#also uh. all of the kings playlists have been updated

[sunshineram]

at this point i just need to make one of those voice claim videos with clips for the kings ffs anyways devils train is such a sunshine king boo song

[wastelandmoony]

Déjà Vécu

Chapter Thirty-One : End of Beginning

Summary: Last school chapter =) Enjoy any happiness while you can.

Characters: Remus Lupin/Reader, Sirius Black/Reader (no use of y/n), James Potter, Petter Pettigrew, Regulus Black, Marlene McKinnon, Mary MacDonald, Lily Evans

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI

A/N: Having a rough time mentally, so I'm not going to beat myself up about my less-than-thrilled feelings about this chapter. I've begun writing post-war chapters, and I'm excited to be transitioning out of Hogwarts. Also, if you've messaged me recently about being on a taglist, I answered everyone privately and have realized I can't go back and get your handles. So please message me again and I'll add it =)

Déjà Vécu Masterlist

Companion Playlist

Read on AO3

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September 1st, 1977

“My little witch is all grown up!” Tears streamed down her mother’s face as they entered Platform 9 3/4. The entire drive to King’s Cross, the crushing reality of this final train ride to Hogwarts began to sink in.

This was it. The chapter was coming to a close. 

She hugged her parents tightly, which she tried to do as much as possible nowadays. The news was getting bleaker and bleaker, the Daily Prophet trying to sweep as much of it under the rug as they could. Those that dared print any iota of the truth usually ended up disappearing, the whisperings of such occurrences becoming more frequent. Luckily, James’ parents had begun to include him in more of their discussions, leading to the rest of them hearing the truth in great detail. He’d written her in mid-august, after Sirius had arrived back at Potter manor, to give an update on the efforts being port forth by people like his parents. He also implored her to find out who Sirius’ suspected new girlfriend was, disclosing that their friend had been acting “slightly less insane and kept sneaking off to send owls”. She didn’t respond, just laughed and mentioned it to Sirius in her next letter. They’d agreed to not address their relationship with the others just yet, waiting to put it off until the school year and live for a few more weeks amongst their own little secret. There were no titles spoken of, no boyfriend or girlfriend, partner or lover; they were just…together. Sirius was hers, and she was his; and that was enough for them both.

James appeared on the train platform first, unruly hair catching her eye before his enthusiastic wave. Following quickly behind was Peter, who looked distant and preoccupied, and finally Sirius, who smiled broadly when he caught sight of who James was staring at. Racing towards them, she launched into Sirius’ arms as he tossed his bags to the ground. Cradling her face, he kissed her earnestly. From beside them, Peter openly groaned.

“It’s about bloody time!” James sighed loudly, the smile evident in his voice. Sirius gave his best friend a rude gesture, never breaking the kiss in the process.

“Oh no, are we going to have to deal with this for the foreseeable future?” Remus had walked up behind them, the sound of his voice had her pulling away with a slight grin.

“Hi Moony, sorry I didn’t write much,” she hugged him in greeting.

He squeezed her, “It’s alright, you were obviously occupied.” 

She pinched him, leading to a sly smirk from Remus. He kissed the top of her head, “I’m happy for you, love,” he whispered into her ear.

Sirius threw a leather-clad arm around her shoulders, motioning towards the train, “Alright then, Head Boy, lead the way.”

She followed his gaze to James, “What?! Jamie!”

He blushed at the attention, “Oh, uh, yeah…Lily’s made Head Girl too actually.”

“That’s an extremely unsurprising, yet serendipitous decision,” she laughed, “Congratulations, you deserve it.”

“Yeah, he’s a proper arsehole now—ow!” Sirius cradled his side where she’d elbowed him.

James smiled fondly at her, picking up his trunk and leading them all onto the Hogwarts Express one last time. 

———

November 5th, 1977

She’d never been this drunk at a party before. The entire Gryffindor Common Room was a blur of scarlet and and gold, bodies packed tight while the Clash played loudly through the speakers. Sirius had wanted an all out banger for his final birthday at Hogwarts, inviting essentially any warm body (and a few ghosts) to the tower for a night “full of debauchery” as he had put it to anyone that would listen. Earlier in the afternoon she had given him his present, a new album from the Sex Pistols. Sirius had hearts in his eyes listening to the opening song, only pulling himself away to lock the dormitory door and kiss his way across her body. They had spent the rest of the afternoon tangled in each other, with only the sound of Pretty Vacant on repeat to muffle their unholy noises from the rest of the residents of the tower. 

At midnight, Lily brought out the birthday cake with the help of James, the two of them getting the entire tower to sing along while Sirius sat against the arm of the couch beaming. He reached out and pulled her onto his lap, holding tight as he waited to blow out his candles. After making a little show of pretending to “think” about his wish, he finally extinguished them, planting a gentle kiss to her shoulder in the process. 

“What’d you wish for?” She asked, turning around to face him once everyone had gone back to dancing, or drinking, or doing…whatever it was they were doing. 

Sirius nuzzled against her neck, “You know precisely what I wished for, love.”

She hummed, skimming a hand down his spine, “…only if you’re a good boy tonight.”

He looked up at her with heavy lids, from the firewhisky or lust or both, she wasn’t quite sure. Distracted by his gaze, she let out a surprised gasp as his hand snaked its way around to grab her backside obscenely. 

“Bad dog…” she purred, kissing him once as he tried to wander his hands further. “I’m going to go get some air, it’s too hot in here.” One last soft kiss, and she wiggled out of his grasp just as James and Remus came over to ask him to settle an apparently desperate argument having to do with quidditch. 

The corridor outside of the common room was chilly in the most delicious way, and she practically moaned with relief as the portrait swung shut. She inhaled deeply and sighed. The floor felt like it was spinning a little bit. She should probably sit down or something. 

She opened her eyes and saw a friendly face leaning against the window, a bottle of firewhisky in his hand. 

“Hey Pete,” she smiled, joining him against the wall. He didn’t return the warm welcome, just hummed in acknowledgement. “You alright?” She dragged her eyes over his face, something was up, he never acted so cold with her. A look down at the bottle pointed to him being completely off his face.

Peter shifted on his feet, “I’m fine. Just…relaxing.”

“I was wondering where you’d gone off to, I didn’t see you when we sang to Sirius,” even in her drunken state she sensed his tense energy and tried to keep the conversation light. 

“Oh yeah?” He said almost sarcastically, “I didn’t think anyone had noticed.”

She shook her head slightly and let out a laugh, “What’re you talking about, Pete? Of course I’d notice if you—“

“How long have I been gone then?” He asked a little too aggressively for her liking.

“I…I don’t know Peter, I’ve been drinking and—“

“Yeah, I know. I also know that your favorite drink is firewhisky mixed with cider, you’ve had four of them already tonight. You only dance to Abba, but you’ll always keep time with your foot to every song you hear. You absolutely loathe potions, but you always light up whenever you figure out the best way to combine ingredients. Your favorite color is orange, but not like pumpkin orange; bold and dramatic like a sunset. You always scrunch your nose before a bludger hit. Your deepest fear is failure, and you still hate the fact that you were put in Hufflepuff even though you pretend you don’t.”

She stared at her friend, completely at a loss for any words as he continued on his tirade. 

“I know that you talk to Remus somehow through that book you always carry.”

“How do you—“ her heart beat faster, the only other person to know about that was Sirius.

“I also know you’ve been sneaking into our dormitory for over a year to sleep in Sirius’ bed.” His tone bordered on accusatory. She continued to stare, dumbfounded by all of it. 

“Don’t tell me that you notice me,” Pete held her gaze steady for someone that had a half-empty bottle of whisky in his hand, “Because I would know a thing or two about noticing people.”

“You’re wrong,” she whispered, voice cracking slightly. The corridor had stopped tilting, but the air was heavy with discomfort as she gathered her bearings.

Peter took a step closer towards her, “I’m sorry?” 

She cleared her throat, “I said you’re wrong. My biggest fear isn’t failure.”

Peter’s laugh was on the verge of bitterness, “Yeah? What is it then, Sirius breaking up with you when he finally gets bored?”

Oh.

Ouch. Is this what it felt like to be stabbed? She was pretty sure he had just jammed a serrated knife into her abdomen. 

“No, Peter,” she spat, curling her fists to avoid him seeing her shaking hands, “My biggest fear is losing the people I love, which includes you, believe it or not.”

Before she could move, Peter grabbed her face and kissed her. She froze for a moment, too drunk to fully comprehend what in the actual fuck was going on. Carefully, she grabbed both of his hands and pushed him back gently. “Peter—“

“What the fuck are you playing at, Pete?”

Sirius was standing in the open portrait entrance, eyes narrowed on his friend, full of rage and betrayal. 

“Sirius it’s fine, just a misunderstanding—“ she started, as he ignored her to push Peter against the wall.

“Stop!” She stood between them, taking Sirius’ face between her palms. “Look at me, Siri.”

Reluctantly, his blue eyes slid to her, “We’re all shit-faced. Let’s go upstairs and go to bed. Everything’s fine.”

“I don’t want him to touch you. I don’t want anyone to touch you,” she could hear the anger in his voice, the same kind she had heard last year in the forest. The same sadness and fear was present too, just beneath the surface. Unsure of what to say, she kissed him. 

“I don’t want anyone else to touch me, Sirius,” she said against his lips, “I love you.”

He stopped and stared at her through heavy lids, mouth still centimeters from hers.

“Say that again.”

“I love you?”

He kissed her softly, “again.”

“I love you.”

He picked her up and she began to laugh, carrying her back toward the common room.

“I’m going to make you scream it so loud the entire tower hears,” he growled into her ear.

As the portrait swung shut, she noticed that Peter had disappeared, and the corridor was empty, save for a half empty whisky bottle. 

