Sunday, December 15

OOTD ~ (15.12.13) ~ Kawaii, Cute, Winter and all from UK! (&Update in pictures)

Hello friends!

Yesterday I went to see the pantomime (Cinderella for those of you who are wondering). I thought this would be a good opportunity to show you all my casual outfit of the day (although I wore it for two), as I need to be cheered up from missing the Sherlock premiere, (which looked incredible and I'm trying for tickets next time) and also because I have some nice, gyaru inspired yet wearable pieces to show you all.

Also, I don't normally watch the X-factor, but oh, oh... Tom Odell was glorious last night. I love his soulful voice and his cluster-y style piano playing, they melt together like a sweet rocky road... I must say though, I was hoping Luke would win. He's original, cheery, humble, and extremely talented.

Okay here's the outfit in simple form I'm going to break this post up with some other things so it's not too boring...



So, here is the kind of simple look. I apologise in advance for the terrible lighting, please don't blame my beautiful camera. I'm teamed an emerald green, crepe-y textured blouse with my beloved faux leather skirt, some cosy black tights and my favourite cream crotchet boots. I also had on some little frilly socks that you can't really see here. The skirt is currently on sale on Miss Selfridge, get it quick though! The shirt was from Primark for around £8/12, (can't remember exactly) and also comes in cream, burgundy etc. etc. and is in stock right now. I love how the buttons are hidden, it looks very chic and slimming, and trust me, after the amount of chocolate I've eaten, I'm definitely needing something slimming! Diets only last until Christmas, right? Well, I've done pretty well this year, dieting has become quite fun after all, because on those rare occasions like tonight, I can eat to my heart's content, and still wear a size 8!

Anyway, enough about my uninteresting problems,

These cosy tights are life savers too - sorry, but I find it really uncomfortable to wear jeans, and skirts are bloody freezing in the winter. Luckily Primark sells these gorgeously snug cosy tights, with fluffy insides for around £2, that have lasted me the past year. Since I live in Scotland, I kid you not, I have worn these in the summer on multiple occasions. Ah, to be warm.

The boot, I spoke about in my last post. £30 from New Look, online exclusive, super cute.


Ahh! Look what I got for a secret Santa present! I love it so much. Combines some my favourite things, Sherlock, London and stuff that can go on my wall. I used to have a massive area of the wall above my bed I called "The Wall of Stuff", covered in photos and concert tickets etc. I miss it so much. I had to take it down when we decided to move house. It was like watching all of my memories being shoved into a bin. I stupidly stuck it all on with sticky tape so I couldn't save much of it.


Ahah... aha... ah. Oh, posing is fun. To be honest, I don't really know if I'm a self-conscious person or not. Okay, well everyone is self-conscious, but I mean, I worry more about sounding stupid than looking good, and I'm more concerned with accurately presenting who I am in my head on the outside rather than how good I look, which may or not be a healthy alternative. I'm trying to get a good balance of having a personality and showing it without forcing my interests onto people and showing off... Rambling... rambling...

Moving on...


Amazing Sherlock card from my friend, well played.


The warmer version of the outfit. I layered on a cute bunny jumper and my lucky tartan scarf for the night-time. So cosy. However, even after 3 washes, it's still leaving fluff everywhere. Tut tut. The jumper is cashmere, and at £45 from Topshop it's a bit more up-market from my usual stuff. My theory is that you can get a perfect balance of luxury and budget, by choosing the right things to splash out on. For example, I don't really like buying expensive food, sweets, I bring my own lunches to school, mascaras (they dry out pretty quickly) etc, but, I'll always save a few pennies for a great winter jumper, foundation, a dress or jewelry. This way it's less about buying everything cheap or everything expensive, and the things that should last long really do, and the things that don't, well they didn't cost much to begin with anyway!


Me pulling an ugly face.

Also my feels right now because I'm not at the Sherlock premiere. For those of you who don't know, Sherlock (BBC) is an incredible new modern drama based on the original books. It's absolutely brilliant and you should definitely check it out. The first two seasons have a grand total of... six episodes. Yes, six. The last was two years ago and ended on a massive cliff-hanger, so you can see why I'd be so desperate to go... Next time for sure.


The bunny jumper un-covered.


The shirt and skirt up-close.


The cute little lunch box and spork on the left are from my secret santa, they match my mug from Japan Centre, London so well! They are from Paperchase:)



Also, anyone else watch Cheerleaders on AwesomenessTV? They just uploaded the latests episode and at around 3 minutes in... like... WHAT IS ROBERT DOING? Seriously, go watch it, it's hilarious.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this post! I cannot wait for Christmas now, the amount of fandom merch. and adorable things I've asked for, I swear...

I'll see you all next week (probably) for a new post, the plans are either...


- Artwork related post (so I can show off my less than mediocre pieces)
- The best makeup (high street and up-market)
- Safe, effective, healthy eating tips (from a year's dieting experience)
- Best online Japanese clothing stores
- How to make DIY bows

Okay, see you then!
- Li xx

Sunday, December 8

My Kawaii Hair Accessory Collection!~

Hello everyone:)

A sweet way to create a cute, kawaii-inspired look is through hair accessories. One of the things you can actually find quite easily in the UK is exactly that! I've also included a couple of online pages for you to have a look at and I will be working on posting some hair tutorials using these accessories!


