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writingmylifesstory · 9 months

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Book Review

The Shine and Bright Duology

I’ve been wanting the Girls’ Generation tea. As a Sone, I feel like I was more personally affected than Jessica was when she was kicked out of GG. While she promotes this book as fictional, she makes some pretty outlandish claims about her ex girl group.

In Shine, Rachel aka Jessica is a trainee with a dream. Reading about the trainee days is so much fun and makes me want to work harder at my own goals. But Rachel has to put up with relentless bullying and even her band mate (probably Taeyeon let’s be real) drugging her all because she’s a threat because she’s so talented and perfect and gets things handed to her easily…ok….

It gets juicy when Rachel enters into a relationship with another kpop star (dating isn’t allowed). Some drama ensues and finally Rachel gets to debut with her bully band mates, achieving her dream. As a book, it’s pretty juvenile in its writing. I was hoping for something with more depth. But it’s reminiscent of Jenny Han and if you’re into high school drama then it’s probably a good pick for you. I did stop it at one point because I wasn’t into it but I picked it back up and finished it.

⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars

Bright time jumps seven years into the future which sucks because I wanted to read about her experiences being the top girl group in the world. Like tell me more about the glitz and the glamour and the ungodly working hours.

But Bright delivers when it comes to a romantic love interest. Jessica, I get it. I too would have fallen in love with Tyler. He doesn’t know she’s famous. He likes her for her. He’s actually super successful and rich, surprise! He’s more than willing to protect her and her secret dating. He doesn’t mind having to lose paparazzi and in fact takes charge during the situations. I mean Taylor Swift’s exes and whoever else can’t deal with dating famous women need to take note.

She mentions she likes an expensive bag. Boom it’s hers. She mentions wanting to be a designer. He’s got the meeting set up with her favorite designer and buyers already set. I mean, this man was like made to make her dreams come true. It’s wilddddddd. He also unabashedly calls her his girlfriend in front of his family. He has zero issues claiming her or fighting for her. It’s insane.

Meanwhile, Rachel plays the victim because her band mates give her an ultimatum of choosing the band or her fashion line. She chooses neither which effectively means that she’s not listening to their concerns and then she’s surprised they kick her out??? Listen, I think Jessica leaving Girls’ Generation was their death keel. They shot themselves in the foot but why was she surprised? They told her what would happen.

Rachel also claims that they used her stolen lyrics for their next album which was shocking. I don’t get why they were this vindictive and cruel. Like you are co workers. Why is it this personal?

All in all, it was a fascinating read. Definitely a one sided piece but hey at least I got to learn some of the tea. I still love GG for what they gave me and I still support Jessica. I hope they can work it out one day.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars

#writingmylifesstory #booklr #book review #2023 #girls generation #jessica jung #snsd #sone #kpop

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bellamioneotp · 4 years

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Bellamione Fic Master List

Making a list of Bellamione fics to guide the poor innocent souls into temptation organize stories based on AU type.

DARK AU’s

Bellatrix isn’t a bright ball of sunshine, but rather than have a story where she becomes a better person, Hermione becomes like her, or even joins her side. This AU type isn’t limited to only that, but also to general dark themes in the story such as violence, war and ‘wtf this is so wrong but yet I can’t stop reading’.

Reign Down Like wow. A whole world built around what if Voldemort survived and used Hermione in his evil schemes and had Bellatrix engaged to her. Very detailed and the author doesn’t hold back on aspects of the new world that can be somewhat unsettling. 25/10 this will leave you wondering just how sexy dark magic can truly feel.

The Dark Corners of the Earth This one is dark in an entirely different sense. Bellatrix and Snape are pitted in an ancient war against one another and Hermione is caught in the middle. The romance moves a bit too fast paced for me but the lore and detail in this will have you really thinking this story over the next few days, trying to figure out just wtf is going on. 45/10 will have you hoping your nightlight can keep Cthulhu away.

Haunted This story won’t leave you haunted, but it is pretty good even with it’s short chapters and all. It tells the story of Hermione sort of losing her marbles but I won’t get into too much detail. Just read it for yourself; it’s a quick easy read. 10/10 is poetic as fuck.

I Dream of Sin Takes place in a sort of canon world in which Hermione is an American teen being bullied. You can imagine how well that goes for the bullies especially when she learns she has magic and is taught by Bellatrix herself on how to use it. It gets progressively darker each chapter. 16/10 don’t want to mess with magical nerds ever.

For whom the Bell Tolls is an interesting look into how Hermione’s actually a death eater and Bellatrix is not. While Hermione is not bat shit insane, she is a murderer and Bellatrix is the sane one. Nice to see things switched up. This story is not necessarily as dark as the others but it gets brownie points for making the usually good Hermione evil right off the bat. 9/10 come to the dark side, we have cookies.

Staring at Nothing is just...wow. A very powerful one shot about Hermione’s descent into darkness as told by Harry’s perspective. 10/10 for who needs friends anyways, when you’ve got black leather.

Visions of You in which Hermione is a depressed youth after the war and has to deal with hallucinations of Bellatrix. Hermione isn’t dark here so much as she is gray type, and the story has a permeating tinge of sadness to it, given the circumstances. 8/10 for maybe Bellatrix isn’t a hallucination?

Deep Below what’s more awful than being accused of Harry’s death? Being falsely accused of it, and having to deal with trying to prove your innocent. This is a situation Hermione ends up in. But will she get out of it? 8/10 for this gets deep.

How to Love Bellatrix captures Hermione and sort of indoctrinates her into the world of darkness. Hermione is mad at first, but then she realizes how sexy Bellatrix is and is like, ‘alright fam, sign me up’ and boom Bellamione. 8/10 you love this story but not it’s update schedule.

TIME TRAVELER AU’s

Basically, what it says on the tin. Someway or another, Hermione goes back into time to stop Bellatrix from ever becoming evil. Drama and romance ensue.

Future Shocks A good time turner fic with a more modern take on war. It’s pretty long and it is the slowburn of all slowburns. But it’s a very interesting story and the ending will have you definitely shook. 8/10 will shock you awake from that boring lecture you’re reading fanfic in.

Time Heals all Wounds Hermione gets sent back in time to ‘redeem’ Bellatrix but not in the gift card way, more like saving the future type way. They end up, you guessed it, falling in love and changing the future somewhat. 6/10 is a young teen romance that will have you reliving your adventures as a young sapphic witch.

Mirror, Mirror Not exactly a time turner fic, more like a parallel world, I suppose. Hard to explain but has good amounts of mystery and trying to understand what is happening. Focuses more on Bellatrix’s POV which is a nice change of pace. 8/10 will have you looking in the mirror and summoning Bellatrix like she was Bloody Mary.

Let the Light Come and Take me A time turner fic that ends up with Bellatrix time traveling but to the future and the chaos her arrival there causes for those who are acquainted with her devious ways. Looks at the growth of our two ladies relationship into something more. 5/10 if it’s not slowburn romance is it really Bellamione?

The One Within the Other this story is about, you guessed it, time travel! Hermione goes back on purpose to stop Bellatrix from achieving her evil potential and in the process love blossoms. 7/10 for never enough time to read Bellamione in peace!

