#// he mentions alisa fitting in ... but as much as i like her --

[demonsfate]

Buff G gets it... he actually fucking gets it. Which I don't mean that as an insult but the thing is that many TK "influencers" just make the same argument of "duhhh tek's ALWAYS been fantasy. How does he NOT fit in?" or "so what if he doesn't fit in? He's a DLC". So it actually makes me happy to see Buff G saying practically the same thing I was saying!

Like that's something people gotta realize. Tek has had bears but... they didn't fight with magic nor were they flying all over the place -- the bears still used a relatively realistic fighting style. Even Mokujin, who was a wooden boy, still only used the other characters' fighting styles -- so he was mostly fighting normally, too.

ESPECIALLY when you look back at the first 4 games, the roster and gameplay was much more grounded than it is now. I used to say that outta all the popular ones, Tek was the most grounded fighting game. MK had fantasy and supernatural elements, most characters had powers or projectiles of some kind. SF had Ryu, a seemingly regular martial artist, shooting "fire balls" out of his hands -- again, many characters with projectiles or powers. Tek felt like the one game where most of its cast primarily focused on regular, more realistic fighting styles. No magic, no teleporting, no complete fantasy -- save for only a few special characters.

But now the roster feels like it's been saturated with fantasy like everything else.

[whenikissedthegiyuu]

Stockings w/ Kuroo Tetsurou

word count 1.1k

if you squint real hard, you can see what i wanted to write vs what actually came out.

18+ mdni. fem!reader, smut, lingerie, kuroo “my wife” tetsurou in a suit, stockings, tits or ass? none bc kuroo is a thigh guy, oral sex (f receiving), fingering, p in v sex, pulling out, written in 2nd pov

kinktober 2024 mlist can also read on ao3

You stood in your closet, twirling and turning around in front of the mirror as you inspected how the lingerie Alisa had gifted you. You mentioned once offhandedly that you didn’t really buy much lingerie because it usually didn’t look good on you. She took advantage of her connections with the brands she’d modeled for and soon you received a package from her with a black babydoll and matching g-string, a red lace bra and thong with a red transparent robe, and a white crotchless lace bodysuit.

You were currently wearing the red outfit. The bra barely had any support, but it did make your boobs look cute. It also had a garter belt and black stockings which made you feel surprisingly good about the entire fit. You actually thought that you looked hot as you looked at your reflection.

You glanced at your red bottoms heels, your husband’s first anniversary gift a couple of weeks ago. You slipped them on and found yourself gasping at the mirror now. You put the robe on, feeling like the outfit was finally complete.

“Well, well,” Kuroo’s voice reached your ears. He stood in the doorway, his suit jacket had already been discarded, he fiddled with his cuffs before he folded his sleeves up to his elbow. “If I knew my wife was waiting for me all dolled up, I would’ve left the office earlier.”

You glanced at the clock, realizing that it was later than you expected. You had taken too long trying on Alisa’s gift and deciding which one to surprise him with on his birthday, which was coming up soon.

Well… it was between black and white now.

He slowly walked over to you, tugging his tie off but keeping it in his hands. His lips curled into a smirk.

“Not that I don’t appreciate this, but where did you get this?” He murmured, reaching out once he was close enough and running his hands down your thighs, squeezing at the fat. He slipped his finger between the sock and your skin, reddened where it was slightly digging in. “Especially these. I need to buy you a pair in every color.”

“Got a thing for women in stockings?” You grinned when he pulled your robe down your shoulders and pressed his chest to your back to reach between your legs. He pressed his fingers to your cunt through your panties. His other hand reached up to tug your bra down and pull your tits over the cups.

He laughed and shook his head, meeting your eyes through the mirror. “I have a thing for my wife in stockings.” He moved your hair to the side and pressed his lips to your neck, slowly moving his fingers over the wet spot creating in your brand new panties. The thong was so thin that it barely covered your lips, he was sure that if he spread your legs there would be nothing left to the imagination.

“Need to taste you, sweetheart.” He groaned against your neck and moved you to turn and press your back against the cold mirror. He knelt down in front of you, lips kissing every inch of skin he reached down your torso. You reached down to run your hands through his hair, messing up his slick look for the office. He grabbed your leg and hooked it over his shoulder. He pressed his lips to the skin right above your stockings, then he dug his teeth in until your thigh was full of hickeys and bite marks.

He pressed his nose to your panties and inhaled, his eyes rolling back into his skull. He pushed the fabric aside and dove right in. He spread your lips and pushed back the hood to lick over your exposed clit. Your hips rolled toward his mouth and your knee buckled under your weight. It was getting difficult to stand any longer with the heels as he ate you out messily, your wetness coating his lips and chin.

You moaned and pressed a hand to the mirror behind you to hold yourself up. “Tetsu, please.” You looked down at the man kneeling in front of you. His hazel eyes met yours, then he pulled back and started rubbing your clit.

“Gonna come for me, baby?” He chuckled darkly. He turned to press his lips to your leg over the stockings. His fingers slipped lower, coating his fingertips in your wetness to easily slip inside you. Your head fell back against the mirror with a thud, a dull pain forming in the back of your head as you clenched around his fingers.

He moved his mouth back over your clit just as you exploded. Your pussy tightened and your eyes closed. He groaned against you when you grabbed his hair almost painfully to ground yourself. He curled his fingers inside your cunt, making you yelp as he prolonged your climax.

He stood up and turned you around to face the mirror again before you had a chance to catch your breath. He grabbed your leg, hooking it on the crook of his elbow. His palm was pressed against the mirror to hold your leg up and keep you open for him.

“One more, pretty girl?” He asked, already reaching down with his free hand to push his pants down just enough to take his cock out. A gasp escaped you when the tip pressed against your entrance and slowly pushed in, stretching your cunt to accommodate him. “That’s it, baby. You’re taking me so well.” He murmured near your ear, his nose brushing against your cheek. “You can give me one more, can’t you? Just one more.”

You nodded eagerly as he kept pushing inch after inch into you, fingers circling your clit as he bottomed out. He stared at the mirror, the angle he held your leg at allowed him to see your pussy stretched out around his girth, a white ring forming at the base of his cock.

He leaned forward, caging you between his chest and the mirror, the coldness pressing against your tits made you clench around his dick.

“Gonna fill up this pussy if you keep squeezing me like that, doll.” He groaned, hips pistoning into you. “Fuck,” He gasped when you clenched again and pulled out of you, fist working his cock until his cum was spurting out onto your ass. He had half a mind to be embarrassed of how quickly your cunt pushed him over the edge.

He tapped your ass cheek with his cock, rubbing off the remaining cum on his tip. He slapped your ass unexpectedly, making you flinch away for a moment, but then you were arching into his touch. He spanked you again, then reached between your legs to rub your clit until you were writhing in his arms and moaning out his name. “How about one more in the shower, baby?”

Yeah, maybe it would be better to surprise him by wearing only the stockings on his birthday.

[charlenasaxen]

Favorite Quotes - The Final Gambit pt. 1

Grayson hadn’t called once since he’d left for Harvard. Xander, my self-appointed BHFF—Best Hawthorne Friend Forever

how much do you need a distraction right now, and how attached are you to your eyebrows?”

“One,” I answered. “And ten.”

Xander gave a little bow. “Then I bid you adieu.” In a flash, he was gone.

Alisa began, and I tuned out.

“I’ve seen better.”

“Jameson!”

I found Jameson at the edge of the Black Wood. He was wearing a white tuxedo that fit his body far too well

Jameson Winchester Hawthorne. I ran like the ball gown wasn’t weighing me down, like I didn’t have a knife strapped to my thigh.

Jameson caught me, our bodies colliding. “Happy birthday, Heiress.”

In a million years, the life Tobias Hawthorne had left me would still take my breath away.

Slow dancing, barefoot, on the beach.

The ocean. A cliff. A wager. A race. A dare.

Years from now, I’d still be able to feel it. The weight of the ball gown, the wind in my face. Sun-warmed sand on my skin and chocolate-covered strawberries melting on my tongue.

By sundown, we were almost home. It had been the perfect day.

“Fortunately, Heiress, Hawthorne men have nine lives.”

“Ferris Wheel Leapfrog Death Match?” I repeated. That had Xander written all over it

or maybe I sensed it. Sensed him. Clad entirely in black, wearing a ten-thousand-dollar tuxedo

Grayson Hawthorne stepped onto the dance floor.

He came home.

Grayson Hawthorne let his eyes linger on mine for just a moment

“You aren’t on your own.” Grayson let his eyes linger on mine

a single person—who knew him even a tenth as well as his brothers and I did

“Don’t,” Grayson ordered roughly, “look at me like I’m broken.”

Hawthornes aren’t supposed to break, his voice whispered in my memory. Especially me.

“Emily?” Grayson Hawthorne was staring at a ghost.

he thought he was hallucinating. Again. Breaking down. Again.

Tell me again that I’m not broken.

“Hey. Look at me, Gray.”

Those light eyes opened.

because he thought I considered him weak

that Jameson was still in my bed. Eve didn’t seem to notice him on her way to my en suite, but Grayson did

but Grayson had loved her to the end.

“All those times playing Cookie Golf together, and you didn’t think this was worth mentioning?”

“In retrospect, good on you for not telling me. Excellent call, shows solid judgment.”

Xander made a face. “Note to self: Cancel the welcome festivities.”

I found Grayson standing statue-still outside the wing, dressed in a silver three-piece suit, his blond hair wet from the pool.

In one liquid motion, he dives into the pool, fully clothed.

“Where’s Jameson?” Grayson’s question drew me back

The list of complicated things that Xander Hawthorne considered to be “fairly simple” was lengthy.

picturing Hawthorne brothers swinging pillows at one another. Possibly shirtless.

“The old man didn’t make mistakes,” Grayson said in one of those tones that dared you to argue—and strongly advised against it.

and by the sacred rules of Chutes and Ladders

Technically, the Hawthorne brothers were half-siblings. Technically, Libby and I were.

“On a scale from boring to brooding,” Jameson quipped, “how’s he holding up?”

Heaven forbid Jameson Hawthorne get caught openly caring about his brother.

“I’m worried. Grayson isn’t okay, Jameson. I don’t think your brother has been okay for a very long time.”

What the hell? I looked up. “Jameson!” He was already on his way to me.

my eyes went to Grayson’s. “Three families.”

“One yours,” Grayson replied. “And one mine.”

“One of those pretty little Hawthorne grandsons?”

Xander raised his right hand. “I have a question about faces and dogs.”

“You’re not the boss of me? It’s something like that. No, wait, I remember! It’s You’re not the boss of me, wanker.”

“Excellent use of British slang,” Xander commented.

Jameson shrugged. “I’m a man of the world now.”

“Jamie’s right.” Grayson managed to say that without grimacing.

which left me in the middle row with Jameson on one side and Grayson on the other.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on a flight back to Harvard right about now?”

“Someone moved against our family. Of course I’m staying.”

Jameson reached around me to grab Grayson by his suit.

“Gray.” Grayson’s words came out louder, more desperate.

Jameson let go of him.

“I’ll be happy to discuss all of your personal shortcomings,” Jameson told Grayson. “Alphabetically and in great detail

The muscles in Grayson’s jaw tensed. “We’re not here to forgive you.”

“Always so serious,” she murmured, reaching out to touch his cheek. “And the shadows in those eyes…”

“Say that again,” Jameson encouraged, “but try to sound even more like an automaton this time.”

“I’m being horribly unfair to automatons.”

All she did was stare at him, softly crooning. Baby Gray was a real quiet little guy, solemn.

She was alive. She was a good daughter. But her mother could still look right at her and sobbingly say that all her babies died.

“That’s okay,” Xander responded cheerfully. “I have two feet!”

the message flashed across the scoring screen overhead. I ALWAYS WIN IN THE END

he took one look at the words on the screen and set them down. “A bold choice of name,” he said. He gave me a hopeful look. “Yours?”

the boys were still together, and things were getting ugly. Hawthorne ugly,” he clarified. “No external threats.”

Hawthorne ugly was probably the best we could hope for.

“in my defense, I didn’t expect the zoo to send an actual tiger.

taking a dark chocolate banana to the chest

letting me see every line of the muscles underneath.

Jameson did not elaborate on the mud, the blood, or what exactly he and Grayson had gotten up to

“that you can’t wash all this mud off before I…”

“Before you what?” I murmured.

Jameson Winchester Hawthorne smiled. “Guess.”

the pool lit just enough that I could make out his form

“How long would you have stood here, watching them, if I hadn’t come?” Jameson asked, an odd tone in his voice

I pictured Grayson on his knees in front of me. “What is it you think you know?”

“Gray has always been so perfect,” Jameson said. “It’s inhuman how good he was at just about everything.

“You have to be.” There was an urgency to Jameson’s words, a need. “Because I’m terrible at hurting, Heiress.

The old man knew about Eve. That revelation hit me like splinters

which probably costs ten thousand dollars and undoubtedly should not be steamed?”

“Chess,” I repeated. “The move—it’s called the Queen’s Gambit

saw Grayson in the doorway, backlit

walked past Grayson. “Watch where you’re aiming those cheekbones, buddy.”

“Everything hurts.” Only Grayson Hawthorne could say that and still sound utterly bulletproof. “It hurts all the time, Avery, but I know the man I was raised to be.”

The metalwork was impossibly intricate. The effect was delicate, but dangerous. Beauty and power.

Then I did the same thing with the black pieces, glittering with black diamonds.

