summerald

buy a pack of chapsticks and put one in the pocket of all of your coats and jackets because you always forget to bring one and chapped lips is sensory hell

leave important things where you can see them. if they go in a box or a drawer you will forget they exist

put any appointments or deadlines in your phone calendar As Soon As you get them. set a reminder for a week before, a day before, an hour before, as many as you need as often as you need them.

when that little voice in your head says "i dont need to write that down, ill remember it" that is the devil talking!!! write it down anyway!!

plan for down time. have a few hours at the end of every day to just do fun stuff like engage in your hyperfixations. even if you didnt get all of your work done that day, have the rest anyway. you probably spent the whole day beating yourself up for not doing what you Should be doing, so you still need the break.

if you never eat vegetables because its too much effort to chop and cook them, get the frozen or canned shit. it doesnt go off for ages and you just have to microwave it. theres no point buying fresh vegetables if they just keep going off and being left to rot in the bottom of your fridge

if you struggle to decide what to have for dinner every day, take the decision out of it. choose a set of meals and eat those on rotation until you get sick of them, then choose some new ones and do it again.

David Tennant, Danny Dyer, Aidan Turner & Alex Hassell Board Disney+’s Jilly Cooper Adaptation ‘Rivals’

And I really loved it! It is an amazing and hilarious story, with brilliant performances throughout!

The rom-com between Bernadette (Jenna Coleman) and Oliver (Aidan Turner) is brilliantly, and concisely told in a lot of different scenes that only last a short time each, before transitioning to a completely different scene and point in the relationship. But even though that might sound confusing, it really isn't. It's easy to follow and presents the story in a unique and interesting way, that tells a consistent narrative, and builds over time, even though it is not chronological. It is really enjoyable to watch, and the 80 or so minutes of the play pass really quickly.

It's an intriguing concept (a law that allows everyone to only speak 140 words a day), especially in how it affects the two protagonists, and their interactions with each other. This is brilliantly showcased not only through the words they speak, how quickly they speak, how you can really see the care they put into choosing every single word they say, but also their physicality, how they interact with each other, and even in the backdrop.

It's hilarious, with numerous really funny scenes and dialogues that often lead to outbursts of laughter from the entire audience. And it is also quite political throughout, especially regarding Oliver's story. He plays a vital role in protests against the "Hush Law", and then continues trying to find ways to repeal it. Whereas Bernadette is at first not that interested in it, even supporting some of its ideas. But she is also shocked when she realises that it is actually going to happen, and tries to support Oliver in finding some way to repeal the law.

Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner are brilliant in it! They have such a fantastic chemistry together. I really appreciate how hard it must have been to learn the lines for it, much more so than for most other plays of a similar length. The lack of linear progression of the story must have made it really hard to remember the order of the scenes. There is also often such a huge contrast between scenes, and there are scenes with seemingly random numbers and words, which must have been difficult to remember as well.

They also seem to have real fun with the play. Comparing the performance I saw with the scene they played out several times for the promotion for the play, I saw that they really tried to mix things up, do things differently, try out different ways of saying their lines, and performing their parts. Presumably, the same applies to the rest of the scenes too! There are scenes in which they get very intimate and kiss. There is a scene where Jenna jumps into Aidan's arms, and he whirls her around. But there are also many scenes where they stand far apart, to physically represent the emotional distance between them, especially in the scenes after the law is passed, when they can no longer clearly express themselves.

Here are two recordings of them performing one scene in two promotional videos of them. You might notice some slight differences between the two!

Jenna once again showcased her enormous performative range. She laughed, and cried, was exhilarant, and devastated, inquisitive and relaxed, angry and vindictive, but also supportive and kind, which she displayed through her expressions and her entire body language. As the frequent scene changes were illustrated through a very brief dimming of the lights, you could see her instantaneous change of emotions as the tone of the scenes rapidly shifted. In a number of instances, I could see her tears, but just a second later, see her filled with happiness. And vice versa. I have never seen any actor perform such an impressive rapid emotional transition so brilliantly and effectively. It was really impressive to watch, and you got the feeling that you were watching a movie, with scenes filmed on different days, rather than a live performance where subsequent scenes occurred happened in less than a second. Jenna again proved what a phenomenal actress she is!

Despite the fact that there are no props on stage, and it is just Jenna and Aidan in the same casual wardrobe throughout the entire play, they really brought the different environments and setting to light through their performances, and how they approached various scenes differently.

