover how great she is. But as I don't fancy spending my holidays in jail, this is my LJ equivalent of that.

(Quick note: because I'm not a big fan of embedding many videos and a lot of embedding in one post never made me want to watch anything - the video below is the only one, under the cut there are only links to youtube and mp3s.)

So, this time properly: who is Ayaka? She's young (21 years old) singer-songwriter with one of the best, strongest voices I've heard in Japanese music. She debuted back in 2006 and released two studio albums, First message and Sing to the Sky, since then. Her music is mostly ballads and melodic pop, but she's been doing more and more different things lately, and I have great hopes for her in the future, as she's got enough talent to make a few decent pop stars. (And yes, yes, she's the girl that got married to Mizushima Hiro.)

Here's her cover of Ozaki Yutaka's I Love You, gorgeous ballad that half of the female jpop singers seem to do at one point or another, and some of them even release it, twice (I'm looking at you, Nakashima Mika).



( More great music this way, you know you want to! )

One of the things I did achieve this weekend was finally finishing Spring Waltz, which was everything I expected when I started watching it – lovely, angsty and absolutely stunning visually. Han Hyo Joo is utterly cute, and even though none of the secondary characters was particularly memorable, the OTP made everything better and their adorableness was always something to look forward to.

So, to celebrate the ending, I went back to episode 4. Because, you know, even though the rest of the drama was just as beautiful, and I loved the colours used there, I just found myself remembering over and over again the wintery scenes in Hallstatt. How gorgeous can you get?



( Apparently, pretty damn gorgeous )

I JUST. How the hell did they just manage to hit so many of my storytelling kinks in just one short scene.

( B&W ep 20 squee inside, because I can't help myself )