Hell, Gray even let loose sometimes because the games didn’t reward perfection. He and I used to team up

But Saturday mornings, those games—they were about showing us that we already were.”

Extraordinary

I turned my attention back to the boys. “You’re Hawthornes. Who knows how to crack a combination lock?”

The answer was all of them.

Jameson looked to Grayson.

Grayson’s face was like stone.

“And in keeping with my general superiority in our sibling relationship I am better than fine.”

Grayson’s expression hardened. “And runs down the clock while you clean it up.”

“There’s still glitter in Grayson’s bathroom,” Xander finished. I got the feeling that wasn’t a metaphor.

“I’m sorry,” I told Max.

“I know,” my best friend replied. “But don’t worry. I’ll choose a theme song for him.”

“The Bible,” I repeated, and suddenly, it clicked. “Luke.”

“My second-favorite Gospel,” Max noted. “I’ll always be a John girl at heart.”

“I will talk only to the heiress. The one Tobias Hawthorne chose.”

Jameson reached for the chess pieces, but Xander smacked his hand away

“is a bit like a game of Where’s Waldo, except Waldo likes to jab people with her cane.”

The stone arches, hand-carved pews, and elaborate stained-glass windows

“As opposed to what, girl? Springing forth fully formed from the head of Zeus?”

"not to Alice or their children or you boys.”

Grayson took to the pool, pushing himself past the point of human endurance again and again

“Can it be about off-label uses for medieval weaponry?” Xander requested. “Because I have some ideas.”

as if coming to a very serious decision, he lifted his hand and pressed one finger to the end of my nose. “Boop.”

“Triple boo—” Xander started to say, but I ducked

“Avery, people have hated me my whole life.”

“Not anyone who knows you,” I said fiercely.

Xander smiled, and something about it made me want to cry

“You didn’t love the great and terrible Tobias Hawthorne. You loved the old man.”

Grayson and his oughts and shoulds. Hawthornes aren’t supposed to break. His voice spoke deep in my memory. Especially me.

Grayson pushed off the wall, treading water as he measured his response. “Jamie doesn’t tell me everything.”

the muscles in his back so tense that it looked like his shoulder blades might split the skin

when my hand reached for the edge, another hand grabbed mine.

Jameson pulled me out of the water. “Don’t breathe,” he murmured.

“He knows better. That is a Hawthorne dog.”

we were in the Hawthorne theater. Not to be confused with the Hawthorne movie theater

“Gray has a voice so deep and smooth that you will shed literal tears...you will come to believe he spent the 1950s wearing the most dapper of suits

“My duet will have to wait!”

“Who were you going to duet with?” Libby asked.

“Myself!”

he seemed so sure that Jameson and I were the ones Grayson needed

the sound of achingly beautiful violin music began drifting into the hall

Grayson poised in front of open bay windows, wearing a suit without the jacket, his shirt unbuttoned, a violin pressed to his chin.

so high and sweet it was almost unbearable.

Jameson caught his brother’s forearm. “Don’t. Gray. You’re not hurting anyone but yourself.”

“You play beautifully,” I told Grayson, pushing back the urge to cry

The Hawthorne grandsons were also damn near lethal

we both know that you haven’t let yourself want anything in a very long time.”

Grayson’s head turned toward mine, the light reflecting off his blond hair in a near-halo. “For you, Avery.”

He reached a hand down to Jameson and pulled him to his feet, leaving the two of them standing just inches apart

Grayson’s fingers brushed mine as he took it

His gaze found its way slowly and inexorably to mine. “We need to go down to the wine cellar.”

[youritalianbookpal]

Ten Questions Book Review - Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

What is it? Years after Our Violent Ends, we find Rosalind Lang as an immortal assassin for the Kuomintang. What happens when her superiors assign her as the fake wife of Orion Hong, known playboy actually working for the Kuomintang as well, in a mission to stop the Japanese invasion of China?

Who should read it? If you have read the These Violent Delights duology, if you love pretend relationships, sunshine/grumpy, little sisters who can (and will) kick ass, men who either communicate too much or too little and in either case are a HUGE HEADACHE, sisterhood, and a little bit of magic realism, this is the book for you. I want to add that, while it is suggested, it is not imo strictly required that you read the other duology first - everything that has to be explained to understand what is going on with Rosalind and the others is recalled and narrated within this duology.

Which genre(s) is it? Historical fantasy, YA.

What is the setting? Shanghai (mainly), 1931.

How are the characters? Rosalind, Celia, and Alisa had a lot of potential in the previous series, and I am glad we are getting the opportunity to see them develop more. On the other hand, we have the three Hong siblings that, while lovely, are a bit less developed. I look forward to more Phoebe and Oliver POVs in the next book (and Orion, sure, but he at least got something out of this novel already, more than his siblings at least). I also liked the depiction of less prominent characters, overall a good job in my opinion.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the novel? The thing I liked best in the novel was probably the characters, as they emerge strongly from the pages. The action is mostly character-driven, to me (I say this because, from the Storygraph reviews, basically no one thinks that lol), and the plot twists actually make sense only if we look with attention at the characters involved. And I always appreciate a plot twist that makes sense. One weakness, as I might have mentioned for the two previous Gong books I've reviewed, is that sometimes very modern vocabulary or concepts are used in the 1930s settings and... it takes me a bit out of the world that is being built by the novels. I have to say, I had more problems with the previous two books, but I still had to google a couple of things while reading Foul Lady Fortune and... an editor should have googled if people really said that stuff in the 1930s, not me.

Did I cry and/or laugh? As far as I can remember, I didn't cry, but Orion and Phoebe for sure have made me laugh out loud.

Who shouldn’t read the book? There is a lot of murder and blood in this. Rosalind describes in detail her injuries (since she can't die from them, she can tell you a lot about them). If you do not like this sort of description, this novel is not for you.

Any random comment? I'm not sure if it fits them or not, but The Only Exception came randomly on my Spotify while I was reading this I can't not take it as a sign that it's a great song for Rosalind and Orion.

Which quote stuck with me?

Rosalind pressed up against the wall, exhaling into the empty hallway. A child who needs discipline? That was a complete and utter joke. They had the longest continuous history of any country in the world. They had been around for dynasties upon dynasties. And yet... and yet. When did imperialists care about history?All they wanted was to crush its conquests to dust: all the better to sweep them nicely into shape.

[elliepassmore]

Foul Heart Huntsman review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: fantasy, spies, multiple POVs, historical fiction, morally gray characters

Foul Lady Fortune review

Last Violent Call review

Shanghai is a city once again on the precipice. Tensions between the Nationalists and Communists have risen, driven only higher by the encroaching Japanese army. The chemical killings have at least been stopped, but with that out of the way, the city's populace isn't afraid to be out and about around the city, and so protesting starts up again as well.

On top of the political tension, Rosalind's secret is now out. Not only that she's Fortune, but also that she's Rosalind Lang, a once-beloved daughter of the Scarlet Gang. And, of course, there's the little problem of the Nationalists, and Shanghai in general, thinking Orion was behind the murders. Not that he wasn't....but still, there's more to the story than the public knows. With Orion and Rosalind both betrayed, covert operations is a bit of a mess, and completely, 100% unwilling to help either of them.

Rosalind in this book is a woman on a mission. She's determined to help Orion, even if the Nationalists have washed their hands of both of them. I liked seeing this fiercely dedicated side to her because it's one we haven't really seen yet. We've seen her vengeful in both OVE and FLF, and in FLF we saw her remorseful and more level-headed, but now we get to see how she is when someone she loves is threatened. The same care and devotion we saw in FLF comes through in this one, and it's made clear again just how far she'll go to protect those she loves. Rosalind is also quite clever, and we get to see some of her schemes come into play here.

Orion is a bit of a tricky one since he's brainwashed for a portion of the book. He is in the book though, and we do get some of his POV. I was actually kind of worried about what would happen with his character after the events of the last book, but I was pleased to see how things played out. It stayed true to the plot while also not turning him over completely. Also, we do get to see himbo!Orion, lol.

Celia gets a larger role in this book, along with Oliver. She's stuck between a rock and a hard place in this one, with her loyalties torn between her sister, everyday people, and the Communists she works for. I have to say, Celia is definitely the practical one in...all of her relationships. Sure, she gets a little bit pressed when Oliver is in trouble, but overall she really does seem to have a better handle on things than most people, including Rosalind. That being said, I loved seeing her protective side, which extends to a great many people, from Oliver to Rosalind to Alisa, and beyond.

Oliver does start the book still being cagey, but Celia is done letting him get away with that, and has no qualms about confronting him and forcing him to be more open with her. I enjoyed getting to know more about Oliver and his background (and not just from Orion's perspective). At the same time, I still feel like we don't really know Oliver that much by the end of the book. He and Celia fit together well, but I still would've liked to feel a greater emotional connection with him.

Phoebe is back, as predicted, and even has more POV chapters than before. I liked getting to see more of how she thinks and acts. I still find her and Alisa to be very similar in their own ways, and I like that they got to meet and hang out in this book. Phoebe plays a fairly prominent role in this book, and I enjoyed seeing her come out of hiding a little bit to shine. She's a brave one, and despite dreams of seeing her family reunited, she's also practical enough to pick her brothers and their safety over her dreams. Silas, whom I didn't even mention in my FLF review, also shows up in this one, though tbh I don't buy their romance.

Alisa actually didn't play as big a role as I expected in this one. Sure, she has some pretty vital information and gets her own POV, but I was hoping she'd be upped in importance re: POV chapters. Despite that, I loved getting to see Alisa again. She's the same casually optimistic badass character and I enjoyed reading about more of her antics. Her actions are important to the overarching plot, and more personally for the characters, but I still wish she'd gotten more POV prominence.

If you've read the Last Violent Call stories, it's probably not a surprise that certain characters show up in this one. I was absolutely delighted to see them, and especially to see them in a room with our main characters from this duology.

The ending of this book is closed in a way OVE's ending wasn't. There's definitely still the potential for future stories in the Secret Shanghai world (even if not necessarily in Shanghai), but overall the ending felt fairly final. Character arcs got closed and rounded off in a satisfying way, and the epilogue provided some nice insight into what the characters are doing a year post-FHH. The B&N special edition short story also provides some more information in that direction, and is a funny and sweet story centering on Orion and Rosalind but featuring everyone.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and loved being back in the Secret Shanghai world. The stakes are high, but the characters have plenty of alliances and wiles to work with. The book ended on a high note and in a way that I think is satisfactory for all the characters involved.

[asoulofatlantis]

Lloyd and Elie almost sharing a Sunday School class, Rean and Alisa having a fateful meeting when they were children , joshua and estelle knew each other since they were kids, van and elaine were childhood friends

Falcom loves their (romantic) tropes (Alisa and Rean go through what feels like half of the immense amount of romance tropes out there in the course of those 5 games XD) and I feel like they love the whole "destined to meet" thingy a lot - which per se I really like, because the concept of destined soulmates is really so darn romantic.

Tho it makes you wonder if Elie and Lloyd only ALMOST sharing a Sunday school class might mean they are destined to miss each other ^^' (Lets hope not...)

Obviously, Elaine and Van have the Childhood-Friend-Trope written all over them - including the tragic separation and fateful reunion and all that. Which would be quite romantic if that ship wouldn't be so utterly boring and uninteresting. Not to mention, Elaine and Van had their shot of fulfilling that trope... and fucked it up. I don't know if this trope still counts after they have already broken up once... - not that it is fair, given that they did not really broke up to begin with, Van literally just left her to cry without much more than a quickly scribbled down note. This also doesn't really speak much for the great connection and deep bond two characters bound by the childhood-trope should have. OVERALL Falcom doesn't try very hard to make you feel the love between Elaine and Van to be honest. Which is likely because the Calvard-Saga just utterly lacks romance. Which is likely to Van being so... utterly not interested in a romantic relationship at the moment. Like you do know he cares for Elaine, without a doubt, but... how do I put this?

Lets see...

Estelle and Joshua were a given. She had him from the start and we knew that it was only a matter of time before Estelle finally got that she too was in love with him. And they did defy what seemed to be their tragic destiny to be together and despite the whole desperation of the end of Trails in the Sky FC it was never a question of "if" but rather of "when" and "how". Making Sky 2 an awful waiting game, but I digress. My point is that this ship felt destined from beginning to end. You started feeling sorry for Joshua from the start and it felt good and right when they finally kissed in that godforsaken chapter six of SC.

Then there is Elie and Lloyd. These two felt like two puzzle pieces who fit each other perfectly without being aware of it. And if anyone has ever doubted it, the moment he took on the father role for KeA and she naturally jumped into the role of a mother for her that deal was sealed, like it or not and it was clear as day for everyone to see. Yes, the harem makes it not canon, but it does feel canon enough and if it didn't in the Crossbell-Arc itself, Riverie gladly sealed the deal. Feels good. Feels right.