As I've said before, I am always really impressed by how Jenna develops a different way of speaking for each of her roles. And though her accent in this play is similar to her IRL accent, she speaks with a far higher pitch in this play than she usually does, quite the contrast to some of her recent roles when she spoke with a very low pitch. Jenna also sung on two occasions in the play. And even though both times she was meant to sing in a very casual way, both were beautiful to listen to, she has such a beautiful voice. Of particular note is that when they sang Total Eclipse of the Heart almost at the very end of the play, Jenna sang a really high part. And contrary to one of her most-told stories about singing karaoke with Charlotte Church, and not hitting that high, this time, Jenna definitely hit that high.

Another scene that I really wanted to highlight was the scene in the last minutes before Quietude comes into effect, when Bernadette and Oliver try to use their last minutes of having endless words, to say everything they had always wanted to say to each other, and do it quickly, as time is running out. We all know that Jenna can talk REALLY quickly. But this must be some new record even for her. The number of words she can say in a single minute is astonishing. But she doesn't just speak the words out flat just to be quick about it. She does a powerful performance alongside it, and puts real emotion into every single word. It is an absolutely marvelous and awe-inspiring performance.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it, it is an absolutely amazing play. It also made me really appreciate how completely unreliable, and frankly, objectively wrong some "professional critics" are. The way some of them described the play, and the way the play actually is, could not be more different.

Or, to sum things up in two words, in the style of the play:

Lemons, lovou!

And it is truly amazing how much better, and more accurate they are than the nonsense written by London critics.

Lemons wrapped its London run at the Harold Pinter theatre on Saturday, and started its first show at the Manchester Opera House yesterday. Here are some of the reviews I've seen:

If you read any review, read this one. It is by far and away the best, most detailed, and most accurate of all the reviews I've read. It really gives you an understanding of what the play is about, and what it is like to see it.

"With Rourke’s direction, Jenna Coleman and Aiden Turner are able to not only sit comfortable with silence themselves but make an entire audience comfortable with it too and hold that audience in the palm of their hand.  You could hear a pin drop!  Together, Coleman and Turner are utterly charming.  They depict romance and love with an adorable and natural ease, creating a warm fuzzy glow in the theatre.  However, when their relationship is tested, they create a palpable tension and static friction.  As words become limited, their use of body language and nonverbal communication is something to behold, with every intention, every nuance being crystal clear.  Coleman is fierce yet tender and moving.  Turner is charismatic and confident, yet equally vulnerable.  They have both created real, complex, pandora’s box, self-contradicting people, and it is why the audience left feeling like these are people we know.  They play comedy, romance, heartache, and conflict, all within this one act play and it is one heck of a tangy slice they serve up!"  "Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons highlights that when you’re forced to say less, it makes you consider what you say, and how you say it.  It examines how silence, expression, eye contact and body language are powerful tools of communication.  Plus, it has Jenna Coleman and Aiden Turner!  I mean, come on!  What more could you want?!" 

🍋🍋🍋🍋

"If anyone has any sense, [Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner] will be snapped up to combine their considerable talents in the same small screen show because they are a dream team."

🍋🍋🍋🍋

"Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner fizz and shine in this musing romantic comedy, written by Sam Steiner." 

🍋🍋🍋🍋

"Turner and Coleman’s chemistry is undeniable as their characters struggle with what to say, how to say it and how to express themselves when unable to say anything at all."

🍋🍋🍋🍋

After the recently released covers for Empire Magazine, we know also have images from the article in HD – and I have want to briefly write a few thoughts about them. There is good and bad in these images, but for me the overall tendency is still negative.

But let's go into details, and start with the Harfoots:

Compared to the Hobbits in the Shire, these images indeed give the impression of a society from an earlier time in their development, and a more simplly structured society. The Harfoots aren't supposed to be the Hobbits from the Shire, and the images show that. In that regard they look fine. From a design point of view my main issue is are the leaves in people's hair, and Sadoc's hair looks ridiculous.

Content-wise it's more difficult. I love Tolkien's Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but I have no interest in the Harfoots, especially not in the Second Age. Maybe the show will make me care about one of these characters eventually, but so far these images don't spark the tiniest interest.

In addition to the other four images with Harfoots, a fifth was included and it's just too much. I'll happily that the design of these lamps is beautiful, and the lightning could be nice with the sun shining through the trees – but it's already a bit too yellow, and the character designer here just looks weird. It already feels like a scene that you'd skip in a hypothetical rewatch.

Then there is the human Halbrand:

Just like the first time we saw him, it's remarkable how I just feel nothing about him when I see this image. The only thing I noticed once again that his clothes seem weird; this time it's because there seem several suns printed on his shirt, and they don't seem to be drawn (too similar and symmetrical). That feels off, but maybe that's just me.

