Game, Set, Match: Chapter 1

New story! Brand new story, this one involving Leo, Ryan and Seth, characters I absolutely love and excel at writing about. No description for this one yet, but I can tell you this: it involves a very hot teacher.
If you want me to start writing this story from February, remember to vote by leaving a comment!

Chapter 1

I hovered on the spot, sneaking glances over every once in a while. Come on, I willed myself. Just go over there. I was never this shy. Not in high school, anyway. Why should it change for college?

A girl walked down the stairs I was standing by and passed me. She looked completely confident. I wondered if it was her first day at St. Alexander’s too.

Move, Allison. You’re looking like an idiot, just standing here for the past ten minutes. But what should I do, just wander around and hope I find my class?

No, the smart thing to do is to go over to that group of three guys down the hall and ask them. One of them–the shortest one–had brown hair, and from what I could see, a pretty face. Another had brown hair too, but he had a little stubble and was much more energetic than the other guy. It helped that he was pretty hot too.

But my eyes were fixed on the third one. He was taller than the others, even as he leaned against the wall. He was talking right then, and seemed grumpy, but somehow still good-natured. His hair was black, and it was easy to see that he had a tall, lean body.

I wanted to go over there and talk to him. And at the same time I didn’t. He’d probably seen me standing here since forever, staring at him. I couldn’t just go over.

“Are your feet glued to the ground, or do you just not believe in walking?”

I started as the voice sounded right beside me, and whirled around, almost ready to punch someone.

“Whoa, calm down,” the guy now in front of me said. “Fighting with women is not something I’m inclined to do.”

I goggled at him for a while. He was good-looking, really good-looking. He looked to be Japanese or Korean or from somewhere around there, and his hair was perfectly black and messy in that hot way that only girls knew how to describe. His face was more on the pretty than rugged side, and even from such a close distance I couldn’t see a single flaw in his perfect skin. That little smirk he had on his lips just made him look so much better.

“I… I’m sorry,” I said.

“For what, blocking the way or staring at me?” the smirk seemed to widen.

“Both,” I said collecting myself. “You startled me.”

“I have that effect,” he answered. “You’re new around here, aren’t you? I remember seeing you at the tour.” His voice was accented, but only just.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m Allison Parker. Nice to meet you.”

“Alright then,” he said, and he rounded past me and started going down the stairs.

I frowned. “You know, when you meet someone and they introduce themselves, you’re expected to do the same.”

He turned around and raised the corners of his lips into a devilish smile. “You should know me soon enough.”

I watched him leave. Wow, he was really hot. Not just his looks, but his attitude too. Annoying, yeah, but wasn’t every hot guy?

I glanced back at the three guys standing down the hall, and saw that they were now two. The cute, pretty one had left. Now it was just the guy with stubble and him. The tall one.

Alright, that was it. I’d had enough of standing there. I do believe in walking.

I approached the guys, trying to walk with my back straight. Wait, what if they thought I was showing off my boobs? My sister Melissa thought I was always doing that. Well, is it my fault she’s twenty-four and still a surfboard?

I calmed down, and managed to get to them without turning abruptly and rushing off the other way. “Um, excuse me,” I said, “but do you know where the Management room is? I’m new and…”

“Oh, welcome to St. Alexander’s,” the brown-haired guy said brightly. “It’s my first day here too. I’m Ryan.”

His smile was so cute and sunny that I would’ve melted, if I hadn’t been staring at him. The other guy. He wasn’t what I’d call cute, or rugged, but just perfectly… handsome. Yes, handsome. There was not a trace of grumpiness in his face, but instead a charming, polite smile. And his eyes… oh, his eyes. They were beautiful– not grey, not green, but a wonderful blend, bright and arresting.

“I’m Allison,” I said. I’d managed to capture all the details of his face in a moment, and so avoided a long, awkward stare.

“I’m Leo,” the black-haired guy said. “I don’t mind taking you there.”

Yay! “Thanks,” I said with a smile.

“Watson, get to class,” Leo said sternly to Ryan, who laughed and answered, “Yes, Holmes. See you, Allison.” This last bit was directed at me with a smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

He walked off down the hallway, while I looked at Leo. “Holmes?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“His surname is Watson,” he answered. “He thinks it’s fun to call me Holmes.” He paused. “That’s not my name,” he added.

“Oh,” I said, as we walked towards the stairs I was hovering by just a minute ago. “Mine’s Parker.” It seemed kind of stupid, but what else could I say?

“Alright,” he said, going down the stairs. “You’re going to the first class for the freshmen, right? I just showed it to Seth. He’s a friend of mine.”