Caught in the Time series this is a series of three full length stories about Bellamione stuck in different times and universes. So much happens in them it’s kind of hard to summarize so the best thing to do is read them. 8, 8.5, 7/10 I’ll let you figure out which score goes for which series.

Just say When started off as a time turner story but then it ended up becoming something more of an espionage tale. It’s a good read and interesting to see how Bellatrix aims to save Hermione from a dementor’s kiss (spoilers!) in order to save their future together. A good mix of romance and action. 8/10 The name’s Black. Bellatrix, Black.

The Broken Wand It all starts with a wand and then before you know it, boom, time travel happens. Featuring Loki and adventure all around, this fic has interesting plot points to keep you engaged despite the slower update times. 7/10, will break your wand too.

Hourglass basically, a young Bellatrix is brought into the future and consequences abound from that mishap. The plot is a bit wonky and there are some logic mistakes, but if you can get over it, it’s a decent time travel story. 5/10 for it must be canon that Bellatrix has a lovely hourglass figure.

Times they are a Changing where Bellatrix travels back in time to save her wife, Hermione. Nice to see a story where Hermione isn’t the one doing all the saving. Unfortunately there’s only six chapters to this story and it’s unlikely it’ll ever get finished but it’s a nice fresh concept. 6/10 for that’s how many chapters there are.

Destined in this one, Hermione experiences some wonky times after the battle at the department of mysteries. Hermione has to find a way back home, but perhaps she might find love along the way? 10/10 for this is destined to be an interesting read.

HEALER AU’s

Let’s be real, Bellatrix has got a lot of problems and these authors try to solve them, with sex. And you know, medical help. But sex definitely helps a lot.

Portrait of a Tragic Woman Not a typical healer type au, because Hermione is a therapist whose helping Bellatrix with her mental disorders. Focuses a lot on the relationship between the two and really makes you try to figure out what exactly is up with Bellatrix and what is her past, etc. The ending chapters will leave you shooketh and wondering what even is real anymore. 50/10 because it feels like an acid trip, man.

The Healer is only one chapter but still worth a read. Hopefully the author will have some time to get back to it because it has a huge potential. 6/10 because I need some healing.

1k is a one shot, featuring Hermione as a therapist and Bellatrix as her patient. Can’t say too much without spoiling it, but despite it’s short length, the author paints a vivid look into Bellatrix’s mind if she was just an insane muggle. 1k/10 because that’s one patient I would never like to meet.

Darkness Underneath I mean, Hermione runs a team of healers, so technically it’s kinda a healer au fic, right? This story looks more in depth at the Death Eaters and dark magic surrounding them. 9/10 is that a dark mark or are you just happy to see me?

TEACHER AU

We all know this is the holy grail au of this fandom and yet there’s only a couple of long stories for this. Someone, write some more!

Fractures A long fic, that has a sequel. Basically, Bellatrix is Hermione’s teacher during a very trying time for Hermione when a competition goes very wrong and dark truths are revealed. Lot’s of action, Bellamione interactions, and overall interesting plot. 8/10 will leave your heart in fractures when you find out the sequel is unfinished.

In the Dead of Night Hermione asks Bellatrix if she can teach her some.....magic and things end up becoming very magical indeed. Bellatrix is the teacher in this story (because who wouldn’t want her as a teacher). It’s a WIP with only a couple of chapters out. 7/10 time to learn some real lessons, Granger ;)

Just a Brand features not only Bellatrix as a professor, but a magical soul mate bond between Bellatrix and Hermione that leads to much deliciousness. There’s a lot of chapters to this story but they’re pretty short. An updated and revised version can be found on a03 for those who like longer chapters. 7/10 Bellamione is branded on my soul.

It Just Felt Right is another fic with Bellatrix as the professor. Hermione starts off hating her and then it evolves into liking Bellatrix. The fic leaves off before any real progress can be made so if anyone is up for reading an unfinished fic from 2012 then go for it. 6/10 for this story feels right but not write because it’s abandoned :(

CRIME AU

Because there is never enough crime involved even with Bellatrix, these authors amp up the trouble and make it double. And gay. So very gay.

Two Sides of the Same Coin where Bellatrix is basically an auror. It’s only five chapters and it hasn’t been updated in a long time but it’s an interesting concept worth checking out. 9/10 wish there were more sides to the coin.

Murder Most Horrid A crime story, where Bellatrix is a magical cop and Hermione is a murder suspect. Bellatrix interrogates Hermione by banging her and then the two of them proceed to basically get married the day after. A bit ooc for Bellatrix but very in character if you consider this world not from the canon. -89/10 for how badly your vision will deteriorate if you try to read this all in one night.

The Mysterious Department Technically Bellatrix and Hermione are both magical detectives and they go and solve crimes and shit while also possibly trying to prevent the world from ending. You know, just casual stuff. 10/10 for the perfect crime, would commit again.

Darkness is Falling A story that has Hermione as an auror who replaces Bellatrix’s old partner. They butt heads, they solve cases, and naturally, begin to fall in love. 7/10 for this case is closed.

Some Things Aren’t Seen Hermione investigates Bellatrix’s crimes and past and ends up over her head. There are two follow ups to this finished work, all in the same vein. It’s all a good bit of fun watching Hermione try to take on the criminal Lestrange. 7/10, no, this has no relation to the musical Wicked.

SOUL MATE BOND

In one way or another Bellatrix and Hermione have a special bond in between them that destines them to be together. Angst, love, friendship, all abound in this au type. Features a combination of other factors thrown in, but the stories put in here are largely advertised in the blurb as more focused on the bond.

Lotus Flower Hermione finds out after Bellatrix’s death that they are bound together and that because Bellatrix is dead, Hermione is dying as a result too. This begs the question, will Hermione go back in time and save Bellatrix, or will she willingly submit to the bond’s curse? 8/10 I think we all know what Hermione chooses.

Our Mercurial Selves ever wonder what it would be like to have a murderer share your mind? In this one, Hermione and Bellatrix can communicate telepathically with each other, creating a bond that draws them together. Features evil schemes by Voldemort, a flying horse, and Narcissa beating the ever loving shit out of Bellatrix for even daring to breathe in Hermione’s direction. 9/10 will leave you with warm fuzzies for the Malfoy family before the ending crushes you.

The House Ring Bellatrix sends Hermione a magical ring that engages them and basically makes them wives. Prophecies abound about how Bellamione is meant to be the one and only true pairing. 7/10 for that ring better come with diamonds.

Demons AU

As if Voldemort isn’t scary enough, there are demons and scary things in this au type that will leave you and Voldemort both calling for mommy.

Unsteady Precipice technically also a time traveling fic, except Hermione ends up in an alternative universe. where she tries to change things from happening in the canon world like they did. But will it work? Who knows! Only a few chapters are out so it’s hard to tell where this story will go, but one things for sure, it’ll be good. 9/10 if you don’t pray after reading this the demons will get you.

A Demon in the Mist is also about, gasp, demons! Dangerous things are afoot in this story and Hermione is caught in the middle of it all. It takes part in the same universe as the caught in time series by the same author, but with slight alterations. Unsure if the story will be finished as the author has contemplated leaving fanfic writing. 7/10 can you find the demon in the mist?

MAGICAL CREATURES AU

Technically a category, right? Let’s pretend it is, because there are some stories out there that pit our two ladies as other than human and it’s fun to read about it.