———

December 23, 1977

As a collective, they had decided to remain at Hogwarts for the winter holidays, to be together one last time in the place they all called home. All of them, except for Peter. 

She had tried to convince him to stay, even going as far as to bribe him with promises to complete the rest of his essays for the year. He had declined every offer. His reasoning allegedly that his parents were going through a tough time, and they wanted to be together for the holidays. She couldn’t argue with that, not when she’d do the same for her family. The feeling was bittersweet as she hugged her friend goodbye on the last day of term, the promises of fun and mischief on the horizon for the next week shadowed by the fractured dynamic now that they’d be missing one piece of the puzzle. They hadn’t spoken about the night of Sirius’ birthday party, the three of them choosing instead to chalk it up to drunken stupidity and sweep it under the rug. But she hadn’t forgotten the way he had spoken to her, how his eyes held such despair and pain. None of it was normal, not for Pete, who was usually quiet and sweet and always made her smile no matter what. Something was going on, she just needed to do some digging. 

Pete squeezed her hand once before leaving for the carriage ride over to Hogsmeade station, offering a small reassuring smile before disappearing from the Great Hall that morning. Sirius pulled her onto his lap at the breakfast table, her eyes still focused on Peter exiting the main doors, “Stop worrying,” he murmured into a kiss on her temple. 

“I’m not,” she lied.

He gently grabbed her chin to turn towards him, “You’re getting that little crease between your eyebrows, don’t lie to me, Yellowjacket.” She shot him an annoyed glare, trying to not break into a smile. 

“So what’s the plan?” Mary leaned forward to look expectantly at the rest of them down the table. 

James beamed, “Whatever we want, the castle is ours.”

———

Apparently “whatever we want” meant different things to each person involved. 

James and Lily snuck away to ‘explore the grounds’ (which they all knew was code for feeling each other up in the Prefects bathroom); Mary had turned the Common Room into her own personal nightclub, blasting music and dancing around atop the furniture while Marlene and Dorcas played games on the rug by the fire; Remus and her had decided to spend a relaxing afternoon in the library reading, much to Sirius’ annoyance. He had wanted to start a pick-up game of quidditch now that the pitch would be guaranteed empty, but ended up grabbing his broom and heading out solo. 

Madam Pince scowled when Remus and her entered the deserted library, angry that her solitary literary oasis was now tainted by their smiling faces. Making a beeline for their preferred table in the corner of the second floor, she pulled out a few books and settled in across from Remus for a marathon reading session with her best friend, even sneaking in snacks from the kitchens so they wouldn’t have to leave for sustenance.

Hours passed, and she had become so engrossed in the book that she didn’t hear someone creeping up behind her.

“Christ—“ she jumped as Sirius pressed a kiss to her temple. Remus let out a low chuckle from across the table, having clearly seen his friend sneak up and chose to not warn her ahead of time. 

She shook her head, “You both are pricks…”

“You love us though,” Sirius wrapped both arms around her shoulders and leaned closer to her ear, “Come with me, I have something to show you.”

Shutting the book and setting it on the table, she got up and followed him through the tall shelves towards the back of the library. The sections they began to pass became dustier and older, the light even beginning to fade the further they traveled. 

“Siri, where are we going?” She whispered. He reached back and grabbed her hand, tugging her behind one of the shelves, kissing her deeply. 

“Pince is going to catch us,” she said in between breaths, hands tangling in his dark hair.

Sirius smiled against her lips, “That’s half the fun.”

She was eternally grateful at the decision to wear a skirt that day, even more so that Sirius had the wherewithal to preemptively place a hand over her mouth before bending her over an ancient wooden desk. By the time they made their way back to where Remus was still sitting, the sun had set and she could already feel bruises forming on her hips. 

———

The rest of the break was precisely what she wanted: a whole bunch of doing nothing. Just waking up and leisurely spending time with her best friends. Late one night close to the start of term, they were all strewn about the Gryffindor Common Room; some of them asleep in armchairs or on the floor, the rest just lounging and listening to music comfortably. She laid against Sirius sprawled on the couch, back pressed tightly to his chest as he ran a hand up and down her arm. 

“What happens when it’s over?” She spoke softly, Sirius’ hand stilling against her skin.

“When what’s over, love?” The rumble of his voice vibrated against her bones.

“This…Hogwarts. What happens when we’re not together anymore?”

James smiled sadly at her from the armchair across the room, Lily tucked into his side as she slept. “We were uh…actually talking about getting a place together after school,” he looked down at the sleeping redhead lovingly.

“Jamie, that’s amazing,” she grinned at him from across the room. Though she was happy for her friends, a large part of her wanted nothing more than to stay this way forever, never going off and living separately and only seeing each other sporadically; as selfish and unpractical as that sounded. 

“What about us?” Sirius muttered into her ear, resuming the comforting brush of his knuckles. She hummed up at him in question.

“We can get an apartment, maybe in London?” His blue eyes sparkled in the light of the fire. She sat up and looked at him properly, “Really? You’d want that?” Sirius nodded firmly.

“What if we went in on it together?” Her eyes tracked to Remus, sitting on the rug by the fireplace. 

He gave her a sidelong glance, “I’m not going to be the third-wheel in that house, not with you two shaggin’ on every surface.” 

She held out a hand towards him, wiggling her fingers dramatically, “Oh come on, Moony! You know I can’t live without you!”

Sirius chimed in beside her, “Yeah Moons, I promise we’ll only have sex in the kitchen once a month.” She elbowed him in the ribs. 

“We can ask Pete too! It’ll be great, and James and Lily can come over for Sunday dinners,” she stared at her best friend hopefully, watching as his glare slowly melted into a reluctant smile. 

“Fine, but only because I can’t live without you either…and I get first call on a bedroom.”

“Deal,” she smiled broadly, falling back against Sirius’ chest again, “We can start looking the week we get home from final term.”

———

January 28th, 1978

“The Order of the Phoenix,” James said proudly, standing in the center of the boys dormitory. The rest of them were lounging around the room on various beds, having chosen to use their room for this particular meeting that James had frantically called. 

“James, I’m sorry, but what are you talking about?” She was trying to focus, but Remus was currently across the room sending her crude doodles in their shared sketchbook, trying to make her laugh. Sirius leaned over her shoulder to see, swiftly snatching the book and scrawling something particularly heinous (due to Remus’ immediate grimace upon receiving it).

“It’s a secret society that my parents are a part of, The Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore started it a few years ago. There’s a bunch of members throughout Great Britain, and some abroad as well I think,” James’ eyes were glittering with excitement.

“A secret society? That’s like something from James Bond,” Mary raised her eyebrows from her spot on Peter’s bed. James gave her a puzzled look.

“Who’s James Bond?” Sirius cautiously muttered, afraid to ridiculed by the multiple muggleborns in the room. 

She turned around to pat his cheek patronizingly, “It doesn’t matter darling.” He scowled at her sarcasm while Remus chuckled from his own bed.

“Anyway,” James continued, “they’re actively fighting against Voldemort and his supporters, doing reconnaissance and other shit to try and find out their next move, and stop them every chance they get.”

From behind her, Sirius sat up straighter, clearly intrigued at the notion of being on the front lines. “Don’t even think about it,” she whispered back at him.

He huffed an incredulously breath, “I’m going to join, you can’t possibly stop me.” 

“I’d prefer to not have you in danger—“

“—there are people dying!”

“Don’t you think I understand that?” Her voice had raised too loud, the rest of the room falling silent as she stared at Sirius, “I can’t risk losing you, any of you…” she looked around the room at her friends. Lily met her eyes, the normal shade of emerald green dark and sad. 

James spoke up first, “I uh…I’m already involved…”

Her heart stopped beating. “Jamie—“

“It’s not official or anything, I still have to swear an oath or whatever and my parents won’t let me do that until after we’re done school. But I’m allowed to be at the meetings, and my parents tell me more information…”

She shook her head in disbelief, “Why didn’t you tell us?” James rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, at the same time she felt Sirius shift on the bed behind her. It was Remus’ nervous throat clearing that tipped her off to the betrayal though.

“You all knew…didn’t you? The four of you?” Her eyes shot between Peter, James, Sirius, and Remus. None of which dared look back. “You all planned on joining…” 

Sirius made the mistake of reaching for her arm, “Love—“

“Don’t fucking touch me,” she got up off the bed and stormed out of the room, slamming the door. She was halfway down the main corridor by the time Sirius caught up, grabbing her arm in protest.

“Leave me alone,” trying to wrench out of his grasp was futile, he was much stronger than her. He pulled her towards him, gripping her arms tightly as she looked everywhere except for his face. 

“Please…” she mumbled. 

“Look at me,” he tone was stern, eliciting an immediate reaction from her. When she met his eyes, they didn’t match his voice, instead they were soft and patient. “Talk to me, love. Why are you so upset?”

“You hid this from me! You all did!” She felt insane. From the betrayal by her friends, to the outburst she had in the bedroom, she felt like she was losing her mind a little bit. It’d been years since she’d felt insecure in her friendship with the boys, about feeling any bit left out or that she wasn’t wanted.

Sirius didn’t buy her excuse, “What’s the real problem, though?”

They stared at each other for a beat, his eyes searching hers for the truth. After a deep breath, she let her shoulders drop, “I’m afraid…”

“Of what, love?”

“…of losing any of you. This makes it more real.”

Sirius clicked his tongue, pulling her into a tight hug, “Nothing’s going to happen, we haven’t even officially joined yet. Even so, just because we’re part of the Order, doesn’t mean we’ll do any actual fighting.” She scoffed, “Sirius, I know you, and you would jump at the chance to be on the most dangerous missions.” His laugh was anything but reassuring. 

