#Her aesthetic is PERFECT for Earth 42

[lpsgirl109]

Hey Sony if yall wanna know the quickest way to get my money. In BTSV, give Earth 42 Miles a small group of friends featuring characters who have all been associated with Miles in past media and make one of those friends Phin

[moononmyfloor]

In the 3rd Quarter of 2024 Cdramaland...

1st Quarter, 2nd Quarter, 4th Quarter

(Aka the review post where I speak like I'm a hyping announcer at a presidential debate 😆)

.

16. Favorite Parents/Parent figures of the year

Papa Gu (Zhang Fengyi) from A Lonely Hero's Journey, Master Li (Qiu Xinzhi & Zhang Chenxiao) from Dashing Youth

Usually the uber principled, patriotic, larger-than-life parents are stereotyped as negligent and ruthless towards their children or incapable of expressing their true affections. Not Gu Xixing. He was a strict father but for all the right reasons, and never hesitated to throw his prestige and life aside for his children any second and he made sure his children knew that, which was the most important part. The kids knew their father wasn't someone to be trifled with, but also that they were so incredibly loved and protected. Having him as the father was a big part of why the ML grew upto be such a stable and well-adjusted young man who would never sway no matter what catastrophe befell him.

Li Changsheng was, hm, admirable in the COMPLETE opposite way. One of the most convincing character designs for an immortal I've seen, he was often insensitive to the mortal struggles his students went through, and came across as snobbish and heartless at times, but that behaviour made sense and was understandable for once. Plus, when he did decide show that he cares, he went big. Earth shatteringly, Dynasty-topplingly, Heaven-shakingly big. Quite literally. He always had life advise and cultivation tips to give, if you were able to tolerate his cryptic speech and dark humor resulting from having lived for too long. I was both disturbed and fascinated by him, I even wrote character analysis for him here and here, lol.

.

17. Favorite historical drama of the year

A Lonely Hero's Journey

Set in Suzhou during 1940' Japanese Occupation era, this drama is by no means the most perfect espionage/spy/war show that China has to offer, but I REALLY enjoyed it because it had so much heart despite all the bloodshed and devastation going around.

It didn't have the most accurate-to-history depictions of this specific time period, the costumes weren't necessarily period appropriate etc, BUT THAT'S OK, because even still it did such a GORGEOUS job of its wardrobe, and it's not like didn't do some research (3 meta pics from official weibo posted above), delivered heaps upon heaps of world-famous Suzhou architecture and landscaping aesthetics (3 collages from weibo below) and used this mesmerising old gramophone track 【Teach Me How Not to Think of Her (教我如何不想她) by 赵元任 (Zhao Yuanren)】 in its bgm and also did a modern cover for it, all of which made for a very atmospheric viewing experience.

And most importantly, it depicted almost all the characters with empathy no matter they were a main character, a villain, a traitor, a Chinese or Japanese. If you see people spouting that Cdramas always have clear cut black and white censored portrayals of stories that take place in sensitive historical time periods, that they bend over their back to ensure the audience wouldn't root for the characters on the wrong side, just slap a show like this in their face.

.

18. A drama that was a pleasant surprise

Snowfall

When the premise said "Republican era Vampire Cdrama with an age gap relationship" I didn't really expect it to be anything more than a cheaply produced light fantasy thriller with the said age gap couple being portrayed by two same age actors where one character simply happens to be labelled as immortal.

Snowfall was anything but. Excellent cinematic visuals, sets, styling and costumes from Director Li Muge, who is like China's second God of Colors after Dir. Zhang Yimou, veteran actor Vengo Gao (Age: 42) as the immortal half of the pair and Ouyang Nana (Age: 24) as the younger half, who actually do share a very visually age-gap dynamic that was so masterfully explored so it was 100% about mutual respect, adoration and sexual tension without being creepy, and the show never let you forget that the main lead was a vampire who could unleash some serious, gory violence if he wanted. Yes, his vampirism was still explained as the fault of alien meteorites (as always 😂) but they compensated with delivering an immaculate antagonist who was 10x unhinged than any paranormal disease could ever be. He had a competency kink, abandonment issues, he was emitting the desire to be held by throat and be topped wherever he went like a jumbotron, he loved to torture AND be tortured... the list is endless. Watching this drama was absolutely delightful.

.

19. Favorite adaptation of the year

Adventure Behind the Bronze Door/Tibetan Sea Flower

The DMBJ fandom was waiting for this for what felt like a decade but OH MAN IT DELIVERED. Not only that it was faithful to the book in ALL the ways that mattered, it fixed up a lot of not-so-good parts in the original material, fixed continuity issues and became the DMBJ show with the most cohesive, well-paced narrative. It was about time.

From the super-well thought out opening credits animations, to the casting, book references, props designs, CGI, bgm and the to the freaking ENGLISH of all things, it was perfection. 9.5/10 Stars No Drama.

.

20. Screenstealer of the year

Ye Dingzhi (He Yu) from Dashing Youth

Tumblr user @fortycumber said it all, couldn't have said it better😂. Despite the promising start, Dashing Youth fell apart by the end (though I did enjoy that drama a fair amount, I made an edit too for Dingzhi and his poor wife Wenjun) with the scriptwriting failing almost all characters including Dingzhi himself, but He Yu's soulful acting did SO much to singlehandedly keep the show worth watching to the end.

It is especially amazing considering how He Yu is still a new actor, he had studied Architecture and started pursuing acting only recently, other than the gorgeous face he had little in common with the gazillions of his peers in the same show, yet he was the one who hit it out of the ballpark. An orphan in the Jianghu whose family was brutally murdered in his childhood, brought up by a just as loner Dark Cultivation Master, a prodigy who is admired but never understood and therefore feared by everyone, an ardent, loyal lover, a struggling young father.... he nailed it all with the perfect amount of gravitas.

.

21. A drama that made me cry

Adventure Behind the Bronze Door/Tibetan Sea Flower

When I tell you just how much ZHH got the vibes right, I was impatient for the subs and randomly clicked here and there on ep 30 already, without subs. I saw glimpses of certain scenes that were happing in the ep and I just

stared at the screen

scared at the screen

A shudder passed through me and I instantly started bawling like a baby.

That hadn't happened to me in a long time. 😭

.

22. A drama that made me laugh

The Flower of Lust

A low-budget simple comedy with copious GL undertones, this drama didn't offer much meat to bite on, but it was unexpectedly some good fun. Fast and easy to follow, there was lots of turned-around gender expectations going on for the roles.

For example, this laobanniang played by Word of Honor's Beauty Ghost is the main lead, there's no Male Lead, but a clutzy female assassin who's going to kill the Lady and they develop a classic wuxia sworn-sisterhood relationship where they share energy (😏) and sacrifice for each other. It has two side male characters played by hot young actors (Huang Junjie and Li Zhuoyang), but they are simply himbos who were saved by the boss lady and now work as her bodyguards! At most, they only have hots for each other.

Also it has a theme song that sounds TOO good for the production quality. Plus each ep is only 15 mins long, you won't lose out if you give this show a chance. The full version is only 3.5 hours.

.

23. An old drama I watched this year

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (2017)

On paper-

"An otaku wants to order a love bot in the form of the girl he has a crush on, but accidentally orders a male bot who is programmed to love him forever, and the otaku re-purchases the girl bot but she accidentally gets programmed to love the guy bot, and the Otaku suffers. A lighthearted comedy with some gay jokes."

What it actually was-

Polyamory negotiation, feelings realisation, coming out, internalised homophobia, learning to love yourself, multiple thorough discussions on how a relationship arrangement doesn't have to be this predefined textbook thing and how it's sometimes as simple as just staying with people who make you happy, the biggest gathering of explicitly-acknowledged queer people I've seen in a Cdrama including the ML himself, a butch, a crossdresser, a BL writer, a girl who believes everyone is in love with her...... who are shunned by the rest of the campus for being "weirdos" so they create this space for themselves that is so full of love and acceptance and *literally* decorated in rainbows, and there was a scene of a gay bar with a married gay couple...... I can go on and on.

Is it a perfect show? No. But I would give it even more than 10/10 if possible, simply for existing. It's not a masterpiece and is full of silliness sometimes but it is so painfully clear that this show was made by people who knew what they were doing.

The Before-2018 Cdramaland was a RIOT. Highly rec that everyone watch this, especially if you are interested in seeing what queer portrayals in recent Cdrama scene used to be before censorship rules tightened.

.

More posts by me

[presidentdisastraofgallifrey]

Rating Every Nu Who Episode: Season 3

The Runaway Bride: 8/10 gets a LOT of points for Donna being so amazing and Ten being so befuddled, because the actual spiders in the Earth plot is a little meh. The star-shaped ship is fun though, and Donna already reigning in Ten.

Smith and Jones: 9/10 omg Judoon!! The rhyming! It's so silly but I still care that people are dying! Martha is just doing her best but is so brave and still kinda excited about the adventure!

The Shakespeare Code: 6/10 perfect aesthetics and the ending with Queen Elizabeth is hilarious. The idea of using words as magic is fun. The alien designs are a little shaky, and the Doctor can be a dick to Martha just for not being Rose, which is my ongoing complaint this season. He cares about her but doesn't make that clear. And I don't love her crush on him the whole time either.

Gridlock: 9/10 New Earth is back!! I love the worldbuilding while keeping it simple here. And the ending made me cry!

Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks: 8/10 now THIS is a proper dalek episode, no matter how ridiculous. Because that's the show!

The Lazarus Experiment: 3/10 but why though? I guess this one was kind of regular silly filler, but I didn't love it. Is a little funny in retrospect that Tish consistently gets jobs working for masquerading villains.

42: 1/10 nothing wrong with it per se but rickety spaceship/space station episodes just aren't my vibe.

Human Nature/The Family of Blood: 6/10 was one of my favorites when I first saw it because I'm obsessed with shows making their own AUs, but upon rewatch I'm actually really upset for Martha. She deals with so much racism and shit, and the Doctor brushing her off while not himself would be one thing if he didn't do that constantly anyway. Plus her one friend, who was very sweet, gets possessed.

Blink: 10/10 no notes one of my (and everyone else's) favorite episodes ever. So creepy in a fun way!

Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords: 5/10 I do actually like this plot, it's in character for the Master, and the (for now) death scene is sweet. BUT I can't get over how, after being brushed off and generally not appreciated the whole season, Martha gets even more trauma and her big brave way of "saving the world" is sharing stories of the Doctor who is out to save the world. I feel like if she had gotten more focus on coming into herself here I might have been ok with it. Plus Simm!Master is my least favorite, I just don't like how wildly he plays it. I guess I do appreciate Martha making the choice to do what's best for her and her family.

Bonus Character Ratings:

Ten: 7/10 he's still fun but STOP BEING MEAN TO MARTHA JUST BECAUSE YOU MISS ROSE. STOP IT!

Martha: 8/10 not for her acting, which is great, but for the character getting all the constant trauma and plotlines that make her feel like she's never fully settled in as the companion before understandably leaving.

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #244

Mon Dec 21 2020 [01:35 AM] Wack'd: FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 1 NO 244 [01:35 AM] Bocaj: Ok Reed. [01:35 AM] Bocaj: How will killing Galactus cause more problems than it solves? [01:35 AM] maxwellelvis: Remember that Doctor Who episode where a quarter of the universe experiences spontaneous existence failure? [01:35 AM] maxwellelvis: It'd be worse. [01:35 AM] Wack'd: If anyone says one word about entropy or Celestials I am going to do something very not nice [01:36 AM] maxwellelvis: 😛 [01:36 AM] Bocaj: Wait which episode [01:36 AM] maxwellelvis: Logopolis [01:36 AM] Bocaj: Are you thinking of infinity gauntlet? [01:36 AM] Wack'd: <i>Logopol-- [01:37 AM] Wack'd: I cannot tell if you're winding me up but in the early 80s there was a story where the Master manslaughtered one of the people keeping reality in tact by chanting math at it, which destroyed a tenth of the universe. He then tried to claim he did it on purpose and hold the universe for ransom [01:37 AM] Bocaj: How did the universe function before people evolved math? [01:38 AM] Bocaj: Pretty sketchy premise, the Doctor Who [01:39 AM] Wack'd: Anyway speaking of Doctor Who remember how Moffat liked to open the second half of two-parters wildly in media res so it wouldn't just seem like two episodes mushed together [01:39 AM] Bocaj: Yes [01:40 AM] Wack'd: Well John Bryne stole that idea and traveled back in time with it [01:40 AM] Bocaj: THE FIEND [01:40 AM] Wack'd: We open on Johnny arriving in a panic at Frankie's apartment to inform Frankie’s roommate Julie that Frankie’s vanished. And then he passes out [01:40 AM] maxwellelvis: Do I need to bring up the picture of John Byrne as Ego again? [01:41 AM] Wack'd: "And on top of everything else, it's Monday!"

[01:42 AM] Bocaj: Drama llama johnny [01:42 AM] Wack'd: Anyway Julie wants, like, an actual explanation so Reed flashbacks to the main story for her [01:42 AM] Wack'd: This conceit was fun for the two pages it lasted [01:44 AM] Wack'd: So Reed does not elaborate on why Galactus dying would cause more problems. Instead he--and Steve Rogers--claim it is their moral obligation to save lives, whoever's lives those may be [01:44 AM] Bocaj: Uh huh [01:44 AM] Wack'd: Now I will remind you Galactus just collapsed into a building which may have had people in it [01:47 AM] Wack'd: And so Reed builds a giant Kirby-esque machine. You know, I didn't realize how much this aesthetic had fallen by the wayside pre-Bryne until I suddenly found myself saying "Kirby-esque" every dang issue [01:48 AM] Wack'd:

[01:49 AM] Wack'd: I'm just imagining the immediate aftermath of this where Galactus starts trying to eat the Earth again and Reed has to clarify that he never said that no danger will arise indirectly from the machine [01:49 AM] Bocaj: Pfft [01:49 AM] maxwellelvis: "Every time you say that, I have like 24 pages of forms to fill out, Mr. Fantastic." [01:50 AM] Wack'd: Anyway Thor fires a metric fuckton of lightning into this mess of chrome tubes and endless details and wallah! Galactus lives [01:50 AM] Bocaj: Its funny [01:51 AM] Bocaj: Thor giveth life and then later this year Thor murderith life away [01:51 AM] Wack'd: Galactus is...very confused that anyone would want to resurrect him [01:51 AM] Wack'd: He does not ask if the Sphinx came back, which I assume would be his first instinct given that's why they resurrected him last time [01:52 AM] maxwellelvis: "Oh space gods, did THAT asshole come back, too?" [01:52 AM] Wack'd: What was it Squirrel Girl said? "Like ordering take-out"

[01:53 AM] Bocaj: I bet Doreen is better at it though [01:53 AM] Wack'd: True of most things [01:53 AM] maxwellelvis: Especially in the butt-kicking and nut-eating departments. [01:54 AM] Wack'd: Anyway Reed finds six planets that would be perfect and have no sentient life on them but Galactus is still too weak to make the trip [01:55 AM] Wack'd: So Frankie offers herself as Herald. I...have no fucking clue how this solves the actual problem at hand here [01:55 AM] Bocaj: I think this is just her high concept way of dumping Johnny [01:55 AM] Bocaj: Which: points for effort [01:55 AM] Wack'd: He already has a ship! He drove it here! [01:55 AM] maxwellelvis: Maybe one of the Herald's powers is giving Galactus's ship a tow? [01:56 AM] Wack'd: Frankie Raye: Cool With Genocide

[01:56 AM] Bocaj: Jesus, Frankie [01:57 AM] Wack'd: I...thiiiiiink this has been foreshadowed? [01:57 AM] Bocaj: ... In this panel she looks like a redhead Crystal [01:57 AM] Wack'd: What with her cavalier attitude towards killing Quicksilver when she thought he was a baddie [01:57 AM] Wack'd: And her desire to set a childbeater on fire [01:57 AM] Bocaj: Ok but those are both very relatable impulses [01:57 AM] maxwellelvis: In her defense, those are both understandable [01:57 AM] Wack'd: The proooooooblem is the assumption that--yeah [01:57 AM] Bocaj: Ha [01:57 AM] Wack'd: This is not the moral equivalence Bryne thinks it is [01:59 AM] Wack'd: Alternate reading: thus begins some kind of wild murderous-god-woman arms race between him and Claremont [01:59 AM] maxwellelvis: Remember who this is. "It's okay if I do it" is like, the least hypocritical thing he's said [02:00 AM] Bocaj: Well, Chris turns Carol Danvers into Binary to fill in the god woman void in his heart [02:00 AM] Bocaj: And then he just. Gets bored with her and decides to focus on Rogue instead [02:00 AM] Bocaj: This is why Carol tries to beat Rogue to death whenever they meet in social contextes [02:00 AM] maxwellelvis: Also understandable. [02:01 AM] Wack'd: Anyway Galactus is like "having a good person as a Herald was shitty, but having someone with no morals was also shitty. Having a Herald who's morally questionable but doesn't object to me specifically is a good compromise" [02:01 AM] Bocaj: There is logic in what he says [02:02 AM] maxwellelvis:

Sue: Perhaps there is no moral to this story? Reed: Exactly! It's just a bunch of stuff that happened.

[02:03 AM] Wack'd: And so Frankie leaves [02:03 AM] Wack'd: Johnny tries to chase her into space but that does not work out for him [02:03 AM] Bocaj: Haha [02:03 AM] maxwellelvis: Off to try for her spin-off solo book that I don't think ever materializes. [02:04 AM] maxwellelvis: Probably because somebody was already using the name she chose. [02:04 AM] Bocaj: In context that’s like deciding to call yourself Cop or something [02:05 AM] maxwellelvis: Maybe Byrne just didn't know about the other Nova when he named her? I can see his logic in choosing that name, at least. [02:05 AM] maxwellelvis: This whole adventure started out with a nova. [02:05 AM] Wack'd: "This social judgment comes as a great reassurance to me, given that a few moments ago you tried to kill four billion people because you were hungry"

[02:05 AM] Wack'd: Do Galactus and Reed, like...deserve each other? [02:05 AM] maxwellelvis: YES! YES! YES! [02:06 AM] Bocaj: Reed became his herald in that batshit FF Grand Design thing [02:06 AM] Bocaj: He was Azureed [02:06 AM] Bocaj: He was blue [02:06 AM] Wack'd: I guess I can't throw too much shade at being friends with Galactus given Doreen also did that but like [02:07 AM] Wack'd: At least Doreen never *fucking resurrected him* [02:07 AM] Bocaj: I'm also pretty sure that Galactus keeps trying to eat earth after this [02:07 AM] Bocaj: So [02:07 AM] maxwellelvis: He kept trying to eat Earth after befriending Squirrel Girl, too [02:08 AM] maxwellelvis: Maybe he shrugged comedically when she called him out on it. [02:08 AM] Bocaj: Kind of a bad friend [02:08 AM] Bocaj: Trying to eat your friend's house [02:08 AM] maxwellelvis: Maybe that's why that witch stopped answering my calls. [02:13 AM] Wack'd: Anyway Johnny angsted so hard he gave Julie an existential crisis

[02:13 AM] Bocaj: geez [02:13 AM] Bocaj: Is that garfield the deals warlock? [02:14 AM] Wack'd: Yep [02:14 AM] Bocaj: Huh [02:14 AM] Wack'd: That said this is, like, genuinely good friending. Discouraging self-loathing thoughts, reassuring him that he's loved [02:14 AM] Wack'd: Pointing out he needs rest [02:15 AM] Wack'd: EPILOGUE [02:15 AM] Wack'd: Actually it's labeled a Prolog because Bryne is an idiot I guess [02:15 AM] Wack'd: Nevertheless [02:16 AM] Wack'd: Stark arrives to rebuild the Baxter's top two floors. Reed is thankful Stark is taking a huge loss on the project--a billion dollars in equipment got destroyed and Stark's quote is well under that [02:18 AM] Bocaj: Pretty nice of Tony [02:19 AM] Wack'd: And that's a wrap on Walter Collins the next thirty-eight years and counting

[02:20 AM] Bocaj: Probably no lover of nostalgia is raring to bring him back [02:20 AM] Wack'd: I am! [02:20 AM] maxwellelvis: We're free! Free! [02:21 AM] Bocaj: Probably greater than or equal to one lover of nostalgia raring to bring him back [02:22 AM] Wack'd: So Sue has been checking to make sure the other three floors are relatively undamaged [02:22 AM] Wack'd: Remember how they've had Doom in cryo because of that time he got trapped in a tiny robot village and as such is currently comatose? [02:22 AM] Bocaj: Yess? [02:23 AM] Wack'd: Eight months on he's still there [02:23 AM] Wack'd: The Latverian Embassy has been ignoring Reed’s calls [02:23 AM] Wack'd: That's not me taking comic book time too literally, that's literally what happens in canon [02:24 AM] maxwellelvis: "Boris hears you, Boris doesn't care." Nah, that's too mean. [02:24 AM] Bocaj: Sliding time scale will have something to say about that later [02:24 AM] Wack'd: Not about the calls being ignored though [02:25 AM] Wack'd: Anyway Reed tries again and finally gets an answer. Unfortunately it turns out whatever they have in cryo is apparently not Doctor Doom and he has escaped offpanel. He tells his croney to accept the body delivery and then Doom will destroy them [02:26 AM] maxwellelvis: Is there any point where they could have made the switcheroo? [02:26 AM] Wack'd: Uh. Any point in the past eight issues where this hasn't been addressed, probably [02:26 AM] maxwellelvis: Ah. [02:26 AM] maxwellelvis: You think it was one of his robots? One of the various randomly superpowered mooks Doom has sometimes? Boris? [02:27 AM] Wack'd: We will find out [02:27 AM] Bocaj: I'm glad that in recent stuff, Doom has his own private superhero [02:27 AM] maxwellelvis: Until then I want to imagine it was Boris doing a one-man commando raid. Complete with one-man theme music. [02:28 AM] Wack'd: Well this is foreboding

[02:28 AM] Wack'd: Also the end title tag is wildly optimistic, jesus fuck [02:28 AM] Wack'd: It's been nearly forty years and Franklin just hit puberty a few months ago [02:29 AM] Wack'd: I am. Very interested in seeing how this gets derailed given Bryne has control over these characters for a further five years [02:29 AM] Bocaj: Good to know that Franklin this young Just Wanted To Be Special and magiced himself up an X gene [02:30 AM] Wack'd: Should I continue? I'm game for it if you guys are but I recognize it is Late [02:31 AM] Bocaj: I'm needing to head to bed [02:31 AM] Wack'd: Alrighty [02:31 AM] Wack'd: Another time [02:31 AM] maxwellelvis: Yes, give me time to ruminate on Commando Boris.

[archiveofprolbems]

On Space Art by Xin Liu & Xin Wang

Xin Liu, Orbit Weaver, 2017. Production still of artist's performance during a parabolic flight. Image courtesy of the artist. Photo by Steve Boxell.

During the prolonged lockdown that defined much of 2020, the Xinjiang-born, New York-based artist and engineer Xin Liu juggled multiple roles. These included participating in a volunteering network that supplied PPE to medical workers in dire need of protection against Covid-19; designing an indie game, Sleepwalk (2020), which reflected on the conditions of confinement and hyper-connectivity; engineering a series of hypnotic sound experiences with her partner Gershon Dublon titled The Wandering Mind (2020), which guides the dreams of a sleeping audience with source materials organized by an AI system; and live-streaming an ambient soundscape recorded on Whitehead Island, off the coast of Maine, for the Camden International Film Festival.1

As the Arts Curator at MIT Media Lab’s Space Exploration Initiative and an artist who makes work for exhibition spaces, film festivals, and astronautical conferences, Liu’s ongoing fascination with space as a medium and destination for new art has seen her send a wisdom tooth into outer space, cultivate potato seeds that had travelled to the International Space Station, and imagine weightlessness as an intimate, “body-opening” condition. In this interview, we spoke about the past lives and expansive futures of Space Art, her unique mixture of academic and identitarian backgrounds, and the creative strategies of innovation and resistance while working at the juncture of art and technology.

Xin Wang: You’ve recently been referred to as a “famous space artist” in a panel discussion poster, which suggests that this is a solidified genre.

Xin Liu: It is a genre! If you google “Space Art,” there’s a Wikipedia page that defines it, though it’s very much about visual artists depicting the vision of space exploration, like images of Martian colonies, weightlessness, spaceships, etc. It was also called Astronomical Art, with notable artists such as Chesley Bonestell. These artists really tried to define the aesthetics of space, which even changed the way we would later color actual scientific images captured through different telescopes. Even now, if you look at NASA’s art programs, that’s still basically the main concept. Slowly it diverged into art in space, or art that uses space and environmental textures for creation, experimentation, and storytelling.

For me, Space Art conceptually connects more to Land Art in the seventies; the questions they were asking—regarding spatial-temporal dimensions and the way we engage with geological transformation—are more related. However, there is this jump in the Space Art medium from astronomical paintings right away to “art in space.” It is a gap in our understanding of Space Art; in my position as the Space Art curator at MIT, I have made sure to take into account Land Art, science fiction, and so on, in lectures.

XW: What questions do you want to ask with your Space Art?

XL: First of all, the duality in our perception of the world: being a human being walking, eating, sleeping, drinking, and laughing on this planet; and on the other hand, knowing that we exist on a gigantic rock spinning around another hot rock in endless space. The epistemological jump is exciting but also problematic when we distance one from the other. People talk about science versus culture as if they are the polar opposites. I’m trying to reconcile the two views of the world and find places to live in-between. My other interest has more to do with the body, our sensations, our death, and the cycles of life and materials.

XW: Your works have always struck me as poetic—you sent one of your wisdom teeth into space in Living Distance (2019), which was inspired by childhood folktales and executed with robust engineering. But the whole debate around the idea that culture and science are antithetical has a long history. Susan Sontag wrote about it in the sixties, for example; what are you seeing in terms of new manifestations of, and challenges to, that tension?

XL: The philosopher Yuk Hui has proposed the concept of cosmotechnics, which argues that science and technology aren’t objective but are born of human cultures. One of my current projects, Unearthing Futures, is a collaboration with the Peruvian artist Lucia Monge, the International Potato Center in Lima, and the International Space Station (ISS).2 We are interested in potato history as human history; native to Peru, the potato’s journey becoming one of the most widely grown crops in the world mirrors colonial history. As we set foot and grow crops beyond the earth bond, one option here is to engineer the perfect potato that survives all conditions, while the other is to trust the possibilities of biodiversity, where a consortium of diverse species that are mutually dependent yields a higher chance of survival in extreme environments. Both are questions of science and technology, but at the same time they reflect philosophies—ones about how we survive.

We selected six varieties of native Peruvian potatoes with different characteristics, sent the potato seeds to the ISS to spend a month in microgravity, and exposed them to environment stressors such as radiation. The project has not grown potatoes in space, but it’s a significant step to understanding how environmental stressors affect thesis seeds. Having harvested the first generation in our respective studios, we plan to grow multiple generations and increase the numbers that we can process. Maybe in the fourth or fifth generation we can cook them and use them in workshops that involve the general public (we are working with public elementary schools in Portland) to think about the possibilities of food and agriculture in space exploration. Space potatoes are the protagonists in our stories and would facilitate these dialogues.

XW: When we were reviewing proposals for Sojourner 2020, an open call for artworks to be sent into low earth orbit by the MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative, there were equally visible tendencies to flatten the crossover between art and technology into very gimmicky projects. In your position as both curator and artist working in this increasingly hyped juncture of art and tech, what are some of your goals and challenges?

XL: With the dropping costs of space launches and privatization, we are entering the New Space Age. Space Art is truly at the frontier now (no pun intended). There are many amazing art practitioners I’ve been able to invite to MIT and imagine together what this practice can be. The artist Agnes Meyer-Brandis, for example, created The Moon Goose Colony, where she trained geese on planetary science and different flight patterns to prepare them for the Moon.3 She even incubated and hatched the eggs herself. In 42-The Large Meteor T-R-A-P (2014), she uses electronic magnetic devices to guide the movement of meteorites, which can be viewed as a planetary defense system. In fact, the first planetary defense systems launched by NASA (the Double Asteroid Redirection Test) this past year also had to do with devices latching onto the meteorites to change their course of movement. I really like projects that are ambitious, beautifully executed, and which explore scientific possibilities as well as artistic ones. Unapologetically inserting yourself into other domains is also something I’m passionate about.

XW: What are some examples of such insertions?

XL: I recently had a conversation with the researcher Weng Jia, who looked into the detailed history of weather satellites beyond the pragmatics of weather forecast—itself a form of weather control that generates state power. It’s important to understand that history, but at the same time we can ask, as cultural producers, what now? We can either involve public engagement and sign petitions to request open access, or we can learn from the hackers—there are so many amateur enthusiasts who eavesdrop on state-owned radio signals, and through listening we are able to understand so much already. During the pandemic, my partner Gershon Dublon and I have tinkered with software-defined radio. Using just a tiny, 20-dollar USB dongle with an antenna we built from our clothing wires, we could receive the signals from retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather satellites as they pass through the sky.

Even before the pandemic, my partner was looking into personal monitoring of air traffic, as most aircrafts have to broadcast their locations after reaching 18,000 ft. This was a fun plane-tracking activity at home. But later on we were put in touch with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, who were protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline encroaching their territories. They were being illegally harassed and even sprayed with unknown chemicals by aircraft flying over their encampment, but couldn’t track the perpetrators. We helped them set up the aforementioned system using a computer, a 20-dollar dongle, and electrical metal wires, with which they were actually able to “see,” ID, and track the aircraft. Using that data and US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, the water protectors were able to pursue their harassers and hold them accountable. Is it art practice? I think it’s important and exciting to examine the “wall”; there’s no wall that’s perfect—there are always cracks. You can find things between the breaks and slowly percolate, and, in a way, take back those powers—I found those processes most exciting.

XW: I think this is a powerful approach that counters the general pessimism towards big tech, technocratic states, and surveillance to the point that people don’t even want to think about the possibilities of cracks.

XL: But that’s a facade, and I don’t know who marvelously crafted it. A lot of these things, such as the radio, are not so complicated. Given a week and the internet, most people can figure it out; it’s not rocket science. You know who is most interested in amateur radio nowadays? The fifty-plus generation, sometimes grandpas. There is a big community in Staten Island in New York. However, in the arts, these systems and disciplines are rendered unfathomable, which prohibits further investigation. That’s the problem.

XW: When you were speaking about “the cracks in the wall” earlier, I had a very dark thought—in the future, planetary warfare will look drastically different and be much more deadly than the wars currently taking place on Earth.

XL: Future wars may not be quite so physical as we imagine—the virus is a powerful model for what could happen. It shows how fragile and resilient humans are; cyberattack, trade wars, geoengineering manipulation of nature—these are all struggles on different planetary scales, and we have to constantly self-educate as citizens and decode what the decision makers are actually saying.

XW: You received your undergraduate training at Tsinghua University, which is known for its rigorous focus on scientific training and as a place that has groomed many of China’s top technocratic leaders. It’s also considered the Chinese counterpart of MIT, where you completed a graduate program. How do those experiences compare and inform your trajectory?

XL: When I was in Tsinghua, I studied mathematics, physics, and mechanical engineering; my degree was in precision instruments. Nowadays I still practice them in my sculpture in its manufacturing and fabricating processes. It’s a craft. I later went to Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), not because I wanted to be an artist, but out of a sad realization. In China, we separated art and science education since high school, and my liberal arts education was limited.

It was a selfish desire to study fine arts after college just to become a “complete” human being. I am very grateful that my parents didn’t disapprove this decision. At the time I told myself that I’d probably still end up working for Google and Microsoft; I had interned at both places during graduate school, thinking that’s how I would make a living eventually. But those two years were transformative and gave me an absolutely new way of looking at the world. Even graduating with an MFA from RISD, I still couldn’t commit a hundred percent to being a professional artist, as it is really difficult financially. I’m a practical immigrant. I had to figure out a way to stay in the country and feed myself. Then I went to MIT, because it was fully funded and I had the luxury to do research; after another two years in school, I decided that I wanted to work freely, and “artist” is the title that offers the most freedom.

XW: Do you still believe that?

XL: I do. If you tell people you are an artist, whatever you do doesn’t surprise them as much. It’s harder to talk about sending a tooth to space as a physicist.

XW: I’m struck by the way you describe gravity as a “momentum of feelings” on your website.

XL: That’s something I was thinking about when I first experienced weightlessness in 2017, during a parabolic flight. The plane literally free-falls in the sky, and in reference to the cabin, everything inside the plane is weightless. I had a bit of a performance background in dance. The experience was shocking: there was no “free from gravity”—gravity is always there. It was just everything falling together. The experience was less about me floating or flying than about the ground beneath me dropping. It’s not liberating in the way that you are accelerating and going up, which is what we associate with space exploration probably, but rather a kind of letting-go and descending. It was an eye-opening—body-opening—experience for me, and a bitter-sweet moment as well.

XW: Speaking of bodies and embodiment, do you find this excessive attention to—often performances of—an artist’s identity shows up more or less or differently for you, given the curious juncture of disciplines and identities you inhabit?

XL: It depends on who is seeing me. The tech aspect of me can seem alarming to people who are used to traditional practices, and in the so-called media/tech/science art world, gender might manifest more. The audience decides who I am. My name reads as gender-neutral in both English and Chinese. Sometimes people assume I’m a man initially, because I’m working with technology; but a bit more engagement with the work might compel one to realize that I could be a woman, because of the way I deal with technology. Still deeper into it, you might realize I’m Asian.

Another interesting aspect comes from the fact that I don’t just participate in art events; I also present my works at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), where it’s just pleasing to see my portrait—that of a young Asian woman—next to attendees that are largely from different demographics. And I enjoy that—inserting myself in different systems. It’s not just gender, but also geographic. I am an outlier in many ways—I went to a military-affiliated high school, so the instinct to fit in was strong growing up. But here, as people of color and women, we naturally stand out and have more identities. It could be tiring but it’s also our power—meaning that we can potentially empathize with more people. People like you and me—when we talk about America in a positive light in China or criticize the Chinese government, we are perceived as brainwashed by Western liberalism; but when we talk about Chinese companies like WeChat positively here, or the effective Covid-19 responses and technological innovations in China, we’d be considered brainwashed in the other direction too.

XW: I always feel that exposure to different systems of brainwash leads to utmost clarity. What do you think the future of space art will be, or what you hope it could be like?

XL: I think it will mature like digital art, bio art, internet art, AR/VR art—all these sub-domains. I read extensively on space policies, which obviously figure prominently on many nation states’ agendas. At the IAC conference in 2020, eight national space agencies just signed the Artemis Accords, which is an international agreement on the principles for corporations and civil explorations for the moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids. Particularly notable is the encouragement and protection for private entities to participate in the future of space exploration, and its effect on commercial activities will be significant; even the ISS is going through a commercialization process already. Space will become more commercial and privatized; it will engender more conversations and force us to be involved and investigate the industry.