As we Chase the Sun Very Black family centric and features Bellatrix as a big fluffy wolf. What’s not to love? Cuddles, and hair balls, and good times all around. 9/10 would tame that wolf.

Sing to me Your Insanity in which Hermione and Bellatrix are both sirens and will basically die if they don’t do the ol’ frickity frack. This is a long story and the slowburn feels like hellburn but it’s worth the read. 56/10 but you will need earplugs so those sirens don’t seduce you too.

Metamorphosis in which Bellatrix is also a wolf and doesn’t like being stuck with Hermione but gets used to it and basically they’re house wives of London and don’t know it. 8/10 for your mind with undergo metamorphosis from slightly obsessed with Bellamione to even more obsessed.

This Poisoned Blood of Ours vampires, vampires everywhere! Two parts to this series and features a confused Bellatrix and a changing Hermione. 7/10 do you think vampires like steak rare?

Cursed Doll Pretty self explanatory title. Someone ends up as a doll and shenanigans ensue. Won’t say more because it’s only two chapters, but it’s well written and worth a read. 10/10 Chucky? Is that your sister?

Liquid Measure these chapters are thicc boy. Only two chapters but such a good set up and everything. I hope the author is able to update at some point. 10/10 makes me thirsty for more!

My Demons in the Dark Hermione is a ghost. That’s it, that’s the plot. Boo/10 for this not so spooky spirit.

#Harry Potter #Harry Potter Books #Bellamione #Hermione Granger #Bellatrix Lestrange #emma Watson #Helena Bonham Carter #Bellamione fic recs #Fic recs #all gay stories #vampires #wolves #witches #time turner fics

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castanheirx · 5 years

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these violent delights have violent ends // part one

PREVIOUSLY ON TTW

the events of this take place in the morning of day two. leon has just left hot topic after killing phoenix. at the front of the store he was greeted by ronni when they both heard a cannon. nike and calix had gone off in search of food and/or water when calix was attacked by mutts. after he was attacked nike dragged his body out of the store in an attempt to save him. but unfortunately he died shortly after not far from the cornucopia where they had made camp. a shit show is about to ensue.

LEON

leon was still on a high from his first kill and making small talk with ronni when he heard the sound of another cannon boom, he looked around instinctively seeing nothing alarming or suspicious, but when yells from the other side of the cornucopia sounded, he ran around to see the complete and utter chaos. calix was dead. and nike was stood over his dead body covered in what he assumed was his blood. it seemed as though a silence had come over all of them as they processed the scene in front of them, then leon took a step forward, hands raised and eyes wide. "nike what the fuck is going on?"

RONNI

ronni, having also heard the noise, accompanied leon to see what the matter was. he expected to see an outlier lying dead -- or, better yet, bleeding out -- on the ground. his brow creased as he walked briskly over. god, he thought, he really needed to push it into overdrive. at this rate, all the kills would be taken. he was contemplating the future deaths of the outliers when he, like leon, came upon the bloody scene. a silence fell over the group. then, because he simply couldn't help himself, ronni felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards into a grin. "Ha!" he barked at the sight of calix's body.

AGGIE

aggie was sitting on top of the cornucopia absentmindedly typing the strings from the bags together into knots (and "acting as a lookout," she had said when questioned, though mostly she just liked to be tall). when the cannon sounded and the scene made itself clear, aggie, like ronni, couldn't help herself. she let out a cackle as she slid down off the cornucopia, bounding over to stand next to the others. "just couldn't wait, huh two?"

NIKE

calix was dead. he was dead and nike was standing above his dead body, covered in his blood. she knew how this had to look to them-- it was worse with everyone coming in having no idea what happened. nike turned to face the others, lifting her hands, "i know this looks bad," she started, noticing the backs of her hands coated in drying blood. nike lowered her hands, as if that would help make anything better in this situation. "calix and i were looking through the stores. there were mutts in there," she pointed back at the store of stuffed mutts behind them, "they attacked and he... he got killed." ronni's laugh earned him a glare, but nike turned her gaze back toward leon, "i swear, i didn't--" aggie's accusation cut her off and her jaw clenched tight. "i didn't do it."

RONNI

ronni, still in a hysterical stupor at having spotted nike and calix's corpse, did not understand the gravity of the situation. he walked over to aggie, slung a loose arm over her shoulder, and bent his head over in a series of snorts and cackles. "oh, my god. he really was all talk. damn, good on you, nike," he cheered as he wiped away a stray tear from one of his ducts. then, as if a higher power had taken a dunce cap and placed it gingerly upon ronni's head, he stood at attention. "would it have killed ya' to let me have 'em?" it was miraculous just how much went through one of ronni's ear and out of the other. he hadn't heard a thing nike had said about anything -- only the sound of aggie's laughter and his own petty accusation filled his ears.

AGGIE

it took a moment to pin down the emotion aggie was feeling--she was still laughing, but as soon as nike claimed innocence, she got it. anger, resentment, jealousy. she had wanted to be the one to kill calix, to kill all of them. she had wanted to take them down all in one go, if she had gotten her way. it wasn't fair that she hadn't, nike had gone and done him in on the second day. she didn't even get a chance with calix. crossing her arms as she looked the girl up and down, she spit out her words in an accusatory manner. "what kind of mutts?"

GOLDIE

goldie emerged from the store where she'd been looking around for outlying tributes, and when she saw the blood, she assumed nike had found one. but — but. it was calix's blood lying on the ground, and it was nike covered in calix's blood. she covered her mouth with her hand. "oh my god..." she muttered. she couldn't believe this. she'd known he would die — hell, she'd been prepared to kill him herself — but she hadn't thought it'd be this soon. her head was spinning. she wanted to sit down. "how could you do this?" she asked, her voice low and accusatory. "i liked you." of all the careers goldie had expected to turn tail, nike wasn't on the top three. she didn't know why the fact that she'd liked nike was so important, but it felt like it was. it felt like a betrayal, a real one, not the fake one they were going to put on for the show. goldie's stomach turned. she hadn't expected it to happen like this, for it to feel like this, for it hurt like this.

LEON

leon decided to ignore the cackles and words from ronni and aggie because they were after all helping quite literally nobody at this point. “this looks fucked up nike," but he had just seen mutts in hot topic when he had killed phoenix, so if they were there, the chances of them lurking in other stores was likely. he put his hands down and walked closer towards nike,” i know you didn't do it." standing in between nike and the rest of the careers, he spoke again. “let’s be reasonable guys.”

GOLDIE

"how can i be reasonable?" goldie half-screeched. her nails were digging into her palms at this point and she was trying to keep her lip from quivering. "she just killed my brother! and i liked her!"

NIKE

"i didn't do it!" she snapped again, glaring at the duo from four. she looked toward aggie in particular, brow furrowed deeply. "go in there and see for your fucking self," she spat, throwing a thumb back at the make-a-mutt store. obviously neither of them was going to listen to her. at least ronni wasn't as envious as aggie seemed to be-- not that nike had killed calix to begin with. "i don't even have a weapon to do that to him," she added, briefly glancing back at calix's body. as soon as she saw goldie, the stern mask she had faltered, resorting to shaking her head again, "goldie, i didn't, i swear, i didn't do this." outside of leon, the twins had been the next people she had been most loyal to. the only other people she tolerated-- hell, maybe even liked. she looked back toward leon, her shoulders relaxing when he literally stepped in and stood up for her. with another deep breath, she recovered her stern expression, looking toward the others.

