.: so comes snow after fire :.

A lot of fandom news, because there's not much real life news going on.

First, damn Netflix for releasing new series just before the weekend. Every single time. This particular weekend was cannibalized by the third season of Orange Is the New Black. Did I learn my lesson last year, when I devoured two seasons in three days and then got sad because I had to wait a whole year for new episodes? Evidently not, because I didn't even try pacing myself, and I finished the third season on Sunday morning. Oh well. Spoiler-free review: I loved it, as expected, and even more than the second one. I truly hated Vee and what she had done to some of my favourite characters, and her absence meant those same characters went back to having proper stories and character development, instead of being henchmen. I loved all the back stories, and even the main theme of the season, Faith (as not-so-subtly hinted by all the promos and posters from the past few months). It was all beautifully done. Great acting all around, as usual. And a strong soundtrack again!

The worst flaw is, at least for me, the main character, Piper. I sort of liked her in the beginning, when she was the stand-in for the audience: as she learned, we learned. But it slowly became obvious she was a selfish, weak, manipulative character with the spine of a jellyfish. I find Alex to be a much stronger character on her own, but who gets sacrificed for the soap opera that is her relationship with Piper. And even if we're finally rid of the awful boyfriend storyline (I can't believe we spent so much time on that), now that Piper's backstory is over, there is absolutely nothing left for her character to do, except for being annoying, and making weird faces. They even introduced a new character, the Aussie girl, in the laziest way ever, just to give her something to do, and yet I was still oscillating between being bored to tears and wanting to smother our protagonist with a pillow. Considering she got significantly less screentime than before, and that most secondary characters had much more intriguing storylines than her, I still found myself scoffing everytime we went back to her. I just can't stand her.

Anyway, great cliffhanger there, wonderful ending, and now it's back to waiting (and hoping against hope they'll kill Piper off next year - yeah, as if that would ever happen).

Speaking of endings, yesterday they aired the final episode of the fifth season of Game of Thrones. Now, save for that awful thing they did back in episode 6, I have to say I really liked this season. It should be noted that the fourth season featured something that triggers me into awful panic attacks, over and over again. Not their fault, because it's not something that ever comes with a warning, and I'm used to being slapped in the face randomly with it, but it was so great to be rid of it, it finally felt safe to watch this show again, and it made me approach my weekly viewings with a clear heart and a happy mind, such a priceless feeling. I bit my nails, cried a bit, made wild theories, it was just like the first season all over again. And I cried out in shock at the ending, great job there. I didn't see that coming at all, holy shit.

They did a beautiful recap of the episode here on RollingStone, and it sums up my thoughts on the matter quite brilliantly. Speaking of, from what I read we have finally reached the books, so from now on it's uncharted waters. Well, at least I won't have to worry for book spoilers anymore (for those of you just tuning in, I read the first two books, didn't like the writing style at all, and dropped them there).

Oh, and Gravity Falls is coming back on July 13th, while Steven Universe has a new marathon week starting tonight. I'm so excited! \o/

Also, the new case and cover for my phone arrived:



Aren't they cute? I bought them both on Etsy! ^^

The heat wave is still here and going strong, and truly unbearable. Walking outside feels like having someone holding a wet handkerchief over one's face. My therapist cancelled our session this morning, and while that's usually disappointing, I have to admit I wasn't really looking forward to walking through half of Venice in this ungodly heat. And it looks like it'll be here for another two days at least.

And now for the good news, this afternoon a package from Adagio Teas arrived! Very surprisingly, because I ordered these teas one week ago, and it usually takes them a month and a half to get here. Last time I ordered a package, a nice lady at customs, in Milan, told me that I had to ask the sender to print out the receipt, with the contents and the total amount of money I had paid, and stick it to the outside of the package, to speed things up. Just one week though! That's magic!


This is the first time I ordered teas from someone other than Cara McGee. I went with my most recent love, Welcome to Night Vale; from left to right, "All Hail The Glow Cloud", "Beneath Lane 5", "(Welcome to) Desert Bluffs", "(Welcome to) Night Vale", "The Whispering Forest" and "Old Woman Josie and the Angels".


Two teas from The Lord of the Rings, "The Brave Gardener" and "Dragon's Dream", and two from Game of Thrones, "Lannister Royal Tea" and "Stark Winterbrew".