“Oh, cool,” I said. Seth. I guessed he was the cute guy who’d just been with Leo. “Is this your first year too?”

Leo laughed, an easy, calm laugh, but way too short. “This is my last year.”

I couldn’t help but feel deflated. I barely knew the guy, but still.

“Alright, here it is,” he said, stopping by a closed door. “You should get in. Your class should be starting right about now.”

“Thank you so much,” I said. “I would’ve wandered around here forever.” Actually, I would’ve just stood in the same place, staring at you, but, hey, the end result was the same.

“That’s okay,” Leo said. “If you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Sure, thanks,” I said, and then decided I should be getting in. I opened the door slowly, and peeked in. There were about twenty people inside, sitting at tables and chatting. No sign of the teacher.

“Looks like you’re in luck,” Leo said, and I could tell that he was right next to me.

“Yeah,” I said, opening the door. “Again, thanks.”

“And again, that’s okay,” Leo said with a smile. “Welcome to St. Alexander’s, Allison.”

I beamed at him, and then he turned and left.

I closed the door behind me as I entered the room. Wow, seemed like a good first day already. I just hoped I’d find someone cool in my class too.

Leo’s friend Seth was supposed to be in this class, but I really wanted to find a girl. There were a couple of empty seats around, and I sat in one right at the end of the room, by the window. On my right was the fresh, warm breeze, and on my left, a pretty girl with straight, blonde hair.

She looked like exactly the type of girl I’d dealt with too much in high school– popular and vain, ready to bring out her claws against anyone who ticked her off, but I decided to give her a try. Besides, I couldn’t really be picky, since I knew nobody in this college. Except, well, Leo, and maybe Ryan.

“Hi,” I said to her. “I’m Allison.”

“Oh, hi,” she said, almost surprised. “I’m Scarlet.”

The name seemed to fit her. “First day?” I asked.

She gave me a little smile. “Yup. I know absolutely no-one.”

“Me neither,” I said with my own smile. “I think it’s gonna be awesome, though. Already met a cute guy.” I couldn’t help but say it.

“Seems like this college doesn’t have a shortage,” Scarlet gave me a mischievous grin. “Check out the hottie in the corner.”

I followed her little motion, and my eyes caught on a guy in the corner. His hair was brown, his eyes were black, and he leaned back in his chair with a confident and lazy posture. His own little grin was enough to match Scarlet’s.

I scanned the rest of the room, until I saw a familiar face right at the edge. “hey, look, it’s Seth,” I said automatically.

“Oh?” Scarlet turned. “Please tell me you’re talking about that cute guy in the first column.”

“Yeah,” I said. “That’s him.”

“I thought you didn’t know anybody here?” Scarlet looked at me and made a face.

“Oh, well, I don’t really know anybody,” I said. “But on the way here I met a guy named Leo. He was with his friends– one of them was Seth.”

“Ah,” Scarlet gave a knowing look. “I see.”

“What?” I asked.

“No, that’s alright,” she said. “You don’t have to say.”

Her smile was so mischievous I couldn’t help but grin back. I was about to say something when the door suddenly opened, and he walked in. The hot guy I’d met by the stairs.

“Hey, I kinda know him too,” I said to Scarlet. “Met him by the stairs. Looks like he’s in our class too.”

Scarlet was about to respond, when the guy leaned against the professor’s desk and said, “Alright then, I’m Ryouken Suzuki, and I’ll be your professor.”

Oh, his name’s Ryouken Suzuki. That sounds Japanese. So he’s Jap– wait, did he just say professor?

“Wow,” I heard Scarlet say next to me. “Hot teacher. That’s one Wattpad fantasy that was never fulfilled in high school.”

“He’s a professor?” I burst out. “What?”

“Yes, I am,” Ryouken said with a smile. Apparently I didn’t say it as quietly as I’d meant to. “New. First day here, like you.”

I just stared at him. I refused to believe it. I’d always imagined the professor to be old, with gray hair and lots of wrinkles– kind of like Albert Einstein. Not this guy.

“Alright,” Ryouken–Mr. Suzuki, I guess–was saying. “I’ll give you ten seconds each to say a couple of things about yourself. Whatever you say is basically how you’ll be presenting yourself to me in the semester. Let’s start from this end.”

To my utter relief, he started with the column near the door. Unfortunately for Seth, that meant he had to go second. After the first guy–Dustin, I think his name was–was done, Seth just barely managed to get out, “I’m Seth,” and then searched desperately for the next words.

“That’s alright, I know you,” Mr. Suzuki said in a gentleness I wouldn’t have expected from that smirk I’d first seen on him. “Next.”