XW: What’s your favorite Space Art piece?

XL: I was struck by Ilya Kabakov’s The Man Who Flew Into Space From His Apartment (1985) when I first knew about it. I have been (and am still) confined in my apartment due to the pandemic. It is the absolute desire to break the ceiling and get out. Though both are heading towards outer space, the Soviet campaign in space exploration and a personal desire to leave, to be free, cannot be more different. In fact, one is defeating the other.

_____________________

Xin Liu (b. 1991, Xinjiang/China) is an artist and engineer. She is the Arts Curator in the Space Exploration Initiative in MIT Media Lab, a member of New INC in New Museum, and a studio resident in Queens Museum. She is also an artist-in-residence in SETI Institute and the recipient of numerous awards and residencies.

Xin Wang is a curator and art historian based in New York. She is currently planning an exhibition that explores Asian Futurisms for The Museum of Chinese in America, New York. While pursuing her PhD in art history at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, she’s also been conducting a series of public zoom webinars on topics of technology, new media, and Asian American perspectives for the Whitney Museum of American Art since spring 2020.

Source: https://www.art-agenda.com/features/372727/on-space-art

[kebinwooo]

quarantine time!!

tagged by @theyoungflexer as you all know! LOL thank you again chelle ^^

rules: answer these questions and tag 5 mutuals

1. Flowers or chocolates? chocolates! i like food LOL 

2. Between day and night I prefer: night (i accidentally became a night owl like two years ago and now... well...)

3. My favorite drink: boba hehehehe but i really like tea in general too! 

4. Between sunrise and sunset I prefer: sunsets

5. Between dogs and cats I prefer: oooooof hard question but imma go with cats. a cat lived in my flat last year at school and i miss him deeply T___T 

6. The vegetable i hate the most: idk brussel sprouts? i had a friend keep trying to convince me they’re good and each time just 🤮🤮

7. My favorite sound: uhhhhhhhh i’m blanking LMAO i kinda like how it sounds when it’s raining? but like only when i’m inside AHAHA 

8. The first thing I notice about people: their smile? idk LOL 

9. Would you prefer horror or fantasy? fantasy. i read too much ya fantasy for my own good (i say as if i actually read much anymore) also i’m a scaredy cat and cannot handle horror for my LIFE

10. I’d want to be stuck in a lift with: oh uh idk shownu? he’s such a generally calm person that it would (hopefully) balance out me panicking like crazy. plus it seems like he’ll actually figure out a way to get us out LOL 

11. What city or town you’d like to live in? i want to live in seoul one day (that sounds so kboo of me oh my god) but like not permanently i dont think. it just seems like it’d be a pretty fun experience. i would also love to live in oxford! i was studying there for a summer and it was just SO beautiful and i loved the town so much and AGH definitely want to go back

12. What I value most in life: love, peace and happiness? LMAO THAT SOUNDS SO CHEESY but i just want a peaceful, secure life surrounded with love and what makes me happy and i also want that for my loved ones too. basically i just want there to be good in the world 

13. If I could learn any skill, it’d be: cooking.... i literally can’t cook and that’s something i definitely need to learn at some point

14. Between the beach and the mountains, I prefer: beach but mostly bc i’m afraid of heights and have no stamina to hike LOL aesthetically tho? mountain!  i lived in near perfect view of mt. rainier back at college and i MISS HER SO MUCH

15. I’d love to get married in: i’d like to get married period LOL. but no specific place i have in mind tho? 

16. My hidden talent: ......i have no idea if i even have one?? nothing’s coming to mind so....

17. If I could bring anyone back to life, I’d bring back: jonghyun ;;

18. Why? i just... miss him ;; i want to be able to tell him he did really well and that many people love and miss him. i’m sure he’s in a better place now but i also just want to show him the amount of love he still has even tho he’s gone

19. Rainy or sunny day? SUNNY PLEASE. i have had enough rainy days living in washington to last my lifetime

20. Who’s the real model of your life? i’m assuming this means role model. in which case, honestly speaking, jun of ukiss. he’s super talented (QUADRUPLE THREAT) and capable and works super hard but is such a down-to-earth, humble guy who easily makes friends and loves deeply (nobody is a bigger ukiss fanboy than jun ;;) and i just admire the amount of dedication and passion he has

21. How I relax after a hard day: melting into the couch and staring into space LMAO i’m only half kidding. i also like to watch stupid youtube videos that makes me laugh and like not think

22. I like the way I look: ehhhhhhh.... i’m not exactly confident but i also don’t hate myself either

23. My most favorite facial features of myself is: ............... :) i don’t have an answer to that

24. My most favorite part of my body is: i have nice fingers hehe they’re long and pretty and i’ve gotten quite the few compliments on them so yeah 

25. If I could change anything about my body: MY OILY FACE

26. If yes, what’s it: I’VE HAD A BREAKOUT ON MY CHEEKS SINCE LIKE APRIL AND IT HASN’T CLEARED UP AND I’M ANGRY!!!!!!!!! PEOPLE LIKE JOOHEON WHO ARE BORN WITH NEAR PERFECT SKIN MAKE ME ANGRY!!!!! I WANT THAT FOR ME WHY IS IT SO HARD!!!!!!!

27. If I could change something from my past: i can’t tell? i mean as much as i regret some decisions in the past, i’m fine with where i am now, so i don’t think i would change anything drastic. superficially tho, i wish i could’ve gone to a bap or the rose concert at least once bc i MISS THEM AND I HAD MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO GO SEE THEM AND I DIDN’T TAKE THEM!!! WHICH WAS DUMB WHY DID I DO THAT

28. How many piercings I have: none LOL

29. I like makeup? no

30. I wear make up everyday: definitely no

31.My skin type is: def oily (see #25)

32. My skin tone: idk how to describe? i do know i got REALLY pale after i started going to college bc i got barely any sun exposure LMAO

33. My hair color: black and leftover red/auburn(?) from my dye job back in january

34. My height: 5′4″

35. My age: 20... BUT I’M TURNING 21 NEXT WEEK AHHHHHHH

36. My birthday: august 21 :) 

37. My best friend: if you’re reading this melissa, it’s definitely not you >:( i’m kidding LOL i have several best friends and now that i’m listing it out in my head i’m like oh i have at least five if not a few more... idk what that says about me. i’m a loving person alright?

38. I have a pet or more: not anymore :(( warrior fish i miss you T_T

39. If I don’t, I’d like to adopt: no. imma be honest i suck at taking care of pets and i cannot handle the responsibility of another living being so even if i want a pet, i really know i shouldn’t get one

40. Video games or social media: social media 

41. I’ve visited outside my country: yep. i have a major case of wanderlust 

42. I’ve an innocent/dirty mind: depends? i have a dirtier mind than some of my friends but also sometimes dirty things just fly over my head and i’m left blinking innocently at the situation like wut o-o

43. Someone proposed me or asked me out?  LMAO NO. i’ve been single since birth. i got asked to formal once but like.... it was the world’s lamest/dumbest asking and i didn’t end up going bc it was super last minute lmao

44. If yes, then I liked it and accepted or the opposite: read above

45. Do you follow some celebrities’ fashion: no? i have bought like a thing or two bc i thought a celebrity wearing it was cool but i never deliberately followed somebody’s fashion

46. What do you think about your fashion sense: plain, comfy, really generic LOL

47. You found someone copying your fashion: lmao my fashion sense is too generic for anybody to copy/want to follow so nice try

48. Can you do your makeup properly: uhhhhhhhhhh like the very very very basics: foundation, concealer, blush, eyeshadow. that’s about it

49. You go or used to go with makeup to school: still a no

50. What color suits you best? i wear a lot of gray, black, blue, green, turquoise/teal and purple LOL also a lot of stripes. but i think army green suits me best

51. Finally, how is quarantine going? ehhhhhhh about as good as it can go. 

not tagging anyone again but feel free to do this if you want!

[making-a-ru]

Ask Thingie

Rules: answer 21 questions, tag 21 people who you want to get to know better.

Tagged by: @squeerrelgirl

Nickname: Ruby, Mrs. Hollywood, Mrs. Wood

Zodiac: Aquarius Sun, Taurus Moon, Aquarius Rising

Height: 5'6"

Last Movie I saw: The American Meme

Last thing I googled: parts of nebulizer

Favorite musician: Lady Gaga, I would take a bullet for her

Song stuck in my head: "Black Magic Woman" by Santana

Other blogs: not really, the other one is just memes but I hardly use it

Do I get asks: more so when I'm doing free readings. Every once in awhile I get witchy asks.

Blogs following: witches, especially witches of color, architecture, food, occult

Amount of sleep: usually midnight to 7:30am, but lately it's 9:30pm to 7:30am because I'm so exhausted.

Lucky Numbers: 3, 7, 8, 42, 1111

Dream job: full time lightworker

Dream Trip: the moon

Favorite food: cheese

Play any instruments: no, but I have perfect harmonic pitch. I want a drum.

Languages: english

Favorite Songs: "Electric Lady" by Janelle Monae, "September" by Earth Wind and Fire, the whole "Born This Way" album by Lady Gaga

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: flower baths in tropical jungles, macarons, daisies and bubbles in the sunlight, rainbow hair, sparklers spelling out "boobs" in the dark

Tagging: @itrainferaligatrs @witches-ofcolor @witchand2cats @opalsandcream @orriculum @colorfulcuties @rainy-day-witchcraft @recreationalwitchcraft @etsycult @low-budget-witches @lovely-amethyst-witch @prettycitywitch @psyvibes @sleepy-witchcraft @sleepymarshmallowmagic @jenbartel @lazyyogi @zodiac--signs @zerowastewitchling @kittenwitchandthebadvibes @kitteninacauldron

[ofdebris]

5, 15, 24

42 Character Development Questions | Accepting | @cfastralmvses

5. How do they dress? What styles, colors, accessories, and other possessions do they favor? Why? 

I’ve briefly mentioned this on my about page, but she usually goes for kimonos. Both pre and post ruination (especially post), she goes for kimonos. 

For post-ruination Z, it’s a comfort thing. Despite being emotionally numb to the majority of things, the fact that she can still wear a kimono with pride give her some semblance of comfort. It’s also partly about remembering what the city used to be. Before it got destroyed, she used to wear them in all sorts of different colours, styles and patterns and she used to love how they looked and made her look too. While she won’t shy away from brightly coloured kimonos, the brighter the colour and the more patterned they are, the higher the chance it’ll be worn to a festival or a holiday than day-to-day. So things like this, this or this, Z would were to a celebration, but things like this, this or this she might wear day to day. Her day-to-day kimono’s tend to only be one, maybe two colours and maybe with a slightly pattern on them, kinda like this. But post-ruination, she consistently wears a light blue one with some red and white detailing it. She doesn’t feel the need to dress up like that and she sticks to one out of ease, I suppose? 

Sometimes pre-ruination Z would go for something other than a kimono. If it were a ball for example, she’d switch it for a dress instead or if she were doing some massive machina work where her clothes would get dirty, she’d get something a little more comfortable on. Like baggy sweatpants and a tank top in dark colours comfortable. 

She’s never been one for overly accessorising. The most she’ll go for is earrings and maybe a necklace if it goes well with the outfit. She’s not one for rings as they get caught up in things easily and she never quite liked how they sat on her fingers. There aren’t really any other accessories that she favours, not in the standard sense anyway. She might spruce up her kimono a little bit with adornments or perhaps style her up in a new way and add some hairpins and clips, but they’ll usually be simple in nature. The only time her hair adornments might be fancy is if it’s a fancy event, any other time, she’ll keep it simple.

15. What kind of inner life do they have — rich and imaginative? Calculating and practical? Full of doubts and fears? Does it find any sort of outlet in their lives?

I want to lean to rich and imaginative. She’s consistently owned one of the best places in Zanarkand, no matter what the time period. Mostly through her own hard work and skills but sometimes through the fact that she’s gotten close to the right people. If you stepped into her home though, the first thing you’d note is the colour scheme. It is all about rich colours that complement each other and fits very well into Zanarkand’s techno gothic aesthetic. While there’s not a lot of neon colours, it does edge towards it. There’s a lot of reds, greys, purples and blues in there but they all seemingly work together. But then again, she’s had years to perfect where she lives and to try new things. 

The other thing you’d probably notice is either the paintings (she likes to have some paintings dotted in each room) or the minimalist of it all. Despite the fact that she does live in one of the best places in Spira, she actually tries to keep her home free of clutter. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a drawer or a cupboard stuffed with useless shit she’s collected over the year, cause she does, but her home is clean and presentable. Which is how she presents herself as the personification of the city. If the city is clean and presentable, so is she and by extension; her home too. If the city became a disorganised mess and felt unstable, that’s how she’d present herself and by extension; her home. 

That’s not to say she doesn’t have doubts and fears, because that’s natural for anybody. It’s natural for her to be worried about her city and the direction it’s going in. It’s natural for her to be worried about fiends attacking the city, from both the mountain and the sea. Both have happened before. It’s natural for her to be worried about other cities wanting to attack Zanarkand or there being an uprising within it. But it’s why there’s the High Summoner, it’s why there are advisers and people that know how to counter these worries that she’s not become an anxious mess half the time. That’s not to say there haven’t been people who have screwed things up (because there have), but they’ve always gotten fixed. She’s always been able to regain control over the city to ensure the people’s safety.

And for outlets? Machina’s one. Concert’s are another. Summoning, magic, infusing machina with magic, watching blitzball, communing with the aeons are all things in place to help her deal with these worries. Sometimes she does go off the deep end and throw herself into anything that she’s doing, but her being anxious over something isn’t the only reason she’ll do that. 

24. How do they present themselves socially? What distinguishes their “persona” from their “true self”, and what causes that difference? 

Pre-ruination, she’ll present herself as a happy, carefree sort of person when she first meets someone. While that is part of her, the other part is a lot more serious. That’s the side of her that comes out when she’s a) threatened by someone, b) in a meeting with someone in a position of power (like Yu Yevon, the other advisers, a CEO of a company, etc) or c) when the situation calls for it.

I do think her ‘true personality’ is a combination of both though? She’s a lot more calm and relaxed, though she’s more than capable of throwing a joke out there and busting out a grin, but she feels a lot more down to earth. The happy, go lucky, carefree side of her is there if she wants to make a good impression or to sometimes hide her true feelings. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t times when it’s genuine, cause there are, but if she wants to make people believe that everything’s fine, that attitude will come out. If someone calls her out on it and Z thinks they can handle the truth, she’ll drop it. 

People do have a tendency to see her one way and then see her another way and be weirded out, but that doesn’t bother her too much. Socially, she’ll always present herself either really happy or totally serious depending on the situation. For example, if she’s hosting a concert, she’ll be all smiles, really friendly and bubbly but announcing the next High Summoner or a new head of district, she’ll be serious and professional. While in the latter she might crack a joke or something to ease tensions, she’ll be totally professional.

Now, post-ruination, that’s a different story. Z after the war is only a husk of what she used to be. She’s emotionally numb, she can be quite distant and there can be times when it seems like she doesn’t care. And it’s not that she wants to be like this but after 1000+ years of seeing her city in ruins, seeing summoners and their guardians come to their deaths and having to live in it, she can’t be the same person as she was before. It hurt too much and she hasn’t got an outlet for it, so she became emotionally closed off. 

In truth, she does want to feel things again and Yuna’s defeat of Sin and then her transformation during X-2 made that very evident to Z. However, the fact is, she doesn’t know how to start. She’s been emotionally cut off for so long that feeling something again might actually destroy her. She worries that if she feels something again, she’ll feel it so strongly that it’ll tear her apart.

[verdigrisprowl]

Aug 13 Dancitron Movie Night - Gotham 7-9

Prowl learned how to poorly use the word simpatico. Everyone’s proud of him.

After movie night, he discovered that Soundwave has sixty blankets, and a washing machine, and therefore, is unspeakably wealthy. Soundwave gave him three and a fourth for the Constructicons, and Prowl has absolutely no idea what to do with this embarrassment of riches. He’s grateful, but like......... he doesn’t even use blankets.

