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underrated-love · 3 years ago

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Table Eight

Type | Angst to fluff

Characters | Timeskip!Fukunaga x gn reader

Warnings | none really? mentions of getting stood up? Timeskip spoilers

Summary | You get stood up on a date, but don’t worry, there’s a cute chef there to cheer you up

Words | 1.5k

A/N | Ooh by I was rushing to get this finished in time for his birthday :’) The best boy who deserves so much more content, and I will solely provide it if I have to. Considering he's a comedian now, I think he would probably talk a bit more then he used to

Hmm I’ve been working on this on and off for a while, trying to get it right, but it just didn’t come out the way I wanted? I definitely like it, but it could've been better, ya know?

<<—>>—<<—>>

You watched as the time on your phone ticked over, signifying that you'd been here for over an hour. Sighing, you clicked onto your messages. Nothing new, no reply to the text you'd sent to the guy you were supposed to be meeting up with.

He stood you up. Things were going so well between the two of you in the beginning, but the moment you wanted to meet everything seemed to go downhill. Honestly, you should've expected this; he would take hours to reply, and when he did it was never more than a few texts.

Bringing your hands to your face you sat there for a moment, contemplating your options. You could go home, but you’d have to wait for your friend to pick you up, seeing as you’d walked here; and there was no way you'd be walking back alone at almost 9 pm. That meant that you would have to wait at this restaurant even longer, and you hadn't even ordered anything.

As if on cue, your stomach rumbled, startling you more than you would admit. Bringing up your phone once again, you blocked his number and texted your friend, telling them that things didn't work out and you needed a ride. You set your phone down on the table, feeling it tilt as you shifted your weight, polished wood creaking under you. This diner wasn’t the most sophisticated place someone would usually go for a first date, but considering your current predicament, your choice seemed perfect.

It wasn't your fault he stood you up, you knew that, but that doesn't take away the way it hurt. Maybe you could have avoided this, if only you had predicted it...

Snatching the menu from where it had been sitting on the table all night, you just stared at it, eyes glossing over the words. At least you could make it seem like you were going to order. It probably only took a minute or two, but it felt like much longer, before someone was clearing their throat near you.

“Are uh, you okay? You’ve been sitting here for quite a while.” It was one of the servers, holding a pitcher of water in one hand, and a notepad in the other. “Can I get you anything?”

Glancing over the menu one last time, you didn’t look him in the eyes, knowing you would break down. Instead, you focused on his short hair, the lighting above you turning the brown a more pinkish colour. “Just get me whatever the chef would recommend.”

He gave you a quick nod, scribbled something on his notepad and left to take other patrons’ orders, never mind that you were one of the only people in the diner.

Eleven minutes later—you had been counting, someone you could only assume was the chef stepped from the kitchen. With both hands, he held a plate of food you couldn't recognize. He looked over the diner, presumably searching for your table number, number eight. The chefs’ hat he wore shifted as he turned, strands of dark hair peeking out from under it.

Helping him out a little you shifted your table number toward the center where he would be able to see it better. It didn't take him long to see you, considering there were even fewer people than before. He set your food down in front of you and you were finally able to get a good look at it. It was some sort of orange rice dish mixed with seafood.

“Oh thank you, and uh, I don’t mean to be rude but what is this?”

“Paella, a specialty of mine,” he supplied with a small smile, “it’s great with a little extra seasoning.”

Reaching for the salt you thanked him for the food, it really did look delicious. “And how much is this gonna come to? I should make sure I have enough money beforehand.”

“It’s on the house, you look like you’ve had a night peppered with disappointments,” he said, a chuckle escaping him as he slid the pepper shaker over to you. “Well I better get back to the kitchen, hopefully the rest of your night goes well.”

You watched as he walked back to the kitchen, stopping halfway to answer a question from a customer. He looked back at you after he opened the door to the kitchen, throwing you a quick thumbs-up, then he was gone.

You couldn't deny that he was cute, but the fact that he made a pun was like the icing on the top of a cake. You don't know when you had started smiling, but you definitely didn't stop until the sound of his voice left your head.

The paella was amazing. Cooked perfectly—and thanks to his advice, the right amount of seasoning. You’d have to thank him the next time you saw him.

Checking your phone, you read the text from your friend saying they would arrive in just over ten minutes. You yawned, glancing at the time. 9:16 pm. Resting your head and arms on the table, you figured you could rest until your friend got here.

Once again, the sound of someone clearing their throat caught your attention. It was the pink-haired server from before, whose nametag read Hanamaki. He gestured to your empty plate, leaning to pick it up, “Are you done with this? Looks like you enjoyed it.”

“Yeah I'm done, it was really good. But are you sure I don't have to pay? I’d feel bad just eating it like that,” you reached to grab your wallet, fully ready to pay whatever it cost.

“Nah it’s fine.” He brushed you off, wiping down your table with a cloth, “could you pass me the table number?”

You grabbed the small card, looking at the number before handing it to him, “Well thank you, I really appreci-eight it.”

He stopped, a look that you could only describe as a mix between disappointment and fighting off a smile adorning his face as he shook his head at you. Somewhere behind you came a familiar chuckle, then the cute chef appeared next to you, no longer with his hat or apron, but a bag slung over his shoulder.

Hanamaki sighed lightheartedly, turning to his chef co-worker, “Alright, two joke-makers is enough for me, could you close up, Fukunaga?” He asked, already walking away.

The chef, Fukunaga apparently, nodded to him and slid into the chair across from you.

“Wait, close up? I didn’t realize I’ve been here so long, I’m so sorry, I was just waiting on my friend to pick me up. I can leave if you want?” You offered, scrambling to grab your belongings.

He dismissed you with a small shake of his head, “It’s fine, I’ve got some time to kill anyway. Wanna tell me what's been bothering you all night?”

“No, no, I don’t want to bother you with my troubles,” you started, but the look on his face told you he didn’t mind listening to you ramble. “Hmm, well, if you insist,” and you told him about the night you’ve had. The guy that stood you up, having to wait for your friend to pick you up, the amazing paella he cooked for you.

At this point, you were thankful your date hadn't shown up; if he did you probably would have ignored him in favor of your cute chef anyway.

In turn, Fukunaga told you a bit about himself, although in fewer words than you had used. He told you about his part-time job here as a chef, mainly because being a comedian doesn't pay as well as it should, and how he was heading somewhere after he closed up to perform one of his comedy acts.

“So you’re a comedian? That explains the love for puns! Maybe I could come to one of your shows sometime?” You were half-joking, but the way Fukunaga sat up a little straighter at your suggestion meant he liked the idea anyway.

Your phone buzzed beside you. Once. Twice. On the third buzz, you finally tore yourself away from the conversation you were invested in. They were texts from your friend, letting you know they were here, and you should hurry up and get in the car.

Finally standing up to leave, you thanked Fukunaga one last time for the paella, and once more for waiting with you when he could’ve closed up. “I’ll be sure to come here more often, and next time I had better get to hear more of your jokes.”

He held the door open for you with his shoulder as you walked out, giving you two thumbs up, “I’ll be sure to reserve table eight for you.” He paused looking away for a second, “I got no puns for that one. But I’ll be looking forward to it.”

The second you stepped into the car, your friend bombarded you with questions, but one stood out more than the rest, “Why do you look so happy? I thought that guy stood you up?”

“Oh yeah, he absolutely did. But that might’ve been one of the best nights I’ve had.”

<<—>>—<<—>>

Navigation | Masterlist | Rules, Requests and DNI

#haikyuu #haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #nekoma x reader #fukunaga x reader #i write #i post #haikyuu fukunaga #fukunaga fluff #fukunaga shouhei #fukunaga shōhei

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greekgear123 · 2 years ago

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maastrash · 4 years ago

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Fighting Fire with Froyo

oh my goodness hello friends plz dont roast my title bc @verryberriess already has LOL it is ✨quirky✨ anyways the first fic back is always rough to write and i got tired of editing so without further ado ...

Nesta pried the uniform hat off her head and wiped the dripping sweat from her brow. By the cauldron, it was burning up today. It amazed her that the frozen yogurt wasn’t melting right out of the machines. That probably wasn’t even possible, but the heat was making her delirious. Of course on the hottest day of the year something was wrong with the AC. She added calling the maintenance guy to her 5-page long mental list of things to do after her shift today.

She truly did not have the time to be working on the service line today. The Archeron sister froyo shop had opened almost a year ago and already she was talking to people about expanding it to become a chain. That’s what she should be working on instead.

Nesta supposed she should be happy their little shop was so popular. The sisters had been so nervous when they were finally able to launch their yogurt shop after years of planning. It was a dream come true.

They named it Archeron Delights and it became one of the most popular dessert places in Velaris. Elain was the mastermind behind the frozen yogurt recipes. People came from all over the country to try their unique flavor combinations. Feyre was in charge of all the interior designing. She remodeled the entire space and made it look modern with colorful signs and trendy photo taking spots - a necessity for kids obsessed with instagram worthy pictures. Nesta was the official manager which meant she dealt with finances, hiring the team, making schedules, and other administrative duties.

To be honest, Nesta never really worked at the counter, but Morrigan their newest hire, and Feyre’s best friend was sick with the flu. Definitely not a good idea to put her near customers. To make matters worse, the shop had been extremely busy today so she didn’t have time to take any breaks. Unlike her sisters, Nesta was already not the cheeriest service worker. It’s why she worked in the back in her quiet, private office.

At least she could distract herself by filling out their monthly budget summary while waiting. However, her calculations were soon interrupted by the cheerful bell dinging, meaning the shop door was being opened. Damn another customer.

Nesta began quickly finishing up the section she was on, “Hi I’ll be with you in one -”

“You need to get out of here,” the customer interrupted.

Nesta’s smile dropped so fast. Who did this man think he was?

“No, you need to get out,” she snapped back without looking up from her papers. If he was gonna speak to her like that she was gonna take her sweet time.

“Excuse me I -”

This time Nesta interrupted. “This is my shop and I say you need to leave.”

“Ma’am if you would let me explain -”

“Stop calling me ma'am, you have no right -” This time it was Nesta who trailed off.

She finally looked up to see a man equipped fully in firefighter gear staring right at her. Shit. She just yelled at a fireman. To make matters worse he was handsome. Extremely handsome.

“There’s a small fire in another location 2 units from yours. We’re containing it, but you still need to evacuate,” the man explained.

Nesta was still gaping. It seemed she was unable to form words. How was this man so attractive? He was wearing full protective fire gear and wasn’t even breaking a sweat and here she was, literally dripping.

To be quite honest she couldn’t tell if she was sweating because of the heat or the fireman’s burning gaze.

“Ma’am can you hear me? Ma’am? Oh for goodness sake.”

Before Nesta knew it she was being lifted off her feet. Literally.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she exclaimed in surprise.

“Ah so you can still talk.”

“Put me down you oaf.”

“Oaf?” he raised a brow, “That’s a real nice way to thank the person saving your ass.”

“I’m serious,” she said crossing her arms angrily.

“Let’s get to safety first.”

Nesta gave the man a withering glare, but he continued to carry her bridal style to a tent where it seemed other shop owners were gathering.

“Oh my goodness Nesta are you hurt?” Aelin asked as they approached.

Aelin owned a dress boutique in the same plaza and they often grabbed lunch together. She was Nesta’s best friend.

“No I am being harassed,” she deadpanned.

“She means saved,” the firefighter corrected as he finally set her down.

“Woah he’s hot,” Aelin whispered in her ear.

“Shut up or I’m telling Rowan.”

“Just an observation” Aelin laughed.

The man gave them a polite smile before heading back towards the rest of the firemen.

Nesta stopped him before he got too far. “I want to talk to your boss,” she said sternly.

“You mean the captain?” he asked.

“Yes.” Obviously.

“Why do you need the captain ma'am?”

“Stop with the ma’am, I’m serious.”

“Ok fine. What’s your name?”

Nesta stayed silent.

“Ok then, sweetheart. Why do you need the captain?”

Nesta growled at his stupidity. “I am not your sweetheart and I am reporting you for inappropriate behavior.”

Something like amusement crossed his face, but it quickly vanished, “I see. I’ll be right back then.”

For someone about to lose his job he did not seem the least bit frightened.

***

It was only a few minutes before the man returned. He was still wearing his fire pants or whatever they were called, but the protective jacket was gone. Now he wore a tight shirt that read Velaris Fire Dept. It framed his muscles a little too perfectly for her taste. How was this man real?

“The captain is busy at the moment but I will take your complaint and hand it to him myself,” he said, pulling out a pen and paper.

“How do I know you’re not going to rip it up as soon as I leave?”

“You can watch me hand it to him once we have this mess sorted out,” he assured her.

“Fine.”

“First I will need your name.”

“Nesta Archeron” she grit out.

“Nesta. I like how that sounds.”

She rolled her eyes. This man was absolutely insufferable.

“Ok, now your phone number.”

“Why do you need my phone number?”

“So the captain can contact you about this issue, of course.”

She grabbed the paper from his massive hands and scribbled her number down quickly.

“Ok and what are you complaining about?” he asked, clearly amused.

She rolled her eyes, “You already know what I’m complaining about.”

