#dealing with shit from muh childhood

[elocinnicole]

Butterflies – Part Three

Pairing: Collin Hoskins x Black!Reader

Rating: M for Language and Death

Tagging: @ohsoverykeri

Part One Part Two Part Three

You spent most of the day in your room not wanting to be around Collin. This isn’t the first time you and Collin got into a fight. The last time you could recall, was when he first went to jail and he was complaining about his mom not coming to see him.

A Year Ago

You played with your fingers waiting to see Collin, he’s been locked up for almost a month and the people who came to see him regularly were Miles and yourself. Of course, Val didn’t come but the past couple of times you came to see Collin you would ask his Mom to come along. At first, she would agree but then when it came to the day of she would cancel.

“You got one hour.” You heard the gruff voice of the CO. Collin was escorted to your table, you offered him a small smile which he returned, having been his friend for almost twenty years you knew something was troubling him.

“How you been, Y/N?” Collin pulled you in for a hug, you smiled into the embrace, Even though you saw him last week, it was hard visiting your friend in prison.

“I’ve been good, Collin.”

“That’s enough!” A booming voice barked, Collin rolled eyes and the two of you pulled away. Collin saw the bags of chips on the table and his eyes lit up

“You got some for little old me?” He teased

“Shut up, I only did it because your Mom asked me to.”

“You talked to my Mom?” He asked, you looked at him with sad eyes. The last time you came to visit him, Ms. Nancy had told Collin that she would come to visit with you

“Yeah, uh I know she said she was gonna come with me today, but she wasn’t feeling good this morning…” Collin slowly nodded his head

“Collin—”

“Y/N, I don’t know how she can’t come and see me. I’m her son, Y/N! I’ve been in here for a month and she still hasn’t come to see me. Don’t she miss me?” Collin asked his voice growing loud

“Of course she does, she said she misses you all the time.

“Oh yeah?”

“She said it’s too hard for her.”

“It’s too hard for her?!”

“Hey! Keep it down Hoskins!”

“How do you think I feel? I’m the one that’s locked up!” Collin asked in a loud whisper

“Yeah, over some dumb shit.”

“Oh really? So you been talkin’ to Val?”

“Collin, don’t go there!” You were hoping that this would be a good visit but as time went on you were getting increasingly irritated with your friend.

“How do you think I feel when my Mom won’t come to see me?”

“How do you think she feels? Who do you think called her when you got your ass arrested? Did you know she put a second mortgage on the house to try and bail you out? When I told her that you got arrested the first thing she asked me was did they shoot you? Collin every time I see her or call her on the phone, she cries, the entire time, for you. So, before you get mad think about why she may not want to see her son in handcuffs.”

“Alright, visiting time’s over.” Collin’s CO said and before you knew it they were escorting Collin away from you…again.

You were finishing up a wig for a client when your phone ringed and you saw a text message from Trevon,

You went back to your wig when another text came through, this time from Janelle

The sound of your door creaking open made you look up, you saw Collin slowly entering your room holding a plate of nachos. You tried hard not to smile, nachos were your favorite food to eat. You and Colin would eat them all the time when you were in high school. “Figured you were hungry,” Collin said sitting on the edge of your bed.

“I am, thanks.” You said grabbing the plate of nachos and placing them on your nightstand and joining Collin on your bed. As much as you wanted to discuss your argument from earlier there was an even bigger elephant in the room.

“We need to talk, Collin,” You started

“I’m sorry for not asking about Val, that shit’s foul and it’s your place—”

“I don’t wanna talk about that.” Collin frowned in confusion

“We got gotta talk about the other night, because you can’t be getting mad at me when I go out on a date but I have to ‘understand’ your booty calls with Val.”

“They not booty calls,”

“Oh so what are they?”

“I’m trying to work things out with Val trying to see if we have something,” you rolled your eyes and sighed heavily

“Why do you act like you owe her something?”

“Because I do!”

“Collin, when was the last time you heard from Val other than her wanting some dick?” Collin turned his face away

“Exactly!”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You bringing all types of niggas in here!”

“First of all, no the fuck I don’t, two, it’s my house. If I wanna bring a nigga all up and through my house I can do that. Besides, it’s not niggas, I’m actually talking to someone and he’s been here once, try again.”

“I’m doing the same thing!”

“No, you’re not, you getting your dick wet just because some bitch says ‘jump’.”

“Don’t be like that Y/N, we didn’t really end things. I just want to see if there’s anything still there.”

“How many times, does Val have to tell you she don’t wanna be with you? Did she come visit you, put money on your books, did she even call your ass?”