Today NoodlesAtNight 7:31 pm ((sorry it's delayed, i've been fighting to get a decent rabbitcast tonight)) ((about to put post up tho)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:31 pm ((dw about it! I just feel really bad about missing last week, especially since I was so hyped, that I refuse to miss it this week)) NoodlesAtNight 7:31 pm ((if you want wiki articles for last week's, i can give them to you over tumblr im!)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:32 pm ((I TVtropsed them >_>)) NoodlesAtNight 7:32 pm ((LOL that works)) NoodlesAtNight 7:36 pm ((okay, links up, so i'll get the music on and it'll get going about 8:10 probs)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:37 pm ((woop woop)) MedicalMurdersaurus 7:37 pm *toddles in* NoodlesAtNight 7:38 pm *It's been a little more than three weeks, but the movie night has finally returned to the inside of Dancitron. Things aren't perfect - observant types will notice a few items out of order or uninstalled where they previously were, and the bar contents look VERY different - but it's functional.* *And the red glass doors are back in action.* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:38 pm *is not observant and just wanders where his feet take him, he'll get to BIrd eventually* verdigrisprowl 7:39 pm *prowl appears outside and is confused that he's apparently the first one to arrive.* opatoes 7:39 pm /Smokescreen's coming into Dancitron and is immediately heading for the bar/ Sounds! You've got everything up again! When's the re-opening party? NoodlesAtNight 7:40 pm [[This weekend, if all goes well.]] opatoes 7:40 pm Oh man, really? Do you want any help that night? I'd love to come over either way. MedicalMurdersaurus 7:40 pm *wanders up to whoever* NoodlesAtNight 7:40 pm *Hey, Prowl. Frenzy's just gonna pop out of the roof hatch and shout to you. After throwing a rock down to get attention, that is.* \\YO. AIN'T OUTSIDE THIS WEEK.\\ SCProwl 7:41 pm *pulls up outside* NoodlesAtNight 7:41 pm *Ravage looks up at Swoop.* =...Yes?= verdigrisprowl 7:41 pm *was movie night canceled or is soundwave just delayed? or— there's a rock.* Oh. Thank you. MedicalMurdersaurus 7:41 pm Where Bird? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:41 pm *the dragon's brought a bit different of a selection today; along with rust sticks and mercury drops, she's got "bars" of crystalized energon with thin layers of silver folded over them. there's some pictographic writing on it, but it's her language, so good luck deciphering it. she looks different too. violet ceramic bells are strung across her limbs and tail with black metal chain, and she's got an odd mask hanging from her neck- was that mask inspired by the local adorabug zori?* NoodlesAtNight 7:41 pm =She is coming. Delayed. Dinner time.= SCProwl 7:41 pm *two Prowls for the price of one rock?* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:41 pm Hello, everyone! verdigrisprowl 7:42 pm *he'll head ins... or maybe he'll wait for his alternate to catch up.* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:42 pm Keheheh Her Bird too much dinner? NoodlesAtNight 7:42 pm [[And we could use the help, he thinks. As he said, our Smokescreen is away right now, and he typically acts as a bouncer.]] SCProwl 7:42 pm *transforms and catches up* Hello, Captain. NoodlesAtNight 7:42 pm *Soundwave taps his wrist to indicate the phase shifter and huffs.* verdigrisprowl 7:42 pm Evening. opatoes 7:42 pm I'd be glad to help out like old times, Sounds. Just ping me when I should come over! /Smokescreen is making a beeline for those snacks./ NoodlesAtNight 7:43 pm *Soundwave twists to look at the dragon. He smells silver, and-- oh, what's this now?* [[Is it the scaring season already? He thought that was in... hmm. What is Earth time right now. Two w-- no. Two months.]] *He gestures to the mask.* =Always, Swoop.= *Frenzy throws another rock down, but doesn't say anything. This one is just to try to startle their timeline's Prowl before he disappears into the hatch.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:45 pm No, it's not! Well. It sort of is. Since all the little ones are hatching, the festivities are in full swing, and part of it includes keeping "evil spirits" out of the new children. *she puts on her mask and flares her wings to show off a little, before taking it back off* Red and black is actually more traditional, but purple isn't unheard of. Besides, I'm not a docent, so it isn't as though I'll see the little ones and confuse them by being purple. SCProwl 7:46 pm *hears the rock whizzing through the air and steps back to ensure it doesn't skid into her when it hits the ground and bounces* I suppose that's our cue to head inside. I hope things have been going smoothly on your Cybertron. opatoes 7:46 pm Wait- wait, what holiday is this? Do you need any help scaring hatchlings? verdigrisprowl 7:47 pm Apparently so. *Doesn't want to give Frenzy a chance to come back with more rocks.* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:47 pm *wanders up to someone else* verdigrisprowl 7:47 pm The past week or so has been remarkably normal. You? Clich.A 7:48 pm QUEEn!! opatoes 7:48 pm CLICH Clich.A 7:48 pm (Strikes a pose) Hello everyone, Soundwave! opatoes 7:49 pm /Smokescreen's stopping everything to pose at Clich!/ SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:49 pm *the dragon stares at Smokescreen for a moment. she's a full-grown adult, and SHE'S only the size of a fox. the hatchlings probably won't register Smokescreen for how big he is.* It's a dragon holiday, or festival, really, since it's three weeks long. Fresh babies are important. MedicalMurdersaurus 7:49 pm *wanders aimlessly, making no attempt not to bump into people* Chillsins 7:49 pm *Walks in, but he has to go real slow...real slow like a glacier, because Rebel insists on running in front of him.* Clich.A 7:49 pm (Poses back) SCProwl 7:49 pm There was a protest. opatoes 7:49 pm Ohhh- that's fair, that's fair. Still, I hope everyone has fun! That sounds like a nice holiday. /More dramatic pose at Clich!/ Chaoit 7:50 pm -wanders in to this. Stops and stares- Clich.A 7:50 pm OKay, we better keep it relaxed now, don't want to run out of poses too soon. (Plots down) (plops even) opatoes 7:50 pm Awww. But I have like, an infinite amount of poses in me. _Whirl 7:50 pm @S: *ping; he's not physically there yet* Hey, could I get permission to open a bridge? And some... floor space. Got. Something to bring with me. opatoes 7:50 pm I guess you could say I'm super posable! Clich.A 7:50 pm ha! NoodlesAtNight 7:50 pm ((SORRY delivery came had to parcel out food)) Chaoit 7:51 pm ((FOOD Clich.A 7:51 pm ((No probs, hellows) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:51 pm ((FOOD)) MedicalMurdersaurus 7:51 pm ((what's for dinner? 😀 )) opatoes 7:51 pm ((asbnxcv i'm waiting for food still verdigrisprowl 7:51 pm Oh? Protest against what? Chillsins 7:51 pm Rebel: HEY! *spins around in a circle and almost crashes into Chill's leg* THERE'S NO DIRT HERE! NoodlesAtNight 7:52 pm [[He's to take it that you consider Zori capable of frightening off great evils?]] MedicalMurdersaurus 7:52 pm *eventually decides to wait for Bird by perching near the snacks* NoodlesAtNight 7:52 pm *Soundwave dips his helm in greeting to Clich, and gets Whirl that bridge permission through Chimera.* Chillsins 7:52 pm *Chill wordlessly steps over Rebel's head to find a seat on the floor with Blue.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:53 pm Given that I am on the actual moon, and will probably encounter no hatchlings, I would say that I consider Zori to be aesthetically pleasing and a great muse for masks. MedicalMurdersaurus 7:53 pm *watches anyone who happens to come by* _Whirl 7:53 pm *Excellent. Fwoosh, there's a blue bridge, and shortly after, a blue helicopter. He does not, at yet, greet or acknowledge anyone. He's swiveling in place... ah, there. Whirl dives back through. The vortex disappears* SCProwl 7:53 pm A small demonstration for peace between the factions. In front of Autobot headquarters. NoodlesAtNight 7:53 pm *Laserbeak hovers down flying as lazily as possible, heading toward Swoop right away. Rumble and Frenzy follow after her, but make a beeline for Whirl's company instead.* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:54 pm *perks up the second she flutters in* verdigrisprowl 7:54 pm I thought you were at peace? Chaoit 7:54 pm -drops into a seat out of the way- _Whirl 7:54 pm *it reappears a moment later in a different spot, closer to a wall. And then, bit by bit, something large and purple begins to nudge its way through. It's a couch, and Whirl is pushing it from the other side in a very slow and undignified fashion because he can't hold bridges unless he's in alt-mode* NoodlesAtNight 7:54 pm [[He is sure Zori will be happy to hear that. It is not often that he gets to inspire an outsider.]] SCProwl 7:54 pm Not quite. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire, but the... details are still being worked out on a peace treaty. Clich.A 7:54 pm (Curious squint) NoodlesAtNight 7:54 pm //What in the ever-lovin' FRAG--// *Staring openmouthed at the couch.* SCProwl 7:55 pm *like whether or not just about everyone on either side should be put on trial for war crimes* Chaoit 7:55 pm -Blaster's just going to join in with the curious staring- MedicalMurdersaurus 7:55 pm Bird : > SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:55 pm Zori is an inspir- *eyes the couch* Um. Chaoit 7:55 pm Is...that a couch? NoodlesAtNight 7:55 pm [[...Do we know any couchformers?]] verdigrisprowl 7:55 pm Ah. Well, then there's probably little harm in... *why is a couch appearing* opatoes 7:55 pm ... /Smokescreen's going to try to sit on this new couch./ Chillsins 7:56 pm *Thought he was the only furniture Whirl needed, but guess not.* _Whirl 7:56 pm *the couch's progress halts, and Whirl pokes the nose of his alt-mode through the bridge* Move it, wide load. NoodlesAtNight 7:56 pm ((STARTING IN APPROX 10 MINUTES, GRAB UR SNAX N DRINKS)) Chillsins 7:56 pm *Betrayal* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:56 pm ((SNAX)) Chaoit 7:56 pm Um...do you need help getting the couch through? verdigrisprowl 7:57 pm *IS WHIRL PUSHING IT IN ALT MODE* NoodlesAtNight 7:57 pm *Yes. Yes he is.* *Laserbeak waves a feeler at Rebel.* {{What you thinking them dirt here for? It clean house! Not dirty Autobot desert base.}} SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:58 pm *the dragon flies up on a table and rubs her eyes. did she eat a hallucinogen, or...* _Whirl 7:58 pm *regardless of whether or not Smokescreen moves, Whirl resumes pushing from the other end. The multiverse is giving birth to this couch* verdigrisprowl 7:59 pm *the miracle of life* SCProwl 7:59 pm *would have agreed with her alternate about there being so harm done. no one showed up to counter-protest or anything so it was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon* opatoes 7:59 pm . . . /Smokescreen does move, if only to try to help out Whirl and because this feels *so weird*/ Chillsins 7:59 pm Rebel: Never not seen DIRT before! *Now she's gotta run and circle the entire damn room to make sure.* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:59 pm Keheh clean house? Chillsins 8:00 pm *Windchill's just...not going to acknowledge anything that's happening right now.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:00 pm *truly, the multiverse is full of little miracles* NoodlesAtNight 8:00 pm {{...Well. It clean floor one. Them twins room not so clean, neheh.}} MedicalMurdersaurus 8:00 pm *snickers* _Whirl 8:00 pm *with the help the rest of it should go smoothly and a little faster. There we go. Whirl follows, sealing the bridge behind him and just plopping, nose-first, into the couch* So. This is for you, if you want it, Soundwave. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:00 pm You Bird don't FLOOR NoodlesAtNight 8:01 pm *Soundwave sits up and just sort of. Puts a curled finger over where his mouth would be if anyone else could see it.* _Whirl 8:01 pm *unfurls into root mode, conveniently in a perfectly lounging position* Just the couch. Not Smokescreen. ...or me. opatoes 8:01 pm I don't think Soundwave would want to keep me! verdigrisprowl 8:01 pm *... right, okay. he should probably sit.* Good to see you, alternate. *he's heading over to his usual couch.* _Whirl 8:01 pm Take it as a "sorry I made you wreck your bar by turning into a ravenous undead monster" present. opatoes 8:01 pm ... Wait, what? Chillsins 8:01 pm *There's no dirt to be found, but Rebel keeps running as fast as her short legs will go.* SCProwl 8:01 pm *hm, Prowl should probably sit down while everyone is distracted by the space bridge and whatever is being pushed through it* Of course. NoodlesAtNight 8:01 pm [[...He'll take it. He likes the color.]] *Pause.* [[Besides. He'd rather you not be forced to push it back through.]] opatoes 8:02 pm /Smokescreen's going to sit down next to Whirl. He did help push the couch, after all! NoodlesAtNight 8:02 pm *Rumble and Frenzy clamber up on to the couch to either side of Whirl.* \\HUH. COMFY.\\ Chaoit 8:02 pm ....we didn't get everyone? With the cure on the ship - ships? - or...? SCProwl 8:02 pm *ah it was someone Prowl doesn't know* verdigrisprowl 8:02 pm *sits with Soundwave* Do I owe you a table now? Chillsins 8:03 pm *Some universes were left on their own in the Crisis.* _Whirl 8:03 pm Damn right it is. If I'm gonna pick out a couch, I'm gonna pick out a GOOD one. *bobs his head to the twins in turn, and then to the rest of the room, taking note of his peeps. Windchill, the dragon, and...* I'll be damned, is that the big Worm? SCProwl 8:03 pm *takes the nearest empty chair* NoodlesAtNight 8:04 pm *Soundwave shakes his head no, and follows it up with a personal comm.* @P: [[Not unless you come bound with it as part of the gift.]] *AND ON THAT NOTE, he'll glance around to see where Clich went.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:04 pm *chirps at Whirl. thanks to all the bells, she chimes when she bobs her head* NoodlesAtNight 8:04 pm ((four minutes)) _Whirl 8:05 pm *he'll scoot a bit so Frenzy can get in between him and Smokescreen, but he will spare Smokescreen a nod of acknowledgement. You have done Good on this day* Clich.A 8:05 pm (IS being good but then he see's big Bee and a SWERVE) OH haii~ _Whirl 8:05 pm Hey, dragon! What're you all decked out for? verdigrisprowl 8:05 pm *slight choking noise* radioactivibee 8:05 pm [waves] verdigrisprowl 8:05 pm *flops his head back to stare at the ceiling. oh boy.* opatoes 8:05 pm /Aww, Smokescreen's doors flutter. He did good for- IS THAT BEE Smokescreen's practically dropping everything to go over to him./ SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:06 pm It's hatchling festival! Everyone else is scaring away "evil spirits" and I'm looking dashing and wonderful. radioactivibee 8:06 pm Hey Smokes. Kelpy 8:06 pm [throws himself into view] AM I LATE? NoodlesAtNight 8:06 pm *He does so love that noise.* [[Greetings, Blaster, Swerve, Bumblebee.]] opatoes 8:06 pm Bee! My BF! My Bee Friend! It's good to see you! Kelpy 8:06 pm Hi Sounds. radioactivibee 8:06 pm Hi Soundwave. Chillsins 8:06 pm *Chill turns to give Whirl a wave, but doing so puts him in Blue's line of sight and the BEEP is unleashed.* opatoes 8:06 pm /Also waving at Swerve!/ SCProwl 8:06 pm *pings Smokescreen hello* radioactivibee 8:06 pm Good to see you too, Smokey. Any shenanigans since Saturday? Kelpy 8:06 pm Hey Smokey. opatoes 8:07 pm !! /Pings Round Prowl in return!/ _Whirl 8:07 pm *BEEPS back, utterly delighted* NoodlesAtNight 8:07 pm *Soundwave is gonna quickly give his timeline's Prowl the data concerning tonight's show so she can look up the audio description.* opatoes 8:07 pm You know it, Bee. Uh- ... Actually, not that much happened. I guess I almost died but it wasn't a big deal in the end? verdigrisprowl 8:07 pm *without looking down from the ceiling* Hi, Swerve. Kelpy 8:08 pm Hi Prowl. Something interesting up there? radioactivibee 8:08 pm you WHAT?! _Whirl 8:08 pm ...hey, so. Are you the same Swerve who has that whole... drink challenge thing? *peers* Because if so, I'm still game. Kelpy 8:08 pm Yeah! SCProwl 8:08 pm *hesitantly access the audio description* Does anything happen in tonight's documentaries that I should be aware of beforehand? Kelpy 8:08 pm The Fusion Cannon To The Face challenge. _Whirl 8:08 pm *points to him* Name the time and place. I'll be there. I'm still doing TWO. radioactivibee 8:08 pm Primus Swerve, you're gonna kill someone. opatoes 8:08 pm It wasn't anything, really! I just bridged somewhere and it was a trap, but I got out of there! radioactivibee 8:08 pm Can I watch? ... NoodlesAtNight 8:08 pm *He gives her anything he thinks she might need to know.* Kelpy 8:08 pm You can watch and no one has died yet! But sure. How about tomorrow?> MedicalMurdersaurus 8:08 pm *hops from being perched by the snacks to sitting on the bar* radioactivibee 8:09 pm [sighs] I'll take your word for it. _Whirl 8:09 pm I'm fine with it if Swerve is. NoodlesAtNight 8:09 pm [[Why would anyone want a fusion cannon to the face? How do they SURVIVE IT?]] opatoes 8:09 pm I promise, I'm fine now! Kelpy 8:09 pm It's a drink! _Whirl 8:09 pm Works for me. My schedule is wide open. verdigrisprowl 8:09 pm "Fusion cannon to the face"? Kelpy 8:09 pm Yeah! It's a drink I invented. It's really styrong. verdigrisprowl 8:09 pm Is it legal? radioactivibee 8:09 pm Seconded, Soundwave. It's, like, impossible. NoodlesAtNight 8:09 pm ((WARNINGS: Gotham S1 7-9 Penguin's Umbrella, The Mask, Harvey Dent // Violence, blood, death; police brutality and corruption; criminal being creepy; self-harm; foul or sexist language; improper terminology for indigenous peoples)) opatoes 8:09 pm You can beelieve me! Kelpy 8:09 pm ....Yes? I think. It should be. MAgnus hasn't said anything yet. opatoes 8:09 pm ... I want a fusion cannon to the face! radioactivibee 8:10 pm No. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:10 pm There's a draconic drink called the velveted claw. Supposedly it feels like being thrown off of a cliff and landing on your face. Since I'm not the right species, I wouldn't know. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:10 pm *kicks his heels up and chirps, if there's a tune it's by accident* opatoes 8:10 pm but verdigrisprowl 8:10 pm Does Magnus /know/ about it yet? SCProwl 8:10 pm That doesn't seem wise, Smokescreen. Kelpy 8:10 pm I'm pretty sure he does. NoodlesAtNight 8:10 pm //I've fallen off a cliff 'n landed on my face. It ain't fun.// Kelpy 8:10 pm It's been around for a year. NoodlesAtNight 8:10 pm [[Neither is landing on your back.]] verdigrisprowl 8:10 pm Hm. Probably. Clich.A 8:10 pm "that doesn't seem wise, Smokescreen" is like the background radation of his life,and yet somehow he is still here. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:10 pm Falling off of a cliff just seems terrible, really. Chaoit 8:10 pm ....all of this sounds terrible opatoes 8:11 pm ... I'm pretty sure I'm like, immortal or something. _Whirl 8:11 pm I've sampled a lot of what the multiverse has to offer. gaugebusters, LITERAL death liquor--which I survived, by the way--and at least one drink that was... at least 50% liquid drugs? Not that I knew THAT at the time. verdigrisprowl 8:11 pm *oop, sits up. pings a comm feed to his alternate.* Kelpy 8:11 pm Do you still want the rust held off? _Whirl 8:11 pm Yeah, no solid particles. radioactivibee 8:11 pm Smokey, we're not testing that theory. Kelpy 8:11 pm OKay. _Whirl 8:11 pm ...how--*looks to Rumble* How did you land on your face? opatoes 8:11 pm Come on, Bee- I'm pretty sure it's a drink! Chillsins 8:11 pm *Blue wiggles out of dad's arms and plops FATLY onto the floor. She's on a mission.* Kelpy 8:11 pm Did they just skip over what happened when Penguin revealed himself? radioactivibee 8:12 pm Oh wait it's a drink? Kelpy 8:12 pm Yeah it's a drink. NoodlesAtNight 8:12 pm [[They did.]] [[Somewhat.]] Kelpy 8:12 pm OKay good I didn't miss it. radioactivibee 8:12 pm In that case, Swerve, send me a recording of Smokey after the drink. NoodlesAtNight 8:12 pm //Landed on my face cuz I didn't land on my feet.// _Whirl 8:12 pm Let's see if I can figure out what any of this is about. My challenge for the night. SCProwl 8:12 pm *...will accept it, but she keeps the audio description on in case the video is too much* Kelpy 8:12 pm Sure thing! OmicronTheIceQueen 8:12 pm *Ice Queen comes in, shaking herself* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:12 pm *pokes his claw through a goodie* keehee Clich.A 8:12 pm I am..so confused at what we are looking at right now. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:12 pm Icy! Hello! *jinglejangle* _Whirl 8:12 pm ...that's fair. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:12 pm O,0 NoodlesAtNight 8:12 pm [[Ah. He apologizes, Clich. You did come in on the seventh episode of a show.]] OmicronTheIceQueen 8:12 pm *pauses, looking around* _Whirl 8:13 pm *beeps again at Blue, encouragingly. The Worm approaches* Clich.A 8:13 pm Well I used context clues to figure out this is that Gothem show But I thought it took place in Batman past? NoodlesAtNight 8:13 pm [[It does.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:13 pm *flicks the goodie off his talon and into the crowd* Clich.A 8:13 pm And then there was Harvey Dent? Old? And cell phones?? ????? NoodlesAtNight 8:13 pm [[Ah. That is Harvey Bullock.]] Clich.A 8:13 pm Oooooh OmicronTheIceQueen 8:14 pm Racer: O,o *standing under Icy, is this inside and outside again?* _Whirl 8:14 pm Nice. NoodlesAtNight 8:14 pm *Inside, today* Clich.A 8:14 pm (Gestures vaguely) Phones...of the cellular persuasion....hm. verdigrisprowl 8:14 pm Push her on the bus. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:14 pm Sedatives work wonders for that sort of thing. opatoes 8:14 pm Knowing how this show goes, there's gonna be someone fragged up on the bus, huh? Clich.A 8:14 pm If she is actually only 110 then he could probably more easily pick her up. NoodlesAtNight 8:14 pm [[...Are you advocating for him to murder her?]] *Surprised* Chillsins 8:15 pm *She's coming. Chill watches his spawn undulate across the floor like a wave of worm towards the couch.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:15 pm *giggles and throws another goodie into the movie watching crowd* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:15 pm No, just to knock her out! verdigrisprowl 8:15 pm No. ONTO the bus. Through the door. Not UNDER. Kelpy 8:15 pm [snorts] _Whirl 8:15 pm *snickers* NoodlesAtNight 8:15 pm [[/Oh./ Yes, of course.]] Clich.A 8:15 pm Mmm. Goth..ham. Yes. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:15 pm *icy comes in, sniffing at specs before finding a place to loaf* verdigrisprowl 8:15 pm *HUFFS.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:15 pm *goddess, the worm is perfect in every way* NoodlesAtNight 8:15 pm *HE WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED, THERE* opatoes 8:15 pm The city of goth pigs gotham Clich.A 8:15 pm very goth, much ham. radioactivibee 8:15 pm primus SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:15 pm *loafs on Icy* Did you get the gifts? MedicalMurdersaurus 8:16 pm *picks up an entire fistful of goodies and throws it up in the air towards everyone watching the show* NoodlesAtNight 8:16 pm //Ain't ham like. Pig meat? Or is it the cows?// Kelpy 8:16 pm Bam bam radioactivibee 8:16 pm GothBambam SCProwl 8:16 pm Blank warrants. verdigrisprowl 8:16 pm Blank. Warrants. NoodlesAtNight 8:16 pm *Laserbeak zooms to get as many of those as she can before anyone else does* opatoes 8:16 pm I think it's pigs? Maybe it's cows. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:16 pm we did SCProwl 8:16 pm *frowning so hard* Clich.A 8:16 pm It's also a joke about Hammy acting! _Whirl 8:16 pm I thought pork was pigs? NoodlesAtNight 8:16 pm //I didn't know there was actor pigs.// MedicalMurdersaurus 8:16 pm *arms up in the air* YAHH BIRD! _Whirl 8:16 pm Or was it... bacon? verdigrisprowl 8:16 pm I— Just when I thought this city... Blank warrants. radioactivibee 8:17 pm [watching Laserbeak because wow that's entertaining] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:17 pm *happy chirp* Excellent! Did everyone like it? Clich.A 8:17 pm ((Peter Spellos just mentioned me....WHY?)) _Whirl 8:17 pm *soft bawking noises* NoodlesAtNight 8:17 pm //Heh heh.// Kelpy 8:17 pm What are they doing radioactivibee 8:17 pm Where did the chicken come from? NoodlesAtNight 8:18 pm [[A farm, he supposes.]] Clich.A 8:18 pm (( Oh it's about Sex Machine...the Iron Circus anthology...I keep forgetting he's...there...asljdflk)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:18 pm They're talking right in front of him? Really? Chaoit 8:18 pm .... verdigrisprowl 8:18 pm Maybe they should get outside before having that conversation, about overthrowing their boss, in front of their boss. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:18 pm *laughs* Chaoit 8:18 pm He's going to get himself killed _Whirl 8:19 pm You'd be surprised how often *claw air quotes* "smart" people underestimate folks around them. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:19 pm there was a shiny factor, but not sure if Racer is ready for a blade yet Kelpy 8:19 pm You don't seem like it. NoodlesAtNight 8:19 pm [[He is either extremely brave or very suicidal, this Gordon.]] _Whirl 8:19 pm So this guy is the one good cop in a bad, bad town. SCProwl 8:19 pm Both. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:19 pm I understand. It is a traditional gift, but you know him better than I do. Chaoit 8:19 pm Both verdigrisprowl 8:19 pm I think he thinks he's already dead. radioactivibee 8:19 pm Maybe a bit of both. opatoes 8:19 pm Honestly, I think he just doesn't care anymore So yeah both NoodlesAtNight 8:20 pm ((AW YISS)) radioactivibee 8:20 pm Relatable. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:20 pm *picks up the biggest goodie available tonight and CHUCKS IT full speed across the room* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:20 pm ((who's bondage cop)) NoodlesAtNight 8:20 pm *Laserbeak cheats and grabs it out of the air with a feeler* radioactivibee 8:20 pm PRIMUS WHAT THE FRAG??? [ducks] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:20 pm ((er, bondage gal who stole the cop- WOAH)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:20 pm *ERUPTS in laughter* *starts to bend over* *whoops there goes his balance* *BAM* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:20 pm ((ZSAZ)) radioactivibee 8:20 pm [pouts at Swoop] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:20 pm *swop on the floor* _Whirl 8:20 pm I dunno. If I knew I was dead either way my focus would be to do as much damage as possible on the way out. Let's see what Jim does. verdigrisprowl 8:21 pm I think that's exactly what he's doing. NoodlesAtNight 8:21 pm ((zsasz is FANTASTIC every time he shows up on this show i stg)) _Whirl 8:21 pm Well. Good. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:21 pm ((fucking bonkers serial killer man)) SCProwl 8:21 pm ((problematic fav SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:21 pm ((he's such a great character, and such a bad person)) Chaoit 8:21 pm ...... _Whirl 8:21 pm *very slight wince* Kelpy 8:21 pm Huh. _Whirl 8:21 pm *he has decided he doesn't like this Zsaz guy* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:21 pm ((the angriest please)) opatoes 8:21 pm Man, these cops are the worst MedicalMurdersaurus 8:21 pm You Bird best at goodies _Whirl 8:21 pm Just shoot him. NoodlesAtNight 8:22 pm @W: //...Ah, sorry. Didn't know you was comin' or I'da asked Ravage for warnin'.// _Whirl 8:22 pm He likes to monologue, just shoot him in the fraggin' face while he's grandstanding. NoodlesAtNight 8:22 pm {{Bird best at eeeeverything.}} SCProwl 8:22 pm ...they all left. Chillsins 8:22 pm *The Worm reaches the couch, and lifts her upper half up, up like a hooded cobra before scrabbling with her limbs to heave her self up. You couch dwellers better make room for HER MAJESTY.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:22 pm YAH verdigrisprowl 8:22 pm He brought backup Why do ONLY the bad guys know how to bring backup? Chaoit 8:22 pm Yep He's both NoodlesAtNight 8:22 pm [[Only the criminals care about doing their job, mostly.]] _Whirl 8:22 pm @R: It's fine, it's fine. Nothing serious, mech. *he gets an affectionate nudge for the trouble, though* Clich.A 8:22 pm ooh..ouch Kelpy 8:22 pm Anyone else hear wheezing dogs? Chaoit 8:22 pm Brave and crazy SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:22 pm You'd think, if humans are supposed to be a social species, they'd know to attack in swarms. verdigrisprowl 8:22 pm Hff. True. NoodlesAtNight 8:23 pm =Dog? WHERE.= SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:23 pm Then again, social is a broad term. Chillsins 8:23 pm *Chill grunts. He's been abandoned, left to sit by himself by his own spawn.* Kelpy 8:23 pm I dunno every time they fired I heard a wheezing ydog yap. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:23 pm Racer: O-o *at the sounds from screen, then goes back to sniffing about for likely treat givers* verdigrisprowl 8:23 pm *oh no, don't shoot the cop cars* _Whirl 8:23 pm *snickers and reaches over to help Blue clamber up onto a section of the couch. Fishes around and moves an extra pillow over there for her, and give sher the greeting beep again* NoodlesAtNight 8:23 pm ((LMAO PROWL)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:23 pm *rolls forward into a handspring* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:23 pm ((prowl is perfect)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:23 pm *is up!* verdigrisprowl 8:23 pm ((I WANT HIS SHOES)) NoodlesAtNight 8:23 pm *Bird claps for Swoop* SCProwl 8:23 pm *the police cars are the only good cops left in this city* OmicronTheIceQueen 8:24 pm (this can end badly for the cars I think) NoodlesAtNight 8:24 pm //Because you're gonna fraggin' shoot him, baldy.// Chillsins 8:24 pm *Blue grunts and BEEPS to the couch at large.* NoodlesAtNight 8:24 pm //Whatcha think he's gonna do, stand there 'n dance?// Kelpy 8:24 pm Did no one warn her OmicronTheIceQueen 8:24 pm ...... Chillsins 8:24 pm *This is her spot now.* OmicronTheIceQueen 8:24 pm aparently not _Whirl 8:24 pm Little did he know, Jim had weaponized the macarena. verdigrisprowl 8:24 pm ... Was that the cop in the MCU? OmicronTheIceQueen 8:24 pm run the fragger over radioactivibee 8:24 pm Primus....... Kelpy 8:24 pm .... _Whirl 8:24 pm HELL yeah. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:24 pm Well, well, well. Clich.A 8:24 pm Get out of my dreams, he says get into m ycar, he says Kelpy 8:24 pm I still hate her,. verdigrisprowl 8:24 pm Oh, no, there she is. Clich.A 8:25 pm Makes as much sense as anything! Chaoit 8:25 pm Primus OmicronTheIceQueen 8:25 pm Question. I thought car doors didn't stop human bullets SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:25 pm ...That's not something you're supposed to do without scales, human. NoodlesAtNight 8:25 pm [[They were the Gordon human's enemies for a while, Clich. They discovered that they had no reason to hate him, and that he was working for good.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:25 pm *wanders over to the couch in time to catch the tally marks* Clich.A 8:25 pm There are....so many better ways to keep tally of things... MedicalMurdersaurus 8:25 pm What Him count for? NoodlesAtNight 8:26 pm \\HE'S COUNTIN' MURDERS. LIKE NOTCHIN' A WEAPON.\\ _Whirl 8:26 pm ................ @R: They don't. Catch him and make good on their threats though, right? MedicalMurdersaurus 8:26 pm What arm for? Him bad at count? Kehehhheh SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:26 pm Oh, I thought it would be for snacks. NoodlesAtNight 8:26 pm @W: //Nah. Nah, that don't happen.// _Whirl 8:26 pm And, pfft, I mean, if you don't plan on taking more people out than you've got room for on your body, then you're a rank amateur. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:26 pm (pfft) _Whirl 8:26 pm *another gentle nudge of acknowledgement; ok, good* Chillsins 8:27 pm Only matters if you count that sort of thing. NoodlesAtNight 8:27 pm //He oughta do 'em smaller, like that Killmonger fleshie.// _Whirl 8:27 pm Killmonger? opatoes 8:27 pm Oh man, that's awkward Clich.A 8:27 pm Oh wow.....this guy is what I might call??? Unfortunate. opatoes 8:27 pm she will MedicalMurdersaurus 8:27 pm Who is Killmonger? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:27 pm Or with a better blade. That one looks... Gross. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:28 pm That cool name : > SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:28 pm ((sjfkhalsfklasha)) Kelpy 8:28 pm Oh my god. opatoes 8:28 pm PFF NoodlesAtNight 8:28 pm //Some fleshie tried takin' over this Black Panther hero guy's throne. Did dots all on him for every kill.// SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:28 pm Goddess above. verdigrisprowl 8:28 pm *huffs* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:28 pm She's going to put a knife in his neck. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:28 pm Throne is King thing verdigrisprowl 8:28 pm *that's the most disrespectful apology for disrespect Prowl's ever seen.* Chaoit 8:28 pm . . .well that's not good Chillsins 8:29 pm *Blue pats the couch cushions and wiggles until she's comfy.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:29 pm Ah, she's going to unspool his digestive tract while keeping him alive? opatoes 8:29 pm This all seems a little.... Chillsins 8:29 pm Still a weird name. opatoes 8:29 pm Fishy NoodlesAtNight 8:29 pm [[Is that particularly painful, dragon?]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:29 pm Or she's going to cover him in tar and slowly roast him alive? Yes. verdigrisprowl 8:29 pm Why did he reveal himself, anyway? What benefit has it given him? Clich.A 8:29 pm Nun?? TAKEN? _Whirl 8:29 pm Huh. Well... I guess if you're gonna name yourself Killmonger, might as well. *glances over to Blue, then gestures in the general direction of snacks, making an interrogative beep at her* NoodlesAtNight 8:29 pm //None of what?// radioactivibee 8:29 pm Nuns? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:29 pm ((pff, my great aunt would've beaten the shit out of that man)) opatoes 8:29 pm Nun of that Clich.A 8:29 pm AN OFFENCE! Nuns taken OmicronTheIceQueen 8:30 pm *eyes specs, then eyes Racer under a couch* just eat em Kelpy 8:30 pm Oh. NoodlesAtNight 8:30 pm ((LOL clich)) Kelpy 8:30 pm Um _Whirl 8:30 pm They should get out of the road. That's a bad............... habit. verdigrisprowl 8:30 pm ((WHIRL)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:30 pm KAHAHAHAHAHHA NoodlesAtNight 8:30 pm ((haaaaaahahaha)) Clich.A 8:30 pm Hehe _Whirl 8:30 pm (( o3c )) opatoes 8:30 pm Wow, rude. _Whirl 8:30 pm They sure do love kneecapping people. Clich.A 8:30 pm I have to admire the guy who wanted to just tell them it was serious. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:31 pm Honk SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:31 pm I dislike torture. The, er. *scratches her chin* Monasteries? Keep a list of the tortures utilized by the Eaten. I had to memorize them for an essay. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:31 pm *climbs up to sit on the back of the couch* OmicronTheIceQueen 8:31 pm Racer: *pats at Swerve again* opatoes 8:31 pm Uh oh OmicronTheIceQueen 8:31 pm hmm verdigrisprowl 8:31 pm ... He's TRYING to start a war. radioactivibee 8:31 pm So what does Penguin do in this? Chaoit 8:31 pm ((it kicked me)) Kelpy 8:31 pm [leans to pet Racer] Here for snacks? _Whirl 8:31 pm I was about to say, he's playing this guy like a fiddle. NoodlesAtNight 8:31 pm [[Manipulate his bosses, mostly.]] opatoes 8:31 pm He causes messes, basically! Chillsins 8:31 pm *Blue stares at Whirl blankly, before slowly following his gesture and BEEPING.* OmicronTheIceQueen 8:32 pm Racer: =D!!! SCProwl 8:32 pm Maybe? NoodlesAtNight 8:32 pm ((wb blaster mun)) Kelpy 8:32 pm Here you go. Snack. SCProwl 8:32 pm Her personal feelings defined almost every one of her actions. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:32 pm ((holy fuck alfred)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:32 pm *looks around at everyone* W O W Chillsins 8:32 pm WOW yourself, Swoop. Clich.A 8:32 pm Oh it's a baby bat. Chaoit 8:32 pm Alfred SCProwl 8:33 pm ((MY SON _Whirl 8:33 pm *hmm, he'll take that as a yes* I'm heading to the bar. You two want anything? *looks to Rumble and Frenzy* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:33 pm There lots lots of bot here SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:33 pm Does he have to start every meeting with the boy like that? MedicalMurdersaurus 8:33 pm Like 100 opatoes 8:33 pm b Chaoit 8:33 pm Scary man opatoes 8:33 pm but you are a child Clich.A 8:33 pm Put him in a blanket burritooo (whispers) itty bitty bat burrito SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:33 pm ... *deep breath* He needs a better docent. NoodlesAtNight 8:33 pm //Somethin' spicy.// \\GIMME ONE OF THEM REAL BRIGHT PINK BOTTLES. 'S UNDER THE SINK.\\ //Oh, yeah! Grab two.// MedicalMurdersaurus 8:33 pm 1000 people OmicronTheIceQueen 8:33 pm Racer: *noming away at snack* radioactivibee 8:34 pm Alfred! _Whirl 8:34 pm *salutes, and hops up to gather the drinks, a snack for Blue, and...* Heeey bartender, what do I need to do to get a double gaugebuster? Chillsins 8:34 pm *Chill looks to see what the foster spawn is up to; she's not running but is stomping around, bowlegged like a monkey in the documentaries they watched. So be it.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:34 pm Aw. Clich.A 8:34 pm Amazingly saying "it will be fine" when you've recently been shot, does not help as much as it may seem like. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:34 pm 1000000 NoodlesAtNight 8:34 pm *Ravage narrows his optics.* =...Small dance.= OmicronTheIceQueen 8:34 pm Racer: *eyes other younglings??* NoodlesAtNight 8:34 pm *He just wants to know if Whirl will do it.* _Whirl 8:35 pm Now Ravage, you know I can't DANCE. Chaoit 8:35 pm Oh dear. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:35 pm Oooh, did she scratch his face when she slapped him? OmicronTheIceQueen 8:35 pm likely NoodlesAtNight 8:35 pm =Eh, you're right. Then nothing. Here. I make it.= SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:35 pm Humans should use claws more often. NoodlesAtNight 8:35 pm *He ducks below the counter.* OmicronTheIceQueen 8:35 pm humans have bad claws _Whirl 8:35 pm *salutes Ravage, and goes about gathering the other things--asking, of course, before he scoops up the drinks for the twins* opatoes 8:35 pm Uh oh SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:36 pm Do they? Chillsins 8:36 pm I got a problem. NoodlesAtNight 8:36 pm =Very bad. Flat. Blunt. Thin.= SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:36 pm Ah, that is terrible. radioactivibee 8:36 pm ......... MedicalMurdersaurus 8:37 pm Fire can kill lots of people : > NoodlesAtNight 8:37 pm ((i just want to say that i am presently drinking out of a Gotham cup because Appropriate)) opatoes 8:37 pm /Smokescreen's going to subtly squeeze Bee's servo./ Kelpy 8:37 pm Oh Clich.A 8:37 pm OH that is the problem with hired muscle... radioactivibee 8:37 pm [leans on Smokey] Clich.A 8:37 pm someone can pay them more...is a thing. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:37 pm *welp. that's. welp.* opatoes 8:37 pm /Squeezesqueeze/ NoodlesAtNight 8:37 pm *He does like Penguin's style. Though he won't say so.* Kelpy 8:37 pm .... Well then OmicronTheIceQueen 8:37 pm *scents around* .........the frag Chillsins 8:38 pm *Rebel stops marching to watch the show.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:38 pm *blinks at the screen* Clich.A 8:38 pm The head pat and kiss....a bit..much? Can't tell. radioactivibee 8:38 pm primus.......... MedicalMurdersaurus 8:38 pm Weird Chillsins 8:38 pm Rebel: He's DEAD! SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:38 pm *that was very clever, and the Penguin is a cunning little bird, but he's horrifying* _Whirl 8:38 pm So... obviously this penguin is on the rise to power. Clich.A 8:38 pm Quick someone pat my head and kiss me. NoodlesAtNight 8:38 pm *Soundwave leans on Prowl. He is once again tempted to find a way to test his wits against his brilliant cop amica.* OmicronTheIceQueen 8:38 pm Racer *eyeing to see if its safe to hop up on swerve's lap* Chaoit 8:38 pm ...he's a bit...off his rocker? verdigrisprowl 8:39 pm I think it was a bit much at the point when he stabbed the other guy in the guts, but. Kelpy 8:39 pm [blinks back. will he be crushed?] NoodlesAtNight 8:39 pm *Laserbeak pats Clich and gives him a light peck before going back to Swoop. It's close enough.* Clich.A 8:39 pm Aww...you didn't offline me either, that was great, thank yuuu. _Whirl 8:39 pm Hmm. I mean, the obvious thing to do would be to pit his enemies against each other. But--*points to the screen* He SEEMS to be telling lies to... patch em up? Which is pretty clever. Clich.A 8:40 pm (( DEXTER< that's where I remember Marcone from!)) OmicronTheIceQueen 8:40 pm Racer: *is about the size of a earth pony* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:40 pm ........... *now that Clich points it out, he's kind of disappointed Bird didn't murder him* *no reason, just wants to see a murder* _Whirl 8:40 pm Because folks can usually tell when you're trying to get em to fight. NoodlesAtNight 8:40 pm *There are plenty of those on screen. No reason to spill blood here too.* Kelpy 8:40 pm [well, he coul fit half of Racer then] Clich.A 8:40 pm (Yeah like 3 at least??)) _Whirl 8:40 pm No, there's nothing more dangerous than a PATIENT man. NoodlesAtNight 8:40 pm [[Indeed.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:40 pm That seems to hold true over all species. verdigrisprowl 8:40 pm *leans back against Soundwave. What's all this? Thinking about that table?* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:41 pm Me Swoop not PATIENT kehehh Still dangerous! SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:41 pm ((she's pretty)) Clich.A 8:41 pm I thought it was there is nothing more dangerous than an kind man who has been pushed past the brink. NoodlesAtNight 8:41 pm ((she is)) Chillsins 8:41 pm *Curls his lip.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:41 pm Kind people are often patient, too. That's the trouble. NoodlesAtNight 8:41 pm *Oh, the table's somewhere in that thought pile, yes.* Kelpy 8:41 pm Well. That's a plan. NoodlesAtNight 8:41 pm [[What is a RICO?]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:41 pm Kindness requires thought, patience, and stubbornness. _Whirl 8:42 pm Well, some kind people are patient, but not all patient people are kind. verdigrisprowl 8:42 pm Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. NoodlesAtNight 8:42 pm [[He remembers it being mentioned by law enforcement in another Bat property.]] Clich.A 8:42 pm Thank you Prowl, I was wracking my processor and it was coming up blank. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:42 pm Racer: *lifts up to swerve's seat, he's waiting to see if the okay is given. MANORS while Icy's watching him* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:42 pm *HAH* NoodlesAtNight 8:43 pm [[Ah. So something designed /specifically/ for groups like Falcone's.]] Kelpy 8:43 pm [Amused pat] I think you can get half in here buddy. NoodlesAtNight 8:43 pm [[Rather than the standard laws applicable to individuals.]] verdigrisprowl 8:43 pm Exactly. It's for clamping down on criminal organizations. Chillsins 8:43 pm *Blue peeks up over the couch and peeps. She wants FOOD!* NoodlesAtNight 8:43 pm [[Hm. Useful.]] _Whirl 8:43 pm *once he has all his drinks he will... hmm. He's got more bottles than claws. The bottles are going in his cockpit. He's gonna carry his drink in one hand and the treats in the other* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:43 pm *pets Bird* NoodlesAtNight 8:44 pm *Bird warbles and chatters to herself about all the attention.* opatoes 8:44 pm ((I was away for a few minutes what'd I miss MedicalMurdersaurus 8:44 pm keehee <3 NoodlesAtNight 8:44 pm ((where were you last smokey)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:44 pm He's got the mate. Of course he does. opatoes 8:44 pm ((uhhhh they were mourning the guy penguin killed MedicalMurdersaurus 8:44 pm *has no shortage of attention* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:44 pm ((whoops OOCd when I meant to IC)) opatoes 8:44 pm He's bluffing isn't he verdigrisprowl 8:44 pm Mm. Take them in anyway. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:45 pm *it might be scattered to the wind but he gets good coverage* Clich.A 8:45 pm I could, but I don't have her! opatoes 8:45 pm Definitely bluffing NoodlesAtNight 8:45 pm ((not much then)) Kelpy 8:45 pm Why would she be dumb enough to come back OmicronTheIceQueen 8:45 pm Racer: *hops, and then jumps up to sit half beside the mech, and tries the snuggle in close* verdigrisprowl 8:45 pm She took the risk, it was her own stupid fault. opatoes 8:45 pm Wait Harvey's still helping SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:45 pm He's a mob boss. Why wouldn't he bluff? NoodlesAtNight 8:45 pm ((they traded a property and harvey agreed to help jim on this since he's dead anyway)) Kelpy 8:45 pm [now has one child half on his la] Hello then. Chaoit 8:45 pm .... opatoes 8:45 pm oh dang he wasn't lying- FUNKYTOWN SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:45 pm ...Did she really? Did she REALLY? Chillsins 8:45 pm Wow. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:45 pm What is wrong with bondmates? NoodlesAtNight 8:45 pm ((i want you all to know that this cellphone ringtone becomes a great brick joke)) Kelpy 8:46 pm *Did* she come back or did he track her down. SCProwl 8:46 pm Take him in. NoodlesAtNight 8:46 pm ((but i'm not gonna spoil it)) OmicronTheIceQueen 8:46 pm ((gaaaah the construction things are parking)) Chaoit 8:46 pm That's not good.... _Whirl 8:46 pm *Blue gets her treats first* Here ya go, squirt. Bon appetit. *once he's satisfied that she has a handle on the treats he's gonna sit and pop his cockpit glass and dig out the twins' drinks* Kelpy 8:46 pm God she's dumb. Clich.A 8:46 pm Honestly I am ashamed of the writers for having her actually written as coming back. Chaoit 8:46 pm No backbone, that one SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:47 pm Gotham's most famous invertebrate. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:47 pm ANARCHY :V Chaoit 8:47 pm Yup Chillsins 8:47 pm *Blue PEEPS gratefully and shoves a treat in her mouth to smack her lips noisily.* NoodlesAtNight 8:47 pm *The twins snatch up their bottles and happily pop them open. Sideswipe's stuff is supposed to be really, really good.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:47 pm Cool : > _Whirl 8:47 pm There is GOING to be a catch. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:47 pm By rights she should rip his throat out with her teeth. Or Gordon should. verdigrisprowl 8:47 pm Punch out Zsazsa and arrest the people you came here to arrest. _Whirl 8:48 pm *SNORTS* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:48 pm Eat him. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:48 pm this will not end well yes MedicalMurdersaurus 8:48 pm Me Swoop like anarchy. Her Carly said. Her say so. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:48 pm eat them all >C _Whirl 8:48 pm Z--Zsazsa. NoodlesAtNight 8:48 pm \\ANARCHY'S FUN.\\ Chaoit 8:48 pm Oh. Oh, that's...no verdigrisprowl 8:48 pm Dump her. Kelpy 8:48 pm What mad her think that was helpful???? verdigrisprowl 8:48 pm *whispers* That's the opposite of dumping her. Chillsins 8:48 pm So this entire episode was a waste of time. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:48 pm *looks at the twins, and griiiins, Pirate arches her wings a little* _Whirl 8:48 pm *pauses for a moment, drumming up his best Zsa Zsa Gabor impression* I cut my murders into my plating, daaahling. SCProwl 8:48 pm Ugh SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:49 pm Historically, and I should probably clarify that this applies only to organics, bondmates are stupid. NoodlesAtNight 8:49 pm [[She does not understand criminal organizations. She thought pleading would change their mind, as it would your average person. She is not the first to try that and he doubts she will be the last.]] Clich.A 8:49 pm (snorts at Whirl's impression) OmicronTheIceQueen 8:49 pm that's correct... Chillsins 8:49 pm *Points* Chickens. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:49 pm Penguins, too. NoodlesAtNight 8:49 pm *Soundwave huffs at Whirl's comment.* Chillsins 8:49 pm *Points* Penguin. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:49 pm *chicken noises* SCProwl 8:49 pm Aha NoodlesAtNight 8:49 pm *Steeples his fingers and leans forward.* verdigrisprowl 8:50 pm No, but she DID refuse to listen to him when every other time she's refused to listen to him it's made things worse for him. Kelpy 8:50 pm ooooh _Whirl 8:50 pm I mean... dumping her would probably help protect her, too. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:50 pm *watches with great interest* Chaoit 8:51 pm ..... SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:51 pm ... NoodlesAtNight 8:51 pm *Oh, he DOES like Penguin.* OmicronTheIceQueen 8:51 pm hmm Chaoit 8:51 pm Well then SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:51 pm *clever little bird, he is* verdigrisprowl 8:51 pm You would think that by now she'd have learned that she DOESN'T UNDERSTAND his work and maybe she should LISTEN to what he says. radioactivibee 8:51 pm Wow. Agooddistraction858 8:51 pm what _Whirl 8:51 pm I mean, not a bad pitch from him but why would you trust someone like that? Chaoit 8:51 pm Clever man Clich.A 8:51 pm That was a very intellectual request. Agooddistraction858 8:52 pm What did I miss? Chillsins 8:52 pm I don't think Boss Guy has much to lose or risk on that deal. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:52 pm *sees Wheeljack come in* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:52 pm He can't possibly trust Penguin with his back, but why not trust Penguin with other peoples' backs? OmicronTheIceQueen 8:52 pm a lot MedicalMurdersaurus 8:52 pm W O W BILLION bot in Dancitron :V Chillsins 8:52 pm A BILLION? MedicalMurdersaurus 8:52 pm A BILLOIN Kelpy 8:52 pm Oh boy. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:52 pm ...What's with that face, Cobblepot? NoodlesAtNight 8:52 pm [[Greetings, Wheeljack.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:53 pm soooooooooo many Chillsins 8:53 pm Wow, that's a lot. I think. Chaoit 8:53 pm I'm...he's...just, wow NoodlesAtNight 8:53 pm [[You missed the revelation of Penguin's true intentions.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:53 pm Yah Lots radioactivibee 8:53 pm I'm glad I don't live there. _Whirl 8:53 pm I'd only take that offer if I can ensure he wouldn't get his snitching little hands on something useful to MY enemies. Cos he'd do it in a sparkbeat. OmicronTheIceQueen 8:53 pm Racer: *lifts head and peers around* Agooddistraction858 8:53 pm Great verdigrisprowl 8:53 pm His actions make a lot more sense now. Chaoit 8:53 pm That's many types of amazing SCProwl 8:53 pm This is going to get so much worse before Gotham has any chance at getting better. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:53 pm Us shooould fight to the death : > Then more goodie for BIrd NoodlesAtNight 8:53 pm [[They do indeed. As does why Falcone seemed so smug about Fish.]] radioactivibee 8:53 pm Almost feels like Iacon then. verdigrisprowl 8:53 pm Ah. White collar crime. Chaoit 8:53 pm Yep Clich.A 8:54 pm I wentto get pudding, who is fighting? Chillsins 8:54 pm Rebel: *Stomps around the room again, but spots Blue chomping away at treats. Her mouth forms a little O of surprise.* NoodlesAtNight 8:54 pm [[Overtime hours are serious matters.]] OmicronTheIceQueen 8:54 pm what the frag is going on here? _Whirl 8:54 pm *snickers* verdigrisprowl 8:54 pm Heh. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:54 pm Wha- IT'S THE RIDDLING HUMAN! Chaoit 8:54 pm Gotta love things like this. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:54 pm Wasn't it? What will he tell us today? IT WAS HIM! *the dragon chirps delightedly* My favorite human. NoodlesAtNight 8:55 pm @W: //Oh, uh. You're gonna wanna maybe look away once the glasses human gets pokin' in his mouth.// Agooddistraction858 8:55 pm Uhhh _Whirl 8:55 pm *very slight nod; he's going to glance to the sidr to watch Blue chomp away and take a swig of his drink* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:55 pm ... radioactivibee 8:55 pm Oh that's gross. Agooddistraction858 8:55 pm ?? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:55 pm *soft chirp* He's delightful. radioactivibee 8:55 pm Humans can be really gross. Ew. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:56 pm What print? Chaoit 8:56 pm WELL Clich.A 8:56 pm (He was not eating pudding at a good time) NoodlesAtNight 8:56 pm [[He did not know human bites were capable of that.]] radioactivibee 8:56 pm ... MedicalMurdersaurus 8:56 pm ((swoop's way of asking)) OmicronTheIceQueen 8:56 pm *before she forgets, shifted and un-subspaces something for Specs* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:57 pm !!! *a gift! what a wonderful day!* Chillsins 8:57 pm *Rebel runs and LEAPS onto the couch, screaming and scrambling up Blue's long body to make grabby hands and earn an indignant screech from her older adopted sister.* Rebel: GIMME! _Whirl 8:57 pm Hey! Knock it off! radioactivibee 8:57 pm wow MedicalMurdersaurus 8:57 pm KAHAH NoodlesAtNight 8:57 pm ((WHOOP i forgot about that one)) Clich.A 8:58 pm Ooh did I feel that coming in my spark. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:58 pm her STAB SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:58 pm He probably should have expected that. opatoes 8:58 pm Oh man rude ... I guess Penguin'll be okay but NoodlesAtNight 8:58 pm ((distracted by cat)) _Whirl 8:58 pm ((whirl is sufficiently distracted by a small angry truck o7)) Chillsins 8:58 pm *Chill's head swivels around as far as his armour allows to see what sort of child fight has broken out this time.* opatoes 8:58 pm /Practically squeezing Bee's servo off/ _Whirl 8:58 pm Go get your own snacks, they're at the bar. radioactivibee 8:58 pm [Doesn't even notice the squeezing.....] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:58 pm What a don? Chillsins 8:58 pm *Naturally, this fight revolves around food.* verdigrisprowl 8:58 pm He really should have expected that. Agooddistraction858 8:59 pm Is it like a dom? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:59 pm He's lucky he didn't get the teeth. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:59 pm doN nnnnnnnnnnnnn radioactivibee 8:59 pm Awe Bruce.... NoodlesAtNight 8:59 pm [[He really should have. She wanted to have him killed, after all.]] Kelpy 8:59 pm Has he never been to scool?? NoodlesAtNight 8:59 pm [[It is not a dom. A don is a leader of a criminal organization.]] Chillsins 8:59 pm Rebel: Too short! *She makes more grabby fingers until Blue takes pity on her and lets her have one. ONE.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:59 pm Don means leader? Chaoit 8:59 pm Trying to wiggle his way out OmicronTheIceQueen 9:00 pm *opens jaws, its nearly the only way she can and lets a red and orange thing drop beside specs* Chaoit 9:00 pm Poor kid radioactivibee 9:00 pm Swerve, I'm pretty sure he goes to private school. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:00 pm Bah. Socialization is only as helpful as it isn't dreaded. NoodlesAtNight 9:00 pm //I dunno. Don't rich types always like teachin' mechs themselves? Don't let 'em mingle with us dirty low caste bots 'n stuff. Can't have 'em sympathizin' with us.// opatoes 9:00 pm Private school? Kelpy 9:00 pm He's acting like this is a new school though opatoes 9:00 pm Is that really a thing on Earth? Agooddistraction858 9:00 pm *gazing at the bar* _Whirl 9:00 pm *peers at her, but doesn't seem impressed by her reasoning. Blue seems to be all right with it, so he lets it drop* NoodlesAtNight 9:00 pm *Ravage eyes Wheeljack.* =Fewer snacks today, hm?= verdigrisprowl 9:00 pm Among humans, rich families put their children together in the same school. radioactivibee 9:00 pm Yeah. Raf was looking into it for high school since he could get the scholarships. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:00 pm Forcing a hatchling into the playground with the others only results in pain. *GIFT! GIFT! GIFT!* Icy? Is this for me? Agooddistraction858 9:01 pm You got it, meow mix. opatoes 9:01 pm ... Harvey's a surprisingly loyal friend _Whirl 9:01 pm And, Rumble's got the right of it. verdigrisprowl 9:01 pm To isolate them from the rest of society. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:01 pm Racer: *falls off swerve and onto the floor* Kelpy 9:01 pm Are they plagued? NoodlesAtNight 9:01 pm *Ravage growls quietly but puts up with it. No murders in public.* opatoes 9:01 pm Wait, really? Good job, Raf! What's the main difference between that and public school? Kelpy 9:01 pm Is that why they isolate them? NoodlesAtNight 9:01 pm //They ARE the plague.// *Grunt* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:01 pm ((ugghhh)) Chaoit 9:01 pm And I have to go back home, see you all later! radioactivibee 9:02 pm I think education and the types of kids who go there. NoodlesAtNight 9:02 pm [[Goodnight, Blaster.]] OmicronTheIceQueen 9:02 pm its a gift little fluffy Chillsins 9:02 pm *Rebel SHOVES the treat into her mouth and makes gross chewing noises and leans against Blue like she's her own couch. Blue allows this.* Chaoit 9:02 pm ((gotta go, thanks for the stream! _Whirl 9:02 pm ((omfg CAROL???)) ((IT'S THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT)) NoodlesAtNight 9:02 pm ((YEP)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:02 pm Well, that's where he gets it from. Kelpy 9:02 pm Oh radioactivibee 9:02 pm Ah. Chillsins 9:03 pm *Squints.* opatoes 9:03 pm ... is he gonna offline his mom Agooddistraction858 9:03 pm hjklds Chillsins 9:03 pm Um, wow. _Whirl 9:03 pm Is that how you sedate your patients, Frenzy? Kelpy 9:03 pm //dgbg did she just admit she outed someone to nazis or did i misunderstand tat ghnh NoodlesAtNight 9:03 pm *Rumble nudges Frenzy.* //He doctors like you, heh.// \\AH, GET FRAGGED, BOTH OF YOU.\\ _Whirl 9:03 pm *outright laughs* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:03 pm ((communists)) Chillsins 9:03 pm That brings back memories. Kelpy 9:03 pm //fgbhb NoodlesAtNight 9:03 pm ((communists, i think? but then idk because himmelfarb sounds like a german name)) radioactivibee 9:03 pm [Now it's his turn to squeeze Smokey's servo] Kelpy 9:04 pm //that's still bad omg she's Evil SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:04 pm ((she's hungarian, according to TVTropes)) NoodlesAtNight 9:04 pm ((yeah she's awful)) OmicronTheIceQueen 9:04 pm Racer: *scooting around sniff* _Whirl 9:04 pm ((blue-color? huh)) ((or, well. sky-color)) SCProwl 9:04 pm (( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Protection_Authority State Protection Authority - Wikipedia State Protection Authority - Wikipedia OmicronTheIceQueen 9:04 pm O_o SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:04 pm ((er, is anyone getting video)) verdigrisprowl 9:04 pm ((still fine here)) OmicronTheIceQueen 9:05 pm (its skipping here) Chillsins 9:05 pm (( I still am. )) opatoes 9:05 pm ((Yeah? 😧 Kelpy 9:05 pm //fine here NoodlesAtNight 9:05 pm ((could be your connection, refresh?)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:05 pm ((it came back, but I'll refresh if it does it again)) SCProwl 9:05 pm ((sorry about the giant image, i hate the link preview thing radioactivibee 9:05 pm (( i'm fine OmicronTheIceQueen 9:05 pm I have a feeling this gorden human will be doing this a lot NoodlesAtNight 9:05 pm [[Primus.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:06 pm *noses the gift, and picks it up. what is it?* Thank you, Icy! Chillsins 9:06 pm Maybe she should, I don't know, leave and stay away this time? She's a liability. opatoes 9:06 pm ... I looked away and I thought she said "That monster's ass" and NoodlesAtNight 9:06 pm [[If she is this frightened, it might be a wise idea. For her health, if nothing else.]] radioactivibee 9:06 pm Smokey. Is that what you call Overlord's aft? opatoes 9:07 pm Wait what no _Whirl 9:07 pm Honestly, yeah he... he should have driven her off. I mean, if someone can stand by you AND take the heat, that's one thing, but if they can't... better for them to hate you and be ALIVE, right? OmicronTheIceQueen 9:07 pm Its one of the rarer crystals we mine Kelpy 9:07 pm Uh Chillsins 9:07 pm *His ears perk up at THAT name, but it only lasts for a second.* verdigrisprowl 9:07 pm "How can you promise me that"? He did a PRETTY GOOD job keeping you out of trouble until you deliberately ignored all his advice and did the exact opposite of what he told you you needed to do to stay safe. NoodlesAtNight 9:07 pm \\...KINDA FANCY FOR A FACEMASK. ALL THEM FANGS 'N SCRAP.\\ opatoes 9:07 pm Also- wait, Wheeljack, hey! Agooddistraction858 9:08 pm Hey, kid SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:08 pm Thank you so much! It looks beautiful! *nuzzles the Icy* You're wonderful. ((god ed is so cuuuuute)) verdigrisprowl 9:08 pm ... He DOES do the medical examinations. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:08 pm https://stauer-cdn-bi1tspyakbh4frq6pd1dkakl9n7hjflhje.netdna-ssl.com/images/stauer/products/22180_800.jpg ((sorry if this is big)) Agooddistraction858 9:08 pm I didn't catch any of what just happened, SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:08 pm ((like not in the aesthetics way, his personality is just adorable)) opatoes 9:08 pm Neither have I, Wheels. But I'm liking it! NoodlesAtNight 9:09 pm [[No, Prowl, he does not.]] *Huffs* verdigrisprowl 9:09 pm *laughs* Never mind. _Whirl 9:09 pm *snickers* Clich.A 9:09 pm Discover you butt! Kelpy 9:09 pm [snorts] Chillsins 9:09 pm Wow. verdigrisprowl 9:09 pm *but Prowl sympathizes* NoodlesAtNight 9:09 pm [[He is right to call the human sloppy, though, after that coin miss.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:09 pm He wants to do his job right, and everyone else's too. *chirps* ((WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT)) Clich.A 9:09 pm Wow, whata way to start that. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:09 pm ((WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT)) radioactivibee 9:09 pm .......... Agooddistraction858 9:09 pm What a little scraphead OmicronTheIceQueen 9:09 pm *rubs head lightly against the fluffy dragon* NoodlesAtNight 9:10 pm ((and idk ed's appearance is adorable in an unusual way)) OmicronTheIceQueen 9:10 pm [guess who's turning into bullies] NoodlesAtNight 9:10 pm *Rumble looks over at Frenzy again.* //I ain't even gotta say it.// SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:10 pm *cleans the icy snout affectionately* It's a beautiful gift! NoodlesAtNight 9:10 pm \\SHUT UP.\\ \\IT'S IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.\\ _Whirl 9:10 pm *tilts head, looking between them interestedly* What? You decided to become a nun or something? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:11 pm ((it is, but I don't find him as aesthetically pleasing as I do personality-wise. which is fine, because aesthetics are secondary to me. I would probably date ed, IRL. which is probably going to end badly considering that he becomes the FUCKING RIDDLER)) NoodlesAtNight 9:11 pm //Nah, the kid askin' bout the li'l fleshie's creators.// NoodlesAtNight 9:11 pm ((ouo)) verdigrisprowl 9:11 pm ((and considering that when he walks by uninterested girls he smells their hair)) SCProwl 9:11 pm ((*laughs* _Whirl 9:11 pm *snickers* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:11 pm ((wait he what)) Kelpy 9:11 pm //dfgbfgb SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:11 pm ((I didn't see that one)) ((I missed three eps)) NoodlesAtNight 9:11 pm ((last week yeah. he's got a crush on the file clerk and smelled her hair as she walked by)) Agooddistraction858 9:11 pm [i knew i got crispin hellion glover vibes from him] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:12 pm ((ed that's creepy)) Chillsins 9:12 pm *Rebel whines until Blue forks over another treat. It's okay, Blue can eat them faster.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:12 pm ((and menacing)) verdigrisprowl 9:12 pm ((he also rearranged her files while she was out of the room because he thought his method was better)) opatoes 9:12 pm ((ed no SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:12 pm ((okay, that's annoying, but also endearing)) verdigrisprowl 9:12 pm ((after she said she wasn't interested and didn't want him to)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:12 pm ((that's just annoying)) verdigrisprowl 9:12 pm ((so, yknow, no respect for boundaries or no's)) _Whirl 9:13 pm *just laughs* Chillsins 9:13 pm *Snorts.* Warrior baloney. Kelpy 9:13 pm OKay there Gordon. verdigrisprowl 9:13 pm ((but i mean outside of that he's endearing)) Clich.A 9:13 pm Oh wow. Forshadowing? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:13 pm ((take ed to social skills class and then date him)) verdigrisprowl 9:14 pm ((eyyyy)) Clich.A 9:14 pm ....Wow for a moment he looked at gorden like he was a snack. _Whirl 9:14 pm ...Does Sionis want to frag him or...? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:14 pm That's not suspicious at all. NoodlesAtNight 9:14 pm [[Wrong kind of hunger.]] Clich.A 9:14 pm (Looks at Whirl) SImpatico.. SCProwl 9:14 pm *huffs at Harvey's comment* _Whirl 9:14 pm *points a claw at Clich* Simpatico. radioactivibee 9:14 pm .......... SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:14 pm ((to be fair, I've been in SS for ten years and counting and I still have issues with boundaries, but I do what I can)) Chillsins 9:14 pm Rebel: *Points* Blood. verdigrisprowl 9:15 pm ((ed can be a work in progress)) Clich.A 9:15 pm OH no..a nerd. radioactivibee 9:15 pm [snickers] opatoes 9:15 pm ... i didn't realize he had a bloody nose for a second and I thought that was just really tacky facial hair NoodlesAtNight 9:15 pm {{Two thumb up, Bullock fleshie.}} Clich.A 9:15 pm HA. radioactivibee 9:15 pm A rockin' twink. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:15 pm At least he has two. Chillsins 9:15 pm Um wow. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:15 pm ((what the fuck, kid)) verdigrisprowl 9:15 pm *glances at Soundwave and murmurs* Which reminds me—I need to get back to you about that mask discussion we had before. opatoes 9:15 pm primus rude NoodlesAtNight 9:15 pm //Punch this li'l scrap.// Clich.A 9:15 pm OOOOH Chillsins 9:15 pm Good. radioactivibee 9:15 pm Oh this brings back memories. Agooddistraction858 9:16 pm oh scrap _Whirl 9:16 pm Push him down the stairs! opatoes 9:16 pm ... /Petting Bee's back./ Chillsins 9:16 pm He's Batman, he doesn't MURDER people. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:16 pm This is why you do not force hatchlings to socialize when they hate it. Clich.A 9:16 pm Baby bat you are not yet a judo master it is not the time... _Whirl 9:16 pm He'll PROBABLY be all right. NoodlesAtNight 9:16 pm *Soundwave glances over.* [[Oh? He'd thought you changed your mind. ... But so noted.]] radioactivibee 9:16 pm He scares the living daylights out of them and then flies into the moon. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:16 pm Did he just beat a man with food? verdigrisprowl 9:16 pm No—just got distracted. Chillsins 9:16 pm *Turns just enough to give Whirl a skeptical eye, and maybe check on his spawn.* opatoes 9:16 pm he ehsy OmicronTheIceQueen 9:17 pm that's impressive opatoes 9:17 pm what just left his thumb in verdigrisprowl 9:17 pm And I've recently been re-encouraged. opatoes 9:17 pm primus NoodlesAtNight 9:17 pm *Tilts his head. How?* =Biting. Valid fight tactic.= SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:17 pm ((Ed! Ed! Ed!)) verdigrisprowl 9:17 pm *tilts his head back at him.* opatoes 9:18 pm ... What Clich.A 9:18 pm INDEX CARDS??? NoodlesAtNight 9:18 pm [[...Why? Or how. Both. A curiosity, not a complaint.]] opatoes 9:18 pm primus offices are scary SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:18 pm ((he's so cute when he's showing off)) radioactivibee 9:18 pm Wow. NoodlesAtNight 9:18 pm *Laserbeak shudders. Cards down the throat. How can anyone eat with a neck cut up like that?* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:18 pm *blinks at Bird* ? Agooddistraction858 9:18 pm *scratching at audial* I have no idea what's happenin Chillsins 9:18 pm Never forget Balloon Man. radioactivibee 9:19 pm Balloon Man? NoodlesAtNight 9:19 pm //Balloon Man was AMAZIN'.// NoodlesAtNight 9:19 pm \\WHAT YOU CONFUSED ON, JACK?\\ verdigrisprowl 9:19 pm Mm. During the protoform crisis. Kelpy 9:19 pm Give Bruce some time to grow up. Chillsins 9:19 pm *Hand over spark.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:19 pm Fly too high, and freeze to death. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:19 pm (*making dream catches did omie miss something*) opatoes 9:19 pm OH YEAH Balloon man tied corrupt politicians to balloons killing them Agooddistraction858 9:19 pm Everything _Whirl 9:19 pm *squints* Balloon man...? radioactivibee 9:19 pm Oh Alfred. The best butler. Clich.A 9:19 pm Yeahhhh. Someone put baby bat bruce in a blanket burrito. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:20 pm Racer: *stalking a pede* NoodlesAtNight 9:20 pm [[Is there someone he should be irritated with?]] opatoes 9:20 pm Can't they text NoodlesAtNight 9:20 pm *Who did what during the protoform crisis?* Chillsins 9:20 pm Yeah, every once in a while we get a vigilante episode. Balloon Man was the most...Inventive. radioactivibee 9:20 pm Or teach him some hand to hand. opatoes 9:20 pm Oh man, I hope Alfred teaches him to fight radioactivibee 9:20 pm Huh. verdigrisprowl 9:21 pm No. *But Soundwave gets an elbow nudge for asking.* NoodlesAtNight 9:21 pm *Nods and - nudges back? Was that a good nudge?* Chillsins 9:21 pm *Taps his chin, thinking.* verdigrisprowl 9:21 pm *it was the most affectionate elbow nudge.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:21 pm It's an important skill for hatchlings to know. Even when there isn't trouble. It's hard to have trouble when there's large teeth in one's thro- OH. Clich.A 9:22 pm I hope it's been refitted... opatoes 9:22 pm Imagine it just falling off over and over NoodlesAtNight 9:23 pm //So, Wheeljack. That li'l fleshie, the Bruce kid - his parents got popped by some masked guy. Cops 'n some mob types framed some fragger for it, 'n Gordon found out. Wants to fix the city. He 'n Penguin sorta made friends, Penguin's playin' his new boss for a dip, 'n the kid's investigatin' stuff.// SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:23 pm ...This is not training. This is throwing a boy into a meat grinder. NoodlesAtNight 9:23 pm //'S about whatcha missed.// radioactivibee 9:23 pm O.o opatoes 9:23 pm primus Clich.A 9:23 pm Oh. verdigrisprowl 9:23 pm ((did alfred bring his kid to another kid's house in order to beat him up)) OmicronTheIceQueen 9:23 pm well then opatoes 9:23 pm ((yes SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:23 pm Oh. _Whirl 9:23 pm Nice! Kelpy 9:23 pm //yes NoodlesAtNight 9:23 pm [[That is the most inventive use of a watch he has ever seen.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:23 pm Nevermind. radioactivibee 9:23 pm OH Clich.A 9:23 pm Dang. radioactivibee 9:23 pm ALFRED SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:23 pm Good docent. Clich.A 9:23 pm Stone....cold. _Whirl 9:23 pm I mean, he's got MY approval. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:23 pm HAH Agooddistraction858 9:23 pm Thanks Chillsins 9:24 pm Interesting. opatoes 9:24 pm I love Alfred Chillsins 9:24 pm He's already becoming a vigilante. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:24 pm ((just listen to ed!)) ((he knows things!)) radioactivibee 9:25 pm ... NoodlesAtNight 9:25 pm [[...Interesting choice of arena. He does have to give the Sionis fleshling that credit.]] opatoes 9:25 pm rip gordon SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:25 pm *watches Prowl's reaction* NoodlesAtNight 9:25 pm [[Quite a break from tire fires and scrap spires.]] radioactivibee 9:25 pm Harvey please opatoes 9:25 pm man poor harvey OmicronTheIceQueen 9:25 pm go human XD SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:25 pm They're all cowards. They've shown their colors once. They'll do it again. verdigrisprowl 9:25 pm *neutral face* _Whirl 9:26 pm *regarding the screen with an intensely deadpan expression* opatoes 9:26 pm poor gordon though this has gotta suck as a work environment SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:26 pm Gotham's own unique class of invertebrates. ... Huh. radioactivibee 9:26 pm I don't like this city. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:26 pm I would still like to use a fireball on that place Kelpy 9:26 pm Does his board actually take this as entertainment opatoes 9:26 pm Neither do I, Bee. Neither do I NoodlesAtNight 9:26 pm [[You aren't meant to like the city. It is an awful place to live. That is why they must try to clean it up.]] Chillsins 9:26 pm It's like a gladiatorial arena. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:26 pm Blood fights are fun to people who don't fight in them. verdigrisprowl 9:26 pm *... leans forward at the display in the police office, though.* radioactivibee 9:26 pm Maybe they all like the Hunger Games. Chillsins 9:26 pm But with more printers. NoodlesAtNight 9:26 pm //Yeah, 'course they do. Ain't no different'n Senators comin' to watch the Pit fights.// Kelpy 9:27 pm Yeesh radioactivibee 9:27 pm That's true. I don't understand the appeal. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:27 pm Neither do I. SCProwl 9:27 pm Though no one got a million shanix signing bonus and a job in finances for winning. Chillsins 9:27 pm I'd rather do my own fighting than watch someone else do it. Kelpy 9:28 pm Don't turn your back! Agooddistraction858 9:28 pm I love fighting _Whirl 9:28 pm *rolls his optic* Clich.A 9:28 pm Good punch Agooddistraction858 9:28 pm I love getting my aft dragged verdigrisprowl 9:28 pm ... Huh. radioactivibee 9:28 pm ... NoodlesAtNight 9:28 pm [[There were bonuses, on occasion, but only if you were a volunteer. Those who were property did not. And they certainly were not a million shanix. Or a high-caste job.]] Kelpy 9:29 pm Yeah, I imagine. _Whirl 9:29 pm Never spent any time in the arenas, myself. NoodlesAtNight 9:29 pm *Soundwave glances at Prowl.* [[Why the]] [][][]Huh[][][]? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:29 pm It feels inappropriate to put fighting on display, at least to me. I don't think that's a typical attitude amongst my kind? _Whirl 9:29 pm All my fighting was out on the streets. opatoes 9:29 pm uh oh SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:29 pm If I have to kill someone, I'd prefer to do it discreetly. opatoes 9:29 pm she really shouldn't have gone back radioactivibee 9:30 pm nope _Whirl 9:30 pm She's playing the long game. verdigrisprowl 9:30 pm He's already changing the department, merely by being there, and being moderately decent. opatoes 9:30 pm She really is! Agooddistraction858 9:30 pm Yeah, but not all fights are for killing _Whirl 9:30 pm *tilts his head thoughtfully. He likes Fish* Agooddistraction858 9:30 pm A good fight's like a good frag opatoes 9:30 pm ... Is it? NoodlesAtNight 9:30 pm *Nods. So he is.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:31 pm I have hollow bones, Wheelijack. A "good fight" puts me down for a month. NoodlesAtNight 9:31 pm //Pit yeah it is.// *Pause.* //I mean, I figure it's gotta be. A good fight's a GREAT time.// _Whirl 9:31 pm Honestly, I love a good, long, complex, and agonizingly painful revenge scheme. I mean, who doesn't? radioactivibee 9:31 pm What would be a good fight? _Whirl 9:31 pm I'll drink to that. *toasts Rumble, Wheeljack* NoodlesAtNight 9:31 pm //Any fight with me. Heh.// NoodlesAtNight 9:31 pm *Rumble toasts WJ and Whirl.* radioactivibee 9:31 pm A...Rumble rumble? NoodlesAtNight 9:32 pm *Rumble snorts his drink and chokes for a second* _Whirl 9:32 pm Watch out. You might crumble. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:32 pm *licks specs' back* radioactivibee 9:32 pm A Rumble tumble? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:32 pm *licks Icy's snout. clean predacon!* Chillsins 9:32 pm *Blue PEEPS.* SCProwl 9:32 pm Ha. Clich.A 9:32 pm Interpersonal skills are important. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:32 pm RAcer: *MEEPS back at blue* verdigrisprowl 9:33 pm Maybe you shouldn't say that, at that volume, in the middle of the police department. NoodlesAtNight 9:33 pm [[For Primus' sake, don't insult the human who just helped you.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:33 pm Is that her docent? radioactivibee 9:33 pm O h. NoodlesAtNight 9:33 pm [[He does not know.]] _Whirl 9:34 pm I see. Well. It was a good story. Clich.A 9:34 pm Oooh..ouch. Ghosted. SCProwl 9:34 pm He would have to get himself too at this point. Chillsins 9:34 pm *Blue PEEPS again, and eats the last treat.* radioactivibee 9:34 pm Oh primus SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:34 pm *sigh* Why are these bondmates so dysfunctional. _Whirl 9:34 pm Ugh. Of course she did. Weak. Chillsins 9:34 pm *This causes Rebel to cross her arms and pout.* verdigrisprowl 9:34 pm Maybe she'll stay away this time. NoodlesAtNight 9:34 pm =The Cat human!= SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:34 pm Cat! My second-favorite human! opatoes 9:34 pm Cat!! NoodlesAtNight 9:34 pm *Ravage leaps off the bar and comes to park himself near the front of the crowd.* SCProwl 9:35 pm One can only hope. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:35 pm No, he didn't miss her, but he should have. Because she's wonderful. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:35 pm that cat girl needs to learn better outs opatoes 9:35 pm the smaller you are the angrier you can get Kelpy 9:35 pm He *looks* angry all the time SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:35 pm You can only scratch out so many peoples' eyes. Agooddistraction858 9:35 pm yeah! do it! radioactivibee 9:35 pm 😮 opatoes 9:35 pm so bruce is the angriest living being alive SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:35 pm Before your hands get tired. Chillsins 9:35 pm *Doesn't look convinced of that, Smokescreen.*' Agooddistraction858 9:35 pm Anyone wanna fight? Right now, let's fight Let's brawl NoodlesAtNight 9:36 pm ((this will be the last one for the night)) radioactivibee 9:36 pm (( sounds good! )) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:36 pm ... *the dragon climbs up onto Icy's back. save her from wheelijack and his demands to fight* radioactivibee 9:36 pm Um...depends, what're the rules? Clich.A 9:36 pm What like with fist? Or like, 'Glossa battling for dominance' fight? NoodlesAtNight 9:36 pm //He assumes anyone would be angry to have lost their loved ones and get no closure.// _Whirl 9:36 pm After movie night? Maybe. But I've already wrecked the bar enough times this year. Agooddistraction858 9:36 pm No, just a fight! NoodlesAtNight 9:36 pm [[NO FIGHTING INSIDE.]] Agooddistraction858 9:36 pm Whirl shh verdigrisprowl 9:36 pm Good riddance. Agooddistraction858 9:36 pm Just come with me after Kelpy 9:37 pm Does away mean out of town radioactivibee 9:37 pm ...I'd like to see that fight. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:37 pm Good for her! Hopefully it will help. Agooddistraction858 9:37 pm You say no fighting inside like you haven't gotten torn over that bar before Chillsins 9:37 pm *Blue smacks her gross mouth and BEEPS, showing Whirl her sticky hands. She ate ALL the treats and you should be proud.* _Whirl 9:37 pm I literally did. Two weeks ago. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:37 pm ((sorry, the sound wasn't synced)) radioactivibee 9:37 pm [snickers] NoodlesAtNight 9:37 pm ((np, web)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:37 pm ...He's putting that girl with the angry little boy? NoodlesAtNight 9:37 pm ((....er, wb)) SCProwl 9:37 pm ((batcat! NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm ((AARON BURR MY BOY)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:38 pm She's going to eat him alive. SCProwl 9:38 pm ((AARON BURR SIR NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm //Heh. Sounds like yer kinda human, Wheeljack.// _Whirl 9:38 pm *finally realizes he's being beeped at, and turns his attention to Blue* Well, look at you. *does the beep for "praise!"* OmicronTheIceQueen 9:38 pm (brb, racer's under a couch ) radioactivibee 9:38 pm (( WAIT IT'S LESLIE ODOM JR????? Kelpy 9:38 pm Um SCProwl 9:38 pm ((YES NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm //Bomb expert.// radioactivibee 9:38 pm (( aaAAAAAHHHHHHH Agooddistraction858 9:38 pm Me Chillsins 9:39 pm *Blue shows off her gross mouth, as well.* _Whirl 9:39 pm *she takes after her father, then* NoodlesAtNight 9:39 pm [[...Is this a valid protective tactic?]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:39 pm That's the correct answer, docent, but it's a very personal thing for the boy. Chillsins 9:39 pm *Yeah kinda.* NoodlesAtNight 9:40 pm [[A DA. A - district attorney. Yes?]] *He's pretty sure he remembers learning that before.* verdigrisprowl 9:40 pm Seems like the options are limited. And yes, district attorney. NoodlesAtNight 9:41 pm [[So an /important/ lawyer.]] [[Hm.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:41 pm ((hey fun fact- dehydrated urine is full of ammonia, a base. piss, vinegar, and match shavings actually WOULD work)) verdigrisprowl 9:41 pm An important lawyer. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:41 pm ((just not as a particularly strong bomb)) Agooddistraction858 9:41 pm [pee bomb!] NoodlesAtNight 9:41 pm //...Heh. He got a cruuuuush.// NoodlesAtNight 9:41 pm ((i did not know that!!)) Chillsins 9:42 pm *Blue snuggles into the couch; she's been FED.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:42 pm ((neither did I, at first- I asked my dad because that sounded so fake, but! it was real!)) verdigrisprowl 9:42 pm ((*sudden flashback to starscream making shit explosives*)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:42 pm ((sflashflaka)) ((HEY IT'S HARVEY DENT)) Kelpy 9:42 pm Huh SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:43 pm ((bye, two-face)) Kelpy 9:43 pm Can he just... drop charges like that SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:43 pm If he has the power. verdigrisprowl 9:44 pm A district attorney can choose what cases he takes, yes. _Whirl 9:44 pm *watches Blue for another moment longer, amused, before concentrating on chugging down some of that Gaugebuster* Anyway. If you wanna throw down after movie night, Wheeljack, I'm in. Anyone else want some? NoodlesAtNight 9:45 pm *Frenzy folds his arms and scowls.* \\CAN'T. I GOT SHIFT DUTY AFTER CLEANUP.\\ verdigrisprowl 9:45 pm Well, that's a great way to get her life endangered. ... Ah. Kelpy 9:45 pm Are you sure though SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:45 pm Gambling is dangerous for a reason, Gordon. Never bet your skin to the Eaten. verdigrisprowl 9:46 pm Of course, it's all going to go wrong, because we wouldn't be watching this if it went right. But it's a sound plan. NoodlesAtNight 9:46 pm [[Pessimist.]] *Huff.* *Not that he disagrees.* Agooddistraction858 9:46 pm Snack time Chillsins 9:46 pm *Rebel huffs and rolls off the couch with a thud. She ALMOST lands on her feet, but the length of her legs changes every day and she rolls onto her butt instead.* Chillsins 9:48 pm Nice. Kelpy 9:48 pm [snickers] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:48 pm She's going to eat that boy alive. _Whirl 9:48 pm *points at Frenzy* Raincheck. SCProwl 9:48 pm ((*cackles* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:48 pm *churrs a laugh* NoodlesAtNight 9:48 pm *Soundwave bobs his head, amused. Alfred knows his pain.* \\WEATHER'S FINE.\\ _Whirl 9:49 pm *SNORTS* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:49 pm Put things back where you found them, bird. NoodlesAtNight 9:49 pm [[Sloppy spy work. He didn't put the objects back.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:49 pm Er, Penguin-Bird. Her Bird is perfect, naturally. verdigrisprowl 9:50 pm Very sloppy. Kelpy 9:50 pm Uhh verdigrisprowl 9:50 pm And now he's getting distracted. radioactivibee 9:50 pm why is he smelling stuff? NoodlesAtNight 9:50 pm [[...What is a lie-lack?]] verdigrisprowl 9:50 pm ... And stealing clothes. Agooddistraction858 9:50 pm *eating the sweetest grossest candy* _Whirl 9:50 pm Scent's useful, especially if you need to track someone. verdigrisprowl 9:50 pm I don't know. They must smell. SCProwl 9:50 pm Learning how to fight within the confounds of rules and safety is an excellent way to begin. He doesn't need to learn how to street fight immediately. opatoes 9:50 pm If you got a nose, you gotta use it 24/7 _Whirl 9:50 pm Dunno how good or bad humans are at that sort of thing. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:50 pm (*leans back in, blinks*) NoodlesAtNight 9:50 pm =Worse than cats.= Chillsins 9:51 pm *Rebel picks herself and stomp stomp stomps back across the room to crawl into Chill's lap.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:51 pm Worse than dragons, as far as I know. _Whirl 9:51 pm Well. I mean. Honestly, that's a pretty high bar, so... verdigrisprowl 9:51 pm Another vigilante. NoodlesAtNight 9:51 pm [[Interesting form of pacifism.]] *He doesn't disapprove.