Once Upon A Time Season 5 Premiere Review

Okay so now that 5x01 is on UK Netflix, I feel like it's appropriate to share my thoughts. If you haven't seen the episode then SPOILERS AHEAD!! I did watch the episode yesterday online because I can't wait 3 days after it airs in America as a) I'm too impatient and b) I would see far too many spoilers.
The only things I knew before watching the episode were: Merida would be in it, Emma would be 'taught' by Rumple and of course, that Camelot was going to be a big deal this season.
The episode in itself wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly great either. For a season premiere, I have to say, probably one of the, if not the weakest season premiere. That said, there were some things that I liked. I enjoyed the end. I thought the last few minutes were probably the best part. Although the cliffhanger was Emma saying 'I'm the Dark One' like yeah, we knew that already. I'm incredibly pissed off at the recycled storylines of a time jump (even if it is only six weeks again) and memory loss (Charming: "our memories are gone" Snow: "again?" Me: *rolls eyes*) I really don't think we need more time jumps and memory loss. Yes, it was cool to see the transition of Emma not giving into the darkness to Emma being full on Dark One. But other than that, I really don't think there was a need.
As well as this, I did like Merida. I thought she was very accurate to the Disney (Pixar) version and I really loved her accent. But was she really necessary? I don't know how many episodes she's going to be in so maybe she'll have a bit more of a storyline later on but in this episode it could have been literally anyone and the episode would have been the same. We shall see if she plays a bigger part.
I quite liked the Camelot Bros at the beginning. So nice to see Lancelot again! I'm mildly suspicious of Arthur. And I actually laughed when the dagger was part of Excalibur. I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure that would have been mentioned.
Seeing tiny Emma watching Sword in the Stone was cute. Not sure why she stole an Apollo bar other than the writers being like 'look, we worked on Lost' but sure, I'll go with it. The creepy guy who was like 'don't take Excalibur" was well creepy. Kinda wanna see more of him or some kind of explanation of him.
Don't get me started on the portal (yay look, a new way to travel between worlds. Isn't that supposed to be hard?!) Or Zelena (she's literally insane.)
I know this sounds more negative than positive but I did still like the episode. I just feel like after 5 seasons, they could be doing better. I love the show, it's one of my favourite shows of all time and I'm hugely into the fandom (writing fic, live tweeting, listening & being part of a Once podcast chatroom, hardcore reblogging on tumblr etc) so I feel like I can criticise the show because I do love it so much.
Anyway, the episode was interesting and I am looking forward to season 5, I just hope that they pick up the pace a bit more.

Once Upon A Time Challenge Days 7-9

Ahh sorry for slacking on this again. Uni starts next week so I've been preparing for that and forgot to update! So there will be 3 days worth in this one post (I know it's after midnight so it's also technically day 10 but I will do that one later)

Day 7 - favourite action/intense moment
Ahh okay so I'm a huuuge fan of Neal (still crying) so my favourite intense moment involves him. In the S2 finale when he was falling through the portal and Emma was holding onto him and he was telling her to let go. Omg it was tragic and beautiful and I was crying. And seeing him near the end of the episode and knowing he wasn't actually dead made me so excited for season 3.


Day 8 - favourite location
The Enchanted Forest. Just because it's so pretty (minus the obvious green screen and cgi stuff) I mean I love Storybrooke too but the Enchanted Forest is just nicer to look at.

Day 9 - best dressed
This depends on where we are. Evil Queen Regina has some amazingly stunning outfits but I hate her Storybrooke wardrobe. Belle's Storybrooke wardrobe is so so cute, like I would love to wear her clothes (minus her Lacey stint). I'm not sure male wise though? Maybe Charming cause he looks handsome in everything haha. Ii also really really loved Ingrid's white dress. But no, Evil Queen Regina gets this one!

Once Upon A Time Challenge - Day 6

Favourite Romantic Moment
Okay so my all time favourite ship on the show I'm not actaully going to mention because I think that'll come up later, so this one is actually going to a couple that I ship not so hardcore and that's Snowing. I do love them but they've done a lot of problematic stuff lately that makes me not ship them as much hence the less hardcore shipping. Ginny and Josh are great together and I love the fact that it brought a real life love story between them. But anyway, Snowing are pretty much the shows OTP in hat they'll never separate them or anything like that so they have a lot of lovely moments together. But my all time personal favourite is from way back in season one when they first met and seeing them falling for each other. I loved their banter with each other and Snow being uber sassy. Charming trapping Snow in a net reminded me of my all time favourite ever OTP (if you watched LOST, my OTP is Jate and they got caught in a net together) so I appreciated that haha. The fact that they went back for each other because 'it was the honourable thing to do' was so cute and amusing. And then both of their faces when Snow put that ring on was just the start of knowing these two belong together and that's what I really love about them. They are true loves and soul mates. I just hope that they're better written in S5...

Once Upon A Time Challenge - Day 4 and 5

So I missed yesterday cause I was at work all day so I'm combining day 4 and 5 tohether together!