“Well, I need to write it down word for word,” he said, laughing softly.

His laughter was the last straw. “You know what this is ridiculous I’m going to find the captain myself,” she said, stomping off.

“That’s gonna be hard to do sweetheart,” he called after her.

“Oh yea, why?” she yelled back over her shoulder.

“Because I am the captain.”

That stopped Nesta dead in her tracks. She turned slowly to see the big oaf smiling.

“Cassian Nazari, Captain of Station 17,” he said, extending his hand.

“Are you playing a game or something?” she scowled, slapping his hand away.

“No,” he chuckled softly, “Just doing my job.”

“By pretending to not be the captain and stealing my information?”

He smiled again and half of her wanted to slap him, but the other half was tempted to kiss him. What was wrong with her?

“I take complaints seriously. So seriously, that I would like to hear all about your complaint over dinner.”

“This is not funny,” she said crossing her arms over her chest.

“Don’t tell me you’re not interested. You took one look at me and were absolutely speechless. I literally had to carry you out before you burned to death.”

“The fire was contained, evacuating was a formality you brute.”

“If you say so,” he said sarcasm lacing every word. “I’ll pick you up from your shop at 6.”

Nesta’s jaw dropped, the audacity of this man was astounding. She paused before answering, debating her options. She figured she could either continue pretending to hate him or just give in. Gods above, was she actually considering this?

“Say yes you idiot” Aelin whispered.

Nesta flinched in surprise. Where the hell did she even come from?

“Are you kidding I’m not going anywhere in this.” Nesta argued, gesturing to her work apron and leggings.

“I think it looks great,” Cassian said with a wink.

“Me too,” Aelin added.

Nesta gave Aelin a deadly look before saying, “Let’s meet at the Sidra at 7. That way I have time to change.”

Cassian only looked surprised at her suggestion for a second before agreeing, “Ok, I’ll see you there.”

He waved before heading back to the rest of his crew and Nesta against her better judgement waved back.

“Nesta Archeron, are you smiling?” Aelin teased as soon as Cassian was out of ear shot.

“Shut up. I am absolutely not,” she said, quickly bringing her face back to neutral.

And then it hit her...

She was going to dinner with Cassian - a fire captain she just met. What the hell was she thinking?

tags! @illyriangarbage // @court-of-fuck-me-daddy // @girlnovels // @julesherondalex // @ifangirlninja // @dreamerforever-5 // @queen-of-wings-and-fire // @rhysanoodle // @jemma-nessian-and-elriel // @books-and-words-addict // @nightinshadow // @wolffrising // @the-regal-warrior // @dreamingofalba // @abillionlittlepieces // @alitzeldiaz // @kylizzles // @queenmaas // @illyrian-bookworm // @aspillofstars // @b00kworm // @tswaney17 // @girl-who-reads-the-books // @theshadowsinger-and-thefawn // // @perseusannabeth // @acourtofmarauders // @sweetlyvillainous // @awesomelena555 // @notyournymphetish // @ladywitchling // @aesthetics-11 // @sjmships // @iammissstark // @illyrianwitchling13 // @moondancer-204 // @sjm-things // @foolsinlovex // @sayosdreams // @welcometothespeaknowworldtour // @stardelia // @julemmaes // @thewayshedreamed // @texas-shaped-waffle-maker // @keshavomit // @superspiritfestival // @wannawriteyouabook // @verryberriess // @courtofjurdan // @bookstantrash // @sannelovesreading // @ahappyhistorianreader // @cass-nes // @my-fan-side // @junsuichow // @sleeping-and-books // @yumna402 // @lordof-bloodshed // @emcarstairs578 // @gisellefigue08 // @maybekindasortaace // @starborn-faerie-queen // @empire-of-wildfire // @loveofbooksandwine // @sanakapoor // @silentquartz // @a-omgnaomithings-love // @aimee1602 // @jlinez // @creamcheesechicken // @steamedlattes // @sahsahprova // @elriel4life // @ireallyshouldsleeprnrn // @rowaelinismyotp // @thegoddessofyou

#nessian #nesta x cassian #Car writes #nessian fic #nessian fanfiction

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fakeoldmanfucker · 3 years ago

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Peterick coffee shop AU

It starts on a Wednesday. Patrick normally comes in in the mornings, sleep still lingering in his eyes as he mumbles his order and half-dozes in a chair while Pete fixes his usual latte. But this Wednesday, Patrick is nowhere to be seen.

Pete isn’t letting it get to him, no matter what Adrien says.

And then finally, close to six, Patrick walks in. It takes Pete a moment to recognize him.

He’s more awake, for one, eyes bright even though it’s nearing dusk. He has a laptop case slung over one shoulder, pocket unzipped to reveal the shine of chrome alongside a few wrinkled sheets of notebook paper. He’s wearing a hat, too, a baseball cap that Patrick adjusts to reveal more of his face as he approaches the counter. In the light of day, his eyes seem flecked with gold.

“A latte, please?” Patrick is already retreating towards his usual seat before he’s finished ordering.

“Sure thing!” He picks up a cup and turns toward the latte maker. He goes mostly on autopilot this late in the day, hours of customer service settled firmly beneath his skin, weeks of Patrick’s same order making his movements smooth and automatic. Except…

Pete’s fingers twitch as his eyes dart to the Sharpie laying on the counter. He grabs it before he can think too hard about what he’s doing and flips the cup over, scrawling a short message on the bottom.

Glad to see we haven’t lost a customer :)

He squints at it, already second-guessing his words, and then forcibly pushes it out of his mind. He makes the drink and hands it to Patrick; the smile he’s rewarded with is more than enough payment.

“Aren’t you usually here in the mornings?” Pete refocuses his thoughts and sees that Patrick hasn’t left yet. One hand toys with the strap of his laptop case while the other taps a rhythm on the side of the cup.

“I…uh.” Breathe, Pete. He’s just another customer. Absolutely not special. Or unusually attractive. At all. “It’s a long shift,” he manages, flashing a smile that feels entirely too wooden on his cheeks.

Patrick doesn’t seem to notice, just hums in sympathy. “Yeah, I know how that is. Have a good night…”

Patrick pauses, looking meaningfully at the spot where Pete’s name tag should be; he stopped wearing his the second week on the job. “Pete,” he offers, and tries not to notice the blood pounding in his ears. Just another customer. No one special.

Patrick smiles again, less reflexive and more genuine than before. “Have a good night, Pete.”

He’s already out the door by the time Pete remembers to form the words “you too.” They come out as a dry whisper.

A laugh from the storeroom startles him, and Pete whirls around to face Adrien. “Oh man, you have it so bad.”

Pete stumbles into denials, but Adrien just shakes his head, wiping his eyes free of tears. “You do. You do.”

His tongue feels too large in his throat, and he just knows his face is turning an embarrassing shade of red. “He didn’t even know my name.” Which isn’t a denial so much as a dissuasion, a difference that probably speaks to how far gone he already is.

“He does now,” Adrien retorts, and, well.

That’s the thing, isn’t it? Before, Patrick had no idea who he was, but now…

Now, Pete has hope. And then his eyes land on the Sharpie, once again discarded on the counter. Hope, and the beginnings of a plan.

Disclaimer: I’ve never written any sort of coffee shop or significant AU before. I also know absolutely Nothing about coffee shops. But I like how this is shaping up! If anyone is interested in me continuing it, let me know!

Part 2

#peterick #fall out boy #pete wentz #patrick stump #feel free to educate me about coffee!#i welcome it lol #hope y'all enjoy #coffee shop au #i wrote this in like 15 minutes so i hope it's okay #pete was a Big Stupid crush on Patrick

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justasparkwritings · 4 years ago

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Codename Cupid: Chapter 10

Previous: Searching for Seokjin Pt. 2

Pairings: Light Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Secret AgentAU, AgentAU, Government Agent AU, Slice of Life

Ratings: PG13

Word Count: 2.7K

Warnings: Swearing

Summary: She finds Taehyung at the local dog park, an unfamiliar face by his side.

Tailing Taehyung

Present Day

I’ll be honest, this is my favorite part of the job. Music low, tinted windows, unmarked baseball cap adorning my head, GPS tracking my every move so I can retrace my steps. I’ve already downed a grande latte, two bagels and a family sized bag of sour skittles. But it’s the quiet waiting, the planning of every move, the sleuthing and interpreting, anticipating another person’s every move.

Kim Seokjin is predictable. He gets up, goes to work, comes home. There’s no romantic partner, no gym time, nothing. His office building, non-descript, standard skyscraper. It’s painful how predictable he is. Which is why after three days, I begin to search for another name on Euna’s list. Kim Taehyung.

He’s easier to track, beloved librarian, he works at the downtown branch where he packs the house for his weekly story hour. Costumes, characters, voices, he commands the room, never demanding adoration because it’s so freely given. His name at the Library, though, is not Kim Taehyung, but Jung Taehyung, as if he got married and changed his name without telling anyone. My only indication that they’re the same person are photos from Euna.

Tailing Taehyung is thrilling. He’s going to book launches, gallery openings, museum exhibits, clubbing, and on a few nights, stays late to close the library. Those are my favorite, he puts headphones on and dances around the library, re-shelving children’s books and shaking his ass. He lives across town from Seokjin, in a quaint house with a green door. He seems to have an abundance of friends, rarely goes out with the same people twice in one week. No partner on record, no flirting or taking someone home with him. He does have a dog, something he must’ve picked up after leaving the Lee’s.

Picking up Johnson from my sister’s house, I park near the dog park by Taehyung’s house, a frequent weekend spot. He might go to different clubs every Thursday or try a new restaurant with a pair of gentlemen, but he goes to the same dog park on both Saturday and Sunday, then to the coffee shop on the corner, where he tries a new drink on Saturday. If he likes the drink, he gets it again on Sunday, but if he hates it, he picks something new. He never orders coffee, only tea and juice concoctions. How he exists, with all that energy, and no coffee, I will never understand.

Another thing I will never understand is Johnson. A golden doodle with a slight limp, she’s both deeply loving and simultaneously polarizing. She runs hot and cold, licking you one minute, growling the next. There’s no reason for her split personality, her ability to turn on a dime, but I’d like to think Johnson is struggling with her identity and would really benefit from therapy. At two years old, still fully a puppy, she has gone to obedience school three times, and is only truly unkept when forced to be with humans for too long. The dog park is her happy place. She loves running around, sniffing everything, frolicking in the grass, no leash, totally free.

What a blessing to borrow my sisters fur baby to ensnare Kim Taehyung.

Maisy pulls me towards the dog park, excitement coursing through her body. It takes everything in me to not drop the leash and let her go, but she has a high chance of running into traffic and her death cannot be on my conscience. Within moments of stepping into the park, I spot Taehyung and his little pup. A black and gold Pomeranian, he weighs the same as Johnson’s front paws. Taehyung stands, sunglasses on, black hair parted slightly to reveal his honeyed forehead. He looks too cool for school, and I’d believe he was, if he wasn’t laughing energetically at the man to his right. The man is familiar, one of the usual men he tries a new restaurant with every Tuesday.

Setting Maisy free, I move around the park, monitoring her, hoping she’ll land exactly where I want her to.

The initial contact with a mark, or suspect, is the most precarious. I can’t come on too strong, can’t give too much away or seem too eager. I have to have every moment planned in order to get the information I need. In this case, it’s getting close enough that I can speak with Tae to find out what he knows regarding Lee Euna and her family, and maybe see if he’ll drop hints about her manifesto.

I circle the park, my eyes on Johnson and Taehyung, slowly moving closer to the man and his friend.

“Did you catch the end of the game last night?” The other man asks.

“No, was I supposed to?” Taehyung responds.

“It’s too early in the season to be calling it, but they’ve got a chance to go to the Superbowl,”

“Huh,”

“Excuse me, sorry to interrupt,” I say, turning my body to face them. “Is that your dog? The little one?”

“Yeah, it is,” Taehyung answers, smiling lightly at me.

“It’s so cute, what’s its name?”

“Yeontan, or Tannie,”

“Adorable, is that Korean?” I ask.

“Yes,”

“Very cool, my boyfriend’s Korean,” I lie. Jungkook isn’t my boyfriend. He’s just a guy I’ve slept with once and fallen asleep next to twice … or whatever.

“Nice, I wonder if we know him,” Taehyung said. “What’s his last name?”

“Jeon,” I tell them. I clock the miniscule movement in their brows, the exchanged glance, but I don’t know what it means.

“Not too many of those, what’s his first name?” The man next to Taehyung asks.

“Jungkook” I tell them. My eyes don’t leave their faces as they both nod, neither daring to share a glance.

“I don’t think I know him,” Taehyung says.

“Well, what are your names? I can ask him if maybe he knows you?” I offer. Take the bait, take the bait.

“I’m Taehyung, this is Jimin,” He says.

“Y/N,” I offer my hand to shake, which they each accept.

This is my moment, “This is going to sound crazy, but do you know Lee Euna?”

“Who?” Jimin asks.

I scrutinize his features, no slight quiver of the upper lip, no pupils dilating, no quickened breath. “Lee Euna, she’s part of the family that owns Lee Enterprises?”