“You don’t gotta give me a history lesson, I know all that shit,”

“Did you know she was gonna let your ass rot in that jail cell? She didn’t even want to attempt bail you out.”

“Y/N—”

“Collin, she’s not good for you. I just don’t want to see you hurt again.”

“What makes you think she not good for me?” You were done talking in circles with Collin, at this point, all you wanted to do was be alone.

“You know what Collin, Imma drop it because you gonna do whatever the fuck—-”

“Nah, air out, tell me why you think Val’s not good for me,”

“I’m not about to do this with you, Collin.”

“Y/N, as my friend, shit, one of my best friends, you gotta air out,”

“Janelle sent me a text—” Your phone ringing interrupted you, you almost ignored it but you saw that it was your Mom calling.

“We’re not done with this conversation,” You said before answering your phone.

“Hey, Mom—wait, wait, slow down. What’s going on?” Collin saw your face drop and instantly grew worried

“Okay, okay I’m on my way.” You ended the call, still trying to process the conversation you just had.

“What’s going on?”

“Um, I gotta get to the hospital, my dad just had a heart attack.”

You stared out the window while Collin drove the two of you to your parents house. By the time you got the hospital your mom told you that your dad was gone. Various memories of you and your Dad flashed through your mind. From learning how to ride a bike to when you graduated from cosmetology school and how your Dad treated it like it was a college graduation. That was your Dad though, he went above and beyond for every event for you and you brother no matter how small it was. Being the oldest, you were always a Daddy’s girl. Life without your Dad never really ran across your mind, of course you knew that he wouldn’t be here forever but you didn’t think that time would be now.

You laid on the twin size bed in your old teenage room, staring at the ceiling your eyes focused on the Nelly poster. If you looked at anything else in your room you would’ve broke. You’ve been doing a great job, so far, at managing your emotions, you didn’t have time to fall apart. You have to be there for your Mom, your brother, and your nephews. The bed sunk letting you know that Collin had got in the bed with you. You insisted that he sleep in your brother’s room. Even though it was still the same size bed in his room as well, you know that he would have more space rather than sharing with you. Collin could sense you were barely hanging on, he turned his body toward you, waiting for you to look at him.

“Y/N,” You ignored him, “Y/N, look at me.”

“Collin, I’m fine. We have to get some rest, we gotta get my brother and his kids from the airport early tomorrow.”

“Y/N, can you look at me? Please,”

“Collin, I’m fine. Goodnight.” You turned off the lamp and rolled to your side, hoping Collin would drop it.

The next day Collin, tried to get you to slow down but if you sensed he was trying to talk to you about your Dad you would change the subject or busy yourself with something else. Your mom made a Instagram post so you were getting calls and text messages all day, it was becoming over whelming. Luckily for you, Collin had to work that evening so you didn’t have to deal with him following your every move making sure you were okay. Your brother, Cameron, and you were now attempting to draft your Dad’s obituary.

“I don’t know why we can’t put that in there.” Cameron mumbled under his breath.

“Because, it’s not important! He only spent one semester there,”

“And? That’s where he met Mom!”

“Cam, we only have one page for this obituary, it’s not an autobiography. We can say when they met and got married, period!”

“So you just gonna cut out an important part of Dad’s life?”

“Cam, I’m not—you know what, I can’t do this. Ever since I picked you up from the airport, you’ve been fighting me with every decision. I’m going back to my place,” You huffed quickly getting your bags together.

“So you just gonna leave?”

“Yes, the hell I am.” You left your childhood home, slamming the door shut, once you were halfway down the block you realized that, you didn’t have your car. You let Collin drive it to work. The walk to your place wasn’t long but it was late, your pride hindered you from walking back to your Mom’s and facing your brother again,

“Damnit,” You pulled out your phone and called the first person you could think of. “Hey, can you give me a ride?”

“Thanks, Miles, for picking me up. I know you and Ash are busy with Shauna—”

“You fam, it’s no problem and I’m sorry about your Dad, he was like the only guy I looked up to.”

“Thanks, Miles. You remember that time he caught you skipping school?” Miles chuckled at the memory

“Yeah, I ain’t know he was following me and shit. He hopped out the car like he the muh fuckin police. Then he had my ass running back home while he drove behind me.” You laughed while Miles reminisced until he got a text from Ashely.

“Miles, go home before Ashley beats your ass.”

“Well, shit I’m waitin’ on your ass to get out my car.” You jokingly shoved your friend before getting out

“Bye, Miles!”