Day 4 - favourite character with magical qualities
Okay so not necessarily my favourite character but I'm going for Magical qualities that I like the most. I don't actually like light magic or fireballs. Rumples powers are a little vague as well. The magic I liked the most was actually Ingrid's. I know her magic was very similar to Elsa's so I could pick Elsa for this too, however, I feel like Ingrid's magic was prettier and she was definitely more powerful. The spell of shattered sight, despite ultimately being a pretty dumb spell, was gorgeous to look at. But if we're going by the actual character as opposed to the magic, then I would pick Elsa cause I thought she was pretty accurate to the film version and although I will always prefer Anna and am still confused as to why she couldn't control her powers that well on the show (they literally explained it at the end of Frozen guys, come on) I still thought she was pretty cool.

Day 5 - favourite villain
This one is a really easy one for me to choose. Pan. Everyday of the week. The Neverland arc was great (although I still think they could've done a whole season there instead of the stupid Oz storyline but whatever) and Pan really made that. Apart from being super attractive (heart eyes for Robbie Kay) his acting was amazing (probably what led to him getting cast in Hearoes Reborn - excitement!) Pan was mysterious and creepy as hell (and somewhat inappropriate 'Belle looks fertile" awkward.) I didn't like the twist with him because it was kinda predictable and I don't really like the idea that Pan is an adult but he was just so awesome. I loved it when he swapped bodies with Henry too. Pan caused a lot of havoc for our characters and some conflict and it really made 3A super interesting so he will always be my favourite.
Shout out to Cruella though cause she was batshit insane just for the sake of it which I LOVED.

Once Upon A Time Challenge Day 3

Favourite Fairy Tale Male
So surprisingly there are a lot less males on this show than females so it's kind of easier to choose from. I do love Charming to death buuuut I have to say my fave is still Rumple Bumple. I'm talking specifically fairytale land Rumple. Ever since season 1 he's been involved somehow with practically everyone's stories and I love how he seems to be the one that connects them altogether. Despite the fact he has done some really random OOC stuff lately (letting Emma go back to present time and drinking the memory potion?! R u srs?) He's still pretty damn awesome. The difference between pre-Dark One Rumple, D.O Rumple and every other persons he's had is a credit to Robert Carlyle's acting and what makes Rumple so interesting as a character.

Once Upon A Time Challenge Day 2

Favourite Fairytale Female

Ohhh there's so many ace ladies on this show and I love them a lot, but it really depends on what season it is.
Season 1 Snow White is absolutely perfect. I love her so much. She's a super badass but still has her soft side. The way Snow has been written after season 1 (and especially in Season 4) has made me dislike her a whole lot so I think that kinda rules her out (bring back season 1 Snow please)
In which case, I think I'm going to go for Ruby. I know she hasn't been around for a while (SPOILER: I'm so happy she's coming back for season 5) but her Fairy Tale persona was so cool. I love the twist they did with her character and that brought a lot of great story. Her friendship with Snow was really lovely too.
But like I said there are a lot of awesome ladies on this show and I'm excited to see more of them in the new season!

Ellie

Once Upon A Time Challenge - Day 1

Favourite Episode:
Oh wow this is so hard. There's been 4 seasons of episodes and so many that I've enjoyed.
However, even after all this time, I still have to say the Pilot is my favourite. Even though rewatching it isn't as magical as the first time you watch it and yeah the green screen and CGI isn't great (that's pretty much true for the whole show though let's not lie) but the acting is great, seeing Henry being so small is just adorable, the costumes are stunning and it's the episode that got me into the show in the first place!

Ellie

Once Upon A Time

Hey. So Once Upon A Time is pretty much my favourite show, my favourite show ever still remains as LOST, but OUAT is one that I've been active in the fandom and completely obsessed with since day one.
So I figured why not do a 30 day challenge?! What with season 5 round the corner, some of these opinions might change haha but I still think it'll be fun.
I know this challenge is not the more popular one, but that one (it's the blue one if you know what I'm talking about) I've already taken part in on my tumblr (askforavocado) agesssss ago so I thought it would be best to do a different one.
I hope you guys like my thoughts and feelings on the show! And bring on season 5 ;)

Ellie

I hate unpacking

I thought packing all my stuff to go away was bad, but unpacking is like 10 times worse. There's so much stuff. Also my bed sheets were washed but not dried properly and I need to rewash them. My room here is tiny. It's a box room, but I don't mind it being so small. I actually quite like it. The only problem with that is because I have so much stuff, my tiny room looks like a dump.
And because my bed has no sheets on it, I'm sleeping in my boyfriend's bed with him. Which means usually watching Netflix (I'm actually enjoying Fairy Tail a lot more than I thought I would!) Or watching him play his Xbox or playing on my 3DS. I did actually have a go on his Xbox yesterday and played a bit of Minecraft for the first time ever. I've watched it being played before, but actually playing it. Well, it was pretty fun. I was only on creative mode cause I wanted to create a house and I made a massive one out of diamond and glass so it pretty much just looks like a glorified greenhouse. But since I was playing his Xbox, Joe played my 3DS and was playing Animal Crossing New Leaf which was pretty amusing cause it's not his kinda game at all. (I'm super excited for Happy Home Designer by the way!)
Today we have a lot of stuff to do (it's so much easier to get stuff done now that Joe has a car!) and unpacking is right at the bottom of my list because I'm really dreading it.