Rean and Alisa had that damned immensely huge harem in the back of their mind and even people like Claire had their fun with Rean despite the fact that she ended up NOT officially in the Harem. HOWEVER... if you have to ask for the strongest ship in Trails (Estelle and Joshua aside) it would be Rean and Alisa. I mentioned it before they do ALL the tropes. And something that I pointed out in a post AGES ago is that the game pretty much gives you the feeling they are already dating anyway. Emma, rightfully part of the Harem, has been putting Rean in a slight state of panic by explicitly mentioning she will tell Alisa about the fact that Rean smelled like another woman, like she was the one among the girls he wanted to know about that the least. You can do all you want with Alisa, upright ignore all her bonding events through all games and yet, you can NOT avoid the hug in CS2, CS3 AND CS4. PLUS even if you NEVER dated Alisa with your Rean, you still will have a breakup with her in CS4 if you do her first bonding event - yes, she will word it differently but it feels like a breakup just as much despite that. And in Riveri, after the grueling time where Alisa was not with Rean, the moment they reunite, she takes her place right where she always was and always belonged to. Next to Rean. These games couldn't be any more obvious where Reans feelings lie. You can still choose Laura, Fie or Altina given the Harem situation. BUT the one on her knees in the normal (bad) ending of CS4 when Rean "dies" is Alisa. The one kneeling next to Rean after escaping the Tower in Riveri is Alisa. The one wearing (once again) clothes in the same color pattern as Rean at the "Christmas" - Reunion picture is also Alisa. This just feels meant to be. Righ and warm and welcoming. (And I give a damn about whatever Falcom thinks they do with this in Kai!)

And then there is Elaine and Van... I feel no love, no passion no destiny when it comes to them. Yes. They care deeply for each other. And they would have deserved a fair shot at a relationship. But do I feel like its good or right or... even the slightest bit interesting? No! I've tried. I swear I've tried. But I can just not see it. The way Vans and Elainse ship is portrayed, despite the childhood-friend-trope does not feel good to me at all. For me it feels like they cling to something that they never had the chance to properly finish. Destiny has pulled them apart time and time again and yet they cling to whatever it was they had in the past. BUT if it was really that important to them, why does Van find excuse after excuse to not date her again? He has her there, she is willing and she is waiting. She is supporting him and after Daybreak 1 really started to work hard on understanding him and his ways of doing things and yet, here we are... not making it feel like a ship worth shipping at all. And I am by no means immune to the childhood-friends-trope, just to make that clear. This ship just doesn't feel right for me. But Van and Agnes does. No idea what trope they fulfill... but there surely would be one XD

[monasatlantis]

So I played Hajimari no Kiseki - now Trails into Reverie - in englsich now and after reading my first review I hardly have to add anything. I mostly stand by what I wrote before, I just want to add a few things.

Starting with the localization/translation of the game. There were often differences between the translation of the Spreadsheet and the NIS localisation and while most of you will likely say: “Well, the spreadsteet was a fantranslation so their ought to be some mistakes or just different interpretations of words” I have to say that I can confirm that that was not always the problem. I am sure there are some differences do to the Spreadsheet being a quick fan translation but there were a few mistakes, were I knew for a fackt that it was NIS fucking it up.

For example: In the scene were Rean gets reunited with his Class7 Friends who were stuck in Crossbelll, and the scene was voices mind you, so I know for a fact that what he said in Japanese was what the spreadsheet was telling, Rean is like: “Guys, were here!” (which honestly felt a bit uncharacteristic for him anyway) in the NIS-Translation but was actually saying: “Alisa, everyone!” in the spreadsheet-translation that actually fit what he was saying in Japanese (I do not understand much japanese but I do get some basics, and it wasn’t so hard to hear that he called Alisas name anyway, even if I hadn’t understood the word afterwards...) and that is one of multiple occasion were they denied me the pleasure of Rean prioritizing Alisa or only mentioning/adressing Alisa for some weird Reason that I absolutly do not get. There was also that scene from Milliums Daydream were in the Spreadsheet Franz tells her that she might not grow much in height, but there are still many other ways for her to grow or something like that and she comments that that she might now grow much bigger, but her chest may still grow a lot bigger (XD) in the NIS translation, she actually says that she things their growth isn’t stunted anymore before she comments on having big boobies (XD) seeing how two years later in that Class7 Picture from the calendar her physical appearance hasn’t changed at all, I think the Spreadsheet actually translated it the right way. There were also multiple ways how Cedrics Daydream was translated differently that kind of changed the meaning of certain words a bit too much for my liking. (Also, I might have gotten that wrong, but I think in the Spreadsheet it was mentioned that Shirley approached the Professor for Cedrics new Archaism-Friend, while in NIS version the Professor approached Shirley and she just decided to use it for Cedric... I have no idea what to believe at this point, to be honest...)

When we talk about how fucked up the localisation is, let me tell you that the EBON-Defense-Force originates from the Ebon-Knights, so no Idea wall they pronounce it with an german E-Sound instead, especially given that they changed Juna counting backwards in German to Juna counting backwards in Englsich. Also Dieter Crois... pronounces right by Lloyd but Elie calls him DiEter and once again pronounces the E in a wrong way. I do not know if they had trouble with the translation because Falcom likes to use german words or names every now and then... but just listening to the japenese version would have helped - A LOT!

There are two more things I have to mention, sadly all negative ones.

The Daydreams were almost all plain boring and while you do some of them for the characters, there some like the one with Jingo and Ballad, were you can’t help but question why on earth Falcom thinks you would want to watch this. Some of them give you some important information, but I am sure there would have been quicker, less boring ways to bring them across. Also... what is with the random fighting? Going with Tita through the Keep or fighting Gilbert with Cedric felt absolutely unnecessary as it lacked some benefits other than the game trying to make you feel less like you are just watching a visual Novel. I am honest here, I think I haven’t even watched half of them and I am likely not going to watch many more either. I just don’t see why I need to see Kurt in a dress, if you get me.

The last thing I have to add is that the “post-game Reverie-Corridor” part overstayed its welcome, especially given how its use was’t useful anymore anyways. Also... the very last part of the Corridor had a HUGE spike in difficulty that was absolutly unnecessary. Regardless of that, it felt also like a nice round way to end this journey with our big team, they just could have done that a bit more faster XD

Other then that, once again, I stay with my previous statements. It was a great game.

My first review of „Hajimari no Kiseki“ (played with spreadsheet)

Ever since I know that Hajimari no Kiseki (or Trails of Reverie) will not be released in English until (what probably will be late autumn of) 2023 I am very frustrated about the fact that there is no way in hell that I will be able to stay away from Kuro no Kiseki spoilers until this game will be released in English (what will probably be not earlier then the end of 2025 if not later). You see, after I spoiled most of CS3, CS4 and also a large part of Hajimari for me, because I just couldn’t wait that long for its English release, I decided I wanted to play a Trails-game “blind” for once and Kuro is perfect as it starts with new characters and a new place and so on. BUT I am a spoiler-junkie, so waiting freaking 4 years to get my hands on this game and not feeling the urgent need to collect any spoilers until then is almost impossible for me. Plus, until 2025 its very likely that Kuro no Kiseki 2 & maybe even 3 are out at this point already and you know how it goes. The deeper we go into the story, the more characters of the previous games will have cameos in the Kuro-Saga. And the more characters I love show up there, the harder it will get for me to not fish for Spoilers. Okay let’s face it, as soon as one of my favorites will show up in on of the sequels, there will be no force in hell that will be able to stop me from getting all the freaking spoiler XD

So… how does one solve this problem? There was only on way to do it: Thank the people who made the freaking spreadsheet, buy Hajimari no Kiseki on Amazon.jp and get your Computer and Playstation ready to play on remote-play. So that – hoping that someone would do a spreadsheet for Kuro as well – I would be able to get through the next Saga within a year of its release (or so) without having to drown myself in spoiler again to survive the wait until the English release. In other words: I wanted to play Hajimari, so that I could go into Kuro with a clear conscience, since I finished the previous game and thus rounded up the other free previous Sagas just nicely.

And here now is my review of Hajimari no Kiseki and my description of how I was able to handle the spreadsheet…

Let me tell you that handling the spreadsheet is very easy, especially if your PC and Playstation are already ready for remote play (as it so happens, I prefer to play on my computer and thus I’ve been playing with remote play before) and there is nothing much left to do aside from opening the spreadsheet, after changing a few control-buttons in the game-menu.

I say it took me roughly 3 to 5 hours to get the hang of how the spreadsheet works and how and when to best operate it. And after that, it mostly guided me through the game without many issues. (excluding jumping 2000 lines or so, that was a shore, but maybe it was just me being to stupid to push the right button to jump from line 1000 to 2400 without problems. Once again, that aside, the spreadsheet worked amazingly for me and it tells you all of the things you need to know to get the plot and don’t miss any development on either characters or story.

The most annoying thing was that you couldn’t decide who you want to talk to. It not critique on the spreadsheet because it was definitely already hard enough to make it, as it is. Its just something that was bothering me a bit while I was playing. Sometimes there were people I didn’t wanted to talk to that I had to if I wanted to follow the spreadsheet and there were people I wanted to talk to, that the spreadsheet did not tell you to talk to. It takes a bit getting used to. Once again tho, its no big issue. P

The only other thing that MIGHT be a bit troublesome is that there are some choices in the game were you have to follow the spreadsheet, even if you don’t want to OR you do it like me and don’t follow the spreadsheet and will be sad because what does it bring you that you bring Elie along for this fight (it was a mechanic decision, because I ALWAYS chose Elie with Lloyd, its how I always chose Alisa with Rean, I didn’t even realize I picked her until it was too late ^^’) if you don’t understand what she is saying. Once again, it is really no big issue, it just takes some getting used to or the will to accept slightly different dialogs.

PLUS when the game comes out in English and I play it again, I can do whatever I want and its normal that you just have to make some compromises when you play a game in a language you don’t understand. Playing this game with the spreadsheet is to get through the plot, so you are capable of witnessing the plot of the next game. Everything else, you can and will have when you buy the English localization.

Alright, lets finally talk about the game itself.

I’ve watched someone playing it before, not all of it, but certain parts. There were still a few surprises here and there tho and there were moments in the game that I saw in a completely different light, after actually playing it myself.

But where to start?

First of all, Hajimari no Kiseki was a good game. I really enjoyed playing it, even with the extra difficulty do to not being able to read the names (and descriptions) of quartzes and crafts and so on. (There IS something in the spreadsheet were you can search for stuff like that and translates it, but it was too time consuming for me to really use it. I play on very easy and am not a strategic fighter – hence the easy difficulty – so it wasn’t a big issue for me. Not to mention that do to the battlesystem being mostly just a copy of the one from CS4, it wasn’t too hard to know what to do when and the muscle-memory worked just fine for me too, when I needed to push certain buttons. Like, I wanted to switch characters and my hand seemed to automatically go to the right button – it will honestly be really hard to readjust in Kuro.

Anyway, something that I first thought was annoying but actually added something good to the game was the switching between the characters. Even tho I though the force-switch between Reans-Team and “C”s-Team in chapter 2 was a bit annoying, all in all it was nice to have 3 different storys play out at the same time. Because even if you found Lloyds story currently a bit boring, switching to Reans-Team might just give you the action that you needed and then going over to (SPOILER! I AM NOT HIDING THE IDENTITY OF “C” HERE!) Rufus – Team were the pacing was a bit faster was just making it feel good. Also, handling the different MCs with their different teams was also very refreshing. Especially as the chemistry was different and thus the feeling when you played the different teams. Not to mention that Reans-Team was changing with every chapter, which once again gave it a great variation of dynamics, depending who was currently on your team. It is almost sad to think about going back to playing the same MC with mostly the same team all the time in Kuro. Because this “3 MCs with different Teams” – thing was really refreshing and enjoyable.

When I was watching the guy play the game a lot of people complained that at the end of the day, we were going through the same old patterns that we were already used too and that that is boring. And even tho it is true, that we have a lot of things that… you know… happened again or at least look like we’ve been through them before, it never felt boring to me. Not when I was watching it and not when I was playing it myself. Because it fit well into the plot. As an example, Lloyd once again has to go around to gather his friends – who are currently facing their own problems – and yes, we’ve done almost the same in the Crossbell-Saga, but it fit very well with the situation, because the SSS had lost themselves and they were finding themselves again and that figuratively and literally. Also, the fact that Lloyd was finding and reuniting them shows him at the center of the SSS, just like it was with Rean in CS2, when he too had to find and reunite his friends again. Plus, I really liked how we took the time with the individual characters and deal with their problems without too much other characters intervening. Especially with the Crossbell-Saga, were we never got I satisfying ending for, it was important to put the characters into a position were you as a player would feel like they are fine. Just like we have reached it with most of the people from the Erebonia-Saga, so that saying goodbye in CS4 felt really whole.

Speaking of which. While in the other routes, the plot focuses not just on the MC but also the characters surrounding him, in Reans-Route, it mostly felt like he was the main-focus of everything and it does make perfect sense, because the reason the prologue of CS4 felt so whole and satisfying was, because everyone’s story was finished. Everyone had found their place and purpose and happiness… everyone but Rean. Now, back then we focused on the fact that Rean was still alive and realizes of some of his burdens and thus seemed to be happy too. But was his arc really fully finished? No. And the latest moment in Hajimari you realize this, is when he FINALLY says that he understood that to make others happy, he has to be happy himself. So what we are doing in Hajimari is going to face his problems and see him learn to solve or deal with them. He has the help of his friends and comrades as always and of course the plot itself is not just “Rean learning to not constantly sacrifice himself” but all in all this is the true background of his route and I found that they did that really well.