They stood in the quiet corridor for a few minutes, locked in an embrace that she couldn’t bring herself to break. “Why didn’t you include me?” she whispered into his chest.

Sirius kissed the top of her head, “I figured you’d try and stop us. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission y’know.”

“I want to join, something all of you should’ve guessed.”

Sirius smirked, “If it’s any consolation, Moony did say you might want to be involved.”

“That’s because Remus knows me better than anyone else.”

He pulled back, feigning offense, “That’s a bloody lie and you know it!”

She raised an eyebrow in challenge, “Just because you’ve seen me at my most vulnerable, doesn't mean you know me entirely.” Sirius lifted her hand and kissed it, lacing their fingers together to walk back toward the dorm and their awaiting friends.

“Guess I’ll have to try harder, bee."

———

May 6th, 1978 

The Order of the Phoenix wouldn’t pay the bills, a notion that didn’t seem to matter to people like James and Sirius who were worth more than any of them in galleons. But to the rest of them, finding a career after Hogwarts was at the forefront of their minds…at least for her it was. She’d known since her second year what she wanted to do, and she was determined to get a foot in the door. Applying to jobs at the Ministry of Magic required many steps, the first and foremost being receiving the proper O.W.L.’s and N.E.W.T.’s. She’d received Outstanding’s in Transfiguration, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, and most importantly, Care of Magical Creatures. N.E.W.T.’s were being held at the end of the month, and she was practically tearing her hair out about it.

By day, she’d be in the library with Lily and Remus, the only other two that understood her determination. After revising for almost each waking hour, by night she would crawl silently beside Sirius in bed, where he’d coax her slowly (and thoroughly) into relaxation. 

“You don’t have to stress so much, I have more than enough inheritance to support us both,” He said one night, propping his head up on a fist to look at her. 

“It’s not about the money, Siri,” she ran a hand over his bare chest, marveling at the smoothness of his skin, “I want to help people. I’ve wanted to get into Werewolf Support Services for years, I’m not about to stop now when I’m so close.”

He leaned down to kiss her softly, “I love you, you’re the most incredible woman I know.” 

She hummed contently into his lips, pulling him closer.

“I’ll be here with you no matter what, love,” he whispered, hand snaking between their bodies. She sighed at his touch, “Promise me.”

His fingers grazed her core, “Promise what?”

Holding her breath, she squirmed as he teased. “Tell me.”

She squeezed his bicep, pleading with him to give her what she wanted, “Promise you’ll always be here.” 

He kissed her softly, touch finally landing where she needed him most, “I’m never going anywhere, love.” 

———

June 10th, 1978

N.E.W.T.s were the following week, and at that point she wasn’t sure she’d eaten a proper meal, or even brushed her hair in days. Every waking moment was either spent revising, or working on her application for the Being Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Remus (along with Professor Kettleburn and Madam Pomfrey) had written a letter of support to add to it, going to great lengths to convey her dedication to the advancement and care of those afflicted with Lycanthropy. She’d cried for a continuous hour after reading it. 

The Friday before exam week, the entire group sat around the breakfast table, some chatting away about their excitement for the end of school, others (mainly herself, Remus, and Lily) were utterly silent. Unlike her other two exam-weary friends, she sat and picked at breakfast, not even bringing a crumb to her mouth. 

“You need to eat,” Remus whispered into her ear, a piece of bacon in hand, “It’ll do you no good if you’re starving during exams.”

“I’m fine,” she grumbled, pushing the plate towards the center of the table, nauseous and irritable.

“Suit yourself,” Remus sighed, turning his attention to the person sitting on her other side, “Pads?”

Sirius looked over at his friend, then down at her picked-over plate. “Love…” 

She gave Remus a glare, “You’re such a rat!“

“Oi, speaking of—“ he interjected as Peter rushed towards them, pink cheeked and out of breath.

“What’s up, Wormy?” James raised an eyebrow at him, “You look out of sorts.”

Pete slumped down beside him, exhaling loudly, “Filch took it!”

“Took what, mate?” Remus took another bite of bacon, watching his friend catch his breath. Peter cautiously looked down the table. “The map…” he whispered.

“Are you fuckin’ joking Wormtail?!” Sirius said loudly, causing Mary and Marlene to look up from a few seats away. She placed a hand on his arm in an effort to calm him down.

Peter threw up his hands, “I didn’t mean to!”

“What the fuck happened then?” Sirius gritted his teeth. Remus was tense beside her as well, having the ability to restrain his anger much better than most. 

Peter took a deep breath, “I was using the map to check one of the passageways, and I guess I wasn’t paying attention, and the next thing I knew Filch had appeared and almost caught me trying to go behind the mirror on the fourth floor—“

“Why were you going through that passageway? Where were you headed?” She stared at her friend quizzically. That particular passage led to Hogsmeade, the secret tunnel being the largest of any they had found during their time at Hogwarts, big enough that it could hold a group of people. They never used it, finding it too conspicuous to be useful, utilizing the One-Eyed Witch tunnel to sneak into Honeyduke’s instead. 

Peter didn’t meet her eyes when he opened his mouth to speak, Sirius instead cutting him off. “Who gives a shit what he was doing, that map was our legacy! And now what? Filch is going to get his grubby little hands on it and who knows what that weirdo is going to do with it!”

She looked at him sidelong, telling by his expression that he was being completely serious.

“I cleared it before he could take it,” Peter muttered, eyes still fixed on his lap, “He won’t be able to use it, unless he figures out the password.”

“Well thank fuck for that, Pete,” Sirius sneered, “I’m glad you decided to use your brain for once.” 

Her head snapped to him, “What’s your problem? It was an accident.”

Sirius shook his head, “He always does this, he doesn’t think, and now look what’s happened.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, Pads,” James chastised, clapping a dejected Peter on the shoulder, “Now, I’m going to go let off steam on the pitch, I think a few of you could gain something by joining me.” He gave Sirius a pointed look, who in turn wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Come flying with me,” he nudged her gently, “it’ll make you feel better.”

She shook her head, annoyed at his outburst with Peter. “I’m going to keep revising, I’ll catch up with you later.”

James stood up, followed by Sirius. “C’mon Pete,” the former pulled their friend up by his arm, “You could use the fresh air too.” 

She didn’t miss the eye roll Sirius gave as he bent down to kiss the top of her head. “Moony,” he called to Remus beside her, “makes sure she eats, please.” She didn’t respond or look up at him. “I love you,” he whispered before planting one last kiss to her temple and following the other two out the main doors. Her and Remus sat in comfortable silence for a bit, him continuing to eat while she ruminated on a multitude of thoughts that swirled around her head like a cyclone. 

“Talk to me,” Remus muttered, never looking up from his plate, his tone giving no room for nonsense. After all these years, he was still the only one to clock her feelings before anyone else. 

She sighed, “Peter’s been acting weird.”

Remus cocked an eyebrow at her, “We’re not talking about Sirius?”

“He’s my problem to deal with, I’m more concerned about the other one at the moment. Have you noticed anything?”

Remus thought on it for a moment, crunching another piece of bacon and then passing one to her, “I’ll only tell if you eat something.”

“Fucks sake,” she said under her breath, biting the piece of meat dramatically just for him. 

Remus smiled a little as she chewed, “Pete’s been…different since his dad lost his job.” 

“He didn’t say anything to me about that, when did it happen?”

Remus squinted in recollection, “Uh…summer of last year I think? He told us when we got back in September one night. His mum’s been under a lot of stress at work and now with this…Pete’s been trying to help however he can, that’s why he didn’t stay here with us for Christmas.”

She nodded, “Yeah I knew he wanted to spend time with his family, he just never specified.” 

Remus hummed, “He hasn’t talked much about it to us either. He’s just been really irritable and has a hairpin trigger nowadays. You can imagine what it’s like sharing a room with him and Sirius…” 

“Poor Pete,” she stared down at the plate of untouched food, “You’re not upset about the map, are you?”

Remus shook his head, “Nah, it was fun while it lasted. Won’t have much use for it after next month anyway. Better to have it here where maybe it’ll fall into the hands of some young troublemakers.”

“I hope whoever finds it makes Filch’s job a hell of a lot harder.”

Remus smiled, “Cheers to that.”

———

June 20th, 1978

It had to be some sort of joke. The parchment in her shaky hands fluttered slightly as she read and re-read each word over and and over, brain trying desperately to grasp the words. She inspected the handwriting, looked for any distinguishing marks or something that would give away the letter as being a prank from someone. She doubted anyone she knew would be cruel enough to joke like this. 

We’re pleased to offer you a position as Undersecretary to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures: Being Division, supporting the efforts of the Werewolf Support Services branch.

The sentence was practically burned into her retinas with the amount of times she’d read it. As the realization finally sunk in that this was in fact real life, she huffed out a disbelieving laugh to herself, spinning around in her dormitory trying to figure out her next move. There was only one person she wanted to talk to; one person that knew how badly she had wanted this.

———

Remus was lounging against his headboard reading a muggle novel when she burst through the door, eyes wide and breathing heavily from sprinting up the stairs. Every muscle in his body tensed as he sat up.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He tried to keep his voice from giving away the panic flooding his veins. Every day the news was worse and worse, attacks getting closer and closer to home and people with more recognizable names dying on the regular. The anxiety was always there, lying in wait for the bomb to drop. Her eyes scanned his face for a moment, expression blank and neutral as she held up a letter.

“Love, what’s happened?” Remus stood up slowly, taking the piece of parchment from her, eyes flying over the words as his heart hammered away in his chest. He prayed it wasn’t her family, held his breath that the war hadn’t finally struck home.

“I…I got in…” she whispered.

Remus looked up from the paper, seeing the smile beginning to take shape on her face. All fear evaporated from his body as she beamed, eyes brimming with tears.

