#we also watched the rest of whats available of the newest season of the great british baking show

[silhouettecrow]

365 Days of Writing Prompts: Day 328

Adjective: Violent

Noun: Teeth

Definitions for those who need/want them:

Violent: using or involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something; (especially of an emotion or unpleasant or destructive natural force) very strong or powerful; (of a color) vivid; (law) involving an unlawful exercise or exhibition of force

Teeth: a set of hard, bony enamel-coated structures in the jaws of most vertebrates, used for biting and chewing; hard, pointed structures in invertebrate animals, typically functioning in the mechanical breakdown of food; genuine force or effectiveness of a body or in a law or agreement; the projecting parts on a tool or other instrument, especially a series that functions or engages together, such as cogs on a gearwheel or points on a saw or comb; the projecting parts on an animal or plant, especially jagged or dentate rows on the margin of a leaf or shell; an appetite or liking for a particular thing; roughness given to a surface to allow color or glue to adhere

[dreamypeaches]

don’t wake up pt. 3 | rafe cameron x reader

summary: you and rafe grow closer, and the line between dreams and reality starts to blur

warnings: SMUT (unprotected), drug use mention, cursing, ward cameron being a dick of a father

word count: 3.7k (it’s a big one folks)

a/n: wow, thank you all for the amazing response to this series! it makes me so happy to see all your likes, reblogs, and comments, you have no idea. this part is long and sweet and honestly some of the best writing i’ve ever done. part 4 might take a little longer, since i go back to work tomorrow, but it should be up by the end of the week. also, warning, we jump right into the smut on this one. absolutely 0 foreplay. 

series masterlist

“Fuck, Rafe!” you screamed as Rafe’s fingers started working on your clit.

“Don’t cum yet, angel. You know what happens when you don’t listen.”

His grip around your throat tightened as he continued to slam into you from behind. Your hands searched for something, anything to ground you, to keep your impending orgasm as bay. Your back was pressed against Rafe’s chest, keeping you far away from the sheets you wanted to grasp. Instead, your hands reached up and made a home in Rafe’s hair, making him groan as you pulled hard on it.

“Please, Rafe, please let me cum. I can’t hold it much longer!”

Rafe hit your pussy with a rough slap that nearly sent you over the edge.

“What did I fucking say?” He growled in your ear. Despite what he was saying, Rafe loved hearing you beg to cum. He moved his fingers faster, thrusts becoming sloppy but harder as he felt himself getting closer.

Right when he reached the edge, Rafe leaned close to your ear and whispered, “Come for me, angel.”

You met your release with a scream, Rafe following right after you. He held you against him, giving a few more lazy thrusts as you both rode out your orgasms. For a few moments you were both still, Rafe still filling you up but no longer thrusting. Rafe felt his heart beating fast against his chest, his breathing just as fast, same as yours. He placed a few soft kisses on your neck before slowly releasing you, laying you onto your stomach on the bed. He quickly ran to the bathroom to dispose of the condom before joining you on his bed, pulling you onto his chest.

A month had passed since the first time you two had hooked up. Rafe had texted you that same morning, telling you how much he wanted to do that again. And so you did. At least once a week (most of the time more) Rafe texted you or you texted Rafe wanting to meet up. You would either drive to his house or he would pick you up if someone else in your family was using the car. Then you’d head back to the Cameron residence and spend the rest of the night tangled in each other (though there was one time Rafe couldn’t control himself for the entire drive, pulling off to the side of the road and taking you right then and there).

You didn’t talk much about your arrangement, refusing to put labels on it for fear of ruining the moments you had. Moments that neither you or Rafe wanted to give up. It really was like a dream to Rafe. You came to him at night caressing him, touching him in ways no one else had before. No matter how rough he was with you, your touches were always gentle and caring, as if you weren’t just touching his skin and instead reaching in to touch his soul. When he was done making you scream and come undone beneath him, he held you close, afraid you would dissolve and fade away like all his other dreams. And in the morning, you did just that. The only proof he had that you had been there at all were the love bites strewn across his chest, the smell of you on his sheets, and the little notes you left for him.

Sometimes you wrote dumb jokes or promises of another night with you or just a doodle of a flower or a heart or a smiley face. He kept all of them in a drawer in his desk, but always placing the newest one in his wallet. He would look at it throughout the day, especially when the day became extremely difficult, to keep him going until the night when he would see you again. He didn’t want to force you stay, worried that the tighter he clung to you the harder you would pull away and the sooner he’d lose, because he would lose you eventually. He knew that. Even if you did try to stay, he couldn’t let you. He didn’t want to ruin you while he ruined himself. So he kept his problems hidden away from you, letting them set with the sun. When the moon was up, he got to pretend they were gone, and he had you in their place. Rafe was great at pretending. So when he woke up the next morning, he forced himself to prepare for reality that came when he opened his eyes and he woke from his dream. Except he didn’t.

The first thing he noticed was the smell of weed in the air, a gentle breeze from the window blowing the haze around his room. Then he opened his eyes and instead of seeing the empty side of the bed, he saw your bare thighs, criss-cross-apple sauce. You were leaning against the head board, smoking a joint and wearing one of his shirts. Your eyes were trained on the TV, and he could hear the sound of voices softly through the speakers. He pushed himself up on to his forearm, the movement alerting you of his consciousness. You smiled down at him and he damn near swooned.

“Morning, sleepy head.” You said. Rafe admired your morning appearance for the first time, taking in your messy hair and slightly droopy eyes, though that might have been from the weed. He loved how you looked in his shirt, how he could see the marks he left on you peeking out from the collar. Rafe almost pinched himself. You offered him the joint and his fingers brushed against yours, which meant you were here, really here. He took a hit while your eyes returned to the TV. He blew out the smoke then said, “Why are you still here?”

You turned back towards him, but didn’t meet his eyes. You furrowed your brows, looking down at your fingers as they picked at a loose thread on the sheet.

“It’s peaceful here,” You said simply. You looked back up at Rafe, concern now lacing your forehead. “I can go if you want.”

“No! No.” Rafe reached out, his large hand trapping your smaller one. He smiled softly up you.

“Stay, please.”

You smiled back and took the joint back from his offering fingers. You scooted closer to him as he sat up more, giving you space to rest your head on his shoulder. Rafe tried to calm his beating heart as you laced your fingers with his, staring at the TV intently. He tried to distract himself with the show you put on, but it just confused him.

“What the hell are you watching?” He questioned.

“The X-Files. It’s my favorite.”

You spent the next few hours watching The X-Files. You had put on an episode from the middle of season three, so you tried your hardest to fill in gaps for Rafe when he needed it. By the time you claimed you had to go home, Rafe was ready to go back and watch from episode one. Especially if it meant he got to hold you a little longer. But you just chuckled, shaking your head at the boy as you pulled on your shorts.

You leaned across the bed and placed a hand on his cheek.

“Next time, I promise,” You said before kissing him sweetly. His lips moved gently along with yours as your fingers stroked across his cheek.

It wasn’t until you were out the door after giving him another quick peck and a smile that realized the pattern your fingers had traced was random. It had been a smiley face. Another note for his collection.

If Rafe couldn’t get you out of his head before, you were stuck in it with super glue now. He didn’t text you for the next couple days, too busy overthinking every moment of his morning with you. You had done nothing sexual, but, to Rafe, it felt more intimate than anything else you had done up until then. He wasn’t sure what to do now, it felt like everything had changed. It scared him and excited him. He had thought your relationship was just physical to you. But you had stayed. You had cuddled with him and smoked with him and laughed with him and shared your favorite show with him. God, he loved listening to you talk about the things you were passionate about, even when that thing was a strange but surprisingly awesome alien crime show from the 90s. But you had stayed. You had burrowed yourself deeper into his heart while at the same time opening a whole new vault of vulnerabilities and fears in his mind. He didn’t want to break you, but he was also absolutely terrified that you might break him. He wasn’t right for you, and he knew that. It would be selfish if he let you in. Really, truly claimed you as his like he wanted to, pulling you out of his dreams and into reality. But, Rafe was a selfish person.

The stress and wonder of his relationship with you was flowing through his head when his father found him, sitting by the pool. Ward sat in the chair beside him, bringing up another thing Rafe had done wrong. He heard what his father was saying but didn’t really listen. He felt the anger boiling inside of him, all the emotions that had been building up this week were ready to burst out of him. So he let them.

The argument escalated quicker than it usually, Rafe and Ward at each other’s throats as they screamed in each other’s faces. Rose eventually ran out, trying to break apart the father and son to no avail. The fight ended with Ward yelling at Rafe to get out of his house and out of his sight, so Rafe complied.

When he sped out of the driveway on his bike, he wasn’t sure where he was going. Normally, he would have gone to Barry’s to do a line and complain and get lost in the euphoria the drugs brought him. But his heart had other ideas.

Rafe had never been this close to your front door, let alone inside your house. You always made him wait for you in the car. The one time he had tried walking up to the front door, you had met him halfway, nearly ripping his arm off with the force of you pulling him back to his bike.

He took a deep breath before knocking, praying that you would be home and wouldn’t be angry with him for turning up at your door in the middle of the day.

“Rafe?” You said as you opened the door. He couldn’t help but smile as you appeared in the doorway, just the sight of you enough to calm him down.

“I’m sorry for just turning up. I would have texted you but I just sort of ended up here. You know what actually, I should just go. Sorry for bothering you.”

He started to turn, trying to keep a cool exterior while inside he wanted nothing more than to run for the hills. But he was stopped by your hand taking his.

“Rafe,” You smiled at him, taking in his disheveled hair, slightly crazed eyes and red face, “it’s okay. Come in.”

You opened the door wider and pulled him through, closing it behind you. The fingers that weren’t gripping your own were fidgeting with the rings on his fingers, taking in his surroundings. This was completely new territory for him. He’d never been in your space before. The house itself was just slightly bigger than his and Sarah’s rooms combined. The kitchen and the living room were smushed together, the living room being the larger of the two. There was a short hallway  that led to a single door, with two other doors on either side of it. You led him to the kitchen, releasing his hand to grab a couple of glasses and fill them with water.

Rafe continued to take in the home, taking note of the toys and clothes strewn about. Jackets thrown over chairs, worn children and adult books sitting on the couch, a bowl of cereal left to sog up on the table. He’d never been in a home that looked so lived in before. He kind of liked it.

“Sorry it’s such a mess,” You said, handing him a water, “Three young children live here, so it always looks like a tornado has blown through.”

Rafe’s eyebrows shot up.

“Children?”

You laughed at his expression.

“Yeah, my niece and nephews. I live here with my sisters. My older one is the mother of the tornado. But, they all went to visit my uncle for a couple nights, so I have the house all to myself!”

Rafe absorbed the information your were giving him, storing it away in the part of his brain reserved just for you. He was realizing how little he actually knew about you. He knew nothing about your family, he’d never really thought about it before. He tried to picture you here, in this kitchen, three little kids running around while you stood with two other girls who looked similar to you.

“Sounds nice, peaceful,” Rafe commented.

“It will be. I miss them already, though. It’s been too quiet. Usually, the Pogues or at least Kie or Sarah would come keep me company, but they all have shit to do.” You moved closer to him and smiled up at him, cheeks heating up slightly as you spoke, “I’m glad you’re here.”

Rafe blushed instantly at your words, looking down at his feet to hide the smile growing wide on his face. He was so screwed. He thought of all the times he messed with Topper, calling him pussy-whipped. If only Topper could see him now.

“I’m glad I’m here too,” Rafe said, meeting your warm gaze.

The pair of you are silent for a moment, getting lost in each others eyes. You pull away first, taking a sip of your water before speaking.

“So, what’s up? Did something happen you look a little…wild.”

Rafe chuckled at your choice of adjective.

“My dad, he, uh…he kicked me out. I fucked up something, I can’t remember what but I’m sure I did it. We got in a huge argument and he told me to leave. It’s not the first time, I’ll go back in a few days and beg for forgiveness or something. I just…” Rafe sniffed rubbing his nose quickly on his arm. Rafe Cameron was not a cryer. He couldn’t remember the last time he had shed a tear. But standing here in your kitchen, feeling your understanding eyes on him, allowing him to talk about all the shit he’d been holding in for years about his father, he wasn’t afraid to let the dam break. The tears were quick and silent. He didn’t sob, but he felt his breath getting caught in his throat as the rivers ran down his cheeks.

“I just want to be a good fucking son.”

You pulled him into you. His head nestled into your neck, tears soaking the collar of your shirt. His arms wrapped around your waist, squeezing the breath from you but you didn’t care. You held him just as tight, whispering sweet things in his ear. A few minutes passed before the tears finally dried up. Rafe pulled away slightly, keeping his hands on your hips as he looked at you with swollen eyes.

“I’m sorry, fuck, I’m sorry I-”

“Shh, Rafe stop,” You took his face in your hands, forcing him to look directly at you, “Don’t apologize for having fucking feelings and crying when someone hurts them. Believe me, I live with three children under the age of six, we have a lot of crying going on around here. Sometimes you just have to let it out. Let it out, Rafe.”

Rafe closed his eyes, letting your words quiet his wayward mind. Your thumbs stroked his cheeks, taking the tears with them. You leaned forward and kissed both his cheeks before kissing his lips. He could taste his own tears on your lips. The kiss was short but he could feel the emotion in it. You pulled away slowly, leaning your forehead on his. For Rafe, however, you were way too far away.

His arms wrapped around your back, one hand cupping the back of your head and pulling you back to meet his lips. The kiss wasn’t as rough and sexually charged as the others you had shared. This one was more like your first kiss, filled with passion and emotion and a pure and unadulterated need to be close to another person.

It wasn’t long before Rafe’s hand made there way to the hem of your shirt, pulling it up over your head, placing it on the counter. You weren’t wearing a bra, and he groaned at the sight of your bare breasts. His hand moved down to your thighs, squeezing them. You understood his signal, arms wrapping around his neck as you jumped. You wrapped your legs around his waist, his hands supporting you on your ass as he moved you through the house.

“Which one is yours?” Rafe asked as he reached the hallway.

“Left,” You said before reattaching your lips to his. He kicked the door open. Opening his eyes for second to asses the layout of the room, he noticed two twin beds in pushed into the corners of the room.

“Which one’s yours?” Rafe asked again with a small smile.

“Right,” You said with a matching smile.

Rafe sat on the edge of the bed, making you straddle his lap. He pulled his shirt over his head, then leaned forward to take one of your nipples in his mouth, his hand moving to massage the other. You threw your head back, letting out a long moan. Rafe moved to the other boob, giving it the same treatment with his tongue. After a few minutes, Rafe tried to flip you onto your back, but you stopped him. You looked him right in his eyes, pupils blown with lust as your hand reached down to palm him through his shorts.

“I want to make you feel good, Rafe,” You whispered before leaning down to kiss his neck. The sinful moan he made went straight to your center. You moved off his lap, pushing him back until he was leaning against the head board. You pulled his shorts and boxers down, allowing his erection to spring free. You didn’t break eye contact as you undressed him, enjoying the blissful spark in his eyes as you ran you hands down his thighs. You stood up, shimmying out of your bottoms until you were fully naked and moved to straddle him again.

“I’m going to make you feel so good, baby. You deserve to feel good,” You said as you placed a few more open mouthed kisses on his neck. You reached down again to grasp his dick, giving it a few pumps before aligning it with your entrance. Rafe stopped you with a hand on your wrist.

“I don’t have a condom,” He said.

“It’s okay. I want to be close to you.” You said before sinking down onto him. You both moaned loudly, foreheads meeting in the space between you. You slowly started to rock your hips against Rafe’s, relishing in the feeling of him bare inside you, filling you up perfectly.

Rafe thought he had died and gone to heaven. He was convinced there could be nothing better than this, feeling you, all of you. He felt loved. Absolutely loved for once in his miserable life.

He gripped your hips, helping you speed up your movements. He kissed you again, catching your moans with his tongue while he released his own into you. You gripped his hair, pulling him as close to you as you could, until there was positively no space separating your bodies. Your hips started moving faster, Rafe moving you up and down to bounce on his cock.

“Rafe,” You moaned his name like a prayer.