Now… lets talk about Rufus-Route… I just freshly finished my second playthrough of CS4 and it was really fresh for me what that bastard did their and I was sure as heck that I would never forgive this guy for what he did. And… I mean… it’s not like I’ve really forgiven him or that I absolutely get why most of the fandom loves him now. BUT I have to admit that they made his redemption-arc really good. For ONCE in one of our many side-switching former enemies life’s, it felt like this character really worked hard for his redemption and earned it. Rufus team was by far the most enjoyable do to the weird misfitting mix of people that had just such an amazingly enjoyable chemistry that it never got boring to play their part of the game. It was also nice to – while we had already well established teams on Llyods and Reans side – see how the characters grew to know and like each other and become a team. Adding Duvalie, Renne and Arios too the mix later on was just making it even better – as ridiculous as this sounds.

So… let me be myself for a bit and let me talk to you about the shipping-aspect of the game for a moments – and let me add some frustration about how they handled Reans situation too, while I am at it.

Here is the thing. Most of us, likely have chosen Rean to be with one of his 12 or so possible girls. The game makes it possible for you to chose one of the among them regardless of who you picked in the previous game. So… in case you suddenly realizes that Alfin is much better for Rean than Towa, you can go for it. Now the question just is, what does this choice add to the game? Basically nothing. Let me tell you, that the Spreadsheet choses Fie as Reans final partner (which was a surprise for me, as all the lets players on YouTube always seemed to choose Laura – which gets annoying after a while if she is not on your top 5 list, if you know what I mean – so I am certainly not complaining here) and I wouldn’t chose anyone but Alisa as Reans final partner even if you torture me XD So I went with it and accepted that I would get addition text for Fie and probably would miss some translated text for Alisa. But I was fine with it. It didn’t happen that way tho. BECAUSE you can also chose the people you had a strong bond with in CS4 which also added additional text. The spreadsheet chose all of them – I didn’t. So EVERYONE got some additional lines. ALL of the girls did. And something I’ve realized was, that they all had an romantic context, which was slightly irritating, given that Rean has a girlfriend now – but I mean, its Rean right? Were talking about the girl sitting in the hotspring together with Claire, flirting with her without even noticing it. So whatever XD

Thing is… when I’ve reached Alisas reunion scene (which happens freaking late in the game, let me tell you all about the torture I went through…) there was no additional line. She says the same things if you chose her as your partner, like she does if you just chose her as one of your strong bonds. And that goes for ALL the girls, which is why their lines sound romantic, because they are made to also be used in case she is your girlfriend. Meaning that Falcom doesn’t make a damn difference between who Rean dated and who Rean just had a strong bond with. Imagine my disappointment!

Lets stay with our glory hunt for a little bit longer. Rean, as he is Rean, has a few canon moments with certain girls that are flirty or… slightly considered romantic. Regardless of any choices, I may add. And no, Alisa is not among them, to probably most peoples surprise. Seriously, we don’t even get a reunion-hug. That is the first time since CS2 that we didn’t get a Rean x Alisa hug. It was HORRIBLE! XD The link event was also reduced back to the “high five” that is common ground for Rean and Alisa since CS1 (we just skipped CS4 for a special hand holding and akward moment link event – but I am sure not complaining ;P) which is fine for me, as even Estelle and Joshua just get a “High five” (a very cute one tho!) and other almost canon-shippings aren’t going much further then that either. So… no biggie. Anway… as you know by now, Alisa will not be in Reans team until the freaking final chapter. She joins Lloyds Team in chapter 3 (or so…) a she (as well as Towa) was in Crossbell when things went down the drain there. Now you might be wondering if I too agree that Alisa had no leg up whatsoever in Hajimari, as many people proudly say. I DO NOT! Look, yes, we’ve got deprived of many special moments that we usually have, but lets face it, as a Rean x Alisa fan I am spoiled rotten. We got hugs and kisses as early as freaking CS2! We have gotten one of the most amazing Reunion-Hugs ever in CS3 (only slightly rivaled by Elie and Lloyd – and we get to their special status quo in a minute) and NO ONE had a special link event in CS4 but Rean and Alisa and to top it off, even if you do not do Alisas Bonding-Events, even if you do not date her at all, you WILL get the hand-holding-link-event in CS4, like it or not. So… lets face it, yes, we are used to far too much special treatment to our ship, especially considering that its not officially canon (yet, I may add ;P) and yes, that caused some disappointment on my side at certain points in the game.

BUT all in all I can not complain. Alisas name is often the only one on his lips. Towa, Machias and Sharon are currently stuck in Crossbell and Alisas name is almost always the only one he mentions. When he tries to reach Crow on the phone, but doesn’t seemed to be able to do that, he actually slightly panics and adds that he just can not reach Alisa. Alisa. Not Towa, his Coworker. Not Machias, his Friend. Also not Sharon everyone favorite maid, who he sure as hell has the number of as well. No, he was only trying to reach Alisa and he was only frustrated about not being able to reach her. AND despite the fact that he is obviously just hiding how worried he is, this little moments, is the only one were he allows himself to show that. That little moments when he can’t reach Alisa. The reunion-scene really isn’t special, but after that we can find Alisa almost always exactly were she belongs, which is right next to Rean. We also have some wonderful small moments in the final chapter. Starting with the in-synch-reaction after hearing Ishmelga-Reans awful story and ending with Alisa being so close to Rean on that Rooftop in Crossbell that there is only on camera-angle which even allows you to see that she is in fact right next to him. So yes… as an Rean x Alisa fan, I might got a bit disappointed because we didn’t get the usual super special treatment, but believe me, we did not run out of the normal special treatment. Alias leg is still up.

Achem…

Lets get to Crossbell now. Falcom had the guts to reveal in an interview that Elie and Lloyd are a thing but didn’t have the backbone to make it canon in Hajimari. They even dared to give Lloyd a special scene with almost every of his available girls. BUT if we are talking about legs up… I would say the reunion hug and the “I want to support you with my heart” – moment, were still giving Elie a leg up. Not to mention that there were multiple small hints here and there at them being an item, so there is no need to worry. I say this ship has sailed. FINALLY another ship has sailed in Crossbell. We’ve all been waiting for this since the Crossbell-Sagas relatively early days. Yes, Mirelle and Randy FINALLY got from “former Co-Workers” (my ass!) to “a married couple” and that in the short span between the beginning and the end of this game. I wish all our ships would be that efficient and fast XD

Did I hear some rumors about Wazy and Noel? Who knows!

Lets move to Rufus-Team, shall we? I am not talking about him and the Lolie… because… not sure what this even is about ^^’ But lets talk about 3 and 9. I mean, Swin and Nadia. (I love them talking about the book, by the way XD) and how Falcom uses the “Sibling” – Zone on us yet again. Seriously, Swin and Nadia are really cute together and its sure that they will become a couple eventually. I mean, there is a scene in the reverie-part of the game were Nadia is complaining about being sister-zoned. And who is the one answering her with the words “its just a phase, Jusis did that with me too”? Guessed it right, Millium. The one with the freaking cutest Link-Events you have EVER seen. Seriously, I loved my Rean and Alisa Hand holding and I absolutely adore the way Estelle and Joshua are looking at each other in their event after their hands stayed connected for a little longer then necessary and yes I jumped out of joy about Tita getting a freaking Trails-Trademark-Headpat from Agate and all. BUT look at Millius and Jusis Link-Event and tell me it is not the cutest thing you have EVER seen? I love how she leans against him like this. Its just… *chef kiss* perfect! ANYWAY… my point is, that Millium hit the nail on the head. The Sibling-Zone is a running-gag in Trails games ever since Joshua and Estelle. Now think guys, Joshua and Estelle are THE canon-couple of the whole Trails-Saga so far. And even here we had the freaking sibling-zone. This is nothing but a freaking joke. I dare to assume that ALL the sibling-zoners are eventually turn out to be couples in the end. Including Cedric and Shirley – Angie proofed to us that queerbaiting is a thing, right George?

So… honestly? All seems to be going very well shipping-wise in our games as far as I can tell. Who knows, maybe Renne will bring us good news about the two remaining ships of the Liberl-Saga in Kuro at some point. I mean, Joshua and Estelle need to get married already and Tita is 18 at the point of Kuro and with Agathe reaching his thirties, it is about time he stops sibling-zoning the girl and date her already. Geez.

I totally digress XD

So back to Hajimari. We had some really great szenes, some amazing chapters. The pacing was mostly good (a bit of a few stupid moves when Rean was in Nord aside), the character-development well done and the plot really interesting. I loved what they did with the normal-ending Reans story and how it helped our Rean to finally see the light. I was totally and absolutely amazed by Lloyds character-development as well. And once again, Rufus earned himself his redemption and I enjoyed watching it. The Riverie-Corridor too was FINALLY well done. It is not too hard, it is actually helpful and you aren’t forced to do much in there, but if you do you gain plenty of benefits from it. As someone who was like: “Oh no, not again!” after hating Phantasma in Sky3 and the Riverie Corridor at the end of CS2, I think it says a lot that I am not complaining about this thing this time, but rather praise it. Music was good. Falcom-Music. Soundtrack of CS3 is still better, but all in all it was very good as per usual. There was really barely anything to complain about.

Looking back at it, I would give it a solid 8,5 out of 10 points – and if you think that I haven’t played the real English localization yet, that has to say a lot.

[yesterdanereviews]

Lilac Ball (1987)

Film review #501

Director: Pavel Arsenov

SYNOPSIS: Travelling aboard their spaceship Pegasus, Professor Selznyova, his daughter Alisa and the rest of the crew encounter Selznyova's old friend Gromozeka. He explains that he has come from a planet where the population has just been wiped out by a virus that has lain dormant for 26,000 years. The problem is that the same virus was also left on earth, and will activate and wipe out the population in a matter of days unless a cure can be found...

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Lilac Ball is a 1987 children's sci-fi film based on the novel by Kir Bulychyov. The story starts out aboard the spaceship Pegasus, manned by Professor Selznyova and his crew, including his daughter Alisa. On their travels, they come across the Professor's friend Gromozeka, who tells them that a 26,000 year old dormant virus has just awakened and wiped out the entire population of a planet...and the same virus is on Earth and will activate in a few days time unless a cure can be found. The only solution is to send Alisa back in time to Earth 26,000 years ago to find the source of the virus. The most notable thing about the film is that it is pretty much an even split between science-fiction and fantasy: almost exactly at the halfway point, the spaceship and future gives way to an ancient Earth filled with fantasy creatures. With a runtime of seventy three minutes, the film certainly packs in a lot of stuff, combining that familiar soviet-era sci-fi aesthetic with some more offbeat fantasy creations. As a film aimed at children, it has to keep up a certain energy level to keep it entertaining, and I think it has plenty of imagination and variety to keep things interesting. The plot is quite packed as mentioned, and is a bit overwhelming to follow. Part of that might be the loose subtitles I watched the film with, and part of it is probably due to the fact that a lot of the original novel was cut to fit it into this fairly short runtime. Intricacies within the plot aren't too problematic with children's films though, as long as there's plenty of jumping off points to spark their imaginations, which I think this film has.

Alisa is the main character of the film, and had appeared in the TV series Guest from the Future in 1984 before this film was made (and portrayed by the same actress). I believe that there is also a series of novels centred around her character, so she's fairly well established, and it is refreshing to see a good female lead in these types of films. The rest of the characters serve a supporting role, and are a colourful bunch, again split between the more grounded characters in the sci-fi setting, and the fantasy half, where the characters are a bit more outlandish. The earth of 26,000 years ago is probably not very accurate, as there are talking birds, flying monsters, people in wooden houses and other such things which I do not think are historically accurate.

As mentioned, the sci-fi aesthetic feels very familiar if you have watched any other soviet-era sci-fi. The spaceship's corridors and control panels have that typical look and feel of the time, but have a lot of detail and attention in them that is visually appealing. The spaceship itself is quite a unique design: it is a disc shape with retractable "sails" that resemble paper fans. The scenes with the spaceship flying around evading capture from this giant net...ship...thing is quite well done. I noticed the camera is a bit wobbly as it moved through the sets, which is a bit distracting. Moving into the more fantasy setting, the designs of the creatures reminds me very much of something out of The Neverending Story or Labyrinth, which makes me wonder if they inspired some of the decisions at any point. Lilac Ball has a bit of a dark edge like the aforementioned films, with a trio of comic relief characters being cannibals, and this rather disturbing death scene of this giant bird thing that we follow for about five minutes before it is killed on screen and we are left looking at it's dying breath. Very odd. Some of the creatures aren't quite as imaginative as in the novels, probably due to technical and budgetary constraints. Gromozeka is a humanoid-looking alien with four arms for example, but in the original novels, he was much more alien looking, with seven eyes and such. A 2009 partial-remake of this film that, due to it being animated, was able to be much more creative with it's designs (it even had Alisa's actress from this film returning to voice Alisa's mother, which is nice).

Overall, Lilac Ball is an odd combination of science-fiction and fantasy that isn't really a combination: the film is evenly split between the two. trying to fit these two genres, and a full novel's worth of plot into such a short runtime creates a story that can be difficult to follow. The film constantly feels like it's being constrained by one thing or another, but there's plenty of things going on to keep it entertaining for children, it's just a shame there's not enough time or space given to appreciate them.

[starcloaked]

thoughts on ur favorite cattails colony and/or your fav cats there!!