Depending on what someone would say, he’d either say a couple of words or just move on. I was actually pretty impressed with the range of topics Mr. Suzuki was familiar with.

“Hi, I’m Scarlet, I like fantasy novels and I’m single.” Wait, when was did it suddenly become Scarlet’s turn?

“Oh, I like you,” Mr. Suzuki said with a grin, not missing her suggestive tone. “Favourite novel from A Song of Ice and Fire series?”

“The first, A Game of Thrones,” Scarlet answered automatically. “Really hit me hard and just hyped me up for the rest.”

“Excellent choice,” Mr. Suzuki said. “Next.”

Oh, damn, I was coming up. Quick, Allison, think of something cool to say. Something that’d make you stand out, but not stand out too much. I fished around for things to say, when all of a sudden:

“Next.”

Crap. That was me. I collected myself in an instant and said, “I’m Allison Parker, I believe in walking, I can’t tell who’s a teacher and who’s a student, and… I play tennis.” Stupid. That was stupid.

“Alright, Allison,” Mr. Suzuki said, seeming pretty amused. “Any tennis player you particularly like?”

“Um, Sam Querrey and Novak,” I answered.

“Really? I think Murray’s a better option for number one in the world.”

“You have to be joking,” I said. “Novak’s record in 2011 was spectacular.”

“Because Murray didn’t find his confidence yet,” Mr. Suzuki said. “He’s been performing consistently recently– all that changed was his attitude. He’s won the gold medal, and the US Open.”

“Yeah, his first Grand Slam,” I said. “I think it’s safe to say Djokovic has done better than that.”

“So far,” Mr. Suzuki said. “Now,” he said, and he turned to the rest of the class. “Since it’s the first day, I guess you guys can take the class off.”

He got up off the table and walked over to me– a lazy kind of movement, as he leaned down over my desk, and said in a quiet undertone, “I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Parker.”

I couldn’t see his eyes as he said it, but his voice was low and… if I had to describe it one word, rippling. He moved away from me and sat in the chair behind the professor’s desk, and I could feel the others’ eyes on me.

“What was that about?” Scarlet whispered to me.

“I have no idea,” I said slowly.

I could already tell that my time at St. Alexander’s was going to an eventful one. And I was more than excited.

 

Hayden Panettiere as Allison

Gackt as Ryouken Suzuki

Abbie Cornish as Scarlet

Colin Egglesfield as Leo

Thomas Dekker as Ryan

Beau Mirchoff as Seth

I know I'm not supposed to sway anyone, but I really had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I'd love to write it... but I don't mind writing the other story either. And it's all up to you guys. I really don't know how I could sway you into voting for this story.

 

Hmm... how did this gorgeous guy get here?

Remember to vote by commenting!

And check out my other preview: That Super Hot Pervert is Mine 

That Super Hot Pervert is Mine: Chapter 1

Everyone's favorite pervert is back, with a sequel! Follow Anne on her relationship with Travis, after being rid of his pursuer for good. But even now they can't seem to have a normal life, with a unreadable, powerful businessman controlling Travis, and a mysterious person he's dying to avoid...
Description fail. I suck at writing descriptions.



   Chapter 1

I sighed, checking the time on my watch. A quarter past three. Late. Again.

The guy didn’t know the meaning of punctuality. And that might be literal.

I looked around, not tired of the environment I was in. The air was clean and crisp, carrying the fresh winter scent in it. The lake in front of me was still, devoid of the ducks that usually kept me company. I vaguely wondered where they’d all gone, before it hit me that they’d all migrated south for the winter.

I stared at the lake, watching the reflection of the gray clouds. I wondered how cold the water was. Or who’d save me if I fell in.

The park had relatively few people, but I recognized the regulars. There was that old guy whose name I didn’t know until three days ago–Mr. Branson, that was his name–plus that hippy-looking guy who was probably some really rich guy who could afford to hang around the park all day and night.

“You know, shimmering lake under bright stars and food with your loved one.”

“Park at night? You know, people get raped there. Gangs hang out at parks at night and do drugs.” Geez. Did that guy have a romantic bone in his body?

My hand immediately went up to the pendant on my necklace as an answer. It was made of overlapping rings, with a few stones on them. You could hardly tell it was homemade.

It was the most precious thing I owned. Every time I touched it, as I did then, I felt… love. And I mean that in the least corny way possible.

“Hope I haven’t kept you waiting for too long.”

The words came from right next to my ear and I started. I relaxed right after though, and smiled. “I almost got wrinkles waiting for you.”

Travis jumped over the backrest and sat down beside me on the bench. “Wrinkles? You? Never.”