“I’ve officially been hired by Werewolf Support Services. I actually did it, Remus,” her voice broke as he reached for her, lifting her into a full-body hug. “I’m so proud of you,” he said into her hair, spinning around in the center of the room. 

She clung to him, inhaling the familiar scent of her best friend. “I’m finally going to make a difference. I’m going to fix it, Moony.” 

Remus buried his face in her neck, the love he had for her overflowing, “You’re going to do great. If anyone can do it, it’ll be you.” She squeezed him tighter, opening her mouth to say something as the dormitory door was kicked open.

“Oi! Hands off my girl.” Sirius leaned against the door frame, voice dripping with sarcasm, “Moony, we’ve talked about this. If you want a three-way, you just have to ask.”

Her and Remus groaned, pulling away from each other to give Sirius matching death glares. “Don’t be crass,” she pointed at him, “I have zero interest in having sex with any of my friends, thank you very much.”

Sirius cocked an eyebrow, “What happened between us then?”

She rolled her eyes, trying to hide a smile, “Oh get fucked, Black.”

“I’m trying to!” He threw his arms out. She ignored the comment entirely, holding out the letter for him instead.

“What’s this?” He took the parchment and skimmed the paragraph quickly. When he’d finished, his blue eyes shot to her in excitement.

“You got in,” he said.

“I got in,” she nodded with barely contained joy. Sirius grabbed her face, giggles erupting from her between kisses. 

“I’m…so…proud…of…you!” punctuated each press of his lips to hers. His hands began to wander to her shoulders, then down and around her waist; the kisses that started out quick now becoming more heated.

“Moony,” Sirius purred as he placed a kiss against her jaw, “I need you to leave now.”

Remus sighed as he grabbed his forgotten book from atop the bed, “I’ll be in the library, please try not to break any of the furniture in here. I’ll see you both at dinner.” Sirius backed her onto the bed as the door shut.

“Mmmmm…I doubt it,” he purred as he knelt between her legs.

———

June 24, 1978

Sirius stroked a thumb down her ankle as she placed a kiss to his temple. Carried atop his back, she laughed as they made their way down towards Hogsmeade Station as a group, choosing to walk instead of using the carriages in the hopes of wringing out every last drop of time together. Behind them, Remus talked animatedly with Lily about a book they were both currently engrossed in, James’ arm casually slung over her shoulder as he pretended to listen intently. Ahead, Marlene, Mary, and Dorcas skipped about, the latter two loudly singing an Olivia Newton-John song they’d heard on the muggle radio. Peter walked beside her and Sirius, the two boys in deep conversation about the state of Puddlemere United, and whether or not they’d win a championship this year. 

From the higher vantage point, she looked around; taking in the sight of her friends, listening to their voices, breathing in the warm Scottish air for the last time. James caught her gaze and smiled, and she knew he was soaking it all in too. 

When they arrived at the station, Sirius set her down gently, kissing her once before boarding the train with James to find them a compartment. The rest of them filed in as younger students ran past, laughing and shouting about their summer plans. She paused at the railing of the platform, staring off across the Black Lake to the castle casting shadows over the dense forest beyond. 

“It’s weird to know we won’t be coming back,” Remus leaned beside her, sweeping his eyes over the landscape, “doesn’t feel real.”

She hummed, “I can’t believe we’ll all never eat breakfast again as a dysfunctional, obnoxious family.”

Remus chuckled, “Or worry about getting caught out of bed after curfew.”

“Or try to wrangle the drunk dynamic duo after a quidditch win.” Memories surfaced of having to coax James and Sirius (both incredibly wasted) down from the rafters of Gryffindor Tower after a particularly raucous victory party last year.

“Oh that’s probably…definitely still going to happen,” Remus smiled. 

She sighed, the sound filled with sadness but also excitement for the future, “I’m glad I got to spend these years with you, Remus. I’m glad we all found each other.”

He threw an arm around her shoulders as they stared at Hogwarts one final time, “I’m excited to spend the rest of my years with you degenerates as well.”

[satohqbanana]

[folds hands] i'm sure u know what's coming. yes. that's right. something i've never ever done and swore i'd never do again. for that latest ask meme: any and all of them that you want to answer, i want to hear

I need to be drunk enough to answer the other questions. And what I mean is that I need to look at my fics, go back in time, ask myself whether I did write those things or not, own up to it, and find words to answer these questions.

Also, be warned I’ll be mentioning some other fandoms/series.

😅 What's a story or scene you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?

My old stuff can often put me off, but also I'm glad they're off my chest and my mind.

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

When characters are at heightened emotions towards other characters or things that highly influence their, uh, character. I hope that makes sense.

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

Anything that involves a character being overconfident in doing gremlin shenanigans or hyping their own selves makes me laugh.

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

Not that I remember, but I think I've been mean by promising updates that I never made.

✍ Do you have a beta reader?

No, but rarely I do give my friends a preview of ideas or scenes that include stuff I'm not familiar with or need further advice on. Which is why you will see a lot of spelling and grammatical errors.

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

It's probably using the narration to discuss the characters' feelings and emotions. I usually never go without them.

Also, whenever I have the chance to, I make characters have The Moments in a dim place with lots of glowing, sparkling stuff like starry nights. The influence of the dance scene in Adolescence of Utena on me is that strong.

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

I write a lot of them, I think. Right now, it’d probably be The Stink (Aveyond) just because of how weird I made Derez the Necromancer to be. Am I just confusing “wild” for “weird”? I don’t know. My other vote for this would be The Seven Jewels of Guardia (WITCH), which is, well, an experimental fic.

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

(in Gordon Ramsey to Christine Ha voice) "You're good. Stop doubting yourself."

💋 First kiss fics. Love em or hate em?

First kiss scenes are fine as something to “confirm” that yes there is a romance happening; I just don't like the idea of making the kiss scene the star of the show.

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

Sometimes! I look up playlists that give me the correct mood I want to work to.

🛠 What tools/programs/apps do you use to write?

Notepad, memo apps, and Google Docs are my recent go-to tools.

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

(laughs and cries in failed commitments)

🙋‍♀️ Do any irl people know you write fanfic?

My sister used to. No, I’m not giving you her account.

🍦 What's the sweetest fic you've created so far?

Loving Hana. (Shaman King)

🍷 Do you drink and write?

Nope.

🍆 Do you write the spicy stuffs? If so, what's your most popular nsfw fic?

I used to because I wanted to be cool. :(

🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to write?

Not really; any time is a good time as long as I have some inspiration to go off of.

💖 What made you start writing?

My sister technically did, because she was involved in small hobby writing circles and I was like, “Oh I wanna be cool like that.” But I was definitely making up stories with my toys or just my imagination even way way way back then.

💌 How do you feel about comments and feedback?

I love them. I want more of them if possible.

❌ What's a trope you will never write?

I never liked the “rape as backstory” trope, so I probably would never actually write that.

💲 Would you ever open commissions?

No, sorry. :(

🧐 Do you spend much time researching for your stories?

I think I spend just about the right amount of time because, uh. I hate reading.

🏆 What's your most popular fic?

I don’t know, but people seemed to enjoy my Asakura family fics (Shaman King).

🎃 Do you write fics for certain holidays? Which is your favorite holiday inspired fic?

Yeah I sometimes do. But my favorite holiday fic is this WIP I have for AV1. It’s a Christmas fic set in the ADF universe, and the gist pretty much is that everyone in the party has family, friends, acquaintances, and so-so to spend the holiday with...

Except Lars.

🎯 Have any of your readers accurately guessed major plot points? Care to share which?

Unfortunately, no. I don’t have enough traction to garner some guesswork.

🎨 How do you feel about fan art of your stories?

They’re amazing. My friend Zarah used to create art for our stories and I love them.

📈 How many fics do you have?

Hundreds. The numbers on AO3 lie because I deleted some of them.

🦅 Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants?

Both. For oneshots I have a rough outline of what kind of scenes I want to put; for longer stories I do have some form of outline prepared.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I guess I can say something about the next release of ADF. Now with authority to travel through the Peninsula, Rhen and the party head to Sedona, and there they find a house for sale, whose owner is staying at a friend’s place, wherein said friend is throwing a big masquerade party. You know where this is heading.

🤗 What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

It’s fine to get weird. Feel free to experiment until you find something that you enjoy.

💞 Who's your comfort character?

Right now it’s my OC, Lestari Tenobor.

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

Answering the previous question put me in an AV2 mood so:

Ean was initially squeamish towards the idea of a romance with Iya because he feared losing what he already had with her.

Iya, while she is whole again, feels like a part of her is still missing, and she often mourns it.

Rye thinks everyone thinks he’s dumb and untalented because he’s a farm boy and he can’t do magic.

Nicolas was spoiled by his mother because of how late he’s come into his family’s life. Also as he was growing he just knew of a time that Uthar was travelling or something, and thus never got to know the bratty Uthar.

The nymphs don’t hate Heptitus even if she does weird/bad things to them. That’s her job as a nymph; it’d be weird if she isn’t doing bad stuff.

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write?

Any character within the ADF universe gives me such a fun writing experience.

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

Here’s something from my, “If I could have done it, I would’ve made someone yell, ‘You and me. AGNI KAI!’” moment of inspiration when I watched Shirleen/rhendarzon’s edit for the Rhen v Lars thing.

Lars stood straight, staff thrust forward and chin held high. It's a stance Rhen should be very familiar with, one his younger self often took when his pride was at stake, when he was challenged by Rhen's perspective and words, when he had enough of her plebeian nonsense. Sure enough, her eyes widen in recognition, and she too takes her own stance, one he was very familiar with: sword pointed at him, other hand behind her body as Lorad would teach her, and eyes seething with rage.

