Toaru Majutsu no Index Doujin Review: $1,000,000 no Best Order! By Utsura Uraraka

As promised, this is where I review the second most noteworthy Accelerator and Last Order doujin in my collection, made by the same author and one of only two of her Certain Magical Index doujins that had been translated to English. Best Order is the sequel to the previous one I had reviewed last week, and this is where the story crosses over from plain heartwarming to outright hilarity.

Here, we have our two main characters trying, just plain trying, to make a decent dinner while their surrogate mothers were out. You also have to wonder just what kind of dinner they could make where the only ingredients they need are onions.

When asked why, Last Order had this to say.

So that’s where Misaka Imouto’s goggles went to…

Then there’s this problem…

Which leads us to one of the most heartwarming exchange between these two in fanon.

As for what came after...

What a way to bait us up, huh?

...something just as memorable.

I don't think they'll EVER live this down.

Though, he certainly looks happy...

Overall, this doujin certainly had won me over. Kudos to the artist Utsuka Uraraka, or Eretto as she's better known, as well as to the Life 4 Kaoru scanlation group for bringing us this. Her's hoping that they'll also get to work on the author's other works.

Toaru Majutsu no Index Doujin Review: Last Order In Your Eyes! by Utsura Uraraka

I'm still mostly on the Touma and Misaka bandwagon for this series, but that doesn't stop me from being interested in the other beta couples portrayed here. I don't actively ship Accelerator and Last Order but I can't deny their charm. In fact, this doujin uses the latter pairing's brand of chemistry as its selling point. And, honestly, I'm sold.

The setting is a simple slice-of-life scenario between our two leads. No plot to speak of, no outright danger to fight against, and none of Aleister's plans that needs to be derailed. 

Just a snotty little punk, a hyperactive little girl, and sharing a scarf in cold weather.

Accelerator gives us a rare example of a male tsudenre character, if his actions are anything to go by. Mostly he acts like a jerk, then he gives us a glimpse of his heart of gold. Just don't mind the child abuse. That's how he shows he cares.

Aww. Humbug.

Last Order, like always, is just a little ball of sunshine. And she's all it takes to convince Accelerator to turn around do whatever she wants him to do. And in this case, it's to try making dinner.

Key word here is try.

This doujin does a good job in showing us just how cute and heartwarming this pairing is. Which, compared to any relationship the actual hero of the series is having, at least this one has some actual canon development and is more likely to have more resolution.

If only Accelerator stops acting embarrassed.

Also, this doujin seemed to be part of a series made by the author, but only this issue and one other had been translated into English. I'll cover the other translated doujin soon right after this.

Final Fantasy 7 Fanfic Review: Glitterati by Nagia

Fanart by elphin-art

One of the best way any piece of fiction could convey their stories would be summed up in the three-word principle: show, don't tell. No spoon-feeding us readers like we're a bunch of idiots, but give us enough to let out imagination paint and fill the blanks. Now, one of the rarer ways a story could be told lies in not just how it is showed to us, but what it can also imply.

Nagia's Gliterrati is one of the few fanfics I didn't become interested in because of the characters but for its genre. I was in the mood for some good Crime Dramas that I've even tried to look for a few in fanfics. This one stood out. I was never really a fan of the Yuffie and Vincent Valentine pairing but the story had won me over. And the fact that it had a noir-ish feel it helped.

The setting is an AlternativeUniverse fic where Yuffie is married to Don Corneo (ye gods) with Vincent serving as their personal bodyguard. There's not much plot to speak of, just plenty of lines to read between. And, in case that still doesn't convince you, take my word for it that this thing is better than it sounds. Show and don't tell, indeed.

Not sure about the lyrics of Fuel's "Shimmer" and how it connects with the story, but it's now in my playlist.

And kudos to elphin-art for the fanart. Couldn't find a fitting pic for the story so I had to settle with this.

You can find the fic here:
http://archiveofourown.org/works/42907
and here:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4476289/1/Glitterati
Enjoy :)