“Oh, Lee Enterprises, I’ve heard of them, they’re brokers?” Jimin asks.

“Traders,” Taehyung responds.

“Candlestick makers,” I finish the rhyme, both men look at me quizzically, then laugh. “They do banking and stock trading for the top 0.01% of society, royals, billionaires, human traffickers, etc.”

“Ah,” Jimin nods. “Not my area of expertise.”

Agreeing, Taehyung nods, “Mine either,”

“Same,” I add. Maisy runs up to me and begins growling at the men I’m standing with. “Johnson Maisy Lou, knock it off,”

“Johnson Maisy Lou?” Taehyung laughs.

“I didn’t name her,” I shrug.

“Her?” Jimin continues laughing. He’s like, really pretty.

“Yeah, my sister’s dog. She gives no shits when it comes to gender norms. Johnson was a bet she lost though,” I inform them. I reattach Maisy’s leash and give her a good once over. “You ready?”

She wags her tail in response.

“It was nice to meet you guys, maybe I’ll see you next weekend?” I smile again, friendly and kind to a flaw.

“Yeah, bring your boyfriend, we might have some friends in common,” Jimin smiles again.

I wave before dragging Maisy back to the trail and slowly to the car. They know Jungkook, I don’t know how, or why, but something in their reaction tells me that they are more than just friendly with him. Maybe they went to school together? Or worked together before their respective positions at the library and whatever Jimin does? That would answer few questions but makes me feel uneasy.

When I return to my car, I’m met with a familiar sight. An envelope resting on my driver’s seat. Car locked, windows intact, it sits, waiting. My blood runs cold, chills down my spine as I stare. I swallow the bile in the back of my throat and survey my surroundings.

“The first was a warning shot. This is your last chance. Stop. Looking.”

I panic, glancing all around me, trying to find someone who stands out in the weekend shuffle. There’s no absurdly dressed person, no one in a weird hat or harboring a long-range camera, no one glancing at me in my sheer panic, fear pushing my fight or flight into overdrive.

Choosing a stance somewhere between fear and power, I walk swiftly towards the coffee shop. Ordering a concoction I’ve heard Taehyung order, I ask the cashier a leading question.

“That’ll be $3.57,” He smiles. I glance at his nametag, Robert.

“Thanks, Robert. Can I ask you something?”

“Of course!” He answers.

“You see that black car?” I point towards the general direction of my vehicle. “Have you seen anyone approach it in the last hour?”

“No, but I just started my shift twenty minutes ago,” Robert informs me.

“Okay, thanks,” I move out of the way and watch as other customers flit through the shop, the open concept rustic café is a hot spot, known for their tea infusions and gluten free pastries, it’s a hot ticket. The line is often out the door, and everyone who works here receives massive tips. I don’t know who gives their spare change, but I’ve seen the jar completely full on more than one occasion. Tipping for leaf water is preposterous, but then again, a good cup of leaf water is hard to find. I think, I’ve never really truly looked for it.

After giving myself 30 minutes to calm down, I head back to my car, taking the note and slipping it into an evidence bag. I drive the 15 to my sisters, knocking aggressively as I am positive Maisy is one bark away from biting me.

“Did you have to bring her back?” C asks, opening the door.

“I don’t want to be arrested for dog-abuse, that’s a serious crime,” I hand her Maisy’s leash, and she obediently retreats into the house, running towards her food bowl.

“Oh, I’ll stick the ASPCA on you for sure. How was she?” C asks, stepping back to allow me into the house.

I sigh, “Useful, did exactly what I needed her to.”

“That might be the first time in her life she’s listened to directions,” C laughs. “Water?”

“And probably the last, isn’t that right Johnson Maisy?” I ruffle behind her ears and take the can of Bubly from my sister.

“How’s your little man friend?” She asks, hope in her eyes.

“He’s not little, and he’s not a friend,” I correct her.

“Right, right, how’s lover boy?”

“Don’t call him that,” I squeeze my eyes closed, knowing full well where she’s headed.

“Oh, baby, how’s baby?” She does her best Jennifer Grey impression.

“You’re the worst. And he’s fine,”

“Have you been seeing him regularly? What’s his name again? JK? Did his parents just really like New York Undercover? Or I’m sorry, the Killing Joke?” C laughs at her own jokes, which makes me hate her cleverness even more.

“Jungkook, and yes you can call him JK,” I sip on the pineapple flavored sparkling H2O.

“And?”

“He’s great, he’s wonderful, he’s sexy and intelligent and thoughtful and kind and I could swim in his Bambi eyes forever, okay?”

She laughs at my tone, frustration evident as I blush profusely.

“You like him,” She sings.

“Too much it seems,” I roll my eyes.

“Are the feelings mutual?”

“He took me to breakfast, after dancing, we didn’t have sex, and then, he took me to dinner and a movie the next day, a ‘traditional date’ as he called it. It’s been a month? Not even, and I think about him constantly. I want to see him every second of everyday and I feel so sad when he’s gone. I’m literally handing him my heart to break and I think, all signs are pointing to him handing me his,” I bury my face in my hands, feeling the heat radiate onto my palms. Why is this so embarrassing?

“Are you going to take it?” C asks.

“Haven’t I already?”

C lets it hang I the air, my willing acceptance of heartache at the hands of this lionhearted man, my willingness to be absolutely gutted by him, and in return, his vulnerability to be tossed out like every other man who has ever dared to get close to me.

“Maybe he’s worthy,” C offers.

Shaking my head, “It’s not about being worthy, I don’t deserve anyone.”

“No, no one deserves anything except basic human rights, food, shelter, education, healthcare… but maybe you’ve found a guy who is actually going to be supportive and challenging, someone who isn’t scared of your callousness and thrives in your ability to love without bounds. Maybe he’s that person for you.” Her stare is knowing, and I hate how correct she could possibly be. I hate that I’m falling so quickly, and I hate that he might be falling too. It’s easier when one person has the upper hand, when a bluff pays off with a win. But if we both fold, then are hearts become collateral, and to whom the pieces go becomes a mystery.

“Can we please stop talking about him?” I request, the tears brimming giving way to my distress.

C smiles softly, her knowing sisterly gaze on my tears. “Absolute. How’s the case going?”

“Fine, I found another guy with Taehyung, they both seem to know Jungkook, but I don’t know how they know him or why they lied about it. Neither mentioned anything that was useful,” I wipe the few tears away and pick up my drink.

“Will you keep digging?” She asks.

“I’m not sure there’s much more to dig. Euna has her list, she knows what they did, she doesn’t want proof that they’re guilty, she just wants to know where she can find them.” I inform her.

“That’s the business you’re in, finding people who don’t want to be found?” C clarifies. She knows better than anyone what I do. Though I function in dark allies and make backroom deals, C follows the letter of the law and works for a branch of the CIA. Doing what, I do not know, but she understands the importance of hiding, and the lengths people will go to, to remain out of sight.

“It’s not my job to protect them, C, if I can find them, anyone can.”

“Why does she want to find them?”

“Revenge is my guess, why she had to come to me when she’s worth billions is beyond my understanding. She could’ve hired anyone, had a mole in the government search, literally anything other than showing up at my broken-down door,”

C pauses, “What if they’re in witness protection? What if she was abusive?”

“They’re not in witness, if they were, they wouldn’t use their real names or live in the same city she does. That and you would’ve found out. And, there are no records of abuse in the system, no restraining orders, nothing.”

“Could they be hiding from her?” C questions.

“In plain sight?” I counter.

She laughs. “Staring Mary McCormack now streaming on Amazon Prime.”

“I’m leaving,” I roll my eyes.

“Just, be careful, okay?” She reaches for me, and I enter her embrace. Sister hugs always carry more weight.

“I will be,” I say into her hair.

“Don’t dig a hole bigger than you can fill,” She kisses my cheek gently, her lip gloss sticking to my skin.

“That’s not a saying,” I reply as I wipe the goo from my face.

“Don’t care. Love you,” C stares me down, her words echoing through me.

“Love you, mean it,” I respond, and her shoulders relax.

We haven’t always had the best relationship, the most love, the most respect. She’s anal and controlling, I’m easy going and dare I say, happy? We’ve always been opposites, she loved analytics, statistics, history. I craved action, drama, constant stimulation. We both love puzzles, though hers remain recreational and mine professional. At our core, we’re cut from the same cloth. Mannerisms mimicking the other, eyes of similar shape, looking enough like sisters to never be questioned.

But she’s right.

Am I digging a hole bigger than what I can fill? Has Lee Euna, Euna Lee, set me up to completely fail? Do these men want to remain in hiding, and if so, what’s the level of risk I am putting them at?

Maybe solving the mystery of who the man was with Taehyung will guide me towards an answer.

Next: Codename Another Shot at Love Pt. 4

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courage-a-word-of-justice · 4 years ago

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After much watching...I cut it down to 5 anime and 1 short.

Suppose a Kid… 1

I am not writing out that full title every time! Anyways, here’s the first “real” debut of winter 2021.

For some reason…this series reminds me of Pokemon. Probably how at the start, Ash tries to get along with Pikachu by doing all sorts of things like what Lloyd is doing here. (<- learnt protag’s name through synopses)

The name “Shouma” rang a bell and I was right – Shouma is voiced by Souma…Saito.

The Japanese title has “monogatari” on the end there…so it probably doesn’t fully translate into the English title.

These orange flecks in Lloyd’s eyes are kinda distracting…

Isn’t Kunlun in China, though…?

If this is just going to be Marie yelling…I don’t see why I should stay. (<- turned volume on for everything so far)

*facepalms* Lloyd is so dense…

That fight scene’s not very good…

…oh great. Selen’s fallen in love with Lloyd already…*sigh*

The missing princess is certainly going to be a plot point later.

Wow, that tiger looks impressive! If only they could’ve done that for the fight scene…

…oh great, Selen is a low-key yandere…

Didn’t Lloyd say he sucked at combat…? Anyways, I’m not keeping this. The designs are colourful and the tiger was good, but it’s meant to be a comedy and it’s not funny.

Hortensia Saga 1

Here for Ume! He’s voicing a guy called Defloitte Danois.

I-Is that CGI? So early on into the anime???

*a dude gets bitten into by the werewolf*…welp, at least this series isn’t afraid of its own gore.

I had a sinking feeling our real protag was Alfred…and I was right, according to the OP.

Huh? The song goes silent for a second near the end…what the heck?

The book appears to use English, albeit English so faintly inked in you can’t quite tell what language it is.

Alfred, governing Albert…? Isn’t that a bit redundant?

I swear all the female voices in this anime are squeaky as all get out…

All these high fantasy anime – or heck, any high fantasy series full stop – ever justify why the country is worth fighting for. It’s why I find war stories pointless and senseless.

You can tell from the voice and short stature “Marius” is Mariel…but she uses boku, which is why Alfred can’t really tell the difference. (Also, he wasn’t privy to the fact Mariel cut her hair.)

This almost smacks of a game tutorial. The CGI is still there…it’s not as bad as other examples I’ve seen, but you can tell it’s CGI when you look at it.

Roy’s kind of pretty, in a generic way.

A close-range archer! Ho, you’re kinda impressive yourself, Roy. (The feeling of a game tutorial has disappeared by this point.)

Hortense…of Hortensia…how confusing.

The scruffy guy you keep seeing with the dark hair is Defloitte. Keep an eye out for him for me, would you?

The ED seems to consist mostly of…anguished pop screams. *cringes slightly*

Anyways, this anime isn’t bad. It’s quite average though and its CGI could easily get worse.

Kumo Desu ga 1

…you know I don’t like 1st person cam, yeah?

…this is just Kumoko (as I’ve heard her being called) yelling so far…plus there’s quite a bit of CGI.

I like how the ED has an English overlay and the style they’ve used for it. The music, though…? Nah.

Wait a second? Millepensee? Shin Itagaki? That would explain the CGI!

“…a spider that just happens to have my memories.” – A butterfly dream, huh?

…well, at least this anime is well aware of the genre space it inhabits. Maybe you could say…it’s an isekai light novel, so what? *groans from the audience*

…well, you didn’t really “bring” your “brother’s” (?) corpse in case of an emergency, now, did you?

…welp, to have guts, you must eat guts. I guess that’s how it goes.

What’s a “skanda”?

This anime’s quite monologue-y (as expected of an LN). I can live with it, but I don’t know if it can carry the entire thing through the season.

…humans? Haven’t seen them almost all episode. What are they up to?

These designs sort of look like SAO’s. They’re not a dealbreaker yet, but they could be down the line…

This ED seems to take cues from Cop Craft’s OP (same studio). It also has some…“Aggretsuko rage”, I guess you could call it.

2.43 1

…Another confusing title, I see. I normally don’t do sports anime, but I’m here for Ume.

*sees the colour of the volleyball* - Basically anything volleyball has to collaborate with volleyball maker Mikasa, doesn’t it?

This anime seems to like putting characters’ thoughts on the screen for dramatic impact. The CGI is sort of visible, but not a dealbreaker.

I’d thought I’d heard of this OP artist before, but it turns out I haven’t.

This series has a nice sense of force. You see those moments where the ball squishes, or when Yuni presses against the wall without thinking? Those.