“I’m getting close, angel,” Rafe whispered

“Don’t stop, please. Don’t stop, baby, I want you fill me with your cum.”

You reached down to rub your clit quickly, feeling your orgasm coming on quickly.

“Fuck you feel so good, angel. Make me feel so good,” Rafe moaned before sucking on the sensitive spot on your neck. You came with a moan of his name, head collapsing onto his shoulder as he continued to pump into you. His thrusts became faster as he chased his release. You kissed any piece of skin your lips could reach as his thrusts became sloppier, breathing heavier than before. He came loudly, grunting as he filled your pussy with spurts of white ropes. You rocked your hips lightly, helping him through his orgasm before stilling completely.

Your foreheads rested together, breath mingling in the space between. You sat like that for what felt like eternity, a moment frozen in time. You savored the feeling of Rafe’s cock in you, your combined juices leaking out of you and dripping down his shaft and your thighs. Rafe gave you a few gentle pecks, fingers massaging the back of your head. For a moment he felt complete, invincible, fucking incredible.

You stayed together until Rafe was completely soft in you. You reluctantly lifted yourself off his lap, the both of you whimpering at the loss of contact. You sneaked across the hallway to the bathroom, wiping yourself clean and doing your business. You returned to your room, grabbing your laptop from the trunk at the end of you bed and snuggled back up next to Rafe.

His eyes were still closed, head resting against the wall. He was so still you thought he might have fallen asleep, until his eyes opened and looked down at you, a lazy and utterly joyful smile gracing his features. You smiled back up at him, giving him a quick kiss before opening the laptop.

“Want to watch The X-Files?”

He grinned, wrapping an arm around you and snuggling deeper into the pillows.

“Oh, hell yeah.”

You giggled at his enthusiasm, clicking open the webpage and starting the episode.

Rafe held you tight in his arms, but for once he wasn’t afraid of you disappearing. As the sun beamed in through the blinds, casting light across your bedroom floor, Rafe allowed himself a moment to be selfish, and let his dreams see the light of day.

tagging: @ilovejjmaybank @diverrdown @diverdcwn @drewsephsmiles @https-luna @juliarose21 @bluesiderudy

[yeonchi]

Kisekae Insights #24: GJ Club - how a spinon became a spinoff featuring Kyōya and Kasumi Shinomiya

(Art by 結城辰也)

The Kisekae Insights series has allowed me to bring the spotlight back on Waifu Network animes that I haven’t posted much about in the past due to lack of fanart or lack of interest. Like Hidamari Sketch in the last instalment, GJ Club will be no exception until I continue posting the usual content in my anime posts. Honestly, it was good while it lasted.

While Hidamari Sketch is a fairly popular and notable anime, GJ Club, sadly, isn’t. The anime was adapted from the light novel series written by Shin Araki and it only received one 12-episode season in 2013 and an OVA in 2014. Since it is a slice-of-life series, not much is known about the characters’ histories, which made it very easy to adapt into my personal project. All these factors coinciding with it being the 50th anniversary year of Doctor Who made GJ Club the perfect anime to adapt and expand on.

Background information

For some reason, the light novel has been a bit hard to find. In short, while you are able to read it online, the sources are unfortunately scarce.

From 2013 to 2015, NanoDesu Translations posted translations of the light novel. They published a PDF and EPUB of the first volume (which is available on archive.org) and translated up to Chapter 17 of the second volume. It was then abandoned for two years before Haraguro Scanlations picked it up. As of September 2018, they only finished up to Chapter 3 of the third volume (with the first chapter being translated by Shadowys on Baka-Tsuki) and there are no further updates after that, with the exception of a one-off chapter released in November 2020.

As of August 2021, however, all the original translations by NanoDesu seem to have been deleted from their site. All the translations are available on AsiaNovel, but there are no illustrations because the reader doesn’t seem to support images. If the images weren’t discarded in the code of the novels, then all they would need to do is add support for them and then they would appear.

There are 9 volumes and two special volumes for GJ Club along with 8 volumes and a special volume for its middle school spinoff. It’s honestly telling how popular the series was when the translators have all but abandoned it.

Shin Araki also wrote an additional spinoff to GJ Club, namely GE: Good Eater, and a sequel, namely KB Club. GE is set in a fantasy world with the characters being based off the characters of GJ Club, while KB Club turns everything meta by having both series be the creations of a high school light novel club, with the characters of GJ Club being based off the members of said club, right down to their names. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of that approach given how I’ve adapted GJ Club into my personal project. In the end, I guess we’ll never really know what happens in the novels, but at least we have this.

Watching the anime and listening to the character music was how I first realised that anime was sexist to males because of the female-centric focus in most animes. Kyōya only gets one character song in the series, and even then it’s a duet with Megumi. If that isn’t sexist to you, then I don’t know how I can convince you that a lot of animes are sexist.

In January 2015, I published two posts outlining my idea for an English dub of the series that also fits with GJ Club’s depiction in my personal project. The setting would be changed to London, England, specifically the areas of Chiswick, Ealing and Acton (where their school is located) and the characters would speak with British accents. The images in the original post are dead because I idiotically copied the images from the site instead of saving and reuploading them to the post, but since I’m grubbing for content anyway, I’m going to repost my character details as follows:

Kyōya: The protagonist of the series. When he started Year 10, he was kidnapped by the girls when he walked into an old school building, hoping to find the Culture Club. He moved to London from Manchester just before he started Year 7. His best friend outside the club is someone named Tesshin Yokomizo (横溝徹心) who is a local and not seen in the anime. In the GJ Club, he is nicknamed “Kyoro” and despite his spinelessness, he seems to have talent in dealing with the girls around him. His birthday is December 18. Due to a crisis involving his family during his childhood, he and his sister Kasumi were left in the care of a family guardian just before they moved to London, but she left when Kyōya started Year 10. It might have been that childhood incident that emotionally scarred him and left him spineless…

Mao: The Year 11 president of the GJ Club. Her family is rich and they live in a mansion in Ealing. She has a habit of biting and picking on Kyōya when she is bored or angry. She always reads books and watches shows without kissing scenes.

Shion: The only daughter in her family, Shion is an expert chess player with many brothers, all experts in some kind of activity. She speaks in a Birmingham (Brummie) accent because her mother and a few of her brothers were born in Birmingham. It is unknown if Shion was born in Birmingham herself.

Megumi: The calm and nice middle sister of the Amatsuka family. She likes knitting and she is always seen making tea and cakes in the club room. In the same year level as Kyōya.

Kirara: Born in Swansea, Wales, Kirara is the tallest and strongest member of the club. She speaks English in simple, monotone sentences. Welsh is her first language. Kirara can be seen eating meat, sometimes sharing it with Kyōya, but not with anyone else. She is afraid of spiders and has little tolerance to alcohol.

Tamaki: (voiced by Karen Gillan!) The newest member of the GJ Club when Kyōya becomes a Year 11 student. Like Kyōya, she is kidnapped and forced to join the club. Her nickname is “Tama”. Her family is from Glasgow and they run a Shinto shrine in Acton. She has several younger siblings.

Kasumi: Kyōya’s younger sister, who was born in Manchester. After a visit to the GJ Club, she becomes inspired to start a middle school division when she starts Year 7. She has a brother complex and she mistook Mao for being a primary school student when she met her. Her proficiency in Welsh is better than her brother’s, who can probably speak at a beginner level.

Geraldine: Shortened to “Jill”. She moved to Chiswick from Swansea to be with her sister, Kirara. She first met Kyōya at Ealing Broadway Station when she had difficulty buying a Tube ticket. She didn’t really understand how to use the ticket machine, so Kyōya went to help her. After this, Jill considered Kyōya her “samurai master”. Jill doesn’t speak English fluently, so she relies on her whiteboard to communicate with the others. She is as strong as her sister and she joins Kasumi’s GJ Club when she starts Year 7 in Chiswick.

Seira: The youngest sister of the Amatsuka family. Though she speaks in a typical London accent, she sometimes talks through her cat clip in Received Pronunciation (the Queen’s English/RP) using ventriloquism to state her true feelings to Kyōya, who she has a grudge against.

Mori: The maid of the Amatsuka family. She likes to ride a motorcycle.  A running gag is her twirling before Kyōya much to his pleasure and annoyance to the rest of the club members. Sometimes, her mother takes her place without the family even noticing due to their identical appearance.

Kyōya, Kasumi and Momoka: The Brother, the Child and the Yandere

Normally in previous instalments, I would have described each character separately, but because their backstories are heavily intertwined, I will introduce them all at once in this section. Most of the backstory takes place around the Battle of Koshi Castle in December 2013 and during the Manchester Campaign of 2005-2013, which I have already covered in #15.

When Hiroki Ichigo’s twelfth incarnation was killed at Koshi Castle, he managed to escape in his TARDIS, where he regenerated into his new prototype, namely a four-year-old Kyōya. The TARDIS crashes outside North Manchester General Hospital on 11 December 2005.

Earlier, Hiroki and Akari’s gametes (along with those of Hiroki’s brothers and their families) were taken by Reona Yukawa and placed in the Progenitor so that they could breed super-soldiers out of them. When Takumi Kamijō and Kyōko Sakura manage to escape from their cells (saving Nodoka Manabe and Azusa Nakano in the process), he changes the destination of the baby about to be released into the Progenitor’s time portal. That baby was Kasumi, one of the super-soldiers grown from Hiroki and Akari’s DNA. She ended up at the same hospital as well and was about to be taken home by a couple when Girl Power killed them, resulting in Kasumi being taken by Akari and Shaun.

What remained of Hiroki was contacted by the spirit of Walpurgisnacht. Making a deal with her, Hiroki regenerated into his thirteenth incarnation, the female Momoka Mizutani. No, Momoka is not an OC for GJ Club, but she is based on the character of Apple Lam Chung-yan from the TVB drama A Great Way to Care II, played by Tavia Yeung. Momoka takes Hiroki’s TARDIS and heads to Salford, where with the help of Walpurgisnacht, she establishes a cha chaan teng café in the middle of a trading estate and hires a group of red drone Daleks as her workers, hiding their identities by having them disguise themselves as humans.

Over the next eight years, Momoka gets close to the new Shinomiya family by influencing them through Kyōya’s dreams to come to her café. Eight years later, on 11 December 2013, the Fourth and Fifth Doctors come in with their companions. When the Shinomiya family come in, a confrontation with Ayaka Kikuchi and her army ensues before Momoka transmats the Shinomiya family to a Dalek spaceship, where she prepares to execute them using the Yashio’ori. However, the Yashio’ori is sabotaged by the enemy army so that the laser beam would not charge.

As Ayaka and her army attack the Dalek ship, Momoka uses the Dalek-enhanced machine guns to fend them off. While two Doctors confront the Master, Momoka is killed by Girl Power officers, resulting in Walpurgisnacht taking over her body as she regenerates, maintaining her current appearance. Read #15 to find out what happens after this.

Once the Battle of Koshi Castle and the Manchester Campaign conclude, the Fourth Doctor helps Kyōya and Kasumi move to Chiswick in 2008. Five years later, the events of the GJ Club anime take place. During his time in Chiswick, Kyōya gets a job at the post office there and later, studies a double degree in Japanese Studies and Politics at SOAS in the University of London while also learning Cantonese, Mandarin and Welsh in weekend and evening courses (apparently he also wanted to learn Taiwanese but they weren’t running any courses, but that’s alright, he can always learn it somewhere else, which he presumably did).

On a side note, I volunteered myself to be Kyōya’s English voice actor, so I’ve practiced my Mancunian accent by watching actors like Christopher Eccleston, Stephen Tompkinson, Karl Pilkington and maybe a bit of Peter Kay as well. The only problem was that I’m not even sure that my accent is even Manc because I can’t tell if I’m getting it wrong and sounding like someone from Liverpool, Yorkshire, Newcastle or even Scotland. Oh well, that’s what happens when you really get into things.

I don’t buy expansion packs, I make my own (budget allowing)

So as I said, GJ Club only got one season and an OVA to go with it. Do Kyōya and the GJ Club make further appearances in the series? You bet your ass they do.

After being absent for much of the Next Gen Series in 2014, Kyōya and Kasumi receive a letter from their aunt, Narutaki, asking to meet in Hong Kong after their mother, Akari, went missing following the Siege of Ōsaka, only to be followed by Mao and the rest of the GJ Club, who learnt where he was going and managed to get on the same flight as them.

Narutaki, who had taken her Girl Power friends and established a rogue faction separate from the main group, takes the GJ Club to Nijō Castle, where she explains the background behind the Manchester Campaign and the events of Series 8 and 9. Soon after, Girl Power’s commander, Daniel, sends his brother, Nathan, out to find Narutaki. Kyōya tries to contact Hiroki, but he is unable to get through to him. Luckily, the TARDIS arrives and the Doctor and Hiroki help Angela and the others repel the attacking Girl Power forces. Some more things happen and by the end of the story, we learn that Kyōya and Mao are dating.

That Christmas, Kyōya and Kasumi head up to Manchester, but the Doctor briefly takes them and their friends back to Hong Kong for a picnic with Hiroki and the rest of the Zhuge family.

A few years later in 2018, the GJ Club and Momoka get a cameo at the start and end of the Gokaiger TV movie special. By this point in time, Momoka’s café in Manchester has expanded to many other branches around the UK and in Hong Kong.

The next year in 2019, Kyōya, Kasumi, Mao and Megumi are featured in a four-part adventure in Soulbound Series 3, helping the cast solve the mystery of Parker’s past and Shinbu’s origins. Two years after in 2021, Kyōya and Kasumi move to Hong Kong (along with the GJ Club) and join the Superhero Project as the new ShinkenRed and ZyuohTiger. You’d think Kyōya would be against violence given his harmless tendencies, but I suppose his character has developed over the years despite having abandonment issues.

So this has been the involvement of GJ Club in my personal project. It’s a shame the series wasn’t more popular or it could have gotten a second season, a manga, more (and frequent) translations of the light novel or hell, even a licenced release. This series is just like Sea Princesses in how popular it was, but despite the number of episodes the anime got, at least Shin Araki hasn’t abandoned the series (by putting it in a spinoff no less) unlike Fabio Yabu, who hasn’t made anything new for Sea Princesses since 2010 after getting more animated episodes than GJ Club did. On the other hand though, neglected series with little material has been good development fodder for my personal project as it allowed me to bring awareness to the existence of those series while also developing backstories and afterstories for them.

[lunewell]

The Norwegian Mermaid Association - Part 1

Word count: 1816

Written for MerMay

No TW or CW

Can also be read on Wattpad here

This is a little story I’ve been working on for MerMay, about an actual historical association that operated from 1963-1989. It ended up being rather long, so I split it into two parts, but here is the first instalment (:

Though safely placed a good distance away from the raging waves, the room of sailors and wives smelt overwhelmingly like fresh salt water and newly caught fish. Not that Morten could complain too much, as being served something other than fish and bread was a welcome change, even if it meant being enclosed in a tiny, wooden, scarcely-furnished room with 12 others.

“Doesn't she make the most divine food?” Leif commented to the others, who had creatively spread themselves on any available surface, be it the arm of the worn, uncomfortable chair, or squeezed tightly on the sheepskin covered couch. A chorus of sounds of agreement and nods, made Leif grin widely. He turned to his darling wife: “We should do this every time we return home from sea.” It was said with a semi- teasing smile, his blue eyes crinkled up.

“That’s a great idea, darling,” Hilde responded, tone matching his as she placed a pale hand on his shoulder, “I can’t wait to see you help me make the food!”

“... on second thought, perhaps once a season is more than enough.”

A light laughter came from the room, especially from Hans, Petter, and Kari, who- judging by their empty glasses and off-balanced movements- had already indulged themselves plenty in the alcohol department. Morten smiled too, appreciating the warm atmosphere of the room, and the ease and welcomeness that had swivelled itself within the smells of the ocean.

As not only the youngest but also the newest of the fishermen, he had originally been sceptical of the idea of attending the dinner party, having neither any sort of social smoothness nor a wife to bring with. Not that he wanted a wife, necessarily, as he had never quite considered himself the type.