First, the bobbles.

These are both from New Look for around £3 each. They are both great for sweetening up a pony tail, especially a side pony. The plaid looks great in the winter with the scarves I was talking about in my last post, if you can get one to match it well. The pearl one works really well with pastel colours, especially white and baby pink combinations. 


The bows! Bows are the first thing you'll probably notice a lot in Japanese styles, and the majority of the bows we see in our shops over here have been inspired by them. 

The first one is a frilly, little bow from Primark, it comes in a set of two (my best friend stole the other) for I think a pound or two. It goes perfectly with a frilly outfit or cream colour theme. 

The black shiny bow is from Claire's accessories, it comes in a variety of colours and has a handy secure snap clip at the back. I actually bought this bow because I was inspired by South Korean origins, in the first episode of Dream High, Hye Mi (Suzy from Miss A) wears a really cute hair style that went perfectly with the bow, see? If you would like a tutorial I'd be happy to post it, please comment below!


The little bow on a bobby pin beneath it is a really cute, vintage, modern times (IU) inspired bow in emerald green with a black lace pattern. It also came with a royal blue colour and if I remember correctly, it's from Primark also. 

The big cream bow is from Claire's accessories for £4.50 and is absolutely perfect for dressing up a bun or half up-do. It totally screams cute gyaru and is available in a number of colours. 

The final bow is a denim bow with a crocodile clip at the back. It's really sweet to go with loose wavy/curly hair in spring or summer, but not so great in the season right now.


These mini clips are really popular right now and super cute. They remind me of someone really elegant like from Boys over Flowers or something, and they work so well with all types of hair, messy or neat. These are from New Look, where they are most available in so many different designs, here are a few more clips from there:







The hairbands.

It's quite difficult to photograph these well, but I've my best!


The first one is pretty rose themed embellished hairband from New Look. The little details and intricate design can help to really dress up an otherwise plain outfit, and give it a sense of sweetness and elegance.

The second is my favourite gyaru hairband, from Claire's accessories. I contemplated on buying it for ages before I became interested in Gyaru fashion, then as soon as I started loving it I bought it straight away, it's one of my first Gyaru inspired pieces. It's so cute and youthful, I love wearing it to school with loose, baggy clothing and a little skirt, so adorable...




The next is a cute golden and cream coloured bow hair band from New Look. It was strange actually, I got this hair band as a gift and I was trying to decide whether to buy it or not the day before I received it, the gift had spoken! 

The last is also one of my favorites, I got it as a gift from my best friend last Christmas (who bought it right in front of me and then made me carry it around the rest of the day in my bag ^_^) for £4 from River Island. They only seemed to sell these once, when my brother's fiance saw it she really wanted one for herself, but the only one left had pearls missing from it, so we bought it and I managed to find a couple of little beads that worked perfectly to fix it. These hair bands were also inspired from South Korea first (I think). They are available in other stores all year round. 


I love wearing this hair band with crimped hair in the Summer/Spring time, I got so many compliments wearing it to school too. It really brings out a lot of bounce and volume into your hair, and gives a girl-y, sweet. These appear, more in the summer time, in all shops like New Look, River Island and Top Shop, so have a look out for them. I'll put up some tutorials with it if you like!


A bit of DIY and home made!

I made this bow from a cute measuring tape material I found in my local craft shop. Bow tutorial coming soon!

The bottom clip is an adorable vintage style feather from www.etsy.com, perfect for those who love writing as much as I do, reminds me of a quill!


I also collect a lot of ribbons for various hairstyles as well, but there's so many I couldn't possibly show you them all! My best advice is to collect ribbons from wherever you can, off presents, wrappings, sales in craft shops - anywhere! They work great for sweet gyaru hair styles. I keep mine in a little tub:3



As you can probably tell, I mentioned a lot of "Tell me if you want", since this is a new blog there's so many possibilities for posts, instead of just doing everything, please tell me what you're interested in reading!

Still, I started this less than 24 hours ago and it's had a hundred page views, thank you so much! It's very encouraging and I hope to write a lot more posts in the future.

Thank you very much for reading,
ありがとございました!
さよなら!~

Li xx

Saturday, December 7

Why BBC's Sherlock Is Fascinating: A Complete And Extensive Guide

"The name is Sherlock Holmes, and the address is 221b Baker Street" 

Modern television. It's heavily criticized, from expectant audiences and know-it-all fanatics of all ages, from celebrities, journalists and bloggers alike. Constantly ripping and tearing apart and analyzing the minute details, underlying inferences and themes of everything to appear on our televisions.

Hundreds of shows grace our screens, (or heartlessly vandalize them) from the ever informative works from The Discovery Channel, to side-splitting, embarrassing-laughter-inducing humor from Comedy Central.

And then there's Sherlock.