RONNI

"ooh, she liked her" ronni mumbled under his breath to aggie. the serious tone which leon had adopted -- or, rather, which ronni was just now picking up on -- sobered him up only slightly. the whole thing was funny to him for some reason. calix had been his enemy from that very fateful rooftop encounter. he had dreamt of spilling his blood himself. but now... this? it was just too much.

LEON

the boy rubbed his forehead in annoyance, this wasn’t the drama he had signed up for. “goldie i know your brother just died but if you had more than three fucking brain cells, you’d ask yourself how she managed to kill him. he had a weapon, he wasn’t injured and even if she did kill him why would she drag his dead body back here instead of running for the hills?” leon looked at ronni and pointed at him, "now isn't the time for jokes ronni!"

GOLDIE

goldie's hands were shaking. there were traces of blood on her palms in half moon crescents. "you don't need a weapon to kill people! fuck, look at our mentors, leon. this is all a set up. it has to be. she's got to be turning on us. we knew this would happen. i've been thinking about the way the pack was going to split since i met all of you." her voice shook as she turned to nike. "i just didn't think it'd be you."

TL;DR: calix is dead, goldie is freaking out, ronni is happy that calix is dead, nike and leon are stressed™ and aggie is acting like a crackhead as per usual

#ARENA DAY TWO.#TAG | CAREERS ASSEMBLE!#itsallronni‌#nikeaurelius #goldieloques #aggieo #these violent delights have violent ends

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ittybittylittlebit-hot · 5 years

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AYTO VERSE | VIDEO CONFESSIONALS

just for @mccntower to enjoy and suffer all at once.

micah stares into space as he chews at the inside of his cheek, almost forgetting that he had turned on the confessional camera, but he was just in his head. he rubs the back of his neck, “i mean... i wanted to take her on the date.... but... “ he sighs, still not looking at the camera. it’s hard for him to be open but you can see it in his expression. “i just... i knew that... i’d only just see him ... kissing her....” he frowns. “he gets all the girls,” he mumbles, “and i didn’t think she was like that,” he finally looks at the camera, “oh well... i gotta get ready for my dates soon...” he says, clearly not really excited. he kind of wished that he didn’t even win the challenge. it was a waste now. “i just don’t get why i’m even here...” he buries his face in his hands. “like is this a joke?”

david smirks and licks his lips before looking at the camera, “damn, esmeralda is hot... “ he chuckles, “she’s a tease as fuck... but... i’m here for it.. she’ll be worth the wait... plus her attitude about the situation is pretty dope...” he nods and leans back against the couch. “i’m also taking tori on the date so that will chill her out a bit... she got mad at me for yesterday but she’ll get over it,” he shrugs,knowing damn well that he and tori always ended up in the same bed regardless of the drama that the night ensued. “she always does once i let her scream about it for a bit,” he rubs his chin, “makeup sex is just as good, ya feel? but anyways, wish me luck though.. the goal is to add another tally to my boom boom room numbers,” he chuckles, “fuuuuck, my girlfriends going to kill me.” a piece of david felt like being on this show and away from real life was like an alternate universe, so why not feel free? // @mccntower

#VERSE: * ( ARE YOU THE ONE ? ) *#closed #mccntower #this is for you to read and enjoy :)#love you #davidxesmeralda #davidxserenity #micahxesmeralda

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chocolatemillkk · 6 years

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Red-Handed II (JS)

Request 1:Can u do a imagine (Joe) where You guys do a video on Reading imagines/fanfics?❤️

Request 2:Is there a chance that you could do a part two to show the teasing??

[Part 1]

It had been a couple weeks since the horrifying incident and since then, I made sure to stay clear of imagines and I made doubly sure to delete Joe's finger print from my phone. He lost his privilege, emergency or not.

I had missed Joe that morning, had a lie in, and then dragged myself to an afternoon shift at work. I promised my friend last week to cover her reception shift this week as she was on holiday, but as a result, I didn't see my boyfriend as much. By the time I came home, it was half past seven, and I could hear Joe's music playing softly mingled with the sizzling of a pan.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," I stop in the middle of the entryway and wait for Joe to notice me. His face relaxes into a smile when he spots me and rummages in the cupboard for a wine glass-pouring me a generous portion.

"At least it's the end of the week," Joe reasons. I nod and watch him cook, sipping the wine, and relishing the mundanity

"How was your day?" I ask when I could muster up enough energy. "Talk to me about you."

"Nothing too exciting," Joe glances at me. "Had a conference call with Zo, had to do some admin, and I was trying to come up with a good idea for a video."

"Still don't have one?" Joe had been asking me for ideas since Wednesday.

"No," Joe groans. "I've been so busy with other things I just feel blocked."

"We'll think of something together-I'll help you with anything." I reach out and squeeze his hand. He leans over the countertop and kisses me, it tastes like black pepper and I tell him that.

"I'm trying to season this fish," Joe laughs.

"It makes me hungry," I chuckle, moving around the counter to swipe a carrot.

"Oi," Joe grabs me by the waist before I can escape and pulls my back into his chest and I giggle. "Don't eat dinner before it's served!"

"I'm hungry!" I whine but Joe tickles me in response. I wriggle and get out of reach but my back soon hits the counter and he traps me in place.

"You have no self-control, woman."

"It's part of my charm." I grin at him.

"Well good thing I like being in control," Joe suddenly changes into a deep-what he thinks is funny-sexy voice.

"Joe," I say seriously in my cross voice. "Don't start."

Joe leans down and brushes his nose against my neck before leaving kisses to my collarbone. I stretch over and turn the oven off, I didn't want anything to burn.

"What's a sexy line I can say?" Joe looks back up at me with a goofy grin. "Let's imagine one together."

"Joe!" I push him off with a smile. "I'm way too tired for this. And you promised you would stop teasing me!"

"But I thought you'd like this after I caught you-"

"Get your head out of your arse," I chuckle. "That was the first and last time I read anything about you. I want food right now, not weird story sex."

"You sure?" Joe raises an eyebrow. "I can't use my piercing gaze and my tongue that has a life of it's own?"

I cringe, "That sounds scary."

Joe sticks out his tongue and brings it closer to me as I back away but in one swoop he leans down and licks my cheek.

"I hope you know," I laugh. "You just got a tongue full of makeup."

"I know! I can taste it!" Joe says with a lisp as he runs to the tap. "It tastes like sun screen!"

I laugh and shake my head at him. "This is why we can't be sexy."

"I can give you fireworks and butterflies like they say I can," Joe finally says, wiping away droplets of water from his mouth.

"Babe are you reading your own imagines?" I ask and Joe goes pink. My jaw drops and I tease him, "Are we that self obsessed then?"

"No I swear it was-it's for research." Joe laughs but embarassment tints his cheeks and I can't help but gloat.

"Research to improve your skills as a lover?" I turn the tables on him, using his jokes against him.