“Ay, when you gonna come braid my hair like Ash’s?”

“Bye, Miles!” You shook your head as Miles sped off. Once you got inside you realized that you hadn’t eaten all day. You honestly didn’t feel like cooking so decided to order something from UberEats. Nothing looked appetizing to you so you decided against it. Sitting on your sofa, glass of wine in hand, you finally had time to yourself, no one asking how you were feeling, no one calling to offer condolences, family members and friends you haven’t heard from in years were reaching out, it was too much. Finally having a moment to yourself, you felt the tears coming

“Y/N?” Collin called out, you quickly wiped your tears, not wanting him to see you cry.

“In the living room.” You called out, Collin walked with takeout boxes in hand.

“Figured you’d be hungry,” you gave him a small smile in return.

“Thanks, Collin, but I’m not hungry.”

“You need to eat something—“

“I told you I’m fine, I’ve been telling everyone I’m fine all day! Damn!” You snapped

“Aight, I was just checking on you!”

“I don’t neeed anyone to check on me, I only want one person to check on me and he’s not here!” For the first time today, you finally cried. Collin sat eside you and pulled you close to him

“No amount of food, texts, or phone calls can bring him back.” You cried into Collin’s chest as he held you. You pulled away and Collin cradled your face in his hands, you leaned into the embrace. He gently grabbed your chin and before you knew it, you were kissing Collin. You were the first to pull away and Collin frowned

“What about you and Val—”

“Fuck Val,” Collin said pulling you in for another kiss.

Please let me know, if you would like to be tagged in this series.

[soulless-soulsearcher]

Nature vs nurture

The age old question: nature vs nurture. What prevails in the raising of a child, their genes or the environment they are raised in? Well being raised in a broken house with a mom with bipolar 1 And a dad with anger issues, I can tell you I’m a firm believer in nurture. From experiencing consent arguing between my parents (which got physical from time to time) or seeing my mom lay in bed for months at a time (she would refuse to take her medication) or seeing my mom tear our family apart by sleeping around on my dad and leaving him for some scum bag drug dealer. Hell, my mom tried to kidnap me by telling me she wants to take me to get fast food, instead she tried to take me to her lawyer to try and talk to her, had to be taken home by a cop that day. Both my parents were extensive drug users through my child hood; my mom continued much into my teenage years. My dad was always there for me, working a hard job to support me and my grandma. My mom left me when I was around 8 or 9, so naturally I grew up resenting her. In turn this made me awkward around women and probably to some extent subconsciously dislike them. Anytime I talk to a women my heart would race and I could barely get any words now (I now know that is my severe anxiety) but at the time I thought I was just weird and an outcast. Fast forward to when I was almost about you’ve a freshman in high school. My mom came back into my life to help my dad take care of my dying grandma (my dad’s mother was more of a mother to my mom than her own mother) she was finally trying to be a mom, I knew I resent her then, for everything she had put me threw. Her and my dad eventually remarried ( I was shocked honestly) but things seemed better this time, until we moved into a new house (our old house was foreclosed on) the move stressed my mom out and once we moved into the new house she was probably the worse I’ve ever seen her (granted I was much older so I probably remember this better than anything before) she would have bipolar episodes multiple times a week. She would lay a bed all day and if she wasn’t doing that she’d be yelling at me (she literally told me she wanted to kill me one time) to be told some of things she would tell me it call me and just be expected to forgive since “it wasn’t really her” was hard to accept, but I did it. Going through all this made me realize: I really needed to be in control of my environment, I was so nervous because I had no idea how she’d wake up that I needed to control everything. This was very unhealthy in hindsight, but it made me comfortable, something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I was a control freak and very abusive to those around me. Things got worse when my mom started getting delusions. I should take this time to say my dad got much better with his anger and was much more calm and understanding of my mom’s illness (he grew up with a sister who would beat him who had bipolar, so I’m she he had resentment towards bipolar and my mom) these delusions would be anything from me, my dad, or our roommate stealing something of hers, to her stomping out when my dad and I were talking to yell at us for talking shit about her. After dealing with that into my early 20s I had grown a much stronger resentment towards my mom and probably women to be honest, that I could barely stand to be around my mom. And when she would have an episode I’d have to leave the house due to my anxiety from the situation. Around when I was 22 or 23 she finally started to get better, she was taking her meds, trying to do things for me and be there for me. I actually felt like I had a mom finally. I felt like I could open up to her about things I could never tell my dad. Things were getting better finally, I mean the damage was done to me and the habits were set in, but I felt like I could maybe get over things and be a more healthy person. I kind of did, I wasn’t perfect by any means, but going through the shit I went through I knew it would take a long time. Fast forward to this year around September. I was diagnosed with bipolar. I had been ignoring the warning signs for months. I knew why, I did not wanna be my mom, I did not want to hurt those around me the way she hurt those around her. I soon learned that I needed to accept that I was probably more like my mom than I ever wanted to be. Ironic huh? Ever since I’ve found out I’ve been regularly taking my meds and I’ve noticed such an improvement. The episodes are kept to a minimum. The depression and manic phases hardly ever happen. I feel like for the first time in a long time that I’m genuinely happy with who I am. This leads to my last point. My mom has been slowly getting worse the last few months, she actually thinks my dad and their roommate are planning to get her put in an insane asylum. She is paranoid and delusional and she refuses to see it. It sucks, the last year or so I’ve had a good relationship with my mom, she been taking her meds and has been there for me. Lately she’s not been taking her meds and her paranoia has gotten much worse. I really hope she tries to get better, because everyone in her life has tried to help as much as they can. It’s up to her to get the help she needs. If she doesn’t, no matter how sad it would make me, I may have to cut her out of my life for being too toxic. Even though I grew up in a broken house and have seen some shit (sorry to be cliche 😋) I feel like I’m a healthy person. I’ve come to terms with everything I’ve gone through and have been able to really improve my self. I have a lot of healthy relationships in my life, I really try to be there for people when they need me, I’ve also learned to trust people and let them be there for me. Overall I’m very happy with the person I am right now.