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:51 pm Twelve buildings with only two casualties is actually rather impressive, considering that humans pack themselves in like canned food. Kelpy 9:52 pm [squints] What diod he just add verdigrisprowl 9:52 pm I think a pin from his prison uniform. NoodlesAtNight 9:53 pm [[No, it was attached to the table.]] Kelpy 9:53 pm Was that a way to ask for help or an extra bit of shrapnel verdigrisprowl 9:53 pm A calling card? Does he want to be stopped? SCProwl 9:53 pm It was something off the desk. _Whirl 9:53 pm Probably. radioactivibee 9:53 pm You should care.... SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:53 pm If he's sick and wants help, he must. verdigrisprowl 9:53 pm I think he's asking for help. He doesn't want to hurt people, he only destroys buildings, not people. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:53 pm ((WHAT'S THAT MYSTERIOUS TICKING NOISE)) _Whirl 9:53 pm If he doesn't want to kill, then obviously he wants to be rescued, right? radioactivibee 9:53 pm Never accept a random basket without checking it, primus..... verdigrisprowl 9:53 pm Now he's been captured by people who are using his skills to hurt people. radioactivibee 9:53 pm (( I FOUND THE SOURCE OF THE TICKING, IT'S A PIPE BOMB _Whirl 9:54 pm *points at Prowl* Simpatico. verdigrisprowl 9:54 pm ((YAAAAAAY)) _Whirl 9:54 pm I'm Simpaticoing the whole room tonight. Who's next? Kelpy 9:54 pm So then he's trying to leave a clue NoodlesAtNight 9:54 pm //Sounds painful.// Kelpy 9:54 pm [raises a hand for Whirl] verdigrisprowl 9:54 pm What's simpaticoing? NoodlesAtNight 9:54 pm [[Yes. Clever human, this one.]] *Sits upright.* [[There is EVERYTHING to learn.]] _Whirl 9:54 pm Sometimes it is, Rumble. *gravely* Sometimes it is. NoodlesAtNight 9:54 pm [[Always, for everyone.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:55 pm No one is finished with learning. verdigrisprowl 9:55 pm *pats Soundwave's arm in agreement.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:55 pm Not even the Goddess knows everything. radioactivibee 9:55 pm Oh Alfred. NoodlesAtNight 9:55 pm [[Agreed. ...And he misstepped.]] _Whirl 9:55 pm All right, Swerve. We'll see. And just having the exact same thought at the exact same time, Prowl. ...or, generally the same thing. verdigrisprowl 9:55 pm Oh. Got it. NoodlesAtNight 9:55 pm *Settles back and glances at Prowl. Nods. Thank you.* Chillsins 9:55 pm *There's quiet grumbling in the Chill and Rebel corner, until the former is FORCED to get up and hold the squirt at a height where she can pick her own treats.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:56 pm *certainly in life the goddess was terrible at bureaucracy- her mate handled that* NoodlesAtNight 9:56 pm [[For Primus' sake, Alfred human. Give her time to adjust. She is not a perfectly trained rich bitlet.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:56 pm Look up, Alfred. She's listening. _Whirl 9:56 pm Honestly. Kelpy 9:56 pm Same opatoes 9:57 pm Frag, I keep zoning out- how's everyone doing, anyway? penguin why Kelpy 9:57 pm Uh NoodlesAtNight 9:57 pm [[....Ahhh.]] Kelpy 9:57 pm Oh! Chillsins 9:57 pm *Snorts.* Kelpy 9:57 pm I see SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:57 pm Penguin, why. OmicronTheIceQueen 9:57 pm Racer: *inches over to sit under soundwave's couch* verdigrisprowl 9:57 pm ((why do they keep smelling people.)) NoodlesAtNight 9:57 pm ((well, how else do you tell if it's her perfume, i guess)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:57 pm ((I know, right)) OmicronTheIceQueen 9:57 pm what....humans don't scent. and that's rude SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:57 pm ((please stop the snorfle)) NoodlesAtNight 9:57 pm *Soundwave stretches a feeler down to toy with Racer.* Kelpy 9:57 pm He's figuring it out _Whirl 9:58 pm See? Useful. Wanna see if two people are colluding through their cologne? You can do it. Wanna track down an armory because you can detect trace amounts of weapons-grade nucleon across an enemy lunar facility? All possible, through the power of smell. NoodlesAtNight 9:58 pm =You.= *Flicks at paw toward Whirl.* =I like you.= verdigrisprowl 9:58 pm ((ed plz)) OmicronTheIceQueen 9:58 pm Racer: *little paws swipe at the feeling happily, to play and not to hurt* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:58 pm ((ED! Ed you are perfect)) Kelpy 9:58 pm Ed... radioactivibee 9:58 pm Ed...oh Ed....... SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:58 pm ((cute! such a cute science)) opatoes 9:58 pm what kinda video games though ... He's like weird me _Whirl 9:59 pm *a toast to Ravage. He's almost finished this gaugebuster* You know what's up, mech. radioactivibee 9:59 pm Oh Primus he is. He likes puzzles too. NoodlesAtNight 9:59 pm *The tendrils twitch and flicker, wiggling at Racer like prey worms, occasionally booping him on the nose.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:59 pm Puzzles are fun. And his are delightful. verdigrisprowl 9:59 pm *he's like Prowl, but with about 40% less social skills. ... Which is saying something.* NoodlesAtNight 9:59 pm *And a sense of smell.* verdigrisprowl 10:00 pm *And a sense of smell.* Chillsins 10:00 pm *Chill, armed with treats in one hand and a Rebel in the other, wanders over to the New Couch.* I come in peace. Kelpy 10:00 pm My smell's not that advanced but I can tell you chemical make up of metal with my hands. opatoes 10:00 pm Puzzles are pretty fun, I guess- but I'm not all that into them. Then again, I'm bad at them. verdigrisprowl 10:00 pm *analyzing shrapnel and butting in on the autopsies.* NoodlesAtNight 10:00 pm [[Hmm. This human - Hargrove? What will the law do with him if it can keep him? He is forced into this, and he was cooperating. Can he be - forgiven, somehow?]] _Whirl 10:01 pm *gravely* These territories are open to you, traveler. *pauses, noting Rebel, and looks to Blue* Oh, wait--this one--*looks to Rebel to address her directly* You're with this big lug too, huh? NoodlesAtNight 10:01 pm *Ravage looks over at Swerve.* =Eh? Your hands?= Kelpy 10:01 pm Yeah! NoodlesAtNight 10:01 pm *He's gonna pad over and come sniff those hands.* Kelpy 10:01 pm They got receptors in the fingers. [wigglewiggle fingers] verdigrisprowl 10:01 pm Strictly speaking, unless his life was in immediate jeopardy, charges can still be filed against him as though he'd done it willingly. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:02 pm Strictly speaking is horrible. Kelpy 10:02 pm He mentioned something about his brother under threat? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:02 pm Families stick together. That's what they do. verdigrisprowl 10:02 pm In reality, in such circumstances, charges are often lessened or dismissed. Especially since he's cooperated. _Whirl 10:02 pm That's the vast majority of "justice systems" for you, dragon. Kelpy 10:02 pm Ya NoodlesAtNight 10:02 pm =...You have finger tongues?= Kelpy 10:02 pm Something like that [snorts] Chillsins 10:02 pm *Chill offers the treats to the Elder Spawn, as appeasement, and she takes them greedily.* opatoes 10:02 pm ... she's not lying is she radioactivibee 10:02 pm .......that's a weird...ok then. _Whirl 10:03 pm *can't help but snicker* Chillsins 10:03 pm Rebel:...What's a... *she puts a treat in her mouth* a lug? NoodlesAtNight 10:03 pm [[Hmm. He had best be forgiven these incidents. Have him serve the remainder of the time from before, if necessary - but no new time.]] *Though personally he would not mind letting the human go. Destroying weaponry factories, and all. An attempt to bring peace.* _Whirl 10:03 pm This guy. *points at Windchill* And I... *looks to Blue and points to himself. What's his name, Big Worm?* NoodlesAtNight 10:04 pm [[This is the third time he has angered the Mayor. It cannot go well from here.]] verdigrisprowl 10:04 pm ... Hm. Reduced charges. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:04 pm *chuffs* The Mayor either shows his fangs, or he doesn't. Although he looks awfully toothless to me. NoodlesAtNight 10:05 pm [[He is in league with the Falcone fleshling. His teeth are borrowed, and dangerous.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:05 pm Fair enough. NoodlesAtNight 10:05 pm *Startles slightly at Dent's outburst.* radioactivibee 10:05 pm O.o Kelpy 10:05 pm Er SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:05 pm *FLUFFS UP* Kelpy 10:05 pm Wow Agooddistraction858 10:05 pm ZZWhat radioactivibee 10:05 pm oh verdigrisprowl 10:05 pm He DID help kill people. More people than were threatened. But heavily reduced charges. Chillsins 10:05 pm Blue: WUB! Agooddistraction858 10:05 pm that woke me up _Whirl 10:05 pm Hell yeah I'm Wub! NoodlesAtNight 10:05 pm [[...........There is more to that lawyer than shows on the surface.]] verdigrisprowl 10:05 pm ... Well. I can see where his second face comes in. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:06 pm ((her boa matches! her boa matches!)) OmicronTheIceQueen 10:06 pm *Icy streaches out of her loaf for a bit* opatoes 10:06 pm ... Wheels, Wheelie, Wheeljackie Agooddistraction858 10:06 pm Yeah? SUp Chillsins 10:06 pm Rebel: *She just looks...confused.* She doesn't talk words. NoodlesAtNight 10:06 pm *...Supposes heavily reduced is acceptable enough, as long as the original sentence itself was a fair time.* SCProwl 10:06 pm ((Fish <3 Chillsins 10:06 pm Rebel: Why are you a lug and a wub? _Whirl 10:06 pm She talks beeps, though. I taught her that. Chillsins 10:06 pm *Chill holds back a snicker.* NoodlesAtNight 10:07 pm //...Weird thing to wish a helper, breakin' legs.// opatoes 10:07 pm How've you been doing, Wheels? _Whirl 10:07 pm Could be the leg of someone you don't like. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:07 pm *the dragon looks exceedingly disturbed* Won't he drow- ah. He will not drown. NoodlesAtNight 10:07 pm *Rumble scratches his chin* //Huh. Yeah, I could see that.// OmicronTheIceQueen 10:07 pm why is he bubbling? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:07 pm Air. The air is coming out of his lungs. OmicronTheIceQueen 10:07 pm and why in the cloths in the water? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:08 pm *the dragon shudders* I don't understand either. That would drag him down. *says the one with heavy fur.* OmicronTheIceQueen 10:08 pm the bubbles where coming from his back and head?! _Whirl 10:08 pm She's right. NoodlesAtNight 10:08 pm [[Hmm. He could learn a great deal from her, if she stays to teach him.]] Chillsins 10:08 pm It means without ruth. Kelpy 10:08 pm Is she gonna influence Batman NoodlesAtNight 10:08 pm [[He /should/ learn from her.]] [[She survives without a grown human present.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:09 pm ((ed is so so cute)) Chillsins 10:09 pm *Rebel huffs and snacks on a treat before leaping out of her hand-chair and onto the back of the couch to perch like a gargoyle.* _Whirl 10:09 pm Anyway, I'm Whirl, squirt. *watches this set of acrobatics, nods to her once, and returns his attention to the screen* NoodlesAtNight 10:10 pm \\I WANNA KNOW WHAT HE USED.\\ Chillsins 10:10 pm Rebel: 'Kay. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:10 pm They should appreciate the riddling human more. He's fun. opatoes 10:10 pm I know, right? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:10 pm If nothing else, you could bother him for hours and learn new things the whole time. _Whirl 10:10 pm *snickers* Chillsins 10:10 pm *Chill snorts...but figures the night is almost over and chooses to remain, looming around the couch.* OmicronTheIceQueen 10:10 pm Racer: *tries to nom on a soundwave tendrill* NoodlesAtNight 10:10 pm [[A good point. There are worse humans to encounter, he thinks.]] verdigrisprowl 10:10 pm And he's smarter than the rest of them combined. NoodlesAtNight 10:11 pm *Ah, ah, ah, don't bite that. Delicate. He needs them for work. Racer may nibble a feeler claw instead; they're much sturdier.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:11 pm And he wants to do a good job, which is more than can be said for the other cops. NoodlesAtNight 10:11 pm *And Soundwave won't worry so much about wiggling it and shaking Racer around a wee bit.* [[......RUN]] radioactivibee 10:11 pm why SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:12 pm *pff* _Whirl 10:12 pm *LAUGHS* verdigrisprowl 10:12 pm *LAUGHS* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:12 pm Well, that was a choice of music. verdigrisprowl 10:12 pm The Final Countdown. _Whirl 10:12 pm Gotta love that choice of ringtone. *points at the dragon* Simpatico. Kelpy 10:12 pm [cackles nto hands] _Whirl 10:12 pm Sorry, Swerve, you were ousted. Chillsins 10:12 pm Rude. radioactivibee 10:12 pm ... why Kelpy 10:12 pm Aw OmicronTheIceQueen 10:12 pm pffft Kelpy 10:12 pm Food fight radioactivibee 10:12 pm children SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:12 pm Simpatico? *the dragon churrs delightedly* Simpatico! SCProwl 10:13 pm ((baby batcat, look at these adorable dorks _Whirl 10:13 pm I mean. As far as flirting goes hurling things at each other isn't such a bad move. radioactivibee 10:13 pm Oh poor Alfred. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:13 pm Eat your food, hatchlings, don't play with it. OmicronTheIceQueen 10:13 pm Racer: *wraps forelegs around the feeler!* Kelpy 10:13 pm Gonna break so much stuff NoodlesAtNight 10:13 pm {{That look fun.}} {{Them eat food later?}} Chillsins 10:13 pm Wasting food is a sin. OmicronTheIceQueen 10:13 pm but a fun one SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:13 pm They had better eat that food later. Kelpy 10:13 pm He changed his mind Chillsins 10:13 pm *Glares pointedly down at his spawn, who both remain oblivious.* _Whirl 10:14 pm Laserbeak, I promise you if I ever get into a Romantic Food Fight ™️ I'll call you. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:14 pm Goodness gracious, Penguin. Soundwave, did you ever do that to people? *he probably did, and probably still does* Kelpy 10:15 pm I'd be scared too with your mood swing verdigrisprowl 10:15 pm ... He was scared because you screamed at him. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:16 pm Absolutely. That scared me, and I wasn't in trouble. verdigrisprowl 10:16 pm I'm simpaticoing Swerve. *did he do that right.* radioactivibee 10:16 pm Why are there two Harveys though? Kelpy 10:16 pm Nice. We're simpatico now. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:16 pm ...Ah. Those are the mayor's teeth. verdigrisprowl 10:16 pm *he did that right. he learned a new slang today.* Chillsins 10:16 pm Sparkly. NoodlesAtNight 10:16 pm {{...What Bird want with Whirl romantic fight?}} _Whirl 10:16 pm You did it, Prowl. You can have the food when we're done. NoodlesAtNight 10:16 pm ((i looked away, did soundwave ever do what to people)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:17 pm ((sit in their room quietly until they entered)) ((lurking)) ((watching)) verdigrisprowl 10:17 pm Thanks, but you can keep it. radioactivibee 10:17 pm oh no Kelpy 10:17 pm I don't think this Asylum is going to be good opatoes 10:17 pm ... this is gonna be another corrupt thing isn't it OmicronTheIceQueen 10:17 pm well that's just so wise verdigrisprowl 10:17 pm *ooooh. winces.* Chillsins 10:17 pm Of course. NoodlesAtNight 10:18 pm [[...........Isn't that the building that was supposed to be torn down.]] verdigrisprowl 10:18 pm @S «This is going to go bad, isn't it.» Chillsins 10:18 pm Why though. _Whirl 10:18 pm Lord. Just... no, buddy. Don't. NoodlesAtNight 10:18 pm [[Yes, dragon, he's done that.]] OmicronTheIceQueen 10:18 pm I think it was? .............no verdigrisprowl 10:18 pm You could do better than her, Gym. OmicronTheIceQueen 10:18 pm ......primus Kelpy 10:18 pm .... radioactivibee 10:18 pm oh Agooddistraction858 10:18 pm what Chillsins 10:18 pm *Rolls eyes.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:18 pm *churrs* Is it as fun to do as it looks? Kelpy 10:18 pm Wasn't that the MCU lady opatoes 10:18 pm ... can't we watch more, Sounds? NoodlesAtNight 10:19 pm @P: [[It is not going to go much better.]] radioactivibee 10:19 pm Is everyone just universe hopping now? opatoes 10:19 pm Come onnnn Kelpy 10:19 pm MCA? Whatever it was opatoes 10:19 pm Yes also bee bee bee wanna come home with me NoodlesAtNight 10:19 pm [[It was her, yes. Her old lover.]] Kelpy 10:19 pm Man. She sure hopped lovers fast. NoodlesAtNight 10:19 pm [[And we will see more next week.]] opatoes 10:19 pm but I won't be heeeere next week 😔 can you fill me in later, Sounds? NoodlesAtNight 10:19 pm [[He will.]] _Whirl 10:19 pm We'll get together and re-enact them for you. NoodlesAtNight 10:20 pm ((time marker: 10:40)) opatoes 10:20 pm Aww- Thank you Sounds. Love you! _Whirl 10:20 pm Gotham: the stage play. radioactivibee 10:20 pm Because that won't end in disaster. Kelpy 10:20 pm Who plays Jim? NoodlesAtNight 10:20 pm [[...You needn't say that last part ever again.]] _Whirl 10:20 pm It absolutely will, and that's the beauty of it. NoodlesAtNight 10:20 pm [[But you're welcome.]] opatoes 10:20 pm ... You? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 10:20 pm *stretches* Goodnight, everyone! Thank you for letting me come, Soundwave. *there goes the dragon, back to her universe* NoodlesAtNight 10:20 pm [[Goodnight, dragon.]] _Whirl 10:20 pm Seeya, dragon! OmicronTheIceQueen 10:20 pm *sneeks a lick in* Chillsins 10:20 pm 'Night, dragon. Kelpy 10:21 pm Night derg. Chillsins 10:21 pm *Blue peeps. That's what you get.* radioactivibee 10:21 pm Alright, goodnight everyone. It's been a mentally scarring experience, but fun. NoodlesAtNight 10:21 pm [[Come back some time, Bumblebee.]] opatoes 10:21 pm Aww- I'll see you later, right, Bee? NoodlesAtNight 10:21 pm [[It has been a long time.]] opatoes 10:21 pm I love you, Bee! _Whirl 10:21 pm *chugs the last of his drink and streeetches* radioactivibee 10:21 pm I'll try to. Chillsins 10:21 pm *Blue COMPLAINS.* Kelpy 10:21 pm Bye Bee. radioactivibee 10:22 pm Love you †øo, Smokey. opatoes 10:22 pm Aww- thank you, Bee. I should head out, too! NoodlesAtNight 10:22 pm *Frenzy and Rumble mutually sigh and get up to start cleaning. Maybe they'll get to join a fight next time.* verdigrisprowl 10:22 pm ... Rough estimate, how many facial expressions does Gym have? opatoes 10:22 pm Hey Rumble, Friendzy, you need any help cleaning? NoodlesAtNight 10:22 pm [[Clenched Jaw, Bad Fake Smile, Tired, Bored.]] Chillsins 10:22 pm Could let Blue loose on the floor, she'll eat anything. Kelpy 10:23 pm Have we seen more than five? verdigrisprowl 10:23 pm I can do every one of those. OmicronTheIceQueen 10:23 pm Hurt cop? _Whirl 10:23 pm *pauses. Watches Rumble and Frenzy for a moment. Looks around the place, at the damage still there. Hm. Hmm... well. Well, he knows what he's got to do* Kelpy 10:23 pm Can you do grimace in pain, we saw that too. _Whirl 10:23 pm @Wheeljack: Raincheck on the fight. verdigrisprowl 10:23 pm Does "clenched jaw" cover "grimace in pain"? Kelpy 10:23 pm I think it could if you're a Stocic Dude. _Whirl 10:23 pm Okay, Prowl, but can you fight armed only with office supplies? NoodlesAtNight 10:23 pm [[Please do not eat the trash this week, or convince anyone else to do it.]] opatoes 10:23 pm Can I eat the trash? NoodlesAtNight 10:24 pm \\NO EATIN' TRASH.\\ OmicronTheIceQueen 10:24 pm *peers at prowl at that question* Chillsins 10:24 pm Blue can handle it, I promise. But sure. verdigrisprowl 10:24 pm I've /metaphorically/ fought armed only with office supplies. opatoes 10:24 pm ... Can I take it home, then? NoodlesAtNight 10:24 pm //'N nah, you don't gotta stay 'n help. We're jus' gonna - uh. I mean... sssssssure?// Chillsins 10:24 pm *Blue PEEPS loudly to confirm. She can eat anything that's not, like, lava.* NoodlesAtNight 10:24 pm [[....How do you METAPHORICALLY fight with office supplies.]] verdigrisprowl 10:24 pm Political battles. opatoes 10:25 pm Wait, do you want my help or nah? Either way, I can at least... I don't know, finish off all the drinks? _Whirl 10:25 pm *hops up, and trots on over to the twins* Hey. Change of plans. Might as well help fix some of the mess I made, right? verdigrisprowl 10:25 pm Battles of wits and paperwork. NoodlesAtNight 10:25 pm [[Those are metaphorical fights with old grease and the mud you pick out of tires.]] OmicronTheIceQueen 10:25 pm but that's not fighting with physical office suplies Kelpy 10:25 pm Makes sense to me. NoodlesAtNight 10:25 pm [[And slingshots.]] verdigrisprowl 10:25 pm You choose your weapons, I choose mine. _Whirl 10:25 pm Honestly, Prowl, we're making this to entertain. And i can think of fewer things in this moment more entertaining than watching you go ballistic on someone with a stapler. NoodlesAtNight 10:25 pm [[He is only going by what he heard from Ratbat.]] *Holds his hands up. It's not like he remembers his senate days very well, y'know.* verdigrisprowl 10:26 pm *stares at Whirl* NoodlesAtNight 10:26 pm //Ruler'd be funnier.// verdigrisprowl 10:26 pm *keeps staring* Kelpy 10:26 pm If we're going for entertaining, I nominate Whirl for Harvey. _Whirl 10:26 pm *stares back* verdigrisprowl 10:26 pm ... That actually does sound pretty funny. _Whirl 10:26 pm I know, right? NoodlesAtNight 10:26 pm //Which Harvey?// OmicronTheIceQueen 10:26 pm Can someone record that if it happens? _Whirl 10:26 pm ...*squints* I don't think I could pull off "district attorney." NoodlesAtNight 10:26 pm [[Of course.]] Kelpy 10:26 pm Bullock verdigrisprowl 10:26 pm ((is this it.)) ((is this how the buddy cop romcom gets made)) Kelpy 10:27 pm //yes _Whirl 10:27 pm ((omfg)) Kelpy 10:27 pm No, not Dent. Jim's partner Harvey _Whirl 10:27 pm ((this is it. At Long Last)) Chillsins 10:27 pm (( Your time Has Come )) _Whirl 10:27 pm Ohh. Oh, the drunk asshole? Yeah, I can definitely do THAT. NoodlesAtNight 10:27 pm *Rumble looks up and lifts his visor long enough to squint at Whirl.* //Dunno.// //Can't see ya with a beard.// verdigrisprowl 10:27 pm *SNORTS* NoodlesAtNight 10:27 pm *Goes back to picking up floor treats and sticking them in a trash cube.* Kelpy 10:27 pm We can give Whirl a fake beard _Whirl 10:27 pm *snickers* Chillsins 10:28 pm Ehehehe. verdigrisprowl 10:28 pm Do we have to dress like humans? That's a whole lot of fabric. _Whirl 10:28 pm If you get me a fake beard we've got to get Prowl a wig, too. verdigrisprowl 10:28 pm I'm not wearing a wig. Chillsins 10:28 pm *Is reminded of the spider-web Santa beard. Glorious.* NoodlesAtNight 10:28 pm [[He could cover the fabric.]] verdigrisprowl 10:28 pm Soundwave, I was trying to get out of having to wear clothes. _Whirl 10:28 pm My prop flask is going to be full of REAL liquor though. For maximum authenticity. Kelpy 10:28 pm Whirl would need a hat. Like Harvey's. NoodlesAtNight 10:28 pm [[There are, what... sixty mech-sized blankets upstairs?]] [[...Oh. He apologizes.]] verdigrisprowl 10:29 pm Wh— _Whirl 10:29 pm I'll absolutely wear a hat. verdigrisprowl 10:29 pm ... Why do you have sixty blankets. Where did you get all that fabric. NoodlesAtNight 10:29 pm [[...Because they are warm?]] _Whirl 10:29 pm Damn, Soundwave. Doing good for yourself. NoodlesAtNight 10:29 pm [[And in different colors.]] Chillsins 10:29 pm All right, ladies. verdigrisprowl 10:29 pm *... how rich is soundwave* NoodlesAtNight 10:29 pm *Looks at Whirl all uncomprehending-like.* verdigrisprowl 10:30 pm Do you have a washing machine? Kelpy 10:30 pm Man, I only have 3 blankets. NoodlesAtNight 10:30 pm *Which is basically a blank face but a slight lean back and tilt.* verdigrisprowl 10:30 pm YOU have three blankets?! _Whirl 10:30 pm Hey! Windchill! *points* ...good to see you, mech. *looks to Blue to give a farewell beep*...and then looks to Rebel* That's how you say "goodbye" in beeps. Kelpy 10:30 pm Yeah! I got them at some bargain basement store on some organic planet. Chillsins 10:30 pm *Rebel sticks out her tongue.* Yeah. You look...a little better. verdigrisprowl 10:31 pm Oh. Huh. NoodlesAtNight 10:31 pm [[Of course. How else is he supposed to keep them clean?]] *Taps his fingers.* [[Of course, getting that delivered was a problem. The humans insisted it had to go to a place where they could install it themselves.]] Agooddistraction858 10:31 pm Whirl, ping me whenever you're done and I'll show ya something verdigrisprowl 10:31 pm The benefits of travel. Kelpy 10:31 pm Four shanix for the lot! _Whirl 10:31 pm Only marginally better than a slavering undead monstrosity. But that's how I normally look, so. *shrugs* Chillsins 10:31 pm *He has to pluck Rebel from the back of the couch, but Blue climbs up Chill's arm voluntarily.* _Whirl 10:31 pm *salutes Wheeljack* verdigrisprowl 10:31 pm *Soundwave has a washing machine.* Chillsins 10:31 pm You saying I got bad taste? NoodlesAtNight 10:32 pm [[It was fine, though. He didn't mind spending a month's rent on a place for them to go to and sending the twins to pick it up later.]] verdigrisprowl 10:32 pm *You can take the mech out of the senate but you can't take the senator out of the mech.* _Whirl 10:32 pm *deadpan* You REALLY want me to answer that, 'Chill? Agooddistraction858 10:32 pm See ya NoodlesAtNight 10:32 pm [[Goodbye, Wheeljack.]] *Has NO IDEA this is a thing. As far as he's concerned it's good house upkeep for precious gifts.* Chillsins 10:32 pm It was a rhetorical question. Even I can manage those at times. verdigrisprowl 10:32 pm That's impressively convoluted. OmicronTheIceQueen 10:32 pm *chirps for racer* NoodlesAtNight 10:33 pm [[He's done stranger things to acquire Earth products.]] OmicronTheIceQueen 10:33 pm (laptop is over heating, see you guys!) verdigrisprowl 10:33 pm ... Can I wash my shamwow here? _Whirl 10:33 pm I see. Forgive me, this one time. *salutes Windchill, as well* Take care of yourself, bolts-for-brains. NoodlesAtNight 10:33 pm ((bye!!)) Chillsins 10:33 pm (( Night! )) _Whirl 10:33 pm seeya!)) Kelpy 10:33 pm //bye!\ verdigrisprowl 10:33 pm ((gnight)) Chillsins 10:33 pm *Sticks his gross and mildly traumatizing tongue out.* NoodlesAtNight 10:33 pm [[If you wish. Chimera can show you how. They enjoy that task.]] [[Something about the spinning wash loads being mesmerizing.]] OmicronTheIceQueen 10:34 pm ([thank you for the stream! also doing some more TF themed dreamcatchers soon if anyone has requests to see <<) _Whirl 10:34 pm If the greyfaces ever give me my tongue back, it's OVER for all of you. Raspberries like nobody's BUSINESS. verdigrisprowl 10:34 pm *this is going to be the fanciest thing Prowl's done in his LIFE.* ... Some washing machines have windows. Does yours? Kelpy 10:34 pm Did you know humans invented little portabe washers now? Chillsins 10:34 pm You think you can out-gross me? I learned from a true master. You stand no chance. None at all. Kelpy 10:35 pm And ones that come with *dryers* attached _Whirl 10:35 pm ...you're right. But I had a LOT of tongue last time, so my rapsberry will be extremely impressive. NoodlesAtNight 10:35 pm [[The round one in the front? Yes. That's where they watch the blankets.]] *Soundwave glances over to Swerve.* [[...More portable than the boxy ones?]] Chillsins 10:35 pm ...I'll give you that. NoodlesAtNight 10:35 pm [[But those are so easy to move already.]] verdigrisprowl 10:35 pm ... Can I watch? Kelpy 10:35 pm I think so! They're small counter ones. I think they're called pandas. Or maybe that's the brand? I'm not entirely sure. _Whirl 10:36 pm *at any rate, Whirl is gonna stick around and help clean. It seemed like the decent thing to do, and he is Trying ™️ * Chillsins 10:36 pm *Consider yourselves blessed with Three weirdos sticking their tongues out.* _Whirl 10:36 pm *if The Tongue ever returns, you're getting paid back in spades, buster* Chillsins 10:37 pm *This is fair.* You guys have fun eating trash without me. I know that's what's going on when I'm not here. NoodlesAtNight 10:37 pm [[Of course you may.]] *Stares at Swerve.* [[That is not a panda. A panda is a black and white creature that eats a plant called bamboo, has difficulty mating, and is almost extinct.]] Chillsins 10:37 pm I gotta put these to bed. _Whirl 10:37 pm Catch ya later! NoodlesAtNight 10:38 pm [[...It is irritating that he knows this.]] Kelpy 10:38 pm Maybe they named it after pandas? Though I dunno why Chillsins 10:38 pm *He'd wave dramatically but his arms are full.* Bye, sucker. Kelpy 10:38 pm //real talk tho i'm dying for a panda counter dishwasher bc god know si hate dishes gbvgfv verdigrisprowl 10:38 pm ...... Can I record it? NoodlesAtNight 10:38 pm //We only eat trash when Buzzsaw cooks.// \\PFFF.\\ Chillsins 10:38 pm *Blue reaches out to make a grabby hand, it's supposed to be a bye-bye hand but she's not privy to such nuances yet.* Wub! _Whirl 10:39 pm *clicks his claw at her and gives the good-bye beep!* Chillsins 10:39 pm *Blue BEEPS.* NoodlesAtNight 10:39 pm *Rumble looks in surprise at Whirl, since he's gonna be cleaning. Gives him a bop in thanks and goes back to work with a grin.* Chillsins 10:39 pm *And they're gone.* Kelpy 10:39 pm Time for me to head out too. Gotta chase more grey faces from my bar. Night! NoodlesAtNight 10:39 pm [[...What, record a panda? He supposes, but he'd have to track one down first. Do you feel strongly about breaking and entering when it comes to human zoos?]] _Whirl 10:39 pm *you get a nudge in return, Rumble. And then, it's back to work* NoodlesAtNight 10:40 pm \\NIGHT, SWERVE. DON'T GET TURNED INTO NOTHIN' WEIRD.\\ verdigrisprowl 10:40 pm *hm. when Prowl offers to help clean, Soundwave tells him he doesn't need to.* Kelpy 10:40 pm I WON'T! NIGHT. [waves] verdigrisprowl 10:40 pm *decides not to feel slighted; maybe the exception is only because the place was recently trashed.* No, I meant your washing machine. While it's washing. NoodlesAtNight 10:41 pm *Technically, he doesn't need Whirl to help either. He's letting Whirl do it because he can see when Rumble's being as twitterpated as he himself was recently accused of.* [[Oh. Yes, of course. But he must know - why this interest in them?]] verdigrisprowl 10:42 pm It's a /washing machine./ NoodlesAtNight 10:42 pm [[You've never asked about anything else he has here.]] verdigrisprowl 10:42 pm ......... Can... I show the video at work? NoodlesAtNight 10:42 pm [[And you have seen his primary storage quar-- er - yes, he supposes so...?]] [[..............Is this a kink he does not know about?]] verdigrisprowl 10:43 pm ... I didn't see your storage by your consent. *therefore—it's off limits.* What? No. ... Maybe? I'm sure somebody out there has a washing machine kink. NoodlesAtNight 10:43 pm [[Ah. Well, we can change that if you'd like. He trusts you not to take things from him without permission.]] verdigrisprowl 10:44 pm ... I'd like that, sometime. NoodlesAtNight 10:44 pm [[And if it is not that, why all this focus on it? It is just a cleaning appliance. No different than a dust collector or a - a sink.]] *Soundwave bobs his helm.* [[So it will be done, soon.]] verdigrisprowl 10:44 pm Everyone has a sink. verdigrisprowl 10:45 pm You, however, have imported enough off-world fabric to justify importing a specialized piece of off-world machinery designed specifically to clean it. ... Is that... Is that not... a thing, here? NoodlesAtNight 10:49 pm [[He doesn't know that he would call it a 'thing'. Not /everyone/ cares for fabric blankets. He finds they scratch him less than the mesh or chainmail blankets, though. And their colors and patterns give him something soothing to focus on before recharge.]] *He taps his chin with a finger.* [[Arcee likes them. He believes she has a few dozen herself. The Jack human likes to save them up as gifts for when she visits.]] [[He does not know if she has a machine, though. Perhaps she should get one.]] verdigrisprowl 10:49 pm *... huffs.* NoodlesAtNight 10:49 pm *Huffing.* [[She'll deny it if you ask, but he has seen them. They have Earth motorcycles on them. Pinups.]] verdigrisprowl 10:50 pm Hers have PATTERNS? NoodlesAtNight 10:51 pm [[.......Yes? Many of them do. He doesn't care for motorcycles, himself, but there are a few with crossed lines and starbursts upstairs. Quite beautiful. And Ravage would claw you before letting you touch his panther one.]] [[...Do you not have any, yourself?]] verdigrisprowl 10:53 pm Fabric blankets? With patterns?? No. NoodlesAtNight 10:53 pm [[Strange. He would have thought with you being an Autobot, and your faction's pet humans...]] verdigrisprowl 10:54 pm I know I've worked for a couple of Primes, but despite what people who haven't might imagine, I wasn't making THAT kind of a paycheck. NoodlesAtNight 10:55 pm [[Odd. He's heard that /other/ timelines' Autobots get Earth currency allowances. Some of them even go purchasing items in public without upsetting humans. Not ours, of course - but some of the ones like Swoop's.]] [[Well. We'll fix that.]] verdigrisprowl 10:56 pm ... But I suppose they /do/ lose a little cachet when you know an alien who's willing to just give them away, don't they. NoodlesAtNight 10:56 pm *Soundwave pops a bridge overhead and stretches his feelers into it. Give him a minute and a half and he'll have picked out a black and white zebra stripe, a red one, and a blue one. * verdigrisprowl 10:56 pm I— Wh—? NoodlesAtNight 10:57 pm [[Cachet?]] *Got them. Here you go.* [[They're just blankets, Prowl.]] [[Fancy tarps, really.]] verdigrisprowl 10:59 pm /Extremely/ fancy tarps! *his jaw almost drops when Soundwave hands him the blankets. Look at the stripy one. Primus below.* NoodlesAtNight 11:01 pm [[You're welcome to borrow the cleaning device if they get filthy, though a sink and a corrugated surface works as well in an emergency.]] [[What's extreme about them?]] *He tilts his head. These are no different from any of the other ones he's seen.* verdigrisprowl 11:02 pm ... I can't possibly— If I walked into Iacon with these draped over my shoulder people would start asking me how many moons I own. NoodlesAtNight 11:03 pm *A long, long silence and a good staring.* [[...He's sorry. What?]] verdigrisprowl 11:04 pm Is—Is fabric—really just—not a big deal here? Did it become THAT common after you visited Earth? NoodlesAtNight 11:07 pm [[Earth supplies were all most of us had /access/ to for the last few years of the war.]] *He shrugs.* [[Enough Autobots have human connections to get what their comrades need. Most of the Decepticons either prefer Cybertronian material or - ah. Hmm. Find ways to get the Earth items they want, let's say. The humans have far more to spare than our own planet.]] [[Is it NOT common on your planet?]] verdigrisprowl 11:08 pm Let me put it this way. verdigrisprowl 11:09 pm Before the war, Sentinel Prime sent me to Senator Ratbat's penthouse, with his cape in a locked briefcase, in order to beg permission to use his washing machine. NoodlesAtNight 11:09 pm [[...You're pulling his leg.]] verdigrisprowl 11:10 pm ... "Beg" might be an exaggeration. Most of the begging was subtext. NoodlesAtNight 11:11 pm *Soundwave leans back to process this.* [[You - you had fabric /before/ the war?]] verdigrisprowl 11:11 pm /I/ didn't. NoodlesAtNight 11:11 pm [[Your Cybertron, then.]] verdigrisprowl 11:12 pm Senators and those who moved in their circles did. Oh, and the Functionist Council. They made quite a show of it when they first paraded out in their dozen capes. verdigrisprowl 11:14 pm I investigated a case where someone in the Primal Vanguard who'd come back from space with a scarf was robbed. A burglary, just to steal the scarf. NoodlesAtNight 11:16 pm [[That - it--]] *Soundwave holds up a hand for a second before pressing it to his crest.* [[That's absurd. These things are no more expensive than... hmm. Two or three human meals. He would think /those/ are more valuable. Those are perishable.]] verdigrisprowl 11:16 pm Maybe they're not expensive if you're ON Earth. verdigrisprowl 11:18 pm What do you think it cost to take leisure trips off of Cybertron—to go somewhere in the galaxy where fabric like that is plentiful? Or the cost to export fabric through the few merchants willing to trade with a mechanical planet? You had to be a soldier, or insanely rich. ... And you can't wear human meals. NoodlesAtNight 11:21 pm [[He wouldn't know. Nobody left our planet for... hmm. Not since the rust plagues. We didn't even know there was anywhere else /to/ go, once the colonies began to fail.]] *Pause.* [[He takes that back. Shockwave was trying to investigate a distant planet near the end of the war. But aside from that...]] NoodlesAtNight 11:22 pm [[We did not even find an organic planet for at least... three, four bridge jumps?]] verdigrisprowl 11:23 pm Hm. Well. If one of your colonies had crossed paths with an organic world with fabric, how much do you think it would have cost to export it home? NoodlesAtNight 11:23 pm [[Not as much as a moon!]] *You'll have to forgive him, Prowl. He's trying to wrap himself around a financial concept he has little to no basis for.* verdigrisprowl 11:24 pm *holds the zebra blanket up* This has STRIPES! NoodlesAtNight 11:25 pm [[...They don't make it heavier.]] *That would increase the cost, wouldn't it? If it was more trouble to transport?* *But they've all come through the bridge fine. Except the weird, shiny, flat purple one. That one singed a little at the edges.* verdigrisprowl 11:26 pm No but it's—it's—extra craftsmanship! You can't just drop it in a vat of dye and call it a day! A CRAFTSMAN made this. NoodlesAtNight 11:27 pm [[A factory machine made that.]] verdigrisprowl 11:27 pm ... Oh. *looks at the stripes.* ... it's still impressive. NoodlesAtNight 11:27 pm [[...Do you /want/ one made by a craftsman?]] verdigrisprowl 11:28 pm God, no. That really WOULD be excessive. This is—ALREADY excessive. Three blankets! For a forensic investigator! NoodlesAtNight 11:29 pm [[He supposes this is a bad time to mention that he thought about giving you a green and a purple one to take back to the Constructicons.]] *He'd decided against it because Bonecrusher would probably figure he'd bugged it.* verdigrisprowl 11:30 pm *slowly looks at Soundwave* ... I was actually going to ask. NoodlesAtNight 11:31 pm [[He doesn't mind, if you want them. You like them. They're important to you and other mechs on your Cybertron, it seems - and to him, they're not irreplaceable.]] verdigrisprowl 11:33 pm ... I mean. *looks at the blankets guiltily* I'm... not entirely sure I LIKE them, per se. I'm IMPRESSED by them. They're—impressive. NoodlesAtNight 11:33 pm *Pauses.* [[Besides, had he known their worth on your planet, he would have given you at /least/ ten.]] verdigrisprowl 11:33 pm I don't know what I'm going to do wYOU WHAT? NoodlesAtNight 11:34 pm *Shrugs.* [[As he said. They're not as important to him. You are. And you impressing others is.]] verdigrisprowl 11:34 pm ... Three's fine. Three's excessive. NoodlesAtNight 11:34 pm [[Though if you don't particularly like them he won't force you to take them. But... he /has/ seen some that are... 'fuzzy'.]] [[Merely a thought.]] verdigrisprowl 11:35 pm *optics flicker* Oh. No—no thank you. These are fine. NoodlesAtNight 11:35 pm *He's seen how Prowl reacts to that texture.* verdigrisprowl 11:35 pm ... And one for the Constructicons. NoodlesAtNight 11:35 pm [[As you wish. Which color?]] verdigrisprowl 11:35 pm You said you have a green and purple one? NoodlesAtNight 11:36 pm [[Not together. One of each.]] verdigrisprowl 11:36 pm Oh. *well. they certainly don't need TWO.* ... Green. They prefer green. NoodlesAtNight 11:37 pm [[Very well.]] *And he's a little glad for that. He likes purple. Not so much green. Up the feelers go. The green one is, in fact, still rolled and wrapped. It's just not his color.* [[...He hopes you do not think him a fool for not realizing what he was saying.]] *Passes it over.* verdigrisprowl 11:39 pm If fabric wasn't a big deal on your planet, it wasn't a big deal. verdigrisprowl 11:40 pm *very carefully adds the green blanket to his pile. He's got them draped across his forearms, very carefully, keeping them flat and trying to keep the blankets away from his elbows and wrists so they don't catch on anything. The way no less a figure than Sentinel Prime himself taught him to carry fabric. NoodlesAtNight 11:41 pm *Can see that care, and wonders if he's being too careless with them, himself. Perhaps he ought to try looking at them from Prowl's point of view some time? Might make him appreciate the gifts and purchases all the more.* [[...You have to tell him more about your days with Sentinel Prime, some time. He has the feeling you have other interesting stories hidden in your subspace pocket.]] verdigrisprowl 11:42 pm *huff.* I doubt you'll enjoy it. NoodlesAtNight 11:45 pm *Light torso bobbing.* [[Perhaps. Perhaps not. Even if they themselves are not enjoyable, acquiring useful knowledge is. Besides,]] *and here he stretches a little,* [[he is ever curious about who you were and have been. A picture of the full Prowl, and not merely the one he knows now.]] verdigrisprowl 11:46 pm Hm. ... We'll trade stories, sometime. NoodlesAtNight 11:47 pm [[Though the one he knows now is, of course, priceless to him. But you've probably realized that now that he's given you three blankets.]] *Soft huff. It's a playful comment.* [[And he would like that. Probably.]] verdigrisprowl 11:47 pm Worth at least one moon, I see. *humor ping.* NoodlesAtNight 11:48 pm [[He would offer you both, but he does not know where your Cybertron's other moon is.]] *Humor ping right back.* verdigrisprowl 11:49 pm Hm. ... For another three blankets, maybe I'll tell you. I'm joking, I don't need more blankets. NoodlesAtNight 11:50 pm [[Hmm. He can think of three things you /would/ like, but you would probably prefer to get to work on time tomorrow.]] *Stretches again and rises, offering a curling feeler for assistance and balance.* verdigrisprowl 11:52 pm ... Don't tempt me. *gonna, kinda, balance his elbow on the feeler, so he doesn't have to adjust his hold of the fabric.* *looks down at his haul.* ... The Constructicons are going to lose their minds. NoodlesAtNight 11:55 pm [[Do not worry. He left his days of automatically defying Autobots behind with his faction badge.]] *Glances at the rolled blanket.* [[Feel free to let them know you asked for it for them. They might like that.]] *As opposed to saying that Soundwave had anything to do with it, that is.* verdigrisprowl 11:56 pm Mm. They'll know the truth. *BUT they'll know that Prowl intended to even before he was offered; and they'll know that he picked out the green for them. They should like that.* NoodlesAtNight 11:58 pm *Nods. He doesn't want to interrupt Prowl's fabric-holding, so--* [[If you do not mind, may he bump the side of your helm? He's loath to send you on tonight without at least that.]] verdigrisprowl 11:59 pm ... You don't think we can manage a kiss? NoodlesAtNight 11:59 pm [[He thinks we can, but he didn't want to assume.]] Yesterday verdigrisprowl 11:59 pm The math works out. NoodlesAtNight 12:00 am [[And he is ever thankful for its existence.]] *He'll get himself as close to appropriately positioned as he can figure out without having Prowl's sense of mathematics.* verdigrisprowl 12:01 am *and Prowl will slide the fabric under his bumper and lean in the rest of the way.* NoodlesAtNight 12:02 am *...Clever, clever mech. Soundwave might be silently laughing into Prowl's mouth when he gets that visor lifted and kisses him.* verdigrisprowl 12:03 am *good. now hold that position, Prowl plans on keeping this up for a bit.* NoodlesAtNight 12:04 am *Oh, well. By all means. He'll carry on with that (and the occasional nip from fangs or inner jaws) as long as Prowl wishes tonight.*