However, the temptation of shelter and food (and, let’s be honest, the crippling loneliness), had lured him in like a sirens call into Leif’s and Hilde’s warm little wooden house. Lucky for him, it seemed that the others had a sort of strong kinship and bond that let him mostly sit back and observe the others laughing and talking, rather than needing to actively engage in the conversation himself.

“You really do have a God given gift as a housewife, Hilde,” said Ine- or was it Ina? No, definitely Ine, “We at the Norweagian Mermaid Association are so lucky to have someone like you.”

Morten almost spat out his water, ice blue eyes shot wide open. For what was the first time that night, he spoke, in a soft confused tone: “the… Mermaid Association?” He blinked owlishly, face warming up as all eyes- most that same blue colour- met his.

Anne was the first to realise where his confusion stemmed from: “oh dear,” she said, lips curled in an amused smile, “it’s not actually about mermaids. It’s the name of our women’s group, fighting for the rights of wives of seamen everywhere!”

“Oh,” Morten said, sheepishly, “that… uh, makes more sense. Odd name choice, though, considering historically mermaids were dangerous creatures, in line with trolls.”

“Names ‘cause we’re pretty as mermaids,” Kari said, hair messy and a slight slur to her words, “sing ‘s nice ‘s them, too. And-”

“Know a lot about mermaids, Morten?” Thomas interrupted, before Kari could go on her second drunken ramble of the night. Morten twiddled his thumbs, leaning back in the wooden chair and further into the corner, taking another sip from his glass before he answered.

“Yes. Always loved folklore as a child, be it trolls, Nokken, or mermaids,” he turned his head to look out the dirty window and into the fiery sky that implied a stormy morning, “when I was younger, I would dream about swimming around with a beautiful tail. Of course, silly dreams were all it ever was.”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from my years on the ocean,” Thomas began, “it’s that there are a lot of unknown things in the water, and what seems like sailor stories, might be closer to reality than what’s comfortable.”

“The old man had a point,” Hilde said with a smile, auburn hair swaying as she nodded.

“You’re not so far from 50 yourself,” he scoffed, earning him smiles and a series of teasing that Morten sat comfortably back and watched, glad to have the attention of him again. It was almost hard to believe that Hilde was 50, as her wrinkles were few, and her sea green eyes were still bright and filled with wonder. Though, Morten thought, perhaps it was simply the flickering candle light hiding secrets in its shadows.

The crimson evening stretched to a cloud covered night, moon shining dimly into the wooden house and the candle lights darting brightly around them. Kari, Petter, Thomas, and Inne had already left, leaving only Anne and Hans-, who, from what he had picked up had sons old enough that they needn’t return til long, himself, and the keepers of the house; Leif and Hilde.

Morten was certainly not at his prime. The exhaustion from the previous weeks on sea had really begun to take a toll; his dark brown hair was sticking out, his eyes were bagged, and he had very quickly moved himself to the brown sofa covered in sheepskin by the dancing fire in an attempt to quell the bone-deep chill that had spread through his body.

In the distance, he could hear Anne and a very, very drunk Hans giving their goodbyes, though he didn’t catch exactly what they said, as he couldn’t concentrate on the sound. In fact, he couldn’t concentrate much on anything right now, the lights blurring in his vision and the decorations around the room- from the plants to what was frankly a concerning amount of mackerel-themed objects, were swimming around him. He could feel the vice of a headache wrapping around his head like the jaws of a beast.

“Oh you poor dear,” he heard Hilde, who he hadn’t even managed to hear come in, sigh, “you look completely worn out.”

He blinked at her, willing his vision into focus. “It’s alright,” he managed to say, voice laced with drowsiness, “I was about to leave, anyway.” He reluctantly got up, gripping his pounding head as black spots entered his vision.

“In this state? Absolutely not,” Hilde protested, already pulling out a drawer to fetch what looked like a warm blanket, “no point in putting a young man like yourself needlessly in danger. This couch is plenty big enough for you.” She threw him a soft, wolly blanket woven in the pattern of a mackerel tail, the strength of the throw making it very clear she was not up for protest.

And even if he had foolishly attempted to protest her motherly instincts, she kept speaking. “Feel free to get some water if you’re thirsty- there’s glasses in the rightmost top cupboard,” she said, before making her way to what Morten assumed was the bedroom. “Goodnight, sleep well.”

There was something in her tone, almost sing-song like, that made him instantly relax and believe that he would, in fact, sleep well that night. It wasn’t long before she had blown out the last candles, smoke being added to the interesting concoction of scents, that he felt the serenity of night, calm as a pond, make him sink into the deep waters of sleep.

————————————

True to Hilde’s words, he slept better than he had in months, being awakened not in a rush like he usually was, but by the sound of rhythmic but hammering rain on the windows. He rubbed his eyes, stretching out and getting rid of the last remaining signs of his journey into the watery abyss. Looking out the window, he saw that true to his prediction, the morning was dark and stormy, thick clouds and heavy rain laying on a sheet that made it hard to see much of anything. Welcome to Stavanger, he thought almost fondly, well used to the city's frankly abysmal weather, only rivalled by a few Vestland cities, most notably Bergen.

He got up from the couch, and glanced at the clock; almost nine. Though comparatively late to when he usually got up, it seemed that Leif had been more exhausted than he let on, as Morten could easily hear his snores from the thin walls. In fact, listening closer, Morten could hear a lot from the thin walls; he could hear the angry seas, he could hear the sounds of talking crowds not too far away, and oddly enough, what sounded like singing.

Melodic, gorgeous, utterly encapsulating singing, sweet as wind chimes, unlike anything he had ever heard before.

In a completely uncharacteristic move, he found himself almost hypnotically making his way out the door and into the weather. Cold air whipped his cheek, but he found himself barely caring, continuing onwards even as his clothes became so soaked that they merged into his baby soft skin.

He made his way further to the coast and docks, walking past swaying trees and winding paths into the dark, wet stoney beach. By now, he was sure his lips were blue, his face wet from the rain, and yet he could not bring himself to feel anything but excitement as the sweet sounds came closer and closer.

And then, at the edge of a rock, at just the right splash zone for the sprays of crashing waves to hit him, he saw it.

Hilde, short, wavy auburn hair, big sea green, aging eyes, was laying on a rock, a mackrell's tail attached to her lower body, and blue scales sprouted across the skin of the arms she rested her head on. Her ears- inhuman, blue, and shaped like fins, perked up, and the signing stopped as she spotted him. Her expression was initially one of surprise and shock, but it washed away within seconds to a warm smile.

Morten gaped like a trout, and stared at her. He scanned her up and down over and over again, his mind having gone completely blank in a way to try to deal with the shock. Hilde took in his expression, and laughed lightly, though he didn’t see what was particularly funny.

“Well, girls,” Hilde said, and to his minds absolute horror, several more heads of scales and weird ears, among them faces he recognised as Anne, Ine, and Kari from last night, popped out of the water, “looks like we’ll be having a guest in the meeting today”

“So,” an unfamiliar brunette with dark skin and purple scales around her eyes said, “is this yet another sailor from your man's crew that will end up with one of our kind?”

Hilde looked directly at him, her smile teasing with sharp teeth. “Oh, I don’t doubt that. But, for now, let’s get back to the matter at hand, and let the weekly meeting of the Norwegian Mermaid Association, plus 1, begin!”

[aenwoedbeannaa]

Friend of Humanity | A The Witcher Drabble

Prompt: “If you could do me a big solid and not do anything, that would be sublime.”  

Summary: You and Geralt go to see Jaskier perform in Novigrad and Geralt becomes incensed when a rowdy theatregoer has the nerve to say something about the Bard’s singing.  

Word Count: 1,760

Warnings: None, just some swearing if that offends you. Also, some minor spoilers for The Witcher 3.

A/N: A quick drabble based on one of these writing prompts was just want I needed to get myself out of my head and back in the mindset of enjoying writing and not overthinking it. Hope you all enjoy 😊.  

“Can’t believe you’ve willingly volunteered us for a night of poetic nonsense,” Geralt grumbles as the two of you pick your way through the crowd packing The Rosemary and Thyme looking for an empty table. The once derelict former brothel has been restored rather nicely. Long wooden tables occupy the large floorspace in front of the stage, where patrons sit crowding long wooden benches drinking and chattering away while a young bard plucks away at a lute singing what are clearly his first works. No one seems to be paying much attention, but at least no one is shouting or throwing bread at him.  

“Oh, come on, Geralt,” you pout, “Don’t you want to support your best friend in the entire world?”

“Doesn’t saving his life on numerous occasions count as supporting him?” he protests, “Looks like there are plenty of supporters here.”  

You roll your eyes as the two of you spot a table occupied only by three men who have clearly been making quick work of gulping down tankards of beer judging by their slightly slurred speech and belligerently loud conversation regarding a recent run-in with the guards.  

“Would you really send me here all on my own?” You blink up at him through your lashes, giving him that look that you know makes him melt and, like clockwork, his expression softens as he resigns himself to his fate for the evening.  

“Well,” he finally says, “I suppose I haven’t heard his latest retelling of our adventures.” A small smile plays on his lips and his eyes flicker with what you know is love. Beneath his exterior, the Witcher really is, as Jaskier once wrote - ‘as simple as a spear shaft, incapable of pretending.’ He could not pretend that he did not care for his friend.  

You grin, “I cannot wait to hear how he saved your skin this time, Witcher.”  

“I wait with baited breath,” he says with an expression of stone but eyes alight with something akin amusement.  

Just then, a barmaid cuts into your conversation to offer the two of you mugs of ale.  

“On the house,” she says with a halfhearted grand gesture that, from the looks of it, was clearly demonstrated by Jaskier to be repeated exactly. He was quite proud of the tavern he and Zoltan have been running for the last months. Zoltan, who has no taste for poetry, takes care of the food and drink. (Even the ridiculously priced wine that Jaskier insists upon stocking despite its clear lack in sales.)

Geralt nods politely and immediately drains half the mug. You thank the barmaid as she heads off and then pick up your own mug to take a long draught.  

“Would you look at that,” you say as you raise your tankard slightly, smirking at the Witcher, “Guests of honor.” You clink your mug against his. He refrains from any reaction save for a small huff that might be laughter.  

As you bring the glass back to your lips, the young bard on the stage shuffles off, making way for none other than Zoltan Chivay himself. The room goes silent at once as patrons turn in their seats to face the stage.  

Geralt can’t hold in a chuckle as the dwarf begins speaking in a grand voice and waving his arms about.  

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, the reason you are here tonight!” A grand gesture. “The fearless bard, the friend of the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, who is here with us tonight!” A gesture toward the place where you sit next to Geralt, who has his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed at his old friend. A soft murmur flows through the crowd as the tavern’s patrons turn in their seats and crane their necks to get a glimpse of the White Wolf.  

“Unmatched in talent, a lyrical genius, and a seasoned explorer of the world, the famous bard - Jaskier!” One final grand sweep of his arm sends everyone’s attention back toward the stage, off to the left where Jaskier steps out from behind the curtain, dressed like a peacock and positively beaming with pride as the audience claps.  

“Here we go...” Geralt mutters under his breath, looking forlornly at his now empty tankard.  

Jaskier, you have to admit, does have a way of commanding a room. The murmers have subsided as the bard begins playing a tune. For many, these songs are the only way they learn of happenings in the world. And, while extremely embellished, Jaskier’s songs ring of truth in a way that official notices and political speeches do not. People want to listen to people like them; people who are not emperors, kings, or queens.  

And so Jaskier begins singing. This particular song, of his capture by the thug, Whoreson Jr.’s, men. Apparently, he sat rotting away in a dark dungeon, until one day Jr. showed up quite unexpectedly to carry him off to Oxenfurt, where he was certain he would be able to talk his way out of captivity. After all, he graduated from the University summa cum laude—the song makes sure to mention.  

You hear Geralt groan, knowing what part of the story is coming next. You can only shoot him a knowing smile and offer him your still half-full mug of ale, which he takes and drinks deeply from.  

And Whoreson’s men,

Those sons of whores,

They escorted me in a hoard,

Thugs and yes-men,

For them I play this unpleasant chord.

Several patrons laugh and cheer as he strikes a chord that would make even the tone-deaf shudder. No doubt most of these men and women had dealt with the man’s thugs. Being one of Novigrad’s four crime bosses had given him immense power and stirred up quite a lot of hatred.  

But apparently, not everyone was so inclined to listen to such blatantly rude remarks about their late leader. In particular, the three men sharing the table with you. In your periphery, you can see one of the men with a tightly closed fist. The other two have their lips pressed into tight lines and are shaking their heads.  

Of course, Jaskier is blissfully unaware of this as he continues on singing about the evils of the old crime boss and telling of how he’d managed to deceive them. 

Just as he is getting to the part of the story where the escort was ambushed by great friend of humanity, Geralt of Rivia, one of the men stands up abruptly, raising a clenched fist at the bard. “You jiggalo bastard!” he yells, drawing the attention of the entire tavern – especially Geralt of Rivia, who looks quite ready to unsheathe his steel sword and start swinging.  

And here you were, hoping for a peaceful night of music. How naïve.  

But you also know that the man is drunk and unsteady on his feet – unlikely to cause any real harm. Being outspoken as he is, he Bard typically draws reactions like this at his performances, and so far it had not resulted in anything worse than him being pelted with bread, half-full tankards of ale, and whatever else the patrons had readily available for throwing. So, you tug on Geralt’s arm, trying to convince him to sit down.

You give him a pointed stare when he looks down at you, hissing through clenched teeth, “If you could do me a big solid and not do anything, that would be sublime.”

Geralt looks down at you, then back at the enraged man, who appears to have run out of insults and half-eaten food to throw at the stage. The rest of the patrons, save angry drunk’s buddies, are watching with wide-eyed curiosity and excitement. Even Jaskier has stopped singing.  

Geralt speaks slowly an evenly, as if slowly unwinding the tight coil of anger inside him – a truly terrifying sight. “Do you wish to say any more?” he asks, glaring at the man who seems to have somehow shrunken at least three inches in height. “Because I would greatly prefer listening to the bard sing, as I came here to do.”  

Several of the guests nod emphatically, considering they’d been left off at a true cliffhanger, not knowing how Jaskier managed to escape, and what became of his companions.  

“The Witcher’s right!” shouts a woman on the other side of the room. “Shut your trap, or get out!”  

The man scowls, clearly not happy about the idea of having been bested by ‘mutant scum’ and a ‘stupid wench.’ Yet, immediately after hurling those newest insults, he cowers, attempting to shrink away from the Witcher, who is now leaning over the table to get closer to the thug. He smiles hideously as he speaks the next words, “Now sir, I highly encourage you to listen to the lady and the mutant, or I’ll throw you out myself. I don’t enjoy when my nights of poetry are interrupted by angry thugs.”  

The man grumbles something unntelligible and his two friends stand up with him. For a moment, you are worried that a fight might break out, but thankfully the men seem intent on helping their friend stumble out of the tavern. The three held the attention of the bar’s patrons as the trio sways and stumbles their way to the door and disappears out into the night.  

Geralt finally sits back down with a huff, draining the rest of what used to be your ale. Meanwhile, onstage, Jaskier is positively beaming, likely already writing a song about the time the White Wolf chased a terrifying, violent thug out of the tavern.  

“Geralt of Rivia, ladies and gentlemen!” the bard exclaims grandly, “Friend of humanity and patron of the arts!”  

Before Geralt even has time to react, one of the patrons tosses a coin in his direction, and another follow suit. For a moment, they all seem to have forgotten about the interrupted story, and one even calls out that Jaskier ought to sing the tune that had made Geralt famous.  

Geralt looks positively mortified, but you pay him no mind. Instead, you raise a freshly filled tankard of ale in a toast and smile slyly at the Witcher as you join in the song—

Toss a coin to your Witcher,  

Oh valley of plenty,  

Oh valley of plenty!

And as you sing, you can’t help but think to yourself how lucky you are to have happened upon this relationship with Geralt, the supposedly emotionless mutant, who despite what the rumors say about Witchers and their supposed lack of emotions, is one of the warmest and kindest men you have ever met.

A friend of humanity.

[metalandmagi]

Summer 2020 Anime Worth Watching!