"I don't-I don't need improvement," Joe mutters, turning back to dinner. "I was having fun teasing you the other week and then I was just fascinated and horrified at some of the things people write out there."

I wrap my arms around him, laughing. "So what's this 'research' for?"

"Well..." Joe turns to me. "So you did say you'd help me with anything right?"

"I don't like where this is going," I say.

"Okay I think it would actually be really funny if we reenact imagines."

"Joe your followers barely know I'm your girlfriend! That's-it's-we can't!"

"Come on!" Joe pulls his puppy face. "We can come out more officially-and we'll only do the PG-13 imagines."

"Don't give me that face," I rub his face with my hand and he pulls away laughing.

"So will you do it?" Joe asks.

"What do I get from this?" I sigh.

"Are you kidding me?" Joe grins and points to himself. "You get me!"

"I already have you!" I shout as I walk away. I wanted more comfortable clothes if this topic continued but Joe laughs knowing he'd won the deal.

•••

"Are you guys ready?" Josh asks at the camera. Joe had convinced Jack and Oli to join us as the imagine he chose had both of them in it. It also involved Jack touching me a lot so I wondered what Joe was up to.

But turns out, he hadn't realised what re-enacting actually ensued. Or he hadn't read the full imagine. The story's plot was Joe was in love with me but so was Jack and Jack had a lot of flirting bits. The reader had just added in Oli as a wingman and Oli performed that in a perfect, booming voice.

"A little quieter," Josh complains during the second half. I had dressed in the club dress the imagine outlined and so far had swerved a kiss from Jack that made Joe clench his jaw, danced with Joe as if we were at prom, and swooned at Jack's muscles like an 90s romcom.

"Joe's a wanker," Jack tries to bite back a giggle as he reads his script. "You deserve a real man like me. I can take care of you."

"Y/N looks over Jack and even though she could fall for those baby blues that pierced her soul, they weren't the eyes she wanted to fall for." Josh reads the narration. Jack and I bite back grins staring at the other and I hear Joe snort off screen. I couldn't believe he had roped me into all this but I was having fun with my role in all this. I put my hands on Jack's "broad shoulders" and lean into him.

"You're not the man I want," I was supposed to whisper sexily but Jack and I just collapse against the other giggling.

"Can we take this last scene seriously?" Josh shouts. He was hangry. We'd been filming for a couple hours now because Jack and I kept laughing and Oli kept shouting his lines. Joe was quieter than I thought through all this.

"It's so ridiculously far-fetched," I wipe my tears. "I can't help it!"

"Wait," Josh stops me wiping my other eye. "Leave the tears for the drama."

That only causes us to laugh more and Josh rolls his eyes.

"Josh would make a perfect Hollywood director." I whisper. "Okay, again!"

I put my hands on Jack's shoulders and leave the tears on my face. Jack clears his throat and we continue the scene. I kiss Jack on the cheek and he pretends to be hearbroken as the camera pans to me knocking on an imaginary door.

"Y/N," Joe answers the "door".

"Y/N looked at the sexy beast standing before him-hey that's what they called me at school-"

"Josh!" We all shout and he chuckles, apologising. I bet the unedited version of this video would be a lot funnier.

"...Joe doesn't have to hear Y/N say it. He already knows what was deep in her heart."

"Aw," Oli says absentmindedly and we all shoot him a dirty look. He mouths a sorry and goes back to his phone.

"So Y/N says I love you, and jumps onto Joe, and he catches her perfectly curved body as their lips meet in a fiery passion-Y/N you're supposed to jump."

Joe and I had been too busy staring at each other in horror.

"Did you actually read through this?" I said under my breath.

"I skimmed it," Joe admits. "Fucking hell-just jump already."

"Here goes," I say. I tell Joe I loved him which makes him smile and when I jump he catches me despite stumbling back.

"That looks like you two have practiced this...like you guys...have experience." Josh says right up against the mic.

Joe and I part from the final kiss and I laugh at Joe's mouth which is smeared with red lipstick. I had worn it on purpose.

"Josh you interrupt just as much as we screw up."

"The story's done!" Josh gets up from behind the camera and walks in front of it. "And scene!"

"Thank god," Joe says as I slide down. The boys look at him and start cracking up.

"You look like a bloody clown," Jack laughs.

"I feel like one," grumbles Joe and I wipe at his mouth affectionately. "Alright boys thanks for the help but we'll clean up on our own."

"Wait you're kicking us out? After we filmed for more than two bloody hours for you?" Jack asks.

"You promised you would feed me," Josh complains.

"We'll meet you at that Mexican restaurant in an hour and I'll pay-I'm gonna clean up first."

The boys complain and call Joe names but they leave and as soon as the door closes, Joe sighs against it. I smirk with my hand on my hip.

"Enjoyable?"

"I did not enjoy how much Jack seemed to enjoy that imagine."

"You're the one that chose it love," I laugh.

"I know," Joe stumbles towards me and reaches his hands to where the short dress ended. "I didn't realise how good you would look in this dress or how good you were at acting."

"Just admit you were jealous of mine and Jack's relationship," I tease.

"I...yeah alright." Joe buries his face in my neck. "You're mine."

"I'm yours," I laugh, stroking Joe's hair. "And you're mind despite what all these 'y/n's' think."

Joe crushes me to him and kisses me and I can tell he'd been wanting to do that since Jack's almost-kiss.

"Babe we should start cleaning if we want to make it," I tell him after.

"Oh I just used cleaning as an excuse to get the boys out," Joe winks.

"Oh. So...what did you have in mind?" I grin, catching on. "Another imagine?"

"No more imagines," Joe groans. "Ever. I promise I'll never bring that up."

"At least your followers will get a fun video."

"Yeah, and at least now I can do this, on and off camera." Joe pulls me to him and kisses me with a frantic urgency.

"I'm not going anywhere babe," I say when we part for a breath.

"Only to our bedroom," Joe says against my lips. We grin at each other like two conspirators having kicked our friends out for this. We rush upstairs, taking the stairs two and a time and laughing the whole way. Our bodies collide in the bedroom once again, continuing our story-this time, R-rated...

#joe sugg #joe sugg imagine #joe sugg imagines #youtube imagines #fic #thatcherjoe imagines #thatcherjoe imagine #thatcherjoe #jack maynard #oli white #josh pieters #buttercream gang #buttercream imagines #this is a word vomit #and i barely edited #so apologies #i just wanted to get this one out

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swipestream · 5 years

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SUPERVERSIVE: Four More Anime Reviews

Hinamatsuri, our first anime

Four Anime Reviews is one of the most popular posts I’ve ever done on the site. Since then I have watched a lot – and I do mean a LOT – more anime, and enjoyed almost all of it (I will only actually watch something to the end that I enjoy).

In light of that, I have thought carefully and decided on four more anime to review. The rules: They must be an anime I have not written a review or article on already…and that’s it. This means nothing on Mob Psycho 100 or One Punch Man, even though Mob Psycho especially is probably my second favorite anime that I’ve watched since that original article.

I’ll also be sort of kind of breaking that rule for the final review, but that show NEEDS to be talked about.

The 10 star rating system is gone. I realized I would have to rank too many shows I really liked below 5 of 10 if I wanted to be consistent. So now it’s just thumbs down and thumbs up.