[mirceakitsune]

To those who think they have enslaved me today

Congratulations humanity: Today (20 January 2021) the American circus known as the inauguration of tooootally legit president Joe Biden took place. Behind tanks and military walls, Biden committed the political equivalent of masturbation by inaugurating himself to himself... with a little help from a few "important" people who were also there, but since they all wore Covidist masks my brain could only make out the NPC ID's rather than names and traits distinguishing them as individuals. A bunch of flags were shoved into the ground where millions of people would normally sit: The citizens by and for which he was allegedly elected couldn't be there for his inauguration, partly after it was discovered they're not citizens at all but mobs of insurrectionists who are invading their own selves! The empty streets and barbwire fences holding that pesky population back did a great job portraying the inauguration of a president voted by the majority... you could clearly see how loved by the people and legitimately elected he was! My only regret is that Lady Gaga was involved in this spectacle: They should have brought in 50 Cent or Justin Bieber, which would have done an even better job portraying the seriousness of the event and the lucidity of the people who rule us. Biden himself broke a new record, being able to read a speech from his laptop for 10 minutes straight without ever stopping and asking "wait... where am I, who are you people".

At this point the ones who radicalized society and sparked a silent civil war are close to gaining absolute power and becoming an American CCP. I'm well aware of what their next step is: They will harass and terrorize everyone who doesn't bow to their ideology and way of life, by painting them as racist Nazi extremists or a danger in other ways, inoculating systematic fear toward them to the masses. That's how over the past years the Democrat party turned most Americans against its political opponents: Obsessively associating Trump with hate while creating a cult of social justice worship which infiltrated every fiber of society. People happily bought it, even most beings I know are affected by this without even realizing something is up. The ruling elite now has a system of radicalization that works perfectly, ready to be used to program the remote-controlled masses against anyone on command.

As of 2020 the existing system is backed by an imaginary deadly pandemic, which now has an imaginary vaccine to accompany it. The infamous virus story was used to double down on what was started using social (in)justice over the last 4 years, further radicalizing people through fear using a new excuse via a secondary system. This one's more convenient since while you can't tell who is a Trump or Biden supporter just by looking at their face, those of us who don't dress up in cult uniforms (A.K.A. wear a mask) can be easily identified as ideological enemies and targeted for dissent... obviously under the cover of esoteric microscopic shenanigans used to proclaim invisible danger, it's definitely not an ideological dangers they truly fear. We're now divided between those who worship COVID-19 (or rather fear of it) and those who are fighting against ruthless slavery and savage efforts to take our lives away from us. We're about to be divided between "the plagued" and "the vaccinated" soon; I have no doubt that those of us who won't respond to the advances of the medical rapists chasing us with syringes are in for a new wave of persecution, applied brutally and systematically in hope of making us break, until we choose to let ourselves be injected with whatever poison those psychopaths created in their labs.

