Strange How We Fit Each Other: A Haz TIF fanmix

Strange how you know inside me/ I measure the time and I stand amazed/ Strange how I know inside you/ My hand is outstretched toward the damp of the haze/ And of course I forgive/ I’ve seen how you live/ Like a phoenix you rise from the ashes
- Eric’s Song // Vienna Teng

For the earnest boy who’s practically bursting of youthful optimism and tenderness and wears his big heart on his sleeve; for the times he couldn’t decide whether to pull away or push forward and for being there for L when he made a courageous choice to free fall. For H, the boy L loves, who smells like grass and tastes like snow.

A Love That Won’t Sit Still: A Lou TIF fanmix

I was ready for the downslide/ but not for spring to well up/ This feeling calls for everything I can’t afford/ to know is possible now/ What do I do with a love that won’t sit still?

- Stray Italian Greyhound // Vienna Teng

A fanmix dedicated L’s character in ‘These Inconvenient Fireworks’ a fanfiction masterpiece written by everydayslike and mdasch.  I’ve already made TIF fanmix previously, which focuses on H and L’s story line and you can listen to here. Making this fanmix for L (and H’s—which I will post later) was truly a feat because of how emotionally invested I was with the well being of these characters. I really enjoyed making this though for L in the TIF universe. These are songs are for L’s inner struggle with himself as someone unexpected comes to break down the walls he built himself for years, the undeniable pull he and H have towards each other and for what it means to not take for granted the times you could tell people you love them.

There Is Thunder in Our Hearts: A TIF Fanmix

These Inconvenient Fireworks, written by the elusive everydayslike and mdasch (they choose to completely be anonymous) is already one of the highlights of my 2013 and reading it felt like Christmas in February. I can’t disclose the full details of the story since the authors expressed that they would really love to “keep the fourth wall as firmly intact as possible” (you can read about it here) but it’s an alternate universe fic that features my favorite pairing in the fandom universe and in real life.

These Inconvenient Fireworks’ amazing narrative is a fable of friendship and a redemption story that feels true to life and I can’t get over how realistic everything about it feels and how well-written it is. Hands down, this gem is one of the most well-written I’ve read so far. It was so incredible that it made me forget it has to end—nothing dragged on and I loved how the relationships of the lads with one another were not neglected because they all do matter to one another. The best thing about it is how inspiring it is and how my friends and I seriously considered the life choices we’ve made for the past few years until now.

This fanmix ‘There Is Thunder in Our Hearts’ is about the primary pairing in These Inconvenient Fireworks: H and L (my ship, my OTP for life) and their beautiful and painful journey of coming together, falling apart and coming together again.

Tracklist and lyrics are beyond the cut. Proceed with caution though for spoilers.

Top 5 At The Moment

A music post after a long while is just what I need this week! I’ve decided to include a weekly set of entries called “Top 5 ATM” that features my top 5 songs ‘at the moment’ and I’ll be posting two entries per week with this—one completely anything-goes-under-the-sun entry and another top 5 ATM entry that would feature a weekly theme. This is an idea that I got from a Livejournal community (I forgot the name) I used to belong to during my Livejournal days and it was where everyone shared their top 5 songs at the moment and it was a good platform to discuss music and discover new favorites.

I think it would be a great way to introduce and rediscover music to everyone . I do encourage active participation and with that I mean commenting, recommended, asking questions or making suggestions Besides, I really missed doing my random cathartic music-related posts and making playlists every now and then. I’m going to bring it back this year and hopefully be consistent about it.

1. Truth by Bloc Party

“You complete me/ Our kind is hard to find/ And if it will be/ It will be with you/ I am yours now”

Bloc Party is coming here in Manila on March 22 and I don’t have any money to buy tickets. Good lord, I feel like crying. This track is beyond gorgeous.  It’s clean, simple, intimate and just bleeds with human emotion. Check out their most recent album Four following an extended hiatus and it’s a great return for a great band. The album is dark, hard hitting with a fantastic flow of down-tuned sounds to an edgier variety of rhythm.  Keep up the good work lads!

Pinoy Komiks: Trese

The TRESE universe (click image for a larger version)

Source

It was only late last year that I was introduced to the world of TRESE (sad, I know) by one of my good friends V. Lately I’ve been too caught up with my readings from foreign writers both in novel and comic book form that I failed to see the thriving local talent here *guilty*. TRESE, a comic book series by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, truly opened my eyes to what I was missing out on in my own backyard. All at once from the first book in this comic book series, I found myself on an awesomely thrilling and engaging reading adventure that went through the mysterious and supernatural cases in the inner bowels of Metro Manila and it just left me wanting more and more of that enchanting action.

The comic book series focuses on Alexandra Trese, who is best described as an occult detective figure, and her investigations of supernatural crime in the modern day Metro Manila. Working in league with the local police department, Alexandra Trese acts as a ‘consulting detective’ when seemingly normal crimes around the Metro take a turn for the odd, fantastic and supernatural. The stories or in this case, ‘cases’ in TRESE used Filipino mythological and horror icons and themes with a contemporary twist (aswangs working in meat shops and I would very much love to learn how to summon a santelmo through a cellphone whenever I want some company or someone to chat with).

We have to note that the premise doesn’t focus on the sudden eruption of the supernatural/underworld into the human realm but that the supernatural is ever-present among us in society. They aren’t considered anomalies but they are “hidden” and continue to thrive in society, whether through a supernatural criminal underworld (with the kaluluwa smuggling operations) or as contributors to the society in general (a tikbalang clan allied with a prominent family residing in Makati).