Some of these have ingredients I have never tried, and all are original blends, I can't wait to try them! Sadly I can only drink one cup a day (with the heat I have trouble sleeping and caffeine doesn't help), so it'll take a while to taste them all. :D

In other news I just finished watching the 2011 miniseries Neverland. I'm a huge fan of both Alice and Tin Man, so I had great expectations for this one. Sadly, I found it to be incredibly boring. It really took an effort to get to the end without dozing off, and then there wasn't even a ending, not really. I feel cheated. But mostly bored.

Highlights from the last few days! I went back to the gym after the flu-induced break, and I managed to do all the exercises without taking any breaks. Go lungs. My muscles are all sore today, especially the back, but I have another session this evening, that'll help.

Yesterday I made chocolate muffins with dark chocolate filling for Tati who's just started her new job. I was in a rush, so I didn't take any pictures, but they came out great. I also bought a new muffin pan, because the one I had could hold only 6 muffins, and all the recipes were for 8.

I took a memorable bus ride today coming home, with at least 40 hyperactive teenagers. How do they manage to be so caffeinated after a whole day at school? The bus driver was new, and at one point he got lost and one of the girls sat beside him and acted as a navigator. It was crazy. They also called me "lady" and "madam" a lot, just like they did the other two adults on board, two sixty-year-old women. Oh well, at least I know what demographic I belong to now. :D

I started watching Vicious, with Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi, and I adore it. It's rare for a sit-com to make me laugh out loud that much. And it has cute adorable Ash, who I just saw less than three hours ago as crazy psycho torturer on Game of Thrones. Weird. :D

About real life, it's been hectic, sort of like juggling angry badgers, but so far I'm managing everything better than I hoped. It's going to be a busy month indeed!

Let's see what happened these last few days, going backwards in time.

Yesterday Tati and I had dinner at her sister's. We had pizza and played the Game of Thrones board game. Last time I was a Lannister, and I won. This time Tati's sister was a Greyjoy, and she won. I was a Stark, but I was tired and sleepy, and got cornered in the North and stayed there pretty much the whole time. I came back home at 2 am, and today my brain feels like it's full of cotton. I'm too old for this shit, man. It was great fun, but next time it'll have to be before dinner.

In the afternoon Tati and I baked cookies, the same ones I made a couple of weeks ago, and this time we used tangerine powder instead of orange. It gives them a much more delicate flavour. This time around we counted them, and we made 100 cookies! Even so, they're not going to last long with me. :D

There was also the Merlin finale. I loved it. Yes, it was heartbreaking, but I think it gave a beautiful closure to a show that I loved but got lost many times during the years - mostly with Morgana and Gwen acting completely OOC because the writers had no idea what to do with them.

I watched the Doctor Who christmas special too. First, the things I loved: Madame Vastra and Jenny, the Sherlock Holmes references, the Tardis in the clouds. I didn't like Clara. Not because I don't like her character per se, just because she's the exact same carbon copy character we already had with River, Amy and Irene. It's getting beyond repetitive into the realm of "boring". Not to mention they do know how to make different female characters, just see what they did with Vastra! At this point I think it's just laziness, so I just shrug my shoulders and enjoy the story.

My aunt is at her parents' place, and sadly there aren't good news there. My grandparents are both getting worse with every new day, which isn't a suprise considering they're 90, but my aunt is obviously pretty affected. They are pretty much strangers to me, but I feel sorry for her.

Mom is doing fine, thankfully, while the rest of the ward is fighting the seasonal bugs. Even if we are having a warm winter, it is still to be expected. Me, I'm going back to the gym on the 3rd, which is the one thing that helps me the most to fight off the stupid viruses. ;)

Man, my circadian rhythm is really shot to hell. I should go and play the drums a while, to fight the sleepiness. I can't go to bed now, it's not even lunch time! So, so glad it's sunday. :D

I'm back! I spent the weekend at Tati's, while a storm came and the temperature dropped ten degrees at least. Not very pleasant on sunday night when we were walking through a deserted parking lot, wearing skimpy dresses, at 10 pm, going to the cinema to see Spiderman. Crap, it was so cold. The air-conditioned cinema actually felt warm in comparison.