He leaned forward and pulled me into a kiss. His body felt warm as I put my arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around my waist. I finally pulled away while I still had some breath left in me, and inspected his face.

Travis was as good-looking as ever. That dark brown hair, those perfectly black eyes. That smirk of his– it just made him look even better.

“Really, can’t you ever be on time?” I sighed, shifting so that I could lean backwards into him. “We’ve been meeting up here since forever.”

“Yeah, but I was busy,” Travis said innocently. “The college is so far from here, and I had to walk.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “Aww, you’re a college kid now.”

“I know, right?” I could hear the grin in his voice. “Never thought it’d happen.”

“What, expected to just roam around all your life, stealing stuff and then giving it back?”

“Pretty much,” Travis said, and I could feel him shrug against me. “I never expected… this.” He paused. “I’m glad for it, though.”

“Me too.” I snuggled into him.

His arms went around me, and in the cold winter breeze everything felt perfect. Travis was so close to me, the presence his arms creating this warm sensation in my heart. One of his hands was on my waist, and the other…

“Hey,” I said, trying to keep the grin out of my voice. “Are you trying to feel me up?”

“No,” Travis lied obviously.

“Well, stop,” I said. “We’re in public.”

“Oh, come on, there’s hardly anybody here,” he said, and I could hear from his voice that he was smiling. “The old guy’s gone off on his walk, and there’s just that hippy guy.” He paused. “He probably comes here at night to–”

“Do drugs?” I finished for him with a laugh.

“No,” he said seriously. “To have a romantic meal with his girlfriend with the shimmering lake and… uh… what was it?”

“Bright stars,” I said, grinning. “Shimmering lake and bright stars.”

“Ah,” Travis said. There was a pause, and I could almost hear him thinking. “Do you want me to do that? Y’know, pack a… picnic basket or something? You’d actually have to sneak out of your house.”

“No, not really,” I said. “But it’s sweet of you to offer.”

“Hey, you baked cookies for me,” Travis said. “The least I could do is make you a couple of sandwiches.”

“You didn’t eat any of the cookies I baked for you,” I pointed out.

“I value my health and sanity.”

“That’s not very nice,” I pouted. “I worked hard on those.”

“Oh, come on Anne, face it,” he said. “Those things were torture devices for the tongue. My body had already been through too much.”

I felt my heart buckle under some sudden new pressure. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” Travis said, and he sounded perfectly genuine. “The injuries weren’t deep. He didn’t want me to die. I’m more worried about you right now.” His hand moved up to my cheek.

“It was just one cut,” I brushed off.

“But he got your face,” Travis said quietly, in the grimmest voice humanly possible.

“Yeah? I’m not attractive to you anymore?”  

I meant it jokingly, but Travis took it seriously and hurriedly said, “No, of course not. I mean, uh– of course you are. Attractive. Not unattractive. You are attractive.”

I had to laugh at his frantic reply. “I didn’t mean that. I mean, your chest is all hard and slashed. I still find you attractive.”

“Yeah, because I’m a guy,” Travis said. “Scars on guys are hot. And it’s not on my face. Thank goodness.”

“Thank goodness,” I said, rolling my eyes. “It’d be shame if your pretty face were to get scratched.”

“Pretty is not a compliment for guys,” Travis said. “And you should’ve seen the guy Ackerman sent to talk to me. He was pretty.”

There. There was that unease. It came in once in a while, like a snake, slithering up me, threatening to eat me from the inside. The snake seemed drawn by this Ackerman guy’s name. Every time I heard it, the creature raised its head, ready.

“Travis, what exactly do you know about this Ackerman guy?” I asked.

“Not much,” he shrugged. “I think that’s just about all I’m supposed to know.”

“I don’t like this,” I said, shifting uneasily. “You’re putting so much on a guy you know nothing about.”

“I don’t see any other option, Anne,” Travis said. “Really, it’s too late now. Mr. Ackerman’s done a lot for me. I just have to wait until I can do something for him.”

“Like this,” I said. “What exactly do you have to do for him?”

“I don’t know.”

I could tell from his tone that Travis didn’t want to talk about it, but how could I let it go? I was worried. He’d already been through so much. Travis kept talking about how much influence this Ackerman guy had. That meant he was plenty dangerous too.

“I really think you should find out more about him,” I said. “Really, I mean–”

“Anne, I can’t,” Travis said shortly.

I pulled away from him to look at his face. “And why not?”

“I just can’t,” he sighed. “I’ve never met him, only heard of him. The only contact I’ve had with him has been through that pretty guy who found me. He was really pretty. I’m kind of jealous.” He paused. “Looks like ‘pretty’ is a compliment for guys.”