With this, it is Alexandra’s responsibility as the babaylan (healer) and mangdirigma (warrior) of the city to bring balance whenever the balance of the human and supernatural realm is disrupted and to keep one from spilling over the other. Unlike other comic book witches/mages/etc., Alexandra has no superpowers. The power she manifests derives from magical skill and know-how. And yet, she is one of the most dynamic heroines I’ve ever encountered and the how she doesn’t take any aswang bullshit is commendable, and she became an instant favorite heroine.

There are currently five books in this series: Murder on Balete Drive, Unreported Murders, Mass Murders, Last Seen After Midnight, and the most recent Midnight Tribunal. TRESE clearly falls under the occult detective genre and explores supernatural themes similarly found in Hellblazer, Hellboy, American Gods and even folkore narratives found in Japanese manga and anime (XXXHolic).

Love List: Little Gifts

♠ A random “happy thought gift” from P: my very own Rubik’s Snake! P, being the puzzle lover that he is, happily shared to me the love of Rubik’s puzzles and it’s actually quite addicting. I could spend a lot of time just immersed in this toy and figuring out the various shapes I could do with it. I’m still quite a beginner actually and the heart is one of the few shapes I could do with this Rubik’s Snake. Thank you P! ♥ I’ll probably do a separate post on my puzzle ventures next time

♠ A lovely wrapped gift from my friend R with equally lovely presents inside: Nendoroid Petite figures of my favorite girl Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou from the Fate/Stay Night series. This late Christmas gift gave a wonderful added cheer for my New Year definitely so thank you so much awesome bro R!

♠ An unexpected favorite~  I’ve been drinking plenty of this particular Japanese green tea and it’s so good. This year I promised to improve my health conscious behavior and decided it’s time I put an effort to consuming anti oxidants for its many benefits of course. This is actually a gift for my aunt from my relatives abroad so I’m not sure if this is available here, but I’m really glad they shared it with me. I make myself a cup every night before I go to sleep and it certainly helps me with my stress at the end of the day and I wake up the next day feeling more refreshed than usual and I’m not sure if it’s also the effect of drinking this, but it helped me with some of my digestive concerns. Yay for green tea!

♠ American Horror Story: Asylum’s last episode “The Name Game”. Was anyone caught off with this episode as much as I was? Easily my favourite episode of the series since “Dark Cousin” and just when I was thinking it’s getting a bit boring and dragging with all the scheming and plotting, the series jumps right back with this genius of an episode. The writers were probably thinking “okay, we’ve tortured these people too much and now it’s time for a party” and then boom! I can’t even grasp how this certain dance sequence in the episode would become so effective in the series and totally infectious! It’s officially become my last song syndrome and Jessica Lange is pure gold in this! I also find Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters absolutely delightful in this and everything just works in this episode and I’m not just talking about the dance sequence. But seriously though, I think they handled the theme of the horror of losing a voice pretty well in this. This whole episode had pretty interesting results for the characters we all love and hate. If you haven’t seen the more recent episodes of AHS:A, you have to see it!

“I think he (Evan Peters) really had a good time. He’s a wonderful dancer, isn’t he? And he had that whole thing down, that naughty boy thing he was doing.” – Jessica Lange on “The Name Game” sequence.

♠ A pretty interesting list of The Worst Words of 2012 and I quote one: “People using INBOX as a verb. (to email someone) Best articulated by a tweet I woke up to one morning (can’t remember the source): “If you tell me to Inbox you, I will Emergency Room your face.” “

♠ The 10 Most Beautiful School Libraries. Take note: school libraries and these are dream-worthy.

♠ A fantastic way to hit off my 2013 music with a new single released by one of my favourite Jrock bands ONE OK ROCK. The song “Deeper Deeper” is incredible!  I was awake late last night listening to this on repeat with the volume as loud as I could get away with. Loving that breakdown at 2:50 and this sound is my current (as Brittany Snow put it in Pitch Perfect) “lady jam”.

♥

Rurouni Kenshin Live Action Movie

One of the highlights of my 2012 was getting to see the live-action movie adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin in the big screen right here in Manila. When the news hit the masses that there was going to be a live-action movie adaptation of one the most popular and successful manga and anime series, fan anticipation spread like wildfire and everyone was abuzz when there was news that it would be released internationally. I didn’t think it was possible and even if it premiered late here in the Philippines (it was shown here last December), it was one of the best movie experiences I’ve had last 2012 (there was the Dark Knight Rises of course).

Rurouni Kenshin holds a special place in my heart since it was my favorite anime series while I was growing up.  I got to see it dubbed in Tagalog, and then the Japanese version with subtitles on AXN, which eventually was dubbed in English and I got to see it again on DVDs along with the OVAs. Thanks to Rurouni Kenshin, I got my highest marks ever in Asian History back in high school because I already had enough background of feudal Japan, the Restoration period, the Boshin Wars, the Shinshengumi, etc. I was pretty excited and hyped up to say the least when I heard there was a movie adaptation and that it was coming to the Philippine shores.

It was funny because we almost didn’t get to see it in the movie house. I left work early to meet up with friends to catch the nearest screening that day. When we reached the ticket counter, a movie theater staff told us that the tickets to ALL of the screenings that day were sold out. The mall even opened a midnight screening slot due to public demand and that too was sold out. We didn’t think to reserve tickets ahead of time because we didn’t expect that A LOT of people would come see it. We felt gutted and I couldn’t get over it for a while. My childhood felt particularly punched right at that moment and I despaired, knowing that there was work tomorrow and the movie had a limited screening time so it wouldn’t be available in theaters by the next week.

But we had to sacrifice something and I decided to skip out my morning work schedule so we can watch the movie on the first screening scheduled the next morning. We reserved the tickets and we were able to watch it the following day.

So how was the movie? Well…

(Spoilers ahead)