Now do you think it's just pro Trump people, or those who refuse to wear the muzzle made of cloth, who they will come after in the end? To every niche community who is reading this... furries, bronies, vore, etc... never forget those words: Their system will turn on you too! Once they're seen as an obstacle, they'll infiltrate those communities to "correct" them next... or if they can't or it's not worth it, they'll use fear to convince the majority they're evil and must be exterminated for the greater good. What the hell do you think I kept trying to prevent!? Do you imagine their "great empire" of obedient and socially responsible workers has any place for those like us in it?! Look at what Furaffinity, a furry art site that was infiltrated by Antifa and has its TOS written by its extremists, is now doing to artists who draw not just "socially unjust porn" but even stuff like political art under the lie of fighting hate! No... it's not "just them", no community or individual is safe from their control I assure you.

Many of us will resist until the end: They can put 100 Bidens in power... they are nothing to me, they ceased impressing me long ago; My mind has been prepared since an early age for dealing with this sort of thing, I'm a veteran when it comes to this shit! I lived the last years of my childhood waiting to be kidnapped and taken to a reeducation clinic by everyone around me, where I expected to be tied up and subjected to electroshock conversion "therapy" to have my identity erased. Especially once I realized in what danger I was for imagining thoughts forbidden to people under the age of 18 from my young age... were society able to read my mind and notice, I would have been locked away in a mental institute and injected with drugs until I'd be a vegetable today. But I was smart enough to stay silent and escape, they couldn't access my thoughts to know who I am. The same people who couldn't "purge" my identity when I was young are now back in a far more hideous and demented form, coming after us even as adults to do the same thing: Reprogram us to be ideal members of the glorious society they have planned.

All humanity had to do was simple: Put an end to all doctrines and create a neutral and disinterested government, leading to a world that would keep its nose to the pavement and not care about any social issues any more. Why do you think I supported Trump... because I have any love for that conservative fool? I sided with him because he was going to maintain a safe ignorance... no morals, no empathy, no more being forcefully "protected" by disgusting strangers who allegedly care for you or know better than you, no laws censoring people under the pretext of fighting harm, everyone kept in ignorance so we could be safe from their feelings and assumptions. That's why I waited for the army to arrest Biden today and hold a military trial instead of that silly inauguration... sadly they received a new order, he was allowed to carry on with his sham inauguration for reasons beyond me. Now I have a new desire: I'd like to see Trump arrested! For failing to contain the moral plague enslaving society and destroying our freedom, after he promised us the deep state and its social justice would be exposed live for the world to see what they did. He failed to contain humanity's stupid values and protect us from morality... he is of no use to me either, he could not bring us true freedom.

Just one question for the actual tyrant lovers, who will soon flock and regroup under Biden in their attempt to amalgamate us into their responsible world: How's living the socially responsible life really going? Do you enjoy your slavery? Your blind dedication to "muh fellow man"? This self-sacrifice bullshit, a life free of any joy in the name of safety and protection? You have what you wanted: A world where any dream of being happy is demonized because it's dangerous, where certain thoughts are carefully restricted to certain people, where you're the slaves of "experts" who will inform you what you think and feel without you even having to bother to checking your own mind! How long until it will be YOU that breaks? How much servitude can you take before you too will have had it? Or maybe you're so dedicated that you'll slave away until the end... never snapping, not stopping to wonder how sad and boring this life is and how pointless any sacrifice. What would happen if you knew the technology to give you a perfect and safe life exists, while all significant issues society still faces today are man made, most of the time intentionally? I see more violence and crime on the news: People are finally going nuts and losing it, from being locked up and having masks forced onto their faces! How much until it's finally enough, how much pain must they accumulate, how much damage must they cause, how much until the mainstream finally admits it drove everyone there by forcing its madness on us?

I know they want to see me suffer for resisting them, all their governments and secret services do. But the fun thing is, their followers are suffering far more in the end! For I am the one still sitting here up on my throne, from which they couldn't take me down and make me "socially responsible adult" like them nor involve me in their scary fantasies. I live in the real world: A world that has no issues other than some poverty, where racism is a thing of the ancient past and a joke to worry about today, where viruses are a microscopic fantasy... a modern life where anyone can do whatever the hell they want! Just what we would all have if only everyone simply minded their own business and didn't make a big deal about anything. Now that's reality... the reality they renounced in order to worship fear, for no reason other than getting sick of being too happy! I'm laughing at their burden and all the efforts they make for nothing, fighting against things that don't exist... a burden they could let go of anytime, if only they refused to keep accepting all them responsibilities and demand it. How does it feel like to be the fools in the end, just when you thought I was your victim forever? Because while you pull that mask tightly on your little face to protect "your fellow man" from something that's all in your mind, I piss on it all and still live life freely and happily, the life you allowed taken away from you for no reason! Do you hate me for outsmarting you? I definitely don't mind if you do: Hate is all I have left to feed on in a world like this. And I enjoy it even more knowing no one will ever know nor even be able to comprehend the true reasons why I do this.