😬 Which of your fics would you be most horrified for friends, family, or coworkers to stumble upon?

I don't share my fics with IRL loved ones often, so I'd have to say all of them.

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success?

I finish it and I enjoy it.

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

Something off the last other series or media I’ve been consuming. So much of Drakengard and Nier is bleeding into my works now. :’^)

📚 Would you ever want to turn writing into a career?

I already have nonfiction writing as a job; I'd love to see how fiction writing can be my job.

⌛ How long does it take you to write a fic, or a chapter?

Pretty fast when I have inspiration for all the scenes I need.

🤯 What's a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

While I do more of them nowadays, action scenes are still the hardest to write for me. I still struggle to do fight choreography.

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

Circumstances and Reunited (Shaman King). The hurt feels are real, man.

💥 How do you feel about criticism?

It's fine for the OG stuff I make. However, I'm not really open to it for fan stuff since the fan stuff are for hobby reasons.

🤭 Do you have a favorite tag to use when posting your works?

I always include genres a la FFNet/FictionPress style after tagging pairings and characters!

🥰 How do you feel about reader interaction? Are you open to receiving questions about your fics?

I love discussions about fics! <3 Also uh feel free to discuss with me anything of what I mentioned above.

[lordfreg]

LEGO Monkie Kid™: Secrets of the Emerald Road - Episode 1: A Hero's Quest

×just for fun; doesn't belong to me. all credit to its rightful owners. might not update for a while, don't expect to have weekly updates lol.×

×also unedited.×

×warnings: none this episode☺×

Legends say that long before this world was ever created, there were spirits of the Celestial realm. They harbored the spirits of nature;

Shrî (Water), the water spirit and her husband Shān (Mountain), the earth mover.

Chang Lü (Evergreen), the princess of the forest.

Together, they created the earth and planted their children on it, creating new life and making a seal to the Neather realm with a key, guarded by the fiercest of their children; The Tiger Princess.

But, after the Demon Bull King escaped and with him hoards of demons, the Princess was quickly overpowered. Seeking shelter after a dangerous battle with the rampaging demon that had ended in her being gravely injured, she returned to the Celestial Realm to heal and recover.

The Emerald key, however, was never seen again...

━─━────༺༻────━─━

Mk opened his eyes to the rays of suns filling his room, the sent of the fresh air filling his nose as he opened the window to the shining town of Megapolis. A peaceful city where absolutely nothing could go wrong.

He pulled out his phone, popped his Turquoise headphones on his head and hit play on his playlist.

He moved on to his bathroom routine while bobbing to his music. Shaving his non-existent facial hair and brushing his teeth. Combing his hair into a shape and tightening his head band, he was ready for the day!

Feeling ready for anything, he strolled out of his apartment building and cruised all the way down town to Pigsy Noodles, ready for even the toughest of deliveries and grease stains.

"Gooooooood mornin', Pigsy!" He greeted, sliding into the building. "Morning, Tang!" He waved, getting a small wave and smile from the black-haired man.

"Mornin', kid," the pig said lightly while answering the phone and cooking, not even paying enough attention to realize that the broth was boiling over.

Mk realized and rushed over, turning off the stove and catching some debris of vegetables that Pigsy was tossing into the pot.

"Hey, Pigsy," Mk huffed, obviously struggling to keep up with his over stressed boss, and his horrible aim, "I think, I think you need a day off!" Mk huffed over the man's shoulder.

Pigsy turned slowly, a look of pure horror, disgust and hatred all in one. If looks could kill, everyone in that restaurant would be a goner.

"What. Did. You. Just SAY TO ME?!?" Pigsy yelled at the top of his lungs, scarring Mk.

"Uh, uh, uh," Mk choked out, sweat instantly pouring down his face. "I-I said you need to take a day off...?" He repeated himself hesitantly.

Pigsy opened his mouth to speak, before Tang quickly interrupted. "Yes, Pigsy," The book worm said, "I think you've been pushing yourself too hard these past weeks." He noted.

"Yeah, so?" Pigsy snapped at the young man, "What's it to you, ya freeloader?!"

"For one, it's affecting your temper," Tang stared at the small pig, "Worse than usual,"

"Why I outta--" Pigsy wound up a fist before being held back by Mk.

"Heeey, Pigsy!" The boy smiled nervously, "Why don't we try and listen to Tang for once?"

"Have you lost your mind, son?!?" Pigsy shouted.

"No!" Mk defended, "I'm just saying, maybe he's right. Maybe you have been working yourself too hard lately." The boy suggested.

"And plus, me and Mei have this totally under control." Mk boasted.

"Isn't Mei on a family trip or something?"

"Tushhh, yea, but she said she'll be back tomorrow!" The teen scoffed.

"Hmm," the pig pondered, "Well, okay, I don't see any harm in leaving for a FEW days..."

"So, you'll go?!" Mk and Tang beamed, talking in perfect unison.

"Yes, on ONE condition," Pigsy stated holding up one finger while the other arm rested on his hip, "That Tang comes with me."

"Deal!" Mk shot up, immediately grappling Pigsy in a handshake.

"Mk!" The poor man whisper-shouted, "Nooo!!"

"Aw, common Tang!" The teen patted his friends back, "It'll be fun!"

"Are-Are you sure?" Tang asked nervously, gazing at the angry little pig man.

"Positive," Mk winked while giving a thumbs up.

━─━────༺༻────━─━

After a long, fulfilling day of deliveries, cleaning and a small bit of helping Sandy, Mk was finally... almost done with work.

It took quite awhile to clean up everything after today's lunch rush and dinner feast, especially with the deal Pigsy had thrown in there because of how excited he was to spend a weekend away at Flower Fruit Mountain with Monkie King.

The boy sighed a breath of relief as the last spot of gunk was scrubbed out of the nice wood of the table.

"That the last one, kid?" Pigsy asked as he washed the grease off the pans and other dishes.

Mk gave a thumbs up while looking soulless. "Yup, that's the last one." He smiled a small bit.

"Good job," The pig smiled a slight smile and dismissed Mk from work.

Feeling proud, he strolled out of the closed shop with headphones blasting his usual techno music while bopping his head to the beat and dancing along.

It was around 10:00 at night, so the streets where dark and nearly empty.

Mk whistled to the music before feeling he was being watched. Letting the song fall dead on his lips, Mk paused the music and took off his headphones, skeptically looking around.

It was dark, no one else was around, this would be a perfect time for Macaque to try and ambush him.

He felt the person shuffle around him, following them with his body on the defensive.

"Macaque," Mk called out, "I know you're there..!"

No response.

He tried again, "If you're planning on kidnapping me or something, just come and get me already!" He called out, a little louder this time.

Still nothing.

A few more suspicious glances down ally ways and dark paths before Mk started to suspect he was just being paranoid.

Putting back on his headphones and continuing the awesome music, Mk strolled all the way back to his apparent.

But he couldn't shake the feeling.

"Eh," Mk shrugged, getting snuggled up in his blankets, "It'll probably go away in the morning..." He yawned before drifting off to sleep.

"So, that's the Monkie Kid, huh?"

━─━────༺༻────━─━

Mk woke up a little more early then usual, starting off his day with self-care. Shaving, combing his hair, all while bopping to his music.

After he was done cleaning his room, he took the elevator down to the lobby and started towards Pigsy Noodles.

His pace became slower as the feeling of being watched continued to linger over his head.

Ignoring it, Mk opened up shop and waited for Mei to arrive.

After a few hours, that sinking feeling started to burrow it's way into his chest, making his smile sadden a bit.

"Any minute now.." He said, sitting on the kitchen floor, "She's gonna show up, right?"

Mk's phone buzzed, a message from Mei.

Hey mk! Sorry I couldn't make it back today, my parents need some extra help. Can't wait to be back home tomorrow!!😋😋😋

Mk sighed, and responded:

No big deal, cya tomorrow😜😜

A slight smile struggled to form on his lips, before falling back into a discouraged frown.

Then his phone rang again, "Pigsy's Noodles! How can I help you today?" He answered quickly, now grinning.

"Uh, yeah," the indecisive voice said, "Could I get a helping of noodles and a side of Dumplings?"

"Of course, right away!" Mk smiled, hanging up and getting right to work, "My first order of the day! Man, Pigsy is gonna be so proud of me!" He smiled at the thought.

After painstakingly making every noodle the exact same size and filling the dumplings perfectly, Mk jumped in the old noodle truck and drove off.

Following the GPS and bobbing to music once again, he was led out of the city, way out of the city.

"Huh," Mk said, growing more worried by the second, "Who would want to order all the way out here..."

Mk chuckled nervously, "In this dark... creepy forest..." His hands started to get sweaty, "Heh, there's probably nothing to worry about... Out here, in a dark forest with scary trees that probably have sp-spiders in them."

Mk started to scare himself now, and hit the gas; tearing through under brush and bushes before landing in a clearing, a clearing that had a giant stone floor right in the middle.

"Wow," Mk breathlessly admired, looking down at the giant Yin and Yang symbol carved into the stone, which was now covered in vines and plants.

Surrounding the entire stone floor were shields, swords, battle axes, maces and a huge war hammer coated in gold with jasper accents.

Mk looked up, seeing two huge marble tigers each holding a round object under their paws and snarling.

In between the tigers there was a pillar, and resting on that pillar was the Tiger Princess herself.

Well, more a limestone rendition, but none the less still exciting.

Mk's eyes formed to the size of dinner plates as his jaw dropped.

He screamed a shriek of pure terror and a small bit or modification.

"Oooooh my gosh!!" He immediately bowed down to the stone woman, "I'm so sorry for intruding on your... grave? I don't know what this is, but I'm sorry!" Mk bowed a few more times just for good measure.