Apparently it’s time for the summer anime season, even though it feels like time is meaningless at this point. But somehow, there are still new shows coming out, so if you’re looking for something to watch when you’re stuck at home, here’s a list of the first impressions I got from this season. I don’t really know if it’s going to be worth it, considering how the spring season delayed so much, but here we are. 

As always, not all of these are available on Crunchyroll, but I’ll put a * next to the ones that are.

And if you’re looking for a bit more variety, I have lists for 2019 and the rest of this year’s seasons too...because remember when there was good anime being released instead of just everything being an ecchi or a second season?

2019 master list

My master list for every season of 2020 anime

New Shows!

*The God of High School: An over the top action anime consisting of one big tournament arc! It follows a group of teenagers competing in the epic “god of high school” martial arts tournament to determine the best fighter in the country. Following in the footsteps of Tower of God, this is the newest “crunchyroll original” that is being adapted from a South Korean webcomic. You can tell from the first episode that this will be a spectacle with crazy characters and lots of wild action and humor!

Great Pretender: When a Japanese con man pickpockets the wrong person, he ends up hopping on a plane to Los Angeles and getting wrapped up in a scheme with a sassy Frenchman named Laurent...who basically runs the mafia. There’s humor, there’s plot, there’s great characters, and it’s kinda gay. It’s an exciting original anime from studio Wit, so the animation is bursting with character, and both the music and the general vibe remind me a lot of Baccano or even Lupin III. And since it takes place in America with several foreign characters, there's hilarious English and accent shenanigans abound! The bad news is it’s still in Netflix jail, so if you want to watch it legally you’re kinda stuck for now. 

Japan Sinks 2020: A giant earthquake hits Japan, and a family must cope with the mayhem together. Because what the hell else could possibly go wrong this year? This is a new series (based on a novel) made by Masaaki Yuasa, the guy behind Ride Your Wave and Walk On Girl, if that tells you anything about the style of this anime. I’ve only watched the first two episodes so far, but I heard it goes from being a gripping realistic disaster series to a balls to the wall adventure. To be honest, disaster shows/movies freak me out, and this one is pretty devastating so far, which is a testament to how well it's made. But I appreciate that they include glimmers of hope when they’re needed. The best moments are the quiet ones that focus on the actual people and the narration that juxtaposes the time periods. There’s so much atmosphere, and the music really enhances the experience. And it’s all out on Netflix now, with a dub and a sub!

Deca-Dence: When humanity has been pushed to the edge of extinction by monsters called the Gadoll, the rest of civilization is forced to live in enormous mobile fortresses and send groups out to battle the unknown monsters. So basically like Mortal Engines but the fortresses can turn themselves into giant fists and punch the monsters. We follow a girl named Natsume who wants to be one of the soldiers who fight the Gadoll, but she is constantly rejected because of her prosthetic arm. So she ends up with five years of cleaning duty supervised by a stern but mysterious badass named Kaburagi. I honestly don’t care at all about the plot of the anime, because for me the characters are what drives everything, and these character dynamics are great. I’m not going to say it’s the most original story, but I think it’s fun so far. 

*Rent-a-Girlfriend: A typical harem/romance anime that follows the world’s most annoying protagonist named Kazuya. After Kazuya is dumped by his first girlfriend, he seeks out a rental girlfriend out of self pity….BECAUSE APPARENTLY THAT’S A REAL SERVICE THAT EXISTS IN JAPAN?! Like you can actually rent moms/dads/girlfriends/boyfriends and so on. Anyway, his fake girlfriend is the picture of anime waifu perfection...until Kazuya starts being his typical asshole self and she reveals her true nature of being an absolute sass master who don’t take no shit from no boring ass main character. Shenanigans happen and the two of them end up having to pretend they are in a real relationship. And I’m just calling it now...Kazuya’s grandma is the real best girl of the series. If you want a harem that’s actually funny and doesn’t mind roasting the protagonist, give this one a shot. Although I wish this were just a straight up romance instead of a harem because there is no way in hell that any girl, let alone more than one would want actually to date this guy. 

Next Seasons and Continuations!

*Fruits Basket 2019 (Season 2): Thank goodness Fruits Basket wasn’t delayed or cancelled last season because sometimes I feel like it was the only thing getting me through the spring. I’ve ranted about how good it is enough by now. If it can’t brighten your year, then nothing will. Just watch it if you haven’t already. 

*Re:ZERO-Starting Life in Another World (Season 2): Subaru is still trapped in another world, and he’s still as angsty as ever, but that’s not going to stop him from constantly putting himself through hell when he keeps dying horribly every time he needs to reset the timeline! There are mysterious new villains, nobody knows who Rem is (again) and I think there’s a plot somewhere under all the suffer porn. Seriously though, this show is pretty cool (even if I was two years late to the party). It’s one of the most interesting isekai anime I’ve ever seen, and it feels like it’s acting as a deconstruction of the genre, kinda like how Madoka Magica is for magical girl anime...both shows certainly have enough crying. The story is weird but interesting, the world building is cool, the villains (and sometimes the heroes) are batshit crazy to watch, and I like its moments of humor. 

No Guns Life (season 2): The story of Juzo, the hard boiled detective who plays by his own rules continues in the second season of No Guns Life. In case you missed the first season, this is a mystery/action anime that feels like an old noir film had a cyberpunk baby. There’s underground conspiracies, there’s interesting side characters, and...oh yeah the main character has a gun for a head. That’s right. we came to see a bara detective with a literal gun for a face, but we stayed for the world building and mysterious plots!

*Fire Force (Season 2): I’m going to be honest here, I really didn’t know if I should include this one or not. I have a major love hate relationship with Fire Force, but I figured there may be other people out there who would like it more than I do. So in case you missed the first season, this show follows a group of firefighters who puts out fires caused by spontaneous combustion using a mixture of guns and super powers. It was created by Atsushi Ōkubo, aka the guy who made Soul Eater. So it’s bound to be amazing right?

Not necessarily. Strap in for this one lads. 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed with this show overall. Its main characters just aren’t that interesting most of the time, it can’t decide on what kind of show it wants to be, and so much of it just dragged for a good part of the series. I don’t know if it was a problem of pacing or if the plot was just that uninteresting for a while. The first couple episodes set up a very unique plot, filled with intriguing moral dilemmas. And then it proceeded to abandon everything interesting in favor of badly timed fan-service. It just couldn’t strike the balance that Soul Eater had between its humor and its sincerity. If they wanted to make an ecchi show, they should have just made one instead of inserting the same overplayed scenarios into every episode. I don’t care if a show has fan-service as long as it fits the tone, or if it only has certain episodes dedicated to playing up the humor. But Fire Force has a habit of just inserting it wherever it wants regardless of what’s actually happening in the episode. Also, some of the humor revolves around one of the main female characters who has a really messed up self image because she’s slightly more muscular, and not a tiny delicate flower like some of the other girls. Not going to pretend that doesn’t bug me. 

But that doesn’t mean there is nothing good about it! If there wasn’t, I wouldn’t have finished the first season, and I wouldn’t be including this one. So far, the second season has actually been funny because it made the first episode more like filler, instead of cramming in too much plot all at once. And to the surprise of no one, the animation is absolutely god tier. I wish it was being used for something other than clumsy fan-service, but it’s still really something to see. The world building is super creative and 100% my aesthetic, and there were a couple side characters I really loved later in the series (Benimaru). And I did like the twists and turns the series took later in the season when it actually focused on the conspiracy behind the fire force and the cult. When it follows the mysteries it sets up, it’s more fun to watch. Who would have thought? 

TLDR: There’s good stuff and there’s bad stuff. This show is really something you have to watch for yourself to decide if it’s going to be worth it. I’m going to at least try the second season, because I want to see where this goes, but it’s on thin ice. 

Honorable Mentions

Isekai edition! Both of these came out last season, but I hadn’t mentioned them when I made my spring list. But they’re both getting dubs now so I’m still counting them.

*My Next Life as a Villainess- All Routes Lead to Doom!: A twist on the isekai genre where our main protagonist wakes up as a character in her favorite otome game...only to find that she’s actually the bitchy rival side character who ends up either dead or exiled in every route of the game. So naturally she does everything she can to prevent this by becoming a sweet and caring supporting character...who inadvertently makes every single other character in the game fall in love with her. I ignored this show for the first few episodes because I need another isekai in the world like I need a hole in the head, but after hearing everyone rave about it, I caught up with it in no time. It’s a fun take on the otome game tropes, and it manages to be funny and sweet while not committing to any particular pairing.

*Ascendance of a Bookworm (Season 2): That’s right, it’s another isekai where an adult is reincarnated into the body of a child in a fantasy world. But this time, it’s a nerdy girl whose entire purpose in life revolves around reading books (can relate). However, when our main character Mine is thrust into this fantasy world, she quickly realizes that this particular fantasy setting is a little too...medieval  for her tastes...meaning a family of commoners like hers would have no clue how to read and books are only meant for rich people or the church. So of course Mine has to figure out how to either get her hands on some books or make them herself. This is a super cute show that I waited a long time to finally watch, and since the second season is finally being dubbed I wanted to shout it out. It’s just a wholesome isekai version of Dr. Stone. There’s no real action, but it’s a relaxing watch if nothing else. 

Well, there you have it. Hopefully nothing else gets delayed or cancelled because it’s pretty slim pickings as it is. And before anyone asks, I didn’t include GIBIATE because I thought it was a massive disappointment that somehow made a time travel horror anime plot boring. There’s also My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu, but it’s been 5 years since I watched the other seasons and don’t remember anything about it. But there’s that too in case anyone is a fan of the series and didn’t know it got another season. 

See you next season…if the world is still here by then?

[aion-rsa]

How Power Rangers Dino Fury Finally Embraced The Franchises Continuity

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Warning: This article contains POWER RANGERS DINO FURY episode eight spoilers.

For the better part of 20 years Power Rangers has actively resisted a strict continuity. Sure it would drop a reference here or there but most of the time the show was content to keep its season closed off from one another. When we did get references or connections to the past they were often throw away at best and actively contradictory at worst. Sure we had a few great callbacks like Dr. K’s return in Beast Morphers but on the whole, attempts at continuity were few and far between and rarely successful. However when Power Rangers’ newest season, Dino Fury, premiered something was very different. The first episode brought back the Morphin Masters, a group of characters that hadn’t been seen in the show since its first season but were intensely speculated on by fans. Unlike many other attempts at continuity this one felt thought out, a way of expanding the Power Rangers lore and providing a way for fans to connect past seasons. It didn’t contradict anything, it actually made a few seasons connections to the wider Power Rangers universe easier to understand. If that’s all Dino Fury had done, that would have been a big win… but it didn’t stop there. In Dino Fury’s second episode we were introduced to J-Borg, a robot comic relief sidekick, who was shipped to BuzzBlast in a box from Hartford Industries. If you don’t remember, Andrew Hartford was a main character in Power Rangers Operation Overdrive who created a robot son, Mack, who became the Red Ranger. He also owned Hartford Industries, so it’s more than possible he continued to make robots!  The episode didn’t make a huge deal out of it but if you were looking you’d see it. Another great reference.

Then the eighth episode of Dino Fury aired and they really stepped up the continuity. We not only get the return of Mick, a main character from Ninja Steel, but an actual explanation for that season’s main power source, the Nexus Prism. The Prism in Ninja Steel was a frustrating macguffin, a source of seemingly endless power and abilities. Here though we finally get some explanation of its origins… and it was created by the Morphin Masters! In an incredible sequence where Red Ranger Zayto reads the mind of the Prism (which also helps to flesh out its semi sentience) and we get a flashback of its creation. We learn that deep in the past the Morphin Masters created mystic artifacts to power teams of Rangers. They not only created the Nexus Prism.. but also the Dino Gems (the power source of the Dino Thunder Rangers) and the Energems (the power source of the Dino Charge Rangers.) This is a mind-blowing revelation that helps to not only establish the origins of these powers but tie them back into the Morphin Grid, a source of many teams powers. Power Rangers has sometimes been vague about which teams tap into the grid and which ones don’t, but here we get full confirmation of the Morphin Masters involvement in creating these specific powers. It also gives them a more concrete origin. Before now the Dino Gems were simply salvaged from the asteroid that wiped out all dinosaurs on Earth. The Energems were simply created far in the past.

It also stands to reason that other power sources for past Ranger teams were created by the Masters to. Dino Fury smartly doesn’t try to broadly say the Masters created EVERY power source, but it did choose two that had vague origins. It gives enough concrete information that lines up with the past to help fans connect the dots for the rest if they so choose.

We also learn that the Masters have been observing past Ranger teams, though for what purposes outside of being vaguely mystical we don’t know. However, we do learn the Nexus Prism has a new mission on Earth… but we don’t know what it’s doing. It’s an intriguing mystery, one we can only hope will help tie together more lore from Power Rangers’ past.

The way Zayto connects with the Nexus Prism is also heavily reminiscent of the now obscure Power Rangers Dino Thunder special ‘Before it Began’ that was available on that season’s DVDs. There, Blue and Yellow Rangers Ethan and Kira came across a rock that seemed to be an embodiment of the Morphin Grid itself (though this was left somewhat vague.) In the special, the Morphin Grid asks the Rangers to import their knowledge,which leads to flashbacks to several Dino Thunder scenes. It was a strange DVD special at the time that didn’t make a lot of sense… until now.

Mick brings along the “Legendary Ranger Database” which is established to have a connection to the Morphin Grid. This helps to explain that rock in ‘Before it Began,” albeit not directly. It gives fans enough ground to comfortably infer that teams directly input their memories into the database via the Morphin Grid, as seen in ‘Before it Began.’ Perhaps this also explains how Tommy knew so much about past Ranger teams in Dino Thunder. It for makes the Ranger Database Noah had access to in Super Megaforce make much more sense.

This episode is a treasure trove for fans, giving them a ton of lore to play with and helps to make the Power Rangers universe feel more connected. One of the things that made Power Rangers so beloved in its early years was its interconnected continuity. Sure it wasn’t perfect but it made the franchise special, it rewarded you for watching. It was doing a rough pass at what the MCU is now celebrated for!

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It’s exciting to see Power Rangers smartly play with its own continuity again. Longtime fans get something for them but more importantly it gives younger viewers some incentive to check out past seasons (and of course buy toys based on them.) In the age of streaming and home media this is a smart move on the franchise’s part and we can’t wait to see what else Dino Fury has in store when it returns from its hiatus. I

This season has been a solid entry in the franchise so far. All these continuity references are great but they wouldn’t mean much if the show itself wasn’t enjoyable on its own. If you haven’t watched Dino Fury, now’s the time.

The post How Power Rangers Dino Fury Finally Embraced The Franchises Continuity appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

AUGUST PICKS!

And we’re back with another month wrap up! August involved a lot of TV watching (as per usual), but I feel like I watched a lot of things I’ve already talked about before (ex: The 100, Violetta). So it was a little bit harder to feature some new titles. I felt accomplished this month because I finished quite a few series. So, without further ado...let’s do this!

Spoilers!! But you knew that already :) 

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So I know I’ve spoken about some of these shows A LOT recently, but I still had to include them in this wrap up because they were a good amount of the month. (Even if they feel like they were so long ago.) 

CURSED

This book to screen adaptation on Netflix following Nimue (AKA the Lady of the Lake) re-invents the King Arthur myth. It was an entertaining and enjoyable watch that makes me hope there’s a second season. There were certain parts that bothered me and I wish some characters had more time on screen, but as someone who likes King Arthur and fantasy TV I’d recommend it. 3/5 for me. 

For more on my thoughts regarding the show check out my earlier post: **Spoilers** Featuring Cursed

DC’S STARGIRL

A show that I’ve often been documenting my reviews/feelings after watching each episode. (That’s how you can tell IT’S THAT GOOD.) While it was a bit slow in the beginning (mainly because of it having the quality of being on a streaming service-ending on a cliffhanger for you to binge the next episode immediately kind of feel), it picked up and has easily become one of my favorites for the year. (YEAH...I KNOW. I SAID YEAR.) You can check out my page for more specific reactions in my posts, but here are some of the moments that stick out to me the most when I think about season 1.  

I can’t wait for season 2!!

AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER

June doesn’t feel like that long ago, but because I started season 1 two months ago (and because of the world of quarantine) it feels like a long time ago. Especially when this show is only 18-20 episodes that are each about 20/25 minutes. For me, I enjoyed season 1, but not as much as seasons 2 and 3. I definitely watched the first season slower because of this. Once the Ba Sing Se plot happened I was very invested. I enjoyed most of Book 2 in the Earth Kingdom before this, but Ba Sing Se was definitely the best. I was so impressed that they put that into a kid show. Then again, there’s so much in this show that is well done and brings up such relevant issues to a younger audience. I loved following Aang, Katara and Sakka and enjoyed Toph’s addition to Team Avatar. Overall I think Uncle Iroh is my favorite character in the show. I loved all the wisdom he had and how he saw the best in Zuko the entire time. Their team up was great and I am so happy he got his tea shop in the end. His escape from prison was amazing. I love a good redemption arc and from the start was excited to see Prince Zuko’s (it’s one of the ‘spoilers’ I knew going in). I think it was really well done and I liked how they showed him struggling with it. The last agni kai between Zuko and Azula was such a beautiful scene and the music score behind it was so chilling. I love how they chose a slow, instrumental song to play in the background. It’s not what I was expecting and it was such an awesome choice. Overall, I really liked the music and have added it to my writing playlist. I’m really glad I decided to watch Avatar the Last Airbender. 

From one binged show starting in June to another....

VIOLETTA SEASON 2

It’s crazy; you don’t think 80 episodes would go by that fast, but they do. Once you hit episode 50, I just zip by the rest in the season. So many of the plots get SO GOOD, you can’t help but watch so many episodes back to back (to back). For season 2, episode 75 was one of my favorites for the whole season. I love how some of the cast actually got to go to Madrid. (Even the intro music changed when they were there.) Diego really grew on me. I loved the added plot of discovering who his dad is! Feels very telenovela. Gregorio’s reaction was priceless-such great acting-and I loved how much it has changed his character so far. I’m excited to see where he is headed for season 3. 

Leonetta forever! The reason they weren’t together was a bit weak, but I get they needed the love triangle. Overall the Leon/Violetta/Diego love triangle was a lot stronger than season 1′s (in my opinion). It felt better developed. I enjoyed a lot of the couples this season. Frederico and Ludi are a pair I didn’t know I wanted till it happened. Olga and Ramallo actually got a kiss!!! I loved hearing Ramallo talk about how Olga is the only woman in his life. So rare to see such emotions from him. Fran and Leon’s friendship was adorable. I loved their moments in Madrid. She was their #1 shipper. I know in the beginning I said there wasn’t a lot of music and performances, but as the season progressed we definitely got a lot of new songs (which I cannot stop singing). I miss my time at the Studio and hope the third season will be streaming on Disney Plus soon. I heard it could be September 18th so fingers crossed!! 

THE INBESTIGATORS

Filling the void that was left by Little Lunch (and produced by the same studio) is the InBESTigators! A show that follows 4 elementary students who live in Australia and solve mysteries. One of the things I really loved about Little Lunch was how serious they made really trivial, kid-like things sound. I have often described it as an Office-like children’s show, where they talk about their problems directly to the camera and give several ‘Jim’ stares and glances to the camera. With the InBESTigators it’s a similar set up where our four sleuths, Ezra, Maudie, Ava and Kyle, relay a mystery they solved directly to us the viewer, while we watch in flashback. All of the mysteries are typical things that could happen in school or home; from overwatering a neighbor’s prize-winning flowers, packages getting stolen, a lost notebook or catching a cheater during a test. All of the kids are entertaining and funny. They each have a different dynamic that brings something to the team. Currently two of the seasons are on Netflix, and there will be a third season (but who knows when it will be filmed-I’m just happy it will eventually happen). 

If you’re looking for a fun/light-hearted watch look no further. You’ll have a good time. 

UNITED WE FALL

This ABC sitcom fits well on the network and like it would be on Friday nights, but has a stronger day in airing thanks to the pandemic. I hadn’t really heard much about the show and then BAM it was advertised. It felt like the network had it in its back pocket. Nevertheless, I am really enjoying it. The actors have a nice dynamic and it is very funny and relatable. I like how it represents a family with two different cultural backgrounds, but doesn’t make that the main focus of the show. Instead it is discussed naturally. Overall, I don’t know how many people know about it, so I wanted to share it as one of my picks for the month and suggest you watch it if you are looking for something both funny and optimistic. 

DOUBLING DOWN WITH THE DERRICOS

I LOVE this family! As TLC is a network with predictable choices in TV shows, one about a family with multiples does not seem shocking. However, this is not your average family with multiples. At the start of the show, Karen and Deon have a total of 11 children (with only two of them being what they called ‘singletons’). They have twins, quints, and another set of twins (that would have been triplets). Her last three pregnancies were multiples and then she becomes pregnant with triplets. AGAIN! This family is considered a miracle because she had no IVF or anything like that for her conceptions. I love watching them because they seem like a great group to be apart of. They are what the epitome of family should be like. There is so much love. I know when my family watches the show we are all so impressed by how well behaved all of the kids are. People with half the amount of kids often have trouble teaching them to behave. I highly suggest giving the Derricos a watch. New episodes are now airing on TLC. 

SOME LAST MINUTE ADDS....

I know Ben Platt’s concert has been available on Netflix for a while now, but I just got the chance to watch it this month. It was SOOO GOOD and I was upset when it was over. It felt so fast! I had already added a lot of his songs to my playlists, and after watching added the last few I had missed. Now I’ve been listening non-stop. I loved how his concert welcomed us so much into his personal life. The added stories in-between songs helped to see why he created that specific one. Watching the concert was a fun time and something you should consider if you are feeling down during quarantine. 

Every Saturday night we try to watch a movie while we eat dinner. It’s become a new tradition since quarantine began and we were unable to go out to eat or to the movies. This week Jojo Rabbit was the pick. Going into the film, I didn’t know much expect, but that it was a comedy and I assumed a satire. What I didn’t expect was how dark of a turn it would take. It’s amazing how a film can have you laughing uncontrollably at the start and then have you crying at the end. This is definitely a film I could see analyzing in a film studies class. There was so much foreshadowing and moments where so much more was going on then what was shown on the surface. I think it did a great job making the viewer think not only about the time in which it was supposed to take place, but also our current world. I know it’s a good movie when it still has me thinking about it days later. I even did some research into it after watching. Definitely can understand the hype about it and will watch it again in the future. 

When I was putting this list together I was just starting to watch Umbrella Academy. I know, I’m late to the party, but with the newest season coming out this summer I knew it was now or never. (I just had to finish some of the other stuff I was watching first.) Currently, I only have 1 episode left in the first season and am really enjoying it. I was pretty good about spoilers going into it, so a lot of it was new to me. I made some theories on who I thought would be the cause of the apocalypse and so far I am right. I am very interested to see how this season ends and get into the next one because I heard that the majority of people liked that one more. I’ll have a more detailed review in my September Picks, I’m sure of it!  

[marcazoshop]

I Am A Simple Woman Dog Paw Flip-Flop Wine Trucker T-Shirt

This photo is from way back in ’98 at my first headline nyc show at tramp’s before the start of this very wild ride with the slim shady lp with jimmy and dr dre definitely a I Am A Simple Woman Dog Paw Flip-Flop Wine Trucker T-Shirt special time I looked back on after watching the premiere of thedefiantones in la the series starts on hbo tomorrow night also be on the lookout for this limited merch to celebrate the premiere. ️ ️ ️ ️ ️ no one has to know your age unless you want to share says fan linda about her eye lift pro experience what else gives you a lift our vote goes to chocolate chip cookies comment below your avon representative is ready to come 2therescue with your eye lift pro. Playing the super bowl last year was indescribable it changed my life so excited to see what justin s going to do I know it will be amazing sb52 superbowl superbowl52

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Premium Trending This Summer Season will Presents Who Love:

Today in 2000 the I Am A Simple Woman Dog Paw Flip-Flop Wine Trucker T-Shirt it s gonna be me video made its world premiere on total request live with 28 days at no 1 it was the summer s most requested video. Limited edition and fresh picked for spring meet the newest honest diaper collection available now exclusively for subscribers update your bundle or get started here. So this is going to be a bit long but bear with me I had what I believe to be a pointless and incredibly frustrating experience with the assistant manager jamie at your auburn hills great lakes crossing location today I have been coming here for three years I frequent your orlando san marcos and new jersey locations as well at least once a year when we stop we usually spend 5 to 10 thousand dollars on your products the system is simple I go in park in a corner and bring bins to my corner sort them bag them move them to the front register and repeat today I brought a personal duffel bag as it holds about 8 to 12 of your bags worth of stuff I get told that i’m not allowed to use it because it’s policy not a big deal at all I say okay i’ll do that for the rest rather than rebag all of this i’ll just go up in line and pay for it and it can sit behind the counter seems pretty reasonable to me nope I got obstructed suggested that I might be stealing something and not allowed to pass stating if I don’t want to follow the system I can leave he then takes my entire duffel dumps it onto the floor and then rebags it into victoria secret bags then moves it to the front counter so it can be rang in I thought this was a little odd but hey he was doing all the work rebagging it so whatever i’m like dude i’m going to be spending about 8k today all I want to do is come in spend some money get out without any drama what’s the problem whoevers in charge should be thrilled with a sale like this we’re spending 8k keep in mind that I told him that I would do what he wanted and it wasnt’ a big deal and the response was to the effect of stop being lippy and just listen I told him what do you want from me I just agreed with you and said I would use your bags i’m not being lippy at all I know this because I said okay dude not a problem i’ll use your bags his response was maybe if you get to buy it i’m like what are you suggesting that an 8 000 order is something you guys don’t want he’s like yeah if you buy it i’m like dude we are spending 8k today why would I bag up a bunch of stuff and spend 2 3 hours picking our your fabulous product to not buy it anyway so I had 4 credit cards one card had 2 000 one had 3500 one had 2000 and one had 1000 because I am buying for multiple people I had 4 different cards all in my name I wanted one receipt for each card not a big deal to me right wrong again he cited some policy and said if the order is more than 750 items that they aren’t allowed to ring in under 750 items on any one receipt id like to point out that that amount is higher than your employees said they could take as a cash payment I asked him to please show me that I would understand better if I could just read it he was willing to do so he brought out the policy book and to my surprise what it actually said was words to the afffect of cash payments cannot be split up or over 750 items I forget the second half my immediate reply was so what’s the big deal im using credit not cash he snatched the policy book away from me at that point and said you know what you can just listen to me or I don’t have to let you buy anything it’s up to my discretion I then called your orlando outlet and your new jersey outlet and talked to the store managers and cited your policy I was given I asked them to confirm if that was accurate and both said if it was a policy it was news to them I then asked if they would let me buy my order using 4 cards and 4 receipts the woman at orlando said oh my gosh yes we do that every single day I asked if I went to her store if I would have any trouble with this in the future and was told no then she said you can always come down here if you’re in the area and i’ll be happy to take your order after that phone call I tried again here’s the video of that attempt I said listen I have 4 credit cards your register girl said you told her she can’t ring up an order under 750 items that’s 3500 if it’s 5 items not all of my cards have that much I have done multiple receipts every time I came here heck I can even supply them to show it he tells me that because I am order so many items that I can’t have less tan 750 items per receipt so I point around to everyone else and ask what about everyone else you aren’t forcing them to spend a minimum of 750 items what about the final charge i’ll have 750 items for two tickets but the leftover isn’t going to be 750 items you’re not going to let me buy them he shrugged his shoulders to say no at this point I haven’t yelled ive been a bit snarky and sarcastic because I know he’s just giving me a hard time two people ring in our order almost every time I am up there and we were there 3 times in the last 6 months spent a bunch each time so at 730 8pm or so we are done shopping assuming that two people could ring us up ended up being a fantasy he forced one employee only to ring us up later on he comes up when its now close to 9pm and says hey you mind if we ring you up on both registers I chuckle and say no I don’t but you do you don’t want to be breaking that 750 rule do you he glared at me and then sent the employee away and walked off after blinking a few times I laugh because after telling me over and over he couldn’t do it he just got caught trying to do what should have been done to begin with a short while later after 9 I find out that everyone is standing uip front except for the one girl and another associate because none of the rest of them are allowed to help her ring us up the only two people left in the store with about 700 more items to be rang in if that’s not enough since it was a holidy all of these employees are apparently being paid overtime to stand around and wait at a bit after 10 all but two girls leave and one girl is waiting to count cash while the other girl sits and keeps ringing stuff in we apologize profusely we expected two employees to ring us up like always and timed our visit to be out around 9 if this had happened instead of having one literally stand there and watch her for 1 hour and 47 minutes after close we would have all been out on time and no overtime or extra hours spent so finally at 10 47 pm our orders are done we thank the lovely girl lauren and jasmine who got stuck staying 2 hours past close because a manager made up some random policy and had to double down when I pointed out he really needed to follow that 750 rule when he was going to toss another girl on the register if this is policy fine it doesn’t seem to be no manager at your other outlets knew what he was talking about the orlando one insisted that the only restrictions are on cash payments and verified I was paying cash or credit it’s a pretty humiliating experience to get hassled trying to buy panties and bras by someone who’s on some type of power trip the only thing I said sideways to him was that I flat out didn’t believe his policy and that credit absolutely is not the same as cash I didnt call him any names scream at him or did anything to disrupt the store beyond what you see in the videos if this is not policy i’d like an apology from that manager in person or over the phone admitting he was mistaken I would hope that the next time I go there I am not hassled but if not I guess there’s always orlando or new jersey who seem to be quite friendly I also want to give recognition to jasmine and lauren lauren is the poor soul who got stuck ringing everything in alone because of the manager’s silly rule and not allowing anyone to help because it would be in violation of the 750 item rule jasmine was the cash counter who had to wait until we were out of the store to count cash even more interesting is that I had a former employee with me helping me buy and she said she never heard of this policy either but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t added since she left she was just as confused because the manager spent over 30 minutes trying to explain and defend this when that time certainly would have been more efficiently spent doing productive things instead of hassling someone who literally sits in a corner and speaks to no one while sorting through your products one bin at a time id love a call back about this or to find out what exactly is going on ive never been hassled like this before and it was a little frustrating and very trying to keep my cool joe rossetti alexandria gunn See Other related products: I Am A Simple Woman Dog Paw Flip-Flop Wine Trucker T-Shirt

[thesevenseraphs]

Bungie Weekly Update - 10/10/19

This week at Bungie, the hunt is on.

Heroic Nightmare Hunts went live this week. Guardians must confront familiar foes from their past along with powerful Champions who will become more challenging over the next few weeks as the additional difficulties unlock. Keep a look out as new Nightmares emerge for the Legend and Master hunts.

That wasn’t the only event that started up this week. The Vex didn’t take too kindly to us venturing into the Black Garden. They have begun their own invasion and can be found mobilizing on the Moon. Fight off the Vex in our new six-player activity, the Vex Offensive. It’s available now for all Season Pass owners.

TOO HEAVY

Earlier this week, we issued a server-side change to reduce the amount of Heavy ammo spawning in the Crucible. The change affected Control, Clash, and Supremacy. We also have Heavy ammo changes planned for 3v3 Survival in a future update. You can read the full details here.

That wasn’t the only quick reaction we made to the Crucible environment this week. We also issued a server-side change that affected matchmaking in 3v3 Survival. You can read about the change here.

Experimentation with the 3v3 Elimination game mode is ongoing in the Crucible Labs. The first settings we deployed saw Heavy ammo spawning 90 seconds into every round. Revive tokens were also enabled. There was a bug causing Heavy ammo to spawn in instantly, but we were able to get that fixed with a server change. This week, these settings were slightly adjusted. Instead of receiving revive tokens, players can revive as many times as they are able—but the revive timer grows longer each time a player goes down.

Two additional configurations will be introduced in the weeks to come. Our plan is to gather feedback on what you like the best. If you played Elimination back in D1, next week’s settings might be familiar to you.

IRON BANNER

Lord Saladin is about to make his first appearance in Season of the Undying. The great fires of the Iron Banner will burn again as Guardians face off against each other for bragging rights and new rewards.

Iron Banner and Valor Bonus

Start: 10 AM PDT on October 15

End: 10 AM PDT on October 22

This season, willing combatants have a chance to earn the new Iron Will armor set. Here is a look at what you stand to gain in battle.