OKAY ive always been a mystic colony fan but i’ve found myself liking the mountain colony more and more lately... literally all the cats there r *chefs kiss* i may have changed my mind. i adore krampy, alisa, oracle, and savanna as much as the next guy but idk ive just never gotten as attached to nil or slip . OH and mossie i’m so sorry i just forget she exists sometimes... every time i think of her my brain is like ‘oh! that’s the youtuber cat!’ n that’s it adgshgshdgshajk

ok ok but the mountain colony!! first of all i love the territory black hares are the best items ever for boosting rep and selling things. i love the cool ass waterfall in the middle n esp the den spot it’s nice :] but the cats are the dealmaker lemme go through them (this may get long)

leo!! they strike me as a kind of like as a snobby rich kid but now that they’re an adult they’re having a mid life crisis and regretting their actions. they’re a so called free thinker type and i love that they like valerian i feel like they hoard it in their den and have a cute lil flower garden. to ward off their enemies. if video games were in cattails he’d play like fortnite and destroy kids at it for fun

jag jag i literally love jag so much i want them to marry me please mr falconstar i want jag to be my partner!! they’re prickly but have a soft side and a deep backstory i adore them with all my heart they have all my licorice root for eternity mwah. their character portrait is one of my favs too they just look so... I DUNNO their face just matches their personality it fits it’s perfect

luna!! lesbian. i know the cats in this game don’t have genders but they’re a non-binary lesbian i just know okay. my usual choice of mate bc we love a blunt healer girlboss ... every time they open up i almost cry tears they’re so cute !! mx luna my beloved i love to gift them diamonds i think they rlly like shiny stuff that reminds them of the moon n stars. astrology girl (gender neutral)

let’s see arthur! the way they talk is very charming i think they’re funny :] silly little guy they’re my friend and i love em sm. they seem like one of those ppl who has several of those talking fish mounts on the wall that they unintentionally scare kids with and feel bad about it. my knight in shining armor they’re probably one of the funniest characters besides krampy... i believe his catfish story i just know he keeps it in a gilded ice cooler with his suit of armor too heavy to wear around. would wield a sword

robin next!! they r my least favorite out of the bunch but theyre still very sweet i like how supportive they are!! i always gift them my butterflies and care them very much it’s just i don’t have as much to say abt them unfortunately :( friend though!! i think they spend a lot of time at the sacred temple they n coco would be friends i’m sure of it. perhaps even dating idk i don’t make the rules...

and DELTA I LOVE YOUUUU my beloved my beloved *shoves them in a heart locket*. have given me more cardinals and blue jays than i can count i just love how their like “hehe go play a prank w this!!” and give you one of the rarest items in the game <33 they’ve got that silly funny!! would love to be real life friends with this purple cat they seem like a ball pls god transport me into the kitty world i need to smoke some catnip with this mf prankster. if i picked them up and shook them around it’d make that little cartoon jangle sound that lets you know no thoughts head empty

pebble is another sweetie... don’t have as much to say abt them like robin but i can appreciate someone who appreciates rocks. likes to go mining in their spare time and r best friends with the moles... catches mice more than anything and brings home boring little rocks but it’s cute so no one mentions it. calls themselves a geologist but when you ask them what a rock can tell them they lean down and pretend to listen to them like they’re little guys. u can’t tell if they can seriously talk to rocks or their just joking bc the bit is so serious. might be the forest guardian themselves

[cherryonigiri]

the retrospective: alice’s 1k special || lover masterlist

matchup requests: CLOSED

@renaxwrites​ asked: Congrats on 1k bby 🥳💞 can I request a matchup 👉🏼👈🏼 my mbti type is ENFP-T. My Hogwarts house is Slytherin/my Patronus is a rattlesnake! 5 words to describe me: ambitious, imaginative, passionate, loyal and sincere. I'm an art major so my hobbies are drawing, reading & playing instruments. My style depends on my mood, so it can be classy fit one day, street style the next. Fav beverage is tied between iced tea and coke. Lastly my fav team is Nekoma/Karasuno (sorry can’t choose 🥺) ty ily

AN: Rena!!! awwwwww thank you sm!!!! Lolol i have trouble choosing a favorite team too! Have a wonderful day bby! 

Your matchup is: Yaku Morisuke

How you met: You were in Russia for an art fellowship for the year, and happened to meet him through Alisa (who is a model for one of the portraits you’re creating). She introduced the two of you at a small party at her place, and two of you hit it off right away. Both of you are very ambitious and passionate about your respective careers and vibe off of having that same ambitious energy. He probably says that he’ll spot your ticket if you ever want to go to one of his games. The two of you text on and off for a while after meeting, and you take him up on his offer to watch a game every now and then.

Your first date: For one of the private new year’s galas/charity events that the Russian league holds, Yaku gets an invite to a famous art museum, with the option of bringing a plus one. He looks into what exhibits the museum has and he finds out that one of the galleries is dedicated to impressionist art, and features several pieces by an artist you’ve mentioned to him. He asks if you’d like to be his date for the night and you accept. Honestly his jaw almost hits the ground when he sees you in your outfit for the night and he honestly doesn’t pay much attention to the gala itself since he’s more than content to listen to you ramble and point out all the different paintings you love. 

Your first kiss: At the end of the gala, there are several toasts and a countdown until the start of the new year. He grabs two flutes of champagne and the two of you share a small toast and clink your glasses before taking a sip. Of course, it’s a bit cheesy but he waits until the countdown reaches zero before kissing you. The two of you start the new year surrounded by cheering, and honestly the kiss is just perfect. It’s firm yet sweet, and just the slightest bit of tongue that leaves you wanting more. When he drops you off at your door, he makes sure to kiss you a few more times before heading home. 

Anniversary: You have to return home after your fellowship ends, but the two of you, out of sheer stubbornness and devotion make long distance work (although not without a few bumps in the road.) Your first anniversary happens to fall on a night where Yaku has to play for his team - and he lets you know that he won’t be there in person. However, the night before the two of you enjoy a very long video call, and he makes it a point to ship you a beautiful Russian egg as a present +  a very sweet and heartfelt love letter. Admittedly you’re a bit mopey on the day of your actual anniversary - so you decide to be a couch potato for the day, bundling up in blankets on your couch to watch the re-run of your boyfriend’s match. You’re at the match point for the second set when you hear a knock at your door. At first you think it’s probably just a package, but when you open your door Yaku is standing there with a giant bouquet of flowers. You basically tackle him and are a complete sobbing mess bc this is the best surprise ever???? He hauled ass to get to where you were on time but it was totally worth seeing how happy you are.

How they propose: A few years down the road, you’re visiting Yaku in Russia and are in the VIP section/front row during the finals of the league tournament. You’re on the edge of your seat, they’re down to a deuce in the fifth set and you can just feel the tension as both teams struggle to score two points in a row. Finally, after making an extraordinary save, Yaku’s team manages to score that second point, sending the entire stadium into cheers. You’re jumping up and down in the stands, and the entire team is bundled up in a group hug. After the medal ceremony, Yaku’s walking around waving to fans, and his teammates all keep patting him on the back. By the time he gets to you pretty much all his teammates are casting not so subtle glances at him (much to his annoyance). The adrenaline hasn’t worn off quite yet, so before he gets too nervous he kneels down in front of you and the audience collectively gasps. He has the whole speech prepared when he proposes and you’re in tears by the time he finishes. When you nod yes he tears up before grabbing you for the tightest hug ever. 

What your wedding looks like: Decides to do two small ceremonies - one in his home country of Japan and another in your home country. It’s the perfect compromise and ensure that none of your friends have to spend exorbitant amounts of money to attend a destination wedding. The ceremonies are both intimate and small - it’s mostly close friends and family. The Nekoma alum are all there in Japan, and yoru classmates from art school are present for the ceremony that takes place in your hometown. Takes a few months off to enjoy newlywed life with you - he spends the first two months living with you in your apartment, and the months travelling around Japan with you. 

Newlywed/domestic hc: now that you’re married Yaku has zero qualms about helping you set up a studio in St. Petersburg (if you’re willing to move your career to the same country as his, if not he’ll still buy the two of you a larger apartment for when you visit). Also sugar daddy Yaku ahem n e ways even if his team isn’t based in St. Petersburg, at least he can spend his weekends and most of his off season with you. Of course, you still have to fly back and forth between continents because of all your different clients, but at the end of the day nothing beats coming home to Yaku cooking a nice pot of nabe in the kitchen. The two of you revel in your newly found domestic bliss - it’s just wonderful to finally have a shared place you both call home.

[noahhernandez]

2/9/2015 v. 8/11/2020

1:Talk about the first time you watched your favorite movie. My favorite movie is Scream, and it started when I saw the midnight premier of Scream 4 with my dad back when I was in 8th grade, then Scream 1 came on AMC late on night and I just really like it

I still think Scream is one of my favorites, but Halloween has jumped up there just because I am obsessed with all things horror really lol. I started to love Halloween because of the new trilogy.

2:Talk about your first kiss. It’s really not that interesting but really like embarrassing. It was with my first boyfriend and I had just turned 15 and we were at the school just walking around and we went into the band hall and I was like ok im leaving and he was like wait and we kissed and i was like o

the same ! 

3:Talk about the person you’ve had the most intense romantic feelings for. I never really have had intense feelings for anyone. I d k

One my exes- I mean we were dating for awhile so that’s pretty intense to me. 

4:Talk about the thing you regret most so far. I regret… Nothing really I mean, I have done really bad things in my life, but i don’t regret them

I regret failing like 2 semesters of college lmao and almost dropping out. If i didn’t then I would 1- would have been done earlier and 2- would have already completed a year of grad school but IDK also another is wasting lots of money in 2017-2018

5:Talk about the best birthday you’ve had. The best birthday I’ve had was.. Idk This year was was nice I saw Iggy Azalea in concert, then I celebrated my friends’ birthday then mine and it was just everyone got to get together so ya this year my 18th

For my 21st birthday I went to Portland, Oregon and spent the weekend there and it was pretty and my first time there so it was nice despite what I think about PDX now. I don’t even know what I was doing for my 19 and 20th birthday lol. 

6:Talk about the worst birthday you’ve had. My 17th birthday because I was stuck 2 hours away from home with a bunch of nerds doing a band competition 

That is still probably my worst birthday. I forget to mention that I was gone literally from like 7am to midnight. They werent a bunch of loser nerds, they were my friends, but I still wish I was just at home lol. 

7:Talk about your biggest insecurity. I am skinny, but not fit. If I eat anything I get this like stomach and it makes me so sad. and ever since I got a job I work odd hours and I eat a lot of fast food and I’ve gained 10 pounds in 2 years and I guess i’m insecure about my weight

I am still insecure about my weight, and I probably weight like 5 pounds more than I did when I made this post 5 1/2 years ago. 

8:Talk about the thing you are most proud of. We have band banquets for band, and I only went my sophomore and junior year, and seniors give out awards to underclassmen that are just jokes really, and both years 4 different seniors gave me an award for being the biggest gossip in the entire band and I was proud of that lol

Well since then I have graduated both high school and college. I am proud that I finished college !! A BS in Psych. Proud of myself that I got promoted (in 2017) at my job; i’m proud of myself that I have my own apartment, and blah blah basically just doing regular adult shit. 

9:Talk about little things on your body that you like the most. I like my nose because of how perfectly fixed it is. I also really like my freckles/moles/dark marks idk what they are exactly, but they’re on my face and they look great

I still feel the same way about this, maybe add my eyebrows- they’re not like clean and nice they’re just expression markers on my face that i love.

10:Talk about the biggest fight you’ve ever had. I got into a fight with my old friend Angelica and that was almost 4 months ago and we used to be best friends and now we never talk.

When Janett didn’t talk to me all summer of 2019 because I told our other friend Angel something

11:Talk about the best dream you’ve ever had. I cant remember one 12:Talk about the worst dream you’ve ever had. I can’t remember one

13:Talk about the first time you had sex/how you imagine your first time. The closest thing i’ve had to like sex was being locked in a back of an SUV with a stranger drunk as fuck and naked and its embarrassing

Just awkward and nothing to which I expected. 

14:Talk about a vacation. When I was 16, the high school band took a trip to Hawaii, and all my friends were in band so it was great. We did a lot of things, we toured Pearl Harbor and even played a few patriotic songs on the USS Miss. and our hotel was on Wakiki beach. I went snorkeling in some beautiful water and shit and idk just walked all around Hawaii having a great time omg we got on stage at the Hard Rock Cafe and sang with German people i miss it

Hm that was fun. But I.. went to NY with my ex and that was pretty cool because I literally love New York, and I went to NOLA two years ago (today actually) and got miserably drunk so that was fun too 

15:Talk about the time you were most content in life. Probably just in the middle of junior year when everything and everyone was going with the flow

I feel like 2016 was a very content year because I remember nothing about it. 

16:Talk about the best party you’ve ever been to. Idk which one to talk about the one where I had a lot of fun and risked my life or the one where there was a lot of drama stirred up and drank myself to sadness. 

I haven’t really been to a party? I have gone out and had good times. Really anytime my friends and I go out I am having a good time 

17:Talk about someone you want to be friends with. I am already friends with people I want to be friends with

18:Talk about something that happened in elementary school. I kissed a boy on the back of the head and i told I just fell onto his head

Let me think of another one. Back in like fourth grade my friend was in a wheel chair and his backpack was falling from the back and I was trying to grab it and i was only 3 feet tall i couldnt see over or wasnt paying attention and i crashed him right into the bookshelves at the library. 

19:Talk about something that happened in middle school. A girl was mad at me because idk why lol and she pushed me in the hall way and I fucking flew across that hall on the floor and hit the wall she’s pregnant now

When I was in 5th grade (which is considered middle school in my district) I was standing on the play ground and someone threw a stick at my head and it knocked me the fuck out and I was bleeding from my temple.