[kaitieedoll]

150 Questions

1. Who was the last person you held hands with? My mom

2. Are you outgoing or shy? Shy

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? I don’t know.

4. Are you easy to get along with? Not really.

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? Yes.

6. What kind of people are you attracted to? People who are the perfect package - kind, sweet, smart and funny.

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? Yes.

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? My boyfriend.

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Fuck no.

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Again, my boyfriend.

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? That is private.

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?

Cry Baby by The Neighbourhood

Dead Girl Walking from Heathers the Musical

Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd

Electricity by Ashley Jana

Danny Don’t You Know by Ninja Sex Party

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? Yes but only certain people.

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? Yeah

15. What good thing happened this summer? Idk

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Hopefully I’ll kiss him for the rest of my life.

17. Do you think there is life on other planets? Absolutely.

18. Do you still talk to your first crush? No

19. Do you like bubble baths? Yessss

20. Do you like your neighbors? One house

21. What are your bad habits? I bite my nails, pick my skin, crack my knuckles, don’t eat, binge, steal etc.

22. Where would you like to travel? New York City

23. Do you have trust issues? Yes

24. Favorite part of your daily routine? Sleep

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? My belly or thighs, probably thighs.

26. What do you do when you wake up? Check my phone.

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? Lighter even though I’m pretty pale. I just love that aesthetic.

28. Who are you most comfortable around? I don’t know

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? I don’t have any exes.

30. Do you ever want to get married? Yes

31. Is your hair long enough for a pony tail? Technically

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? Winona Ryder, Chris Hemsworth, all the Guardians of the Galaxy, either Fanning sister, Ryan Reynolds, Jenna Marbles and her boyfriend Julien, ¾ of the Try Guys, every member past and present of Game Grumps and Tom Holland

33. Spell your name with your chin. I*qa75 (That’s supposed to be Kait)

34. Do you play sports? What sports? No but I want to dance

35. Would you rather live without TV or music? TV

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? No, I’m pretty straightforward about crushes.

37. What do you say during awkward silences? Nothing.

38. Describe your dream girl/guy? My boyfriend

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? I love Target, Walmart and other stores like that.

40. What do you want to do after high school? Become a parent and a writer

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? Depends

42. If you’re being extremely quiet what does it mean? I don’t know man

43. Do you smile at strangers? Sometimes!

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? Neither

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? I have no clue

46. What are you paranoid about? Everything.

47. Have you ever been high? Nope.

48. Have you ever been drunk? Tipsy but not drunk.

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? Nah

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? Red

51. Ever wished you were someone else? Yes

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? My hair length or weight

53. Favourite makeup brand? None I hate makeup.

54. Favourite store? Target

55. Favourite blog? I really loved imperfect-nights but that was my blog

56. Favourite colour? Red

57. Favourite food? Hot cheeto puffs

58. Last thing you ate? A greek salad

59. First thing you ate this morning? Dinner

60. Ever won a competition? For what? I won a reading contest once!

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? Nope

62. Been arrested? For what? Nope

63. Ever been in love? Yes

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss? It was my first time seeing my boyfriend in years and it was super cute and awkward

65. Are you hungry right now? No

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? I have no tumblr friends

67. Facebook or Twitter? Facebook

68. Twitter or Tumblr? Tumblr

69. Are you watching tv right now? No

70. Names of your bestfriends? Melissa

71. Craving something? What? HOT CHEETO PUFFS

72. What colour are your towels? Purple at my dad’s but orange at my mom’s

72. How many pillows do you sleep with? I have a lot but I don’t sleep with my head on them

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? Yes

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? A lot

75. Favourite animal? Polar bears or cats

76. What colour is your underwear? Pink

77. Chocolate or Vanilla? It really depends on the mood I’m in!

78. Favourite ice cream flavour? Cookies and Creme, Mint Chip, Cookie Dough, Chocolate Panda Paws and Chocolate Peanut Stampede are my favorites.

79. What colour shirt are you wearing? Grey

80. What colour pants? Black! They’re literally the comfiest leggings on planet earth! They’re from Charlotte Russe.

81. Favourite tv show? Dance Moms

82. Favourite movie? Heathers

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? Mean Girls

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? Mean Girls

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls? Janis

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? Pearl

87. First person you talked to today? Melissa, my best friend

88. Last person you talked to today? Ethan, my boyfriend

89. Name a person you hate? I don’t know, I dislike a lot of people but I don’t like saying names of people I hate

90. Name a person you love? Isabella, my sweet little niece.

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? No

92. In a fight with someone? No

93. How many sweatpants do you have? A lot but I wish I had more

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? A lot as well but also wish I had more.

95. Last movie you watched? Love, Simon

96. Favourite actress? Winona Ryder

97. Favourite actor? Chris Pratt

98. Do you tan a lot? Never

99. Have any pets? Yes! My family has a cat named Hunter but I have a winter white dwarf hamster called Oreo Salinger

100. How are you feeling? I don’t know how I’m feeling

101. Do you type fast? Yes, very fast. I am a writer after all.

102. Do you regret anything from your past? No, mistakes make us who we are. The one thing I genuinely want to change is one time I told my niece, who was six months old and sick, I hated her because she sneezed in my face.

103. Can you spell well? Yes

104. Do you miss anyone from your past? My grandmothers, who have both passed

105. Ever been to a bonfire party? No

106. Ever broken someone’s heart? No

107. Have you ever been on a horse? I think?

108. What should you be doing? I don’t know

109. Is something irritating you right now? Nope

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? Yes

111. Do you have trust issues? Yes

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? My mom

113. What was your childhood nickname? Kaitie

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? Yes! I’ve been to Pennsylvania twice now!

115. Do you play the Wii? Yeah

116. Are you listening to music right now? I wish, but I don’t know what to listen to so no

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? Yeah

118. Do you like Chinese food? Yes but only shrimp egg rolls

119. Favourite book? The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

120. Are you afraid of the dark? Not unless I’m walking up a flight of stairs

121. Are you mean? Not really

122. Is cheating ever okay? No

123. Can you keep white shoes clean? I can’t keep anything clean

124. Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes

125. Do you believe in true love? Yes

126. Are you currently bored? Eh

127. What makes you happy? I don’t know

128. Would you change your name? No

129. What your zodiac sign? Gemini

130. Do you like subway? Yes

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? I’m already with him

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? My boyfriend

133. Favourite lyrics right now? Danny don’t you know that everyone feels weird on the inside?

134. Can you count to one million? Probably but I never would

135. Dumbest lie you ever told? I don’t know

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? Closed

137. How tall are you? 5’1 or 5’2

138. Curly or Straight hair? My hair is wavy

139. Brunette or Blonde? I’m blonde, naturally

140. Summer or Winter? Winter

141. Night or Day? Night

142. Favourite month? October, December and June

143. Are you a vegetarian? No

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? Milk chocolate

145. Tea or Coffee? Both

146. Was today a good day? It’s been okay so far

147. Mars or Snickers? I’ve never had a Mars Bar but I hate Snickers so

148. What’s your favourite quote? Sometimes you have to look inside yourself and ask “What am I willing to put up with today?’ - Arin Hanson

149. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page? Were they blind or something? - Girl Interrupted

[jezfletcher]

1000 Albums, 2020: Top Tracks #50-26

Hey folks! After the fun and excitement of counting down my top albums of 2020, I'm launching straight into my top tracks. Today, we're counting down numbers 50-26, which will leave the Top 25 as a Christmas present from me to you tomorrow. I don't know exactly how many tracks I've listened to this year, but I conservatively estimate more than 12,000, which puts these tracks in the top 0.4% of all the music I've heard this year. YouTube versions of the songs are included where possible. I belatedly discovered that I can also embed Bandcamp links as well, which is probably a better option, from a "supporting artists" perspective. If you stumble upon something you like, go buy it on Bandcamp. Apologies if the video clips for any of these are wildly offensive—I have not at all vetted them before embedding them. Enjoy!

50. L.E.J. - Pas Peur (French chamber folk)

I’m starting off this write-up with this excellent bit of folk—a sultry chanson, backed with low strings that develop into a full little chamber ensemble. I’m perhaps demoting this down to a fairly low position because I heard this track as a single, and was thrilling in excitement for the release of their album, which consisted of this song, and a whole bunch of songs that sounded nothing like this song. So it’s a standout, but it’s not necessarily a sign that L.E.J. is an artist I want to follow in general.

49. Avec Sans - Altitude (vapor pop)

When I first heard this track, I loved it a lot, especially the contrast between the restrained, almost plinky verses, and the smash of drums and synths which mark the start of the chorus. The rolls of the hihat and the fuzzy synth bass are overt and intense and I love it. Overall, it ended up not quite being of the same depth and character as many of the tracks above it though.

48. Trixie Mattel - Malibu (pop rock)

Trixie Mattel is such a fascinating artist, and she’s a genuinely great songwriter too—far outstripping most (all?) of her RuPaul’s Drag Race cohort. This is a great bit of pop rock, the kind of thing I absolutely groove along to and sing at the top of my lungs (at least until we get to the falsetto swoop in the chorus). I will absolutely keep following Trixie Mattel’s career as long as she’s producing music.

47. Beans on Toast - Logic Bomb (jazz folk)

The top track from Beans on Toast this year is this jazzy number, performed with his new full band, and filled with pessimistic predictions about the fall of the world through the computers we depend on. I’m far more sanguine about the world he describes, so I’m left to enjoy the groove and the gentle horn riff which launches each new doomsaying verse.

46. Nelson Kempf - Family Dollar (art folk)

A long, slightly meandering adventure in avant-garde folk, with Kempf’s conversational lyrics, found sound recordings like announcements at an airport, and the persistent presence of gently struck marimba or xylophone. It’s a great piece of music, although it’s also one which is hard to think about as a catchy tune—it’s certainly not something that gets in my head all that much, which is probably why it’s languishing a bit in the 40s. But every time I’m reminded of it, and listen to it, I do enjoy going through it again.

45. Marcelyn - Guilloteens (experimental folk rock)

I switched from Google Play Music (shutting down, of course) to Spotify about half way through this year, and as a result, my Spotify end-of-year list was jank, missing anything from the first half of the year, and lacking much of my revision listening. I say all of this because of all the songs I’d heard since switching, this was apparently my most listened-to on Spotify. It’s certainly not a bad song, and it’s a song which won Track of the Week the week it came out—but it’s also languishing in the mid-40s on my end of the year list, so it’s not genuinely a standout. But it is very solid, especially the shifting vocal harmonies from an evocative chorus. It’s certainly a song which makes me keep an eye on Marcelyn in the future.

44. Little Big - Hypnodancer (funeral rave)

It’s one of the great tragedies of 2020 (you know, along with all the sickness and dying) that there was no 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, because Little Big, progenitors of the hardstyle analog “funeral rave” were going to represent Russia. Which possibly would have been one of the only times I would have been cheering for that country come voting time. Anyway, the song they were taking to the competition was not this one, but another called UNO. But this is better, capturing the pop aesthetic into a hard 90s underground techno beat. Maybe we’ll get to see them again in 2021.

43. Walk Off The Earth feat. Harm & Ease - Toxic (eclectic pop cover)

Prolific indie pop coverers Walk Off The Earth have seemingly come up with a neverending stream of singles this year, none of which seem to be obviously pointing to a new album—especially given that their last album (my #2 album of 2019) was released towards the end of last year. But I keep listening to and enjoying their fun cover versions. This one, done with philosophical stablemates Harm & Ease builds into a great, raucous singalong version of one of the millennium’s pop classics.

42. Stormzy feat. Aitch - Pop Boy (grime)

I’m very conscious of the general lack of hip hop on my end of year list. It’s a genre that I think is ill-served by its most prominent examples currently. Kanye, Lil Uzi Vert, Drake—all have an extremely thin production quality and a drawly delivery that lacks the rhythm that really helps the style. But grime (and UK rap more generally) seems to get the point of what makes the style worthwhile. With a kicking beat, rhythmic delivery that lands its rhymes beautifully, Pop Boy is probably the best bit of grime this year. Stormzy and Aitch trading flows is genuinely fun to watch. I’m also glad that I have a new grime favourite after its Godfather outed himself as a raging anti-Semite earlier in the year. Stormzy seems pretty chill by comparison.

41. The Fratellis - Six Days in June (pop rock)

The Fratellis are a band who are absolutely rocking the late era of their career. Their 2018 album In Your Own Sweet Time was an absolutely cracking set of music, and if this lead single is anything to go by, their 2021 album is going to be similar. Swinging in 6/8, and with a horn section to add something of an orchestral sound to their accessible pop rock, this is a great track.

40. MOBS - Big World (80s pastiche pop)

These guys did an amazingly fun album this year, taking a broad kind of funky electropop and embracing all of the biggest 80s tropes. This one leans on the synth horns, and some working synths that you just know have the black and white keys reversed. It’s a jumpy, poppy, danceable track—one of the ones this year that’s most likely to get me grooving.

39. The Lemon Twigs - The One (alt rock)

A great piece of music (albeit one from an even better album), this is almost a kind of throwback alt rock—it has elements of the 80s to it, more poppy than the Cure, but maybe containing a similar kind of theatricality to it. It’s very happy to swing between high tenor vocals and squealing guitars for its drama. But on top of everything, it’s just a great bit of pop rock.

38. The Cuckoos - Weekend Lover (glam rock)

There’s something that you’ll likely see over and over again in this list, especially if you listen to the tracks and look for similarities. And it’s a driving, perhaps slightly repetitive riff in a pop rock song. This has a great one, incorporating bass and synths, and working in counterpoint to the straight up percussion line. It’s something of a formula that works really well for me, and you’ll see it a number of times on this list.

37. MisterWives - It’s My Turn (indie pop)

MisterWives are absolute stars of the music project. In 2017, the last time they really released much music, they had my #1 song of the year for Machine, and also took out #3 on my albums list. This year’s album didn’t do quite as well, but it’s hard to deny there are some pop bangers on it, like this one, their top entry this year. It’s a lot of fun, with manic, colourful energy. Sure, it’s not a #1 track of the year this time around, but I defy you not to have some fun with it.

36. Sammy Brue - Pendulum Thieves (alt country)

A fabulous piece of country rock, about stealing a bit of time back—maybe you want an extra minute with a lover in a perfect moment, or maybe you want to take back a fight. It’s nicely done with an anthemic chorus and some harmonic slide guitar in the background. Great piece of music.

35. TheFatRat feat. Laura Brehm - We’ll Meet Again (pop EDM)

Just a great piece of dance music. It has a great riff that evokes other classic dance numbers from the past 10 years like Clean Bandit’s Rather Be, throwing in a bit of grunty wobble bass for good measure. It’s short and sweet and catchy, and I like it for that.

34. Starbenders - Holy Mother (glam rock)

A track that came out of nowhere the week it was released, because I didn’t overly love the album. But this is just a full-throated bit of stomping glam rock that I couldn’t go past it for song of the week. Incidentally, Sam liked the album a whole bunch more than me and we ended up both giving this particular song a nod. It’s just a raucous, fun bit of music with a singalong chorus I often find myself headbanging along with.

33. Minh Beta - Let’s Fight COVID! (Vietnamese coronavirus pop)

Absolutely one of my iconic songs of 2020, this is a straight up pop banger released as a PSA by Minh Beta about the best ways to stop the spread of COVID-19 in his home country of Vietnam. It also has an excellent video clip[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSiK7U46PfA] with anthropomorphised superhero versions of things like “Wear a Mask”, “Don’t spread Facebook conspiracy theories” and “Don’t share your ice cream cone with your mates”. It’s apparently a re-skin of Minh Beta’s previous track “Viet Nam Oi!”, but we’ll forgive it for being a timely readjustment for a good reason (personally, I credit about 90% of the success that Vietnam has had containing Covid to this song). And also, it just absolutely slaps.

32. Kiesza feat. Lick Drop, Cocanina & Shan Vincent De Paul - Dance With Your Best Friend (pop)

You know this might be the highest track of pure unadulterated pop. There’s nothing subversive or quirky about this—this is just a catchy pop track. It’s helped along its path by some great rapping from Cocanina, and a bit of that laddish vocal quality from Shan Vincent De Paul with the London accent of Rat Boy and Yungblud. Just a fun bit of music.

31. Ultrahappyalarm - Messy Gyaru (happy hardcore)

CRITICAL DAYDREAM by ULTRA HAPPY ALARM

It has been so many years since I’ve heard a true bit of happy hardcore like this. It has all the things I loved about the style in the 90s, but it brings with it a complexity to the production which ensures that you can’t just immediately pick apart the tracks. This was the standout on a great set of variegated techno in Ultrahappyalarm’s EP Critical Daydream. More happy hardcore for 2021, please.

30. Saint Saviour - Taurus (chamber folk)

Instrumentally, this is such a beautiful combination of piano and strings, with cello dominant, and a set of beautifully blending folk voices over the top. Later, it brings in some soft percussion to bring it home. Hauntingly though, the repeated piano ostinato is layered with a counterpoint of vocals in the final section. It gives me chills.

29. Kate Rusby - Love of the Common People (indie folk cover)

I clearly love this song, originally a standard, but most famously recorded by Paul Young, because there were two separate covers this year which reached my end-of-the-week list of best tracks. This, however, is the better of the two. It has a soft kind of electronic folk quality to it, and Rusby’s sweet, unaffected vocals perfectly fit into the mix. I’ll admit that much of the credit for this being so high has to go to the original songwriters—the team that also wrote “Son of a Preacher Man”. TIL.

28. Seazoo - Honey Bee (indie pop rock)

A lovely bit of pop rock, clearly a genre I like, especially when it has a catchy, slightly unusual riff to it. In this case, it’s a repeated rhythmic guitar stab that plays against the snare backbeat, creating this persistent sense of rocking back and forward. The rest of the song is solid enough to keep it moving, and a late guitar solo kicks it into another geat.

27. City Mouth - Sanity For Summer (indie pop rock)

A fantastic bit of upbeat pop rock. It starts with a melodic theme, then absolutely blasts out a manic piano riff which becomes the energetic motor of the track. Mostly, it’s just catchy, energetic music that makes you want to get up and dance. We need tracks like that this year.

26. Cory Wong & Chris Thile - Bluebird (jazz-bluegrass crossover)

Cory Wong has had a really strong year this year, releasing a full album, a live album, and two paired EPs. This comes from Dawn, the lighter, brighter of the EPs, and pairs his excellent guitar work with the sublime mandolin of every one’s favourite mandolinist. This is just exceptionally virtuosic work from both of these guys, and the combination just ratchets up the quality.

[loudestsounds]

Top 50 songs of 2020

50- Virile by Moses Sumney

An intense song if there ever was one. There is so much going that it almost works against it, however the production on this thing is so high that is sticks a landing that would impress even those who weren’t yet on board the Moses Sumney train. Oh, and his vocal range is bananas.

49- Whole Life by Perfume Genius

From the first breath of the song to the stunning finish. It’s just gorgeous. While the track is propelled by the unbelievable vocal performance, it is the incredible strings that lay in the foreground, pulsing and pulling with each new verse.

48- Delete Forever by Grimes

This is an all-time Grimes track that speaks to how she has evolved as an artist. There were many opportunities to make this track weirder, or industrial sounding, or whatever spooky ghoul aesthetic Grimes liked that day. But instead? We get a song with verses and choruses and an acoustic guitar and even her version of a Kid Cudi hum! Sign me up—this track rules.

47- Good Grief by TORRES

A real standout from a record that marked a modest comeback from Torres. This song specifically harkens back to the Sprinter era—and that is a welcome thing indeed. A fun rocker that hits you with some serious sad shit. Good grief baby, there’s no such thing.

46- No Time to Die by Billie Eilish

This is a goddamn great Bond song. Billie is good, people.

45- New Low by Sarah Harmer

A fantastic, straight forward, no bullshit, indie track. There’s a beauty in the simplicity of this song that takes you back to that mid 2000s era where indie-rock felt that certain way.

44- Stupid Love by Lady Gaga

The worst thing about 2020 is that we don’t get to dance at a dive bar to Stupid Love (and all of its inevitable remixes). Why God, why! That friggin tube amp bass effect is hilarious but really, really fun.Gaga is having fun and you should try it sometime dummy.

43- Pressure by Kamaiyah

Hook this sassy shit up! You kidding me? Play this at my funeral. This shit baaaaad.

42- I Can Tell There Was an Accident Here by Saosin

Who saw this emo ripper coming? Totally worth it, man. This thing totally grinds your chin into chalk dust. Anthony Green hasn’t sounded this great in a while either. I totally vote that we 100% rock on my dudes.

41- Mr. Lonely by Angel Olsen, Emile Mosseri

I don’t usually rank covers! And I also don’t usually rank songs made for films! But Angel Olsen was the perfect fit for this track, covered for the Miranda July film Kajillionaire. I don’t have much to say about the song other than it is yet another brilliant pairing of Angel’s voice with fantastic, yet subtle, string sections. There is something simultaneously sad and comical about the track. You can’t imagine feeling this lonely and also articulating this level of loneliness without having a laugh at yourself.

40- Fell Into the Ocean by Dan Deacon

This DD record was super underrated! It did lack a little focus, but it had many standout tracks, with Ocean being one of them. It has such a peaceful groove that lulls you at first and then disrupts your day with a dance-y, playful chorus. I will forever remember that first you must relax/before transcend.

Aboulia by Matt Elliott

By far the most depressing song of 2020 from the most depressing man of all time. This is some seriously sad shit. I want to listen to this during a rainy day on a veranda in Spain while the bulls….ride….in?

38.It Was Me by Deradoorian

On an album of moody and wacky licks—It Was Me is perhaps the most straightforward, Can-inspired track. There’s a potency to the delivery of Deradoorian’s lines, and the instrumentals compliment the lyrical sentiment. This song has that feeling of discovering all the magician’s tricks, and then threating that same magician with exposing their secrets. I don’t even know what I mean, but if you listen to the song you’ll get it okay.

37- Straws In The Wind by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

I enjoyed this track greatly as a single—but within the context of the record it fits even better. While it runs a little long and some might argue it overstays its welcome—the Straws has King Gizzard sounding more human than they ever have—as if finally, underneath all the hyper-future allegories of nefarious dungeon galaxy droids maybe they have something they actually want to say.

36- Big Wheel by Samia

A quiet yet comfortably confident indie track that sets an undeniable groove for the entire album. It’s just one of those songs that after one listen has you adding it to twelve playlists.

35- Little Patches by Eric Osbourne

A really pretty, almost spooky, song about making the most of the little, incomplete histories we all share. Very well executed, and fitting as an album closer.

34- This Link Is Dead by Deftones

On an album of standout tracks, this was my favorite mix of head splitting riffs. The production on this track specifically feels crisp in a way Deftones never has felt. There’s a clarity to each instrument that somehow doesn’t give you a headache.

33- Weird Fishes by Lianne La Havas

I tend to have a very strict no-Radiohead Cover rule. Do not cover Radiohead kids. Unless you are Lianne La Havas. This cover rules and, dare I say, takes the song to a place the original doesn’t quite touch (they’re their own thing ok!!!).

32- Love Again by Dua Lipa

A few tracks to pick from on this breakout record from DL. It has to be the perfectly executed mini-chorus of I can’t believe/I can’t believe/I finally found someone that has an undeniable quality.

31- People, I’ve Been Sad by Christine & The Queens

A totally weird song I have never heard before. This song freaked me out when I first heard it—it is the weirdest mix of glitch-pop that I’ve heard in a while because it is equal parts weird as hell and easy-listening? I have no idea if introducing this song to people actually works or if they will think I’m crazy. Anyway, great song my dudes.

30- My Own Soul’s Warning by The Killers

When The Killers are good it is good for planet earth. Ladies and Gents, The Killers are good. Sure—the sound is a return to Hot Fuss/Sam’s Town era Killers, but I do recall that era totally owning. It felt good to know The Killers let us put on our tightest stage pants during this shitshow of a year.

29- Semantics by NNAMDI

I was not familiar with NNAMDI at all before listening to this track—and to be fair, not much on this record sounds quite like this standout (although it is also quite good!). The song is STOP EVERYTHING good. It almost makes no sense that it exists at all—it’s a stunning genre bending highlight that is the type of singular effort that forces you to have an artist on your radar forever. Jesus, that messy yet symphonic explosion at the end.

28- The Joys of Love by Steve Arrington

Some gorgeous soul/funk for your morning. Arrington is particularly potent in the morning, when maybe your heart and mind are more open to something actually working out alright.

27- Love is Bravery by Old Man Gloom

Maybe we just needed a heavy, hope-filled anthem in 2020. OMG came out with the song we needed back at the early stages of this shit show pandemic. These were choruses that we needed to hold on to when the world felt dark as hell. We are the way out of this, thanks for remind us Old Man Gloom.

26- God is Perfect by Freddie Gibbs, The Alchemist

Undeniable hip hop masterpiece right here. This track is no bullshit, pop the champagne stuff. Bump it in the car. Bump it in the mall. Bump it with the homies. Do your thing cause this is where it’s at. Love that piano in the backdrop of the track as well as the spooky down tones that accompany it.

25- To Perth, before the border closes by Julia Jacklin

You might say this is pandemic pandering, but so what? There’s a special quality to JJ, where she teaches us not only that it is okay to be sad, but specifically how to be sad. The refrain of Everything Changes has you simultaneously broken apart and yet hopeful.

24- 4 American Dollars by U.S. Girls

This was one of the first great tracks of 2020. A pre-pandemic banger of infectious, funk infused disco-rock. U.S. Girls have such a knack for making something made up of many, tiny little pieces--- work so brilliantly. I will have the chorus of “you can do a lot with four american dollars” in my head for nine hundred years.