“I can tell you’re trying to change the subject,” I said.

“Is it working? Is your curiosity piqued?” he gave be a devilish grin. “Do you want to see the guy who actually made me envious?”

I was curious. But I wasn’t letting this get away. “You should ask him about Ackerman,” I said.

“I don’t think he’ll tell me anything,” Travis said. “And he was actually kind of scary.”

“Stop trying to change the subject to the scary, pretty guy,” I said.

“Alright, fine,” he sighed. “I’ll talk to the scary, pretty guy, okay? Happy?”

“Yes,” I said brightly, and I snuggled into him again. “Now, how was he pretty?”

“You were curious!” Travis said triumphantly. “I win!”

I laughed. “Making me curious was your big challenge? I’m a pretty curious person.”

“Which ensures I always win,” he said, and I could hear the obvious grin. “Seriously. I don’t understand– oh, fuck.”

“what? What is it?” I pulled away from him and looked around, worried. My first thought was that Lex had somehow returned from the dead and was now some ghost ready to torture us. Wouldn’t put it past him.

Guy was crazy. If anyone could come back as a ghost, it’d be him.

“Nothing,” Travis said, but his voice was quick and panicked. “Let’s go.”

He suddenly got up and yanked me up as well. Before I could even absorb what was happening, he was pulling through the park.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, my feet struggling to keep up with him. Any faster and I’d be running.

“Nothing,” he said, and his voice sounded so genuine I would’ve believed him. If he wasn’t walking like he was trying to break the sound barrier.

I let him pull me out of the park, and once we were back out by the street I yanked my hand away. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Travis repeated, and this one sounded perfectly innocent.

“‘Nothing’ wouldn’t make you drag me out of there like there were hellhounds at our heels,” I said. “What was it? Did you see something–?”

“It was nothing,” Travis said warmly, putting his hands on my shoulders. “I was just getting a little cramped sitting there. I like to move around, y’know.”

“You like to move around?” I said in disbelief. There had been times when I’d left for school in the morning and come back eight hours later to find him in the same place. And not just a few times. Many times.

“Recently,” Travis said, smiling at my sharp look. “Now, come on. Your brother shouldn’t be home.”

“Back to my house?” I raised an eyebrow. “And I thought you’d become at least half-normal.”

“Me? Never,” he gave a mischievous grin that bordered on perfect. “Now, did Keith bake more cookies?”

“No,” I said. So Travis still liked Keith’s baking. Damn them both.

“Aww,” Travis whined like a disappointed little kid.

“He made a cake,” I sighed. Keith had baked a flourless orange cake. I don’t understand how you can have a cake without flour. It’s unnatural. It’s also the most amazing thing I had ever tasted.

Did I already say Keith should be damned? Yeah.

If Travis was any more excited he’d be jumping up and down and clapping his hands. “Let’s go,” he said, and he grabbed my hand.

I could feel him bubbling with anticipation as we walked, but that snake was writhing around inside me again. What had made Travis hurry us out of the park? What had he seen? Was it someone like Lex again? Or could it be one of Ackerman’s agents?

I held Travis’s hand tighter and glanced sideways at his handsome face. Would he ever have a normal, peaceful life?

Anne

Travis

Pictures of all my characters available at my PhotoBucket.
 

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Album Review: Deadstock- SID

Hello, and welcome to my next album review! Yes, it’s another review of my favourite band SID, but I just had to share this with y’all!

I believe in reviewing and sharing stuff most people likely wouldn’t find otherwise. Actually, it’ll pretty much be all Japanese rock and I’d like to up its popularity. Alright, here we go, with Deadstock.

 

Deadstock was released in February 2011. The songs on it range from 2009, when the first single on it was released, to 2011. Deadstock has a lot of SID’s most famous and successful songs, and fared very well on the album charts, reaching #2 (SID’s unlucky number. They’ve never gotten a #1, but are always stuck at #2.)

No LDK

First track off the album. It’s a pretty good song. It starts off with really little beat, with Mao keeping his vocals soft and carrying it through… until it reaches the chorus. And then it just bursts out with this wonderful, catchy tune and Mao shakes his voice in his wonderful way. The whole song is really catchy, even though it’s not really loud and bouncy. 

Shelter

Alright, when I first heard this song, I really liked it, as it was not usual SID-fare, and had this strange, out-of-world guitar work to it. It slowly faded away though. It’s only 2:45 minutes, and that’s a good thing, as it couldn’t satisfactorily be any longer.