Ellie

Moving Away

So today I was packing to move back to Worcester for my final year of University (!!!) I can't believe I'm already in my last year. It doesn't seem like first year was that long ago. I'm super nervous because third year is such a big deal. I had a weird first year in that I had a gap from education and then went to uni and that meant getting back into the swing of things and if I'm completely honest, I didn't actually do great in my first year (but that's okay because it doesn't count towards my final grade anyway). Second year was a lot better for me grades wise. I actually did a lot better than I thought I would and I get to bring a couple of my best grades from second year into third year which theoretically should make third year less stressful but since dissertations are a thing, I'm not really counting on that haha. I struggled with moving in with the boyfriend (and 3 others) because I found it quite hard to balance all my time and so we ended up arguing a bit. But we figured everything out and have been really great for a long time. Sometimes we still row and I get upset when we do. Like I actually can't have a row without crying. It's a problem. But we rarely row any ,ore and mostly just laugh and joke with each other and have fun, so all is good there.
My favourite lecturer has left though which makes me really sad because he was so great. He's what made my second year so good because both of my favourite modules were taught by him and I really wanted him to be my dissertation supervisor. Not that we get to pick those anyway and I'm still stuck on what to do for it so I'm kind of panicking.
But anyway, when I was packing today, I did not know how much stuff I owned! It's so crazy! I actually cannot moan ever again about not having enough clothes because seriously, I have so much. I have a suitcase, a backpack and 2 bi bags just of clothes and shoes. And then I'm bringing my sewing machine and all of my sewing stuff AND my mom is taking me on a food shop so I have food in the house as well so unpacking is gonna be not fun.
But I'm really excited to be finishing up at uni. So scary. I graduate in just over a year (November 2016). I still have to do my PGCE and I still don't know whether I'll do that in Worcester or not but I think I probably will because I like Worcester a lot. It's a nice place to live and the school I worked in this year was so nice and if all the schools are like that, I would happily teach there!
So yeah. An exciting and scary time coming up in my life and I don't know how well I will deal with third year stress but I will try my best and hopefully my modules will be interesting enough to keep me motivated as well!
Just send me lots of luck please guys cause I think I'm gonna need it!!


Ellie

I suck at make up

Okay. So I guess I'm pretty girly when it comes to most things (I wear dresses a lot, I own a lot of things that are pink etc) but I've never really been big on make up. Until recently. I've always just worn eye liner and mascara. Now I will wear foundation, eyeliner, mascara (after curling eyelashes because omg eyelash curlers are a God send) blusher and fill in my eyebrows with a pencil. And even that is really not a lot. And I feel like I'm still not happy with my progress of trying to look nicer.
I don't want to rely on make up all the time. I'm not a confident person (I'm ridiculously insecure) but I am still one of those people who could leave the house with just mascara on or whatever. But I like the way make up enhances the nice parts of my face that I like. I like how I can emphasise my eyes because they are my favourite feature.
But at the same time, I'm still really bad at make up. I'm like a mega beginner. I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know what stuff I need to buy. I feel like for a 21 year old, that might be considered a bit tragic. I do look at tutorials but everything seems to have like 1000 products and brushes and I really just can't afford that.
I guess I will keep practicing with what I have and just see if I can get better as time goes on. That's pretty much all I can do for now.

Ellie

Sims 4

So I've been a fan of the Sims for a while but I haven't played a Sims game for a long time.

I was super addicted to Sims 2 (I had it on 3 separate platforms; PC, GameCube and DS) and that was when I had to share a computer with the rest of my family, but I still managed to sink a good few hours into it! Sadly I missed out on Sims 3 due to having a Mac (I'm pretty sure you can get it on Mac now though?) and also again not having my own laptop.

However, now I do have my own laptop. And Sims 4 came out. And I know it's been out for ages now but I couldn't afford to buy it at the time of release and then I kind of forgot about Sims for a while (other than occasionally playing Sims Freeplay). 

Recently though, I've been watching Kawaii Simmer on YouTube doing her 100 baby challenge (I'm up to part 27 of 50) and it's got me really into a Sims mood! Now that I have my own laptop, I feel as though I would play it a lot more. The customisation of Sims has always been the favourite part for me and the CAS on Sims 4 looks amazing! I've never really been great at building houses on the Sims but with Sims 4, it does look like it could be simple to create a nice looking house (especially using money cheats haha). 

But I'm still unsure whether to buy it or not, mostly just because of funds (poor student life) so I might consider it if the price goes down or potentially treat myself for my birthday next month! 

If I do end up buying it, I will post a review up on here :)

Ellie

Welcome!

So I guess I made a blog?! I don't really know what I will post on here as of yet. I'm thinking reactions to TV shows and maybe some challenges as well! Or I guess whatever comes into my head.
I hope everyone likes reading my thoughts and if not, then that's fine too!

Ellie