23- Not The Same Anymore by The Strokes

It was a toss-up between NTSA and album closer Ode to the Mets, but there is something about the magic that happens when The Strokes stick to (or return to) a formula that they have mastered. If anyone else wrote NTSA it would seem tame, palatable and routine—but The Strokes just have this way. A throwback to Strokes songs of old, Not The Same Anymore crushes you with the same feelings of sadness, guilt and regret that Casablancas’ dusty croon is perfect at delivering--- while the gang as a whole plays the song they were almost meant to play. Some things never change, here The Strokes take a moment to look back at everything that has, and collectively nod.

22- Under the Table by Fiona Apple

I won’t pretend to understand everything that FA feels when she sings about seething in rage at men over a dinner table. But damn does it make you want to wake the hell up from your own bullshit. Whether you’re identifying as the jackass she hates or as the protagonist wanting to drink a jug of “I’m not taking any shit” juice—this song hits the spot.

21- Back At The Beginning by Caroline Rose

There were a few tracks to choose form off of Rose’s brilliant Superstar, however BATB is perhaps the best executed. Rose pulls out all the stops vocally, ranging from her deep and comic rasp to her higher and more piercing harmonies. BATB is the most Caroline Rose song that Caroline Rose has—and that means something for an artist this criminally underrated.

20- Riddle by Mammal Hands

A gorgeous and soothing track that effortlessly builds without you even realizing it, until finally it releases into a stunning chorus—arguably my favorite section of music all year.

19- Lilac by Porridge Radio

I’m a sucker for songs that build and build until they cannot bare the weight they’ve put on their back. Usually massive buildups fail when they cannot stick the landing, but Lilac manages to make the journey the reward by beating you over the head with its refrain.

18- Remember Where You Are by Jessie Ware

There are many standouts on an album that is as equally danceable as it is thoughtful, but Remember Where You Are reduces every thought, feeling and danceable groove in the record into one punishing closer of a track.

17- Fallin’ Apart by Young Franco, Denzel Curry, Pell

Two minutes of totally infectious dancehall music. This thing just slaps. Brilliantly, it can be played on repeat to absolutely no one’s disappointment. Dance away, kids.

16- To Death’s Heart (In Three Parts) by Bright Eyes

I love a song that really sticks its landing. Bright Eyes seem to care more about that now than ever. Even if the ideas are still scattered lyrically, the compositions are stronger and tighter than they ever have been. Also the rare Bright Eyes solo-ing segments are very welcome! Some really beautiful lines from Conor on this one as well, making some things universal but also keeping a few for himself. Who would expect something different?

15- Lay_Up.m4a by Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats

Hell ya. This was a huge standout on an already crazy, erratic and intiable EP from Curry and Beats. I could listen to them collaborate together for a century. Some seriously devilishly cool lines from Curry on this track about Lando Calrisian, dildo’s and fish tits. It’s just two masters at the absolute top of their game. Give us the full LP baby, we need it.

14- Crash by Nilufer Yanya

Nilufer Yanya can not write songs fast enough. I will continue to eat up whatever she writes. This song is essentially variation on the same riff for five minutes but when the shit is good the shit is good. Excellent production choices and attention to detail prove that Yanya is poised to head into increasingly interesting directions.

13- Over Yet by Hayley Williams

While the transitions in the track initially come across as clumsy, it’s the jarring risks that Williams takes that pay off. An excellent pop journey of a song. Crisp production and fantastic melody make repeat listens.

12- Working It Over by Cults

An expertly crafted indie-pop track reminiscent of Devotion era Beach House. Just a well-constructed, excellently produced synth track. The little sonic details require great headphones, but the rewards are endless.

11- State Line by Jeff Rosenstock

I love many songs off of Rosentock’s NO DREAM- but State Line was the first track I fell in love with. There is something so straightforward about the track in a way that spins a memory of pop-punk songs from a past you may/may not have ever lived. I miss this punk romantic shit so bad.

10- Ooh, la la by Run the Jewels

The boys hit it out of the park again. Equal parts banger, dance-hall, and braggadocious manifesto—Killer Mike and El-P deliver with the most infectious hip hop single of 2020.

9- Late Bloomer by Mammal Hands

I don’t know how to comment on jazz, but if you listen to this song, and make your way through the insane crescendo, and somehow feel nothing you totally suck. This is such a friggin’ blast to listen to. God! Damn! It!

8- St. Cloud by Waxahatchee

There is something so beautiful about endings—but something so messy about legacies. How do we close the book on a person we have lost? How do we survive long after we have gone? Crutchfield reminds us that we live through memory—and that the darkness of our times is merely a candle to our flame.

7- The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens In what was personally a confounding and somewhat impersonal record from Sufjan—The Ascension has him return to the sound that knows him best. Intimate, building, and intense—the title track asks the very same question we’ve all wanted to know: What now?

6- I Know The End by Phoebe Bridgers

To close her record, Bridgers decided to deliver an epic. With horns reminiscent of Bright Eyes’ Road to Joy—I Know The End delivers the most gut wrenching promise of apocalypse—all while Bridgers smirks, having known it was coming all along.

5- Anything by Adrianne Lenker

Just unbelievably gorgeous. Something unassuming and yet serene. What a maze of imagery and history. I love that line about staring down the barrel of the hot sun. Lenker just knows what works, proving once again she is an unstoppable force in folk.

4- Up From A Dream by HAIM

HAIM delivers the best song of their career with this emotional rocker. The gasp for air at the start of the track is absolutely necessary as we come along for the ride. The brief solo absolutely rips and the harmonies behind Danielle’s chorus pull it all together.

3- Anthems by Charli XCX

My number one power jam of 2020. This song is relentless fun and pumped with energy. Seems like a simple enough backbeat and chorus, and yet you are so happy it keeps coming back. There was nothing more exciting to listen to during quarantine—and it will remain the ultimate pandemic anthem. When it’s over, we might be even closer.

2- Anaphylaxis by PUP

Find me a better song about a panic attack. I dare you. Anaphylaxis beats the shit out of you while it takes you to that very special place we all love to hate. PUP has this unbelievable knack for making punk anthems you accidentally sing along to in the grocery store until you realized you just screamed “feels like I was kicked in the testicles” while picking out avocados.

1- I Want You to Love Me by Fiona Apple

There isn’t a composition that compares in 2020. Combined with her vocal performance this thing steals the year. An absolute show-stopper of a song. Opening an album like this should be illegal. Fiona Apple reflects on her history and what the world has given us thus far, and demands more. We all should.

[sailor-arashi]

Anime suggestions?

Asking a 42 year old lifelong anime dork for anime suggestions!?

Sorry that it’s taken me a little bit to address this.  In the absence of specifics I decided to provide a recommendation of my old favorites as opposed to new releases.  Of course then I realized I could write entire essays on each of my old favorites as a recommendation and started thinking about how to make a post like that.  Then I decided to provide short recommendations for most of the old favorites and save the hard-sell for a single great freaking show.  This in turn led me to end up re-watching large parts of said show because it’s just that freaking great.   Also, if anyone reading this wants lengthy essays on why I love a certain series, ask away and I’ll write one up if I’m feeling productive one day!

Anyway!

If you’re looking for recently-aired stuff, you can go through my GIF tag to see what I’ve been watching for the past few seasons.  Chances are if I’m making GIFs of something I also recommend watching it.   The only recent show that I’d mention specifically as deserving more attention than it received is Made In Abyss.  It’s a great little show.  It’s also really dark, despite the cutesy character designs, so don’t be fooled.  Also, if body horror is a trigger, stay the fuck away.  The Abyss does bad bad things to people.   Anyway, on to the old stuff ;)

Macross SeriesMacross is my all-time favorite ongoing setting.  It’s one of the great pillars of the Real Robot genre.  It’s stands apart from its peers by focusing more on the human side of conflicts, having an actual nuanced take on the role of the military, and just being very hopeful in general.    There are several separate series that I recommend, thus I am grouping them together.

The Super-Dimension Fortress Macross (1982):  The original.  A true classic of anime.  The animation is terribly dated at this point, but the story still holds up.  Every time I remember that I first watched this within a year or two of it airing, I feel really old.

Do You Remember Love? (1984):  A stunningly-animated movie version of the TV series.  The story is slightly different, but close enough if you don’t want to put in the time to watch the TV series but want a better frame of reference on the sequels.  It’s also one of the most technically impressive hand-animated movies put to film, so it’s worth a look.

Macross Plus (1994):  Four episode OVA series set 30 years after the original.  The focus is on the reunion of three former friends rather than the overarching events of the setting, so it can easily be watched without knowing anything about Macross.  It’s also widely regarded as one of the best OVA series ever made.  It launched the career of Yoko Kanno, among others.

Macross Frontier (2007):  Takes place 47 years after the original on board one of Earth’s many outbound colony fleets.  Like Macross Plus, the cast is original to the series, and the first 8 or so episodes begin with summaries of the history of the Macross setting, so it can be watched without watching the others…though you’ll miss a lot of references and a bit of the story nuance, but not enough to be unenjoyable. 

Moving on from Macross!

Azumanga Daioh (2002):  The original slice-of-life show.   Cute girls doing cute things.  You will cry when they graduate.  Watch it.

Nadia of the Mysterious Seas (1990):  High adventure in the 1800s!  Very very loosely based on 2000 Leagues Under The Sea.  This is the series that put Gainax on the map.  It also has one of my favorite openings ever.

Aim For the Top!  Gunbuster! (1988):  While we’re talking about the glories of 80s-90s Gainax, let’s drop in on Gunbuster.  A surprisingly-deep take on the Super Robot genre, featuring the most hot-blooded female pilots you’ll find anywhere, which is a huge selling point.   If you ever wonder why Evangelion took off so quickly, it’s because it was sold to us as a TV series “by the people who did Gunbuster!”   

Marmalade Boy (1994):  For years this was my ‘warm blanket and dark chocolate’ anime.  Whenever I was feeling down for reasons hormonal or otherwise I’d just start watching randomly from one of the 76 episodes.  It’s just an animated soap opera.  The main character, Miki, is stunned when her parents come back from a vacation and announce that they’re swapping partners with a couple they met in Hawaii.  They all move into the same house together, and Miki meets the other couple’s son Yuu.  Hijinks ensue.  Nearly every episode ends on a cliffhanger or stunning revelation.  It oozes melodrama from every frame of animation.

EDIT:  I just walked out into the living room and told the wife what I was doing and mentioned that I recommended Marmalade Boy.  Her response:  “RUN MIKI!  RUN FROM YOUR PROBLEMS!” and now I can’t stop laughing, because that’s exactly Miki’s response to everything bad that happens to her.

(I appear to be drifting closer to writing essays for them all, I’ll just add a couple more and move on)

Yamato 2199 (2012):  A bit of a cheat, as this is fairly recent, but it’s a direct remake of the original 1970′s series that I watched as a kid…and it’s frankly better than the original.  

Please Save My Earth (1993):  Six-episode OVA series that covers the first half of the manga series by the same name.  A girl named Alice begins having dreams of living in a hidden base on the moon.  She encounters several other people who are dreaming the same thing.  I used to hate one of the characters for what he did.  Then I understood but still couldn’t forgive it.  Finally, now, I think I can forgive him.  It’s a series that makes you feel very strongly, but to explain is to spoil.  One of Yoko Kanno’s first series as a composer.

His and Her Circumstances (1998):   A romance buds between two people who hide their true selves behind a mask of normalcy.  Will they still like each other once those masks are stripped away?  A compelling romantic comedy from Gainax, and also one of the codifiers of the Gainax Ending, so the show kinda goes to shit in the second half, with three recap episodes and the animation devolving into stick figures, but the main plot is resolved long before then and despite all of this it remains a truly incredible series.

Okay, so, now we come to it.  The hard sell.

If there is anything at all in this post that you watch, you absolutely MUST WATCH

GIANT ROBO:  THE ANIMATIONThe Day The Earth Stood Still (1992)

I cannot possibly summarize the plot better than its own intro, so watch this:

The entire show is like that!  Breathless exposition!  Dashing heroics!  Fearful villainy!  And the entire thing done in a retro-60′s design aesthetic as an homage to the original creator of all the characters within, Mitsuteru Yokoyama.  Top it off with a literally operatic soundtrack and you have the recipe for…well…maybe that’s hard to say?  Why am I recommending a series about a kid who controls a giant robotic pharaoh? 

The show looks absolutely ludicrous, and in many ways it is.  The characters are over the top in a very old-school sort of way.  You’ve got your obvious good guys, literally called the EXPERTS OF JUSTICE.  You’ve got your obvious bad guys who constantly pledge themselves to the service of a guy named BIG FIRE.  The heroes protect the new utopia that the world has become with the invention of a perfect power source.  The bad guys seek to destroy that utopia and crush humanity beneath their heel.  It’s all so cut-and-dry.  Even the characterization of some of the villains as “noble monsters” and some of the heroes as “ends justifies the means” loose cannons doesn’t really give it much depth.

At first.

The show very quickly disabuses you of that notion as it delves into what it actually took to carve out a utopian existence from a humanity that is so frequently opposed to any such thing.  It examines the motivations of the villains and finds them valid.  It examines the motivations of the heroes and finds them wanting.  It provides two questions that drive the emotional arc of the story and demands that the characters, and you the viewer, answer them.

Can happiness be achieved without sacrifice?

Can a new era be reached without misfortune?

As the sins of the past rise up to destroy the hope of the future, somehow the giant robot pharaoh stops seeming so ridiculous.  The fact that everything looks like 1960′s guy-in-monster-suit action cinema only serves to contrast the actual depth of the characters and the series as a whole.  To say more is to spoil, so I’ll not go into detailed analysis.  Suffice it to say:  The show looks silly, yet is really quite serious.

It also has one of the best finales of all time.  I watched this series as it was released, and there was a three year wait between episode six and episode seven, and I can honestly say it was worth every second.  Re-watching it just a few hours ago, my cheeks were wet with tears and stretched in a big grin at the same time.  It’s probably the most satisfying end to a series I’ve seen. 

So, there you have it.  A whole bunch of old anime to watch.  (WATCH GIANT ROBO)

If anyone reading this actually watches something based on my recommendation and enjoys it, please let me know.  It’s always great to hear that a recommendation was well-received.

[wizzy-witch-shannon]

*WIZZY CHARACTER BUILDING (Hey ya’ll drew this up in 5 minutes so one eye is bigger than the other anyways let’s do this)

*Scarlet Angleheart, death wizard with minors in life and storm, lvl 97

1. what does your character dream about after a good day?

The perfect pet combination (Giraffe, needs to be a giraffe)

2. what does your character dream about after a bad day?

Roasting some warlords in pvp (she doesn’t play pvp, so she can only dream)

3. what exhausts your character the most?

Defeat and collect quests, she’s really lazy and really doesn’t give a damn about your ten twigs or stone fragments you somehow scattered across the general area.

4. what is one secret your character will never reveal?

How much she wishes her mother was still alive, and the regret she holds for her past decisions.

5. what’s a weird quirk of your character?

She scrunches up her face before she sneezes and when someone is talking to her in a degrading tone.

6. does your character have test anxiety?

no, she’s pretty smart, and when she wings it she always get’s a decent grade so whatever

7. what is your character’s favorite thing to do on summer break?

festivals and concerts of all kinds, but she prefers folk and metal vibes over anything else.

8. what makes your character focus?

Music, metal to be precise.

9. does your character have a pet?

SO MANY LITTLE GIRAFFES

10. what is your character’s favorite meal?

A big bloody steak and green beans with breadcrumbs and garlic.

11. does your character enjoy drinking/smoking?

She smokes every few battles because that shit is stressful, drinks on the weekends when she can get wild.

12. what kind of person can your character connect with?

really anyone, but the badass boy/girl type usually end up being close friends with her. People who don’t question her ability or decisions. 

13. what is your character’s favorite story?

The story of how her parents met (Real cute love story so unique it’s almost a fairy tail)

14. is it hard for your character to fall asleep?

She get’s like 3 hours of sleep every night, she knocks right out and wakes up almost immediately ready to go.

15. does your character have freckles? where?

feint freckles on her cheeks and nose

16. does your character have any birthmarks? where?

one on her left ring finger, a small brown blotch that sort of looks like a ghost

17. would your character ever get a tattoo?

she has 7 already

18. does your character enjoy parties?

yes holy lord she’s always the life of the party after shes had a few drinks. Shes usually introverted but at parties there’s no way to control her.

19. would your character ever hook up for a one night stand?

nah

20. does your character have any irrational fears?

She’s really afraid of the magma men on firecat alley because she had a dream one time that they stole her wand and used it to burn down wizard city. Never trust them.

21. is your character more masculine or feminine?

she likes feminine things and appeal but she has masculine tendencies sometimes

22. is your character a lover or a fighter?

she’s both, and it’s very difficult for her. Her mother was a theurgist who loved all things (hippie vibes) and her father was a necromancer who had no mercy for his enemies. She’s a fighter usually, but sometimes her heart just takes over.

23. what is your character’s best school subject?

History and anatomy

24. what is your character’s worst school subject?

Chemistry and any sort of math

25. does your character like spicy food?

Yeah, but it’s not her favorite

26. in a game of truth or dare, what would your character pick?

dare, definitely

27. does your character ever spread rumors or gossip?

She spreads gossip like a wildfire, but only if she knows it is fact, she would never spread false rumors.

28. does your character eat any weird food combinations?

she’d eat a pile of trash if you put it in front of her, she will eat anything once, including combo food

29. would your character ever drink pickle juice?

sure why not

30. does your character know how to play chess?

if she was asked this question she’d say “Uh, checkers is the same thing right? I fucking love checkers.”

31. does your character enjoy reading? why or why not?

she used too until she moved to wizard city, now she doesn’t have the time or energy.

32. if your character got to choose one thing to eat forever, what would it be?

Steak

33. when your character gets lost, how do they react?

She would be calm, and focused. She’d think for a long while on the best course of action and where to go.

34. would your character prefer to travel alone or with others?

Alone, but sometimes she’ll go along with a stranger because it can be comforting, talking and battling with a person who doesn’t know your past.

35. would your character travel by land, sea, or air?

Land, she can’t really swim and she likes the feel of the ground under her feet

36. is your character afraid of the sea?

not afraid of it, she just can’t swim very well (she hates underwater worlds)

37. is your character religious?

she practices wizardry, so obviously she is at least knowledgeable on religions with magic based practices. Does she believe in a god? No. But she does believe in the land she is from, so she considers herself a sort of earth witch.

38. what’s the dumbest thing your character has ever done?

told cyrus drake that he had a massive squidward nose when she was going back to her dorm drunk as a skunk

39. if your character got assigned a school based on appearance, what would it be?

 death, no doubt

40. does your character like where they came from?

she loves grizzleheim, she loves every single thing about it. She moved to marleybone when she was 10, and though it is on the opposite side of the spectrum, she took a liking to it as well

41. does your character have a good relationship with their parents?

with her father, usually. They fight sometimes, but that’s because they’re both pretty hot headed. When it all blows over they’re best friends. Her relationship with her mother was never really...resolved? She loved her but, the last time they saw each other they broke each others hearts so....there’s that.

42. does your character have any allergies?

spider silk makes her sneeze a lot

43. what is one thing that your character cannot do that many others can?

pvp, she’s afraid she isn’t good enough and she hates comparing power

44. when running late, what does your character do?

She literally drops everything she’s doing and goes straight to her destination, no matter what the circumstance.

45. how often does your character cry?

not often as of late, but she has depressive episodes

46. has your character ever broken laws? if so, what?

...why would I enclose that information to you like do you WANT her to get caught?

47. does your character like surprises?

no

48. is your character faster physically or mentally?

she’s very physically fit like her father, and witty like her mom so she’s pretty balanced

49. if your character could be any creature, what would it be and why?

A dark pixie because they’re her aesthetic 

50. finally, if your character could be anywhere doing anything right now, where are they and what are they doing? 

Slaughtering her enemies anywhere in the spiral

[sinceileftyoublog]

Top 50 Albums of 2019

The end of a year, the end of a decade. Lists are dumb fun, yes, but here at SILY, over the past five years, with our year-end lists, we have hoped to expose you to artists you may have passed over at any point in time, even if you do live under a rock and have never heard of Ariana Grande.

With contributions as usual from Lauren Lederman and Daniel Palella, here are 50 records from last year that we loved.

50. Greet Death - New Hell (Deathwish)

When I recommend Greet Death’s New Hell to people, it’s hard to convince them that what they’re about to listen to is actually something closer to shoegaze and, well, not the aggressive rock you might expect. But New Hell is intense in its guitar-driven sound and its lyrics. It’s an album of loneliness and wrestling with doubt, one that blatantly asks, “What do I do if I don’t feel like getting well again?” on album standout “Do You Feel Nothing?” Also impressive is the way Logan Gaval’s and Sam Boyhtari’s voices both duel with and complement each other as their longer songs build and build, enveloping you until you’re left with gentle guitar; take the anxiety and calm woven together in "You’re Gonna Hate What You’ve Done" as a perfect example. - Lauren Lederman

49. 100 gecs - 1000 gecs (Dog Show)

There is simply nothing that sounds like 1000 gecs, and this is no detriment to its frenzied brilliance. With a wide array of already existing of music that experiments with a sort of post-pop, post-internet mentality (PC Music, Vaporwave, etc.), and with the ease of access to digital production tools, it is truly remarkable to stumble into something that one can describe as unique. 100 gecs have the same maximal sensibilities of their PC Music colleagues/collaborators (label-head AG Cook recently put out a brilliant remix of single “money machine,” and they are close friends with umru), but their mission never seems to explore any kind of irony, nor parody of any of its numerous influences (which ranges from just about every MySpace-era niche genre). Rather, 100 gecs create a sort of fever dream that staggers wildly through all of the sounds they’ve come to love through the years. And while it seems their most common critique is that their sort of unabashed love for these cloying sounds of our teen years betrays a sense of actual earnestness, you will find through interviews, performances, and the overall image of 100 gecs that the work here is of pure bliss and joy. Dylan Brady and Laura Les make what they view as simple pop songs, and the flourishes, which veer into jarring and absurd, are just them smirking behind the scenes, like two savants on a sugar-high. 1000 gecs is a record I didn’t know how to process at first glance, but when I looked back on its prevalence in my listening habits (it was my #1 most listened album of the year across all platforms, with “money machine” being my most listened song), its infectiousness cannot be overstated. - Daniel Palella

48. Tony Molina - Songs From San Mateo County (Smoking Room)

For his longest album yet (of 14 minutes and 56 seconds), singer-songwriter Tony Molina scraped total gems from unreleased and unfinished material spanning from 2009 to 2015, demos and riffs that occupy the garage and jangle rock side of his output more than pop sheen. What stands out, as usual, is the way in which not only he packs a ton into minute-long ditties (the longest song, the 2-minute “I’m Not Down”, manages to squeeze in a bridge to a guitar solo) but uses the same simple elements to make totally different songs. Take the one-two punch of “Fallin’” and “Been Here Before”. The former sees a creeping guitar line segue into an explosion of power pop, whereas the latter starts where the former leaves off and tails at the end. Or maybe “Not The Way To Be” leading into “Can’t Find My Way” and then “Don’t See The Point”, fuzzy rockers that nonetheless occupy contrasting emotional territory. The songs on Songs From San Mateo County are introspective or bummed-out, and while a less-skilled artist would be unable to musically differentiate between the two moods, Molina can do so with a few riffs or words.

Read the rest of our review here.

47. Full of Hell - Weeping Choir (Relapse)

To think of the new album from Maryland/central PA grindcore band Full of Hell, Weeping Choir, as a companion album to their previous one, Trumpeting Ecstasy, is a bit misleading. While lead singer and songwriter Dylan Walker told me that he “was in the same headspace” when writing both albums, none of the band members, Walker included, wanted Choir to seem like a part two. In fact, it’s the band’s best record yet because it seems definitive and stands alone, showing the different ways the Maryland band can envelop you with brutal intensity.

Read our interview with Full of Hell’s Dylan Walker here.

46. dumb - Club Nites (Mint)

Given the aesthetic image put forward by dumb, from the minimal presentation of their record cover to the chiming jangle of their guitars, it is easy to lump them in with post-punk, a label that is trending more and more popular with the success of groups like Omni and Uranium Club. But there is a unique rambunctiousness that really shines through in dumb’s music—seeing them perform earlier this year, when the label of “post-punk” was brought up in conversation, one member noted that they thought of them more as just a rock band. The raw energy and hook-ready quality of their music backs this up—there is no navel-gazing or self-seriousness with this band. “Beef Hits,” from its first moments, rides on such an infectiously catchy hook and doubles down with sarcastic, snarling vocals, ending on a saxophone solo that somehow perfectly and cathartically captures the energy built through the song. Arbitrary as it may be, dumb simply seem to have too much carefree fun to care about their genre image. -DP

45. Joan Shelley - Like The River Loves The Sea (No Quarter)

The truth is often somewhere in the middle. On her fifth solo album Like The River Loves The Sea, Kentucky folk singer-songwriter Joan Shelley fades back and forth between sweet devotion and ultimately independent realism, whether looking at the seasons of a relationship or the changing earth that’s a muse for so many of her songs. Inspired by her home of Kentucky, recorded in Iceland, sounding like Laurel Canyon–Shelley has never been more attuned as she is here to the topography of place and how it affects how we live our lives.

Read our review of Joan Shelley’s recent Chicago show here.

44. Nilüfer Yanya - Miss Universe (ATO)

When I first saw the credits for Miss Universe, the long-awaited debut album from British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and composer Nilüfer Yanya, I thought it would be a case of too many cooks: There are nine different producers on the record (though no more than two on each song). Fortunately, the vision is singularly Yanya’s. Her malleable sense of composition and performance allows her to take even songs she wrote when she was 14 or 15 and make them totally new.

Read our preview of Nilufer Yanya’s Sleeping Village show last year here.

43. Shura - forevher (Secretly Canadian)

Though Forevher, the second album from English singer-songwriter Shura, is inspired by her long-distance relationship and life as a queer, non-religious person in today’s world, she wants people to recognize themselves in her music and stories. The album’s artwork, based on Auguste Rodin’s sculpture The Kiss, sets the context for a universal record, accessible by those of different backgrounds, interests, types of knowledge, and even levels of prudishness. Yes, Shura herself said that on standout “the stage”, when she sings, “we don’t wanna dance / we just wanna” and then doesn’t complete the sentence, that she wanted her parents to be able to listen to the album without blushing. This isn’t self-censorship or pandering; instead, Shura finds empowerment the more people listen. “d’ya hate me?” she asks homophobes on “flyin’”, winking, while borrowing keyboard lines from Elton John, one of the most mainstream-accepted LGBTQ+ people in the world, daring them to say “yes” with an army of supporters behind her.

Read our preview of Shura’s Empty Bottle show last year here.

42. Patty Griffin - Patty Griffin (PGM Recordings/Thirty Tigers)

If you read reviews of Patty Griffin’s albums or analyses of her songs, you’ll see writers make glaringly different assumptions about the perspective from which she’s singing or even what the song’s about. To me, that’s not so much obtuseness as it is Griffin’s strength at a songwriter. Her latest, self-titled album embodies this complexity perhaps more than any of her career so far. Co-produced with Craig Ross and laden with Spanish and Celtic instrumental influences on top of the usual blues and folk, it’s also her most instrumentally varied. Written during and after her successful battle with breast cancer, Patty Griffin is a statement of feminism and ultimately melancholy humanism, universal, global, and determined.

Read our preview of Patty Griffin’s show at the Vic Theatre last year here.

41. Hand Habits - placeholder (Saddle Creek)

Like many, I first became aware of Meg Duffy when I saw them steal the show with their shredding and guitar tones while playing as part of Kevin Morby’s band. Upon further research, I came to see their name pop up in the credits for some of my favorite guitar-oriented music of the decade, mostly unaware of their solo project Hand Habits. Well, with their second solo LP placeholder (and first recorded in a studio and with a band), Duffy has not only blasted beyond the label of “secret weapon”–they’ve established themselves as one of today’s finest songwriters. At once more concise and more widespread than its predecessor Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void), placeholder puts on display Duffy’s wise observations on internal strife and relationships, at once personal and universal.

Read our preview of Hand Habits’ show at the Hideout last year here.

40. Ariana Grande - thank u, next (Republic)

With finger-snapping beats, skronking bass, and remarkably buoyant vocal performances, Ariana Grande’s topped herself mere months later. If Sweetener was Grande’s tour de force of empathy, thank u, next is everything at once: Over a year removed from the Manchester arena bombing that shook her, Grande looks back on simultaneous trauma, relationships started and failed because of it, and her quest for self-love, all in seeming real time.

Read our preview of Ariana Grande’s United Center show last year here.

39. Shannon Lay - August (Sub Pop)

August exemplifies so much that Lay does well. The surprisingly linear spontaneity of opener “Death Up Close”–which starts with a misstep and eventually features a Mikal Cronin saxophone solo–is contrasted by the flaneur of “Nowhere”, an ode to enjoying the circular journey without an end, where her voice travels in the opposite direction of the song’s lilting melody. “Will I ever see through?” Lay asks, but not too bothered, layered over drums and hand claps. She sees the humor and delight in the smallest moments: Gorgeous and simple standout “Shuffling Stoned” is a scene in a record store in New York City, a customer buying weed from his dealer as small spider crawls on his stack of records. Many people would want the spider killed, but Lay sees it as no less a sign of life than anybody else. Most remarkable is “November”, dedicated to the woman left behind, Molly Drake, the mother of the late Nick. “Molly did you feel the sting / Of November songs gone quiet,” she asks, again not expecting an answer but knowing that asking the question, embodying another’s state of mind, is what’s important.

Read our profile of Shannon Lay here.

38. Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated (School Boy/Interscope)

On Dedicated, Carly Rae Jepsen goes disco and sounds as risqué in her lyrics as ever, veering off the 80′s-inspired pop music of EMOTION in favor of something slinky and sleek. While love in all its excess and sincerity is still her driving force, it’s not necessarily as straightforward as her past hits “Run Away With Me” or “Call Me Maybe”. It’s celebrated in “Too Much”, and its inviting question, “Are you down?” It’s now an altered state on “No Drug Like Me”. It’s the self-love of “Party for One”, the desperate jealousy of “I’ll Be Your Girl”. Love is everything, and Jepsen’s pop music consistently captures that, whether dressed up in neon rose glasses or swaying under a sparkling disco ball. - LL

37. joni void - Mise En Abyme (Constellation)

Mise en abyme refers to putting a copy of an image within itself, but for the Joni Void album of the same name, it’s more like a story within a story. So it normally goes for Montreal-based producer Jean Cousin. Like his debut under the Joni Void moniker (he previously went by johnny_ripper), 2017′s Selfless, Mise En Abyme includes vocal samples of Cousin’s various friends and collaborators in music, though their output is wordless, their voices chopped and screwed and pitch-shifted out of recognition.

Read our interview with joni void here.

36. Mavis Staples - We Get By (ANTI-)

If you had told me that a singer’s new album contained the line, “All that we are is the living ghost of our youth,” Mavis Staples would have been my last guess as to who that singer was. Then again, the reflective, often somber nature of her latest great album We Get By makes sense: her sister Yvonne passed away last year, and she’s only six years removed from the death of her other sister, Cleotha. As such, she’s mourning again the absence of both of those women and her father, Pops. Combine that with the current political climate, one that Staples has spent her entire life fighting, and you start to become surprised that the album’s not straight-up dour. But Staples doesn’t do depressing: She finds beauty in the darkest moments, using them to raise up both herself and others.

Read our review of Mavis Staples’ Pitchfork Music Festival 2019 set here.

35. Better Oblivion Community Center - Better Oblivion Community Center (Dead Oceans)

The idea of a supergroup is a familiar one in the rock world, but often, there’s a feeling of it being a sort of manufactured corniness when you shove rock stars together on one album. But what about two songwriters with dedicated fans, one at the start of her career and the other more established? Better Oblivion feels like true collaboration between artists with deep respect for the other. Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst may be kindred spirits. They excel in storytelling, placing you in the vividly formed world of their songs. Combined, this shines throughout their self-titled debut, a lovely collection of folk songs. The cool ease of Bridgers’ voice and familiar warmth of Oberst’s seems like a natural fit. Supergroups often come around for one album; here’s hoping that this project sees more than just this one. - LL

34. Orville Peck - Pony (Sub Pop)

From the opening, lone guitar of “Dead of Night”, there’s a sense of traditional country western that permeates through Orville Peck’s debut. Peck is playful in the way he contorts words (see “Spend a Johnny’s cash” on the first track) and iconic imagery from the genre, all with a voice straight out of some other decade, one that’d be at home over the crackly AM waves of radio or in the dark corner of a bar.

There’s plenty of the familiar throughout the album: banjo, lap steel guitar, the gallop of “Buffalo Pace”. But Peck’s a master at playing with the machismo and “traditional” masculinity we so often ascribe to rugged cowboys with no home and no name. There are horses and dusty roads. It’s tough and tender. And sure, technically anyone can ride off into the sunset, heading westward and feeling rebellious. But how many can reclaim that free spirit as a masked queer cowboy with a secret identity? - LL

33. Charli XCX - Charli (Atlantic)

If you follow Charli XCX on any form of social media, you know she’s not afraid to tell you how iconic she is with every release, whether an album, a mixtape, or a music video. Naturally, she opens her first official studio release since 2014 with a song called “Next Level Charli” and declares, “I got hard, I go fast, and I never look back.” And that’s Charli, always looking to level up. Her collaborations in particular are where she shines, equally carrying the spotlight she so effortlessly commands while elevating her partners, whether its Christine and the Queens on the near perfect “Gone”, Sky Ferreira, Yaeji, or the Haim sisters.