I first discovered the show on an ordinary, dull evening, flicking through the channels. I rarely watch television, much preferring to write or paint or read. However, on Friday evenings it has become somewhat of a tradition of mine to watch programs with my dad.  It was when I first became interested in literature, and the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had been referenced and quoted on countless occasions during my search for a great story. I remember watching the final ten minutes of "A Study In Pink", having no idea what had happened in the past 1 hour and 20 minutes of the show (fifty minutes, I had assumed at the time, not knowing the episodes were 90 long), at the edge of my seat, and mildly appreciating the acting and presentation of the story, like I had with no other show in the past.

Soon, the mild appreciation became a healthy obsession after watching the complete episode, and so it began.

To my complete astonishment now, I decided to wait each week for the replays on BBC to play out, when I could have easily accessed the episodes online instantly. I felt like it was something worth waiting for, each one an event. Something to look forward to. I owed the show as much.

When I was trudging through knee-high snow on a relentless Duke of Edinburgh practice "walk" (It was a hike), all I could think about was coming home to a warm meal and watching the show, again.

When the second season replays began in the Summer, I found myself literally applauding "A Scandal in Belgravia" when it ended, cowering behind my pillow throughout "The Hounds of Baskerville", and crying hysterically at the climax of "The Reichenbach Fall". 

As soon as the series ended, I hungered for more. I searched, "Sherlock, season three" in to google, without getting a straight answer. My heart jumped at the excitement of reading "October 31st, 2013" On IMDB. I quickly realized this date was near impossible, for the show had yet to finish filming episode three.

And so, we wait.

The waiting has led me to introduce several more (8) people to the show, who have all loved it just as much as I have since, and continue to wait in suspense. It felt like I was doing them a massive favor, like "Here, I give you a show that will spark your imagination and fuel your undiscovered, limitless love for the beauty of television and those involved in creating it".

Now, what is this love I speak so fondly of?

Since I knew I had so long to wait for season three, I signed up for a Tumblr account, and began researching as much information as I could about the current seasons. I was astounded to find the show's star, Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, rapidly soaring to incredible heights of fame and stardom from the time I began watching the show until now. Since then, he's played Khan in Star Trek: Into darkness, Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate (An unfortunate box-office flop, despite the importance of the film and the mesmerizing performance from Cumberbatch) and Smaug the dragon in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. He also did the motion capture.

The latter alongside co-star of the show, the incredible Martin Freeman, who plays The Hobbit in... well, The Hobbit. Yes he's the hobbit. And no, that's not quite his actual height, though it's not too far off.

I'm just teasing of course.

That very sentence is also a popular line from Cumberbatch in interview, proving his acting ability is not his only great trait. Kind, bumble-y, smart and honest are words I would associate with him, and not just because Mark Gatiss and/or Steven Moffat has described him as such at some point or another. They are the writers and creators of the show by the way, if you were wondering.

Those two, alongside Moffat's wife, Sue Vertue (producer of Sherlock) and various and fluctuating members of the cast voice their memories and ideas for the episodes through the commentaries, found on the DVD extras and on youtube. It was these insights into the world of production which really got me interested with the fascinating behind the scenes aspects of television.

I've always loved watching the interviews and extras part of DVDs, I can count at least five films that I've never seen but have seen the makings of.

Some things, which you may find completely and totally uninteresting about the show, that I personally love include:

1) The references to the original Holmes novels and stories

"You will never find a more obsessively accurate version of Sherlock Holmes, mostly because it's been motored by a couple of geeks" - Steven Moffat

Modern fans can appreciate the genius of the on-screen text, something I didn't like at first but the more I've seen of it, the more it's grown on me and now I love it. In fact, I've seen it done in some other shows here and there since it debuted on Sherlock, but it's never had quite the same impact. Modern and the old fans can truly appreciate the variety of references to the original stories, such as John's blog being stuck at 1895 hits (Known as Holmes' best year, when he was at the top of his game, mentioned in The Sign of Four if my memory serves correctly) and the incredibly complex reference to the stories through Star Trek (Modern Holmes quotes Spock, quoting original Holmes with "When you exclude the impossible, whatever remains no matter how improbable, must be the truth). Not to mention the puns with the various case titles at the beginning of a Scandal in Belgravia, The Naval Treatment as opposed to The Naval Treaty, The Speckled Blonde instead of The Speckled Band and of course, the titles of the episodes, A Scandal in Belgravia is loosely based on A Scandal In Bohemia, incorporating other stories. The references are countless and delightfully witty and clever.

2) The Hounds of Baskerville

Typically this story ends the same way. If you know a bit about the making of the show, you'll also know that Mark Gatiss had a terrible time trying to write this one.

"People expect certain things, you've got to deliver"

I loved the episode of course, although the episode is generally based on a horror and dark adventure filled theme, character development, including a favourite staple line of the fans,

"I don't have friends. I just have one"

Shows that Gatiss, although writing the episode a massive challenge, still took the time to include great character development and showcase the ever strengthening bond between Holmes and Watson.

3) The camera work and direction

Beautiful shots, created from director Paul Mcguigan's vision, make the show not only wonderful to listen to and interpret, but also engagingly creative and stunning to watch. In one commentary, Gatiss and Vertue talk about Mcguigan's secret directional obsession:

"Symmetry... symmetry..." said Gatiss.

"There was one terrifying moment when someone was threatening to move the sofa", Vertue.