The way you earn rewards in Iron Banner is changing this Season:

There is a new Seasonal pursuit, which must be completed prior to being able to turn in tokens to purchase packages from Lord Saladin

This pursuit is character based and rewards the new S8 armor set

Each step of the pursuit awards Iron Banner weapons or armor

Most of the objectives within the pursuit track progress at any point during Season of the Undying, even if you have not yet acquired the pursuit

Until the Seasonal pursuit has been completed, all rewards will be obtained from completing matches and bounties

All rewards are weapons until the Seasonal pursuit is complete

The existing seven bounties that offered powerful rewards have been adjusted to offer pinnacle rewards (960 Power max,) but only four are available per event

We are tracking a bug in which the four bounties offered as pinnacle rewards rotate each day allowing more than four to be completed during a single event

Because Iron Banner has its own version of Control, the Heavy ammo spawning changes we made early this week will not be reflected in this Iron Banner. We are planning to make this change in a future update before the next event.

Now go control those zones!

FIRST TO FINISH

Last Saturday, the race began to complete “Garden of Salvation,” the newest Destiny 2 raid. As is tradition, players prepared the best they could and waited at the starting line to see if they could rise above the rest and finish first. We watched on as fireteams fought their way through the mysterious Black Garden. Reaching the final boss was only the beginning, as several teams all stacked up and began to try to put the pieces together and be the first to take it down. In the end, Clan Ascend emerged victorious, finishing an astonishing 2 minutes before the second team. We asked them to share a bit about their experience.

Congratulations on being World First for Garden of Salvation! Tell us a little about your clan.

Ascend: Our clan was built with the intention of going hardcore on Destiny 2’s raids! We were founded back in Forsaken, a month before “Scourge of the Past’ was about to go live.

Since then, we have been doing speed runs, World First attempts, as well as low man and low Light challenges. Our ritual was to do a lot of the previous raids under leveled while making sure we focus on executing the mechanics as smoothly as possible! We have achieved a 4th spot on “Scourge of the Past,” a 9th spot on “Crown of Sorrow” and now finally we have gotten our World First that we have been putting so much effort in together! The clan is trying to focus on a very small community that enjoys playing and interacting with each other so we can push each other further than we would have gotten before and ascend together to the top!

Practice how you play. That’s smart. What were some of your favorite moments during the raid?

Ascend: First of all, the STUNNING scenery. Honestly, this raid is so beautiful! The tether mechanic was awesome, even though it got hectic at times. Figuring out encounters together as a team is always fun, and then executing them with as little deaths as possible is just always a great time!

Anything else you would like to say as a team?

Ascend: Thanks to everyone for stopping by and giving us some love after the clear! Thanks to all the big streamers that we look up to who came to spread the love. Thanks for all the compliments that we have gotten. It's honestly still unbelievable that we have achieved this—especially because it was such a super close and intense race with Reality... And of course, thank you Bungie for making these races possible!

Congratulations to Ascend on the World First victory. We also want to congratulate all of the teams who showed up make an attempt and all of the teams who have been able to clear the raid thus far.

Need help getting the most out of your lunar excursions? Player Support has the info you need.

This is their report.

DESTINY 2 HOTFIX 2.6.0.3

This week, we deployed Destiny 2 Hotfix 2.6.0.3 to players on all platforms. This hotfix targeted an emergent issue where players participating in equipment-locked activities would not receive the Gate Lord’s Eye artifact when claiming it at Season Rank 7.

As with all updates and hotfixes, players should follow @BungieHelp on Twitter or monitor our support feed on help.bungie.net for the latest details as soon as they are available.

DID YOU KNOW?

Help.bungie.net hosts more than just a feed of support messages from Bungie. It is the landing page of our knowledgebase archive, where players can search key terms to find official documentation from Destiny Player Support. Additionally, it features a tile board of linked images which directs players to support content for immediately relevant Destiny releases.

Are you new to Destiny 2? Check out our New Player Guide and Destiny 2 Guided Support.Jumping in for Shadowkeep? See our support resources for Shadowkeep and Season of the Undying.Getting set up on Steam? Visit our Destiny 2 PC Guide and PC Move support pages.

DESTINY 2 KNOWN ISSUES

In addition to the support resources above, Destiny Player Support monitors player reports on our local #Help forum and tallies the latest issues into our Known Issues thread. Listed below is a selection of issues that have been reported by players:

Players may encounter crashes in the Gofannon Forge.

“The Enhance!” EDZ quest is no longer available to veteran characters.

The “Exodus Black” Nessus quest cannot be reclaimed if abandoned.

Some players who created a new character right before October 1 will be at 0 Power when logging in. To resolve this, players will need to delete their affected character and create a new one.

The “Show Me What You Got” Achievement/Trophy can no longer be unlocked on characters created prior to Shadowkeep. This can only be unlocked by creating a new character and proceeding through the New Light experience.

The perks for Lunafaction Boots do not describe their updated functionality.

The “Scan Patrol” Triumph won’t gain progress if scans are completed in the Chasm area on the Moon.

Additionally, investigations are ongoing for issues reported by players attempting to perform PC migration. Since launch, we have deployed several updates to Bungie.net and encourage all affected players to try again . As always, players who encounter issues are encouraged to report them to our #Help forum.

[eternityunicorn]

Love is Madness - Part One

Author: eternityunicorn 

Genre: Romance/Drama/AU

Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x OC

Warnings: Eventual Smut (*Smut chapters marked +18)

Summary: AU of an AU: Elijah and Eternity had been lovers centuries ago, in a brief but profound love affair that ended terribly when Eternity had betrayed Elijah by choosing duty over the heart and nearly killing him along with his siblings. Now in present day, they find themselves forced together by dire circumstances that have intertwined their paths once more, but what will become of them when it becomes clear that their love for each other is still as profound now as it had been all those centuries ago?

NOTE: OC and original elements are from my up and coming novel series! This first chapter is based off of TO Season 2, Episode 17. Welcome to my newest story and happy reading!

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There was an awkward tension in the air as the guests of Josephine LaRue stood around waiting for the elderly witch to make an appearance. Two of the three women and the one man all looked at each other with an unbearable uncomfortableness that was evident upon each face. The other female looked on with subtle amusement at the situation. Nobody spoke, only fidgeted and smiled politely whenever their eyes met another’s.

Elijah Mikaelson had to wonder just how in the hell had he gotten here, standing in a room with not one ex, but two, and his current flame. 

Hayley stood next to him with her arms folded across her chest and she danced on her feet slightly from the tension in the air. They used to be lovers, but she had moved on with Niklaus ages ago for the sake of Hope. Yet, there was still some left over feelings from their own love affair that made one on one interactions painfully awkward. Because of the remnant of mutual romantic feelings, Elijah had chosen to move out of the Mikaelson compound, as to not cause issues with the relationship between Niklaus and Hayley.

Then there was his current lover, Gia, a vampire like himself, of whom he also mentored as she was new to the vampire world. She was a sweet young woman, with whom he found great enjoyment with, despite the fact he knew for certain that their romance wasn’t the type to last forever. It would one day fizzle and die one way or another, but for now, he was happy with his beautiful violinist, content to enjoy whatever time they had together.

Finally, there was a lover from the distant past, one that he had thought he’d never see again. Her name was Eternity. She was an ethereal beauty from beyond the stars, a powerful immortal unlike anyone he had ever met before or would ever again. She currently stood across from Gia, watching the others quietly with a small amused grin upon her lips.

She was a pale goddess with long, flowing white hair that rippled like ocean waves all around her and sapphire eyes that held a wisdom that nobody on Earth possessed. Her rose pink lips were plush and her face was childlike - youthful despite her three thousand years of life. She was small, smaller than both Hayley and Gia, but she was certainly stronger, more powerful than all of them put together - and then some. Her small, innocent, childlike form was just a front for the deadly otherworldly being she truly was. 

Elijah had met Eternity a hundred and a half years ago by chance, after she had confronted him in the middle of a brutal feeding with her yumi bow pointed right at him. She had been ready to kill him to save the innocent person he feasted upon. However, for whatever reason, she had spared him in the end, having hesitated instead of immediately striking his down per protocol. 

From there, they had a few more by chance meetings, filled with slight flirtatious banter, that soon became on purpose encounters that were also amorous in nature. Not long after that, they had become lovers. 

It was when they had begun having sex that Elijah had discovered that her blood could sustain his vampire need to feed, sparing innocent lives in the process. He could feed upon her as he pleased without killing her. He had been grateful for this gift she had given him, since he detested the feeding on the innocent part of who he was as a vampire. Her blood sharing had also brought them even closer, because it displayed the amount of love and trust she had for him.

However, not all had been well in paradise. There had been a source of contention between them where Elijah’s chaotic brother’s, Niklaus and Kol, wee concerned. They continued to kill the innocent indiscriminately, despite the immortal queen’s presence in their lives, and Eternity had shown patience when Elijah had promised her that he’d get them to stop. In turn, she had promised to stay her hand, should she have to take action, after he had pleaded with her to not kill them. Yet, chance after chance, attempt after attempt, his brothers refused to cease, having enjoyed the kill too much to give it up, even when faced with Eternity’s wrath.

His brothers were brave souls indeed...or simply foolish, bloodthirsty monsters.

Eventually, Eternity had lost patience with his siblings and after a furious argument with Elijah, she went after his brothers with the intention of killing them, going against her promise to find another way. It was an utter act of betrayal to their love, this breaking of promises made. 

The only reason why his brothers were still alive was because he had intervened on their behalf, using Eternity’s love for him to his advantage. She couldn’t kill him, she didn’t have the strength for it, despite threatening to do so if she must. In the end, Niklaus and Kol managed to escape, and Elijah’s love affair with the immortal beauty immediately ended as a result.

He hadn’t expected to see her ever again, as she was the great Universal Queen from the cosmos, but then she appeared at the compound one day with a premonition of a terrible evil coming, one that would seek Niklaus and Hayley’s young daughter Hope. Despite the past, Eternity had been willing to help his brother, apparently seeing the change having his daughter in his life had caused. The chaotic beast had been tempered by his great love for his child and the child’s mother. And so here they were together again, fighting on the same side - fighting for his family.

Yet, though he had agreed to work with Eternity to protect Hope, Elijah was still hurt from her betrayal unto him and his family. It had gutted him how ready she had been to throw away their love, choosing her duty over her heart. Speaking of hearts, the Original found he was also greatly conflicted when faced with Eternity’s reentry into his life, because he quickly realized early on that he also still retained his affections for the immortal queen. Sometimes, he swore the conflict was mutual by the almost adoring way she subtly gazed at him from time to time, when she thought he wasn’t looking.

Therefore, the tension between them was great, made even more so in this current moment when faced with two other women he cared greatly for. Then there was also the tension between him and Hayley caused by Gia’s presence since there was some unresolved feelings there as well. It seemed that this day was to be a never ending circle of tense awkwardness due to his romantic relationships past and present. 

Elijah caught Eternity grinning at him knowingly, as she was finding the awkwardness amusing it would seem. He watched her with a great interest that he attempted to conceal, as she turned from him and floated across the room. She moved fluidly with her white floor length lacy gown trailing behind her regaling and her rippling white hair moving like ocean waves as she went to stand at the window. He found he couldn’t take his wondering eyes off the ethereally shimmering woman, which earned him meaningful and jealous looks from both Hayley and Gia. 

“...I’m going to go see if I can find Josephine,” Gia finally said to excuse herself from the tense atmosphere she had found herself in, along with the rest of them. 

Once she was gone, Hayley cleared her throat and once more gave Elijah a meaningful look, this time in regards to Gia. “Well, now I see why you didn’t answer my calls,” she said as she moved to sit in one of the available chairs. “Did she have to come with us?”

Elijah sensed the jealousy in her voice, but tried to ignore it as he sat down next to her in the other available chair and replied, “Josephine LaRue can be rather recalcitrant. She is, however, enamored with Gia's musical prowess and cavalier spirit.” 

“Huh. So, the baby-vamp is now the Witch-Whisperer?” The female hybrid said, to which he smiled and sighed slightly at her jealous tone. “I’m just so glad you found someone so...muti-talented to spend your time with.”

He rolled his eyes and looked at Hayley, “What exactly do you want from me? You made your choice, Hayley.”

She looked away for a moment and was about to respond when Gia returned with Josephine in tow. 

Immediately the tension was broken with the old witch’s presence. Elijah was on his feet and moved to greet her, “Madame LaRue.”

“Mr. Mikaelson,” Josephine replied warmly.

He kissed her cheeks in greeting, before the elderly woman moved to settle down in her favorite armchair and asked him, “Have you come to impress me once more with young Gia’s rare talents?” Then she noticed Hayley standing in the doorway with a scowl upon her lips and her arms folded tightly across her chest, “What, pray tell, does this one do?”

Elijah replied, “This one is family.”

Hayley smiled tightly at the Madame in response to his words.

“But we have come to ask a favor,” he finished.

“And what favor would that be, Mr. Mikaelson?” Madame LaRue asked.

It was here that Eternity, whom had been completely silent at the window, turned gracefully to the others in the room and spoke in his place. “We have come for information, Madame,” she said to the old witch gently. “I have sensed a great evil to descend upon this world, one that will seek the unique miracle child of the immortal hybrid and could pose a terrible threat to not only the child, but this world. Mr. Mikealson suggested I come and speak with you about it, as you are one of the wisest of your people.”

Madame LaRue did not speak upon seeing the ethereal beauty as she came over to stand amongst them. The witch looked awestruck by her, having not expected someone of Eternity’s caliper to be in her home. Her pale blue eyes were wide and her wrinkled mouth was agape. 

“It is you,” she murmured eventually, barely audible. “You’re -.”

“I am,” Eternity interjected with a small smile and a nod. 

“How is this even possible?” Josephine whispered. 

The immortal queen flashed Elijah a grin, before she turned back to the stunned witch and said, “Let’s just say, someone knows people in high places.”

The witch clambered out of her chair and moved to curtsy, a rather awkward sight as she couldn’t really perform it completely due to her brittle old state; though she tried her hardest. “Your Majesty,” she said as she bowed her head to her, while her whole body shook with effort.

Immediately, Eternity was grabbing hold of Madame LaRue gently in her two hands and speaking softly to her, “Don’t do that. It is unnecessary. Please, sit back down, my dear.”

The ethereal woman aided the old witch in returning to her chair. Once Josephine was comfortable, the queen fluidly sat down before the other woman, with her legs tucked underneath her and her hands folded neatly in her lap. 

Elijah exchanged glances with Hayley and Gia, each having curious expressions etched upon their faces at the queen’s choice to sit on the floor, before they sat down in their own chairs. 

“What is it that has brought you to my door, Your Majesty?” Madame LaRue asked Eternity quietly, still in a state of shock by her presence.

The queen smiled kindly, as she said, “I need you to tell me what you know of a creature that calls itself the Hollow.”

To Be Continued....

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Tag List: @elejah-wonderland @xanderling @dendrite-lover @rissyrapp20 @missnmikealson @inmylifeilovedthemall @hawaiianohana15 @phoenix-potter-bailey 

[yourdreamscenarios]

In A Heartbeat I Part 1

Characters: Jungkook / OC Genre: High school AU Word count: 2,951

“It was good, but if you want to break your own record we’ll have to spice up your trainings.Three times a week instead of twice, more intense, more cardio. The competition is nearing fast, we don’t have time to wait and see.” Your coach said, causing you to pull a face at her.  Winter time was coming, if there was one thing you weren’t up for it was freezing outside for so many times a week. There was of course truth in her words, but at this moment, and most moments, you were unable to hear it or unwilling to listen to it. You weren’t an easy one to deal with. “So, I’ll see you back on Wednesday, now get to class before you’re late.” She said, as she had moved past the point of trying to be friendly with you for today. 

She stove off, leaving you by yourself in the dressing room. You didn’t understand why you had to train three times a week, while you knew your team mates only had two training sessions. Each week you had one individual training, where your coach could focus on every single one of you personally and give you the right advice. You usually hated them, because then she always found the chance to go down on you and tell you about all your flaws. When the other were around she had many things going on in her mind and she usually left you alone. Heaving a deep sigh you hoisted your bag on your shoulder, feeling the strap cut into your skin. It had been a long day, and it still had to start. Your muscles were burning, lactic acid building up inside of them after your intense work out. 