"Relax, kid," Monkie King said, resting on one of the stone Tiger Guardians.

"M-Monkie King?!" Mk gasped, "What are you doing here???"

"Just," Monkie King started as he picked his teeth, "Hangin' out with an old friend," the ginger monkey laughed.

"Monkie King, not cool," Mk scolded disappointed in the King's lack of respect.

"Kid, common," The monkey smirked, "If there's one person in this realm that should be touching this stuff, it's me." He boasted, now getting comfortable on the stone pillar holding the girl.

"Yeah, totally," Mk said sarcastically.

"Take a look around," the monkey urged, "It's probably rich with all that history nerd junk you always talk about all the time." Monkie King yawned.

"Well, one little look couldn't hurt..." Mk smiled, looking at each weapon and reading the plaque as Monkie King napped.

After a little while of sleeping, Monkie King walks up and continued to supervise the overly excited teen as he re-read every single thing once more.

"Monkie King!" Mk waved his hand frantically at the marsupial, "This one is super good!!"

"Uh-huh," the monkey dismissed, "Sounds cool,"

While Mk tried to lift as many of the weapons as he could, something shiny caught the King's eye.

"Ya think I could carry on of these?!" Mk pointed happily at the giant war hammer.

"Uh-huh, yup, totally," the monkey dismissed once again, "You try that and I will be over here, uh, "looking" at stuff in this pile of offerings." Monkie king said slyly.

"Oh, okay!" The boy said, struggling to lift up the hammer.

"Hmm," the ginger purred, reviewing the offerings, looking for the one that caught his eye. "Ah-ha! Found you.~" Monkie King said as he held up a necklace containing a purple orb.

Suddenly, the stone of the tigers began to shake, their eyes shot open and their snarls became very real.

"Monkie King!!" Mk scolded, "What did you do?!"

"What? I didn't touch anything!" He said spreading out his arm before realizing that he had the necklace in had and quickly hid it behind his back.

Mk groaned, before shouting at the monkey, "Watch out!"

Monkie King wiped around quickly and punched the stone guardian in the snout. Picking up Mk like a doll, and running as fast and his legs could go, he stopped at the cart and grew him in.

"Go, kid, GO!" Monkie King shouted.

Mk it the gas and switched it into reverse.

Following the path of already tore through plants, they sped out of the clearing as fast as they could.

Monkie King held up the necklace, "Ha ha, got you now." He mumbled to himself.

"Uh," Mk looked at him with the most disappointed face he could muster up, "Care to explain?"

"Oh, yeah, of course!" The monkey smiled sweetly, "You see, this is actually a map, an ancient map, that has been told to lead the follower to the Emerald Key." He explained.

"And you needed to steal it?" Mk frowned at his mentor.

"No, it's not stealing," Monkie King chuckle nervously, "It's forever borrowing!" He reasoned.

"Sure, sure," Mk inhaled.

"But I had to take it because I knew there was a demon trying to steal it!" He desperately cried.

"Really? Who?" Mk was now interested.

"A powerful demon built of nothing but the tortured souls of those who are dared enough to try and fight it," the Monkie King said mysteriously, putting both is arms over his face for dramatic effect.

"Oh," Mk squeaked turning pale, "How wonderful..."

"But don't worry," The monkie king reassured, "With your great sage here, nobody's getting this key, or any other interdimensional key." He said cooly.

Mk sighed, "Good to hear, good to hear,"

"How about we go back to the shop and hang out," the king said nonchalantly

"Really?" Mk beamed.

"Really," the monkey smiled

━─━────༺༻────━─━

A human sized blue demon lurked out of the destroyed underbrush after bringing back nothing but a piece of Mk's ripped jacket.

"Good work, my pet," A smooth voice hissed out. "Run, run, run away monkie king. Karma catches up to everyone eventually." The voice laughed.

END.

[gideonthefirst]

do the Fig playlist question....Again. also the gorgug question

fuck yeah

figueroth faeth: give us a mini playlist of five songs that best define you

1. roaring 20s by panic! at the disco

2. telephone wire from fun home

3. king and lionheart by of monsters & men

4. weapon by bastille, angel haze, f*u*g*z, and braque

5. there will be a reckoning by billy bragg

gorgug thistlespring: what is the kindest thing someone has ever done for you?

oh, gosh. emily and murph (and the general community)’s response to my tweeting my ko-fi link and asking for help is pretty high up there i still have not. processed that. also, my 18th birthday was during finals last year and i didn’t really have a ton of close friends at school because of [redacted] and so i was kind of miserable and not expecting anything but my friend threw me a surprise party even though she had a final the next day and got all orange decorations and made a bunch of kosher for pesach food and themed everything for me and i Did cry. also the people who let me stay at their house and drove me back and forth to school last year because of [redacted] were so incredibly kind and i would not have uh...survived without them. the year that most of my friends went to college but i was still in high school, my best friend stopped by my work on his way back for winter break, even though it was 10 pm and completely out of his way and he’d been driving for eight hours and we were seeing each other the next day. uhh my grandparents texting me to ask if i was still okay with wearing necklaces before they got me my high school graduation gift because i had been getting progressively more and more visibly gnc. the painting sarah frogndtoad made me and sent me pictures of to keep me updated on its progress and that i keep above my bed when i’m at school. 

people are good. is the thing

[kenkamishiro]

Ishida’s Q&A comments from YJ compilation, Part 8

Once again Ishida continuing to give answers that don’t actually answer the questions at all lol.

For anyone who doesn’t know about the relevant Questions to Ishida contest, please read here. You can start from Part 1 here.

The recent set of zakki:re and interview translations take a lot of time and effort, so if you enjoyed it please reblog or leave a like. Thank you!

2016

No. 1

Still 1 month left of this year! What’s something you still have left to do for 2015?

The storyboard.

Good luck.

No. 2

Sensei, please share with us a piece of news that was important to you in 2015!

I forget.

I wasn’t feeling so great in 2015.

No. 3

December 17 is Airplane Day! Now then, please share with us a memory you have that is related to airplanes!

I like the window seats.

Probably that time on the plane to head to the New Years party, when the staff was forced to stop because of me...

[T/N: Referring to his New Year’s party escapades in the volume 6 omake.]

No. 4-5

December 24 is Christmas Eve! Now then, please share with us a present that you want now as an adult!

I don’t need one since I’m an adult.

Even adults want presents too, you know!

No. 6-7

When you think of New Year’s Day...you think of New Year’s money!! Please share with us one way you spent the money you received from New Year’s when you were a child!

On games.

I was jealous of other people’s families since I didn’t have a lot of relatives.

No. 8

Sensei, please tell us your philosophy when it comes to food!

I think of meals as work.

I consider meals as work when I’m eating alone. When I go with people I eat whatever I like.

No. 9

January 28 is the birthday of the late Komatsu Sakyou! Now then, please share with us one of your favourite sci-fi works!

Gantz.

It’s not Star Wars...

No. 10

Please share with us one aspect or behaviour of the opposite sex that you unconsciously care about!

Their face.

How they use social media.

No. 11

Please share with us a Twitter account that you’re most interested in now!

Inagawa Junji-san’s for his ghost story tweets.

I find that accounts of artists are helpful for studying.

No. 12

Please share with us one of your favourite genres/videos that you end up watching on video streaming sites.

I got Netflix so I could watch Terrace House.

I still use it.

No. 13

If you were to ever film a Taiga drama who would you pick as the main character?

Siebold.

But why?

[T/N: A Taiga drama is a type of long-running TV drama period piece, often produced by NHK.]

No. 14

Graduation season is in full bloom! Now then, please share with us one of your favourite graduation songs!

“Lion” by Amano Tsuki.

Uh-huh, yup.

[T/N: "Lion” was one of the songs included in Ishida’s Spotify playlist.]

No. 15

Sensei, if you could decide the design of the 10,000 yen bill, who would it be a portrait of?

A cat.

A cat...?

No. 16

Today is Weekly Manga Day! Please tell us your number one favourite manga that is released weekly!!

I’m curious about what Ooima Yoshitoki-san will draw for her next manga.

Just how much do you care?

No. 17

Sensei, please share with us one thing that makes you go, “Man, I wanna go see this,” now?

Commentary on demonstration boards for shogi.

I went to one! Man, was it interesting.

No. 18

The final day of March is...Orchestra Day! Now then Sensei, please share with us a memory you have that’s related to musical instruments!

I bought a piano recently, and I’ve been playing it almost every day.

And I still play it.

No. 19

Entrance ceremony season has arrived! Now then, please tell us about a schoolteacher who’s left the biggest impression on you!

Some student hacked the school server and the teacher intercepted the culprit.

That’s the kind of school I attended.

No. 20

New dramas are starting one after another! Now then, please share with us a series that’s left the biggest impression on you among all the dramas that you’ve seen recently!

Right now I’m currently watching Mad Men.

I watched all of Mad Men. I can’t believe what happened at the end of “Meditations”...

[T/N: Not entirely sure what Ishida meant by that last line, but I think “Meditations” refers to the last episode of the second season, titled “Meditations in an Emergency”.]

No. 21

Sensei, please share with us one game that’s popular in your circle!

The staff and I often play Mafia a lot together.

Recently we’ve been playing table RPGs.

No. 22-23

Today is the day in which the elephant was first introduced to Japan! Now then, please share with us a person/thing/culture from overseas that you would like to come to Japan!

David Downton-san.

I don’t think that.

No. 24

It’s that time of year where it’s getting warmer even at night! Now then, please share with us something about hanging out at night that you still remember!

That time I went drinking at a bar in the outskirts of Tokyo with Takahashi Kunimitsu-kun.

I don’t want to go there again.