This obsession has proved to be healthy, creating incredibly gorgeous and creative shots in every scene that just aren't seen anywhere else on television. Top movie-style quality.

4) The relationships between the characters

Okay, an article on the relationships between the characters cannot be written without the risky mention of fan fiction. Yes, a number of fans, not all, but a large number do in fact like to picture Holmes and Watson together, in the words of Holmes, "In a number of compromising situations".

"An imaginative range", you are assured.

In the original novels, there is no mention of a motherly relationship between Mrs Hudson and Holmes, however one of the slight twists in the show is such a relationship. The dynamic between the characters came about when in reality, Cumberbatch and Una Stubbs (Mrs. Hudson) showed a mother-son relationship on set, and it began to filter through on to the screen. Knowing Stubbs since he was a child, Cumberbatch often speaks of her with admiration and love. This relationship is my favourite of the whole show.

I think, the truth of the matter is, although Holmes and Watson are often mistaken for being a gay couple, the two men just absolutely adore each other, in a non-homosexual way.

Personally, although I find the drawings and inside jokes within the fandom amusing and clever, I would not under any circumstances like to see the two actually get together on the show. Can you not imagine how much that would ruin it for the fans of the original? Watson suffers from dysfunctional relationships, and of course break-ups, with various other female characters, and I think that is the best way to have it for now.

The chemistry between Holmes and... well, Holmes is also very interesting. This Holmes is in fact his older brother, Mycroft. In the original stories, Sherlock just simply gets on with him. Moffat and Gatiss, inspired from the completely under-rated classic Billy Wilder film "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes", provide the audience with a much steelier, snappier relationship.

Originally, Mycroft was described as being "The British Government", however the writers much preferred the idea of him as being sort of the sinister British government, full of dark plans and secrets. In the show, Shelock and Mycroft often quarrel, both smart but with different goals. Mycroft is more centered towards money and is sort of a more glamorous "Sherlock", whereas Sherlock just wants to have adventures and cure his own boredom.

In a Scandal in Belgravia, a sweet image of the boys' childhood was revealed when Mycroft (wonderfully played by Gatiss) says Sherlock first wanted to be a pirate. His look of nostalgia is heartbreaking, he's obviously thinking of how he was once his little brother was someone he could look out for, since he's always off doing something insane or illegal, but now he has no control over him.

A part of the humor of the show is also shown between the two, also referencing the originals, when Sherlock teases Mycroft about his weight, "How's the diet?".

There is also a bond that is visible also in a Scandal in Belgravia, where Sherlock asks,

"Do you think there's something wrong with us?"

As they watch a family mourning over someone's death. Sherlock knows they are different, and when someone dies, they just don't feel the same powerful emotions that others seem to feel. Sherlock and Mycroft's relationship is indeed a complex one, but I think one of the best modifications to the show from the originals is the relationship between the two.

That was just a focus on some of the lesser known relationships. Holmes and Watson, it goes without saying have an incredibly complex relationship. Holmes never needed a flatmate in the beginning, so why did he invite Watson in? Obviously he is paid vast sums of money for solving his crimes, so the money aspect cannot be true. I think he realized he was feeling a little lonely, although more likely, his first thoughts were 'Lets have someone I can experiment on' or 'Lets have someone who can constantly marvel at my intellect and remind me of it every day', both of which happen. By the end of the Reichenbach Fall, season two finale, it becomes apparent that infact, Holmes just simply adores him as his only friend.

Lastly on relationships, Holmes has a lovely "Network of carers" (Gatiss), that show in A Scandal in Belgravia when he seems to pass from Mycroft to John and Mrs. Hudson when he was grieving over Irene Adler's (Lara Pulver) fake death, and in The Hounds of Baskerville when Lestrade (Rupert Graves) is sent down to check up on him with the case, much to Holmes' relief as he was experiencing fear for the first time. The characters often consult with John as to how Sherlock is, rather than asking Sherlock directly.

5) The New and Interesting Characters

Moriarty

Andrew Scott provides us with a completely new and chilling villain, with no resemblance to the original. This is definitely a good thing, the original villain only really appears in one story and is not described in much detail. A new modern character was needed. Scott plays this character excellently, from dancing with a fire extinguisher in The Reichenbach Fall, to playing Moriarty, playing Jim from IT, playing Molly's boyfriend in The Great Game. His performance is outstanding, and won him a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor. The man in real life (well, in interview) is cheery and bright, a stark contrast with his dark on screen role. The fact that the character makes many stereo-typically gay jokes adds to the dark humor of the show, my favourite line from him must be "Is that a British browning AKB48 in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?" or "Westwood".

D.I. Greg Lestrade

Originally, Lestrade was a sort of rat faced detective, yet somewhat glamorous. Gatiss often mentions how if it wasn't for Holmes, this would be his show. Played by Rupert Graves, the character often acts as a father-like figure to Holmes, hinted at when in the Hounds of Baskerville, we are unsurprised to learn that Holmes didn't know his first name. He describes him in the originals as being the best of Scotland yard, and he definitely looks up to him for it. Also in the Hounds of Baskerville, fun fact, it wasn't originally written in the script that Lestrade would be so tanned, "brown as a nut", and it had to be quickly written in as a part of the script because it was so obvious. The character is brilliantly played by Graves and is one of the characters I most look forward to seeing in the upcoming episodes.