20:Talk about something that happened in high school. In Jr. Year I was pulling into the parking lot but I was texting and I accidentally put half my car on grass area near the side walk luckily it was 7am and only one person saw me do it lol

One summer going into our senior year we had a party at Michelle’s house. First of all we were very drunk and Coby’s parents were like we are coming over and we cleaned TF UP so fast and sat on the couch and turned on I Know What You Did Last Summer and his parents were like interesting and and left and then we continued to drink anyways- we started playing truth or dare and my friend Angelica was like I dare u to kiss Anthony (someone I had liked prior) and he wouldnt and we started attacking him and calling him homophobic and hitting him with pillows lmao- him and I are still friend-ish

21:Talk about a time you had to turn someone down. I can’t think of something right now.

Literally anyone on grindr.

22:Talk about your worst fear. I’m afraid of having no career and being stuck doing something I hate and living paycheck to paycheck

Yeah, I’m scared of that still but I.. think just like being broke and jobless. RN with the pandemic we aren’t really working and still getting gov’t assistance, so.  IDK being a real real adult scares me a lot. 

23:Talk about a time someone turned you down. I can’t think of a time :)

One time in like 2016 maybe idk - this dude told me to come over and he lived far like not that far maybe 25 minutes lol far for me anyways I got to his apartment and there was a gate code and i asked him what it was and he didnt answer and it was like 2-3am and nobody was coming in or out and so i was like damn this sucks lmao

24:Talk about something someone told you that meant a lot. Nothing really has meant a lot to me. Everyone tells me the same thing over and over again and its so surface level

I still can’t think of anything but I’m sure the friends I have met since this and my friends Faith, Michelle, Peter, and Alisa have said something supportive that meant a lot to me. 

25:Talk about an ex-best friend. Angelica Ramirez. She was my best friend for only 3 years, but together we went through A LOT of shit. We started out senior year just fine, but she lied about a few things and made a lot of us feel like crap in October. I won’t lie, I do miss her. We have too many memories to just forget, too many funny stories and great adventures. She helped me with too much, and sometimes I think about how I cut her out of my life and I mad a bad choice. But only time can heal things and I have moved on and truly found people that won’t make me mad every 30 seconds. 

Brianna Pajak, I don’t remember anything about her except she was poor and we stopped being friends because she always wanted to fight and be annoying. 

26:Talk about things you do when you’re sick. Lay on bed on my computer and watch TV

I normally just suffer and cry about wishing I was healthy again.

27:Talk about your favorite part of someone else’s body. Their…!!>>>??? 

I must have nice hands and ur nose must be nice too! so nose and hands. lol

28:Talk about your fetishes. none

yeah I don’t have any lol not that I can think of. 

29:Talk about what turns you on. Idk i really like kissing and touching and this is awkward. 

30:Talk about what turns you off. bad breath by

that and ugly/rough hands, acne sorry i know it is natural but, shorter than me lol, white people, long hair on guys, and thats about it i think hm i am single yes 

31:Talk about what you think death is like. I think its like idk its scary tho

um idk i dont like thinking about death because i literally want to cry when i think about it. 

32:Talk about a place you remember from your childhood. I remember being in trees a lot

My step grandma’s a lot because my parents were working and she would watch us. She passed away about a month ago :( 

33:Talk about what you do when you are sad. I usually only tell one person and that person is Alisa and I cry sometimes to her and expect her to make things better and she does thank u

I be doing the same thing, I text someone and that person could really be anyone but it happened the other day and I texted Bri and she was very helpful. 

34:Talk about the worst physical pain you’ve endured. I have no idea, I’ve never broken pulled strained twisted fractures or anything i have no life

I still haven’t done any of that stuff to my body. I also have burn scars but I did not feel those when it was happening. I would just say i guess my wisdom teeth coming in because I did not get them removed. I have 3 out lol.

35:Talk about things you wish you could stop doing. Pushing potential love interests away 

I have had some ‘love interests’ since this post, but it’s been about a year now since and I kind of push away the opportunity of getting close to someone. I also need to stop being a bitch sometimes. 

36:Talk about your guilty pleasures. eating 

I would say idk eating was a stupid answer. 

37:Talk about someone you thought you were in love with. never

I was in love and i didn’t ‘think’ I was in love. I don’t know what you mean by talk about them, they were my partner but we broke up hehe.

38:Talk about songs that remind you of certain people. Fireflies by Owl City reminds me of my 7th grade crush Fancy by Iggy Azalea reminds me of my two friends Michelle and Alisa idk anything else

um Idk. i rly cant think  39:Talk about things you wish you’d known earlier. I wish I would have known that

That it’s okay to tell people you’re struggling lol . That is okay to fail sometimes (school).  40:Talk about the end of something in your life. everything is just about to start

When I ended how to get away with murder I wish I never did I love that show with all my heart. 

[greycappedjester]

Do you have any writing tips you could share? I love your writing style, and I find it so intriguing to read! How do you keep up your motivation to write consistently?

Thank you so much for the ask! I’m definitely not an expert; but, here are a few things that I’ve learned as I went so maybe they’ll help (I’ll try to focus on the motivation question because writing is definitely hard sometimes):

(I’m putting this under “Read More” in case it gets too long. Plus for minor, tiny spoilers for the last chapter that’s already been posted because I focus a bit on how I planned that one)

1.) For me, I gotta have a plan on where I’m going with the scene and how it fits into the overall story. It doesn’t have to be a big, major scene; but even just “I want to show them goofing off and acting like teens” gives me an idea for how I want the mood of the scene to be. The question behind any scene I think is “what do you want the reader to get out of this”. Once I know that, it’s easier for me to have a goal and a ground to start on so I don’t get lost when I sit down to write. (Also it’s super motivating for me to have my chapter outline open and highlight things in green so so I can see the progress start to add up)

2.) With that, I think a certain amount of flexibility in plot also helps motivation. It’s more boring to write something when you feel you have to word by word follow a draft so I have the main goal of the scene, but for the details on how they get there, I leave it a bit open.

To help explain a bit, here was my chapter outline for the last chapter (Ch. 6/7 in Triwizard Tournament, “Surprise, Surprise”)--excuse the shorthand grammar please

Chapter 6: Surprise, Surprise

-Alisa Haiba cooing over her adorable little brother and getting to meet his friends (she’s clearly and obviously gorgeous), also mentions crush on Yaku which Lev blushes about

-Oikawa and Ushijima conversation 

-Tendou and Ushijima conversation (plus meeting the rest of Durmstrang)

-Meeting the Durmstrang Headmaster as a teacher

-Noya and Asahi’s cute moment where Asahi might be trying to distract him, interupted by Saeko as she surprises both Noya and Tanaka but then discovers the papers

-First meeting between Hinata who’s trying to work on Quidditch and Korai where he tells him that he sucks basically but also in an encouraging way

So, yeah, I had my general goal for the scene plus a few mental notes on how I wanted the scene to go (like Oikawa and Ushijima’s relationsip and the surprise element of Korai’s character) that I didn’t bother to write down; but, the specifics like Lev’s story about Yaku that he told Alisa and the details of the Asahi/Noya interaction I was free to play around with for what works best.

Writing’s work; but, it can also be really fun and I like the freedom to add certain just-for-fun details in as I think of them.

3.) Some scenes are more fun to write than others. I definitely look forward to writing certain big scenes and have ideas for them waaaay in advance (for example, I’ve already got some lines for the last chapter in the seventh book planned). Way I think of it, there’s nothing to stop me from making notes about those scenes or even writing full dialogue as I think of it. But, also, I try to keep those bits on a seperate planning doc. For the actual order of the scenes whilw writing a chapter, I try to write them in the order they occur because, if not, I think it would be really easy for me to focus on the scenes I most want to write in the chapter and, then, be less enthused about the scenes that are left. And no scene deserves to be an unenthused/ unwanted scene, that’s less fun for everyone. So--again this is just what works best for me--I try to write in order which also gives me a much better feeling for the flow of the story and how I want the scenes to link to each other.

4.) Actually writing is a terrible and incredibly hard thing to actually get myself to do sometimes and I’m sure that’s true for a lot of people. Sometimes I just want to take a nap or watch TV mindlessly. But, the thing is...I love writing so I also want to be writing, too, so I gotta get myself to actually  get up and start. Here’s my weird way I do it. (Full disclosure this is a tip I also use on my OCD to get myself to actually start on a task.) I set a timer and tell myself I have 20 minutes to just get ready and do whatever. Then, after 20 minutes, I tell myself “Okay, now, I have to write for at least 10 minutes” and do not set a timer for those ten minutes.More often then not it’s tricky to get started the first couple minutes, then once I get stared, I look up and like 40 minutes have passed and I’ve got a scene done. My goal for most days is to try to have those “at least 10 minute” writing sessions twice a day--sometimes, I make the goal, sometimes I don’t, sometimes I do more than two, depends on the day.

Anyway, that’s my thngs for motivation! Hope that helps in some way and thanks again for the ask!

[thelazydoodle]

Alright, I watched Carole & Tuesday

As you all saw on my blog I've reblogged a ton of clips of the songs from the show. I've been quite curious about this show before it got on netflix, I honestly didn't know it was coming to Netflix so win for me.

Short Talk:

I love the story, the designs, the songs, and of course Carole &Tuesday.

Long Talk:

So the characters, there's actually a lot of characters and to me they were all special in some way, but I'm going to stick with what the story is based around. So let's start with our stars of the show shall we? First we'll start with Tuesday because she starts the story off. So Tuesday is this rich girl who's shy, a shut in, and ignored child from both her brother and mother who's running for election on Mars (you heard me, the stort takes place on Mars.) And she wants to become a muscian(reason is stated in the show) and she's talented with a guitar. So in order for her to persue her dream, she runs away from home to take the Midnight train (not anywhere) to Alba City. Unfortunately she gets a rough start, and she bumps into Carole. Now Carole is an Immigrant from Earth in a refugee camp, who currently goes job to job to make ends meet for rent in her storage unit apartment. Carole is an outgoing and tough girl, who knows how to take care of herself. She too has a dream of becoming a musician and is talented in playing piano, they come across each other and filled the empty pieces they have( Carole is good at making beats and notes, but can't figure out how to make lyrics. While Tuesday can write lyrics and makes beats, but she's too shy to play) so they decided to room together and persue their dreams together. They come across their manager Gus, a former musican and music producer who became washed up and a drunk. Till he heard them and wanted to help them achieve their dream along with Roddy, an AI technician for DJs who found them and recorded them performing. On the side we have Angela, a model who wanted to become a singer since she was a child and will go any length to achieve it, with the help of Tao. Tao is a famous neuroscientist, who uses AI to produce music.

Now to the story, I was really surprised it was directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, who directed notable works such as: Cowboy Bebop, Kids on the Slope, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy. Along with the help of many writers, such as one writer Kieko Nobumoto. She wrote Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, she wrote the screen play for Cowboy Bebop, Cowboy Bebop Knockin on Heaven's Door, and is the creator of both script, and author of the manga adaptation of Wolf's Rain. Apparently Carole & Tuesday takes place the same universe as Cowboy Bebop(which I found highly entertaining). The story is lovely, it's an underdog story for these two girls who are trying to become musicians, who are learning about each other, how much they really treasure their experiences together, and changing themselves for the better. What makes me laugh is that there are many references to our modern day pop culture, such as a Banksy's failed attempt of shredding one of his works at an auction, or mentioning of other musicians like Cyndi Lauper, The Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein, or Motorhead.

I've only listened to the Japanese Dub so far and I loved it, I might come back to it with the english Dub.

This kinda deserves it's own section, but there's a lot of different genres of music and a vast cast of characters to tag along with it. We have other DJ's, popular Pop singers, and....odities. it was interesting to see how they fit these other musicians and go so out there to write songs for these side characters. It was the greatest thing I loved about it. biggest take away from this show is the music, fully written songs with lyrics with the help of singers to take part in. Singers like Celina Ann(Tuesday), Nai Br.XX(Carole), Alisa(Angela), and many more

So overall, if you like music in different genres, seeing dreams being chased, a big cast of characters, and moments of these two girls treasuring their experiences of the things they go through? I'd recommend it, it's 19 episodes on Netflix, and it's currently going through another season as we speak.

I might come back with an update of what I think of the English Dub.

[brookutoh]

Scenario where kuroo likes the reader but thinks shes out of his league and everyone is telling him that he should go for it but he doesnt and at a Christmas party, they're slightly drunk and end up making out?

This is fantastic because I’ve been craving Kuroo lately, AND I managed to fail at finishing this for long enough that it’s now Kuroo’s birthday, so what better way to celebrate than with 3k words of drunken party shenanigans?

Thanks for the prompt, and enjoy!!

“Kuro, you’re smiling at your phone again.”

The sudden voice of his best friend - despite its usual quietness - caused Kuroo to jump about a foot in the air. Embarrassment at being exposed so openly quickly turned to annoyance at Kenma’s words.

He huffed. “What, am I not allowed to smile at my phone now?”

Kenma granted him a look over the top of his PSP, one that Kuroo could swear he’d seen in a nightmare before. It was the phrase ‘don’t fuck with me’ in its rawest form.

“It’s what you’re smiling at that’s the problem,” Kenma muttered.

Kuroo frowned down at his phone. He was once again texting you, and you were once again causing him to grin like an idiot at your messages. He couldn’t help it; you were just so cute! Kuroo would be the first to admit that he loved talking to you, whether that be via text or face-to-face, he just loved hearing your thoughts and opinions, and when you told him a story - even if it was as simple as how your day went - he would listen with rapt attention as you spoke.