[oldmanreed]

Reed’s Fall 2017 Anime First Impressions

So I almost died last week, how are all of you?

Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-bitch na Ken  (episodes seen:  2)

Alright, so stop me if you’ve heard this one before, because I got deja vu when I started reading this several months ago:  Guy asks out the class president, who is basically the perfect human being, and she accepts.  Turns out she’s a massive pervert.

Humour is similar to SYD if any of you have every watched that, but a bit more toned down as a great deal of it is word play and misunderstandings.

The cast are all terrible.

I’m here for the wordplay.  

Inuyashiki    (episodes seen:  2)

So how many of you remember Ano Natsu de Matteru (Waiting in the Summer)?  Anyone?  No?  That’s fair, everything that wasn’t the beginning and the epilogue is all a blur to me too.  So this one starts similarly in that Aliens accidentally drop-pod someone to death, 40k style.  However, instead of being stuck and taking responsibility for their fuck up, the aliens instead decide pull a hit and run by fixing up the old man and the teenager they just killed by JAMMING THEM FULL OF WEAPONS.  FUCK YEA.

So it took me until the start of episode 2 to think “wait, this looks a lot like Gantz.”  So I paused the episode and looked up up the original creator, and would you look at that: it’s Kiroya Oku, that man that created Gantz.  I was not aware he had done anything other than Gantz:G after completing Gantz back in 2013.  I then resumed the video and one of the characters starts shit-talking Gantz.  I know a number of you have seen the “oh, you like One Piece too?” scene, but it was the Oku shit-talking his own work that did it for me.

Arguably the Best OP and ED of the season, as well as one of my contenders for best in season.  If you’re the kind of person that worships the Omnissiah and/or has wet dreams about replacing your junk with a plasma cannon, then this series is for you.  If not, then unfollow me right now, you’re holding us back as a species.

Also Doggo allegedly does not ded so watching is good.

Just Because!    (episodes seen:  3)

Drama, romance, crazy blonde chick that loves taking photos and forces her agenda on everyone, baseball?  Shit, it’s like I’m in highschool again.  Only I never transferred highschools.

So this is the latest in a line of anime being dragged into the modern age that keep plugging Japanese Skype  Japanese Discord LINE as a major plot point; the messaging service being how half the cast communicate with each other.

MC transfers to a highschool for the last semester before graduating.  He runs into some old friends from middle school he never thought he’d see again.  Drama ensues as every one tries get into college, keep a club legacy alive, or try for last-chance romances they never pursued in the last few years.

It’s alright.

Kekkai Sensen & Beyond    (episodes seen: 3)

More Kekkai Sensen.  Now with Addition Chain Screen Time™ so everything is amazing.  There’s also a Hello Nurse™ who splits herself into smaller Hello Nurse™s.

The OP and ED don’t live up the amazing ones of the first season, but they’re still catchy as fuck and I guarantee you’ll be singing along.

If you need more information that this or have never heard of this series, please go watch the first episode of the first season.

Kino no Tabi:  The Beautiful World  (2017)    (episodes seen:  3)

"The world is not beautiful, therefore it is."

A mostly-new season of Kino.  (Episode 2 is the tournament arc.  Remember that shitshow from the first season?  Don’t worry, they speedrun it.)  As with Kekkai Sensen:  If you liked the first season, and/or the OVAs, and/or the movies, you’ll like this reboot-with-new-content.  If you have never seen Kino’s Journey and refuse to watch it because “muh old animation” then you’re an idiot please leave.  If you just somehow missed the first season, and/or the OVAs, and/or the movies , then give this a watch and if you enjoy it go watch the first season, and/or the OVAs, and/or the movies too.

The series follows our protagonist Kino and his magic, talking motorcycle MOTORRAD Hermes.  They travel from country (a walled city for all intents and purposes) to country on a never-ending journey because shut up and enjoy the show.  Every country has some odd law or way of life that raises philosophical ideas the viewer is left to think about.  The first episode is about a country where is murder is legal, so anyone can kill anyone else, at any time, for any reason.  And yet the country is at peace.

Some minor, fairly decent, CG aside, This show is gorgeous and, in my opinion, holds up to the original.  Another contender for best OP.

Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau    (episodes seen:  3)

So I saw fantasy, mystery, and shoujo tags on this one.  Couple that with the Cute Boy™ on the poster that I original just though was a flat-chested girl and I immediately added it to my list because that’s how I roll.  During the first episode I was like “I want this to get dark because everything is WAY too sweet and happy.”  At least that’s what I was thinking when I wasn’t 90 degrees worth of tilted from the regular animation over watercolour backdrops.

Well episode two answered my prayers and now I wonder why I keep wishing for that whenever I watch something happy.  It’s because of repressed emotional issues I work out by drinking, kids.  You all know what I’m talking about.

Not sure how I feel about this one; even after the three episode test.  It’s like Shinsekai Yori without offloading the “everything is super fucked up” in the first episode.  See, I liked Shinsekai Yori’s plot, world, and themes.  I hated the “characters.”  They were terrible and I can prove it objectively.  “Children of Whales” -because fuck your long-ass titles- seems to have better characters. 

“But Reed, what is it even about.”  Did... Did I not just mention Shinsekai Yori?  Alright, I’ll elaborate:     So everyone lives on the back of this “mud whale”; a massive, self-sufficient island that sails the sand-ocean.  90% of the population is psychic and dies around age 30.  These powers are channeled using emotions and our bitch of a protagonist breaks everything because he has the mental fortitude of that one spoiled kid whose parents just give them everything when asked for.  One day they pass an island where they meet a girl with powers but no emotions and she nearly kills the protagonist who then brings her back to mud whale WITHOUT BRINGING THIS UP TO ANYONE and the entire time I’m just sitting there thinking to myself:

            “WHERE ARE THEY GETTING THEIR WATER”

Love Live Sunshine!! 2nd Season    (episodes seen:  3)

Kill me.  Please.

So, I get the feeling that they weren’t expecting the first season of this to take off as much as it did because the first episode of this season felt like a bunch of lizard people had skinned the cast and were walking around in fleshy onesies just parroting all the memes from the first season.

Mahoustukai no Yome    (episodes seen:  3)

So here’s our other “Best In Season” contender and if you disagree then you’re wrong because this is objectively the best anime ever and you just watched it wrong.

So the redhead there, after suffering childhood trauma puts herself up for auction and is bought by an elder lich.  “you’re gonna be my apprentice, but also my wife maybe” is the gist of what he tells her and the show just gets more heartwarming from there.  Turns out Chise (that’s the redhead) is part some super rare breed of human who are super-mages in an age were regular mages are dying out.

I’m really not doing the series justice with my description, please, go watch it if you are not already.

So I read the first 10 chapters of the manga months ago and was thoroughly, dare I say, entranced.  This is going to be a ride of a series if they continue being faithful with this gorgeous animation.  And the sound track.  HOLY SHIT.  THE SOUND TRACK.  A shame the OP is a mess.

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou    (episodes seen:  3)

It’s Moe Moe Fallout.  That’s it.

Shitbag Yuu and her caretaker Chi ride around Blame’s Megastructure in their magic tricycle-with-tank-treads and try to... I’m not quite sure what, but it’s charming and somber as fuck.

This show is so fucking comfy.  You have no idea.  OP and ED are great.  The entire thing has this great “everything is bleak, but hey, it’s not that bad” kind of feel to it.

[robdelamortereviews]

Steam: Fox Hime (VN)

I can’t get into too much about this one’s backstory. It was originally developed by one group (Under the name ContactS) and then changed to another one under suspicious, secretive terms. ContactS was pulled from steam completely, replaced by this VN instead which, aside from the characters and some CGs, is TOTALLY different. Not that there’s more than two videos of the original. Hm.

Anyway it’s overall a pretty normal, casual romance VN. You’re some dork who lives, goes to school with and works with a fox girl spirit who is essentially like a guardian/friend. There’s some kind-of flirting between you and talk about finding a girlfriend. This is actually a core part of the VN, to it’s detriment; every conversation is directly about getting a girlfriend or flirting. With maybe two or three exceptions, it’s always one and/or the other.

Additionally, there are some VERY silly spelling/wording mistakes which clearly point towards the translation being machine-based and not checked afterwards. Among other things including: talking about the teacher “Liyaving” the classroom, the girls randomly saying “Fuck” two or three times which is utterly out of tone with the VN and their personalities, and Mori’s name being changed to “Molly” at least twice.