(I wrote a couple short articles on already airing anime, so my short conclusions on them: Cells at Work improved as the season went on, added real character development and intelligent world building, and ended on a high note. It is my easy winner for anime of the summer 2018 season. Steins;Gate 0 spun its wheels a bit in the middle and had some hilariously bad action scenes but the last four or so episodes were fantastic and it too ended on a REALLY high note.)

And without further ado:

1) Hinamatsuri – Yoshifumi Nitta is a high-ranking member of the Yakuza whose life is turned upside down the day a young, probably autistic girl named Hina with psychic powers inexplicably shows up in his apartment. Nitta pretty much has no choice but to adopt the little girl and wacky hijinx, as well as moving familial bonding, ensues.

Review – This was another show from the summer 2018 season, but I didn’t watch it until much later. It really took me by surprise how much I liked it. The characters are lovable, the jokes are consistently on point, and they do an excellent job juggling their surprisingly large cast of characters.

While the jokes are great, and the show really is very funny, where it truly shines is in its serious moments. The bonds formed between the characters – not just Hina and Nitta but several side characters as well – are consistently touching, and even some of the gags have a sweet edge to them that just makes you smile, like when Hina decides to throw a party celebrating Nitta’s promotion but somehow gets the idea that parties are supposed to look like funerals. It’s a great gag but it’s still touching that Hina makes the effort to go that extra mile, as well as an excellent character moment – the first time in the series Hina decides to do something nice with no ulterior benefit to herself.

Best girl is Hitomi.

Is it superversive? – Very! Not just in its main plot, but throughout its several subplots as well the story is consistently uplifting.

Recommendation – Two thumbs up. It isn’t a must-watch classic, but it is a lot of fun.

2) Last Exile – Claus Valca and Lavie Head are sky couriers on the planet of Prester, a steampunk style world where two nations are in perpetual war and flying machines known as vanships rule the skies. One day a dying courier asks them to complete a dangerous mission: deliver a little girl named Alvis to a flying battleship known as the Silvana. And our adventure begins!

Review – This is one of the classic anime of the early 2000s that helped anime boom in the U.S. Like Trigun before it Last Exile was more of a hit overseas than in Japan, perhaps due to the heavily eurocentric atmosphere, though the split was not nearly as extreme (you can go so far as to call Trigun a bomb in its home country).

The reputation is deserved. Last Exile is a fantastic show. The visual style and tone are reminiscent of Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky, though with a more adult edge to it. The plot is intricate and complex but well written, and all secrets are revealed in the end.

The characters can sometimes come across as a bit two dimensional with one exception: Dio (no, not that one). Dio is probably the series’ biggest achievement, along with its revolutionary integration of CGI into the airship scenes. Introduced originally as a mysterious, androgynous, and rather creepy figure, he becomes almost a metaphor for the show as a whole as it progresses, as solving the mystery of who and what Dio also solves the mystery of what is really going on in the plot. He is by far the most memorable part of the story, which is a real compliment as the story itself is also engrossing.

Is it superversive? – Extremely so. Like Pazu before them Claus and Lavie are the sort of people to selflessly commit themselves wholeheartedly to a stranger – Alvis – despite barely knowing her, and this is presented as the correct and moral thing to do. Characters who start off looking like they’ll be threats become allies and the story ends on a high note.

Recommendation – This one IS ammust-watch classic. Two thumbs up.

3) Yu Yu Hakusho – Yusuke Yuremeshi is a young punk who spends all of his time fighting and going to the arcade. One day he knocks a boy out of the way of a car, getting hit himself and dying as a result. Then a cheerful young woman with a flying…paddle…informs him that she’s the grim reaper and that due to his selfless act, if he wants it, spirit world is willing to give him a second chance at life. After seeing the reactions of his sort-of-girlfriend, principal, and mother he agrees. On his return Yusuke is made the Spirit Detective of Earth, hunting down demons and punching out bad guys to save the world.

Review – One of the more influential shonen anime, this early 90’s show shows its age occasionally but for the most part holds up exceptionally well. In contrast to Togashi’s later and far inferior anime Hunter x Hunter (maybe the most overrated anime of all time), Yu Yu Hakusho is fast paced (almost no fight goes longer than two episodes, a trick My Hero Academia stole) and always fun. Togashi’s real strength, however, is in his exceptionally well realized characters. The main group of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hei is one of the most memorable and entertaining in all of anime. Not only are their personalities distinct and memorable, but each of them has an interesting backstory and goes through a TON of character development as the series progresses.

The Dark Tournmanet arc is, rightly, considered one of the greatest arcs in anime history. It goes on a little long but the high points of that story are so high who really cares? But the show isn’t perfect. The arc following Dark Tournament noticeably drops in quality and Togashi has a really, really big problem with killing off major characters even when it makes sense both narratively and metatextually – to spoil a scene, the revival of Genki was particularly egregious. This problem gets even more ridiculous in Hunter x Hunter, with the utterly absurd revival of Kite. Still, back to Yu Yu Hakusho, the show picks up again by the Three Kings saga and while I’m still five or so episodes away from finishing it completely it’s hard for me to think I won’t be satisfied by the time it all ends.

Is it superversive? – Yes. Just listen to the OP. How can it not be?

Recommendation – If you’re a fan of any modern shonen you really should see Yu Yu Hakusho and get a look at a lot of classic tropes used when they were still fresh. Two thumbs up.

Actually, you can see a lot of its DNA in My Hero Academia, leading to…

4) My Hero Academia – Young Izuku Medoriya is born quirkless – powerless – in a world where the vast majority of society possesses some sort of superpower. When Medoriya gets a chance to meet his favorite hero, the legendary Symbol of Peace, All Might, he convinces him he has what it takes to be a hero. Seeing his potential, All Might gifts him a special quirk that can be passed down generation to generation: One for All, a quirk that stockpiles power. But in order to harness this power, Medoriya, who takes the hero name Deku, needs to train at the prestigious superhero academy UA High, where he begins his journey to become the world’s greatest hero.

Review – This is the one I’m sort of almost cheating on, since I did write a review of the movie. Rawle already talked about season 1 and Nathan gave it a rec last year, but hoooooooly crap. We need to talk about how exponentially this show improved.

Season 1 was…okay. It was good. I liked it. I decided to keep going with the show on the basis of strong recommendations and the excellent final fight scene that ended season one. And then season 2 happened. And it started with a tournament arc.

And suddenly, the show was amazing.

Previously the show had focused on Deku, leaving the rest of its colorful cast in the background. Season 2 shifted focus, turning into a true ensemble show, with side characters – even side characters who weren’t the center of any stories – getting their own arcs and backstories. The sports festival reaches its climax in a fantastic battle with Deku and the fire-and-ice powered Todoroki, and this is the moment the show passed “really good” and became exceptional. The interweaving of Todoroki’s backstory in the middle of the exceptionally well choreographed fight, combined with the strong narrative being told by the fight itself, really cemented the series identity as a vehicle for both stellar action AND compelling drama without losing its optimistic, can-do spirit.

It is also not the best fight in the series.