Next up is Arondir:

This image has good lightning as well, and it looks kinda cool because Ismael Cruz Córdova looks cool. However, the character design itself still baffles me – the short hair on Elves won't ever agree with me and I would have loved to see how cool this shot would have been if Arondir would've had long hair. In addition, the more I look at the clothes the more I get a kind of Roman style from them that I'll discuss further below, and that's not a style choice for the Elves I appreciate.

In the image with Arondir, Bronwyn and Theo (I assume), and while Nazanin Boniadi is a beautiful woman the character design doesn't do anything for me either. As for Theo – it's an unlucky still for him, the facial expression just makes him look kind of goofy. I wonder what made them pic this still.

Now we get to some characters that are actually know from Tolkien's writings. Let's start with the two characters that disappointed me the most in terms of character design – Elrond and Gelebrimbor:

Elrond's character design had already been released before, so it's not much of a surprise. However, the image strengthened my belief that I just can't get used to the character design. For Celebrimbor I feared the worst, and unfortunately these fears were confirmed.

Neither Elrond nor Celebrimbor look anything like I imagined these characters to look, and based on the reactions I have seen many fans share the sentiment.

Both with unusual short hair, and Elrond seems too young while Celebrimbor is too old. Elves are supposed to look ageless, and after a little while you won't see much difference between them anymore. Peter Jackson's movies did that right: Legolas and his father Thranduil basically look the same, age-wise. The same goes for Arwen and her grandmother Galadriel.

Not so this show: for someone being at least about a thousand years old (as confirmed by the Empire Magazine article), Elrond looks way too young – something caused by the weirdly modern character design because the actor would otherwise have the right age. Celebrimbor on the other hand looks older than any ageless Elf should look, and nothing about him resembles even closely the image of a famous smith and craftsman.

Both character designs lack the inherent beauty that the Elves should have in general. There may be a statement in this somewhere about beauty, but if the show's creators don't want to depict Elves as beautiful, maybe they should have picked a different series altogether. This beauty is simply a prominent feature of the Elves when compared to Mankind.

To summarize my rant: Elrond and Celebrimbor are two very important characters in the history of Middle-earth, and in my eyes the show butchered their casting and character designs completely.

So, what about Gil-galad?

Oh, where to begin? Many fans seem happy about this character design. Unfortunately, I'm not.

It starts with all the gold: Gil-galad is famously associated with silver as his heraldic device shows silver stars on blue. Then there is the golden wreath: the wreath itself looks crude and lacks any Elvish elegance or finesse, and reminds me way too much of Caesar. It also looks uninspired and makes me miss Thranduil's leaf crown from Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.

Truth to be told: I'm not happy about the casting either. In this image, I don't see the last High King of the Noldor, I rather see a friendly but naive neighbor questioning his Caesar cosplay in the mirror.

The article writes:

"Also different is Gil-Galad, the last High King Of The Ñoldor in later years, slightly less sure on his feet as this less-seasoned Second Age ruler."

What later years? Gil-galad has had the time to be High King of the Ñoldor for at least thousand years, and he has lived through the First Age. With Elendil already in the picture at this time, there aren't many more seasons he'll get!

Another still with beautiful lightning – however, the details are once again frustrating. The weird golden wreaths are repeated here, and especially with the short haired Elves this looks even more like a meeting of Caesar cosplayers now. Then there is the dumb idea to dress these characters in long wide robes with even longer capes, only to add plate armour on top of it. What are they supposed to do like this? At best this is purely ceremonial, because this is neither pleasent to wear nor is it practical to fight in. I can't stop scratching my head because it doesn't make any sense to me.

In this image now, I like the atmosphere. The forst with the golden lamps, it looks beautiful. I just wish we could edit out the characters in it, because it reminds me once again how disappointing the character designs of Elrond and Celebrimbor turned out to be, and how Benjamin Walker doesn't seem kingly to me at all in what we have seen so far. In addition: why are some of the female Elves in the corners veiled?

To end on a positive note: you can hardly go wrong with landscape stills.

In summary: most of the character designs are disappointing for me, and the majority of the actors seem miscast so far. This is not to slight the actors – I'm sure they are good actors and will do their best, but I based on what I've seen so far I don't think they fit Tolkien's characters as I imagine them. Of course everyone will have their own version in their heads, but I think from what we see they don't seem to fit what little we have of the characters' descriptions from Tolkien, either.

Fanart?  Fan-tableaux?  The door to my lab cosplaying as the door to a Preservation Alliance auditorium?

POV: You are a Preservation Alliance resident coming to the quarterly planetary town hall after Dr. Mensah’s return to ask your elected officials about some normal infrastructural issue or something and you see this.

(Comments added by Murderbot, Ratthi, Pin-Lee, and Gurathin, respectively.)

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