  I think not.

Molly Hooper

A character with no equivalent in the originals, Molly is a somewhat awkward woman who works at St. Bartholomew's hospital (Holmes' workplace of choice), who is desperately in love with Holmes. Louise Brealey was so fantastic in her role, that the writers decided to write a lot more of her in to the script, and gave her the trophy boyfriend of Jim from IT, otherwise known as Moriarty. Near the end of the Reichenbach Fall, we are shown a strange scene between Holmes and Molly, in which he appears to be asking for her assistance with his suicide. I have a strong feeling that Molly will be an important character in
 season three.



Irene Adler

Some fans did not like this character. I think this is because in the novels, she is seen as a heroine, whereas in the show, Holmes saves her in the end. Moffat once pointed out, in the actual novels, the big heroic thing she actually does is move house. In the show, she comes about 99% of the way to beating Holmes, and manages to win over a tin man's heart, so much so that even after she dumps him and assures him she had no feelings for him, he finds out where she is and saves her from being killed by terrorists. That to me, is quite an achievement. Wonderfully played by the stunning Lara Pulver, Irene is a fantastic character.

"So caught up in the fun of everything, you kind of forget she's actually quite abominable!"


6. Musical Score

An incredible musical score is featured on the show, I absolutely adore it. It totally conveys the emotions of the characters, with Irene having her own theme, John having his slow piano melody, and the chilling, incredible strings ensemble playing at the finale, when Sherlock is revealed to be alive, was completely mesmerizing. Beautiful.

Parodies, such as the clever

Moriarty sat on a wall,
Sherlock Holmes, had a great fall,
and all Lestrade's horses,
and all Mycroft's men,
Couldn't put Watson together again.

To a slowed down, music box (Dr Watson is known for them) version of the "Game is on" theme tune.

Reichenbach Theories

I gave up about six months ago.

To be honest, I would rather it was a surprise for us all to discover with episode one.

One theory I must mention though:


I strongly suggest you don't go looking for theories after the premiere on the 15th of December, just in case it ruins it all for you.

Let's talk Fan Fictions

Often heart-breaking, surprisingly clever and well-written, and now and again, completely and utterly wrong. I love Sherlock more than words can describe, and the fans of the show that I have met are all intelligent, appreciative and respectful, however one thing that many people would be surprised to know about me is; I do not ship Johnlock. The friendship between them is too precious and too delicate, and I often feel that fan fictions may be very well-written and smart, but as soon as there's something that's gone a bit too far, I stop enjoying it.

I still think that everyone has the right to like and write about anything they like. I am simply voicing my opinion, I don't totally enjoy reading it myself.

However, I have read some fan fictions which I cannot ignore just because of some others I did not enjoy as much.

"Alone On The Water" available on Ao3, is heart-breaking and beautifully written.

Some cute, "fluffy" as they are called fan fictions are also very readable and enjoyable, including some where Watson cares for an ill Holmes, effectively compose a lovely idea of the two of them together.

I'm currently writing a fan fiction myself, titled "One More Step". The title has nothing to do with the story, it just sounded like a typical dramatic fan fiction title and I just wanted to get it started. It's available on Wattpad.

Speaking of Season Three...

The wait is almost over.

As I write my first draft of this post, it is the 7th of December, and therefore 25 days until episode one titled "The Empty Hearse", a play on "The Empty House".

What do we know so far?

1) Season three will consist of the normal three, 90 minute long short-films
2) The cast will remain the same
3) Amanda Abbington (Martin Freeman's wife) will play John Watson's partner, Mary Mortsan
4) The other two episodes will be titled "The Sign of Three" and "His Last Bow"
5) The three clues are Rat, Wedding and Bow
6) The filming ended on the 1st of September 2013, and will preview on 15th of December in London
7) There will be a mini-episode available online on Christmas day
8) We will find out how Sherlock survived the fall
9) Episode one will premier on British screens on New Years day, 2014, and has been described as being "The biggest comeback of British television"
10) John has grown a moustache. The fans do not like the moustache.
11) The second episode will premiere only four days after the first on the 5th of January, and the third a week later on the 12th
13) It's going to be absolutely brilliant.

So, What Isn't So Good About The Show?

Nothing is perfect, of course, but I must say, Sherlock is pretty damn close. I have very, very few criticisms, and most of them aren't because of the show itself.

One, there is something floating about that isn't very nice to talk about. The glorious Amanda Abbington, who plays Mary Mortsan, has received hatred from fans for coming between their favourite characters. Some have even gone as far as to send her death threats for sticking up for Steven Moffat's writing on twitter.

Guys, come on.

This is completely outrageous.

Yes, maybe there is certain stigma attached to Moffat for some reason, writing either homophobic or anti-feminist characters and scenes into his shows, but surely, if Amanda Abbington (self proclaimed feminist) has openly stated she admires his writing talent, and in no way finds him sexist or homophobic and knows him very well, then surely, he can't be. Even say he was all of those things, Amanda did a brave thing standing up for him, and nobody, absolutely no-one deserves death threats, especially if it's just for writing something. I mean, at the end of the day, it is just TV and Moffat has contributed so much to British television, without whom Sherlock would not exist, I find it disgusting that so-called fans would criticize that.