Since you had been a child your parents had decided that you should be an active part of the community. They would motivate you to join as many groups as you could and you had had many different hobbies over the years. Until the time had come that you’d started to develop yourself and you had stuck to one thing, running. You’d never thought of yourself as an athlete and you didn’t have any goals to become a big person in the industry. Honestly, there was a big chance you would stop sporting next year, as you went off to college. It seemed impossible to combine all of that stuff together. But so far you’d found yourself a passion in it, placing one foot in front of the other, the route mapped out, making as much speed as you could. You enjoyed the feeling of pure exhaustion after you’d run five miles without stopping a single time, the way the air would burn your lungs. 

Except for that you had also made a few great friends, who were with you every step of the way. Your parents were your biggest fans, cheering for you each time you had a game going on, or within a few weeks, when the competition would start. Sport teams from different school would face each other, trying to give their best, trying to beat each other. It was like playing football, but to you, it was much more interesting. Your school was very active in the sport world, you had a soccer team, a football team, basketball team, swimming team, volleyball team, and then there was you. It wasn’t like that was the reason you had picked out this high school, but it did play a very big part in it. This way you didn’t have to join different sport clubs to do what you loved doing most. You barely had time left to do your homework, leave alone do other stuff. 

As soon as you got outside you hugged your jacket a little closer around you, trying to shield yourself from the icy wind. The summer had been great, days had been smoking hot, nights had been pleasantly cool and it had lasted for so long. Now, autumn was closing in on you and soon enough winter would be there, so slowly the days were turning colder, daylight was getting pourer and the nights were lasting longer. You hated winter the most out of all seasons, you hated the cold. Walking across the sport field you watched as students ran into the main building, all trying to prevent they would be late in class. You knew you didn’t have to hurry, since your teacher would mostly tolerate it if you’d be late by a few minutes. They knew you had trainings in the morning and that sometimes they would run late, they usually let you in without mocking you, knowing you had a proper excuse. 

Yet, you still managed to get your speed up as you sprinted up the stairs, walking into the hallway. The amount of students was already lacking as you raced over towards your locker and gave in your code. “Personal training?” Elena asked, her voice coming from behind you. You turned your head to see her fiddling with her own locker, clearly stressed out because she was late. Your teachers did tolerate you, on days they knew you had a reason to be late, on the days you didn’t, they would scold you never the less. “Yeah, don’t laugh to hard. You’ll have your own fair share tomorrow.” You reminded her, and you heard her chuckle behind you. Saying goodbye you ran through the hall, stopping in front of the door of your class room for this period and gave it a soft knock. 

“Come in.” The teacher’s voice resounded through the wood of the door and as soon as you opened the door and pushed your head around the corner, his stern expression softened slightly. “Miss _____________, please join us and take your seat.” Mister Kim muttered softly and you slipped inside quietly while your eyes rested on the unfamiliar boy who was standing beside him. His gaze drilled into yours, even though the unreadable expression on his face didn’t change. Though, there was something about his eyes that made it almost unable for you to look away. Quickly you walked towards your table, almost knocking over someone’s bag pack, causing you to mutter a soft apology before you finally slipped into your seat. You were quick to notice that today the only empty chair seemed to be the one next to yours. 

“So, I was introducing our newest student. Jeon Jungkook will be joining you for chemistry classes from now on and I’m sure some of you will have different classes with him as well. I expect you to treat him well, show him around and make sure that if he has any questions to answer them. You’re very welcome here Jungkook, I hope you’ll feel at home soon.” Mister Kim said, shooting him a friendly smile. You tugged up your eyebrows, remarking that the man was barely as nice to the most of you. He sent the new boy in your direction and he skillfully avoided your stare and he slipped behind the desk beside you. Most of the girls stared at him, their gazes locked on him because no one could deny, he was handsome. Most of them were already claiming him as their next boyfriend. 

Mostly, you weren’t someone who let yourself get fooled by good looks and a bad boy charisma. You’d had your own experience with that after dating your ex boyfriend for a few months. He’d seemed all great and amazing, swooping you off of your feet and as soon as he’d had the chance he’d gone around your back and he had found himself someone else. Yet, you noticed the way he easily grabbed his note book, ignoring all of them as he looked down on the paper as if no one else was present inside of the room. The aura around him told you that he definitely didn’t want you to talk to him. So you didn’t and you simply focussed yourself back on the teacher in the front of the room, because it seemed as if he wasn’t done yet. Still, the strange cologne made its way into your nose, making you feel uncomfortable. 

“Okay, it’s time for group projects. I want you all to pair up with the person who’s sitting next to you for the next few weeks and you’re going to work out a formula and you’re going to write a paper about it. This will be your final work for this year, so there’s a lot depending on it. In other words, don’t screw this up.” Mister Kim continued and you quickly turned your head to the left, praying to god that the person on your left side was still available. But Taehyung had already turned himself towards Amanda, who was sitting beside him. Your heart dropped into your stomach at the sight and you tried not to look hurt. Your teammate shrugged your shoulders at you before starting a conversation with her new partner. Your shoulders tensed as soon as the thought hit you, the new student was sitting next to you. Inwardly you groaned. It wasn’t like you didn’t want to work with him, it was just obvious that he didn’t want to work with anyone. Also, it was easier for you to work with someone who was aware of your busy schedule. 

Taking a deep breath you turned towards Jungkook, who was already looking at you. His glare was dark enough to make all of the hairs on your arms stand on edge. “Alright, since you all found yourself a companion you can sit together and then I’ll give all of you an assignment. You can read through it together, in SILENCE.” Mister Kim raised his voice as two guys in the front already started to make a fuss. Though, you were too busy debating if you should ask your teacher for a new partner or man up and give Jungkook a chance, to notice. He didn’t want to work with you, that much was for sure. In the end you sniffed, no one had the chance to decide who they were working with, so he didn’t have the right to stare you down like this. He didn’t know you, and in case he was interested, you were actually quite good at these kinds of things. 

When all of this was over he’d be grateful that he was partnered with you and not someone who sucked at this course. Telling yourself that this wouldn’t work if you wouldn’t try you tried not to let him see how intimidated you felt by him and you let a smile appear on your face. “Hi, I’m ______________.” You mumbled, keeping your voice down as you waited for a response. A deep frown appeared in between his eyebrows and for a second you weren’t afraid he didn’t speak your language, he looked as if he had no idea what you were saying. “How’s your first day going so far?” You asked, trying again. He was probably just nervous, after all a first day could be stressful. This time he sniffed and rolled his eyes at you, and you were taken aback by his hostile reaction. “Like you care.” He grumbled before crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against his chair, not even looking at you. 

What the hell was wrong with this guy? You were trying to be friendly, and what was he doing? He was being rude as fuck. You really tried to fight it, but in the end your head turned red out of embarrassment and anger. Not knowing what else to say you waited for the teacher to near your table with the assignment. You couldn’t get to know him better if he wouldn’t let you talk to him. Was he always like this? How were you every supposed to finish this project if you had to work with such an ass? Was it because you had interrupted him when he’d been introducing himself this morning? You hadn’t wanted to be rude. Your thoughts were running in circles as you pulled your hoodie straight, feeling the need to tug the cap over your head and hide. There weren’t many people who were able to make you feel that way. And you knew that it was wrong for you to let him, because he had no idea who you were and he didn’t have the right to treat you like this. 

This was nothing you could blame yourself for, and he was the one who had to apologize for being so mean to you. Still, you couldn’t help but try to find another reason behind it. It was his first day, everything was new for him, maybe he was just overwhelmed? Mister Kim walked up to your desks, standing in front of it quietly, letting his gaze linger between the two of you, as if he knew something was happening but he wasn’t sure what it was. “This is your assignment.” He said, putting a paper down on each of your tables, and you looked down on the paper reading it before waiting for him to continue. “Jungkook, I’ve checked your grades, and I’m sure the two of you won’t have a problem putting this together. As long as you can work your way past the busy training schedules, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He said, sending you a stern look before disappearing towards the next couple. 

A deep sigh left your lips as you got reminded of that. It wasn’t easy to combine all of this together, especially since these kinds of things usually had to happen after class. You’d have to hope that your coach would try to understand that maybe you should stick with two trainings a week until this was over. Noticing Jungkook’s eyes pointing on you, you turned your head towards him and demanded yourself to smile. You weren’t going to let him force you into being cruel as well, he might be, but you weren’t lowering yourself to his level. You weren’t going to give him an actual reason to hate you. “I’m in the sport team.” You explained to him, in case he didn’t know what the teacher had meant with all of that. You swore you could feel your blood boiling inside of your veins because of his mocking tone when he spoke up. “Sure you are.” He muttered, grabbing the paper and looking down on it. 

Staring at the side of his face while he ignored you, you felt like screaming at him. No one was aware of the distressed state you were in as they were all busy trying to figure out how to handle this assignment. The two of you should be doing the same thing, instead, you were ready to pull your hair from your skull. Making sure no one could hear you above the whispers you made sure to speak softly to him. If he thought you would let him get away with this he was wrong, you weren’t going to let him walk over you like this. “Listen, mister grumpy face. I don’t care if you want to be a brad, you go on if you wish. But I’m not planning on failing this course because of you. I don’t want you to treat me like we’re best friends, I don’t have to know your deepest thoughts and feelings. But I’m not taking this kind of bullshit.” You whispered rigorously, and even though his expression didn’t change, you could see the surprise written inside of his eyes as he stared back at you. 

If he hadn’t acted the way he had, you were sure you could have gotten lost inside of those dark brown oceans. Out of all the things he had expected he clearly hadn’t thought that you would speak up against him. Unlike everyone you weren’t planning on flattering him and if he wanted to hate you than that was fine, but you could hate him just as much. It was clear he was thinking about your words as his eyes turned into slits. He was so antagonistic, it didn’t fit with his looks at all. “Fine….” He eventually muttered, the tension slowly slipped out of his shoulders and for the first time since you had entered the classroom he didn’t look as if he would run out of it any second. You didn’t know anything about this guy and his past, you didn’t know why he had changed schools in the middle of the year and you weren’t planning on asking him. 

But you tried to keep in mind that whatever had happened, it might be the cause of his behavior and maybe you’d be able to understand if you would know about his situation. But you weren’t going to let him take it out on you. “Let’s meet up in the library, or at one of our places after school. If we work on this thing for a few days a week then I’m sure we’ll get it finished long before the deadline.” You suggested, realizing that there wasn’t coming much leadership or action from him. This partnership was already tiring you and it had barely started. He was not going to be an easy person to work with, seeing how he seemed to hate everyone around him. He shrugged his shoulders, rolling his pen in between his fingers. 

His mind seemed to be elsewhere as you brushed your hands down your face and tried not to scold him again. “You can meet me at the sport field at five tonight, we’ll get going from there.” When the bell rang it felt like a gift and you didn’t take the effort to bid him goodbye as you got up from your seat and grabbed your bag, trying to get a break from Jeon Jungkook for as long as you could before you had to see him again. 

Part 2

BTS Masterlist

[aion-rsa]

What’s It Like to Be on Netflix’s The Circle?

https://ift.tt/3l2bC58

This article contains spoilers for The Circle season 3 episodes 1-4.

Long the bread and butter of network television, reality competition TV shows have become increasingly popular on streaming platforms. And why wouldn’t they? Reality television is usually cheaper to produce than scripted TV series and audiences tend to like unscripted content just as much anyway. Plus, if the past few years have taught us nothing else, it’s that there’s some truth in the notion that reality is often stranger than fiction.

Netflix, in particular, has found itself in the reality competition TV game more and more. Nailed It!, Blown Away, and Too Hot to Handle are all great examples of Netflix’s increased investment in reality competition programming, but our choice for the streamer’s best might just be The Circle.

Like any good reality series, The Circle is part competition and part social experiment. The show invites eight contestants to join a virtual popularity contest in which they craft online profiles then interact with one another only through “The Circle” social media platform. And to immediately answer the obvious question: yes, you can catfish.

Players in The Circle work to gain one another’s trust and then vote on their favorite contestants within the game. Players are occasionally “blocked” or removed from the game while fresh blood is often brought in, with the last competitor standing winning $100,000. All throughout contestants are subjected to the whims of The Circle’s twists and rule changes. 

The Circle originated in the U.K. and is now a franchise with Netflix being home to the American, French, and Brazilian versions. The American series has a distinctly multi-time zone flair with filming taking place in British apartments (the show is produced by London-based All3Media and European electricity outlets are visible on the walls) but with all establishing shots filmed in Chicago. 

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Due to the geographical mismashing, The Circle has a sense of appearing outside of time itself. Quarantining all of its players within the same building but not allowing them to interact in person is another interesting twist. It all adds up to make The Circle one of the most logistically strange reality shows in a long time. 

Suffice it to say, we have some questions about how the whole thing works. Thankfully, in advance of the show’s third season premiere, Den of Geek was able to chat with three of The Circle’s newest contestants: Ruksana Syed-Carroll, Daniel Cusimano, and Michelle Rider. The trio discussed their strategies going in, what day-to-day life inside a reality competition is like, and most importantly: what’s on the menu in The Circle. 

Here are some of our biggest Circle questions, answered.

How many Circle alerts are there a day?

One key aspect of being in The Circle is that you’re operating on The Circle’s time. Contestants are free to do whatever they like during the day, but when the glowing blue circle on television screens in their rooms reports a “Circle Alert” it’s time to drop everything and pay attention. 

Circle Alerts can run the gamut from voting updates, to new games, to big twists, but how often exactly do they arrive? 

“It’s one, two, or three a day,” reports Ruksana. “You’re really not prepared. You don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s sort of like excitement and being paranoid at the same time.”

Based on the contestants’ reactions through three seasons, simultaneous excitement and paranoia seems to be right on.

What can you bring into The Circle?

Every time a new contestant enters the Circle, they are essentially just checking into a hotel room. As depicted in the show, players arrive with a suitcase filled with clothes and some personal items. So what do contestants usually bring?

“I brought a lot of books and my makeup which is my security blanket for any travel,” Ruksana says.

Since contestants are supposed to focus on the game itself, they are given only so many other entertainment options to pass the time.

 “It was like a lot of puzzles and word searches,” Ruksana adds. “I’m a very arts and crafts type. So arts and crafts stuff, making things, painting.”

Other Circle members choose to hone their craft. 

“I’m a stand-up comedian so I wrote a lot of comedy while I was there,” Michelle says.

What do you eat in The Circle?

Even though The Circle is a dispassionate algorithm, surely it knows that people need to eat, right? Thankfully, The Circle did get the memo on that one as contestants have a whole array of options on the menu. 

While Daniel says he relied on frozen food, his fellow contestants put more energy into cooking.  

“I’m a foodie,” Ruksana says. “I’m also very particular about food and seasoning because I’m Indian. ‘Takeaways’ is what they call takeout (in the U.K.) but I didn’t really like the food so I did a lot of cooking. It was easy for me because, where we were in the U.K., there was a big Indian population. So, that was very comforting for me because I knew that I couldn’t fail with that. Cooking does make the time go faster.”

Michelle also prefers to cook.

“Honey, I’m Southern. So you know I was cooking,” she says. “I would cook fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans, when you had time. Because a lot of times you might be cooking and they may go, ‘Okay, stop,’ and you have to stop what you’re doing.”

It seems as though cooking is among the easiest ways to pass time between Circle alerts. 

What happens when you leave The Circle? 

The Circle eliminates contestants frequently. The competition, however, is a relatively short one and ends with every contestant returning for one big finale. With that in mind, wouldn’t it make sense to just allow the eliminated contestants to hang out in their London hotel room for a couple more weeks?

According to Michelle, the second contestant eliminated this season, that’s not the case at all. 

“When you go, you are gone,” she says. “You leave and that’s it. Then once everything’s done, then they call on you to come back for the finale and everything.”

What’s it like when The Circle throws you a curveball?