LOL, way to burn Yuni, Chika…

These transitions are a bit hard to detect. I think I like Akudama’s more overt ones more.

LOL, Dr Popper (sic).

The serves are nothing special. Haikyuu does the same thing from the episode I saw of it. (You know I don’t like Haikyuu, yeah? Dropped it after 1 episode because everything I heard the fans talking about caused me to connect the dots.)

The way Yuni blushes…it’s more than someone usually would, even if it is out of embarrassment. It may just be the entertainment I consume, but I could swear that’s going somewhere in more of a BL manner.

I get the feeling Chika has a bit of Virgo or Taurus in him somewhere. The sort of guy who nags at everyone to do stuff his way is probably like that.

Pocari Sweat (unaltered).

I gave myself dimples by puffing up my cheeks and poking them until they became permanent. I guess you can do the same thing with ambidexterity…?

For some reason, I can detect Chika’s jealousy when he discusses blocks and natural talent.

…wow, this anime is pretty serious for a volleyball anime.

The ED scene where the face is replaced with flowers is pretty creepy. Like Jigokuraku or something.

Cells at Work!! 1

What are these blob creatures you see in the OP, anyway…?

I think I remember reading something that the numbers assigned to the cells aren’t arbitrary – they’re hexadecimal colors, e.g. RBCs get shades of red as their numbers.

D’aww, Platelets warm the heart. They really do.

Platelets have a master…? I thought they were all just lil’ kids.

“What the cell’s going on?!” – Oh, I remember seeing a tweet about this. I love that pun! Kudos to whoever was responsible for that.

LOL, no. 4989 dancing in the background.

Hmm…those nets look like CGI.

…uh, I did not need that shot of the Megakaryocyte’s camel toe…that’s distubring.

Wait, Backward Cap is a she?!

Aw, lookit WBC being a dad. That’s cute.

Backward Cap = Ushiromae-chan.

Is that…a construction worker holding a giant pudding?!

Cells at Work Code Black 1

This anime is called “black” due to black companies. It’s Code Black to avoid being racist, I guess. I’m looking forward to it because it’s undoubtedly going to show a dark side to the main series…

…and there it is, the RBC complaining.

I assume OJT = on the job training.

I knew “pespin” (sic) was a typo. It’s pepsin.

Now that I’ve been working at customer service for two years (give or take COVID), I can see where the senpai RBC is smoothing over the relations.

…that also means I know where to suppress my emotions. I’m not a person who opens up to people easily without getting used to them, so people never see me as suitable for customer service anyway, but it’s the only experience I have so *shrugs*.

…oh gosh. I haven’t seen these words since…the time I was still learning biology.

…*sigh* Rookie RBC is worried about boobs.

The fact Senpai lost his iconic hat…is kinda sad, actually.

“Don’t let his resolve be for nothing.”

Hmm…does the male WBC from the main series wear black fingerless gloves?

I thought I’d heard of this artist before…but turns out I just can’t distinguish really autotuned artists from each other…(lel)

…and stuff goes ka-blam. It’s the spiritual successor to HypMic, even if I wasn’t asking for it. (LOL)

Back Arrow 1

…I heard you said “hot guys”? (Yes, I am predictable as all get out.)

What’s with that episode title…?

Stereotypes, eh? I kind of expected as much from the promo, but where’s the title character…?

…was that yuri fanservice? I can’t quite tell because it was the aftermath of an action scene, but I can see the shippers gearing up in my head.

…after a bit of waiting, there he is. Back Arrow himself. He kind looks like Takuto (Star Driver).

“I’m not trying to hide anything!” – Well, that’s…true.

…*sigh* Why do girls always have more feminine-looking mechs? (Plus this one has boobs…*sighhhhhhhhhhhh*)

So it seems mechs in this anime are the form of one’s conviction and they have skills along those lines, eh? An interesting concept.

…you do realise I abandoned an entire anime based on a joke about lucky underwear? However, this anime is so absurd and just keeps running with the joke that I just can’t say no to it. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from volunteering at a charity store, it’s that when it comes to selling stuff, you can’t say no to a lot of stuff…including selling potentially used underwear, so long as it’s not dirty or stinky.

Whoa! Those things break?!

Why does the title card mention the wall...?

Anyways, I…like it, surprisingly enough. Let’s keep going.

Back Arrow 2

…eh? Didn’t expect inflatable clothing, LOL.

I suspect Shu Bi is scheming something.

What’s the long thing…?

“…tomorrow might not come.” – A good reminder to have in these times of COVID.

Peath = Peace. (Heh. What a stupid name…*thinks about the name “Quattro Bajeena” suddenly* Okay, “Peath” pales in comparison to that.)

What is that creature that circles in the sky…?

I know this is meant to be a serious fight, but…that attacking guy’s hat seriously looks like a bamboo stalk and so I keep seeing it and trying not to laugh.

I only just now realised there’s CGI. CGI these days is getting much better than it used to be.

Tomozaki 1

LOL, Yontendo. It’s clearly Smash Bros + Nintendo Switch and the character designer was also around for Iroduku, so that’s why this style looks familiar.

…lemme guess, since this is a romance, it’s likely NONAME is Aoi. Or some other girl.

I would pay for a romance where it’s the girl building the guy up to be presentable, instead of a girl building other girls up to be presentable a la Ageha 100%.

Didn’t the anime show us Tomozaki reflecting to himself, though…?

“…rules working in combination.” - Well, there’s social norms (e.g. knock before entering a room), laws, contracts, societal standards (e.g. in Japanese society, you bow to others as a greeting or apology)…(continues to blabber on for a bit)

I think Aoi said something like “onitadaku”, but I’m not sure what the joke is there. Oni is in there, sure, but what’s the original phrase she’s playing off?

…LOL, it’s a good time to remind people to wear a mask.

LOL, Krout.

Anyways, this seems decent. I like how it’s going the way I want it to.

Tomozaki 2

“…make sure I’m nearby…” – Okay, that’s just being pushy, Aoi.

Minami and Hinami…so confusing…

*Minami chomps on Natsubayashi’s ear* - …okay, that’s not a thing girls do in real life unless they’re lesbians. This is likely trying to take the fanservice route.

They didn’t even show why the “kiss” was broken up…meaning they were doing it to make potential girl-on-girl look hot. Just great.

*Aoi touches Tomozaki’s butt* - Dude, that’s groping…

I didn’t think we’d get the story on Aoi’s “hexactly” so soon.

…well, that episode just made me feel mildly bitter. I’m dropping it here.

Praeter 1

…aw s***. Only a few seconds in and this looks like a terrible game…

It’s like someone barfed paint across Durarara…

The only time the background buildings look any good are when there’s a fight scene…

These Seals (or whatever those designs are called) seem to act like mini shields. Update: They’re called tattoos.

That transition was a bit fast for my liking…

Seems like the series is mildly peppered with Greek terms.

“To Infinity and Beyond” by…some author I can’t really read the name of.

Suddenly, they throw in more characters…?

Where does Eiji keep those bullet cases of his…? In his jacket?

Having a guy die in the 1st episode is cheap. I mean, we don’t quite care for him yet – it’s too early in the anime for that.

Now there’s Norse terms on top of the Greek ones…

Even more characters? You kidding me?

Lemme guess, Eiji gave up his tattoo because Yamato inspired him and now he’s a goner.

Welp, the weight of the world is in your hands, Yamato. Including that dead dude on your back. (<- sarcastic)

Sk8 1

I’ve been hearing good things about this anime! Let’s go! (<- about a week late to the debut)

That politician is probably relevant…probably someone’s dad, if HypMic taught me anything.

LOL, a beef. They call this stuff “beef”? Where’s the chicken? (<- joke from HypMic)

Haemanthus…apparently a flowering plant from S. Africa.

That’s rare, you don’t see Canadians in anime all that much. I was just thinking as I came home from volunteering how you know British people all have fancy names like William and Australians are Johnno, Danno etc., but Canadians? No clue. Update: Apparently you’d call one Arnold or something just as generic…?

Why are all foreigners in anime half-Japanese with the mother being the Japanese side, anyway?...Because people can make their character speak Japanese while looking foreign. Right. Moving right along.

Ahh…I understand your plight all too well, Reki.

…Hmm. It seems Reki’s surname is written kiya, but read “Kyan”. His name literally translates to “history (calendar/age) of bravery (military might)” Update: Turns out his surname is 3 characters (read “kiyan”, although I’ve never seen that final character ever being read as “n”) and his first name is one, so his first name is just “history (calendar/age)”.

Even I suck at balancing on bikes and stuff (…yeah, I still can’t ride a bike even though I’ve done so many other things in my life) and I know you have to support yourself with one foot on the ground before you do things like trick flips. I may not have observed Tony Hawk all that much, but he was on the periphery of my knowledge.

“What’s your hourly wage?” – Ouch, I feel ya, Langa.

Koko ni netete actually means “Lie down here”, but…okay.

These eyecatches are cute.

That’s a cute fox.

Yikes! 60 mph = approx. 97 km/h!!!

Random umeboshi, LOL.

Aghhhhhhhhhhh! Cherry Blossom’s so pretty~! I love him already!

Thank you, based Bones!

Something that can be enjoyed, even without sound: this is why I enjoy both action and comedy anime!

Okinawa? We’re in Okinawa?

Well, that was cool! I didn’t even ask where the location was until the end. Update: Why is this anime sometimes called Sk8 the Infinity anyway…?

Horimiya 1

Horimiya…I’ve been aware of this series for a while. There’s even a Chinese volume of it at a library close to me, although due to contact tracing I haven’t bothered to check it out.

Oh, I bet Hori is the otaku!

Ooh, Marketing Script!

Because I’ve been behind on the premieres, I’ve seen enough to know this boy with the chain is Miyamura.

…argh! Miyamura is cute! Y’all were right!!! (<- likes blushing bois)

I bet there’s going to be an emergency meeting!

“Sorry, it’s egg time!” – Oh, I’m laughing so hard! So that’s the context behind the Wonder Egg Priority meme!

“…see these?!” – Well, it’s not like you have a tattoo or some-*Miyamura shows his tattoos* Never mind…

Oh, I just realised they even animate the minute movements of the eyes Miyamura does…cool.

Notice how Miyamura is blocked from the other guy due to the window.

Miyamura goes “Ishikawa-kun” but “Hori-san”…hmm. No wonder he’s letting Ishikawa get Hori.

The problem I find with romance series is that they’re generally tied to heteronormativity. Hori is coded with red silhouettes and Miyamura with blue…*sigh* Whatever happened to gender ambiguity?

Good heavens, what is up with this ED?! It looks like Pocoyo! (…Does anyone else know that cartoon…?) Aside from that quibble, this anime is great though.

Mushoku Tensei 1

Apparently this is the grandad of all isekai. Why it took so long for an anime of this…who knows?

…and of course this guy’s a loser virgin. Go figure.

*sighhhhhhhhh* He’s just ogling this woman’s boobs…

…oh, sorry. I was so distracted by the man candy, I didn’t care about Rudy.

I-It’s actually quite refreshing to not have an OP protagonist from the get-go for once. (Or maybe I’ve developed such a disdain for isekai since SAO rolled around that everything here suddenly feels fresh.)

You can see the birthplace of isekai without having watched any of the others right here, it looks like.

“…what’s the point of incantations?” – To make it easier for you to cast spells, I gue-spoke too soon.

…wow, they shamelessly showed off Rudy’s privates. I know he’s still young at this stage, but that reminds me of how I dropped Dragon Ball around the time Goku was shown the same way (which is…very early on, by my own admission).

I believe, based on the name of the spinoff I see in the 7 Seas emails, the magic tutor is called Roxy.

You’re thinking about marriage?! At your (reincarnated) age?!

Oh no! The tree again!

LOL, Rudy’s acting like a kid who’s been in COVID lockdown for a while.

I think what most of the isekai that spun off from here missed is that the loser is job age. Losers at life at job age are relatable and high school geniuses are relatable (albeit sometimes insufferable), but losers who become NEETs for no reason whatsoever and then get banged up by Truck-kun are not.

Anyways, this was good, but a risky kind of good, since it seems like this male gaze will continue to be around as Rudy gets older.

Update: Dropped after learning Rudy was a paedophile in his past life.

Update 2: Apparently the anime toned down this paedophilic tendency of Rudy’s, so...now the verdict is that I move on while I let other people tell me if this is true of the anime or not.

Kemono Jihen 1

“Kemono Jihen” means something like “creature incidents”. I wonder why Funimation didn’t change the name…?

Kabane means “summer wing”.

Kanoko Villa, I’d assume, is named after the deer (the name means “deer’s child”).

My experience with Sho Aimoto (creator of this manga) is reading a bit of Hokenshitsu no Shinigami. (That, by the way, reminds me of Nube, but it’s nothing spectacular.) However, Hokenshitsu no Shinigami has a very detailed artstyle…That’s why I’m pretty shocked Kemono Jihen has such a scratchy one…

Ooh, edamame!

Oh, I see…this is like Furuba or a werewolf story, huh? Rather than a Natsume Yuujincho sort of thing.

…I thought Inugami and Dorotabo had seen everything of each other because of bathing together…I guess not, then.