Cosmetic

One of the singles SID released prior to the album release. It’s a very addictive song that is jazzy without going over the top like MOM, which I mentioned in my M&W review. This song is one of SID’s #2s, and it’s not hard to hear why. It has definite playback quality.

Ii Hito

(Title means ‘One Person’, or so says Google Translate. I personally thought ‘Ii’ meant ‘good’, but I guess that’s another meaning.) As far as I know, this song was the most popular among the English SID fans (Googling SID Deadstock has ‘Deadstock track #4 download’ come up). This is a really sweet-sounding song, one with a chorus that you might sway along to. There’s also lots of acoustic guitar, and the bass is easy to hear. Mao’s voice is sweet, but strong where he needs to be. Just something you’d like to sing along to. Good song, but can be boring if you’re not into it.

Wife

A song very similar to Shelter in some ways, but different also. This song just… sounds better. A little themed, you might say, like many of the songs on M&W. Like Shelter it’s very short, and it seems to go by in no time.

Rain

One of the singles off Deadstock, and it’s freaking awesome. Oh, sorry, let’s rein it in. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Rock, but has that melancholy edge to it that you’d expect of SID. Really, it’s the quintessential SID song. Mao’s voice is wonderfully powerful in it, though he can really make it soft and saddened when need be. Really, it’s a song worth listening to over and over. No wonder it reached #2 on the charts.

Dog Run

What a change in tone. From the sad rock of Rain, to the upbeat jazz of Dog Run. I didn’t quite like this song when I first heard it, but it can be quite addictive and catchy. Mao’s blog advertises the ‘catchy chorus’ for a ringtone, but I personally like the parts better. From the few words I understand, the song seems to have sad lyrics, but you really can’t tell from the tune.

One Way

Another of the five singles off the album, and my least favourite to be honest. It’s upbeat rock, and to me it sounds really forgettable and generic. Mao does some good things with his voice, but this song really isn’t up to par with the other singles in my opinion. It reached #3 on the Oricon charts, though.

Nigatsu

My sister says this sounds like an English song. I can kind of see her point. It’s not really what I’d label SID with, but it doesn’t make this a bad song. It’s just… rather plain. Although when I listen to this song, I can imagine the band playing on a rooftop, and Mao in a crisp pink shirt and skinny jeans. I don’t know why.

Oh, wait, it appears to be some sort of take on this picture. Yeah.

 Ranbu no Melody (ALBUM MIX)

A slightly different version of the single they released. The differences aren’t too marked, just a higher guitar tone. I was quite disappointed. Being not the biggest fan of the original song, I expected something fresh done with it, bringing it up to the level I associate with SID singles. Nope.

The song in itself is just some usual-sounding rock song, one you might hear every day. The original single reached #4 or 5 on the Oricon chart.

Sleep

Fifth and last SID single, and my favourite (with Rain, I guess). It is quite similar to Rain–rock, with a sad tune–but different also. Rain was much louder. Sleep is much quieter, and Mao is really fantastic with his vocals. His voice is so haunting and striking in this song, I love it. The melody in itself is really beautiful without being slow (rock, like I said).

Sympathy

Last song off the album. When SID ended their Deadstock 2011 Tour DVD, this was the last song. They said it was because they usually ended their concerts with sad songs, and they wanted something upbeat this time. (I can vouch for this. Of the four concerts I have, they’ve ended twice with Binetsu, the song that makes my heart crack.)

Anyway, this song starts off with Mao making his voice really strong and powerful, which can be pretty misleading. It’s actually an upbeat rock track, and to be honest not my favourite. Perhaps because I’ve never really cared for this type of music from SID, but it just doesn’t stand out. Not the best song to follow Sleep.

Favourite track(s) off album: Sleep, Rain

Least favourite track(s) off album: Sympathy, Shelter

Overall rating: 9/10 (I’m going to start rating out of ten now. Five is just too little)

Well, that’s it for now. I noticed this review was longer than the others, and it’s mainly because Deadstock is a pretty old album (it’s coming up on its 1^st birthday, one week after mine on 15^th February). I’m also greatly attached to this album. It was my first SID album, my first gateway to my beloved band.

So check out SID’s brand-new iTunes page!  (I don’t know what it looks like, really, so it might be in Japanese. Might be handy to have Google Translate on another tab.)

Thanks for reading! xo

Writing Thoughts: My Writing Wishlist

Hello and welcome to my first post on Writing Thoughts, just some of my own personal thoughts on writing, and how I love it and the challenges I face. A bit of a combo with my How Not to Write a Book posts, but rather on How I Write my Book.