Also, it does no good to hate Amanda for the character of Mary Mortsan, who, spoiler alert, was written over a hundred years ago into the original novels. I personally believe her when she says the character is an interesting woman with a lot of great secrets, and I cannot wait to watch her on the show. Sorry, but I don't think Watson and Holmes were ever going to get together anyway.



The only thing I could ever criticize from the actual show are slight parts of the script to the Hounds of Baskerville, I understand Gatiss had a hard time writing it as there's so much expectation with this story. I love the episode no less, but a couple of bits here and there felt a bit messy, over-complicated and not quite apparent to me, even after about six times watching the episode, I still found myself questioning things that didn't quite make sense to me. That could just be me not fully understanding the story, but I still loved it over all and it was still up to the same high standard as the others.

Let's talk Season Three

So, when I first wrote this, I was in a desperate mental state due to lack of Sherlock. Recently our screens have been graced with a whole three episodes, and our smaller screens with an app, and our even smaller screens with a soundtrack that has blown the season one and two sound tracks out of the water.

So the speculation came to a close, and I was a little sad to finally say goodbye to the hiatus, but look, here we are again. My friends and I arranged an Empty Hearse party, along with Sherlock cake pops and Cluedo. We sat down, carefully avoiding our delicate and sensitive feels, to watch Season Three (finally), episode one.

The Empty Hearse

Before it even started, I had chills. Like, I was almost hyperventilating because we have waited for so long and I just couldn't wait to see my favorite faces on the screen again. The first thing I noticed - and loved beyond explanation - was the music. Holy mother of god, the music this season is absolutely, insanely good. Even in the first couple of seconds I was like yes, this is going to be a good soundtrack. Then the first theory came, I forgot about all of the things they had said that I'd reminded myself of over and over again, "Not without a bit of teasing on the way", etc. etc. I totally threw away my inhibitions and became momentarily drunk on the moment, so yes, I completely believed the first theory. Until he kissed Molly, then I screamed and came back to earth, but I loved it all the same.

Okay, let's get this straight. There have been complaints that the episode was too fandom-orientated and they shouldn't have spent so much time referencing things the fans have said. Firstly, this script was written a long time before even half of the theories had come out. They knew what we would think, they aren't stupid, and the script isn't just a "fan-service". Now I'm not saying this in total defense of the episode - yes it was wonderful and had some lovely moments in it - but that doesn't stray from the fact that the plot is comparatively weak compared to the likes of Scandal and Hounds. Never the less, it was still a very enjoyable episode, full of twists and turns and character development. Let's just note that I was right, Amanda played a fantastic Mary, the best I've ever seen. She is incredibly subtle, tasteful and different to how I imagined she would be, and I loved seeing her most of all.

Sherlock is totally damaged in this episode, we can see right from the start that he's been through his own personal hell, a different kind to John's though. He's been all over the place dismantling Moriarty's network, and it shows he's had a rough time. His main way of coping appears to be through humor, a strong point in the episode and much different to past seasons, the first two episodes are bursting with witty humor. This is something that I appreciated particularly, as the original books were actually very funny and I tend to enjoy the versions that do the humor as well as the crime solving and characters, it's the full package this show, really.

The Empty Hearse referenced the story of The Empty House, of course, Jack the Ripper was also mentioned, and of course it focuses on the Guy Fawkes story too. The plot was probably the weakest, it was a bit jumpy and all over the place without a straight forward route, but to be fair the episode had a lot to deal with and it must have been immensely difficult to write even the character parts well, so kudos for that. I would liked to have seen a slightly stronger opening that relied a little less on the devoted fandom for love, like in the beginning it seemed like the show was proving how wonderful it could be, now it's sort of riding that, but I don't want to complain too much because overall it was a fantastic season. Not the best of openings though, I only have A Study in Pink and my favorite episode to compare with so they aren't the easiest to top.

Acting: 10/10
Character Development: 9/10
Plot: 6/10
Humor: 9/10
Overall: 7/10

The Sign of Three

This is the only episode that has come close to the wonder of A Scandal in Belgravia for me, it is my joint favorite now. I loved it from first watch, but after many more, it grew on me until it reached the top spot. The plot is much stronger than episode one, not the strongest still, but definitely stronger. The way everything comes together in the end is pure genius. The acting is superb, and many times I questioned whether or not Sherlock was truly sincere or if he was just acting. In short, Benedict's acting was so good that I couldn't decide whether his character was acting or not, meaning it was so believable I was questioning the character's sincerity more than the actor's, which is quite impressive.

The whole episode was centered around a best man's speech, and the best I've ever heard at that (sorry brother). It was everything, beautiful, funny and heart felt, even for Sherlock. A lot of people have said it's the least Sherlock-y episode yet, and I feel the same, but I loved it even more for that. It's not the normal thing, it's different looking and sounding, but it still has the charm I love about the show.

The stag night. The only criticism here is that they didn't make it a bit longer, I could have watched that all night. Apparently they have a lot of unused footage, so I'm hoping it makes it onto the internet or a box set in years to come. Very funny and completely how these characters would act in this situation.