The show isn’t perfect. Season 3 was arguably both the show’s best and worst season. The first half of the season, the training camp arc up to the unbelievable battle between All Might and All for One – one of the greatest fight scenes of all time – was clearly the highlight of the entire show to date, but the preliminary exam arc in the second half fell a little flat. The stakes in the prelim exams weren’t high enough to make the stories compelling by themselves and it lacked the strong interpersonal drama that drove the sports festival of season 2, though the arc did end on a high note.

Even so, how does anyone not love My Hero Academia? Literally every single person I know who gave the show a shot is now a huge fan. It is brilliant.

Is it superversive? – Oh, HELL yes. It’s probably the most superversive show on TV right now. Deku is seriously inspiring.

Two last things about the show:

The soundtrack KICKS ASS. Each OP gets progressively better. Make My Story is an earworm. You Say Run goes with anything.

UNIIIIIIIIIIITEEEEEEED STAAAAAAAATES OOOOOOOF SMAAAAAAAAAAASH

Postscript: There are two honorable mention anime I really wanted to talk about but didn’t quite make it onto the list this time. Robotics;Notes came out of nowhere to surprise me with a well-written slice of life story about a school robotics club in an alternate history where robots are a much larger part of daily life. It takes place in the Steins;Gate universe but aside from a couple of Easter eggs this is incidental.

And Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is absolutely fantastic and maybe my second favorite shonen anime to HeroAca. They’ll both be on next list.

SUPERVERSIVE: Four More Anime Reviews published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

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cafeology · 7 years

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Steve’s Indonesian Adventure Episode 6

The plan for today is to visit the Munduk Cofffee plantation. http://www.mundukmodingplantation.com/ . I am really excited after looking looking at their website, the whole set up looks incredible.

After a few hours we had a little break at a beautiful little spot overlooking the Danua Buyan and we even bumped into a little mummy and baby monkey. We only spent a little time here but again, what a breathtaking view and beautiful part of the world.

Another hour drive to the plantation, we arrived ready to explore. My first impressions were very positive, a beautiful looking place. We had a nice long walk around the plantation, a beautiful area with lots of different herbs, fruits and vegetables on offer. The view from one of the vantage points was again stunning.

The area of the plantation was beautiful, they have however only been growing coffee for a short period of time and are still learning as they go. Unfortunately a lot of the plants and in particular the coffee plants had really bad tree rust.

Tree rust is where the tree leaves are attacked by an insect, the plant then cannot flower properly and thus creates less coffee. It was a real shame to see this and the farmers where still trying to work out how to overcome the problem. With a little guidance from the SCA & SCAI I’m hopeful that they can turn this around. After a few hours walking around the estate we stopped for lunch and a relaxing beer. What a beautiful place for lunch, a great time to relax a little and enjoy each others company.

The hotel & complex was a wonderful area and seemed to be booming, with a little work they will get there with the coffee. After lunch it was back to the hotel for a little down time before dinner and the wrap up meeting. After a few speeches by David & Colin, we loaded back into the bus and headed to a local beachfront restaurant. A wonderful way to finish the day. Thursday, the final part of the trip and the plan was two roasters and a coffee shop. We arrived at the first the Kopi Bali, part of the Butterfly Globebrand.

The grounds were quite wonderful with the trees in full bloom.

The roasters were in full swing.

The Kopi Bali mainly dealt with robusta coffee and the smell was quite overpowering towards the end. With a constant roasting, grinding and packing the coffee dust in the air was quite harsh at times. They are dealing mainly for the local market and they take the roast to a dark colour but they grind it so fine, it looks more like a coco powder than coffee. It was really interesting seeing the size of the operation and how they roast and pack all coffee. A great business model but a little too much robusta for me personally. Next it was to Seminyak, the New York of Bali. With lots of designer stores, champagne bars and lovely looking restaurants. We headed over to a new coffee shop and roastery, Expat. Established by two Australian guys, Chay & Aden. They are really trying to get speciality coffee to the general public. A superb little outlet.

I treated myself to a great little flat white and spoke to Aden for some time about Indonesian coffee and the difficulty in working in Bali. It was great to speak to people in the industry with a similar passion to my own.

Next, our penultimate stop of the whole trip the 70o fahrenheit koffie company

We tried a little coffee, a natural from the Kintamani estate we visited earlier in the week, very tasty. 70 fahrenheit was a huge robusta processing plant. with 5 adjacent 35kg roasters churning out some serious volume. Again like the Kopi Bali, with the roasting and grinding of huge amounts of Robusta, I found the aroma a little overpowering. This however was much more than a Coffee plantation, over the years this has grown and grown and is now one of the most visited tourist attractions in Bali. With approx 1000 visitors a day, mainly organised trips from the Chinese market, it was an amazing sight. So many people seeing how coffee is roasted. A very interesting business model and also approx 25% of visitors will buy the bundle of 4 x 250g bags of robusta coffee for £42. Imagine that, £42 a kg for Robusta, Great business for the company but sits with a heavy heart for my self as I know how much robusta coffee sells for and how much the farmers at origin will receive from that £42. One of the bigs things I have learned is how difficult it is for the farmers, to succeed and why ensuing ethically is so so important. So the last organised part of the SCA Indonesia field trip, the traditional Indonesian fire dance. The Kecak Ramayana & Fire dance, located at Jl Raya Uluwatu Pecatu - Kuta. With a beautiful backdrop of the mountains.

The dance tells the story of Sita, the wife of Rama getting kidnapped in the forest of Dandaka and the story of how Rama gets her back. A combination of ancient ritual dance, drama and accompanied by a choir of chants and singing men will be something that I will never forget. An hour long performance that I was truly mesmerising.

One last meal to go and then the trip is officially over. Mr Saff had organised our last meal to be the best. A grilled fish restaurant located right on the beach. A beautiful setting which should have been the perfect way to finish the trip. Unfortunately we got a stark reminder of what things can be like in a tourist island such as Bali. As the group was saying its goodbyes one of our parties bags was snatched off the table, right under everybody’s nose. A horrible way to finish the trip, poor Noon lost her phone, ipad, wallet and worse of all passport. With the SCAI guys on hand, things were put in place make sure she could get home. We tried to be cheery but the mood was, as you can imagine really downbeat. Again a really sad way to finish the trip. Off to bed now, The trip is officially over but I’ve got a few hours in Bali tomorrow to unwind before the journey home. Thanks for reading, Steve

#roastology #cafeology #coffee #greenbeans #indonesia #java #roasting #sca #travel #adventure

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recentanimenews · 7 years

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Three-Episode Test: Ink's Winter 2017

Welcome (back) to the Three Episode Test, where contributors give you the low-down on what they're watching from the current simulcast season and why.

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Streaming on Crunchyroll In what turns out to be the ultimate consequence of beer (sake) goggles, office worker Kobayashi wakes up one morning and forgets a kindness she paid to a dragon in distress the previous night while stumbling through the woods. That creature, named Tohru, then shows up at Kobayashi’s door as she opens it to go to work, morphs into a cute maid (complete with horns and a tail), and moves in with Kobayashi. Hijinks ensue.

The whole “human saves creature, then creature returns to repay human in money/love” theme is a common one in Japanese folklore, but this series carries a way sillier tone than most of those folktales straight off the bat. Also, I’ve evidently got a thing for female drinkers in their thirties who work soul-draining jobs and have spherical heads. What can I say?