[T/N: Referring to that time in April 2016 where Ishida and Takahashi were at a bar and a middle-aged woman started hitting on Takahashi for 3 hours lol.]

No. 25

May 19 is Boxing Day! Now then Sensei, please share with us what you thought was the best match ever!

I like the match with David Haye.

Clearly it’s Darth Maul vs. Obi-Wan.

No. 26

Please share with us a story about a debacle that you or someone else caused at a drinking party!

The first time I met Nakayama Atsushi-sensei, I made so much of a fool of myself.

I was so piss-drunk that I fell asleep in the bathroom I think.

No. 27

When you think of June you think of June Bride! Now then Sensei, please share with us a story that you remember that has to do with weddings!

I drew the welcome board for my friend’s wedding.

That time I left early since I didn’t want to be late for my senpai’s wedding, but the flight ended up being delayed by over an hour...

No. 28

Sensei, please share with us one of your favourite literary works for children!

Ringing Bell by Yanase Takashi.

Stormy Night.

[T/N: Ringing Bell (Chirin no Suzu) was referenced in :re by Kaneki during Arima’s death scene. You can read about it here. Stormy Night also seems to have influenced :re.]

No. 29

June 16 is Wagashi Day! Now then Sensei, please share with us a confectionary that you like!

It’s not available in Fukuoka, but sweet mochi cake.

I want some now.

[T/N: Wagashi is traditional Japanese confectionaries.]

No. 30

June 23 is Olympics Day! Now then Sensei, please share with us a competition from the Olympics that you still remember to this day!

Uchimura Kouhei’s horizontal bar performance at the London Olympics.

I don’t really watch TV much, so questions like these are tough for me to answer.

No. 31

Please share with us your slogan for the latter half of 2016!

I won’t be late. I wasn’t able to keep that promise for the first half of the year.

Good luck with that.

No. 32

Sensei, please secretly tell us about one shop that you think is the King of Restaurants!

The Chinese restaurant by my previous workplace.

The stir-fried oyster with lettuce was perfection.

No. 33

Summer has arrived! Now then Sensei, what do you think of as “summer food”?

The spicy Mexican crispy noodle salad from Family Mart.

Ah that, that was so good. But I don’t see them sold anywhere now...

No. 34

If you could see exactly one historical event or incident live in person, what would you want to see?

I want to see Tezuka Osamu-sensei’s workplace.

The Perry Expedition.

[T/N: Tezuka is the “father of manga”, having drawn iconic manga like Astro Boy, Black Jack, and the currently airing anime Dororo.]

No. 35

When  you think of summer, you think of the ocean! If you could raise just one sea creature as a pet what would you choose?

An octopus.

So I can eat it.

No. 36

Sensei, please share with us the most nerve-wracking moment you’ve ever experienced in your life!

That time when I had to address a speech to over a hundred people for the launch of the anime.

Finishing the manuscript before the deadline of the final chapter.

No. 37-38

Sensei, please share with us a word or phrase that’s been stuck in your head recently!

“Pandas exploding in the wild.”

It’s from group_inou.

No. 39

Sensei, please share with us a small luxury that you use in your everyday life!

On days I stay up all night I buy carbonated drinks.

Feels kinda pathetic huh.

No. 40

The disbanding of idol groups nationwide is hot news, but please tell us about an experience that you’re still reluctant to part ways with.

A little while ago, I bought a copy of Jump every week for several months.

It was so I could read Hunter x Hunter.

[T/N: Question is most likely talking about the disbanding of the top male idol group SMAP which was announced around this time of the year.]

No. 41

Sensei, what item makes you think, “whoever invented this is a genius”?

The PC.

Amazon.

No. 42

What was the most interesting reception you’ve received up until now that has made you the happiest?

I got a shikishi from the staff to commemorate 100 chapters of being serialized. Though no one from that time is left anymore...

I also got a shikishi from the current staff. I was happy.

No. 43

Sensei, please share with us a moment that’s made you feel the generation gap the most!

Encountering people who were born in the 2000′s.

Sha-Mail.

No. 44

It’s Reader Autumn! Please tell us what you consider as your bible!

Recently it’s “Speak Aloud and Rhyme”.

Now it’s “Drawing the Morphological Human Body with Boxes and Cylinders”.

No. 45

Sensei, please tell us about a manga/anime/novel that you’d like to see as a movie!

I’m looking forward to “Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow” being released this fall.

I missed the chance to watch it.

No. 46

Sensei, what were you most enthusiastic about playing with when you were in school?

Smash Bros.

Games that are updated periodically.

No. 47

Sensei, please tell us about something that you’ve used for many years and have been unable to throw away!!

I throw things away when I need to.

My Cintiq 22HD (DTK-2000/K1) LCD tablet. The size and responsiveness of it matches it better than the latest model.

No. 48

Sensei, when was the moment you felt you became independent?

If I’m living.

What? Probably when I got my pay cheque.

No. 49

November 2 is Family Culture Day! Sensei, please tell us about a rule that’s only found in your household!

Playing no more than 1 hour of games a day.

That’s proper.

No. 50

Sensei, please share with us any furniture/interior work that you want to replace right now!

The bookshelf.

Same.

No. 51

Sensei, please share with us the first CD you’ve ever bought!

Morishita Reika’s “Your Wind is Blowing” (most likely).

Most likely, yeah.

No. 52

This year has had various movies become blockbuster hits, but in your opinion what work do you consider as a hit?

It’s actually a drama, but Game of Thrones.

I recommend it.

previous || next

[austinpanda]

Dad Letter 021421

14 February, 2021

Dear Dad--

Well...happy Valentine’s Day! In case you’re not doing anything special to mark the day, Zach and I are vigorously not celebrating it either. It’s a Sunday in the time of plague, and I no longer have the NFL to ignore. We’ll stay in and do chores, trying not to get breathed on by anybody. We’re both still alive and well, and we intend to keep it that way!

I spent yesterday ripping DVDs. It’s just like taking the songs off a CD and putting them on your computer by ripping the music disc, only it’s extracting the movie off a DVD. What this means is that, for the first time in my life (although I have friends who’ve been doing this for years), I’ve found a little free software application that will read one of my DVD movie discs and convert it to a digital file that I can play on my computer. This is something of a big deal for me, because it involved overcoming a technical hurdle: The makers of DVD movies don’t WANT you to copy them, so they put in anti-piracy safeguards to try to make it difficult. But the free application I found doesn’t seem to give a shit about copy protection! And, when it pulled the video off the discs and converted it to digital files, it kept the subtitles. I can watch it on my TV or my computer and still have the subtitles, which is good. 

All this means is that I’ve now ripped all of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, from the boxed DVD set I was given a few Christmases ago, into digital files. I have a small, old, cheap computer hooked up to my living room TV and it can play these files. I have stored all the episodes in the computer and made a playlist that will play them all, first episode to last, with one double click. In one sense, it means I’ve saved myself the egregious over-expenditure of energy required to put a DVD into the DVD player, and I can now watch the show by just telling my computer to play an episode at random. In another sense, it’s actually accomplished a few things. Firstly, I can now play every episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, in order, without having to change discs. Also it means I can sell the DVDs back, because I now have all of their contents on my computer, taking up no space at all. It all fits into my goal of owning less weight in stuff each year than the previous year. Trying to lighten my load.

After I spent several hours ripping every episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, I then spent several hours ripping 122 Beavis and Butthead episodes. I’ll say this about Beavis and Butthead: They were the best summary of everything that was laughable about my generation, and it was made by someone from Texas (Mike Judge, who then made King of the Hill), so a lot about the world in which Beavis and Butthead is set is familiar to me. There’s an episode where they’re temporarily running a neighbor’s yard sale, and when a woman asks why they removed the baby Jesus from a little manger scene for sale, they said the Jesus was sold separately, and added, as their selling point, “He’s naked. Uh-huh-huh-huh.” Incurious, destructive, and horny. It was everyone and everything I remember from middle school. 

After spending yesterday swapping DVDs out of my computer over and over, I have no such productivity planned for today, and I can go back to my primary pastime, which is waiting anxiously to see if I can get a Covid vaccination before my retirement savings runs out, so I can get a job without worrying about being exposed to other people. The state of Maine is actually getting its citizens vaccinated at a decent pace, but it’s still ONLY doing front-line medical workers, and people over 70. As for those of us under 70, there’s no waiting list, no place to sign up online, and no indication when it will come. I’m going to stay on top of this. I’m in a risk group, being over 50 and having sweet tea for blood, so I’m hoping that as soon as they open things up, I’ll be one of the first in the next group to get vaccinated. If it takes until summertime, I might be in trouble, but I’m still looking for jobs that can be done from home, or that don’t expose me to lots of other people. I just saw something in the news that said, by this point, fully one-third of Americans have been infected with Covid-19. And the news says, if you’re still going to the store for your groceries, you should probably stop doing that. Not sure what I’m supposed to do for groceries, if that’s the case!

So, as may be a bit obvious, I have had some problems with depression lately. It’s nothing too terribly worrisome, since it’s mostly external factors driving my emotions downward--financial, pandemic-related, social isolation-related, etc.--and those are a bit easier to fight than the ever-present internal ones. I wrote everything down into something I call my “Litany of Complaint,” which is a list of everything vexing me, re-written and updated as needed, where I let ALL the bile out, and sent the current version to Stacy. Stacy did what all good Stacys do, she empathized, and reiterated that, if our financial situation is ever sufficiently dire that we’re forced (metaphorically) to eat cat food, to call her for help. A Stacy safety net...a Stafety net, as it were!

I can report, therefore, that life is not all doom and gloom! I think a bullet list of all the things making me happy is in order. 

- The new occupants of trailer 1 (just in front of ours; we’re 1A) have installed something interesting: an orange light in the back bedroom that is as bright as the sun. It is a high-pressure sodium light. They are growing weed in their back bedroom. That’s legal here.