Amanda was wonderful, yet again. At this point, I was certain she would die in the next episode, because I loved her so much, and you know what shows are like. Well, Moffat is like. I could have watched a show just called "Mary", all about her.

Acting: 9.5/10
Character Development: 9/10
Plot: 9/10
Humor: 10/10
Overall: 9/10

His Last Vow *DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN YET! AIRS THIS SUNDAY IN USA!*

One of the things I loved about this episode, before it even came out, was the fact that we were misled a great deal with the trailers and what the cast and crew had said. Even the bloggers, newspapers and critics kept it well under wraps until the big day. We were led to believe that someone dies, which was true, but more like someone we love dies, which was also true, but at the same time completely the opposite. See what I mean?

I'm glad they didn't just kill Mary off, that would have been a bit of a cheap move. Instead they brought her in, completely unexpectedly, and I can't get enough of this new sweet but I-can-still-kick-your-but character. Perfect.

The plot was pretty solid too, but I felt like it lacked a good structure. The colours used are blues and steely silvers, so when a pop of vibrancy with the drug den that bamf John strutted walked into was even more visually pleasing. Then Sherlock on drugs. Honestly, I thought this would have been done quite differently, but he was more or less his usual self, but a little more on-edge. It worked well, nevertheless.

The episode is a tug of war between great actors, stealing scene by scene. Before the episode even properly begins, we begin as we mean to go on, with Lars Mikkelsen playing an incredibly complex and chilling villain, completely unlike Moriarty and any other villain I've come across in the past. Fantastic. Next up, Benedict steals the show with his mind palace performance. Then we witness Andrew Scott taking the wheel with his utterly astounding appearance as Sherlock is dying and he manages to both persuade him to die and bring him back to life with a single perfect sentence, "John Watson is definitely in danger". Not long after we see Amanda Abbington taking over when she transforms into assassin Mary, or A.G.R.A., and spills out the truth about her past. Not for long though, because a Mr. Martin Freeman steals the show as expected with his reaction to this news.

All the awards. Give this episode awards, please.

Only criticism really, is that I think the explanation as to why everyone John has met is a "psychopath" was a little weak and didn't seem like the best of reasons, but hey-ho, you can't be pleased all of the time. It probably made more sense than I think it did.

Acting: 10/10
Character Development: 10/10
Plot: 9/10
Humor: (Very little, still excellently done) 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Season Three

Let's not even start on the ending. He's back, and I think we're in for a real treat in season four. Overall, season three was fantastic. Season two still stands out to be the best I think, with each episode consistently flowing into the other and very consistent, solid plot and character. However, I think season three completely out does season two in twists and turns, humor and new characters. Also acting. And don't even get me started on the music, I could listen to that for the rest of my life. The only issues I have overall with this season is the weaker plots, the slightly inconsistent character development and lack of a solid structure, I felt anyway. It would have been nice for the show to have stayed a little more grounded and gone less for the dramatic super-hero style scenarios and focus more on Sherlock's intellect. I also noticed he was wrong about things quite often, and definitely a little slower than last season. This could be a vital piece of plot so I'm not going to say anymore.

Season three overall: 8.5/10

Very pleased with the new season, I have high hopes for season four!



Anyhow, that was the first draft of a rather extensive essay on Sherlock and why I love it. I will clean it up a lot and re post it sometime, add in some parts I forgot to mention. If you actually took the time to read all of that, you deserve a medal.

Some quotes haven't been checked, the pictures weren't even cropped from my Ipod, yes, it's rough but I'm going to improve upon it.

May I also add that if you take any of this writing completely seriously and expect a fifteen year old to write better and not have opinions, you may be suffering from stupidity, and any non-constructive criticism based comments will be violently avoided and not cared for. :)

Li xx

Update 1: Added "R" to "Sherlock" in the title, added musical score section (7.12.13)
Update 2: Changed "eho" to "who" and added season three analysis (30.01.14)

Gyaru Fashion (A Guide, School Uniform, Shoes, All from UK!) December 2013

Hello bumchums! ともだち!

This is my first "Gyaru" fashion post - help!

It's a challenge to find gyaru inspired clothing in the UK. Our only choice of shops is really Primark, New Look, River Island or Top Shop, unless you are lucky enough to live in London or somewhere like that.

Firstly, for those of you who don't know, gyaru is clothing inspired from a particular style Japan. A lot of our normal, modern styles have been derived from famous places such as the Shibuya 109 store and Harajuku. For example, tartan skirts were seen as a more traditional garment for weddings etc. until Japanese styles adopted them and made them fashionable, cute and stylish. Today, the best known styles like floral skirts, hats with cat ears and sub brands like 'Tokyo Doll' in New Look are all taken from Japanese origins.

Famous Japanese brands like Liz Lisa, Ingni (Pronounced, "Ingu") and Ank Rouge are almost impossible to purchase from in the UK, even with the internet. If you are lucky to come across a genuine piece, often the delivery charges are astronomical.

Instead, for those of you who have discovered the delights of Gyaru clothing, I present some effective alternatives, all purchased on a fair budget from UK stores.