Being a bit of a weird, ambitious person, I have a lot of goals, particularly about my writing. Some I hope to achieve, while others I basically just dream of. I am such a little girl, I love multi-coloured stuff (almost wrote shit there, before I saw what that would look like... multi-coloured shit, XD). My goals are going to be colour-coded. Here's a little key:

Things I absolutely will do is in red.
Things I hope will happen, but still have a high hope of happening, are in blue. 
And things I dream of (and I expect many of these) are in purple.


So, here goes:

Finish my damn book
It's been almost two years, and I have six pages. I keep deleting and re-writing, and it's so fucking annoying. But I will finish it. Y'know, unless I die prematurely. Hopefully that doesn't happen.

Get my damn book published
Not the self-publishing thing anybody can do, but actually have my book looked at by a real editor, and then deemed worthy of publishing. This was originally gonna be in red, but since this is more dependent on someone else and not me, it's blue.

Have someone tell me my writing's good
Well, I guess I could say I've kinda accomplished this one as I've gotten a few compliments on Wattpad, and though I've loved them, I'd really like someone from a more experienced audience to say it. Like people who've read a ton of fantasy books and still somehow liked mine.

Have a book-signing
This would be so cool. It'd mean I'd have fans, too. I mean, that's what real authors do, right? Sign books?

Get Twitter followers
On my Twitter account, that has currently one. Of course, my 'author one' would have my real name, but I'd like at least five people worldwide to actually care what I have to tweet.
(Yes. Blatant advertising. Fall prey to such easy tricks. Now)

(here come the crazies, whoo!)

Have Jennifer Armintrout say my writing's good
Maybe this is not too crazy. But this would mean a hell of a lot. Jen's awesome.

Get a movie deal
Y'know, be in the big leagues. This would also mean I got fans and readers. But this'll only matter if the next one comes true with it:

Be a part of aforementioned movie production
So that I know they don't screw anything up. They don't change my storyline, and I have to confirm every actor they hire. Yes. I am controlling like that. But I am not letting someone like Kristen Stewart play Rinna. She's supposed to be pretty, and exotic, and Kristen Stewart is neither pretty nor exotic. Never mind the bad tag she'll bring along with her. Chick's got anti-fans.

Oh, and Colin Egglesfield has to be in the movie
Because he's hot. And I've already cast him as Leo, who's based off a character in my novel. I seriously cannot imagine another guy playing him now.

Have any of the McFly boys say they like my book
They don't seem like bookworms, but hey, a girl can dream, right? Especially Tom. Not only does he seem like the biggest reader among them, but I love him the most. 

Get my book translated
I'd like people in my country to read it too, and not a lot of them know English that well. I'd also like it to be in Japanese, because...

Have Mao say he likes my book
Self-explanatory. Mao's awesome. It'd be freaking amazing if we were fans of each other. I doubt he'd as big a fan of me as I am of him, but still. Awesome.

Have George RR Martin say my writing's better than mediocre
He is an awesome writer, and for him to every say that my writing's not shitty, would mean everything. 

When I open a bank account or something, somebody looks at my name and says, "Hey, you're that writer! I read your book and liked it."
Fan! The proud side of me's taking over now. It'd mean I actually sold a couple of books, and my name's actually recognisable.



I got more. Wait, let me think of them. Well, I'll be back with them later. I never miss a chance to ramble. If you've got any writing wishes, do tell me about them. I'd really love to hear them. Blatant cry for comments

Somebody tell me I'm not crazy for wishing for these things. This is normal, right? Right?!

SID Pictures: What's In? December 2011 Scans

 Hello! And welcome to my blog. In this post, I'll be sharing SID's photoshoot scans with the Japanese music magazine What's In? I have scans of three months, Dec 2011, May 2012 and August 2012. The boys look fantastic all dressed and made up, and so I had to share these! I wanted to share them all at once, but arranging pictures in blogger is something I fucking hate... plus my internet connection sucks.
So, for now....

December 2011

 This is the shoot SID did for their winter single Fuyu no Bench 'Winter Bench'. That's why they're all in winter clothes. I have no idea what Mao is wearing, though. I'd freeze my ass off in those, and I live in a tropical country.
  Well, I hope you enjoy!

  Credits to SID stock

This is an awesome wallpaper picture. Just sayin'

Clicking on the pictures should get them in full-size. My next SID post will have the May 2012 scans, where Mao is dressed better, and the theme is sakura.
Thank you!

Album review: M&W- SID

An album review on SID’s newest album, M&W (if you couldn’t tell by the post title). I absolutely loved this album, and I had to share what I thought of it with everyone. I tried to be impartial, which was damn hard as I am one of SID’s biggest fans. I hope you enjoy, and maybe think about buying the album?