My interest in Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid lies much more with the defeated malaise with which Kobayashi both walks through her daily life and confronts the reality of supernatural beings than any aspects of her newfound servant or her flying, tail-swinging friends (who also adopt the moé maid form factor as their default domestic countenance). However, I do love some of the choices made in-series regarding the art – specifically colors, framing, postures, and scale. (No pun intended, ‘cause, you know…dragons). This is my surprise long-form comedy of the season.

Fuuka

Streaming on Crunchyroll A sequel of sorts to Suzuka in that it focuses on the daughter of that title’s protagonist, Fuuka features the titular girl, an aimless high school student who loves music, and a boy (Yuu) who comes to be quite stricken by with her. Fuuka suddenly obsesses over starting a band after meeting the well-intentioned but hapless Yuu, who seems fated to accidentally stare at Fuuka’s panties. But those aren’t the only panties peeking out at Yuu; his sisters can never seem to find anything to wear (literally), and a long-separated childhood friend-turned-pop idol just so happens to suddenly give him a call, a visit, and a romantic conflict.

The first three minutes, let alone those that follow throughout the first three episodes, show exactly what this series is going to be. Even though I’m a sucker for a love triangle drama, overly detailed fanservice and the abundance of it (evidently a trademark of Kouji Seo, the original work’s manga-ka), literally shoved in viewers’ faces via a camera with zero sense of personal space and a leerer’s eye for a lens, severely detracts from what could be the series’ saving graces: Fuuka’s independence and flirty forthrightness; a slightly less-than-usual milquetoast male protagonist; and earnestly inspiring moments of clarity/awe. Other than the cliffhanger confrontation at the end of Episode 3, there’s far too little to entice me to watch this weekly or continue at all.

Interviews with Monster Girls

Streaming on Crunchyroll As a biology teacher, Tetsuo Takahashi takes a particular interest in the demi-humans – a vampire, a snow girl (yuki onna), a headless girl (dullahan), and a succubus – present at Shibasaki High. Not knowing too much about the daily lives of monster girls, Tetsuo decides to sit down with each and talk with them to gain a greater understanding of both his students and life as creatures not wholly human.

After my gag reflex to Monster Musume, I did not, in any way, ever see myself watching Interviews with Monster Girls (much less genuinely enjoying it). And while this show could easily be titled “Interviews with Mo(nst)é(r) Girls,” the setting, the girls’ ages, and the fact that they’re effectively minorities in a “normal” human school justify their design and demeanor. On top of that, and even though there’s a harem air regarding the male protagonist and the supporting female cast (all the students and even one of the teachers are in love with him to some degree), the series manages to avoid the outright lewd and capture both the humor and reminiscent sweetness inherent in (first) crushes and awkward situations. To that, there’s a great bit of subversion going on regarding the succubus being portrayed as a typical “glasses girl” in an effort to not appeal to a moé-seeking audience, and the detail given to the animation of the dullahan’s eyes, hands, and arms is probably the best thing about the series. All this makes for a good enough excuse to keep watching weekly.

Saga of Tanya the Evil

Streaming on Crunchyroll In 2013, a callous salaryman/axman gets shoved in front of a train by a disgruntled ex-employee, meets (a) god, and is reincarnated as a little girl (Tanya Degurechaff) in a Germany-like state during a WWI-like war wherein mages provide areal support for ground troops. Cursed by the god she meets and refuses to acknowledge as such (calling it “Being X” instead), Tanya is born with great magical potential but can only use it if she says a prayer first. This is the means by which Being X hopes to instill faith into the salaryman’s soul.

Saga of Tanya the Evil (a much better title than the original Youjo Senki in that it is much sillier) is everything my melodramatic teenage self would have loved. And honestly the outright internal resistance to organized religion or the concept of God in general is still something that strikes a chord with me. Older me likes the more subdued commentary, such as the admission from God in Episode 2 that “Administering seven billion people is already beyond my capacity” as delivered through a frozen-in-time salaryman vessel who’s tired and slumped over his own watch. Teenage me really just likes Tanya’s selfishness and wickedness and things that go boom. Also, the series is pretty much drawn to give excuses to make Tanya smile like a demon, and it’s a pretty great reason to watch. Her VA also really brings the character to life.

One Room

Streaming on Crunchyroll During this series comprised of less-than-four-minute, POV-based shorts, you're behind the eyes of a mute, university-aged male who gets a knock on his Tokyo apartment door one day. The person knocking turns out to be Hanasaka Yui, a young girl who has just moved into the adjacent apartment. The first, second, and third episodes are, respectively, dedicated to her introduction, her tutelage and going to a public bath, and her cooking and (more) tutelage – all in one room...your room. (Except the public bath…that takes place in a public bath.)

For the loneliness deterrent/masturbation aid it is meant to be to its target audience, this is a fine example of an anime that never needed to be made. My only real gripe with the show, keeping in mind its intended audience, is that it only mostly holds to first person perspective. That is to say that the camera, the show’s very premise, wanders whenever (and wherever) it feels like it. Each betrayal of the show’s mission statement is mostly to ogle Hanasaka from the rear or side (in cuts too quick to be anything other than third person) or her chest (from her own perspective). As is the case when Hanasaka enters an empty room at the beginning of Episode 2, sometimes the camera isn’t even employed for POV and instead simply serves to establish the setting. And while that example might make the case for the first person perspective to be from the room itself, that is obviously not the case; there are different locales after all, and differences in the height from which you, the viewer, look at this girl range from eyelevel to a god-like areal vantage of disapproval.

Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories 4 (sequel)

Streaming on Crunchyroll Based on the kamishibai aesthetic, Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories specializes in a specific type of scare in each and every season. The first season brings boo scares based on the art style’s uncanny valley effect and laudable storyboarding. The second season focuses on mental distress applied to metaphysical horror. And the highly contested third season, of which Jared and I also talk about at length, brings monster-based horror home in a wonderfully surprising frame story. So what does Season 4 offer so far?

To start, the fourth season of Yamishibai focuses on narration – a typical and prominent aspect of anime against which I usually (and still do) rail. I’ve mixed feelings about it here though. Vocal exposition falls in line with that of the previous seasons, but narration, which lasts the entirety of each tale, at once dilutes the visual execution while imparting inflections, an overall tone, and a pacing that lends to the aural ambience of the story itself. Did I mention that the narrator is a different VA, including a Noh master, in each episode? In another first, Season 4 integrates live action snippets. This simultaneously imparts a jarring otherworldliness and laughable juxtaposition. It’s not the best visual direction, especially given the hitherto held execution of the series, but it’s a strike at something new, and occasionally, even in the first few episodes, it works enough to keep curiosity alive.

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju: Descending Stories (sequel)

Streaming on Crunchyroll I’m admittedly cheating on this one since a prior review obligation to the first season made me wait to indulge in the second. In short: I’ve yet to see the requisite three episodes to talk about this sequel to my 2016 AOTY. But if you listen to the two-plus hour podcast I did with Jared, there’s obviously no way in hell I’d not watch the second season in its entirety. I’m invested in these characters and want to see where the story takes them and how it takes them there. Think of the possibilities inherent in the title's pun (pun intended)!

originally appeared on Ani-Gamers on January 28, 2017 at 5:00 PM.

By: Ink

#Anime #News #Ani-Gamers

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