Here is my first post, Winter fashion 2013. I've asked for a fair amount for christmas, so a few more posts should be up very soon.

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1) School Uniform

I'm currently in my fourth year of high school (HELP!) Which means I only have a couple of years to go. My school is relatively strict on uniform, but I've found some delightfully cheeky ways of slipping under the radar in recent years, while still sporting a unique gyaru style.

Rule One: Everything looks cuter with Knee socks. Black knee socks - especially with bows - are the way forward.

Rule Two: Layer up your top half, keep your bottom half simple. This works well for all seasons. In spring and Autumn, a shirt, baggy jumper, cardigan and a long necklace can keep you warm, with just some tights and a skirt/shorts as bottoms. This is uniquely Japanese style, and comes from many Japanese schools not allowing the girls to switch to warmer bottoms in the cold months. This way, Japanese women have become accustomed to having cold legs.

Rule Three: Makeup, should always be kept simple and sweet. I try not to wear eyeliner at all, mostly because I'm so fair-skinned and light-haired that it just looks stupid on me.

Okay, first outfit.


(Sorry for the bad quality!)

Here is the look in full. This also goes very well with knee high socks. Tip: When wearing knee high socks in the cold, I like to put some skin tights on underneath, just for extra warmth, although in complete honesty, I was just as warm in those socks as I am in tights. 


And up-close.

Okay, from the top.

The blouse I am wearing (which you can't actually see here) 

Is a white shirt with black buttons and a sharp collar trimming. I bought this from River Island for around £20, although it's not longer in stock, there are alternatives including this sweet diamante collar (on sale right now!) 


This puts a twist on a normally plain, simple shirt. Here is the shirt anyway, 


Next is the long cream colored cardigan, currently in stock in Primark, for £8. I also suggest you buy a size bigger than you normally would to create a loose, baggy effect, very cutesy and gyaru. Do up all the buttons and drape it over a flared skirt for a mega cute, ruffled look. 

My skirt is in fact a leather (faux - of course) skirt from Miss Selfridge. It is now on sale for only £12, which is such a bargain. This skirt has been worn at least 15 times since August and it still looks brand new.

Next, the scarf. The infamous scarf.

The scarf is also from Primark for I think, £5. I started wearing it before people properly started wearing winter scarves because I loved it so much. I felt like I'd started a trend when the next week, everyone came in with tartan scarves, but it just so happened that that trend was already established in so many shops over the country. They seem to be selling like hot cakes, which is great for gyaru girls like me. Tartan scarves are a great way to cutesy up an outfit, I also love the combination of this cardigan and skirt with a cream, baby pink and grey tartan scarf.

Now, the iconic blazer. 

Blazers are already stylish both here and Japan. The only problem is, the school blazers are not so attractive. I took the somewhat risky decision to personalize my blazer, by sewing on little tartan bows and frill trimmings on to the pockets. Luckily enough, nobody has told me off for it. Yet. 

Another idea is to add a little frill at the end of the sleeves for a vintage, classic effect, and some trimming around the collar for a more unusual and statement appeal. 

On my feet I just wear plain, no pattern black brogues. 

Now for something non-school-y, I also purchased the cutest, liz lisa, gyaru-inspired shoes in the history of my short life. 


I was actually looking for some cute, ankle boots for the colder weather, when I stumbled across these babies on the New Look website for £30. They are an online exclusive, I must add.

They feature a -

DARNIT! Okay, sorry, I was just getting the info off the website. I literally bought these beauties a few days ago and they've now reduced the price to £22.49. Sigh. Lucky for you all though. Anyway,

- Wood effect wedge heel and a cream crochet pattern lace. They are perfect for wearing during the day or at night time, and will work in perfect harmony with the popular frilly dolly socks which are so popular right now. Also inspired by Japanese clothing, I'd imagine.


That's all for today!

I hope you all like my first Gyaru post, I hope to post about a wide variety of subjects but Gyaru was something I really wanted to get started with.

Thanks for reading,

Li xx

Introduction

Hello! こんにちは~

There are two countries I love the most in the world. First being my home country, the UK, and second being my long-distance love affair with Japan and her culture.

I've lived in Scotland my whole life, but other countries have never failed to amaze me.

I first began loving Japan from a young age, when my dad and I would watch "Spritied Away", "Pokemon" and "Avatar" together. He also spoke of how interesting and truly different the Japanese culture was to our own. I became fascinated, first with anime and then with clothing, music and the people.

The only problems with loving Japan so much are:

A) I'm fifteen and cannot move countries on my own
B) There's barely any Japanese inspired shops, clothing, anime channels etc. etc. In Scotland

There are three anime shops I know of in the whole of the country, two of which I have never been to and the other, a small Forbidden Planet selling manga and fairly mainstream merch.

On the plus side, there are an abundance of shops, channels, clothing etc. to represent my British obsessions, which include

BBC Sherlock
Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"
The Beatles
Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat
Fish and Chips
Tartan

With this blog I hope to offer you, (hopefully), my reader an eclectic mix of fancies, from finding Gyaru fashion in the UK to my favourite animes and rating my favourite BBC TV shows.

So please, come in and take a seat.

A cup of green tea and a piece of shortbread will be waiting for you.

Li xx