Aside from that and a few words not really fitting, the translation DOES do the job though. It’s certainly readable, don’t let the “bwaa muh Nippon translations must be perection!” crowd throw you off with their bitching. Having said that, I really feel like they chopped out at least 70% of the content in this VN; there is a character with a moving sprite like the two main girls who is introduced and shown for all of a minute, never to be seen again. And the story pacing is...

Let me put it like this. I cleared this VN in an hour flat, and that was taking my time. From when you first meet the purple haired girl, Liya, she’s pretty much romantically interested in you from the get go. Not only that, but her and Mori get along super well amost immediately, something that would absolutely never happen between two girls who cared about the same guy. It just feels super compressed and rushed.

Still, I DID enjoy the story and stuff even so, even with all the rushing. Unfortunately, the lead up to and the ending almost totally ruined everything for me. I’ve said so before but for me, even the most brilliant story and journey can be utterly ruined by a horrible ending. I don’t even like sad endings to begin with, but if it’s well writen I can at least accept them. This one though...

Basically the whole deal with the MC and Mori is that due to a wish his mother made when he was a baby, Mori ended up as his kind of guardian and literally grew up with him from when he was a child all the way past twenty years of age. They’ve been together all this time, with the caveat that Mori said she would leave when he “Wasn’t a child anymore”. This apparently translates into “When you fall in love with someone, I’m out.”.

Disregarding the very obvious issue I have with such an arbitrary reason to leave forever, this damn reason and her actions contradict themselves. >_< She acts like she’s happy being with you and teases you early in the story, and yet she directly sets you up with Liya, knowing full well that’d spell the end of your life with herself. Also she doesn’t even seem to consider the obvious loophole of “What if I love you instead, then you can’t leave right?” and, even though she’s shown to have some feelings, never makes a move of her own towards that end.

It gets much worse than this though. Near the end, the three of you go hiking together and Liya ends up spraining her ankle and having to be carried back to camp by you. This is the exact moment that Mori decides you’ve “grown up” and leaves, for good. This is despite the fact that 1) She told you she would say when she had to leave, 2) That she’d become fast friends with Liya and leaving like this is betraying her too and 3) She had a job, and current education. I guess dropping that all without notice won’t matter much.

It gets worse. ¬_¬ The idiot MC does the very natural thing and chases after her, to her shrine and meets with her. They have a very brief dialogue where she basically tells him it’s over and they might never meet again, and they part ways. This is where I lost my shit though;The MC proceeds to mope about somewhat for a single fucking day, before recovering after spending an afternoon at a carnival with Liya and accepting her confession. Roll credits, before showing a final scene explaining how they’ve gotten married and had a child together, and repeating the cycle by wishing for Mori to look after their baby.

Okay, that last fucking part offended me on a personal level. You mean to tell me that this guy, who has literally grown up all his life for over two decades close friends with this fox girl, you mean to tell me that he was only willing to try that one single time to convince her to come back? In fact he didn’t even do that much, he just sort of whinged about how he didn’t want her to go and then left. Really? Really. Fuckin... REALLY THOUGH!?

20 fuckin years childhood sweetheart, couple in all but name. They lived together, learnt together, worked together. And just because he kind of likes this new girl he’s known for not even a week, he’s just okay with letting Mori go? Fuck RIGHT off! This isn’t even shattering of immersion, this is... I don’t even know what this is!

Fucking hell. As someone who has never had a true friend in person, certainly not a pretty girl, I can’t even begin to describe how offensively fucking DUMB this is. Even if you loved the other girl more, you don’t just spend ONE fucking day being mopey and move on from losing a literal lifetime companion! >_< In real life, any normal person would be fucking heartbroken for WEEKS!

Not to mention him barely trying just once to see her. If it were me you can bet your ASS I’d camp that shrine day and night until she relented and rejoined us, or I died. Literally one or the other. Any possible immersion anyone has in the story up to this point is utterly shattered by this. I have no clue if they were rushing the story for reasons or it was a deliberate choice, but either way this utterly KILLS the story dead. I can live with it being a single-route story, but I can’t forgive giving such a horrifically written ending.

I’d better wrap this up here, it turned from a review into a rant about the ending. >> Anyway if you can look past that goddamn ending, for the asking price of like £1 it’s pretty disgustingly overvalued. The main girls’ art is incredible, the music is nice enough if mostly forgettable, (There’s a nice song though.) and yeah aside from the VN focusing super hard on boyfriend/girlfriend talk it is a pleasant experience. I just wish it had been longer, or more true to the original VN.

I’d say it’s worth a buy. You’ll enjoy it if you like these kind of light romance VNs, but it won’t be one you’ll talk about much or really remember a few weeks later. Overall score: 6/10