…is Yataro going to die?

It seems the “immortal demons” are oni, so…why subtitle them as “immortal demons” and not just “demons”?

Ohhhhhhhh…this shite’s good. It seems to have a throwback feeling to it, moreso than even Yashahime or a lot of the sequels I’ve seen recently.

Cells at Work!! 2

I was going to move right along to Wonder Egg Priority because I’m really behind on the debuts right now, but I accidentally opened this up while I was cleaning up so I might as well watch another episode or two before setting it aside.

He’s dead, Jim. (<-joking)

…gosh, these walls look like Hover all over again and that’s from 1995…

LOL, these background cells don’t even have any details. They’re basically stick figures with fat bodies…

I think that phrase that appeared, “Take good care of B Cell!”, may be a pun on Give My Regards to Black Jack (written with similar Japanese, “B Cell wo Yoroshiku!” vs. “Black Jack ni Yoroshiku!”).

LOL, “you sure have the guts”…while they’re in the guts.

The certificate says something about it being presented to someone in the face of bravery, I think (<- just looked at it briefly).

“You have a good head on your shoulders,” says the T cell as WBC struggles with the disguise…stuck on his head.

Wonder Egg Priority 1

I’ve been hearing this series is surreal, but no more surreal than Flip Flappers. So…I don’t know if I’ll like it or not.

What’s this K?(?96…?

There’s a sunflower on her raincoat…so that’s why I saw a post called “You’re the sunflower”. Personally, that just reminds me of Post Malone.

Those Seeno Evils…they’re CGI, aren’t they?

As Boueibu once said (but I may be paraphrasing here), “nothing is more scary than free”.

…to be honest with you, I haven’t had a best friend for at least 2 years now. I only really feel close to people who are like me and who I have sustained contact with over many years, so I end up cutting contact with people after we part ways and never trying to fix it.

I always find it slightly absurd when anime girls get a little pudgy and go, “I’m so fat!” (See, for instance, the Dumbbell series.) Or, in this case, Ai’s going, “I’m so ugly!” when there’s nothing wrong with her. She’s only a bit different from everyone else due to her heterochromia - she doesn't have any physical or mental difficulties.

IChu 1

Here for Ume and, of course, dem bois. Bring it!

I seem to remember one of the magazines called an “Ichu” “an idol egg” (i.e. a fledgling idol)…More egg puns for me, then.

I found him! Ume! He’s Akira Mitsurugi! Update: Turns out that’s Toshiyuki Toyonaga…Oops. (Ume is actually Lucas from I*B.)

Huh? For a second, I imagined Akira with a dubbed voice. Of course, I could only be dreaming, because idol anime normally don’t get dubs, but…it was interesting to think about.

LOL, “Onsta”.

This Akio-type character is popular lately. The sort who’s timid but has an outstanding talent they themselves might not see.

…uh, but Kocho means “Principal”…?

An idol bear?!

Torahiko is crazy…(Note the tigers. Tora = tiger.)

Specifically, that’s black coffee with no sugar.

As much as I want to keep watching this, I’ll hit pause on it here. There’s much better offerings this season.

YuruCamp s2 1

…grandpa’s writing is so…neat.

*glares at CGI car…*

This OP just doesn’t compare to Shiny Days, y’know…?

OOPArts.

Talking pine cones! They’re back!

Curry rice! Literally had some of the Japanese-style stuff the other day. It was great.

All this talk about jobs…I personally don’t like jobs because I like to work at my own pace (hence one reason why I’m working on being a translator), but…money…I’m jealous, girls.

I’m trying not to rely on the subs for those texts that appear on the screen so that I can keep my reading skills up…I kept up with them for the most part…but then I got distracted by the croquette sign at one point…

“…buy you some local food?” – That’s omiyage, normally translated “souvenirs”. “Local food” actually does make more sense in that gap, though.

…man, I’m jealous that the girls all got jobs suitable for their personalities and everything. Lil’ ol’ antisocial me sucks at retail, even after 2 years.

Design-bu 1

LOL, that man and his bunny. Update: That’s Unabara-san.

…geez, these utaite are everywhere now. I’ve seen 96neko, USSS, Eve and more being more central to anime song creation…

Thise characters in the OP seal (<-the stamp, not the animal) are saiyou, meaning “recruited”, or in this case, “accepted”.

OEM = original equipment manufacturer.

Hrm…you can tell it’s a giraffe by description, but…that “base everything on the horse” is interesting as you could count several things as horse derivatives. Also, the angels’ names are all standard Japanese names with natural components to them (Ueda = upright rice field, Shimoda = frost rice field etc).

Is this pink-themed guy…a guy? Or a crossdresser? Update: That’s Kanamori-san.

I like how the suits have little wing-like flaps. Also the wings on Shimoda’s back.

…I never thought an anime episode would make me so concerned about giraffes.

That guy in the green I remember from the Wave x Tendebu (Heaven’s Design Team) collab, his name is Kimura.

Oh, so there is a bird like that!

The random wiggling the chibis do in these short segments…it’s a bit disorienting. (<-Just a small quibble of mine.)

Oh! Galapagos effect!

Agonistic: “polemical; combative.” I thought they meant “antagonistic”.

Oh man, that punch line was great! It took me a while to get into the spirit of it, but this anime is great!

Update: Oh, that’s where those nature names come from! They’re actually meant to be gods! (Or…named after gods…?) Also, Ueda vs. Shimoda (the “shimo” could be the kanji for “below”).

Ex-Arm 1

I’ve heard this anime looks bad…even well before its debut. How bad? Let’s find out.

*stifles laughter* From the first pan, I know this anime is doomed on my list. Even Praeter was better than this!

*stifles laughter again* This OP really does look as bad as the stuff I was seeing prior to winter 2021! Like a game I shouldn’t take out of my archives! (It’s not as bad as Hover’s graphics, but still…that’s from 1995. Cut it some slack.)

That’s the 2nd Kimura this season…

Yugg is just…ugly. Never try to render elaborate eyelashes in CGI again, people.

Dimension High School was better than this because at least that had puzzles. This is even jankier than that!

Wait, why is Akira 3D when his dad is 2D? It’s not that obvious, but I notice these things. Update: That’s not his dad…but close enough. (That’s his brother.)

…and here comes Truck-kun! (LOL)

This would be good…if it weren’t rendered in the jankiest CGI known to man…

Alma’s gun strike doesn’t have a lot of force to it.

The fire is rendered so terribly…*stifles laughter*

This part with a disembodied Akira is what I assume I got up at 6 am for…but I can’t hear it, due to background noise. Remind me to confirm this later. (Minami’s mouth is rendered so terribly…augh.)

No force to any of these recent motions, either.

LOL, this censorship.

Wave 1

Ever since this project was announced, I’ve been watching developments unfold on Anime News Network. I knew it would get an anime or something similar I could follow…and now here I am. I mentioned in the Sk8 comments I have basically zero knowledge of surfing, so…this is very unexpected, in one sense.

Was that a drone…?

“Wizard of the Waifu Board”?! Are you kidding me?! (LOL)

There seem to be shots where I can see the CGI here, but…anything’s better than Ex-Arm. Let’s say that.

Actually…yappe is a derivative of yabai, meaning “cool” or “crap” (in an ironic sense). So it would probably be better to translate it as “Surfing’s the greatest!” or “Surfing’s the coolest!” Anyways, what I was thinking before I was going to say this was that the waves are so enticingly animated, it feels like a summer anime. Basically the only other anime I’ve ever said that for is Grand Blue.

If I’m understanding where Isokichi’s name comes from right, “iso” is the character for seashore or a rocky beach (磯).

LOL, the teacher just wrote “Show must go on.”

Hayama, Kanagawa. Kanagawa’s capital is Yokohama, so it’s not quite Tokyo, but somewhat close.

“Murphy”? I have zero clue what that means.

Oh, I see. The title is translated that way due to context. Now that I can accept.

I just burst out into laughter when I realised Nalu hasn’t dropped or put down his ukulele once.

BSD Wan! 1

Here comes my past to haunt me…aside from me being a fan of BSD, I’m here because I influenced this series. How so? Once upon a time in the now-distant year of 2016, I was a scanlator for a brief period. Most of the work I’ve done hasn’t influenced the world at large, but this is the most influential manga I had a hand in working on.

Oh no! They’re starting with the dog AU?! (That comes from pretty far into the manga, IIRC. Further than my work was on it, at least.)

It’s Rashomon, but Rashoken (that last bit means “dog”). Hence Ruffshomon.

Basically, they just insert dog-related words everywhere…don’t make me explain every one!

Ouch, I can only imagine how much pain it was to translate Inu Shikkaku. Literally, it’s “No Longer a Dog”, but how would anyone make it in line with the other puns…?

I wasn’t fully aware of how the dog AU was connected to the main Wan series because I haven’t really looked at it after I quit due to aggregators, but…that was a nice fakeout. Also, I was concerned as to whether this was going to be a full-length ep or a short…seems like it’s a 10 minute short, so I have more chances of taking it.

…oh gosh, that pose! I remember it! I worked on this one! (Now that I know it’s a TV short, I won’t cover future episodes, but I want to at least finish this one because I started it.)

I think they added a bit there. I remember Kunikida’s and Yosano’s were in the manga, but not the other members or Fukuzawa going “the wind is smiling” + Kenji working on the roof at the start.

Oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh, I remember Rampo. I think I had to approximate how he would say stuff with Pocky in his mouth, but Slug (current scanlator) went the extra mile and stuck food in his mouth to do the same panel.

It seems to make a short ep., they strung a bunch of the chapters together. Also, I don’t think we ever found out what Yosano’s puddle was and that was…probably for the better.

Oh yeah…I think I remember this one.

Now I remember it! I remember having fun explaining what a youkan was.

Whoa, Higuchi scrapped the SFX! That wasn’t in the original…

The ED seems to be an Atsushi cover of Namae wo Yobu yo.

Oh noooooooooooo! The flower gazing episode! That’s the one I remember most, because I was trying to figure out how to translate 移動 while making it smooth-sounding English…(I remember the final result was something like, “Move! Move~!”

Dr Stone: Stone Wars 1

Final debut! Let’s go~!

The last time this series was on the air was about 1 year ago. I can remember that far back…

I like how that recap is framed as Gen talking to the kids.

Senku overcomes every problem with science.

…not much to comment on here.

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discnchant · 4 years ago

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Auradon City was large and majestic, filled from district to district with much to be seen and explored. And yet with everything that was at her finger tips, Briar Rose had found herself extremely bored with the place. Perhaps it was all the years she’d spent wandering the many winding avenues, visiting its iconic locations, learning its secrets and biggest draws. Or maybe it was the fact that a young lady of her station required a chaperone and wasn’t allowed to travel far in the city. There were so many parts of it her parents deemed unsavory. For one, she was not allowed near the sandy stretch of beach in Seaside Ridge — too many naked men enjoying the warm waters, never mind the fact she had painted her fair share of nude models. She could not be in Old Town, even chaperoned — the orphans were often sickly and walking around, and the unpaved paths could cause her to slip and hurt herself. And of course she was not allowed anywhere near Low Town and it’s deviant population and shady businesses. So much of the city was barred from her reach and she’d felt suffocated when chaperoned, most often by her parents. They never let her be free.

It truly was a stroke of luck that neither her mama or father had the availability to go with her that afternoon. Instead she was attended by a maid and given strict orders to not go far. Centre Commercial would be the farthest she could go, and she was required to tell them ahead of time where she might be. So Briar Rose said she would be at one of the fabric and dress shops and then to get afternoon tea and biscuits before taking a stroll back to the Garden District, and while she wished she could rebel... she knew that was exactly what she would do. She did not have the strength to deceive her parents, not really. And so there she was, in a large haberdashery of fabrics and various clothes and accessories, brushing gloved fingers over the ribbons and hats as she contemplated a new bonnet. It was early spring in the south, growing warmer and sunnier as the days floated by. It would be nice to have a lovely visor to block out the unrelenting sunlight when strolling through the manicured gardens of the Enchanted Park — hopefully in the company of a handsome suitor. One could dream.

“M’lady, we should be on our way,” her chaperone had murmured lowly to the blonde as she let her fingers drag over the same bonnet she’d continually come back to for the past few minutes. Briar ignored the suggestion. Sure it was up to the chaperone to keep time but Briar had grown so bored in that house where the silence between her parents had become deafening. The last thing she desired was an early return, there was always a chance she would walk in to an opportune argument between Aurora and Phillip. Her fragile heart could only take so much of the back and forth shouting.

She held the satin mauve ribbon of the bonnet delicately between two fingers and sighed longingly. “I don’t think I have a pelisse that goes with this... But it sure is lovely, wouldn’t you say Mrs. Abernathy?” She heard the maid speak up again, to urge her away, but her voice had been quickly drowned out by a sudden commotion occurring behind them. With brows knit, Briar slowly turned around to see what was happening. Towards the back the store was lined in racks where premade clothing — an odd modern contraption slowly making the rounds — were laid out. How anyone could grab at these were beyond Briar; how, pray tell, was the maker to know who their pieces would fit? And alternatively how was the customer to know they’d picked the correct fit for themselves? These racks were becoming more apparent in the Haberdasher and Linen shops around town, and were clearly the center of the ruckus. Curiously, she ignored the protestations of her appointed chaperone to wander closer and get a better idea of what the shop keeper had been yelling about.