Thank you!

Konagona

Track number 1– an upbeat rock track, and one of my favourites of the album. While I essentially have no idea what the lyrics are about, I’m assuming it’s sad (Google Translate tells me ‘Konagona’ means ‘in small pieces’), the music isn’t. It’s not uber-bouncy, it’s fun and awesome.

You should especially listen to the track with headphones. The bass plays in one ear and the guitar in the other. Really cool. Not so cool if your headphones are fucked like mine, where you can usually only hear one ear at a time.

Ghost Apartment

The thing about this album is, some of the tracks sound kinda… themed. Like Ghost Apartment reminds me of one of those old horror shows, with the vampires that had too much make-up on, and with the great, fake castle backgrounds and bats. No? Just me?

Still, I like it– it’s dramatic and has that jazz sound. I also love what Mao does with his voice in the chorus. It really doesn’t sound like what I’d expected to see in this album– it feels like a Play song.

Fuyu no Bench

One of four singles released before the album. It’s actually my least favourite single, but it’s still a sweet and warm song. Y’know, winter-cuddling warm. From the couple of lines I could understand, the message was really sweet. About how their love is not over and all– basic heart-touching Mao-fare.

I actually love singing along to this song. It just… feels lovely.

Ito

I knew it was going to be a rock ballad the moment I saw the name (‘Ito’ means ‘thread’. I’m pretty sure it’s referring to ‘red thread’ which is supposed to be the connector of fate and destiny).

So, my expectations were high, and the beginning of the song inspired faith. But, somehow, it didn’t sound as good as I expected. It was less rock than I’d wanted, and I’m not the biggest fan of it.

Café de Bossa

(Can I tell you, I was wondering how to make that little line over the ‘e’ in Café, but autocorrect fixed it for me. Yay)

Uwaa, I love this song! It is also kinda themed– it feels like a holiday, beach song. I love listening to it and swaying. Mao keeps his voice light and sweet in it, and I really like it for that. And I’m a sucker for songs with acoustic guitar in it. I love singing along, especially the pre-chorus! Mao’s voice is really sweet there. I think this might be my favourite song in the whole album.

‘S’

Another of SID’s pre-released singles. So not mellow, new-style SID. Fast, hard rock. I love it. I love how Mao sings the chorus, and I especially love the music. This song went to #5 on the Oricon, and it’s obvious to see why. The music is really… original. I don’t know; I really haven’t heard songs like it.

MOM

Okay, you do not get anymore jazz than this. Bright, loud, fun– it’s much louder than Cosmetic, but I can’t say I like it more. I really liked this at the beginning, but it somehow wore out for me. Still, if you liked Smile and Virtual Bansankai, I’m sure you’d want to listen to this more than once.

Itsuka

SID’s first single off the album. Total rock ballad, their forte, and it was really good! It reached #2, and I’m really not surprised. Mao really strengthens his voice, and he sounds good. It does remind me of Rain and Sleep, except in those two beautiful songs, Mao’s voice really hits you with longing. This song affected me less than those.

Dresscode

Themed song? Yup. The ‘parts’ sound like one of those themes that’d be playing in one of those chic clubs, where skinny girls in short, tight dresses would chatter and sip champagne. The chorus, though, is really different, and really good, as well. The third part, also, sounds like it could be from a different song. It’s much more dramatic and rock, and I really like it. That transition from it to the flitty music is really seamless. One of those songs I wasn’t particularly fond of (the flitty-ness pissed me off), but am glad I took the time to listen to more than once.

gossip!!

From the name, I guessed a loud, jazzy song like MOM, and I was really excited. It’s not jazzy. Really, it isn’t. It’s themed, but not jazzy.

The theme (to me, anyway) is some sort of old, high-school rock. Y’know, like those old movies where students get up on tables and start dancing. I was pretty disappointed. It’s not bad, but not really great. I do like the chorus, though.

Nokoriga

My favourite single off M&W, and possibly my favourite song off it too. So quintessential SID. Touching, beautiful, with this melody that makes me heart move with it. It’s not too slow, though. It only got #5 on the Oricon charts– I expected a higher ranking, to be honest.

And now, because I saw this in someone else’s blog review of Deadstock:

Favourite song(s): Café de Bossa, Nokoriga

Least favourite song(s): Ito, gossip!

Overall rating: ●●●●●

Well, I hope you liked reading this review, and if you’re not a SID fan, convinced you to buy the album. Seriously, I will be overjoyed if I did. One of my goals is to try and gather as many fans for SID as possible.

Thank you!