- Our two cats now sleep together, in a pile, on the electric blanket on the sofa, every day. Occasionally, they wake up and start to fight or lick each other, then fall back asleep. (Isn’t it fascinating how closely biting/murder is to licking/grooming on the color wheel of kitty behavior? They’re adjacent! One behavior will slip into the other, and slip back again, like a change in wind direction.) It’s ridiculously adorable. We hoped they’d become family to each other, and they did! We’re grateful for their dumb asses every day.

- We live between two Dunkin Donuts. There’s a Dunkin about a mile and a half in either direction of the road we’re on. Now they’re taking an abandoned Tim Horton’s on our block, and converting it into another Dunkin Donuts. So...no Whataburger, KFC, Taco Bell, or Jack in the Box, but I’ll soon be walking distance from three Dunkin Donuts. 

- I was computering on my computer a few days ago when I saw something huge land on our bird feeder outside. It was a big, gorgeous hawk-looking thing, and I called Zach over, stupefied, “Bird! Big! Big Bird! Big hawk thing!” Zach saw it too, and almost got a picture of it. After it left, we looked it up and identified it as a peregrine falcon. We have bald eagles in our neighborhood, too!

- I still love the snow, and it’s still goddamned magical whenever it happens.

I have one plan for today that might interest you; I’m going to look up a Revolutionary War battle that’s mentioned in ‘Hamilton’ and see what happened there! There’s a line in Hamilton about how General Lee “shits the bed at the battle of Monmouth,” so I’m now curious to learn exactly how he did so. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

As Mr. Spock says, live long and prosper. All my love to you both!

[dontlookdown]

Nick’s Favourite Music of 2018

In the time that I’ve been doing these yearly round-ups (ten years(!), although my first list was literally just a list), they’ve gotten a bit easier to write. It probably helps that I’ve done actual planning-ahead for the last couple of turns. The one thing that doesn’t get any easier is these introduction posts.

2018 was, and I don’t think this is a controversial stance, shit. I joked this time last year that 2017 was best summed up as “further complications”, but 2018 was fucking something else. I’m resisting the urge to list my grievances, because I doubt I’d ever stop. It’s exhausting to even think about attempting to take stock of everything that happened. To cap it all off, the website I’ve published these posts on since the very beginning had a panic attack regarding the sexual content that some people were uploading, and decided to address the situation in the bluntest way possible. This isn’t something that affects me directly (there’re no nudes in my blog. Hell, I felt anxious about including a photo of myself with clothes on that one time), but it affects people I look up to and care about, and a good portion of my audience for these things. I’ve considered leaving the site entirely in solidarity. I still might. It might be time that I focused more energy on writing a bit more frequently anyway, and setting up a new home for my work is a good starting point. Demi Lovato believes in me. We’ll see.

But for now, let’s focus on the reason that you clicked on this link in the first place: the music of 2018.

It was a good year. It was also a strange one for me. Whereas in previous years there were always one or two big standout albums or songs that held my attention for months on end, this year I really had to dig deep and re-listen to a heap of stuff to remind myself of what had actually left an impression on me. The critical consensus was all over the place too. The end-of-year lists I’ve seen from various outlets over the last two months have been the most diverse I’ve seen for as long as I’ve been paying attention. There were a few names they had in common, but they all featured a lot of unique choices. Hopefully you’ll feel the same about mine!

Sticking to my familiar rules (20 songs, no repeating artists) always means that there’s a couple of gems that don’t make the final cut. 2018’s wide breadth of musical talent means that this is the longest ‘honourable mentions’ list I’ve ever done! Here they are:

Beach House – Lemon Glow

Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally’s seventh album was probably my most re-listened album of the year. They’ve always been a band with a sound that rewarded repeat plays, but this release seemed to have its own gravitational pull that kept me coming back to reappraise it, despite finding it a little overwhelming on multiple occasions. “Lemon Glow” absolutely excels as a lead single. Those gravitational waves are in full force here, a light electronic throbbing acting as the thread I kept trying to follow to the end.

The Beths – Little Death

The Beths were a late discovery, and welcome breath of fresh air after I’d been deep in a fog of more ambient sounds. If you’ve been looking for a vibrant, punchy rock band to brighten your January, I highly recommend them.

Jenny Hval – Spells

Part of my planning process this year was learning to accept that I don’t always have the words or ability to explicitly pinpoint what I like about particular songs. This track is just nice. I like the way it glides along, building up ever-so-slightly as it goes.

Joey Purp – Elastic

Joey Purp followed up iiiDrops and “Girls@” with even-more-minimalist trap. This is straight no-nonsense fire. Add it to your dance playlist. And if you don’t have a dance playlist, make one!

Kali Uchis - After the Storm (feat. Tyler, The Creator & Bootsy Collins)

Kali Uchis’s debut Isolation proved her to be an artist with fantastic taste. It’s a lot easier to nail a woozy sound that throws back to the work of Parliament-Funkadelic when you get one of the original members involved. I also want to highlight Bootsy’s use of the amazing line “Look both ways before you cross my mind” which, incredibly, is a phrase that no one seemed to have coined before George Clinton dropped it on To Pimp a Butterfly in 2015. It’s a line that perfectly encapsulates the P-funk mood, and it’s less than five years old!

Let’s Eat Grandma – Ava

Let’s Eat Grandma’s (no, I’m not sure how I feel about the name either) second album split focus between spacey synth-pop journeys and straightforward piano ballads. “Ava” is one of the latter, beautiful with lo-fi touches (listen closely and you can hear the rain falling on the recording studio windows). Enjoy this track now, before someone sticks it a Christmas advert for a shop.

Madison McFerrin – Insane

I’ll save you the Google. Yes, Madison McFerrin is the daughter of Bobby “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” McFerrin and, yes, she also has a unique talent for vocalising. Musically speaking, this track comfortably sits in-between the work of Sade and Solange.

Post Malone & Swae Lee – Sunflower

Among the many, many accomplishments of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is this cut from its soundtrack, a Post Malone track that I actually like!

Robyn – Missing U

Robyn’s been one of my favourite pop artists for a while now, so I really, really wanted to love her big return. Sadly, I’m not quite there yet. The music on Honey is lot colder than I’m used to, most likely by design to reflect the change in Robyn’s (and the world’s) mood in the years since Body Talk. “Missing U” is the closest thing the album has to a big hook-y single like “Call Your Grilfriend” or “Dancing On My Own”.

Spiritualized – I’m Your Man

J Spaceman approached his final album as Spiritualized with as much brassy gusto as he did twenty years ago. A gorgeous send off.

Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

I understand the disappointment some people had when was released and sounded nothing like AM, but I think those people lost sight of the bigger Arctic Monkeys picture. The lounge-y, Pulp-y sound of Tranquility Base is something that Alex Turner has been hinting at since the Submarine soundtrack. I heard the album several times and, while there isn’t any standout track that makes everything make sense, I’ve never been bored listening to it.

Jon Hopkins – Singularity

Bleeps, bloops, beats and bliss. Jon Hopkins continues his reign as one of the premier electronic musicians.

Pusha T – Daytona

The hardest, sharpest (and shortest) hip-hop album of the year. A reminder that King Push’s skills as an MC haven’t dulled, and neither has Kanye’s skill as a producer. Ye was crap, though.

Tierra Whack – Whack World

An interesting experiment to debut with, Whack World is a 15 minute album with 15 tracks, all unique in their sound, and all with their own music video (presented as one 15 minute film). Few of the tracks are long enough to stand as songs on their own, but they weren’t designed to be. These are concentrated blasts of pure creativity, and deserve to be supported. Besides, there was something really cathartic of seeing Tierra cheerfully singing “Fuck Off” while gleefully snipping balloons free of their strings. “Pretty Ugly” was my personal favourite.

Angélique Kidjo – Remain in Light

This was a nice surprise that popped up on my Spotify Discover. Remain in Light by Talking Heads is one of my all-time favourite albums, a moment when the band fully embraced an Afrobeat influence and stretched it as far as they could. But what if an actual Afrobeat musician had recorded that album? The answer is Angélique Kidjo’s full-length cover album, another Spotify Discover, uh, discovery. A fascinating, and highly danceable, rework. Tracks like “Once in a Lifetime” were already rays of sunshine. Kidjo’s arrangements turns them supernova.

Justin Hurwitz – First Man

2018 was an equally cramped year for films too. First Man seems to be getting ignored by the major awards, which is a shame as it was one of my favourites of the year. (Hey! If you’d like to see me expand on that thought, you consider subscribing to our film podcast, Sunshine Cinema Club! We’re about to cover our top ten of the year! First Man will be one of them!) I’m especially disappointed that people aren’t talking about Justin Hurwitz’s score, which combined the saddest instrument in the world (the theremin) and the gentlest instrument on the world (the harp) to create the loneliest soundtrack of all time. The perfect accompaniment to a story of a man, emotions dulled by grief, faced with the infinite possibilities of space travel.

As always, I’ll be posting about the twenty entries on my list across the next twenty days. Here’s the Spotify playlist of the final twenty, sequenced for musical effect.

In the past, I’ve updated the Spotify list as the entries go up, acting as some sort of musical advert calendar, keeping future songs under wraps. It’s since occurred to me that this method isn’t actually useful to anybody. Nobody cares about spoilers when it comes to this list, and it’s a big ask for people to keep tabs on a blog and a playlist for three weeks. So, consider that list a preview for what’s coming up and a chance to wonder how I’m going to justify sticking Drake and a black metal band on the same list! (I won’t. Accept my weird, varied taste in music!)

Lists from previous years can be found easily using the tag “best+of+20xx”. See you tomorrow!