“Thief!” That caught her attention. “I caught you trying to take off with these! I’ll have you detained for this!” Briar dropped her gaze from the shop keeper’s reddening face to the bundle of fabric in the man’s worn, leathery hands. A pair of trousers from the looks of it, possibly for a young man. Her eyes followed the line of the man’s bulging ones to meet the victim of his ire. They were small, as was expected from a light fingered thief, unfamiliar at first glance. She’d thought at first they could be a youth from the orphanage — they didn’t look to be one of her peers — but it had dawned on Briar that whomever they were, they were close in age with her. And then a flash of slightly vague recollection; could they have been one of the Shadowborn who had arrived per Princess Emma’s decree? It must have been — who else would be so bold as to attempt to steal from a store in this side of town? Immediately she felt a pang in her chest, an ache for whoever this poor soul was. For all the difficulty and hardness she imagined they suffered in the Shadow Realm, she figured this was simply how things were handled there. Did they have money or possessions with which to haggle for their needs? Seemed unlikely, she figured there was no code for transactions. It was perhaps undignified of her but she hadn’t thought twice about what she would do next, she simply moved forward despite the protests of her maid.

“Excuse me,” she spoke up, calm in demeanor but firm in tone. Instantly the man had whipped away from the thief they’d been berating and stared wide eyed at the young Lady Basille of Auroria. Clearly he’d recognized her — she was, after all, a frequent shopper. He’d not have the chance to greet her with a “my lady” before Briar launched into conversation. “I’m afraid there’s been a misunderstanding. You see, I had told my friend here to merely come find me once they had found what they were looking for. I got distracted by this lovely bonnet I had seen from the window... That one right there, with the mauve satin ribbon?” She pointed it out. “I failed to accompany them to your wares back here, but I assure you there is no wrong doing taking place. We are simply enjoying a warm afternoon at your lovely shop, were we not?” Briar nodded to the other, smiling with the warmth she spared only her dearest friends. “Now if you could be so kind as to take that bonnet and wrap it up — and direct me to where I may find a compatible fabric so I may have a matching pelisse made for it, then I will pay for mine and my friend’s items and we shall be on our way.” She gave her most winsome smile to the shop keep, who instantly launched into profuse apologies before collecting the items she required.

Briar wordlessly directed her maid to tend to the fabric cutting and costs before turning to the thief that would be. “I hope this does not wound your pride, I just couldn’t take the shouting much longer. I’m afraid if he continued then he would have expired from exhaustion and a lack of oxygen. I’ve never seen one get so red in the face.” She let out an airy giggle, before nearing the other and lowering her voice. “Now listen, in order to get away with this you’ll have to accompany me out the door and down the street — at least around the corner where we cannot be seen by the merchant. We must have him convinced we are the dearest of friends, just out on a stroll. Otherwise he’ll report you to the authorities and we don’t want that happening. Perhaps we should become acquainted quickly, in order to better to sell the con — I am Lady Briar Rose of Auroria. You may call me Rose for the duration of this scheme, okay? Now then, what shall I call you?” @cnceuponadream

#* i know you i walked with you once upon a dream ( thread. )#briar ft. george

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strangerfictions · 5 years ago

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Post It Notes

Summary: You work in a coffee shop and a new guy starts. You work different shifts so you communicate through Post It Notes

Warnings: Language? Implied smut and alcohol consumption.

Words: 1788

A/N: So I was inspired by a prompt I found on pinterest ages ago and so this came to life. I really enjoyed this one although I’m not fully happy with it. If anyone would like to be added to my tag list message me and I will add you to the list! Also if you have any requests PLEASE send me an ask !

The minute the coffee shop opened its doors in Hawkins you knew you had to apply for a job there. You were in your second last year of high school and so you needed to start saving for college and this was the perfect opportunity for you. Not only was it ten minutes away from your house, it would be easy to balance with school. You were so happy when you got the job. You meet so many strange and wonderful people from around Hawkins just by making coffee for them.

It’s been about a year since you started, and you have seen many people come and go. Today was no different. Thomas was nice to work with but you knew he had things going on at home and so he was moving out of Hawkins. You felt bad for him but you always knew that he wouldn’t last very long. You would have to manage for a few weeks until the your boss hired someone and trained them.

Over the next few weeks things went by pretty smoothly. You had only had a few customers who were a problem but they were dealt with easily. Friday evening, your last day before your weekend off, your boss told you they had hired someone. A new rota had been drawn up and you were on weekdays and he was doing weekends.

You are closing up and you decide to leave a little good luck note and a warning about how the taps spit more than some rude customers. You write the message on a post it note and stick it to the coffee machine.

Your weekend consists of studying for your English pop quiz on Monday, so you don’t even think about work until Monday after school. You walk to the coffee shop after school hoping the new kid hasn’t burned the entire shop down. Once you are inside you notice everything looks okay. He survived induction weekend. You look over at the coffee machine and see a new post it stuck to the side.

You go to the backroom and change into your apron and head out to take over from your boss. Since boss is finishing up making a coffee, you take the opportunity to read the post it note.

“Thanks for the luck it seems to have worked because I’m somehow alive…also that coffee machine spits like a b*tch” You giggle at the fact that he has censored himself.

“He’s surprisingly better at making coffee than I expected” Your boss says from behind you.

“Good because we have had our fair share of bad coffee makers” You joke laughing at your boss’s reaction.

The next two weeks pass by without trouble. You and the new guy exchange notes every week. Each week they get longer and longer. You both are now using three post it notes to communicate. You might as well be writing letters to each other. It’s a bit weird considering you have never met this person, but you feel like you know them in a weird way.

It’s the week before Halloween and your boss has told you will be working every day for the next few months until after Christmas. It’s a busy time for the coffee shop so he needs both me and the new guy working. Finally, you’re going to meet this guy. You knew you could have gone into the café during weekends but that would spoil the fun.

Monday comes faster than you expected but as soon as school is finished you walk to the coffee shop. You begin to feel nervous because meeting a new co-worker can be nerve wracking especially when you’ve been communicating through post it notes for weeks. As you are tying your apron you hear the door to the back room open and you turn to see who it is. Steve Harrington.

Steve was in a few of your classes, but you never really talked to him much. You knew he had a bit of a reputation before the new kid Billy took over as popular kid so you never really had the opportunity to talk. Although after his breakup with Nancy he kind of sticks to himself.

“Y/N? No way I’m so glad it’s been you I’ve been talking to because I don’t think I could take the pain of it being some old guy!” Steve says quickly throwing his bag and coat on a hook.

“Hey Steve! Likewise. Glad to see the coffee machine hasn’t taken you alive since the last time I wrote!” You joke as you fumble with your apron.

“I think we will work well together!” He says smiling as he ties his apron.

You both walk out together and the day flies by.

Its two days before Halloween break and you and Steve have been left to clean the shop after closing and lock up. You usually dread this but not tonight. You and Steve are getting along really well. Both of you know each other better than you ever considered possible and because of this work was made so much easier.

“So, any plans for Halloween Steve?” You ask as you clean the coffee machine.

“Not really. My parents are out of town for the week so its just me, a large bowl of popcorn and some movies” Steve confessed as he cleaned some tables near you.

“Oh really? I’m probably the same. Although I was invited to that party everyone is talking about in school if you want to go with me? No pressure though” You say hoping he does say yes though.

Tina's Halloween party was the place to be and you were always in the mood for a party. Especially after the stress of school recently.

Over the past few weeks you have grown really close to Steve and along with hat came a massive crush. You weren’t planning on doing anything about it except shove it deep down where no one would find out about it but here you were asking Steve to a party much to both of your surprise.

“Oh yeah? I mean I don’t have a costume or anything, but I would love to go” Steve says looking up at you and smiling.

“Oh great! Don’t worry about the costume. I don’t have one either!” You smile back and get back to cleaning the coffee machine.

The day of the Halloween party comes quicker than you thought it would. You had spent the past two days working and studying so you didn’t have much time to think about it but now that it was here you were feeling a little nervous.

You hadn’t really thought about what to wear so you just grabbed a simple black dress to wear with a pair of black Doc Martens to go with it. You were just about finished when you heard your doorbell go. Thankfully your parents were out for the night, so you didn’t have to worry about that awkward encounter. You run down the stairs to answer the door. Stopping just at the door you hype yourself up for the night, giving yourself a little pep talk.

You open the door quickly.

“Hey Steve!” You beam at him taking in his appearance. He is wearing a black button up shirt, not buttoned all the way, with some blue jeans. You liked it. It was spooky but not too spooky.

“You look amazing Y/N” Steve says smiling at you.

“Thanks Steve! So do you. Come on in I’m just going to grab my jacket and stuff and we can go!” You shout as you run up the stairs. You run into your room and grab the things you need and run downstairs. When you go downstairs you see Steve looking at a family photo.

“Ready?” You ask watching him as he stands up straight looking over at you.

“You were cute when you were younger!” Steve says flustered.

“And I’m not now?” You ask jokingly.

“Haha very funny! You know the answer to that” He says sarcastically walking towards you.

“Do I? I don’t think I do. Think I need you to answer that one for me” You tease.

He walks to where you’re standing and stops in front of you.

“Oh, do you now? Maybe this will answer it for you” Steve begins to slowly lean into you but you can’t wait, so you smash your lips against his taking him by surprise. You both kiss each other slowly until you have to pull back for air.

“Yep that answers it” You laugh grabbing his hand and pulling him out the door.

Steve acts like a true gentleman opening the door for you and closing it behind you. He hops into the driver seat and looks at you, taking in your appearance.

“Like what you see?” You ask smirking at him.

“No, I’m just waiting for you to put on your seat belt” He says turning his head back to the road as he starts the car

“Dick” You laugh.

The rest of the ride was full of flirting and deep conversations. By the time you get to the party you are feeling less nervous. Both you and Steve walk into the party holding hands which draws everyone’s eyes to you both but neither of you care. Steve pulls you towards the kitchen to get a drink.

You both go to grab the vodka bottle at the same time which makes you both laugh.

“I guess we both have good taste in alcohol” You say laughing. You pour both two shots for you both and pass Steve his.

“To a good night” You raise the shot glass up and clink it with Steve’s. His face is full of surprise as you take the shot.

“To a good night!” He repeats as he too takes the shot.

You grab his hand and pull him to were everyone is dancing. You both dance until you are sweaty messes but you both don’t care.

Steve looks at you with intent in his eyes. He grabs your hand and pulls you into him. His lips meet yours and you both begin to kiss passionately. The kiss begins to deepen and within seconds you are full on making out in the middle of a party.

You break the kiss first with only one thing on your mind.

“Lets go back to mine. I have an empty house” You whisper in his ear and pull him towards the front door.

The next morning you wake up to an empty bed but on your pillow you find a post it note.

“Had a great night last night. Look forward to a lot more like that. Call me! – Steve”

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Tag List: If you want to be added to any of my future posts then click here to be sent to the google form!

an-antisocial-writer

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kamccormickhnd1b · 4 years ago

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Jonathan Bielaski: Environmental Photographer

Environmental portraits are a very involved type of portraiture that is a slow and methodical process requiring interviews and understanding of who the person is. In the end, it requires the photographer to deliver a product that tells something specific about who the subject is. The aim is to tell viewers about this person without needing to put words.

Jonathan Bielaski has been doing this for years, and knew that he wanted to be a photographer from a very young age. He is based in Toronto, Canada and some of his clients include, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and TFC), Sports Illustrated, Billboard Magazine, T+D Magazine and the list goes on.

Jonathan Bielaski got into photography naturally: his dad was a master print maker and his mom a graphic designer. Growing up, he was surrounded by images 24/7. Both parents tried to encourage and raise him to do something other than the arts but it was just part of him, he knew he wanted to create images at a very young age. By the time he was in high school he was assisting on commercial jobs and had a studio to start taking my his very own images. From there lots of hard work and persistence led to where the man is now.

What first attracted him to shooting portraits then environmental portraits?

When Jonathan Bielaski started out in photography he didn’t enjoy making portraits and was attracted to still life photography, he says that he now understands that it was his attraction to lighting and with shooting these types of images he could master light and its effects. But something was missing–whenever he was photographing custom motorcycles and custom made products the story about the makers became a huge interest to him. Who they were and where they lived or worked fascinated him. He wanted to capture them in their workspace. People have a story as well as their space, together they complete a visual story and you can capture who they are and what they do in a signal frame.

Jonathan likes to sit down with his subjects and learn : With making any portrait I do–I like to sit down with the subject and learn about them: what they do, where they come from and where they want to go. He would ask them to take him though a typical day, show him some of their favorite places and tools. He really tries to get to know them, to get a strong understanding of them as a person. Sometimes this is done on the same day of the shoot and sometimes it is done beforehand, but the best thing that he learned to do is listen. By listening, you learn and find the small details that makes them who they are.