This was where the problem lay: sure, you were a fantastic friend, and Kuroo was thankful every single day that you’d been introduced all those months ago. It just sucked that he wished that you could be more than friends.

Apparently, this thought was written all over his face because he heard Kenma sigh from his spot on Kuroo’s bed. “Just ask her out.”

“Sure, if it were that simple I wo-”

“It is that simple.”

But it wasn’t. At least, not to Kuroo. It was a difficult situation, both because he knew he would be rejected straightaway and because the amazing friendship the two of you shared would be ruined as soon as you found out about his feelings. More than anything, he was terrified of your imminent disgust that someone like him felt that way about you. And that was something he just wouldn’t be able to handle.

Another sigh from Kenma. “She’s not going to reject you.”

Kuroo fixed him with a look. “Not even you’re that observant.”

Saying nothing more, Kenma simply rolled his eyes and went back to his game, ending the conversation then and there. Kuroo finished typing out a text to you, and then your next message caused him to pause.

[13:03] Her : oh yeah!!! are you going to the haiba xmas party??

Kuroo blinked at the screen twice, before looking up to his preoccupied best friend. “Lev’s having a Christmas party?”

“Yeah, this day next week. Thought I told you.”

“You didn’t.”

“Oh.”

Not paying any attention to Kenma’s disinterested tone, Kuroo asked, “Are you going?”

Stupid question, as shown by the sudden grimace on Kenma’s face. Still, he didn’t answer immediately, and Kuroo felt a snippet of pride when the blond answered, “Maybe.”

Probably Lev had pestered him enough about it that Kenma had given in somewhat. If he did end up going at all, it would either be for only a few minutes or he would spend the night in some unoccupied room playing video games.

But if you were inquiring about the party, then did that mean you were going? Kuroo hadn’t been to many of Lev’s parties, but ever since the boy had turned 18 a few years ago his parents had started going on vacation more often and leaving the family’s enormous house (Kuroo would call it a mansion, really) into the hands of Lev and his sister. With little-to-no persuasion from the older Haiba sibling to the younger, they’d started throwing massive parties wherever possible. They were somewhat notorious by now; the last one Kuroo had gone to - before he’d met you - was still a very large black hole in his memory, and the tiny fragments he could actually remember involved dancing on a table, seeing Bokuto naked, and walking in on at least twelve couples in compromising positions throughout the house.

Needless to say, he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about you being involved in all this. Typing out a quick question to ask if you were going - to which you responded with an enthusiastic ‘yes!!!!’ - the decision was made for him.

[13:17] Kuroo: Yeah, I’m definitely going :)

***

You stared at yourself in the mirror. “Isn’t this dress a little… revealing?”

Behind you, Alisa was also staring at your reflection, arms crossed and a smile on her face. “That’s the point! We have to give Kuroo-kun a treat, don’t we?”

Not for the first time tonight, you blushed at the mention of Kuroo. Since she’d discovered your embarrassing crush on one of your closest friends, the gorgeous half-Russian had taken it upon herself to help you ‘break out of your shell’ (her words) and snag him. While you hadn’t exactly taken much of her advice up until this point, the encroaching couple’s holiday of Christmas was making your desire to be more than platonic with Kuroo reach new levels.

Thus, why you were now looking at yourself in Alisa’s full-length mirror while dressed in a very short, very low-cut, and very sexy red dress. Festive though it may be, it was certainly not something you would’ve picked out for yourself to wear, but Alisa had bought it specifically with you in mind, having presented it to you as a Christmas present as soon as you’d stepped foot in the Haiba residence one hour ago.

You had to give her credit though, your self-proclaimed surrogate older sister had taste. And possibly had also taken your measurements without your knowledge, because this was the most well-fitting piece of clothing you’d ever worn in your life. And, okay, the thought of Kuroo seeing you like this almost definitely had you eager for tonight.

“Okay,” you nodded, turning around to face Alisa properly. “I’ll wear it.”

“Great!” She squealed. “Now just let me do your hair and makeup, and there’s no way you’ll leave the party single.”

You rolled your eyes as she got to work, but ultimately you were grateful for all her help. Now all you had to do was talk to Kuroo. That would be easy, right? He was your friend, you talked to him all the time. There wouldn’t be any problems.

***

Kenma walked into the room you were hiding in. He granted you a single glance before wandering over to sit beside you on the bed and pulling a Nintendo Switch from his apparently quite deep jacket pocket. “We could play MarioKart.”

You shook your head. “No, that’s okay. I just… need to talk myself into leaving.”

“No pressure.”

Kenma was a good friend, you’d always thought. Quiet, wickedly clever, and ridiculously observant. So observant, in fact, that he’d discovered your feelings for his best friend before you’d even realised them yourself.

Which is why your next question was, “Is he here?”

A nod. “We came together.” A pause. “He’s looking for you.”

“…Maybe if I hide up here, then-”

“Lev told him you were here. Also, he would come look for me if he couldn’t find you.”

Dangit. Looks like you’d have to face him after all. In this dress. Which, okay, did look fantastic on you and was building confidence where previously you’d had none, but this was Kuroo.

“He likes red,” Kenma hummed, almost inaudible.

The dress was red. The shoes were red. The jewellery you’d borrowed from Alisa all had inlaid rubies. The pins holding your hair in place were red. Your lipstick was blood red.

You shot an accusatory glance towards the boy beside you, who shrugged. “Alisa asked. I answered.”

You couldn’t help it. You laughed. Your friends were simultaneously wonderful and terrible. You caught a small smile on Kenma’s face at your amusement, and only then did you gesture to yourself and ask, “Do you think he’ll like it?”

Kenma gave you a look. “You could wear a trashbag and he’d still want to drag you upstairs.”

Oh. Well. Now your cheeks were red to match the rest of you. Still, you nodded. “I should probably go then, shouldn’t I?”

“Please.”

You stuck your tongue out at him for that but ultimately found yourself leaving the room and standing in one of the many long corridors throughout the house. The floor beneath you was practically pounding with the loud beat of the music pulsating through the building, and you could already hear drunken cheers and what sounded a lot like an owl hooting. Or maybe that was just Bokuto, you weren’t sure.

Not for the first time, you found yourself considering how lucky you were that you actually knew your way around this place, easily finding your way into the secret passage linking this hall to the floor below. Dusty and dark though it may be, it had you emerging into the very crowded kitchen a minute later. A quick glance over the partygoers showed no tall bedheads, but it did show a very exhausted-looking Akaashi.

“I don’t know where he is,” was his greeting to you. “Would you like a drink?”

Well, this was a party. You may as well indulge in some aspects of it in between searching for a certain middle blocker. You nodded and were immediately handed a cup of something bright pink and somewhat ominous.

“It tastes like strawberries,” Akaashi supplied, before knocking back his own cup.

You supposed it could taste like a lot worse, so you mirrored his actions. It did taste like strawberries, but once it had slipped down your throat you were left feeling like you had downed straight vodka. Which, considering you were in the home of two half-Russians, was probably the case. Deciding you needed all the help you could get tonight, you finished off the rest of the drink. Without a word, Akaashi took your now-empty cup and refilled it.

You stayed there for a little while longer, taking note of everybody who entered the room, but failing to find exactly who you were looking for. You kept drinking, and Akaashi kept refilling your cup, until the two of you were flushed and giggling about something Kuroo had said or Bokuto had done.

“Oookay,” you laughed as you calmed your breathing down. “I need to stop drinking.”

Akaashi nodded. “Me too, I think. This stuff is bad.”

“Very,” you agreed, before remembering what your goal for tonight was. “Ugh, I need to go find Kuroo now. How is it so easy to lose him? He’s so tall!”

Akaashi thought for a second. “Mmmaybe he’s with Bokuto?”

That made sense. “But where’s Bokuto?”

From elsewhere in the house, the unmistakable sound of hooting could be heard. Akaashi looked at you with pride. “Found him.”

Grasping onto each other for support since walking in a straight line was difficult, the two of you made your way to the other side of the house. The games room was about as full as the kitchen had been, but almost everyone in here was crowded around the large pool table in the centre, as it was currently being used as a makeshift table by both Bokuto and Iwaizumi to arm-wrestle, although they were currently locked in a stalemate.

Bokuto glanced towards you and Akaashi, face lighting up in a grin at seeing the latter. Before he could call out a greeting, however, his focus was drawn back to his hand as Iwaizumi made an attempt at pushing for the win.

You took this opportunity to glance around the room, feeling yourself deflate ever so slightly when zero bedheads could be found. You were positive he’d be with his best bro, this was just getting ridiculous now.

As you watched Akaashi leave you to go and cheer Bokuto on, you wondered if maybe every part of this was just a sign that things weren’t meant to be. Well, that thought certainly depressed you. Maybe it was best to retreat for now, your head was pretty fuzzy after all.

It took you far longer than usual to climb up the nearest staircase, but you felt an immense amount of pride at yourself for actually making it to the top. Now your next course of action was to find a new hiding place, this time one without any other occupants.

You did feel a semblance of guilt deep inside as you pressed an ear to each bedroom door, like you were ruining everyone’s privacy, but it was far better than actually walking in and seeing something that would give you the urge to gouge out your own eyes.

Finally, you found a quiet door, bursting in none-too-subtly to find that it was not as empty as you’d first assumed.

Kuroo looked over to the door with a jolt from his seat on the bed, before his eyes widened exponentially at seeing you. And then they looked down the length of your body, and then back up to your face. And then, despite the drunken flush on his cheeks and slight glassiness of his eyes, he smirked that ungodly smirk and winked.

“Red looks great on you.”

Well, fuck him. How dare he be that attractive despite being a little blurry around the edges? How dare he beckon you over with an unsteady hand, and how dare you stumble over in record time?

How dare he, you continued to think as you straddled his waist and eagerly planted your mouth onto his own. His hands came up to rest on your hips as he kissed back with the same amount of enthusiasm, and soon you were cursing him once again, this time for almost definitely having smudged your lipstick.

When his tongue made its way into your mouth you tasted strawberries. Your hands making their way up to nestle in his unruly hair, you pulled his head back just enough to disconnect your lips.

“I was looking for you for ages,” you whined breathlessly.

“So was I,” he replied with an overdramatic pout. “Where were you?”

“I was…” Oh yeah. “Hiding in a bedroom. Then Kenma came in.”

“Why were you hiding?”

You looked away. “You.”

“Me?”

“You,” you nodded.

His brow furrowed. “I was hiding from you too.”

Oh. “You were?”

“Yeah. I drank a lot of the pink stuff and then wanted to kiss you real bad.”

You gasped, eyes snapping back to his. “Me too! Maybe it was a love potion.”

“Maybe,” he grinned. “It worked.”

You blinked for a second, before the realisation of where you were and what you’d just done hit you as quickly as your blurry mind would allow. “Hey, it did!”

He laughed. “Maybe we should kiss some more, in case it wears off.”

“Okay!”

And then you dizzily met him again.

“WAKE UP SLEEPYHEADS!”

Oh no. That was way too loud. That was illegally loud. There would be noise complaints. The police would be called. You would all be arrested. What would prison do to you? Would you be the same person afterwards? Would you be able to find yourself a nice prison wife? Would-

“Please let us live,” came a hoarse voice from beside you.

Wait. Beside you? Who was beside you?

You slowly cracked one eye open, every part of your nervous system complaining about the sunlight filtering into the bedroom through the window. It took a few blinks to rid yourself of all residual blurriness, but once that task had been completed your focus zeroed in on the body next to you in bed.

In… bed.

You were in bed, and this person was next to you.

And then said person rolled over to face you and all blood drained from your face.

“Mornin’,” Kuroo whisper-greeted you, a very sleepy - and very attractive - smile on his face.

Suddenly you were very conscious that he was shirtless. And with the hand hidden beneath the duvet, you quickly had an exploratory roam across your body to find that you were wearing your underwear, and nothing else.

“M-Morning,” you replied with all the confidence you could muster. Which was none.

Alisa, still standing at the door after having woken you both up as if she were Satan’s daughter herself, watched your exchange with nothing short of glee.

“Glad to see you two had a good night,” she grinned, pointedly looking down at a heap of red fabric on the floor. With a blush, you realised it was your dress.

Next to you, Kuroo rolled his eyes. “Nothing happened, Alisa.”

She shrugged. “Don’t hate me for assuming. Come downstairs when you’re ready, there’s coffee and bacon in the kitchen.”

She closed the door behind her as she left, and your stomach growled at the mention of food. But before that, you turned to meet Kuroo’s gaze. “Did nothing really happen?”

“Well, we made out for a while and then fell asleep. But other than that, no.”

You nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. “Okay, good.”

When he spoke next, his voice was quiet. “Do you hate the idea of it that much?”

The sudden heartbroken look on his face had you flailing. “N-No! I don’t at all, I’d just prefer if something like that didn’t happen when I was very drunk.”

“So you’d be okay with it if you weren’t drunk?” He asked, a smirk now replacing any sadness that had been on his face.

“Or hungover,” you added, in case he had any ideas about how to spend the morning. “But yes, I’d be fine with it. I kissed you, remember?”

He grinned. “You did. You could do it again if you wanted.”

You really did want to, but a memory from the night before had surfaced. “Did you mean what you said last night?”

“About liking you?” You nodded. “Yeah. I thought you were way out of my league though.”

Your mouth dropped open. “How?! I thought you were out of my league.”