Sure, she veers into the more expected sounds of mainstream pop, taking the stunning “Track 10” from Pop 2 and morphing it into radio-friendly fare featuring everyone’s favorite, Lizzo. But that’s the beauty of Charli: She can make a mainstream hit from one of her most ambitious tracks, or she can make a song like “2099”, closing out her album with a sound that feels like it’s straight out of the future. - LL

32. Andy Stott - It Should Be Us (Modern Love)

The moods and worlds created through the records of Andy Stott reflect the grey scale that has become a signature for his album covers. This is not to say that they are one-dimensionally mechanical or bleak. Rather, Stott’s emotive power reveals itself in how he uses the cold sounds of dub and techno to reach into the ethereal and personal. Whereas previous records have dabbled with a sort of neo-futurism—Too Many Voices, for example, explores a sort of 80′s pastiche—It Should Be Us more readily embraces a sort of cracked techno veneer, focusing in on the broken quality he is known for injecting into his sounds. Synths and drums clip, distort, wail, and stutter—not as moments of transition, but as the central pieces of his songs. And while it does not have the apparent warmth or beauty of records like Luxury Problems, It Should Be Us is remarkably effective in creating an atmosphere that extends beyond dullness or despair. -DP

31. The Highwomen - The Highwomen (Low Country Sound/Elektra)

There’s a real thrill in the twelve tracks that make up The Highwomen’s debut album. Four stunning voices from country--a few Grammy winners, an Americana violinist who’s not afraid to get weird, a country songwriter with a stellar reputation--create a beautiful, heartfelt, and even funny collection of songs that explore what it means to be a woman in the past, present, and future. While “Redesigning Women” is a sweet first single, it only scratches the surface of the scope of these songs. “My Name Can’t Be Mama” is genuinely funny, and “If She Ever Leaves Me” is a stunning love song that belongs in the country pantheon. But the true thesis of the album is the title track, telling the stories of women from different eras, encompassing different struggles, and featuring Yola’s powerful voice.  

Their voices harmonize to round out the song, declaring “And we’ll come back again, and again.” It’s a powerful call to generations of women, and you can’t help but hope the Highwomen will return, too. - LL

30. Great Grandpa - Four of Arrows (Double Double Whammy)

You might not recognize Great Grandpa if you were only familiar with Plastic Cough. While that album’s catchy slacker-grunge tunes could inspire spirited, sweaty singalongs, it’s incredible to see what’s evolved since then into their latest release. It seems to make sense that the album opens with almost twenty seconds of silence before the band comes in, voices in harmony, a sweet sound to usher you in to this new, lush world they’ve created together. There’s the hopefulness of “Bloom”, the rippling calm of “Mono no Aware”, or the ache of “Split Up the Kids”. You can feel it in the stunning waver of vocalist Alex Menne’s voice in “Digger”. It’s an album full of reflection and self-evaluation, a band finding a new confidence in evolution. - LL

29. Julia Kent - Temporal (The Leaf Label)

Originally written for dance/theater, Temporal, the latest great piece of music from NYC cellist and composer Julia Kent, is one of the rare albums described as “haunting” that actually fits the bill. Consisting of just cello and synthesizer, the record sees Kent exploring textures and timbres you may associate with either her acoustic instrument of choice or the modes in which she processes them, but never in such a concretely spacial way.

Read the rest of our review here.

28. Drugdealer - Raw Honey (Mexican Summer)

Los Angeles collective Drugdealer’s second album of pop is another massive step forward for Michael Collins and company. Bookended by two gorgeous instrumentals, Raw Honey is as its title suggests: sweet without being forced. Whether Collins or one of many guest vocalists, the timbres of the vocals blend in with instrumentation that’s wonderfully melancholic and lyrics unafraid to be positive. “Nobody wants to feel they’ve got to hide themselves,” they sing on bouncy ear worm “Lost In My Dream”. In an era of musical scenes and constant debates on authenticity, Drugdealer successfully capture the essence of something they’re not, that you think on a surface level they’re simply trying to emulate, all through sheer musicianship and songwriting smarts.

Read our preview of Drugdealer’s Sleeping Village show last year here.

27. Julia Jacklin - Crushing (Polyvinyl)

But what’s powerful about Crushing isn’t Jacklin’s admittance of her emotions and thoughts but how she reclaims them. Ownership over one’s body–and one’s self–is a running theme throughout the record, starting immediately with opening track “Body”, a true story about her boyfriend getting the two of them kicked off a plane because he smoked in the bathroom. “I’m not a good woman when you’re around,” Jacklin realizes, planning action, “heading to the city to get my body back.” Slowly building around the simple statement, “It’s just my life / It’s just my body,” the song refuses to downplay the importance of Jacklin’s increasing sense of security. On “Head Alone”, she’s a step further: “I don’t want to be touched all the time / I raised by body up to be mine,” she sings confidently, pausing, and letting out a smirking, “hah,” fully knowing how ridiculous it is that she still has to say this in 2019. By this time on the record, she’s already spitting out mantras with ease: “Yeah, I’ll say it ‘til he understands / You can love somebody without using your hands.”

Read our preview of Julia Jacklin’s Schuba’s show last year here.

26. Art Ensemble of Chicago - We Are On The Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (Erased Tapes/Pi Recordings)

“We are on the edge of existing,” proclaims Moor Mother (Camae Ayewa) on the title track of We Are On The Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration, the new album from The Art Ensemble of Chicago. It’s a statement that could not exemplify the collective any more aptly. Over the past five decades, the band and its various incarnations (the only founding members still active are Roscoe Mitchell and drummer Famodou Don Moye) have dominated the underground and the worlds of jazz to occasionally surface on the mainstream. But from the perspective of black humanism, it’s even more powerful. Earlier in the song, Ayewa declares, “We are on the edge of victory…After all that dope and dancing and drunkenness, we are on the edge.” She shares a litany of black oppression, turning “We are on the edge of existing” into a statement of disappearance rather than emergence. In the context of today’s America, it makes the journey to keep on existing and thriving even more radical, the context that makes We Are On The Edge an absolutely essential listen. Consisting of one disc of re-recorded and never-recorded works and new compositions, and another of a live set recorded at Ann Arbor’s Edgefest, it shows Mitchell’s composition chops and the band’s instrumental dynamism as results of black excellence.

Read our preview of the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion show last year here.

25. Laura Stevenson - The Big Freeze (Don Giovanni)

The Big Freeze, the new album from singer-songwriter Laura Stevenson, combines the size, emotions, and power of her more rambunctious releases like Wheel and Cocksure with a newfound sense of sparseness, directness, and intimacy. She weaves personal experiences–of self-doubt, depression, and dermatillomania–with universal internal struggles, like the yearning for simplicity in an increasingly complex world. Recorded in her childhood home in Long Island during winter, with bits of strings and bass added later, The Big Freeze isn’t just the first Stevenson album to not feature her backing band The Cans, but the first album that feels like a solo statement.

Read our interview with Laura Stevenson here.

24. Sunn O))) - Life Metal (Southern Lord)

Their first of two albums last year, Life Metal was written with frequent collaborator Tos Nieuwenhuizen on Moog and eventually recorded with none other than Steve Albini at Electrical Audio here in Chicago. It was also the first Sunn O))) album recorded entirely to tape; the extra bit of hiss on the guitar tones adds a greater aspect of the physical realm than ever before. The warm hues of Samantha Keely Smith’s paintings that grace the cover art are akin to the timbre of the music. Slabs of synthesizer light rise to the surface between drone metal power chords on opener “Between Sleipnir’s Breaths”, as recordings of whinnying horses and layered vocals from Hildur Guðnadóttir provide a soft antidote to her ruminations on the impermanence of life. On “Troubled Air”, Anthony Pateras arranged and recorded pipe organ that provides a flat levity to contrast the pointed high tones of the guitars and childlike wonder of the triangle percussion. “Aurora” segues from the dark tones of “Troubled Air” but juxtaposes with it high-pitched, heavenly sounds reminiscent of the human voice, ultimately challenging you to find hope even in the squeakiest of guitar feedback squalls; like the live set, it eventually gives way to silence.

Read our review of Sunn O)))’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel set last year here.

23. Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - Mandatory Reality (eremite records)

Even more so than Simultonality, Mandatory Reality, the latest record from guimbri maestro Joshua Abrams and his band Natural Information Society, doesn’t so much demand your attention as it naturally captures it. Recorded live to tape, it’s an exquisite piece of music that achieves canonical status through its references, yes, but more importantly, warmth through its depth. The track lengths–23, 39, 12, and even 6 minutes–allow the songs to journey, to build up and decompose, to establish and break a vernacular.

Read our review of Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society’s Constellation show last year here.

22. Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi - there is no Other (Nonesuch)

With Italian, Dublin-based multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, it appears that Rhiannon Giddens has met her match. The two are not only incredible arrangers, writers, and players in their own right, but their approach to music is nobly investigative.

Read our review of Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi’s City Winery show last year here.

21. Big Thief - U.F.O.F. (4AD)

People, animals, bugs, hospitals, tenderness, intimacy–they’re all going to show up in a Big Thief album, and U.F.O.F. is no exception. At the same time, Adrianne Lenker and company are still redefining what “Big Thief album” means, and on their third (and 4AD debut), they up the expanse. If Capacity relied totally on Lenker’s world weary voice and nurturing-despite-desolate imagery, U.F.O.F. introduces into the studio fold that which makes Big Thief so arresting as a live band, namely the depth and versatility of Lenker’s voice and the band’s raw, yet celestial instrumentation. Only a singer like Lenker–and maybe Emmylou Harris–could be so affecting staying at basically one note for minutes, as she does on “Cattails”, and on the flip side, adopt an effective lower register on “Betsy”.

Read the rest of our review here.

20. JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes Are Cornballs (EQT)

Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks is still getting used to verified life, but he’s not retreating. On his third studio album All My Heroes Are Cornballs, a highly anticipated follow-up to 2018 breakout Veteran, rapper JPEGMAFIA doubles down on what made him stand out: darkly humorous and direct socially aware lyrics, products of an intimate knowledge of both alpha and beta toxic masculinity, combined with production that switches on a dime between aggressive and dreamy.

Read our preview of JPEGMAFIA’s Bottom Lounge show from last year here.

19. Baroness - Gold & Grey (Abraxan Hymns)

Gold & Grey is filled with “first”s and “most”s. It’s Baroness’ first album with new guitarist Gina Gleason. It’s their most experimental, versatile, and improvisational record to date. It’s their most band-centric record. Such are details usually delivered in the press release for a hard rock band, ones that don’t change your conception of the littering noise of the record, but here, they ring true.

Read our preview of Baroness’ Durty Nellie’s show last year here.

18. Tyler, the Creator - IGOR (Columbia)

Flower Boy was not a fluke: Gone is the deep-voiced, fired-up Tyler, the Creator that was obsessed with shock, sex, violence, and The Neptunes. His new album IGOR, which chronicles the arc of a failed relationship–falling in love, getting obsessed, breaking up, falling out of love, trying to save a friendship–shows Tyler’s humanity through emotion, mirrored by the complexity of his beats and timbres. The album opens with a dark, blaring bass note before a marching drum beat enters. “They gon’ feel this one,” sings guest Lil Uzi Vert, and later Tyler and Solange (!), too. Lesser rappers and artists would make that line an ad lib. Tyler centers the entire record around it.

Read our preview of Tyler, the Creator’s Credit Union 1 Arena show here.

17. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors (Jagjaguwar)

The history of All Mirrors, Angel Olsen’s fourth studio album, already has a certain lore to it. Like Phil Elverum and many others before her, she went to record a raw, stripped-down album, in the small town of Anacortes, Washington, reflecting on many past platonic and romantic relationships. Afterwards, she recorded a lush, string-arranged version with producer John Congleton, arranger Jherek Bischoff, multi-instrumentalist Ben Babbitt, and a 14-piece orchestra, intending to release both versions of the album. Whether the first will ever see the light of day may remain a legendary “what if,” but the point is that Olsen decided the right way to hear these songs was loud and clear.

Read our preview of Angel Olsen’s Riviera show last year here.

16. Pile - Green and Gray (Exploding in Sound)

Pile is a band who has simply mastered dynamics in songwriting. Vocalist and guitarist Rick Maguire is known for balancing snarling howls with a controlled crooning that breathes life into their songs. Through powerful shifts from quiet builds to triumphant, distorted climaxes, Pile has lost no steam on Green and Gray. It’s not without its straightforward rippers, however—“The Soft Hands of Stephen Miller” is jagged and pointed, and obviously politically charged. Balancing these songs with moments of great calm, Green and Gray shows that Pile is still riding a powerful momentum from their DIY roots. -DP

15. PUP - Morbid Stuff (Rise)

Don’t let the production sheen fool you: Morbid Stuff is, like its title suggests, easily PUP’s darkest record. Throughout, lead singer Stefon Babcock shares tales of urban depression and anxiety, substance abuse, and self-hatred. For the most part, he does so, thankfully, with self-awareness and humor. “Your songs are getting way too literal / How ‘bout some subtlety for a change?” he jokes on nihilistic love song “Kids”. He then knowingly breaks his own rule to chide other pop punk bands for their self-centered attitudes. “Just because you’re sad again / It doesn’t make you special at all,” he sings on “Free At Last”, simultaneously decrying me-against-the-world attitudes while normalizing and de-stigmatizing depression. Sure, there are some truly bleak moments here, as on slow-to-fast drunken singalong “Scorpion Hill”, which ends with a significant other finding a depressed person’s gun, or the pummeling metal-adjacent burner “Full Blown Meltdown”, the most uncomfortably cynical confessional this side of “The Battle of Hampton Roads”. Yet, you relate to Babcock. On “See You At Your Funeral”, with a chorus to back him up, he screams to an ex, “You better hope / You’ll find someone, and you’ll try, but you won’t.” It’s the bad place we’ve all been to, knowing we’re better than that but not acting like it because of the state we’re in. Side-by-side with slow-burning closer “City”, when Babcock sings, “I’m weighed down in this city / Don’t want to love you anymore,” it makes you all the more weary. Morbid stuff, indeed. - Jordan Mainzer

14. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow (Jagjaguwar)

Produced by extraordinaire John Congleton, Van Etten’s ditching of guitars for synthesizer is wholly natural, and more impressively, original, taking influence from reference points without wearing them on its sleeve. Moreover, the idea that Van Etten needed stark acoustic balladry or traditional rock instrumentation to help convey her emotions is, in hindsight, ridiculous. On Remind Me Tomorrow, no matter the instrumentation, she slays, showing her power as a singer and a lyricist from the record’s very opening.

Read the rest of our review here.

13. oso oso - basking in the glow (Triple Crown)

Like the best songwriters that toe the line between emo and indie rock, Jade Lilitri writes anthems for the downtrodden that embrace genuineness while avoiding cloying earnestness. His new album as Oso Oso, Basking in the Glow, has everything from lo-fi bedroom pop to stadium-size singalongs, all bound together by Lilitri’s ambition. “Always coming up short ‘cause you’re dreaming so small,” he pointedly sings on “Intro” over a jaunty acoustic guitar line. Dreaming–and performing–big is what he does for most of the rest of the record. Rocker “The View” is one of many instant classics, this one about being in love with someone apathetic while managing to avoid apathy about yourself. “Well I’ll grow, we’ll see / If there’s something good in me,” he plans, eyes toward the future.

Read our preview of oso oso’s Beat Kitchen show last year here.

12. Duster - Duster (Mudgutts)

The strange legacy of Duster is a shining example of the power of both cult fandom and the use of internet forums for preserving and re-birthing history. A band that was unique in timbre and in mood, its origins are in cozy, wobbly tape recordings and fuzzed out bliss. Through two excellent records in the late 90′s to early 2000′s, they carved out a special sonic lane for themselves and then apparently drifted into obscurity, but their method of affecting a sort of space-gazing wonderment with the methodical drift of slowcore gained them an ever adoring and growing online listenership. Through boards and forums like 4chan’s /mu/, many people who never could have grown up with them grew a sense of connection and rabid curiosity, painstakingly curating their most forgotten demos and recordings. Several years later, their reunion was a cause for unparalleled excitement for fans. The idea of seeing Duster live was almost daunting. Their live performance, and more notably, Duster, give a sense that this band was able to pick right back up where they left, however, wandering through a tangled haze of oddly tuned guitars and warm crackle just as they did before. “Copernicus Crater” is built on a foundation of a riff that feels so inherent to Duster, as though its simple repetition and haplessness could not have spawned from any other band. The entire record stumbles through these kinds of moments of enigmatic joy, like seeing an old friend, skewed by warbly fog. - DP

11. Vagabon - Vagabon (Nonesuch)

On the road after touring her excellent debut Infinite Worlds, all she had was a computer and Logic, and she took the opportunity to hone her songwriting and production, doing both entirely on the new record. What results is a far cry from the devastating indie rock of her debut. “Full Moon In Gemini” sports dancey, thumping percussion, “Water Me Down” sparkly arpeggios and a minimal techno beat. On “Please Don’t Leave The Table”, she combines cascading, washing cymbals with syncopated hi hats and brassy bass. “I’m still eating,” she says to someone on that song, completing the title command, demanding respect.

Read our preview of Vagabon’s Riviera set from last year here.

10. black midi - Schlagenheim (Rough Trade)

Another band who met at BRIT school who learned to play guitar from Franz Ferdinand? Yeah, but Black Midi transcend even the hype they deserve. The very fact that hours of jamming contributed to a few bars of songs on their instant classic debut album Schlagenheim is already legendary, and the band covers territory from noise punk to jazz to surf rock to Slint-esque post-rock to chaotically played and sung math rock and…I’m out of breath. “We won’t build to this code,” Geordie Greep sang on “Speedway”, a standout from Schlagenheim, the band’s statement of purpose denoting that they’re truly trying to do something new with all of the above.

Read our review of black midi’s Pitchfork Music Festival 2019 set here.

9. Octo Octa - Resonant Body (T4T LUV NRG)

Maya Bouldry-Morrison, better known as Octo Octa, has always encouraged a sense of love and community through her music and DJ sets. Her vision of the dance floor is unique and veers into the realm of spiritual—community building and self-love are key to her work, and Resonant Body approaches her concept of bodily connection and actualization through a more focused exploration of nature. Having recorded all of its contents in a cabin in New Hampshire, Resonant Body’s sound world still explores a familiar blend of house, rave, and techno, but there is an easily felt kind of spirituality and self-relinquishing that peeks through. Tracks like “Spin Girl, Let’s Activate!” build on foundations one may come to expect out of a big house track, but its progression is anything but mechanical, and its uplifting power is infectious and undeniable. Combined with subtler, more reflective ambient moments, such as “My Body is Powerful,” Octo Octa’s mission purpose of empowerment and healing is injected with a palpable potency. -DP

8. Sudan Archives - Athena (Stones Throw)

On her debut album Athena, violinist/singer Brittney Denise Parks--better known as Sudan Archives--directly explores and conveys her sexuality. Adapting church hymns and delivering classical music-inspired interludes, among honest songs of love and relationships, she manipulates the violin to convey all-encompassing emotions and physicality. “I realize I lost my mind,” she sings on opener “Did You Know?” next to staccato plucks. “Confessions”, on the contrary, features lush, weeping lines over a panning click beat. And violin textures provide even percussion on the resonant “House of Open Tuning II”. The best songs, though, are confrontational. “Do you wanna go play outside? Do you wanna go down?” Parks poses to a lover on “Green Eyes", a song that begins stark with a low-mixed flange effect but eventually juxtaposes synth and violins for maximum depth. And on the finger-snapping “Limitless”, towards the end of the album, she addresses someone changed for the worse by an unhealthy relationship. “What happened to your dreams? All you care about is things,” she asks, the alternate to this materialism the spirited love and lust she’s presented throughout Athena. - JM

7. Charly Bliss - Young Enough (Barsuk)

A Charly Bliss song is often an alchemic mix of danceable, driving guitar supporting lyrics that land like a sucker punch if you listen closely. Young Enough, the band’s second album, both taps into what they do so well and expands upon it, adding slicker synths and a poppier edge. “Blown to Bits” begins with droning, warm synth. “Chatroom” revels in a pop sound and bursts with the triumph of coming out of trauma stronger. If you managed to see one of Charly Bliss' tour dates for this album, you won't be surprised to see that the band's typical infectious energy is completely intact, a fury of guitars and flouncing skirts and white Doc Martens. But you may have noticed the shift in tone at "Hurt Me". The lights go soft, and Eva Hendricks' boundless energy becomes laser-focused. The show seems to shift, the lyrics repeated like an incantation: “Eyes like a funeral, mouth like a bruise / Veins like a hallway, voice like a wound.” It’s new territory for the band, showcasing Hendricks’ lyrical prowess in a different light. - LL

6. Purple Mountains - Purple Mountains (Drag City)

It is too easy when listening to the beautiful run of Purple Mountains to read its touching words as a farewell, but this betrays not only a deeper poetry, but a genuine effort on David Berman’s to come to peace with the world and his own demons. Though he struggled with what he referred to as “treatment-resistant depression,” his return to recorded music and his bravery in expanding his body of sonic work is an undeniable triumph. Having had the privilege of visiting a gallery in his tribute at Drag City--his long-time label and part-time home--it is clear the affect his humble kindness had on people. It seems those who knew him hang on to his every word, mannerism, and quirk. Even in his bleakest lyrics, Berman affects a sense of humor and wit that his fans have obsessed over for decades. His knack for Americana kitsch and ephemera, the way he speaks on the strangeness of consumption (“Margaritas at the Mall,” most notably, and in his declarative utterance of “The end of all wanting is all that I am wanting”), and his portrayal of isolation are just a few of the methods that make his songwriting so harrowing and instantly effective. Backed by members of Woods, the music behind his words hits harder than ever, without ever abandoning a kind of simplicity and directness he is known for. Purple Mountains is challenging in ways other records simply aren’t, exuding warmth and fear all at once, but never telling the listener how they are supposed to feel. Berman’s prose on his relationships with those in his life are made so tangible and relatable but are always treated with the complexity and reverence they deserve, and his legacy will touch listeners for a long time. - DP

5. Jamila Woods - LEGACY! LEGACY! (Jagjaguwar)

Yes, Jamila Woods’ stunning LEGACY! LEGACY! is a tribute to important artists of color. What makes it stand out among other tributes, however, is the remarkable way Woods is able to present how each figure has guided her. Take opener “BETTY”, about funk artist Betty Davis, a woman married to a far more famous jazz trumpeter who gets his own song later on. Woods explores the gender and power dynamic in the relationship and uses it to make a personal and universal plea: “Let me be, I’m trying to fly.” Fly, she does. On “ZORA”, over a hip hop beat, Woods succinctly declares in an all-time line, “My weaponry is my energy”, the drive and desire the catalyst in the noble goal to make her mark on the world as a black woman as opposed to while being a black woman. In various interviews surrounding the album release, Woods spoke about being inspired by black artists who perform and make art truly for themselves independent and often in spite of the race of the end consumers. “Motherfuckers won’t shut up,” beings “MUDDY”, referencing Muddy Waters adoption of electric guitar because white audiences would talk over his sets; “Shut up, motherfucker,” she sings inversely on “MILES”, “I don’t take requests.” But the percussive, jazzy “EARTHA” best encapsulates her aims of self-love and ultimate pride. “I used to be afraid of myself,” Woods admits before stating, “I don’t wanna compromise.” Ultimately, the refrain of, “Who’s gonna share my love for me with me?” is the mindset by which Woods approaches relationships throughout the record and then life itself. You can be a part of it, but she comes first. - JM

4. Mannequin Pussy - Patience (Epitaph)

On Patience, Mannequin Pussy’s hugest-sounding and best album yet, lead singer Marisa Dabice makes it obvious what she’s singing about, which works to the band’s advantage. Yet, the songs themselves and the feelings they describe, let alone exude, are complex. Produced by emo heavyweight Will Yip, the album features swirling, fuzzed out, guitars on top of meaty drum beats, and layered ascending vocals alternating with desperate, raw screams, a perfect concoction of sounds to mirror Dabice’s emotional turmoil.

Read our preview of Mannequin Pussy’s Lincoln Hall show last year here.

3. Black Belt Eagle Scout - At The Party With My Brown Friends (Saddle Creek)

You might expect an album called At The Party With My Brown Friends to have overt political references. For many people of color--especially queer and indigenous folks like Katherine Paul--existing in the party called life is an inherent political statement. The gorgeous record finds Paul finding solidarity with others; “We will always sing,” she declares on the opening track. So even when she’s simply singing about her own forlorn heart, confusing dreams, or going to the beach with a friend and making music, she’s doing so in a space traditionally dominated by straight white men. That’s not unique to Paul (neither is her excellent guitar playing stile, from slow scrapes and atonal riffing to reverb-soaked, dreamy licks, which I’d be remiss to leave out here), which is where “friends” comes in. At The Party With My Brown Friends is a record also for those friends, for anyone for whom society has forbidden self-expression. On emotional centerpiece “I Said I Wouldn’t Write This Song”, Paul sings, “Nothing ever comes when you want it to.” Of course, such a statement is exaggerated and absolute, and Paul knows that. The very song title sees her avoiding self-pity. But what’s important to Paul is being honest with herself in the moment; it empowers her and others. - JM

2. (Sandy) Alex G - House of Sugar (Domino)

Through a dazzling string of records—whose production methods have evolved from charming bedroom quality to ostensibly effortless polish—(Sandy) Alex G has come full circle with respect to his command over chaos. He has always dabbled effectively in auxiliary sounds, glitches, and vocal manipulation, but on House of Sugar, there is never a moment where any experimentation or stylistic left turns feel jarring or forced. That isn’t to say that this record is any kind of straightforward affair, but (Sandy) Alex G’s careful honing of his songwriting and curation craft has reigned all of the manic threads he is known for into a cohesive whole better than ever before. Single “Gretel” is emblematic of this mastery, toying with his signature granular pitched-up vocals, bending synths, cryptic lyrics, and above all else, stunningly affecting songwriting. Splicing the cryptic in with the readily apparent—“Hope,” for example, is hauntingly and unabashedly about a friend who died of overdose—(Sandy) Alex G’s vision for a narrative world that constantly flirts with reality and fiction is more actualized than ever before. - DP

1. FKA twigs - MAGDALENE (Young Turks)

I can’t think of an album that encapsulates not only last year but the last decade more than FKA twigs’ MAGDALENE. That it’s a stunning achievement in composition would be enough to top most year-end lists alone. But that it manages to combine and ultimately rise above the aesthetic and thematic trends in pop music of the last 10 years is what makes it an all-time great. Tahliah Barnett presents a journey of contemporary genres--ambient R&B, maximal noise, and even trap--in a story of the internal mind behind the external success. If many of the decade’s prominent hip hop artists, from behemoths like Drake to the emo stylings of Soundcloud masters, treated their songs like real-time diary entries, twigs explores the spacious, non-linear, borderline circular trauma of a broken heart.

The combination of Barnett’s voice and delivery, whether an instrumental coo or ASMR-like crispness, and production style is able to weave her narrative. “If I walk out the door, it starts our last goodbye,” she sings on choral, a capella opener “thousand eyes”, eventually giving way to foreboding, echoing percussion. With co-production from Nicolas Jaar, the song snowballs into a cacophony of bass and twigs’ skipping falsetto, a disconcerting introduction to a doomed relationship. The internal strife that twigs alludes to throughout MAGDALENE is “internal” in more ways than one: In addition to her relationship with Robert Pattinson falling apart (not to mention the very public racism directed towards Twigs from some Twilight fans), she also had fibroid tumors which had to be surgically removed. The record represents her emotional processing of these multiple pains. On “holy terrain”, which features production from Skrillex and Jack Antonoff and a verse from Future, she sings, “Will you still be there for me, once I'm yours to obtain? / Once my fruits are for taking and you flow through my veins? / Do you still think I'm beautiful, when my tears fall like rain?” This devotion as much a requirement for future lovers as it is an in-the-moment plea to her current one. The showstopping “mirrored heart” beautifully captures the inevitable fate of last-ditch efforts. Barnett’s gentle coo is offset by clanging production from Koreless. “For the lovers who found a mirrored heart / They just remind me I’m without you,” she sings. And the Oneohtrix Point Never-assisted “daybed” is a stunning description of depression, wherein things aren’t like they naturally are, twigs’ only friends the fruit flies buzzing around her pile of dirty dishes. 

It all leads to closer “cellophane”, the first single and music video released way back in April before MAGDALENE was even announced. The video shows twigs’ pole dancing, which she learned for the video; the song sports a piano rhythm over a quiet, beat-boxed beat. She keeps the words abstract: “And didn’t I do it for you? / Why don’t I do it for you? / Why won’t you do it for me / When all I do is for you?” The song is the best of the year and a timeless heart-breaker, one that again bends time: In singing about how he’s not doing it for her, she’s doing it for her. - JM

[theoriginalspike]

for the weird ask thingy how about 1-98? so yes all of them please!

I’m gonna put this under a read more so that it’s not insanely long but thank you for allowing me to overshare because that’s literally all i want in life

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

coffee mugs, if i see one that i like, i usually buy it or think about it for a really long time. 

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

lollipops

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

cotton candy, i can’t stand the smell or taste of bubblegum

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

on most of my report cards i was a pleasure to have in class but has trouble actually turning in homework

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

either soda bottles or glass cups

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

i love the aesthetic of formal but i prefer boho/preppy 

7. earbuds or headphones?

earbuds, headphones squish my head

8. movies or tv shows?

movies 

9. favorite smell in the summer?

honeysuckle

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

being goalie for handball

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

peanut butter crunch clif bar

12. name of your favorite playlist?

summertime

13. lanyard or key ring?

keyring

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

watermelon jolly ranchers

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

fahrenheit 451

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

cross legged or leaning to the side with both feet tucked up next to me (only in a chair/on the couch though)

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

either birkenstocks or my bean boots

18. ideal weather?

slightly cloudy, breezy, and between 60 and 75 with a dew point under 55

19. sleeping position?

any position but on my back

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

i like a notebook, my fingers try to type too fast for my brain so i make a lot of mistakes and i need lines otherwise it slants all over the page

21. obsession from childhood?

i used to collect guitar picks. i have too many

22. role model?

my friend kelsey. she never let anyone’s opinions of her shape who she was. she did what she wanted and was such a free spirit. 

23. strange habits?

left goes first. if it’s makeup, my left eyebrow, lashes, contour, blush, anything goes first. left shoe goes on first, left pant leg, left shirt/jacket sleeve. left first or it feels wrong. 

24. favorite crystal?

i love amethyst because it’s purple.

25. first song you remember hearing?

probably american pie by don mclean.

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

swimming

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

honestly stargazing. getting all bundled up and lying in a bunch of blankets is great. there no humidity to make the stars hazy and on a really clear night it’s beautiful.

28. five songs to describe you?

perfect - anne marie, devil’s in the canyon - the strike, orpheus - sara bareilles, rainbow - kacey musgraves, vienna - billy joel

29. best way to bond with you?

talk to me about music, animals, what you find beautiful or peaceful.

30. places that you find sacred?

any mountain top, the chapel in the pines at camp, fields of wildflowers, any waterfall.

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

my black dress with big red roses and my black and white stripe heels with roses. 

32. top five favorite vines?

oh shit the tampons one, the no yelling sock, the souls of the innocent, bagel boys, that was majestic

33. most used phrase in your phone?

i have wtf set to automatically replace with what the fuck and i probably use that daily

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

i always have the cropp metcalfe jingle stuck in my head

35. average time you fall asleep?

on a work night usually between 10:30 and 11:30 but weekends its closer to midnight

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

probably those creepy u mad? and sad face drawings.

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

i prefer a suitcase but not a huge one

38. lemonade or tea?

it has to be sweet tea if it’s iced

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

lemon cake. lemon meringue pie is never the right sweet/tart ratio

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

my senior yaer they locked the boys and girls bathrooms in the science wing because the boys were setting off axe bombs and the girls were smoking cigarettes

41. last person you texted?

my friend corinne

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

yes

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

yes

44. favorite scent for soap?

citrus. it just smells cleaner

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

i’m a sucker for fantasy

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

i have a couple of dresses that are stretchy but too short to be acceptable (imo) for public wear

47. favorite type of cheese?

i love mozarella

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

i’d be a peach

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

it’s chaos, be kind

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

probably just weird shit from camp

51. current stresses?

mmmmmm job hunting, packing for camp, cleaning

52. favorite font?

i can’t remember the font name but it’s like old typewriter letters

53. what is the current state of your hands?

i need to paint my nails and cut them

54. what did you learn from your first job?

that people are really fucking dumb and don’t read the fine print on their coupons

55. favorite fairy tale?

the princess and the pea

56. favorite tradition?

we always do a big pancake dinner on mardi gras

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

dealing with my hair’s natural curl pattern, and i’m gonna have to get back to you on the other two

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

i can braid hair really well, i can cook without a recipe, i made the highest swim level as a camper in 6 weeks my last year as a camper, i’m really good at cat’s cradle

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

“absolutely not”

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

i don’t watch anime so i have no idea

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

“war is war and hell is hell. and of the two, war is a lot worse”

62. seven characters you relate to?

radar o’reilly, arya stark, dumplin’, carol danvers, eleanor shellstrop, wayne and daryl from letterkenny.

63. five songs that would play in your club?

gas pedal - sage the gemini, gasolina - daddy yankee, despacito - luis fonsi, bitch better have my money - rihanna, and only nicki minaj’s verse from monster

64. favorite website from your childhood?

neopets or i think it was whitesheepblacksheep but there was a site that had a maze game that was set to the music Orpheus in the Underworld

65. any permanent scars?

my right foot from being born c-section, right shin from a staph infection, left wrist and left foot from ganglion cysts, and my chin from a golf club

66. favorite flower(s)?

all of them EXCEPT for the flowers from bradford pear trees. fuck those.

67. good luck charms?

not really

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

oh god there was a grape juice my friend brenda had me try and it was just so tart it tasted like it had gone past expiration.

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

i can tie and untie a hair tie with my fingers

70. left or right handed?

right handed

71. least favorite pattern?

i hate herringbone and houndstooth

72. worst subject?

the only math i breezed through was geometry

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

i really like potato chips and grape jelly

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

like a 6 or 7. unless it’s mouth pain then like a 3 at most. 

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

probably 7 or 8? i can’t remember but i DO know that my mother kept all of mine and my siblings baby teeth

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

potato gratin is amazing

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

succulents

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

coffee from a gas station specifically sheetz

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

oh god my school photo. my license photo i look like i WILL kill the photographer

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

jewel tones

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

i use both interchangeably 

82. pc or console?

i play internet games which is as far as i got with gaming. although i do really want a game cube so i can play monkeyball

83. writing or drawing?

writing

84. podcasts or talk radio?

podcasts

84. barbie or polly pocket?

i have 2 pollypockets still and i refuse to give them up

85. fairy tales or mythology?

mythology

86. cookies or cupcakes?

cookies

87. your greatest fear?

i really don’t like the dark lmao

88. your greatest wish?

mmmm i’m honestly not sure

89. who would you put before everyone else?

barack obama

90. luckiest mistake?

not checking the weekend of my brother getting married and lucking out that i bought concert tickets for the weekend before

91. boxes or bags?

bags

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

fairy lights

93. nicknames?

libby, libs, libster, “ms. teaguerson” is one i’ve gotten from a couple of kids i’ve subbed for, any version of elizabeth at this point.

94. favorite season?

fall 

95. favorite app on your phone?

i just downloaded a crosswords app and it’s fantastic

96. desktop background?

the sky being absolutely BLACK during an afternoon storm right before a big event at camp

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

i think 8

98. favorite historical era?

i really love the clothes of the 40′s