Though the rhythms of each season of The Circle are generally the same, each batch of episodes thus far has featured at least one new wrinkle. In the case of season 3, the first contestants eliminated (a pair of sisters posting under one of the sister’s identities) are given the rare opportunity to rejoin the competition. 

Instead of getting a whole new profile though, they are tasked with “cloning” an existing profile. The sisters settle on Michelle, creating a “Blue Michelle (the imposter)” and the “Orange Michelle (the real one)”. The rest of the circle is tasked with choosing which Michelle is the real one and vote nearly unanimously on the wrong profile. 

What’s it feel like to be at the center of one of The Circle’s many twists and be eliminated as a result? Not great as it turns out!

“It makes you angry because you feel like, ‘Well, I didn’t even have a chance,’” Michelle says. “I haven’t seen the show yet, but if you saw emotion, it was raw emotion because I was angry, I cried. I was so mad because I just felt like I didn’t have a chance.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Even the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry when confronted with a social media themed reality competition. 

The first four episodes of The Circle are available to stream on Netflix now. Episodes 5-8 will be released on Sept. 15, episodes 9-12 on Sept. 22, and the finale on Sept. 29.

The post What’s It Like to Be on Netflix’s The Circle? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[orcadigitals]

In this article, we discuss the new golf sports gadgets which are now available to improve your swing and track your golf game. These are raising the level of enjoyment of the sport even further. More and more golfers are using them each season to get active. By raising your game these fitness and sports gadgets will get you more active, and keep you moving on once you reach a satisfactory level of competence. If you are looking for a golf gift, also keep reading. These make perfect golf gadget gifts for any lover of the sport. These golf sports gadgets boost athletic performance by implementing the newest technologies for the success of all golfers. They can make awesome golf gifts to give to any golfer even those who donҴ know yet that they really really need them! New Sports Gadget Guides Golfers to Make Perfectly Timed Swings Iҭ about ready to leave for my round when out of the corner of my eye, I see a couple on the practice fairway making their swing. I know what they are up to, so I stop my golf cart on the fairway and creep over, as the couple has a little too much fun. They are making perfect time swings, not one or two, but a full swing and they were not on the practice fairway. I peek into their bag. It contains a golf gadget that has a high tech impact sensor and a golf tracking device. The device is attached to the clubface and it records the speed of the clubhead during the swing and its acceleration. For the first time, I could tell they were making the right amount of contact. They were using the latest golf gadgets to get that perfect swing, and now their game was improving, without them having to do anything more than following the guidance given by their golf gadget. Iҭ thinking, this is a great golf gift for all. I take the couple into the clubhouse, and we spend the rest of the day discussing their new golf gadget, the impact sensor and golf tracking system. I know they are really enjoying this gift. I suspect that they have not made a par round yet, but I have a feeling they will very soon. Itҳ a great golf gift! This is what I mean about the perfect gift being the perfect fit here. The couple is now the proud owner of a golf gadget that is helping them improve their game. A Golf Gadget with a Little Something Extra Now Iҭ thinking, if they have the good sense to have a round of golf with me, they might like my golf gadget that brings them a little something extra. This is a golf sports gadget that will automatically count them down to when they hit their shot. A golf gadget that will indicate if their count down is short or long, if they missed a putt or not, and even if they have hit a great shot. It would give them the opportunity to really enjoy the game, without having to keep checking a website all over the clock, or having acaddy watching their every move. Itҳ a little more sophisticated than counting down to have a watch on them. A golf gadget that will do it for them, well, thatҳ a golf gadget many golfers canҴ have enough of. The Electronic Counting Down in New Golf Sports Gadgets The smart golfers are already taking the electronic counting down golf gadget to the links. They are playing golf with their smartphones. No, they are not on a computer. They are not even watching TV. They are playing golf with their smartphone, and itҳ tracking their game, and showing them all sorts of other cool golf gadgets that will improve their game. And these are not just the phones they use all day. The smart golfers are taking their smartphones to the golf course and using them to measure the wind, and even to measure the distance of their drives. What a novel idea that is. They are posting their success on the internet. Yes, they are posting their accomplishments and results on the internet. They are using tracking sites to post how far they have hit each club and where they landed the ball. They are using golf gadgets like the impact sensor golf gadgets that will count down to the desired outcome. New Golf Sports Gadgets Post the Distance Travelled These self-same golf tracking devices post their distance travelled, and the accuracy on the fairway. Itҳ a great technology. And the best of it, they are using their smartphones to post their accomplishments and success. Thatҳ right, they are using their smartphones to post their progress! Itҳ a combination that gets them really fired up as you can see when you look atsport gadget reviews. And they love the fact that the internet is filled with other smart golfers who share their passion. Like-Minded Golfers Getting Together Online Raises Use of Social Media What a great concept. Now, these guys are going to have some work to do. They need to create some good content, and they will need to create a community of smart golfers, who will share their knowledge. How will they do that? Well, some of them will buy smart golf gadgets, and others will post their progress on the internet. TheyҬl need some great content to build their community. How will they create great content? Well, theyҬl use their smart phones to capture the action and video it. TheyҬl post their golf game via the tracking sites. The tracking sites will automatically save the video until they decide what to do with it. TheyҬl upload the video to the various golf forums and the result is a whole new generation is getting switched on to the wonderful sport of golf! Not only are these new post-covid pandemic social networking savvy golfers posting their achievements to educate others. They are also writing articles, giving out tips and tricks, and just about anything they can think of. Itҳ a great new powerhouse feeding enthusiasm for the sport of golf. The ingredient which sparked this revolution? Well, the source of this new legion of golfers is nothing other than the new golf sports gadgets which we have described already in this article! New Golf Sports Gadgets ֠A Conclusion And now what is a smart golfer to do? Well, he will want to join the community of smart golfers who are using these tracking sites. In fact, this guy will certainly want to post his golf achievements on his profile. This will allow other smart golfers to know about his progress. Most of the golfers will want to see his or her smart golf achievements, because these will enable them to track their game and see the changes it goes through, and how much they too have improved. The author of this article writes for the Sport Gadget Review which has an easy to remember link! Just click to go to theSportGadget.Review. The ArticleNew Golf Sports Gadgets Which Improve Your Swing and Track Your Game was found onhttps://limitsofstrategy.com The ArticleNew Golf Sports Gadgets Which Improve Your Swing and Track Your Game First Appeared ON :https://gqcentral.co.uk The ArticleNew Golf Sports Gadgets Which Improve Your Swing and Track Your Game appeared first onhttps://orcadigitals.com https://orcadigitals.com/new-golf-sports-gadgets-which-improve-your-swing-and-track-your-game/

[anakinsbugs]

In this article, we discuss the new golf sports gadgets which are now available to improve your swing and track your golf game. These are raising the level of enjoyment of the sport even further. More and more golfers are using them each season to get active.

By raising your game these fitness and sports gadgets will get you more active, and keep you moving on once you reach a satisfactory level of competence.

If you are looking for a golf gift, also keep reading. These make perfect golf gadget gifts for any lover of the sport. These golf sports gadgets boost athletic performance by implementing the newest technologies for the success of all golfers. They can make awesome golf gifts to give to any golfer even those who don’t know yet that they really really need them!

New Sports Gadget Guides Golfers to Make Perfectly Timed Swings

I’m about ready to leave for my round when out of the corner of my eye, I see a couple on the practice fairway making their swing. I know what they are up to, so I stop my golf cart on the fairway and creep over, as the couple has a little too much fun. They are making perfect time swings, not one or two, but a full swing and they were not on the practice fairway. I peek into their bag. It contains a golf gadget that has a high tech impact sensor and a golf tracking device. The device is attached to the clubface and it records the speed of the clubhead during the swing and its acceleration.

For the first time, I could tell they were making the right amount of contact. They were using the latest golf gadgets to get that perfect swing, and now their game was improving, without them having to do anything more than following the guidance given by their golf gadget.

I’m thinking, this is a great golf gift for all. I take the couple into the clubhouse, and we spend the rest of the day discussing their new golf gadget, the impact sensor and golf tracking system. I know they are really enjoying this gift. I suspect that they have not made a par round yet, but I have a feeling they will very soon. It’s a great golf gift!

This is what I mean about the perfect gift being the perfect fit here. The couple is now the proud owner of a golf gadget that is helping them improve their game.

A Golf Gadget with a Little Something Extra

Now I’m thinking, if they have the good sense to have a round of golf with me, they might like my golf gadget that brings them a little something extra. This is a golf sports gadget that will automatically count them down to when they hit their shot. A golf gadget that will indicate if their count down is short or long, if they missed a putt or not, and even if they have hit a great shot.

It would give them the opportunity to really enjoy the game, without having to keep checking a website all over the clock, or having a caddy watching their every move. It’s a little more sophisticated than counting down to have a watch on them. A golf gadget that will do it for them, well, that’s a golf gadget many golfers can’t have enough of.

The Electronic Counting Down in New Golf Sports Gadgets

The smart golfers are already taking the electronic counting down golf gadget to the links. They are playing golf with their smartphones. No, they are not on a computer. They are not even watching TV. They are playing golf with their smartphone, and it’s tracking their game, and showing them all sorts of other cool golf gadgets that will improve their game. And these are not just the phones they use all day.

The smart golfers are taking their smartphones to the golf course and using them to measure the wind, and even to measure the distance of their drives. What a novel idea that is.

They are posting their success on the internet. Yes, they are posting their accomplishments and results on the internet. They are using tracking sites to post how far they have hit each club and where they landed the ball. They are using golf gadgets like the impact sensor golf gadgets that will count down to the desired outcome.

New Golf Sports Gadgets Post the Distance Travelled

These self-same golf tracking devices post their distance travelled, and the accuracy on the fairway. It’s a great technology. And the best of it, they are using their smartphones to post their accomplishments and success. That’s right, they are using their smartphones to post their progress!

It’s a combination that gets them really fired up as you can see when you look at sport gadget reviews. And they love the fact that the internet is filled with other smart golfers who share their passion.

Like-Minded Golfers Getting Together Online Raises Use of Social Media

What a great concept. Now, these guys are going to have some work to do. They need to create some good content, and they will need to create a community of smart golfers, who will share their knowledge. How will they do that? Well, some of them will buy smart golf gadgets, and others will post their progress on the internet.

They’ll need some great content to build their community. How will they create great content? Well, they’ll use their smart phones to capture the action and video it. They’ll post their golf game via the tracking sites. The tracking sites will automatically save the video until they decide what to do with it. They’ll upload the video to the various golf forums and the result is a whole new generation is getting switched on to the wonderful sport of golf!

Not only are these new post-covid pandemic social networking savvy golfers posting their achievements to educate others. They are also writing articles, giving out tips and tricks, and just about anything they can think of. It’s a great new powerhouse feeding enthusiasm for the sport of golf. The ingredient which sparked this revolution? Well, the source of this new legion of golfers is nothing other than the new golf sports gadgets which we have described already in this article!

New Golf Sports Gadgets – A Conclusion

And now what is a smart golfer to do? Well, he will want to join the community of smart golfers who are using these tracking sites. In fact, this guy will certainly want to post his golf achievements on his profile. This will allow other smart golfers to know about his progress. Most of the golfers will want to see his or her smart golf achievements, because these will enable them to track their game and see the changes it goes through, and how much they too have improved.

The author of this article writes for the Sport Gadget Review which has an easy to remember link! Just click to go to the SportGadget.Review.

The Article New Golf Sports Gadgets Which Improve Your Swing and Track Your Game was found on https://limitsofstrategy.com

The Article New Golf Sports Gadgets Which Improve Your Swing and Track Your Game First Appeared ON : https://gqcentral.co.uk

This post New Golf Sports Gadgets Which Improve Your Swing and Track Your Game first appeared on https://walrusvideo.com

[omgpretzelsblog]

Adventurously Flavored Pretzels for Every Taste and Occasion

When you think of an occasion, stress can set in because you are thinking of all the work you have to do – menu planning, shopping, getting the house ready, and making sure everyone has a great time. But it doesn’t have to be that way. OMG! Pretzels have a long history of helping make every occasion delicious and fun. Our innovative and bold flavored pretzel bites are perfect for every taste and occasion.

Our Homey Beginning

Lynn Kriebel, Co-Owner and Chief Baker of OMG! Pretzels, started making flavored gourmet sourdough pretzel nuggets decades ago when her children were growing up. Garlic pretzels were the first flavor and still a favorite of her eldest son. “I’d always make the pretzels and have them out for afterschool snacks,” shares Lynn. “The kids’ friends would come over and love the pretzels snacks also, so eventually I started using them when I entertained.”

As Lynn’s children grew up, they started to suggest she try and sell her ridiculously delicious pretzel bites. So, seven years ago, Lynn approached a local speciality store and the rest, as they say, is history! Now OMG! Pretzels are available nationwide in various retail stores, online, and on Amazon.

And, we’ve gone from one flavor – our flagship offering, Garlic Pretzels – to eight adventurous flavors, including: Sweet & Salty, Chesapeake Spice, Cheddar Jalapeno, Sweet & Spicy, Lemon Pepper, Salty Butterscotch, and Sweet Chili.

Flavor Innovation

How do we do it? Lynn uses inspiration from a lot of different places. “Sometimes it’s from cooking or a new dish I try and wanting to incorporate those flavor combinations. Other times I read an article and think, that could fun and I just mix up the flavors from there,” she says.  

After people started loving the Garlic Pretzels, Lynn thought she needed a new flavor and looked to the past for flavor inspiration. “I started developing the Sweet & Salty when I thought about summers when my kids were growing up. Their grandfather would always come and visit and make them cinnamon sugar toast. That’s the flavor foundation for the Sweet & Salty Pretzels.”

One of her sister-in-law’s famous appetizers led to one of our newest flavors – Lemon Pepper. “She always makes these little open-faced sandwiches with small squares of pumpernickel bread, mayonnaise and cucumber. Then, she sprinkles a little lemon pepper on top. I thought, lemon pepper pretzels would add a nice crunch to the bite, so started working on the new flavor for our sourdough pretzel bites.”

Sometimes Lynn uses suggestions from family and friends to create new pretzel flavors. “One of my daughters mentioned how much people love the flavors in seafood seasonings like McCormick’s Old Bay blend and that’s how the Chesapeake Spice Pretzels came about.”

Lynn’s Entertaining Tips

When you’re entertaining, Lynn recommends using the people who are coming and the type of occasion or get together as the foundation for the rest of your planning. “If I’m just serving appetizers and drinks for watching a big game like the Superbowl, I plan things differently than if it’s an elegant dinner party,” she notes. “Easy entertaining is key. What’s the point in having people over if you don’t get to have fun with them.”

No matter the occasion, Lynn loves to offer guests various flavors of our sourdough pretzel bites because they are so versatile and are an easy way to add a lot of flavor. Different flavored pretzels pair well with beer and wine, so she takes that into account as well.

Lynn also recommends having some go-to recipes and ready-made options. For instance, she always puts out some pretzels for when people are arriving just for a little something to much on regardless of the occasion. “I always label the flavors of pretzels, as well as any cheeses or dips I use with them, so people know what they are eating,” she says. “I like to place the food around your entertaining space so it’s interactive and fun.”  

“If I’m serving dinner, I also plan small hors d’oeuvres and dessert. I start planning a week ahead of time, so I don’t leave all the work for the day of the dinner party,” Lynn shares. “I think about what I want to serve as the entrée first and then plan the appetizer and dessert. I want the whole menu to be cohesive.” This is how she divides the work:

Clean the house three to four days before.

Make the flower arrangement or centerpiece two days before.

Choose make-ahead side dishes and desserts that can be prepared two to three days in advance and warmed up the day of, so you can relax and be with people not in the kitchen the whole time.

Set the table the night before or the morning of your event.

No matter your occasion or the flavors in your menu, there’s an OMG! Pretzels variety that can add bold flavor and texture to your dishes. For brunch, Lynn adds Sweet & Salty to baked French toast casserole or Chesapeake Spice Pretzels to an egg casserole for a fun and crunchy topping. For dessert, she adds Sweet Chili pretzels between layers of chocolate cake for a surprise crunch and little heat. Lynn’s final words of advice: Mix it up, try new things, and have fun!

For more information about sourdough pretzels and other products, contact OMG at contact@omgpretzels.com or visit our website.