On saturday we finished our Game of Thrones marathon... almost. The last episode, Valar Morghulis, was corrupted, so it stopped working 8 minutes before the end. I was absolutely shocked. It cut off that cliffhanger, and we had no way of downloading it or anything before two days. What the hell.

On sunday we had to go to the local pharmacy, because three days ago, during the night, I was attacked by rabid insects or demon flies or something of that kind, as my arms and hands are full of poisoned blisters and bites, and they hurt like hell. Tati even feared it could have been an allergic reaction to something, but no, it was insect bites that didn't give me any super powers, just the inability of using my fingers for anything, and woke me up in pain everytime I turned in my bed at night. Anyway now I have meds, so it's slowly getting better. What the hell though. Again.

And now, let's talk about the movie! Important info first: I love Spiderman in the comics. He's a fantastic character. And I hated the first Spiderman movies (I didn't see the third one, but considering I enjoyed the first two movies just as much as I enjoy going to the dentist, it wasn't high on my list). I absolutely *loved* this movie. Spiderman finally acted like the one from the comics, Andrew Garfield was great, Emma Stone amazing as always, they put the focus on the characters, not the fight scenes, and the villain was a fascinating, complex character. Stan Lee's cameo was his best yet, and it referenced Kick-Ass so much, I was in heaven. On the way home we kept talking about how this Spiderman would interact with the Avengers, as we both hope they solve that copyright conundrum and let him join the Avengers as he should. It would be so awesome. A baby Science!Bro joining the team. *__________*

And now off to download Breaking Bad and Leverage! Two of my favourite shows are finally back! \o/

I was absent from livejournal for one day - I was at Tati's and my cellphone's battery was dying, so I couldn't go on the internet - and the owner of sherlockbbc goes and changes the mods. I was so not expecting that. It is finally time to re-join my very first Sherlock community, where I met so many wonderful persons, and that I had to leave like so many others because of the reign of terror (and stupidity and bullying) of the previous mods. That is some great news to come back home to. *____*

This is the season of twisters and storms here in Venice. Yep, believe it or not, we get twisters too. Every year right in time for the Heineken Jammin' Festival, where many favourite bands of mine had to cancel their concerts because of the twisters. This year the festival was moved back to Milan, but we still got the bad weather. The only positive side to this, is that I get to see my annual rainbow:



Tati's house has a big terrace, facing west, so when the sun is setting after a stormy day, we get these marvellous, huge, full-on technicolour rainbows right on top of the road behind the house. I was expecting it all day, so when it finally appeared I was already on the terrace, wearing Tati's coat, armed with my dying cellphone as a camera. I love to record these things for posterity (i.e. me next year). :D

Other than me playing Kermit, we had a great time watching Game of Thrones. She's a Tyrion fangirl too, thinks Jaime looks too much like Prince Charming from Shrek to be considered a serious villain, and she's already at episode four. I'm doing my victory dance of sharing another show I love with her. ♥

I also literally just now discovered Feminist Frequency and I'm still going through all her videos. Fascinating, thought-compelling stuff, which sent me on a trip down memory lane, back to when I was a tiny little Nausicaa and my father used to teach me feminism. I had a pretty awesome dad, indeed.

Just got back from therapy, it was the first time in three weeks, we had so much to talk about. I saved some stories for next time, because one hour wasn't enough for all the stuff that happened. I feel so much better right now, though. Even if my stupid right shoe cut my feet, and when I took it off at home I was bleeding. It still counts as an awesome day!

Yesterday we had the second season finale of Game of Thrones, and I sobbed all the way. I usually cry at season finales, but it's little tears, while this time I sobbed like with The Walking Dead 2x07. Wonderful episode, but my poor heart. Tyrion and Shae are so much my OTP it physically hurts.

On other fandom news, they revelead the identity of the main character of the Assassin's Creed III game for PSVita, and it's a black woman. I was so happy I literally stood up and did a little dance all around the room. Even if now I have a new console to buy, what with already having to buy the Nintendo 3DS in July because of Kingdom Hearts, I don't care. It's a black woman, and she's the main character, and she's an assassin. I'm already in love, and I only saw 30 seconds of gameplay.