To Jonathan Bielaski, a perfect environmental portrait is a portrait that tells a story, you are learning something about the person in the portrait without the use of words. The background and foreground are just as important as the person in telling the story but they are the supporting cast and the person is the lead roll. On their own they could make good images but together they make a great image.

Jonathan Bielaski’s Work

I looked into some examples of Jonathan Bielaski’s work and I took a big interest in him. I’ve uploaded my favourite photos of his work, the ones that stood out to me the most.

The thing that drew me to this image was the man’s shirt and his eyes. For me, the eyes stood out the most, they are clear and have godo catchlights in them, and for me personally, I’m drawn to eyes more than anything else in an image. They are powerful and can tell a story, so the clearer the eyes, the better. With the hat and the shirt and obviously the chickens, I get the impression this man is a farmer or at least works around farm animals. I liked how well he was put together: most likely, this is something the man would wear on a regular basis when doing his work amongst the animals. I liked how well he captured this man, I feel he has a strong expression on his face, his beard is neat and “sharp” and I think Jonathan Bielaski captured the man perfectly.

The background of this image is what captured my interest the most.It is a messy background to me despite attempts to make it neat and tidy, to me, this screams artist. The man has paint on his apron and you can see paint brushes in the background and many other crafting items he uses. I have friends who art artists, and often their workstation is a mess of dried in ink, paint or even just their tools. I feel the background captures the madness within an artist’s mind: putting your ideas into place and creating your idea is your main focus, and it shows in the background. I liked this photo because it displays an artist in his work place.

Compared to the above farmer image, this image has a lot more in the background, it’s cluttered and busier, to show the work and mind of an artist. I feel he captured the mood of this image rather well, for me, it tells a story of a busy man with many tools for his craft.

I like this image because it is another outdoor image. But for me personally, it tells a story of someone who enjoys the outdoors and some adventure, I like how well the image turned out with the sun behind the model and the environment altogether. I like the use of light here, the model is lit well and the sun isn’t doesn’t overpower the model, my main focus is the model herself. She is sat in amongst shrubbery, which most likely wasn’t very comfortable! But comfortable or not, if she enjoys being outdoors, then this would be a rather normal place for her to sit and explore.

I like the depth of field in this image, it helps to blur out the background but also shows what’s there and how it affects her story.

This image tells a strong story for me. There are numerous props to tell you about the model in the centre, she has a disability for the wheelchair to be there, she likes tattoos and for me, I think she finds a tranquility brought by music. Music is very calming, and in this photo, there are books and one woman is reading a book, this scene tells me a story of looking for tranquility, peace and quiet, looking for a small escape from stress.

For me personally, I enjoy reading and I enjoy listening to music whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed by stress, so this image resonated with me. I liked how the environment itself tells you a lot about the model, all while not telling you a word of it. It is beautifully lit with sunlight, possibly near golden hour, but not quite. It gives off a mood of comfort and warmth.

The two images above are of the same man, but I liked the use of shadows in these photos. Immediately, you’re drawn to the man’s trade: blacksmithing. All around him are tools of his trade, fire and water he would use on a regular basis in his work. I liked the ambient lighting, I prefer darker images to brightly lit images, so these two photos drew me in immediately. The man himself tells a story: he looks rather tired to me, he is a little bit scruffy and dirty from working hard, a smoker to destress while on his breaks.

I like the story this image tells, the story of a working man who works in a warm environment on a daily basis, working red hot metal, steam, hard labour involving heavy tools such as hammers. It would be a tiring job to do, especially every day, it tells me a story of strength more than anything else. He is a man working naturally in his trade, and it tells a strong story of manual labour.

#jonathan bielaski #environmental portraits #environmental research #environmental surroundings #work environment #student research #research #another photographer #environmentalportraits

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cusclosoho · 4 years ago

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fanaticfangirl001 · 5 years ago

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The One and Only Ms.Mercury pt 2

Rami x reader (Freddie’s daughter)

Author’s note: Let’s do this guys!

Vocab words: Take away- delivery food. (In the Uk you can get more than pizza delivered)

Also for future reference: Dad refers to Freddie, Papa refers to Jim.

Ps: This one seemed short, but it also seemed natural to stop it there.

Thought you guys might enjoy this.

@queen-irl-af

@kiillerqueeen

@rami-malek-trash

*I guess I’ll use the same gif because the other gifs aren’t loading.

Y/n kicks off her shoes near the front door and goes up the stairs to her room. She flops onto her bed and picks up her sketchbook from the night stand. Grabbing a pencil she sketches a simple drawing of her dad’s, based off a picture inside a little pink frame that’s laying on her desk. Y/n is sitting on Freddie’s lap. Both of them are wearing plastic tiaras and feather boas,eating cake. It’s from her second birthday.

Her art style has varied during her four years on YouTube but it typically stays within a cartoon like style, roundish characters with thick outlines. Many of her professors hated the style but she never really cared what they said, as most of the artwork that they preferred were sad people, or too pretentious for Y/n’s liking. She didn’t really show many people her artwork offline in “real life” due to many of their “criticisms”.

Y/n sets down her sketchbook, and walks over to her cabinet of art supplies, mostly gifted to her by the companies for reviewing it, or from art subscription boxes. She pulls out two watercolor palettes one for the skin tones, and another for bright metallic neons. Y/n tosses some fine liner markers onto her bed followed by the pallet.

She drops herself onto the bed and starts erasing the lines lightly so she can line them with the markers. Rolling the kneaded eraser in her hands, Y/n starts thinking: This movie is going to change things. The only reason I’m not hounded by reporters is because I stay in and stay out of the spotlight. Me helping on this movie, thrusts me into some spotlight. I’m also a woman so there’s that added pressure.

Y/n puts down her eraser and closes her sketchbook. She walks to the bathroom and stares into the mirror. She rubs the bottom of her chin, bumpy due to the acne that wanted to stick around and takes the pony-tail holder out of her hair. Spotlight, do I need an esthetician, or a glam squad when I leave the house? Am I British Kardashian? I mean I have the ass of one, and that’s from take-away. Are people going to expect me to dress like my dad?

Y/n shakes her head of all the crazy thoughts and started the water for a nice soothing bath. She finds the four bath bubblers from Lush and crumbles them under the faucet. The bubbles and foam threaten to overfill the tub. Y/n strips off her jumper and jeans. She carefully sinks into the bath. Her phone rings to the custom ring meaning that her Uncle John is calling. Y/n carefully stands up and grabs her phone.

“How was the business dinner?” John asks once Y/n picks up.

“You knew.” Y/n says exasperated shaking her head.

“You didn’t?” John adds.

“Nope, disguised it like a family dinner. There’s gonna be a Queen movie, by the way.” Y/n adds.

“Are you going to be on set?” John asks.

“No I’m just gonna let them fuck my dad’s image up the arse.” Y/n sasses her uncle.

“Language Y/n, who the fuck taught you those words.” John sasses back.

“Did you just want to sass your niece or is there a reason for this lovely phone call?” Y/n asks

“Luke said you seemed upset after the dinner, and I wanted to check up on you.” John says.

“Uncle John, you’re getting sappy.” Y/n teases.

“Let a grouchy old man care about his niece, who needs to visit him more.” John replies.

“I’m sensing you also want me to visit because I made chocolate cake and brought it the last time.” Y/n muses.

“Call it a consolation prize.” John offers.

“Are you saying that you were suffering because my presence was not there.” Y/n says dramatically.

“Severely.” John sasses her with his dramatics.

“I’ll come by more.” Y/n adds, “ With cake.”

The typical goodbyes are said and Y/n hangs up the phone to enjoy the rest of her bubble bath.

She carefully gets out and grabs a towel to dry off, then puts on a fluffy purple robe.

I need to edit, record a voice over, and then go back to the drawing.

Y/n walks over to her desk and sits down ready to edit. The video she filmed yesterday is a review of a subscription box and using the art supplies in it. The sketch went well but as she went on to color it, something seemed off and it looked better in black and white. This sometimes happened when she worked with a supply she wasn’t familiar with like makers. She speed up the sketching and erasing portion of the video and shortened the thirty minutes of drawing down to fifteen minutes, including the initial opening and swatching of the materials. Y/n takes a sip of water and plugs in her microphone to record her commentary.

She begins introducing the video and its main contents being the box and the challenge of using all the materials in it to make something. Y/n during the swatching section says the colors of markers: a mustard yellow, olive green, and a cranberry red might be a little difficult to use together, and that she isn’t very comfortable with markers but she’ll make the best of it. The first idea for her challenge is to draw a person but every practice attempt was erased because she didn’t like the head, or the proportions.

Y/n finally decided on drawing a badger wearing a yellow bobble-hat, sitting on a moss covered log, eating berries. Her commentary ranged from artistic decisions, to wonder what badgers actually eat, or if a badger could comprehend the color yellow and all it’s majesticness. Most people that watch her videos enjoy her ramblings in the background as they see a piece go from a brainstorm to a finished project, because she seems so genuine and a little odd. Y/n signs off from her video in the traditional way with “ Stay weird, Stay Mad, and always draw with Mercury.”

She chose the name Drawing With Mercury, for two reasons: one, Y/n’s favorite Disney movie has always been Alice in Wonderland, especially for the character, Mad Hatter, and two, she wanted to use her last name since, it’s a pretty cool last name, and you only live once. She uploaded her first video and received a warm welcome from her subscribers. In the beginning there were a few mean comments but they weren’t about her appearance as she only showed her hands in her videos.

Y/n splices the audio with the video and rewatches herself draw, erase, draw again, ink, then color her drawing. She uploads the video and waits for it to be complete which for this video and with her wifi connection it would take around an hour. She opens her sketchbook back to the drawing of her birthday with Dad and takes out her water color pallet. Dipping her water brush pen into the paint, a small tear dripped from her eyes, fell from her cheek and onto the corner of the page.

“I miss you, Dad.” Y/n says to no one as she fills in his face with color.

There was no copying the photograph perfectly. Freddie in the pictures, looking down at his messy daughter with chocolate cake on her face, his face shows nothing but adoration and pure happiness. It was his idea for a princess party, since every Sunday the three of them would have tea parties and Y/n always loved dressing up. Y/n looking up at her dad with same look in her eyes as his.

Y/n rubs her eyes and continues painting the party outfits, even the feather boas and tiaras. She puts the sketchbook on her dresser letting the paint dry and falls onto her bed. She opens her small jewelry box on her nightstand and takes out her silver heart locket with a smaller heart diamond on the front. Y/n opens the locket looking at the small picture of her Dad and Papa.

“I miss you, Papa.” She says again, to no one.

She lightly kisses the locket and puts it back in the box, and puts it in the first drawer of the night stand. Y/n pulls the covers tightly around herself and slowly falls asleep to the rain hitting the roof.

#rami malek x reader #rami x reader #rami malek imagines #rami malek #plus-sized reader

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chaosgreymistchild · 6 years ago

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Unto the Soul, Unto the Flesh

My entry for the UraIchi Prompt Competition 2, I guess...

Ichigo slides his fingers across the skin of his chest, feeling the ridges and bumps where Aizen had nearly cleaved him in half, the circular scar where he had been speared through the chest (hisSoulSleephiscorethecentreofhissoulPROTECTPROTECTPROTECT) then the larger circle of lighter skin overlapping it. Softer skin. Newer skin. Skin that had been regenerated (alongwiththemajorityofhischesthishearthislungshehasahollowholeahollowholeohgodohgodPROTECTPROTECTPROTECT).

He moves onto other parts of his body. He runs his fingers over his hands and arms, the slight discolorations the only sign of the marks Senbonzakura had left on his body (heneedstorescuehersaveherherbrotherdoesnotdeserveherhewillbeherbigbrotherthenPROTECTPROTECTPROTECT). He runs his fingers over his face, his eyes, the countless thin, nearly invisible scars where people had aimed for his Hollow mask, his eyes, his brain (he’shalfmadandattackinganythingthatmoves[cutoffmyarmandlegisthisanywaytowin]heistheirownlyshieldPROTECTPROTECTPROTECT). He traces intricate swirls and tribal tattoos over his hips and spine, weaving his way around that near-constant ache of chipped spinal cord.

Ichigo takes his hands away.

His body is his canvas and his art, painted in muscle and carved by blood, but all there are there, are marks made by others.

Kisuke keeps his hat tipped dangerously low over his head nowadays to hide the scars on his face. It doesn’t help, it never helps, not when his hat wobbles dangerously whenever he so much as turns his head, and he must look up every time a customer comes in to greet them, exposing those thin, curséd lines, running like tears down his cheeks. Sometimes he wishes that he could have hidden away from the world, from Aizen. Wishes he had never tried to fix his mistakes and just run, far, far away from anything and everything (theHogyokuseeshearswatchesneverwishneverwantkeepsilentdonotspeak).

Kisuke leaves the shop counter early on the bad days, resolutely ignoring the way Tessai stares at him disapprovingly even as he says that he’s got something cooking in his lab, could he just mind the counter for him while he takes notes, thank you very much Tessai, such a gem, in a cheerful (alwayscheerfulnotallowedtobesadhavesorrowactivatetheHogyokuneverwishneverwantkeepsilentdonotspeak) voice.