He laughed a little, stopping when it apparently hurt his head. “We’re not very smart.”

“No,” you agreed. “But now we know.”

He stared at you for a long moment, before smiling. “If you were gonna kiss me again, now would be a great time to do it.”

You rolled your eyes but conceded.

Breakfast could wait.

[toolongdidntreid]

Sins of the Father - Ch 1 (Criminal Minds Fanfic)

Chapter One: “Alisa” - As the BAU wrestles with an extremely delicate case involving international terrorism, the team brings in a new agent from an illusive branch of the BAU to help.

--

Alisa Belov stepped into the elevator, smoothing down her shirt and taking a long breath. Then she leaned forward, pressing the button for floor six and stepping back to lean against the railing.

“Hold the door!”

As the elevator began to close her eyes darted to the man running toward the doors and quickly stepped forward to block them with her arm. She watched the man slide in, throwing his bag over his shoulder as he offered a smile.

“Thanks,” he said. “It’s been one of those mornings, you know?”

She nodded, returning his smile with one of her own. “My morning has too been stressful,” she offered after a few moments of silence. “It is my first time at the BAU.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “You must be Agent Belov, then. I heard you were swinging by for this case.” He extended a hand to shake and she accepted. “Derek Morgan.”

“What gave it away?” Alisa said with a nervous laugh. “My perfect English?”

He chuckled. “Your English is fine. I did notice that accent though.”

“Ah, I cannot shake it, even after five years living in America,” she told him with a wave of her hand.

“Only five years?” Derek asked.

“I came here often after college,” Alisa explained. “When I started my work your government worked with me often. Now I work full-time.”

“Congrats,” Derek offered. “And about the BAU, I’m sure you’ll fit right in. Our little family here is happy to have you, especially with this new case.”

Alisa couldn’t help but smile at this. She hadn’t expected people to here to be so friendly.

The elevator doors opened and they both stepped out to be immediately greeted by a very remarkable looking woman. She ran up to Derek, grabbing both of his arms. Her kitten earrings jingled pleasantly.

“Thank god you’re here,” she said breathlessly. “Hotch is starting to get a little stir-crazy—I’m getting a little stir-crazy—especially since we were working major overtime trying to follow the Arizona lead—“ Her sentence stopped short as she suddenly seemed to notice Alisa’s presence. For a moment she just stared, as if all words had escaped her.

“Oh my god,” she said finally. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, it’s uh—sorry this hand has cannoli on it—it’s nice to meet you! Alisa? Alisa Belov? Agent Belov?”

The woman extended her clean hand to shake and Alisa accepted it, unable to suppress the grin that was itching at the corner of her mouth. “Alisa is fine,” she assured her.

This must be Penelope Garcia. Out of all the files she had read, she was a hard individual to miss. Aaron Hotchner had described her as a beacon of positivity, armed with hacking skills and neon colors.

“Great! I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, you’re even more beautiful in person,” Penelope gushed. “You looked angelic in your file but in person, wow. Just wow. Are you a natural blonde?” “It runs in my family,” Alisa explained. Her cheeks were beginning to warm from the unexpected barrage of compliments.

“God bless you,” Penelope said wistfully, her hand going over her heart. “What I wouldn’t give.”

“Where are we at with that lead, Garcia?” Morgan cut in, obviously trying to veer the subject back onto its main course. “You mentioned you guys have been brainstorming.”

“Yes. Yes! Just uh, just follow me,” Penelope—or Garcia—said, walking as fast as her very high heels would allow back toward what seemed to be the main conference room. Alisa followed, still a little overwhelmed.

She had read about the case on the flight over—a ring of serial killers called the Sinners were taking down prominent members of the US government. Recently they had targeted the Israeli ambassador, but as all of the embassies knew about the case no harm was done. Yet.

That being said, the situation was getting more and more tentative by the minute. These killers were trying to chip away at the foundations of this country, and so far they had inspired enough fear to consider it an advantage.

As the three entered the briefing room Alisa looked around, noticing four more people were already sitting at the table. Coffee cups and takeout cartons peppered the table, along with countless files and books. All the agents looked tired and frustrated—except for one, a tall but lanky looking man at the end of the table, still eagerly flipping through a file before he tossed it into the rather large pile next to him. Alisa recognized him from his file: Dr. Spencer Reid.

“Attention everyone,” Garcia said, clearing her throat. Everyone looked up, their eyes moving to Alisa who suddenly felt very aware of how disheveled she was from the flight.

The man at the head of the table—Aaron Hotcher, or “Hotch” Alisa remembered—stood and smoothed down his suit. “Everyone, this is Agent Alisa Belov with the SIE,” he said. “She’ll be assisting us in this case.”

“SIE?” An older, more scruffy looking Agent asked from the other side of the table. That must be David Rossi.

Dr. Reid spoke up from the back, clearing his throat as he set down the file in his hands. “SIE, or Surveillance, Interrogation, and Espionage, is an extension of the BAU that specializes in covert ops and information extraction. It includes International organizations like Interpol and currently only has around fifty to a hundred agents.” He paused, as if realizing that everyone was looking at him. “It’s nice to meet you,” he added hastily, picking up his file again.

“Agent Belov is here to help us with the Sinner case.” Hotch gestured for her to sit down and she did, finding an empty seat next to a kind-looking woman who offered a reassuring smile. It must be Jennifer Jareau—being the only other woman in the team, the logic wasn’t hard to follow.

“I was briefed that your newest lead placed member of the Sinners in Arizona,” Alisa said, folding her hands on the table. “If we can corner them, we can find the rest.”

“That will be difficult,” Agent Jareau spoke up. “We already know these unsubs are political terrorists. If we do catch one, they’re not going to give up information easily. Though,” she looked to Alisa, “I guess that’s where the SIE comes in.”

Hotch nodded. “Agent Belov will help in the takedown and information extraction of this monster not if but when we catch him. Belov, you read the profile?”

Alisa nodded. “Several times.”

“Good. Once we crack the location of the Sinner in Arizona we can get started setting up an extraction plan.” He sat back down, glancing up at Alisa as she wanted patiently. “Until then, we have a desk for you to get set up. Morgan, would you show Agent Belov around and get her settled?” “Actually, I was thinking Reid could. You know, just to give him a break,” Morgan said. Reid’s head shot up from his file, looking mildly confused. An emotion she didn’t recognize passed over his face and he brushed his hair away from his eyes.

“Fine,” Hotch confirmed. “Reid, get her settled in, we’ll all meet back here later.” He returned to the file in his hands and it was obviously the end of the conversation. Alisa watched Morgan find a seat, a smile turning the corner of his mouth as he looked across the table at Reid.

Reid’s eyes flickered between Morgan and Alisa before he stood, clearing his throat. “Yeah, uh, sure. Follow me.”

Alisa stood again, watching him duck out the door before she followed, glancing back at Garcia one more time. She only nodded encouragingly, which somehow was very reassuring.

As Alisa stepped out in the hallway, she could hear him clearing his throat. “Everything all right?” She ventured to ask. He glanced behind his shoulder, his eyes widening momentarily.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” Reid replied quickly. He took one hand out of his pockets to gesture at an empty desk as they approached it. “This is your desk. Mine is right over there. You’re next to JJ—Agent Jareau.”

“Great. Thank you.” Alisa set down her bag on her desk, breathing in a long sigh as she looked around the small space. She always disliked clean desks in a way. She much preferred that they were filled with things that meant something to her, things that gave the space a homelike feel. When the desk was bare it just felt cold and sterile.

“You know,” Reid said after a few moments, “I couldn’t help but notice your accent. Russian?”

Alisa nodded. “Yes.”

He straightened a little. “You know, it’s fascinating that you’re working so closely with the American government, considering the recent uprising of Russian spy reports in the media. Right now there are as many as 150 in the US right now, and those are the ones that we don’t know about.” He stopped himself short, probably noticing the amusement on Alisa’s face.

“Anyway,” he said quickly, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Alisa said warmly. “How long have you been at BAU?”

“Almost eight years,” Reid confirmed, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet.

“Impressive. You started young.” Alisa brushed her pale hair from her face, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “I also started young. My father wanted me to work in this field, he did not want me wasting time with my talents.”

“Talents?” he ventured to ask.

Alisa shrugged. “I have always been good with learning. He taught me a lot.”

Reid nodded, obviously intrigued. He didn’t question any further though. “Well, do you need anything?” he asked, shifting the subject.

Alisa looked around, inhaling deeply. “I do not think so,” she finally confirmed. “Maybe just coffee. My flight was very long.” She opened up her bag, beginning to unpack.

“I was just about to get the team some, so I’ll put you on the list.” Reid began to walk away but hesitated. “How do you take it?”

“Just black is fine,” she said, glancing up from her computer as she set it up. “Thank you, Dr. Reid.”

“Oh, you can just call me Reid. Everyone here does.”

Alisa smiled. “You can call me Alisa. Belov is too serious for me.”

Reid seemed to relax a little. “Okay. Well, welcome to the BAU.”

She watched him walk away with his hands in his pockets, feeling the jitters from before beginning to settle. Everyone here was so friendly. She hadn’t expected it. Maybe this job wouldn’t be so harrowing after all.

Maybe, if she didn’t know any better.

[asoulofatlantis]

Kai no Kiseki - Thoughts and Feelings towards the Opening and the game overall Part 1

We've done this before, last year for Kuro 2 and we do it again for Kai. So I think there is not much of an explanation needed. I watch the Opening Cinematics, make Screenshots and tell you my thoughts about it.

Warning: Spoilers ahead! Shippings ahead. Talking about some rumors and theories ahead as well! You have been warned!

I love that we start that Opening with Agnes. She deserves some more of the spotlight. She IS the second main character of the Calvard-Saga after all, she should be treated like one.

HOWEVER this scene is kind of ominous, with her standing in a field of glowing flowers. It is also important to notice, she starts out with her face in the light an than it gets dark and we also go from a smile to a somewhat sad/worried facial expression. We are obviously hinting at something.

I have been worried about Agnes ultimate role here for a while and I feel like my fears will somewhat become true. You will see later why.

Otherwise we start with the ASO being like a family, doing daily stuff together. Just looking cute and normal and happy - this is never a good sign in Trails, I tell you XD

While Kevins Girlfriend is nowhere to be seen (much to many peoples dismay) he seems to be getting all close and friendly to the imperial Picnic Squad. (Who can blame him, it is amazing how easy it is to fall in love with those kids and feel... something (^^') towards their leader...)

Also I just love Lapis with her new body and outfit. She looks absolutely adorable but in a more mature way.

I have honestly absolutely no idea what role Hermes will be playing, why they hid her face until now and what to expect from her other than the fact that she will be piloting that panzer-soldat-copy thingy - which apparently can even take her into space.

Look, I am glad to see these guys again, I really am, but Crow (and obviously also Rean) aside, they weren't really high on my list of the characters of Class7 I WANTED to see again. I am glad that Rean isn't doing all this alone, but i'd rather have him do this with Alisa, Jusis. Millium and Crow by his side ^^' Tho I get that this is not for me to decided and I am sure we will have many great moments with this small part of class7 that we've got back.

I really hope they do not do something stupid with Altina tho. She was never supposed to be in Reans Harem. She should have been for him what KeA is for Lloyd and his Team and what Renne is for Estelle and Joshua, but definitely not someone Rean should date. They certainly have a special bond and the fact that she really cares for Rean and wants him save is certainly working in my favor (because my self-sacrificing Lamb will likely need that sort of person around XD) but I hope we stay away from her romance route...

Speaking of which... this will be a problem.

I've mentioned before already, that we have 3 of the Harem-Ladys directly at his disposal while the rest... is not. How do we handle is dating-status under these circumstances? I did not think Riverie handled it that well - it wasn't badly handled either but... right might as well not have dated anyone and just be close friends with all of them in that game. And don't get me wrong, going for the "Rean isn't dating anyone" - option IS an option for Falcom BUT first of all, it wouldn't fit Reans character. He mentioned that they are at the age were they should think about Marriage when they were like 20. No way in hell is he still single... and the second thing is... the title "Farewell o Zemuria" gives you pretty much an idea about what is about to happen and now imagine Rean knowing that the world might be ending in like 2 hours or so and he is not having the wish to at least talk to his girlfriend/the girl he likes on his freaking phone? No way in hell! And here is the next problem. It might be hard to deal with a scene like that. He can not just say "I call HER" and keep it a secret who SHE is, when Towa, Fie and Altina are sitting right next to him. (Speaking of Towa, as innocent as that scene is likely ending up to be, not sure what a Rean that is dating Towa saying about his girl sitting in Crows lab with red cheeks and all XD) So I am seriously interested to see how they handle that.

My personal favorite outcome for this problem would be, that actually class 7 is present as NPCs (that is a possible solution of the fact that Lloyd, Elie, Estelle and Joshua are missing as well... which is likely how this theory came to life in the first place - this and the fact that a) Gaius voice actor was confirmed for the game but Gaius was not and b) no one wants to believe that Kevin is in this game without Ries being there in some shape or form - and I agree with that...) and that we can chose who we want to talk to on our possible last day, like we did in the Night of promises. But... that would be a lot of work for Falcom just for a character that is not meant to be the hero in this game. So... yeah... I better not get my hopes up.

All that shipping stuff aside: It may or may not be worth noticing that the leafe that is falling here is green, while the ones that represent Shizuna are usually red, like an autoum leafe would be. Which could be a representation of the characters kind of thing. But it could also mean nothing...

tbc