We're still having some little earthquakes: minor shakes, I don't even feel most of them. I woke up yesterday morning at 6 because the bed was lightly shaking, and we felt a minor one during therapy today too, but nothing serious. I know it's a good thing, because the ground is releasing the tension, instead of accumulating it, but it's really getting old. Everyone is on edge, I can't wait for the whole business to be over.

Yesterday I had a great time! Tati and I went to visit her sister and her boyfriend, and we played a board game all four of us. It was a very complex and beautiful Game of Thrones board game. You pick a House, and try to conquer seven castles or fortresses, while fighting off the Wildlings from the North and the other players. It's based on Risk, but way more complicated. I chose the Lannister House, because Tyrion is my favourite character and during the past week I learned the Lannister song and have been singing it in the shower ever since. We played the opening theme on my phone, and it was great fun. And guess what? The Lannisters won! Hear Me Roar indeed! :D

It's still cloudy and hot here. It's hard to decide how to dress. Every morning I'd say skirt because of the temperature, trousers because it could rain any second. Decisions, decisions. I need to go to the bank, so maybe something a bit formal as well?

I'M BACK!!! Wow, that was a long trip. I took the first train at 7:30 am. My aunt parked the car four minutes before the train left, and we had to run uphill to reach the station. Those years at the gym are surely paying off. I arrived in Turin at 9, and met my eldest cousin, who's studying there. We hadn't seen each other in six months, and she looks older and more beautiful, wow. We had breakfast, and talked a lot, mainly of Game of Thrones. We're both crazily excited about the season finale on sunday. :D

Then I took another train at 11, and spent the next five hours reading Game of Thrones on my Kindle, running to the bathroom (it's the second day of my period, yuk), and watching the scenery. No earthquakes this time, and a taxi ride later I was finally home. Sakura was absolutely flabbergasted. She looked at me as if I was a ghost. She's been in my neighbour's care for only two days, but I guess for a cat it still feels like a long time. She's been following me steadily ever since, and I almost tripped on her twice while cleaning up the air conditioning unit - it's so hot and humid here in Venice, as soon as I came in I took the filters off and washed them, so that tomorrow I can use it, at least to dehumidify the air a bit. There were no damages because of the earthquakes, except for a little wooden camel I bought years ago in Tunisia, that fell from a shelf and broke. Some of my manga were scattered too, but none had fallen on my action figures, so no damage there either. ^^

I had two packages on the kitchen table waiting for me, and I tried to take a picture of the content like I usually do, but Sakura kept getting in my way. XD





Now it's time for some tea, a bit of dusting, and then I'll lie on the couch for a while. These long trips are very tiring when one's on her period. ^^"

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There are also some great fandom news:

- You can vote the cover for the Travelling Lemon project here. ^^
- The sequel to X-Men First Class has a release date, summer 2014! YES!!!
- Some pictures of Eleven's New Outfit! I love it! Yesterday I also read some huge spoilers about the identity of the new companion, but my lips are sealed. ;)
- They're releasing a Phase One Avengers Bluray Collection: all the six prequels, plus the Avengers movie, in one delicious package. It would be so freaking tempting, if I didn't already own them all. Still, holy crap, so tempting.

What a day. Most tiring. Without getting into much details, I had to put myself in a very triggering situation, and had to fight back a panic attack, while trying to act normal. I'm fine now, although still shaken. When I came back home I made myself a sandwich, since I was too tired to cook anything, and sat down to watch Game of Thrones to take my mind off things.

What an episode. I knew Martin had written it himself, but wow. I can't believe this is a tv production. This goes straight to the top of the best siege scenes in cinema history, sitting close to the Battle of Helm's Deep. Every scene and every actor is worth of praise, even Cersei, who's always left me a bit cold. The way the story went back and forth from the battle to her chambers, the slow descent into desperation, it was perfect. Sansa is still one of my favourite characters this season, I would follow Tyrion into oblivion, and I shouted to the screen, encouraged the soldiers, sang along the songs, chanted "halfman! halfman!" all the way till the end. And then they put the National singing while the credits rolled. This series is pure perfection.

In case someone needs a link (I'm so using this song as a ringtone!), here's a YouTube video with a download link:



And who are you, the proud lord said,
that I must bow so low?
Only a cat of a different coat,
that’s all the truth I know.