He stares and stares at the walls in his lab blankly until night falls, and then the moon dies, and then sun rises on the new day again, not knowing what it is to want for anything anymore.

Ichigo refuses to go to the shouten anymore. Urahara is rarely there and on the single occasion he was, he had been so shattered and broken and hiding behind his mask, that Ichigo hadn’t the heart to keep going.

Kisuke wishes, sometimes, that Ichigo would come back, but he squashes that feeling immediately, buries it with a century of experience and instinct, and turns away.

Yoruichi kidnaps the two, throws them into a room, and guards the exits with watchful eyes.

The student may have surpassed the teacher, and her friend may know how to free himself regardless, but her boys know her well, and know not to attempt to escape.

She would not allow them to destroy themselves over an absence of faith.

Ichigo stumbles a little while speaking. “Did- did, you, Yoruichi—”

Kisuke refrains from nodding. “She did,” he says instead.

An awkward silence settles between them, a rift that had been created when they couldn’t see each other without pain.

A stubborn expression spreads across Ichigo’s face. Kisuke recognises it as the same grimly determined expression he had worn when battling Aizen and fighting against insurmountable odds.

With a deliberate slowness that Ichigo rarely exhibits, he reaches out to cradle Kisuke’s scarred cheeks, an action the other allows with a flinch. “Kisuke,” he says to the older man, scarred and broken and wrapped in splintered, jagged edges designed to draw blood, yet yearning all the same, “Urahara Kisuke, you made me who I am today, trained me, marked me with a Hollow’s power, and carved with blood into my flesh. You are my maker, do not think of hiding away from me now.”

Ichigo watches as Kisuke trembles beneath his hands, shaking for reasons he cannot fathom.

Kisuke wants to rip his student’s hand from his face, wants to hide away from them, wants to unleash his confusion and fear and crushing guilt as a wave of crimson energy ready and willing to rip and tear through his student’s body and sliCE THE OTHER INTO THE TINIEST PIECES—

A pulse of killing intent, near drowning the wave of fear that rode under that current, flashes through his reiatsu before he can hold it in.

Ichigo flinches back, gripping onto Kisuke all the harder so that his hands never leave the scientist’s scars.

Kisuke gasps and jerks, as if to free himself, but then he is clinging onto Ichigo’s wrists just as hard as he rides out the waves of supressed wants and needs.

Then Ichigo is kissing him, hard and fierce, as wild and untamed as his reiatsu. Kisuke knows that he really shouldn’t be being poetic, but that’s his first instinct when his mind feels like it’s being poured out of his head like sand from a broken hourglass, and he’s shifting through the remnant grains for brief, bright flashes of thought. He kisses back, tentative and yearning, caught in the younger man’s gravity.

A tongue licks into his mouth, and oh Soul King, that was everything he’d longed for and more. He could taste the tea Tessai liked serving, and hands grabbed his wrists, and since when had he let go and closed his eyes?

“You okay with this?” Ichigo mumbles breathlessly against his lips.

He responds with a nibbling at Ichigo’s bottom lip that makes a whimper pass those brilliant lips.

“Gods, Kisuke,” a strangled gasp.

Wood thuds under his shoulders — the table. A brief flash of cold air, before Ichigo’s bare body covers him again. He can feel every inch of skin, every raised scar. He kisses those scars, fervently, like a worship. “Want you,” he mouths against the remnants of Ichigo’s near-bisection, “Love you,” he murmurs against the marks the Hollow hole had left behind.

A hitching breath, a hiccup in the body above him. “Love you,” Ichigo murmurs back, kisses pressed into his hair, “Love you, so, so much,” and Ichigo’s bringing his face up, and kissing his scars. “Beautiful, gorgeous, brilliant,” Ichigo murmurs, kissing worship into his skin.

A thigh brushes against him.

Kisuke swears that the sun might have exploded. He lets out a strangled groan and struggles to remember how to breathe.

Ichigo smiles down at him, unusually smug and radiant.

Then he lets go of the tight control he has over his reiatsu.

Ichigo’s pupils blow wide and his hips jerk up. Kisuke groans at the friction.

A torrent of reiatsu floods the room, Ichigo’s lust hitting him like a freight train and then all he sees are stars and light.

In short order, these things happen:

Ichigo draws on his skin. At first, they are names of loves, both platonic and romantic, then swirls and stripes like those of his Hollow form, and then tribal patterns that wind their way up his arms and down his back and sliding up his neck and creeping up onto his face (“Heyo, King,” a voice whispers in the night). It isn’t long until he learns to draw the lines of his intimately, achingly familiar Hollow-mask on his face, freehand and without a mirror.

Kisuke begins to show his face to strangers and friends alike, baring to the world his trust in his student (not his guilt, never his guilt, not again), the relief of his burden.

Kisuke keeps two rooms empty and made-up for whenever the three Kurosaki siblings need to get away from their father. It doesn’t take long for Ichigo to move into Kisuke’s room. It takes barely a day later before the youngest generation of the Kurosaki family to move into the Urahara Shouten altogether.

Kurosaki Isshin bursts into the candy store screaming and wailing about his son’s virtue and how his family has abandoned him. Underneath all the dramatics and tears enough to drown a small puppy in (“Urahara-san! Ichi-nii said that drowning puppies is mean!”) there is a very real pain and sense of betrayal. Kisuke doesn’t allow that to sway him. Isshin had had his chance, and all he’d ever done was drive away his children.

A very smug black cat was frequently sighted around the neighbourhood.

That smugness soon turned to yowling anger as the Urahara Shouten closed its doors to meddlers.

(Yuzu soon rescued the “poor thing”, so Ichigo and Kisuke were saved Yoruichi’s revenge. Well, up to a point, anyways)

Kurosaki Ichigo and Kurosaki Kisuke lived long fulfilling lives, until Ichigo died for the last time, and the whole family began the slow move into Soul Society.

Even to this day, some say that in the town of Karakura if you pray to the right spirits on the right day for the right reasons— there might be a green-and-white fan waiting for you on your doorstep.

(Ichigo never could let go of Karakura, and his drive had always been to protect his people)

#uraichi prompt challenge 2 #bleach #urahara kisuke #ichigo kurosaki

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wolfgabe · 5 years ago

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Nintendo E3 2019 Thoughts Part 1The Direct

ce Okay so with yesterday behind us I felt I might as well offer my own opinions on the main event of the day the Nintendo Direct.

To start off I like how rapid fire a lot of Nintendo’s Directs have become. While it’s not as flashy as a full blown conference it pretty much cuts out most of the padding and helps make things arguably more focused. I wasn’t expecting them to cram so much in within 40 minutes and I admit I thought at times they would do a Smash Ultimate and spend a bunch of time on one title which of course never happened now then onto the games themselves

Dragon Quest Hero or should I say Dragon Quest Gang for Smash. Pretty much something most of us expected. Personally I have nothing against Erdrick and Pals and it was inevtiable really that we got Dragon Quest representation in Smash considering how in Japan DQ is pretty much on the same level as Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Minecraft here in the States. As easy as it is to complain about more anime sword boys when you look at it DQ was pretty much one of our only options for an additional SE rep considering how stingy SE is with Final Fantasy as well as the fact that Sora is pretty much a massive legal minefield for obvious reasons. I kinda find it clever really that rather than just represent 1 game they instead use the Hero as a means to represent the entire Dragon Quest series as whole.

Following that up fittingly is another trailer for Dragon Quest 11

Doug Bowser makes his E3/Direct debut and already the memes are out in full force

H̶o̶t̶e̶l̶ ̶M̶a̶r̶i̶o̶ ̶2̶/Luigis Mansion 3 is looking great. Seriously I just love how clean everything looks. It’s almost like the Luigis Mansion Dark Moon Artwork come to life/ Too bad we didn’t an actual release date but really for a game like this I would be surprised if they don’t go for an October release.

A Dark Crystal Game That was unexpected

Link’s Awakening now with Dungeon Maker. Seriously I can’t help but keep imagining a Zelda spinoff that’s basically a Zelda themed Dungeon Keeper

Trials of Mana and Collection of Mana Not exactly my cup of tea but it’s cool seeing The Mana Collection available on Switch right away

Witcher III for Switch. Another rumor that turned out true. Bring on all the oerformance jokes and PC master race trolls. Panic Button doesn’t appear to be handling this one but I can’t help but wonder what sorcery they used to get this game running on Switch

Fire Emblem Three Houses Not really big on FE myself. I get why some people are complaining they basically spoiled the big twist but I figure that Nintendo may have did it on purpose to show fans that it’s not just Harry Potter with a Fire Emblem Skin

More Resident Evil love for Switch which is nice although I can’t help but wonder why they chose a port of RE6 over the remake of RE2

No More Heroes III another bit of a surprise. I admit for a second I thought I was looking at some new Power Rangers mech game. Great to see after Travis Strikes Again

That new Contra game looks eggghhhh but its cool we are getting the Contra collection too

Daemon x Machina. I actually did get some enjoyment out of the demo and what I saw with the mech customization looks interesting but I seriously hope they fixed the framerate in the final release.

Panzer Dragoon Another one that came out of nowhere. Switch has been seeing quite the amount of Sega love. Now if only we could get a Sega Ages port of Daytona USA

Pokemon Sword and Shield get a brief shoutout. Figured they wouldn’t spend too much time on it considering how it just got a direct last week. And like that the R34 crowd has already abandoned Sonia for Nessa go figure.

Astral Chain got a new trailer. Pretty interesting game and no doubt it will probably have an insanely over the top final boss as with fine Platinum tradition

Empire of Sin pretty interesting management/strategy game looks like it might be worth a shot when it comes out.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Not a big Marvel person but personally I think its a bit funny really that UA3 has better models than the SE Avengers game.

Cadence of Hyrule Finally have a release date and its right at the end of E3 which is cool

Mario and Sonic at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Figured they would give a shoutout to this game. Eggman looks surprisingly hot in shorts. Why is nobody talking about the majesty of Barefoot Wario?

Animal Crossing New Horizons Finally the game pretty much everybody was waiting for. So it would appear Animal Crossing has now transformed into Minecraft. Jokes aside I can’t help but love the idea that you are pretty much now building the town yourself and populating the island from scratch. Okay actual path creation tools and the ability to place furniture outside this is too much. It’s kind of a bummer the game won’t be out till next March but its understandable really considering how packed Switches release schedule looks for the rest of 2019. Also Tom Nook being a greedy little shit as usual and where is Isabelle please don’t tell me Nintendo you forgot our precious doggo girl.

The obligatory switch game/port sizzle reel. Nice recap of things to come. Another MS game confirmed with Super Lucky’s Tale. Also the Spyro Reignited Trilogy has finally been confirmed for Switch and PC which is great. Alien Isolation? didn’t expect to see that game get ported. Still no release date for A Hat in Time Switch though

Now for what is arguably the two biggest bombshells to come out of this presentation

First off, Banjo Kazooie in Smash. I cannot freaking believe it a character where the Grinch Leak actually ended up turning out to be right!!! I admit even I had my doubts that we would actually see this come to fruition since I never thought MS would be that chill about letting Banjo show up in a game hosted by one of their own competitors. Of course competitor may not be the right word here considering how surprisingly chummy MS and Nintendo have gotten with each other as of late. I can’t help but find a sense of inner happiness and satisfaction when my own theories and hunches end up being proven correct. I just knew there had to be a reason why Blast Corps and Jet Force Gemini spirits were found in the game files for Smash Ultimate never mind the fact that MS in their E3 schedule clearly suggested we should watch Nintendo’s own E3 presentation. I admit when I first saw that Jiggy bounce by I kinda started to lose my collective shit. The whole reveal was just so brilliant from the way they basically parodied their own trailer to how happy the DK crew was to see Banjo again. Its almost like Sakurai and Nintendo were reading everyone’s mind. I am really liking Banjo’s Smash design and how they basically went for more updated version of his classic look rather than just settle for the Nuts and Bolts design. A perfect way really to drive home the point that Banjo has pretty much come home. And I cannot believe it they actually got Grant Kirkhope himself on board to compose new music for Smash. I admit I am loving that Spiral Mountain remix and you can even make out bits and pieces from other Banjo levels too. I can’t wait to hear what else there is with Banjo. While I am mainly a Nintendo person I would just like to give thanks to Phil Spencer for helping make so many Nintendo and Smash fans wildest dreams finally come true. Now perhaps see if you get the original Banjo games as well as maybe a Nintendofied version of Rare Replay perhaps on Switch

And finally capping off the direct was the reveal that an actual follow up to The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is now in development. When we will see this title in full I am not sure but the brief teaser looks like they are hinting that Ganondorf himself could be back from the grave. Now I am hearing how the devs say they were inspired by Red Dead Redemption 2 does that mean more detailed horse mechanics?

All in all I would rate Nintendo’s E3 Direct an 8/out of 10. A few points were docked from the Animal Crossing delay but there was still a lot of games that I am interested in due out in the near future as well as some wonderful surprises to boot. I would personally say Nintendo was probably the best part of E3 this year and they made me a very happy gamer

#nintendo #e3 #e3 2019 #nintendo e3 2019 #Nintendo Direct #thoughts #review #impressions #it was a good direct

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